Back to Jacobsville

 

Rancher's Law by Diana Palmer

My Rating: Four and 1/2 out of Five stars.

My Review on Goodreads

This is a bind up of a novel Rancher’s Law and a novella, Guy.

Review of Rancher’s Law:

Amelia Grayson nurtured an unrequited love for her troubled neighbor Cal Hollister who viewed her only as a friend and off limits romantically. She was determined to enjoy their time together, with the understanding that they would never get a happy ending. He “wasn’t the type to settle down,” something that her grandfather continually reminds of her. When tragedy strikes, they part in the worst of ways, misunderstanding and distrust between them. Years later, they run into each other again in Jacobsville. Amelia has moved on with her life (as best as possible), and Cal is not in a good place emotionally. Cal has realized Amelia is the one who got away, but can he convince her to give him another chance?

This is a heartfelt, second chance-at-love with plenty of angst, and Diana Palmer’s characteristic gentle humor. Fans of Diana Palmer’s Long Tall Texas series will appreciate getting a chance to spend more time with beloved characters and to see a new couple’s relationship come to fruition. Dark content, such as war and violent death during war, child death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, grief, toxic family relationships, alcoholism and drug abuse feature in this story, but are dealt with sensitively. The values and traits of many of the characters do feel dated (although this may be the norm in small towns?), which may not appeal to some readers who like their romances with a very contemporary feel. I do think there was an opportunity to humanize Edie (the other woman) and explore her complexity as a person. (Honestly, I was thinking it would be cool to have a story about Edie where she finds a happy ending). There was quite a bit of editorializing via character speeches in this book that may annoy some readers. I was able to shrug that off personally, but I can see that being off putting to some.

As usual, Cal has the Diana Palmer hero trait of being very emotionally mean to Amelia (for reasons that are very frustrating to me, and his viewpoint is really archaic). I did like that he was very remorseful and did grovel in a satisfactory way. Amelia comes off as very young, and in some ways, unbelievably innocent (for a 21st Century young woman). You can’t help but love her (in my opinion, Diana Palmer heroines are always likable).


As a lifelong fan of Diana Palmer, it was nice to get an opportunity to spend time with her characteristic storytelling. I am able to shrug off some of the dated aspects and enjoy her writing. (I just remind myself that her stories exist in some sort of time bubble and it makes things more believable). While I like romances with on the page sex scenes, I think sometimes they can be over the top and I get kind of burned out and put off by it, if I’m honest. It’s nice to read a romance that isn’t too descriptive with the sex scenes that focuses on the sensuality and emotion. Because that’s what I read romance for (if you can get good love scenes that are nicely sexy too then that’s great). I would love to see some black people in Jacobsville. There are literally zero.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a good read and it calmed me down and relaxed me to read this on my Kindle after work. 4.25/5.0 stars

Review of Guy

I really liked this story. I don’t know why, but it flowed a lot better for me, and there weren’t any things that rubbed me the wrong way. I love me some angst, and there was some great angst in this one. Both Guy and Candy are both very tortured by past traumas, and carry scars and wounds. I love an imperfect, physically ailing heroine, so that drew me in. I think I remember Guy from previous Long Tall Texan stories, and he seemed a lot more lighthearted in those. He’s pretty dark and taciturn. At first, they don’t get along, but as they spend time together and get to know each other (and each other’s trauma), they find a bond with each other. Even though things move very quickly, it felt authentic and possible. I loved how they were there for each other. Although it wouldn’t seem very interesting, I liked the tidbits about raising cattle and how to feed them (and moving towards organic and humane care for them) because I’m a nerd. It was a sweet and meaningful romance. Yeah, I loved everything about this story. 5 stars.

Overall rating: 4.5 (technically it was 4.6 stars doing the math)/5.0 stars.

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Going Underground

 

Rayleigh Mann in the Company of Monsters by Ciannon Smart

My Rating: Three out of Five Stars

My Review on Goodreads

I’m embarrassed that I got an ARC of this in ebook format on Netgalley back in 2023, and I unfortunately did not get a chance to read it until this summer. Fortunately, my library had the audiobook on Libby, so I was able to listen to this. I am sad to say that I didn’t enjoy this as much as I would have liked. I don’t know what it was. I never got truly sucked into the book. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I will say that I felt a little disconnected from it. I don’t know if it was the narrator, because I did like his voice. I’m a sucker for Black British actors and narrators, and he did a very good job with all the accents, be it posh English, Caribbean, working class Londoner, Irish, you name it. But despite that, the book just felt dry.

I did like the concept of Rayleigh’s father being the actual Bogey Man, and his heritage as a “monster”. Yes, it does have some aspects that bring to mind Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson but with a different spin. And I loved the ethnic diversity. Rayleigh is a young black boy Londoner whose paternal family hails from Jamaica. I loved the notes about family and heritage, but I feel like for the book being about Rayleigh’s relationship to his father, he doesn’t play a very large part. And Rayleigh’s mother is hardly in the book at all. What I did like was the strong bond between Rayleigh and his uncle. I love how his uncle calls him “Nephew Mine.” I also enjoy some of the side characters, such as Bloody Mary (and I like what the author did with her). There are some trolls, one of which likes to cook. The big bad character had a nice sinister, almost spooky edge. And there were a couple of interesting twists in the story.

But I was just underwhelmed. I just wanted something deep and to be more drawn into the story. It was a bit of a slog to listen to, and the end, when it comes, sort of arrived out of nowhere, with a pretty big cliffhanger. I really liked the pieces of this book, it just came together in a way that was disappointing. That said, I will definitely continue to read this series because I do like the characters and the concept.

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It's Olay to Not Be Super!

 

Batman: Not Super by 

Stuart Gibbs, Berat Pekmezci (Artist), Taylor Esposito (Letterer)

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5.0 stars

My Review on Goodreads

This was a very fun, cute and age-appropriate introduction to Bruce Wayne, who grows up to become Batman. While it takes some liberties with the storyline in service to the story, it works. Bruce gets into a school for supers (although he has no powers) because his parents endowed the school. All the usual suspects from Gotham (and Batman's gallery of rogues) and Superman as well, attend the school, and they use their powers for their own benefit instead of for the good of others.

Bruce has decided to fight to protect others in the memory of his parents, who were murdered. He isn't sure how to go about it, but he's on the path to figuring it out.

It's so cute to see Bruce as a young boy and not in a super dark way like on the Gotham show (although I enjoyed the show). This story allows for levity and a sense of hope that is often missing in the Bruce Wayne/Batman origin story. It was refreshing to see Bruce as an awkward boy. While I am a Batman/Bruce Wayne superfan, he is often shown as unfallible and someone who doesn't make mistakes. Logically, we know that Bruce had to become Batman and that took a lot of very focused training, educating and evolution. One of the things I love about Bruce is that he is a self-made hero. His super power is that he doesn't give up. I saw this in the young version of Bruce in this story. He has some hijinks that play well for physical comedy in the panels.

I also enjoyed seeing the young characters from the DC verse with their unique quirks, heroes and villains. There were a few characters that I didn't catch, but most I did. I chuckled at them all going to the same school.

The art was really good. Berat Pekmezci is an illustrator to watch for and I would like to check out more of his work. I'm not sure if this is an ongoing series, but I'd definitely keep reading it. I'd loved to see one for Selina Kyle (Catwoman).

I read this pretty fast (while recovering from a bad illness) and it made me smile and kept my spirits up.

Overall Rating: 4.25/5.0 stars.

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Restless Dead

 

Ghostlore Vol. 1 by Cullen Bunn, Various Artists

My Rating: Three out of Five Stars

My Review on Goodreads

Ghostlore is a dark story of a family that is separated by a rift between differing ideologies. The oldest child is Harmony, a teenager who rejects the faith that her father preaches in a dying congregation. But when a car accident leads to the loss of the rest of the family, they are the only ones left, both with the ability to see and talk to the dead, and vulnerable to evil undead forces.

This story is more vibes than actual plotting. The characters of Harmony and Lucas are well-developed and their actions make sense through the visual narrative. The artwork is vivid and nightmarish, but doesn’t clarify the story. I felt like things ended with my level of confusion very high. I didn’t like the feelings I had when I read this story. I enjoy horror and the feeling of being unsettled, but this was more of a yucky and unpleasant feeling. Along with the lack of resolution, even knowing this is an ongoing story, I don’t feel inspired to continue this series. I have questions, but I don’t want to hang in long enough to get answers.

Can I Major in Faerie Studies Too?

 Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

My Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars.

My Review on Goodreads

I absolutely loved this book! I am such a nerd, that I am a sucker for books that adopt the format of journal entries, or an existing written book. This reminded me a bit of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and I loved that aspect so much.

I can acknowledge that this book is not for everyone. Honestly, Emily is not the easiest person to warm up to. However, she didn't bother me. I actually really appreciated how her brain worked. I love how she uses facts that she learns, applying them in practical ways. I am such a nerd, so I appreciate characters who accumulate facts in their brain and use them, like Anthony Hopkins in The Edge. She had an egghead vibe, but she wasn't toxic about it, in my opinion. I think she just was used to being an outsider and at some point gave up on trying to be part of the group. Also, it was easier to hang onto her scientific objectivity instead of acknowledging her loneliness. Additionally, as I mentioned, the format would probably come off as dry for some readers. I loved how the story progresses through her journal entries, and the unique twists that go along with that format. Another thing that some folks may not like is the relatively slow pacing. Again, I was along for the ride, but I do admit, at one point, I thought the book was coming to an end, but I still had three hours left. It wasn't a bad thing, but it just threw me. If you want to spend time with a book and its characters, this one is for you.

I absolutely adored her relationship with Bambleby. And Bambleby is such a fun character. He's the polar opposite of Emily and it made their interactions so interesting and enjoyable. He's actually a very complex character, although he might be taken as a shallow person. He's not like Dean on Supernatural but I think they are both seen as really basic (or shallow, if you will), but they aren't basic at all. I loved how while Emily complained about Bambleby, they accept each other for who they are and I think they understand each other very well. I love how Bambleby helps Emily relate to others and he helps her come out of her shell. And Emily also grounds Bambleby.

I liked the secondary characters and how there aren't throwaway characters. They contribute to the story. I loved the faerie and how complex and developed the world-building was. I'm a sucker for anything Faerie, so I was all over that. I liked how they show the dark aspect of the Fae, but also there is a bit of humor as well, at times nearly laugh out loud funny. It was just very well done.

The female narrator was a bit nasally, but I grew quite fond of her. Wow, I loved Bambleby's narrator with his gorgeous Irish accent! It was like butter! I do recommend the audiobook, but I want to get a paper copy, so I can enjoy the annotations. I think this one definitely needs to be in my collection.

I enjoyed the heck out of this and I can't wait to read more books in this series! Highly recommend with the above caveats!

**Note: I started this a while ago, but it had to go back to the library. I ended up downloading it, and I just didn't get a chance to go back to it because of a busy schedule. I had to make time for it this late spring, and I'm glad I did!

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When Schools Attack

 

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

My Rating: Five out of Five Stars.

My Review on Goodreads

Here I am, almost three years late writing this review. I just never got around to it, until now. Yeah, I was so sucked into this book. It's really dark. This is about kids who go to a school that is literally trying to kill them because they are magic-users. The goal is to get to Graduation Day, which you hope that you can survive. And they are much safer in the school than elsewhere. It's giving moreso The Hunger Games than Harry Potter.

The narrator is El, and she is extremely sarcastic and negative, ill-tempered/grumpy. However, she has great reason. She is avoided and/or disliked by the other students because a prophecy says she's going to be the Dark Lord (or Lady). But the reader doesn't ever have any reason to see her that way. And it made me think hard about how we prophecy over people in our society (I mean in a non-religious sense). We put people into categories and assume that they will be this or that. That's a huge burden for anyone to carry, so it makes sense that it has made El the way she is, despite her sweet, kind, loving mother.

If it sounds like I don't like her, I actually loved her. I appreciated her snark and her smarts, and the vulnerability she managed to hide from most people shone through (a great choice for Novik to write this in first person).

I tend to avoid a lot of YA because I don't like the tone for most of them, but I'm irresistibly drawn to boarding school stories, and I love fantasy, so this was very up my alley. I'm also a huge anglophile and this book feels very British. As a feverish watcher of British television shows, this was almost a comfort read. Having said that, it is very dark because kids are constantly dying in this book. It's terrible how vulnerable this kids are and there doesn't seem to be a huge push from adults to save them. In that sense it definitely reminds me of fare like The Hunger Games and Battle Royale. I think the humor and the pragmatic and deadpan voice of El makes this book a lot more comfortable than it should have been on paper.

**A note about one aspect that I can see as problematic about someone's hair making them at risk for being preyed upon by monsters. I don't think it was meant to be culturally insensitive, but I completely acknowledge why it caused offense. I think that it's super important for authors to think about those aspects and get people from those communities to read their books so that doesn't happen.

I like romance, but I agree it can take over a non-romance book very quickly. I liked how the chemistry between El and Orion was handled. I'm not going to lie. Orion gave me a big Draco Malfoy vibe.

Yeah, this was fun, enjoyable, unputdownable. I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook because it made this such an immersive experience. I still need to listen to the next books in the series. This is the third book by Naomi Novik that I've read and this is another five star read for me.

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Chilled to the Bone

 

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

My Rating: Three and 1/2 Stars out of Five Stars.

My Review on Goodreads

Do you need a book that will give you some chills while hiding indoors from the chills? You might like this book. I started out with the audiobook, but I had to return it, so I finished with the ebook. While audiobooks definitely allow for more multi-tasking, I didn't mind that I ended up reading the ebook, because I wasn't overly enamored with the audiobook narrator.

Overall, I liked this book. I really liked the lead character. She was a character I rooted for and felt deeply for. I love how she much she had survived and endured. Even though her husband forbid her reading, she was naturally intelligent, observant, and had some pretty awesome detective skills. Although she thought of herself and meek and weak, she was neither. I will say this book pissed me off because her husband is a piece of shite. There are some big triggers for domestic violence and abuse, so tread carefully.

If I'm being honest, I do feel like this book was a little bit under-developed. For me, it could have been longer and I desired much more development from the story and characters than I got. I appreciate how developed Mattie's characterization was and her evolution, but the other characters were a little thin. I knew enough about Mattie's husband to absolute hate his guts and wish for his doom, but the other characters who were introduced felt somewhat cardboardy. Perhaps CZ less so.

I have a lot of questions about the monster, but maybe that's how it's supposed to be. You don't always get all the answers. This book validates the fact that I am not a hiker and I do most of my exploring through books and tv. I will say that if I was longing for a good cold weather setting book, this would definitely fit the bill.

Henry excels at building up tension, but she short-circuits it towards the end because the payoff is less than desirable. However, I love the resolution for Mattie. I would appreciate a short story about her after this story and how things unfold as she manages to reclaim her life and identity away from her lower-than-pondscum husband.

I'd give this 3.5 stars because of Mattie, the cold weather vibes, and some of the chills and thrills.

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