Stacking the Shelves – January 2023

I always enjoy seeing these posts on other blogs, but to be honest didn't feel I 'acquired' (ahem) enough books in a week to make it worth while. Why did it take me so long to think about a monthly haul post, instead?! This month has been very generous on the book-buying, hurrah, so suddenly the …

Deadly Ever After – Ben Aaronovitch

When two of the river goddess Mama Thames' daughters, teenage twins Olympia and Chelsea, somewhat accidentally break a centuries-old enchantment, stories from a Victorian book of fairy tales start to seep out into the modern world with strange and potentially deadly consequences. The story that follows features only a cameo appearance from series main characters, …

Storm Front – Jim Butcher

"I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual." I've been meaning to go back and reread the Dresden Files - and get to the newer books for the first time - for an age. But, stack of ARCs to get through, no time for rereads... until muppet me leaves my …

One Foot in the Fade – Luke Arnold

"Get the f*ck up, Fetch." I've enjoyed our journey so far with Fetch Philips, Man for Hire, but this one was a little difficult to get into. (Last Smile in) Sunder City is almost fully under the control of the industrialists, and reading about a population slaving for 'the man' at the cost of their …

Dead Man in a Ditch – Luke Arnold

"They say the cold won't kill you if you can remember what it was like to be warm." Welcome back to Sunder City, where we first met Fetch Phillips, Man for Hire. Sunder was one a shining beacon of industry, a vibrant and diverse community than included dwarves, vampires, and more. And then there was …

Escape from Yokai Land – Charles Stross

"'I'm sorry, Bob,' says Dr Armstrong, 'but they asked for you specifically because Hello Kitty is a Londoner.'" Laundry Files main narrator, Bob Howard, is suspiciously absent during the events of The Nightmare Stacks (book 7 in the series) and in this novella we get to follow the side mission he was undertaking in Japan. Yokai …

This Charming Man – CK McDonnell

"The hunger. The damned hunger." Welcome to the offices of the Stranger Times newspaper, your first choice for all things paranormal, weird and wonderful. Werewolves on the M60? Haunted cinemas and demon-infested pubs? Read all about such things here! But despite all the team's experience with the supernatural, they weren't really prepared for vampires - because …

The Traders’ War – Charles Stross

"Nail lacquer, the woman called Helge reflected as she paused in the antechamber, always did two things to her: it reminded her of her mother, and it made her feel like a rebellious little girl." The first time I read The Bloodline Feud I wasn't wholly impressed, and despite buying the next two volumes I never quite …

Raising Hell – Bryony Pearce

"It was the goths you had to watch out for." Four years ago something impossible happened: magic started working. All of those Latin incantations - used as graffiti or song lyrics or anything - suddenly actually worked. Only for teenagers, though, and only in the UK. Once you get a few miles offshore, it all …

The Stranger Times – CK McDonnell

"The two men stood on the rooftop, watching the city toss and turn in its sleep." Hannah is feeling rather desperate for work when she lands a job as the assistant editor with the Stranger Times newspaper. As a result, she hasn't actually researched the publication much - and is more than a little shocked …