The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to the aging ruler of a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. The bride’s party is welcomed with elaborate courtesies and extravagant banquets, but between the frightened servants and the cryptic warnings of the lord’s mad son, they quickly realize that something is haunting the shadowed halls.

As Chih and the bride-to-be explore empty rooms and desolate courtyards, they are drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo’s previous wives and the dark history of Do Cao itself. But as the wedding night draws to its close, Chih will learn at their peril that not all monsters are to be found in the shadows; some monsters hide in plain sight.

Though all the novellas are standalone, I would recommend reading at least one or two earlier ones to get a feel for the world and more information on the background of Chih and Almost Brilliant.

Dear Nghi Vo,

A new Singing Hills novella with Cleric Chih! This time it’s got some weird goings on, a strange family, a mystery. But where is Almost Brilliant?

Cleric Chih, a story gatherer from the Singing Hills Monastery, is on the road, traveling with a young bride and her parents on her way to meet a man her parents want her to marry. Pham Nhung is very young, sweetly charming, and acts and is treated as if she’s more fragile than fine porcelain. When the retinue reaches the compound, Nhung takes Chih with her ahead of the rest and surveys the strong walls that surround it, wondering aloud if she will find her future here.

The events get weirder after that when a bizarre young man warns Chih to have Nhung ask the lord what happened to his other brides. Wandering around the grounds that night, Chih and Nhung enter several buildings with Nhung coyly asking Chih to go in first and check for monsters. The mystery of the place deepens when the lord’s son, the young man from earlier, warns Chih and reveals something awful about his situation there and old family secrets. But the monsters Chih is expecting aren’t the ones they find.

“The world starts with a story. So do dynasties and eras and wars. So does love, and so does revenge. Everything starts with a story.”

Once again, a perfectly paced story unfolds in novella format. Some novellas end up too rushed or too thinly written with not enough to keep me interested. With the Singing Hills stories, I know that this won’t be the case. Words are carefully used to create and shade in the background worldbuilding which is filled with characters given nutshell sketches that tell us all we need to know about who they are without wasting pages on unneeded information.

The terrible situation is slowly built up, little by little with an aftertaste of unease, like a fire started and then allowed to heat up before bursting out in raging flames. There are subtle clues but they are softly dropped into the story and the reader is allowed to notice them and ponder what they mean before all the plot points are tied together and everything is let loose.

What didn’t work quite as well for me is

~Jayne

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Dawn mage. Twilight mage. Cursed, useless, damaged, dangerous…

His birth magic leaves Prince Nikola with nothing but bad choices: live as another man’s possession, subject to his whims and his desires, or remain dependent on a potion that stunts his powers and prevents him from knowing love.

Andreas vows to protect the prince with his life—whether Nikola wants him to or not. After all, the queen pays his soldier’s wage. Nikola’s nothing but a job to do.

But when they find themselves stranded, with Nikola’s potion running out, Andreas has to…improvise. Because what Prince Nikola needs to survive is the opposite of a lowly guard’s respectful protection.

It should’ve been only one night. Just until the potion’s refilled. But now that Nikola’s had Andreas’s touch, he craves Andreas again and again. He shouldn’t. But he—and his magic—can’t live without it…

The Royal Curse is a high-heat MM fantasy romance with a stubborn prince, an even more stubborn soldier, and cursed magic that can’t be denied. There is an on-page attempted sexual assault that is not between the main characters. HEA guaranteed.

SPOILERS

Review:

Dear Elliot Grayson,

You contacted DA, where I review, with a review inquiry for this book. I however decided to wait till the book came out on KU simply because I got superstitious recently. I take very few reviewing copies, and I still got burned with them quite a few times.Basically this book was not for me. There was some occasional humor that I liked and some sex scenes were really hot when it was not described in a very over the top way. However the blurb for the book says *high heat fantasy* right? Obviously, obviously I expected the two men to have sex on page in the book. But I also expected fantasy and the fantasy settings were so incredibly thin and even worse for me, the explanation given as to why things were happening or not happening were so thin.

Let’s look at the main premise of the story. Prince Nikola’s magic is killing him and he has to take a potion to suppress it or he has to sex it out with the person of his choosing (small mercies for that) who has to dominate Nikola a/k/a Niko in bed, then Niko does not need the potion and his magic will work fine.

I understand that all kinds of what ifs can work in fantasy, but I still would like a satisfactory explanation as to the more outlandish ones. And to me, his magic only working if he is being dominated in bed is silly. I mean I have read stories with sex magic in it for example (not that many and it had been awhile but I certainly have read them), when it amplified the magic of the character. Why does only domination work here?

We do get one explanation about one God cursing twilight mages, but I have read this one page or half a page and I am still scratching my head as to why this is happening.

I did try to merrily move along and hoped to see how Prince Nikola’s magic will work when he was being dominated by Andreas. Eh, I will speculate that all of this was done for that one moment when he got to save Andreas’ life, but I still do not know what else his magic can do besides tearing off trousers and throwing them out of the window (yes, that was the humor I liked )

Besides that magic that works when Andreas getting all the topping that he deserves, I am still not sure why this story was called a fantasy. I know, I know even a nominal amount of magic is enough to call the setting a fantasy, but I wanted more of that.

I wanted adventure, danger and fun. There was a short moment during their trip when the author actually wrote some suspense and adventure, but for me it was just resolved and done too fast.

Starting at the moment of them getting together when it was needed to help Niko at about 36% of the story, for the most part they were having sex and at some point being in love with the interruption that was supposed to be conflicts between the main couple? “Oh no, he is embarrassed at being with me, no you are embarrassed, how could he? How could you? Let us go back to having sex again.”

Oh, I liked Niko’s family, mostly his sisters. I thought his mother the queen was an idiot. Do not get me wrong, I never held it against a fictional mother if she is being over bearing *if there are reasons for that*. She is a mother after all.

