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ClareR (6241 KP) rated The Hemlock Cure in Books
Apr 6, 2023
The Hemlock Cure was a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary people during the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) epidemic of 1665-1666. The plague is very much in the background of this story for most of it, though.
The real evil isn’t a disease, it’s being shut in with people who clearly do not have good intentions.
The village of Eyam is well known for the decision to shut itself off from the outside world when its inhabitants started to become ill and die. They understood that the only way to halt the spread of the disease was to isolate themselves - a selfless act.
This novel looks at some of the families and their relationships inside and outside of their family units. The local apothecary and his daughter Mae, are one such family. Mae is desperate to be her fathers apprentice, but this isn’t a time in history where it’s safe for a woman to be working with herbs. So Mae studies with the midwife and a local wise woman (who are both also skating on thin ice, truth be told).
The plague wasn’t a constant in London it appears, and we travel there with one of the main characters. The contrast between the country village and London was quite something to read. I could almost smell the difference off the page!!
I enjoyed the pacing of this book: in Eyam the time crawls, whilst in London everything is all hustle and bustle.
The slow reveal of the terrible secrets in Mae’s family are not so much shocking as terrifying. Wulfric, Mae’s father, is not a well man. It seems to be a race against time for Mae.
I would most definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans - and if you like a mystery, you may well like this as well.
The real evil isn’t a disease, it’s being shut in with people who clearly do not have good intentions.
The village of Eyam is well known for the decision to shut itself off from the outside world when its inhabitants started to become ill and die. They understood that the only way to halt the spread of the disease was to isolate themselves - a selfless act.
This novel looks at some of the families and their relationships inside and outside of their family units. The local apothecary and his daughter Mae, are one such family. Mae is desperate to be her fathers apprentice, but this isn’t a time in history where it’s safe for a woman to be working with herbs. So Mae studies with the midwife and a local wise woman (who are both also skating on thin ice, truth be told).
The plague wasn’t a constant in London it appears, and we travel there with one of the main characters. The contrast between the country village and London was quite something to read. I could almost smell the difference off the page!!
I enjoyed the pacing of this book: in Eyam the time crawls, whilst in London everything is all hustle and bustle.
The slow reveal of the terrible secrets in Mae’s family are not so much shocking as terrifying. Wulfric, Mae’s father, is not a well man. It seems to be a race against time for Mae.
I would most definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans - and if you like a mystery, you may well like this as well.
Shake Loose the Border (Thunder On The Moor #3)
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Lindsay (1812 KP) rated The Spectacular World of Waldorf: Mr. Waldorf Travels to the Wild State of Alaska in Books
Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)
This is a great book for young readers. This is good for parents to help struggling readers with this book. It teaches about the places around the USA and the World. This one get you to explore Alaska and it wild life. If your family or children are into animals, this would be a good book for them.
The pictures are done wonderfully. The author will get readers engaged with this set of book. I got the 4 books that's are out for this series. Your children will learn about the state of Alaska. The author does wonderful giving you different things in this book. The way the author has Mr. Waldorf travel in this book makes it quite run and enjoyable.
This is good for adventurous children. The pup in the book whose name is Mr. Waldorf seem to lose this reading glasses. Your children will laugh and learn at the same time. To me the age is good for children as young as age 3 to beginner readers.
The pictures are done wonderfully. The author will get readers engaged with this set of book. I got the 4 books that's are out for this series. Your children will learn about the state of Alaska. The author does wonderful giving you different things in this book. The way the author has Mr. Waldorf travel in this book makes it quite run and enjoyable.
This is good for adventurous children. The pup in the book whose name is Mr. Waldorf seem to lose this reading glasses. Your children will laugh and learn at the same time. To me the age is good for children as young as age 3 to beginner readers.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Behemoth (Leviathan, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
As the world plunges into The Great War, the Leviathan travels to the Ottoman Empire in hopes of keeping the peace with the Emperor. Follow Deryn and Alek as they travel around the world. These books abound with secret missions, new beasts and machines, hidden lies and truths that are (FINALLY) revealed and many historical figures encountered. As you may have guessed, I have a problem with binge reading. When I find a series that I am IN LOVE with, I won't stop until I am finished! However, most of the time I need to wait six months to a year before the next installment. Thankfully that was not the case with Mr. Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan Trilogy. My favorite beastie by far is the perspicacious loris. I want one!!! It was so much fun reading this alternate history of WWI. Learning a few interesting details about the war that did in fact happen along the way. Although Mr. Westerfeld has made some definite changes to history in this book, it was very entertaining and engrossing. I love the whole idea behind this series.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Redshirts in Books
Dec 23, 2018
Some books are surreal suspensions of disbelief. Some books just make you go "WHAT the FUCK" every couple of chapters when a new twist is revealed, and this is one of the latter. Just - what the FUCK.
Imagine your average sci-fi space opera TV show on cable television with hand-wavey science and half-assed special effects - take those characters and make them realize they're IN A TV SHOW. Let them realize all of their woes are due to shitty writing, and see what they do with that knowledge. THAT is this book, and it is crazy and hilarious and weird and eye-roll-inducing.
Between the time travel, the Box that does magic science behind the scenes so things work out on-screen, the Narrative taking control and making people say and do things they wouldn't otherwise do - this book is wacky and just full of what-the-fuckery. It's fun, though, and if you can keep yourself from groaning out loud every few pages, it's a pretty good read.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Imagine your average sci-fi space opera TV show on cable television with hand-wavey science and half-assed special effects - take those characters and make them realize they're IN A TV SHOW. Let them realize all of their woes are due to shitty writing, and see what they do with that knowledge. THAT is this book, and it is crazy and hilarious and weird and eye-roll-inducing.
Between the time travel, the Box that does magic science behind the scenes so things work out on-screen, the Narrative taking control and making people say and do things they wouldn't otherwise do - this book is wacky and just full of what-the-fuckery. It's fun, though, and if you can keep yourself from groaning out loud every few pages, it's a pretty good read.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle in Books
Dec 25, 2018
Great page-turning read!
Really enjoyed this! It was my pick for our book club and I think it will generate plenty of discussion. It's just over 500 pages long and we would usually try and stick with a maximum of 400 pages, but this was just so easy to read and so engrossing I got through it really quickly.
It's confusing at first, but I think you are supposed to feel the confusion of the protagonist. There are quite a few characters and the time-travel-body-hoping element can be a little confusing, but there is an internal logic to the book. There were one or two things at the end that weren't quite clear or weren't explained, but overall this is a cracking good read. I think it would be great to read again and try and spot the 'clues' along the way, although I don't think it's a solution you are going to guess, but just enjoy the ride!
It's confusing at first, but I think you are supposed to feel the confusion of the protagonist. There are quite a few characters and the time-travel-body-hoping element can be a little confusing, but there is an internal logic to the book. There were one or two things at the end that weren't quite clear or weren't explained, but overall this is a cracking good read. I think it would be great to read again and try and spot the 'clues' along the way, although I don't think it's a solution you are going to guess, but just enjoy the ride!
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