Gilded Lily

Today's post is on Gilded Lily by Delphone Dryden. It is the third in her Steam and Seduction series. It is 296 pages long and is published by Berkley Sensation. The cover has the two main characters looking very steampunky. The intended reader is someone who likes steampunk, romance, and fun time. There is mild foul language, sex, and mild violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- HIDDEN IDENTITIES, SCANDALOUS SECRETS…
DEADLY ATTRACTION.
Frederique Murcheson’s introduction into society hasn’t gone smoothly—some would even call it a disaster. Only Freddie considers her debut a success. Her scheme to become a makesmith has gone off flawlessly. The only thing that could upset her plans now would be if someone discovered that brilliant tinker Fred Merchant is, in fact, a lady in disguise.
Wooing a spoiled heiress is not exactly Barnabas Smith-Grenville’s idea of high espionage. However, considering his brother disappeared on the job, supposedly into the most iniquitous of opium dens, he cannot expect much better. At least the assignment will afford him time to search for his brother, whom he suspects is in spy-related trouble rather than a drug-addled haze.
But when Freddie proves to be both irresistible and the key to the answers he seeks, Barnabas finds himself not only entwined in a scandalous mystery involving lethal submersibles and deranged dirigibles, but also in a dangerous game of the heart…

Review- As the last in the Steam and Seduction series, this was a nice send off. The missing brother was found and innocent, Barnabas get someone to love, and Freddie gets to live her own life. That said the villain was not great and I wanted Freddie's father to have to really deal with that he has done. I found the love story between Freddie and Barnabas to be very believable. They both want someone to share their lives with and they found that in each other. the steampunk stuff was more in the background for this final novel than in the previous two but I am okay with that. I think that this story was more about stopping the technology from being used badly than the other novels so that made it take more of a background. A nice, solid ending.

I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

God and Starbucks: An NBA Star Loses Everything, Starts Over, and Achieves Success

Today's post is on God and Starbucks: An NBA Star Loses Everything, Starts Over, and Achieves Success by Vin Baker. It is 256 pages long and is published by Amistad. The cover is a close-up of the author when he was still a basketball player. The intended reader is someone who is interested in memoirs. There is mild foul language, talk of sex and no violence in the memoir. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- An astonishing memoir of redemption—the moving story of a former top NBA player who miraculously rebounded from a monumental fall thanks to hard work and his deep, transformative faith.
Sixteen years ago, Vin Baker was an NBA All-Star, an Olympic Gold medalist, and a multimillionaire. While he excelled on the court, Vin harbored a dark secret: a dependency on drugs and alcohol that began after the clean-cut preacher’s son turned pro. Eventually becoming a full-blown yet functional alcoholic, Vin convinced himself he played better under the influence—until his addiction cost him his basketball career, his fortune, and his health.
But Vin’s story isn’t a tragic fall from grace. It is a joyous tale of salvation. For Vin, hitting rock bottom was a difficult yet transformative experience that led him to renew his relationship with God and embrace life in a rich and fulfilling new way. Today the manager of a Starbucks and a youth minister, Vin has found more security and happiness in his ordinary working life than in all his years in the glamorous world of professional basketball.
God and Starbucks is a wise and unflinching look at the real dangers of addiction and the importance of taking charge of your life with meaning and purpose. It’s a powerful memoir about reaching the top and beginning again from the bottom—an inspiring personal tale of humility and grace that reminds us what is truly important in our lives. 

Review- A decent memoir about a man who is trying to get his life back. Baker gives an overview of his life and the choices that he made that led him down the road of addiction. We travel with Baker from his childhood to where he is now and it is a hopeful story. Baker believes that he can still have a good life in spite of the poor choices he made in the pursuit of alcohol. I hope that he can keep going the way he has been for the past few years. While Baker does not spare himself, he does lift up the people in his life that tried to get through to him. As the title implies religion is a very big part of the narrative but it is not front and center. It is a background voice that is always calling to him. A hopeful memoir and a quick read.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I was given this book by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

Otomen volume 12

Today's post is on Otomen volume 12 by Aya Kanno. It is the twelfth in her Otomen series. It is 200 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the eleventh volume in this series, you need to have read the first eleven volumes to understand the story. The cover is green turning yellow at the base with Kitora and his flowers on it. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo manga, humor, and love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character with moments of the other characters added in for plot development. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Secretly taking a baking class for men, Asuka is relieved that there’s a safe haven where he doesn’t need to hide his girly side from his anti-otomen mother. But when she finds out that he’s been attending this class, things get set to explode!

