The Boxing Baroness

     

The Boxing Baroness
By  Minerva Spencer

ISBN: 9781496738097
384 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audio CD, Audible Audiobook, and on Kindle
Trigger Warning: Semi-Graphic Death, One brief attempted Suicide mention

Synopsis:

Of questionable birth, but made for greatness, the Regency-era heroines in Minerva Spencer’s thrilling new historical romance series possess both clever minds and unusual skills that enable them to go head-to-head—and heart to heart—with the best of men, including those of the ton . . .

Magnetic and educated, Marianne Simpson has the manner of a lady and the looks of a lover, not a fighter. Neither of which explains her occupation as a boxer in her uncle’s circus, Farnham’s Fantastical Female Fayre. Nonetheless, when St. John Powell, the exquisitely handsome Duke of Staunton, begins turning up at her shows, she finds herself dangerously distracted by the powerful peer’s mysterious presence. With her safety at stake, Marianne’s days in the ring are numbered. But how long can she fight her attraction to the man the ton calls Lord Flawless?

St. John Powell doesn’t just want Marianne Simpson, he needs her … to rescue his brother, who is being held for ransom by a treasonous English baron—the man all of Britain knows as the Rake of Rakes. No matter how little Marianne wants to see her duplicitous ex-lover, the man responsible for the humiliating nickname the Boxing Baroness, St. John must convince her. Even if it means climbing into the ring with the beautiful boxer and taking everything she’s got . . .

My Thoughts:

The Boxing Baroness is mainly the story about a young woman, Marianne Simpson, who lost her mother at a young age and was raised by her uncle at his circus. As she neared adulthood, she was trained as a boxer and became one of the circus' acts. She is known by the moniker the "Boxing Baroness" due to an ugly incident in the past that severely tarnished her reputation, where she had been tricked into marrying her lover Baron Strickland, believing the marriage to be legitimate until it was discovered that he had already secretly married another a year before her nuptials. She returned to the circus and went on with her life. Then one day after her fight, she was introduced to the Duke of Staunton, who had recently been coming to see her act. The duke sought her out because he had received a letter from Baron Strickland, who had been reported deceased in a fire a year prior. The letter offered information on his own missing brother, who had been assumed killed during a military operation. The apparently undead (but not in the supernatural way) baron demanded that Staunton bring Marianne to him in France if the duke wanted to save his brother. After much coercion and a bit of manipulation, Staunton convinces Marianne to accompany him to France to meet with the baron.

What follows is a story of romance, mystery, and suspense - with several parts well etched into history. Shortly after the protagonists arrive on the continent, Napoleon escapes his exile from Elba and marches on Paris. So mixed in with the unfolding series of storylines about the resurrected baron, Marianne's complex background, and her growing relationship with the Duke of Staunton, is a peek at what life was like for the French during that chaotic 100 days of war. This was very interesting to me, as a former study of both French and History. I don't often see historical fiction books set in this time period, and never have I read one that delved so much into Napoleon's legacy and his relationships.

The Boxing Baroness has plenty of twists and turns and isn't too predictable to be engaging, unlike many "mystery" books that I read. Yes, I was able to figure out some of the big reveals long before they happened, but other parts did surprise me a bit. Within the narration the author's scenic descriptions paint a detailed picture of several different settings, such as the circus, a dreary castle, and many different views of the French country. At its core, this book is a romance novel, and there are many "steamy" bits that are definitely NSFW,  but there is so much else going on in the pages that it doesn't feel cliché.

Marianne and Staunton are both well crafted characters, with interesting backgrounds and moments of growth. In addition to the lead roles, The Boxing Baroness features a colorful selection of side characters that are equally appealing. The friends present on their trek to the continent are funny and likable. I particularly liked Cecile, who it turns out is the protagonist in The Dueling Duchess, the second book in this series - so brb while I add that to my reading list. Even the "villain-type" characters are depicted well, in such a way to have reasonable motivations yet still be appropriately bad. According to the author, some of the characters are based on actual historical figures - though other than for Napoleon and the other members of the royalty mentioned, I would call the connections tenuous at best. For example, there was a woman known as the "Boxing Baroness" around this time period, however her actual name was different, she had no known connection to anything having to do with either boxing or a barony (though she was mistress of an Earl for a bit), and her story ended quite differently.

I opted to read The Boxing Baroness in both a physical (e-book) and audiobook formats. Which meant reading the e-book quietly at night, listening to the audio while driving in the car, and at some points following along in the book WHILE listening to the audio. I have read a lot more books via audio recently and I have to say this - the audio narration done by Clare Staniforth is superb. Her voice is clear, the accents used are well placed, and the pacing is perfect. For many audiobooks, I have to speed up the timing a little to make them easier to listen to, but that was not needed with this one.

In conclusion, if you like reading steamy romance with a good mystery included, I would absolutely recommend The Boxing Baroness. If I'm being honest, I can't remember what put this book on my radar. I think it might have been one of the suggestions on the NYPL summer reading list, or a "related title" suggestion on another book I read. But, whatever it was, I am glad that it was suggested to me, because this was a very enjoyable read.

Parent's Guide:

This is not a book for kids. There is quite a bit of violence and sexual content.

The Anatomy of Ghosts

    

The Anatomy of Ghosts
By  Andrew Taylor

ISBN: 9781401302870
412 Pages
Available in Paperback, Hardcover, Audible Audiobook, and on Kindle
Trigger Warning: Violence, Death, Suicide, SA/R, Ethnic Slurs

Synopsis:

1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge

The ghost of Sylvia Whichcote is rumored to be haunting Jerusalem ever since student Frank Oldershaw claimed to have seen the dead woman prowling the grounds and was locked up because of his violent reaction to these disturbed visions.

Desperate to salvage her son's reputation, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts -- a stinging account of why ghosts are mere delusion--to investigate. But his arrival in Cambridge disrupts an uneasy status quo as he glimpses a world of privilege and abuse, where the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs life at Jerusalem more effectively than the Master, Dr. Carbury, ever could.

And when Holdsworth finds himself haunted--not only by the ghost of his dead wife, Maria, but also by Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife--his fate is sealed. He must find Sylvia's murderer, or else the hauntings will continue. And not one of this troubled group will leave the claustrophobic confines of Jerusalem unchanged.

My Thoughts:

Anatomy of Ghosts, the book that took twelve years to read. No, seriously. This book was the first ARC that I ever won from the LibraryThing early reviewers platform when I started reviewing books in 2010. I won a physical ARC and I was so excited to read it. It came in the mail right before we left on a trip to go visit my parents for the holidays, so I brought it with me to give me something to do on the 3 and a half hour drive. Sometime during the next few days, the book disappeared. I was pretty sure that I left it in my mom's car, but she insisted that she couldn't find it. Mind you, this was before the book was even published, so I could not easily get another copy. So I shelved the review, sure that the book would resurface eventually. Time went on, my youngest ended up being way more hands on than expected, my mental health took a nosedive, I dealt with nightmare house situations, I lost my home to a hurricane flood, the covid pandemic hit - you know, life happened. The book was forgotten. Then in early 2022, I was visiting my sister and I spotted the ARC on her bookshelf. My mom found it at some point and sent it home with her assuming it was one of her books (which it obviously wasn't, but nobody in my family will turn away a free book...). I have no idea how long she had it. But I finally was able to reclaim it. At which point I attempted to read it, but gave up very fast. I was not in the same headspace that I was when I first received it, and the content was really dark. I feared that this book would become my second official DNF. But after some reflection, I refused to let that happen. So back in September, on a whim, I checked out the audiobook from my library, and FINALLY completed the read.

Now, as for the content of the book itself - the premise was interesting, but I struggled getting into it each time I attempted the read. The writing is good, but the pace starts out very slow.

The driving plot of The Anatomy of Ghosts is an attempt at personal redemption for the main character, John Holdsworth, who experiences financial struggles and then loses his wife. He is hired by Lady Anne Oldershaw, who learned of him from knowledge of his book "The Anatomy of Ghosts", to attend to her son Frank. Frank has seemingly lost his wits after seeing what he claims is the ghost of a friend's wife. Lady Anne hires Holdsworth to both counsel her son and convince him that ghosts aren't real, and also to organize her late husband's library. With nothing else going on, and no other place to go, Holdsworth accepts her offer and travels off to the fictional setting of Jerusalem College in Cambridge, to investigate the ghost matter.

What follows is a story of conspiracy, intrigue, upper class secret societies, and murder. The narration is done in such a way to create lots of suspense, and there are plenty of twists and turns - which I appreciated because I'm disappointed when books are predictable. At points, Holdsworth finds himself questioning his own reality and wondering if the ghosts are, in fact, really there. The gothic imagery used to describe the college helps to support the overall feel of the story, reinforcing the dark vibes. This works well because the events occurring within the story are also very dark, and in some instances psychologically disturbing. This book has descriptive depictions of murder, sexual assault, and other questionable content; and is not for the faint of heart. 

Despite the mystery, and the abundance of lore, the book still fell flat. None of the characters were really likable, and honestly, in this day and age with how the world is going around us, hearing more tales of rich white men abusing their power with no repercussions is just mentally exhausting.

Overall, The Anatomy of Ghosts was an interesting read, but it takes time to get into and because of the slower pace you may have to really like the genre or have a connection to the setting to maintain interest. It wasn't so bad that I wanted to abandon the read, but some days I just wasn't eager to pick it up and continue.

Parent's Guide:

This is not a book for kids. Much older teens, maybe. The content is dark and at times quite disturbing.

September Reading Goals

I'm behind on my reading goal, so I have an ambitious list for the month as I try to catch up. This month's reading list includes mostly books picked up from a trip to the local library, plus a few catch up review requests.  My priority is to finish Enchanted Ever After. Finishing the Enchanted, Inc. series has been a task because the last book was impossible to find! I finally found a copy, thanks to my new library's Hoopla account, but when I got 80% finished reading it, the checkout expired and I had exceeded my allowance for the month. So I have been waiting 2 weeks to finish the last few pages. So frustrating! Once I finish that, there are a few more old reads to finish that I hope to finally complete, and then several new library finds.

This is what my September reading list looks like:

Enchanted Ever After by Shanna Swendson (FINALLY)
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Vic Boyo Doofus Detective: Double Murders are Twice as Bad by Milo James Fowler
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
Never Less Than a Lady by Mary Jo Putney
A Storybook Hero by Shanna Swendson
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
The Curse of Cain by Theophilus Monroe

And if I get to it, this further volume from another series that I have started:

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite

There are still reviews incoming for my August reads as well. Still; getting situated in the new house and trying to get everything for my business established in a new state (plus prepping for a festival at the end of the month) means that I have quite a backlog to post. I will get them all posted as soon as I can. I had ambitiously set up a goal of 2-3 posts a week before the move, and once things get balanced out, I hope to get back to that. Which means that there are a lot of posts coming! Please be patient and check back.

And, as always, I am open to and love discussion, so I invite you to grab a book and read along!

July/August Reading Selections

This month's reading list is 2 months in one, because I am posting late in the month. The books included are the result of my finally getting a card at the local library and going wild with it. I now have access to Libby AND Hoopla! And Hoopla had Enchanted Ever After, a book that I had been struggling to get my hands on, so it's on the top of the list. After that there is a slew of other books I grabbed when I went to explore. A lot of them are graphic novels. No reason in particular - I just love graphic novels and they had a really good selection. ^.^

This is what my August reading list looks like:

Enchanted Ever After by Shanna Swendson
The Complete ElfQuest Volume 1 by Windy Pini
Star Trek: The Manga Volume 1: Shinsei/Shinsei by Chris Dows
Heartstopper Vol 1-4 by Alice Oseman
Check, Please! Book 1 & 2 by Ngozi Ukazu
Bloom by Kevin Panetta
Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney
Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle
Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
The Bride was a Boy by Chii
Zodiac Starforce: By the Power of Astra by Kevin Panetta
Spinning by Tillie Walden

I actually got my library card at the very end of June, so there were two late June reads that will covered as well - both short stories in the Enchanted, Inc. series that I didn't even know existed until I found them whilst searching for EEA.

June Reads:
Paint the Town Red and Criminal Enchantment by Shanna Swendson

Scared Shiftless

   

Scared Shiftless
By  Theophilus Monroe

ISBN : 9798749348521
363 Pages
Available in Paperback, on Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

A stiletto heel through a vampire’s heart…

Who ever said you had to sacrifice fabulous for functional?

Eventually I’d find her, the one who stole my abilities.

Now I was stuck like this…

As a water elemental, everything about me before was fluid…

My shape, my gender…

Hell, I didn’t even have a gender before…

Whatever form was most appealing to my human prey… that’s the shape I’d take.

Luring my prey to my watery lair through sex appeal and alluring song…

I didn’t even know that vampires were real…

How was I supposed to know that I’d chosen a vampire as an entree?

When I was bit that damned bloodsucker stole my shape-shifting ability…

I was scared shiftless.

I'm out for more than vengeance. I want my life back. But even if I catch her, even if I kill the vampire who ruined my life… can I even take my abilities back? Or, am I destined to stay like this…forever.

My Thoughts:

Scared Shiftless is the tale of Nyx, aka Nicky, I was surprised to see it spelled that way in the publisher's literature - in my head she was a fabulous Nikki <3 a vampire hunter with a unique background - she is a water elemental. Nicky was bitten by a vampire who stole her ability to shapeshift, an elemental necessity, which has kept her from being able to return to her watery home and has trapped her into a seemingly human existence - in a seemingly human male body.  

A pivotal element of Nicky's character is that she identifies as a trans woman. In reality, previous to her humanlike existence, Nicky did not have a concept of gender at all. However, after being trapped in a gendered human body, she had to start living like a human - eating human food and wearing clothing - and discovered that the clothing that spoke to her heart was that which was traditionally designated for human females. This causes difficulties and judgements against her that she does not understand until she is befriended by Donnie, a trans woman who at first assumes that Nicky is like her. She explains to Nicky what it is to be trans and the two become roommates and look out for one another.

The writer appears to have a good grasp of the struggles and realities that occur within the trans community and this book goes a long way in explaining those struggles to outsiders. If I had one complaint about this book, it is that occasionally these explanations become like lectures, going off on wild tangents and diverting too far from the core story for too long. The most notable case of this is in chapter two. But eventually the story gets reigned back in and on its path, and the reader has a better understanding of the character for it. 

The world presented in Scared Shiftless is a recognizable one, the American Midwest, but is also presented to the reader as a new place, full of magic and creatures of the night. There are very real locations, that most everybody has heard of, as well as whimsical imaginary ones. This pseudo-real world is wonderfully developed and the history of the vampires and other mystical beings is explored in length, leaving the reader with a solid grasp of who everyone is and what they can do. 

The story has plenty of familiar vampire concepts, with some new ones thrown in for good measure. A lot of the "vampire rules" reminded me of the world from the shows The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. It you like those, you will definitely enjoy this book. Best of all, the book was not predictable. I mean sure, there may have been a thing or two along the way, and I kinda guessed the endgame outcome with Wolfgang, and even had an inkling as to the outcome with Alice. But that surprise twist at the end where  Devin turned out to be a warlock and had been working for Alice all along really caught me off guard.

The audiobook is narrated by Kasey Logan. The narrator has an emotive, lively voice, and is capable of keeping the listener interested. Her character voices are top notch and she has energy to give both Donnie and Nicky just the right amount of fabulous sass.

Scared Shiftless is the first audiobook in a while that I can truly say I thoroughly enjoyed listening to from beginning to end. I was engaged throughout the whole thing and did not have to rewind and replay bits because I got bored and tuned out. Rather, I was eager to hear more, and I cannot wait for the following volumes.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of Scared Shiftless from StoryOrigin in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions stated are mine. The book is currently available available on Amazon at the links I have shared above.

Parent's Guide:

Scared Shiftless is your standard sci-fi fantasy fare - a bit of violence and a minor touch of swearing. It also touches quite a bit on personal development and discovering one's true self. and  For younger readers, it may be a bit heavy. But for the older teens, this is an excellent fantasy read, especially if they like vampires.

Persephone Plus

Persephone Plus
By  Stevie Rae Causey

ISBN: 9798742133803
67 Pages
Available in Paperback, on Audible, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

After a year of banishment in the modern world Persephone must convince Olympus that love comes in many forms.

Persephone and Aphrodite must settle an old rivalry regarding their shared lover, or forfeit them to the mortal realm forever in this LGBTQ+ romantic fantasy short story. As their time runs out and the Goddess of Love shows no sign of wavering, it is up to Persephone to find a way to save the mortal she loves, without hurting the immortal she married.

If you like old myths with modern twists and complicated romance, you'll love Persephone Plus.

My Thoughts:

Persephone Plus is a short story adaptation of the tale of the relationship dispute between Persephone, Adonis, and Aphrodite that is told in a modern high school setting. I listened to the audiobook version, which was just under 37 minutes long. It's definitely a quickie read, but I think it could have benefitted with a little more time to flesh out the story more.

The story is full of imagery and emotion, but lacking in exposition in some key areas. For starters, it felt like you jumped in mid-narrative. The way the characters are talking, you feel like you should know what is going on, but you don't. There is backstory about the characters being banished from Olympus that is never properly covered or elaborated on. As you listen, you start to figure out some of the intricacies of the existing relationships, but other parts remain unclear if you do not know the mythological history behind the characters.

Persephone Plus is marketed as a LGBTQ+ romantic fantasy, but I find that label to be slightly misleading. The main theme of the story is that of polyamorous relationships, which typically do not by default fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. The only LGBTQ+ aspect occurs in the form where, for whatever reason, the writer chose to have Adonis identify as they/them. Historically, there is no case for this. In fact, Adonis was very much male - so much that "adonis" has long been used as a term for extremely handsome men. It feels more like an attempt to emphasize the "wokeness" of the writer and shoehorn the book into a LGBTQ+ classification. If it was an original story with original characters, it would be less questionable, but to take well established characters and change something so drastic just makes little sense. 

If you are a mythology lover like me and are familiar with the lore behind the Adonis & Persephone story and maybe I am more critical because of this, then you will notice several other changes. Persephone Plus is clearly written to make Persephone out to be the champion, solver of problems, and a caring person, while painting Aphrodite as your typical vapid "mean girl". Whereas, in the mythos, Persephone was the one who stole Adonis. Aligning with this noticeable change in narrative is the fact that when the contract is settled Adonis chooses to split his year equally between Persephone and Aphrodite, whereas in the original story he chose Aphrodite and spent his remaining 4 months that were previously unallocated with her. 

It also seems like the story is written to lift up the concept of polyamorous relationships, when in truth it is a really bad example of polyamorous relationships because Persephone's decision is forced on Hades rather than being made with his consent. It also appears that Adonis has been trapped into making a decision and Aphrodite is being coerced to agree to something they clearly do not want. The reality is that Persephone Plus is trying to romanticize a toxic situation, but is not really succeeding. Overall, the substance is lacking, but the storytelling is creative. It makes for a okay short read if you want a fluff tale to waste some time. 

In regards to the narration: The audiobook is narrated by Brenda Scott Wlazlo. The narrator has a nice clear voice and she was capable at distinguishing between the characters and portraying believable emotion in the characters. The reading pace was decent and the storytelling was engaging enough to keep you interested in listening.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of Persephone Plus from StoryOrigin in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions stated are mine. The book is currently available available on Amazon.

Parent's Guide:

Persephone Plus is a tame tale and set in a relatable high school setting. There isn't a lot of exposition, so if the reader isn't familiar with Greek mythology they may get confused, but overall there isn't anything that is really inappropriate for pre-teen or teen readers. If your child likes mythology, they will probably enjoy this fresh and relatable perspective on an old tale.

