by Mary Jo
Christina kicks off:
Snowed in for Christmas by Sarah Morgan.
Ms Morgan has done it again – I didn’t think she could improve on last year’s Christmas story, but this is her best one yet and I absolutely loved it! It was one of those books where you can’t wait to finish to see how it ends, but at the same time you are devastated to have to leave this fictional world. There is plenty of family drama, lots of delicious romance and some wonderful characters, all set against the backdrop of a gorgeous country house in the wilds of Scotland.
I think my favourite character was the grandmother, Nanna Jean, whose outspoken comments had me laughing out loud. I hope I can be like her when I’m old! One of the heroines, Lucy, has no family left and is dreading Christmas, but when she ends up spending it with the Miller family everything changes. She’s an outsider but they make her feel welcome and included, and it was incredibly heart-warming.
And although the family may seem perfect to her, they are far from it, with tensions and undercurrents rife. Daughters of the house, Alice and Clemmie, have their own problems and heartache, and I felt for them as they fought for what they wanted. Being snowed in proves to be a blessing, as they are all given the chance to work through their problems rather than run away from them. I was rooting for all of them every step of the way and couldn’t have put this book down if my life depended on it! Highly recommended.
Space Junk by Sara L. Hudson. This is a story that might appeal to anyone who enjoys Ali Hazelwood’s STEM heroines. It features NASA engineer Dr Jackie Darling Lee who is a huge nerd and dreams of being an astronaut, although at the moment she’s working in ground control. She is a genius but has no social life to speak of, and has only had one very unfortunate encounter with the male species … until she meets Flynn West.
He’s actually from one of the richest families in Houston, but owns and works at his own vintage muscle car restorations company. He used to be part of the social scene but got tired of everyone wanting to be with him just for his money, especially the women. He trusts no one, but when Jackie enters his life, everything he thought he knew goes out the window. There’s something about her nerdy glasses and general gorgeousness that has him hot and bothered. The two of them have incredible chemistry, but they both have old hang-ups, neither trusts easily and there are some misunderstandings before all can end well.
I really enjoyed this story (and the three others in the series, although they don’t feature women in STEM) and would recommend it for anyone who wants a fun, light-hearted read.
Pat's choice:
The Guncle, Steven Rowley
Now, for something completely different. . . Auntie Mame on steroids. Patrick was a beloved TV character who retired in his thirties when he both lost the love of his life and his show ended. He retired to Palm Springs, where old movie stars go to die and proceeded to entomb himself in his showplace home.
Until disaster happens—his best friend since college, who happens to be his brother’s wife, dies of cancer. And his brother, after years of dealing with his dying wife and his difficult job, admits he’s addicted to pills, any pills. And he wants his gay brother on the other side of the country to take care of his grief-stricken children.
Patrick talks to them as if they’re adults his age, because he knows no other way of conversing. He’s witty, knowledgeable, and completely un-PC. But he’s little more than a child himself, so they bond over squirting bidets and a swimming pool filled with floats, desserts for dinner, and Christmas in July. And together, slowly and painfully, they heal each other.
This is a lovely escape into inappropriate behavior, humor, and all the ways people can express their despair. Give it a try!
Nicola:
As I’m on the move I can’t contribute much to the WWR, but I did want to say that all those Wenches who recommended the Jayne Castle Harmony series are responsible for a dent in my bank balance. I am well and truly hooked. I can’t believe how quickly I fell for them. Resistance was futile!
The first Harmony book is After Dark
Andrea:
This month I was completely immersed in The Ink Black Heart, the latest book in the Cormoran Strike mystery series by Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling. (At over 1000 pages, I can be forgiven for reading one book!) I really love this series because the mysteries, though very dark at times—the concept of pure evil plays a role in Galbraith/Rowling’s novels—are so well crafted, and always explore issues that have relevance to what’s going on in society today. This plot is absolutely riveting, as well as incredibly timely, as it delves into the fraught world of cyber bullying and anonymous trolls on Twitter.
The book starts with a distraught—and slightly flakey—bohemian artist coming to the private detective agency run by Strike and his partner, Robin. The artist is the co-creator of a darkly quirky animated cartoon called The Ink Black Heart, which has become a YouTube cult hit and is about to be acquired by Netflix, and she asks Robin to help her uncover the identity of a Twitter influencer who has begun a vicious online hate campaign against her because she is “selling out."
Robin feels compelled to turn her down as the agency has no expertise in cyber investigation. However, the artist somehow leaves behind her folder of “evidence” and when Robin reads several days later that the artist and her collaborator have been murdered and the police are stymied, Robin feels compelled to take a closer look at the folder in case there are clues that might help the police solve the crime.
But she and Strike soon find themselves drawn into the investigation and the complex world of internet “fandom.” A cyber game based on the cartoon has taken on a life of its own. The murdered artist believed her nemesis was one of the creators of the online game, and as Strike and Robin try to learn their identities, they are plunged into the frightening underbelly of anonymous social media, where the manipulation is being done by organized groups with chilling agendas . . .
It was both frightening and fascinating to watch Strike and Robin peel back the layers of lies and identities, each one becoming darker and darker —I couldn’t put it down! (My only quibble was that I was a little disappointed with the development of Strike and Robin’s personal relationship. One twist felt a bit jarring, and I hope it will be rectified in the next book.)
