The Winternight Trilogy // by Katherine Arden

I know I said I was going to do the February Rearview next, but I kind of forgot that I was going to review this trilogy first.  I read the first book at the end of February, and then the rest of the trilogy at the beginning of March.  But since this ended up being my favorite book of the month, it seemed like I should review it with the February books!!

• The Bear and the Nightingale
• The Girl in the Tower
• The Winter of the Witch

I’ve had these books on my radar for a while and have heard a lot of good things about them.  But sometimes that doesn’t match up to my expectations, so I wasn’t completely sure what I was going to get.

These books are a bit too complicated for a brief synopsis, but they are medieval Russian in setting and focus on a young woman who can see and speak with “the old gods” aka household spirits.  At this time, the Church is moving through the countryside and telling people they need to stop believing in/praying to/etc the old ones.  But because Vasya can see and speak with them, she knows that these creatures play an important part in the wellbeing of the people, and that it is belief that keeps them alive.  As fewer people believe in them, they are fading away, leaving homes and villages unprotected.  There was a LOT going on here, and I absolutely raced through these books.  While the second book did suffer a bit from second-book syndrome, overall the action just didn’t let up – honestly, these books genuinely stressed me out!!!  There were times I just wanted to grab Vasya to keep her from making the wrong choice!!!  And look, if someone constantly threatens you and your family and everyone you love and wants to destroy all of you, I’m not saying you should go out and kill that guy but… maybe stop saving his life?!?!

Here was the biggest issue I had with these books, and it may sound nit-picky to some, but hey, this is my blog.  These magical creatures are just that – magical creatures.  They aren’t gods, and the people don’t really worship them per se, they just do things like leave out a bowl of milk in exchange for the creature protecting the house, that sort of thing.  In short, I didn’t think of these beings as being religious in any way, good or evil.  Consequently, it really bothered me that Arden referred to them almost uniformly as “demons.”  I understood why the people who couldn’t see the creatures would think of them that way – invisible beings lurking about.  But demons are, you know, connected to hell and serve satan, and these creatures did not do that.  So, in fact, they were not demons, and it annoyed me that they were called that constantly.  In the end, Vasya works hard to help the church people see how the household magic creatures actually help the people and do not detract from the people worshiping God.  I could honestly 100% get behind the church working with magical beings, but the church working with demons??  NO.  Literally the OPPOSITE of all church teachings!  I would have loved this story so much more if the word “demon” had only been used by ignorant people who didn’t really understand the nature of the magic creatures.  Here’s the thing – if you’re reading a story that involves dryads or naiads, you don’t consider them demonic – and that’s literally the same type of thing that these creatures were.  I honestly believe that if God wanted, He could have (and who knows, maybe He did!) create magic and creatures who are magic.  But by calling them demons, you have automatically placed them in the anti-God category, which means I can’t exactly get excited about the church working with them, if that makes sense.

So anyway, that got super rambly, but it was honestly my biggest (and almost my only) issue with these books.  I loved these characters, loved the concept, loved the execution, loved the setting, loved the pacing.  I’ll definitely reread these at some point as well.  If you enjoy fantasy, these are definitely worth a read.

February Minireviews // Part 3

The final February batch!!!  I also read The Bear and the Nightingale in February (and it honestly was probably my favorite book of the month), but since I read the other two books in the trilogy in March, I’m going to review them all together in a separate post.  So here are the rest of February’s reads!!

Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers – 3.5*

//published 1923//

A group on Litsy is reading some various vintage/Golden Age crime books.  I’ve always meant to pick up Lord Peter Wimsey, so I thought I’d read the first book in this series along with the group.  This one was fun with a good mystery. I got a little tired of the constant dropping of the letter g in the dialogue (“I’m just sayin’ that you must get goin’ if you want to be there on time”) and there were times where there were odd shifts in location in the narrative that felt a little confusing. For instance, at one point Peter and two other people are one place, then in the next scene Peter is at his mother’s house talking with her – when did he go there? Are the two people who were with him earlier now at his mother’s house as well? As the conversation progresses, we find out this information, but the initial shift feels rather jolting, and this happened a few times.

Overall, a decent start to a series, but one with a definite “first book feel” to it. However, I have the second book on my shelf as I definitely intend to give Sir Peter another try.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust – 2.5*

//published 2017//

Honestly, this book was just boring. There was a lot of potential here, but I never felt any kind of connection with the characters. Everyone was very cardboardy, especially the two main male characters, Mina’s father/the magician, and the king/Lynet’s father/Mina’s husband. Why was the magician so evil? Just for fun, I guess. We get nothing of his motivations, he’s just this dreadful, mean person lurking about in the background. Ditto for the king – why is he so obsessed the memory of his wife, to the point that he can’t bear to care about Mina? Why wouldn’t he be happy to let Lynet have a mother? Why would he rather pit them against each other? No clue, he just does and says stuff that doesn’t really make sense. There are only three men in this entire story. Two of them are emotionally abusive, creepy, selfish, and completely unlikable. The third one turns out okay, but he was literally created by a woman, so this book definitely has an anti-man taste that is always going to turn me off. Why does “feminist” in a book description always end up meaning “all the male characters suck”?

