Tuesday, April 30, 2019

ARC Review: Read on Arrival by Nora Page

Read on Arrival
Author: Nora Page
Series: A Bookmobile Mystery
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (May 7, 2019)

Description: Death, deadly omens, and a decades-overdue book put senior librarian Cleo Watkins on a collision course with a killer in the second Bookmobile mystery.

Septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins believes in gracious manners, sweet tea, and justice— library justice. For over forty years, Cleo has tried every trick in the book to get delinquent patron Dixie Huddleston to return the most overdue volume in Catalpa Springs, Georgia. When Dixie says she’ll finally relinquish the book, Cleo is shocked. She’s even more startled by the reason: superstitious Dixie says she’s seen the signs: she’s about to die and is setting her affairs in order.

Cleo dismisses Dixie’s ominous omens…until she and her gentleman friend, Henry Lafayette, arrive at Dixie’s home to find her dead. Cleo suspects murder. The police agree but promptly list Cleo among the likely culprits. To clear her good name and deliver justice, Cleo uses her librarian skills to investigate, with Henry and her trusty bookmobile cat, Rhett Butler, at her side.

However, the killer has opened a new chapter of terror. Death threats appear around town, and residents start seeing bad luck everywhere, including in Cleo and her beloved bookmobile Words on Wheels. With her bookmobile and legacy on the line, Cleo accelerates her sleuthing. Suspects and clues stack up, but so does the danger. Another death is coming due, and Cleo fears the killer may be about to turn the final page on someone she loves most.

My Thoughts: Librarian Cleo Watkins, who is approaching her fiftieth anniversary at the Catalpa Springs, Georgia, Public Library, has a couple of issues to deal with. First of all, Dixie Huddleston has finally agreed to return the book she borrowed 40-some years earlier. Second, a new resident named Belle Beauchamp has come to town and seduced the head of the library board with her new, innovative ideas. She seems to want a bookless library and he's fallen for her charms and her ideas.

When Cleo and her gentleman friend Henry go to collect the book, they find that Dixie has been murdered by being locked in her pantry with a swarm of bees and her Epi pens which have had the medicine switched out for sugar water. Since Cleo had recently featured in a newspaper article about her hunt for long overdue books, the local sheriff is sure that she is the one who murdered Dixie.

However, her neighbor who is the department's newest deputy is convinced that Cleo had nothing to do with the crime. But Cleo along with Dixie's hypochondriac best friend Pat begin an investigation to find Dixie's killer.

Meanwhile, someone is spreading terror around town by leaving coffin shaped notes with death threats which is leading to a lot of fear and suspicion.

I like the setting of this mystery and the many over-the-top characters. There are a lot of suspects for Cleo to sort through including Dixie's son and daughter-in-law who are mimes and Dixie's estranged daughter who left town after high school and hasn't returned since. Then there's the artist who has a grudge against realtor Dixie for selling her a house infected with mold.

And while Cleo is investigating, she also has to find a way to derail Belle's plans for her beloved library. Belle is also a suspect since Cleo's best friend overheard a heated argument between Belle and Dixie.

This was a fun cozy. I liked that the heroine was an older woman with old-fashioned Southern manners and a love for pie.

Favorite Quote:
People lit up when they saw Words on Wheels approaching. It was like driving an ice-cream truck in a heat wave, only better because books were a thrill in any weather. 
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Monday, April 29, 2019

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (April 29, 2019)

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.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This was another quiet week with a mix of warm days and rainy ones. I've been reading a lot and watching a lot of baseball.

This coming week looks like it will be heavy on blogging as I prepare my State of the Stack post and a report on what I read and what I bought in April.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

  • Island of Glass by Nora Roberts (Mine) was a great conclusion to the Guardians Trilogy. My review will be posted on May 25.
  • Jewel of the Thames by Angela Misri (Mine) was an entertaining historical mystery starring the granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes. My review will be posted on July 2.
  • The Beyond by Chloe Neill (June 4) is the final book in the Devils Isle urban fantasy series and was a wonderful conclusion. My review will be posted on May 26.


  • The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair (June 4) was an excellent historical mystery set in London right after World War II. It had great characters and sparkling dialog. My review will be posted on May 28.
  • The Summer Country by Lauren Willig (June 4) was an epic family drama set on Barbados. My review will be posted on May 29.


  • Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley (June 4) - This is the third Kat Holloway Victorian mystery and was a great story. My review will be posted on May 30.
  • A Liaden Universe Constellation IV by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - This is the latest collection of previously published Liaden short works. I enjoyed most of the stories, most of which I had already read. My review will be posted on June 1.

DNF

  • The Soul of Power by Callie Bates (June 4) - This is the final book in a trilogy and I just didn't remember enough about the earlier books for this one to make sense. 

Currently


Next Week




Reviews Posted




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

Bought:


SYNC:


Review:




What was your week like?

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Book Review: The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

The House of Silk
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Series: Sherlock Holmes
Publication: Mulholland Books; Reprint edition (October 2, 2012)

Description: London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place.

THE HOUSE OF SILK bring Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world's greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous to ever appear in print....until now.

My Thoughts: Dr. John Watson has one last tale to tell of a case Sherlock Holmes worked on in 1890. Sherlock has passed away and Watson is both elderly and failing in health. Twenty five years have passed since the events he is writing about. Even so, he knows that this case was so sensitive that it is still not time for it to be published. He intends that it be held for one hundred years before publication.

The case begins with Edmund Carstairs, an art dealer, begging for Sherlock's help. He sold some art to an American millionaire but it was destroyed in a train robbery near Boston. The millionaire hires a Pinkerton and posts a reward for the capture of the gang that robbed the train and destroyed the art. While most of the gang was captured, one member escaped and killed the millionaire. Carstairs fears that the surviving gang member will be coming for him next.

Carstair's case is just the beginning of the adventure which leads Holmes and Watson to discover a criminal enterprise that is so shocking and monstrous that it tests both of them almost to their limits. When one of Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars is tortured to death, Holmes brings his intellect to bear on a crime that is closer to him than most of them.

The writing was very much in tune with the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It takes us to Victorian London that comes alive through Watson's lush descriptions and Victorian sensibilities. Holmes is there in all of his glory and Watson is there to chronicle the actions and act as an appreciative audience for the great detective. I liked that this one has Watson looking back and recalling his great friendship with Holmes.

Favorite Quote:
"My dear Sherlock!" Mycroft exclaimed as he waddled in. "How are you? You have recently lost weight, I notice. But I'm glad to see you restored to your old self."

"And you have recovered from influenza."

"A very mild bout. I enjoyed your monograph on tattoos. Written during the hours of the night, evidently. Have you been troubled by insomnia?"

"The summer was unpleasantly warm. You did not tell me you had acquired a parrot."

"Not acquired, Sherlock. Borrowed. Dr. Watson, a pleasure. Although it has been almost a week since you saw your wife, I trust she is well. You have just returned from Gloucestershire."

"And you from France."

"Mrs. Hudson has been away?"
"She returned last week. You have a new cook."

"The last one resigned."

"On account of the parrot."

"She always was highly strung."

This exchange took place with such rapidity that I felt myself to be a spectator at a tennis tournament, my head swivelling from one to the other.
I bought this one Jan. 23, 2014. You can buy your copy here.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Book Review: Pit Perfect Murder by Renee George

Pit Perfect Murder
Author: Renee George
Series: A Barkside of the Moon Cozy Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Barkside of the Moon Press (March 1, 2018)

Description: When cougar-shifter Lily Mason moves to Moonrise, Missouri, she wishes for only three things from the town and its human population. . . to find a job, to find a place to live, and to live as a human, not a therianthrope.

Lily gets more than she bargains for when a rescue pit bull named Smooshie rescues her from an oncoming car, and it’s love at first sight. Thanks to Smooshie, Lily’s first two wishes are granted by Parker Knowles, the owner of the Pit Bull Rescue center, who offers her a job at the shelter and the room over his garage for rent.

Lily’s new life as an integrator is threatened when Smooshie finds Katherine Kapersky, the local church choir leader and head of the town council, dead in the field behind the rescue center. Unfortunately, there are more suspects than mourners for the elderly town leader. Can Lily keep her less-than-human status under wraps? Or will the killer, who has pulled off a nearly Pit Perfect murder, expose her to keep Lily and her dog from digging up the truth?

Fall in love with Lily Mason, the shifter who only wants to live as a human, and her pit bull Smooshie, a rescue dog who in the end may be the one doing the rescuing!

My Thoughts: This was a fun beginning to a paranormal cozy mystery series. Lily Mason is a cougar shifter who has recently lost her family. When she learned that she has an uncle in Moonshine, Missouri, she decides to visit him and see what life is like in a human community.

She meets a number of people in the town including her uncle, Parker Knowles who runs a Pit Bull rescue business, and Katherine Kapersky, a woman no one likes. Lily is also adopted by a rescued Pit Bull that is named Smooshie and falls in love with the pit bull. Needing a place to stay while her truck is being repaired, Parker offers her an efficiency he has at his business.

She is settling in when she discovers Katherine's murdered body while taking Smooshie for her evening constitutional. Lily becomes involved in the case because the sheriff seems determined to arrest Parker for the crime. Sure, he had arguments with Katherine but there are very few people in the town who didn't.

As Lily investigates, she uncovers all sorts of reasons why someone would want Katherine dead. After all, she was a blackmailer who used her knowledge to get people to do things for her. It seems like there are quite a number of people who had a much better reason to want Katherine dead than Parker did.

I liked the interesting cast of characters. I liked Lily who is able to use her ability as a lie detector to uncover secrets that the townspeople would rather keep hidden. I liked her growing friendship with Parker and am wondering if it can go anywhere since he's human and she is secretly a shifter.

Favorite Quote:
"That's your theory? I helped Ralph escape then I ran outside, with more than a dozen other people, tracked down Ed and killed him without being seen. Then I ran back inside the building to drag out Nadine?" Where did this guy get his police training? Yosemite Sam cartoons?
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, April 26, 2019

Friday Memes: Pit Perfect Murder by Renee George

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
When I was eighteen years old, I came home from a sleepover and found my mom and dad with their throats cut, and their hearts ripped from their chests. 
Friday 56:
He reached down and petted the giant dog's head. "This here is Elvis."

"I thought he left the building."

Parker's blue eyes twinkled. "He's a hunka-hunka burning love."
This week I am reading a recent addition to my TBR mountain. Pit Perfect Murder by Renee George combines many things I like in a book - shapeshifters, cozy mysteries, and rescue dogs. Here is the description from Amazon:
When cougar-shifter Lily Mason moves to Moonrise, Missouri, she wishes for only three things from the town and its human population. . . to find a job, to find a place to live, and to live as a human, not a therianthrope.

Lily gets more than she bargains for when a rescue pit bull named Smooshie rescues her from an oncoming car, and it’s love at first sight. Thanks to Smooshie, Lily’s first two wishes are granted by Parker Knowles, the owner of the Pit Bull Rescue center, who offers her a job at the shelter and the room over his garage for rent.

Lily’s new life as an integrator is threatened when Smooshie finds Katherine Kapersky, the local church choir leader and head of the town council, dead in the field behind the rescue center. Unfortunately, there are more suspects than mourners for the elderly town leader. Can Lily keep her less-than-human status under wraps? Or will the killer, who has pulled off a nearly Pit Perfect murder, expose her to keep Lily and her dog from digging up the truth?

Fall in love with Lily Mason, the shifter who only wants to live as a human, and her pit bull Smooshie, a rescue dog who in the end may be the one doing the rescuing!

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Book Review: The Drifter by Nick Petrie

The Drifter
Author: Nick Petrie
Series: Peter Ash
Publication: G.P. Putnam's Sons (January 12, 2016)

Description: Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with only one souvenir: what he calls his “white static,” the buzzing claustrophobia due to post-traumatic stress that has driven him to spend a year roaming in nature, sleeping under the stars.

But when a friend from the Marines commits suicide, Ash returns to civilization to help the man’s widow with some home repairs. Under her dilapidated porch, he finds more than he bargained for: the largest, ugliest, meanest dog he’s ever encountered...and a Samsonite suitcase stuffed with cash and explosives.

As Ash begins to investigate this unexpected discovery, he finds himself at the center of a plot that is far larger than he could have imagined...and it may lead straight back to the world he thought he’d left for good.

