Lisa Henson

How many of us have heard people joke about being “over the hill”? “Put out to pasture”? “In my twilight years”? We as a society have relegated people past a certain age to a slow downward slide from middle age to death. Many people think their later years bring nothing but a trip to the nursing home, there to sit and wait for the Grim Reaper to knock at the door. And since medical science is allowing us to live longer, the prospect of decades of withering away, seen as a doddering elder, good for not much of anything anymore, is bleak.

But getting older doesn't have to be like that! As I'm right about middle-aged myself, I jumped at the chance to read and review Ramona Oliver's book, Inclined Elders: How to Rebrand Aging for Self and Society. The basic premise of the book is simple: We don't have to fade away as we get older. Instead of declining, we can choose to Incline – to move onward and upward, stay active, stay involved, and stay positive.

Oliver's book is broken into three broad sections: Attitude, Growth, and Empowerment. Each section is chock-full of the experiences and inspiring stories of people who have chosen to continue to be active learners and experiencers of life as they have gotten older.

The Attitude section focuses on what we can do internally to continue to Incline as we get older. One of my favorite stories here is that of Carolyn, who found a way to “dance” even when religious restrictions didn't allow for dancing. (I grew up in the Baptist church, so I can relate to that, a little bit.) The stories look at characteristics like curiosity, courage, gratitude, and resilience.

The Growth section has an external focus and relates ways in which we can choose to interact with others around us. Stories here touch on topics such as connections, community, culture, and wisdom. I loved Lee's story, reading about all of the challenges she overcame and how she made wise choices as she grew older.

The Empowerment section focuses on leaving a legacy and living as a role model to the generations coming behind us. The people whose stories are told in the book do this in a variety of ways, from setting a higher standard for their children through their own education, to overcoming introversion and volunteering to help others with disabilities, to creating a program that helps children learn to make life decisions on their own. These stories were particularly uplifting, because who among us doesn't want to think that, when we leave this earth, we will leave something of value behind?

Each chapter had questions for personal reflection, designed to help the reader move toward his or her own life of Incline. I haven't worked through them all yet, but I will re-read and take time to answer them all. The book is also packed with helpful resources, many of which I've made note of to go back to and work through. I read an ebook version of Inclined Elders for the blog tour, but I've enjoyed it so much, I'm going to pick up a hard copy. (And if you're interested, scroll on down and enter the giveaway to win your own copy!)

This book is excellent for anyone who's getting to the midpoint of life, or even younger people who have parents that may benefit from the wisdom found here. It is a glorious guide to making your later years even more fabulous than your younger ones, and a great reminder that we're not all doomed to waste away and slide into the grave quietly. Like Def Leppard says, “It's better to burn out than fade away.” So I'm going to put this book into practice and Incline and shine!

Five big stars, y'all. It's good stuff.

I've long been a fan of G. A. McKevett's Savannah Reid series, so when I saw this book on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. I didn't realize it was a series about Savannah's granny, Stella! I also didn't realize this was the third in that series. But my jumping in the middle didn't keep me from thoroughly enjoying this book.

Stella Reid is raising seven of her precious grandchildren. It's a tough row to hoe sometimes, what with their father being out of the picture and their mother being in prison. But Stella loves those grandchildren something fierce, and with the help of friends, she finds a way to make everything work. (Savannah is one of those grandchildren - we meet her as a precocious 13-year-old with an interest in detective work, and I loved getting to learn her backstory.)

Most folks in McGill, Georgia, are good folks. Sure, there are a few characters around town, but people know them and generally accept them. But Billy Ray Sonner and his running buddies - the Lone White Wolf Pack, as they call themselves - have gone beyond the pale. They're responsible for heinous activities like burning a cross on the lawn of a Black family and assaulting a well-liked young Latina woman. So when Billy Ray is found dead at an abandoned motel on the outskirts of town, nobody really mourns his passing much. But when it turns out to be a homicide, Stella jumps in to offer Sheriff Manny her unique insights on the situation.

I love Stella! I'm getting to be a mature woman myself, so I do enjoy a book that has a protagonist closer to my age. And I love that she has a potential love interest in Sheriff Manny, if they can ever get a break from the crime-fighting and the grandkid-raising.

I appreciated that, even as the book dealt with the timely topic of racism, it also mixed in a good bit of humor with the seriousness of the criminal investigation. McKevett also did a good job of throwing out red herrings. I'd think one person must be the guilty party, and then bam! There's a twist, and we're off in a different direction.

In short, this was a well-thought-out book that was a delight to read.

Being from Louisiana, I've always been fascinated with hurricanes. My ex-husband had family living in the New Orleans area when Katrina hit in 2005, and they came and stayed with us for a while, until the waters receded. When I saw A Furious Sky on our local library shelf, I had to pick it up.

The “five hundred years” in the title may sound intimidating, but it doesn't feel that way when you're reading. Dolin does an excellent job reviewing historical hurricanes, going back as far as the days of Christopher Columbus. He also tracks the birth and development of hurricane meteorology and chronicles the creation and growth of the National Weather Services and its predecessor agencies.

The book is history lesson and meteorological study all wrapped up in one. Dolin's description of the human toll that hurricanes have taken through the years is heartwrenching. Ignorance of the strength of hurricanes caused many deaths, as did government and forecasting inefficiency and the sheer stubbornness of people thinking they could ride out the storm. I also learned a lot about the involvement of various historical figures in the study of hurricanes and in relief efforts – Benjamin Franklin, Clara Barton, and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few. Were I younger and choosing a career field, A Furious Sky might well have convinced me to focus my efforts on the study of hurricanes.

The book closes with a look at a handful of storms that had major impacts on the United States, Katrina among them. Many of these may be familiar to the reader. Recent events clearly show that our sky isn't getting any less furious (just look at the 2020 hurricane season), and the epilogue considers what role global warming may play in these poweful, destructive storms.

If you're interested in weather and history, I highly recommend this book. It was as gripping and intense as any work of fiction I've read this year.

Katherine Macdonald has knocked it out of the park again with this new vision of Hades and Persephone. If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you know the story: Hades fell in love with the beautiful Persephone and stole her away to the underworld, and a deal was worked out where she could return to earth for part of each year. Thief of Spring is a modern retelling of this tale.

Persephone, or Sephy, prefers to keep mostly to herself. She and her father live alone, and she's grown up with the idea that her mother abandoned them when she was a baby. She agrees to go out with her friend Libby, and receives a mysterious invitation to a private party. The party is not what she expected, though, and she finds herself offered up as some kind of sacrifice. Hades saves her life and claims her for his own, but then she's trapped in the underworld with him for seven months.

Hades comes across a little bit intimidating, a little bit dark and broody (he makes me think a bit of Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer at first). But there is so much more to him. He was deeply wounded by someone who should have loved him, and his backstory made my heart hurt for the boy he was and the man he has become. Macdonald draws him as much more sympathetic than the Hades of mythology, and I adore her characterization of him.

And Sephy is no shrinking violet. She's thrown into a different and somewhat frightening environment, but she doesn't just sit in her room and cry. She occupies her time, she tries to be kind where she can, she learns to fight. And she finds herself falling hard and fast for Hades.

The romance between Hades and Sephy is a sweet, awkward slow burn. (Hades may be the Lord of the Underworld and immortal fae and all, but still, he's very young as fae go.) I felt like it fit their characters and the situation, and the pace was right for the length of the book.

And oh my gosh, two things that I did not see coming. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Macdonald drew me in and then POW! Right in the kisser with two big ol' plot twists. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for book two!

If you like mythology and fae and a good mash-up with characters you can love and hate, pick up Thief of Spring! Macdonald is rapidly finding her way onto my list of “authors whose books I'll buy without even reading the blurb.”

River, Sing Out is set in fictional Neches County, Texas, in the East Texas bottomland. It's a hardscrabble existence for many folks, and Jonah Hargrove is no exception. His father works on an oil rig, so the days he's gone on the job are days Jonah doesn't have to duck his blows. In spite of his seemingly bleak existence, though, Jonah has a good heart. So when River, a teenage girl, stumbles into his sphere, injured and running scared after stealing a backpack full of meth from local drug lord John Curtis, Jonah feels like he should help her.

This book is a fascinating contrast. On the one hand, you've got the violent life of the drug trade and the grinding poverty in which Jonah lives. On the other, you've got the author's lyrical turns of phrase like, “That night he dreamt the earth was water alone and he floated atop it and from the center of the endless sea rose enormous a single oak and upon its bark and branches clung thousands of gray and green tree frogs and none moving or trilling yet all somehow calling to him and the boy spoke in a voice they understood.” As an editor and proofreader, that really, really long sentence makes me a little crazy. But what amazing imagery. Can't you just see that lone oak in your mind's eye? The book is full of vivid, musical word pictures that make you feel almost like you're right there with Jonah and River.

As the title would suggest, the river is an important part of the story. It offers Jonah and River shelter and a means of escape at times. It rises and falls, and sometimes floods, bringing destruction as the waters crest and then recede. The river may not be alive in the sense of a sentient existence, but it has its mysteries and changes and moods, much like a person would.

Ultimately, I thought the book was about the resilience of the human spirit and the struggle to maintain faith, even in the face of indifferent nature and the sometimes brutal realities of life. And here, it felt like indifferent nature maybe cared just a little, that nature thought it time to wash a few old wounds clean, and perhaps make room for, if not complete healing, then at least growth. Given the difficult subject matter, it wasn't always an easy read, but it's a story I'm glad I read.

I don't usually read a lot of satire, but when I got the opportunity to read The Republic of Jack, I was intrigued. I went to college and law school in Texas, and I lived there for a good handful of years before moving back to my home state of Louisiana. In my early career as a prosecutor, I actually took a member of the Republic of Texas to trial for a charge of driving with a suspended license, of all things. (That was an interesting experience!) So the idea of the Republic of Texas crowd actually getting their way and seeing Texas secede from the Union caught my attention.

Jack Cowherd (pronounced Cow-herd, not Coward, thank you very much) is the Texas Attorney General, and he's running for governor. His longtime advisor, Fred, recommends that he really play up to the secessionist crowd, but Jack's long-suffering chief of staff, Tasha, advises against it. Strongly. Jack says, it's just political talk, it doesn't mean anything, and says some things he really shouldn't have. Long story short, Jack wins the election, the President of the United States cordially disinvites Texas from participation in the Union, and Jack suddenly finds himself President...of Texas?!

Kerr's characters are so much fun! Nadine is Jack's wife – I hesitate to call her a trophy wife, because I think Jack really loves her. But she is a gold-digging opportunistic little thing, always looking out for number one without letting something as trifling as marriage vows get in the way of what she wants. She is so shallow and so silly, I can't help but laugh. I don't think she really considers the consequences of her actions, and she may come to regret her choices at some point. Her friend Brianna is dumb as a box of hammers, and their conversations had me alternating between laughing out loud and slapping my head at the sheer stupidity. Tasha is a rock. She tries her best to get Jack to see sense, but she's fighting a losing battle sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. How she doesn't just pack it in and leave Jack to lie in the bed he made is beyond me. Fred is really a caricature of good ol' boy politics, and he's definitely got Jack's ear – at least at first, when all Jack has on his mind is winning. Charlie Clutterbuck is Jack's insufferable lieutenant governor turned vice president. He is an over-the-top example of someone saying what the people want to hear and taking full advantage of his charm and political clout.

And the book really isn't that far outside of the things that could actually happen. There are undoubtedly folks in Texas who'd be quite happy if Texas seceded from the United States. This book serves as a cautionary tale, though, and points out that it might not be quite as easy as saying, “Okay, we're our own country now!”

For instance, I loved the discussion of how the University of Texas team would now make it to out of state games. Do they need passports? Will Oklahoma check passports at the border and not let them in to play? Will the Red River Showdown become a thing of the past? Whoops, nobody thought of that!

What about law enforcement? Does the Border Patrol still function, or will Jack have to figure out what Texas should do about the border? And when state officials and state agencies are no longer a thing, who do you call when things go pear-shaped? Will the ragtag secessionist militia be able to maintain law and order? (Spoiler: Nope.)

With The Republic of Jack, Jeffrey Kerr gives us a satirical treat that pokes fun at modern politics and also reminds us to be careful what we wish for, because we might get it. If you like a good political satire, pick this one up.

My thanks to the author for an advance review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

I do enjoy a good fairy tale do-over, and Of Snow and Scarlet is more than just good. Katherine McDonald's new vision of Little Red Riding Hood is enthralling. It's got strong women, evil men, choices to be made for better or for worse, and a smokin' romance. Her characters are never exactly what they first appear to be. They're multifaceted, and all the more interesting for it. Their stories will make you cheer, cry, or throw things, depending on whose story it is. And I absolutely loved that in this version, Granny isn't relegated to knitting and baking cookies! I love the banter between Andie and Finn, but Granny is my favorite.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I jumped into this series with this, the third book. I read a synopsis to get caught up on the main points, but I didn't have the advantage of ALL of the backstory. And you know what? It didn't matter. A Witch's Brew is a ripping good fantasy read, and I gather from the ending that there is more yet to come in the series.

Bring it on.

Clifton has absolutely roped me into the world he's created here. He does an outstanding job of creating the world and the history, the people and the places.

My heart ached for Alex in the early part of the book. Here she is, in a world full of magic, and the man she loves is one of the strongest magic wielders around, and what magical talent does she have? None. (Or so she thinks.) Plus, she's got Maggie, the exceedingly bold leader of just about the only real warriors around Markingham, making a move for Tal. That's a lot for a girl to handle. But she isn't one to just shrink away quietly. No magic? She finds other ways to make a difference for the people of Markingham, and I loved that about her. Even when things are hard, even when she has a wallow in the pity pit for a moment, Alex doesn't let difficult circumstances get her down.

And while Maggie is cast as the bad girl, I felt some sympathy for her, too. By the end of the book, she finds herself in a royal mess of her own making. Let's just say messing around with witches and potions isn't the best idea, and with magic, you've got to be very, very careful what you request and how. I'm interested to see what her role in future books will be. Can she be redeemed, or will she go over to the dark side?

Love and jealousy. Magic and monsters. An epic quest to defeat the Big Bad and some booty-kickin' battle scenes. This story has it all. Definitely a five-star read for me! The ending of the book is wide open for things yet to come. When it's out, I will snatch up book four in a hot second and see what happens next. If you're a high fantasy, sword and sorcery fan, you should give this series a read, too.

I love a good story about someplace that's been abandoned. What happened? Where did everyone go? I want to know! So I jumped at the chance to read The Lost Village.

Everyone vanished from Silvertjarn, Sweden in 1959. When the police responded to an anonymous call, they found only a woman's corpse hanging in the center of the village and a baby left in the school. Houses looked as if residents had just stepped away for a moment, all at the same time.

Alice is working to get funding for her documentary project on Silvertjarn. She's assembled a crew, and they're going on location. She doesn't have much in the way of money, so the budget is tight and their time will be limited. But if she can make this project happen, it could be her big break. She also has a personal interest in the project, as her great-grandmother's family had lived there. Of the family, only her grandmother had gotten out.

The village is out in the middle of nowhere. No easy access to supplies or services. The crew figures to have some good uninterrupted time to investigate and document what they find. But almost off the bat, weird things start happening. Some abandoned places just feel empty, and some feel positively spine-tingling. For me, Silvertjarn fell firmly in the spine-tingling category. I would have packed up and hauled it out of there before I'd spent one night. Noises where there shouldn't be any. Items going missing or being damaged. And when one of the crew disappears after being injured, well, that just ramps up the creepy factor.

The story is told from Alice's point of view in the present time and from Elsa's point of view in 1959. Elsa was Alice's great-grandmother, and her story really ties events in the current time together. I liked Elsa best out of all the characters. She saw things going wrong and tried as best as she could to make a difference, to do the right thing. Alice, though, wasn't a very likable protagonist. She was so driven to make the project a success that it felt like she ignored the risks that were rapidly becoming apparent the longer they stayed.

So, creepy factor: excellent. And that's coming from someone who doesn't really like horror. Characters: it was hard to muster up concern for any of the modern-day folks. The final reveal: not really what I was expecting! Overall, I found it a worthwhile read.

Do you ever really stop and think about how many ways technology impacts our daily lives? From computer control modules in our vehicles to credit and debit cards to smart phones, smart doorbells, and more, we're a society very reliant on tech. Do you ever think about what the world might look like if all that tech suddenly just....stopped?

In This Fragile Earth, the tech is even more advanced/prolific than in our reality. In a not-too-distant future London, we meet Signy and Matthew and their young son Jed. They rely on technology for just about everything. Plants are artificially grown and pollinated. Agriculture is now an AI function. Medicine, currency, food, transportation, all of it controlled by AI. Signy and Matthew don't seem very happy in their marriage. They're just muddling along, keeping it together for Jed's sake, when one day, the power goes out. And stays out.

Here's a spoiler, but just a little one - Matthew doesn't make it out with Signy and Jed. (The synopsis says so - “A shocking incident sends Signy and Jed on the run, desperate to flee London and escape to the small village where Signy grew up.” Y'all already knew Matthew wasn't with them.) So now we have a woman on her own and her young son, she's frantic to get to safety, and protecting Jed is paramount. Signy comes across as distrustful of almost everyone and everything she encounters, and to some readers, that may make her a less than sympathetic protagonist. But think about it. How would you react if your entire world was turned on its ear, nothing worked like it was supposed to, and you'd already seen others prove that they were only looking out for themselves in this mad new reality? Might it make you a little leery of folks? I think it would me, particularly if I had a young child relying on me for his well-being.

The technology doesn't require extreme suspension of disbelief. Characters and interactions are largely believable (although sometimes Jed seems to talk in ways well beyond his years - there's precocious and then there's, wait a minute, did he really talk like that?). When the reason for everything falling apart is revealed, it's maybe the teensiest bit preachy, but not really, because the book makes an important point. We ARE responsible for taking care of this planet, and good stewardship does matter.

This was an enjoyable read. My thanks to Gollancz and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Johan Twiss has created a fascinating and slightly disturbing world, where we see infants on the planet Ethos tested to see if they're suitable for the Prime injection. The injection gives them special abilities that can benefit the planet in its battle against the Splicers, but with those abilities also come debilitating defects. Aidan is unique in that he has not one, but two Prime abilities. His abilities also don't seem to come with the usual defects.

Also, he doesn't sleep. Hence the title. During the hours when everyone else sleeps, Aidan runs battle simulations. He's gotten farther than any other Prime has. But now he's stuck on Simulation 299. Can he get past it? And if he does, what happens then?

This is solid sci-fi, but it isn't sci-fi to the point that people who aren't readers of the genre would feel overwhelmed by it. The world is built out pretty well, and the Prime abilities were explained clearly enough that most readers should get the gist of them. The book is very readable, and the characters are fleshed out nicely for the most part. They're preteens/teenagers, and they act accordingly.

The Primes are grouped by age rather than ability, and I love that Twiss has them forming their own kind of family. These are children who've never known the love of a mother or father, but they love each other and are deeply concerned for each other.

The animals were one of my favorite little tidbits in the book. There are some fantastical animals on Ethos, creatures like the cobramoth and the burning battlant, the hippophant and the kangadog. We don't know exactly how they came to be - genetic experiments? some freakish accident? - but the drawings are just wonderful.

I Am Sleepless reminded me a bit of Ender's Game, a bit of Ready Player One. But it was very much its own work. Twiss has created characters and an environment that I want to know more about. The book did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but that only makes me want to hurry up and read the next in the series!

Thanks to BookSirens for an advance reader copy of the book. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

I'm not prone to swearing in my reviews, but HOLY SHIT STICKS. This book, y'all. I had the privilege of reading an advance copy, and you gotta read it. (Start with book one in the series, otherwise you're going to miss a lot of backstory - ideally, start with the Demon Spring trilogy. Go on, get to it.)

I can't tell you how many times my jaw hit the floor. I raged. I chuckled. I cheered. I cried actual tears. And when I got to the end, I was all


That ending, though. Talk about a cliffhanger. I'm hanging on one-handed, with about three fingernails left. I am so ready for book three!!!!

My parents didn't need to have a conversation with me about college. I was very driven, very smart, and if I didn't know what I needed to do, I'd find out. My boys are not me! So I'm very glad to have gotten my hands on College Bound. Melanie Studer does a great job of demystifying how to talk to your kids about college, and how to start preparing for it well in advance of when you think you should.

I have a graduating senior this year. I wish I'd had this book five years ago, because he is at loose ends now. No idea what he wants to do, doesn't think college is for him. I can't go back and start talking to him in middle school, but I can talk to him now. And I'll be pulling this book out a lot talking to my middle school son! He, too, says he doesn't want to go to college, but even if he sticks to that, I think the information I've got here will prove helpful no matter what kind of education he decides to pursue after high school.

To sum up: Got a kid in school who will need to figure out what comes after high school and how to make it happen? Get this book.

I was a kid in the 70s. The Bermuda Triangle got a lot of airtime back them. There was even a movie made about it. It was this big mystery – what happened to the ships and people and things that went into that area and were never heard from or seen again?