Review-  We finish the hidden baking class for men in this volume and move into the meat which is Asuka's father is the baker. He has been watching over Asuka over the course of the whole series and but a villain has appeared and forced him out. Of course the villain is not really a bad guy and it all works out but we are left with why isn't Asuka's father living as a woman? The volume ends with a love poet at the school who is trying to not get caught by the school policies. I hope that we get back to Asuka's father and why he is not living the way that he wanted, especially since he left his family over it.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Afterward

Today's post is on Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu. It is a stand alone novel. It is 308 pages long and is published by Roaring Brook Press. The cover is grey with a bicycle and a red balloon on it. The intended reader is young adults, someone interesting in could be all too real stories, and life after trauma stories. There is mild foul language, implied sex, and no violence in this book. The story is told from the first person perspectives of Caroline and Ethan. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- When eleven-year-old Dylan Anderson is kidnapped from Dove Lake, Texas, the search for him and his remarkable rescue make national headlines. Because when authorities find Dylan, they also find fifteen-year-old Ethan Jorgenson, who had gone for a bike ride four years earlier and had never been seen again.
Dylan's older sister, Caroline, can't help but wonder what happened to her brother, who isn't adjusting well to life back home. Since Dylan has nonverbal autism, he can't tell her, so there's only one person who knows the truth: Ethan. But Ethan isn't' sure how he can help Caroline when her is fighting traumatic memories of his own. Both Caroline and Ethan need a friend, however, and their best option just might be each other.

Review- A tough but interesting read about surviving trauma. The different perspectives adds so much to the overall story. We are with Caroline and Ethan for a year afterward and go with them through some very hard things. From Ethan learning to be free again to Caroline's family falling apart in the aftermath of everything. Seeing things from Ethan's perspective then moving to Caroline as she thinking about the same things and how they affect her life helps make this story more relatable. My one problem is we never discover what, if anything, happened to Dylan. Even what happens to Ethan is only hinted at and maybe that is the best way to handle him but there is no closure about Dylan. But that is the only complaint that I have with the book. I think that Mathieu told a hard story very well and with great tact.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and The Birth of America

Today's post is on The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and The Birth of America by Steven Johnson. It is 254 pages long and is published by Riverhead Books. The cover is red with cut outs that have different pictures in them. The intended reader is someone who is interested in natural history, scientific history, and history itself. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The Invention of Air is a story of sweeping historical transformation, of genius and friendship, violence and world-changing ideas, that boldly recasts our understanding of the most significant events in our history.
It centers on the story of Joseph Priestley—scientist and minister, protégé of Benjamin Franklin, friend of Thomas Jefferson—an eighteenth-century radical thinker who played key roles in the invention of ecosystem science, the discovery of oxygen, the founding of the Unitarian church, and the intellectual development of the United States. Priestley represented a unique synthesis: by the 1780s, he had established himself as one of the world's most celebrated scientists, most prominent religious figures, and most outspoken political thinkers. Yet he would also have become one of the most hated men in all of his native England. When an angry mob burned down his house in Birmingham, Priestley and his family set sail for Pennsylvania.
In the nascent United States, Priestley hoped to find the freedom to bridge the disciplines that had governed his life, to find a quiet lab and a receptive pulpit. Once he arrived, as a result of his close relationships with the Founding Fathers—Jefferson credited Priestley as the man who prevented him from abandoning Christianity—Priestley found himself at the center of what would go down as one of the seminal debates in American history. And as Johnson brilliant charts, Priestley exerted profound if little-known influence on the shape and course of this great experiment in nation-building.

Review- Another interesting Johnson book about stuff I knew nothing about. Johnson follows Priestly from his childhood into the last minutes of his life and we get to see some very interesting things with him. Priestly gave so much to modern science that I had no idea about but even as I read it I was horrified by some of the experiments that he did but the only reason we can be horrified by the experiments if because he did them and discovered what exactly he was doing. Add in some of the most famous people of his time and you have a who's who is the 1700's. Johnson helps the modern reader to understand the hows and the whys of Priestley's time and how important it was that he be born at that time and in that place because if he was just a little off in either he would not have been the scientist he was. Very enjoyable and an excellent read. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Otomen volume 11

Today's post is on Otomen volume 11 by Aya Kanno. It is the eleventh in her Otomen series. It is 200 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the tenth volume in this series, you need to have read the first nine volumes to understand the story. The cover is pink with Hajime Tonomine looking at the reader as he does a girl's makeup. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo manga, humor, and love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and no violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character with moments of the other characters added in for plot development. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Asuka engages in a battle with Suzaki Oji to see who will get the most Valentine's Day chocolates! As Oji seduces girls left and right into giving him chocolates, Asuka wonders one thing--who will Ryo give her chocolates to?

