The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Rating:
This was a gift from the lovely Justine on one of those wishlist shares, and I had heard a lot of good things about the book.
It was tempting me since it has a fox in it, it is ink drawings and just a positive type of book, so it felt like a book to have at hand when sadness hits and when life just feels a bit not great.
I have to say, it is an easy soothing read with heavy pages and a lot of care, so I can see a lot of care in making it. As it says, you can technically read without an order and I didn’t try it this time round but as I read I noticed it does lend to an orderly or disorderly reading.
I think what got me the most was that the art is simple and yet so emotive and there’s a lot of detail and care. I was fascinated by it and the words go along well.
For some reason it reminded me a lot of Winnie the Pooh and old artwork in the books but also that kind of timeless quotes about life and friendships and just everything. It has a poetic way to it and I just found it soothing, a bit short if anything.
If you want a book that is art, coffee table material but also will make you feel good for reading it, then this is the one for you. Plus it has cute animals, particularly a fox…
April’s Fairyloot arrived quitelate this time, so it felt as if it was the May box rather than the April one. Oh well, this is the oen for April, and it left me with some opinions. Let’s unbox starting from the top right and going clockwise:
Tote bag, this is a thick quality one which is nice but the deisgn is very much quotes and small reading so it doesn’t shine much.
Emoji sticky tabs which is very much NOT my thing. Starting by it being emojis and then sticky tabs.
Theme bookmark
An enamel pin for a Memory Vial.
Wahsi tape for Daughter of Smoke and Bone, though it could be for many thing, however it is cute and blue so I like it.
A Secret Book Volume 3. I like the idea but it does look quite “fake” (whereas I already have a few other secret books that look more like books), so shall compare but I like the idea.
Theme card.
Tarot cards, not been collecting them so a bit meh about them.
A pin banner thing, which I am not keeping but I know of some people who would love it.
The main book, Incendiary which I am intrigued by it and looking forward to reading.
All in all it felt a bit not cohesive, and some items felt like fillers and add ons just to pad it rather than to really want ot be in theme and with the book. But shall compare later on to the other box doing the same book and we can decide…
After reading The Bone Witch, I ordered the next two books, then continued a buddy read. Life got in the way for both of us so it took us a while to coordinate again, but once we did, we flew through it.
One of my favourite things so far is the world building. You get so much in this world and it just keeps expanding more and more. The style of having Tea in the present talking to the Bard about her story of the past and what made her what she is, does a really good job in presenting items cohesively despite being different moments and different reveals.
The last 100 pages or so, they went by so fast because there was so much going on and slowly being revealed and surprisingly a lot of what I thought would happen, didn’t and things I didn’t expect did. As I reached the end I needed to know more.
The characters keep developing their layers and showing more of how grey they are and how difficult it is to know someone’s true intentions and what is going on behind closed doors but in figurative and literal sense. I have a big soft spot both for Khalad and Likh, and for their stories. But new characters also join in and add to the “team”, Mykkie is still a big part of the story and Tea keeps showing us more of who she is, what she has held inside and slowly revealing the secrets and motives that she carries as a heavy burden.
I am in awe of the story. It is deep and full and rich, and I cannot recommend it enough. Also, it is incredibly hard not to spoil it while reviewing because there is SO mcuh I’d like to say but it’d spoil it and it’s worth not doing that.
I can only say, go read The Bone Witch and have The Heart Forger ready to keep going because you will want to know more!
Illumicrate has been a bit of hit and miss the last few months, but I knew what book was coming in this box and it was one I was looking forwad to read so decided to see how the box would feel this time. Starting from the book and going clockwise:
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence. I got into his writing thanks to Illumicrate and the proof copy for Red Sister. Borrowed his other books from the library and haven’t looked back. They’re definitely grim dark, so not for everyone.
Theme card.
Mercado de la Muerte Dark Spice hot chocolate. It smells slightly like Mexican chocolate, but I tasted it plain and it isn’t exactly right (it’s too much European/USA cocoa style and not enough mix of bitterness and sugar). But I’ll give it a try in water and shall see if it compares to proper hot chocolate.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book sleeve. The art is gorgeous, it’s really nice and do not find faults here at all.
Toss a Post it note to your witcher! (does this need explaining?)
A phone stand with the Moving Castle on it. This is my favourite item in the box and prefer it to other phone items they’ve done except for the battery charger thing.
