Quote of the Day, RIP Terry Goodkind and Winston Groom, Third Place Books Reopens, Sword Song by Tricia O'Malley, the Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal, and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Hello everyone! I have been ill with Crohns and recovery from a procedure, so I've not been able to write and I've neglected my blogging duties for far too long. So here's a bunch of tidbits and a few reviews, some of them partial, sorry.

This is a brilliant quote from an author on the importance of Independent bookstores, which I agree are vital to authors and the communities in which they reside.

Quotation of the Day

Booksellers 'Were the Original Readers for Me'

"Long before anyone seemed to think of me as shiny, long before anyone seemed to have a clue in hell who I was, indie bookstores kept me on shelves. Indie bookstores believed in me, they took chances on me; individual booksellers fell in love with my work and pushed in and hand-sold it.

"Because of that, I came up through this industry with an incredibly profound and very personal awareness of the power of a hand-sell. The power of an individual bookseller in an individual store--not a corporate hierarchy--of one person in one store saying, I love this book, you should try it. And what happens when a hundred of those people or a thousand of those people say, I love this book, you should try it.... I knew there were a lot of booksellers out there who believed in my work because I see it through the readers, but I owe them everything. They were the original readers for me--they found out about me when nobody else had a clue. I'm incredibly, incredibly grateful for that."

--V.E. Schwab, whose novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (Tor) is the #1 October Indie Next List Pick in a q&a with Bookselling This Week

 I read the first 5 books in the Sword of Truth series only after watching the first two seasons of Legend of the Seeker, which really grabbed my attention and filled my imagination and dreams. What an intricate world! What whole and satisfying characters! Unfortunately, the books were a lot more gory, full of war/battles and political machinations that didn't really interest me, and I felt they dragged the plot down to a crawl. So I stopped reading the books and kept my hopes up for another season of the TV series. Those hopes never came to fruition, but I still hold a fond place in my heart for the characters. RIP to this talented author.

Obituary Note: Terry Goodkind

Fantasy author Terry Goodkind, known for the Sword of Truth series, died September 17. He was 72. His publisher, Tor Books, noted that Goodkind "first established a career as a woodworker and artist, before eventually writing his debut novel, Wizard's First Rule, in 1994." That book launched the long-running Sword of Truth series, which eventually reached 21 titles, including the most recent entry, Heart of Black Ice, which was published in January. In 2019, he launched the Children of D'Hara series, set in the same world, publishing five installments between April 2019 and June 2020.

In 2008, film director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) and ABC Studios picked up the rights to adapt the Sword of Truth series as a television show. The series premiered in November 2008 as Legend of the Seeker. The first season covered the events of the first novel, and the second adapted its sequel, Stone of Tears. The series "was canceled in 2010, and efforts to bring the series to another network didn't pan out," Tor noted.

Goodkind wrote several related series, including the Richard and Kahlan books and the Nicci Chronicles, Locus magazine noted. His standalone titles include The Law of Nines, The First Confessor, Nest, The Girl in the Moon and The Sky People.

"It is impossible to put into few words just how amazing of a man, a husband, a writer, a friend, and a human http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45695471, Terry Goodkind truly was," the author's Facebook page posted. "He is already desperately missed. We are forever grateful for him having shared his life's work with all of us, as he was always grateful to be held in our hearts."

Goodkind once wrote: "To exist in this vast universe for a speck of time is the great gift of life. It is our only life. The universe will go on, indifferent to our brief existence, but while we are here, we touch not just part of that vastness, but also the lives around us. Life is the gift each of us has been given. Each life is our own and no one else's. It is precious beyond all counting. It is the greatest value we can have. Cherish it for what it truly is.... Your life is yours alone. Rise up and live it."

 Another talented author has left us, and I feel terrible for his family and friend and the literary community. Forrest Gump was an everyman, and a wonderful, revelatory movie.

Obituary Note: Winston Groom

Winston Groom http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45697781, "a Southern writer who found a measure of belated celebrity when his 1986 novel, Forrest Gump, was made into the 1994 Oscar-winning film starring Tom Hanks," died September 17, the New York Times reported. He was 77. Groom had published "three well-regarded novels and a nonfiction finalist for a Pulitzer Prize when he wrote the book that would define him as a writer and turn the Gumpian phrase 'life is like a box of chocolates' into a modern-day proverb." The film grossed more than $670 million globally at the box office, earned 13 Academy Award nominations and won six Oscars, including best picture.

"Forrest Gump is not the only reason to celebrate him as a great writer," said P.J. O'Rourke, the political satirist and journalist who knew Groom for decades. He called Groom's debut novel, Better Times Than These (1978), "the best novel written about the Vietnam War.... And this is not even to mention Winston's extraordinary historical and nonfiction works."

Groom wrote a sequel, Gump & Co. (1995), in the wake of the movie's success. His other books include Conversations with the Enemy (1983), a Pulitzer Prize finalist for general nonfiction; Shrouds of Glory (1995); and Patriotic Fire (2006). His most recent book, The Patriots: Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Making of America, will be released in November by National Geographic.

