The Pomegranate Gate

The Mirror Realm Cycle Book 1

Author:    Ariel Kaplan

Genre:     Fantasy

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781645660576; 9781645660941

Erewhon Books

576 Pages

$15.46; $22.57; $14.54 Amazon

September 26, 2023

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Toba Peres can speak, but not shout; sleep, but not dream.  She can write with both hands at once, in different languages, but she keeps her talents hidden at her grandparents' behest.

Naftaly Cresques sees things that aren't real, and dreams things that are.  Always the family disappointment, Naftaly would still risk his life to honor his father's last wishes.

After the Queen demands every Jew convert or face banishment, Toba and Naftaly are among thousands of Jews who flee their homes.  Defying royal orders to abandon all possessions, Toba keeps an amulet she must never take off.  Naftaly smuggles a centuries-old book he's forbidden to read.  But the Inquisition is hunting these particular treasures -- and they're not hunting alone.

Toba stumbles through a pomegranate grove into the mirror realm of the Mazik: mythical, terrible immortals with an Inquisition of their own, equally cruel and even more powerful.  With the Mazik kingdoms in political turmoil, this Inquisition readies its bid to control both realms.

In each world, Toba and Naftaly must evade both Inquisitions long enough to unravel the connection between their family heirlooms and the realm of the Mazik.  Their fates are tied to this strange place, and it's up to them to save it.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

I must say that I am not a huge fan of fantasies, but I decided to read this anyway.  It is a story of two remarkable individuals who are brought together by fate; two worlds that are connected by a pomegranate gate.  Two people who are Jewish and refuse to give up their religion, and two people who have powers that they have not been able to use.  It is these connections which create the story and tell the tale.

Toba and Naftaly are only in the beginning of their journey to find out where they belong.  They are facing two separate Inquisitions from two different worlds, and yet, even though each faces their own trials, somehow they manage to make a difference in these worlds.

This is a complicated book with many characters, and the POV is from both Toba's and Naftaly's.  I liked a lot of this book, but of course, I hate cliffhangers, and since this is Book One, I knew first off that it would have one.  It is a large book (576 pages) so going in I knew it would take a while.  That said, there were pros and cons, but I managed to get through it regardless.

For a fantasy, the book is written well.  The fact that both characters are Jewish is something different, but it is written in just that manner.  It is a dark book, but the words flow off the page; it is a book about magic and other things, and it crosses the realms easily.

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this.  The characters were exactly as they were supposed to be; and the ending gives you enough to know what the second book will be.

I won this book from the publisher but this in no way influenced my review. 

https://www.amazon.com/Pomegranate-Gate-Mirror-Realm-Cycle-ebook/dp/B0BVP71HMD/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5654367611

More on Ariel Kaplan's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/ariel-kaplan/

Paws, Claws, and Curses (A Purr-fect Relic Cozy Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Deanna Drake

Genre:     Mystery/Paranormal/Fantasy

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781964418339

Tule Publishing

204 Pages

$11.99; $4.99 Amazon

June 5, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐

What are cursed artifacts, a talking cat, and a dead body doing in the sweet little town of Citrus Grove?  That's what spirited shopkeeper Rebecca Cuthbert wants to find out and she had better do it ast because she's the prime suspect in the murder of the town's shadiest antiquities dealer.

It's a troubling start to her reunion with her long-lost grandfather and a far cry from the Southern California vacation she was expecting.  So far, nothing in Citrus Grove is quite what it seems.  Not her grandfather, who suspiciously disappears at the strangest times, not his curious antique shop, which has more secrets than customers, and certainly not the oddball neighbors, with their hidden motives and questionable connections.

As Rebecca races against time with her new feline friend to uncover the truth behind a mysterious murder, she finds herself tangled in a web of danger and deceit as captivating as Queen Cleopatra herself.  With help from unexpected allies and an often-exasperating, yet undeniably handsome detective, Rebecca must outwit the cunning killer before she becomes the next victim.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Rebecca Cuthbert has just discovered she has grandfather.  Unfortunately, it was because of sad circumstances she's recently experienced that allowed her to do so.  She packed up her life from Montana to California for a visit, but since she's arrived, strange things have happened.

Her grandfather's manager stole from him, and one of the artifacts has turned up at a shady dealer's home.  He's offered to give it to her, but when she arrives the man is dead.  The police think she killed him.  She also has a surprise in the form of a tiny, ragged kitten that needs her help...about that kitten...is it her help, or will the kitten help her?  Anyway -- she has to find out who the killer is to save herself from a permanent vacation in jail...

This is the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it very much.  Which is saying a lot, since I normally don't read fantasy.  Guess I'm just too rooted in reality.  Oh, well...but I loved it.  I loved all the characters, especially the fact there's no 'evil nemesis' (a real bane for me).  The characters are well-drawn and most of them have depth, but when the book centers on a main character, it takes time to flesh everyone out.

The mystery was done wonderfully, with enough questions that deserved -- and found -- answers throughout the book.  And I loved, just loved, little Aneksi and her arrogance.  Being a lover and owner of cats, I know what arrogance they can, and do, have.  Discovering more about her throughout the book was indeed fun.

When the murderer was revealed, I discovered it right around the same time as Rebecca, which is very good, since I usually guess the killers early on in the book.  The ending came together nicely, and gave us a hint of what to expect in the next book.  Recommended.

I received a copy of this book from the author and BookSprout but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Claws-Curses-Purr-fect-Relic-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0D2M32C3G/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6562866077

 More on Deanna Drake's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/stores/DeAnna-Drake/author/B0CJ9X4KSC?ref

A Twinkle of Trouble (A Fairy Garden Mystery Book 5)

Author:    Daryl Wood Gerber

Genre:     Mystery/Fantasy

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496744937

Kensington Cozies

304 Pages

$17.95; $9.99 Amazon

April 23, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Courtney is delighted when her tiny friend Fiona returns from the fairy realm, appearing at the base of a Cypress tree.  When her Ragdoll cat, Pixie, emerges from her own portal -- aka the cat door -- the three set off for a busy day.  Busier than usual, since Courtney has rented a small plot of land at the Flower Farm, where she hopes to grow her own supplies for her fairy-garden business.  Plus, the annual Summer Blooms Festival is coming up, and Courtney has booked a booth...

But the murder of Courtney's friend, Genevieve, casts a pall over the festival.  Ever since Genevieve sold her floral business, she'd been building a career as an influencer.  She was perennially opinionated -- but in her new role she'd become surprisingly vicious, dissing local entrepreneurs with nasty posts and unwarranted bad reviews.  That's landed a couple of Courtney's other friends on the suspect list -- including Flower Farm owner Daphne Flores.  And when a second victim is discovered, seeds of doubt about Daphne's innocence sprout in Courtney's mind.  With only a gem of a clue, Courtney will have to overturn every rock to get the dirt on the real killer...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Courtney lives in Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, and owns Open Your Imagination, a shop that allows people to make their own fairy gardens.  It helps that she has her own personal fairy, Fiona.  Fiona has recently returned from the fairy realm, and Courtney is happy to have her back.  Although not everyone can see -- nor believes in -- fairies, Courtney and others don't really care.

While hosting a group that are there to make their own little gardens, one of the women, Genevieve, learns that she is not invited to participate in the Summer Blooms Festival, and it rankles her.  She proceeds to insult other guests, and since she is known as an influencer, uses her online forum to diss other local businesses, as well.  As imagined, this doesn't sit well with people.  Although it is surprising when Genevieve is found dead, and Daphne Flores, one of the women whose business she insulted, is found standing over her.

When another person is found murdered, the police are honing in on Daphne.  Courtney has trouble believing her friend is a killer, but to be fair, she's not close with the woman and doesn't know all that much about her.  But Courtney is nothing if not persistent, and she continues to ask questions and look for clues that might point her to a killer -- a killer who might already be aware that Courtney could be dangerous if left alive...

This is the fifth book in the series and I must say that I have found them all delightful.  While I will not say whether I believe in such things as fairies or not, I will also say that I am positive that some people have no problem believing.  Which is why this book is so delightful (yes, I said it again).  Just like the title of her shop, it allows you to open your imagination and try to think what it would be like if there were many of them floating around us.

While, of course, the mystery takes first place as it should, we have a secondary tale in which Fiona's sister enters the human world to be mentored by her elder sister and other fairies that reside there.  We learn that even in the fairy realm there is sibling rivalry and arguments, but there is also fun and enjoyment.  It is a pleasure to share in these moments with the fairies.

But back to the mystery -- Courtney has no issues with asking people where they were on the nights of the murders, even though the police tell her to stay out of the investigation.  There are mixed signals, with the lead detective also telling her to keep her ears and eyes open and report anything she learns.  Hmm.  You can't have it both ways, sir.  So Courtney does what she does best, and gathers information any way she can (although she doesn't do anything illegal, which is good).  With each piece of data gathered she is eventually able to dismiss people from the suspect list, leaving her with only three of them; and figuring out which one it is could put her life in danger.

While I knew the murderer long before Courtney did (Again, I read a lot of mysteries) I did enjoy watching her figure it out.  Alas, it was nearly too late, but Courtney can think on her feet and she had no problem putting things in motion ahead of time.  In the end, it all comes together very nicely, and we are given a glimpse of what might be to come.  Highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Twinkle-Trouble-Fairy-Garden-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CFGF36NM/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6171382552

More on Daryl Wood Gerber's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-wood-gerber/

Steeped in Secrets (A Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery #1)

Author:    Lauren Elliott

Genre:     Mystery/Fantasy

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496735201

Kensington Cozies

304 Pages

$26.00; $12.99 Amazon

November 29, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Even with her life in ruins in New Mexico, Shay feels uneasy about settling into the small seaside town where she grew up on California's Monterey Peninsula and taking over an estate bequeathed to her by Bridget Early, a woman she had barely known.  Her heightened senses -- an empathic gift she's had since childhood -- go into overdrive upon touring Crystals & CuriosiTEAS, Bridget's eclectic tea and psychic shop brimming with Irish lore and Celtic symbols.  They reach a boiling point when Shay looks up to discover a stranger's body sprawled across the shop's greenhouse roof...

With her new business a crime scene and questions brewing over Bridget's so-called accidental death, Shay fears she's also inherited the attention of a killer.  The terrifying realization sets her on an impractical investigation for answers aided by her sister, an elusive pure-white German Shepherd, a strikingly handsome pub owner who speaks in a gentle brogue, and a misunderstood young woman with perceptive talents of her own.  As Shay struggles to figure out her true purpose in Bray Harbor and the powerful connection she has with the tea shop, she must trust her judgment above all else to identify a ruthless murderer and save herself from becoming victim number three...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Shay Myers has left her home in New Mexico, broken from a marriage that left her nothing and took everything.  The reason she is here is because she's learned of an inheritance she's been left by a woman she barely knew, Bridget Early.  Bridget left Shay her business and her home, a cottage by the sea.  At first wanting to sell, she's changed her mind and decided to reopen the shop as a tea room.  But the real estate agent is pushing her, as well as her older sister Jen, to leave -- especially when a body is found above the shop.  But Shay is made of stronger stuff, and with the help of a young woman named Tassi, and a stranger white German Shepherd named Spirit, who seems to know what she needs, Shay decides to make her home here again.

But it's not going to be easy,  With the pushback from others, and an even stranger gift, she wonders what Bridget was trying to tell her.  With the help of the owner of the pub next door, a handsome Irishman, she knows she has to make this work, at any cost.  Even if a killer is looking for her next...

This is the first book in the series, and I do love Ms. Elliott's other series, so I wanted to give this one a chance.  I am not fond of fantasy books but this book had me enthralled in a very short time.  There is so much I can say, but will not so in order not to spoil the book for others.

It is a lot of mystery, a little fantasy, a touch of romance...exactly what it should be to bring the reader into the story.  The author takes us to another place, and even another time, and we are drawn into the story easily, and wanting to be a part of it.  Oh, how I wanted to see the shop and the garden; but I will have to settle for seeing it through Shay's eyes.  A little Irish folklore can go a long way into enchanting a mystery and showing us Shay's future, if not her past.

This is a most delightful beginning to a series, and I can still see it in my mind's eye; wanting to read the next in the series soon.  I will definitely be looking forward to it.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Steeped-Secrets-Lauren-Elliott-ebook/dp/B09TX19WNN/ref

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4829557960 

More on Lauren Elliott's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/lauren-elliott/

A Glimmer of a Clue (A Fairy Garden Mystery Book 2)

Author:    Daryl Wood Gerber

Genre:     Mystery/Fantasy

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496726360

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$11.71; $9.99 Amazon

June 19, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Courtney's friend Wanda gets into a ponytail-pulling wrestling match in public with a nasty local art critic, Courtney stops the fight with the help of a garden hose.  But Lana Lamar has a talent for escalating things and creating tension, which she succeeds in doing by threatening a lawsuit, getting into yet another scuffle -- in the midst of an elegant fundraiser, no less -- and lobbing insults around like pickleballs.

Next thing Courtney knows, Lana is on the floor, stabbed with a decorative letter opener from one of Courtney's fairy gardens, and Wanda is standing by asking, "what have I done?"  But the answer may not be as obvious as it seems, since Wanda is prone to sleepwalking and appears to be in a daze.  Could she have risen from her nap and committed murder while unconscious?  Or is the guilty party someone else Lana's ticked off, like her long-suffering husband?  To find out, Courtney will have to dig up some dirt...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Courtney Kelly owns a fairy garden shop in Carmel.  She helps people create their own fairy garden while she cultivates hers, and communes with her own little fairy, Fiona.  Fiona in turn helps Courtney in order to gain her full set of wings.  Courtney's been asked to create two gardens for people to bid on for a local fundraiser by her friend Wanda, who is her best friend Meaghan's mother.  But while at her shop one morning she hears a commotion, and goes outside to see a fight between Wanda and Lana Lamar, an art critic, and it's turned physical.  Lana has Wanda by the hair and refuses to let her go.  So Courtney does the only thing she can: she grabs a hose and waters both of them down to stop the fight.

But Lana isn't about to be deterred, and continues to hound Wanda, even up to the point of the fundraiser, where she has no problem making a scene with anyone and everyone.  When Wanda feels a bit tired, she goes to lie down, and later Courtney hears a crash and runs toward the sound.  She finds Wanda kneeling over Lana's body, holding the end of the letter opener stuck in her -- the one that Courtney had used in the now-smashed garden.  Now Wanda is the main suspect, and if Courtney doesn't find the true killer, her friend's mother won't wake up from this nightmare...

This is the second in the series and I found it just as delightful as the first.  The idea of a little fairy helping Courtney solve a murder is indeed a cute plot addition, and it makes for a fun read.  While Courtney starts looking at Lana and who would want her dead, she comes up with a plethora of suspects, none of whom seem to have solid alibis.  There's also a couple of secondary plots which keep the story going without a lull in the action, and these are engaging as well.  

I do like the fact that whatever information Courtney digs up, she immediately transfers to Detective Summers.  While he gets annoyed with her, at least she's offering up what she discovers and doesn't try to accost her own suspects and accuse them of murder face-to-face.  One gets tired of protagonists who confront suspected murderers without the police knowing about it.  Courtney is intelligent and caring, with her heart and mind open to not only seeing fairies, but helping others as well.  I do like her character.

When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, I pretty much had gathered who it was early on, but finding out the motive for murder was what I was waiting for, and I wasn't disappoint in the outcome.  All in all, I do like this series and wait eagerly for the next book.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Glimmer-Clue-Fairy-Garden-Mystery/dp/1496726367/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3924231058

More on Daryl Wood Gerber's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-wood-gerber/

Pies and Prejudice (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery)

Author:  Ellery Adams
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780425251409
Berkley Publishing
266 Pages
$7.52; $2.99 Amazon
July 3, 2012

⭐

When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LeFaye bakes pie.  So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flaky crust.  But her pies aren't just delicious, they're also having magical effects on the people who eat them -- and the public is hungry for more.

Having discovered her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening The Charmed Pie Shoppe.  But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate.  And when Loralyn's fiancé is found dead - killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin -- it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

When Ella Mae LeFaye discovers her husband cheating, she runs home to her birthplace of Havenwood, Georgia and her mother.  While she finds comfort in baking, it's her mother and three aunts who convince her that her pies hold miracles, and she needs to open a pie shoppe.  But her childhood enemy, Loralyn Gaynor, wants the building for a third beauty salon, and is attempting to get her fiancé to buy it for her.  Ella Mae wins out, and Loralyn vows revenge.

When there's a shouting match at a bank between Loralyn and Ella Mae, but all customers can see is Loralyn's fiancé, and he's later found dead - with Ella Mae's rolling pin as the weapon, she's put in the hot seat as the lead suspect.  But the police don't have enough to charge her, so she's released.  Now Ella Mae is on the hunt for a killer to free herself, but if she doesn't find one, she'll be cooked herself...

I enjoy Ellery Adams books, and I really wanted to like this one.  While it starts out okay, I need to say that toward the end it got too "woo-woo" for me.  I'm not one who likes paranormal, fantasy, witches, etc. (I do like ghosts if they're interesting); and when things were winding up at the end I started rolling my eyes.  For the most part, I like books to be believable, and this one went off the rails.

Ella Mae started out fine, and I even enjoyed her ability to make 'magical' pies.  I thought it was a cute touch to the book - but when she picked up the baby names book and started looking at them, that was it for me.  Seriously?  This is when she discovers the truth?  And it's in her name?

I would have also liked to have known more about her time in New York.  Didn't she even care about her belongings?  Were her clothes tainted with her husband?  Who just leaves everything behind?  Not even packing a suitcase?  Also, some of the pie recipes sounded gross.  I would also like to know how the rolling pin got out of her home and into the burning building.  It was never explained.  (It was explained how it disappeared out of the truck, but not how the original rolling pin got out of her house.  Who took it and when?

I also felt many of the characters were caricatures.  Tainted horse farms but no one wonders why the Gaynors weren't involved?  That should have been the first thing the police should have looked at.  Why didn't they look at Loralyn as being involved, either?  An intelligent cop might have been able to connect the dots the minute they realized Ella Mae had no motive.

At any rate, I won't be reading any more in this series.  Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/Pies-Prejudice-Charmed-Shoppe-Mystery/dp/0425251403/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3204902378

More on Ellery Adams's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/ellery-adams/

The Masquerading Magician (An Accidental Alchemist Mystery)

Author:  Gigi Pandian
Genre:  Mystery/Fantasy

Paperback; Ebook
ISBN #:  9780738742359
Midnight Ink Publishing
336 Pages
$14.99; $9.59 Kindle
January 8, 2015

Five Stars

Deciphering an ancient alchemy book is more difficult than Zoe Faust bargained for.  She'd much rather be gardening and exploring her new home of Portland, Oregon - but time is running out for living gargoyle Dorian Robert-Houdin.  If Zoe isn't able to unlock the alchemy book's secrets soon, the French gargoyle will remain awake but trapped in stone forever.

When Zoe gives herself a rare night out to attend a classic magic show that reminds her of her youth, she realizes the stage magicians are much more than they seem.  A murder at the theater leads back to a string of unsolved robberies and murders in Portland's past, and a mystery far more personal than Zoe and Dorian ever imagined.

********

Zoe Faust is an alchemist.  It's a little hard to explain, but in a nutshell (and I am not saying this is all they do) they have the ability to prolong life, heal, and - yes, in some cases - change base metals into precious ones.  I am not saying they exist, nor am I saying they do not.  I am merely explaining what an alchemist is.

At any rate, Zoe Faust is one of of those people.  She has spent the last several hundred years wandering the earth, never staying in any one place for very long, lest anyone should notice she hasn't aged.  At the present, she is residing in Portland, Oregon, and has bought her very first house, a fixer-upper that definitely needs work but she, at present, doesn't have the funds to repair.

Her first order of business is to help her housemate from dying.  You see, Dorian Robert-Houdin is a gargoyle.  Yes, gargoyle.  He was brought to life by a very famous French Magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin.  And he is presently reverting to his stone state.  Which, if it occurs, will permanently trap him in a stone body forever, but he will be awake.  Thus Zoe has undertaken the dangerous task of trying to help him.  It is dangerous for her, because in making his Tea of Ashes, which helps him temporarily, it is slowly killing her.  So at night Dorian bakes wonderful treats for a local bakery - he has been trained as a gourmet chef by a blind chef - that everyone thinks Zoe makes.

One night Zoe gives herself a rare night out to see a pair of magicians, and notices her young friend Brixton at the performance - the only other living person who knows about Dorian - and looks up and also sees Dorian, which throws her, because she knows it is dangerous for him to be there.

It is a long story, and one I will not go into with detail, because I do not want to give too much away - which, in this case, is difficult because it is a key part of the story; but I will attempt to write the gist of it.  The magicians, Peter and Penelope, remind Zoe of a performance she saw many, many years ago.  Peter Silverman reminds Brixton of someone he has seen recently, and this leads him and Zoe to another dilemma in which they may need his help, but do not know how to approach him.  It seems Peter resembles a man who committed a robbery in Portland over fifty years ago, and was killed by the police; so much so that Brixton is convinced he is the same man and, being a magician, could also be an alchemist.  If so, Zoe could need his help in keeping Dorian alive.

And one night, a man is found dead in the theater, clutching one of Dorian's stone toes, which somehow got tangled in wires the night he visited the performance and broke off.  Due to this, Zoe's semi-boyfriend Max Liu, a police detective, thinks Dorian (the statue) may have been used in the crime, but does not know how.

From there we have an extremely interesting story.  Ms. Pandian has a way of mingling fact with fiction in her writing, and does it very well.  In this story she uses factual people, (the magician Robert-Houdin, for example) and weaves it into the novel in ways which not only seem plausible, but are compelling as well.  It makes the book appear as if one were reading a history book, not a fictional novel, which is interesting enough in itself, but quite ingenuous in its own way.

I enjoyed this book very much, but I must disavow Dorian of the notion that Hercule Poirot was not un flic.  He was, indeed, at one time.  Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Masquerading-Magician-Accidental-Alchemist-Mystery/dp/073874235X/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1496912064

More on Gigi Pandian's books:  http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/gigi-pandian/

                                                                    

Boys of Blur

Author:  N. D. Wilson
Genre:  Childrens'/Fantasy

Five Stars

 

When the sugarcane's burning and the rabbits are running, look for the boys who are quicker than flame.

Crouch.

Stare through the smoke and let your eyes burn.

Don't blink.

While cane leaves crackle and harvesters whir, while blades shatter armies of sugar-sweet sticks, watch for ghosts in the smoke, for boys made of blur, fast as rabbits and faster.

Shall we run with them, you and I?  Shall we dodge tractors and fire for small handfuls of fur?  Will we grin behind shirt masks while caught rabbits stick in our hands?

Shoes are for the slow.  Pull 'em off.  Tug up your socks.  Shift side to side.  Chase.  But be quick.  Very Quick.  Out here in the flats, when the sugarcane's burning and the rabbits are running, there can be only quick.  There's quick, and there's dead.  (From inside front cover).

 

********

 

I know this is listed as a childrens' book, but the title got me.  Boys of Blur.  I knew I had to read it, and I'm glad I did.  For while it is technically a childrens' book, I don't think it is for small children; rather those around twelve or older.

