Setting out for a Sci-Fi Summer adventure

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, the official start to summer for many is here. Yet, for others of the page turning persuasion, Seasons of Reading’s Sci-Fi Summer readathon is our launching point for the hot and hazy months ahead.

Beginning June 1 and running the entire month, this readathon is firmly to science fiction but does allow for fantasy as well. That works for me as my taste runs more towards the magical than the mechanical.

The first book on my TBR pile for this challenge is the third entry in the School for Good and Evil YA series, The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani.

With formerly faithful friends Sophia and Agatha on separate sides of the fairy tale realm, finding a balance between the forces of destruction and harmony is more difficult than ever.

To preserve not only the fictional but the mortal world as well, both girls must find their way back to each other with the help of various allies on their mutual paths. Can they fix both realities and their friendship to save the day once and for all?

This series is very engaging, with good amounts of humor and heartbreak, plus plenty of good for thought regarding fairytale tropes. The conclusion ought to quite the battle royal indeed:

The closest to science fiction on my reading list here is N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season , which starts off her Broken Earth trilogy.

The story is set on a world where all reside in The Stillness, a large continent that deals with “seasons “ of environmental chaos such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. The only people who can quell these turmoils are known as orogenes, who are feared and forced into the service of the ruling class.

Three characters are the focus of this book, one a girl newly recruited to the governing forces, another young woman angered by her situation and discovering a few secrets that might help or hurt her and a mother whose family has fallen apart upon realizing their orogene abilities.

As their paths collide , so do the fates of many others and with another destructive season to come, the choices to be made are potentially powerful in their impact to say the least.

I’ve read great things about Jemisin’s work and figured this would certainly be a good place to start. Hopefully, 

I will be continuing with the other two books that follow. The epic energy of this narrative promises to be captivating there:

Rounding this selection is one of my Book of the Month Club books that I saved for this particular occasion.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty has a retired pirate queen as it’s leading lady. Amina fully intends to spend the rest of her days residing in a quiet mountain village with her daughter Marjana but her past literally comes back to demand her assistance.

The wealthy mother of a crewman who died during Amina’s last voyage wants her to rescue her granddaughter Dunya  from the clutches of Falco, a man obsessed with mystical objects and willing to risk any life but his to claim a very dangerous treasure known as the Moon of Saba.

Out of a sense of obligation as well as to protect her own child, Amina agrees to head back out to sea. Facing demons both personal and in the fearsome flesh, she is willing to do what she can yet can Amina truly resist the call of a pirate’s life once the task is done?

This is meant to be the first in a series (becoming a theme in this readathon for me!) and with any luck, I won’t have to wait too long for more of these seafaring stories:

There is still plenty of time to sign up as June starts in the middle of next week and much thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for getting our summer reading off and running here.

One of the best things about summer reading is that you can enjoy a blockbuster story right in the comfort of your home under whatever form of air conditioning is available to you. I’m all for going to the movies, mind you, but the heat does make one want to wait for cooler weather to go out for entertainment.

Not to mention that a certain book based epic will be in theaters before Thanksgiving and should whet your cinematic appetite for new sci-fi storytelling indeed:

 

Extending an invitation to The Late Mrs. Willoughby for a sinister sleuthing party

The works of Jane Austen are to a writer’s imagination as a little black dress is to a fashionable wardrobe: suitable for many occasions and much more versatile than you might think.

To that end, author Claudia Gray follows up her excellent Jane Austen themed mystery, The Murder of Mr. Wickham , from last year with another amiable adventure for the two young amateur sleuths featured in that story, Jonathan Darcy(son of a certain Pride &Prejudice couple) and Juliet Tilney (daughter of a pair of Northanger Abbey residents).

In The Late Mrs. Willoughby, these two inadvertently reunite as Juliet visits Marianne Brandon, who is still recovering from the events of their previous encounter at Donwell Abbey.

While her new guest is quite a welcome sight , Marianne is concerned with a number of things such as her dear sister Elinor being close to giving birth to her first child, becoming friends with Colonel Brandon’s ward Beth and what the neighbors must be thinking of what happened to her at Donwell.

One neighbor she hopes to avoid as much as possible is Mr. Willoughby, her former suitor who cruelly abandoned and publicly snubbed her in order to marry the wealthy Sophia Grey. 

He has now inherited his aunt’s estate at Allenham, not far from the Brandons,,and brought his new wife along with a party of former schoolmates to celebrate his new home. A welcoming party for the Willoughbys is being held by the boisterous Sir John Middleton, an invitation that hard for anyone to refuse, even Marianne:

Staying with Willoughby at Allenham is Jonathan, who was at school with him but could hardly call his former classmate and bully a friend.

While attending the welcoming party, Jonathan is pleased to see Juliet again in what should be much better circumstances than their prior encounter.

Unfortunately, that is not to be the case as not long after drinking a glass of port during a toast in their honor, Willoughby loses his wife to poison before the night is over.

The shock of such a terrible tragedy in the collective midst is compounded by the local constabulary who are too quick to see Marianne as the only suspect. Jonathan and Juliet find themselves taking up the  gruesome yet exciting task of searching for the real killer yet again.

Since Willoughby is not as charming to everyone as he thinks he is, many suspects abound such as another guest at Allenham who was courting Sophia but backed down once Willoughby started pursuing her.

One suspect that neither Jonathan nor Juliet wish to look  at all into is Beth, whose brief relationship with Willoughby made her a single mother and him in danger of losing his inheritance , which caused him to exchange Marianne for Sophia on the bridal market.

While Beth is now in their neck of the woods, her attempts to get Willoughby to at least see his son have been bluntly rejected. Could her despair drive her to such misplaced revenge? Regardless of their sympathies for her situation, Jonathan and Juliet do have to consider all possibilities here:

As the two of them, along with a newly made friend, quietly yet eagerly seek the truth, the risk to Marianne‘a liberty and perhaps her life grows stronger as time goes on. 

Can the killer be captured before another innocent person is done in? Worse still, is the ultimate culprit right in front of them all?

While reading The Murder of Mr. Wickham will enhance your pleasure with this new Austen inspired story, this novel can be read on it’s own merits. Gray possesses an apt ear and a steady eye for Jane Austen’s creations and her nuanced embellishments do justice to both the source material and fandom alike.

If Sense and Sensibility happens to be your favorite Austen novel(it’s in my personal top three), you would throughly enjoy this book as many of those particular players are present here(including a most unwelcome visit from certain in-laws!) to liven up the sub plots nicely.

What is most agreeable to see is the growing bond between Jonathan, who suffers from social anxiety issues, and Juliet, who is aware of how their friendship appears to others yet is unsure of how to move forward on such personal level.

The two of them balance each other out so well and the mutual acceptance of each other’s intelligence and abilities is such engaging character development for any time period. However, the social standards of their day are and will continue to put up some challenges to any romantic future:

Hopefully, more of that journey we will get to read about  soon as the subtitle of this book is “A Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mystery “. This is a series well worth the wait for but hopefully not too long!

I am very thankful to be invited to this blog tour for The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Laurel Ann Nattress at Austenprose and hope that everyone involved as well as Jane Austen mystery fans have a fabulous page turning time with this graciously gripping book.

A  well written Jane Austen variation like this  is always in style and much like a little black dress, perfect for parties even when not all of the action is on the dance floor:

 

Preparing for a book haul vacation

As much as I love books, there are times when you need to slow your roll or risk being seriously overwhelmed by your to be read piles.

I’m at that point now so I plan to take what Bridget Jones would call a “mini break “ from book buying, at over the summer. Rest assured that I have plenty to read and talk about here(more on that in a moment) but for now, this is my last regular book haul post.

My Book of the Month Club(which I am going to take a break from also) selections include a thriller and a romance, the former being The Last Word by Taylor Adams. Our leading lady is Emma, a woman house sitting at a remote beach house during the offseason.

She is recovering from a personal loss, accompanied by her dog Laika and her only other human contact is a distant neighbor who communicates via whiteboard messages. 

Emma spends most of her time reading inexpensive thriller novels online and the most gruesome one that she’s read so far prompted her to give it a one star review at the bookseller’s website. Much to her surprise, the author who calls himself H.G, Kane sends her a message demanding that she take the review down or else!

Emma refuses to do so and a series of strange situations begins-I’m early in the story at this point but I can say that the dog is not harmed(even the author doesn’t consider that a spoiler!). I find the premise intriguing so far and haven’t indulged in a page tuning thrill ride like this in awhile:

I paired that with Christina Lauren’s latest, The True Love Experiment. It’s a follow up to The Soulmate Equation and focuses on Felicity aka Fizzy Chen, a romance writer looking for love in more ways than one.

Feeling the need to revive her spirits, Fizzy decides to work with Connor Prince, a reality show producer, to find her real life love via a dating show. As long as her list of demands are met, Fizzy is willing to tackle any challenges thrown her way yet things get more difficult when it appears that her real meant-to-be is the guy behind the scenes instead on camera with her.

The duo of Christina Lauren (yes, this is a writing partnership) are great at creating engaging and nuanced characters, making Fizzy’s chance to be in the storytelling spotlight all the more fun. 

If these books haven’t been optioned for film adaptation yet, that is such a crime and I nominate Liza Lapira to play Fizzy at some point in the future!

Meanwhile, there was a bit of belated birthday book shopping done at an actual bookstore (again!) and I chose a couple of fantasy books that have gotten quite a lot of good word on Booktube lately.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is being heralded as “cozy fantasy “ or as the author puts it “high fantasy with low stakes”. The premise for this book alone defines this genre nicely: a warrior orc decides to retire from her adventurer for hire life and open up a coffeehouse.

Viv has some of the usual problems in starting up a new business in Thune, a small town that doesn’t know her well. Finding the right staff, adjusting the menu to local tastes and hoping for a good opening day are par for course but when most people in Thune don’t even know what coffee is in the first place makes things ever so more tricky.

Plus, Viv has to pay off the local magical gangster on a regular basis and an elf who used to be part of her former gang comes into town to claim what he believes is due to him from a previous job. Turns out that she may require the magic of friendship rather than a battle ax to save the day here.

This does sound like gentle fun and I love that the name of Viv”s shop is Calamity Coffee. Just imagine Gilmore Girls in cottage core mode:

The other fantasy novel I picked up is practically on the opposite end of L&L’s scale.

Fonda Lee’s Jade City is the first entry in a trilogy known as The Green Bone Saga, set in Hong Kong where two rival forces use jade stones to power their magic.

Leadership of one of the clans, No Peak, has changed hands but the new Pillar is not as strong as his predecessor, giving his female counterpart in the Mountain clan an opportunity to take his whole family operation down. 

Her ruthlessness appears to hold no bounds but there may be a member of No Peak’s younger generation that can rise to the formidable occasion when push comes to shove.

I’ve heard many great things about this series, including that this first book is inspired by the iconic Godfather movies, which is a plus for me. If this book works for me, I can get the other two volumes later on but right now, this entrance point promises to be royally entertaining to say the least:

Putting my book buying on pause is a necessary thing to do but not a real hardship at all.

 Between the summer TV hiatus and the current writers strike (which I fully support because we wouldn’t be readers/viewers without writers and they deserve to be fairly compensated), there’s going to be plenty of reading time to enjoy.

Also, I have a couple of readathons to take part in such as Sci-Fi Summer next month and next week, my contribution to the book tour for The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Grey-the sequel to late year’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham-will be posted! For those who like Jane Austen and old school mysteries, this should be your particular cup of literary tea.

Plus, I have other bookish blog plans for this summer that will include a library haul at some point (have a stack of those borrowed books to tackle too!). Yes, this ought to be a great season for books indeed.

Speaking of great seasons, I did dive into Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story this past weekend and that was infinitely more edifying than a certain coronation taking place elsewhere. 

While I am eagerly awaiting season three of the regular Bridgerton series. this bonus insight into the strong women in this fictional world was a true dance of delight and those who insist otherwise are much mistaken indeed. Let folks have fun, people! These days, a staycation is looking to be the better option and a good book on hand or a binge worthy show can make that option all the more enticing in the best sense:

 

Stirring up a cup of Spring Into Horror sleuthing tea

This year I have to say my progress with the first two readathons from Seasons of Reading has gone very well in that I was able to finish my small sets of TBR selections on time!

Granted, the books that I chose for Spring Into Horror were not lengthy reads(I did give myself a brief pause over Easter weekend) but there is still joy to be found in achieving such a fun goal nonetheless.

My old fashioned mystery theme began with The Maid by Nita Prose, with the title character being the type of person who takes pleasure in her work as a hotel maid yet is easily taken advantage of by those mistaking her lack of social nuance as a weakness to be exploited than  a trait to be respected.

Molly does have trouble recognizing the precarious situations that others have put in her(particularly since her beloved grandmother died) and when she’s framed for the murder of a brutal businessman, none of those “friends “ are there to help her.

Fortunately, Molly does have some unexpected allies to lend her a hand but when all is said and done, finding the real killer is more complicated than it seems.

This is a wonderful debut novel that more than lived up to the hype there. Smart, engaging and a few touches of humor and heartbreak abound on the pages, much like a good episode of Molly’s favorite mystery show, Columbo:

After that, I dove into Marie Benedict’s The Mystery of Mrs. Christie and what a wicked treat that was!

The story is told in two parts, one through the eyes of Archie Christie, who is planning to leave his celebrity author wife Agatha for a younger woman that will cater more to his particular needs.

Agatha’s suspicious disappearance makes that rather difficult for him and thanks to a mysterious note that she left for Archie(which he quickly destroys before the police can read it), his agony over being in the spotlight becomes a slow motion torment.

Agatha gets her viewpoint in as a “manuscript “ written by her details her relationship with Archie, who grows controlling and cold towards her over the course of their marriage. Her reasons for why things have happened this way become clear but not without that clever twist of the proverbial knife that her best mystery stories are known for.

While I do know that Agatha Christie emerged from her eleven day disappearance just fine, claiming to have no memory of what occurred, this fictional version of that event was a thrilling suspense ride well worth taking.

Benedict gave this story a Gone Girl energy that was very justified (Archie was a total creep) and eerily entertaining indeed:

Finally, I wrapped things up with a Miss Marple mystery, At Bertram’s Hotel. It was good but not great, I have to say.

The main setting is a seemingly old style hotel in London that Jane Marple visits to do a little shopping and recall some fond memories from the past.

However, the disappearance of a confused clergyman and the schemes of a long estranged mother and daughter shake the place up to say the least. Miss Marple does lend a hand with the authorities via her keen observations but her role in these matters is rather minor for the most part, sad to say.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent read for a rainy weekend (which I finished the book during) but not one of the better Agatha Christie/Miss Marple books out there. Then again, a little Miss Marple can go a long way:

My thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for giving everyone who took part here a good opportunity to whittle down those looming TBR piles! I also hope that those who joined in here had a good time with their books as well.

While I am happy to have completed two readathon stacks in a row, my chances of doing that in June for the next challenge, Sci-Fi Summer , are slim to be sure. At least two of the books I plan on reading for that are quite hefty when it comes to page count. Since one of them is an out and out science fiction book, I really can’t switch it out for a smaller one(nor do I want to, actually).

The other pair of books are fantasy (which is allowed) and one of them is the third in a fairytale themed trilogy that ought to be a real show stopper in the best sense of the term. Well, at least they’re big enough to offer plenty of shade this summer!:

 

A birthday of bookish delights

Well, my birthday was celebrated earlier this week (as to my age, it’s like Faith the Vampire Slayer, five by five) and as these yearly occasions go, it was pretty nice there.

Naturally, I asked for books as presents and received a trilogy that I’ve been hearing great things about on BookTube-in particular from Books Like Whoa and Ellias Reads but no doubt, the fans of Robin Hobb’s fantasy novels are legion.

The Farseer trilogy, which is composed of Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest , introduces us to Fitz, who is the illegitimate son of a prince yet possesses the telepathic power known as Skill that runs through the royal bloodline.

He is allowed to train as an assassin but thwarted in his efforts by those seeking to weaken any potential threats to their political schemes. Fitz also has an ability called Wit that grants him psychic connections to animals, a power that is very much frowned upon by society.

That forbidden power may come in handy, however as a real threat to the throne arises that he may be the only one to stop in time. Yet at what ultimate cost?

This trilogy is the first of five sets of stories known as The Realm of the Elderlings and while I don’t know if I will get to them all, it feels like the right time to give Robin Hobb a try. From the fan love that I’ve seen so far, these books sound like an epic journey worth taking indeed:

For my big day, I went to my local library and the book gods were definitely smiling down on me as I found some recent releases readily available on the shelves.

One of those was Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest novel, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. The leading lady of the title is Carlotta, who has lived her entire life on her father’s remote estate in the Yucatán and has grown used to the hybrid beings that his experiments have brought to life.

When her father’s financial backer grows weary of waiting for viable results, his son Eduardo is sent to the Moreau household to investigate and he winds up falling in love with Carlota instead. 

She returns his feelings but the future of their relationship depends on the not so good doctor’s true intentions with his complicated creations.

Moreno-Garcia’s take on the H.G. Wells classic should be as creatively engaging and at times as heartrending as many of her wonderful works tend to be. Such a treat to borrow this on my birthday of all days!:

I was able to pair this up with the follow up to Stephen Graham Jones’ brilliant horror movie homage, My Heart is a Chainsaw.

Don’t Fear the Reaper brings Jade-now called Jennifer-Daniels back to her home town four years after the gruesome Independence Day massacre that she was accused of committing.

Cleared legally of those charges, Jennifer plans on starting her life over yet the escape of a justly convicted killer who is making his deadly way towards her promises to put those potential new possibilities on permanent hold. Using her extensive film knowledge to save the day might be even more difficult as it becomes apparent that the killer has done his gory cinematic homework as well.

I really enjoyed My Heart Is A Chainsaw and glad to see the second installment in this terror trilogy out and about. Finding it at the library was such a pleasant surprise, as odd as that may sound, yet a weirdly welcome invitation to meta horror that would a crime to  turn down:

The birthday vibes are going strong still as this upcoming weekend, my sister and I are going to a special screening of the 2007 animated adaptation of Persepolis.

I’ve seen this film before (and read both volumes of the graphic novel memoir by Marjane Satrapi) but not in a theater which makes all the difference.

 Plus, I can’t help but notice how eerily relevant this tale of trying to survive in more ways than one living under a repressive regime is these days. Yes, I do mean the incessant “culture wars “ that are causing real damage to many marginalized communities in our country right now.

It’s sad that we still can’t learn from the mistakes of the past and head for a better future together without some pathetic fools and manipulators insisting on dragging us back to their twisted version of “the good old days”.

What gives me hope, however, is seeing the determination of the younger generation not to let them

get away with this as well as the support of those of us growing older in these mutually beneficial efforts. 

Books like Persepolis have been targeted by censors for showing readers the universality of such struggles and this movie should bolster up many a worn out spirit to take on these challenges with renewed energy. Perhaps by this time next year, my birthday book bliss will have less of these dark clouds on the horizon-never hurts to hope:

 

Some cinematic creativity revives a pair of creature feature classics

 Movie monsters never truly die, it seems,especially when their origin stories are based upon books. 

Despite notions to the contrary, Dracula and Frankenstein(both doctor and creation) are making their pop culture presence known yet again. This time, however, fresh imaginative twists are given to these creature feature cocktails.

Most recently, we have the horror comedy Renfield which stars Nicholas Hoult as the iconic henchman to the infamous vampire king(Nicholas Cage, who clearly sinks his acting chops into this role). 

Renfield has been serving Dracula for decades but now with the assistance of a 12 step group and a new friend (Awkwafina), realizes that he has more to offer in life than bloody blue plate specials to his master. Naturally, his “boss” is not quick to accept Renfield’s resignation and decides to take matters into his own fangs.

So far, the reviews have been positive from audiences and critics alike with the movie making the top five at the opening weekend box office. This certainly sounds like fun and probably worth it just to see Cage in all of his gruesome glory:

For something a bit more seriously scary arriving later this summer, The Last Voyage of the Demeter takes an entire chapter from the Bram Stoker novel to bring to terrifying life onscreen.

As the captain (Liam Cunningham) and crew, which includes a doctor named Clemens(Corey Hawkins) and a stowaway (Aisling Franciosi) , must face the fact the body count on this nautical trip is higher due to a dangerous stranger in their midst, they have to work together against that bloodthirsty foe as well as the sea storms that threaten them all with mutual destruction.

Granted, if you’re familiar with Dracula, how this ends may not be surprising but then again, it is possible that some of these characters manage to live to tell this tale entertainingly well:

Meanwhile, this June brings a modern take on the Frankenstein front with The Angry Black Girl and her Monster.

Laya Deleon Hayes stars as Vicaria, a brilliant teen scientist that decides to test her theory that death is curable by attempting to revive her newly deceased brother via electricity.

The results are more unpredictable than she anticipated and ultimately, Vicaria must find a way to halt the path of destruction that she never intended to make worse for her loved ones.

This movie has garnered early praise on the film festival circuit and  this mix of Mary Shelley and modern horror promises to be a hauntingly emotional take on grief as well as the terror of trying to take control of chaos:

With all of the focus that Hollywood gives to rebooting and recreating formerly successful movies and television shows these days, it’s refreshing to see a few folks take up the mantle of reviving the tried and true classics of literature by using a new perspective or two there.

Sure, not every project turns out top notch but points at least trying to add something new to established material ought to be given.

 One definite benefit of such artistic attempts is introducing these stories to a whole new generation of readers who may be inspired to create freshly made tales of imagination via film, TV or theater. Even Shakespeare makes everything old new again in this brave new world of ours:

My Series-ous Reading plants a Murder in the Secret Garden

As spring is finally here, it’s somewhat fitting that the last of the first third of my Triple Play books for this year’s Series-ous Reading challenge has an outdoor theme.

Murder in the Secret Garden is the third title in Ellery Adams’ Book Retreat Mystery series, set at the quaint Storyton Hall where a hidden library is under the protection of Jane Steward and the band of guardians known as the Finns.

While those valuable books are not in danger this time around, Jane finds that she has a lot to contend as the resort is double booked for a wedding and a gathering of plant enthusiasts who call themselves the Medieval Herbalists.

Since one of the Herbalists is attending the wedding, the arrangements aren’t too bad at first. However when one of the flora admirers. a free spirited woman named Kira Grace, is found supposedly drowned during a local event, things start to get rather thorny.

When it’s determined that Kira died from poisoning, Jane suspects one of the Herbalists, a celebrity true crime maven who proudly calls herself “The Poison Princess”. While there’s not much evidence of her direct involvement, she’s not well liked within her group and a little too gleeful about the gruesome death details:

Jane and the Finns soon realize that they must look elsewhere for the killer, particularly when a local hermit aka “The Druid” is discovered to be poisoned as well.

 The secret garden of the title is grown by The Druid in order to provide natural remedies to those who can’t afford regular medicine and research materials for modern medicinal purposes.

 However, his demise occurred not long after the Medieval Herbalists paid an unannounced visit to his private plantings and to find out how his death ties in with Kira’s passing, a few secrets and lies need to be unearthed.

After taking this third trip to Storyton Hall, I have to say that this series is definitely one that grows on you.

Adams is very adapt at creating small communities of characters that feel like folks you’d like to visit and live among on a regular basis.

Having the extra bonus of a secret network of book protectors around to assist in solving the murders that turn up here enhances the various plot points and gives Jane a solid team of hero support to rely on.

Speaking of support, Jane’s love life is fortunately not neglected as suspected book thief Edwin Alcott turns out to be more of an ally than an enemy in that department , making him eligible for a romantic entanglement indeed!

I also like the subtle bookish hints within the stories such as in this entry, two of the supporting characters are reimagined gender swapped versions of the lead from the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic alluded to in the title.

All in all, this trio of Book Retreat mysteries was a fine introduction to this charming corner of Ellery Adam’s literary world that I will return to in the near future:

For my next set of Triple Play reading, I’ll be catching up on Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries starting with book six, Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House.

Our Dear Jane is staying with her naval brother Frank to not only support his wife Mary during her first pregnancy but to help save one of his good friends from the gallows.

Captain Tom Seagrave is accused of unjustly killing a French officer during a boating raid and although Frank would benefit by taking over Seagrave’s ship if convicted, he would prefer to save his friend from death and dishonor.

