Bookshop Vs Bezos, Murder, She Baked on TV, RIP Ruth Freitag, Wonka Movie, B&N Opens new store in Kirkland, RIP Eric Carle, Red Queen series comes to TV, The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy, and the Girls in the Attic by Marius Gabriel

Hello and welcome! This is the final post of May, which flew by so fast I barely had time to blink! This post will be a bit different, because I've been sick these past few weeks, so I've not gotten as much reading done as I would have liked. Therefore, I will be posting mostly tidbits and only a couple of reviews. Sometimes, when you're plagued with autoimmune disorders, you have to deal with the spoons you're dealt. Anyway, onto the news and obituaries of a beloved children's author and a librarian.

It takes a lot of Chutzbah to be sarcastic about Bezos the billionaire and his company's python-like stranglehold on book sales. But this bookstore manages to do so quite nicely.

Pagination Bookshop vs. Jeff Bezos

Pagination Bookshop http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48523267, Springfield, Mo., pointed out telling differences http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48523268 between the founder of a certain online corporate behemoth and an indie bookseller in the Midwest.

On Facebook, Pagination posted: "Jeff Bezos is purchasing a 417-foot superyacht that's so massive it has its own 'support yacht' with a helipad, according to Bloomberg. The estimated cost, not including the boat's support boat, is $500 million. The cost is a small fraction of the $75 billion that Bezos gained in 2020 alone. His total net worth stands just shy of $200 billion, according to Bloomberg.

"Pagination Bookshop is reportedly using books to hold up other books they have carefully curated for customers they know and love while also hosting author events, promoting local arts and literacy, partnering with other small businesses, contributing tax dollars to their local community, employing their neighbors, participating in the local economy, and remembering how excited your mom is about that new Jeff VanderMeer and holding back a signed Indie Bookstore Day special edition for her the next time you come in with your two nieces, who will play on the bean bags in the children's book room while they take down Frog and Toad and read aloud to each other and then get stickers and extra bookmarks when they leave with a book about women scientists they didn't know they absolutely needed until they saw it."

 I read a few of Joanne Flukes cozy mysteries, and while I eventually stopped reading them because they were so formulaic, I did enjoy watching the series characters come to life on TV. So I will be tuning in for this latest installment.

TV:  Murder, She Baked

Alison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison "are back with a new Hallmark mystery," Entertainment Tonight reported, adding that the Murder, She Baked http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48556647 stars "are reprising their characters from the popular Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie franchise... but with a slight twist: They'll be kicking off a new mystery!" The upcoming movie, the franchise's sixth, is based on the Hannah Swensen mystery novels by Joanne Fluke. 

Sweeney will again play Hannah Swensen, with Mathison returning as Mike Kingston and Barbara Niven as Hannah's mother, Delores Swensen. Production begins this week in Vancouver on the movie, which will premiere this summer on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Sweeney serves as an executive producer alongside Craig Baumgarten and Lighthouse Pictures.

"I'm so excited to revisit Hannah Swensen and to again work with Cameron and Barbara on these fun stories that combine romance with intrigue," Sweeney said. "The fans have been so vocal in their love of these characters and it's exciting to be bringing them back to life and to return to Hannah's bakery where it all began."

 I would LOVE to revisit this bookstore, mainly because I love Victoria BC, the lovely wee town, and also because a bookstore in Black Diamond, Wash, used to be in a former bank building with an old vault in the back of the store. I really miss that place.

"Change is afoot " at Canadian indie Munro's Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48590674, Victoria, B.C., which posted on Facebook: "You may know our store was originally a Royal Bank of Canada. Built in 1909, it has undergone many transformations over the years.... Perhaps our most striking behind-the-scenes features are the old bank vault doors. They don't get much use these days, though we still name our storage spaces after them ('the hardcover vault,' 'the remainder vault').

"While we treasure the touch of drama they bring to our bookselling home away from home, they're not the most practical feature when trying to haul boxes of books in and out of tight spaces. That's why tomorrow, we'll be removing one--just one!--of the doors from our receiving room.... (And rest assured, the door is not an original feature. Our building has received multiple heritage awards, and we're devoted to maintaining its character even as we modernize.)" On Thursday, the deed was done http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48590675.

 What an amazing librarian! She sounds like a woman after my own heart. She also reminds me of "Bunny" (portrayed by Katherine Hepburn) in the movie "Desk Set," where a group of librarians had to answer a wide variety of inquiries from movie stars and set designers and directors and everyone else on a film lot in Hollywood.

Obituary Note: Ruth Freitag

Ruth Freitag http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48590680, longtime research librarian at the Library of Congress, called "the librarian to the stars" by the New York Times for helping so many science and technology writers, died on October 3 at age 96. Her death became widely known only in the last few weeks.

"In a way," the Times wrote, "Ms. Freitag was her own analog version of Google, providing answers to a wide array of queries from writers and researchers in astonishing depth and detail decades before computers and the internet transformed the research process."

Among her fans and the people who relied on her were Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov. David DeVorkin, the recently retired curator of astronomy at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution, told the Times, "She was absolutely the go-to person for getting manuscript material and books."

She was also renowned in the field for compiling bibliographic guides and resources on a range of subjects. "Her crowning achievement was her illustrated, annotated, 3,235-entry bibliography on Halley's comet, replete with citations of books, journals, charts and pamphlets, as well as references in fiction, music, cartoons and paintings. It was indexed and bound and published by the Library of Congress in 1984, just in time for the celebrated comet's last pass-by of Earth in 1986. Even the Halley's Comet Society in London called Ms. Freitag for information."

After graduating from Penn State in 1944, Freitag joined the Women's Army Corps and spent three years in China. She then joined the Foreign Service and was stationed in London and Hong Kong. She traveled with her mother for a time around the world, then after her mother's death earned a master's degree in library science from the University of Southern California in 1959. As the Times recounted: "The Library of Congress recruited her that year as part of its elite program for outstanding graduates of library schools. After six months of training, she joined the library as a full-time employee and stayed until she retired in 2006 at 82."

This sounds fascinating, adding backstory to Willy Wonka's life. I wonder what Roald Dahl would think of this take on one of his most iconic characters.

