The Summer of Ordinary Ways by Nicole Lea Helget

Review by McGuffyAnn M. (nightprose)

Nicole Lea Helget has written a memoir that will stay with you. Her story is real, heartbreaking and vivid. She writes with incredible ease, in spite of the words and images they invoke.

Admittedly, it is a painful book to read, as the author’s memories are often quite unpleasant, even horrific. But that is the reality of a memoir: it is real life, as the author experienced and recalls it.

She tells of growing up in rural Minnesota, the oldest of several daughters. Her father is an apparently disturbed and cruel man, while her mother is a tired and overwhelmed woman. Nicole, herself, is overwhelmed.

Each chapter is a dated story, in beautifully written prose, in spite of the pain described. While it may not depict the small town and rural life that we want to believe or read about, it depicts the story that Nicole Lea Helget lived. This is a very powerful and emotional memoir.

Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier

Review by Jennifer (mywolfalways)

Marillier’s historic fantasy takes place on the Light Isles, now called Orkney, sometime before 880 AD.  It chronicles a possible history of the arrival of the Vikings and what transpired between them and the natives.  Marillier’s dedication to an accurate portrayal of Viking life was a delight to experience from beginning to end.  She does take a few artistic liberties, which she explains in a note at the end of the novel.

Eyvind begins the story as a twelve year old boy, living in a long house with his kin where he helps with the farming and hunting.  Eyvind befriends Somerled, a fosterboy, and teaches him all that he knows.  Somerled’s goal is to one day become king and finds that many of the games and activities that the other children play and Eyvind teaches him to serve no purpose.  He also informs Eyvind that he is a simple boy, but he should still make something better of himself than simply a Wolfskin (berserker).

Near their parting at the end of their boyhood, they decide to become blood brothers, permanently bound to each other.  Eyvind succeeds in passing the test to become a Wolfskin and Somerled goes to live at court.  While their paths are different, they often cross and eventually end up on a voyage together to the Light Isles.

At first things are peaceful between the immigrants and the natives, but things soon turn sour.  Members of both tribes are found dead, until it escalates to the point that Somerled finds himself in charge.  Eyvind throws himself into the heart of the conflict, attempting to prevent any further bloodshed on either side once he figures out what is truly going on.  Because of his interference, Eyvind is accused of betraying his kinsman.

After so much loss, the young priestess of the island decides to take a risk.  To bring the truth to light, she calls upon the selkies, the seal people, to create the harp spoken of in legends.  Once it is finally revealed to both peoples, Eyvind is left to make the most difficult decision of his life.  Marillier does a wonderful job of conveying Eyvind’s conflict between his emotions, his honor, and what is right.  The kind of decision that each one of us dreads to be forced to make.

Still Midnight by Denise Mina

Review by Cheryl R. (Spuddie) 

#1 Alex Morrow series mystery set in Glasgow, Scotland. Alex is a Detective Sergeant who ends up working a botched kidnapping case in which the sixty-year-old Amir Anwar is taken from his comfortable suburban home by an amateurish group of thugs. Problem is, the kidnappers seem to have gotten the wrong guy–they were after some guy named Bob. Mr. Anwar is a Ugandan political refugee who owns a small corner shop, not someone you’d expect to have a two million quid ransom lying around.

The case looks to be a big one and Morrow is disappointed when her rival of the same rank, golden boy Grant Bannerman, is given SIO for the case and she has to take orders from him. Morrow also deals with personal demons that make just doing the day-to-day of her job none too easy.

Gritty and fast-paced (definitely not a cozy!) with interesting twists and turns, the author reveals information about the main character in such a way that you get well sucked into the story itself before finding out details about why Alex behaves and thinks the way she does. Tantalizing tidbits are dropped and then later you find out some heart-wrenching things that make you gasp. I feel that we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg with Alex and I look forward to seeing what she gets up to in her next adventure.

