Lexi’s Comments (group member since Jul 27, 2016)

Lexi’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.

New one from Judith's Bad Romance wheel:

Mr. Big and Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City
500 to 650
MC is a journalist
takes place in New York City
MC is selfish (your interpretation)
core friend group central to story

I finished my dino book just the other day, but it was quite good for anyone still reading the Wayward children series -

#6-
This was a four star book but the murder rate in this book alone covers 50-75% of the actual Shetlands last 50 year murder rate. I enjoyed the characters. I'll probably continue but there is quite a bit of suspension of disbelief on the death rate. Also, don't put something in the summary that doesn't happen until almost 50% of the way through the book.

#5 -

My second 2 star book from 2018. Clearly I had bad taste in books so far from 2018. I would have DNF'd, but it works for almost every category for the UNO mini challenge. It reads like someone sarcastically summarized Wikipedia articles, and there are no citations anywhere, not even a half hearted list of sources in the back, and there are direct quotes in this non-fiction book.

Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree

'The remarkable story of an astounding transformation' George Monbiot

Forced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy clay of their land at Knepp in West Sussex was economically unsustainable, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell made a spectacular leap of faith: they decided to step back and let nature take over. Thanks to the introduction of free-roaming cattle, ponies, pigs and deer – proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain – the 3,500 acre project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity in little over a decade.

Once-common species, including turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons, lesser spotted woodpeckers and purple emperor butterflies, are now breeding at Knepp, and populations of other species are rocketing. The Burrells’ degraded agricultural land has become a functioning ecosystem again, heaving with life – all by itself.

This recovery has taken place against a backdrop of catastrophic loss elsewhere. According to the 2016 ‘State of Nature’ report, the UK is ranked 29th in the world for biodiversity loss: 56% of species in the UK are in decline and 15% are threatened with extinction. We are living in a desert, compared with our gloriously wild past.

In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the ‘Knepp experiment’ and what it reveals of the ways in which we might regain that wilder, richer country. It shows how rewilding works across Europe; that it has multiple benefits for the land; that it can generate economic activity and employment; how it can benefit both nature and us – and that all of this can happen astonishingly quickly. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River —an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.

In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.

One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business.

Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.

Melindam wrote: "#15

4 stars
macabre and very funny with matching illustrations, listing all the dangers of moving/travelling to..."

I really enjoyed that book and the pictures. It is a fun, very quick read.

I got rid of our last one from 2023 and spun Judith's new wheel:

Hamlet (Hamlet)
350 to 450
skull on cover
takes place in Europe
author initials WS or SW
MPG school

Great job Jenny

I wrote the task and would also take other tenses so "soul sucked" is also fine.

- p. 49
- "soul sucked out" loc 1701

I'm over the line. I spent the entirety of last year under the line. Yay!!

#3 -

Well, at least got one read to start February because that was a 2 star book. It was fragmented, scientifically challenged at times, and I would have given it 3 stars up to the last 80%, which was random and out of left field in parts.

I went in the wrong direction this month with reading one but adding four. However, I am very excited about three of the four I added and the 4th my mum wanted to buddy read with me so that'll be fun.

Christina, have you read Can't Spell Treason Without Tea? I am in line at my library, and it is supposed to be an established wlw couple and slightly less cozy (more plot). I found it entirely by the title.

If you have a theme suggestions, I am up for making another wheel - just not in March. I am spending much of March camping for work.

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "UncoverIt! was one of my favourites it was just time intensive. Need someone with coding magic to make that happen again 🤭🤔🧐"

I wasn't around for that one yet, but I went and looked at it. I think it should be doable with locked and linked spreadsheets. Let me look at it sometime this month. I see why it is a lot of work without automating.

Monster wheel is clearly one of my all time favorites as I’ve adopted it and some of the newer monster wheels. Also quidditch is the only challenge that has caused me physical harm due to fatigue caused falling down the subway stairs.

I’m so not the target audience for the lovely pictures. My first thought was that is not how you tie a pressure bandage.

Still below the line but got one last one done for January

#2 - (****)

It started a little slow, and it has been 4 years since the last book, but I did remember most everyone. By the end, I was very interested and will try to get the next book before 2028.