My Thoughts: This was an excellent thriller starring Peter Ash. Peter served as a Marine officer in Iraq and Afghanistan and mustered out with something he calls his "white static." He has a major case of claustrophobia so severe that he can't spend time indoors.

After a year on his own in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, he learns of the death of his best friend, his sergeant, in Milwaukee. He decides to go there to help out Jimmy Johnson's widow and kids. He's told Dinah Johnson that he is there as a part of some VA program to fix up houses.

Peter's first problem when repairing a damaged porch is the large, angry dog who has made his home under the porch. His second problem is the suitcase the dog was guarding which contains $400,000 in neatly banded bundles and four block of plastic explosives.

Enemies want their explosives back and are willing to kill Peter and Johnson's family to get it back. As Peter tries to find out who left the money and explosives under the deck, we also follow along as another military vet is traveling around the country gathering fertilizer and fuel oil to make some sort of major bomb.

This was a fascinating story which wove the plight of returning veterans with a financial collapse that is wrecking the housing market into a coherent, exciting, and thrilling whole. Peter is an interesting character who has been damaged by his service but who hasn't lost his honor or his intelligence. His new partner Lewis is also a very intriguing character that I want to know more about.

This is a great start to a series and I can't wait to read more books about Peter Ash.

Favorite Quote:
Peter saw **** in a new light.

It wasn't only about the money.

It was also about breaking something fragile.

And burning down the world just to warm his cold, hungry hands. 
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Book Review: Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price

Grave Ransom
Author: Kalayna Price
Series: Alex Craft (Book 5)
Publication: Ace (July 4, 2017)

Description: In the thrilling new novel from USA Today bestselling author Kalayna Price, Alex Craft comes face-to-face with the walking dead….

Grave witch Alex Craft is no stranger to the dead talking. She raises shades, works with ghosts, and is dating Death himself. But the dead walking? That’s not supposed to happen. And yet reanimated corpses are committing crimes across Nekros City.

Alex’s investigation leads her deep into a web of sinister magic. When Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau gets involved, Alex finds herself with an unexpected ally of sorts. But as the dead continue to rise and wreak havoc on the living, can she get to the soul of the matter in time?

My Thoughts: Alex Craft has been made an independent fae for a year and a day which gives her some time to figure out how to make her independent status permanent. Now, she and her partner Rianna are trying to establish their private investigation business. Alex is trying to limit the amount of shades she raises because a side effect of her magical talent is blindness. She has already lost her night vision and the bouts of blindness after raising shades are getting longer and her vision isn't bouncing back.

When she and Tamara are lunching and she sees a dead man walking she has found her next puzzle. Following him reveals even more of mystery. He's on his way to rob a magical museum of a magical artifact but Alex, who ends up caught with him in a trap, learns that there is a soul in his body. Releasing it shows her that it isn't his soul but before she can question the ghost a soul collector claims it. Alex is left with a dead body and questions from the police.

She also has business. One couple wants to hire her to find the ghost of their six-year-old daughter who died of a blood disease. Alex tries to convince them that most souls move on and only those with compelling reasons become ghosts. They aren't eager to accept this and leave in a huff. Her next client is high school senior Tiffany who is looking for her missing boyfriend Remy. While Alex thinks it is most likely that this was Remy's way to break up with his high school girlfriend, she takes the case and asks Rianna to make a tracing spell.

Meanwhile, Briar Darque has come to hang around with Alex because her partner has a premonition that something is going to happen. Since prior occasions when Briar showed up put Alex in a lot of danger, she's hoping the premonition is wrong. Briar is under the impression that a necromancer - a very illegal kind of magic - is working in Nekros City.

The tracking spell leads Alex all over Nekros City and the surrounding area. She wonders if it is working correctly when it seems to be leading her in two directions. Finally, she finds Remy's body in the midst of a bank robbery but the soul isn't Remy's. Before she can question the ghost, soul collectors arrive and send it on. This is setting up a major conflict between Alex and her boyfriend Death who is a soul collector.

This is the book when Alex's relationship with Death comes to a crisis point. They haven't a way to reconcile their very different needs and responsibilities. This is hard for Alex because she has known Death since she was five. Long before he became her lover, he was her confidant and best friend.

This was a great episode in this series. Alex is learning new things about her new and rather unique power.

Favorite Quote:
"I'm the lead medical examiner for Nekros City, and I can tell you with ninety-nine point nine percent certainty that the man walking down the street is very much alive." She put extra emphasis on the word "walking," and on any other day, I would have agree with her.
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Book Review: Horizon by Lois McMaster Bujold

Horizon
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Series: The Sharing Knife (Book 4)
Publication: Harper Voyager; 1 edition (January 27, 2009)

Description: In a world where malices—remnants of ancient magic—can erupt with life-destroying power, only soldier-sorcerer Lakewalkers have mastered the ability to kill them. But Lakewalkers keep their uncanny secrets—and themselves—from the farmers they protect, so when patroller Dag Redwing Hickory rescued farmer girl Fawn Bluefield, neither expected to fall in love, join their lives in marriage, or defy both their kin to seek new solutions to the perilous split between their peoples.

As Dag's maker abilities have grown, so has his concern about who—or what—he is becoming. At the end of a great river journey, Dag is offered an apprenticeship to a master groundsetter in a southern Lakewalker camp. But as his understanding of his powers deepens, so does his frustration with the camp's rigid mores with respect to farmers. At last, he and Fawn decide to travel a very different road—and find that along it, their disparate but hopeful company increases.

Fawn and Dag see that their world is changing, and the traditional Lakewalker practices cannot hold every malice at bay forever. Yet for all the customs that the couple has challenged thus far, they will soon be confronted by a crisis exceeding their worst imaginings, one that threatens their Lakewalker and farmer followers alike. Now the pair must answer in earnest the question they've grappled with since they killed their first malice together: When the old traditions fail disastrously, can their untried new ways stand against their world's deadliest foe?

My Thoughts: Now at the southern end of their journey, Dag has finally found a teacher who can help him learn more about his strange new powers. Arkady is a groundsetter and he recognizes that Dag, even though he is little trained, can be one too. The problem is find a place for Fawn in the Lakewalker camp where she is seen only as a farmer girl. Dag learns a lot in two months but he doesn't agree with the camp's policy of not providing healing for farmers.

When Finch, a young man Fawn has met at the camp market, comes and begs for assistance for his 5-year-old nephew who has lockjaw, Dag doesn't think twice before going to help even though it will likely cost him his place in the camp and his teacher.

When he is kicked out of the camp, he and Fawn decide to work their way north again. She's newly pregnant and would like to find a home before her baby is born. At first, they decide to join a party which includes Finch and some of his friends but the party soon grows with the addition of Arkady and Barr. Also in the party are a couple of untrained half-breeds. They also meet again with Fawn's brother Whit, his wife Berry, and Berry's uncle and younger brother.

Trailing both Dag and Arkady is a jealous young female patroller who has been trying to pry Dag loose from Fawn ever since she met him. Once she realizes that he is the hero of Wolf Ridge, she becomes even more determined to have him for her own. Dag isn't at all interested and is completely in love with and loyal to Fawn but Neeta isn't easily discouraged and reappears throughout the story trying one approach after another to separate Dag and Fawn.

The trip is hard and made even harder when the group runs into two different malices. Luckily, Dag has been working on a way to protect Fawn and has expanded the protection to Fawn's brother Whit and his wife Berry. When the party is scattered during the malice attack, it is up to those protected farmers to find a way to save the group and introduce the malice to mortality.

This was a wonderful story filled with great characters set in a well-developed world. It was about making small changes to bring about a changed future. Dag wants to change the dynamic between farmers and lakewalkers. He wants to change the world and pave the way for a future after the last malice has been destroyed.

Favorite Quote:
The boy who'd fathered her first lost child had feared only for his own threatened comfort. He'd greeted the news of its bare existence with anger, rejection, threats of unforgivable slander.

This astonishing man in bed with her wanted to remake the whole world into a safe cradle for her second. Or leastways turn his heart inside out trying.

She's a sneaking suspicion wisdom was to be found in some happy medium, but on the whole she preferred Dag's approach.
I bought this one in 2008 and am rereading it. You can buy your copy here.

Monday, April 22, 2019

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (April 22, 2019)

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.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

After last week's snow, this week has proved to be much more pleasant. In fact it is supposed to warm up to nearly 70 today (Saturday). That should melt most of the remaining snow though some areas where there were snowdrifts might take a couple of day more. It is supposed to rain on Easter Sunday with temperatures in the 50s which should take care of the rest of the snow.

This week I have my quarterly lab appointment for blood work but otherwise my week is clear and empty. I'm hoping for good weather so that I can walk outside along with my visits to Curves.

Since I have just about finished with the books on my May calendar, I also need to spend some time setting up my posts for June. I have written books in on the calendar but haven't created the parts of the posts that I can do before reading the books. I have 12 review books that will be released in June, want to read more of the Monkeewrench series, slotted in some recent arrivals, and pulled three print books from my physical TBR mountain lowering the physical stack to 500 books.

My TV is turned on for baseball games and The Voice. Otherwise, I'm reading and playing computer games.

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

  • Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist (YA Review; May 21) -- I thought this was an excellent YA Paranormal Mystery. My review will be posted on May 16.
  • Very Bad Deaths by Spider Robinson (Mine since 2008) - This was a paranormal thriller that I have had for years. I liked the characters and the narrator's irreverent attitude. My review will be posted on May 18.
  • Smitten by the Brit by Melonie Johnson (Review; May 28) - This was a contemporary romance with great characters. My review will be posted on May 21.


  • Fortune's Favors by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Mine) - This is the latest chapbook by favorite author's. The first novella introduces a character with a unique ability. The second selection is an outtake from the main storyline that fills in some blanks. I don't plan to review this.
  • Dancing with Werewolves by Carole Nelson Douglas (Mine since 2008) - This urban fantasy introduces Delilah Street and sets up a very complex urban fantasy world. My review will be posted on May 22.
  • Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag (Mine since 2008 but I read my new Kindle copy) - This third Kovac/Liska thriller was a very entertaining story with an abundance of villains which kept me guessing until the very end. My review will be posted on May 23. 

Currently

  • Island of Glass by Nora Roberts (Mine since 12/6/16) got lost on my shelves but now I'm eager to read this final book in The Guardian Trilogy.

Next Week

I'm starting to read my June review book releases. These will all be released on June 4.




Reviews Posted




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

Bought:

  • Straight by Dick Francis - One of my favorites by him for my Kindle
  • A Spell of Trouble by Leighann Dobbs - a free paranormal mystery that sounded good
  • The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White - a Kindle Daily Deal that I've been curious about.




  • Fortune's Favors by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller - They write it, I'll buy it.
  • Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag - a Kindle copy of a book that has been on TBR mountain since 2008.

Review:





  • A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Oct. 8)
  • The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green (Jan. 14, 2020) - This one doesn't have a spot at Amazon yet. I found it at Edelweiss.

What was your week like?

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Book Review: Witchmark by C. L. Polk

Witchmark
Author: C. L. Polk
Series: The Kingston Cycle (Book 1)
Publication: Tor.com (June 19, 2018)

Description: In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own.

Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn’t leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can’t hide what he truly is.

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles’ healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient’s murder. To find the truth he’ll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.

My Thoughts: This intriguing fantasy is set in a world powered by magic. Dr. Miles Singer is a psychiatrist who is dealing with the many soldiers who have returned from the war with Laneer with significant mental issues. They are claiming that something in their mind is commanding them to kill. Miles has a magic for healing that he has been successful in hiding. He can see this cloud in the mens's mind but he doesn't know what it is or what can be done about it.

One night, when he is outside for a smoke break, a man - Sir Tristan Hunter - comes up to him carrying a dying man. Nick Elliot is dying and claiming that he has been poisoned. To ease his mind, Miles promises to find his murderer and, in return, Nick gives Miles all of his magic when he dies. Tristan sees the secrets that Miles is hiding about his magic and begins by threatening him to expose it if Miles doesn't keep his promise to Nick. Tristan has quite a few secrets of his own and a task to complete in the eight days he has remaining before he must return home.

Investigating exposes Miles to the family he ran away from to become a doctor and dumps him right in the middle of the politics of the most powerful Mages in Aeland including his father and his sister Grace. Storm-Singers are the powerful mages who control the weather that keeps Aeland a perfect place to live. Only Storm-singer magic is valued. Miles with his healing ability was slated to be nothing more than a Secondary and act as a magical battery for his powerful sister.

