tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41268624452459935912024-03-18T17:01:37.151-06:00The Next 50Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.comBlogger1860125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-8661290112971285372024-03-18T17:00:00.006-06:002024-03-18T17:00:51.943-06:00The Gathering Edge / Sharon Lee & Steve Miller<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0RL-PuwY8DI3GYbWA6fQ0G2tqtpCPMLyw1G100alkiedlH0lmN2QQlA02uw0S_t_bep02SYQkbAwA9Zz1qoJBjZaVC5TKWjG0r7KC2O8mARd1EJdPN8YNB8x04y1wV-pw6QK0Cb1BqFFjX6JOwEYaTVY4Wxsrg4EZ8-qJQdNpOhKKk3LFCWlKhDzw7I/s1024/30753671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="674" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0RL-PuwY8DI3GYbWA6fQ0G2tqtpCPMLyw1G100alkiedlH0lmN2QQlA02uw0S_t_bep02SYQkbAwA9Zz1qoJBjZaVC5TKWjG0r7KC2O8mARd1EJdPN8YNB8x04y1wV-pw6QK0Cb1BqFFjX6JOwEYaTVY4Wxsrg4EZ8-qJQdNpOhKKk3LFCWlKhDzw7I/s320/30753671.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I was fussing around, trying to find something I was excited to read. Of course the books coming due at the library or my book club selection had little to no appeal. I grabbed the next Liaden book from my book cart and it was just the thing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It is always a pleasure to spend time with Theo Waitley and her ship Bechimo. Bechimo is a sophisticated AI and thus a character in its own right. But this universe is hostile to artificial intelligence and the luck runs roughly around this pair. Theo has an excellent crew, tough, smart, and loyal. Bechimo has returned them to one of its favourite quiet places to regroup. Earlier, a ship registered to one of Theo's ancestors appeared in this location. It appears that this spot is the gathering edge of the universe, gathering items from elsewhere. They have secured the empty ship for transport, as it was devoid of crew, unless you count a tree very like the one which has grown to be a symbol of Clan Korval. Thus they acquire a giddy tree in their hydroponic bay.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Suddenly, another ancient ship in distress arrives from the old universe. The only survivors on board are two proto-Yxtrang and one ship's cat. Shortly, Theo has an extremely varied selection of beings under her care and command. The two refugee Yxtrang must learn to communicate in modern languages and make decisions about their future. They are understandably worried and uncertain of Theo's plans for them. She, however, is determined to treat them as guests, not prisoners, to their amazement.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Since the Department of the Interior seems to still be in pursuit of any member of Korval, Theo must plan next moves carefully. Theo, being the honourable person that she is, is unwilling to leave a friend in a bad place and must teach Bechimo to properly evaluate risk, something the ship is strongly averse to. But Theo is Korval—she is a talented pilot and not going to back down from challenges. Similar to good urban fantasy, Theo is assembling her crew, chosen family. Whether she realizes it or not, this is typical Korval behaviour.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">These plot lines are much too numerous and complicated to be resolved in one book. I can hardly wait to read the next one!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book number 515 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQHX5hq11GEyCKLVj0W-B0AQTaZKsyTVn0gbob_EfOyNZ0JFzDHB2A7-ip05zf9Gyl22GRKPFaRMC0cxi_wW9Pjl1f83YjkqI0q8lQOQ2t4UlJVPqRYs8MA2iiUVAfVZ8D5bKhQr-5Qt8MJ2pQOmFr0VPNIThZKYvfKRC1B33U-oJ7oqvA9gok-mGY9Q/s1280/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQHX5hq11GEyCKLVj0W-B0AQTaZKsyTVn0gbob_EfOyNZ0JFzDHB2A7-ip05zf9Gyl22GRKPFaRMC0cxi_wW9Pjl1f83YjkqI0q8lQOQ2t4UlJVPqRYs8MA2iiUVAfVZ8D5bKhQr-5Qt8MJ2pQOmFr0VPNIThZKYvfKRC1B33U-oJ7oqvA9gok-mGY9Q/s320/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></b><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-31447514095442528612024-03-17T11:36:00.000-06:002024-03-17T11:36:17.103-06:00Big Meg / Tim Flannery & Emma Flannery<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc7Uu_TGGXNATGGXO0Qiv0nFYdte363XZSFotzzMyIjCaeqzvGI9UQBnH5s4_QUdXJP0QGPKy5nwI9XDk9VdoCZCK1-OTknatA0nu4yz6rqTNfINLX3OkSn-DTpjWodwdmgZUNWsqCopYeYhpLIb3WZ9mEz5RD0qpNaHIGDC7VQBHKYzQ68QmVUNyNyY/s500/175749528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">R<img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc7Uu_TGGXNATGGXO0Qiv0nFYdte363XZSFotzzMyIjCaeqzvGI9UQBnH5s4_QUdXJP0QGPKy5nwI9XDk9VdoCZCK1-OTknatA0nu4yz6rqTNfINLX3OkSn-DTpjWodwdmgZUNWsqCopYeYhpLIb3WZ9mEz5RD0qpNaHIGDC7VQBHKYzQ68QmVUNyNyY/s320/175749528.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>3.7 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Free Range Reading</i></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I have developed many odd interests over the last 60 years. Paleontology has been a long lasting love. My father used to tell me that I knew the names of “all the dinosaurs" by the time I was three (an exaggeration I'm sure). In the last decade or so, I've also become fascinated with fossil fishes. Attendance at a lecture/slide show by the artist Ray Troll sparked my interest (check out his website for fabulous fin art).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Anyone who has read Peter Benchley's </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/126232.Jaws__Jaws___1_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Jaws (Jaws, #1) by Peter Benchley">Jaws</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> will understand the lure of the gigantic prehistoric shark Megalodon. Shark fossils are particularly scanty, as their skeletons are mostly cartilaginous rather than bone and cartilage doesn't preserve well in the fossil record. However it is amazing what scientists have been able to piece together from what there is available: range maps, possible birthing localities, diets, possible habits and causes of extinction (although the last two items seem rather more speculative).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The ocean is a mysterious place to most of us and its predators are a source of fascination. There is good reason that there are many shark gods envisioned by the people of Oceania. Our current world has an impoverished ocean, with sharks and other fish, whales, even corals and other small creatures in decline. Nevertheless, there are those who would like to believe that the Megalodon still lurks in the depths. I suppose anything is possible, but it seems to me that there just aren't enough food species left to maintain a sustainable population of this enormous shark. But I think it is natural, in a world where so many species teeter on the edge of extinction, to hope that this awesome predator is still out there.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDJfRr4koXQyFLXs9oUr35kE7Ge01l3tw1Kkyugj_1kaL8LELl-r2BDhQTuzhfryhE_QeVbZKIDIpJ1Gtjygk07zRN9V4s08h7I7hINKJcdt0jINOWoSdmbAKPHmAmGo9bZo3wLa8319y69UKiRykOZMnU4WwRP9ZuFeigJDt507SxZ2NnT64vVuNLWs/s1020/BGRpic-Recovered-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="1020" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDJfRr4koXQyFLXs9oUr35kE7Ge01l3tw1Kkyugj_1kaL8LELl-r2BDhQTuzhfryhE_QeVbZKIDIpJ1Gtjygk07zRN9V4s08h7I7hINKJcdt0jINOWoSdmbAKPHmAmGo9bZo3wLa8319y69UKiRykOZMnU4WwRP9ZuFeigJDt507SxZ2NnT64vVuNLWs/s320/BGRpic-Recovered-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I've read other books by Tim Flannery which I also found enjoyable. He provides accurate information (although paleontology is a science prone to revision as new specimens are studied) and he writes in a clear, accessible style. I get the impression that he truly loves sharing his knowledge. If you are particularly interested in fossil sharks, I would also recommend </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30334188.Resurrecting_the_Shark_A_Scientific_Obsession_and_the_Mavericks_Who_Solved_the_Mystery_of_a_270_Million_Year_Old_Fossil" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Resurrecting the Shark A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil by Susan Ewing">Resurrecting the Shark: A Scientific Obsession and the Mavericks Who Solved the Mystery of a 270-Million-Year-Old Fossil</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">. If fossil fishes in general are your jam, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3402331.The_Rise_of_Fishes_500_Million_Years_of_Evolution" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="The Rise of Fishes 500 Million Years of Evolution by John A. Long">The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> might suit you. If you are intrigued by the connection between fish and land animals, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1662160.Your_Inner_Fish_a_Journey_into_the_3_5_Billion_Year_History_of_the_Human_Body" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Your Inner Fish a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin">Your Inner Fish: a Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> is a great choice.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUblA1dasksCVp6P-zsXhMaB9ArjtkeiVY-0bpleebGpltYcaQ63Rqb095m7TdL02uzAZ6ckWpUEVg-ox0UbznwxnZQIKvCrjGDoB3W6SJNYjm3ra_mzZAoMLx4S3MW8V647himofYYoT_6ovLGbbEYkJQDI8XQ6-24Erddn8q8QJwW_PrtJ4OIex3hs/s894/chicken_reading_a_book__by_ladyskysword_dgjce3i-pre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="894" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUblA1dasksCVp6P-zsXhMaB9ArjtkeiVY-0bpleebGpltYcaQ63Rqb095m7TdL02uzAZ6ckWpUEVg-ox0UbznwxnZQIKvCrjGDoB3W6SJNYjm3ra_mzZAoMLx4S3MW8V647himofYYoT_6ovLGbbEYkJQDI8XQ6-24Erddn8q8QJwW_PrtJ4OIex3hs/s320/chicken_reading_a_book__by_ladyskysword_dgjce3i-pre.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-7985488991110344542024-03-12T11:29:00.003-06:002024-03-12T11:29:58.606-06:00Find Me / Anne Frasiet<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OukylFQiCuHYVPfQIzxPQxxK66DvnALGMXJXET5-dL9pl8BHT2SCherSGJJqsGy2N3aPtHVkahPsoDrSGm8CYidQ5TjBhQN_4YYKQE_I_38vEN_YoHTElK0KC04o2_gampkCYE9wRAQpKW15b3uahiSuZUx-nP9e8aJnMcOiWy5ZJo3dhYXl6NTwHzk/s500/49541770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OukylFQiCuHYVPfQIzxPQxxK66DvnALGMXJXET5-dL9pl8BHT2SCherSGJJqsGy2N3aPtHVkahPsoDrSGm8CYidQ5TjBhQN_4YYKQE_I_38vEN_YoHTElK0KC04o2_gampkCYE9wRAQpKW15b3uahiSuZUx-nP9e8aJnMcOiWy5ZJo3dhYXl6NTwHzk/s320/49541770.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">2024 Re-read</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I had forgotten that the main character, Reni Fisher, was so focused on birds, an obsession of mine over the years. I'm unsure why I felt the need to read this again, but it was a very strong urge and that may have been a factor. I am bumping the rating from 3 stars up to 4, reasoning that wanting to reread it and reading it just as quickly the second time indicates that I am really engaged with the work.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Reni is the daughter of serial killer Benjamin Fisher, used by him as a lure for his victims while she was a child. A heavy burden to bear and the major reason that she became an FBI agent. A mental episode where she mistakes her partner for her father leads her to retire from the Bureau and retreat to the desert. She is persuaded to assist Agent Daniel Ellis when her father seems willing to give up locations of his victims. Little does she know that Daniel has his own dark history.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">If you are curious about nonfiction concerning the families of these murderers, I suggest looking for </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38915935.A_Serial_Killer_s_Daughter_My_Story_of_Faith__Love__and_Overcoming" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="A Serial Killer's Daughter My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming by Kerri Rawson">A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">. Go into it aware, however, that it is truly about the daughter. (She makes it plain that far too many people are way too interested in her father and have completely ignored her.) Also interesting is </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/482198.The_Phantom_Prince_My_Life_with_Ted_Bundy" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="The Phantom Prince My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall">The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, a memoir by a woman who was involved with that notorious man. These people are collateral damage in the killers' lives.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-25078881676461083162024-03-10T22:36:00.004-06:002024-03-10T22:36:34.276-06:00Cryoburn / Lois McMaster Bujold<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOgtqkCX2mgMuZzOGUBh7RilL-LuQHVf3xpZM54j2rhNNZgWQZ8O6LQ5yzHBYSf1ZNXioslyby-xN8hcsFbidtjImnVaY89s_vd6QZAH1rU4rL-Z6dqWit1BwCLv0V3aIHFlXXcbHQm5kmTdezOG-iVgz4hUMD-xBzc6qWX8LoJffInZVdQmcga5marE/s475/7841670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOgtqkCX2mgMuZzOGUBh7RilL-LuQHVf3xpZM54j2rhNNZgWQZ8O6LQ5yzHBYSf1ZNXioslyby-xN8hcsFbidtjImnVaY89s_vd6QZAH1rU4rL-Z6dqWit1BwCLv0V3aIHFlXXcbHQm5kmTdezOG-iVgz4hUMD-xBzc6qWX8LoJffInZVdQmcga5marE/s320/7841670.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Another wild whirl with Miles Vorkosigan at its centre. He does surf the chaos with remarkable skill. As a reader, one sympathizes with Armsman Roic, who must try to protect the Lord Auditor. Miles has been sent to figure out what, if anything, is untoward about the cryogenic preservation business on Kibou-daini as it looks to expand to Barrayaran territory. A bit of an exploration of whether it is worthwhile or even moral to try to cheat death through this method, being frozen until there is a cure for whatever ailed you. And there is indeed something rotten in the state of Denmark (or Kibou-daini, as the case may be).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Miles, who seems to collect strays wherever he goes, soon acquires a young man whose mother seems likely to have the dirt that the investigation needs. Unfortunately the cryocorp goons seem to have reached her first and she is in cryogenic storage, quite literally on ice. In his usual inimitable fashion, Miles devises a plan to extract and revive her.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Rogue cryogenic facilities, a menagerie of animals, two children, a stunned planetary consul, an arson attempt, kidnapping, plus a business deal involving Lord Mark, this book has all that. It's the usual Vorkosigan experience. The epilogue, however, broke my heart. 💔</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book number 514 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Um9jygv6ZRu_hAmWOv8HbprmQwVzbuJJIWT7VSYfUE0_doocOBvGJSCUw8V-Q5t0PceAkvPi6kbtaQCADTbiPdkyldJJxMUoExfF8JmGvE1at2aKbt-hJqV5X4Z-yIysm9kC7kvZhePHoqzSEJZgHABv5762uBf4cP3IZvgpsEnsljWG00ivFMeUadk/s1280/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Um9jygv6ZRu_hAmWOv8HbprmQwVzbuJJIWT7VSYfUE0_doocOBvGJSCUw8V-Q5t0PceAkvPi6kbtaQCADTbiPdkyldJJxMUoExfF8JmGvE1at2aKbt-hJqV5X4Z-yIysm9kC7kvZhePHoqzSEJZgHABv5762uBf4cP3IZvgpsEnsljWG00ivFMeUadk/s320/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></b><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-80467184692738723872024-03-10T12:55:00.000-06:002024-03-10T12:55:01.004-06:00Trade Secret / Sharon Lee & Steve Miller<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5xH5GVve3Q6WniqKhQAM5hkvLYAWGdI7AkP8gwjOtK8urcmzGc4a43tPUW4LMSEa2LdcouA0r2zv1UFODEAcoHbs2ulEBqb6wFDGY5rm1zYIimTAo3o9Wp9q7OhoZUbFSwhMzNQQlAAWEC4DGfqplM4_4Azrt2FbWppb2b7DSIhn4kXk-rnmJZ33C9E/s300/13544081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="197" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5xH5GVve3Q6WniqKhQAM5hkvLYAWGdI7AkP8gwjOtK8urcmzGc4a43tPUW4LMSEa2LdcouA0r2zv1UFODEAcoHbs2ulEBqb6wFDGY5rm1zYIimTAo3o9Wp9q7OhoZUbFSwhMzNQQlAAWEC4DGfqplM4_4Azrt2FbWppb2b7DSIhn4kXk-rnmJZ33C9E/s1600/13544081.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">How did I miss the fourth book of this series? It was time to backtrack and patch this hole in my Liaden knowledge. I appreciate how Lee and Miller follow many characters, keeping their story telling fresh. This, then, is the second installment of the adventures of one Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin, raised on the Terran ship Gobelyn's Market (such a clever name) but adopted by the Liaden master trader van'Deelin.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Never before has a Terran been adopted and trained as a trader. As a result, there is resentment among certain Liaden clans, who feel that associating with humans is beneath their dignity. Surely Jethri cannot understand their complex system of melanti, Balance. Unfortunately for them, Jethri is quite competent in his understanding of most aspects of trade and of Liaden society. He has had exemplary education, after all.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">However Jethri encountered resentment on the Terran family ship also. The current captain disliked him for quite unaccountable reasons, refusing him pilot training and forcing him off ship. Only by a stroke of good luck (or was it bad luck?) did he find his way to his new Liaden adoption. In this volume, he discovers that his biological father's work may account for this situation and he must set about recovering items inherited from that man. He also learns of his close relationship to that mysterious man known only as Uncle to most of the universe.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Jethri gets to grow up, learning about piloting, getting experience at trading, having confidence, not to mention how to conduct himself with young women. Like all the Liaden books that I have read, there is plenty of space travel, subterfuge, and action. I hope I will meet young Jethri again in the future.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book number 513 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzw8ZlKMH5qJN04gGVxb8pm-HEb4-HEtoS_lo40dbZjj7C0tYMrgCeNfmWS_bkcH33uwOrcMT2hbhsvmsCkHCy6t2FUcPqxuoCEIuN1YB8xhY_nx-UhyEnKdAUEaQShe2Gaz3sDhaK0dFqHfuQdGIJbWPPDUo6v2Q7C-NdUGLpE6ogrbqp60SyiVt8PA/s1280/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzw8ZlKMH5qJN04gGVxb8pm-HEb4-HEtoS_lo40dbZjj7C0tYMrgCeNfmWS_bkcH33uwOrcMT2hbhsvmsCkHCy6t2FUcPqxuoCEIuN1YB8xhY_nx-UhyEnKdAUEaQShe2Gaz3sDhaK0dFqHfuQdGIJbWPPDUo6v2Q7C-NdUGLpE6ogrbqp60SyiVt8PA/s320/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></b><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-22640582781249510702024-03-09T19:30:00.004-07:002024-03-09T19:30:43.004-07:00Twilight's Dawn / Anne Bishop<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmAXSC1fWHC-euRigI0BJcBUx6Lra853OnCN6ylpg6YT0q106YI4k9VKSTWl9E9VKU9dySVE2rz73mJEZEoFnKACfHybmCIVQpo7tnqiPT3bMG-AldSbkVtv298G10dPMjK188dEAHPytSGg8lC5z08C9MG8HMRFiUbuw59NUdPwsl7oQrybfkMfhR_E/s272/8315340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="180" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKmAXSC1fWHC-euRigI0BJcBUx6Lra853OnCN6ylpg6YT0q106YI4k9VKSTWl9E9VKU9dySVE2rz73mJEZEoFnKACfHybmCIVQpo7tnqiPT3bMG-AldSbkVtv298G10dPMjK188dEAHPytSGg8lC5z08C9MG8HMRFiUbuw59NUdPwsl7oQrybfkMfhR_E/s1600/8315340.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p>I didn't realize when I started this book that it was a collection of four shorter works rather than one continuous story. But it features the same crowd and deals with issues following from the previous books, hooking my interest quite easily. I must say that I find this imaginative world to be a bit on the silly side, but the lives and loves of the characters keep me reading.</p><p>These four vignettes take us far into the future compared to the last book. It's like each section was an idea that the author needed to write, but none of them required a whole novel to explore. But it does act like stepping stones, transitioning us to a new generation, and giving her new scope for the subsequent books.</p><p>Get ready to say goodbye to a couple of longstanding characters while welcoming new children, who grow up to fill their parents' lives with excitement. Young Jaenelle Sadi in particular is going to lead her father Daemon a merry dance. And it's not just the genetic children—there are a number of strays who get folded into the family in these stories and who will feature in the next volume, according to my snooping ahead. After a long hiatus (2011-2020), Bishop has produced three more books centered on these youngsters. Their elders are too settled to provide the necessary drama!</p><p>Not to everyone's taste, but fun and fast. </p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book number 512 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdIDgDOi4Nzhx5-8pD3QE7qB0B5XwPMQZrjTQ8uvxbicnDkoPZxHl5z07cO2Alt75xZVp4MimGZQkpo68p_KH6jGLLcZz4PDsmmXsQ6_6AnDAWDh1zzwLTCGpeG04SNgfR_Sy-6_X7XnN9K9ZzDplOmxOK9M2XYVyCoDsuYzjc9D-urYgtjdL7LSLH9w/s1280/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXdIDgDOi4Nzhx5-8pD3QE7qB0B5XwPMQZrjTQ8uvxbicnDkoPZxHl5z07cO2Alt75xZVp4MimGZQkpo68p_KH6jGLLcZz4PDsmmXsQ6_6AnDAWDh1zzwLTCGpeG04SNgfR_Sy-6_X7XnN9K9ZzDplOmxOK9M2XYVyCoDsuYzjc9D-urYgtjdL7LSLH9w/s320/63fec4ccef07b2998ff26a9b_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></b><p></p><div><br /></div>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-88167372792830861182024-03-08T14:43:00.003-07:002024-03-08T14:43:49.845-07:00Mrs. McGinty's Dead / Agatha Christie<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28BqD7dM0ULxJQE8aLo7coRpKU8E44jXjRUyQ-oK2joxCeBeOOKKyWDx4Lqk7zn6Q2ascXFxtQs6K-AGRx28294P-W7r88fUcmjwkD6e4oIZKLP5EYiwXIw7CtE4tsUvH8VrPBhg6Dalv72gBiTkqlGqYJ329U07dnEWiyWhfyjAaDUsQxaFsO5UkPMs/s475/10632315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28BqD7dM0ULxJQE8aLo7coRpKU8E44jXjRUyQ-oK2joxCeBeOOKKyWDx4Lqk7zn6Q2ascXFxtQs6K-AGRx28294P-W7r88fUcmjwkD6e4oIZKLP5EYiwXIw7CtE4tsUvH8VrPBhg6Dalv72gBiTkqlGqYJ329U07dnEWiyWhfyjAaDUsQxaFsO5UkPMs/s320/10632315.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">”How do I know?“ said Mrs. Oliver crossly. “How do I know why I ever thought of the revolting man? I must have been mad! Why a Finn when I know nothing of Finland? Why a vegetarian? Why all the idiomatic mannerisms he's got? These things just <i>happen</i>. You try something—and people seem to like it—and then you go on—and before you know where you are, you've got someone like that maddening Sven Hjerson tied to you for life. And people even write and say how fond you must be of him. Fond of him? If I met that bony, gangling, vegetable-eating Finn in real life, I'd do a better murder than any I've ever invented.”</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Ariadne Oliver, the mystery writer, is allowed to speak some home truths about being a well known author. Her bony, vegetarian Finn is the fictional stand in for one rotund gourmand Belgian! No wonder Hercule Poirot spends the first pages of this book wishing that he could somehow spend more time eating. Following which, he must stay in guest accommodation where his hostess not only is clueless about cooking, but positively reckless with food safety.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Mrs. Oliver is delightful, declaring trees to be preferable to people, much more restful. Poirot is his usual puffed up self, with irritating mannerisms that Christie seems to regret creating for him. She made a lot of cash from him though, so he was good for something. Honestly, this is the thirty-second installment featuring him, and I know there are more. Colonel Race, Inspector Battle and even Jane Marple would be within their rights to feel neglected.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I've met Mrs. Oliver before in </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16297.Cards_on_the_Table__Hercule_Poirot___15_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot, #15) by Agatha Christie">Cards on the Table</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, but I liked her much more in this novel. I look forward to seeing her again in other titles. (And I could wish for more books that included her too!)</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-82757861043205687302024-03-06T23:15:00.005-07:002024-03-09T15:56:05.828-07:00Aftermarket Afterlife / Seanan McGuire<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGP__hUukz7p6Uj5hjg6ankL-Gj4vOcuB9WRTZOVKhBRHz4FjNlIwYrrTcVr8PAvY4C5NGDdGqVSd0nTWgiGiQlZomFX0-s68rBZwEp2P5KORW92brtqGNGPSzMLeqYxr13TSUum2fvLH3BWKd-P8gsMp0tRWi4AbILUjKf9fzK8GkpJISFI4wTql8m2Q/s500/198139926.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGP__hUukz7p6Uj5hjg6ankL-Gj4vOcuB9WRTZOVKhBRHz4FjNlIwYrrTcVr8PAvY4C5NGDdGqVSd0nTWgiGiQlZomFX0-s68rBZwEp2P5KORW92brtqGNGPSzMLeqYxr13TSUum2fvLH3BWKd-P8gsMp0tRWi4AbILUjKf9fzK8GkpJISFI4wTql8m2Q/s320/198139926.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book 8 of the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge</i></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This series, which began as good, fluffy fun, has taken a rather serious turn. This volume is narrated by Mary Dunlavey, former crossroads ghost, now full time caretaker/ babysitter for the Price family. The whole Price family has been sort of reunited, since Alice managed to rescue her husband Thomas (see </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61266478.Backpacking_Through_Bedlam__InCryptid___12_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Backpacking Through Bedlam (InCryptid, #12) by Seanan McGuire">Backpacking Through Bedlam</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">). Honestly, having this many reckless, violent people together in one family compound seems like an extraordinarily bad idea.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">However, they have no time for family bonding. The Covenant of St. George, the group that the Prices split from decades ago, have come to North America with two goals: their leader, Leonard Cunningham, wants Antimony Price as his wife (if she can be suitably convinced to abandon her family and her values); and they also want to purge the continent’s cryptid populations, especially the recently rediscovered dragon, William, who is responsible for bringing dragons back from the brink of extinction. They have more operatives and more resources. But the Price family knows how to fight dirty.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Actually, this plan is largely Mary's doing. She devises the plan to make victory too expensive for the Covenant. In doing so, she pushes herself to a dangerous degree. And I have to give Seanan McGuire credit—she doesn't go easy on her fictional family. There are deaths, y'all, and not just peripheral characters. (When I first started the book, I ignored the family tree at the beginning, thinking I knew them all too well to need it. I was soon refreshing my memory as the family reunion got complicated.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">If you've come this far, as I have, with McGuire's family of cryptozoologists, you are fond of them and their antics. I mourn with them for their losses and wonder how things will shake out. Thank goodness that Ms. McGuire can pump out the fiction, as I want to know the upshot. I have to hope there's another book in the offing.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjIwzsh2-7Z3fmgkTb7DFlRayCAxOG5H8sEAsdQ10ca08tmla-t5T64fhi-ZrCmsk_4f22a84fHyIqwn6Vsd20ndw9PsLbWykMOGNGEMz_Y0sWlGlF0wYWJsXm0X8a68H9-MxRPW_uLNEQgxRSYOYY1LSYlmcgVNn0aabUejjk456giToIX6Pt9vessw/s1010/read-your-hoard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1010" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjIwzsh2-7Z3fmgkTb7DFlRayCAxOG5H8sEAsdQ10ca08tmla-t5T64fhi-ZrCmsk_4f22a84fHyIqwn6Vsd20ndw9PsLbWykMOGNGEMz_Y0sWlGlF0wYWJsXm0X8a68H9-MxRPW_uLNEQgxRSYOYY1LSYlmcgVNn0aabUejjk456giToIX6Pt9vessw/s320/read-your-hoard.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-41046337521117649052024-03-05T16:24:00.002-07:002024-03-05T16:24:10.343-07:00Grave Secret / Charlaine Harris<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hmO3nZpPV1qHJYYGjeYAyt8L4uKxxZ1wHNtz5fvAcRQuGhAQ6wASOqnW1VEUN38VuI0fjBXKfa2tgED7rtji6nh4EygqqagcK4NzNo4fTrgveg1By9NKrqZcnL_Tjr-CeJCpYrx8kZ5-Q-fb6_cHuYNjefD-IZI42aeOMUx93_fIPKPat8SCJi5dUDs/s377/7042282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hmO3nZpPV1qHJYYGjeYAyt8L4uKxxZ1wHNtz5fvAcRQuGhAQ6wASOqnW1VEUN38VuI0fjBXKfa2tgED7rtji6nh4EygqqagcK4NzNo4fTrgveg1By9NKrqZcnL_Tjr-CeJCpYrx8kZ5-Q-fb6_cHuYNjefD-IZI42aeOMUx93_fIPKPat8SCJi5dUDs/s320/7042282.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This is the book where Harper and Tolliver learn the details of their sister Cameron’s fate. (That's in the cover blurb, it's not a spoiler.) We've had four books to get to know Harper and her ability to find and identify the dead. Harris started right in the first book letting us know that someday Harper would find her sister.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">But this duo have a few adventures to get through before the payoff. Harper is hired by a ranch family to determine the cause of death of their family patriarch. But Lizzie, the major share holder, lets Harper wander the cemetery a bit and investigate other graves. Apparently she finds something that someone present didn't like, because bad things begin to happen to people around Harper.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Matthew (Tolliver's father and Harper's stepfather) has been released from jail and turns up like a bad penny. The eldest child, Mark, seems determined to reunite the family. Needless to say, Harper and Tolliver are not fans of this plan and they must endure repeated visits from both of these men. They are of the opinion that trusting a former addict is a bad bet.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Between the professional and personal complications, it's difficult for our main characters to concentrate on figuring out what's going on. So it is helpful when Manfred Bernardo show up like a magician's trick and is willing to be helpful.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">When I reached the end, I felt like everything had been wrapped up neatly. Perhaps the way all the threads came together was a little too good to be true, but it left me with a good feeling. I would recommend this series to any Charlaine Harris fans out there.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-89265324063945052672024-03-03T19:32:00.004-07:002024-03-03T19:32:44.043-07:00The Taken Ones / Jess Lourey<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziJxQLpQqnzyp5FZChGcoUT-Oco-perVGLzTSbT26fx7eeuIrG3LOGy9C5dlr2z280huyz88_JjPCyKa84d13wzOvfrnOImEn3VZlZduXMCzd7Ho0-_yVbVEu6oI-bc1-_vh1S0TCNTanPMmXiLhgipebeChoTwhDH18qg9_MSLsnZOdeug_PbP9rAZs/s500/62726715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziJxQLpQqnzyp5FZChGcoUT-Oco-perVGLzTSbT26fx7eeuIrG3LOGy9C5dlr2z280huyz88_JjPCyKa84d13wzOvfrnOImEn3VZlZduXMCzd7Ho0-_yVbVEu6oI-bc1-_vh1S0TCNTanPMmXiLhgipebeChoTwhDH18qg9_MSLsnZOdeug_PbP9rAZs/s320/62726715.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I picked up this book with anticipation and trepidation combined. Anticipation because Lourey's writing draws me in. Trepidation because her book </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57836903.The_Quarry_Girls" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey">The Quarry Girls</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> scared the giblets out of me. This story was gripping without scaring me silly, probably because it dealt with issues foreign to me. There were still occasions when I had to go do housework and calm down.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Van Reed is an unusual law enforcement officer. She grew up on a commune run by a psychopath, Frank. She has unresolved trauma issues, including really awful nightmares about horrible things being done to helpless people. A news story early in her career has revealed that she is getting true visions of actual crimes. Her first partner on the police force believed her—she would tell him her “hunches" and he would do the investigative work necessary to confirm them and make a lawful arrest. When he dies, she is vindictively hounded out of the police department. She finds a haven in the Cold Case branch where her main tormentor had limited access to her.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Then a woman is found buried alive and her identity is determined to be that of a girl abducted in 1980. The case is known as the Taken Ones, two little girls vanishing on a hot summer day. Van immediately claims the cold case files, but her nemesis, Comstock, is working the current murder and he has lost none of his hatred for Van. However Van has a good team and the forensic scientist, Harry Steinbeck, is a solid supporter (with his own issues). But when Van finally confesses one of her visions to him, she is justifiably worried that he too will think she's a nut job. Instead, he arranges an intervention which reveals the truth of her visions and cements their partnership.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Reed and Steinbeck make a good team. Steinbeck is logical, reasonable and neat. Reed is emotional, excitable and a slob. They are complementary in so many ways. A second book featuring this duo will be coming out this fall and I have my fingers crossed that my library will order it.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-29070402682799420182024-03-03T11:03:00.000-07:002024-03-03T11:03:04.340-07:00Endangered / Pamela Beason<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lwnOk_TjzQa2Wpiy28FBK_IRdAXPwDZoRUtVGgNMAaTQSPLiilI-VzmvpHzrf9HmXbud8aFhdePoEDHaFr1sdyod0504Wpu0fpx2LmpcIhdu8n69Gm_cg1mXQV7k7jwux4V4mts1UF0Q2wmEM3EhTS3XNZm2Sgv1XtiBiryoq6OwYH9sAvorMJ30Byk/s500/27189019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lwnOk_TjzQa2Wpiy28FBK_IRdAXPwDZoRUtVGgNMAaTQSPLiilI-VzmvpHzrf9HmXbud8aFhdePoEDHaFr1sdyod0504Wpu0fpx2LmpcIhdu8n69Gm_cg1mXQV7k7jwux4V4mts1UF0Q2wmEM3EhTS3XNZm2Sgv1XtiBiryoq6OwYH9sAvorMJ30Byk/s320/27189019.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I have recently discovered a new (to me) flavour of mystery: the wilderness mystery, usually investigated by a young woman in the ranger service or a wildlife biologist. I'm thinking of Nevada Barr's </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Anna Pigeon</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, Claire Kells' </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">National Parks Mysteries</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett’s </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Nell Ward</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, even Anne Frasier's </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Inland Empire</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> series or Annelise Ryan's </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Monster Hunter Mysteries</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">. Add to the list Pamela Beason and her </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Sam Westin</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">All of these feature intelligent, capable women doing their best in challenging situations. I wouldn't trade places with any of them, but I enjoy reading their exploits. At first, I was worried that Summer (Sam) Westin would follow in the footsteps of Alex Carter in </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">A Solitude of Wolverines</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, which wasn't my cup of tea at all. Sam's struggle to prevent the hunting of mountain lions verged on the obsessive, like Alex, and there were “evil hunters" involved, but she never became the rather Terminator-like character that Alex was. And the challenges Sam faces were realistic-ish. I did think that Beason put her main character through a physical torture test (rather similar to Barr's writing about Anna Pigeon).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Sam is discovering that her journalist maybe-boyfriend is an opportunistic jerk, who is willing to “report” anything to get ahead. She is definitely feeling used, but there is an attractive FBI agent to distract Summer from this situation. I couldn't help liking Agent Chase Perez, who also seems to have a bit of a thing for Sam.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I'm sold. I need to read book two. My library doesn't have it but a neighboring city's does. Interlibrary loan for the win.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-1271929716609589252024-02-27T14:15:00.002-07:002024-02-27T14:15:11.355-07:00Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials / Ovidia Yu<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nCbbV1g8krMRHNmF_rK9RS4lSb4PQLshtNu6SYZAmZuuLUCsxY_Z4UzG_k0v4MPNAgGAEekqNTH5-io-C0Obr3YVvC4zmPdzMDlJi1hiLoVERVKPMGMBXA6TS2eCBPwj5pS9fxaNEZnBywyaXQ0qNJKuxTWV_QW4gyxJY2PsA9NLof5e4CfnCJyTW7A/s400/20530957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="266" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nCbbV1g8krMRHNmF_rK9RS4lSb4PQLshtNu6SYZAmZuuLUCsxY_Z4UzG_k0v4MPNAgGAEekqNTH5-io-C0Obr3YVvC4zmPdzMDlJi1hiLoVERVKPMGMBXA6TS2eCBPwj5pS9fxaNEZnBywyaXQ0qNJKuxTWV_QW4gyxJY2PsA9NLof5e4CfnCJyTW7A/s320/20530957.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I recently read </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61827543.Vera_Wong_s_Unsolicited_Advice_for_Murderers" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto">Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> and really enjoyed it and it reminded me of Aunty Lee. I read </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17349206.Aunty_Lee_s_Delights__Singaporean_Mystery__1_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Aunty Lee's Delights (Singaporean Mystery #1) by Ovidia Yu">Aunty Lee's Delights</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> for a Halloween Bingo a while ago and this seemed to be a good time to visit Singapore again. I had forgotten what an unstoppable force Rosie Lee can be!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It seems that everyone knows Aunty Lee, by reputation if not personally. And she is interested in other people, analyzing them via food: what do they like and how do they eat it? She sees Edmond Yong sneaking the more expensive food items from her buffet and know that he's cheap, but he also eats as much as he can, revealing that he's short of money.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Rosie is willing to go visit people she barely knows, people she knows a bit, old friends, whoever might have the information she craves. She always packs up a selection of delicious food to grease the wheels of social interaction and give a reason for her visit. As the police inspector observes, trying to stop her is like attempting to prevent ice from melting in the sunshine.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">When everyone else is satisfied with the simple answer, Aunty Lee wants the correct answer. She's like a dog with a bone, unwilling to let go of a problem until she's sure she's found the truth. I love her determination and willingness to go after the information. Like Miss Marple, she's willing to act like a dotty old lady to disguise her purposes. I will be happy to read more of her adventures.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-5029586088944989682024-02-26T08:45:00.001-07:002024-02-26T08:45:07.182-07:00Shards of Hope / Nalini Singh<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-Khvt0uBgIrWFuysdUT_Ki9m39nxIilv7lr7u21GBNVKAlFbn5303R8u4G2gt0ssu6IL21febjbvpduN7K_w3f6pyc0qWaSAmX49RHsKiFDnF1YcACEn7kVYJcXjWi8q-Zaak8GiVi8kAFDTb157xrsbLo5-saQpPVAa0aTaPZi_biYk23dQEIjJVD0/s475/17159943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-Khvt0uBgIrWFuysdUT_Ki9m39nxIilv7lr7u21GBNVKAlFbn5303R8u4G2gt0ssu6IL21febjbvpduN7K_w3f6pyc0qWaSAmX49RHsKiFDnF1YcACEn7kVYJcXjWi8q-Zaak8GiVi8kAFDTb157xrsbLo5-saQpPVAa0aTaPZi_biYk23dQEIjJVD0/s320/17159943.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>3.75 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The last several books in this series have largely focused on the Psy world, which is very much in flux. Silence, the suppression of all emotion, has been broken. Psy who experience emotion are no longer sent for rehabilitation, but that doesn't mean that they know how to handle it. The return of sexual desire is especially confusing and Singh's characters often wish for a manual (and are quite excited when they realize there are such things). They share tips and files and watch online porn as training videos. Adorable!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The personal is political and while the new Council is finding its way a shadowy Consortium has decided to seize power. They are sneaky and determined to sow discord between humans, Changelings and Psy. Even between various groups within those main divisions. The elite Psy force, the Arrows, have their hands full. Their leader, Aden, is determined to provide a supportive training program, rather than the brutal regime of the past. He wants a family structure for these men, women, and children who must learn to control their dangerous psychic abilities. There have been kidnappings of marine Changelings to be dealt with, in addition to the Consortium's meddling (assassination attempts, financial shenanigans, etc.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Since the Psy are my favourites among the three populations, these books have been a great deal of fun for me. I love watching them relearn how to love and be compassionate to their children and each other. My Psy are thawing, leaving behind the icy state of Silence.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-13026175647346523542024-02-25T09:22:00.004-07:002024-02-25T09:22:38.368-07:00An Ice Cold Grave / Charlaine Harris<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiC_LgmzcvW0RjSQl74Bu2v6RAw5OLQFvhrxUSIgC46qZydFvA62BOH2_AJqafo_zDhI4ggy8wKYhyphenhyphen01ZXtpdVbxmR-r34DZn-nPz5_AsDT15t0V0CyA4Gb0j8msqcnSKeQ7MrYDTZksdwTLD7EahsK07PmnoHLLOYMKqgqGJKIIldPGmYM3T8pYh2fE/s400/7903352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiC_LgmzcvW0RjSQl74Bu2v6RAw5OLQFvhrxUSIgC46qZydFvA62BOH2_AJqafo_zDhI4ggy8wKYhyphenhyphen01ZXtpdVbxmR-r34DZn-nPz5_AsDT15t0V0CyA4Gb0j8msqcnSKeQ7MrYDTZksdwTLD7EahsK07PmnoHLLOYMKqgqGJKIIldPGmYM3T8pYh2fE/s320/7903352.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Well, there is quite the twist in this book, as foreshadowed in </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140078.Grave_Surprise__Harper_Connelly___2_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly, #2) by Charlaine Harris">Grave Surprise</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">. Nothing to do with the mystery and everything to do with Harper. If you've read the series, you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't, I'm not going to spoil it for you.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This crime is a bit more gruesome than is usual in Harris' books. Plus Harper gets physically damaged to a greater extent. But the author keeps the tension well, right to the end. Once again Xylda and Manfred Bernardo are instrumental to the plot, reminding me that I want to get back to Midnight, Texas again soon. Plus, I've wondered how Harris names her characters. Her choices seem quirky to me, but I've not spent much time in the southern states so I'm not familiar with their naming customs.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">There's only one book left in this series, which is kind of a shame. I really like Harper and Harris has given her such an unusual talent. At least I have one left to enjoy plus rereading the Midnight books. Maybe I'll even revisit the Lily Bard series. I find this author to be very binge-able.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-53066082193737833732024-02-24T21:11:00.004-07:002024-02-24T21:18:34.917-07:00The Sign of Four Spirits / Vicki Delany<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vkqipO_c0XqVjHG0iSBV0yZY9HNow21qstyOwnlBZ27KsCdnhw_KvFkYUgRO7bsQQ_pL4FwnkeEeLmQl5DxWbIXqWuy8XxUO2pYFP-WYGVpv4jjHBweTt8p3W2lrYxXPzbOdLnf_pC29dve4M3yZ7U9iDtfl_zMt3BYgWVi84_mTvk0-068qvcUx-Xw/s346/127462500.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vkqipO_c0XqVjHG0iSBV0yZY9HNow21qstyOwnlBZ27KsCdnhw_KvFkYUgRO7bsQQ_pL4FwnkeEeLmQl5DxWbIXqWuy8XxUO2pYFP-WYGVpv4jjHBweTt8p3W2lrYxXPzbOdLnf_pC29dve4M3yZ7U9iDtfl_zMt3BYgWVi84_mTvk0-068qvcUx-Xw/s320/127462500.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>3.3 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Just when I think that Gemma Doyle has improved as a human being, Vicki Delany returns to writing her as an annoying know-it-all. I dislike the way Gemma takes advantage of her friend Jayne to do her dirty work and sneaks behind her detective boyfriend Ryan's back to “investigate." It's a variation on my least favourite theme in cozy mysteries, the assumption that the police need the assistance of a nosy amateur.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">And yet, Delany writes a good mystery. She managed to distract me from the true identity of the killer (not that it's dreadfully difficult to do, mind you). There were good red herrings and convincing circumstances. And I confess that I requested that my library purchase this book and I waited in a queue to read it. So, even if Gemma irritates the hell out of me, I'll be waiting for the next installment.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-36733404738954874572024-02-24T08:07:00.002-07:002024-02-24T08:07:10.310-07:00Witch King / Martha Wells<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhj15yD6fbyi5OZSzUgt7oqIIseezgCOOVMbc77Iexi0PrOdgz07PkkLs0KSkVhP_05hk7yqadkPeBUhxE7EyBw44pQpz6VTVitajsLL_yX1ptP8_zJOgnUqFxEGNn3zUpJC7idqxtaqSb0SK5nm1dOyvNTLwFxsMN1uXEvUnTWpZ9WRdHhde09uCt2M/s925/57861689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhj15yD6fbyi5OZSzUgt7oqIIseezgCOOVMbc77Iexi0PrOdgz07PkkLs0KSkVhP_05hk7yqadkPeBUhxE7EyBw44pQpz6VTVitajsLL_yX1ptP8_zJOgnUqFxEGNn3zUpJC7idqxtaqSb0SK5nm1dOyvNTLwFxsMN1uXEvUnTWpZ9WRdHhde09uCt2M/s320/57861689.