Library Loot: Ghosts, Snow and Adventure
I was really happy with my book haul from the library this week, especially as I manged to pick up some reservations as well as a book that I had been thinking about buying…and might still do as I started it on the bus home and it’s excellent so far!
Her’s what I borrowed this week:
The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone and Fiona Woodcock
You can be late for many things in life, but you should never keep an adventure waiting…
In Griselda Bone’s gloomy orphanage, daydreaming is banned, skipping is forbidden and Christmas is well and truly cancelled. But for Phoebe and her sausage dog Herb, is it possible that, just when things seem at their bleakest, magic awaits in the swirling, snow-filled air?
Join them on an enchanting adventure in this beautifully moving story by the bestselling author of Sky Song and The Unmapped Chronicles, Abi Elphinstone, and renowned illustrator Fiona Woodcock.
I was very excited to pick this up today as I have been looking forward to reading it and savouring the illustrations since I heard that it was coming out. I’m sure that it is going to be magical!
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
1906: A large manor house, Wake’s End, sits on the edge of a bleak Fen, just outside the town of Wakenhyrst. It is the home of Edmund Stearn and his family – a historian, scholar and land-owner, he’s an upstanding member of the local community. But all is not well at Wake’s End. Edmund dominates his family tyrannically, in particular daughter Maud. When Maud’s mother dies in childbirth and she’s left alone with her strict, disciplinarian father, Maud’s isolation drives her to her father’s study, where she happens upon his diary.
During a walk through the local church yard, Edmund spots an eye in the undergrowth. His terror is only briefly abated when he discovers its actually a painting, a ‘doom’, taken from the church. It’s horrifying in its depiction of hell, and Edmund wants nothing more to do with it despite his historical significance. But the doom keeps returning to his mind. The stench of the Fen permeates the house, even with the windows closed. And when he lies awake at night, he hears a scratching sound – like claws on the wooden floor…
Wakenhyrst is a terrifying ghost story, an atmospheric slice of gothic, a brilliant exploration of the boundaries between the real and the supernatural, and a descent into the mind of a psychopath.
I picked this up on the new arrivals shelf of my local library and started it on the bus home – really enjoying it so far! I do have a soft spot for gothic mysteries, although the Goodreads summary makes this sound a bit more scary that I was expecting. Here’s hoping I don’t get nightmares!
Seeker of the Crown by Ruth Lauren
The second book in this fresh, thrilling middle-grade fantasy series that’s Percy Jackson meets Frozen.
One month has passed since Valor broke her twin sister Sasha out of jail. But the girl responsible for her imprisonment, Princess Anastasia, has gone missing, and Valor still longs for justice. So when the queen, desperate to find her daughter, asks Valor and Sasha to track Anastasia down, they don’t hesitate to accept the perilous assignment.
But just as the girls team up with old friends to embark on the search, the queen vanishes without a trace. If Valor can’t restore the rightful ruler, she risks getting sent back to prison . . . and tearing her newly reunited family apart. Relying on her own instincts – and some allies she can’t quite trust – Valor must navigate twisting city streets, bustling docks, and hidden passages to foil Anastasia’ nefarious plot before it’s too late.
Set once again in the icy and dangerous queendom of Demidova, Ruth Lauren sweeps readers on another unforgettable adventure alongside an equally unforgettable heroine.
I realised whilst writing my Six for Sunday post last week that I had been remiss in not yet picking this up, despite the fact that I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Prisoner of Ice and Snow. This looks like the perfect read for this time of year, as the weather starts to get colder…
The Last of the Spirits by Chris Priestley
Sam and Lizzie are freezing and hungry on the streets of Victorian London. When Sam asks a wealthy man for some coins, he is rudely turned away. Months of struggle suddenly find their focus, and Sam resolves to kill the man. Huddling in a graveyard for warmth, Sam and Lizzie are horrified to see the earth around one of the tombs begin to shift, shortly followed by the wraithlike figure of a ghostly man. He warns Sam about the future which awaits such a bitter heart, and so begins Sam’s journey led by terrifying spirits through the past, present and future, after which Sam must decide whether to take the man, Scrooge’s, life or not.
A perfectly layered, tense and supremely satisfying twist on one of Dickens’ most popular books, cleverly reinvented to entice a younger readership.
I picked this up on a whim, as it sounds like an interesting re-imagining of a classic story and one that I will enjoy reading as the weather gets colder and everyone seems to be thinking about Christmas (although as far as I’m concerned, I won’t properly get into the Christmas mood until after my birthday later this month!)
What did you think of my choices this week?
Did you spot any you might read?
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
See my previous library loots here:
Feminism, Folklore and Body Positivity
Gymnastics, Mermaids and Achieving Your Dreams
Fantasy, Intrigue and Misunderstandings
Family, Dreams and Secret Agents
Magic, Memory and Climate Change
Independence, Love and Being Different
Dragons, Villains and Lost Property
Invisible Women, Peer Pressure and Folklore
Mysterious Boys, Rain and Wellington Boots
Opposites, Worries and Families
What do you think of the books I have chosen?
Would you like to read any of them?
Are there any you would recommend me moving straight to the top of the TBR list?
Do you have a library near you?
How often do you borrow books?
Do you ever buy books after having already read them? (I do, all the time!)
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Thanks for reading!
Chrikaru Reads 
Seeker of the Crown is great, really hope you enjoy it!
Amy x
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My Mum’s policy was always that we did not talk about Christmas until after my November birthday. So agree that November birthdays take precedence over Christmas!
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