Book Mix & Match 4

I chose a cocktail that makes me think of spring, as it has turned decidedly colder and more wintry as I write this. The Floral Daiquiri makes me think of warmer days. First rinse a little Creme de violette around a coupe glass. Muddle a few blueberries in a shaker, then add 2 shots of rum, 2/3 shot of lime juice, 1/2 shot of lavender syrup and 1/2 shot of elderflower liqueur. Shake with ice and strain into your glass. Then pick a book from the selection below and forget about the cold!

The Book of Dust - Philip Pullman

This is the story of Malcolm, who meets Lyra when she is just a baby. There seem to be a great many people interested in her and he immediately feels protective towards the little girl. He knows she will be important in the future and luckily his instincts are quite accurate in knowing who to trust and who may be a danger to her. When a great flood appears, he rescues Lyra and with the help of Alice and his trusty canoe, Le Belle Sauvage, will go to great lengths to get Lyra back to her father.

I was re-reading Northern Lights at the same time and this feels exactly the same, even though it is written so many years later. I loved it and found it so hard to put down every time I started reading.

I love the idea of daemons, another part of ourselves that we could actually talk to. This quote from the book pretty much says it all..."Of course, he and Asta were one being, so the intuitions were his anyway, as much as his feelings were hers."

City of Ghosts - Victoria Schwab

While Cass's parents write books about ghosts, she can actually see ghosts and even her best friend is a ghost. When her parents are asked to film a new ghost hunter TV show, they visit haunted Edinburgh. There Cass meets Lara, who is just like her and explains that they have a job to do. They have the power to send ghosts past the veil so they are no longer stuck in this world.

While quite a lot of this first book is world building, I am really looking forward to book two and more of Cass' adventures. Hopefully there will be more about Jacob's background, it definitely sounds like he is going to be an interesting character.

Strange The Dreamer - Laini Taylor

As an orphan child in a monastery, Lazlo loves to play at being a Tizerkane warrior and hardly dares to dream that he would someday day meet one, let alone be able to visit their fabled city of Weep. A chance encounter has him visiting the Great Library of Zosma and there the library decides to keep him. As he grows he spends all his free time researching Weep, finding out anything he can and even teaching himself the language.

When the Tizerkane appear at the library with a problem, he jumps at the chance to do anything he can to help but his life turns out to be far more connected to Weep than he ever could have imagined.

Lazlo's love of books is so wonderful, I can just imagine him as a child, being swallowed up by the library. 

I listened to the audiobook which probably helped a lot with the pronunciation of most of the words, I can't imagine how I would have read them to myself. The narrator's voice and the different characters were great, though I found the reading a little slow and had to speed it up a bit. I'm looking forward to book 2 though I think I will have to continue with audio now that I've started.

The Muse - Jessie Burton

I received the audiobook through City Read as this was the book of the month.

Odelle is trying to make a life for herself in London but is unsatisfied with her job in a shoe shop and manages to get a typing job at an art institute. There she meets Quick, who becomes her mentor. 

Around 30 years earlier, Olive has just moved to Spain with her parents. She lives to paint, though she can't really show her father, an art dealer, as he doesn't believe women can be true artists.

With the discovery of a painting in London, the girls' stories intertwine in an intriguing and mysterious way. There is plenty of suspense, whenever you think you have figured something out, it becomes even more puzzling.

The narrator was wonderful, with a number of very different voices and so much feeling and character.

Sea Witch - Sarah Henning

This book was not at all what I was expecting. It is a Little Mermaid retelling but with a lot more going on and turns out to be more of an origin story. Full of magic, surprises and betrayals.

It probably started off as a 3-star for me but got more interesting as I read on and by then end I really enjoyed it. I loved the descriptions of life by the ocean and how the villagers relied on the ocean as their generous but also merciless goddess.

What bothered me throughout was that I didn't really understand how someone could appear, looking exactly like a girl who drowned a few years ago, but everyone would just believe it wasn't her. Particularly one of her very best friends. I also would have loved to know how Anna, Evie and Nik became friends to start with, especially as Nik and Evie have 

to fight to be allowed to stay friends.