Today I'm enjoying looking over the 16 new books that I bought, and I've already made my way through 2.5 of them, and two on the Kindle, so I'm on fire, LOL. Meanwhile, I've also been watching movies on HBO and Netflix, and staying indoors to avoid the heat (it's been in the 90s the last few days). Let's get this party started with a fantastic poem that my friend Stanette posted today on Facebook...it really spoke to me as a woman whose hair is aflame with Winter.
Here's the book reviews and tidbits for this week...enjoy!
I'm hoping to get a copy of this book soon, as well as Kevin Hearne's latest, which debuts on August 10.
Book Review: The Last Chance Library
With The Last Chance Library, British author Freya Sampson delivers a refreshingly feel-good first novel about the sustaining power of books and how libraries unite communities and forge lasting relationships that improve lives.
The story orbits around a shy, small-town Brit, June Jones, 28 years old and suffering protracted grief after the death of her mother, who was the local librarian of Chalcot, a residential enclave. June is content continuing to live in the home she shared with her mother and working as an assistant librarian in the same library. There, June is privy to fascinating books and interacts with a host of quirky locals who depend on the library and all it has to offer. The patrons include two older ladies who are hang-abouts and gossips, one of whom constantly complains about noisy kids. A shy, bookish teenager relies on the respite of the library to escape her crowded family home. A mother and son who love to bake are constantly in search of new cookbooks. A precocious boy, the grandson of June's neighbor, frequents the library to nourish his overactive curiosity. And a retired, 82-year-old man shows up--always dapper in a suit and tie--to tackle the daily crossword puzzle.
When budget cuts in town threaten closure of the library, the patrons rebel and devise ways to save it--enlisting the help of June and the library director, whose husband happens to be a wheeler-dealer on the town council. Shy June is forced out of her shell. She aids and abets the cause, participating in protests and sit-ins to save the beloved town meeting place. Along the way, June reconnects with a former classmate, Alex Chen, now a lawyer in London, who returns to help at his family's local Chinese take-out restaurant. The kindness of his attention and support is just what June needs to empower her in the library fight. What will it take to finally turn the tide?
The Last Chance Library unravels with great wit and tenderness. Sampson assembles clever, funny scenes where June transforms from a wallflower into a take-charge, crafty young woman who is forced to handle difficult people and navigate situations that enlarge her ingenuity. Readers will eagerly invest in the cause to save the library and be greatly amused by plot twists that play out with pleasant surprises and heart-tugging twists. -- Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49309702
Image of the Day: Wizenberg at Elliott Bay
Elliott Bay Book Company https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49340152, Seattle, Wash., hosted its first in-person author event in a long time on August 3, in conjunction with the paperback release of Molly Wizenberg's Fixed Stars (Abrams). Matthew Amster Burton, who co-hosts the comedy podcast Spilled Milk with Wizenberg, joined her onstage in conversation. The event took place in the street; neighboring restaurants served "to go" cocktails for attendees.
Finally! It’s about damn time!
TV: Lackey's Valdemar Universe
Radar Pictures will be adapting Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar literary universe https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49340180> for TV after acquiring the small screen rights. Deadline reported that Kit Williamson (EastSiders) is adapting with author Brittany Cavallaro, "who wrote the Charlotte Holmes series of books. The pair bonded over the books in school and will now write and produce the TV adaptation."
"I have hoped for decades that The Last Herald-Mage would be adapted for television," Lackey said. "Now that Radar has optioned the trilogy, I am nearly breathless with excitement. I could not have chosen a better organization to take my work in hand, and Kit and Bri, the producers, absolutely know both their stuff and the material. I love the fact that this is going to be a longform series: episodic TV gives the story all the room it needs. I hope our fans will be as thrilled to see their favorite characters come to life as I am."
Williamson commented: "Vanyel in The Last Herald Mage series was one of the first gay characters I encountered, and as a recently out 16-year-old I can't stress enough the impact that these books had on me. The Valdemar series was far ahead of its time in the portrayal of LGBTQ characters, and Lackey's writing afforded them a level of depth and complexity that is still very rare, especially in genre storytelling."
