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Merissa (13840 KP) rated The Executioner in Books

Dec 17, 2018 (Updated May 26, 2023)  
The Executioner
The Executioner
Maggie Nash | 2016 | Contemporary, Erotica
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This short story briefly mentions a local myth and legend about The Executioner, but apart from that, the story is mainly a second-chance romance. On a team-building weekend, something goes wrong and they end up with two dead bodies. Maddie needs to keep it together as Team Leader to assist the police, whilst also figuring out if she will forgive her ex, Nick.

This is a fast-paced story that nevertheless manages to tell the complete story and give you a hint of the mysterious too. Well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that I found, this makes a perfect coffee break book. Recommended.

* 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!
Mar 8, 2016
  
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Morgan Sheppard (1007 KP) created a post

Dec 1, 2025  
December settles over Melthkior as the weight of the crown presses ever closer. Harri stands on the brink of his coronation, determined to unite old faith and new, to heal his kingdom, and to raise a healer’s hall where hope can take root.

Among the honoured guests is Ffion—keen-eyed, steady-hearted, and deeply bound to the old ways. Her arrival for the Heir’s Blessing stirs something Harri never expected… and something she can’t quite name.

But when divine forces disrupt the ceremony, goddesses Arianrhod and Creiddylad entwine their fates with ancient magic, winter dreams, and a curse that may demand more than either is ready to give.

✨ Daffodils and Dreams — a fairytale-rich, myth-woven retelling steeped in romance, Welsh lore, and the fragile bloom of hope.

🌼 Are you ready to dream?

#Fantasy #Romance #WelshGods #BrodyrAlarch4 #BrothersGrimm #FairytaleRetelling https://books2read.com/DaffodilsAndDreams
     
AS
A Short History of Myth
4
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
For such a short book, I developed quite a strong opinion about the text while reading it. I have been curious about Armstrong's writings for a long time, but this is the first attempt I have made at actually reading anything by her. I have always been a fan of ancient mythology, such as Greek and Egyptian, so this seemed like an easy choice.
In seven chapters, Armstrong takes a simplified stroll through history, focusing on the concept of myth and its impact on civilization. All throughout the book, she attempts to support her claim that a person can believe in myths without believing that the myths are actually true, and that the failure of modern society is by not following her specific edict. While this notion strikes me as absurd, I keep reading because, hey, it's a short book.
While I know only bits and pieces about many of the world's religions, I do know both the history and the holy book of my religion, Christianity. It becomes apparent to me early in the text that she is masking her opinions and interpretations of this religion as actual fact, so I can only imagine how she misconstrues other religions.
Her citations were lacking to me, with many claims going unsupported, others only partially supported, such as citation #84 and #30, and some citations simply not even applying to the specified text, such as citation #87. In citation #55, she claims that the Bible contains a Creation myth in which God brings the world into being by killing a sea monster, but one of the four verses she cites make no reference to anything of the sort (Job 3:12), and the other three (Isaiah 27:1, Job 26:13, Psalm 74:14) that do mention a leviathan cannot be interpreted that way when read in context. Isaiah is describing the end of days, while Job merely says that God created the serpent, and the verse in Psalm is within the context of a song about God rescuing the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery -- no relevancy to Creation. She makes the claim that Paul "was not much interested in Jesus's teachings, which he rarely quotes, or in the events of his earthly life." This claim is easily disproved by examining how Paul's words line up with Jesus's in John 5:21 vs. 1 Corinthians 15:22, Matthew 6:25 vs. Philippians 4:6, and many other passages.
While going through the citations, I got the feeling that the author depended on secondary sources for her information without actually studying the original source of her information. The book struck me as highly opinionated, vague, and too general for the topic being addressed. I have no doubt that there are better and more thorough books available on the topic of myth. I do not believe that I will be reading any more of Armstrong's works in the future.