The Art of Spirit Capture is my book review today. It is also the kick-off post for this year’s A to Z Challenge.
The plan for the month is to feature daily a book I’ve reviewed in the past (or review it that day), and also highlight others: not all are included each day.
- review/featured
- spacetime challenge (I host this reading challenge – you can join here)
- middle grade (childrens) choice
- series (love a good series – there’s a challenge for finishing those, too)
- ‘notable’ reads
- ‘outstanding’ books
- my books!
I’ll be concentrating on some ridiculously reduced one-sentence descriptions for some of them!
The Art of Spirit Capture
by Geoff Le Pard
Jason Hales is at his lowest ebb: his brother is in a coma; his long-term partner has left him; he’s been sacked; and Christmas is round the corner to remind him how bad his life has become.
After receiving an unexpected call telling him he’s a beneficiary of his Great Aunt Heather’s estate, he visits the town he vaguely recalls from his childhood, where his great aunt lived. Wanting to find out more, he’s soon sucked into local politics revolving around his great uncle’s extraordinary glass ornaments, his ‘Captures’, and their future.
While trying to piece his life back together, he’ll have to confront a number of questions: What actually are these Captures and what is the mystery of the old wartime huts where his uncle fashioned them? Why is his surly neighbour so antagonistic? Can he trust anyone, especially the local doctor Owen Marsh and Charlotte Taylor, once a childhood adversary, but now the lawyer dealing with the estate? His worries pile up, with his ex in trouble, his flat rendered uninhabitable and his brother’s condition worsening. Will Christmas bring him any joy?
Set in the Sussex countryside, the Art of Spirit Capture is a modern novel with mystery, romance and magic at its core, as well as a smattering of hope, redemption and good cooking. [amazon.co.uk]
My Review
This book starts with the most engrossing ‘action sequence’. The protag walks into a coffee shop with his work belongings in a box. He’s been made redundant and we feel his pain.
This is a brilliantly written book, full of actions, mystery, ingenious devices and good food. It has plenty of reasons for heartache, yet it remains uplifting. People seem very real, as long as you have an inkling of what life in rural England can be like. I had a little difficulty with so many names that were alike – Martha, Marsha and the Marshes, for example. Jason’s pre-occupation with Charlotte can be a little overwhelming, but then there is reason for his one-track mind. It’s part of the mystery.
The best thing about the Art of Spirit Capture is that it seems nowhere near as long as it says it is. The moments flew by, partly because I only put it down when I absolutely had to. Engrossing, lovely. Just sort out the book’s multiple, un-blurbed, Goodreads book pages, please, Geoff.
Spacetime Challenge
An Acceptable Time is number 5 and last in the Time Quintet (starting with A Wrinkle in Time) by Madeleine L’Engle. I haven’t read it yet. But as I enjoyed 2 more than 1, and 3 more than 2, I’m looking forward to reading nos 4 and 5 this year.
Middle Grade Choice
Adventures with Waffles (Waffle Hearts in UK) and After Zero (links to my reviews) are two wonderful, warm and suspenseful stories for readers in the 9 to 12 year bracket (and many adults, too). I’d happily reread both of them again. I don’t often say that, and even more rarely have time to do it!
Notable books
The A to Z of World-Building by Rebekah Loper is an interesting concept. It is a book produced in the A to Z Challenge. It was one of several challengers reviewed a few years back. I found her insights very helpful, and spotted a couple of things I’d missed or played down in my own worlds. Mainly legends and religious beliefs.
Apocalypse Weird: Reversal is a great start in a series featuring some sort of apocalypse. I really enjoyed Jennifer Ellis’s weird switch from an Arctic base under siege from unknown forces. There are more in this series, but by other authors.
Outstanding book
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Chris Hadfield. Chris was the first Canadian astronaut. He always wanted to be an astronaut . He geared his entire schooling to gather the skills he reckoned he’d need to get into NASA. This and many more life hacks abound in this book, which also gives beautiful thoughts on life in space, as well as what we are doing to our planet and how we, individually, can make a difference. A must read.
