The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

“The boy turned back to the lady. She clasped him close. There was a burst of darkness, a storm of black wings flapping. It exploded up around them, screaming towards the sky. Then they were gone...”

This is Stefan Bachmann's debut novel and in most parts it is an enjoyable read. It follows the story of Bartholomew Kettle, a peculiar living in Old Bath. A Peculiar is half human and half faery and despised by all so Bartholomew is always in hiding along with his sister Hettie. He craves a friend and when he tries to summon a faery servant he sees a strange lady taking away the boy from across the road and wonders where he has gone and if he could go too.

For the most part I enjoyed this book but felt like it took far too long to get going. It wasn't until the end of the book that I realised that there would be a sequel and I think that it distracted from the actual novel as it felt a bit like the warm up for the main event. Don't get me wrong the book is well written and easy to read and I really like the character Mr Jelliby who turns into an unlikely hero but it felt like there was something missing. Maybe this is a ploy to get you to read the next one as it does end on a cliffhanger!

If you are looking for a book that you know will have to continue in maybe one or two more books then this is for you. I have to confess that I may well pick up the next one just to see what happens.

Many thanks to Emma for the loan of the book - http://www.bookangelbooktopia.com/

Henry VIII's Wives - History in an hour

 

 

 

 

As I seem to have a bit of a thing about Henry VIII it seemed like this 99p Kindle book would be a great quick read and I was right.  It easily goes through each wife in turn saying when they met Henry and what happened to them once they married him. It also included photos of the characters we met along the way.

 

This is a perfect book for anybody studying the Tudors and can't remember the song, "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived!"   It is also a good starting block for those who are a little put of by historical novels as this is a read that only takes an hour but will wet the appetite for more.

 

A good read and only 99p - bargain!

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

"When Harold Fry leaves home one morning to post a letter, with his wife hovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other.  He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone.  All he knows is that he must keep on walking.  To save someone else's life."

I must have a thing about older men at the moment as the last two books I have read are all about older men who go off on an adventure!  Rachel Joyce really captures the imagination and as soon as I started this book I could not put it down.  Harold Fry is an unlikely hero as he is just a quiet unassuming man who is newly retired and trying to find things to do with his day.  As soon as he receives a letter from Queenie, an old friend who is dying of cancer, he writes back and intends to take it to the nearest letterbox but he carries on walking to the next one and then the one after that until soon he is out of his village and heading North.  The journey he then embarks on is not just a physical one but also mental as the more he walks the more his memories come back to haunt him.
The relationship between Harold and his wife Maureen is very complicated for reasons that become clear as the book evolves.  She doesn't understand why he is walking and he finds it difficult to explain it to her.  I grew very fond of Maureen as the book develops although at the start I couldn't warm to her as she seemed such a cold character and one I couldn't see with Harold but their story soon becomes clear and I found her funny and heart warming.
As for Harold he is just such a character that you instantly fall for him.  You will him to carry on walking even when he finds it so tough all he wants to do is go home.  Some of the people he meets along the way are kind to him but I have to say that it all got a bit much for me when the Pilgrims started walking with him and took over what was, for Harold a walk of need and not so much a desire to be famous.  A nod to our society maybe?
All I can say is rush out and get this book and enjoy your walk with Harold, enjoy the stunning countryside that England has to offer and most of all enjoy a stonking good read.