tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48358750687275656492024-03-18T05:48:56.979-04:00Ivory Owl ReviewsBook Reviews: Focused on Frontlist (Upcoming) ReleasesRhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.comBlogger890125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-44932488388980676792024-01-24T18:32:00.000-05:002024-01-24T18:32:05.053-05:00Best Books of 2023<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiv8QuQuPgKikUfDvgeZ5_i3-EAbEyBQ29IbHTMS-s3jLIpvhi-k2mPEVU2jz2t-6IT9TMvJgZn3_kc1qs44o1zekYKW8lS7tc865JsdNKz6CMEZlaElGL6VaJKnF5uFF_Sxzd03PdnBTB-_vj-N-HrUc4VF4Hl_VhwKOYXlPTqrS7v5NyDDMO0y51VRE/s1080/2023.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiv8QuQuPgKikUfDvgeZ5_i3-EAbEyBQ29IbHTMS-s3jLIpvhi-k2mPEVU2jz2t-6IT9TMvJgZn3_kc1qs44o1zekYKW8lS7tc865JsdNKz6CMEZlaElGL6VaJKnF5uFF_Sxzd03PdnBTB-_vj-N-HrUc4VF4Hl_VhwKOYXlPTqrS7v5NyDDMO0y51VRE/w640-h640/2023.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">ABSOLUTE FAVORITE 2023 RELEASES</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Frozen River by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/ariel.lawhon/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@ariel.lawhon</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: Everything Ariel Lawhon writes is gold.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Lookout by Christine Byl :: I haven’t seen a single other review for this one so I’ll consider myself its “one woman marketing team.” Full of tender and truthful dialogue, Lookout is both light and full of love, as well as heavy and achingly sad.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">North Woods by Daniel Mason :: As much an ode to nature as it is a series of character studies.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Wellness by Nathan Hill :: The Facebook sections should be mandatory reading for everyone.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Swipe Up for More!: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/stephemcneal/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@stephemcneal</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: A true “behind the scenes” look at influencers.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Homecoming by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/katemortonauthor/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@katemortonauthor</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: A book that made me think “this is why I love reading.”</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/emilylynnpaulson/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@emilylynnpaulson</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: A deep dive, first-person perspective into MLMs.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Clytemnestra by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/costanzacasati/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@costanzacasati</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: Feminist response to all that toxic Greek masculinity.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Tell Me One Thing by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/kerri.schlottman/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@kerri.schlottman</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> : This short novel had me deeply contemplating permissions, privacies, and ownership of art.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Farewell Tour by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/cliffordwrites/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@cliffordwrites</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> : One of the most hardscrabble, determined, and self-destructive protagonists I've ever encountered.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I Have Some Questions for You by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/rebeccamakkai/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@rebeccamakkai</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: Juxtaposition of 1995 culture against the current </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz _aa9_ _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/metoo/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">#MeToo</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">movement, cancel culture, and bullying.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton :: I am so glad I circled back to read this after initially passing it over.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Yellowface by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/kuangrf/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@kuangrf</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: I’ve thought it, Kuang said it. Magnificently meta, satirical novel about contemporary publishing.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/slouisepetersen/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@slouisepetersen</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: Pros and cons of “momfluencers” receiving validation and financial compensation for previously unseen labor.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Collected Works by </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/lydiasandgren/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@lydiasandgren</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> :: </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz notranslate _a6hd" href="https://www.instagram.com/lonestarwords/" role="link" style="border-color: currentcolor; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">@lonestarwords</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> and I can’t believe this one didn’t get A LOT more attention. Possible factors: it’s almost 600 pages, a translated work, and it was released in January.</span>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-61399086814564900702023-10-02T19:19:00.000-04:002023-10-02T19:19:44.571-04:00Witches: mini reviews<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIej30lMV4Lmk8M_Uj-KG7Yi81_CbTi7XSuGKWuQrGoF9C-iNqzZEvBW61Q5_xRdOkXqCauE0stoLJaYz1cGUI6LqagBhxtQhSY_ZpqjVL_Fmyu5kRRnGeuak5pT-1G-H5i2YJ1ZLVKjwSab7EAERhzniWt3GChUNfGoxIrj9LBemmk4hOMVVTfv_DQOU/s1080/Witches.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIej30lMV4Lmk8M_Uj-KG7Yi81_CbTi7XSuGKWuQrGoF9C-iNqzZEvBW61Q5_xRdOkXqCauE0stoLJaYz1cGUI6LqagBhxtQhSY_ZpqjVL_Fmyu5kRRnGeuak5pT-1G-H5i2YJ1ZLVKjwSab7EAERhzniWt3GChUNfGoxIrj9LBemmk4hOMVVTfv_DQOU/w640-h640/Witches.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>I read witchy books year round but right now I'm absolutely swimming in options. Here are a few that I've recently finished. Unfortunately, they're all *meh*<br /><br /><div><br /></div><div>Witches of Wyvern's Landing: Discovery by Jenna Ocean Meadows</div><div>I grabbed this as a Kindle freebie and thought that it was so short (44 pages) because it was the first "teaser" book in a series, but when I went to download the next book I saw that there weren't any. 🤷♀️</div><div><br /></div><div>The Witch of Maracoor by Gregory Maguire (Another Day #3)</div><div>(releasing 10.10.23 / publisher-provided copy)</div><div>I've not seen many posts about this series, but that doesn't surprise me. A lot of people read Wicked but didn't continue with the rest of The Wicked Years series. The Another Day series picks up years after The Wicked Series with Rainary Ko, Elphaba's granddaughter, and while adventurous, this series isn't as exciting. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen</div><div>(releasing 10.17.23 / publisher-provided copy)</div><div>This is a strong 3-star read. I was bored and it was so difficult to not skim. The best thing about this book is the cover. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-66872618801201195482023-09-28T18:43:00.000-04:002023-09-28T18:43:10.481-04:00Nonfiction Roundup <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XLHM0SZipTLpvfxf9ylpnE4WbLy2k-o3SL_NxombEz_HExWtZDdJJ9J-zyjO-lYwhFNAt80fxrd6GnJxxmc8toWGxaYpy4vfMYTpoqCCKen1FF0OS4vGLExTmtwkD_Wx9g-5thVTYgSbNbryLSkFbMS1O9DC8T0DtQaRitDGb23akBDF0MnFS05y53Y/s1080/Nonfiction%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XLHM0SZipTLpvfxf9ylpnE4WbLy2k-o3SL_NxombEz_HExWtZDdJJ9J-zyjO-lYwhFNAt80fxrd6GnJxxmc8toWGxaYpy4vfMYTpoqCCKen1FF0OS4vGLExTmtwkD_Wx9g-5thVTYgSbNbryLSkFbMS1O9DC8T0DtQaRitDGb23akBDF0MnFS05y53Y/w640-h640/Nonfiction%20.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copies*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span><span class="ContributorLink__name" data-testid="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; flex-basis: auto; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">Dan Ariely</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Harper</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.19.23</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes I just need to read about how other people are dealing with irrationality and combating the onslaught of misinformation to feel the tiniest bit better about the dumpster fire of the American news cycle. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Care: The Highest Stage of Capitalism</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span><span class="ContributorLink__name" data-testid="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; flex-basis: auto; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">Premilla Nadasen</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Haymarket</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>10.10.23</div><div><br /></div><div>I took a class called The Commodification of Care in college. This text is pretty much that course crammed into a single book. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Surrounded by Energy Vampires: How to Slay the Time, Joy, and Soul Suckers in Your Life</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span><span class="ContributorLink__name" data-testid="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; flex-basis: auto; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">Thomas Erikson</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: St. Martin's Essentials</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>10.3.23</div><div><br /></div><div>This would be a good addition to an HR department library or to recommend to someone just going into the labor force. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span><span class="ContributorLink__name" data-testid="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; flex-basis: auto; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">Cat Bohannon</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Knopf</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>10.3.23</div><div><br /></div><div>This is 600+ pages and a bit too intense for me in Kindle format. I might revisit it in physical format in the future. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-47603513206060000332023-09-26T16:00:00.001-04:002023-09-26T16:00:00.143-04:00A Haunting on the Hill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wLRUqkL7EEUja-8H0yn1L7e5q3vT-DQZ93cZkth2aGmSo3s0Og-iCDcgLIJWHQ6DCEUX6u4qALddXqCNo67IoU54DxFXYjU07DDhxiKFUtTONQD5wzltIvsiFzrYuhQ0jyfHouUuyiLFDetx_AFIYU4WVdYobtXOOW4zsk8EnW9fHlGRqXXUhl-9CgQ/s1350/Haunting.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wLRUqkL7EEUja-8H0yn1L7e5q3vT-DQZ93cZkth2aGmSo3s0Og-iCDcgLIJWHQ6DCEUX6u4qALddXqCNo67IoU54DxFXYjU07DDhxiKFUtTONQD5wzltIvsiFzrYuhQ0jyfHouUuyiLFDetx_AFIYU4WVdYobtXOOW4zsk8EnW9fHlGRqXXUhl-9CgQ/w512-h640/Haunting.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: A Haunting on the Hill</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Elizabeth Hand</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Mulholland</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>10.3.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div><div>From three-time Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy, and Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Hand comes the first-ever authorized novel to return to the world of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House: a suspenseful, contemporary, and terrifying story of longing and isolation all its own.<br /> <br />Holly Sherwin has been a struggling playwright for years, but now, after receiving a grant to develop her play, The Witch of Edmonton, she may finally be close to her big break. All she needs is time and space to bring her vision to life. When she stumbles across Hill House on a weekend getaway upstate, she is immediately taken in by the ornate, if crumbling, gothic mansion, nearly hidden outside a remote village. It’s enormous, old, and ever-so eerie—the perfect place to develop and rehearse her play.<br /> <br />Despite her own hesitations, Holly’s girlfriend, Nisa, agrees to join Holly in renting the house out for a month, and soon a troupe of actors, each with ghosts of their own, arrive. Yet as they settle in, the house’s peculiarities are made known: strange creatures stalk the grounds, disturbing sounds echo throughout the halls, and time itself seems to shift. All too soon, Holly and her friends find themselves at odds not just with one another, but with the house itself. It seems something has been waiting in Hill House all these years, and it no longer intends to walk alone . <span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;">. . </span></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>I went into this with zero expectations because to be totally honest, I didn't understand The Haunting of Hill House all that well. I was confused most of the time and I can't even blame it on reading it when I was younger--I read it last year! A Haunting on the Hill was almost too scary for me. I'm not usually a horror reader but I do love a haunted house story. I read this on my Kindle but if I had read it as a physical book, I might have pulled a Joey Tribbiani. I had to stop reading it at night and only read it in the mornings after it gave me nightmares. I have read another book by Elizabeth Hand though and her writing was very impressive. She did an amazing job and if you love a scary story, this is the perfect one to kick off the season. </div><div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-27997294398740500242023-09-19T19:08:00.000-04:002023-09-19T19:08:11.394-04:00North Woods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CE5mOBGeC1CrN_5u0vuYD5DzfRgTKUWqWL0xynnccAXG2FtffaoBgNeyIuikmYScm1jBnXnU-62HkCI4Nh4cjhlS81lSlu_rUt65PtHWsFh99x5ruM-CwkdCvdnZX7XnSzqC9XmtCMkhYYsu1DSvZXawtiDIkBfLcje1Zy8dyEQQCg_q6xeVKnKzxds/s1350/North%20Woods.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CE5mOBGeC1CrN_5u0vuYD5DzfRgTKUWqWL0xynnccAXG2FtffaoBgNeyIuikmYScm1jBnXnU-62HkCI4Nh4cjhlS81lSlu_rUt65PtHWsFh99x5ruM-CwkdCvdnZX7XnSzqC9XmtCMkhYYsu1DSvZXawtiDIkBfLcje1Zy8dyEQQCg_q6xeVKnKzxds/w512-h640/North%20Woods.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: North Woods</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Daniel Mason</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Random House</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.19.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries—a daring, moving tale of memory and fate from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier.<br /><br />When a pair of young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become home to an extraordinary succession of inhabitants . An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to apples. A pair of spinster twins survive war and famine, only to succumb to envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths a mass grave, but finds the ancient trees refuse to give up their secrets. A lovelorn painter, a conman, a stalking panther, a lusty as each one confronts the mysteries of the north woods, they come to realize that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive.<br /><br />Traversing cycles of history, nature, and even literature, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment and to one another, across time, language and space. Written along with the seasons and divided into the twelve months of the year, it is an unforgettable novel about secrets and fates that asks the timeless how do we live on, even after we’re gone?<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>The summary for this novel is so perfect that I can't really think of much to add. Picture a little house in the New England woods and all the stories the house and the woods could tell you. The house would tell you stories of lovers, families, and feuds. The land would tell you stories of what is planted, grown, and buried. The house grows and shrinks with additions and demolitions. Bugs, birds, and animals mate, migrate, and go extinct. Time marches on and the chapters lay bare a myriad of horrors both natural and manmade (sometimes woman-made.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Beginning in the mid-1700s and spanning to a modern-day/near-future digital rendering of the space, this little spot in the woods is full of stories that had my heart breaking and my jaw dropping. North Woods is as much an ode to nature as it is a series of character studies, and I had a "that makes sense" epiphany when I read Daniel Mason's author bio at the end of the novel, learning that he is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />I have not read any of Mason's other work but now I've got to check out some of his other novels: The Piano Tuner, A Far Country, The Winter Soldier, and (Pulitzer Prize finalist) A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Have you read any books by Daniel Mason? <br />Is North Woods on your TBR?</div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-25474425398390562862023-09-17T11:00:00.001-04:002023-09-17T11:00:00.164-04:00Blog Tour: The Book Club Hotel<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgTUMyj9tgbbjcRkeyhcxUl7WiyBA4vHVNcW8GedvTBOiF171u17n50pnV1oobqHkkFXPTmwTZW3qMVCPDfqOMNt1hJbgTxIV5hOyfSkP3Q3pJIz1v48uo4prOVxCJLcdE0GwceE9ZNNZzTFfc8ZujVpixgoyN3zPne3QyBr2feb4Z0AcqJuBEO0caVw/s1350/Blog%20Tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgTUMyj9tgbbjcRkeyhcxUl7WiyBA4vHVNcW8GedvTBOiF171u17n50pnV1oobqHkkFXPTmwTZW3qMVCPDfqOMNt1hJbgTxIV5hOyfSkP3Q3pJIz1v48uo4prOVxCJLcdE0GwceE9ZNNZzTFfc8ZujVpixgoyN3zPne3QyBr2feb4Z0AcqJuBEO0caVw/w512-h640/Blog%20Tour.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: The Book Club Hotel</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Sarah Morgan</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Canary Street Press</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.19.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>This Christmas, USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with another heartfelt exploration of change, the power of books to heal, and the enduring strength of female friendship. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Jennifer Weiner.<br /><br /><br />With its historic charm and picture-perfect library, the Maple Sugar Inn is considered the winter destination. As the holidays approach, the inn is fully booked with guests looking for their dream vacation. But widowed far too young, and exhausted from juggling the hotel with being a dedicated single mom, Hattie Coleman dreams only of making it through the festive season.<br /><br /><br />But when Erica, Claudia and Anna—lifelong friends who seem to have it all—check in for a girlfriends’ book club holiday, it changes everything. Their close friendship and shared love of books have carried them through life's ups and downs. But Hattie can see they're also packing some major emotional baggage, and nothing prepares her for how deeply her own story is about to become entwined in theirs. In the span of a week over the most enchanting time of the year, can these four women come together to improve each other’s lives and make this the start of a whole new chapter?<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6tlyG_Kx0a1132cU9PqGYf3hMWU32Zko1-DDBSCY5NUr-SltM9Gro5ylyoCYDnnznkmLPD5_SBkkCB8AavLZStIlEy3NvfSp9y9VhChQNxes171Uk04OJKca3_Z3rL5yFctKq9VIzY2c0GZJuB1vF6ksI3As2ymMX9Bo99-odDleDQi3vwigb1luCNg/s5832/Sarah%20Morgan%20credit%20Ev%20Sekkides.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5832" data-original-width="3840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6tlyG_Kx0a1132cU9PqGYf3hMWU32Zko1-DDBSCY5NUr-SltM9Gro5ylyoCYDnnznkmLPD5_SBkkCB8AavLZStIlEy3NvfSp9y9VhChQNxes171Uk04OJKca3_Z3rL5yFctKq9VIzY2c0GZJuB1vF6ksI3As2ymMX9Bo99-odDleDQi3vwigb1luCNg/s320/Sarah%20Morgan%20credit%20Ev%20Sekkides.jpeg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b><u>Author Bio:</u></b></span></div></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-9d2c6f7a-7fff-bcfe-5676-f5363cde58d6">USA Today bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes lively, sexy contemporary stories for Harlequin.<br /><br />Romantic Times has described her as 'a magician with words' and nominated her books for their Reviewer's Choice Awards and their 'Top Pick' slot. In 2012 Sarah received the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America. She lives near London with her family. <br /><br /><br /></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-9d2c6f7a-7fff-bcfe-5676-f5363cde58d6"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Shadows Into Light; font-size: x-large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>EXCERPT</b></span></span></p></span><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-b22410ee-7fff-0b8e-9fc2-661e481259b2"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hattie</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maple Sugar Inn, how may I help you?” Hattie answered the phone with a smile on her face because she’d discovered that it was impossible to sound defeated, moody or close to tears when you were smiling, and currently she was all those things.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve been planning a trip to Vermont in winter for years and then I spotted pictures of your inn on social media,” a woman gushed, “and it looks so cozy and welcoming. The type of place you can’t help but relax.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s an illusion</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Hattie thought. There was no relaxation to be had here; not for her, at any rate. Her head throbbed and her eyes pricked following another night without sleep. The head housekeeper was threatening to walk out and the executive chef had been late two nights running and she was worried tonight might be the third, which would be a disaster because they were fully booked. Chef Tucker had earned their restaurant that coveted star, and his confit of duck had been known to induce moans of ecstasy from diners, but there were days when Hattie would have traded that star for a chef with a more even temperament. His temper was so hot she sometimes wondered why he bothered switching on the grill. He could have yelled at the duck and it would have been thoroughly singed in the flames of his anger. He was being disrespectful and taking advantage of her. Hattie knew that, and she also knew she should probably fire him but Brent had chosen him, and firing him would have severed another thread from the past. Also, conflict drained her energy and right now she didn’t have enough of that to go around. It was simpler to placate him.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m glad you’re impressed,” she said to the woman on the phone. “Can I make a reservation for you?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I hope so, but I’m very particular about the room. Can I tell you what I need?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course.” Bracing herself for a long and unachievable wish list, Hattie resisted the temptation to smack her forehead onto the desk. Instead, she reached for a pad of paper and pen that was always handy. “Go ahead.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How bad could it be? A woman the week before had wanted to know if she could bring her pet rat with her on vacation—answer: no!—and a man the week before that had demanded that she turn down the sound of the river that ran outside his bedroom window because it was keeping him awake.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went above and beyond in her attempts to satisfy the whims of guests but there were limits.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’d like the room to have a mountain view,” the woman said. “And a real fire would be a nice extra.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“All our rooms have real fires,” Hattie said, “and the rooms at the back have wonderful views of the mountains. The ones at the front face the river.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She relaxed slightly. So far, so straightforward.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mountains for me. Also, I’m particular about bedding. After all, we spend a third of our lives asleep so it’s important, don’t you agree?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hattie felt a twinge of envy. She definitely didn’t spend a third of her life asleep. With having a young child, owning an inn and grieving the loss of her husband, she barely slept at all. She dreamed of sleep but sadly, usually when she was awake.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Bedding is important.” She said what was expected of her, which was what she’d been doing since the police had knocked on her door two years earlier to tell her that her beloved Brent had been killed instantly in a freak accident. A brick had fallen from a building as he’d been walking past on his way to the bank and struck him on the head.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was mortifying to remember that her initial reaction had been to laugh—she’d been convinced it was a joke, because normal people didn’t get killed by random bricks falling from buildings, did they?—but then she’d realized they weren’t laughing and it probably wasn’t because they didn’t have a sense of humor.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’d asked them if they were </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sure </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">he was dead, and then had to apologize for questioning them because of course they were sure. How often did the police follow </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we’re sorry to have to tell you</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">…with </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oops, we made a mistake.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After they’d repeated the bad news, she’d thanked them politely. Then she’d made them a cup of tea because she was a) half British and b) very much in shock.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When they’d drunk their tea and eaten two of her homemade cinnamon cookies, she’d shown them out as if they were treasured guests who had honored her with their presence, and not people who had just shattered her world in one short conversation.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’d stared at the closed door for a full five minutes after they’d left while she’d tried to process it. In a matter of minutes her life had utterly changed, the future she’d planned with Brent stolen, her hopes crushed.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though two years had passed, there were still days when it felt unreal. Days when she still expected Brent to walk through the door with that bouncing stride of his, full of excitement because he’d had one of his brilliant ideas that he couldn’t wait to share with her.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think we should get married…</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think we should start a family…</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think we should buy that historic inn we saw on our trip to Vermont…</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They’d met in England during their final year of college and from the first moment she’d been swept away on the tide of Brent’s enthusiasm. After graduating, they’d both taken jobs in London but then two things had happened. Brent’s grandmother had died, leaving him a generous sum of money, and they’d taken a trip to Vermont. They’d fallen in love with the place, and now here she was, a widow at the age of twenty-eight, raising their five-year-old child and managing the historic inn. Alone. Since she’d lost Brent she’d tried to keep everything going the way he’d wanted it, but that wasn’t proving easy. She worried that she wasn’t able to do this on her own. She worried that she was going to lose the inn. Most of all she worried that she wasn’t going to be enough for their daughter. Now Brent was gone she had to be two people—how could she be two people when most days she didn’t even feel whole?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She realized that while she’d been indulging in a moment of maudlin self-pity, the woman on the phone was still talking. “I’m sorry, could you say that again?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’d like the bedsheets to be linen because I do struggle with overheating.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We have linen bedding, so that won’t be a problem.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And pink.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Excuse me?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’d like the linen to be pink. I find I sleep better. White is too glaring and drab colors depress me.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pink.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll make a note.” She grabbed a notepad and scribbled </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Help </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">followed by four exclamation marks</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She might have written something ruder, but her daughter was a remarkably good reader and was given to demonstrating that skill wherever and whenever she could, so Hattie had learned to be mindful of what she wrote and left lying around. “Did you have a particular date in mind?”</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Christmas. It’s the best time, isn’t it?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not for me</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Hattie thought, as she checked the room occupancy. The first Christmas after Brent had died had been hideous, and last year hadn’t been much better. She’d wanted to burrow under the covers until it was all over, but instead, she’d been expected to inject festive joy into other people’s lives. And now it was the end of November again and Christmas was just weeks away.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, providing she didn’t lose any more staff, she’d no doubt find a way to muddle through. She’d survived it twice, and she’d survive it a third time.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re in luck. We do still have a few rooms available, including one double facing the mountains. Would you like me to reserve that for you?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is it a corner room? I do like more than one window.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s not a corner room, and there is only one window in this particular room, but it has wonderful views and a covered balcony.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There’s no way of getting a second window?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sadly not.” What was she supposed to do? Knock a hole through the wall? “But I can send you a video of the room before you make your choice if that would help.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the time she’d taken the woman’s email address, put a hold on the room for twenty-four hours and answered the rest of her questions, half an hour had passed.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the woman finally ended the call, Hattie sighed. Christmas promised to be a nightmare. She made a note under the reservation. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pink sheets. Linen.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How would Brent handle it? It was a question she asked herself a million times a day and she allowed herself to glance at one of the two photographs she kept on the desk. This one was of Brent swinging their daughter high in the air. Both were laughing. Sometimes, she’d discovered, remembering the best of times sustained you through the worst.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Excerpted from The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan. Copyright © 2023 by Sarah Morgan. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.</span></p><br /></span></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-28027878859028505562023-09-13T14:37:00.000-04:002023-09-13T14:37:32.173-04:00Wellness<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIFJDl89Pg9ipZIO6eXJHsdSR2UU3CFQE1BBuVl-ovjVsy3X3nO8_y_5GxKHOMSGeMxbLXXWOrUNIf9pDFQDmllvu0SjvPaJ8DsCIl44KMzQlVVBN2X732emkgr4wx8IqANsnE--UISnEpqrButvhaP66SQPyvXubIAUqZ8i7SoK1tUiGwK_wn0RwiIY/s1350/wellness.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIFJDl89Pg9ipZIO6eXJHsdSR2UU3CFQE1BBuVl-ovjVsy3X3nO8_y_5GxKHOMSGeMxbLXXWOrUNIf9pDFQDmllvu0SjvPaJ8DsCIl44KMzQlVVBN2X732emkgr4wx8IqANsnE--UISnEpqrButvhaP66SQPyvXubIAUqZ8i7SoK1tUiGwK_wn0RwiIY/w512-h640/wellness.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Wellness</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Nathan Hill</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Knopf</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.26.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the '90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars, and something called Love Potion Number Nine.<br /><br />For the first time, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize each other, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons, from unfulfilled career ambitions to painful childhood memories of their own dysfunctional families. In the process, Jack and Elizabeth must undertake separate, personal excavations, or risk losing the best thing in their each other.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>The novel begins in January 1993 with Jack and Elizabeth's early years of love in Chicago's Wicker Park, jumps around a bit to include their future together as parents and possibly new homeowners in 2014, and dives back into each of their family histories (both ghastly.) The story spans so many big topics and summarizing a 600+ page book is impossible but I would narrow the novel's main themes down to authenticity (in life and art) and psychological manipulation (from family, technology, and the wellness industry.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I generally refrain from revealing sections that I especially loved for fear that they may spoil the experience for a future reader, but there is a small storyline that was woven in so well that I just have to comment on it. I think everyone will learn something or wish they could force someone they love to read it, and that is about Jack's father's relationship with Facebook. Jack belongs to a demographic of people who know that Facebook (and virtually any social media platform) runs on algorithms to draw users in and then continue to deliver content intended to drive engagement within the platform--because that's how they make money. Jack's father represents another demographic, an almost entire generation of social media users who view the world through a technological medium that they have never learned how to properly use or analyze. The details that author Nathan Hill used in these sections alone would have had me singing this book's praises, but that is just a single storyline. There are so many more perfectly captured themes and detailed characters in this book that my head is spinning in amazement. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">To sum it up: this book currently sits in my #1 spot for Best Book of 2023.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-85798173651241725102023-09-12T13:14:00.000-04:002023-09-12T13:14:23.036-04:00✨SPOTLIGHT✨ Night Watch<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv67YPK5EXoE1l7e7WTCOExU6W3mm4Oea3MakzLn1TZz0oMDWUf7AlfEIyIe1BWKRdf950zYD2yzvXg6R2dIyuQOjRNwSZJufLYDHF_j2Ul6nH8ba4yLQUERtdKPOsENsUnDO_vs0b-48k9C2p6W4e3nA5Biabz7uF4YF5RSGv0btZD6hnp1hsnrJCGSc/s4032/Night%20Watch.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv67YPK5EXoE1l7e7WTCOExU6W3mm4Oea3MakzLn1TZz0oMDWUf7AlfEIyIe1BWKRdf950zYD2yzvXg6R2dIyuQOjRNwSZJufLYDHF_j2Ul6nH8ba4yLQUERtdKPOsENsUnDO_vs0b-48k9C2p6W4e3nA5Biabz7uF4YF5RSGv0btZD6hnp1hsnrJCGSc/w480-h640/Night%20Watch.heic" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Night Watch</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Jayne Anne Phillips </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Knopf</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.19.23</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds, and a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.</div><div><br /></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-8415292503417603892023-09-11T19:12:00.001-04:002023-09-11T19:12:55.661-04:00(Cook)book Mail <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1FRjrIbxj7eon9v567Q3YgamUBzjsJIBl4CCe6uuGSkRH5viVcZ92OIk_Dcyv3gbL7OkTzzECra3YSPSxqL_Yiuz8R8iwaoAwz7mgboWK5kj-My6vCjmt4um59BcMFkdn5STpHmnLVTRyKF2HvjiRbMeTQTMien_iwMHJtQb8Cpz8giYVuu_2JtAtik/s676/page0.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="540" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1FRjrIbxj7eon9v567Q3YgamUBzjsJIBl4CCe6uuGSkRH5viVcZ92OIk_Dcyv3gbL7OkTzzECra3YSPSxqL_Yiuz8R8iwaoAwz7mgboWK5kj-My6vCjmt4um59BcMFkdn5STpHmnLVTRyKF2HvjiRbMeTQTMien_iwMHJtQb8Cpz8giYVuu_2JtAtik/w512-h640/page0.heic" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Caveat;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">I got some great (cook)bookmail today!</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Special Elite; font-size: large;">Diner: Day for Night by Andrew Tarlow (releasing September 26, 2023 / Ten Speed Press)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Special Elite; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Special Elite; font-size: large;">Skinnytaste Simple: Easy, Healthy Recipes with 7 Ingredients or Fewer by Gina Homolka and Heather K. Jones R.D. (releasing September 19, 2023 / Clarkson Potter)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Special Elite; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Special Elite; font-size: large;">Cook It Up: Bold Moves for Family Foods by Alex Guarnaschelli and Ava Clark (released September 5, 2023 / Clarkson Potter)</span></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-18635879465231228612023-09-10T12:00:00.001-04:002023-09-10T12:00:00.143-04:00Every Season Is Soup Season<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0j0If0M-igZw7iz4vBGvIqyNoMTmEkhJvPI727p2bzp9-kHtJhaTaLTkQg3wKoAPJAvlVpWaniv9QdhHEabi9ASUA1pV2edcI7XzbrriDTOoUcanOh1lkm-i68hXg7wiWLnQqXQ20_RiNzUwBoBmOVcJGoMg7DHTU19WuQ2vBPPrSA58UuhvcoH5nNo/s1350/Soup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0j0If0M-igZw7iz4vBGvIqyNoMTmEkhJvPI727p2bzp9-kHtJhaTaLTkQg3wKoAPJAvlVpWaniv9QdhHEabi9ASUA1pV2edcI7XzbrriDTOoUcanOh1lkm-i68hXg7wiWLnQqXQ20_RiNzUwBoBmOVcJGoMg7DHTU19WuQ2vBPPrSA58UuhvcoH5nNo/w512-h640/Soup.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Every Season Is Soup Season: 85+ Souper-Adaptable Recipes to Batch, Share, Reinvent, and Enjoy</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span><span class="ContributorLink__name" data-testid="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline !important; flex-basis: auto; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">Shelly Westerhausen Worcel</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Chronicle</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.19.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>From the author of the bestselling Platters and Boards comes this versatile collection of 85+ go-to recipes for soups, soup fixings, and more. Plus 100 beautiful photos that will make you instantly crave a luscious bowl of soup!<br /><br />Every day is a good day for soup! From broths and gazpachos to chowders and chilis, this flexible cookbook is overflowing with scrumptious soups for every season. These simple base recipes for healthy, yummy soups are easy to prepare and so satisfying. And the best part? You can riff on them endlessly with toppings and fixings—add mini meatballs, grilled cheese croutons, or a handful of grains. Or transform yesterday’s soup into an entirely new Carrot-Orange-Ginger Soup becomes a savory breakfast oatmeal; leftover Tomato-Watermelon Gazpacho makes a pitcher of Bloody Marias; French Onion Soup is reinvented as a bubbling, golden strata!<br /><br />Soup lovers, healthy eaters, and busy parents and professionals will love these veggie-forward recipes that never get old and make weeknight cooking a breeze. Tips for batching and freezing soups and instructions for using an Instant Pot or a slow cooker ensure stress-free meals, with less time in the kitchen and more time at the table. With gorgeous photography and a bonus section on soup accompaniments (think breads, salads, and slaws), Every Season Is Soup Season is a one-stop-shop cookbook. Everyday soups have never been so simple—or so incredibly delicious.<br /><br />MORE TASTY RECIPES FROM BELOVED Shelly Westerhausen Worcel, author of the bestselling book Platters and Boards and companion volume Tables and Spreads , delivers another dynamite, trend-forward package full of stunning photography and accessible recipes. Her soups are downright delicious, and her ideas for reinventing them couldn't be more creative. Feast your eyes on the gorgeous photography, then fill your belly with a bowlful of tasty soup!<br /> <br />GREAT With easy base recipes and tons of ideas for customizing a bowl of soup, dressing up leftovers, and repurposing them into an altogether new dish, this book is an arsenal of soup know-how and offers great value for the price. More than 85 recipes + 100 photos = tons of excellent content!<br /><br />ACCESSIBLE, VEG-FORWARD More and more people are looking for ways to eat healthier and sneak more plants into their diet. This book offers a trove of vegetable-forward and plant-based recipes that work for all diets and are easy to adapt for omnivores. Instructions for using the Instant Pot, slow cooker, and stovetop make these recipes approachable for cooks of all levels.<br /><br />REAL-LIFE Soup and one pot meals are the best—they're simple and inexpensive to make yet filling and comforting to eat. They also make great leftovers. This book is the perfect self-buy or gift for the cook in your life. It's certain to end up soup-stained with dogeared pages from years of love and use.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>I eat soup year-round. I love to make soup in the slow cooker on the weekends in the winter. It makes the house smell great all day, giving it a cozy feel. I also love nothing more than opening a can of soup in the middle of summer when it's so dang hot that I can't bear the thought of cooking anything. This collection has some great ideas for changing things up a bit. I like when I can make more than one meal out of something and this book gave me several ideas for turning leftovers into soup or turning a soup into an ingredient in my next meal. It also opened my mind to new ideas of what to add to a soup. Why did I ever stop at boring saltines? I'm looking at my pantry ingredients in a whole new way!</div><div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-51116293615020322462023-09-08T12:58:00.000-04:002023-09-08T12:58:31.910-04:00Autumn Baking: 4 New Cookbooks<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6XgqYDy6wfhZm25CxmOUPEwGHmnieLyx7dyLmJkuim6TG2gyS5xo8cVWnMrbW9NgdxRB8CJ6BDDgIlhGakK_Bh_wjLTCX3F6Z-g10alKjOHqYLdo_Y4cJPk0GiibNcA8CzJklgDOdStR2bNl_SpjLpTaVU1GVB-179nXTvLyQ6j4DnIBoFFYod5Aua4/s1080/autumn%20baking.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6XgqYDy6wfhZm25CxmOUPEwGHmnieLyx7dyLmJkuim6TG2gyS5xo8cVWnMrbW9NgdxRB8CJ6BDDgIlhGakK_Bh_wjLTCX3F6Z-g10alKjOHqYLdo_Y4cJPk0GiibNcA8CzJklgDOdStR2bNl_SpjLpTaVU1GVB-179nXTvLyQ6j4DnIBoFFYod5Aua4/w640-h640/autumn%20baking.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am getting ready for some autumn baking. It's time to prep my kitchen and gather my supplies, including some new cookbooks. Here are 4 new autumn baking books I've got my eye on: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: Shadows Into Light; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">Happiness in a Mug Cake : 30 Microwave Cakes to Make in Minutes by Kate Calder (out now)</div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sweet Soulful Baking : Recipes Inspired by Southern Roots by Monique Polanco (out now) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Finch Bakery Disco Bakes and Party Cakes : Disco Bakes and Party Cakes by Lauren Finch (out now) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Big Yum : Supersized Cookies For Over-The-Top Cravings by Chloe Joy Sexton (releasing 9.19.23)</div></span><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Are you ready for autumn baking? </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">What are you going to make first?</span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-76629390585140362152023-09-05T15:52:00.002-04:002023-09-05T15:52:32.665-04:00BLOG TOUR: WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2P7uijGaimB9RQo8G9tAJbBkFPLBcBd_wigxpnPnJDWM68rkbK5lzoe-1Dxsqrc_QHDijP3E5x1nO1O2l3RFZ7yMx548Tqz2HhOl4dumpXnvk9Gny4yJIFMANf4Tkb5IZRC4X7rGySYCZZa8HZjRHjCjKVcDkUZWQ5hjpPXOtlIkniO1EB8pQWkAylkM/s1350/Blog%20Tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2P7uijGaimB9RQo8G9tAJbBkFPLBcBd_wigxpnPnJDWM68rkbK5lzoe-1Dxsqrc_QHDijP3E5x1nO1O2l3RFZ7yMx548Tqz2HhOl4dumpXnvk9Gny4yJIFMANf4Tkb5IZRC4X7rGySYCZZa8HZjRHjCjKVcDkUZWQ5hjpPXOtlIkniO1EB8pQWkAylkM/w512-h640/Blog%20Tour.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span>Michiko Aoyama</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Hanover Square Press</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.5.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div><div>For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a charming Japanese novel about how the perfect book recommendation can change a readers’ life.<div>What are you looking for? is the question that Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi,</div><div>poses to those who come to her for their next book. The list of recommendations she gives,</div><div>however, always contains one unexpected addition that promises to give its the borrower the</div><div>motivation they didn’t realize they needed to change their life.</div><div>Each visitor comes to the library from a different juncture in their career, family, or stage of life,</div><div>from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job, to the struggling working mother</div><div>who dreams of being a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi –</div><div>and the surprise book she lends each of them – will have life-altering consequences.</div><div>With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking for is in the Library is a paean to</div><div>the magic of libraries, friendship, and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found</div><div>themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.</div></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuToS6fKbiEhNNF9BhwylsrayiCw1qTNLEXutO8Jcah_2I92_YdRuT3RD2gPT2SKF9HeJwizArOGW875-of1Sm-Zsowq4m3ZQGR2OUV3aDNKGarAnkeK4Fu6q2_Q-zfElEiyyx9ZQcVz5TwBs1qsIsZ58lFBEC-OeMiIGhAaKsf6zTxtVrJMm8RBXCg7E/s3324/Michiko%20Aoyama%20Author%20Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3324" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuToS6fKbiEhNNF9BhwylsrayiCw1qTNLEXutO8Jcah_2I92_YdRuT3RD2gPT2SKF9HeJwizArOGW875-of1Sm-Zsowq4m3ZQGR2OUV3aDNKGarAnkeK4Fu6q2_Q-zfElEiyyx9ZQcVz5TwBs1qsIsZ58lFBEC-OeMiIGhAaKsf6zTxtVrJMm8RBXCg7E/s320/Michiko%20Aoyama%20Author%20Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div><div>Author Bio:</div><div>Born in 1970 in Aichi prefecture, and currently living in Yokohama, Michiko Aoyama worked for</div><div>two years as a reporter for a Japanese newspaper in Sydney after graduating from university.</div><div>After her return to Tokyo, she started to work as a magazine editor at a publishing house before</div><div>turning to full time writing. Her work has won the 1st Miyazakimoto Prize, the 13th Tenryu</div><div>Literary Prize, and has been a runner up of the 2021 Japan Booksellers Awards. This is her</div><div>English-language debut.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Shadows Into Light; font-size: large;">***EXCERPT***</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Two days later, I’m standing outside the elementary school with my laptop in hand. I follow the</div><div>directions from the Community House home page and walk along the school fence until I reach a narrow</div><div>road. There it is: a two-story white building with a sign over the canopy at the entrance that says “Hatori</div><div>Community House.”</div><div>I go through a glass door and see an old guy with bushy gray hair at the front desk. In the office behind</div><div>him, a woman with a bandana sits at a desk writing something.</div><div>“Um, I’m here for the computer class,” I say to the old guy.</div><div>“Put your name down here. It’s in Meeting Room A.” He points at a folder on the countertop. A sheet of</div><div>paper inside has a table with columns headed Name, Purpose of visit, Time of arrival and Time of</div><div>departure.</div><div>Meeting Room A is on the ground floor. Going past the front desk to the lobby, I turn right and find it</div><div>immediately. Through an open sliding door I can see two students sitting at long tables facing each other</div><div>with their laptops open: a girl a bit older than me with soft wavy hair and an old guy with a square face.</div><div>The teacher turns out to be a woman, not a man. Ms. Gonno is probably in her fifties.</div><div>I go over and introduce myself. “Hello, my name is Tomoka Fujiki.”</div><div>She gives me a friendly smile. “Please, sit wherever you like.”</div><div>I choose to sit at the same table as the girl, but at the other end. She and the old guy are concentrating</div><div>so hard on their own stuff they take no notice of me. I open up my laptop, which I’d already started up at</div><div>home since I haven’t used it in ages and which took forever to boot. My fingers feel like bananas on the</div><div>keyboard, probably because I only ever use a smartphone. I should probably do some practice in Word</div><div>as well.</div><div>“Ms. Fujiki, you want to learn Excel, don’t you?” says Ms. Gonno, glancing down at my computer.</div><div>“Yes. But this computer doesn’t have Excel.”</div><div>She looks at my screen again and moves the mouse around a bit. “Yes it does. I’ll make a shortcut for</div><div>you.”</div><div>A green icon with an X for Excel appears at the edge of the screen. No way! Excel has been hiding in my</div><div>computer all along?</div><div>“I can see you’ve used Word, so I assume you have Office installed.”</div><div><br /></div><div>I don’t have a clue what she’s talking about... But I did ask a friend at college to set up Word for me</div><div>when I couldn’t figure it out for myself. Maybe that’s how it got in there. This is what happens when you</div><div>leave stuff up to other people.</div><div>For the next two hours, I learn all about Excel. Ms. Gonno wanders between me and the other two but I</div><div>get special attention, because I’m the newcomer, I suppose.</div><div>The most amazing thing I learn is how to perform addition by highlighting cells. Just press a key and bam!</div><div>with one touch they all add up! It impresses me so much I can’t help cheering, which Ms. Gonno seems</div><div>to find funny.</div><div>While practising as instructed, I overhear the conversation between Ms. Gonno and the other students. I</div><div>get the impression they are regulars: the old guy is building a website about wildflowers, while the girl is</div><div>setting up an online shop. I feel like such a waster. All the time I’ve been lazing around in my apartment</div><div>doing nothing, not far away these two have been getting on with stuff—learning things! The more I think</div><div>about it, the more pathetic it makes me feel.</div><div>When it’s nearly time to finish, Ms. Gonno says, “There’s no set textbook, but I’ll give you a list of</div><div>recommended titles. Don’t restrict yourself to these, though. Have a browse in a library or bookshop and</div><div>see what you can find for yourself that’s easy to follow.” She holds up a computer guide and smiles. “You</div><div>might like to look in the library here in Community House.”</div><div>Library. What a nice-sounding word. So comforting. I feel like I’m a student again. Library... “Am I</div><div>allowed to borrow books?”</div><div>“Yes, anybody who lives in the ward can borrow up to six books for two weeks. I think that’s the rule.”</div><div>Then the old guy calls for help and Ms. Gonno goes over to him. I make a note of the recommended</div><div>titles and leave.</div><div><br /></div><div>~</div><div><br /></div><div>The library is also on the ground floor. I pass two meeting rooms and a Japanese-style room at the back</div><div>of the building beside a small kitchen. The door is wide open with a sign on the wall that says “Library.”</div><div>Rows and rows of bookshelves fill an area about the size of a classroom. A counter to the left of the</div><div>entrance is marked “Checkouts and Returns.” Near the front counter a petite girl in a dark-blue apron is</div><div>arranging paperbacks on a shelf.</div><div>Feeling shy, I approach her. “Excuse me, where are the books on computers?”</div><div>Her head jerks up and she blushes. She has huge eyes and hair tied back in a ponytail that swings behind</div><div>her. She looks young enough to still be at high school. Her name tag says “Nozomi Morinaga.”</div><div>“Over here.” Still holding several paperbacks, Nozomi</div><div><br /></div><div>Morinaga walks past a reading table and guides me to a large shelf against the wall. “If you need any</div><div>recommendations, the librarian is in the reference corner.”</div><div>“Recommendations?”</div><div>“You tell her what you’re looking for, then she will do a search and give you recommendations.”</div><div>I can’t find any of the books Ms. Gonno recommended on the shelf. Maybe I should consult the librarian.</div><div>Nozomi said she was at the back, so I make my way to the front desk, then look toward the rear. That’s</div><div>when I notice a screen partition with a sign hanging from the ceiling that says “Reference.”</div><div>Heading over, I poke my head around the corner, and yikes! My eyes nearly jump out of their sockets.</div><div>The librarian is huge... I mean, like, really huge. But huge as in big, not fat. She takes up the entire space</div><div>between the L-shaped counter and the partition. Her skin is super pale—you can’t even see where her</div><div>chin ends and her neck begins—and she is wearing a beige apron over an off-white, loose-knit cardigan.</div><div>She reminds me of a polar bear curled up in a cave for winter. Her hair is twisted into a small bun right on</div><div>top of her head, and she has a cool kanzashi hairpin spiked through her bun with three white flower</div><div>tassels hanging from it. She is looking down at something, but I can’t see what exactly.</div><div>The name tag around her neck says “Sayuri Komachi.” Cute name.</div><div>I edge a bit closer and clear my throat. Ms. Komachi’s eyes roll up to look at me, without moving any</div><div>other part of her body. The whites of her eyes are enormous. She’s stabbing a needle at something the</div><div>size of a Ping-Pong ball balanced on a mat the size of a handkerchief. What is she doing? Putting a jinx on</div><div>someone? I almost scream out loud.</div><div>“Ah...it’s, ah...it’s okay,” I manage to squeak, but all I want to do is turn tail and get away as fast as</div><div>possible.</div><div>“What are you looking for?”</div><div>Her voice...it’s so weird... It nails my feet to the floor. As if it has physically grabbed hold of me</div><div>somehow. But there’s a warmth in it that wraps itself around me, making me feel safe and secure, even</div><div>when it comes from that unsmiling face.</div><div>What am I looking for? I’m looking for... A reason to work, something I’m good at—stuff like that. But I</div><div>don’t think that’s the kind of answer she expects. “Um, I’m looking for books on how to use a computer.”</div><div>Ms. Komachi pulls a dark-orange box closer. I recognize the design of white flowers in a hexagon shape.</div><div>It’s a box of Honeydome cookies. I love these. They’re dome-shaped, with a soft center, and made by</div><div>Kuremiyado, a company that specializes in Western-style confectionery. They’re not exactly gourmet, but</div><div>just a little bit special and not something you can just pick up in a convenience store.</div><div><br /></div><div>When she lifts the lid, I see a small pair of scissors and some needles. She must be using an empty box</div><div>for her sewing things. Ms. Komachi puts away her needle and ball, then stares at me.</div><div>“What do you want to do on the computer?”</div><div>“Excel, to begin with. Enough to tick the boxes on a skills checklist.”</div><div>“Skills checklist,” Ms. Komachi repeats.</div><div>“I’m thinking I might register on a career-change site. I’m not that happy with my current job.”</div><div>“What do you do?”</div><div>“Nothing great. Just selling ladies clothes in a general department store.”</div><div>Ms. Komachi’s head tilts to one side. The flower tassels on her hairpin shake and sparkle.</div><div>“Is being a sales assistant in a department store really not such a great job?”</div><div>I don’t know what to say. Ms. Komachi waits patiently for my reply.</div><div>“Well, I mean... Anybody can do it. It’s not like it was my dream job or anything I desperately wanted to</div><div>do. I just kind of fell into it. But I live on my own, so I have to work to support myself.”</div><div>“You managed to find employment, you go to work every day and you can feed yourself. That’s a fine</div><div>achievement.”</div><div>Nobody’s ever summed up my life in this way before. Her answer makes me want to cry. It’s as if she sees</div><div>me, just as I am.</div><div>“But all I do to feed myself is buy stuff from the convenience store,” I blurt out clumsily, though I know</div><div>that’s not what she really means by “feed yourself.”</div><div>Ms. Komachi’s head tilts to the other side. “Well, the motive doesn’t matter so much as wanting to learn</div><div>something new. That’s a good attitude to have.”</div><div>She turns to the computer, places both hands on the keyboard and pauses. Then she begins typing, at</div><div>amazing speed! Shoo‐tatatatata! Her fingers move in a blur and I nearly fall over myself in surprise.</div><div>Ta! She gives one final tap, then delicately lifts her wrists from the keyboard. Next moment, the printer</div><div>springs into action.</div><div>“These should be suitable for a beginner on Excel.” Ms. Komachi hands me the sheet. A Step-by-Step</div><div>Guide to Word and Excel, Excel for Beginners, Excel: Fast Efficient Notebooks, A Simple Introduction to</div><div>Office. Then I notice, right at the bottom, a title that stands out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Guri and Gura? I stare at the words. The kids’ picture book about two field mice, Guri and Gura?</div><div>“Oh, and this too.” Ms. Komachi swivels on her chair slightly as she reaches below the counter. I lean</div><div>forward a bit more to sneak a look and see a wooden cabinet with five drawers. She opens the top one,</div><div>which seems to be stuffed with soft, colorful objects, picks one out and hands it to me. “Here you</div><div>are—this is for you.”</div><div>Automatically I hold out my palm and Ms. Komachi drops a lightweight object on to it. It is round and</div><div>black, about the size of a large watch face and with a straight bit poking out. A frying pan?</div><div>The object in my hand is a felted frying pan with a tiny round clasp on the handle.</div><div>“Um, what’s this?”</div><div>“A bonus gift.”</div><div>“Bonus gift?”</div><div>“Yes, something fun, to go with the books.”</div><div>I stare at the frying pan...er, bonus gift. It is sort of cute.</div><div>Ms. Komachi opens the Honeydome box and takes out her needle and ball again. “Have you ever tried</div><div>felting?”</div><div>“No. I’ve seen it on Twitter and stuff, though.”</div><div>She holds up her needle for me to see. The top is bent at a right angle for holding it, while the tip at the</div><div>end has several tiny hooks sticking out.</div><div>“Felting is mysterious,” she says. “All you do is keep poking the needle at a ball of wool and it turns into a</div><div>three-dimensional shape. You might think that you are simply poking randomly, and the strands are all</div><div>tangled together, but there is a shape within that the needle will reveal.” She jabs roughly at the ball</div><div>again.</div><div>There has to be a ton of felted things inside that drawer. Are they all bonus gifts to give away? But her</div><div>attention is now completely focused on her hands, as if to say My job here as librarian is done.</div><div>When I return to the shelf of computer books, I find the recommended titles and choose two that seem</div><div>easy enough to understand. But what about Guri and Gura? Maybe I should get that too. I read it many</div><div>times when I was in kindergarten. I think I remember my mother reading it to me too. Why would Ms.</div><div>Komachi recommend this book? Did she make a mistake?</div><div>The children’s picture books are in a space next to the window sectioned off by low bookshelves. It’s a</div><div>shoes-off area covered with interlocking rubber floor mat tiles. When I enter and find myself surrounded</div><div><br /></div><div>by lots of cute picture books, I feel peaceful all of a sudden. Calmer, and more relaxed. There are three</div><div>copies of Guri and Gura. I guess the library keeps multiple copies because it’s such a classic. Maybe I will</div><div>borrow it... I mean, it’s free, isn’t it?</div><div>So I take my two computer books and Guri and Gura over to Nozomi at the checkout counter, show my</div><div>health-insurance card as ID to apply for a borrower’s card, and check out the books.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Excerpted from What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. Copyright ©</div><div>2023 by Michiko Aoyama. Translation from the Japanese copyright © Alison Watts 2022</div><div><br /></div><div>Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.</div></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-11024963595403850392023-09-05T15:25:00.000-04:002023-09-05T15:25:52.435-04:00Canning in the Modern Kitchen<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalK6-X59sWpD0jutVtx1eUR7or3KTT390DN945oIavF-n_fv3fst0VF1JAoNAPEVQJgOMkMuEW6AJi8YClf843DpeMpOIawu1VkRrGt0FAOcr4jqq50lEjnhUnRop1I7ChLPY2MOpWIuT746tbaPUG33pNNZDYYrOrlEM-KDvS4PJdkeqfqLNZnkKkH0/s4032/canning.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalK6-X59sWpD0jutVtx1eUR7or3KTT390DN945oIavF-n_fv3fst0VF1JAoNAPEVQJgOMkMuEW6AJi8YClf843DpeMpOIawu1VkRrGt0FAOcr4jqq50lEjnhUnRop1I7ChLPY2MOpWIuT746tbaPUG33pNNZDYYrOrlEM-KDvS4PJdkeqfqLNZnkKkH0/w480-h640/canning.heic" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Canning in the Modern Kitchen: More Than 100 Recipes for Canning and Cooking Fruits, Vegetables, and Meats: A Cookbook</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Jamie Dement</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Rodale</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>8.14.18</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>Finally, a guide to canning for the modern cook! Learn new techniques and try more than 100 recipes from classic jams and compotes to unique sauces and pates.<br /><br />Canning isn’t just about putting food in jars and letting it sit and sit—it’s about sealing in the taste of each season and making food from scratch with more interesting and unique flavors. Farmer, restaurateur, and local food advocate Jamie DeMent offers her recipes and tricks for preserving fresh ingredients and interesting creations. Canning in the Modern Kitchen is ideal whether you’re a novice canner or an experienced cook on the hunt for new recipes and novel techniques.<br /><br />Her delicious recipes go beyond the obvious jams, marmalades, and jellies—the book includes ideas for sauces and unexpected ways to preserve produce and meat. She covers a variety of techniques, including basic water bath canning and oven canning, and lays out the equipment needed for successful canning. And, most importantly, she’ll include detailed safety information to make your canning journey as smooth as possible.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>A few of my friends might remember my 1st canning experiment last year. I love pickled watermelon rind and can only find it at one store (sometimes...and they're almost $10/jar) so I thought I'd try to can a batch myself. Talk about a learning experience! After all was said and done I realized that I am happy paying every penny of that $10 because it was no joke! I currently don't have enough extra produce to make canning a necessary household task. However, in the future when I have an abundant garden I will try it again and I will definitely refer to this great book!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">If you are a beginner with this process I would highly recommend this book. It is organized into easy-to-read sections and includes step-by-step instructions (with photos) that I really wish I would have had during my first canning adventure. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-55186263982349800852023-09-01T11:40:00.000-04:002023-09-01T11:40:26.038-04:00The Sky Vault<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibelacuvoi_xwlN67rDZYZ1qAfmXoryoUL_Ln_UjKfqwaqKcihSk_zNEuhG7EfbWkg6CdahukcUd8-FcnkxLWdkiS8Tgdk76K6gMNJRwVYhqS2VlzsO58T2f1eaDFdrwnA3bOSUX0SA5VL5DKlSKHhp66AWfLOcscxJvZeHJv3oSqs9zJATXr-mF-0S_4/s1350/sky%20vault.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibelacuvoi_xwlN67rDZYZ1qAfmXoryoUL_Ln_UjKfqwaqKcihSk_zNEuhG7EfbWkg6CdahukcUd8-FcnkxLWdkiS8Tgdk76K6gMNJRwVYhqS2VlzsO58T2f1eaDFdrwnA3bOSUX0SA5VL5DKlSKHhp66AWfLOcscxJvZeHJv3oSqs9zJATXr-mF-0S_4/w512-h640/sky%20vault.png" width="512" /></a></div><p> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: The Sky Vault (The Comet Cycle #3)</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Benjamin Percy</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Mariner</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>9.12.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>The third book in Percy’s innovative and acclaimed Comet Cycle, The Sky Vault, follows an investigation of a mysterious weather phenomena in Fairbanks, Alaska, and a government secret buried since WWII.<br /><br />The comet, Cain, came from beyond our solar system, its debris containing elements unknown. Now, in the isolated region of Fairbanks, Alaska, the skies shift and stretch as an interstellar dust cloud seeds the atmosphere. When a plane shudders its way through pulpy, swirling, bruise-shaped clouds, lit with sudden cracks of lightning, the sky opens and the aircraft vanishes…but only for a minute.<br /><br />When the flight lands, everyone on board and in the community will be changed forever. Chuck Bridges, a local DJ and conspiracy theorist, was on board and later reported dead to his family, but not before proclaiming that something inside the clouds was speaking to him. Now his son, Theo, must chase down answers to the mystery his father unlocked. He’ll find himself at odds with Sophie Chen, an agent with a shadowy employer desperate to secure the black box from the airplane, as well as Rolf Wagner, a widowed sheriff investigating a series of increasingly strange and unsettling reports. And then there is Joanna Straub, a contractor reconstructing a top-secret government lab active during WWII and shuttered deep within the nearby White Mountains.<br /><br />The answer to the comet’s origin is about to be unveiled, and its impact on Earth is more treacherous and sublime than humanity could imagine.<br /><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>Each book in this series is unique but they all circle around the same theme, a comet named Cain. The first book details the immediate effects of Cain bringing a new metal to Earth and the second book focuses on the effect of the comet on our world's ecosystem. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">(Read my reviews of those two here: [<a href="https://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-ninth-metal-comet-cycle-1-by.html" target="_blank">The Ninth Metal</a> (2021) and <a href="https://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-unfamiliar-garden.html" target="_blank">The Unfamiliar Garden</a> (2022.)] </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This third installment dives into the origins of the comet but I would really label this one as a "multiverse The Mist." It's sci-fi, it's horror, it's filled with a whole cast of amazing characters, and I certainly hope this series continues because I am hooked! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-34483442639799206712023-08-30T10:23:00.000-04:002023-08-30T10:23:52.283-04:00The Puzzle Master<p> </p><p><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDclkty9RUxn9QBQsAGrZijLI67oSic_VUxGvtvVN65jhd62MnIapFuxK5ItIokejFEA6wDx3D774o5hafkSQzSo_PRpFpc1n6KKuSuu8g-ixGK2Zstbce9g075ZtdESYNLYXu7wEcOd82TedhcdxMXzrPJo55BHfxV0fUev7uXsaAfvaWwJRCJEwI9jU/s4032/puzzle.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDclkty9RUxn9QBQsAGrZijLI67oSic_VUxGvtvVN65jhd62MnIapFuxK5ItIokejFEA6wDx3D774o5hafkSQzSo_PRpFpc1n6KKuSuu8g-ixGK2Zstbce9g075ZtdESYNLYXu7wEcOd82TedhcdxMXzrPJo55BHfxV0fUev7uXsaAfvaWwJRCJEwI9jU/w480-h640/puzzle.heic" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: The Puzzle Master</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Danielle Trussoni</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Random House</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>6.13.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition: acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can't. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.<br /><br />Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn't spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.<br /><br />The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape.<br /><br />Ranging from an upstate New York women's prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>I loved Danielle Trussoni's "The Ancestor" and will forever associate it with the first days of the pandemic. I was desperate for an escape and that story was a lifesaver. I feel like this book was another rescue. I am burnt out on reviewing and just want to enjoy reading for the sake of reading again. I requested this title from the library and was able to simply fall into this story, without taking constant mental notes for a future review. I would describe this as a combination of The DaVinci Code and The World That We Knew, and despite there being horror elements, I would tell readers who don't like horror to still give it a try.</div><div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-76959847339182135312023-08-26T16:00:00.001-04:002023-08-26T16:00:00.141-04:003 Mini Reviews: The Perennials, It's Not About the Wine, and Stuff<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7aUPQmY7t3t5ziHyH_bmjZV6qYYXI_ozhBCb06SRrCcheINd4fn869WgGT3NhypxGQPp9foy0zmyfzFPEwp6PHHo6iKQXUYqnm1CSMU3XJ8f4F4useCppuvZEveBZ_hcpqJvoOLgsR76jMrLbnTWIgjZ8iddYTu57aeXG8wgvvKeKhEo-h5SC8yRLWY/s1080/3%20Mini%20Reviews.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7aUPQmY7t3t5ziHyH_bmjZV6qYYXI_ozhBCb06SRrCcheINd4fn869WgGT3NhypxGQPp9foy0zmyfzFPEwp6PHHo6iKQXUYqnm1CSMU3XJ8f4F4useCppuvZEveBZ_hcpqJvoOLgsR76jMrLbnTWIgjZ8iddYTu57aeXG8wgvvKeKhEo-h5SC8yRLWY/w640-h640/3%20Mini%20Reviews.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><br />The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Postgenerational Society <div>by Mauro F. Guillén </div><div>(8.22.23, 263 pages)<br /><br />This title caught my attention and I really liked Guillén's 2030 so I knew this release would be interesting. If you are interested in the unique abilities and attributes of each generation and how they can better work together this book is for you. Anyone working in HR or in charge of creating a workforce would surely benefit from the ideas and suggestions Guillén provides. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />It's Not About the Wine: The Loaded Truth Behind Mommy Wine Culture </div><div>by Celeste Yvonne (9.12.23, 217 pages)</div><div><br />I'm very divided with my review for this. On one hand, the topic of mommy wine culture needs all the attention and discussions it can get, but I had 2 problems with this book: the length and the sources. At 217 pages, this felt padded in spots but lacking in others. I also felt that the sources were subpar. For example, quoting WebMd or Healthline rather than verified and credentialed physicians or medical studies. If this was a thesis paper, I'd say it was an excellent first draft. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Stuff: Instead of a Memoir<br />by Lucy R. Lippard (9.12.23)<br /><br /></div><div>Imagine walking through your home and telling the stories behind all of your belongings. I love hearing about people's special connections with different items and I found this "anti-memoir" so interesting. I read this on my color tablet so was able to see the photos and illustrations, but this book really should be experienced in its physical form. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-81265263716193299922023-08-25T15:10:00.000-04:002023-08-25T15:10:34.219-04:00Crossed by Death<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbZtJadoYjkUnCCi9Rl4hopFLHGnmbrid5MEXtzDO2IUCeOo6qmJQQnKfSIQrUp2QTHMCvHtMiQeoFhg0odh8i7lQhs6dQBJ222ycvfSayNhabDRhlWFeDyItRf2p4dTrUkcNhMmEL3R37x88GgmWkMIWADh8kAdDnSUmNFFdjYQU8AkP1X5V6_PrRAo/s1350/Crossed%20by%20Death.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbZtJadoYjkUnCCi9Rl4hopFLHGnmbrid5MEXtzDO2IUCeOo6qmJQQnKfSIQrUp2QTHMCvHtMiQeoFhg0odh8i7lQhs6dQBJ222ycvfSayNhabDRhlWFeDyItRf2p4dTrUkcNhMmEL3R37x88GgmWkMIWADh8kAdDnSUmNFFdjYQU8AkP1X5V6_PrRAo/w512-h640/Crossed%20by%20Death.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Crossed by Death (Stitches In Crime #1)</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: </span>A.C.F. Bookens</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: ?</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>2.23.21</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>Salvaging from historic buildings isn’t supposed to require reporting a murder. <br /><br />When salvage expert and historian Paisley Sutton crawls into an abandoned store with a house attached, she certainly isn’t expecting to find a body on site. But soon, her discovery sends Paisley on an expedition through history that links this murder to the one that led the previous owners to abandon the building in the first place. And someone doesn’t want her to salvage this story from the wreckage. <br /><br />Can Paisley preserve herself and her young son while also uncovering the stories that matter most?<br /><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>As a cross-stitcher, I was excited to start a new cozy mystery series with a cross-stitching theme, but this was quite the letdown. First, cross-stitching is barely even mentioned in the story. Second, the main character is a single mother and the author points that out every other page. Third, the ending went straight into the Christian fiction genre. Needless to say, I won't be continuing with this series. </div><div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-25468890272786548592023-08-16T18:33:00.000-04:002023-08-16T18:33:09.099-04:00Herbs and Homicide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHslBWaZUain0ch5MoIzpWZ2-E1MIE1KjrEaVeyMFwv3qrW65Vyu6_DfEngAl-HhxXQvXfnOVfFjdhHWp-8Rxz6sVWE2HD3Bc33K1k_S0_Sb-F9fPI4T14IrV75lrHe265ry86NiH0oFaMnnFh_MISHt_7qHH1RWxL-WuHsYkruweQ49lUfx2kd8wfJs/s1350/Herbs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHslBWaZUain0ch5MoIzpWZ2-E1MIE1KjrEaVeyMFwv3qrW65Vyu6_DfEngAl-HhxXQvXfnOVfFjdhHWp-8Rxz6sVWE2HD3Bc33K1k_S0_Sb-F9fPI4T14IrV75lrHe265ry86NiH0oFaMnnFh_MISHt_7qHH1RWxL-WuHsYkruweQ49lUfx2kd8wfJs/w512-h640/Herbs.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Herbs and Homicide: Heywood Herbalist Cozy Mysteries #1</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Carly Winter</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Westward Publishing</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>6.9.22</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>From Hollywood, California, to Heywood, Arizona, trouble follows her…
<br /><br />After her husband’s brutal killing and her fall from the Hollywood elite, the disgraced Samantha Rathbone moves to Heywood hoping to forget her past and live a quiet life of anonymity as Sam Jones.<br /><br />When she takes a job at the local herbal shop, Sage Advice, and the owner is found murdered, Sam is pushed back into the unwanted spotlight when she becomes the number one suspect. As she wades through ugly family drama, the questionable business practices of others, and the lies embroiled in a small town, she searches for the true killer, hoping to save herself.<br /><br />Will Samantha be able to find the murderer before she’s put away for a crime she didn’t commit?<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>I grabbed this as a freebie on the last "Stuff Your Kindle Day" and it was just what I needed. I traveled a lot in July and have been spending a lot of time focusing on new hobbies this month, so I just wanted something light and fun to read before bed. I loved this one. It reminded me so much of the "A Bewitching Mystery" series (2006-2011) from Madelyn Alt, which I loved, but it ended abruptly...a mystery unto itself! Did anyone else read that series? There are 6 books (so far) in this series so I've got several more cozies to add to my Kindle. I'm excited to see what other mysteries "Sam Jones" will solve. </div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-7405960398274919622023-08-11T16:36:00.000-04:002023-08-11T16:36:40.392-04:00PUB DAY SPOTLIGHT: Gifts & Books<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHd-gkc1pGp8SCOGnr01JLFDRXSxDklBMmEGX79GkaAyPW-NrcDKuydvOPAzaGvHLPZZJwUl0ifeYJ1Gz2W5r1lDqRINY4cZ4wVweI04Of-hesCEjeZiQUTaAUavd04NAHSJhQka8iGHDYb11uf4YpYj9OBymjTZsaUL38As0em5wTgdNqz6KT20xWZRY/s4032/gifts.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHd-gkc1pGp8SCOGnr01JLFDRXSxDklBMmEGX79GkaAyPW-NrcDKuydvOPAzaGvHLPZZJwUl0ifeYJ1Gz2W5r1lDqRINY4cZ4wVweI04Of-hesCEjeZiQUTaAUavd04NAHSJhQka8iGHDYb11uf4YpYj9OBymjTZsaUL38As0em5wTgdNqz6KT20xWZRY/w480-h640/gifts.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTVaDQh4e0WKMIhJ4T2GYOKoL-YW3pZawauNImV9yJLiXMZmi7dv-UorS23LQOCxevSBeXP1x8NAUnB7I5DSvXio8U7aGvVckj1KIQmp-f-s1qrjiyMmZrxX20oYNdJPdcCRW5r2HyrAxpqMHIU4jcnGzHYjn9I4jnII7JnmNK-6J4GpX4g4U3HkBVqo/s4032/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTVaDQh4e0WKMIhJ4T2GYOKoL-YW3pZawauNImV9yJLiXMZmi7dv-UorS23LQOCxevSBeXP1x8NAUnB7I5DSvXio8U7aGvVckj1KIQmp-f-s1qrjiyMmZrxX20oYNdJPdcCRW5r2HyrAxpqMHIU4jcnGzHYjn9I4jnII7JnmNK-6J4GpX4g4U3HkBVqo/s320/1.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRVM4WHKawuMcfE2MlAStJOnkOht993Sj8sAkrCLmALs-H_bB2C0IAvcquuFwLbIp7EsVpVM8qjiKsibf9YwaTRUuEH1krrtYBa5jOV5Llbg8I0Z-187AGWmKhP1W1uVmNZ1kS7g5c94s3FzgSJYNhU1Yzg-4kpNG1qVQOrBTgP2gOi2XKt8mKbIx0Qs/s4032/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRVM4WHKawuMcfE2MlAStJOnkOht993Sj8sAkrCLmALs-H_bB2C0IAvcquuFwLbIp7EsVpVM8qjiKsibf9YwaTRUuEH1krrtYBa5jOV5Llbg8I0Z-187AGWmKhP1W1uVmNZ1kS7g5c94s3FzgSJYNhU1Yzg-4kpNG1qVQOrBTgP2gOi2XKt8mKbIx0Qs/s320/2.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCPLFuCTNWOz6r3ezIg0pUnNZfR0duHNjfq6-fYJLTXc1L0VC3ptnLowNa_ZaS1UOj1OAdcq8SBvYkExZoEGkj2q-vtSNq3GfUIjdQ_pKkg-gHod9V6TEekccAnD4antW59pCYwHozLPgdTN_Y-G1tnMdlBSGxDC9dGKujkXaDNEw_RfEoWSJIaCKdP0/s4032/3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCPLFuCTNWOz6r3ezIg0pUnNZfR0duHNjfq6-fYJLTXc1L0VC3ptnLowNa_ZaS1UOj1OAdcq8SBvYkExZoEGkj2q-vtSNq3GfUIjdQ_pKkg-gHod9V6TEekccAnD4antW59pCYwHozLPgdTN_Y-G1tnMdlBSGxDC9dGKujkXaDNEw_RfEoWSJIaCKdP0/s320/3.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrMoz_nMsHtyD436P7zZzUePmdU-k3FVlWcOqByuY-m828QTcEB6AARaFKebqJ5WWotvUd9inbe2o2RiAfsYu3DRjwCEZalmFpH8et8rJLjHldapRLiHcVWL4-tjTXjIjL5Y4aibAZ2A_XdX8SDslbsWY04tp7EQRICRqbCK55K8ZdeSOG3InhP1mkiM/s4032/4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrMoz_nMsHtyD436P7zZzUePmdU-k3FVlWcOqByuY-m828QTcEB6AARaFKebqJ5WWotvUd9inbe2o2RiAfsYu3DRjwCEZalmFpH8et8rJLjHldapRLiHcVWL4-tjTXjIjL5Y4aibAZ2A_XdX8SDslbsWY04tp7EQRICRqbCK55K8ZdeSOG3InhP1mkiM/s320/4.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;">*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Gifts & Books: From Early Myth to the Present</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: edited by Nicholas Perkins</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>8.11.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div><div><span class="a-text-bold" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(15, 17, 17); color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700 !important;">A series of thought-provoking essays about the nature of the book as a gift.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(15, 17, 17); color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Giving and receiving gifts can be tricky. Gifts may be touching or puzzling, either strengthening bonds of friendship or becoming a burden. This volume explores how books and writing have described gift-giving over the centuries, but also how books became precious gifts themselves. In a series of thought-provoking essays, richly illustrated from the Bodleian Library’s collections and beyond, the contributors illuminate some of the striking ways in which writing interacts with those fundamental impulses to give, receive, and reciprocate.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Each chapter draws on a particular perspective, including archaeology, religion, history, literature, and anthropology. From an ancient Sumerian tablet recording the founding of a temple to contemporary children’s literature that highlights the pleasures and troubling histories of exchange and inheritance, the dynamics of the gift are at work across space and time. This book features gorgeous medieval manuscripts, gifts made by and for Queen Elizabeth I, Victorian Christmas tales, and a mysterious Scottish book sculpture. Stories of sacrifice, love, loyalty, and friendship are woven into these books and objects, showing the ongoing power of the gift to shape the stories we tell about ourselves.</span></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><br /></div></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-40411905341841502892023-08-09T11:39:00.000-04:002023-08-09T11:39:19.747-04:00Bridge<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDUZicI4eyx6qLOb34Go1h-EnBNnRGHtQ2sCRTjCtIyCq0AWB1hJpGxmpR94wI5rDXjTjNB7ro4ufSzG-wFtJIscVnj-9fxDmXgLoFP3otkqgZGylWz5zaLuBsWiyxp_isXW40gjlWh2s5qfytV-mLqKlxEfdjYED9nH7AnGxPJdkwDYx1Fwtak_7T8I/s1350/Bridge.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDUZicI4eyx6qLOb34Go1h-EnBNnRGHtQ2sCRTjCtIyCq0AWB1hJpGxmpR94wI5rDXjTjNB7ro4ufSzG-wFtJIscVnj-9fxDmXgLoFP3otkqgZGylWz5zaLuBsWiyxp_isXW40gjlWh2s5qfytV-mLqKlxEfdjYED9nH7AnGxPJdkwDYx1Fwtak_7T8I/w512-h640/Bridge.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Bridge</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Lauren Beukes</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Mulholland Books</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>8.8.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>A grieving daughter’s search for her mother becomes a journey across alternate realities in Bridge, a wildly entertaining, reality-bending new thriller from Lauren Beukes, author of the AppleTV+ smash hit The Shining Girls.<br /><br />It was a game they played; the other worlds, the other lives. It was part of her mom’s grand delusions. It wasn’t real. Unless it was… <br /><br />Bridget Kittinger has always been paralyzed by choices. It has a lot to do with growing up in the long shadow of her mother, Jo, a troubled neuroscientist. Jo’s obsession with one mythical object, the “dreamworm”—which she believed enabled travel to other worlds—led to their estrangement.<br /><br />Now, suddenly, Jo is dead. And in packing up her home, Bridge finds a strange device buried deep in Jo’s freezer: the dreamworm. Against all odds, it actually can open the door—to all other realities, and to all other versions of herself, too. Could Bridge find who she should be in this world, by visiting the others? And could her Jo still be alive somewhere? But there’s a sinister cost to trading places, and others hunting the dreamworm who would kill to get their hands on it . . .<br /><br />Across a thousand possible lives, from Portland to Haiti, from Argentina to the alligator-infested riverways of North Carolina, Bridge takes readers on a highly original thrill ride, pushing the boundaries of what we know about mothers and daughters, hunters and seekers, and who we each choose to be.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>After reading Time's Mouth a few weeks ago I was a bit hesitant to embark on another mind-bending 400+ page novel, but I loved Lauren Beukes' The Shining Girls and Afterland so much that I was willing to take the leap. Like Time's Mouth, this story focuses on mother/daughter relationships, but rather than time traveling, Bridge travels through the multiverse. This will be enjoyed by readers who have ever pondered who they would be if they took another route in life or who they might be in an alternate universe. </div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-86250690269960205852023-08-02T17:44:00.000-04:002023-08-02T17:44:28.598-04:00The Book of Witches: An Anthology<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPE9DtGhqohW4GoLNyospPbvigU_iI-HyY1wEdS_J_QeSqjyK_szikwPkgJu3qQ02Svd_jtIz1zSpVMCi8u2_eehL5bXoxuImi1owEKy7aodGTNbiwKn2_dqD4ClKkAcOrKagNgKlhVUGFuN1N4sK3k8b5qcm0V-ZiZagxvt4xPwkDhbg7mZ0YkfIRrXs/s1350/Witches.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPE9DtGhqohW4GoLNyospPbvigU_iI-HyY1wEdS_J_QeSqjyK_szikwPkgJu3qQ02Svd_jtIz1zSpVMCi8u2_eehL5bXoxuImi1owEKy7aodGTNbiwKn2_dqD4ClKkAcOrKagNgKlhVUGFuN1N4sK3k8b5qcm0V-ZiZagxvt4xPwkDhbg7mZ0YkfIRrXs/w512-h640/Witches.png" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: <span style="text-align: center;">The Book of Witches: An Anthology</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: compiled by Jonathan Strahan</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Harper Voyager</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>8.1.23</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">With a breathtaking array of original stories from around the world, P. Djèlí Clark, Amal El Mohtar, Garth Nix, Darcie Little Badger, Sheree Renée Thomas, and two dozen other fantasy and science fiction geniuses bring a new and exciting twist to one of the most beloved figures in fiction, witches, in never-before-seen works written exclusively for The Book of Witches , compiled by award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan and illustrated by award-nominated artist Alyssa Winans. Witches! Whether you know them from Shakespeare or from Wicked , there is no staple more beloved in folklore, fairy tale, or fantasy than these magical beings. Witches are everywhere, and at the heart of stories that resonate with many people around the world. This dazzling, otherworldly collection gathers new stories of witches from all walks of life, ensuring a Halloween readers will never forget. Whether they be maiden, mother, crone, or other; funny, fierce, light and airy, or dark and disturbing; witches are a vital part of some of the greatest stories we have, and new ones start here! Bringing together twenty-nine stories and poems from some of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers working today, including three tales from a BIPOC-only open submission period, The Book of Witches features Linda Addison, C.L. Clark, P Djeli Clark, Indrapramit Das, Amal El Mohtar, Andrea Hairston, Millie Ho, Saad Hossain, Kathleen Jennings, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Khaw, Fonda Lee, Darcie Little Badger, Ken Liu, Usman T. Malik, Maureen F. McHugh, Premee Mohamed, Garth Nix, Tobi Ogundiran, Tochi Onyebuchi, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Kelly Robson, Angela Slatter, Andrea Stewart, Emily Teng, Sheree Renée Thomas, Tade Thompson, and E. Lily Yu—and contains illustrations from three-time Hugo award-nominated artist Alyssa Winans throughout. This extraordinary anthology vividly breathes life into one of the most captivating and feared magical sorceresses and will become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales everywhere.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't be misled by this cover! This anthology does not feature traditional fairy tale witches. The best single word that can describe this collection is "diverse." The authors, stories, genres, and writing styles are all so different that I would recommend reading a single story at a time. A perfect "spooky season" book for your nightstand.</div></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-67893738005442242152023-08-01T19:04:00.000-04:002023-08-01T19:04:16.723-04:00Disruptions<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cA1LNGADpaejquOSrudM_LXom4lYLmxkmVzHKZXmfJv4gXCmv7LNMBuuou1VmhwySvbxz33ZMZqIvgUrbt3FFUaGWJx4TPeMKkQDWWwXRq9xjkp1kcucekuxCcfIbwXIGpMduM7hHFHEOvzd-aZs7wQEIcTDSjClMFO3EhRYkaCt5fQw6yjIJYCbJLk/s4032/IMG_0020.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cA1LNGADpaejquOSrudM_LXom4lYLmxkmVzHKZXmfJv4gXCmv7LNMBuuou1VmhwySvbxz33ZMZqIvgUrbt3FFUaGWJx4TPeMKkQDWWwXRq9xjkp1kcucekuxCcfIbwXIGpMduM7hHFHEOvzd-aZs7wQEIcTDSjClMFO3EhRYkaCt5fQw6yjIJYCbJLk/w480-h640/IMG_0020.heic" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Disruptions </div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Steven Millhauser</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Knopf</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>8.1.23</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">An exquisite new collection from a Pulitzer Prize-winning master of the short story, the culmination of a five-decade career: work that takes us beneath the placid surface of suburban life into the elusive strangeness of the everyday</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are eighteen stories of astonishing range and precision. A housewife drinks alone in her Connecticut living room. A guillotine glimmers above a sleepy town green. A pre-recorded customer service message sends a caller into a reverie of unspeakable yearning. With the deft touch and funhouse-mirror perspectives for which he has won countless admirers, Steven Millhauser gives us the towns, marriages, and families of a quintessential American lifestyle that is at once instantly recognizable and profoundly unsettling. Disruptions is a collection of provocative, bracingly original new work from a writer at the peak of his form.</div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't you just love it when you read something out of your comfort zone and it pays off? I'm not usually a fan of short story collections, and I had never heard of Steven Millhauser, but this collection being described as a glimpse "beneath the placid surface of suburban life into the elusive strangeness of the everyday" really caught my attention. I read the first story to get a feel for the author's style (after which point I often give up) and felt like I discovered a hidden gem. Then I found "it." You know "it"...that short story that just really sticks in your brain. In this collection, it is "Guided Tour." I haven't been this mesmerized by a short story since reading Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. Such a treat!</div></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-55357003728613388282023-07-25T14:35:00.000-04:002023-07-25T14:35:09.685-04:006 Witchy August & September Releases to Add to Your TBR <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Shadows Into Light; font-size: large;">6 Witchy August & September Releases to Add to Your TBR </span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrByAdcDKBK3CALmna5xaOvWrSqUqBLn6099eefc0DRr5ZvMB4l9enr96LuCQRWv7ch0MQ9EKTDbSDtvpt9lWn-EDr9cJ40gkvC-BO8jxPhgQ4uSTyJ3-AEby8OnntcUyIQamBHFegXY2weK8yEENA2caO3DD2Tm1L4ySgImvaZegzAwPfK9quWuhfGYY/s1080/Witchy%20cover%20Blog.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrByAdcDKBK3CALmna5xaOvWrSqUqBLn6099eefc0DRr5ZvMB4l9enr96LuCQRWv7ch0MQ9EKTDbSDtvpt9lWn-EDr9cJ40gkvC-BO8jxPhgQ4uSTyJ3-AEby8OnntcUyIQamBHFegXY2weK8yEENA2caO3DD2Tm1L4ySgImvaZegzAwPfK9quWuhfGYY/w640-h640/Witchy%20cover%20Blog.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><br style="text-align: left;" />––––––––––––––––~✫✧✫~🔮🕯️~✫✧✫––––––––––––––––<br style="text-align: left;" /><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;">Literary...romance...horror, this witchy list has a bit of something for everyone. So hop on your broomstick, head over to </span><span style="text-align: left;">Edelweiss and Netgalley, and request your faves. I've added each of the direct request links below!</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">––––––––––––––––~✫✧✫~🔮🕯️~✫✧✫––––––––––––––––</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSEKPEAtWnkR5y6FGPq0W_-RfKNE2KMBOsE17xpsjAKEHzh1r8fu1QJBSmCTeczqan1UWNUYhRZoATeg3PZQTIwarPgyLh5m3oZmpVLaark8TMAIhbEj3o4pTDRQBHu-etZRgSbQ5HON7d2j0oVSMSIZS_JK2BbX5UWvJ-IN-CxN6MsF5BH28WYe84lk/s1080/Witchy%202.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSEKPEAtWnkR5y6FGPq0W_-RfKNE2KMBOsE17xpsjAKEHzh1r8fu1QJBSmCTeczqan1UWNUYhRZoATeg3PZQTIwarPgyLh5m3oZmpVLaark8TMAIhbEj3o4pTDRQBHu-etZRgSbQ5HON7d2j0oVSMSIZS_JK2BbX5UWvJ-IN-CxN6MsF5BH28WYe84lk/w640-h640/Witchy%202.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Book of Witches: An Anthology by Jonathan Strahan </span></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">August 1, 2023 / Collections & Anthologies </span></div><br style="text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Request here: </span><a href="https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=0063113228" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Edelweiss</a><span style="text-align: left;"> and </span><a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/275831" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Netgalley</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dirty Lying Dragons by Sabrina Blackburry </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">August 8, 2023 / Romance </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Request here: <a href="https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=1990778305" target="_blank">Edelweiss</a> and <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/285791" target="_blank">Netgalley</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer by Garth Nix </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">August 22, 2023 Fantasy / Epic </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Request here: <a href="https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=0063291967" target="_blank">Edelweiss</a> and <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/285063" target="_blank">Netgalley</a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQj6CYboydAUVdextfT_lIdPaFqFNNbZY-C-Fzz0P4mLueiBPNWluAFiBgLbtG0S6oIXRd1QUkKe-r9OakQGgghSYXics5w5IRlzdNlDD-_KOmUZXChLfP-M9O3k9xHu8W9Rt-aQg8C2PO9nXekgGQPKo4pyAL-ZdkyEeNXzaXRWde5fEC_p2of0C9QQ4/s1080/Witchy%203.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQj6CYboydAUVdextfT_lIdPaFqFNNbZY-C-Fzz0P4mLueiBPNWluAFiBgLbtG0S6oIXRd1QUkKe-r9OakQGgghSYXics5w5IRlzdNlDD-_KOmUZXChLfP-M9O3k9xHu8W9Rt-aQg8C2PO9nXekgGQPKo4pyAL-ZdkyEeNXzaXRWde5fEC_p2of0C9QQ4/w640-h640/Witchy%203.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Witching Tide: A Novel by Margaret Meyer </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">September 5, 2023 / Literary </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Request here: <a href="https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=1668011360" target="_blank">Edelweiss</a> and <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/282357" target="_blank">Netgalley</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Enchanted to Meet You: A Witches of West Harbor Novel by Meg Cabot </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">September 5, 2023 Romance / Paranormal </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Request here: <a href="https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=0063320193" target="_blank">Edelweiss</a> and <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/289306" target="_blank">Netgalley</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">September 19, 2023 / Horror </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Request here: <a href="https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=1250874688" target="_blank">Edelweiss</a> and <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/286033" target="_blank">Netgalley</a></div></div></div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-25336835073933455552023-07-24T18:23:00.006-04:002023-08-02T17:58:38.637-04:00Time's Mouth<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0YJ6kNRXFd0NSOAEr6FGqvrN0mYGXYLGqKwdCjkiZHh8L3soggOttTh7tnAFzT6zldd7HUF7UsqAR6FiJ9flQFZc4R4mR9X2RkIbYKhNAQwjt7JDPg5CU1SM6hqHGEWP9lqVgJNEYLzs6hTtXD6nSegaVauEmDd_xZ1QVXnd-HfUczKheXmM7ntLgTk/s1350/Time's%20Mouth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0YJ6kNRXFd0NSOAEr6FGqvrN0mYGXYLGqKwdCjkiZHh8L3soggOttTh7tnAFzT6zldd7HUF7UsqAR6FiJ9flQFZc4R4mR9X2RkIbYKhNAQwjt7JDPg5CU1SM6hqHGEWP9lqVgJNEYLzs6hTtXD6nSegaVauEmDd_xZ1QVXnd-HfUczKheXmM7ntLgTk/w512-h640/Time's%20Mouth.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /></div><br /> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: Time's Mouth</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: Edan Lepucki</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: Counterpoint</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>8.1.23</div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>From New York Times bestselling author Edan Lepucki comes an enthralling saga about family secrets that grow more powerful with time, set against the magical, dangerous landscape of California<br /><br />Ursa possesses a very special gift. She can travel through memory and revisit her past. After she flees her hometown for the counterculture glory of 1950’s California, the intoxicating potential of her unique ability eventually draws a group of women into her orbit and into a ramshackle Victorian mansion in the woods outside Santa Cruz. Yet Ursa’s powers come with a cost. Soon this cultish community of sisterhood takes an ominous turn, prompting her son, Ray, and his pregnant lover, Cherry, to flee their home for Los Angeles and reinvent themselves far from Ursa’s insidious influence. But escaping their past won’t be so easy. A series of mysterious events forces Cherry to abandon their baby, leaving Ray to raise Opal alone.<br /><br />Now a teenager and still heartbroken over the abandonment of the mother she never knew, Opal must journey into her own past to reveal the generations of secrets that gave rise to the shimmering source of her family's painful legacy.<br /><br />From the forests of Santa Cruz, to the 1980s glam of Melrose Avenue to a solitary mansion among the oil derricks off La Cienega Boulevard, and brimming with the double-edged capacity of memory to both heal and harm, Time’s Mouth is a poignant and evocative excavation of the bonds that bind families together.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u>My Review</u></b></div>This book covers the complex and detailed generational trauma of Sharon/Ursa, her son Ray, his daughter Opal, and multiple people pulled into their orbit. The luscious, atmospheric magical realism had me constantly thinking about the Practical Magic book series (NOT to be confused with the movie.) Hopping between Sharon/Ursa fleeing her hometown in the '50s, Ray figuring out college and living in the city in the '80s, and Opal navigating high school in LA in the late '90s, readers are given lots of cultural references--making them feel a bit like a time traveler themselves. This novel is not a traditional "3-point" novel but more like a "20-point" novel. There are emotional rollercoasters for every character and somehow each one was absolutely perfect. At 400+ pages, this is not a book to be rushed. You'll want to read this if you have time to truly savor each page and storyline. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4835875068727565649.post-46402057613994485342023-07-23T12:14:00.000-04:002023-07-23T12:14:00.150-04:00Currently Reading: The Measure of Our Age<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1NAt_CQd5Y6ClsZe40Mlvs-KQioBXMmIZtFcZu8IiDwRTkH2wajUaMtOqW07d32PRWUf4kEDQFDunvS6dvLR5ycNvDcPmbcObUlp-olTwcA5v7x_sId1nt-RswRxQIWgKLfJ8hqbknuxw10UpzE_CUBdRCyz2r9PCisLRt1wHP5uvH11GWcYi4JGuwA/s4032/IMG_6337.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1NAt_CQd5Y6ClsZe40Mlvs-KQioBXMmIZtFcZu8IiDwRTkH2wajUaMtOqW07d32PRWUf4kEDQFDunvS6dvLR5ycNvDcPmbcObUlp-olTwcA5v7x_sId1nt-RswRxQIWgKLfJ8hqbknuxw10UpzE_CUBdRCyz2r9PCisLRt1wHP5uvH11GWcYi4JGuwA/w480-h640/IMG_6337.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: #999999; font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>*free review copy*</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); color: #cccccc; font-family: Courgette; text-align: center;"> </span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Title</b></span>: The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money & Meaning Later in Life</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light; text-align: center;"><b>Author</b></span><span style="text-align: center;">: M.T.Conolly</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Publisher</b></span>: PublicAffairs</div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>Release Date</b></span>: </span>7.18.23</div><br /><div><b><u><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">Publisher’s Summary</span></u></b> </div>An expert on elder justice maps the challenges of aging, how things go wrong, and presents powerful tools we can use to forge better long lives for ourselves, our families, and our communities.<br /> <br />As tens of millions of Americans are living longer lives, longevity is creating challenges that cut across race, class, and gender. Caregivers help older relatives for “free,” but with high costs to themselves in time, money, jobs, and health. Scammers target countless seniors. The institutions built to protect older people—like nursing homes and guardianship—too often harm them instead. And epidemics of isolation and loneliness make older people vulnerable to all sorts of harm.<br /> <br />In The Measure of Our Age, elder justice expert and MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, M.T. Connolly investigates the systems we count on to protect us as we age. Weaving first-person accounts, her own experience, and shocking investigative reporting, she exposes a reality that has long been hidden and sometimes actively covered up. But her investigation also reveals reasons for hope within everyone’s grasp.<br /> <br />Connolly’s strategies and action plans for navigating the many challenges of aging will appeal to a wide range of readers—adult children caring for aging parents; policymakers trying to do the right thing; and, should we be so lucky as to live to old age, all of us. This book transforms how we think about aging.<div><b style="font-family: "Shadows Into Light";"><u><br /></u></b></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Rhiannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04034349714069449565noreply@blogger.com0