Fantasy vs Real Life, Storytime Bookshop Opens in Kennewick, WA, The Return Movie, Orbital Wins Booker Prize, John Steinbeck's Wise Words, Renovations at Powell's City of Books in Portland, OR, Miss Austen on TV, A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan, The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, and The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw

I can hardly believe that we're halfway through November, and on our way to Thanksgiving and my son's 25th birthday!  Wonderful! My husband has been in the hospital these past 8 days and is coming home tomorrow, so today I've been trying to get everything in order for his arrival with a broken hip and mental confusion (never a good combo).  Meanwhile, I've been reading some of the great books my son got me at HPB and at Elliott Bay Book Company on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We spent two hours browsing and buying and chatting with the delightful staff, and it was an uplifting and joyful experience that had me fizzing for a couple of days afterwards. There's also been a lot going on in the book world, so here are a bunch of tidbits and only three book reviews...sorry! More to follow.

 

I've always felt that there are times when life is so surreal, that it seems like we're on the holodeck on the USS Enterprise living out a fantasy. 

 

Is This the Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy?

In case you weren’t stressed out enough by ::waves arms at the whole world::, Gizmodo asked experts in computer science, philosophy, social psychology, and neuroscience if we could be in a computer simulation, and the answers may surprise you. “Using evidence-based reasoning, we can’t conclusively determine whether we are living in a simulation or not. A sufficiently sophisticated simulation can be totally indistinguishable from reality, and any bugs could always be deleted and then the simulation restarted from before their emergence.”

I have always wanted to visit Kennewick, and this gives me another reason to do so someday soon.

 

Storytime Bookshop and Events Opens in Kennewick, Wash.

Storytime Bookshop and Events https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVTcwr8I6a4yJB5zGQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mTDsP3poMLg-gVdw, a dedicated children's bookshop, has officially opened at 309 W. Kennewick Ave. in downtown Kennewick, Wash., offering a selection of primarily used books for children and families, along with some adult fiction.

"At Storytime Bookshop and Events, we take our play seriously. Our

mission is to create a space where children and families can come

together to explore the wonders of literature and imagination. We are

thrilled to bring this vision to life in Downtown Kennewick," said CEO

Lorelei Kennedy.

In addition to books, Storytime Bookshop and Events said it is

"committed to fostering a love for reading and learning through a

variety of engaging activities. The bookshop hosts interactive story

times, free and paid programming, and author signings, providing a

dynamic environment for both education and entertainment."

The business describes itself as a community hub where literacy and

creativity are celebrated, emphasizing "the importance of play and

performance, offering a safe space for children and families to explore

and discover the joys of reading." Storytime Bookshop also provides

off-site workshops, residencies, and professional development.

This sounds like a wonderful retelling and exploration of the Odyssey, with some exceptionally talented actors. I plan on seeing this when it premiers.

 

Movies: The Return

A trailer https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVTcwr8I6a4yJB5xTA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mTDsP3poMLg-gVdw has been released for The Return,inspired by Homer's The Odyssey. The film is co-written, directed, and produced by Uberto Pasolini, "who previously moved viewers to tears this year with Nowhere Special," IndieWire reported. The Return premieres in

theaters December 6.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as Penelope,

reuniting the actors almost 30 years after they co-starred in The

English Patient. The cast also includes Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari,

Claudio Santamaria, and Angela Molina.

The official logline: "After 20 years away, Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up

on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has

returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. His

beloved wife Penelope (Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded

by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the

hands of these suitors, who see him as merely an obstacle to their

pursuit of the kingdom. Odysseus has also changed--scarred by his

experience of the Trojan war, he is no longer the mighty warrior from

years past--but he must rediscover his strength in order to win back all

he has lost."

This book sounds utterly wonderful, and I hope to be able to secure a copy at my local library.

 

Orbital by Samantha Harvey Wins Booker Prize

British author Samantha Harvey won the 2024 Booker Prize for

her novel Orbital https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVTekusI6a4ycUgkHw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mTDJOjpoMLg-gVdw, becoming the first woman to win the award since 2019, when Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo were joint winners. Harvey's novel was published in the U.S. in hardcover by Atlantic Monthly Press in 2023 and was just released in a paperback edition by

Vintage.

Orbital is the first Booker Prize-winning book set in space. At 136

pages, it is the second-shortest book to win the prize and covers the

briefest time frame of any book on the shortlist, taking place over just

24 hours

Harvey said of writing her novel: "I thought of it as space pastoral--a

kind of nature writing about the beauty of space."

Chair of the judges Edmund de Waal commented: "In an unforgettable year

for fiction, a book about a wounded world. Sometimes you encounter a

book and cannot work out how this miraculous event has happened. As

judges we were determined to find a book that moved us, a book that had

capaciousness and resonance, that we are compelled to share. We wanted

everything.

