Saturday in the Garden - December in La La Land

OUTSIDE
 
I feel pretty lame about it but I have to talk about the weather because it's just so bizarre.  It is nigh on mid-December and the average temperatures have been in the upper 40s to mid 50s...in the UPPER MIDWEST for goodness sake.  Seriously, I'm so used to hiding in my house shivering by this time of the year that I really don't know what to do with myself.  I'm not complaining  - if it were up to me it would be like this all winter with maybe an occasional drop in temperature for a snow storm which stick around for a a couple-three days and during which everybody would get time off and world peace would erupt because everybody had enough and was content in the simplicity and joy of life.  ***sigh*** Sometimes it's fun to visit la la land.  What would be your perfect winter?

There is still some green and growth in the world too.  Some radishes which I planted as seed back in August and which never really produced...well...radishes is still green and perky.  Radish iS one of the crops popular as a cover crop.  Cover crops are planted to hold the soil (prevent erosion) over winter when the ground would usually be bare, and then it can be harvested or planted over and left to rot in spring providing the soil with natural nutrients like compost. All right, it's way more complicated than that but that's the gist. I don't really need erosion control in my tiny raised bed in the middle of town but I'm kind of tickled at the idea that I'm utilizing cover crops.  Hee!

My unintentional "cover crop"

Moving indoors, my Meyer Lemon tree is having a blooming bonanza! This is by far the most it has ever bloomed in the three years I have had it (I counted at least 49 blooms or buds!) and I have grand hopes for lots of lemons. The blooms smell heavenly.  To get lemons I will need to hand pollinate as the flowers open.  Unfortunately, I believe it's also infested with scale - lots of sticky honeydew on leaves and branches and it was infested last winter.  Last year, I only discovered the problem right before it went outside so I just let it go but this year I'm going to try and get rid of it with some organic recipes I found online, including some fish emulsion.

Acting like a pollinator

Pollen

 

LIFE

Tis the season to be reflective.  I'm not sure if it is like this for everyone because for a lot of folks it seems to be the season for running around like headless chickens but for me it's relatively quiet.  I took a few days off from work around the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and it once again reminded me how beneficial taking time like that is, not just for me on a personal health level but in improving my enthusiasm for and productivity at work.  Again I don't know whether it works that way for everyone but for introvert me it's the best medicine I can take - a few days to get my house in order both literally and figuratively.

One thing I saw recently that really caught my imagination, though I think it is an old story was about the 365grateful project.  if you are unfamiliar the basic idea was that an Australian woman took a picture every day for a year of one thing or experience that she was grateful for that day.  The act of being more mindful and focusing on the positive every day is really something I feel like is sorely missing from my life.  My life is amazing and I am so incredibly fortunate and yet I feel like I waste so much energy being grumpy, stressed, worried and resentful about things.  While in some ways a project like this feels a little self-indulgent and perhaps very "first world problem" oriented, I actually think it may help me to more fully realize how totally blessed my life is and open up some room to be more compassionate towards everyone. So I'm going to contemplate this a little more and then try something at the start of the year or thereabouts. If I had to pick something I am grateful for today my cup would be overflowing.  I am grateful for my Meyer Lemon tree blooming its little heart out and me getting to act as pollinator.  I also am grateful to have discovered that a local friend of mine is a closet artist and a really good one and I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done at a homegrown craft and art show just outside of town. 


WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 
I watched the final two Harry Potter movies the last couple nights to wrap up my HP re-read and re-watch and holy buckets are they good and SO emotional.  I was sort of mentally exhausted after watching part two last night.  I crawled into bed at like 9:30,lol. 

Reading

Finished Last Week: 

• Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling:  *Sniff*  My re-read is at an end.  

Currently Reading:

• Heartless by Gail Carriger:  I'm was listening to this 4th book in the Parasol Protectorate series.  Carriger was having way too much fun with an 8 months pregnant Alexia.   ON HOLD because I was forced to return it to the library. Grr....
• Into the Wilderness by Sarah Donati:  Historical fiction/romance (different actually then just a historical romance) I had to wait behind 6 other patrons on the hold list to get this from the library despite the fact it was published in 1998.  Not sure why - maybe because it gets compared to Outlander and that's big right now?  Even though I did not like Outlander, I am loving this so far.  Set in the American frontier just pre or post revolution period (somewhere between 1750 and 1800:).
• Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara:  I've gotten a little farther into this one and am not sure what I think of it.  It's very immersive but not in a good way - in a "what the hell is going on" way.  I'll stick with it for a while and hope it reveals itself.
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater:  The third in the Raven Cycle books.

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• The Secret River by Kate Grenville:  A historical fiction novel that takes place in the early days of Australian settlement by the British.  I found this title on The Book Stop.
• The Viscountess of Vice by Jenny Holiday:  I read the first two books in this Regency Romance series and noticed a third is coming out.  I really liked book one in the series and was a little underwhelmed by book two but I'm willing to give the series another try.
• Love by the Letter by Melissa Jagears:  From a TTT list on Reading is my Superpower. Romances set in the Western Frontier.  My impression is that it will be a relatively clean romance.
• The Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall:  The start of a Regency era romance series.  From a TTT list on Reading is my Superpower and again I suspect this is Christian Fiction so relatively clean.  Christian fiction is not normally my thing but I have read one or two books and they were fine.  As long as the religious message isn't too overpowering, I'm generally okay with it.

The next three are all by Debut Authors in 2016 and all came by a TTT list on The Bibliosanctum:

• The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky:  Pitched that it will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoyed American Gods or Percy Jackson.  I'm so there.
• Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto: Saloons and six-shooters feature prominently in the description and I can not resist a Weird Western, no way, no how.
• The Dragon Round by Stephen Powers: Pitched for "fans of Scott Lynch and Naomi Novik",  Sounds good.  Basically there are ships powered by sails and there are dragons - I adore both.

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

• TUESDAY: Top Ten Twelve Tuesday - New to Me Authors in 2015.  My favorite list to make each year.
• WEDNESDAY:  REVIEW | YA FANTASY | Penryn and the End of Days series.  I gave the whole series 3.5 out of 5 stars which means I liked it muchly.
• THURSDAY: REVIEW | Beastly Bones by William Ritter.  Didn't love it as much as it's predecessor Jackaby but it was still very enjoyable!

On the BLOG NEXT WEEK:

I will start with a re-read post on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Sunday, participate in The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday which is the favorite books of the year post, and then hopefully have a review of Magic Slays with a side of Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews.  If inspiration and motivation align I may try to squeeze in another TBD review, but that's probably me just being silly.

That's it for me this slightly overcast Saturday.  How's things for you?  Are you finding your holidays reflective or hectic or perhaps a little of both?

I do Captain Jack. I totally do.

REVIEW | YA FANTASY | Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Beastly Bones by William Ritter
Publication Year: 2015

Genre: YA, Historical Fantasy
Series:Jackaby #2
Awards: None
Format: eBook (from Library)
Narrator: NA

Why?: I absolutely adored the first book in this series, Jackaby, when I read it earlier this year.

Beastly Bones starts not too long after the end of Jackaby.  Abigail Rook is settling into her job as Jackaby's assistant and fellow investigator of the strange and supernatural in the town of New Fiddleham, New England.  In the small town of Gad's Valley a little way from New Fiddleham, Jackaby and Abigail are called upon to investigate dinosaur bones that are mysteriously disappearing.  Abigail's background in paleontology makes her gung ho to look into it, not to mention that it would mean a reunion with the the handsome policeman Charlie, but Jackaby isn't interested until a violent death in Gad's Valley displays a connection with a current case.

After my absolute gushing about Jackaby, this is going to be a comparatively lukewarm review but it was really a good follow up. However, I don't have too much to say about it.  If I have a complaint it is that it perhaps did not carry Abigail and Jackaby forward very much or develop them any further.  There are some interesting and mysterious changes with their ghostly land lady, Jenny but there is not a lot of time spent on that development in this installment. I predict it will be a major part of a future book.  Anyway, the minimal character development with the two leads is not a huge problem as they are both pretty charming, Jackaby in particular with all his Doctor Who/Sherlock Holmes tendencies.  He's one of those characters that appears completely out of touch with reality when in fact he often sees things in a much truer light than most other more "normal" people.  He's also very funny.  When I highlight quotes they are almost always his:

“So often,” Jackaby said, “people think that when we arrive at a crossroads, we can choose only one path, but—as I have often and articulately postulated—people are stupid. We’re not walking the path. We are the path. We are all of the roads and all of the intersections. Of course you can choose both.”

“Miss Rook,” he said, “the greatest figures in history are never the ones who avoid failure, but those who march chin-up through countless failures, one after the next, until they come upon the occasional victory.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Failure is not the opposite of success—it’s a part of it.

"It is troubling to consider a criminal manufacturing paranormal mayhem. How long has he been at it? Did he orchestrate the reclusive redcap’s rise to become a predator in public office? Plant the swarm of brownies on the mayor’s lawn? Promote adoption of the Dewey decimal system in libraries across the continent? It’s the not knowing I find most irksome.” “The Dewey decimal system?” “It’s gaining popularity. I don’t trust it.”

I mean who does trust the Dewey Decimal System?  Besides...um....thousands of librarians. *Ahem* Another slight weakness of the book for me is that Jackaby does often feel a little sidelined and I wanted a little more of him. 

The story is a lot of fun especially for anyone who likes a bit of paleontology from time to time. It starts however with kittens that are morphing into fish. Interesting but not as compelling, for Abigail, as dinosaur bones.  Lucky for her, Jackaby finally agrees to leave the animorphs behind to go chase disappearing dinosaur bones and they find mysterious creatures lurking in the woods.  The books take place in the Victorian era when looking for dinosaur bones was quite the swashbuckling affair and this book provides us with two warring paleontologists as well as an eager and sassy reporter. The colorful cast serve to entertain and confuse the matter as Jackaby and Abigail try to figure out what is going on.  The eventual solution is pretty clever and comes with a dramatic show down.  What more can you ask for from a YA historical, supernatural mystery? 