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I discovered Martha Wells through </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901.All_Systems_Red__The_Murderbot_Diaries___1_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" title="All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells">All Systems Red</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">, the first Murderbot Diary and acquired an unholy love of her anxious construct. I've also been aware since then that she writes fantasy fiction as well and I've been meaning to try it. It seemed sensible to start with her most recent fantasy novel.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I liked what I read a great deal. In the beginning, it reveals itself to be a rescue mission. Ziede's wife, Tahren, is missing and Ziede obviously wants to find her. But this is only determined by the reader as we unravel the first chapters, as Kaiisteron (the Witch King of the title) is extracting himself from his own captivity and then releasing Ziede. As I started to learn the basics of this complex world and all its various peoples, it became apparent that there were forces working against their mission.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">There are a lot of moving pieces—many political factions, many population groups, lots of history. Wells manages to fill us in without pages of info dumps. She just shows us what's going on and trusts that we'll be able to keep up. As seems to be usual for her main characters, Kai and Ziede start to gather strays right away, showing them to be compassionate people as well as skilled. One of the things that I liked best was that although there was conflict with the Hierarchs, we aren't subjected to a long series of battlefield scenes. The conflicts are smaller and more personal. Although I adore fantasy, I grow weary of unending wars, battles, and strategy sessions. I absolutely loved that the bad guys are the Hierarchs. Yup, arrogant, bad men. Down with the patriarchy!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The story alternates between the past and the present. It effectively creates tension at the end of each chapter, as you have to leave that time line just as things are getting interesting. Often when an author uses this technique I'll have a favourite, but I was equally engaged with both in this book. Here it just kept me reading steadily.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Having sampled her fantasy fiction, I'll definitely be reading more of it.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-40739324674932794432024-02-20T11:12:00.002-07:002024-02-20T11:12:30.849-07:00Grave Surprise / Charlaine Harris<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3L7knWp_CjG-xv9sXZKToH-NkkgYWlO2Hi1QYTx-L_Ww1SBOWYfZR4nOsYuT4z9bBrbmNg8KiEXkkCIHCxI2397yTsfGfx_NKT0m31Ylt9V9mW0vx4N7SDvg7lJdEHwQ0dArd7P05I0ZZqqTNx_jAFm-cvwmhCdgePbMQbFu3r-5lWqNPuR-FdNYBq2w/s400/7916312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3L7knWp_CjG-xv9sXZKToH-NkkgYWlO2Hi1QYTx-L_Ww1SBOWYfZR4nOsYuT4z9bBrbmNg8KiEXkkCIHCxI2397yTsfGfx_NKT0m31Ylt9V9mW0vx4N7SDvg7lJdEHwQ0dArd7P05I0ZZqqTNx_jAFm-cvwmhCdgePbMQbFu3r-5lWqNPuR-FdNYBq2w/s320/7916312.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This was an impulse read, because I enjoyed reacquainting myself with Charlaine Harris’ version of the South. I really like Harper Connelly as a main character with her ability to sense the dead and her pragmatic approach to life. Harris is also very good at thinking up complex problems for Harper to solve. An unexpected body in an old cemetery plot puts the cat among the pigeons. Then a third body gets deposited there, stirring the pot even further.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Harris also likes to have characters from other series make appearances in her fiction, so I was only mildly surprised when Manfred Bernardo and Xylda wandered into this one. There seem to be cross-links between all of her various series. (This also makes me want to go back and reread her </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Midnight, Texas</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> series).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The next two books in this series are available as ebooks and it is going to take all of my rotten will power not to binge them immediately.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-88872175894297512472024-02-19T20:03:00.000-07:002024-02-19T20:03:00.781-07:00Grave Sight / Charlaine Harris<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUCk30YhAAB_fCIb1_sJvbHcvdqISyqPXm4c5WsiQSL4wPAlfiXfK3_3NvfJWV4OCX8glNOnNjQw3GpdefnhyxlaScRWNSdxEk6RF6u-5wEC-Xw8eE9KsbyN_7RUhLD9-_FDpPMEfD9pOBM2j1mX218Uvp9CylZYPylJdvZiXO7q_Cw_4FoR27KCqoqI/s475/58077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="293" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUCk30YhAAB_fCIb1_sJvbHcvdqISyqPXm4c5WsiQSL4wPAlfiXfK3_3NvfJWV4OCX8glNOnNjQw3GpdefnhyxlaScRWNSdxEk6RF6u-5wEC-Xw8eE9KsbyN_7RUhLD9-_FDpPMEfD9pOBM2j1mX218Uvp9CylZYPylJdvZiXO7q_Cw_4FoR27KCqoqI/s320/58077.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book 7 of the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge</i></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I shouldn't be as surprised as I am at how much I enjoyed this novel. I've read a lot of Charlaine Harris’ books and found them entertaining. But I started another book based on a very similar premise and it bored me to tears. I'd spent a ridiculous amount on it and I couldn't get past maybe page 15. So this was a very pleasant discovery. I think I picked it up at a charity book sale because of the Harris name.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Charlaine Harris writes what she does so well. She knows small town life and she knows human nature and she can combine those two things in interesting ways. Sookie Stackhouse was a telepathic small town waitress and Harper Connelly is an itinerant locator of the dead. Both women have hardship in their past and currently making a living as best they can. They have unusual talents and people dislike them for their differences. Harris writes about being disliked with such authority. It makes me wonder if she too felt like an outsider somewhere along the way.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Harper and her step-brother Tolliver are a tight team. They survived their family situation and cared for younger siblings for as long as they could. Now people look at them askance and wonder what their relationship consists of. A classic case of being judged without any knowledge of their circumstances. We can never know what really goes on in other people's homes and we should always interpret things kindly, at least until proven wrong. Harper is much more vulnerable than Sookie and Tolliver is much more loyal and reliable than Sookie's brother Jason. So this is not just a variation on a theme.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I'm keeping this book and I plan to read further in the series. It was worth the cash I paid for it, unlike the other one that nearly made me skip this volume.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4J2b5l-vjVYHnbssdEY-qhI2Q9FeG-hx3lghhknSp8ntEcA8emstlSzGoOcm1UBtZtTyU_slLbpJ8NSKvFZYVxJuRGch33EKU56j-yCsF9vwaxsZbRnycZgivOJALcZI7K_M8iGBPsXqihPZHLhDa2MHTDmA4Wf_uRekkGc8egPYbraHFSBtpjWdaNQ/s1010/read-your-hoard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1010" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4J2b5l-vjVYHnbssdEY-qhI2Q9FeG-hx3lghhknSp8ntEcA8emstlSzGoOcm1UBtZtTyU_slLbpJ8NSKvFZYVxJuRGch33EKU56j-yCsF9vwaxsZbRnycZgivOJALcZI7K_M8iGBPsXqihPZHLhDa2MHTDmA4Wf_uRekkGc8egPYbraHFSBtpjWdaNQ/s320/read-your-hoard.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-49965654666487580012024-02-17T17:47:00.003-07:002024-02-17T17:47:32.237-07:00Singled Out / Virginia Nicholson<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nL0nQSTSvUZhDw4Q8aba-_2gQ9tmvGxX_12Ip2MtwIMa4npLh8uWFkR2uoOYE1E9DFlvAM9MI_Har1k7yGw_PHQv28GY5e678KELcF7yG-zBl9I0MM6aJ_UyL-HkynIDejdojZyf0PHxNvoEpL42-zBS79u0mg8SiWazCis7fxkwxHCtPctRzsvwTGE/s400/1096582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nL0nQSTSvUZhDw4Q8aba-_2gQ9tmvGxX_12Ip2MtwIMa4npLh8uWFkR2uoOYE1E9DFlvAM9MI_Har1k7yGw_PHQv28GY5e678KELcF7yG-zBl9I0MM6aJ_UyL-HkynIDejdojZyf0PHxNvoEpL42-zBS79u0mg8SiWazCis7fxkwxHCtPctRzsvwTGE/s320/1096582.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">In recent years, I've discovered a delight in fiction set in the interwar years written by women of that era. I have been trying to determine why I like this time period so much and I think that this book has clarified things for me. The so-called surplus women who gained prominence as a societal worry started the changes necessary for my happy life now.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Many young men were killed in WWI, leaving a preponderance of single women with no hope of marriage. Up to this point, marriage, being a governess or a lady's companion were pretty much the only “career choices" available to “respectable” women. With the demographic imbalance of the sexes, things had to shift. Women had entered the workforce during the war and had developed a taste for self sufficiency. As time went by, they also saw the benefits of travel, education, and escape from the duties of wife and mother. I had previously been of the view that the 1960s and 70s were the decades when women's lives changed, but I realize now that this post-war period laid the foundation for modern feminism. Here was the beginnings of women's suffrage, education, careers, and reliable birth control. Women had escaped from the house and they weren't going to be returned to captivity quietly.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As a youngster, I looked around at my mother, aunts, and female neighbours and knew that I wanted something different. I never dreamed of weddings or babies. The pioneering surplus women helped to set up the world that allowed me to support myself, get two degrees, own my own home, traipse all over the world in pursuit of birds, and generally do my own thing. All without having to consult another adult or share my closet. Don't misunderstand, there's still pressure to conform, but I've always thought that marriage isn't a big achievement. But building your own life to your own standards? That's a big deal.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-89177354192350122032024-02-16T20:32:00.001-07:002024-02-16T20:32:20.007-07:00A Superior Death / Nevada Barr<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3XM3VjRiYlTe6XGXpB5hGQ0wAXOmx17mBc6CjHp9YjQR0SxjUr5HYk9niWxP9w5JaspjlsUDDuPi71VDcoqQcmsYgbDCgIaHBNgfa9hAE1txR9YyhY-am3jWx15myngS3QMZrlJ7a5LiN-GA_Fg6uEeVcimfWOyxNe9qQaR_X6v-iaHQhO14Ab0b7zE/s500/86492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3XM3VjRiYlTe6XGXpB5hGQ0wAXOmx17mBc6CjHp9YjQR0SxjUr5HYk9niWxP9w5JaspjlsUDDuPi71VDcoqQcmsYgbDCgIaHBNgfa9hAE1txR9YyhY-am3jWx15myngS3QMZrlJ7a5LiN-GA_Fg6uEeVcimfWOyxNe9qQaR_X6v-iaHQhO14Ab0b7zE/s320/86492.jpg" width="188" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">3.5 out of 5 stars</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Anna Pigeon has her problems: grief for her late husband, very few close relationships, a drinking problem, a job that requires a lot of energy and skill, but doesn't pay very much. Despite all of that, I couldn't help rooting for her.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The worst parts of the novel for me were Anna's two dives, deep into freezing cold Lake Superior. I could barely keep my eyes on the page, I was so freaked out. I'm a non-swimmer and the thought of diving scares me shitless. A dangerous dive for Anna, who is relatively new to diving, made my blood run cold and scrambled my emotions. Thank goodness that (having peeked ahead at the blurb of book 3) Anna will be headed back to a warmer, drier park next.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Barr wrote a pretty convoluted plot in this volume. There were an awful lot of oddities. A couple of the red herrings were quite unusual. But as the old saying goes, the truth is stranger than fiction. A park employee is reading </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Peyton Place</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> at one point, and that book seems highly appropriate with all the strange things that Anna runs into. Unsurprisingly, Anna is okay in the end, ready to head on to Mesa Verde. I'll be glad to follow along.</span><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-86017970247942416232024-02-16T16:36:00.006-07:002024-02-16T16:36:43.326-07:00Heart of Obsidian / Nalini Singh<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOi3QuMjd5mWEcbSPh8UUfvwQv0gn-eauNvZNPTfugElJfzLD5l0wsxNx9F2yDehoWnzE-LKvXu6-dUwnSwwO0jpoIWbT3y6FJghc2pB05Ahyk5Caq8MF8wuNuXlCjx9DWvxmtu528LS3z7e_ZTFkwsCb7Gk4y-kPecZJfAPO1tePpYrWRtxmSIiVqfA/s475/15781026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOi3QuMjd5mWEcbSPh8UUfvwQv0gn-eauNvZNPTfugElJfzLD5l0wsxNx9F2yDehoWnzE-LKvXu6-dUwnSwwO0jpoIWbT3y6FJghc2pB05Ahyk5Caq8MF8wuNuXlCjx9DWvxmtu528LS3z7e_ZTFkwsCb7Gk4y-kPecZJfAPO1tePpYrWRtxmSIiVqfA/s320/15781026.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>3.5 out of 5 stars<p></p><p>I have been tearing through this series of late. I really admire Singh's ability to follow a complex narrative arc, while shifting the focus of each book to different characters. Many series stick to one person or couple as the central heart of the action, but Singh manages to teach us about all the various populations that inhabit this world. We spend time with Psy, Changelings, and the Forgotten (Psy who went feral). This offering centered on the deadly former Psy councillor Kaleb Krychek and the lost-but-not-forgotten Sahara of the NightStar Psyclan. </p><p>Unless something drastic happens, war is coming to the Psy-Changeling world. Silence is no longer working for many Psy, who definitely do not want to be reconditioned and must conceal their emotion. The radical group Pure Psy are trying to blow up the PsyNet in order to start over with perfect Silence discipline. Can Kaleb contain this conflict? Does he want to? Should he lead it? While contemplating all of these options, he finds and rescues his only friend, Sahara, who disappeared as a teen. Can her sanity be restored? Will she ever trust him? Does she remember how she was spirited away?</p><p>Singh manages to tease us along, gradually revealing bits and pieces as Sahara regains her mind and her life. Will she still be loyal to Kaleb when her memories are restored? Can humans, Changelings and Psy work together to prevent disaster? I love the icy, ultra-rational Psy, especially when they have to cope with those pesky emotions. I loved that Singh managed to give me sympathy for a man who, up to this point, has been depicted as a stone-cold killer. Not easily done, but effective. A very satisfying installment. </p><div><br /></div>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-47179321748786531332024-02-14T17:22:00.003-07:002024-02-14T17:40:00.831-07:00Ice Planet Barbarians / Ruby Dixon<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVkBiW2_KNWd2cNOgeuTe7INRjJou273rpzZv4uRFv5avpBpi0v8xXwYVxkCJsAwTdVhNdV2q1g_9G52AVVfsR0d7XJKE1QLyBOPnrQb6Uilr5GaDtaztnPp4MDfDRrD4RCXwiemm8JBMqXhuLCdH7gYnk0GS9yG4Gsgr2yB5uBi_BxLUv2k3Gc900lY/s500/27681568.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVkBiW2_KNWd2cNOgeuTe7INRjJou273rpzZv4uRFv5avpBpi0v8xXwYVxkCJsAwTdVhNdV2q1g_9G52AVVfsR0d7XJKE1QLyBOPnrQb6Uilr5GaDtaztnPp4MDfDRrD4RCXwiemm8JBMqXhuLCdH7gYnk0GS9yG4Gsgr2yB5uBi_BxLUv2k3Gc900lY/s320/27681568.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>3.5 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book 6 of the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge</i></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">What's the perfect book for Valentine's Day? Why, human-alien smut, of course.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It's a pretty rough start to this novel: Georgie Carruthers is abducted by aliens who are truly running a human trafficking operation. The spaceship experiences technical difficulties and the women are temporarily abandoned on an ice planet. But they know they've been chipped like pets and their captors will be back for them. They're cold, hungry, injured and scared. And it seems like Georgie has been nominated to see if she can find a safe place for them.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Vektal is 7 feet tall, blue skinned, and has horns like a big horn sheep. He can't believe his eyes when he finds Georgie, because he immediately begins to resonate with her. This is a function of a symbiont necessary to survive on this planet, which also chooses who is mated to whom. Vektal's people are few in number and desperately short on women. The prospect of a bunch of Earth women that the boys may resonate with is highly motivating.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This story is surprisingly erotic! I think it goes to show how flexible humans are—they can adapt to a lot. When faced with the necessity of acquiring a symbiont, mating with a huge blue dude, and living in caveman conditions, the majority of the women decide it's better than waiting for the little green men to reclaim </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">them.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Very similar to another alien romance that I recently read (</span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35849235.Joran__Star_Crossed_Alien_Mail_Order_Brides__1__Intergalactic_Dating_Agency__31_" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #00635d; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Joran (Star-Crossed Alien Mail Order Brides #1; Intergalactic Dating Agency #31) by Susan Hayes">Joran</a><span style="font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">), there is a woman shortage and an immediate bond between each woman and her barbarian, much like the mating bond so popular in urban fantasy. This was fun and there are audiobooks available through my library. I'm not sure how I'll feel about </span><i style="font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">listening</i><span style="font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> to sex scenes, but I'm planning to find out.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDRZ5Q9PXANhXZWjFxaZlA3bFasv3J2FG54FdzjjgUQV11L_J8xP07XrL_FQarDUtIIoFUuPrLd_LoCHV4lLGrZ9KrcILgKM8wkKX8E0M16HzPVT15XsKE18x22JT5KHLSRjdA1ohUv1fsfvbtGtuv71vYPjxx2ZFlz2mnAwHA-3I62pveKZrVg7_lto/s1010/read-your-hoard.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1010" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDRZ5Q9PXANhXZWjFxaZlA3bFasv3J2FG54FdzjjgUQV11L_J8xP07XrL_FQarDUtIIoFUuPrLd_LoCHV4lLGrZ9KrcILgKM8wkKX8E0M16HzPVT15XsKE18x22JT5KHLSRjdA1ohUv1fsfvbtGtuv71vYPjxx2ZFlz2mnAwHA-3I62pveKZrVg7_lto/s320/read-your-hoard.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-76316242308465964082024-02-13T16:24:00.002-07:002024-03-09T15:58:23.293-07:00Magical Midlife Madness / K.F. Breene<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9npZ7JYsrjAS_SpLwAnEwW7QmqEDakpsfv2-0qKIT8xUEG7-GN0QjsnLB39Qds_wMQ8llK3FCAfgDpWt8omH3ZUiB_r_ANfcZ6hGQ7hl_bQZWLQfBPOnE8BW7-Lo_4SbSCjCK_3x7yaTqzXB8uBE1xa9XZonyzyY1GbFf6OGQpbqI2npbvFXRIej9Bg/s499/51190900.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9npZ7JYsrjAS_SpLwAnEwW7QmqEDakpsfv2-0qKIT8xUEG7-GN0QjsnLB39Qds_wMQ8llK3FCAfgDpWt8omH3ZUiB_r_ANfcZ6hGQ7hl_bQZWLQfBPOnE8BW7-Lo_4SbSCjCK_3x7yaTqzXB8uBE1xa9XZonyzyY1GbFf6OGQpbqI2npbvFXRIej9Bg/s320/51190900.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Book 5 of the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge</i></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The perfect book for Galentine's Day (the day before Valentine's), especially since I've been on a bit of a romantasy binge lately. Most urban fantasy is inhabited by women in their twenties, looking for love and bad guys’ asses to kick. But does the desire to kick butt end when you're in your forties? You bet your sweet bippy it doesn't!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Jacinta’s husband has requested a divorce and was most disappointed when she was overjoyed. Her son is in college and doesn't need her either. She is free! One thing leads to another, and she ends up as caretaker of magical Ivey House. There, she meets an elderly butler, a sinister gardener, a deranged neighbour, and an attractive bar owner. And you know what's refreshing? There's no romance! Jacinta is quite clear that she's done with that stuff.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">First of all, I'm not twenty anymore. I'm not a naïve little chickie who thinks of nothing but love and marriage and consents to “I do" because she's afraid no one else will want her if she says no. Right now, on the other side of the naïve girl, I don't give two craps if no one else wants me. I want me, my friends want me, and that's plenty. So these anonymous magical people can shove their marriage proposals up their butts. I've been to that circus and I've seen all the clowns. I'm in no hurry to go back.</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Jacinta does things on her own terms. She's direct and funny. She refuses to be stampeded into anything and negotiates for the things that she wants. I kind of love her.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I wish I'd read this sooner, when I might have bought book 2 for a reasonable price. I'm not willing to pay $30 for it and it's not available for interlibrary loan. Although I'd love to know what happens next, I have enough books on my TBR without pining for this series. I have a hunch that things could go all romantic anyway, and I prefer independent Jacinta, so that's probably for the best.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3JD6DCnjusqGVMeIe-M0pIanzoohzOXYsZbjQmIEzCddxP3x2BCZwzXSHiZXv7eftHc1huCbIboMOj_0uVaPDqpVjDUS4-dhiSNG0LTTuT07DtUK9N3Trv7RRpwXGrTe8eJSH_zLtQ8rxh1nKp1qxL9PptkhDL8tFJ2uc5Yq3uPUh_jyBAKoCJVJAKM/s1010/read-your-hoard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1010" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3JD6DCnjusqGVMeIe-M0pIanzoohzOXYsZbjQmIEzCddxP3x2BCZwzXSHiZXv7eftHc1huCbIboMOj_0uVaPDqpVjDUS4-dhiSNG0LTTuT07DtUK9N3Trv7RRpwXGrTe8eJSH_zLtQ8rxh1nKp1qxL9PptkhDL8tFJ2uc5Yq3uPUh_jyBAKoCJVJAKM/s320/read-your-hoard.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-58653916614042666992024-02-09T21:29:00.002-07:002024-02-09T21:29:09.415-07:00Death in the Dark Woods / Annelise Ryan<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKTiv61mXTlR25WT6hBo_u8aH4j-GhZcBmStFW1Vb8Yx5wXCcQrfyI5lEKlB-dPN2o70UFSwjHsoZDye8TrZfhJv81E5Lp6Cq5gvmJlnYrrw0gP_Me2v8e37rJCJU9wrTMErKD_LjqBCefQLQG0jTzqTT2Ynt4jvfxtFAyRDKB3IKA9eW-nhT2IHmDv4/s400/71872869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKTiv61mXTlR25WT6hBo_u8aH4j-GhZcBmStFW1Vb8Yx5wXCcQrfyI5lEKlB-dPN2o70UFSwjHsoZDye8TrZfhJv81E5Lp6Cq5gvmJlnYrrw0gP_Me2v8e37rJCJU9wrTMErKD_LjqBCefQLQG0jTzqTT2Ynt4jvfxtFAyRDKB3IKA9eW-nhT2IHmDv4/s320/71872869.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Morgan Carter has an unusual and complicated life. She is still recovering and grieving the deaths of her parents. She has inherited their wealth and the business they established. She has also inherited their penchant for hunting cryptids, those mysterious animals whose existence is hotly debated. The first book was lake monsters, this one it's Bigfoot. Morgan insists on scientific proof but hopes for the miraculous.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">It's difficult to gain the trust of the true believers when you regularly play the devil's advocate. But humans aren't the best observers. I've experienced this frustration when non-birders describe birds to me. They fixate on the wrong characteristics and fail to note significant behaviour. They misjudge size and ignore vocalizations. They describe colour in odd ways. I endured a long description of a “beautiful bird" only to figure out eventually that it was a gull. Certainly well adapted for what they do, but pretty boring (to me, anyway). There are lots of gull species that can be tricky to distinguish from each other, causing long, boring discussions among “gull guys."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As with most of my preferred mystery series, there is continuing personal development of the main character, Morgan. We watch her friendships deepen and see her edge gingerly towards a new romance with lawman Jon Flanders. We wonder when the other shoe will drop with the absent ex-fiance. Obviously there will be at least one more book and I will be reading it when it comes out.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-47797154231466661842024-02-07T11:50:00.004-07:002024-02-07T11:50:32.167-07:00Recipes for Murder / Karen Pierce<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxGrT2FHB-Yfv1S54R22lcn2-17N6KvloEJCJmXxR6Q0lLkNqiOYhGdgfAW_Ueze15C_eiQAy-3k2dY1yPndu0idqCp8ZmOk8oVsw1yf0ngdIXFsFaDniltc5Ko5h2xCh1gziHO7hFb0kn-olC_end1IGqxa5MoSBxcOFVILVZqNIGHMW7UNTlHzBlqU/s1200/62586063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxGrT2FHB-Yfv1S54R22lcn2-17N6KvloEJCJmXxR6Q0lLkNqiOYhGdgfAW_Ueze15C_eiQAy-3k2dY1yPndu0idqCp8ZmOk8oVsw1yf0ngdIXFsFaDniltc5Ko5h2xCh1gziHO7hFb0kn-olC_end1IGqxa5MoSBxcOFVILVZqNIGHMW7UNTlHzBlqU/s320/62586063.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>4 out of 5 stars<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">This book is perfect for people who have at least two of the following interests: Agatha Christie's mysteries, food & cooking, and the social history involved with both of the previous items. I have been reading Christie's novels in publication order with the Appointment with Agatha group and have been enjoying observing the household changes that Christie documents in her fiction.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Dame Agatha was definitely a foodie. She enjoyed good cuisine and grew up in circumstances that afforded her the privilege of indulging in it. (In her autobiography, she revealed her penchant for drinking cream.) She was able to travel and enthusiastically sampled the food of other cultures. Guests at her home did not go hungry!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">When I heard this author interviewed on the radio, I knew that I wanted to peruse this cookbook. Pierce is a fellow Canadian, perfectly situated to mediate between the various cultures who may be interested in this subject. Canada has traditional links to Great Britain, having been colonized and eventually peacefully given independence from that government. We still retain the monarch as head of state and traditions, legal similarities, and spelling idiosyncrasies. However, we also live cheek by jowl with the United States (as our PM Pierre Trudeau observed, we are a mouse sharing a bed with an elephant). English and American recipes use different measurement standards and different food terms (eggplant vs aubergine, for example). Pierce navigates these potentially confusing details gracefully, providing alternative details in parentheses.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Pierce selects one recipe per novel and has developed a modern version (eg. Cornish hens substituted for Blackbirds). I was entertained by the rationale behind her choice for each chapter. Although I won't be attempting any of the recipes, I have no doubt that I could successfully make any of them. I enjoyed learning about the history of certain foods, the cooking methods, and the household support systems. Now I know the difference between shrimp and prawns! Very enjoyable and recommended for Christie readers with culinary aspirations. Have no fear of spoilers, Pierce avoids spilling the beans.</span></p>Wandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.com0