I have finished two books this week and am part way through another two. This isn’t my usual way of reading. Most of the time I complete one book before taking up the next. At the moment, however, with the hot weather, I am reading both inside the house and out in the garden and I find it impossible to read ebooks on my iPad outside, for a number of reasons. So, that is why I am stretching out my last print book (outside) and enjoying a range of ebooks (inside). Of course, it is obvious that I actually need to finish the print book and then go to the Library for more. But I am too ill to go…

Not the worst problems in the world!

Circe by Madeline Miller

Anyway, my first book of the week was Circe by Madeline Miller, quite a departure from my usual thrillers! Here is the blurb:

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

This is the review that I wrote on the Goodreads website:

Really loved this book. With my background as a former student of ancient history, I have read a lot of Greek myths and also the story of the Odyssey. Greek gods and goddesses were pretty capricious, violent, greedy and unpleasant and the myths surrounding them, and various unfortunate humans, are very entertaining. This version of Circe’s tale is wonderfully written with such a blistering view of the famous males (both gods and humans) and their impact on the world and the females in it. The author’s characterisation of Odysseus himself is brilliant and shows his flaws so clearly. I also loved how she wove so many famous tales together – perhaps she has her own magical loom.

I was very close to awarding this book the full five stars and was, perhaps, a bit mean to only give it four. I will certainly explore the author’s other work after reading this. Highly recommended.

You know what, I am going to change it to five stars and put it into my “favourites” collection!

Kill Chain by Nichole Christoff

My second read of the week popped into my Kindle app because I had pre-ordered it on Amazon: Kill Chain by Nichole Christoff, #06 in her Jamie Sinclair series. I have already read the previous five books and have written about them on here and Goodreads. Here is the blurb for Kill Chain:

In Jamie Sinclair’s line of work, there’s no such thing as too careful. Not when clients like Madeline Donahue come knocking on her door. Madeline claims a disgruntled robotics engineer is blackmailing her boss—an eccentric tech billionaire—and holding the computer systems of their satellite and space payload company hostage. With U.S. government secrets at stake, Madeline wants Jamie to protect her as she pays the ransom. But is it really ransom? Or personal payback?

The late-night dead drop starts off badly, and gets worse quickly when Jamie is framed for murder and more. Now, with the U.S. government trying to bring her down—and a team of hired guns aiming to take her out—Jamie is on the run, fighting to force a deadly conspiracy from the shadows. She’ll have to move fast to get that target off her back—and to keep those she loves from becoming the weakest link in a powerful enemy’s kill chain.

This is what I thought of the book:

I have now read all of the books in this series so far and, whilst I enjoyed this one, I think it will be my last. At least we didn’t have steamy erotic scenes with two different men, whilst Jamie’s love affair with Barrett kept suffering from severe interruptus over and over again. This was getting really annoying in the previous books. The story was good enough in this, with a complex plot, but somehow not enough actual tension. So, overall OK but not really gripping.

It was a much better book than the previous one, #05, but I don’t think I will continue to read more even if Christoff writes another book in the series.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Blood Vow by J R Ward

Next week I will be able to give you my verdict on the two books I am currently enjoying: the ebook of The Power by Naomi Alderman and the print version of Blood Vow by J R Ward. Until then, I will get back to reading The Power. So, yes, I am reading in bed today not in the garden!

Happy Reading to you all.

Best wishes,

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