Wednesday, March 05, 2025

Mystery Words Defined, Story Garden Bookstore Opens in St. Pete, Fl, Bookish Oscar Winners, Miss Austen Comes to TV, Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova,The Moonlight Market by Joanne Harris, The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles, Memories of the Lost by Barbara O'Neal, and the Bookstore Keepers #3 by Alice Hoffman

Greetings from the unusually warm March "in like a lamb" spring! I should have posted before today, but my husband's latest health crisis has lead to him signing himself out of the rehab center and coming home early Monday, putting a spanner in the works for how I'd planned my week. Still, today is my son's beloved, Sylvie's 26th birthday, so that makes it a brighter and better day by default! And a shout-out to Canadians and their great good humor in fighting off our current insane POTUS's attempts at annexing that wonderful country! Fight the good fight, eh?! 
 
Words that I've run across in my reading lately that I didn't know...

Redingote—a fitted garment that can be worn as a dress coat or an overcoat


Passe-partout—a picture mounted between glass or a master key


Parfleches—a flenced buffalo hide that has been stretched and made into a bag


Enfilading—a direct volley of gunfire along a target


Desuetude—a state of disuse


Toroidal lattice---a a surface of 3 dimensional space, often round, like a revolving circle.

I used to live in St Pete, and my rental home was only a few blocks from the location of this new bookstore. I wish the Story Garden nothing but success, especially in a state that has enacted more than a few spurious book bans.
 
The Story Garden in St. Petersburg, Fla., Opens Saturday

The Story Garden children's bookstore will have a soft opening on Saturday, March 1 at 832 14th St. North in Historic Uptown St. Petersburg, Fla. Founder and owner Megan Kotsko told St. Pete Rising that the shop will carry more than 1,500 titles, and a major focus will be events, including story times, book clubs for kids, art classes, and more. There will also be a program for toddlers called Play Me a Story, featuring a read-aloud followed by intentional play experiences tailored to extend the story's content.

"I want to be driven by our mission, which is really to have every child
be able to come into our store and find a book that reflects their life,
be it their culture, their religion, their ethnicity, their passions,
and their interests," she said. "This was always a dream of mine. After
watching You've Got Mail years ago, I fell in love with the dream of one
day running a children's bookstore like The Shop Around the Corner--one
that puts children's interests and their innate gravitation toward
immersing themselves into the world of story first; a store that was
established for and fueled by the love of books for the youngest of
readers."

The Story Garden offers cozy reading nooks and benches throughout the
shop, which will also sell games, toys, cards, and reading accessories.
There is also an outdoor patio, St. Pete Rising noted.

Kotsko added that she is glad she and her husband, Jason Kotsko, were
able to restore the old building, which had been empty for years before
the bookstore's arrival: "Since I've lived on 14th Street, it's been
pretty much vacant. You never saw anybody coming and going, but there
was old stuff in it."

In a recent Instagram post, she noted: "We're thrilled to invite you to
our soft opening, where you can browse our shelves, discover new stories, and find the perfect books for your little readers. This is just the beginning--our Grand Opening Week is happening later this March, and we have some
exciting surprises, special events, and fun activities in store! Stay
tuned for more details!"

It's great that books are still being adapted in this age of book banning, and still being successful on the big screen.
 
Bookish Oscar Winners: Emilia Pérez, Conclave,I'm Still Here

Last night's Academy Awards ceremony was not a huge one for adaptations,
but a few movies based on books or with book connections did take home
hardware, including Emilia Perez, Conclave, and I'm Still Here.
This year's major category bookish Oscar winners are:

Emilia Perez, adapted from an opera that was inspired by the
novel by Boris Razon: Actress in a supporting role (Zoe
Saldana); music, original song ("El Mal" & "Mi Camino")

Conclave, based on the novel by Robert Harris: Writing, adapted
screenplay (Peter Straughan)

I'm Still Here, based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir, Ainda Estou
Aqui: International feature film

Wicked, a film adaptation of the musical based on Gregory Maguire's
novel: Production design; costume design (Paul Tazewell)

Dune: Part Two, based on the novel by Frank Herbert: Visual effects;
sound

I'm really looking forward to this, because it focuses on Austen's sister, and her POV should be refreshing.
 