Cavallaro added: "It's an absolute dream to be adapting the Valdemar books alongside Radar Pictures and Kit Williamson. Twenty years ago, Kit and I became friends at boarding school, and bonded over our love for Mercedes Lackey's work, and we're so excited to begin the process of bringing it to the screen."
Curse of the Specter Queen by Jenny Elder Moke is a fantasy/mystery/romance novel that drew me in from the first page and wouldn't let me go until the final chapter. The prose is smooth and silken, while the plot skates along at thrilling, breakneck speed. Here's the blurb:
"This lush, high-stakes, adventure tale has it all―a
rollicking plot, a sweet slow burn of a romance, and a heroine on an
epic journey filled with ciphers, curses, and twists that kept me
guessing at every turn." – Alyson Noël
Samantha Knox put away her childish fantasies of archaeological
adventure the day her father didn't return home from the Great War,
retreating to the safety of the antique bookshop where she works. But
when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam's
peaceful life is obliterated.
Ruthless men intent on
reclaiming the diary are after Sam, setting her and her best friend,
along with her childhood crush, on a high-stakes adventure that lands
them in the green hills outside Dublin, Ireland. Here they discover an
ancient order with a dark purpose - to perform an occult ritual that
will raise the Specter Queen, the Celtic goddess of vengeance and death,
to bring about a war unlike any the world has ever seen. To stop them,
Sam must solve a deviously complex cipher - one that will lead her on a
treasure hunt to discover the ancient relic at the heart of the ritual: a
bowl carved from the tree of life. Will she find the bowl and stop the
curse of the Specter Queen, or will the ancient order bring about the
end of the world?
Indiana Jones gets a refresh with this
female-driven mystery adventure, set in the 1920s, full of ciphers,
ancient relics, and heart-stopping action - the first in a brand-new
series!
Though I understand that this book is peopled with men and women of another age, I still felt there was a bit too much sexism, and the smart female protagonist acted silly/girly around men, and was recklessly stupid with her own life, acting pig headed and ridiculous enough to be annoying. Still, there was her bestie Joana, who was a lot more fun and had more backbone than most of the other characters, while Bennett came off as having a stick up his butt, telling his sister and Sam what to do all the time. While Sam finds him swoon-worthy, I wanted to smack him in his smug and sexist face many times, especially when he "man-splains" things to either Sam or another character...the arrogance! However, the book has more than enough fun and thrills and chills to keep fans of fantasy and mystery turning pages. I'd give this book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who liked the first Indiana Jones movie, or who likes the Veronica Speedwell mysteries.
If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy is a delicious YA romance that does a fabulous re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale. I've read all of Murphy's other great YA books, many of which contain plus sized protagonists and LGBTQ characters, and I've enjoyed them all so much that now I just buy any new book of hers right when it debuts, because I know it will be great fun to read. Murphy's prose style is fizzy and fun, while her plots take a few twists, but still manage to do so while never slowing down. Here's the blurb:
If the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own.
Cindy
loves shoes. A well-placed bow or a chic stacked heel is her form of
self-expression. As a fashion-obsessed plus-size woman, she can never
find designer clothes that work on her body, but a special pair of shoes
always fits just right.
With a shiny new design degree but no
job in sight, Cindy moves back in with her stepmother, Erica Tremaine,
the executive producer of the world’s biggest dating reality show. When a
contestant on Before Midnight bows out at the last minute, Cindy is
thrust into the spotlight. Showcasing her killer shoe collection on
network TV seems like a great way to jump-start her career. And, while
she’s at it, why not go on a few lavish dates with an eligible suitor?
But
being the first and only fat contestant on Before Midnight turns her
into a viral sensation—and a body-positivity icon—overnight. Even harder
to believe? She can actually see herself falling for this Prince
Charming. To make it to the end, despite the fans, the haters, and a
house full of fellow contestants she’s not sure she can trust, Cindy
will have to take a leap of faith and hope her heels— and her
heart—don’t break in the process.
Best-selling author Julie
Murphy’s reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is an enchanting story of
self-love and believing in the happy ending each and every one of us
deserves.
I totally agree with the blurb that this is an enchanting story, the kind that you pick up and start reading at noon, and before you know it it's Midnight and you're done with the book! (That literally happened to me this time, and I would have finished it faster if I wouldn't have had to take a nap, go to the bathroom, fix lunch, etc! Life got in the way!) One of the things I appreciate most about Murphy's books is that her larger gals (and guys) don't have to lose weight to have their HEA. They are perfectly fine with their size, and their sexuality, and they take charge of their lives and go for it! I'd give it a well-deserved A,and recommend it to any young woman, (or man) from junior high school age on up, who wants a prince charming and a career, and won't settle for less!
The Book of Hidden Wonders by Polly Crosby looked like an e-book that would be right up my alley, because I love books about booksellers, bookstores and books themselves. Unfortunately, the bizarre, almost dream-like prose and the uneven, messy plot that moved in fits and starts made it a difficult book to read and enjoy. The characters were also weird and hard to understand, especially the terrible father and mother of the main character, Romilly. Her mother is so mentally ill that she's abusive to her child,whom she seems to dislike, and her father is also crazy, and has no real idea how to care for a child, so he just lets her run wild,and doesn't even try to make sure she's bathed or dressed properly or fed and given medications when she's ill. I kept wondering where Child Protective Services or some other social service organization was, because Romilly is frequently stalked and threatened with rape or worse, and no one seems to care. Here's the blurb:
A charming, deeply imaginative debut novel about a young girl
who is immortalized in her father’s illustrated books containing clues
to their family secrets.
Romilly Kemp and her eccentric
painter father have happy but sheltered lives in a ramshackle mansion in
the English countryside. When her father finds fame with a series of
children’s books starring Romilly as the main character, everything
changes: exotic foods appear on the table, her father appears on TV and
strangers appear at their door, convinced the books will lead them to a
precious prize.
But as time passes, Romilly’s father becomes
increasingly suspicious of the outside world until, before her eyes, he
begins to disappear within himself. She returns to his illustrations,
looking for a way to connect with her ailing father, and finds a series
of clues he’s left just for her. This treasure hunt doesn’t lead her to
gold or jewels, but something worth far more—a shocking secret that is
crucial to understanding her family.
Written with tremendous heart and charisma, The Book of Hidden Wonders is an unforgettable story about growing up, facing mortality and discovering the hidden wonders that make us who we are.
I disagree with the blurb, there wasn't a lot about this disaster of a book that was heartfelt or charming or charismatic. There was just a horribly insane and neglectful set of parents who do nothing to raise their child so she almost starves to death before she reaches out for help. I felt mostly pity for Romilly, and anger towards her parents and her grandparent for not helping her. The ending is extremely vague and disappointing, and I could see the "imaginary friend" angle coming a mile away, right from the first part of the book. I'd give this unsatisfying and awful book a D, and I would only recommend it to those who had neglectful or insane parents, who know what it's like to have to raise yourself in awful circumstances.
Twisted Magic by Rainy Kaye is an urban paranormal fantasy novel that I downloaded for cheap on my Kindle Paperwhite. While I found the prose fun and clear and very readable, the plot got off track a couple of times, which slowed things down a bit. Here's the blurb:
Safiya Morgan deals in all things supernatural--or so she thought. When a
new client complains of unrelenting nightmares, she finds herself
face-to-face with a demon unlike anything she has met before. It's
immense, and its power only seems to be growing.
Then, her best
friend is kidnapped. In attempt to find her, Safiya begrudgingly teams
up with her estranged sister's ex-boyfriend and her new client to dig
deeper into the supernatural world she thought she knew. As if that
wasn't bad enough, doing so puts her on the wrong side of a wicked order
and a man whose motives aren't quite clear. As the town descends into
chaos, Safiya is forced to confront the demon head-on.
Unfortunately, her own magic has never been all that dependable.
While the pages whipped by and I became immersed in the story fairly quickly, I found myself being frustrated that Safiya never seems to believe in herself or her powers enough to get any good use out of them. It's mostly by good luck and some serious ass-kicking moves that she manages to survive at all. I kept wanting her to level up with her magic and do some serious slaying, ala Allie B from Devon Monk's Magic series or even Buffy Summers or Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Perhaps Safiya gets more powerful in each subsequent book, but there still could have been more done with her via foreshadowing here in the first book. Still, I'd give it a B-, and recommend it to fans of Devon Monk or Lilith Saintcrow.
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