The story is also told in part from the point of view of other characters, including the ‘bad guys’ and it really serves to humanize the criminals so that you feel they aren’t all that different from you or I, just someone who made a couple of bad choices that left them on a path that is now hard to turn from. Also a word of caution–the author uses a lot of Scottish slang and dialect in the book, so if this is something that annoys you, you may want to pass this by…but it really does help you to remember that you are not in New York or Atlanta or even London…this is definitely Glasgow.

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Telegraph Days by Larry McMurtry

Review by Brenna B. (demiducky25)

This historical fiction is set in the glory days of the Old West.  It centers on the life of Nellie Courtwright, a young woman who has no one left except her younger brother Jackson after a series of rather unbelievable events take away the rest of her family and servants (I know the Old West was deadly, but the way McMurtry describes the constant death of family members, and later other acquaintances makes me think he’s poking fun at the dangers that could have been faced).  But don’t be fooled into thinking Nellie is a young damsel in distress.  She’s actually the one pulling the strings to make sure her brother Jackson becomes the deputy sheriff, and then figures out how to publicize on his good luck when he accidentally kills the vicious Yazee gang as they attack the town of Rita Blanca.  As the town telegrapher, Nellie knows that she holds a lot of power, and she knows that her talents can’t always be limited to this tiny, middle-of-nowhere town.  She’s sassy, spunky, and isn’t afraid to talk back to anyone that gets in her way- even if that someone happens to be a famous western outlaw or two.

McMurtry mixes historical fact with fiction by blending the events of Nellie’s life with those of some well-known figures such as Buffalo Bill, the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and Billy the Kid just to name a few.  You can take the events and figures described at face value and accept that they are just playing characters in a story, or you can do what I did if you become curious and look some of them up to see if McMurtry’s characterizations seem to ring true (obviously some of the events, especially those directly involving Nellie are fictionalized, but the essence of many of these figures seems to be captured from the little bit I looked up, though so many of these figures have such controversial histories even involving what their personalities were like so it’s tough to tell).

The one thing I wasn’t totally prepared for was the amount of sex in the novel.  It’s not usually overly graphic, though there are some things that are described in a fair amount of detail.  But be prepared for a lot of bed-hopping (or barn loft hopping in some cases) after the first seventy or so pages.   I guess this stands out to me for this book more than it would in another book from the same historical fiction genre because an elderly relative recommended this book to me, so I guess I wasn’t totally prepared for that, haha.

All-in-all this was a fair read.  It’s fairly light, and it doesn’t make you think too hard which makes it a good summer time distraction read if you just want to escape into something a little more “over the top” (a phrase I saw used on the inside cover of reviews that accurately describes this book), then feel free to pick this up.  I’d give it 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

Review by Jerelyn (I-F-Letty)

I really liked The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell. I am no expert on the Restoration period, but I read my first book about Charles II and Nell Gwynn when I was a teenager, and I’ll admit it I had a bit of a crush on him. I have read many books about the Restoration since that time, so I know the facts. Nell has been portrayed in so many ways. Ms. Bagwell has portrayed her not differently, but more completely.

Sure Nell was a prostitute at a young age Bagwell doesn’t gloss over it. She has thoughtfully researched this unfortunate state through modern eyes but it is the world’s oldest profession, unfortunately little has changed. Becoming a prostitute is rarely a first choice, now or in 1660. People are driven to it for same reasons. In her version Bagwell’s Nell Gwynn’s reasons are as old as the profession. A fathers absence (through death), an alcoholic abusive mother, poverty and hunger, with no other choices open to her. She has Nell working alongside her elder sister Mary who does her best to guide and protect Nell. But Nell has dreams of escaping this life for something better.

In the brothel Nell meets the actors of the King’s Theater Company, and sees her first plays. When she gets the chance to work as an Orange Girl she jumps at it. This leads her to the first significant love of her life Charles Hart. Bagwell comes from the theater and that back ground is evident. She is knowledgeable and imparts this aspect of Nell’s life beautifully.

Much Ado About Nothing…. I have heard so much about the sex! Yes there is sex, not a peek at it but sex in full and graphic detail. Which would have been natural for this time period, and true to the story. The Restoration was a bawdy hedonistic time. Also true to the time period is the often crude language, people spoke this way then, especially these people. It was the swinging 60’s the roaring 20’s rolled into one. It was a a time of lush excess and decadence, and on the other hand epic tragedy. Her scene set after the fire brought tears to my eyes. In fact I was touched deeply more than once.

If I have any complaints it is with a few modernism that pop into the dialogue, but they were very few, and not so bad as to be jarring and slow down the story. So I give 4 stars to this wonderful story about Nell Gwynn and Charles Stuart, I call him that instead of Charles II for I truly believe that Nell came to love the man not the King. Solid 4 stars I highly recommend it.

The Secret Lives of Hoarders: True Stories of Tackling Extreme Clutter

by Matt Paxton with Phaedra Hise

Review by McGuffyAnn M. (nightprose)

This is a very interesting book, based on the cable TV show “Hoarders”, which airs on

A & E. The book is written by the owner of Clutter Cleaners, Matt Paxton, who also is an expert and speaker on issues of hoarding.

The book is full of case studies of hoarders, including how it begins, causes, and then recognition and resolution. There are reasons explained as to why some people begin to hoard. Also discussed are odd items people have been known to hoard. The psychology of hoarding is sorted out with sensitivity and sensibility, as Matt offers plans of action that work. Sorting this all out with the hoarder is part of breaking the cycle of hoarding, and ultimately healing.

The book is hard to read at times because of the content, the ways in which people are affected, and the reasons behind it. However, never does Matt judge the hoarder, choosing rather to explain the cycle and how to break it. He allows them dignity and hope, as well as help.

This is an important book, as this is a problem that many people have as a hidden source of shame. Only by facing it and sorting it out can one ever clean up their homes and their lives.

Escapement by Jay Lake

Review by Bowden P. (Trey)

Mainspring by Jay Lake disappointed me. Then I read Green, which caught my attention in a good way. Which caused me to wonder if my memories of Escapement and Pinion were accurate, so I decided to re-read both. Its good that I did, because the two books are good.

Notably better than Mainspring in my eyes. And besides, its more fun to write review of a good book.

Escapement picks up two years after the events of Mainspring in 1902, with incidental characters from Mainspring being our viewpoints, plus one new one. Our viewpoints are Paolina Barthes (the new one), Librarian Childress and Chief Threadgill al-Wazir. Paolina is a young woman from a lost Portuguese colony on the Wall. She’s brilliant, easily surpassing Newton, who’s developed possibly the greatest innovation the world has known – the gleam. A ‘simple’ watch that allows her to set it to the rhythm of things in the world and then change them. She’s determined to go to England to meet the sorcerers there that created airships and allowed Britain to master the Northern Earth.

Chief al-Wazir survived the events of Mainspring and made his way home, only to be court martialled for the trouble. He’s given a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the Navy by providing security for an expedition to the Wall – one that would burrow through the wall itself. Complicating matters is the head of the expedition, Doktor Ottweill, who is obsessed to the point of madness, and worse, the madness is catching…

Librarian Childress is taken far from her domain of the Yale Divinity School  by her secret society, the White Birds. From there she goes very far afield and rises very, very high.

The book weaves these three stories together, giving us a better look at the world as a whole, and portions of the Wall in particular. We get to see portions of Chinese dominated East Asia, British ruled Europe and the capitol of the Brass Men, Ophir as well. And I found the looks at these pieces worth the journey.

The ending of Escapement isn’t entirely to my taste – its a bit abrupt like the publisher split the book in two. Still, it does lead right into Pinion and the action resumes from there.

Likes: More and varied characters; Better view of Clockwork Earth than before; Able to see similarities and differences; Sorcery is powerful and dangerous; Childress seizing an opportunity out of danger; Boaz; Cities on the wall.

Dislikes: I occasionally felt like Paolina lead a charmed life – people forgave her her sharp tongue a bit too quickly.

Suggested For: Fans of Jay Lake, people who like interesting world building and steampunk fans.