Thursday, February 29, 2024

Audiobook Review: Changes by Mercedes Lackey

Changes

Author:
Mercedes Lackey
Narrator: Nick Podehl
Series: Collegium Chronicles (Book 3)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (October 4, 2011)
Length: 10 hours and 48 minutes

Description: Mags was a Trainee in the Heraldic Collegium in Haven, Valdemar’s capital city. Though his background of poverty and abuse at Cole Pieters’ gem mine set him apart from most other trainees, nonetheless he had found his own group of friends. Bear, Lena, and Amily were all students whose situations in life set them apart from more usual Trainees. The four of them had found mutual support in their shared misfortunes, and together struggled to help one another find solutions to their individual problems

But Mags’ friendship with Amily brought him to the attention of the King’s Own. The seemingly immortal Companion Rolan had Chosen Nikolas to suit the specific needs of the current monarch, and those needs were for an agent who could collect information surreptitiously. Nikolas recognized the same traits in Mags that Rolan had recognized in him, and because of Mags’ friendship with Amily, no one would think twice about seeing her overprotective father spending time with Amily’s “suitor”. So Mags began training as Nikolas’ partner.

They worked in disguise at night with Mags as Nikolas’ deaf and mute helper, where his extensive knowledge of gems - especially his skill at separating the real from the fake - would be an added benefit. Hiding in the shadows behind the desk, pretending to neither hear nor speak, Mags could better “observe” the clients, and even the surrounding neighborhood. And Nikolas could send him out on “errands” to chase down leads.

But this new job was far more dangerous than Mags had ever considered. For there were mysterious agents in the city - agents who sought to bring down the kingdom, and no one knew where they came from or who they worked for. They were smart, talented, and preternaturally fast. And most of all they were willing to do anything - anything - to bring Valdemar to ruin.

My Thoughts: In the third book of the Collegium Chronicles, Mags is beginning his career as the King's spy by working with his mentor King's Own Nikolas in a pawn shop down in the town with is Nikolas's cover to find out things happening. Mags is playing a deaf mute boy with a talent for knowing gems and the ability to separate the fake and the real.

But there are still agents in town who want to bring Valdemar down and finding them soon becomes the focus of their work. Though Mags can't penetrate their shields, he is able to locate them if they get near enough to him. However, they are smart and talented and have an agenda that is still hidden from the Heralds. 

Foreseers have dreamed that they would like to disrupt the kingdom by kidnapping the King's Own's daughter Amily who is crippled after an accident she had as a small child. Amily and Mags are courting and Mags is very determined to keep Amily safe.

Bear and some other healers have come up with a procedure to fix Amily's damaged leg but the threat from the agents has made them put off the procedure which Amily hates. It is especially bad because no one is telling her or Mags or any but a small circle why the procedure is being delayed. 

And tempers are rising even as the summer heat does. There are so many fights and arguments breaking out that no one knows what to do. Mags, Lena, Amily and Bear aren't spared the arguments either. Lena and Bear are falling in love but both have unresolved parent issues. Lena's is a bard who only notices her when he wants something from her and Bear's family has no respect for his talents since he doesn't have the healing gift. 

This was another excellent episode in the Collegium Chronicles. The worldbuilding is great. I am enjoying watching Mags and his friends grow up and claim their new adult responsibilities. 

I bought this one from Chirp Audiobooks. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams

A Deadly Endeavor
Author: Jenny Adams
Series: A Deadly Twenties Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (March 5, 2024)

Description: A serial killer is on the loose in Jazz Age Philadelphia in Jenny Adams’ debut historical mystery, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Rhys Bowen.

Philadelphia, 1921.
When Edie Shippen returns home after spending years in California recovering from Influenza, she’s shocked to discover that her childhood sweetheart is engaged to her twin sister. Heartbroken and adrift, Edie vows to begin living her life as a modern woman—and to hell with anyone who gets in her way. But as young women start to disappear from the city, her newfound independence begins to feel dangerous.

Gilbert Lawless returned home from the Great War a shell of his former self. He hides away in the office of Philadelphia’s Coroner, content to keep to himself until a gruesome series of corpses come into the morgue. And when his sister, Lizzie, goes missing, he risks his career to beg help from the one person Lizzie seemed to trust: her employer, Edie Shippen.

Fearing the worst, Edie and Gilbert desperately search for clues. It soon becomes clear that Lizzie’s disappearance is connected to the deaths rocking the City of Brotherly Love...and it’s only a matter of time until the killer strikes again.

With a lush Roaring Twenties setting and a wickedly smart sleuth to cheer for, A Deadly Endeavor is the perfect puzzling romp for fans of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

My Thoughts: It is 1921 in Philadelphia and Edie Shippen has come home from California after recovering from the influenza that killer her mother and almost killed her. Her only souvenir is migraine headaches. 

