Crystallinegirl
All of this series has been - well, the author jumps around a lot, letting years pass between scenes without giving any explanation. But this last one feels like the author said “Oh yeah, I need to get a conclusion out for that series...here, have my plot notes!”
More writing, please. Also, dragon's mate's names should not be interchangeable. Especially when at one point you're talking about a dragon's mate and you name his SISTER instead. Come on, it's not that hard. You only have three main characters!
Oh, and the actual ending? I'm still not sure what actually happened, or where two of the main characters went. He talks about something about to happen, and then mentions that it happened (from a years-later perspective) but doesn't actually DESCRIBE IT HAPPENING. Quit being lazy. Show me the action!
This is one of the first pagan books I bought myself, and I absolutely love it. It has an entry for every day of the year, so you can read it daily as a meditation, or open it when you feel you need guidance.
An example of a day:
February 16The flood receded, leaving swampswhere life emerged anew like seedssprouting in a mother's womb.It was just like spring, when peasantsoverturn the soil to find a worldof creatures there, as though the earthitself crept and wriggled and was alive.Life begins in heat and water,those apparent opposites that stircreation. Thus the sun, rising onthe flooded earth, brought forth new life.- Ovid, MetamorphosesIn the myths of many cultures, the earth is destroyed - often by a flood - and then reborn, re-made. So it was in Greek and Roman mythology, which told of a great flood that only the woman Pyrrha and her mate Deucalion survived. Told by an oracle that she would bear children from “the bones of her mother,” Pyrrha figured out that her mother being the earth, the bones would mean the rock skeleton of the planet. Throwing stones behind herself, Pyrrha produced an entire new race of humans to repopulate the earth.After the destructive flood, the earth replenished itself anew. Such myths capture the special freshness of spring, when all seems reborn. In our own lives, too, we will find times when an order is overturned - a job or love lost, a home transformed - but new order emerges from the ruin. Trusting in such rebirth is difficult, but every spring reminds us that renewal is an inevitable part of life.
Each day in the book brings a quote from ancient poetry or song or religious text about some aspect of the goddess. Some days it's Horace or Homer, some days it's a Lithuanian Folk song, or an Indian prayer to Kali. I love how it draws from such widely different traditions to show different faces of the goddess.
It's quite seasonal; it doesn't have days of the week, but it does go by dates, so you'll find things about spring in February, March, and April; entries about depression and the dark of winter in December and January; entries about death and ancestors in October.
I highly recommend this book; it is well-written, insightful, and well-researched. This is a book I crack open not-quite-daily, but at least once a week, and whenever I need a goddess fix. I used to have quotes from this book written out on paper and posted all over my house. I did not realize the author had written so many other books - she has about 20 listed on her Wikipedia page! I only own The Goddess Companion and The Goddess Path, but I think I'll be looking up more of her work. Sadly, she died about a year ago, but she left behind a wonderful body of work. If you're interested in reading about the divine feminine, this book is a great place to start.
Like Quiet, Please:Dispatches from a Public Librarian, Free For All is a memoir from a public librarian. It was interesting, but I didn't find it as engaging as Quiet, Please. So if you're only going to read one, I'd recommend Quiet. If you've got time, though, this was an interesting second view on public libraries. It felt a little more detached than Quiet did; and there was a lot less biting sarcasm. I find it interesting that both books are written by male librarians, in what has been a female-dominated field for some time. I'll have to go looking for a woman's memoir about being a librarian, and see how it differs!
Free For All goes a little bit more in depth on the hiring process, and talks more about library pages, both topics I found interesting. To be honest, though, I found the entire book just kind of...blah. It's not a bad book, and it's a quick read at just over two hundred pages, but it's just...blah.
This book arrived unexpectedly in the mail – I believe it was from a Goodreads Giveaway, but I was never notified I'd won one. It's even signed by the author!
I am....a little puzzled on how I feel about this book. It has a bit of a confusing, dream-like quality to it, which fits the book, but left me a little less than satisfied. It always felt like I was forgetting details, or like the book assumed I knew things about the world that I didn't. (Much like many dreams.) The plot was unique, the characters could have used more depth, the division between forest and city was indistinct, and the conclusion was unsatisfying. It could have been very good, but I think it needs a lot more polish.
The physical book itself felt like an ARC, even though it's not. I think it's the simplistic cover and the typesetting. It just doesn't feel – finished. Like much of the book. I'd give this a pass, but I might be interested in future writings by the author, if his style matures and his editor improves.
See all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks
So first off, this is NOT a read-cover-to-cover kind of book. This is an encyclopedia. This is a you-spilled-red-wine-and-barbecue-sauce-on-Grandma's-handmade-lace-doily-tablecloth-and-need-to-know-how-to-get-the-stain-out kind of book. And it's AMAZING. If you have a question about homekeeping, the answer is in here.
How to take care of 12 different possible kinds of countertop materials? It's in here.
What is this weird shaped scrub brush and what is it used for? In here.
Components of a staircase, pros and cons of carpeting a staircase, and how to do it if you choose to? In here.
How to read a Consumer Confidence Report provided by your water supplier? Different kinds of heating and cooling systems, and how to maintain them? Need to know all sixteen types of spoons? How to clean and maintain most small (and large) kitchen appliances? All in here, along with so much more.
It's a huge book, with an incredible amount of information. It also features lots of pictures, charts, and the occasional inspirational quote. I checked this book out from the library once and immediately put it on my wish list to own, because I wanted a reference copy in the house! (I finally bought my copy almost a year ago.) If you have a passion for housekeeping (or even if you don't but it's still a responsibility of yours) this is a fantastic book to have in your arsenal. Yes, you can find most of this information through Google – but it can be hard to decide how reliable that information is. Martha's not going to lie to you! You know she's tested this stuff.
There's more than just cleaning and maintenance – there's also suggestions for home layout, how to make a house more convenient and comfortable for everyone living in it, hints for storage and workflow. This book really has everything.
I 100% recommend this book for homeowners, and renters can get a lot out of it, too.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
I picked up the first book on a whim – the entire trilogy is free on Kindle Unlimited – and I am so, SO GLAD I DID. This trilogy is amazing. It's a little anime-like – the illustrations are definitely drawn in anime style and there's about ten per book – but it's simply beautiful writing, blending elements of Japanese mythology with a beautifully sweet romance and an epic fantasy task. (Release trapped gods and goddesses and stop a goddess.) The main character was likeable, sweet, and a little naive, but she realizes why she is naive and consciously works to overcome that.
The first book starts with a revelation – Emi has been training for ten years to receive her goddess into her body, with the expectation that their personalities will meld – only to discover that the goddess's divine energy will instead destroy Emi's mind and personality. She will be dead while the goddess inhabits her body. Which will be happening two months from the book's beginning, so she doesn't have much time to change her fate. The goddess herself is not unsympathetic, and wishes it could be different. I loved the interaction between Emi and her goddess. The compassion, love, and regret shown by Amaterasu means it's impossible to dislike her, even though we know she'll be the agent of our protagonist's death.
But all is not as it seems among the gods, and Emi is attacked by someone who should be an ally, and defended by those who should want her dead. Conspiracies unravel in the second book, as Emi and her friends race to finish the task set them by Amaterasu – a task that must be finished before the winter solstice, when Amaterasu will descend into Emi's body and destroy her mind. Dark Tempest ends with the task still uncompleted, and Immortal Fire picks up immediately. (I read almost the entire trilogy in one sitting – I finally set the third book aside and got some sleep before the final confrontation.)
I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to spoil anything. I liked Emi, I absolutely loved Yumei, the dark, standoffish Crow Lord, and Shiro the kitsune was an amazing character. Reveals and pacing and dialogue and action and exposition were all excellently done. This is a gorgeous, absorbing trilogy and I highly recommend it.
Find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks
So this is a series of walking tours of Baltimore. I've only been on two of these walks so far, but I plan to take many more of them. It's just been SO. HOT. And I'm not a person who likes walking much to begin with! But Pokemon Go makes walking a lot more fun. (Go Team Mystic!) That little bit of motivation of “well, I'll walk to that Pokestop. Alright, there's another Pokestop two blocks away, I can make it to that one. Maybe a little further to that next Pokestop. OOoo there's a Tangela nearby!” It makes it just enough fun that I walk a lot more before I've even realized it.
Walking Baltimore gives me general guides for walks so I'm not just wandering Pokestop to Pokestop until I get lost! It has very detailed instructions – turn left at this corner, cross the street here so you can see this monument, then look up at the architecture in front of you – it's really well done. My only wish is that there was an appendix that rated the walks in order of difficulty – each walk has a rating, from easy to moderate to strenuous – but there's no way to see all of the difficulties side by side. With 33 walks all over Baltimore, with all levels of difficulty and lengths, there's definitely something here for everyone, and the history and points of interest covered by the walks are fascinating.
The two that I've actually walked are half of #4, Inner Harbor Promenade, and #11, The Civil War Trail: Path of the War's First Bloodshed. Both are mostly on the Inner Harbor, where my husband works, so I hitched a ride down with him, walked, and caught Pokemon until he got off work and we came home. (We live just outside Baltimore City limits.) I'd been down in the area many times, but had no idea the Civil War's first bloodshed occurred when a mob waylaid Union troops travelling through Baltimore! There are medallions laid in the sidewalks commemorating some of the events of the Civil War march, and most of those are Pokestops too.