This book continues to be important to me. I notice I’ve featured it as the A of the A to Z Challenge in 2017 and 2019 already!
That’s all for today, so come back tomorrow for more. I’m hoping to meet more people who like the same kinds of book, so feel free to recommend something you’ve read beginning with the letter of the day!
I have to say, the Art of Spitit Capture, sounds really good, live me some mystery combined with magic! You’re gonna grow TBR list this month, aren’t you? 🙂
I sincerely hope so! There’s a lot of that about though. 🙂
Looking forward to more posts like this. Sounds like an interesting book.
In case I forget to mention it on F day —
Fragile Remedy by Maria Ingrande Mora 📖
It’s April, so I’m focused on the #AtoZChallenge.
Plus, book two in my dark urban fantasy series, Proof of Existence, is out this month. Very exciting.
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Reference& Speculative Fiction Author, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, and Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge
PS — You aren’t on the Master List yet. 😓
I am now. Didn’t get the email of the sign-up blog post for some reason. Glad you came anyway 🙂
If you have review copies, I might just fit it in before we get to P… although the P post is loaded!
I also enjoyed The Art of Spirit Capture a great book!
The rest I shall be looking up ….good luck with the challenge Jemima 💜
Art of Spirit Capture is one of the best newly reviewed books this month. I must get more of Geoff’s books on my TBR 🙂
and thanks, Willow!
Nice start to A-to-Z. There are a few of us doing book reviews this year and none of us picked the same letter A. It’s so much fun.
Stopping in from A-to-Z: https://brewingcoffeetwistingwordsbreakingpencils.ca/2023/04/01/a-is-for-alibi-book-review/#comment-6625
I had an idea of limiting my additions to my tbr to one a day. Then I can review them all for next year’s challenge lol
The Art of Spirit Capture sounds interesting. I’m going to look for it.
That’s the spirit 🙂
So many books that I hadn’t heard of before! Looking forward to continuing to learn more throughout your series and building up a new reading list. See you again soon!
And it’s the same when I go to someone else’s blog – Ronel has NO ‘A’ books in her TBR list in common with me. :O
I think I have a slightly different taste to many, though.
My goodness, I thought you were reviewing one book a day! This is amazingly impressive. I can’t believe that I follow Geoff and have missed this title. I’ve read some of his other books. This one sounds intriguing so I’ll need to chase it up.
Well, I’m only reviewing one book each Saturday. The rest I’ve reviewed in the past, or nearly all of them, so you can go and look at the links for those 🙂
Come to think of it, I’ve probably reviewed around 60 books a year for ten years….
I’ve added “The Art of Spirit Capture” to my TBR. It’s going to be out of control by Z, isn’t it? LOL.
Ronel visiting for A:
My Languishing TBR: A
Accomplished Athena
Completely. I had an idea – only add one book a day. Then that’s next year’s A to Z for you lol
Great reviews, and a great start to the Challenge!
Thanks, John!
thank you for the review and general promo; I’m v grateful. Now to find out what the goodreads issue is!
There are two entries, one with cover, one without, which also has more ratings. I think you might need to ask a Librarian to combine the two, although once upon a time you could do that yourself from your Author page.
Oh, and add the blurb!
Thanks for visiting, and for writing such an engrossing story!
I enjoy books set in rural England. We love books like The Art of Spirit Capture on British Isles Friday if you think of it later this week. I’m adding that to the list of books I want to read in December.
Fascinated by British Isles Friday. But for a small place we’ve plenty of different scenery and customs to play with!
Loving your book selections. The Art of Spirit Capture seems to be something I need to pick it up soonest. You are terrible for my TBR Jemima 😉
Oh yes, this will kill your TBR! Thanks for visiting 😀