Welcome to this year’s tribute to keeping those cooling thoughts of fall in mind, Autumn in August .
We start this film fest off with 2001’s Kate & Leopold, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, the latter unintentionally stealing the show there, in my opinion.
Jackman plays the Duke of Albany in New York of 1876. His observations of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge are disturbed by a mysterious stranger (Liev Schrieber) who later follows Leopold to his uncle’s house where a matchmaking party is set to take place.
Leo, not interested in marrying for money, pursues the man all the way back to the bridge, where the two of them fall into a time portal and arrive in modern day New York.
The stranger is a scientist named Stuart who lives downstairs from his ex-girlfriend Kate McKay(Ryan) due to a series of mishaps, Leopold is left on his own with only Kate to reluctantly guide him around.
Kate doesn’t believe for a minute that Leopold is an accidental time traveler but over the course of a week, starts to wonder about his story as he does things like go after a purse snatcher on horseback in a most delightful way:
Leopold’s old fashioned charms do clash with Kate’s pragmatic approach to life yet there is something to be said for a man who makes his own pen and inkstand to write an apology letter with an invitation to a rooftop dinner for two!
Yes,this movie does have plot holes (not to mention Schreiber is not great at physical comedy which his accident prone character has to perform too much)yet what really makes the story work is Hugh Jackman, full stop.
Jackman is fully believable as a “man out of time” as Kate mockingly describes him, an impoverished aristocrat straight out of Downton Abbey by way of The Gilded Age. Leopold’s ability to blend in his new surroundings is well highlighted as in the scenes with Kate’s goofy brother Charlie(Breckin Meyer) who Leo gives very credible romantic advice to:
One of my favorite scenes has Leopold (in Charlie in tow) showing up to Kate’s business dinner date with her boss(Bradley Whitfield) and shows up the bluster that her employer is using to conduct anything but business with her. Such a great use of the word serpentine indeed:
While Meg Ryan is great as always in these kinds of stories, it’s Hugh Jackman who really breathes fresh life into this time travel romance. The director’s cut of the film gives quite the odd twist to the time travel plotline (hint: a wonky bloodline subplot there) but since I rewatched this via streaming, that didn’t factor into my joy at visiting this movie once again.
So, if you’re looking for something lighthearted romance set in New York with an old school Hugh Jackman, this is picture perfect entertainment. Next week, we’ll look at another 2001 romcom set in New York, Serendipity,but for now, let’s ballroom dance with Leopold and friends:
It’s been an incredibly hot summer in more ways than one, which is why most folks try to keep as cool as can be in August.
To that end, I have already signed up for the High Summer readathon over at Seasons of Reading (hosted by the awesome Michelle Miller). It runs the full month of August and you are encouraged to read what you like here. My TBR for this late summer challenge is an all paperback stack of titles that I plan on relaxing with as much as possible:
First up is a novel that I read a long time ago and just recently brought back into my personal library; Swapping Lives by Jane Green.
Amber Winslow is seeking something new in her Connecticut housewife life and decides to trade a month of of experiences with Vicky Townsley, the editor of a fashionable British magazine.
As both ladies encounter the joys and the woes of each other’s lives, this ex is indeed an eye opener. However, will that new look at their worlds be for the better or the worse?
It’s been awhile since I’ve read Jane Green when I spotted this edition at a local rummage sale, the opportunity to get reacquainted seemed movie picture perfect:
My next pick was Beth Kendrick’s The Week Before the Wedding , set in the Vermont town of Valentine where Emily is hoping to start off her second marriage without a hitch.
Unfortunately for her, her former husband Ryan also happens to be in Valentine while scouting locations for his next movie.While he seems really happy for her, Emily is so certain about that or her current soon-to-be spouse Grant, who is beginning to pale in comparison.
This was one of the free library books that I hauled back in June(which is more of a wedding month to be sure) and felt like a light and lively read that reminds of an old school Hollywood romance-we shall certainly see!:
To round this TBR trio out, I went with a cozy fantasy that I’ve nothing but wonderful things about.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna tells the tale of Mika Moon, a witch who mostly keeps to herself apart from her online videos about being a “real” witch that she thinks no one watches.
As it runs outs, someone does watch them and recruits Mika to teach three young girls living on a remote island how to control their growing powers. It’s quite the challenge but she’s willing to give it a go and not just because of the house librarian Jamie is easy on the eyes (although he doesn’t trust her very much).
This sounds like a real charmer with a back to school vibe that works well for the end of summer:
Well, if you wish to join in the page turning fun, there is a link to the sign up post in the second paragraph of this posting. My thanks to Michelle Miller at SOR for giving us all a great excuse to stay cool with some good books during this time of massive heat waves.
The world may be getting rather hectic these days but there is a strong sense of hope in the air right now that should give us some positive energy to tap into for what lies ahead. In the meanwhile, having a little bit of a good time can be very restorative, whether you chose books, music or memories of both:
While most people are settling in for the summer with the various conventions and Olympic Games, my main event this season is Autumn in August, where I watch and review those films that give off that fall feeling.
Two of my selections this year are well known to me, starting with Kate & Leopold , where Meg Ryan gets a romantic history lesson from Hugh Jackman.
This 2001 romcom has Jackson as the Duke of Albany who accidentally time travels to modern day New York, due to the scientific antics of Stuart(Liev Schieber), who is Kate’s ex-boyfriend and downstairs neighbor.
With Stuart being trapped in a hospital after a fall, Kate winds up dealing with Leopold, who she thinks is a weird yet well meaning man for the most part. Can this relationship last beyond time or will the shifts in reality throw everyone off course?
I know this movie got mixed reviews but Jackman really makes this whole thing work as his character is incredibly believable and charming to boot:
Next up is another New York based film, Serendipity, also from 2001, where John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale agree to let fate decide if their love is meant to be.
After a meet-cute in Bloomingdale’s (how incredibly New York is that?!), Jonathan and Sara spend a magical evening together and despite their instant connection, Sara prefers to have a sign from the universe to determine their path to love.
Ten years later, each of them are in different relationships but somehow start to search for one another before any major commitment is made(with the help of some wacky friends of course!). This movie is such a lighthearted charmer with some nice wintery scenes to cool off to during these treacherous heat waves:
The next pair of autumn vibing movies are new views for me, beginning with Mona Lisa Smile
from 2003, set in 1953 at Wellesley College where art history professor Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is encouraging her students such as Betty(Kristen Dunst )and Joan(Julia Stiles) to take their studies much more seriously.
As Katherine and her girls attempt to challenge the norms of their day, the pushback is tough yet not totally discouraging either. Can Catherine truly expand these intellectual horizons from them or are the girls completely on their own here?
Granted, the reviews were not great for this movie(or the box office) but I’m willing to give this one a chance. The college setting alone has a good seasonal energy, not to mention a story about women trying to make their own choices about the direction of their lives is rather timely indeed:
While I haven’t seen this movie before, I have waited a long while to do so, thanks to a book.
Upon reading an advanced copy of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Anne Shaffer, I was delighted with this novel told in letters about what the small island of Guernsey did to survive the occupation by enemy forces during WWII.
I was further thrilled to hear that a movie adaptation had been made but alas, streaming was unavailable to me at the time so I wasn’t able to see it. Well, now I have Netflix and if a British period drama starring Lily James and Penelope Wilton isn’t autumn themed enough, I don’t know what is!:
So, each week in August, I will be watching one of these movies and posting about it(they’re all available on streaming services if you wish to watch along) and hopefully, this quartet of fall fabulous films will keep us comfortably entertained until sweater weather sets in.
Picking something good to watch is always a tricky challenge but especially when the temperature both inside and out is getting too hot to handle there. Fortunately, finding the right mood media can be easier than settling some arguments and just maybe bring about a better understanding of it all by the time the end credits roll:
With the way these heat waves are going, those “dog days “of summer are sounding as old school as rotary phones.
Fortunately, reading is one trend that always stays in style and a great excuse to stay in the shade. I stocked up at my local library just before the worst of the warm weather and have already finished one of my trio of library loans over the July 4th weekend (more on that one later)!
That leaves me with two other great books to cool down such as Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura. Archeologist Corrie Mejia is given the chance of a lifetime as a mysterious figure recruits her for an expedition to recover an ancient knife said to belong to legendary Aztec warrior Chimalli, who she believes is her ancestor.
With such personal stakes, Corrie is eager to make this trip despite having to work with an old rival, Ford Matthews. Ford is hoping to find the knife and collect the reward promised by their mutual benefactor in order to help his ailing mother, making this team up strictly professional yet as they face various challenges along the way, love is the one treasure that is hard to avoid on this journey.
I’ve heard great word of mouth about this book and happy to see the action-adventure romcom genre being revived in such a fresh and engaging way. Should be the best kind of book bound blockbuster movie fun:
Speaking of movie fun, there seem to plenty of gothic thrills to be found in my next pick, Sarah Penner’s The London Seance Society.
The group of the title is a male dominated organization but in need of assistance in solving a murder mystery in their midst and the most qualified person to do that is renowned medium Valudine D’Allaire, along with her assistant Lenna.
Lenna is more of a skeptic yet joins D’Allaire to discover what happened to her sister Evie, who died under mysterious circumstances on All Hallows Eve. As the strange death at the Seance Society also occurred on the same date, there may be a connection between both unusual demises but are the culprits in or out of this world?
I’ve been curious about Penner’s work for awhile and I do have The Lost Apothecary on hand(saving that one for the fall season). However, something about this book intrigues me to take a seat and see what the literary spirits have in store here:
Not long after my library visit, Book of the Month Club released their July selections and one of them was an instant must-have for me.
Meg Shaffer follows up her magical novel The Wishing Game with a new standalone book entitled The Lost Story.
When Emilie seeks out well know finder of the lost Jeremy Cox, to recover her long lost sister Shannon, she has no idea how treacherous that trail is or who she will ultimately deal with.
Turns out Jeremy knows full where Shannon is as he and his former best friend Rafe met her years ago when they became lost in the woods as teenagers. The three of them wound in a magic kingdom called Shanadoah, where Shannon stayed behind as Queen Skya.
Going back there is not easy, as Jeremy and Rafe have been estranged from each other since those days and need to reunite in order to return. While Emilie is determined to find her sister, she isn’t sure what to expect and neither are the companions leading her there certain of what lies ahead for her or them.
I truly enjoyed The Wishing Game with its Willy Wonka inspired energy and now that Shaffer is giving a Chronicles of Narnia type of tale, my favorite fantasy themed cup runneth over indeed!:
My add-on that was The Love of my Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood, which is already a Good Morning America book club selection to boot!
Our story begins as our leading lady’s life ends; Delphie finds herself in an afterlife waiting room due to an unfortunate hamburger incident and while there, meets Jonah, who never expected to have an untimely demise either.
As the two of them have the ultimate meet cute, it turns out that Jonah’s arrival was a mistake that is quickly corrected. Nevertheless, Delphie is certain that they are true soulmates and makes a deal to return to Earth to find him. However, she only has ten days to do so or back to the beyond she goes.
With such a literal deadline, Delphie takes chances that she never would have before and perhaps this last chance at love is making her life truly worth living.
This plot description just sounded so great and as I am a big fan of supernatural themed shows such as Ghosts and The Good Place, this seemed to be the ideal summer read for me:
So, I do hope that all of you are keeping as cool as can be with some great books this summer and taking a break from the overheated media(although reruns of favorite shows are fun) as well.
Oh, and the library book that made my holiday weekend extra entertaining? That happened to be Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. While I did love Daisy Jones and the Six, it’s been tricky for me to finish another one of TJR’s books since then.
That streak was thankfully broken by this novel featuring the comeback of a controversial tennis star, known as “The Battle Axe” determined to reclaim her record breaking title from a promising up and comer.
The emotional journey that Carrie goes on is as gripping as any sports event being played live (and I am so not a sports person!) and just as exhilarating when the end result approaches. Such a great read and one that I am glad to have started my summer with; hopefully the best is yet to come:
Things get so busy around the end of one month and the beginning of another that I took a brief blog break to do my bookish best to finish up my reading for Sci-Fi Summer, the latest Seasons of Reading readathon.
Since fantasy is an available option for this challenge, all of my picks were in that category. A couple of them are even considered to be “romantasy”, that currently popular sub genre, and I can now see why this fanciful theme has become such a diverting choice for readers these days; it’s rather fun and goodness knows we are in dire need of that this year!
Anyway, I completed two of the three titles on my list and got a good quarter of the way through the third(which I plan to continue with despite the end of the challenge). The first one was Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater, where our Regency era English heroine, Dora Ettings, has had part of her inner spirit ripped away from her due to a bargain her late mother made with a fae nobleman.
Now, seen as an oddity by most and unlikely to ever be properly married, Dora is fine with that as long as she can help her beloved cousin Vanessa make a match. Vanessa, however, is more interested in finding a “cure” for Dora’s condition and even manages to get the official sorcerer for the Prince Regent, Elias Wilder, to look into the matter.
However, Elias is very preoccupied with a troubling case of a strange plague that appears to be magical in nature. When Dora decides to get involved in the investigation, things become more peculiar than anyone could have imagined and then some!
This story was a real delight, with a blend of humor and occasional whimsy that never wore out its welcome. Atwater certainly knows her way around fairy lore and Regency themed social satire very nicely indeed. If you’re looking for a Jane Austen or Bridgerton type of tale mixed with magic, this should be your go-to cup of tea:
After that, it was time for Heather Fawcett’s big bestseller in this category,Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries .
The story is told via a journal that our leading lady, a professional scholar of magical beings , is keeping during her latest expedition to Ljosland to learn about the courtly fae folk who are said to live there.
While making a less than favorable impression on the locals, Emily has to also deal with the unexpected arrival of Wendell Bambleby, a colleague who over relies on his charms and appears to trying to overtake her research.
Nevertheless, she makes some intriguing discoveries and despite wanting to stay neutral, winds up on an adventure or two to save a pair of young people from the clutches of energy draining fairy folk.
Wendall, who Emily suspects is not entirely mortal, reluctantly agrees to help but perhaps his interest in Emily’s work is more than just an attempt at academic poaching. Perhaps he feels some affection for his seriously studious partner and it might be mutual yet there’s plenty of danger afoot to deal with first.
This book,much like Wendall, has its unique set of charms that manages to toe the line between faerie tale adventure and low key romance without toppling over into cutesy territory. One of the best elements of the book is the chemistry between Wendall and Emily, which has such a refreshingly old school Hollywood vibe to it; the most modern reference I can make to this are Rick and Evie from the first two Mummy movies(a classic couple, imo). I can see why Fawcett already has a sequel out to this and hopefully many more to follow:
At the moment, I am in the midst of A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen, a Book of the Month Club selection that I saved for summer reading and that was a good plan that’s paying off super sweet!
The novel is centered around Freya, a Viking woman born with a power from the goddess Hlin that makes her a potentially mighty shield maiden who, according to prophecy, will unite the people into one kingdom. For years, she was made to conceal her ability but due to the treachery of her vile first husband, is forced to marry a local chieftain who is determined to make this prophecy come true.
