Séances are for Suckers

  

Séances are for Suckers (Eleanor Wilde Mystery #1)
By  Tamara Berry

ISBN: 9781496719621
304 Pages
Available in Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

When something goes bump in the night . . . it’s most likely a plumbing problem. But fake medium Eleanor Wilde is happy to investigate and cleanse your home of spectral presences—for a fee. Hey, it’s a living . . .

Ellie has an ailing sister to care for and working as a ghost hunter who doesn’t believe in ghosts helps cover the bills. When she’s lucky, it also pays for the occasional tropical vacation. On her latest job, though, she may be in for some genuine scares.

The skeptical, reserved, and very rich Nicholas Hartford III has flown her all the way to his family’s ancestral estate in England—supposedly haunted by a phantom named Xavier. Nicholas thinks it’s all just as much a crock as Ellie’s business is, but his mother is sure that Xavier is real, and he’s willing to employ Ellie if she can put a stop to the nonsense. But when an actual dead body appears—and subsequently disappears—at Castle Hartford, she’ll have to apply her talent for trickery and psychological insight to solve a flesh-and-blood murder.

My Thoughts:

The premise behind Séances are for Suckers was really interesting to me. The main character Ellie is a "medium for hire", except she is not really a medium. In fact, she wholly disbelieves in all things supernatural. Instead she solves her clients' problems with logic and practicality, plus a lot of smoke and mirrors. This allows for some good bits of humor. And several jabs at spirit workers. Not in a super hurtful way as much as a sarcastic way, but they are there.

Ellie is very likable and you feel for her situation with her siblings. It's rather sad what she is going through with her sister, and the end - while expected - is heartbreaking. But in a way it's also uplifting. Nicholas is also fairly likeable, despite his dour attitude and his severity. The interactions between the two add a more profound degree of depth and personality to the characters. The relationship between Ellie and Nicholas starts of as one of mutual distrust, but as it develops, it turns into something thoroughly entertaining, and by the end they are quite a pair. I did find the slightly intimate exchanges odd at first, but mostly because it felt like at the beginning of the story they were setting Ellie up to be interested in Thomas.

It seemed to be that Séances are for Suckers started out kind of slow. There were a couple of laughable scenes at the beginning, but still I found it hard to get truly interested until about one third of the way into the book. But by the halfway point, the action had picked up and I was completely drawn in. The first half took me a week to read, where the second half took a few hours. I didn't want to put it down. Like, really - I was almost late for work because my alarm went off right as I was about to start Chapter 24 and chapter 23 ended very much as a cliffhanger so I did not want to stop reading.

I was extremely pleased to find that the story was not super predictable. Typically, I figure out the "solution" to the mystery pretty early on, but Séances are for Suckers had me guessing for quite a while. In the end I was half right about the culprit, but completely off about the motive. I appreciate any book that can stump or surprise me and this one definitely did. And honestly? I was relieved. I would have been really sad if it had turned out that the main villain was who I had initially suspected.

Overall, I quite enjoyed reading this book. Once you get past the lull at the beginning, it is an engaging read and it keeps you guessing up till the end. Once I clear a little more of my reading list, I absolutely plan to get the next book in this series so I can find what is in store for Ellie after everything that happened in Séances are for Suckers.

Parent's Guide:

Séances are for Suckers certainly has some dark parts. There is a LOT of death and macabre things in this book. Mystery and thriller loving older teens may enjoy it, but it is absolutely not for the weak of heart or stomach and has imagery that probably isn't the best for the younger crowd.

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.

Best Laid Plans

Sometimes you make plans and sometimes those plans don't work out how you intend. Take my weekend for example. This weekend I went out and did Antique Alley - a 3 day bazaar / trade show and my first vendor event in like 18 months. It didn't go as well as I would have hoped. But more notably, it really threw a wrench in my posting schedule.

I typically pre-set my posts. I will make a "shell" post, with graphics and book details and then go in and add the meaty bits (typically labelled as the "My Thoughts" segments) after I am done reading the book, but before the post goes live. But this past weekend that didn't happen, and I had two posts go up missing a significant part of the post. One post was only an image.

Oops.

When I got to the market location on Thursday night, I discovered that I had no internet signal where I was, so I was unable to upload the information I had for Friday's review of The Lawrence Browne Affair. Later, when I got somewhere with wi-fi and dug out my laptop to do so, a surge from the power strip I plugged it into fried something. So I am now down a laptop. One that also had my Monday review of Once Upon Stilettos on it. Which meant that the post for that went up blank as well.

I got back home late Monday and had to re-write both of those entries. So the good news is that they are now corrected. The bad news is that I am still down a laptop that I probably can't afford to fix any time soon, and that there were other pending reviews on it that I now have to re-write.

R.I.P Laptop by TheEditorMLP on DeviantArt

Which is why there was no review today. I shuffled my last few scheduled posts for the month so that I have time to correct them. So review posting should resume as normal on Friday.

If you visited hoping to read my Friday or Monday post, please check them again. They are now properly posted. I would love to discuss these books and hear your opinions in the comments!

Once Upon Stilettos

Once Upon Stilettos (Enchanted, Inc. #2)

By  Shanna Swendson

ISBN: 9780345481276

320 Pages

Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and Kindle

Synopsis:

Click your heels three times and say,

“There’s no place like Bloomies!”

Katie Chandler’s life is pure magic–literally. As an executive assistant at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., she’s seen more than her share of fantastical occurrences. A mere Manhattan mortal, Katie is no wizard, but she’s a wiz at exposing “hokum” pocus, cloaked lies, and deceptive enchantments. And she’s fallen under the all-too-human spell of attraction to Owen, a hunky wizard and coworker. Owen, however, is preoccupied. Someone has broken into his office and disrupted top-secret files, and it reeks of an inside job. CEO Merlin (yes, the Merlin) taps Katie and her special ability to uncover the magical mole.

Keeping her feelings in check while sleuthing alongside Owen, Katie is shocked to discover that her immunity to magic is waning, putting her in grave danger. Soon she’s surrendering to the charms and enchantments of everyone and everything around her, including a killer pair of red stilettos. Katie must now conjure up her natural instincts to get to the bottom of the break-in, regain her power, and win the wizard of her dreams.

My Thoughts:

After reading the first book in the Enchanted, Inc. series, I was addicted and could not wait to read the next installment. I needed to know what was going to happen to Katie and Owen! (And Ethan, I guess...) I immediately checked out a digital copy on my local library's app and started reading. I liked that the writer made a point to do a recap of information on important characters and plot points as they came up. It's definitely better to start with the first book, but even if you had not read that one, you would not be completely lost.

Once Upon Stilettos opens up with the girls shopping and immediately points out the titular red stiletto shoes - also seen on the cover - so you are given the feeling that they will be an important plot device. I suppose that you never know - some books name themselves after one random word or phrase mentioned once in the 600 pages *cough*Twilight*cough*. But I understood that they were going to be significant. (I mean, they were mentioned in the synopsis too, so....) With the weight of focus on those shoes, I would have been confused by the fact that they are left and not mentioned again for many chapters, were it not for the fact that the first book utilized the same slow intro method before it got to the main course. This serves to give you time to get to feel the characters and the world. The writer is good at what she does.

And having time to get to know the characters is important because, as might be expected of any chic-lit book, Once Upon Stilettos is largely about platonic and romantic relationships - Katie's differing relationships with  Ethan, Owen, Merlin, and Rod, as well as her other coworkers, her family, and her roommates. And of course the relationships between Trix and Pippin, and most confusingly Trix and Ethan - I didn't get that at all. I mean, I DID, but also, it was weird how she was SO attached to Pippin and then just dropped him like a hot rock and stopped trying as soon as Ethan expressed interest .

At its core though, Once Upon Stilettos is all about mystery. There is a spy within the company, and it's up to Katie to figure out who it is. I love a good mystery. I have made no secret of that. So it was fun to watch all the clues and try to solve it - which I did well before Katie did. Go figure. I was relatively sure of my suspicions when Ari kept trying to keep Trix and Pippin apart for no discernable reason and knew I had a lock on the culprit when Ari was casually reading the book of love spells that she secretly "borrowed" from Owen's books .

