DRIVEN BY DECEIT by Georgia Rose @GeorgiaRoseBook

 4.5 out of 5 stars

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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I'd read the other books in the series so I knew it was coming!

In a Nutshell: Crazy woman moves into a village and causes mayhem

Driven by Deceit is the 5th book in the series A Shade Darker, an everyday story of country life in the fictional village of Melton, which enjoys more than its fair share of drama and colourful characters.

Laura runs a stable, and lives a fairly happy, quiet life, until a certain person from her past appears out of the blue, and causes a stir.  Soon, Laura and her friends are drawn into a the dark, deceptive web of Ms Cecelia Clark.  But why is she there?  What is she up to?

Cecelia is certainly a larger than life character and I enjoyed reading about her machinations - the story is a cracking yarn with never a dull moment!  

I always appreciate the structure of Georgia Rose's books; she knows exactly when to reveal the right amount of backstory to keep you interested.  I also very much liked the horse stuff - I know nothing of the equine world, so found the detail about how the stable was run, etc, most interesting.

I look forward to the next book!

THE LAST QUEEN by Gemma Lawrence @TudorTweep

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On   Goodreads

How I discovered this book: a favourite author

In a Nutshell: Book 1 of the Chronicles of Cleopatra

I was surprised by this new book by Gemma Lawrence, as at first glance it seems like a world away from her other historical fiction, which is, in the main, English, European, Tudor, Plantagenet, Saxon and Norman. 

Then I began to read it and saw that, of course, it's not a world away, at all.  Amongst those who rule kingdoms, the story will always be about manipulation, danger, betrayal, alliances and moral issues.  This book covers the early part of Cleopatra's life about which, as the author states in the notes at the end of the book, very little is known.  The way Ms Lawrence has imagined it was entirely convincing, and I liked reading all the factual information contained in the earlier part of the book, as it concerns a place, time and culture about which I knew nothing at all.

A fascinating start to what I'm sure will be another excellent series.

HANGING ON by Iseult Murphy @AuthorIseult

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I won it online, in the giveaway on Teri Polen's site

In a Nutshell: A Christmas ghost and a lonely girl

A long short story that I would say could be read and enjoyed by anyone from the ages of 10 upwards!

Angelina lives a meagre life with her mother, Thea, who we realise early on is something of a sociopath at best.  Angelina doesn't know who her father is, and is always scared of what her mother might do to her.  Then, a surprise Christmas present proves more of a gift than she could ever have imagined.

The book is extremely well-written and beautifully presented.  I loved the structure, how we see Angelina's awful circumstances, but in between the unravelling of her history, we are provided insights into Thea's background.

This was just one of the hard copy books that Iseult Murphy donated to the giveaway - I look forward to reading the other two!  Meanwhile, this is on Kindle for just 0.99, and I definitely recommend. :)

THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET by Elizabeth Gauffreau

 4.5 out of 5 stars

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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Various book blogs, including Sally Cronin

In a Nutshell: Human drama and cultural changes, fiction based on fact, 1960s

I was attracted to this book because I just loved the title, which I find poetic and rather beautiful.

The story centres around Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont, which did actually exist, as I read about in the author's notes in the back.  Hazel and her husband Paul run the farm in rural Vermont; here, they take in those who might otherwise have had nowhere else to go, aside from possibly a mental institution.  It has existed in several incarnations for some decades, but in 1968 it faces closure.

The book opens with the arrival of the Claire, who is clearly in the throes of a mental breakdown of sorts, which has been taking place for some time.  Hazel takes the uncommunicative mystery woman under her wing.

The first half of the book alternates between the points of view of Hazel and Claire, as we learned what happened to the latter to bring her to this point in her life.  Later, we travel back to 1927 to learn about the heartbreaking story of Hazel's childhood, and how she recovers from disaster after disaster, loss after loss.

The story is so well structured; the author provides background just at the right point, setting up the intrigue and allowing the different elements and timeframes to weave together perfectly.  I was so aware of the difference between Claire and Hazel's lives; Claire knew all about the changing culture of 1967 and 68, whereas in Sheldon Poor Farm life ticked by as it always had done, aside from when the residents were allowed to watch television and see some of the horrors taking place in the world, such as the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

Lovely book.  I definitely recommend.

BEELITZ-HEILSTÄTTEN: Where Ghosts Never Die by Marina Osipova @marosikok #RBRT

 4.5 out of 5 stars

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On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Timeslip terror, Pandora's Box opened...

A most interesting and unusual book.  Obsessed with seeing the place of her birth, a ghostly, derelict German military hospital near Berlin, Marion has no idea what will happen to her once she is inside, and what she will uncover, later.

I loved the timeslip element of this story, with Marion travelling back in time to the First World War, and finding herself working at the hospital as a nurse, tending to the injured men.  One in particular sends shivers of repulsion through her, though she doesn't know why; I liked how Ms Osipova endowed her with vague recollections about her life before, frustrating to her.  She knows something about various people, various elements of her life, but not what those 'somethings' are.  In the case of this patient, we know who he is, but Marion does not.

There are other truths to uncover about her present day life, as age-old documents are unearthed and she seeks the horrifying truth about the handsome young doctor she fell in love with during her dip back into the past, before the mind virus of Nazi Germany infected so many previously sane people.

This book is gripping, masterfully atmospheric, and unpredictable throughout - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

BRIDGE OF DREAMS by Kevin P Keating #RBRT

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Three novellas comprising science/speculative fiction, history, future meanderings, space, science versus religion, with surprising happenings and story developments.

These three novellas are connected, sometimes more than others, but each one can be read separately.

With all of them I adored some parts, becoming totally immersed in the wonderful storytelling.  The writing itself is stunningly good, the prose atmospheric and illustrative of the time.  I particularly liked the 1950s small town America setting of the first tale, which I thought was the best one.  I loved how there were so many stories within the stories, a literary style that has long been a favourite of mine; I like to have my reading mind taken off on meandering tangents.

The stories are all set around the fictional town of Heavenly Hill in Ohio, spanning a time period of 200 years (1857 - 2057), with connections throughout.  Now and again I felt that the 'speculative' aspect could have been reined in a little as a few of the ideas did not seem fully formed.  Then again, perhaps that's the nature of the genre.  

Before the stories begin there is a long introduction and explanation of why the stories were written, which I confess to only skimming; I prefer to read this sort of text at the end of a book.  Like a character's backstory, the 'why' only matters to me once I've got to know what's inside.  It's a hard book to review, without summarising each novella, and sufficient information is given in the blurb.  Maybe the only question that needs answering is 'did I enjoy this?'.  I did.  I looked forward to getting back to the book each time I left it, and my eagerness to turn the pages only waned a little in the last of the three.  I liked the little surprise story at the end, too.

Bridge of Dreams is unusual, immersive and clever.  I recommend!

THE LONG WALK by Slavomir Racwicz

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I read a review of it by RosieAmber.

In a Nutshell: The allegedly true story of Slavomir Rawicz, who escaped from a Siberian labour camp during World War II, and, with comrades, trekked thousands of miles to reach safety.  Fact or fiction?

I'd read half of this book before I looked at it on Goodreads, and was so disappointed to find that there is dispute over the veracity of the story.  Some say that there is no record of Rawicz having been incarcerated at the gulag mentioned, but I wondered about that.  Service in Siberia was in itself a punishment for Russian soldiers who had fallen short of the demonic Communist party's expectations; perhaps successful escapees were scratched from the records for the officers' own safety?

The journey takes the small party from Siberia to Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, the Himalayas and finally to India.  I was so absorbed in the story and found it completely convincing until I saw the comments on Goodreads.  After this, I questioned everything.  I am not sure if this says more about me than the book!  There was a moment, early on, when I wondered if I would have been so engrossed if it had been fiction; I was able to answer that question later.  Nevertheless, it's fascinating and a real page turner.

One part that made me wonder was the section in the Gobi desert when Rawicz and his friends survived for up to 12 days without water.  Two of them died, yes, but 12 days?  On the other hand, the longest known survival without is 18 days (yes, of course I looked it up!).  And some, such as Ernest Shackleton, have talked about the 'Third Man Factor', during which they felt, in circumstances of extreme danger and hardship, that there was another, unseen being walking with them.

If all true, it's the most incredible memoir of escape, resilience, brotherhood and so much more, in which I often felt the detail itself spoke volumes.  If not, it's still a great story.  

COLD IN THE EARTH by Thorne Moore @ThorneMoore #RBRT

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Cold case crime solving, mostly non-police

I'm not a fan of crime fiction, but I AM a fan of Thorne Moore's writing, so I chose this from the review team list without hesitation.  It's not a police procedural, as the main person doing the detective work is Rosanna Quillan, an ex-DC who is persuaded by a friend to do some digging.

Six young girls went missing in the early - mid 1990s, but the perpetrator was only ever charged with two of the murders; the other cases remained open but went cold.  The grieving families must wait another twenty-five years for truths and physical remains to be revealed.

The most interesting character in this book was, for me, Margaret Gittings, mother of the murderer; I'd have loved to have read her whole story from her own point of view!  Then there is 11-year-old Lolly, with whom the story opens. Clever, clever, Thorne Moore - Lolly's first chapter is brief and without resolution, which meant, of course, that I eagerly read the whole book within two days so I could find out what happened to her!  I also liked Malcolm, the retired officer who dealt with the case initially, after it was bungled by a less than diligent colleague.

The story zips along so convincingly, perfectly paced, and I very much liked that, although a fledgling romantic interest for Rosanna was present, Ms Moore did not feel the need to wrap it all up with hearts and flowers.  It's good.  And there's a lovely little twist at the end, even after the remainder of Lolly's story (which was worth waiting for) is revealed.

BACKYARD HERBAL REMEDIES by Krista Edwards #RBRT

 A Beginner's Guide to Identifying, Foraging and Wildcrafting Herbal Remedies Straight from Nature

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: See the subtitle above!

At 141 pages, this is a nicely sized book for the subject, with the information so easy to take in.  I'm always up for reading more about non-Big Pharma remedies for life's minor ills, and this certainly expanded my knowledge.  From one of my go-to online stores for such items, I've already ordered a violet preparation, as there are not many violets growing in winter in NE England (!!) {for skin rash and mucus}, a bag of dried cleavers {arthritis, lymph nodes, phlegm} and mullein {cough, sinuses}.  So thanks, Krista!

Each chapter contains full details of which ailments the herb/plant can treat, along with recipes about how to prepare, the other plants it might be combined with, and any warnings/pitfalls.  I'll definitely be taking this out and about with me in the spring; I may get the paperback, but the small black and white photos on the Kindle version are, whilst not ideal, enough to identify a plant.

I liked how the book was written, too, in a chatty way with a few amusing asides thrown in.  Nice one.  If you're interested in this subject, I recommend!

UNHUMANS by Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Recommendation

In a Nutshell: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and how to crush them)

A highly readable and succinct overview of the worst communist revolutions of the past few centuries, making one realise why far left overlords do their best to blank out history - otherwise, why would anyone welcome in such a regime?  Because the great, just realignment of society never happens.  For the common man, everything gets much, much worse.  You thought you were living in a dictatorship before?  At least you could work for a living, own land, come and go as you pleased....

'Nothing is clearer in history than the adoption by successful rebels of the methods they were accustomed to condemn' (The Lessons of History, Will and Ariel Durant).

Any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party was condemned as right wing extremism; academics and writers were encouraged to speak out, air their viewpoints, after which they were forced into labour camps.   In Stalin's Russia, the peasants worked on the collectivised farms, but died of starvation.  In Mao's China, in the state-owned farms, the workers lived in dormitories.  They owned nothing but weren't very happy.  Anyone who owned cooking utensils was forced to smelt them down, to feed Mao's desire to be a great steel producer. All the farming equipment, too.  This policy resulted in the death of tens of millions.  Peasants resorted to eating sawdust, leather and manure.  Cannibalism was rife, and celebrated.  Churches were completely destroyed.  One would be forgiven for thinking that the aim was to create Hell on Earth.

Castro sold himself as a liberator, to a naïve population who had no idea how much worse their lives would be under his communist regime.  Posobiec and Lisec write about Cambodia, about Marxist Chile, about South African apartheid.  Every time, the results of the new order are the same.  Those at the top become richer, and millions of ordinary people die.

I felt that the 'how to crush them' section was a little idealistic, but it's a good book and I'm glad I read it.

THE KISS OF THE CONCUBINE by Judith Arnopp @JudithArnopp

 4.5 out of 5 stars

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How I discovered this book: One of my favourite authors, so more a matter of choosing which one I felt like reading!

In a Nutshell: The story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

I was embarking on a long, lone train journey, so wanted a good, easy read book by an author I already knew and loved - this fitted the bill perfectly.  I know the story of Anne and Henry VIII like the back of my hand, so it was just a matter of settling in!

