Book Review: Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith

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A teen girl’s attempt to make amends with her former friend group takes a sinister turn during a weekend getaway at an ancestral Irish estate in this atmospheric, literary horror from the author of Those We Drown.

There’s something in the lake at Wren Hall.

At least, that’s what the locals say. Not that Meg cares much about the rumors. When she’s asked to spend Halloween weekend at the Ireland retreat of the wealthy Wren twins, she recognizes the invitation for exactly what it her last, and only, chance to save her spot at Greyscott’s, the exclusive British art school she attended on scholarship until last summer. Clever, beautiful, and talented, the twins are the pride of Greyscott’s, and kindhearted Lottie Wren was once Meg’s closest friends. But not anymore.

None of Meg’s old friend group have talked to her since she left school—and they especially don’t talk about the incident that resulted in her suspension. Now, Meg is willing to do whatever it takes to earn their forgiveness.

But Wren Hall turns out to be far from the idyllic country manor Meg was expecting. The house is damp and drafty, the mirrors are all covered, and the weed-choked lake is at the center of legends that haunt the property to this day—a tainted legacy the estate seems unable to shake.

The truth is, people aren’t the only ones who keep secrets. Places can keep them too—and Wren Hall is drowning in them. When the past bleeds into the present and ancient sins rise to the surface, Meg must ask herself how well she really knows her one-time best friends…or whether any of them will survive the weekend.

From my ABOS Horror subscription, I started this in June so it’s part of my “20 books of Summer” (20BOS26) Challenge.

Not as explicit as “The Troop” this was easier for me to read and complete. I think I saw it marked somewhere as a “YA” book, and if so, lands as a decent entry.

This story is told exclusively from the view point of Meg, both in current and in historical timelines. As we go through the book, it becomes harder to work out the timeframe – is something happening now or did it happen then?

Meg has been ostracised from the group at school, following a disastrous event involving another girl and a poo. She has been invited to a party thrown by the Wren Twins and she knows is likely one any only time to recover. However, things keep happening (insert shades on Northanger Abbey here), which result in multiple deaths, no outside help and suspicion being paced on eg for everything, including the deaths.)

Book Blogger Hop – Which books get highlighted on your blog? 

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About the Book Blogger Hop

One of the things I decided to do in 2025 was to write more than book reviews. Part of this was to take more prompts from various other blogs and attempt to answer them, no matter how short my own post will be. This is one of them from here: https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html

How do you decide which books to highlight on your blog? 

I started reviewing books years ago, but combined with a stupid Goodreads reading challenge of over 100 books a year, I was reading quantity over quality. I decided to change tack, and I also started blogging

I try to write semi-decent reviews, so that I have a vague idea of the story. Considering that some previous reviews were along the line of “good read”, there were times couldn’t even re4member reading certain books.

So, to answer the question – almost all the books on my blog are books that i have already read and is used to help me jog my memory. I rarely talk about books that I plan to read, as I often dont know when I’m going to read them

And you?

Book Review: Lady Susan by Jane Austen

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 Little Clothbound irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world’s greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith

A Penguin Classic Hardcover

Recently widowed, the unscrupulous and beautiful Lady Susan Vernon is determined to scheme her way through high society in the hope of a profitable new match – all while trying to marry off her unfortunate daughter. Ambitious and manipulative, Lady Susan is unlike any Jane Austen heroine you’ve read about before. Told through a series of letters, Jane Austen’s magnificent first novella is as subversive as it is charming.

This was a slim volume and a reread from a long time ago. This edition is a new Penguin cloth bound version that is about an A5 size.

This story is told via the mechanism of letters between a small number of characters. All cover the recently widowed Lady Susan and her teenage daughter Frederica who has recently been left and “escaped” from a private school. Lady Susan goes to visit her brother and sister in law (who dislikes Lady Susan with a vengeance) for a few months and during her stay, tries to marry Frederica off to the much older Sr James. All the time both Susan and Frederica have a partiality for a younger man called Reginald. Susan has been have an “understanding” with a man called Manwaring, despite him already being married.

Pages: 1 2 3

Book Review: The Troop by Nick Cutter

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Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip – a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfire. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there – which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier. But for some reason, he can’t shake the feeling that something strange is in the air this year. Something wicked . . .

It comes to them in the night. An unexpected intruder, stumbling upon their campsite like a wild animal. He is shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry – a man in unspeakable torment who exposes Tim and the boys to something far more frightening than any ghost story. Within his body is a bioengineered nightmare, a horror that spreads faster than fear. One by one, the boys will do things no person could ever imagine.

And so it begins. An agonizing weekend in the wilderness. A harrowing struggle for survival. No possible escape from the elements, the infected . . . or one another.

Part Lord of the Flies, part 28 Days Later – and all-consuming – this tightly written, edge-of-your-seat thriller takes you deep into the heart of darkness, where fear feeds on sanity . . . and terror hungers for more.

A book from the ABOS Horror subscription.

I will admit that this was a Did Not Finish. I got about half way through, even after 6 weeks and not getting any pleasure from it.

I dont mind horror stories, but there are certain things I dont take pleasure in – basically anything too squeamish. As examples, I never watch the Saw movies, or read Dean Koontz, and I stopped reading Stephen King for a while after “Spellcatcher”.

This is and can be graphic. Too graphic for me. The structure is ok, I just didnt enjoy the execution.

Tell Me Something Tuesday – Fave Flowers

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Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post (held over at this site) where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.

What is your favorite flower?

It’s mor of a colour rather than a specific flower, so a type of yellow. Therefore Daffodils. At a push it will be purple and Irises.

I have always hated tulips, ideally red tulips with black stamens, which look like dead spiders, so scare the bejesus out of me!

Things I wish fabric artists had told me (part 1)

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One of the things I promised myself was to do more blogging., particularly in relation to sewing

This is the initial list, so there may well be other posts in due course

  • Read the instructions . Read again. Like seriously
  • It’s really Really rude to check the back of a piece, especially if it’s followed by “shame it’s not neater”. (Then you do better bitch)
  • The time it takes to do something. I’ve been asked, on a Wednesday to “knock up” something as a gift for a wedding on Saturday. Not knowing it took a week to frame, 3 weeks to stitch etc.
  • Piece sizes are given in stitch numbers. What you will get on 14ct Aida will not be what you get on28 ct linen. Sizes are likely to change, depending
  • You are ALLOWED to not like things. Me? Partial stitches and Linen. Go feck yourselves. Similar to metallic Threads, which I hate cos they break too frequently and i therefore consider them wasteful
  • Use the tools you want, I’ve worked out I like 22 or 24 sharpes, 16 ct Aida, linen/evenweave/partial stitches. Black stitch annoys me, but I will do if I think it necessary, I willuse circular hoops where it fits
  • I was once in a knitting shop, with a designer, finding myself apologising to said designer, as Imeant to “feel” the creation, not the body. The designer was truly gracious and told me not toapologise for being tactile. If you need to touch, then touch. I’ve done similar on the bus, lol
  • Without knowing it, I apparently know how to to darn. Of at least a version of it. Search YouTube for lessons

Book Blogger Hop – Dog Eared or Crease Free?

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About the Book Blogger Hop

One of the things I decided to do in 2025 was to write more than book reviews. Part of this was to take more prompts from various other blogs and attempt to answer them, no matter how short my own post will be. This is one of them from here: https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html

15th – Are you team dog-eared pages or strictly no creases? 

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve dog eared a book, and then it’s usually “in extremis” – usually when I have nothing else to use.

I have multiple bookmarks on my person or generally available, or a ticket of some sort. So it’s rare that I will need to dog ear a book and I really hate doing it.

What about you? what’s your stance on dog earing books?

Book Review: First Witches Club: A Novel by Maisey Yates

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When three betrayed wives stumble into a magical apothecary shop, they discover that revenge is sweet—but finding true love and their own power is even sweeter in this witty, romantic novel about second chances from New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates.

Nora, Daisy, and Soraya think their marriages are just fine. Until their husbands prove them wrong.

Nora’s says he needs distance and flits off to a wellness retreat in Chile. Daisy’s confesses to an affair with someone younger. And Soraya’s sends her a pic of that special part of himself—meant for another woman. At a loss for what to do, they follow their intuition right into Lady’s Mantle Apothecary.

As they embrace their untapped magic, their fortunes begin changing fast. Getting even with their exes is satisfying, but the real magic happens when they start opening their hearts to new possibilities. Nora discovers that true love might have been right in front of her all along in the form of her childhood best friend. Daisy finds herself falling for her ex-husband’s handsome business partner, a former TV star who sees the real her. And Soraya, who never dated before marriage, experiences an unexpected attraction to the mysterious owner of the game shop across the hall.

With the help of an enigmatic shopkeeper, these three women discover that the best revenge isn’t just about hexes and karma—it’s about finding your own path to love, friendship, and claiming your power. And that is positively magical.

Sourced in ebook format from Amazon First Reads. Not really a book that’s taking part of a formal reading challenge, more a way to clear some of the books I already have

I’m old enough to remember “The First Wives Club” movie when it first came out, so I was both attracted to and worried about how close this book would be to the film. It’s close, with a large pinch of “Practical Magic” and “The Craft”.

Nora is married to Ben, who goes to South America to “find himself” only to hook up with a younger woman, and ending up in an accident and served with divorce papers.

Daisy is married to Jonathon who leaves and he moves in with 25yo Amberley

Soraya Nichols husband is David. Soraya kicks David out for sharing a dick pic whilst both are at church. Later, he publically shares a video of him having sex with the Pastor’s wife. After that the church, who have previously been against Soraya, are suddenly split. Declan is the hot neighbour she starts having a thing for

They all live in a small town called Hemlock.

Their Friend/neighbour Alexandria Stone in hospital, her cheater husband is Christopher, her daughter is Madison. All 3 are very minor character

After visiting Alex in hospital, three of the four visit Lady’s Mantle apothecary , a new age Occult shop, warned about in Soraya’s church as Satanic. Aggie Green is the lady in charge

Each get a different job there, depending on their skills. Soraya is the most skeptical due to her growing up in the church

All fancy Zach, former tv star and Daisy’s ex-husband’s business partner. Daisy starts to flirt with him

Nora reconnects with Sam,  a foster brother and now electrician

Under the mentorship of Aggie, the three women become closer, start to branch out. Each chapter is from a different woman’s point of view, has either a statement or spell, and the subject of the chapter focusses on the theme of the chapter statement.

Ultimately this is a story of women finding friendship in other women, whilst finding themselves after betrayal.

Spells are just prayers men don’t like




Free Comic Book Day – Star Wars Day

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The nearest saturday to May 4th is generally classed as free comic book day.
Many Comic lines will often do special comics to be given away, usually child friendly

I’ve not physically taken part at my local comic book store in the last few years for a while for several reasons

  • COVID certainly put a damper on things.
  • Those in front of me can be hyper stimulated. I don’t need that level of shit at 8am on a Saturday morning. Just calm the fuck down. You’re in the queue ffs. You will miss nothing, no one will steal nowt cos you are literally in the queue (just seen photos and they were there, grinning like a banshee. I pity the spouse who has to put up with this shit for the rest of the year).
  • I used to bake and be 2nd in the queue. Those ahead of me never arrived with anything, whereas I had at least thought of potential allergens etc (eg. flour, milk and egg)
  • I used to pick up for the nieces and nephews, virtually all of whom are well passed the target age
  • I’m well behind in my own reading of both comics and other reading material
  • My own mobility issues now means I cannot stand for hours like I used to

Book Review: Infamous by Lex Crowther

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22-year-old aspiring writer Edith ‘Eddie’ Miller and her best friend Rose have always done everything together-climbing trees, throwing grapes at boys, sneaking bottles of wine, practicing kissing . . .

But following their debutante ball Rose is suddenly talking about marriage, and Eddie is horrified.

When Eddie meets charming, renowned poet Nash Nicholson, he invites her to his crumbling Gothic estate in the countryside. The entourage of eccentric artists indulging in pure hedonism is exactly what Eddie needs in order to forget Rose and finish her novel.

But Eddie might discover the world of famous literary icons isn’t all poems and pleasure . . .

Sourced From? Provide link if known. What format is this copy in?

Sourced in paper form from ABOS. Read in March but will publish my review later in the year as this is classed as “queer” or “LGBT”. If it adds to any reading challenge it will be the ever rolling #BeatTheBacklog where i am trying to get through my ever expanding TBR.

Written by someone with a man’s name, but under the “Lesbian” genre, I was a tad worried that the main characters would revert to stereotype of what a man thinks Lesbians *really* get up to or how they interact. However, in digging a little further into the authour (not someone i’ve read before) it looked. like my fears were likely to be avoided

Eddie (Edith) and Rose have been friends since childhood, despite being wildly different. Eddie in particular is not a nice character, being loud, stubborn,

Eddie believes that at 22, she is fully developed and has a plan for what her life is going to be going forward. Rose is more emotionally mature, knowing what she is, even when she gets betrothed to Albert. Eddie decides to accept the invite to Nash’s country house, with Rose and Albert in tow. Nash’s long forgiving wife, plus multiple secondary friends make up the house party, with Nash seemingly permanently drink and/or high.

Nash’s house, St Bede’s, is a 3 story neo-Gothic build, sitting on an island in the middle of a lake. The staff have done their best on short notice, but still. The top floor has been ravaged by both big and small storms, leading to many a “lost” bedroom, and resulting in people having to share sleeping quarters, even if it means sleeping in “the billiard room”. Nash and his family have not stayed there in over 5 years.

At Bede House, Nash was king – and he was extremely lenient with his subjects

There is much debauchery and ingestion of substances and it is during this period that Eddie learns much about Rose, Albert and Nash.

The last part of the book shows the true nature of people, Rose and Nash included. Eddie has grown up, having been fan-girling and crushing over Nash, whilst putting her friendship with Rose in jeopardy.

Fairly Adult book, though not hugely explicit.