Indie Bookstore Day A Success, LeVar Burton's Take on IBSD, Everflame Comes to TV, Quote of the Day, Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe, The Bookshop Mysteries by S.A. Reeves, The Secret of Dunhaven Castle by Nellie H Steele, So Not Meant To Be by Meghan Quinn, and Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan

Hale and well met fellow book people! It's May, the lusty spring month, and as I'm allergic to pollen, I'm staying indoors in the AC and curling up with the books from my TBR, which will hopefully get more books added on Mothers Day this month. Meanwhile, I've got 5 reviews and tidbits for you. Enjoy!

Hurrah! Indie bookstores get a boost during their special day last month. I wish I could shop at Indie stores exclusively, but we live miles from any real bookstore, so I'm at the mercy of my sons schedule for driving me out to one. 

Independent Bookstore Day a Huge Success!

The lucky Golden Ticket winner was at Green Bean Books in Portland, Ore.  Libro.fm offered special promotions throughout the week, including a new member offer, a week-long audiobook sale, and the Golden Ticket in-store giveaway for 12 audiobooks. Golden Tickets were hidden in more than 1,500 bookstores in the U.S. and Canada.

Libro.fm CEO and co-founder Mark Pearson said, "Independent Bookstore Day is more than just a celebration; it's a movement. Seeing the record numbers of Golden Tickets in bookstores (and long lines to find them) shows that indies can compete with big tech. As audiobook listenership hits new heights, we are proud to show that technology can be used to strengthen, rather than replace, the independent shops that are the heart of our culture."

I love LeVar Burton, and have been watching him since he was the lead male in the Roots TV series, which was hugely popular in the 70s when I was a teenager.

LeVar Burton celebrated Independent Bookstore Day 

Actor, director, producer, and podcaster LeVar Burton was Independent Bookstore Day ambassador, and earlier said, "From my earliest memories, books carried me beyond the world I knew. They let me explore distant planets, ancient kingdoms, and lives very different from my own.

Independent bookstores are where those explorations began. They are sanctuaries of possibility where a single story can change a life."

The event was supported by lead sponsors Ingram and Penguin Random House, publishing partner sponsors Simon & Schuster, Second Story Press, Edelweiss, and the eight regional booksellers associations.

Exclusive Indie Bookstore Day items were offered by Abrams, Blackwing, Bonfire, Drawn & Quarterly, Enviro-Tote, HarperCollins, HarperCollins Children's Books, Macmillan, Out of Print, Tachyon, The Quarto Group, and Usborne, among others. Cartoonist Tom Gauld designed the limited-edition tote bag.

 I can hardly wait for this series to come out, it sounds like something right up my alley!

TV: Everflame

Hulu has taken is developing Everflame, a TV series adaptation of Penn Cole's bestselling romantasy novel Spark of the Everflame, the first book in the romance fantasy series the Kindred's Curse Saga. The project is from Death and Other Details co-creator Heidi Cole McAdams, Cole, and 20th Television, Deadline reported.

"I'm thrilled to be working with Heidi Cole McAdams to adapt the Kindred's Curse Saga," said Cole. "She truly understands the core messages of the series and what makes Diem's story compelling. Heidi has an incredible eye for re-imagining the story for a visual medium while preserving the aspects of the books that readers love most, and her enthusiasm for collaboration makes her an author's dream to work with. I have no doubt this adaptation will be as beloved to new audiences as it will be to the series' passionate fan base."

Everflame "is set in a world where mortals live in poverty, subjugated by an elite race known as the Descended. When her mother goes missing, Diem Bellator suspects that the most powerful and most feared Descended in the kingdom--Prince Luther Corbois--may be responsible. As she embarks on a search for answers, she becomes an unexpected force in the mortal rebellion against the Descended, and the center of an even more unexpected love triangle," Deadline noted.

The quote is true, at least for me, that I can always be cheered by going to a bookstore and just perusing the shelves. The same can be said for libraries, though I prefer to have a copy of any given book to myself.

Quotation of the Day

'If You're Short on Hope or in Need of a Mood Lift... Go to an Independent Bookstore'

"If you're short on hope or in need of a mood lift--and, oh boy, who's not?--I offer a suggestion: Go to an independent bookstore. If you think we live in a society where people don't talk with their neighbors or no one puts their phone down to read an actual book, I beg of you: Go to an independent bookstore.

"The strength of a community is about the strength of its connections and the power of its ideas; both are in ample supply at indie bookstores. Visiting one may not save the world, but it can help you feel connected to your little corner of it."--From Jen McGivney's op-ed piece "The hopeful reason behind Charlotte's indie bookstore boom"

Stay For A Spell by Amy Coombe is a cozy romantasy that is witty and charming and a real page-turning delight. Here's the blurb: 

A cursed princess must discover what her heart truly longs for in this charmingly cozy romantic fantasy for everyone who’s ever lost – or found – themselves in a bookshop.

Princess Tanadelle of the Widdenmar is disillusioned with life as a princess. She longs for real conversation, the chance to build a life of her own making, and uninterrupted reading time.

During a routine royal visit to the town of Little Pepperidge, Tandy’s dream comes true when she finds herself cursed to remain in a run-down bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire. Certain that someone will figure out how to break the curse eventually, and delighted by the prospect of an entire bookstore of her own, Tandy settles into life among the stacks. She finds it easy to exchange balls and endless state dinners for teetering piles of books and an irritatingly handsome pirate who seems bent on stealing her stock.

She even starts to believe she's stumbled into her very own happily ever after.

There's just one, minor problem: as Tandy's royal duties go unfulfilled, her frantic parents start sending princes to woo her, each one of them certain their kiss will break the curse. After all, what more could a princess want but a prince?

I loved Tandy and her deep adoration of books and her cat that is part octopus/kracken, and her dragon shop assistant who is a lesbian, and all the other weird and interesting characters that we meet while princess Tandy finds herself and learns to stand up to her parents, who have been using her as the public face of the crown for years, leaving her no time for herself or her TBR. Having grown up with a mother who also had strong expectations of me due to being female (It was my duty to be calm and quiet and take care of the men in the household, because they couldn't be expected to take care of themselves, which lead them to be immature idiots who only wanted girlfriends/wives, etc in their lives to feed them, do their laundry, have sex and never ask anything for themselves...like slaves, but with less autonomy), I know how Tandy feels, in a sense, because I always struggled to find time to read my books at home, and I longed to leave home to be somewhere that people would appreciate me as a person, for myself and whatever talents that I could discover that I might have. It was also important to me to get away from all the negativity that my family regularly hurled at me, (my mother and brothers enjoyed putting me in situations where they could laugh at my reaction), as well as the abuse I received every weekday from my classmates at school. I was too smart, too fat, too much of everything for everyone around me, and I found that being treated like an outcast palled after awhile. Just like the expectations around her role as princess palled for Tandy. I was excited to move away for college, and my mom, like Tandy's mother the Queen, still wanted to control my life and would call and weep and growl about how I'd abandoned her, when she knew I was going away to college, because she helped me get the money together to do so, after my father spent my college savings account on jewelry for his latest mistress. I thrilled at Tandy's stance with her parents, telling them that she was staying with her handsome pirate and her bookstore. The prose in this book was lovely and clear, and the plot flawless. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to any bibliophiles who enjoy cozy female-lead stories.

 

The Bookshop Mysteries: A Bitter Pill by S.A. Reeves is a cozy mystery written by a husband and wife team who live in England, UK. Though it is self-published it had only a few typos and was generally readable and fun. Here's the blurb: 

When a book signing turns deadly, two bookshop owners turn detectives.

Gemma loves the quiet life of her bookshop, the Bookworm—a haven for book lovers in a quaint town in the heart of Derbyshire. But everything changes when Gemma discovers the body of local author Dominic Westley during the shop’s latest book signing event.

When the police rule the death as an accidental overdose, Dominic’s estranged widow points the finger at one of his past lovers. Gemma and her trusty assistant, Mavis, won’t rest until they uncover the truth. Was it an accidental overdose or something more sinister?

Fans of cozy mysteries will delight in The Bookshop Mysteries - A Bitter Pill, a charming and suspenseful read that will keep you guessing until the very end. If you enjoyed books like The Thursday Murder Club or The Missing Maid, then this is the perfect book for you to curl up with!