FINAL VERDICT:  Beastly Bones didn't have quite the verve that Jackaby did but it's a good follow up and I still really enjoyed it.  This series is definitely installed as an auto read for me. 3 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions: Kirkus Reviews | Mugglenet | The Novel Hermit | Books With Chemistry

REVIEW | YA FANTASY | Penryn & the End of Days Trilogy by Susan Ee

Penryn and the End of Days Trilogy by Susan Ee

Genre: Young Adult, SFF

Awards: None

Format: eBook (Prime Kindle Owner's Lending Library)

Narrator: NA

Angelfall (#1) - Publication Year: 2011 

World After (#2) - Publication Year: 2013

End of Days (#3) - Publication Year: 2015

I knew three things almost immediately when I started reading this trilogy: 1) I was going to like it way more than I expected; 2) that I was extremely grateful that I had started the trilogy after all of its installments were published because, if I hadn't, there would have been some seriously anxious toe-tapping and nail biting in between publication dates and 3) I wanted to review the trilogy all together.  Now that I am sitting down to do just that, I'm not entirely sure how to accomplish number 3 or how I want to format it but I stand by that decision because these three books tell one long continuous story.  My plan is to provide a short synopsis, 2 sentence review and star rating for each and then discuss the trilogy as a whole and rate the whole thing.

Angelfall
In Angelfall we meet Penryn for the first time.  She's a teenage girl whose life wasn't terribly easy even before the world was invaded by Angels.  That's right invaded by Angels.  The angels in this story are not the gentle messengers of God but are arrogant, vain, violent warriors. They see human kind as a different and far inferior species that was created to serve God and the Angels.  This book starts just a few weeks after the Angels descended to Earth out of nowhere and proceeded to throw the world into chaos and fear.  Penryn's mother is a paranoid schizophrenic to whom this new world feels familiar and her younger sister is in a wheelchair.  Penryn's father abandoned the family years ago when he could no longer handle his wife's mental illness.

If there is one thing Penryn's unorthodox and troubled childhood has done for her, it has made her very tough.  She has a feeling of strong responsibility for her remaining family especially her little sister, Paige, so when Paige is kidnapped off the street by an Angel and flown away there is no question about what Penryn must do.  She must rescue her sister and she will use anything at her disposal to do it including draft the help of a disgraced angel, Raffe, who has had his wings severed from his body.  Raffe quickly realizes he could use Penryn's help as well if he is to get his wings reattached and get back in the good graces of his people.  The two form an uneasy alliance and make their way across the blighted and dangerous landscape to the angel headquarters in San Francisco.

FINAL VERDICT:  This first volume does such a good job painting a bleak landscape that feels realistically terrifying while establishing a rapport between the unlikely pair of Penryn and Raffe that is both believable and swoon worthy.  It is an intense page turner. 4 out of 5 stars.

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World After
Penryn is reunited with her sister and her mom and Raffe again has wings but nothing is as it should be.  Penryn and her family try to join up with the local human resistance but her mom and sister's strangeness make them less then welcome and they are quickly driven apart again by circumstances.  Penryn must set out once again, somewhat less enthusiastically, to rescue her family.  During her travels she learns all about the Angels' horrific plans for human kind and she starts to realize there is more at stake than just her family's survival.   By the end of the book she is reunited with Raffe and they realize that they have a common goal even if their motivations are different and that their relationship is seriously complicated.

FINAL VERDICT:  A great middle novel that feels completely vital and does its job of displaying more of the Angel world and it's politics while establishing the importance of Penryn to humanity's future.  4 out of 5 stars.

End of Days
Penryn has her sister back again and her goal has shifted to doing what she can to stop the Angels' agenda.  She'd also like to help Raffe and fortunately, at least for the moment, saving humanity and helping Raffe are compatible goals. As time goes on however, she is reminded again and again that she and Raffe are from different worlds and those two worlds are not ultimately compatible.  She throws in her lot with the humans and they set out to face the angels once and for all though they have little hope for victory.

FINAL VERDICT:  This was a somewhat disappointing conclusion to the series primarily because the ending felt jarring and unnatural which clashed with what, to that point, had been a very authentic and down to earth tone.  3 out of 5 stars.

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The Series

I never really thought I'd read a book about angels.  Not my thing at all.  Sure, I enjoy Castiel on Supernatural but most of the heavenly froofrara that comes with him just makes me roll my eyes. However, I saw so many glowing...and intriguing...reviews of this series that I wanted to check it out and was immediately hooked.  Why?  Penryn.  This is her story and it's her voice all the way through and it is such a good voice.  I think Susan Ee perfectly captures the voice of a teenage girl who has been forced to become more mature and take on more responsibility than she really wants.  Her emotions are constantly at war but because she has always had to be the adult-with-their-head-on-straight at home she keeps it all in check and does what she has to do.  She is such a strong and unique person, without falling into the special snowflake trap, that I had no trouble whatsoever believing that a guy whose been around for thousands of years would be interested in her.  Penryn is who I wish Katniss Everdeen had been.

Focusing on Penryn and keeping the story with her was also a real strength of the books.  It keeps the story personal.  The things happening are epic and world changing but all we are concerned about is how Penryn will survive and protect her family.  Frankly the angel story line is ridiculous but it took me a very long time to notice that because I was so invested in Penryn.

The personal nature of the story was also helped by how gritty this dystopian world was and Ee's detailed vision of it. There's no fantastical gimmicks, just tired frightened people trying to figure out how to survive in a world completely unfamiliar while there is the constant threat of being preyed upon by monsters.  The book frequently crosses over into horror with really graphic and difficult imagery bringing home how terrifying this new world is.  I found it easy to imagine being in Penryn's shoes and thought the world she moved in felt very real even if the reason for the world being the way it is, was completely fantastical.  Basically it captures the desperation and fear that would take over the human race if our civilization collapsed.

The books avoid being too grim and dark for two reasons - humor and romance.  First the romance, which again benefits from the very personal perspective of the storytelling.  Ee does a good job keeping the romance in check but when it is there it works really well because we're in Penryn's head.  The romance doesn't feel out of place and odd even though it should.  Penryn frequently gets irritated with herself for getting all googly-eyed over a boy when the world is coming to an end but she can't help it.  She and Raffe are really awesome together with one of the best things being the banter.  Considering he's an Angel, Raffe is unexpectedly a sarcastic smart ass and Penryn gives back what she's given.  You can tell this humor and the interaction between these two helps lighten up the books because Raffe's absence for much of World After definitely makes it the grimmest of the books.  It is the scariest because without Raffe, Penryn is really on her own with no backup she can rely on and I was white knuckled for her throughout this book.  Their relationship is truly star-crossed with the loyalty each of them has to their own "kind".  Penryn recognizes that even though Raffe disagrees with the Angels actions he still feels kinship with them and he will not help her wipe them out.

It dawns on me that even though Uriel is creating a false apocalypse and is out to kill Raffe, that doesn’t mean Raffe is willing to help humans win the war against his own people. I’ve had plenty of humans try to kill me since the Great Attack, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to help the angels wipe out the humans. Far from it.

The other aspect of this Dystopian world that I found particularly interesting as a wildlife biologist/conservationist was observing humans being treated like we often treat animals.  The prettiest and friendliest are kept as pets who are not always well treated and the rest are experimented upon or killed depending upon what serves the Angels' needs best.  And there are differing feelings among the angels with some having more respect for humans than others.  It's an interesting way to read the books to say the least!

The books aren't perfect of course and things kind of fell apart for me in End of Days.  Overall it's not a bad book.  I was a little bored by the heavy focus on the romance in the first part of the book but it really picked up again roughly 20-30% in.  Then came the ending which completely took me by surprise.  It's quite...bizarre.  It doesn't really mesh with the tone in the rest of the books and feels quite rushed.  It felt a bit like the ending Ee had originally written for the books was too dark and someone convinced her that it wouldn't be received well so she unleashed some unicorns and puppies onto the manuscript. There's Deus ex Machina vomited (the angelic plague of the sixers) all over which perhaps is appropriate in a book about angels. /:

Also, I was left with so many questions.  To be fair the books work best if you don't think about them too deeply though I think it only really becomes a problem in this third installment where there is so much more focus on the Angels and their culture and plans.  Some of the questions I had (in case someone can answer them:) that are a little spoilery so beware: All that really needed to happen was kill Uriel? Then everything would be peachy?  What was up with Gabriel and the whole decree that Angels and Humans mating will make abominations?  Raffe's revelation about this here is completely contradictory to what he has been saying and how he has been acting in the previous books.  How do we know that Michael whose off wandering by himself ignoring the destruction and chaos the angels are causing is going to come back and fix everything?  How does one become an Archangel?  Why did every single one of Raffe's company fall in love with a human woman?  What's wrong with the angelic ladies?  What's happening in the rest of the world outside of San Francisco?  If Uriel was really the only one keeping the angels on task in destroying humanity how come he can just hang out in San Francisco?  And what exactly is up with Paige - why does she have the ability to attract and lead the locusts? *shrugs*

In the end, I give the series 3.5 out of 5 stars on the strength of the first two books.  The last book kind of swings and misses but I still admit that I mostly enjoyed it.

Overall Series Rating:

TOP TWELVE TUESDAY - Say Who? New-to-me Authors in 2015!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme for bloggers who like books and lists. It's awesome and is graciously hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Because discovering new authors to love and stalk (just their books) is one of my favorite things, looking back and making a list of all the best ones I got acquainted with over the past year is also a favorite task.  It's satisfying and kind of exciting to look back and see all the new authors for which I have only scratched the surface of their work and therefore have much good reading in front of me.   Basically it's a reflective Top Ten that also has many awesome implications for the future! So it outstrips the top ten books of the year list as my favorite top ten.

Making my list was not as easy or hard (depending upon how you look at it) as last year.  There were about 7 authors that I immediately picked out as authors I enjoyed immensely and whose books I will be seeking out in the future.  Then there were about 5 more whom I very much liked but, for one reason or another, I am a little shy about declaring my undying love for them.  I'm going to be reckless with my heart and be a rebel by listing all twelve.

********************

  

Maggie Stiefvater    

This young adult author has published quite a lot and while I have only read two of her books, I can just tell, by her writing style, her characters, her humor, her themes, that she's a keeper.  I've read the first two books in her Raven Cycle series and can't wait to read everything in that series and then devour everything else she has written. 

Louise Penny

Louise Penny is a very new discovery - I just finished the first book in her Armand Gamache mystery series a week or so ago.  I knew within the first three chapters of Still Life that I'd found a new favorite mystery writer.  Her characters, particularly her principle, are people I truly wish I knew.  Her writing is beautiful and balances both humor and the truth of things.  The mystery wasn't bad either.  

Sarah MacLean

So I think the word is already out on how much I fell in love (hee!) with Sarah MacLean's Regency romances this year. I've gushed about it a lot on the blog and rightfully so because I got so much joy from them.  I have a few more of hers to read and I'm kind of dragging my feet because I don't want to be out of MacLean books to read.

Nnedi Okorafor

I only read one book by her this year but all of her books sound like prime must read now material. Akata Witch was a lovely YA book with similar themes as Harry Potter but set in a completely different culture with a completely different mythology about magic.

Maryrose Wood

This year, I got totally hooked on Wood's insanely charming middle-grade series The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.  It is about a young governess in Victorian era England who takes on the care of three children who happen to have been raised by wolves - and that's not the most mysterious thing going on in the books!  They are hilarious and so much fun especially the audio books read by the marvelous and amazing Katherine Kellgren.  Wood has a few other YA novels that look like they've gotten somewhat mixed reviews but I will definitely be checking them out, mixed reviews be damned!

Craig Johnson

He writes mysteries set in modern day rural Wyoming which feature Absaroka County sheriff Walt Longmire.  My love for the TV show drove me to the books which I discovered are even better than the show.  Johnson is a fantastic writer and I will be devouring the rest of this series toot sweet!

Larry McMurtry

Spoiler Alert - Lonesome Dove was the absolute best book I read this year.  Definitely want to explore whatever else McMurtry has to offer.  Perhaps he has written a particularly engrossing edition of the phone book? I'm there.

William Ritter

I was a huge superfan of his debut novel Jackaby and really liked the follow up Beastly Bones that was just released.  I'll definitely be gobbling up anything he writes in this series and would also be interested in what else he could do.

Holly Black

I was extremely pleasantly surprised by how much I loved The Darkest Part of the Forest. Pretty excited that Black has a nice sized back catalog to dig into! Lots of good reading ahead *rubs hands together in maniacal glee*.

Max Gladstone

The first book in his Craft Sequence series was original and funny and complicated but mostly in a good way.  Looking forward to continue diving into his work!

Susan Ee

I would have told you before reading Susan Ee's Penryn and the End of Days series that I don't like reading horror but these books got pretty graphic and horrific at times and I loved it.  She did such a good job of keeping things balanced using well-placed humor and keeping the story personal.  To be honest I didn't think I'd ever be caught dead reading a book about angels but she made it work. I will definitely be interested in what else she writes!

Cathrynne M. Valente

It took me a little bit to get into The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making but somewhere in the story it just started to click and I was in love.  She's a creative and imaginative writer that deserves more exploration! Tally Ho!

***********

As per my usual, the lady authors dominate, so much so that I shake my head in sorrow for and bafflement at folks who don't read a lot of women writers.  What fun they are missing!

So what are some of the authors you were most excited about getting acquainted with this year?  I will definitely be trolling the lists over at the Broke and the Bookish so I can see what authors I need become attached to next year!

Saturday in the Garden- Seed Catalog Season!

December 5, 2015

OUTSIDE
 
As much as I hate having to continue to function and drive places when there is snow on the ground, winter can be quite ugly without it (see above picture).  I was able to "winterize" my garden last weekend at least taking care of the essentials and it's actually shaping up to be a relatively warm day today and will be in the upper 40s for much of the beginning of the week so I may actually be able to do a little more than the minimum.  The sun and warmer temps have been nice but also enjoyed the winter wonderland views earlier this week.

Another good thing about winter?  Seed Catalog Season!  And it has begun.  The Seed Savers catalog, which is my favorite, came in the mail this week and I can't wait to spend some quality time with this baby.

LIFE

The favorite thing in my life this week is an online class I am taking on Whole Food Freezer Cooking.  It is taught by Heather at the Beauty that Moves blog and has included many goods tips and recipes and has been so inspiring.  It's my first class with her and I'd definitely be interested in doing another sometime and would recommend the classes to anyone else interested in getting inspired and learning more about living sustainably.  I wish I had pictures of some gorgeous food to share but while inspired, my logistics and organizing has yet to kick in.  That's the plan for this afternoon so maybe I'll have something to share next week.

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 
Not a lot besides my Whole Food Freezer Cooking Videos (see above). 

Reading
I am so ridiculously happy to be pulling out of a reading slump!  I am reading so many good things right now AND have a lot of books on deck that I want to read RIGHT NOW.  It's an embarrassment of riches!

Finished Last Week: 

• End of Days by Susan Ee:  This is the final book in the Penryn and The End of Days trilogy about evil angels and the start of the apocalypse.  I loved the first two books in this YA series and this one was good but I was completely flummoxed by the ending.
•  Still Life by Louise Penny:  This is the first book in a mystery series set in Quebec, Canada and featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.  A friend of mine recommended this series to me and it was fantastic even though I kind of knew who the killer was early on.  Excellent writing, excellent characters, intriguing mystery and setting. 
• Winter by Marissa Meyer:  I really really loved it and was surprised to see some pretty scathing reviews on goodreads (though overall rating is like 4.5 stars).  It may take me a while to write a review without gushing.  I highly recommend the audio which I think added immensely to my enjoyment!

Currently Reading:

• Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling:  *Sniff*  My re-read is coming to an end.  I am just pages from the end on this....
• Heartless by Gail Carriger:  I'm was listening to this 4th book in the Parasol Protectorate series.  Carriger was having way too much fun with an 8 months pregnant Alexia.   ON HOLD because I was forced to return it to the library. Grr....
• Into the Wilderness by Sarah Donati:  Historical fiction/romance (different actually then just a historical romance) I had to wait behind 6 other patrons on the hold list to get this from the library despite the fact it was published in 1998.  Not sure why - maybe because it gets compared to Outlander and that's big right now?  Even though I did not like Outlander, I am loving this so far.  Set in the American frontier just pre or post revolution period (somewhere between 1750 and 1800:).
• Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara:  I literally have just started listening to this and it's not grabbing me mostly, I think, because it is following Winter which I am still giddy over.

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

I found a number of books to add to the TBR on this list by Kate Elliot at Barnes and Noble about books with female characters that don't make her want to smash things:):

• Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough:  As Ms. Elliot describes it, god ole rollicking Sword and Sorcery but with realistic women. 
• The Broken Crown by Michelle West:  I've been trying to start another series by this author under the name Michelle Sagara (see above!).  
•  **********************

• The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Church:  I just got approved on NetGalley for this book and it's not out until the middle of next year.  It's the story of a woman in the 1940s who wants to become an Ornithologist but then gives the career pursuit up for love and marriage.  This is right in the center of my alley though I've never heard of the author.
• Steal the Sky by Megan O'Keefe:  Another ARC from NetGalley, this one involves cons and heists and airships and political machinations and unrest.  It sounds really fun and is set to be released in early 2016.
• Kingfisher by Patricia McKillip: Ran across on NetGalley and looked intriguing but didn't request.
• The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie:  A Regency Era Romance.  The author Anne Gracie, who I'd never heard of, was listed in a top ten list on the Historical Romance Addicts blog and she sounded like her books would be right up my alley.

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

• MONDAY: Review of The Cold Dish and Death Without Company by Craig Johnson.  These are the first two books in the Longmire mystery series.
• WEDNESDAY:  What I've Learned about Romance (Novels) - Basically about my ignorant stumbling around in the romance genre.
• FRIDAY:  Review of Skin Game by Jim Butcher.  Book 15 in the Dresden Files and the most recent book published.  That's right - I am all caught up. One series out of the 4,500 I am currently in the middle of....sigh.....

On the BLOG NEXT WEEK:

I'd like to post two reviews and some other kind of fun post.  Top Ten Tuesday this week is the top ten new-to-me authors I discovered in 2015.  This may be my favorite list to make each year so I'll definitely participate.   Would also like to post another two reviews this week I think of the Penryn and the End of Days series by Susan Ee and Beastly Bones by William Ritter.  A little heavy on the young adult but at least there's a bit of a theme.

That's it in Dork town this week.  How are things on your end?  Do you realize how many seed-life metaphors are out there?  Have a good one!!

REVIEW | Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Publication Year: 2014
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: The Dresden Files #15
Awards: Nominated for a Hugo
Format: Audio (from Library)
Narrator: James Marsters

Why?: I'm caught up! I'm caught up! ......  Sooooo.... where's the next book?

If you can't tell from the cover - huge vault door and Harry in the middle of a cascade of flaming hundred dollar bills - Skin Game is a heist novel.  A HEIST novel.  Harry has been ordered, in his capacity as Winter Knight, to assist one of the fallen, Nicodemus Archleone with a plan to steal some things from the vault of Hades.   And that's not just a euphemism or fancy name - we're talking the vault of the honest to god brother to Zeus, lord of the underworld, Hades.  To make matters worse Nicodemus is kind of an arch enemy of Dresden's but he  must follow Queen Mab's orders.  So how's he going to help Nicodemus with his robbery while not actually helping him?  Read to see!  Hint:  things get real complicated (and real explodey) real fast.

***NOTE:  There may be a few spoilers in this review for previous books in the series. Dresden Files is increasingly a long arc story so if you haven't read any of the previous books you may want to stop reading now.  I will also be revealing some spoilers for Skin Game, specifically in regards to Harry's love life so if you don't want to know don't read the "Murphy Files" section at the bottom. ***

After the intense trilogy of Changes-Ghost Story-Cold Days, Skin Game is a more business as usual Dresden Files book.  There are lots of ramifications from the events of the three previous books and continuing story lines but the main thrust of Skin Game is a heist, which is begun and resolved in this book and the fate of the world only hangs in the balance maybe once or twice.  Mostly.  The stakes are still high enough to keep the tension up, but it is not quite the stress fest of the previous three books.

And it's a heist!  A heist!  Who doesn't love a heist?  On the crew along with Harry are Murphy and Michael Carpenter (at Harry's invite), a very mysterious and sinister gentleman who only wears gray called, appropriately Mr. Gray, Hannah Ascher, a wizardess who is very good with fire (better than Harry!), Binder who appeared a couple books ago and who specializes in summoning and directing goons from the NeverNever, and Anna Valmont,  a human mortal who is really good at cracking safes.  Nicodemus' and his creepy and dangerous daughter Deirdre round things out. Oh and there's also another mysterious member of the crew that gets revealed half way through the planning of the heist.  So of all the characters, Mr. Gray and Hannah Ascher are the only two we haven't met before.  It's a good crew with most being either friendly to Harry or not so friendly to Harry.  Absolutely everybody has secrets in order to keep things interesting.  Basically, it's a lot of fun with a fantastic ending.  And we get to meet Hades who might be my new favorite character after Murphy.  I hope he comes back.  Plot gets a gold star!

More and more Butcher is weaving in elements from his past books and he does so really really well. Little things from earlier books end up becoming major plot points in later books which is making me paranoid about every little thing that happens - "that seems insignificant but what's it going to mean three books from now??"  The inclusion of past happenings and characters into the book can be frustrating as I have a goldfish's memory but ultimately it is what makes this series so brilliant.  It feels like a fully realized, connected and entirely possible world.  It provides it with way more depth than an urban fantasy about a wizard detective has any right to have.  I love it!

The other thing that makes these books so addictive and awesome are Harry's friends.  This book takes place about a year after the finish of Cold Days.  All that time Harry has been living out on an island in the middle of Lake Michigan which is the only place that can keep the "tumor" that was discovered in his head in Cold Days from exploding and taking his brain with it.  Harry has thus spent a lot of time alone and is feeling a little insecure...well insecure for Harry.  He wonders why his brother and Murphy haven't come out to visit him more and he has had very little contact with Molly now that she's the Winter Lady.  In fact, Molly is barely in this book.  She appears briefly in a dream and then swoops in at the end. She is settling in well to her new job as the Winter Lady, perhaps a little too well and she has not yet told her parents of her change in status.  It's clear Harry is worried about her.  Michael eventually soothes Harry's hurt feelings about the lack of visits to his island and we see why Michael is such a good friend for Harry to have.  However, he is also a good representation of what happens to folks who are Harry's friends.  Harry also makes some progress in resolving his feelings about his daughter and how to approach her.  It will definitely be interesting to see where that leads.

And of course there are some developments with Murphy which equally thrilled and infuriated me.  But more about that below as it is likely to be lengthy, a bit obsessive and not for everyone:). I do want to mention how disgusted I was about the fact that Butters is deemed worthy to carry one of the  swords of truth and Murphy isn't.  Come on now.  Murphy is a big damn hero and frankly has more integrity then Harry and Butters put together. Sheesh and Pshaw. Thankfully this book was fun enough that I could get over it.  At least for now.

FINAL VERDICT:  An exciting and refreshing "stand alone" heist story in the Dresden Files universe.  Fans of the series will certainly enjoy it. I am chomping at the bit for book 16 even though it sounds like it will be Murphy lite.  3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Murphy Files or Special Notes on Harry's Love Life

Hoo boy do things between Murphy and Dresden get interesting in this book and not entirely in a good way for folks who want to see them together. It's quite the roller coaster.  First Harry has a sexy dream about Murphy! Yay!  But at the end of that dream Murphy turns against him and tries to kill him.  Harry ends up interpreting that as a plot point later in the book with no association with Murphy at all but it's just the kind of thing that Butcher will bring back in a later book as one of the clues that Murphy is possessed by evil or some such. Grrr.

Then he has a conversation with...um...himself, his own sub-conscious, where it is basically made pretty clear that Dresden isn't really sure whether he wants Murphy or Molly and he's just going with Murphy right now because it feels less icky. Grrrr.

Then Murphy declares her love for Harry and by doing so breaks one of the special swords and then gets the ever-living crap beaten out of her.  Butcher then takes time in the aftermath of this to have Michael point out to Harry that he doesn't seem that worried or concerned about Murphy.  He goes so far as to suggest that if Harry really had feelings for Murphy he wouldn't be so blase' about her state of injury. Harry just kind of responds with a "are you talking to me" confused face and then moves swiftly on.  So again. Grr...

So if you are keeping track that is three Grrrrs to one Yay and yet at the end of the book when Harry goes to visit Murphy in the hospital, as soon as he is alone with her it's adorable smoochfest 2014.  Say what?  WHAT THE HELL IS JIM BUTCHER UP TO WITH THESE TWO??? ****pants**** Okay, I'm all right now.  Just thoroughly and completely confused and very suspicious that Butcher has some truly horrible things in store for Murphy and Dresden.  I'm all right with Dresden getting knocked around but no more for Murphy. No more I tell ya! Pretty please?  Sigh......

What I've Learned About Romance (Novels)

I consider myself to be a pretty silly and hopeless romantic.  My favorite TV shows, movies, books will almost always have some element of romance in their DNA.  But I haven't historically been a big fan of romance novels.  I remember that one of my favorite books of my pre-teen/teen years (and I still own it) was Savage Spirit by Meg Cameron.

It's about a frontier girl who is kidnapped by Indians and falls in love with one of the young braves, Blue Quail. On reflection, I realize now, that it's probably an unrealistic, and perhaps racist, portrayal of Native Americans. Moving swiftly on... This along with Jane Austen, Disney's The Little Mermaid, and Gone With The Wind probably shaped my entire romantic notions of life.  But Savage Spirit was really the last Romance novel with a capital R that I remember reading.

Until about 4-5 years ago.  This is when I heard Nancy Pearl expressing her love for Georgette Heyer.  Heyer wrote in the early to mid part of the 20th century and she is best known for the prodigious number of Regency Era romances she wrote.  They are marvelous.  They don't quite have the depth and subtlety of Austen but they are a complete joy to read - witty and smart with characters you wish you knew.  And even though she wrote so many they were all unique, I could read several in a row without tiring of them.  And, of course, the naughtiest thing that happens is a kiss or perhaps a cuddle or two.  But still squeal-inducingly romantic.

This whet my appetite for romantic books and I figured the best place to look for these was in the romance genre.  My astuteness has by now wowed you.  But truly, finding a good romance novel was A LOT harder then I imagined.  I was getting into the genre cold and had no clue to which authors I should gravitate.  I picked up a couple of historical romances that looked interesting story-wise.  I don't remember the authors or the books but they were truly appalling.  I am not the most intellectual of readers but these books would have caused permanent damage from the amount of eye-rolling and grimacing they induced.

I did some research and eventually found a few authors I enjoyed (see below).  I still have a lot of exploration to do but I've learned some things and I wanted to share them with the aim of hopefully helping others find their way into the genre.  But I have to say that, in any real sense you shouldn't listen to me at all.  There are a bunch of great bloggers out there that have much more knowledgeable and thorough guidance to give.  Really this is just me shooting my mouth off about something I only know a little about :0).  Fun!

• The current day romance world has a bit more erotic flair than Ms. Heyer.  And by a bit I mean a LOT.  It almost seems that there's a formula to it which dictates when in the book the first sexy scene must appear, followed by some unforeseen conflict, followed by a reconciliatory climax (climax...hee,hee) involving more mind blowing sex.  It's porn for ladies and some authors do it better than others.  I say it's porn for ladies specifically because there is always an emphasis on the emotions involved along with the down and dirty.  I'm not averse to the a little naughtiness but it does seem like the sex has become the central thrust (see what I did there) of the romance.  The books I love most are those that weaken your knees with every interaction of the hero and heroine and the intimacy is a natural progression from the forming bond.

• Romance reviewers on Goodreads and Amazon are apparently super nice.  Too nice.  I've found that I shouldn't trust the ratings of romance novels on these sites.  I'll see a book that has an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 and think wow I need to get that book...only to find that its nothing special.  The blogosphere seems to be a little more reliable at least for me.

• The Heroes:  There seem to be an inordinate amount of Alpha males with a capital A. I know we ladies, against our wills almost, are programmed (genetically speaking) to be drawn to the strongest man in the room but it can get old.  Hot, but tiresome.  I've always preferred King Arthur over Lancelot. An argument could be made that both those men are Alphas but in my view of them (which stems primarily from "The Once and Future King" and the musical "Camelot" which is not the historic view) Lancelot is more the vision of brute male alpha-ness while Arthur's the intellectual, geeky male with a sense of responsibility and vision.  Essentially, Arthur's the more complex and I wish he was the hero a little more often in the romances I read. 

• Humor is essential.  This is completely a personal preference thing but I can not handle a romance that takes itself too seriously.  For me, the romance genre is NOT about realism - it's lovely, feel-good, nonsense.  This is such a requirement for me that the occasional witty quip isn't enough if there are a lot of other weighty issues in the book.  It has made it hard for me to like some favorite authors like Mary Balogh who I find to be too earnest and Courtney Milan who writes very interesting heroines but who also has her characters have real problems.  Horrors!  However they are both good writers if you aren't as fluffy headed as I.

• There are several sub-genres of romance as there are for most genres.  Why this was surprising to me I don't know.  Because I am looking for books as far from reality as possible my favorite sub-genres are Historical and Paranormal and I have recently read a couple Romantic Suspense. I do not generally enjoy Contemporaries.  I've also not really delved into Erotic or Inspirational.   Historicals are my most favorite and I've explored the most in this sub-genre though my reading is certainly not extensive.  Paranormal has been even more hit or miss with me I think because the heroes in these books tend to be major Alphas if they are not done just so, I don't like them.  Popular authors like J.R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon don't work super well for me as a result but they may work for you.  J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of the most well-loved paranormal series out there so even though I couldn't get into the first book there is a good chance you may love it.

• I mentioned that I had a bit of trial and error before I hit on some authors who work for me. These are some of my favorites:
• Historical Romance (mostly Regency Era and Victorian)
• Georgette Heyer of course who started my whole reintroduction to romance.  Some of my favorites of hers are Frederica, Devil's Cub, Arabella, The Convenient Marriage and The Corinthian.
• Julia Quinn - The Bridgerton series is great though I did get stalled because of a disappointment with book 4. Her writing style is fun though - lots of great banter!
• Lisa Kleypas - She has a couple of series that I really like  - The Hathaways and The Wallflowers.  Devil in Winter and Tempt Me at Twilight are probably my favorites of hers.
• Sarah MacLean - My new most favoritest.  I love her so she wrecks my English.  I've loved all the books I've read by her but probably my favorite is One Good Earl Deserves a Lover.
• Eloisa James - For me she's a step down from the four ladies above but I've read a couple by her and enjoyed them. 
• Others that have been recommended to me: Tessa Dare and Loretta Chase.
• I just found this lovely blog post and as a result think I will add Anne Gracie to my list of authors to check out: Top Ten Historical Romance Authors on Historical Romance Addict
• Paranormal Romance (I've explored less here and tend to run into problems)
• Kresley Cole - I adore her Immortals After Dark series and I'm not entirely sure I can explain it because they are CHOCK FULL of Alpha males.  The women are equally feisty and strong-willed and the books are total romps.  Her sex scenes are some of the most...original...I've come across and they are super naughty so if that isn't your thing, beware.  Urban Fantasy - Contemporary Setting.
• Kathryne Kennedy - Her books are a little more hit or miss but they are set more in a sword and sorcery, historical fantasy type setting so they're different. 
• Ilona Andrews - I honestly don't think Andrews' books are romance - they are Urban Fantasy but they are super awesome and have a pretty strong romance element.  The Kate Daniels series is fantastic!

The romance genre has a stigma attached to it and it is definitely not for every reader but there is so much good storytelling out there.  I for one have a place in my reading for some happily ever after:0)! Amy romance readers out there?  Throw out some additional tips or must-read authors that you think are above average.

And now for some fun made possible only by romance novels.

Hello my name is Savannah SweetElectra and I met my true love while fighting for truth and justice in the Mojave Desert.  How about you?

May you have only Happy Endings! XOXO