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Acid for the Children by Flea

Title: Acid for the Children

Author: Flea

Publisher: Headline 2019

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 390

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; 52 Book Club - Set in Australia

In Acid for the Children, Flea takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years, spanning from Australia to the New York City suburbs to, finally, Los Angeles. Through hilarious anecdotes, poetical meditations, and occasional flights of fantasy, Flea deftly chronicles the experiences that forged him as an artist, a musician, and a young man. His dreamy, jazz-inflected prose makes the Los Angeles of the 1970s and 80s come to gritty, glorious life, including the potential for fun, danger, mayhem, or inspiration that lurked around every corner. It is here that young Flea, looking to escape a turbulent home, found family in a community of musicians, artists, and junkies who also lived on the fringe. He spent most of his time partying and committing petty crimes. But it was in music where he found a higher meaning, a place to channel his frustration, loneliness, and love. This left him open to the life-changing moment when he and his best friends, soul brothers, and partners-in-mischief came up with the idea to start their own band, which became the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Acid for the Children is the debut of a stunning new literary voice, whose prose is as witty, entertaining, and wildly unpredictable as the author himself. It's a tenderly evocative coming-of-age story and a raucous love letter to the power of music and creativity from one of the most renowned musicians of our time.

I was bored. Seriously, I just didn’t get into this book at all and felt apathy every time I needed to pick it up. At times, Flea got very full of his own importance and it spilled out into the text. I just couldn’t get myself interested in this book. Memoir is not my genre, and this one definitely didn’t hit for me at all.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Flea, memoir, Spring TBR List, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 03.22.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Beautiful and Damned

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publisher: 1922

Genre: Classics

Pages: 422

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; Unread Shelf - Enough; 52 Book Club - Set in Roaring Twenties

The Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, tells the story of Anthony Patch, a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune, the relationship with his wife Gloria, his service in the army, and alcoholism. Anthony and Gloria are young and gorgeous, rich and leisured and they dedicate their lives to the pursuit of happiness and we follow the intimate story of their marriage as it disintegrates under the weight of their expectations, fuelled by dissipation, jealousy and aimlessness.

This one was a slog! I absolutely adore The Great Gatsby, and was wanting to cover Fitzgerald’s other major works. Everything about this one feels so clunky. We are bogged down in lots of chapters detailing Anthony’s life before the meat of the story starts. Once he mets Gloria, things become marginally better. But Fitzgerald really takes too many tangents and asides. The core of the story gets much too muddled and confusing. He definitely became a much more concise writer later. I finished this one, but would not recommend to others.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: classics, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 52 Book Club, Winter TBR, Unread Shelf Project, 3 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Tuesday 03.14.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Title: The Mountain in the Sea

Author: Ray Nayler

Publisher: MCD 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 464

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Book “Everyone” has Read

Rumors begin to spread of a dangerous species of hyperintelligent octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. The marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed off the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, from the rest of world. Dr. Nguyen travels to the islands to join DIANIMA’s team: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.

One of those books that the Currently Reading Podcast made me read. Sometimes their recommendations really miss the mark for me, but I was intrigued by the little summary that I heard and I’m always up for an interesting science fiction. It took me about 30 pages to get into the flow of this book and then I was hooked. I didn’t really love any of the characters, except maybe Evrim, but I really enjoyed the storyline and all the questions it sparked. This book is more focused on philosophy and science than character and plot. Think more of Arrival without the emotional story about the daughter. I was fascinated by the ways in which humanity’s actions have changed the course of life in the oceans. We get lots of discussions about evolution and the value of life. We get to talk a lot about how language and communication creates community and connection. I probably could have done without the storyline about the hacker, but understand why it was included. I really just wanted to spend more time with Ha and Evrim on Con Dao. Beautiful book heavy on the science.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Ray Nayler, science fiction, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 03.11.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Title: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Publisher: William Morrow & Company 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Featuring Mythology

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

I had such high hopes for this book. I was very intrigued by the idea of a reverse Bluebeard story with lots of references to fairy tales and mythology. Unfortunately, this particular book really fell flat for me. Super disappointing as I have loved Chokshi’s Aru Shah series for middle grade. Back to this book… I enjoyed the descriptive prose for about 1/3 of the book. And then it got really repetitive and distracting. The prose seemed to mask the fact that there is no real plot and the characters are all terrible. I had to force myself to keep reading this book. Every time I put it down, I simultaneously felt relief (for not reading it anymore) and despair (after effects of reading the book). The summary really made this book sound like the perfect one for me, but it turns out that I was bored almost the entire time.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Roshani Chokshi, fantasy, fairy tales, mythology, 3 stars, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 03.08.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Stranded by Sarah Daniels

Title: The Stranded

Author: Sarah Daniels

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire 2022

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Pages: 450

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Dystopian Fiction

Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States―a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever...

Another Currently Reading made me pick it up, but unlike the last one, this book did not land for me at all. Red flag #1: this is a Young Adult thriller. Somehow I totally missed this fact and came into the book expecting something very different. YA Thrillers are not usually my cup of tea and this definitely fits into that. Red flag #2: the main female protagonist is incredibly annoying. I could not stand her at all. And she never really grew throughout the book. I could not at all. Red flag #3: I never could really understand the world and why the rebellion was happening. Things just didn’t make sense to me at all. Random red flag #4: I somehow got through most of the book before realizing that Hadley was a full adult, and not the same age as Esther and Nik as I thought. The end result was a bit of a mess and a massive cliffhanger on the last page. I really really disliked this one.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Sarah Daniels, post-apocalyptic, science fiction, young adult, 52 Book Club, 2 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 03.04.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Title: Station Eternity (The Midsolar Murders #1)

Author: Mur Lafferty

Publisher: Ace 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 457

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Chapters Have Cliffhangers

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn’t make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet…and markedly devoid of homicide.
 
But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime—and fast—or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board….

The Currently Reading Podcast and Schuler Books made me pick up this book! I was very intrigued by a murder mystery on a space station that only a few human (and lots of aliens) inhabit. We are thrown into Mallory’s life on Station Eternity without a life raft. We have to navigate the quickly changing situation all the while meeting new characters and even new alien species. We start to get a handle on her life when a murder occurs and a station disaster and some people from Mallory’s past all pop up in very unexpected places. From there, it is nonstop until the end. The pace alternates between quieter backstory chapters and frantic action-packed chapters in the present. We have to work with Mallory and Xan to solve a murder and understand all the connections that are present on this space station. My favorite parts of this book were the descriptions and depictions of the alien races, especially the concept of the sentient space station. It was a mix of Star Trek: DS9 and Farscape for me. I will definitely be putting the sequel on my future TBR.

The Midsolar Murders

  • #1 Station Eternity

  • #2 Chaos Terminal

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: science fiction, Mur Lafferty, 52 Book Club, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 03.03.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Title: Hook, Line, and Sinker (It Happened One Summer #2)

Author: Tessa Bailey

Publisher: Avon 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 353

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Starts with “H”; Romanceopoly - BFF’s House (Friends to Lovers)

Spice Rating: 5

King crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he’s a guaranteed good time—in bed and out—and that’s exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. She’s immune to his charm and looks, but she seems to enjoy his… personality? And wants to be friends? Bizarre. But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.

Now, Hannah's in town for work, crashing in Fox’s spare bedroom. She knows he’s a notorious ladies’ man, but they’re definitely just friends. In fact, she's nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westport’s resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker’s eye… yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants him instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can't deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost. 

Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now she’s walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life and… and… man overboard! He’s fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Fox can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah he’s all in, she'll choose him instead?

Surprisingly, I have really enjoyed this duology. After my first two attempts at Tessa Bailey books failed miserably. Thankfully, I connected with this series and these characters. Fox was an intriguing character in the first book and I’m so glad we finally get to dive into all his layers. Hannah was a slightly less interesting characters. I think I’ve decided that I really enjoy Tessa Bailey’s male characters and her female characters less so. Fox was such a great layered characters. I felt so much with him as he started to acknowledge his own feelings, fears, and desires. The journey was my favorite part of the book. I must say that the steamy scenes weren’t my favorite, but they did their job. With this duology, I may just be open for new Tessa Bailey books.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Tessa Bailey, contemporary, romance, 52 Book Club, Romanceopoly
categories: Book Reviews
Tuesday 02.28.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath

Title: Never Rescue a Rogue (Merrill Sisters #2)

Author: Virginia Heath

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin 2022

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Featuring an Inheritance; Romanceopoly - Library (Free Choice)

Spice Meter: 4

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle. But they do have one thing in common—the secrets they can’t risk escaping.

When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son's birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that the two of them insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. Soon, the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line…

Another slightly disappointing historical romance. I was looking forward to this one as I loved Diana and Giles in the first book. In fact, their scenes were the best parts of the first book. So, I had hoped that this volume would be an improvement. Unfortunately, I was once again disappointed. Until the end, I couldn’t really put a finger on why I didn’t like it. The best explanation that I could come up was that I was bored. Something about Heath’s writing style bores me. I liked the big plot line and the mystery involved. It was a good plot, but I was still bored.

Merriwell Sisters

  • #1 Never Fall for Your Fiancée

  • #2 Never Rescue a Rogue

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Virginia Heath, romance, 3 stars, 52 Book Club, Romanceopoly
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 02.11.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Title: Well Traveled (Well Met #4)

Author: Jen DeLuca

Publisher: Berkley 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Book About Siblings; Romnaceopoly - Contemporary romance with an illustrated cover

Spice Rating: 4

A high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family, Louisa "Lulu" Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right, until the day she realizes it’s all wrong. Lulu’s cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns, and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire… and her traveling companion for the summer.

Dex has never had to work for much in his life, and why should he? Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shake-up threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.

Forced to spend days and nights together on the road, Lulu’s interest in the kilted bad boy grows as he shows her a side of himself no one else has seen. The stresses of her old lifestyle fade away as she learns to trust her intuition and follow her heart instead of her head. But when her time on the road is over, will Lulu go with her gut, or are she and Dex destined for separate paths?

Another volume in his lovely contemporary romance series set in a Renaissance Faire. I absolutely loved the first and third books, but was not excited by the second one at all. This volume play off the characters from the second book, but they get to operate as side characters. Thank goodness. This one unites the Malone family with the MacLean family with a great pairing. I loved seeing a slightly older woman not necessarily interested in marriage and children finding her place and partner. We get some great will they/won’t they encounters throughout the first half of the book. The second half wasn’t quite as exciting, but I still enjoyed figuring out how Lulu and Dee triumph over their obstacles.

Well Met

  • #1 Well Met

  • #2 Well Played

  • #3 Well Matched

  • #4 Well Traveled

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: romance, Jen DeLuca, contemporary, 4 stars, 52 Book Club, Romanceopoly
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 02.10.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

Title: A Merry Little Meet Cute

Author: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

Publisher: Avon 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 425

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Body Positive Message; Romanceopoly - Winter

Spice Rating: 7

Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn’t ask for more. But when Bee’s favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he’s making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee’s career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.

Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan’s promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he’ll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.

But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he’s a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel’s execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan’s singing career comes snooping around—and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.

And if Bee and Nolan can’t keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor.

Finally! I had this on my holds list since November and it finally became available. Right away, I fell for Bee hard. She’s such a great character. I loved her entire outlook on life and what she enjoys doing. We get a few discussions and moments discussing others’ perspectives and ideas about her body, but unlike a previous Simone book, we don’t dwell on this the book. We’re not reminded of her size or any body insecurity every chapter. I love that she’s such a strong plus-size role model. I loved it! I enjoyed the overall story and romance, but my favorite parts were focused on Bee and some of the side characters. I was slightly less enthused by the relationship between Nolan and Bee. It wasn’t quite the strongest relationship I’ve read, but I did enjoy it. Be advised that the focus on sex starts in Chapter one even if the character don’t actually have sex until part of the way through the book.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone, contemporary, romance, Christmas, 52 Book Club, Romanceopoly, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Thursday 02.09.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs

Title: A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

Author: John Hornor Jacobs

Publisher: Harper Voyager 2019

Genre: Horror

Pages: 368

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Survival Story

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.

In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South—which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.

A mixed bag of two stories. I did not connect with or enjoy the first story, The Sea Dreams It is the Sky. I was intrigued by the characters and their pasts under a brutal dictatorship. What they both witnesses and experienced was horrific, no doubt. It just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I kept waiting for the Lovecraftian horror to descend. It never really got there for me. But then I dove into the second story, My Heart Struck Sorrow, and I was instantly feeling that lingering sense of dread. I couldn’t wait to see what would be revealed in Harlan Parker’s journals. The story unfolds slowly, letting you glimpses little bits of horror along the way, until it culminates in a truly terrifying chapter near the end. I had to take a few minutes after finishing the story to digest everything I had just read. That second story got a 5 star rating, but the first story only got 3 stars. So I averaged those out to give the collection 4 stars.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: John Hornor Jacobs, horror, 4 stars, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 02.08.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire

Title: Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8)

Author: Seanan McGuire

Publisher: Tordotcom 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages:146

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; 52 Book Club - Under 200 Pages

Welcome to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.

If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here.
If you ever wondered about a favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back.
And the headphones that you swore this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it….

Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the Shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she discovers that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds.

And stepping through those doors exacts a price.

CW: Grooming, Child Abuse

First, a note about the content warning. No child abuse happens on the page. As the reader, you know that’s where Antsy’s life is heading. But then, she runs aways before anything actually happens. The threat is so big that she runs away from her life pretty spontaneously. From there, the story really gets started.

I absolutely loved this story of lost innocence and the prices we pay in life. This volume felt very personal, almost as if McGuire was letting us glimpse her own life. And therefore, the story felt more real, more important, than some of her other writings. I was rooting for Antsy from page one, hoping she would be able to find her place. We get to visit another interesting world while glimpsing a few others (including an appearance by a certain set of twins). I read this in one sitting and that felt just right. Dazzling volume in this favorite series!

Wayward Children

  • #1 Every Heart a Doorway

  • #2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones

  • #3 Beneath the Sugar Sky

  • #4 In an Absent Dream

  • #5 Come Tumbling Down

  • #6 Across the Green Grass Fields

  • #7 Where the Drowned Girls Go

  • #8 Lost in the Moment and Found

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Seanan McGuire, fantasy, fairy tale stories, Winter TBR List, 52 Book Club, 5 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 02.04.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Title: Anya and the Nightingale

Author: Sofiya Pasternack

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2020

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 416

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; 52 Book Club - Written in Present Tense

It’s been a year since a violent Viking terrorized the small village of Zmeyreka and Anya and her foolish friend Ivan saved a friendly dragon from being sacrificed for his magic.

But things still aren’t safe in the kingdom of Kievan Rus’. 

After embarking on a journey to bring her papa home from war, Anya discovers a powerful forest creature terrorizing travelers. But she soon learns that he’s not the monster the kingdom should fear. There’s an even greater evil that lurks under the city. 

Can Anya stop the monster, save her papa, and find her way home? Or will the secrets of Kiev leave Anya and her friends trapped beneath the city forever?

Another decent, if not super exciting book for this series. I wanted to love this book more than I actual loved this book. I think this is a case of the book not being written for me. If I was 12 and reading this one, I think I would have given it 5 stars. It just felt a little too juvenile for me. I wanted to Anya to dive a little deeper into the culture and the stories. Instead, we get lots of angst and a very transparent mystery.

Anya

  • #1 Anya and the Dragon

  • #2 Anya and the Nightingale

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: fantasy, middle grade, Winter TBR, Sofiya Pasternack, folklore, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 02.03.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Dire King by William Ritter

Title: The Dire King (Jackaby #4)

Author: William Ritter

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers 2017

Genre: YA Historical Fiction; Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; 52 Book Club - Final Book in the Series

The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push the earth and the otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve mysteries in New Fiddleham, New England—like who’s created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why the undead are appearing around town.

At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby’s resistance to his feelings for the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, Jenny Cavanaugh, begins to give way. But before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether.

And we that, the story of Abigail Rook and Jackaby has ended. And it was quite an ending. We knew things were going to get very serious after the third book, but I wasn’t quite prepared exactly how serious until we get to the halfway point of this book. I was very much on the edge of my seat for the entire second half. I was totally unprepared for the final battle against the Dire King and his allies. I knocked off one star in that I did think that the final confrontation was too drawn out without enough conclusion/reconnection of the characters. I would have liked to see the pacing at the end reworked a bit. But I did love the ending of Abigail’s story. Overall, this has been such a great mystery series.

Jackaby

  • #1 Jackaby

  • #1.5 The Map

  • #2 Beastly Bones

  • #3 Ghostly Echoes

  • #4 The Dire King

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: William Ritter, horror, historical fiction, young adult, Finishing the Series, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 01.28.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Author: Shelby Van Pelt

Publisher: Ecco 2022

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 360

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; 52 Book Club - Book About Secrets

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. 

I resisted reading this book for so long. When someone describes a book as “heartwarming,” I usually run screaming in the other direction. And so, I did not pick up this book last year. Then, a friend picked it for January’s book club selection and I, grumbling, sat down to read it. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed this one. Mostly, I enjoyed it for the slim interludes chapters narrated by Marcellus. I think I would have loved any entire book narrated by Marcellus. Instead, we have to add a few humans into the mix and a whole host of secrets. The tidy nature of the secrets were a bit too much for me to give this book 5 stars. That and the chapters focused on Cameron really bugged me. I grew to really love Tova and the story of her life. I would have liked more about her and her interactions with the various members of the town. The chapters about Cameron were tough to get through. He was not a great and lovable person and I really struggled wanting to reach through the pages and slap him. A mixed bag. Overall, It was a nice story and I am interested to see everyone’s reaction at book club tonight.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Shelby Van Pelt, fiction, 4 stars, Unread Shelf Project, 52 Book Club, Bookworms Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Tuesday 01.24.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos #1)

Author: Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 848

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; COYER; 52 Book Club - High Fantasy

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

The Nerdy Bookish Friends club started 2023 with this behemoth! And what a story it was. I will admit that it took my about 100 pages to really get into the story. There are many people and places to keep track of and I had to orient myself to this world. This is high fantasy and definitely involves a lot of world-building at the beginning. Once, I settled in, I started to connect to some of the characters and began to see the big conflicts brewing. I really enjoyed how Shannon wove the stories of all these very different characters to highlight their prejudices and biases. By the end of the book, I was glad that I had read it, but I must say this wasn’t my absolute favorite. The pacing seemed very off throughout the book. I was extremely bored at many times throughout and then something would happen and I wouldn’t be able to put the book down. I may have been more satisfied if this book had been broken up a bit in two separate volumes. Still debating about reading the prequel that’s just about to be published…

The Roots of Chaos

  • #0.5 A Day of Fallen Night

  • #1 The Priory of the Orange Tree

  • #2 TBD

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Samantha Shannon, fantasy, Winter TBR, COYER, 52 Book Club, 4 stars, book club, Nerdy Bookish Friends
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 01.21.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The End and Other Beginnings by Veronica Roth

Title: The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 2019

Genre: SciFi Short Stories

Pages: 262

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; 52 Book Club - Time in the Title

No world is like the other. Within this masterful collection, each setting is more strange and wonderful than the last, brimming with new technologies and beings. And yet, for all the advances in these futuristic lands, the people still must confront deeply human problems.

In these six stories, Veronica Roth reaches into the unknown and draws forth something startlingly familiar and profoundly beautiful.

With tales of friendship and revenge, plus two new stories from the Carve the Mark universe, this collection has something for new and old fans alike. Each story begins with a hope for a better end, but always end with a better understanding of the beginning.

With beautifully intricate black-and-white interior illustrations and a uniquely designed package, this is the perfect gift for book lovers.

A collection of science fiction short stories isn’t usually a winner and this volume was no exception. I usually find a few stories that really interest me, but often the stories are dull or uninspired. This one dives into the future featuring a few dystopian worlds and a few alien worlds. I preferred the dystopian worlds to the alien worlds. I liked when the stories stuck to simplicity. When authors try to cram too much world-building into short stories, they do not really work. Oh well. Stories can’t always be winners.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: short stories, Veronica Roth, science fiction, 3 stars, Winter TBR, 52 Book Club
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 01.18.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Deal by Elle Kennedy

Title: The Deal (Off Campus #1)

Author:Elle Kennedy

Publisher: Bloom Books 2015

Genre: Romance

Pages: 360

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Campus Corner; 52 Book Club

Spice Meter: 5

She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

...and it’s going to be oh so good

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

CW: Rape (in the past, off page, but discussed), Domestic Abuse

I admit to being hesitant to dive into a New Adult romance series. I have a history of being very annoyed by the early 20-something character whining about life. Like seriously, what have you experienced? So, I tiptoed into this series. By the end of the book, I was looking forward to more from this author and the world. This book is so much more than just a college romance. We get very big discussions about domestic abuse and rape. Nothing is put on the page in a graphic nature, but we know it’s happened. We have characters that come together, slowly get to know one another, and eventually build a romantic relationship. I really enjoyed watching Garrett and Hannah connect. The conversations felt real and meaningful.

Off Campus

  • #1 The Deal

  • #2 The Mistake

  • #2.5 The Pact

  • #3 The Score

  • #3.5 The Incident

  • #4 The Goal

  • #5 The Legacy

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: romance, Elle Kennedy, Romanceopoly, 52 Book Club, contemporary, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 01.13.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Ducks by Kate Beaton

Title: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Author: Kate Beaton

Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly 2022

Genre: Graphic Novel Memoir

Pages: 448

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; 52 Book Club

Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark! A Vagrant, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beaton, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles, and Gaelic folk songs. With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta’s oil rush―part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can’t find it in the homeland they love so much. Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands, where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet is never discussed.

Beaton’s natural cartooning prowess is on full display as she draws colossal machinery and mammoth vehicles set against a sublime Albertan backdrop of wildlife, northern lights, and boreal forest. Her first full length graphic narrative, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is an untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people.

CW: Sexual harassment, rape

Fascinating look at life on an isolated mining facility in Canada. I have enjoyed Beaton’s comedic takes and was intrigued by this memoir. Be advised that this book details her experiences of sexual harassment and rape while working in the Oil Sands. This is not a comedy. This is a look at her life experiences and a discussion of how isolation can affect a person. I enjoyed some of the questions that jumped into my brain while reading. I will most definitely keep Beaton on a must-read list of authors.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

seoulmates.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg kill creatures.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Kate Beaton, graphic novel, memoir, Winter TBR, 52 Book Club, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 01.11.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 
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