Jane Litte's Blog, page 160

REVIEW: Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson

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“When I asked the local chemist for lint and disinfectant, he felt it was only fair to allow the first-aid post to claim me. . . . Half a dozen V.A.D.s made a rush at me and treated my small abrasion as though my whole head had been blown off.”

From an impromptu wedding in the early days of World War II, to a bout with German measles in a hospital reminiscent of a medieval torture chamber, to becoming the first casualty for over-eager V.A.D.s, Verily Anderson’s war gets off to a bumpy...

REVIEW: Wine for Normal People by Elizabeth Schneider

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From the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Wine for Normal People, described by Imbibe magazine as “a wine podcast for the people.”

Wine for Normal People is an unpretentious guide to everything you ever wanted to know about wine.

Learn a not-snobby wine vocabulary, how and where to buy wine, how to read a wine label, and so much more.

• Rich with charts, maps and lists
• Includes tips on how to smell, swirl, and taste wine
• Both highly comprehensive and approachable

Explore...

REVIEW: The Pollinator Victory Garden by Kim Eierman

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The passion and urgency that inspired WWI and WWII Victory Gardens is needed today to meet another threat to our food supply and our environment—the steep decline of pollinators. The Pollinator Victory Garden offers practical solutions for winning the war against the demise of these essential animals.

Pollinators are critical to our food supply and responsible for the pollination of the vast majority of all flowering plants on our planet. Pollinators include not just bees, but many...

REVIEW: How to Shield An Assassin (Unholy Trifecta #1) by A.J.Sherwood

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It’s not stealing if you’re stealing it back….

Ari had a game plan for life. Shoot people. Get money. Hang out with fellow criminal friends. He saw absolutely no reason to change that plan until one dark night in Memphis, when a little girl reached out to him with pocket change and a desperate plea for him to help her.

Adopting an abused little girl off the streets was, needless to say, not part of the plan. Ari had no idea what he was doing with an eight year old. He especially didn’t know...

What Janine is reading: SFF read in 2019

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

A spaceship crew of six clones wake up in a cloning vat missing twenty-five years of memories. Of their much older previous incarnations, five are dead and one is comatose. Additionally, the spaceship has changed course. It quickly becomes apparent that one of the clones tried to kill the rest, but not who it was or why. To figure out the identity of the killer they must work together, but how can they cooperate when all of them are under suspicion?

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This book is...

REVIEW: Winter and Rough Weather (Drumberley Book 3) by D.E. Stevenson

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James Dering and his new wife Rhoda are returning from their honeymoon, and Jock and Mamie Johnstone are delighted to welcome them to their new home on a neighbouring farm. But Mamie’s concern proves justified, and Rhoda, a talented painter who has chosen marriage over art, finds rural Scotland lonely after life in London. She soon finds new inspiration in the beauty around her, and in the process gives the bright but difficult young Duggie a new lease on life. But her art will also uncover...

REVIEW: Waiting for a Miracle by Jennifer Wilck

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Benjamin Cohen, widowed father of six-year-old Jessie, is doing his best to hold it together through order and routine. The last thing he needs is his matchmaker mother to set him up with her next door neighbor, no matter how attractive she is.

Rachel Schaecter’s dream of becoming a foster mother is right within her grasp, until her meddlesome neighbor tries to set her up with her handsome son. What’s worse? He’s the father of her favorite kindergarten student! She can’t afford to let...

REVIEW: Hillwilla by Melanie Forde

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Beatrice Desmond, 55, lives on a remote farm nestled in a deep hollow in southern West Virginia. Her troubled past–an alcoholic father, growing up borderline poor, a suicidal husband–along with her loyalty to a deceased friend, drove her to this lonely existence. She soldiers on, accompanied by her wry sense of humor, a faithful setter named Ralph, and an inherited herd of six llamas, one of whom hurls a wad of chewed-up hay in her face on New Year’s Day, a most unwelcome omen.

A native of...

REVIEW: Kiss Me At Kwanzaa by L.L. Bucknor

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Coworkers and cubicle mates, Ishmael “Ish” Cutter and Adan Flores might come from different backgrounds but they have a good number of things in common. The biggest one? They each have a secret crush on the other. This holiday season they are both single for the first time in thirteen months. No boyfriends or clingy ex issues – maybe it’s time for Adan to make his move? He formulates the perfect plan and invites Ish over for his family’s Kwanzaa feast…but will he have the courage to make...

REVIEW: Guess Who’s Coming to Karamu by Cy Blanca

Before we get started, let me say that this short story is released by Dreamspinner Press. In lieu of buying it, another (perfectly legal and legitimate) way to read it is by seeing if your local library carries it. If they don’t, then check to see if your library subscribes to the Hoopla service which is how I borrowed it and read it.

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Grant Cary, a twenty-eight-year-old grad student, has let his Kwanzaa shopping go to the very last minute. In his rush to get home, he quite literally...