Smashbomb

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch is the "#7.5" book in his Rivers of London series. I read the first book, Rivers of London for book club last year and has marked the 2nd book, Moon over Soho, to be read on Goodreads. When the opportunity arose to read this novella, I jumped at the chance. To give a fair review, I read books 2 - 7, not including the novellas, before reading this.

Peter Grant is mentioned in the novella but his German equivalent, Tobias Winter, leads this investigation set in Trier, Germany's oldest city.

While Aaronovitch's writing style and humor show through, I missed the characters I have been fortunate enough to meet in the books set in London. The backdrop of London has become as important as any of the characters.

Setting the novella in Germany was interesting because it allowed us to see the difference between how the German's investigate and the Folly. It brought the magical world into a different point of view as when FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds was around. I would have enjoyed this more if Peter Grant had helped with Tobias Winter's investigation.

I already marked book 8, False Value, to be read.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 7/15/19.

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Merissa (12066 KP) rated Safe Shores (Semper Fidelis) in Books

Oct 4, 2023

Safe Shores (Semper Fidelis)

Morticia Knight | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

SAFE SHORES is a hot novella featuring Kirk and Shane. They have been together for three years, and both of them feel insecure about moving their relationship to the next stage. The next time Shane has shore leave, both of them blurt it out, but have no time to enjoy the moment as Shane is called out on a rescue, which also happens to involve Kirk's son, Joel.

This novella is very fast-paced. We learn of Kirk and Shane's past through inner musings, which seemed a little out of place considering how action-packed the rest of it was. I loved the sea rescue! I thought that was incredibly well-written, with enough detail to see what was happening, without being overloaded.

Overall, it was a quick and spicy novella. I would have liked more from these two though, even if we do find out what their future plans are.

** 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; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 4, 2023

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Merissa (12066 KP) rated Faith and Moonlight (Faith and Moonlight #1) in Books

May 20, 2023

Faith and Moonlight (Faith and Moonlight #1)

Joe King, Mark Gelineau | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This is a young adult fantasy novella that starts with Roan and Kay on their way from an orphanage fire. They have little left in the world apart from each other but are determined to make their path at the College. Kay and Roan are both interesting characters, with strengths and weaknesses of their own. They balance each other out nicely, but it may be that their lives will take different paths.

This was a quick read that was thoroughly enjoyable, a fantasy-filled ride full of characters and hardships. Well written and with no editing or grammatical errors that I found, the story flowed well and was evenly paced throughout.

This is the first novella by these authors that I have read, and although this can be read as a standalone, I understand that it is best if you have some prior knowledge of the "Echo of the Ascended" series. I don't have such knowledge, but I don't feel that this negatively impacted my enjoyment of this novella either. Definitely recommended.

* I received this book from the authors in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 21, 2016

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John Irving recommended Death in Venice in Books (curated)

Death in Venice

Thomas Mann | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Favorite

"In Thomas Mann's novella Death in Venice, a great writer is as endangered by his repressed passions as he is by the cholera plague. I was a young fiction writer who wanted to be an artist at what I did. Why wouldn't I be interested, as Mann was, in the nature of the artist?"

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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth in Books

Oct 7, 2020

4.5/5 stars! There's nothing more satisfying than a really well written short story, and you'll find lots of these in this collection, which actually has two that are more novella length. Take a look at my #bookreview of this on my blog now. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/02/14/ironic-wit-of-william/

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The Deal of a Lifetime

Fredrik Backman

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown delivers an insightful and...

Peter Pan (1911)

J.M. Barrie and Anne Hiebert Alton

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

For twenty-six years after his first mention of the character, J.M. Barrie worked on the story of...

AT (1676 KP) rated Butterfly in Frost in Books

Oct 7, 2019

Butterfly in Frost

Sylvia Day | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance

6.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

I borrowed this book from the library, assuming it would be another light, smut-laced Sylvia Day read. A mindless, fun, beach read. However, for a fairly short novella, Ms. Day certainly packed it with deep emotion and sincerity, which took me by surprise. Parts of the story were funny or exciting, while other parts were gut-wrenching. I was pleasantly surprised by Butterfly in Frost. The story was quite complex, emotionally, in a very short number of pages. It could have stood to be longer, and felt like it probably skipped over a lot of details in a couple of spots. However, for a novella, this really grabbed my emotional heartstrings in a stronger way than I expected it to.