Weekend Tales

Tags

Angeline Boulley, Art, cat, currently reading, Delemhach, fantasy, magic, mystery, romance, Wren Studio

Today I am sharing the books I am currently reading or listening to. I hope you will share what you are reading by posting in the comments at the end.

Kitchen Witch by WrenStudio

Clicking on the book covers below will take you to Amazon. Use of these links supports this blog and is very much appreciated. I also recommended checking with your library (if you want to save some $$$).

On my Kindle, I have The House Witch by Delemhach. This one is about a witch with domestic powers. Haven’t we all wished for the dishes to be magically washed and put away? Among many other household duties! I borrowed this through Prime Reading. Also, there is a cat!

About The House Witch

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .

My current audiobook is Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. The book is the All Iowa Reads YA selection for 2023. We are reading it for book club in May. The audiobook is currently on sale for just $3.99 from Chirp.

About Firekeeper’s Daughter

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team.

After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known?

Tell me! What are you reading?

Weekend Tales

Tags

Abigail Reynolds, Art, cat, currently reading, dog, fae, fantasy, historical, Jane Austen, Jane Steen, Lanre Studio, magic, mystery, romance, terrier

Today I am sharing the books I am currently reading or listening to. If you feel so inclined, do the same by posting in the comments at the end.

Scottish Terrie from Lanre Studio

Clicking on the book covers below will take you to Amazon. Use of these links supports this blog and is very much appreciated. I also recommended checking with your library (if you want to save some $$$).

On my Kindle, I am have Mr. Darcy’s Enchantment by Abigail Reynolds. You’ve probably guessed this is yet another variation on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I’m barely into chapter 2, so it is too soon to know if I will like it. It begins a bit into the original story when Elizabeth Bennet is visiting her newly married friend Charlotte. I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

About Mr. Darcy’s Enchantment

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a powerful magician who controls fire, water, and wind. What he cannot control is his growing feelings for Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

Elizabeth’s sentiments towards Darcy are quite different. She detests his arrogance, and she fears he will expose her use of forbidden magic – forbidden to women, that is. He is the last man in the world she would choose to help her on a difficult and dangerous task.

But when a magical war looms between the land of Faerie and their world, a Lord of Faerie demands that Darcy and Elizabeth serve together as his emissaries to make peace with the other mortals. That mission throws them into the middle of a chaotic power struggle between magicians whose power dwarfs their own, and everything Elizabeth has ever believed about her family, her friends, and her enemies will be called into question.

My current audiobook is Lady Helena Investigates by Jane Steen. This historical mystery is the first in the Scott-DeQuincy Mysteries. I’m not sure I am liking this narration. I also have the e-book, so I may switch. I’ll stay with it for a little while longer. BTW, I noticed that the second book in this series is currently on sale for $0.00!

About Lady Helena Investigates

1881, Sussex. With a drowned husband—the second love lost—an overbearing family, no longed-for child, and the responsibility of a huge baroque mansion, it’s not surprising Lady Helena Whitcombe is overwhelmed. When attractive, mysterious, French physician Armand Fortier disturbs her first weeks of mourning with his theory of murder, Helena’s reluctant and ineffective attempts at investigation are hardly life-changing—until the resulting revival in her long-abandoned herbalist studies bring her into confrontation with her past and her family’s.

Can Lady Helena survive bereavement the second time around? Can she stand up to her six siblings’ assumption of the right to control her new life as a widow? And what role will Fortier—who, as a physician, is a most unsuitable companion for an earl’s daughter—play in her investigations?

Every family has its secrets. The Scott-De Quincy family has more than most.

Nevermore Bookstore (Townsend Harbor, #1) by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Cynthia St. Aubin, Kerrigan Byrne, mystery, romance, series, small town

Review of Nevermore Bookstore

Colorful characters, a small-town setting, and a baffling mystery combine in a touching contemporary story that features two complex characters who may be made for each other.

The story is a little more intense than I would have thought based on the cover.  Cady is a young single woman suffering from painful ankylosing spondylitis, which she refers to as ‘Astrid’ in an effort to save time pronouncing the disease name.  She is resigned to, but not quite comfortable in her curvy body.  She does have some great friends, though, and they support her in every possible way. 

Fox is a mystery man.  The story slowly, very slowly, drips details about the man who calls the bookstore once a week to place an order.  He is a hermit, living in a cave, avoiding people at all costs.  But his weekly conversations with Cady are the highlight of the week for – both of them. 

When a break-in occurs in the bookstore that Cady owns and runs, things get interesting.  Cady’s friends get protective.  Fox gets even more protective.  Everyone else seems to have an agenda. 

This first book in a new series takes place in Townsend Harbor – not to be confused with Port Townsend, the setting of a previous series that featured both authors Kerrigan Bryne and Cynthia St. Aubin.   I am a big fan of Ms. Byrne, but her readers should know that this book is quite different from her typical historical or paranormal romances.  Different is good though!  

This is a great story that features two deeply flawed characters who must learn to accept who they are before than can commit to anything else.  The cheerful book seller is the absolute opposite of the grumpy recluse, but books draw them together.  The mystery surrounding the bookstore break in, nicely ties all the characters together and the final big reveal was as exciting an ending as any small town can handle.  Townsend Harbor will never be the same. 

Plus – there is a raven.  Named Edgar.  (Allan Poe)  Stuffed, but still a raven. 

Through Booksprout, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

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About Nevermore Bookstore by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin

Cadence “Cady” Bloomquist knows two things for sure: First, shelving books at her shop, Nevermore Bookstore, totally counts as cardio. Second, staying late every Thursday night to take a certain mysterious customer’s order is not the same as waiting by the phone for some man.

Until – the calls with the man who identifies himself only as “Fox” last for hours, and become the highlight of her week. Which leaves her to wonder, if his jagged velvet voice can kindle her fire over the phone, what sort of alchemy might it inspire if they met in person?

There’s nothing Roman Fawkes wants more than the brilliant, beautiful bookstore owner, but Roman Fawkes knows it can never happen. Secreted in his mountain hideaway high above sleepy little Townsend Harbor, his hermit’s existence shields him–and those around him–from the pain of his past.

Until – one of their weekly calls is interrupted by a break-in, and Fawkes is powerless to protect the woman who has become his one link to the world. Orchestrating a trap for the fool who dared harm her, Fawkes finds himself not just ensnared, but beguiled by her. Now so close to Cady, he discovers she’s fallen for “Fox”, and yet he’s unable to reveal her heart’s desire is closer than she thinks.

Can Fawkes resist the temptation to get between Cady’s covers, knowing they’ll never have a happily ever after?

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Links

Add Nevermore Bookstore to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Nevermore Bookstore:

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