Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Sunday, June 04, 2017

Bookish Thoughts: A Killer Ball at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison

"You are absolutely not selling William Dobson, Rupert!" ~ Opening of A Killer Ball At the Honeychurch Hall

A Killer Ball at the Honeychurch Hall (Honeychurch Hall Mystery #3) by Hannah Dennison

Minotuar Books, 2016

Crime Fiction (Cozy); 286 pgs

Source: NetGalley

Trying to get her business off the ground, antique dealer Kat Standford is hoping she can convince Rupert and his mother to sell some of their family's artwork. The family is in dire need of money for repairs, and this seems the perfect solution to Kat. But while visiting an abandoned wing of the family's estate, Honeychurch Hall, Kat falls into a hidden room, a double hide, and finds the body of a young woman who appears to have died under suspicious circumstances. Kat's own mother, Iris, seems to have known the victim. And with the reappearance of someone from Iris's past, red flags are going up for Kat at an astounding rate. Could her mother have been involved in the woman's murder? What is her mother hiding? Any why does everyone seem to want to keep the police in the dark?

This is my first visit to Honeychurch Hall and what an entertaining time I had! Honeychurch Hall seems to be a hotbed of scandal, secrets and cover-up with some rather eccentric characters that add to the charm of this series. I had no problem falling right into the small community of Little Dipperton, despite this being the third book in the series. It stands well on its own, although I imagine there are some threads mentioned in this one that likely got their start in an earlier book.

I rather like Kat, who is smart and funny. She's still recovering from her break up with her ex -boyfriend from the sounds of it, but there were small hints of another possible romantic prospect. I wasn't sure what to make of Iris, Kat's mother. The two seem to have a complex relationship. It's clear they love each other, but Iris's evasiveness, especially about her past, bordered on being annoying at times. Still, I quite liked her character and found her more amusing than anything else. Iris and her brother, a parolee recently out of prison, make a comedic pair to be sure.

The mystery itself was intriguing, tied closely to the Hall's past. I had no idea what direction author Hannah Dennison was going with it, although I had my suspicions. A Killer Ball at Honeychurch Hall had me laughing and kept me guessing all the way to the end. This was such a fun book to read. I can't wait to read more of this series.

You can learn more about Hannah Dennison and her books on the author's website. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Friday, June 02, 2017

Monthly Reading Mews (May Wrap-Up) & What Should I Read Next? (June's My TBR List Poll)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, 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. As well as Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews, a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.

What I Am Reading/Listening to Now: I don't often have more than one book going at once, unless it is an audiobook and a print/e-book. Right now I find myself having started four:

I Want My Epidural Back: Adventures in Mediocre Parenting by Karen Alpert - which I can only read in small doses.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie - recommended by my husband.
Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister - I am listening to this one in audio and have about three hours left to go.
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum - a book long on my TBR shelf I am finally dusting off to read for a read-along hosted by Serena (Savvy Verse & Wit) and Anna (Diary of an Eccentric) over at the War Through the Generations Challenges blog this month.

May In Review: I had high hopes to read more in May, but it evidently was meant to be an average reading month. I am still wondering where all my reading time went to. I was home for nearly a week from work with strep throat this past month, and focusing on a book was impossible. I couldn't read with Mouse for about a week and a half. I ended up binge watching Supernatural in between naps. I also dedicated more time to blog prep, catching up on my review writing and scheduling posts for the upcoming summer. So, I guess in between that, work, and family life, I do know where all my reading time went after all . . . Hopefully June will be better.

Solely For Me:

LaRose by Louise Erdrich
Planetfall by Emma Newman
Radio Girls by Sarah Jane-Stratford
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary-Robinette Kowal
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (Audio)

Some of the Books I Read With My Daughter in May (many of which we read over and over and over again. And then again):

Mom, There's a Bear at the Door by Sabine Lipan & Manuela Olten
Fancy Nancy and the Mean Girl by Jane O'Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser & Ted Enik
How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills
Fancy Nancy: Fancy Day in Room 1-A by Jane O'Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser & Ted Enik
Froggy Bakes a Cake by Jonathan London & Frank Remkiewicz
Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer
One by Kathryn Otoshi
It's Mine! by Leo Lionni
Biscuit Goes to School by Alyssa Satin Capucilli & Pat Schories
The Dark by Lemony Snicket & Jon Klassen
Lexie the Word Wrangler by Rebecca Van Slyke & Jessie Hartland
Beautiful Bananas by Elizabeth Laird, Liz Pichon
Chalk by Bill Thomson
Scary Party by Sue Hendra
Wave by Suzy Lee
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin & James Dean
What's Inside? Neighborhood by by DwellStudio
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts

My Favorite Book Read in May: How to choose?! Radio Girls was so much fun to read and brought out the researcher in me. In many ways, I think it was my favorite. But Erdrich's LaRose was such a beautiful and touching story. For different reasons, I think of it as a favorite this past month too.

Mouse's Favorite Book Read in May: Mouse loved making up her own stories to the illustration-only books, Chalk and Wave, this month. Her favorite though was Lexie the Word Wrangler, which I think spoke to the reader and budding writer in her. We read the book multiple times during its two week visit with us from the library.

Book Reviews Posted in May (but not necessarily read in May):

Non-Book Review Posts in May:

How did your May shape up reading wise? What was your favorite book you read in May?

New To My Shelves:

June's My Lit Box arrived recently much to my excitement. May's theme was "Growing Pains" and was filled with a number of goodies, including a tote, magnet and two books.

Sunday Sugar by Q. Gibson & It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

I also purchased a couple of used copies of Nancy Holzner urban fantasy novels that caught my attention recently:

Deadtown & Hellforged

I bought one e-book this past week:

Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch #1) by Ann Leckie

Have you read any of these? What new books did you add to your shelves this week?

Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise).

For the next couple or so months you might notice a theme in my poll reading choices. While last month the theme was historical fiction, this month it is mysteries. In both cases, all books had the word "girl" or "girls" in the title. I'm determined to work my way through all my girl-titled books! Which do you think I should read next? Thank you for voting!

Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre ~ Journalist Jack Parlabane will do anything to rebuild his reputation and put the past behind him. Finding musician Heike Gunn may be his last chance. She's disappeared and everywhere Parlabane looks he finds more secrets and unanswered questions.

The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi, Howard Curtis (translator) ~ A forensic analyst with the Rome police recently lost her husband. The authorities believe it was a suicide, but his wife isn't convinced. She begins her own investigation into his death, which leads her into dangerous territory, including a possible centuries-old secret society.

Girl in the Dark by Marion Pauw, Hester Velmans (translator) ~ A mother and lawyer is struggling to deal with issues with her own son, when she discovers she has a brother she never knew about. Digging for the truth, she discovers her brother is autistic and in a hospital for the criminally insane. He was accused of murdering a neighbor and her daughter. Could he really have committed the crime he is accused of? She isn't so sure.

I hope you all have a great weekend and upcoming week! Happy Reading!

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Bookish Thoughts: Vale of Stars Series by Juliette Cross

After reading Juliette Cross's Nightwing Trilogy, I was not quite ready to let go of the Morgon world she had introduced me to, and I again immersed myself in her books. The Morgon race is a hybrid race, a combination of human and dragon. The peace between the Morgon and humans is rather fragile and only in a few communities do the two races mix. I was excited to see she had written another set of books set in the same world, and it was really these three books that sold me on the series. It helped that they were on the longer side, two being full length novels.

Dragon Heartstring (Vale of Stars 0.5) (2016; 161 pgs)

Opening sentence: I fidgeted, tapping my thumbs against my pant leg while watching the numbers on the elevator panel.

In Dragon Heartstring, Shakara Icewing and her clan has petitioned the City Commerce Council requesting the ban of the use and manufacturing of a weapon designed for the sole purpose of killing Morgon kind. How can a society that wants peace between the races allow the use and possession of a weapon specifically designed to kill one of the races? Sharkara is seen as a threat to those who are out to get her kind and Demetrius makes it his mission to protect her at all costs.

It was good to read about Demetrius and get a little update on Jessen, Moira and her dad's relationship (from Soulfire). Demetrius was a pretty big jerk in the first Nightwing novella. His dislike for Morgon kind came across loud and clear. After the incident with his sister, Jessen, however, and the birth of her child, he has had a change of heart. Is his heart and mind open enough to love a Morgan woman, however? Shakara Icewing, a healer and business woman in her own right, is not afraid of Demetrius and his wealth. She knows well his reputation, but cannot help but be drawn to him.

I liked Shakara the first time I met her in a previous book and was happy to read her love story in Dragon Heartstring. I was interesting to get a look into a human male and Morgan female perspective; see how the Morgan men varied from the women.

Author Juliette Cross tackles some very serious issues in Dragon Heartstring, while all the while balancing the heated romance between initially reluctant lovers. It was good to see a different side of Demetrius, the softening of his heart, and that people can change.

Waking the Dragon (Vale of Stars #1) (Lyrical Press, 2016; 288 pgs)

Opening sentence: Tick.

I was thrilled when I realized Waking the Dragon featured Moira, Jessen's younger sister. She was my favorite character in Soulfire, even for her small role. Moira is all grown up in Waking the Dragon, the editor of the university paper. She is as ambitious as she is intelligent, and she is anxious to make a name for herself. Using her sister's connections to the Nightwing clan, Moira sets out to investigate the murder of human women with all evidence pointing to Morgons as their killers. Captain of the Morgon Guard, Kol Moonring, is assigned to assist Moira. Both are fiercely independent and neither inclined to give an inch to the other in terms of letting go some of their self-control.

Morgons have the advantage over humans in terms of strength and the ability to fly, but Moira is a force to be reckoned with all her own. She is tenacious and resourceful. And while she is willing to jump into danger to get her story--and save lives--she also knows her limits and knows when and who to ask for help. Kol is a very private person, brooding and stoic. I imagine he never saw himself falling for a human.

Moira finds herself in great danger in Waking the Dragon as her meddling into the investigation of the murders gets her closer to the truth. A great evil is at work, wanting to undo the progress the Morgons and humans have made in living peacefully. This novel is quite dark and suspenseful. I found myself holding my breath multiple times. I like Moira and Kol together. They fight their attraction to each other to no avail and I think their bond is even stronger for it.

Dragon in My Blood (Vale of Stars #2) (2016, 278 pgs)

Opening sentence: Strobe lights pulsed in time to the house music--aloud, hard beat, intoxicating the throng into a sensual rhythm.

Driven to hiding, the outlaws are regrouping and Valla Moonring, assassin with the Morgon Guard and Conn Rowanflame of Nightwing Security, are a part of the team sent to the Wastelands of Aria in search of their enemy who is hell bent on domination. It isn't the ideal environment for romance to bloom, but then, perhaps it is, the two isolated and forced to be in each other's company for a long period of time. Their relationship has always been fraught with animosity, their attraction hiding underneath.

Valla is the younger sister of Kol Moonring, and was raised by her brother. She is very capable of defending herself and is good at what she does. The last thing she wants is to be dominated by any man, especially Conn. I liked that Conn seems to recognize that.

It was a nice change to read a novel involving romance between two Morgons. Author Juliette Cross continues to build on a world that I find fascinating. The peace between the humans and Morgons is very tenuous, and growing more so every day. It's interesting to get a view into the different provinces and their politics. And so many characters I would like to get to know more about!

Dragon in My Blood is even darker than the previous novels, and is nonstop action from the start. The bad guys are rather formidable, the Blood King seemingly unstoppable. I am anxious to see where the series will go next!

*Source: I purchased all three of these books for my own reading pleasure.

You can learn more about Juliette Cross and her books on the author's website. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Mouse's Corner: Happy Memorial Day

Mouse has three more weeks of school to go before the end of the year. It's hard to believe she will be finished with kindergarten soon. I am not ready for first grade! Mouse is not sure she is either, although I am sure she will do fine. This past week, Mouse was honored with an award for her writing. I couldn't be more proud. Just eight months ago it was an epic battle (tears and all) to get her to practice writing her letters, and now she is writing four sentences a day with little encouragement.

It has been a lovely Memorial Day Weekend here in Southern California. We took advantage of the good weather and visited the botanical gardens at the local university. We also too part in setting out the flags at the local national cemetery where the soldiers are buried in honor of Memorial Day. It was quite a sight, seeing so many people come together to honor the fallen. Every grave receives a n American flag. Today the West Coast Thunder will be riding through town, Hundreds to thousands of motorcyclists to honor the fallen soldiers. Mouse is busy working on a project for her Girl Scout sisters: making photo frames to give them all as a gift at our last meeting of the season. What are you up to this weekend?

On our walk at the botanical gardens

Placing of the flags.

Watching the West Coast Thunder roll in (17th Annual)

They're saying there were 7000 registrants for the ride.

Remembering those who served and sacrificed.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Bookish Thoughts: The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

I remember being pestered by a sense of dread as I walked to my car that day, pressed down by a wave of foreboding that swirled around my head and broke against the evening in small ripples. ~ Opening of The Life We Bury

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Seventh Street Books, 2014

Crime Fiction; 303 pgs

Joe Talbert is getting a late start on his writing assignment for one of his college courses, and is hoping to interview someone and write a brief biography about his or her life. Walking into a nursing home, he has no idea who he might find. Hopefully someone with an interesting story. What he did not expect was to find Carl Iverson, a man convicted of the rape and murder of a teenager girl who had been paroled from prison after 30 years only because he was dying of cancer. It is not lost on Joe what a unique opportunity this will be.

As Joe digs into Carl's past, he discovers Carl had fought in the Vietnam War and is still haunted by his time there. Joe wonders at Carl's heroism during the war and weighs it against the crime the man was convicted of committing. With the help of his neighbor, Lila, Joe uncovers more and more information that make him doubt Carl's guilt.

Joe is forced to juggle his coursework with trouble with his own family. His mother's dysfunction as a parent has always been a problem, but is beyond the point of ignoring. Her alcoholism is out of control and her mental illness continues to go untreated. She has a new boyfriend who is bad news, and her youngest son who has Autism and is unable to care for himself is right at the center of it. Joe feels responsible for his brother, and is faced with some hard choices.

The Life We Bury is the perfect title for this novel. Both Joe and Carl, and even Lila, have tried to bury their pasts, particularly the parts they long to forget. Each hold onto secrets that have impacted their lives and still weigh heavily on them. It was interesting to see how the relationship between Joe and Carl evolved, as well as that between Joe and Lila, over the course of the novel--how their trust in each other grew and they became closer.

Joe struggles with his decision to leave his brother with his mother to attend college. He wants to make something of his life, get out of his mother's house, and yet he also knows he is the only reliable person his brother has. He truly loves his brother and does not hesitate to step up when necessary. I really felt for him and his situation.

I also was drawn to Lila who fought her own demons and was very wary of Joe at first. She took to Joe's brother, Jeremy, quickly, however, and I enjoyed the ease at which she and Jeremy interacted right from the start. Jeremy needs all the warriors on his side he can get. I liked him and felt the author did a good job fleshing out his character.

Allen Eskens knows how to create characters that get under your skin and draw you to them. The action really picks up in the last 100 or so pages of the novel, the suspense having been built up and Joe finding himself in dire straits. It was the kind that makes you hold your breath and not want to stop reading until you know everything will be okay. I was not surprised by the outcome. Eskens does not try to obfuscate too much--a little twist here and there.

I enjoyed reading The Life We Bury quite a bit, although I felt there were several threads that could have been explored further for a richer reading experience. I was left feeling a bit short-shifted by the end because of that, but otherwise it is a solid read.

I could relate to Joe wanting to get out of a dysfunctional home, away from an abusive parent. I also understood the guilt he felt leaving behind his brother. In this case, a brother who is autistic and completely dependent on others. As a result, Joe can't completely move on. His brother needs him.

Carl, truly was a war hero --even in his guilt for taking a life. My dad was a Vietnam Vet and I spent years trying to get him to share and open up about his time there. I always felt a distance between us, a wall, I couldn't breach. I don't believe my dad witnessed the horrors Carl did, although I am sure he heard about them and saw the fall out after. My dad had his own nightmares and was haunted by his own demons.

This book, for me, was more about the characters and their journeys rather than the murder itself. I felt a little cheated in the end. How quickly things were wrapped up--how nicely. Threads that popped up early in the book not being more fully explored. Still, I found The Life We Bury to be an entertaining and interesting book to read. I enjoyed it over all and recommend it.

You can learn more about Allen Eskens and his books on the author's website. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.