You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

If the two chosen books are not to your liking, you can read another book that fits this month's theme of 'paranormal'.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book before or during October 2021.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read. Please elaborate on your thoughts on at least 5 of the following topics:
- Setting
- Characters
- Writing style
- Genre
- How the book made you feel
- Which parts stood out
- Did you/will you read more by the author
- Anything else related to the book you find worth mentioning

This can be done in one post after finishing the book, but preferably in a few posts while reading. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

WOF Marie (MAZZA 57)

I mayy get round to reading Under the Whispering Door but in the meantime i have read
A Deadly Education

I am afraid it did not take me long enough to read to give my views in a few separate posts.
Naomi Novak is one of my favourite authors hooked ever since my son put His Majesty's Dragon on my first Kindle for me. I am stoked to have a new series to go at and I have the second in the series on NetGalley already.

This book is really all about the setting which is a School of Magic that runs without teachers and from which only some of its students get out alive. There is some attrition during the years leading up to senior year but the majority occurs during the ceremony of Graduation each year.

There is an emphasis on status within the school and on getting into "an enclave" almost like an American Soriety.

There are numerous characters but I suppose the two main ones are Orion Lake - the school's self styled superhero and Gadriel the definition of outsider. I liked how both of these characters developed over the course of the book and how they dealt with the issues over status and society. I think the author cleverly inserted some moral themes into their character development

Writing style It is not a book that you can Wizz through, there is so much going on that you have to be careful to take it all in but it does have a natural rhythm that makes it a satisfying read. As a Paranormal Fantasy it wouldn't be top of my genre list but Naomi Novak was a draw.

I liked that the author manages to give her characters a moral compass without making them feel puritanical and that their characters mange to influence others. She also introduces a mammoth cast of student eating ghouls and critters and none of it feelsOTT

Which parts stood out
I liked it all I don't think there is a point where you think oh get on with it. However I love the non-hero worship relationship that Galadriel has with Orion even though he has saved her life more times than he has hot dinners - eating safely can be a bit of an issue at this school. Obviously the magic is good too but it is difficult to tell you all about it without giving away the whole book.

Did you/will you read more by the author - I have read most of this author's work and will certainly continue this series. I think it is a series you would probably want to read the books of close together to keep everything in your head BUT as the second is only JUST out the third might be a while away

Sounds like you really enjoyed it Marie! Is it YA?

I read The Orphan Witch last month and was really disappointed in it. I loved the cover so much, so the story wasn't what I was expecting at all. I thought it would be a sweet story about an orphan child, who happens to be a witch, finding her place in the world and it really wasn't. The MC is not a child in the book. She was an orphan who grew up and the story isn't about her when she was an orphan, but her as an adult.

Plus, it was about her learning to use her magic, so there were a lot of descriptions of her learning. (Imagine sitting through Harry Potter's lessons with him instead of going on his adventures.) She did have some adventures, but they were sort of repetitive and not very exciting.

It wasn't a terrible book. I think other people may enjoy it, but it just didn't really work for me. I mean I love the cover, the title, the synopsis... but, a book about a witch just finding out she's a witch, learning about her powers, and finding her family while trying to break a curse on a magical island doesn't sound like it should drag much, but it did.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I started Creatures of Passage last night and it fits the topic perfectly. Set in a weird Washington DC, not sure exactly if it is (view spoiler)[an alternate, post apocalyptic or multidimensional (hide spoiler)] but it is weird. And the characters are also weird. I am still at the stage where I struggle to understand the world and I think it is one of these book where understanding the world is a good part of the story. For not I am curious and think i am going to like it.

Wof Renee

An Incantation of Catsi

I was disappointed with this book. I love cozy mysteries. I enjoy when the detective is a supernatural. I like mysteries with cats I was expecting to love this.

The problem was the story took to long to get started. The first couple chapters were all the cats talking to each other. The had powers that helped the witch. I guess you needed to know this. But it just seemed to go on too long.

I also felt the main char was weak. I think the author spent too much time trying to show how clever the magical cats were. It was if the witch was an after thought.

The mystery was okay.I did not guess it.

I liked Cleo's other series. I hope she goes back to that

I read House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. It’s a YA fantasy book with touches of horror.

The premise is that when they were children the 3 Hollow sisters disappeared only to miraculously return unhurt a month later. Years later the eldest sister disappears again and her two sisters try to find her and to unravel the secret of their original disappearance.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy this one. The premise is great and in the hands of a better author this book could have been fantastic. It was slow moving. We have to wait to the end for any kind of answers and even then a lot is left unknown - I was a lot more interested in the questions the author didn’t answer and time periods not covered. It also ends on a cliffhanger. Currently the book is supposed to be a stand alone novel but it wouldn’t surprise me if a sequel was announced.

The writing was not great with the author repeating descriptions of rot, mould and bad smells again and again. Also, the book is set in Britain with British characters and the author is Australian yet there were several times American words, phrases and spelling was used. As a Brit it was very jarring.

Oh, I was curious about that one, Lori. Thanks for weeding it out for me. I'll give it a pass.

I got curious after my buddy in the Blind Date challenge picked Death Overdue, so I read it too lol

It was a fun, cozy mystery, set in a small town library, with a library cat, and a library ghost, and lots of books :)
I found it to be a little repetitive in places, but it had a library cat, and a library ghost, and lots of books lol And, it was an easy read while waiting for trick or treaters.