Why was his mom being overbearing exactly to the point that she did not want to let her son go on a trip which could presumably make his life much easier? Potion was working for him (before the trip) – so why could he not go?

Grade: C-

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When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her infuriatingly charming fellow scholar Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than brilliant and unbearably handsome. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers.

She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.

Dear Ms. Fawcett, 

I finished last year’s “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries” knowing that I wanted to read the next installment. Yes, that book was complete in itself but there were plenty of threads left to pick up and use in another book. This book ended up having some of the same things I liked as well as some of the same things I didn’t like about the first one. There’s a lot of telling and some of the layout of the plot felt lifted straight from the first book.. But the liked stuff still edges out for the win. I will add that readers who didn’t like the first book probably won’t like this either. 

Emily Wilde’s book “Encyclopedia of Faeries” has been published to acclaim and earned her a tenured position at Cambridge. Em has an idea of how she might help colleague Wendell Bambleby (the human name by which he is going in the mortal world) find his way home to his fairie kingdom in Ireland. Em has a gift for seeing patterns and putting together disparate things and she thinks she’s got an idea – a good idea – to discover a “backdoor” to Silva Lupi which could help Wendell regain his lost throne. A few things stand in the way though including the department Head who is riled up at the two of them for shoddy research and Emily for publishing a book on a subject which he had been working on. Then the assassins arrive which leads to another discovery about Wendell. Can Em find the means to help Wendell back to his kingdom and also counteract something that is weakening Wendell to exhaustion and death? And if so, what will Em’s answer be to the question Wendell asked her?

Em is self assured in academia but hopeless in social situations. In this she is matched by Farris Rose, the department Head who shoehorns his way into the journey that Em, Wendell, and Em’s niece Ariadne embark on to Austria. As Rose has done much research and field work about Austrian Folk, he could be a good addition but he’s also Old School about how to go about these things which can frustrate Em. Honestly, she seemed close to saying “Okay, Boomer” a time or two. 

Ariadne is hopping with excitement to come along. Em will admit that the young woman is an excellent research assistant who tracked down some needed information in record time but Em worries about what they’re up against. Still Ariadne’s bubbling enthusiasm is sweet to watch though she mainly serves as a handy way for Em to explain things to the reader. Em’s (endless) journals also help answer this need. 

Wendell isn’t quite as annoying this go round but he’s also a bit more bland. He’s still charming, a bit lazy, rather dismissive of those in or about whom he has little interest and his casual dismissal of the common fae still drives Em batty but he’s smitten with Em and continues to press her for an answer. I will admit that I remain a bit baffled about Wendell’s smittenness for Em.  

I enjoyed learning about the Folk of Austria. I enjoyed Em’s competence almost as much as her bullheadedness and blind belief in her abilities annoyed me. Em’s statements of how infallible her instincts are only to have this disproved and often quickly followed by her charging headlong into trouble and danger could be turned into a drinking game. She also comes up with answers and ideas almost magically out of thin air. Some of these are set up with clues but others really did seem as she pulled them out of the ether. One scene in which she told off two people who should have been more grateful had me laughing though. 

As in the first book, the initial pace of this one was glacial with a lot of time spent in Em educating the reader on every little itty bit of Folk knowledge she has whether or not this seemed needed. Details are also over described with way too much page space spent on every bit of Alpine scree, trees, valleys, and knotholes in the cabin boards. Okay, I exaggerate about that last one but wow, some of this could have been cut. Yes, yes I realize she’s an academic who journals obsessively but it was too much. Then just then things heat up and I’d like more details, Em’s in a place where things become hazy as events race to a finale.   

I did like Austria – both characters and their Folk. I thought Ariadne was given some good page time and abilities when needed, and Rose surprised me in a good way. Wendell was sort of just “there” for a lot of this book though he helped soothe the villagers who were coming with torches if not pitchforks and, wonders never cease, he appeared to finally appreciate common fae. Yay that Em appeared to be picking up a bit more social skills and ended up handling Ariadne with love if not tact. I wanted more Silva Lupi though. Oh, and I saved the best for last. Shadow once again made me want a fae dog plus we got a fairie cat! Orga ruled! B- /C+  

~Jayne       

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A Fragile Enchantment is a gentle, cozy fantasy romance (I refuse to use the word romantasy–you can’t make me), and it’s perfect for anyone looking for a romance that’s got a solid conflict, but isn’t angsty. I loved this book. This book is like being wrapped up in a blanket that just came out of the dryer. This book is like drinking the perfect cup of tea while watching it snow outside, knowing you don’t have to leave the house.

This is a historical fantasy, and it’s loosely based on Ireland and England after The Great Famine. 

Niamh is a Machlish seamstress with the ability to sew enchantments into her work. She’s so talented she’s been invited to make the wedding clothes for Prince Kit Carmine of Avaland. For Niamh this is the opportunity of a lifetime, but it’s bittersweet. Machland suffered a blight that led to famine and its eventual separation from Avaland. Poverty has driven many of the Machlish to Avaland to look for work, but there’s still a great deal of bitterness that Avaland (and its royal family) essentially abandoned the Machlish to starvation when their own policies led to the blight.

Niamh doesn’t want to leave her home, but her success in creating the wardrobe for the prince could give her the money to open a shop in Avaland and support her mother and grandmother.

When Naimh arrives at the palace she finds Kit to be insufferable. He’s clearly going along with his marriage to appease his older brother, the king, and he’s being a brooding child about the entire thing. He insults Niamh’s abilities and without thinking, she tells him off. Instead of being fired, she finds herself earning his grudging respect. 

This is a Grumpy/Sunshine book in which Kit is obvious the grumpy one. That said, Niamh isn’t a Pollyanna; she’s got some real stuff going on in her life, but she refuses to take it out on anyone else.

There’s a lot happening in this book, but it all blends together wonderfully. Kit and Niamh start to fall in love, but there’s no chance of them being together because she’s so significantly below him in status and his marriage is needed for a political alliance. One of the things that solidifies their love story is that they both recognize in each other a person healing from generational trauma. Kit’s father was an abusive monster, and his brother has learned to cope by inertia. He just doesn’t deal with any issues that are presented to him. Niamh loves her mother and grandmother deeply, but her entire life has been about ensuring their survival:

Gran and Ma had never asked for her devotion, and yet she had given it to them without thinking. What else could she have done? For years, she’d watched them ration their meals, even when their garden produced a good yield. She’d learned to be helpful, to shape herself around the edges of their dark moods in the harvest season. She’d endured every prick of the needle and every sharp word of criticism while Gran taught her to perfect that family’s craft, a magic the Avlish had nearly eradicated. Sometimes, it felt as though she’d threaded all her family’s wounds onto a string and hung them around her own neck.

Any other oldest daughter’s feel that in their soul?

For Niamh and Kit, loving each other is the first selfish thing they’ve really allowed themselves to do.

I also loved the world building and magic system. This is a low-magic fantasy where only some people have magical abilities and those are relatively limited. Kit’s magic would be considered on the more powerful side, and it’s limited to an affinity with plants that allows them to grow and thrive. In one scene he’s very upset and barbed vines close around him like a cage, but he can’t do more than that.

Niamh’s ability to imbue her creations with magic was so cool and as a I knitter I really appreciated the concept:

Whatever she sewed possessed a subtle compulsion. No one could quite describe it, other than this: when you saw someone in a Niamh Ó Conchobhair piece, you felt something. Niamh had transformed a young widow into the very picture of sorrow. She had allowed wallflowers to vanish into the recesses of a ballroom. 

There’s also some political intrigue in the book with regard to why the king refuses to address any conflict coming his way, why Kit’s marriage is so important, and why there is a continued push by some of the Machlish for reparations.

That’s a lot to put into one story, but it blends together and unfolds seamlessly. The romance here is gentle and tender, with Kit and Niamh helping each other heal from familial trauma and set out on a path where they are allowed to put their own needs first. Even though the conflict is significant the book never feels dark.

With excellent world building and a fun magic system, plus a really beautiful romance, plus coziness (I love the cozy), I couldn’t find a single flaw in A Fragile Enchantment. This may well be my favorite fantasy romance I’ve read yet. 

Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich

Sometimes it’s the most unlikely meetings that give us life’s greatest gifts.

1970s, Southern Alabama. Sixty-two-year-old Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, or “Nub,” has spent his whole life listening to those he’s loved telling him he’s no good—first his ex-wife, now his always-disapproving daughter. Sure, his escapades have made him, along with his cousin and perennial sidekick, Benny, just a smidge too familiar with small town law enforcement, but he’s never harmed anyone—except perhaps himself.

Nub never meant to change his ways, but when he and fifteen-year-old Waffle House waitress Minnie form an unlikely friendship, he realizes for the first time that there may be some good in him after all. Six-foot-five Minnie has been dealt a full deck of bad luck—her father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, her mother is dead and buried, and she has a Grand Ole Opry–worthy singing voice with no place to perform. Oh, and there’s the small fact that she’s unexpectedly pregnant, courtesy of a no-good high-school boy.

Gradually, Nub realizes the gift he’s been given: a second chance to make a difference.

Beloved Southern writer Sean Dietrich, also known as Sean of the South, once again brings people and places to life in this lyrical song-turned-story about found family, second chances, country music, and the poignant power of love and forgiveness.

My Review

Somehow all of the plot threads come together in the end. It’s wild but what else should I have expected from this book? As I mentioned earlier, I laughed my ass off at times and blinked back a tear at others. Some things cut close while many, many others brought me good memories as I know the South and I lived through 1972. Boomers and Gen Xers will know a lot of these things first hand. The book has sass, heart, and people triumphing over the odds against them. It will not be for everyone but I inhaled the 400 pages in two days and loved it. It will break your heart and then put it back together. A-

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Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce

London, April 1943. A little over a year since she married Captain Charles Mayhew and he went away to war, Emmy Lake is now in charge of “Yours Cheerfully,” the hugely popular advice column in Woman’s Friend magazine. Cheered on by her best friend Bunty, Emmy is dedicated to helping readers face the increasing challenges brought about by over three years of war. The postbags are full and Woman’s Friend is thriving.

But Emmy’s world is turned upside down when glamorous socialite, the Honorable Mrs. Cressida Porter, becomes the new publisher of the magazine, and wants to change everything the readers love. Aided by Mrs. Pye, a Paris-obsessed fashion editor with delusions of grandeur, and Small Winston, the grumpiest dog in London, Mrs. Porter fills the pages with expensive clothes and frivolous articles about her friends. Worst of all, she announces that she is cutting the “Yours Cheerfully” column and her vision for the publication’s future seems dire. With the stakes higher than ever, Emmy and her friends must find a way to save the magazine that they love.

My Review

We’ve been through ups and downs with Emmy, Bunty, and the staff at the newspaper Woman’s Friend. Emmy’s oft repeated thought, “You are safe and you are loved” got me through. I need the next book in my hands now. A

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Ghost 19 by Simone St. James

Is there something wrong with Ginette Cox? It’s what everyone seems to think. When a doctor suggests that what she might need is less excitement, she packs up and moves from New York City to a house in suburban NY: 19 Howard Ave.

The town offers Ginette little in the way of entertainment in 1959, but at least she has interesting neighbors. Whether it’s the little girl with her doll or the couple and their mother-in-law, Ginette watches them from her window and makes up names and stories for them.

But it’s not all peaceful in suburbia. Ginette finds it hard to sleep in her new house. There are strange and scary noises coming from the basement, and she is trapped, either by a ghost or her own madness.

