The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is the fictional biography of an elderly author, told from the biographer's perspective. Known for her best-selling stories, Vida Winter is on her deathbed and the ghosts of her past demand a true accounting of her life.

Chosen for her amateur biography of sibling writers, Margaret Lea immerses herself into the telling of Vida's life. However, Vida demands that the story be told in its proper order: the beginning in the beginning, the middle in the middle and the end at the end. Not satisfied, Margaret sets out to determine the ending before Vida arrives. Consequently, Vida is also racing against time to tell her story before she dies.

Margaret also has some secrets of her own that come to light in this book. As you read on, you learn more about her own twinness and the burden she carries in her heart and at home.

I was enthralled by this story from the first page. The language, so reminiscent of older-style books, captured my attention right away. The story of Vida was a mystery in itself, with the mystery already solved from her point of view. However, from Margaret's, it was new and fresh and needing a solution. There are a few twists and turns that were surprises, some less so.

One of the best parts of the book is that there is a finalization to the story at the end: all the loose ends are tied up, all major items are solved and even some of the little bits are accounted for. It actually ended, something that I haven't seen too much of lately (having read countless series).

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. I found myself thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it: trying to solve the mystery or rationalizing what was going on or even just attempting to wrap my head around some of the oddness of the characters and their personal habits. A second reading will definitely occur, just so I can see some of the clues as they're presented and recognize them for what they are.

The Wayfinders: Posted!!

Now I can finally post my review! Well, more like my review is finally finished and handed in. :D

Either way, you can now read it on the Books & Co website!!!

Greywalker

I just finally finished reading Greywalker by Kat Richardson. Loved it.

Harper Blaine, the heroine, is a private investigator who in the course of work died for 2 minutes. As a result, the paranormal realm "sticks" to her allowing her to walk with one foot in the daylight and one foot in the Grey.

As a heroine, Harper is witty and smart. You learn about walking in the Grey as she does, but the author doesn't dumb it down, and she also doesn't make the main character seem like a ditz or idiot in order to explain everything. In fact, since Harper's mentors include a two university professors (one of which is a witch - haha!) and so they have a tendency to overdo it with the science jargon.

Another thing I like: Harper catches on fast. There were times when I was practically yelling at the book, because the forshadowing was so strong that I was worried Harper was an idiot. Nope - instead, she was figuring it out as well, and was, in fact, two steps ahead. You don't follow all of Harper's moves, despite it being written in the first person.

One of the things that I found I didn't like was the action scenes. Things are flying out of nowhere and maybe it's a lack of imagination on my part, but I found myself lost when she was in the Grey and battling creatures. I'd have to wait until she spoke with her mentors to be able to actually understand what was happening.

Also, I found her a little hard to relate to, and even emotionally barren. She's a PI and thus needs to be able to keep her mouth shut on certain issues, but she does it at the cost of friendship. She also shuts out her (then - and maybe later) boyfriend, Will. Personally, I would've been a wreck, but she takes it in stride. She expresses fear and anger well enough, but not her softer side. But, that could just be me.

Overall? Loved it. I liked the paranormal suspense and liked the characters.

PS - I have a prediction: Quinton is a werewolf. Let's see if I'm right when I read the next book by Kat Richardson in her series: Poltergeist!

*** Fun Fact: Kat Richardson is on twitter! ***

The Wayfinders: Update

Heya! So, I've finally finished The Wayfinders by Wade Davis and the review is written. It's in the process of being edited by my wonderful friend Vyxen and once that's done and posted on the Books & Co website I'll post it here too. :)

Wonderful news! Devon Monk's book, Magic in Shadows, is in my grubby little hands! Well, not literally, at least not yet, but tomorrow! I have seen the future and it is at Books & Co!

The next series of books to be reviewed will be the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson.

Stay tuned....

In Progress

I'm in the middle of reading The Wayfinders by Wade Davis. So far it's pretty good. The book is a 5 part CBC Massey lecture series on cultural anthropology and it's written from a scientific background. So far, so good. The author has very poetic phrasings and makes the lecture interesting to read and you feel like you're almost there. Since I've never been much of a history buff, I find it easy to read and follow along. And it makes me want to keep reading!

I'll let you know more when I finish. :)