Awhile ago, I talked about getting an e-gift card for Aardvark, a book subscription service that‘a been getting some good buzz, and using it to get some birthday presents for myself.
Well, since that gift card arrived in time for me to pick up some March selections, it was hard to resist splurging on an April box as well and reader, I did not resist!
My first pick was Any Trope But You by Victoria Levine, a romcom story set in an Alaskan small town. Romance writer Margot Bradley feels burned out by the genre that made her famous and when her true feelings are publicly revealed, she takes this unintentional opportunity to switch literary styles.
Staying at a remote resort for six weeks to get a start on writing a murder mystery, Margot finds herself distracted by Forrest Wakefield, the owner of the resort who was able to rescue her from a potentially angry moose.
While neither of them is looking for love(especially in the short term), romance is definitely in the air with every trope laden trick in the book popping up all around them. Can they resist or should they give in?
I do like the concept of this debut, plus the setting reminds me of the 90’s TV show Northern Exposure (yes, I am very old enough to remember that series!) in the best sense:
I paired that with Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a new take on the King Arthur legend.
When young Collum travels to Camelot with stolen armor and a horse “borrowed “, his goal is to become one of the famed knights of the Round Table.
Instead, he finds a kingdom in chaos as King Arthur and company have perished in a great battle, leaving no heir to the realm . Joining the enchantress Nimue , Collum and a ragtag crew of court folk search both the mortal and magical countries to discover the worthy successor to the throne before someone like villainess Morgan Le Fay takes over.
Reimagining classic legends is harder than it looks and from what I’ve heard about this book, Grossman truly pulls the creative sword out of the story stone perfectly. Plus, I do plan to read The Magicians’ Trilogy sometime soon and this fresh take on Arthurian magic feels like a welcome addition to the canon there:
To make this book box complete, I chose Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.
This novel within a novel tells the tale of Zelu, a frustrated writer whose physical disability is one of the many reasons that her family treats her like an outsider.
Upon losing her university teaching position and having her latest literary novel rejected, she decides to pen an elaborate science fiction story called Rusted Robots, creating a future world controlled by androids and artificial intelligence that turns into a bestseller.
While Zelu is thrilled to have made such an impact, her fictional creation may have a life of its own in more ways than one. The legacy of Rusted Robots proves to be a game changer but at what cost?
I have heard so many wonderful things about Okorafor’s writing that this felt like a golden opportunity to discover her talents for myself here. I will be saving this book for a summer read(a certain readathon in June) and I have no doubt that this meta mental journey will be worth the wait:
I am not sure how long I will be able to subscribe to Aardvark (given the state of things) but even in the short term, this has been a fun experience that I would recommend to anyone looking for something completely different to liven up their TBR.
My birthday is tomorrow and I am very grateful for my family and loved ones to share it with as well as this set of great new books to enjoy. If I was doing the whole birthday candle wish deal, my request would be for the world to start getting better rather than what we’re seeing right now. Maybe that will happen sooner than expected yet my hope has to be a cautious one at best.
In the meanwhile, my big birthday plans not only include books-my sister and I plan to see Sinners, a movie that’s been the talk of the town indeed. A double dose of Michael B. Jordan battling vampires-yes, please! They say April is the cruelest month but when it comes to entertainment, the blessings have been bountiful and with any luck, a sign of better days ahead for us all:
Making hotel reservations, even during the best of times, is definitely a challenging part of trip planning. However, those plans can get even more complicated when murder is added to the itinerary.
I’m talking about mystery novels set at hotels(more of a staycation person these days) and one of my recent library loans , The Socialite’s Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden, certainly has me planning for future stays at the Pinnacle Hotel.
Set in 1958, Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy is the belle of the high end NYC hotel owned by her absentee father. It’s the one place she’s felt safe in since the shocking death of her mother fifteen years ago and her somewhat permanent residence does have its advantages.
For one, Evelyn has an uncanny knack for finding lost things(and people) on the premises so when an important art exhibition being held by eccentric painter Billie Bell is disrupted by the theft of the never before revealed masterwork right under everyone’s noses, she is eager to be on the case.
Unfortunately, her assistance is strongly not wanted by the authorities and when Evelyn later on discovers Billie brutally stabbed in a hotel hallway, the stakes are scarily higher than she expected. Can Evelyn discover the truth behind these crimes before her hotel haven is no longer safe for anyone at all?