I loved the world building in this story. I also loved the relationship that grew between Tristan and Miles. The characters were well-rounded and interesting people with all sorts of problems that they had to solve. The book was fast-paced and filled with mystery and intrigue.

Favorite Quote:
He tossed the keys in the air and caught them again. "People lie, Doctor. They fib. They omit. They smooth matters over with the easy thing to say. You know this."

How easily he talked of laying the truth aside, as if it were a tie in a color that didn't suit. "Have you lied to me?"

He took a moment to think about it. "Not that I recall."
I got a free copy of this one from Tor.com. You can buy your copy here.

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Book Review: Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell

Spellslinger
Author: Sebastien De Castell
Series: Spellslinger (Book 1)
Publication: Orbit (July 17, 2018)

Description: A would-be mage with no magic of his own has to defeat powerful enemies with only cunning and deception in the first book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.

Kellen is moments away from facing his first duel and proving his worth as a spellcaster. There's just one problem: his magic is fading.

Facing exile unless he can pass the mage trials, Kellen is willing to risk everything - even his own life - in search of a way to restore his magic. But when the enigmatic Ferius Parfax arrives in town, she challenges him to take a different path.

One of the elusive Argosi, Ferius is a traveller who lives by her wits and the cards she carries. Daring, unpredictable, and wielding magic Kellen has never seen before, she may be his only hope.

The first novel in a compelling six-book series, bursting with tricks, humor, and a whole new way to look at magic.

My Thoughts: This first book in a new fantasy builds an interesting world and has an intriguing main character. Kellen is almost sixteen, the son of a very powerful mage, and feeling his magic fade away. He lives in a society where only those with magic are powerful and respected. Those without magic are essentially made slaves who may end up working in the mines or serving in their own family homes.

Kellen may lack magic but he is clever and tricky. Faced with having to win a magical duel, he wins by using his wits to convince his opponent to bespell himself. However, he's called out by his own sister for cheating. And he is willing to cheat if it gives him the magic that he needs to take his proper place in his society.

It isn't until he meets Ferius Parfax that he even begins questioning his future. Ferius is accused of being a spy for a rival country but is actually a member of the Argosi - travelers who are watching all the different countries. She is irreverent, fearless, and fascinating as she challenges Kellen to really think about what he wants for his future.

As events happen in this story, Kellen learns things about his people that changes his view of them. His parents aren't who he thought they were. What he wants for his life changes through the course of the story.

I liked Kellen's character. I liked his resilience and creativity. I liked his new "business partner" Reichis who makes a great adventure buddy. They each balance the other's weaknesses and enhance their strengths. I liked the role Ferius plays as she acts as a goad to the changes Kellen needs to make.

I am eager to read more in this six book series.

Favorite Quote:
"This would be a good time for a really powerful spell," he chittered in my ear.

"I've got one that channels a light breeze," I said, ignoring the confused looks of my uncle and his followers. "Think that'll work?"

Reichis gave a sigh. "Why did I ever agree to partner up with a magic-less skinbag?"

"I think because your mother ordered you to."
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, April 19, 2019

Friday Memes: Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
The old spellmasters like to say that magic has a taste. Ember smells are like a spice burning the tip of your tongue. Breath magic is subtle, almost cool, the sensation of holding a mint leaf between your lips. Sand, silk, blood, iron...they each have their flavour. A true adept -- the kind of mage who can cast spells even outside an oasis -- knows them all.
Friday 56:
I followed as fast as I could, which turned out to be pretty fast considering I was barefoot.
This week I am featuring Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell. I saw good reviews and became curious about this one. Here is the description from Amazon:
A would-be mage with no magic of his own has to defeat powerful enemies with only cunning and deception in the first book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.

Kellen is moments away from facing his first duel and proving his worth as a spellcaster. There's just one problem: his magic is fading.

Facing exile unless he can pass the mage trials, Kellen is willing to risk everything - even his own life - in search of a way to restore his magic. But when the enigmatic Ferius Parfax arrives in town, she challenges him to take a different path.

One of the elusive Argosi, Ferius is a traveller who lives by her wits and the cards she carries. Daring, unpredictable, and wielding magic Kellen has never seen before, she may be his only hope.

The first novel in a compelling six-book series, bursting with tricks, humor, and a whole new way to look at magic.