Susan here:
This month I was pulled deep into Stephen King's Fairy Tale. Two of the Guys in my family were reading it at about the same time, so it was like a little book club, talking about the book as we read at varying paces. I'm in awe of his writing, his extraordinary skill and his casual yet masterful style, and I admire the depth of creativity and wisdom he has as a writer and a person. But I'm not fond of horror, so I've read cautiously through his work. The Guys encouraged me to give this one a try - and I liked the title. <g>
Charlie Reade is a teenage high school athlete, normal enough, but his mom died and his grieving dad turned to drink, so he learned how to fend for himself and take care of others. When he meets the cranky town recluse, Mr. Bowditch, who lives in a creepy old house with an old dog for company, Charlie helps the old man out and becomes attached to the dog--and soon discovers Bowditch is more than he seems. He has a mysterious supply of gold, secrets that Charlie must never ask about--and apparently a portal to another world in his backyard.
One thing leads to another, and soon Charlie enters that world, finding familiar characters from fairy tales, but it's the dark world of those tales, as the people struggle under the rule of an evil presence that is gradually taking over. To Charlie's astonishment, he has a destiny in this dark conglomerate fairy tale, if he can find the key--and the courage.
King is a wizard of a writer--his stories and his style have a kind of dark magic. You keep reading even if you're not sure you want to, step by step going deeper. Fairy Tale creates that kind of compelling vortex, and I wasn't sure where it was going. King twists everything you know and love about fairy tales--then honors the principles and heart of that story world with a complex good vs. evil tale that's surprising at every turn and just brilliant. No spoilers, but I can promise the reward is worth it.
Anne here with lots of great recommendations:
I've been a fan of Sharon Shinn's ever since I saw a long line of her books on Mary Jo's bookshelves, and took one down and started reading. The Shuddering City is her latest book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's one of those books where you have multiple lead characters, seemingly unconnected at first, but as the net draws tighter, the connections become clearer and the stakes—and the tension—rise. I couldn't put it down.
Next is the latest in Elly Griffiths' "Ruth Galloway" series which I always enjoy — The House at Sea's End.
Dr Ruth Galloway is called in by a team of archaeologists investigating coastal erosion on the north Norfolk coast, when they unearth six bodies buried at the foot of a cliff. Far from being ancient burials, tests reveal that the bodies have lain, preserved in the sand, for sixty years — since WW2, when the UK was threatened with a Nazi invasion. And there are people still alive who will do anything to prevent the secret getting out.
Thoroughly engrossing, as always.
Kate Clayborn -- Beginner's Luck
Picked up on a wenchly recommendation, I very much enjoyed this trilogy about three friends who win a lottery. It changes each of their lives in ways they never imagined. Beginner's Luck is the first book in the series. I've read all three and recommend them as very enjoyable, light-hearted reading.
After finishing all the books in the "Trader's Tales" series, by Nathan Lowell I moved on to and enjoyed his In Ashes Born, which continues the adventures of the protagonist, Ishmael Wang.
I also read The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell, and liked that as well. I think (hope) it's the start of a new series.
From the blurb: "He thinks he's a wizard," they said. For five grand a month and a million-dollar chaser, Roger Mulligan didn't care how crazy the old geezer was. All he had to do was keep Joseph Perry Shackleford alive and keep him from squandering the estate for a year.
But they didn't tell him about the pixies."
Mary Jo wraps up the reads for November:
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Published in 1989, Number the Stars is a classic Newbery Award winning children's book, one of the bestselling children's books of all time. You may be familiar with the story, but it was entirely under my radar until a bookseller friend of mine mentioned that it was set in Denmark in 1943 and tells how Denmark smuggled its Jewish population to safety in Sweden when the Nazis decided to "relocate" them to concentration camps.
Though I knew that Denmark had saved its Jewish community, I'd never thought much about how it was done. Number the Stars tells the story through the eyes of Annemarie Johansen, a 10 year old girl who lives in Copenhagen with her parents and younger sister. She and her best friend, Ellen Rosen, know that it's wise not to attract the attention of the soldiers who are stationed throughout the city, but Annemarie has only a vague understanding of what the Nazi occupation of Denmark means to her country.
When rabbis are warned of the relocation plan, the Danish Resistance undertakes to hide and protect all the threatened Jews. A friend of the Johansen family brings Ellen to their home and says that for a few days she must be concealed with them by pretending to be the oldest Johansen daughter, Lise, who died earlier in the war in a car accident. Nazi soldiers visit the Johansens and are very threatening, but Annemarie hides Ellen's star of David pendant and the family manages to convince the soldiers that Ellen is Lise.
Then Annemarie and her mother take Ellen to Annemarie's Uncle Henrik, who is a fisherman on the coast that faces Sweden. After Ellen is reunited with her parents, Annemarie learns what is going on and takes a great risk to insure that the Rosens and others escape to safety.
This is a powerful story told in a simple, direct way and it's easy to understand its enduring appeal. Lowry says her inspiration for Number the Stars came from a friend who was a child in Copenhagen during WWII. Lowry traveled to Denmark to research more of the details that make the book so convincing. She also took the photograph of the young Danish girl that is on the cover of most editions of the novel.
It's a wonderful story of a nation's compassion and heroism, and of a young girl discovering that she has the courage to do what is necessary. There is a reason why Number the Stars has become an enduring classic.
See anything you'd like to try? And what have you been reading lately? Please share!
Mary Jo