 

The Reeve's prose was easy and clear, and the plot was a breezy roller coaster ride straight to the end, without any plotholes to drag the story arc down. It's almost YA level in terms of easy reading, and it would make a great beach read for those who like cozy English mysteries and who watch Masterpiece theater...so skewing to an older crowd (over 55 at least) to be sure. Though the female protagonist is a bit too self-effacing and cowardly for my taste, I still enjoyed her journey in bringing the bad guys to justice. I'd give this swiftly plotted novel a B- and recommend it to any older gals or guys who enjoy the small town mystery trope.

 

The Secret of Dunhaven Castle by Nellie H. Steele is the first book in the Cate Kensie Mystery series, and it's a real corker. There's a bit of paranormal mystery woven throughout the book, and the author of this self-published gem is  using a non de plume to create her series featuring an academic, Dr Cate, who, while down on her luck (how unsurprising that academia is sexist) discovers that she's heir to a Scottish castle in the middle of that country, miles from anywhere. Here's the blurb: Inheriting a castle seemed like a dream—until she discovered the staggering secrets inside.

Down-on-her-luck history professor, Cate Kensie, is thrilled to be thrust into a world filled with family history after a startling inheritance. Nestled in the heart of the misty Scottish Highlands, where ancient legends and modern living collide, rumors and dark tales swirl about Cate’s new castle.

Cate finds her once peaceful, private life upended by hidden secrets and puzzling enigmas. Driven by her passion for history and an insatiable curiosity, Cate embarks on a journey that not only unravels the mysteries but transforms her into a formidable sleuth. Guided by a cryptic note from her predecessor, she deciphers veiled clues and generations-old secrets. With each step, Cate is drawn deeper into a web of intrigue that not only risks her own safety, but the fate of a hidden legacy that could reshape history.

As the mysteries of the past beckon, will Cate find answers or become the castle’s next piece of history?

Combining cozy mystery a la Murder She Wrote with the time-bending suspense of Doctor Who, this series will have you eagerly trading sleep for another chapter.

Join amateur sleuth Cate Kensie as she unravels the mysteries of the Scottish Highlands in this enchanting cozy mystery series. 

 

What I found odd about this book was that most of it was spent with Dr Cate being on her back foot, so to speak, and dealing with all the boring details of her life at home, and when she finally gets to Scotland, she again spends a great deal of time wondering about what is happening to her with "lost time" and not actually accepting things and moving on to deal with her ability to time travel (which would actually thrill most historians!) I felt like the book only really got going in the second half, once she finally got to Scotland and then started in on the mystery of what is happening to her. There was a slight romantic through line, though if you're looking for full-fledged spicy scenes, you will be sorely disappointed. The prose was a bit rote, and the plot way too easy for the reader to figure out, but the book moves fast and is intriguing enough that once you get past the first 125 pages it zips along just fine. I'd give it a B- and recommend it to anyone who dreams of living in a castle in Scotland one day (and being surrounded by handsome men in kilts!)

 

So Not Meant To Be by Meghan Quinn is a romantic comedy with plenty of wit and spice for days. Here's the blurb: From author Meghan Quinn, comes a fresh take on a romantic comedy classic, When Harry Met Sally. This steamy, laugh-out-loud, enemies to lovers romance is about an annoyingly handsome coworker and the woman who refuses to be charmed by him.

Am I friends with JP Cane? Ha! That's laughable.

Besides the fact that he’s adopted some far-fetched notion from the movie When Harry Met Sally that says men and women can't be friends and work together, it’s safe to say we're not friends. He's annoyingly loud, obnoxiously handsome, and has made an art out of poking all my hot buttons . . . multiple times a day.

So you can imagine how disgruntled I am when I not only have to fly to San Francisco with him for work, but stay in the same penthouse. Yup, we're sharing the same air, twenty-four-seven. We're talking full-fledged working roommates.

The man doesn't know what it means to wear a shirt, thrives off protein bars, and you guessed it, moans loud enough for people to believe he's Meg Ryan in a restaurant.

Spoiler Alert: I WON'T be having what he's having.

Tack on his continuous flirting and his polished good looks, and I'm caught staring down the barrel of a seductive temptation that makes it hard for me to sleep at night. But guess who can control herself? This girl.

Because if there is one thing I know for certain, it's that JP Cane and I are so not meant to be. 

I laughed at the scene where, instead of a woman 'faking' an orgasm, Cane fakes one in front of Kelsey, the reluctant female protagonist who doesn't believe in love, especially with a coworker. Of course, everyone who reads this book will be thrilled to watch the enemies-to-lovers trope play out, and the two protagonists fall in bed together while building their love for one another underneath their staunch denials of affection. The sex scenes are pretty standard, from what I've read in every recent rom-com and romantasy book, starting with the woman getting oral/digital sex from the male protagonist, because apparently, that is still fairly rare for couples in the real world (which is sad). Then it progresses to penetrative sex in various positions followed by the grateful female protagonist performing oral sex on the surprised and enthralled male protagonist, who almost always has to "teach" the female "how" to perform a BJ, because apparently innocence of oral sex is somehow a real turn on for men, at least the ones in romance novels. This kind of sexist BS always angers me, because, even though I didn't have any boyfriends to have sex with, I had read detailed instructions on how to perform BJs by the time I was 20 years old....and I fully believe that a number of young women whom I went to high school with knew how to do this by the time they were 16 or so. Infantlizing women by making them petite and innocent makes me want to hurl. Anyway, I still enjoyed this book, though the prose was overblown (no pun intended) and the plot meandered a bit after the many sex scenes. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to those who like a laugh or two with their spicy romance.

 

Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan is a beautifully produced (gorgeous cover art and the book itself is bound in purple cloth) romantasy adventure tale with a fascinating take on the fae and fairies in general, and how their magic works. Here's the blurb: Faeries disappeared over one hundred years ago, as suddenly as slipping through a doorway. It was only the very foolish, or the very determined, who held out hope for their return.

Welcome to Thistlemarsh—a ramshackle estate where an impoverished orphan and a beguiling Faerie collide in an enchanting novel of love, revenge, and ruin.

In the wake of The Great War, the world is a decidedly unmagical place for Mouse Dunne. She once dreamed of becoming a Faerie anthropologist, but with one telegram, her world shattered. At the Battle of the Somme, her cousin’s body disappeared into the mud, and her brother was left with debilitating shell shock. It was time, she knew, to put aside childish dreams.

When Mouse receives news that her uncle has left her the Faerie-blessed Thistlemarsh Hall, a dilapidated manor in the English countryside, she must leave her brother’s side and return to her childhood home to claim her birthright. But there is a catch in her uncle’s offer: If Mouse does not rehabilitate the crumbling house in one month’s time, she will forfeit her inheritance and any hope of caring for her brother.

It quickly becomes clear it’s impossible to repair the manor in the allotted time, until a mysterious Faerie appears with a proposition. He offers to restore Thistlemarsh...for a price. Mouse knows better than to trust a Faerie—especially one so insufferably handsome and arrogant—but she is out of options. There are dark and magical forces at work in the house, and Mouse must confront the ghosts of her past and the secrets of her heart or lose Thistlemarsh, and herself, in the process.

 I liked the fact that Corrigan didn't have her fairies fall into the overly sweet, pastel-winged and pixie dusted variety of creatures, but instead imbued the main fae, Thornwood, with a rather grisly and cruel attitude, enough so that he takes body parts from those he makes "deals" with, and Mouse has to be on her toes around him, lest he destroy or kidnap her before she can lay claim to her ancestral home. I wasn't thrilled to see that the female protagonist was nicknamed "Mouse" and was a fearful and shy wee creature, which is apparently standard for romantic heroines these days. She did finally grow a spine halfway through this large tome, and she did manage to get everything set to rights, but I still had lingering questions about her "shell shocked" brother who had to be institutionalized after the horrors of the trenches in WWI. I think it was made obvious that even the fae can't fix things like PTSD, and somehow readers are meant to believe that he's all set for a better life by the end. How? Why? Where? The prose is charming and the plot slick and determined, though I felt that a good editor could have whacked about 60 pages off this novel and it wouldn't be missed at all. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to those who love fae-human romances and lost causes.

 

Ada's Technical Books in Seattle to Close, Virginia Woolf's Night and Day Movie, Muriel Spark Biography Book Review, Paranormal Payback by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughs, Paranormal Nonsense by Steve Higgs,The Librarian of the Haunted Library by Brian Yansky, and The House of Dreams by Kate Lord Brown

Welcome to "almost May" my friends and bibliophiles. It's been a rough and weird April, both for me physically as I struggle with Crohns disease and asthma, and dealing with the death of my beloved mother a month ago. The weather has been ridiculous as well, with temps up to 70 during the day, dropping down to a chilly 40-50 degrees at night. So you're either freezing or sweating. Since I'd rather hunker down under some warm blankets than sweat, I've been reading in bed while dealing with pain and insurance companies. Here are some tidbits and some reviews. 

 I remember visiting Ada's back in the early 90s, and finding that it was a warm and welcoming place. I'm so sad that its closing down. Just another victim of the horrible economy right now. RIP Ada's.

Ada's Technical Books in Seattle, Wash., to Close

Ada's Technical Books in Seattle, Wash., will close on June 6 after 16 years in business, and its three Fuel Coffee locations have been put up for sale. In a message to customers, owner Danielle Hulton wrote that the decision is a personal one: "I am currently in a season of life where I need to prioritize spending more time with my family and pursuing new career goals. After many months of trying to transition Ada's to new ownership, it has become clear that closing is the most viable path forward. While this wasn't my initial plan, I recognize that Ada's was a very specific dream of mine; it feels right to make room for something entirely new in this space."

Noting that Ada's hopes "to go out on a high note and celebrate this community," Hulton shared information about upcoming changes, deadlines, sales, and events, as well as Independent Bookstore Day on April 25.

"I feel incredibly privileged to have done this work for the past 16 years," she added. "Ada's started as a dream of something that 'should' exist in Seattle, and I am so proud to have created a technical space that is both beautiful and welcoming to all. The team I've worked with over the years has been remarkably talented, and you, our customers, have been curious, dedicated, and supportive. This chapter of my life is one I will always look back on with immense fondness.

Hulton told the Capitol Hill Seattle blog that the decision to shutter Ada's and sell off the Fuel Coffee locations is "not a statement of how things are going right now on 15th [Ave. E]." Danielle and David Hulton, who purchased the former home of Horizon Books and redeveloped it to house Ada's, still own the property, Capitol Hill Seattle noted, adding that while the three Fuel locations they lease are for sale, the 15th Ave. E co-working space will continue to operate.

I would love to see this movie, having been a lifelong fan of Woolf and her immaculate prose. 

Movies: Virginia Woolf's Night & Day

Tina Gharavi's Virginia Woolf's Night and Day will have its world premiere at SXSW London in June as the opening film. Deadline reported that the project is adapted by Gharavi, with screenwriter Justine Waddell, from Woolf's 1919 novel "revolving around the life of Katharine Hilbery, a high-born young woman who challenges the patriarchal society of the time to pursue her love of astronomy and life on her own terms."  Haley Bennett stars as Hilbery, joining a cast that includes Jack Whitehall, Jennifer Saunders, Lily Allen, Sally Phillips, and Misia Butler.

I remember discovering the prose and poetry of the wonderful Muriel Spark back in the 80s, and being amazed that it had taken me so long to find her. I read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and then watched what was, at the time, the highly salacious movie with Maggie Smith and being smitten by the story and Smith anew ("Little Gurruls!") It was a view into feminism of a straightforward and tough kind I'd never seen before. I will have to keep my eye out for a copy of this book about her life.

Book Review: Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark

"I was never really in the world," the great Scottish author Muriel Spark told an interviewer late in her long life. That would explain her ability to squirrel herself away and write 22 novels, some of them among the finest of her time, as well as poetry, plays, and short stories. Her colorful life has been catnip for biographers since Spark, a lifelong cat lover, died at 88 in 2006. One such biography is Like a Cat Loves a Bird by the English critic James Bailey, author of the scholarly analysis Muriel Spark's Early Fiction. With this volume, he widens the aperture for a reverent and engrossing look at Spark's peripatetic life.

Bailey became obsessed with Spark, "perhaps modern literature's finest shapeshifter," when he read her most famous work, 1961's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Once he finished the rest of her output, he was struck by "how deceptively violent her books are," with shootings and cannibalism, and "in one particularly grisly scene, a corkscrew driven through the neck," a reference to The Ballad of Peckham Rye. Her range of subjects made her a hard author to pin down. Bailey wrote this book to capture "this lifelong slipperiness, this sense of perpetual reinvention," and to present, as he puts it, "a series of flickering sparks, each illuminating a different aspect of a life in constant motion."

The result is an affectionate work that covers Spark's Edinburgh childhood, when she was already "an avid watcher of others"; her years in South Africa, when, at 19, she married 32-year-old Sydney Oswald Spark, who, Spark learned too late, "had been suffering from a serious mental illness for some time"; her escape to England, leaving Sydney and young son Robin behind, to create wartime propaganda for the Foreign Office in Milton Bryan; her controversial postwar stint as general secretary of London's Poetry Review; her midlife conversion from Judaism to Catholicism; her eventual success as a novelist; and her final years living in Tuscany. To its credit, Bailey's book is not indiscriminately adulatory. He doesn't hesitate to criticize works like The Mandelbaum Gate, which he says is "riddled with contrivances," and he calls 1970's The Driver's Seat "a deeply unsettling book." But he's clearly a fan, and readers unfamiliar with Spark's work will be, too, after reading this excellent book. -- Michael Magras

 

Paranormal Payback, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughs, is a compendium of delicious short stories that deal with paranormal vengeance in all it's violent varieties. Here's the blurb: A superstar lineup is included in this urban fantasy collection featuring short stories from authors Jim Butcher, Holly Black, Kim Harrison, Faith Hunter, and more …

In this short story collection, our heroes get what’s due to them—with a supernatural flair.

But the injustices that have been holding them back might cost them more than they realized.  

In “Mister Petty,” a brand-new Dresden Files story from author Jim Butcher, a woman hires Goodman Grey to get back at her cheating husband. She’s about to find out that Grey isn’t your ordinary detective—he’s a professional monster. And he’s going to balance the scales.

From author Holly Black, “Dying Isn’t Just for the Young” follows an elderly widow reckoning with family scheming to take away her independence in a world infected by a disease of vampirism.

New York Times bestselling author Faith Hunter’s “Razors and Revenge” finds the vampire bounty hunter Shiloh awaiting her judgement at the hands of the Dark Queen, fresh off a brutal werewolf attack and the loss of a dear friend. But Shiloh’s not just a vampire anymore—and the wolfish instincts growing inside her are howling for blood.

And Kim Harrison takes us to the Hollows in her story “Dog-eared.” The demon Algaliarept makes a bargain with the dangerously insane Newt, the last female demon, to punish an arrogant wizard for abusing his precious magical texts—but how ruthless is Al willing to be to get his petty vengeance? 

I'd say 80 percent of the stories in this anthology are worth the price of the book, while there's a couple of clunkers that stand out like an owl pellet in the punch bowl...but they're easily dismissed as readers can move on to the next story, which will likely be enjoyable. I'd give this anthology a B+ and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a variety of paranormal fantasy stories that will spark your imagination.

Paranormal Nonsense by Steve Higgs a dark paranormal thriller that is, unfortunately, full of misogyny and many tired fantasy tropes. Here's the blurb:  

Fight a demon, investigate a werewolf biker gang, have tea with mum ... it's all in a day's work for England's #1 paranormal P.I.

When a master vampire starts killing people in his hometown, paranormal investigator, Tempest Danger Michaels, takes it personally… and soon a race against time turns into a battle for his life. He doesn’t believe in the paranormal but has a steady stream of clients with cases too weird for the police.

Mostly it’s all nonsense, but when a third victim turns up with bite marks in her lifeless throat, can he really dismiss the possibility that this time the monster is real?