Don Noble, a University of Alabama professor emeritus of English and 40-year friend of Groom's, noted that the novel Forrest Gump is considerably different from the film "You can make a lot of money as a comic writer, but you can't get no respect. But Forrest Gump is really actually quite a fine novel. It's more subtle and more complicated... richer than the movie.... One of the ways that you mark the kind of immortality, or possibility of immortality of a writer, is how many characters they put into the popular culture. Most writers never put a character into the popular imagination... but Winston did. Gump entered the language."

Alabama Poet Laureate Jennifer Horne recalled that, as an editor at the University of Alabama Press in the early part of the century, she had worked with Groom on the UA football book The Crimson Tide: An Illustrated History of Football at the University of Alabama. "At the time, I was in awe. He was a big deal, a famous author and all that.... He hit every deadline. He cared about his writing, but he didn't fight with us, as editors. He was just gracious, a gentleman. He did not pull rank.... In your home state you don't necessarily get the credit you deserve. He just kept growing as a writer. You can rest on your laurels, but he didn't do that."

 Thank the heavens that Third Place Books has so far weathered the pandemic economic storm and is still going strong. I pray that all the great indie bookstores in the Seattle area make it through until we have a vaccine, hopefully by the end of this year.

Third Place Books in Seward Park

All three Third Place Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45731610 locations, in Lake Forest Park, Ravenna and Seward Park, Wash., are open with shortened hours, reported managing partner Robert Sindelar. The stores are also limiting the number of customers allowed in at one time, and there is a greeter at the door who makes sure customers read the stores' code of conduct.

Most customers, Sindelar continued, are very happy to comply with the safety measures, and many have thanked the store for providing clear guidelines and being open for browsing. While some people have had issues with the policies, they are in the minority.

"We feel very fortunate that our sales company-wide are around 80% of traditional sales," Sindelar said. He noted that event sales are down dramatically, with fewer events and fewer books sold at them, which accounts for most of the discrepancy. And on the subject of holiday buying, the plan is "relatively similar" to previous years. --Alex Mutter

I've read more than a couple of ebooks these past 10 days, and I have discovered that having the ability to make the font size larger on the Kindle Fire has been a real blessing for my tired eyes. 

Sword Song by Tricia O'Malley was the first ebook I picked up for 99 cents on an Amazon sale, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was to read.

Here's the blurb:
Sasha Flanagan lives her life by the sword – quite literally. As a collector and dealer of antique blades and an expert swordswoman, she’s spent much of her life single-mindedly pursuing her goal to own one of the most elite weaponry galleries in the world.

Murdering fae popping out of dark alleys are certainly not part of her carefully designed life plans.

Sasha quickly finds herself drawn into a centuries-old curse – in which, to her surprise – she holds the leading role. Tasked with finding a mythological sword while accompanied by a rag-tag band of magickal beings shakes her understanding of the world as she knows it. The added distraction of a devastatingly handsome protector, Declan, is the last thing Sasha wants or needs.

Declan has shadowed Sasha since they were both but wee children. He has grown up with her – silently watching her every move – his heart aching when hers ached and his pride swelling at her accomplishments. Whether Sasha wants his help or not, Declan will die before he sees her harmed. As the clock runs out on their quest, Sasha isn’t sure which is in greater danger: her heart or her life. 

This book reminded me of Buffy the Vampire slayer in tone, if not completely in substance. Still, it was fast-paced and had a witty cast of magical characters, all of whom come together to slay the bad guys and help the good guys/gals get away for future snogging. The prose was delightful and light, while the plot was breezy and never stopped on it's epic quest. I'd give this ebook an A, and recommend it to anyone looking for a distraction from the increasingly grim headlines in the papers.

The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal is a lovely British mystery/romance with some history thrown in for good measure. It was a pleasure to read as an inexpensive ebook on my Kindle Fire. Here's the blurb:

When Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime.

One glance at the breathtaking Rosemere Priory and Olivia understands why the manor, magnificent even in disrepair, was the subject of her mother’s exquisite paintings. What she doesn’t understand is why her mother never mentioned it to her. As Olivia begins digging into her mother’s past, she discovers that the peeling wallpaper, debris-laden halls, and ceiling-high Elizabethan windows covered in lush green vines hide unimaginable secrets.

Although personal problems and her life back home beckon, Olivia finds herself falling for the charming English village and its residents. But before she can decide what Rosemere’s and her own future hold, Olivia must first untangle the secrets of her past.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the old mansion and the way that the town and its people came together to help the protagonist try to save the entire estate, which is a massive undertaking. I also loved that the romance was contemporary enough that it defied classism and British Indian Samir could love and marry the American countess Olivia, who was white, but fell for Samir just as fast as he fell for her. Though she seemed a bit weak and damsel-ish at times, I still felt for Olivia, who had to deal with one shocking death and revelation after another. The prose was lovely and bright, while the plot flew on wings toward the satisfying ending. I'd give this book an A as well, and recommend it to those who like British romantic mysteries.

