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Arnold Ethon and the Lions of Tsavo ( Spirit Beasts 1)
By A.P. Beswick
⭐⭐⭐⭐


With Arnold approaching his 15th birthday, he is becoming increasingly worried that he is not going to have a spirit beast of his own. After a chance encounter gives Arnold and his best friend Otto a chance to join the illustrious Chichen, they jump at the opportunity given to them. The two of them have to learn to hone their connection to the spirit world and they begin intense training to unlock their potential.


When a terrifying attacker appears, distinguishable only by the horrific scars on his face and bent on revenge against the Chichen. Arnold finds not only his life is on the line but those he holds dearest.


The question is, how far will Arnold go to release the beast.


I don’t know what I expected when I started it but by the end I was totally enthralled and really enjoyed it. I love the idea of spirit animals and it being set in England so unique. A nice break from the full adult reads I’ve had lately.
  
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories #1)
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories #1)
Bernard Cornwell | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
225 of 230
Book
The Last Kingdom ( book 1)
By Bernard Cornwell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Kingdom is set in the England of the ninth and tenth centuries. These were the years when the Danish Vikings had invaded and occupied three of England's four kingdoms, and when King Alfred, his son and grandson fought back and won the freedom of the country again. The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed English nobleman. Captured as a child and raised by the Danes, he now finds his allegiances divided. But the one thing he knows is that he wants to recover his father's land, the fort by the wild northern sea that we now know as Bamburgh.

Although this took me a while I absolutely loved it. I didn’t realise till I started reading that it was the inspiration for the tv show. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction and this was the perfect book. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. I’m extremely grateful for the translation at the front of the book I would never have known those towns and cities in the old language.
  
The Reckoning (Matthew Hawkwood #6)
The Reckoning (Matthew Hawkwood #6)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I first picked up and read the first couple of entries in James McGee's Matthew Hawkwood series (that would be Ratcatcher and Resurrectionist) round about 2010 or thereabouts when I came across them in a local branch of The Works.

I enjoyed those two enough to later pick up the next three is the series (Rapscallion, Rebellion and The Blooding). Unfortunately, however, I found the series to be drifting further and further from what it originally was, finding the last of those in particular to be quite hard to get through.

So much so, in fact, that I almost completely forgot about the series as a whole, and wasn't even aware of the fact when the latest one (this) was released in 2017.

Roll forward another five years or so, and I'm not sure how, but I came across this one somewhere on Kindle. Thoguht I would give it another chance.

I'm glad to say that this is back to what I remember the earlier book sin the series being like; back set in England, back with Matthew Hawkwood being a Bow Street Runner and back to, well, being an enjoyable read rather than a slog!

Faith restored ...
  
THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: CRIMES OF PASSION, OBSESSION & REVENGE is an eclectic mix of stories from all over the world, set in different times, from Victorian England to Japan, to modern-day America.

If you like True Crime then I am sure you will find something to keep your interest. It is clear from the start that a lot of research has gone into these stories, some of which have personal memories from the author. However, some of the stories felt disjointed in the way they were presented, going off on tangents that didn't seem relevant to the story at that point.

Each story features the bare bones of the story; being a collection, there simply isn't room for much more. However, it gives you the story, some build-up, and some information after the crime.

On the whole, this was an enjoyable read by a new-to-me author.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 13, 2021