So many words. So little time.
Category: book review
It’s been an excellent writing week! I wrote two book reviews, Starter Villain, by John Scalzi, and Night of the Witch, by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis (review forthcoming). I also got in two fiction-writing sessions! Only 500 words each, but that’s more fiction than I’ve written in a loooong time, so I’m thrilled.
Happy writing!
Title: Starter Villain
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Scifi
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.
Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.
The snark and sarcasm in this made me laugh. And, of course, the cats. Because who doesn’t love super intelligent cats? This was a solid read, if you’re looking for pure entertainment in a not-believable premise. It was entertaining and creative and an easy, quick read. Pure fun, but not a lot of depth. And the dolphins were…underwhelming to me.
John Scalzi isa bestselling author. Starter Villian is his newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Tor in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: Case of the Bleus
Author: Korina Moss
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
What in the bleu blazes is happening in Yarrow Glen now?
Cheesemongers from across the Northwest have come to the Sonoma Valley for the Northwest Cheese Invitational. As owner of the local cheese shop, Curds & Whey, Willa Bauer loves it. The event showcases custom cheese creations, and it’s the perfect time to gather with old colleagues to honor her former boss, the late and grate cheese legend, Max Dumas. He was famous for journeying into the wild bleu yonder to where he aged his award-winning custom Church Bleu. Only Max knew the recipe and location to his beloved cheese, and many are eager to have these revealed at his will reading.
But instead of naming someone to inherit his cheese and its secrets, Max stuns everyone with one cryptic clue. When a fellow cheesemonger dies under mysterious circumstances––the woman they all thought would get the secrets to Max’s prized possession––everyone falls under suspicion. Willa adores Church Bleu as much as the next cheese connoisseur, but it’s not to die for. Is a killer trying to get away with murder…and the cheese?
I would not recommend reading this while hungry…especially if you’re a cheese-lover. The cheeses and other foods in this book sounded wonderful! This is the first book I’ve read in this series, but that wasn’t a problem. I had no problem telling the characters apart or following what was going on. I thought this was a fun little cozy mystery, and I’d be interested to read more.
Korina Moss is an award-winning author and lives in New England. Case of the Bleus is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Press in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: Bright Lights, Big Christmas
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.
In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,
And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?
This was an okay read. I think its main goal was to make NYC seem quirky, charming, and safe. I’ve never been there, but I think that may be a bit inaccurate. Kerry’s brother, Murphy, really was a selfish jerk, and that was basically his entire personality: grouchy jerk. Kerry felt like she flitted from thing to thing, a surface-level person only. I liked the neighborhood and its inhabitants, but this novel didn’t have very much depth.
Mary Kay Andrews is from Florida. Bright Lights, Big Christmas is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
This was an okay writing week: I wrote two book reviews and did some outlining on the fiction story. I wrote reviews for Bright Lights, Big Christmas, by Mary Kay Andrews and Case of the Bleus, by Korina Moss. Both will be out next week. Hopefully I’ll get a bit more reading done this week than last week. Now I’m off to write some fiction.
Happy writing!
Title: The Forest Grimm
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 4 out of 5
“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”
The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.
Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.
Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.
I enjoyed this read, although I felt like it could have used a bit more resolution or development in certain areas. I still had questions at the end, like, why, exactly, Axel was so enamored of Ella? I feel like she used her wish for that, but it was never said. The fairy tale characters were, of course, appropriately dark and evil—Hansel and Gretel especially—so that part made sense, but there were odd bits of things I found disjointed. I liked Clara, although her determination to die was slightly unsettling. This was a solid read, it just left me with some questions.
Kathryn Purdie is a bestselling author and lives in the Rocky Mountains. The Forest Grimm is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
This week, I wrote two book reviews,The Spy’s Daughter, by Bianca M. Schwarz and The Forest Grimm, by Kathryn Purdie. They were both solid reads, but nothing that just blew me away (live tomorrow).
Happy writing!
Title: The Spy’s Daughter
Author: Bianca M. Schwarz
Genre: Historical fiction, mystery, romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Emily March, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Henry March, has all she needs: bountiful wealth, ample beauty, and abundant talent. But will this be enough to secure the one thing she truly a loving marriage and her own family? However, it’s not her illegitimacy that stands in her way, but a mystery her father—an agent of the crown—has never been able to solve.
Max Warthon has twice rescued Emily from the machinations of his sinister grandfather, the Earl of Warthon, enemy of Sir Henry. Max knows that getting too close to his daughter will lead to certain peril, but he cannot resist her. Played out in front of London’s high society, their whirlwind romance attracts everyone’s attention — and raises the ire of the Earl.
With old secrets standing in their way, will Emily and Max be able to unravel the mystery of an ancient hatred and unmask the true enemy? Their happiness and their lives depend on it.
I’ve read all of The Gentleman Spy Mystery series and enjoyed this one. This was a solid read and a nice wrap-up to the series. I thought Max and Emily’s romance was a bit too easy—I expected more obstacles—but it was about what I expected from this series. I don’t really have any problems with the novel. It is what it promises to be: a romance in a historical setting, and I never felt like the characters were in any danger. I expected the HEA ending, and that’s what I got.
Bianca M. Schwarz was born in Germany but now lives in L.A. The Spy’s Daughter is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Central Avenue Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: Main Character Energy
Author: Jamie Varon
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Poppy Banks would rather be writing mysteries than writing listicles for her dead-end job at Thought Buzz. But after a series of rejections, she’s ready to accept life on the sidelines as a plus-size woman. Her aunt Margot is the one person unwilling to give up on her niece’s dreams and tells her so at their secret yearly lunches.
But all of Poppy’s beliefs about herself are challenged when her beloved aunt dies and leaves her niece a grand surprise—a trip to her villa in the French Riviera. There, she learns her aunt intends to leave her stunning villa and secretive writer’s residency to Poppy—if she can finish her novel in six months.
When the writing countdown begins, Poppy realizes she has more to confront than her writer’s block. Family drama, complicated romances and self-doubt all threaten to throw her off course. In this fun and heartwarming debut, Poppy must decide if she can live up to her aunt’s—and her own—desire to be the main character in her own life.
This was a solid romance read. I liked that Poppy won her own mental and emotional battles and learned how to be herself without apology—but also to see things from others’ points-of-view. There weren’t really any surprises in this novel. I figured out Margot’s big secret about page five, but it was a fun read.
Jamie Varon lives in California. Main Character Energy is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: The River Runs South
Author: Audrey Ingram
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
When Camille Taylor’s husband dies unexpectedly, the carefully constructed life she worked so hard to build in Washington, DC, shatters. After struggling for almost a year, she reaches a breaking point, packs up her daughter, and heads for the Alabama coast where she grew up.
The salt air and slow rhythms of the coast soothe Camille’s spirit, but when she meets local fisherman Mack Phillips, she learns that things have changed in her hometown. Runoff from an abandoned development site is polluting the water, and Mack has brought a suit against the site’s owners—Camille’s father among them.
Battling her own fears for the fragile ecosystem of her beloved Mobile Bay, Camille joins her father’s defense team, but the more she learns, the more she wonders if she’s landed on the right side of the fight. Meanwhile, Camille is slowly drawn to Mack’s fearless resolve, his sterling ideals, and finally to the man himself.
Faced with blurred lines between right and wrong, Camille must decide for herself what the next chapter of her life will bring.
Initially, I wasn’t sure I liked Camille. Even though she’d just lost her husband, she came across as cold and unfeeling. Her daughter, however, was adorable, so I kept reading. And I’m so glad I did! I do love a good Southern fiction, and the author really brought life on the Alabama coast to shimmering life. I immediately wanted to visit! I like that the environmental issues weren’t just glossed over, and that Camille could really look at things from both sides. Loved these characters and this read.
Audrey Ingram is from Alabama. The River Runs South is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 