Title: The Thursday Murder Club Author: Richard Osman Publisher: Penguin Publication date: 2020 Length: 382 pages Genre: Mystery Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.
But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?
I am very late to the party… but I’m glad to have finally arrived! It’s true — The Thursday Murder Club is just as much fun as everyone says.
This entertaining novel centers around a mismatched group of friends at a luxurious senior residence in the countryside who, for fun, devote their leisure time to solving cold case murders. The cases become much less cold when two murders connected to the property occur. Now, the Thursday Murder Club has a real-time case to investigate, much to the consternation of the local police, who always seem to be at least a step behind our gang of seniors.
The characters are terrific — a woman who would appear to have had an adventure-filled life as some sort of secret agent, a nurse, a psychiatrist, and a notorious rabble-rouser, plus the various other friends, relatives and acquaintances who fill out the population at Coopers Chase. Not everything is as it seems, and as the story progresses, many long-held secrets are revealed — some tied to the recent murders, and some not.
The tone is upbeat, even while discussing murders and other crimes and scandals, and I loved the motley assortment of personalities and skills and interests that the main characters present.
The Thursday Murder Club is delightfully entertaining, and I can’t wait to continue with the series!
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible audiobook – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Title: Alone in the Wild Series: Rockton, #5 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 4, 2020 Length: 369 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
In #1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong’s latest thriller, the hidden town of Rockton is about to face a challenge none of them saw coming: a baby.
Every season in Rockton seems to bring a new challenge. At least that’s what Detective Casey Duncan has felt since she decided to call this place home. Between all the secretive residents, the sometimes-hostile settlers outside, and the surrounding wilderness, there’s always something to worry about.
While on a much needed camping vacation with her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, Casey hears a baby crying in the woods. The sound leads them to a tragic scene: a woman buried under the snow, murdered, a baby still alive in her arms.
A town that doesn’t let anyone in under the age of eighteen, Rockton must take care of its youngest resident yet while solving another murder and finding out where the baby came from – and whether she’s better off where she is.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong again delivers an engaging, tense thriller set in perhaps the most interesting town in all of contemporary crime fiction.
I’m completely hooked on the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong, and waited less than a month after finishing book 4, Watcher in the Woods, before diving back in with the 5th book, Alone in the Wild. Needless to say, book #5 provided yet another immersive, exciting reading experience — I couldn’t put it down!
Once again, a quick recap of the series premise:
Rockton is a secret hidden town in the Yukon wilderness, a haven for those seeking extreme shelter from dangers in their real lives — or those who’ve committed some sort of wrongdoing and need a place to start over. Rockton, population 200, is filled with an uneasy mix of crime victims and white-collar criminals — although as Sheriff Eric Dalton and Detective Casey Butler come to discover, the town council is willing to defy its own rules for a price and allow more dangerous people to take advantage of Rockton’s protection.
Alone in the Wild picks up the story about six months after the events of the previous books. Casey and Eric are taking a much-needed vacation from their policing duties in Rockton, enjoying a couple of nights of camping out in the wild, when Casey hears an unexpected sound: a baby crying. She makes a disturbing discovery: a dead woman cradling a living baby, both buried under the fresh snow. The death is obviously very recent, but there’s no time to investigate — the baby is alive, but barely; Casey and Eric rush the baby back to Rockton for immediate medical care before returning to the corpse to look for clues.
Their primary focus is identifying the baby, a girl who appears to be about a month old. From examining the dead woman, it’s clear that she is not the mother of the child… and it’s also clear that she’s been murdered. While crimes not related to the residents of Rockton are outside Casey and Eric’s jurisdiction, they realize that solving this woman’s murder might lead them to the baby’s family, and their priority is returning her to her rightful parents, if they can be found.
Meanwhile, Casey and Eric become the baby’s de facto foster parents, with the help of the rest of Rockton, raising important questions for them as a couple. Due to serious injuries sustained during a life-changing attack in her teens, Casey doesn’t know whether she’ll ever be able to carry a pregnancy to term. Caring for the baby forces Casey and Eric to discuss whether they could see themselves as parents, and what it might mean for them as a couple. Meanwhile, concerns about whether the baby’s parents are capable of raising her bring up uncomfortable memories from Eric’s own past. The complicated emotions brought on by confronting these issues move Eric and Casey’s relationship forward in important ways.
Of course, the investigation itself is fascinating, as it involves venturing far beyond Rockton’s borders and making contact with settler communities who abide by very different rules, beliefs, and ethical standards. This broadens the world of the series in new and interesting ways, and I’m sure will have important implications in future books.
As always, there are plenty of twists and turns, and every time I thought I had something figured out, I was surprised yet again by how inventive and unpredictable Kelley Armstrong’s mystery writing can be.
With two books left in the series, I’m trying to pace myself rather than rushing straight through. It’s a challenge! My goal is to finish the Rockton books in 2025, then start the spin-off series, Haven’s Rock, in 2026.
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Title: The Return Author: Rachel Harrison Publisher: Berkley Publication date: March 24, 2020 Length: 304 pages Genre: Horror Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut.
Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there, and that one day she’ll come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.
Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she?
I first fell for Rachel Harrison’s writing when I read her 2nd published novel, Cackle. Since then, I’ve devoured each new book, and have loved them all. Clever plotting, exceptional character development, and generous helping of gruesome, scary horror all add up to terrifyingly satisfying reads. I’ve been meaning to go back and read her debut novel, The Return, for quite a while… and now I’ve finally done it!
The Return is just as creepy and scary as I expected, and I enjoyed every bit of it, even while feeling grossed out and completely on edge.
At the heart of The Return is a group of four women who have been best friends since their college days. Now scattered and living separate lives, they still represent the truest connections they’ve ever had, despite distance often keeping them apart.
When Julie disappears on a hiking trip, the friends are shocked, but Elise — our main character — is the only one of the remaining three who simply doesn’t accept that Julie might be dead. As more and more time passes, and Julie’s husband eventually holds a memorial service for her, the other two friends, Molly and Mae, urge Elise to seek therapy to deal with her denial and grief. Elise pretends to agree, but in her heart-of-hearts, she feels that Julie, wherever she might be, is still alive.
And then, two years after her disappearance, Julie simply shows up back at the home she shares with her husband. She has no memory of the past two years, and just wants to carry on with her life — and most of all, to reconnect with her best friends. Mae decides that what they need is a girls’ trip — time alone, someplace remote, where they can unplug from the outside world and just focus on being together.
As the four friends arrive at the hotel where they’ll be staying, it’s clear that this place is just weird. Each room is an over-the-top experience, with bizarre, extravagant themed decor. Elise is uncomfortable right from the start, but she tamps down her unease for the sake of the group. Things only get worse once Julie arrives and the other three get their first look at her since her return: She’s emaciated, falling apart, and her teeth are a disaster. But she’s Julie, and they love her, and most of all, they want her to feel how happy they are to be with her again.
As the story unfolds, the group dynamics inform how the friends interact, how much they share and what they choose to hold back. Through Elise’s first-person narrative, we come to understand her unhappiness, how she feels judged by the others, and the role that Julie plays in her life.
At the same time, we see that something is very, very wrong. Is it the hotel itself? Why is the manager so stressed out? What’s that weird smell? Why does Elise think there’s something on the balcony outside her room? And what, exactly, is wrong with Julie? Why does she seem better some days? Why is formerly vegetarian Julie now bingeing on meat? WHAT IS GOING ON?
If all of this sounds like a lot to unpack — well, it is, and yet, it works beautifully. As the book progresses, it becomes clearer that Elise herself is not the most reliable of narrators. We may think she’s being straightforward, but there are a couple of big bombshells that she drops later in the book that make us reevaluate everything she’s told us so far. At the same time, there are clearly some truly icky things happening, and as the book progresses, the gore gets worse and worse.
The Return is fascinating, scary, and unusual. It’s not for the squeamish — but I happened to love it. The mounting horror is just so well constructed — and beyond that, I loved the insights into women’s friendships, how they change and evolve, and how loneliness and dissatisfaction creeps into lives as people grow up and face the world after college.
You can’t erase your past when there are pieces of it scattered inside other people.
I will say too that I love Rachel Harrison’s way with words. Little descriptions that could just be stage-setting made me stop to reread them and savor what they evoke:
It’s a colorless day. The kind of fall day not advertised. The trees shiver in the wind.
Toward the end of the relationship, when my resentment congealed and my love peeled like a sunburn to reveal the sneering face of reality underneath, I called her to confess.
Overall, The Return is a fast, absorbing, chilling read. Not quite on a par with some of her later books (such as Such Sharp Teeth and Black Sheep, which are brilliant!), but a terrific horror read none the less. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that happens in this book… and I’m afraid that from now, I will be refusing all opportunities to visit remote, extravagant rural resorts.
Want to know more about Rachel Harrison’s books? Check out my reviews of her other books:
Title: The Happy Ever After Playlist Series: The Friend Zone, #1 Author: Abby Jimenez Narrators: Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon Publisher: Forever Publication date: April 14, 2020 Print length: 401 pages Audio length: 9 hours 17 minutes Genre: Contemporary romance Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone comes a fresh romantic comedy full of “fierce humor and fiercer heart” about one trouble-making dog who brings together two perfect strangers. (Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue)
Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.
Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can’t deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There’s no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?
Dear Romance Writers:
PLEASE STOP MAKING CHARACTERS BREAK UP WITH THE PERSON THEY LOVE FOR THEIR OWN GOOD WITHOUT TELLING THEM WHY.
Phew. Glad I got that off my chest.
Moving on with my review… which includes unavoidable spoilers for The Friend Zone, so proceed with caution.
The Happy Ever After Playlist picks up two years after the events of The Friend Zone, moving the best friend from book #1 to center stage.
Sloan may not seem to be a prime candidate for a romance lead — her story in The Friend Zone (spoiler alert!) was a tragic one. Just one week before her wedding, Sloan’s fiancé was hit by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle and eventually died.
As The Happy Ever After Playlist opens, Sloan thinks of her life as being in the “in between”. Since Brandon’s death, she’s stopped cooking, stopped painting original pieces (focusing instead on Etsy commissions for pieces such as astronaut cats), and basically just gets by. If not for best friend Kristen and her husband Josh, Sloan would barely even eat.
All that changes when Sloan heads to the cemetery to visit Brandon’s grave, and nearly hits a dog wandering on the road… who then jumps into her car through her sunroof. What’s Sloan to do? She takes him home, tries in vain to contact his owner, and after a couple of weeks, has settled into a happier sort of life with Tucker as company — until Tucker’s owner Jason finally returns Sloan’s many calls.
He’s a musician, has been working in Australia, but is now headed home and wants his dog back. After some initial resistance, Sloan agrees, but only if Jason proves he’s worthy. As Jason and Sloan banter via text and then phone calls, a spark of life comes back to Sloan. She’s having fun, she’s enjoying getting to know this random person, and (after seeing his picture), she thinks she might actually be open to meeting him… although only if they call it an appointment, not a date.
Needless to say, Sloan and Jason have amazing chemistry, and within days, are inseparable. As Sloan works through her complicated feelings about allowing herself to be open to attraction and possibly romance, Jason is beyond perfect, making clear his desire and interest, but only at her own pace and comfort level.
Things become even more complicated once Sloan shows Kristen a picture of Jason… and Kristen freaks out. Does Sloan even know who she’s kinda-sorta dating? That’s Jackson Waters, the recording artist behind the cover of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald**, the song Sloan listened to on repeat during the worst of her days of grief. Jason is poised for stardom, about to leave on tour, with a major record label promoting him and propelling him into the spotlight. But how can Jason leave when things are just getting started with Sloan, and how can Sloan fit into the high-pressure world of a world-famous rock star?
**And believe me, it makes me mad that the Jackson Waters version of this song (and its accompanying claymation music video) does not actually exist!!
The Happy Ever After Playlist is engaging right from the start, although in some ways, it feels like two (or possibly three) different stories smushed into one. At the beginning, it seems to be about Sloan allowing love back into her life, and that’s quite lovely to see. Her cautious first steps toward happiness turn into a running leap, once she and Jason start to connect on a deeper level. They realize almost instantly that what’s between them is the real thing.
Midway through the book, the storyline turns much more into the celebrity romance trope — how can an ordinary person fit into the world of fame and paparazzi and constant scrutiny, much less endless months on the road?
Jason and Sloan are worth rooting for, but it drives me mad (see my declaration at the start of this review) when one romantic partner makes a decision (usually a break-up) for what they perceive to be the good of the other person, without even telling them why or giving them the opportunity to discuss it. Of course, in a romance, this is the 3rd act big blowup when all seems lost, but we know (because romance) that it will all work out, and that there will likely be some amazing, over-the-top big moment to bring it all to a happy ever after. (There is).
I really did enjoy The Happy Ever After Playlist as a whole, but certain fights and then the breakup made me a little batty. If ever a situation calls for couples’ counseling, or at least a neutral third party, this is it. These two characters do not do a great job of talking to one another in crucial moments. Yay, they work it all out eventually, but the pain and suffering before they get there could have been avoided through actual communication.
As in The Friend Zone, the men in this second book are once again very manly indeed. Hunting, home improvement skills, and general outdoorsy-ness abound. Jason is a sensitive singer/songwriter/guitarist, but he’s also great with his hands (in all ways), can fix anything, and goes camping on remote islands for the fun of it.
Overall, The Happy Ever After Playlist is a great audiobook listen. Despite the plot points that bugged me, I never wanted to stop once I started listening, and the narrators do an excellent job bringing the characters to life and conveying their banter, humor, fights, and sorrows.
I will absolutely finish the trilogy, although based on the peek I took at the 3rd book’s synopsis, it seems to only have a very tangential connection to the first and second books. Still, I know what I’ll be listening to next!
Title: My Calamity Jane Series: The Lady Janies, #3 Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows Publisher: HarperTeen Publication date: June 2, 2020 Length: 544 pages Genre: Young adult Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Welcome to 1876 and a rootin’-tootin’ America bursting with gunslingers, outlaws, and garou.
JANE (a genuine hero-eene)
Calamity’s her name, and garou hunting’s her game—when she’s not starring in Wild Bill’s Traveling Show, that is. She reckons that if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.
FRANK (*wolf whistle*) Frank “the Pistol Prince” Butler is the Wild West’s #1 bachelor. He’s also the best sharpshooter on both sides of the Mississippi, but he’s about to meet his match. . . .
ANNIE (get your gun!) Annie Oakley (yep, that Annie) is lookin’ for a job, not a romance, but she can’t deny there’s something about Frank she likes. Really likes. Still, she’s pretty sure that anything he can do, she can do better.
A HAIRY SITUATION After a garou hunt goes south and Jane finds a suspicious-like bite on her arm, she turns tail for Deadwood, where there’s been talk of a garou cure. But things ain’t always what they seem—meaning the gang better hightail it after her before they’re a day late and a Jane short.
The Lady Janies books are quickly becoming my go-to cheer-me-up reads… and the 3rd in the series, My Calamity Jane, absolutely hits the spot!
In this cheeky, silly reimagining of Wild West legends, Wild Bill Hickok’s traveling show is highly entertaining, super popular… and a front for a band of garou (werewolf) hunters. Calamity Jane herself is a 17-year-old who’s an ace at performing tricks with a bullwhip, and she’s also devoted to Wild Bill, who gave her a family when she had nowhere else to turn. Bill’s son Frank is Jane’s brother and best friend, and the tight-knit band travels from town to town, putting on great shows and dealing with garous who threaten public safety.
Things take a turn for the terrible when Jane is bitten during an attempt to bring down the garou Alpha, and their lives only get more complicated from there. Between fast-talker Annie Oakley insisting on joining their crew and the persistent attentions of a young woman reporter (who goes incognito as a young man, because writing just ain’t a career path for a woman, doncha know), Jane and the gang have to move and think fast… and their lives get even more dangerous once Jane decides to run off to Deadwood in pursuit of a rumored garou cure.
Ah, this book is fun! Lots of familiar names and places pop up — but if you’re like me, it’s helpful to keep Wikipedia handy too. I never watched the Deadwood TV series (although now I’m tempted!), and had only passing familiarity with most of these real-life people — so looking into their stories was a huge boost while reading My Calamity Jane.
Note: I do have a vague recollection of listening to some of the songs from the musical Annie, Get Your Gun as a child. Does anyone — besides devoted theater kids — still know this show? Parts of it looks really offensive, based on looking at the movie trailer, so I kind of hope not. Anyway, I digress…
The writing in My Calamity Jane, as in the other Lady Janies, is funny, tongue-in-cheek, and quite silly. The narrators pop in to comment throughout, which is always good for a laugh.
“Mama!” Annie turned around, horrified. “He’s near forty years old! He’s ancient”—(at this point, your faithful and likewise ancient narrators die inside)—“and he’s already married.”
The werewolf storyline fits surprisingly well within a Western setting, and the main villain of the piece offers some clever surprises (plus lots of sneering and manipulation). Even the portrayal of henchmen and lackeys is funny.
Jack McCall straightened his spine (although your narrators don’t know how he did it, considering we are pretty sure he was spineless).
The story includes a couple of quirky love stories, as well as shoot-’em-up action sequences and some familiar-sounding rivalry.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy herself. She put on her sweetest smile. “Anything you can do, Mr. Butler,” she said, “I can do better.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Yes, I can.”
While the page count might seem a little much at the outset, trust me — it moves quickly. Even when we get the sadder moments of learning the characters’ backstories and childhood traumas, we’re never more than a page or two away from an exchange to lighten the mood.
“Oh, no,” gasped Winnie. “Oh, no, no, no. A story like this takes time.”
Frank drew out his pocket watch. “You’ve got, like, two hours.”
Jane snorted. “That’s loads of time. A person could write a whole book in two hours.” (To which we, as the narrators, say no. A person can’t. And now we’re crying a little.)
Plain and simple, My Calamity Jane is a hoot, just like the rest of the books in the series. The Lady Janies all work as stand-alones (or at least, the ones I’ve read so far do). So, if the Wild West isn’t necessarily your thing, but you’re a Jane Eyre fan, start with My Plain Jane, or if you love Tudor history, pick up My Lady Jane. You get the point — pick one that appeals to you, see if you like the approach, and then give the rest a try!
For me, I’m ready to dive into the Mary books!
And I’ll close with the words of Calamity Jane… just because she makes me laugh:
Title: Brothersong Series: Green Creek, #4 Author: TJ Klune Publisher: Tor Books Publication date: October 13, 2020 (new hardcover to be published August 2024) Length: 480 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett learned the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it—he—was gone.
Desperate for answers, Carter takes to the road, leaving family and the safety of his pack behind, all in the name of a man he only knows as a feral wolf. But therein lies the danger: wolves are pack animals, and the longer Carter is on his own, the more his mind slips toward the endless void of Omega insanity.
But he pushes on, following the trail left by Gavin.
Gavin, the son of Robert Livingstone. The half-brother of Gordo Livingstone.
What Carter finds will change the course of the wolves forever. Because Gavin’s history with the Bennett pack goes back further than anyone knows, a secret kept hidden by Carter’s father, Thomas Bennett.
And with this knowledge comes a price: the sins of the fathers now rest upon the shoulders of their sons.
Brothersong is the 4th and final book in TJ Klune’s powerful Green Creek series… and, hold on, excuse me a minute while I dry my tears.
In Brothersong, the story is told through the eyes of Carter Bennett, oldest son of the Bennett clan, big brother to Kelly and Joe. Carter is brave, fierce, and funny, and up to now, never seemed to dive too deeply into emotions, particularly when it comes to love and relationships. But as of the end of Heartsong, Carter was forced into a startling awakening, and here in Brothersong, he’s desperate to recover a connection that he only recently realized existed.
Carter has spent the last few years shadowed by a werewolf stuck in his wolf form, which has mainly exasperated Carter… but when this wolf finally reclaims his human form and is then ripped out of Carter’s life, he experiences heartbreak and a conviction that he needs to find this person, no matter what. Leaving his pack and his brothers, Carter sets out alone on the road, chasing clues, haunted by visions and ghosts, on the verge of losing his mind, but unable to give up and go home without the person who might truly be his mate.
Without giving away too many plot points — eventually, all are reunited, and the dangerous confrontation that’s been building for four books finally becomes reality. The big bad is truly terrifying, and the violent battle toward the end of Brothersong threatens the entire pack as well as the humans of Green Creek.
I really can’t go into details without entering major spoiler territory, which would be a shame. I will say that I spent most of the last batch of chapters absolutely breathless, terrified for all these characters that I’ve come to know and love, and — I admit it — a soppy, teary mess.
As a whole, the Green Creek series surprised me with its depth, its beautiful depictions of family and pack bonds, its humor, and its superb plotting. The characters are well-developed, and while it’s a sprawling cast, we’re able to truly get to know them all over the course of these four books.
Despite the drama, the themes of past hurts and the unintended consequences of mistakes and secrets, and the ever-present threat of destruction, the Green Creek books are also prime examples of TJ Klune’s excellent use of humor. Even in the midst of tragedy and sorrow, some of the dialogue had me keeling over with laughter.
Once again, I was reading so intently that I neglected to highlight much, but even this silly scene captures the goofy (and sometimes cringey) way these characters think and act (when they’re not in mortal peril):
I stood quickly, tripping over my own feet as I surged toward the book, trying to beat her there. I should have won. She was a human. I was a wolf. I was a killing machine capable of great power with my fangs and claws. Yes, she was deadly, but I was a creature of the night. I was the monster in the dark. I was—
Falling face-first onto the floor.
The pack is amazing. They jokingly refer to themselves as “the gayest pack in the entire world” (which is likely true), and nobody blinks an eye over this — although it does lead to some random conversations such as :
“Question.” A man. One of Will’s friends. “Is everyone in the pack gay?”
“So what if they are?” I snapped.
The man shrugged. “I don’t give two shits either way. I just didn’t know if that was, like, a prerequisite for being a shape-shifter or whatever.”
It is amusing, but not a negative, to recognize certain lines and phrases that pop up in other books by the author, including this bit that never fails to make me laugh (and that I can’t help hearing in the mortified voice of Nicky Bell from The Extraordinaries):
“Why are you like this?”
And another one that’s also very Nicky:
“Straight people are are so weird,” Kelly whispered to Robbie.
On a more serious note, if you’ve read the Green Creek books, you’ll understand why this one little paragraph got me all emotional:
It was warm like a summer day. It was candy canes and pinecones, it was epic and awesome, it was dirt and leaves and rain, it was grass and lake water and sunshine.
The Green Creek books have vaulted right into my list of favorite-of-all-time series. I’m feeling totally bereft now that I’ve reached the end. How can the universe expect me to leave these books and characters behind?
One quick answer? I’m not going to. I’ve already decided that my 2024 reading plans will include a Green Creek audiobook binge.
Brothersong is a beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting conclusion to this amazing series. Green Creek is a story of a werewolf pack, but put aside the fangs, fur, and claws, and at its heart it’s a story about love and families of all dimensions — parents and their children, brothers, found families and chosen families. The relationships are what make these books “sing” as they do.
I’m so glad that Tor is reissuing the series as new hardcover books — the series deserves a much wider audience, and I hope these gorgeous new editions attract many more readers. All books are available now as ebooks; the new hardcover editions of Wolfsong and Ravensong are both currently available as well, and the hardcover editions of the last two books will be released in 2024 (Heartsong in January; Brothersong in July).
I simply can’t recommend Green Creek highly enough. These books have it all, and should not be missed.
Title: Dear Edward Author: Ann Napolitano Publisher: The Dial Press Publication date: January 6, 2020 Length: 340 pages Genre: Contemporary fiction Source: Purchased
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them is a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured vet returning from Afghanistan, a septuagenarian business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. And then, tragically, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.
Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a piece of him has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery–one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do find yourself? How do you discover your purpose? What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?
After hearing so much about this book, I finally decided to give it a try. And once I started, I simply could not put it down.
Dear Edward is a powerful, sad, emotionally gripping story about unimaginable loss and how to rebuild a life. It’s the story of Edward Adler, who at age 12 is the sole survivor of a terrible plane crash, in which he loses his parents and older brother.
Edward is immediately adopted by his aunt and uncle and brought to live with them in their New Jersey home. He recovers from his physical injuries, but the damage to his heart and mind seems insurmountable. He’s lost everything and everyone, and while surrounded by kindness and support, has to figure out how to live the rest of his life when he’s completely lost and without direction.
It doesn’t help that people around the world have fixated on him as a “miracle boy”. He’s famous, but the attention can feel toxic, and certainly isn’t good for his fragile state. Fortunately, the 12-year-old girl next door, Shay, sees him merely as a boy and a curiosity, and becomes a key to his daily struggle to survive.
In interludes between chapters, we also see the events on the flight that fateful day as, hour by hour, the people onboard move closer to their deaths. We get to know individuals, their hopes, fears, and dreams, and each time these flight scenes come up, the looming disaster feels even more tragic and inevitable.
Without saying too much about the plot itself, I’ll just say that this book is so gripping that I read it pretty much straight through. I had to know what would happen next for Edward, and on top of that, the structure of the book means that we see snippets of the flight throughout, but don’t get to the awful end of it until close to the end of the book. And while we know that the plane will in fact crash, by giving us a close-up connection to so many of the passengers, when the end comes, it hits very hard and feels like a huge blow.
The writing is sensitive and well-structured, and the weaving together of the two main story elements keeps both moving forward with intensity. I came to love Edward as a character, as well as the wonderful people who come into his life at key moments and become central to his survival.
Dear Edward is an absorbing, emotional read with a strong plot and memorable characters. Highly recommended.
If you love Jasmine Guillory, Abby Jimenez and Talia Hibbert, you’ll LOVE Farrah Rochon!
What happens when three women discover, thanks to the live tweeting of a disastrous date, that they’ve all been duped by the same man? They become friends of course!
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be ‘that’ girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah – along with his two other ‘girlfriends’, London and Taylor – have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status…
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
This book (and the trilogy as a whole) had been highly recommended to me, and I finally had a chance to dive in this week… and found it just the positive, friendship-centric romance that I needed.
In The Boyfriend Project, discovering a boyfriend is a cheater and a scammer is a blessing in disguise, as it brings together Samiah, Taylor, and London, three amazing women who have had terrible luck in finding worthy romantic partners. They’re each talented, smart, caring individuals, but somehow, the dating market in Austin seems to lead them nowhere.
After their confrontation with the cheater goes viral, the three connect and bond, and decide to devote the next six months to their own personal goals without the distraction of looking for a man. For Samiah, who has the starring role in this book, it means carving time out of her already busy life to focus on the app she’s dreamed of launching, although she already works around the clock at her demanding but fulfilling tech job.
Complications arise when she meets her company’s newest hire, Daniel, who’s clearly smitten with Samiah. What she doesn’t know — but we readers do — is that Daniel isn’t who he appears to be. Through chapters told from Daniel’s perspective, we learn that he’s a federal agent working undercover to bust a money laundering scheme running through Samiah’s company. He knows better than to get involved while on a case… but there’s no denying the connection the two feel, or their amazing chemisty.
The Boyfriend Project works well as a romance, but it’s also a terrific celebration of women’s friendship and the power it provides. I loved the way Samiah, Taylor, and London come together after their discovery of how they’d all been catfished — no cattiness or blaming, but instant support, empathy, and a shared sense of humor and encouragement. Taylor and London are supporting characters in this book, but I know that they each get their own starring roles in the other books in the trilogy, and I’m so looking forward to spending time with each of them.
I could quibble with a few elements of the book (and, okay, I will), but really these are essentially minor issues:
A little too much time spent on the tech details — I suppose it lends authenticity to Samiah’s work, but I didn’t need quite so much of the specifics.
Ditto for the details of the money laundering scheme. I’m not sure it all made sense, and maybe it’s meant to give substance to Daniel’s work, but this part of the story felt like a detour from the romantic plot (and mood), and I just wasn’t interested in the crime story aspects.
The sex scenes are graphic (per my steam factor ratings), which I can abide even though it’s not my preferred approach… but some of the writing in these scenes was just too cringey.
None of these quibbles stopped me from enjoying the book as a whole, and I still look forward to continuing the series.
Overall, The Boyfriend Project does a great job of keeping friendship at the forefront, even while focusing on the romance and the ups and downs involved with Samiah and Daniels’ story.
Title: Half a Soul Series: Regency Faerie Tales #1 Author: Olivia Atwater Publisher: Orbit Publication date: March 29, 2020 Length: 304 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Purchased
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.
Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment – a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season – but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.
If Dora’s reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.
Bridgerton meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.
Pick up HALF A SOUL, and be stolen away into Olivia Atwater’s charming, magical version of Regency England!
Half a Soul is a fun, light-hearted romantic caper set in Regency England — and yet, there’s a darker element that’s unusual for this type of book, and it makes it very much worth checking out.
Dora is captured by a Lord of Faerie as a young child, and loses half her soul to him — only saved from losing her entire soul by the intervention of her devoted cousin Vanessa. But from that point onward, Dora experiences all emotions on a very low setting. She’s aware of feeling warmth toward her cousin, aware of things that seem wrong or might bother her, but it’s all very distant.
As a result, Dora has a hard time following society’s rules — she has no in-built filter to make her feel uncomfortable when she steps out of line (which is often).
After the Napoleonic War, England’s head magician, known as the Lord Sorcier, is both a hero and an object of scorn. High society is forced to accept him, but they neither like nor trust him. Still, he may be the only person who has a shot at restoring to Dora what was lost — but as their paths cross, their focus instead turns to the wretched conditions in London’s workhouses and an insidious, seemingly incurable plague that strikes the poorest of children.
The plot of Half a Soul is interesting and offers new twists on tales of enchantment and the dangers of being stolen away to the world of Faerie. Dora and Elias (the Lord Sorcier) have a strong connection, and I enjoyed seeing them work together to solve problems, right wrongs, and reclaim Dora’s missing soul.
The supporting characters are quite enjoyable too, and I appreciated how Dora and Elias are united in their commitment to force their friends and relatives to see the underlying ugliness and imbalances of their world and take action to help.
Half a Soul is a quick, light read, with entertaining plot twists and interesting approaches to the conflict between the human and Faerie worlds. As a bonus, the book also includes a novella, Lord Sorcier, that provides a prequel look at Elias’s backstory — it’s very good and sheds new light on on how Elias became who he is in Half a Soul.
Half a Soul is the first in a loosely-connected trilogy (Regency Faerie Tales), and I’m looking forward to reading more!
Title: A Longer Fall Series: Gunnie Rose, #2 Author: Charlaine Harris Publisher: Saga Press Publication date: January 14, 2020 Length: 291 pages Genre: Fantasy / speculative fiction Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns with the second of the Gunnie Rose series, in which Lizbeth is hired onto a new crew, transporting a crate into Dixie, the self-exiled southeast territory of the former United States. What the crate contains is something so powerful, that forces from across three territories want to possess it.
In this second thrilling installment of the Gunnie Rose series, Lizbeth Rose is hired onto a new crew for a seemingly easy protection job, transporting a crate into Dixie, just about the last part of the former United States of America she wants to visit. But what seemed like a straight-forward job turns into a massacre as the crate is stolen. Up against a wall in Dixie, where social norms have stepped back into the last century, Lizbeth has to go undercover with an old friend to retrieve the crate as what’s inside can spark a rebellion, if she can get it back in time.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and Midnight, Texas trilogy) is at her best here, building the world of this alternate history of the United States, where magic is an acknowledged but despised power.
In the Gunnie Rose books, author Charlaine Harris has created an alternate version of the United States… in which the United States no longer exists. In this world, FDR was assassinated prior to being inaugurated as President, and in the aftermath, the US has split into separate countries. Main character Lizbeth Rose lives in Texoma, more or less where our current Texas is, and the US South is now the country of Dixie, where racism, sexism, and xenophobia are the norms — a place where Lizbeth has no interest in going, until she’s hired on for a job that will take her there.
Lizbeth is a “gunnie”, a gifted shooter whose sharp reflexes and dead-eye aim make her a valued member of any gun crew, typically hired for escort and protection work. After her last crew ended up dead (see book one in the series, An Easy Death), she’s found work with a new set of gunnies, and takes an eastbound train to bring cargo into Dixie.
Nothing goes as planned, naturally. The train rail is sabotaged, the gun crew is attacked, and the cargo is stolen. Lizbeth finds herself stranded in Dixie, until her former colleague and lover Eli shows up, also in pursuit of the same cargo. Eli is a “grigori” — a wizard of the Holy Russian Empire (formerly California and Oregon), a land ruled by the Tsar and protected by the highly skilled magicians who support him. Eli’s arrival shows that Lizbeth’s cargo is much more precious than she realized, and the two of them must work together to retrieve it, get it to its intended destination, and hopefully make it out of Dixie with their lives.
The world of Gunnie Rose
Once again, I truly enjoyed the world-building. Lizbeth herself is a Western-style gunslinger, but here, she’s thrust into a world that expects her to wear a dress and hose, defer to men, and be altogether proper and ladylike. The contrast is delicious, and it’s such fun to see Lizbeth’s discomfort and rebellion at these ridiculous sexist restrictions.
Meanwhile, Lizbeth and Eli have terrific chemistry, and it’s a delight to see them back together. Their work and their families destine them to have very different lives, but for the space of this adventure, they’re reunited and fully cognizant of the love and passion they share. They also make for great partners, having each other’s backs and getting one another out of impossibly dangerous situations.
Dixie is full of despicable racists, and the overall mission and the missing cargo relate to an attempt to kick off a rebellion and put an end to oppression. The cargo itself is a total MacGuffin — it’s a bit nonsensical, but as a plot catalyst, it keeps the action going full steam ahead and makes for some exciting sequences. Not all the events make a ton of sense, but there is a certain satisfaction in seeing awful characters get exactly what they deserve.
The 20th century setting (mid to late 1930s, it would seem) can be a bit jarring. The story often feels like an old-timey Western, and something about the description of Dixie made me expect the women to be wearing huge dresses a la Scarlett O’Hara — I had to remind myself from time to time that these people live in an era of cars, indoor plumbing, electricity, and refrigerators. The contrasts make this series extra fun, like seeing our own history, but in a funhouse mirror.
I love Lizbeth as a character, and I love seeing new aspects of her personality and intelligence as the story progresses. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next! There are currently four published works in the series, with a fifth scheduled for release in fall of 2023. I’m definitely planning to continue, and hope to start #3 just as soon as the library’s copy becomes available.
Bookshelf Fantasies 