Happy New Year, Blake Lively Sues CoStar for Sexual Harassment, To Kill a Shadow and To Shatter the Night by Katherine Quinn, Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal, Miss Amelia's List by Mercedes Lackey, and Jilted in January by Cara Maxwell

Happy New Year, my fellow readers! I hope that this year brings you a plethora of wonderful books and movie/TV adaptations of books to keep your mind and heart alive with creative sparks! I've got only one tidbit and five books to review on this, the last day of 2024, so lets get to it!

I watched It Ends With Us just recently on Netflix, and while I thought it was well done, I felt there was something off about the production right from the get-go. Now I know why, and I'm sickened that Lively's co-star treated her so cruely during the production of this film about a woman who ends her abusive relationship after the birth of her daughter.  Baldoni ought to be ashamed of himself.

The Bloom is Off

Following a press tour that managed to be more fraught than the rollout of Don’t Worry Darling, Blake Lively is suing her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment. Lively also alleges—with the help of damning private messages—that Baldoni launched a smear campaign intended to tank her career. This is a fantastic piece of reporting by the New York Times ‘s Megan Twohey, Mike McEntire, and Julie Tate, and it’s well worth your time, both for the specifics of this case and the generally chilling details about what a Hollywood take-down effort looks like in the social media era. It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover, who tends to avoid the spotlight, spoke out this weekend in support of Lively, encouraging her to “Never change. Never wilt.” (That’s a reference to Lively’s character, Lily Bloom, who owns a floral shop.) If you missed it in theaters, It Ends With Us is streaming on Netflix now.

To Kill A Shadow and To Shatter the Night by Katherine Quinn are both romantasy/dark/horror adventure novels that, while beautifully produced with lovely cover art and dark blue-black end pages,falls prey to every trope and cliche of fantasy romances, including the poor-but-gorgeous petite heroine who is child-like but sexually attractive, yet trained from childhood to be a lethal assassin/warrior. She also, inevitably, has a very sad background story in which her parents were terrible people and abandoned her to die. Of course, the same thing happened (what a coincidence!) to the male protagonist, with whom she falls deeply in love almost instantly, and with whom she shares her scars, both external and internal. This, of course, bonds them even deeper, and somehow makes them lust after one another even more (he "gets" me! she "understands my pain"!). Ugh. Here's the blurbs: 

 

To Kill a Shadow: Jude Maddox knows nothing of love or even light. He knows only his grim duty as the Hand of Death, to lead the Knights of the Eternal Star into a land filled with nightmares and certain demise. It’s only when he sees her―a young woman with wild, amber eyes who’s as fierce, defiant, and swift as the shadow beasts themselves―that he feels the warmth of life in his blood…

The other Knights may fear their lethal commander, with his hard, merciless demeanor. Outcast Kiara Frey sees only a leader, a man who knows how to survive. Someone like her. But wanting him is as treacherous as the shadows themselves…and just as seductive.

With a kingdom on the verge of collapse, the Knights must now venture into the darkest heart of the land and uncover the secrets of the misted shadows, where evil will prey upon their minds and feast on their flesh.

It will betray their senses.
It will surpass their nightmares.
Most of them will die.

But they have no other choice. Because the only way to fight the darkness…is to become it.

To Shatter the Night: Welcome back into the Mist…in the astonishing sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller To Kill a Shadow…

Some fear the darkness. It’s the place where horror hides, concealing its rank, sharp teeth and insatiable hunger. But there is no darkness more feared than that of the mist that’s overtaken the kingdom...and its brave―and ultimately doomed― soldiers.

Except for Kiara Frey.
She has nothing to fear from the night. Not anymore.

Driven by the fury of her splintered heart, Kiara knows that the answers―and the only possible way to a future with Jude Maddox―begin with the realm’s most notorious thief, the Fox. Together, they hunt down the path to breaking Asidia’s dark curse, but in the shadows, something more horrifying than the mist lies in wait. Watching. Willing Kiara to find the game pieces set in place long ago.

As Jude and Kiara are lured to a sacred temple―a shrine that is the home to both exquisite dreams and chilling nightmares―Kiara’s newfound powers flourish but her shadows threaten to consume her.

Because here in these cursed lands, it’s not the darkness that destroys the soul...it’s love.
 

While the prose was lush and often too descriptive for my taste (I didn't need to read about how people die gruesome deaths), the plots of both these novels was straight as a string and moved at a clip, keeping the reader going until the easily predicted ending. The Gods and Goddesses of this world seem as flawed and petty as the people inhabiting it, and while that makes them seem more accessible, it also makes them seem inordinately cruel for using humans as game pieces on a cosmic chessboard. I'd give the first book a B, and the second a B-, and recommend them to those who enjoy "spicy" horror adventure novels.

 

Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal is a paranormal historic fantasy novel that was beautifully written and plotted to perfection. Here's the blurb: Ghost Talkers is a brilliant historical fantasy novel from acclaimed author Mary Robinette Kowal featuring the mysterious spirit corps and their heroic work in World War I.

Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force.

Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence.

Ginger and her fellow mediums contribute a great deal to the war efforts, so long as they pass the information through appropriate channels. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiancé to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she's just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing.

 

 The first line of this book was written by the wonderful John Scalzi, which is a delightful detail, but the rest of the novel is just as well written, with an action-packed and unrelenting plot that will keep readers turning pages just as rapidly as I was. The chapters are laden with the emotional turmoil of the time of the Great War, and the spiritualist movement that was on the rise at the time of the first decade of the 20th century. In fact, this book was so well researched and written that I had a hard time believing that there wasn't actually a group of mediums set to talk to dead soldiers about troop movements and positions. Ginger and Ben's love story is poignant without being too soupy or sentimental, and the ending was heartbreakingly beautiful. I'd give this stellar novel an A, and recommend it to anyone interested in the first world war and spiritualism.

 

Miss Amelia's List by Mercedes Lackey is her 17th Elemental Master's novel, which are all wonderfully addictive fantasy/romance/adventure books (I've read them all). Here's the blurb:

The seventeenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series follows Amelia Stonehold and Serena Meleva as they navigate property acquisition, marriage proposals, and other ancient horrors in Regency England, but with the help of elemental magic

The year is 1815, and an American, Miss Amelia Stonehold, has arrived in the Devon town of Axminster, accompanied by her "cousin" Serena Meleva. She’s brought with her a list to tick off: find a property, investigate the neighbors, bargain for and purchase the property, staff the property and...possibly...find a husband. But Amelia soon finds herself contending with some decidedly off-list trouble, including the Honorable Captain Harold Roughtower, whose eyes are fixed on her fortune. Little does Amelia know that his plans for her wealth extend far beyond refurbishing his own crumbing estate — they include the hidden Roman temple of Glykon, where something very old, very angry, and very dangerous still lurks.

But Roughtower isn’t prepared to reckon with the fact that neither Amelia nor Serena are pushovers. And he certainly isn’t ready for the revelation that he has an Earth Master and a Fire Mage on his hands — or that one of them is a shapeshifter.

 

One thing that I love about Lackey's EM series is that her female protagonists are strong and bright enough to fend for themselves, even in an environment where its frowned upon for women to be anything but fragile and demur. Her heroines also usually have some type of physical or mental disability that doesn't hold them back from saving the day. Here both young women, Amelia and Serena face racism, misogyny and pathologically evil men bent on stealing their powers and fortunes. Lackey's prose is divine, and her plots are sturdy and straightforward, and never flag or slow for info-dumping. I couldn't put the book down, and look forward to book 18 in the series, hopefully coming soon. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read any of her other EM novels.

 

Jilted in January by Cara Maxwell was a surprising find on "stuff your e-reader with free books day" on December 26th.  While most of the books were by authors I've never heard of, and many looked to be self-published, this novel was well-edited and written with style. This subtitled "Rake Review" tackles racism and sexism while also providing a fairly spicy love story. Here's the blurb: No. Absolutely not. Persephone Cuthbert would rather walk over hot coals than say one word to the man who broke her heart—let alone help him.

The author of The Rake Review may have declared him the most marriageable man in London, but Persephone knows the truth. Edward Johns is the cold-hearted bastard who broke her heart. She will not allow him to play her or the unsuspecting ladies of London false.

Except Persephone has made helping people her life’s work. How can she refuse him when a man’s life is in danger?

Ten years ago, Edward Johns jilted the love of his life for the sake of familial duty. He’s hardened his heart to steel, and he has no desire to marry—he intends to leave all of that to his younger brother, Alfred. Until said wastrel disappears without a trace. 

 

Few romantic fantasy novels that I've read have a male protagonist who is half Chinese (or Asian of any kind), and fewer have a smart as a whip female protagonist who has a history with said gentleman and who doesn't want to allow him back into her heart or to toy with some other young woman's heart. Though she sometimes veers a bit close to "so smitten she can't think" territory, Persephone figures Edward out and the two manage to solve the "mystery" of his stupid wastrel brother's kidnapping, which wasn't a real kidnapping at all. I'd give this saucy and bright novel a B+, and recommend it to anyone looking for a smart romantic fantasy that's diverse and full of amusing dialog.

 

Quote of the Day, Holiday Hum for Phinney Books, Reminders of Him Movie, Wuthering Heights Movie, Worthy of Fate by A.N. Caudle, Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout, Hell and Back by Gray Holborn, and The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays to all on this Christmas eve evening! I've got one more Christmas book coming this year, and then I plan on only cooking a simple meal on Christmas day, and spending the rest of the time drinking hot tea and reading in bed, which is a luxury that I am not always afforded as a caregiver to my gravely ill husband (and I myself am battling pneumonia). But, though I still haven't reached a thousand posts, I do plan on keeping this blog going through next year, which will be it's 20th year of existence. I was unsure I'd have the energy and time to keep going, but I've found that making time for my blog helps keep me sane when things get bad around my household, which has happened more and more frequently. May the heavens smile on you all in 2025, and may you read as many good/great books as possible.

 

Though. I have to shop Amazon sometimes (due to there not being a bookstore nearby, and the fact that they do free shipping all over for prime members, so I can send my mom in Iowa some books), I still prefer a real indie bookstore, like Island Books on Mercer Island, or Powells in Oregon, to putting money in the pocket of this extremely rich and powerful man.

 

Quotation of the Day

 

"Jeff Bezos: The weaselly Amazon owner forbade the Washington Post from

endorsing Kamala Harris, so I'm no longer endorsing Amazon. Why buy

books from this craven creep when independent bookstores deserve our

support? That's why I'm pleased to announce that the official vendor of

my books is now Bookshop.org, which has raised millions of dollars for

local bookstores."--Andy Borowitz in the Borowitz Report, about his own Project 2025,which focuses on "breaking up with the oligarchs," including Jeff

Bezos

I'm so glad that there are folks who go out of their way to shop at real bookstores during the holidays. It makes my heart happy that places like Phinney Books (in the neighborhood where Jim and I lived when we moved here in 1991) will continue to exist for years to come, becoming old haunts for my fellow bibliophiles, just like the Couth Buzzard Bookstore was for me back in the early 90s.

 

 Holiday Hum: Nearing the Finish Line

With less than a day to go until Christmas and the first night of

Hanukkah, booksellers from around the U.S. offer their assessment of the

holiday shopping season:

Phinney Books in Seattle, Wash., has had a fall season that has matched last year's "almost exactly," reported owner Tom Nissley, "which we're very happy with."

Nissley described most of 2024 as a year without a single huge book that

everyone needs to have. Over the past week or so, however, James by

Percival Everett has started to emerge as that title, with Nissley

describing it as a book that one can give to "almost any reader." His

personal favorite handsell of the season, he said, is A Woman in the

Polar Night by Christiane Ritter, written in 1938 and recently reissued

by Pushkin Press. And "many, many people," he added, seem to want to

read or re-read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder.

Other highlights include The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, which

has "been a hit ever since it came out," and Jonathan Blitzer's Everyone

Who Is Gone Is Here, which has seen a nice boost since it was included

in the New York Times' Top 10. All of Claire Keegan's "beautiful little

books," including Small Things Like These, have seen boosts as well.

Local titles also do well over the holidays, with two examples this

season being Street Trees of Seattle by Taha Ebrahimi and Renee

Erickson's cookbook Sunlight & Breadcrumbs.

Nissley noted that while shipping has been slow from some midsize

suppliers, and some titles have been out of stock since early December,

things have been running "relatively smoothly." And when it comes to

titles being out of stock in particular, the situation is better this

year than the "first couple Covid seasons."

Looking ahead, Nissley expects the end of the season to be "very busy,"

and hopes there isn't any severe weather right around Christmas.

"Although even if there is," he said, "we'll likely stay open." The

"real unknown," he continued, is "how the country, and our part of it,

will respond when the new regime actually takes power in January."

Priorities may change, but Nissley said he has "no idea how that will

relate to publishing, and to reading."

I just watched the movie adaptation of "It Ends With Us" which was about surviving domestic abuse and gaslighting from toxic men. It was a heart-wrenching film, but very well done. I hope that this next movie based on a Hoover novel is just as smart and interesting.

 

Movies: Reminders of Him

Vanessa Caswill (Love at First Sight) will direct Reminders of Him,

based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover. Deadline reported that

Hoover and Lauren Levine adapted the novel, which they are producing

through their production company, Heartbones Entertainment. The movie is

set to release on February 13, 2026.

The film adaptation of Hoover's It Ends With Us was a box office hit

last summer. Her novel Verity "is undergoing the feature film treatment

with The Idea of You duo Anne Hathaway and Michael Showalter attached to star and direct, respectively. Regretting You is also getting adapted

for the big screen with Allison Williams, McKenna Grace and Dave Franco

set to star among others," Deadline noted.

I've been a fan of Wuthering Heights and the Bronte sisters for years, so I look forward to seeing this new adaptation.

 

Movies: Wuthering Heights

Emerald Fennell's (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) adaptation of Emily

Bronte's Wuthering Heights"has landed a romantic release date" of February 13, 2026 (Valentine's Day Weekend), IndieWire reported, noting that the movie "is already shaping up to be one of the more anticipated dramas despite being over a year away, but that's because the film stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi."

 

 

Worthy of Fate by A.N. Caudle is a romantasy novel with an unusual magic system and some equally unusual characters. I don't believe this book was traditionally published, but as a self published tome, it took me a longer time than normal to get ahold of a copy. Here's the blurb:

The Gem

Marked by the Gods, Kya is forced to partake in a Trial for a chance to be deemed Worthy. If she succeeds, she’ll be gifted great powers. If she fails, she could lose her life or worse. But that’s only the start of her worries. Now, the same plague that took her home is spreading and threatening the fate of the realm. Can Kya survive the Trial of the Gods and gain the needed power to rid the world of the growing threat before it’s too late? Or will she be drawn to what awaits her in the shadows?

The Shadow

Ryker has waited a long time for her—his mate. Now he’s found her. He plans to claim what is rightfully his, but dark forces threaten to destroy his Nation should he embrace the bond he so desperately desires. Unable to escape the drive to be near her, he waits for his precious gem, lingering in her shadow.

Worthy of Fate is the first book in a new adult, dark fantasy romance series with an intriguing magic system, dark forces, Spirits, and forbidden fated mates.

The "dark" fantasy trope I feel has become somewhat overused, as had the overly possessive mean and large male "mate" who, as an expert at killing, always seems on the edge of domestic violence, and can only be "reigned in" by the female protagonist, though she is, inevitably, petite and infantilized (though she's a warrior who can take care of herself, unless its against magic creatures, and then she needs her big strong mate to rescue her) enough that all the men she encounters find her irresistibly sexy. Of course, to contrast with how wonderful the female protagonist is, the female antagonist goes around destroying things in the name of the male antagonist. I felt that the story was very readable, and the prose clean and clear enough that the strong plot sailed along, making this book a page turner, for the most part.  The ending cliffhanger was a pain, but at least it had an ending. I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to those who believe that fate decides our destiny.

 

Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout is a YA romantasy that tries to be different than the millions of other romantasy books being published out there, by not having the male protagonist be a vampire or a werewolf or some other kind of shapeshifter that is common fairytale/fantasy story lore (especially these days when it seems every author is encouraged to write YA or adult romantic fantasy. Seriously, the market is over-saturated at this point, but publishers are all in on making money on the coattails of Sarah Maas's works and that of her predecessors like Anne McCaffrey and Zenna Henderson and Andre Norton). Here's the blurb: This deluxe hardcover edition features gorgeous sprayed edges with stenciled artwork and bonus content. This breathtaking collectible, available in the US and Canada, is a must have a must-have for any book lover.

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring...until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

 
So instead of the jerk who is too handsome to ignore being a vampire, he's an alien who glows like a lightbulb, and his sister is a manic pixie dream girl looking for someone like herself to befriend, since she's a lonely alien. So Katy, who can't seem to keep away from Daemon, though he's a complete asshat, becomes friends with the fragile and child like Dee, (Daemon's sister) who really, really needs a friend who isn't one of her fellow aliens. WHY is never quite clear to me, just as I can't understand why any young woman with half a brain can't seem to keep it in her pants for the local bad boy asshat who literally takes pleasure in insulting her and making her feel bad about herself, mainly because he doesn't want to fall for her himself, which is the reason we're supposed to forgive him this consistent abuse and support his relationship with Katy. I didn't support nor understand their relationship at all, and I find this kind of backhanded misogyny to be repulsive. This is right up there with the 19th century BS that was fed to society about women being too emotional and too hormonal to hold political office, or to vote, or start their own business or even have their own bank account. FOR SHAME, Armentrout! I have read other series you've written where the female protagonist was strong and not some sweet infantilized petite girl who can't keep her head around a handsome boy. So I'd give this novel a B-, and not recommend it to anyone looking for something imaginative and new, because this novel is mutton dressed as lamb.

 

Hell and Back (Book 4 of the Protector Guild) by Gray Holborn is a long romantasy series with a lot of "spicy" sex scenes and an unusual group of young men and women who are all sexually attracted to the main character, the inevitable manic pixie dream girl, who doesn't recognize her powers and seems always on the edge of ripping off her clothes and having sex with a member of team 6. Here's the blurb:

Team Six and I have finally found our ticket into Hell. But the journey to cashing it will be anything but easy, and every decision along the way will come with a sacrifice...sacrifices we might not be willing to make.

Darius’s creepy brother, Claude, is determined to push us out of his city as soon as he possibly can. And, oh man, are we ready to leave. But, unfortunately for us all, hitching a ride to hell will have to wait.

On top of dealing with the fang twins’ turbulent relationship (and, wow, is that putting it lightly), I have to navigate Declan and Atlas’s suddenly chilly demeanor towards me. Something happened that night in the hotel suite that changed things between us all, but nobody will talk to me about it.

And something changed in me too, something that I don’t quite know how to deal with. A strange power is starting to build, and I have to find a way to harness and accept it before it destroys me and everyone I care about. Unfortunately, that means coming to terms with the increasingly real possibility that everything The Guild—and my family—has told me is a lie.

The monsters are coming for me, that much is clear—but it just so happens that I may very well be a monster myself… Hell and Back is the fourth book in The Protector Guild series and it does end on a cliffhanger. Max's story is a slow-burn why choose / polyandry romantasy series. Get ready for action, spice, and intrigue. 

 

Max's irresistibility aside,  I found it difficult to understand why everyone could barely keep their hands off of her, even a tortured vampire with PTSD. Since no one can seem to uncover what flavor of monster she is, my guess is that they're going to find out Max is either an angel or a demon of some kind. Her overly optimistic and naive personality got to be rather irritating by the end of this book, which is why I don't think I will be moving on to book 5 in the series. That said, Holborn's prose is succinct and her characters well developed, and the plots of her novels move gracefully along with few plotholes or infodumps to slow things down. I'd give this novel a B, and only recommend it to those who have read the first three books.

 

The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen is a historical romantic mystery novel that had a swift plot and fascinating characters. Here's the blurb:

An investigation into a girl’s disappearance uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II in a haunting novel of suspense by the bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Paris Assignment.

London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case.

Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?

 

I found the tale of children misplaced or stolen during the WWII evacuations to be riveting stuff, as these are tales you don't often hear of during the war years. I've read other books by Bowen, and she rarely lets the reader down with her fully formed characters and her background research into the times and places her characters live. I always learn something from her novels, and this particular one was so poignant, with the lives of families changed forever and the grief that goes with that, that I felt this mystery with a heart was well worth the price I paid to purchase it as an e-book. Though it definitely doesn't have a traditional HEA, there's a satisfying ending for most of the characters, including the female protagonist, journalist Liz H. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who wonders about the children who went missing during WWII.

 

Obituaries for Nikki Giovanni, MJ Rose, Nickel Boys Becomes A Movie, Quote of the Day, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox, and the Protector Guild Volumes 1-3 by Gray Holborn

It's almost Christmas, bibliophiles! Here's hoping that your stocking is stuffed with bookish presents and that there's a bunch of tomes under the tree to fill out your TBR! Meanwhile, though, things have looked kind of grim in the world of books, as we have lost a couple of my favorite wordsmiths, which makes me sad. Millions of readers mourn your loss to the world of literature. Rest in peace, Nikki and MJ. Your legacy of poems and novels will live on through the centuries. 

 

 I've been in love with Nikki G's wonderful poems since I was a teenager, and I'm not surprised that the world mourns her loss. 

 

Obituary Note: Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni,"the charismatic and iconoclastic poet, activist, children's book author and professor who wrote, irresistibly and sensuously, about race,

politics, gender, sex and love," died yesterday at age 81, according to

the New York Times.

As the Times noted, Giovanni was "a prolific star of the Black Arts

movement," but was also independent of it. She was "a celebrity poet and

public intellectual who appeared on television and toured the country.

She was a riveting performer, diminutive at just 105 pounds--as

reporters never failed to point out--her cadence inflected by the jazz

and blues music she loved, with the timing of a comedian or a Baptist

preacher who drew crowds wherever she appeared throughout her life. She

said her best audiences were college students and prison inmates." She

appeared regularly on Soul!, the Black culture program that aired on

public television from 1967 to 1972.

Giovanni wrote more than two dozen books, including volumes of poetry,

illustrated children's books, and three collections of essays. Her early

poetry included Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968), Black Judgement

(1968), and Re: Creation (1970). In 1971, she published the memoir

Gemini: An Extended Autobiographical Statement on My First Twenty-Five

Years of Being a Black Poet. Her other poetry collections include The

Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni (1996), Blues: For All the Changes

(1999), The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998 (2003), and

Bicycles: Love Poems (2009).

Her 2007 children's picture book Rosa, focused on Rosa Parks, won a

Caldecott Honor Award, and its illustrator, Brian Collier, won a Coretta

Scott King Award. Among Giovanni's many awards and honors were multiple NAACP Image Awards, the Langston Hughes Award, and the Rosa Parks Women of Courage Award.

Several indie booksellers paid tribute to Giovanni on social media,

including Baldwin & Co. New Orleans, La., which posted, in part: "Nikki Giovanni taught us to see ourselves, to honor our stories, and to speak truth to power with

grace and boldness. She dared us to dream beyond boundaries and loved

our culture fiercely through her poetry, essays, and presence. As we

reflect on her life and legacy, let us honor her by continuing to

create, to write, and to uplift one another. Rest in power, Nikki

Giovanni. You will forever be missed, but your words will live on in our

hearts."

