The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 172

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Goodreads Blurb: 1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in the Zoinx River Valley in Oregon) are all grown up and haven’t seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she’s got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arkham, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter’s been dead for years.

The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: Just because something sounds stupid doesn’t mean it’s wrong. And dismissing it out of hand doesn’t make you clever, it could make you dead. A true lesson on the dangers of arbitrary scepticism, with an ending you won’t see coming. Worth reading. However if you’re looking for a unique subversion of the Scooby-doo-genre honestly most of what this book did, some form of Scooby Doo itself has already done.

Amazon Associates: Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

If you’ve enjoyed this wee post remember to follow the Wee Blog if you haven’t already. Also check me out on X, Goodreads, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, Pinterest, Tumblr, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Kofi. Until next time stay safe, and have a bonnie day.

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 171

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

Goodreads Blurb: There’s no love lost between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined. But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumours of black magic in the Windy City.

As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend, all grown-up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it’s all in a day’s work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob….

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: This was a lot more action heavy than I thought it would be – not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just I would have liked a little more time for someone to actually express remorse for what she’s done. Here it feels more like implied remorse – and I need it more spelled out for me if I’m going to continue to like this character going forward.

Amazon Associates: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 170

The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin

Goodreads Blurb: The Mystery Knight is a novella published in 2010 as part of the Warriors anthology, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. It is the third in the series of “Dunk and Egg” stories. Previous stories are The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: “I begin to understand why your father was so willing to be rid of you.” – I don’t care if he’s creepy as all seven hells, Bloodraven is the best 😁

Amazon Associates: The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 169

The Sworn Sword by George R. R. Martin

Goodreads Blurb: The Sworn Sword is a novella by George R. R. Martin that first appeared in the Legends II anthology series. This is the second in the series of Dunk and Egg stories.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: I think I’d like to go to the wall too, I hear it’s tall 😁

Amazon Associates: The Sworn Sword by George R. R. Martin

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 168

The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin

Goodreads Blurb: A novella originally published August 25, 1998 in the Legends anthology, edited by Robert Silverberg. Set in the world of the Song of Ice and Fire series eighty-nine years before the events of the main cycle, the story relates the adventures of Dunk (eponymously called Ser Duncan the Tall) and his squire, Egg.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: This was a fun read. Somehow I think the world of Westeros is more enjoyable when seen through the eyes of a genuinely good man.

Amazon Associates: The Hedge Knight by George R. R. Martin

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 167

Transcendence by Shay Savage

Goodreads Blurb: It’s said that women and men are from two different planets when it comes to communication, but how can they overcome the obstacles of prehistoric times when one of them simply doesn’t have the ability to comprehend language?

Ehd’s a caveman living on his own in a harsh wilderness. He’s strong and intelligent, but completely alone. When he finds a beautiful young woman in his pit trap, it’s obvious to him that she is meant to be his mate. He doesn’t know where she came from, she’s wearing some pretty odd clothing, and she makes a lot of noises with her mouth that give him a headache. Still, he’s determined to fulfill his purpose in life – provide for her, protect her, and put a baby in her.

Elizabeth doesn’t know where she is or exactly how she got there. She’s confused and distressed by her predicament, and there’s a caveman hauling her back to his cavehome. She’s not at all interested in Ehd’s primitive advances, and she just can’t seem to get him to listen. No matter what she tries, getting her point across to this primitive but beautiful man is a constant – and often hilarious – struggle.

With only each other for company, they must rely on one another to fight the dangers of the wild and prepare for the winter months. As they struggle to coexist, theirs becomes a love story that transcends language and time.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: Holy Crap, was this good. Young Woman travels back in time and meets beautiful green eyed Neanderthal man – from there the rest is history. Eeeh, I loved this, I hope there’s a sequel.

Amazon Associates: Transcendence by Shay Savage

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 166

The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is Rewriting Their Story by Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse

Goodreads Blurb: In recent years, the common perception of the Neanderthals has been transformed, thanks to new discoveries and paradigm-shattering scientific innovations. It turns out that the Neanderthals’ behaviour was surprisingly modern: they buried the dead, cared for the sick, hunted large animals in their prime, harvested seafood, and communicated with spoken language. Meanwhile, advances in DNA technologies are compelling us to reassess the Neanderthals’ place in our own past.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: A fascinating look through the study and findings of research into the Neanderthals. And although they clearly don’t mean to, when they get to the bit describing Neanderthals in popular culture, they give a good list of novels to read next. I would recommend this book to anyone who is even the least bit interested in history or culture.

Amazon Associates: The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is Rewriting Their Story by Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 165

My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes

Goodreads Blurb: Anna has just lost her taste for the big apple . . .

Anna has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that? Anna—it turns out.

Turning a minor mid-life crisis into a major life event she packs it in, heads back to Ireland, and gets a PR job for a super-high-end coastal retreat.

Tougher than it sounds. Newsflash: the locals hate it. So much so, there have been threats—and violence.

Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over. Anna’s got this.

Until she discovers that leaving New York doesn’t mean escaping her mistakes.

Once upon a time she’d had a best friend. Once upon a time she’d loved a man. Now she has neither. And now she has to face them.

We all make mistakes.

But when do we stop making the same one over and over again?

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: Warning: unless you’re a hardcore Anna & Joey shipper this may not be the book for you. It’s the majority of the plot, and the setting with the quirky villagers and vandalism mystery takes a back seat to romantic waffling. Which is a shame, because if they had been included in a book with say Helen as the main character I think they could have really been quite spectacular.

Amazon Associates: My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 164

Isaac Steele and the Forever Man by Daniel Rigby

Goodreads Blurb: Brought to you by Its Majesty’s Government. Greatest Britain: For a Global Universe.

Agent Isaac Steele has problems. He spends all his splibs on drink and drugs. He has some deep-seated and very much unresolved issues with his parents. And his robotic partner at Greatest Britain’s Department of Clarification, Dr Timothy Stephens, is ruled more by his heart than his hard drive.

But all these issues take a back seat when Isaac stumbles upon a case involving the most sensitive information in the cosmos – a Never File, inaccessible to all except those with the highest clearance. He is expressly forbidden to involve himself. So naturally he does.

So begins an investigation that will take him across the Discovered Universe, into the path of the mysterious Forever Man, and eventually to answers about his past. Along the way, he will have to contend with aliens, robots, monsters, bureaucrats and, perhaps most deadly of all, his own numerous flaws.

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: Oh Isaac, I just want to wrap you up in a blanket and give you a hug. I mean …. A normal reaction someone would feel for a fictional character. 🤣😁

Amazon Associates: Isaac Steele and the Forever Man by Daniel Rigby

The Wee Writing Lassie’s 300 Books in a Year – Book 163

The Book of Merlyn by T.H. White

Goodreads Blurb: This magical account of King Arthur’s last night on earth spent weeks on the New York Times best-seller list following its publication in 1977.

Even in addressing the profound issues of war and peace, The Book of Merlyn retains the life and sparkle for which White is known. The tale brings Arthur full circle, an ending, White wrote, that “will turn my completed epic into a perfect fruit, ’rounded off and bright and done.'”

(Goodreads Page)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Review: By far and away the weakest of the series – honestly I would recommend giving it a skip unless you’re deeply invested in hearing Merlin navel gaze about war and the nature of man for more than half the page count. I enjoyed the scenes with the geese and Arthur’s walk with the hedgehog, but other than that – my God was this a boring book.

Amazon Associates: The Book of Merlyn by T.H. White