Movies: Wonka

Timothee Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name, Lady Bird), will star in Warner Bros. and the Roald Dahl Story Co.'s Wonka http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48592734, based on characters created by Roald Dahl. Deadline reported that "the story will focus on a young Willy Wonka and his adventures prior to opening the world's most famous chocolate factory.... Wonka will mark the first time Chalamet gets to show off his singing and dancing skills with several musical numbers set to appear in the film. He's been the top choice for some time but scheduling was a hurdle that had to be overcome as training for those numbers is included in the prep for this film."

Paul King will direct from the screenplay he wrote with Simon Farnaby (with prior writers including Simon Rich, Simon Stephenson, Jeff Nathanson and Steven Levenson). "This marks the third time WB has taken on the Wonka story," Deadline noted, citing previous adaptations of Dahl's classic novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1971 and 2005.

 I'm really looking forward to visiting this new Barnes and Noble, especially now that they've closed down the B&N in Issaquah, which I used to visit at least twice a year.

B&N Opens Kirkland, Wash., Store

A new Barnes & Noble store in Kirkland, Wash., is opening today, Patch reported http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48634518. Located in The Village at Totem Lake shopping center, it is the first new B&N store to open in the Seattle area for more than a decade.

B&N has said that Kirkland store marks a "dramatic change" in appearance compared to other locations, and store manager Dave Rossiter and his team will have a lot of leeway in curating the store's inventory. There are particularly large children's and young adult sections, and the new shop also features an in-store cafe.

The Seattle Times said that the 8,200 square feet store doesn't have "straight-line rows of shelves, but room-like nooks for each genre http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48634519. Within those nooks are thousands of books, a small selection of DVDs, puzzles and gift items, and a cafe." The paper compared the store, one of the new-design B&Ns, with indie bookstores, noting, among other things, its handwritten shelf talkers, unheard of under the old B&N regime.

RIP to this amazing author and illustrator. I used to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Nick when he was little all the time. I also would read him The Grouchy Ladybug and Do You Want to be My Friend? We both loved Carle's books because they were sophisticated enough to be interesting to adults while also remaining entertaining for children. 

Obituary Note: Eric Carle

Eric Carle http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48634532, artist, illustrator and writer, died on May 23. He was 91. As his family said, he was "a true creator... renowned for his multi-dimensional practice, spanning a large body of fine art works in collage, painting, works on paper and fabric, and sculpture; theater and furniture design; and the stories he envisioned in over 70 brilliantly illustrated and designed children's picture books."

The best known of these is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which focuses on a ravenous week in a caterpillar's life followed by a metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. First published in 1969, it has been translated into more than 70 languages and sold more than 55 million copies. It's also one of the New York Public Library's top checkouts of all time and is featured on multiple Library recommendation lists, including last year's 125 Books We Love for Kids. Carle's other titles, which altogether have sold more than 170 million copies, include Do You Want to Be My Friend? (1971), The Grouchy Ladybug (1977), Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me (1986), "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth (2002) and The Very Clumsy Cricket (2017).

Carle was born in 1929 to German parents in the United States. At age six, Carle's homesick mother moved the family back to Germany, where his father was drafted into the German army at the outbreak of World War II (in 1947 he returned from Soviet captivity weighing 85 pounds). Near the end of the war, at age 15, Carle was forced to dig trenches on the Siegfried Line. In 1952, he returned to New York to work and was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War and stationed in Germany.

After working as a graphic designer at the New York Times, art director at a medical ad agency and as a freelance artist, his picture book career began in 1967 when author Bill Martin Jr., while in a doctor's office waiting room, saw a medical advertisement in a medical journal for antihistamines with an illustration Carle had done of a big red lobster. Soon after, Martin invited him to illustrate Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Carle won the 2003 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called Children's Literature Legacy Award) and held eight honorary degrees, including from Williams College and Amherst College.

In 2002, Carle and his wife, Barbara, opened the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48634535> in Amherst, Mass., near their longtime home in Northampton. With the aim of inspiring "a love of art and reading through picture books," the museum has more than 12,000 objects, including 8,500 permanent collection illustrations, and has a theater, libraries and educational programs.

In 2018, Penguin Young Readers created The World of Eric Carle imprint, dedicated to his work. He is also published by Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Children's Books and Macmillan.

Carle's artwork was vibrant. His family wrote: "Drawing on his formal training and ongoing practice as an artist (which Eric fondly referred to as his 'art art'), Eric quickly developed a distinctive, personal style that he continued to explore and refine in his books, illustrations, and fine art. Numerous artistic influences came together in Eric's creative output. His art took root in the long tradition of collage, an artistic technique tracing back to the 1900s Dadaist movement, combined with his hand-painted, colorful, and textured tissue papers, which recall the work of abstract artists associated with the Academy of Fine Art Stuttgart (the so-called Stuttgart avantgardists), from where he earned his fine art degree."

Asked why The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been so popular, Carle said in a 2019 interview, quoted by the New York Times, "It took me a long time, but I think it is a book of hope. Children need hope. You--little insignificant caterpillar--can grow up into a beautiful butterfly and fly into the world with your talent."

In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter of rainbows is now traveling across the night sky.

 I really enjoyed this work by Aveyard, and having read her other books, I'm surprised that they chose this one to bring to the small screen as a series. Still, I will watch it with great interest when it does debut.

TV: Red Queen

Elizabeth Banks will play a major supporting role and direct a potential series for Peacock based on Red Queen http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48634562, the YA fantasy novel by Victoria Aveyard, Deadline reported. Banks and Max Handelman are executive producing through their Brownstone Prods.

Co-written by former Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz and Aveyard, Red Queen comes from Warner Bros. TV, where Brownstone and Schwartz have overall deals. Schwartz, who will be showrunner on the project, executive produces alongside Aveyard. Brownstone's Dannah Shinder co-executive produces.

