Booklog 58/2025: Jim C Hines: Kitemaster

Nial Sarnin is a twenty-one year old widow with a small talent to manipulate the ever-blowing wind. On the first anniversary of her husband's death, she is preparing to fly his spirit kite to carry his spirit to the stars when something changes in her own affinity with the wind. Her power grows and she becomes a kite-master. Shortly thereafter she's commandeered by the kiteship midnight Rain, whose captain has befriended the runaway Prince Vikaan, fleeing from his mother, Queen Kavaya who plans to use the power of dragons to destroy her enemy cities, and thus rule the world. Nial must learn to use her powers quickly in order to thwart Kavaya's plans and save the Captain and crew of the Midnight Rain and her own family, held as hostages for her good behaviour. Jim Hines always tells a good story. This is very readable, with good major characters and some excellent set pieces. And no, Nial doesn't find a second love. She remains a widow, true to the memory of her late husband.

Booklog 59/2025: Emily W. Andersen: The Midnight Book Club

I had this as an ARC from Netgalley.

Aurelia Lyndham, a would-be novelist who has recently lost her beloved mother and aunt, inherits a bookshop in which the characters from the books on her recommended-reads table (all classics) come to life at midnight. She meets Marmee and Laurie from Little Women, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two of the three sisters from Sense and Sensibility, Sgt Cuff from The Moonstone, and Count Vronsky from Anna Karenina.  All the characters appear just as their books have ended, so they know the contents of their own book, but not what happens next. She hits upon writing a sequel to Anna Karenina to give Vronsky a happy ending. At the same time as this is happening, she’s messing up and then fixing her own love life with the sometimes-stand-offish Oliver, originally a blind date and then her editor at a small publishing house. Apart from the appearance of fictional characters, there are few fantasy elements in this book. It’s really a straightforward slow-burn romance, which could have been a slightly faster burn if the two participants had actually spoken to each other about their feelings. Hmm, not sure about an editor who reads your pages and makes editorial suggestions while you’re still working on your first draft. That might be the second fantasy element in this novel. The setting is London, but there are a few little blips that show the author is American – fall instead of autumn for example – but nothing too horrendous. Altogether a little slow, but a cosy romance, even if you could see the end coming a mile off.

Due for publication 3^rd November 2025