TV: Miss Austen
Masterpiece on PBS has released a new trailer for Miss Austen, a four-part miniseries based on Gil Hornby's novel, which "takes a deeper look at Cassandra Austen's [Keeley Hawes) bond and loyalty with her late sister, famous author Jane Austen," Deadline reported. Miss Austen premieres May 4.

Directed by Aisling Walsh, the TV adaptation was written by Andrea Gibb
(Elizabeth is Missing). The cast includes Rose Leslie, Synnøve
Karlsen (Last Night in Soho), Patsy Ferran (Living), Max Irons (The
Wife), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Calam Lynch
(Bridgerton), and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey).

Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova is a romantasy that is somewhat of a Mary Sue (see the name of the author compared to the name of the female protagonist), and while the prose was brisk and the plot moved at a predictable march, I still felt the novel was way too long to sustain my interest. Here's the blurb:
Set in a lushly drawn world inspired by Inquisition Spain, Zoraida Córdova's fantasy is an epic tale of love and revenge perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas.
 
As a memory thief– the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria– Renata was used by the crown to carry out the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.
Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown. The Whispers may have rescued Renata years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred—or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she drained during her time in the palace.
 
When Dez, the commander of her unit—and the boy she's grown to love—is taken captive by the notorious Principe Dorado, Renata must return to Andalucia and complete Dez's top secret mission herself. But as Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the fate of the entire kingdom—and end the war that has cost her everything.
I had several problems with this book, one of which was the "death" (like a soap opera, you know that he can't really be dead dead), of the male protagonist, Dez, who, like a lot of guys in romantasy novels is gorgeous to look at but a real asshat inside, and he dies before we're even halfway to the resolution. Of course, her grief is used as an excuse for the female protagonist, Ren, to behave badly and kill more people that she expected to, but hey, she's grieving the love of her life, so cut her some slack, right?! Ren also waffles a lot between doing what she knows is right and what she was raised/groomed to do by some creepy minion of the king, who is a psychopath. There's loads of misogyny in this book, so if you're looking for a smart and successful heroine, you won't find her here. I also found the ending to be unsatisfying. So I'd give this book a C+ and recommend it only to those who like military/horror/bloody battle fiction interwoven throughout their romantic fantasy. 
 
The Moonlight Market by Joanne Harris is a romantasy novel married to magic realism in the style of her groundbreaking, bestselling novel Chocolat (which spawned a pretty decent movie). So if you're a fan of the wonderful works of Sarah Addison Allen, this will scratch your itch for magic set in historical England. Here's the blurb: 
From bestselling author Joanne Harris comes a richly imagined and captivating novel of two colliding worlds.

Deep in the heart of London, a young photographer named Tom Argent walks the streets and captures whatever catches his eye: an old man drinking coffee; a striking woman sipping champagne in St. Pancras station; a cloud of moths taking flight across the sky. He’s orphaned, lonely, and lost in his work. He certainly has no intention of falling in love.

And yet, love finds him in the shape of beautiful Vanessa, who lives a dangerous double life in the heart of the city. Tom’s pursuit of Vanessa leads him to discover an alternate world, hiding in plain sight among the streets and rooftops of London. A world unseen by common folk and inhabited by strange and colorful beings, in which two warring factions—one nocturnal, one in the light—wage war for the sake of a long-lost love, which can only end with one side’s total annihilation.

