One Way Fare by Barb & Hannah Taub

Who needs Santa when you’ve got a sister-in-law to fill your stocking with books like this?

Would I recommend it? We are watching my year old nephew this week and I’ve been jumping up and down volunteering to put him down for naps and bedtime. He snuggles into my chest, I pop open the book, and by the time I’m ready to stop reading and put him down he is soundly asleep.

Check out my review of the Null City books by Barb Taub if you haven’t yet. The sale on her novellas lasts for a few more days yet, but don’t skip this one- it’s the best of the bunch!

Desprite Measures by Deborah Jay

Dec3

First thing first.

There is a vampire in this book and he can’t tolerate the sunlight.

I like to get these kind of facts in the open right away so that if you are like my husband you will at least consent to hear about the rest book. Some people, are so touchy about these things. I mean seriously, what’s wrong with a little sparkle now and then?

But I digress.

Vampires, elementals, witches, fey… There are loads of creatures in this book living alongside humans in the Scottish Highlands – which is the best part of the book. Not just that they exist, but that they do so with a fairly well thought out strategy of how the creatures live aside humans and why they act the way they do. Fantastic for people like my vampire persnickety husband who can then just enjoy the story without shaking their heads too much over the technicalities. Even better, the author fits that information into the writing smoothly enough that the book doesn’t bog itself down with the details. Well some of the details. Apparently elementals need DNA to support a human guise and sometimes a girls gotta do whom a girls gotta do in order to get some… DNA…

Would I recommend it? This book is good! It’s quick and fun, with a well written, solid plot. If I weren’t warming my toes by the fire and battened down for cold weather I’d call this a perfect beach read!

Be warned, if you search for this book search engines everywhere will try hard to convince you that you mean “desperate measures” don’t believe them!

This honest review was given in return for a free copy of the book from its author.

Absolute Power: Book 1: Origins by Grayson Queen

Nov24

It was the morning of what was to be an extraordinarily uneventful day. Unpacking, laundry, cooking, more laundry… but before I even started my day I discovered that Grayson Queen’s new book was released. Of course, I had to go check it out, pin it to my board of books to read, add it to my Amazon wishlist… and that’s when I discovered that not only was it out, but that the e-book is free until the 27th! There was no reason not to “buy” and download it just at that moment, so I did.

And then it hijacked my day.

I wasn’t going to read any of it today, I’m in the middle of another book, but I had to at least check out the cover… and the first pages… and before I knew it I was knee deep in the history of Super-Human wars before I had even had breakfast.

I folded laundry at super speeds, promising myself another chapter (or three) if I finished it all.

Lunch time found me struggling to keep characters and their crazy abilities straight while reading, feeding the girls and eating myself. (Had I followed the directions of my grade school teachers I would have looked through the whole book and found a character list in the back, but where is the challenge in that?)

Once the kids were in bed I settled into the couch to enjoy the rest of the book in peace which was good, because things were getting a little crazy with space and time and I needed to concentrate.

Long before I was ready, the book ended with a bang and I was left desperate to know what happens next.

And my boring day? I hardly noticed all that laundry, I was too busy lost in a world of telepaths, heroes and intrigue.

Would I recommend it? Yes in the course of my day it moved from my Pinterest “Books to read” board right on over to my “Book Recommendations” board. It’s a fast-paced-blow-shit-up and intelligent-make-you-think read all at the same time.

Here is the Amazon link:

A Place in the World by Cinda Crabbe MacKinnon

Nov12

I sat down to write this review, ready to say that nothing huge and dramatic happens in this book.

I was about to tell you that this is a lovely little book, set in dramatic Colombia, amongst the beauty of rain forests on a coffee farm, where a woman leads her life the best she can, as she finds her own place in the world.

But then I remembered the volcano.

It’s hard to claim a volcano isn’t huge and dramatic – it’s a volcano.

So I did some more thinking. How had my faulty memory managed to marginalize the volcano, and quite a few other notably dramatic events?

Eventually, I came to the conclusion that it was the main character’s unique attitude. As an American who has lived for many years in Colombia, she handles things with an amazing blend of the two cultures. Stepping back and forth between them so well that the big drama fades into the background, leaving the focus of the book right where it should be, on the young woman in search of her place in the world.

It just so happens that her world is run by men, contains active volcanoes, guerrilla fighters, monkeys, a bit of political turmoil, coffee crops and an occasional iguana in the water tank – making it infinitely more interesting to read about than our own.

