Roberta Reads

The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg My rating: 2 of 5 stars I did not enjoy this as much as the previous book. In The Paper Magician, there was an excellent reason for Ceony going off on her own - there was no one else. However, in this book, she does it again, with no good reason. It’s stupid, childish and selfish. It gets people killed (another thing I liked less about this book). I really hope she will have grown up a little for the third one. View all my reviews

A Perfect Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley My rating: 3 of 5 stars A fun, enjoyable summer romance. A little slow moving occasionally, but otherwise a nice way of passing a few hours. I expect I’ll be reading the sequels. View all my reviews

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is a good book, well written, lots of excitement and time travel, a little humour and romance. But it really isn’t my cup of tea. To many horrible, traumatic things happen. Attempted rapes, a LOT of deaths, battles etc. For me, reading is an escape from the nastiness of real life. View all my reviews

The 5th Gender by G.L. Carriger My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is the best book I’ve read all year. I really hope that humans evolve tolerance in the way portrayed in this book. A beautiful love story, a nice little mystery (though rather tragic), all set aboard a space ship at some point in the future. Loveable purple aliens with sentient (or at least semi-sentient) hair. A wonderful, fully-realised alien culture, with its flaws, of course. As always with Gail, the writing itself is a thing of beauty, flowing smoothly and allowing one to be fully involved in the story. No doubt my second, third (and so on) readings will bring me a greater appreciation for the excellent use of language. I was far too swept up in the world to be totally aware of it this time. This book is entertaining, beautiful, thought provoking and mind broadening. If you only read one book I recommend this year, make it this one. View all my reviews

Death by Diploma by Kelley Kaye My rating: 4 of 5 stars I very much enjoyed this light hearted murder mystery set in an American high school. I’ve not read a cozy crime set in a school before (or not in a current-day school, anyway), so this made a refreshing change. The book is well written and easy to read. The only things that made the flow of words stutter a little (though not actually stall) were one or two odd little bits of phrasing - and I think this was down to me being from the UK and some things are not universal between the two versions of English. The friendship between the two main characters is what elevates this from being “merely” an interesting cozy crime. It was entertaining to watch the pair of them quipping and quoting back and forth. I also enjoyed many of the more minor characters, none of whom seemed flat. I look forward to seeing the further development of all the characters in later books. If you’re looking for a light heart...

The Great Summer Sewing Bee by Alexandra Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars A lovely short story focussing on Cher and Sonny from Tindledale, and the first few chapters from the author’s next book (which is out next month). It was so lovely to return to Tindledale, and to see two people get their happy ending in spite of difficulties. I can’t really say much more without giving away the plot! View all my reviews

Trouble in Nuala by Harriet Steel My rating: 3 of 5 stars A relatively short, but fun cozy crime set in 1930s Ceylon. I enjoyed this book, it’s definitely a slow burn, gentle kind of murder mystery. The atmosphere of the place and time comes across very clearly (though I can’t say if it’s accurate or not, as I have no previous knowledge). A fun change from my usual reads. View all my reviews

Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a really fun book, a steampunk airship adventure for two parents. It has slightly too many deaths and traumatic events for my tastes, but I absolutely loved the two main characters, and pretty much all the other characters too! View all my reviews

Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger My rating: 4 of 5 stars A wonderful novella/short story (not quite clear on the definitions). It’s so lovely to see Genevieve finally get her happy ending. View all my reviews

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Not my favourite Georgette Heyer, but still an excellently fun read. Better than most Regency books by other authors. I had a good chuckle at various points. View all my reviews

Frederica by Georgette Heyer My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of my absolute favourite Georgette Heyer. The audiobook is also excellent. Highly recommended. View all my reviews

Confetti at the Cornish Cafe by Phillipa Ashley My rating: 3 of 5 stars A very enjoyable romance, continuing the series. I did enjoy the tying up of several of the over-arching threads that run through this series, but for some reason it didn’t warm my heart like a lot of the romances I read do. Still good fun though. View all my reviews

Appleby Farm by Cathy Bramley My rating: 5 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book. A lovely gentle, light-hearted romance with plenty of interesting events. Slight spoilers if you continue to read! It was nice to see a romance breaking up NOT because one of the people was horrible, but simply because they just weren’t suited and didn’t want the same things out of life. Although I have read the previous book (Ivy Lane), it was a year and a half ago, so I don’t remember it. I definitely didn’t feel any lack because of this. Definitely highly recommended. View all my reviews