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Psychological Thriller Review – The Quiet Tenant

December 12th, 2023

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

A twisted tale in which we have a unbeknownst serial killer, Aidan, who is revered by the townsfolk and adored by his family. The only ones who knows his dirty little secret are his victims. Most of them do not survive to tell their tale. Rachel, his latest victim, has held on longer than any of the others. Spending her days in a shed, she knows what angers him and what pleases him and for that, she has survived for a very long time. She fears her time is becoming short when their routine has changed. She learns that the Aidan’s wife has died and now they must move. Somehow she is able to talk him into taking him with her. Things get crazy when she moves into his house along with his daughter. She is passed off as a friend in need of a place to stay. Adding more chaos into his life, Aidan also has a romance brewing on the outside. That romantic partner could be the downfall of his long career or be his next victim.

 

It was a nice twist to see the interactions between the killer, victim, family and lover. Although, at times, some of the actions of the victim and the lover were unbelievable to the point of cringe-worthy, it was still an enjoyable story. The writing was well done and kept at a steady pace. The ending was a wild ride that completed the story nicely. Look forward to more books by this author.

 

Non-Fiction Review – Decoding Gen-Z Slang

December 10th, 2023

Decoding Gen-Z Slang: Your Guide to Learning, Understanding,
and Speaking the Gen-Z Vernacular by Devon Knott

Review by jjares

Fantasy Review – The Book that Wouldn’t Burn

December 9th, 2023

The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

When you see a book with such a lovely cover written by an author you think highly of, it is hard not to greedily devour it but, instead, slowly savor each word. I had to make sure I paced myself. Even so, it feels like a book that I’ll need to reread in the future. Just a sense that there is so much magic in there that my mind didn’t catch it all.
The story is made up of two POV’s. On one end we have Livira who is from the Dust. When her settlement is attacked she finds herself and other villagers on a long journey. She winds up in a city where she ends up working in the library. Then there is Evar who has always been in the library and knows of nothing but its walls, his four adopted siblings and his caretakers. This is a library where if you are not careful you can get lost. It holds much knowledge but also many secrets. Through the labyrinth of books, you can find time traveling portals, android type assistants, and (my favorite) animal guides. Between their two tales, the story weaves a lovely tapestry that you just want to wrap around yourself.
I really enjoyed Livira’s parts the best. I felt a connection. Especially reading about her always asking questions. I couldn’t ask enough questions when I was younger and still find myself needing to know how everything works. Made me chuckle a couple of times when I read those parts. One thing that I’ve always enjoyed with Lawrence’s books is his characters. He really makes it easy to bond with them. On top of that, he writes a story that you can see vividly and words that flow beautifully. So excited to read the next book in the series.

YA Review – A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

December 8th, 2023

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

Here’s a fun middle-grade/YA fantasy. This will be a very quick read for an adult, but it’s got charm and some interesting characters.

Fourteen-year-old Mona only has a little magic, and it only works on dough. So of course she works in her aunt’s bakery. Her breads and rolls are the best, because she can convince the dough to be perfect. She’s got an animated gingerbread man who can sit on her shoulder, and then there’s Bob the slightly scary sourdough starter, who lives in a bucket in the basement.

When Mona finds the dead body of a girl in the bakery, she is shocked and scared of course, but when she’s accused of the murder herself she can’t believe it. Set free by the Duchess, she thinks life will go back to normal. But minor wizards like her are disappearing all over the city, and she’s not going to be immune. Caught up in court politics and the threat of a barbarian invasion, Mona’s going to have to step up her magic or all is lost.

I liked Mona’s naivety and hesitancy to break the rules, it’s a little different from the usual heroine. Most of the other characters are typical – the thief, the aunt, the evil inquisitor. But Bob the sourdough starter is wonderfully funny, and the dead horse witch is awesome. If you’d like some light fantasy, this will fit the bill.

 

 

 

 

Author Interview with Rhoda Orme-Johnson and Book Give-Away

November 22nd, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview, Rhoda Orme-Johnson!

