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.