Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup! Unfortunately I have been struggling a lot with my illness and family issues, so have only managed to finish one book because my concentration has been so poor. Let’s hope everything improves in the following week.
Here is the book that I have read:
Femlandia by Christina Dalcher
This week’s book was Femlandia by Christina Dalcher. I have read her debut novel, Vox, and really rated it, so I was looking forward to this book. This is the blurb:
“The United States has sunk into total collapse.
Men in positions of power have wrecked the economy and left women to suffer and pick up the pieces.
Miranda Reynolds has lost her husband, her job and her home. There’s only one place left that she and her daughter Emma can go. Femlandia.
Femlandia is a female-only community. A utopia for women. There’s a reason Miranda never joined before. Now she has no choice.
With what Miranda knows about Femlandia’s founder, she’s right to be wary. While life outside the gates is fraught with danger, there’s something just as sinister going on within.”
I was really excited about the book after reading the blurb. Here is my response on the Goodreads website:
Goodness, I don’t really know how to react to this book. I am a feminist, married to a man and a mother of two sons, so my feelings about it are coloured by my background. The idea that a feminist “utopia” could turn out like this feels like a slur on feminism. So much about the lifestyle and relationships were not even tackled; so much was missed out in the cause of what seems to be sensationalism.
Once again the responses on here are widely mixed and I can see why so many readers enjoyed the book. It would certainly make a great discussion topic! Just not to my taste.
Welcome to a new week on the blog. Today I want to respond to the comments on here and elsewhere about last Monday’s post. Thanks to all of you who took the time to write to me, I really appreciate you all.
So, I had a bit of a moanfest last week about how I should or shouldn’t move forward with the blog. These are the kind of questions that I am asking myself at the moment. Shall I simply post less frequently? Are the topics that I cover useful or interesting enough? Can I sustain posting when I am becoming increasingly housebound? Am I becoming addicted to buying stuff so that I can post about it here?
You all gave me very sensible and helpful answers. I felt very encouraged and uplifted as I read them and basically came to the conclusion that I was overthinking everything! Thank you all so much for your generosity in taking the time to respond.
So… I have decided to carry on with the same pattern on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but not get worried when I feel too ill to post. After all, it is only one little blog in amongst millions out there on the web!
I will probably continue to buy one Hermès scarf per season (sometimes maybe two) until I disappear under a mountain of orange boxes! But, I must try to wear them more often, even if I am not leaving the house. I am also planning to list them all and put a label on each box so that I can get them properly organised. Now, that’s definitely something that I will be able to write about!
Another aspect of the blog that I am intending to change is the section on my career in school librarianship. It is such a long time since I retired that I am sure the profession has moved on by leaps and bounds. So, I think that my CV and other pages about my working life can now be archived as they are not relevant to my new life. I think I will also work through some of the other stuff that is now very dated and remove it – The Diet and Exercise Plan, for example. I don’t diet and I can’t exercise!
OK, I think that is enough for now. I will leave you with this lovely image that I found on Twitter…
Long Summer by Katharine Burns – Twitter (accessed 08/08/22)
I just love that gorgeous sparkling sea! Aren’t we so fortunate that technology allows us to see such wonders from the restrictions of our bedrooms?
Welcome to Friday’s post! Today is a very special day as it’s Younger Son’s 30th birthday. Time has passed so quickly and Lovely Husband and I sat looking at photos of our two “boys” over the years wondering how it has gone in the blink of an eye.
The weather is still hot and sunny in this part of the UK with no change in sight, so it has not really been a week for scarf wearing. I did manage to wear Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage by Hermès, tied in a necklace knot, for an hour or so on one day, but soon had to take it off. Here you can see the two sides of the knot. Apologies for the photos. My arms aren’t long enough to get the knot in proper focus!
The full outfit consisted of a navy Lands’ End vest with my Isle Collection linen trousers. I also wore pretty gold and silver feather earrings and a matching necklace.
Outfit of the day 04/08/22 with Hermès’ Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage scarf
Here is an image of the full scarf:
Mythiques Phoenix Coloriage by Laurence Bourthoumieux for Hermès
Earlier in the week my Marks and Spencer navy and white dress coped well with a hot day, but I couldn’t bear to try a scarf and instead chose this Bill Skinner lapis lazuli pendant…
Outfit of the day 02/08/22 with Marks and Spencer dress
This is a larger picture of the Bill Skinner necklace:
Lapis lazuli and gold pendant by Bill Skinner
I must thank everyone who has responded to last Monday’s post, either on here or elsewhere. Over the weekend, I am going to look through your comments again and try to respond next Monday.
Welcome to the first Reading Roundup post for August! During the last week, I have read and enjoyed two very different books. This is the first one…
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
Yes, I decided to return to the Vorkosigan Saga once again. This book is number five in the series’ reading order: Cetaganda. Here is the blurb:
“Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan are sent on a diplomatic mission to the court of the Cetagandan Empire, Barrayar’s former enemy. This sophisticated, genetically advanced but in many ways alien society both fascinates and repels, and when the Cetagandan Empress and her attendant die suddenly, Miles and Ivan find themselves embroiled in intrigues that are hard to fathom. Ivan’s romances and Miles’ infatuation with a nobel Cetagandan lady further complicate matters in this novel by four-time Hugo Award winner Lois McMaster Bujold.”
Well, the blurb above does not really explain enough of the complex story and is also inaccurate! Anyway, this is my response on Goodreads:
This had so much to like and enjoy: fantastic world building, clever and witty writing, an interesting and satisfying plot, unusual and well drawn characters. So, it gets four stars for all of those plus points. However, it just missed the full five stars for me because Miles is becoming so irritating as a character. I am trying to read the books in the recommended order and I hope that the next one is better.
The second book of the week was Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman. This is the blurb:
“London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle.
But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason.
Gorgeously atmospheric and deliciously page-turning, Pandora is a story of secrets and deception, love and fulfilment, fate and hope.”
This book was such a fortuitous choice. My review reveals all:
This was such an unexpected and enjoyable book for me. I chose it at random from the Library’s ebook catalogue because I have a love of historical fiction and also Ancient Greece. However, I didn’t expect to read a fiction book about one of the great interests of my life: Ancient Greek vases! I have a Masters degree in aspects of Ancient Greek vase painting and never thought that I would encounter these ceramics in a book like this: full of mystery, mayhem and murder!
The book itself is good, but has distinct flaws in some areas such as character building and accuracy. I must admit that I also found a few mistakes in the writing about Greek pottery itself. On the other hand, I did enjoy the plot and most of the major characters were well drawn. The cover design is also gorgeous!
I am so glad that I came across this book and I have probably overdone the number of stars, but the melding of themes for the tale just tipped it into the four star category!
I have never heard of a vase like the one in the book, but one of my Hermès scarves depicts pithoi in the corners: Les Secrets de Minos. You can see more on my Scarf of the Moment post about the scarf and I have included an image of one of the corners below:
Les Secrets de Minos by Hermès
Right, I will stop here before I end up writing a whole article about Ancient Greek ceramics!
I gave both of the week’s books four stars and hope that my next book turns out to be a good one. You will find out my verdict in next week’s Reading Roundup post.
Hello and welcome to a new week on the blog. I am in rather a pensive mood today and I want to share a few thoughts with you about the future of the blog.
The Librain…… retired is now in its sixth year and I am so pleased that it still attracts quite a number of visitors. It was started as a way to occupy myself when I became mostly housebound through illness and I have continued to write since I had the stroke in 2019. I am sure that the rediscovery of my ability to think and write reasonably clearly has a lot to do with maintaining the blog. More recently, WordPress quite drastically changed its structures and I had to force myself to learn a complicated new system. I hope that this has been successful.
On the other hand, there have been some negative impacts. I can be quite a driven person. At the beginning, I decided to write a post on every week day and I kept that going for a long time. This was rather difficult to achieve as, because my day to day life is so limited, I had to search around for something to write about. Eventually, I had to drop the posts down to three per week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That has been manageable most of the time. On occasion, when my illness has become overwhelming, I have taken breaks of up to a week, but I have tried to keep those to a minimum.
Another issue for me has been subject matter. Simply, I don’t want to write long complaining or moaning posts about my illness or the difficult issues surrounding our family life. Over the years, I have vented on here from time to time and everyone has been supportive and kind, but I don’t want the blog to be a negative moanfest! So, I have tried to write as positively as I can about more trivial matters, mainly books and reading, clothing and accessories, and the curiosities that I find whilst wandering around the web.
One thing that this has led to is that my passion for scarves and costume jewellery has become rather overwhelming. The lovely, positive responses that I have had to my scarf posts here and elsewhere have resulted in my spending on these luxuries getting a bit out of hand. Nothing too over the top, I must hasten to say, but rather it’s a bit silly when I can’t wear any of these items out of the house. I sometimes feel very foolish that I own this wonderful Hermès collection, but I can only wear the scarves in the house or for medical appointments!
So, I am in a bit of a dilemma. I need to think about whether I should continue with the blog and also decide its purpose. Perhaps I also need some deeper thoughts about my own future and purpose. I don’t really know.
Apologies for the lack of an Outfits of the Week post today. I have been really under the weather all of this week and have spent most of my time in bed, feeling sorry for myself. I just haven’t had enough energy to get dressed properly. Let’s hope that next week is better.
So, I will wish you all a Happy Weekend and leave you with this gorgeous photo that I found on Twitter…
Hello fellow readers! I have three books to tell you about this week. Two were great, but one was a real miss, as you will find out later.
Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Those of you who follow these posts may remember that I have really enjoyed Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books in the past. So, when I saw this one: Dogs of War (#01 Dogs of War), I was intrigued. I don’t usually like books about pets or animals in general, but this one confounded my expectations.
Here is the blurb:
“My name is Rex. I am a good dog.
Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he’s part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, south-eastern Mexico.
Rex is a genetically engineered Bioform, a deadly weapon in a dirty war. He has the intelligence to carry out his orders and feedback implants to reward him when he does. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he’s got to kill a lot of enemies.
But who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash?”
I rated this book with the full five stars on Goodreads and also added to my “favourites”. This was my review:
First of all, I must say that I have very little knowledge of dog behaviour. Does that matter? I loved the melding of dog brain (as I imagine it to be), robot brain and human brain. The switching from obedient soldier to blood-thirsty monster to cringing “Bad Dog”. The other “characters” in the team were also interesting and their development in understanding and intelligence was masterfully written.
The author’s inventiveness that I have experienced in his other books reaches an amazing level in this one. There are also thoughtful and philosophical passages that make the reader think about the consequences of technological development in the future.
There is another book in the Dogs of War series and I intend to read it soon!
Now I will turn to the second successful read of the week…
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison is the second book in her series: The Cemeteries of Amalo. I loved the first two of her books set in this fantasy world and this is the third. Here is the blurb:
“In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness For The Dead…
Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.
At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.”
I really enjoyed this sequel to Witness for the Dead. The melding of fantasy and detective/mystery is very well done indeed. In fact, I think that this book was even better than the one before. The main character is very well drawn and I enjoyed the tea-drinking and opera-visiting parts of his life alongside the more deadly aspects. The world building is superbly done, apart from my difficulties with names of all kinds!
I chose The Beijing Conspiracy by Shamini Flint from our Library’s ebook catalogue completely at random. Let’s begin with the blurb:
“One man is caught up in a lethal global conspiracy in this explosive spy thriller.
“I need your support. There is no one else I can trust. Please help her. Please help our daughter.”
When ex-Marine Jack Ford receives a letter containing news of a daughter he never knew he had, he feels compelled to return to China, a country he hasn’t visited since 1989 when, as a young American spy, he fell in love with a beautiful student activist and found himself caught up in the horrors of the Tiananmen Square massacre. But why has Xia got in touch now, after a thirty-year silence?
On arrival in Beijing, Jack finds himself accidentally in possession of an explosive piece of information both the Chinese and American governments are desperate to get their hands on. Alone in a strange city, suspected of being a traitor by his own side, not knowing whom to trust, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma: should he save his new-found daughter or prevent a new world war from breaking out?”
Oh dear! As I have written on here many times before, please look up other reviews of this book, read it if it interests you, and make up your own mind about it. The book wasn’t for me, but plenty of other people have liked it.
OK, that’s all for this week. I will now return to my current book, which I will write about next week, all being well.
This is a special Scarf of the Moment post in that it includes two amazing formats of one design. I have done this before, with the 90cm and twilly versions of Dans un Jardin Anglais and also with the 90cm and cashmere/silk shawl versions of Plumes en Fête and Tulipomanie. Here are the 90cm silk twill double face scarf and the cashmere/silk shawl versions of the gorgeous Sous le Charme d’Orphée designed by Alice Shirley. Information about both will be interspersed throughout this post.
The silk twill double face scarf
As the first photographs started to appear online for Hermès Autumn/Winter 2022 scarf season, I couldn’t see any that really attracted me. OK, I thought, perhaps I will save my money this time…
Perhaps not! One of the new scarves suddenly caught my attention. It had all of the attributes and elements that I love in a scarf: gorgeous colours, a meaningful design (more about that later), and something about it that sang out to me. And it was designed by one of my favourite artists, Alice Shirley. There was just one problem: the cost. Hermès 90cm silk scarves are expensive enough, but this one is a double face, which means that it is printed on both sides. The price seemed prohibitive for me.
But I talked myself into it anyway! Here it is: Sous le Charme d’Orphée by Alice Shirley, a 90cm double face, colourway #05 rouge/rose poudre/bleu gris, purchase code H903702S 05.
Sous le Charme d’Orphée double face 90 cm scarf by Alice Shirley for Hermes
Description of the silk twill double face scarf
These are my own comments about the design. Lower down this post, you will find the artist’s own thoughts that I was able to find on Instagram. Her writing is detailed and very insightful.
To begin: Sous le Charme d’Orphée translates into English as “Under the spell of Orpheus”. Looking at the scarf, you can see a circles of beasts, creatures, plants and figures from Ancient Greek mythology sitting or dancing and moving around. In the four corners of the scarf are trees which appear to bend in the wind as the dance swirls before them.
Orpheus himself sits and plays a harp. Hermes can be seen and also Pegasus, a snake, a centaur and numerous animals and fish. All of these creatures, gods and goddesses circle around the great tree of life. The effect is joyous and celebratory.
Looking at my scarf, the front has rich autumnal feel with the use of a warm red shade, pink, orange and subtle blueish grey. The design is beautifully framed by the rolled contrast hem in a shade of blue-grey. The scarf looks lovely with grey clothing. The reverse is a study in a range of grey tones against a pretty pale pink background with the surprise appearance of touches of orange on some of the trees.
Colourways for the silk twill double face scarf
These are the colourways for the Autumn/Winter 2022 double face silk twill 90cm scarves. I have added in the codes to help those of you who wish to purchase this scarf. As this is a double face design, I have included both sides of each scarf, plus the Hermès modelling photos.
Sous le Charm d’Orphée H903702S 01Sous le Charme d’Orphée H903702S 02Sous le Charm d’Orphée H903702S 03Sous le Charm d’Orphée H903702S 04Sous le Charm d’Orphée H903702S 05Sous le Charm d’Orphée H903702S 06
Here we have the twillies of this design from the Autumn/Winter 2022 season:
When I looked at the new designs emerging for the Autumn/Winter 2024 season, I immediately fell for the cashmere/silk versions of Sous le Charme d’Orphée. As I have already said, this pattern calls to me with my love of Classical Greek art and mythology. I thought that owning the 90cm version would be enough, but I couldn’t stop visiting the Hermès site to look at the colourways.
I eventually bought the Tulipomanie giant triangle in an attempt to distract myself from my yearning, but this gorgeous shawl wouldn’t stop popping up in my brain! In the end, I simply couldn’t resist it. I knew straight away which colours called to me, so I took the plunge…
I decided on the one below. The purchasing code is H244177SF 09, the dimensions are 140×140 cm, and the colours are Gris Chiné / Bleu Électrique.
Sous le Charme d’Orphée cashmere/silk shawl by Alice Shirley for Hermès
Description of the cashmere/silk shawl
The elements of this lovely artistic piece have already been described above. It is also worth reading Alice Shirley’s own words which I have taken as screenshots from Instagram and pasted on this post.
The design has transferred very well onto the larger size (140 cm versus 90cm) and the different fabric (cashmere/silk versus silk twill). The swirling dance of mythological creatures, birds, insects, plants and deities, interspersed with stylised curling fronds and other design elements is really beautiful on the larger size. This colourway has a light grey background and several shades of blue are used for the people, animals and plants: navy blue, very dark blue, sky blue and teal. Some of the dark blue appears to be almost black, or it may actually be black! I cannot quite decide! For example the contrast hem looks black in some lights and dark blue in others.
The shawl will work so well with my wardrobe and accessories as I wear a lot of blues as well as greys. I might look for some suitable earrings to wear with it – Pegasus in silver? Or perhaps a silver tone shawl ring.
Colourways for the cashmere/silk shawl
These are the gorgeous cashmere/silk shawl versions of Sous le Charme d’Orphée , produced for the Autumn/Winter 2024 season, together with their purchasing codes:
In December 2025, for the Spring/Summer 2026 season, Hermès reissued the design as a 45cm gavroche. I will add images of the scarves as they appear online.
This lovely design is also available as an Hermès bangle. Here are a few that I found…
Design story
This has been taken from the Hermès website:
“A tiger, a peacock, a bull, and a python, along with a centaur and winged horse… all the animals of Greek mythology form a joyful ring around five ancient trees: an olive tree, bay tree, pomegranate, apple and Aleppo pine—each one charged with symbolism. Some dance, while others sleep under a starry sky. Orpheus, a disciple of both Dionysus and Apollo, also the protagonist of this scarf, is a master of extravagance, as well as wine, wisdom, music and rhythm. He is the poets’ poet, a shaman and magician who can bewitch the world with his lyre and move with the gods of the underworld.”
Artist’s thoughts
I have added some screenshots of Alice Shirley’s own comments about her design, from her Instagram account:
Details of the silk twill double face scarf
Here are some closeups of my scarf in a slideshow format:
Details of the cashmere/silk shawl
Here are some close-ups of my shawl in a slideshow format:
How I wear the scarf and shawl
The warm, rich colourway of the scarf suits my grey clothing beautifully and I can see that I will mainly wear it during Autumn and Winter. Here are a few photos and collages…
In these photos, I am wearing the scarf with a Lands’ End short sleeved cotton mix top in grey and Swarovski grey crystal earrings.
Outfit of the day 22/07/22 with Hermès’ Sous le Charme d’Orphée
Outfit of the day 21/10/24 with Hermès’ Sous le Charme d’Orphée scarf
I have only recently purchased the cashmere/silk shawl and, as yet, the weather is still too warm for me to wear it properly. Despite this, I did take some modelling photos for last week’s post, so here they are…
Scarf ties
I have tried on the scarf in a variety of ways. At the moment, as it is so new, the silk fabric is very crisp and stiff so doesn’t fall easily into soft folds. Anyway, you can get the general idea of how it looks when worn. This double face scarf really needs to be tied in ways that make the most of the two sides, although it will be nice, occasionally, to highlight one side or the other. The scarf rings are by MaiTai.
I am still very new to Hermès shawls and I am struggling a bit to make some of the shawl knots that I have seen online. Anyway, these are photos which focus on the shawl rather than on my face!
Background information
The best explanation of this scarf comes, naturally, from its designer, Alice Shirley, and I have copied her Instagram posts further up.
And here’s a quick video version of the famous Orpheus and Eurydice story:
If you are interested in finding out more about the wonderful tales of Greek mythology, there are thousands of websites available!
I hope readers have found this exploration of Sous Le Charme d’Orphée both interesting and useful. Once again, if you find any errors or have any additional information that I could add, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Love and best wishes,
Anne
Updated 31/10/24 to add information about the cashmere/silk shawl plus some general stuff!
Updating December 2025 to add the designs and colourways of the 45cm gavroche size.
OK, I know that Fridays are for Outfit of the Week posts, but it has been such hot and debilitating weather that I haven’t had the strength to get dressed properly, never mind wear a scarf! Instead, I am going to reveal my latest purchase…
Here we go with the famous orange box – yes, I have succumbed to my Hermès addiction again! The following reveal photos will take you through the unboxing, finishing with two images from the Hermès website…
Isn’t this wonderful! As you can see, I have chosen a scarf full of images from Ancient Greek art and mythology. It is a double face (printed on both sides) 90cm silk scarf called Sous le Charme d’Orphee and the designer is one of my favourites: Alice Shirley. The Hermès purchase code is H903702S 05 and the colourway is rouge/rose poudre/bleu gris. Once again, the actual scarf colours are much more beautiful and rich than those in the website images.
I will show you a couple of modelling photos now, but will leave the rest until I have finished the full Scarf of the Moment post about the scarf. That will be uploaded to the blog very soon, all being well. That post will have all of the colourways with lots of, I hope, useful and interesting information. And there are twillies of the design too!
Here are some quick modelling photos. It’s a bit gloomy today, but you can see how it looks:
Sous le Charme d’Orphee by Hermes – modelling photos
The photo on the left shows one side of the scarf in an asymmetric knot. On the right is my attempt to showcase both sides. I am not sure what this knot is called, if it even has a name! Now, I will try to take some more photos so that I can finish the Scarf of the Moment post. I am hoping to have it ready by Monday.
Anyway, that’s all for this week. I do hope that you have a great weekend.
Hello Reading friends! Apologies for the lack of Reading Roundup posts for a couple of weeks. Illness and hot weather meant that I couldn’t cope with writing on the blog. I didn’t even read for a few days! Anyway, I have picked up now and, although we have had rather extreme weather for the UK, I have managed to cobble a post together.
As it is a while since the last Reading Roundup post, I have read quite a few books. I have decided not to write about all of them in one post, but will split them up over this week’s and next week’s posts. So, let’s get going…
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
I couldn’t wait to read the sequel to Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor: The Witness for the Dead. Here is the blurb:
“When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had set the bombs that killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his father’s Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin.
Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honestly will not permit him to live quietly. As a Witness for the Dead, he can, sometimes, speak to the recently dead: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. It is his duty use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.
Now Celehar’s skills lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness.”
Once again, this was a very engaging and enjoyable read. This is the review that I posted on Goodreads:
I enjoyed this book a lot, but fans of The Goblin Emperor should be aware that the Emperor himself does not appear. This is a shame because I thought that he was an excellent character in the first book. Instead, the main character this time had a smaller part in The Goblin Emperor. He is a Witness for the Dead, which is an intriguing occupation, but not one that I would like!
As Witness, he carries out what is really detective work on behalf of the dead to find out the manner of death and who may have been responsible. He also has other parts to his work, some of which involve dealing with ghouls. These are as nasty as they sound.
So, the plot follows the Witness over a few weeks as he investigates cases and carries on his other activities, whilst visiting numerous named tea houses, drinking vast amounts of interesting tea (sounds like my life!), and talking to a range of people with very complicated names.
That paragraph doesn’t really do justice to the book! It is well written, intriguing and comes to a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading the sequel.
I have just noticed that the two books which are written in the same world as The Goblin Emperor are listed as books 1 and 2 in a different series: The Cemeteries of Amalo. I am really looking forward to reading book 2, The Grief of Stones.
The Gifts by Liz Hyder
For the next book, I chose something completely different: The Gifts by Liz Hyder. Here is the blurb:
“October 1840. A young woman staggers alone through a forest in Shropshire as a huge pair of impossible wings rip themselves from her shoulders.
Meanwhile, when rumours of a ‘fallen angel’ cause a frenzy across London, a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune finds himself in the grips of a dangerous obsession, one that will place the women he seeks in the most terrible danger . . .
THE GIFTS is the astonishing debut adult novel from the lauded author of BEARMOUTH. A gripping and ambitious book told through five different perspectives and set against the luminous backdrop of nineteenth century London, it explores science, nature and religion, enlightenment, the role of women in society and the dark danger of ambition.”
I read this as I was starting to feel ill, so only wrote a very short response. The book is brilliant and definitely deserves the full five stars:
My third choice, and final book for this week’s post, was the 2021 winner of a Goodreads award. Despite this, it has mixed reviews on the site! It is just as well that there are so many books available to us all.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
The third book was The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. Once again, this was a random choice from our Library Service’s ebook service. This is the blurb:
“Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered; as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss; as a US Marshal and FBI agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.
Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth, together. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they are also building a new future. One neither Hannah nor Bailey could have anticipated.”
This time, if you are interested in this book, I urge you to look at a range of reviews as mine is short and sparse, to say the least!
Former professional school librarian, now retired through chronic illness. Trying to keep cheerful by reading, drinking lots of tea, blogging my new life, and my love of bling!
Femlandia by Christina Dalcher
The Librain
The Librain......retired 
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