Review: Becoming Crone by Lydia M. Hawke

Becoming Crone by Lydia M. Hawke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun book that, at last, didn’t have to do with someone under 60. It only took a couple of nights to get through. I do wish it were in Audible, but text-to-speech was still doable.

A mature woman whose marriage is over and the offspring has a child of his own finally finds her power, and boy, it’s a lot!

And her caretaker is a gargoyle. Her name is Kevin!

Hopefully, those weren’t spoilers.

It was such an entertaining book; I now have the second book lined up.

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Review: A Ghoulish Midlife by Lia Davis

A Ghoulish Midlife by Lia Davis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I needed a light read. This did the trick. Though it had scary topics, it was all tongue-in-cheek fun.
Coleen Marlo, the narrator, was fun to listen to, although her males sounded hoarse and hard to distinguish from each other.

This is a story for you if you like witchy stories with humor. It is a fast read; I think I read it in one night. It’s weird that I still call listening to a book ‘reading.’ But it goes in my head as if my eyes were on it. I like Audible because I don’t have to have the light on to read. I like how narrators can pronounce words that might not be common in my world. And in this case, Coleen giggled or nearly shouted at the appropriate moments, keeping me interested the whole time.

Sadly, I am not in the mood to reach out for the next book. I think it was the googly, girlie attitude toward the handsome man. I hate that stuff. Not romantic. Just small-minded reasons to do things. I like stronger, smarter characters.

Still, like I said before, it was a quick, fun read.

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Review: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lenny Henry, narrator made this one of the most fun books I’ve read (listened to) in a long time. There were so many quotes that I wanted to put into my blog. But that would be spoilers. Go to GoodReads and look them up once you’ve read this book. I would be doing my diamond painting and then suddenly I’d have to stop because I would be laughing out loud. I’d have to calm down before trying to place the little gem into the picture.

What can I say about Neil Gaiman that hasn’t been said? His writing and imagination is fantastic.

This is considered book 2 of the American Gods. But I don’t know if you need to read that first. I did read AG a bit ago and loved it, too. But it isn’t necessary to enjoy this shorty but goody. Okay, maybe it isn’t so short. But after the tomes of Outlander this was a nice break.

I only decided to read this because Whoopi Goldberg is going to star in the theatrical version. Now I can hardly wait to see it!

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Review: Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy

Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you like urban fantasy, this will do the trick. The main character, Joanne Walker, is tough with faults making her human enough to believe. She pulls from Native American shamanism and mythology to get the spirit world jobs done.

I got a little annoyed with how often she was getting injured in what seemed like hot temper issues or emotions flying. But it was in character with the auto mechanic of the police department. The female cop is not being respected enough to get a beat. Suddenly the shaman in her starts waking, and all hell breaks loose as she tried to solve a string of murders.

It was a good read, and I may read others in the series sometime.

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Review: Rise of Heroes by S.M. Reine

Rise of Heroes by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fun, fast read! If you have lived in Ms. Reine’s universe since the beginning, Seasons of the Moon, so much is familiar while Shatter Cage is only two books back. So revisiting while going deeper into the squirrel/man was so much fun!

I love when my favorite characters, dead or alive, or deity, make me happy. Dana McIntyre was one of my favorites. And she is mentioned a few times.

The adventure is fantastic. I think I read this in two nights. Thank you for another engrossing read.

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Review: Spirit Elfen by Ella J. Smyth

Spirit Elfen by Ella J. Smyth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another fantasy for the end of summer. I breezed right through it and started the next. So last night I tried to read the book I thought I was in, and it turned out to be this one that I already read. I thought maybe it all sounded familiar because it was the intro presented after the first book. No. Even as far as the last chapter it was familiar. But I enjoyed getting the review before realizing I was actually finished and ready for book 3 (in fact, I was 12% into it). I almost think this set is short enough to be one larger book.

I think the above paragraph is my example of the review. It was a fun read with characters from book 1 with the fae. Oh, my favorite part, it was set in Germany. Wish there would have been more of a feeling of the land. Yeah. It won’t go into my favorite books. But a good distraction. Definitely not for preteens or younger teens.

But try it. You might love it!

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Review: Fire by L.B. Gilbert

Fire by L.B. Gilbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Is it the pandemic or what? I think I would have loved this book before but…

Tanya Eby, narrator, was quite good at the many voices it took to tell the story. I tried just using the text-to-speech and found that dull. Maybe if my eyes were good enough to follow along I would like it more. I would have been able to get deeper into the story. Ms. Eby’s voice brought me into the world of the fire elemental.

I must have enjoyed it because I listened to the end. I did like the main character. But often I tired. I honestly don’t think it was the writing or character development. I really think this could have been the most exciting book ever. It was just my inability to concentrate. So don’t take my word for it. Check it out. Maybe when life settles I’ll try it again and see if I don’t actually love it.

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Review: Reign of Monsters by S.M. Reine

Reign of Monsters by S.M. Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who doesn’t enjoy a were-squirrel? Shatter Cage is one of the most fun characters in Sara Reine’s worlds. He is determined. His heart seems in the right place, for a thief. And he seems to have more energy than most folks.

With all that is going on, it was a nice fantasy to get lost in. We visit other places and characters from Reine universes. The setting of this one wasn’t Reno like a lot of them but it is a place we recognize. I don’t want to give much away but I think many will love the world-making and character depth that Ms. Reine puts into all of her beings. Again, she is the most prolific author I know of!

If you like fantasy especially urban fantasy that uses real places and remade to her characters’ purposes. Though this is the second book with Shatter, I find that by having read all the books from the beginning, Seasons of the Moon series starting with Six Moon Summer. In fact, this book gave us a nod or two to that beginning. Please enjoy!

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Review: Julianne’s Wish by Marie Navarro

Julianne’s Wish by Marie Navarro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was lucky to get the sign paperback version of this book. I have loved the author’s other young adult fae stories. And I can say that now, having finished this book, I like it an look forward to what will happen in the series.

BUT that is not how I felt as I read it. At first, I only had the paperback. I had to use a magnifying piece of plastic to read it. The font was too small for my eyes. I finally ordered the Kindle version so I could listen to the text-to-speech.

That wasn’t the only problem I had with the book. Oh, sure, it was written well. Like I said I love Marie’s writing. And had this been written 20 years ago, not only would I be open to the amount of erotica and romance that plays around within the story, the ‘Me, too’ movement hadn’t been as strong. Though not triggery to me, there were parts that others might have a problem with.

Had this not been the product of a person I like and whose previous books I liked, I might have put the book away. But that is where I was lucky. I knew there would be something to make this story take off. Sure enough toward the end, I found that nugget. Yes! Now I cared about the characters and why they were the way they were.

Let that be the lesson you learn here. Take your time. Read it all. I think in the end you will be happy you did. Some adventures are difficult. But isn’t that what makes the adventure? Not only can you not judge a book by the covers, don’t judge the characters in the book by their strange actions. Guess that could be applied to people we meet in real life. Not everyone is exciting or understandable.

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Review: Ever Strange by Alisa Woods

Ever Strange by Alisa Woods
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It seemed I was on a witch-reading spree lately. Here’s another and, I think, better than the others. It was free, so that’s even better. The main character was well developed. The storyline kept me engaged. And if you need spice, this book has it without getting into the realms of erotica. Nice that fantasy leaves a bit to your imagination. You might enjoy this book. I did.

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