Tag: advance review copy

#BookReview Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy @Aria_Fiction

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Wolf of WessexAbout the Book

AD 838. Deep in the forests of Wessex, Dunston’s solitary existence is shattered when he stumbles on a mutilated corpse.

Accused of the murder, Dunston must clear his name and keep the dead man’s daughter alive in the face of savage pursuers desperate to prevent a terrible secret from being revealed.

Rushing headlong through Wessex, Dunston will need to use all the skills of survival garnered from a lifetime in the wilderness. And if he has any hope of victory against the implacable enemies on their trail, he must confront his long-buried past – becoming the man he once was and embracing traits he had promised he would never return to. The Wolf of Wessex must hunt again; honour and duty demand it.

Format: ebook                                              Publisher: Aria
Publication date: 14th November 2019 Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

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My Review

Dunston and Aedwen, daughter of the murdered man, make a great partnership as they set off on the trail of the ruthless killers and try to uncover the reasons behind the murder. Dunston’s foraging and tracking skills, learned from his father and grandfather, prove extremely useful and Aedwen becomes an eager pupil as the pair retrace the journey made by her peddler father in the days before his death.

As you would expect from the author, there are some terrifically exciting and vividly described action scenes in which Dunston’s fighting prowess, gained from his former membership of the band of warriors known as the Wolves of Wessex, is amply demonstrated. Plus there are some heart-stopping moments as Dunston and Aedwen become the hunted rather than the hunters.

The book is rich in period detail – of food, dress, domestic life, weaponry and so on – which really immerses the reader in the atmosphere of the time and gives a sense of authenticity. During their journey along the roads and through the dense forests of Wessex, Dunston and Aedwen encounter all manner of people – traders, hunters, farmers, charcoal burners, not to mention the feared ‘wolf-heads’.

I really enjoyed getting to know the two main characters. Aedwen, despite her traumatic experience, is brave and resourceful. She spurs on Dunston to join her in the quest for justice and comes to respect and depend upon him. Dunston faces a moral conflict between the oath he gave to his dying wife and what might be necessary to protect Aedwen and bring the murderers to justice – unleashing the wolf inside him once again.

Wolf of Wessex will keep fans of Matthew Harffy’s ‘Bernicia Chronicles’ series (such as Storm of Steel which I read and reviewed recently) satisfied until such time as they can get their hands on the next instalment. Equally, Wolf of Wessex with its mixture of action and mystery would make a brilliant introduction for readers new to the author’s writing. And perhaps, just perhaps, this isn’t the last we’ll hear of Dunston and Aedwen.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Aria via NetGalley.

In three words: Action-packed, exciting, mystery

Try something similar: Vindolanda by Adrian Goldsworthy (read my review here)

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Harffy_MatthewAbout the Author

Matthew grew up in Northumberland where the rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline had a huge impact on him.

He now lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.

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#BookReview Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

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Olive, AgainAbout the Book

Olive, Again follows the blunt, contradictory yet deeply loveable Olive Kitteridge as she grows older, navigating the second half of her life as she comes to terms with the changes – sometimes welcome, sometimes not – in her own existence and in those around her.

Olive adjusts to her new life with her second husband, challenges her estranged son and his family to accept him, experiences loss and loneliness, witnesses the triumphs and heartbreaks of her friends and neighbours in the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine – and, finally, opens herself to new lessons about life.

Format: ebook (304 pages)                  Publisher: Viking
Publication date: 31st October 2019 Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Short Stories

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com | Hive (supporting UK bookshops)
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Find Olive, Again (Olive Kitteridge, #2) on Goodreads

My Review

Olive, Again follows the same structure as Olive Kitteridge, a series of linked vignettes featuring the inhabitants of Crosby, Maine, in which Olive herself features to varying degrees.  Sometimes she has merely a walk-on part, sometimes she plays a more significant role in a story and occasionally she’s the main focus but in every case there’s a meaning attached to her appearance that may only become evident to the reader later.  Events in the book unfold over a number of years, during which the reader witnesses major events in Olive’s life.

Those who’ve read Olive Kitteridge will be pleased to know that Olive is her same outspoken, honest, slightly irascible self.  She’s someone who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, as exemplified by her reaction to the baby shower she attends – and which of us hasn’t been at a social event where we’ve longed to have the courage to say the sort of things Olive does! But she also has an uncanny instinct for what others need, demonstrated in -for me – one of the most moving stories, ‘February Light’, where Olive is the only person who seems to know the right thing to say to a dying woman.  As one character remarks, “Olive, you’re the kind of person people want to talk to.”

Olive, Again sees Olive in self-reflective mood as well, wondering if there are things in her life she could have done better, especially in regard to her relationship with her son, Christopher, and his family.   Relationships between parents and children is one of the recurring themes of the book which also explores ageing and how to face the challenges life brings. Along with those mentioned above, some of my other favourite stories were ‘Helped’, ‘The Poet’ and the final story, ‘Friend’.

Olive, Again is by turns tender, funny, heartbreaking and life-affirming.  It demonstrates the observational skills for which the author has become rightly renowned.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Viking via NetGalley

In three words: Moving, acutely-observed, assured

Try something similar: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (read my review here)

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Elizabeth StroutAbout the Author

Elizabeth Strout was born in Portland, Maine, and grew up in small towns in Maine and New Hampshire.  From a young age she was drawn to writing things down, keeping notebooks that recorded the quotidian details of her days.  She was also drawn to books, and spent hours of her youth in the local library lingering among the stacks of fiction.  During the summer months of her childhood she played outdoors, either with her brother, or, more often, alone, and this is where she developed her deep and abiding love of the physical world: the seaweed covered rocks along the coast of Maine, and the woods of New Hampshire with its hidden wildflowers.

During her adolescent years, Strout continued writing avidly, having conceived of herself as a writer from early on.  She read biographies of writers, and was already studying – on her own – the way American writers, in particular, told their stories.  Poetry was something she read and memorized; by the age of sixteen was sending out stories to magazines.  Her first story was published when she was twenty-six.

Strout attended Bates College, graduating with a degree in English in 1977.  Two years later, she went to Syracuse University College of Law, where she received a law degree along with a Certificate in Gerontology.  She worked briefly for Legal Services, before moving to New York City, where she became an adjunct in the English Department of Borough of Manhattan Community College.  By this time she was publishing more stories in literary magazines and Redbook and Seventeen.  Juggling the needs that came with raising a family and her teaching schedule, she found a few hours each day to work on her writing. (Bio: author website, photo credit: Goodreads author page)

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