Category: Reviews

Review – Paladin’s Grace

Posted August 11, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 8 Comments

Review – Paladin’s Grace

Paladin's Grace

by T. Kingfisher

Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 360
Series: The Saint of Steel #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

While foraging for startleflower, perfumer Grace finds herself pursued by ruffians and rescued by a handsome paladin in shining armour. Only, to outwit her hunters, they must pretend to be doing something very unrespectable in an alleyway.

Stephen, a broken paladin, spends his time knitting socks and working as a bodyguard, living only for the chance to be useful. But that all changes when he saves Grace and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now, Stephen and Grace must navigate a web of treachery and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind.

I’ve been meaning to give T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series a try for a while, and the lovely new UK editions spurred me on. Paladin’s Grace is the first, and sets the scene well: Stephen is a berserker paladin whose god has died, struggling against their remaining uncontrolled berserker tendency and the legacy of violence the paladins left when, as their god died, they went berserk. The remaining living paladins now serve the Rat, who offers help to all who need it — and took in the broken paladins when they most needed it.

He stumbles into a meeting with Grace, a perfumer, who quickly ends up in everything over her head after previously running away from her abusive philandering husband. She doesn’t want protecting, and Stephen doesn’t quite dare have a relationship, but sparks fly and, anyway, sometimes you do need help even when you can stand on your own two feet.

It’s a lovely story of healing, for both of them, and also a bit of a mystery, set against a fascinating world with lots of moving parts, and stories going on of which Stephen and Grace are just parts. I loved Stephen and Grace as individuals and as a pair, and all the glimpses of the other paladins too, but also I’m really looking forward to reading more of the world, in the other Saint of Steel books and in Swordheart (also getting a UK reissue) and Clockwork Boys (already reissued in a nice hardback and on my TBR).

I am pleased that Istvhan and Piper get their own books, as I enjoyed both as characters. I’m less fussed about Shane, but since his book matches him up with Marguerite, that should be fun.

All in all, a lot of fun. For the ultimate endorsement: when I read the last 100 pages of this, I was unwise enough to be sat cross-legged on the floor, a dangerous prospect now I’ve reached the ripe old age of 35. Maybe some 35-year-olds can still do that comfortably, but my ability to do that for any length of time can best be described as limited.

Apparently I could do it just fine for the 40 minutes I spent raptly reading the last 115 pages of this without shifting an inch. I was somewhat less able to creak to my feet again afterwards, though…

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Fence, vol 3

Posted August 10, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Fence, vol 3

Fence

by C.S. Pacat, Johanna the Mad, Joanna LaFuente

Genres: Graphic Novels
Pages: 112
Series: Fence #3
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

From the superstar team of C.S. Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad comes the third volume of this acclaimed, dynamic series.

C.S. Pacat’s Fence series continues to be fun in volume three, still illustrated beautifully by Johanna the Mad and Joana LaFuente. The stakes are high in this volume, with Nicholas’ scholarship hanging in the balance — and that cliffhanger at the end, of course!

I love the character interactions and insights in this volume (ah, Eugene, wow, you’re lovely), even if the beats are still pretty predictable. As I’ve said before, it’s a good kind of predictable, at least to me.

Also, let’s just enjoy Bobby, who just happens to dress in femme clothing, but nobody ever says a word about it. I do love all the character designs a lot, and Bobby’s adorable.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Murder at the Dolphin Hotel

Posted August 9, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Murder at the Dolphin Hotel

Murder at the Dolphin Hotel

by Helena Dixon

Genres: Crime, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 252
Series: Miss Underhay #1
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

June 1933. Independent young Kitty Underhay has been left in charge of her family's hotel, The Dolphin, on the tranquil English coast. She's expecting her days at the bustling resort to be filled with comfortable chatter with chambermaids as they polish the mahogany desk and glittering candelabras of the elegant foyer. Everything must be perfect for the arrival of a glamourous jazz singer from Chicago and a masked ball that will be the cultural highlight of the season.

But when several rooms are broken into and searched, including Kitty's own, she quickly realises that something out of the ordinary is afoot at the hotel. Soon rumours are flying in the cozy town that someone is on the hunt for a stolen ruby. A ruby that Kitty's mother may well have possessed when she herself went missing during the Great War. And when the break-ins are followed by a series of attacks and murders, including of the town's former mayoress, it seems the perpetrator will stop at nothing to find it.

Aided by ex-army captain Matthew Bryant, the Dolphin's new security officer, Kitty is determined to decipher this mystery and preserve not only the reputation of her hotel, but also the lives of her guests. Is there a cold-blooded killer under her own roof? And what connects the missing jewel to the mystery from Kitty's own past?

Helena Dixon’s Murder at the Dolphin Hotel is a competent enough mystery that I found mildly entertaining. I think that damns it with faint praise a little, but unfortunately it’s how I feel: I had a good enough time reading it, but it wasn’t compelling enough to stand out or stick in my head, it was just one of those competent pseudo-classic mysteries that are pleasant enough to read once, but not to knock your socks off.

And to be clear, that’s sometimes what I want, and also I know other people are far bigger fans of that than I am. The undemandingness is a feature! I just didn’t latch onto it as much as I hoped, e.g. onto the main characters or their relationship, and I found it maybe a little bit too obvious. I’d probably have rated it a little higher if I’d rated it right away after finishing, but with a day of reflection in between, that feels a tad too generous.

So for me, not a stand-out, though enjoyable enough at the time I was reading it.

Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)

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Review – The Medieval Scriptorium

Posted August 8, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – The Medieval Scriptorium

The Medieval Scriptorium: Making Books in the Middle Ages

by Sara J. Charles

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 352
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Illuminated with illustrations, an exploration of medieval manuscript production that offers insight into both the early history of the book and life in the Middle Ages.

This book takes the reader on an immersive journey through medieval manuscript production in the Latin Christian world. Each chapter opens with a lively vignette by a medieval narrator—including a parchment maker, scribe, and illuminator—introducing various aspects of manuscript production. Sara J. Charles poses the question “What actually is a scriptorium?” and explores the development of the medieval scriptorium from its early Christian beginnings through to its eventual decline and the growth of the printing press.

With the written word at the very heart of the Christian monastic movement, we see the immense amount of labor, planning, and networks needed to produce each manuscript. By tapping into these processes and procedures, The Medieval Scriptorium helps us to experience medieval life through the lens of a manuscript maker.

Sara J. Charles’ The Medieval Scriptorium is an in-depth look at book production in the Middle Ages — and not just the writing of books in a scriptorium, but also the process of making the parchment and bindings, the ink, the pigments, doing the illuminations. The most surprising fact for me was that actually, we don’t really know what “a scriptorium” was like, and we’re not even sure they existed: the evidence suggests they probably weren’t universal, at the very least, and that instead probably in many institutions the work was done in special cubicles in the cloisters.

Each chapter opens with a bit of fiction, which I found a bit unnecessary: they do meticulously demonstrate the conclusions of each chapter, bringing them to life, and I think some readers might like them a lot, I just… prefer my non-fiction to be non-fiction.

I’d say most of the information here wasn’t surprising to me, but there are some corners where I had never read about it in so much detail before, a few facts here and there that came as surprises. It’s a nicely presented book, with in-line colour illustrations (I seem to be seeing this more lately, which is welcome), detailed references (hurrah!) and an index. The facts line up with what I know from studying English lit, so all in all, recommended!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Finn Family Moomintroll

Posted August 7, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Finn Family Moomintroll

Finn Family Moomintroll

by Tove Jansson

Genres: Children's, Fantasy
Pages: 176
Series: Moomintrolls #3
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

It is spring in the valley and the Moomins are ready for adventure! Moomintroll and his friends Snufkin and Sniff find the Hobgoblin's top hat, all shiny and new and just waiting to be taken home. They soon realize that his is no ordinary hat; it can turn anything—or anyone—into something else!

Ahh, I remembered Tove Jansson’s Finn Family Moomintroll perfectly: this is one I’m certain I’ve definitely read before, and not just the comic either. It looks kinda like I read the first part quite a few times, and rarely actually fully finished it, because I didn’t remember the chapters after Thingumy and Bob arrive into the story very well — but I very vividly remember the start of the book and all the adventures surrounding the Hobgoblin’s hat.

Once again, I love how matter-of-factly the story introduces new characters and ideas, though I did get a bit startled to remember that this is supposed to be a world in which humans live too with some detail or other, either in this or Comet in Moominland. And of course I love the way Moominmamma calmly handles each new visitor as if they are a valued, long-awaited guest. We should all aspire to be as loving as Moominmamma.

The Moomins are most definitely a lovely palate cleanser, and apparently something I needed to (re)read in this moment of my life.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (LN), vol 2

Posted August 6, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (LN), vol 2

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter: Church Management Support Plan

by Yatsuki Wakutsu

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels, Romance
Pages: 272
Series: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter (light novel) #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

After getting accidentally summoned to another world, former office worker Seiichiro ends up becoming extremely close with the handsome knight commander Aresh -- although what exactly that means remains ambiguous, even after they begin living together. Just as that's happening, Seiichiro meets a priest who reminds him a bit of Aresh. When Aresh returns from his latest expedition, will he find a rival waiting for him?

The second volume of Yatsuki Wakutsu’s light novel, The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter took me juuust beyond where I’d got up to in the manga (which was volume four, so they’re not quite in sync volume-wise), though there’s one more volume of the manga already out in English that I haven’t read yet. It’s a great step forward, story-wise, forcing Seiichirou to deal with Aresh’s feelings and consider his own, and also furthering Seiichirou’s plans for improving the kingdom and giving a bit more depth to some other characters (Yua, Yurius, Sigma) and world.

I’d say that the thing that bothers me most in the manga (Aresh’s controlling actions) seem… less bad, in the light novel? Maybe because we get a touch more insight into Seiichirou’s reactions, I suppose, and the fact that he doesn’t entirely seem to mind. There’s also a bit more clear intimacy between them that the manga glosses over a lot. It’s still a bit controlling (particularly the move to living together), but it comes across a bit better, and it feels a bit more obvious that Aresh is really young (including in the art).

I won’t say too much spoilery, but I am happy that we don’t have to wait until the end for clear feelings to be discussed between the main characters. I loved the inclusion of Seiichirou’s (unsent) letters to Aresh, because it’s an adorable insight into what he’s thinking, and Norbert’s extras are cute too.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The All-Nighter, vol 3

Posted August 5, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – The All-Nighter, vol 3

The All-Nighter

by Chip Zdarsky, Jason Loo, Paris Alleyne, Frank Cvetkovic, Allison O'Toole

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels
Pages: 114
Series: The All-Nighter #3
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

In this final arc, the staff at The All-Nighter are trying to piece their lives back together in the wake of Alex’s disappearance. They know that Alex would stop at nothing to get any of them back, so they have no choice: it's time to bring this fight to The Takers.

With unexpected new allies, the crew will have to live up to Alex’s dreams of super heroes. If they want to rescue their friend and uncover the mystery of The Takers, they’ll have to do it as a team—or as a family.

The third volume of Chip Zdarsky’s The All-Nighter certainly goes places. Alex’s been kidnapped by the Takers, and everyone else is trying to figure out what the new rules are. The found family splinters for a bit, each trying to figure out a way forward, and God shows up.

Yeah, God. Or at least, the (Christian) God humans tell stories about, in the same way they tell stories about vampires, werewolves, etc. It’s a reasonable development from what we know about how stories work in this world, giving birth to monsters and heroes, but I’m going to guess it’ll make some readers profoundly uncomfortable. However, it doesn’t preclude God really existing, if you read carefully. The “God” we meet as a character is a made creature, but that doesn’t mean there’s no real God in the world of The All-Nighter. It’s pretty wild to speculate about, but Zdarsky didn’t go there.

Anyway! It goes kind of predictably from there, because of course Lucifer shows up, amongst other developments like the found family all saving each other (though not without loss).

The idea behind this series isn’t super original (stuff like American Gods leaps to mind, but also — though not set in our world — Michael Scott’s Paedur the Bard books, and quite a few others that I’m just not retrieving from memory in this second), but it’s a fun enough exploration of it, which maybe nudges the idea in a slightly different direction by having superheroes a la Marvel also be part of the mythology that comes to life.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

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Review – Selling Manhattan

Posted August 4, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – Selling Manhattan

Selling Manhattan

by Carol Ann Duffy

Genres: Poetry
Pages: 64
Rating: two-stars
Synopsis:

The poems in Carol Ann Duffy's highly praised second collection range from the dramatic monologues for which she is noted to love poems, which she writes, Robert Nye remarked, as if she were the first to do so'. Carol Ann Duffy was born in Glasgow in 1955. Her awards include first prize in the 1983 National Poetry Competition; three Scottish Arts Council Book Awards; Eric Gregory, Somerset Maugham and Dylan Thomas Awards in Britain and a 1995 Lannan Literary Award in the USA. In 1993 she received the Forward Poetry Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award for her acclaimed fourth collection Mean Time. On May 1, 2009 she was named the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.

Selling Manhattan has been the collection where I recognised least, in my rereads of Carol Ann Duffy’s work so far. I remembered “Warming Her Pearls”, which is still good (and it’s much easier to see how homoerotic it is from this side of being 18). But that was about it, and I didn’t find any poems that really spectacularly stood out to me, either.

I have mused that maybe being in the habit of studying poetry helped my appreciation of the earlier collections back then, but I don’t know. I instantly loved Rapture, and to a slightly lesser extent, The World’s Wife; maybe it’s just that I prefer Duffy’s later style.

In any case, it was interesting to reread it, all the same.

Rating: 2/5 (“it was okay”)

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Review – 18th-Century Fashion in Detail

Posted August 3, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 8 Comments

Review – 18th-Century Fashion in Detail

18th-Century Fashion in Detail

by Susan North

Genres: Fashion, History
Pages: 224
Series: Fashion in Detail
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

This beautifully illustrated book reveals sharp pleats, high collars, gleaming pastes, colorful beads, elaborate buttons, and intricate lacework that make up some of the garments in the Victoria and Albert Museum's extensive fashion collection. With an authoritative text, exquisite color photography of garment details, and line drawings and photographs showing the complete construction of each piece, the reader has the unique opportunity to examine up close historical clothing that is often too fragile to be on display. It is an inspirational resource for students, collectors, designers, and anyone who is fascinated by fashion and costume.

The V&A’s 18th-Century Fashion in Detail is written by Susan North, and it’s a beautiful item, with glossy full-colour images of details from the garments discussed. My main quibble is that it doesn’t provide full images of how the garments looked as a whole, rather breaking them down into one bit that the author has chosen to discuss, like just a close-up of some embroidery. There are sketches showing the garments and how they’re put together, but it’s not really the same.

It’s still a fascinating read, especially when it discusses some of the unfinished garments that were sold part-completed, so they could be fitted to the wearer. There’s almost nothing about children’s clothes, which made me curious — I think in this period they were still usually mini-versions of the adult clothing, but I’d still like to see some examples.

It’s a lovely volume, despite the caveats.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Duke Heist

Posted August 2, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – The Duke Heist

The Duke Heist

by Erica Ridley

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 352
Series: The Wild Wynchesters #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

A woman accidentally kidnaps a duke in this fabulous Regency romp that Bridgerton author Julia Quinn hails as a "delight."

Chloe Wynchester is completely forgettable—a curse that gives her the ability to blend into any crowd. When the only father she's ever known makes a dying wish for his adopted family of orphans to recover a missing painting, she's the first one her siblings turn to for stealing it back. No one expects that in doing so, she'll also abduct a handsome duke.

Lawrence Gosling, the Duke of Faircliffe, is tortured by his father's mistakes. To repair his estate's ruined reputation, he must wed a highborn heiress. Yet when he finds himself in a carriage being driven hell-for-leather down the cobblestone streets of London by a beautiful woman who refuses to heed his commands, he fears his heart is hers. But how can he sacrifice his family's legacy to follow true love?

Another review from the archives, which somehow never got posted here!

Chloe Wynchester is convinced that she is plain and unremarkable: that is the skill that gets her into capers with her family, the way she manages to twist situations to their advantage and right wrongs. Behind that lies a fear of being forgotten, of being replaced.

Lawrence, for his part, is damaged by neglect and by his father’s profligacy, by the way people talk about his family. He’s hell-bent on fixing his family’s fortunes and restoring their good name. At the same time, he does see Chloe, and thinks she’s remarkable; in fact, he thinks she’s beautiful, much against his better judgement.

I didn’t see at first how this was going to work out, especially given Faircliffe’s behaviour in the prequel novella, but Ridley got me hooked all the same. I loved the way Lawrence was able to be silly with Chloe, and his attentiveness to her needs — however easily he was gulled by them due to silly preconceptions, his intentions were good.

It was odd reading this after having already read the second book, but given that it’s a romance, you kind of know how it’s going to end anyway, so nothing was spoiled. I love all the Wynchesters and their relationships, and I came to love Lawrence too. I’d love to see him more involved in what they do, in future books… even if it’s just lending them legitimacy when needed, or a small part. He’d love it.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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