MURDER OVER MOCHAS – Caroline Fardig

Posted by Daniel on April 26, 2019
Posted in: MYSTERY. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

I really like the Java Jive mystery series. Murder Over Mochas is the fifth book in the series, all by Caroline Fardig.

The series features Juliet Langley, the manager of Java Jive coffee shop and amateur sleuth. She’s had her share of murderous misfortune (she tends to be in the wrong place at the wrong time) and there are some local police who find that to be a little too coincidental.  Fortunately she’s got an ex-boyfriend (still a friend) Ryder Hamilton on the police force.

At the start of this book, a different ‘ex’ shows up at Java Jive and before he can say anything, Juliet punches him in the nose. This particular ‘ex,’ Scott, was an ex-fiance who left Juliet for another woman but took all of Juliet’s belongings (furniture, money, etc) when he left and hasn’t been back until this moment.

Once she calms down, Juliet agrees to hear Scott out and he tells her that he needs Juliet’s help to find his missing wife. But before he can say too much more, he drops dead at Juliet’s feet.  Seeing as how she’s already punched him once, in front of others, she knows she’ll be accused of his murder, and so she must find out who did it.

The character of Juliet is an absolutely fun, feisty femme.  She’s rough and tough and a romantic as well. She’s a musician as well as coffee barista and store manager, and a private investigator.  She’s got boyfriends, former boyfriends, and wannabe boyfriends … because she’s honest and cool (and good looking).

The mystery that Fardig gives us is really quite interesting. It takes us to some unexpected places with a couple of red herrings, the way a good mystery should.

I liked this book, and I like the series, because I think that Fardig does such a good job of building a story and bringing the reader along for the ride instead of just telling us a story. I also really like the way that the relationships are handled.  Juliet is a single, strong, attractive young woman and dating and sex are definitely a part of her life … but it doesn’t overpower the story.  It feels very natural and even this grumpy reviewer gets a smile when I read about her positive relationships (…and there’s something to smile about in this book).

This book is very well written and highly recommended.

Looking for a good book? Murder Over Mochas by Caroline Fardig is the fifth book in the Java Jive series and should be on your ‘must read’ list.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Murder Over Mochas

author: Caroline Fardig

series: A Java Jive Mystery #5

publisher: Alibi

ASIN: B06XR15TRC

Kindle Edition, 235 pages

THE NIGHT CLAVE – Monte Cook & Shanna Germain

Posted by Daniel on April 24, 2019
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Whereas I enjoyed Shanna Germain’s The Poison Eater … also a Numenera novel … The Night Clave, by Germain and Monte Cook just doesn’t engage at all. It reads like a story that’s from a different medium … oh, wait…that’s exactly what this is – this is an RPG and PC-game series.

Normally I’d give you a brief, one-paragraph rundown of the plot, but I’m honestly not sure that I can.  This book mostly gives us the background of something – I presume the video game series, but since I don’t play video games, I’m not entirely sure. It seems as though a group of people – a religious order – understand a long-forgotten technology.  They use this knowledge to force their followers to continue to follow them.  But a another group of individuals is trying to stop the corruption.  That’s a pretty generic description, but there you have it.

The biggest problem here is that authors Germain and Cook seem to understand that they are writing to an audience (they hope) wider than those who are already familiar with the gaming series and so they dump a lot of background information on us.  A lot.

But because there is so much constant info-dumping, the story gets lost behind all the information we are getting.

There’s always a chance that this could all be redeemed by strong characters that keep us interested, but even here we are left with very little. We are not pulled in by these characters, who we are told do some things (in rather chaotic sentences that are supposed to generate a sense of action but actually slow us down), in a world that we get a lot of info about, but it’s too late … we don’t care.

Looking for a good book? The Night Clave by Monte Cook and Shanna Germain is a volume in the Numenera series and is just not worth the effort to read.

I receive a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Night Clave

authors: Monte Cook and Shanna Germain

series: Numenera

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 0857667203

paperback, 361 pages

IMMORTAL ARCHITECTS – Paige Orwin

Posted by Daniel on April 22, 2019
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

This follow-up to author Paige Orwin’s The Interminables, features the same tremendous characters with a wild, inventive plot and takes us on another tremendous journey.