"Orbital is our book. Samantha Harvey has written a novel propelled by

the beauty of sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets. Everyone and no one

is the subject, as six astronauts in the International Space Station

circle the Earth observing the passages of weather across the fragility

of borders and time zones. With her language of lyricism and acuity

Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.... Our unanimity about

Orbital recognizes its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey's

extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious

world we share."

It's no secret that JS is my favorite classic lit author, and these words, written during WW2 are poignant even now, when our country is so divided and about to be lead by a deranged despot who is racist/sexist/homophobic and anti-science, pro-book-banning. His reign, which starts in January, threatens our entire democracy.

So these words have special meaning right now.

John Steinbeck writes on January 1, 1941:

Speaking of the happy new year, I wonder if any year ever had less chance of being happy. It’s as though the whole race were indulging in a kind of species introversion — as though we looked inward on our neuroses. And the thing we see isn’t very pretty… So we go into this happy new year, knowing that our species has learned nothing, can, as a race, learn nothing — that the experience of ten thousand years has made no impression on the instincts of the million years that preceded.

But Steinbeck, who devoted his life to defending the disenfranchised and celebrating the highest potentiality of the human spirit, refuses to succumb to what Rebecca Solnit has so aptly termed the “despair, defeatism, cynicism,  amnesia and assumptions” to which we reflexively resort in maladaptive self-defense against overwhelming evil. Instead, fifteen centuries after Plato’s brilliant charioteer metaphor for good and evil, Steinbeck quickly adds a perceptive note on the indelible duality of human nature and the cyclical character of the civilizational continuity we call history:

“Not that I have lost any hope. All the goodness and the heroisms will rise up again, then be cut down again and rise up. It isn’t that the evil thing wins — it never will — but that it doesn’t die. I don’t know why we should expect it to. It seems fairly obvious that two sides of a mirror are required before one has a mirror, that two forces are necessary in man before he is man. I asked [the influential microbiologist] Paul de Kruif once if he would like to cure all disease and he said yes. Then I suggested that the man he loved and wanted to cure was a product of all his filth and disease and meanness, his hunger and cruelty. Cure those and you would have not man but an entirely new species you wouldn’t recognize and probably wouldn’t like.”

 

I'm hoping that they don't change my favorite mecca bookstore in Oregon so much that I don't recognize it when I visit next time!

 

Reorganization, Renovations Underway at Powell's

A reorganization and renovations are underway at Powell's flagship location in Portland, Ore., Willamette Week reported https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVeIlekI6a4ycEsiHw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mQWpShpoMLg-gVdw.

The reorganization includes moving the science fiction, fantasy, and

romance genres from the relatively small Gold Room on the store's first

floor to the larger Purple Room on the second floor. Those genres are

among Powell's biggest sellers, and the move will allow the bookstore to

expand them.

At the same time, what was once Powell's Orange Room will be renamed the

Home and Garden Room, and will include architecture and decor books as

well as plants from local nurseries. Books related to film and TV, which

previously resided in the Orange Room, will move to the Pearl Room.

The Powell's team is also taking the opportunity to freshen up some

paint jobs, move displays, and do other renovation work. The goal,

Powell's marketing director Jeremy Solly told Willamette Week, is to

"have it be a place people feel relaxed and can come in and take the

time." He noted too that it is the first remodel that Powell's has done

in a "long, long time."

Work has been ongoing for about a month, and Powell's hopes to have it

all complete by the end of November.

This should be an exciting series to look forward to in the spring. The cast sounds particularly amazing.

 

TV: Miss Austen

PBS Masterpiece has announced that the four-part period drama Miss

Austen https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVeIlekI6a4ycEsgHQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mQWpShpoMLg-gVdw, based on the 2020 novel by Gill Hornsby, will premiere May 4, 2025. The series is adapted by award-winning writer Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing, Mayflies).

Starring Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, The Durrells in Corfu), the project's

cast includes Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones), Synnove Karlsen

(Last Night in Soho), Patsy Ferran (Living), Max Irons (The Wife),

Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton),

and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey).

Miss Austen "takes one of the most prominent literary mysteries in

history--Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane's

letters--and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking

story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as

captivating as any Austen heroine," PBS Masterpiece noted.

A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan is an epic romantasy with dragons book that I could not put down. This page-turner had strong elements of McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series without seeming like a rip off or parody of same (I'm looking at you, Fourth Wing!). Here's the blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan returns to the high-stakes, sweeping world of dragons, romance, and drama first evoked in her bestselling young adult Firelight series, in a brand-new epic adult romantasy series.

Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.

But human lust for power is immortal.

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it's her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard...though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.

When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride...but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone. 

Magic is not dead...it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

I loved that Tamsyn, the protagonist, was defiant and always trying to help others and spare them pain, and I liked the male protagonist, Stig's realization that he was and is at heart a soldier, but that he could still be tender and loving with a woman, and that both of these characters had to deal with the ultra rich asshats who were only interested in using people to their advantage, much like billionaires today. The fact that both became magic creatures only added to the romance, and by the end I was breathless. I was fortunate enough to get the pretty edition of this book that has royal blue end papers, which made the beautiful cover really stand out. I'd give this deluxe addition an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes romance and magic and dragons.

