I am a writer of poetry and fiction and an avid reader. Here, I think 'out-loud' about books, movies, stories, writing and other fictions.
I lost the whole site at one point and am rebuilding old posts from my backups.
Vivienne de Fleur, the protagonist, embarks on a quest to exonerate a fellow Mambo healer while uncovering her family's hidden past. The readers is taken on a journey through the streets of the New Orleans French Quarter and the rich tapestry of Louisiana's cultural heritage. While trying to make sense of her on-again, off-again romantic ties to a prejudiced NOPD detective.
One of the best books I've read this year. A look into the world of scientific discovery and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to defy societal norms. A witty and thought-provoking novel. The reader is introduced to the brilliant but unconventional scientist Elizabeth Zott. Garmus skillfully weaves themes of ambition, feminism, and the pursuit of knowledge, creating a narrative both entertaining and deeply resonant with the limitations men are trying to put on women today. A celebration of intellect, tenacity, and the courage to break through barriers in the pursuit of one's dreams.
Prepare for a journey through a world shaped by music and memory. Smaill crafts a unique dystopian landscape where the power of music is both a source of beauty and a force of control. Simon, the protagonist, seeks to unlock the mysteries of his past in a city where memory is erased each night. Smaill's lyrical prose creates a vivid tapestry of sound and sensation, inviting readers to experience the magic and danger of a world where every note carries a secret.
Krueger blends the beauty of nature with a gripping mystery/thriller. Former Sheriff and now private investigator Cork O'Connor navigates the serene yet perilous Boundary Waters to find a missing person. Along the way he becomes entangled in a web of secrets that spans generations. Krueger's descriptive prose captures the essence of untamed landscape and the complexity of human relationships.
Be immersed once again in the futuristic world of Lieutenant Eve Dallas. Robb delivers a gripping murder mystery set against the high-tech backdrop of 2059 New York. When a famous actor meets a grisly end during a glamorous premiere, Eve Dallas is thrust into the spotlight to unravel a web of secrets and deceit. As Eve races against time to catch a killer, the intricate relationships and high-stakes drama keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.
A lyrical and enchanting journey that seamlessly blends the ordinary with the extraordinary, inviting readers to explore a world where magic is as real as the love that binds. In this fantasy, seven sisters, each with a unique gift, navigate a realm where the mundane and the mystical collide. De Lint proves again that he is a master of urban fantasy, weaving a narrative that celebrates the power of sisterhood and the wonder of the natural world. As the sisters confront challenges, readers are drawn into a realm filled with ancient legends, whimsical creatures, and the enduring strength of familial bonds.
Prepare to visit the untamed landscapes of the American South during the Civil War. Burke, is a rich storyteller and uses vivid prose to paint a compelling portrait of a young man's journey through the Civil War and self-discovery as he grapples with love, loss, and the harsh realities of slavery and conflict. White Doves at Morning is an exploration of the human spirit. Burke's narration brings to life the intricate tapestry of historical events, blending them seamlessly with characters and the breathtaking backdrop of a war-torn South.
Ace Atkins took over the Spenser books for Robert Parker's estate. Little White Lies takes you through the deceptive underbelly of a small Southern town. Secrets are buried deep, and trust seems a foreign concept. As the story navigates a web of lies, it takes unexpected twists, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Atkins weaves a tale of suspense and intrigue, exploring the consequences of deception and the power dynamics at play, while keeping the Spenser persona true to Parker's style. The story will leave you questioning the truths we tell ourselves and the cost of keeping secrets in the pursuit of justice.
Having forced a peace between three waring parties (in the previous book 3 of The Shadow Accords), Carth, our heroine finds a fourth party that is trying to break the accords. Who are they and what do they have to do with the abandoned towns on the shores of the sea?
Another in the series of Lady Sherlock (Charlotte Holmes) who acts as a spokesperson for her 'sick brother'. In this case, Moriarty hires her to find his daughter, whom he knows exactly where she was hiding, but cannot get any recent sightings. Everyone in the Cornish community where Ms. Moriarity was living provides a network of lies. No one wants to help. Is the community holding her hostage, or is she really hiding? And what of Moriarity himself, what does he really want?
A history of the first woman to be a Pinkerton detective. As a widow, Kate Warne is out of options and refuses to be pigeon-holed into what society expects of her. Instead, she solves a crime and uses that success to get Pinkerton to hire her. She fluidly goes through disguises to work whatever case she is assigned. But she uses her mind too, and to great effect and the consternation of those she has to catch.
Rapunzel and the witch. Cress a Lunar without powers, aka a shell, has been trapped for seven years in a satellite to spy on the Earthens for Luna's top thaumaturge. Her red hair has never been cut and gets in her way frequently. She is also a hacker extraordinaire and has altered all Earth and Lunar surveillance, hiding the spaceship where Cinder is planning to prevent a marriage between the Eastern Commonwealth Emperor the evil Lunar Queen. The fact that a well-known very handsome criminal is piloting the spaceship is just a bonus.
Dr. Strangelove in space. A lot more years have passed – Gwendy is in her 60s and knows she is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. The man in the button hat visited her and returned the button box again. He’s giving her one final task to perform – to rid the world of the button box. The only way to accomplish such a task is to send the box into interstellar space. So, she returns to politics and runs for the Senate – and wins. Once there, she makes the friends she needs, not only in the Senate, but at NASA and the NSA. She gets bills passed to finance participation in the new much larger space station and to help billionaires to develop a multi-passenger trip to the station. Then on the maiden flight, she gets a seat and smuggles the button box with her along with a small nuclear-powered rocket. But it’s not going to be easy. A billionaire is also on the flight and he is connected with aliens who want someone to press the black button on the box and destroy Earth.
I don't usually read a series back-to-back. But this was wonderful fun to read the Gwendy books.
It’s years after Gwendy had the button box and returned it to the man in the bowler hat. Gwendy’s had some spectacular success as a novelist, then she decided to run for Congress – and she won. She’s also gotten married to a reporter who is away on assignment a lot. Then, then man in the bowler hat returns, kind of. He’s placed the button box in her file cabinet in her office in Washington D.C. How he got it past security is another question. It’s Christmas and she’s gone back to her hometown in Maine to spend time with her mother, who has cancer, and her father. At dinner, her father gives her a present of the old white feather she used to call her magic feather. She makes a wish that her mother would get better. She also gives her mother a couple of the chocolates from the button box. Her husband returns home and Gwendy feels all is well. The next day, her mother’s doctor calls to inform everyone that the cancer seems to have completely gone. Was it the feather, or the chocolates from the button box?
Gwendy is about to go into high-school and she's tired of being teased about her weight. So, she runs up the Suicide Stairs every day, trying to change her looks and her life. A Mr. Farris, in an out-of-date grey suit and a bowler hat, chooses to help her by giving her a button box. It's not full of buttons, it has buttons on top. Different colored buttons that correspond to the continents, plus a red button and a black button. The red button will do whatever she asks. And we don't have to be told what the black button could do. It also has two levers; one will occasionally dispense a mint condition 1891 Silver Dollar. The other dispenses very small, extra fancy, highly detailed chocolates in the shape of animals. She consumes one chocolate a day. She hides the button box to keep anyone else from finding it and hitting the buttons. But she's still just a teenager and is frightened of the responsibility the box represents.
Wilde, who was found surviving in the woods as a child, now grown and still living off the grid, sent in a saliva sample to see if he could track down the parents who abandoned him. Now, he's getting hits from this. He's also getting pangs of jealousy over the wife of his best friend, even though the friend has been dead for years. But what is real, and what is only in his imagination? He tracks the man who is supposed to be his father, only the man and his family disappear shortly thereafter. He tracks a cousin, only to find he's not really his cousin, but this one became a celebrity, and he too has disappeared.
The bastard child of the King-in-waiting is brought to his people as a six-year-old to raise. He starts living in the stables with the man who received him, there he discovers an affinity with animals, able even to use their minds. His foster father punishes him for this. Everyone calls him Fitz (Old English for the bastard son of). Then after his father abdicates and moves away, then dies, Fitz is trained by the King's assassin, himself the King's bastard. His father's wife decides to return to the capital and see to him being trained in courtly arts. A chance is given him to learn Skills, which he blows in a magnificent display, though what really happened was planned by the teacher. Then Fitz is sent to spy on a remote wedding of the current King-in-waiting using his brother, the youngest Prince as proxy. Though the real plan is to assassinate the King-in-waiting and the King so the youngest Prince will inherit the position. Only Fitz surprises everyone.
As always, Ms. Barnhill delivers a delightfully different perspective on a condition that has been all too common for teenagers having to take care of both parent and sibling. In this case, her widowed mother brings home the latest in a series of men who need to be fixed. Only she wonders if even her mother can fix a man who is a crane. The book is promoted as an adult novel, but it could have been a candidate for the Newbery since the viewpoint character is a fifteen-year-old girl.
There is no honor among thieves or revolutionaries. The main character, a captain, a spy for the Viet Cong, is airlifted from Saigon along with the General and his family who provided a home in Saigon and a career. Having been educated in the U.S., he is considered an invaluable aide to the General. He even consults on a movie about the war and returns to the U.S. again, as a hero for the lost cause. At least until it is suspected that the captain has designs on the General’s daughter. Then he is expected to go back to Viet Nam and die, trying to fight against the communists (his allies). But things do not work as anyone expects.