Edmund Templeton is a sorcerer. One of the best. He is also known as “The Time Thief” because of his magic ability to take time from one person and use it for himself. Edmund, along with a ghost from World War I, Istvan Czernin, are trying to find a ‘normal’ way to live after settling the events from the previous book. But they are asked to help uncover (and stop) a living storm in central United States.  They discover a teen who appears to be a conduit for energy that he maybe doesn’t quite know how to use or manage.  But how do you try to help control a teen how can harness the power of a violent storm? Of course there’s a whole lot more going on than a teen with powers, and in the process of the discovery we meet more mages – these from the central part of the country.

Paige Orwin does a really nice job at giving us a fantasy world that feels real.  She finds a nice balance between explaining the magic while not getting caught up in it. She isn’t trying to impress the reader with ‘how cool’ the magic is or how clever she is, but instead makes it a simple, natural part of her world. This is surprisingly refreshing. ‘Surprisingly’ because more books of this nature should be like this, but unfortunately aren’t.

Orwin also gives us really great characters.  Reluctant heroes are pretty common in literature but Edmund is understated as a reluctant hero. He plays his role, even if he isn’t too terribly excited about it, but his character still has charisma and energy (very necessary to keep the reader engaged).

I did find this book to be just a little bit slow, but I would still recommend it and am definitely interested in more stories from the Interminables series.

Looking for a good book? Immortal Architects by Paige Orwin is a very original fantasy with strong characters and a tremendous world-building.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Immortal Architects

author: Paige Orwin

series: Interminables #2

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 0857665944

paperback, 480 pages

MY FOOTPRINTS – Bao Phi & Basia Tran

Posted by Daniel on April 19, 2019
Posted in: CHILDREN'S. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Thuy is a Vietnamese-American little girl who is bullied and teased at school – in part because of her appearance/heritage, and also because she has two mothers instead of a mother/father parent base. On her way home from a particularly bad day at school she notices her footprints in the snow and her childhood imagination takes over and she pretends she’s a variety of animals.

When she returns home, she tells her mothers about her problems at school. They don’t try to solve her problems, but instead just show some love and offer to play pretend with her.

This is a pretty simple story (as a picture book ought to be) with some pretty grand themes … LGBTQ and racial bigotry is a lot to take on in a picture book. But it’s the subtlety that makes this work.  The book is mostly about love (parent for child) and finding ways to escape the anger and frustration of teasing and bullying at school.

The creative imagination that Thuy goes through would be fun to recreate as adults read this out loud to children and I can imagine my children would have enjoyed multiple readings of this book.

And yet the subtlety is almost too subtle. The book is so gentle in its presentation that the issues (same-sex parenting and racism) can easily get lost. Maybe that’s a good thing…? I mean there are some things we don’t need to discuss outright with very young children, but having them present in a book so that it can be discussed if the child brings it up, can be quite helpful.

The artwork by Basia Tran is delightful and friendly and children will enjoy staring at each page.

One minor complaint… being of Midwestern, Anglo-Saxon descent, I didn’t know the pronunciation of many of these terms and names.  It’s nice that there is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, but it would have been more helpful for me to know that before I read it – very incorrectly – the first time.

Look for this book when it is released in the fall of 2019 and have it ready to read before the first snow. Your children will love making their own unique footprints in the snow after reading this.

Looking for a good book? My Footprints by Bao Phi, with art by Basia Tran, is a sweet picture book with subtle themes of racism and LGBTQ that will open the door for discussion.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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My Footprints

author: Bao Phi

artist: Basia Tran

publisher: Capstone

ISBN: 168446000X

hardcover, 32 pages

THE VIGILANTE POETS OF SELWYN ACADEMY – Kate Hattemer

Posted by Daniel on April 18, 2019
Posted in: Uncategorized, YA. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Well I seem to be missing something here because I didn’t find much to enjoy with this book.

On the one hand, this appears to be a book about ‘reality shows’ – an arts reality show is taking over Selwyn Academy with a show called For Art’s Sake. This how the book is billed. On the other hand, this appears to be a story about a couple of smart-ass art’s academy students. This is how it comes off.

For Art’s Sake is a ‘reality’ show (also known as ‘unscripted dramas’).  Like almost any other show of the genre it is a bit on the sleazy side.  A lot of phoniness with added incentives to keep it ‘interesting’ to viewers, but there’s nothing very real about the reality. But of course the idea of a competition to discover “The Best Teen Artist” appeals to many teens. And yet this doesn’t go down well with some of the students at the academy – students who are above average in the arts as it is – and so a group of them come together to secretly bring down the show and undermine what it is trying to do.

