#Orenda Books

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner

Today I am resharing my thoughts on Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner, as part of the paperback blog tour. Review on the blog - link in bio @johanagustawsson @givemea.wave @orendabooks #teamorenda #yuleisland #bookreview #books

Today I am delighted to reshare my thoughts on Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner as part of the paperback blog tour. I love Johana’s writing (and David’s translation) and love being able to shout out loud about it all over again. Thank you to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the tour invite. Here’s what this fabulous book is all about: Source: Advance Reader…

[rosemariecawkwell]

Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson - Paperback release tour!

I reviewed this book when it was first published last year. The paperback was recently published so I’m sharing the details and my review as part of the tour to celebrate the paperback publication. Since the hardback was published last year the following has happened: WINNER of the Cultura’s Best Fiction Book of 2023 (France’s biggest book chain), plus Crime Fiction Book of the Year at seven…

[bookliteratibookreviews]

YuleI Island by Johana Gustawsson

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orenda Books (21 Nov. 2024)Language ‏ : ‎ EnglishPaperback ‏ : ‎ 300 pagesISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1914585909ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1914585906 Book Blurb Don’t Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years…

[curlygirl79]

Upstairs at the Beresford - Will Carver

Following on from yesterday’s theme of “books that are impossible to describe,” I have another cracker today as I join the blog tour for Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver. Many thanks to Will and Orenda Books for providing me with a copy of the book, and to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part. BLURB: There are worse place than Hell… Hotel Beresford is a grand,…

[miriamvowen]

The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen #Finland #crimefiction

The Moose Paradox, by Antti Tuomainen tr David Hackston – book review

[deadrayg2mf]

The Pixie's Queen (Monsterly Yours #4) by S.J. Sanders

Of course, I always have to immediately go off about how much I love a cover for S.J. Sanders. Absolutely banger cover art 24/7. I will say though, this was not my favorite book of one of my favorite authors. I liked the characters for the most part, and maybe it was just a me thing, but there was a point about 20-30 pages from the end where I sighed and thought, "Really? We're gonna go through it some more right now?" That's when I closed the book and took a seriously long break from reading it. Unfortunately, this wasn't like Punished where I got to sit on it for a second and decide that my initial dislike was simply due to a bad mood.

The basis of the story is this black-sheep-of-the-family witch comes across this ancient talisman that warps her into the fae world, where she is suddenly four inches tall and caught in a downpour. Along comes a hive of four pixies, who conditions unbeknownst to Orenda, perform a delightful mating dance that she graciously accepts. Que bedroom shenanigans and then a wild denial of any mating taking place and some seriously broken hearts for the pixies. The rest of it is the pixies both trying to cope with their emotions, convince Orenda to stay, and conceive ways to get her back to her normal life and maybe follow her into that giant lifestyle as well if they can't accomplish the second task.

Prior to Orenda's appearance we have Shavish, the hive leader, who is headstrong, stubborn, and a little volatile. Orel and Gwin are hopeless and resigned to their fate of being mateless guardians, and Dazi has accepted his fate and hidden himself away in his research and scholarly works to keep busy. They are all good characters, there just felt like a lack of depth to the interactions between them and Orenda.

When it comes to Orenda, in my opinion, she felt like a very skin-deep character at times. I did not care for her attitude and also the way she handled some stuff. Obviously, when consuming media, you're not going to fall in love with every main character you're presented with, so this was going to happen at some point, even with one of my favorite authors.

Overall, it's a 224-page read with the most love interests involved that I've read so far. My humble opinion is; it's mid. It has all the fine writing of S.J. Sanders, but the smut felt lacking and the characters and story didn't keep me chomping at the bit to read more like most of her other works do.

Would I read again? No, I could hardly get through it the first time.

Would I recommend? I wanna say yes because of love and loyalty to the author, but I'm going to say no so I can recommend you her better works

[kalorphic]

So, Novaturient is based on Spy…do you know any other IFs that are based on existing shows/movies/books etc? I’m quite new to IFs so any recs would be a great help! Thank you!

IFS INSPIRED BY/BASED ON EXISTING MEDIA:

There’s probably loads that I’m missing lol, but here are the ones that I know of. Unfortunately, a lot of them don’t have demos and/or haven’t updated in a long time (some a really long time), but I put them all in just in case you want to follow and hope for a miraculous reappearance lol.

Once & Future by @kaiwrites-if

Merlin | No Demo

Midnight Delights by @midnightdelights-if

The Morganville Vampires | No Demo

The Kiss of Midnight by @if-kissofmidnight

Predator Franchise | No Demo

Scandal by @nightingale-interactive

Scandal | Demo | MC genderlocked to Female

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: An Affair of the Heart by @doriana-gray-games

Sherlock Holmes | Demo

Valhalla by @palette-jack

Farscape | Demo

Supernova: Renegade by @jupitergames-if

Mass Effect/Star Trek | Demo

Unmourned by @unmourned

Frankenstein | No Demo

Façade by @altair-interactive-fiction

Jekyll and Hyde | No Demo

Swan Song by @swansong-if

Swan Lake | Demo

Return to Never, Never Land by @never-never-land

Peter Pan | Demo

Hidden World by @hidden-world-if

How To Train Your Dragon | No Demo

A Life Supreme by @lifesupreme-if

Cyberpunk 2077 | Demo

Beyond the Waves by @allthatwrites

Little Mermaid | No Demo

Orenda by @orenda-if

Howl’s Moving Castle | No Demo

Rabbit Hole by @if-rabbithole

Alice in Wonderland | No Demo

Knights of the Eternal by @if-eternalknights

Transformers | No Demo

Sempre by @sempre-if

Castle | No Demo

Elsinore: After Hamlet by @lapinlunaire-games

Hamlet | Completed [Itch.io]

Calamity Control by @calamitycontrol-if

Mass Effect meets The Dragon Prince | Demo

The Spark of Hope by @thesparkofhope

Star Wars | No Demo

The Hymn of Winter by @thehymnofwinter

Game of Thrones | No Demo

Dusk Till Dawn by @dusktilldawn-if

Dracula | No Demo

A Court of Serpents by @acourtofserpents

Folk of the Air Series | Demo

A Dangerous Game by @adangerousgame-if

Killing Eve | No Demo

The One Who Cried Wolf by @bluewritesif

Teen Wolf/Chilling Adventures of Sabrina/Vampire Diaries/Twilight | No Demo

Blood of a Saint by @bloodofasaint-if

Grishaverse | No Demo

Song of Valhalla: Spear of Heaven by @songofvalhalla-if

Percy Jackson & The Olympians | No Demo

Welcome to the Family by @wttf-if

The Addams Family/Kuroshitsuji | No Demo

Mata Aetara IF by @mata-aetara-if

Naruto | No Demo

Maboroshi by @maboroshi-if

Naruto | No Demo

Tales From Roseborough by @roseborough-if

Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon | No Demo

Emberwood by @emberwood-if

X-Men meets Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children | Demo

Decaying Picture by @decayingpicture

Dorian Gray | No Demo

Slayer by @slayer-if

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | No Demo | MC genderlocked to Female

The Sixth Guardian by @the-sixth-guardian

Rise of the Guardians | No Demo

My Fair Maiden by @my-fair-maiden

Resident Evil: Village | No Demo | MC genderlocked to Female

Prodigal by @prodigal-if

Prodigal Son | No Demo

Hollowmoon Valley by @hollowmoonvalley

Stardew Valley | Demo (being rewritten)

Her Crimson Clutches by @thathexwolf

Vampire: The Masquerade | No Demo

The Unquiet Grave by @ombresart

Wuthering Heights | Demo

The Inseparables by @theinseparables-if

The Three Musketeers | No Demo

Hana no Uta by @hana-no-uta-if

Gintama | No Demo

Dahlia Hills by @dahliahills-if

Gossip Girl/One Tree Hill | No Demo

Apartment 502 by @apt502-if

New Girl/FRIENDS | No Demo

Embers of Hope by @embersofhope-if

Hunger Games | No Demo

The Whisper in the Mist by ME (@ellawrites-if)

Pacific Rim | No Demo

[justforbooks]

Best crime and thrillers of 2023

Given this year’s headlines, it’s unsurprising that our appetite for cosy crime continues unabated, with the latest title in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, The Last Devil to Die (Viking), topping the bestseller lists. Janice Hallett’s novels The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, which also features a group of amateur crime-solvers, and The Christmas Appeal (both Viper) have proved phenomenally popular, too.

Hallett’s books, which are constructed as dossiers – transcripts, emails, WhatsApp messages and the like – are part of a growing trend of experimentation with form, ranging from Cara Hunter’s intricate Murder in the Family (HarperCollins), which is structured around the making of a cold case documentary, to Gareth Rubin’s tête-bêche The Turnglass (Simon & Schuster). Books that hark back to the golden age of crime, such as Tom Mead’s splendidly tricksy locked-room mystery Death and the Conjuror (Head of Zeus), are also on the rise. The late Christopher Fowler, author of the wonderful Bryant & May detective series, who often lamented the sacrifice of inventiveness and fun on the altar of realism, would surely have approved. Word Monkey (Doubleday), published posthumously, is his funny and moving memoir of a life spent writing popular fiction.

Notable debuts include Callum McSorley’s Glaswegian gangland thriller Squeaky Clean (Pushkin Vertigo); Jo Callaghan’s In the Blink of an Eye (Simon & Schuster), a police procedural with an AI detective; Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (Pushkin Vertigo), featuring queer punk nun investigator Sister Holiday; and the caustically funny Thirty Days of Darkness (Orenda) by Jenny Lund Madsen (translated from the Danish by Megan E Turney).

There have been welcome additions to series, including a third book, Case Sensitive (Zaffre), for AK Turner’s forensic investigator Cassie Raven, and a second, The Wheel of Doll (Pushkin Vertigo), for Jonathan Ames’s LA private eye Happy Doll, who is shaping up to be the perfect hardboiled 21st-century hero.

Other must-reads for fans of American crime fiction include Ozark Dogs (Headline) by Eli Cranor, a powerful story of feuding Arkansas families; SA Cosby’s Virginia-set police procedural All the Sinners Bleed (Headline); Megan Abbott’s nightmarish Beware the Woman (Virago); and Rebecca Makkai’s foray into very dark academia, I Have Some Questions for You (Fleet). There are shades of James Ellroy in Jordan Harper’s Hollywood-set tour de force Everybody Knows (Faber), while Raymond Chandler’s hero Philip Marlowe gets a timely do-over from Scottish crime doyenne Denise Mina in The Second Murderer (Harvill Secker).

As Mick Herron observed in his Slow Horses origin novel, The Secret Hours (Baskerville), there’s a long list of spy novelists who have been pegged as the heir to John le Carré. Herron must be in pole position for principal legatee, but it’s been a good year for espionage generally: standout novels include Matthew Richardson’s The Scarlet Papers (Michael Joseph), John Lawton’s Moscow Exile (Grove Press) and Harriet Crawley’s The Translator (Bitter Lemon).

Historical crime has also been well served. Highlights include Emma Flint’s excellent Other Women (Picador), based on a real 1924 murder case; Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s story of a fortune teller’s quest for identity in Georgian high society, The Square of Sevens (Mantle); and SG MacLean’s tale of Restoration revenge and retribution, The Winter List (Quercus). There are echoes of Chester Himes in Viper’s Dream (No Exit) by Jake Lamar, which begins in 1930s Harlem, while Palace of Shadows (Mantle) by Ray Celestin, set in the late 19th century, takes the true story of American weapons heiress Sarah Winchester’s San Jose mansion and transports it to Yorkshire, with chillingly gothic results.

The latest novel in Vaseem Khan’s postcolonial India series, Death of a Lesser God (Hodder), is also well worth the read, as are Deepti Kapoor’s present-day organised crime saga Age of Vice (Fleet) and Parini Shroff’s darkly antic feminist revenge drama The Bandit Queens (Atlantic).