This view of Anne and Henry mirrors my own, and made me think, more than any other book I've read about Anne, that the periods of joy seemed so few and far between, even when Henry loved her - there was always doubt, insecurity, worry about what might lie ahead if she couldn't fulfil her promise to produce a male heir.  That her life was completely and utterly dependent on his whims.  Also, that out of the three siblings it was Mary, who had no aspirations or ambition other than to love and be loved, whose life ended the most happily.  

(Interesting: The 'Moost Happi' medal - the true face of Anne Boleyn?)

I liked very much how this is the story simply told; Ms Arnopp has resisted the need to weave in commentary about other aspects of the international or political situation, and, as in her marvellous trilogy about Henry, has written only from Anne's perspective.  It's so clever - for instance, I've always felt so sorry for Jane, George Boleyn's wife, who got such a raw deal out of life.  In this book we see her only from Anne's point of view, Anne who held a far more special place in George's heart than Jane did.  This is what I love about Judith Arnopp's writing - she never, ever falls into the trap of showing her own point of view, and is able to write solely from her character's head, even when she must surely know that the reader is screaming at the character that they've got it wrong.  To think again, to see a bigger picture, or the other person's point of view.

I especially loved the ending, which was beautifully executed, no pun intended.  From Anne's thoughts just before she died, to afterwards...

'I have seen you change from a prince into a monster.  I've witnessed every cruelty, every sin, seen each small betrayal, each moment of you, watched every discarded wife falter and fall.'

THE DISPOSABLE SOMA by Zeb Haradon @ZebHaradon

 4.5 out of 5 stars

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How I discovered this book: One of my favourite authors, so I always get his books as they come out.

In a Nutshell: Bonkers but clever look at US politics in the 22nd century.

I haven't got a clue how to review this book, which is unlike anything else I have ever read, aside from other books by this author, but this is the most off-the-wall yet.  I highlighted a lot of passages that made me laugh or that I thought were a particularly clever observation of human nature, or send-up of the current political climate/culture of the 21st century and where it could eventually head, but when I came to look at them they didn't feel like anything that might help me with a review.  This made me think that I highlighted them for want of anyone to say 'ha ha, this is funny (or pertinent, or whatever)' to.

It's around 2163, and it seems that society has deteriorated and become way more bizarre by today's standards, at the same time as being perfectly believable.  It centres around election time - here is an extract from the blurb: 

'...an upstart party called the Empathy Party blames all the world's ills on sociopaths. An assassination leaves the Empathy Party's candidacy wide open and a clown car of candidates vies for the nomination. One, hotel heir and failed comedian Jim Liu, stands out from the others when he chooses a genetically modified, super-intelligent, opium-addicted parrot as his running mate.'

I'll admit that the idea of a genetically modified parrot as a running mate didn't quite work for me at first, even when considering its origin, i.e., Zeb Haradon's head, but it started to gel as the story continued, especially when coming from the viewpoint of the parrots, who see themselves as a marginalised sector of society, and are looking to Jim to help them fight for their rights.  Betty is a hilarious character.  

'It's quite a gamble.  But come to think of it, Dan Quayle was vice president, so I guess Betty Parrot isn't such a stretch.'

'You really trust her with a wing on the button?'

One of my favourite elements of this book is the concept of the last uncontacted people on earth, the primitive Centolese from Centos Island, who are unaware that their world has been turned into a reality show.

'Initially, it was an entertainment event financed by The Centolese Network, but as more and more Americans emulate the Centolese way of life and have come to identify as Centolese-Americans...'  Row of laughing face emojis here!  The historic timeline of Centos Island is extremely funny and clever.

I also like the idea of bubble technology - think of Dr Who's Tardis, much bigger on the inside than the outside.  Those financing Jim Liu's campaign are the innovators of the bubbles, which will revolutionise farming, housing, land tax and much more.  And I liked the faux 'spirituality' of those getting off their faces at ayahuasca ceremonies; in this hedonistic tomorrow where religious doctrine and morality as we know them have ceased to exist, anything goes.  Though I daresay the inner workings of political campaigns are no different now, give or take the odd parrot and 172-year-old candidate.

The ending was perfect.  I'll just hand this back to Kindle Unlimited, and download the next, in its place, to read before too long :)

THE BOY FROM BLOCK 66 by Limor Regev

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell: account of Moshe Kessler, a Hungarian Jew, in the Nazi death camps and afterwards ; it is written in the first person, as told to the author.

While reading this I wondered why so many of us choose to read survivor accounts of the Holocaust.  I think I do so because the 'how' fascinates me so much - how ordinary people would turn a blind eye to, or even join in with, the ill treatment of another group.  How a few psychopaths could persuade thousands of soldiers to commit such atrocities.  I've recently read most of a book on this subject, Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning, if you're interested in this aspect.  Do all people have this potential evil within, a fire waiting to be lit?  I don't believe so, but...

Moshe Kessler had an idyllic childhood within his large, extended family.  Many, many have asked, over the years, why the Jews allowed their persecution to take place, seemingly without protest.  Moshe answers this question in detail; here is an excerpt I marked:

'You must understand that our future in those days was completely uncertain, for better or worse.  Our daily routine had gradually changed in the past two years, with each new directive or restriction by the Hungarian regime.  We thought this was just another period of temporary worsening of conditions, and we would soon return to our homes.  Information about what to expect next was concealed in a way that dispelled our suspicions.'

Moshe was only 13 when he and his family were taken to Auschwitz.  He escaped the gas chamber on the advice of a veteran prisoner, who told him to join the 'other queue' and say he was 16.  This nameless prisoner was one of many who saved his life over the terrible fifteen months he survived there; another was Antonin Kalina, a true angel who was active in Buchenwald camp underground (Moshe was driven on a 'death march' from one camp to another), who established Block 66 for the children, and initiated many procedures to keep them alive.

The author (a friend of the family in later years), writing as Moshe, describes much about the emotional repercussions, and the slow easing back into 'normal' life after the Americans liberated Buchenwald; many years passed before he found any sort of contentment.  

My only complaint about the book is the bad editing; there are occasional grammar errors, and duplication of facts, as though the process was a bit on the sketchy side.  This was only mildly irritating; it's definitely worth reading.

BROKEN by Anna Legat @LegatWriter

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read another book by this author, The End of the Road, and loved it, so I wanted to read more.   

In a Nutshell: psychological thriller, murder mystery and ... paranormal

This is the strangest book, but in a really good way!  You know when people write 'kept me guessing until the very end' in reviews?  This one absolutely did - even at past 90% I had no clue how it was likely to pan out, or how the points of view would come together.

There's a serial killer, yes, and we don't know the identity, but this turned out to be almost secondary to the stories of Camilla, a middle-aged, middle class housewife, and Joseph, a motorbike and narrow boat loving priest.  The way their stories mesh together is so clever ... and unexpected.  Everything about this book is unexpected, all the way through.  The paranormal element came as the biggest surprise, though to say any more would be to give spoilers.  It creeps up, gradually; I'm not usually into that genre but this seemed curiously believable.  Suddenly I found I was reading a different book from the one I started.

The line 'the real monsters are disguised as humans' becomes increasingly relevant, as the true psychopath is revealed...

Anna Legat's writing is a treat to read.  Never jarring, intelligent, highly readable, the characters jumping off the page.  Definitely recommend.

FIFTEEN FIRST TIMES by D G Kaye @pokercubster

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter

In a Nutshell: Memoir; the author looks back at early life experiences, in the form of short essays.

I so enjoyed reading these snapshots of D. G. Kaye's life, growing up in the 1960s, 70s and 80s - partly because I discovered that she is just two months older than me, so it's a world I know about ... mostly!*

I love the conversational aspect of the essays; the way Kaye writes is so readable, so down-to earth that it's like she's talking just to you, from the first kiss to the first love, to the first car and apartment, and, more seriously, the first bereavement of someone her own age.  This one was so heartrending that I found myself missing Alba too, a woman I know only from this one short story.

I think the piece that made me smile and nod the most was the 'first diet' - years of yo-yo dieting and obsession with what is put in one's mouth, the bane of many a young (and not so young) woman's life.  The daft things you try to lose weight.  

It's definitely a generational thing; I remember my mother (born in the 1920s) telling me that when she was a young woman, you were just the shape you were, and you didn't give it a great deal of thought.  In the late 1940s and 1950s most people were slim anyway, before advertising got serious and the world was filled with junk food - and when self-control was considered virtuous.  I grew up with the idea that to eat too much is greedy, as Debby must also have done.  Unlike these days, when young women are encouraged to indulge in 'guilty pleasures', with celebrity role models flaunting excess weight.

