Book Review: Ill Wind

Title: Ill Wind
Series:The Weather Warden Book 1
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Roc
Publication Date: December 2003

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. A member of an elite group of magic users who can influence the elements, Joanne's talents allow her to manipulate air and water. Joanne is a strong magic user who can  manipulate the fiercest of storms with little more than a thought and the wave of her hand. But it's her strength that has led her to her current problems. She had been employed by "Bad" Bob Biringanine one of the the most powerful Weather Wardens on the world council. A warden who unknown to everyone had made a pact with a demon for more power. When Bob tries to forcefully take Joanne's power from her he ends up dead. Now, Joanne is on the run fleeing a murder charge, In order to clear her name she needs to find her friend Lewis who is the most powerful warden in the world. Her cross country trip is hindered by powerful storms that are hunting her, traps laid by members of the ruling world council and is helped by a free Djinn named David - a being of incredible power, Will Joanne be able to find Lewis before her pursuers catch up with her? Can she get the help needed to clear her name and reputation, or will she face the  council to have her powers stripped from her and her memories scrubbed.

This is an older series that I have had a few friends recommend to me over the years but haven't had the urge to read. in 2015 I had three of the books sent to me and last fall I found  most of the missing books between books 2 and 6 at the resale shop. This was chosen for me to read in June by my pick it for me partner on the bookobsessed forums. I finally picked it up in July during one of the read a thons hosted over there. I had mixed feelings about this book. I spent the first 3/4 of the book feeling like it was dragging as the plot jumped back and forth between Joanne's past and present. I know this was needed to set up the character history, but it slowed down the story in my opinion. However, the last 1/4 of the book I couldn't put down. I really liked the magic system (elemental magic) and the fact that Djinn are used by the wardens to enhance their powers.  I have the next 5 books waiting to be read so will be jumping ahead into this series.

Book Review: Because of Miss Bridgerton

Title: Because of Miss Bridgerton
Author: Julia Quinn
Publisher: Avon Romance
Date Published: March 2016

Billie Bridgerton is no ordinary lady of the manor. The eldest child, she has been raised like a son, and age 23 has taken over the running of her family's estate while her younger brother is away at Eton for schooling. Billie is plainly a tom,  more comfortable on her home estate and that of the neighboring Rokesby family. She is more comfortable running around in breeches, riding, and reading about agricultural improvements than planning house parties and embroidery, and the husband market. Everyone in her family and the Rokesby family expect her to marry either Edward and Andrew the Rokesby  boys she ran wild with as a child. 

However, while rescuing a detested cat from a tree, Billie becomes stranded and injured and is rescued from her plight by the eldest Rokesby son George. The wild Billie and the reserved George have never gotten on and Billie is not very happy to see him at the foot of the ladder. When Billie's mother the Lady Bridgerton  plans a house party Billie is unable to get around due to her sprained ankle. George makes it his job to help Billie out until she can get around on her own. With the two spending so much time together, an attraction forms and the tumultuous relationship starts to change as sparks begin to fly between the two in a different sort of way. When George kisses Billie, they both are shocked by each other's response.

I picked this up on a whim when at Walgreen's waiting on a prescription a few weeks back. I had a wait while my order was finished up and I didn't have a book with me to read while waiting. I picked this one up because I have read other books by Julia Quinn before and was in the mood for a historical romance. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is the first book in the Rokesby series which is a prequel series to Julia Quinn's Bridgerton Series. I enjoyed the two main characters and their elevation of tentative friendship into romance. Billie is headstrong and beautiful and stubborn. George is reserved as is expected of the Rokesby  heir. However for years he has envies the freedom and fun his siblings and the Bridgeton children have. this was a ligthearted tale of  finding friendship and love where once there was a back and forth feeling of detest between the two.  This was a very light and quick read perfect for the summer.

Book Review: Little Beach Street Bakery

Title: Little Beach Street Bakery
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: March 31, 2015Polly Waterford has found herself in dire straits. She thought she had the perfect life. A long term relationship with her boyfriend Chris, part owner of a small graphic design company housed in a small two room office in a converted railway station, and a flat purchased together with Chris in Plymouth, Devon in the UK. However she suddenly is faced with the reality that her life has turned less than perfect -her long term relationship has crumbled. She and  Chris have been slowly drifting apart for months. She discovers Chris has been hiding financial problems stemming from their jointly owned graphic design business from her. This results in them having to declare bankruptcy. The business and their assets are seized by the bank. Chris moves to live with his mother while Polly is forced to find habitation that she can afford on the small amount given to her by the bank while the the couple's home is sold to pay off the outstanding debts.

Polly quickly finds that without a job, she can't afford to live in the city she has called home for her entire life. She does not want to be a bother to her mother who has moved into a small retirement flat, she is embarrassed to admit what is happening to her friends and ask to couch surf on friends couches while she gets her feet beneath her, and does not want to get into a flat share situation with younger twenty somethings and multiple roommates. On a whim, Polly looks for listings in nearby Cornwall and finds one she can afford on the isle of Mount  Polbearne. This is a little village on an island formed by a sea mount that is connected to the mainland by a medieval causeway that is above water level when the tides are right.

Upon visiting, the flat is awful, dirty, with a hole in the roof above and located above a disused bakery. It is owned by an awful rude woman who owns the only open bakery in the village. A bakery which sells sub standard bread baked on the mainland. But there is something about the quietness of the village and the view of the sea from the window of the living room of the flat that pulls Polly to live on the island. Life on the island is not easy, her heart is slowly mending and she makes friends with a local fisherman Tarnie, and a good looking American Huckle who keeps bees locally, and a rescued injured baby puffin named Neil. However, she still can't find work, and she will not buy the bread sold by her landlady - preferring to instead bake her own. When her landlady injures herself in a fall, and Polly comes to the rescue by becoming the baker for the bakery life starts to look a little less negative to her. 

But when a brutal storm hits and the tragedy hits the small village can Polly and her new friends help keep moral up even as they are hit by the despair of the events around them?

This is the first book by Jenny Colgan that I have read although I have had her books recomended in the past. I have to say that I absolutely loved it. I am a sucker for stories with life changing events and the heroines whose life ends up in upheaval. I am also fond of books with stories revolving around food - especially bakeries. There is a wonderful  statement made by the author about Polly's character that in these days of low card diet crazes I found refreshing:

"Polly was very specific about bread. She loved it. She had loved it in fashion and out of fashion; as a child, as an adult. It was the favorite part of going to a restaurant. She loved it toasted or as it was; she loved bagels, and cheese on toast and pain d'epices and twisted Italian plaits. She loved artisan sourdough that cost six pounds for a tiny loaf, and she loved sliced white that molded and soaked up the juices of a bacon sandwich."

-Little Beach Street Bakery, Jenny Colgan 

I zoomed through this book as it was just the right amount of light story, life upheaval events, and finding unknown strength in oneself  for a hot summer reading during the heatwave that hit the Chicago land are recently. I was intrigued by the setting as the author is from Scotland, which is nowhere near Cornwall,  and looked up Cornwall to see what I could find out about it and it Mount Polbearne was a real place. I found that the author had fashioned her village from a real location St. Michael's Mount which is a tidal island that has a castle a church and a small village that can only be reached by a causeway that is acessable between mid tide and low water and the oldest bui;dings on it date from the 12th century. Cool huh? While looking this up I found a wonderful interview with the author about her memories of going on summer holiday to Cornwall from Scotland as a child. You can read it here Author Jenny Colgan reveals how Cornwall kick starts her creativity

I loved this book and have the second book in the series Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery sitting here to be read soon. So look fo an upcoming review :)

Book Review: The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

Title: The Memory of Lemon

Author: Jedith Fertig

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publish Date: 12 July 2016

The Memory of Lemon picks up where The Cake Therapist leaves off. Claire "Neely" Davis is still living in her hometown of Millcreek Valley and running a bakery that specializes in custom wedding cakes.  Claire has a gift. She is able to "taste" people's emotions and use them to create custom flavor combinations that resonate with her clients.  The success of her bakery is due to her talent, and it hasn't failed her yet. That is until she meets a mother of the bride who disagrees with everything her daughter wants in a wedding. 

Neely needs the successful cake that her intuition should be helping to create. However she is facing her own struggles. A divorce from a well known football star, the threat of a prenuptial contract clause signed when she was young and naive, and the need to explore a new romantic relationship topped with reconnecting with a long absent father leave her in her own inner turmoil which may be why her flavor intuition is not working correctly. 

As Neely works with the young bride, she starts to uncover links between the bride's family history and her own. The events of these family stories both pleasant and unpleasant combine together to create delicious memories. Aided but hear memories Neely and her friends in the wedding planning industry of Millcreek Valley are able to create a classy wedding that meets both the needs of the bride and her mother. The process also helps Neely to overcome the turmoil in her life one hurdle at a time. 

I have been waiting for this book to come out since last summer. I made the mistake of reading the excerpt of The Memory of Lemon that the publisher included at the end of The Cake Therapist and was very sad when I found out that it had not been  published yet.  I loved that this book picked up immediately after the events of The Cake Therapist and expands on the story started in the first book.  The book resonated with me strongly in the part of the story that focused on the budding relationship between Neely and the father who abandoned her as a child. The investigation of why her father left and how it felt for both of them was poignant and left me feeling "all the feels" as it resonated with my own relationship with my father. 

I also really enjoyed that this book kept the back and forth storytelling between the present and the past. I had a little bit of trouble at first keeping the connections between the two families history apart. But they came together in a satisfying manner.  The Memory of Lemon is a heartwarming, and entertaining read for the summer. 

Book Review: The Goblin Wood

Title: The Goblin Wood (Goblin Wood, #1)
Author: Hilari Bell
Published on: June 15th 2004

Makenna is a young hedgewitch who watched her mother die at the hands of the villagers she had helped with her small magical ability. Unable to cope with the laws abolishing magic practiced outside of the church, Makenna strikes off into the wilderness of the north. On her travels, she saves the life of a goblin, who teaches her of the goblins sense of debt and loyalty.

Tobin is a knight who has lost everything. In order to save his brother he has been stripped of his title, his responsability, and his rights as firstborn. When given the chance to reclaim these lost parts of his life by killing the great sorceress who leads the goblin rebelion in the North he reluctantly takes the offer. His actions will he believes allow the goblins to disperse and free the Northern lands for resettlement by his own people as they are forced to leave their homes due to barbarian invasion.

However, when Makenna catches Tobin, he is forced to spend time with the goblins. As he gets to know the goblins he is forced to face the facts that perhaps his actions will lead to the destruction of a magical race. in order to save his own people, can he cause the destruction of another people, even if they are not human? Can he force the goblins from their homes the same way the barbarians are forcing his people from their own homes?

Hilari Bell's The Goblin Wood is an engaging fantasy story. It introduces reader's to and draws them into a realm of conflict. Ifound this story short, but sweet and look forward to reading the next chapter in Makenna and Tobin's adventures together as they try to help their goblin friends.

Book Review: The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevdo

Title: The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
Author: Mario Acevedo
Publisher: rayo an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
Published Date: 2006

Felix Gomez went to Iraq as a soldier, fighting against the evils of terrorism to keep his country safe. He returned a vampire, ashamed of his actions during the war and of the innocent deaths he had caused.

He has returned to a life in the States as a private detective. Contacted by a good friend working at the Rocky Flats Weapons Facility, he is hired to find the cause of the mysterious "illness" that is affecting the women of the plant to become nymphomaniacs.

During the course of his investigation, Felix is confronted by women with sex on their minds, integrating into the local vampire community, shadowy government agents, and the mysterious vanatori- Vampire Hunters from Eastern Europe who are preying on the local vampires. Is the cause a virus? Has the nymphomania been caused by a radiation exposure? or is there a more extraterrestrial cause?Felix vows he is going to find the cause of the Nymphomania or die trying, a promise which almost becomes true.

Author Mario Acevedo has created a world where vampires are not an uncommon occurrence. They have local communities (at least in this Colorado setting), can eat human food as long as there is blood covering it (human or animal). His story is humorous with very adult humor. I found myself drawn into the plot, and giggling at events several times while reading. This book reminded me very much of Christopher Moore's vampire books. While I wasn't exactly enamored with the alien plot worked into the story it wasn't distracting or overly silly. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

Book Review: Nocturne The Fourth Book of Indigo By Louise Cooper

Indigo is traveling with the entertainer troupe The Brazabon Players. When they reach the town of Bruhome to participate in the yearly festival they notice that there is something wrong. Townsfolk as falling into a coma like sleep, then disappearing from their homes. When one of the players, Chirya, suddenly falls into this sleep the players are roused to act. Indigo sets off with Grimya and Fort (One of the other players to go get a physician from a neighboring town. Only to discover that an ominous and impenetrable forest has moved into place around the town. Separating it from the influences of the outside world.

When Chirya walks off into the forest, still under the influence of the evil forces controlling her, Indigo watches as Grimya and the leader of the Brazabon Players get pulled into the forest along with the sleepwalking girl. Indigo, and two of Chirya's siblings Fort and Esty themselves follow another sleepwalker into the forest. They find themselves in a world of illusions, and together, the four unaffected players need to work together to shatter the demon's powers and return the town to its rightful state.

In this book Indigo matures a bit more and learns to control her destiny rather than have her life controlled by it. As a member of the Brabazon entertainer troupe, Indigo stumbles into the clutches of the third demon she must face and conquerer before her penance for releasing the evils of the seven demons onto the world is completed.

In this book, Indigo must face her fears of being abandoned by her companion the wolf-dog Grimya as well as face the vampire like demon before it drains the entire town of it's life force and moves elswere in the world.

Book Review: Infanta the third book of Indigo by Louise Cooper

This book takes Indigo to the Eastern Continent. There she rescues a noble woman and her infant to be captured by the warlord that they had been fleeing from. Unexpectedly, the new ruler of the kingdom of Simhara welcomes the infant with the plans of marrying her when she comes of age. Indigo is welcomed into the palace routine as the Infanta's caretaker and companion.

But not everything is as idyllic as it seems. Every year around the Infanta's birthday she and the entire palace are plagued with nightmares of being chased by something evil. Indigo suspects that the warlord is the demon in disguise and over the yearsa of living in the palace treats him cautiously.

But as the Infanta turns eleven, it is discovered that not all is as Indigo suspects. Can she find and conquer the demon before it is too late.

This is Indigo's second demon faced. The plot for this chapter in her story is much slower paced than the first two books in the series. I found myself getting a bit impatient for the story to progress and at Indigo's slothful actions as she is lured into a false sense of security by the drugs she uses to combat the bad dreams and feelings that emanate from the unknown demon. This is probably my least favorite book in the series so far.

Book Review: Nemesis Book the First book of Indigo

Nemesis introduces the reader to Princess Anghara. Firstborn to the king and queen of the Southern Islands, she is not the heir to the throne. Headstrong and willful she starts to wonder what is contained inside the lone tower on the tundra plains - The Tower of Regrets. Envious of her brother who is going to be the holder of the forbidden knowledge, and urged on by her desires Indigo opens the forbidden tower.

Anghara's actions release the seven demons that have been imprisoned in the tower for as long as man can remember. As a result of which Indigo is sentenced to find and conquer the demons that she set free in the world. While she wanders the world searching for them she will remain immortal. Unable to die until her quest is completed. The emissary of the Earth Mother who charges Indigo, as Angharad is now known, with this task also shows her an incentive to help her progress. Her beloved Fenran has been captured by the demons. Tortured yet still alive he will be freed upon Indigo's successful completion of the quest she has been charged with.

I first read this book when I was in high school in the mid 1990's. I adored the series. It was one of those starts to a long series that sucked me in and I rushed to the library to go get the rest of the books.

But only up to book 6 was available and I got overwhelmed by other series and never finished the Indigo books.

I received a copy as part of the 2nd tiara sweeps books sent to me, and I couldn't get past a very important part of the book. I found it a bit to horrific and gorey and passed it along unread.

This time around reading it, I made myself read past where I got hung up last time (and started to this time), and found myself back in that rush of feeling that this was such a good story!

So, it is a little slow at times, and I wanted to shake Anghara for being so stupid a few times. But I enjoyed rereading this book