Week-in-Review: Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day! OK, I'm late but that's how I roll...

G had his best friend over for a birthday sleepover so the fun just kept going. Lots of pizza, cupcakes, VR, Minecraft, and Nintendo Switch fun were had by all. I even got them to go outside and run around with Nerf guns for an hour so me for the win! 

One more birthday celebration this weekend with the grandparents. My mother isn't very mobile so we go to her and my father and bring the fun to them. It'll be more pizza and ice cream cake and a small game or two.

We had a freak snow storm blow in for a few hours Wednesday but it didn't stick but I know the mountains got hit with some moisture and it is sorely needed. We haven't had a drought this bad for 800 years!

Sunday we spent some time with my parents. We brought pizza and cake and sang happy birthday to G again! He's had a month-long celebration.😎

Also, happy Presidents' Day! G has enjoyed his much-needed day off. While DH and I did our taxes, got the car into the tire place, and drove through a little snowstorm...it has made it a rather cold, dreary, and gloomy day. On the bright side, we are watching my friend's two kitties while she and her family on vacation this week. More kitty time is always a plus!

We're planning on a game night this weekend with my nephew and his wife. We haven't done this since before the pandemic so we're very excited to get that going again.

I can't believe February is almost over...

Currently Reading:

Cibola Burn (The Expanse #4) by James S.A. Corey

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive by Philipp Dettmer

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

The Once and Future King by T.H. White 

Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty (with G)

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. du Bois

Books Read:

The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Jaokim Palmkvist / 2017 / 314 Pages / Audiobook / Scribd

Goodreads Summary:

In late summer of 2012, millionaire landowner Göran Lundblad went missing from his farm in Sweden. When a search yielded nothing, and all physical evidence had seemingly disappeared, authorities had little to go on—except a disturbing phone call five weeks later from Göran’s daughter Maria. She was sure that her sister, Sara, was somehow involved. At the heart of the alleged crime: Sara’s greed, her father’s land holdings, and his bitter feud with Sara’s idler boyfriend.

With no body, there was no crime—and the case went as cold and dark as the forests of southern Sweden. But not for Therese Tang. For two years, this case was her obsession.

A hard-working ex-model, mother of three, and Missing People investigator, Therese was willing to put her own safety at risk in order to uncover the truth. What she found was a nest of depraved secrets, lies, and betrayal. All she had to do now, in her relentless and dangerous pursuit of justice, was prove that it led to murder.

My Thoughts:

I first caught wind of this sordid crime during the Sundance Film Festival in January. They premiered the first three episodes of this 5 episode limited crime series called The Dark Heart. And wow it was good and it had me hooked. But as such is the nature of premieres--there wasn't a distributor yet for the rest of the series...so I looked and found...a true crime book talking about it. I needed to know what happened!

The book is a little bit dry. The TV series takes its liberties but that makes sense. But the book lays out the location, characters, and we get a tons of information on how the Swedish legal and criminal justice system works and I loved that! Fascinating stuff. And it just goes to show that dark hearts are everywhere.

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud / 2013/ 440 Pages/ Own

Goodreads Summary:

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

My Thoughts:

G and I overall had a fun time with this one. It's a very imaginative world but also a very confusing one. Stroud has a whole glossary in the back for all the terms of ghosts and the business behind hunting them. He just has you jump on in and hopes you look in the back of the book for context. I'm a sucker for ghosts and a good mystery.

I don't think this has anything to do with Stroud but the American publisher. They tried to Americanize the language from England and it just kind of made it weird...like I kept thinking it was in the U.S. but it wasn't. G didn't care or notice so I think it's only adults who would care about that! But it was a bit annoying.

Overall, a fun ghostly mystery with more to read in the series!

Movies Watched:

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (Shudder) directed and written by Kier-La Janisse / 2021/ Documentary / Horror

Plot from IMDB:

• WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films - Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) - through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre's revival over the last decade. Touching on over 100 films and featuring over 50 interviewees, WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED investigates the many ways that we alternately celebrate, conceal and manipulate our own histories in an attempt to find spiritual resonance in our surroundings.

My Thoughts:

I loved this weird and very long documentary on the history of folk horror cinema from around the world. They provide around 100 clips of various movies and there are so many I need to watch now! If you love cinema and horror this is a must-see. Maybe break it up into two or three watching blocks!

They Live in Grey (2022) (Shudder) written and directed by Abel and Burlee Vang / Horror

Plot (from Letterboxd):

While investigating a child abuse case, Claire discovers that the family is being tormented by a supernatural entity. In order to save the family, she must confront her own fears and use her emerging clairvoyance to stop the malevolent force.

My Thoughts:

A very strange horror film. It was way too long and it was a basic rip-off of "The Sixth Sense." While there were some interesting twists and some horrific visuals and jump scares, overall it was a letdown. But it wasn't a bad way to cure some insomnia...

TV Watched:

Somebody Somewhere (HBO Max): This is a new dramedy starring Bridget Everett. It's brilliant! Touching and funny and those are the ones that are dear to my heart.

The Super Bowl LVI on NBC: That was a great game! I made teriyaki chicken wings, pigs-in-a-blanket, and nachos with sides of hummus, pretzels, naan bread, and a veggie tray. Our friends came over and brought some yummy beers and jalapeno poppers. A good time was had by all!

The Gilded Age (HBO Max): Just started this one and it definitely looks promising. It has all the peeps I love. I've been wanting to watch a good period piece and this looks like it will do that!

Joining up with Deb from Readerbuzz and her Sunday Salon.

Mini Book Reviews: The Trespasser, Project Hail Mary, The Searcher...

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

Published: January 5th, 2021 by St. Martin's Press

Genre: Retelling, Psychological thriller

Format: Audiobook, 9 hours and 10 minutes, Scribd

Rating: 3 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name.

But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident. His wife, Bea, drowned in a boating accident with her best friend, their bodies lost to the deep. Jane can’t help but see an opportunity in Eddie—not only is he rich, brooding, and handsome, he could also offer her the kind of protection she’s always yearned for.

Yet as Jane and Eddie fall for each other, Jane is increasingly haunted by the legend of Bea, an ambitious beauty with a rags-to-riches origin story, who launched a wildly successful southern lifestyle brand. How can she, plain Jane, ever measure up? And can she win Eddie’s heart before her past—or his—catches up to her?

With delicious suspense, incisive wit, and a fresh, feminist sensibility, The Wife Upstairs flips the script on a timeless tale of forbidden romance, ill-advised attraction, and a wife who just won’t stay buried. In this vivid reimagining of one of literature’s most twisted love triangles, which Mrs. Rochester will get her happy ending?

My Thoughts:

I can't get away from any Jane Eyre retelling. I am a sucker! It was different for sure. But it didn't quite have that Jane Eyre feeling for me, though. But it has quite an ending and I liked the twist.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Published: May 4th, 2021 by Ballantine Books

Genre: Sci-fi, Action-adventure

Format: Hardcover, 476 pages, Library

Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission--and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that's been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it's up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian--while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

My Thoughts:

This is in my top five this year if not higher! I loved everything about this book. I can't wait to reread it on audio. There are a few parts that will come alive once I can hear it. I hope they make this one into a movie as well.

Lots of science discussion in this one. But I loved that. I didn't understand everything but I loved the way he walks himself through it. This one gave me hope for humanity after reading it. That can only be a good thing.

Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #1) by Mia P. Manansala

Published: May 4th, 2021 by Berkley

Genre: Mystery

Format: Paperback, 336 pages, Libary

Rating: 3 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.

With the cops treating her like she's the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila's left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block…

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this introduction into Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. It wasn't more than it needed to be. We have a couple of love interests for the future! We've got an amateur sleuth who can cook! The author includes several recipes to try at the end of the book. I tried out the adobo chicken and it was super yummy! I will make it again.

The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French

Published: October 4th, 2016 by Viking

Genre: Crime Fiction

Format: Kindle, 464 pages, Own

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

Being on the Murder squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point.

Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed to a shine, and dead in her catalogue-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her—except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before.

And that her death won’t stay in its neat by-numbers box. Other detectives are trying to push Antoinette and Steve into arresting Aislinn’s boyfriend, fast. There’s a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinette's road. Aislinn's friend is hinting that she knew Aislinn was in danger. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be.

Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?

My Thoughts:

I have officially read all of the Dublin Murder Squad series! Until she writes another one...

I enjoyed the themes of how everything isn't how it always seems and how people can surprise us in good ways in the end. But it was a bit of a long stretch where I didn't quite like the way the book was going. Her main character Antoinette was absolutely dreadful. I didn't feel like she was an actual human being that interacted with the world. She was just too much. I don't think French gave her a fair shake. She seems to give the men fair shakes in her books but the women? Not so much. 

Plot was a bit stretched as well. But overall, I liked the overall feel of the book rather than the actual plot or the main protagonist. It is a worthy series. I hope she writes more.

The Bombay Prince (Perveen Mistry #3) by Sujata Massey

Published: June 1st, 2021 by Soho Crime

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Format: Hardcover, 360 pages, Library

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

India’s only female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, is compelled to bring justice to the family of a murdered female Parsi student just as Bombay’s streets erupt in riots to protest British colonial rule. Sujata Massey is back with this third installment to the Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning series set in 1920s Bombay.

November, 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, is arriving in Bombay to begin a four-month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college.

Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident. Perveen, who strongly identified with Freny—another young Parsi woman fighting hard against the confines of society’s rules and expectations—feels terribly guilty for failing to help her. Perveen steps forward to assist Freny’s family in the fraught dealings of the coroner’s inquest, and when Freny’s death is ruled a murder, Perveen knows she can’t rest until she sees justice done. But Bombay is erupting: as armed British secret service march the streets, rioters attack anyone with perceived British connections and desperate shopkeepers destroy their own wares so they will not be targets of racial violence. Can Perveen help a suffering family when her own is in danger?

My Thoughts:

I loved the first two in this series. But The Bombay Prince just didn't quite live up to the first two. It could be that Perveen is a little more confined in this one. She's back home with her parents and working under her father. The restrictions placed on women really come out in this one. And while her romance heats up a tad in this one...it felt a bit forced. I feel like this book was a way to get to her other stories that will move along Perveen's story. It felt a little rushed to me. But I am hooked and will continue on with the series.

The setting in 1920s India is also fabulous. Lots of history and ideas are presented. It makes me want to read more Indian history during this time. Overall, a great series.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Published: First published 2002 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Genre: Dystopia, Young Adult

Format: Paperback, 380 pages, Own

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

With undertones of vampires, Frankenstein, dragons' hoards, and killing fields, Matt's story turns out to be an inspiring tale of friendship, survival, hope, and transcendence. A must-read for teenage fantasy fans.

At his coming-of-age party, Matteo Alacrán asks El Patrón's bodyguard, "How old am I?...I know I don't have a birthday like humans, but I was born."

"You were harvested," Tam Lin reminds him. "You were grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you were cut out of her."

To most people around him, Matt is not a boy, but a beast. A room full of chicken litter with roaches for friends and old chicken bones for toys is considered good enough for him. But for El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium—a strip of poppy fields lying between the U.S. and what was once called Mexico—Matt is a guarantee of eternal life. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself for Matt is himself. They share identical DNA.

My Thoughts:

G really enjoyed this one. I think he liked it better than I did. I liked it but didn't love it. There are some hard ideas in this series. I think that's good. We had some discussions while reading. But I also felt there were a lot of things in this book that were glossed over or made less horrifying because it's young adult. But it's still an interesting dystopia that focuses on what makes someone human? Is it nature versus nurture? Both? Her series is a fun exploration.

The Searcher by Tana French

Published: October 6th, 2020 by Viking

Genre: Mystery

Format: Hardcover, 451 pages, Library

Rating: 4 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he's bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever.

Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch.

Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door.

My Thoughts:

I loved all the things in this newest book by French. What are the codes we live by? When don't they work? Life has all that gray in-between stuff and French explores this by having an ex-cop from America in Ireland trying to figure out why his code doesn't always work.

We see how his relationship with his daughter and his marriage fell apart because he did what he thought was the right thing...

The character development between Cal and Trey was also delightful. They both felt real and their budding dad/kid relationship felt hard-earned and genuine.

Just a really well done novel on life not always being what you expect and all that "gray" in between it all.

Mini Book Reviews: Broken Harbor...

Faithful Place by Tana French

Published: July 13th, 2010 by Viking

Genre: Mystery

Format: Kindle, 416 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and his girl, Rosie Daly, were all set to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.

But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd given him the brush-off--probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.

Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.

Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he’s a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he’s willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.

My Thoughts:

Another excellent mystery that's heavily character-driven rather than plot-drive from Ms. French. Her plots don't quite make a lot of sense but I still enjoy my way getting there. Mackey and his family came alive for me. I loved getting a better sense of his history and what has made him tick. I loved her exploration of families. How messy and complicated they are and why. Sometimes I had to set the book down because the dysfunction felt a little too familiar...

Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab

Published: March 2nd, 2021 by Scholastic Press

Genre: Horror, Middle Grade

Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows...unless it's the other way around?

Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while travelling for her parents' TV show.

But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colourful, grisly local legends. And the city's biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.

Cass takes on her most dangerous challenge yet...

My Thoughts:

This is another fantastic instalment by Schwab. Loved reading about Cass and her antics in New Orleans. How her parents are still clueless about her supernatural abilities. But I love her friendships and how she solves each problem with help. And of course, her kitty is always super cute!

Broken Harbor by Tana French

Published: April 28th, 2013 by Penguin

Genre: Mystery

Format: Hardcover, 450 Pages, Library

Rating: 3.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Mick “Scorcher" Kennedy is the star of the Dublin Murder Squad. He plays by the books and plays hard, and that's how the biggest case of the year ends up in his hands.

On one of the half-abandoned "luxury" developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children have been murdered. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care. At first, Scorcher thinks it's going to be an easy solve, but too many small things can't be explained: the half-dozen baby monitors pointed at holes smashed in the Spains' walls, the files erased from the family's computer, the story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder slipping past the house's locks. And this neighborhood—once called Broken Harbor—holds memories for Scorcher and his troubled sister, Dina: childhood memories that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control.

My Thoughts:

The plot was a bit better in this one. But...overall, this one wasn't as good as I was hoping but she still knows how to pack a punch. And such a different take from her other books, taking on class and the economic downturn on the global scale but especially in Ireland. I also enjoyed getting to know Scorcher Kennedy that we were introduced to in "Faithful Place." I love that she fleshes everyone out eventually. Everyone's a bit different and I love that she can write them so vividly. It's another great reason to read this series since she doesn't focus on one detective each book. I'd say one of the big explorations in this one is despair and the horrors one can do when there are no lights at the end of the tunnel.

The Secret Place by Tana French

Published: September 2nd, 2014 by Penguin Books

Genre: Mystery

Format: Kindle, 541 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey.

With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

My Thoughts:

French takes on teen girls in an upper crust boarding school. While the dialogues of the teens weren't especially convincing, the emotions were. And the plot. This is one where I could see it. It seemed plausible. And I just learned French puts a bit of supernatural stuff into each of her books based off of Celtic myth/folklore. This book had it the most abundant, which wasn't my favorite. But overall, I liked the plot and the teen emotions exploration. I wasn't a big fan of the detectives...but they came through in the end. 

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Published: April 2nd, 2019 by Harper Voyager

Genre: Sci-fi, Horror

Format: Kindle, 432 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

My Thoughts:

This was gripping! I read this for April's Spring Into Horror readathon and boy oh boy. It delivered. Sci-fi horror that can make me feel claustrophobic. It felt like a combo of Alien and The Descent. Two of my fave horror films of all-time. And add in some lesbian romance and boom. I really enjoyed this one. There were only a couple of places where it dragged but overall an engaging story and one I wouldn't mind returning to.

Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi

Published: October 2010 by Leisure Books

Genre: Horror

Format: Kindle, 448 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Soon after Travis and his wife move into their new house by the lake, he becomes convinced the house is haunted. Is it the ghost of a child who was murdered there years before - or is there a deeper mystery?

My Thoughts:

This is my first book by Malfi. I also read this one for my Spring Into Horror readathon. I'll definitely be returning to another of his books soon. 

Travis and his wife move into a secluded home by his brother. He soon becomes convinced the house is haunted. He begins to become obsessed with the house, the history, and the ghost. As he delves in, it brings up his own baggage from when he was a child and the death of his little brother. I really enjoyed the exploration of grief and obsession. How do we process all of that? It's one of the reasons I love horror. We can explore all of this stuff in interesting ways. 

*all images taken from Goodreads.com

Read in part for Spring Into Horror Readathon.

Mini Book Reviews: Go Tell it on the Mountain

Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin

Published: September 17th, 2013 by Vintage (originally published in 1953)

Genre: Classic

Format: Kindle, 242 Pages, Own

Rating: 3.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

“Mountain,” Baldwin said, “is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else.” Go Tell It On The Mountain, first published in 1953, is Baldwin's first major work, a novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy’s discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin’s rendering of his protagonist’s spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.

My Thoughts:

Now I know why everything James Baldwin wrote has become a classic. His prose and how he layers his stories with deep meaning and metaphor is truly astounding. And that's not to mention how well he knows and loves his characters and he knows how deeply human they are.

But even with all of the acknowledgement I had a really hard time getting through this book. It was hard to follow through time and back each character. I had to look them up and try and remember how each was connected to who. 

And the subject matter of religion and religious hypocrisy was also hard to swallow. I know it's a semi-autobiographical tale of Baldwin growing up in the Pentecostal religion with an abusive stepfather...It looks like it was not easy. Abuse and rancor and self-righteousness abounds.

I'm glad I read it but it wasn't pleasant and I'll never read it again. I've enjoyed two of his other fiction books and so I know I'll enjoy his others. I think this one was closest to his pain and thus the most raw.

I read this one for my Back to the Classics challenge in the classic by a BIPOC author prompt.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Published: January 19th, 2021 by Dutton Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ+, Historical Fiction

Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages, Libary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Acclaimed author of Ash Malinda Lo returns with her most personal and ambitious novel yet, a gripping story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare.

“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

"Lo's writing, restrained yet luscious, shimmers with the thrills of youthful desire. A lovely, memorable novel about listening to the whispers of a wayward heart and claiming a place in the world."—Sarah Waters, bestselling and award winning author of Tipping the Velvet and The Night Watch

My Thoughts:

I fell in love with Lily. She's a young Chinese-American teen caught up in the Red Square of the 1950s and having to deal with the poopy politics of America and who "counts" as truly American? And dealing with her burgeoning love for another teenage girl Kath. Both of her cultures say it's wrong.

Her and Kath start to hang out at the Telegraph Club where they are able to meet and party with other lesbians and understand that there are people who are like them and how to form bonds that last a lifetime even when society isn't ready for them.

It's a perfect blend of real history, fully fledged characters trying to deal with what the world has thrown at them. And it's a wonderful love story. I can't recommend this one enough. All the feels are here.

The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French

Published: January 17th, 2008 by Penguin Group

Genre: Crime, Mystery

Format: Kindle, 470 Pages, Own

Rating: 3 stars

Publisher's Summary:

In the “compellingˮ (The Boston Globe) and “pitch perfectˮ (Entertainment Weekly) follow-up to Tana French’s runaway bestseller In the Woods, itʼs six months later and Cassie Maddox has transferred out of the Dublin Murder Squad with no plans to go back—until an urgent telephone call summons her to a grisly crime scene. The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used as an undercover cop. Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl, but, more important, who was this girl?

