Michelle L. Levigne's Blog, page 91

Off the Bookshelf: NEVERMORE: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW, by Jessica Townsend

Audiobook, from Audible

Ever feel like everything is stacked against you, and no matter what you do, you're going to get blamed for anything that goes wrong -- even if you weren't anywhere near when it happened?

That's what life is like for cursed children in this fantasy world. Morrigan Crow was born on Eventide, considered cursed and the cause of all misfortune around her -- and worse, she's doomed to die on the next Eventide, midnight on her birthday.

Her adventure begins when Eventide comes early, and the strange, flamboyant Jupiter North comes to whisk her away to the magical city of Nevermoor. She becomes a resident of the hotel he owns, where her room decorates itself to suit her and chandeliers grow from the ceiling and there are rooms where shadows become real and ... Whew! Too much to tell.

Morrigan is something of an illegal resident, and the authorities want to snatch her up and throw her back into the country where she's not exactly welcome ... and the only chance she has to stay in Nevermoor is to pass all the tests and trials and become a member of the Wundrous Society. She has to demonstrate her gift -- but what is it? She doesn't know, and Jupiter, her guardian, isn't telling.

Major fun. Another one of those books where I kind of grudged having to stop listening. Real life gets in the way an awful lot, y'know? The reviews recommend this for fans of Harry Potter and other stories where kids are whisked away into magical, sometimes dangerous worlds and adventures, where their only weapons are their own wits. The next book, Wunder Smith, is on my gotta-get list.

Off the Bookshelf: RILEY MACK AND THE OTHER KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS, by Chris Grabenstein

Audible Original

This is along the lines of a radio drama -- about a gang of middle school kids who pull off some pretty incredible, almost unbelievable schemes, to right wrongs and bring about justice and make sure that crooks pay up.

Riley Mack and his friends start out dealing with a bully who is stealing from kids younger than him -- and happens to be the son of the sheriff, who has a grudge against Riley. By the time they're done, they've rescued a stolen puppy, foiled bank robbers, saved his mother's job, recovered all the stolen 7th grader treasures, and exposed a puppy mill.

Riley made one stupid, temper tantrum mistake a few years before, and got himself labeled a troublemaker, which makes it hard for him and his friends when they're trying to be the heroes. Between an actress who loves her costumes, a tech genius, a slightly slow muscle-bound member of the team, and a geeky kid who wants to join the club, Riley has his hands full.

Major fun. The characters are likable and I was drawn into their lives immediately, even when they were a little "out there." I cringed a number of times, wanting to shout "Don't do it!" but that would be silly -- I was getting my morning walk at 7am, and the people in the neighborhood would not appreciate me yelling.

I really hope there are more adventures of Riley Mack and his friends available, or at least in the planning stages. Fun!

Off the Bookshelf: IF WISHES WERE CURSES, by Janeen Ippolito

Steel City Genie, Book 1

Janeen is a rock star -- and I'm not saying this just because I want her to publish one of my SF series ... (well, maybe a little sucking up....)

She is a creative genius when it comes to world-building (check her nonfiction manuals on world-building if you don't believe me), she runs a publishing company, she indie publishes, and she does the incredible, fun, Indie Book Magic podcast with H.L. Burke, who I fear I will also fan-girl over. Remember my review of her book, COILED? Yeah ....

IF WISHES WERE CURSES is humor, magic, fantasy, mystery and romance, all rolled together. With some snark for seasoning. Our heroine is half human and half .... something magical. She has ideas, but doesn't know for sure until she gets some unasked-for answers in the book, because she doesn't know who her father is.

It's because of the unknown magic in her blood that curse marks are put on her to restrain her magic. When she kills a bear shifter in self-defense, that heritage makes her highly suspect, and she's put under even more restraints. She can't even teleport or go to her favorite coffee shop for some caffeinated support. She needs it, because if the bear shifters find her, she's dead meat, and she's not allowed to use magic to defend herself. How can that be fair, guys?

Then there's this guy who, apparently, she keeps meeting and making an instant connection with ... and forgetting as soon as they say goodbye. And he forgets her. Ever feel like the world is out to get you? Cube that, and you know what our heroine is feeling.

Do they find answers? Do they get their happily-ever-after after kicking some major vampire butt?

You gotta read this one. Just for the FUN, but also to see how great storytelling and world-building is DONE. When my to-be-read mountain comes down a league or two, I'm getting the next in the series. Addiction warning!

Off the Bookshelf: THE ADVENTURES OF TOM STRANGER, by Larry Correia

An Audible Original

Subtitle: Interdimensional Insurance Agent.

I guess this could be considered science fiction. Definitely snark, comedy, political and social satire, and a few other labels. Apply as you see fit.

Giggle fest time.

Consider: the narrator is Adam Baldwin -- from Firefly. So when there are references to the part Baldwin played, and a comment that "in this universe, Firefly played for five seasons" plus several movie spinoffs, and in another dimension the president is named Baldwin and happens to be an ex-actor who played a space cowboy .... yeah, I think the narrator had a lot of fun doing it.

When there are multiple universes, and someone powerful (an inventor and arms dealer) takes out an interdimensional insurance policy on ALL the permutations of himself, you have to call in the best insurance agent out there to make sure things are handled and bills are paid and ... whew! There are problems with a rival insurance agent, and a visit to a call center from worse-than-hell, and dealing with aliens who trashed the wrong planet. Can you see where I'm going with this?

Plus the author himself shows up in the book, multiple permutations of himself, where he's a SF writer who skipped the wrong classes in school and ended up messing up every part of his life. Hmm, regrets or just a tongue so firmly planted in his cheek it went out the other side of his face?

Fun. Silly. Some language. And the many and various accents and voices employed for the many characters just upped the ante. Makes me want to borrow my brother's copy of Firefly -- and maybe binge watch a few seasons of Chuck, too.

Off the Bookshelf: EVEN TREE NYMPHS GET THE BLUES, by Molly Harper

Audible Original

I already downloaded another audiobook by this author -- does that tell you how much I liked this one?

It's a standalone novella in the Mystic Bayou series -- which I have to look further into.

The heroine is a tree nymph named Ingrid who has decided to move to a town in Louisiana where other mythological and magical people have found sanctuary and formed a community. In this far-too-short story, she arrives with plans to buy a farm, raise cows, and make and sell ice cream. Sounds like a good plan to me, and a way to become instantly popular!

Of course, there are hiccups in the plan, starting with bureaucrats and scientists and a sad part of her history when another handsome scientist tried to take advantage of her -- so when the resident handsome scientists falls for Ingrid, she and he are in for a hard time.

Since this is a romance, need I bother to assure you there is a happily ever after?

This was an interesting presentation, because the chapters went back and forth between the POV of the heroine and hero, with a female narrator and a male narrator. Took a little getting used to, but what does that matter? It was a fun book, and over way too fast. I hope the author tells more stories about Ingrid in the next Mystic Bayou book I get. Because I certainly will!

Off the Bookshelf: CIRCE, by Madeline Miller

Audiobook

This is one of those books you don't want to put down -- or in this case, turn off. I chose it as my entertainment on a long (8-plus hours each way) trip, and I was almost upset to arrive at the hotel, turn off the book, and get out of the car!

CIRCE is the story, in her own words, her own pain and hopes and thoughts, of a figure from Greek mythology. I knew Circe only as one of the characters Odysseus met on his long journey home from Troy, but her pedigree goes far back and spreads wide to encompass so much of the familiar in mythology.

I was impressed. I wished I had written this book! Loved it immensely. Captivating -- and made those hours of driving go fast. I was really ticked when some torrential rain grew so loud, I couldn't hear the narrator, so I had turn off the book!

Circe is born to a scheming nymph and one of the Titans who still retained some power after siding with Zeus in the rebellion that brought the familiar Greek gods to power. Her siblings are more beautiful and powerful (and nasty) than she is, and she literally has no one to depend on when the revelation that she does have power after all makes the Olympians fear her. Exiled to an island, she makes her own life and struggles for her own purpose and happiness. A woman alone must take drastic, cruel actions to protect herself. If you know the legends, then you know what I'm talking about. I won't give anything away here. Then Odysseus stops at her island and she changes her mind, and makes several decisions that put a new spin on several Greek legends.

Put simply, you GOTTA listen to this book, or read it, whichever is most convenient for you. I was hooked from the first few minutes.

Summer Reads: 99 CENTS now through August 31

Looking for Summer Reads?

All the Tabor Heights year 1 books are NOW on SALE at all major ebook outlets.

Just 99 cents each, through the end of August.
How can you resist?

Tabor Heights: A friendly little town on Ohio's North Coast, where sweet romance is always in the air.

