Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 8

Posted in Outlander by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Season 2 has begun! My intention is to write an “Insta-Reaction” post for each episode right after viewing, to share some initial thoughts, questions, reactions — you name it.

Warning:

I may be talking about events from this episode, other episodes, and/or the book series… so if you’d rather not know, now’s your chance to walk away!

Outlander, episode 208: “The Fox’s Lair”

The official synopsis (via Starz):

Claire and Jamie call upon Jamie’s grandsire, Lord Lovat, in an attempt to elicit support. However, a visiting Colum MacKenzie has other plans, and Lord Lovat’s manipulations ensure that his own interests will be served.

My take:

Hello, Scotland!

Major plot points:

Jamie and Claire return home to Lallybroch.
Potatoes are very exciting.
Charles Stuart has forged Jamie’s name on a document supposedly signed by his supporters, so that even unwillingly, Jamie is now a traitor.
Claire and Jamie realize that the only way to still change the future is to help Charles to win, now that he’s landed on Scottish soil and the rebellion is underway.
Jamie goes to seek support from his obnoxious grandfather, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. Ick.
Laoghaire turns up! Double ick.
The MacKenzies, led by Colum, are remaining neutral, but Lord Lovat finds a way to play both sides.

Insta-reaction:

Scotland! Scotland! Scotland!

Paris was pretty, but it’s lovely to be back in the Highlands. And I was really pleased with the new opening credits, which drop the French chamber music in favor of a warlike drumbeat and more bagpipes. Glorious.

It’s not clear how much time has passed for Jamie and Claire, but apparently long enough since the Paris trauma for them to have found their way back to a loving, romantic, and intimate relationship. Thank the gods and goddesses — no one likes to see these two at odds.

Claire and Jenny seem reunited as sisters, and there’s briefly peace and harmony at Lallybroch, with Murtagh and Fergus there as part of the family too. Sadly, the calm doesn’t last long, as Jamie is forced into the position of having to either stay and fight for Charles and Scotland, or flee and leave his entire family behind to face the certain destruction following Culloden and the Clearances. Not much of a choice. Jamie can never abandon his people or his home, so despite all of their maneuvering in Paris, Jamie will end up fighting for Charles after all.

Potatoes!

Lord Lovat is every bit as slimy as we’d expect. He’s mean to everyone around him and has no respect for women (which is actually putting it mildly — he’s abusive and it’s implied that he’s married at least two of his three wives by force). Lord Lovat (the Old Fox) only acts based on his own gain, so he tries to extort a price from Jamie for his support of Charles — he wants Lallybroch. Ugh, this guy is the worst.

Colum shows up for a visit too, and he wants them all to stay out of the Rising. Claire has an understandably tense reunion with Colum, given that she holds him responsible for her arrest (in season 1) and her trial as a witch.

The biggest surprise of the episode is the appearance of Laoghaire. Book readers know that she isn’t in book 2 at all, so it’s a break from canon to have her appear in this season. She’s come with Colum to Lord Lovat’s castle as Colum’s maid, and while there, she begs Claire for forgiveness, saying that she’s prayed to God, knows she’s done wrong, and repents of her actions toward Claire. Claire refuses to absolve Laoghaire, but ultimately agrees to ask Jamie to think kindly of her again in exchange for Laoghaire playing a role in gaining the support of Young Simon, Lovat’s son and heir.

I can hear the book fans screaming from here! First of all, let’s face it, no one likes Laoghaire. Okay, that’s putting it mildly. People HATE Laoghaire. She’s an awful little wench who almost cost Claire her life. So here’s a big difference: In the books, Claire never tells Jamie about the role Laoghaire played in causing her arrest. In the TV show, Jamie absolutely knows, and both Jamie and Claire blame her for Claire’s near death.

SPOILER FOR BOOK/SEASON 3!!!!

(I know I said already that there would be spoilers, but an extra warning can’t hurt.)

In Voyager, the 3rd book, the big reveal is that Jamie ends up married to Laoghaire during the years after Claire has returned through the stones. (I’m trying to vague things up a bit — it really goes against my nature to be spoilery!). This is super outrageous to Claire (and to readers), because Laoghaire is the evil little twit who almost got Claire dead… but Jamie didn’t know, or else he couldn’t have agreed to the marriage, we’re led to understand.

But now, TV Laoghaire has come and asked for forgiveness, and has made it clear that she still hopes Jamie will love her some day. In the “Inside the Episode” feature afterwards, the director implies that Laoghaire is included here in order to make things that happen later make more sense. I know, I know — readers are probably outraged right about now. But I guess the show’s thinking is that viewers could never accept Jamie marrying Laoghaire later on without at least seeing some act of contrition on her part.

You know what? I’m just not going to worry about it too much. I can’t get too worked up about it. Hopefully, this is the last we’ll see of Laoghaire this season, and now we move on.

Insta-reaction wrap-up:

I’m super happy to be back in Scotland (obviously)… but I also have to admit that this week’s episode felt a little uneventful after the last few episodes in Paris. While there was political maneuvering and debate in this episode, there was a distinct lack of drama. That’s okay, I suppose — this truly is a bridge episode, moving up from the French court into the second half of this season’s plot, the actual Rising back in Scotland. This episode had to set the scene, get us back to the Highlands, and starting moving the chess pieces around. It did that, and now we’re ready to dive into the more military-focused back half of the season.

Remember, we still need to find out exactly why and how Claire ended up back in the 20th century at the beginning of the season!

And furthermore…

Was Jamie holding the baby at Lallybroch not the sweetest and saddest thing? I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for Claire to watch him with a baby in his arms, with their loss still so fresh in their hearts.

And of course, Jamie wearing kilts 24/7 is a win for everyone.

26May2016

Take A Peek Book Review: At the Edge of Summer by Jessica Brockmole

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought.

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

Luc Crépet is accustomed to his mother’s bringing wounded creatures to their idyllic château in the French countryside, where healing comes naturally amid the lush wildflowers and crumbling stone walls. Yet his maman’s newest project is the most surprising: a fifteen-year-old Scottish girl grieving over her parents’ fate. A curious child with an artistic soul, Clare Ross finds solace in her connection to Luc, and she in turn inspires him in ways he never thought possible. Then, just as suddenly as Clare arrives, she is gone, whisked away by her grandfather to the farthest reaches of the globe. Devastated by her departure, Luc begins to write letters to Clare—and, even as she moves from Portugal to Africa and beyond, the memory of the summer they shared keeps her grounded.

Years later, in the wake of World War I, Clare, now an artist, returns to France to help create facial prostheses for wounded soldiers. One of the wary veterans who comes to the studio seems familiar, and as his mask takes shape beneath her fingers, she recognizes Luc. But is this soldier, made bitter by battle and betrayal, the same boy who once wrote her wistful letters from Paris? After war and so many years apart, can Clare and Luc recapture how they felt at the edge of that long-ago summer?

Bringing to life two unforgettable characters and the rich historical period they inhabit, Jessica Brockmole shows how love and forgiveness can redeem us.

My Thoughts:

The synopsis pretty much covers it all. At the Edge of Summer is a book about two people who meet one summer, a 15-year-old orphaned girl and a 19-year-old college student. They form a strong bond and help each other discover crucial aspects of themselves, then spend years apart, separated first by geography and then by war.

The story should have been much more moving than I found it. I simply didn’t connect with the characters in the first section of the book, during their early summer together, so I never really invested in their connection or their relationship. Clare’s artistic aspirations didn’t resonate with me, and I couldn’t envision her as a real person.

Luc is much more sympathetic, and the portions of the story about his wartime experiences are quite sad to read. Still, something about this book just left me cold.

I was interested to see the depiction of the real-life studio in Paris that specialized in masks for men disfigured during the war. I’ve encountered versions of this story before, most recently in a short story in the Fall of Poppies collection (to which Jessica Brockmole contributed a terrific story, by the way). The studio really existed, and its real-life founder, Anna Coleman Ladd, is included in this novel as well.

Stories of the First World War and the horrific experiences of the soldiers, on the battlefields, in the trenches, and upon their return to society, are always moving and startling to read about. Somehow, though, At the Edge of Summer failed to fully engage my emotions. I consider it a decent novel, but wouldn’t go farther than saying that it was a fine read and I don’t regret the time spent on it.

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The details:

Title: At The Edge of Summer
Author: Jessica Brockmole
Publisher: Ballantine
Publication date: May 17, 2016
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

25May2016

Thursday Quotables: Rush Oh!

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett
(published 2016)

I reviewed this wonderful book last week (check out my review here). It’s about a whaling community in Australia in 1908, and if that sounds a bit odd or dry — well, I promise you won’t think so once you start reading it! Here’s a lovely little moment that captures the tone of the narrator’s voice:

He was smiling at me and his eyes were shining in the darkness, and at that point, I’m afraid that something within me seemed to seize up in a kind of panic. Any girlish gaiety that I had been blessed with at birth had stiffened and stuck from lack of use, and although I was only nineteen years of age, I felt unable to rise to the obvious demands of the occasion.

“I’m sorry. I’m no good at this. I can’t do it,” I said, lurching abruptly to my feet.

Swiftly he reached up and pulled me back down again.

“Do what?”

“This light-hearted banter between the sexes that you are obviously hoping for.”

“Of course you can do it! You’ve been doing it extremely well up to this moment.”

“That is kind of you to say, but I am only too aware of my shortcomings…”

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

24May2016

Shelf Control #37: The Hypnotist’s Love Story

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Shelf Control is all about the books we want to read — and already own! Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, sitting right there on our shelves and e-readers.

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: The Hypnotist’s Love Story
Author: Liane Moriarty
Published: 2011
Length: 480 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back. Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk.

Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.

Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has.

How I got it:

I bought it!

When I got it:

A couple of years ago, after reading The Husband’s Secret.

Why I want to read it:

After reading two amazing books by Liane Moriarty, The Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies, I decided I should investigate some of her earlier books as well. While I’ve had The Hypnotist’s Love Story on my shelf for a while, I just haven’t gotten around to it. Meanwhile, the author’s newest book comes out this summer, and I can’t wait!

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

24May2016

Book Review: The Fireman by Joe Hill

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

All the stars. This book deserves all the stars. For a 700+ page book, it sure goes down like candy. I raced through it, and now I’m mad that I’m done, because I want to spend more time in the story!

So yes, I guess you’ve figured out up front that this is a rave review. No big surprise: This is Joe Hill’s 4th novel, and it’s the 4th Joe Hill novel that I’ve loved.

I associate Joe Hill with scary-ass horror, but surprisingly, I wouldn’t call The Fireman a horror story at all. What it is, exactly, is a bit harder to put my finger on, but if I had to come up with a description, I’d say that The Fireman is a post-apocalyptic love story, with crazed dystopian power struggles and hypnotic religious leaders and dangerous cults. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Main character Harper Willowes is a nurse, of the best spit-spot Mary Poppins ilk. She entertains school children with her no-nonsense cheeriness, while helping the medicine go down with a spoonful of sugar. As the story opens, Harper is treating a young boy in the school nurse’s office when she sees a man burn to death out in the yard.

Why did the man burn to death? Because there’s a worldwide pandemic just starting to erupt. Originally seen as a third world problem, the spread of Draco incendia trychophyton — Dragonscale — quickly grabs first-world attention when it starts showing up in cities across the US and other so-called civilized countries.

Dragonscale victims first exhibit black streaks across their bodies, often quite beautiful and flecked with gold, before bursting into flames. Yes. Bursting into flames. Sufferers of Dragonscale are fated to self-combust after several weeks or months, and there’s nothing that can prevent it. Unfortunately, as people burst into flames, they tend to take buildings — schools, hospitals, neighborhoods, even the Space Needle — with them, and soon huge swathes of the country and the world are consumed by fire and ash.

Harper treats the infected while clothed in Ebola-level hazard-prevention attire, but still becomes infected herself, right after discovering she’s pregnant. And here’s where Harper’s husband goes a tad psycho, determined that they should kill themselves together rather than waiting for a fiery end. But Harper doesn’t want to, and Jakob’s insistence on their beautiful co-suicide turns ugly and violent, until Harper barely escapes with her life.

What she escapes to is a group of refugee people, all infected with Dragonscale, who live as a collective in hiding at an abandoned camp, where they learn to control the Dragonscale through their communal worship and connection. It’s cool, but quickly becomes a bit too group-think/hive-mind, as the kindly man overseeing the camp is succeeded by his more fanatical daughter.

Alrighty, I’ll stop with the synopsis. Either this is the type of story to absolutely grab you… or it’s just not for you.

I loved it. I think I’ve made that clear. Joe Hill sure can tell a story. The characters are so distinct and well-drawn. I could picture and hear them all as we went along. The Dragonscale pandemic is fascinating. I loved the origin of the disease and its explanation, the cause, the spreading mechanism, and the explanation of the way the group singing acts to control the combustion.

There’s a lot of humor in the writing itself and in the characters’ often quirky attitudes and sense of humor. I found it completely hilarious that Joe Hill kept throwing in little mentions of all the dead celebrities throughout the book. Imagine being one of them and finding out that you’d been fictionally killed off by a horrible infection! For example…

They were showing footage from last night’s Celtic game, just like nothing was happening. Isaiah Thomas rose up on his toes, fell backward, and let go of the basketball, hit a shot from nearly half court. They didn’t know it then, but by the end of the following week, the basketball season would be over. Come summer, most of the Celtics would be dead, by incineration or suicide.

Then Glenn Beck burned to death on his Internet program, right in front of his chalkboard, burned so hot his glasses fused to his face, and after that most of the news was less about who did it and more about how not to catch it.

The other guns went off, all together, firecrackers on a July night. Muzzles flashed, like paparazzi snapping shots of George Clooney as he climbed out of his limousine. Although George Clooney was dead, had burned to death while on a humanitarian aid mission to New York City.

There are more, but I won’t spoil the surprise (can I even call it fun?) of stumbling across these morbid pop cultural references. There’s even a little throw-away reference to Christmas-land — and that name alone should strike fear into the hearts of anyone who read Hill’s previous novel, NOS4A2.

The Fireman has several parts, focusing first on the end of the world as we know it via the deadly Dragonscale and its fires, then life at the camp and the new society that forms there, and then again in a quest for peace and refuge. Throughout, there are scenes of personal connection, touching and deeply felt, as well as intense and brutal action sequences that are insanely pulse-pounding.

This is a long book, but it flies by. I loved the characters, especially Nurse Harper and the titular Fireman, but also the orphaned children and the loving older woman who become part of Harper’s circle of protection, her new-found family.

The ending is stunning and satisfying, and yet I want more! So far, Joe Hill hasn’t shown a tendency to repeat himself or revisit worlds from earlier books, but damn, I wish there were more to this story. I want to know what happens next!

If you enjoy suspense, destruction, unusual and strong characters, and yes, even love stories, The Fireman is absolutely worth checking out.

Have you read The Fireman? Or have I convinced you to give it a try? I’d love to hear what you think!

For more on Joe Hill’s books, check out my reviews of:
Horns
NOS4A2

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The details:

Title: The Fireman
Author: Joe Hill
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: May 17, 2016
Length: 768 pages
Genre: Post-apocalyptic/horror/dystopian
Source: Purchased

23May2016

The Monday Check-In ~ 5/23/2016

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

In real life:

I spent all of last week at home, recovering from knee surgery, but as of today, it’s back to the salt mines! Back to work, back to routine… back to a life with not nearly enough reading time in it!

What did I read last week?

The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett: Loved it! My review is here.

Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett: Loved this one too! My review is here.

The Fireman by Joe Hill: Wow. Amazing book. Finished at 2:30 in the morning because I Just. Couldn’t. Stop. Review to follow in the next couple of days.

In graphic novels…

… I went on quite a little binge. I read one volume from the Mercy Thompson world (Hopcross Jilly), then switched over to the Buffy-verse, where I finally caught up on all of Buffy season 9, Angel & Faith season 9, and the single volume of Willow Wonderland. I have the first few volumes of season 10, but I think I’ll hold off until the end of the year when the entire season will be available. Bottom line: This was super fun. It was great to immerse myself in the Buffy world again, and while some plot developments are better than others, overall it’s terrific to see what the gang is up to.

Pop culture goodness:

While I was sitting around the house with my feet up, I watched a couple of movies that I’ve been meaning to get to for a while:

Deadpool – which was hilarious, except that I allowed my 13 year old to watch it with me, resulting in one of my most awkward viewing experiences ever. He loved it, of course, but it was waaaay inappropriate.
Trainwreck — no, I did not allow my kiddo to watch this one! I do have a tiny shred of appropriate mother in me, it would seem. Trainwreck was pretty fun, but went on a lot longer than it needed to. Funny, I thought my husband would find it hilarious, but he got bored midway through and left me to finish alone. Oh well.

Outlander update!

Season 2 rocks! This week’s episode was a heartbreaker. Here’s my reaction post for the 7th episode, “Faith”:

Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 7

Fresh Catch:

You know how when certain books come out and you plan your entire week of reading around them? Yup. This:

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

At the Edge of Summer by Jessica Brockmole: Just starting. I loved the author’s previous book, Letters from Skye (review), and I have high hopes for this one too!

Now playing via audiobook:

I was off work this entire past week, recuperating from knee surgery, and I also did no driving… which meant no audiobook enjoyment either. I have about an hour left of “Virgins”, and now that I’m headed back to work, should have it done in the next day or so.

Ongoing reads:

My book group is reading and discussing two chapter per week of both Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon and Emma by Jane Austen. This is an online group, and anyone is welcome to join us — so if you’re interested, just ask me how!

So many books, so little time…

22May2016

Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 7

Posted in Outlander by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Season 2 has begun! My intention is to write an “Insta-Reaction” post for each episode right after viewing, to share some initial thoughts, questions, reactions — you name it.

Warning:

I may be talking about events from this episode, other episodes, and/or the book series… so if you’d rather not know, now’s your chance to walk away!

Outlander, episode 207: “Faith”

The official synopsis (via Starz):

Claire is brought to L’Hopital des Anges where doctors try to save her life and that of her unborn baby. King Louis asks Claire to judge two men accused of practicing the dark arts — one an enemy, one a friend.

My take:

Major plot points:

Claire’s baby is stillborn — a girl, whom Mother Hildegarde baptizes with the name Faith.
Jamie is being held in the Bastille for dueling, a crime which could leave him locked up indefinitely.
Claire’s only option for saving Jamie is to appeal directly to the King, which comes with its own cost.
Claire learns that the reason that Jamie broke his promise and went ahead with the duel is because Randall attacked and raped Fergus at the brothel.
Jamie and Claire visit Faith’s grave before leaving France to return to Scotland.

Insta-reaction:

There’s a little fake-out at the beginning of the episode, when we see Claire with a red-haired girl in Boston in 1954. So non-book readers maybe breathed a sigh of relief that Jamie and Claire’s baby was healthy after all and all that blood last time was just a scare?

Not so fast.

It’s a heartbreaker, plain and simple.

Claire’s baby daughter is born dead, and the scenes of Claire discovering the fate of her baby are simply wrenching to watch. The raw pain on her face is intense, and the entire episode focuses on Claire’s suffering.

The scenes at Versailles are painful to watch for other reasons. It’s all so very cut and dried and business-like. First, Claire must identify the black arts practitioner for the King, which ends with the Comte St. Germain’s death by poison, thanks to Master Raymond’s sleight of hand. Then there’s the matter of Claire’s payment to the King in exchange for Jamie’s freedom — the most transactional sexual encounter we’ve ever seen on this show. It’s awful in its matter-of-factness.

And then there’s the Fergus scene. I didn’t think the show would go there — I assume BJR’s rape of Fergus would be implied and left off-screen. Wrong. While no body parts are shown, it’s quite clear what’s going on, and it’s gut-churning. I’m shocked, in a way, that the little actor playing Fergus was put into those scenes, and can’t imagine how Tobias Menzies managed to carry out BJR’s part either. Just horrifying.

I’m keeping my insta-reaction brief. What can I say about such an upsetting and tragic episode? Claire suffers the torments of hell in losing her baby, and the scene of her rocking and singing to the dead infant is both beautiful and horrible.

Claire and Jamie’s reunion was painful as well. The hurt, the fear, the pain between them — it’s so brutal and brittle and emotionally raw. I’m glad that they joined hands at Faith’s grave at the end. Despite their loss and deep pain, despite the betrayals and tragedies, they’ll remain together and find a way forward.

Insta-reaction wrap-up:

This is the end of the Paris portion of the season, and I’m glad! It’s been well-done, and full of gorgeous eye candy, but the heart of Outlander is in Scotland, and I’m glad they’re going back.

And furthermore…

The only momentary break in the tension for me during this episode was when we see Jamie’s face when he returns home from the Bastille. I get it, he was there for… weeks? months? Long enough to grow a scraggly, bushy beard that looks like a stick-on out of a Halloween costume kit. It was totally distracting — it did not look real at all, and kind of made me laugh before getting re-absorbed by the interactions on the screen.

But other than that — a powerful, memorable, painful episode.

18May2016

Thursday Quotables: Angel & Faith, Death and Consequences (Season 9, volume 4)

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Angel & Faith: Death and Consequences by Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs
(published 2013)

I went on a Buffy binge this week! I read a total of eleven volumes of graphic novels from the Buffy-verse — including Buffy season 9, Angel & Faith season 9, and a stand-alone Willow book. It might be weird to pick a quote from a graphic novel, but I can’t resist! It’s been so much fun to be back with the gang again. The comic series does an amazing job of staying true to the characters — their personalities, appearances, and speech patterns.

So, here’s a little snippet of a wonderful little Spike moment:

Baby slayers. I missed baby slayers. The angst, the attitude… bit like a soap opera with weapons.

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

17May2016

Shelf Control #36: His Majesty’s Dragon

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board! Let’s take control of our shelves!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire, #1)
Author: Naomi Novik
Published: 2006
Length: 353 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

How I got it:

I bought it!

When I got it:

Last year, right after I finished reading Uprooted.

Why I want to read it:

Uprooted was one of my very favorite books last year, and as soon as I finished, I knew I needed to read more by Naomi Novik. I picked up book one in the Temeraire series (which is 9 books in all, I think), and just need to finally read it!

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17May2016

Take A Peek Book Review: Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought.

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

An impassioned, charming, and hilarious debut novel about a young woman’s coming-of-age, during one of the harshest whaling seasons in the history of New South Wales.

1908: It’s the year that proves to be life-changing for our teenage narrator, Mary Davidson, tasked with providing support to her father’s boisterous whaling crews while caring for five brothers and sisters in the wake of their mother’s death. But when the handsome John Beck — a former Methodist preacher turned novice whaler with a mysterious past — arrives at the Davidson’s door pleading to join her father’s crews, suddenly Mary’s world is upended.

As her family struggles to survive the scarcity of whales and the vagaries of weather, and as she navigates sibling rivalries and an all-consuming first love for the newcomer John, nineteen-year-old Mary will soon discover a darker side to these men who hunt the seas, and the truth of her place among them.

Swinging from Mary’s own hopes and disappointments to the challenges that have beset her family’s whaling operation, RUSH OH! is an enchanting blend of fact and fiction that’s as much the story of its gutsy narrator’s coming-of-age as it is the celebration of an extraordinary episode in history.

My Thoughts:

If you’d asked me a few weeks ago whether I’d be interested in reading a book about whaling in Australia in the early 1900s, well… let’s just say the odds wouldn’t be in favor of a yes.

So I’m completely delighted to report that Rush Oh! is an awesome, funny, moving, and highly enjoyable read!

The historical elements are amazing, even more so after reading the author’s notes and discovering that the Davidsons were a real family, and that the snippets of breathless newspaper coverage about the whaling crews and their captain are all taken from the actual newspaper accounts of the time.

At times, Rush Oh! has an almost Austen-esque feel to it. Narrator Mary has a somewhat distorted view of her own talents and attractions, so her telling of the story is full of her own little oddities and self-flatteries. At the same time, she bears witness to her father’s fearless leadership and nobility — which comes through even in the most brutal moments of a whale hunt.

The whale hunts themselves are sometimes harrowing and sometimes humorous. The whaling crews of Twofold Bay are assisted by a pod of Killers (orcas), who corral the humpbacks and other whales that wander into the bay, acting with viciousness as well as playfulness, almost like water-dwelling sheepdogs. The Killers are looked on fondly by the townsfolk, each known by name and personality, and seem to have almost celebrity status. What’s really amazing is that these Killers really were a part of the history of Eden in New South Wales, just as described and with the names used in the novel — Tom, the leader, and his cohorts including Hooky, Humpy, and more.

Sounds weird, doesn’t it? But trust me — Rush Oh! is a pure delight to read. Mary’s narration is so funny and quirky, the story of the whaling crew is completely engaging, and the local customs and gossip really are straight out of a comedy of manners. I gobbled up this book in one day, but I think I’ll need to come back to it and savor it again more slowly.

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The details:

Title: Rush Oh!
Author: Shirley Barrett
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: March 22, 2016
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Fantasy/contemporary/adult
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley