Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post. I have two books to tell you about this week. There might have been a third, but I am actually doing something rather difficult: reading two books at the same time! OK, this might sound like a very foolish thing to do with an impaired brain, but I have my reasons. I am trying to read a more academic book at the moment. The kind of book that takes quite a lot of concentration. Now, a few years ago this would have been a breeze for me, but now it is quite a struggle. So, I am reading a chapter of the more difficult book, then swapping to a Young Adult book to ease off on the brain power. I think this strategy is working reasonably well.

Anyway, this is the first book that I want to tell you about…

The Night Hawks by Ellie Griffiths is the 13th book in her Ruth Galloway series. This is the blurb:

”Dr Ruth Galloway returns to the moody and beautiful landscape of North Norfolk to confront another killer. A devastating new case for our favourite forensic archaeologist in this acclaimed and bestselling crime series.

The Night Hawks, a group of metal detectorists, are searching for buried treasure when they find a body on the beach in North Norfolk. At first Nelson thinks that the dead man might be an asylum seeker but he turns out to be a local boy, Jem Taylor, recently released from prison. Ruth is more interested in the treasure, a hoard of Bronze Age weapons. Nelson at first thinks that Taylor’s death is accidental drowning, but a second death suggests murder.

Nelson is called to an apparent murder-suicide of a couple at the isolated Black Dog Farm. Local legend talks of the Black Shuck, a spectral hound that appears to people before they die. Nelson ignores this, even when the owner’s suicide note includes the line, ‘He’s buried in the garden.’ Ruth excavates and finds the body of a giant dog.

All roads lead back to this farm in the middle of nowhere, but the place spells serious danger for anyone who goes near. Ruth doesn’t scare easily. Not until she finds herself at Black Dog Farm …”

This is the short review that I wrote on Goodreads:

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read quite a few of the early books in this series ages ago. Then I saw an offer on this book and decided to return to the world of Ruth Galloway again. I am glad that I did!

I studied Archaeology at university and so Galloway’s profession really interests me and the author uses it very well in her plots. Also enjoyable is the development of the main characters through the series, although, of course, I have missed quite a lot of their stories. In fact, I must go back and read the books that I haven’t tackled yet.

Anyway, the story was very well written with plenty of atmosphere, complicated twists and also a gentle humour. Sometimes I became slightly confused by the number of characters with similar names, but that is my issue.

This series and this particular book is really worth reading.

View all my reviews

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As I enjoyed this book so much, I may read more in the Ruth Galloway series, picking up where I left off years ago. Now, to the second book of the week…

So, this was the series that I chose to read alongside more serious books: Sarah J Maas’ Throne of Glass (#01 Throne of Glass). This is the blurb:

”Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?”

And here is my response…

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this because I have enjoyed other books by the author and because I wanted a book to take me far away from my troubles! I didn’t want to read anything too taxing either. Well, this book fulfilled those needs and wants quite nicely.

The book was enjoyable and held my attention enough. Of course, it wasn’t written for someone my age! I have several issues with it and the main one is that I was not able to suspend my disbelief in the main character. She is supposed to be a teenage girl who is such a skilled assassin that she can overpower and kill full-grown adult men. There is very little evidence throughout the book that this is possible! OK, she boasts that she is an amazing killer, but we are not shown any factual background to this. So, for me, the whole story wobbled around on this main storyline.

Still, this was a fantasy book!

View all my reviews

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OK, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did some in Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series, but then she doesn’t write for my age group! It was still a book that could take me out of myself for a while and that is why I am reading the second book in the series, Crown of Midnight.

I will give you my verdict next week!

Happy Reading to you all.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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PS. If you want to know more about the “more academic” book I am reading, it is listed in the sidebar. I am not going to write about it on here as it covers a very controversial topic, which I don’t want to discuss on this blog.