You can find them all at Mt. Zion Ridge Press:
www.Mtzionridgepress.com

#summerreads #Ebooks #salebooks

Off the Bookshelf: PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Audible Audiobook

This one has been out for a while, and I admit I've been tempted a number of times when I saw it in the bookstore, but I think about the books waiting to be read -- just print, not even considering all the ebooks waiting on my tablet ... *sigh*

Honestly, have you noticed how many AUDIOBOOKS I've been reviewing lately? That's because I can snatch 10 minutes, 20 minutes at a time when I'm out running errands. And even longer chunks of reading when I'm driving to meetings on the other side of the state. I used to be able to read 1 or 2 books a week. Lately I'm lucky if it's 1 book a month! Except for audiobooks ...

Who is Peter? The boy who eventually becomes Peter Pan, of course.

Granted, the authors come up with some great twists and changes in the "origin" story of the Boy Who Never Grew Up. In the plays and movies -- yeah, I'm thinking of the Robin Williams version, too -- Peter says he ran away as a baby, when he heard his parents talking about the boring future he had ahead of him. He didn't want to grow up.

Here, however, eternal youth hits Peter entirely by accident. He and his four friends are orphans, and find out after they've been loaded on board a disgusting wreck of a ship that they've essentially been sold into slavery, sent to serve a tyrant in a foreign country. On the same ship is a girl named Molly, daughter of the queen's ambassador to this foreign kingdom, and a mysterious trunk full of star stuff.  That's what it's called. I am not making it up.

Everybody wants the trunk. The tyrant king, the pirates chasing the ship, Molly, her father, and assorted various others. Including mermaids and a native tribe and porpoises. The starcatchers of the title are an ancient society that makes sure the magical star stuff doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

The adventures and twists and turns as the trunk changes hands again and again, and different sides fight for it and lose it and are tricked and return for another try are hilarious at times, and nail-biting at others. Who will win? Who will end up controlling the star stuff?

Read or listen and find out. Majorly fun romp!

Off the Bookshelf: A SHOT IN THE BARK, C.A. Newsome

A Lia Anderson/Dog Park mystery

More of my "learn to write cozy mysteries" homework.

This was actually the 1st book out of the gob of them I downloaded free on Kindle.

This one sat up and begged (pun intended) me to read it first. I could see the places and people, furry and otherwise, and I never enjoyed homework so much before. 

Lia is an artist, and most of her social circle seems to revolve around the other people she meets up with at the dog park. That includes her soon-to-be, manipulative, egotistical, wannabe-writer-who-never-makes-any-progress boyfriend.

Ex as in ex-boyfriend and ex-alive. Yeah, he's murdered almost at the beginning, and poor Lia is the one who finds him. Because the murderer does it in the parking lot of the dog park. Talk about cruel!

I found it especially interesting how the author takes us into the mind, the reasoning (however egotistical and self-righteous) of the murderer him/herself. Because yeah, we don't know if the killer is a man or woman, and even with all the clues liberally spread ... the identity is still up in the air.

Even though an arrest is made, and the love interest detective saves Lia's life almost at the last minute .... hmm ... did they really catch the killer? Love that element of uncertainty at the end, and how all the POV strands wove together. 

Kudos to a fellow Buckeye. When my homework is done -- if it's ever done! -- I want to read more of these.

Off the Bookshelf: THE GOSSIPING GOURMET, by Martin Brown

Free ebook from Kindle.

Part of my "homework" to try my hand at writing cozies is, of course, to read gobs of them. This is one of them.

A Murder in Marin mystery -- the book, and subsequent books in the series, are set in the San Francisco, Marin, Sausalito area, with a close-knit (dare I say cannibalistic?) social group.

This is one of those mysteries where you're almost chanting under your breath, "Get on with it. Kill the creepazoid!"

The gossiping gourmet of the title is an arrogant jerk who knows how to play with all the society dames and manipulate everyone, to essentially commit murder through gossip. He's out to get anyone who doesn't kowtow to him and recognize what a wonderful person he is -- and when a newcomer to the community is offered a prestigious position that he wanted for himself (why didn't he just SAY he wanted it, instead of waiting for people to beg him to take the position?), he waits for the perfect opportunity to set about destroying him. And the self-important movers-and-shakers are his eager dupes.

So when he ends up dead, naturally his latest flaying victim is the first suspect. But of course ... well, I'm not going to give away who really "dun" it, but it's someone you'd never suspect. Of course.

Much thanks to the author for teaching me a great deal about interaction between characters and creating the perfect storm within which a murder takes place!