 

The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner is a YA romantasy that was overwritten and therefore overly long, with a very slow beginning that had lots of set up for world building. The whole book really wound up and shot out at velocity once it hit page 100, however, and from then on the plot was a runaway freight train. Here's the blurb: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner prove they are two living goddesses of writing, creating two compelling worlds with high stakes and gripping emotions." —Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of the Demon's Lexicon trilogy and the Lynburn Legacy series

New York Times bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have crafted a gripping tale of magic and logic, fate and choice, and a deadly love. Perfect for fans of Laini Taylor and Brandon Sanderson.

Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction—hope.

North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined—though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.

North and Nimh are from two different sides of the world. North is from the scientifically advanced cloud dwellers (who have been told that there's little life on the unsustainable planet below) and Nimh is from the superstitious magic users who eek out a living on the surface of the planet, which is dying due to a climate that has been damaged beyond repair (we're never told by what...nuclear war? Advanced climate change? Its explained away by both sides as being "from the ancestors" who didn't seem to leave any information behind on how to fix both worlds). Nimh inherited the wisdom of what her society considers as Godhood, but she never gained the magical abilities of her predecessors, so she only has ritual to back her up as she makes her way to a library that holds the original book of prophecy for her people. Because Nimh is considered a Goddess, she isn't allowed to be touched by anyone, and therefore spends a lot of the book yearning to touch North, whom she falls for in a big way, just as he does her. While this makes for a fascinating premise, the prose plods more than a few times, and the cliffhanger ending was all wrong, and disappointing.  Therefore I'd give this long novel a B- and recommend it only to those Brandon Sanderson readers who don't mind wading through a lot of exposition.

 

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw is a contemporary magical fantasy with a romantic thread that holds the story together, and some very serious themes that are unexpected. Here's the blurb: This is a story of romance, broken friendship, and staying true to yourself under the weight of family obligations. This sweet tale with light magic will appeal to readers of Sarah Addison Allen and fans of the movie (and book) Practical Magic.” —Booklist

 

There is an old tale woven through the mountain town of Woodsmoke about a stranger who appears as the first snow falls in winter, who will disappear without a trace as the frost thaws in spring, leaving a broken heart behind.

Carrie Morgan ran from Woodsmoke ten years ago, and the decision has haunted her ever since. Spending a decade painting and drifting around Europe, she tries to forget her family’s legacy and the friends she left behind. But the Morgan women have always been able to harness the power of the mountains surrounding the town, and their spells—and curses—are sewn into the soil. The mountains, they say, never forget.

Sure enough, when Carrie’s grandmother dies and leaves behind her dilapidated cottage, she returns to renovate—certain she will only be there for one winter. She meets Matthieu as the temperature dips, a newcomer who offers to help refurbish the cottage. Before long, and despite warnings from her great-aunt Cora of the old stories, Carrie finds herself falling for the charming stranger. But when the frost thaws in spring, Matthieu goes missing.

Carrie is convinced he’s real, and he’s in danger. As she fights her way across the mountains to find him, she must confront all the reasons why she left Woodsmoke and decide whether the place she’s spent the last decade running from is the home she’s been searching for.

I was surprised by the serious tone to this novel, and the clear, hard prose that keeps the smooth and mysterious plot moving at lightening speed. Greenlaw keeps readers guessing as to whether Carrie has fallen in love with a spirit of the mountains or a real man. Her strange, guilt ridden and mentally unbalanced (I would call her crazy but that is not allowed nowadays) grandmother Cora and her grandfather make things twice as difficult for Carrie, as does her ex-best-friend Jess and her former beau, who married Jess after Carrie left Woodsmoke behind. There's lots of discussions of the mental and physical toll that guilt takes on people young and old, and it was no surprise to me that the older people died in the end. Though its been compared to the delightful works of Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman, I didn't get anywhere near the same joyous and freeing vibes out of this book as I do out of theirs. This book had just too many heavy and painful emotions to have any joy or fun in it. So I'd give it a C+ and only recommend it to those who like darker, serious novels with strange romantic through-lines.

Nonbinarian Books Opens in Brooklyn, Like Water for Chocolate Comes to TV, Reactions to Horrible 2024 Election, The Household Guide to Dying Movie, The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong, This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher, Red Winter by Annette Marie and The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

Brrrr! Its a cold and rainy day here in the PNW, and I'm trying to stay warm and cozy while I read. I feel sorry for our local neighborhood kitty, Ben, who waited out in the cold rain this afternoon for me to open the door and give him scritches and feed him some treats. He protested his wet and cold paws for a bit before settling down for a nibble. Meanwhile, I've been, like most women, mourning the awful outcome of the election on Tuesday, and hoping that if we stand together, women will prevail over the horrors to come. Here are some reassuring tidbits and reviews for ya'all.

 

This sounds like a wonderfully inclusive bookstore, and I hope that if I do get to visit NYC, that this will be one of my stops on the "famous bookstores" tour.

 

The Nonbinarian Opening Brooklyn Bricks-and-Mortar Store Friday

The Nonbinarian https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVSAw-UI6a4zKxF0Hg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mTUsKtpoMLg-gVdw, a literary mutual-aid collective that distributes queer books, will open a bricks-and-mortar bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., this Friday, the Brooklyn Paper reported.

The bookstore, which resides at 1130 President St. in Brooklyn's Crown

Heights neighborhood, debuted as a pop-up book-bike about two years ago.

In its bricks-and-mortar home it will sell new and used titles by queer

authors, with a variety of genres for all age groups represented, as

well as gift items & local goods.

Founder K. Kerimian and their team will also have a selection of

pay-what-you-can titles for those who cannot afford full-price books.

They plan to host a variety of community events and hope the store

becomes a gathering place.

Kerimian, who was the recipient of the 2022 Carla Gray Memorial

Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists, and worked at Greenlight

Bookstore and P&T Knitwear, told the Brooklyn Paper that they never

thought the mutual-aid, bike-based pop-up would ever have a physical

storefront, but volunteers and supporters advocated for the idea.

They said: "It's a real show of faith from the people who have been

foundational in building the Nonbinarian Book Bike that we've grown to

be ready to even consider a future beyond the bike as it is, that the

people around me saw something that I wasn't ready to see."

Kerimian also noted that the Nonbinarian has distributed books in the

neighborhood before, and is familiar with the community.

I loved this book, and I liked the movie, though I felt that they left a lot of the good stuff out. Lets hope that this new streaming version does the book justice.

 

TV: Like Water for Chocolate

The first episode of the HBO Original series Like Water for Chocolate

https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVSAwUI6a4zKxFyTg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mTUsKtpoMLg-gVdw, based on Laura Esquivel's

Mexican literary classic, made its debut this past Sunday, November 3,

on HBO Latino in the U.S. and is streaming globally on Max, with new

episodes dropping weekly. An original production from Warner Bros. Discovery, the six-episode series is produced by Salma Hayek Pinault's Ventanarosa Productions, Endemol Shine North America, and Endemol Shine Boomdog.

Author Jamie Ford, who lived in the PNW for years, has some great insight on how to survive in the aftermath of this horrible election. I also agree with the ABA CEO, that its important not to wallow in despair.

 

Reactions to 2024 Election

Author Jamie Ford https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVTZxLgI6a4zdxEgSw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mTC8XwpoMLg-gVdw posted: "When Trump won in 2016, I went to my local indie bookstore the next day. I just wanted to go to my happy place and was surprised at how many other people showed up for the same reason. I saw many friends there that day and we commiserated together. I'm planning on doing the same thing [this] afternoon."

And in Bookselling This Week yesterday, ABA CEO Allison Hill wrote to

members in part, "It would be easy to despair. But that's not what we're

going to do. ABA remains committed to our work on behalf of our members

because we believe deeply in the work of independent bookstores and in

the critical role they will play in what happens next in this country.

"Independent bookstores provide inclusive and affirming community

spaces; support access to books; ally with librarians and teachers;

ensure that people can see themselves reflected in books; champion the

right to read and the First Amendment; promote long-form reading that

fosters critical thinking; create opportunities for discourse; provide

alternatives to monopolies that limit consumer choice; and bring people

together. The work of independent bookstores matters more than ever.

"If your candidates won, hold them accountable and demand bipartisan

partnerships to accomplish what is needed for all people, small

businesses, and our country to thrive.

"If your candidates didn't win, take care of your mental health, keep

the faith, and connect with others. Find ways to support yourself and

the goals you hoped your candidate would achieve to ensure that all

people, small businesses, and our country thrive.

"We know today is a painful and divisive day for many, but election

results are not the end; they're the beginning. What matters most is

what we do next."

 

This looks like a fantastic movie that I'm anxious to see. Minnie Driver's an amazing actress who always brings to bear her full array of talent to every role.

 

Movies: The Household Guide to Dying

Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) and Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy)

"are in talks to star" in Emma-Kate Croghan's (Love and Other

Catastrophes, Strange Planet) movie The Household Guide to Dying,

based on the book by Debra Adelaide, Deadline reported. The film marks

Australian director's return to features after a 25-year absence.