But when Ginette starts to think a murder has taken place and a mysterious man starts making terrifying appearances outside her window, it’s clear she must deal with whatever isn’t allowing her to escape this house…

My Review

This one does take its time getting started – and doesn’t hesitate to make Gin a bit unlikeable and give her some affectations – but then I was literally holding my breath and my fingers were flying as I raced through the last part of the story. What had happened?! Who was wailing from the basement? What did sweetheart Andrew see when he scoped out the house across the lane that he and Ginette were watching? Where did Mother-in-Law go? Who was the man in black who stood in front of Ginette’s window? Was Detective Ian Challis married or not? And how was Ginette going to finally get away. That is if she got away. A-

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Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.

Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass–and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve.

But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate. . .

My Review

I started and finished this novella in one day. As soon as I ended it I thought, I’m not quite sure what that all was but it was brilliant. My book notes state “A story of Singing Hills, young novices, justice, and the way life changes.” Chih has returned thinking that everything will be the same. Many things are, which is comforting, but not everything. New realities must be navigated and accepted. Life is change, after all. In the end, a new normal is coming into being while a pathway to maintaining good relations with those who command massive mammoths is found. Justice will be done and a grieving neixin will find some peace. A

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Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…

My Review

Oh, what a lovely story. I can easily see how this flowed (pun intended) into being. The heroine is delightful and just the kind of self-effacing person who I enjoy watching save the day. And Toadling saves so many, most of whom have/had no idea of what she did. I wasn’t quite sure how things would end up. I pondered this as I read to the end and realized that I would have been happy either way Toadling decided to do things. But I think she made the right choice. This is the sort of story I want to flip back to the beginning and start reading again the minute I finish it. And I agree. It is sweet, dammit. A 

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Everything’s Coming Up Beatrix by Georgia Dunn

Stop the presses: The news crew at BCN is back for more adventures and laughs!

Join Elvis, Puck, Lupin, Tommy, Beatrix, and the whole team for spooky tales around the space heater, daring hairstyles, not-so-hilarious sweaters, an Easter egg hunt disaster, new cat foods, “Heck on the Deck!”, something called a papasan, and the first ever celebration of St. Catty’s Day! Tune into a ghostly broadcast when Puck makes a harrowing journey to the attic and gets in over his head. . . . Can Elvis and Tabitha work together to save him?

Learn how to make your own bookmark, your own little book, and a reading fort!

My Review

I fell in love with the news crew of Breaking Cat News years ago, read it everyday online, and eagerly await my pre-ordered paperback copies of the books. Georgia Dunn perfectly captures so much of the behavior that cat servants know – both what we love and what we don’t (hairballs, anyone?). One of the delightful newer characters added over the years is young cub reporter Beatrix. With her polydactyl paws, she easily manages the station’s social media accounts while her outgoing, yet also thoughtful, personality charms all. A

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Madeline Finn and the Blessing of the Animals by Lisa Papp

When Madeline Finn attends the Blessing of the Animals with Bonnie and Star, she learns that everyone has a gift inside, which they can share with the world. And one way that Madeline Finn can share her blessing is with the animals at her local shelter.

It’s a special day! Madeline Finn is taking Bonnie and Star to the Blessing of the Animals. When they arrive, they see dogs and cats. There’s even a goat!

Madeline Finn watches closely as the Reverend Mary Alice spends time with every animal, giving each one their very own blessing.

“How do you know what to say?” Madeline Finn wants to know.

“Everyone has a blessing inside,” Miss Mary explains. “A special gift to share with the world.”

When Madeline Finn receives a blessing all her own, she has a new mission: finding the blessings in others. Surely, the furry and feathery residents at her local animal shelter have lots of special gifts to share. They just need someone to believe in them—someone to set those blessings free.

My Review

Yes, I had to stop numerous times to wipe my eyes. Yes, I was crying. But they’re happy tears and hopeful tears for the animals Madeline blesses with things that might help the animals find homes. The illustrations are lovely and the message is heartfelt. We’re all special and have something to offer. A

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The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair

Murder once again stalks the proprietors of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau in the surprisingly dangerous landscape of post-WWII London.
In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture – The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous – and never discussed – past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Mostly their clients are people trying to start (or restart) their lives in this much-changed world, but their new client is something different. A happily married woman has come to them to find a new wife for her husband. Dying of cancer, she wants the two to make sure her entomologist, academic husband finds someone new once she passes.

Shortly thereafter, she’s found dead in Epping Forest, in what appears to be a suicide. But that doesn’t make sense to either Sparks or Bainbridge. At the same time, Bainbridge is attempting to regain legal control of her life, opposed by the conservator who has been managing her assets – perhaps not always in her best interest. When that conservator is found dead, Bainbridge herself is one of the prime suspects. Attempting to make sense of two deaths at once, to protect themselves and their clients, the redoubtable owners of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau are once again on the case.

My Review

I finished the book reading flat out and punching the air at the way Gwen and Iris handle one suspected criminal confession and how Gwen’s knowledge of single malts helps her in another. The final scenes of dealing with grief almost had me tearing up – okay, okay yes I was tearing up – but one character has had this coming and desperately needed it while another has only just begun to confront his loss – the depth of which we realize from a conversation Iris has with a former Army commando. I was wrung out and satisfied at the same time and I can’t wait to see what happens next. A

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The Country Gentleman by Dinah Dean

When he’s mistaken for her husband-to-be, is that prophetic?

Miss Lucinda Calvert’s quiet life as a rector’s daughter is turned topsy-turvy by the arrival of a gentleman new to the area. Mr John Harris seems respectable, but sets the village gossips wagging with speculation about his past—on which topic he is very private indeed.

He pays her particular attention, and his mysterious papers and odd habits confuse her almost as much as his unexpected kiss! Then speculation of a French spy in their midst, taking advantage of the nearby military encampment, sets Lucinda worrying. Could the man she has grown so fond of—perhaps even loves—be a traitor?

