October has been a wonderful month for books for me. I have been lucky enough to get advanced copies of books by some of my favourite authors including Barbara Kingsolver, C.J. Sansom and Lucinda Riley. This has made this months top three hard to choose but after much deliberation I have finally come to a decision.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I do not usually read books that come under the fantasy, magic genre but after seeing the trailer for the television series I thought I would give the book ago, and now I am addicted to this trilogy. What blew me away with this book was Deborah Harkness’ writing, she has such wonderfully descriptive prose and her characterisation is just amazing; she brings the cast to life. This is the first book in the All Souls Trilogy which follows the relationship between Diana Bishop, a witch and Matthew De Clairmont, a vampire whose illicit romance develops as they search for a magical manuscript Ashmole 782. This book has love, loss, thrills, secrets, suspense and plenty of action to keep your attention. I have to admit that I have become addicted to this series and have just finished the second book and about to start the third. This is a spellbindingly superb read.
Tombland by C. J. Sansom. This was the surprise release of the year for me as I thought that Lamentation was the last in the Shardlake series of novels. Needless to say this became the most anticipated release of the year for me. Tombland is set three years after the last book and sees Matthew Shardlake working for the Lady Elizabeth as her lawyer. Elizabeth sends him to Norwich to see that justice is served after a distant relative is charged with murdering his wife. Whilst there Shardlake finds himself caught up in the peasants revolt and finds his life in danger. Many of the old characters return including Jack Barak, Nicholas Overton and the Richard Rich. This book is rich in historical detail, with vividly drawn characters, and an immersive plot; it is magnificent read.
The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley. This is the fifth book in Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters Series. The Moon Sister is Tiggy’s story, and takes us from the highlands of Scotland to the caves of Sacromonte in Grenada, to the Flamenco Bars of Barcelona to Argentina and New York. This is the best book in the series for me, I loved learning about the gitanos, Spanish gypsies, their history, passion, warmth and pride in their heritage. Lucinda Riley seamlessly weaves together the threads of the past and present to weave a wonderfully vivid and colourful story full of passion, heartbreak, loss and self discovery. This is one of my favourite literary series and highly recommend it.
The full reviews of these three books and the others I have reviewed in October are available on my blog. I hope I have inspired you to pick up at least one of my choices and give them a go.
I am looking forward to November when I will be reviewing a book by another favourite author of mine, Karen Swan, and the second in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
Investors do pay direct and indirect prices.