Life and Things

This has been a pretty quiet week. I’ve been kinda exhausted most of the week, but I did get lots of reading and reviewing done. Got work on LotT done, though I would have been happier with more. Still trying to catch up with posting tour stops and events. It’s been an up and down week in terms of fibromyalgia exhaustion, and a mental wearing down due to all the horrid things going on in the world today.

 

Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week:

Banged Up Heart by Shirley Melis, 4*

The Funeral Flower by Michelle Jester, 5*

The List by Patricia Forde, 5*

Mr Prescott by Carlos Dash, 4*

(Audiobook) The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R King, narrated by Jenny Sterlin, 5*

 

Favourite book of the week:

I have been listening to audiobooks as I do my night auditing, and morning brekkers setup, and I finally finished the one I’ve been listening to. Love reading the series, and Jenny Sterlin was an amazing narrator with a gift for voices. I’m very picky with audiobooks. So glad to have found one I love!

 

(Audiobook) The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R King, narrated by Jenny Sterlin, Aug 13, 5*

 

“From New York Times best-selling author Laurie R. King comes the book that introduced us to the ingenious Mary Russell – Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes – and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern 20th-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective.

In their first case together, they must track down a kidnapped American senator’s daughter and confront a truly cunning adversary: a bomber who has set trip wires for the sleuths and who will stop at nothing to end their partnership.

Full of brilliant deductions, disguises, and dangers, this first book of the Mary Russell – Sherlock Holmes mysteries is “wonderfully original and entertaining…absorbing from beginning to end.” (Booklist).

Named “One of the Century’s Best 100 Mysteries” by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.”

 

Current Read:

The Governor’s Daughter by Sambath Meas

 

“Anjali Chinak, a strong-minded daughter of a Khmer detective, is shocked by the horrible attack on her Eurasian friend, Esmè Laurent, who happens to be the governor’s daughter of Siem Reap, Cambodge. When the man Anjali is secretly in love with is charged with the brutal crime, she has only days to find the real perpetrator before he is put to death. Could it be the same man who has wreaked havoc in other Southeast Asian countries? Anjali is certain that the killer is a member of the royal family, but investigating them could put her own life at risk. As Anjali finds herself getting closer to the truth, she learns that the world is uglier than she could have ever imagined.

The Governor’s Daughter is the first book in the Mysteries of Colonial Cambodia series by new author Sambath Meas.”

 

Next Up

Northwood Magick by Desiree LaFawn  Aug 20, Xpresso

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller, release Aug 29, Sourcebooks/Fire

The Brightest Fell by Seannan McGuire, Sept 1 or 6, Berkeley

Sun Born by Kathleen O’Neal and W Michael Gear  CBR

Skeleton God by Elliot Patton.  CBR

Mad or Bad by David Vaughn CBR

How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci  CBR NG

Spymaster by Margaret Weis. CBR

Age of Swords by Michael J Sullivan. CBR NG

The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor  CBR

The English Slave by David Eugene Andrews. CBR

Education of a Coroner by John Bateson. CBR. NG

Besieged by Kevin Hearne CBR

Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton. CBR

Hail to the Chin by Bruce Campbell  CBR

Hamilton and Philosophy edited by Aaron Rabinowitz. CBR

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory NG

 

Book Haul

Snagged a few hardcopies. Paperback Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Beautiful, autographed copy of Amazon Wisdom Keeper by Dr Loraine Y Van Tuyl! Also, The Punch Escrow by Tal Klein, which looks awesome. Egalleys as always.

 

 

Ones I’m most looking forward to are:

Lock and Key: The Downward Spiral by Ridley Pearson

 

““Will leave you dying to know more.” —Rick Riordan, author of the #1 bestselling Percy Jackson series

The New York Times bestselling author of the Peter and the Starcatcher and Kingdom Keepers series, Ridley Pearson, brings us the second riveting tale in the Lock and Key trilogy.

This bravely reimagined origin story of the rivalry of literature’s most famous enemies—Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty—is told from the perspective of James’s observant little sister, Moira.

At the thrilling conclusion to book one, we left off with James and Moira’s father dying horribly and unexpectedly. Now the search is on to find out what really happened to their father. Did he fall or was he pushed? Sherlock, James, and Moira reluctantly partner up, trusting no one, not even each other, as they uncover a secret sect, a rare jewel, and a sordid history. Blood is spilled, trusts broken, and friendships lost in this story of how one simple mistake cost Father his life and James his heart, and sent the Moriartys spiraling ever downward.

It’s a highly original and satisfying take on the Sherlock Holmes series as only master of suspense Ridley Pearson could envision. As Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, says, “This tale will change the way you see Sherlock Holmes and leave you dying to know more.””

 

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Witches of East End and the Descendants series comes the love story of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler.

1777. Albany, New York.

As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival those of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball.

Still, Eliza can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history.

In the pages of Alex and Eliza, #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz brings to life the romance of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler.

 

The Punch Escrow by Tal Klein

““An alt-futuristic hard-science thriller with twists and turns you’ll never see coming. I couldn’t put it down.” —Felicia Day, founder of Geek & Sundry

It’s the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport—a secretive firm headquartered in New York City.

 

Their slogan: Departure… Arrival… Delight!

Joel Byram, our smartass protagonist, is an everyday twenty-fifth century guy. He spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human, jamming out to 1980’s new wave—an extremely obscure genre, and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. Joel is pretty much an everyday guy with everyday problems—until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting.

Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.”

 

New events added!

 

Blog Tour: Alexandria Rising Chronicles by Mark Wallace Maguire, Aug 21, Silver Dagger

 

Blog Tour: Helena Hawthorne Series by May Freighter, Aug 23, Silver Dagger

 

Blog Tour: Pretty Wicked by Kelly Charron, Aug 24, silver Dagger

 

Blog Tour: One Dyke Cozy by Rhani D’Chae, Aug 25, Silver Dagger