Back to the book!  It's great, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone, from those who can relate to Debby's experiences and younger women who want to know what life was like in mum and/grandma's day!  It's not that long; you could probably read it in a couple of afternoons.  Ideal for a nice bit of holiday reading, too :)

*

*Although I found it all so relatable, there are many cultural differences that I thought about while I was reading.  Who'd have thought that growing up in a middle class home in the English East Midlands could be so different from a middle class home in Toronto?  

For instance ... the beginning of the dreaded 'monthlies'.  I knew all about it because my mother sat me down with a book called 'Where do babies come from?' when I was nine, and I think we were taught about it at school.  My first kiss was later, my first adult relationship earlier.

My generation in England tended to move out of home as soon as we were able to support ourselves, renting tatty furnished flats that we found in newspaper adverts, that inevitably had no heating or a dodgy old electric fire.  I left in 1978 and shared a house with a friend.  It cost £11 per week; I earned £31.  It was rare that anyone my age had a car - learning to drive at 17 (16 in Toronto) was only for the school goody-goodies!

Ah, the 1970s, when everyone smoked ... I didn't grow up in a smoking household, but started tentatively when I was 14 and properly when I was 16.  It was just something you did, if you were one of the non-straights ('straight' meaning something entirely different back then!).  It went with drinking and rock music and going to see bands - almost everyone I hung around with smoked.  And we all drank underage too, and pubs never asked for any sort of ID.

SILO by Hugh Howey

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Started watching Apple TV series, sought out the book.

In a Nutshell: 'In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo.

Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies.'

As is usual, the actual story differs a fair bit from what I've seen of the TV series so far - only 3 episodes, though, so I'm reserving judgement.  This first installment was originally called 'Wool', and I still don't know why, unless it refers to the stuff that gets pulled over one's eyes.

The book opens with characters who are not seen again once their stories have been dispensed with, leaving a slowly unfurling chaos in their wake - probably, according to 'the rules' of novel writing, a total no-no, but it really worked for this.  The protagonist for the rest of the novel is engineer Juliette Nichols, who works in the 'deep down', keeping the machines running.  As often happens with men writing female main characters, she's a man in all but name, but that didn't matter too much, because I liked her well enough so could suspend any disbelief; also, her backstory provides reasons for her somewhat hamstrung emotions.  The most vivid characters for me were Walk, an elderly technician, Lukas, who studies the stars., and Jahns, the mayor when the story opens.

The theme of the story, throughout, is the growing sense that the inhabitants of the silo are being lied to about why they are there, what happened to humanity before the silos existed and what's really outside, and that's just for starters.  A few who know more are keen to make sure that truths remain hidden; investigating too deeply can be dangerous.

It's good.  I remained interested throughout and loved the concept of one's whole life being governed by one's place on that never-ending staircase from top to bottom.  Look forward to seeing what happens next.

I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET - Part 2 by J P Reedman @stonehenge2500 #TuesdayBookBlog

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Had read its prequel HERE, so sought it out.

In a Nutshell: The life of Richard III - his teenage years.

This is a longer book than the first, and covers the period of Richard of Gloucester's life from the ages 14 - 18, during which time his elder brother Edward IV was on the throne, though not without constant threat from the Earl of Warwick and the Lancastrians.

There is so much description of England itself, in this book; its common people, beliefs, travel, food, the customs, all of which really bring the 15th Century to life, and I loved that aspect of it.  Richard himself is shown as such a loyal, modest and thoughtful young man, so much so that it is hard to picture how he gained such an evil reputation later in history.  I found the way that Elizabeth Woodville and her family are portrayed most interesting; it made me wonder how Edward might have fared had he made a political marriage rather than being swept along by love.

At times I felt that the book was a little padded out, as though the author was determined to get every piece of research into the book; I think it would have been even more enjoyable if it was chopped down a little, but I did love it, and look forward to reading the next one.

HUSH, DELILAH by Angie Gallion #RBRT @AngieGallion

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Suspenseful domestic violence-themed family drama

Wife and mother Delilah wonders if she will ever be brave enough to escape years of domestic violence - and whether she can discover the truth about the crimes she fears her husband may have committed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it's so well-written and a real page-turner.  The portrayal of Chase Reddick's character is so typical of the misogynist violent male, and anyone who has ever been in a relationship with this sort of man (or those with addiction problems) will be so familiar with that 'waiting for the other shoe to drop' situation that Delilah finds herself in, every minute of every day.  The side-plot is interesting and convincing, and added another dimension to the story.

