The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights

Title: The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights

Translated: Richard Burton

Publisher: 1932 version

Genre: Classics

Pages: 1049

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (FanPro); Reading Assignment; Modern Mrs. Darcy - More than 500 pages

Full of mischief, valor, ribaldry, and romance, The Arabian Nights has enthralled readers for centuries. These are the tales that saved the life of Shahrazad, whose husband, the king, executed each of his wives after a single night of marriage. Beginning an enchanting story each evening, Shahrazad always withheld the ending: A thousand and one nights later, her life was spared forever. 

This volume reproduces the 1932 Modern Library edition, for which Bennett A. Cerf chose the most famous and representative stories from Sir Richard F. Burton's multivolume translation, and includes Burton's extensive and acclaimed explanatory notes. These tales, including Alaeddin; or, the Wonderful Lamp, Sinbad the Seaman and Sinbad the Landsman, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, have entered into the popular imagination, demonstrating that Shahrazad's spell remains unbroken.

I would give this 5 stars, but I realize that they are issues with this translation and compilation. I really did enjoy many of the stories listed in this volume. They are full of intrigue and adventure. But after reading the wikipedia page on the work, I have wish I would have read the new Syrian translation and compilation. Burton's volume took many liberties in editing and adding elements of the stories. Darn Victorians! Maybe someday I will get around to reading a newer version of the tales and see how they compare. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor

Title: No Time Like the Past (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #5) 

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Accent Press 2015

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 328

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsguar - Time travel; Finishing the Series

Jodi Taylor's best-selling series The Chronicles of St Mary is back with a bang... St Mary's has been rebuilt and it's business as usual for the History department. But first, there's the little matter of a seventeenth-century ghost that only Mr Markham can see. Not to mention the minor inconvenience of being trapped in the Great Fire of London...and an unfortunately-timed comfort break at Thermopylae leaving the fate of the western world hanging in the balance. Re-join Max's madcap journey through time in Jodi Taylor's fifth inter-dimensional instalment No Time Like the Past.

This series never fails to entertain me. I love the adventures of the inhabitants of St. Mary's. This volume was a great exploration of three great time periods, including Max's favorite, Ancient Greece. I was all-in for the ride. Of course, the time travelers at St. Mary's can never just accomplish a simple mission. Something always has to go wrong and that's where it gets interesting. I can't wait until the next adventure.

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s:

• #0.5 The Very First Damned Thing
• #1 Just One Damned Thing After Another
• #2 A Symphony of Echoes
• #2.5 When A Child is Born
• #3 A Second Chance
• #3.5 Roman Holiday
• #4 A Trail Through Time
• #4.5 Christmas Present
• #5 No Time Like the Past
• #6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong
• #6.5 Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
• #7 Lies, Damned Lies, and History
• #7.5 The Great St. Mary’s Day Out
• #7.6 My Name is Markham
• #8 And the Rest is History
• #8.5 A Perfect Storm
• #9 The Long and Short of It

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels

Title: The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

Author: Elaine Pagels

Publisher: Vintage Books 1995

Genre: Nonfiction - Religion

Pages: 214

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NonAd); Mount TBR; A to Z: O

From the religious historian whose The Gnostic Gospels won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan’s story into an audacious exploration of Christianity’s shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

I really enjoyed Pagels's The Gnostic Gospels and hoped this one would be just as good. Unfortunately, I found this volume to be too meandering but also dense. I was bogged down by all the information included. I really enjoyed history tomes, but this one bored me a little too much. I was hoping for a much more lively account of the history of the Satan figure. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Refuge at Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

Title: A Refuge at Highland Hall (Edwardian Brides #3)

Author: Carrie Turansky

Publisher: Multnomah 2015

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 354

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: A to Z - R; Library Love; Finishing the Series

Penny Ramsey has always considered Highland Hall her home, but when Britain becomes involved in World War One she travels to London to assist her sister Kate with the eight orphan children she and her husband Jon have taken into their home. Doing her part for the war effort takes priority over Penny’s dreams of romance until she meets Alex Goodwin, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot in training.
 
Alex is determined to prove his worth and do his part to defend his country. Knowing he is heading off for the dangerous assignment of chasing Zeppelins across the front line in France, he feels it’s unwise to form any romantic attachments. But he can’t help admiring the pretty, warmhearted Penny and wondering what it would be like to find her waiting when he returns home from the war. 
 
As Penny writes to Alex, their friendship blossoms, and she becomes his tie to home and normalcy as he faces the hardships war. But being an RNAS pilot means confronting the enemy, and the fallout from those experiences push Alex beyond Penny’s reach. Can God mend the brokenness left by the losses of war? Will faith and forgiveness bring them together again?

A strong finish to a decent romance trilogy. I think Penny and Alex were my absolute favorite pair of the series. I was all-in immediately with their story. Setting the book during WWI was an interesting change to the usual historical romance setting. I appreciated that Turansky got into the down and dirty of the war instead of glossing over it in favor of focusing on the romance. The inclusion of the German prisoners was surprising, but interesting. I sped through this book and enjoyed my time.

Edwardian Brides:

• #1 The Governess of Highland Hall
• #2 The Daughter of Highland Hall
• #3 A Refuge at Highland Hall

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Daughter of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky

Title: The Daughter of Highland Hall (Edwardian Brides #2)

Author: Carrie Turansky

Publisher: Multnomah 2014

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: A to Z - D; Library Love; Finishing the Series

Strong-willed and beautiful, debutante Katherine Ramsey feels ready to take the London social season by storm, and she must. Her family estate, Highland Hall, has been passed to older male cousin Sir William Ramsey, and her only means of securing her future is to make a strong debut and find a proper husband. With her all-knowing and meddling aunt as a guide, Katherine is certain to attract suitors at the lavish gatherings, sparkling with Great Britain’s elite.
 
When a shocking family scandal sidelines Katherine, forcing her out of the social spotlight, she keeps a low profile, volunteering with the poor in London’s East End. Here Katherine feels free from her predictable future, and even more so as a friendship with medical student Jonathan Foster deepens and her faith in God grows. But when Katherine is courted anew by a man of wealth and position, dreams of the life she always thought she wanted surface again. Torn between tradition and the stirrings in her heart for a different path, she must decide whom she can trust and love—and if she will choose a life serving others over one where she is served.

Second volume in this Christian romance series. I actually liked this one more than the first. Katherine and Jon are better characters with more interesting storylines than William and Julia. I enjoyed the move to London and the added storyline of Lydia and her sister. Nice little book to get me through some of the frigid temperatures while still in Indiana for the holidays.

Edwardian Brides:

• #1 The Governess of Highland Hall
• #2 The Daughter of Highland Hall
• #3 A Refuge at Highland Hall

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turanksy

Title: The Governess of Highland Hall (Edwardian Brides #1)

Author: Carrie Turansky

Publisher: Multnomah 2013

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 338

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: A to Z - G; Library Love; Finishing the Series

Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents’ financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn’t sure what to make of the estate’s preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey. 
 
Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin Randolph’s two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from the financial ruin. The last thing he needs is any distraction coming from the kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith. 
 
While both are tending past wounds and guarding fragile secrets, Julia and William are determined to do what it takes to save their families—common ground that proves fertile for unexpected feelings. But will William choose Julia’s steadfast heart and faith over the wealth and power he needs to secure Highland Hall’s future?

I am a sucker for historical romance and I grabbed this trilogy while at the library last week. I'm not a huge fan of the Christian romance angle, but I did enjoy the characters and the storyline. Plus, it was refreshing to read a romance without sex scenes. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those most days, but it was nice to not have one for once) If you remove the sermon-y passages, the book would be probably 50 pages shorter, but oh well. I skipped through some of those to get to the storyline. I'm still going to read the other two books in the trilogy.

Edwardian Brides:

• #1 The Governess of Highland Hall
• #2 The Daughter of Highland Hall
• #3 A Refuge at Highland Hall

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Walking Dead Vol. 27

Title: The Walking Dead Vol. 27

Author: Robert Kirkman; Charlie Adlard; Stefano Guadiano; Cliff Rathburn

Publisher: Image 2017

Genre: Comics

Pages: 130

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

The time has come. The forces are aligning. The war has begun! Has Rick brought about the demise of everything he’s built? Or will he triumph once again? Know this...there will be a cost. Collects THE WALKING DEAD #157-162

Another volume in this never-ending saga. I really do love this series and this volume was an exciting addition. I love how it lulls you into a feeling of safety, but of course that's not going to help. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Wonder Woman: Vol 1-2

Title: Wonder Woman: Volume 1 The Lies

Author: Greg Rucka, Liam Sharp, Laura Martin

Publisher: DC 2017

Genre: Comics

Pages: 176

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Heroic. Iconic. Unstoppable. Armed with her Lasso of Truth and imbued with the power of the gods themselves, Princess Diana of Themyscira-known to the world as Wonder Woman-is one of the greatest superheroes in history.
 
But who is she…really? Not even Wonder Woman herself knows for sure. Diana’s links to both the Amazons and the Gods of Olympus have been severed. Her memories are a tangle of contradictions that even her lie-detecting lasso cannot untangle. 
 
To solve the riddle of her origin, she must embark on her greatest quest of all: finding a way back to her vanished home. To get there, she must team up with her greatest enemy, the feral beast-woman, Cheetah. Will this unlikely alliance shine the light of truth on Diana’s darkest secrets, or bury them-and her-forever?

Definitely intrigued by the storyline and updated characters in this one. Unfortunately I was a little confused as to some of the finer points of the story due to my limited Wonder Woman knowledge. Still really enjoyed it...

Title: Wonder Woman: Volume 2 Year One

Author: Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Publisher: DC 2017

Genre: Comics

Pages: 168

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

 New York Times best-selling writer Greg Rucka continues his return to WONDER WOMAN! The team of Rucka and artist Nicola Scott weave the definitive and shocking tale of Diana's first year as Earth's protector. Paradise has been breached, Ares stirs, and the Amazons must answer with a champion of their own...one who is willing to sacrifice her home amongst her sisters to save a world she has never seen. Wonder Woman's journey begins in this epic origin story!

Much better! For those of us with a not much background in the character, this volume really allowed me to explore the history of Wonder Woman. It brought the character into the 21st century and reintroduced the major players. I really enjoyed the artwork in this one and love the storyline. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Diana Prince Wonder Woman Vol. 1-4

Title: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Volume 1 

Author: Denny O'Neil,‎ Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano

Publisher: DC 2008

Genre: Comics

Pages: 176

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

The late 1960s saw a new direction for Wonder Woman. Forced to choose between returning to her Amazon sisters or continuing her mission in "Man's World," Wonder Woman surrenders her super- powers and gives up her star-spangled costume. Dressed in the mod fashions of the day, the new Wonder Woman took on a Chinese mentor known as I Ching, who trained her in martial arts as her adventures took her to exotic locals to fight undercover agents and mythological villains. 

In this volume, featuring stories that have never been collected before, Wonder Woman faces Mars, god of war, the murderous Dr. Cyber, and an all-female biker gang known only as Them, as well as a modern-day witch called Morgana.

Title: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Volume 2

Author: Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano

Publisher: DC 2008

Genre: Comics

Pages: 176

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Title: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Volume 3 

Author: Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano

Publisher: DC 2008

Genre: Comics

Pages: 176

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Title: Diana Prince Wonder Woman Volume 4

Author: Denny O'Neil,‎ Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano

Publisher: DC 2009

Genre: Comics

Pages: 176

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

In these classic adventures from the early 1970s, Wonder Woman gives up her super-powers and costume to carry on the battle for justice using only martial arts, dressed in the mod fashions of the day.

In this final DIANA PRINCE volume, detective Jonny Double is kidnapped - and Wonder Woman must rush to his rescue before she battles Catwoman. Then, Diana and her mentor, I-Ching, are transported to a mysterious dimension where barbarians rule.

I was excited to pick up this series of Wonder Woman comics from the 1960s and 1970s, but I was very distracted by the rampant sexism within the pages. I just couldn't really get past a lot of the sexist storylines and dialogue. The stories are intriguing, but not enough to overcome my issues.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Title: The Light Between Oceans

Author: M.L. Stedman

Publisher: Scribner 2012

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 343

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Share-a-Tea; Modern Mrs. Darcy -- Recommended by a librarian; Library Love

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

This was our book club selection for January and it did not disappoint. I resist reading it for so long because many had said it was tearjerker. I held it together until the last two pages and then the tears came hard and heavy. This book is beautifully written story of a marriage and hard decisions. I instantly fell in with Tom and Isabel and sped through every page to find out what happens to them. I felt their anguish when Lucy arrives on the island and their anguish when the truth comes out (not really a spoiler as you knew it was going to happen; the spoilers are what happens after the truth comes out). Every sentence is expertly crafted to give the reader a voice from a character, a description of action, or to bring Janus to life. I was fascinated by life at the lighthouse and the routines the inhabitants established. Such a great book. I'm so glad this was my first read of 2018. Amazing way to start my year of reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Christmas to Remember

Title: A Christmas to Remember

Author: Lisa Kleypas, Lorraine Heath, Megan Frampton, Vivienne Lorret

Publisher: Avon 2017

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 420

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

Romance stars Lisa Kleypas, Lorraine Heath, Megan Frampton, and Vivienne Lorret prove in this collection of stories that love is the most magical during Christmas…

"I Will" by Lisa Kleypas

To be reinstated into his father’s will, Andrew, Lord Drake, must court a respectable woman-his friend’s spinster sister, Miss Caroline Hargreaves. After he blackmails Caroline into helping him, the charade begins-but is it really a charade once love takes hold of their hearts…?

4/5 I loved most of this story. I enjoyed the interplay between the two main characters until we got to the sex scene. Then, I just didn't like how it played out. Too much for my taste. 

"Deck the Halls With Love" by Lorraine Heath

Alistair Wakefield, the Marquess of Chetwyn, devastated Lady Meredith Hargreaves when he proposed to another. But when he becomes free to pursue her, it’s too late for she’s on her way to the altar….. As Christmas approaches, Chetwyn vows to lure Lady Meredith back into his arms.

5/5 Loved this story so much. Great characters and great storyline.

"No Groom at the Inn" by Megan Frampton

James Archer detests his mother’s matchmaking ways. When ordered to attend a Christmastime house party filled with simpering maidens, he produces a fiancée-Lady Sophronia Bettesford. James and Sophronia pretend to be in love for one month. But their pact soon turns into love.

4/5 Another decent story although I found James to be a bit dull for my taste.

"The Duke’s Christmas Wish" by Vivienne Lorret

To the Duke of Vale, science solves everything-even marriage. When the impulsive Ivy Sutherland makes him question all of his data, he realizes that he’s overlooked a vital component in his search for the perfect match: love.

4/5 Pretty good storyline and characters. I would have liked to see more from their plot. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Sometime Bride by Ginny Baird

Title: The Sometime Bride

Author: Ginny Baird

Publisher: Winter Wedding Press 2012

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 205

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

A jilted bride and a ditched bachelor cut a "fake fiancé" deal.

After enjoying the anthology Christmas Magic, I turned to this other Baird novella hoping for something similar. Unfortunately this one just didn't really speak to me. I wasn't a huge fan of the main characters and the story was pretty tired. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Magic Collection by Ginny Baird

Title: Christmas Magic #1-5

Author: Ginny Baird

Publisher: Winter Wedding Press 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 444

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

THE CHRISTMAS CATCH (Holiday Brides Book 1) 
A struggling single mom meets a handsome bachelor in Vermont, after running him off the road during a snowstorm. A sweet, romantic tale about fate and second chances. Set in snowy Vermont!

5/5 Cute little story set in the country. I was of the characters in this one. 

THE HOLIDAY BRIDE (Holiday Brides Book 2) 
A child asks for a new mommy for Christmas, and--much to her bachelor dad's surprise--Santa delivers. A sweet traditional romance and classic amnesia story, with a holiday twist! 

3/5 This one was a bit too cheesy for me. Just wasn't a huge fan.

MISTLETOE IN MAINE (Holiday Brides Book 3) 
A single mom takes her kids on vacation in Maine and meets a handsome innkeeper, a young widower with a teenage son. A winter wonderland love story about faith and new beginnings. 

4/5 Cute little story. 

BEACH BLANKET SANTA (Holiday Brides Book 4) 
A couple with a past spends an unexpected, yet magical, Christmas week together at the shore, where serendipity abounds. Take a sweet, sentimental journey to the North Carolina Outer Banks...

5/5 Loved loved loved this story! Such a great set-up and payoff. I was totally in on this.

BABY, BE MINE (Holiday Brides Book 5) 
A single woman gets a Christmas gift that sends her world into chaos, and has her tracking down a last-minute groom - with the help of her handsome best friend. A sweet romantic comedy novella.