 

Rhoda Orme-Johnson is an author, was a computer programmer for the Apollo Project, a teacher of TM, and a professor among other interesting things.

 

Q: According to the blurb on the back of your book, Anna: An Immigrant Story you are a writer, always a writer€. If you had to describe yourself in one word, would writer be the word?

 

A: “Seeker” is the word. My whole life has been a search for spiritual progress, development of consciousness, and deep knowledge about how mind and body work for optimum growth, hence my interest in the Transcendental Meditation technique. Writing itself is a process of self-discovery, so very much in this life-learning program. Writing comes from the deepest level of consciousness and leads the writer back there to mine one’s deepest feelings and thoughts. It’s also very blissful.

 

Q: You have traveled a great deal. Where in the world do you feel most at home?

 

A: I love traveling the world and enjoying various cultures, cuisines, and beauties, spiritual and material. I felt very at home in India, but with the feeling that my past lives there may not have been very pleasant. Paris is the place where I am most alive, happy, and full of the zest of life!

 

Q: Where did you get the idea to write your grandmother’€™s story? Many immigrants to America would rather put the past before they came to this country behind them. It is good that you wrote of her history so we can know the history of people that struggled to get here.

 

A: I was meditating one day and I felt my grandmother’s presence and felt her desire that I tell her story. That impulse got me started on a big research project to find out what really happened. She and my parents’ generation had all died, but many of my cousins had diaries, letters, memories, and photos that allowed me to reconstruct her life. Some of it was painful, like imagining living under the Russian occupation of Ukraine, where she and my mother and all her brothers were born.

 

Q: Do you share any qualities with your grandmother? It seems she was very determined, along with her husband, to create a better life for her family. Can you share with us an example of her determination?

 

A: My grandfather left Ukraine for America in 1913, just after my mother’s birth, leaving my grandmother with five children to care for. He promised to send for her within the year, but World War I intervened, as did the revolutions in Russia, a cholera epidemic, and much more, while he sold vegetables from a cart, saved money, and bought the family a house to live in when they could finally get out of Ukraine. The Russians took away her second house (and source of income) and left her with her garden, canning, and other methods to feed the family as the years went by. Finally, in 1923 the money and opportunity allowed her to take four of the children first to Kiev, then to Moscow (to get papers and tickets), and on to Latvia to get a ship to America. Reunited with my grandfather, she adapted to a strange country, raised her extended family, and lived through the 20th century in her home, via radio and news, until her death in 1956 (when I was 16 years old). I find that I too, prioritized my family, learned to live by my own wits and work, and fully entered into the life and times in which I found my self. I recreated her life through a memoir, in which she lives her old age, remembers her past, and evaluates her life and times. People tell me it is a good read!

 

Q: You have been a member of PaperBackSwap for 6 years, how did you first learn of the site?

 

A: I don’t remember who first told me about the site, but it has been great fun to wish list the books I would love to read and to share those I have already read with people who want to enjoy them.

 

Q: Do you read for pleasure or to learn?

 

Both. Although I mostly read fiction, I always learn vicariously from the characters and what they go through. I learn about myself, of course, and I must say, I prefer fiction that shows the evolution and growth of its characters, not their misery and downfall, because I believe life has a positive trajectory, not always obvious up close, but evident in the long term.

 

Q: Who is your favorite author?

 

A: Well, of romance writers, Mary Balogh. Of literature greats, I have always loved Willa Cather. Recently I have really enjoyed Ann Patchett’s latest Tom LakeI read David Copperfield before tackling my book club’s choice of Demon Copperhead, and found I infinitely preferred the former.

 

Q: What was your favorite book growing up?

 

A: As a child, I loved books about horses and dogs and the Dr. Dolittle books, then girls (remember Betsy, Tacy and Tib?). I remember really loving A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Then I moved on to the “great books” shelf in my local library, found Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Flaubert, and off I went. Now, I must say, I prefer books written by women, not by men. Let’s have the inside story! (Although I did love A Gentleman in Moscow.)