Freya is frustrated by the push and pull of this situation and to make matters worse, she finds herself attracted to her bodyguard, Bjorn, the son of the chieftain who is less than thrilled about this arrangement as well.
So far, the story is greatly entertaining and packed with enough drama to satisfy any fan of a fantasy TV aeries on cable, streaming or the CW(which I used to enjoy back in the day). Seeing Freya start to discover the depths of her own power is thrilling to behold and I look forward to more page turning good times here:
My thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for giving us all a great excuse to dive into science fiction and/or fantasy fun to start summer off right!
Well, I wish everyone a happy Fourth of July long weekend that’s only a few days away and here’s to more good books to keep us during the heat waves to come. It’s funny how fantasy is getting quite the glow up nowadays; seems this genre thrives well as the real world gets more and more chaotic.
Hopefully, these tales will be of some welcome relief as the follies of reality rage on and perhaps, help us make it through to the other side with a renewed sense of grace and savvy for what lies ahead. We shall see, in the best sense of that term:
No matter how many times you think that your to be read piles are high enough, an unexpected opportunity to gather up more good things to read can change your calculations in that regard mightily fast.
For example, the other weekend I went to a Pride event in my area and it was definitely a good time had by all; nice weather, great people and booths ranging from jewelry to crafts to music. What was the extra topping to that celebration sundae was the local library promoting their summer schedule and giving away free discarded books!
Offering free books to a reader is simply as irresistible as lasagna is to Garfield so I wound up bringing home eight books that day(been awhile since I had an in person haul like that). In the interest of brevity, I’m highlighting just four of them here, starting with Sag Habor by Colson Whitehead.
This story is set in the summer of 1985 as fifteen year old Benji Cooper is getting ready to spend the season with his family at the title location and his various coming of age adventures along the way.
This novel came out earlier in his literary career and may seem more lighthearted than some of his later works (The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys). However, I have no doubt that there’s plenty of food for thought in this tale of summertime joy:
Another gem that I picked up was Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, which would be called dark academia if released nowadays.
The novel follows Quentin and his friends Alice and Eliot who attend the Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy and along the way discover that the world of their favorite series of fantasy books is very real.
That world is also more dangerous than they expected despite learning the secrets of magic and could affect the reality from which Quentin and company still live. Is it worth the risk to go between worlds or are they destined to cause their own doom?
I remember years ago when this book (and its sequel series) were all the rage, even getting a SyFy Channel show that ran for five seasons. This does seem like the perfect time to see what all the fuss was about and maybe check out the show at some as well:
I paired that one with a Robin Hobbs book from her Rain Wilds Chronicles, Dragon Haven.
This second entry in the series follows a group of dragons seeking a legendary refuge in the form of the city of Kelsingra. Traveling with human keepers such as Alise and Thymata, dragons like Sintara must use what limited powers they have to find their way forward through dangers from without and within.
I’m sure some of you are saying “Uh, this is book two, do you have the first one?”. Well, thanks to Better World Books, I do now and it’s a library copy that matches this edition and if all goes accordingly, I might get the other two books in this series too.
I still haven’t gotten far with Robin Hobbs(it’s not the books, it’s me) but maybe adding a couple more if her works might be the boost I need here. Plus, dragon stories are very popcorn friendly , page turning entertainment:
Last but not at all least, I found one of the latest Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear, The Consequences of Fear.
Set during WWII, Maisie is helping to recruit potential spies for the French Resistance while trying to aid a young London messenger boy named Freddy who witnessed a murder.
As it turns out, the killer may be a recently encountered French officer, who Maisie’s contacts are unwilling to accuse due to internal politics. Can justice be served without endangering Freddy or the war effort?
I have just gotten into these books(already have two and three on hand) and while this story comes later down the line, it’s worth holding on to, particularly since the series is coming to an end. Sad to see it go just when I got started but then again, I do know that there is plenty in store to explore as time goes by:
As for the other four books I bought home, one was a book that I’ve already read but didn’t own(The Wangs Vs.the World by Jade Chang), another was from a cozy mystery series cowritten by Laura Childs, one is a wedding themed romcom and the last is a book that I tried to read once before but didn’t get too far(The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry).
A nice bookish surprise like this was wonderful and made that particular day even more special. Too bad the next bookish surprise I encountered was the backlash to this season of Bridgerton.
The uproar over (spoiler alert) of a couple of characters being bisexual both in current and future storylines has really unraveled some people and I for one don’t get why a show that made it perfectly clear from the jump that it was going to be very different from the source material (with the approval of the author no less!) is just NOW getting outraged over changes.
The level of bigotry and ignorance on this subject being justified by arguments such as “I just want it to be the way it was in the book!” and “This character should be the gay one, not this person!” is head shakingly awful to say the least.
I did watch the entire new season and was happy to see my favorite character, Penelope Featherington, get her time in the spotlight. Sure, there are some plot points that I wouldn’t mind debating such as should we feel sorry for Cressida(I kind of do and don’t) and is Eloise a good friend to anyone?
Sadly, instead we got a lot of prejudice being spewed out during Pride Month and after pushing back on several fronts, I wound up leaving a FB Bridgetton group over this toxicity. It’s horrible enough that the LGBTQIA community is facing extra pressure these days without being harassed in a space that’s meant to be a welcoming escape from such harshness.
Hopefully by the time we get season four , some reasonableness will return to the fan base and maybe this show can be enjoyed for what it is rather than what certain people demand it be. In the meanwhile, I will try to think about the positive moments such as Penelope making her glow up appearances in that green gown, a bookish surprise for all to embrace indeed:
Having skipped last month’s offerings from Book of the Month Club, I was extra eager to dive into the selections for June.
Ironically enough, all of my picks happened to be from the prior month. Listed as a members favorite, Mai Corland’s Five Broken Blades is a fantasy novel that feels like an awesome summer movie waiting to be made.
In order to take down the seemingly unstoppable King Joon, a team of unlikely allies is formed by a royal spy master determined to place his own candidate upon the throne. The plan is set to take place at a championship game but just getting there is a perilous journey with numerous foes to fight along the way.
With risky alliances and a potential traitor in their midst, can this rough yet ready crew pull this ultimate assignment off or become casualties of a never ending political battle?
So happy to have this book on hand and my elevator pitch for this would be “The Suicide Squad meets Game of Thrones“(no dragons here but still…):
As a double feature, I went with One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware.
The couple in question is Lyla and Nico, who having been dating for a few years but their relationship is starting to fade fast.
To strengthen their ties, Lyla agrees to go with Nico to a remote island for a romance themed reality show that could boost his flagging acting career. Things begin well enough for an experience like this but the tide turns in a very dangerous direction.
When a storm hits the island, the power source is damaged along with most of the supplies. In addition to that, a body is discovered and that demise doesn’t appear to be an act of nature. Faced with some serious reality issues, Lyla forms some new alliances to stay alive until a rescue arrives but hopefully to find the killer hiding among them in plain sight.
I’ve only finished one Ruth Ware novel(The Woman in Cabin 10) and would really like to complete another but my success in that goal hasn’t been achieved just yet. Since this story has a bit of Knives Out energy to it, my chances are considerably better towards that literary end:
For something a bit more chill, Christina Lauren’s The Paradise Problem is that cool drink of romcom punch just right for the season.
When Anna got into a marriage of convenience (for student housing in college), she never thought that her temporary husband Liam would be around after graduation.
A few years later, Liam shows to tell that a) they’re still married and b) he needs Anna to join him on a destination wedding trip with his family in order to claim an inheritance. He does offer to pay her and since she’s recently unemployed with her father’s medical bills as part of her financial responsibilities, Anna says yes to the deal.
Having not taken the time to know him beforehand, Anna is pleasantly surprised to learn that Liam is a good guy,despite his lengthy deception scheme with his rather obnoxious family. Liam starts feeling the same but in making this sham marriage too risky for all concerned?
Christina Lauren is a real charmer when it comes to making these familiar genre moves weave themselves into a fresh new pattern of romantic comedy style. I’ve already started this book and it’s an entertaining proposal thus far:
Well, my summer reading in general is going well as I finished the first book in my Sci-Fi Summer readathon and had a most unexpected book haul of major proportions (more on that one next time!)there.
With the warm weather fast approaching, seeking shade with a few cinematic worthy reads is a sensible solution indeed. After all, the remaining season of Bridgerton has only four new episodes newly dropped and as lovely as those are, it won’t be enough to fully sustain us gentle readers for the rest of the summer!:
Well, I’m back from my Memorial Day break and hope everyone had a good start off to the summer there.
My summer of reading is starting with the completion of round one of Trilogy Time as the last book in Nora Roberts’ Irish Born, Born in Shame, was on my shelf before the holiday officially began!
For this tail end of the literary trio, we meet American born Shannon Bodine, who learns from her dying mother that her biological father is Tom Concannon, not the man who married her outcast mother and raised her as his own.
After her mother’s passing, Shannon is notified about her half sisters in Ireland, with Brianna extending an invitation to her B&B for a visit.
Feeling overwhelmed by both the secrets revealed and the angry last conversation with her mom, Shannon decides to take some time off from her work as a corporate graphic designer and head over to Ireland for a brief visit.
That visit turns out to be much longer than she had planned, partly due to Murphy, the original boy next door to the Concannon sisters. He takes one look at Shannon and is completely thunderstruck, no doubt in his mind that she’s the one he’s been waiting for.
They do have chemistry but I have to admit that there were moments(such as arranging for Shannon to meet his entire family all at once!)that I wanted to say to Murphy-“Dude, slow your roll a little! She’s dealing with her mom’s death plus learning about a whole new family that is trying to get to know her as much as she’s trying to get to know them and figure out what is next for her in life, step back a bit, my guy!”
Murphy is a good guy, don’t get me wrong and yes, this book was released in the late nineties so some allowances in the romance department for the time period are needed. To be fair, Shannon is up front with him about her feelings regarding her current state of flux and for the most part, he does respect her wishes.
However, when they finally do connect, the relationship feels well earned and you do root for them to get together in a way that is best for them both:
As for the rest of the story, I do like Shannon and how well she fit in with the Concannon sisters, even to the point of handling their temperamental mother Maeve(who was understandably upset about the news about what her late husband did but not to take it out on an innocent party there).
That’s what I find most engaging about Nora Roberts and her writing; she takes the time to fully develop her characters and devotes good portions of the plot to the central person discovering what they really want beyond a love interest.
For example , in this book, Shannon comes to realize that her talent for painting is more that just a sideline to her professional work,not to mention something she has in common with her cantankerous yet loving sister Maggie May(who is more like her mother Maeve than she cares to admit).
Also, the whole cast of characters just grows on you and I don’t know if the Concannon family shows up in any of other books that Roberts has written (you could fill a whole public library all of her various novels in various genres !) but I wouldn’t mind running into them again, even the misery loving Maeve.
So, I completed my first prompt for this challenge, which was to read an author that’s new to me and yes, I do like Nora Roberts and wonder what took me so long to check her out(my own foolishness, of course). At the moment, I’m reading one of her standalone novels-Hideaway-and having a good time with it. Granted, there are way too many of her series to fully catch up on but I do plan to add more of her works to future TBRs.
I am curious to try one of her paranormal stories as we did get a hint of that with Born in Shame as Shannon and Murphy shared dreams regarding a local legend of a doomed love between a knight and a woman waiting for him in the midst of sacred stones. That ancient tale was hinted at beforehand in the earlier books but was highlighted strongly in this finale so seeing what Roberts does in a full on fantasy should be fun:
With that, my summer reading is fully underway as I have a Book of the Month Club box on the way plus my Sci-Fi Summer of Romantasy reading got off to a fine start with Half a Soul(which helps make the wait for the second half of Bridgerton S3 all the easier) and onto my next Trilogy Time prompt of rereading an author you know well.
My pick for that was Adriana Trigiani’s Valentine trio that begins with Very Valentine , which introduces you to Valentine Roncalli, a woman determined to save the family custom made shoe business and find love on her own terms. This was the first book that I read by Trigiani and being reacquainted like this is truly a pleasure indeed:
With the first big holiday weekend of the summer season about to begin, the timing couldn’t be better to sign up for Seasons of Reading’s Sci-Fi Summer , which runs the entire month of June(hosted by the wonderful Michelle Miller).
Unlike most of SOR’s readathons, this one requires you to keep to the title genre yet fantasy is also allowed which explains the title of this particular post.
Truth be told, I’ve always preferred fantasy (nothing against science fiction; my brain just clicks along more smoothly with magic systems than technological theories) and this new category of Romantasy , which blends romance and fantasy into a special storytelling treat sounds like fun.
My first pick for this TBR happens to be one of my birthday gifts from this year; Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett .
The scholarly lady in question is researching the existence of fairies and travels to a remote village to learn about fae beings who resemble humans. This set of fae happens to be prone to switching out local children for changelings, a tricky subject to be sure.
While trying to gain the trust of the villagers, Emily runs into Wendell Bambleby, a scholar in the same field who suggests that they join forces. She reluctantly agrees and while they do make some strides forward, a secret is uncovered that changes the dynamics of their professional as well as their potentially personal relationship.
I’ve heard so many great things about this book that finally getting the chance to read is a pleasure worth waiting for. There’s already a sequel out but I would rather take my time with this enchanting examination of fairyland first:
I paired this with another birthday book haul fairy themed tale; Olivia Atwater’s Half a Soul.
Dora Ettings has little hope of doing well in the marriage market of Regency England due to a curse that renders her mostly emotionless.
However, an encounter with Elias Wilder aka Lord Sorcier, may change her wallflower status in more ways than one. The question remains though-who is meant to benefit by this new association and is it worth risking even half a heart to love for such an alliance?
This sounds like Bridgerton with magic to me and since I have finished watching part one of season three of that show , this ought to tide me over until the latter part of June for part two there. By the way, I adore Penelope but would like to see her end up with Lord Debling(I know, it’s not supposed to be that way) somehow:
For my final pick, my Book of the Month Club membership comes in handy for this category!
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen brings us to Viking lore where Freya, a young bride traded to a chieftain by her cruel husband, is destined to become a shield maiden by the side of a new king.
Despite her enchanted bloodline, Freya is given no respect by the new family she’s now part of except for Bjorn, appointed as her bodyguard and intended to be the heir to his kindred’s throne. That affection goes beyond familiar and could risk several lives directly. Can Freya take control of her own destiny and her heart?
As it turns out, all of my choices here happen to be the first in a series and if this book is as cinematically entertaining as it seems to be, I sincerely hope that BOTM gets the next installment as soon as may be:
If you’re interested in joining in for Sci-Fi and/or fantasy this June, there is still plenty of time to sign up for page turning fun. My thanks to Michelle Miller for helping us all start our summer reading off right and hope everyone enjoys Memorial Day weekend with a bit of magic in their hearts:
Out of the batch of books that I recently received for my birthday, the one that I dove into first was Melinda Taub’s fantastical take on Jane Austen’s most iconic novel with quite the twist.
To start with, our leading lady here is not Elizabeth or Jane or even Miss Mary Bennet; rather we have The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch. Yes, as it happens, Lydia is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter (due to three elder sisters that didn’t survive their early years) and the first sign of magic that she has is being able to claim a cat as her familiar and turn her into a sister named Kitty.
Lydia’s powers are noticed by her Aunt Phillips, who gives her some instruction into the mystical arts yet there is a limit to her aunt’s knowledge that causes Lydia to seek alliances elsewhere as times goes on.
A major reason for Lydia to find more skilled witches to learn from is due to mistakenly giving a promise to an ancient entity awakened by her powers; one of the targets of its wrath is Kitty, who has very few defenses against such malevolent beings.
The bond between Lydia and Kitty is one of the strongest emotional connections in the book. While Lydia, true to her original version, can be silly and selfish, here her humanity in caring about Kitty’s welfare (to some extent) is a step in the proper direction when it comes to expanding the character:
In order to save Kitty as well as herself, Lydia must go to Brighton in order to find the Jewel of Propriety , a source of power sure to appease such a dangerous enemy.
There, Lydia teams up with Harriet Forster , the new young wife of the regimental commander whose soldiers include Mr. Wickham, who has a deep tie to Lydia’s nemesis and dark intentions of his own. Harriet’s magical prowess and social connections do help her young protege out with her search but her search but not without a price to pay along the way.
As this story is told mainly by Lydia herself (via a long letter of explanation to a certain party), I couldn’t help but hear these adventures chronicled in my head by the voice of Julia Sawalha, who played this character in the 1995 miniseries adaptation.
No offense to any other portrayal of Lydia (I do like the 2005 version quite a bit) but between this version of Pride and Prejudice plus her role as the straight edge daughter in Absolutely Fabulous, this is the go-to voice of the character for me:
Meanwhile, one of the many pleasures that Taub’s novels offers to Jane Austen fans are the expansions given to such supporting players such as Mary King, a brief rival for Wickham’s affection who is a more devious and capable opponent here.
A welcome surprise was the introduction of Miss Lambe, who comes to Brighton from Sanditon and turns out to be a major player in the game of power that Lydia finds herself in. Bringing such a character from Austen’s unfinished final book was a good choice and a well thought out one indeed.
As someone who did enjoy the three seasons of Sanditon that we got on Masterpiece, Taub’s depiction of Miss Lambe is very well suited to the lovely compelling one shown on the small screen, in my humble opinion:
All in all, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch was the ideal Jane Austen flavored birthday cake sprinkled with magic and I wouldn’t mind having another slice of this charming tale again.
I do hope that other Austen admirers take up this tasty tome and devour it with joy. I know that some might prefer the standard edition of Pride and Prejudice (which is perfectly fine) but do allow for the rest of us to have a little fun here.
Also, for new readers to Jane Austen, a rethinking about certain characters encourages more creative insights and makes our mutual enjoyment of Austen timeless and timely:
I know that I said that my book buying would be taking a break after my big birthday book haul yet I couldn’t pass up a couple of small opportunities for new reads that came across my way.
For one, there’s a church in my area that holds a flea market twice a year; spring and fall. It’s close enough to my home that going there is a regular event to look forward to and while I picked up some nice new linens and a magazine rack, there were a couple of books that I added to my must-get pile.
One of those books was The Library of Legends by Janie Chang. In 1937, a nineteen year old student, Hu Lian, is forced to flee her university along with most of her classmates due to bombing raids upon the city of Nanking.
Hu is carrying a set of ancient texts that contain the legends of the Ming dynasty that she and others are entrusted to deliver to a safer location.
Along the way, she starts to wonder if one of her traveling companions, Shao and his servant Sparrow, have more than a scholarly connection to the work they’re transporting. Could it be that one of these legends of lore has been right beside Lian all this time?
The premise sounds intriguing and it’s been awhile since I dive into some historical fiction there. This certainly should be a fine read for book lovers indeed:
I also stumbled across a classic Christie novel or should I say collection of short stories featuring the delightful Miss Marple.
The Thirteen Problems aka The Tuesday Murder Club, happens to be the earliest work that Agatha Christie wrote about Jane Marple and introduces us to her nephew Raymond and her home town of St. Mary Mead.
The main thread of a plot connection is a local club that shares tales of mysteries with its members, encouraging them to see if they can figure out the solution before being told by the story teller. Miss Marple is invited to sit in on one of these occasions and her sharp skills of observation and understanding of human nature do come in handy to say the least.
Since Miss Marple is my favorite Christie detective, this was a must have for me. Some of these stories have been adapted for the Miss Marple tv series over the years and it might be fun to check a couple of them out, particularly to see if they altered any of the endings (I hope they didn’t but you never know…).:
While I did skip my Book of the Month Club selection (hard to do but necessary!), it was difficult to resist getting a nice trio of books from Better World Books as they were having a sale and they had a cozy fantasy novel that I’ve heard so much about available!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna features Mika Moon, who keeps her status as a real witch under wraps, apart from the online videos she makes about “witch core.”
A request is sent to her regarding a trio of orphans who need to learn how to reign in their magical talents and it’s an offer that Mika is unable to refuse.
While feeling somewhat free to be her true self among these fledgling witches, along with Jamie, one their guardians, Mika is wary of getting too close to them but when outsiders threaten to break up this happy home, she must decide whether to stay or go.
