Tarot Card Vending Machine in Beverly, Mass, The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labushkes, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan, Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders and The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

G'day fellow readers! 

I've not posted previously because I've been sick with some kind of awful flu virus for about a week and a couple of days, and since I couldn't get out of bed or even sit up for more than a few minutes, all I could really accomplish was to drink fluids, take meds, read and sleep. So I am short on tidbits this time because I've not been able to really scour Shelf Awareness or some of my other book related newsletters, like Book Riot or Goodreads, but the one I do have is pretty cool, if I do say so myself...and I dearly wish that they had this vending machine in Cambridge, Mass, when I was living there in the 80s. 

Cool Idea of the Day: Tarot Card Vending Machine

"Cool thing alert--we have a TAROT CARD VENDING MACHINE! 

https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFONn7oI6ak0JEglGw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iUX57ypoMLg-gVdw" Copper Dog Books, Beverly, Mass., posted on Instagram. "For the low cost of $1, you can get a tarot reading from our vending machine. And the best part? We've stocked it with our favorite decks. (Erin Morgenstern's Phantomwise Tarot is in here!) Kick off spring with a tarot card reading!"

I've got four books to review, so here goes! 

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labushkes is a WWII story told through the eyes of three different women at different ends of the war. Before the war begins, in 1933, while the Nazis are coming to power, American Althea James accepts an invitation to do a cultural exchange in Berlin from Joseph Goebbels. She falls for a creepy Nazi and ends up believing their lies until she sees how the Nazis are really treating intellectuals and artists and Jewish people. At the beginning of the war, in 1936, Hannah escapes Berlin for Paris, and finally hopes she's free and safe. Little does she know that the City of Light will soon be overrun by the Germans and she will be in more danger than ever. She works at a library that is full of copies of books burned by the Germans. Then in New York toward the end of the war in 1944, widowed Vivian is working for the Armed Services Editions, which ships books to Allied soldiers across the world, and she suddenly encounters a shifty senator's attempts to censor the books, making the classic stories unreadable for the troops. As Viv engages in a fight to keep the ASE's censorship free, she encounters the other two female characters just when she needs their help the most. Here's the blurb: 

Berlin 1933. Following the success of her debut novel, American writer Althea James receives an invitation from Joseph Goebbels himself to participate in a culture exchange program in Germany. For a girl from a small town in Maine, 1933 Berlin seems to be sparklingly cosmopolitan, blossoming in the midst of a great change with the charismatic new chancellor at the helm. Then Althea meets a beautiful woman who promises to show her the real Berlin, and soon she’s drawn into a group of resisters who make her question everything she knows about her hosts—and herself.

Paris 1936. She may have escaped Berlin for Paris, but Hannah Brecht discovers the City of Light is no refuge from the anti-Semitism and Nazi sympathizers she thought she left behind. Heartbroken and tormented by the role she played in the betrayal that destroyed her family, Hannah throws herself into her work at the German Library of Burned Books. Through the quiet power of books, she believes she can help counter the tide of fascism she sees rising across Europe and atone for her mistakes. But when a dear friend decides actions will speak louder than words, Hannah must decide what stories she is willing to live—or die—for.

New York 1944. Since her husband Edward was killed fighting the Nazis, Vivian Childs has been waging her own war: preventing a powerful senator’s attempts to censor the Armed Service Editions, portable paperbacks that are shipped by the millions to soldiers overseas. Viv knows just how much they mean to the men through the letters she receives—including the last one she got from Edward. She also knows the only way to win this battle is to counter the senator’s propaganda with a story of her own—at the heart of which lies the reclusive and mysterious woman tending the American Library of Nazi-Banned Books in Brooklyn.

As Viv unknowingly brings her censorship fight crashing into the secrets of the recent past, the fates of these three women will converge, changing all of them forever.

Inspired by the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime—the WWII organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as “weapons in the war of ideas”—The Librarian of Burned Books is an unforgettable historical novel, a haunting love story, and a testament to the beauty, power, and goodness of the written word.

The prose for this novel was rather straight-laced, but still held the shape of the fast-moving plot quite well. I enjoyed Viv's story, fighting for books for soldiers in 1944 to be the most enthralling, but really each woman's story had something going for it. To be honest, though I though Althea was kind of dim, and I couldn't understand how she could be so utterly naive to buy everything the Nazis told her. Still, once you get past the first chapter or so, you're in for a fast-moving tale. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to anyone who likes books and tales of women working in the resistance during WWII.

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan was the second book of hers that I read, and this was more of a historical romance than it was a literary fiction novel. The prose was crisp and clean and followed a strong plot that marched along until everyone was coupled up at the end. HEA's all around! Here's the blurb:

Three plucky women lift the spirits of home-front brides in wartime Britain, where clothes rationing leaves little opportunity for pomp or celebration—even at weddings—in this heartwarming novel based on true events, from the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

After renowned fashion designer Cressida Westcott loses both her home and her design house in the London Blitz, she has nowhere to go but the family manor house she fled decades ago. Praying that her niece and nephew will be more hospitable than her brother had been, she arrives with nothing but the clothes she stands in, at a loss as to how to rebuild her business while staying in a quaint country village.

Her niece, Violet Westcott, is thrilled that her famous aunt is coming to stay—the village has been interminably dull with all the men off fighting. But just as Cressida arrives, so does Violet’s conscription letter. It couldn’t have come at a worse time; how will she ever find a suitably aristocratic husband if she has to spend her days wearing a frumpy uniform and doing war work?

Meanwhile, the local vicar’s daughter, Grace Carlisle, is trying in vain to repair her mother’s gown, her only chance of a white wedding. When Cressida Westcott appears at the local Sewing Circle meeting, Grace asks for her help—but Cressida has much more to teach the ladies than just simple sewing skills.

Before long, Cressida’s spirit and ambition galvanizes the village group into action, and they find themselves mending wedding dresses not only for local brides, but for brides across the country. And as the women dedicate themselves to helping others celebrate love, they might even manage to find it for themselves.