The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy is an odd Scottish potboiler that I managed to download for next to nothing on a promotion. I was expecting it to champion the protagonist's independence as a creative and artistic single mother, but instead, the theme of the book seemed to be that you're better off staying in the same small village all your life, where you can marry some stodgy local and have a bunch of children and be worn out by the time you're 40. Heaven forbid you want a successful career and no children! How abnormal and unwomanly! The sexist stereotypes abound in this novel, and I found them tiresome. Here's the blurb:

Loch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper’s daughter Flora’s remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird’s son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed.

Decades later, Flora’s daughter, singer Lexie Gordon, is forced to return to the village and to the tiny cottage where she grew up. Having long ago escaped to the bright lights of the West End, London still never truly felt like home. Now back, with a daughter of her own, Lexie learns that her mother—and the hostile-seeming village itself—have long been hiding secrets that make her question everything she thought she knew.

As she pieces together the fragments of her parents’ story, Lexie discovers the courageous, devastating sacrifices made in her name. It’s too late to rekindle her relationship with her mother, but can Lexie find it in her heart to forgive the past, to grieve for all that’s lost, and finally find her place in the world?

I personally don't feel that you need to return to a town full of old gossipy women and henpecked men to actually "find your place" in the world. I think you can build your own place and family yourself, wherever you land. This was one of those books that I can't say that I loved or hated, it was just average and okay, if you managed to skirt the sexism inherent in the text. The prose itself was decent, and the plot didn't drag, but I found the story to be antiquated and the romance trite...the ending was no surprise,either. I'd give this mediocre tale a C+ and recommend it to anyone who likes straight romances set in a small Scottish village.

The Girls in the Attic by Marius Gabriel is another ebook that I snagged for a low price from a publisher's promotional email. Yet another WWII tale, this time told from the POV of the Germans and the German Jews hiding from the Nazi's, I was surprised at how brutal this supposedly romantic novel was. SPOILER, only one of the main characters survives to the end of the book. Here's the blurb:

The bestselling author of The Designer presents a sweeping story of blind faith, family allegiance and how love makes one man question everything he thought he knew.

Max Wolff is a committed soldier of the Reich. So when he is sent home wounded, only to discover that his mother is sheltering two young Jewish women in their home, he is outraged.

His mother’s act of mercy is a gross betrayal of everything Max stands for. He has dedicated his life to Nazism, fighting to atone for the shame of his anti-Hitler father’s imprisonment. It’s his duty to turn the sisters over to the Gestapo. But he hesitates, and the longer Max fails to do his duty, the harder it becomes.

When Allied bombers fill the skies of Germany, Max is forced to abandon all dogma and face the brutality of war in order to defend precious lives. But what will it cost him?

So I am aware that the bombing of Dresden and nearby towns, all beautifully laid out with gothic/germanic architecture,was horribly devastating, not just to the actual infrustructure, but also to the thousands of people killed and displaced by the destruction. And there is no doubt that war makes brutes of the men who fight them. Still, I find it hard to sympathize with the Germans, especially those who worked with or were part of the Nazi party, who murdered millions of Jews, Homosexuals, pacifists, Gypsies, people of color, intellectuals, etc. Not only did they systematically exterminate nearly an entire group of people merely for their religious beliefs, they experimented on women and children, and documented their murder and torture of so many people meticulously (and proudly). While Gabriel makes note of the fact that Hitler was a madman, surrounded by fanatics and criminals, his insistence that most Germans were innocent of war crimes and faith in the Nazi regime comes off as naive in the extreme. I am filled with disgust when I think of my own German heritage, and I have never been interested in visiting Germany to seek out information on my ancestors, though I believe that some of them were probably members of the Nazi party. Hence the main love story in this book, between Max the reformed Nazi and a Jewish gal that his mother was hiding in her attic, leaves me cold. The prose was fairly well constructed, and the plot moved along at a measured pace. But I can't really say that I enjoyed the book, or the female protagonist, who was somewhat of a cliche. I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to anyone interested in the German side of WWII, told from the perspective of those Germans left behind, trying to survive.

 

 

Story House Books Opening in Des Moines, Iowa, Unwell Women Book Review, Malice by Heather Walter, Cloud Watcher and Mindhealer by Lilith Saintcrow, and Red Letter Days by Sarah Jane Stratford

Good Day to all my fellow bibliophiles! I've been tearing up my TBR pile and reading some stories on my Kindle Paperwhite, though I have to say that after choosing to download some free ebooks, I discovered that they're free because they are so poorly written they are unreadable. That said I still have a couple of them to go through that were priced at 99 cents to 2.00, and those look more promising. I'm contemplating getting Kindle Unlimited membership for the summer because it would save me a lot of dollars and cents on the ebooks I want to read from authors whose other books I've gone through, so I know that they are able to create decent novels with interesting story arcs and fascinating characters. Meanwhile, here are a couple of tidbits and four book reviews.

I am hoping that my friend Roger B, who lives in Des Moines, will be able to stop by this new bookstore and take photos to show me via email or snail mail, what kind of bookstore it's going to be. I'm deeply envious that there will be yet another bookstore for him to visit that is close to where he lives. We haven't had any bookstores in Maple Valley since well before we moved here in 2001, which is a shame.

Storyhouse Bookpub Opening Bricks-and-Mortar Store in Des Moines, Iowa

Storyhouse Bookpub http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48485754, a general-interest bookstore that began as an online store and pop-up shop last year, will open a bricks-and-mortar store in Des Moines, Iowa, in June, Business Record reported Owner Abigail Paxton has found a space at 505 E. Grand Ave., in Des Moines's East Village. She plans to host children's storytime sessions, as well as plenty of book events geared toward adults.

Paxton founded Storyhouse Bookpub last March, just in time for the beginning of the pandemic. She began with a children's pop-up in a local gift store called MoMere while selling additional books online. In December, she turned her garage into a temporary, open-air bookshop http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48485756 featuring new and used titles. She plans to continue doing pop-up shops throughout Des Moines even after the bricks-and-mortar location opens.

 

It's no surprise to me that there's inherent sexism/misogyny/racism in healthcare, or that the healthcare industry is in bed with the sleazy billion dollar diet and exercise industry to exploit the health of larger women (and really, any woman who isn't anorexic) in America. It's shameful that here in the 21st century, there are still these old prejudices and biases that prevent women from getting the healthcare that they need and deserve.

Book Review

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World

Elinor Cleghorn offers an epic yet approachable social, cultural and scientific history of women's health in Unwell Women, tracing the sexism and racism seen in modern Western medicine from ancient times through the present day.

"We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body's mysteries," Cleghorn writes in the introduction. "And we expect medicine, as a science, to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality." But, as she shows over the following chapters, medicine is anything but impartial, steeped as it is in social and cultural histories. From its earliest recorded days in ancient Greek texts, medicine has both inherited and reinforced the socially constructed gender binary, falsely reducing womanhood to a person's "capacity--and duty--to reproduce."

Drawing on extensive research, Cleghorn reveals medicine's long history of misdiagnosing--and mistreating--women, with sections on ancient and medieval times, the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the mid-20th century to today. The resulting tome is massive in scope, but in Cleghorn's expert hands, this long history does not feel unwieldy. Each chapter carries clearly into the next, as Cleghorn peels back the layers upon layers of misogyny and sexism baked into medical concepts of "unwell women"--and the corresponding "treatment" options that often did, and do, more harm than good.

Throughout, she also acknowledges the depth of racism inherent in the already sexist system, calling out the horrors inflicted on enslaved Black women in the United States in the name of research, for example, and the non-consensual testing of birth control methods (including sterilization) on women of color across history. She traces the ties between the women's suffrage movement and today's access to birth control, and reveals links between Victorian ideals of a chaste womanhood and the modern fight for reproductive justice.

Despite the dark side of this history--including Cleghorn's own experience having chronic symptoms dismissed and overlooked--Unwell Women is ultimately hopeful. As Cleghorn reveals how medicine's evolution has continually been hampered by the constructs of gender norms, she also spotlights the incredible voices that have agitated for change for centuries, "women raising their heads above the parapet to ensure that women are represented, cared for, and listened to." These women are a model for what we can carry into the future, regardless of gender identity: a call to women to advocate for themselves, true, but also for the system to acknowledge the change it needs to make from within--making Unwell Women a powerful and necessary work of social and cultural history. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48485831

Malice by Heather Walter is a reboot of several fairy tales, from Sleeping Beauty to Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast (there's even a bit of Cinderella tossed in for good measure). The prose is engaging and silken, so it glides along the glittering plot like a ballerina on a sprung dance floor. I found that I couldn't put this page-turner down, though it took me all day to read through its 470 pages. The main character is mesmerizing, though I found her lack of confidence and her cowardice to be a bit too "romance novel damsel in distress" to be real or grounded in reality. I mean, if you're going to update the sexist fairy tales with women as the main characters, you could at least give them spine enough to do the hard things that need to be done, without temper tantrums or whining. Still, Alyce comes through in the end, and turns her "ugliness" and "evil" into a positive plot point, and along with her love of the princess, that makes this lesbian spin on a fairy tale well worth a read. Here's the blurb: “Walter’s spellbinding debut is for all the queer girls and women who’ve been told to keep their gifts hidden and for those yearning to defy gravity.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.
You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily ever after.

Utter nonsense.

Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either.
Until I met her.
Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though a power like mine was responsible for her curse.

But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps together we could forge a new world.
Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—I am the villain.

Things got a bit crowded toward the ending, where the author tried to cram as much as she could into the last two chapters, and ended up with a kind of fairy tale train wreak. Because I know there's one more book coming, I can understand why Walter felt the need to leave readers with a breathless cliff hanger, yet I was hoping for just a bit more about the princess and her safety to set my mind at ease as I wait for a year until the next book comes out. Still, this breathtaking, exciting reboot deserves an A, and a recommendation to anyone who enjoys reshaped legends that are inclusive and exciting.

Cloud Watcher and Mindhealer by Lilith Saintcrow are the 4th and 5th books in her Watcher series. Having read the other three books, I was sure I knew what to expect, and while that proved to be true for Cloud Watcher, Saintcrow broke away a bit from the formula of "self-loathing but broodingly tall, dark, handsome and dangerous Watcher finds his reluctant petite witch, falls in love and protects her from her foolish and reckless self" to tell the tale of a very old Watcher who was part of the Crusaders sent to wipe out the witches historically, who falls in love with a healer Witch who has already had a Watcher give his life for hers and therefore refuses to be a part of the Witch/Watcher pair bonding scenario. So I was expecting great things from Mindhealer, only to discover that nearly every chapter had at least a few paragraphs that started with the same description of Caro, the mindhealer, as being "thin, fragile, paper-white skin with dark circles under her eyes, yet has a sensual, irresistible scent, and is addicted to drinking coffee, but never eats, or if she does, feels like vomiting soon after." So it appears that Saintcrow took a page from Seanan McGuire's October Day books and has a bulemic/anorexic female protagonist who somehow manages to summon the strength to do magical feats of spiritual/mental healing when she can barely stand up, because she's starving to death and not sleeping. WHY either of these authors seem to lionize deadly eating disorders is beyond me...it's so sexist and stupid.Why the men are all the same, too, doesn't make sense. The only variation is eye/hair color. Anyway, here's the blurbs: Cloud Watcher: The Lightbringer:

Anya Harris’s unwanted talents have made her a refugee, flying from city to city ahead of a tide of burning terror nobody else can see. She’s hoping Santiago City will be different, but deep in her heart of hearts, she knows nowhere is safe enough for someone with her secrets. When the gray-eyed man with guns and a sword shows up, claiming to be sent to protect her, Anya has to believe him. After all, she has nowhere else to go.

The Watcher:

Jack Gray is one of the oldest Watchers around, scarred by the battle between Circle Lightfall and the Crusade. He's found his witch, and nothing is going to get in the way of protecting her. But being a Watcher is never as simple as it looks. Anya’s talent makes her worth millions, if she’s delivered alive to the right corporate bidders. Jack’s the only one who can save her. But when she finds out who he really is, he might lose her for good.

Mindhealer: The Witch:

The attacks are brutal, leaving the victims unconscious and broken. A powerful Mindhealer might be able to piece together what's happening to these crushed bodies and shattered minds, so Caroline Robbins is pulled away from her relatively quiet life. A Mindhealer is incredibly vulnerable to the Dark—and Caro refuses even the idea of having a Watcher. She won’t have another man die in front of her, and that’s that. Unfortunately, the Watcher she just ran into has other ideas . . .

The Watcher:

Caro, the witch Merrick rescues from the dogs of the Dark, is obnoxiously stubborn, infuriating, and seemingly determined to throw herself into every dangerous situation possible. It’s enough to drive a man insane, and definitely enough to make a Watcher frustrated. How is he supposed to protect her, especially when she insists she doesn’t need a Watcher? But Caro is going to need all of Merrick’s skill and strength sooner than anyone guesses. The attacks haven’t stopped, and the closer Caro gets to solving the mystery, the more danger she’s in. Because she’s the next victim—unless Merrick can save her. And Merrick just might die in the line of fire if Caro can’t find a way to keep her Watcher safe.  

By the 5th book, this series got to be very formulaic and trite. There was also no people of color or anyone from the LBGTQ community in these books, which was really disappointing, and makes me wonder why Saintcrow couldn't spice things up a bit and move into the 21st century with her characters and their romances. These are short novels, however, so you at least know that you can read her well wrought prose and swift plots within an afternoon. I'd give these last two books of the series a B-, and only recommend them to those who've read the first three books and don't want anything to change.

Red Letter Days by Sarah Jane Stratford is a fascinating novel about women trying to make it in the early days of TV in Hollywood while dodging the McCarthy Communist witch hunters, who had the power to make or break careers and destroy lives during the 15 years after WWII. The racism, sexism and misogyny that ran rampant through these men who hunted down women (and men) suspected of being communists was unreal and definitely unsavory. I knew about the McCarthy hearings from history class, but I had no idea that even after McCarthy was forced out of the House on UnAmerican Activities (HUAC) that they paid men to travel overseas to kidnap and beat up women suspected of being a "red" and bring them to trial, though the trials were a mere formality, since you were considered guilty until proven innocent. I was also not aware that people were bribed or paid to "rat out" those who they had a beef with, somewhat like the actual Salem Witch Trials or the Nazis paying people to rat out those suspected of hiding Jewish people or trying to get them to safety. Here's the blurb: When two brave women flee from the Communist Red Scare, they soon discover that no future is free from the past.

Amid the glitz and glamour of 1950s New York, Phoebe Adler pursues her dream of screenwriting. A dream that turns into a living nightmare when she is blacklisted—caught in the Red Menace that is shattering the lives of suspected Communists. Desperate to work, she escapes to London, determined to keep her dream alive and clear her good name.

There, Phoebe befriends fellow American exile Hannah Wolfson, who has defied the odds to build a career as a successful television producer in England. Hannah is a woman who has it all, and is now gambling everything in a very dangerous game—the game of hiring blacklisted writers.

Neither woman suspects that danger still looms . . . and their fight is only just beginning.

I found this whole area of history horrifying, as the parallels from the Nazi persecution of Jewish people to the American persecution of anyone suspected of being (or working for, or married to, or even just knowing) a communist were flagrant and nauseating. The "taint" of being a suspected "red" or "pinko" was pervasive and ridiculous, and I was appalled anew at HUACs vile methods of destroying lives in the name of "safety" (mostly for WASPs). Stratford's prose is elegant and rich, while her plot sizzles with tension and anxiety. I enjoyed her realistic and strong characters, though I felt their self-loathing was a bit much, considering how smart these career women actually were. I'd give this fascinating historical novel an A, and recommend it to anyone who is curious about trailblazing women in the TV and film industry during the 1950s. 

Veep Harris Visits Bookstore, House of the Dragon on TV, 10th Annual Book Speed Dating Event, Pennie's Last Pick for Costco, Mrs Harris Movie, Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton

Welcome Book Friends!  I can't believe that we're halfway through May already! It's turning out to be a great spring and summer, as I make forays out into the world again now that I am fully vaccinated. One of my goals for this month is to visit The Sequel Bookstore in Enumclaw, the only bookstore within 30 miles of my home. It's a great little new/used bookstore with a nice little coffee/tea stand inside, so I can lure my son into taking me there so he can have his morning latte while I browse. Meanwhile, I've got bookselling news and three book reviews to share. Enjoy the sunshine and read outdoors today!

 I am always excited to read about major political figures showing off their book nerd credentials, and this tidbit is no exception! Go Ms Veep!

Kamala Harris Shops at Rhode Island's Books on the Square

Yesterday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise visit to Books on the Square http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48414635 in Providence, R.I., while in the state for meetings with local business owners. Books on the Square manager Jennifer Kandarian said, "We found out 30 minutes before that she would be coming in!" Kandarian reported that the VP purchased three novels--Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys, Ben Lerner's The Topeka School and Ann Patchett's The Dutch House--along with Julia Turshen's cookbook Simply Julia. Outside the store, Harris showed off her purchases and said, "I've been wanting to read all three of these, and I'm going to find the time to do that."

It was Harris's second visit recently to an independent bookstore: the day before Independent Bookstore Day, she shopped at Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, N.H.

 

Though I'm not a GOT fan (of either books or TV series), this particular spin off stars Doctor Who's Matt Smith (11th Doctor) and I would watch him read the phone book.

TV:House of the Dragon

HBO has released the first official images from House of the Dragon http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48417197, the Game of Thrones prequel series based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, Deadline reported. The cast includes Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno and Fabien Frankel. House of the Dragon has been given a 10-episode order with an eye toward a 2022 debut.

Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal will be co-showrunners and also exec produce along with Martin and Vince Gerardis. Martin and Condal co-created the series. Sara Lee Hess will also serve as writer and executive producer. Sapochnik is directing the pilot and additional episodes. Clare Kilner and Geeta V. Patel will also direct with Greg Yaitanes directing and co-executive producing.

 This sounds like a wonderful event, and I'm hoping that I can participate.

10th Annual Book Group Speed Dating Event

This coming Friday, May 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. Eastern, ReadingGroupGuides.com will host its 10th annual Book Group Speed Dating Event--virtually. Representatives from 19 publishers of all sizes will share selections from their publishing houses via video to give booksellers, librarians and book group leaders an inside look at new and upcoming titles that book groups will want to know about and discuss. E-galleys will be available for selected titles from Edelweiss and/or NetGalley, as well as print galleys. Advance signup is required and can be done here http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48450649.

 I was so sad to read that Pennie C I is retiring, because reading about her monthly picks has become a ritual for me. Sigh, but all good things must come to an end. Her last book pick sounds fascinating, BTW.

Pennie’s Last Pick: When the Apricots Bloom

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has selected When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson (Kensington, $16.99, 9781496729354) as her pick for May. This was her last pick--she has retired after 32 years at Costco http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48450658, 27 of them as book buyer. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she writes:

"Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the secret police who have ordered her to befriend the deputy ambassador's wife, Ally. Huda doesn't want to be an informant, but she will do what she must to protect her son. Huda's former friend, Rania, is also fighting to keep her child safe and protected.

"This is the story of three women willing to risk everything to protect their families."

I used to love Paul Gallico's books when I was a kid, and Mrs Harris was a particular favorite. I can hardly wait to see the movie version.

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris Movie

The film adaptation of Paul Gallico's novella Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48483593 is set for a theatrical release March 4, 2022, via Focus Features in the U.S. and Canada, Deadline reported. Directed by Anthony Fabian and in partnership with the House of Dior, the project stars Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Isaacs, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo and Rose Williams.Carroll Cartwright, Fabian, Keith Thompson and Olivia Hetreed adapted. Producers are Xavier Marchand, Guillaume Benski, and Fabian. Universal has also set a February 25, 2022 release in the U.K. and abroad.

 Here's the latest book reviews:

Laughter at the Academy by Seanan McGuire is a compilation of her short fiction, including many horror stories that she had published in anthologies. Because I'm not a fan of the horror genre, I wasn't expecting to like more than one or two of these stories, yet I surprised myself by liking about half of them for their clever twists of known fairy tales or existing fables or legends/folklore. Here's a blurb: From fairy tale forest to gloomy Gothic moor, from gleaming epidemiologist’s lab to the sandy shores of Neverland, Seanan McGuire’s short fiction has been surprising, delighting, confusing, and transporting her readers since 2009. Now, for the first time, that fiction has been gathered together in one place, ready to be enjoyed one twisting, tangled tale at a time. Her work crosses genres and subverts expectations.

Meet the mad scientists of “Laughter at the Academy” and “The Tolling of Pavlov’s Bells.” Glory in the potential of a Halloween that never ends. Follow two very different alphabets in “Frontier ABCs” and “From A to Z in the Book of Changes.” Get “Lost,” dress yourself “In Skeleton Leaves,” and remember how to fly. All this and more is waiting for you within the pages of this decade-spanning collection, including several pieces that have never before been reprinted. Stories about mermaids, robots, dolls, and Deep Ones are all here, ready for you to dive in.
This is a box of strange surprises dredged up from the depths of the sea, each one polished and prepared for your enjoyment. So take a chance, and allow yourself to be surprised. 

McGuire's prose is, as usual, sturdy and evocative, while her plots careen around corners and leave you breathless as a roller coaster ride. Prior to each story McGuire prefaces it with a tidbit about how the story came to be and what made her want to write it in the first place. I found these prefaces almost as interesting as the stories themselves. I can't really get much into the stories without spoiling them for future readers, but I'd say that those who enjoy her "Every Heart a Doorway" series, which is way too dark for me, will love these short works. I'd give this e-book a B+.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is the third science fiction novel by the author of the groundbreaking book "The Martian" that enchanted even those who don't normally read genre fiction, especially science fiction. That book was made into a lukewarm movie starring Hollywood's boring podgy everyman, Matt Daemon. I read and LOVED The Martian, and was underwhelmed by Weir's sophomore effort, Artemis, but with Project Hail Mary, Weir's gone back to his roots of telling a great story grounded in real world science with main characters so charming and realistic they fairly leap off the page. Here's the blurb: Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

Speaking of pages, this book is a real page turner that I had a hard time putting down just to do things like go to the bathroom or have a bite to eat. Grace and Rocky are reminiscent of the duo from a great little film of the 80s called "Enemy Mine" which starred Louis Gossett Jr and Dennis Quaid as an alien and human who are stranded together and have to learn to get along so that they can get home. They eventually realize that they have more in common than they thought, and they become friends who care deeply for one another, just as Ryland Grace and Rocky learn each other's language and learn to care for one another as beings. My only problem with the book, and it was minor, was that (SPOILER) we never learn if Grace decides to go home to earth and take his place in society as a hero, a teacher who saved our sun and our planet from going kaput. Although it was 475 pages long, I was sad to see this book end, and while there was way too much math and science explanations to skip over for those of us who aren't engineers, I wish that Weir had allowed us to see what became of Grace in the end. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who loved The Martian or the movie Enemy Mine.

Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton is a romantic medical dramedy that was somewhat reminiscent of Jojo Moyes "Me Before You." Houghton's prose is actually better than Moyes, much more robust and with fewer asides, while her plot steams along like the QEII, full of British wit and self effacing characters. Here's the blurb: For fans of Me Before You comes a poignant and moving novel about two patients who fall in love as they recover from traumatic injuries in the same hospital ward…all without seeing each other.

Alice Gunnersley and Alfie Mack sleep just a few feet apart from one another. They talk for hours every day. And they’ve never seen each other face-to-face.

After being in terrible accidents, the two now share the same ward as long-term residents of St. Francis’s Hospital. Although they don’t get off to the best start, the close quarters (and Alfie’s persistence to befriend everyone he meets) brings them closer together. Pretty soon no one can make Alice laugh as hard as Alfie does, and Alfie feels like he’s finally found a true confidante in Alice. Between their late night talks and inside jokes, something more than friendship begins to slowly blossom between them.

But as their conditions improve and the end of their stay draws closer, Alfie and Alice are forced to decide whether it’s worth continuing a relationship with someone who’s seen all of the worst parts of you, but never seen your actual face.
A tender novel of healing and hope, Before I Saw You reminds us that connections can be found even in the most unexpected of places—and that love is almost always blind.

Though the central conceit of the book, that Alice is too horrified about her extensive burn scars to let anyone but the nurses see her, is understandable, it becomes a bit tedious by the time you're 2/3rd of the way through the book, mainly because it's rather sexist to portray a female character as being so vain that she'd rather die than have half of her face be scarred. So unless you're attractive as a woman your life is worthless, meaningless and your self worth is only to be found in your exterior? Really?? Alice as a person is pretty prickly and snobbish, and if I were her, I would have used the opportunity to work on my mental and spiritual problems, rather than focus on how I look. I mean, who cares if others pity you or stare, that is their problem, not yours. No one is perfect, I don't care who they are, and some of the most troubled people I've ever met were the models I worked with when I was a magazine editor. Nearly all of the female models, no matter how perfect they looked, hated themselves and could list, at the drop of a hat, their flaws and how they despaired of them. Body positivity is a rallying cry of mine in the past decade or so, and I have given a great deal of thought to how women are portrayed in such a misogynistic manner in the media, airbrushed to look so thin and "perfect" when this so called standard of beauty is not attainable (because it's unrealistic) at all, and drives women into unhealthy eating disorders, body dysmorphia and suicide. Still, I found Alfie's optimism funny and endearing, until it, too, became a bit cloying 2/3rds of the way through the book, because he was masking his pain with a fake sunny outlook. I was glad of the HEA ending, though, and along with the delicious descriptions of Alfie's mum's cooking and baking, earned this novel an A, with a recommendation to all those who have had to fight their way back from an accident to find themselves and find a new family.

 

 

Great Gatsby the Musical, Book Review of Honeycomb by Joanne Harris, Emily Bronte and AllQuiet on the Western Front Movies, Fire Watcher by Lilith Saintcrow, Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells, and A Deadly Delivery: A Psychic Cafe Mystery by April Fernsby

Ahh, the lusty month of May! Today is Cinco de Mayo, and I am celebrating with freshly baked bread, flank steak and broccoli for supper (with the help of my hubby, of course, who is the master of cooking meat). I've been reading a lot of ebooks lately, and now, due to mother's day, I have 7 new books on the way to my doorstep, which is really exciting! I'm also looking forward to going out for tea with my son on Mother's Day, which is this upcoming Sunday, and having a good chin-wag while people-watching, something I've not been able to do for over a year due to COVID restrictions. We're also planning a purse-perusing expedition, but I don't know if I will have the energy to do that. Still, better and brighter times are on the horizon, as more people are vaccinated and the restrictions on businesses are lifted.

This sounds utterly wonderful, and as a fan of Florence and the Machine, I will be excited to see how this musical version of the classic translates to the stage.

On Stage: Great Gatsby, the Musical

Rock star Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine), Thomas Bartlett and Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok are collaborating on a musical stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48347728, which entered the public domain earlier this year, Playbill reported.

Directed by Rebecca Frecknall (Summer and Smoke), the production will feature lyrics by Welch, music by Welch and Bartlett (Call Me By Your Name's "Mystery of Love"), and a book by Majok (Cost of Living). Jeanie O'Hare serves as story consultant.

"This book has haunted me for a large part of my life," Welch said. "It contains some of my favorite lines in literature. Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald's broken romanticism. It is an honor to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song."

 I'm looking forward to this collection of rebooted fairy tales by one of my favorite authors, Joanne Harris.

Book Review:  Honeycomb

With Honeycomb, the prolific Joanne M. Harris (Chocolat; Peaches for Father Francis http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48377862), who has written fantasy, historical fiction, suspense, cookbooks and more, offers an enchanting collection of darkly delightful, imaginative fairy tales and parables of the modern world. (These stories began as a series on Twitter.) Illustrator Charles Vess (Stardust; Sandman) brings to life Harris's Silken Folk, "weavers of glamours, spinners of tales... whom some call the Farie, and some the First, and some the Keepers of Stories," in richly detailed images.

In the world of Honeycomb, the Sightless Folk (regular humans) unwittingly often share space with the numerous and diverse Silken. "There are many doors between the worlds of the Farie and the Folk. Some look like doors; or windows; or books. Some are in Dream; others, in Death." These 100 stories form a whole that is magical, fanciful, enchanting and occasionally nightmarish. Some center on single-appearance characters, and some characters are revisited, but all belong to the same universe. "Dream is a river that runs through Nine Worlds, and Death is only one of them." In special moments, "all Worlds were linked, like the cells of an intricate honeycomb, making a pattern that stretched beyond even Death; even Dream," and the stories are likewise linked cells.

Some act as allegories, as in "The Wolves and the Dogs," in which the Sheep elect a Wolf to protect them because at least he is honest. In "The Traveller," the titular character passes quickly by many delights in pursuit of his destination, which turns out less impressive than he'd hoped. "Clockwork" is a horrifying tale in which a husband rebuilds his wife piece by piece. "The Bookworm Princess," on the other hand, ends with deep satisfaction. There is the Clockwork Princess and the watchmaker's boy; a girl who travels with a clockwork tiger; and a mistrustful puppeteer who manifests what he fears. A recurring farmyard is packed with colorful animal characters--a troublesome piglet, a petulant pullet--and allegory, Orwellian and otherwise. The connecting character is the Lacewing King, whom readers meet at his birth in "The Midwife" and follow for hundreds of years, as the fate of Worlds hangs in the balance. "There are many different ways to reach the River Dream. One is Sleep; one is Desire; but the greatest of all is Story...."

Completely engrossing, exquisitely inventive, brilliantly illustrated and thought-provoking, Honeycomb is a world, or Worlds, to get lost in. "Some of these tales have stings attached. But then, of course, that's bees for you." --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

 I've always felt that Emily Bronte didn't really get her due when it came to publicity, probably because Charlotte was everyone's darling and was a limelight hog, and Anne was sickly and shy, so she was also relegated to the background. These movies should be fascinating.

Movies: Emily; All Quiet on the Western Front

A first look is available of Emma Mackey (Sex Education) in Emily http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48412387, the origin story biopic of author Emily Bronte, Deadline reported. Production is underway in the U.K. on the project that marks the writing and directing feature debut of actress Frances O'Connor (The Missing). The cast also includes Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Hill House), Alexandra Dowling (The Musketeers), Amelia Gething (The Spanish Princess), Gemma Jones (Ammonite) and Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty).

Filming is underway in the Czech Republic, near Prague, on Netflix's World War I film All Quiet on the Western Front http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48412388, based on the classic novel by Erich Maria Remarque, Deadline reported.

The book was previously adapted by Universal and Lewis Milestone in 1930 and won Oscars for best picture and director.

Directed by Edward Berger (Patrick Melrose), the German-language version of the anti-war story stars Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Moritz Klaus, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, Daniel Bruumlhl, Adrian Gruumlnewald, Devid Striesow, Andreas Doumlhler, Sebastian Huumllk, Alexander Schuster, Luc Feit, Michael Wittenborn, Michael Stange, Andre; Marcon, Tobias Langhoff and Anton von Lucke.

 

Fire Watcher by Lilith Saintcrow is the third book in her Watcher series, and though the first two books were rife with romance novel cliches, I found myself wanting to know what happened to the fire witch, and what kind of watcher would show up to guard her. Turns out it was a Creole French speaking man named Remy, who mirrored all the passion and anger displayed by his charge, fire witch and rock goddess Elise. Here's the blurb: The Fire Witch

Elise Nicholson isn’t your ordinary witch. For one thing, she can light candles with a look, and she plays a mean guitar. Unfortunately, being able to call fire out of the air isn’t the most useful skill around. To top it off, she’s a Guardian of the City, and the other Guardians—her two best friends—have no time for her. They’re too busy with their Watchers, the grim, black-coated warriors sworn to protect Elise and her friends from the Dark. Lonely, skating the edge of controlling her intensified “gifts,” Elise is quickly running out of options and patience. Then the Trifero—a Talisman capable of blowing the city sky-high—lands in her lap, and everything just gets worse.

The Watcher:

Remy is the Hunter, snatching Talismans away from the Dark and struggling with the constant agony of being a Watcher. Then he’s assigned to stand guard over a smart-mouthed fire witch who not only hates Watchers, but has just found the Trifero. If the Dark catches Elise, she’ll be broken, turned into a magical weapon, and sold to the highest bidder. Not only does Remy have to get to her first and keep the Dark away, but he also must convince Elise that he means her no harm—and that’s the easy part of the job. If he pulls this one off, he just might redeem himself the way every Watcher aches to do. But if he fails, both he and Elise might be better off dead.

Elise comes off as really bitchy and whiny and immature, as she constantly stomps off in a huff, like a child throwing a temper tantrum. She's never happy with anything, and she's downright cruel to the people who love her, especially her fellow witches (who are perfect, of course, because earth and water witches are bound to be much nicer and more even keeled than a fire witch...bullpucky on that ridiculous cliche). The fact that Remy still loves her and wants to protect her no matter how mean or sullen she gets just makes it seem all the more pathetic that this romance never really gets off the ground. REmy comes more than halfway and risks his life for Elise over and over again. I was expecting Elise to be gay, actually, due to her deep seated hatred of all the male watchers, but I guess that there's no diversity in the Circle of Light, which is the group the Watchers belong to. As usual, Saintcrow's prose is sterling and her plots rip right along, as inexorable as the wind. I'd give this installment of the series a B-, (I almost gave it a C+) and recommend it to anyone who has read any of the other Watcher books. 

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells is the 6th book in the Murderbot series, and I've read and enjoyed most of them. Other than all the tech talk and political stuff and the bits about how to make any given space secure, the prose is whip-smart and greases the wheels of the fast-moving plot. This was an ebook that I had a hard time putting down, because you never know what was going to happen next. Murderbot is a real treasure, with a dry wit and lots of funny observations about the foibles of humankind. Here's the blurb: The New York Times bestselling security droid with a heart (though it wouldn't admit it!) is back in Fugitive Telemetry!

Having captured the hearts of readers across the globe (Annalee Newitz says it's "one of the most humane portraits of a nonhuman I've ever read") Murderbot has also established Martha Wells as one of the great SF writers of today.

No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people―who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!
Again!

I've always liked stories about outsiders looking into human social situations with compassion and fondness, but also with a clear eye to how we fool ourselves and others. Murderbot is charming and efficient both, as it makes its way through the investigation with logic and aplomb. I actually didn't see the end coming at all, which is unusual for me when reading mysteries. I'd give this book a B+, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys robot/cyborgs with a heart stories.

A Deadly Delivery: A Psychic Cafe Mystery by April Fernsby was a free ebook that read like so many other cozy, slightly paranormal mysteries that I found myself wondering if I'd read it before. The prose was fine,but the plot was predictable and the characters annoying and stereotypical. Here's the blurb: Karis Booth has had psychic abilities for as long as she can remember. But this is the first time she’s used them to solve a murder.

Things are changing rapidly for Karis. As well as filing for divorce from her unfaithful husband, she decides it’s time to make peace with her estranged sister, Erin. With trepidation, Karis visits the café which Erin owns. To her great relief, Erin welcomes Karis back into her life with open arms.

During their reconciliation, a young woman, Carmel, calls into the café with a bread delivery. As Karis watches Carmel, she experiences a strong psychic vision. She sees two shadows following Carmel. Only one of the shadows belongs to Carmel — the other belongs to the person who is going to murder her later that day.

With help from her sister and an old neighbour, Karis does all that she can to find out who murdered Carmel. It doesn’t help that the investigating officer is an ex-boyfriend who broke up with Karis because he couldn’t cope with her psychic abilities. Despite this, Karis won’t rest until she finds the killer.

The protagonist was just a bit too stupid to live, I felt, and the romantic subplot got too much time that would have been better spent on the mystery itself. Though this was the first in the series, I have a feeling that it will be popular with romance fans who like light mysteries on the side. I'd give it a C+ and recommend it to those who like their books light and not at all emotionally or mentally taxing.