This is the first in a series but I just want to see if this book is as charming as I’ve seen almost everyone who’s read says it is. It would be nice to enjoy a new take on magic schooling, that’s for sure:
I rounded this purchase up with a pair of Nora Roberts suspense thrillers. Being almost done with her Irish Born books that started off my Trilogy Time challenge, I thought it would be good to try some of her standalone titles.
My picks were Hideaway and Identity, the latter being the newest one of that genre from her.
The leading lady of Identity is Morgan, whose life is turned upside when a serial killer steals her money and personal information, ending her roommate’s life by mistake in the gruesome bargain.
Morgan goes home to Vermont to rebuild what she’s lost, including family ties and manages to do so yet the killer is determined to claim the victim he missed out on. This time, however, Morgan is ready to defend what’s hers.
This sounds like some awesome summer reading and with the frenzied news headlines we see everyday, a Nora Robert’s thrill ride is a welcome relief from all of that:
Well, a little light spring shopping is fun and helpful for my budget as my mom’s birthday is near the end of May and of course, Mother’s Day is right around the corner!
Happy Mother’s Day to all those who celebrate and may every one have a bit of flea market fun this season. It’s something good to unite with others about and we certainly need more unity these days as well as good books:
The month of May has begun and so ends the Spring Into Horror readathon at Seasons of Reading (courtesy of Michelle Miller).
This reading challenge worked out pretty well for me as I got reacquainted with a familiar author, discovered a new one and swapped out one book for another that fit this theme as perfectly as a glove there.
I have enjoyed many of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books over the years but the last one that I read to completion was Mexican Gothic. Her more recent titles, I’ve started and stopped (pressed pause as I like to put it) but not Silver Nitrate; this one was a total page turner of the best sort.
The main focus of the story is the friendship between Montserrat, a sound editor constantly undermined by the inherent sexism of her profession, and Tristan, a former TV star whose career crashed and burned after a car accident where he survived but the troubled woman who was driving did not.
As lifelong horror movie fans, meeting the aged director Abel Urueta, whose time in the spotlight vanished quickly, is a definite bright spot in their lives.
When Abel reveals that his last movie was never completed and carries a curse upon it, he offers the two of them a chance at reversing their luck by helping him break the spell. They do so but the results are far and away from fortunate and more frightening than any terror film they’ve ever seen.
SM-G once again showcases her talent as a genre writer with true cinematic flair and the emotional nuances brought to her characters that make them larger than life. Hopefully when her next novel arrives this summer (The Seventh Veil of Salome in July), I will be ready like Freddy to buy that ticket to ride:
My next read after that was The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett. I first heard about this book from Booktuber Mara(Books Like Whoa) who praised it to the skies. Her recommendation was not only a good one, it’s made me seek out of this author’s work.
Told by a series of text messages, emails and transcripts of recorded conversations, we follow a pair of British reporters, Amanda Bailey and Oliver Menzies, who are both assigned to write a book about a long ago sensational crime involving a cult that intended foul play with a baby believed to be the Antichrist.
Seeing no choice but to work together, Amanda and Oliver decide to see if they can find the baby who survived the ordeal and is now about to turn eighteen for the crux of their true crime story. However, the deeper they go in, the longer and stranger this particular rabbit hole goes defies any wonderland indeed.
I don’t want to give anything away so let’s just say that this book is a fantastic thriller that keeps you guessing up to the end and is well worth the trip. It’s like watching an entire season of one of those excellent British mystery series and appreciating all of the hard work put into such creative storytelling there:
Now, I was planning on having my final read here be Jessica Knoll’s acclaimed Bright Young Women but while I start it, my reading mind wanted something a little less stressful.
So I put that aside and picked up The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, the follow up to the sleeper bestseller The Maid. Our leading lady is Molly, the maid accused unjustly of murder at the Regency Grand Hotel a few years ago and now has the title of Head Maid with more responsibilities than ever before.
One of those responsibilities is preparing a reception for famed mystery writer J.D. Grimthorpe, who is planning a special announcement for the public. Before he can make his statement, Grimthorpe adds more honey to his cup of tea which proves to be a truly fatal mistake.
His sudden demise is due to poison and a wide array of suspects are available, including Molly who did place the honey pot on the tea cart herself. Also, she hasn’t told anyone about the past encounter she and her late grandmother had with Grimthorpe that might be the roots of a motive…
I did enjoy The Maid and was interested enough to tackle the second book, which moves at a brisker pace than the first one. The tone is a touch lighter but in a good way that does make you want to follow Molly on her quirky detective adventures, much like that new show Elsbeth which is Columbo meets The Good Wife/Fight(that’s a compliment, I assure you!):
I do hope that everyone who joined in for this scary reading fun had a great bookish time(thank you as always to Michelle Miller for making this possible!) and I am pretty much ready for Sci-Fi Summer this upcoming June.
Although, my TBR for that event is more in the fantasy realm (which is allowed) particularly Romania’s, that new flavor of fiction these days. I do think that maybe it’s not as new because I can make a good argument that the Xanadu movie is very much a romantasy with music but nevertheless, I will dive into this genre with an open mind and literary heart:
