The White Devil

I'm sorry that this is late again. It's been an odd and busy week full of illnesses - my poor fiance is very poorly.

This week's novel is The White Devil  by Justin Evans.

Welcome to Harrow School. A private school for the elite of England. When he was younger, and not quite mad, bad and dangerous to know, it was the school of Lord Byron. Centuries later, some of his best kept secrets come to light... starting with a murder on the school grounds.

Well put together, with interesting twists. Best read in a well lit room, preferably during day-light.

So you want to be a reveur?

The Night Circus - Online Game

Above is a link to a small game based on the lovely novel. You choose cards, you collect mementoes and your story progresses... where will the circus take you?

Consequences, and the Growth of Love

This lovely little tome dropped through my letter box this morning. An adult fable, eighty-eight pages in total - I devoured it in an hour - it's even beautifully illustrated with Victorianesque silhouettes. What more could you ask for? And Mr Kaufman does have a wonderful sense of humour, at times as liquorice-black as the novella's end-pages.

Dark, beautiful, sentimental.

If you hadn't already guessed, I really enjoyed this novella.

The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman

Other books by Andrew Kaufman: All My Friends Are Superheroes and The Waterproof Bible

The Tiny Wife

I am writing to apologise for the delay of this review! However, a lovely copy of Andrew Kaufman's The Tiny Wife has dropped through my door this morning, so I'll be reviewing that today to make up for it - I'm kind of glad I waited, aren't you?

An Opportunity and The Circus

On 6th August 2011, I awoke to a package I was not expecting. Curious, I pried open the stiff cardboard packaging and spilled the contents onto my duvet. The cover of the debut novel from Erin Morgenstern caught my eye instantly, the quote from Audrey Niffenegger wafted at the sparks of curiosity, and at the first line, there was fire.

So begins my blog. Cliched, I know. A beautiful and magical novel and a letter wishing me well with my reading and hoping to hear from me soon. My aim in this blog is to review one book every two weeks, starting with all the of the proof copies of books I have received from Waterstone's since I began signing up for them in July 2010 (there's quite a pile by now). All of the books have their own special qualities and backgrounds, and I want to share what I love (or dislike) about them. Starting with the book that inspired the project: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Ms Morgenstern's novel is due to be released in thirty-five days, and I heartily recommend you go out and buy it as soon as it hits the shelves. In fact, do one better and pre-order it, you won't regret it, I assure you. I don't push aside research and tea for nothing, and that is precisely what I have been doing for the past three days whilst in pursuit of the conclusion to The Night Circus. Though, if I'm honest, I wish I'd read a little slower because, in the end, the sun always rises too early on the circus...

Pre-order Ms Morgenstern's book

Related articles: An article from The Wall Street Journal on The Night Circus, NaNoWriMo Writer Lands 6-Figure Deal After 30 Rejections, Indigo Blog: The Night Circus.