February is the month of my birthday. Thus, it is the best month of the year. It was also pretty good on the reading front. Although, with something on every weekend, lots of study and just the normal shenanigans… I didn’t really read as much as I would have liked (although, really, what’s new about that?)
Title: Argos Author: Joy Williams In: Xo Orpheus (Kate Bernheimer) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Greek mythology, Mythology Dates read: 28th February 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Penguin Books Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: I was always Argos.
Argos has always been loyal. But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a happily ever after.
My heart broke a little as I read this story. Probably because it basically features a dog that has been abandoned.
Actually, this whole story is written from the point of view of the dog’s acceptance of his lot in life. I would hate for my puppies to feel that way.
This mostly was a quick, easy and pleasant read. But it did also make me want to read Homer – since Argos is featured in that.
Title: All Smiles Author: Steve Berman In: Teeth: Vampire Tales (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Vampires Dates read: 28th February 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Harper Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: A New York State license plate.
He’s mixed up in something he knows nothing about… but there may be a happily ever after, if he can just find the strength and courage.
I’m not entirely sure what even happened in this story if I’m being honest. Which definitely means that this wasn’t high on my list of stories that I want to reread.
Then again, the ending of this story was kind of brilliant. A good, fun twist at the end. First of all, I thought that the MC was going to be vampire-food. Then he, well… wasn’t.
Overall, a fun and easy story to read. And not a total loss. But one that I wouldn’t necessarily want to read again.
Title: Hunger: A Confession Author: Dale Bailey In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Horror Dates read: 28th February 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Tachyon Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: That’s when I remembered Mom’s warning that I wasn’t to fool around down here.
Jeremy has always told the most horrifying stories right before bed time… but this one will make you want to keep the light off.
This was… freaking terrifying. Like. Completely, totally and utterly terrifying. I’m really damn glad that I didn’t read this late at night.
I’m a big sister, and I know that I have done many, many things over the years to torture my little sister. But what was happening in this story… I think she should be glad that I didn’t try and torture and scare her as much as Jeremy did in this. But, the uh…. Comeuppance was waaaaaaay more worse.
This was brilliantly written and completely spine tingling. It is beautiful and wonderful. But yeah… don’t read this late at night. Honestly, it is horrifying.
Title: Necromancing the Stone Author: Lish McBride Series: Necromancer #2 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Ghosts, Humour, Necromancers Dates read: 21st – 27th February 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Square Fish Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: “That god help is hard to find.”
“SOMEONE LEFT A KNIFE IN THE DOOR.”
Her voice was nonchalant, trying to mask her fear, trying to make it sounds as if someone had simply left flowers.
With the defeat of the evil necromancer Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn’t exactly planned to be a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right?
Well… not really. He’s pretty tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for one thing, and he can’t help but feel that his new house hates him. His best friend is a were-bear, someone is threatening his sister, and while Sam realizes that he himself has a lot of power at his fingertips, he’s not exactly sure how to use it. Which turns out to be kind of a problem when someone close to him turns up dead.
As with all of the other McBride stories that I’ve read so far, this is funny, humorous and brilliantly written. It’s a fantastic ending to this duology. One that I seriously enjoyed and couldn’t put down. After all, Sam is not even remotely what you would expect as a necromancer. And, as you slowly begin to realise, he has a whole heap of other powers at his disposal… ones that I wanted to know more about.
Douglas was one scary SOB in Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. He gets worse in this. Total Voldemort vibes. Although, to be fair, he is much, much less freaky than Voldemort. And so much less devilish. Yet, there is a bit of a redemption arc – one that didn’t necessarily redeem the villain, but did make him a little less despicable. And horrifying.
As much as I loved this story, I didn’t really love the fact that this story ended with Brid and Sam being… unresolved. It was seriously frustrating. To the point that I kept turning the final page back and forth. I just thought I was missing something! Although, it does leave the end open to the interpretation that there was a happily ever after for the two of them… just one that took a little bit more work than there was time for within this story.
I love that Sam seems to jump from the frying pan into the story. Repeatedly. And consistently. Not necessarily a great thing for him and his friends, but a wonderful journey for me. You just kind of feel him blundering from moment to moment, trying to figure out what on earth he is doing. Kind of like how I feel most days of my life if I’m being truly honest here…
I can’t wait to read more McBride books. They’re all sitting on my wishlist, ready and rearing to go. I just have to find a little more funding… and I just hope that I get to have a few appearances from Sam and Brid again. They’re just too damn wonderful and cute. Even if they could both kill me with their hands tied behind their backs…
Pack law states every female shall have three mates. It’s a necessary action in order to keep the lunewulf breed alive. Sophie Rousseau has just learned who her three mates will be. And one of them is the sexy Nik Alexander who has invaded her dreams since high school. Though Sophie’s nervous about fulfilling pack law, she can’t wait to mate with Nik. Nik has lusted after Sophie, wanted her for his mate and mother of his children. He gets his way, but by pack law, Sophie cannot be his alone. Nik will share her with two other werewolves. But only on his terms.
I didn’t necessarily hate this story, but I certainly didn’t really love it either. After all, it was a little bit too… pushy and bride price for me. I mean, one woman, assigned 3 men that she has to mate with. Not exactly my cup of tea…
Although I wasn’t comfortable with the whole, you have to give three men children thing… and being assigned these men without input. I really didn’t mind this story. For starters, you had one character who did actively rebel against this horrible “tradition”. Then, there was the fact that the lead character in this, did get the man that she wanted, and managed to find herself in a situation in which she was happy. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way on earth I’d like this situation. But at least it was written in a way that only made me cringe just a little bit…
Overall, this wasn’t a horrifying story. But it really wasn’t one that I went head over heels for. I’ll probably buy more books in the series out of pure curiosity. But not one that I will be putting to the top of the list… I love a good erotic romance, but I’m not really sure how I feel about one that features one woman, three men…
Camael is an angel, just visiting earth. But then he runs into Rei, and finds himself irreverisbly fallen. What follows is an understanding of what love can create… and destroy.
I have some very mixed feelings about this short story. I did enjoy it, and I would probably happily read it again. But I didn’t feel completely swept away by it either. As I said… kind of mixed feelings here. Enjoyable, but not earth shattering. Although, I think that I would love to read a story that takes place after the girl dies, and the angel finally begins to feel his punishment…
The setting of this story was very… native American, first pioneers, not much power for women… it is a setting that feels incredibly familiar. But not necessarily one that I absolutely adored. It was just… pleasant. The fact that it was combined with angels and feelings of Christianity… maybe that’s why I didn’t quite fall head over heels for this story.
This is a brilliant, fun and gorgeous little, short story. It’s the kind of tale that I will definitely go back to, but I could also frequently put down when I felt like doing the responsible adult things. It was fun and engaging, and a great way to kill a little time while I was trying to make my self calm down.
Title: Fix Her Up Author: Tessa Bailey Series: Hot & Hammered #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Chic lit, Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 18th February 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Avon Year: 2019 5th sentence, 74th page: Zumba.
Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and no one has taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World… whatever that means.
Phase One: A new framework for her business (A website from this decade?) Phase Two: A gut reno on her wardrobe (FYI, leggings are pants) Phase Three: Updates to her exterior (Do people still wax?) Phase Four: Put herself on the market (And stop crushing on Travis Ford!)
Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking out the town clown for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite.
Travis Ford was a major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme – that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job – he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman, and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her.
I’ve been eyeing this story off for a while and been putting off reading it. Which was honestly a bit of a mistake. Because this story was absolutely glorious and fun and wonderful. I read it cover to cover in one sitting. Which would have been fine if I didn’t start a new job the next day and had read until all hours of the morning.
I can’t imagine how painful it would be to be in love with the same man since you are young. And for that man to consistently ignore and dismiss you. After all, there is nothing that I can imagine being worse than being disregarded constantly. Particularly by the man that you love. Yet, somehow, even though that kind of makes Travis a bit of an ignorant dick, he’s still completely loveable.
This is a fantastic beginning to a new series. And a wonderful introduction to a whole new author. I will definitely be trying to get more Tessa Bailey books on my shelves as soon as feasible. There is something that is so brilliant and engaging and fun about her writing. This was also a beautiful romantic plotline that not only drew me in, but had me seriously emotionally invested in all of the characters… probably why I couldn’t put the silly book down!
Fix Her Up is a beautiful, fun and light-hearted romance that left me smiling and grinning all the way through. Georgie is a brilliant lead, and I love that her entire goal in life is to make others happy and make them laugh. It’s not a career that I would want personally… but I love that she has such a beautiful, generous spirit. It made the whole tale just flow all that sweeter. But, she still has a great backbone of steel – after all, the story starts with her throwing off food at Travis and just gets better from there.
This is a great story about growing up together and finding a way to grow into yourself. My favourite thing about Georgie and Travis is that they are able to help each other grow and support each other. They stick up for each other when they really need it and find a way to constantly support one another. It’s something we all need, but don’t necessarily get, in a relationship. And it made my heart melt.
Title: Salvage the Bones Author: Jesmyn Ward Series: Bois Sauvage #1 Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Contemporary,Historical fiction Dates read: 17th February 2021 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: Eight hundred dollars.
They heard it on the radio: A hurricane is coming, threatening the town of Bois Sauvage, Mississipi. Eshc’s hard-drinking father can feel it in his bones. Esch and her brothers are trying to help prepare, but there are other worries, too. Skeetah is watching his prized pit bull, helpless as her new litter dies one by one. Randall, when not preoccupied with basketball, is busy looking after the youngest, Junior. And Esch, fifteen and motherless among men, has just realized that she’s pregnant. The children of this family have always been short on nurture, but they are fiercely loyal to one another. It is together that they will face the building storm – and the day that will dawn after.
I bought this book ages ago to complete a reading challenge. Then I never quite got around to it. And boy am I regretting that decision. Because this was amazing. And impossible to put down. Completely unforgettable. And seriously uncomfortable.
There are so many uncomfortable moments throughout this story. There is alcoholism, and teenage pregnancy, and just all sorts of horribleness. But, I actually found the dog fighting and the story of China and Skeet to be the more heartbreaking. It just, somehow tore into my heart strings and made me grimace, multiple times. Maybe because I have my own pitbull, and I just can’t imagine putting a dog that I love through that…
Esch is a great narrator. She is honest and has this fantastic voice of the socio-economic and cultural world in which this tale takes place. You can tell that Ward has an understanding and grasp on this, and it isn’t a tale of cultural appropriation or fantasy. Which, of course makes all of the uncomfortable moments even more uncomfortable. And just… a little spine tingling.
I don’t remember much about Hurricane Katrina. Other than the fact that it was devastating. The residue of this hurricane in this story left me feeling like I need to learn a lot more about it. That I need to understand what happened in a more unbiased and, well, adult manner. Actually, this whole story reminded me of all of the things I know nothing about and need to understand more.
Title: Anthropogenesis, Or: How to Make a Family Author: Laura van den Berg In: Xo Orpheus (Kate Bernheimer) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Mythology Dates read: 17th February 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Penguin Books Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: They were struggling to find the right way to live.
The creation of a family and the world involves two individuals. But what happens when they are total opposites?
This was a quick and easy read. One that I enjoyed but wasn’t completely swept away by. It was just pleasurable. And kind of fun.
I love how this was pretty much a re-telling of a myth, but with a little bit more of a contemporary / modern language approach. It wasn’t one of those stories that completely swept me away, but it was one that I enjoyed.
This was a great beginning to the XO Orpheus collection. One that I enjoyed, and makes me want to sink deeper into the collection.
Earth and Skye 