Tag: Half Spent Was the Night

Half Spent was the Night by Ami McKay: A Review

“Christmas Day has come and gone, the New Year lies ahead. Strange things happen Between the Years, in the days outside of time. Minutes go wild, hours vanish. Idleness becomes a clever thief, stealing the names of the days of the week, muting the steady tick of watches and clocks. These are the hours when angels, ghosts, demons and meddlers ride howling wind and flickering candlelight, keen to stir unguarded hearts and restless minds.” Ami McKay, Half Spent was the Night: A Witches’ Yuletide

It is fitting to be posting about this book now as it is set in the “dead days” between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. If you have read McKay’s novels The Virgin Cure or Witches of New York, then you will already be familiar with the three witches, Adelaide, Eleanor and Beatrice. The novella is a bit of a Christmas ghost story that includes divinations, a mysterious Baroness, a New Year’s ball, a demon and some “ghosts” from the witches’ past that they would rather forget. The story is charming and full of fun touches like recipes that McKay includes of her characters’ Christmas dishes. I like how McKay is able to create an atmosphere that is both cozy and mysterious at times. There are a lot of beautiful details in this story (not to mention that the book itself is gorgeous – I am a sucker for fancy end papers).

I read The Virgin Cure but Witches of New York is still hanging out in my TRP and I wish I had read it first. There are a lot of references to the witches’ backstories from the other novels and I think the story would be more meaningful if I had more understanding of those events. Someone told me (after I read Half Spent was the Night) that the novella finishes a lot of plot developments that McKay started in Witches so I guess that’s what I get for jumping ahead. For me, the plot moved too fast, especially when it came to the events of the ball. It felt like McKay was trying to wrap up several story lines as quickly as she could and I would have preferred a longer book to give the story a chance to develop a little further. Especially as the plot reached it’s climax, it felt like the clock struck midnight, the story ended and I was thinking, “that’s it? But I wanted more!” The character of the baroness is really interesting and I would have loved to see McKay develop her story further.

If you are a fan of McKay’s writing, I think you will like this book. It has all the richness you associate with her novels and evokes that feeling of hearing stories around the fire on a winter’s night. Let me know your thoughts if you read it!

December Line Up

OK, so, have you ever heard of Jolabokaflod? If you haven’t, get ready for this: it’s an Icelandic traditional that roughly translates to ‘the Christmas book flood’. It turns out that every year, publishers in Iceland release their new titles in the run-up to Christmas (side note: turns out the Icelandic are a very bookish people). So every year, the ‘Book Bulletin’ – a catalogue of the new books – is published and then everyone spends the next several weeks going through it and deciding what books they are going to give (and hope to get) for Jolabokaflod. Which is all very nice except I haven’t gotten to the best part – on Christmas Eve, Icelanders exchange books and chocolate and then sit around in their pjs reading their new books and eating their new chocolate. HOW GREAT IS THAT? So while I clearly do not need any new books this Christmas (don’t take that as a hint not to get me any), I thought I would go through my TRP and choose the books I would most like to read for the December Line Up – a little early Jolabokaflod gift to myself. So without further ado, here goes:

December 1: The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

This is the ninth novel in Bradley’s Flavia de Luce mystery series. Flavia is a twelve year old chemistry genius with a penchant for solving murders. I love Bradley’s novels because they are darkly comedic and while they play with conventions of British mystery novels, they are not at all predictable. And … Bradley’s next novel in the series is coming out in January so I really do need to get a move on.

December 8: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

This one came up on so many “best of 2018” lists this year that I felt like I had to read it. The novel follows the stories of two families who are connected but ultimately divided by a community conflict. It deals with the price of secrets, the nature of art and identity and the dangers that come from following the rules.

December 15: Half Spent Was the Night by Ami McKay

I really enjoyed Ami McKay’s novels The Birth House and The Virgin Cure. This novella follows the three witches from Witches of New York (which is also in the TRP) in the nights between Christmas a New Year’s. They receive an invitation to attend a New Year’s masquerade ball at the home of a stranger – and as the witches go into the New York night to meet their mysterious host, they may be facing unknown dangers.

December 22: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I think I’m at the point where Liane Moriarty could publish the phone book and I might buy it. I have really enjoyed her other novels which are big, generous, gossipy stories set in contemporary Australia. In this novel, nine people gather at Tranquillum House, a health resort, to recover from what ails them. The main character, Frances, is soon fascinated by the houses’ owner. Within days, all the guests are asking, should they surrender to the “recovery” that Tranquillum House offers, or run while they still can?

December 29: The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

This one came recommended by a friend. The House at Riverton reminds me of The Thirteenth Tale – a story line that shifts between the early twentieth century and the contemporary world, a shocking death and secrets revealed. It sounds like the perfect book for unraveling in front of a warm fire over the holidays.

I am really excited for this month’s books. If you are planning on reading along, let me know. Happy Jolabokaflod, everyone. I wish you books and chocolate this holiday.