Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around an urban fantasy slash murder mystery that was highly entertaining, Rivers Of London, and a very beautifully illustrated guide to Greek Mythology for both young and old: Mortals And Immortals Of Greek Mythology.
Title: Rivers Of London
(Peter Grant #1)
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
First published: January 10th 2011
Publisher: Gollancz
Finished reading: August 22nd 2018
Pages: 392
“Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the “London once-over” – a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk, a crazy or a human being in distress. The fact that it was entirely possible for someone to be all three simultaneously is why good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport – like BASE jumping or crocodile wrestling.”
I’ve been meaning to start this series for a long time and already had a copy on my kindle, but during our Europe trip I was able to get a physical copy of the first two books. And I love LOVE the details on the cover! I couldn’t resist picking up my copy of Rivers Of London and as I started reading the story made an excellent first impression. Why? First of all, the writing style is engaging, strangely funny at points and solid in general. This made it easy to connect to the story and fully emerge myself in this urban fantasy slash detective story. The second thing that stands out is exactly this mix of genres. Paranormal elements, Gods, ghosts and other monsters are mixed with a good old murder mystery in such a way that just hit the mark for me. Part of this success is the main character Peter Grant, since he is discovering this strange new angle of the city of London along with us. Did the story drag at points and became a tad too slow? Probably. Did my initial enthusiasm fade away a little towards the end? Maybe. But while not perfect, I still had a great time with Rivers Of London despite a few minor flaws and problems. Between the main character and the mix of genres, I was pleasantly surprised by this first book of a series I will definitely be continuing some time soon.
Title: Mortals And Immortals Of Greek Mythology
Author: Francoise Rachmuhl
Genre: Children, Fiction, Mythology
First published: September 18th 2018
Publisher: Diamond Book Distributors
Finished reading: August 23rd 2018
Pages: 129
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I’ve had my share of Greek mythology during high school in my ancient Greek and also Latin classes. Knowledge has slipped a little since, so when I saw this title on Netgalley, I couldn’t resist. Mortals And Immortals Of Greek Mythology is ment to give children a little insight in who is who in Greek mythology with the help of both lovely illustrations and easy to follow short descriptions and stories around the characters. The cover gives you a perfect example of what the illustrations are like, and this beautiful style is used throughout to show us both the characteristics of each mortal and immortal described as well as illustrating the stories themselves. Wonderful to look at and educative at once: this handy and interesting guide will be an entertaining journey for both young and old. Confuse the different Gods and how they relate? Heard about some story or character before, but not sure about the details? Mortals And Immortals Of Greek Mythology will take away those doubts while also giving you a wonderful reading experience.
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