The HER ROYAL SPYNESS series - so far, so delightful!

 

From July to September I dipped my toe into Rhys Bowen's HER ROYAL SPYNESS series and while I am only 6 books in of the currently available 19, I will return before the planned 25th is published! I read one of her MOLLY MURPHY series back in the aughts and I liked it fine, but the travails of a recent immigrant from Ireland who just keeps getting embroiled in murders didn't grab me at the time. But after reading MRS. ENDICOTT'S SPLENDID ADVENTURE back in July, I fell hard for her humorous, nostalgia tinged inter-war story and decided to investigate further. 

That is when I met Georgie, or rather, Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie of Rannoch, 34th in line for the throne of England. Saddled with a broke and clueless brother and a penurious sister-in-law, she leaves the family seat in Scotland for depression-era London, hoping to make her own way. Earning money is difficult for everyone in England at the time and she makes ends meet, barely, by advertising her services opening up the London dwellings of landed gentry who are coming to the city. She learns housekeeping, how to snag free food at social events, how to fend off dull suitors, how to intrigue penniless hotties and, of course, how to solve murders. She is also often called upon by her cousin Queen Mary, to spy on the villainous and bitchy Wallis Simpson. These books are so cozy and they are steeped in history like a strong cup of Earl Grey. 

I just learned that my favourite (see what I did there - I'm practically British...) audiobook narrator, Kathleen Kellgren was the narrator of the first 11 books in the series. I guess this means that I may have to join Audible so that I can hear her lovely voice again after finishing the Bloody Jack series earlier this month. Right now I am dipping a toe into The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower and I am listening to them on 2x speed because I just want to gobble them up. But I will be back for your, Georgie, count on it!

The BLOODY JACK series - a gift from two remarkable artists.

 

I started a reread of the Bloody Jack series in October of last year and completed it this month. I will not review the books individually since it was a reread for me, but I just wanted to mark the occasion. I typically reread the Betsy Tacy books every year, but I hadn't revisited Jackie since I first read them in the aughts and early teens. They are delightful adventure books and the audiobook version (available through Hoopla for my convenience) enriched the reading experience immensely! 

The audiobooks were performed by Kathleen Kellgren who made a meal out of each and every one! Her ability to infuse the characters with an additional layer of personality is unbelievable. I just discovered in researching her a minute ago, that she also recorded some of the HER ROYAL SPYNESS mysteries that have been delighting me this year. In addition, she recorded the first book in the QUEEN OF THE TEARLING series that I plan to finish next summer. She passed away far too young back in 2018 and it breaks my heart that she is no longer practicing the art at which she so majestically excelled. In addition, L.A, Meyer, the artist and all-round fascinating guy who wrote the series, passed in 2014 and I picture him and Kathleen sitting up in heaven having a pint with the real Jackie Faber and smiling at how much I enjoyed riding in the car with them for the past year. 

These are the books in the series that I read this year:

• Mississippi Jack
• My Bonnie Lighthorseman
• Rapture of the Deep
• The Wake of the Lorelai Lee
• Mark of the Dragon
• Viva Jacqueline
• Boston Jacky
• Wild Rover No More

And these are the ones from last year:

• Bloody Jack
• Curse of the Blue Tattoo, The
• In the Belly of the Bloodhound
• Under the Jolly Roger

My favorites were Bloody Jack, In the Belly of the Bloodhound, Mississippi Jack and My Bonnie Lighthorseman, but they were all rollicking adventures full of romance, friendship, questionable decisions and bravery. They also were a trove of very specific history that, while certainly fanciful, gave me a new appreciation and understanding of the Napoleonic era. 

Thanks Lou and Kath for taking me on an unforgettable journey!

Outside their comfort zone - THE SHAMPOO EFFECT by Jenny Jackson and ROAD TRIP by Mary Kay Andrews

 Wow, August was a different time for me. I read several grown-lady books just for fun! These two were back to back and as I was trying to remember what I found so endearing about them, I realized the similarity between them. They are both stories of women who leave home to try something different to get themselves on the path to a more rewarding life. 

In THE SHAMPOO EFFECT, Caroline has won a prestigous writing fellowship in coastal Greenhead, Mass. (standing in for Ipswich, a town I know fairly well). I loved the local aspect and was charmed that she met her man friend at Castle Hill, one of my favorite places to take out of town visitors. Caroline is not as self-aware as she thinks, which makes it fun for the reader. She is a young woman in flux who becomes involved with a man who has a tight friend group, a complicated baby-daddy status and a lot of nerdy passions. He is a less-fleshed-out character, but he does the job of holding down the boyfriend drama pretty well. 

His friend group is fascinating! There are a ton of issues that are revealed to the reader in chapters focused on the female members of the group. They are delightful and well defined and I loved them all. To tell you what happens would be to ruin a perfectly plotted reveal, so I shan't, but it frustrated and intrigued me in turn. I have some friends with excellent taste who did not care for this and I think it is because Caroline makes some shitty. shitty decisions in instances where she should have known better. Nonetheless, I found it fascinating, funny, and enjoyable.

With ROAD TRIP you know just what you are getting. MKA is a favorite. Lots of revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-southern from her and I am hear for it. In this one, two very disparate sisters embark on a trip to Ireland to investigate a painting that may be incredibly valuable (and solve their very oppressive financial troubles) at the behest of their recently deceased mother. They begin the trip distrustful and resentful of one another and it is no spoiler to tell you that they mend fences in the process. Come on, who would read it otherwise? But there is a delightful story wrapped around the interpersonal stuff that ticks so many boxes. There's a murder, a mystery, origin stories, larceny and romance. It was the full package, baby, and I adored it!

TRUST FALL by Lynn Painter out Sept. 29 and RED FLAGS by Sophie Jo out on January 5, 2027

 Wow, these kids have some really trust issues! 

We will begin with Julia and Damion from TRUST FALL. He is a son of privilege at a fancy school in Manhattan. She is a Nebraska girl just off a bad breakup. Her family is left a fortune with the caveat that they must live in NYC and she must attend the fancy school where Damion is a student. Damion is the nephew of the person who left the money to Julia's family and he is pissed! He and his awful parents decide to bring the midwesterners down. 

There is unlikely romance, bullying, misunderstandings and a bunch of other stuff that is expected in a book of this kind which makes it feel a little rote. But it's also Lynn Painter so it is sweetly romantic and a good deal of fun. I enjoyed the reading of it, but it isn't going to stick with me.

Now in RED FLAGS, Poppy has a perfect man in mind and won't settle for less. Cam is unwilling to commit. When their friends bet them (unbeknownst to each other) that they can't be the one who sticks it out in a relationship just as they begin a relationship, it's pretty awesome. Poppy has to stay with a guy for two months without bailing. Cam is not allowed to blink first, but he is really confused when Poppy sticks around in spite of the fact that his douchy friend (who is dating a friend of Poppy) has given him the perfect man list and he is doing the exact opposite to try to get her to walk away. Confused yet?

I loved these two kids, and their friends (except the horrible Ciaran) are delightful and so, so funny! Yes, you know exactly how Ciaran is going to fuck this up and you probably have a pretty good idea that it is all going to work out, but the ride, familiar though it may be, is a good bit of fun. 

What really hit me about both of these books is how hard it is for kids to have parents who are unreliable. I always try to assume good intentions, but damn, these are some selfish-ass parents, and yet their children still want to make connections, damaged as they may be. Painter and Jo both do a deft job of making the kids, well, actually in both cases, the boys, damaged, but also longing for love and not trusting that it is real until they meet a girl who exudes the love that was clearly lavished upon them in their perfectly normal childhoods. I don't really know what to make of it, but I definitely enjoyed reading about it. 

MATURAL SELECTION by Clare Edge

YIKES! I need to take some time to catch up on reviews. I will get there... For now, this is the first book I read for the Mass. Teen Choice Book Award committee. 

Well, it was sad and scary but I finished it anyway. It was grippy, I'll give it that. I was into the story right away. I didn't like any of the Megan's particularly, but I really felt for them. I did think they were realistically drawn even with all the WTF-is-going-on? stuff. It definitely skews older what with the opening masturbation, multiple rapes and all the swearing, (okay, in context the swearing doesn't seem that bad) but it also feels quite timely. I second the charm of the Outlaw/Bee relationship. This is not my usual thing, but I'm glad I read it. And I think it will be very empowering for some kids. 

Killer cover, too!

THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans

 

The world probably doesn't need another review of this book. It was the must-read of the summer for most of the middle aged ladies I know. It's an epistolary novel - which is a favorite format of mine. And the full-cast audiobook was a real treat. It's the story of a retired prosecutor who is prickly and loves to write letters. She considers her correspondence to be a way of achieving immortality. Her words will live on beyond her lifespan, even if they are spread to the winds. Which I think is a lovely sentiment. 

Sybil VanAntwerp is going blind and reassessing her life and choices in the letters she writes. She has an ex-husband who is dying overseas, a few kids with whom she has complicated relationships, a sister-in-law who is going through a lot, a garden club festering with drama, a couple suitors, a stalker, former co-workers, a closer than normal relationship with a customer service agent, a young man who needs her far more than either of them realize, and a mysterious recipient of an unsent letter. 

She also writes to writers - Joan Didion, Ann Patchett and Larry McMurtry are all name-checked. (I was inspired to revisit LONESOME DOVE and regret nothing!) - with confidence and respect. She's a good writer (both the character and the author) and her correspondents are fleshed out and lively. There is a narrative arc, and it works, but what kept me reading is the way the letters seem random, but slowly reveal a life that is finally examined. 

IT'S ONLY DANCING by Jasmine Guillory and RADIO FREE TEXAS by Libba Bray were lovely gifts

 I went to ALA back in June and it was bittersweet. I have gone for the last 4 years on MSLA's dime and every time I have found myself both overwhelmed and right at home. I mean, book people are my people and it is so easy to strike up conversations when you are in line to get a book signed by an author you love. I was lucky enough to get to attend a lunch where 5 or 6 middle grade and teen writers presented their new titles with an adorable readers' theater presentation. Two of them were all time favorites Jasmine Guillory and Libba Bray. I was thrilled to get to see them in action. (SO much charisma!) And I was even more thrilled when I was going down the escalator later that day and went by them as they were heading up. Like a loon, I pointed at them and breathlessly said, "It's YOU!!" They both smiled and I was never so inclined to run up a downward heading escalator in my life! (Of course, I didn't because of physics...)

Anyway, I finally got around to reading the books they were presenting and both of them were absolutely wonderful! So full of truth and nostalgia, I could barely put them down. 

First. up was Jasmine's IT'S ONLY DANCING. (We basically met on the escalator, so I am confidently first-naming.)This is a subtle retelling of DIRTY DANCING that hits on so many levels. I am sure you don't need to be familiar with the classic film to enjoy it, but it definitely adds to the pleasure if you are. Kitty (or Kat, if you don't want her to roll her eyes at you) was a devoted student of ballet before the microaggressions and body-shaming of her teacher and classmates made her turn in her toe shoes. She has vowed not to dance anymore and is focusing on her college application process. Well, she is actually using that as an excuse to spend time alone while her family is attending an all-ages camp the summer before her senior year. 

You're not going to believe this, but when she is out exploring, she comes across a dance party for the employees of the camp and meets a hot and sweet dance teacher and his partner and forms a friendship! At first she thinks Jordan and Toni are romantically involved, but she learns that they are just besties and dance partners. Well, shockingly, it seems that Jordan needs a dance partner for a big performance and Toni has another obligation so guess who volunteers to step (ha!) in and learn hip-hop dancing in a very small window of time. Guess!! Yep, it's the Sheldrake all over again. 

Sparks fly, misunderstandings are overcome and this book is, shockingly, not at the mercy of bad communication between the potential lovers. I adore Jasmine's adult romances (ROYAL HOLIDAY is the best post-menopausal romance ever written and I will fight anyone who says otherwise) and was thrilled that she nailed a younger demographic. This book was a joy to read  - touching on themes of reinvention, acceptance, obligation, and, yes, romance. 

While IT'S ONLY DANCING looked like fluff but contained more depth, RADIO FREE TEXAS looked like it was going to be depressing as hell, but made me laugh consistently and made me believe that this crazy story of kids running a pirate radio station in 1980s small-town Texas might just have been true.

Okay, Libba Bray is a YA goddess. My YA students at Salem State regularly reference BEAUTY QUEENS as a perennial favorite and UNDER THE SAME STARS was transcendent. This one is firmly entrenched in both the nostalgia and the brown grit of a Texas setting and there is a realism that I have never seen from Bray before. And she fucking nails it!

Bowie begins his senior year taking the fall for a prank by Comet, a new likely-MPDG who is trying to get expelled, and is forced to perform community service at a local radio station run by Marlon who is just the drunken, drug-addled Mr. Miyagi he needs. He ends up corralling a group of his peers (including Comet)  to help out at the station and it changes the tenor of the town. Yes, the kids are out of control and the powers-that-be in the town force things to a head and everyone learns and grows, but in the best possible way. 

There is friendship, romance, and really well-written adults who have depth. Except for the principal. He really sucks. Is there a "happy" ending? Not conventionally. And there is a subplot about suicide that (dare I say) feels a little tacked on, but these kids felt so real to me and I kept staring into space trying to decide where I would fit into the group. (Maybe the chubby, funny girlfriend of one of the Boston boys?) The music references had me hitting YouTube for the songs every 10 pages or so and I loved every minute of it. What on earth is she going to do next?

A SEASON FOR FALLING by Kate O'Shaughnessy comes out September 22

 Yes, I look at the Goodreads ratings sometimes when I am reviewing a book and can't remember anyone's names and need a little refresher. And so, I can see why this has less than 4 stars, even though I adored it and am, of course, giving it 5 stars. I loved everything about it except for the inevitable scene where just SAYING HOW THEY FEEL would shave 50 pages out of the narrative. Alas, plot devices... But whoever write the blurb deserves a smack for saying "Gilmore Girls-esque". Yes, it takes place in Connecticut. Yes, there is a single mother who is maybe a little on the younger side, but honestly, not a single GG vibe was felt by me the entire time I was reading it. 

Also, not for nothing, most pre-reviewers are really stingy with the stars. I think they read more so their expectations are higher, maybe? I loved FAKE SKATING by Lynn Painter and nominated it for MTCBA, because I am the romcom girl and I will be nominating romcoms with my last dying breath. Well, someone sent an email to the whole nominating committee about the dangerous heteronormative gender roles in the book and everyone nodded in agreement and it fell off the board. Now that was probably the right choice, but now it is making me nervous about nominating this one because it is a cis/het/white couple at the center of the romance. I will surely be nominating it anyway, but I will brace myself. 

But perhaps I should just review the book? It ticks so many of my boxes - child actors, friends to lovers, bad stage parents, single moms, siblings with different popularity levels at the same school, secret identities, friendship & honesty - and it also had a really nice current about children's agency and the need for them to be protected. Clare used to be a child actress, she is retired and lives under a different name in Stars Hollow-light and now her former costar who is a big up-and-coming movie star is coming to town to film what is likely to be an career-defining role and he looks her up. All kind of shit ensues. 

The high school setting didn't set off any alarms, the parent stuff was solid, the sibling relationship was actually MORE delightful than usual. I just want kids to behave like siblings, but this book went beyond in showing how important it is to be able to rely on one another. And the romance, while stalled to allow for a big old grand gesture at the end, was pretty sweet and respectful. 

WISH YOU WELL by Jamie Sumner came out four days ago and I should have reviewed it WEEKS ago!

 

But you know me. Just forgetting stuff all the time. So I loved THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and I can't help but compare every sick kid book to that and often find it wanting because it lacks humor. I mean, I will fall in love with a kid and watch them suffer as long as they at least get to be snarky. 

Well, Violet is very, very snarky. She is also going blind. She does all the teenage things like hide issues about her health from her mother and her doctors because sometimes kids are stupid. And she is so, so angry. She has cut ties with most of her friends because they don't know how to deal with her and they try to be sympathetic, which is her kryptonite. Then she meets Wyatt and Noor at a hospital picnic and they decide to use their Make-a-Wish wishes together in the weirdest possible way and it is wonderful. 

This is another of those importance of community books that I love so and it really helps that it is hilarious. It is also realistically the viewpoint of a kid, but shows nuance with most of the parent interactions. The kid doesn't see nuance, but the reader does. Nicely played, Sumner! I also love that Noor out-snarks Violet. (Wyatt is pretty positive, but he can't eat hot dogs for shit...)

This book has a bit of everything and it all comes together perfectly. It feels a little caper-y in that they are planning the wishes on the sly, but that is really just the structure used to absorb the healthy example of unhealthy kids. Will I nominate this for MTCBA? You bet your sweet bippie I will. Will someone snark that it is middle grade. Of course they will. But whatever, it's a damn near perfect book and I loved it. 

I mean, I read them: Cookbooks and Media

I am keeping track of everything and reviewing everything that I have read this year, but it feels weird to do the middle grade nonfiction graphic novels and cookbooks in a singular post. So the theme of this post is, I read it really quickly, but it was good and informative. I don't think I will put these on GoodReads and StoryGraph because, well, I I don't have to justify myself to you!

I read Killer Underwear Invasion by Elyse Gravel and it was adorable. Basically it broke down the idea of information literacy for middle school kids using underwear based humor and I was there for it. The information is solid and the format works for this age group. Okay, I'm 60 and it worked for my age group, too! It talks about the ways we can be manipulate by media without any blaming of the victim. I was a fan. 

My son's girlfriend is an amazing cook and she is, despite being a digital native, a cookbook person and she has loaned me several. What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers and the cleverly titledWhat to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking 2 were both a delight and I have been told I will be receiving the first one for Christmas or perhaps even birthday. There are great tips for using up what you have in your kitchen. There are pep talks about putting together a home-cooked meal, but the thing that I really love is that it is et up by how long you have to prepare a meal. Sign me up! The first had more recipes that sounded good to me, but the format of both was terrific. 

Armor for Liars by S.E. Grove

 

Oh my gosh, it has been a MONTH since I finished this book and it is still resonating for me! I guess this is my attempt to pretend like I am not woefully behind in my reviews. This is the first New Year's resolution I have ever kept and it is so close to slipping through my fingers. I go back to work Monday and I plan to do so with a completely clear google sheet with all reviews completed. Dare to dream, Barb.

So back to the book at hand, It was spectacular! I was predisposed to love it because I had read Grove's THE WANING AGE and adored the world building. This one also had a fascinating setting. I started reading it when I was taking a history class at the Boston Athenaeum and even though it is set in Salem and Beverly (and the Lynn Woods) the Athenaeum was the perfect spot to begin it. 

Okay, so the opening scene is SO evocative! There is a carriage going down the road, it is stopped by a seemingly benign person who ends up ruining EVERYTHING! I am not sure if I can do the magic in this book justice, just allow me to say that it is intricate, but not to intricate; scary but not too scary; and perfectly described. It boils down to an alternate North Shore in the early 1900s and Clem is disguising herself as a boy to attend the Commonwealth School to learn magic. The magic in this world is very anti-woman, anti-poor person, basically, anti-anything that isn't a white, rich guy with no conscience. I read a review on Goodreads that said, "I adored this book because it’s an excellent example of what happens when someone gets right that part of Fantasy novels that almost every book gets wrong: The actual magical system itself." and that is absolutely true. The magic is an entirely new type for me and it is perfect. And I don't even usually really like the magic! I am all about the drama and the interpersonal relationships. Grove gets those right too. There is a strange friendship between the young woman in question and a dead boy who is trying to help her. There are family obligations, and there is a delicious quest for revenge. It doesn't move fast (until it does) but the build up is really compelling. Even though the story is fairly straightforward, there is a ton of subtext about equity, entitlement, and communication, 

I have to admit that I got a thrill seeing the action take place in my own stomping ground, but I would have loved this if it took place in Ottumwa, Iowa. I should also mention that S. E. Grove is a local writer and is actually doing a kick-ass event at the Beverly Public Library in October so I will get to tell her in person how much I loved this book. I am not going to nag her about writing a sequel because the book ended without the need for one. But I would really love to read more stories set in this world. 

The Bureau of Unknown Fates coming out December 8 2026

You know I hate to give anything less than 5 stars to a book that I have finished, but this one is only getting 4 and it's probably my fault. It is a fascinating story of a woman who works for a group that researches people and items the were involved in the Holocaust. I liked the research aspects, but I never warmed to Irene, the main character. She has let her work take over her life and it shows. 

I like the idea of lost items and the talismanic nature of her work, but she never felt like a person I would want to spend time with. I would like to sit next to her on a plane for 3 hours and ask her about her job, but I don't want her calling me in the evening to ask if I think her son misses her.

The writing is good, and maybe I just read it after too long a glut of feel-good books, but it didn't grab me and that is really all I ask of a book. I finished it because I wanted to know what happened. The plot seemed to speed up at the end and I appreciated it, but there were too many strands for me to keep track of. I may just be too dumb for this book. It has happened before. 

Outside Their Comfort Zone: The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest And Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen

 Two books I just picked up this summer were delightful! I didn't read them because they were on Netgalley, I didn't read them for the MTCBA, I just read them because I saw them at the library and they looked delicious. And they were!

First up was The Summer Girlfriend. I love a fake-dating trope and this one did not disappoint. Noelle works at a bookstore and has decided that, after a disastrous first undergrad experience ruined by a stupid boy, she is ready to go back to school to achieve her dream of being a librarian. So, of course, she is awesome. She gets fired from her bookstore job due to the economy and nepotism and has to rely on her side gig as a bridesmaid for hire. Oh, I know, just suspend your disbelief. 

Jeremiah is the younger son in a family run baked goods company, but his shame over previous bad behavior has led him to go work in a different field where he is relied on for his charm rather than his smarts. This does not help with his self-loathing issues at all. 

Jeremiah hires Noelle to pretend to be his girlfriend for a weekend at Hart Beach, the family compound on the Jersey Shore and sparks fly. Well, not really. They aren't sparky as much as they are warmly perfect for each other. Even though Noelle is the one who is really struggling financially, Jeremiah's family drama is more compelling. His family is damn near perfect, but he can't seem to find his place in it. Would it surprise you to learn that they help each other as they fall in love? Would it surprise you that I fell in love with them too? Surely not!

Mrs. Endicott's husband has left her. It's the '30s in England and he has a newer, younger girl and Mrs. E. is to be put out to pasture. Instead of taking a dreary bedsit in London, she endevours to see some of the world and ends up taking her maid Mavis (who escapes an abusive husband) and an overbearing society spinster from their town who is running out the clock on a bad heart and off to the French coast they go.

Europe is ratcheting up for WW2, there is a gorgeous, rundown villa to be restored and there are interesting townsfolk, including two available men who may or may not be the best thing to ever happen to a couple middle aged women who were not expecting to find love again. Add in a pregnant vagabond, a speedboat and a hot priest and you have a lovely slice of Enchanted April-ness that takes the reader into a charming world on the brink of war. 

Even though these books have little in common, other than the seaside settings, they both feature women who don't know their own strength, but learn to have confidence in their abilities to change their lives for the better and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them!