4/5 Decent little story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Title: Voyager (Outlander #3)

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Publisher: Dell 2001

Genre: Historical Romance/Fantasy

Pages: 912

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - More than 800 Pages

Sweeping us from the battlefields of eighteenth-century Scotland to the exotic West Indies, Diana Gabaldon weaves magic once again in an exhilarating and utterly unforgettable novel....Their love affair happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her ... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.When she discovers that Jamie may have survived, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face what awaits her ... the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland ... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that lies beyond the standing stones.

I am not kidding when I say that it has taken me almost a year to get through this one. I started reading it way back in March (??? I think) and just finished it. I just got stuck in the middle for the longest time. I really enjoyed the first about 200 pages detailing Jamie's time after Culloden and Claire traveling back to Scotland. Once they were reunited, I just lost a bit of interest. The pace really slowed down and I just didn't have the burning desire to keep reading. Once I passed page 600 or so, everything starting moving a lot faster and I sped to the finish. There were so many twists and turns in that last 1/3 of the book. I was right along for the ride. Definitely a good read, just took me a year to finish. Here's hoping it doesn't take me all of 2018 to finish The Drums of the Autumn.

Outlander

• #0.5 Virgins

• #1 Outlander
• #2 Dragonfly in Amber
• #3 Voyager
• #4 The Drums of Autumn
• #5 The Fiery Cross
• #6 A Breath of Snow and Ashes
• #7 An Echo in the Bone
• #7.5 The Space Between
• #8 Written in My Own Heart's Blood
• #8.5 A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows
• #9 Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

Title: The Water Witch (Fairwick Trilogy #2)

Author: Juliet Dark

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2013

Genre: Paranormal Fiction

Pages: 322

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

After casting out a dark spirit, Callie McFay, a professor of gothic literature, has at last restored a semblance of calm to her rambling Victorian house. But in the nearby thicket of the honeysuckle forest, and in the currents of the rushing Undine stream, more trouble is stirring. . . .
 
The enchanted town of Fairwick’s dazzling mix of mythical creatures has come under siege from the Grove: a sinister group of witches determined to banish the fey back to their ancestral land. With factions turning on one another, all are cruelly forced to take sides. Callie’s grandmother, a prominent Grove member, demands her granddaughter’s compliance, but half-witch/half-fey Callie can hardly betray her friends and colleagues at the college. To stave off disaster, Callie enlists Duncan Laird, an alluring seductive academic who cultivates her vast magical potential, but to what end? Deeply conflicted, Callie struggles to save her beloved Fairwick, dangerously pushing her extraordinary powers to the limit—risking all, even the needs of her own passionate heart.

The second volume in this series and I am getting slightly annoyed by Callie even though I do love the storyline. I am super absorbed in Fairwick's world and an super excited to see how all of this plays out over the course of the series. But... I must say that Callie can be a bit stupid. I pegged the incubus within the first 40 pages. And I was annoyed by how she responded to finding out who it was at the end of the book. One the other hand I'm super into following the bigger fight between the fey and the anti-fey witches. And now we have another player revealed. Must read the last book in the series. 

Fairwick Trilogy:

• #1 The Demon Lover
• #2 The Water Witch
• #3 The Angel Stone

Next up on the TBR pile:

Bonk by Mary Roach

Title: Bonk

Author: Mary Roach

Publisher: Norton 2009

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 321

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

In Bonk, the best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Why doesn't Viagra help women-or, for that matter, pandas? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Mary Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm-two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth-can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

Our book club collection for this month. I actually read this about 6 years ago, but I couldn't remember the specifics of the studies highlighted. It was a nice easy reread for a busy time of the year. I fell back into Roach's hilarious style full of fun asides and irreverant questions. The first few chapters feel a little slow, but the book quickly speeds up. I flew through the last 100 pages or so. Definitely an interesting read.  

Next up on the TBR pile:

Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor

Title: Star of the Sea

Author: Joseph O'Connor

Publisher: Harcourt 2002

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 401

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; Popsugar -- About an Immigrant

In the bitter winter of 1847, from an Ireland torn by famine and injustice, the Star of the Sea sets sail for NewYork. On board are hundreds of refugees, some optimistic, many more desperate. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt Lord Merridith, his wife and children, and a killer stalking the decks, hungry for the vengeance that will bring absolution. 

This journey will see many lives end, others begin anew. Passionate loves are tenderly recalled, shirked responsibilities regretted too late, and profound relationships shockingly revealed. In this spellbinding tale of tragedy and mercy, love and healing, the farther the ship sails toward the Promised Land, the more her passengers seem moored to a past that will never let them go. 

Another one of those "It's been on my shelf way too long" books. I really don't have much to say about this book. It was interesting, but it felt like I was reading this one for forever. I just wasn't super engaged in the storyline or the characters. I kept reading to find out what happened, but I wasn't super excited. I'm sure there are many people who would love this book. I'm just not one of those people.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Vision in Velvet

Title: A Vision in Velvet (Witchcraft Mystery #6)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Obsidian 2014

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 309

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

As soon as Lily opens the trunk, she feels strange vibrations emanating from a mysterious velvet cloak. When she tries it on, Lily sees awful visions from the past. And when the antiques dealer who sold her the cape is killed, Lily suspects a supernatural force might be behind his death.

Then Lily’s familiar, Oscar the potbellied pig, disappears. Lily will do anything to get him back—including battling the spirit of a powerful witch reaching out from the past. But even with the aid of her grandmother, unmasking a killer and saving Oscar might be more than one well-intentioned sorceress can handle.

After a volume that wasn't my absolute favorite, this one in the Witchcraft Mystery series got me right back in the groove. I loved the storyline of the oak tree, Oscar's disappearance, Deliverance, the Ashen Witch, and Bart. I loved the interlude at the cocktail party hosted at the Cal Academy (seriously, I love that museum, wish we lived a bit closer, or at least that it was easier to get to by public transit as I hate parking there). I loved the return of Sailor even if I don't think he's ultimately the right guy for Lily. I loved the bigger storyline for Conrad. And I definitely loved all the action in this one. Can't wait to pick up the next volume in the series. Good thing it's sitting on my nightstand!

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits

• #2 A Cast Off Coven

• #3 Hexes and Hemlines

• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe

• #5 Tarnished and Torn

• #6 A Vision in Velvet

• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing

• #7 Spellcasting in Silk

• #8 A Toxic Trousseau

• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Title: The Demon Lover (Fairwick Trilogy #1)

Author: Juliet Dark

Publisher: Ballantine 2011

Genre: Paranormal Fiction

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Based on Mythology; New to Me

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly sensual dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.
 
But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.

Random read off my shelf. Don't know why I haven't read it before as I really really enjoyed this volume. I fell right into this collection of odd characters and beings. I immediately connected with Callie and her search for self. I loved the fact that Honeysuckle House became a character in its own right. I loved the slow unraveling of the world into a full-fledged reality. I especially loved the short but fascinating scenes featuring Adelaide. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. 

Fairwick Trilogy:

• #1 The Demon Lover
• #2 The Water Witch
• #3 The Angel Stone

Next up on the TBR pile:

Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell

Title: Tarnished and Torn (Witchcraft Mystery #5)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Berkley 2013

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Audiobook

When Lily arrives at an antique jewelry fair, her bargain sensors go off left and right—but she also picks up a faint vibration of magic. Could the hard-bargaining merchant Griselda be a fellow practitioner? It certainly seems that way when a sudden fire sends panic through the crowd, and Lily discovers Griselda murdered in a way that nods to an old-fashioned witch hunt…
 
A crime that hits close to home turns into an unwelcome flash from the past when the police bring in their lead suspect—Lily’s estranged father. Though he may not deserve her help, Lily is determined to clear her father’s name and solve a murder that’s anything but crystal clear. 

Grabbed this one in audiobook form as I thought it would be easy to listen while driving everywhere and I needed an audiobook for the Popsugar challenge. Unfortunately the audio version wasn't super enjoyable to me. Overall, I really enjoy these books. They are fun little supernatural mysteries that can speed through in between heavier books. While reading then, I often skim through the sections where Lily talks about her background (stuff I've already learned by reading the previous books in the series). With the audio version, I had to listen to all those passages (can't fast forward while driving) and there are many of those passages. It really got annoying after awhile. However, I really did enjoy the characters and the storyline in this one. The opening at the gem fair was especially fun. Definitely a good read. I'll just stick to the print versions for the rest of the series.

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits
• #2 A Cast Off Coven
• #3 Hexes and Hemlines
• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe
• #5 Tarnished and Torn
• #6 A Vision in Velvet
• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing
• #7 Spellcasting in Silk
• #8 A Toxic Trousseau
• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile: