Hello and welcome to yet another #BiteSizeSaturday! For those of you who missed it so far: #BiteSizeSaturday is all about showing you a few books I've read that I feel you should know about, but without taking up too much of your precious time (or mine 😉)
And as always, if you want to know more, comment below or come find me on Twitter!
The first novel I want to tell you about is one I read via The Pigeonhole: Odette by Jessica Duchen from Unbound Digital.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, Unbound Digital and Jessica Duchen for the opportunity to read this stunning novel for free!
Odette is a Swan Lake retelling. Now, I’ve never seen Black Swan, I’m not a ballet person and I’m not a big fan of classical music. But I loved Odette. I loved the tale, the girl, the swan. So what happens in this beautifully written story? As a swan Odette comes crashing through Mitzi’s window and the two become fast friends, even though Mitzi is in for a bit of a shock when night falls and Odette the swan turns into Odette the girl. It’s bittersweet seeing Odette try and fit in in this modern world she doesn’t know or understand, it’s a joy seeing friendship bloom, the mysterious baron and his curse on Odette propel the story forward and yes there’s also a love interest or two, or maybe three. Extra brownie points for the subtle avian references woven into the narrative.Â
Highly recommended, even if you’re not that into fairytale retellings 💛💛💛💛💛
The second book for today is The Lingering by SJI Holliday from Orenda Books
As I told you in my review of Susi's The Deaths of December, I was planning to read The Lingering. And I was enjoying it so much that I decided to postpone my Best of 2018 post because I had sneaky suspicion I'd want to add The Lingering.
The Lingering is about a commune and two new members who want to get away from the life they were leading. But why? Is it really just stress, or is there more to it? (You can guess the answer to that question, right?). And what is up with that bathtub?! The checkered past of the commune's mansion seems to seep into the present and I couldn't make up my mind what terrified me more: the ghosts or the people. Remember when I said no one does dysfunctional characters like Will Carver? Yeah, well, I'm starting to think there might be something in the water at the Orenda HQ... 💛💛💛💛💛