Smorgasbord Christmas Book Fair 2022 – #YA #Dystopian Teri Polen, #Psychological #Thriller Audrey Driscoll, #Mentalillness #WomensLit Anne Goodwin

Welcome to the Smorgasbord Christmas Book Fair with a selection of books from personally recommended authors on my bookshelf I believe will make wonderful gifts for friends, family and for you.

The first book today is the second in the Colony Series and I can recommend you begin with book one which is terrific. Teri Polen, The Insurgent (The Colony Series Book 2)

About the book

If a megalomaniac threatened your family, would you give up your freedom for them? Would you give up your soul?

Asher Solomon is faced with that choice. And makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Exactly as Director Silas Reeves expected him to.

Unable to live as the Colony’s premier assassin, Ash retreats to a corner of his mind, ceding control of his body to the alter-ego he was engineered to be—Subject A36. As he’s unleashed to battle the Insurgents, the only family he ever knew, the tide of war shifts in Silas’s favor.

Combined with his expansion into new territories, the director is poised to take over the world.

But the Insurgents don’t give up easily. Not on their cause, and not on their people. With the help of a few double agents deep in the Colony, they stand a fighting chance at ending Silas’s reign.

In order to shut down the program, they face almost insurmountable odds. And their most dangerous foe—their former champion turned killing machine, A36.

One of the reviews for the book

D.L. Finn5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book as much as I did the first one!

I’ve been looking forward to the continuing story of Asher and his friends. “The Insurgent” picks up where “Subject A36” left off without missing a beat. Asher is put in a horrible situation where if he doesn’t do what Silas wants him to, Brynn and his family will be killed. He had no choice but to withdraw into himself and let A36 take over. He becomes the killing machine he was bred to be. The story was fast-paced, yet allowed us to get to know Declan, Brynn, and other characters better.

There were some unexpected twists and a deep look into what is really important in life. A society that only places value on the outside of a person and will do anything to get perfection, even if it means killing children, is an unsettling mirror of what could be if vanity comes before anything else. The characters are all flawed and have burdens to carry with them, but that makes it very easy for me to root for the insurgent’s success. This could be a standalone read, but I would start at the beginning, so you don’t miss anything. I loved this book as much as I did the first one and can easily recommend it. 

Head over to read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

Also by Teri Polen

Discover more about Teri Polen and buy the books : Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – Follow Teri: Goodreads – website: Teri Polen – Twitter: @Tpolen6

Next a psychological thriller with a touch of horror. The first book in a compelling series
The Friendship of Mortals (The Herbert West Series Book 1) by Audrey Driscoll

About the book

Herbert West can revivify the dead – after a fashion. Miskatonic University Librarian Charles Milburn agrees to help him, compromising his principles and his romance with Alma Halsey, daughter of the Dean of Medicine. West’s experiments become increasingly risky, but when he prepares to cross the ultimate border, only Charles can save his life – if his conscience lets him.

More Details: Arkham, Massachusetts, 1910. Librarian Charles Milburn takes up a position as cataloguer in the Library of Miskatonic University. He becomes the keeper of the Necronomicon, an ancient book of secret lore kept in the Library’s vault.

Herbert West, a medical student with a dubious reputation, requests access to the fabled book, and Charles grants it despite his misgivings. So begins a friendship that takes Charles far from the rules of cataloguing and the conventions familiar to an honest young man from a good Boston family.

Herbert West can restore the dead to life, he says, and he persuades Charles to be his assistant. Their experiments, carried out in secret by night, in improvised laboratories and by stealth in the hospital attached to the university, achieve success – of a sort. Charles finds himself caught between the demands of his fascinating friend and his growing attraction to Alma Halsey, daughter of the Dean of Medicine.

In 1914, as war begins in Europe, Charles is both relieved and distressed to say goodbye to West as he sails away to France to serve as a medical officer. Over the next four years, West’s letters reveal a mixture of cynicism and black humour that hint at – what? Charles doesn’t know and would rather not guess. Engrossed in cataloguing the books of an eccentric professor, he develops an interest in alchemy as a way to transform the base into the excellent.

West returns from the War to a career as a surgeon utilizing techniques perfected on the maimed, dying …and dead? Lonely and self-doubting despite his professional success, Charles can’t bring himself to abandon West as his reputation grows and darkens. Rumours of illicit experiments overshadow West’s spectacular public successes, and he begins to crack under attacks from colleagues and threats from his gangster brothers. Beleaguered on all sides and under threat of investigation, West appeals to Charles for help. Charles is sympathetic until West reveals the perilous nature of his plan.

Vacillating between horror and hope and haunted by West’s misdeeds, Charles must draw on his knowledge of alchemy and his tottering faith in powers beyond himself if he is to save his friend’s life. Only his conscience stands in the way.

One of the reviews for the book

BG 5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, philosophical expansion of HPL’s short story

An extremely clever and skillfully written reimagining of Lovecraft’s episodic “Herbert West” stories. Driscoll does a marvelous job of imitating Lovecraft’s style in her descriptions and pacing. She also explores quite thoroughly the psychological motivations of West and the narrator, as well as other characters of Driscoll’s own invention, all of whom are quite well-drawn.

In the first three-quarters of the book, the different strains of horror, romance and philosophy are balanced perfectly. In the last quarter the philosophical aspects took center stage, and the story became a bit more of a literary fantasy. It still felt like a Lovecraftian story, but perhaps more in the vein of the Randolph Carter tales, whereas the first three quarters were more reminiscent of “Charles Dexter Ward”.

I had a few quibbles–the pacing is slow (though that is in keeping with HPL’s style), and some readers may be disappointed that character development takes precedence over plot in the last act. Overall, however, these are minor points that are entirely overshadowed by the magnitude of what Driscoll has accomplished: while remaining faithful to HPL’s distinctive style, she has created a compelling tale of literary horror that fleshes out his thinly-sketched characters in careful and nuanced detail.

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US –  And: Amazon UK

A selection of other books by Audrey Driscoll

Find out more about Audrey Driscoll and buy the books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – follow Audrey: Goodreads – Website:Audrey Driscoll – LinkedIn: Audrey Driscoll

The final book today is the latest release by Anne Goodwin and is the prequel to the excellent novel Matilda Windsor is coming Home… which I very much enjoyed.
Stolen Summers : A heartbreaking tale of betrayal, confinement and dreams of escape (Matilda Windsor)

About the book

All she has left is her sanity. Will the asylum take that from her too?

In 1939, Matilda is admitted to Ghyllside hospital, cut off from family and friends. Not quite twenty, and forced to give up her baby for adoption, she feels battered by the cruel regime. Yet she finds a surprising ally in rough-edged Doris, who risks harsh punishments to help her reach out to the brother she left behind.

Twenty-five years later, the rules have relaxed, and the women are free to leave. How will they cope in a world transformed in their absence? Do greater dangers await them outside?

The poignant prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home is a tragic yet tender story of a woman robbed of her future who summons the strength to survive.

One of the reviews for the book

Nifty Girl 5.0 out of 5 stars This tragic tale is sheer joy to read

In Stolen Summers, the reader is treated to an insider’s view into the injustices borne by a girl thrust into an institution seemingly hell bent on destroying her spirit.

We witness the deterioration of a courageous, loving and dreadfully wronged young woman into a shadow of herself, who survives the insanity around her by suppressing her feelings and adapting to the norms of the asylum; sacrificing her very self.

When a trip outside the asylum ends in disaster, Matty is again forced to repress her natural grief, as she is subjected to the most inhumane treatments available at the time.

With no escape, by the end of the book, Matty makes sense of the injustices heaped upon her, by mentally transforming the asylum into her country residence, peopled by servants and guests, who she treats with the courtesy befitting the lady of the house.

We are then led towards the beginning of Matty’s next chapter, told in Goodwin’s beautifully written novel ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’. 

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US

Also by Anne Goodwin

Anne Goodwin, Buy:Amazon UK – And : Amazon US – follow Anne : Goodreads – blog: Annecdotal – Twitter: @Annecdotist