Deep Space

  

Deep Space
By  Milo James Fowler

ASIN : B01N18E63I
83 Pages
Available on Audible and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Deep Space collects 7 short stories from the outer rim:

Live by the Ten, Die by the Gun
From Gaia to Proxima Centauri
Resurrection of the Hornet
Autonomic Zen and the Art of Destruction
From Scheol My Soulfire Burns
Dance by the Light of the Moon
Tomorrow’s Dawn

My Thoughts:

Deep Space is a collection of science fiction short stories that take place in space (obviously), exploring life on futuristic colonies and spacecrafts of all sorts. The seven stories range in length, with the first entry being the longest one, clocking in at just under an hour. Two other stories come close to thirty minutes each, and the remaining four are super short ~5 minute pieces. The entire book is only about two and a half hours long, so it is a good quick listen.

The stories in Deep Space are much more serious than those found in the Bartholomew Quasar title from Milo James Fowler, which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. Those stories centered around more lighthearted events and the humorous actions of the crew, whereas the stories in Deep Space are more technical and the outcomes somewhat more severe. If you are a fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, or Defiance, then this is your kind of book.

As previously mentioned, the first selection in the book, Live by the Ten, Die by the Gun, is the feature of the collection. This hour long tale has a touch of space western and focuses on life on a post-apocalyptical style earth colony space station. Every colony has rule keepers, in the form of a judge and a sheriff, and a spiritual guardian in the form of a priest. This story has strong religious undertones -  their societal rules are formed by an adherence to "the ten", presumably a reference to the Christian concept of the ten commandments. The priest character had an air of mystery to him and possessed the potential to be very interesting and I would have loved to see his back story explored more, as well as the working/personal relationship between the Sherriff and the Judge. That is merely the failing of the short story format - sometimes there is more story to be told. This entry was my favorite in the set and I would happily read a more extended story in this universe.

The remaining stories were equally engaging. The second story, From Gaia to Proxima Centauri, is another long-ish one, clocking in at just over 26 minutes. Another tale of post-societal Earth, this story follows a robot whose sole mission is to direct a ship containing all the knowledge and history of Earth to a designated destination in space, and what happens along the way. The sixth entry (and the final lengthy one, at 34+ minutes), Dance by the Light of the Moon, caught me off guard with an elaborate tale of universe hopping and an ending that I did not expect at all.

In regards to the narration:  The audiobook is narrated by Don Wang. He has a good clear voice, but the reading occasionally seemed detached to me - at points flat and devoid of emotion, almost robotic. At other points it was perfectly fine, and even engaging, but to me it just lacked something sometimes. His reading pace was also a little slow, which added to the monotony. About half way into the first story I sped up the pace to 1.15 and it helped.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of Deep Space from the author, Milo James Fowler, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions stated are mine. The book is currently available available on Amazon.

Parent's Guide:

Deep Space doesn't have any bad language or adult themes. For younger readers, the primary shortcomings would be a lot of technical words and a touch of violence. Despite that, this book should be an acceptable read for advanced literacy teens who like things about space adventuring.

Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures

 

Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures (Captain's Log Book 2)
By  Milo James Fowler

ISBN: 9781541361386
167 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Meet Captain Quasar, a cross between James T. Kirk and Dudley Do-Right - except in Quasar's case, things seldom ever go right....

Join Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude in this hilarious collection of short stories as they confront bands of nefarious space pirates, cantankerous bandits, exotic aliens, devious powers of persuasion, mysterious ghosts from the past, deep space identity crises, a runaway hyper-speed train, an insidious computer virus, and a villain with the fastest thumbs in the quadrant.

My Thoughts:

I'm just going to come out and say it - Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures  is a riot. When I started listening to this I did not know what to expect. Is it supposed to be comedy? I hope so. Because I found it hilarious. It's a little bit Star Trek and a little bit Star Wars, with some cheesy western thrown in for good measure. Are space westerns a thing? If not, they should be. Yeah, I know Firefly exists. But it's not quite a true space western.

When the book started playing (because I was listening to the audiobook), right away I noted that the writer has a thing for extremely long names. The captain is Bartholomew Quasar and his ship is the Effervescent Magnitude. Many of the planets have really long names too. It made me wonder if he was aiming for a target character count. I was worried that the book would become too wordy. But those concerns were alleviated really fast when the humor kicked in. The book is a collection of short stories, some of which are actually only a few lines long. And in the end, the name of the ship is quite fitting, and the story behind the captain's name is ridiculous, but not in a bad way. 

The synopsis for Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures describes Captain Quasar's character as a cross between James T. Kirk and Dudley Do-Right. While listening to these stories I definitely got the James Kirk vibe. But there was someone else, more prevalent, and I just could not place it. That is, until the first time I heard the description of his uniform jacket, and that's when it clicked in my mind. Quasar is about 40% Kirk and 60% Zap Brannigan. You know, from Futurama? He's got that obliviously arrogant womanizer persona nailed. Despite that, he is an extremely likable character.

The other characters are equally entertaining and likeable. Like Quasar, the first officer is another human - an Asian woman named Commander Won - who he likes to affectionately call "Number Won", much to her chagrin. She is the straight counterpoint to Quasar's insanity and it works so well. The third significant human crewman is Bill, the janitor turned bumbling Chief Engineer. While technically more of a background character, for some reason I thought he was hilarious. Maybe because my hubby is a comp tech named Bill... The final crewman of note is his helmsman, a large multiple armed sloth-like alien that is very much a throwback to the Wookie right hand man of Han Solo. 

The stories in Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures take place in a sector of space millions of miles from Earth and involve exploring, negotiating with sometimes hostile alien races, a touch of flirting, and a lot of goofy antics. Some stories may fall a bit flat, but most of them will make you laugh. If you are a fan of Firefly, Galaxy Quest, or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then this book is right up your alley.

I do want to take a moment to address the narration - because as I said, I was listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by  E. M. Carberry, and his storytelling makes the book as much as the writing does. He has a unique voice that draws you in and makes you want to listen, which is key in audiobook narration. Oddly, at times it was a little reminiscent of George Takei. Maybe it was intentional because he was trying to give Won an accent, or maybe he didn't even realize it. I just noticed it because my brain was already in a Trek mindset. It just came out at the weirdest times and caught me off guard.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures from the author, Milo James Fowler, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions stated are mine. The book is currently available available on Amazon.

Parent's Guide:

Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures may have some minor adult themes, but really, most of it is written in a way that the worst stuff would go over the head of someone innocent - much like writing in modern sitcoms and family shows. I feel that this could be a safe and fun read for teens who like things about space adventuring.

September Reading List

Did I up my reading goal again? You bet I did! This month's reading list includes a few books picked up from a trip to the local library, but mostly review requests and NetGalley selections. 

This is about half of my goal for the month. Which means
I will be done with them in a week at the rate I have been going.

This is what my September reading list looks like:

Would You Like to be a Family? by Koyama

A Secret Scottish Escape by Julie Shackman

Kiss and Spell by Shanna Swendson

Séances are for Suckers by Tamara Berry

My Dad is a Russian Spy by Candy Berg

Devil on Her Shoulder (V1) by  Cédric Mayen

Deep Space by Milo James Fowler

There are still reviews incoming for some of my August reads as well. I have quite a backlog to post, but will get them all up as soon as possible. Ideally, I am aiming for 2 posts a week, but being careful to not get burned out again. But there are a lot of posts coming! So remember to check back.

And, as always, I am open to and love discussion, so I invite you to grab a book and read along!

There and Back Again

OMG, I finally finished The Hobbit! After I started reading it in 2012, I set it aside to not spoil the next movie, then I lost the book. A while later I found the audiobook for sale at the Friends of the Library shop so I decided to listen to the audiobook instead. It made for good road trip fodder on the long drives between Houston and Waco that I did every month. I got through six tapes that way, only to discover that the seventh tape was damaged and unplayable. I pretty much gave up trying to finish the book at this point. But then a couple of weeks ago I found a matching copy of the audiobook and decided to try again. It had been so long since I listened last (in 2018) so I started from the beginning, and 12.5 hours later I finally know how the story ends! 

 

For a great spot o f irony, my son just got his school supplies from K12 and this year they are reading The Hobbit in English class! So yay? Not only am I in a better position to answer questions for him, but he has access to the audiobook to listen along if he needs to. The universe is funny sometimes.