Never the Bride is the first in the Brenda and Effie series by Paul Magrs. The books are set in Gothic Whitby, the sea-side town with the rolling mists and tales of vampires.
Brenda runs a Bed and Breakfast whilst her best friend Effie lives just next door where she runs a cluttered junk shop. All sounds pretty normal doesn't it? Don't be fooled, Brenda is hiding a terrible past, she knows that she will soon have to explain the intricate scars covering her body and the fact that she doesn't appear to age.
Never the Bride introduces us to these two women's wonderful friendship. They are quite happy going for quiet walks and sharing fish and chip suppers so it comes as quite a surprise to them that the gateway to Hell is situated in Whitby and they are the chosen guardians.
I instantly fell in love with the characters of Brenda and Effie. These two ladies take everything in their stride, from murder to martians and vampires. Paul Magrs offers his readers such an original story set in the beautifully atmospheric Whitby with it's dark alleys and age-old myths.
Never the Bride is full of dark, witty humour and I found myself completely carried away with the story. It's so exciting to find a new series of books to read and I can't wait to start the next one.
Have you read any of the Brenda and Effie series? Do you have a particular favourite?
11 comments:
I've read Conjugal Rites and Hell's Bells and I *loved* them. I can't wait to go back and read the rest of the series. I think book 5 is coming in the autumn!! I'm so pleased you like this series, now you can see why I was such a 'fangirl' when I met Paul! :D
Carolyn- I completely understand now!! I thought it was brilliant, definitely going to read the others!
This sounds like a really fun book. I'll try to track it down before I read Hell's Belles :)
Great review - glad you're enjoying all the Headline-y goodness!
propecygirl- I think you would really enjoy it, I'm going to get the second one as soon as I can!
propecygirl- I think you would really enjoy it, I'm going to get the second one as soon as I can!
I was a lucky winner of Hell's Belles from Amanda at Floor to Ceiling books. Can they be read as stand-alones or will I have to track down the 3 preceding novels in the series?
lovely treez- I know a few people who have read them as stand alones so I think you would be fine! I just have a bit of a thing about reading things in order!
This sounds like another great read, I am so glad I found your blog, you have some fantastics reviews and books!
Hugs xx
Scattie- Thank you so much for your lovely comments!! I really enjoyed this one and I'm so pleased that there's more in the series for me to catch up on!
Hoorah I am so pleased you loved these Dot as they have a rather special place in my heart as a series and the good news is they just get better and better!
Simon- I am so looking forward to reading the rest, Brenda and Effie are brilliant characters and I can't wait to find out what they get up to next!
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