Foiled stickers, they are gorgeous. Love them
All in all, it was a much better box than previous ones and it gives me hope. And it matches well with my new puzzle (shame I didn’t keep the one with Howl’s Moving Castle in the background whcih would match the phone stand!). Looking forward to the next box!
Book Box Club’s May box was all about dragons and I am always happy with a dragon themed box (who doesn’t like dragons? as long as they’re not toasting you to a crisp). And I also had the super awesome jigsaw puzzle somehow match this, so let’s see what was in the box, starting on the top right corner:
Theme card.
Dragon socks, they are the PERFECT socks to make a dragon sock puppet because the other side has an open dragon mouth. I wish it came with two pairs of them so I could do sock puppet and wear a pair of socks.
A golden foil print of Smaug, which is super gorgeous!
Dragon necklace
Dragon egg bath bomb, it smells delicious and I am looking forward to it.
Hungarian Horntail candle.
The main book, which is Burn by Patrick Ness. I am unsure about it mostly because I wasn’t too keen on previous books.
Personalised clubhouse invite
A sampler of All Your Twisted Secrets
A card set to promote Wodnerland by juno Dawson.
My favoruite thing was the socks, because they’re so cute, but it was a very dragon themed box and I am happy with it.
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts
Rating:
I got this lovely little book from Faye from my wishlist and it did not disappoint.
Ada Twist is a very curious little one and that may get her into trouble. the artwork is wonderful, the relationship of the family and how they try to help Ada, figure out how to answer her questions (because she is absolutely crammed full of them) and just be there.
Obviously at times Ada may get into trouble and still you can feel the love from her family, the curiosity from Ada and how much she has a scientific hypothesis approach in everything.
I think this is a wonderful book to give a curious kid that has all the questions and keeps looking for answers, and to the parents too as it wil show both sides and maybe afterwards add a book about the kids best interests because I just felt like researching and diving deep into a book after reading this.
Thron was included in one of the recent Book Box Club boxes. However, I had it on preorder and didn’t catch that it was the same book, so I got duplicates and gifted a copy to a friend.
Obviously means I was eager to read it, right?
From the start, there is a fairy tale undertone to the story (I know it is based on the story of the goose girl, but some books that are based on fairy tales do not read like one) and it sets the tone for the rest of the book in a wonderful way.
We meet Alyrra as she is preparing to meet her future husband’s family. She is in general a resigned unhappy princess that would rather have a different life. However, she doesn’t want an adventure as one would expect. What she wants is just peace, to be able to be insignificant in a way. And she wants to not have her cruel family over her. As much as she is unsure about the alliance through marriage and who the prince is, she sees this as a way out of her family and country to somewhere that may be better.
What she doesn’t expect is to end up as the lady in company of the princess rather than the actual princess, which puts her into the position of a goose girl as ajob. Which she finds delightful. It is hard work, but it is work and she is gettign exactly what she wants. Plus there’s a wonderful talking horse, Falada, that she has for ocmpany.
The story follows the bones of the goose girl fairy tale but adds to many beautiful layers on top. One of my favourite lines is the concept of family and unity, of found family rather than the given one (which really spoke to me). Another one is the concept of justice and what that may mean. Can justice be truly fair? What does that mean and how is it decided? There is also the way Alyrra starts to figure out who she is outside of the obligations of being a “princess”. And it is interesting to see how she views herself as something but in truth she is ahead of how she sees herself. She calls herself a coward often, but has a lot of courage, and it takes her time to understand that and to see what she is doing as courageous.
I think those layers and the many characters that are very defined in the story, like Sage, Violet, Ash, Oak and Joa make it even better as a fairy tale on it’s own. Vety enjoyable, feels old and as if it has existed for so long and yet it is fresh and has a lot of questions. Probably the best way to describe Thorn is to say that this is what a fairytale ought to be in 2020. Something to become a classic read over and over and seen as a comfortable uncomfortable story with magic woven through it.
Highly recommend reading it and giving it a chance.
When I heard there was going to be a book box for The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, I had to get it, so that is why I have We Read Box.
The theme was Expend your Mind, and the contents, going, clockwise and staritng on top right were:
A booklet with more details of the items and a few other articles/things about the theme.
A literary Passport (such a cute idea)
A glittery stunning pin to match the book.
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski, which I am very excited to read!