In Infinity's Gateway, James S. Parker does a fabulous job of envisioning what might have happened. The action starts right off the bat, in the WWII era. During a training exercise, several Navy planes go missing. They're there and then, they aren't. No one can explain it.

Fast forward to the present day. An anomaly of some kind is sighted out in the ocean. The Navy sends the Eclipse, a top-of-the-line research vessel, and personnel both military and civilian to investigate. The Eclipse carries Argos, the biggest, baddest, smartest, indeed, most self-aware computer ever created. Surely with Argos online, they can figure out what this thing is.

Nope.

From there, the mystery and adventure just deepens. I'm not going to tell you what happens. Parker does a bang-up job of that. Let's just say there's a lot of action, some unexpected twists and turns, suspense, intrigue, and some pretty out-of-this world stuff. It is a fascinating imagining of how the Bermuda Triangle might operate.

It didn't take me too long to get engrossed in this book, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next in the series. Parker is working on a screenplay request, and I for one think it will make a great movie or series. I'd even pay full movie ticket prices to go see it (and I don't do that often).

If you like whopping good sci-fi stories with a bit of history to them, well researched and well written, pick up Infinity's Gateway. Five super stars from me.

If you stop by my blog, there's even a giveaway: https://theplainspokenpen.com/book-review-and-giveaway-infinitys-gateway-by-james-parker-lone-star-book-blog-tours/

I was privileged to review I Was Called Barabbas, the first book in M. D. House's Barabbas Trilogy, so when Pillars of Barabbas came up for review, I jumped on it. House continues the tale of what Barabbas' life may have looked like in fine fashion.

The novel is set about thirty years after the Crucifixion. Barabbas has continued to be involved in the church, and now holds the title of bishop. He and Chanah are sent back to Rome to oversee the building of a Christian temple there.

It's clear that House did his research on the time period. The descriptions of houses, of the tensions between Rome and Parthia, of the political maneuvering and the dislike that some leaders had for the growing Christian faith, all seemed spot on.

The events described generally track pretty well with Scripture. The ones that don't, I figured it's because they aren't included there. That's the beauty of historical fiction. The author has the ability to flesh out what he thinks might have happened. The fact that Barabbas and Chanah were sent to build a temple threw me a bit, as it was my understanding that the early church met in small groups in homes, and that physical structures dedicated to worship didn't come until later in time. That didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the story, though.

This was just a fun story to contemplate. On a bare reading of Scripture, we don't learn much about Barabbas other than that he was released and Jesus was crucified instead. I'd bet most of us don't really stop to think about how that event might have impacted Barabbas. Could he have continued with his life as a miscreant? Possibly. But I like to think that Jesus' willingness to die in Barabbas' place sent Barabbas home a changed man. That's why I enjoy House's writing so much. It makes my heart happy to think of Barabbas turning from his life of crime and going on to do mighty work for the Kingdom, and to raise his children to do likewise.

I enjoyed the inclusion of Barabbas and Chanah's children in the story. It's exciting to see them grow up and start to move out into their own lives, their own work. I hope to see more of them in the third book of the trilogy.

I loved the Demon Spring trilogy. But this book, y'all. It absolutely slayed me. Like, on the floor dead.

Jack, Cam, and Anya are back, and all is not well. Anya is a shadow of her former self, even by human standards. Jack is refusing to really open up and talk to the person he most needs a good heart to heart with. Cam cares about them both and probably wants to drop kick them both to Mars. And that doesn't even touch the really big problem they've got.

I wanted to shake Jack. I wanted to alternately hug and shake Anya. I'm pretty sure I swore a lot reading this. And the ending left me gobsmacked and positively frothing at the mouth for book #2. Bring it on! I gotta see what happens next!

Can I give this ten stars? Because it deserves them.

I seem to start a lot of series somewhere other than the start, and this is one of them. A Deception at Thornecrest is the seventh in the Amory Ames Mystery series, and I understand from reading other reviews that it's probably preferable to start at the beginning. I was still able to follow along and enjoy the story, though, even though I jumped in at the most current installment.

Here, we find Amory and Milo Ames back home – Milo's family home in Allingcross, a small English village. They've worked through some challenges in their relationship, and they're preparing for the birth of their first child. What they aren't prepared for is a young woman showing up, also claiming to be Mrs. Ames. After all Amory and Milo have been through, is he really a bigamist?

That mystery is quickly unraveled when Milo's half-brother Darien comes knocking. A half-brother that Milo had no idea he had. Darien has left the young Ms. Prescott (Mrs. Ames the second) behind, and he's soon involved in a dalliance with a local village girl, Marena. He's a trifler when it comes to women, but he never expected that to lead to him being the prime suspect in a murder. Marena's former sweetheart Bertie turns up dead during the Springtide Festival, and Darien is first on the inspector's list of who might be the guilty party.

This was a delightful read! Amory is a wonderful heroine. She's inquisitive and not inclined to slow down on her investigating simply because she's just days away from giving birth. Her relationship with Milo is pretty realistic – they may not agree on everything, and they may not always communicate perfectly and clearly, but you can tell they do love each other.

The other characters in the book are interesting as well. Lady Alma Bedford, daughter of an earl, whose horses are the primary objects of her affection. Jane Hodges, Marena's mother, a rather harsh and unfeeling woman, or so it seems. Mrs. Busby, the vicar's wife – her daughter died in an accident and now Marena is something of a second daughter to her. Darien, the previously unknown half-brother who Milo may or may not want to allow into his life. All were written in sufficient detail to let you feel like you knew a little bit about them.

This is also a very clean read, like it was written during the 1930s in which it's set. Not a lot of swearing or graphic details. I appreciate that.

A female protagonist I couldn't help but like, an engaging mystery, a lovely village setting – A Deception at Thornecrest gets four solid stars from me. I'll go back and read the rest of the series now.

With Breathe Your Last, I was absolutely blown away by Lisa Regan's ability to craft an engrossing story that delivered a big punch with the reveal. I had high hopes for this, her newest book.

It delivers.

Josie and Noah are getting married. A joyous occasion! But before it even gets started, the celebration comes to a screeching halt when the body of a young girl, a girl Josie knows, is found on the steps of the chapel.

Josie is compelled to investigate. She knows this girl. Her mother helped Josie in a time of need, and Josie can't just go on with her wedding and let her team handle it. That isn't how she rolls. And when she learns that the girl's mother is dead and her younger sister is missing, things really kick into high gear.

Josie is quite possibly one of the best protagonists I've read in a long time. She is driven, not by the desire to be in the spotlight, but by a need to solve the case. She cares deeply about justice for those who are killed on her watch. And as much as she knows that getting emotionally invested in her cases can lead to trouble, sometimes she does it anyway.

And once again, I had a hard time putting this book down. I did only because I had to sleep. The action grabs you and sucks you in, and you just cannot bear to stop reading because you gotta know what comes next. I found myself emotionally invested in Holly and Emily and their family, and I will own up to tearing up in places.

Ms. Regan also did a good job with her treatment of mental health issues. She writes her characters and explains their struggles sympathetically and realistically. I just wanted to reach into the book and hug them at times.

To sum up, if you're looking for an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat, gotta-know-what-happens-next read that will keep you guessing until the end, you cannot go wrong with Josie Quinn. Five white-knuckle stars from me.

Stop by my blog, https://theplainspokenpen.com/, for more bookish goodness!

When a book starts off with the main character letting herself be tased to help train older folks in self-defense, you know it's going to be quite a ride. Stiff Lizard didn't disappoint. I absolutely loved it! Xena Cali is a private investigator and spy shop owner. Rodent Roger (yes, his actual name) is the island's top exterminator, and he's concerned about a sudden rash of green iguanas, especially when he's seeing flyers for Lizard Liquidators. Is someone moving in on Rodent's territory, or is there a more sinister motive? Before Xena can answer that question, Rodent goes missing. His wife, Ultima Penelope Roger, hires Xena to find him. (Isn't that just a heck of a name?! Ultima. I love it.)

There's a fun secondary story line that has Dora, one of Xena's employees, going way undercover to investigate a cruise singer. The cruise is most definitely NOT your typical Carnival Cruise, and Dora's reports are absolutely hilarious. I think she's my favorite character. I'm probably pretty close to her in age and mindset, and I expect my insights on an “adventurous” cruise would be similar to hers. I'd read more of the series just for Dora.

Stiff Lizard has something for everyone: a strong female protagonist who does some crazy parkour and who's really trying to figure out how to people better (I can relate, Xena – to the peopling, not the parkour); a fascinating cast of characters; a good mystery; and lots and lots of offbeat humor. It's the third in a series. I didn't have any problem following the storyline, but now I have to read the first two.

Stiff Lizard may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it sure was my shot of whiskey! Five stars for Ms. Haneberg, and Xena Cali is now on my must-read list.

This was a delightful read! In it, we meet Ivy Lovely, a scaldrony maid at the House of Plum. She's in charge of the scaldrons, small dragons who use their flames to cook the food. An unexpected turn of events sends her fleeing, with the smallest scaldron, beyond the magic-blocking border that she's lived behind her entire life. And thus begins the new life of Ivy Lovely. Whisked off to a magical school, learning she's got magical powers, training to be a Scrivenist, and learning she may be so much more than a scaldrony maid – it's quite the adventure!

I liked the magical system Night created. Scrivenists have the ability to recall everything they see and record it through drawing and writing. Once trained, they are assigned to a royal family, to act as that family's historian and record-keeper. Royals are able to use different types of magic by means of different stones. It was fascinating to see the different types of powers and how the scrivenists worked.

I also loved that she named one of the scrivenists Derwin Edgar Night. I see what you did there, D. E.! Derwin Edgar Night is a very important figure in the story. Ivy has been dreaming of a man, and she realizes it is Night. She needs to find him to learn more about who she is, what her family history is.

The characters are delightful. Ivy is a young lady thrust into a situation completely different from what she's known. She handles it like you'd expect a teenager to do – sometimes she is grace and class, sometimes she's just muddling through, but she never loses her sense of humor and she never gives up. I thought Rebecca was going to be a snot, but she turns out to be quite a good friend to Ivy. I hope to see more of their friendship in future books. And Finn – there's a little spark there with Ivy, I think. Will something come of it? I'll have to read more and see!

There's a touch of Harry Potter to this – magical school, Ivy going shopping for her school supplies, magical creatures and transportation. But Ivy's story is uniquely hers. It's billed as YA fantasy, but I promise you that I'm nowhere near “young adult,” and I was absolutely captivated by the story. I recommend this for fantasy lovers from sixth grade to 60 and beyond! Five stars, and bring on book two!

