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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Mercies in Books
Jan 23, 2020 (Updated Jan 23, 2020)
A Chilling Tale of Witch Hunting
Throughout this book, I felt cold and kept having to pile on the blankets. The writing so effectively evoked the feelings of being in a remote Norway setting in the 17th Century - burrrrrr. The writing style took a little getting used to but it really added to the atmosphere in terms of the historical and geographical setting making for an engrossing historical fiction.
The book begins with a freak storm killing most (all the able-bodied) men who were fishing from the small village of Vardo. (This is based on a true story - the storm thing really did happen to a village of that time.) It’s a horrific tragedy and the women left behind have to work out how to survive without their husbands and sons. From the village, the tale is told from the perspective of Maren who loses her father, brother and betrothed.
With news of the circumstances of the village spreading a commissioner is appointed and travels from Scotland to oversee the village (because God only knows what could happen if you left women to sort stuff out themselves!!) It being the 17th Century, travel takes a long time and he stops off to get himself a wife on the way (must-have travel accessory) so the village gets by for many a year without oversight. With the arrival of the commissioner and his wife (Ursa) life again gets turned on its head as it turns out the new Commissioner has a knack for witch-hunting.
Although I found the pace a bit too slow for my liking it had a great feel and really evoked the frustration for the world women lived in at the time. With at times graphic descriptions of the way witch hunts were operated it’s at times a hard read. With the slow build, I did find the ending a bit rushed and unsatisfying but was left with plenty to reflect upon.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The book begins with a freak storm killing most (all the able-bodied) men who were fishing from the small village of Vardo. (This is based on a true story - the storm thing really did happen to a village of that time.) It’s a horrific tragedy and the women left behind have to work out how to survive without their husbands and sons. From the village, the tale is told from the perspective of Maren who loses her father, brother and betrothed.
With news of the circumstances of the village spreading a commissioner is appointed and travels from Scotland to oversee the village (because God only knows what could happen if you left women to sort stuff out themselves!!) It being the 17th Century, travel takes a long time and he stops off to get himself a wife on the way (must-have travel accessory) so the village gets by for many a year without oversight. With the arrival of the commissioner and his wife (Ursa) life again gets turned on its head as it turns out the new Commissioner has a knack for witch-hunting.
Although I found the pace a bit too slow for my liking it had a great feel and really evoked the frustration for the world women lived in at the time. With at times graphic descriptions of the way witch hunts were operated it’s at times a hard read. With the slow build, I did find the ending a bit rushed and unsatisfying but was left with plenty to reflect upon.
Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Merissa (11938 KP) rated Air Witch (Witches of Westwood Academy #2) in Books
May 29, 2023
AIR WITCH is the second book in the Witches of Westwood Academy series and, although it follows on from Water Witch, you could read it as a standalone and still understand the story.
Maia is the poor little rich girl (her words, not mine) with issues at home she won't tell anyone about, plus she is getting grief from one of the Assistants. She wants to get perfect grades so she can stay on at school and not become a magical battery for the male half of her family to leech from. Enoch Zell is the assistant who keeps on giving her B's instead of A's, thus lowering her overall grade.
I loved the magical side of it, although I would have liked to have known more about Maia's talents of her own, not just when she is with Enoch. I liked how she was sent to school to become powerful enough so she could be drained, but not too powerful to break free. I also loved the idea of the perfume and how that worked!
The relationship with Enoch was a bit abrupt. We get told time has passed with nothing but snark between them. Along comes Enid and he is there in the dorm room, which Maia vacates. Then... one meeting on a rooftop and it's all on. It just seemed rather quick to me, with nothing much building up to it.
Saying that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and being back in the Academy. Along with the Meriweathers, I really hope those Professors were looked at too! A great addition to the series and I look forward to Fire Witch. Definitely recommended by me.
** 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!
Jan 21, 2023
Maia is the poor little rich girl (her words, not mine) with issues at home she won't tell anyone about, plus she is getting grief from one of the Assistants. She wants to get perfect grades so she can stay on at school and not become a magical battery for the male half of her family to leech from. Enoch Zell is the assistant who keeps on giving her B's instead of A's, thus lowering her overall grade.