I'm currently only 200 pages in to A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, though I've been slogging away at this book for a month now. For some reason, the fussy, overblown prose and reflective nature of the plot, which doesn't involve a lot of action, but more memories and reactions than I usually like, has made this book as dry and boring for me to read as a textbook. Here's the blurb:  

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

I realize that we are meant to have great sympathy for the Count, who is reduced to such terrible circumstances as to live in only two rooms in the servants quarters, but considering that the Bolsheviks killed or exiled so many other aristocrats without a penny to their name (and they'd never had to support themselves before so they had no training or trade to fall back on), it seems to me that he got off easy, and is still living a life of ease, discussing proper protocol with a little girl who wants to know how to be a princess, and eating excellent cuisine in the hotel restaurant, while also drinking fine wines and holding forth on subjects both arcane and academic. He has a hoard of gold coins to use to keep himself in nice clothing and trim hair/beard, and he even has a cat that has adopted him, to keep him company. Yet he still wants to end his life out of a sense of guilt for the death of his sister, many years prior. This seems rather childish of an otherwise mature man of years. Anyway, I have until October 13 to finish this glacially slow book, and I hope that as I read on, it will become less of a struggle to stay awake. I won't put a grade to the book just yet, but right now it wouldn't get any better than a mediocre C from me. So, stay tuned!

Book Review of Flying Free, Rebecca Movie Trailer, Dune Reboot Movie, RIP Shere Hite, Into the Blue and On Broken Wings by Chanel Cleeton, The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis, and A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire

Good day to book lovers far and wide! I've been ill with asthmatic bronchitis and a kidney infection, so I've not been able to post for the past couple of weeks, unfortunately. Today I will rectify that situation by reviewing all the books I've read since I've been sick and while I am on the road to recovery. I'll start with a book that I would love to read, as it's about a group of women I admire greatly: female pilots. 

Book Review

Flying Free: My Victory over Fear to Become the First Latina Pilot on the U.S. Aerobatic Team

Bullied as a child in her small Indiana town, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon learned early on that staying quiet meant staying safe. The daughter of Chilean and Filipina immigrants, Aragon excelled in school, especially math class, but learned to keep her brilliance under wraps. She found her way to a career in computer science, but still struggled with crippling fear and anxiety. When a coworker's love for flying ignited her own, Aragon--to her own surprise--found herself spending weekends at airfields, learning to fly increasingly complex maneuvers and dreaming of buying her own airplane. Her memoir, Flying Free, chronicles her journey from INTF--her own "personality label" of Incompetent, Nerd, Terrified, Failure--to a strong, confident woman who became the first Latina to compete on the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team.

Aragon begins her narrative with her first exhilarating flight, an after-work joyride in a Piper Archer plane belonging to her coworker Carlos. She then looks back on her childhood, vividly rendering both her father's belief that she could excel at anything, and the continual bullying by white boys who gave her doubts. She tells the story of pushing herself to find a flight instructor, going out to a local airfield for the first time, finally speaking up and telling the same instructor that she was ready for a solo flight (after logging far more than the required hours in the air).

Aragon's crisp, straightforward narration mirrors the steps she had to take before, during and after every flight: plot a course, perform the necessary mechanical checks, load the plane, strap herself in, take off.

Soon, readers are following Aragon not only to the airfields near her home in San Francisco, but up to Seattle and over to Oklahoma in pursuit of higher-level planes and more advanced instruction. She learns (and instructs her readers in) the nuances of spins, rolls, stalls and other complicated maneuvers, which eventually become sources of joy instead of heart-stopping fear. And she calls out the consistent sexism in the world of competitive flying, as well as the costs and challenges for pilots who are not independently wealthy. Readers will cheer Aragon's journey, which eventually takes her to France for the World Aerobatic Championships.

Today a professor of engineering and data science at the University of Washington, Aragon has used her flying experience to build confidence and overcome fear elsewhere in her life. Her memoir is a paean to flying, a testament to grit and hard work, and a real-life model for anyone longing to cast their fears aside and fly free. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

 

This looks like a juicy remake of the classic novel, which I've read about three times during my life, and each time I found something new in the book to startle and unsettle me.

Movies: Rebecca Trailer

Netflix has released the first trailer for Rebecca http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45562328, based on Daphne du Maurier's classic novel, which was previously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, Deadline reported. Directed by Ben Wheatley, the film stars Lily James and Armie Hammer, leading a cast that also includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Keeley Hawes, Ann Dowd, Sam Riley, Tom Goodman-Hill, Mark Lewis Jones, John Hollingworth and Bill Paterson.

The screenplay is by Jane Goldman and Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse. Rebecca is produced by Working Title Films (Emma, Darkest Hour) and is set for release on October 21 on Netflix.

