Tag: Books

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (July, 2022)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

I’ve had a good mix recently of non-fiction and fiction reads – though I’ve had better luck on the whole on the nonfiction side!

I’ve been rereading L. M. Montgomery’s journals for the…third?  fourth?  fifth? time.  I’m on Volume IV of her Complete Journals (as opposed to the previously published Selected Journals).  Volume III covered most of WWI, and Volume IV covers the next several years, including the 1919 flu epidemic.  It was interesting to see what she said about the flu – more than I remembered, but still not very much.  No mention of things like masks or lockdowns!

I also read Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy, which I liked a lot.  It basically advocates for giving kids more freedom and worrying less, with some good arguments on why parental fears are often overblown.  She did become a bit of a fear-mongerer about fear-mongering, though, in a strange way… Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (July, 2022)” →

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June, 2022)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

After a lot of rereads last month, I brought home a big bag of books from the library and have been off on a lot of new reads more recently.

I continued my T. Kingfisher reading with Paladin’s Strength, sequel to Paladin’s Grace, focused on a supporting character from the previous book.  It was very good with some nice turns to the story, if not quite as good as the first in the series – but Paladin’s Grace is a serious contender for best of the year right now, so it’s hardly fair to set the bar that high!  I very much enjoyed the second one too, and plan to finish the trilogy.

I got up to date on the Morrigan Crow series with Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend.  I believe the next book is due out later in the year.  I liked Book 3 better than Book 2 in this case, as Morrigan got to do much more with her magic and that was very fun.  I was not prepared for a plague story, though.  I guess the title should have tipped me off, but I genuinely didn’t make the ‘pox connection!  Still good, but I’m glad I didn’t read this a year ago – and I think some of the “terrible” government restrictions trying to curb the pox (like…a curfew) may read differently now than they would have pre-Covid…

Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (June, 2022)” →

Free Today: Nocturne, Book 1 of The Guardian of the Opera

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News1 Comment

I’m excited to share today that the first book in my Guardian of the Opera series, Nocturne, is currently available free in the Kindle store!  If you haven’t started the series yet, want to add an ebook to your paperback copy, or know someone who would enjoy the series, don’t miss this offer!  It’s only available until June 8th.

Here’s the book blurb to tell you a little more about it, in case you need to convince a friend!

A delightful retelling of the Phantom of the Opera from a new perspective, exploring love, betrayal, and the masks we all hide behind.
 
Paris, 1881. Ballet dancer Meg Giry befriends a newcomer to the Opera Garnier, soprano Christine Daaé. As their friendship grows, both women are hiding secrets: Christine is receiving singing lessons from a supposed Angel of Music, and Meg once met a very human Opera Ghost, forever changing her view of the Opera’s specter.
 
Behind the Phantom’s disguise is Erik, a man of many talents and many masks.  When he falls in love with Christine, he can’t resist at last allowing himself to be seen.  But love without trust can only lead to heartbreak, as events escalate and the Phantom of the Opera begins to lose control.
 
With strange events unfolding and the pieces failing to add up, Meg tries to unravel the truth about the Phantom – and about Christine.  Meg will discover that not all is as it seems and the masks we can see may be the least concealing ones.
 
Fans of the beloved Phantom of the Opera story as well as newcomers to the tale will enjoy this story of mystery and romance set at the Opera Garnier.  Enjoy seeing characters you think you know, and come away with a new view of the Phantom of the Opera.

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May, 2022)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews2 Comments

I’ve been so busy writing the last few weeks, I’ve done less reading than usual!  I have enjoyed rereading some old favorites, though, and trying a couple new books too.

Gordon Korman was my favorite funny author of my childhood.  A couple of librarian friends tell me he’s known for survival stories now, but back in his early career he wrote some hilarious stories, including my favorite and one of the earliest reviews on this blog, A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag.  I recently bought one missing from my collection of his early books, Son of Interflux.  I got a used copy online, and was pretty delighted to open it and unexpectedly find a signature!  The book was also as fun and hilarious as I remembered.  In the same mold as Semester, it’s a high school setting full of kooky characters and increasingly escalating chaos.  In this case, an art school takes on a big corporation to save a forested area – but it’s not remotely as serious as that plot makes it sound. Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (May, 2022)” →

What I’ve Been Reading Lately (April, 2022)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews3 Comments

Lately I feel like I’m always on a hunt for more light-hearted books.  I’m not sure when that became a hard thing to find?  I’ve had some interesting reads in the last few weeks, but it’s been…mixed in terms of the tone!

As Old as Time by Liz Braswell sounded brilliant, a Disney-sponsored novel with a twist on their Beauty and the Beast movie (they have a whole series, in fact).  The first twist was that Belle’s mother was the enchantress who cursed the Beast, and the second twist was that Belle accidentally destroys the enchanted rose, making the curse much worse.  There were good parts to this, but…!  Too much of it was almost word for word retelling the Disney movie, and then when it diverged we somehow plunged off into an insane asylum where some seriously creepy torture is going on, which sat…very weirdly in a Disney movie-inspired book!  You don’t expect lobotomies in a Disney story!  I also thought the romance got very little attention, so that when Belle’s father eventually remarks that Belle and the Beast are “obviously” in love…it was really, really not obvious. Continue reading “What I’ve Been Reading Lately (April, 2022)” →