 

Q: Who is your hero, living or dead?

 

A: Most recently, Elizabeth Zott in Lessons in Chemistry. What a great read!

 

And now for some fun stuff:

 

Q: Coke or Pepsi?

 

A: Neither. These are poisons. Water is best. I do love good Chinese or Indian tea (Pu-er) to start the day.

 

Q: Cats or Dogs?

 

A: I am a cat person, although I have had and do love dogs, especially if they belong to someone else and I can just enjoy them and then send them home.

 

Q: Breakfast or lunch?

 

A: I could eat breakfast all day long.

 

Q: Winter or summer?

 

A: Both have their joys, but eating out on the porch in the warm weather and strolling down to the beach are best.

 

Q: Do you have another book planned?

 

A: Things run through my head, but I am now 83, and travel has taken precedence, and reading, always reading. I am thinking of revisiting the great women writers of the 19th century: George Eliot, for example.

 

 

Q: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

 

I am feeling closer to Mother/Father God these days (New avenues of learning opening up), although organized religion continues to give me the hives; I will have nothing to do with it. No one should have spiritual power over anyone else and take advantage of it.

 

 

 

Rhoda Orme-Johnson has generously offered a copy of her book, Anna. An Immigrant Story, to one of our members who comments here on this PaperBackSwap Blog interview. A winner will be chosen at random.

 

 

 

Fantasy Review – The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

November 17th, 2023

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

 

A simply sweet story about family, being who you are, and trusting others. It starts out a bit slow but gradually builds and before long, you are fully immersed into the story and into the lives of the characters. Almost to the point you don’t want it to end.
Mika is a witch and a lonely one at that. She lives in a world where you have to hide who you are or take the chance of being persecuted. Even being with other witches is an impossibility as that much magic together can cause disaster. On top of that, all witches are orphans. So besides the “once in a blue moon” meeting the witches get together to have, Mika keeps a solitary life moving around and running her own website. When she is contacted about a teaching job for 3 young witches, she is hesitant but also curious. When she arrives at the home, she finds the caretakers consisting of Ian, Ken, Lucie and Jamie. Even though she has her doubts, she decides to give it a chance and finds more than a job within this warm, loving home.
The part that stands out in this book for me is the characters. They were the type that I just wanted to hang out with. Along with the story line, it was a very fun read. Would love to read another book in this series just to see the girls as they grow older.

Fantasy Review – Strange Country

November 11th, 2023

Strange Country by Deborah Coates

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

 

STRANGE COUNTRY is the third of the Hallie Michaels trilogy. I reviewed WIDE OPEN and DEEP DOWN previously. Picking up only a short while after DEEP DOWN, Hallie is fretting about the request she received from Death, but it disappeared before she could give an answer.  She plans to say no as soon as she can figure out how.  The black dog Maker, who is a harbinger of death except when he’s watching Hallie,  is still hanging around. And Beth, the sister of Boyd’s late wife, shows up again with a demand Hallie really doesn’t want to listen to. With all that pending, there’s another problem.

Boyd was on patrol when he received a report of a prowler from Prue Stalking Horse. As he’s checking out the place, a sniper shoots Prue dead on her front porch.  As the police start their investigation, two state agents show up and one of them has some interesting questions.  Hallie is also determined to find out what’s happening, and she’s asking questions of Laddie Kennedy, who’s saying that the dead are now talking to him all the time instead of just occasionally.

There’s a connection between Prue, Laddie, and a couple other local people, and of course it has to do with magic. Magic that harks back to the first book.

Excellent world-building, good pacing, and really good characters. I love Hallie’s grit, stubborness, and “get the job done” mentality. Boyd is still a bit of an enigma to me, but I can believe in him, and I liked that Coates included his POV this time. Minor character Laddie gets some growth. I wasn’t sure why Agent Gerson was in the plot,  however –  she didn’t have much to do. I especially liked how Coates loosely tied together all the various happenings in the area, but left some mystery behind.  This is a nice trilogy, with a strong mystery whodunit element along with the supernatural.