I loved the magical side of it, although I would have liked to have known more about Maia's talents of her own, not just when she is with Enoch. I liked how she was sent to school to become powerful enough so she could be drained, but not too powerful to break free. I also loved the idea of the perfume and how that worked!
The relationship with Enoch was a bit abrupt. We get told time has passed with nothing but snark between them. Along comes Enid and he is there in the dorm room, which Maia vacates. Then... one meeting on a rooftop and it's all on. It just seemed rather quick to me, with nothing much building up to it.
Saying that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and being back in the Academy. Along with the Meriweathers, I really hope those Professors were looked at too! A great addition to the series and I look forward to Fire Witch. Definitely recommended by me.
** 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!
Jan 21, 2023
The New PSYCHOLOGY
10.0
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From the mind of genius to the suicide bombers of today’s news, from science to sex, understanding...
David McK (3369 KP) rated The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #5) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
Firstly, is this the third Narnia book, or is it the fifth?
The answer to that is whether you go by chronological setting (in which case it's the third), or by publication date (it's the fifth).
This is also a story that I didn't remember reading as a child; however, when I was recently re-reading it I was finding plot elements to be a little-bit-more-familiar than I was otherwise expecting: perhaps I did, and had just forgotten.
Unlike [b: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821], this does not follow the Pevensie children, but rather the journey of a young boy named Shasta who discovers he was adopted and is running away to Narnia when his adoptive father is about to sell him into slavery; running away alongside/with the help of the talking horse Bree. Along the way they fall in with a girl named Aravis and her talking horse Hwin, who are also making the same escape.
While I've heard arguments recently that, in this book, CS Lewis is displaying his own racist xenophobia ('fair and white ... accursed but beautiful Barbarians'), personally I think that is reading too much into what is simply intended to be a children's Arabian Nights esque fairytale
The answer to that is whether you go by chronological setting (in which case it's the third), or by publication date (it's the fifth).
This is also a story that I didn't remember reading as a child; however, when I was recently re-reading it I was finding plot elements to be a little-bit-more-familiar than I was otherwise expecting: perhaps I did, and had just forgotten.
Unlike [b: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821], this does not follow the Pevensie children, but rather the journey of a young boy named Shasta who discovers he was adopted and is running away to Narnia when his adoptive father is about to sell him into slavery; running away alongside/with the help of the talking horse Bree. Along the way they fall in with a girl named Aravis and her talking horse Hwin, who are also making the same escape.
While I've heard arguments recently that, in this book, CS Lewis is displaying his own racist xenophobia ('fair and white ... accursed but beautiful Barbarians'), personally I think that is reading too much into what is simply intended to be a children's Arabian Nights esque fairytale
David McK (3369 KP) rated The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
Chronologically the first Narnia book, this was actually the last book written in the series, and goes back to how the magical land of Narnia (going by publication date, first visited in [b: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821]) came to be.
As such, who says that the concept of prequels is a new invention??
Personally, I think I approached this from the wrong perspective: when I hear the word 'magician' mentioned (as in the title of the book) I tend to think either of the likes of Paul Daniels, or (going by literature) of Gandalf the Grey/White.
That, however, is not how the magician is portrayed here: rather than a benevolent, kindly old character, we instead have a selfish, greedy older man, who is responsible for sending the two children protagonists (Digory and Polly) into the magical woods between the worlds, and eventually into the land that will become Narnia.
If I'm honest, it's also not a story that I was overly familiar with: sure, I'd read (as a kid) that more famous previously mentioned entry and (more recently) have even watched a few of the movies, but this one? Not so much.
As such, who says that the concept of prequels is a new invention??
Personally, I think I approached this from the wrong perspective: when I hear the word 'magician' mentioned (as in the title of the book) I tend to think either of the likes of Paul Daniels, or (going by literature) of Gandalf the Grey/White.
That, however, is not how the magician is portrayed here: rather than a benevolent, kindly old character, we instead have a selfish, greedy older man, who is responsible for sending the two children protagonists (Digory and Polly) into the magical woods between the worlds, and eventually into the land that will become Narnia.
If I'm honest, it's also not a story that I was overly familiar with: sure, I'd read (as a kid) that more famous previously mentioned entry and (more recently) have even watched a few of the movies, but this one? Not so much.
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