Darlene's Digest

A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews My rating: 0 of 5 stars This was a wonderfully researched Victorian-era road romance with the kind of beta hero I adore--a quiet, unassuming guy who gets things done. Matthews takes us on the long voyage from Britain to India in 1860 as the heroine searches for proof of life for her cousin, who also happened to be her first crush. I'm enjoying the Parish Orphans of Devon series and look forward to more from @ Mimi Matthews View all my reviews

Yes, it's that time of year. I'll be winging my way (weather permitting) up to Boston for New England's Longest-Running Science Fiction Convention, Boskone57 . Despite having to dig out my seldom worn snow boots, I do love visiting my friends and meeting other fans. I'll also be on a few panels, so here's my schedule. Where you see the "M" next to my name, I'm the moderator: Journalism in Speculative Fiction* Format: Panel 14 Feb 2020, Friday 17:00 - 17:50, Marina 2 (Westin) From Wells and Orwell to Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, and Annalee Newitz, there’s a long tradition of reporters becoming writers of SF/F/H. Our veteran newshounds report on what a background in journalism can bring to genre work. Are you already accustomed to research, deadlines, and low wages? Does the drive to get the facts mean it’s harder to make stuff up? Can reporters be written as good genre characters? While pounding out a hot story, must you wear a fedora? Darlene

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fabulous debut (adult) fantasy novel from YA author Leigh Bardugo . This engrossing tale of an alternate Yale University where magic is real and needs to be policed by Lethe House is a great cliff-hanger beginning to a new series with unforgettable characters. Alex Stern has had a rough life, to put it mildly, so when she wakes up in a hospital with a strange man in her room who offers her a way out, she grabs it. I loved Alex. She's a kick-ass heroine, a survivor, and one whose streetsmarts will carry her through tough situations with dangerous frat boys, preppies, professors and townies who all may have had a hand in a tragic murder. I also liked how Bardugo wove Sephardi culture and life into Alex's story, something we don't see enough of in literary portrayals of American Jews. I can't wait for the next book! View all my reviews

Regency Royal Navy Christmas by Carla Kelly My rating: 4 of 5 stars With a Carla Kelly Christmas Regency collection you know exactly what you're going to get--no dukes or billionaires, but rather ordinary people being good to one another, and finding love along the way. Sometimes, that's exactly what you want. In crazy times you want to read stories that give you hope, and bring the schmaltz , and maybe open a tear duct or two along the way. If that's what you're looking for, then this collection delivers the goods. View all my reviews

Contracted as His Countess by Louise Allen My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was different, and enjoyable. Madelyn is raised largely in isolation by a father obsessed with Medieval life. His dying wish is that she marry Jack Ransome, a nobleman in need of a fortune. It's an odd pairing, but they're determined to make it work, even though Madelyn finds much of Society life not to her liking (the fashions are a particular thorn in her side.) Jack and Madelyn have a great deal to learn about, and from, one another on their road to their HEA, and it was fun to see Regency life through the eyes of someone for whom it's almost a foreign land and language. View all my reviews