Roger's Reads

Author & Book Reviewer

Review of The Ghost of Buxton Manor by Jonathan Ferrara

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Ghost of Buxton Manor cover image100 Years of Boredom

The Ghost of Buxton Manor follows the ghost of 17-year-old Rupert Buxton who, for close to a century, has been tethered to his childhood home and living more or less a perpetual fog. He pretty much lingers in limbo, passing his time reading and desperately — and unsuccessfully — trying to remember his former life. You see, he has no idea how he died or why he’s stuck at Buxton Manor. Hell, he doesn’t even remember his family. At the beginning of the novel, you really got a feeling for the specter’s crippling loneliness.

Strange Visitors Arrive

But Rupert’s life — or should I say afterlife — is drastically about to change.

First, there is the unexpected visit by Dr. Wyman, a ghostly therapist who offers his services to Rupert, promising to help Rupert to remember his past. But Wyman isn’t Rupert’s only visitor. There is also the strange ghostly trio of Bloody Mary, the Weeping Bride, and the Headless Horseboy who show up on Rupert’s doorstep also claiming to want to help Rupert.

Buxton Manor Gets Sold…and There’s a Boy

The most significant change and challenge facing Rupert, however, is that Buxton Manor has been sold, marking the arrival of a new family moving into Rupert’s home: Caroline, George and their son, Aaron who I believe is around the same age as Rupert. Now Rupert feels an immediate and unexplainable connection to Aaron, and it seems that on some level, Aaron can sense Rupert as well.

Despite Dr. Wyman’s warnings to stay away, he’s unable to resist. Of course, Rupert eventually is able to reveal himself to Aaron, and the door to both of their worlds is blown wide open. Lots of angst, intrigue, and drama follow as Rupert begins to put together the pieces of his past and once they both discover Aaron’s essential role in that process. There’s a lot of talk of Rupert’s unfinished business, and it becomes clear pretty quickly that Aaron may be the key to that unfinished business

An Interesting Peter Pan Tie-In

What I found especially interesting about this story is that the characters are loosely based on actual historical figures, Rupert Buxton and Michael Davies (who is also a character in the book), and they were lovers, and both drowned together in 1921. Michael Davies, along with his brothers, he was the inspiration for J. M. Barrie’s characters Peter Pan, the Darling brothers, and the Lost Boys and the story of Peter Pan, in fact, plays a huge role in this book.

Verdict

This was a beautiful book that I absolutely loved, and I say this in all seriousness — I hated for it to end, I got so invested in these characters and cared about what happened to them. This book had ghosts, a necromancer, mystery, intrigue, lots of twists and turns, big surprises, murder and most of all, love.

You know, I read quite a few LGBT romances, but this was the best one that I’ve read in a long time. Though I found this a tender love story, it was a lot more, and it dealt with some very loaded issues such as grief, betrayal, regret and loss and the paralyzing emotional suffering that follows.

But without giving anything away, it’s also a story of hope and second chances. So though this novel does have a romantic lean to it, that is not the main point of the story. There was so much more to it than that. It was a fantastic story with endearing, carefully crafted characters and I loved Rupert and Aaron. They are both lovable, wholesome characters with strong, unique personalities and wonderful, tender chemistry between them.

It’s funny – I read this a couple of weeks ago, and it is still on my mind. I was totally mesmerized by The Ghost of Buxton Manor and continued to ruminate over the characters and story long after completing the story. Truly unforgettable. This book is just so, so, so….magical and it’s just the kind of story I adore — funny, heartfelt, ghostly and seriously freaking romantic. Plus there’s that whole soulmate thing going on.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe the author has written any other books. I do hope he does because he has a lovely talent from bringing a story and a story’s characters to life. Yeah, I gave this one 5 stars.

You can check out the book here on Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of Snap by Belinda Bauer

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Snap cover Belinda Bauer“Sometimes you have to bend the rules to get your man.” John Marvel

This book is on the Man Booker long list so I thought I’d give it a go, especially since it created a bit of controversy, being, I believe, the first crime thriller to ever make the Man Book finalist.

How It All Begins

So picture it – 1998. It’s a blisteringly hot summer’s day Eileen Bright’s car breaks down on the highway leaving her and her three children stranded. Eileen decides to leave the car and go in search of an emergency telephone and instructs the children that they are to stay in the card.

After waiting and waiting and waiting, the children leave the vehicle in search of their mother. Finally, coming upon the emergency phone, they notice the receiver dangling loosely from the phone box. Soon thereafter, a car stops and a policeman approached the kids.

But Eileen Bright never returns, and several days later, her body was found off the road, stabbed to death, with an unusual looking bloodstained knife discovered nearby. The case was never solved.

Majorly Abandoned

But things get even worse for the kids when their father, unable to bear his grief any longer, “goes out for milk” and never returns, abandoning his children.

Fast forward three years to 2001. The children are living alone pretending that their father is still at home, so they don’t get taken into the social services system. The children mislead their neighbors into believing that Mr. Bright is often away for days at a time working.

So having to fend for themselves, Jack, who’s exceptionally resourceful, is taught the art of burglary and ends up being quite adept at breaking and entering, stealing food for family survival. He’s doing his best to provide for his siblings, but it’s not an easy life for any of them.

Jack starts to think more about his mother’s death, and he is filled with rage at the fact that his mother’s murderer was never caught. All he wants is justice for his mom. Then one night while cat burglarizing a house, he finds a clue, and Jack’s life begins to change.

Enter Catherine

Meanwhile across town, heavily pregnant Catherine wakes up to a noise in her house. Her husband Adam is out of town on business, so she is alone and a very scared. She calls down the stairs, threatening and shouting at the burglar who then flees.

When she returns to her bedroom, she finds a knife threatening note beside her bed that reads, “I could have killed you.” Strangely enough, instead of calling the police, she hides the knife and decides to do nothing.

Enter Goldilocks

We then get introduced to a third plot-line in which the police have over a hundred of unsolved burglaries on their books at the hands of a burglar, nicknamed “Goldilocks” because he only comes when the homeowners are away and not only does he steal, but he sleeps in their beds, eats their food, takes a bath and basically makes himself at home.

Bringing it all together

We then learn how these three storylines are related, though it takes a while for these plot threads in the book to converge. But when they do, the tension escalates as long-buried secrets come to light.

In my opinion, Jack’s character really made this story. Here we have a 14-year-old boy thrust into a parent role without the necessary resources that an adult has access to.

Thus, he has to come up with creative ways to support his siblings. His emotions as he struggled with the burden of putting food on the table and protecting his sisters all the while struggling with his anger and grief was heart-wrenching at times and made for an intense reading experience.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with his character and couldn’t help but root for him and hope that he somehow finds closure with his mom’s murder.

I also really admired the way that even though only a child himself, stepped up to the plate and did whatever he had to do to survive, even though most of it was outside of the law.

Lack of Twists and Turns

I enjoyed how the story was told from several different character’s perspectives, and it really worked in this story. But what I found interesting — especially in a crime thriller — was how the author doesn’t rely on twists and turns to keep the reader interested and move the story forward.

In fact, I figured out who the murderer was before even halfway through the book, and I figured that I was probably wrong and expected a huge twist. I wasn’t wrong, and there wasn’t a huge, shocking twist.

Not Really a “Whodunnit”

It then struck me later on that this story wasn’t about figuring out “who done it” but rather the actual mystery was about how Jack, along with the detectives, find a way to link the suspected killer to Eileen Bright’s murder and pull up enough proof for an arrest and conviction.

Not that’s not to say there weren’t surprises because there were a couple of surprising reveals along the way. There were just no major shockers or plot twists that we often see in this genre.

What especially struck me about this books was the vividness of place as well as the characters. I could feel the sweltering heat as the children walked along the highway in search of their mother. The author really had a knack for creating vibrant and evocative settings and realistic, passionate and memorable characters that leaped off the page.

Final Verdict

Snap was a clever and engaging story that I ended up loving. It’s a multi-layered, meticulously plotted tale filled with quirky, original characters and a gripping plot – and at the center of it all, is a family all by destroyed by the pain of one crushing, vicious act.

This story drew me in immediately and after I figured out that it was in fact, not a “whodunnit” story, relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

Snap was a strong character-driven story about senseless loss, grief, violence, courage, heartbreak, and betrayal, but also about hope, survival, kindness and the love of family.

Oh, and there was also the theme of snap decisions which ran throughout the story — and how such hastily made decisions can ultimately change the course of our entire lives in a single moment.

Though Snap was a slow-burner and wasn’t filled with one action-packed scene after another, it kept me turning the page, mainly because of the realistic and relatable characters, with tension building slowing and steadily throughout the story. Additionally, it painted a vivid portrait of how characters manage to cope even in the most nightmarish of situations.

Now would I say this is a prize-worthy story at the Man Booker Prize level? I don’t really think so. Though the story is engaging, well-structured and undoubtedly worthy of a read, I’ve read far more exciting and thrilling crime novels than this one. I’ll be curious to see if it makes the shortlist. But regardless, I’m glad I read Snap. It was an enjoyable, satisfying read and ended up giving it 4.5 stars.

You can check out Snap here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Review of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

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Rebecca book coverThis classic psychological thriller was on my list for a while as I’ve heard people talk about it quite a bit recently. I think I saw the movie starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier years ago, but I don’t remember it at all.

I listened to the audiobook version of it, and it was fantastic! It was narrated by Anna Macey who was phenomenal! It felt as though the story were being told to me by an elegant 1940’s movie actress. I love Gothic stories like this one, and it really had a Hitchcockian feel to it, which is no surprise given that Hitchcock directed that film.

So the story begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine, a paid, personal companion to a wealthy, domineering woman (Mrs. Van Hopper), who is on holiday in Monte Carlo meets and is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter.
  An alliance develops between the young lady and de Winter, which leads to a hasty marriage. The reader then learns along with the narrator of de Winters’ disturbing past and of his deceased wife, Rebecca.

It is only when they arrive at Mandalay, his massive country estate, that the new Mrs. de Winter realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives. The reminders of Rebecca are everywhere; there are her personalized notecards still in her desk, closets filled with elegant clothes, fur coats, monogrammed towels and robes with giant Rs in script. The girl becomes haunted by the accomplished, stunningly beautiful and elegant Rebecca and more and more convinces herself that de Winter married her on a whim and remains hopelessly in love with the perfect Rebecca. She then becomes consumed with finding out more about Rebecca.

In fact, give that, according to her, she is neither very pretty nor worldly-wise and is entirely out of her element, she’s terrified that Maxim will come to his senses and realize what a mistake he has made and leave her. She’s also overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer size of the house and given her inexperience, has no idea how to assume her role as Mrs. de Winter.

And then there’s the skeleton-faced housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, who reinforces the girl’s insecurities by continually pointing out the former Mrs. de Winter’s exceptional beauty and elegance, her social skills, her adeptness as managing the household and her legions of admirers and friends.

Mrs. Danvers, who was Rebecca’s personal maid, actually ends up being a phenomenal villain and ends up horribly betraying our Heroine. Shortly thereafter, the 2nd Mrs de Winter begins to find out more about Rebecca and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.  And a new threat then emerges threatening to destroy her new life and everything she holds dear.

Rebecca was a delightful story with numerous twists, turns, and surprises. This ended up being an intriguing tale of deception, suspense, crime, secrets and a cast of thoroughly developed and unforgettable characters — all the elements of a true drama.

Although it was first published in 1938, this novel ages exquisitely and didn’t feel at all dated to me. I ended up loving it and gave it 5 stars.

You can check out Rebecca here at Amazon or at The Book Depository.

Welcome to Roger’s Reads!

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Roger Hyttinen avatarBeing a lover of books, I started this site as a companion to my BookTube Channel “Rogers Reads” and as a way to chronicle my reading journey and help spread the love for books that I enjoyed.  This site is a place for me to review books that range from Young Adult fiction to Fantasy to LGBT Romance.  I do have somewhat ecclectic reading tastes though Fantasy and YA Fantasy are my most read genres at the moment.

If you’d like to learn more about me, click the About Roger link on top of the page.  If you have a book you’d like me to review, please check my Review Policy link first on top of the page.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Grab a cuppa, put up your feet and browse through some of the reviews.  Who knows?  You just might come across your next epic read.

Happy Reading!

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Review of Runebinder by Alex R. Kahler

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Runebinder coverFirst off, how about that cover??? It’s gorgeous. If I hadn’t known anything about this book, I still would have purchased it just based on the cover alone.

THE STORY

This story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world which was about by dark magic — evil necromancers to be precise — as well as the all-powerful Kin.

These necromancers turn humans into nasty flesh-eating monsters called Kravens (a type of lower Howl), which the Necromancers control and who have pretty much decimated the planet. Cities are now empty and our once bustling society has all but disappeared.

Only a group called Hunters can help to fight back in the war, given they themselves have magic – Hunters are attuned to one or two of the elemental magic spheres (there are five total). Our hero Tenn, for example, is attuned to Water and Earth.

So the book starts out right away with an intense fight scene in which Tenn and his other hunter friends are attacked by an army of Howls. During the battle, Tenn’s water element completely takes over him (which is unheard of) and he ends up performing magic at a level of power that any normal hunter should not have.

Because of this, he has attracted the attention of a one of the Kin (a more evolved fire-based Howl) — a super-hot and seductive Incubus named Tomas who does not appear to have Tenn’s best interest in mind and whose charms are proving to be difficult for Tenn to resist. Tenn has also attracted the attention of Jarrett, a hunter from another contingent and with whom Tenn has a past. Jarrett and Tenn both went to magic school together and during that time, Tenn had developed quite a crush on Jarrett.

So with Tomas and Jarrett both are interested in Tenn for different reasons, he finds himself kind of like a pawn in a much larger game – a game that he doesn’t quite as of yet understand.

But it doesn’t take him long to learn that he is supposedly “the chosen one” meaning only he has the power necessary to take on the Necromancers and the Kin, and regain control of their world before it’s completely destroyed.

Now Tenn wants no part of this chosen one foolishness and just wants to live a normal life (which were often see in these chosen one scenarios). But both Tomas, as well as Jarrett’s group of Hunters, are intent on Tenn fulfilling his destiny as the chosen one. It’s also worth mentioning that Jarett also has a crush on Tenn so there is a romantic element thrown into the works as well.

WHAT I LIKED

The book takes place in a terrifying world only recently turned post-apocalyptic so the cultural references, setting, and language are easily relatable to readers who don’t normally read in the fantasy genre. Thus, this new world that the author creates in extremely relatable and meticulously well done. As a fantasy reader, I really loved that our main protagonist and chosen one happens to be gay, something we don’t see a lot of in the genre.

I really enjoyed the magic system in this story. Here we have a mixture of elemental magic, rune magic, necromancy along with some very frightening zombie-like creatures so we definitely get a taste of more darker types of magics in this book. The magic system as it was explained really intrigued me though I would have liked to have learned more about it (hopefully, more will be explained in the next book). Speaking of the zombie-like creatures, I found the description of Howls quite fascinating, especially once we learn how they’re created.

I like my books with a lot of action, and Runebinder didn’t disappoint. This intense story pulls the reader right in with an immediate action scene and from that point forward, there was never a dull moment as the author moved us from one harrowing situation to another.

Though he was flawed, I really ended up liking Tenn’s character. I found him brave, selfless and relatable, quite a compelling character all in all. The other characters in the book were no less compelling and I felt that they were all wonderfully developed and intriguing.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

The only thing that kind of bothered me was the relationship between Jarrett and Tenn. It felt way too rushed and it was extremely insta-lovey. Though they did know each other in magic school, they’d never dated or even let the other one know they were interested. Now within a couple of days times, they’re overtaken by an all-consuming love and ready to die for each other. I just had a difficult time buying into that and would have liked to have seen more build-up on the relationship front.

FINAL VERDICT

Gripping, compelling and somewhat haunting, I really ended up loving this book, especially given that it’s a Queer YA fantasy set in the contemporary world, which is unusual for the fantasy genre. The story has incredible world-building and wonderful character development — and truth be told, I’m kind of a sucker for the Chosen One trope.

The author crafts some gorgeous tension-filled scenes here that suck you right in. Kahler has a gift for bringing his characters to life and I found them stunning and evocative.

In Runebinder, we have a deadly monsters, witches, elemental magic, evil necromancers, rune magic, a race of all-powerful beings, a sizzling-hot Incubus, and two sexy hunters who are in lust with each other — oh, and then there are the powerful hunter twins who are haunted by the ghosts of their past. What’s not to love?

Anyway, this is the first book in the series (which did not end on a cliffhanger, by the way) and I definitely will be continuing on with the series when the next book comes out as I really want to see where the author takes this storyline. I ended up giving this book 4.5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

You can check out Runebinder here at Amazon or at The Book Depository

Review of Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer by ER Barr

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Roan cover imageI love me a good Celtic story and given that this one takes place in my home state of Wisconsin, how could I resist?

The Story

This book follows 17-year-old Conor Archer, a musician in a Celtic band downtown Chicago whose mother is in the final stages of cancer. On the evening of his mother’s death, a strange biker named Rory — with rather sharp teeth as it turns out — yanks him outside the pub, bites him on the hand and tells him that he’s going to go through some major changes. On his way home, he encounters a beautiful woman by a fountain who bandages his wounded hand but then right before his eyes, transforms into an old hag, who tells him that he only has a short time to live unless he acts quickly.

When he returns home that night, his mother, right before she dies, tells him that he has to return to Tinker’s Grove, Wisconsin, an old Irish immigrant town along the banks of the Wisconsin River where he is to stay with his Aunt Emily. It was a hometown that he had never heard about nor had his mother ever mentioned it.

He takes a bus to Tinker’s Grove, and by the time he arrives, he’s almost delirious because of the infection and the heartbreak of his mother’s passing. He tells the people standing around him that his name is Conor Archer and someone decides to take him by a Native America burial mound in order to be healed. The evening holds in store some very bizarre events and Conor’s new friends watch in awe as he is mysteriously healed.

It’s at this point the Conor realizes that Tinker’s Grove is a very mysterious place, with the odd web-fingered and web-toed children of the town called “Dark Ones” who seem to have animal-like powers, talk of a dangerous and ancient river demon named Piasa (the Devourer of Souls), and a strange being who, as myth holds it, came from the ancient Celtic lands centuries ago and who supposedly inhabits the Indian burial mound.

The days get even stranger from there as Conor begins to physically change — to transform — into something that’s not altogether human, and people seem to see Conor as a sort of savior who can save them from the imminent battle between good and evil, as an ancient evil is about to rise and destroy everything in its path.

As we learn as the story moves forward, it’s up to Conor Archer to bring the balance back, but he can only do so by embracing his true nature.

WHAT I LIKED

I love the folklore and mythology aspect of the story, in which the author incorporated figures from myth such as The Morrigan along with entirely new mythology creating a unique and fresh story. I love how this story weaved in aspects of Irish culture, Native American myths and even some of the old Celtic gods and goddesses.

The author also did a fantastic job of painting a vivid and lifelike picture of the mythical town of Tinker’s Grove, along with all of its strange inhabitants and the mystery surrounding it. This is a town where everyone has secrets, and Conor has to work hard to discover them. Yes, there is evil about to be unleashed, and I loved the way that the author slowly built it up in the realistic characters and the vivid description of place.

I also enjoyed how the story slowly unraveled to reveal more about the colorful characters and their motivations – those characters both human and not — and how every secondary character was essential to the story’s denouement. But not only were they essential, they were incredibly interesting as well.

It was fun how Conor discovers that his ancestry and life are not at all what he had always thought and in fact, he is part of a much larger destiny in which the future of Tinker’s Grove — the future of the world, in fact — depends on his decisions.

Speaking of Conor, he was completely relatable in all of his confusion, doubts, fumbling, struggles and insecurities so in this way, it was easy to empathize with all that he was going as he began changing into the being he was always meant to be and as a reader, I felt that I was living vicariously through him. I loved seeing Conor’s immense character growth as the novel progressed, as he moved to a frightened teen to the story’s hero who had to face an ultimate evil head-on.

It was especially fun that the author didn’t tell us right off the bat what it was that Conor was turning into, which really added to the story’s intrigue and kept me turning the pages. In fact, it wasn’t until the last part of the book that we learn what Conor was transforming into and why.

The villains — and yes, there are several — were delightfully wicked and one particular evil creature was something right out of our childhood nightmares. So often, the villains in novel ended up being clichéd and caricatures — not in this book. The villains were complicated, complex and had reasons for everything they did. Likewise, the heroes were equally complicated and multi-layered.

I found the many different types of meticulously thought-out creatures in this story to be mesmerizing. I loved their descriptions and especially liked learning about their abilities, their pasts, and their motivations.

I thought that the world building in this book was phenomenal and I felt the author did a fantastic job of blending — and then reshaping — elements of mythology, ancient culture, modern culture, science and realistic magic to create something genuinely original and believable.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

There really wasn’t too much that I didn’t like about the novel.

This novel is incredibly long, just shy of six hundred pages, which probably could have used some additional editing. Though I did appreciate the attention to detail, there were parts of the novel that could have been cut and that dragged in places. But that being said, because of the length of the novel, the author was really able to flesh out all the characters and engage in some remarkably complex world-building.

There were also a lot of characters and a time or two when the narrative was jumping back and forth, I did get a tad confused. I also did find the dialog to be overly formal and stilted in several places.

FINAL VERDICT

This was a captivating, classic story of good and evil that I absolutely loved. This epic story had it all: heroes, demons, gods, goddesses, druids, fantasy, mystery and plenty of action which kept my interest right until the final page turn. It was a beautiful, emotional and haunting story — at times dark but ultimately hopeful — that is at once powerful and inspirational.

It is also a creative, beautifully written story with rich, detailed prose and evocative descriptions bordering on the poetic that sucked me right into the story. This was an exciting, breathtaking story with numerous plot twists, turns and revelations and a perfect blend of Celtic legend, Native American lore, and modern-day Wisconsin.

This is a journey that I’m so glad I took, and I ended up giving this book five stars.

You can check out Roan: The Tales of Conor Archer here at Amazon or at The Book Depository