The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey - #blogtour #bookreview

 

A long long time ago, when I was a little chick, not even a chick but a pink and naked thing, a scar a scrap a scrape fallen on roots and wriggling, when I was catching my death and all I knew of sky was the feel of feathers above me, the belly of black as warm as a cloud above me...

***

The Blurb

In this darkly comic work of literary satire by New Zealand’s most acclaimed and best-selling novelist Tama, a talking magpie and social media influencer, is the sole witness to a marriage in freefall.

Tama is just a helpless chick when he is rescued by Marnie. ‘If it keeps me awake,’ says Marnie’s husband Rob, a farmer in the middle of a years-long drought, ‘I’ll have to wring its neck.’ But with Tama come new possibilities for the couple’s future. Tama’s fame is growing, and with it, his earning potential. The more Tama sees, the more the animal and the human worlds – and all the precarity, darkness and hope within them – bleed into one another. Like a stock truck filled with live cargo, the story moves inexorably towards its dramatic conclusion: the annual Axeman’s Carnival.

Part trickster, part surrogate child, part witness, Tama is the star of this story. And although what he says to humans is often nonsensical (and hilarious), the tale he tells makes disturbingly perfect sense. The Axeman’s Carnival is Catherine Chidgey at her finest – comic, profound, poetic and true.

My Review

This book is well worth the five stars I have given it. I have not read any books by this author before but I certainly intend to change that as it was a fabulous read.

What makes this book unusual is that it is narrated by a magpie named Tama. In fact, he is the main character of the book. He lives with Marnie and Rob on their sheep farm. They are struggling to make ends meet, and this, amongst other things means Rob has a very short temper. He hates Tama until he realises that the bird may have the ability to change their financial position.

It is a very powerful and sometimes dark novel. It is clear from the very beginning that the book is working towards the annual event, the titular Axeman's Carnival. As we observe Rob preparing to win the title for the tenth year running, we can feel his inner anger oozing from the pages. As readers we know that the book is creeping towards its climax of the carnival and the author has done a great job in building the tension as the story moves along.

Meantime, Tama has learned to mimic speech and as such has become a media sensation. The book has much to say about social media, for good and bad.

The bird is devoted to Marnie and there is a mutual love between them that is palpable. It demonstrates an innocence which contrasts so well with the darker aspects of the novel. Tama also injects a little humour into the story with his mischievous nature.

The book is extremely well written, and the author has bought her story alive on the page vividly. There were aspects of the book which took my breath away. Something happens at the end which had so much to say about human nature and social media and is was quite shocking.

This book is releasing tomorrow, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I feel privileged to have read it.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1787705517

Publisher:  Europa Editions

Formats:

No. of Pages:  336 (paperback)

Preorder Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Catherine Chidgey’s novels have been published to international acclaim. Her first, In a Fishbone Church, won Best First Book at the NZ Book Awards and at the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (South East Asia and South Pacific). In the UK it won the Betty Trask Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Her second, Golden Deeds, was a Notable Book of the Year in the New York Times and a Best Book in the LA Times. Catherine has won the Prize in Modern Letters, the Katherine Mansfield Award, the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship and the Janet Frame Fiction Prize. She lives in Ngāruawāhia, NZ, and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Waikato. Her novel Remote Sympathy was shortlisted for the DUBLIN Literary Award and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her novels The Wish Child and The Axeman’s Carnival both won the Acorn Prize for Fiction, NZ's most prestigious literary award.

(book courtesy of Random Things Tours)

(media courtesy of Europa Editions)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.org afilliated)

Courting the Sun by Peggy Joque Williams - #blogtour #excerpt #extract

 

I am delighted to be bringing you an excerpt from this gorgeous looking book. Courting the Sun by Peggy Joque Williams is a novel of Versailles and takes the reader to 17th century France.

***

The Blurb

France, 1670. On her sixteenth birthday, Sylvienne d’Aubert thinks her dream has come true. She holds in her hands an invitation from King Louis XIV to attend his royal court. However, her mother harbors a longtime secret she's kept from both her daughter and the monarch, a secret that could upend Sylvienne’s life.

In Paris, Sylvienne is quickly swept up in the romance, opulence, and excitement of royal life. Assigned to serve King Louis's favorite mistress, she is absorbed into the monarch's most intimate circle. But the naïve country girl soon finds herself ill-prepared for the world of intrigue, illicit affairs, and power-mongering that takes place behind the shiny façade of Versailles.

This debut historical novel from Peggy Joque Williams captures the vibrancy and quandaries of 17th century life for a village girl seeking love and excitement during the dangerous reign of the Sun King.

The Excerpt

Athénaïs’s languid voice called, “Sylvienne…”

I hurried to her room. “Oh! Pardonnez-moi, Athénaïs.” 

She lay across a swath of pillows, seeming indifferent to my startled expression. “Call my serving girl to fill the tub. Let us soak awhile in rose water.”

“Us?”

“You do bathe? Or is the practice looked down upon in the provinces?”

“I…I love bathing.” 

She rose from the bed and sat at her toilette table. Picking up a brush, she ran it through her blond tresses. A large oval mirror with a gilded frame reflected her image. Apparently, it also caught my reflection. “Close your mouth, ma chère. It is unbecoming.”

I brought my hand to my lips to stop the giggles that threatened to erupt. “The serving girl…I’ll fetch her.” I hurried from the room.

My skin tingled as I stepped into the marble bathtub. Fragrant oils, rose and lavender, made the water feel slippery and sensuous. Athénaïs, already seated, swished her hands back and forth causing little ripples to wash toward me as I sank into the water. Lisette had pinned my hair up to keep it from getting wet, and now I turned my head to hide my embarrassment at having my naked body so exposed to the Marquise’s frank scrutiny. A gaggle of serving women bustled around us, apparently seeing nothing unusual about two women bathing for the sheer pleasure of it. I sank further until the warm water covered my breasts. 

“Louis dislikes bathing.” Athénaïs lolled with her head against a small silk pillow, her breasts fully exposed. “I dislike bathing alone.”

I hadn’t realized until I saw her climb into the tub that I was taller than she—the distinctive gowns she wore and the poise and confidence with which she commanded a room served to magnify her person. Whereas I was thin, my legs too long, and my breasts small round buds, her body was curvaceous, perfectly proportioned, her breasts large and full. 

My embarrassment quickly dissipated as I reveled in the decadence of the bath water, subtle fragrances rising from the bath oils. Only now did I take in the opulence of Athénaïs’s salle de bain, dominated by the basin in which we soaked. Gold pipes carried the water from…I didn’t know where. Spigots, also of gold and fashioned as swans from whose mouths the water flowed—one for hot, one for cold—operated upon the twist of a lever. The walls surrounding us were covered in a lavender fabric edged with gold braiding. A fire crackled in the fireplace against one wall. 

A maid brought a dome-covered silver platter and placed it on a lacquered table next to the tub. She lifted the cover to reveal sliced cheeses and grapes. A second maid offered flutes of a translucent amber liquid. Bubbles rose from the bottom of the tall, thin glasses. 

Athénaïs held her glass aloft. “A ta santé.”

 “A la vôtre.” Feeling brave, I took a sip. The bubbles tickled my nose and throat. I hiccupped, making me giggle. I sipped some more.

Athénaïs offered a languid smile. “Mon petit chou likes champagne?” 

“Mm…tasty.” I hiccupped again. 

Athénaïs drank from her own flute before saying. “I don’t suppose you can read?”

“Oh, but I love to read!” I hiccupped again.

She regarded me with skepticism. “What sorts of things do you read?”

“The classics primarily.” I eyed the cheese platter. “They were required at the convent school.” Of course, I couldn’t eat before my hostess did. “I have a small collection of novels I trade with my friend Marie-Catherine.” My stomach rumbled. “And the gazettes! I love reading the gazettes. When I can sneak them past Maman.” Politeness be deviled, I popped a bite-size square of cheese into my mouth with a wet hand. 

“Your mother disapproves of court gossip?”

“Very much so.” I reached toward the cheese platter again.

The corners of Athénaïs’s lips curved upward. “I wonder what she will read about you?” 

My hand stopped in mid-air. I jerked it back. A maid took our empty champagne glasses. Another held out a tray with an envelope on it. 

Athénaïs held up her hands for another maid to dry with a cloth before taking the missive and opening it. “Mademoiselle de Scudéry is inviting us to a salon in her home.”

A salon! A gathering of the most intellectual of Parisians. I had read about such soirées in the gazettes. “Us? I am included in the invitation?” 

“It would seem the noblesse are curious about our petit chou.” She held the letter aloft. “I suppose you will have to wear one of your country frocks. It will take a week before we can have a proper gown ready for you.” A maid returned with the tray to retrieve the letter. “You can wear something from my wardrobe. I have dozens of dresses I’ll never wear again. With a ribbon here, some lace there, no one will know they were mine. Well, of course, it will take a bit more than that—my dresses are singularly unique—but we can make it work …” She prattled on. 

I nodded pleasantly, my eyelids drowsy, my head heavy. I sank lower into the warm water, a tickle against my chin, when—

A scream ripped the air!

I sat bolt upright, alarmed. 

“Get it out of here!” Athénaïs shrieked.

Three serving girls ran in with towels and batted at something dodging back and forth across the tiled floor. A mouse. It dashed around the side of the tub and up a leg of the table that held the cheese tray. Athénaïs shrieked again and scrambled out of the tub, splashing water everywhere. Maids rushed to wrap towels around her. 

The mouse had discovered the delectable treats. I could not help but laugh at its good fortune—and mine. I grabbed the domed cover from the woman holding it and slammed it down over the tiny creature. “Got you!”

Lifting the covered tray, I handed it to the wide-eyed maid. “It’s just a mouse. It won’t hurt you.” 

Clasping the lid tightly, the woman scooted out with the tray and the mouse.

Athénaïs recovered her composure. “How fortunate we are today. Our country mouse saved us from the palace mouse.” She unfurled her towel and thrust it at the nearest maid. “Bathe as long as you like,” she said to me. “I’m going to nap.” She strode out, her attendants close on her heels.

I stared after her a moment before sliding back into the water. Breathing in the scent of the bath oils, I was too restless now to enjoy it. I stood up. Lisette appeared with a towel to help me out.

“Do you wish to nap as well?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “Help me get dressed. I wish to walk.”

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1685134129

Publisher:  Black Rose Writing

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  389 (paperback)

About the Author:

Peggy Joque Williams is the author of Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles and co-author of two mystery novels, On the Road to Death’s Door and On the Road to Where the Bells Toll, written under the penname M. J. Williams. She is an alumnus of Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

A retired elementary school teacher and avid researcher, Peggy's fascination with genealogy and her French-Canadian, European, and Native American ancestry inspires her historical fiction. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

(excerpt and media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Shop)

(all opinions are my own)

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods - #bookreview

 

When I first arrived at the redbrick Georgian house on Ha'penny Lane that cold, dark evening with rain dripping from my jacket, I hadn't planned on staying. The woman on the phone sounded less than friendly, but I had nowhere else to go and very little money...

***

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

***

This book is charming, delightful and any similar adjective that you can think of. It had me gripped from the very first page and I loved it. Let me tell you why...

It was chosen by somebody at my Book Club for this month's read. In all honesty, I had never heard of it before and thus had no expectations. What I found though was a book that I could not put down. It called to me constantly when I was away from it and I picked it up at every opportunity. 

All three characters, Opaline, Martha and Henry were well portrayed and came alive on the page. The chapters are told from the perspective of each of them, and from their respective time periods. I liked the way that Martha and Henry are set in present time and the blossoming romance between them was all the better by being able to read what they were thinking about the other.

The chapters of Opaline begin in 1921 and the setting moves between England and Paris. She was an astonishinly brave character; at times she suffers heartbreak through loss and her living condiditions but she was a pioneering woman who showed fortitude and self-expression during a time when a woman was not expected to make her own choices as she was considered property of a man. In this case, her older brother Lyndon.

The titular bookshop is almost a character in and of itself and has a huge role to play in the story. It links all three of the characters which the author does marvellously. Coupled with an ending which made me sigh with satisfaction, this is an excellent book to read.

This book will be adored by book lovers everywhere, particularly if you like a bit of mystery and magical realism thrown in. I have read some fabulous fiction this year and this is up there with the others. I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 0008609214

Publisher:  One More Chapter

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  442 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Evie Woods is the author of The Lost Bookshop, the #1 Wall Street Journal and Amazon Kindle bestseller, which has now sold over half a million copies. She is also the author of The Story Collector, The Heirloom and The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris under her real name, Evie Gaughan.

Living on the West Coast of Ireland, Evie escapes the inclement weather by writing her stories in a converted attic, where she dreams of underfloor heating. Her books tread the intriguing line between the everyday and the otherworldly, revealing the magic that exists in our ordinary lives.

(author media courtesy of Harper Collins)

(all opinions are my own)

The Mistress by Valerie Keogh - #bookreview #blogtour

 

I was brushing my hair when Ivan came into the bedroom. He said nothing, just stood there looking at me. I wasn't easily intimidated, but he was a big man and he had an air about him that said he could resort to violence if necessary...

***

She wants what you have...

Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants.

When her current husband discovers she has been lying to him – again - she knows it’s time to moveon and find someone who can give her the life she desires... The life she knows she deserves...

But who will be the lucky man?

When her eye catches a glimpse of an old flame in a photograph, she’s sure it’s a sign. Mark Shepherd has always been in her thoughts – they’d been happy once, he’d adored her, but she’d made a mistake and let him get away. She won’t make the same mistake again....

Hannah is older now and wiser. She knows what men want and she knows how to keep them happy.

So what if Mark is happily married with a family of his own?

All good things must come to an end...

***

No spoilers here, but wow, that ending was completely unexpected!

This is the story of two women; Susan, who feels unmoored because her only son has left to go to university a long way from home and suspects her husband is having an affair.  Then there is Hannah, a manipulative woman who is used to getting her own way.

The book is written with a dual perspective with the chapters being told by either of the two women. This is what elevated this book as it was easy to understand the point of view of both of them. This made it far easier to like Susan than Hannah. Susan is the wronged woman but Hannah is devious and scheming. I found myself rooting for Susan whilst hoping that Hannah would somehow get her comeuppance. I did feel some sympathy for her as the book progressed and I learned more of her backstory though.

I was gripped from the very first page of this book. It was a page-turner with some nice twists and turns to the narrative along the way. The author is a great storyteller and really knows how to keep the readers interest. She has created an utterly believable scenario and has written an engaging and compelling story.

This is the second book I have read by Valerie Keogh. I also read The Nurse which I enjoyed equally. You can read my review by clicking here. Having now read two of Ms. Keogh's novels and enjoyed them so much it has left me wanting to go and read every book she has ever written. 

Releasing in the UK today, this is an excellent and exciting book which I highly recommend.

ISBN: 978 1805494225

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats: e-book, audio, hardback, paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  288 (paperback)

About the Author:

Valerie Keogh lives in Wiltshire with her husband and a huge black cat, Fatty Arbuckle. She grew up reading Agatha Christie and initially wrote crime novels - she now writes psychological thrillers.

The Little Lies was shortlisted for the Crime Fiction Lovers Award 2021.

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

The Prosecco Pact by Kiltie Jackson - #BookReview #Blogtour

 

Lydia Beaumont glanced in the mirror at the clock on the wall behind her as she snapped the last curler closed on her client's head. Four thirty. After more than twenty-five years of transposing the numbers in her head, she now did it as automatically as breathing.

'There you go, Edna. Fifteen minutes under the dryer and you'll be setting hearts racing at the community centre tea dance this evening.'

Edna gave a hearty chuckle and Lydia discretely flexed her fingers a couple of times while reaching for the floaty, chiffon scarf to place over the top of the rollers. She scrunched her toes at the same time, trying to ease the ache which had set in from being on her feet for most of the day...

***

Three Women, Three Promises, One Pact!

Lydia Beaumont married the boy of her dreams but he has since become the man of her nightmares. She needs to find a new life.

Grace Mitchell has dedicated her life to her career, losing friends along the way to her ambition. She needs to get a life.

Debbie Stanford has been engaged for a year but is no closer to setting her wedding date. She just wants to become a wife.

On a cold, blustery January night, they each promise to change their lives and seal the deal over their glasses of Prosecco.

However, the best made pacts of mice and women have been known to go awry…

***

This book covers a year in the life of three friends, Grace, Debbie and Lydia. Three very different women whose lives need to change, and they make a pact to make this happen in the coming year.

I very much enjoyed spending time with these three women and, they were each easy to identify with in one way or another. I was totally engrossed in their lives and could not read quickly enough to see how their lives were going to pan out. I was rooting for them all the way.

The book is well written and made for compelling and easy reading. Ms. Jackson understands her characters and their situations well and imbues life into them with excellence. Their individual voices are clear and I felt as though I was a fourth friend around the table at one of their pie and prosecco evenings.

The book deals with some difficult themes which the author treats with sensitivity. Above all, it is a book of hope and personal growth and was a joy to read.

It was an inspiring and feel good novel that I highly recommend. I do not know if the author is planning on writing a sequel to this book, but if she is I will definitely be at the head of the queue to get my hands on it.

ISBN: 978 1999866679

Publisher:  Neilsen

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  305 (paperback)

About the Author:

Kiltie Jackson spent her childhood years growing up in Scotland. Most of these early years were spent in and around Glasgow although for a short period of time, she wreaked havoc at a boarding school in the Highlands.

By the age of seventeen, she had her own flat which she shared with a couple of cats for a few years while working as a waitress in a cocktail bar (she’s sure there’s a song in there somewhere!) and serving customers in a fashionable clothing outlet before moving down to London to chalk up a plethora of experiences which are now finding their way into her writing.

Once she’d wrung the last bit of fun out of the smokey capital, she moved up to the Midlands and now lives in Staffordshire with one grumpy husband and another six feisty felines. Her little home is known as Moggy Towers even though, despite having plenty of moggies, there are no towers! The cats kindly allow her and Mr Mogs to share their home as long as the mortgage continues to be paid.

Since the age of three, Kiltie has been an avid reader although it was many years later before she decided to put pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – to begin giving life to the stories in her head.

Her debut novel was released in September 2017 and her fourth book, ‘A Timeless Lovestyle’ was a US Amazon bestseller in Time Travel Romance.

Kiltie loves to write fiery and feisty female characters and puts the blame for this firmly on the doorsteps of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables and George Kirrin from The Famous Five.

When asked what her best memories are, Kiltie will tell you:

1. Queuing up overnight outside the Glasgow Apollo to buy her Live-Aid ticket.

2. Being at Live-Aid.

3. Winning an MTV competition to meet Bon Jovi in Sweden. (Although, if Mr Mogs is in earshot, the latter is changed to her wedding day.)

Her main motto in life used to be “Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!” but that has since been replaced with “Too many stories, not a fast enough typist!”

(e-book and all info courtesy of Zoe O'Farrell)

(all opinions are my own)

Purchase Link - Amazon