The Moonlight Market will enchant readers with new worlds and epic romance and in this captivating modern fairytale about what could be hiding in the corner of your eye.
First of all, the prose, as with all of Harris's novels, is achingly gorgeous, full of sentences that beg to be written down in a journal or posted to social media so that all might enjoy their shimmer and glow. Also, Harris's plots are nearly perfect, never flagging or sagging in the middle, always gliding along like a ballerina across a stage, with effortless elegance. That said, the sadness of the protagonist, Tom, and his gullible and guileless perambulations through fairy markets and magical places made me want to grab him and shake him by the lapels and yell "snap out of it!" ala Cher in the movie Moonstruck. The idea that love makes fools of us all reminded me of the themes of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Wm Shakespeare. Still, the fascinating secret world of the good and bad fae will lead readers a merry chase right through to the spellbinding ending. I'd give this book an A-, and recommend it to anyone who loves fairy tale romances and mysteries.
 
The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles is am LGBTQ romance (actually its about two gay men) novel that is short but cunning and a real page turner. Here's the blurb: A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn't expect it to turn up angry. Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude... and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn't the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it—they’re both going to die.
 
 The prose here is elegant and precise, and the plot a real zinger that moves at a lightening  pace, full of flash and bright moments that will keep you reading into the wee hours. I also have to mention that the "spicy" scenes are hotter than a ghost pepper, even if you're not gay. How author Charles manages to create such a sumptuous feast of a story in under 200 pages is a miraculous mystery that you must check out, especially if you're a fan of the steampunk genre of lit. I hope to be able to afford the rest of the books in this series at some time in the future. I'd give this slender volume an A, and recommend it to fans of Gail Carriger's works.
 
Memories of the Lost by Barbara O'Neal is a historical/family fiction novel about an artist who finds her real family after living a life with a memory full of nightmares and holes that she can't seem to fill. Here's the blurb:
An unsuspecting artist uncovers her late mother’s secrets and unravels her own hidden past in a beguiling novel by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.
Months after her mother passes away, artist Tillie Morrisey sees a painting in a gallery that leaves her inexplicably lightheaded and unsteady. When a handsome stranger comes to her aid, their connection is so immediate it seems fated, though Liam is only visiting for a few days.
Working on her own art has always been a refuge, but after discovering a document among her mother’s belongings that suggests Tillie’s life has been a lie, she begins to suffer from a series of fugue states, with memories surfacing that she isn’t even sure are her own. As her confusion and grief mount, and prompted by a lead on the painting that started it all, Tillie heads to a seaside village in England. There, she hopes to discover the source of her uncanny inspirations, sort out her feelings about Liam, and unravel truths that her mother kept hidden for decades.
The fluidity of memory, empowering strength of character, beauty of nature, and love of family braid together in this artful tapestry of a novel.
The stolen child trope is one that is often overused, in books and on TV, but somehow, in this lusciously written novel, it feels brand new, and the swift plot kept me reading into the night. I was especially interested in how Tillie's grief and trauma were used to create gorgeous artwork full of forest creatures and cats.I don't know how Tillies real mother and sister survived for years believing that she'd drowned in a nearby river, but they, too, turned their grief and guilt into gardening and making chocolates, which was inspiring. I'd give this book, which is a bit too long, a B+, and recommend it to anyone who once enjoyed Lifetime potboiler "Movies of the week" and old fashioned soap operas. 
 
The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman is a short novella that is the third book in this series of magical realism/family fiction that Alice Hoffman is known for, after many years of successful books. Here's the blurb:
From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a deeply moving short story about the love of family and the power of dreams.
The Gibson sisters weren’t expecting to speak to each other ever again after Isabel ran off to New York and left Sophie alone. But here they are, years later, running the family bookstore together on Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Isabel also thought she’d left Johnny Lenox behind, but whether or not she knew it, Johnny was always going to be there for her.
Five years into their happily ever after, Isabel and Johnny are making the most of their second chance at love. Then one night, Johnny awakens from an extraordinary dream…and their world is irrevocably altered. Isabel does her best to give Johnny space as he struggles to accept the new chapter life has opened for them. But Johnny can’t do it alone—no one can. As the whole family is soon to discover, seasons change, but love never does.
Though this was a beautifully written short story, it was very satisfying, and I fell in love with Hoffman's dreamy characters and their lives. There's something so poignant about Hoffman's work, and yet it's also comforting as a warm blanket. I'd give this short story an A, and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Hoffman's previous works.

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