Would I recommend it? I would. Drama aside, the information on the culture, rain forests and coffee growing would have been enough to keep me interested.

This honest review was given in return for a free copy of the book from its author.

Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman

Oct29

As a mother of girls, I love this book.

But when I looked at it’s reviews online it seemed that for as many people who love this book there are just as many who don’t think children will like it, that it is nothing more than a book for mothers-to-be.

My children and I are here to respectfully disagree.

I asked Clara (5) to show me her favorite part.

Clara (flipping pages as she goes): “This, and this, and this, and this…”

Me: “Yes, but why do you like those parts?”

Clara: “Because they are so COOL!”

Then I asked Ivy (7). She said, “My favorite part is…” and proceeded to take the book and read it to me.

Jane (2) answered my question with an enthusiastic, “Gifts for a blueberry girl!!!”

And, if you need more convincing to check it out, here is the animated trailer for the book (I know? Who knew, right?) read by Neil Gaiman himself.

Would I recommend it? Yes, for expectant mothers and beyond.

UnBlessed by Crystin Goodwin

Sep17

I could tell you…

I could tell you about the world. The magic of the elements and the animals. The ceremonies and the changes. The extensive history of the people.

But I’d hate to ruin the way the author unfolds it for you.

I could tell you in great detail the why’s and wherefores of the characters whom I loved and those who, upon reflection, I wished had been a little more fleshed out.

But I don’t want to introduce any prejudice. I want you to be as taken with the people as I was.

I could tell you what I absolutely loved and what left me wanting.

But I won’t.

I could even tell you just how it leaves you hanging at the end to send you running off to Amazon to see if her next book has yet been published.

I could tell you all of that.

But all that’s really important.

All I really feel you need to know.

Is that I have three young girls who all require breakfast in the early morning.

And the night I sat down to read (and eventually finish) this book I was left with far, far, less than the recommend eight hours of sleep a person is supposed to receive.

Far, far, less.

Would I recommend it? It was my turn for the morning shift with the girls and it was still totally worth it.

This honest review was given in return for a free copy of the book from its author.

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb

Sep3

Fitz is back!

But I’m sure you’ve all taken my previous advice and read Assassins Apprentice, so you already know just how exciting that is. You probably also had it pre-ordered and were jumping with joy the same day I was when you opened your mailbox to find a huge, heavy, hardcover waiting just for you.

Would I recommend it? Well, he’s still Fitz… but I still love him. I was ridiculously thrilled to be reading about the Farseers again. And, this is the first of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy which, of course, means two more are coming.

It’s like Christmas come early!

Hunting Birds: The Lives and Legends of the Pine County Rod, Gun, Dog and Social Club by Jerry Johnson

Aug27

I guess it could be argued that the narrator of this tale takes his own sweet, round about time to get down to the story at hand.

But that would be the argument of someone who goes bird hunting just to kill things.

Would I recommend it? Yes.

Also, Jerry Johnson has an excellent blog at Dispatches from a Northern Town. Head over and check it out. Bells and Whistles is a great place to start, though you might need a Kleenex!

The Last Runaway by Tracey Chevalier

Aug13

The reader in me waded into this book and the current of the story swept me off my feet and down the stream. My poor conscience was left running down the shore alone. After the final page the reader dragged herself out onto shore and sat dripping, foolishly grinning as she stared off into the distance. But before too long my conscience showed up and assaulted the reader in me. “What was that?” “You seriously liked that person?” “Weren’t you annoyed by that person?” “Didn’t you think?”

But the reader in me only shrugged and with a little half smile said, “That lady can write.”

Would I recommend it? Yes.

Creaky Old House by Linda Ashman and Michael Chesworth

Aug6

Our old house had a disease, the remodeling disease.

For details please refer to: The Disease Part I , II and III as well as More Roofing!

We set out to fix a stairwell wall and we did.

…and then we had to fix a lot of other walls, and wiring, and insulation, and stairs, and the roof…

The disease hadn’t even finished running it’s course when we moved out and the DOT knocked the whole thing down.

For a very sad picture please refer to: Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Story

With that said, no one should be surprised that this book followed us home from the library:

Would I recommend it? If you’ve ever had an old house with a touch (or a full blown case) of the remodeling disease this one’s for you!

Oh, the kids?

They liked it too!

Probably something to do with the great rhyming verse, detailed illustrations and the fact that there are labeled pictures of all the characters in the front.

My girls love any book with pictures of all the people… cat sitting on book