But, just as with a ‘reality show,’ there’s more going on behind the scenes than we initially know and it is the revelation of these secrets that keep us turning the pages.

I really liked the idea behind this book.  The concept of an arts reality show plays on entertainment television like Glee and Fame and should certain have appeal to a certain group of YA readers. But at the same time, it doesn’t really stand out enough. The reality show concept gets lost behind the story of the group of students trying to protest the show.

And these students … well, they behave like students.

Articulate teens can be very sarcastic and cruel with their words and these teens are no different. Which is a problem for this reader.  While they are identifiable, they don’t rise above the crowd of smart-ass teens. They have intelligence but not the smart decision-making skills and I found their behavior not so desirable (even if realistic).

It’s set in a fictional arts academy in Minnesota – which is in its favor, as far as I’m concerned, though there wasn’t much about this group that had a Midwestern vibe about them.

This was a journey that just didn’t grab me very well, even if I felt that the writing itself was quite good.

Looking for a good book? Combine the arts and reality television to get a story like Kate Hattemer’s The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, which is well written, but just doesn’t appeal.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy

author: Kate Hattemer

publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 0385753780

hardcover, 336 pages

ANGELBOUND – Christina Bauer

Posted by Daniel on April 16, 2019
Posted in: ROMANCE, SF/FANTASY, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I wish I could remember how or why I came across this book.  I get books to read and review in a wide variety of ways. For whatever the reason, this one sounded quite interesting, and I was not disappointed.

Myla Lewis is a young woman – still in school – who is also a half-demon. She’s also one heck of a tough bad-ass.  Myla lives to fight in the Purgatory arena … anyone arriving in Purgatory can choose a trial by combat to determine whether they ascend to heaven or descend to hell. But things change for Myla when she meets the half-human, half-angel demon hunter Lincoln – a super sexy High Prince of Thrax.

Author Christina Bauer has created a really interesting concept with a wonderfully strong character. This is definitely intended for the YA romance reader (paranormal romances are quite popular today) which is not a category I would typically enjoy, but the strength of Myla’s character, combined with the Purgatory setting really makes this a strong, run read.

The problem with most small-press/self-published books is that they typically need a stronger editing hand, and this book is no different.  From “5 o’clock”  to “Frustration bolts through my arms and legs” there are moments here that remind me that this didn’t come from a major publishing house. Which is too bad, because there is enough here that this could have had success with a larger YA publisher.

I read small press books with the hopes of finding little gems, such as this.

Looking for a good book? Angelbound by Christina Bauer is an exciting YA paranormal romance.

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Angelbound

author: Christina Bauer

series: Angelbound Origins #1

publisher: Monster House Books

ISBN: 0989405028

paperback, 412 pages

THE FLIMFLAM AFFAIR – Bill Pronzini

Posted by Daniel on April 15, 2019
Posted in: MYSTERY, Uncategorized, WESTERN. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve been reading Bill Pronzini books for about as long as I can remember.  His may not be a well-known name, but I know when I pick up a Pronzini book that I will get strong characters and a solid story. It has been a year or more since I last read a Pronzini book, but when I saw this up as an ARC, I immediately requested it.

Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon run a detective agency in San Francisco near the turn of the century (1897). Quincannon is investigating gold theft from a railroad company when the book opens, and Sabina is enlisted to investigate a medium who is fleecing the recently bereaved men and women of San Francisco. And a case of counterfeiting brings John back to his days when he worked for the Secret Service and a man he thought was dead haunts him again.

The mysteries here are well thought-out and developed allowing the reader to experience them along with our detectives. The throwback to Quincannon’s earlier days is a nice addition – especially for someone like myself who really only remembers a couple of the earliest books.

I enjoyed the relationship banter between Sabina and John – as I mentioned at the start, strong characters are a hallmark of a Pronzini story after all. This definitely made me want to read more of the ‘Carpenter & Quincannon’ mysteries.

And while I truly felt this was an enjoyable read, I can understand where the appeal may be limited.  I happen to really like western fiction (the first Quincannon book was an early favorite of mine) and historical fiction, and when combined with a good mystery, this is right up my alley. But I know too many people who won’t read books that are ‘westerns’ because of preconceived notions of what that means. Let’s hope that a good mystery will draw them in.

Looking for a good book? The Flimflam Affair by Bill Pronzini is a turn-of-the-century mystery with strong characters.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Flimflam Affair

author: Bill Pronzini

series: A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery #7

publisher: Forge

ISBN: 0765394375

hardcover, 240 pages