While I generally like HEAs and happy couples, several of these romances felt a bit forced to me, and I realize that with a war on everyone wanted to get in as much happiness as they could while still alive, but does that always mean finding a person of the opposite sex and getting married and having babies? What about the women, like Cressida, who aren't interested in children, but focused instead on a successful design career? Why would she succumb to the whispers and warnings of "becoming an old maid/spinster" and "dying alone?" It's misogynistic to think that women can't have fulfilling lives without men and babies. Not all women want or need those things, or are willing to sacrifice their livlihoods for them, as is inevitable, even today, when you have a marriage and a child or children. Women still do a majority of the caretaking of children, plus the household chores of cooking and cleaning and scheduling, etc. And women who still want a career have to do double duty and often burn out over trying to keep all the balls in the air. Though I was disappointed that Cressida succumbed to the fear of being a spinster, I was glad that Grace finally got some gumption and flowered as a person before marrying her childhood sweetheart. I was also glad to see discussions of how class lines were broken down during the war and the snobs had to work alongside commoners and do the same duties and share the same dangers. All in all I'd give this book another B, and recommend it to anyone who likes historical romances. 

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders is a YA science fiction adventure that takes readers on quite a ride, with spicy prose and a zippy/twisty plot that will keep you guessing. Here's the blurb:  

Outsmart Your Enemies. Outrun the Galaxy.

“Just please, remember what I told you. Run. Don’t stop running for anything.”

Tina never worries about being 'ordinary'--she doesn't have to, since she's known practically forever that she's not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She's also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it's going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina's legacy, after all, is intergalactic--she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.

But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina's destiny isn't quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed--and everyone in the galaxy is expecting her to actually be the brilliant tactician and legendary savior Captain Thaoh Argentian, but Tina....is just Tina. And the Royal Fleet is losing the war, badly--the starship that found her is on the run and they barely manage to escape Earth with the planet still intact.

Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachel, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she'll have to save herself.
Buckle up your seatbelt for this thrilling YA sci-fi adventure set against an intergalactic war from internationally bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders.

Though I enjoyed this book I did feel it was in need of an edit to tighten it up in parts. Though that's a minor nitpick, as Anders is a smart, creative author who never falls prey to the same petty science fiction/romance/women in space tropes that those of us who've been reading SF for decades grow weary of reading repeatedly. I'd give this novel an A, and recommend it to fans of Becky Chambers works. 

The Clockwork Scarab By Colleen Gleason is a YA Steampunk mystery (the first in a series) featuring the intrepid Mina Holmes and Evaline Stoker, the latter sister of Bram of Dracula fame and the former the niece of Sherlock Holmes of 221B Baker Street. It's got all the trappings of a fun romp into the alternate Victorian world of famous detectives and vampire writers, but I felt at times as if the writer were sneering a bit by condescending to the reader. Here's the blurb:

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business.

But when you're the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there's no one more qualified to investigate.

Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve a murder with only one clue: the strange Egyptian scarab. The stakes are high.

If Stoker and Holmes don't unravel why the belles of London society are in such danger, they'll become the next victims.

 It's alarming how similar the author paints the teenage girls of that era with teenage girls of today, in all their snotty, cruel one-ups-manship. That said, by the end Mina and Eva were able to see the value in each others methods and skills and able to work together to find a solution to the mystery. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to YA readers who love steampunk stories.

Obituary Notes for Suzy McKee Charnas and John Jakes, The Key Man Comes to TV, Bookstores Are Recession-Proof, Book Vending Machines in Schools in Michigan, Radiance and Eidolon by Grace Draven and Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose by T.A. Willberg

Hiya, book friends! Sorry this post has taken me so long, but I've been dealing with a lot of health issues, my own and my husband's. It hasn't left enough time to do my usual reading and the stress of dealing with everything has left me exhausted and unable to focus on the things I'd like to focus on. But, with spring finally arriving and summer soon to follow, it's time to try and shake off the problems of yesterday and work towards a productive tomorrow. Here's some tidbits/obits and 3 reviews for you all. Enjoy.

I remember (barely) reading Walk to the End of the World and Motherlines back when I was about 13 years old, and I recall being both thrilled and intimidated by the feminist thought represented in the story arcs. I had no idea Charnas was close to my mother's age, and I'm sorry that she's passed. She was a talented woman. RIP.

Obituary Note: Suzy McKee Charnas

Suzy McKee Charnas https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFOJxr8I6ak0Ix5zGw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iUW8f3poMLg-gVdw, "an award-winning feminist science fiction writer who in a four-novel series created a post-holocaust, male-dominated society called the Holdfast that is liberated by an army of women," died January 2, the New York Times reported. She was 83. Charnas also wrote vampire fiction, YA fantasy novels with women as central characters, and a memoir about taking care of her father in his later years after a long period of estrangement.

The Holdfast Chronicles began with Walk to the End of the World (1974)and concluded 25 years later with The Conqueror's Child. The Times noted that the author "conceived a dystopic world in which an escaped female slave, Alldera, leads the rebellious Free Fems to brutally conquer and enslave their former male masters. The men had faulted women for the near-destruction of humanity, called the Wasting."

In 1999, Dunja M. Mohr wrote in the journal Science Fiction Studies that the series is unique in feminist science fiction "in that it reflects 25 years of the development of feminism... Investigating the raging war of the sexes. Charnas does not shy away from describing the slow--and sometimes grim--process of change leading from dystopia to utopia, the painful purging of psychological and physical violence involved."

The other books in the Holdfast series are Motherlines (1978) and The Furies (1994). The Conqueror's Child won the 1999 James Tiptree Jr. Award (now called the Otherwise), a literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that explore gender. Charnas also won a Nebula for the novella Unicorn Tapestry, which is a chapter in her 1980 novel, The Vampire Tapestry, and won a Hugo for "Boobs," a short story.

"Suzy, to me, was a lot like David Bowie," said Jane Lindskold, a science fiction and fantasy writer who knew Charnas from a writers' group in Albuquerque, N.Mex. "She followed her own muse. She could have just written only vampire books, but she did what she wanted to do."

Her last book, My Father's Ghost: The Return of My Old Man and Other Second Chances (2002), was "about how she and her husband brought her long-absent father--he had left her family when she was a child--to live on their property in Albuquerque and her struggle to get to know him over nearly 20 years," the Times noted.

"The person who came to live next door to me was less my father than my father's ghost: the ghost of my father as I had known him and imagined him all my life," she wrote. "He was also, I suspect, the ghost of the man he himself had set out to be but never became.... Well, I'm a lucky devil: He was a good ghost, an instructive ghost."

This looks to be a fascinating TV show, and I adored Dav Patel in Slumdog Millionaire.

TV: The Key Man

Dav Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield, Slumdog Millionaire) will star in and executive produce The Key Man https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFOKkeUI6ak0IhhySA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iUWJCtpoMLg-gVdw, a limited series based on the 2021 book The Key Man: The True Story of How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy Tale by Simon Clark and Will Louch. Deadline reported that the project is from Miramax Television, "part of the company's increased international focus, signaled by the hire three years ago of former NBC Universal International Studios executive Marc Helwig--who has deep European TV industry ties--as Miramax's Global Head of Television."

Mining the independent studio's library has been a priority for Helwigand his team, who have shepherded series projects based Miramax movies like The Gentlemen, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Gangs of New York, Chocolat, and The English Patient.Helwig said, "Miramax is a legacy company built on backing innovative, new voices, and we are recapturing that essence in television with our approach to working with many new and emerging voices in Europe and beyond." Patel executive produces The Key Man alongside Scott Delman (Station Eleven) and Florence Sloan (Dehli Crime), who had optioned the book.

I remember as a teenager, reading John Jakes books that my father had lying around, and though they were the book equivalent of McDonalds at the time (at least I thought so...they read like potboilers), I still watched the mini series with my dad and sometimes with my brothers, which was a rarity in our house. Talking about his books was a popular pastime among my parent's friends during cocktail parties.

Obituary Note: John Jakes

Author John Jakes https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFOKxLkI6ak0Ih9xEw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iUWMXxpoMLg-gVdw, a "writer of historical fiction whose generational family sagas of the American Revolution and the Civil War mingled real and imaginary characters and became runaway best sellers and popular television fare," died March 11, the New York Times reported. He was 90.

Jakes wrote about 60 novels, including westerns, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy and children's books. He was best known for two book series: the Kent Family Chronicles, eight volumes written in the 1970s to capitalize on the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations (55 million copies were sold), and the North and South Civil War trilogy, which was released in the 1980s (10 million copies).

By the 1990s, Jakes "had joined the charmed circle of America's big-name authors--among them Mary Higgins Clark, Tom Wolfe, James Clavell, Thomas Harris and Ira Levin--whose publishers paid millions in advances for multi-book deals, although they had only vague ideas what the books might say," the Times noted.

"I feel a real responsibility to my readers," Jakes told the Washington Post in 1982. "I began to realize about two or three books into the Kent series that I was the only source of history that some of these people had ever had. Maybe they'll never read a Barbara Tuchman book--but down at the Kmart they'll pick up one of mine."

Jakes began his career freelance writing in his spare time while working in advertising from 1954 to 1971. He published hundreds of short stories and wrote novels, primarily westerns and fantasies, some under the pen names Jay Scotland and Alan Payne. His breakthrough came in 1974 with the publication of The Bastard, the first volume of what would be the Kent Family Chronicles. Other books in the series include The Rebels, The Seekers (both 1975), which were adapted for television as mini-series in 1978 and 1979; as well as The Furies, The Titans (both 1976), The Warriors (1977), The Lawless (1978) and The Americans (1979).

His success prompted Harcourt Brace Jovanovich to commission a Civil War-era hardcover trilogy that included North and South (1982), Love and War (1984) and Heaven and Hell (1987). Another mini-series was adapted from those books.

After the success of the two earlier series, Random House paid Jakes a $4 million advance for the bestseller California Gold. A $10 million advance a year later produced the two-volume Crown Family Saga as well as In the Big Country (1993), a collection of his stories set in the American West.

"I love melodrama," he once told the Times in an interview. "I never outgrew my fondness for melodrama."

I LOVE reading things like this, that bookstores are finally having their day in the sun! It's also great to know that Amazon didn't crush the life out of the independent bookstore business (thank heaven), and that there are still wonderful places like Powells City of Books in Portland, OR, where you can go and commune with fellow booklovers and walk among the shelves, browsing for your next great read.

America’s Most “Recession-Proof” Business is Bookstores

Good news for book lovers everywhere. According to a Forbes Advisor analysis, bookstores are projected to be the most recession-proof type of U.S. business in 2023 . The analysis, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trend, sees bookstores at the number one spot, followed by PR firms, interior design services, staffing agencies, and marketing consulting services. Apparently, bookstores in the U.S. increased by 43% during the pandemic and also enjoyed a 16% wage growth. These stats, in addition to their comparatively low start-up costs, are what landed bookstores at the top of the Forbes list, which assessed 60 small business types.

Oh man, I wish to heck that they'd had these when I was in school! I would have been one very happy kid with a great big TBR of fresh books.

Cool Idea of the Day: Book Vending Machines in Schools

Sleepy Dog Books https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFOMxb8I6ak0JBklHQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iUXsT3poMLg-gVdw in Mount Pleasant, Mich., has set up book vending machines in the halls of two local elementary schools, Second Wave Media reported.

The vending machines, located in Fancher and Mary McGuire Elementary schools, contain more than 300 titles and are part of the school's Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program. Rather than take cash, the vending machines take book tokens, which students can earn for "making positive choices in their learning environment."

Jenny and Riley Justis, owners of Sleepy Dog Books, opened the bookstore in 2022. Jenny Justis told Second Wave: "By providing the machines and partnering with the District to bring the latest in book titles to the halls of these schools, we are hopeful to drive student interest inreading and passion for physical books."

Radiance and Eidolon (book 2 of the Wraith Kings) by Grace Draven were cheap (in price, not quality) ebook revamps of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale that I found unexpectedly while I was seeking other ebook deals on Amazon. Though these two fantasy romances appear to be self published (I could be wrong about that), they're well written and well edited (a rarity when it comes to self pubbed books), and the plots are fast moving and thrilling. Here's the blurbs: 

Radiance: ~THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE~

Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.

~THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE~

Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.

Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart. 

 Eidolon: **Sequel to RADIANCE and Book #2 in the Wraith Kings series**

In a bid for more power, the Shadow Queen of Haradis unleashes a malignant force into the world. Her son Brishen, younger prince of the Kai royal house, suddenly finds himself ruler of a kingdom blighted by a diseased darkness. His human wife Ildiko must decide if she will give up the man she loves in order to save his throne.

Three kingdoms on the verge of war must unite to save each other, and a one-eyed, reluctant king will raise an army of the dead to challenge an army of the damned.

A tale of alliance and sacrifice.

Ildiko and Brishen's romance is just delicious and, though they're fantasy characters, they are full bodied and seem real enough to meet in person. Since, in a slight spoiler, things are somewhat wrapped up by the end of the second book, I've felt no need to buy the third, though I might later to see where the author could possibly have taken the couple in a final installment. I loved these two books, however, and would give them both a well deserved A-, and recommend them to those who enjoy both Beauty and the Beast and fish out of water romances.

Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose by T.A. Willberg is the second book in a delightful British historical mystery series that takes readers on a roller coaster ride through the subterrainian depths of Miss Bricketts Detective Agency, which is really more like a cross between MI5 and Hogwarts. Here's the blurb: The envelope was tied with three delicate silk ribbons: “One of the new recruits is not to be trusted…”

It’s 1959 and a new killer haunts the streets of London, having baffled Scotland Yard. The newspapers call him The Florist because of the rose he brands on his victims. The police have turned yet again to the Inquirers at Miss Brickett’s for assistance, and second-year Marion Lane is assigned the case.

But she’s already dealing with a mystery of her own, having received an unsigned letter warning her that one of the three new recruits should not be trusted. She dismisses the letter at first, focusing on The Florist case, but her informer seems to be one step ahead, predicting what will happen before it does. But when a fellow second-year Inquirer is murdered, Marion takes matters into her own hands and must come face-to-face with her informer—who predicted the murder—to find out everything they know. Until then, no one at Miss Brickett’s is safe and everyone is a suspect.

With brilliant twists and endless suspense, all set within the dazzling walls and hidden passageways of Miss Brickett’s, Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is a deliciously fun new historical mystery you won’t be able to put down.    

Though I love a good British mystery, especially cozy ones with all sorts of eccentric characters (which abound here), I'm always flummoxed at how full of self loathing the female protagonists most always are, and how the rampant misogyny of the men surrounding them is never questioned and rarely stood up to...why don't these women have more backbone? Why are they always so self-effacing and dressed in dreary, frumpy clothing? Why are the only women who seem to "matter" those who are members of the aristocracy? Marion is a smart woman and a talented engineer of gadgets, while also being a kind person who tries her best to help others. Yet she's repeatedly preyed upon by those who are in charge, and even when she's done brave and amazing things, she still gets a chewing out from her cold superiors. She also gets treated like crap by the only American at the agency, whom she has a crush on, but who thinks that a relationship between the two of them would be impossible. Marion doesn't question this, she just lets him crush her heart. Ugh. Show some spine, woman! Tell him he's no prize himself, and then find another guy! Anyway, the prose is nice and crisp and the plot dances along gracefully. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and its ending, and I will probably read the next book in the series once I can afford to do so. I'd recommend this book to anyone who read the first Marion book.

The Summer Book Movie, Her Lost Words Review, The Devil in the White City Project is Dead, Obit Note Ian Falconer, Laurie Halse Anderson named ALM Award Laureate, A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn, A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne, The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz,and Unraveled by Jennifer Estep

It's the third week of March and I've been in a state of torpor, reading and barely moving from my bed unless I have to cook or clean or exercise or feed the neighbor's kitty. But what I have read has been some great stuff that was exciting and kept me binge-reading until the wee hours. It has also been cold and wet outside, so that's the perfect kind of weather for reading and taking cozy naps. St Patrick's Day is coming up, so I hope you all enjoy the American celebration of the Irish, while I get my Inflectra infusion at St Elizabeth's in Enumclaw (no green beer or other alcohol for me, thankfully! I'm not a fan of inebriation).

I've read a couple of Tove Jansson's books, and found them delightful, especially in the optimistic prose style that lights up each chapter, so I'm looking forward to seeing the adaptation of his work on the big screen.

Movies: The Summer Book

Glenn Close and Anders Danielsen Lie will star in a film version of ToveJansson's novel The Summer Book https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFDdxukI6ak1Kh4iSw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iXD8ehpoMLg-gVdw,which Charlie McDowell is directing and producing with his Case Study Films, Deadline reported. Originally published 50 years ago, the book has been translated into 35 languages.

"I'm deeply honored to be adapting one of my favorite novels, Tove Jansson's The Summer Book, and to film in Finland, the beautiful country in which this story is based," said McDowell. "It's long been a dream of mine to work with Glenn Close. I've long admired her thoughtfulness, immense versatility, and deeply captivating presence both on the stage and on screen. I first discovered Anders Danielsen Lie from his brilliant collaborations with Joachim Trier and he's quickly become one of my favorite actors out of Scandinavia. I can't imagine a more magnificent duo to collaborate with on this film."

Jansson's niece, Sophia Jansson, added: "The Summer Book is dear to many readers around the world. It is my favorite of Tove Jansson's books, and it holds a very special place in my heart. Every word of it ushers in vivid childhood memories of my beloved grandmother--her voice, her way of relating to and moving around the island. Seeing that story finally come alive on the big screen will be fantastic and moving on a deeply personal level."

I'm a big fan of the mother of science fiction and feminism, both Marys, and I would love to have a copy of this book to read about their struggles and their journeys.

Book Review: Her Lost Words

Both Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley (who never knew her mother) longed to take the world by storm. Stephanie Marie Thornton delves into the literary, emotional and financial struggles of both women in her eighth novel, Her Lost Words, charting their journeys with compassion and insight. The result is a fascinating account of two women whose prodigious talent and work ethic was sometimes dampened, but never extinguished, by the challenges they faced.

Thornton begins her narrative in 1775 with Mary Wollstonecraft, who escapes her miserable childhood and flees to London with a head full of feminist ideas and dreams of becoming a published author. She finds a sympathetic publisher in Joseph Johnson, and makes a few acquaintances in London's literary scene. Eventually, she travels to post-revolutionary Paris, where she falls in love with a blockade-running American, Gilbert Imlay, and bears his child. When it becomes dangerous for British citizens to remain in Paris, Wollstonecraft and her daughter return to London, only to find Imlay uninterested in marriage, and increasingly dismissive of Wollstonecraft. To her surprise, Wollstonecraft ends up building a life with philosopher William Godwin, who supports both her domestic and literary endeavors.

Thornton intersperses this narrative with the life story of Wollstonecraft's second daughter, Mary Shelley (born Mary Godwin), who has grown up in the shadow of her mother's fame, but longs to know what kind of person she truly was. Frustrated by life with her father and stepmother, though fond of her sisters, Fanny and Claire, Mary welcomes the passionate eruption of poet Percy Shelley into her life. Thornton's narrative traces Mary's relationship with Percy, as well as Claire's tempestuous affair with Lord Byron, and the travels and trials of this unconventional foursome as they each pursue happiness in their own ways.

Though she had always been a reader rather than a writer, Mary eventually picks up a pen and creates Frankenstein in 1817, the story that will put her name on the map (though Percy receives much of the early recognition for it).

Drawing extensively on the known historical facts about each woman (and their spouses, lovers and children), Thornton creates two protagonists whose brains and emotions blaze brilliantly on the page. She depicts poverty, childbirth and Paris's Reign of Terror in gruesome detail--but also portrays beautiful moments of affection, inspiration and love. As passionate and fiercely intelligent as its protagonists, Her Lost Words is a fitting tribute to two women whose literary achievements reshaped the world. --Katie Noah Gibson; blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Having read this book with my book group a year or so ago, I was looking forward to the TV adaptation, but it appears that the show won't be moving forward, sadly.

TV: The Devil in the White City Will Not Be Produced

Hulu will not be moving ahead with The Devil in the White Cityhttps://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFDekO4I6ak1chgnSQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iXDJGmpoMLg-gVdw, the long-gestating adaptation of Erik Larson's 2003 historical nonfiction book. Deadline reported that Keanu Reeves originally was attached to star but exited in October, and director Todd Field left soon after. An effort was made to replace them, with offers that ultimately did not pan out.

The eight-episode series was targeted for a 2024 launch, with production not expected to commence until this year, Deadline noted. From ABC Signature in Association with Paramount Television Studios, The Devil in the White City was set to be executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Rick Yorn, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Stacey Sher, Sam Shaw, Lila Byock and Mark Lafferty. ABC Signature remains committed to the project and hopes to find a new home.

I am so saddened by this news, as I read several Olivia the spunky piglet books to Nick when he was little, and he loved them...he was also a huge fan of Kevin Henkes little mouse girls Wemberly and Lily of the purple plastic purse fame. These stories of brave wee creatures seemed to comfort him as he launched himself into the big world as a toddler and three year old. It horrifies me that Olivia's creator was my age when he died recently...that seems way too young. RIP Mr Falconer.

Obituary Note: Ian Falconer

Children's book author and illustrator Ian Falconer https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFDew-oI6ak1ch8nGg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iXDMKipoMLg-gVdw, whose beloved Olivia book series has been translated into many languages and adapted into an animated TV series, died March 7, NPR reported. He was 63.

Initially created as a Christmas gift in 1996 for his then three-year-old niece Olivia, the first Olivia book was published in 2000. It has sold more than 10 million copies and won numerous awards. He went on to illustrate and write seven sequels, culminating with Olivia the Spy in 2017.

Falconer began illustrating covers for the New Yorker in 1996, producing 30 magazine covers over his career. NPR noted that "it was this work that first caught the eye of Anne Schwartz, then a children's book publisher at Simon & Schuster. In an interview with NPR, Schwartz said she planned to commission Falconer to illustrate another author's book project, but he was more interested in showing her what was then the 100-page draft of Olivia." "You could tell immediately that this was something really, really special," she said. "I thought to myself, this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've just really gotten lucky here."

I've been reading Laurie Halse Anderson's works for years, and I'm thrilled that she's been named the Lindgren Memorial laureate. Well deserved award, Ms Anderson! I'm a huge fan of Speak and Wintergirls.

American author Laurie Halse Anderson has been named laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFOIlOoI6ak1ckggTA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iUWpWipoMLg-gVdw, which is given annually to authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and reading promoters "for their outstanding contribution to children's and young adult literature." The winner receives five million Swedish kronor (about $466,200). The award ceremony will be held May 30 in Stockholm.

The jury's citation said: "In her tightly written novels for young adults, Laurie Halse Anderson gives voice to the search for meaning, identity, and truth, both in the present and the past. Her darkly radiant realism reveals the vital role of time and memory in young people's lives. Pain and anxiety, yearning and love, class and sex are investigated with stylistic precision and dispassionate wit. With tender intensity, Laurie Halse Anderson evokes, moods, and emotions and never shies from even the hardest things."

Anderson is the author of more than 30 books, including Shout; Speak; The Impossible Knife of Memory; and Wintergirls. The prize organizers noted: "In her richly expressive novels for young people--all narrated in the first person--Anderson gives voice to the adolescent experience with sometimes brutal honesty. Here is resignation, even desperation, but also a determination for change kept alive by the search for meaning, identity, and truth. The yearning for love and belonging is a recurring theme for Anderson.... Alongside her writing, she is powerfully committed to issues related to sexual violence, diversity, and book censorship."

Falconer began illustrating covers for the New Yorker in 1996, producing 30 magazine covers over his career. NPR noted that "it was this work that first caught the eye of Anne Schwartz, then a children's book publisher at Simon & Schuster. In an interview with NPR, Schwartz said she planned to commission Falconer to illustrate another author's book project, but he was more interested in showing her what was then the 100-page draft of Olivia." "You could tell immediately that this was something really, really special," she said. "I thought to myself, this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've just really gotten lucky here."

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn is the 8th novel in her delicious Veronica Speedwell steampunk/romantic fantasy/mystery series. I've read all of Raybourn's clever mysteries, and I eagerly anticipate each new books arrival on my doorstep so that I can catch up on the latest in the romance of Veronica and Stoker, whose tempestuous relationship gets more engaging with each chapter. Here's the blurb:

Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.
 
Tiberius has received a cryptic message—along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners—that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.
 
As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening’s events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for. 

This book was a thrill ride from the first chapter to the last, especially considering that Stoker and Veronica are having a lover's spat and trying to sort out their feelings on a long term relationship with one another and how that would look in terms of lifestyle, especially for Veronica, who knows that women (especially in the 19th century) were expected to marry and produce children, when she realizes that she cherishes her independence and has no interest in marriage or children, ever. Though Veronica obviously loves Stoker, I was afraid that she might indulge herself with a brief affair with Stoker's brother Tiberius, who would welcome her attentions (I mean I realize a women has needs, but Stoker would never forgive her 'cheating' on him with his posh older half brother). Still, it all ends well, and Raybourn's lush and evocative prose danced along her well-trimmed plot that never faltered, though there were several twists and turns. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read the other books in this series. 

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross is a Celtic-centered fantasy mystery with all manner of gorgeous world building and beautifully realized characters that nearly walk off the page. Here's the blurb:

House of Earth and Blood meets The Witch's Heart in Rebecca Ross’s brilliant first adult fantasy, set on the magical isle of Cadence where two childhood enemies must team up to discover why girls are going missing from their clan.

Jack Tamerlaine hasn’t stepped foot on Cadence in ten long years, content to study music at the mainland university. But when young girls start disappearing from the isle, Jack is summoned home to help find them. Enchantments run deep on Cadence: gossip is carried by the wind, plaid shawls can be as strong as armor, and the smallest cut of a knife can instill fathomless fear. The capricious spirits that rule the isle by fire, water, earth, and wind find mirth in the lives of the humans who call the land home. Adaira, heiress of the east and Jack’s childhood enemy, knows the spirits only answer to a bard’s music, and she hopes Jack can draw them forth by song, enticing them to return the missing girls.

As Jack and Adaira reluctantly work together, they find they make better allies than rivals as their partnership turns into something more. But with each passing song, it becomes apparent the trouble with the spirits is far more sinister than they first expected, and an older, darker secret about Cadence lurks beneath the surface, threatening to undo them all.

With unforgettable characters, a fast-paced plot, and compelling world building, A River Enchanted is a stirring story of duty, love, and the power of true partnership, and marks Rebecca Ross’s brilliant entry on the adult fantasy stage.

Cadence, the world this fantasy/legend is built in reads like historic Scotland, a place where fae creatures are placated and feared for their ability to wreak havoc on their magical human counterparts. So there's a tension that is created between the beauty and function of magic and the magical creatures whose agenda seems to be in direct conflict with that of the humans, who are often looked upon with derision and disgust by the very creatures of air/water/fire and earth who see them as prey. Though I realize that Adaira is the female protagonist to Jack's male protagonist, I thought she was unnecessarily cruel and unpleasant, even after she marries Jack for somewhat murky reasons (she claims to eventually love him, but I don't really buy it). On the other hand, Jack seemed to lack spine, and was wishy-washy in his decision-making of whether to stay or go off the Island. This novel, like good Scotch whiskey, is meant to be sipped and savored for it's divine prose and dreamy plot. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to fans of TJ Kline and Patricia McKillip.

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne was recommended to me because I liked the delightful Legends and Lattes series. Fortunately, it did not disappoint, with an LGBTQ character-driven plot and mesmerizing prose that kept the characters (and setting) interesting. Here's the blurb: 

"You like tea. I like books. Care to open a shop and forget the world exists?"

All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.

But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town nestled in the icy tundra of dragon country, and open the shop of their dreams.

What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world.

While there is a bit of pandering to fantasy and lesbian romance tropes in this book, it's all done with a lightheartedness and genuine love of books and tea that fairly flies off the page and lands in your tea mug. Reyna and Key are fun characters, but I felt that for all her power, Kianthe, or Key, as Reyna calls her, comes off as somewhat immature and spiteful and silly, pouting like a teenage girl when she doesn't get her way. Fortunately Reyna has spine and strength enough for both of them, but at times I wondered if they didn't find each other's foibles tiresome. Still, this is a fantasy world I'd happily return to, if any sequels are in the offing. I'd give it a B+, and recommend it to fans of Legends and Lattes.

The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz is a science fiction/romance novella that could be considered a short story, though it's well written enough that it leaves readers thirsting for more tales of the spunky AI repair gal and the 275 year old AI Cybernetic shop assistant who pines for her former owner by keeping her tea shop alive. Here's the blurb: 

Clara Gutierrez is an AI repair technician and a wanderer. Her childhood with her migrant worker family has left her uncomfortable with lingering for too long, so she moves from place to place across retro-futuristic America.

Sal is a fully autonomous robot. Older than the law declaring her kind illegal due to ethical concerns, she is at best out of place in society and at worst vilified. She continues to run the tea shop previously owned by her long-dead master, lost in memories of the past, struggling to fulfill her master's dream for the shop while slowly breaking down.

They meet by chance, but as they begin to spend time together, they both start to wrestle with the concept of moving on...

A F/F retro-future sci-fi asexual romance. A story about artificial intelligence and real kindness, about love, and the feeling of watching steam rising softly from a teacup on a bright and quiet morning. 

This is one of those stories that is just a jewel of beautiful prose and a heartwarming storyline combined with unforgettable characters that stays with you your whole life.There isn't much I can say without spoiling it for future readers, other than to note that I fell in love with sad and sweet Sal, whose heart outpaced that of the humans around her by a factor of 10. Katz's prose and storytelling reminded me of a combination of Ray Bradbury's masterful short works and Ursula LeGuins tender futuristic lovers who don't let their sex define them. Seriously, READ THIS STORY. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two to do so, and you will be glad you did, even if it makes you cry, as it did me (got me right in the feels, as the kids say today). I'd give it an A, and recommend it to every sentient being on the planet. This is art in word form, and it will move you, I guarantee it.

Unraveled (Elemental Assassin #15) by Jennifer Estep was the latest installment of the tale of Gin Blanco, Southern BBQ diner owner and assassin extraordinaire, that I managed to snag for a decent price as an e-book for my Kindle Paperwhite. Though the stories are beginning to get redundant and have a familiar story arc that readers can easily anticipate, I have come to see Estep's Spider books as something of a palate-cleanser. I can read one of her books when I'm between books and need to get something heavier out of my mind before I move on to the next tome awaiting me on my TBR pile. Here's the blurb:

Danger and new enemies await Gin Blanco, aka the Spider—the world of Ashland’s most fearsome assassin—in Unraveled, Book 15
What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy?

As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes.

I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.

So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel.

At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.
Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight!

This particular installment takes place in a "Wild West" theme park, and there are so many cliches and tropes woven into the story that you have to laugh at how clumsy and ridiculous the action gets at times. And of course, as usual, Gin is left to save the day and save her friends, who rarely seem to be able to get their sh*t together long enough to not be used as leverage to kill Gin or be put out of action by their own stupidity. These are people who are Gin's family and lover, and they always claim to be ready to "save" her or help her with the book's latest villain, but they just can't seem to cut it, and Gin ends up half dead, wounded and bloody, every time in the end. With friends and family like that, who really needs enemies? If I were Gin I would have dumped these numbskulls a long time ago, but no, she's all sentimental and wears rose colored glasses where they're concerned. The least she could do is tell them to stay behind in Ashland or get them to go home at the first sign of trouble, so they can't be held hostage and used against her. Sigh. Anyway, it all ends well, of course, but I found it more than a bit of a let down, and the story arc was flimsy and silly. Esteps prose is competent, and her plots usually whip along fairly quickly, thank heaven, but I'm inclined to leave this rodeo with a C+ and a recommendation only to serious completists who have to read a series in it's entirety.

A Photo of my TBR Pile, Pillows and Cookbooks: Backlist Reading, Never Forget Eleanor Movie, Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson, No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter, The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran, and Godsgrave, book 2 of the Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff

Hola book lovers! It's March Madness already, with the chill winds and the Oscars blowing in, along with Lent and Easter coming up the first week of April. I can't believe it's nearly full Spring here in the PNW. We usually don't have temps this warm this time of year, but it's refreshing to have cold evenings and warm rains to wash away the winter detritus. I'm going to try and insert a photo of my current TBR pile of books that I keep on my bed, which are my immediate reading material, vs the books on my red book cart, that are unread but can wait, and the unread books on my bookshelves which sit there, gathering dust and making me feel feckless and mean for shoving them aside. Meanwhile, I've got 16 physical books and 4 new e-books to read, the latter on my Kindle Paperwhite (not shown).

Meanwhile, here's a couple of tidbits and four book reviews from yours truly.

I used to read my mothers cookbooks, and then when I'd find an old cookbook at a garage sale, I would buy it and take it home and avidly go through it, though I never dared suggest to my mother that she try the more "exotic" recipes, because she  was an excellent cook, but only within familiar parameters of Midwestern fare. She worked a full time job as a nurse, took care of three children with health problems and managed to cook and clean and maintain her home, all without any help at all from my father. So I figured adding more to her plate wasn't a good idea...she was keeping it all going by the skin of her teeth as it was. But I dreamed and drooled while reading The Moosewood Cookbook, or French Cooking with Julia Child, or Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking.

Pillows and Cookbooks: Highlighting Backlist Reading

Does anyone else love a Sunday morning in bed with a cup of thick bitter coffee and a pile of cookbooks? I highly recommend it. I am a homebody who after a recent devastating house fire has moved three times in as many months with my very favorite husband and wild happy pack of dogs.

But... without my books. The fire was a disaster, but one that is slowly being remedied with fire restoration experts, paint decks, boxes of fabrics, builders and... replacement books. Turns out someone else's edition is just as good a friend as mine were. I can always turn the pages down again. And the comfort of the old cookbooks reintroduced makes for a practically perfect day in deep midwinter.

There are generations of cooks who don't know Laurie Colwin. That has to change. Colwin first gave us Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen followed quickly by More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen.

Then she died, which I have never quite gotten over. Laurie is a warm, generous cook, and you are going to want to sit at her table and laugh and eat. You will cry when you realize you cannot, but still she will be with you forever once you own these books. They were two of the initial ones I replaced. Her writing is simple and straightforward just like her food. Laurie once did a riff on chocolate cakes, baking a bunch until she found the perfect one with buttermilk and lots of dark cocoa. I can whip up that cake up in 20 minutes flat and wow a room of late-night guests who need one more post-party treat before bed. "One of the delights of life is eating with friends; second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends." Laurie Colwin gets me.

Christopher Kimball has become synonymous with the trend in TV food. He founded Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen and now Milk Street. But his older cookbook The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook is, for my money, still his best. Want to whip up a perfect tall flaky biscuit? Kimball's version never misses. How about fluffy buttermilk pancakes like Grandma made? The secret to those turns out to be egg whites. And fried tomatoes--every summer I want some but because I only make them once or twice a year, I turn to my old tattered copy so I don't waste time ruining the first batch. Eggs Benedict on top of fried green tomatoes is a wow. Spend a couple of hours turning pages here and you will be dreaming up Sunday meals for a month.

Italian food is a staple in most American homes, so The Silver Spoon should be, too. It's still the best loved cookbook in Italy 70 years after it was first published. Roasted pork with prunes? Yes. I mean, it's a game changer. I make great fried chicken--I am an evangelist for my fried chicken, taught to me by my beloved Gram. Nobody else's even comes close. Just ask me. And yet this fried chicken marinated in lemon and olive oil was a revelation. This book is fun to read too. Glazed radishes. Why? Make them and pile them on a Parmesan-encrusted pork chop, and you'll see.

When I was a little girl, my mom got the Time Life Good Cook series. Remember them? They were edited by the brilliant Richard Olney. He and Julia Child, James Beard and M.F.K. Fisher forever changed the way Americans eat and think about food. Along with Alice Waters, they introduced us to seasonal eating. Made from scratch, respecting the seasons, farmer's markets, roasting over flame... these were the lessons that took us away from all those godawful church supper Jell-O salads.

Richard Olney's The French Menu Cookbook is a treatise on why eating well will make your life happier and more beautiful. Seriously. We are living in an age where it is all about what you can't eat. No meat, no gluten, no dairy, no fun. Richard Olney will remind you why food matters. It is a demanding cookbook, but as narrative nonfiction it will just make you drool. I might not cook partridge over a cherry-wood branch, tickling its skin with thyme butter every seventh minute, but I will improve my capon and I will not ever forget the flame, either. I'm still dying to talk about M.F.K. Fisher and Marcella Hazen and Julia Child. Stay tuned for part two. --Ellen Stimson

I'm looking forward to this film, because there are so many suffering with various forms of dementia, and my father died of Lewy Body Dementia, so anything that shines a light on this dreaded, dreadful disease is welcome...the more we understand, the better we are hopefully able to cope with those who have it.

Movies: Never Forget Eleanor

Jason June's children's book Never Forget Eleanor https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscFDcle0I6ak1IEpzSA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6iXDpSlpoMLg-gVdw will be adapted for film by Unger Media. Deadline reported that the animated film "will expand on the story from the popular book which shines a light on dementia and Alzheimer's disease, told through the eyes of a child named Elijah."

"I instantly bonded with the Unger Media team over their passion for the connective power of stories. I know they are the perfect partner to bring my books to new audiences," said June, who is also in development with the company on a film adaptation of his novel Jay's Gay Agenda.

"The moment we read Jay's Gay Agenda, we jumped at the chance to collaborate with Jason June," said Unger Media CEO & founder Jonathan Unger, will also serve as executive prodiucer on the new project. "Jason June's inclusive, yet positive style of storytelling aligns with our ethos of content with a purpose, and Never Forget Eleanor personifies that in this beautiful story. We know families across the globe will fall in love with Elijah and his loving grandma Eleanor, seeing themselves in this sweet story."

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson is a witty YA urban fantasy/mystery that was surprisingly well written and quite thrilling. I was surprised by the ending, which doesn't usually happen in YA books with a mystery woven throughout. Here's the blurb: Veronica Mars meets The Craft when a teen girl investigates the suspicious deaths of three classmates and accidentally ends up bringing them back to life to form a hilariously unlikely--and unwilling--vigilante girl gang.

