Reading

Thoughts on LOVE’S A WITCH

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? We have tomatoes (Sweeties and Black Krims)! Yummy. Be jealous. We also have jalapeños that are good too. But mostly yay for tomatoes! Anyway, we’re not here to talk about yummy goodness. It’s the last Wednesday of August, so we’re (you and I, not the royal we) here for the book review. This month, I went for a witchy little romance. Not like an epic, sweeping romantasy. Just a cute sounding little romance with fantasy elements. It’s the first book in the Scottish Charms series. Love’s a Witch by Tricia O’Malley was released yesterday (the 26th) from Gallery Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. So, let’s get to it.

Love’s a Witch follows the MacGregor sisters as they move back home to Briarhaven in Scotland to try to break the curse that’s been on their family for centuries. Sloane, the oldest, is so used to playing mother hen to her sisters that she’s having trouble acknowledging that they’re all young women now. She’s also struggling with the fact that she’s coming into her magic as her 25th birthday looms. Throwing in a pushy hottie hellbent on running them out of town before their curse quite literally destroys everything, and Sloane can’t get much more stressed. Can they stop the curse and save themselves from a nomadic existence? If they do, does Sloane even want to settle down? Maybe with a certain pushy hottie?

The plot. I love the plot. The whole idea of trying to break the curse because they want a place to call home without having to move all the time. There’s enough family drama introduced to keep the future books connected to this one. I didn’t even mind the enemies-to-lovers trope (it’s not my favorite, but I try to give it a chance). It’s interesting and fun, but I have to be honest… the pacing sucks. There’s lots of talk about breaking the curse, but none of the sisters actually do anything about it. All the information just kind of falls into their laps. They don’t do any research or anything. Hell, when they find out the name of the woman who cursed their family, they don’t even bother asking around about her to try to find her descendants. Everything gets done for them, which makes any step forward unsatisfying. Plus, everything is crammed into the end of the book. It’s not balanced at all.

The characters. I’m going to preface this by saying that I don’t have to like the main characters in order to like a book. That being said, I absolutely hated Sloane and Knox. I don’t give a fuck how hot a dude is. If he comes to my house, drags my bags out into the snow, and tells me I have to leave without so much as a “hey, what brings you to town?”, then proceeds to have the townsfolk bully and blackball me and my family when we don’t leave, the dude’s irredeemable. No way I’d talk to him, let alone have sex with him. And his whole background is supposed to make me sympathetic to him, but it only emphasizes the fact that he’s just a giant walking red flag with too much money and zero communication skills. Sloane’s not much better when it comes to communication. And even though she supposedly took care of her sisters, it’s like she still expects everything remotely difficult to be done for her and if it isn’t, she threatens to run away. They’re both annoying and I hate them. Luckily, the side characters were all wonderful and did a lot of heavy lifting in this story.

The writing itself was fine. Nice description and dialogue. The steamy scenes were disappointingly short, but I guess that’s more realistic than most scenes like that.

Ultimately, I was just kind of meh about Love’s a Witch. I enjoyed the plot and side characters enough that I will check out book 2, especially if it switches to Lyra as the main character as I’m guessing it will since she comes into her magic next.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Not a must-read, but if you enjoy little witchy romances, it’s an okay read. Hopefully the next one is better.

Shameless Promotion of a Friend: J.R. Dawson

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Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday? I’m still playing the waiting game. I’m also tired and generally blah, so this is a quick post to let you know that J.R. Dawson did it again! The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World was released at the end of July! I bought a hard copy because it’s so pretty! I also bought the ebook because it’s easier for me to read that way. But I definitely recommend a hard copy because the book cover deserves to be admired as it was meant to be. Anyway, I’m only a quarter of the way through and I’m loving it. I’ll probably end up doing a brief review when I’m done. I’m so happy for J.R. and her books!

Thoughts on MURDER AT THE WHAM BAM CLUB

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are about the same as they’ve been this entire year. That’s about it. But it’s the last Wednesday of July, so that you know what that means. It’s book review time! This month, I decided to try a new cozy mystery series. Murder at the Wham Bam Club by Carolyn Marie Wilkins was released yesterday (the 29th) from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

Murder at the Wham Bam Club follows Nola Ann Jackson as she returns to her hometown after the death of her husband. It’s the 1920s and Nola’s a young psychic just learning how to use her gifts. When she’s asked to help find a missing young woman, Nola finds herself dragged into arson, murder, and mysteries. While everyone else would be happy blaming the missing girl, Nola is determined to find out what’s actually going on in her small town. Whether or not she can do it before the police find and charge the missing girl is the question.

The plot is pretty standard. There are some interesting red herrings. I fully admit that I found some of the romances icky. A 16 year old shacking up with and getting married to a bass player of unknown age after one meeting (not even a date). Gross. I get it in the context of the story and its setting, but it still makes me cringe. Most of the relationships in this book have huge red flags. But the mystery part of the book is entertaining and distracting enough that the story is still enjoyable.

The characters are pretty well fleshed out. I like Nola and her aunt. I thought Lilly and Brenda could’ve used more page time because they both feel a little cookie cutter. Jim has potential. It felt like he was going to prove the rumors wrong, but then he just kind of disappears from the book. Hopefully he gets his redemption in later books. I really like Nola’s bosses at the catering company. They provide a levelheadedness to the book that helps bring Nola back to her senses once in a while. Everyone basically has potential to grow (for better or worse) in future books.

As for the writing, I enjoyed it. But the language is pretty true to its time period, so if words like negroes or a school for “colored girls” bothers you, be aware. I still suggest reading it because it’s a fun mystery, though.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Murder at the Wham Bam Club. I’m not sure I’ll add it to my must-buy series, but I’ll definitely give book two a shot whenever it comes out.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I do recommend it if you’re into cozy mysteries. Just be aware of the language if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing.

I’d Rather Be Reading

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this wonderful Wednesday? I have nothing to ramble about that will take more than a sentence or two, so here’s a quick update on life, then I’m going to read. 1. Turned everything into Medicaid last Thursday afternoon, so I’m just waiting on them to do whatever they’re going to do. 2. Dad’s tomatoes are growing! 3. Three doctors appointments between now (22nd as I’m writing this) and the 31st. Two for Dad (eye test and quarterly check up) and one for me (video visit with my pulmonologist). Fun. Anyway, I’ll be back next week with the regularly scheduled book review!

Thoughts on A MAGIC DEEP AND DROWNING

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Perpetual anxiety is my current state, so let’s just get to the thing we’re here for and skip the emotions. It’s the last Wednesday of June! That means it’s book review time! This month, I decided to go with a fairytale retelling of the Little Mermaid (one of my favorite fairytales), though it’s more rooted in Disney than Hans Christian Andersen, which is fine. I like both. Anyway, A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox was released yesterday (the 24th) from Graydon House (part of HarperCollins). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

A Magic Deep and Drowning follows Clara, a young woman from a well to do family who wants nothing more than to escape her cold, abusive parents. An arranged marriage offers that escape, but the appearance of a mysterious and attractive young man has her questioning everything. Throw in a flood and tensions between beings of the land and the kingdom of the sea and Clara gets thrown into the middle of a deal gone wrong. The problem… she’s the last sacrifice needed to fulfill the deal her ancestors made. How can she save herself and her homeland?

So, the plot is great with a lot of potential. My biggest issue with this book is that Clara is presented as the protagonist. The heroine. But she never actually does anything aside from pine for some dude that she’s known a whole hour. Love at first sight, I know. It’s a fairytale. Fine. But every time she says she’s going to do something or every time she has to make a difficult decision, someone or something else does it for her. Don’t want to sleep with your new husband? Magical flood! And it just keeps going from there. She gets herself into trouble and is saved every time. Even when she specifically says she’s going to do something to help herself be the hero, everyone else jumps in to fix it for her. It’s annoying and super unsatisfying. Like… let her do the thing! But no. The damsel can’t do anything. Ugh.

The characters are fine in the beginning, but become annoying about halfway through the book. I think if Maurits and Helma had actually let Clara do something for herself, I would’ve liked them a lot better. I definitely would’ve liked Clara better. She was decent, but she wasn’t allowed to actually grow despite what the narration says. The sea queen was probably the most interesting character. She was powerful, but flawed. I’m still not entirely sure how Thade did what he did while the queen just kind of let it happen. The whole “he honed his powers so much that he could do it” thing is not convincing at all given her powers. But yeah. Most of the characters had potential that wasn’t really brought to fruition.

A random thing that bothers me: the author’s note. You know how sometimes an author will leave a little note explaining something about the book or the research or whatever? There’s one of those. It starts off talking about the mythology used in the book, which is awesome because it’s a subject I’m interested in. Then the note goes on to explain what the book is supposed to be about. An allegory for climate change? You don’t say. I always find notes like that condescending and/or desperate. Either the writer doesn’t trust the reader to be smart enough to “get it” or they don’t trust their writing enough to convey the thoughts they desperately want to share. Either way, it’s ick.

As far as the writing goes, I enjoyed it. It was lyrical and had lovely imagery. The writing was basically what made the story worth finishing.

Ultimately, I wanted to like A Magic Deep and Drowning more than I did. It was just too annoying for me.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. I waffled between 2.5 and 2, but the more I think about it, the less I enjoyed it. If you like pretty writing and don’t mind a useless heroine, check it out. Otherwise, you’re not missing much.

Thoughts on THE WHISPERWOOD LEGACY

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? I’m not going to complain. After all, it’s the last Wednesday of May and you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to go with some dark fairy tale vibes. The Whisperwood Legacy by Jo Schulte was released yesterday (May 27th) from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

The Whisperwood Legacy follows Frankie through the turbulent time after her grandmother abruptly closes the family amusement park, the main source of the family’s income. Frankie spends most of her time carrying groceries and other necessities to her grandmother after the rest of the family basically disowns the old woman unless they need something from her. After a scene at an unwanted celebration, her grandmother disappears and things start going very wrong at the park, but Frankie and the rest of her family are trapped there along with the mysterious new groundskeeper. It’s up to her to figure out what’s going on and fix it before everyone dies.

The plot is interesting and there was a lot of potential with it. The story is built around fairy tale magic and family legacies and all that fun stuff. It sounds like it will be great. But the pacing is off. There are tiny hints of maybe magical things, but then the blatant magical stuff is just plopped on the page without any natural growth towards it. It’s abrupt and jarring and a bit unsatisfying. Also, there’s this big reveal that Frankie knows exactly what’s happening with the park even though she’s clueless about other things, but there’s zero foreshadowing to clue in the reader, so it totally feels like an afterthought. I was afraid I just missed something, but other people complained about it as well. Things are just awkwardly timed or have little to no build up. It’s meh.

As far as the characters go, Jem is pretty much the only decent person, but he just feels like a caricature of the “ideal dude.” Everyone else is disgusting and I wanted them all to die. If mommy/grandma was such a horrible person (which she was), then cut ties with her and get a job instead of relying on her money. Don’t just sit around wishing her dead, then get pissed when you’re left out of the not-will. And Frankie isn’t much better than the rest of her family, despite the fact that she pretends to be. The book itself was meh, but the characters ruined any chance I had of actually enjoying anything about it.

The writing was fine. It relied far too heavily on pop culture references that are already becoming dated, which I don’t particularly care for, but I guess some people like that kind of thing.

Ultimately, I was not a fan of The Whisperwood Legacy. I was originally just glad to be done with it, but the more I think about it, the more I actively dislike it.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. More like 1.5, but I rounded up. If you’re super into everything fairy tales, check it out. Otherwise, you’re not missing anything.

Reading List

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’ve been trying to think of things to blog about, but everything will either make me angry or sad. The administration and how they’re apparently taking blatant bribes (a fucking jet is a sus as hell “gift”) right there in front of everyone and the MAGAts are apparently okay with that (and so much worse). There’s also some cripple stuff I thought about sharing, but it’s depressing and no one wants to hear about that kind of thing except maybe other cripples who would appreciate knowing they aren’t alone (you’re not alone). I also briefly acknowledged (in my head) that it’s my mother’s birthday, but she’s dead and doesn’t deserve anymore emotional effort on my part to explain what a horrible person she was. So! I suppose I’ll just give you a list of books I’m going to read in the foreseeable future.

I currently have a review book for May that I’m working on, plus two books for June and one for July. Here they are:

1. The Whisperwood Legacy by Jo Schulte.

2. R.A.T.S. Revolutionary Army of Teens by Claudia Daher. This is supposedly due out the beginning of June, but apparently there are issues so there’s not even a GoodReads page yet and I can’t find an official cover release either, which is making me question if this book is even happening. We’ll see. I’m reading it anyway just in case.

1. A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox.

4. Murder at the Wham Bam Club by Carolyn Marie Wilkins.

I don’t usually plan ahead with my for fun reads, but I do have a few I will definitely get to soon.

1 and 2. Rogue Community College by David R. Slayton. The fourth Adam Binder book comes out later this year, so I figured I’d check this one out in case there is character crossover. I also have a second Slayton book (unrelated to this one) that is on my list. Dark Moon, Shallow Sea.

3. The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna. I finally read book two of the Gilded Ones a couple of months ago and want to finish the series.

Beyond that, I have a couple of other series I should finish and a bunch of cozy mysteries I’ve collected and never read, but it all depends on what comes out and if I’m forgetting books that I pre-ordered. What’s on your reading list?

Thoughts on LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are still fine considering the dumpster fire we’re living in. But we’re not here to talk about that. It’s the last Wednesday of April, so you know what that means… book review time! I cheated a little. I picked a book by an author whose work I’m fond of, so I went in with the assumption that I would enjoy the book. It’s fluffy gay stuff wrapped up in a supernatural cozy mystery. Of course I’m into it. Love at Second Sight by F. T. Lukens was released yesterday (the 29th) by Margaret K. McElderry Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Love at Second Sight follows Cam, a regular teenage human boy, who just wants to spend the new school year hanging out with his bestie Al, who happens to be a witch, and moon over his crush, Mateo (a werewolf). And most of all, he wants to stay hidden in the background. An unfortunate spectacle in the hallway ruins any chance Cam has of a normal year. He has an obviously supernatural episode that can only mean one thing: he’s clairvoyant. On top of bringing him some seriously unwanted attention, the vision he has is one of blood and death. Was it real? Who’s the girl? If it hasn’t happened yet, is there any way to stop it? Along the way, Cam collects a ragtag group of supernatural friends who might help or might hinder his investigation. The only thing for certain is he’s not alone and there’s no disappearing into the background for Cam.

The plot was great, if a little predictable. Some of the clues were a little heavy handed, like they didn’t want to be overlooked. But it was fun and had everything you can really ask for from a cozy mystery meets teen supernatural fantasy. Uncontrolled powers. The encourager of all the mystery shenanigans. That weird teenage compulsion to not involve the adults. It’s adorable. My only real problem with the book is the pacing. It starts out super slow for the first three quarters of the book, then everything is kind of crammed into the last quarter. There’s not even much character development early on. Some stuff happens then everything stagnates for far too long before things start happening again. The action could definitely have been woven throughout the story better.

The characters are where this book really shines. They’re all super relatable. It’s a fun group with someone for everyone to adore. Cam is the typical teen trying to find his place in the world. When it turns out he’s special but he doesn’t know what to do about it and his support system fails him, he chooses to let new people into his life even though it’s risky. Al grows a lot. Mateo proves that even seemingly perfect people need help. Gemma is nuts and I love her. Reese is probably my favorite, but I wish he could have had a bit more to do. Kaci starts as the mean girl, but abruptly changes into the spacey friend which could have been handled better. But overall, I loved everyone.

The writing was cute. There are a lot of references and current slang that will surely date the book in a few years (some of it is already dated), but I enjoy that kind of writing some times. Especially when I’m looking for something that I can look back on for nostalgia purposes.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed Love at Second Sight. It’s not my favorite book by Lukens, but it’s not something I feel was a waste of time. It was cute and that’s all I was hoping for.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Probably closer to 3.75. If you’re not familiar with the author, I’d definitely recommend one of their other books first.

Thoughts on ONE SHARP STITCH

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay other than Sophia having a severely sprained back. Pupper parent life is at it again, but at least there wasn’t an anal blood crime scene this time. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of March! It’s book review time! I went back to the cozy mystery genre this month. One Sharp Stitch by Allie Pleiter is the first in a new series. It was released yesterday (the 25th) from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

One Sharp Stitch follows Shelby Phillips as she returns home to sort her life out after being laid off and manage her mother’s needlepoint store while her parents go on a road trip. Her strained relationship with her seemingly perfect sister doesn’t equal a particularly pleasant homecoming. Throw in the murder of an old school acquaintance and things get even more complicated. Can Shelby solve her own problems, let alone a murder? She’s sure going to try.

The plot is pretty standard, but with some family drama thrown in for fun. There’s a love interest, an annoyed police chief who isn’t quite as useless as she thinks he is, and a blossoming friendship that is definitely the shenanigans-encouraging bestie. There’s a lot of talking, but not a lot of going out and actually investigating, so the story moves slowly. The actual clues kind of just fall into Shelby’s lap. I’m fine with that, but I admit it’s not as engaging as other series with similar crafting themes. However, there are some nice twists that made me second guess myself for a couple of pages before going back to my main suspect (which was the correct one).

As far as the characters go, I liked them. At the least, they have potential. Shelby and her family are fairly fleshed out. As is the chief. Most of the other side characters are pretty flat, but they each have potential to be more in future books. I found Shelby’s and her sister’s aversion to their parent’s fun weird and annoying. So what if they wear matching shirts and stop at all the corny roadside attractions and take silly pictures? It’s not cringe if they’re enjoying themselves. So, I got a little tired of the teenager-esque “ew my parents still have fun” attitude from a couple of 30+ year olds, but that’s a me thing. Otherwise, the characters were interesting enough to keep me entertained when the plot dragged.

The writing was unobtrusive and nothing special. Sometimes, themed cozies can get carried away with all the technical jargon relating to the topic (needlepoint in this case) because the author wants to prove they know what they’re talking about, but this one doesn’t do that. There’s a nice balance of technical terms and explanations of those terms without feeling like the author is craftersplaining (like mansplaining, but crafters instead of men).

Ultimately, I enjoyed One Sharp Stitch. It has some issues, but nothing major. Most first books in a series have issues that either get better or worse as the series continues, so I’m willing to give this series another shot. I’ll keep an eye out for book two.

Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. If you’re into cozy mysteries or cross stitching, it’s definitely worth a look.

Women Authors

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are usual. I was going to show pictures of Dad’s hydroponics system and plants, but he’s busy and can’t take pictures right now, so I’ll do that next week. Today, since it’s women’s history month, I’ll share some books by women authors that I enjoy. I’ll try not to use repeats from recent posts. In no particular order, books by women!

1. The Library of Legends by Janie Chang. This is my current for fun book, but I’m about 75% of the way through and really liking it.

2. Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime by Leonie Swann. It’s the second book in a cozy mystery series, but I think it’s better than the first book.

3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. An old book, but a lovely read.

4. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. A strange combination of horror and sci-fi and life in general that I found lovely.

What are some books by women that you recommend? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or questions here or on my social media pages!