My Review

Lucinda finds herself starting to fall for him, and Fred certainly approves of him – though Fred has never approved of Lucinda’s other male friend Monsieur Roland, the poor French emigree who fled France because of the Revolution – and Lucinda’s father has always said that Fred is an excellent judge of character though Lucinda’s mother sniffs at that saying “(Mr. Harris) must be a paragon if the cat likes him!” A-

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Worth More than Rubies by Grace Burrowes

All the Duke of Dunfallon wants this holiday season is a respite from the machinations of the matchmakers. When pursued by a particularly determined would-be duchess, he ducks into the West Bartholomew Street Lending Library. Librarian Emerald Armstrong sees a dapper gent in a bit of a hurry and mistakes Dunfallon for a curate overdue for his assignation with West Bart’s theological collection.

Dunfallon is intrigued by Emmie’s love of books, her disdain for society’s games, and her ferocious generosity of spirit toward all of the library’s patrons. She has no patience with posturing, and thus he takes the risk of admitting his true identity. To his surprise, Emmie doesn’t mind all that much that he’s a duke—some things cannot be helped—but she is far less willing to keep silent about Dunfallon’s other secret, the one he has been guarding from even his fellow peers.

If an honorable woman is worth more than rubies, what will a duke sacrifice to earn her love?

My Review

What a delight. Another book loving couple and more cats! And what a silly widgeon I’ve been to not have been reading your books up until now. I wondered when Emmie would learn the truth behind Dane’s identity, thinking this would probably lead to the proverbial Third Act breakup only to discover the story would unfold quite differently. Huzzah for something unusual and some quality intimacy that even includes heaving bosoms. This was lovely. A-

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It’s Christmas 1946 and wounded doctor Laurence is struggling to find a way to live during peacetime. Lost in the Hampshire countryside on a snowy Christmas Eve, Laurence stumbles across lonely Mistletoe Cottage and its owner: Avery.
Avery is bright and beautiful, welcoming Laurence to his home with warmth and joy. But Laurence can’t stay forever, and Avery’s secrets mean he can never leave. When everything goes wrong, it’s up to Laurence to find a way to secure a happy-ever-after for their midwinter fairy tale.

Dear Ms. Durreson,

I’ve read several of your stories but not this one. I think others have mentioned it though so I went in, hoping for the best. Ah, what a charming story this is. 

I love how the awful British winter of 1946 is worked into it. How Laurence’s “broken brain” is not the PTSD I was expecting. His neurological issues also help him accept what Laurence considers at first to be Avery’s eccentricities. Avery is not quite historical but not quite contemporary (for Laurence’s time). Avery knows a bit about trains, has a range to cook on rather than cooking in the oven. Laurence’s upbringing has taught him that when he’s in a new environment, he needs to accept, be agreeable, and watch to see how to act so he doesn’t totally flip out when Avery uses some magic. The magic is also revealed at the start of their time together so the standard “what is happening, can’t be happening!” scenes can be eliminated.   

Both men know their preferences already but the realization has to dawn on them, through some subtle flirting, that they both feel this way. The relationship between Avery and Laurence does start fairly quickly but then they’ve only got twelve days to kickstart that. Or do they? The way that Laurence and Avery “connect” over the course of the year is clever and gets me ready for them to actually be in love When It Counts. Having Laurence discover something that helps him accept what is actually going on works for me, too. 

I wasn’t expecting the last half of the story but it’s lovely and filled with other people who are not quite what society expects or will tolerate. Lady Althea and her “secretary” Millie (who knows how to fly spitfires but was not allowed to fight during the war) are obviously a couple, while Elspeth, the village lass and daughter of the local vicar, longs to apply to Oxford while her sister did “something mysterious” during the war. Even these things would have been beyond the dreams of Avery’s sisters but the world is changing. And as the village gets used to the fact that Laurence’s head injury necessitates that he needs some form of long term help, there might be a way forward into a HEA for him and this lovely man to whom Laurence has given back spring flowers. A-

~Jayne

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During a brutal winter, a young woman longing for love finds more than she expected in the woods, in this wickedly sensuous short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.

Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Alice’s husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange. Against reason and decency, she welcomes both men into her life, in different ways. As forbidden longings ensnare each of them, an unrelenting winter storm and an evasive wolf on the prowl have everyone on edge…and ravenous. By spring thaw, will any of their hungers be satisfied?

Dear Ms. Moreno-Garcia,

I liked this but I should have liked it more. It begins as many fairy tales do with innocence and wishes before turning darker. It has two sisters, one pretty and spoiled while the other is plainer and made to work hard. Alice has always been pampered and got what she wanted while Judith still waits for a man. When she thinks her true love has arrived, she learns differently. Does she get her revenge?

The story is dark and lush, sensuous and emotionally painful. I felt for poor Judith who has definitely gotten the short end of the stick. Yet I also wanted to shake Judith as she falls for sweet words and promises at the same time that she dismisses a person because of how he looks. Though to be honest, I’m not sure she’d get anything good from either man. I wanted this to turn the “waiting for a man to save me” trope on its head; I wanted Judith to become her own savior. The writing is lovely but the story ends up being fairly conventional. C+

~Jayne

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The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley is a sparkling historical novel of wild and wonderful mechanical automata, love in a variety of forms, and gentle themes of identity, with a cast of fabulous characters.

In 1755, Abel Cloudesley, a London watchmaker and creator of remarkable mechanical automata, is mourning his wife, Alice, who died giving birth to their son, Zachary. Six years later, Abel is further devastated when a freak workshop accident takes Zachary’s eye. With his new eye made of gold and lapis by Abel’s soft-spoken apprentice Tom, Zachary, now with an astonishing gift of second sight, is sent to live with his eccentric Aunt Franny in the country. Abel buries himself in work until he is coerced by shadowy figures into designing a chess-playing automaton and delivering it to Constantinople to spy on the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. After meeting the Sultan, Abel is not heard from again. Years later, teenage Zachary receives a letter suggesting that his father is still alive, a prisoner of the Sultan. Zachary sets off on a perilous journey to the Levant, determined to find Abel and bring him safely home.