Meet teenage Wiccan Mila Flores, who truly could not care less what you think about her Doc Martens, her attitude, or her weight because she knows that, no matter what, her BFF Riley is right by her side. So when Riley and Fairmont Academy mean girls June Phelan-Park and Dayton Nesseth die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone's explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.

Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders. But they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer...before the killer strikes again. 

Look, having been one, I understand how horrible teenage girls can be, seriously. I find that my tolerance for their BS has gotten much lower as the years have gone on, however, so when the snarky resurrected teens become even more awful and snotty when they only have a week to "live", I almost quit reading the book. However, the protagonist, Mila, was so deadpan and so heartbroken about the death of her best friend that I couldn't jettison the book altogether...I had to see what would happen and whodunit. Anderson's prose is clean and her plot swift and incisive. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes YA mysteries with modern-day Wiccans and zombie mean girls. Trust me, you'll laugh and have fun reading this one.

No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter is a YA romantic/coming of age/fat-positive book that, though it's British, still has some excellent universal themes of body positivity, fat acceptance and rejection of the diet and exercise industry, which scams millions of people every year into thinking diets work, when they don't work 95% of the time. One of the things I liked best about this book was that the protagonist, Emily, is fat and fabulous, and she doesn't allow all the diet BS and fatphobia to dictate her worth to herself or others. She's confident, dresses fashionably and has good friends and a father who adores her (though he's a wimp who doesn't stand up to her horrible dieting fascist mother, who tries every trick in the book to force her teenage daughter to starve herself). Unfortunately, once Emily happens upon boys and crushes and dating, she starts to question her confidence in her larger body and herself (Men/boys are the ruination of many a confident woman/girl). Here's the blurb:

It's not my body that's holding me back. It's more of a problem that people keep telling me it should.

Meet Emily Daly, a stylish, cute, intelligent and hilarious seventeen-year-old about to start her last year at school. Emily is also fat. She likes herself and her body. When she meets Joe at a house party, he instantly becomes The Crush of Her Life. Everything changes. At first he seems perfect. But as they spend more time together, doubts start to creep in.

With her mum trying new fad diets every week, and increasing pressure to change, Emily faces a constant battle to stay strong, be her true self and not change for anyone.

No Big Deal is a warm, funny inspiring debut YA novel from Bethany Rutter: influencer, editor and a fierce UK voice in the debate around body positivity. 

I agree with the blurb that this is a funny and inspiring work of fiction, and I would hope that it gets into the hands of as many fat teenage girls as possible. Even though I'm long past my teenage years, I recognized myself in Emily, though I wasn't as confident as she was (it was the 70s, and every guy had a poster of tiny little Farah Fawcett on their wall, with her small breasts and slim hips and big blonde hair and huge white teeth...I was the antithesis of Farah when I was a teenager.) However, I did try to maintain a sense of self, though I was bullied by everyone and my mother looked like the dark haired version of Farrah.  The prose was spunky and the plot wobbled in spots, but mainly got it done. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to every teenager who has trouble accepting themselves as they are right now. 

The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran is a supernatural erotic thriller that reminds readers of the old adage to "be careful what you wish for." The prose was clean and tight, but lacked a certain richness that I look for in well written literary fiction. The plot was a bit slow in spots, but once it gained momentum it was like an avalanche, all the way to the rather bittersweet ending. Here's the blurb:

"There's two types of magic at play, here. There's what these characters are trying to do, mixing books and sex and spells, and then there's the magic Sara Gran is doing to us, as we compulsively read this literary thriller. And there's a third magic we only wish we could do: pay in blood to go back, read this book again for the first time." — Stephen Graham Jones

A mysterious book that promises unlimited power and unrivaled sexual pleasure. A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime. And a twist so shocking, no one will come out unscathed.

After a tragedy too painful to bear, former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull, sexless life as a rare book dealer. Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around. The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic, rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written--if it really exists at all. And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it—if she can. Her search for the book takes her from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris, searching the dark corners of power where the world’s wealthiest people use black magic to fulfill their desires. Will Lily fulfill her own desires, and join them? Or will she lose it all searching for a ghost? The Book of the Most Precious Substance is an addictive erotic thriller about the lengths we’ll go to get what we need—and what we want.

I disagree with the blurb that this is an addictive novel. I suppose if you're into weird sex and creepy men who think light BDSM is a big thrill, then you'd be likely to love this book. I'm not a fan of pain, nor do I find beating women to "arouse" them sexy or sensual...I find it abusive and misogynistic. I also don't find the idea of using sexual fluids (yuck) and blood (from killing someone) to complete spells in order to revive someone to be a reasonable goal for anyone. But then, people with no morals or values or of decent character are somewhat opaque to me...I don't get them at all. Horrible people make me nauseous. Hence, I was disappointed by the book and it's unsatisfying ending. I'd give it a C, and only recommend it to people who enjoy reading about terrible and wealthy book collectors.

Godsgrave (book 2 of the Nevernight Chronicles) by Jay Kristoff is a dark action/adventure fantasy that verges, but never quite falls into Steampunk fiction. Kristoff's prose is lush and evocative, even when he's describing disgusting and gross things like blood, guts, torture, etc. the plot moves like a scythe cutting ripe wheat, and I was at the end of this large e-book of over 400 pages before I knew it. Here's the blurb:

The second thrilling installment of the award-winning Nevernight Chronicle, from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a ruthless assassin continues her quest for vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church hierarchy think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending the men who destroyed her familia; in fact, she’s told directly that Consul Scaeva is off limits. But after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia's suspicions about the Red Church’s true motives begin to grow.

When it’s announced that Scaeva will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end him. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between love and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world. 

There are more twists and turns in this book than a roller coaster, which makes for page-turning reading. That said, I didn't think it would end the way it did, or end with the cliffhanger that leaves readers frustrated as to the fate of our protagonist assassin, Mia, aka the Crow. But now that some of the bad guys are dead and Mia's on the run, I'm at a crossroads as to whether to spend the money to download the final book onto my Kindle Paperwhite. To be honest, this series is far more gory and gruesome than I like, and I'm generally not a fan of horror fiction or media like movies and TV shows. Still, a lot of plot lines were finished in this book, which I appreciate. So I'm going  to give it a B, and recommend it to anyone who read the first book and who has a strong stomach for blood and guts.