Currently I have this book out from the library, but I think this is one I'll be adding to my personal library soon. I want the walking guides! The author has also written 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Baltimore and Best in Tent Camping: Maryland. So he knows his stuff.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
Black Heart Loa is actually the second in Phoenix's Hoodoo series, the first being Black Dust Mambo. Even without reading the first one, Black Heart Loa is easy to follow, and the events of Black Dust Mambo are easily understood, without really having them rehashed to the reader. Part of that, I expect, is because Black Heart Loa is dealing with the fallout of the events of Black Dust Mambo, so things get explained in a natural progression in the book.
BHL was a rolicking fun ride through the swamps of Louisiana. I can't speak for the accuracy of how the hoodoo belief system is represented, but most religious beliefs in urban fantasy get a vigorous twisting from the author, as miracles and magic become real in the fictional world. So I'm not terribly worried about the accuracy, as long as they're not portrayed solely in a good or bad light. And in BHL there are both good and bad practitioners of hoodoo, illustrating the point that it's not the religion that is inherently good or bad, but the person practicing it. So that moral quandary aside, I really, REALLY enjoyed this book. Kallie is a fun, ass-kicking, smart-talking protagonist, though I found myself wanting to know more about her best friend, a mambo-in-training.
I especially want to know more about a character who was introduced late in the book, but the ending of the book implies more books to come, and more focus on the character I'm intrigued by, so I'll have to see if I can dig up more of this series. Amazon says this book is 2 of 2 in the series, but it was published in 2011 and I don't see any more in the series, which is sad. Goodreads mentions a third book, Black Moon Mojo, but I can't find any news about a release date.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
I picked this book up as part of my effort to read more diverse books. It centers on a young American English teacher who falls in love with an Iranian girl at the University of Tehran in the 70s. It wasn't until I'd finished reading it, and finally read the About the Author, that I discovered the author is actually local to me. And I mean VERY local. As in my county library system had an event starring him THREE DAYS PRIOR to my reading the book! So I'm a little annoyed that I missed that, as I'd love to know just how much of the storyline was based on his experience in Iran. (He did actually spend some time in Iran with the Peace Corps, and the book is based off that.)
The book is also the winner of the 2017 Maryland Writers' Association Novel Contest for their Literary/Mainstream category. (And now that I know that's a thing, I might have to read the winners of the other five categories!)
On to the actual review! So the book is set at the very beginning of the Iranian Revolution – Marco is an American English teacher who's come to Iran for a year. While there, he falls in love with his roommate's cousin. The book is really their love story, while surrounded by political and religious unrest.
The writing is excellent. I'm sure I would get more out of the book if I could read Farsi, as each chapter is begun by a few lines of poetry in Farsi, written in both Arabic script and English letters. But the pacing is perfect, the descriptions apt – I really enjoyed this book except for one thing.
He sleeps with the girl he loves, without having made a decision as to if they'll actually be together. He's not sure he wants to stay in Iran. She doesn't want to leave. And he sleeps with her anyway. My immediate thought was “You might love her, but you don't care about her very much.” At the time, it seems like it was more of a dishonor, rather than an outright death sentence for the girl, but it still would basically condemn her to a life of prostitution at best, if he declined to marry her.
Perhaps I'm more aware of how dire those consequences are than most people who might read the book – though the shame she could face is mentioned in the book. My husband was an Arabic linguist in the military, and spent years learning about their culture. He'd come home and talk about things he'd learned, so I absorbed a lot of it as well. So the fact that the main character slept with her with no plan for their future kind of pissed me off. It wouldn't be HIM that faced consequences for it, after all.
And yes, it was the 70s, before a lot of the religious extremism took hold – there was, in fact, a lot of enforced secularism. Women at the University were banned from wearing chadors in class, and shared classes with men. It's actually really disturbing, seeing how secular a lot of the Middle East was in the 70s, and then to see how far they regressed socially in the following decades.
Besides the thoughtlessness of Marco in this matter, I really enjoyed the book. It reminded me a lot of the things my husband told me about Afghanistan. I'd really like to get a chance to ask the author some questions, so I'll have to keep an eye out for any other events he might do.
See all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks
So I've had pretty good luck with debut novels, overall. (The Golem and the Jinni, The Crown's Game, and The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic come to mind.) This one was good – not what I'd called spectacular, like those three, but good. If the sequel was out now, I'd read it. Knowing my reading habits, I probably won't, because by the time the sequel does come out, I'll have forgotten too much of this first book. (I strongly dislike only reading the first book in a series and then having to wait.)
What I really liked was how the author painted every character. Even the would-be Emperor, who is probably the closest to evil any character is in this book, was interesting and had clear motivations that made sense. I wouldn't even call him evil, just ambitious. His assassin shows a different side in part of the book that also removes him from the “evil” category. I'm impressed that Steiger manager to set up several factions at odds with each other without making any of them evil. Wrong, perhaps, misguided perhaps, but not evil. Which is unusual in high fantasy.