I was fortunate enough to interview Frank Herbert's son Brian during the early 2000s, just as he was coming out with prequels to his fathers Dune series. I read the first three Dune books back in the 70s when I was a teenager and they blew my mind. Later, I watched the ill fated movie version with Sting in awe, as I loved the cast and the Bene Geserit and Fremen brought to life before my eyes. I know I am in the minority in loving the first Dune movie, as most thought it was an incomprehensible mess. Still, the TV series was also fascinating, and I've been hoping that someone would take Brian's books in hand and make them into a series. This new reboot also has a stellar cast, with my fellow Iowan Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, and Dave Bautista and Charlotte Rampling also playing key roles in the film. Now that CGI technology is farther along, the Sandworms look so real they're frightening, and I can hardly wait for my birthday month when this film debuts. Hopefully by then there will be a vaccine for COVID 19, and I will actually be able to see the film in a movie theater. Fingers crossed!

Movies: Dune

A trailer has been released for Dune http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45565216, based on Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel. Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, the film is set to be released in theaters on December 18.

The cast includes Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgarrd, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.

The trailer "throws a lot of images and faces at the viewer http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45565217, teasing the many depths of a story that will be told across two movies," Entertainment Weekly reported, and spoke with Villeneuve about some of the key moments.

When this landmark book, the Hite Report came out, I was 16 and on a feminist reading jag, having gotten a copy of Our Bodies Ourselves and The Feminine Mystique and a couple of books by Gloria Steinem for my birthday. I read my mother's copy of this book and was fascinated by the challenges to all the male dominated societal beliefs about female orgasms and female sexuality. I also distinctly remember the backlash, all from men, who said that Hite was a lesbian man-hater who was making all this up. I also remember my mother saying that she believed Hite was onto something, and to never trust men when it came to my body or my sexuality. RIP Shere Hite, and thank you for speaking out when surrounded by misogyny.

Obituary Note: Shere Hite

Shere Hite http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45565185, best known for The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality, which has sold more than 50 million copies since its publication in 1976, died September 9. She was 77. The Guardian reported that The Hite Report "challenged male assumptions about sex by revealing that many women were not stimulated by sexual penetration. It also encouraged women to take control of their sex lives. It was dismissed as 'anti-male' and dubbed the Hate Report by Playboy."

"I was saying that penetration didn't do anything for women and that got some people terribly upset," she told the Guardian in 2011, adding: "I was the only sex researcher at that time who was feminist. I tried to extend the idea of sexual activity to female orgasm and masturbation."

Sustained criticism of her in the U.S., "much of it highly personalized, led Hite to renounce her U.S. citizenship in 1995," the Guardian noted. She subsequently lived all over Europe before settling in north London with her second husband, Paul Sullivan.

Writer Julie Bindel, who interviewed Hite in 2011 and stayed in touch afterward, told the Guardian that Hite's work "was groundbreaking--in many ways she began the real sexual revolution for women in the 1970s after the abject failure of the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s. In the '60s, women didn't ever feel that they had the right to sexual pleasure. Shere Hite put women's sexual pleasure first and foremost for the first time ever. She centered women's experiences as opposed to seeing men as the default position and women as secondary. That really spoke to a lot of women about their own bodies, their own sexual liberation and sexual pleasure."

Into the Blue and On Broken Wings by Chanel Cleeton are the final two books in the "Wild Aces" fighter pilot romance novels. I'd read the first book, "Come Fly With Me" a couple of weeks ago, and I really enjoyed the breezy prose and well thought out plot, as well as the wonderful characters that kept me turning pages into the wee hours. These two books were just as good as the first book, detailing the lifestyle and romantic lives of another two fighter pilots in the Wild Aces squadron, Eric/Thor and Easy/Alex, as they try to find a way to fall in love with the women of their dreams and start families while flying dangerous missions in the US Air Force. Here are the blurbs: 

Into the Blue: Eric Jansen—call sign Thor—loves nothing more than pushing his F-16 to the limit. Returning home to South Carolina after a tragic loss, he hopes to fix the mistake he made long ago, when he chose the Air Force over his fiancée.
 
Becca Madison isn’t quick to welcome Thor back. She can’t forget how he shattered her heart. But Thor won’t give up once he’s set his sights on what he wants—and he wants Becca.
Thor shows Becca that he’s no longer the impulsive boy he used to be, and Becca finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. But will Thor be able to walk away from his dream of flying the F-16 for their love or does his heart belong to the sky?

On Broken Wings: A year after losing her husband, Joker, the squadron commander of the Wild Aces, Dani Peterson gets an offer from his best friend, Alex “Easy” Rogers, to help fix up her house. Dani accepts, and their friendship grows—along with an undeniable attraction.

Racked by guilt for loving his best friend’s widow, Easy’s caught between what he wants and can’t have. Until one night everything changes, and the woman who’s always held his heart ends up in his arms. Yet as Easy leaves for his next deployment, he and Dani are torn between their feelings and their loyalty to Joker’s memory.
But when Dani discovers something that sends them both into a spin, (SPOILER, she's pregnant) the conflicted lovers must overcome the past to navigate a future together.

