Review: Traitor to the Throne

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this for the Supernatural square for Halloween Bingo

Legends were never what you expected when you saw them up close. I was no exception.

Second in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy, you definitely want to have read the first in the series before you dive into this one. While the first drops you into this world filled with supernatural beings, our heroine Amani is a demdji, daughter of a human woman and male djinn, and country at war. This first was a lot of action and I felt a little lost as the world building and explanations felt a little forgotten. This second one still had action in it but it slows down a bit with a focus on the characters and we get to know the other side, the father of the Rebel Prince, the Sultan.

‘The world is a lot more complicated than it seems when you are seventeen, Amani.’

Amani is captured and spends the majority of the book as a prisoner in the Sultan's harem. The conversations she has with the Sultan were some of my favorite parts of this books, I love when the villains are given more depth, not just evil caricatures. I thought it was very interesting how the author had Amani having an internally battle about what she was fighting for; analytical conflict makes things more compelling.

I’d move the whole world to make up for what I’d done to Tamid. But I wouldn’t ever give it up for him. Not for anyone. The difference was, Jin had never asked me to. He’d taken my hand to show it to me instead.

If you're looking for a lot of Jin and Amani, you're going to be a bit disappointed, they spend the majority of the book apart. Jin kind of gets the shaft in this book and while I thought all the other characters had great insights and depth explored, he was left out in the cold. When Amani is captured and he “disappears” I was disappointed in how vague and forced his absence seemed to be to keep Amani in the harem, his whereabouts and reasons are given like a sentence to explain it away and didn't make a lot of sense. However, when they are on the page together, they spark enticingly.

He stood as tall as one of the huge pillars down here in this ancient palace vault. Only he wasn’t just holding up a palace. He was holding up the world. One of God’s First Beings who had made the First Mortal. Who had made all of mankind. Who’d made me.

There was a lot of tales, myth, and history weaved into this, at times I thought it helped with the world building and others it seemed to make things unnecessarily clogged with extra characters and more supernatural ethos that was hard to keep track of. It does set-up the third book nicely though with a new challenge for our Rebel crew and potential for a huge battle.

‘The trouble with belief is that it’s not the same as truth.’

Even though it changed the action pace of the first to a more slowed down get to know the characters pace, I really enjoyed this second addition to the trilogy. There is a huge cast of characters and magical world to keep straight and track of but I believe this is worth the effort. I can't wait to read the third where we, hopefully, get more Jin and Amani, and the conclusion to the Rebel Prince's battle for a country.

On that day, a hundred thousand men and women would come to watch and each would tell the story of what they saw there.

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Reading Update: 50%

‘The world is a lot more complicated than it seems when you are seventeen, Amani'

Definitely can't just pick this on up, want to have had read the first in the series. Started off kind of slow, a good amount rehashing. Has picked up the last couple chapters, though. Missing more Jin and Amani action but I'm kind of digging her time with the Sultan and the conversations they are having. Gives great depth to the villain or opposition that was more of a shadowy evil in the distance in the first book.

Still, though, more Jin, please :)

Review: A Brief Lunacy

A Brief Lunacy by Cynthia Thayer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this for the Genre: Suspense square for Halloween Bingo

What have I done? Who is he? Does he know something? Does he know Sylvie? He’s not just a camper who’s been robbed, is he?

A retired married couple living in Maine get a phone call that their schizophrenic daughter has runaway from her institution with her boyfriend Ralph. As they sit at home waiting by the phone for more information, they get phone calls from their daughter Sylvie saying she is in Ohio to get married to Ralph and at other times she is making her way to them, visits from their neighbor Hans and his wife Marte, and a camper claiming he was robbed looking for a place to sleep for the night. These happenings are told from pov chapters from both Carl and Jessie our married couple as they think back on their life and their connection to one another.

“Carl, I have to do this. God is watching me.”

The first half of this was slow nail biting dread as the story has you get to know the nice normal couple but the atmosphere is building the suspense. Interspersed with the happenings are personal stories that help give us a deep delve into Carl and Jessie. We learn that Carl was interned at Birkenau during WWII but Jessie has never really asked about it, she knows but doesn't know.

The second half kind of shifts from the horror suspense angle into psychological thriller with emotional historical fiction leanings. It felt a bit unnatural with characters, Jessie almost starts to join forces with their mysterious camper to learn about Carl's past, acting in a way that was obvious to push this more towards a historical fiction recounting of the atrocities performed at internment camps. This is where I began to lose a lot of enjoyment for the story. I, personally, can find it hard at times to read fictional accounts of such horrific acts, like the Holocaust, in books that are not for educational purposes or non-fiction personal accounts; it starts to feel like salacious horror for entertainment to me. I'm not saying it never works for me but, here, the contrast from the beginning was too jarring.

Sometimes mothers hope against hope for their children.

The mood (stark, dread, building suspense) and writing style (the pov chapters almost read like stream of consciousness at times) in the first half sucked me in but the second half had characters acting in ways that felt unnatural, left some questions unanswered (why was tree so focused on??), and for the most part abandoned it's horror suspense for psychological historical fiction, a transition that didn't work for me.

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Reading Update: 50%

I look at Jonah, who is holding out a sketch pad. I almost laugh out loud. Here we are, being tortured by a madman, and I’m going to draw a seagull in the midst of it all.

This is chilling in a way I can't fully describe. The suspense build-up slowly weaves in and crawls up you spine. 

And what is up with that damn tree?? Is there anything up with the tree???

Has anyone read this before?

Review: Out of the Frying Pan

Out of the Frying Pan by Michelle Griep
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I read this for the Amateur Sleuth square for Halloween Bingo

The myriad of crime novels she’d read had surely trained her for a moment like this. Author Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta dug into every murder she encountered. She’d never leave a crime scene. Fern squared her shoulders.

The cover should say cozy mystery with zany amateur sleuths and a little romance on the side instead of the other way around, this was about 90% zany amateur sleuthing with 10% romance.

Zula and Fern are sisters who find a dead body in their little retirement community and set-out to find the killer. Fern suspects Black Widow Bob, Zula's intended beau and Zula suspects overly suave Phillipe, Fern's intended beau. Detective Jared is sent in to solve the case and Fern and Zula decide he would make a fantastic life long partner for their niece. Little do they know, their niece KC and Jared had met online, developed a close online relationship but KC broke it off when she thought she meet a great guy in real life.

As you can imagine, misunderstandings, white lies, zany interactions, official and not official investigating, and some actual danger fill out the story. Jared and KC don't actually meet in person until around the 50% (the coincidence of it all was thisclose to being too much for me), I would definitely say this story is centered on Fern and Zula as you'll follow them around for the vast majority of the time.

I'm not big on zany stuff, breaking into someone's home and snooping around because you think they are a murderer only to be caught because the little dog with you lets out a yelp/screech/bark, just isn't in my funny wheelhouse but if it's your thing, this story is chalk full of scenes and instances like that.

The eventual unwinding of the mystery and who was guilty seemed overly convoluted and extremely rushed at the end. This story was strong on Fern and Zula running around being zany and not so much on solid mystery plot thread, or maybe the this is who is guilty dump at the end disappointed me enough to not think it was worth wading through all the zany.

This is also a Christian book but wasn't overhanded with it, the beginning mentions it, the middle ignores any heavy tones, and the end brushes broad strokes over certain characters at the end.

The coincidences and seemingly adding and connecting of characters made the story seemed haphazardly thrown together. If you're wanting to read a story with two retirement members running around being zany and quite possibly causing more harm than good with a pinch of clean romance, this will more than fill your zany tank.

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Review: Carolina Moon

Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this for the Murder Most Foul square for Halloween Bingo

"So many," Tory whispered.
"All were sexual homicides. Raped and strangled. There was no semen. There was some physical violence, particularly in the facial area. That escalates with each victim."
"Because their faces aren't right. Their faces aren't hers. Hope's."

The main and underlining impetus for this story was the rape and murder of an eight year old girl who was the bestfriend of our heroine, Tory; pretty dark stuff. I couldn't help always having that in the back of my mind, even though the author kind of leaves the head on dealing with it until more toward the back end of the second half.

You couldn't erase the past, or kill it, or wish it out of existence . Nor could you will away the present or change what was coming. We were all trapped in that cycle of time, just circling around the core of yesterdays. Sometimes those yesterdays were strong enough, willful enough, to suck you back no matter how hard you struggled.

This story is more of an ensemble piece with a secondary romance that I kind of wish got its own book and two handfuls of family and townspeople edging into the spotlight. This, along with the slow almost murky like way of the atmosphere of the story, kept the main couple's romance from being felt. Our hero Cade was the brother of Tory's bestfriend that was murdered and he never truly felt fully fleshed out for me. He comes on a bit stronger at the end but he kind of instantly goes for Tory (I love me some build up) and it ends up more of a willful strong arm relationship, Cade, at times, just telling Tory how it is going to be with Tory initially balking but eventually going along with him. I like a man who knows and shows what he wants but he immediately starts off this way and without the foundation for knowing Tory, it felt pushy and not too terribly romantic.

"He frightens me, and embarrasses me. By trying to keep it contained, as always, I thought I'd limit the fear and humiliation. It's hateful to be a victim, Cade. Makes you feel exposed and angry and somehow guilty at the same time."

With the underlining murder mystery and the two romances, the bulk of this is family dynamics and oof, are there some doozies. Tory's father was physically abusive and with her psychic abilities (Tory can sense emotions from people so strongly she can "see" their thoughts) she can sense some other dark aspects of his personality. Cade's family has the emotional pain of losing a daughter and sibling, swirling around and tearing them apart. The two handfuls of secondary characters are indirectly and at times directly affected by these issues, which leads to some great real moments between characters. However, it also lead to some dragging issues in the middle.

I'm a Yankee, so sometimes when I read these books set in the south I don't quite jive with the beat or tones. There was a languidness, thick, humid, slowly fanning yourself on the porch while you sip iced tea, that I thought slowed the pace the down. Tory's life after her bestfriend was killed isn't really explained until more towards the end but it felt implied she moved back to her hometown to find out truly what happened, for such a big issue, it felt pushed too much too the side. There was also some trope role characters that the author did a good job breathing layers and complexity to, Cade's sister, but others that for a book published in 2000 were disappointingly locked in, Cade's family housekeeper/nanny.

I know mysteries like, to well, keep the mystery going but when they stay to the side for so long, I think they end up feeling unknown or ineffectual. There are clues to who the murderer is but I wanted more insight into them, instead of one ending scene where thoughts and motivations are relayed concisely but quickly.

I liked this, some great emotional complexities were weaved in out, but it was a little slow moving for me. The rape and murder of an eight year old girl is never easy to read about, so be prepared for that, along with physical violence. If you're looking for an unhurried heavy on the family dynamics, mystery, with some romance, and love iced tea, this would be a well written option.

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Menu Monday

You get double the usual amount of recipes this time since I missed last weeks Menu Monday :)


Shredded Chicken and Rice Stuffed Peppers (Halloween Style)

Ok, so I won't lie, these take a little bit of time and effort to make, especially if you make the Mexican Rice recipe, which I recommend you do because delicious. I make these every year because they aren't too challenging, just time sucking. But look how adorable they are! They also have the bonus of tasting fantastic, always get a "These are really good!". I pack my little pumpkins and get 4 with a little left over. If wanting to bring some fun to the table and feel the season, these would be top pick :)

Vegan Roasted Cauliflower Chipotle Pizza

You better be a fan of kick and spice because this little puppy has some bark. When I made the chipotle sauce I substituted mayo with Greek yogurt (I know, I know, not technically vegan anymore) and added about two tablespoons of water. Roasting the cauliflower takes 20 minutes but you can make the jalapeno cream sauce while doing that. You have to love hotness to like this one but oh man was this good. I, of course, got the "you should make this with chicken instead of cauliflower" because the sauce was such a hit. For the non-meateaters who love kick, this is a must make.

Spicy Cauliflower Power Bowl

I ended up loving this one, which first looking at the recipe, I didn't think would happen. This doesn't look like much but it was filling and so tasty. I sauteed my kale with some garlic, cooked the quinoa in veg broth, and then poured some extra cauliflower sauce over the chickpeas and quinoa. Had a nice amount of spice and the combination of everything went so well together. So good, if want something tasty that probably only took me a little over half hour to make and feel like a boss ass healthy person, this is your go to.

Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges 

I literally had one left when I remember to take a picture of these, lol. I'm a fry gal, I dream of fries, god do I love me some fries. These were pretty simple with some paprika sprinkled on doing most of the flavor work. I enjoyed them because fries any shape, size, or flavor have my vote. If you can see, I also sprinkled some shredded cheese on top because CHEESE AND FRIES. 

Firecracker Salmon with Peach Avocado Salsa

This one takes some time because you have to thaw the salmon and then marinate it for half to an hour but after that it goes quick and is really easy. I put mine on rice because hey, simple. Again, I bow down to these people that come up with seemingly wackadoodle flavor combos, peaches?!?, that turn out so freaking good. I'm starting to think "flavor combos" is my new "give it some kick". I paired this with white wine and jammie pants. 

Vegan Spicy Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Have I mentioned I love sweet potatoes? I imagine I have mentioned that only slightly less than my love of spicy and kick. This recipe combined those loves together really well. The cashew sauce was so good, y'all. I do think sprinkling on some halved cashews would give it some nice texture and crunch because it did feel like maybe something was missing but still good taste overall and probably only took around 45mins to make. 

Southwest Turkey, Vegetable, and Rice Skillet

The least photogenic and probably what I would call the loser of the week. I didn't add the zucchini because I loathe it, so maybe that would make it better? It was ok but just lacked something taste wise for me. Maybe kick? I kid, I kid, but yeah, blah. Was simple and easy to make without being time consuming, though.

Brownie Cupcakes

This is another Halloween one I make every year and let me tell you, this are f*ing amazing. God, I'm sitting here wishing I had another 26 to shove in my face. The brownie and cupcake with butter frosting is unhealthy in a way I don't fully want to think about as I ate 2 a day but Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I'll go to my grave ecstatic having eaten these even if they send me there early. Takes some time to make but not a lot and are pretty simple to put together. Sometimes I have to be careful taking the wrapper off as the brownie part wants to stick to it, so be aware of that. Make these and then try not to light 10 candles in my name after tasting these sweet, sweet heavenly demons.

Very Cherry Smoothie 

This was pretty good but trying to find frozen cherries took me to two grocery stores, who knew frozen cherries were not popular. I think the orange juice worked to overpower this, so I would do less next time but overall pretty good for a smoothie.

Lemon Peel - candied and roasted

Oh my god, did I say the turkey thing was the fail of the week? I TAKE IT ALL BACK. These little shits were the worst. They take TWO DAYS to make, scraping the pith off is not as easy as they make it seem (took me almost an hour), the heating, the draining, the reheating, the sitting, aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. They are a pain in the neck to deal with but my friends, the biggest sin of all? They tasted like bitter peels when I was done. The smaller ones tasted a little better but once you chew enough to remove the sugar coating, the fact that you just spent two days trying to make a lemon peel taste like candy slaps you across the face REAL quick. I halved the recipe, thank god, but I think four were consumed (I can't even begin to tell you how I tried to lie to myself that these tasted good because of all the time and effort. I think it was Raiden walking away, he never walks away when I'm consuming something!) before I threw in the towel and dumped the rest. The time. The effort. I'll be bitter about this one for a while.

Any food goodies to share?

Review: White is for Witching

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this for the Diverse Voices square for Halloween Bingo

White is for witching, a colour to be worn so that all other colours can enter you, so that you may use them.

Creepy, intriguing, mysterious, frustrating, and melancholy, White is for Witching had a very strong start that sagged a bit in the middle and then ultimately puttered out into its own enigmatic mysteries.

Miranda can’t come in today Miranda has a condition called pica she has eaten a great deal of chalk—she really can’t help herself—she has been very ill—Miranda has pica she can’t come in today, she is stretched out inside a wall she is feasting on plaster she has pica try again:

To me, the house (and any real or imagined non-human inhabitants) is the sun with Miranda being Mercury, her twin brother Eliot as Venus, and their father Earth. Secondary characters such as a friend Miranda makes at college called Ore would be a moon of Mercury and the housemaid Sade could be a comet. This is an odd way to place the characters but I don't want to spoil too much of the story but still give an idea of the story's placement of characters.

The way this story is written and structured is different, povs from mainly Miranda, Eliot, and the house (yes, the house has a pov), flow in and out with blips from Sade, Ore, and maybe a couple other minor ones I am forgetting. You need to be on your game to fully understand who is talking but even then, things can get confusing with possible unreliable narrators and not knowing what is real and mental health issues.

The horror of the story is that there is a house that is possibly haunted, maybe by a soucouyant (a witch in Caribbean folklore), maybe by a curse on the female line of a family, and maybe simply a daughter that lost her mother and is spiraling down a mental health destructive hole. This story centers on women, their strengths and weaknesses; Eliot plays a good sized role but he is still clearly on the sidelines along with his father who is ineffectual in his drowning grief for his wife.

They were naked except for corsets laced so tightly that their desiccated bodies dipped in and out like parchment scrolls bound around the middle. They stared at Miranda in numb agony. Padlocks were placed over their parted mouths, boring through the top lip and closing at the bottom. Miranda could see their tongues writhing.

The beginning had me captured with Eliot leading us into the story about how his mother died and how his sister is withering away because she seems only able to eat chalk. From Eliot's point of view it seems more like a mental health issue with occasional povs from the house and Miranda popping in to make you believe in the shiver going up your spine. The middle starts to transition to more of Miranda's point of view, her struggles with her mental health and the house, along with looks at Miranda's female ancestors.

When Miranda leaves the house for a little while is when the story started to lose me a bit. Sade and Ore get added to the story, I thought Ore was too late of an additive and even though she brought an outside look and probably worked to more definitively answer the mental health or truly haunted question, I missed the atmosphere of the house and Eliot with Miranda.

“I’m to go home. The house wants me,” she cried. The moonlight made her look blue. It made her look as if she was dead. She opened my window and sat herself on the ledge; she dangled her bare legs over it. We were four floors up.

I don't know how many have watched the tv series The Leftovers but this story gave me the same kind of feelings. Majorly intriguing start, with questions, mysteries, and interesting characters everywhere, only to maybe out write themselves and end up leaving a lot up in the air in a way that devalues the story.

As far as giving you the heebie jeebies, this will definitely do it, some scenes had me looking hard into dark corners in my house. As far as the characters sticking with me, probably not, as they didn't quite become fully fleshed out to me. I do know I would love to see this made into a limited series, Netflix get on that, the psychomanteum room scenes would be chilling good.

That was the first and last time I’ve heard my own voice.

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Reading Update: 30%

Why do people go to these places, these places that are not for them? It must be that they believe in their night vision. They believe themselves able to draw images up out of the dark. But black wells only yield black water.

Holy shit, this is creepy af. Has anyone else ever read this? It's about a twin siblings, the girl has pica (psychological disorder that drives people to eat non-nutritious things, ex. chalk), their mother was killed abroad, their father is drowning in grief, and the house seems to be haunted. 

If you saw the movie Hereditary, this kind of has the same tone with grief, sense of dread, and possible haunting horror. This line about grief was oof to the emotions: Waiting, now, for the day Lily died to be over, but for some reason that day will not stop.

I started this last night and spooked myself out a couple times. 

Review: In a Class By Itself

In a Class By Itself by Sandra Brown
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I've been posting my reviews online for about 10yrs now, I know I've liked books that could have some problematic characters, actions, and storylines (This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, comes to mind) but as I get older and in our current climate, I'm really having to challenge and make decisions on what I'll go along with for the sake of the story.

Suddenly he bellowed and vaulted out of the tub. Reaching down, he closed his fist around her mane of hair and hauled her up with him. Furious, dripping water and rage in equal proportions, he shoved his angry face toward hers. His voice was surprisingly mild. She would have preferred shouting.

I wish I could say that this would have stopped me in my tracks at 25yrs old as it did at 35yrs old, but I'm not sure. All I know is that currently, it made me immediately put the book down. This is the "hero" acting towards the heroine.

They were high school sweethearts who ran away to get married but her parents forced them to get an annulment because they thought the hero was too poor and other-side of the tracks. They meet back up at their 10yr high school reunion where the hero not quite so teasingly demands a wedding night. They are being hot and heavy when the heroine tries to put the breaks on and she then tells him why she stayed after the reunion broke up at his house, the charity she helps wants to buy some land the hero owns. He gets angry because he thinks she was using her body to get a good deal on the land. He then basically holds her hostage claiming he'll sell her the land if she lives at this house as his concubine.

It's a hurt revenge angle that was seen quite often in '80s romance, along with the endless descriptions of fashion (the heroine has an eel skin purse and matching heels!). After this scene, there really was no hope for me to ever connect to the hero, he physically assaulted the heroine in my eyes. I skim read the rest of the book (I rate books whether I read fully, skim, or dnf, it is the way I keep track of books so don't @ me) and wasn't all into the heroine still wanting the hero to love her.

Everyone has their own opinions but please, let's all agree that this was assault/abuse and call it as so.

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Menu Monday

Halloween goodie time!

Halloween Swirl Cream Cheese Brownies

I'm an uber dork, so I have themed months where I make desserts that can match up with some holidays. I love making Halloween desserts. These aesthetically looked nice and Halloween-y and tasted good but, I wasn't wowed. There was also more of the cream cheese layer than brownie, which was a little disappointing. Still would make a fun little party treat, though. Making and cook time easy and quick.

20 minute Lemon Broccoli Pasta Skillet

This turned out to be a dark horse favorite of mine. I wasn't expecting much, just a quick, easy, and simple pasta. The flavoring! I loved this one. I halved the amount of noodles but wish I didn't so I would have leftovers. Get that extra lemon for spritzing. I'll definitely making this one again and you should too! Meateaters could add shrimp or chicken easily.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Pasta

The recipe calls for the chicken to be cooked on low for 8hrs but either my slow cooker runs warmer on low or they are exaggerating because chicken usually only needs about 6hrs in my crock pot. Cooking the noodles in the sauce made them extra tasty. The bf really enjoyed this one but I was just meh on it. The sauce was rich but I just wasn't wowed by the overall flavoring.

Ranch Chicken with Potatoes & Green Beans 

I may have posted this one before, it is an old favorite. I halve the butter and use Spicy Ranch seasoning instead of the original. It is so easy and good. Everything meshes together and the potatoes cook to perfection. You'll feel like a competent human being too as you get your meat, potatoes, and veggies :)

Low Carb Biscuits and Gravy

My biscuits didn't fluff up as much as I would have liked and I had to add flour to my gravy to thicken it up. Can tell the biscuits are low carb, lol, but I thought they were still tasty, the gravy was good too. I think this recipe works for people on the Keto diet, which seems to be insanely popular right now. Would be a tasty meal for dieters and was very easy to cook-up and probably only took a half hour. 

Any Halloween delights to share?

Review: Forged in Desire

Forged in Desire by Brenda Jackson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wish in order to portray heroines as independent and fierce, author's didn't make them fall into the TSTL category.

Our heroine Margo was apart of jury that convicted a guy who announced to the court room that until his conviction was overturned, someone from inside the courtroom would be murdered every 72hrs. 3 people have already been murdered when our hero Striker comes into the picture to guard Margo. Is Margo happy about this and willing to take her personal safety seriously? Of course not, because that would somehow mean she is being bossed around. Ugh.

The insta-attraction also felt a little out of place as it was mentioned over and over immediately in the beginning, it felt a little off when just jumping into the whole life in danger element. I can let go of realism to a certain extent in rom suspense, but let me settle in a little first.

I also thought there was some uncomfortable casualness to some issues (rape, domestic violence) incorporated; they were jarringly, abruptly brought up, to seemingly add instant emotion. I'm needing a little more care and thought behind the why and how for the inclusion of these topics right now.

An example:
Shep, as the other inmates called him, was a lot older than most of them and was serving time for murdering his wife. It didn’t take long for anyone who hung around Shep to know just what sort of man he was: a natural-born leader—a positive one.
Not knowing at this time if Shep was guilty of the crime, reading about a man killing his wife in one breath and the next saying what a swell guy he is, was hard to read.

I thought the idea of ex-cons going into the protection business was interesting but the insta-attraction, mesh of romance and suspense not working for me, and jarring moments kept me from getting into the story. I generally liked the character dialogue and interaction writing, the components worked for me but the structure did not.

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Review: Be Mine Tonight

Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this for the Relics and Curiosities square for Halloween Bingo

Just as they all knew the legend of the Holy Grail, so had they heard of the Unholy Grail.

Pru has cancer and is looking for any way to negate her grim diagnosis, when she starts up a friendship with Marcus, they begin in earnest a search for the Holy Grail. Our hero is a 600yr old vampire who was once a knight of King Phillips of France who was also on the search for the Holy Grail. What Chapel and his group of mercenaries found instead was the Unholy Grail.

"You do not frighten me."
"I think I do, but not in the way I should."

This started off darkly intriguing with the French band of mercenaries and grail that turned them all into vampires. I read this with the anticipation of a danger filled dark and stormy search and chase, filled with villains coming out of the woodwork. Instead this turned out to be a character driven story with a slow burning romance between Pru and Chapel; read this for the romance, not the adventure.

The Silver Palm. Chapel had heard of them before in whispers and old texts. They named themselves for the silver that crossed the palm of Judas Iscariot— coin imbued with the essence of Lilith, mother of all vampires. The same silver that had been melted down to make the chalice from which he and the others had drunk.

The first half was all about the romance while the second gave us a peek into, what I imagine is the set-up between the villains and future heroes of the series. I was vastly curious about the Silver Palm villains but they only make a very brief appearance and other than their name, not much else is learned about them.

The Brotherhood of Blood.

Even though I was a little disappointed in the balance of romance and action in this one, the set-up of Chapel's friends, The Brotherhood of the Blood, being pitted against the Silver Palms is darkly intriguing. Don't get me wrong, I thought the vast majority of the romance was done well here, Pru is a tough, daring woman willing to fight for what she wants, while Chapel was a more lost in his self-loathing for what he was, but they did have a connection that was felt. I thought the ending was needlessly dragged out angst as a sudden change of heart by Chapel gave us a quick perfect bow ending. I'm going to read the next in the series because, like I said, I'm intrigued by the set-up but I'm going to hope the continuing plot thread plays more heavily.

He smiled— just for her. Every woman should know the joy of having a man be joyful just for her presence.

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Reading Update: 10%

Templars. It was said that the knights had in their possession various holy relics, including items believed to have belonged to Christ Himself.

The heroine searching for the Holy Grail hoping it will cure her illness, the hero drank from the Unholy Grail and has been cursed for 600yrs. 

When I was looking for books in my tbr for this, I can't even describe how giddy I was when I read "Unholy Grail". 

So far has started off deliciously dark and stormy.

Review: Wyrd Sisters

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I read this for the Free Space for Halloween Bingo

She gave the guards a nod as she went through. It didn’t occur to either of them to stop her because witches, like beekeepers and big gorillas, went where they liked.

Part of the Discworld but also the Witches series, Granny, Nanny, and Magrat run and steal the show. I would describe this as kind of a Monty Python take on Macbeth and Hamlet (with a little bit of King Lear, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, and probably splashes of more I missed). If you're a reader of the Discworld, you'll be ready for the little bit chaotic, humor, brick wall bleakness, and underlining too true takes on humanity.

A kingdom is made up of all sorts of things. Ideas. Loyalties. Memories. It all sort of exists together. And then all these things create some kind of life. Not a body kind of life, more like a living idea. Made up of everything that’s alive and what they’re thinking. And what the people before them thought.”

We start off with the murder of a King, who becomes a ghost, our three witches taking a baby from soldiers, the new mad King and his reveling in her evilness wife, and a wise fool. Even though the witches normally try to stay out of things, Granny decides that she needs to set things to rights and have the true heir on the throne. I enjoyed the first half, which was more Macbeth, than the magically fast forward 15 years Hamlet like second.

The duke smiled out over the forest. “It works,” he said. “The people mutter against the witches. How do you do it, Fool?”
“Jokes, nuncle. And gossip. People are halfway ready to believe it anyway. Everyone respects the witches. The point is that no one actually likes them very much.”

Shining through and underlining all these seemingly chaotic going-ons, are some excellent hot takes on propaganda and how history is recorded, by who, why they are writing events and figures the way they are, and how this influences and shapes future attitudes. This is an aspect of history that I don't think is talked about enough, questioning the motives behind historical recorders.

“But I’m his Fool,” said the Fool. “A Fool has to be loyal to his master. Right up until he dies. I’m afraid it’s tradition. Tradition is very important.”
“But you don’t even like being a Fool!”
“I hate it. But that’s got nothing to do with it. If I’ve got to be a Fool, I’ll do it properly.”
“That’s really stupid,”said Magrat.
“Foolish, I’d prefer.”

Granny is the immediate stand-out in this but the Fool is the dark horse. In all this spoofing, he has some of the most thought provoking quotes; they bordered on dystopian at times. I couldn't help reading this through a current political climate lens and it hurt at times reading the scenes with the Fool, the new King, and his wife. Even when we get the second part of the witches work to change things, it doesn't end up quite to their preference but maybe for the best? This would be a great book club selection as I highlighted the heck out of this and could have endless discussions about it.

I've mentioned before how humor is a tough one for me, so that hurt my overall enjoyment along with the frenetic/chaotic tone pushing against my more structured self. Many friends have said this is one of their favorites from the disc world and I can see why, the three witches will delight you, I felt the second half let them down a bit. Even though things may not have worked out exactly like Granny wanted, I leave you with some inspiration from her,

Granny Weatherwax was often angry. She considered it one of her strong points. Genuine anger was one of the world’s great creative forces. But you had to learn how to control it. That didn’t mean you let it trickle away. It meant you dammed it, carefully, let it develop a working head, let it drown whole valleys of the mind and then, just when the whole structure was about to collapse, opened a tiny pipeline at the base and let the iron-hard stream of wrath power the turbines of revenge.

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Reading Update: 10%

He looked her straight in the eye and said, “I was in jail serving time for manslaughter.”

Probably not in the top ten list of things I'd want my new hot bodyguard to say when I ask him what he did before joining a protection agency.

Review: The Mysterious Madam Morpho

The Mysterious Madam Morpho by Delilah S. Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I read this for the Creepy Carnivals square for Halloween Bingo

Criminy’s Clockwork Carnival was in full swing.

This is a novella, so the shorter page count (100ish pgs) hampers character and plot depth a bit, but I think the author did a fantastic job with what she had. This is listed in the Blud series as coming before Book 1 – Wicked as They Come but as the main couple from Wicked is already together, I wasn't sure why. Even if familiar or not, you'll get an introduction and refresher on the various characters that make up Master Criminy's Clockwork Carnival. The world building leaves a little bit to be desired as it isn't fully explained how Blud people and animals (vampire like creatures) exist in this other world; it is like Victorian time period Earth but not quite.

She stared down into the nest of books and hidden miracles. Before, the trunk had held hope. Now, in the wrong hands, it held evidence enough to hang her.
“If you’ll trust me, I think I know how best to keep your charges safe.”
Their eyes met over the trunk. She felt as if she stood on a precipice, one step away from freedom or doom. “I find that I trust you, Mr. Murdoch.”
“God help you, Madam Morpho.”

You'll feel for Imogen as you learn her story, Mr. Murdoch less so as I don't think he ever fully emerged from the shadows and fully showed up on the pages. He builds the clockworks and mechanics for the caravan carnival, I would have liked to have seen him interact more with his creations and what was the story behind his partner/friend Vil? They were a calm, cool, and tentative couple and I liked how they worked together but, again, the page count wasn't quite there to build their relationship.

Arm-in-arm, they watched Torno lift his weights, his strength defying physics thanks to Criminy’s magic. Emerlie juggled hedgehogs and rode her unicycle high up on the wire, her lime and magenta costume glowing against the velvety night sky. Next up came Abilene and Eblick and the two-headed Bludman, each waiting behind a curtain to amuse and entertain and, in the twins’case, terrify. A collection of bizarre creatures floating in large jars of liquid was surrounded by a crowd so deep that Imogen caught only a glimpse of the horrors within. They passed Letitia in her turban, telling fortunes in a sequin-spangled tent.

Even though the overall world building was somewhat absent, the immediate caravan carnival world was delightfully detailed and created. There was a sense of unknown, magic, wildness, freedom, jovial companionship, and troubles. I wish I could see the shows.

“Her name is Madam Morpho,” Henry said sharply. “And she doesn’t speak to the riff-raff.”

The main story thread comes from Imogen on the run from her former boss and hiding out in the caravan. I thought the sense of danger and romance was eclipsed by the descriptions of the people and clockworks that made up the caravan carnival. I also thought the magic and wonder of the butterflies Imogen stole got lost in the mix, they could have brought more sense of wonder if utilized more. The ending brought an extremely gruesome conclusion to the issue of Imogen being in danger. I suggest reading this in October to appreciate and enjoy the grisly ending, the spooky vampire like creatures, and the sense of magic and wonder.

“Imogen,” he said, voice ragged as he stepped closer to her, his feet brushing the wide swing of her skirts. “Are you aware that I haven’t seen a woman this close in more than six years?”
“That seems excessive,” she murmured. “Are we such fierce creatures?”

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60%

“This Felmet hates the kingdom,” Nanny went on. “They all say it. They say when they go to talk to him he just stares at them and giggles and rubs his hand and twitches a bit.”

*******

But this new man just wants the power. He hates the kingdom.”

“It’s a bit like a dog, really,” said Magrat.

Granny looked at her with her mouth open to frame some suitable retort, and then her face softened. “Very much like,” she said. “A dog doesn’t care if its master’s good or bad, just so long as it likes the dog.”

I really need these witches to defeat the new king Felmet and Susan Collinshis wife.

Oh man, some of the underlining truths in this story :(

“Lady, the duke wishes to chop down the forests, is this not so?”

“The trees talk about me,”whispered Lord Felmet. “I hear them whisper when I go riding. They tell lies about me!”

The duchess and the Fool exchanged glances.

“But,”the Fool continued, “this policy has met with fanatical opposition.”

“What?”

“People don’t like it.”

The duchess exploded. “What does that matter?”she roared. “We rule! They will do what we say or they will be pitilessly executed!”

The Fool bobbed and capered and waved his hands in a conciliatory fashion.

“But, my love, we will run out of people,”murmured the duke.

“No need, no need!”said the Fool desperately. “You don’t have to do that at all! What you do is, you—”he paused for a moment, his lips moving quickly—“you embark upon a far-reaching and ambitious plan to expand the agricultural industry, provide long-term employment in the sawmills, open new land for development, and reduce the scope for banditry.”

This time the duke looked baffled. “How will I do that?”he said.

“Chop down the forests.”

I helplessly laughed outloud with this one,

“But the biggest thing she ever did,” said Nanny, ignoring the interruption, “was to send a whole palace to sleep for a hundred years until…” She hesitated. “Can’t remember. Was there rose bushes involved, or was it spinning wheels in that one? I think some princess had to finger…no, there was a prince. That was it.”

“Finger a prince?” said Magrat, uneasily.

Reading Update: 40%

“There aren’t many cut out for caravan life, my girl. Most of those who stick around are running away from something or other. We’re a band of misfits, but we protect our own."

A little bit different, a little bit parallel universe with steampunk, horror (bludbunnies and blud people, think vampires), and a traveling carnival caravan filled with mysterious individuals.

Reading Update: 30%

Most witches preferred to live in isolated cottages with the traditional curly chimneys and weed-grown thatch. Granny Weatherwax approved of this; it was no good being a witch unless you let people know.

Joining in the group read for this one. I was going to use it for the Spellbound square but that hasn't been called yet, mama wants a bingo so free square it is!

I think I read a couple Discworld books in my younger days but I obviously don't remember them because I felt kind of lost in this beginning part, story and characters felt frantic in a way.

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this for the Terrifying Women square for Halloween Bingo

“The ghost in Waringstoke is female,” he explained. “She was, apparently, a servant girl who worked for the family. She hanged herself in the barn at the age of nineteen.”

I've been wanting a more creepy Halloween Bingo story and this delivered. Told in first person, Sarah gets a call from her temp agency telling her about a job opportunity. She's to be an assistant to Alistair Gellis, who turns out to be young, rich, handsome, and oh, a ghost hunter. Sarah doesn't necessarily believe in ghosts but she needs the money and has been feeling adrift.

“Please tell me. Why was your husband afraid of Maddy?”
Tears began to course down her cheeks. She seemed hardly aware of them. “He always said—he always said that night she came, she looked like she’d been buried. She looked like she’d come from a grave. My husband believed Maddy was dead before she even came to Falmouth House."

The story starts rolling right away and keeps a very quick pace, you'll want to devour this story in one sitting. The story is somewhat tight knit starting off with our heroine Sarah, Alistair bringing her into the mystery, Alistair's assistant Matthew, our ghost Maddy Clare, and a handful of townspeople. I immediately started side-eyeing people as their personalities and actions seemed dark and murky. The first person dialogue was a double edged sword for me as it kept the mystery alive but also felt like forced manufacturing mystery and drama.

Matthew’s words hung between us, the war a chasm that could not be traveled. I could not go there; he could not come back.

The ghost story is pretty front and center but a close second is the discussion of World War I and all the emotional and mental damage that did to Alistair, Matthew, and others. A more distant third was the romance between Sarah and Matthew, I even want to hesitate to call it romance because it kind of pops in jarringly and then hovers at the edges. At times it felt like there were some hitches in the juggling act between the three, I think a longer page count allowing the romance to be given more time and depth and a longer time spent with the characters dealing with PTSD would have given this a more even flow.

Heels, barefoot, kicking against the wall. Something sat in the sill of the high window, and kicked its heels as it dangled its feet. It was behind me, only six feet away.

I thought the mystery was done well but as an avid horror movie watcher, I've see this type of story done before (a similar movie (view spoiler)[Gothika (hide spoiler)]) and was able to guess what some of the answers were halfway through. You'll be devastated and probably start wanting to bend your moral feelings on accepted justice. The creepy factor was still done really well here and thinking I knew what was going on didn't stop me from looking extra hard into corner shadows as I went to bed. I definitely recommend this if looking for a spooky story that deals with some discussion about PTSD or battle fatigue as it was referenced as after World War I, first person pov that will keep some character mystery alive, a romance that could be described more as intensity, and a ghost that will have her revenge.

I screamed, but I tasted their blood, she said, as if I had not spoken. Each of the three. They each tasted different. I took orders, but I knew I would taste it again. Every one of them. I will do it, little girl. I will have my revenge.

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50%

Maddy Clare let me escape the barn, where I could finally scream and scream.

This is fairly creepy and has been off and running from the get go. I'm also side-eyeing a whole bunch of people.

Reading Update: 10%

I nodded. Taking notes, organizing clippings—it was easy enough. “Certainly I’ll help you,” I said.

He held up a finger. “Ah—I haven’t finished. Don’t agree just yet. You said you have no opinion on the existence of ghosts.”

“I’ve certainly never seen one,” I conceded.

His smile was like sun breaking through the clouds.“How lucky for you, then. Because you’re going to see one this week. For me.”

Review: King's Warrior

King's Warrior by Kris Kennedy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

She stepped to him, pressed her breasts up against him. His thighs were hard against the front of hers, the hilts of his weapons bumped against her hips and belly, and dark, dangerous desire burned in his eyes. She wanted all of it. All of him. “Show me.” She slid her arms around his neck. “For I have been dying to be wanted the way you do.”

The first in the Renegade Lords series and an expanded version of a previously published novella, King's Warrior came in heavy with the steamy sex scenes and finished up with a historical fiction twist. Beginning with an introduction to a group of criminal boys, this story focuses on Tadhg, the one who decides to strike out on his own.

This worried her, that she would experience chills of excitement because a stranger had promised he’d return after he dragged the bodies of rogue soldiers to a whorehouse and dumped them for her.
She turned inside to stuff rags in the other men’s mouths.

As usual with Kennedy's couples, they sparked, sizzled, and steamed up the pages. Tadhg (author provides a link to a Youtube video to hear how the name is pronounced) and Magdalena pretty much have an instant chemistry and lust. While the sex scenes were always inspiring, they popped up too frequently in the first half for me; I'm more of a fan of gradual building growth to the bedroom or up against the wall, as was the case at times here.

The King handed him the dagger. “Take it, Irish, take it and run hard.”

The second half is where we get to the meat of the adventure and the explanation as to why Tadhg is on the run. In this fictional version of history, King Richard just may have paid for a group of assassins to kill the King of Jerusalem. The King of France, Prince John, and Geoffrey d'Argent the Baron of Sherwood are chasing Tadhg trying to get the dagger he carries that will implicate Richard in the assassination. (The author provides this fascinating look at how she took real history, weaved it in and out to create this story) It was fun and exciting to see real historical figures like Richard the Lionheart, William Marshal, Earl of Huntington, Prince John, and Sherwood flitter in and out of the scenes.

He knew now that even if he never saw Ireland again, he’d still somehow found his way home.

With the sex scenes appearing a bit too soon and taking over the first half, the story felt somewhat uneven with the more plot heavy second half. The sex scenes and plot were done well, they just didn't mesh. Magdalena was the stronger character of the two with Tadhg's past resting to much in the shade to give him a flush character feel. However, Tadhg and Magdalena never lacked for passion and I'm wildly anticipating Tadhg's circle of friends' stories.

“It is too good,” she whispered.
“I know,” he rasped, and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

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