MARCH 2024 READING ROUNDUP

Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce. A Re-Read. Hardcover. What a marvelous story. How the unloved and unlovable Miss Benson goes in search of the fabled gold flower beetle of New Caledonia,  hampered by her assistant, the exuberant Enid Pretty. Their lives are transformed during their search,  which becomes a struggle for survival. The story was as fresh and satisfying as the first time around.   Highly recommended.

All the following titles are e-books.

How to be the Best Damn Faery Godmother in the World (or Die Trying ) – Helen Harper. Which has got to be one of the longest sub-titles in publishing history.  I read the entire series: Wishful Thinking,  Wish List, As you Wish, and Best Wishes.  Contemporary grown-up  Fantasy: office politics, faery godmothers being abducted, who is behind the crimes? Plus human interest stories en route. Well written too; a refreshing change. Enjoyable.

A Collision of Calamities . Book #7 in the Gobbelino London series by Kim M Watt. An Action packed finale to the series; Good triumphs over Evil but only after a cataclysmic battle, that really is Armageddon.  Kim Watt manages to include  all the major characters from the preceding 6 books in the grand finale. My favourite characters are the fearsome sorcerer, Ms Jones, wearing Doc Martens and riding a motorcycle, not to be trifled with. And, of course,  Gobbelino, the talking cat . For fans of grown-up*, paranormal, urban  Fantasy, I can confidently recommend this  5* series. I loved it.

The Thin Woman – Dorothy Cannell.   A Rom-Com mystery.  Ellie, overweight and unhappy, hires Ben to pretend to be her boyfriend for a family reunion. After a slow start we finally get a feel-good ending. Engaging characters. A light read.

*grown-up – I hesitate to use the word adult-fantasy-fiction, because these days, the word ‘adult’ generally indicates a sex-fest on every page, which is not the case here. Hence my use of the term grown-up.