Ellen Wander of Film Bridge International is selling The Household Guide

to Dying at this week's American Film Market in Las Vegas. CAA Media

Finance and WME Independent are co-repping domestic. The film is being

produced by Leesa Kahn (Come Away) and Catriona Hughes (Kokoda: 39th

Battalion) of GFN Productions, as well as James Spring (Finding Your

Feet) of Fred Films.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is a cozy fantasy that is as soothing and delicious as a hot cup of tea on a chilly day. The prose is delightful and substantial enough to keep the long and winding road of the plot on course. Here's the blurb:

A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells "small" fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a "knead" for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao starts down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past close in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

There's a lot of romance woven throughout the plot, and the characters are so well drawn that you almost feel that you could step into a local farmer's market and have Tao read your fortune. The story was so engrossing that I read it all the way through in 24 hours. I'm a big fan of character-driven tales, and though there's a really diverse cast here, I fell in love with most of them right away (they reminded me of the crew of the Liberator on Blake's 7, an old science fiction TV show from the 70s...there was the whiny thief, the big brawny guy who works with him, the gal with special powers and the outlier, the baker whose goods don't look enticing but taste wonderful, sort of a metaphor for everyone in the group who looks different on the outside than they are on the inside. The added mystery of finding the big guy's little daughter spices things up and keeps the characters focused until the HEA. I'd give this big hug of a book an A-, and recommend it to anyone who likes tales of travelers and fortune tellers and found family.

 

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher is a strange yet humorous romantasy novel that reads like a fan-fiction version of the Princess Bride, though its not as well written. That's not to say that the prose is awful, it's not...the prose is bouncy and dances well with the zippy plot, until the end of the book, which sort of fell apart like a lollipop in a thunderstorm. Here's the blurb:

Former friends and former flames reunite on a mayhem-spike quest in this cozy romantasy perfect for readers of Legends & Lattes and lovers of Shrek.

TEN YEARS AGO, THEY SAVED THE REALM. IT RUINED THEIR LIVES.

Everyone in Mythria knows the story of how best friends Beatrice and Elowen, handsome ex-bandit Clare, and valiant leader Galwell the Great defended the realm from darkness. It’s a tale beloved by all—except the heroes. They haven’t spoken in a decade, devastated by what their quest cost them.

But when they all receive an invitation to the queen of Mythria’s wedding, it’s a summons they can’t refuse . . . and a reunion for the ages—with Clare secretly not over his long-ago fling with Beatrice, Beatrice fighting the guilt she feels over how everything ended, Elowen unprepared for the return of her ex-love (the cunning Vandra), and all of them lost without Galwell. And if reuniting with former friends and lovers wasn’t perilous enough, dark forces from their past have also returned.

Dusting off old weapons and old instincts, Beatrice, Clare, and Elowen will face undead nemeses, crystal caves, enchanted swords, coffee shops, games of magical Truth or Dare, and, hardest of all, their past—rife with wounds never healed and romances never forgotten.

This time around, will their story end in happily ever after?

The first third of this book was great fun, lots of banter, etc, and even the armchair psychology wasn't too annoying, until it became apparent that no one edited the book for redundancies. So readers have to hear about the trauma, grief and pain of each main character, over and over and over again, which became tedious. The final third of the book descended into the ridiculous, with a fan service revitalization of a dead character via a magical power that we didn't even know about until just then. Why bring back a dead character and expect no consequences to the timeline? Has no one of the three people who wrote this book (book by committee, I should have known that it would end badly) ever watch Star Trek, or any of the spin-offs, especially DS9? The temporal or time police would have been all over this book. I won't go into detail and spoil it for you, but I would recommend taking the last part of the book with a grain of salt. That's why I'd give it a B-, and only recommend it as a kind of "beach read" that you don't take too seriously.

 

Red Winter by Annette Marie is a dramatic YA Japanese fantasy novel that you can almost see as a movie playing in your head as you read it. It has Japanese folk legends woven throughout it, and many beautiful descriptions of life in a town populated by spirits and gods, creatures and familiars. Here's the blurb:

Emi is the kamigakari. In a few short months, her life as a mortal will end and her new existence as the human host of a goddess will begin. Carefully hidden from those who would destroy her, she has prepared her mind, body, and soul to unite with the goddess—and not once has she doubted her chosen fate.

Shiro is a yokai, a spirit of the earth, an enemy of the goddess Emi will soon host. Mystery shrouds his every move and his ruby eyes shine with cunning she can’t match and dares not trust. But she saved his life, and until his debt is paid, he is hers to command—whether she wants him or not.

On the day they meet, everything Emi believes comes undone, swept away like snow upon the winter wind. For the first time, she wants to change her fate—but how can she erase a destiny already wrought in stone? Against the power of the gods, Shiro is her only hope … and hope is all she has left.

I loved Shiro the cursed Kitsune, and the Raven and crow people's ability to shapeshift back and forth. Though there were gorgeous illustrations throughout, I wish that this book would have been done up in comic book/anime/manga style, so I could see the dramatic showdowns and battles, as well as Emi's beautiful costumes. Of course, being the first book in the series, we're left at the end wondering what happened to Shiro and his beaded armband that keeps him from utilizing his powers. Hopefully Emi will be able to remove them in the next book. Due to this being a book set in the past in Japan, Emi is a passive and often "demure" or wimpy character who waits for others to help her or deal with her problems, because she perceives herself as a weak female. But she is determined to do the right thing anyway, and that redeems her character for me. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone fascinated by Japanese legends and stories.

 

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A Craig is and engrossing, beautifully written fantasy that has sumptuous prose and fascinating characters. Here's the blurb: All gifts come with a price.
Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love? The Thirteenth Child is a must-read for fans of dark fairy tales, romantasy, and epic fantasy alike. 

 

Though it's dark or gothic fantasy, this book never falls into horror territory, thankfully, and I loved how focused the plot was on the beauty of life in contrast to the finality of death. I cried at the end, which I almost never do, and though it clocked in at nearly 500 pages, for once I felt that it was worth the ink, to read of Hazel's miraculous journey through her extraordinary life. The physical book itself is gloriously designed and has elegant end papers that will call to those who love looking at a well designed book. I'd give it a healthy A, and recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories with heart and soul.

 

Say Nothing Comes to TV, Read up on Reproductive Rights, Thunder Point on TV, PEN America Gives More Reasons to Vote, The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman, Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker, Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson and the Apology Project by Jeanette Escudero

Welcome my favorite fellow book lovers! It's election day, and I'm late in posting my latest reviews. I have some great new books that I'm reading, thanks to a shopping trip to Half Price Books yesterday, and today, though I'm struggling with a Crohns disease flare, I'm feeling fortunate to have new books awaiting me on my TBR piles. The weather has turned cold (though not yet freezing here in the PNW) and the days darker as we ride through rainstorms to December, my favorite month of the year. So cozy up and enjoy your hot cup of choice with some good books and a furry companion. Here's my long lost tidbits and reviews for your enjoyment.

 

This sounds fascinating. My late best friend RM Larson was a huge fan of all things Irish, and she would have loved this series about "the Troubles" Ireland experienced for decades, as the Irish people were striving for independence from Britain, just like we did over couple hundred years ago.

 

TV: Say Nothing

A trailer has been released for FX's Say Nothing,

based on the nonfiction bestselling book by Patrick Radden Keefe.

IndieWire  reported that the project "tells the true story of 'The

Troubles,' the decades-long conflict between the United Kingdom and

Northern Ireland, including the rise of the Irish Republican Army. As

part of that, the story delves into 'the Disappeared,' centering, like

the book, on the mystery of a missing mother of 10."

Adapted by Joshua Zetumer, the series cast includes Lola Petticrew,

Hazel Doupe, Anthony Boyle, and Josh Finan.

Keefe called the characters "complicated," saying, "How you feel about

them should shift. And I think that the challenge for us, this was true

for me with the book, very, very true with the series, is: How do you

capture the romance of those politics without romanticizing them

yourself? And I think part of the answer is that you show the costs not

just in the final episodes... but from the very first scene. The first

person you meet is Jean McConville [one of the Disappeared]. And the

hope is that the sense of those costs kind of hangs over the whole

series, even when it's kind of lark-y bank heists and so forth, that you

have a sense that there is this kind of Tell-Tale Heart beating in the

background."

Zetumer added: "I think one of the things we were trying to do from the

beginning was capture the energy of what it feels like to be in your

twenties or a teenager and really get caught up in a cause. That was the

sort of guiding principle that was driving us forward.... The challenge

is like, what not to include, because it's 40 years of history. It's

this vast swirl that's around the characters. You're getting the whole

history of the Troubles in the course of the book. And so the question

was: 'Okay, what do you cut out?' "

Reproductive rights are one hot button issue that I have a stake in as a woman, and as a mother and a rape survivor. Women need to have full control of their bodies and the decision whether or not to bring a pregnancy to term. Right now women are dying due to these draconian abortion bans. This has to end.

 

Read Up On Reproductive Rights

Virginia is the only state in the American south without a post-Dobbs abortion ban or mandatory waiting period. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, our reproductive healthcare resources have been stretched to a breaking point as women have had to travel from all over the region to access the care they need. Freedom and democracy are on the ballot this year, yes, but let me say it plainly: our lives are on the line. You need look no further than the 56% increase in deaths of pregnant women in Texas since its abortion ban was enacted to understand what’s at stake. Whether you want to deepen your own understanding of the history and context of reproductive rights or beef up your talking points, you’ll find great resources in LitHub‘s list of the 10 best books about reproductive rights. I would add Jessica Valenti’s recently released Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win.

I'm a huge fan of Virgin River (the streaming program, I've not read the books), so this new adaptation intrigues me. I will be keeping an eye out for its debut.

 

TV:Thunder Point

Virgin River and Sullivan's Crossing author Robyn Carr has partnered

again with creator/showrunner Roma Roth to adapt her nine-book Thunder

Point series into a dramatic scripted TV project, Deadline reported. 

This is the third Carr property that Roth has adapted through her

company, Reel World Management, which she runs with Christopher E.

Perry. Roth is the creator, showrunner, executive producer, and head

writer on Sullivan's Crossing, which she set up as a straight-to-series

order with CTV and Fremantle. She is also executive producer of

Netflix's Virgin River, which recently announced its seventh season.

"Thunder Point has drama, mystery, and romance, all the ingredients you

need to successfully build a global hit series," said Roth. "It is

certain to appeal to fans of both Sullivan's Crossing and Virgin River

but this time the story is told from a male perspective. We are beyond

excited to be continuing our incredibly successful run with bestselling

author Robyn Carr."

Book Bans are another draconian law that has been put into place by the new brand of Christian Conservative/Republican fascists who seem to forget that Hitler started his reign of terror by killing the intellectuals/scholars and banning/burning books and art that he didn't want people to see. The more people you keep in ignorance the easier they will be to control. Ugh. 

 

In Case You Needed One More Reason to Vote

A new report from PEN America covering the full 2023-2024 school year shows a 200% increase—that’s a tripling—in school book bans. The report analyzes 10,046 bans nationwide that sought to pull more than four thousand unique titles from school shelves. This data lands in sharp contrast to the ALA’s report in September that attempts to ban books in public, school, and academic libraries declined significantly in the first eight months of this year. Which is right? Let’s go with both and neither. The reports address different samples and different time frames, and it is possible for both narratives to be true.

The PEN America report captures data through the end of the 2023-2024 school year, so it maybe goes through June of this year at the latest, while the ALA report runs through August 31. If overall banning attempts decreased after the school year ended and/or decreased in the public sector enough to offset an increase in schools, these findings can exist side-by-side. There may also be some political strategy at work. Book banning is a wildly unpopular, losing issue for the right—most Americans oppose book bans —and if book banning attempts are actually declining so far in this school year, it is more likely because Republicans recognize that a bunch of high-profile book banning attempts will not help their electoral chances than because some sea change has already occurred. Don’t let up your efforts just yet.

The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman is a YA seafaring romantasy that I felt had an odd start, but then ramped up fast and once it got going, the plot was unstoppable. Here's the blurb: Looking for a sweeping summer read? Magic, romance, and slumbering gods clash in this riveting romantasy about a seafaring girl and a playboy prince who band together in a precarious journey.

Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails off to adventure. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm commandeers her ship. He is Prince Leander of Alinor and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles of the Gods. Selly has no desire to escort a spoiled prince anywhere, and no time for his entitled demands or his good looks. But what starts as a leisure cruise will lead to acts of treason and sheer terror on the high seas, bringing two countries to the brink of war, two strangers closer than they ever thought possible and stirring two dangerous gods from centuries of slumber.

 

I enjoyed the female protagonist being such a tough gal, but felt that, as usual, (in romance novels or romantasy, where its a trope that the female protagonist gives up on her dreams and career to follow the male lead into being a wife/mother/household slave with no life of her own) her romantic inclinations toward the spoiled prince weakened her character considerably. It was only when he made it clear that he wouldn't prevent her from being a sailor that I felt more comfortable with their romance, especially when he makes her an origami ship to remind her that she will be able to get back on the seas as soon as possible. The prose here was, like the sea, changeable yet flowing and storming and fascinating, as it moved the plot along at a clip. I'd give this eager YA novel a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes tales of the old gods, and pirate ships and the brave women who sailed the high seas.

 

Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker is a dystopian science fiction romance novel melded to the classic Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. There were so many twists and turns in the plot that at one point I just gave up trying to predict what would happen next, and decided to "go with the flow" and just let the tale wash over me. Barker's prose is imaginative and bright, though the subject matter is often dark and depressing. Still, it was riveting reading what happens to this time-traveling Romeo and Jules, as she likes to be called, and how the author manages to break down the classic play so that its seams of misogyny and class warfare are laid bare, and readers can see the end result of the selfish monetary grabs of this century doom further centuries to a slow and painful death. Here's the blurb:

Kathryn Barker's Waking Romeo is a spectacularly genre-bending retelling of Romeo & Juliet asking the big questions about true love, fate, and time travel

Year: 2083. Location: London. Mission: Wake Romeo. It’s the end of the world. Literally. Time travel is possible, but only forward. And only a handful of families choose to remain in the “now,” living off of the scraps left behind.

Among them are eighteen-year-old Juliet and the love of her life, Romeo. But things are far from rosy for Jules. Romeo lies in a coma and Jules is estranged from her friends and family, dealing with the very real fallout of their wild romance. Then a mysterious time traveler, Ellis, impossibly arrives from the future with a mission that makes Juliet question everything she knows about life and love.

Can Jules wake Romeo―and rewrite her future?

If you're a fan of Shakespearean theater and Doctor Who, this is most definitely the book for you...you just have to trust that the author will eventually get you to that HFN ending you want.  While it's not an absolute necessity that those who read this book be familiar with R&J and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, it does help a great deal. The non-linear narrative is plotted into 5 acts, like a play, which I found fascinating, but if you're not an old theater major like myself, you might find it frustrating instead. The end pairing of characters from two different classics was refreshing, but again, if you've not read classic lit, you might find it bizarre. I'd give this unusual book a B+, and recommend it to theater fans who enjoy classic lit tropes re-imagined. 

 

Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson is a long but delightful Indiana Jones meets the Mummy meets Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell mysteries adventure novel that will have you on the edge of your seat by the third chapter. This historical fantasy never wavers and played out in my mind like a movie. Here's the blurb:

Nice Victorian ladies don’t run off to find legendary lost cities.

One trifling little arrest shouldn’t have cost Ellie Mallory her job, but it’s only the latest in a line of injustices facing any educated woman with archaeological ambitions. When Ellie stumbles across the map to a mysterious ancient city, she knows she’s holding her chance to revolutionize Pre-Colombian history. There’s just one teensy complication. A ruthless villain wants it, and Ellie is all that stands in his way.

To race him to the ruins—and avoid being violently disposed of—she needs the help of maverick surveyor Adam Bates, a snake-wrangling rogue who can’t seem to keep his dratted shirt on. But there’s more than Ellie’s scholarly reputation (and life) on the line. Her enemies aren’t just looters. They’re after an arcane secret rumored to lie in the heart of the ruins, a mythical artifact with a power that could shake the world.

Between stealing trousers, plummeting over waterfalls, and trying not to fall in love with her machete-wielding partner, will Ellie be able to stop the oracle of a lost empire from falling into the wrong hands?Empire of Shadows is the first book in the Raiders of the Arcana series, rip-roaring historical fantasy adventures perfect for fans of Romancing the Stone and The Mummy.

"Sassy banter and sizzling romantic tension sparkle throughout the fast-paced action ... Fans of Indiana Jones-style historical fantasies will be eager for the next adventure." - Booklist of the ALA

 

Thankfully good prevails over the evil greed of the bad guys, and all is restored to order in the end, however, that ending is sloppy and overly "romantic" in a "love conquers all" way, though Ellie was supposed to be a Suffragette who never wanted to be chained to a marriage and children. Ellie proclaims several times that she wanted to travel the world as an archeologist ala Indiana Jones, but better, because she wanted to save all the artifacts from being bought and sold and used by evil people for their own nefarious ends. But in the end, when she's asked what she really wants, she caves completely to the stereotypical female in need of romance and says "you" to Bates, who, to his credit, did help save her from ruin. Insert eye roll here. There's a lot of good banter that goes on between the two of them, which is fun, and Benson's prose is fresh and zingy, while her plot zooms along like a freight train. I did enjoy this story, though it was a bit too long at nearly 450 pages. Where are the good book editors out there? I'm serious that no book really needs to be longer than 350 pages at best. Someone has got to teach these authors to tighten their prose up so the manuscript sings all the way through. Still, I'd give this hefty adventure an A, and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Lara Croft or Indiana Jones or the Mummy.

 

The Apology Project by Jeanette Escudero is a humorous rom-com with a redemption story arc that is oddly satisfying as the main character grows up in the end. Here's the blurb:

Dear (almost) everyone: Can we be friends again?

Life is about to get complicated for Amelia Montgomery, a prominent litigator in Chicago. She’s been fired for not compromising her principles in a high-profile case and then punching her partner in the nose for the misogynistic comment he made in retort (not her finest moment). Leaving a career that gave her purpose, Amelia can only ask, What next?

Let it be better than her epic failure of a fortieth birthday party: an open bar full of no-shows except for John Ellis, a total stranger and the new associate at her ex-firm. As it turns out, though, he’s very good company―and a wake-up call. With the help of John and a lot of champagne, Amelia considers the people she’s wronged, from old besties to former boyfriends to coworkers. Amelia resolves to make amends―to those who really deserve it.

One apology at a time, Amelia’s looking at the choices she’s made in the past, the new ones she’s making with John, and those she’s making for herself. What next? Maybe a second chance she never expected.

 

Millie (as Amelia calls herself) is a huge mess of a person, cold and distant and intent on climbing the ladder at her law firm, and ignoring the misogyny around her in service to that rise up the career ladder. Fortunately, this behavior comes to bite her in the butt, and she embarks on an apology tour to many of the people she's wronged, though she comes to realize that some of them have actually wronged her. Millie gets petulant and is often immature and passive aggressive at the start of the book, but gradually she begins to see the error of her ways, and the causes (from her childhood, of course) of her cruelty and disregard for the feelings of other women, especially. It bothered me as a feminist that most of her revelations about herself came at the hands of the handsome male protagonist, with whom she has exciting sexual encounters, but who is keeping a large and terrible secret from her (and who acts smugly superior to her throughout the book...I felt that he was too much of an asshat to be a good match for her, but apparently the author feels that toxic masculinity is irresistible in a partner) and whom she forgives nearly instantly for his heinous actions! Boo, hiss! But, having made mistakes in my own past for the promise of continued great sex with a man, I can almost forgive Millie her stupidity (the problem there is that Millie is 40 years old, while I was only an idiot in my 20s when I fell for the wrong guy...and John is 50, so both of them should know better by now). Still, I'd give this middle-aged woman grows up tale a B+ and recommend it to anyone who tries to address their past regrets head on.