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.

What did I read last week?

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave: Done! My review is here.

Midnight Come Again by Dana Stabenow: I read the 10th Kate Shugak book, which puts me squarely in the middle of the series. For my view at the halfway mark, check out my thoughts here.

Summer of Lost and Found by Rebecca Behrens: A charming middle-grade new release. My review is here.

Outlander update!

Season 2 rocks! Here’s my reaction post for the 5th episode, “Untimely Resurrection”:

Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 5

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week!… although a couple of library holds are now ready for pick-up. Uh oh.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova: Just finishing. What an intense, emotional book. Review to come in the next day or so.

Roses and Rot by Kat Howard: Just starting. I’ve been looking forward to this one!

Now playing via audiobook:

I’m almost done with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets! I’ve been loving the audiobooks, but sadly, my listening time has really dropped to almost nothing since I’m not exercising these days. (I’m not lazy — just injured! Hoping to get back to long walks with good books in my ears ASAP.)

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…

8May2016

Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 5

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 205: “Untimely Resurrection”

The official synopsis (via Starz):

Reunited, Jamie and Claire attempt to extinguish the fires; however, Claire is set off on an unexpected change of course. Jamie and Claire’s relationship is put to the ultimate test when the past rears its ugly head.

My take:

Major plot points:

After the disastrous dinner party, Jamie, Murtagh, and Alex were all thrown into the Bastille. Jamie and Murtagh are released right away, but Alex has been accused of raping Mary.
Claire tends to Mary, who informs her that she and Alex plan to wed. Alex, however, has been discharged from his employment with the Duke of Sandringham because of the scandal.

Prince Charles has a new scheme for raising money, partnering with the Comte St. Germaine to make a profit from a shipment of port. Jamie and Claire discuss how to interfere.
Claire knows that Frank’s genealogy chart shows that he is descended from Jonathan Randall and Mary Hawkins, so she realizes that she must prevent Alex and Mary from marrying, or Frank’s existence may be at stake.
At Versailles, Claire comes face to face with Jonathan Randall, who looks remarkably healthy for a man who’s been trampled by cattle. He is slimy and disgusting and menacing as always, but gets humiliated by King Louis.
Jamie challenges BJR to a duel, but Claire intervenes, which may be a fatal blow to her relationship with Jamie.

Insta-reaction:

Visually, what a stunner! The scenes at Versailles are color-saturated, with vivid greens and pinks and reds. Everything just pops, and it’s gorgeous. We finally see Claire in her floral brown ensemble that was featured so heavily in the season promos. She’s beautiful in it, of course.

So, another huge episode! Lots of moving pieces!

The episode’s opening scene looks like the morning after a drunken frat party — if only you had calm, quiet servants picking up the mess, the broken dishes, and the ruined furniture.

The title of the previous episode is explained — the attackers ran away shouting about “La Dame Blanche”, who is rumored to be a powerful witch… because Jamie spread that rumor himself. One night in the brothel, tired of fighting off the whores that Charles kept pushing at him, Jamie swore that he couldn’t touch another woman because he’s married to La Dame Blanche, who would certainly curse him somehow if he were unfaithful to her. Claire is horrified, especially in light of her witch trial at Cranesmuir, but Jamie says that it was the best he could come up with as an excuse to remain faithful without seeming unmanly. And anyway, there were drinks involved.

Poor little Mary is sure she’s ruined, but she still has the gumption to write a letter exonerating Alex. Good for Mary! I’m glad Claire is there with her 20th century outlook, so radical for the 1800s. Being raped does not mean Mary is ruined, and she has nothing to be ashamed of. And if the ugly, warty, older man she was engaged to no longer wants her? Well, Mary is probably better off anyway. Claire also assures her that most likely she isn’t pregnant, as Claire doesn’t believe Mary’s attacker had time to “finish”.

Here’s where I became angry — so angry! — with Claire. Mary gives Claire the letter clearing Alex to deliver to the authorities, and Claire hesitates, considering throwing it in the fire. She’s sure that Frank won’t ever be born if BJR and Mary don’t get together, so she needs Alex out of the way. Claire does the right thing and gets Alex released, but then later goes into full meddlesome bitch mode. (My exact notes while watching the episode: “Claire, you interfering bitch!” I stand by it, even a few hours later.) She runs into Alex, and convinces him that he has nothing to offer Mary. He’s jobless, poor, and in ill health. What kind of life would that be for Mary. With the most sympathetic look on her face, Claire gets Alex to agree that Mary would be better off without him. How dare you, Claire???

So, the Versailles scenes. Like I said, absolutely a visual treat. Jamie and Claire are there so that Jamie can help the Duke select a horse, but he seems to be enjoying checking out Jamie a lot more than the horses, and makes one snide, double-edged remark after another.

Meanwhile, Claire is invited for a stroll around the grounds with Annalise, Jamie’s former girlfriend from his young and wild Paris youth. She’s just as obnoxious as a rich and beautiful ex would be, insinuating all sorts of things about the Jamie she knew and how Claire has changed him.

And then, the big moment — Black Jack Randall appears, and the scene between him and Claire is amazing and horrible. Claire’s face shows so much — horror and disgust and absolute fear. She does NOT want Jamie to see him, so of course Annalise goes scurrying off to find Jamie. BJR is practically licking his lips at the prospect of seeing Jamie again. Not a shred of remorse for what he’s done — he sees this accidental encounter as destiny, a sign that fate keeps bringing the three of them into each others’ orbits.

There’s a fabulous bit when the King and his entourage come upon Claire and BJR mid-argument. Despite BJR’s elegant bow and manners, he’s ridiculed by the King and his flunkies, while Claire is treated with admiration and respect. Ha! I can’t think of any other circumstance where BJR would tolerate the humiliation, but he’d be dead — really dead — if he dared do anything in the presence of the King but take whatever is handed out.

Finally, Jamie sees BJR, and once the King is out of earshot, challenges him to a duel, which Randall accepts. Back home, Jamie is delighted. He’ll finally get his vengeance on the person who came so close to destroying him. Basically, Jamie sees it as a way to reclaim his manhood.

Claire is distraught. First off, dueling is illegal, and if Jamie is caught, he’ll be thrown into the Bastille for a good long while. Not to worry, Murtagh insists, he’ll have Jamie’s back and will make sure that doesn’t happen.

Unable to deter Jamie, Claire rushes out, then comes back to inform him that the duel won’t be happening. She’s sworn to the police that BJR is the man who attacked her and Mary, and he’s now being held in the Bastille.

Jamie and Claire have their most impassioned confrontation yet. He doesn’t understand how she can do this to him, when she knows how badly he needs to kill BJR in order to finally feel like himself again. Claire tearily confesses that it’s all for Frank. She needs BJR alive for at least one more year so that he can father the child who is Frank’s ancestor.

Jamie agrees to wait one year… but is shaking with rage and betrayal. Claire’s demand may have just put the nail in the coffin for their relationship.

Insta-reaction wrap-up:

Wow. The ending scene is so intense that it’s hard to imagine Jamie and Claire being okay after this. She seems to have utterly shaken Jamie’s trust. He told her she had to choose Frank or him, and she chose Frank. Ultimately, she invoked his debt to her — she’s saved his life, and he owes her a life in return, and it’s Frank’s life she’s choosing as repayment. As a man of honor, Jamie has no choice but to accept the terms.

But it kills him inside — you can see it on his face, the rage and helplessness he feels. Once again, BJR is in his life and he’s unable to do what he needs to do to defend himself.

Ugh, I just wanted to shake Claire.

Of course, at this point in the story, Claire doesn’t have the benefit of the knowledge that readers of the series have, which is that events which are part of the historical record will happen no matter what. It gets into the circular nature of the time travel dilemma, which generally makes my brain hurt. But we know that Claire and Jamie’s machinations to try to stop Culloden will fail. Culloden is a fixed point in history, and it will happen one way or the other.

If she’d had that knowledge at this point, perhaps Claire might have realized that Frank’s existence would happen, with or without her interference. Again, book readers already know how, but seeing this disturbing scene between Claire and Jamie really drove home the awfulness of Claire’s actions. She needs to tend to Jamie! I know she feels horrible guilt over Frank, but she chose Jamie and needs to do what’s right for Jamie.

Claire insisting on protecting BJR for the sake of Frank’s future just makes me crazy. Plus, if she’d stopped to think about it, there’s the circular factor that seems to make Frank’s life inevitable. Claire came through the stones because she was in Scotland because she was married to Frank… so if there’s no Frank in the future, then there’s no reason for Claire to have been at the stones, so she wouldn’t be standing in the room with Jamie at that moment. Right?

Ouch. There goes my brain again.

I did love seeing how the King literally brought BJR to his knees. I wasn’t much of a fan of Louis when we first met him (sitting on the “throne” — not a good look for any man), but I was cheering “vive le roi!” during this scene.

And furthermore…

The preview for the next episode shows Jamie and Claire back to full-on scheming as a team, which was a weird juxtaposition with the closing scene of the episode. Let us have a bit of worry about the state of the relationship, okay?

And one final comment — it’s nice to see Jamie back in a kilt!

7May2016

Book Review: Summer of Lost and Found by Rebecca Behrens

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

Nell Dare expected to spend her summer vacation hanging out with her friends in New York City. That is, until her botanist mom dragged her all the way to Roanoke Island for a research trip. To make matters worse, her father suddenly and mysteriously leaves town, leaving no explanation or clues as to where he went—or why.

While Nell misses the city—and her dad—a ton, it doesn’t take long for her to become enthralled with the mysteries of Roanoke and its lost colony. And when Nell meets Ambrose—an equally curious historical reenactor—they start exploring for clues as to what really happened to the lost colonists. As Nell and Ambrose’s discoveries of tantalizing evidence mount, mysterious things begin to happen—like artifacts disappearing. And someone—or something—is keeping watch over their quest for answers.

It looks like Nell will get the adventurous summer she was hoping for, and she will discover secrets not only about Roanoke, but about herself.

My thoughts:

Such fun! This is a perfect summer book – particularly if you’re looking for something to tuck into a middle-grade reader’s suitcase on the way to a family vacation. I picture reading this one on a blanket on the beach, in between dips in the ocean, maybe while munching on watermelon slices…

Nell Dare is a terrific main character. She’s a city girl through and through, and can’t think of anything more perfect than spending the summer in Manhattan with her best friend. When her dad takes off and her mother forces her to spend time on a weird island to help with research about an old vine, things are definitely not going as planned.

Nell becomes enthralled by the mysteries of Roanoke Island, famous for its lost colonists — the early settlers in the late 1500s who disappeared without a trace, a mystery unsolved to this day. Nell makes a “frenemy” of another girl her age, Lila, who’s also determined to get to the bottom of the lost colony. The race is on! Nell pursues clues with the help of a charming but slightly odd boy, learning her way around the island — but also learning how to get along without subways or taxis, enjoying the forests and dunes and learning the fine art of traveling by bicycle.

There’s a lot of heart in the story, as Nell’s summer is spent worrying about her father’s disappearance and what it means. Neither parent will tell her straight out, so Nell is left to guess and feel bad. She worries too that her best friend back in New York will replace her while she’s gone, and the speed at which texts are answered become talismans for the state of their friendship.

Finally, Nell learns a lot about finding a direction and charting her own path, asking for answers, and sticking things out.

But that’s true, right? Sometimes it’s the places we think we know the best that hold the most secrets: our streets, our backyards, and even our homes.

Nell’s summer adventure, investigating the mysteries of Roanoke, ultimately allows her to find out more about herself and her family. Along the way, she explores friendship and loneliness, and figures out that she needs to stand up and makes things happen herself.

Summer of Lost and Found is a charming middle-grade novel about a summer of discoveries — discoveries about the past, about things that are lost, and about commitment and family. Highly recommended for moms and daughters — this would make a great summer book to share!

Interested in this author? Check out my review of her previous novel, When Audrey Met Alice.

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The details:

Title: Summer of Lost and Found
Author: Rebecca Behrens
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication date: May 24, 2016
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Middle grade fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

6May2016

Catching up with Kate: A view from the halfway mark of the Kate Shugak series

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Books & Authors by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

If you read my blog from time to time, you may have noticed how often I seem to be reading a Kate Shugak novel. Kate Shugak, for those who don’t know, is the main character in an ongoing mystery series by Dana Stabenow. The series is currently 20 books strong, and the author is supposedly working on #21.

How did I get started with the Kate books? I honestly don’t know.

Perhaps I picked up the first one due to my obsession with Alaska.

Or maybe I picked up book #1 after seeing the series mentioned by Diana Gabaldon in her Methadone List.

Either way, something just clicked for me — and here I am a little over a year later, just wrapping up my read of book #10, Midnight Come Again.

I started the Kate Shugak series via audiobook, and enjoyed the first several volumes that way until I decided that I really wanted to gobble up the stories at a faster pace than the audiobooks allowed. Fortunately, my local library has kept the hard copies coming, so I was able to get the next book pretty much as soon as I put down the last.

The first book in the series, A Cold Day For Murder, was published in 1992. I listened to it in March 2015, and here’s what I had to say about it at the time, according to my Goodreads review:

I just finished the audio version of this book, and truly enjoyed it. A murder mystery set in the Alaska Bush, A Cold Day for Murder includes offbeat characters, gorgeous settings, politics, greed, snowmobiles, mines, shotguns, roadhouses, and so much more. The audiobook narrator does a great job of giving the various characters distinct voices, and the whole story moves along at a fast pace with never a dull moment. Main character Kate Shugak is a tough-as-nails crime investigator with local roots, family and clan loyalties, and an unerring sense of justice and the ability to sniff out clues.

Highly recommended for mystery fans, as well as for anyone wanting a little taste of Alaska.

I continued onward, and grew to love Kate herself as well as the sprawling cast of supporting characters more and more with each book I read. Kate is a smart, tough loner, a damaged soul, and a woman committed to justice and truth. She lives alone on a homestead miles from anyone, within the borders of a fictitious national park in the Wrangell area of Alaska. After a brief career in the district attorney’s office in Anchorage investigating horrible crimes, Kate seeks solitude and quiet, with just her enormous companion Mutt — half wolf, half husky — at her side throughout the Alaskan winters.

Kate is also a member of a large Aleut family, and her relationship with her grandmother, the domineering and well-respected tribal leader, forms a major theme throughout the books. Kate continually gets pulled back into the world of crime investigation, and each book has Kate at the center of one crime or another, not always willingly.

Through Kate’s experiences, we travel the state, from the Park to the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea, to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and the fishing harbors of Prince William Sound. Besides providing an up-close view of the natural wonders and man-made curiosities of Alaska, the books also weave into the story the ongoing corruption, political maneuvering, and favor trading that goes on behind the scenes. We get a crash course in Alaska politics and hot-button issues, like the exploitation of resources, the battle to keep tribal rights to subsistence fishing, the tourist and fishing industries’ impact on local economies, and so much more.

You can tell that my enthusiasm for Kate’s adventures stayed strong by reading my comments on book #4, A Cold-Blooded Business:

Another excellent addition to the Kate Shugak mystery series! Kate herself is a magnificent main character, tough as nails, ultra smart, and with a fierce love for her people and her land. In this book, Kate is hired to investigate drug dealing at the Prudhoe Bay oil facility, which means we get to see Kate outside of her comfort zone, in an entirely new setting, but still doing what she does best. It’s a surprisingly nuanced look at the impact of the oil industry in Alaska, as well as a terrific, dangerous adventure. Highly recommended!

What’s funny is that I’m not usually a mystery reader. In fact, while I generally enjoy the crime story in each of the Kate books, what truly draws me back over and over again is the people angle. I’ve just really fallen for Kate and the gang — Chopper Jim, Bobby Clark, and the rest of the folks living in and around Niniltna and hanging out at Bernie’s Roadhouse. And, as I mentioned, I’ve got this thing about Alaska. I’ve been for a few visits now, and can’t wait to go back… and meanwhile, the next best thing to being there is traveling there in a book!

Okay, but then I got to the 9th book, Hunter’s Moon, and I almost threw the damn thing across the room:

Damn you, Dana Stabenow! How could you do that? My heart is broken into a million teeny pieces right now. I love this series, but this one is just devastating. NOOOOO.

Ahem. That said, bring on the next book!

Not to be spoilery or anything, but man, that book just killed me. I won’t say why. Read it yourself and find out!

I couldn’t stop there, of course, so I continued on with #10, Midnight Come Again, which I finished (much) earlier today:

Appropriately, I finished Midnight Come Again just past midnight. It’s one of those books that is best read straight through, even if it means giving up a little sleep.

Midnight Come Again is an installment of the Kate Shugak series that’s hard to put down — less for the mystery than for the character development of Kate. The mystery is kind of “meh” in this book — Russian mafia, money laundering, involvement of FBI and state troopers. The personal side, though, is terrific.

Kate is dealing (not well) with the aftermath of the events from the previous book, Hunter’s Moon — and no, I won’t be forgiving Dana Stabenow for that any time soon! She’s a mess who’s shut down emotionally, living under a false name in the tiny town of Bering. When Jim Chopin — Chopper Jim — gets assigned undercover work in Bering, he’s instrumental in cracking Kate’s shell and helping her start her slow crawl back to life.

Kate is an amazing character, and she’s been through hell. I can’t wait for the next book, and plan to keep reading the Kate Shugak series until I’m all caught up!

Of course, I’m going to continue onward with #11 just as soon as my library hold request comes in. Meanwhile, I’m thrilled to have reached the halfway mark… and also, to have finally made it out of the 1990s! I have ten more books to go before I’ll be all caught up (#20, Bad Blood, was published in 2013). I’m not binge-reading or anything. I think of the Kate Shugak books as my reading comfort food (although the last two were about as far from comfort as I could imagine). I like to pick up a volume or two in between other things, both for the sake of getting a long-distance taste of Alaska and for the opportunity to check in with Kate.

Kate is one hell of a terrific character, and I’m invested in her life! I want that woman to be happy. Are you listening, Dana Stabenow? Ha, just kidding, don’t worry about me. A happy Kate probably wouldn’t have nearly as much drama in her life.

For those of you who’ve read further in the series — don’t tell me anything! For those who haven’t given the books a try yet, consider this my recommendation, yet again. The Kate Shugak books have heart, humor, drama, adventure, an amazing setting, and truly quirky and wonderful characters. Not to mention the odd grizzly bear.

Bundle up, light a fire, pour some hot cocoa, and curl up over at Kate’s homestead!

5May2016

Take A Peek Book Review: Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

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)

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Little Bee, a spellbinding novel about three unforgettable individuals thrown together by war, love, and their search for belonging in the ever-changing landscape of WWII London.

It’s 1939 and Mary, a young socialite, is determined to shock her blueblood political family by volunteering for the war effort. She is assigned as a teacher to children who were evacuated from London and have been rejected by the countryside because they are infirm, mentally disabled, or—like Mary’s favorite student, Zachary—have colored skin.

Tom, an education administrator, is distraught when his best friend, Alastair, enlists. Alastair, an art restorer, has always seemed far removed from the violent life to which he has now condemned himself. But Tom finds distraction in Mary, first as her employer and then as their relationship quickly develops in the emotionally charged times. When Mary meets Alastair, the three are drawn into a tragic love triangle and—while war escalates and bombs begin falling around them—further into a new world unlike any they’ve ever known.

A sweeping epic with the kind of unforgettable characters, cultural insights, and indelible scenes that made Little Bee so incredible, Chris Cleave’s latest novel explores the disenfranchised, the bereaved, the elite, the embattled. Everyone Brave Is Forgiven is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, loss, and incredible courage.

My Thoughts:

I have such mixed feelings about this book. The story is grand and sweeping, encompassing the London air raids of World War II as well as the horrible conditions experienced by soldiers besieged on the island of Malta. In terms of setting and historical context, Everyone Brave Is Forgiven is powerful and hard-hitting, showing us the terror of the reality of war through the eyes of those attempting to live through it.

At the same time, the characters and the dialogue kept me at a distance throughout. The writing is so overdone, and there’s a jolly good, stiff upper lip, never say anything that isn’t a quip flavor to every line the characters speak. If I had to read one more sentence about what “one” did or didn’t do or feel, I might have pulled my hair out.

Overall, I found this a disappointing read. I will probably be in the minority on this one, as the book seems to be getting raves from all the big literary review sources. Sadly, the paths of the characters and the central love story didn’t have a ring of truth. The tragedies pile up, and there are scenes of raw destruction that are breathtakingly sad and shocking. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the characters’ lives, actions, or relationships real enough to feel a true sense of connection to their stories.

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The details:

Title: Everyone Brave is Forgiven
Author: Chris Cleave
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: May 3, 2016
Length: 432 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

4May2016

Thursday Quotables: Everyone Brave Is Forgiven

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.

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
(published 2016)

This story of wartime love and loss is full of hard, sad moments:

She’d known with certainty that she needed him only when he had turned away from her on the platform at Waterloo. How her heart had dropped — as if there were no end to falling. When the hour had come for the war to take him away, that had been the first and last moment she had known without doubt that she loved him.

One knew how one felt only when things ended.

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!

3May2016

Shelf Control #34: Karen Memory

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: Karen Memory
Author: Elizabeth Bear
Published: 2015
Length: 350 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

“You ain’t gonna like what I have to tell you, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. See, my name is Karen Memery, like memory only spelt with an e, and I’m one of the girls what works in the Hôtel Mon Cherie on Amity Street. Hôtel has a little hat over the o like that. It’s French, so Beatrice tells me.”

Set in the late 19th century—when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable’s high-quality bordello. Through Karen’s eyes we get to know the other girls in the house—a resourceful group—and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, begging sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone’s mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap—a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered.

Bear brings alive this Jack-the-Ripper yarn of the old west with a light touch in Karen’s own memorable voice, and a mesmerizing evocation of classic steam-powered science.

How I got it:

Bought it!

When I got it:

At the beginning of 2016, when the paperback was released.

Why I want to read it:

I’ve had my eye on this book since reading pre-publication publicity. I love the idea of a steampunk western tale with a Jack-the-Ripper element, and the main character sounds amazing. Plus, this book will help me complete a reading challenge category this year, so I’m extra motivated.

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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!):

2May2016

The Monday Check-In ~ 5/2/2016

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

What did I read last week?

I finished my binge-read of the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series! My wrap-up post is here.

Hunter’s Moon by Dana Stabenow: The Kate Shugak is usually my reading equivalent of comfort food — but I was not at all prepared for the emotional devastation of this book! I love the series and the main character and will absolutely continue onward… but I’m also so mad at the author right now!

Outlander update!

Season 2 rocks! Here’s my reaction post for the 4th episode, “La Dame Blanche”:

Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 4

Elsewhere on the blog:

I’ve reached my breaking point! I’m swearing off ARCs for the rest of the year. Check out my DisembARCing post.

Fresh Catch:

Two pre-orders arrived from Book Depository this week:

I’m excited for both… but I suppose I need to start by reading The Wrath & the Dawn first!

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave: I’ve read two books by this author so far, and I’m excited to be starting his new release.

Now playing via audiobook:

I’m about halfway through my audio journey back through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The audiobooks are great fun. Looks like I’ll be continuing with these for a while.

Ongoing reads:

So many books, so little time…

1May2016

Insta-Reaction: Outlander, Season 2, Episode 4

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 204: “La Dame Blanche”

The official synopsis (via Starz):

Claire and Jamie throw a dinner party to derail investors in Prince Charles’ war effort. Meanwhile, Claire’s revelation that Jack Randall is alive sparks Jamie in an unexpected way as he and Claire struggle.

My take:

Major plot points:

At Versailles, Claire is poisoned with bitter cascara and becomes quite ill. She suspects the Comte St. Germaine.

No, Claire! Don’t drink it!

Jamie is attentive and caring. Claire finally confesses that Black Jack Randall is still alive, and Jamie is delighted. Now he can finally dream of revenge.
Master Raymond takes Claire into his back room where his more mystical objects are hidden, including rune-carved bones that can tell the future. When Claire casts the bones and wonders about Frank, Master Raymond tells Claire that she will see him again.
Jamie and Claire have a huge confrontation after Claire finds bite mark on his thighs. Jamie opens up about how he’s been struggling with the memories of his rape. The two finally make love again after all these months.
Louise is pregnant, but not with her husband’s baby. Jamie and Claire realize that Louise is having an affair with Prince Charles.
They plan a big dinner party with the goal of bringing the Prince and the Duke of Sandringham together, then causing a fall-out so that Charles’s funding will be in jeopardy.
Mary and Claire are attacked in the street, and poor Mary is raped. She’s hidden away upstairs at the dinner party, but when she runs in fear, all is exposed, and there’s a big fight and probably an even bigger scandal on the way.

Insta-reaction:

Well, that was a surprise! I spent the last week wondering if and when Claire would share the news of BJR’s surprising survival, imagining a devastated Jamie falling apart or becoming so upset with Claire for hiding the truth that their marriage might be in danger.

Wrong! Jamie was practically giddy with joy. This way, he has the dream of exacting vengeance for everything that was done to him. Just the thing to put a spring in a man’s step!

Of course, he’s not quite as healed as he’d like to pretend. When Jamie comes home from the brothel full of lust and covered with bite marks, Claire isn’t having any AT ALL. This is not okay, Jamie! He says that the whore in question was interested in “soixante-neuf”, but he swears that nothing happened… even though he was very turned on. He sees it as a plus that he rushed his horny self home to his wife, but she’s upset that he hasn’t touched her in months, and now it takes a trip to the brothel for him to find an interest.

This all leads, of course, to a deeper set of confessions, when Jamie finally articulates to Claire just how destroyed he is from the events of Wentworth, how his innermost core has been violated and he has nothing left. He goes off to sleep alone, but Claire follows him, reaches out to him, and they finally make love, reclaiming their passion and bringing their relationship back to life.

Meanwhile, lots of other stuff happened too…. see my notes above!

The look on Claire’s face when Master Raymond told her she’d see Frank again! That is NOT what she was expecting to hear — she just wanted to make sure that he’d be okay. She looked positively horrified, because there’s no way she’ll see Frank again if her life with Jamie goes as planned. Not happy news, by a long shot.

Meanwhile, I loved the shot of Claire examining a dinosaur skull, and Raymond describing his fascination with things from other times. Hello, can he possibly be more blatant? Claire, he knows you’re a time traveler! Maybe it’s time to explore what you two have in common besides the ability to recognize herbs by their smell.

Murtagh and Fergus have a very cute scene together. The little French pickpocket is becoming one of the family!

Poor Mary! A horrific experience, and then to be on display so publicly, so that her reputation is ruined and her shame is known by everyone. (Dudes, I’m not saying I think she has anything to be shamed by — but that’s the reality of the 1700s. Once she’s been violated, she’s seen as damaged. Stupid 18th century.)

Quite a dinner party. The setting and costumes are lavish, and the tension around the table was quite delicious.

It seems like every episode includes a shot of Claire in some sort of magnificent hooded get-up, walking up the stairs to visit the apothecary:

And it’s quite fun to finally see Claire with a full-on baby bump, which they somehow make look realistic even up close and uncovered.

Insta-reaction wrap-up:

Would you want to be at a dinner party with Prince Charles and the Duke of Sandringham? Both seem utterly insufferable.

It’s been a while since I read Dragonfly in Amber (I deliberately chose not to re-read prior to the start of season 2), but I’d say that this episode contains a lot from the book, portrayed very close to the book events, even down to some of the dialogue. Quite fun, really, to see so many familiar moments and hear the familiar lines.

In the books, Alexander Randall is supposed to look so much like his brother that he can be mistaken for him. At first, i just didn’t see it in the actor playing Alex, but in this episode, I could get a family resemblance. Alex is so sweet and loving with Mary. Sigh.

A couple of “artifacts” turn up that, at least in the book, have more significance later on: The necklace from Master Raymond to Claire, which can detect poison, and the hanged man’s grease that Claire and Mary seem so grossed-out by in the hospital. Both should come up again within the next few episodes. And keep an eye out for a man with a birthmark on his hand!

And furthermore…

Claire and Jamie are incredible people, no doubt about it… but be glad you’re not their kid! “Lambert” and “Dalhousie” are their ideas of great baby names? Sheesh. Poor wee bairn.

30Apr2016

Series Wrap-Up: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I just wrapped up my series read of the Miss Peregrine books by Ransom Riggs. What a fun and frightful journey it’s been!

I first read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children when it was published in 2011. Such a unique book! The plot itself is created to incorporate a treasure trove of vintage photos, each one weird and trippy — invisible children, one girl with two reflections, mysterious shadows, you name it. The creepy, odd pictures are strewn throughout the book, each one relating to the plot in same way.

The plot? The plot centers around an ordinary teen-aged boy named Jacob Portman growing up in a pretty standard suburb in Florida. His family is rich, and he’s bored and fairly friendless. Jacob has a strong bond with his grandfather Abraham, but as Jacob has gotten older, he’s stopped having patience for Abraham’s fantastic tales of monsters and strange beings — the tales that he believed whole-heartedly as a small child. When Abraham is murdered, Jacob’s family believes that he’s had a mental breakdown, insisting on having seen a grotesque three-tongued monster and sure that his dying grandfather gave him cryptic instructions for some sort of quest.

Finally, in an attempt to free Jacob from his delusions, Jacob’s father takes him for a visit to Cairnholm Island off the coast of Wales, where Abraham spent his youth during World War II as a refugee from Poland. On the island, Jacob stumbles across a secret portal to another time — literally. He enters a time loop, where it’s always 1940, and meets the peculiar children under the care of Miss Peregrine, a motley assortment of kids who all have bizarre gifts — the ability to fly, create fire, and control bees, among others.

But there are monsters as well, and Jacob eventually must choose between returning to the dull life he had before or staying and fighting alongside this group of new friends who’ve started to feel like a second family to Jacob.

The second book Hollow City, and the third, Library of Souls, continue Jacob’s saga, with non-stop action as Jacob and the peculiar children must rescue their mentor, fight truly disgusting horror-show bad guys, and yes, try to save the world. As with the original, all three books include generous helpings of vintage photos that illustrate the weird and indescribable other world of the peculiars.

As I mentioned, I read the first Peregrine story back in 2011, and always meant to finish the series. I faithfully bought books 2 and 3 when they were released, but by then, a few years had gone by and I didn’t remember much at all. So finally, I decided that this would be the year! I revisited book 1 by listening to the audiobook, then continued onward with the hard copy versions of books 2 and 3.

Overall, I enjoyed the books very much… although I have to admit that the conceit wears a bit thin by the third book.

The first book is full of quirky charm and delight. It’s a brand new world, and the author does a marvelous job of building that world, establishing the odd array of characters and the mysteries of the time loops. It’s weird and fantastical, but pretty terrific all at the same time. And even though there’s plenty of horror and conflict, it definitely has the tone of a plucky band of outsiders coming together to confront the forces of evil. Go, weird kids!

Perhaps the problem for me was reading all three books in a row, but somewhere along the way the specialness wore off and the series became just another adventure story. A good adventure story, but not quite as special. The 2nd and 3rd books lack the quirk and delight of the new, strange universe introduced in book 1. The middle and end volumes are good fun reads, but the peril and chase scenes become a bit tiring after a while. Even the use of vintage photos starts to feel old by the end, shoe-horned into the story as a necessity rather than being an extra and unexpected ingredient.

My inclination lately has been to binge-read series, but I do believe that wasn’t the right approach with the Peregrine books. Yes, I enjoyed them as a whole, but I might have enjoyed them more individually if I’d taken breathers in between.

Still, I’m mightily impressed with the world Ransom Riggs has created and the peculiar people who live in it. I recommend this series for readers from advanced middle grade level up to adults. Anyone who enjoys fantasy worlds and timey-wimey set-ups will have fun with Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children.

And a nice bonus for me is getting to look forward to the movie version, coming in the fall of 2016! I do hope the adaptation manages to capture the quirky flavor of the books.