Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King Review Part 1

Full Dark, No Stars is a series of short stories by author Stephen King. This review is about the first two stories.

Each short story is thrilling and tense making you want to keep reading.

1922

1922 has a very “true crime” vibe that you would get from a podcast. It is set as a confession from farmer Wilfred Leland James. The reader goes back to the moment where Wilfred’s life goes wrong. 1922 has a supernatural feel to it as we have the dead “haunting” the living. Although it is only around 150 pages in length it really keeps you gripping wondering how Wilfred will cope with murdering his wife and how the escalation of events starting from the murder will come back and affect the lives of everyone around him.

Big Driver

Big Driver is a revenge fantasy story. It follows author Tess in the space of only a few days. Tess is raped and almost murdered coming back from an event. The reader sees Tess deciding to get revenge on those she feels caused her to get attacked. It makes the reader empathise with Tess as we question what we would do in her situation and the dark side of the reader that wonders if they would do the same.

Both stories follow the narrator after an event happens which takes them down a path that makes it a very dark and thrilling read. The rape in Big Driver can be hard to read so a warning if that is something that you would really have an issue with.

The other stories in the book are: Fair Extension and A Good Marriage. My copy also has the short story Under The Weather that was added to subsequent publications after the original editions were published which I will add to the next part of my review.

Bonnets at Dawn podcast review

Bonnets at Dawn is a podcast that started in 2017 and looked at the lives and works of authors Jane Austen, Anne, Emily and Charlotte Bronte. Over the last six years the hosts, Hannah Chapman and Lauren Burke, have brought female authors who may have not been as well known as their male counterparts or who may have been forgotten by history front and centre.

Burke and Chapman discuss the writings and lives of women writers of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They also do episodes on poetry, literary house tours, read alongs and ghost stories.

The hosts have a natural flow with their subjects and they have great chemistry. Each episode has a great combination of humour and facts. The podcast has lots of interesting guests who bring their knowledge and opinions to the subjects which adds a different take on the work that they are discussing.

Each episode is enjoyable and great to listen to. They are filled with interesting facts and the hosts leaves one thinking more about what they have listened to and feeling positive from the jokes and humour.

Snow White with the Red Hair Volumes 1-6 by Sorata Akiduki

Snow White with the Red Hair is a manga series which shows the adventures of a red headed herbalist called Shirayuki, Prince Zen the second prince of the kingdom of Clarines, Zen’s aides called Kiki and Mitsuhide and Obi who is Zen’s royal messenger.

The series starts with Shirayuki running away from her home kingdom of Tanbarun because she has received the unwanted summons to become the concubine to Tanbarun’s Crown Prince Raj. She meets Prince Zen and after a failed poisoning they start their adventure together.

In some fairytale inspired stories, the heroine is rescued by a love interest. Although Snow White with the Red Hair has a romance between Shirayuki and Zen it is not the main focal point of the series. Both Shirayuki and Zen want to grow and develop as individual people before they progress with their relationship. Zen wants to become a prince that his brother Crown Prince Izana and the people of Clarines can be proud of. Shirayuki wants to develop and expand her knowledge of herbalism and to become a court herbalist. This is quite a nice refreshing look as Akiduki takes the time to flesh out the characters and doesn’t make the relationship their only character trait.

This series has a strong female lead who decided that instead of being a concubine to a pampered prince, she would leave behind the kingdom that she has known and loved to discover who she can become using her own skills and determination.

As of writing this review there are currently 25 volumes that have been released which means there are plenty of adventures to get stuck in.

A Manhattan Heiress in Paris

I have been given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Manhattan Heiress in Paris is a romance set in 1920’s New York and Paris. It centers on the relationship between Elizabeth “Eliza” Van Hoeven and Jack Coleman. Eliza is a young white woman from one of New York’s finest families and Jack is a young black man from Harlem. They both bond over their love of music. Eliza plays the piano and Jack plays the trumpet.

The references to jazz music and how it makes the characters feel was a nice addition to a story about love, freedom and how music can unite people.

There are visits throughout the book by Ernest Hemingway, F Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Gerald and Sara Murphy. This is a fun nod to how Paris after the First World War was inhabited by influential artists of the time.

As race is a running theme throughout the novel it highlights the struggles that people of colour faced at that time and still face today. The swoon worthy moments of Eliza and Jack’s relationship such as the picnics they have, which is just the two of them enjoying life and being together, doesn’t ignore the proverbial elephant in the room and how they will try and be together at all costs.

A Manhattan Heiress in Paris is a beautiful story on how mutual interests and love can not change who you are or where you are from but it can make the world a happier place.

A Courtesan’s Worth by Felicity George

I received a copy of A Courtesan’s Worth in exchange for an honest review. This is the second book in The Gentleman of London series.

In many historical romances the courtesan/mistress characters are usually pushed to the side and are secondary characters. In A Courtesan’s Worth courtesan Kitty Preece takes center stage.

Kitty is the favoured courtesan of the gentlemen of the ton. One man who has loved Kitty from afar and for years is curate Sidney Wakefield.

Sidney is not wealthy and dreams of being a writer. I really liked how Kitty and Sidney had a great friendship in the years preceding the novel.

As Kitty is on the outside of society she can say and do things that would not be considered proper for the ladies of the ton. This leads to some funny conversations with other characters.

This was a fun book to read and it is great to see the characters develop more with each book in the series. Looking forward to the next one.

His Runaway Marchioness Returns by Marguerite Kaye

I received a copy of His Runaway Marchioness Returns in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and loved a lot of Marguerite Kaye’s books I was ecstatic to receive this.

His Runaway Marchioness Returns is an enjoyable and entertaining read. It involves Oliver, the newly made Marquess of Rashfield who just wants to stay a business man, his estranged wife Lily and the inheritance that brings them back together after so many years apart.

I really loved the descriptions of the scenery and of Lily’s clothes. My favourite description was the silk gown Lily wore when Oliver sees her for the first time after being apart for so long.

I really liked the small sprinkle of French words which really added to Lily’s character.

There were many laugh out loud moments especially during the verbal sparring between Oliver and Lily.

Overall it was a really good book, the characters were fleshed out and it was very enjoyable to read.

A Lady’s Risk by Felicity George

I have been given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lady Margaret Fairchild (Meggy) and her two siblings are forced to leave their home and be under the guardianship of Lord Nicholas Holbrook. Despite Meggy and Nicholas butting heads a lot they need to work together in order for Meggie to find a suitable husband. As the family fortunes have dwindled Meggie must do what she needs to do and quickly. What follows is a lot of humour, sadness and understanding.

 

I have really enjoyed reading this book and I am looking forward to the next book by Felicity George coming out soon. I liked the characters especially Meggie. She has a strong will that could disarm anyone and intelligence which makes her vital when everything seems to be going wrong. The book has some really lovely vivid descriptions of the countryside and the surrounding areas.

 

The story flows very well and it is nice to get the thoughts and feelings of both Meggie and Nicholas instead of trying to guess what one is thinking and feeling. It is an easy calming read and one that makes you want to go back again and again.

Top 5 Horror Books

With October coming to a close it’s time to look at my top 5 horror books.

  1. IT by Stephen King

This was number 1 on my list because it is one of my favourite Stephen King novels. It is a good horror book with the iconic Pennywise.

  1. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

The story drags the reader in, and it’s written brilliantly.

  1. Dracula by Bram Stoker

A good horror classic. The character of Dracula is superb, and the epistolary nature of the book gives the different points of views of all the characters.

  1. The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

Brilliant and unnerving. Very different from the others on this list. Starts off with the ‘perfect’ family when there is an arrival of a new child.

  1. Carmilla by Sheridan La Fanu

It is a novella with a female vampire. Quite eerie but very good.

‘Why She Wrote’ by Lauren Burke and Hannah K Chapman

Why She Wrote is a graphic history of the lives behind some of the greatest works of literature. It is just over two hundred pages long but it is not long enough. The book is split into six chapters with three female writers per chapter. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte each have their own chapters. This is refreshing as they are usually grouped together despite being individual women with their own novels which are brilliant in their own right. Why She Wrote covers well-known writers such as Jane Austen and Beatrix Potter but also covers writers that may not be more well-known such as Edith Maudie Eaton, Alice Dunbar Nelson, and Frances E.W. Harper.

The illustrations by Kaley Bales are brilliant. Each writer has their own unique characteristics. It is easy to see who is who as some writers turn up in different chapters. A good example is Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte. As they show up in each other’s chapters it is easy to see who each of them is without having to look back at the previous chapters.

It is very enjoyable to read and a good way to get the reader to research more about all the amazing women in the book. It is very informative and nicely presented.

‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen

‘Persuasion’ is one of Austen’s later novels and follows the story of 27-year-old Anne Elliot. Anne was engaged when she was younger but was forced to break it off. Years later she runs into Captain Frederick Wentworth, the man she was previously engaged to who is now quite rich and single.

It is a tale of lost love, knowing your own mind and second chances. Like much of her other works Austen can create a story and despite it being written 200 years ago you have such relatable and humorous characters that would fit nicely into a 21st-century setting.

‘Persuasion’ is not as well known as ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’ but it has a charm that allows it to hold its own among other works of literature. Anne is not as outspoken as Elizabeth Bennet but she has an inner strength that can make her shine all on her own.