I must admit that I kept hearing Mister Mister's song "Broken Wings" every time I tucked into a new chapter of the book by the same name. At any rate, I adored both of these stories, primarily because they were well written tales that had a strong romantic/sexual through line, without resorting to being just a flimsy structure to support the authors penchant for writing soft pornographic sex scenes. The characters feel real, full bodied and with emotions and careers to take into consideration before they commit to long term relationships/marriage. I also liked the fact that the female protagonists were not cookie-cutter stereotypes of the romance novel woman, ie a petite blonde with big breasts who is childlike and stupid and irresistible to nearly every male she encounters, because she needs to be 'rescued' by his big manly schlong. The only female protagonist in the trilogy to come close to the stereotype was Dani, but she shows a lot more spine and grit than the stereotype, and because she's miscarried and lost her husband, she is a bit more fragile than the heroines in the previous two books. I also loved the fact that the author didn't use too many cutesy euphemisms for body parts during the sex scenes (ie "throbbing manliness" for penis and "moist velvet cave" for vagina), and she was unafraid to have the characters swear when it seemed appropriate. I'd give these two books A's, just as I did the first book in the series, and highly recommend them all to women (or men) who enjoy hot guys in uniforms, especially Air Force F16 pilots in flight suits (which has always been a fantasy of mine, to be honest. I love airplanes). 

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis is the third historical fiction/romantic mystery of hers that I've read and enjoyed. This one revolves around the glorious New York Public Library, and the family who lived there in 1913, and their descendants in 1995 trying to solve the mystery of the missing rare manuscripts. Davis is a master at weaving unique historical facts into her fiction, and here they fascinate and keep readers turning page after page to see what happens next. Here's the blurb: In New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis's latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.

It's 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn't ask for more out of life—her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she is drawn to Greenwich Village's new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club—a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control, and women's rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. But when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she's forced to confront her shifting priorities head on . . . and may just lose everything in the process.

Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she's wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books for the exhibit Sadie's running begin disappearing from the library's famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-adverse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage—truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library's history. 

I found myself wishing that the central mystery and characters in this book were real, and not fictional. The world of antique and valuable books is a fascinating one, and those who wish to own them merely for their value as objects, and not as literature, are still somewhat opaque to me, as I revere books as sacred stories of humanity. I would never harm a valuable book or destroy it for my own gain. Still, the motivation of thieves and those who traffic in stolen books seems similar to those who traffic in stolen art. That whole dark underbelly to creation of beauty is something I don't think I will ever tire of investigating. So I'd give this book an A, not just for the sterling prose and swift plot, but for the bibliophile's dream subject matter.

A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire is the 14th book in the October Daye series of fantasy novels set in modern day San Francisco. This is the first hardback copy of an October Daye book that I've bought, and though it was not too long, discounting the unnecessary novella at the end, it was more of a "wrapping up a lot of loose ends from previous books" sort of novel, which meant there was a lot of rehashing of past plots and events that took up at least half of the book. This left me feeling a bit ripped off, as at hardback prices, a recap isn't worth it to me or anyone else who remembers what happened in the previous 13 novels. Still, even with the "fan service" aspect of Killing Frost, there were several good things to recommend the book, not the least of which was finally getting to see Toby make it through a "quest" without puking or being completely eviscerated (though, to be fair, she is cut, stabbed and elf shot, and May, her fetch, is as well). McGuire's prose is clean and crisp, and her plots don't flag, though they may wander a bit. Here's the blurb: Now in hardcover, the fourteenth novel of the Hugo-nominated, New York Times-bestselling Toby Daye urban fantasy series

When October is informed that Simon Torquill—legally her father, due to Faerie's archaic marriage traditions—must be invited to her wedding or risk the ceremony throwing the Kingdom in the Mists into political turmoil, she finds herself setting out on a quest she was not yet prepared to undertake for the sake of her future.... and the man who represents her family's past.

The product information on Amazon says that this is book 14 of 14, indicating that it is the last of the series, but I find it hard to believe that McGuire would leave her readers without access to Toby and Tybalt's (the King of Cats) wedding, which is likely to be raucous and to have at least one of the firstborn gate-crash and try to kill her. I was fully expecting a wedding by the end of the book, and though there was one, it wasn't Toby and Tybalts, unfortunately. Also, the bisexual/polyamorous relationship thing felt a bit forced to me, but that could be clouded by my disappointment on the other aspects of this book, mentioned above. At any rate, I'd give a B to this latest installment of the October Daye series (the last??) and recommend it to anyone who has read all the other books in the series...just prepare to be disappointed about the lack of nuptials. 

Soul Book Nook Opens in Iowa, Happy 50th Eagle Harbor Book Co., Unwind by Neal Shusterman, The Lost Queen by Signe Pike, Fly With Me by Chanel Cleeton, and The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

Good Day to all my fellow bibliophiles, quarantined or not! It has been a busy week, and the upcoming weeks of September are going to be filled with medical procedures and test, so I wanted to get a post in before things get chaotic and exhausting.

I'm so glad that there are still optimistic bookstore owners willing to open up a store or continue on selling books and being community hubs during this pandemic. This is in my home state of Iowa, too, and the owner is a POC, which makes it even better. Congratulations to the store and Ms Collins.

The Soul Book Nook Opening in Waterloo, Iowa

The Soul Book Nook http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45458073 will open at 110 E. Fourth St. in Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday. Owner Amber Collins had tentatively planned a September 1 launch, but posted on Facebook Sunday: "Due to the overwhelming response and support we will be rescheduling our grand opening to Saturday, September 5th so that we can further accommodate the community and adhere to the public health requirements for Covid-19. Your continued support and encouragement is greatly appreciated."

Collins credits her mother for her love of reading http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45458075.

"As a girl, Collins would hop a plane, train or bus from Waterloo to south-central Los Angeles to spend summers with her mom--an avid reader, writer and poet who loved to send Collins books from her travels abroad," the Courier reported. "Part of that was taking her daughter to the Aquarian Bookshop.... The shop, which historians believe was the longest continuously-Black-owned bookstore in the U.S., was transformative for the young Collins, who recalled meeting black authors and celebrities at the store in the late 1980s."

"When I was little, she started to birth that love of reading and literacy," Collins said. "That was when I knew that I would one day own a bookstore. As I got older, that vision of what I would have in the book shop kept materializing."

With the help of her five daughters, including Shalaya, whose artwork will decorate the space, Collins said the Soul Book Nook is "going to be a place where, when you walk into it, you're gonna find the section that makes you feel like you belong."

While opening a new bookstore during the Covid-19 pandemic presented unusual challenges, "she's planned for that, noting she'll be taking reservations for groups to come in, and if she has live musicians or poets, they'll be in an upstairs loft with a window open to ventilate the air," the Courier wrote.

"I'm gonna tell you the truth: It was day by day. This is what I believe: The Holy Spirit was giving me direction," said Collins, who will also sell products from her wellness site, the Healing Source and plans to offer book clubs, featured authors and hot beverages. "Physically coming to read a book, I believe, is fundamental to the well-being of a person's thoughts and minds and what they're feeling at the time. Come visit, come browse.... This is community."

Collins told KWWL News http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45458072 that books can help teens of color see themselves represented: "They don't have to be limited to a book where the story is always told that they ended up in teen pregnancy or the hero in the story is in a gang and gets killed, then their friends got killed. They need to see themselves in history, they need to see themselves in science, they need to see themselves adding to the power, education, and history of the country.... Everyone is welcome. There is a book here for everyone."

 

Here in my adopted home state of Washington, a famed local store turns 50, which is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations to Eagle Harbor Book Company.

Happy 50th Birthday, Eagle Harbor Book Co.!

Congratulations to Eagle Harbor Book Co. http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45499182, Bainbridge Island, Wash., which is turning 50 this month. The store is celebrating with prizes and discounts all month, and has a scrapbook in the store to which it is inviting customers to contribute "Come in and share your memories, or create new memories together," the store wrote.

In 2016, Jane and Dave Danielson bought the store from Morley Horder, René Kirkpatrick and Tim Hunter. At the time, Jane Danielson was the events manager and had worked at Eagle Harbor for almost a decade.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman, author of the wonderful Scythe series of dystopian science fiction, is yet another take on a dystopian theme that uses elements of Never Let Me Go and Lord of the Flies to create a world held together by a ruthless societal dictate. That dictate, that "unruly/unwanted/aggressive or inconvenient" children from ages 13-17 can be sold or given to the state for "unwinding," which is a nice euphemism for surgically butchering them for spare parts to transplant into others, leads to the inevitable rebellion and underground railroad for teenagers marked for unwinding who want to live, and don't see their lives as disposable, or, more accurately, recyclable. I was able, through the publisher's newsletter, to get this book for free in e-format, which I read on my computer's e-reader. Here's the blurb: The first twisted and futuristic novel in the perennially popular New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.

In America after the Second Civil War, the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies came to an agreement: The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, a parent may choose to retroactively get rid of a child through a process called "unwinding." Unwinding ensures that the child's life doesn’t “technically” end by transplanting all the organs in the child's body to various recipients. Now a common and accepted practice in society, troublesome or unwanted teens are able to easily be unwound.

With breathtaking suspense, this book follows three teens who all become runaway Unwinds: Connor, a rebel whose parents have ordered his unwinding; Risa, a ward of the state who is to be unwound due to cost-cutting; and Lev, his parents’ tenth child whose unwinding has been planned since birth as a religious tithing. As their paths intersect and lives hang in the balance, Shusterman examines complex moral issues that will keep readers turning the pages until the very end. 