A travel tag (luggage tag?) which is in the shape of a suitcase on wheels which I thought was super cute and made me smile.
All in all it was a lovely little box, I know they intended to include a book sleeve but the world had other plans for what 2020 was going to be doing (oh well), but they did reduce the price fo the box and it is still a nice one.
Another moon themed box and now from Owlcrate, which meant a lot of excitement from me as I love moon themed boxes and I was curious to see what was inside this one. Starting from the theme card in the bottom left and going clockwise:
Theme card. I generally love the artwork in their theme cards and this is gorgeous.
The monthly pin which is an owl and moon phases, stunning.
A crescent moon bracelet in rose gold, which is probably not my favourite tone of jewelry but it is a nice bracelet.
Bone Crier’s Moon, with their exclusive cover version. I have to say that usually I love their exclusive covers loads but this one is just a bit more close up and blue so I ended up preferring the original one (not that this isn’t good, just not as good?) It also has golden sprayed edges.
A cute moon pouch (another item was inside it)
Oscar Wilde moon quote notebook. I like the artwork but what bugs me is that it is the same quote Fairyloot used in their moon themed box. There MUST be other wonderful quotes about the moon and magic and life to use rather than the same one used by others (I have this issue with just getting the same quotes over and over about the same topic, when there is so much to use and choose from and we fall into exactly the same ones over and over).
I squealed a tiny bit with the Moony puzzle because it is awesome and I love puzzles!
Wooden moon phases garland/bunting. Vixy loved it and so do it. It is gorgeous and was what was inside the little moon pouch.
A moon totebag.
All in all I really enjoyed the contents of the box, the only thing I wasn’t super keen was the quote choice but that is a relatively minor issue and more that it bothers me in general rather than exclusively about Owlcrate. And it definitely felt like a wonderful moon magic box.
A few disclaimers before I launch into my review of The Enigma Game. I was provided a free copy of the book for reviewing purposes, however this doesn’t influence my review at all.
The second disclaimer is that that I have most of Elizabeth’s books (including non fiction) and as you can guess from the picture, have a soft spot for World War II bombers and cryptography (yes, I was at those Turing events). So be aware that this makes this book a quick runner for a good review due to contents.
The Enigma Game is another winner by Elizabeth Wein. It depicts so many things about how life during World War II was back then and does so with her unique way that makes you want to know more of the world and how it came to be.
We get a few points of view from different characters as they each give us a little of their world to see. We start with James (Jamie, Scotty) who is the one in charge of a B-flight squadron of Blenheims in Scotland and he is feeling hit in all places by the disadvantages they have (starting with old bombers, and just not great decisions on tactics). He is technically a character that appears in some ways in other of the books so he was familiar (and it kept nagging at me why I felt like I knew who he was but couldn’t place him at the same time, obviously now I want to reread The Pearl Thief and Code Name Verity).
Then we have Louisa, who is mixed race and struggling to find a place in London as she is too young, alone and not the right skin colour. But she finds a job helping Aunt Jane in Scotland and makes the most of it. With her point of view we get Aunt Jane who is a character as is and I absolutely adored the old woman. She’s old but she’s so cunning and so full of ideas and fight, it was wonderful to read her and she reminded me of other old ladies I’ve known (none as mysterious and interesting as her but still).
And we have Ellen who is part of the WAAF as a driver for the RAF airfield but who is hiding the fact she is a traveller. Her point of view was a refreshing sight and a connection between two pieces of the story at first.
Our story centers around them coming unto an Enigma machine (the only one) and due to circumstances, they are able to decode messages and give Jamie’s squadron a secret advantage, but with doing so, they put themselves at risk and potentially everyone.
I adored the story, the characters were so unique and the ambience and setting of the world is done beautifully with tiny details that help put you right there and then with them. It is not just a story about courage but about perceptions, about wanting to be brave and how rules soemtimes are meant to be broken, or in most of the case in the book, just bent rather than broken. I am actually having a hard time writing a very coherent review due to this book hooking me in and making me feel so much and be so invested into the characters and what happened.
As for historical accuracy, at the end you get a note regarding what it is based on and what is “real” and not which it still feels wonderfully well painted and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the author’s gift for writing fiction and making it feel like it is non-fiction.
If you enjoy historical fantasy, are an aircraft nerd or just curious about cryptography or the Enigma, this is a wonderful read. Or if you just want a good story about World War II and friendship, then this is also for you.
