How do you feel about books that jump from one time period to another? Is it jarring? Does it annoy you when it’s in a suspense novel especially? Of course it does, when you’re on the cusp of a cliff (hanger), you want to leap to the next page as quickly as possible to find…
What’s that you say? Another Alan Bradley book? Why yes please! The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley is the tenth installment in the Flavia de Luce series, which begins after a short period of time has gone by since the last Flavia book, The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place. Released once…
When I comment on other people’s book blogs, I frequently find myself saying similar things; in particular, I frequently admit that I love a good book that deals with nothing at all (like the literary version of Seinfeld). People’s mundane lives, the things that happen to all of us fascinate me, so I really expected…
I came across Land Mammals and Sea Creatures by Jen Neale when I received a copy of it in a ‘loot bag’ from a bookish event here in Calgary last year (yes, they exist, although these super fun events are few and far between!). It sat on my shelf until recently, but I had been…
I wanted to review Our Animals Hearts by Dania Tomlinson because it features a mythical sea creature rumoured to live in the depths of the Okanagan Lake. I’ve swam in that lake, and as the ever-ready detective I am, kept my eye out for this loch-ness like animal/fish. Many people will know this creature as…
This is the first book I’ve ever read that has been published by Amazon Crossing. After a bit of research googling I’ve discovered that Amazon Crossing is the translation arm of Amazon Publishing, so it’s not self-publishing, but you can propose a book to be translated on their website. Regardless, I was fairly happy with…
I didn’t realize this until half way through, but this is the second book I’ve read by Diane Setterfield. The first book I’ve read of hers is called Bellman & Black, which I read back in 2014 but didn’t write a review for (according to my 2014 list). Anyway, I don’t remember much about that…
I think I’m alone in the negative opinion I have of the book Little Green by Tish Cohen. Through a quick google search of other reviews of it, most people really enjoyed it. And it’s not that I hated it, not at all, but the marriage at the heart of the novel didn’t ring true…
I remember reading the blurb for this book two years ago and thinking how relevant it was for that time. Now as 2018 has just wrapped up, it’s sadly even more relevant today. What I didn’t realize back then was that this book is a sequel to Stone’s first, titled The Iguana Tree. I’m sure…
I’m always a bit hesitant to embark on a horror novel (or movie) because I have such high expectations for the genre, and I’m frequently disappointed. Too often, the storyline starts off scary then just dissolves into a weird, over-the-top mess that’s so unbelievable it’s humorous. Canada doesn’t have many horror writers either, so I…
Before I started reading The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, I assumed it would be a boring, literary book about the meaning of life. Even though it had won all sorts of positive attention, I wasn’t sure it was for me. Now that I’ve read it, I’m pretty confident it’s going to be one of my…
This is the first year that my daughter (almost 4) is really going to participate in Valentine’s Day and of course I’m going to have some picture book recommendations to mark the occasion. We’ve purchased some cards for her to give out at school (paw patrol, of course) and she’s genuinely excited about writing out…