As seen in his Scythe trilogy, Shusterman's prose is athletic and sharp, while his plot flies along at Mach 3. I could not stop reading until I'd hit the final page, which is saying something as reading ebooks on the computer is not at all my preferred method of enjoying a book. I found that Shusterman's homages to other dystopian science fiction novels was subtle and yet enhanced the story just enough to not be intrusive. The ending, though not surprising, left me with the same feeling that I had after reading "The Lilac Girls," about the Ravensbruk concentration camp for women and children during WWII, where the victims of that camp were subjected to horrific and often fatal medical experiments, and the data from those experiments was later used by doctors and scientists for the "advancement" of medical research. It's disgusting how little human life actually matters to some people. And the idea that Shusterman brought forth of "storking," or leaving babies on the doorsteps of those who look to be well off enough to care for them when the mother often can't, (and those who don't want the babies who have been storked putting them on others porches, or taking them to a state orphanage and dropping them off was equally disgusting) was a well thought out insight into the morality, or lack thereof, of the privileged class. I'd give this terrifying but thought-provoking book an A, and recommend it to fans of Never Let Me Go or the Handmaids Tale.

The Lost Queen by Signe Pike is a Scottish Arthurian legend romance, with fascinating historical details woven throughout, and written in the epic fantasy style that is similar to Martin's Game of Thrones and Gabaldon's Outlander series. Though there is some redundancies and too many forest descriptions, the prose still stands as muscular and straightforward, which helps the labyrinthine plot march to its end. Here's the blurb: Compared to Outlander and The Mists of Avalon, this thrilling first novel of a debut trilogy reveals the untold story of Languoreth—a forgotten queen of sixth-century Scotland—twin sister of the man who inspired the legend of Merlin.

I write because I have seen the darkness that will come. Already there are those who seek to tell a new history...

In a land of mountains and mist, tradition and superstition, Languoreth and her brother Lailoken are raised in the Old Way of their ancestors. But in Scotland, a new religion is rising, one that brings disruption, bloodshed, and riot. And even as her family faces the burgeoning forces of Christianity, the Anglo-Saxons, bent on colonization, are encroaching from the east. When conflict brings the hero Emrys Pendragon to her father’s door, Languoreth finds love with one of his warriors. Her deep connection to Maelgwn is forged by enchantment, but she is promised in marriage to Rhydderch, son of a Christian king. As Languoreth is catapulted into a world of violence and political intrigue, she must learn to adapt. Together with her brother—a warrior and druid known to history as Myrddin—Languoreth must assume her duty to fight for the preservation of the Old Way and the survival of her kingdom, or risk the loss of them both forever.

Based on new scholarship, this tale of bravery and conflicted love brings a lost queen back to life—rescuing her from obscurity, and reaffirming her place at the center of one of the most enduring legends of all time.

While I loved the tale of Languoreth and her twin brother, I found the limitations placed on her life (having to marry a stranger at age 15 just to keep her kingdom in peace and prosperity, enduring abuse and limited movement) to be nearly untenable, and the ending of her life of sacrifice being one in which all she was able to do was to recount the events of her life on paper, because she knew that whatever history she had would be wiped clean because of her gender and her "old world" pagan religion to be just as hard to swallow. Still, this was a story worth telling, and I enjoyed reading it and trying to match the characters to the Anglisized version of Arthurian legend. All in all, I  would give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes female-led historical fiction.

Fly With Me by Chanel Cleeton is a "Wild Aces" romance, grounded in the real life Air Force military, with a lot of hot pilots and the women who love them happily hooking up throughout the book. The prose is as light as the clouds and as beautiful as the blue skies that the plot flies through at speed. Having been a fan of airplanes and flying my whole life, and having done a story on the F-16 pilots at MacDill AFB in Florida, I can honestly say that I've had a thing for men in flight suits and uniforms since long before the advent of that sublime Naval Aviator film, Top Gun. (BTW, I loved that movie, it was one of my all time favorites, and its one of the few movies I've watched again and again over the years that holds up...Tom Cruise couldn't be more attractive with his gleaming smirk and his beautiful eyes..and don't get me started on the beach volleyball scene! Sizzling hot!) My father in law was an Air Force Pilot in three different wars, and though he died before I could meet him, my husband and I were married beneath the wings of airplanes at Seattle's Museum of Flight, partially in his honor. Here's the blurb: U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Noah Miller—call sign Burn—loves nothing more than flying hard and fast. When he meets a gorgeous and sassy woman while partying in Las Vegas, he immediately locks on to her.

Jordan Callahan owns a thriving clothing boutique, but her love life is far less successful. Her luck changes when six feet, two inches of sexy swagger asks her to dance and turns her world upside down. 

One scorching weekend becomes an undeniable chemistry that they can’t leave in Vegas. But the long distance relationship and their different lives threaten to ground their romance. And when the dangers of Noah’s job become all too real, Jordan learns being with a fighter pilot means risking it all for a shot at love.

There are succulent sex scenes that keep the first half of this novel hot and heady, but the story isn't sacrificed to "soft porn" sexual descriptions, as it is in so many modern romance novels. Jordan and Noah switch chapters in perspective, and there is real sorrow and pain and uncertainty to their story. While I usually detest the whole "perfect blonde bombshell" female protagonist trope, Jordan is taller and more full figured than most romance novel protagonists, and she actually eats and isn't ashamed of her body, juicy big booty and all. The fact that Noah loves her curves and finds her irresistible makes the sexual tension and love making scenes even hotter and more believable, IMHO. The author tackles real world problems of civilian-military relationships, among them how to reconcile being away from your partner for long periods of time when they're on a mission, to the worry of injury or death in battle, or due to a million other problems that can occur with airplanes, like technical malfunction. At any rate, this was a chocolate cherry of a novel, delicious and a real treat. Yet, as with all candy, it's not something I'd indulge in regularly. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes men in uniform, planes and juicy sex scenes. 

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs is a contemporary romance with aspirations to be literary fiction. I was disappointed to discover that I've read this book in nearly the same format at least three other times, and all of those titles had "bookshop" or "bookstore" in the title. There are even some that had "book cafe" designations, but all had basically the same plot/story arc. There's always a woman who is gorgeous (but she doesn't know it, of course. If you admit you are beautiful you're considered conceited, which is a huge turn off to men and most women, apparently) but deeply unhappy with her job and/or her love life. She gets the call one day that her parents/aunt/uncle/grandfather/grandmother has died and left her a bookshop/cafe on the brink of ruin, usually due to the relative's complete lack of business or financial skills, or due to an ailment that they failed to tell anyone about, because they're heroic old coots who don't want to be a burden to their relatives, or to give their relatives a reason to circle them like vultures waiting for a payoff after the will is read. 

Now the deeply unhappy woman, who may or may not have a winsome and precocious child from a terrible past relationship in which she has been cheated on or abused or burned in some manner, flies down to her hometown, to discover that all the old friends and grievances are still alive, even after 10-20 plus years, and our heroine must work hard to revitalize the beloved bookshop and build bridges with the townsfolk, while also being romanced by her old high school sweetheart or the hot new guy in town, who is usually some sort of maintenance man or carpenter or general fix-it guy who falls in love with her at first sight, but is too shy to try and get a date with her, and she's too damaged by her past relationships to take a risk with her heart. 

Of course,our heroine also discovers the peace and beauty of the town she left to become a big success at some really boring business (usually law or finance or advertising/marketing /corporate event planning) and while reveling in the simple small town joys and pastoral views, finds that she's happier than she's ever been, though of course she's still got the weight of the world on her shoulders and is worried about revitalizing her store and her child fitting in, and whether or not the hot guy can breach the walls she has built around her heart. Eventually, a miracle mcguffin is found or uncovered that can bring in enough money to save the shop, and the hot maintenance guy, who has proven himself to be a steady and stalwart guy who treats her like a queen (and still manages to look hot in t shirts and jeans and flannel) breaches her defenses, the steamy love scene happens, followed by a marriage proposal and sometimes a pregnancy, as our heroine says goodbye to her boring old life of independence and culture in the city to become a housewife and mother back in the sticks from whence she came. But of course she's found her purpose in life, and as a woman, she couldn't be happier! That sound you hear is over a century of feminism gushing down the drain in the face of this persistent patriarchal misogynistic myth-making BS. Here's the blurb:

In this thought-provoking, wise and emotionally rich novel, New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs explores the meaning of happiness, trust, and faith in oneself as she asks  the question, "If you had to start over, what would you do and who would you be?" 

There is a book for everything . . . 

Somewhere in the vast Library of the Universe, as Natalie thought of it, there was a book that embodied exactly the things she was worrying about.

In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, her only living relative—not counting her scoundrel father.

But the gruff, deeply kind Andrew has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There’s only one problem–Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. Natalie adores her grandfather; she’ll do whatever it takes to make his final years happy. Besides, she loves the store and its books provide welcome solace for her overwhelming grief.

After she moves into the small studio apartment above the shop, Natalie carries out her grandfather’s request and hires contractor Peach Gallagher to do the necessary and ongoing repairs. His young daughter, Dorothy, also becomes a regular at the store, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works.

To Natalie’s surprise, her sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new connections, discoveries and revelations, from unearthing artifacts hidden in the bookshop’s walls, to discovering the truth about her family, her future, and her own heart.

As you can see, our beautiful but somehow unattached heroine goes from wine country to the big city of San Francisco, which is something different than most romance novels and Hallmark Channel movies (which are often based on contemporary romance novels), but the plot remains unchanged, and of course fabulous treasures are discovered in the bookstore walls, one of which is then auctioned in order to pay the bookstores debts and renovation costs, after which Natalie marries the handsome handyman, adorably named Peach, (who just happens to have a winsome and precocious child) and has a baby with him, whom they name after the heroic old coot after he passes on. HEA obtained! Insert huge eye roll here!

There was nothing remotely "unexpected" or "surprising" about this book, I knew what was going to happen from the first chapter on. But it's my own fault for paying full hardback price for a book that I've essentially read before, at least twice, from different authors.  Hence I can't really give the book a better grade than a C+, and while it was an easy and fast read, I will be wary of Susan Wigg's novels in the future, as I would rather not pay over $20 for a paint-by-numbers romance full of Hallmark Channel tropes. Yawn.