Hayley

I’ve just finished Ada Lark by Jess Kidd in The Winter Spirits. I think it’s my favourite one so far! Just three stories left for me.

I love that description (although I’m sorry that the book was tedious). I would also have been intrigued by the bread poisoning plot so I’m glad to have been warned off this one! I think that’s more because you don’t feel you can do it justice when there’s so much to say that part of you wants to gush about it. I think your reviews are always excellent. Your 5 and 6 star ones often tempt me towards books I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise!

The concept of this book sounds interesting but does it really ultimately conclude that nobody is to blame!? Or is that quote supposed to be ironic? The relationship between Billy and Jack and everything that happens in it involves only them. Having a child on the vague notion that you’re meant to even though you don’t want to actually parent a child… can that really be considered blameless?

Welcome to the forum Vilandra! I hope you’ll like it here. What are your favourite kinds of books?

Both parts of this are very relatable! I never thought of using the Amazon lists feature that way!

In February by John Addington Symonds The birds have been singing to-day And saying: "The spring is near! The sun is as warm as in May, And the deep blue heavens are clear." The little bird on the boughs Of the sombre snow-laden pine Thinks: "Where shall I build me my house, And how shall I make it fine? "For the season of snow is past; The mild south wind is on high; And the scent of the spring is cast From his wing as he hurries by." The little birds twitter and cheep To their loves on the leafless larch: But seven foot deep the snow-wreaths sleep, And the year hath not worn to March.

Oooh yay! I didn’t notice it was in the kindle sale. It’s definitely worth it from what I’ve read so far! 😄

Hi Leanardor, welcome to the forum! I actually don’t know which book this might have been but your post reminded me of this book I saw in Waterstones just before Christmas. Would similar books interest you!? (I took a picture because I was asking my boyfriend if he thought it would be a good present for one of our friends - it has such a gorgeous cover! 😄)

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It is a very frustrating situation, I hope you find it!

That was a good idea! Maybe a long shot, you’ve probably seen all of these, but goodreads says there were three books in this series published in 2022. Could it have been a bit later than you thought, in November? That cover is more yellow than the others…

Is it possible that it’s the same book but you’re looking at a different edition? Maybe the original hardback had a different cover?

I just looked at it, it sounds really good! Not quite as ‘these are my sort of themes’ as The Devil and The Dark Water, but still a very intriguing concept!

I don’t think that’s cheating! And I’m glad you liked The Frozen Deep

I tried asking my sister, who reads a lot more romance than me, but she wasn’t sure either! I would say that being in Sainsbury’s doesn’t necessarily mean it was popular - so bestseller lists might not be the place to look. Supermarkets usually have big name/celebrity authors (so still always pretty popular, just maybe not bestseller popular!). I hope someone else can help more!

I’ve heard great things about Celeste Ng but never actually picked anything up by her. Maybe this would be a good place to start!

Finally, it’s time to do the final update of my 2023 reading so I can begin the exciting task of setting up my 2024 reading log Since The Whale Rider, I read… The Fascination by Essie Fox (4/5) I find Victorian entertainments, especially the fairground and ‘freak’ show, really interesting… fascinating, you might say… obviously part of that fascination stems from the fact that it was, in general, a pretty horrific practice. This book feels like that - fascinating in a this-is-so-horrible-I-can’t-look-away sort of way. I wasn’t really expecting just how horrible it was going to get! And yet there’s also an element of camaraderie and hope as the members of the ‘freak’ show come together to save one of their own. I’d definitely recommend this one but with the warning: be prepared for it to get dark. The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (4/5) I felt like I needed something lighter after The Fascination, so decided to go for the first Sally Lockhart book. These are just really good. The characters are brilliant, the mystery is intriguing and it’s a pretty quick, gripping read. The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (4/5) Then we got to this one… ok, it is still brilliant for all the same reasons as above but WOW is it sad. I did actually shed tears at one point . The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas (4.5/5) One of the other things I find interesting about the Victorian era is the approach to ‘insanity’. This book is set in the infamous Salpetriere Asylum in Paris, as hypnotism is being trialled on the ‘insane’ women at the institution. We get to see a a few women’s stories (which gave a great overview of the different reasons women could be ‘put away’ in those places, while still feeling like an immersive part of the story rather than an explanation) but we mainly follow one character who’s there because she claimed she could see and speak to the dead. This new patient makes one of the nurses question everything she believed about the asylum. I highly recommend this one, it was a brilliant book. Again, quite a dark one. It does deal with subjects like rape and self harm/ attempted suicide. The ending wasn’t exactly what I expected and it turned out to be quite a thought-provoking book.

I love that picture. The dog also looks just like my dog!

Oooh, The Frozen Deep by Wilkie Collins and Dickens? I got The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights, so I’ll definitely be reading that collection as part of this challenge!

Yay! As France said, get all of the rest you can now and look after yourself

We miss you too! I hope you will be totally better and home very soon!

Ok, as we don’t have a decisive outcome, I’m going to throw my hat in with the theme of Winter, which should give everyone a fairly big selection to choose from! What’s everyone planning to read? I’m not sure what I’ll choose yet!

I like this one too! (also very happy that people still want to do the group read this year… I was starting to get worried 😂) If anyone else has suggestions for themes could they put them in here by Sunday and then we’ll decide?