I Sang You Down from the Stars, Obit for Sharon Kay Penman, Nora Roberts Defends Cast of Brazen Virtue, Amanda Gorman's Titles Spark Million Printings, Dear Miss Kopp by Amy Stewart, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Glimpsed by G.F. Miller, The Conjurer by Luanne G Smith, A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer Armentrout

Greetings, friends and bibliophiles!

January is almost over, and like everyone else I'm spending a lot of time trying to get an appointment for the COVID 19 vaccine, which is still in short supply. I've been frustrated by the lack of help for the immune compromised, but at the same time, I am glad to know that health care workers and the elderly are being vaccinated in record numbers. Meanwhile, I've purchased a new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, which I've downloaded a bunch of interesting titles onto for times when I need a fast read and a break from some of the more hefty and meaty paper books that are in my TBR stack on my bookcart and in my bed (I do a lot of reading in bed). It's not as easy to navigate as my old Kindle Fire, but it is lightweight and small, and it holds battery power for weeks, vs hours on the Kindle Fire. Anyway, I've got lots of reviews and interesting tidbits to share.

This Shelf Awareness book review is so well written, it makes me want to read what sounds like a gorgeous children's book about mothers and their babies.

Children's Review: I Sang You Down from the Stars

A young Indigenous woman joyously awaits the birth of her child in this celebration of family and tradition by Cree and Trinidadian writer Tasha Spillett-Sumner (Surviving the City), accompanied by dazzling illustrations by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade (We Are Water Protectors http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47248444).

"I loved you before I met you," the mother says. "Before I held you in my arms,/ I sang you down from the stars." From among sprays of leaves and berries, readers see her gazing up past the silhouettes of mighty evergreens into an amethyst sky at sunset, longing for a child. The swirling white plume of a falling star's trail mingles with chimney smoke from her nearby home. Following the sweeps of stardust, she finds a white eagle feather in a strawberry patch, "the first gift in a bundle/ that will be yours." After becoming pregnant, she continues to gather items to add to the baby's bundle, including soft green fronds of cedar and sage, a river stone ("so that you always/ remember you belong to this place") and a lilac and seafoam star quilt she hand-stitches.

After the birth, the mother sees stars reflected in her daughter's eyes as stardust flows through her hair and swirls around the carefully selected items in the baby's bundle. During a celebration of family and friends--most of whom share her brown skin tone while a few appear white--she realizes the baby is like a bundle filled with love and hope for the future. In the heartwarming final spread, she cradles the baby under a deep violet, star-speckled sky and recounts again how she sang her down from the stars.

While the assembling of medicine bundles is practiced primarily by Indigenous cultures, Spillet-Sumner's tender free-verse tribute to the joy of welcoming a new baby should resonate with any caregiver who has excitedly awaited a child's arrival. Her spare, uplifting lines sing with gratitude, reverence and elation. Goade's ethereal watercolor and mixed-media illustrations soar across the page, overflowing with gorgeous touches like the mother's ever-present silky-coated dog. The stardust swooshes recur, sometimes framing insets that show traditional dances, sacred images from the natural world and allusions to both Cree and Tlingit stories. I Sang You Down from the Stars will make a beautiful gift for an expecting family as well as a read-aloud to assure children they are loved. --Jaclyn Fulwood youth services manager at Main Branch, Dayton Metro Library

 I can't think of more than a few people who haven't read Penman's Sunne In Splendour, which was a beautiful historical romantic novel that I really enjoyed when I was in college. I'm so sad that Penman is gone from this world, but she leaves behind a brilliant legacy of historical novels that made history interesting for a lot of people. RIP.

Obituary Note: Sharon Kay Penman

 

Sharon Kay Penman, the historical fiction author best known for her

Plantagenet Series, died last Friday at the age of 75.

 

Penman wrote her first novel while she was still a student. Entitled The

Sunne in Splendour, it focused on Richard III and the War of the Roses.

The manuscript, however, was stolen from her car, and Penman could not

bring herself to rewrite the book for years. Eventually, while working

full-time as a tax attorney, Penman did rewrite it, and The Sunne in

Splendour was finally published in 1982.

