Posts

The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson * * *

-
Image
The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson is a short Christmas mystery, only 138 pages long, inspired by the real couple who invented the board game Cluedo , or Clue , as it is known in the United States. Interestingly, Upson actually spoke to the descendants of the couple while writing the book, which I thought was a lovely touch. I have never actually played Cluedo , though I have always wanted to. It wasn't a game that was available to me growing up in Hungary, and even though I love board games, I have never really had anyone to play them with. My mother absolutely hates board games, and no one else in my family or among my friends is particularly interested in them either. So, unfortunately, Cluedo remains one of those games I know about but have never had the opportunity to experience. That made the premise of this book especially interesting to me. The story takes place during the Second World War and follows Anthony and Elva Pratt, the couple who would eventually create Clue...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova * * * *

-
Image
I read The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova as part of my October 2026 Read-Witch-a-Thon. This is another book featuring witches, although I would categorize it more as magical realism than traditional witchcraft. I gave it four stars because I really enjoyed the story, its characters, and its magical atmosphere, but I found the pacing extremely uneven. For a large portion of the book, very little happens, and then suddenly everything starts moving at lightning speed. The story revolves around the Montoya family, whose matriarch, Orquídea Divina, has lived a rather mysterious life. She has had several husbands and numerous children, resulting in an enormous family tree that I wouldn't even attempt to recreate. She lives in a place called Four Rivers, where she has created a home surrounded by fertile land and an abundance of plants. However, when she sends letters to her living children and grandchildren announcing that she is dying and inviting them to collect...
Post a Comment
Read more

Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena * * * *

-
Image
I read Witch Daughter by Tanaz Bhathena as part of my Read Witch-a-Thon, which I'm doing throughout October. I gave this book four stars, and I picked it because I was intrigued by the idea of reading about witches from a non-Western culture. The story takes place in pre-Islamic Persia and incorporates elements of Persian mythology and Zoroastrianism, a religion I knew practically nothing about. I was excited to explore a culture, a mythology, and a religious tradition that were completely outside my usual reading experience. The story takes place primarily in Samangan, a small kingdom ruled by a king whose daughter, Tahmineh, is considered a witch. However, she is not exactly the kind of witch we would usually imagine. Her mother is a daeva, a supernatural being who lives in a lake and can disguise herself as a human. She once took on human form, married the king, and gave birth to Tahmineh, but eventually had to return to the lake, leaving her daughter behind. At the beginning...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Black Cat and The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe * *

-
Image
I have a confession. I don't like Edgar Allan Poe. I know he's considered one of the great masters of Gothic literature and psychological horror, but his writing has never appealed to me. Having now read The Black Cat and The Pit and the Pendulum , I think I'm beginning to understand exactly why. I read these two short stories as part of my Hungarian School Curriculum Project, in which I'm working my way through the mandatory and suggested literature for grades 5 to 12. Normally, I'm following the curriculum in order, but since it's October, I decided to jump ahead to something suitably spooky. Poe is covered in 10th grade, when students are around 15 or 16 years old, and both stories appear among the suggested readings. One interesting aspect of this project is that the official Hungarian school textbooks are freely available as PDFs, so I downloaded and printed out the section on Poe. It was only three pages long, and I found the biographical information ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Witch by Freida McFadden * * * * *

-
Image
I read The Witch by Freida McFadden for two reasons. First, it was part of my October Read-Witch-a-Thon, and second, it was my October 2026 Pick of the Month. This was also my very first Freida McFadden book, which is rather surprising considering how enormously popular she is. I've heard plenty of opinions about her writing, both good and bad, but I'd never actually tried any of her books myself. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, so I went into this one with an open mind, curious to see whether her writing would work for me. And I must say, I was impressed! I gave this book five stars, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Witch is a mystery thriller told across two timelines, one set in the present day and the other in seventeenth-century Massachusetts. Both stories revolve around Pemberton Manor, an old house with a rather disturbing history, and the women whose lives become entangled with it. In the present-day timeline, we follow Julia Barlow, a young...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin * * * *

-
Image
I read A Time of Witches by Madeline Martin as part of my Read-Witch-a-Thon 2026, and this turned out to be one of the better books I've read for the challenge. I really enjoyed the combination of historical fiction, witchcraft, mystery, and time travel, especially because the story follows two women living centuries apart whose fates are closely connected. The novel has two timelines. In the present day, we follow Lilith Legare, a young woman living in Savannah, Georgia, whose mother has recently died. While going through her mother's belongings, Lilith discovers research into their family history, which leads her to an old manor house in England called Brackenmere. She has also been experiencing strange dreams and visions, including a warning that she is going to disappear. Somehow, her family's past seems to be connected to whatever is happening to her, so she decides to travel to England to investigate. When Lilith arrives at Brackenmere, she discovers that the man...
Post a Comment
Read more

Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine * * *

-
Image
I read Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine as part of the Read Witch-a-Thon 2026, which is my own witchy October reading challenge, and I gave it three stars. On paper, this should have been a five-star book for me. I love witches and magic, I love historical fiction, and the Tudor period is one of my favourite historical eras and one I know quite a lot about. Add Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon teaming up to take revenge on Henry VIII, and really, what more could I ask for? Unfortunately, while I loved the premise, I never became emotionally invested in the people carrying it. The story begins shortly before Anne Boleyn's execution. Anne is a witch, and magic gives her a way to escape her fate, although it comes at a considerable physical cost. Catherine of Aragon has also faked her death, and the two former rivals find themselves working together. Both have lost almost everything because of Henry, and both are particularly concerned about their daughters, Mary and Eliz...
Post a Comment
Read more