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He was an army scout, and outlaw, a hero, and a legend. Has-kay-bay-nay-ntayl - aka Ohyessonna, aka Apache Kid - grew up the product of two very different cultures. He worked, through his own great efforts, to be a respected leader in both his Apaches and his white, military communities.  As an Apache he has to compete with a brother to be the best among his community, and even though the odds are against him, he keeps calm and proves the victor. His skills are unparalleled for a boy his age and the legendary Al Sieber of the white military takes him under his wing and trains him so that the boy is even stronger and better than his natural skills. The Apache Kid has great respect for what Sieber does for him and he becomes a scout - one of the greatest scouts of all time - for the U.S. Army.  The Apache Kid becomes a leader of Army scouts and it is through his work that the Army maintains peace between the Apache and the San Carlos Reservation. But blood is thicker than unifor...

It is 1966 and three women - Beverley, Elsie, and Margot - have formed an unlikely social group in Southern California. They are the wives (or ex-wives) of three of California's most notorious serial killers of their day. Their individual personalities couldn't be more different - from compulsive Beverly trying to control everything around her, to the beautiful Margot putting all her effort into trying to appear as though everything is fine, to Elsie who fights to make a name for herself among the testosterone-filled newsroom.  But each fights daily with their own (and others') perception of 'how could they not have known?' They carry a guilt that no one should ever have to be burdened with. They meet often - a therapeutic group that few would understand - when news hits Southern California of a new string of murders which they women see as definitely linked and pointing to a new serial killer. The police, on the other hand, are focused on pinning some of the murder...

Selene was orphaned as a child and subsequently taken in by the caretaker of the L'Opera du Magician. Here she is encouraged to develop her own magical talents. There is much talk that one of the students will be selected by the king to be the new king's mage. The selection of the new mage will be chosen through competition, each student of magic will show what they can accomplish by putting together a performance of song, dance, and magic - creating a magical, entertaining illusion. Selene doubts her own abilities among the many talented students, but finds help (and unrequited passion) in a mysterious figure - a magician, trapped inside a mirror inside the opera. I actually started to read this book a few months ago, but I had also just started Wild as the Stars by Kerry Chaput which, rather ironically, has extremely similar themes and story line, so I put this one away for a bit, though honestly, much of the previous mentioned book came back to me as I read this and I had t...

I don't typically review a series of books in one posted review, but for a couple of reasons, mainly because these books are so short, I've decided to review the entire trilogy in one, three-part review. Yuri Kozlov is a well-known spy (well-known among the spy organizations worldwide, anyway) as is sometimes known as the “Russian James Bond.” Lately there have been a number of Russian spies defecting to the West over what they consider to be Putin's unjust war against Ukraine. But no one - not from the West, nor from Russia - ever expected someone of Kozlov's renown and status to be among the defectors! Yuri is not impressed with the people from the CIA who've been assigned to be his handlers and he's convinced it'll be a cakewalk convincing them of his sincerity. Of course he's actually on a deep, undercover assignment to find out who in the Russian spy service is the double agent reporting back to the CIA, and to find and kill the highest level agent ...

Ophelia is a very smart and scientifically-minded eleven-year-old girl. After the death of her mother, Ophelia and her older sister have come along with their father to a new city (where it never stops snowing). Their father has thrown himself into his work at his new job. He is an expert on swords and is putting together a very large exhibition of swords in an old, dark, gloomy museum. Ophelia's sister is preoccupied with fashion and has found a like-minded friend in the museum curator, and her father is busy playing with his swords, leaving nothing for Ophelia to do, so she begins to wander and explore all the nooks and crannies of the museum. Finding a locked door somewhere deep in the museum, Ophelia looks through the keyhole and sees the blue eyes of a young boy looking back at her. He is the Marvelous Boy and he tells Ophelia that he's been waiting for her. Although he looks about the same age as Ophelia, he explains that he's actually 303 years old and that he's ...

The city of Chicago has gone through a lot, recently - having nearly been completely destroyed. But the wizard Harry Dresden has been through even more, being the man who practically single-handedly saved (most of) Chicago but lost a number of good friends in the fight. It's taken a toll, but the process of recovery and cleaning up needs to be done (as well as 'charming' all the citizens of Chicago so that they don't know there are so many ... ah ... paranormals ... in their midst). What Harry Dresden definitely, no way, not all, doesn't have time for, is the ghouls who are prowling the city and killing civilians. And just to complicate matters - because Harry needs complication in his life, the Winter Queen has allied with the vampires and Harry's been betrothed to the deadly vampire Lara Raith in order to seal the deal. This doesn't sit well with everyone and one particularly nasty and powerful 'baddy' is going to test Harry's mettle, but after...

