A bracing coastal walk… a weekly check-in

This week I posted a review! Check out my thoughts on The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman.

Storm Arwen didn’t hit us too badly on the south coast but it was still blimmin’ cold. Of course the day after a storm we went a walk along an exposed shingle spit, which was rather bracing, but the sea had calmed by then and the sky was a beautiful winter blue. At the end of the spit is Hurst Castle, which has started to fall into the sea, and a lighthouse.

Despite the cold temperature, Scully kept nagging us to go in the sea. Labradors really are water dogs at heart. Here she is looking rather regal on some rubble.

And somehow gracefully photobombing my photo of Keyhaven (she usually just has her bum in shot).

As well as reading the latest Invisible Library book, I also finished The Winter Garden by Alexandra Bell, which is a Victorian set fantasy about a competition between two women to design a fantastical garden, the prize being one wish. Both women have things about their lives they’d like to change, both chafing against the constraints Victorian society places on women. I thought this was charming, although a lot of time is spent describing the gardens, so it can seem a little slow.

New books acquired:

[gifted] The This by Adam Roberts (Gollancz / NetGalley)
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley (ebook)

I’ve still been spending far too many hours designing houses in Animal Crossing. Here’s Dom’s house of gizmos:

And Dobie’s author’s retreat, which comes with its very own massage chair: