Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat, Books 3 and 4 - The Spacedog Cometh and Target: Earth by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

Since this is a review of two books in the middle of a series, I'm going to refer you back to my earlier review of the first two books: 

Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat and Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat, Book 2: Enemies by J. Marciano, E. Chenoweth, and R. Mommaerts

But, in case you don't feel like reading that, I'll give you a quick rundown of the first two in this delightful middle grade series. The first Klawde book is about an Evil Alien Warlord Cat named Wyss-Cuzz who has been banished to the most horrible place in the universe: Earth. On Earth, Wyss-Cuzz expects things to be as advanced as they are on his home planet but unfortunately it's a primitive place inhabited by ogres who call themselves humans. Wyss-Cuzz is quickly adopted by a boy named Raj and renamed Klawde. In the first book, the evil kitty is trying to get back to his home planet by creating a transporter with the help of his devoted minion, Flooffee-Fyr. 

In the second book he tries to train a crew of kittens to be warriors and things don't work out quite as Klawde anticipated. I reread the first Klawde book but couldn't locate my copy of the second, so I just skipped over it. 

Note: There are some spoilers in these two mini reviews. If you're worried about that, scootch on down to the rating. 

In the third book, The Spacedog Cometh, a dog is sent from one of the many dog planets in the universe (who knew there were so many?) His mission is to punish Klawde for destroying a planet.

Meanwhile, Raj's parents have gone on vacation and he's being watched by his ajji (grandmother), who has brought along a dog that she's fostering. After the spacedog arrives, she takes him in and Klawde must figure out how to deal not only with a dog that can't talk but also with this alien dog who has it in for him. 

With the help of his minion, Flooffee-Fyr, Klawde uses a device like a Go-Pro to beam back films that make him look heroic. But, then he makes the mistake of leaving the camera on at exactly the wrong moment. 

In the fourth book, Target: Earth, Klawde decides he needs to find a way to create an army, take over satellites, and defeat humankind. He starts with a few squirrels in the neighborhood, using them as zombie spies and testing his ability to get them to do his bidding.

Meanwhile, Klawde has been able to acquire some fancy technology by creating his own currency, KitKoin, and becoming filthy rich. In the process, he spoils Raj a little and Raj has to learn a lesson from that. 

Why does Klawde want to kill humans after they've treated him so kindly? Because he has lost the admiration of his many subjects after having to behave submissively to a dog. Will Klawde be able to vanquish his enemy? Or will the FBI agent who lives nearby thwart his efforts?

Both highly recommended - I'm not sure reading them back-to-back would work for everyone and, in fact, even I had to occasionally take a break and read a few pages from a different book to reset. But, I still love this series and if I can, I'll collect them all. There are currently 6 books in the series. I particularly love how this strange, otherworldly creature that looks and sometimes behaves like a cat (not a nice cat, but his humans still love him) is contrasted with a totally normal, slightly quirky family who are kind and loving. Also, Raj begins as a bit of a fish out of water in the first book but quickly finds friends and with each book his connections to people in the neighborhood grows. The human side is really quite lovely, although he does have his nemeses in the form of a group of bullies. 

Note: I'm trying to get back to pre-posting so that all of my posts are up by 7:10 AM for the early risers who like to read posts before or on their way to work but last night I was thwarted by a power outage. Oh, well. I'll keep working on it. 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Dragonshadow (Heartstone #2) by Elle Katharine White

Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White is the second in the Heartstone series published by Harper Voyager. In the first, Heartstone, Aliza Bentaine goes on some dangerous adventures and falls in love with a dragon rider when a group of Riders are hired to protect her home, Merybourne Manor, from a gryphon invasion.

In Dragonshadow, now married to the dragon rider, Alastair Daired, Aliza is trying to get excited about her duties in the family castle. But, she's kind of bored and in need of a different kind of challenge. When Alastair gets an invitation from House Pendragon to help deal with an unknown but deadly creature, Aliza insists that she must accompany Alastair. But, their destination is far to the north, she's not so great with heights, and Aliza will have to ride on Alastair's dragon over the dangerous Old Wilds.

What will Aliza and Alastair find when they reach House Pendragon? Is someone following them? What's up with the mysterious silver box that keeps appearing wherever they go? Are the dead creatures they find on their long journey North in any way connected to the mysterious deaths at House Pendragon?

Highly recommended - I had a couple minor problems with Dragonshadow. One is that there were a few too many creatures. I had trouble keeping track of them and then a little difficulty understanding the answer to the mystery (it took a little thought; I did eventually puzzle it out). This particular fantasy has a slightly over-built set of monsters, in my humble opinion. Having said that, I truly enjoyed the complexity of the plot and Aliza is a character I enjoy for her adventurous spirit. Plus, So. Much. Happened. Heartstone is a fantasy version of Pride & Prejudice, so there's a lot more interaction, manners, dancing. In Dragonshadow, it's all about the mystery of who is killing people and creatures, the dangerous journey, and why people are acting shifty, once Aliza and Alastair arrive. I enjoyed Heartstone but I liked Dragonshadow even better and I'm really looking forward to the third book in the series, which I plan to read soon.

My thanks to Harper Voyager for the review copy of Dragonshadow.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Small Spaces and Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

I'm going to keep this as short as I can, but I decided to delay my Fiona Friday post by a few hours to squeeze in a final (double) review because I loved the books so much. Last week, I posted a photo of Dead Voices by Katherine Arden. The publicist said no review was necessary but I laughed inside because the entire reason I'm here is to read and talk about books. Of course I was going to read and review the book! However, as I was reading Dead Voices, it became apparent that there was a previous book and Dead Voices was giving away spoilers from the first. I loved Dead Voices and I didn't care about the spoilers, so I went ahead and ordered a copy of the first book, Small Spaces.

Small Spaces is Ollie's story. Ollie (short for Olivia) lost her mother, last year and has nightmares. She's tired of people looking at her with sympathy on their faces and just wants to get back to normal. Her mother was an adventurer and Ollie still loves the outdoors. She can throw a rock with tremendous accuracy, she's great at chess and she's an avid reader. So, when Ollie sees a woman dangling a book over a body of water, about to drop it, Ollie snatches the book away and hurries home with it.

The book tells a story of horror and when Ollie's class goes to a farm for a school outing, Ollie slowly begins to recognize bits of the story — familiar names, a similar mist in the area. When the bus breaks down and night begins to fall, the bus driver tells her to run and so does her mother's broken watch. Ollie listens. Coco, a new girl who is clumsy, bullied, and quick to tears follows along and so does Brian, a hockey player and popular guy who is surprisingly cheerful. Then, the watch says "HIDE". When the scarecrows come to life around them, are they in danger? And, when they see their classmates being marched off into a field, what should they do?

Highly recommended - Ohmygosh, what a terrifying book. I loved everything about Small Spaces. Because I had already read Dead Voices and was familiar with the children, the beginning was a little awkward for me, waiting for them to get to know each other, but the fact that I'd read the second book first didn't really cause as much trouble as I expected. Still, they really need to be read in order because the Bad Guy of the first book shows up in the second and they refer back to the adventure and horror of Small Spaces. Absolutely edge-of-your-seat, spine-tingling, holding-your-breath reading.

~~~~~

Dead Voices is, of course, the follow-up book to Small Spaces but now Ollie, Coco, and Brian are bonded because of their experience at the farm in Small Spaces. This time, they're headed to a ski resort that has just recently opened on the site of a former school. Ollie's dad and Coco's mom are in the front seat, the kids in the back, and they're driving in a snow storm. Coco is particularly nervous about the snow but Ollie's dad is a cheerful guy and he isn't worried.

On the way to the ski resort, Coco sees a man in a ski suit holding up his hand, as if to tell them to stop. Later on, she'll find out his story. At the ski resort, everything goes wrong. The power goes off, the gas stops, the generator doesn't work, and the ghost of a girl who died in a closet is haunting the children. Even worse, the ghost of the woman who locked her into the closet is still lurking. When the Smiling Man (the bad guy from Small Spaces) shows up and traps Ollie behind a mirror, then the other children are separated, will they be able to find each other and work together to escape the Smiling Man's trap?

Highly recommended - Again, this is a seriously scary book. Apart from the fact that the children are middle schoolers, it's hard to believe that this is a middle grade book because it's so intense. There's an added complication that gives the book some of the emotion of the first book: Ollie's dad and Coco's mom are getting a little giggly and sweet together.

In both books, Ollie's dad is a terrific character who provides some light moments and the children save themselves, although I tended to think of Dead Voices as Coco's story. Each book seems to focus on one child just a little more than the other two. I hope this means Brian is getting a book because I would definitely love to read a third book with Ollie, Coco, and Brian figuring their way out of a terrifying puzzle.

Side note: I took Small Spaces to my physical therapy appointment, yesterday, and my therapist (the one to whom I introduced Joe Hill) exclaimed with glee when he saw my copy of Small Spaces. He just bought a copy of Small Spaces and is planning to read it next. He didn't know there was a follow-up book, so he's excited about that. Of course, I was planning to recommend the series to him. I know that guy's reading taste pretty well after a couple years of talking books while he works on my neck.

I would not limit the reading of these books to middle schoolers. Young adults and older adults who like a creepy book will appreciate them just as much. They were terrific for fall reading and I may pull them out again for next year's RIP challenge.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Rogue to Ruin by Vivienne Lorret (Misadventures in Matchmaking #3)

Ainsley is the eldest of the Bourne sisters and, at 27 years of age, she presumes she will never marry. In the past, she was once betrothed to a horrible man who was emotionally and physically abusive. She managed to escape. The Rogue to Ruin is her story of love and marriage, the third and final book in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series.

Now, Ainsley has decided that The Bourne Matrimonial Agency is not doing well because of the gaming hell across the street. Reed Sterling is the proprietor, a former boxer who retired and made his fortune running the business. Ainsley is certain that his business is keeping potential clients away — not the fact that her two sisters have married two of the wealthier clients, as many suspect. And, she's decided to declare war on Sterling's to drive it out of business.

Reed Sterling's early life was hard. First, his father was killed in a duel and then his mother married a series of awful men. Boxing and then his business were his escape from hardship. But he's developed a strange attraction, in recent years. The eldest of the Bourne daughters is the most buttoned-up and stiff of the lot. So, why does he find her so appealing? When Ainsley declares war on his business he's slightly amused. But, when he walks in to find a man she was formerly betrothed to threatening Ainsley, he is determined to keep her safe. How will he square his newfound affection with the damage she's doing to his business? Will the dangerous man to whom she was formerly betrothed become violent, again, or can Reed protect her?

Highly recommended - It took me a while to warm up to Ainsley. Unlike her lighthearted and slightly silly sister, Briar, you're not as quickly grabbed by the personality of the character. But, it doesn't take long to realize the couple is perfect for each other and to begin to root for them. And, I absolutely adored the ending.

This is the last book in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series and I recommend reading them in order because the other two sisters occasionally flit in and out with their spouses. Plus, there's a delicious surprise at the end regarding a regular character who is not a part of the family. I loved this series. Usually, I don't keep romance books for a reread but I've held onto all three of the books from the Misadventures in Matchmaking series, I enjoyed them so much.

I received a copy of The Rogue to Ruin from Avon Books in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks!

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean (The Bareknuckle Bastards #2) - DNF

Note: I posted earlier about not being able to finish this book due to a migraine (which I still have, although it's at least a lesser migraine, at this point). Brazen and the Beast is now a DNF at 139 pages out of nearly 400, so I'm going to go ahead and write about it on time (but a little later in the day than I normally would).

In Brazen and the Beast, Hattie (Lady Henrietta) is about to turn 29 and has decided to make the next year of her life "The Year of Hattie". To that end, she's written a vague list to remind her of what she plans to work on. She wants to inherit her father's shipping business and she has the know-how to run it. Her brother, to whom the business normally would pass on, is not naturally adept at business. But, she also has decided she wants to remain single. She is not overly attractive. Her nose is a little too big and she's slightly chubby. She knows that at her age the only thing that will attract a man is her dowry and she doesn't want that. So, she's decided that the first order of business is to be deflowered.

Whit is known in Covent Garden by his nickname, "Beast". When Hattie and her friend Nora sneak out of Hattie's Mayfair home for the deflowering, they find the Beast unconscious and tied up (badly) in the family coach. He is the handsomest man Hattie has ever seen. He's also a very dangerous man who runs a business out of Covent Garden; and, someone has been stealing from him. He wants retribution. Hattie quickly figures out that the thief is her brother. She unties Beast, gives him a kiss, and pushes him out of her carriage.

When Beast follows Hattie to the house of ill repute, she makes him a deal. She will recover his stolen goods. In return, she wants him to do her deflowering. She goes home to patch up her wounded brother and make a plan.

I continued to read for a while, thinking the author would now back up a bit and allow the characters to slowly develop a relationship, which is my preference. In romance, I like to see interaction between characters. What draws them together? What do they have in common? I don't read romance for the sex scenes because I don't even like them; they don't advance plot and I'm a plot lover. I prefer an author to basically tiptoe around the bedroom and show me how people truly fall for each other — not just the raw hormonal stuff but the little things like the way one will pick up on the other's joys and heartaches, observe their preferences for things like food or flowers, find ways to make them smile or laugh.

Brazen and the Beast is more about sex and Hattie's plans for her future, at least so far, and less about interaction. There's also an awful lot of bad language and not long before I closed the book there was a sex scene (no deflowering, yet) that actually grossed me out. If a lot of sex and a dark hero are characteristics that you prefer in a romance, go for it. So far, though, I can't say there's a single thing about the two characters that I would call attraction apart from the physical except for the fact that both are strong-willed and they like that about each other. And, to be honest, I'm wearying of the Alpha Male Rogue/Bad Boy archetype.

A note about the hero: he is the strong silent type and he does a lot of grunting and groaning, along with using the f-word (which I don't mind, in its place, but it feels overused for the time period, especially in the presence of an upper class lady). He may be handsome but I do not find this hero appealing and I can't get behind the heroine, either. There's just not enough character in either to keep me reading.

I received a copy of Brazen and the Beast from Avon Romance in exchange for my honest review. My thanks to Avon! I may not have loved this one but I appreciate the opportunity to try an author who has been on my mental wish list of authors to read.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat and Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat, Book 2: Enemies by J. Marciano, E. Chenoweth, and R. Mommaerts

Klawde, Evil Alien Warlord Cat, Books 1 and 2 were sent to me together and they're such fun reading that I am toying with pre-ordering the third in the series (which is scheduled for release in October).

The first in the series, Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat #1 tells the story of a vicious warlord cat from another planet. Former High Commander of the planet Lyttyrbox, Wyss-Kuzz is banished from his home planet and sent to a place where carnivorous ogres live: the planet Earth.

Wyss-Kuzz arrives in Oregon in the driving rain and attempts to enter Raj Banerjee's home by pressing a button, which turns out to be a doorbell rather than an electronic portal opener (disappointing -- so primitive, these humans). The brilliant warlord is stuck pretending he's an ordinary cat and is instantly adopted. He's named Klawde by the family. Klawde is not a nice cat at all, which leads to a bit of hilarity, but Raj is excited to have a kitty.

Raj has just moved from Brooklyn, New York, and the last thing he wants to deal with is nature but his mother insists that he must go to a 2-week nature day camp that culminates in Survival Night. In alternating chapters, the story of Raj's time at camp (with evenings at home) and Klawde's hours spent building a transporter to return to his home planet unfolds.

I can't remember the last time a book literally made me laugh out loud like Klawde did. It's been a while. As I was reading this delightful immensely fun outer-space-cat-meets-normal-Earthlings story, I kept thinking about my youngest son (a cat lover, like myself) and how much he would have adored this book as a youngster. Full of dark humor and ridiculous situations, it seems right up his alley. In fact, I mentioned the book to him on the phone and Kiddo admitted that even now, at 27, he would probably enjoy it. Klawde is a mean cat who scratches frequently and, let's face it, he must have been pretty evil to have been banished from his planet. But, in the end he becomes friends with Raj.

In the second book, Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat #2: Enemies, both Raj and Klawde are faced with new challenges. Raj is doing fine at his new middle school since he shared the fact that his best friend from Brooklyn is the son of the artist who created the popular Americaman comic books. The only problem with this story is that Raj and Cameron are no longer friends. When Cameron shows up in the same small town in Oregon where Raj has moved, his status as a newly popular kid is in jeopardy. And, when Cameron helps his team perfect their project in robotics class and it appears that he may have sabotaged Raj's team's robot, Raj falls sway to Klawde's advice to take revenge.

Meanwhile, Klawde has returned to Earth after being betrayed by his former lackey, Flooffee-Fyr, who closed the wormholes to his home planet. Klawde has trained his humans and one could say he is learning how to behave like a normal pussycat. He no longer scratches the way he used to. But, he's bored waiting for Flooffee-Fyr to fail as the new emperor. Then, he gets a brilliant idea. He'll set up a new school for warriors. After his first attempt (training the neighborhood cats) fails, Klawde decides he must start from the beginning and he brings home three kittens to train. It's going well but then disaster strikes. Klawde's mortal enemy Ffangg has also been banished to Earth. And, he's determined to make sure Klawde is humiliated in every way. Revenge is definitely on the menu for Klawde, as well as Raj.

Oh, my gosh, I love these books. Enemies is every bit as good as the first in the series, clever and funny with such distinctive voices. The contrast between Klawde, an uppity former high emperor cat, and Raj, who is really just a nerdy but nice kid, gives the book a raucous spice:

All day, I stewed in the bilious juices of my fury. I must have my revenge! But how? By what means?

As my massive feline brain analyzed all the possible stratagems, the boy-Human arrived home. I hissed at him to leave me alone, as I needed privacy for my scheming. His pestering, however, was relentless. 

"But Klawde, don't you understand? Our robot won! On Monday I get to show it off to the whole school!" He was practically jumping up and down with excitement. It was most unseemly. 

So much fun.

Both highly recommended - A little sci-fi, some clever plotting, distinctive voices, and loads of humor make this a winning series. And, Raj learns his lesson about revenge being a bad thing (after that last post, you know how important that is to me in a children's book). Really, the only question is whether or not my youngest son will be able to pry these books away from me because I know he'll want to keep them, once he's read the two books.

This is the final post for National Pet Day. My thanks to Penguin Random House for the Klawde books and the other books I had the privilege of reviewing, today.


©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Ten Kisses to Scandal by Vivienne Lorret (Misadventures in Matchmaking #2)

Ten Kisses to Scandal by Vivienne Lorret, the second book in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series, is the story of the youngest sister in a family of matchmakers. Briar's elder sisters are in charge of interviewing potential clients, investigating their lives to discover their characteristics in order to find their perfect match, and doing all the important paperwork. Meanwhile, Briar is relegated to serving their clients tea.

Determined to become a matchmaker herself, Briar sets out to try to meet up with a potential client -- one who is unaware that the spontaneous and imaginative youngest Bourne sister sees him that way. On her way to see this potential client, Briar ends up viewing an infamous rake ravishing a woman (well . . . kissing her passionately and such) as he sends her off in a carriage. Briar is both scandalized and fascinated.

The rake, Nicholas, is surprised by this enchanting and naive young woman, her wild imagination, and her infatuation with chocolate. When she is later challenged to find him a bride, Briar makes a deal with Nicholas. If he will teach her about what attracts males and females to each other, how to read their body language, etc., she will pay him for each lesson with a single kiss. She'll be able to observe him and find the right matchmate while she learns. But, as each kiss becomes more passionate, will Nicholas drop his guard and fall in love?

Highly recommended to romance lovers - I'll mention the negative first (there's only one): there was something done in one of the two sex scenes that totally grossed me out. As anyone who reads my blog regularly knows, I'm not into graphic sex scenes, anyway, so I'll just skim those in the next installment. It wasn't enough to turn me away from this delightful series, by any means, but it certainly surprised me. What makes Ten Kisses to Scandal shine is the author's sense of humor. In Briar, she has created a truly adorable and entertaining character. Often, romance authors will describe a character as enchanting or clever without showing them to be so through dialogue. Briar's imagination and charm are well described and shown. She really is a delight. And, while Nicholas is a rake, Lorret also beautifully shows his soft side and makes the pairing believable. I loved Ten Kisses to Scandal and can't wait for the third book in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series.

Note: I received a copy of Ten Kisses to Scandal from Avon Romance in return for an unbiased review.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan

A note up front: The Endless Beach is apparently a follow-up book to The Café by the Sea (I couldn't tell if there was only one previous book or more from the author's intro, but I suspect that it's the second book that takes place with the same characters). While the author did a good job of catching up readers who missed the first book, I think it would have been more enjoyable to read The Café by the Sea, first.

Flora is the proprietor of the small Café by the Sea, a little shop that caters to the needs of islanders on the Scottish island of Mure. Flora has been in a relationship with her former boss, Joel, since he followed her to Mure and she gave up her London job. Now, Joel is working for a fabulously wealthy man who has fallen in love with Flora's brother and is planning to open a hotel on the island. The job is taking Joel away to New York City for long stretches and Flora is beginning to have doubts. Is he really the man for her?

Meanwhile, the café is beginning to struggle. After Flora caters a wedding, she has difficulty getting the bride to pay up. And, her low prices are starting to hit the bottom line hard. At the same time, whales have been seen off the coast of Mure. They're considered a bad omen and Flora is feeling uneasy.

What will become of Flora's relationship with Joel? What is his fabulously wealthy boss's crushing secret? And, will Flora be able to save the café?

There are other things going on in The Endless Beach. It has a bit of a soap opera feel (which I love), like you're a part of this little community and become invested in everyone's life. The local doctor, for example, left a wife and two children behind in Syria and a teacher and friend of Flora's has fallen for him. But, when he hears news about his family from a social worker, his world is turned upside-down and the teacher is left torn.

Highly recommended - I suggest reading The Café by the Sea, first, because I had a little difficulty understanding where the characters were coming from, in spite of the fact that the author catches you up nicely on events that occurred in the previous book. If you can't get your mitts on the first book you'll be fine; reading the first will just acquaint you with the characters and the background of the second book better. I love that feeling that you're swept into the happenings of the island and get a feel for the community, not just the main characters. And, I love Jenny Colgan's writing, in general. It leans "cheerful", even when the characters are facing challenges.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Look for Her by Emily Winslow

In 1976, Annalise Wood disappeared from her small hometown near Cambridge in England. Later, a body was found and determined to be hers. Now, a psychologist has had two visits from people obsessed with Annalise in a single week. Is it just a coincidence? Or is there reason to believe the police came to the conclusion that the body was hers too quickly?

New DNA evidence has turned up in the Annalise Wood case. Morris Keene and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann hope this evidence will help them finally close the case, but instead it unravels what little the police thought they knew. What happened to Annalise? What are the real connections between the two women who are obsessed with her? Or, is there any connection at all?

Look for Her is the 4th book in a series and I haven't read the first 3 books, but I thought the author did a pretty terrific job of filling the reader in on what happened in the previous book without giving anything away (the reasons the detectives are no longer partners and Morris has been left with a permanent disability), so I had no real problem with that. And, I thought the book was pretty well done, although I confess I guessed what happened to Annalise early on and I was right without knowing the exact details.

Recommended - Alternating between several viewpoints (the psychologist, Chloe, and Morris), the author does an excellent job of weaving a complex mystery and then tying all the strands together. I found Look for Her both compelling and satisfying. And, I really enjoyed the location -- occasionally, I found myself looking up particular landmarks, which I always enjoy. My only complaint about the book is minor and, you could say, pretty much irrelevant: I didn't think the characters sounded particularly English (so I wasn't surprised when I found out the author is an American married to a Brit, although she lives in England). I didn't feel any urge to go out and look for the earlier books to fill in the gaps, but I would definitely read any future releases by Emily Winslow.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Reckless Rescue (The Explorers #2) by Adrienne Kress

Change of pace! I've just finished The Explorers: The Reckless Rescue at 12:39 AM, my time (I know . . . good grief) so I'm opting to use a format I used waaaaay back in 2007. Yes, really, I've been blogging for-freaking-ever. The idea is to make it easy reviewing because I'm beat. Either way, I'm going to tell you about the book, so whatever works, right?

What led you to pick up this book?

I read the first book in the series The Explorers: The Door in the Alley in June of 2017 and loved it. Adventure! Humor! Danger! It's crazy fun, enough so that I was not even put off by the cliffhanger ending. And, I hate cliffhanger endings. So, when a thoughtful publicist offered to let me review the second in the series, I jumped at the chance. Here's a link to my review of the first book:

The Explorers: The Door in the Alley by Adrienne Kress


Summarize the plot but don't give away the ending. 

Sebastian has been kidnapped by three dangerous men because he holds the key to an important map in his photographic memory. Evie has promised to rescue him. When Sebastian ends up running from his kidnappers after landing in Korea, Evie travels with Catherine (one of the Filipendulous Five explorers) to Australia to find someone who can help them locate a man who has part of the map whose key Sebastian has memorized. But, wherever they go, danger follows.


What did you like most about the book?

Adrienne Kress has a knack for combining silly humor with fast-paced scenes -- lots of running, climbing, jumping, dodging, racing around corners, etc. I love it all. I also loved the way the author used a K-Pop band -- something I'm sure young readers will appreciate -- to add a little unusual flavor to Sebastian's story.


What did you think of the main character?

There are really two main characters: Sebastian and Evie. The book alternates between their two stories and I like them both. Sebastian is a rule-follower and in this story he must break rules, now and then, to save his hide. Evie is every bit as smart as Sebastian but her brain works a little different and they tend to complement each other. I appreciate a smart heroine.


Share some quotes from the book.

Oops, I didn't mark any quotes. But, the chapter headings are every bit as fun as the story, itself (and so are the footnotes), so here's a chapter heading:

Chapter 38: In which everything comes to a head. Or whatever body part you feel like, really. 

See? Silly. I love silliness. The storyline is really so fast-paced that I didn't take the time to mark anything. Talk about silly.


Share a favorite scene from the book:

I love the action scenes -- all of them -- and there are quite a few. At the beginning, for example, there's a bit of turbulence on the plane (which is why Sebastian ends up in Korea . . . not the final destination) and when they land, Sebastian does something daring and runs for his life. The author does a fantastic job of writing just enough description that you understand exactly what is happening but it's minimal, at the same time. So, the pages just fly. And, that probably was one of my favorite scenes.


Highly recommended - At the end of my review of the first book in The Explorers series, I reiterated my hatred for cliffhangers. Oh, how I loathe them. Did I tell you I'm not a fan of cliffhangers? I like a book to stand on its own. These don't, sorry, and I do dislike that. But, this series is so fiercely, hilariously entertaining that I'm not entirely peeved that there are clearly two more to come and The Reckless Rescue ended, again, on a cliffhanger. In fact, this cliffhanger made me literally laugh out loud. Best cliffhanger ending ever. I hope I'm still on somebody's list of reviewers when #3 comes out. I did have trouble understanding what was going on, at first. It took a while for my memory to warm up. But, the author just throws you into the active volcano of her imagination and you can't help but get blown right into the action, so . . . who cares what happened in the first one? OK, yeah, at some point you need to figure it out. But, while you're remembering, you'll be having an awful lot of fun, I promise.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Supergifted by Gordon Korman (Ungifted #2)

I want to make a note of the fact that this is the second in a series but it stands fine on its own, up front, because I'd hate for anyone to miss out on the reading of Supergifted merely because they can't find a copy of the first book.

Ungifted was the story of Donovan Curtis, an average boy who was accidentally sent to the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, where he met his friend Noah Youkilis. I missed reading Ungifted, but I've read Gordon Korman's writing, before (unfortunately, I didn't review Schooled, but I remember it well), and I had a feeling I wouldn't have any problem reading the second in a series by Korman.

I was right. Korman nicely gives you just enough information to let you know what happened in Ungifted without totally giving away the plot. So, you never get that, "something's missing" sensation that you can get from series books that don't stand alone well, while reading Supergifted.

Donovan's friend Noah is supergifted, with an extraordinarily high IQ. But, what Noah really wants more than anything, now that he's been kicked out of the Academy for Scholastic Distinction, is to fail. And, Donovan's school is definitely the right place for him to fail because it's normal. They do things Noah never would have imagined doing at the Academy. Not only does he want the opportunity to fail, but Noah likes a challenge. And, he's tremendously clumsy, so signing up to be a cheerleader will certainly challenge him.

Donovan's worried about Noah, but he's even more worried about his brother-in-law's dog. She has bitten a child, in the past, and when Donovan moves to protect Noah from getting a beating from "Hashtag" Taggart, the dog takes a bite of his arm. When Noah decides he must fight Hashtag, Donovan follows. But, then something surprising happens and Donovan stops a freak accident from becoming a disastrous inferno.

Nobody knows who the "Superkid" that saved the lives of head cheerleader Megan Mercury and her family is. But, when Noah steps forward to say that it was him, Donovan's half jealous and half worried. Noah is supergifted but not at lying. What if Noah tells the truth and Donovan's heroics are found out? Hashtag has told Donovan to stay away or the dog will be turned in as a menace. The farther the story of heroism goes, the more Noah is lauded as the Superkid, the worse things become. Will Noah give Donovan's secret away?

Recommended - It took me a while to warm up to this story but there's a lot more to it than I mentioned in my way-to-long synopsis and once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. For example, Donovan's sister, her military husband, and their infant daughter are living with Donovan's family, so he has to deal with a crying baby and advice from a marine, in addition to school and concerns about his best friend. Donovan and Noah are in a robotics group at the Academy and something has gone wrong with their robot. And, Donovan has a puppy, which means loads of crazy puppy antics. What's most important about Supergifted, though, is that Noah and Donovan are both terrific kids who mean well. And, the book will definitely make you or the middle reader in your life smile.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper is a book I've intended to read for ages. It was a read-along on Twitter, hosted by author Robert Macfarlane, that convinced me to go ahead and acquire a copy. I thought it would be fun to read with a group, to check out other people's thoughts, since this particular book is apparently up there with my favorite, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, as a stand-out childhood read that really means something to people.

I did not even hear about this particular series - the Dark is Rising Sequence - until maybe 10 or 15 years ago. It never even came onto my radar till then (although I would have been the perfect age for it in 1974), so I missed out entirely on the possibility of reading it as a child or young adult.

It wasn't till I opened the book that I realized it's the second book in the sequence. However, the author indicated that the stories each have a different focus so the hero, Will Stanton, is not in the first book. Interesting. At any rate, Will is an 11-year-old who finds out he's an "Old One" in charge of gathering a set of 6 signs (round disks of different materials). As a Seeker of Signs and an Old One, he is preparing for the ultimate battle between Dark and Light.

The writing in The Dark is Rising is lovely but at times inscrutable. I was a little relieved to find that friends who've written their thoughts at Goodreads felt the same. "Wouldn't it have been difficult for a child to understand?" friends and I wondered. It turns out the opposite is true, at least judging from the replies to Robert Macfarlane's first questions -- about the atmosphere, how one felt while reading, whether those who read while young remember where they were, the weather, how they came to read it. As broad as that sounds, those who read it as a child almost all had vivid memories of their first reading. They remembered where they were, whether it was given to them by a relative, found on a shelf, or a librarian encouraged them to check it out, whether they curled up by a fire or on a tall bed to read, whether it was raining or snowing or sunny - the kind of things you only remember when you've had a really meaningful experience.

As to whether or not they understood it as children - most definitely. It was mostly those of us who were reading it for the first time as adults who had difficulty understanding what was going on. One of the people who read it as a child expressed a feeling opposite to my sense that I needed more details to explain to me what was happening. Her opinion: "I liked the way the author gave the reader space to imagine." Ooooh. I know that feeling.

I'm not going to bother with a recommendation. The Dark is Rising Sequence is a fantasy series and you either like fantasy or you don't. I'm iffy. Sometimes I love it, sometimes it loses me. This story was a little of both. There were times I felt completely lost. And, then something would happen or some bit of dialogue would set me straight and I lost that sense of everything swirling around me and things came into focus, at least for a time. It certainly was a unique experience. But, it was not one that was so profoundly moving that I'd rush out to buy the rest of the series. Still, I'm glad I joined in. I didn't say anything; I just read as many of the responses as I could on the first day and that was enough to satisfy my curiosity about how others felt. I knew, at that point, that I could never look at it from the innocent viewpoint of a child but that I could at least enjoy knowing how others felt and what I got out of it, myself. There are definitely some vivid scenes that will stick with me for a long time.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The "My Little Cities" series: Paris, San Francisco, London, and New York by Jennifer Adams and Greg Pizzou

The My Little Cities series of board books by Jennifer Adams and Greg Pizzou are all similar but each, of course, contains images from the titled city. They have limited words, so if you're not familiar with the sites shown in the book, you can refer to the additional material at the back.

Why would you want to buy board books about big cities around the world? Well, I'll illustrate by telling a story about Paris. When I was 17, I went to London for several weeks with a friend whose father lives there and we spent a weekend in Paris. We took an elevator rather than climbing the stairs to Montmartre, one evening, because we were wearing dresses and heels. On the elevator was a young couple with a toddler. The toddler yawned and her mama said, "Are you fatigué?" with an American accent. I was surprised that someone would take such a young child across the ocean but I've since seen plenty of people taking very small children along on their travels around the world - and, of course, plenty of people move to these cities for business purposes, bringing family along. So, there are definitely little ones who could use either an introduction to the places they're going or a reminder of where they've been. And, you're never too young to learn about the world, whether you're able to explore it or not. I'm a big fan of introducing children to the wider world.

I received the 4 books shown above for review from Chronicle Books and I enjoyed them. Each is a rhyming book with a couple words on each page and additional information in the final spread. Here's an interior shot from My Little Cities: London:

My Little Cities: London - London is one of my favorite cities in the world and I think the author and artist did a great job of portraying some of its interesting features for the tiny board book crowd. Because there is identifying information at the back of the book (true of the entire series), I had fun trying to identify each of the locations in all 4 of the books and then checking the back to see if I was correct. You can see why the artist's style might make identification a tiny bit of a guessing game if you've only seen photos of the landmarks he illustrates. They're blocky and colorful, though not vague enough to make anything familiar difficult to identify. The info in the back of the book for Piccadilly Circus, shown above:

Piccadilly Circus is a public space in London's West End where Regent Street meets Piccadilly. There, you can enter the Piccadilly Circus tube station, which is part of the London Underground. The Circus is filled with electronic billboards and has a fountain topped with a statue widely thought to be of Eros, the Greek god of love, though the statue is actually of his twin brother, Anteros.

Other sites and structures shown in My Little Cities: London are The Tower of London, the Shard, Trafalgar Square, the Natural History Museum, Tower Bridge, Abbey Road, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and Big Ben.

My Little Cities: San Francisco - The landmarks illustrated are The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Lombard Street, the Ferry Building, Chinatown, City Hall, Pier 39, the Cliff House, cable cars, and the Painted Ladies Victorian row houses. I had a little trouble with the San Francisco book in that the descriptive final page spread talks about the ferry building's location in the Embarcadero without elaborating. I recall looking up "Embarcadero" while reading a novel, before I visited San Francisco. It's not an obvious descriptor if you haven't been there. I also thought the words "travel high" with an image of the Golden Gate Bridge (people walking across the top?) made for a slightly iffy depiction of the bridge.

My Little Cities: New York - Illustrated landmarks are the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, the New York Subway, the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Times Square, Central Park, Yankee Stadium, Coney Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

My Little Cities: Paris - Illustrations show the Jardin des Plantes, Shakespeare and Company, La Géode, the Catacombs, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, a street market, Notre-Dame, Les Deux Magots, and Sacré-Cœur. 

Recommended - Boldly illustrated board books with cute little rhyming words that don't say much about each illustration, perfect for very young children. Further information at the back of each book can be used to either answer questions or talk about illustrations. A cute way to take a virtual tour of a city, whether you're intending to travel there or not and great for throwing into a carry-on. 

Note: I have no idea what happened to the text to alter the final paragraphs in this review and I've been unable to fix it. This is a continuation of Children's Week and I'm a bit late getting started today, thanks to a headache. I'll attempt to write another review or two but if I'm unable to do so, Children's Week will continue into Friday and I'll post a cat photo at the end of the day or on Saturday morning. 


©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit by Juliana Gray

I suppose scorn makes one feel more clever, in the same way that indignation makes one feel more moral. 

~p. 197

Emmeline Truelove was the personal secretary to the Duke of Olympia, till his recent death. Now, a young man by the name of Maximillian Haywood has inherited the duchy. But, he has gone missing. At the behest of the newly widowed duchess, and with the charming and dashing Lord Silverton accompanying her, Miss Truelove must head for the Mediterranean to unravel the mystery of the future duke's disappearance.

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit contains a wild, almost bizarre blend of adventure, mystery, characters who may or may not be entirely what they seem, potential for romance, ghosts, time travel, magic, and some very informative history paired with mythology.

The vast majority of the book follows Truelove and Silverton as they pursue clues to Haywood's whereabouts. Somewhere along the way, they pick up another man, a gentleman and scholar by the name of Mr. Higganbotham. Silverton is a gorgeous spy and a cad, Higganbotham an, at times, slightly daffy intellectual. After finding a fresco that appears to be fake in the palace of Knossos, which is being dug up and preserved, and repeatedly facing danger, the myth of Ariadne takes on a deeper meaning. But, what does the myth have to do with the missing duke? And, will either of the men pursue an understanding with Truelove or are they toying with her?

Recommended with postscript - I was absolutely immersed in A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, all week. It's only about 430 pages long (technically, that meets my old definition of "chunkster" from the days when I came up with the Chunkster Challenge, but it's not far over the line) but there's so much happening that it took me a long time to get through the book. I love the fact that A Most Extraordinary Pursuit has interesting characters but is plot-heavy. I love the Edwardian time period and the language. I really love-hated Lord Silverton. I pictured him with the face and hair of Luke Norris (Dr. Enys in Poldark) but with a wicked twinkle in his eye, Edwardian clothing, and a bit of a swagger.

There were portions, however, that didn't work for me. There are two ghosts: the ghost of Queen Victoria and Truelove's father. Both visit Miss Truelove but it's Queen Victoria who tries to guide Emmeline and the ghost of her father contributes little. There are two men who may have romantic interest in Truelove, but one is known for enticing and abandoning women. The other is a either an enigma or exactly what he seems. Higganbotham almost completely fades away within the last 100 pages; he's there, but he's no longer key. Are we to distrust Higganbotham or simply dismiss him? Has his interest waned for good or will he appear in the next book? Because, herein lies another issue. A Most Extraordinary Pursuit is not a stand-alone. Although it's mostly wrapped up, at least one bright red thread is left dangling; clearly the story will continue.

Also, toward the end of the book, the mythology became extremely confusing. I thought the author did a fairly good job of interspersing bits of the tale of Ariadne and Theseus between chapters and explaining the characters (I'm not knowledgeable about mythology) till that last 50 pages or so. Then, it became suddenly overwhelming, to the point that I began to skim over the mythological portion. I didn't mind the craziness -- there is even a paranormal aspect, a magical touch -- but the author nicely warned her readers that she'd asked permission to take the book to extremes and it was granted. Well, she certainly did that. The book is wildly adventurous but it's also rather strange.

In the end, I gave the book 4 stars and I would, in fact, like to see where Juliana Gray (more commonly known as Beatriz Williams) takes Miss Truelove in future installments, but I also felt a slight bit let down and perplexed after the last 30-50 pages. And clearly I need to bone up on mythology.

There was also one particular feature of the book that I believe could have been minimized, if not left out entirely, and that was Truelove's repetitive seasickness. It was neither important to the plot, nor necessary for character development at any time, in my humble opinion, although perhaps it was meant to show us that Silverton could display compassion and kindness. I would have preferred that the author minimize those scenes; they were not fun to read at all.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Copyright 2015
Knopf - YA/Sci-fi
599 pp.

First things first: Illuminae is gorgeous. When the two copies I pre-ordered arrived (one for my son, one for myself -- an error, but one I opted to let stand), I was immensely impressed by the gorgeous slipcover, which is semi-transparent plastic. The hard paper cover beneath is even impressive -- black, red and yellow on a white background. A lot of money has gone into the production of this book, that much is clear.

Illuminae is a YA sci-fi that begins with the attack of an illegal mining colony by a competing corporation. It's the 26th century and there are ships that can create their own wormholes. The attack is unexpected and devastating. Of the three ships on which survivors manage to escape, only one is able to create wormholes and unfortunately that's impossible due to damage to the ship. The survivors need to get to a static wormhole to escape the pursuing ship and travel back to civilization but it will take months . . . and there are two things chasing them: a terrifying disease and an enemy ship. On top of those problems, there is a computer much like Hal of 2001. It has gone rogue and may be as deadly as the enemy.

My son and I read Illuminae together, thanks to the fact that we had two copies. He read and enjoyed Jay Kristoff's previous series and Illuminae (written with co-author Amie Kaufman) sounded like my kind of adventure, so we were both pretty excited. We have read books together -- or taken turns reading -- and then discussed, off and on, for years. I highly recommend doing so with kids, if you have them. Reading together is a great way to ramp up your child's excitement about books when they're younger and I've found one of the most enjoyable things about having older children is that now, even when we're far apart, we often end up discussing what we've read over the phone.

Back to the book . . . Illuminae is written as a dossier collecting various documents, ship-to-ship communications, diagrams, diary entries, etc., relevant to the attack and the events that followed. It has a lot of illustrated pages -- some with only a few sentences written in stylized waves, some cutaway views of ship interiors, some simply with centered text in a robotic font. So, in spite of its 599 pages, the book is a quick, light read. It's also very plot-centric and fast-paced. My son and I both loved the amount of action and the pacing.

The only thing we disliked was the romance. Kady and Ezra are the main characters, a young couple who had just broken up before the attack. They survive the attack together but are separated. Much of the communication is between the two of them when they reconnect. Both of us found the romance sappy and hard to buy into. But, we liked the story so much that we were both willing to overlook our slight discomfort with that particular aspect of the book.

Highly recommended - A wild ride, immensely entertaining, with a unique presentation. The Illuminae Group is the shadowy group that has gathered the information into dossier form and Illuminae is the first in The Illuminae Files series.

Interesting side note: The entire book is filled with blanked-out swear words, which is noted in the letter from The Illuminae Group that's "attached" to the dossier addressed to Executive Director Frobisher (in other words, the first page of the book) as follows:

Some written materials were censored by the UTA and had to be reconstructed by our commtechs, though profanity remains censored as per your instruction. Sure, the story kicks off with the deaths of thousands of people, but god forbid there be cussing in it, right?

There are, in fact, so many blanked-out words that I made a game of coming up with substitute words that fit the sentences without involving any cursing. Here's an example of one of the sentences in which profanity is eliminated:

"At a signal from his guardian angel, _____ is out the door like his ____ is on fire." 

I don't recall what I thought at the time, but it was probably something on the order of, "At a signal from his guardian angel, Twinkletoes is out the door like his hair is on fire."

Trying to creatively substitute non-profane words simply added to the fun.

Important addendum: I neglected to mention that the book works as a stand-alone. This is rather crucial information. I absolutely abhor cliffhanger endings and will generally refuse to continue a series if an author doesn't wrap things up. Illuminae was nicely wrapped up, enough so that I found myself wondering what on earth the authors will come up with, next, because clearly it will not be about the same incident (although I do wonder if at least one of the characters will be involved).

©2015 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Black Run by Antonio Manzini

Black Run by Antonio Manzini
Released in the U.S. in April, 2015 (formerly published in Italy)
Published by Harper
Mystery/Crime Novel

Black Run is the first in a series of mysteries by an Italian author, featuring the crime-fighting skills of Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone, a detective who has been banished from Rome and now works on a small police force in the Italian Alps.

In the small town of Aosta, a man has been run over by a snow cat preparing the ski trails for the next day. The body is so badly damaged that it's a challenge to even locate all the pieces but the coroner and Schiavone quickly find enough evidence to prove that the victim was murdered. With very little to go on and a pushy magistrate and police chief who want answers quickly, Schiavone puts his skills to work.

There are some interesting details to the mystery and I absolutely loved the setting but I found the writing a little stiff and Schiavone unredeemably nasty. In some ways, he reminded me of British author Oliver Harris' shady detective hero, Nick Belsey, but I thought Belsey (in Deep Shelter, particularly) showed glimmers of hope for redemption and some semblance of morality, whereas Schiavone is just vile. His reason for having been banished from Rome is revealed but there's no real explanation of his uncomfortable marriage, at least near as I could tell. There are hints that his wife knows everything he's done and has some compelling reason to stay with him but without any real pretense at a relationship remaining. But, her appearances are minor enough to reveal little.

The mystery itself was fairly satisfying, although I sometimes had trouble understanding how the deputy police chief came to his conclusions and I absolutely did not like the way the author dragged out the dramatic arrest toward the end of the novel.

Neither recommended or not recommended - It's notable that I'm certain I got Black Run by mistake. I'm not a big fan of mysteries and choose them carefully; it's rare for a mystery description to really grab me. I got two in the same envelope, neither of which I recalled requesting. So, I think my requests must have been mixed up with someone else's.

However, I do read the occasional mystery-slash-crime novel and I was in the mood for a change of pace. I liked Black Run for the fact that it was so very different. The setting was unique, vivid, evocative. I liked reading about the cold when I'd been outside painting in the heat. It was refreshing. Also, during the time I was reading Black Run, I had vivid dreams of mountains and bickering Italians, which was surprisingly fun in spite of the fact that they were nightmares. I disliked the detective enough that I doubt I'd read another book in the series but I don't regret the time spent reading Black Run so I gave it an average rating. I would particularly recommend the book to mystery readers who don't mind a particularly dark and slimy protagonist.


©2015 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris (Nick Belsey #1)

I'm sure I've already told the story of how I came to acquire my copy of The Hollow Man. I've noticed I repeat myself a lot on this blog (not deliberately). The Hollow Man is the first book in the Nick Belsey series by Oliver Harris.

In The Hollow Man Nick, a London detective, has stolen a car from another police station (not the one in which he works) and crashed it, so he's in deep trouble and about to lose his job when he is sent to investigate an apparent suicide. The dead man, Alexei Devereaux, was incredibly wealthy and Nick decides he must figure out how to steal Devereaux's money so he can escape the country. But, something doesn't feel quite right about the suicide and the further he digs into Devereaux's life, the more tangled the web Nick finds.

I think one of the things I adore about the Nick Belsey series is that the stories are delightfully complex. I doubt I'll ever manage to guess what really happened before Nick has unravelled the mystery in one of these books. I also am quite fond of Nick. He's not just a little flawed; he's a mess -- clever and fascinating and horrid. Fortunately, he tends to get caught when he does something illegal, which doubles the fun. "How is Nick going to get out of this pickle?" is a question that keeps popping up. I particularly loved the ending of The Hollow Man.

If you like a London setting, the Nick Belsey series is loads of fun for the way Nick dashes around all over the city. I think when I reread them and read the third book (which the author told me he was close to finishing, a few weeks ago), I'll keep a London map or the A-Z handy.

Highly recommended, especially to people who enjoy a complex mystery, an unusual and complicated character and/or a London setting.

Related review:

Deep Shelter (Nick Belsey #2) by Oliver Harris

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Deep Shelter by Oliver Harris (Nick Belsey #2)

Belsize Park had continental pretensions and only a few weeks of sunshine a year to exercise them.

~ p. 14 of Advance Reader Copy, Deep Shelter (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

Belsey descended five steps, then ten, then committed to reaching the bottom. He followed the torch beam, timing his descent. The blood-like smell of rusting iron and damp stone grew thicker. He felt he was being swallowed -- that it was no longer curiosity driving him but some form of peristalsis. The shelter nourished itself on over-curious detectives.

~ p. 16 of ARC

I can have this moment, Belsey thought. He felt he'd overcome several insurmountable laws, of time as well as morality. He inhaled the peace, dragging it deep into his lungs. This was what corrupted: peace and quiet. It was what secrets fed off, growing inside you.

~ p. 130 of ARC

I'm going to skip Monday Malarkey for the next couple of weeks in the interest of keeping up-to-date as I read (which doesn't guarantee that I will; nevertheless, I will endeavor to do so). I haven't gotten any books in the mail, anyway, and my reading is still leaning slumpish.

Deep Shelter by Oliver Harris salvaged my last reading week by keeping me engrossed and busy googling various bits of information for days. The second in the Nick Belsey mystery series, Deep Shelter follows detective Belsey into underground London. Nick is just about done with his shift when a BMW shoots past him at high speed. He takes chase but loses the suspect at a dead end where an oddly-shaped building piques his curiosity. When he finds out it's the entrance to a bomb shelter from WWII and discovers contraband hidden far beneath the surface, Nick brings a date to the shelter to impress her. But she wanders off and disappears, kidnapped in a labyrinth of underground tunnels.

Because he has a background as a troublemaker and there is a clear trail that leads to Belsey as the prime suspect in her disappearance, he knows he must find Jemma on his own or face certain arrest.

From the cover:

Determined to discover who else is down in those forgotten tunnels, and how far this secret network of underground passages extends, [Belsey] plunges headfirst into the investigation -- and into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a ruthless enemy who would rather let an innocent woman die than reveal old Cold War secrets hidden deep beneath the city's streets. 

My thoughts:

Holy Toledo, what an entertaining and complex read. I adore London (it's my favorite big city) so I absolutely loved the sensation of being dragged around the city by Nick Belsey, both on and below ground. The WWII and Cold War historical connections in the book and various buildings mentioned by Belsey kept me busy googling. In fact, there was so much about Deep Shelter that I felt obligated to investigate further that it probably took me twice as long to read as a typical mystery.

If you're a regular Bookfoolery reader, you already know I burned out on mysteries long ago and seldom read them. There has to be something special about them to lure me into continuing on. In this case, there is only one other Nick Belsey book and you can consider me hooked. I will be looking for a copy, soon, and anxiously awaiting future releases by Oliver Harris.

A few very minor criticisms:

I did think Deep Shelter was a bit long; but, to play devil's advocate with myself, I can't think of a single scene that I'd have removed. I also thought it would have been nice to have a cast of characters and a glossary of terms at the end of the book. There's a fairly large cast and, at least from an American perspective, a few abbreviations that it would have been nice to have defined for convenience, although it helps if you're aware that "Ministry of" often can be substituted for "Department of" in British English. The U.K. audience will have likely had no trouble with terminology. Again, I made liberal use of Google. So my few criticisms are mild ones.

Highly recommended - Wonderful setting and atmosphere, unique historical background, and a character with unusual flaws combined with solid writing make Deep Shelter an excellent read. Nick Belsey's not a bad man; he's just quick to bend to temptation when it presents itself. So, he's a slightly dirty cop but in a palatable way. I'm quite fond of him and looking forward to reading the first book in the Nick Belsey series, The Hollow Man, as soon as possible.

My copy of Deep Shelter was provided by Bourbon Street Books in return for an unbiased review. Deep Shelter was released in the U.S. in September of 2014 and in Great Britain earlier this year. Many thanks to Oliver Harris for a refreshing, slump-breaking read.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini time! Countdown City by Ben H. Winters and You Can Date Boys When You're Forty by Dave Barry

Someday I'll catch up on reading and reviews and then my life will be complete, right?  RIGHT?  Okay, I know better but I can dream.  In the meantime . . . some mini reviews.

You've already seen the kit I've prepared for the upcoming fictional apocalypse in the Last Policeman series (and maybe my review of The Last Policeman). On to the second installment.

As Countdown City opens, a mere 77 days remain before an asteroid will collide with Earth. Hank Palace no longer has a paying job as a detective but his former babysitter begs him to locate her husband, who has gone missing -- or "bucket list" as they say in the pre-apocalyptic lingo. Hank has a lingering affection for his old babysitter so he agrees, in spite of the fact that it's no longer possible to do things that were once common like buy gas, use a phone, find coffee.

Hank is tenacious and smart, though, and the missing man is so beloved that he's certain there must be more to the story.

Ben Winters is such a sharp writer.

I squeeze up and down along the edges of my arm and feel nothing and meanwhile my breath is ragged and uneven. At a certain point I will cross a threshold where it won't matter either way; "loss of limb and/or death," that double-conjunction pivot point will resolve decisively on "and."  

~p. 220 of Countdown City

Seriously, how can you not adore his writing? I love the way he can toss out a line of dialogue like, "Love is a bourgeois construct," and in those few words inform you about a character with surprising depth. I love Hank and his wonderful, upbeat attitude. I love the fact that Winters' world building is believable -- the human choices, the way the infrastructure is crumbling.

About 1/2 - 2/3 of the way in, Countdown City becomes seriously edge-of-your-seat exciting. As in the first installment, the story is wrapped up in a satisfying manner -- no cliffhangers, just the knowledge that the end of the world is still coming and, ohmygosh, you have got to get that next book which, by the way is gorgeous ---->

Recommended and, so far, I think the Last Policeman series is worth owning for the sake of revisiting that snappy dialogue. I cannot wait to read the last book.

Dave Barry's latest release, You Can Date Boys When You're Forty is, unfortunately, pretty disappointing, and I don't say that lightly.  I've been a fan of Barry since I was a kid. My father has been gone for almost 24 years but I'll always think of Dave Barry as one of the authors we bonded over, reading passages aloud to each other, laughing, trading his books and giving them as gifts. You Can Date Boys When You're Forty made me laugh out loud a couple times but it also occasionally made me cringe (the section on grammar . . . just, no . . . horrifying, not funny).

I did like the silliness of the essay "Manliness":

Here's what my homeowner tool collection consists of: duct tape, a smallish hammer and 283,000 tiny random pieces of hardware for hanging pictures.  Hanging pictures is my only real manual skill. If we have a global nuclear war and civilization is wiped out and I happen to be one of the small band of surviving humans, I will not be a big help.

First Survivor: I'll forage for edible roots.
Second Survivor: I'll look for water.
Third Survivor: I'll build a shelter from fallen trees.
Me: And I'll hang the pictures!
First Survivor: We'll eat him first.

~p. 32 of You Can Date Boys When You're Forty, ARC (some changes may have been made to the final print copy)

My favorite essay is "Seeking WiFi in the Holy Land," about his family's journey to Israel. His current wife and daughter (if I recall right, he's on his second marriage) are Jewish and their vacation sounded pretty adventurous. The essay is both funny and touching. When Barry left the Yad Vashem museum with tears in his eyes I choked up a bit, myself.

Iffy on recommendation - I liked some of the essays but a few of them were just flat awful so I gave You Can Date Boys When You're Forty an average rating of 3/5. I'd recommend checking it out from the library if you're a fan.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.