It’s a sad book, too. I liked the ending, but what a lot of wasted time, with everyone (especially Mina) assuming the worst about everyone else! I was so tired of listening to Mina go on about how no one could love her, even when people explicitly said that they loved her. I get that she was emotionally abused by her father (you know, the one that was a jerk for no reason that was ever explained… I guess because he’s a man?), but at the same time… oh my gosh, can you stop staring at your own navel for like half a second?? Please?? The author wanted so badly for Mina to be both the catalyst and still be a good guy that in the end she just annoyed the heck out of me.

Lynet is also boring and self-absorbed. It also felt a little creepy that she’s been living in a fairly insulated and isolated society, yet we’re supposed to believe that the first person she’s ever met who is around her age is also the perfect person for her to fall in love with. I’m sure that makes more sense than her just having a crush on the first attractive person her age to show up since she’s been a teenager. I think the story would have been a lot stronger with a friendship between these two instead of “love.”

I also found myself wondering throughout the entire book why any not-rich people are still living north of the frost line? It’s been snowing for literally years and years and years. Why would these people not have immigrated south by this time? What are they living on? How do they make any kind of living? What is keeping them here??

In the end, there was a lot of potential here, but none of these characters worked for me. In turn, that made the action feel clunky because none of the characters felt like they were speaking or acting naturally. I wanted to like this one, but mostly found myself bored.

Not the Witch You Wed by April Asher – 3.5*

//published 2022//

This one was gifted to me in a swap box, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.  It ended up being pretty funny with some good banter and likable main characters, and I’m always here for a fun fake dating trope.  However, while I do enjoy supernatural romances from time to time, I don’t care for one that also include angels/demons.  I believe angels and demons are real; shifters aren’t.  So stories that make demons out to be good, or even regular/just like people, are always going to be a turn-off for me.  So this was okay as a one-time read, but I won’t be reading the sequel, since it’s literally about one the sisters dating a “half-demon.”

Mystery by Moonlight by Mary C. Jane – 3.5*

//published 1963//

This is another one of those children’s mystery books that I bought at a booksale back in the mists of time.  This was a fun, if somewhat forgettable, little story involving some kids and the neighborhood “haunted” house.  It was pretty cute.  I’ve read and enjoyed several of Jane’s mysteries – while they are somewhat simplistic for adult reading, I know I would have loved them as a kid!

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 58!!!  High/Low: 97/58

February Minireviews // Part 1

Oof, I was doing so well and then, as always, fell off the bandwagon!!  Things got really crazy around here as we decided to jump into the exciting project of putting down vinyl plank flooring all over pretty much our whole house!! Ourselves!!  So yeah, that was lively, but we are DONE and it looks FABULOUS! But it took two full weekends and some evenings and here we are haha

And, more importantly, here are some FEBRUARY reviews!!

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik – 4*

//published 2006//

I liked the second book in this series better than the first, mainly because Laurence isn’t as much of a prig.  Still, the story is rather dense, with a lot of characters to track.  I had to print off a character list – it really annoys me when authors have huge, complicated worlds with a zillion characters but don’t  bother giving any kind of information.  This series desperately needs a glossary, a drawing of how the dragon battle harnesses work, explanations about the different kinds of dragons, and character lists.  I think the main reason it annoys me is that I know the author has to have these things in order to write the story, so why not share so the rest of us can get our heads around what you’re writing???  A solid story, and I am planning to continue the series, but I do keep kind of putting off book three, so that may be an indication of how much I am really enjoying these haha

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart – 4*

//published 2016//

I really love The Secret Benedict Society books, and this story (by the same author) has a similar vibe.  Reuben and his mother are on their own, and struggling financially.  Reuben’s mother has to work two jobs, which means Reuben spends a lot of time on his own, exploring the city even though he’s supposed to stick to approved areas.  One day, he discovers a mysterious device.  While trying to find out what it is and how it works, he gets drawn into a complicated plot as it becomes apparent that he isn’t the only person who wants this item.  There were times that this story dragged a little, or that Reuben made such a cloth-headed decision that I wanted to bop him on the head, but overall this was a fun middle grade read with a likable protagonist and plenty of excitement to keep the pages turning.  And nothing like a villain who can go invisible to keep things scary!

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 4*

//published 1935//

I thoroughly enjoyed my reread of this one.  As a kid, I remember thinking it was exciting and full of adventures.  As an adult, I was absolutely terrified by everything they went through!  And sometimes frustrated with the parents who made some decisions that I found a little questionable, all things considered.  It was very interesting to read this with the Litsy group, as a few of our fellow readers were so inclined to take offense at everything that I was a smidge confused as to why they were reading this book to begin with.  While yes, Ma especially had a strong prejudice against the Native Americans in the region (and I realize that they were illegally homesteading in Indian Territory), I was honestly amazed at how callous some of the modern readers were about the very real dangers and fears the family faced.  In particular, there is one chapter where Pa has had to ride to the nearest town, a multi-day journey, leaving Ma and three small girls all alone in their cabin.  Two Native American men come into the house, force Ma to cook them dinner, stead multiple things from the home, and leave.  Several of our readers had the audacity to think Ma had overreacted by being absolutely terrified by this event!  Setting aside race, in what world is it not absolutely horrifying to imagine two strange men, who don’t even speak the same language as you, coming into your home where it is just you and your three small daughters and no way of protecting yourself??  Personally, I think there is simply a great deal to discuss and learn from in this story, as from other historical pieces.  The Ingalls’s story is only one side of the story, yes, but it IS a side and still worth understanding, as is the perspective of the native people whose land was being stolen at the time.  Both are valid and both are a real part of our history.  All I know is that I would have spent all of my time perpetually petrified by all the dangers to be faced!

Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts – 4*

//published 2018//

Wow, this was kind of a tough one.  It’s a great story and I really grew attached to the characters.  However, the material is tough to get through – the story starts with a terrifying killing spree, with three teens shooting up a busy shopping mall.  This part of the story is handled well – it didn’t feel unnecessarily gruesome, but it did capture the absolute horror and helplessness of the victims.  The story then jumps forward in time, focusing on the lives of two of the people who lived through the event – one young man who went into law enforcement because of his experience that night, and a young woman who was one of the first people to call 911 during the shooting.  The biggest reason that I don’t see myself rereading this one is because the whole point is that the mastermind behind the shooting wasn’t actually there that night – and now is going on to kill people who survived that night who “should” have died.  The shooting itself was pretty horrific, but then to watch people who survived and changed their lives after living through it still get senselessly murdered – that was just so hard to read.  It made for a great, suspenseful story, but parts of it were just so incredibly sad.  In some ways, this was one of my favorite of her books that I’ve read, just because it was written so well, with the sensitive material handled deftly, but I doubt it’s one that I’ll revisit.

The Provincial Lady in London by E.M. Delafield – 3.5*

//published 1933//

In completely contrast to Shelter in Place are the lighthearted adventures of the Provincial Lady.  In this, the second volume, the PL has come into some money from selling her first book (Diary of a Provincial Lady) and is convinced by her friends that she should rent a small flat in London where she can escape from the daily cares of life and focus on writing her second book – except every time she goes to London, she seems to get more distracted than ever!  I read the first volume of this series with the Traveling Book Club, and because the same group of us decided to read together again for another round, we chose this second volume as one of our books.  However, this one fell just a little flat – some of the situations felt a little forced, and it’s obviously that the PL has learned nothing when it comes to things like living with her budget, appreciating her life, and not trying to impress others by exaggerating her accomplishments!  I did enjoy parts of this – there were some very fun little shenanigans and whatnot, but it lacked some of the sparkle that the first volume had, and the little undertone of bitterness and discontent that would flash from time to time in the first book felt even more prevalent here.  I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the third volume – although in it the PL does come to America! – and even though I’m reading with this same group of ladies for another round of Traveling Book Club, we decided not to continue the PL’s adventures together.

January Minireviews // Part 2

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig – 3*

//published 2019//

I had really mixed feelings on this one.  I actually really loved it for the majority of the book, but the ending (a) got unexpectedly gruesome, way more down the horror spectrum than I was anticipating, and (b) the ending used a plot device that I somewhat consider cheating, especially since it didn’t really fully explain a lot of the mysteries.  I really liked the characters, especially the narrator, and the concept is done quite well, with a good creepy mystery going on, but then – it just kind of went a little sideways towards the end for me.  But a sequel is coming out the summer and I’ll probably read it, so there’s that haha

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 5*

//published 1933//

Continuing the chapter-a-day readalong of the Little House books, our group picked up Farmer Boy next.  For some reason, I always read this one much later in the series when I was growing up, so it was especially interesting for me to read this one right after reading about Laura being the same age.  If I had to pick, I would probably pick Almanzo’s life – much more settled, and SO MUCH good food!!  I really loved reading about all the “how tos” around the farm, and seeing Almanzo learn lessons about life.  I wish that Laura had written another book about Almanzo so that we could learn more about how he got from a prosperous farm in New York to the little frontier town in the Dakotas!

Murder at the Mayfair Hotel by C.J. Archer – 3.5*

//published 2020//

My sister started this mystery series and thought it would be fun for us to read together.  We’re going quite slowly, but that’s better than not at all haha

This one is set just before the New Year of 1900.  Cleo is moving in with her uncle, aunt, and two (adult) cousins, who own a luxury hotel in London (the Mayfair, naturally).  Cleo has been estranged from them for her entire life due to the usual mother eloped with an “unsuitable” man, etc.  This does a great job of giving Cleo an in-between position – she isn’t a guest, but she’s still an outsider learning her way.  She’s always been poor, but now she has money and is expected to act “appropriately” for her class.  When the murder happens, she doesn’t have too many preconceived notions to interfere with her theories.  Some aspects of this story definitely stretched my credulity, but on the whole I liked Cleo herself and found this to be a decent historical mystery with a fun setting.

Living With Pattern by Rebecca Atwood – 4*

//published 2016//

A while back I read Living With Color by this author, and absolutely loved it.  Living With Pattern is actually her earlier book, which I found intriguing since Color seems like a more natural place to start than Pattern (to me).  While I did enjoy this one and found some useful information in it, I didn’t love it the way that I did Color.  I think, for me, “pattern” as a concept is harder to grasp than color.  Pattern involves color, texture, shapes, space, distance, texture, etc.  While this can work if you’re looking at, say, one piece of furniture, it’s hard for me when you’re looking at a room as a whole and trying to identify what patterns you see and how they are interacting with one another.  Honestly, I would love it if Atwood wrote more books breaking down Pattern into more specific subcategories, like she did with Color.  I would happily read a book about texture or furniture placement.  When I read her book about color, I made my husband read it, too, and we discussed SO much of it.  (Part of this, I’ll admit, is because he works with color for a living – he paints cars, which involves a great deal of matching and adjusting color, so he is already familiar with terms and concepts like saturation, vibrance, and hue.)  But I never felt that kind of connection with this book.  And while the book about color had me looking around my whole house and thinking about my spaces, this book left me feeling a little overwhelmed and without a lot of starting direction.  I do think part of this is that our house is very open, and not very big, so while we have distinct spaces without our home, you can see almost everything from any point in the house.  From where I am sitting at my computer in the corner I can see our pantry, the kitchen, a work area, a sitting area, and part of the lower room.  So it can be a tad overwhelming to try and thinking about how all these different spaces are interacting with one another.  Although I did find myself starting to count rectangles, as that seems to be our favorite shape around here!

All in all, Living With Pattern was still a worthwhile read, it just was a bit more academic and less practical than Living With Color was for me.

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – 4.5*

//published 1930//

This was a reread, of course, of an old favorite.  I absolutely love this mystery.  Partially because I adore Miss Marple, but partially because I love the narrator of this book.  The Vicar is such a likable, self-depreciating individual, and he really levels up the story.  No matter how many times I read this one, I always seem to forget who the murderer is, and even when I do remember, I’m still just caught up in admiration for Christie’s many red herrings.  While not my all-time favorite Christie, this is still an absolute classic.

Running Total: (I think I forgot this on my last post!) Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 74!!!  High/Low: 97/74

December Minireviews // Part 4

Last batch of reviews for 2022!!!

How to Ruin the Holidays by Becky Monson – 3*

//published 2021//

I literally couldn’t remember anything about this book, so I looked up the synopsis, which still doesn’t sound familiar.  My review on GR just says, “Not bad, just boring,” and apparently that’s so true that this book has now been erased from my memory!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – 4.5*

//published 1843//

Okay, I’ll admit it: I had never actually read this classic before.  However, I have the Muppet version memorized, and I feel like that should be good enough! :-D  There’s a reason this one is a classic – the writing is delightful, the characters relatable, and the story engaging.  But I honestly do prefer the Muppet version; a good song and dance does jazz this story up a bit, and the Muppet version is actually renown for its historical accuracy when it comes to costumes and sets.  All around a very worthwhile read, but not necessarily one I see myself rereading every year as many do.

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle – 3.5*

//published 2020//

So this one was absolutely terrible and I loved it.  It’s 100% a Hallmark movie on the page in all its cheesy glory.

Vanessa is sent to a small town in North Carolina because the whatever conglomerate corporation she works for needs more warehouse space for one of their other businesses, so Vanessa needs to close down the local factory. What do they make? FRUITCAKE! Makes perfect sense to shut down an actually profitable fruitcake factory a month before Christmas, right? Right!

Soon Vanessa is caught up in all the small-town drama, and falls for widower Mike, who raises and sells beautiful draft horses along with his 16-year-old daughter, Misty, who is also perfect in every way, including the fact that she’s better at business management than most people in their 40s.

It turns out that the factory – thanks to Misty’s suggestions!!!! – actually has become more efficient with their space, meaning that there are now two giant buildings standing empty!!! Exactly what they need for the warehouses!!!! Surely corporate will be pleased to find out that they can literally have their cake and eat it, too, with warehouse space AND continuing the fruitcake factory’s profitable business as well, right? RIGHT???  And there’s NO WAY that ANYONE will misunderstand Vanessa’s motives, right??  RIGHT???

Look, if you’re thinking about reading this, it’s because you like cheesy Christmas romances. If you like cheesy Christmas romances, you’ll probably enjoy this one. It wasn’t my favorite; a solid 3.5* from me, but it was perfectly entertaining, if 100% predictable a smidge ridiculous.  It was great for a one-off read and also lovely to pass on to someone else for their holiday entertainment this coming Christmas.

Hidden Riches by Nora Roberts – 4*

//published 1994//

In order to wrap up the 1982-2022 challenge, I needed a 1994 book, so I turned to Roberts’s backlist and found this not-Christmasy tale.  I actually really enjoyed this one.  Dora owns an upscale antique shop and frequently looks for specific items for repeat customers.  When Dora buys some things at an auction, she has no idea that they weren’t supposed to be in the sale – they were sent there by accident and actually house hidden, stolen, smuggled items inside of them – items the real (criminal) buyer is quite anxious to get back.  Thankfully, Dora’s new neighbor happens to be an ex-cop, just the kind of guy you want to have around when things start getting crazy.

I loved Dora’s family – they added some levity to the intensity of the rest of the story.  Roberts generally does romantic suspense very well, and this was pretty typical fare. There were a few side-character murders that made me kind of sad, though.  Still, all in all a solid read.

The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay – 4*

//published 1936//

I love a good cozy mystery where the victim kind of deserves to get knocked off, and this 1936 mystery that’s been reprinted by the British Crime Classics really fit the bill.  The family patriarch is a pretty big jerk, so it’s no surprise that tensions are high when he insists that the entire family gather at the country house for the Christmas season.  When he’s discovered murdered, the problem is definitely not a lack of motives!  The pacing here was good and this had that golden age rhythm to the storytelling.  I can definitely see myself rereading this one.

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 82!!!  High/Low: 97/82

December Minireviews // Part 3

A Will and Way by Nora Roberts – 4*

So I had set aside this book with two Roberts stories in it, assuming that with a title like First Snow they were probably Christmasy.  Well, they weren’t haha  However, I did enjoy this one – classic trope where two people who don’t like each other have to live together in a giant mansion for six months in order to inherit the money.  Along with (naturally) falling in love, there’s a suspense element as well.  Nothing groundbreaking, but a fun read.

Local Hero by Nora Roberts – 3.5*

I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much.  A single mom moves into a new apartment.  Her son hits it off with one of their neighbors, Mitch, who ends up also being the author/illustrator of her son’s favorite comic book series.  While overall this was a fun read, I did find Mitch to be kind of pushy, and it also felt a little weird that the mom was so immediately willing to trust him with babysitting her kid.  Not a bad one-off, but it definitely had the 1980s vibe going on.

Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark – 4*

//published 1991//

Another not-Christmas read, this one was to fill in my 1991 slow for the 1982-2022 challenge on Litsy.  The entire premise centers on the idea of people placing and answering personal ads for potential dates, so that was kind of a fun throw-back.  A serial killer leaves behind just one shoe of each of his victims, which is really the only way the police have of connecting his crimes.  This one was quite suspenseful, and since we get some scenes from the killer’s perspective, pretty creepy, too.  A solid installment in Clark’s long list of writing.

Christmas With Anne by L.M. Montgomery – 4*

A little collection of Christmas-themed short stories by Montgomery.  Like most of the short story collections featuring her work, some of these were stronger than others.  A few were a bit on the saccharine side, but many were quite enjoyable.  It did feel odd to include two random chapters from Anne books in this collection – as someone who has read and is very familiar with the original novels, I enjoyed the revisit of these scenes, but if I had never read the Anne books, I think they would have felt a little out of place.  Enjoyable, but nothing that really stood out.

Raising the Horseman by Serena Valentina – 1*

//published 2022//

Not remotely Christmasy, I read this one for the traveling book club.  A retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, sort of, this one had loads of potential but instead decided to spend most of its time telling readers how terrible men are.  I ranted about this one at length over on GoodReads, and am actually going to link you there instead of copying it all over here.  In short, though, this one was just genuinely boring, the characters weren’t remotely believable or interesting, there were a lot of instances where character decisions/dialogue didn’t match up with earlier character decisions/dialogue, and the whole thing just felt jumbled and directionless.  This book just didn’t deliver. The writing was lackluster, the characters terrible, the plot nonexistent, the story repetitive and dull, and not a single moment of Halloween creepiness to make up for it.  Just.  Ugh.  No.

A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan – 4*

//published 2019//

This is typical Morgan-fare.  Rosie is getting married in Colorado, so her family comes from England to Aspen.  They’re somewhat concerned because it’s been a rather whirlwind relationship – especially Rosie’s older sister, Katie, who is determined to breakup or at least postpone the wedding.  Rosie’s parents have been together a long time, but have secretly been separated for a few months and are planning to divorce – they just haven’t figured out how to tell their children yet.  As with all of Morgan’s novels, my only complaint is that it could have been longer and more detailed.  We have Rosie dealing with wedding complications, meeting her soon-to-be-husband’s family, and fending off the doubts Katie is planting.  We have Katie, who is so blinded by her assumptions that Rosie must be doing the wrong thing that she can’t actually see what their relationship looks like – despite the help of the best man, Jordan, who happens to be hot and single.  And then the parents, who feel like their marriage has just hit a dead end, but since their daughters don’t know that, have decided to pretend to be as happy as ever for the next few weeks, and then tell them the truth about their upcoming divorce after the wedding – but in the meantime, they’re sharing a cabin and Rosie keeps setting them up on romantic dates, determined that they should be enjoying a “second honeymoon.”  There’s some drama, some good conversations, and some fun scenarios.  Not my favorite book of hers, but still very enjoyable.

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 87!!!  High/Low: 97/87

November Minireviews // Part 4

Towards the end of November, I decided it was probably close enough to Christmas to start reading Christmas books haha

The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman – 3.5*

//published 2002//

This one was a decent mystery, but I was somewhat aggravated by how much trouble Bernie got in, considering she had no reason to suspect that the body she found had been murdered.  Still, it was nice to see the Chee/Bernie relationship finally getting some traction!

25 Days Til Christmas by Poppy Alexander –  3.5*

//published 2019//

My first Christmas read of the season was a bit of a mixed bag.  I liked the characters and even the overall story, but Kate’s life started bad and kept getting worse and worse!  Every time there was a chance for something to go wrong, it did, so the majority of the book was kind of depressing.  Then, everything gets magically resolved in about five pages towards the end.  I don’t always need my Christmas romances to feel super realistic, but after so many pages of unrelenting things-going-wrong, it would have been nice to have more reassurances that the turn for the better was actually permanent and not a fluke!

Christmas Ever After by Karen Schaler 3.5*

//published 2020//

Schaler’s books are always a mixed bag for me, mainly because she is always a little obnoxious about herself and how popular her own books are, something she somehow manages to work into these stories in a meta fashion.  My original review says that “this one was pretty terrible, but that’s kind of what I’m into when I’m reading Christmas romances,” and I have to say that still stands haha  The drama meter was at max here, but it was still an okay read.

A Treason of Thorns by Laura Wemouth – 3*

//published 2019//

Sometimes a standalone fantasy definitely feels like it should have been more than one book, and this was the case here.  I wanted more of everything – more character development, more worldbuilding, more conversations – the concept here was SO intriguing and interesting, and I felt like we barely got the surface of what was happening.  There were also a lot of weird jumps in characters – someone is a bad guy, oh no wait actually a good guy after all! Without a lot of in between to explain why we suddenly trust this person when we didn’t trust them at all a few pages ago.  I really wanted to like this one because I found the concept so interesting, but in the end it just didn’t work for me.

The Blythes are Quoted by L.M. Montgomery – 4*

Somehow, I had never heard of this book until it was picked for our Kindred Spirits Buddy Read in November!  Apparently, shortly before her death, Montgomery gathered together some short stories and poetry and put them together, although it wasn’t published this way until just recently.  The poetry is presented as though written by Anne or Walter, with usually a few lines of commentary afterwards by whichever family members were gathered to hear it read out loud.  The majority of the book is set during the era of Rainbow Valley, with a shorter section (maybe a third of the book) set after WWI, as WWII is looming on the horizon.  If you come to this book hoping to get a lot of post-Rilla of Ingleside information about the lives of the Blythes, you won’t find it here.  We get hints that everyone married the “right” person (Rilla/Ken, Jerry/Nan, etc), and you did see some of the emotional difficulties that the family faced after the war was over, adjusting to the fact of Walter’s death.

My biggest issue with this book is that the Blythes are SERIOUSLY quoted.  Like, constantly.  Usually 3-5 times per page.  I almost wonder if Montgomery was purposefully trying to be obnoxious since everyone wanted her to keep writing Anne books long after she had lost interest in the characters.  Most of the mentions of the Blythe family (and Susan Baker) are tangential – along the lines of, “he knew it to be true, because he had heard Dr. Blythe tell the story last week” or “she reminded him of Dr. Blythe’s wife – not exactly beautiful, but still captivating.”  I recognized some of these short stories from other collections, except with a generous sampling of Blythes sprinkled in!  I was reading these just one or two stories a day for the entire month, so it worked for me.  However, I think the Blythe-references would have gotten pretty aggravating if I had tried to read this entire book in one go.  I’m not sure this is one I’ll pick up again, and I definitely don’t think that it adds anything to the Anne series as a whole, but it was still very interesting to read once.

Running Total:  I’m going to try something new and keep a running total of how many reviews I have left to write at the bottom of each of these posts! I’m curious to see if I’m gaining any ground at all, or if I will always be five months behind!!  Current number of books read but not reviewed: 86!

November Minireviews // Part 3

I need to be off work more often! Look at all these posts in a row!!

Borgel by Daniel Pinkwater – 5*

//published 1990//

I can’t really explain why I love this book so much, but I absolutely do.  Along with The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, this is probably tied for my favorite Pinkwater book of all time.  This book is full of nonsense and adventure, as Melvin travels through time, space, and other with his maybe-uncle and a talking dog.  As I said the last time I read and reviewed this book – If you’ve ever thought that maybe time was like a map of New Jersey and space was like a poppyseed bagel, this may be the book for you. It’s also a great read if you love popsicles.

Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon – 4*

//published 1944//

This is one of those books that has been on my shelf forever and I’m not sure why I’ve never read it.  The musical The King and I is based on the story of Anna Leonowens, a young English widow who becomes a tutor for the king of Siam’s favorite children and concubines in the 1860s. This is historical fiction that is stronger on the historical than the fiction, as Landon greatly admired Leonowens and drew heavily on her journals and letters from the time.  As a look into a completely foreign culture, this book is quite interesting, although as a straight story it has moments where things drag a bit.  And, because it’s based on real life, not everything gets tidied up the way one would wish.  Still, an engaging and worthwhile read.

Hunting Badger by Tony Hillerman – 4*

//published 1999//

Another solid installment to this series, with a giant manhunt through the dangerous canyons on the Utah-Arizona border.  As always, Leaphorn and Chee are following separate yet connected threads that bring the mysteries together to a satisfying conclusion.  I’ve also greatly enjoyed watching other relationships develop in these stories – they could definitely be read individually, but working through them in order makes the secondary characters much more engaging.

Persuading the Captain by Rachel John – 4*

//published 2020//

Another fun little Austen modernization, as with the other two books I read of John’s, this one was just a little too short to really get into the characters’ lives and motivations.  Still, a fun, fast read.

The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy – 4*

//published 1919//

This one is a collection of short stories, so they do start to get a little same-y after a while.  Still, it’s always great fun to see how the Pimpernel and his colleagues are going to triumph over the dastardly villains, so overall a fun read.

November Minireviews // Part 1

Woohoo!! On to a new month of books!!

Sir Percy Leads the Band by Emmuska Orczy – 4*

//published 1936//

I’m slowly working my way through all of the Scarlet Pimpernel books. Most of these are old enough that they’re out of copyright and I can get them as cheap reprinted paperbacks, or even little hardcovers.  Not as fun as getting them as actual old books, but here we are.  I definitely recommend reading the original book first, but after that most of the other books are similar in substance.  This one involves a big rescue mission and a love triangle, jealous romantic rivals, and plenty of adventures.

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer – 4*

//published 1935//

I really love Heyer.  Her books are such a delight, with likable characters, sassy conversations, and plenty of little adventures.  This one was a little more melodramatic than some of her others, and I didn’t feel like the relationship between the two main characters was really that well-developed, but it was still a fun romp.

The Rules for Breaking by Ashley Elston – 3*

//published 2014//

I read The Rules for Disappearing in October and really enjoyed it, so I found a copy of the sequel.  Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.  The action in this one felt choppy and less cohesive, there were some character actions that didn’t really make sense to me, and Elston seemed to think just sort of killing off a bunch of inconvenient people in the end was a good way to wrap things up lol  And while I still liked the two main (YA) characters together in this book, there were times where Ethan seemed weirdly possessive instead of protective.  It was an okay read, but while I can see myself rereading Disappearing some time, I doubt I’ll pick this one up again.

Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey – 4*

//published 2022//

After coming close to giving up on contemporary romance, this one was an unexpected delight.  I loved the characters and all the snark, banter, and inside jokes. I absolutely loved Sandy’s best-friendship with Honey. I really loved that there wasn’t a “bad guy” situation here – just regular people who made choices, some of which they regret. I loved that the overall theme of this book was about that balance between embracing and loving your life where you are, but still reaching for a dream. I really loved that Winfrey set this story in a small, rural Ohio town and actually populated it with regular human beings instead of a bunch of stupid hicks. I loved how Sandy and her friends love living in their small town and aren’t spending all of their time trying to escape it. I loved that Sandy had regular parents who love her and with whom she has a good relationship as an adult. I loved that the romance was closed-door and the swearing was minimal. I loved that a bunch of story revolved around the town’s festival/fair and how much of that felt realistic and familiar to me. I loved the puns.  I loved the absurd Ohio-themed B&B.

Ironically, the actual love story was what felt a bit weak for me – I really like Hank and Sandy and actually totally ship them as a couple, but their drama went on a little too long for me, and I was also somewhat uncomfortable with this whole “you’re happiest when you’re together“ presented in a sort of “this person will save you“ kind of way, especially since the entire rest of the book does such an amazing job of showing people who have decided to embrace where they are with their lives.

Also, do pumpkins really get that big by August?

But on the whole this book was just so funny and with such likable characters – I thoroughly enjoyed it, and greatly appreciated some positive Ohio representation!

Dracula by Bram Stoker – 4*

//published 1897//

Last year, I signed up for the “Daily Dracula” posts.  Dracula is comprised entirely of things with dates, like letters, telegrams, and journal entries, so some enterprising fellow thought it would be fun to read the whole thing by reading what went with each day ON that day.  It started in the spring and didn’t end up November – there are some fairly large gaps between entries, especially towards the beginning.  On the whole, I think I did this book a disservice by reading it that way for the first time.  Because of the gaps in time, or times when I was busy and didn’t have the time to sit down and read a longer entry straight through, I tended to lose some of the threads of characters and action.  I think the Daily Dracula would have been a really fun way to reread this book, but was maybe not the best way to read it for the first time.

Still, the story itself is great.  It’s a bit ridiculous and melodramatic, and it totally works.  There is definitely a lot of unnecessary filler in this book, and times where it gets a bit repetitive (instead of saying something like, “they caught him up on the details they had just discussed,” we literally get three pages of the same details we just read three pages earlier, etc), but I think it definitely deserves its slot as a classic.

October Minireviews // Part 4

Last batch for October!! Still less than six months behind LOL

A Horse Called Mystery by Majorie Reynolds – 4*

//published 1964//

This is one of those older books that has been on my shelf forever.  I know I read it as a kid, but couldn’t really remember anything about it.  Owlie (so-called because of his glasses) is a bit scrawny and a bit of a target for the local bully.  He’s been saving his money to buy a bicycle, but on his way into town he sees a horse being mistreated and impulsively uses all his money to purchase it.  The rest of the book is about Owlie and the horse (Mystery) growing stronger together, and Owlie learning how to handle other people trying to manipulate and bully him.  This is one of those delightful books that has a lot of lessons without feeling remotely preachy.  I especially loved Owlie’s dad, who is an amazing role model.  Owlie’s mother is deaf/mute, and this is also handled so well throughout the story.

While this didn’t become my new favorite book forever, it definitely stayed on my shelf for a future reread.

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len – 4*

//published 2022//

This one was a surprise win for me.  Frequently, I find the OwlCrate books to be a bit meh, but this one was innovative and engaging.  The world-building was fun, the main character actually an interesting and likable person, and the story fairly well-paced.  I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed/too tidy.  I know that this is actually going to be a trilogy, but in some ways I didn’t exactly like where this one ended.  Still, I’m very interested to see what happens in the next book, which I do believe is coming out this year!!

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware – 3*

//published 2017//

I’m quite behind on Ware’s books, but the ones I’ve read I’ve enjoyed, although none of them have been ones I saw myself rereading time and again, as the characters generally manage to be quite unlikable.  Such was the case here.  There was an intriguing set up, but everyone in this book was just dreadful.  And while the atmosphere was good, I was never shocked or surprised by anything that happened, which meant the entire story felt rather draggy.  It wasn’t a terrible read, but definitely not a great one.

A Dog on Barkham Street by M.S. Stoltz – 3*

//published 1960//

Another older book that I picked up on the cheap somewhere, drawn in by the delightful illustrations by Leonard Shortall. However, this one just didn’t work for me.  I wasn’t really a fan of how the whole bullying situation was handled.  While the main character, Edward, is physically attacked and pushed around by Martin, Edward in turn frequently retaliates/starts conflict by calling Martin names and making fun of him.  I wasn’t sure who was bullying who.  Edward’s dad talks about how Martin is the way that he is because people in his life are mean to him, but everyone just kind of acts like oh well, guess Martin’s dad beats him up, nbd; and at the least Edward’s dad doesn’t even seem all that fussed that his son is mocking someone else.  I don’t know, it just felt a little stereotypical without a lot of resolution.  This was a short, fast middle grade read that is in the giveaway box now, adorable Shortall illustrations notwithstanding.

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston – 3.5*

//published 2013//

This was one that I was planning to rate higher until the last few chapters went off the rails.  Meg’s family is in the witness protection program, and she barely remembers her real name any more.  She’s tired of her life being upended at a moment’s notice, but her dad refuses to tell her what he’s done to put their family in this situation.  The pacing was good here and the writing engaging.  I really did want to find out what was going on with Meg and her family, and there was definitely a lot of “who can you trust” done really well.  However, in the end Meg acts like a wildly stupid teenager, to a level of completely unbelievable, and it really lowered my overall enjoyment of the book.

While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark – 4*

//published 1989//

Ethel isn’t particularly well-liked: she writes exposé books about various rich and well-connected individuals, so when she winds up murdered there are plenty of suspects from which to choose.  But Neeve Kearney, who owns an upscale fashion boutique, had a genuine soft spot for Ethel, one of her best customers who has become a friend.  Neeve is drawn into the investigation, and as things progress, realizes that this murder seems to have some startling parallels to the murder of Neeve’s mother several years earlier.  This was a great mystery from Clark with likable (and unlikable) characters, good motivations from various suspects, and an intelligent MC in Neeve.  However, as usual, the love story aspect leaves quite a bit to be desired, and a few of the twists towards the end felt like a bit of a stretch.  Still, on the whole I liked this one and can see myself rereading it again someday.