What I disliked was there was a point in the middle where I had to set aside the book for real life – and I almost never picked it up again. Three days later, I finally did, but to me, that means I wasn't invested in the characters or the story. I could have moved on to a different book, and I almost did. I liked most of the characters – but without liking any of them enough to truly care what happened. I also wish the pacing was a little faster, but that's a victim of too many viewpoints, I think.
So I could go either way on this book. It was well-written but a little slow and didn't just GRAB me the way some books do.
See all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks
So I actually picked up this ebook because it's by the same author as Colorless, a book on my to-read list, and Ensnared was on Kindle Unlimited. (So I could read it for free!) Long story short, I just spent the 99 cents to buy the ebook of Colorless, because I REALLY enjoyed Ensnared. I've always had a weak spot for retellings of Fairy-tales, and this was no different.
Ensnared is a rework of Beauty and the Beast – but with robots and artificial intelligence running rampant as well. The Beast, in this book, is a rich eccentric holed up in a tower away from all human contact. He commissions a robot companion from a genius inventor, and when it's not done in time, Alainn chooses to go in its stead so her father won't go to jail. Assured, by the robot itself, that she'll only have to masquerade as a robot for a few weeks until the work can be finished and swapped out (the robot looks exactly like Alainn!) – she sacrifices her freedom to ensure her father's.
Then, of course, the inevitable happens and Alainn and the recluse fall in love. Things quickly spiral out of control, with hacked AIs, killer robots, and monkeys. (Yes, monkeys! It's great.)
It's a quick read – I have a hard time believing that some of these ebooks are actually as long as they say they are – or perhaps 419 Kindle pages aren't as long as 419 real pages, I'm not sure.
Regardless, it was a fun little romp, and free if you have Kindle Unlimited. I'm even more eager to read Colorless, now!
See all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks
Let me begin by saying I am a feminist. I am pro-choice. This was a difficult read because it talks about the lengths people will go to infringe on the rights of women like me to make that choice. Dr. Wicklund goes into detail about the dangers she personally has faced as an abortion provider – from stalking, to assault, to arson and death threats. The murders of Dr. Hill and Dr. Britton are mentioned, and the attempted murder of Dr. Tiller. (An attempt on Dr. Tiller's life was successful two years after the publication of the book.) She resorted to wildly varying routines, different methods of transportation, elaborate disguises, as well as hiring private security guards, none of it really alleviating her fear that she could be next.
Running throughout the entire book is Dr. Wicklund's concern for her patients. She is a dedicated, compassionate woman who wants nothing but the best for the women in her care. In many cases, that's not actually abortion. One of the things that makes her an excellent doctor is ferreting out what is really in her patients' best interests.
The book is mercifully short; I have no doubt she had many more stories she could have told, but the topic is brutal and hard to read, and keeping it concise and on-message was well done. I still had to set it down and play some mindless video games when I was done, as it was a little overwhelming.
This Common Secret also touches on why people keep it a secret. Why people don't talk about their abortion. And why people should. If more people realize that the women that get abortions are your neighbor, your sister, your grandmother – not just that “w—- that slept around” – although she, too, deserves an abortion if that is the right choice for her. Maybe they would rethink their opposition to it.
I'm honestly probably not giving this book justice – it's a decade old, but could have been written yesterday. And I am infuriated by anti-choice idiots.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
The Crown's Fate is a sequel to the amazing debut novel, The Crown's Game. The first book left me crying and a little traumatized, it was so elegant and heart-breaking. The second has proven to be a worthy successor, and healed most of the hurts caused by the first.
The two books tell the story of two enchanters in Tsarist Russia competing to become Imperial Enchanter. The competition, unfortunately, must end in the death of one of them, so Russia's magic can be solely controlled by the Imperial Enchanter, and therefore be stronger for defending the realm. It only complicates things that one of the competitors is the heir to the throne's best friend. And what happens when the two competitors fall in love?
Along the way, we see creative enchantments, volcano nymphs, elegant masquerade balls, battles for succession, and a quick glimpse of Baba Yaga's house. (Oh, how I want to learn more about that!)
These two books are really amazing, but make sure you have the second on hand before you finish the first! I read the first when it was published, last year, and had to wait a year before being able to read the second! I don't know if Vika and Nikolai's story will be continued past these two books, but there is room in the world Skye has created for more stories, even if it doesn't focus on the two enchanters. Especially now that magic beyond the control of the Imperial Enchanter is stirring in the land once again...