Thanks to the author and publisher for a review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Alfie Carter is told from the point of view of the titular Alfie, and also from the point of view of Jackaleena, a young girl from an African village. It's a story that, at its heart, is about how our reaction to adversity shapes us, about finding faith – perhaps for the first time, perhaps coming back to it, and about discovering purpose and meaning in life.
The story starts at the end and flashes back to the beginning. Jackaleena – Jackie – is a tough-as-nails prosecutor who finds herself emotionally wrecked by her current case. In the judge's chambers, we start to learn her story through flashbacks. As a young girl living in an African village, Jackaleena sees her entire village slaughtered by guerilla fighters. She is able to make her way to Benguela by the Sea, a missionary compound doing its best to care for the children orphaned by war. Even at her relatively early age, Jackaleena is possessed of a fierce determination. At Benguela, she sees a mercy ship anchored offshore. When she learns that it is going to America, she decides to stow away on the mercy ship and go there to find the big purpose that Jesus Man must have for her.

Our introduction to Alfie takes place on his annual pilgrimage up to the mountains, where he goes to deal with the painful anniversary of his infant daughter's death. Since his daughter's death, Alfie has distanced himself from his wife, Bea, and pretty much given up on God. He throws himself into his work as a detective in the small town of Spring, Texas. His tenacity on the case has earned him the nickname of Bulldog. But his marriage languishes.

We learn a great deal about Jackaleena and Alfie through the unfolding of their stories, but they don't cross paths until about the last ten percent of the book. So this isn't a book where your main characters meet and have the entire book to let their relationship build. It's more of a slow burn that could leave itself open for more of the story to be told in a second book.

It was interesting to see how the two main characters responded to adversity so differently. Jackaleena didn't let grief or mourning deter her from her goals. Once she made up her mind on something, nothing slowed her down or derailed her plans. Alfie, on the other hand, let grief drive a wedge between him and Bea, to the point that he wouldn't even visit his daughter's grave or share his grief with Bea. He felt the need to be by himself to wrestle with his anger and loss.

I've always heard you should write what you know. I don't think Alfie Carter is necessarily autobiographical in nature, but I do think BJ Mayo has known folks in his life that inspired his characters. Alfie, in particular, reads like someone you could work with, someone who lives next door. And I really liked some of the minor characters, such as Dr. Lynn and Rufus Obediah. These people, who had no real incentive to do so, helped Jackaleena on her journey just because they're decent people. They made me smile.

I reviewed an advance copy, so I am hoping that some of the editing issues I noticed will be corrected in the final copy. One thing that may not, though, is it seemed like no one spoke using contractions, and that got stilted and awkward very quickly. It would have made sense for Jackaleena as she was learning English, but I don't think I've ever known a Texan not to use contractions when they talk. I also noticed several instances with point-of-view changes, and that was distracting enough that it broke up the flow of the story to me.

Overall, though, the story and characters are engaging and interesting enough to carry the day. Alfie Carter is a solid four-star read for me.

I do love a good dual-timeline story! And The Lost Apothecary is quite good. It's told from the point of view of three main characters: Nella, the titular apothecary, dispensing medicines to heal or to kill; Eliza, who comes to Nella for a permanent remedy to a problem and becomes her assistant, of a sort; and Caroline, a modern-day woman who finds her marriage on shaky ground and who is struggling to find herself.

I really enjoyed this book! The premise drew me in, and the marvelous storytelling kept me hooked. The story isn't about women getting back at men, so much, although I can see where someone might think that. It's more about the choices women make and the consequences of those choices, and women finding their path even within the societal expectations of their time.

In Nella's timeline, 1791, women had very few rights. They couldn't divorce their husbands for abuse or unfaithfulness. Nella was trying to help women the only way she knew how. When she broke her own rule, that her poisons must never be used against women, that set into motion a devastating chain of events. Eliza wanted to help Nella. In trying to help, she made a choice that brought undesirable attention to Nella's secret shop.

Claire made the choice, when she got married, to give up on her dreams. She didn't enroll at Cambridge like she wanted to. Instead, she took the job that provided steady income and supported her husband's goals. She lost sight of her hopes and dreams in the process. When she found the small vial half-buried in mud, she made a choice to see what she could find out about it. That choice changed the course of her life.

This is a story well told. The ending left me with a little bit of a sense of mystery. What was of this world and what might not be? Not a cliffhanger, just enough of a question to let the reader envision what the future might be like. Delightfully gothic, mysterious, and with characters you will embrace, The Lost Apothecary gets five stars from me. I loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row Books for an advance copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.

Cora Wilson Stewart (a genuine historical figure) was elected as superintendent of Rowan County schools. She was a champion of literacy for the people of Kentucky, and made it her mission to bring education to the backwoods. School for the children was one thing. But how to get the adults to learn? The “Moonlight School” was born, with the idea being that parents, who couldn't get away from tending to family needs during the daylight hours, could come to school at night, by the light of the moon. Suzanne Woods Fisher fleshes out the facts of Stewart's life in this vividly imagined tale.

Lucy Wilson has grown up a child of privilege, but her guilt over the disappearance of her younger sister Charlotte has been a burden she's carried most of her life. She agrees to go to Morehead, Kentucky to serve as her cousin Cora's assistant. When Lucy realizes that Cora intends for her to venture out into the hollers, to carry letters to the mountain folk, read the letters to them, and take dictation for letters in return, she is scared to death. Scared of falling off her horse, of getting on her horse, of whatever creatures might lurk in the shadowed hills. And she is absolutely stricken, both by the abject poverty in which these people live and by the fact that so many adults there can neither read nor write.

