She’s a Houngan. But the body she keeps raising to Revenant just doesn’t seem to want to stay alive…
The use of Hoodoo / Houngan / Voodoo practices in this “home improvement” story was completely unexpected and seriously joyful. I also loved how it kept Kelner’s sense of humour and self alive throughout the pages. I was smiling and relaxed as I read this. Making it not only an amazing short story, but a fantastic way to end the Home Improvement collection.
I found the idea of raising an architect so that they can finish building a house to be kind of unique. It feels like a bit of a waste of power, but as the story unfolds, it also feels like something humorous and light. Completely unexpected and most definitely enjoyable.
The lead of this short story – Dodie was one of my favourite leads in this collection. I love that she’s constantly poking fun at the institution that she finds herself in and finding ways to maintain her own identity. Even if that identity does mean eschewing the long skirts and died hair of the rest of the houngans….
In her story, New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr brings her fans back to her beloved Virgin River country, to focus on the plight of single mothers in need, as her way of honoring Rhonda Clemens, founder of Zoe Institute.
This was such a beautiful story. Which, really isn’t surprising. Because pretty much every Robyn Carr story seems to be beautiful. I just can’t get enough of the woman! The fact that it’s loosely set within the Virgin River series just makes me fall all that much harder for this story. Even though there is just a peripheral attachment / appearance of Mel and Paige.
This isn’t as romance-heavy as the rest of the Robyn Carr stories. Although, I did like that fact. Because it was more about the heroine finding her own way and creating a legacy that will help support other single mums. Actually, the romance is completely secondary to the rest of the story and it was gorgeous. Although, a hunky fire fighter was still very much appreciated.
There were some nice moments of humour throughout this. Particularly in the moments when Clay tries to help by getting a little revenge… but, mostly, I loved this story because it highlighted the difficulties that all single mums have. Not just those who have an abusive background…
Title: The Sheriff Takes a Wife Author: Debbie Macomber Series: The Manning Sisters #2 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 23rd October 2020 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 1990 5th sentence, 74th page: “Cody’s a reasonable man, and it’s obvious that he’s attracted to you.”
“I feel as if I’ve been waiting for you all my life.” – Cody Franklin, sheriff of Custer County
The first day Christy Manning visits her sister, Taylor, she meets Sheriff Cody Franklin. To Christy’s shock – and Cody’s – they’re immediately attracted to each other. Intensely attracted. There’s a problem, though. Christy’s engaged to someone else, someone back in Seattle. So what’s the solution? See what happens when The Sheriff Takes a Wife!
Christy was not my favourite romantic heroine. There was nothing overly wrong with her. But I have never understood people pleasers. And she is the epitome of a people pleaser. Particularly as throughout the development of this story, she manages to constantly jeopardise her own happiness just to keep other people happy… not my favourite thing in a heroine at all.
Having said that, Cody is an absolute sweetheart. Again, not my favourite romantic hero… but definitely a lot more understandable and less frustrating than Christy. Particularly when it’s her actions that are constantly putting their relationship into jeopardy. And it takes a while for things to settle. But, once they do… well, I really didn’t mind this at all.
I picked this book up when I was at home sick. I was in that really irritating point where you feel well enough to want to do things. But you’re not actually well enough to do anything. This is the perfect book for that kind of feeling. It’s not exactly got heaps going on and it’s a pretty easy read. But it’s also got just enough going on that at the end of it, you feel like you might have accomplished something in the reading…
Towards the end of this novel, the Manning brothers most definitely steal the show. It’ll be interesting reading their romances and finding out more about these three men when I next pick up a Debbie Macomber novel…
Title: The Cowboy’s Lady Author: Debbie Macomber Series: The Manning Sisters #1 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Contemporary romance Dates read: 22nd – 23rd October 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Mira Year: 1990 5th sentence, 74th page: “Russ?”
“The only woman who interests me is you.” Russ Palmer, rancher
When Taylor Manning accepts a teaching job in Cougar Point, Montana, she discovers that life there is very different from life in Seattle. So are the men! She soon notices a handsome, opinionated, stubborn rancher named Russ Palmer, and he notices her. In fact, they more than notice each other. And after a few months, Taylor’s certain of one thing. Despite their conflicting backgrounds, she’d love to be The Cowboy’s Lady.
This was a very sweet and relaxed romance. I bought it because I enjoyed Macomber’s novella Silver Bells and wanted to find out more about the Manning family. Starting with Taylor was definitely a good decision and I found that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was also a really nice and easy read, which I needed since I was recovering from being sick while reading this.
I did love that Taylor is definitely a feminist and argues for women’s rights. But she falls for a man who is most decidedly a chauvinist. At first I thought I was going to hate the dynamic and half expected Taylor to loose her sense of self in the new guy. But, this really didn’t happen and so I still got to have my happy feelings at the end of the novel.
As with most stories that have a teenager at the helm of the insanity… Mandy kind of stole the show for me. She is an absolute firecracker and I love how she goes toe to toe with her brother to assert her rights as a young woman. She also manages to cause problems and makeups between Taylor and russ. Which, of course just makes me all that much happier.
Having a male chauvinist as a lead made me think that I was REALLY not going to like Russ as a character. After all, these are the kind of people in my personal life that I absolutely avoid like the plague. But that really wasn’t the case. Somehow he drew me in, and even if I felt the need to smack him (metaphorically speaking), I still found myself really liking him and hoping for the best outcome. Which, after all, is exactly why I read romances.
Title: Desert Command Author: Elmer Kelton In: The Mammoth Book of Westerns (Jon E. Lewis) Rating Out of 5: 2 (Managed to read it… just) My Bookshelves:Westerns Dates read: 23rd October 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: No, sir.
A short story about desert journeys and commands.
I found this short story really difficult to concentrate on. I’m not sure if it was my mood, or the story just really didn’t grab my attention. I have a sinking feeling it may just be the fact that this just wasn’t my “type” of story…
Having said that. I did like the style of the writing. The skills and talent were pretty good. Just not quite what I wanted in a short story. It just didn’t quite sweep me away…
When all was said and done though. I did read this short story, and enjoyed the vivid descriptions throughout this. Maybe it’s a short story that I need to read in the future…
They live in the House. It’s a House that straddles two realities. So what happens when those realities collide?
Something about this short story made me think about the Innkeeper Chronicles. In the best way possible of course, since I loved that series. And I loved this short story. After all, a house that straddles two worlds and works to keep the peace, keep people safe… it’s definitely the kind of story that I get drawn into.
This was a seriously fun journey into a seriously interesting and intriguing house. It was really hard to put down and I was grinning throughout the whole story. Particularly the couple that runs the house. They are the exact kind of married couples that I love in a good story – obviously in love and filled with witty banter and light.
I’m really disappointed that this is just a short story. I would really, seriously love more stories about this House Between Worlds. There are just so many potential stories!
Title: Working Stiff Author: Rachel Caine Series: Revivalist #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy, Zombies Dates read: 18th September – 23rd October 2020 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Roc fantasy Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: Bryn tried the keys Fideli had given her, but they didn’t work.
RACHEL CAINE, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WEATHER WARDEN NOVELS, TAKES THE ZOMBIE GENRE BY STORM IN HER BRAND-NEW REVIVALIST SERIES.
Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn’t the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment – until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele… as part of an extortion racket. Now Bryn faces being terminated (literally) with extreme prejudice.
With the assistance of corporate double agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem – pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She’d better do it fast before she becomes a zombie slave – a real working stiff.
She’d be better off dead…
So I had absolutely no clue what to really expect from this novel. But even if I had expectations… they would have been surpassed. This was completely, totally and utterly unexpected. In the best of ways possible. It was absolutely awesome and a lot, lot, lot of fun. I didn’t want to put this down. I didn’t want to look away. And I most certainly desperately want the final two books in this trilogy!
Bryn is a fantabulous lead. She is a little bit weak in some ways, but also has this great core strength that carries her through all of the insanity that this story entails. I mean, there is a LOT of insanity throughout this story. It is just one crazy moment after another… all careening through the pages in an unstoppable plot that has you on the edge of your seat. It makes it way too easy to feel seriously heart sore at her plight and makes you just hope for the best. I’m not all that optimistic to be honest, but that’s probably why I liked this so much.
This is a seriously unique and individualistic zombie story. Not that I’ve read many zombie stories. But the way in which zombies are created, and the whole plot line is just unfathomably unique and sheer awesomeness. It makes this story even more difficult to put down and put away. Because somehow, these zombies feel a little scarier and more plausible… and then you start dealing with big corporations and corruption… and well, the zombie story is just WOW.
Jo, Pat and Bryn are the absolute dream team in this story. They all work incredibly well together to create this team that is kind of personally interwoven, and there are heaps of secrets… and I just can’t wait to see what happens next to this little trio. Particularly with how Caine finished off their journey in this novel… there are SO MANY more questions left unanswered!
Lily has loved Nate for a long time, and they make a great team. Particularly when they’re in the Wild West.
I love reading a paranormal fantasy story and spending it trying to guess what “being” the lead characters are. In the case of this story, I spent my whole time trying to figure out what Nate and Lily’s paranormal species was. I didn’t get it. And now, knowing what I know… I feel like it should have been WAY obvious… but oh well.
The word “bamboozle” has got to be one of my favourites. There is just something… fun about it. So reading a story that features this word as the title was immediately going to draw me in (let alone the fact that it is by a well-loved author and series). But it was the activity of “bamboozling” people throughout this that really had me smiling. And I’m now just going to sit in my little book lair and keep saying the word. Because, seriously, who wouldn’t? It’s a pretty awesome word…
What was I saying?
Oh yeah. This is an awesome short story. You should read it.
Title: Moby-Dick Author: Herman Melville Series: Word Cloud Classics Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves:Classics, Oceans Dates read: 5th – 22nd October 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Word Cloud Classics Year: 1851 5th sentence, 74th page: When Bildad was a chief mate, to have his drab-coloured eye intently looking at you, made you feel completely nervous, till you could clutch something – a hammer or marlingspike, and go to work like mad, at something or other, never mind what.
“Call me Ishmael” is the iconic opening line of Herman Melville’s classic American novel, Moby-Dick. Ishmael is a seaman aboard the whaling vessel, Pequod, under the vengeful captain, Ahab. Maniacally seeking retribution from the great white sperm whale called Moby-Dick–the whale responsible for the captain’s missing leg–Ahab leads the crew on a quest to kill the infamous beast. A fictional work based on actual events, Moby-Dick is a classic that has been enjoyed for generations, and it’s now available as part of the Word Cloud Classic series, making it a stylish and affordable addition to any library.
I can totally see why this is such a well-known classic. It was a very enjoyable and intense story. And, even though I only gave it 3 stars, I would totally read it again. I felt like throughout this I was actually missing quite a bit… so I would actually quite enjoy re-reading this and picking up on all of the bits and pieces that I missed. Actually, I think that this is one of those stories, that no matter how many times you read it… you’ll always find something new to the story that you just didn’t notice before.
There was a heck of a lot of symbolism throughout this story. More than my puny little brain seemed to be able to comprehend if I’m being honest… although, most of the symbolism that I felt I was picking up on was very homosexual in nature… I’m not sure if that was just the mood I was in though. Or the simple fact that the Whale is a sperm whale (I mean, queue the jokes here).
This isn’t a feel good, comfortable story. At all. Which is probably why I did enjoy it and am likely to reread this. I’m not necessarily big on stories which are all sunshine and lollipops every time I open a book. And at the time of reading this, I was finding that there were a few too many happy, happy stories on my TBR. This was a really good break from that – I loved the discomfort that it left you with.
This may not be my favourite classic. But it was an enjoyable one. It was pleasant and fun, and I can’t wait to pick it up again in the future and learn more about all the parts of this story that I missed…
New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston has created the moving story of a Dallas firefighter’s desperate search to find a daughter caught in the world of human trafficking for her tribute to Katherine Chon, cofounder of the Polaris Project.
This is the first novella in the More Than Words: Volume 6 collection. And boy is it a great way to start. This is intense and serious, but yet manages to still bring in the sweetness that contemporary romances have. A fantastic balance of the two when dealing with a very real and serious issue / danger.
Although this deals with sex trafficking and all of the horrors that go along with it. I must say, I absolutely adored Miranda. And the scene in which she throws her bra… that had me laughing quite a bit. She’s got so much gumption and sass. Which, of course, makes her the perfect teenage daughter to partner with a couple that can’t quite seem to figure out what exactly it is that they want.
This may be a novella that highlights the risks of sex trafficking and how easy it can be for people to fall victim to it. This is also a seriously cute and adorable novella. I loved Seth and Karen as a couple. Partner that with Miranda (who I think totally steals the spotlight) and you have a great novella that left me feeling hopeful and smiling.
Earth and Skye 