MahoganyBooks,

Oxon Hill, Md., Noted: "Dearest Nikki Giovanni. Rest well.

Our prayer is that you knew how much so many of us loved you. That you

felt it without one piece of doubt. Knew that we felt seen by your words

so deftly written on each page and your imagination of what 'Us' could

be. Whew! We were just with you in February and we chuckled at the

shirts we wore... unplanned and all reveling in our continued boldness

to celebrate our history, our books that others... think necessary to

ban. Your light will remain lit for a lifetime."

I'm gutted at the unexpected loss of the wonderful MJ Rose, whose works I've been reading and loving for decades. I think I've read most of her works, but I'm particularly fond of her "daughters of La Lune" series, which was beautifully written paranormal romance. Rest in Peace dear author.

 

Obituary Note: M.J. Rose

Very sad, shocking news. M.J. Rose (Melisse Shapiro), author, marketer,

Author Buzz founder, a founder of International Thriller Writers,

co-owner of 1,001 Dark Nights, died suddenly yesterday (editor's note: No one is saying what she died of that made it so sudden, but I'm hoping that it wasn't something like suicide).

She was a remarkable person, always full of ideas, sharp, challenging,

warm, a striking personality, and a true friend to so many authors and

others in the book world. As Jenn Risko, co-founder and publisher

emerita of Shelf Awareness, said, "M.J. Rose was a much-loved author,

publisher, and force of excellence and innovation for our industry. She

started Author Buzz when we started the Shelf and she quickly became

known to us as the patron saint of authors, tirelessly working with

those who wanted better marketing. She had more ideas on how to do it

better than anyone, and was constantly searching for the new ones. She

was a huge and dear friend to us all and will be greatly missed."

And Shelf publisher Matt Baldacci said: "I first met Melisse in 1999

when we at St. Martin's published her prescient book How to Publish and

Promote On-Line. The very title and timing of that book speaks volumes

about how she thought and how she helped people. She has been a

confidante and friend since that time, and will be greatly missed."

M.J. was always busy, seemed always to be writing, and exploring a

variety of genres, and creating her own genres. Altogether she wrote 19

novels and three books on marketing, her first career. (With Doug Clegg,

she wrote Buzz Your Book.) Lip Service was her first novel, which she

self-published in 1998. As she proudly noted on her website, it was "the first e-book and first self-published novel chosen by the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club as well as the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream New York publishing house."

She also wrote the thrillers In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, and Sheet Music.

She introduced Dr. Morgan Snow, a sex therapist, in the Butterfield

Institute Series, which included The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex,

and The Venus Fix. The Reincarnationist, which the Fox TV show Past

Lives was based on, was part of a series of books focused on

reincarnation, including The Memoirist, The Hypnotist, and The Book of

Lost Fragrances. Her more recent work included Forgetting to Remember,

The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams, The Last Tiara, and Cartier's Hope.

With partners Liz Berry and Jillian Stein, she ran 1,001 Dark Nights, which began producing series of novellas based on the Arabian Nights but retold through paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and erotic romance stories.

Author Buzz, the marketing service that puts authors directly in touch

readers, reading groups, booksellers, and librarians, has been

instrumental in the careers of so many writers.

We will miss you, M.J.!

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes out, as Colson Whitehead became something of a literary star for the book version.

 

Movie: Nickel Boys

A new trailer has been released for Nickel Boys

https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJsdgGLxeoI6a1lIx5yTA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x67GWcSipoMLg-gVdw,

based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. IndieWire

reported that writer/director RaMell Ross (Hale County This Morning,

This Evening) "has already been toasted as a filmmaker to watch this

awards season" for his adaptation. Nickel Boys premiered December 13 in

select theaters in New York, with a Los Angeles debut coming December

20. It will expand nationwide in January.

Ross, who co-wrote the script with Joslyn Barnes, received the Auteur

Award at the 2024 IndieWire Honors event, where he said, "The film is

not looking at the Black community, it's looking from the Black

community. And that's a perspective I wasn't seeing often.

Alternatively, I think this film and Colson Whitehead's novel is about

justice on some level, not only visual justice but another justice, one

for the young men of the Dozier School for Boys and their families. And

this is really, really deeply true, we owe those young men for their

stories not to be buried right next to them. It's such a tragedy, such a

horrible story. At a time when we want to forget and ignore the ugly

parts of American history, I wanted to create a loving and experiential

monument to the [real life] Dozier School boys."

So true!

 

Quotation of the Day

"[The bookstore experience is about] discovery and a social space. You

come out of it feeling good... You need to create lovely spaces.

Bookstores have to be friendly. They have to be open. And if you have

them beautifully presented, they're never going away... What really

matters is we have physical stores, which are each a little bit

different, have a real personality, and they're fun to be in."

--James Daunt, Barnes & Noble CEO, on CNBC's Squawk Box

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox is a mystery/paranormal romance about a woman in the early 1920s whose life is changed by an unexpected inheritance. Here's the blurb: In post–World War I England, a young woman inherits a mysterious library and must untangle its powerful secrets.

With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which she’s descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home.

The abbey is foreboding, the servants reserved and suspicious. But there is a treasure waiting behind locked doors: a magnificent library. Despite cryptic warnings from the staff, Ivy feels irresistibly drawn to its dusty shelves, where familiar works mingle with strange, esoteric texts. And she senses something else in the library too, a presence that seems to have a will of its own.

Rumors swirl in the village about the abbey’s previous owners, about ghosts and curses, and an enigmatic manuscript at the center of it all. And as events grow more sinister, it will be up to Ivy to uncover the library’s mysteries in order to reclaim her own story—before it vanishes forever.

 
There are a lot of tropes and cliches to unpack in this novel, including the "angelic nun vs the evil monk" and the "poor but lovely" young woman who is thrown into a dangerous situation with no one to help her but a handsome chauffer/groundskeeper/staff member (who inevitably rescues her and she falls in love with him). Of course Ivy's naive and a bit stupid about anything but books, so she continually puts her foot in it and has to be rescued by the staff, who keep trying to get her to leave, not realizing that she doesn't have anywhere else to go in her impoverished state. I found it unbelieveable that Ivy allowed herself to be tricked into an engagement with an evil lord who was only after her rare magical manuscript....he was so obviously a moustache-twirling bad guy...I mean he leers, he's verbally abusive and manipulative, he tries to force her into submission by locking her up and treating her like a prisoner, and  he makes it pretty clear that after he marries her, she will be dead soon after. While it has a rapidly paced plot and hearty prose, I felt the HEA was rushed, and therefore I'd give this slender volume a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes willowy and somewhat demure heroines who are lucky enough to make it out of bad situations with their skin intact.

 

The Protector Guild, Volumes 1-3 omnibus by Gray Holborn is a YA fantasy/polyamory romance with some LGBTQ themes, including gender non binary and gay couples woven throughout the narrative. That said, the spice is fairly mild, with only one actual sex scene and lots of blushes, frissons and enigmatic attractions woven throughout each chapter...these are "horny teenagers" after all, though some of them are werewolves and others are part incubus or sucubus by heritage. Here's the blurb: They don't want to want her, but they do...

In the shadows of the human world, a secret society of demon hunters fights to keep humanity from the supernatural forces that threaten to tear it apart.

But for Max Bentley, a rookie hunter struggling to find her place amongst her kind, the biggest threat might just be the four brooding, enigmatic members of the most elite team of hunters - all of whom seem to have taken a special, antagonistic interest in her.

She quickly discovers that their past is as dark and complicated as her own. As she is drawn deeper into the mysterious world of demon hunting, she finds herself torn between her duty to her people and her growing attraction to her team.
It's more than her heart on the line, it's the very fabric of our world.

This set includes the first THREE full novels:
Academy of Protectors
Forging the Guild
Dreams of Hell 

 

Just an FYI...Since this omnibus is actually a compendium of three novels, I consider it as counting me having read four books for the purpose of this post to my review blog. 

This book series started out with a cliche of what a teenage girl is, including lustful descriptions of how "petite" she is an yet how sexualized, as if the books were written by a pedophile or some gross old man who oogles young women half his age. Shudder. My initial thoughts were that Max was such a mess, that I wanted to slap her upside the head. Rudeness and the total lack of tact that Max displays are NOT at all "refreshing," they indicators of being spoiled and selfish and infantilized by the men around her, including her old male guardian (who taught her how to fight but didn't somehow teach her about the beings she is supposed to kill and the dangers of just blindly trusting the young men around her). While certain types of "honest" outbursts are cute in young children (those who are anywhere from 2-6 years old), there is nothing "cute" about a teenage girl with no filter who says whatever comes into her head and continually, selfishly, puts everyone around her in grave danger because she can't seem to understand that the bad guys, ie vampires and werewolves and soforth, see humans and protectors as food, to be killed and eaten without remorse or a second thought. Max is awful, and reckless and ignorant, which is always a dangerous combination. Then there's her mysterious "power" to attract anyone and everyone and somehow hold them in a sexual thrall. It seems obvious to me that she's a hellspawn of some kind, probably descended from the former angel Lucifer himself, and that's what has everyone salivating over her. But the author leaves us hanging at the end of book 3, not knowing anything concrete about Max's powers. So I plan on reading book 4 on my kindle to see if there are any revelations. The prose in these books is bright and strong, and the plot swift as an owl chasing down a mouse. I'd give this collection a solid B, and recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal romance with a bit of spice and a lot of teenage idiocy.

 

Quote of the Day, Climbing in Heels Comes to TV, Reading with Stephen Fry, RIP Nikki Giovanni, The Study of Fire by Maria V Snyder, Grimstone and Monarch by Sophie Lark, Bloodguard by Cecy Robson, and Mrs Quinn's Rise To Fame by Olivia Ford

Hurrah! It's my birthday week (Thursday) and I've already received some books as gifts from my friend in Iowa, along with some legal pads and a bunch of new nightgowns and shirts from Woman Within that should get here by Friday...so with new cozy PJs and some good books and tea, I will be all set to spend my day reading and enjoying myself. Meanwhile, I have a lot of tidbits, and five book reviews on offer. Take a break from all that Christmas prep and read on!

 

Quotation of the Day

McNally Jackson at 20: 'It Has Been a Joy'

"It has been the joy and pride of my life to open public places

dedicated to books in New York, to deepen the experience of our streets,

to push into the streetscape and claim spaces for the life of the mind.

Our first bookstore had been a mob front, our second a steel factory,

our third an Ann Taylor, our fourth fallow and vacant since it was

built, our fifth a bank, and the new SoHo store had been a parking

garage. Small victories won by readers and booksellers. Writers make it

possible, writers living and passed. Sappho helps us pay the rent.

Solzhenitsyn helps us pay our booksellers. It's an extraordinary

industry, everyone in it has a debt of gratitude to the body of work

that in its totality is something called books. Bound pages, one of the

most enduring technologies. The interior voice, disembodied and shared,

one of the most extraordinary innovations.

It has been a joy. Thanks for keeping us going."

--Sarah McNally, in part, in a letter to customers today celebrating the

20th anniversary of McNally Jackson in New York City.

This sounds like a fascinating series that I can look forward to in the new year.

TV: Climbing in Heels

Emily in Paris creator Darren Star and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas will

co-write and executive produce a series for Universal Television based

on the latter Goldsmith-Thomas's debut novel, Climbing in Heels https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVfcwe8I6a1ndU92GQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mQDsCnpoMLg-gVdw, Deadline reported. The studio preemptively acquired the rights to the book, which will be published next April.

"I am thrilled to be partnering with Darren Star and Universal

Television to bring life to these complicated, colorful women who

refused to be sidelined or silenced," Goldsmith-Thomas said.

Star added: "I'm excited to team up with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas to

bring Climbing in Heels--her addictive fictional account of Hollywood in

the 1980s through a female lens--to the screen. It's the ballsy and

bawdy love child of Mad Men and Sex and the City. I can't wait for

audiences everywhere to meet this indomitable ensemble of female

characters who broke all the rules to make their own."

I've been a fan of Stephen Fry's since I saw him on reruns (during the 90s) of A Bit of Fry and Laurie, which was a brilliant sketch comedy program that was hilarious.

He's since done a great deal of work on TV and movies, and I've adored him in everything he's done. He's a Renaissance man for the ages.

Reading with... Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVfcwe8I6a1ndU92SA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mQDsCnpoMLg-gVdw is an award-winning comedian,

actor, presenter, and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in

A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and

Wooster, and he was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. He

hosted more than 180 episodes of QI and has narrated all seven of the

Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings. He is the bestselling

author of the Mythos series, which includes the most recent Mythos: The

Illustrated Edition (Chronicle Books), where he draws out the humor and

pathos in each story and reveals its deep resonance with our own lives.

He also wrote four novels and three volumes of autobiography.

On your nightstand now:

Someone recommended Simon Mason, so I picked up A Killing in November, a crime novel set in Oxford. Astonishingly good writing. Brilliant, not "cosy."

Favorite book when you were a child:

Favourite Greek Myths by Lilian Stoughton Hyde. She started my love

affair with it all.

Your top five authors:

Really? Crumbs.

Charles Dickens

Oscar Wilde

James Joyce

Anton Chekhov

P.G. Wodehouse

Book you've faked reading:

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Women in Love by D.H.

Lawrence, the U.S.A. trilogy by John Dos Passos, Moll Flanders by Daniel

Defoe, The Ambassadors by Henry James.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Thomas Mann's Little Herr Friedermann and Other Stories in Penguin

Modern Classics with its George Grosz portrait on the front. What a

cover!

Book you hid from your parents:

Querelle of Brest by Jean Genet. The cover, Panther Books if I recall

aright, was a little too...

Book that changed your life:

Escape from the Shadows by Robin Maugham. A story of growing up gay that so mirrored my own experience.

Favorite line from a book:

"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was

mad," from the epigraph to Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini.

Five books you'll never part with:

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (obv.), the Complete Works of Oscar

Wilde, The Jeeves Omnibus by P.G. Wodehouse, Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh, The Oxford Book of English Verse edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Your favorite Greek god:

I sometimes reply Athena, because she is wise and strong and powerful. I

do admire her enormously, but in the end it has to be Hermes: god of

liars, story-tellers, thieves, rascals, and travelers. He was charming,

but impertinent and cheerful. These are all aspects and qualities that

mean a lot to me.

I developed a love for Giovanni's poetry in college, and I'm gutted that she's gone from this earth. Her wonderful poems will live on, however, which is a grand legacy to have.

Groundbreaking Poet Nikki Giovanni Dies at 81

Beloved poet Nikki Giovanni has died at the age of 81. Giovanni made her name as a standout of the Black Arts Movement and became the rarest of things: a famous poet. Known for her powerful performances, Giovanni was also often invited to comment on politics, current events, and issues of race and gender. If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing Giovanni read her work, here is one wonderful example, though if you’re going to consumer one piece of Giovanni-related media, it really should be this conversation she had with James Baldwin in 1971, well worth two hours of your time. Fare thee well, Ms. Giovanni.

The Study of Fire (Book 3 in Valek's Adventures) by Maria V Snyder is a romantic fantasy adventure novel that tells the story of Fire Study from the male protagonist's (Valek) point of view. It's like getting a second read of a favorite book, but looking at everything that happened in a different way, which is delightful. Here's the blurb:

“What happens if he returns to our world?”
“It will burn.”

There's just no rest for Valek, Ixia’s Chief of Security. Challenges are constant and new problems arrive daily, including a request to help Castletown’s watch solve the mystery of a string of nighttime disturbances, and keeping a close eye on the Commander’s food taster as she schemes her way back into business. As if that isn't enough, the Commander’s life is threatened.

Is the assassination attempt on the Commander a declaration of war by the Sitian Council, or is it a ruse by an unknown party to incite a war between Ixia and Sitia? Valek is sent to Sitia to discover the answer and deal with the threat.

Unfortunately, the problem turns out to be much bigger than even the council and the master magicians can handle. An unsanctioned clan with powerful warpers is plotting to take over both countries. As the danger heats up, Valek and Yelena must reunite and stop the group before they can set their entire world on fire.

A companion novel to Fire Study, The Study of Fire reveals Valek’s side of the story. Find out what problems Valek tackles in Ixia before he joins Yelena in fighting against a unstoppable enemy.

Because I loved the original "Study" series, it's no surprise that this new POV series is a real delight to read, full of "ah ha" moments and sighs when you recall how Yelena reacted to events in the original series. Snyder's prose sparkles and her plots fly on gilded wings, without any plot holes or slow downs, until you're surprised that you've reached the end...it's just that good. I'd give this book (and the other Valek POV books) an A, and recommend them to anyone who read the original series and wants to enjoy visiting that world again.

 

Grimstone and Monarch by Sophie Lark are billed as "romantic thrillers" when what they are is horror/romance novels that have a lot of pornographic scenes in them, enough so that to call them both "spicy" is like calling the Pacific Ocean wet. A gross understatement, and while I do enjoy a bit of spice in my romantasy books, these two novels go into graphic detail on both the torture/horror front and the sexual scenes with an unseemly gusto that can leave some readers nauseous (or in my case, I just skimmed the sexual descriptions and tried to focus on the plot). I was also not a fan of the illustrations, which were grotesque and overblown enough that they resembled the Frazetta illustrations to old 70s science fiction/fantasy novels, with men that are huge and rippling with muscle and women whose breasts and butts are enormous, as are their weirdly snubbed noses, huge cheekbones and puffy lips (but of course they still have tiny waists and delicate hands and feet, blonde hair and long legs). Here's the blurbs:

Grimstone: Remi Hayes is beginning to think she’s cursed—her fiancé cheated on her, her brother Jude is a major pain in her ass, and the moldering mansion she inherited from her uncle might just be haunted.

Flipping Blackleaf Manor already feels impossible, even before Remi is blackmailed by Dane Covett, the dangerously hot doctor-next-door, and Grimstone’s most eligible bachelor—if you can ignore the fact that everyone in town thinks he murdered his wife.

Remi doesn’t want to believe it, especially after Dane sews up a gash in her thigh and steals a kiss in payment—a kiss that makes it hard to walk for reasons that have nothing to do with an injured leg.

But as the renovation takes a strange and violent turn, Remi must decide if Dane is the one haunting her nights, or if he’s trying to protect her from something much worse…

Lark Notes:
Halloween is my favorite! I get such a thrill out of writing a spooky, dark book at this time of year. Remi and Dane are two deeply damaged people with skeletons in their closets. It’s only when they meet each other that they finally find the connection and acceptance that allows them to move on from their dark pasts. I fell in love with the gothic beach town of Grimstone, and will be writing a dark romance set there each autumn. – Sophie

Monarch: From USA Today bestselling author Sophie Lark comes a brand new romantic thriller series in the Gothic, secretive beach town of Grimstone.

In a desperate bid to get out of town, twenty-seven-year-old virgin and bookstore nerd Elena Zelenska becomes the world's most unlikely mail-order bride. Her gamble pays off when she's swept off her feet by Lorne Ronson, handsome single father and (gasp!) actual published author. Elena's new fiancé seems almost too good to be true. Her life is turning into a fairytale, especially once Lorne starts building her a castle in the woods. But when Elena arrives in Grimstone, her fairytale turns darker.

The castle in the woods is a macabre labyrinth of hidden chambers, and Lorne is no Prince Charming. In fact, he might just be a monster.

Isolated far from home, Elena's only ally is Atlas Covett, the owner of the Monarch hotel. Massive and stern, even Atlas' employees are terrified of him. He becomes Elena's unexpected protector, offering solace and sanctuary from the darkness that threatens to consume her.

As Elena's bond with Atlas deepens, her jealous fiancé exerts his control in increasingly twisted ways. Elena must find a way out before the castle he's building becomes a prison she'll never escape.

The Covett brothers are both huge, muscular and manly, and of course grumpy and rude/mean until they meet the young women of their dreams, and have a lot of sex, which turns them both into nice, protective guys who must rescue their damsels in distress. UGH....cliches and tropes abound in these horrific pornographic novels that wouldn't have enough of a plot to publish if it weren't for all the descriptions of oral sex in nearly every chapter. I was disappointed that there wasn't more of a story here, just nightmares and very descriptive sex scenes, which isn't what I look for in a novel at all. If you're going to write "dark" (just a jingoistic word for horror) fantasy porn, call it what it is and leave the regular romantasy readers out of it, please. We're not looking for serial killers and torturers and rapists in our reading, thanks. Though the books are beautifully created with colored edges and such, I'd give them both a C+ and only recommend them to those who don't mind the misogyny of cis gendered porn and horror. 

 

Bloodguard by Cecy Robson is a romantasy action/adventure (swords and sorcery) novel that takes all the battles of films like The 300 and Gladiator and marries them with the elves of Tolkien (only more bloody-minded) and a sprinkling of witty banter in a fast-moving plot. Here's the blurb:

Limited first print run―featuring spray-painted edges with stenciled ivy, as well as gorgeously detailed endpapers and foiled case stamping.
One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise…

Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.
Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena―vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive―would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.

He was wrong―and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.

All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.

Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard―and his freedom.

But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap. Nor will his ultimate revenge.

Though bloody books are not my strong suit, I found myself riveted to Leith and Maeve's story, and their struggles to survive in this Romanesque world of battles and bloodshed. I couldn't put this book down, and read it all in one day. The prose is sleek and stunning and the plot cuts like a fine blade through silk. I was crushed (though not surprised) when it was discovered that Leith's sister and entire family had died years before he was made aware of it, so it would seem all of his attempts at sending them money for food and helping them get medical care was all in vain. But Leith gets his revenge, and there's a hint of how things will change for the better under the new regime. This book is gorgeous to look at, with it's white embossed cover and red/white endpapers, so I would give it an A-, and recommend it to booklovers and book collectors alike.

 

Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford is a "coming of old age" cozy novel with a mystery/secret at it's heart that doesn't detract from the beauty of the prose or the delicious plot that will have you running to the kitchen to bake up something for tea. Here's the blurb: A huge-hearted, redemptive coming-of-old-age tale, a love story, and an ode to good food

Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard’s health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren—which Jenny never had—Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes.

Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras and timed challenges, Jenny delights in a new-found independence. But that independence, and the stress of the competition, starts to unearth memories buried decades ago. Chocolate teacakes remind her of a furtive errand involving a wedding ring; sugared doughnuts call up a stranger’s kind act; a simple cottage loaf brings back the moment her life changed forever.

With her baking star rising, Jenny struggles to keep a lid on that first secret—a long-concealed deceit that threatens to shatter the very foundations of her marriage. It’s the only time in six decades that she’s kept something from Bernard. By putting herself in the limelight, has Jenny created a recipe for disaster?

  

Because this story was based in England, the characters (particularly the women) are self-effacing and insecure, and in Jenny's case, nearly spineless in her fear of not telling her husband of almost 60 years about the baby she had to give up when she was a teenager. Why there's still such hierarchical misogyny in modern England, I don't know, but it lent the whole story a waft of bitterness, at least from my POV, that women aren't allowed to enjoy their successes and must still wait on their men like slaves. That seems pitiful to me, especially in someone Jenny's age, 77, who should know her own worth at this point. Still, I loved her tale of baking and love and persistence, so I'd give this beautiful baked good of a novel a B+, and recommend it to anyone who watches The Great British Bake Off avidly.