Then there is the second mystery, which is that Katie appears to be losing her immunity. The why (and even the who) of this one was obvious to me, thanks to a bit of FORESHADOWING, though the exact how took a little longer. Once several other parts clicked, it made more sense. This book is actually a good example for the fun and effectiveness of foreshadowing, as it utilizes the literary device multiple times.

Honestly, I felt like Once Upon Stilettos wasn't as strong as the first book. The pace was okay, maybe a little slow. I think that maybe at times there was just too much going on? You were being pulled a lot of ways, trying to keep up with Katie's relationship and dating troubles, immunity issues, family drama, apartment problems, etc. It was just a lot to keep straight and I think that maybe it had an affect on the delivery of the main story. It's wasn't bad by any stretch, just busy at times. Overall, this book was another fun read and I plan to keep reading the series. 

Parent's Guide:

Like the first volume in the series, this book is very easy to read and the story is fun. There are points that focus on sexuality and attraction, and one scene that borders on assault. Some of the humor is environment based and will probably go over the head of the younger teens, but in general this book is upper teen friendly in complexity and entertainment value.

The Oz Counter: Three! Four if you count the included synopsis. After the surprising lack of references in the first book, I didn't know what to expect, but this one redeemed the series. Of course the references were regarding the shoes because the symbolism there is obvious, despite the fact that the shoes really were more tied to another folk tale. But I love a good pair of ruby slippers. 

(The Oz Counter is explained in the "Anatomy of a PBG Review" link at the top of the page.)

The Lawrence Browne Affair

The Lawrence Brown Affair (The Turners #2)
By  Cat Sebastian

ISBN: 9780062642516
336 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

An earl hiding from his future . . .

Lawrence Browne, the Earl of Radnor, is mad. At least, that’s what he and most of the village believes. A brilliant scientist, he hides himself away in his family’s crumbling estate, unwilling to venture into the outside world. When an annoyingly handsome man arrives at Penkellis, claiming to be Lawrence’s new secretary, his carefully planned world is turned upside down.

A swindler haunted by his past . . .

Georgie Turner has made his life pretending to be anyone but himself. A swindler and con man, he can slip into an identity faster than he can change clothes. But when his long-dead conscience resurrects and a dangerous associate is out for blood, Georgie escapes to the wilds of Cornwall. Pretending to be a secretary should be easy, but he doesn’t expect that the only madness he finds is the one he has for the gorgeous earl.

Can they find forever in the wreckage of their lives?

Challenging each other at every turn, the two men soon give into the desire that threatens to overwhelm them. But with one man convinced he is at the very brink of madness and the other hiding his real identity, only true love can make this an affair to remember.

My Thoughts:

The Lawrence Brown Affair may be the second book in the four title The Turner's series, but it's actually the first one I read. I happened across a copy of it at my local library and immediately picked it up. Before this book, I didn't know that M/M romance novels were a thing, much less M/M historical romances. I enjoy reading historical romance, so I love finding new variants to try.

The main character in The Lawrence Brown Affair is Georgie Turner, brother of Jack Turner from A Soldier's Scoundrel. (Hence the "The Turner's" series title, which was actually originally created by fans, as the series was originally released without a set designation.) Georgie is a morally ambiguous, chaotic bi confidence artist who loves his family above all. Jack T. was a vanilla villain, doing bad to help others, whereas Georgie T. is definitely less vanilla and playing cons to get ahead in life. That is, until he starts to develop a conscience and gets himself in trouble in the process. To shield him from said trouble, his brother sends him on a job to investigate Lawrence Brown, the "mad Earl" of Radnor. 

Both Lawrence and Georgie are extremely likeable characters, despite their intentional character flaws. They both have some deep background damage that causes them to see the flaws within their selves and to not trust others, and as such, their relationship is slow to develop. Lawrence has the worst of it. He spends his days hiding in his crumbling estate, fearing for his own sanity and being effectively a social recluse. Which makes him pretty much wholly inexperienced in physical relationships. The couple only get physically intimate about three times in the whole book. Remember how I said that I read this one first? Yeah, I was expecting this to be the standard in all of the books in the series, so I was pretty shocked when A Soldier's Scoundrel turned out to be a lot more physical. But I have to say that, in the case of The Lawrence Brown Affair, this lack of physical scenes is perfect. It really drives home the emotional state of the characters without forcing in unnecessary scenes just for the sake of sex.

