Review: Don't Let it Snow in Deadwood

Don't Let it Snow in Deadwood by Ann Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is book ten in the series, and you really can't read it as a standalone. It wouldn't mean as much to you as those who have followed this rag-tag group up to this point. The author notes this was meant to be just a short story about Christmas with this crew and then turned into a full book. You can feel the intention. It felt like a cozy, inside look at the lives of the characters. It moves the story forward a bit while mostly just focusing on this one moment in time. I was on the beach reading this wintery book and still could feel like I was back home in Wisconsin at Christmas. Looking forward to book eleven!

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Review: A Long Day in Lychford

A Long Day in Lychford by Paul Cornell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is book three in a series, and you really need to read the other two first. The books are short, so just dig in. I finished this one hoping there would be a fourth because I need to know what happens to these characters.

Because it is so short, it is hard to say much without giving away the story. I think the interesting part of this story is the juxtaposition of three witches trying to protect a town from evil outsiders while the townspeople vote to Brexit to protect their town from "evil" outsiders. It really makes you question how you think about these things.

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Review: Hunting LeRoux: The Inside Story of the DEA Takedown of a Criminal Genius and His Empire

Hunting LeRoux: The Inside Story of the DEA Takedown of a Criminal Genius and His Empire by Elaine Shannon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I usually don't read reviews of books I want to read, but I picked up this book after reading a review of it. It was described as having a cinematic quality, action-packed, fast-paced. I didn't feel that which is probably why I gave it three stars. That said, it is a good book. The subject is pretty fascinating, and the author has done her research. How the empire is built and then dismantled is very interesting. It is a unique look into the inner workings of a major trafficker and the DEA. Worth reading for that.

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Review: Killing Gravity

Killing Gravity by Corey J. White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A badass woman and her weird space cat take on the universe.....read it! While this is the first book in a series, you can read this as a standalone. There is enough to make you want to continue the series, but no cliffhanger that will make you feel forced into a second book. I appreciate that in a serial story. While cliffhangers can be exciting, I don't want to have to wait some unknown amount of time to find out what happens next.

My favorite part of this story is the main character's relationship with her "cat" because it is just as important as all the action. And there is a lot of action and surprises. A great read!

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Review: Portuguese Irregular Verbs

Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book in a series. I have seen a lot of the author's books on lists of books that I enjoy. I like quirky stories and characters. The description sounded right up my alley. I thought it would be similar to Dear Committee Members, which I really loved. Certainly, there were glimpses of the things I liked about that book in this one. The main character is a bit pompous and not aware of it. The things he encounters are just over-the-top. But as much as I wanted to love it, I just never got into it.

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Review: The Lost Child of Lychford

The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book the Witches of Lychford series. I would recommend starting with book one if you haven't read it. The books are fairly short, and you need that background to understand what is going on in book two.

I really loved book one, and this was no different. I love these characters. Even though they have that supernatural aspect, they still feel very realistic. This story really brings the supernatural to the forefront too. Every woman has her own "demon" to battle, but they still need each other. Quite trippy and a great way to propel their stories forward.

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Review: Rock Manning Goes for Broke

Rock Manning Goes for Broke by Charlie Jane Anders
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is no secret that I like many of the same things teenage boys do: video games, superheroes, comic books, etc. So while a middle-aged woman working in diplomacy is probably not the target demographic for this story, I bought it anyway. It was a fun read. I would almost forget it was in the science fiction category until something would happen and OH YEAH. Mostly it just felt like a roller coaster of memories of younger days.

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Review: Fox 8

Fox 8 by George Saunders
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the opening line, this short story grabbed my heart and held on tight. I liked the funky spelling because it served as a reminder that this was not just any old storyteller. This one was special. In fact, I had a voice in my head that was conjured by those werds as if Fox 8 were telling me the story himself. The mental images were very Wes Anderson but that probably says more about me than the story. Finally, I completely stand behind the message of the book. If everyone did, we'd all be better off.

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Review: A Great Deliverance

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listen to the podcast, What Should I Read Next? by Anne Bogel. Anyone who listens to that knows Anne LOVES this series and recommends it quite often. Based on that, I decided to try the first book in the series to see if it was for me. It wasn't hard to figure out why it is a big draw to a Jane Austen super fan.

The main character and his partner are the classic odd couple pairing. He's a handsome aristocrat who just happens to also be a skilled detective. She's a frumpy, grumpy CID washout. Watch what happens when you force them to work together!

The book is well written. The case is wrapped up by the end of the book but not too easy to solve. I didn't love the books as much as so many other people. For me, I need someone I like to keep me reading a series. In this case, I didn't really find that connection. However, I would recommend at least trying them too. I can see why they have mass appeal.

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Review: Flour Power: : Trail-laying Theory and Practice, for the Hash House Harriers

Flour Power: : Trail-laying Theory and Practice, for the Hash House Harriers by Testicles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After many years of hearing about the Hash House Harriers in countries around the world, I finally took the plunge and joined them when I moved to Barbados in 2017. I went with zero understanding of what was supposed to happen. Fortunately, I met some great people who explained things to me which encouraged me to return. Had I not, I probably would have been one and done.

If you have never hashed and are thinking about it, there is some very helpful information in this book that seems to be fairly hash universal. If you have hashed, you may be like me and enjoy reading about the different approaches to the hash and the different cultural habits that develop. My hash is family friendly, so I was quite surprised by some of the things that go on at other hashes.

On On!

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Review: Sweet Girl

Sweet Girl by Rachel Hollis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the series but could be read as a standalone. I read Party Girl quite awhile ago and the details were very hazy. It didn't impact my reading of this book.

Sweet Girl focuses on Max, the roommate/friend of Landon, the main character of the first book. If this book had been about Landon, I probably wouldn't have read it. I enjoyed Party Girl, but I didn't relate to Landon enough to want to read a whole series just about her. However, I did enjoy Max in the first book and was intrigued to learn more about her.

Not to give too much away, but there is a lot of food in this book, in particular, baked goods hence the "sweet." I love pastry, so this was just (forgive me) icing on the cake. The other thing I liked about this book is that while it is a fairly light read, it does take on some heavy topics in a way that I think some young women would find is true to their own lives. Sometimes you just need to read that someone else went through that too.

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Review: Only Human

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the final book in the Themis trilogy. If you haven't read the others, you need to go back and do that now.

I've been waiting forever for this book to come off hold at the library. Once it did, I wished I had more time before it would be over. As others have said, I would like to see more stories in this series. By this point, I was very invested in what would happen to these characters and to the human race for that matter. I was excited to finally learn of the world Themis comes from in more detail. Not everything is as it seems. One person's paradise is another's nightmare.

This book maintains the same epistolary style of the previous books. It's a style I love to read. The alien language that is introduced sounds fun. I would learn it just to go back and reread this.

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Review: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. It wasn't exactly what I expected. I thought there were be more of a sense of adventure. Still, it reminded me of Firefly and for that I read the whole thing. The writing is good. The characters are interesting, unique, and well developed. Each character gets enough attention to see their story through. I note it is part of a series, but you could read it as a stand alone book if you aren't sure about investing in a series. But if you are looking to tour through space with a nice group of people, this is the book for you!

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