Holiday reading!

Tuesday Tales!

One great thing about holidays for me is that I try to squeeze in some reading for pleasure, as many novels as I can during all the in between bits of travel, sightseeing, meals and sleep.

So far I've read a few of those on my kindle queue but I've been dipping into some non-fiction hardbacks in The Black Watch Cruise Ship's Library as well.

1.
The first of these kindle novels is hard to write about since it was the worst content edited story that I've read for quite a while. I think there may have been an edit for grammar and spelling which meant those aspects were adequate but the whole text needed a thorough edit for continuity errors; possible anachronisms; frequent POV changes; and use of phrasing which was far too modern for the era. I'd need to research whether or not a band of gypsies would have been likely as entertainment at this time, because perhaps they were the earliest troubadours, but the whole inclusion of the gypsy scenes seemed far too contrived. I persevered with the read in the hope of improvement but it didn't happen for me. As such I won't be rating Ariana's Pride by Margaret Lake on Goodreads or Amazon since I can't even rate it at 3 stars. If the author had employed a competent editor then the story would mot likely have had at least a 3 star rating.

2.

Amelia and the Viscount by Samantha Holt A 4 star read!

This was a short fast read, a quick dip into the era where it was commonplace for a family to have a string of daughters to marry off, generally the elder one marrying first. However, much like a famous Jane Austen novel, the eldest daughter in this novel is not first to be wed. The storyline is simple yet a bit unrealistic for me. The hero needing the blinkers lifted before he really sees Amelia’s qualities, after being totally smitten by a younger sister, doesn’t quite match up with the given facts that Nicholas had known all the girls as they grew up. The dialogue flows well though and the story has a good pace throughout.

3.
Ready, Steady, Dig! by Rosalind Winter 

This was definitely a 5 ***** read! 

This was a highly entertaining novel with a great pace throughout. The characters, major and minor, are all colourful and well rounded with the lares being personified to a high degree. I really enjoyed the contrasts between some of these, Petro being so responsible and Stillaria being so…well, Drippy!

The whole plot is centred on the Television concept of a fast action archaeological dig, which is not necessarily the way a traditional dig might be conducted. The reader who is familiar with TV archaeology will appreciate the TV characters created by the author. And for those who don’t watch much TV, Dr. Horton seems more typical of the pedantic archaeologists of the last fifty years.

There is a lot of well researched history and archaeology within this very readable, highly imaginative and enjoyable ‘historical fantasy’ contemporary novel.     

by Rosalind Winter.


4.

The List by Joanna Bolouri  4 stars

This was an entertaining book, definitely course but very readable. The story of Phoebe’s kind of dating sounds such hard work though the end was inevitable almost right from the beginning. I liked most of the characters but Oliver gets his just desserts! Quite predictable in a kind of Bridget Jones fashion but compelling reading.






Now I'm off to read a Crooked Cat Books novel! I'll let you know about it later....

Slainthe!