Just like with it's predecessor, The Lawrence Brown Affair offers a solid non-romance side plot. There is family drama, a mystery, a bit of smuggling, and a touch of danger. There are new side characters introduced who greatly enhance the story. I absolutely love Lady Standish and what her character signifies in a time period where women were not really free to make their own choices, much less be scientists and free thinkers. How Lawrence accepts her at face value and thinks nothing of it endears him to me even more.

When they introduced Lawrence's son, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it. Kids appearing in intense romance novels is always a little weird to me. But it added another depth to the characters and seeing how they adapted to act as a family was nice. The book in whole was a sweet story and I enjoyed reading it. The Lawrence Brown Affair is by far my favorite book out of the entire The Turner's series.

Parent's Guide:

100% not for the kids! This book is adult in nature, with graphic sexual situations. Absolutely 18+

My Dad Is a Russian Spy

 

My Dad Is a Russian Spy
By Candy Berg, Illustrated by Isabela Flores de Moura

ISBN: 9781614339304
33 Pages
Available in Paperback and on KindleKindle

Synopsis:

A young girl decides her dad is a Russian spy. Follow the clues to see if you come to the same conclusion!

Breakout author Candy Berg has something for kids and parents alike in My Dad Is a Russian Spy.

Enjoy your family reading time and practice some spycraft yourself with every re-read.

My Thoughts:

My Dad Is a Russian Spy is a charming little kids book that follows a little girl who believes that her dad may be more than what he appears to be. To be specific, she suspects that he is, in fact, a Russian spy. The story is clever and will definitely speak to kids who love mystery, as it plays up to the concept of kids with overactive imaginations and the childlike love for discovering things and having adventures.

According to the information provided by the publisher, My Dad Is a Russian Spy is targeted at kids between the ages of 5 and 14. I feel like, for all ages in that window, there are some things that work and others that do not. For a pre-teen or young teen who reads on level, this book seems like it would be too simplistic. It would be an easy silly read, but at 184 words in the entire story, the word count is really low for an age group that should be reading chapter books. For a younger child, say 5-8, the word count is okay, but some of the words and concepts are probably significantly beyond comprehension. I understand adding new words to vocabulary, but words like "surveillance" and "interrogation" are a bit advanced for young readers and would require explanation. A parent could be reading rather than the child, but sill, would the child understand? Some of the phrases used fit into that category as well, like mention of a "safe house" or a "sleeper agent". There are adults who couldn't even tell you what a "dead drop" is. Does that phrase really belong in a book designed for a 5 year old?

Let's talk art. Because the truth is that the art can make or break a kids' book. The art in this book is done in a lovely watercolor. It is vibrant and very intricate, while at the same time not overwhelming in detail. The full page illustrations are definitely appealing to the eyes and would draw in the reader.

The accompanying text is a simple bold type Serif font. Honestly, I wish that more writers and publishers would get in the habit of using San Serif style fonts, as they are easier for those of us with dyslexia to follow. (And yes, I understand the irony that most of my blog is in a Serif font. For the longest time I could not figure out how to change the font without going into html coding. Now that I know how, I am working on it, but it has to be done post by post and I am doing it slowly as I have free time.) I will say, the font used has decent kerning (spacing) and is a decent size, so it was easy to read on my computer screen. I cannot speak for the Kindle format because the ARC did not load correctly in my Kindle app - the words did not appear in the pages where they should have.

My overall takeaway is that My Dad Is a Russian Spy is a cute book with a lot of potential for kids who love mystery, but it could have used a bit more polish to make sure that it was age appropriate in concepts and vocabulary.

I received a complimentary digital ARC of My Dad Is a Russian Spy from Entrada Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Parent's Guide:

My Dad Is a Russian Spy is by definition a children's book, but I stand by what I say above. I feel like the pictures would be appealing, but the ideas would go over the heads of the youngest and it would be too easy of a read for the older. Perhaps it would sit best with those around 7-8, but with most kids past that point, you may run the risk of them seeing it as a "baby book".