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Straight on Till Morning
Straight on Till Morning
Liz Braswell | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
My first twisted tale of the series and I wasn’t disappointed.
It did take a little while for me to get my head around that Wendy had never been to Never Land in the first place as I kept going back to the original telling where all of the Darling children joined Peter Pan in Never Land for an adventure. Once I had got my head around it not happening like that for the sake of this story, I did thoroughly enjoy it.
Tink is one of my favourite Disney characters, her sassiness and mischievousness has always drawn me to her and I’m glad there was so much more of it in this book.
While I’m fully aware that part of the book was finding Peter Pan, I felt that it took far too long to find him and then the main action in the book was over extremely quickly. The author spent a lot of time describing the landscapes, creatures and plants in the lead up, but when it got to the climax of the story it just seemed to be glossed over completely.
Overall, it was well written and I love anything Disney, so I will definitely be looking at reading more of these Twisted Tales, but I think my favourite alternative Disney series is still the Villains series currently! Hopefully I will come to love this series as much as that in the future.
  
Dine With Me
Dine With Me
Layla Reyne | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
DINE WITH ME is a change of direction from the Romantic Suspense novels I have read by Layla Reyne. And I don't mean in a bad way, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

Miller is a chef, who has just closed down a restaurant, is getting a divorce from his best-friend/wife, oh, and by the way, has throat cancer too. There are many trials and tribulations he goes through, most of which are completely understandable, and you will certainly empathise with him as a character.

As for Clancy, he is a foodie and also a doctor. He has just agreed to work at his dad's plastic surgery clinic, although he has major doubts about that. His calling is for oncology, but he doesn't know how to let his dad down.

You travel with these two as they go from one special place to another, with Miller sharing his love of food. The attraction between these two simmers all the way through, overflowing at points.

With a fantastic supporting cast of characters, I thoroughly enjoyed the story as it panned out. I loved Miller's thought processes, and how Clancy worked.

There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading, and I found the pacing to be perfect for the story.

Although we had an epilogue, I would still love to hear more from this couple! Absolutely recommended by me.
  
His Hideous Heart
His Hideous Heart
Dahlia Adler | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
His Hideous Heart is an anthology collection of 13 re-imagined tales inspired by works of Edgar Allan Poe. The book is split into two sections: The Tales Retold and The Original Tales. What I liked about the layout of this collection is that it’s easy for those of us who’ve read the originals to revisit them before or after reading the retold stories — and it’s also convenient for readers who’ve never been introduced to Poe before. When it comes to retellings in any form, catching on to the fact that a story was inspired by another can be a challenge, especially if the inspiration is rather loose. But that’s another reason why I love the layout of this collection: It’s clear as to which original story inspired a retelling, and I loved reading along, connecting the dots and yet, being surprised by all the new twists and turns.

In a perfect world, I’d love to review each and every retelling in this collection, because many of them were downright gorgeous and grotesque. However, my absolute favorites were:

1. It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson
2. Lygia by Dahlia Adler (inspired by “Ligeia”)
3. Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn
4. The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig

Check out my full review to find out WHY I adored these stories: https://bookishvalhalla.com/his-hideous-heart-by-dahlia-adler-a-poe-etic-review-of-genre-bending-tales/
  
Where Gods Fear to Go
Where Gods Fear to Go
Angus Watson | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Excellent end to a wonderful trilogy
The third and final book in the surprising West of West trilogy continues following the Wootah Viking clan and the former Calnian Owsla alchemically enhanced warriors on their mission to save the world. The secrets behind the unknown threat in the far West of what will become North America is gradually revealed as they approach and meet various clans and tribes on the periphery of the Meadows. The group meet more unusual and dangerous creatures, and some surprising new friends.
There are some shock twists spread throughout the book, a number of unexpected deaths, some long-anticipated ones and some excellent character interaction,
My favourite aspect of these books has been the wonderful narration with such with and humour. The story is not a hostage to the humour but these are books that refuse to take themselves too seriously.
There are some brilliant thrilling set piece sequences in this book and while there was something of a dip around the halfway point it really kept my engagement and enjoyment up throughout.
Given the brutal covers these books really surprised me, being touching, funny (at times just plain daft) and highly original. If ever the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" was to apply to a specific series it is this one. Fans of epic fantasy will love the story, fans of Pratchett and Abercrombie will love the wit and dialogue.