For its entire history, the British monarchy has relied on its trusted courtiers—the unseen advisers who handle both the forward public-facing activitFor its entire history, the British monarchy has relied on its trusted courtiers—the unseen advisers who handle both the forward public-facing activities of the royal family and its behind-the-scenes feuds and scandals. For better or worse, with their guidance and influence, they have been instrumental in some of the biggest events in British history.
In Courtiers, Valentine Low has given readers not only an in-depth examination into the reigns of King George and the unprecedented 70-year-long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, but we also gain insight into how the current courtiers of King Charles III and Prince William are working with them to shape the future of the monarchy in Britain. Valentine Low has been a fixture in British journalism covering the royal family for the past fifteen years. Traveling on assignments with the late queen to Russia, with the now King Charles III to the Galapagos Islands, and with the new Prince and Princess of Wales to Bhutan, Low has gained the trust of both the monarchs and the courtiers and is sharing their stories of what it is like to work behind the gilded doors of Buckingham Palace.
There is little doubt that most readers who pick up this book will grab it because of the ongoing drama between The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and The Prince and Princess of Wales. And that’s the publisher and author’s goal, to get the reader to grab the book thinking there will be a no-holds-barred account of their fights between warring factions of the Sussex team and then Cambridge team, the cover of Courtiers has their photos on it even though they are only in the last 3-4 chapters of the book. It is worth noting that Valentine Low is the journalist who first broke the story of Markle’s abusive behavior toward her courtiers in May 2021 and a subsequent inquiry was conducted by Buckingham Palace, results of which have never been released.
This is a fascinating look into court life for any British history buff, but sadly it will most likely only be read by those who want the dirt on Harry & Meghan and William & Catherine.
3 out of 5 stars. It is a great book for a history buff, but most will read it for the scant coverage of the Sussex/Wales drama.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
These Lingering Shadows is collection of fifteen gothic tales compiled by Last Waltz Publishing with a little something for every flavor of horror fanThese Lingering Shadows is collection of fifteen gothic tales compiled by Last Waltz Publishing with a little something for every flavor of horror fan—ghosts, witches, revenge, vampires, haunted houses, demons—both literal and personal, and so much more.
“The Far Field� by Heather Miller - a secret romance between a field worker and the field owner’s son, once sweet soon becomes inconvenient and must be handled. Haunting, beautiful tale of vengeance.
“Hallow House� by Jo Kaplan � Sixty years ago on Halloween night, Jordan’s friends went missing after a dare gone wrong. Now as an elderly man of 72, he is going back to Hollow House to find his friends. Dizzyingly creepy and unsettling!
“Nory’s� by Michael J. Moore � An old-timer out for his daily stroll overhears a group of teens sharing an outlandish tale about the creepy origins of local pizzeria. When he arrives at the pizzeria to share the laughable gossip with his friend who owns it, he gets the shock of his life.
“Behold, Death Arrives, A Duet of Ash and Fang� by Jae Mazer- Vero lives with her dead sister and feeds a monster in the woods to gain its loyalty to exact revenge for her family. “Hell Hath No Fury� by Diana Olney � After receiving a bouquet of roses from her ex-lover, Claire is ill at ease. Dark, heart-wrenching, haunting with an unexpected ending.
“A Halloween Ghost Story� by Christy Aldridge � After teenage Kenzie is grounded after a drunk driving incident by her parents she is forced to stay home on Halloween and can’t go inside until she gives out every single piece of candy. If she runs out of candy before a particular trick-or-treater arrives, things will not go well for Kenzie. A creepy good campfire-type tale.
“Mine� by Matt Scott- A power-obsessed man is intent on building his mansion, to his exacting specifications and disregard for the lives of his workers, in the town that bears his name. The townspeople are fed up and want him gone, by any means necessary. Years pass, and the mansion is associated with numerous deaths, when a descendent of the original owner takes ownership of the mansion. The past meets the future of one family with a violent explosive result.
“The Dare� by Tony Evans - Tim, the new boy in town, takes a dare to walk through every room of the rumored to be haunted Baily House. The prize—a date with Gina! Footprints in the house lead Tim to believe that others have taken the dare before him, and he’s not sure what he will find inside.
“Cries of the Night� by Guy Quintero � Matilda is forced to serve her drunken father’s wishes and take his abuse without complaint. On her nightly chore to fetch his ale, she is captivated by a stranger who kidnaps her. A life-changing event bonds her to a being who seeks to avenge her innocence to those who have wronged her.
“The Feeding� by D.E. Grant- Selene is born into a line of witches and offered up as a sacrifice to the vampires by her mother, a powerful mage. Now a powerful Witch Vampire hybrid, she seeks to create a clan of her own kind. A vampire and witch war erupts and only one side can win.
“Belladonna’s Curse� by Danielle Manx - Grace is a witch whose cancer hasn’t responded to traditional or holistic treatments. Next best plan is a body switching spell on Halloween with a guest of her B&B who has issues of his own.
“Devlin’s Manse� by Daemon Manx - Devlin's Manse, a once beautiful Victorian house, is in dire need of renovation due to decades of vacancy. When workers come into the house and begin to work and bring it back to its former glory, the lives of inhabitants James and Mary become more threatened.
“Flesh and Chocolate� by James G. Carlson � Felix has been looking forward to Halloween night and going trick-or-treating with his older brother Parker and his friend Tig, much to their dismay. Eager to be one of the treated like one of the older kids, he follows their plan to go trick-or-treating in the rich area of town. When bullies steal Felix’s candy, he encounters a stranger and makes a bargain with her—she gets the bullies and he gets a wish granted, one that yields sweet results.
“Riding the Ghost Train� by Jack Wells - An affluent, but angry drunkard has sunk to a new low—he has now struck his wife in front of their children. In shame and remorse, he has exiled himself to the family cabin to detox alone —so he believes. Is he going insane from alcohol deprivation or is he really losing his mind? Very creepy and atmospheric story.
“A Dream of Dead Leaves� by Jeremy Megargee � Years after her sister Fiona has taken her own life in a haunted house on Halloween night, Olive enters the house seeking a connection to her sister and is met with dreams of Fiona beckoning her to an unending Halloween. Haunting and heartbreaking.
This anthology was excellent, and I really loved how the stories were arranged to achieve the maximum emotional impact on the reader. Heather Miller’s story “The Far Field,� “Hell Hath No Fury� by Diana Olney, Daemon Manx’s story “Devlin’s Manse,� and Jeremy Megargee’s “A Dream of Dead Leaves� were emotional gut punches that hit me especially hard. I also loved how the Halloween themed stories, “A Halloween Ghost Story� by Christy Aldridge and “Flesh and Chocolate� by James G. Carlson were also spread out through the book along with the haunted house stories, “Hallow House�, “Mine,� and “The Dare� were sprinkled throughout so as not to lose their effect. They were perfectly placed. I absolutely LOVED “Behold, Death Arrives, A Duet of Ash and Fang� by Jae Mazer. Last Waltz Publishing knocked this anthology out of the park and I look forward to their next outing.
5/5 Stars Thank you to Last Waltz Publishing for providing me with an eArc for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions of this work are my own. ...more
In his newest book The Queen: Her Life, Andrew Morton centers his journalistic lens on the most revered member of the British royal family, Queen ElizIn his newest book The Queen: Her Life, Andrew Morton centers his journalistic lens on the most revered member of the British royal family, Queen Elizabeth II.
From her birth in 1926 up to the death of her beloved husband Prince Philip in 2021, in The Queen: Her Life, we are given an in-depth account of the life of Queen Elizabeth II--from her childhood confidants, family members, and those who served during the highs and lows of her unprecedented seventy-year reign.
The Queen: Her Life is a testimony of a life of devoted, unwavering service to her people and her country.
Thank you to #GrandCentralPublishing and #NetGalley for providing a review copy of #TheQueen for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
Tales My Grandmother Told Me is everything a collection of horror short stories should be—cozy, creepy, and occasionally gruesome. From the humorous BTales My Grandmother Told Me is everything a collection of horror short stories should be—cozy, creepy, and occasionally gruesome. From the humorous Burglar Man to the truly terrifying (to me) Safe House and Girls Best Friend, there is something here for every age and flavor of horror fan.
In the preface, we are introduced to Miller’s grandmother Nan, and we learn about her love of horror and how she passed that along with her talent for storytelling to her. The blending of stories from Miller’s grandmother and those of her own creation is seamless. In my opinion, one of the most important parts of this book is the continued tradition of keeping the stories and songs of our forefathers alive for future generations. I look forward to re-reading this collection in the future and sharing it with my nieces and nephews who are all budding horror fans I would feel comfortable sharing this not only with them, but also with older family members in hopes they will share stories with me. All in all, I would say Miller that she did her Nan proud.
5/5 Stars Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions of said work are my own....more
Upon her great-aunt’s death, Eudora Fellowes inherits not only her fortune but also her crumbling seaside property known as High Hearth. Seeking to sh
Upon her great-aunt’s death, Eudora Fellowes inherits not only her fortune but also her crumbling seaside property known as High Hearth. Seeking to shake off the expectations of a proper lady in society, Eudora sees High Hearth as a chance to build a life she can live as she pleases—choosing to remain contentedly unmarried and childless. Taking few belongings and her faithful hounds Black Shuck and Cerberus, Eudora sets out to make High Hearth her own. She quickly finds that in inheriting High Hearth, she has also inherited all the dangerous secrets in its walls and the distrust of the townsfolk engendered by her great-aunt.
I was immediately engrossed in this book, starting it in the afternoon and could not sleep until I finished it. I love Cooper's detail in the story—dress, etiquette, little bits of information about the house and those who lived in it before her—all superb. The story is the perfect length, you get all the chills and excitement, but it doesn’t get caught up in any extraneous storylines it could have pursued. Inheriting Her Ghosts is S.H. Cooper’s best book thus far.
I am a huge fan of the original novella and hyped it to anyone who would listen when it came out last year. What you’ll find in the newly released colI am a huge fan of the original novella and hyped it to anyone who would listen when it came out last year. What you’ll find in the newly released collection Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes are stories of people yearning for what is lacking in their lives and seeking to fill that void.
In the first story, “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke,� is an epistolary tale told in emails and text messages between two young women seeking connection—what starts as kindness and friendship quickly devolves to stomach-churning acts of sadomasochistic control. This story is brutal and if you are easily squeamish, read with caution.
The second tale, “The Enchantment,� we find a couple trying to repair their marriage in the wake of losing their only child. In the desperate need to connect to their son, Olive clings to her faith while husband James accepts the loss of faith in a world that has just discovered that there is no afterlife awaiting them when they pass. Lots of supernatural and rich religious symbolism present in this story. I would have loved if this had been fleshed out as a full novel.
The last story, “You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over,� is an odd tale of a man who finds a mysterious bone in his yard that leads him to his neighbor seeking answers. What follows is a bizarre encounter where his innate politeness and inability to say no when pressed upon leads to a series of bets with staggering consequences. This story gave me big Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Twilight Zone vibes. Like the entry before, I would have loved to read more of this story.
All in all, I really enjoyed this read and was thrilled to know that it lives up to the unsettling vibes of its original story. Please check the trigger warnings before reading, there is a lot of material that some might find upsetting.
5/5 Stars Many thanks to #NetGalley and #TitanBooks for providing me with a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
We Are Wildflowers is a breath of fresh air in the field of poetry. In sharing this collection, Britt Gonzalez has laid her heart and soul bare to herWe Are Wildflowers is a breath of fresh air in the field of poetry. In sharing this collection, Britt Gonzalez has laid her heart and soul bare to her readers. Sharing her vulnerability, we see poems of despair, addiction, abuse, and ultimately redemption, healing, and advocacy.
I initially read We Are Wildflowers through my Kindle Unlimited account when it came out, but now seeing that there are poems in the physical copy that weren’t available in the digital, I just ordered it so that I can read more of Gonzalez’s work. This is a great debut collection and I am looking forward to reading more of her work. ...more
What started as a forum post entitled, “My Neighbor Has Been Staring at the Moon for Hours,� was dismissed as a sci-fi story shared in the wrong forumWhat started as a forum post entitled, “My Neighbor Has Been Staring at the Moon for Hours,� was dismissed as a sci-fi story shared in the wrong forum. Soon other members of the forum began sharing their own experiences corroborating what the original poster described: people standing statute still for hours on end fixated on the moon above. When the sun rises, the Stargazers are no longer themselves and are set on an unknown course to destroy both civilization and humankind.
While used to this level of destruction and carnage are common in war zones, former soldier with PTSD and now family-man Henry Sylva never expected to have to face it on the home front. Now Henry and his family gather what supplies they can and set out to escape the city crumbling around them. When tragedy hits, Henry must rely on his survival skills to keep his family safe from both the Stargazers and the human monsters around them.
I am a HUGE fan of dystopian and epistolary fiction. In 120 short pages, LP Hernandez has deftly built a story from a single fantastical forum post about the odd behavior of someone’s neighbor to the survival of this family during a complete societal breakdown. I love the way the chapters alternated back and forth between the plight of the Sylva family and the posts on the Reddit-like forum, reading how the world is breaking down outside the scope of the Sylva family.
This is a gorgeous, gut punch of a story. Hands down my favorite novella of 2022 so far. Very much looking forward to further stories from the My Dark Library collection as they come out.
5/5 Stars Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions of this work are my own....more
Haunted and Hungry is a highly entertaining collection of five short stories that were perfect bite size horror stories. It is hard to find a collectiHaunted and Hungry is a highly entertaining collection of five short stories that were perfect bite size horror stories. It is hard to find a collection where each of the stories are fun and refreshingly original, not relying on the same tired formats. Even when I attempted to predict the direction the story was going, I was completely far off the mark.
This collection is perfect for the beginning horror reader in the late teens all the way up to the seasoned horror fan looking for some fun quick frights. I’ve seen other reviews that say that H&H reminded them of the Goosebumps stories and shows, and I agree, but I’d also recommend it to fans who were into the Tales from the Darkside series back in the day.
I thoroughly enjoyed AJ Spencer’s work in this collection, and I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.
4/4 Stars Thank you to the author for providing me with a review copy of his book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ...more
Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers, written by Janine Pipe, is a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the cult classic film by Neil Marshall.Sausages: The Making of Dog Soldiers, written by Janine Pipe, is a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the cult classic film by Neil Marshall. From the very first page, Ms. Pipe’s love for this movie and its actors is clearly evident.
Doing her due diligence, Ms. Pipe set out to interview as many participants as possible, from cast and crew to its director, Neil Marshall. From learning about financing the movie, why the director chose professional dancers to play the werewolves in the movie, and who was ultimately cast in the movie. I loved learning all the little behind-the-scenes tidbits that you wouldn’t otherwise know about the production.
I have never seen Dog Soldiers before I agreed to review this, and of course, I made it a point to see it before reading. I think I've watched it at least three times since that initial viewing, attempting to catch all of the little bits mentioned by the cast and director. I can happily say that it has become one of my favorite werewolf movies. I get Pipe’s love and enthusiasm for this flick.
5/5 Stars
Thanks to #EncyclopocalypseBooks for providing me a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.
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