 

Charlie Reynolds lives with his mother Natalie, half-sister Molly and stepfather Prester Mack.  Prester, like Charlie's biological father, is an ex-football player more of a father to him than his own ever was.  While at a funeral for Mack's old high school coach he meets his second cousin, Cotton, who is home-schooled by his mother, intelligent and full of knowledge; and together the two boys become fast friends and and immediately begin adventuring into "the muck", where Cotton offers some truth about how it came to be.

 

Mack has been offered the coach's position teaching football at the high school, and when he discusses it with his family, decides to accept.  While watching Mack coach football one day, the sugarcane begins burning.  Mack offers cash to any boy who can return with rabbits.  It is a test of their running speed, and the burning forces the rabbits away from the fire toward the boys.  It is a ritual of Taper, and Charlie is invited along this time.  (Don't worry; they release the rabbits after catching them).

 

This is Charlie's second adventure into the muck which surrounds the town of Taper, and it leads him into an adventure even he could never have imagined.  It is there that Charlie discovers the secrets and dreams of the muck, Taper, and the people within.  There is evil and there is good, and Charlie must find the truth in it all.

 

The author's imagery is strong, and the story is compelling.  I would love to say more about this book, but cannot, because saying more would be giving too much away, and I don't want to diminish anyone's pleasure in reading it.  I would recommend this book not only for children, but for anyone who has a sense of spirit and adventure.

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Blur-N-D-Wilson-ebook/dp/B00FUZQZG8/



The Christmas Shoppe

Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Romance

4 Stars

 

 

Matilda Honeycutt moves to the small town of Parrish Springs and opens a new shop on the town's main street.  Matilda has scraggly hair and dresses like a gypsy.  The residents of the town think she is opening a second hand shop, and decide it doesn't fit in, they think her "junk shop" must go.  Especially believing this is George Snider, who wanted the building for himself but it was bought by Matilda.  Eventually, the townspeople start going into the shop, and things begin to change for them all as they find things they didn't even know they were looking for.

 

 When I first started reading this book, it was not what I expected.  When authors write about small towns, usually everyone is happy, they all like each other and know what is going on in everyone's lives.  These people were nothing like that.  It seemed they were petty and self-centered.  That is because they were supposed to be that way, so as the book progresses, you can see the changes in the people themselves.  They learn things about themselves, how to let go and move on, and all I can add is that this is a lovely book, about people who have lost who they were and found themselves again, through the magic of "The Christmas Shoppe".

It's a story of redemption, forgiveness and hope; all wonderfully done. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I am definitely looking forward to reading more.
 

www.amazon.com/Christmas-Shoppe-Melody-Carlson/dp/0800719263

The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Fantasy

1 Star

What was once North America is now Panem, the Capitol, with twelve outlying districts.  The Capitol has decided to keep the districts in line by forcing each one to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.  When Katniss Everdeen's younger sister is chosen to participate, she offers to go in her stead.

Okay, I know there are people out there who really like this book (and I mean really like this book) and are going to disagree with me on this one (again, no getting nasty, it's just my opinion here).  But I honestly don't know how this could be good for kids to read.  And this is why I gave it one star only:  It's violent, unrealistic (what parent would let a society send their children out to be killed?), and badly written. 

Alas, It's a pretty dark book listed for kids to read.  And it's about kids.  I don't find this 'great' or 'entertaining'.  Yes, I know it's a book, but there's nothing 'entertaining' about kids being sent to their deaths.  In fact, that's rather sick.  And I'm not giving away any spoilers here, since I figure anyone who's going to read it already has, given all the hype and the movie.

But there are questions:  I don't think it's plausible that people who supposedly love their children would allow this to go on year after year.  If you knew your kids were going to be sent to their death (or there was even a chance), then why would you have kids at all?  What kind of a person does that make you?  Why didn't the 'districts' rise up against the Capitol and win?  Surely there were more people everywhere else than this one area? Why couldn't they overthrow them?  Small nations  overthrow governments all the time.  It didn't make any sense and is something worth thinking about.....

www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Book-1/dp/0439023521