While Jane is only familiar with the navy from her civilian perspective, the keen eye for human folly that she’s developed over time should be a key part in saving one man and perhaps advancing the other’s career.

As Persuasion is one of my favorite Austen novels, this particular book has quite the hold on my interests indeed and it will be interesting to see any potential Captain Wentworth types appear on this horizon:

 

Enjoying a slice of BOMC birthday cake

As I’ve mentioned before, I have been a member of the Book of the Month club for about a year now, which makes me eligible for certain perks now.

Since April is my birth month (I share that  particular day with Al Pacino!), BOMC gives me a free book in my regular order and I was excited indeed to receive such an early birthday gift!

My special selection for this occasion was a new release ,Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti. The leading lady of this story and the title is a young woman who went to Hollywood hoping to become a screenwriter but instead finds the closest she can get to stardom is by tending bar at an Oscar party.

At that party, she meets Julian, a big league film producer who has won numerous awards and has at least three ex-wives to his dubious credit. Despite that background, Advika is swept off her feet and marries Julian rather quickly, which brings her into a whole new world of drama.

For one thing, Evie Lockhart, actress and one of Julian’s former wives, has a clause in her will that grants Advika a million dollars if she divorces him. Another of her new husband’s exes, Nova, a singer has several of her albums discussing her marriage and Wife number Three is headlining a reality show based on the infamous nature of that marriage.

Harboring some serious regrets about rushing into this relationship, Advika decides to look further into Julian’s life to see if she can undo this hasty misstep into marriage without too much damage done.

I haven’t read Ramisetti before but I do like the premise and it sounds like a mix of heartfelt emotions and behind the scenes of La La Land fun. I do hope that there’s a bit of satirical snark tossed in for fictitious flavor as well:

I paired that with Curtis Sittenfeld’s  Romantic Comedy , set in the small screen world of late night television.

Sally Milz is one of the top writers for The Night Owls, a long running sketch comedy show that allows her to blow off steam about the double standards that she and other women still deal with in the entertainment industry.

This week’s celebrity host is Noah Brewster, a singer/songwriter that Sally would love to loathe but she just can’t. He happens to be a decent person and the chemistry between them is almost impossible to ignore.

Nevertheless, she manages to resist his charms as sincere as they might be, in order to avoid having her heart broken yet again by another too-good-to-be-true man. Is Sally right to hit pause on this relationship or should she fast forward to her true heart’s desire?

Sittenfeld does know her way around a smartly written romance with pop culture punch and adding some Saturday Night Live vibes to this plot line platform promises to be next level, Nora Ephron style with a tasty TV twist:

To round this out, my third pick was something completely different in the best sense of the term.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle takes place in 1915, as Adelaide Henry sets out for Montana to claim a piece of land under a provision in the law that lets single women and/or widows expand the US territories. All she has with her is a knowledge of farming and a locked trunk that holds more than family secrets.

Staking her claim among the folks of Big Sandy is not as bad as it seems at first. Yet it’s not long before suspicious eyes are turned in her direction and the true terrors contained within that trunk are not held back. Adelaide wants nothing more than to find some peace in life but the past may come back to haunt her in more ways than one and dangerous to others as well.

I have heard nothing but positive word of mouth about this book, plus critical praises to the skies. Historical horror fiction is tricky to pull off but LaValle has clearly done his homework here and adds his own engaging flair to the material. Sounds like good fright night fun to me:

As pleased as I am with my BOMC blue box selections, there was another book related development that gave me bore-birthday joy recently.

Over this past weekend, I was able to finally go to a physical bookstore which I haven’t been able to do in years.

I know this sounds trivial but for me, it was like touching grass. To be in such a bookish space with brand new hardcovers, paperbacks and other literary items as far as the eye can see was exhilarating. 

Sure, my local library is great and ordering books online has it’s advantages but walking among freshly printed books is akin to breathing in the aromas of a bakery that has just set out their fresh batch of treats for the day.

Picking only one book was difficult but fortunately, Mike Chen’s Vampire Weekend called out to me from the shelf it was waiting for me on.

 The story is centered around Louise, who had to abandon her musical dreams due to becoming a vampire but with the arrival of her young cousin Ian, might have those doused flames reignited by introducing him to the best that punk rock has to offer.

The best birthday presents are the unexpected ones, if you ask me and one way or another, I hope to have more of the page turning variety by the time my actual birthday cake is ready to be sliced:

 

Springing into April with a couple of book hauls

While it still feels like winter outside, spring is definitely in the air,folks, and since my birthday happens to be in April, the prefect excuse to get more books is almost gift wrapped there.

To be practical, I made my bimonthly trip to the library and have already started one of my selections, Anne Claire’s Dead and Gondola, which is the first in a new series called A Christie Bookshop Mystery.

Ellie Christie and her sister Meg are not related to the famous author (apart from their cat Agatha) but do enjoy many a mystery read at their family run bookstore named The Book Chalet in the small ski resort town of Last Word, Colorado.

When a strange man interrupts their book club meeting and leaves behind a satchel that contains a Mary Westmacott novel(a known pen name that Agatha Christie used), Ellie and Meg take the first chance they get to return to him. That opportunity occurs on a ski slope gondola but before they reach the bottom, the man is found dead from a knife wound.

Since neither sister saw anyone else enter that gondola with him, it’s the ultimate locked room mystery to solve. Ellie takes the lead on finding out whodunnit before anyone else is bookmarked for death.

So far, this is a light and breezy read that makes me want to spend more time with these characters. Here’s hoping that this series (book two, Last Word to the Wise, is due out by October!) becomes a binge worthy delight for bookish fans everywhere:

Along with a foodie romance (Ramon and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertsons), I added One Italian Summer  to the mix.

Rebecca Serve’s novel focuses on Katy, a thirty year old woman trying to get over the death of her mother. Feeling burnt out, she decides to take a trip to Positano, Italy, a plan that Katy and her mom made together yet never got the chance to go.

While there, she meets Carol, who not only shares her mother’s name but most of the same personality traits as well. Is this younger version of her mom just wish fulfillment projecting or is Katy getting an otherworldly opportunity that she shouldn’t squander?

I’ve been hearing good things about this book and borrowing it from the library was the perfect way to take this emotional journey from the comfort of my home. Plus, the summer in Italy vibes  emanating from this story are too strong to resist :

Of course I can’t resist a good sale, especially when Better World Books has a copy of something Agatha Christie themed that I’ve been wanting to read for awhile now.

Marple is a collection of modern day writers such as Ruth Ware, Alyssa Cole, Jean Kwok and Leigh Bardugo to name a few, who each give their own take on Christie’ s Miss Jane Marple for this set of short stories.

I do confess to preferring Miss Marple to Poirot (nothing against him, just find her a bit more fascinating) and this sounds like a great way to check out some new-to-me authors such as Bardugo, Ella Griffiths and Naomi Alderman.

Plus, the titles of some of these stories sound so awesome-“Miss Marple Takes Manhattan” or “Evil in Small Places” for example.  Not to mention the artwork for this book is elegantly lovely to boot. Really finding it hard to not dive into this ultimate reading group experience:

Since I do need to read more Miss Marple books as well, pairing this collection with A Murder is Announced certainly felt fitting.

The title event starts with a newspaper advertisement that is invites the residents of Chipping Cleghorn to attend this potentially lethal gathering.

Most of the attendees think this is some sort of odd joke or publicity stunt but when the lights go out and someone is indeed dead, it is most fortunate that Miss Marple is in town for a spa treatment. Hopefully her insights into logical actions and illogical people can lead the authorities to the killer before another demise is advertised.

I’m glad to read more classic Christie and yes, I did hear of the recent decision to reprint many of her works without certain poorly aged terms included. 

This is not as new as some might think (look into the original title of And Then There Were None to see what I mean) and as long as the plot points are the same, updating the text is not an absolute negative in this regard.

If it brings newer generations to enjoy the craft of Christie’s crime solving and detectives like Miss Marple, so much the better. Jane Marple might be old fashioned in some ways but when it comes to discovering the truth behind a terrible crime, no one truly does it as subtly savvy as her:

All of this before my Book of the Month club selections are available (I am supposed to be getting a free book for my birthday from them, yay!) and my latest readathon starts this upcoming weekend, my literary dance card is full for sure!

I will try to keep things steady on that fictional front but when it comes to my current taste for old school mysteries, I suspect that I’m not alone in wanting some less stressful crime solving these days.

A great example of that is one of my newest favorite shows, So Help Me Todd, which stars Marcia Gay Harden as Margaret Wright, a newly single lawyer who tries to aid her wayward son Todd(Skyler Astin) by giving him a low level job at her legal firm. My pitch for this series is “Psych meets Murder She Wrote” as this dynamic duo both cleverly and charmingly save the day.

The show has been renewed for a second season and it is definitely worth your time to check this meeting of the generational minds for some excellent prime crime time viewing. Plus, you can catch up on your reading during the commercials:

 

Checking into a Christie inspired Spring Into Horror suite

One of the true signs that spring has officially arrived for me these days is the sign up post for the latest Seasons of Reading readathon.

Spring Into Horror begins in April (which also happens to be my birth month-yah!) and what I consider as a birthday bonus is that you can read any type of scary story ranging from cozy mystery to suspense and beyond.

Since I’m feeling very much in the mood for some old school with a modern day twist mystery, my TBR trio for this month long event is in the moderate range. Kind of a bookish staycation that starts by checking in with Agatha Christie‘a Miss Marple.

At Bertram”a Hotel sends our dear Jane Marple to the title establishment in London as a trip down memory lane, so to speak.

While the place is not as grand as it once was in her youth, she finds much to entertain her by observing the various guests, particularly a mother and daughter whose estrangement may lead to murder.

