I have enjoyed and finished two books since I last wrote a Roundup post. Luckily, I am still managing to find enough on our library’s ebook site to keep me going and, therefore, avoid buying my own (more money for scarves!).

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

My first completed book was The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, apparently the first book in a series. I appear to have missed all of the publicity about this book and was interested to read the variety of reviews on Goodreads. Anyway, here is the blurb:

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

I took my time to read the book, mainly because it was quite complex and there were lots of new-to-me words which I looked up on my e-reader app. I am not sure whether I will bother to make a big effort to track down the sequels, but, if I come across them, I would be happy to read them. This is my review on Goodreads:

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read some of the mixed reviews of this book and have realised that I stumbled across it very late. Anyway, I really enjoyed it with only a few reservations. The plot and main characters kept me engaged and the setting in an alternative England was intriguing. Some parts were a little confusing, especially at the beginning and I think that the author could have simplified quite a lot of the over-complicated clairvoyants. I am really glad that I read this as an ebook because I could easily look up some of the words I didn’t know! (In some parts the author was, perhaps, showing off her vocabulary!)

All in all this was an enjoyable read and I will look for the sequels.

View all my reviews

House of War by Scott Mariani

The next book was a complete change. Scott Mariani’s House of War (Ben Hope #20) is a pretty standard thriller, but it was entertaining enough to take my mind away from my troubles. This is the blurb:

Following a chance encounter with a terrified young woman in the streets of Paris, former SAS soldier Ben Hope finds himself hurled into a violent new mission involving murder, international terrorism and stolen historic artifacts. A mission made even more perilous by the reappearance of an old enemy from Ben’s military past. A man he knew and fought years ago. A man he thought was dead.

Teaming up with the enigmatic ex-Delta Force warrior Tyler Roth, Ben travels from the seedy underworld of Paris to the islands of the Caribbean in his quest to piece together the puzzle.

As the death toll quickly mounts, he unmasks a vicious terror plot that could bring about the slaughter of millions of innocent people. Mass destruction seems just a hair’s breadth away … and only Ben Hope can prevent the unthinkable.

And here is my review:

House of War by Scott Mariani
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I occasionally dip into this series when I want an easy read that will take me out of myself. Although this is the 20th book, there is still plenty of action, the odd twist in the plot, and excitement with a satisfying resolution. I am not interested in the details of weaponry and I do get a little irritated by the fact that live female characters are few and far between, but I suppose that Mariani is not really writing for people like me. He does what he does well enough and I can see this series continuing for a long time!

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I haven’t quite decided what I am going to read next, so all will be revealed next week!

Happy Reading to you all!

Anne

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