~Andrea~

Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb Nevare Burvelle, a failed cadet of the military Academy, who enlisted in Gernia as a cemetery soldier under a different name has been accused of unspeakable crimes and forced to flee. The magic of the Specks which he has been trying to resist has finally taken him over, and he is compelled to work with the forest tribes and go against his own people. The final installment of this somewhat tedious trilogy is another tome of nearly 800 pages. Again, as I probably said with the first two, I've no idea why it needed to be so long. Perhaps she was under some kind of contractual obligation in book length, who knows? Anyway I would have been quite happy had this book been two or three hundred pages shorter. A case in point is when the story seemed to wrap up quite nicely (and I was very ready for it to end at that point) but no, there was another hundred pages, where she introduced a new problem/adventure for the protagonist to face which felt completely tacked on, and all this followed by a lot of long-winded wrapping up of things that felt very unnecessary and overdone. One of the golden rules of writing is "arrive late, leave early", and I wish the author had paid some heed to that, as the story really outstayed its welcome. And again the pacing was quite slow, with lots of detail of the mundane and every day and not enough action to liven things up. That said, I suppose something kept me reading. I was invested enough to see it through to the end, and being a Robin Hobb fan I'm glad I ploughed through it all, just to have a sense of completion of the Hobb canon. It's a shame though really, as there was potential for something decent here, it was just Far. Too. Long.

Oh this sounds right up my street. I might have to check it out!

Yes very readable. I'll definitely read her again. There was defintely a plot (of sorts) and I wanted to know what happened next, but it was more of a gently unfolding story that came out of the characters. I'd definitely recommend, Hayley. Yes it's all about character vs plot. For me reading is as much about spending time with interesting people as much as finding out what happens next. And I agree on the thrillers front. The characters are often very one-dimensional which makes those kind of books pretty forgettable for me.

Thanks for the info Hayley! Yes I agree with Poppy, you are very generous. I'd still prefer quarterly though. And it means less work for you.

Sorry this reply is soooo late!! I think the prizes so far have been great. Personally though, I think I would prefer them to be less frequent. There are only 6 supporters which means by the law of averages we'd be winning something about twice a year. That makes me feel like a decent chunk of my donation is going towards my own prizes, which feels a little odd to me! I'd be happier winning something less often and more of my donation going towards the site. So a seasonal competition would seem preferable to me. Also a prize would feel more special if there's less chance of winning it. Also I'd be happy for the giveaways to be open to non-donors. As others have said maybe there could be a mix of supporter and non-supporter giveaways, (so there is still an incentive to donate).

Back when we were grownups by Anne Tyler In her fifties, Rebecca Davitch sits up one day and wonders who she really is. Has life taken her down the path she really wanted to go along? Has it changed her into someone she can no longer recognize? A whirlwind romance in her twenties changed her path dramatically, but widowed by thirty with three young stepchildren and a daughter she was left to run her late husband's family business by herself. Now she wonders what might have been and starts to think about the man she was engaged to before she met her late husband. This was my first Anne Tyler, who I'd heard lots of good things about. While I found it took a little while to get into, once I did it was a pleasure to read. The prose is lovely, and while not a huge amount actually happens I somehow found myself turning the pages. It was a gentle, thoughtful read with engaging characters and lots of well drawn details and insights that made me feel I was right in the middle of the story and could recognize the interior life of the characters. I enjoyed it and would read more from this author.

Hi and welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your Dad and good luck with your books!

Great interview. Thanks Tim and Hayley! (Sorry it's taken me a while to read it - I haven't been on the forum much lately!) I found it really interesting, especially hearing about your struggles with mental health. And I also enjoyed your blog post http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk/3-weeks-in-the-life-of-a-new-book where you talk about the industry and the nitty gritty of making it (or trying to) as a writer. I shall definitely get hold of a copy of The Honours and give it a try. I love a good adventure yarn!

Hear hear! Welcome to the book blogs Poppy!

Hola ratpenat. Nice to have you here.

Hi and welcome! Your English is great by the way. What other languages do you speak?

Hello - a bit of a late reply from me! But welcome anyway

Hi and welcome!

I'll be on the hunt now for more graphic novels with female appeal. Thank you. The cover is great isn't it? I think it sums up the content pretty well actually. A grumpy old woman more used to a quiet life suddenly mixed up in a violent crime. That's interesting! I'd never heard of Lady Susan. I shall hunt it out, thanks Willoyd. And, S&S and Emma are both now on my hit list. I think A Level English has that effect for a lot of books. I don't think I could ever read a George Eliot for pleasure. Thanks Lau_Lau. I look forward to reading Lady Susan.

Cassandra Darke Millionaire art dealer Cassandra Darke is a crabby old recluse who doesn’t like people much. She’s been a bit naughty too and has a conviction for fraud, which she doesn’t think is that bad really, surely not worth all the trouble it resulted in. But when she finds some rather shocking items in her basement, left there by her lodger Nicki, she finds herself embroiled in a much darker and more serious criminal world. As you can see I’ve got the graphic novel bug. I don’t know why but lately I just fancied reading something in that format: drawings of people with speech bubbles. Perhaps I’m hankering after my youth, where I used to devour comics like Mandy and Nikki, or just looking for some lighter quicker reads! Anyway, I searched the library where most of them seemed to be in the genre of horror, fantasy or sci-fi. I tried a few, including a star wars and Dr Who one, but they didn’t really hit the spot. This probably sounds silly but the graphic novel section at the library felt overloaded with ‘boys comics’ where I wanted something with a bit more female appeal. So I had a brainwave and got hold of some Posy Simmonds! I really enjoyed this. It was exactly what I was looking for, an adventure with good strong female characters, just like the comics of my childhood! And the drawings are great too. I found the characters (excuse the pun) well drawn and interesting, and the writing witty and sharp. I shall be reading some more by this author. I just wish there were more graphic novels out there like this.

Hi VF! Good luck with the move. Hopefully you're moving somewhere less eventful!

Daphne Du Maurier short stories were favourites of mine. Strange and often with a hint of the supernatural or other-worldly.

Thanks Madeleine. I was thinking of tryng another one so I will give Sense and Sensibility a go.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Well this book surely needs no introduction, however... Mrs Bennett, the mother of five daughters (and no sons) is obsessed with finding a husband for each of them. You can't blame her really since the family estate is entailed on Mr Bennett's cousin, and as such she fears destitution for herself and her daughters in the event of her husband's demise. The story focuses on witty young Elizabeth Bennett and her potential suitor, the aloof Mr Darcy. We follow the family and the wider society of rural Hertfordshire through the ups and downs of nineteenth century love, courtship, money and manners, with a generous dose of Austen's witty social commentary thrown in. I didn't intend to read this! I was arranging some books on my bookshelf and I just happened to pick it up and have a peek at its famous opening line. Well, I got so drawn in that this became my unintentional read for April! I've never actually read this all the way through before. I think I got about half way through when I was about 17 and needed to read it for A Level. While I remember enjoying it, I think I had so much reading and other work to do that I ended up just relying on the notes for the second half! And since then I've never been bowled over by Austen. I've read Persuasion (in the last few years) and I think half of Emma (when I was a lot younger - but after my first attempt at P&P). I found Persuasion to be a pleasant read but it didn't blow me away. However this read of P & P was an absolute joy. I think it says something that I didn't even intend to read it, but the writing, the dialogue and the characters were all just so intantly engaging that I was hooked as soon as I glanced at the first page! I've read quite a few classics, and often find them to be a bit longwinded. They might be good overall but there are always those few pages (or chapters) where you just wish they'd had a good editor (cough Victor Hugo, cough)! However, this in some ways felt like a much more modern novel in that the writing was tight and lean, with no extraneous waffle, or description. Every word was there for a reason. I felt the characters sparkling from the page, and the story is constantly moving with plenty of little twist and turns to keep you on your toes. Of course the story was very familiar to me having seen so many adaptations (particularly the one with Colin Firth and Alison Steadman - which is surely the Queen of all P&P adaptations) so there were no surprises, but even so it was utterly absorbing and gripping. I came away understanding why this famous novel is so esteemed, it's an absolute masterpiece! I think it may actually gone to my number one spot. It was such a treat! I liked it by the way. Can you tell?

Hello Kevin and welcome to the forum I see you've been busy posting about the place so I'm sure our paths will cross sooner or later. Nice to meet you and I hope you enjoy it here.

Thanks Gaia! What a shame you can't get Locke & Key from your library!

Locke and Key: Head Games by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez From Amazon: Following a shocking death that dredges up memories of their father's murder, Kinsey and Tyler Locke are thrown into choppy emotional waters, and turn to their new friend, Zack Wells, for support, little suspecting Zack's dark secret. Meanwhile, six-year-old Bode Locke tries to puzzle out the secret of the head key, and Uncle Duncan is jarred into the past by a disturbingly familiar face. Open your mind — the head games are just getting started! This is the second book in this series and I enjoyed it much more than the first. It wasn't so graphically violent and there was some humour. The plot is developing more and I'm becoming intrigued by the various characters and the secrets from the past that have led to the strange situations that engulf the people of Lovecraft. Looking forward to reading the third one now.

Gentleman Jim by Raymond Briggs Jim is a toilet attendant, dissatisfied with his lot in life. He escapes into a world of fantasy and dreams of becoming so much more. I've been fancying some graphic novels lately but have no idea really what kind I would like so I picked this up from the library because I enjoyed Fungus the Bogeyman as a child and I've enjoyed some of his animations. This was typical Ray Briggs really, gentle and domestic and with a touch of humour and a hint of sadness. I thought it was OK. The story wasn't that complicated - and in terms of plot it felt more like a children's story but for adults in an odd kind of way. Vortex Butterflies by Nick Abadziz and Giorgia Sposito I got this Dr Who graphic novel from the library at the same time. While I found the story more interesting, it was also more forgettable and I don't think I'd bother with any more of these Dr Who ones. It was OK but I'm not really a die hard Whovian, even though I enjoy watching the TV show now and again so I guess they're just not my cuppa.

These are the first books I've read on the subject. They're just very quick starter guides. I've bought another, more in depth book on psychology (by the same author) but haven't started it yet. Have you read on the subject?

Hi Jaymer. Welcome to the forum. I need to start Game of Thrones. I have the first one on my shelf!