
The Flame Bearer (the Last Kingdom Series, Book 10)
Book
The brand new novel in Bernard Cornwell's number one bestselling series on the making of England and...

ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Wolf in the Whale in Books
Aug 18, 2019
Omat lives in 1000AD, a young Inuit Shaman, and neither male nor female (actually, she took on her fathers soul at birth and is raised as a boy - a hunter and a shaman). There is loads of detail about how life was lived by the Inuit at the beginning of the last century(and I loved this detail), and I learnt so much about their spiritual lives, their Gods and the expectations of men and women. When Omat menstruates for the first time, it heralds the end of her life as a man and a shaman. She is married off to another Inuit who is passing through and promises to help her tribe. The thing is, he has two other wives, and he’s just not a nice person. When a group of Vikings wipe out the group of Inuit that she has married in to, Omat survives and realises that they have captured her cousin. She vows to find and free him. On her journey, she rescues three wolfdogs and saves the life of a Viking who reluctantly joins her on her quest.
I was so immersed in this wonderful story. I loved the style it was written in, I loved Omat’s voice. The magic and beliefs were fascinating, and my heart was in my mouth during the hunting scenes (men catching and killing huge Caribou and whales using flint weapons!). And the ending was just right.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this wonderful book to read and review honestly.

Powerful Destiny
Book
It is 850AD and Norse warrior Rolf lands on the shores of East Anglia determined to take revenge on...
Historical Contemporary Romance Time_Travel

Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes
Book
In Pop Goes the Weasel, Albert Jack explores the strange and fascinating histories behind the...

The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986
Jon Sutherland and Diane Canwell
Book
Between 1918 and 1986 the marine branch of the Royal Air Force provided rescue facilities, support...

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons: Book 6
Book
Read the books that inspired the How to Train Your Dragon films! This book will be a hit with...

How to Speak Dragonese
Book
Read the books that inspired the How to Train Your Dragon films! This book will be a hit with...

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Immortal Beloved (Immortal Beloved, #1) in Books
Jul 16, 2020
I think one thing that put me off is this books lack of a proper description on Goodreads as seen above. You really do have no idea what it's going to be about. I have done a bit of searching and found a better more evolved description.
I assumed this would be about vampires with the name but it's not. Just people who live a really long time that call themselves Immortals. Nastasya - Nasty to her friends - comes to realise that she's hanging out with a bad crowd after her best friend of hundreds of years breaks a mans back for no reason. She seeks out a fellow Immortal she met about 50 years ago who offered to take her in and spends time at her sanctuary.
Nasty goes from being a careless party girl to someone who actually doesn't mind working and likes being busy. She begins to have proper friends and people who care about her and who she cares about. She feels like she has a purpose in life again.
I'll admit I liked this more than I thought I would. It dragged me in and I was intrigued by how Nasty and a certain blond Viking type Immortal, Reyn, knew each other. It took about 80% of the book to figure it out and then, though they knew they should hate each other, they were still drawn to each other. I am VERY interested in seeing what happens next with this lot.
I cannot wait to continue this series.

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century
Book
A rollicking true-crime adventure and a thought-provoking exploration of the human drive to possess...
History Crime

ClareR (5879 KP) rated China Room in Books
Aug 13, 2021
He ends up staying on the abandoned family farm: a ramshackle building that needs a lot of work. One room is locked: the China Room. This is where his grandmother, Mehar, would have lived away from the prying eyes of men, working with the wives of the other two brothers to her husband. None of the women know who their husband is - they never see them in daylight. They cook and clean for them, and then have sex with them when their mother-in-law, Mai, allows. Their main function is to bear sons.
It’s a hard way of life, but the women accept their roles. As a 21st century women, living in the West, I found this very difficult to read. It’s an oppressive, claustrophobic life - even down to the veils that they had to wear when out in public which gave the impression of suffocation. I don’t know whether any of the girls actually looked another human in the face, other than each other and their mother-in-law.
But I found this timeline fascinating, and it was a huge contrast to that of Mehar’s grandson. It’s a compelling read - I read it in one sitting, and was a bit sad when I turned the last page, to leave the world of Mehar in particular.
Many thanks to Harvill Secker and Viking for my copy of this book to read and review.