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Morgan Sheppard (926 KP) created a post

Feb 19, 2024  
Slippers and Songs (Brodyr Alarch #1)

“Don’t worry, they can’t see us. Who are you? And why are you wearing my friend’s blanket like a cloak? The old man had silver-grey hair swept back off his face, his moustache and beard matching. His robes were of dark blue, brown, and gold, showing off the golden tones of his skin that looked youthful, belying the colour of his hair, with startling blue eyes that shone with intelligence as he watched Brenin carefully.

“Me? Friend?” Brenin gulped as he tried to still his racing heart and make sense of what was happening.

The old man chuckled softly. “Ah, I forget what it’s like to speak to us, especially when you’re not expecting it, eh? Let me introduce myself. I am Taliesin, also called Taliesin Ben Beirdd, known as a god of inspiration, magical transformation, poetic wisdom, and dancing.” He gestured with his arm to the Great Hall, where everyone had moved onto the next dance.

#Fantasy
#Romance
#WelshGods
#BrodyrAlarch
#BrothersGrimm
#FairytaleRetelling

https://books2read.com/SlippersandSongs
Art from https://oldworldgods.com/brythonics/taliesin-celtic-god
     
Believe Me
Believe Me
J.P. Delaney | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonist in this story is Claire, an extremely talented, but very unlucky actress. Due to the lack of green card and work, she is forced to work as a decoy in catching out cheating spouses. Until one dies. Who is the killer? Is it Claire? Is it a victim’s husband? Or is it someone else altogether? You will have to read it to figure that out! 😛

This book has a very interesting variety of characters, we have elegant and artistic actors; classy, intelligent and very poetic victim’s husband, and like always, insightful police. But the real star in this book was Claire. Her ability to transform into different characters was absolutely stunning, and I really loved that she shared how these transformations made her feel. I think it was a great insight into actor’s psyche.

The narrative always kept me on the edge. There are so many twists and deception, that you never know what to expect next. Sometimes it feels, that the plot is slowing down, but that is just a very creatively incorporated “quiet before the storm” phase. 😉 The narrative was told from a single perspective, but that was necessary to keep the suspense going, and it was fully sufficient for me. This novel discusses quite a variety of topics, such as foster families in the UK; actor’s struggles in the market; kinky sex community; mental institutions and their work methods; art, and when it becomes a danger to society; etc. Due to this wide variety, the plot didn’t have the chance to be boring for me. 🙂

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book, it was very insightful and creative. The ending was absolutely mind-blowing, it left me absolutely baffled. I had to sit down and rethink all the plot, to figure out what was real and what was the illusion. The chapters are pretty short, and once I started, they just flew by. 🙂 I liked that the setting of this book was constantly changing, that created more intrigue to me, as a reader.

So, to conclude, it is a very artistic, poetic and sophisticated psychological thriller, where suspicions and illusion plays an integral part. I absolutely loved the complexity of the characters and unexpected turns and twists, that is why, I strongly recommend to read this book, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂
  
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ClareR (5667 KP) rated Idaho in Books

Apr 29, 2018  
Idaho
Idaho
Emily Ruskovich | 2017 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is such a gentle, beautifully written book, about a harrowing, terrible subject. I had seen other reviews saying how much they'd enjoyed this, however based on the synopsis, I was hesitant at first: a mother kills her six year old daughter with a hatchet. What can be poetic or lyrical about that?
The story jumps back and forth in time as it follows the lives of the mother, father, the daughters and Ann, the 'new' wife. It isn't confusing though, surprisingly. The murder isn't one of those protracted descriptions, it's more of an aside. I don't even think that it comes across as something that was done on purpose.
This book is about the repercussions of this single act and how it affects all those involved, even those who weren't there.
I was captivated. I know that seems like a big thing to say about a book, but once I got going (real life and it's distractions, eh!) the end seemed to come around all too quickly.
I would highly recommend this - but make sure you have a box of Kleenex to hand. It's achingly sad in places.
  
The Beauty of the Wolf
The Beauty of the Wolf
Wray Delaney | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A refreshingly different retelling
I rather liked this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It's set in Elizabethan England, and there are some twists to the original story, which were both surprising and refreshing.
I really liked the language used: it was poetic with a good smattering of the more 'earthy' Elizabethan English (it's what we English are good at I think, isn't it!). I also liked the mix of fairytale, folklore and history. It just felt as though the author had done a bit of historical research with regards to life in London and as part of a theatrical group.
It was a good story that illustrated that what's on the inside is what really counts far more than appearances and that, I suppose, there is someone out there for everyone. Someone who will love you for yourself, regardless of what you look like - in fact, probably precisely because of what you look like.*
*This book actually caused me to check in my cynicism at the first page. And that's no bad thing in literature!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
  
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ClareR (5667 KP) rated Folk in Books

Jan 24, 2018 (Updated Jan 24, 2018)  
Folk
Folk
Zoe Gilbert | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An atmosphere that draws you in (2 more)
Beautiful prose
Interconnected short stories
Fairy tales for grown ups
This collection of short stories is set on the island of Neverness. All of the stories are interconnected and characters reoccur as adults after they were in a story as children. We see how an experience in one story then becomes a cautionary tale or a fairytale in another. I loved the atmosphere in this book: menacing, dreamlike, happy, sad - like a fairytale really.
The language used was really very poetic. If you're attracted to this as a Fantasy reader, the language is weighted more on the 'Literary Fiction' side. I like both, and this didn't even occur to me until I read another review on Goodreads! There are plenty of Fantasy writers out there whose prose can be lyrical!
I also liked how the beginning and the end of the book were connected. Very clever, original writing, this is a short story collection that didn't feel to me as though they were short stories. Well worth a read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gorgeous book!