The people in the story grabbed my heart much as they did Lucy's. Finley James, the boy who isn't interested in schoolin'. Angie Cooper, the girl who loves Finley James and aspires to be a teacher one day. Mollie McGlothin, the elderly woman who can't read, but who is a rich repository of knowledge. Brother Wyatt, the singing school teacher with a different idea about what it means to have all things work together for good. I was absolutely invested in them and felt like I said goodbye to friends when I turned the last page.

Cora Wilson Stewart was an admirable figure. She didn't conform to societal norms that said a woman had to be married and raise a family. She held a position traditionally reserved for men, and it wasn't just a job to her. It was a passion. She firmly believed that education was the key to freedom for the people living in the Kentucky hills where she had been born, and she fought to bring education to him with everything in her. I would have liked to know her, I think.

And it was just a treat to see Lucy change and grow. At first, she's the poor little city girl without a clue as to how to handle herself in the backwoods. She doesn't even know how to get on a horse, much less actually ride. By the end of the book, though, she's riding like she was born to it, and wonders when and how that happened. She changes on the inside, too. When she meets city-slick Andrew, who works for her father's lumber company, she thinks perhaps might hold her interest. But Wyatt helps her to see that flash and style aren't what truly counts in a man, and points her toward God, the All Mighty. She slowly realizes that maybe all she thought she knew – about her sister's disappearance, about why people aren't educated, about her father's business – wasn't quite right. She also comes to understand that God does care and can be trusted, and she sees that He had heard her prayers about her sister after all.

If you're looking for a good book club read, this would be a great choice. Fisher includes a “what happened next” section, a “fact or fiction” section, and questions for discussion. As I wasn't reading with a group, I got more from “what happened next” and “fact or fiction,” and now I'd like to read more about Cora Wilson Stewart. And isn't that what a good story should do – inspire you to read more? The Moonlight School achieves that goal admirably, and makes me appreciate the access I've had to education all my life.

At the risk of sounding horribly cheesy, The Moonlight School is as luminous as, well, moonlight. It is a radiant work of historical fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Five enthusiastic stars from me.

Thank you to Revell for an advance copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Want to see what I think about other books? Stop by my blog: http://www.theplainspokenpen.com

I love a good time travel story, and Amy Matayo delivers. This isn't her normal genre, but she has done a bang-up job of writing a story with characters that you'll cheer for and a plot that just sucks you right in.

Bree and Theo's initial meeting, and their interactions as they try to figure out how to relate to the past and to each other, are just how you'd imagine they'd be if you found yourself whisked back into another century. Even though they aren't from the same time period, Theo and Bree learn pretty quickly that they'll need to work together, both to get back home and to survive the nineteenth century!

I could really relate to Bree. She's a modern female, pretty outspoken, not inclined to be patted on the head (figuratively speaking) and told to mind her place and keep quiet. I wouldn't do real well with that, either. But here she is, in a time period where that's basically what women are told to do.

And I'm not an avid reader of romance, but I will always make an exception to that general rule for Amy Matayo. The romance isn't forced, it isn't insta-romance. It develops organically as the story unfolds. Much better that way in my opinion.

If you like time travel, strong female characters, plot twists that leave your head spinning, and classic literature references, you need to read Before Time Runs Out. Five stars to a well-written and enjoyable read.

Thanks to the author and publisher for an advance review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

At Close Range is Leesa Ross' gut-wrenching story of the shooting death of her son, Jon. Jon was a young adult at the time he died, in his 20s. The account Leesa received from Jon's friends who were there when it happened pointed to a horrific accident due to negligence, but the coroner ruled otherwise. In his eyes, it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound not inconsistent with suicide. That verdict was unacceptable to Leesa.

In At Close Range, Leesa paints a portrait of a family that, while not without their challenges, was a close family for the most part. She knew her children well, even if they weren't all under the same roof any longer. And she knew that Jon didn't kill himself intentionally. It wasn't suicide. But how could she convince the coroner to change his ruling? Could she convince him to change it? And how would the process of losing her son change her?

Leesa's writing style is straightforward and easy to read, and she does a good job of bringing the reader into the story. I wanted to reach into the pages and hug her as she struggled with the grief of losing her son while still trying to be a wife and mother. I wanted to tear my hair in frustration as she tried repeatedly to convince a coroner who'd made up his mind that he was interpreting the facts in a way she couldn't abide.

This was not an easy book to read. Like Leesa's family, my family always had guns around when I was growing up. My father was a hunter, and he had several rifles in the house. I learned how to shoot a .22 when I was just a kid, out on the deer lease. Many of my friends had parents who hunted, and it wasn't uncommon when I was in high school to see multiple trucks in the parking lot with deer rifles mounted on racks. Sure, I grew up learning that a gun wasn't a toy, and that I should never point at anything I didn't intend to shoot. But accidents can happen to anyone, as Leesa's words so clearly illustrate.

It was also hard to read how much Leesa wrestled with her own guilt and shame. Wondering could she have missed some clue. Worried what people would think about them when they heard the coroner's verdict. Hard enough to handle the grief of your child's death. How much more painful to have anxiety over what people will think about the way he died, to anguish over what they will now think of you as a parent.

But ultimately, the story is one of inspiration. Leesa let her hurt and anger and sadness move her toward a role as an advocate for gun safety. She uses this book to share what she has learned through her experiences with the rest of us. I hope this book spurs conversations about guns and gun safety for anyone with children, be they young or young adult.