Gilbert Lawless has come home from fighting in World War I with severe shell shock which he is treating with heroin. He is working as a doctor at the morgue and raising his four-year-old daughter after the death in childbirth of his wife. 

The two come together while investigating the same problem. There is a serial killer taking young women. One of the Shippen household maids has disappeared as has one of Edie's cousins. Then Edie's maid, this one Gilbert's sister, disappears. The police were quick to right off the first maid's disappearance but the disappearance of young women from the highest class isn't so easy to write off. 

Meanwhile, Gilbert has been dealing with the bodies of young women found near the river with a variety of injuries. All of them have evidence of being strangled and have strange marks on their wrists and ankles. But the first body is missing its head, the second is missing all of her internal organs, the third has been skinned, and the fourth is missing her eyes and tongue. 

Edie is determined to find her maid and Gilbert to find his sister. Their search takes them to the underbelly of Philadelphia with meetings with gangsters and an illicit boxing match before they determine that the killer is someone much closer to Edie's home and life. 

This was an engaging story which stars two people who are damaged in various ways as a result of World War I and the influenza epidemic. I liked that Edie was trying to live her own life despite the pressure to be a safe, soft socialite. I liked Gilbert's struggles with his shell shock and his determination to give his daughter a good life. 

Favorite Quote:
And Edie...Edie didn't know what she wanted, other than to feel like she deserved the life she had. To feel like she'd earned a second chance. To feel...anything. Anything other than anger and guilt and so much damn sadness, the kind that threatened to drown her every time she closed her eyes.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

ARC Review: Cirque du Slay by Rob Osler

Cirque du Slay
Author: Rob Osler
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (March 5, 2024)

Description: In this rollicking mystery, perfect for fans of Steven Rowley and Elle Cosimano, the circus becomes the stage for a high-profile murder investigation.

With quirky LGBTQ+ amateur sleuths, Cirque du Slay will delight readers looking for a madcap mystery with high-flying excitement!


Pint-sized Seattle middle school teacher and gay dating blogger Hayden McCall and his best friend Hollister are invited to a fundraiser for Bakers Without Borders. The celebrity performer, Kennedy Osaka, is the artistic director of Mysterium, an upscale circus arts show combining magic, acrobatics, and a Michelin-star dinner. But Kennedy is a no-show—until she’s found dead in her hotel suite.

When frenemy Sarah Lee is discovered in the room with the body, Hayden and Hollister are on the case to find the real culprit before Sarah Lee is charged with the crime.

The suspects for the murder are as unique as Mysterium itself: a Russian trapeze artist, a cowgirl comedian sharp-shooter, an over-cologned operations director, a feisty, green-haired costume manager, and Adrenalin!, a sexy troop of Romanian male acrobats...If Hayden and Hollister are to clear Sarah Lee of suspicion, they’ll have to outsmart a killer for whom trickery is art.

My Thoughts: This is a quirky LGBTQ+ mystery filled with entertaining characters. Hayden McCall and his best friend Hollister are drawn into solving another mystery when Sarah Lee, a frenemy of Hayden's, is accused of murdering magician Kennedy Osaka. 

The story is centered around Mysterium which is a traveling circus show featuring a variety of acts and including a Michelin-star dinner. Kennedy Osaka is the new star and artistic director for the show. Kennedy is an old college friend of Sarah Lee's. Kennedy had promised to perform at an event Sarah Lee is hosting. She doesn't show up which sends her to Kennedy's hotel in a raging temper. Next thing she knows she arrested standing of the corpse with dressmaker's sheers in her hands and no memory of what happened.

Hayden is a pint-sized, gay middle school teacher who also writes a column about gay dating. He's not much for putting himself out there. Hollister is a lesbian Black furniture designer who's fearless and imposing and Hayden's best friend. She's good at pushing him into situations that take him out of his comfort zone. This happens a lot in this case as they investigate the various acts at Mysterium to figure out who wanted Kennedy dead.

There are lots of suspects from fellow performers Kit, who has a comedy sharpshooting act, and Yazminka Smilova, a trapeze artist whose father owns the show. To Sasha Smilov who is Yazminka's brother and the manager of the show and Zell who does the costumes. Also included as suspects with one being a new crush for Hayden are a troupe of Romanian acrobats.

This was an entertaining mystery told by Hayden. I liked the diverse cast of characters which includes a new friend in transgender lawyer Jess Gemalto who looks enough like Hayden to be his twin. The story was filled with humor and lots of heart and had a nice lashing of danger for our main characters.  

Favorite Quote:
"The plan is simple," Hollister explained. "We find the sick and twisted psycho who murdered Kennedy Osaka. Do we really need to go over that again?"

I turned from the mirror, where I was working my hair into the suggestion of a part. "That's the objective. I'm talking about the plan."
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

ARC Review: Speculations in Sin by Jennifer Ashley

Speculations in Sin

Author:
Jennifer Ashley
Series: A Below Stairs Mystery (Book 7)
Publication: Berkley (March 5, 2024)

Description: To save an innocent man’s life, amateur sleuth and cook Kat Holloway must expose a financial scam that could ruin the most powerful aristocrats in Victorian-era London, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret of Bow Lane.rev

Kat Holloway is distressed to learn that Samuel Millburn, husband of the woman who looks after her daughter, has been accused of embezzling funds from the bank where he works as a clerk. The accusation is absurd, and Samuel’s wife fears that her husband will not only lose his post but be imprisoned. Kat vows to uncover the truth.

When she discovers the bank is involved in shockingly murky business dealings, Kat realizes she’s treading in dangerous waters. She turns to her confidante and handsome suitor, Daniel McAdam, for help. To exonerate Samuel, Kat and Daniel may have to expose the unseemly financial dealings of prominent aristocrats and government officials, and even those working to bring down the royal family. Kat will risk everything to protect the man who has sacrificed so much for her daughter, even if it means endangering herself and the friends she has come to love.

My Thoughts: In the seventh Below Stairs mystery, cook Kat Holliday needs to prove that her best friend Joanna's husband didn't embezzle from his work at a bank or murder the chief clerk. The stakes are high. Joanna and Sam Millburn have been providing a home for Kat's daughter for many years. If she can't clear Sam, the consequences will spiral into disaster not only for the Millburn family but for Kat too. 

Luckily, Kat has made a number of friends in her time in London. She'll need to call on all of them to solve this problem. She has been wary of trusting Daniel who does some mysterious work for Scotland Yard, but he has never failed her. She also needs the help of her employer's niece Lady Cynthia and Lady Cynthia's circle of influential women if she wants to learn more about the bank where Sam Millburn worked.

Besides the person at the bank who is framing Sam for embezzlement and murder, an old enemy of his resurfaces from his boyhood in South London and wants to draw Sam back into his circle of criminals. 

This was an engaging story. I love Kat's dedication to her career as a cook and the pride she takes in her work. I also love that she is starting to get over her wariness and build a new relationship with Daniel. I even enjoyed the tension felt by the working class who are just one short step away from economic disaster. Kat's viewpoint makes the danger very clear and real.  

Favorite Quote:
He'd said not many moments ago that we needed to find joy in the small corners of life. I decided to savor this moment, of Daniel and me sitting at the table together in the quiet of the night, basking in each other's company. The circle of lamplight shut out the darkness, and the glowing stove pushed aside the cold.

In this slice of time, happiness prevailed, in a warm sanctuary that the howling terrors of the world cold not invade.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Unquiet Bones by Loreth Anne White

The Unquiet Bones
Author: Loreth Anne White
Publication: Montlake (March 5, 2024)

Description: A shocking discovery of human bones reopens an almost fifty-year-old cold case―and rips apart the lives of a group of friends―in a riveting novel by Loreth Anne White, the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Maid’s Diary.

When human bones are found beneath an old chapel in the woods, evidence suggests the remains could be linked to the decades-old case of missing teen Annalise Jansen.

Homicide detective Jane Munro―pregnant and acutely attuned to the preciousness of life―hopes the grim discovery will finally bring closure to the girl’s family. But for a group of Annalise’s old friends, once dubbed the Shoreview Six by the media, it threatens to expose a terrible pledge made on an autumn night forty-seven years ago.

The friends are now highly respected, affluent members of their communities, and none of them ever expected the dark chapter in their past to resurface. But as Jane and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn peel back the layers of secrets, the group begins to fracture. Will one cave? Will they turn on each other?

The investigation takes a sharp turn when Jane discovers a second body―that of the boy long blamed for Annalise’s disappearance. As the bones tell their story, the group learns just how far each will go to guard their own truth.

My Thoughts: In THE UNQUIET BONES a cold case is finally solved after bones are discovered under a chapel at a ski resort. 

Sargeant Jane Munro has been transferred to Cold Cases after an emotional outburst at work. She's dealing with a fiancĂ© who went missing while hiking and an unexpected pregnancy. She feels that she is in limbo and can't move forward or back. 

The bones prove to be those of a fifteen-year-old girl named Annalise Jansen who went missing Labor Day Weekend in 1976. The body was preserved in such a way that her torso wasn't skeletonized leading to the information that she was three months pregnant at the time of her death. There's the possibility of getting fetal DNA to help identify the father. 

As Jane reopens the almost fifty-year-old case, she begins to reinterview witnesses from the time Annalise went missing. Jane also learns that a young man named Darryl went missing the same night. It was thought at the time that they ran off together. Darryl's reputation had been trashed at the time leaving only his father and sister to mourn him. His disappearance didn't get as much media play since a black young man wasn't as interesting as a cute and perky blond girl. 

The story talks about the aftereffects of an unexplained disappearance on those who were left behind. Annalise's parents seem frozen in time fearing even to leave their house lest they be gone should Annalise return. Her best friends, who are all keeping secrets of varying kinds, have built successful lives that could be destroyed if their parts in her disappearance are ever discovered. And the young, ambitious news reporter who is eager to capitalize on the discovery of Annalise's remains also has her life changed by the experience.

This was a fast-paced thriller told from multiple viewpoints. I was intrigued by the story.

Favorite Quote:
Perhaps a part of each one of them has always been locked in the autumn of 1976. In the amber of time. A limbo - or prison - for their lies. Neither heaven or hell. All waiting in one way or another for that knock to come on their doors. Waiting for justice to finally find them. Fearing it.
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Monday, February 26, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 26, 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 woke up to snow on Friday morning and it continued to snow lightly until early afternoon. This is the first snow we've gotten in what feels like forever. Only traces remain now since the temperature warmed to the high thirties both Friday and Saturday. It's 37 now and sunny. The high is supposed to hit 40. We seem to have a roller coaster week in the forecast. 54 on Monday, 38 on Tuesday, 17 on Wednesday, 37 on Thursday, 49 on Friday, and 51 next Saturday. There is snow likely on Tuesday but less than an inch is forecast. We are on track to have the least snowy February on record here in Duluth and the records go back 100 years. 

The week has been pretty quiet here but has been marred by the sudden death of one of my favorite authors. Steve Miller passed away suddenly on Tuesday. He and his wife Sharon Lee are most known for their Liaden Universe science fiction stories. I only had the opportunity to meet and spend time with them a couple of times at science fiction conventions and bookstore signings. However, I have interacted with both of them frequently on Facebook. I feel this loss especially since Steve and I were of an age. He being just two days older than I am. Sharon has been good about posting to Facebook letting fans and friends know how she is doing coping with the loss of a spouse of more than forty years. 

Here at home, I'm continuing listening to my In Death audiobooks and trying to whittle down my stack of review copies. This week should be the same. I have the rest of the March releases in my plans for this week. I'll be skipping a couple of the In Death audiobooks since I listened to them less than six months ago when I was skipping around and just picking favorites or seasonal books. For example, I read Thankless in Death around Thanksgiving and read a couple set around Christmas time last year in December. 

For my turn on the cooking, I took us both out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner on Tuesday. We both decided on combos. He had sirloin steak and ribs, and I had a ribeye steak and shrimp. We both came home with leftovers. I finished mine yesterday and need to decide what I want to eat today since he's working over the dinner hour. He still has a sidekick of ribs since they said they burnt the ones served to him and gave him a second sidekick for free. He didn't think the first ones were burnt and ate them yesterday for his pre-work meal. 

My brother is off on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I hope he has some good ideas for what he wants to cook. I've been printing off interesting recipes and piling them on the kitchen table to give him ideas. 

Read Last Week
  • A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux (Audiobook; mine since 11/24/21) -- Third in the Medlar Mysteries. This one is set at a stately home turned boutique hotel in England. The three are there to solve a 20-year-old mystery. My review will be posted on March 6.
  • A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn (Review; March 12) -- Another Veronica Speedwell historical mystery. Great characters and interesting plot. My review will be posted on March 7.
  • Doors Into Change by Sharon Lee (Mine) -- This book contains 3 works set in or around the author's Archer's Beach contemporary fantasy world. I liked it a lot but don't intend to review this one on my blog. 
  • Indulgence in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death 31
  • Peril in Pink by Sydney Leigh (Review; March 19) -- Start of a new cozy mystery series set in a B&B in upstate New York. My review will be posted on March 12.
  • Treachery in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death 32
  • The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett (Review; March 19) -- Social commentary disguised as a historical romance. My review will be posted on March 12.
  • New York to Dallas by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death 33 and part of my rereadathon.
  • A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian (Review; March 19) -- Third in the Secret Staircase mystery series. Great characters, twisty plot, great setting. My review will be posted on March 14.
Currently
Next Week
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:
Bought:
What was your week like?

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Book Review: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

The Golden Enclaves

Author:
Naomi Novik
Series: The Scholomance (Book 3)
Publication: Del Rey (June 27, 2023)

Description: #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

FINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Paste, Publishers Weekly


The one thing you never talk about while you’re in the Scholomance is what you’ll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it’s all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we’ll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I’m out, we’re all out—and I didn’t even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother’s prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn’t kill enclavers, I saved them. Me and Orion and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: We saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere.

Ha, only joking! Actually, it’s gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war. And the first thing I’ve got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

My Thoughts: In this finale to the Scholomance trilogy we learn what happens after El, Orion, and her colleagues manage to get everyone out of the Scholomance. Well, almost everyone, Orion stayed behind which makes El determined to find a way back in to get him.

There are some problems to overcome first. Something is killing enclaves, and the various enclaves are on the brink of war. Looking for help uncovers all sorts of secrets. Secrets that could bring the whole system of enclaves tumbling down. 

El's plans for the escape from the Scholomance did manage to cut the number of mals in half but didn't do anything for the most awful of all the mals. The maw-mouth doesn't just kill wizards. It keeps them alive inside it in such a way that they can't die. And killing them has been a task that requires a large group of adult wizards working together. At least it did until El. 

This was an excellent conclusion to a very good series. I loved the worldbuilding. I loved the way El grew through the trilogy. She had so many decisions to make. 

Favorite Quote:
I imagine it's always easier to do something monstrous if you can convince yourself you aren't going to, up to the last minute, when you do. 
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, February 23, 2024

Friday Memes: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

 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 is 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:
The last thing Orion said to me, the absolute bastard, was El, I love you so much.
Friday 56:
It wasn't anything like being inside the Scholomance gym. That place had been a lie: an imitation of the real world we couldn't get to and most likely would never see again. This wasn't a lie. This was a story, a fairy tale: it wasn't pretending to be real, it was just a place that couldn't be and hadn't been, a place of perfect beauty.
This week I am spotlighting The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik. It is the last in the Scholomance trilogy. Here's the description from Amazon:
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

FINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Paste, Publishers Weekly


The one thing you never talk about while you’re in the Scholomance is what you’ll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it’s all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we’ll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I’m out, we’re all out—and I didn’t even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother’s prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn’t kill enclavers, I saved them. Me and Orion and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: We saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere.

Ha, only joking! Actually, it’s gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war. And the first thing I’ve got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Audiobook Review: Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey

Intrigues

Author:
Mercedes Lackey
Narrator: Nick Podehl
Series: Collegium Chronicles (Book 2)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (October 11, 2010)
Length: 10 hours and 9 minutes

Description: Mags was an orphan and slave of ‘bad blood’ who toiled in a gem mine all his young life. He would have died before adulthood, had he not been Chosen and taken to Haven to be trained in the new Herald Collegium.

Now, Mags was never hungry and never cold. He slept in a real bed in his own room and, most importantly, he had Dallen, who was like another part of himself. And yet, aside from Lena and Bear, both loners like he was, he couldn’t relate to most of the Herald, Healer, or Bard trainees. He was the only trainee who came from what - to the others - was unimaginable poverty.

There was another factor that contributed to Mag’s isolation. Foreign assassins, masquerading at court as envoys, were discovered. As they fled from the Guard, one of them seemed to “recognize” Mags. Now, Mags was an object of suspicion.

He had always been curious about his parents, but after the incident it became urgent for Mags to discover exactly who his parents were. And at Haven, he had access to the extensive Archives. Poring through the Archives, he got only incomplete information: his parents, found dead in a bandit camp, had been two of a number of hostages, some of whom had survived. The survivors had told the Guard that Mags’ parents spoke a language that no one understood or recognized.

This information did not help, for the ForeSeers had been having visions of the king’s assassination by “one of the foreign blood”. Some had even Seen Mags with blood on his hands. How could Mags defend himself against a crime that hadn’t yet been committed?

My Thoughts: The second of the Collegium Chronicles sees Mags beginning to fit in at the Collegium. While still mainly a loner who feels he has nothing in common with most of the other students, he has made some friends with Lena and Bear and Amily. Each of them are different than the other students too. 

When Lena's father comes to the Collegium, Mags learns that he is a famous bard who had ignored Lena all her life. He is totally self-centered, but Lena wants his love and approval. He can only see her if there is some way he can use her like when Mags becomes a champion at a new sport being developed and when Mags becomes a hero for saving Bear's life when he's kidnapped.

Meanwhile Bear is facing his own problems. He comes from a family of healers, but he doesn't have the magical gift of healing. However, he is an excellent herbalist consulted by everyone including senior healers at his school. And he is good at surgery and other healing too. But his family wants him to come home, get married, and sire children who might have the healing gift. He's under constant pressure because of their demands.

Then Mags comes in for his share of pressure when those who can see the future predict that someone foreign born will assassinate the king. Mags has just learned that his parents were captives of bandits and were from some unknown country. That makes Mags immediately an object of suspicion. And since part of his heraldic gifts includes a touch of empathy, Mags is totally aware of the suspicions which feed into his own insecurity about his right to be a Herald. 

This was an emotional story with Mags and his friends all dealing with deep personal issues. But there is also the problem of the foreign envoys who disappeared from the palace and have some sort of hidden agenda. They seem to have some mind gifts to go along with their agenda and only Mags is able to tune into them. 

This was a fun story with great worldbuilding. I'm enjoying watching Mags build confidence and become a Herald of Valdemar. 

I bought this one from Chirp Audiobooks. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen

The Rumor Game

Author:
Thomas Mullen
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 27, 2024)

Description: A determined reporter and a reluctant FBI agent face off against fascist elements in this gripping historical thriller set in World War II-era Boston.

Reporter Anne Lemire writes the Rumor Clinic, a newspaper column that disproves the many harmful rumors floating around town, some of them spread by Axis spies and others just gossip mixed with fear and ignorance. Tired of chasing silly rumors about Rosie Riveters' safety on the job, she wants to write about something bigger.

Special Agent Devon Mulvey, one of the few Catholics at the FBI, spends his weekdays preventing industrial sabotage and his Sundays spying on clerics with suspect loyalties―and he spends his evenings wooing the many lonely women whose husbands are off at war.

When Anne’s story about Nazi propaganda intersects with Devon’s investigation into the death of a factory worker, the two are led down a dangerous trail of espionage, organized crime, and domestic fascism―one that implicates their own tangled pasts and threatens to engulf the city in violence.

With vibrant historical atmosphere and a riveting mystery that illuminates still-timely issues about disinformation and power, Thomas Mullen delivers another powerful thriller.

My Thoughts: THE RUMOR GAME is set in Boston during World War II. Annie Lemire writes The Rumor Clinic which debunks the many harmful rumors floating around town. Most are just gossip mixed with fear and ignorance. Annie is tired of chasing rumors and wants to tackle something bigger. When she begins looking into attacks on Jews by Irish toughs, she doesn't get much support from her editor. 

Special Agent Devon Mulvey is one of the few Irish Catholics with the FBI. He's dealing with internal prejudice which hampers his investigation into the murder of a Jewish man who worked at a munitions plant. His brief is to look into preventing industrial sabotage which means that he can't interest his partner or anyone else in the FBI about the murder.

Devon and Annie grew up in the same Boston neighborhood but lost track of each other over the years. When they meet again over the same murder case, they are coming from wildly different points of view. Annie learned she was half-Jewish when her father died. Ostracism forced her family to move out of the area. Devon's family moved out too when his father made enough money. 

Now they find their investigations uncovering things neither of them want to learn which alter their viewpoints about events. Devon doesn't want to acknowledge that his father and cousins could be part of a plot to force the US not to take the fight to Europe. Nor does he want to acknowledge that the campaign against local Jews is being orchestrated by those same relatives. Annie isn't sure who to trust, but knows that it isn't the Boston Police and maybe it isn't Devon.

This was an engaging thriller about a piece of the activities on the Home Front that I hadn't heard about before. I enjoyed the story and the characters. 

Favorite Quote:
Loose lips didn't just sink ships, they also angered parents and scared teenagers who needed to enlist. They confused, terrified, alarmed. The made us worry we were weaker than we feared, vulnerable in a newly dangerous world. 
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

ARC Review: Leave No Trace by A. J. Landau

Leave No Trace

Author:
A. J. Landau
Series: National Parks Thriller
Publication: Minotaur Books (February 27, 2024)

Description: In a daring, brutal act of terrorism, an explosion rocks and topples the Statue of Liberty. Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service is awakened by his boss with that news and sent to New York as the agent-in-charge. Not long after he lands, he learns two things - one that Gina Delgado of the FBI has been placed in charge of the investigation as the lead of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and two, that threats of a second terrorism attack are already being called into the media. While barred from the meetings of the Joint Task Force for his lack of security clearance, Walker finds a young boy among the survivors with a critical piece of information - a video linking the attackers to the assault.

As a radical domestic terrorist group, led by a shadowy figure known only as Jeremiah, threatens further attacks against America's cultural symbols, powerful forces within the government are misleading the investigation to further their own radical agenda.

My Thoughts: LEAVE NO TRACE was an engaging, fast-paced thriller. Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service is called to the site of an explosion that topples the Statue of Liberty and kills more than 600 people. There he meets FBI Agent Gina Delgado and, after a brief tussle for the lead in the investigation, the two work together to find out what happened.

Gina is an expert on explosives which comes in handy since a rare and supposedly well-controlled explosive was used. Michael discovers a young witness who has video of a suspicious boat watching the island just before the explosion. The young boy becomes the target of the terrorists who planned the action, but Michael manages to keep him safe. 

The terrorists have a big, well-coordinated plan to make the events of January 6 look like the dry run they turned out to be. Someone has managed to unite all the disparate groups who want to take down the United States to rebuild it in according to their plan. Gina and Michael need to track down the conspirators before they can begin their new civil war. 

Since the terrorists are beginning their terror spree by destroying national monuments and national parks, we get a look at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the Arch in St. Louis, and Zion National Park as terrorist acts occur. 

I enjoyed this story and like the characters of Michael Walker and Gina Delgado very much. 

Favorite Quote:
"Sure, I will. But I need you to do something for me first. I'm at New York-Presbyterian in downtown Manhattan with Danny Logan, who's being guarded by a park policeman I've never met before named Buckland. Can you text me a picture?"

"Sure, but there's no need. I made the assignment myself, because she's one of the best."

"She?" Michael managed. 

A knock fell on the door, before it eased open to reveal the man wearing Buckland's name tag. "Everything okay in here?"
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Audiobook Review: Shield's Lady by Jayne Ann Krentz

Shield's Lady

Author:
Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrator: Natalie Ross
Series: Lost Colony Trilogy (Book 3)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (September 8, 2009)
Length: 11 hours and 57 minutes

Description: Legends can be dangerous, just ask Sariana Dayne. She sets out to hire one and wakes up married to him. It’s a marriage of infuriating inconvenience as far as Sariana is concerned.

Gryph Chassyn stirs all her senses but he’s one of the mysterious mercenaries known as Shields. Sensible women do not marry such men. But for Gryph, marrying Sariana is a matter of honor, passion and survival. He needs her in ways she cannot even imagine.

Before Sariana can find a way to escape the bond that has been forged between them, she and Gryph are caught up in a desperate quest to save their world. The future looks a little different but some things, like love and passion, and murder never change.

My Thoughts: This science fiction romance written in 1989 was an entertaining story with Krentz's strong, independent characters. Sariana Dayne has fled her home to the flamboyant West when she was chosen for an elite academic academy. She is sure that if she can right the finances of the Avylyn clan of jewelers, her reapplication will be successful.

Unfortunately, in order to right their fortunes, she needs to recover a prisma cutter which has been stolen. To do so, she wants to hire a Shield named Gryph Chassyn who doesn't seem interested in the job. Her plans to drug him and kidnap him so that she can make her business proposal doesn't work out the way she would like.

Gryph has come to the city to look for a bride. He isn't interested in a job, but he becomes very interested in Sariana. He believes that she has the qualities that make a good Shield's mate and that she would be able to give him a son. She isn't interested and, in fact, isn't at all sure she believes any of the legends she's heard about Shields since she arrived in the West. She wouldn't mind having an affair with him though.

He tricks her into marriage with him during their night of passion. And when his informer is killed after telling him the cutter was taken by a rogue Shield, Gryph and Sariana embark on a journey to find the missing cutter and the rogue Shield.

They also discover that the rogue has found an intact prisma ship filled with weapons and being insane is determined to use the weapons in his quest to conquer the planet. Gryph and Sariana have to find a way to work together to defeat the rogue which they manage and to chart a whole new path for Gryph's social class under the guidance of Sariana who uses her knowledge gained in her education in the East to assist. 

This is science fiction lite. It takes place on another planet which was settled some unnamed period of time earlier. The two ships sent to settle were separated when attacked by unknown enemies. One ship was assisted by the Shields who were part of an earlier migration. The Shields managed to carve out a role for themselves and their descendants in the rigid social structure that came along with the colonists. The book's main strengths come in the interesting characters especially Gryph and Sariana and the romance they have. 

It was a fun story. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson & Will Ferguson

I Only Read Murder

Author:
 Ian Ferguson & Will Ferguson
Series: Miranda Abbott Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: MIRA; Original edition (February 27, 2024)

Description: A once-famous TV sleuth
An amateur theater production
An onstage murder
A town full of suspects…


Miranda Abbott, once known for the crime-solving, karate-chopping church pastor she played on network television, has hit hard times. She’s facing ruin when a mysterious postcard arrives, summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest. But when she gets there, nothing is what she expected.

In dire straits, she signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theater. On opening night, one of the actors is murdered, live, in front of the audience. But no one actually saw what happened. Now everyone is under a cloud of suspicion, including the town doctor, the high school drama teacher, an oil-stained car mechanic, an elderly gentleman who may have been in the CIA—and Miranda herself.

