Review: Unusual Hotels of the World by Steve Dobson

I borrowed a copy of Unusual Hotels of the World by Steve Dobson from the library and it features 100 hotels across 40 different countries. Unfortunately Australia wasn't one of the countries included which was a real shame as I'd expected to find a number of curious and unusual offerings in my home country.

Instead Dobson gives us an abundance of art hotels, treehouse accommodation, caravans and way too many igloo hotels when I was hoping for a little more eccentricity.

As for highlights, I loved the look of the spa hotel Rogner Bad Blumau designed by Austrian artist Hundertwasser and the floating aquarium in Sweden had me looking up the Hotel Utter Inn for more photographs. A hotel in the Netherlands even lets you sleep overnight in an industrial crane and rotate it over the dock.

You'll also find accommodation in retired train carriages, airstream caravans and decommissioned planes which is nothing new. I wish the author had limited the inclusion to just one windmill, one airstream caravan, one art hotel, one treehouse, one igloo, one hanging pod/tent and one lighthouse instead of giving us multiple offerings of the same types of accommodation in different countries.

This would have made room for more of the 'out there' hotels and perhaps provided scope to include additional countries. I know Australia has some unique offerings that would have worked perfectly within the author's theme but sadly these were overlooked.

Visiting the author's website in an attempt to track down his Instagram account for my Bookmark Monday post, I unintentionally learned more about him. Steve Dobson is a marketer in the hospitality and tourism market and built ‘The Unusual Company Ltd’ and 'GoUnusual', a publishing and online media group which promotes properties around the world. Without digging any further - because my care factor is quite low to be honest and I have other books to read - I think I understand why this collection isn't anywhere near as well rounded as it could have been.

Definitely a missed opportunity but Unusual Hotels of the World by Steve Dobson was an enjoyable armchair travelling experience during a holiday period when I wasn't travelling anywhere.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Celebrating 4 Million Page Views!

In June 2025 I celebrated reaching 3 Million Page Views and I can't believe I'm sharing this, but my web traffic has continued to grow and today I'm celebrating because...

Carpe Librum has just reached 4 Million Page Views!

My monthly stats continue to increase and I'm now receiving an average of 122,000 visitors to my site every month, up from 77,000 just six short months ago.

After sharing My Top 5 Books of 2025 last week and the reading challenges I'm participating in this year, this is an awesome milestone to celebrate and a terrific start to my blogging year.

If you're reading this not so humble brag, thanks for being a valued subscriber or occasional / first time visitor. I love this legacy of reading and reviewing I've been building over the last 20 years and I don't have any plans of slowing down.

My 2026 reading year has well and truly kicked off and I hope you have a huge stack of books you plan to get through this year.

Carpe Librum!

Review: Cape Fever by Nadia Davids

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids is a gothic tale of desire and revenge set in 1920s South Africa. Soraya is hired as the live-in house maid and companion to Mrs Hattingh in a grand house in an unnamed British colony which could easily be Cape Town.

The novel begins in a seemingly familiar upstairs downstairs historical fiction style plot I've read and loved before. The list of daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly chores Soraya is expected to carry out feed this fascination and the class distinction is clear.

Separated from her betrothed and letting Mrs Hattingh believe she can't read or write, Soraya accepts a generous offer from her employer to write a letter to him once a week on her behalf. This becomes a weekly ritual for both women that seems genuine and generous in the beginning as they sit together, read his reply and compose a response.

"It's as though she's shown me a door, told me about the riches that lie beyond it, opened it very slightly, enough for the warm gold glow behind it to spill out, just a little, with both of us knowing she can shut it whenever she likes." Page 73

Soraya comes from a Muslim community and the juxtaposition of the two cultures is ever present, with Mrs Hattingh continuing to assert her dominance and superiority at every opportunity. The writing is evocative and I particularly enjoyed her description of smells. I'm going to include the full quote here so that you can enjoy it and I can read it again and again in the future.

Soraya notices that in big houses with high ceilings and long corridors, the smells of people disappear into nothing.

"In the Quarter, smells stay. There's the smell in our houses of incense burning both now and fifty years ago, of a thousand meals past and the ones bubbling on stoves this minute. Sticking to every wall, woven into every curtain, the reek of chopped onions and pressed garlic, the trace of scattered methi, diced chilies, dried bay leaves; of spices - whole, roasted, ground, cast in hot oil - and of meat braising, bones boiling, fat spitting, broth cooking, sugar burning, rose water steaming, tea brewing, mint leaves just torn, ginger beer just poured. It's the smell of more in good times and of keeping an eye in lean ones. In our house, also, the whiff of my mother's soaps, the sweet jasmine my father planted at the front gate, the sticky heat of my and my sisters' sweat, the rush of the tides my brother brings back with him from a day at the beach and the fish he carries, still on the hook, sea fresh, glassy-eyed, salt crusted, scales shining." Pages 30-31

After reading this I desperately wanted to visit Soraya's house and inhale some of those scents, and absorb the swirl of life and history that had taken place there.

Constantly in each other's company, Soraya is unable to leave her position as her family desperately need her wages to get by, yet the relationship between the two women slowly begins to sour until it reaches an exciting and unexpected climax.

"She walks away, her slight frame straight, arms soft and graceful, once a girl who would have practiced with a book on her head, and I marvel that she can so easily show me her back when the kitchen is full of knives." Page 151

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids is a slow burn gothic psychological suspense thriller about class, colonialism, power, loneliness, love, loss, grief, secrets and betrayal and I loved it. Highly recommended.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

2026 Reading Challenge Sign Ups

I've had an annual reading goal of 75 books for the last six years but at the beginning of 2025 I decided to set my goal at 65 books. The plan was to free up valuable reading time to focus on larger books and it worked! I achieved my goal, read some chunky books and enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, the longest book I've ever read coming in at 1,276 pages.

This year I'm participating in my first ever slow read and I'm going to be tackling the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel. It contains approximately 2,000+ pages so I'm reducing my annual reading goal (again) to 60 books this year in order to accommodate the series. Here are the three reading challenges I'm participating in during 2026.

Wolf Crawl 2026

Wolf Crawl is a year long slow read challenge hosted by Simon Haisell from Footnotes and Tangents to read the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel. The series is about the life of Thomas Cromwell and the reign of Henry VIII and comprises Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light.

A slow read is a deliberate, community-focused method of reading a book at a gentle pace. Guided by Simon, there is a reading schedule to follow each week and readers can also explore the weekly supplemental materials (artworks, further history etc.) or discuss the book with readers around the world.

This is my first time subscribing on Substack but given the additional resources and discussion on offer, I think it's going to be worth it. If you'd like to join me I can gift one month of paid subscriber benefits to Footnotes and Tangents for 5 Carpe Librum readers so feel free to email me or leave a comment below if you're interested.

If you want to read the trilogy with me, here's the schedule:
5 January 2026: Wolf Hall (17 weeks)
4 May 2026: Bring Up the Bodies (12 weeks)
27 July 2026: The Mirror and the Light (23 weeks)

Non Fiction Reader Challenge 2026

Hosted by fellow Aussie book blogger Shelleyrae at Book'd Out, I'm signing up to complete the Nonfiction Nibbler level of the challenge. For this, I'll need to read and review 6 books from any 6 of the categories listed below.

1. History
2. Memoir/Biography
3. True Crime
4. Science
5. Health
6. Food
7. Humour
8. South East Asia
9. Lost or found
10. Television
11. Subculture
12. Published in 2026

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2026

Hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader, I'm signing up to complete the Medieval Reader level again this year and will need to read and review 15 historical fiction books in order to successfully complete the challenge.

Historical fiction remains my favourite genre and last year I read 17 historical fiction novels and two of them made my Top 5 Books of 2025 list so here's to another great year of reading.

Are you challenging yourself in 2026? I'd love to know if you have any reading goals or if you're participating in any reading challenges this year. You can track my progress throughout the year over on the Challenges 2026 page.

Carpe Librum!

My Top 5 Books of 2025

2025 was an excellent year of reading for me. I read 65 books, gave 5 star ratings to 13 of them and when it was all said and done, I enjoyed putting this list together of My Top 5 Books of 2025.

I'm pleased with the variety in this list, with two books from publishers, one backlist book from 2017, two historical fiction novels, two debut novels, one Australian author and one audiobook. I started compiling these Top 5 Book lists in 2014 and this is the only time two memoirs have made my Top 5 list in the same year so that's a first!

Here are my Top 5 Books of 2025 in the order I read them:

1. Dunstan by Conn Iggulden

Set in the year 934, this is the story of a young boy raised to become a Benedictine monk, but who went on to become an Abbot, Bishop and Archbishop and reform the English Church.

Dunstan was canonised after his death and became England's favourite saint for almost 200 years, but according to this reimagining of his life, in addition to defeating the devil, he was also a liar, murderer and maker of Kings. Published in 2017, Dunstan by Conn Iggulden was a fascinating tale of talent, intellect, vengeance, duty, miracles, exile and ambition.

2. The Names by Florence Knapp

It's 1987 and Cora sets out to register the name of her newborn son. She has three options, go with family tradition and name him Gordon after her controlling husband, name him Julian which means sky father or give him the name his nine year old sister suggests which is Bear, because it sounds soft, cuddly and kind but can also be brave and strong.

The novel then splits into three narratives for each of the names and we catch up with the three boys every seven years to see how their lives turn out.

The Names by Florence Knapp is a carefully considered exploration of each of the three lives and a remarkable debut. I found myself recommending it a lot and it was definitely a standout favourite for the year.

3. All The Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert

A memoir about relationships, love and addiction, the author lays her soul bare to the reader, declaring early on that she is a sex and love addict, romantic obsessive, a fantasy and adrenaline addict, a world-class enabler and a blackout codependent.

All The Way to the River is a celebration of love, an exploration of death and grief with some light moments and even a little humour. Far from a misery memoir, the author undertakes the most unflinching look deep within herself to understand her actions and behaviour on the deepest level and I found it incredibly illuminating.

Gilbert then embarks on the painfully slow process of rebuilding her life after it had been shattered; thus giving hope to all who read her words. This is possibly the best memoir I've ever read.

4. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

This memoir documents the author's life changing experience finding a baby hare (leveret) on a country lane near her home in the English countryside. From the outset the author strived not to stroke or cuddle the leveret, believing it should remain wild and one day be released into its natural habitat.

Dalton's detailed observations and interactions with the leveret were endearing and greatly entertaining and I enjoyed following her experiences narrated by Louise Brealey. Ultimately I'll remember Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton for the nature writing and sheer wonder of raising a wild animal in a domestic setting and I found myself wishing I had a leveret to keep me company while I'm reading.

5. By Her Hand by Marion Taffe

Set in Mercia in 910AD, young Freda is inspired by stories, loves to forage in the woods and dreams of being able to write. Lucky to survive a brutal attack on her village by Danish raiders, Freda is placed in a women's abbey where she slowly learns to read and write.

Freda is a feisty character and Marion Taffe expertly brings this period in English history alive, skillfully helping the reader make sense of the complicated politics of 10th century Wessex. The writing was sublime and I can't believe By Her Hand was a debut novel for Australian author Marion Taffe.
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Have you read any of the books on the list or plan to? What was your favourite book/s in 2025?

Carpe Librum!

Review: Innocence by Dean Koontz

The last book I read for 2025 was Innocence by Dean Koontz. Traditionally a fan of Koontz from way back, I've read 29 of his books and since 2006, I've reviewed 20 of them. Stephen King and Dean Koontz were a popular choice in my twenties and having a chunky new release from either author on my bedside table was a real thrill. Just for fun, I had a look at the star ratings for the Dean Koontz books I reviewed and they vary from 1 to 5 stars, with an overall average rating of 3 stars. With stats like that, I guess I should ask myself why I keep reading his books, but perhaps it's a nostalgia thing. Nevertheless, Innocence was the last Koontz book on my TBR - for now - and it was a terrific read!

Addison Goodheart is 26 years old and lives the life of a recluse, deep underneath the city. He has a kinship with nature and a passion for books and reading, but Addison avoids other people at all costs. On the rare occasions he does venture above ground he hides his features and we're not told what he looks like - until the end - which equally bothered and intrigued me:

"By the standards of humanity, we were exceedingly ugly in a way that excited in them abhorrence and the most terrible rage." Page 13

Addison learned from a young age that his appearance inspired repulsion, hatred and horror in anyone who looked at him. This quickly turned to violence and he retreated from society as a result. Utilising a series of drains and tunnels to navigate the city, Addison accesses the city library at night to enjoy the books and one night he comes across Gwyneth. A goth who doesn't like to be touched, Gwyneth has her own loner back story and we learn them both as they get to know each other.

"The fallow soil of loneliness is fertile ground for self-deception." Page 60

Published in 2013, the writing in Innocence is peak Koontz. I had to look up the definition of several words along the way and found myself bookmarking many quotes I wanted to revisit and remember.

Gwyneth can't bear to be touched and Addison doesn't want her to look at him so they make a pact. She won't look at him and he won't touch her. Addison cleverly summarises their predicament:

"If I touch you, you'll pull the hood off my head. Or if instead you make the first move and pull the hood off my head, then I'll touch you. We hold each other hostage to our eccentricities." Page 67

Don't worry, this isn't an urban fantasy version of Five Feet Apart. It's a supernatural thriller and Gwyneth swiftly pulls Addison in on her mission. As the tension increases, I really enjoyed this anecdote from Addison's father about the past, the present and the future.

"He said that because we live in time, we think that the past is baked and served and eaten, that the present is coming out of the oven in continuous courses, and that the future is not yet even in the mixing bowl." Page 328

The familiar Koontz battle between good and evil is here, and if this is the last book by Dean Koontz I ever read then I'm pleased to finish on a high. I almost considered giving this 5 stars and you can read the first 7 chapters here in a free extract from the publisher.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster *

Matt is a bathroom salesman who has recently lost his job and spends his time mooching about instead of finding a new apartment to live in. His girlfriend Harriet leaves him when the deadline on their lease expiry approaches and Matt still hasn't taken any action. Deciding to turn things around, Matt accepts an offer of a flat at Satsuma Heights, but there's just one small catch.

"I don't like to call it spying. Think of it as residential intelligence gathering." Page 64

Yep, Matt is asked to spy on his neighbours for the eccentric owner of the building and he's quickly pulled into their lives as a result. Soon there's a missing person case to solve and it's unclear if Matt will succeed in getting his life together.

In The Long Shoe, Bob Mortimer creates terrific characters and Hot Dog was a clear standout for me and I just loved his nickname for Matt; Jigsaw! Carol the flirty cougar was an unlikeable character so perfectly depicted that I could hear her grating voice and almost smell her perfume darling!

Mortimer's signature humour is back in full effect and I enjoyed his observations of the mundane, like when Matt asks if a character's vape is vanilla and potato when it's actually raspberry and coconut.

The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer is part of a series that began with The Satsuma Complex and continued with The Hotel Avocado. I loved The Satsuma Complex - giving it 5 stars in my review - in 2023 but somehow missed reading The Hotel Avocado. While each of the three books are set in the same world or Mortimer universe, The Long Shoe can easily be read as a standalone.

The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer is a chuckle-worthy and entertaining mystery with compelling characters and yes, even a very long shoe. I hope the author continues this cozy crime series in the future.

For more on Bob Mortimer, check out my review of his autobiography And Away...

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Stuff of History by Steven Moore

Last month I was looking for an audiobook I could listen to while wrapping Christmas presents and writing Christmas cards and selected The Stuff of History: A Curated Compendium of Curious Objects and Forgotten People by Steven Moore.

Steven Moore is probably best known for being a TV presenter on Antiques Roadshow and Antiques Roadtrip and has been an antiques dealer, auctioneer, museum curator, author and journalist. What he offers in The Stuff of History is a compilation of topics and subjects from across different periods in history and from all around the world; sometimes focussing on a person and other times on an object.

One of my favourite chapters was the story of the 14 year old boy who broke into Buckingham Palace between 1838-1841 and allegedly lived there in secret by hiding in rooms and chimneys. He was eventually caught but not before he stole a pair of Queen Victoria's underwear and it was quite the scandal at the time.

The blurb prepares the reader for a carefully curated miscellany and the publishers couldn't have described the contents more accurately. The author clearly chose subjects he was was fond of, but the selection didn't seem to contain any unifying theme or overarching common thread. The history of the Resolute Desk in the White House sits comfortably alongside the rise of Chinese porcelain and the evolution of the fork. The frequent format of introduction: ('It is the 26th July and we're in London, it's 1935' and 'It is the 20th of June 1952 and we're in Long Beach California') became repetitive very quickly and in response I began to mentally prepare a list of alternatives to 'it is this and we are here'.

The audiobook is narrated by the author himself and readers will enjoy his voice and accent which is perfect for the subject matter being presented. However, the book doesn't seem to reach a logical conclusion, the last object is presented and that's it. This format could have gone on for another 20 chapters but I was hoping for a concluding chapter summarising the book and perhaps providing the reader with a glimpse into the world of antiques, how the author began his career or resources for those looking to learn more about antiques and history in general.

Instead, we're given a quiz at the end which I'll admit was an inspired inclusion. I was initially all for it but the author chose obscure facts from each chapter instead of asking questions that would help cement an important historical fact in the memory of the reader which was a lost opportunity in my opinion.

The Stuff of History by Steven Moore will appeal to readers with an obscure interest in history who want to feel as though they're dipping into a range of books covering art, collectibles, antiques and social history.

My Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★