Archives by Tag 'Review Copy'

Review: ‘Our Tragic Universe’ by Scarlett Thomas

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Monday, June 27, 2011

Every week, W. H. Smith’s offers one relatively recent paperback title for only £2.99 when you buy the Times newspaper and, if it’s a book that looks interesting, I tend to take advantage of the offer.  I’m not sure why, as inevitably I then read the book and completely ignore the newspaper, thus making it [...]

Review: ‘The Circle Cast’ by Alex Epstein

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Thursday, June 9, 2011

Stories of King Arthur and the characters around him have been a large part of my reading diet for as long as I can remember.  I’ve read classic retellings, obscure retellings and a desire to discover the early retellings is what led to me becoming an unemployable medieval English postgraduate.  They’re stories that have become [...]

‘Far to Go’ by Alison Pick

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Historical novels are usually a staple part of my reading diet, but one that has been rather neglected so far this year in favour of trying new things and branching out into different, unexplored areas of literature.  This certainly hasn’t been a deliberate decision and in fact I hadn’t realised that I was reading fewer [...]

‘More English Fairy Tales’ by Joseph Jacobs

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I’ve spoken before on this blog about how much I love folk tales and fairy stories and I think that what the Victorian collectors such as Andrew Lang, Jeremiah Curtin and Joseph Jacobs did is amazing.  Every time I visit Cecil Sharp House in Camden I silently give thanks for all the work that Sharp [...]

‘Primeval: Extinction Event’ by Dan Abnett

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Thursday, February 3, 2011

Recently, I’ve been enjoying an excess of Victorianism.  I read The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope, a very unexpected Victorian novel, and then, purely by chance, I ended up simultaneously reading Lady’s Maid by Margaret Forster and The Crimson Petal and the Whiteby Michael Faber (which is still ongoing), both neo-Victorian novels.  While these are [...]

‘Flowers for Alys’ by Irene M. Redpath

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Friday, January 21, 2011

So far, I haven’t had much luck with the books of which I’ve received free copies for review from Goodreads and LibraryThing.  More often than not, I read the descriptions thinking “Oooh, what an interesting concept!” and eagerly click the request button but the books haven’t really lived up to my expectations when they’ve arrived.  [...]

Review: ‘Oops!’ by Darrell Bain

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Title: Oops!  Darrell Bain’s Latest Collection of Short Stories Author: Darrell Bain Published: LL-Publications, 2010, pp. 207 Genre: Short stories Blurb: Oops! is the third collection of stories by Darrell Bain.  When Cupid and a Gremlin bump heads, the sparks fly in a rare fantasy story by the author.  Other stories in the collection include [...]

Review: ‘The Breaking of the Shell’ by Barry Durdant-Hollamby

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Friday, August 20, 2010

When a horrible tragedy strikes during an innocent childhood game, six year old Alexander Baker’s life is changed forever. It will be many years before the outcome of that day is finally discovered – with consequences that will not only help Alexander to heal his deepest wounds, but also engage him in a process that [...]