My Thoughts: Actress Miranda Abbott is in a bit of a slump in her acting career - a fifteen year slump. After achieving fame as Pastor Fran - crime solver and karate chopper, her career has hit hard times. She's relying on her downtrodden assistant Andrews for paying her rent and taking care of her. She finally hits the bottom when her agent offers her the role of the grandmother in a Metamucil commercial. 

Then she gets a postcard that takes her on a journey to her past - a sixteen hour bus journey. She winds up in Happy Rock, a very small town in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband Edgar had honeymooned there after Pastor Fran tanked. Edgar fell in love with the place and stayed by buying the local bookstore, but Miranda headed back to Hollywood. But now she has nowhere left to go.

Her happy dreams are dashed when she arrives only to have Edgar ask for a divorce. She winds up staying in a B&B owned by one of her biggest fans. Bea even has Pastor Fran nights where the old videotapes are dragged out and played again and again. Determined to ger back with her husband, Miranda auditions for the tenth annual presentation of Death Is the Dickens but only manages to get the one-line part of a maid who dies in the first act. The lead goes to Annette Baillie - former morning show star turned real estate agent and very much a local celebrity. 

When Annette dies in the first act by drinking poison, it is up to Miranda and her new friends to solve the crime and free her now-ex-husband who has been arrested for the crime. There are lots of suspects from the local drama teacher who went to Yale and is constantly butting heads with Annette to the car mechanic who just can't remember his lines and whose business Annette threatened to the local teen Miranda beat out for the part of the dying maid. 

This was an amusing story filled with caricatures more than characters. From the ditzy Miranda to the fanatic Bea and all the rest, the story is filled with intriguing people that I came to care about. I liked the way Miranda kept accusing suspects who were quickly proven innocent. She was persistent and did finally find the correct villain. 

Favorite Quote:
Miranda may not have known it, but the real star of the show had arrived. Envy was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Murder, strangely enough, was not. 
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Monday, February 19, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 19, 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...

This was still another quiet week. The weather remains unseasonable though we did go through a bit of a cold snap this week with temperatures in the single digits in the morning. Next week should see a return to warmer temperatures. There is still no snow in the forecast which I am finding enjoyable. Without snow, I have been taking my car out for little drives which is very unusual for me. I usually don't drive at all from December through February since the roads are so often snow covered. 

I am looking forward to the next season of The Voice which starts next Monday and Spring Training baseball which also starts this week. I got an email informing me of my auto-renewal of MLB.TV which means baseball isn't too far away. The first game I can watch is on February 22 on ESPN featuring the Dodgers and Padres. I can listen to the Braves vs Phillies via MLB.TV on the 27th. The first Braves game I can watch will be on February 28 also with the Phillies. I haven't looked far enough ahead to see when I can watch a game with the new Braves announcers. 

I'm continuing my rereadathon of the In Death series. I have listened to the first 30 of the stories. Next up is Indulgence in Death which is book 31. I also have another audiobook in my plans this week. Since I have the fifth Medlar mystery by Jude Deveraux on my review stack, I need to catch up. I've read the first two in the series and the third is on TBR mountain as an audiobook which I will listen to this week. I have the fourth in the series on my Kindle but may use one of my Audible credits to get the audiobook.

My brother and I have been working diligently to eat the leftovers in the refrigerator, so I haven't tried any new recipes this week. He's off on Monday and Tuesday which means he'll be cooking. This is good because the rest the week he'll be working through the dinner hour which leaves me on my own for dinners. I have no idea what he'll be in the mood to cook but anything is better than having to do the cooking myself. 

Read Last Week
  • Speculations in Sin by Jennifer Ashley (Review; March 5) -- Kat Halloway has to find out who is embezzling and who killed a clerk at a bank if she wants to save her friend's husband from taking the fall for the crime. My review will be posted on February 27.
  • Salvation in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
  • A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams (Review; March 5) -- Socialite Edie Shippen and Doctor Gil Lawless need to track down a serial killer in 1921 Philadelphia. My review will be posted on February 29.
  • Cirque Du Slay by Rob Osler (Review; March 5) -- This mystery was filled with quirky LGBTQ+ characters and was very entertaining. My review will be posted on February 28.
  • Promises in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
  • Kindred in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)
  • The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Audiobook Reread) -- This epic fantasy won a Newbery Honor Award in 1983. I loved it then and still loved it as I heard the story for the first time this week. My review will be posted on March 5.
  • Fantasy in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread) 
  • Black Wolf by Juan Gomez-Jurado (Review; March 12) -- Second in the Antonia Scott thriller series. This one has Jon and Antonia trying to find the widow of a mafia don who is also being searched for by her husband's boss and a mysterious assassin. My review will be posted on March 5.
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