Joined by an ex-army buddy, a disillusioned cop, his friends from the pub, his dogs, and his mother (why are there no grandchildren, Tempest?), our paranormal investigator is going to stop the murders if it kills him …but when his probing draws the creature’s attention, his family and friends become the hunted.

This book reads like it was written either by a teenager who has played too many shooting-up-creatures of the night videogames, or an immature middle aged guy who has either read too many violent fantasy stories, watched too many episodes of Jack Reacher on streaming services or read too many Jack Reacher or James Bond-like thriller novels and considers himself an expert in all things martial arts/weaponry, and fantasizes about being the "hero" in any of these fictional roles, and saving the day while also "getting the girl" and being irresistible to women in general. Wanker. There's a lot of penis comparison and glorification, a lot of ridiculous focus on female breasts and butts, and a lot of immature humor disguised as "snark" in every chapter. Though the prose is simplistic, the plot is full of holes and doesn't make sense in many ways, as Tempest is so busy debunking the supernatural he's sent to investigate that he doesn't seem to notice or care that people are dying around him. I'd give this disgusting throw-back to old pulp fiction a C, and I can't really think of anyone stupid enough to recommend it to.

The Librarian of the Haunted Library by Brian Yansky is a supernatural horror comedy/fantasy that is self published, written in limp and ragged prose with a paint-by-numbers plot that is very unsatisfying. Here's the blurb: 

Kevin never planned on being a librarian. He especially didn't plan on being a librarian in a town that doesn't appear on any map, where the books talk back, and fictional characters occasionally escape their pages.

But when the previous librarian dies face-first in his oatmeal (poisoned, naturally), Kevin makes the mistake of trying on a ring (at the mayor's insistence) that obligates him to become Eden's new librarian. His first assignment? Find the murderer of his predecessor.

He's now responsible for a library where Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde argue about book rights, a ghost writer who is actually a ghost haunts the stacks, and something in the basement that looks suspiciously like a foster mother from his youth wants him dead.

Oh, and there's Olive, the waitress who is a witch, a murder suspect, whose father is technically dead but still lives with her, and who Kevin is definitely falling for.

Kevin has his hands full. If you’re up for a wild adventure, lots of laughs, and action with a touch of romance, read today. Especially for the reader who takes the less travelled road. 

Really? A protagonist named "Kevin"? Like the kid from Home Alone? I have a younger brother named Kevin who is also an idiot, and I was not surprised that this Kevin was a real goober who is tossed out of a car by a clown in a small, strange town that has a nasty haunted library and needs a sacrificial idiot to work at said library and cleanse it of ghosts and ghouls. Kevin turns out to be "the one" who can bring his special destructive curse to bear on the town and its unwanted guests. He does so in a meandering fashion, and by the time the book is over, readers won't be sure if Kevin is a hero or a hobo-turned-villain. There's some underlying misogyny, and the prose is murky at best. I'd give this short and painful book a C-, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't a tried and true horror fan.

 

The House of Dreams by Kate Lord Brown is a WWII historical fiction novel that, though the plot is slow and the prose plain and somewhat plodding, tells an important story of those willing to risk their lives to save Jews from the Hollocaust during the early years of the war. Here's the blurb: A beautifully written novel based on the true-life story of Varian Fry, called “the artists’ Schindler,” who rescued thousands of Europe’s finest creative minds from certain death in WWII.

In 2000, Sophie Cass, an ambitious journalist, may have finally found her big break. Convinced a celebrated painter in the Hamptons is hiding a dark secret, she sets off to unravel the truth about his past. Her research takes her back decades to 1940, as an international group of artists and intellectuals gather at The House of Dreams, a beautiful villa just outside Marseilles where American journalist Varian Fry and his remarkable team are working to help them escape France. Despite the incredible danger they all face, The House of Dreams is a place of true camaraderie and creativity―and the setting of a love affair that changed the course of the painter’s life forever. But as Sophie digs further into his past, she begins to wonder whether some secrets are better left untouched.

Inspired by the real-life heroism of Varian Fry and the volunteers who risked their lives to help save legendary figures like Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, and Max Ernst, Kate Lord Brown’s The House of Dreams is a lyrically told novel of great courage, love, and the power of art.

 

There's a great deal of prose spent on gay characters who are "closeted" during a time when being openly gay was a death warrant, which was unexpected in a novel that purports to be about the brave people who tried to save Jewish artists during the early years of the war.  I was also surprised that the famed painters and journalists of that era were portrayed in such a harsh light, as being shiftless, lazy, insane or imbecilic, while those striving to get them out of France or Germany were painted as being nearly angelic. "Crazy" artists is a trope that I find somewhat offensive, as I'm sure many of these famed painters or poets were of sound mind, but where also terrified of leaving familiar surroundings and family for America, a place they knew nothing about. The protagonist from current times, Sophie Cass, pretends to be a journalist to get answers to her own family history from a very old and sick man. She comes off as cruel and ignorant, and I felt she was responsible for the 90-something man's death from all her badgering. Just badgering someone for answers doesn't make you a journalist, as I can attest. I'd give this book of unpleasant characters a C+, and only recommend it to those interested in artists who were persecuted by the Nazis during WWII.

 

Blackstone Launches Whoopi Goldberg Imprint, Beach Read Movie, Obit for Barbara Gordon, The Book Club For Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick, The Story Collector by Evie Woods, Tea, Tomes and Dragons by Maggie O'Connor, and A Town With Half the Lights on by Page Getz

Hello fellow readers! Here we are almost at the end of April, going into a nice and hopefully warm-ish May. I've been busy with so many health insurance and other issues its a miracle that I've read 4 books in 5 days. Anyway, here are some tidbits and reviews for you to read and enjoy.

 

I love Whoopi Goldberg, and I'm so excited that she's launched her own imprint. With her at the helm, I am sure they will publish a number of inclusive books in many different genres. 

Blackstone Launches Whoopi Goldberg's WhoopInk Imprint

Whoopi Goldberg, the award-winning actor, co-host of the View, and author of more than two dozen books, is expanding her partnership with Blackstone Publishing by launching her own book imprint: WhoopInk.

Goldberg "will curate the WhoopInk imprint focused on bringing fresh, diverse new talent to the marketplace, revisiting the works of beloved authors, and releasing eagerly awaited new influential memoirs," the publisher said.

Blackstone will initially acquire a selection of genre-spanning titles reflecting Goldberg's interest in "literature that is inclusive, heartfelt, richly crafted, generationally relatable, often comedic, and insightful." She will be "intimately involved in the publishing process, including selection, acquisition, cover design, and promotion," the publisher noted.

Goldberg's own future works will also be included under the imprint, including a follow-up to Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me and a nonfiction title coauthored by her longtime Whoop, Inc. business partner Tom Leonardis. Blackstone is releasing the revised and updated paperback edition of Bits and Pieces on April 14.

"I'm personally looking forward to finding new authors, working with established authors, and bringing influential voices into a curated imprint," Goldberg said. "I'm looking forward to working with Blackstone, who have been a powerhouse in the audio space and have been flourishing in print over the past years. WhoopInk will cater to audiobook lovers, like me, and get important stories into more hands and ears across the globe."

Blackstone president Anthony Goff noted that Goldberg "is well-read with exquisite taste of what defines a great book. I look forward to curating an important list of works with Whoopi, Tom, and her team as we look to impact the future of this great industry together."

 This sounds like a wonderful movie...I will have to keep an eye out for it.

Movies: Beach Read

Patrick Schwarzenegger (White Lotus) will star opposite Phoebe Dynevor in Beach Read, 20th Century Studios' adaptation of the 2020 bestselling novel by Emily Henry, Deadline reported. Yulin Kuang, co-writer of Netflix's People We Meet on Vacation, is directing from her own script, with Neal H. Moritz producing via his Original Films. Karina Rahardja will exec produce. Sarah Shepard and Catherine Hughes are overseeing for 20th.

Beach Read follows January Andrews, "a successful romance novelist who struggles with grief and writer's block after her father's death and the discovery of secrets he's long kept hidden," Deadline wrote. "While spending the summer in his Michigan beach house to prepare it for sale, she unexpectedly reconnects with Gus Everett, an author who was once her rival in college. Both creatively stuck, they agree to a writing challenge over the summer, swapping literary genres while promising that there will be no romance between them."

I remember reading this back when I was in my late teens, and being moved by all that Gordon went through with addiction. That she lived to be 90 is amazing.

Obituary Note: Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon, whose bestselling 1979 memoir of prescription pill abuse and a mental breakdown, I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can, was adapted into a movie starring Jill Clayburgh, died April 7. She was 90. The New York Times reported that the book "found a wide audience in an era when prescription drug abuse was far less well known than it is today, when checking into 'rehab' to kick an addiction was not nearly so commonplace, and when mental illness carried a far greater stigma in work and social life."

In 1975, when she was 40, Gordon was an Emmy Award-winning documentary writer and director at WCBS in New York, with an addiction to 30 milligrams a day of Valium, which a psychiatrist had prescribed for her anxiety. "When she told her doctor that she wanted to stop the pills, he assured her they were not addictive and instructed her to quit 'absolutely cold.' Instead of easing off the medication, Ms. Gordon spiraled quickly downward to the edge of psychosis. Unable to work, she spent months in two mental hospitals," the Times wrote.

Gordon began writing her memoir in 1977, after leaving the second hospital and discovering she couldn't find work in media. "Maybe it was stigma, maybe it was timing," she observed, "but I couldn't find a job in the business I had worked in for 20 years."

Her memoir, an indictment of American psychiatry, sold more than two million copies. She described herself as "a victim of the individual and collective ignorance of a profession that, because it is essentially unmonitored, attracts into its ranks a brand of charlatan that wouldn't dare practice in other branches of the medical establishment."

Harper & Row paid a modest $7,500 hardcover advance, but I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can was a big bestseller. Paramount paid $200,000 for the film rights and Bantam bought paperback rights for close to $500,000.

Gordon wrote two other books, the novel Defects of the Heart (1983) and Jennifer Fever (1988), a work of pop sociology about older men in relationships with younger women. Although most of her therapists had been men, Gordon also wrote in detail in her memoir about her sessions at the second hospital with a female therapist she called "Julie."

"I have a haunting, almost obsessive picture in my head, Julie," she recalled saying in one session. "Thousands of women all across the country being given pills by male doctors. Men sedating women, tranquilizing them, helping to rob them of themselves. It's obscene."

The Book Club For Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick is historical feminist literature that was by turns poignant and profound. Here's the blurb: 

By 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan is living the American woman's dream. She has a husband, three children, a station wagon, and a home in Concordia--one of Northern Virginia's most exclusive and picturesque suburbs. She has a standing invitation to the neighborhood coffee klatch, and now, thanks to her husband, a new subscription to A Woman's Place--a magazine that tells housewives like Margaret exactly who to be and what to buy. On paper, she has it all. So why doesn't that feel like enough?

Margaret is thrown for a loop when she first meets Charlotte Gustafson, Concordia's newest and most intriguing resident. As an excuse to be in the mysterious Charlotte's orbit, Margaret concocts a book club get-together and invites two other neighborhood women--Bitsy and Viv--to the inaugural meeting. As the women share secrets, cocktails, and their honest reactions to the controversial bestseller The Feminine Mystique, they begin to discover that the American dream they'd been sold isn't all roses and sunshine--and that their secret longing for more is something they share. Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments--and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a humorous, thought provoking, and nostalgic romp through one pivotal and tumultuous American year--as well as an ode to self-discovery, persistence, and the power of sisterhood.

 I hate that the blurb writer here tries to "tone down" the feminism by calling it "sisterhood" and the book a "nostalgic romp" when there's very little "romping" or playfulness going on at all. This book provides a window into the lives of these women who are discovering themselves during turbulent societal change in 1963, the year that JFK was shot and killed in Dallas.  I loved that once they read Betty Friedan's masterpiece, that they moved on to Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Sylvia Plath and Virginia Wolfe...each woman took these messages of standing up to the patriarchy and misogyny in different ways, but each changed their lives in significant ways due to realizing that their power was theirs for the taking. The prose was spirited and the plot full of evocative characters that kept things moving rapidly. I couldn't put it down. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry or any other recent historical feminist fiction.

The Story Collector by Evie Woods is historical romantic fantasy that takes place in Ireland during two different eras, and is fascinating and gripping right from the first chapter. Here's the blurb: 

In a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything…

One hundred years ago, Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English. But all is not as it seems and Anna soon finds herself at the heart of a mystery that threatens her very way of life.

In New York in the present day, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland. But once there, she finds she has unearthed dark secrets – secrets that tread the line between the everyday and the otherworldly, the seen and the unseen.

With a taste for the magical in everyday life, Evie Woods's latest novel is full of ordinary characters with extraordinary tales to tell.

'An engaging story about unsettled grief…the possibility that magic and the fairies are real is dangled tantalisingly before the reader, but not in a way that might make a sceptic roll their eyes' Historical Novel Society

Having visited Ireland 26 years ago, I can honestly say that I felt the same as the female main characters about Ireland's magical beauty. I also felt that the people were amazing, just as Anna and Sarah do, and I loved the storytelling and musical heritage that the Irish were so willing to share with Yankee tourists like me. This book is beautifully created, with gold embossing on the splendid cover, and the prose, though taut and simple, helps the fantastic plot move along at a rapid pace that never flags or gets caught in an infodump. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to anyone who has ever been, or wants to go, to the Emerald Isle.

 

Tea, Tomes and Dragons by Maggie O'Connor is a delightful cozy fantasy mystery that, though its quite a hefty tome, will keep you on the edge of your seat. Here's the blurb: Fire-breathing librarian seeks quiet life… and cookies.

Every retirement plan has flaws. Beatrice's involves spontaneous combustion. After a small incident involving her dragonfire and a very flammable library, sixty-three-year-old Beatrice Ashcroft retreats to Emberville to run her family’s bookshop. She wants peace, pastries, and absolutely no incidents that require a fire extinguisher.

Unfortunately for her, the Ashcroft Bookshop has other plans.

Warmth hums through the floorboards. Runes shimmer across the walls. A ghostly founder sends unsolicited mail. And the town council cheerfully informs her that unless business drastically improves, the shop will be reassigned to a “more suitable custodian” by week’s end.

Her only hope? Partnering with the one person she hoped to avoid for the rest of her natural life: Celeste Moonshadow, an impeccably dressed high-school rival turned werewolf councilwoman.

Between a talking pig who insists on acting like the world’s grumpiest housecat, a teenage assistant with unpredictable moonlit magic, and a powerful ex-boyfriend who still thinks the quickest way to a dragon’s heart is through her two stomachs, Beatrice begins to suspect a truth she’s avoided for decades: maybe not all problems can be solved with dragonfire.

This cozy fantasy blends magical bookshop charm, lighthearted adventure, and found family warmth. Tea, Tomes, and Dragons offers a feel‑good mix of midlife magic, gentle mystery, and whimsical worldbuilding. 

The trade paperback copy that I bought was printed in larger type, which I appreciated, as an older reader, but it was the delicious and humorous prose and the lickety-split plot that kept me reading into the wee hours. Also, who knew that Dragons were big on pastries and sweets, like cookies? It makes sense, if you think about it, that they would have a fast metabolism that burns calories quickly, and therefore dragons, even in human form, need to snack throughout the day. But that and the smug and arrogant teacup pig (who believes he's really a cat) made the whole plot seamless and easy to read and understand. I loved it, and I loved the treasures that they uncovered, and the way that the town embraced Bea and her wee piggie. I'd give it an A- and recommend it to anyone who loves bookstore cozy mysteries and fun characters.

A Town With Half The Lights On by Page Getz  is a small-town epistolary novel that is so well written you'll be halfway through the book before you realize it. Here's the blurb: 

For readers comes a quirky and refreshing epistolary novel about a family of culture-shocked Brooklynites transplanted to Goodnight, Kansas and their fight for their unexpected lifeline: the legendary May Day Diner.

Welcome to Goodnight, Kansas.

Population: Many Kansans, three New Yorkers, and one chance to save the place they love most

With more wind chimes than residents, folks don't move to Goodnight when their lives are going well. That's why all eyes are on chef Sid Solvang and his family from the moment they turn down Emporia Road to the dilapidated Victorian they inherited.

While Sid searches for work and a way back to Brooklyn, his daughter searches for answers to the cryptic messages her grandfather left behind to save both her family and the town. But then Sid makes an impulsive purchase: the fledgling May Day Diner, an iconic eatery under the threat of the wrecking ball.

As the Solvangs search for their ticket out, they discover the truth of Goodnight: one of heart and tradition, of exploitation and greed, and neighbors you would do anything to save. And the Solvangs must navigate all of it—plus a wayward girl named Disco, a host of rambunctious alpacas, and the corrupt factory sustaining the town—in order to find their way back home...wherever that may be.

Told through diary entries, emails, school notes, and an anonymous town paper of the Lady Whistledown variety, A Town with Half the Lights On is a tender testament to the notions that home isn't just the place you live, family isn't just your relatives, and it's almost never easy to find the courage to do what's right.

 This "found family" novel had me at hello. Though I've lived in large cities (Boston) I grew up in small towns in Iowa, and I know how the two differ in terms of living a good life. People care about one another and the town in small communities, while big cities tend to be anonymous and cold, full of people who do not engage with one another unless absolutely necessary. There's a cynicism that is lacking in small towns, and none more so than this dying town of Goodnight. It falls upon the newcomers to save the local diner, and then to save another business, and finally help the town buy the big tire factory and set up a co-op, so they're all owners and all are paid fairly. There's something so satisfying about triumph against corporate greed, that I found myself cheering them on several times in the book. The prose was light and airy, and the plot swift and meaningful. I'm a big fan of epistolary books (told through letters and emails) so this one went down a treat. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to fans of Fannie Flagg and the Mitford books.

 

Reese's Book Pick for April, Kate DiCamillo Leaps to Norton, Great Gatsby on Stage, Frog and Other Essays by Anne Fadiman, The Magical Mail Logs of Phoenix Firebolt by Paula Lester, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, and The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula

Welcome to the second (or third) week of April, which, in the PNW, is rainy and warming up for those summer flowers that we're due in May and June. I've been having a lot of health struggles lately, so I have a longer list of books to review. But I hope all of you are enjoying your time indoors and dry, reading, having snacks and tea with a cozy cat and a blanket or two. See you again next week, book friends!    

Reese's April Book Club Pick: Into the Blue

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie (‎‎Ballantine) is the April pick for Reese's Book Club, which described the book this way: "From the moment AJ and Noah are thrust together as scene partners, their chemistry, on and off the stage, is undeniable. After years of pushing and pulling away from each other, the question isn't if feelings exist, but if either of them are brave enough to act on them.

[Into the Blue] is the perfect book for readers who can't resist a story full of yearning, second chances, and big feelings." Reese said: "Into the Blue is a story that really stayed with me--about love, timing, and what happens when the past finds its way back into your life. I was so drawn to the way it explores fate versus choice."

What a delight it must be to be recognized as the Bookstore Lady! I wish that I'd been able to own and operate a bookstore myself. 

Quotation of the Day

"I live in between our two stores, so I can't tell you how often I will be walking down the street and a parent with a child will be like, 'This is the lady who owns the bookstore!'

"I absolutely love being the bookstore lady. Like, I love giving dogs treats and flirting with other people's babies and giving recommendations. It does feel like you're imprinting on these people. My husband and I have built something that children are going to remember, and that feels so meaningful." --Emma Straub, co-owner of Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Great news for a fantastic children's author...I read several of her books to my son Nick when he was a toddler.

Kate DiCamillo and Karen Lotz 'Leap' to Norton

Kate DiCamillo, like the hero of her 12th novel, The True Story of Child Outlaw Edith Leapyear as Told by Herself, is making a "leap"--to W.W. Norton. DiCamillo's upcoming novel will be one of the inaugural titles in Norton's newly expanded children's book program launching in spring 2027.

This is a full-circle moment for DiCamillo and Karen Lotz, director of children's books and strategic development at Norton since September 2025.

Lotz read the manuscript for Because of Winn-Dixie, DiCamillo's debut novel and a Newbery Honor book, on her first day at Candlewick. And now, in Lotz's new role at Norton, DiCamillo's book was one of the first books she bought. Lotz acquired world English-language rights from Holly M. McGhee, president and creative director of Pippin Properties, for "north of seven figures," according to McGhee. Ahead of the Bologna Book Fair next week, McGhee said they've already sold 11 translations of The True Story of Child Outlaw Edith Leapyear, as Told by Herself.

"When I came through the doors [of W.W. Norton]," Lotz said, "it was a feeling of being with people who clearly loved books and loved each other. It felt familiar and it felt like home." DiCamillo, too, was struck by "the love of books and the cohesiveness of the team."

When asked why DiCamillo, whose body of work (including her two Newbery-winning novels, The Tale of Despereaux and Flora and Ulysses) almost entirely resides at Candlewick, made the decision to move to Norton, she answered, "A character can sometimes influence how you look at the world and encourage you to try something new, and so this is me following Edith and listening to her." She pointed to the Norton logo as being so much a part of her as a reader, "and it is the thing that is in my head as I think about all this, it's very much about me spreading my wings." At Norton, Lotz will also have the opportunity to edit books for adults, something she did while at Penguin Young Readers when her children's book authors wanted to write for adults; DiCamillo will also have that option at Norton.

"It's exciting to think about," Lotz said of the range of possibilities, "because the longer I've been in our world, I've realized that one of the things I don't love are all the barriers that are put up in front of readers. Some of them are not deliberate; they're consequences of how books are sold and how the world works. Some of them are deliberate, and those get me worked up. But being at a place that brings those barriers down, I think that's something Norton is growing into on the young readers side. It's relatively new for them, but they're so interested in learning more about bringing 'books that live' [Norton's motto] to readers of all ages."

I would bet this story takes to the stage smoothly and with great flair.

On Stage: The Great Gatsby

Noting that last month Corbin Bleu (High School Musical; Kiss Me, Kate) stepped into the role of Nick Carraway in Broadway's The Great Gatsby after playing the role in the musical's 2025 London production, Playbill featured a video of him leading the New York company in "Roaring On" at the Broadway Theatre.

Based on the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, the production features music and lyrics by Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square) and Jason Howland (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), along with a book by Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones). Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) directs with choreography by Dominique Kelley (Mariah's Magical Christmas Special).

Frog and Other Essays by Anne Fadiman is a delightfully smart, witty selections of thoughts from one of America's great non fiction writers. Here's the blurb: A new collection of evocative personal essays from one of America’s most beloved nonfiction writers, Anne Fadiman.

In Frog, Anne Fadiman returns to her favorite genre, the essay, of which she is one of our most celebrated practitioners. Ranging in subject matter from her deceased frog, to archaic printer technology, to the fraught relationship between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his son Hartley, these essays unlock a whole world―one overflowing with mundanity and oddity―through sly observation and brilliant wit.

The diverse subjects of Frog are bound together by the quality of Fadiman’s attention, and subtly, they come to form a slantwise portrait of the artist, a writer dedicated to chronicling the world as it changes around her, in ways small and large, as time passes. 

This slender volume is filled with Fadiman's erudite observations on the mundane things that stick with us over the course of a lifetime...such as the changes in computer printers and the advent of Zoom for communication during the COVID years. Like all good essayists, Fadiman will have you laughing one moment and crying in sympathy the next. The full range of the human experience is writ large in these spare, concise chapters, making the whole book not even reach 200 pages. Though most avid readers could finish the entire volume in a afternoon, you will want to slow down and savor each chapter and experience, comparing it to your own life's trials and tribulations. I'd give this brilliant work an A, and recommend it to anyone who says that they "don't have time" to read. Trust me, you have time for a life-changing chapter of observations on life from Anne Fadiman. She's worth the time.

The Magical Mail Logs of Phoenix Firebolt by Paula Lester is a cozy fantasy novel that roams into deeper emotional territory than expected. Here's the blurb: 

A mysterious letter. A village that shouldn't exist. A post office that breathes.

Phoenix Firebolt has spent twenty-three years at a desk job so beige it practically apologizes for existing. No friends. No connections. No one who'd notice if she disappeared.

Then a letter arrives, sealed with wax, written in handwriting she almost recognizes, offering her a position as mail carrier in Mosshollow, an enchanted village hidden from the ordinary world. The post office is a living tree. The mailboxes have opinions. The puffin who comes with the job has a sardine budget and zero tolerance for tardiness.

Mosshollow is full of enchanted care packages, a tea-prescribing proprietor, and a baker who considers cold scones a moral failing. For the first time in decades, Phoenix feels home. But the post office is keeping secrets. And some of them are hers.

A cozy fantasy about found family, magical mail, and learning that the bravest thing you can do is stay.

Perfect for readers who love Legends & Lattes and The House in the Cerulean Sea.

There's a lot of therapeutic engagement with grief, pain, loneliness and love in this book, and, along with a fascinating foray into the lives of mail carrier postal Puffins, this will be a book that, once started, is nearly impossible to put down again. I was riveted by Phoenix's journey of understanding the loss of her mother and her grandmother, and their time and sacrifice that they hid from her for over 45 years. She learns that listening, and not judging or trying to fix things or sacrificing your life are the keys to dealing with past ghosts of trauma. Though the book was, I think, self-published and therefore had a few typos along the way, (and it was too long and needed a good editor) it was worth slogging through some overly puffy prose to get to the HFN ending. I'd give it a B+ and recommend it to anyone who has dealt with family or generational trauma.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is a science fiction/dystopian fantasy that reads like a videogame written out over 445+ pages, with small illustrations. I will warn you that it was written for the coveted 18-28 year old male audience ( read: gamers/incels/immature boys with rabid libidos and a yen for killing creatures to satisfy their blood lust), not for 65 year old women like myself. There's a ton of ageism and sexism and gore in this book, and if you are at all mature and intelligent, this plot will not appeal to you. Here's the blurb: 

The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth - from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds - collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game - with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.

Though I know parts of this book were meant to be funny, I wasn't able to laugh at the stupid 10 year old boy humor that relies on gross bodily fluids in order to be funny...its more annoying than humorous, IMO. Carl, who is supposed to be sympathetic, is just irritating and crude, and even his smug and superior cat is an annoying b*tch, which, again, I gather we're supposed to find funny, (this relies on one of the many tired tropes in the book, such as "all cats are strategic snobs and see humans as inferior, while dogs are loving and loyal and stupid" Having grown up with both, I call BS on that) but which I found annoying and stupid. Princess Donut, the Queen Anne Chonk is one of the few reasons Carl lives to see another level. There are alien overlords that are somewhat reminiscent of Douglas Adams "Hitch hikers" Vogons, and the whole "televised hunger games" thing sounds like something that Adams would have reveled in. I got bored with the constant death/battles/gross squishing of bug aliens that was a major part of every chapter, but because my son loved this book (he's a gamer and is right at the end of the whole coveted young male demographic) I struggled through and finished it, and was relieved that it was over (I am certainly NOT wasting time reading any of the sequels). I'd give this book a C, and only recommend it to young gamer guys.

 

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (a pseudonym for a wife and husband writing team) is an epic romantasy wherein the female protagonist doesn't suddenly become a stupid slave to the gorgeous and muscly male protagonist at the first opportunity, thank heaven! Here's the blurb: When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn't take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she's been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.

Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters' ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she's coming to love—a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes—and attentions—of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war.

For fans of Samantha Shannon, Danielle L. Jensen, Sarah J. Maas, and isekai and portal fantasy, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is the beginning of the most epic adventure yet from genre powerhouse author duo Ilona Andrews.

 

 The book itself is beautifully presented, with glorious cover art and cerulean blue page edges. But it's the fascinating story within that makes it worth the full publisher's price. I've read other Andrews books, completely unaware that there was a writing duo behind it, and I've never read any of her novels that were quite as feminist and smart as this one. Maggie has ovaries of steel, and she flat out refuses to allow anyone or anything, even death, keep her from heroically saving the people of this world that she lands in from a horrific war that nearly wipes out the planet (in the books she's read). Once Maggie gets a motley band of saved friends and found family on her side, she manages to turn the tide away from war and pain and death, especially for the women and children, who always bear the brunt of the horrors of war in the end. I loved this page-tuner, and would give it a B+, and recommend it to anyone who is tired of the silly, incompetent women usually found at the heart of romantasy novels. You will cheer when you meet the indomitable Maggie.

 

The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula is a very pretty illustrated novel that is also an action/adventure romantasy that will grip you from page one and take you on a fascinating historical journey for nearly 500 pages. Here's the blurb: When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him, with the help of a fellow scholar—her former fiancé—in this enchanting and transporting historical fantasy.

Mary Anning wants to be a geomagician—a paleontologist who uses fossils to wield magic—but since the Geomagical Society of London refuses to admit women, she’s stuck selling her discoveries to tourists instead. Then an ancient egg hatches in her hands, revealing a lovable baby pterodactyl that Mary names Ajax, and she knows that this is a scientific find that could make her career—if she’s strategic.

But when Mary contacts the Society about her discovery, they demand to take possession of Ajax. Their emissary is none other than Henry Stanton, a distinguished (and infuriatingly handsome) scholar . . . and the man who once broke Mary’s heart. She knows she can’t trust her fellow scholars, who want to discredit her and claim Ajax for their own, but Henry insists he believes in the brilliant Mary and only wants to help her obtain the respect she deserves.

Now Mary has a new mystery to solve that’s buried deeper than any dinosaur skeleton: She must uncover the secrets behind the Society and the truth about Henry. As her conscience begins to chafe against her ambition, Mary must decide what lengths she’s willing to go to finally belong—and what her heart really wants.

“Mary Anning, magic, politics, and a pterodactyl—with this intriguing mix, this delightful and clever book provides definitive proof that Victorian England needed more dinosaurs!”—Sarah Beth Durst 

 

I've got to agree with SB Durst, Victorian England needs more dinosaur and fossil magic stories! I was on the edge of my seat, wondering whether the evil robber barons of scientific discovery would get ahold of Ajax and dissect him, which would have been heartbreaking. It was sad enough that Mary had to hide Ajax in order to keep him free and unharmed, but the uncovering of all the misogynistic cruelty and political corruption going on around her was devastating. Still the prose is clearheaded and insightful, and keeps the labyrinth of the plot from getting too complex. I enjoyed it and would give this very readable novel an A-, and recommend it to fans of Ammonite (Nicola Griffith) or fans of 19th century female Victorian literature.

 

Girl, Interrupted on Stage with Music, Animal Farm Animated Movie, The Correspondent Wins James Patterson Prize, On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn, Fiends and Festivals by S Usher Evans, The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst, and The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson

Hello Bibliophiles! It's the second week of April already, and I'm nearly to the end of my TBR, which is worrisome. But I'm sure I will be able to get some more books soon, and I've already got my 4 books ready for the next blog post a week or so from now. I wasn't sure that I was going to continue with this blog after the 1,000th post, but thanks to the love and support of my son, I've decided to keep on writing for as long as I'm able. So keep on reading and reviewing on your own blogs or journals, folks. And Happy Spring!

 

This was such a ground-breaking movie, I'm anxious to see what they do with it as a musical play on stage. 

 

On Stage: Girl, Interrupted Play with Music

The cast has been set for the Public Theater's upcoming Off-Broadway world premiere stage adaptation of Girl, Interrupted, adapted from Susanna Kaysen's memoir and set to play at the company's Martinson Hall May 13-June 21, Playbill reported.

Pulitzer-winning playwright Martyna Majok (Cost of Living) is writing the book for the play with music, with Grammy-winning former 'Til Tuesday front-woman Aimee Mann writing the music. Material written for the musical previously comprised Mann's most recent album, Queens of the Summer Hotel. The production will also feature choreography by Sonya Tayeh.

Jo Bonney will direct the cast that includes Juliana Canfield as Susanna and singer-songwriter King Princess making her theater debut as Lisa, alongside Emily Skinner (Dr. Wick), Ta'Rea Campbell (Valerie), Gabi Campo (Tori), Mano Felciano (Man), Mia Pak (Grace), Katherine Reis (Daisy), Sally Shaw (Polly), and Lauren Jeanne Thomas (Judy).

Animated Animal Farm? Sign me up! This should be fascinating, and I can hardly wait for its premier.

Movies: Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail

Angel Studios has released a trailer for Andy Serkis's animated movie Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail, adapted by Nicholas Stoller from George Orwell's classic novel, Deadline reported, adding that it will be released in theaters on May 1.

The voice cast for the project, which had its world premiere last June at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, includes Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani, and Serkis.

Serkis "has created a fresh take on the book, which Orwell wrote in the mid-1940s as Stalinism had taken firm hold in post-revolution Soviet Union," Deadline noted. "The book told the tale of a group of farm animals who rebel against their owner with a plan to create a utopian, free and happy life for themselves. But one group--the pigs--end up taking over and the society becomes as shackled as it was before."

This has been one of my favorite books of the year, as I'm a sucker for well written epistolary novels, which this is. I'm so glad that Ms Evans won this prize from James Patterson.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans won the inaugural James Patterson and Bookshop.org Prize

The prize, which is "dedicated to celebrating debut authors, hand-selected by independent booksellers." The award honors full-length debut books published in the U.S. within the past 12 months. All nominations and selections were made by booksellers working in qualifying independent bookstores. Evans receives $15,000 as winner, and first runner-up Milo Todd gets $10,000 for The Lilac People.

"I've been a longtime supporter of Indie bookstores–and emerging authors," Patterson said. "Creating this award that recognizes both the booksellers that are getting books into the hands of readers and of course, the books themselves, was a no-brainer to me. I'm excited to see which titles are nominated by those who in my opinion are the real experts!"

Beth Seufer Buss of Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, N.C., praised The Correspondent as a "powerful novel about connection; Sybil's journey through trauma and grief is both poignant and compelling, making this an unforgettable read. From the beginning of her book journey, Virginia Evans has been a champion of independent bookstores, and as her local indie, we've loved watching her journey and connection with readers. The trajectory of The Correspondent from a debut novel to a NYT bestseller (4 months after release) to a #1 NYT bestseller (8 months after release) illustrates the power of readers connecting and sharing books."

 

On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn is a YA (though its not listed as such) romantasy that pulls out all the vampire/dragon/high school/academy for the wealthy tropes and beats them like a drum until you nearly pass out from ennui. Here's the blurb: Welcome to Bloodwing Academy.

Expect magic. Expect competition. Expect blood.

I didn't sign up for this. A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for suffering.

I'm Medra Pendragon, last of the dragon riders—or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn't stopped the vampires from deciding I'm worth capturing. Now I'm stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything, and blightborn like me? We're just blood in their veins, pawns in their games.

But that's not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow: cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He's been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we're betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I'm not going down without a fight.

Bloodwing isn't just a school—it's a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you're weak, you're dead.

Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I'm starting to think the real danger isn't the academy—it's what I'm becoming in this twisted game of power.

And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge.

They think they can control me. They think they can use me. But they have no idea what they've awakened. 

 

Medra starts out, like a lot of her fellow female protagonists, smart and proud and not inclined to accept crap from anyone, but of course once she meets the male protagonist, Blake, who is gorgeous, all that goes out the window and suddenly she's a wimpy spineless girl who will do anything and forgive any horrible transgression, as long as she can sex it up with the wealthy, arrogant asshat Blake. UGH. the so called "twists" were run of the mill, and the plot was standard YA fare, led by pedestrian prose. The book itself is beautifully made, with a deep red illustrated book jacket and raised silver letters with red dragon scaled end papers. Such a pretty novel full of drivel. The ending was unsurprising and mediocre, and the book itself needed a sharp editor to weed out some of the overblown paragraphs. I'd give this lukewarm book a C+ and recommend it to teens who can't get enough of sexy vampire academy stories.

 

Fiends and Festivals by S Usher Evans is a cozy fun fantasy/mystery, and book 2 of the Weary Dragon Inn series. Short and filled with tightly written, evocative paragraphs, this sophomore novel has a swift plot that will keep you turning pages long after bedtime. Here's the blurb: 

The Harvest Festival is the most-anticipated event in the quaint village of Pigsend, and Bev and the Weary Dragon Inn are ready to welcome visitors from near and far. But when strange occurrences begin happening, including the destruction of Bev's beloved herb garden, Bev's got to put her sleuthing hat back on to uncover the truth.

There's no shortage of suspects, from the snooty official judge all the way from the Queen's Capital to a mischievous little dog who might be more than he seems. But if Bev doesn't figure it out soon, then this year's Harvest Festival may be Pigsend's last.

The eagerly awaited sequel to Drinks and Sinkholes, Fiends and Festivals is the second book in the Weary Dragon Inn series, a cozy fantasy adventure from two-time award-winning author S. Usher Evans.

 I found the characters as compelling and interesting as they were in the first book, especially the ever-competent Bev, who works hard to keep everyone in town fed and happy. In this part of the series, she's pushed to show off her best rosemary bread at the local festival, and becomes embroiled in the mystery of how things keep getting broken or spoiled, so one snobby guy in particular can take home as many winning ribbons as he wants. The story highlights how competitive things can get in small towns when it comes to handicrafts and baked goods. My own grandmothers, both farm wives, attended local fairs and festivals and often brought home ribbons for their quilts or pies or garden produce. I know my maternal grandmother kept her ribbons until they were so old they were literally falling apart. Bragging rights were a big deal in small towns back in the day. The prose is straightforward and the plot marches along without missing a beat. I'd give this delightful tale a B+ and recommend it to anyone who enjoys peeking into windows of small village life from back when.

 

The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst is a YA romantasy novel that is beautifully produced, with a pretty colorful cover design and floral colorful edges. Here's the blurb: A teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn—only to discover that the fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret—in this cozy and irresistible new young adult fantasy from the author of The Spellshop.

This stunning first edition of The Faraway Inn features gorgeous designed edges.

When sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s B&B in rural Vermont for the summer, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn rather than the cozy bed-and-breakfast she was expecting. Grumpy and eccentric, Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn . . . even though she clearly needs the help.

To convince her great-aunt to keep her around, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B—and its guests. Something almost . . . otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth before it’s too late. 

 

The magical secret (SPOILER) is that there are portals to other worlds within the closets of each room of the inn, which seams more science fiction-ish than fantasy, but I would guess that the publisher kept pushing it as fantasy because the audience for fantasy is broader than that of science fiction. I was entranced by the magical creatures (Steve!) and I also enjoyed the fact that Calisa doesn't give up, but instead works around her grumpy and mean great aunt to clean up and revitalize the inn and make breakfasts tailor made to suit her otherworldly guests. The prose was sweet and fascinating and the plot sweeps you off your feet. I'd give this delightful book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories of personal and professional growth in odd places.

 

The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson is a magical creature action/adventure fantasy with some romance woven throughout. Here's the blurb: A brilliant con artist and a secretive librarian collide in author Kalyn Josephson’s enchanting adult fantasy debut packed with twists, tricks, slowburn romantic tension, and magical creatures.

Kasira used to be a masterful con artist: choosing her target, building trust, judging the precise moment to make her move. Now, she’s working off a lengthy prison sentence by hunting dangerous magical creatures on behalf of the fanatical kingdom of Kalthos.

But Kasira’s past catches up to her when the ambassador from Kalthos arrives at her camp with a deal: her freedom in exchange for infiltrating and destabilizing the magical institution meant to protect all six kingdoms—the Library of Amorlin.

When Kasira assumes the role of the new Assistant Librarian, she enters an enchanting world brimming with books and beasts, tempting her with a life she can never have. But Kasira’s real future depends on her long con to bring down the Librarian. Unfortunately, Allaster is as prickly as he is handsome, and his monstrous secrets are about to catch up with them both.

I loved the enlivened library and the power that librarians and the library itself wield in this book, and I found myself wanting to visit this kingdom and it's powerful library and staff. The characters are charming and the plot swift and fascinating. The adventure and mysteries kept me turning pages long into the night, and even though the book was well over 400 pages long, it felt like the story ended way too soon. I wanted more of the wonders of this bibliophile's heaven and its inhabitants. I'd give this beautifully illustrated and designed volume a B+, and recommend it to anyone who is fascinated by fantastical creatures and books that reside in magical libraries.