 

After that, she quit her job to write full time, publishing the Welsh

trilogy (Here Be Dragons; Falls the Shadow; The Reckoning), about

Llewelyn ap Gruffydd, grandson of Llewelyn the Great, and then the

Plantagenet Series, about King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. That

series began with When Christ and His Saints Sleep, and the second book

in the series, Time and Chance, became her first New York Times

bestselling novel. While she initially envisioned the Plantagenet series

as a trilogy, she continued the story with two more novels focused on

Richard the Lionheart, the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

 

Penman also wrote a series of historical mysteries featuring Justin de

Quincy, a fictional character who works for Eleanor of Aquitaine. The

first of these books, The Queens Man, was a finalist for the Edgar Award

for Best First Mystery. Her last novel was Beyond the Sea, published in

2020.

 

BRAVA! Nora Roberts Defends Casting Choice for Brazen Virtue

Nora Roberts "isn't interested in what Internet critics have to say," especially about the decision to cast Alyssa Milano http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47256630 as the lead character in an upcoming Netflix film adaptation of Brazen Virtue. Entertainment Weekly reported that "not all of Roberts's fans were happy with the news, with many taking to the author's Facebook page to protest Milano's casting because of the actress' openly liberal views on social media. The comments got so out of hand that Roberts was compelled to respond to the backlash personally."

"I'm delighted Ms. Milano's been cast in the adaptation of Brazen Virtue for Netflix," Roberts said. "To say I was stunned and appalled by some of the comments regarding the announcement on my Facebook page is a wild understatement. I spoke my piece, posted it publicly, and stand by it and Ms. Milano. To those who state they'll never read my work again due to differing political viewpoints and opinions, or because a talented, experienced actor will play a role, I can only say that's their choice. I believe Ms. Milano and I will survive it."

Monika Mitchell (Virgin River, The Knight Before Christmas) will direct the project from a screenplay by Suzette Couture, Donald Martin and Edithe Swensen.

"I'm a liberal Democrat. Always have been, always will be," Roberts posted on Facebook http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47256631. "And as one, I've always believed everyone has a right to their political beliefs, and has a right to express their opinions. But I don't have to tolerate insults and ugliness on my page.... Others have used outright slurs against an actress, while claiming she should keep her opinions to herself.

"Some will never read me again because Milano will headline this adaption. One reader stated she intended to BURN all my books in her collection for this choice of actress. Think about that. Burning books.

Get a visual? I sure do. Another claims she can only support 'like-minded' artists. Really? I only imagine the books, songs, movies I'd have missed if I felt this way and refused to read, watch, listen to those who contributed to or performed them who hold different political viewpoints from my own.... Watch the movie when it comes out, or don't. But lobbing nastiness at an actress or threatening me doesn't do anything but illustrate your own limitations."

Gorman's epic poem for the inauguration was so beautiful to hear, read by the author, that I am not surprised that many people are lining up to get a printed copy of her work. 

Early Demand for Amanda Gorman's Titles Sparks Million-Copy First Printings

To meet the overwhelming early demand for upcoming books by Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47258396, her publisher will print one million copies of each, CNN reported. The titles have already hit bestseller lists as pre-orders.

"Our goal has been to publish and release the The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country as soon as possible," said Shanta Newlin, executive director of publicity and corporate communications at Penguin Young Readers. "We initially set a publication date of April 27 and today announced a new and improved date of March 16."

A special edition version of the Inaugural poem, with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey, is also set for a March 16 release. Gorman's other upcoming title, Change Sings: A Children's Anthem, will be published September 21 as previously scheduled.

Gorman also made headlines this week: she signed with IMG Models, and was invited by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to recite an original poem before Super Bowl LV on February 7. That poem will highlight three individuals the NFL is honoring "who served as leaders in their respective communities during the global pandemic."

Dear Miss Kopp by Amy Stewart is the 6th book in the Kopp Sisters series that I've read and enjoyed, for the most part. This volume sees the sisters separated by the "Great War" WW1, as each has a role to play in crushing the German advance. Here's the blurb: Split apart by the war effort, the indomitable Kopp sisters take on saboteurs and spies and stand up to the Army brass as they face the possibility that their life back home will never be the same.

The U.S. has finally entered World War I. Constance, the oldest of the Kopp sisters, is doing intelligence work on the home front for the Bureau of Investigation while youngest sister and aspiring actress, Fleurette, travels across the country entertaining troops with song and dance. Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location in France, Norma oversees her thwarted pigeon project for the Army Signal Corps. When her roommate, a nurse at the American field hospital, is accused of stealing essential medical supplies, the intrepid Norma is on the case to find the true culprit.

Determined to maintain their sometimes-scratchy family bonds across the miles, the far-flung sisters try to keep each other in their lives. But the world has irrevocably changed—when will the sisters be together again?

Told through letters, Dear Miss Kopp weaves the stories of real-life women a century ago, proving once again that “any novel that features the Kopp sisters is going to be a riotous, unforgettable adventure” 

Though I enjoy these novels, Constance is the real reason that I read them, because Norma is a mean and controlling bully and Fleurette is a conceited, vain, selfish and often stupid young woman whose life revolves around trying to get on stage so she can show off and have people admire her. Yech. But our stalwart Constance is still smart and has a great sense of humor, and keeps the sisters close with letters and common sense advice. Stewart's prose is just as stalwart as Constance, and her plots march along in double-time. I'd give this book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who has read any of the other Kopp sisters novels.

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a fun and flirty radio romance in the proud tradition of what used to be called "Chick Lit" but is now called "Women's Fiction." Here's the blurb: Public radio co-hosts navigate mixed signals in Rachel Lynn Solomon's sparkling romantic comedy debut.
 
Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can't imagine working anywhere else. But lately it's been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who's fresh off a journalism master's program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. 
 
When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.  
 
As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.

My husband Jim worked in radio for over 20 years, as a board operator and producer, so I know a little something about radio broadcasters and producers, though Public radio is different in that it gets money from listeners more than advertisers, or it used to anyway. Still, I could tell that the author had worked in radio by her descriptions of the sleazy program director (Most PDs are scumbags, especially the men, and all of them were men when my husband worked in radio) and the board of directors, which in public radio must take the place of the General Manager, who has the final say over what does and doesn't go on air. That said, the whole fake relationship thing was a bit over the top, and everyone's reaction to it a little too dramatic as well. And I loathe the romance novel trope of the tiny (must be 5'3" or under) adorable, waif of a woman who is drooled over by the male protagonist, (who is always tall, muscular and devastatingly handsome), because of course tiny child-like women are universally sexy and pursued by men, who apparently are all slightly pedophillic in their desires. Blech. Usually the young woman is blonde, and has to do some gymnastics to even get a kiss from the guy, and she's always got a 'fragile' and optimistic heart (which is also childlike). This nauseating misogyny has got to stop! Please, romance novelists, give us a middle aged woman who is at least 5'6" or taller and weighs more than a child, who is a brunette and isn't at all babyish in her desires or actions! Anyway, I did enjoy the book until the unsurprising ending, and Solomon's prose and plot were both slick and fast-moving. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who has ever worked in radio in Seattle, or any other major market. 

Glimpsed by G.F. Miller is a YA ebook that I wasn't sure I was going to like,which turned out to be a lot more fun than expected. Miller's prose was sharp and smart, and her plot whizzed along on skates. Here's the blurb: Perfect for fans of Geekerella and Jenn Bennett, this charming, sparkly rom-com follows a wish-granting teen forced to question if she’s really doing good—and if she has the power to make her own dreams come true.

Charity is a fairy godmother. She doesn’t wear a poofy dress or go around waving a wand, but she does make sure the deepest desires of the student population at Jack London High School come true. And she knows what they want even better than they do because she can glimpse their perfect futures.

But when Charity fulfills a glimpse that gets Vindhya crowned homecoming queen, it ends in disaster. Suddenly, every wish Charity has ever granted is called into question. Has she really been helping people? Where do these glimpses come from, anyway? What if she’s not getting the whole picture?

Making this existential crisis way worse is Noah—the adorkable and (in Charity’s opinion) diabolical ex of one of her past clients—who blames her for sabotaging his prom plans and claims her interventions are doing more harm than good. He demands that she stop granting wishes and help him get his girl back. At first, Charity has no choice but to play along. But soon, Noah becomes an unexpected ally in getting to the bottom of the glimpses. Before long, Charity dares to call him her friend…and even starts to wish he were something more. But can the fairy godmother ever get the happily ever after?

There were a few laugh out loud moments in this sparkly book, and I enjoyed the budding relationship between the Trekkie (Star Trek fan) and the popular Cheerleader Charity who, though she's a fairy godmother, doesn't seem to realize that she's also a trendsetter at her high school. I also liked that Charity's grandmother, who is also a fairy godmother, played a large role in her life, especially as a mentor. I find it hard to believe that her mother, however, didn't seem to care enough about her daughter to stick around and actually raise her...why would you have a child if you were uncaring enough to leave her alone all the time? At any rate, I'd give this fun rom-com YA book an A, and recommend it to anyone looking for an unusual read.

The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith is the final book in her Vine Witch trilogy, bring to light the story of the Jinn (Genie) Sidra, the third of the group that were imprisoned together at the start of the trilogy, who helped each other escape the hangman's noose. Smith's prose is dense and delicious, kind of like a mincemeat pie, with many layers of flavor, so though it's a short novel, it takes time to read it and give each paragraph your full attention. The plot is equally twisty, but fascinating, and I was glad to see all the loose ends being tied up. Here's the blurb:

A beguiling novel of revenge, deliverance, and a powerful sisterhood of magic by the Washington Post bestselling author of The Vine Witch and The Glamourist.

Sidra didn’t murder her husband. Yet even a jinni can’t wish away a wrongful imprisonment. Determined to prove her innocence, she returns to her adopted home—a French village renowned for its perfume witches—with her friends Elena and Yvette by her side. Here is where Sidra’s true destiny awaits, but danger also lurks in the village’s narrow lanes.

On her trail is Jamra, another jinni, who’s after more than revenge for the murder of his brother. He also seeks vengeance for the indignities inflicted on jinn by mortals over the centuries. When he learns of an ancient relic capable of unleashing chaos on the world, and that the weapon is in the hands of his murderous sister-in-law, he vows to destroy Sidra to get it.

Relying on a sisterhood of magic, a mysteriously faithful dog, and a second-rate sorcerer, Sidra defends herself using the village’s greatest asset: its perfume. It’s as beguiling a lure as it is a formidable shield. But is it enough for Sidra to protect herself and those she loves from powers yet to be released?

There's plenty of action and adventure in this novel, and a lot of information on sacred objects of desert dwellers from the Middle East. There's also some good information on the different forms that magic can take, from witches to fairies to the Jinn, and how they can all work together to defy evil-doers. The descriptions of French perfumeries was divine, and made me want to visit France just for the fragrances...and I've not felt that way since reading one of MJ Rose's books on the subject of perfumers and their trade. All in all, this was a satisfying way to end what was a riveting series of books. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read the other two books in this series.

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L Armentrout is the second book in this series, and a robust follow up to From Blood and Ash. Armentrout's prose is succulent and rich, while her plots rarely flag. I am most enthralled by her characters, however, as I can't put the book down until I find out what happens to them in the next chapter, and the next, etc. Here's the blurb:Is Love Stronger Than Vengeance?

A Betrayal…
Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice….
Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret…
But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.  

Poppy is nothing if not resilient, but I could hardly fathom how she managed to keep her sanity when "The Dark One" revealed himself to her and her entire worldview is turned upside down. She manages to work with him and with the Wolven, and is finally able to get a grip on how hard they must strive to not only regain Casteel's brother but also Poppy's brother, who has become a vampyr. Though it's a huge novel, I became so invested in the story that I read it right through in 24 hours. I can hardly wait for the third book, The Crown of Gilded Bones, which isn't out until April, unfortunately. Still, it's worth the wait. This book reminded me of early Sara Maas or Anne Bishop and Cassandra Clare. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who read the first book in the series...you won't be disappointed, believe me.