While psychological thrillers are thinner on the ground than in previous years, the quality remains high, with Liz Nugent’s complex and heartbreaking tale of abuse, Strange Sally Diamond (Penguin Sandycove), and Sarah Hilary’s disturbing portrait of a family in freefall, Black Thorn (Macmillan), being two of the best.

Penguin Modern Classics has revived its crime series, complete with iconic green livery, with works by Georges Simenon, Dorothy B Hughes and Ross MacDonald. There have been reissues by other publishers, too – forgotten gems including Celia Fremlin’s 1959 holiday‑from-hell novel, Uncle Paul (Faber), and Richard Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground (Vintage). Finished in 1942 but only now published in its entirety, the latter is an account of an innocent man who takes refuge from racist police officers in the sewers of Chicago – part allegorical, part brutally realistic and, unfortunately, wholly topical.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[vyvesvi]

just started asia super young 😅 funny how a show can seem super popular when you're out of the loop but when you finally start watching it's crickets

this is my first time watching a youku show, i like the pacing BUT I HATE the fact that they cut so much from the free eps (free is 1 hr vip is 2.5+ 🫠). so like the irresponsible working adult i am i committed to monthly subscription (that i WILL remember to cancel the day the finale airs 😁). the other thing that i find really disappointing is that free voting on the youku app doesn't count towards their rank, it's just for extra promo 🫠 apparently you need to pay separately through their site or have a weibo associated with a mainland # (acc to fans based in hk w weibo accounts they can't even vote. when the show is filming in hk. and conducted half in canto.)

but i WILL be tuning in even though im desperately confused about everything. i watched eps 1 - 3 using the free version so im gonna do a quick recap and hopefully start catching up with the extra content tomorrow 🙏

ASY PICKS (based on ep 1 - 3)

ults: gemini (hoàng huệhùng/huang huixiong) & albert (aihe)

these two...how could you not say cunt. gemini is a 99 liner from vietnam, a short king, his nose is pierced, his dancing is clean, and his vocals are great. does he speak chinese? no. but does he serve face? like his life depends on it (because it does). he's already on my list of survival show contestants who will live on in my brain in perpetuity. aihe is the other main slayer from the same audition group (medusa). just look at him. he walked out and i went bitch???? he's like if hu yetao and xue bayi had a baby that was mad as hell. he's an 03 liner from xinjiang, pretty good vocals, and great dance skills. had to use that shitty laptop pic bc it just radiates his whole vibe.

i like you!: vic (zhang shengxi), orenda (shuhao), walker (wang kun), kong sonhei (jiang xinxi), & karl (ting tzelong)

vic is a 2000 liner & and member of enone. his rank is so oddly low bc he gets pretty good screentime and is very talented?

shuhao is a 2000 liner. he wasnt a pick until he did his solo rap but he's the best rapper, undisputed, on this show. plus he composed & produced & wrote & arranged their group's whole audition song? kingie.

walker is an 05 liner with a musical theatre background. to me he has a very broadcaster type face - kind and open. i noticed him mostly for how he was taking care of his younger audition partner, it was very very cute 🙄(🥹).

xinxi is an 02 liner & a member of the yuehua brigade. member of the bg boyhood (all of whom are competing) and i believe the theme song center. but more importantly, he's my birthday buddy!😁🥳 i'll admit to noticing him first bc of the bday thing - i was actually pretty unimpressed by boyhood's audition. still, he's a very good/solid boy group member to have.

karl (ting tzelong) is a 97 liner with roots in canada & hong kong. he's a Fantastic singer and was the runner up in the mr. hong kong contest? don't think he can dance but that voice, singing or speaking...

i know you & ur fun: ollie

ollie (06, under yuehua) was on boys planet so im very familiar with him (side note but this show has so many former iqiyi show contestants but none from tencent 😭). honestly he's not a pick for me but i like his energy, he's a great variety member. also i don't want to see him lose so 😭 that said i've always thought he raps like he's reading a children's book but he's graduated to slam poetry🎉

hmmm: sky (zhao tianyi)

so. sky's audition was iconic. this 14 y/o kid sang, rapped, played the piano, synths, talkbox, did streetdance, and jumped into a split. he clearly loves music & is very intense about follow this passion. but 1) he's 14. 2) he clearly wants to be a soloist, thus far i can't see a single team player bone in his body. these things combined have put him lower on my list (i especially didn't really care for how he interacted with gemini during the team selection but we'll see if that continues in ep 4). but he's here currently for his talent.

keeping an eye out: archie (sin ching fung), hugo (wong singcheuk) & service (sun xiaowei)

archie (98) is a singer, he sings! but honestly so many ppl on this show are good & he can't really dance so...we'll see

hugo (03, apex member) ...in his audition he looked like a member of my token bg POW lol. he has a lot of potential i just need to see more

service (03) i saw some star potential in his audition, we'll see

[fictionfromafar]

You Can’t See Me

By Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Translated by Victoria Cribb

Orenda Books

Publication Date: 6 July 2023

Even by the high standards set by previous Icelandic crime fiction writers, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s debut, A Creak On The Stairs was very much a stand out novel. Focussing on police detective Elma who has returned to her hometown of Akranes, she and her colleagues investigate a murder with long hidden and mysterious historical connections. The book won the CWA New Blood Dagger and since then two further novels in the series have followed. While these were also strongly impressive, there could perhaps become a temptation that Ægisdóttir might decide to rest on her laurels and continue to produce stories in a similar vein, however with this novel, it’s is very clear that this is an author keen to develop further as a novelist and present a rather different type of story. Thankfully the results are very satisfying and it could be said that she has surpassed her own high watermark with You Can’t See Me.

When I first heard that this book would be a prequel to her Forbidden Dark Iceland series, I assumed that the book would be based upon Elma’s earlier life as a police officer in Reykjavik. I was happy to be proven wrong on both counts. In fact this is a story where the firm focus of the story is on other characters with only a peripheral role for the investigating officers. Instead this is the story of an Icelandic clan. The rich and powerful Snaebergs have taken over a remote hotel for a weekend family reunion. Rarely due the family members meet on mass and with grudges and jealousies that can be present in any large family, many of the guests arrive in trepidation, wary of conflict. Although unique to rural Iceland and its ever changing climate, a snow storm means that it is too treacherous for anyone to get to or leave the hotel, setting the scene for a locked door mystery where a murder could only have been committed by one of the hotel’s temporary residents.

Yet one aspect of Ægisdóttir’s writing that existing readers will be familiar with is that she steers very much away from formulaic retreads. There are some modern and very unique components to this story. Furthermore it is is told to us through multiple voices, some long established within the centre of the Snaeberg family, some who appear more as outsiders and even the perspective of a hotel staff member is given as the family attempt to reacquaint with each other, free from watching eyes (or so they think) and with copious amounts of alcohol available to them. Family secrets and suspicions are sure to emerge leading to fascinating subplots but when a member of the party mysteriously disappears, the autosphere begins to turn as chilling as the outside weather. Despite reading this book in the late June sunshine, there were aspects to the story that made me shiver. It is one of those books that you’re torn between wanting to rush through it and also savour the emotions and sensations of the characters that we are following.

Existing readers may have come to expect that Ægisdóttir’s books will be compulsive reading yet I firmly believe that this is her finest title so far. What’s more, with it being set in an earlier time period than her other novels, it also serves as a perfect introduction to those yet to read her work. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inclusion on the blog tour and to Orenda Books for an advance copy of You Can’t See Me. Please look out for the other reviews of this novel on the blog tour, as shown below.

[atlantahammy]

Didn’t think i’d get this done before my days off ended, but hey, I did it! even if it is ass late at night! Whoop! aanyway: Nice lil Ref-sheet I did of Astra, yeah her full name is Astraea, Yes, those are open toe boots, for those interested there is Infor for her under the cut!

I’m also not really gonna list her age since I draw her on the older scale with my own design for her partner... If that makes sense?

———————————– My Commissions | .Carrd

Full Name: Astraea V. Orenda Nicknames: Astra, Nicknames Given by Donnie: Dusk, Starlight, Stars, Princess, Octavia,  Species: Dragon Yokai. Height: 4′10″. Sex: Female (She/her, doesn’t care for gender roles) Sexuality: Unlabeled. Significant Other: Donatello Hamato (FIGHT ME, I AM CRINGE BUT FREEEEE!) Family: Devi, Kadem, Rune. Disabilities: PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Nearly Blind without glasses, Deaf in left ear.  Star Sign: Leo. M.B.T: INFJ-T. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Character Class: Witch (Wizard in D&D terms?) / Mage (Same thing??) Occupation: Enchanter / Potion Crafter / Fortune Teller / Scroll Scriber Weapons: Magic / Quarterstaff (The PoleStar) / Shorts words / Long Swords / Daggers / Darts

Skills:

Art /Song /Dance

Crafting  / Enchanting

Potion Craft / Cooking

Scroll scribing / Alchemy

Divination / Astronomy / Lucid Dreaming

Gardening / Herbalism

Language & Rune Comprehension

First Aid / Magical Medical Knowledge

Note: Being a mage, Astra has had to dabble in a number of things, such as song and dance for rituals that require chants and movement, drawing for a steady hand for drawing magic circles and rune carving and magical studies, not to mention all the reading, so keep that in mind with her long skill list, even if some are also hobbies, being a mage is tiring.

Ability's/Weapons/Items:

Multiple Forms: Dragon / Yokai / Human (Cloaking Necklace)

Size Shift: Dragon form can change size mainly.

Elemental Breath Weapon: Its Plasma, purple plasma. #SpaceDragon

Scaled Armor: Her scales makes it harder for her to be hurt, but also uhh some people would love to use her scales for armor #Yikes

Magical Blood: Dragons blood is pretty potent for spells and potions, so getting cut isn’t always a bad thing, now when other people want to use it... #MajorYikes

Natural Weaponry: Claws & Sharp Teeth

Flight / Wing Manifestation: In Yokai form, she can retract / hide her wings as constellation tattoos on her shoulder blades, when she needs them she can bring them out to use for flight.

Spell Book / Magic: Astra has a spellbook with a number of spells she uses frequently, such as a spell she uses to levitate and manipulate objects too heavy to lift or out of range due to her short height.Healing spells of varying degrees, Shielding spells, shadow blade, and a number of crystal based attacking spells.

Polestar: Her Signature Quarterstaff, a gift from her sister that she treasures like no other, in its first form she can use the crystal to channel her magical energy into that of a scythe, or ningata, second form allows her to hold AOE type spells and summons to a greater degree, but also aid in teleportation spells.

Cloaking Broach: It's the large star pendant on her choker, not really a broach but still.

Bag of Holding: Yep, she has one, carries a lot of stuff in it, like medical supplies, potion supplies, electronics, snacks, potions, etc.

Divination Magic: Her major magical study, She ends up seeing the past, present, future, near future, what could of been, what was avoided, finding what was lost, finding what is hidden, speaking with the dead, etc.

Note: Astra’s Divination is a double edged sword, The bad visions stick with her more then the good, and often making her mental state worse, causing her to be a bit paranoid, as if she talks about them, it could force them to happen or force them to not happen at all, cause seeing the future is a pain in the ass like that with self fulfilling prophecies and the like. 

Weaknesses:

Short: And Hates it!

Weak: No arm or lifting strength at all, hurts herself opening soda bottles, all the strength went to her brain.

Anti-Magic: Girl is pretty much a sitting duck without her magic, no better than a civilian. 

Lack of Energy: Depressions a bitch, she’s always tired.

Walking Target: She’s a mage, so high on the list of likely to be mugged due to how they look rich (even if they just look it and really just a struggling collages kid), an likely carry a lot of highly priced magical goodies, and being a dragon with magical blood and scales that make amazing armor? not to mention who knows what else dragon organs can be used for? Yeaaah. #BigFuckingNope

Inferiority complex / Anxiety: Never thinks she good enough, thinks everyone hates her, thinks she’s always messing up, her achievements never really feel like achievements, struggles with expressing herself, Self Hatred etc.

Trivia:

Left Handed

Perma-Eyebags

Notch in Left ear

Short Summary: Astra is a dragon Yokai, living with her adoptive fathers, and sister she works in Devi’s (one of her fathers) magic shop as a clerk and aiding him in creating potions, magical items, and scrolls for sale, while also using her divination magic on the side for those who need a bit of help. 

When she comes to the hidden city under new york with her father on a business trip, things... get out of hand and turtles happen.

Which is weird because she knows a lot about them from her visions (And her sisters weird streaming obsessions) so, things are waay beyond awkward, specially with the purple one, cause, ya know, nothing like knowing who your partner is before either of you do and all these complicated feelings that come with it. 

Right?

....Fuck.

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner

Today Mandie is sharing her thoughts on Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner. @johanagustawsson @givemea.wave @mandie163.mg @orendabooks #books #bookreview #yuleisland #teamorenda #bookstagram #booksofinstagram

Today its over to Mandie who has a review of Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, translated by David Warriner ,as part of the paperback blog tour. I love loved this book and you can find out how much a bit later in teh tour. Thank you to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the tour invite. Here’s what this fabulous book is all about: Source: Advance Reader CopyPaperback Release Date: 21 November…

[rosemariecawkwell]

Review: Our Daily War, by Andrey Kurkov

PUBLICATION DATE: 18TH JULY 2024HARDBACK ORIGINAL | £ 20.00 | OPEN BORDERS PRESS Blurb Ten years on from the annexation of Crimea, two years on from Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people continue to fight back. In the second volume of his war diaries, Andrey Kurkov gives a fresh perspective on a people for whom resistance and solidarity have become a matter of…

[bookliteratibookreviews]

The Betrayal of Thomas True by A.J. West

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orenda Books; 1st edition (4 July 2024)Language ‏ : ‎ EnglishHardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pagesISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1916788157ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1916788152 Book Blurb The only sin is betrayal… It is the year 1715, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London’s hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous…

[vdlkmj]

She rots deception.

Never once did the young lady named Seraphine Orenda also known as Seo lack affection. Her life is an open book to the public that looks like a perfect dream of many. The heir can easily get whatever she wants in a single snap of her fingers but she was humble enough to share it, humble enough not to cause anyone some dis-stress over small matter such as money, but behind all these conveniences and comforts, there is one thing that she doesn't get often enough. There was sense of feeling, a longing inside her that she could never explain until one day she saw a letter that was solely address her, slowly tracing the letter that says Vandeleur with her finger tips and just like that memories of the past starts to creep inside her vines. Her origin and death all at once.

As memories find their way back onto her the Camp Vandeleur was a fragment of stories Seo's parents told her about, it was said that only peculiar ones around the said city are cognizant of it. It was confidential with norms, prolly because of the fact that the mortals would spit on them. Half of the society already hate the things they can't simply explain with science or their beliefs.

Old visions of Seo standing still with the paramount of magic that came out of the left-field was enigmatic and somehow uncanny, nevertheless the cynical probabilities, the people chose to stay faithful for what they believe. The drought of obliterating hell their enemies trying to upheave in their town for decades made them pay no heed for the consequences of the eccentric encounters Seo had shown with her magic, that even if it means launching an enormous fire, they would prefer adding fuel into it. Whatever it might take to behold— the heir.

So, here she is packing her stuff last minute just to finally have a grip of what's really happening and right on cue a messge flashed on her phone that made her smile reached her eyes. Seo slowly took her bags and handed it to her driver before saying goodbye to her parents, hugging them tight as if it she's not coming home to them and just like that they turned onto dust, they were just an illusion. Them being alive was all in her head and she's off to know if she can do anything to bring them to life. Would the camp help her to find answers or would it be a home she can finally heal to?

[miriamvowen]

The Petrona Award long list reported in The Bookseller magazine

Orenda Books has secured three entries on the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year longlist amidst a “significant” rise in submissions. Twelve crime novels from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have been featured. Sweden has the highest number of longlisted titles with five on the list while Denmark and Norway both have two. Finland, Iceland and…