Thursday, December 31, 2020

Happy 2021 to My Fellow Bibliophiles, The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson, The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman and Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Welcome, friends and fellow book lovers! The last post of 2020, the most heinous year on record, is finally here! I am looking forward to a better 2021, with more books read, more posts, and, after vaccination for COVID 19, the joys of actually walking into the local library and bookstore and talking to my fellow bibliophiles, face to face!  

As an extrovert, the quarantine has been particularly stressful for me, because I couldn't go outside my home to mix and mingle with my fellow human beings. Now that the end of isolation is in sight, I am anticipating going out and doing so many things that I took for granted in the years before the pandemic. Like having tea at Ristrettos cafe, or checking out my holds at the MV Library while picking up a copy of Book Page magazine and perusing the reviews of upcoming fiction titles. Even having a sandwich at a restaurant with my son seems like the height of extravagance after a year spent indoors. I think we're all looking forward to rebuilding the economy and our lives, brick by brick, in the coming year.

So, with all that in mind, here are three reviews and a hearty HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my fellow bibliophiles! A healthy 2021 to us all! 

The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson is a wonderful novel that held some surprises for me and was a bit deeper than I was expecting it to be as well. Here's the blurb:

For fans of Jane Green and Loretta Nyhan, a heartwarming debut novel about a daydreamer who gives her town, and herself, an amazing gift: a lending library in her sunroom while confronting an even higher stakes, life-changing, decision.

When the Chatsworth library closes indefinitely, Dodie Fairisle loses her sanctuary. How is a small-town art teacher supposed to cope without the never-ending life advice and enjoyment that books give her? Well, when she’s as resourceful and generous as Dodie, she turns her sunroom into her very own little lending library.

At first just a hobby, this lit lovers’ haven opens up her world in incredible ways. She knows books are powerful, and soon enough they help her forge friendships between her zany neighbors—and attract an exciting new romance.

But when the chance to adopt an orphaned child brings Dodie’s secret dream of motherhood within reach, everything else suddenly seems less important. Finding herself at a crossroads, Dodie must figure out what it means to live a full, happy life. If only there were a book that could tell her what to do…

I was expecting this book to be more about books and the love of books than about a woman's longing (actually, several women's longings) for babies and long term love relationships. And while Dodie does love and nurture her little library that brings in people from all over her small town, it becomes obvious that her relationship with Shep and her desire to be a mother are running roughshod over her ability to keep the library open and operational, especially since she's loathe to ask for help, though plenty of people are willing to volunteer to help her with the lending library. Apparently, confronting her crappy biological father (with her sisters in tow) about his abandonment of them as children, coupled with her realization that she must put the needs of an orphaned child above her own selfish and desperate desires, leads Dodie to start a life of adventure with Shep, which one hopes will lead Dodie to further personal growth. Having never had this "desperate" need to have a child (I was certain that I was sterile and was totally okay with that...I was shocked when I became pregnant, and I loved being a parent, but I never had that clawing need that some women seem to have to reproduce or to adopt a baby) I found it hard to identify with Dodie's selfishness, while also finding it easy to understand her love of books and reading and community. Fogelson's prose is sterling, and her plot flows nicely along, with few bumps or potholes along the way. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to those who love books and babies in equal measure, as well as romance readers who like quirky protagonists.

The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman is the 7th novel in the Invisible Library series. I've read and enjoyed all of the books, which combine steampunk adventures, time traveling romance and fantasy mystery altogether in one sensational plot that will keep you turning pages into the wee hours. Here's the blurb: A professional spy for a mysterious Library which harvests fiction from different realities, Irene faces a series of assassination attempts that threaten to destroy her and everything she has worked for.

Irene is teaching her new assistant the fundamentals of a Librarian's job, and finding that training a young Fae is more difficult than she expected. But when they're the targets of kidnapping and assassination attempts, she decides that learning by doing is the only option they have left ... 

In order to protect themselves, Irene and her friends must do what they do best: search for information to defeat the overwhelming threat they face and identify their unseen enemy. To do that, Irene will have to delve deeper into her own history than she ever has before, face an ancient foe, and uncover secrets that will change her life and the course of the Library forever.

Cogman's prose is deliciously rich and full, and the plot has so many twists and turns you could get mental whiplash if you're not paying attention. Irene is such a smart and stalwart protagonist, I have to remind myself as a reader that she's actually human, and not one of the fae or dragon factions that she deals with all the time. Still, I am certain that the big surprise was actually no surprise at all for those of us who have read the other 6 books in the series (I will not spoil it for you, but it was very Star Wars-esque). I also have to say that I don't like the sexism and classism evident in the main male protagonists, especially the dragons, who seem like a really awful group of beings, almost xenophobic, despite their supposed commitment to the peace treaty. Not that the fae faction is a lot better, but they're at least overt in their treachery and trickery. I still enjoyed the book, though, despite its problematic male characters. I'd give it an A-, and recommend it to anyone who has read the previous books, which I highly recommend.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert is a fantastic YA romance novel about a young black woman from a wealthy family with fibromyalgia and mental health issues who develops feelings for the superintendent of her apartment building, a red-headed Irish guy from the poorer section of town. Because this book takes place in England, there's a great deal of witty and sarcastic dialog and struggles with classism. Here's the blurb:

A witty, hilarious romantic comedy about a woman who’s tired of being “boring” and recruits her mysterious, sexy neighbor to help her experience new things

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with seven directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamorous family’s mansion. The next items?

  • Enjoy a drunken night out.
  • Ride a motorcycle.
  • Go camping.
  • Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
  • Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
  • And... do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

I really loved the characters of this book, and I adored the funny and witty dialog, and the relationship that develops between Red and Chloe, fraught as it is with emotional baggage and stereotypes (such as the spoiled little rich girl with gossipy, nosy and interfering sisters and family members, and the poor young man whose heart was broken by a rich gal who used him and discarded him like yesterday's news), but enriched by a love that will not be easily capsized. Having a chronic ailment myself, I was also thrilled to see that Chloe's disability and her work-arounds were a big part of the storyline. The sex scenes sizzled and the well wrought prose brought the swift plot to a beautiful HEA. I haven't read anything by this author previously, but after this wonderful reading experience, I plan on seeking out all of her novels posthaste! I'd give this book a solid A, and recommend it to anyone 18 or over who enjoys "opposite sides of the track" romances that are inclusive of  POC and disabled folks.

 


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