Bookshops can be magical. Any dedicated reader knows this. But the Midnight Bookshop is truly MAGIC-al. The shop is found only at midnight in strange locations and by invitation.  Enter and feel free to browse, but the visitor doesn't choose a book - the book chooses the reader. Three people, strangers to each other, Jo, Adelaide, and Kye, arrive at the Midnight Bookshop one night, each intrigued by flyers inviting them to the shop. The shopkeeper, Fay, is a charming, friendly woman who guides the three young people through the way in which this shop works, helping them understand that the books that have chosen them may have done so for a reason. Though the books don't necessarily appeal to each of them, on the surface, they find that as they read them (books which are familiar to most readers of this book), the book speaks to them. Something in the story touches a nerve to what they might be experiencing at home. The three strangers begin to form a bond - a friendship stronge...

My formative years were in the 1970's and I grew up with these awesome Kung Fu movies. Yes, I had the iconic Bruce Lee poster on my wall and I probably would have taken some kind of martial arts classes if my small town offered it. This book takes a deep dive and explores the many ... MANY ... Kung Fu movies through the years. Producers, distributors, directors, stars - pretty much anything that you can think of that might be connected to a Kung Fu film is explored and shared here.  It's frankly exhausting, it is so thorough. I can't say that I was such a fan that I knew the names of the stars and/or sought out a film because of who was in it.  Like most, I presume, I knew Bruce Lee and I knew Chuck Norris, and I watched the Kung Fu television show regularly when it was on. And I was familiar with the name Bruce Li (a Bruce Lee alternative/imitator). I watched a lot of these films, and even today I might turn such a film on if I see one and I've got some time to kill Th...

Since writing a book review blog, I follow a number of publishing trends, including self-publishing. Self-publishing, once know also as 'vanity press' has become much more legitimate thanks largely to Amazon, and there are a number of authors I read who self-publish.  Some major press authors are beginning to work their way into the self-publishing market as they realize that they can keep more of the profits from a book sale if they publish themselves.  Brandon Sanderson is one of those big-name authors planning to self-publish (and raised more than $41million in a Kickstarter). While nowhere near as famous or popular as Sanderson, one name I keep coming across in the self-publishing world is Michael Anderle. With nearly 900 books with his name on the byline, Anderle may be one of the most prolific authors ever. Of course it is likely that the name Michael Anderle is a 'house name' - used by a number of writers (like Victor Appleton, Franklin W. Dixon, Carolyn Keene, J...

 Prince Eleazar, an Angelus to the humans, is sent out of the Angelus haven known as Splendour by his fiendish brother. The fall to the humans in Below damages him and he finds he is lost, stuck among humans.  Broken after the fall, Eleazar is found by Diver, a young human male who has been fighting in a war on behalf of the Angelus. Diver drags the Angelus to his sister, Fury - perhaps the only atheist in many leagues. It's hard not to be attracted to an Angelus, and both Diver and Fury find themselves with feelings for the being. Eleazar, however, seems to have nothing but contempt for humans and finds his time, stuck in the Below a certain kind of hell that he wouldn't wish on anyone (except for his lowly brother).  It will take some time for Eleazar to appreciate and trust the humans, but he and the humans will need to ally in order to take on and fight the treachery that exists in the ill-named Splendour. I really appreciated this take on 'heaven' and 'angels...

 A new book in the Wayward Children series! Nancy is where she wants to be - in the Halls of the Dead. It was a difficult journey for Nancy to get back to this spot, but it was worth the effort. But now something has gone wrong. The Halls are getting darker and the the living statues are slowly dying. While Nancy never thought she'd return to Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, she realizes that the children there might be the only ones who can help her identify the problem in the Halls and to set things right - even if it means that Nancy herself may not ever make the journey again. Could the new girl, Talia, who seems consumed by moths, hold the secret? Or is she the cause?  The beauty of these Wayward Children books is in McGuire's language. The books are dark, especially dark for YA books, but the children - wayward or not - are all strong and make their own decisions and Seanan McGuire's writing is hypnotic and poetic. As with all her series, McGuire create...