Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.
Sophie, Freddie, Hugo, Charlotte the DNA enhanced Labradoodle are back in 1920s Shorten, this time with Sophie's daughter, baby Bella. There was a novella unavailable on Audible, in which Sophie discovered that Bella was Freddie's, and married Hugo. Unfortuinately Sophie killed a revolutionary leader (self defence) and now his faction wants her dead. It brings much trouble to Shorten manor.
Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.
Sophie, Freddie, Hugo and Charlotte are separated from Shorten and Baby Bella due to the whim of Janus, the god-like AI entity that controls the time travelling ship they've been using. There is another ship, but it's more dangerous to travel on - and at least one iteration of their group (from another universe) has died on it already. They determine to go to ancient Rome to get (steal) the device that will control Janus, revert him to factory settings and remove his sentience. The device looks like a walking stick but it's so much more. They spend most of the book going from near-miss to near-miss as several iterations of evil HG Wells tries to kill them on Janus' behalf. In the end they fail in their mission and Bella is just as far away as before. I found the Roman adventure somwhat pointless - a lot of running around for no result, and I'm starting to think this series has gone on for too long. The first three Shorten books were tighter and more to the point. But there's only one more book, so... onward.
Audiobook narrated by Katy Sobey.
Sophie, Freddie, Hugo and Charlotte (the enhanced Labradoodle) return to a version of their own world to regroup and work out what to do next. It's not quite the universe they left, however. Sophie discovers that her parents are still alive in this version of reality. They head to Victorian England to steal the walking stick/control device from H.G. Wells who in this universe is not murderous. Unfortunately Miss Hattie Wells has arrived from another universe, courtesy of Janus, and she's a professional assassin, though one with a bit more brain than previous iterations of Wells. They spend most of the book in the Victorian period with one of Freddie's aunts (who,of course doesn't know him yet, but accepts him anyway.
This is the final book in the Shorten Chronicles, so I feel a comment on the whole six book set is in order/ It started well, the fist three books were interesting and kept me listening. The last three books, however, seemed to draw the story out too far. The whole story in books four, five, and six could have been wrapped up in one, condensing the too-long visit to Rome and the extended visit to Victorian London into shorter and more succinct episodes. The writing was smooth, and the narration excellent, but the length of the plot didn't support its content. Having said that, it was easy listening and not unenjoyable.
In a universe where our gas giants have been repurposed by an alien intelligence to make disjointed habitable segments of a dyson sphere around our sun and its third planet, Copernicus Brown (and his bounty hunting crew on the sentient ship Jitterbug) make a big mistake in intervening to rescue a space ship from pirates. They rescue the sole survivor, Amber Roth, who is definitely not a damsel in distress. Roth is carrying a data chip with vital information about an impending invason force, and various political factions want to be the first to get hold of it. Expect political intrigue, fratching factions, space battles, and a twist when something turns out to be not at all what was expected. There might even be a bit of twisty time travel involved. This is obviously a lead into mre books featuring the Jitterbug and her crew, but it does have a good stopping point (no cliffhangers) with the crew boldly going... etc. got a bit lot in some of the time travel explanations, but the characterisation was excellent and the pace kept me turning pages.
Audiobook narrated by Alice Sockett
Elizabeth Bennet has returned home after rejecting Darcy's ill-worded proposal of marriage. From then on things take a slightly differet turn from the original. Lizzy's godfather makes provision for her and her family in his will, in the event of Mr Bennet's death and the Longbourn Estate going to Mr Collins. But in return she must set up a charitable trust with the rest of his money. Misinformation abounds when people think she has inherited the whole estate, and Darcy steps in behind the scenes. Yes, it all ends happily, but the route to the happy ending is different. A pleasant listen, with Alice Sockett's gentle narration supporting the story very well.
Due for publication 6th August 2026.
This follows straight on from the first Smallhope & Pennyroyal book with Lady Amelia Smallhope still recovering from a near-fatal shooting. She’s at home, keeping an eye on the estate (Starlings) and her nephew, George. She’s looking forward to a quiet time with master-butler, Pennyroyal, who has acquired a cottage just a short walk away from Starlings, over the fields. Pennyroyal is her business partner, but oh so much more… until… he gets a phone call he never expected. His sister, killed in the Middle East years ago when she was in the army, has been found, traumatised, but alive. Smallhope gives him the space he needs to help his sister’s rehab, but there is something seriously wrong somewhere, and Smallhope & Pennyroyal have to figure out what, and why, and how to fix things. This is Jodi Taylor’s usual mysterious, enthralling story with the return of much-loved characters. Expect, time-travel, family problems, a bit of gut-wrenching, some soul searching, a daring rescue, and a little bit of help from St Mary’s medical department. I had an advance reading copy from Netgalley, and loved it. I will probably go and put the audiobook on pre-order for a second ‘read.’
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeasmymeasure