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In Search of Romance

Jun24

With the dearth of romance in my own life, I often rely on stories to make up the difference. Sad to say, but as of late, whether dramas or tacky Regency Romances, nothing is really engaging me. Real life is actually more interesting for once, though no particular romance to be found, but…let’s just say God has an interesting sense of humor.

Here’s what hasn’t worked: Kdramas Doom at Your Service and Touch Your Heart. Not bad stories, good acting, just really slow. Touch Your Heart will probably heat up a bit as I’m not very far into it, but Doom…sometimes chemistry can’t make for a lack of action. The couple(s) are together constantly, but it’s just not exciting. And the second lead love triangle is a lot more interesting than the main romance. Even that, though, falls flat. It’s like dating someone for a long time, but you never really progress or go to the next level or whatever. The relationship is just…there. Which is fine in real life, but to watch, is so boring it’s almost painful.

As for the tacky Regencies: Tried Julianna by Judith Nelson. It was boring, boring, boring. I really did like her short story Christmas at Wickly, though, so might give her another shot if I come across one of her other books at the thrift store. Next, I tried two Candlelight Regency Specials published by Dell and authored by Lucy Phillips Stewart. Bride of a Stranger jumped around a lot and stopped making sense after awhile. The dialogue was supposed to witty, but was ridiculous, which was unfortunate, because that’s really the only place any chemistry with the leads shone through. Her Bride of Chance, again, the dialogue just was not good. It’s hard enough to write really good modern day dialogue, much less Regency talk, but whatever the author was going for, was not working. It would be amusing to finish both stories, as they are pretty tacky, but I’m not in the mood. I need some good romance, so am turning to Elizabeth Mansfield.

In the Regency surprise box I bought last summer, there is another book by Mansfield called The Grand Passion. Doubt it will be as good as The Fifth Kiss, but I’m hopeful. I’m always hopeful when it comes to romance, both in stories and real life.

As for other stories: So far The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong is trippy, very trippy.

What Is Art?: The Emperor’s Soul, Book Review

Jun6

After trying Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson and disliking it, I was sure he wasn’t the author for me, despite the fact that many I know enjoy and are fans of his work. Fortunately, I decided to take another chance on Sanderson, remembering that even the authors I do enjoy always have at least a couple of stories that I just don’t like. The Emperor’s Soul was a definite win for me, and Sanderson’s simple way of writing really shines with a shorter story like this that quickly digs into various themes and ideas.

The Emperor’s Soul could easily be either fantasy or sci-fi, as clearly as the world is drawn in some ways, it’s purposefully or necessarily vague in others, and this empire could be set way back in time or far in the future. Either way, the characters and plot would still work. The magic and culture of the world in the book are drawn largely from Asian culture, and I personally thought of China because I lived there for a time and I have a signature chop of my own that I had carved with my Chinese name on it. Sometimes I stamp it on letters, but rarely do I write letters anymore. This story takes these chops, or stamps, to a new level, making them tools of magic that can change everything about an object or person. The magician, or rather, craftsmen, who do this are called forgers. Like art forgers, rarely are they creating something new, rather they are making an alternate version of something that already exists. Not so different from actual art, when considering the painting of a flower could also be called a forgery of an actual flower.

Stamping and forgery aside, the plot of the short novel–it’s less than 200 pages–is a cat and mouse game. Shai is caught in an act of thievery and must use all her skill and wits to complete the task her captors have assigned her and also escape in one hundred days. Gaotana, a government advisor, befriends Shai and also watches her work closely. Both characters know they are trying to manipulate the other person. As a shorter story, this plot was a good choice, as is the limited time, and limited setting of just a few rooms.

The magic in this world is more like a craft or a field of art. It is something that forgers have a gift for, but something they also must study. Shai states that anyone can learn how to forge the stamp, and although this does appear true, it is apparent that one must have an instinct and skill with research in order to be successful. The Heritage Faction that currently rules the empire considers forging an abomination, yet uses it often to preserve the heritage of past cultures, making junky clay pots into Ming vases, etc. Shai is right to wrinkle her nose at this hypocrisy. Is forging an abomination or is it not? The distinct rules of forging make it easy to understand, and although there’s quite a bit of telling involved, it’s not boring, it’s fascinating.

Forging a new soul for a person isn’t done, shouldn’t be done, and can’t really be done, but that is the task that the Heritage Faction has for Shai. With little other choice, she agrees to do it and soon finds herself relishing the nearly impossible task while simultaneously planning her escape. Here is where the true artistry if forging is showcased, for as Shai works, she researches every little detail about this person, much the way a biographer might study someone whose story they would like to tell. In the process, she also forges other things, turning her hovel-like room into something grand, impressing Gaotana, who despite being suspicious of forging, endeavors to learn what he can of it. This kind of forging is contrasted as “good” against another called blood sealing, in which a person’s blood is used to stamp and imprison them or hunt them down with skeleton monsters. The picture is, of course, life versus death.

What is art? That is a central question posed in the book, mostly by Gaotana. Shai already knows the answer because she’s in the business of creating art. Interestingly, Sanderson chose to make her an actual art forger as well, which is the way in which she is first introduced to both Gaotana and the reader. He is impressed by her forged painting, and only impressed with her stamp forging much later on when he has more knowledge about it. The question then becomes, what is an artist? Initially Gaotana thinks that Shai is wasting her talents, that she could be a great painter, then he sees how great a stamp forger she is and surely thinks her talents on that score are also being wasted. Interesting, again, because to his faction stamping is supposed to be an abomination.

Art is thought of, mostly by Gaotana, as something precious, not to be destroyed no matter what. It is something for future generations to benefit from, but he learns from Shai that sometimes it is necessary to destroy even the best art. From Shai’s perspective, it is clear that although she may be a primo painter, she doesn’t consider that her art. Forging the stamps is her art and she is a master at that. This forging of a soul is her best and definitive piece and it becomes so important to her that she risks losing her chance at escape to complete it. Her bond with Gaotana is such that she leaves the blueprints in his hands. Only he will know and marvel at the great piece of art that she’s forged. Marvel he does.

In the real world, the idea of forging or rewriting another’s soul sounds evil. In this world, it can only be done by those who know people well. This is the true artistry of Shai, knowing people. She has a natural talent that on some level just cannot be learned, much like a musical prodigy has a talent for music that studying music can’t quite match. In this story, the soul she must rewrite is someone who is otherwise gone. He in essence has no soul. Subtle connection is made between Shai’s gift at forging and also her faith. She prays to the Unknown God, which struck me as a reference to the Christian God, the Creator of the World. Paul refers to the Greeks’ worship of the Unknown God in Acts, and says, well, let me tell you about him. I’m not sure if that was the intended reference or not, but I liked it. I think that all art and craftsmanship and our desire to create and build things is much due to our Creator. He likes to create things and He made us in His image: We also like to create things, and there’s something fulfilling about working hard with all one’s skills and talents to make a work that truly reflects the beauty, love, and hope that God built into the world. It is satisfying, and is a reflection of the Creator.

The story doesn’t really tell us whether what Shai did in forging a soul was ultimately right or wrong. A wrong way of doing it was addressed, but that wrong way the forger ultimately dismissed. It is also unclear just how enduring this stamp Shai made will be, and if it will stand up to the test of time. In a way, she’s been playing God, but in another way, she’s healed a man. I really like the different ideas, questions, and possibilities in this story. It’s a story that makes one think about things and gives answers that fit into the story world, but leaves the real world implications and answers for the reader to ponder.

Did I mentioned I really like this book? The simple, almost mundane writing was perfect here, it really let the themes and ideas shine for themselves. It was vastly better than the flowery, longwinded, and tedious writing in The Goblin Emperor. Sometimes it’s better to simply be a storyteller instead of a Writer. I will definitely check out more of Sanderson’s books, but if this is the only one that resonates with me, that’s ok.

One last thing: On some level Shai is a thief and a con artist. Although she perhaps only learns how to invoke a better con job throughout this story, she learns from Gaotana that the best way to manipulate a person is with sincerity. Sincerity cannot be faked, or it wouldn’t be sincerity; it is a “stamp” that will stick and takes time to both implement and to master. Is sincerity necessary to make great art? In this story, yes. In the real world, it depends. There’s probably lots of things considered great art out there that the artist just made for money or without much thought. The implication in the story, though, is that a truly great artist doesn’t operate that way. This is why Shai cares little for painting and much for forging. Forging is where she puts all her effort and thought. Manipulating with sincerity. It’s just another way of saying, be yourself, everyone else is already taken.

Thursday, time allowing, I plan to have a review up of the Kdrama Extra-ordinary You, and the week after that something to say about the first three Narnia books. Enjoying the drama Doom at Your Service so far, and I’m trying out an ok Japanese drama called One Page Love. As for summer reading, my list changes by the day. I definitely plan to continue with the Narnia books and also continue with The Bowers Files serial killer series. Beyond that, much depends on whether I delve into my still-have-to-read bookshelves or visit the library frequently. Have a great week, everyone, and happy reading!

Book Review: The Murder of Napoleon

Jun4

One would think that a reader obsessed with Jane Austen and romances from the Regency time period would know a great deal about Napoleon Bonaparte. Alas, that would not be me, so the book The Murder of Napoleon by Ben Weider and David Hapgood, told me many interesting things about the man. Now I must add a proper biography of the infamous emperor to my stack of books to read.

So, first of all, did I mention I don’t really know much about Napoleon? I figured he died in battle or something, so was surprised to learn he was exiled to the island of St. Helena off the west coast of Africa in the years before his death. Contrast that with the authors of this book and especially the other central figure in it, one Sten Forshufvod, a Swede who followed in his father’s footsteps by obsessing over Napoleon. Obsessing is the wrong word–passionate, Forshufvod was passionate about Napoleon, and how it paid off, for back in the 1950s-60s he discovered the possibility that Napoleon didn’t die of natural causes on the island, but was murdered.

The Murder of Napoleon is a great nonfiction read. It bounces back between detailing Napoleon Bonaparte’s surrender to the British and his last years of exile on St. Helena (1815-1921) and and the efforts of Forshufvod to figure out the truth about his death during the time period of 1955-1975. Some of it’s a lot of dry information, but mostly it’s a riveting read, not only the details and quirks about Napolean’s habits and character, but also about the fields of science dealing with poison and poison detection. The book is originally from 1982, so I don’t know if Forshufvod’s findings and speculations have been officially determined and listed by France, but even if not, it’s fascinating. I was particularly struck by just how charismatic Napoleon was with almost everyone, and how enthralled even the British soldiers were with him. It was sad to see, too, how scholars and scientists get stuck in their ways and can’t look at the evidence objectively. I’m sure that science and scholarship isn’t much different today. Sometimes people just don’t want to know the truth. They prefer to believe their own version of it. I’m the same with some things, and I get how painful it can be to deal with the truth, but it’s still sad, a sad part of humanity.

If you’re looking for a great summer read, I highly recommend this engaging book that delves into the history of one of the most remarkable men who ever lived. In it, Napoleon is alternately brilliant, infuriating, and often lovable. If it’s true that he was murdered in such an awful way, I am sorry that he suffered so horribly. How awful, too, for those around him to witness his suffering and to be unable or unwilling to do anything. I’m not sure if an emperor Napoleon was better for the people than proper royalty, and I’ve read books like The Scarlet Pimpernel in which the “good” side is the aristocrats and the royals, but it would have been interesting to see what life in Europe would have been like today had Napoleon remained emperor. One thing was definite about Napoleon: he was a born leader.

RRRS: The Silent Governess and A Castaway in Cornwall

May15

For contemporary writers of Regency Romance, Julie Klassen is my favorite. Borrowed The Silent Governess from the library. Not too bad of a read, but it ended with me wishing it had been set at the girl’s school her mother runs in the end. As with many of her books, I was more into a lot of the minor characters, like Croome, than the leads, but the leads weren’t bad, either. Olivia Keene is the governess in question, and through a series of coincidences ends up working at Brightwell Manor where Lord Bradley lives. Bradley alternates between being cruel and kind, fighting a constant chip on his shoulder, a fear that people will find out a family secret. Because the story begins with Olivia’s great talent in mathematics, I expected that to be fleshed further, but that wasn’t the case. Only in parts where the plot needed it, was attention called to her skills. Lord Brightwell, Bradley’s father, really impressed me at the end and now I want a whole story about him and Bradley’s cousin Felix and how he’s made into a proper lord. Would be a good tale.

As for A Castaway in Corwall, again my expectations just didn’t match the book. Unfortunately, I have read Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier in the past few years, which deals with Cornwall, wreckers, shipwrecks and the like, and although that story was mostly dreadful, few can beat the atmospheric writing of du Maurier, and so I was constantly comparing the two and thought it could have used more wreckers and smugglers. It was very interesting, though, to have a different perspective on the Nalopeonic wars and having characters be on the side of the new republic rather than on the side of the British or the royalists, per say. As the island of Jersey is brought up right away, I was hoping the tale would take us there, and it did, but then I just had the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in my head, so again, comparing the books. Again, more of the minor characters caught my attention, but there was something a bit reckless about both Laura and Alexander, and they had rather good kissing scenes.

Now I am learning more about Napoleon by reading The Murder of Napoleon by Ben Weider and David Hapgood.

My favorites by Klassen still are: The Innkeepers of Ivy Hill series, The Girl in the Gatehouse, and The Apothecary’s Daughter.

RRR: The Fifth Kiss

Apr22

Sometimes everything in stories comes together to make a great “show,” if you will, and The Fifth Kiss did just that. I found it highly entertaining, and alternating between being infuriating and delightful, which is what a good romance should be. Yes, yes, we women like the drama. It’s exciting, it’s where we often find our adventure. This was a standout among what I’ve read from the mystery box last summer so far. I’ve got about fifteen novels left. This one is written by Elizabeth Mansfield, who had a short story in the Christmas compilation with somewhat similar characters. She likes bookish girls, or Bluestockings, as they were called back then.

First and foremost, The Fifth Kiss would be easily adapted to TV, a show or a miniseries. That was the appeal to me, I could see it as a show, a successful one at that. Not only does it start out with our heroine, Olivia, shocked–shocked I tell you!–but throughout the tale we get to be upset and exasperated along with her as she finds out that the hero, Miles Strickland, Earl of Langley, is all too often right. We meet many other interesting characters, and have a really cool second romance later in the book. Several characters are there waiting to be further developed, and there could be several subplots added to the main story. Olivia is at first someone we like, and then don’t like, as we realize that Miles is correct, she interferes when she should not, but then we, along with him, come to love her again, as she’s such a dear with her niece and nephew and is really very good at running a household. Many relationships abound throughout the book, not just romantic ones, but those of father to daughter, brother to sister, father to son, masters to servants, and the like. Social and political commentary is also woven throughout the story and could be expanded upon in a show.

I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked our hero by the end. So many of these stories seem to think it’s a desirable thing for a man of that time to have a lot of experience sleeping around before he finds “the one” and gets married. In this one, we are shown a different view of infidelity and just what that means. It is sobering to remember that two people are always involved. We so often think a man or wife just goes out to cheat on their own, and sometimes that is the case, but sometimes it is that their spouses have left them or retreated from them in some way. Doesn’t make cheating or infidelity right, of course, but it puts things into perspective: Neither is it right for spouses to cut their partners out of a piece or pieces of their lives. A marriage is two lives wholly shared, much more than any other relationship. Someday I hope to experience that also, but, for now I have the tacky romances.

This one wasn’t so tacky, really, the cringiest part was when Olivia Matthews takes it upon herself to get some kissing experience and it was just hard to believe she’s quite that dumb, but some people are. Mansfield got the descriptions right, the strange experience when someone has more emotion or ardor than you do. It’s sort of a disembodying thing, and of course sad for the other person to be kissing you so ardently with no response, but it happens. Unrequited love, unrequited attraction, such a great disappointment, not evil exactly, but it’s always something that seems like it should not be, a great wrongness in the world. However, a couple of the men in this story press on when they should not, forcing their physical attentions on the hapless Miss Matthews. No matter how sorry I may be for them, it just isn’t right. Olivia bears up well, though really doesn’t seem to understand the danger she sometimes puts herself in.

The part about the story that got to me was Olivia’s moral outrage, which ended up being misplaced, and her interference. Sometimes we–often, but not always, women–see a wrongness and think we have to, we must correct it. Really, we should wait and see first if anyone is asking us to interfere, yes, even if God is asking us to interfere. Most of the time not only is it not our place, but also there’s always more to story that we don’t know, and our interference will only make things worse, especially if it’s not wanted. In this case, the true moral wrongness was a wife cutting a husband out of her life, perhaps with the intention of saving him from pain, but giving him more pain in the process. Olivia is humbled and a bit bewildered. She really doesn’t understand what a marriage relationship is or means. And she really does not understand men, but fortunately, she grows up through out the story and comes to understand how to deal with them and bring out the best in them, well, at least in one of them. That was very great to read.

The Fifth Kiss is one that may stay on my shelves, though it’s no Jane Austen, so time will tell. There are actually six kisses or series of kisses in the novel, and it is the fifth one which makes our hero realize he loves Olivia. He finds it horrid to find her in the arms of another man, even if her feelings for the man are stone cold. So, nothing especially magic with a fifth kiss, just that it was the turning point in the romance of the story.

Reviews: House of Salt and Sorrows/Christmas at Wickly

Mar6

What fun it is in this modern era when there are so many wonderful retellings of the old fairy tales. These books are a treat to read, though sometimes they miss the mark. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig has so much going for it, and although I really enjoyed it, I’m not sure I recommend it. The story has a maritime setting on a series of islands, the salt, the sea, etc., but it didn’t really become nautical in the sense of being really firmly set in a world of ships and sailing. The twelve girls are all daughters of a wealthy landowner/governer of the island chain and have little to do with actual sailing trips, fishing, and the like. It could have gone much farther in the world of the sea, and also the quasi-Greek mythological religion the world follows. Still, what was there was adequate for the story. Our heroine is one of the 12 sisters. She’s in the middle and her name is Annaleigh.

Twelve main characters plus any additional ones are tough to keep track of, but in this tale, four of the sisters are already dead at the beginning of the story. Wisely the author groups the rest of the sisters, making them easier to remember. The story has a lot of stops and starts and never really flowed well, but the ghostly figures in the beginning didn’t prepare me for the end. Although the story ended happy, the incident in the lighthouse was just…icky, for lack of a better word. Icky, and for no apparent reason. There was just a lot of gore and grossness at the end, which ended up being too much for me. The actual adaptation of the Grimm tale was mostly in the latter half, and it was when their father finally made the wager that whoever figured out the mystery of how his daughters wore out their shoes every night would gain his estate, that I realized how uneven the story was.

Where it went wrong was the world building, something I, too, have trouble with. The stuff on their immediate region was good, but a full description of the world was lacking, or perhaps it was too blink-and-you’ll-miss-it. The ickiness related to one of the deities in another province who was not detailed nearly enough, and that’s why it just doesn’t fit at the end. Also, I expected fairies in the story, that is, I expected them to be the villains, and was disappointed in that.

All in all it’s an adequate retelling, but it could have been so much more. I did enjoy the use of Fisher, but I also didn’t think the character really got his due, either. The romantic hero was very appealing, but we didn’t get to know him that well. Fairy tales are hard to retell in some ways, because they are short and often have very blank characters. Sometime this bleeds into the longer adaptations. Also the dancing was severely lacking. I wanted more time at the balls and there just seemed to be a lot of Annaleigh thinking, which is of course what young women often do, but it doesn’t drive stories along very well.

Craig did a good job of portraying an estate constantly in mourning. The behaviors of many characters can be excused largely due to the tragedies they’ve experienced, so it’s not a wonder in that sense that it takes people a long time to realize something is amiss. The ultimate villain at the end…meh. I suppose the lesson is you never get what you want no matter how clever a deal you make, especially if it’s a deal with a devil. Not a bad story, but I wouldn’t recommend it, and I’ve read a better adaptation of the fairy tale at some point in my life and hopefully one of these days I’ll remember the title.

A Regency Romance Review

Continuing with the A Regency Holiday book of five Regency romances, story four was actually quite good. I wish it was a longer story. Judith Nelson is the writer, and was excited to find that one of her longer novels was in the surprise bag I bought last summer. Christmas at Wickly stars the Earl of Wickham, who is in his thirties, and a twenty-eight year old heroine who believes herself firmly on the shelf. She’s not wrong, in that day and age women often married in their late teens, but Miss Worthington lives fully up to her name and her humor and capableness convince the earl that she’s the one for him. All this is planned in advance by a wily grandma who wants to see their family’s inheritance continue and not go on to lesser family members. In her eyes, it is essential the earl marry and start having children as soon as possible. She’s not wrong, but I’m also glad that she wants him to truly be in love.

The romance is quiet, just two people spending a lot of time together and falling in love while doing it. Somehow the love surprises both sexes and Nelson makes it exciting to both of them, as well as sweet to read. They are both total dorks and also snobs after a fashion. It will be great to see what she does with a longer story. The story outlines four key points for a good match: Humor, companionship, similar perspectives and/or temperament, and time together to make the relationship happen. As Wickham dismisses the other, younger women one by one, I just think of Austen’s Mr. Knightley proclaiming that “men of sense don’t want silly wives.” In this story, that’s true, although our hero quite sillily makes a habit of stealing mistletoe so he’s not forced to kiss anyone under it. It’s hard to imagine societal rules so strict one couldn’t refuse a kiss, but I suppose if a gentleman is faced with having to refuse a lady, he would just rather avoid the situation altogether. And that’s rather gentlemanly of him, even if it also makes him silly.

It Is Thursday.

Mar4

It is Thursday, and I totally forgot to do a review today and now there’s no time because I really have to work on TfD3, which is turning out quite fascinating and now I’m really looking forward to writing book 4…after a lot of necessary draft finishing and editing of book 3. Reviews coming this weekend of House of Salt and Sorrows, a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses, and RRR short story Christmas at Wickly. Have begun reading The Wanderer by Fanny Burney, which is a tome and a half in weight, The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt, and The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. Forgot how creepy the uncle is in that and that the main characters are Digory and Polly. Full review of the Chronicles of Narnia when I’m done with my reread. Speaking of Thursdays, Thursday Next, hero in The Eyre Affair, a fun, fun book, though the series itself flounders a bit. Good spring/summer reading. God be with you until we meet again. And it is great how we can meet through reading and writing. –Pixie

RRR and musings

Feb25

The time has come for another Regency Romance Review. Not sure I’ve made much of a dent in the box I bought last summer, but onward I will go. This one I meant to finish and review in December, but Christmastime always gets so busy, and then there was January, and then my Dad passed away, and then, then. There’s always an “and then.”

A Regency Holiday, “Delightful and Heartwarming Christmas Stories by Five Acclaimed Regency Authors,” published by Jove Regency Romance in 1991. This is likely the most recent one from the batch. As I don’t particularly care for short stories and read them sporadically, it’s taking awhile for me to get through this. Two stories yet to go, but some quick reviews on the first three:

The Girl with Airs: This one stars a Scottish laird and although he was described as being very handsome, he favors lightskirts or loose women, and talks in dialect. I have been to Scotland. It’s beautiful and the language and accents are all great. However, the way the Scottish dialect looks written down has always looked like baby talk to me, and thus it’s always difficult for me to take the characters talking the dialect seriously. Had the same trouble trying to read Outlander. Fortunately the “girl with airs” was taken in by the accent and the actually very smart laird who ended up wooing her. Written by Elizabeth Mansfield, which is interesting, because the box actually contains one or two of her novels. I plan to read her The Fifth Kiss next. Why does it take the couple five kisses? If you don’t know in the first kiss, maybe it’s not really love. Just kidding.

Proof in the Pudding: Although it’s maybe not the best choice to base a story around the guy who didn’t get the girl, this was amusing. Humans are so, so clueless, and sometimes reading or watching stories about people even more clueless than us can bring us real joy. Really. The ending was funny, but not realistic, and way too contrived. Probably the lovers don’t care, because at least they got together. Poor Virgil Clive lost not only a possible bride, but also a tasty pudding, a valuable coin, and what little what left of his dignity. By Monette Cummings.

A Christmas Spirit: By Sarah Eagle. My favorite part was the title pages which says, “in memory of my grandfather, Edwin John Hawkes, Sr., who was always Father Christmas.” Seriously, that warmed my heart. This story had real potential and would be better as a full length novel. The young Earl of Denham Abbey is plagued with annoying relatives, sudden visitors, and a ghost who likes to play cupid. The beginning where a girl is stuck there in bad weather reminded me a bit of the Princess and the Pea, and I started to wonder if I should write a retelling of that fairy tale, but found that there have been, so, so, so many remakes and rewrites already. Anyway, the sudden kiss was romantic, but really, does this ever happen in real life? Perhaps not in the time of Me Too and COVID, but there still may be some brave men that throw caution to the wind. The earl was a bit of an absent minded professor type who got his girl because she’d been in love with him for oh, so many years. Girls, sometimes waiting for love works, at least in stories.

Christmas at Wickly: I really like the writing so far in this one and it has a spunky grandma who is going to trap her grandson, the Earl of Wickham, into marrying and settling down. By Judith Nelson, who also may have another novel in this stack I have.

The Kissing Bough: The last one is written by Martha Powers and has chapters split up by kisses. Ends in a fifth kiss. Ok, so what is it about fifth kisses? Is this some sort of thing, a milestone in a relationship or romance? Were fifth kisses special in the Regency era for some reason? No idea, but readers, if any of you are in new relationships, pay attention to your fifth kiss. Maybe it opens a door to another dimension where 2020 is a good year.

Some musings. So my dad died about a month ago and I miss him so much. I know I’ll see him again in heaven, but some days the tears just come and there’s nothing I can do about it. Fortunately, God has blessed me and my mom and siblings with wonderful family and friends who have surrounded us with our love. Life has felt a bit surreal this past month, and the best part has been all the wonderful hugs from people, something I’ve missed so, so much lately. Human contact and skinship is key to health. In our own pain, God has also showed us how many others are hurting. So many who have recently or not so recently lost spouses, family friends, loved ones, and dear ones. It makes me pay more attention now, to others who are hurting in the same way.

It is so awesome how God works. How unexpected he is, and how surprising. God is definitely romantic in his ways. Today he answered a prayer that I didn’t even realize I asked. He knew, he just knew that I wanted an opportunity to make an in person apology to someone, and he made that happen! The timing was perfect. God’s perfect timing.

Another one, and this is a little gross, so sorry if you’re squeamish, but I had this tiny cyst on me, this little hole in my skin for over twenty years, and suddenly in January it got infected and and horror show gross. I was so, so sure I would have to have surgery on it or something, but lo and behold after packing and bandaids for a few weeks, it’s almost all healed! And now there will be no hole at all. Why did this happen and heal now? God was showing me his power, and the power of our God-given bodies to heal, even after such a long time. It’s pretty great. That taught me it’s never too late to heal, and we should never give up on it. We don’t have to be stuck in one bad spot all our lives. God can help us and circumstances change for the better.

Book Review: Cinders & Sparrows

Dec12

Really, this book is more for October or early November, but I was eager to read and review it as the author, Stefan Bachmann, is on my list of authors to watch, as I love his way with words.

Let’s get the negative out of the way first: Being a Christian, reading stories where witches are the heroes, even Harry Potter, a series I like, makes me uncomfortable. Communing with the dead as the witches do in this story, is definitely more how real witches operate–think the witch of Endor from the Bible. Thus, I am reluctant to recommend this story for any child I know. Nevertheless, I do recommend it for older people on certain merits, and you’ll see those below.

That all being said, there’s lots to like about the story. Zita Brydgeborn, a 12-year-old orphan who works as a house maid, receives a letter that she’s inherited a castle. She’s excited and surprised that her family has seemingly found her and leaves at once to go to Blackbird Castle. The castle is fantastic, not unlike the famous Hogwarts, and Bachmann has us on familiar footing as Zita begins to take witch lessons from Mrs. Cantanker, her new guardian. The main theme is also clearly good vs. evil, though the definitions of both things are pressed within the pages of the story, solidifying it more into a fantasy where people when they die go to an underworld to which live humans can still travel. The story sports a lot of fairy tale references, numerous similarities to the HP series, and in the end resoundingly celebrates life, something I can get onboard with. It’s an exciting story with the main character having to constantly reassess what’s being told her and who to trust.

The main thing I like about C&S is the writing. Again, Bachmann has a wonderful gift with words and I can’t wait to see what he writes next. Some of his sentences and phrases I just want to read over and over again. With this book, he shows himself as a clear possible successor to JK Rowling, should he decide to pursue a series in this vein. The plotting was also well done, and I enjoyed the ending, especially the dragon stairs.

Other works I have read by Bachmann are A Drop of Night, a very creepy, quasi-dystopian adventure tale with all things French that would make a cool movie or TV show, and The Peculiar, which delves into pagan lore, and introduced me to his awesome, crackling writing style.

For lovers of the Harry Potter series, I would highly recommend this book as it’s a glimpse as how a different writer may have handled that story. It may be grating for me to mention HP so much along with this story, but the similarities are everywhere, from Zita being an orphan who gets a letter delivered to her by magical means, to the castle with its creatures and changing rooms, to even the plot, where are horrible curse never to be used is used. It was like when I read Eragon and at every turn, there was The Lord of the Rings. A lot of stories are similar and each can be good and treasured in their own right. C&S has enough of its own uniqueness to break with HP by the end.

Restaurant to Another World: Book Review

Nov29

Never before have I read a book that made me so hungry! Restaurant to Another World, book 1, by Junpei Inuzuka, is a light read focused on gastronomic goodness. Every Saturday, Western Cuisine Nekoya restaurant in Japan connects to another world, a world full of magicians, elves, warriors, and the like.

Restaurant is charming in its approach: It is from the perspective of the people in the magical world who come to the place to eat their favorite dishes. Although there is some awkward phrasing with the English translation, it mostly works as we are seeing things from the perspective of fantasy people and creatures who struggle to describe the delicious alien dishes. It’s fun seeing our food–and it’s a variety of dishes, not just Japanese dishes–from that viewpoint.

I enjoyed the book, but it was more a series of vignettes rather than a cohesive story. Any and every fantasy creature populates this other world, from Lord of the Rings characters, to tiny people, and there is a complete lack of forward momentum or overarching story arc. Character and food descriptions are okay, but I’m a reader that likes plots, and often complicated ones at that. Perhaps in the subsequent volumes there’s more going on plot wise, but at this time I’m not going to spend the money to find out. The bland names for the countries in the fantasy world disappointed me also: Ocean World, Mountain World, Desert World.

It also seemed unrealistic that not a one of these fantasy creatures and people tried to get out of the restaurant into our world. We get a basic background of what’s going on with the character, they find a door to the restaurant and either order their favorite dish or try it for the first time. Sometimes they get takeout. That’s it, that’s how each chapter plays out.

The idea for Restaurant is creative, and I can see this could be something that teachers could use in the classroom for creative writing. Explain the concept to the students and then they have to think of their own fantasy creature or person and write a short story of what’s going on in their lives, how they come across this restaurant, and the describe the dish they ordered and ate. Describing the food alone would be a great writing exercise. This would totally be something I would have used back in my teaching English as a second or foreign language days.

Updates

Well, Nanowrimo was a bit of a bust for me, but then November, even this November is always very busy at work, so it’s difficult to find the time and brain space for writing. I did get over 10,000 words, so that’s something. Kevin and Becky Colossus are getting into serious trouble and the actors in the Etherland are realizing they are not alone there.

Readingwise, I’ve started The Last of the Mohicans and will also be starting another Regency romance. My stack of possible reads for winter is piling up, and I’m aiming at reading the entire Narnia series, finally getting to The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt, and other books which I’ll detail in a future blog post.