Review- We finish with teacher obsessed with everyone acting like they are from the Warring States period by him learning the true samurai spirit, which is of course Asuka's otomen ways. Then we get into the Valentine battle. Ryo is the only girl who is immune to Oji's pheromone's. That makes Oji question everything and now he on the hunt for true love only. Because nothing is working Asuka's mother has come back to try and get everyone in line. Asuka is really stressed out in this volume because it is becoming harder and harder for him to have any place that is safe for him to be himself. But him and Ryo are going strong and I'm pulling for Asuka to make it out as himself.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

The Family Plot

 

Today's post is on The Family Plot by Cherie Priest. It is 365 pages long and is published by TOR. The cover is dusk with a see through girl in the center. The intended reader is someone who likes haunted house stories, ghost stories, and southern Gothic at its best. There is foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this book. The story is told from the third person close of the main character Dahlia. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- music City Salvage is a family operation, owned and operated by Chuck Dutton: master stripper of doomed historic properties, and expert seller of all things old and crusty. But business is lean and times are tight, so he's thrilled when the aged and esteemed Augusta Withrow appears in his office, bearing an Offer he really ought to refuse. She has a massive family estate to unload- lock, stock, and barrel. For a check and a handshake, it's all his.
It's a big check. it's a firm handshake. And it's enough of a gold mine that he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project.
Dahlia preps a couple of trucks, takes a small crew, and they caravan down to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the ancient Withrow house is waiting- and so is a barn, a carriage house, and a small, overgrown cemetery that Augusta Withrow left out of the paperwork.
Augusta Withrow left out of lot of things.
The property is in unusually great shape for a condemned building. It's empty but it isn't abandoned. Something in the Withrow mansion is angry and lost. This is its last chance to raise hell before the house is gone forever, and there's still plenty of room in the strange little family plot.

Review- Priest makes the haunted house story new again. We get creepy shadows, flickering lights, and rainstorms that never seem to end. We get a fittingly mysterious end. Priest does it all and makes it all work wonderfully. Dahlia is a smart and sympathetic heroine. She is recovering from a bad divorce, where she lost the house that she loved, and hates to tear down the Withrow home. But the ghosts in the house soon make that must more palatable. Add in some interesting side character, both with and without flesh, Dahlia has quite a ride on her hands. With some well placed scared for both Dahlia and reader, we have an excellent book to read on a stormy night; but read it with the windows closed.

I give this book s Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Otomen volume 10

Today's post is on Otomen volume 10 by Aya Kanno. It is the ninth in her Otomen series. It is 208 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the tenth volume in this series, you need to have read the first nine volumes to understand the story. The cover is grey with Juta looking at the reader with Love Chick in the background. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo manga, humor, and love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and very mild violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character with moments of the other characters added in for plot development. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- A potion at school causes all the guys to act manly and all the girls to act feminine! Suddenly, Asuka loses interest in all the girly hobbies he loves, and Ryo is working at a bakery? can anything break the spell they're under and turn them back to normal?

Review- We finish the story with the female teacher who wants to make Asuka and Ryo break up because Asuka is Asuka and not a jerk who treats his girlfriend badly. She discovers Asuka's otomen nature but because Asuka helped her overcome her self-acceptance issue she is going to keep it a secret. So continuing with make people be gender types plot in this volume we have a mad scientist who wants to be seen as a genius. So he makes a potion and tricks everyone with hypnosis. But because only the person can change themselves of course it does not stay. The last story is everyone cosplaying as feudal Japan. I am really enjoying this story arc because of the emphasis on self-acceptance. More romance and cuteness Ahead!

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Sparrow Hill Road

Today's post is on Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire. It is the first in her Ghost Stories. It is 312 pages long and is published by DAW. The cover is a sunset scene with a girl on a classic car but as you look down you see that the girl is fading out. The intended reader is someone who likes ghost stories and heroines who just won't die. There is mild foul language, mild sex, and violence in this novel. The story is told from the first person close of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross—a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn’t ask Rose what she thought of the idea.
It’s been more than sixty years since that night, and she’s still sixteen, and she’s still running.
They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose,” a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. She’s the angel of the overpass, she’s the darling of the truck stops, and she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her.
You can’t kill what’s already dead.

Review-This is my second favorite thing from McGuire that I have read. World building is one of McGuire's strong points as a writer but she pulls out all the stops for this novel. Rose is on the run from the man who killed her but she also is trying to discover how she can stop him forever. We travel with Rose at different times and doing different things; from saving innocents from the man who killed her to helping new ghosts decide if they want to move on or not. We get some very interesting characters in this world of roads and ghost and magic. I hope that McGiure does more in this world because there is just so much to see and do here!

I give this novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I stole this book from my spouse's TBR pile.

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

Today's post is on The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn. it is 531 pages long including notes. The cover has a close up picture of Jim Jones without his sunglasses on. The intended reader is someone who wants to learn more about Jim Jones and what led up the events that happened at Jonestown. There is foul language, sex, and violence in this book. The story is comprised of interviews, letters, and other first documents. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- By the New York Times bestselling author of Manson, the comprehensive, authoritative, and tragic story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre—the largest murder-suicide in American history.
In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially integrated, and he was a much-lauded leader in the contemporary civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California. He became involved in electoral politics, and soon was a prominent Bay Area leader.
In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing to the fraught decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.
Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is the definitive book about Jim Jones and the events that led to the tragedy at Jonestown. 

Review- I knew very little about Jim Jones and Jonestown before reading this book so I could not understand the true horror of everything that happened and what led up to it. Guinn does his best to cover all aspects of Jim Jones' life and what made him. Guinn gives details about Jones' family life from how his parents met, his birth, and his mother's belief that she was going to have a son who was some kind of god. Guinn follows Jones from his beginnings as a civil rights activist all the way to when he ordered the deaths of his followers. The notes are detailed, the interviews are tragic, but Guinn gives too much gory detail. He does not sugar coat anything but he handles this material with care and respect. If you are curious about details of the Peoples Temple and what happened then this book is a good place to start.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library. 

Otomen volume 9

Today's post is on Otomen volume 9 by Aya Kanno. It is the ninth in her Otomen series. It is 200 pages long and is publishes by Shojo Beat. As this is the ninth volume in this series, you need to have read the first eight volumes to understand the story. The cover a dark blue has Asuka holding a wooden sword and is looking at the reader with flowers blooming in the background. The intended reader is someone who likes shojo manga, humor, and love stories. There is no foul language, no sex, and very mild violence in this manga. The story is told from third person close of the main character with moments of the other characters added in for plot development. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- An anti-otomen campaign takes over the school! Asuka's cousin and campaign enforcer Kasuga Masamune starts hunting down boys who have even an ounce of girly traits in them--and his first target is...?!

Review- This whole volume is about a single story line. We get to see why Asuk'a cousin is going all out against him and all otomen. He misgendered Asuka when they were children and get his heart broken because of it.  Juta is being targeted because his story line notebook is discovered. But with some quick work by his friends and manga mentor, he is saved but just barely. But Ryo has come under the attention of one of the teacher's who only wants to ruin boys and men. She had her heart broken by a selfish boy and now she lives to manipulate the boys she teaches. But Asuka only has eyes for Ryo and makes the teacher angry. She is now planning his downfall. But will true love win over gender expectations or will Asuka fall before the campaign? 

I give this volume at Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money. 

Captain Marvel, Volume 1; Higher, Further, Faster, More

Today's post is on Captain Marvel, Volume 1; Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Writer), and David López (Artist). It is 136 pages long and is published by Marvel. The cover is yellow with Captain Marvel in the center smiling as she looks at the reader. The intended reader is someone who likes comic books, Carol Danvers, and fun reading. There is mild foul language, no sex, and violence in this comic. The story is told from third person close of Captain Marvel. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Hero! Pilot! Avenger! Captain Marvel, Earth's Mightiest Hero with an attitude to match, is back and launching headfirst into an all-new ongoing adventure! As Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers, comes to a crossroads with a new life and new romance, she makes a dramatic decision that will alter the course of her life - and the entire Marvel Universe - in the months to come. But as Carol takes on a mission to return an alien girl to her homeworld, she lands in the middle of an uprising against the Galactic Alliance! Investigating the forced resettlement of Rocket Girl's people, Carol discovers that she has a history with the man behind the plot. But when the bad guy tries to blackmail Carol and turn the Avengers against her, it's payback time! Guest-starring the Guardians of the Galaxy! 

Review-  A great intro into the stand alone adventures of the new Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers wants something more but she just does not know what or how to get it. Tony Stark has an idea about one of the Avengers going into space for months or maybe a year at a time to be a presence and maybe stop somethings from getting too bad too quickly. Carol jumps at the chance to go and we have the first six volumes in this collection. This was a very fun read with lots of action and character development. Carol can stand alone and has needed her series for some time. She shines in this collection and I cannot wait to read what is going to happen next.

I give this comic a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this comic from my local library.