As with any tale about a person stuck in similar circumstances, Delilah's tale will make you want to scream at her to be brave, to take friend Carmen's offer of a way out.  The intricate way in which the author details her constant strategies to hide what she's doing from Chase is artful indeed, and also the confusion she feels when she discovers that Chase is sleeping with another woman.  She knows she shouldn't care, but an atom of jealousy creeps in, and meetings with the woman concerned only increase her feeling of inadequacy.

The reasons why the glamorous Chase chose Delilah are all totally feasible - aside from the immediate, practical reason, men like him often make a point, either consciously or subconsciously, of choosing women who will accept the treatment they are likely to dish out.  Why Delilah wanted Chase is also clear - the infatuation, obsession, lack of self-esteem.  The only question for me is why she had such rock bottom self-esteem in the first place - that she stayed with a man who made it clear to her that he didn't find her attractive (and worse).  Just a few lines to say something about why she was such a doormat would have rounded her character out nicely; I kept wondering, all through, if we were going to find out, maybe in flashbacks, about the relationship she had with Chase when she was younger.

That said, this is an extremely good book and one I most definitely recommend!  Only downside is that it's priced at £8, which may put some ebook buyers off.

THE NEW ABNORMAL by Aaron Kheriaty #TuesdayBookBlog

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: recommendation

In a Nutshell: 'Dr. Kheriaty documents how technocrats abused power they never should have been granted and terrified people into surrendering their freedoms. The results of this malfeasance are ongoing. Fortunately, Kheriaty provides indispensable guidance for stopping an emerging biomedical security state from doing even more damage in the future.'

Aaron Kheriaty was a practitioner in California when he first began to suspect that something didn't quite ring true about the version of the pandemic that was being broadcast to the population.  The work is highly detailed, and every paper or source to which he refers is listed in the last 30% of the book.  He uncovers the way in which certain language was used to ramp up the fear, how citizens were encouraged to inform on each other for so-called misdemeanours, how those who wished to exercise their right to informed consent before considering taking the injections were demonised, and, most worrying of all, how anyone in the medical profession who was brave enough to say 'something isn't right' paid dearly for doing so.

He also uncovers the true extent and severity of the virus itself, the efficacy of the injections, how the extent of vaccine injury is being kept under wraps, including the truth about ADE (antibody dependent enhancement) that I read so much about when the shots were first rolled out.  He gives information about who does most of the funding for the WHO (no surprises there) and how the tools used to promote the new religion of 'Scientism' are the same deployed by totalitarian systems.  Kheriaty talks about what's to come and how it can be resisted.  The second half of the book goes too much into philosophy generally, I thought, and was a tad idealistic, but that was the only aspect I was not so sure about.

This is worth buying for the epilogue alone - a story written in the second person about 'you' in the year 2030 - a high level Microsoft employee who loves his biometric sensors that give his 'Social Responsibility Score' to anyone who needs to know it, that monitor his mood, physical exertion, every movement, suggest medication, dietary improvements, etc etc.  At first life seems all fine and dandy, but gradually the cracks start to show ... it's not without humour and is a real gem!

I highlighted loads of passages and could have written pages about this book, but I decided a basic overview would probably be more effective.  If you have any interested in the subjects outlined, I highly recommend this.

THE DEVIL HIMSELF by Steven Duggan

 4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell: Man unjustly accused of murder seeks to clear his name.  Set in Ireland.

Jack Finch was accused of a murder he didn't commit, and sent to prison for eight years after taking a plea deal.  While he's away, his wife divorces him and marries his elder brother.  Jack knows that going back to the small town where the murder took place is not the wisest move, but he cares more about clearing his name than about the reception he will have to endure.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, loved the writing style, and I liked Jack very much, which always helps.  There is much description about life in prison, a stark portrayal of the desperation and fear that an inmate can go through, the total despair.  

I'd seen in reviews that the ending is particularly good, and I echo this, wholeheartedly - I thought I'd guessed the twist early on, but I was so, so wrong - especially as it's a double twist.  It's (they're) so well done; a round of applause well earned.  Made me want to flick back to see if I could spot any clues.  I liked how the second one hinted at what happened without actually giving all the details; this worked so well.  

I've taken a half star off because of one issue - the proofreading.  I spotted the odd wrong word and incorrect punctuation mark, but mostly it was the excessive use of exclamation marks in dialogue that kept making me wince; the vast majority were not needed and should have been removed.  Aside from that, though, it was great.  Excellent plot, a great main character, and the sort of writing style that keeps the pages turning.