Post from the past...

 I was searching my blog the other day for a certain book set in England and ran across this one instead...and for a moment I couldn't even remember reading it. Sad when you can't remember a book you read only three years ago. Good thing I wrote about it. So, just for fun, I'm re-posting my short review of it, because I think it's worth remembering. 

Title & Author:  Friend of the Devil by Stephen Lloyd

Setting:  Danforth Putnam, an elite boarding school located on a private island off the coast of New England.

Main characters:  Sam, an insurance investigator and former marine who's tough, perceptive, sarcastic, haunted, and funny; and Harriet, a teen reporter with epilepsy who's determined, smart, and spunky, Sam's looking into the theft of a rare book, and Harriet's investigating an incident of bullying when their paths intersect. Dark and strange things at Danforth Putnam surprise them both.

My thoughts:  This book is a fun combination of mystery, detective fiction and supernatural horror. There's good suspense and lots of humorous moments, and it reads fast. I loved Sam's snarkiness and Harriet's stubborn fearlessness. And there's a very explosive demonic twist at the end that I was NOT expecting. But I thought it was a good one. I ended up really liking this book. It's an entertaining summer read. 

Happy Reading!

(Review first posted on this blog on August 25, 2022)

Randomness...

 

Recently finished reading Fairy Tale by Stephen King ... and I really liked it. It centers around seventeen-year-old Charlie Reade who befriends his elderly neighbor Howard Bowditch; when Bowditch dies, Charlie inherits his house, a sweet and aging German Shepherd named Radar, and a doorway to another realm.

King knows how to craft amazing and memorable characters, and Charlie and Radar are no exceptions. I loved both of them. Charlie's journey into Empis with Radar reminded me a little of Lucy's journey into Narnia when it needed saving from the White Witch. Empis has been overrun by evil and needs saving, too. And though he doesn't know it, Charlie is just the hero to do it.

Fairy Tale is well named because in many ways it does read like a fairy tale...a 598 page one...without any of the scary horror that King is known for in his other books. It's compelling and entertaining and full of magic...and it won't give you nightmares.  4/5 stars.

Another delightfully funny and entertaining cartoon from John Atkinson at Wrong Hands. You have to check out his website...he will always make you laugh. 

Some of my glad things from July: 

• Seeing Pelicans, Cormorants and Bullock's Orioles along the Jordan River trail. 
• Got my shingles shot...at least the first does...which wasn't fun, but good to get it done.
• Saw the movie Jurassic World: Rebirth. It was very entertaining.
• Lunch at Mo Bettah's with my niece and nephew. Yum!  😋
• My family's annual 4th of July breakfast; it's always good seeing everyone.
• Hearing from Sam (from Book Chase). Thanks for your comments, Sam! I'm glad to know you're alive and doing well. 
• Eating chard freshly picked from my garden.
• Playing a fun round of the bookish game It Was a Dark and Stormy Night with my family. (You have to guess the book title or author from just reading the first line, and there are different categories like Mysteries, Pre-1900 books, Children's books, etc.)

Miranda in Retrograde by Lauren Layne

 

The plot:  Dr. Miranda Reed, PhD, is a popular astrophysicist and professor at Nova University, with a high IQ and a long waiting list for her astronomy classes. She's bright and pretty and has been on Jeopardy! seven times; she's also a star when it comes to talking science on the morning shows. And she always has a plan, especially for her life's trajectory. So when she's denied tenure she's stunned. And confused. And a little lost. 

Granted a yearlong sabbatical, she decides to explore another side her life besides the science side by studying astrology, figuring out her rising sign, and following her horoscope for one year. What Miranda doesn't predict is how her Horoscope Project will bring her not only new experiences and a new perspective, but a new friend in the cute artist next door, the possibility of a new dream for her life, and maybe even love. 

My thoughts:  What a charming romance! Miranda is such a fun character. I really enjoyed her love of science and her personal journey to explore a new side of herself; I especially enjoyed her slow burn friendship with Archer (the artist next door). Their interactions were humorous and entertaining. And I appreciated that there's no sex in this one...just a few sweet and swoony kisses. With both stars and art this story truly sparkles.  

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

The Day After the Party by Nicole Trope

 

The plot:  Saturday night, Katelyn throws a party for her thirty-sixth birthday; Monday morning, she wakes up in the hospital unable to remember anything about the party, or what happened that night. And her husband, Toby, and her best friend, Leah, aren't talking. Katelyn suspects they're keeping secrets, maybe even lying to her. And when her memory starts to come back, she doesn't know who to trust or what to believe.

My thoughts:  This is the first book by Nicole Trope that I've read, but it won't be my last. It reads fast. (I read it in a day.) And I liked the unease and slow build of suspense as Katelyn starts to piece together the truth about that night, as well as the flashback scenes with her and Leah growing up. Their relationship is complicated. Katelyn and her husband also have their struggles. It kept me guessing about who was lying and why. There was one small twist at the very end that I didn't think was necessary...in fact, I would have liked the book even more without it...but all in all I enjoyed this quiet psychological/domestic thriller. It's what I would label a fun summer popcorn read. 

My rating:  3.5/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Haiku Reviews...

 

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

Stuck on a houseboat

adrift at sea, two strangers

learn about each other...and themselves.

Romance .... 369 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Survival, honesty, revealing conversations, tears, smiles and unexpected love.)

The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton

A marriage of convenience.

Unleashed thaumaturgic magic.

Wild Adventure. And love.

Historical fantasy .... 327 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Another magical read from Horton full of humor and romance.)

The Double-A Western Detective Agency by Steven Hockensmith

Gustav's and Otto's

first case puts them on the wrong

side of a range war.

Western/mystery .... 252 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Sixth book in this fun series; I love that they've teamed up with their new partner, Diana Crowe, in this one. She keeps these cowboy sleuths on their toes.)

Season's Schemings by Katie Bailey

Their fake marriage plan:

show up her ex and get him

a green card. Win-win!

Sweet hockey romance .... 253 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Loved this cute and funny marriage of convenience romance!)

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOKS SET IN _________. Where you get to pick the place, time period, or setting. I decided to go with one of my most favorite isolated and remote settings: ANTARCTICA. Here are 10 Books that take place in or are about Antarctica. 

The Winter Over by Matthew Iden 

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior

The Last Cold Place by Naira de Gracia

Whiteout by Adriana Anders

The Dark by Emma Haughton

My Last Continent by Midge Raymond

South Pole Station by Ashley Shelby

In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews

To the Poles Without a Beard

by Catharine Hartley

Big Dead Place by Nicholas Johnson

Happy Reading!

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

 

From the blurb:  "It's bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard's workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly. It's a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is...you.  Gav isn't really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. But as he realizes that nothing is quite what it seems, Gav will have to answer the hardest question of all--who does he want to be now?"

A few favorite quotes:

• So, this was shock. It seemed terribly inconvenient that the brain's reaction to being placed in mortal jeopardy was to become much stupider. 
• He was a coward, there was no way around it, and he was pretty sure he could live with that. Fundamentally brave people didn't become Dark Wizards.
• He didn't know what that made him, if he wasn't evil enough to be a villain or good enough to be a hero.
• He wasn't a hero. And he'd failed again. But that didn't mean he couldn't keep trying. So he could look himself in the eye, even if no one else would.

My thoughts:  This book is a magical adventure with humor and heart. Gav (formerly known as the Dread Lord Gavrax) knows he's not hero material, but he doesn't want to be a dark wizard any more either. So where does that leave him? Gav is such a great character! I loved his interactions with his scared goblin servants, as well as the banter between him and the spunky and disdainful princess. And seeing him trying to figure out how not to be a dark wizard any more without ending up getting murdered by all the other dark wizards, or all the heroes trying to rescue the princess, was very entertaining. There's just so much to like about this book including a very funny garlic festival and some great magic.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!