My Thoughts:

I loved French's first book in the series! Absolute delight with a fantastic setting and engaging characters and good mystery to solve. But I was a little less taken with the second installment, unfortunately. Cass was a character I wanted to follow from the first book so I was happy this one focused on her instead of Rob. But the plot was too fantastical from the start to seem even somewhat believable. A woman who looks exactly like her is murdered! And what do they decide to do? They let her go undercover and infiltrate the home she's been living at with four other flatmates....Really? I've grown up with identical twin friends and even they don't look exactly alike! In what universe is this even plausible? I had flashbacks to reading a Dan Brown novel which touts itself as serious mystery thrillers and yet the laws of physics that normally held things together just don't...

The plot suffered for French's wanting to wax philosophical about who we are compared to who we want people to think we are. 

I hear the third instalment is better! It follows Frank, but he was not one I loved that much in The Likeness but maybe that's a good thing. The plot can't be any dumber...hopefully!

Don't get me wrong. I still love French. I truly love her writing style and her settings in and around Dublin. 

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Published: April 7th, 2015 by Balzer + Bray

Genre: LGBTQ+, Young Adult

Format: Hardcover, 328 Pages, Library

Rating: 3.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex... and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

My Thoughts:

I highly recommend this book about a teenage girl who discovers she's intersex. Gregorio is a surgeon and was inspired by one of her patients who came to her for a gonadectomy after discovering she was intersex. She never saw her again and wondered about her life. She decided to write this book to bring awareness and to dispel ignorance and intolerance.

As far as a book of characters and the world they live in, this one wasn't the best. And the ending felt rushed and a bit flat for me. But she's a surgeon! She has other priorities! lol. 

But I still think it's a good read and brings a lot of awareness about gender and biology and culture and how we're all just humans.

Mini Book Reviews: Snow Child, Elatsoe...

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Published: February 1st, 2012 by Reagan Arthur Books

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Format: Ebook, 404 Pages, Kindle

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the journey. It was a long read for me but beautifully executed. I felt cold and yet cozy the whole time reading it. The journey is also a long one for Jack and Mabel. They have so much grief and pain and it takes a long time for them to find their way. Eowyn Ivey describes a cold, haunting, unforgiving terrain but one that welcomes those who wish to learn its ways. It's been my favorite winter read so far. Highly recommended!

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Published: August 25th, 2020 by Levine Querido

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, LGBTQIA

Format: Hardcover, 360 Pages, Library

Rating: 4.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

My Thoughts:

I was absolutely blown away by the creative imagination of Darcie Little Badger. I hope there are books with Elatsoe, her family and friends, and all her beloved otherworldly pets. I enjoyed the world-building where fae realms and Indigenous realms, and magic of all sorts exist together. How do you navigate a world like that? Elatsoe is also an asexual character so no romantic entanglements here. I loved seeing Elatsoe come to terms with her grief and ultimately the grief of her people. There's a lot of action and magic, and revenge too. So come for all of it in this one. I look forward to more from Darcie Little Badger.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Published: February 18th, 2020 by Berkley

Genre: Crime Thriller, Horror

Format: Hardcover, 327 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn't right at the Sun Down, and before long she's determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

My Thoughts:

This engaging mystery combines the past and present along with some good old ghosts thrown in. I enjoyed watching Carly investigate her Aunt Viv's disappearance in a creepy small town in Upstate New York. Guess who else is investigating the murders of other women 35 years ago in the same town at the same motel? Aunt Viv. It all comes to a head towards the end with a very satisfying finish. I did feel like some of the plot was a bit too neat and tidy and sometimes a bit unbelievable ( I mean aside from the ghosts everyone can see). But overall, it's engaging and creepy.

Mini Book Reviews: Stamped, Giovanni's Room...

Stamped: Racism, Anti-racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Published: March 10th, 2020 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, History, Non-fiction

Format: Hardcover, 294 Pages, Own

Rating: 4.5 stars

My Thoughts:

Jason Reynolds adapted Ibram X. Kendi's award-winning history book Stamped from the Beginning into a book for young adults. That book is almost 600 pages! So that's quite the condensing. Reynolds turns it into more of a dialogue about history and race and how it's all connected. Black history is American history. My son was probably a little too young for some of it since he didn't quite get some of the references. And the book came off very sarcastic--which makes sense if you're talking to someone face to face. That style will work most of the time but sometimes it felt a bit off. But I think it's an excellent book to start to understand, especially for young people, America's true history. There are lots of references and other sites to check out in the back. I'm also still working through Kendi's history book. Gabe and me had some excellent discussions. America needs to change how it teaches and discusses and talks about our history. We can't know how we got here if we don't truly understand what has happened.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Published: 1956

Genre: Modern Classic

Format: Kindle, 178 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

Baldwin writes a beautiful and thoughtful novel on what it means to be gay and black in a world that doesn't really accept either, and especially not together. Giovanni's room haunts him and as us. Paris has never felt more sad or closed and encroaching than in this story.

"And these nights were being acted out under a foreign sky, with on one to watch, no penalties attached--it was this last fact which was our undoing, for nothing is more unbearable, once one has it, than freedom."

"Their decisions are not really decisions at all--a real decision makes one humble, one knows that it is at the mercy of more things than can be named--but elaborate systems of evasion, of illusion, designed to make themselves and the world appear to be what they and the world are not."

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Published: October 11th, 2016 by Riverhead Books

Genre: Literary Fiction

Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

We follow Nadia Turner from high school as she loses her mother to suicide and the consequences that follow. The themes throughout are about motherhood and what it means to choose or not choose to be a mother. We learn more about Nadia's mother and what made her tick. How her life changed when she became pregnant with Nadia. What if she hadn't kept her? Where would her mother be?

It's a short but powerful story. I look forward to her next one.

"...Upper Room had encircled the wailing mother and held her up, soundlessly, because hard deaths resist words. A soft death can be swallowed with Called home to be with the Lord or We'll see her again in glory, but hard deaths get caught in the teeth like gristle."

"We see the span of her life unspooling in colorful threads and we chase it, wrapping it around our hands as more tumbles out. She's her mother's age now. Double her age. Our age You're our mother. We're climbing inside of you."

A Kid's Guide to Native American History: More Than 50 Activities by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

Published: November 1st, 2009 by Chicago Review Press

Genre: Juvenile, Non-fiction, History

Format: Kindle, 256 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

I read this out loud with Gabe. We've been diving into history together and this one talks about each Nation in the Americas. Culture, history, famous people. There are activities to do at the end of each chapter and lots of resources to learn more. I thought it was an excellent introduction to Native American history which is also American history.

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris

Published: 1990 

Genre: Juvenile, Historical Fiction

Format: Paperback, 80 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

Dorris does a fantastic job of letting us experience Morning Girl, Star Boy, and their people on the Caribbean Islands before Columbus arrived and murdered them all. Gabe and I were both sad to learn about Michael Dorris' life. He died a few years after he wrote this book.

No Cats Allowed by Miranda James

Published: February 23rd, 2016 by Berkley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Format: Paperback, 275 Pages, Own

Rating: 2 stars

My Thoughts:

I shouldn't be too hard on it but it was one of the more poorly written cozy mysteries I've read in awhile. This is number 7 in the series and I haven't read any others. But like a good cozy, you don't need to. The author catches us up on anything we need to know in various ways. The mystery is OK, nothing out of the ordinary. But I didn't like the protagonist. He's a do-gooder with no personality. His kids have no personalities. And it takes place in the south with some benevolent racism thrown in. Meh. Plus the cover has a tabby cat but his cat is a Maine Coon cat so false advertising. Even his girlfriend was someone he only talked to over the phone and it's all very chaste. I know there is an audience for super clean cozy mysteries, but I am not that audience. I got this as a gift so I just wanted to read something easy peasie. It wasn't good but it was OK.

The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp

Published: March 10th, 2020 by DC Comics

Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Mystery

Format: Paperback, 208 Pages, Librart

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one. It takes place in Batman's world. Commissioner Gordon's daughter is the ultimate hacker until one night she gets shot and her world changes forever. She ends up in a rehabilitation center where she hears voices in the walls and patients disappear overnight. It's a compelling mystery and it looks like the story will continue in more comics.