#Review #VoraciousReadersOnly : Hour is Come (Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery #0.5) – Victoria Tait @VATaitAuthor

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to promote ‘Hour is Come’, by sharing my review of this book, but first I have some information

About the Author :

I was born and raised in Yorkshire, UK, and never expected to travel the world. But I fell for an Army Officer, and I’ve followed him from Northern Ireland, up to the Scottish Highlands, across to Africa and the Kenyan Savannah, and back to the British Cotswolds. We now live in Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Southern Europe.
Unlike most authors, I didn’t have the urge to write as I was growing up but moving around is not ideal for holding down a steady job. So I’ve taken the experiences of living in different places to write vivid and evocative cozy mystery books with determined female amateur sleuths. I have two fast growing teenage boys, and together we’ve learnt to ski on the Bosnian mountains. I also enjoy horse riding, mountain biking and I’ve started running as a way to improve my physical fitness, mental wellbeing and shed some excess pounds.

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About the Book :

A dead husband. A hidden body. Can an inexperienced amateur sleuth save herself and identify a killer in the stroke of time?
Young military widow, Dotty L Sayers, just wants to take life one day at a time, with the help of Banff, her husband’s black Labrador. Seeking financial security, she excitedly accepts a temporary job in a local Cotswold auction house. But she realises she can’t accept everything at face value when she discovers a dead body inside a grandfather clock.
While the police focus on jealousy and blackmail, there’s no time to lose if Dotty is to prove her husband’s ex-wife’s innocence. This determined novice detective unveils her colleagues’ secrets, but when the police ignore her findings, she realises she may be wasting her time.
As the clock ticks, can Dotty convince the police of her suspicions, or is she living on borrowed time?

And now it’s finally time for my

‘Hour is Come’ is my first introduction to the ‘Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery’ series and I must admit that, although I enjoyed the story as a whole, I’m not a huge fan of the cast.
I don’t mind a bit of clichéd, slapstick kind of characters, but I found Dotty, the main character, a bit too much for this day and age.
Of course she can be lost and a bit naive, even a bit of a pushover, but she doesn’t once stand up for herself, not even at the end it seems.
She lacks character development, in my honest opinion, and she’s not alone as everyone in this story could be fleshed out more I believe.
It certainly would help me understand the 180° flip of Angela better!
A pity, as overall this prequel is based on a very good idea, is pleasantly written by the author and has all the potential to become an intriguing series, but it left me a bit on the fence now, I’m afraid.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn / #PromoPost : A Mistake of Murder (Jan Christopher Mysteries, #3) – Helen Hollick @HelenHollick #CosyMystery #MurderMysterySeries

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘A Mistake of Murder’ blogtour, organised by The Coffee Pot Book Club.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing a

About the Author :

First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She has also branched out into the quick read novella, ‘Cosy Mystery’ genre with her Jan Christopher Murder Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant.
Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon, England, and occasionally gets time to write…

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About the Book :

Was murder deliberate – or a tragic mistake?
January 1972. The Christmas and New Year holiday is over and it is time to go back to work. Newly engaged to Detective Sergeant Laurence Walker, library assistant Jan Christopher is eager to show everyone her diamond ring, and goes off on her scheduled round to deliver library books to the housebound – some of whom she likes; some, she doesn’t.
She encounters a cat in a cupboard, drinks several cups of tea… and loses her ring.
When two murders are committed, can Jan help her policeman uncle, DCI Toby Christopher and her fiancé, Laurie, discover whether murder was a deliberate deed – or a tragic mistake?

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This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

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#BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn / #GuestPost : Hammer (The Iron Between #1) – Micheál Cladáin @cladain_m

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘Hammer’ blogtour, organised by The Coffee Pot Book Club.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing a guest post written by the author, but first I have some information

About the Author :

Micheál has been an author for many years. He studied Classics and developed a love of Greek and Roman culture through those studies. In particular, he loved their mythologies. As well as a classical education, bedtime stories consisted of tales read from a great tome of Greek Mythology, and Micheál was destined to become a storyteller from those times.

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About the Book :

Genonn’s tired and dreams of a remote roundhouse in the Cuala Mountains.
However, sudden rebellion in Roman Britain destroys that dream because the Elder Council task him with delivering Lorg Mór, the hammer of the Gods, to the tribes across the straits of Pwll Ceris. Despite being torn between a waning sense of duty and his desire to become a hermit, Genonn finally agrees to help.
When his daughter follows him into danger, it tests his resolve. He wants to do everything he can to see her back to Druid Island and her mother. This new test of will means he is once again conflicted between duty and desire. Ultimately, his sense of duty wins; is it the right decision? Has he done the right thing by relegating his daughter’s safety below his commitment to the clans?

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Hammer is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link

And now it’s finally time for the

Irish Mythology: all Smoke or is there Fire?

I am a classicist. Greek and Roman culture fascinated me from when my father read bedtime stories in front of a roaring fire. The stories always came from a great tome of Greek and Roman mythology. My early exposure to Irish mythology was limited to stories about Cú Chulainn and Fionn mac Cumhaill. That was until I was browsing in a Limerick bookshop many moons ago and came across a Penguin Classic, Early Irish Myths and Sagas.
After I finished reading that book, I knew I was hooked. Irish mythology is so much more touchable than other traditions. The most famous of the legends are based around the time of Christ when Rome was conquering the known world or later (fourth century) when Rome was in decline. How can there not be any truth in them? How are they myths rather than history?
How is there smoke without fire?
First, the mythology
Irish mythology is a subset of Celtic mythology particular to Ireland. It was maintained as a verbal tradition in prehistoric times (pre-Christian) and later transcribed by monks, perhaps as early as the 8th century, although definitely from the twelfth century onwards. The myths are grouped in four cycles but do include other tales. The cycles are not how the stories were classified historically but a modern categorisation. The original categories were based on births, cattle raids, and destructions, to name but a few.
The classifications are the Mythological, Ulster, Fianna and King’s cycles.
Mythological
The Book of Invasions, the Lebor Gabála Érenn, describes the development of Irish ancestry from before the time of Noah. The invaders comprised Cessair and her followers, the Fomorians (portrayed as monsters), the Partholinians, the Nemedians, the Firbolgs, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the Milesians (the Celts). Each successive invader vanquished those who came before. The mythological cycle deals mainly with these conflicts. Probably the most well-known aspect of this category is the Tuatha (immortalised by Robert Jordan as Travellers in The Wheel of Time books). After their defeat by the Milesians, the Tuatha Dé Danann (people of the Goddess Danu) retreated into the Sidhe (fairy mounds) and became the Fae, the immortals of Irish mythology. Fae is the source of such commonplace words as fey and fairy. Unlike little fairies with gossamer wings and do good character, the Fae were often depicted as mischievous and sometimes even evil.
The mythological cycle also includes legends of Ireland’s High Kings, such as The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel, where King Conaire dies at the hands of a British Reaver, Ingcél. At this juncture, it is important to note that many of the characters in Irish mythology appear in more than one cycle. For instance, Queen Medb and her husband, King Ailill, are in The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel and The Cattle Raid of Cooley, spanning the mythological cycle and the Ulster Cycle.
Ulster
The Ulster Cycle includes tales of the Ulaid, heroes of Ulster, such as Cú Chulainn and Conall of the victories. The Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) – perhaps Ireland’s most famous legend – recounts the tale of King Conchobar of Ulster in his fight against Queen Medb of Connacht. The cattle raid involved such warriors as Cú Chulainn – who single-handedly held up the march of Medb’s army. The cattle raid is covered extensively in my novel Milesian Daughter of War, August 2020.

Fianna
The Fianna Cycle includes tales of the Fianna, roving warriors who protected the clans of Ireland in selfless acts of heroism. The Fianna were thought to have started as roving bands of lawless mercenaries. Fionn mac Cumhaill is said to have organised one band as a force for good and given them a code of practice. Another band was Clan Morna, led by Goll mac Morna. Goll killed Fionn’s father, Cumhal, in battle. Fionn was brought up in secrecy. While being trained in the art of poetry, Fionn burned his thumb cooking the Salmon of Knowledge. After that, sucking his thumb gave him wisdom rather than the goofy teeth our mothers warned us about. Two of the most famous tales from the Fianna are Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne (The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne) and Oisín in Tír nÓg.
King’s
The King’s Cycle comprises legends written by bards in later Irish history. A bard’s duty was to record the genealogy of kings and chieftains as poems and tales. One of the better Kings’ Cycle tales is the Buile Shuibhne (The Frenzy of Sweeney), a 12th-century story told in verse and prose. Suibhne, king of Dál nAraidi, was cursed by St. Ronan and became a half-man, half-bird, condemned to live in the woods.
Deities
The principal deities include The Dagda (the cheerful God), The Morrígan (the Goddess of war and fate), Manannán (the God of the sea), Dian Cécht (the healer) and Goibniu (the smith).
Female deities play a prominent role in Irish mythology. They are usually depicted as being of the land, the water, and sovereignty. They are often portrayed as the oldest ancestors of the people. Not only are they shown as maternal they are also defenders, teachers, and warriors. The Goddess Brigid is linked with poetry, healing, and smithing. The Cailleach (Veiled One or Queen of Winter) lived many lives ending with her set in stone.

Warrior goddesses guard the battlefield and warriors. In the Táin Bó Cúailnge the sisters The Morrígan, Macha, and Badb cause battle. They often assume the form of animals (zoomorphism).
Female Equality
From what we know, female equality was a mainstay of the Celtic culture of Britain and Ireland, such as the warrior queen Boudica. This is also true of their mythology. Many of Ireland’s great mythological heroes were trained by warrior women or druidesses. Cú Chulainn was taught by the mother and daughter team Scathach and Uathach on the Isle of Skye. Liath Luachra trained Fionn mac Cumhaill, and Dornoll trained Conall of the Victories.
Heroes
The heroes of Irish Mythology are legion. I have covered many already, such as Cú Chulainn, Conall of the Victories and Fionn mac Cumhaill. I could list their heroic deeds, but it would be a better use of the limited space to write about their humanity. Unlike classic heroes, those of Irish mythology have their figaries. For instance, Fergus Mac Roi had an illicit affair with Queen Medb. Cú Chulainn was prone to overreact, like when he murdered 150 women after the death of Dervla, his first love.
Monsters
Monsters in Irish Mythology are not many. Perhaps the most famous are the banshee.

The word banshee derives from Ban Sidhe, meaning woman of the Sidhe or the Fae. The banshee were not initially considered to be monsters. They morphed into how we see them today because it is said we can hear them wail at the imminent death of a family member.
So, is there fire, or is it all smoke
Whenever I am asked the question, I respond in the same way – using the same cliche – there’s never smoke without fire. I usually then cite the Iliad as a perfect example. Homer was thought to have been an ancient poet with a vivid imagination until the discovery of Troy and the death mask of Agamemnon. And Troy was so much further in the past. The stories of Ireland’s heroes are not prehistoric in absolute terms, but only because they were told as an oral tradition and not written down. After all, history denotes the advent of written records, which did not arrive in Ireland until Christianity got a firm grip (around the seventh century).
And therein lies the issue. The tales were passed on through the oral tradition until monks began to transcribe them. It is difficult to determine how trustworthy the monks were during those transcriptions. They were prone to over-embellishment and perhaps guilty of moulding them to fit into Christian dogma.
However, I believe there is more fire than most scholars will allow. That could be because I write novels based on those eras and use the characters of those myths. I have also transcribed the tales taking out the talking trees and the Fae, leaving what I hope might be close to historical records.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#PromoPost : The Colour of Bone (Sebastian Foxley Medieval Mystery #11) – Toni Mount @tonihistorian

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to promote ‘The Colour of Bone’, by sharing some information

About the Author :

Toni Mount is a best-selling author of medieval non-fiction books. She is the creator of the Sebastian Foxley series of medieval murder mysteries and her work focuses on the ordinary lives of fascinating characters from history. She has a first class honours degree from the Open University and a Master degree by research from the University of Kent however her first career was as a scientist which brings an added dimension to her writing. Her detailed knowledge of the medieval period helps her create believable characters and realistic settings based on years of detailed study.

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About the Book :

It’s May 1480 in the City of London.
When workmen discover the body of a nun in a newly-opened tomb, Seb Foxley, a talented artist and bookseller is persuaded to assist in solving the mystery of her death when a member of the Duke of Gloucester’s household meets an untimely end. Evil is again abroad the crowded, grimy streets of medieval London and even in the grandest of royal mansions.
Some wicked rogue is setting fires in the city and no house is safe from the hungry flames. Will Seb and his loved ones come to grief when a man returns from the dead and Seb has to appear before the Lord Mayor?
Join our hero as he feasts with royalty yet struggles to save his own business and attempts to unravel this latest series of medieval mysteries.

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#Recensie : Het kerkhof van de zee – Aslak Nore @HarperCollinsHL

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds blog is een hobby, recensies en andere boekgerelateerde berichten worden gratis geplaatst.
Ik ben dankbaar voor het ontvangen van een gratis boekexemplaar van de auteur/de uitgeverij in ruil voor mijn eerlijke mening. –

Vandaag ga ik ter promotie mijn recensie van ‘Het kerkhof van de zee’ met jullie delen, maar eerst wat informatie over

De Auteur :

Aslak Nore (1978) groeide op in Oslo en diende in het Noorse leger tijdens de oorlog in Bosnië. Hij was journalist in Afghanistan en Irak en is tegenwoordig schrijver en redacteur. Hij woont met zijn vrouw en kinderen in Frankrijk. Eerder publiceerde hij non-fictie en het internationaal bejubelde Wolfsangel, waarvoor hij de Rivertonprisen (de prijs voor de beste thriller van Noorwegen) won.

Het Boek :

Aan het begin van de Tweede Wereldoorlog vergaat een schip met aan boord Noorse burgers en Duitse militairen; er wordt aangenomen dat het op een mijn is gevaren. De jonge schrijver Vera en haar zoontje worden
gered, maar haar man komt om.
Vijfenzeventig jaar later loopt Vera de zee in, en ze komt niet meer terug. Met haar verdwijnen ook haar memoires over de scheepsramp en de familietrauma’s. Maar haar kleindochter Sasha is vastberaden de waarheid te achterhalen: ze ontdekt namelijk dat Vera twijfelde over de ware toedracht van de ramp. Tegelijkertijd wordt er binnen de welgestelde familie een vuil spel gespeeld over de nalatenschap en de opvolging in het familieconcern. Welke geheimen herbergt het scheepswrak op de bodem van de zee?
Het kerkhof van de zee is een indringende en spannende roman over verraad, verboden liefde en een groot familiegeheim.

HarperCollins Holland

En dan is het nu eindelijk tijd voor mijn

‘Het Kerkhof van de zee’ is een eerste kennismaking met Aslak Nore en een beetje een sprong in het duister qua genre (familiesaga) voor mij.
Toch was ik meteen enthousiast bij het zien van de kaft van het boek dat er in mijn ogen zeer mysterieus uitziet door het half gezonken schip in een rozige mist.
Ook de achterzijde met de korte inhoud trok me aan vanwege de WW2 connectie en daardoor begon ik met veel animo dit verhaal te lezen.
Ik geef meteen eerlijk toe dat het mij duizelde bij de toch wel talrijke personages die je de eerste paar hoofdstukken op je bord krijgt voorgeschoteld.
De auteur is echter zo’n sterke schrijver dat je via zijn beschrijvingen en de opmerkingen/gevoelens van andere spelers iedereen goed leert kennen.
Dat dit dan gekleurde versies zijn, afhankelijk van wie aan het woord is, neem ik er graag bij, want zo is uiteindelijk ook het echte leven en zo leer je iedereen goed kennen en heb je een mening/voorstelling bij iedereen.
Dit geldt trouwens ook voor de omgeving, die door de auteur wordt beschreven met zo’n fijne proza dat je je echt waant in het zeer mooie Noorwegen!
Het verhaal dan zelf, vind ik, ondanks de aangename schrijfstijl, eerder een kabbelende riviertje waarin weinig echte schwung zit.
Gelukkig zijn er delen/hoofdstukken die wel voor de nodige spanning, actie en extra drive zorgen om verder te lezen en dat deed ik ook, aan een nogal verslindend tempo.
Daarnaast heb je naar het einde toe nog een paar plottwists die zeer verrassend overkwamen, maar voor mij niet allemaal even welgevallig.
Laat ons zeggen dat ik ronduit teleurgesteld was in één van de personages en dat zegt eigenlijk heel veel over dit boek in mijn opinie, want dat betekent dat je echt meeleeft met de historie.
Voor mij dus een aangename kennismaking, niet alleen met de auteur, maar ook met het genre, en daarom een roman dat ik iedereen graag aanraad ondanks de, voor mij, (kleine) minpuntjes.

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#BlogTour #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #Review : The Lonely Lake Killings (The Yorkshire Murders #2) – Wes Markin @BoldwoodBooks

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘The Lonely Lake Killings’ blogtour, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing my review, but first I have some information

About the Author :

Wes Markin is the bestselling author of the DCI Yorke crime novels, set in Salisbury. His new series for Boldwood stars the pragmatic detective DCI Emma Gardner who will be tackling the criminals of North Yorkshire.  Wes lives in Harrogate and the first book in the series The Yorkshire Murders will be published in November 2022.

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A lonely recluse. A missing girl and a community in fear.
When the body of a young local girl is found next to an isolated lake, the main suspect is the old recluse who has lived next to the lake for many years – especially when the young girl’s purse is found on the old man’s doorstep.
But DCI Emma Gardner and her partner DI Paul Riddick aren’t so sure. Why would the old hermit leave such an obvious clue? And who would want to set the old man up?
As they dig deeper into the murder they discover a community in fear, determined to keep hold of long buried secrets. And Riddick is convinced that his own dark past is somehow linked to this crime, too.
Gardner fears that she may never get the answers she needs, until a break leads her down a path she’d rather not face. One that runs directly to her own front door…

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And now it’s finally time for my

I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive when I started to read ‘The Lonely Lake Killings’ as it hadn’t been love at first sight with the previous book in the series.
However, I hadn’t need to worry as I almost immediately got the feeling that this installment was going to be a lot more consistent and easier to follow.
Don’t get me wrong, there were still things I, personally, thought the author could have left out or could have giving more attention to so the reader wouldn’t think of it as padding for the rest of the story.
I also still think that DI Paul Riddick is more than a very big lose canon and that his story is still all over the place, but somehow I do like him a lot better than DCI Emma Gardner, who’s, to me, not as understandable as him.
I really feel for this man and I want to see how his story develops further on, but I so want more cohesion throughout.
Still, it’s a nice detective story, with some interesting characters along the way, which I certainly recommend more than book 1, so I’m very keen to see if ‘third time’s a charm’ for me!

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#Review : The Viaduct Killings (The Yorkshire Murders #1) – Wes Markin @BoldwoodBooks

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to promote ‘The Viaduct Killings’, by sharing my review of this book, but first I have some information

About the Author :

Wes Markin is the bestselling author of the DCI Yorke crime novels, set in Salisbury. His new series for Boldwood stars the pragmatic detective DCI Emma Gardner who will be tackling the criminals of North Yorkshire.  Wes lives in Harrogate and the first book in the series The Yorkshire Murders will be published in November 2022.

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About the Book :

Still grieving from the tragic death of her colleague, DCI Emma Gardner continues to blame herself and is struggling to focus. So, when she is seconded to the wilds of Yorkshire, Emma hopes she’ll be able to get her mind back on the job, doing what she does best – putting killers behind bars.
But when she is immediately thrown into another violent murder, Emma has no time to rest. Desperate to get answers and find the killer, Emma needs all the help she can. But her new partner, DI Paul Riddick, has demons and issues of his own.
And when this new murder reveals links to an old case Riddick was involved with, Emma fears that history might be about to repeat itself…

Amazon

And now it’s finally time for my

‘The Viaduct Killings’ is the 1st installment in ‘The Yorkshire Murders’ series and for me it definitely shows.
Let’s start with the prologue, which got my interest for sure, but doesn’t seem to have any certain connection to the story at all.
In my honest opinion the fact that DCI Emma Gardner is new to the team and the why could easily be interwoven throughout the mainstory as could her relationship with her brother.
Although with the latter I really wouldn’t have bothered with the whole thing as it doesn’t seem to be valuable to this book, unless at the very end to get an opening for book 2 … .
Then we have DI Paul Reddick with his issues and demons, which were extremely weirdly/all over the place explained, I must say, so I very much had the feeling that I had missed out on a book or two to be able to comprehend fully.
Certainly a pity, as the overall murder investigation was a great whodunnit, with a lot of misleading the reader/red-herrrings, and the whole policeteam is full of great characters, who are witty, smart and more or less likeable depending on how they behave.
Putting my dislikes aside I was able to read with gusto and I became keen to know the culprit, which says a lot about the author’s way of engaging his readers (at least to some extent).
Call me weird, but despite everything ‘bad’ I mentioned, I’m going to give this series another go, as I definitely owe Emma and Paul this, as they somehow wriggled themselves into my detective loving heart!

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#BlogTour #RachelsRandomResources @rararesources / #Review : King of Kings – M.J. Porter @coloursofunison @BoldwoodBooks

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to be on the ‘King of Kings’ blogtour, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.
To promote this book I’ll be sharing my review, but first I have some information

About the Author :

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. They were raised in the shadow of a building that they believed housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia – so their writing destiny was set. The first novel in their new Anglo-Saxon series for Boldwood Son of Mercia was published in February 2022.

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About the Book :

In the battle for power, there can be only one ruler.
AD 925
Athelstan is the king of the English, uniting the petty kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, the Danish-held Five Boroughs and York following the sudden death of his father, King Edward.
His vision is to unite the realms of the Scots and the Welsh in a peace accord that will protect their borders from the marauding threat of the Norse Vikings.
Whilst seemingly craving peace and demanding loyalty with an imperium over every kingdom, Athelstan could dream of a much bigger prize.
But danger and betrayal surround his best intentions, namely from his overlooked stepbrother, Edwin, who conspires and vies for what he deems is his rightful place as England’s king.
As ever, powerful men who wish to rule do not wish to be ruled, and Constantin of the Scots, Owain of Strathclyde, and Ealdred of Bamburgh plot their revenge against the upstart English king, using any means necessary.
An epic story of kingsmanship that will set in motion the pivotal, bloody Battle of Brunanburh where allies have to be chosen wisely…

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And now it’s finally time for my

Being from Flanders myself I know some stuff about Athelstan and his predecessors/successors, but not a lot I must confess.
That’s why I was intrigued to start reading ‘King of Kings’ by M.J. Porter and learn more about the history of the English which always held my interest.
I admit that I was quite flabbergasted when I saw all the characters/names at the beginning of the book, but I needn’t to be worried as the author did a great job on telling who is who through the whole story.
By using multiple POVs M.J. Porter not only drives the readers on to read, but also makes them acquainted with all the players in this intricate chess game.
You get to know what they think, how they feel and how they see each other and more importantly how they see themselves!
A very well-written and well-researched book on the intrigues at court and how everything is played out, not only in battle, as in fact there’s not a lot of fighting going on in this part of the series, but more in words and invitations and strategies.
An interesting game to watch and of course read about and one I definitely want to see developing further as the ending left me wanting for the next installment right away.

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#Recensie : De geplaagde plantijn (Suske en Wiske #366) – Studio Vandersteen @SU_Uitgeverij @DeMensen @VRT

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds blog is een hobby, recensies en andere boekgerelateerde berichten worden gratis geplaatst.
Ik ben dankbaar voor het ontvangen van een gratis boekexemplaar van de auteur/de uitgeverij in ruil voor mijn eerlijke mening. –

Vandaag ga ik ter promotie mijn recensie van ‘De geplaagde plantijn’ met jullie delen, maar eerst wat informatie over

De Auteurs :

Luc Morjaeu (°1960) volgde Vrije Grafiek aan de Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten te Antwerpen.
Midden jaren ’80 richtte hij, samen met Dirk Michiels, de stripstudio MORMIC op. Daar werkte hij aan een aantal stripreeksen, waaronder Jacobus en Corneel, Erik (of het kleine insectenboek), Biebel en Cas. Verder voerde Luc heel wat opdrachten uit voor onder andere de Zuid-Nederlandse Uitgeverij (nu Deltas) en Hallmark.
Na MORMIC kon Luc Morjaeu zich eindelijk concentreren op twee van zijn meest geliefde figuren: de hilarische heksen Biep en Zwiep. Hij maakte vijf bijzonder grappige albums die veel lof kregen maar het verwachte commerciële succes bleef uit.
De volgende jaren werkte Luc aan de albums van M-Kids en de cult-reeks De familie Backeljau.
Vanaf 2000 werd hij een van de drie vaste medewerkers van Jef Nys voor de reeks Jommeke en maakte hij de stopcomic Rafke de Raaf, met Peter Van Gucht als scenarist.
Daarna heeft Luc Morjaeu de tekenstudio van Studio 100 begeleid en uitgebouwd. Hier werkte hij onder andere aan Samson en Gert, Piet Piraat en Kabouter Plop. Bij Studio 100 kreeg hij ook de kans om nieuwe projecten op te starten, zoals de strip van Spring (in samenwerking met Charel Cambré). Met Thomas Du Caju maakte hij Sabbatini, een realistische stripreeks.
In 2005 kreeg Luc de vraag van Studio Vandersteen om de coördinatie van Studio Vandersteen op zich te nemen. Zo heeft hij nu de leiding over het tekenteam van de populairste strip van de Benelux: Suske en Wiske.

Peter van Gucht (°1963, Ekeren) studeerde in 1986 af aan de animatieafdeling in het HRITCS te Brussel. Als stripscenarist zette hij zijn eerste stappen in de studio van Marc Legendre (Biebel). Daarna volgden ook andere reeksen zoals Zapman wat hij maakte met Jan Bosschaert en Rafke de raaf en de M-kids die hij beide met Luc Morjaeu in het leven riep. Hij tekende en verzon ook jarenlang zelf cartoons voor TV-ekspres en Teveblad.
Sinds 2005 is Peter Van Gucht ook de hoofdscenarist van Suske en Wiske.

Het Boek :

Als tante Sidonia een oude stadskaart van Antwerpen koopt voor de verjaardag van Lambik gaan de poppen meteen aan het dansen. Er staat een kruisje op de kaart en dat is volgens Lambik natuurlijk de vindplaats van een schat. Omdat het aangekruiste huisje in het heden al lang blijkt afgebroken te zijn, besluiten onze vrienden de schat te gaan zoeken in het verleden. Daar vinden ze in de woning echter een Spaanse edelman. Lambik wil de schat met niemand delen en besluit in te breken in het huis om er op zoek te gaan naar zijn schat. Ondertussen bezoeken Suske en Wiske drukker Plantijn. Omdat deze de stadskaart te koop aanbiedt in zijn winkel hopen ze dat hij iets meer kan vertellen over het kruisje. Plantijn beweert nergens van te weten, maar nadat Suske en Wiske zijn woning verlaten hebben, gaat hij zelf op onderzoek uit. Want de schat is niet wat ze lijkt en kan, als ze in verkeerde handen terechtkomt, verschrikkelijke gevolgen hebben. Als puntje bij paaltje komt, moeten Suske en Wiske ingrijpen met gevaar voor eigen leven.

Standaard Uitgeverij

En dan is het nu eindelijk tijd voor mijn

Net zoals de meeste van mijn generatie ben ik opgegroeid met de ‘originele’ Suske & Wiske strips en ben ik dus niet altijd even enthousiast wanneer het gaat om de nieuwere avonturen.
Toch vind ik dat ‘De geplaagde Platijn’ meer dan zijn best doet om terug te gaan naar die verhalen uit mijn kindertijd.
Dit door o.a. met humor, actie en de typische kenmerken van de personages iets educatief mee te geven over onze geschiedenis.
Een aangename manier om iets te leren dus over Antwerpen ten tijde van de Spaanse bezetting, Plantijn/de boekdrukkunst en Christenen/Protestanten.
Daarom voor mij absoluut en aanrader om te lezen, zeker voor jongeren, die erna waarschijnlijk, net zoals ik, zin zullen hebben in een goeie paëlla! 😉

The Magic of Wor(l)ds

#Review : Death by a Cornish Cove (A Cressida Fawcett Mystery #2) – Fliss Chester @SocialWhirlGirl @bookouture

– The Magic of Wor(l)ds is a hobby, reviews and other bookish stuff on this site are done for free.
I’m grateful of receiving a free copy from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review of this book. –

Today I’m delighted to promote ‘Death by a Cornish Cove’, by sharing my review of this book, but first I have some information

About the Author :

Fliss Chester was born in London and raised in the south east of England. She attended Guildford High School for Girls, and from there the University of York where she studied Art History. If her degree taught her anything, it was how to describe a picture, so with that skill set in mind she talked her way into a career in sub-editing and spent many happy years captioning pictures (and maybe doing just a little bit more) on homes and lifestyle magazines.
Her first three books follow the romantic liaisons of Jenna Jenkins and are perfect get-away reads, especially if you like your books full of fun, glamour and naughtiness. With Jenna you’re never far from a hilarious mishap or cheeky quip, and her adventures will take you from the Alps, to a gorgeous Bordeaux chateau and finally to the glitz and splendour of Monte Carlo.
In 2019 Fliss started writing The Fen Churche Mysteries. These period whodunnits follow amateur sleuth Fenella Churche as she solves crimes straight after the second world war. She’s a heroine with gumption and a knack for seeing the world – and crimes – through the eyes of a crossword puzzler… so if you can’t solve your two across, you might need to work on your four down…
Fliss lives in a 17th-century cottage in Surrey with her husband and their very demanding cat.

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About the Book :

A seaside party at a Cornish mansion with plenty of fizz, what could be more perfect? But something fishy is afoot… a killer lurks among the guests, and only Cressida Fawcett can stop them.
When Cressida Fawcett is invited to stay at Penbeagle House on the Cornish coast for a fancy-dress ball, she is looking forward to sipping rum cocktails clad as a pirate, watching the red-sailed boats go by and relaxing in the sea air with her good friend Dotty. But before they can raise their glasses to toast Cressida’s former flame Lord Canterbury’s engagement, he drops dead in front of the horrified guests.
The local doctor determines that Lord Canterbury was poisoned, and soon Detective Chief Inspector Andrews is on his way from Scotland Yard. But Cressida is dismayed by the murder of the intrepid explorer who once asked for her hand in marriage, and she cannot simply leave the case to the police. Together with Dotty and her little pug Ruby, Cressida searches for clues only to discover that many of the guests have a motive for murder. Did an irate journalist or a bitter fellow explorer send Lord Canterbury on his untimely final journey?
And when a young maid is found dead, floating in the shimmering waters of the cove, Cressida knows time is running out to catch the killer. Could aclue hidden among some rather pungent crab sandwiches help her solve the case before there is another murder?
A witty and totally addictive cozy mystery packed with intrigue and glamour. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.

Amazon

And now it’s finally time for my

After the first book in the ‘Cressida Fawcett Mystery’ series I was very much looking forward to reading the next installment and promised myself that I would savor this one.
It didn’t quite work out that way as I was so much enjoying reading the story that it only took my a few hours to get to the end.
And what an ending it was!
I definitely didn’t see coming who the culprit(s) were, but luckily for me, and Andrews, we had the honourable Cressida Fawcett at our side.
How I do love her and her pug, Ruby, and of course there were also Alfred and Dot from the previous book.
Together they make a beautiful trio for lots of murder mysteries to come I’m sure.
So from me, a full-hearted recommendation for all lovers of cosy mysteries out there!

The Magic of Wor(l)ds