historical fiction – Page 57 – Cannonball Read 17

“I grinned stupidly at my whiskey for a few moments. Thinking over my job, which was harrowing. My task, which was nigh impossible. My face, which was mangled. My savings, which no longer existed.”

The Gods of Gotham (Timothy Wilde, #1) by Lyndsay Faye

October 31, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

Always count on Lyndsay Faye for lots of atmospheric and interesting historical details, and a juicy, emotionally resonant mystery. This wasn’t my favorite of hers, but I’m definitely going to be continuing the series. Timothy Wilde has 400 dollars saved up, and a job tending bar, until a fire devastates his neighborhood, and injures him so severely his face becomes permanently disfigured. It’s 1845, and the NYC police department is in its infancy. There is a potato blight hitting Ireland, and thousands upon thousands of […]

“And so I made the decision to change. It might seem like change was impossible, given my nature and my age, but I understood exactly what there was to lose. It was chemistry all over again. The point wasn’t whether or not I liked it. The point was it had to be done.”

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

October 25, 2021 by cheerbrarian Leave a Comment

In one word: Bummer Cannonball Read Bingo: People I haven’t read any Ann Patchett previously; I could have sworn that I read Bel Canto but Goodreads shows it is in my “to read,” and I consider it a better history-keeper than my memory. I’m a big sucker for a book with accolades, so the “Pultizer finalist” sticker on the cover had my heart. I picked it up as it was the monthly selection of my library book club. In my estimation, this is both a […]

Only mildly witchin’

The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston

October 24, 2021 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

I like a good witch/supernatural story every now and then, so pulled this one off my shelf (cbr13bingo shelfie!) Brackston’s novel centers on Cai, a Welsh drover, and his new wife Morgana. Being a drover requires a wife, to assure the townspeople that the drover will return with their money after talking the village flocks to the London markets. Accordingly, even though Cai is not yet entirely over the death of his beloved first wife, he proposes to and marries Morgana, a younger woman from […]

In case you were wondering, Christopher Marlowe is a little shit, according to this author.

Shadow of Night (All Souls, #2) by Deborah Harkness

October 19, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

It has been a bit since I read this, so this review will be a bit lacking in details as I struggle to remember why I rated this three stars. I remember the middle particularly being a bit of a slog. Also, not much happened plot-wise for a 600ish page book. The author clearly just got really excited about putting her characters in a 16th century setting with a bunch of famous people from that era (and lots of non-famous people as well, to be […]

“The three of them sat there – a Ministry agent, a half-djinn, and a cat (likely), staring out past the balcony to the sleeping city they somehow had to find a way to save.”

A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn, #3) by P. Djèlí Clark

October 1, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

Another book in this world, please! I continue to have a really good time with these audiobooks. I loved Suehyla El-Attar’s narration—even though she mispronounces some words, which would normally make me lose it, but that’s how much I love her voice—it’s so melodious it squashes my inner pedant. We’re back with Fatma el-Sha’arawi—agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities—in this first full novel (the first two were novellas) in this alternate-history, fantastical version of 1912 Cairo. Decades previously, a man named […]

Been There, Doing That Again

Rose Gold by Walter Mosley

September 29, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR13Bingo: Old Series. The Easy Rawlins series debuted in 1990. As the times change, Walter Mosley has changed his most famous creation with them. He’s also changed his style. I don’t know if it’s for better or worse but I like it. I’ve written on his Leonid McGill series about how Mosley has incorporated some surrealist existentialism into those works and how they felt different to what he had written before. These don’t read like McGill books but they do have […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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