I do enjoy the laid back nature of Miss Marple’s crime solving ways as it allows for the other characters to fully develop without suspecting the quiet elderly lady taking mental notes on them all. Should be quite the sinister sight seeing trip indeed:

Speaking of Agatha and her mysterious ways, my next pick is Marie Benedict‘a The Mystery of Mrs. Christie which looks at the eleven day disappearance of the world famous author back in 1926.

That unexpected vanishing act threw her rather unfaithful husband Archie into a white hot spotlight of suspicion from not only the police but others around him. Is he actually the cause of her unknown departure or just as confused as everyone else? And does he deserve this scrutiny for many other reasons there?

There’s a bit of a Gone Girl vibe to this setup but perhaps a more justified version of that theme based upon what I know of their real life marriage. Making Christie the centerpiece of a mystery she might have written ought to be slowly simmering fun:

Rounding out this literary visit is a check-in with The Maid.

The leading lady of Nita Prose’s debut novel is Molly, whose passion for cleaning is well channeled by her job at the Regency Grand hotel. It also suits her particular personality traits which make Molly seem off putting to some people.

When she discovers the dead body of a prominent guest   in one of the rooms she’s assigned to, Molly and her manner of fact tone about the whole thing brings unwarranted suspicion on her from the police and her less than friendly coworkers. 

In order to protect herself from prosecution, Molly must put her eye for detail to use to find the real killer before her check out time is made permanent.

The Maid has such great word of mouth and critical praise that I’m surprised that I waited so long to read it. My patience will be well rewarded, no doubt. What really appeals to me about this story is the Knives Out energy that it has, with its sly look at mystery tropes and social commentary asides there:

Spring Into Horror begins on April 1(no joke) and lasts the whole month. You can check out more info on it here and my thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for making  such great opportunities for book talk happen.

When it comes to reviving old fashioned murder mysteries these days, nobody does it like writer/director Rian Johnson, I must say. 

From Knives Out to The Glass Onion and now the streaming series Poker Face(which I haven’t seen due to Hulu not being in my entertainment budget), making everything old new again is not as easy as it seems yet he pulls it off as splendidly as a magician doing the tablecloth trick to a T.

He’s even spurred a renewal of interest in Columbo, which is credited as the muse for Poker Face. Now that show is readily available for viewing in so many ways and my whole family likes to have a Columbo night at least once a week. 

With all of the tension out in the world today, it feels nice to spend some crime time with Mr. “Just one more thing” there indeed:

 

Soaring to new heights with a couple of Women’s History Month reads

 March is more than just the start   to spring or setting up basketball brackets; it’s also Women’s History Month, where we honor the achievements of all women everywhere.

While I don’t get into nonfiction as much as I should perhaps, an interesting book came my way recently that not only suits this theme perfectly but shows that underestimating certain groups of people is usually an unexpected advantage in the fight for equality.

The Great Stewardess Rebellion by Nell McShane Wulfhart tells the real life tales of several women during the 1960s and 70s who worked as airline stewardesses and fought to bring the power of the union to make serious changes to the industry.

One of those women was Patt Gibb, who planned to become a manager someday rather than be made to leave her job by the age of thirty five or when she got married (whichever came first). 

She wound up being elected as a union representative meant to speak up for her co-workers but soon realized that the male dominated Transport Workers Union only saw her and her colleagues as add-ons at best.

Patt decided to form The Association of Professional Flight Attendants with the aid of such folk as Tommie Hutto who was a key member of Stewardesses for Equal Rights and lawyer Sonia Pressman who encouraged her bosses at the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission to take the airlines to court for sexual discrimination.

Wulfhart narrates their stories in an instantly engaging manner, displaying the earnest energy each woman had to make this new working experience for women be a rewarding one. 

I was lucky enough to win a copy of the newly released paperback edition of this book along with a TWA travel bag and other items seen in the picture above (super heroine figures not included, just part of my personal collection!) and very thankful for that indeed. The best part of this prize pack is the chance to learn more about how stewardesses went from being seen as sky high servants to viable members of the airline community:

Since I do like historical fiction for subjects like this, I checked my TBR stacks and found something that should pair up very well with this nonfiction narrative.

Beatriz Williams’ Her Last Flight uses Amelia Earhart as the inspiration for her leading lady Irene Foster, a female pilot who trains with former war hero Sam Mallory to become an independent flier in her own right.

Nonetheless, she and Sam do gain some fame together due to being marooned during an attempt at a nonstop fight to Australia during the 1930s. Their rescue separates them emotionally before Irene’s mysterious disappearance on a solo flight appears to do so for good but is she really gone and was that vanishing act the right choice?

Williams possesses a flair for vivid fictional portraits of  women who wish to fly free from the seemingly impenetrable restrictions of their society and yet have to find their footing as carefully as possible. With a figure like Amelia Earhart as her guiding star here, this novel appears to be the ideal vehicle for her talents:

Women’s history should be more than just a one time special event (and that includes ALL women from every section of our world) . It is good to use this month as a starting off point there, if only to discover how any woman can be the superhero of her own situation and get a little help from her friends along the way: