When my grandfather, Ron ALLEN, retired from Army life, he became one of the last lighthouse keepers in New Zealand. Between 1974 and 1982, he and his family (wife Valerie and their two younger sons) lived in some of the most wild and beautiful places in New Zealand:
Burgess Island, which is the middle of three islands in the Mokohīnau group, North-East of Auckland
The Lighthouse at Cape ReingaThe Lighthouse and settlement at Cape ReingaRonald AllenValerie Allen through the glass panes of Cape Reinga’s lighthouse
Ron and Val loved the tough, untamed lifestyle so much that after the lighthouses became automated, they moved to Great Barrier Island for several years before finally retiring back to the North Island.
Born in 1813 in the tiny village of Nash in Shropshire, England, Edward Downes was the fifth child of a local Blacksmith named Thomas, and his wife Emma (née TURNER). The county of Shropshire is bordered by Wales to the west, and the English counties of Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the southeast and Herefordshire to the south. It is the heart of the Welsh Marches. The nearby River Teme flows from Mid Wales southeast into England, where it is fed by many brooks that flow down from Clee Hill.
The village of Nash still lies in a very remote rural area, centered on the chapel of St. John-the-Baptist, which is where Edward was baptised on the 26th of September 1813.
Baptism of Edward Downes
By 1841, Edward was a shoemaker living in the nearby town of Burford. Two years later on the 13th of June, he married Jane GITTINS, daughter of a shoemaker in the nearby village of Bitterley. Edward was living in Hope Bagot, a pretty agrarian village situated in a southwest valley, overlooked by Clee Hill, and so the couple were married in the church there, also dedicated to St. John-the-Baptist.
Hope BagotMarriage registration of Edward Downes & Jane Gittins (spelled here as Gittings)
In the 1851 Census, the entire parish of Hope Bagot (which included the Village, Rectory, Pothouse & Court) contained 20 houses & a total of 87 inhabitants.
Edward & Jane had six children in total, the first five of which were born in Hope Bagot: William (born 1844), Edward (b. 1846), John (b. 1849), Emma (b. 1851), and Thomas (b. 1853). Their final child, Henry, was born in 1857 in Waitati, Otago, New Zealand after the family emigrated.
The Downes family were amongst the earliest settlers of the area known as Waitete/Waitati, arriving in Port Chalmers on February 5th, 1854, aboard the ship “Stately” out of London. Edward made an application to the Crown for rural land in 1861 in the North Harbour of Dunedin, Blueskin Bay, which he named Stately Farm. He made a great success of his career switch from boot & shoe maker to farmer, and was a pillar of his new community.
Jane Downes died at age 77 on Apr 21st 1892, and Edward died aged 84 on November 13th, 1897, at the home of his daughter Emma, who had married another local settler farmer named Kennedy Brown FERGUSON. They are both buried in the St. Barnabas Churchyard in Warrington, Dunedin.
It hasn’t been a stellar reading quarter, mostly due to health issues (headaches & the depressy-stressy disorder make reading tricky), but I’ve definitely found some new faves. Arkady Martine has written a beautiful Sci-Fi duology (with more books to come?!?! we can only hope) about politics, colonisation, and technology set in space with sapphic heroines. Honestly, it’s like she wrote these books just for me. The first book is called A Memory Called Empire, which is just an excellent & haunting title. And I finally picked up the first book in Seth Dickinson’s SF trilogy, The Traitor Baru Cormorant, and it also is exactly all the things I love in a book. I would die for Baru. The third SF book that blew my mind was Kate Elliot’s Unconquerable Sun, a gender-bent Alexander the Great retelling where his horse Bucephalus is a star ship. Five stars, will read again, cannot wait for the sequel!
I’ve also learned a couple of things about my reading preferences:
I hate short chapters with a passion because I read fast, and like to pause at the end of the chapter to really ruminate on the happenings; and if it’s short, I’m stopping way too often.
The only Romance sub-genre that I like is, oddly, Contemporary Rom-Com. Historical bores me, Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Fantasy annoys me, Suspense makes me straight up hate the romance aspect, and YA is not adult. Erotic is fine, but I don’t want to seek it out. A Romance novel has to have a Happily-Ever-After or Happily-For-Now ending, and honestly I like real angst & tragedy in my stories way too much. But Rom-Coms… they feel like they’ve earned that ending.
I can read 150-200 pages an hour. No wonder I churn through books. And my mother tells me I could read before I was 2 years old, so I’ve been doing it for… a long time.
I like owning print books but I prefer reading eBooks, because they’re so much more accessible when I’m ill. Mum gave me a Kindle Paperwhite for my birthday last year, and it is getting A LOT of use!
January
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley Pestilence by Laura Thalassa A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske Beach Read by Emily Henry Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade All the Feels by Olivia Dade The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James Seven Devils by Laura Lam & Elizabeth May We hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody & Christine Lynn Herman Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Crier’s War by Nina Varela Iron Heart by Nina Varela A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
February
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik The Wicked King by Holly Black The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson Orc-Ward Encounters by Sam Hall House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas Electric Idol by Katee Robert The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
March
The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot The Kindred by Alechia Dow A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth The Professional by Kresley Cole The Master by Kresley Cole The Player by Kresley Cole Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell The Exiled Fleet by J.S. Dewes Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake Jade City by Fonda Lee 1979 by Val McDermid Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
This year hasn’t been great for me so far. I’ve had near-daily headaches that I assumed were due to a flare up of my Idiopathic Intracranial Hyptertension, but a recent Lumbar Puncture showed that my pressure was normal. So, possibly these are yet another stress-induced issue: migraines. I’ve been “treating” the headaches with paracetamol & ibuprofen – which brings them from an 8/10 on the pain scale to a 5/10 – because opioids can increase intracranial pressure. However, I’m only allowed to medicate for 3 days a week, so that’s been fun!
In November, I had an allergic reaction to an unknown trigger, and in addition to facial swelling, a bright red itchy rash covered my face, neck, chest, belly and legs. I’d had a similar reaction in the year previous, so assumed it was some seasonal allergen. Ended up taking a couple of weeks worth of Prednisone, which cleared the rash but left me with a nasty case of folliculitis (aka random spots of acne in odd places all over my body) that I then had to take antibiotics to treat. Because my body doesn’t like to do anything right, I then had recurrences of the hives & itching!
My GP has diagnosed stress induced urticaria (and to be fair, being a chronically ill person in the middle of a pandemic is fairly stress-inducing), and her dermatology referral was declined because apparently they’re not taking appointments due to Covid. Nice. So I am still insanely itchy and covered in rashes. It’s not helping my mood, as you can imagine.
The pandemic has set my anxiety & agoraphobia back to “shitty”, after I’d made quite a lot of progress in 2018 & ’19. I don’t want to catch Covid – I’m triple vaxxed & wear double masks when out (which is only when absolutely necessary). I don’t know how my body will handle it, as I have many co-morbidities that would complicate a recovery. Last time I got the ‘flu, even though I was vaccinated, I also developed pneumonia. It sucked, and so I’m not taking Covid lightly.
Anyway, I’m ready to trade in my body and upload my consciousness to the internet whenever Big Tech is ready!
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid Healer’s Quest by Jessica Palmer Silent Partner by Jonathon Kellerman The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo The Councillor by E.J. Beaton If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik Purged by Peter Laws We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland Star Eater by Kerstin Hall The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston Severed by Peter Laws Unleashed by Peter Laws Life on the Autism Spectrum by Karen McKibbin King Arthur by Andrew Lang The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Time Bomb by Jonathon Kellerman Self-Defense by Jonathon Kellerman Bones by Jonathon Kellerman Survival of the Fittest by Jonathon Kellerman Rage by Jonathon Kellerman Killer by Jonathon Kellerman Motive by Jonathon Kellerman Guilt by Jonathon Kellerman Heartbreak Hotel by Jonathon Kellerman Night Moves by Jonathon Kellerman Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki The Outside by Ada Hoffman The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman Murder in an English Glade by Jessica Ellicott Games We Play by Dana Isaly Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Meet Me Under the Mistletoe ed. by M. Robinson Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz Dark Matter by Blake Crouch The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper Red Rising by Pierce Brown Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
My genres this quarter were my usual mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary romance, with the odd crime/thriller thrown in for variety. Here in Auckland, we’ve spent the last two months and change in lockdown, so I’m still preferring escapist fiction over anything too dark & difficult.
20 years after it was published, I finally picked up the 4 books of the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini ($40 for the set in paperback from The Warehouse). The first book, Eragon, was unexpectedly hard-going: small print in a thick paperback combined with a story that was irritatingly derivative and full of flat characters and predictable plot beats. After I finished it, I discovered that the author was a 16 year old boy at the time of writing, which explains why this book felt like pretty average Lord of the Rings fan fiction with dragons. I have yet to start the second book, but apparently it does get better.
Part of the problem is that I’ve been reading so many excellent fantasy books that it’s hard to motivate myself to pick up something mediocre! This quarter, I also identified Dark Academia as a genre that I particularly enjoy, and have finished quite a few of these sorts of novels – and have added many more to by TBR (To Be Read) list.
I’m on GoodReads, where you can see what I am currently reading, what I’ve read, and what I want to read in the future (that ever-growing TBR)! I even occasionally write reviews, but they’re mostly so I can remember my own thoughts about the book.
July
The Forger and the Thief by Kirsten McKenzie A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Talor Jenkins Reid Old Man’s War by John Scalzi The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi The Last Colony by John Scalzi Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena Gild by Raven Kennedy Glint by Raven Kennedy Gleam by Raven Kennedy Catacombs by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Credence by Penelope Douglas Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo Corrupt by Penelope Douglas The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh Eragon by Christopher Paolini The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
August
Under the Black Banners by K. Elle Morrison Auē by Becky Manawatu Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Tripswitch by Gaelyn Gordon It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover The High Mountain Court by A.K. Mulford A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch Uprooted by Naomi Novik Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir Crossfire by Dick Francis Under Orders by Dick Francis A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab The Secret History by Donna Tartt Wolf by Mo Hayder Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford & Larry Niven The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
September
The Binding by Bridget Collins The Mistake by Elle Kennedy Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert Scrublands by Chris Hammer The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey The Good Girl by Alice La Roux Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen Lore by Alexandra Bracken Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch False Value by Ben Aaronovitch My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell The Bride Test by Helen Hoang Priest by Sierra Simone Aspergirls by Rudy Simone The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley Child of Fear & Fire by G.R. Thomas
The release of the Shadow & Bone series on Netflix made me re-read Leigh Bardugo’s trilogy, which I originally enjoyed back in 2014. I still like it it. It’s a YA fantasy series, and the protagonist is a bit of a milksop, but I like the magic “small science” & the worldbuilding. Although, Russian speakers are apparently pissing themselves over the magic users being called Grisha – the baby name for Gregory. #gregverse
But more importantly, I finally read Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom, a duology set in the same world after the events of the trilogy, featuring a gang of dodgy teens out to make their fortunes with a dangerous heist. Lots of betrayal, angst, hilarity, and shenanigans. So good! Can’t believe I didn’t finish it first time I picked up SoC. Now I just need to get the other duology, King of Scars & Rule of Wolves.
Most of my choices this quarter have been fantasy… or romance, interestingly. You see, I joined TikTok & there’s a huge bookish community there, so I’ve had a lot more recommendations to trawl through. It’s very useful for diversifying my “To Be Read” list, and I particularly like that there’s a huge SFF following – I just don’t know many SFF in real life, so it’s awesome to have a safe space to nerd out.
Other notable mentions: The Priory of the Orange Tree, 848 pages of high fantasy featuring sapphic romance and dragons! So good! Sam Shannon is an A+ writer. Also, the Truthwitch series by Susan Dennard is hugely enjoyable. And the new murderbot novella was great fun, if too brief.
And yes, I read Ice Planet Barbarians – well, I listened to the audiobook from the library, actually. Not my fave smut, but entertaining enough.
April
Or What You Will by Jo Walton Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland The Grey King by Susan Cooper Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper Blink by Malcolm Gladwell A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson The Sinner’s Club by Kate Pearce The Soprano Sorceress by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas The Art of Taking It Easy by Brian King The Iron King by Julie Kagawa Winter’s Passage by Julie Kagawa The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa Summer’s Crossing by Julie Kagawa A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer Hooking Up by Helena Hunting Getting Down by Helena Hunting Shacking Up by Helena Hunting Making Up by Helena Hunting Handle With Care by Helena Hunting The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling Truthwitch by Susan Dennard Bridesmaid on a Budget by Sharon Naylor We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
May
The Chain by Adrian McKinty The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas Bone Crier’s Dawn by Kathryn Purdie The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas Owned by Fate by Tessa Bailey Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
June
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo See You in September by Charity Norman The Secrets of Strangers by Charity Norman The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon Windwitch by Susan Dennard Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard Circe by Madeleine Miller Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin Furyborn by Claire Legrand Verity by Colleen Hoover Rush by Maya Banks Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon Cut Throat by Lyndon Stacey The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch Pegasus in Flight by Anne McCaffrey Pegasus in Space by Anne McCaffrey Flames of Chaos by Amelia Hutchins (DNF)
I finished a few excellent series’ this quarter. Firstly, the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, starting with Cinder, is an engaging Young Adult sci-fi/romance retelling of various fairytales, including Cinderella, Littler Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. I’m not sure I’ll re-read these, but I did enjoy them and suspect I’d have loved them when I was a teen. Secondly, the Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone, which I read pretty much in publication order, starting with Three Parts Dead. This is an adult fantasy series about religion, necromancy, law and finance. Honestly, that sounds terrible but they are SO GOOD and I’m mad at myself for not reading them earlier.
A bunch of re-reads made it onto my list, including a few children’s classics that I haven’t read since I was a kid. FYI, Peter Pan is a truly bizarre story that no movie has properly captured, and I ain’t mad about it.
Fewer non-fic books on this list because real life is exhausting and I need to escape.
January
The Queen’s Gambit by Jessie Mihalik The Queen’s Advantage by Jessie Mihalik Cinder by Marissa Meyer Murder Comes to Call by Jessica Ellicott Animal Farm by George Orwell Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie The Burning God by R.F. Kuang Renegades by Marissa Meyer A Priceless Wedding by Sara Cotner To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Scarlet by Marissa Meyer A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone Last First Snow by Max Gladstone Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
February
Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone Cress by Melissa Meyer The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone Winter by Marissa Meyer A Practical Wedding by Meg Keene 1001 Wedding Ideas by Tricia Spencer The Queen’s Triumph by Jessie Mihalik Grimspace by Ann Aguirre A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
March
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre Killbox by Ann Aguirre The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix The Midnight Library by Matt Haig Aftermath by Ann Aguirre Endgame by Ann Aguirre Archenemies by Marissa Meyer Stars Above by Marissa Meyer Middlegame by Seanan McGuire An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig Graceling by Kristin Cashore Supernova by Marissa Meyer Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie
Somehow, I managed to finish 99 books in this quarter, bringing my total for the year to 268! A few of them were even audiobooks – I had eye surgery on December 14th and couldn’t manage to read, so audiobooks were the next best option. I picked books that I’d already read before, so that it wasn’t a big deal if I zoned out here & there. Even at 1.5 speed, narrators can’t read as fast as my brain does, and it often becomes unintelligible at a greater speed than that. So as you can imagine, I’m not usually an audiobook fan.
As for genres, I still leaned heavily into fiction, particularly escapist sci-fi/fantasy/speculative types. In the Year of COVID, real life holds little appeal. I did squeeze in some thrillers, however, particularly by marathoning some Patricia Cornwell while visiting my mum. I used to love the Scarpetta series… but this re-read did not endear me. I felt very strongly the generational gap between the character of Kay Scarpetta/the writer Patricia Cornwell and myself.
I found a romance writer that I enjoy – Jessie Mihalik. Her books are sci-fi romances, and they felt real & engaging. I also finally purchased four of Ben Aaronovitch’s “Peter Grant” series that begins with Rivers of London, and loved them. I finished the year with a cute cozy murder mystery series by Jessica Ellicott set in an English village in the 1920s & it had a strong Agatha Christie vibe (in a good way). All things considered, I’m pretty happy with my diversity and depth of reading, and have enjoyed getting out of my head (in a legal & safe way!) via escapist fiction.
October
Midnight’s Twins by Holly Race The Butcher Shop by Jean Devanny Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley The Siren Depths by Martha Wells The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett Edge of Worlds by Martha Wells Killing Gravity by Corey J. White The Last Family in England by Matt Haig Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman Honor Lost by Rachel Caine Network Effect by Martha Wells The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel A Pale Light in the Black by K. B. Wagers The 49th Mystic by Ted Dekker Void Black Shadow by Corey J. White Static Ruin by Corey J. White The Turn of the Screw by Henry James I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett Zodiac by Romina Russell The Darkest Time of Night by Jeremy Finley The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts The Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport Tracing Your London Ancestors by Jonathan Oates Middlesex Murders by Linda Stratmann London: A Travel Guide Through Time by Matthew Green Compete by Vera Nazarian Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Priestess by Julie Parker The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang 2010 by Arthur C. Clarke Wandering Star by Romina Russell Black Moon by Romina Russell Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell Letters From Berlin by Tania Blanchard
November
Umbrella Academy Vol. 2 by Gerard Way Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell From Potter’s Field by Patricia Cornwell Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell She Has Her Mother’s Laugh by Carl Zimmer Light is the New Black by Rebecca Campbell Reverie by Ryan La Sala The Harbours of the Sun by Martha Wells Coraline by Neil Gaiman The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay The Boundless by Peter Newman Win by Vera Nazarian Survive by Vera Nazarian The Coroner by M. R. Hall The Tally Stick by Carl Nixon The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce The Celtic Goddess by Trevor Greenfield A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton Seduced by Moonlight by Laurell K. Hamilton A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K. Hamilton Mistral’s Kiss by Laurell K. Hamilton
December
The Shadow Effect by Deepak Chopra Shakti Rising by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint Under My Hat by Jonathan Strahan Locke & Key: Small World by Joe Hill Locke & Key: Heaven & Earth by Joe Hill Locke & Key: Dog Days by Joe Hill The Spinoff Book by Toby Manhire The Hollow Ones by Guillermo Del Toro Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab Greenwitch by Susan Cooper Soul Music by Terry Pratchett The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch A Country House Christmas by Phyllis Elinor Sandeman Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott Murder Flies the Coop by Jessica Ellicott Murder Cuts the Mustard by Jessica Ellicott
99 in total for the quarter; 268 in total for the year!
So, I asked for help in the Greater London Ancestry Facebook group, and an amazing lady delivered the goods!
Edward, Rebecca & Rebecca Mary were indexed under the surname STANLE in 1841.
Rebecca, Rebecca Mary, Henry & Frederick were indexed under the surname JANESKY in 1851.
The best part is that this extra info confirms I have the correct Rebecca MYALL & family, and gives me Edward’s birth as ~1801 in Middlesex, so I have a place to start looking for his family.