Dear Mr. Lusk, 

Wow, that was different. And for the most part I mean that as a compliment. It really is the characters who make this book but the characters are backed by enough of the (extensive) research you did that they are firmly grounded in the mid eighteenth century they inhabit. I will slightly alter the blurb by saying that it isn’t the false eye that is fashioned for him that gives Zachary Cloudesley his visions and second sight. No, he’s born with that and more which all appear to be inherited from the mother who died giving birth to him. CW Alice Cloudesley doesn’t die on page but there are descriptions of the after scene. She and Abel also lost three daughters at birth before Zachary was born.

To try and describe the intricate turns of the plot would take far too long but I think that three characters who are not in the blurb need some introduction. Mrs. Morely and her daughter Leonora arrive in the lives of the Cloudesley men when Abel needs a wetnurse for his newborn son and that wetnurse is unwilling to farm out her own daughter. Honestly I would have loved to have spent an entire book with Grace Morely instead of the few chapters told from her first person POV. She is a strong, no nonsense woman who stands on her own two feet, fights for what she wants and deserves, and dishes out her opinion regardless of whether it’s asked for or wanted. I love her. Leonora finds love but I never quite got a good sense of her beyond maybe chafing at life in general before she seems to settle for the conventional by the end of the story. 

Tom Spurrell begins as a shy young man in Abel’s workshop before one look from Aunt Franny reveals that Tom is actually a woman. Or is he? What Tom is, though, is a remarkable craftsperson who not only tirelessly brings Abel’s ideas to fruition but later journeys with Abel to Turkey and loyally stays there after Abel disappears within the seraglio. When Zachary arrives looking for his father, it is to find that Tom has built a new life for himself; one that he vigorously and emphatically defends to Aunt Franny. No, this is who he is and he won’t stand for being identified otherwise. 

Abel and Zachary are at the heart of the story and though, at times, they have reasons to question whether or not the other truly loves them, the reader knows that all along each would give his life for the other. Many times Abel must send Zachary away but for justifiable reasons – the need for a wetnurse, to recover after his accident, and to protect him from the forces who threaten him to strongarm Abel into a journey to the Ottoman court. But when Zachary is still a child, it’s hard for him to grasp these reasons. Zachary’s reticence in revealing to Abel something told to him as a deathbed confession plus Zachary’s heartache at the time, lead Abel to despair that his son understands the events that caused their longest separation and the ones before. Still the fact that these two aren’t immediately reconciled seems realistic. The scene which sets it all right is emotional and tender. 

For a long while I worried about one particular relationship. We are given hints of Zachary’s relationship preferences which, given the laws in England at the time, seemed impossible. Then there is a moment of hope which seems to also be dashed. It takes Zachary’s Aunt Franny’s bizarre will to set a possible solution in motion. Aunt Franny is … a bit of a pill to be honest. There are times when I admired her, times when I didn’t understand her, and times when I wanted to put her in the cage with Catherine the Great. I’ll give her credit for being complex and generally running her life as she wants in a time when most women couldn’t do that. 

I feel that I need to emphasize that this is a very, very character driven novel. There are lots of descriptions and lots more characters than I’ve discussed. Then there are a few things that led to my earlier statement that I enjoyed it “for the most part.” Frankly I feel that I would have liked to have seen more of Zachary’s “gift” plus the middle of the story suffers from a feeling that its mechanism wound down a bit, leading to a little bit of a drag in the pace. The whole slots together with bits and pieces finally fitting and locking into place but it’s a book that rewards patience. B      

~Jayne

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Marguerite Florian is a spy with two problems. A former employer wants her dead, and one of her new bodyguards is a far too good-looking paladin with a martyr complex.

Shane is a paladin with three problems. His god is dead, his client is much too attractive for his peace of mind, and a powerful organization is trying to have them both killed.

Add in a brilliant artificer with a device that may change the world, a glittering and dangerous court, and a demon-led cult, and Shane and Marguerite will be lucky to escape with their souls intact, never mind their hearts…

CW – Shane and Wren enter their Berserker phase a time or two with a lot of described violence ensuing.  

Dear Ms. Kingfisher, 

I knew that there just had to be another book in this series given how the last one ended. Yes, I know that wasn’t my favorite of the series but … that ending! Anyway, as soon as this was released I jumped on it and dove in. I had wanted Marguerite’s book since her introduction so yay to seeing Marguerite again from “Paladin’s Grace” as well as a brief glimpse of Grace, herself. 

The story kicks off with a quick set up of plot and a reintroduction to Marguerite and other characters from past books. A road travel part arrives (and I loved the part when Shane sits quietly enough for a bird to sit on his hand) before we get to a noble court. But then comes a transition into a bit of a slow section. I had to be reminded of what the main objection was. Or what I thought this book was supposed to be about. Marguerite tells Shane and Wren that her job is a lot of standing around and talking with people. She wasn’t joking. I’ll be completely honest and say that this book (and mainly this part) could easily have had 50 pages chopped out of it and not have suffered. 

Marguerite and Shane are two very different people. She’s cool, collected, very analytical, can follow spy threads and motivations, can act a part and present what she wants another person to see. Shane is a Paladin with a very simple philosophy – do good. Sure before the death of his Saint, he did that through Berserker battle but he trusted the Saint to save him from harming innocents. She doesn’t appear to be that religious while he, along with the few surviving Paladins of the Saint of Steel, have been lost since their Saint died – or, from the end of the previous book

Marguerite and Shane think a lot about each other. So yeah for the first 250 pages there’s a lot of lust tension. A. Lot. As well, she thinks he’s judging her for what she as a spy has to do (if she has to get info from a lech, she will let the suspect lech) to get information and she gets pissed at that. She wonders how the death of his god affected him and knows it must have been hard. He angsts over what she has to do (but unknown to her not that she does it) and hates that this is part of her job. Lust, lust, lust. Another character has to tell them to basically just fuck already and cut the tension. The actual reason they do is one I used to despise but here, given this second travel section, it makes a lot of sense.  

Wren is a great character. She’s not traditionally beautiful, runs up against some bitchy people at the noble court and brings herself back up by mentally reviewing how she could kill anyone in the room. She’s a badass Paladin so doing that is normal for her. But she’s also shown to be human, still a young woman with feelings who can be emotionally hurt, and someone who is fiercely protective of her “brother” in arms who is also protective of her. I hope we see much more of Wren in future books. Yeah that while Shane feels protective of Wren’s emotions and vulnerability he fully believes that she can hold her own in any fight and views her as a battle equal.  

Picking up a bit on what Piper “felt” at the end of Paladin’s Hope, there is an interesting, slightly more philosophical discussion that Shane has with Lady Silver, a truly cool character, about the death of gods and how this specifically might tie in with the death of the Saint of Steel. Then there’s a part that dives deeply into Shane’s faith: free will vs what he is used to yielding up to the Saint of Steel or the White Rat. Does he want free will or to stick with loyal devotion to someone else telling him what to do? Yeah, what the title of the book is all about. The ending is not what I expected and watching Shane agonize over what to do was wrenching. Even in this he was thinking of others. 

Sigh … there is a lot of  martyrish “I’m not good enough” from Shane. But that appears to be a trait of these Paladins. Marguerite and Shane both begin their relationship with a good bit of lusting and neither thinking that anything will follow beyond that. Then what happens, happens and Marguerite realizes the truth of her feelings and wow it was fun to watch her take no shit from the Dreaming God’s Paladins in her efforts to do what she did. For Shane. Which (happy sigh) meant so much to him.

Let’s talk about the last twist of the story. From something mentioned early on, I knew this was probably coming but it’s a mind bender. Watching Shane’s actions is, okay yeah, hard at times. No he can’t! But he is! And the entity who is involved in his actions is not how I expected them to be and act. Gah! But then Something Else happens and whoa, damn. I can’t wait to see what happens with this. I wonder if the whole reason for Marguerite’s spying actions will play out more in the next book or was that it?      

So there is so much potential set up for more books – what really happened to the Saint of Steel? What about the strong and stealthy demon? Will Marguerite straighten up what she’s vowed to do? What about Shane and the other Saint of Steel Paladins including one in particular? And will Beartongue manage to not to crash multiple city economies? I’m on tenterhooks. B

~Jayne 

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Readers, first of all please beware that this is a first part of the trilogy. At the end of this one there is no happy ending, I mean it is not a tragic ending, the characters part ways because needs must (that’s the most I can do without spoilers), not because they had any fight at the end of the book.

So, because I bought this book without even reading the blurb first (something that I don’t do for the 99% of the potential purchases), I have had an interesting experience in the first chapter already. The foreword where the characters meet can make you believe that this is a contemporary romance. And then in the first chapter we already see Ravi and his team fighting monsters. It certainly gave me a whiplash, but that was totally my own fault and moreover, I love SFF storylines.  Fighting monsters? Great, sign me up, no matter how unexpected that was at first.

And then Cayenne makes their way in the storyline. Just a note that Cayenne is non-binary so the pronoun “they” are used exclusively for this character, so that’s the reason I am not tagging this story as m/m romance. This is not a warning, I don’t believe one has to be warned about non-binary characters, this is just an explanation.

Cayenne is also, at least at first, one of the most annoying romantic leads I have ever “met” in fiction.  First of all they are very high maintenance and once again, I don’t want to spoiler much, but I have to note that even though they certainly don’t do anything remotely non consensual, I kinda felt that they were almost attacking Ravi from the moment they appeared on the page. Let me stress, nothing remotely not consensual happened ever, it is more like Cayenne was too persistent in courting Ravi for my taste, too fast I guess?

But I have to go into some spoilers here because this was the main reason why I found Cayenne to be so incredibly annoying at first.

Also Cayenne obviously knows something about the events in the near or not so near future which connect them and Ravi and I am guessing that this is partially they reason why they appeared in the past to correct some wrongs as well and they are not answering any questions from Ravi, but demand to know everything about Ravi’s past, his work, etc. I get that whatever mystery will happen they are not answering for plot reasons, I am fine with that, but not answering anything about their family while demanding to know about Ravi’s?

Yes,  I disliked them a lot, but then interesting things happened and I realized that the author actually seems to have a rather tight hold on the storyline and hopefully a lot more things will become clearer in the next book/ books.  Also Cayenne has a character arc, which sadly I don’t see a lot in many m/m books, meaning that they are not just changing in the relationship, they try to make a certain change in their behavior, they seem to learn and maybe that change will even stick.

Ravi is just a noble monsters fighter for now, but they have great chemistry already and we do see that he has some interesting potential as well, and the ending of the book both annoyed me and made me kind of excited for the next one.

Grade: B

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Another delightfully humorous and sweet fantasy graphic novel adaptation of a Neil Gaiman short story, brought to you by the Eisner award-winning creative team behind Troll Bridge and Snow, Glass, Apples: Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran!

An elderly British widow buys what turns out to be the Holy Grail from a second-hand shop, setting her off on an epic visit from an ancient knight who lures her with ancient relics in hope for winning the cup.

Review

I was intrigued when I saw this released last year. Not having read the short story on which this illustrated edition is based, I quickly hopped over to Hoopla and borrowed the book in which it was published. That was enjoyable enough but when I finally got my hands on this graphic book and could see Colleen Doran’s work, I was charmed. 

Widowed Mrs Whitaker often treats herself to a visit to the local Oxfam shop after walking to the post office to collect her pension. It’s here that she finds the Holy Grail (yes, she knows what it is) and decides the price is reasonable (30p) and that it would look nice on the mantelpiece. After she cleans it up and places it there (beside a picture of her late husband), she sees that it does. 

The next day, after tea with Mrs. Greenberg and then her lunch, the doorbell rings. It’s a nice young man in silver plate armor who announces he’s on a quest for the Holy Grail. He asks if it’s here and may he come in. Mrs. Whittaker needs some i.d. first as women who live alone shouldn’t let just anyone in.  Luckily, after fumbling through the saddle bag on his gray charger, he presents one signed by Arthur, King of all Britons. Still, she isn’t interested in handing over the Grail. 

And so begins Galaad’s efforts to find something that Mrs. Whitaker will take for the Grail. She’s not interested in the wondrous sword he brings after the weekend. They talk about their families while he helps her move stuff in the boxroom so she can dust. He offers a few other amazing things and Mrs. Whitaker makes her decision. Then serves Galaad some tea using her best china before sending him off with a bit of food to eat later on. 

The story is delightful but these illustrations just make it. Colleen Doran’s notes on her long quest to bring this project to life are almost as good. Galaad is nice and earnest though he seems as if maybe he’s still got some maturing to do. Mrs. Whitaker is a love but also an Englishwoman of practicality and no nonsense. I think she makes the best choices both about what Galaad offers her and about what she knows she really doesn’t have room for on the mantelpiece. I do hope she finds someone to leave her mementos to. A       

~Jayne

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A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel…

1968: Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom. Now the actress is on the cusp of obscurity. When she’s offered the lead in a radical new horror film, Gemma believes her luck has changed—but her dream is about to turn into a nightmare. One night, between the shadows of an alleyway, Gemma disappears on set and is never seen again. Yet, Gemma is alive. She’s been pulled into the film. And the script—and the monsters within it—are coming to life. Gemma must play her role perfectly if she hopes to survive.

2007: Gemma Turner’s disappearance is one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries—one that’s captivated film student Christopher Kent ever since he saw L’Étrange Lune for the first time. The screenings only happen once a decade and each time there is new, impossible footage of Gemma that shouldn’t exist. Curiosity drives Christopher to unravel the truth. But answers to the film’s mystery may leave him trapped by it forever.

CW/TW – alcoholism and drug use by a parent, child neglect, emotional abuse, suicide, sexism, riot, institutionalization of a parent, death of a parent, mentions of miscarriage, unwanted sexual advances, gore, and violence.

Dear Ms. Sayers,

Here I am again, trying something different and not entirely sure whether it worked for me or not. I enjoyed parts of this book, didn’t like others, and in the end, had to keep reminding myself that it’s a bad horror film, wrapped in a dual-timeline story. Would I read it again? Probably not. Did I want answers and did I read all the way through to get them? Yes, I did. I’ll add one thing to the blurb and specify that heroine Gemma is pulled into the movie as if she’s living in the set which is now real.

I liked the descriptions given – especially for the 1968 part of the story. The information that Gemma’s physical appearance was inspired by French actress Francoise Dorleac helped me visualize her. I could see Gemma getting her start in early 60s California beach films and tiring of the genre, as her desire to try her hand at scriptwriting grew. Was a French director, trying to make an improved (French) version of a Hammer horror film without actually having ever seen a horror film, any more receptive to this than the male rulers of Hollywood? Of course not. Gemma’s over-the-top self involved rockstar lover fit right in with the other drug taking British singers of the late 60s.

The opening of the story threw me for a loop though. Who was this ten year old boy whose job it seemed to be to take care of his drug taking, mental health issues challenged mother? Well, that took a while to figure out. As a character later told Christopher, everything was carefully thought and planned out. I’m not sure I would have wanted to date an adult Christopher as obsessed as he was with this strange film that was only shown every ten years to a select group of people who were supposed to be acting under a bizarre series of rules. Would those rules really work? Well, obviously not as Christopher and Elizabeth (plus a few others) went full bore “conspiracy theory” about the film. How strange all this was was perfectly encapsulated by the scene when Christopher bores the pants off of a cousin and their dates as he did a deep dive into the various nutjob trains of thought on L’Estrange Lune. I could almost see the three of them slowly backing away from him.

The romance? Eh, I didn’t think so. It’s more obsession and Gemma meeting up with a male who isn’t a total wank loser. In fact the more I thought about it, the creepier it got. As a child with a sad backstory, Christopher was pitiable but as an adult he was bland and blah but fixated. His “nearest and dearest” thought that Christopher was dangerously obsessed (there’s just no other word that fits as well) with the film and I found I agreed with them. It was unhealthy and the fact that he himself realized that no one would miss him if he disappeared? Yeah.

Who did I like the best? That would be Gemma who tried to advance her film career beyond Beach Blanket Bingo and twice got tossed into the deep end of a shit show – the first when she arrived and began filming of L’Estrange Lune. in the face of many who denigrated her and the second when what happened, happened. She kept her head above water and managed to claw agency out of it, even in the face of some shameless victim blaming.

Right … so the film. When I read something in the 1870s “Amboise” section of the book (when Gemma is trapped inside the film) that set off my klaxon alarms of historical inaccuracy it helped me peel myself off the ceiling by thinking, “Just remember, it’s a film. It’s supposed to be a bad horror film that’s being reshot. Historical authenticity has no place in it. We’re talking “Hollywood authenticity” is good enough.” That helped as well with the horror scenes because the vampires veered between laughable and gross. Hitting the end though, was full on euwww though the final bits answered the main questions about the whole set up.

Still, the way the “how did all this get started” was explained was just another section of villain exposition or telling instead of showing which added to all the other instances of information being conveyed in slightly irritating ways. The villain magically typing answers to Gemma?? Was there a better way to make sure readers had all the necessary information? Surely so. I also thought that tightening or eliminating some scenes (Gemma goes to 1878 Paris!) would have moved things along. There was way too much unnecessary description of the places and clothes. The arc I read also had a lot of typos that I hope were fixed. And yet, there I was, reading until the end to discover “what next” so it did work for me on some level. I just wish Gemma had been left with her own agency to triumph over both the villains who got her into that mess. C

~Jayne

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