Mysterious Houses

Rose/House by Arkady Martine is an odd little novella about a locked-room murder in a house embodied by a very sophisticated AI. I liked the atmosphere, the mystery and all the different viewpoint characters, though I have to admit I don't think I fully understood even aspect of what happened... The changing dynamics between the various characters and the house were particularly well portrayed, though, as was the house's very alien perspectives on things. I definitely didn't enjoy this as much as Martine's space opera duology, but it was an interesting read and the audiobook was a good choice because the narrator did the house's detached, slightly creepy voice really well.


Asa James by Jodi Lew-Smith was my first ever Netgalley ARC and I really lucked out because I absolutely loved this book! It's set in the 1870s, following the titular character as he navigated finding his place in the world. Asa grows up on a poor farm, which provides work and shelter for troubled youth, though his status is more as part of the family, since he was 'adopted' by those running the farm as a baby. He eventually leaves and finds a job as a tutor at a large country house in Vermont, where he quickly builds close ties with the inhabitants. There's a lot about societal status, ethnic identity, pursuing dreams and education outside of background circumstances, and where morality fits in with rigid societal expectations and the desire to be happy. The characters were extremely well drawn and engaging, as was the setting. There were a few inconsistencies here and there in the story (and one quite glaring cliche in the central mystery), which detracted a bit from my enjoyment, but the book also took me by surprise with most of its twists and turns, and I thought Asa's overall journey was very satisfying in both physical and mental terms. Highly recommended if you like compelling and immersive historical dramas with layered characters, interesting themes and emotional depth.

The Map & The Echo

This was a weird but fun event at the British Library.
We started by getting access to the current Secret Maps exhibition, which had some very interesting stuff in it (silk underwear made from World War Two escape maps, some really beautiful maps from the 1500s, a hilarious Sellafield tourist poster from 1989).
Then we got a tour through the library from a very engaging guide, who talked about various aspects of the building and the collection that aren't easily visible.
The evening culminated in an entertaining choose-your-own-adventure performance from a very impressive guy, who led us through the adventure, asking different members of the audience to make choices about what to do and where to go. I was amazed by his ability to keep track of where we were and deliver the relevant room description at each point. It was also very funny when we kept ending up in the same place over and over again and he had to keep describing it. The eventual outcome of the game was very sweet, and I had a lot of fun.

The Strength of the Few

I was really looking forward to continuing with the Hierarchy series by James Islington...
Rare occasion of my jumping on the band wagon, reading a really popular book and then getting hold of the sequel as soon as it comes out.
Decided to go with the audiobook because I didn’t want to buy a hardback or wait for ages from the library
Looking back on The Will of the Many now – I don’t have wildly positive feelings towards it (other than the desperate need to know what happens after the cliffhanger ending) – though my review from last year is definitely very positive.
And then I listened to about the first hour of the book – and I just didn’t care…
Audiobook probably wasn’t the best choice because I struggle when I can’t visualise character names and there was a huge amount of background info that was hard to follow…
I decided I didn't want to commit to 30 hours listening to a book I wasn't that interested in, so I DNF'd.