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
I cracked open the pages of The Dark Monk with a certain amount of satisfaction and glee - to be rejoining a world I lost myself in with The Hangman's Daughter - to catch up with characters I'd fallen in love with some months ago - is always a heady feeling. I reviewed The Hangman's Daughter on my blog already, and mentioned I'd be looking for the sequels. On my last trip to the library, I happened to see all three of them, (The Dark Monk, The Beggar King, and The Poisoned Pilgrim - there are more after these three) so I snagged them with a grin that made my husband laugh. Pötzsch has continued his amazing storytelling in these three books, and I'm still amazed that books originally written in German can flow so well - lyrically, even - in English. I'm sure that's in large part due to the excellent translation work of Lee Chadeayne.
Jakob Kuisl (the hangman of Schongau), his daughter Magdalena, and her beau Simon Fronweiser are again up to their old tricks in these three books, letting their curiosity lead them into mysteries they perhaps should have stayed clear of. In The Dark Monk, the three find themselves embroiled in the hunt for lost Templar treasure. In The Beggar King, Jakob is framed for the murder of his sister, and must prove his innocence with the help of Magdalena and Simon. The Poisoned Pilgrim takes place a few years after The Beggar King, and involves the three attempting to prove the innocence of one of Jakob's oldest friends. Woven throughout the mysteries are portrayals of everyday (and not so everyday!) life in 17th century Bavaria, from taking care of the sick to child-rearing to executions.
One thing that continues to impress me about the books is how they treat torture. Torture to achieve a confession is a regular duty of a Hangman, but it's not treated lightly in these books. It's described, and it's treated as a horrible thing, but it's also not so descriptive that it crosses the line into gore. It's a mark of Pötzsch's skill that he can take a man that does this regularly - tortures and executes people, even people he knows are innocent, if he can't get out of it - and makes him likable. He makes us sympathize with him.
I enjoyed these three books just as much as I did the first. The action is well-paced, the plots are well-thought out and complex, and the characters are rich and enjoyable. It's easy to see the amount of research Pötzsch has put into his setting, and the books are richer for it. I love this series.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
I cracked open the pages of The Dark Monk with a certain amount of satisfaction and glee - to be rejoining a world I lost myself in with The Hangman's Daughter - to catch up with characters I'd fallen in love with some months ago - is always a heady feeling. I reviewed The Hangman's Daughter on my blog already, and mentioned I'd be looking for the sequels. On my last trip to the library, I happened to see all three of them, (The Dark Monk, The Beggar King, and The Poisoned Pilgrim - there are more after these three) so I snagged them with a grin that made my husband laugh. Pötzsch has continued his amazing storytelling in these three books, and I'm still amazed that books originally written in German can flow so well - lyrically, even - in English. I'm sure that's in large part due to the excellent translation work of Lee Chadeayne.
Jakob Kuisl (the hangman of Schongau), his daughter Magdalena, and her beau Simon Fronweiser are again up to their old tricks in these three books, letting their curiosity lead them into mysteries they perhaps should have stayed clear of. In The Dark Monk, the three find themselves embroiled in the hunt for lost Templar treasure. In The Beggar King, Jakob is framed for the murder of his sister, and must prove his innocence with the help of Magdalena and Simon. The Poisoned Pilgrim takes place a few years after The Beggar King, and involves the three attempting to prove the innocence of one of Jakob's oldest friends. Woven throughout the mysteries are portrayals of everyday (and not so everyday!) life in 17th century Bavaria, from taking care of the sick to child-rearing to executions.
One thing that continues to impress me about the books is how they treat torture. Torture to achieve a confession is a regular duty of a Hangman, but it's not treated lightly in these books. It's described, and it's treated as a horrible thing, but it's also not so descriptive that it crosses the line into gore. It's a mark of Pötzsch's skill that he can take a man that does this regularly - tortures and executes people, even people he knows are innocent, if he can't get out of it - and makes him likable. He makes us sympathize with him.
I enjoyed these three books just as much as I did the first. The action is well-paced, the plots are well-thought out and complex, and the characters are rich and enjoyable. It's easy to see the amount of research Pötzsch has put into his setting, and the books are richer for it. I love this series.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
I cracked open the pages of The Dark Monk with a certain amount of satisfaction and glee - to be rejoining a world I lost myself in with The Hangman's Daughter - to catch up with characters I'd fallen in love with some months ago - is always a heady feeling. I reviewed The Hangman's Daughter on my blog already, and mentioned I'd be looking for the sequels. On my last trip to the library, I happened to see all three of them, (The Dark Monk, The Beggar King, and The Poisoned Pilgrim - there are more after these three) so I snagged them with a grin that made my husband laugh. Pötzsch has continued his amazing storytelling in these three books, and I'm still amazed that books originally written in German can flow so well - lyrically, even - in English. I'm sure that's in large part due to the excellent translation work of Lee Chadeayne.
Jakob Kuisl (the hangman of Schongau), his daughter Magdalena, and her beau Simon Fronweiser are again up to their old tricks in these three books, letting their curiosity lead them into mysteries they perhaps should have stayed clear of. In The Dark Monk, the three find themselves embroiled in the hunt for lost Templar treasure. In The Beggar King, Jakob is framed for the murder of his sister, and must prove his innocence with the help of Magdalena and Simon. The Poisoned Pilgrim takes place a few years after The Beggar King, and involves the three attempting to prove the innocence of one of Jakob's oldest friends. Woven throughout the mysteries are portrayals of everyday (and not so everyday!) life in 17th century Bavaria, from taking care of the sick to child-rearing to executions.
One thing that continues to impress me about the books is how they treat torture. Torture to achieve a confession is a regular duty of a Hangman, but it's not treated lightly in these books. It's described, and it's treated as a horrible thing, but it's also not so descriptive that it crosses the line into gore. It's a mark of Pötzsch's skill that he can take a man that does this regularly - tortures and executes people, even people he knows are innocent, if he can't get out of it - and makes him likable. He makes us sympathize with him.
I enjoyed these three books just as much as I did the first. The action is well-paced, the plots are well-thought out and complex, and the characters are rich and enjoyable. It's easy to see the amount of research Pötzsch has put into his setting, and the books are richer for it. I love this series.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
This was my pick for the “song lyrics in the title” prompt for the PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge. I feel a little like “Unbelievable” is a bit of a cop-out for the prompt, but it was already on my to be read list, and it works. And the book is fantastic.
This is the story of Katy Tur's time on the campaign trail as one of the journalists covering Donald Trump's campaign. It is, as she says, unbelievable. When it begins, she thinks it will be very short - as most of the American public thought. No one thought Trump would wind up being the Republican nominee. But as she attends rallies, and watches the vitriol of his supporters - which occasionally gets turned on her, as a member of the “lying, fake media,” she begins to realize he could, in fact, win this thing.
We experience Tur's shock as he calls her out by name multiple times, leading to death threats by Trump supporters, and security being assigned to her specifically. Through all of this, Tur continues to do her job as a journalist, reporting on the travel, the rallies, the information from sources within the campaign as they criss-cross the country and promise ridiculous things.
I was worried at first that the book would be a dry rehash of the events, but it is far from it. Tur speaks with a refreshing, absorbing voice. Even knowing the outcome - that Trump is elected president - it's a page-turner that didn't let me go until the last page. Unbelievable is a fast-paced, fascinating book by a first-class journalist.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
Like many people, I was inspired by the Khizr Khan's speech at the Democratic Convention last year, and appalled by Trump's reaction. As a Marine wife, the family members left behind when a service member dies get my utmost sympathy and compassion. That was my biggest fear while my husband was in the Marines, and it's still a very emotional memory to look back on. So when I heard that Khan was writing a book, I knew I HAD to read it. I put a hold request in at the library before the book was published, and I'm glad I did. The book is definitely one of my favorites of 2017.
An American Family follows the Khans' journey from Pakistan, to Dubai, to Texas, Maryland, and finally Virginia. And it's fascinating. He says in the beginning of the book that he wrote it to answer the question he's constantly asked: why do you love America? Why are you a Patriot? He couldn't answer it in a few short sentences. This book is his answer, and what an answer it is. It's impossible to summarize this book - it must be read.
It's a very easy read - it flows beautifully, and Khan tells a story well. It's easy, at least, until you get to the point where their son dies in action. Perhaps it wouldn't have such an emotional effect on someone else, but that, and its aftermath, was pretty hard for me to read about. The event is important, however. Its repercussions ripple out through the Khans' lives and affect everything they touch.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Especially if you're American, and no matter where on the political spectrum you fall, this book is important. It might give you a different view on immigrants.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
Well. This one was unique! Pretty good, too. The story bounces between the present and the past, telling the story of a - race, I suppose - that has always lived alongside humans, but hidden. Typical urban fantasy, right? Except this - race - is robots. Automatons, they call themselves. Created by a race they call the progenitor race, or First Humans, they have waited alongside mankind for their creators to return. Their energy reserves are running low, however, and some have resorted to cannibalizing each other's parts to stay alive. Enter our human protagonist, in possession of an ancient artifact passed down from her grandfather, who obtained it in World War II. Fascinated by it since she was a little girl, she's made a career out of studying old clockwork toys, and has started to get a little too close to the truth.
The chapters of the book set in the present center on June Stefanov, the human woman who stumbles upon the truth. The chapters set in the past show history from the vantage point of Peter, her automaton companion. The bouncing back and forth happens a touch too quickly in some places, though it does do a good job of showing us what we need to know rather than telling us, which I always like. The details of how the automatons worked were fascinating, though obviously a bit magical. The automatons themselves don't really understand much of it. The author has written other novels about robots, and in fact has a Ph.D. in robotics, so it's pretty cohesive.
The plot rockets right along - I read the book in one sitting - and the action is pretty awesome. I wish there had been a bit more characterization of June. Other than being good at clockwork stuff, and a very curious person, we really don't know much about her, and never find out. The book is more Peter's story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely a different spin on “hidden race existing beside humans.” Oh - and the villain's armor was awesome!
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
Representation, people! This book features a bisexual, intersex young woman. (I say woman, because she is female-presenting and uses female pronouns.) It also features a not-quite-love-triangle that turns into something more like polyamory. (Sorry, that's a bit of a spoiler, but you can see it coming from a mile away, and the cover description heavily implies the same.)
It's not realistic in the least - everything falls together nicely and it's a bit of a “princess saves the day by virtue of being a princess” kind of plot. But the twist on the history is a very pleasant one - and making the British Empire an Empire that values diversity and the melding of cultures and not looking down on anyone because they're different is a really nice change of pace. It's a WONDERFUL bit of escapist fantasy given today's world, I have to say.
I'd actually really like to see the darker side of this same world explored. One of the main plot points in the book is that there is a computer database of genetics. Everyone in the British Empire, when they turn 18, is encouraged to have their DNA sequenced and entered into the computer to find good genetic matches. They then have the opportunity to chat with those matches and eventually meet them. It's accepted custom, and you're definitely viewed as odd if you choose NOT to do it, though Helena's parents were a love match and never had their DNA matched through the computer. Helena's love interest is a boy she grew up with, she really only ran her DNA through the computer for kicks. So it's not mandatory - except for royals. But that this computer and database exists leaves room for a darker side. What about genetic modification? Forced marriages for certain genetic outcomes? That has to be happening somewhere. That Inevitable Victorian Thing really only looked at the fun, light-hearted, good uses of this technology. I'd love to see the other side.
Oh - while the book definitely has a Victorian flavor, it's definitely set in modern day, or perhaps a little past. It's not Victorian era.
Fun little book. A good escape from a racist, homophobic world to a more diverse, accepting one. But a little TOO fluffy bunny for my personal tastes.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
This was a sweet book about a woman chasing her dreams. Issy gets let go from her real estate firm and decides to open a cupcake bakery, following in her grandfather's footsteps. (He owned and operated three bread bakeries in his prime.) The book follows Issy's troubles with opening the cafe, her romantic misadventures, and the slow decline of her beloved grandfather to dementia. Interspersed with the chapters are actual recipes, most in the form of letters written to Issy from her grandfather. And these recipes look DELICIOUS. I'm going to be writing a few of them down before I take this book back to the library!
The characters in the book are endearing, from Issy, to her acerbic flatmate Helena, to her employee Pearl and Pearl's adorable son, Louis. Really, the only unlikable character in the book is Issy's on-again, off-again douche of an ex, but he's meant to be the villain of the story. Even Pearl's erratic boyfriend is at least a nice sort. Set in London, there's a kind of timeless quality to the story, so when Issy mentioned Facebook I was a little taken aback - I had not even realized it was set in modern times! I was thinking 1970s or so.
The book has a sequel, but unfortunately the reviews are all quite bad for it. People who loved this book say the second did not hold true to the characters, so I probably will not read it. There was another book mentioned in the back of this one, The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, that I may look into.
I love baking, so reading a book that centered on baking cakes, with recipes, was a lot of fun. From the sweet pink cover to the simple joy Issy takes in feeding sweets to people, I really loved this book.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
Medea is the first of three “Delphic Women” novels to be published in the US by Australian author Kerry Greenwood. It tells the story of Medea from the legend of Jason and the Argonauts. The version that everyone knows involves Medea, as a witch, helping Jason to steal the Golden Fleece in return for marrying her. The story goes that some years later, when he attempts to put her aside, she not only kills his potential bride, but also the children that she'd borne him.
Medea tells a different story. She is a priestess of Hekate, the Black Mother goddess. The story details her fall from that religion, her marriage to Jason, the death of their children, and her life after her marriage. It is an utterly enthralling book, and I am eager to see Greenwood's other Delphic Women novels, which appear to be about Cassandra and Electra. Greenwood has a talent for keeping the feel of ancient Greek mythology while also making the characters accessible for the modern reader. She includes a chapter after the end of the story, in which she explains why and how she came to the conclusion that Medea was NOT responsible for the death of her children, despite every other popular story saying she killed them.
While Medea has often been painted as the villain of the story, Greenwood had me cheering for her the entire book, from the first time she was brought to the dark caves of Hekate as a toddler to when she mourned over the deaths of her children and slowly learned to love again. I enjoyed seeing one of the ancient legends from a woman's point of view; none of them are ever told that way! I also found it really interesting how the book portrayed Herakles; he turned out to be one of my favorite characters!
I'd definitely recommend this book if you like retellings of mythology or ancient legends.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
“You catch a guy on a computer jacking off, just get a librarian – don't try and handle it yourself.” That was the first thing Faren, the library manager, said to me on my first day of work.I was a library page.
The opening lines of this book caught my attention immediately. I've always loved libraries, and have recently applied for a library page position at my local library. Until reading this book, I (perhaps naively) thought that would only mean shelving books. Quiet, Please is a look inside a public library – a peek at the quirky patrons, from the seniors having trouble with computerized book catalogs to the homeless who spend all day every day inside those walls to the teenagers hacking the library computers to look at porn. Douglas points out the eccentricities of librarians – people he thought knew everything about books until he actually began to WORK with them and found that many of them rarely even read. He tells us all of this in the engrossing style of your favorite uncle's college stories – exaggerated, full of digressions, and sometimes only barely based on a kernel of truth.
One thing I found a little jarring – the opening lines of the book mention a patron using a computer on his first day of work. Yet, a chapter later, he's describing the day the computers arrived at the library. So did he start before the computers were in the library or after? I don't know, and that contradiction is one black mark on an otherwise remarkable book.
I had one other disagreement with Douglas; in the closing of the book, he states that libraries need to adjust to the way people are using libraries now, which I do agree with. But in his list of ways to adjust, he mentions organizing books by subject, like book stores do. When I was a child, I always thought this would be a good idea. If I was looking for Sci-fi/Fantasy books, why can't I just go to the Sci-fi/Fantasy section and browse? As an adult, I see that this is a TERRIBLE idea. My local library arranges its fiction this way, and it's incredibly hard to find anything I'm looking for. I know the author's name – but whether it's shelved in Science Fiction or Romance or Mystery or General Fiction....(they don't have a Fantasy section, so they always get shelved elsewhere!) It wouldn't be so bad if the catalog said “Fiction – Mystery” but instead the catalog always says Adult Fiction Stacks. Which could mean ANY of their categories. What baffles me a little bit about Douglas' idea is that he also mentions non-fiction categories, and non-fiction is already categorized that way through the Dewey Decimal System. They might not be labeled, but they're definitely arranged by subject. (Which brings up another beef I have with my library – if I want the catalog to display everything they have from Call Numbers 020 to 029, to find everything in library science and library studies, WHY CAN'T I?)
Pretty good book with the exception of a few confusing bits.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
This book is FANTASTIC. I was enthralled from start to finish, and frantically looked up the author to make sure she is writing a sequel. (She is, thank goodness!) I absolutely loved the main character, Nora, and the acerbic magician Aruendiel. Even while cheering for the opposite side, I even enjoyed reading about Raclin and Ilissa, the villains of the novel.
In Nora Fischer, we have a modern, independent, feminist woman transported to a place and time where women are inferior (by nature, most think.) There are even linguistic influences that make them inferior; women speak with a lot of “um” and “well” type words in their speech, while men don't. When Nora protests that this makes women's speech sound weaker, she's told that that's “just how women speak.” Seeing her confronted with the sexism ingrained within the medieval style culture, and seeing her confront Aruendiel with how sexist it actually is, was a wonderful sub-plot of the book.
The main plot was well-paced and interesting - after being kidnapped by Ilissa at the beginning of the book, and enchanted into being a beautiful, love-struck little ninny, Nora recovers herself with the help of Aruendiel, and spends the rest of the book evading re-capture and finding her place in this new world. The descriptions are colorful, the characters are deep and fascinating, and the land and culture itself shows just how much thought went into creating this world. This is an absolutely spectacular debut novel, in my opinion, and I cannot WAIT for the sequel, since Barker did leave a few questions unanswered at the end of the book. I really can't rave about this book enough. If you like fantasy, (or Pride and Prejudice, since this book, while not attempting to be a retelling or anything, had a lot of the same feel) you should really pick this one up.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
So I didn't actually realize this was an ARC when I read it - I won it for free through Goodreads giveaways, and it auto-downloaded to my Kindle. The Release Date appears to be February 6th.
I do like my fluff Regency romances once in a while, and this fit the bill perfectly. Ladies of the ton, rakes, respectable bachelors, scandal, beautiful dresses and piano recitals and magnificent horses being ridden in the park - these are the things I enjoy in my romances. And More or Less a Marchioness totally delivered. It appears it's the first in a series, set in a world she's already written several books in, so I'll probably look up the rest of the series next time I want some fluff again. This is the first in the “Somerset Sisters” set, and I am eager to read what happens to some of the side characters. (Also something I love in my romances - branching sub plots that obviously have their own books.)
If you like your Victorian ladies with hidden spines of steel, and reformed rakes, and titles and potential scandals and fortunes teetering on the edge of marriages, this is a great book for you. There was also just a hint of kink in this book, which is unusual and turned out pretty awesomely.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.