ARC Review: Feuds edited by Mercedes Lackey

Feuds
Author: Mercedes Lackey (Editor)
Series: Valdemar Anthologies (Book 18)
Publication: DAW (November 26, 2024)

Description: This 18th anthology of short stories set in the beloved Valdemar high fantasy universe features tales by debut and established authors and a brand-new novella from Mercedes Lackey.

The Heralds of Valdemar are the kingdom's ancient order of protectors. They are drawn from all across the land, from all walks of life, and at all ages—and all are Gifted with abilities beyond those of normal men and women. They are Mindspeakers, FarSeers, Empaths, ForeSeers, Firestarters, FarSpeakers, and more. These inborn talents—combined with training as emissaries, spies, judges, diplomats, scouts, counselors, warriors, and more—make them indispensable to their monarch and realm. Sought and Chosen by mysterious horse-like Companions, they are bonded for life to these telepathic, enigmatic creatures. The Heralds of Valdemar and their Companions ride circuit throughout the kingdom, protecting the peace and, when necessary, defending their land and monarch.

Now, twenty-two authors ride with Mercedes Lackey to the beloved land of Valdemar, where feuds—large and small, devastating and comic, longstanding and fresh—are brewing. Familiar faces await: in her brand-new novella Mercedes Lackey brings fan-favorite Vanyel back to the page, along with his aunt, the indomitable Herald Savil. So come explore Valdemar in these fantastical tales where:

Vanyel is enlisted in a clandestine mission, but when his investigation into two squabbling noble families reveals a pair of lifebonded lovers, he and Savil find themselves scrambling to prevent an all-out war—and the King himself is watching…

A duel between two small town bards abruptly crosses a line, and their battle of wits explodes beyond verbal showmanship…

A student of the Bardic college is increasingly frustrated by a peer’s insistence that she’s seeing ghosts, but as her visions escalate she begins to wonder and to worry…

My Thoughts: The eighteenth Valdemar anthology is centered around the theme of feuds. There are twenty-two stories including a new novella by Mercedes Lackey. Many of the other authors are frequent contributors to the Valdemar anthologies. 

The stories take place in a wide variety of places and have a wide variety of main characters. From heralds to bards and even one story starring a kyree, glimpses are seen from all over Lackey's fantasy world. 

All of the stories were enjoyable. Some made me feel that I was entering an established set of characters and situations which I found to be accurate as I was reading the author's brief biographies at the end of the book. 

I have not read all of the previous anthologies though I own most of them. I'm not a huge fan of short stories since I find that I want to know more than a short story can fit in. I felt that way about a number of the stories in this anthology. I wanted more information and more adventures for the main characters.  I did enjoy Lackey's new novella starring Vanyel and Savil. That one felt long enough to satisfy me. 

After the first few stories, I felt that the theme of feuds was too repetitive but later stories expanded the idea of feuds to one-sided ones and other varieties. Fans of the previous anthologies and those just hungry for another look into Lackey's Valdemar will enjoy these stories. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: Murder at Keyhaven Castle by Clara McKenna

Murder at Keyhaven Castle
Author: Clara McKenna
Narrator: Sarah Zimmerman
Series: A Stella and Lyndy Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Highbridge (June 29, 2021)
Length: 8 hours and 43 minutes

Description: Between ornate bridal gown fittings and meetings with Lyndy's distant relatives, Stella finally feels less like an out-of-place American and more like a respected aristocrat. Everything changes as the arrival of an anonymous gift and return of her overbearing father cast a dark shadow over the festivities, conjuring difficult memories and new fears....

Tensions intensify when a daytrip to Southampton ends with a suspicious stranger getting trampled by a horse-drawn cab. Before anyone can explain why the victim possessed a newspaper clipping about the upcoming ceremony at Morrington Hall, tragedy strikes again, this time resulting in a murder that turns Stella's world completely upside down while implicating one of Lyndy's well-regarded family members....

Facing loss, postponed nuptials, and uncertain threats, Stella and Lyndy rush to connect two very different crimes and identify the guilty culprit hiding among elite wedding guests. But as the couple blows the lid off of scandalous secrets, they realize that catching this killer - and living to tell the tale - may prove as impossible as closing the class divide.

My Thoughts: With just days to go before their wedding, Stella is busy with last minute dress fittings and other details. She goes with her father to Southampton to pick up some wedding guests he invited and witnesses a runaway carriage and the death of a man who happens to have a copy of her wedding announcement in his pocket.

Along with her father's guests, Stella has invited some guests of her own including her Aunt Ivy. Her father had thrown Aunt Ivy out of his and Stella's life some time ago. There is also an uninvited guest too. Stella's uncle and his two young children have arrived. He's her father's brother and to say that they don't get along is vastly understating the case. 

When a visit to Keyhaven Castle brings with it a murder, Stella and Lyndy are forced to postpone their wedding again which suits neither of them. Together and separately, they investigate both deaths and find connections between them. They are determined to find the murderer who happens to be among their wedding guests and get married as soon as possible. 

This was another excellent episode in the Stella and Lyndy series. I really enjoyed the historical details. I like both main characters and want them to have their happily ever after. 

I bought this one from Chirp July 25, 2023. It is also available through Audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney

Madrigals and Mayhem
Author: Elizabeth Penney
Series: The Cambridge Bookshop Series (Book 4)
Publication: Minotaur Books (November 26, 2024)

Description: In Madrigals and Mayhem, the fourth in Elizabeth Penney's charming Cambridge Bookshop series, Molly Kimball finds that even the holidays can come with a healthy dose of mystery.

Molly is eager to experience her first English Christmas with family and friends now that she's adjusted to her move to Cambridge and her restoration of her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe―Manuscripts and Folios. When local toyshop Pemberly’s Emporium reopens, Molly is excited to meet the new owner, Charlotte Pemberly, who is determined to make the toy store a success after unexpectedly becoming her grandfather Arthur’s sole heir.

Arthur's new wife Althea Winters and her unpleasant family loathe Charlotte for inheriting what they believe was theirs and have set their sights on a valuable Madame Alexander doll that's gone missing. When Althea's grandson is poisoned by cakes from Tea & Crumpets, Charlotte becomes the top suspect. Molly believes Charlotte was the intended victim and investigates the Pemberly’s home, only to discover that Arthur had been murdered.

To get closer to this treacherous family, Molly and her boyfriend Kieran go undercover by volunteering to act and sing for a madrigal dinner directed by Althea and her daughter at St. Hildegard’s College. Molly must help her new friend clear her name while searching for the missing doll and wrangling her own family during the chaotic holiday festivities at the bookshop.

My Thoughts: When the local toyshop reopens after the death of the owner, Molly is pleased to make a new friend in the owner's granddaughter Charlotte who has taken over the store. However, neither of them expects to find a gravely ill intruder when Charlotte gives Molly a tour. 

Molly soon gets involved in solving a mystery as Christmas nears. Charlotte's relatives were angry that her grandfather left everything to her including the clues to the location of a very valuable doll. But no one thought they were angry enough to try to kill her. 

As Molly investigates, she finds herself stumbling onto clues and additional crimes. Meanwhile, she is busy finding books about dollhouses for a display that echoes the historical dollhouse in the toy store's window. The book within a book in this episode deals with a grief-stricken child and the dollhouse figures who try to ease her sorrow.

I enjoy this series which is set in Cambridge. I like that Molly and her mother are making a new life for themselves in England working in a bookstore that has been in the family since the 1600s. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (November 18, 2024)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

I had another nice week. The weather is fall-like and there is no snow yet. It's hard to believe that it is already the middle of November. 

I'm within four books of meeting my 2024 Goodreads goal. I'm also starting to plan my January 2025 reading. I have a bunch of review books releasing in January. I intend to start reading them this week. 

I like to have the basic posts set up on my blog so that I can just include my thoughts after I finish a book. If my plans work out, I'll be finished with all the posts I already have set up this week. I have 24 posts in my draft folder including six templates for the various kinds of posts I do, two State of the Stack posts (December and January), and six It's Monday! posts since I'm that far ahead in my reading. I also have 41 scheduled posts. 

This week's major cooking adventure was making a pot roast in the crockpot. We are still eating leftovers! Crockpot cooking is my thing since my brother says he's never had a crockpot recipe turn out if he makes it. That's okay with me since throwing things in the crockpot and walking away is just the sort of cooking I like to do. 

Read Last Week

• Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold (Audiobook Reread; I used an Audible Credit November 9, 2024, to get a copy I can listen to again and again) -- One of my favorite books in the Vorkosigan series. 
• Summer of the Dragon by Elizabeth Peters (Mine since July 24, 2024) -- Grad student takes a summer job in Arizona and finds herself involved in danger. I liked the first-person viewpoint since the main character was engaging. My review will be posted on December 18.
• Salem's Cipher by Jess Lourey (Mine since May 6, 2024, when it was a Kindle Daily Deal) -- Thriller filled with interesting characters, lots about codes and codebreaking, and a chase that travels from historical monument to historical monument. My review will be posted on December 19.

• Light in Shadow by Jayne Ann Krentz (Chirp Audiobook; Mine since August 18, 2024) -- This is a reread of a romantic suspense title I've had since 2003. My review will be posted on December 19.
• Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- The seventh book in the In Death series takes place at Christmas time. 
• Mercy's Chase by Jess Lourey (Mine since May 6, 2024, when it was a Kindle Daily Deal) -- This thriller sequel to Salem's Cipher is filled with interesting characters, lots of codebreaking and travel to a bunch of historical sites. My review will be posted on December 21. 

• The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews (Chirp Audiobook; Mine since December 17, 2022) -- Another excellent Meg Langslow mystery. My review will be posted on December 24.
• Truth or Dare by Jayne Ann Krentz (Mine since 2004) -- This is the sequel to one of the audiobooks I read this week. It is also the only hardcover book I've read this year. My review will be posted on December 25.

Currently

• Wolves and Daggers by Melanie Karsak (Mine since April 23, 2024)
• Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha (Kindle & Audiobook; Mine since December 24, 2023)

Next Week

• Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell (Mine since July 16, 2024)
• Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle (Mine since February 22, 2024)
• A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Chirp Audiobook; reread)

• Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz (Review; January 7)
• Schooled in Murder by Victoria Gilbert (Review; January 7)
• Lavender's Blue by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer (Kindle & Audiobook mine since January 19, 2024)

Reviews Posted

• A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley (Review copy)
• Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews 
• The Mirror by Nora Roberts (Review copy)

• Duck the Halls by Donna Andrews (Chirp Audiobook)
• The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews (Review copy)
• Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

Bought:

• A Christmas Murder by Mary Grand (Chirp Audiobook; $1.99)
• The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen (Kindle and Audiobook Add-on)

• Born in Shame by Nora Roberts (Chirp Audiobook; $3.99)
• Born in Ice by Nora Roberts (Chirp Audiobook; $3.99)
• Born in Fire by Nora Roberts (Chirp Audiobook; $3.99)

• Last Train Outta Kepler-283c edited by David Boop (Kindle)
• The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Kindle)

What was your week like?

ARC Review: The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

The Muse of Maiden Lane
Author: Mimi Matthews
Series: Belles of London (Book 4)
Publication: Berkley (November 19, 2024)

Description: A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love.

Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her.

Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience.

After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….

My Thoughts: The final volume of the Belles of London series stars Stella Hobhouse. Stella is under the care of her brother who is a vicar. She has a small inheritance from her father which is enough to care for her horse and hire a groom for him, but not enough for independence. She chafes at her limited life in Derbyshire which is about to get even more restrictive when her brother marries a young woman who is a sanctimonious prig and who wants her gone. 

Stella met artist Teddy Hayes at a house party she attended with her friend Anne. Stella was hoping to find someone to marry and died her distinctive grey hair to present a bolder and less controversial appearance. Teddy had met previously met her at a London museum and was intrigued by her whole appearance grey hair and all. He believes that she can be the muse he has been searching for to make his series of paintings which are not of a traditional style. However, respectable young women don't pose for artists in 1863.

Teddy is in a wheelchair after a severe bout with Scarlet Fever some five years earlier. He is only gradually reconciling himself to his future and gradually winning his independence as a grown man. He has a loving family that is determined to shelter and protect him almost to the point of stifling him. 

Teddy comes up with a solution that will solve both of their problems. He proposes a marriage of convenience which will let Stella gain independence from her controlling brother and will convince his sister and her husband that he won't be alone and uncared for in London. But a marriage of convenience doesn't allow for the fact that they are falling in love with each other. 

This was an engaging historical romance with lots of interesting historical details. I also liked that the main characters had realistic problems. While hers were more typical for the time period and lack of women's rights, his were more unusual. Both were being held back by society's expectations.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 was hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

Stella Hobhouse raced down the gaslit corridor, the voluminous skirts of her white silk and crepe ball gown clutched in her gloved hands, and the swelling notes of Strauss's "Lava-Strome: waltz chased at her heels.

Friday 56:

Stella let the curtain fall. "It's Mrs. Blunt and her husband."

"Captain Blunt?" Daniel's face turned ashen.

This week I am spotlighting The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews from my review stack. This is the fourth in the Belles of London historical romances. Here is the description from Amazon:

A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love.

Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her.

Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience.

After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….

Audiobook Review: Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey

Children of the Night
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Narrator: Traci Odom
Series: Diana Tregarde Investigation (Book 2)
Publication: Tantor Audio (September 10, 2019)
Length: 10 hours and 28 minutes

Description: Rock band Wanderlust is about to hit it big, guitarist Dave Kendall is sure of that. They're playing better venues, in front of bigger crowds - and the people showing up at the after parties are increasingly good-looking and cool. Some even radiate power, like "Master" Jeffries, the tall, saturnine man who seems to have some sort of weird control over Dave's fellow bandmates.

But Dave's too tired to pay much attention to Jeffries. He's tired a lot lately, and making music isn't as much fun as it used to be. Probably he's just working - and partying - too hard.

Luckily, Dave has a friend who takes what's happening to him very seriously. Diana Tregarde is a practicing witch and a Guardian of the Earth. It's her job to keep an eye on innocents like Dave and make sure they stay out of trouble and don't become someone's lunch.

Jeffries has been on Diana's hit list since she first spotted him pursuing a young Romany. Di wasn't fast enough to stop him, but the Rom have their own protector - a dashing, charming, very attractive vampire named Andre Le Brel.

Together, the witch and the vampire face Jeffries and his evil minions in a battle for the soul of rock 'n' roll.

My Thoughts: The second Diana Tregarde adventure has her at home in New York City. She's supposed to be writing a category romance for her agent but having trouble because she finds the heroine a wimp. She's also shop sitting for a friend who is about to have a baby. 

When a young Romany boy comes to the shop looking for the owner, Diana offers to help him escape the trouble that is following him. However, the trouble manages to catch up to him and kill him before Diana can do anything. This brings her to the attention of Andre Le Brel who is a vampire who has guarded the boy's family for generations. 

Meanwhile, Diana's old boyfriend is part of a band that is just beginning to become popular when he attends a party, takes a new drug, and becomes someone he had no desire to be. He and his fellow bandmates come under the influence of Master Jeffries who is a psychic vampire feeding on the emotions of others. Worst of all, Master Jeffries has teamed up with a Japanese demon known as the soul eater.

Dave knows he's in over his head and calls on Diana for help. Their breakup was bad, and Diana doesn't want anything to do with Dave. But she's a Guardian and has to help when asked. Diana is still suffering from anxiety attacks from the last time she was asked for help and even teaming up with Andre and a couple of gifted friends feels like she's in over her head. 

What I like most about this urban fantasy series is that Diana isn't all powerful. Sure, she has a Black Belt in karate and is a powerful mage, but she's also small and filled with self-doubts. But knowing the odds are against her isn't going to stop her from doing her duty as a Guardian. 

I got this one from Audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.