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Werewolf story, not so much.....

Revisado: 12-21-23

I started this audiobook right around Halloween, I mean anything that says it's equivalent to Bram Stoker's Dracula has to be good right? Unfortunately this is not the case for this book. This story should be about the main character, Bertrand Caillet, who was born to his mother after she was raped by a priest, in a church, underneath the stain glass windows. From this unholy act a child was born who seemed to be different from his brown eyes, his hairy palms, and his unusual howling and violent behavior as he grew older. Other strange and disturbing situations happen through the book, all perfectly disturbing parts of a good horror story, but sadly the book becomes more of a history of France during it's Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune of 1870-1871 than a werwolf story. The main character and werewolf, Bertrand, pretty much takes a back seat to the history of France. Add in a multitude of characters and events that just confuse the whole story and I found myself waiting impatiently for the book to end, and I so wanted to enjoy this book! I wasn't going into this book looking for blood and gore. I love how they keep to actual stories and "historical" accounts of lycanthropy with Bertrand. Unfortunately the rest of the events with the war and so on waters this book down and ruined it for me. The only saving grace that had me give this book two stars instead of one is the few parts scattered throughout regarding Bertrand, and the ending of the book and the appendix which goes into detail about Paris cemeteries at that time, including a detailed account about how Bertrand's grave was later dug up after he died and his body was not there. Where his body was at was instead a dead dog, which, after the long period of time being dead, has seemed to not decomposed.

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Unfortunately it fell a little flat for me.

Revisado: 08-27-23

Christopher Isherwood's "A Single Man" follows the daily life of middle-aged gay college professor George after the sudden death of his lover Jim. The book follows George through his struggles coping with the death of his partner, his internal struggles with his homosexuality with society, his age, and what he should do next. I really struggled with this book and really had a hard time connecting with it until the ending hooked me and left me hanging. The authors' prose was beautiful, the narration was excellent, and the characters were well fleshed out. The book takes place over a twenty-four hour period, and I just think some of the story fell flat in some areas for me. Once George runs into one of his college students, you see a vulnerability come from George, and the whole scene between those two is just beautifully done. Maybe some time down the road, I will pick this up again and give it another read to see what else I gain from it.

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Sadly, a room with a view wasn't much of a view.

Revisado: 08-10-23

I felt up for a classic and was let down by a classic instead. I don't usually go for romance books, but the blurb for this book drew me in. I enjoyed the writing, and as I listened to this as an audio book, I did enjoy the narration, although sometimes the narrator spoke too softly. Sadly, by the halfway point, I just could not get into this book. I mean, the title of the book is "A Room with a View," but there is only a very small connection with a room with a view. As I finished this book, the famous words of ABBA played through my head, "Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man's world."

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The sequel to The Henna Artist.

Revisado: 07-20-23

After reading "The Henna Artist," I was looking forward to reading Alka Joshi's "The Secret Keeper of Jaipur." As always, Alka Joshi does a wonderful jon telling the story of Lakshmi and Malik as they live their lives in Jaipur. In this story, there is a tragic accident after the building of a theater when a balcony collapses on opening day. Malik finds it suspicious, and with the help from Lakshmi, they set out to uncover the truth. Full of wonderful writing and a great cast of characters, "The Secret Keeper of Jaipur," is a great sequel, but I do have to admit that it didn't quite keep my interest as "The Henna Artist" did. It just seemed a little slower and not too much action in it. There was definitely more character interaction in the story, and the tragedy at the theater is only a very small part of the book. You hear of the accident at the beginning of the book, and then you finally hear more of it at the end of the book. The rest of the story is just side character stories and building of them, which is fine, but it just seems to slow the story down. All in all, though, I really did enjoy Alka Joshi's book and the narration of the story.

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Emotional stirring about young forbidden love.

Revisado: 06-26-22

"Why me?

He says: Because you are not like all the others, because I don't see anyone but you and you don't even realize it.

He adds this phrase, which for me is unforgettable: Because you will leave and we will stay."

From Lie With Me by Philippe Besson

This book is a story of young gay love that follows two high school teens in their last year of school in 1984 France. This book is a coming of age tale that also discusses sexual awakening, identity, first love, family obligations, society's judgements and pressures, shame, and mental health.

The book follows a young Phillippe who is just an average teen, and Thomas (Toe-Mah) who is the attractive jock that the girls flock to to try to win his affection, but Thomas has his eyes set on Phillippe. Phillippe is himself and doesn't really hide who he is, but doesn't just throw it out there also. Thomas though wants to get together with Phillippe, but only if it's kept a secret and no one must know they are talking, and Phillippe is okay with that. What starts off as brief sexual encounters starts to lead to more complicated and deeper emotions between both of them.

As being part of the LGBTQ+ community many of us definitely understand how these characters felt and what they go through, those forbidden loves. Living in a society where you can't be yourself, missing out on the romance and experiences of young love, and all the celebrations of your firsts. Loving someone and developing feelings for them, but you can't act on them because of society's or family judgements. This book takes us on an emotional ride that is sensual, heartbreaking, and moving.

I did enjoy this book and would probably give it more of a 3.5 stars. It's prose are beautifully written and stirs up the emotions. The characters, Phillippe and Thomas, are well done and you can connect with them and understand their thoughts and emotions. This book makes you wonder if this is a memoir of the actual author himself where he is rethinking on his own youth and past love. The author Phillippe Besson basically writes this story about a character who is also an author, who is also gay, and who also writes a book about a gay man and his secret relationship with a guy, but in the book the character Phillippe says that he only writes fiction and doesn't like memoirs. So yeah, that was interesting and slightly strange in my opinion. I also wished there was more to this story, or at least more focused parts in the story itself. There was just some random things and some jumping around which I felt sometimes distracted from the character's and their stories being told. All in all this was a good and emotional read with an ending that really pulled me in and stirs the emotions. As for the narrator, Jacques Roy, he lends a wonderful voice and talent with narration to this story that makes listening enjoyable and helps pull the listener in.

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Always a fantastic story from Justina Ireland!

Revisado: 06-17-22

Justina Ireland's Alternative History/Old West/Zombie Apocalypse book, Deathless Divide, takes us back to the Civil War times of the United States when the war was halted once as the shamblers, the zombies, started rising from the dead. We leave off where Dread Nation ended and that is with Jane McKeene, and the other girls from Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, fighting the hoardes of the undead as they try to escape from the town of Summerland and head to another survivalist town called, Nicodemus. From there they plan on making their way to a few towns in California where it is believed to be better fortified against the hordes of undead walking the land. Then, from there, Jane hopes to get to her final destination of Haven where she hopes to find her mother and aunt that she has been searching for in the first book.

But this journey won't be easy for any of them, especially Jane, as they deal with love, loss, betrayal, a possible vaccination against the undead, personal struggles, and of course the never ceasing, and now adapting, undead. Who will survive the attacks and journey across the country overran with zombies? Will Jane find what and who she is looking for in Haven, California or will she succumb to darkness and decay spreading across the land?

We meet some new characters in this book as well as having many old characters returning. The characters, for me, is definitely one of the reasons I enjoyed this book. They are wonderfully fleshed out and I grew attached to them, really feeling their highs and lows through the book. I did feel as if this book was a little slower and a little less exciting than the first book. I also felt the world building was a little weaker as well this time around. But with that said, the story was well written and it always had me coming back to see what happens next. The characters were great and the ending was very satisfying for me.

One of the biggest things I love about Justina Ireland's books, Dread Nation and Deathless Divide, is that they follow a mostly all African American cast of characters, they cover topics of racism, slavery, sexism, and I also can't help but to think about the Tuskegee experiments as I read the second book. It just gets you to really think and really think about the people, our own actual history, that this story talks about. This book also touches a little into the Chinese Americans and a little of the Indigenous People's of this land at the time. But what I especially love in these books is the strong, black women, in starring roles, ready to handle what comes their way and set people straight when necessary, and they never disappoint.

I also mention the wonderful and talented narrators, Bahni Turpin and Jordan Cobb! Bahni Turpin has always been one of my favorites, and now, I am adding Jordan Cobb to that list as well. They both work so well together in bringing the characters life and personality. Sometimes multiple narrators can spoil the story, but not in this. They play off each other really well and really make a great distinctive personality for the characters they are reading about. Well done to all!

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Dark, mysterious, and beautifully written!

Revisado: 05-07-22

Frances Hardinge weaves a story about family, revenge, identity, loss, and forgiveness in a dark and creepy, yet beautifully told story. This is a story full of mystery, strange beings, and family drama. It takes us on a journey of sisterhood, friendship, and shows us the heartache war can cause and how it can tear apart families.

Set in a small 1920's English countryside town, a few years after WWI, this book follows Triss Crescent who wakes up in a bed surrounded by her parents and a doctor following a tragic accident that almost kills her. Only thing is Triss doesn't remember a thing, her sister hates her and is practically horrified of her, her parents are acting strangely, and as days go by Triss begins to notice peculiar things about herself. As she tries to piece things together her search will need her and her sister to work together and to travel into the strange dark underbelly of the city to search for a being called The Architect.

I came into this story not expecting it to be as good as it was. It definitely caught my interest, but I was finding myself annoyed with the incessant whining and tantrums of Triss's sister and the drama surrounding this family. But the authors writing kept me coming back and as the story unfolded I did not want to put the story down. The story took on these wonderful twists that kept me coming back, and I even started wishing for a movie to be made of this book! As the book went along I just loved all of the characters, including the whiny sister, and the world we were taken into is so mysterious and dark and otherworldly. What happened on that night to Triss that leaves her with such a foggy recollection that night? Who is she that causes her sister to be afraid of her? Who were the men seen at the water's edge the night of her accident? How does her family play into all this mystery as well, and who is this Architect that is entwined with her family? You must read this wonderful dark story to figure this all out and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did! As for Katherine Press narrating this story, her voice lends such a beautiful touch to bringing this story to life. I did find she narrated a little too slowly for my liking, and I ended up speeding up the playback to like 1.30, but with Frances's prose and Katherine's narration I was enchanted by this story!

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A great vampire novella set before Bram Stoker!

Revisado: 04-13-22

The Vampyre, by John William Polidori, was written about 80 years or so before Bram Stokers Dracula. The Vampyre is a short novella that follows the young gentleman known as Aubrey who accompanies the mysteries Lord Ruthven on a tour of Europe. Aubrey starts to become uncomfortable with Lord Ruthven's ways and starts to become suspicious. One night Aubrey and Lord Ruthven is attacked by bandits and Lord Ruthven is mortally wounded and upon his dying breath makes Aubrey swear to an odd oath before Lord Ruthven dies, or so it seems.

The Vampyre is a good short story, but I wish it could have been longer. The writing was well done and the characters were just okay. The whole story did seem a tad rushed, but it had some definite good creep factor to it. I actually really enjoyed Lord Ruthven's character the best and the mystery around him. All in all I was happy with this book and will probably tackle it again just to hopefully get a little more from it the second time around. As for the narrator B.J. Harrison he does a fantastic job with the story and really gets animated with his voice throughout this tale which made the story fun, if that's even a thing for vampire stories.

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A moving and fantastic tale of historical fiction!

Revisado: 04-13-22

"Oh cruel is the snow that sweeps Glencoe
And covers the grave o' Donald
And cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe
And murdered the house o' MacDonald"

Song "Massacre Of Glencoe" by The Corries


The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher is a historical fiction story that takes us to a bloody event in a Scotland winter in February 1692. This event was known as the Massacre of Glencoe, which was an illegal and treasonous action known at the time as a "slaughter under trust."

The book follows, and the story is mainly told, by Corrag, witch of Glencoe, who we first meet imprisoned in chains and facing being burned at the stake for witchcraft. The story is also told through letters from Charles Leslie, a Jacobite which were supporters of the exiled King James II against his successor King William III, to his wife back in Ireland. The story takes place after the massacre with Charles Leslie interviewing Corrag as an eyewitness of the treason and massacre. Corrag tells her tale from the time she grew up, her running from the witch persecutions, and her ending up in Scotland and meeting Clan Macdonald, and of course follows the course of the massacre.

The author, Susan Fletcher is a beautiful storyteller, slowly weaving a tale that transports you to the Highlands of 1692 Scotland. I fell in love with the main protagonist, Corrag, and the other members of the MacDonald Clan. I found myself so immersed in this part of history I did not want to stop reading and I found myself tearing up at certain parts. As for Rosalind Landor, I would have to say it took a moment to get used to her narration, especially the parts she deepens her voice for the men's part, but she was fantastic and brought the characters to life even more.

"There is no Devil, only man's devilish ways."
Cora----The Highland Witch

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A fantastic vampire tale from 1871 Austria!

Revisado: 03-14-22

"You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me, and still come with me." Carmilla from the book Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

I stumbled upon this little gem quite by accident as I tirelessly searched for a new book to read late at night when I should have been in bed. Through all the years I have always thought Bram Stokers Dracula was the first vampire novel written. Well it wasn't. Before Bram Stokers Dracula, which was written in 1896, there was Carmilla written by J. Sheridan Le Fanu in 1871. And I should also mention, while we are on the subject, that before Carmilla there was also another little short story written in 1819 called The Vampyre by John William Polidori, which is next on my tbr list. So far these are kind of the three older works I can find on vampire's in fiction.

So back to Carmilla, the vampire. The story of Carmilla takes us to a castle in the isolated countryside of Austria in 1871. There, living with her father and a few other people, we find a young woman by the name of Laura. As the people of the castle are outside talking they hear a loud commotion coming down the path and see a dark carriage with coachmen and dark riders hurrying down the path. After an accident occurs a young woman by the name Carmilla is left behind by her mother for a few months at the castle while the mother journeys on. The mother states her daughter is suffering from an illness that can cause seizures and moments of languid behavior and also says her daughter cannot take the rushed journey much more. After Carmilla's arrival a strange illness starts to spread across the countryside, people are plagued with dark and disturbing dreams, and talk starts to spread of a monster or a spirit that haunts the area.

This beautiful story is filled with such beautifully written prose that weaves strong characters together with the old countryside of Austria, so much so that you feel you are right in the story. I have read Bram Stokers Dracula before and it just didn't do anything for me. Now Carmilla I enjoyed very much. I did give it three stars, as that is an average rating for me, because although I enjoyed the book it didn't really wow me. It's difficult with vampire stories as when you have read one you read them all.

What really had me interested though was that J. Sheridan Le Fanu, in the year 1871, wrote a vampire novel where the female vampire was actually in love with the female protagonist. Although it wasn't erotic at all and was tastefully written, the fact that Le Fanu wrote these two female lovers into his vampire novel in this time period had to be hugely scandalous. And Le Fanu wrote a beautiful story that gets right to what the reader wants, and in a shorter time, whereas Bram Stokers Dracula was such a longer journey in the vampire world. I also need to take a brief moment to mention the narrator Tracey Childes, as I listened to this story as an audiobook, whose voice weaves such a beautiful tone to this story. Her accents and speed in the reading was superb and kept you enthralled the whole way. This is definitely a book I suggest for people who love a good vampire tale!

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