I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.
I fit in quite a bit of reading time this past week, finishing three books and making more progress in Andrea Levy's historical fiction novel, Small Island. I was not sure about the book at first, but I am fully invested now. I just started reading Kills Well With Others (Killers of a Certain Age #2) by Deanna Raybourn, this month's TBR List Poll Winner, and am eager to read more.
On my reading list this week are two books I need to read for upcoming book club meetings. I have the audio version of The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, narrated by Lynnette R. Freeman queued up and ready to go, and, in print, I will be reading Robert Holtom's A Queer Case (The Selby Bigge Mysteries #1).
What are you reading right now?
This past week I finished three books. Let's take a look!
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Holiday House, 2021; YA Romance, 352 pgs
A sensitive, funny, and painfully honest coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves.Fat Chance, Charlie Vega was this month's Diverse Romance Book Club selection. Contemporary YA Romance is not one of my usual go to genres, but I liked the group's last YA pick and was open to trying another. I took to Charlie instantly. I could relate to her on so many levels, from her love for writing, body image issues, insecurities, an overly critical parent, and wanting to fit in. Perhaps not so much the longing for romance part, but that is okay. Charlie's best friend Amelia is everything she is not: athletic, thinner, lighter skinned, and with supportive parents (not to mention having a love life). Charlie had been very close to her father, and he was the glue of the family. Since his death, life has not been the same. Charlie's mother, once overweight herself, is now thin and trying to live her best life, dating and wishing for Charlie all the things she longs for herself. Charlie only wants to be accepted for who she is. She is happy in her own skin and wishes others, especially her mother, could see and accept that too.
After a humiliating incident with a boy she liked, Charlie has reservations about getting into another relationship, but Brian is better than the dream. He truly seems to like her and see her. But will Charlie's insecurities get in the way of her finding happiness, is he just using her, or has she finally found the romance she was looking for?
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega was such a delightful read. The romance was sweet. Charlie gets in her own way, and very painfully so. Not just with Brian, but in her relationship with her best friend too. It was one of those "throw arms up in the air" reading moments, but then, stopping to think about it, author Crystal Maldonado's depiction of teenagers and the intensity of their emotions was actually fairly realistic. The parent-child drama and how it played out was believable. I do not think any of us at the book club liked Charlie's mom much though, even taking into account how hard it must have been losing her husband and adjusting to being a single mother. Charlie really is such a great character who came into her own over the course of the novel. I love the way the author focused on body confidence and being happy with who we are. Overall, this was a great book and I am glad I got the chance to read it.
In Paris, a child goes missing. ~ Opening of The City of StardustThe City of Stardust by Georgia Summers, narrated by Kitty Parker
Redhook, 2024; Fantasy, 13 hours, 6 minutes
A young woman descends into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge to break her family's curse in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy debut.The City of Stardust was this month's Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Club Selection. I decided to listen to the audiobook due to time constraints.
The author brought the settings alive with her writing. The world she created is complex and multilayered, a mix of modern and fantastical. A generational curse has long plagued the Everly family, and Violet will be the latest victim if she isn't able to break the curse.
When the novel opens, Violet is a young girl, being raised by her uncles. She remembers well the visit from the mysterious woman and the boy, but her uncles keep the secret of the ultimatum--10 years to find Violet's long absent mother or Violet will become Penelope's instead--until time is nearly out. And now Violet is an adult and realizes she must search for her mother on her own if she is to try to find out more about the curse and how to break it.
I was taken with the the author's writing and the descriptions of the places and world Georgia Summers had created. The villain of the novel, Penelope, intrigued me the most of all the charracters, and I wanted to know more about the mystery of this curse she cast almost as much as Violet did. Penelope is beautiful and frighteningly powerful and cruel, a goddess who walks among the people.
I would have liked if the author had written more about Violet's time among the scholars and her attempts to find her missing mother. Perhaps the author did not feel it was worthwhile since just about every avenue Violet tried was met with a door slammed in her face, but I felt like it might have only made the novel even better and added more depth to Violet's character. Not to mention I wanted to know more about the scholars in general. Alas, this was not their story.
The second half of the novel was stronger than the first, I thought, as the pieces of the puzzle came together and tensions grew even higher. Violet is a capable and resourceful woman. Aleksander, who is studying to be a scholar, is an interesting character in his own right. Throughout much of the novel, the reader is left wondering whether his intentions are good or evil. It is obvious Violet and Aleksander share a connection, but is it in Violet's best interest? Like Violet, I wanted to trust him, but I was not sure we should. One of my favorite characters in the novel was Caspian, a bit of a rogue, and the son of a well respected and affluent family. He doesn't get nearly enough page time, in my opinion.
Kitty Parker's narration hit all the right notes, drawing me into the world created by Georgia Summers. Overall The City of Stardust was an enjoyable fantasy novel. While this is a standalone, should the author ever want to revisit the world she's created here, I would consider reading it.
Trouble With the Cursed (The Hollows #16) by Kim Harrison
Ace, 2022; Fantasy, 464 pgs)
Rachel Morgan, witch-born demon, has one unspoken rule: take chances, but pay for them yourself. With it, she has turned enemies into allies, found her place with her demon kin, and stepped up as the subrosa of Cincinnati—responsible for keeping the paranormal community at peace and in line.It is always a pleasure to spend time in the Hollows. In this 16th book of the series, Rachel's new position of subrosa of Cincinnati is threatened when an old dead vampire from D.C. comes to town to question who is really in charge. And then there is the little problem of Hodin, the demon Rachel vowed to protect from the other demons. He appears to be up to something, even though he denies he has any ill intentions.
As often happens when I read one of the Hollows' novels, once I hit the half way mark, it's next to impossible to put the book down. Rachel, as always, finds herself in over her head, juggling too many crises at once. Let's not even mention that she let Vivian, the head witch of the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards, talk her into teaching a demonology class at the local university. Her friends seem to have their own problems to take care of and so she seems to be on her own, but she is nothing if not determined and this way they will be safe. Don't fret though! There's plenty of Jenks, Trent and Al. Ivy is back too, but not as much, sadly. And Pike, who is growing on me, is back too. In Trouble with the Cursed, we get to know more about what caused the rift between Al, Dali and the other demons and Hodin. The odds may not be in Rachel's favor as she tries to hold onto her city, but if anyone can do it, Rachel can.
Action packed, full of magic, and a bit of mischief, Trouble with the Cursed was a satisfying and entertaining addition to the series. This is a series best read in order.
Catching up from the the week before:
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, narrated by Aaliya Warbus and Jordan Waunch
Recorded Books, 2023; Historical Fiction; 8 hours, 44 minutes
A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a community, and remains unsolved for nearly fifty years.The year is 1962 when four year old Ruthie goes missing while her family picks blueberries during the summer season. Like so many migrants, her family travels each year from Nova Scotia to Maine for the work. Six year old Joe, Ruthie's brother had been the last to see her. While the local authorities shrug off the disappearance of the young girl, the migrant community rallies together to search for her only to come up empty handed. The Berry Pickers is told from the alternating perspectives of Joe, the brother who blames himself for his sister Ruthie's disappearance, and Norma, raised by a distant father and an overprotective mother, both of whom seem to be keeping secrets from her. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Aaliya Warbus and Jordan Waunch, both of whom did a great job of bringing their characters to life.
The Berry Pickers is not really a mystery in that it's obvious from the first chapter in the book what the connection is between Norma and Joe. This is more an intergenerational story about two families and the challenges they face and the repercussions of their own and others' actions. This is a story about white privilege and prejudice, indigenous and migrant life, loss and grief, lies and guilt, and of hope and healing.
I found Joe's narrative to be the most compelling of the two. I felt his heartbreak and struggle. His grief and guilt over his sister's disappearance and later the death of his brother shaped the direction of his life, including the choices he made. Even at his worst, my my heart ached for him. Joe and his family never gave up hope that their Ruthie was out there somewhere, even decades later. I wanted so much for their family to get the reunion they deserved.
For Norma's part, I felt a great sadness for her as well a sense of loss. Her memories are few and were so often dismissed when she was a child that she believes they were just dreams. For many years, she doesn't really realize all she lost, but the reader knows, and, in her own way, she senses it. Every time she asked about the past, why her skin is darker than her family's and about her memories, they come up with a ready excuse. She is robbed of her culture and identity and of a family that loves her. I have probably said too much, venturing into spoiler territory.
My book club met last weekend to discuss The Berry Pickers and we had a meaningful discussion about the various themes and characters as well as the cultural aspects--including discrimination against people of color, particularly those of indigenous ancestry, then and now. It was another good choice for our club.
A monthly feature in which I l share the books I read this month ten years ago.
(Rating Scale: 5 Paws=Outstanding; 4 Paws=Very Good; 3 Paws=Good; 2 Paws=Okay; 1 Paw=Didn't Like)
The titles are linked to my original reviews of each book when available.
Looking back over my reading in August of 2015, I leaned heavily into mysteries, branching off a little into romance. In the pages, I went back in time to 1975 New York City as a crime reporter in the thick of a murder investigation that isn't as cut and dry as it seems. I spent time in the beautiful but harsh Falkland Islands searching for three missing children. I unraveled the history behind a Époque apartment that had been kept secret for decades until the death of its owner bequeathed it to a stranger in America, finding romance along the way. I followed the local police around as they investigated a brutal murder at a hotel in Pont-Aven, France, hoping to catch the killer before the summer tourist season began. I joined a research project of a 129 year old murder on an island off the coast of Connecticut only to suddenly find myself in that very past, in the body of someone else, and the only way back to the present was to solve the century's old murder. I visited London, England where I met a woman on a train, a woman on a deck, and a mother and wife who is not as secure as she once was in her marriage. I dodged the government's black ops Sigma operatives on their mission to wipe out anyone with psychic abilities. I also read a book of poetry that month, one expressing grief in many different forms, including that of love lost and and of lost opportunities. Just thinking about my August adventures in 2015 has me out of breath!
- Drop Dead Punk (Coleridge Taylor Mystery #2) by Rich Zahradnik
- Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton
- Paris Time Capsule (Secrets of Paris #1) by Ella Carey
- Death in Brittany (#1) by Jean-Luc Bannalec
- Wet Silence: Poems About Hindu Widows by Sweta Srivastava Vikram
- The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts (The Unbelievables #1) by K.C. Tansley
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, narrated by India Fisher, Clare Corbett, Louise Bradley
- The Society (#1) by Lilith Saintcrow
Do you remember what you were reading ten years ago? Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think?
Mouse's friends had begging her to watch KPop Demon Hunters since it first came out, but she kept putting it off. When even her friend's mom was telling both of us we needed to see it, I put on the pressure too. It was really good! From the music to the characters and storyline, it's got it all. There's action, humor, romance, and the strength of women and friendship. It's worth watching if you have not seen it already. And again, if you have.
Anjin and I have seen a couple of episodes of the second season of Andor, which is part of the Star Wars franchise. We enjoyed the first season quite a bit. This second one is good so far.
What have you been watching lately?
Following in the footsteps of Deb of Readerbuzz - With all the worries and stressors in life,
I want to highlight some of the good, even the seemingly small stuff.
2. Sunday morning doughnuts . . . I know they aren't the healthiest of breakfasts, but occasionally my husband will make a doughnut run, bringing back doughnuts, peppermint hot chocolate for Mouse and I, and a coffee for himself. Today was one of those days!
3. It is funny and cute watching Gracie come into the room, looking for me. She will lazily make her way around the perimeter of the room, stopping to visit with Anjin and Mouse if they are there (lifting one of her hindlegs straight out to signal she wants pets from them), and eventually making her way over to me. When I invite her onto my lap, she has to refuse at first, of course, and make a show of not being sure she wants to by making another trip around the room, but she always comes back, hops up and settles on my chest or lap. If I fail to invite her up in a timely manner, she will just jump up regardless of whether I am ready or not and instantly takes her place on my chest. If I am working on my laptop, like now, it makes it hard keep working, but how can I refuse?
I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!
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Small Island sounds like a winner. Hoping to find a copy at my library. I did find The Berry Pickers on Hoopla! Oh wow! I did read The Girl on the Train and loved it! What a great idea for a post! Happy reading!
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