Book bingo reviews
Much belated book reviews (considering I read the first one on January 1st!).
The Heron's Cry, by Ann Cleeves (book bingo H)
My shiny new book series discovery in late 2021 was the 'Between Two Rivers' series by Ann Cleeves, who is also the author of the Shetland and Vera series. Book one, The Long Call, introduces her new detective, Matthew Venn, and The Heron's Cry is the second book in the series. I was actually put onto these books by the tv adaptation of The Long Call last October (with the rather tasty Ben Aldridge as Matthew), and when I enjoyed that, I decided to try the books.
I'd never read any Cleeves before, despite a couple of people recommending her when I was asking for crime fiction recs a couple of years ago. I can now see why she's so popular.
The Heron's Cry has a suitably complex plot and sprawling cast of characters, and I absolutely didn't guess whodunit (in fact, the character whodunit was barely even on my radar!).
I love the main character of Matthew, with all his principles and flaws and neuroses, and I want to take him home and cuddle him, although I suspect he would object quite strongly to that. In both books the victim and/or some of the suspects have connections to Matthew's husband, Jonathan, which brings an extra level of angst for Matthew, who prefers to keep a strict separation of work and home. Jonathan gets even more involved in the investigation in the second book, so there's bonus relationship complications to go with all the murders.
I read The Long Call (book 1) in three days, and it would have been less if it wasn't for pesky things like needing to eat and sleep and go to work getting in the way. I read The Heron's Cry in a single day. I sensibly started it on a Saturday morning, by lunchtime I'd cancelled all other plans for the day, and I finished it that evening. The very definition of 'unputdownable'! Now I just need Cleeves to write faster and produce book three!
Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch (book bingo M)
I read Rivers of London a few years ago, and I have no idea why it's taken me this long to read book two in the series, because they're awesome. I love the humour, I love the main character, Peter Grant, and I love the setup of modern policing plus magic.
Moon Over Soho started a bit slowly, but picked up pace as it went along, and the final quarter was a non-stop action sequence that had me unable to put it down until it was finished very late at night.
If I have a quibble, it's that the blurb on the back of the book is surprisingly misleading as to the actual plot, and particularly the link to Grant's father. That, and I think I need to re-read it to get my head around some of the details of the plot. But when the book is this good, giving it a second read is not exactly a hardship.
The Magpie Lord, A Case of Possession, and Flight of Magpies (Books 1-3 in the Charm of Magpies series), by KJ Charles (book bingo C and F, would have used all three for bingo fills but M was already taken!).
I have to admit this is a re-read, but it's been a few years since I last read them, and to be honest I had forgotten large chunks of the story. I'm reviewing all three books together because it's very much a continuing series, you can't really read the later books without having read the earlier ones in the correct order. I'm not sure whether they're short novels, or long novellas, but either way I read them all in no more than a couple of days each.
It's an m/m romance series set in an alternate version of Victorian Britain where magic exists. Lucien, Lord Crane, returns from exile to claim his title and inheritance when his brother dies in somewhat less than normal circumstances, but immediately things start to go wrong, and eventually he is forced to call on magical aid. Enter Stephen Day, a justiciar, which is basically magical law enforcement. Somewhat complicating matters is the fact that their families have history - Lucien's father did everything in his (quite considerable) power to destroy Stephen's father, so there's already tension. Soon, though, they're both fighting for their lives as it becomes clear someone wants Lucien dead, and the only person capable of stopping them is Stephen.
Book 1 is very much a small cast of characters- just Stephen, Lucien, and Lucien's manservant Merrick, trapped in an isolated location together. Books 2 and 3, by contrast, are set in London and we get to see more of the wider world, includimg Stephen's team of magical law enforcers and his rather formidable partner Esther, and also Lucien's aristocratic and business circles. But of course, magical plots are never far away, and here in wider Victorian society Lucien and Stephen's relationship is very much illegal, and a threat to both of them if it is exposed. And, yet again, someone wants Lucien dead...
I enjoyed all three of these books, although I think book 1, The Magpie Lord, may be my favourite. They are well paced, and have a good mix of interesting and enjoyable characters, plot, investigation, action and relationship development. My only real complaint is that the sex scenes (of which there aren't many, to be fair) seem rather... unnecessarily tacked on? Their physical relationship is important for plot reasons that would give away too much if I went into detail, but I did find myself skimming the actual sex scenes to get back to the plot and action. But apart from that, if you like m/m romance and historical fantasy type settings, I highly recommend them.
reading list 2022
book bingo list 2022
The Heron's Cry, by Ann Cleeves (book bingo H)
My shiny new book series discovery in late 2021 was the 'Between Two Rivers' series by Ann Cleeves, who is also the author of the Shetland and Vera series. Book one, The Long Call, introduces her new detective, Matthew Venn, and The Heron's Cry is the second book in the series. I was actually put onto these books by the tv adaptation of The Long Call last October (with the rather tasty Ben Aldridge as Matthew), and when I enjoyed that, I decided to try the books.
I'd never read any Cleeves before, despite a couple of people recommending her when I was asking for crime fiction recs a couple of years ago. I can now see why she's so popular.
The Heron's Cry has a suitably complex plot and sprawling cast of characters, and I absolutely didn't guess whodunit (in fact, the character whodunit was barely even on my radar!).
I love the main character of Matthew, with all his principles and flaws and neuroses, and I want to take him home and cuddle him, although I suspect he would object quite strongly to that. In both books the victim and/or some of the suspects have connections to Matthew's husband, Jonathan, which brings an extra level of angst for Matthew, who prefers to keep a strict separation of work and home. Jonathan gets even more involved in the investigation in the second book, so there's bonus relationship complications to go with all the murders.
I read The Long Call (book 1) in three days, and it would have been less if it wasn't for pesky things like needing to eat and sleep and go to work getting in the way. I read The Heron's Cry in a single day. I sensibly started it on a Saturday morning, by lunchtime I'd cancelled all other plans for the day, and I finished it that evening. The very definition of 'unputdownable'! Now I just need Cleeves to write faster and produce book three!
Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch (book bingo M)
I read Rivers of London a few years ago, and I have no idea why it's taken me this long to read book two in the series, because they're awesome. I love the humour, I love the main character, Peter Grant, and I love the setup of modern policing plus magic.
Moon Over Soho started a bit slowly, but picked up pace as it went along, and the final quarter was a non-stop action sequence that had me unable to put it down until it was finished very late at night.
If I have a quibble, it's that the blurb on the back of the book is surprisingly misleading as to the actual plot, and particularly the link to Grant's father. That, and I think I need to re-read it to get my head around some of the details of the plot. But when the book is this good, giving it a second read is not exactly a hardship.
The Magpie Lord, A Case of Possession, and Flight of Magpies (Books 1-3 in the Charm of Magpies series), by KJ Charles (book bingo C and F, would have used all three for bingo fills but M was already taken!).
I have to admit this is a re-read, but it's been a few years since I last read them, and to be honest I had forgotten large chunks of the story. I'm reviewing all three books together because it's very much a continuing series, you can't really read the later books without having read the earlier ones in the correct order. I'm not sure whether they're short novels, or long novellas, but either way I read them all in no more than a couple of days each.
It's an m/m romance series set in an alternate version of Victorian Britain where magic exists. Lucien, Lord Crane, returns from exile to claim his title and inheritance when his brother dies in somewhat less than normal circumstances, but immediately things start to go wrong, and eventually he is forced to call on magical aid. Enter Stephen Day, a justiciar, which is basically magical law enforcement. Somewhat complicating matters is the fact that their families have history - Lucien's father did everything in his (quite considerable) power to destroy Stephen's father, so there's already tension. Soon, though, they're both fighting for their lives as it becomes clear someone wants Lucien dead, and the only person capable of stopping them is Stephen.
Book 1 is very much a small cast of characters- just Stephen, Lucien, and Lucien's manservant Merrick, trapped in an isolated location together. Books 2 and 3, by contrast, are set in London and we get to see more of the wider world, includimg Stephen's team of magical law enforcers and his rather formidable partner Esther, and also Lucien's aristocratic and business circles. But of course, magical plots are never far away, and here in wider Victorian society Lucien and Stephen's relationship is very much illegal, and a threat to both of them if it is exposed. And, yet again, someone wants Lucien dead...
I enjoyed all three of these books, although I think book 1, The Magpie Lord, may be my favourite. They are well paced, and have a good mix of interesting and enjoyable characters, plot, investigation, action and relationship development. My only real complaint is that the sex scenes (of which there aren't many, to be fair) seem rather... unnecessarily tacked on? Their physical relationship is important for plot reasons that would give away too much if I went into detail, but I did find myself skimming the actual sex scenes to get back to the plot and action. But apart from that, if you like m/m romance and historical fantasy type settings, I highly recommend them.
reading list 2022
book bingo list 2022