I’m almost finished with this book as of this writing and so far, it’s a delightful read. The characters are charming yet fully human, with Evelyn dealing with some personal issues that showcase just how underestimated she is due to her perky public persona.
This is first book in a series that I hope to read more of and I really do like Evelyn a lot; she’s like Elle Woods living in a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel universe:
Meanwhile, a new Molly the Maid novel from Nita Prose has just come out and that one also has a bit of an art heist plot line as well!
The Maid’s Secret has our heroine discovering that an old item in her household is actually worth a literal fortune, thanks to an Antique Roadshow type of TV program. That could certainly help pay for Molly’s upcoming wedding to her beloved Juan Michael and plan a future beyond her hotel duties.
On the day of the auction, however, the object is brazenly stolen, throwing all involved into chaos. What troubles Molly the most, though, is finding the hidden diary of her beloved Gran, who had quite a few secrets of her own to keep…
I hope to get to this entry sometime soon, as the first two books here were very engaging reads. Molly and her circle of hotel friends and adversaries are the type of folks worth checking in with over and over again for sure:
Of course, if I can’t get to either Molly’s or Evelyn’s place, I can always revisit Miss Marple At Bertram’s Hotel.
This later entry in Agatha Christie’s set of Miss Marple stories has our retiring elder lady booking a stay at the hotel of the title where she had once stayed at in London back in her younger years. While the place still has some of its charms , it is far from its glory days which leads to an intriguing murder for Miss Marple to solve!
The book is rather laid back when it comes to the plot and upon reflection, the spine of the story is the atmosphere of the hotel with different cultures and generations clashing in subtle yet powerful ways; definitely worth a reread but if you’re looking for a Marple that you haven’t read, be prepared for a mystery that’s more about the vibes:
Before I check out of the post to do more reading (really want to finish The Socialite’s Guide to Murder soon!), there is sad news to report as mystery author Kerry Greenwood has passed away at the too soon age of 70 recently.
She was best known for her historical mysteries that introduced the world to Phryne Fisher, a stylish and strong willed Australian heiress who used her considerable skills as a sleuth to right wrongs and bring about more true justice in the world.
Many of us discovered her books via the TV series “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” and greatly appreciated such a lively leading lady who didn’t shrink away from the harshness of her world; rather she did what she could to make things better for others in her own way(an example needed to be followed by many of the powerful out there as we speak).
Kerry Greenwood will be missed but fondly remembered for her contribution to creating such a memorable detective both on page and on screen:
Living in these stressful times is no joke but one of the ways that we can channel that tension laden energy is by diving into a good mystery/suspense story.
Granted, that may not be your particular flavor of calming tea but for those eager to place their order, here are a trio of recent adaptations available on a streaming service near you that might do the trick:
LONG BRIGHT RIVER: Amanda Seyfried stars in this miniseries based on the novel by Liz Moore(best known for The God of the Woods) as Mickey, a cop seeing a very dark pattern in the recent slayings of three women.
She’s also on the look out for her sister Kacey(Ashleigh Cummings)whose addiction issues may be the reason that she’s missing yet something in the nature of these murders hint to Mickey that she herself has more of a connection to this case than expected.
The series was released on Peacock in March and the word of mouth has been pretty solid. Liz Moore is certainly having a moment and perhaps the timing is eerily perfect indeed:
FORCE OF NATURE: The subtle for this film adaptation of Jane Harper’s novel is The Dry 2, which is somewhat accurate as it is a follow up of sorts to the author’s breakout book, The Dry which introduces you to troubled detective Aaron Falk(Eric Bana).
The main mystery here involves a group of women who go out on a corporate wilderness retreat, only to turn up briefly missing and then being found with one of their party permanently out of the picture.
Having read this book, I can safely say that even if you haven’t read the previous entry(which I haven’t yet), that it does work well as a standalone story and draws an intriguing portrait of these women and the power plays that they draw themselves into , for decidedly worse and not the better.
The movie is available on Hulu and a few other platforms as well and certainly worth checking out:
THE LAST ANNIVERSARY:
This Australian miniseries is based on well known Aussie author Liane Moriarty’s novel about a young woman getting more than she bargained for from an inheritance.
