Looking for Your Next Book

This is one of the most impressive books I've read in a long time. Part western, part mystery, with a hint of macabre, Lady or the Tiger ticks all the right boxes when making a checklist of what makes for an excellent read. Belle King was an infamous teenage serial killer and when she willingly walked into the Dodge City, KS jail to turn herself in it was a momentous occasion. But the last thing she expected to see, standing outside her jail cell, was her husband ... the first (but not the last) man she set out to kill. Not only was he not dead, but he was wanting to take charge of the girl. But justice was intent to have its way, and the only end for Belle would be the gallows. The writing by Heather M. Herrman is strong and poetic. We fall easily into this story and even before we know much about Belle King, we can't help but side with her, understanding what she's been through. We already know what life is like for women in the U.S. west in the 1800's. Those women w...

I was a little late to the game in reading this Gunnie Rose series, just as I was very late in reading Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books (ie True Blood) but I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed both of these series. The Gunnie Rose series is a sci-fi, paranormal western where the United States has been split into fragments and controlled by different countries after the assassination of Franklin Roosevelt. It is also a world where magic may not be the norm, but is most definitely possible. Lizbeth "Gunnie" Rose is a mercenary who is wickedly deadly with gun. Her sister, Felicia, has indescribable wizard powers. Felicia is also an incomparable beauty and it falls to Lizbeth to keep her sister safe from the men who are always wanting to take advantage of her. Felicia is about to attend the Grand Wizards’ Ball. As one of the most powerful wizards there, as well as the most beautiful, Felicia will get a lot of attention. In distant Europe, ...

Grimshaw Grimsby is a junior Auditor in the magical Department of Unorthodox Affairs and Huntsman Mayflower is his mentor. Grimsby has been struggling to find his way within the department and has made more than his fair share of mistakes along the way.  His gruff mentor, whom he looks up to, hasn't been as forthcoming as Grimsby has hoped. In fact, Grimsby is sure that Mayflower is holding back on something. Mayflower leaves Grimsby alone to go to Boston to help another Huntsman - there being plenty of complications with Mayflower being in Beantown. Grimsby is on his own then to help the imp Wudge; hoping it will result in Wudge leaving Grimsby alone (he can fail on his own without any help thank you very much). Rayne needs to be saved but the biggest issue facing the you Mr. Grimsby is the day-to-day work necessary in the department office - meaning he'll have to skirt the rules and push the boundaries of the laws to complete his other tasks. There's plenty of action here...

I have been reading Anne Tyler books since the early 1980's when a college professor had us read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant for a modern lit class and I then went and found and read everything she'd written prior to that. You could call me a fan. She captures the extraordinary moments of ordinary people better than anyone else I've read. Three Days in June is a really splendid tale of human ordinary-ness and how remarkable moments in our lives can stir up the ghosts we'd rather leave forgotten. Gail Baines, second in command at the Ashton School in Baltimore, learns that not only has she been overlooked for the open headmaster position, but the new headmistress is bringing her own deputy. The news comes only days before her daughter's wedding and the arrival of her ex-husband, who seems to not understand the boundaries of being divorced - making himself at home in her home before the wedding. The ex-couple try to get along for the sake of their daughter, bu...

Dolores de la Cruz has a lower-mid-level job in an office. Jake Ripper is the new office temp. Dolores has a hobby of looking for serial killers 'in the wild.' Jake, with his smooth good looks, sense of danger, and 'serial killer gloves' might just be Dolores' find. The pair begin some intense cat-and-mouse flirting and things begin to get more and more serious. Until one of them asks the other for help disposing of a body. Like an iceberg, what a person hides about themselves might be much more interesting than what we see. As someone who loves to read and who enjoys listening to a few true crime podcasts, I was really excited to read this first book by new author Kate Posey. I really got into this book early on. The unreliable narrator, the back-and-forth actions of both Dolores and Jake, and the anticipation of where this will all lead - really builds a tense excitement. But for me, this tension and excitement drops quickly.  I can almost pinpoint the moment that...

 Looking over my review of book #4 in the Seven Forges series, I clearly believed that to be the final book. Five years later and The Godless was published, which I read and reviewed in October of 2021. Although my review was previously posted, I read the five books of the series in order (some for the first time, some for the second time) and decided I would repost my review as it originally appeared. # # # # # Just because a war has ended doesn't mean everyone (or anyone) suddenly knows peace. The long war with the Sa'ba Taalor has ended, but in the land of Fellein there is restlessness due to the constant change. And what do those who've spent their lives fighting wars do? Andover Lashk of the Iron Hands, once revered for his power, now feels like a man without a country. This has been a series of battles, supported by gods, but those who would now be considered the 'losers' have not only been driven from their lands, but they've been abandoned by their gods....

I first read and reviewed this book back in January of 2019 and I've reprinted that review here I did reread the book so that I could read the series, in order. My impressions hold true upon the reread. ### Another James A. Moore book! Yes! This one was a little ways back in my ARC queue, but I'm always happy now to read some great fantasy from the hands of a modern master. And if you're not sure if this will be exciting enough for you, take note of that slug line on the top of the book: Total war. That should get your heart racing! The Silent Army is the conclusion (?) of the Seven Forges series - a series that I haven't read in its entirety and am likely reading out of order. But I don't care. I get caught up in Moore's worlds and stories so easily, and he lets us know what's important for the story at hand, that I don't miss what I don't know (this isn't true with all writers and their series of books). As with the other James A. Moore books I...

This is the third book in James A. Moore's Seven Forges series. It should be no surprise that it's gritty, violent, exciting, full of heroic men and women, magic, and vengeful gods. Yeah, it's all of this. The Sa'ba Taalor and their Gods have declared war on the Fellein Empire and, under the direction of their gods, the Sa'ba Taalor are not going to take it easy on anyone - man, woman, or child. Because of this, people are retreating to Canhoon, aka the City of Wonders, hoping for protection as the Sa'ba Taalor are not taking prisoners. Desh Krohan and his peers are looking for a way to stop the Sa'ba Taalor, but nothing looks at all promising. Meanwhile, from another direction, a mysterious individual is gathering an unlikely army and also heading toward Canhoon. I'm not sure I can keep coming up with adjectives to describe how much I enjoy James A. Moore's work - particularly this series. It's energetic and energizing. The characters are larger...

I first read and reviewed this book back in 2018. I've read it again as I've decided to read the complete series.  My initial review is here, my amendments to that review follow: This review originally published in  Looking For a Good Book . Rated 3.5 of 5 The Blasted Lands  by James A. Moore is the second book in his 'Seven Forges' series. I haven't read the first book but I have become acquainted with Moore's work and I've been impressed. There are a number of characters here and it took me some time to feel as though I had gotten caught up on who everyone was and their roles here - one of the problems of joining a series mid-stream. To complicate matters, I started getting caught up in the action of the book. There's too much going on here to spend much time thinking about the past! Something Moore does particularly well is world-building and his creation of the blasted lands is really wonderful here, and we get the impression that this world is incre...

Captain Merros Dulver, a respected soldier of the Fellein Empire, is hired to map out the Blasted Lands - a distant, desolate place that lies in front of the never-explored Seven Forges mountain range. There, Merros quite unexpectedly meets a man by the name of Drask. Drask has a hand made entirely of silver but moves as smoothly and easily as a hand of flesh.  Drask guides Merros and his party into the Seven Forges where they encounter a warrior race known as the Sa'ba Taalor. The Sa'ba Taalor communicate directly with their gods and if their gods decree they should attack or conquer they will do so without hesitation, knowing the gods fight on their side. The Sa'ba Taalor wish to be friendly with the Fellein and Merros brings a party back to his homeland, though a nagging voice in his head has him wondering if that's such a good idea.  Merros has lived a life full of fighting, but he's never encounter anyone like the Sa'ba Taalor and it would not be a goo...

 In the village of Whitehaven, a strange plague has settled over the town - all the color is disappearing. Whitehaven is becoming a listless grey. Because no one knows why, thoughts and rumors run rampant through the town.  It's because of chemicals in farmer's pesticides. It's a problem with the sun. It's a punishment from God. The guesses go on and on, but no one really knows. Until Margie and Henry believe they've found the thief. But being kids, nobody takes them seriously, especially since they are accusing someone in a position of importance in the town. There's only one thing to do then ... they follow the thief to his lair and find a cave exploding with color.  I really love a children's book that encourages creativity. A town that loses color!  It's a brilliant (pun somewhat intended) concept. Beyond the concept, the book falls a little bit flat.  It's very direct with little to no subplot, although there are a few family scenes. Those scene...

Tell me about a book of a spirit that I'm not familiar with, and I'm interested. Tell me it's roots are of Scandinavian origin and I'm very interested. Author Josh Noel details the history, rise, fall, and rise again of the world's worst-tasting alcohol - Jeppson's Malört. And that's not entirely hyperbole. One of the great appeals to this spirit is the taste. The shockingly horrible taste by all accounts.  A taste so bad that you had to be of a special calibre person to be able to drink it and much of the advertising focused on it: "Are you man enough to drink our two-fisted liquor?" "Can a panty-waist drink Jeppson? ... Not twice." Malört is essentially a neutral spirit (ala vodka) with some botanicals and aged on wormwood.  In fact, "Malört" is the Swedish word for wormwood. The book dives deep into the recent history of the specific Jeppson's Malört - from Chicago lawyer George Bode, to Pat Gabelick, to Tremaine Atkinson...