For example, she constantly starts preachy sentences with “My mama says” and complains about blasphemy (her word) when people around her swear. It’s grating, especially since nobody over the age of 9 and under the age of 75 talks like that. Make that 95. Seriously, if I met this person on a first date, I’d make an excuse and escape through the bathroom window - what adult talks that much about their mother outside of therapy? Something terrible is awakening. As the clues lead to the coldest of cold cases - a cursed expedition into the frozen wilderness - Reynolds follows a trail from the start of the American nightmare, to the horror that still lives on today...

I LOVE the Rivers of London series, so was excited about the latest installment. But I don't know if it's that there was not enough of my lovely Peter Grant, or that I don't really care about Kimberley's character, or that it was set in the US and had a rather weird mash-up of Native American lore. It could have been a smidgen of all of these things contributing. She'll also love the Persian Rug Yoga Mat. Hot yoga is the perfect winter sport, and this mat will inject some more style into her yoga session. What are the best winter gifts for husbands? Beyond being cringe AF, Karen has zero personality; my toaster is more personable. She can’t even think for herself, it would seem, as she constantly asks herself what Peter Grant would do in her place (and then answers herself in a bad English accent if you have the audiobook).

Cosy winter gifts

So, not wanting to wait, I bought and read the German translation. Now, although I read Deutsch fairly well, it is beyond my abilities to write more than a sentence or two auf Deutsch. Thus, with apologies, my review is written in English. Gifts that make cold hands warm and warm up frozen bodies are always great ideas for people who seem to run a bit cold in winter. The Big Mug is one such gift. It's made from stainless steel and can hold up to 470 ml of liquid. The Warmies Heatable Plush Blue Bunny is another. When it's warmed up in the microwave, it becomes a toasty companion. Warm your friends and family up with Gifts Australia's winter gifts But probably it was the audiobook format. For some reason, audio was the only format I could get this (recently-published) book in my US library system. Audio is my least favorite medium for books, so it had that going against it with me.

Meh. Part of my dissatisfaction might be with the audiobook itself, but it was only like five hours long and it took me three weeks to finish it. First, Kimberly has never been my favorite character, though she grew on me a bit here chasing paranormal activity in a snowed-in Wisconsin lake town. Second, she kept meeting people once and that was it, though a few made a brief second appearance. The story was a lot of disconnected events that only began to come together at the very end, and it was hard to latch on to. So, let me get one thing out of the way. Die schlafenden Geister des Lake Superior is a German translation of the novella Winter's Gifts, originally written in English by London author Ben Aaronovitch. It is the first book-length work in the Rivers of London series to be set in the USA. I am a US citizen and a native English speaker. So why did I read this book in German, and why am I writing my review in English? Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbours report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising - cutting off the town, with no way in or out… Improper use of American English. It’s a parka not a parker, it’s a handgun not a pistol, etc. The mistakes are obvious and jarring. Part of this is on the sub-par audiobook narrator, but not all.That person is FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Leaving Quantico for snowbound Northern Wisconsin, she finds that a tornado has flattened half the town - and there's no sign of Henderson. Accents aside, the narration was fine, but... it could have been better. (I just read a review saying that all the male characters sounded like Barney Rubble for some reason. Ha.) I guess Kimberly is supposed to be from the midwest (wait, or Oklahoma? Does Aaronovitch think that Oklahoma is the Midwest? And wouldn't someone from the state with such a large Native population maybe, you know, know more about the stories of Native Peoples in this country? It kind of helps with the use of "momma" though.) And the British narrator apparently grew up in the US? It's funny how much these details matter, and yes I think there SHOULD have been a beta reader. Help her dial up the cosiness and stay warm this winter with our Mint Camellias Linen Heat Pillow. She can heat this pillow up in the microwave, and it will keep her nice and toasty. It's also great for easing period cramps, aches, and pains. If you're looking to pair it with something, we recommend the hand-poured Daybreak Luxury Soy Wax Candle. It offers 30 hours of burn time and emits the scent of mineral salts with vanilla blossom. Do you offer any women’s winter gifts? Another entertaining novella from the Rivers of London series, this time following FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds (who has been a side character in previous books). It wasn't quite as good as the normal Peter Grant-heavy full-length novels and is missing much of the humor that makes the Rivers of London books such amazing reads, but it was still an enjoyable story in its own right.

I’m on the fence between 1 and 2 stars; while the novella has major issues, the writing itself is excellent. Call it 1 star for story and 4 stars for technical. Seriously, this type of “I don’t need to know about winter to tell you all about winter” hubris is the reason the Franklin expedition failed. That depends on their tastes and interests – but here are some gift ideas with a winter twist to them: We are happy to announce that Ben Aaronovitch will be joining us to sign copies of Rivers Of London: Winter's Gifts at Forbidden Planet Megastore London on Thursday 8th June 2023 from 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

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If you’re going to write about living in winter, learn about living in winter first. Literally millions of people do this every year, so it shouldn’t be hard to find someone with first-hand experience. Vor einiger Zeit musste Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds bei der Verfolgung einiger krimineller Praktizierender nach London reisen, wo sie unter anderem Peter Grant und Nightingale kennenlernte - und eine ganze Menge über Magie und ihrer Anwender"innen erfuhr. Und über genii loci, Flußgötter und ähnliche interessante Dinge. And, unfortunately, I found the narrator's voice somewhat grating. Other listeners have mentioned the irritation of a constant pronunciation of "parka" as "parkER" (and that word was used A LOT in this book) and I also found that somewhat irritating. And all the male voices seemed to take on a kind of dopey surf-dude, frat-bro quality--even Peter's on that short transatlantic phone call.