When Sophie Honeywell(Teresa Palmer) is left a house on Scribbly Gum Island via the great aunt of her former boyfriend, it’s an odd situation to be sure but a grand opportunity for a new life as well.
However, Sophie is also getting a new community of folk with plenty of secrets and lies to conceal, the least of which is the infamous Munro Baby Mystery, still unsolved yet not truly forgotten…
Moriarty has an amazing knack for seemingly ordinary settings where her characters have far from ordinary strangeness to deal with and this story appears to be a prime example of that. It was released this past March and in the US, you can watch it on Sling, YouTube and a few other online places :
Like I said, mystery and suspense stories can be helpful in dealing with stress and such tales tend to do well in troubling times like the ones we’re experiencing now.
Part of the reason for that is that this genre greatly appeals to our innate sense of justice; that some things are wrong no matter who does them.
This need to right that which has gone terribly wrong is a key element in developing a strong sense of community as well as true empathy.
These ideals need to be nurtured and cherished in order to rally our spirits during challenging times and motivate us to want better and do better for each other together.
In the meanwhile, this does give us something good to look forward to-I for one am eager for the second season of The Marlow Murder Club(throughly enjoyed S[ on PBS Passport!), which hopefully will be airing later this year on Masterpiece. The books by Robert Thorogood sound great as well but I might want to wait on those to avoid spoilers , we shall see!:
No matter what is going on this month, I am choosing to be happy because my birthday will soon be here!
Childish, I know, but hey, taking what joy you can in life these days is a small victory over the forces of evil there, plus a birthday is a great excuse to get more books.
A family member of mine gave me an early present(due to shipping)in that department with an e-gift card from Aardvark Book Club for a one month subscription! Aardvark is a newer online book buying service that I have heard many good things about yet my entertainment budget couldn’t stretch that far for me to try them, until now.
Since my gift card arrived over the past weekend, I chose three books from their March selections(April just dropped and some of those books looked pretty good too) my first choice was the latest from Stephen Graham Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.
This novel is told through a diary discovered by a college professor hoping to gain tenure via the hundred year old tale of her very great grandfather’s ministry days from frontier times.
However, that recounting also tells the story of a member of the Blackfeet tribe who chronicles his journey from mortal to mythical as he becomes a vampire who decides to use this strange new status as protection for his own people.
SGJ is an amazing writer who blends the horror genre with thought provoking looks at social history, not to mention a genuine fan love as well. This book goes into historical fiction territory which should be an engaging lens on his terror takes on classic fear fare indeed:
I then added Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle, a Hollywood goes horror show type of tale.
Screenwriter Misha is at the heights of success in Tinsel Town, thanks to an Oscar nomination and plenty of acclaim for the long running show he has on a major streaming platform.
However, upon refusing to give in to the title trope by the streaming executives, Misha is finding himself less of a charmed one and more of a moving target. Not to mention that actual movie monsters appear to be stalking him and his friends for a truly final cut.
Having just recently finished Tingle’s first traditionally published novel Camp Damascus (which was awesomely good), I am more than ready to pop some corn for this scary movie fest of page turning terror:
For something completely different to wrap this trio up, I went with The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava.
Our leading lady of the title is tired of being given the usual runaround when seeking work as an accountant so she makes a few changes to her resume that actually help to get her that great job she’s always wanted.
Trouble comes from being attracted to cute IT guy Danuwoa , who is very open about his background and likes her right back. However, between their employers frowning on workplace romance and Danuwoa not knowing Ember’s actual identity, this relationship could be over before it starts.
Nava has a new book coming out this summer (which I highlighted here ) and while I have a digital copy, getting a physical edition of this charming romcom is a real treat. Especially when it’s a debut author who is introducing readers to their version of Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood:
As we speak, my Aardvark box is on the way and I am very delighted to get such delicious as devil’s food cake reads for my birthday later this month!
Don’t get me wrong, I do also have my Book of the Month Club membership that grants me a free book for my birthday (which I ordered yesterday!) and the more the merrier for sure, although shelf space might be tight.
I don’t know if I will be able to continue with Aardvark but am very grateful for being given a birthday chance to taste their literary wares.
Meanwhile, having two bookish buddies to get gifts from on your birthday isn’t a competition (or supposed to be one at least); rather , it should be an embarrassment of riches in the best book sense indeed:
