Darlene's Digest

The Given by Vicki Pettersson My rating: 4 of 5 stars A mystery within a paranormal, with a heavy dose of Las Vegas noir and rockabilly culture brings The Celestial Blues to a satisfying conclusion in The Given . The romance between Kit and Grif, on the rocks since Grif discovered his beloved wife Evie Shaw was still alive, flares back to life as they team up to continue searching for the clues to Grif's death. Forces both human and angelic are arrayed against them, and the Kit also faces Grif's ultimate demise as his mission on earth is concluding. Fans of the series will find the third book in the trilogy all one would hope for, with plenty of angst, passion, angels and evildoers. I look forward to the next project from Ms. Pettersson. View all my reviews

In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793-1815 by Jenny Uglow My rating: 4 of 5 stars A comprehensive look at life in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. Recommended to authors doing books set during the period. It's also a good choice for readers who enjoy stories of the Regency era, especially military fiction from the early 19th century (Hornblower, Sharpe, Aubrey & Maturin), etc. There's nothing like first person accounts for entertaining anecdotes and reports of day-to-day life during wartime. The author's research and organization makes the book highly readable as well as useful. View all my reviews

Only in My Arms by Jo Goodman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I confess, I was not expecting a story about the 5th sister whose title is "Sister". Mary Francis, the oldest child, knows now life holds a different direction for her and she leaves the convent she's been a part of since she became an adult. Goodman handled her transition from being part of a religious order to the world with skill, and she crafted for Mary Francis a hero who's up to her weight. Ryder considers himself both Apache and white. Raised by the Apache, he now serves as a scout for the US Army. When he's accused of a crime he didn't commit, it's Mary Francis who stands by him. The story is a satisfying conclusion to the Dennehy Sisters series, and as always, a satisfying read from an experienced and skilled author. I'm glad much of Ms. Goodman's backlist is now available in ebook editions. View all my reviews

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise My rating: 4 of 5 stars My young United Way Reading Pal and I very much enjoyed this first novel in a new series. I got to teach her a new word ("epistolary") and she was quick at picking out the plot details and why they mattered. Adults will enjoy the puns (as will more sophisticated young readers) and the structure of the story is an excellent teaching tool as well as being entertaining for adults and children. View all my reviews

When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning My rating: 5 of 5 stars An amazing and uplifting history that will be enjoyed by anyone who's ever appreciated the power of books to change lives for the better. It will make you laugh, and maybe cry, and if you're an American, take pride in a period when the nation came together to fight hatred and bookburning with the distribution of free books to service members. I was impressed with the range of books offered. Even books that were banned in Boston (Yes, that used to be a thing) were offered to servicemen and women, because censorship was considered a greater evil than exposing them to books about interracial love affairs in Strange Fruit or racy historical goings-on in Forever Amber . Interestingly, these were two of the most requested books overseas. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about why we call them The Greatest Generation, and how books can ...

Every Man Will Do His Duty: An Anthology of Firsthand Accounts from the Age of Nelson 1793–1815 by Dean King My rating: 4 of 5 stars There's nothing like first hand accounts of history to give you a feel for what people experienced. This book brings to life the journals of sailors, officers and others during the Napoleonic Wars. Excellent resource, and highly entertaining as well. View all my reviews

Flirting with Disaster by Victoria Dahl My rating: 4 of 5 stars I especially like Victoria Dahl's stories with grown-up protagonists, seasoned individuals who may have a touch of gray, a little roundness to their figures, and understand that life is tough and doesn't owe them anything. This was a most satisfying read. View all my reviews

The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish by Linda Przybyszewski My rating: 4 of 5 stars What I liked best about the book was the author's sharing of information on how women in the US used to dress themselves comfortably and professionally for far less than they're expected to spend today, especially if they knew the fundamentals of design and could sew. We used to have mandatory Home Economics courses for girls in junior high. I objected to that, but what I wanted to see in its place was a year of mandatory Home Ec for all students, and a year of mandatory Shop (what the boys took). Everyone should know the fundamentals of cooking, sewing, budgeting for a home, and everyone should know how to do simple home repairs and maintenance. But I digress. The book is wonderfully snarky, informative, and entertaining and I recommend it to students of American History and of design, as well as the casual reader. View all my reviews

I had a great time with my little Reading Pal today. She picked a new book to read, and as soon as I opened it I got all excited in an extremely geeky fashion. "Do you know what kind of book this is? No? I'm going to teach you a new word, a word a lot of grown ups don't know. Are you ready? The word is 'epistolary'."* We looked up 'epistolary' in the dictionary so she'd be able to read the definition for herself (we had to pull out the large, grown-up Webster's Collegiate for this one), and then I showed her how the publisher had typeset the book to highlight the different chapters. The novel is Dying to Meet You (43 Old Cemetery Road #1) by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise. While I'm very tempted to keep reading this epistolary novel on my own, I'm behaving myself until my Reading Pal and I get together this week. Oh, and if you're wondering what an epistolary novel is, grab your dictionary! *I was speaking to my son a...

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'd go for 4.5 stars if that were an option. The third book in the Raven Cycle won't make sense to people who haven't read the first two, but it's both deeply satisfying and yet unsatisfying with the cliffhanger ending to the fans of the series. The satisfying part is we get more of the internal and external goings-on of the Raven Boys and Blue, we learn more about what happened with Blue's mother and Mr. Gray and Mr. Gray's employer, and we gain some characters and lose others. It's the characters that make the story so solid. Even the henchmen have interesting stories, and secondary characters like Jesse make the tale that much more entertaining. Like the others, I'm anxiously awaiting book four. View all my reviews

I'm one of the participating authors being interviewed today at the Boskone blog, and you can check it out here: BoskoneBlog  Mini-Interviews. I've got my snow boots dusted off and I'm ready to brave Boston's weather to join fans and friends at the annual conference in February.

The Creole Affair: The Slave Rebellion That Led the U.S. and Great Britain to the Brink of War by Arthur T. Downey My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent, well written history of a little remembered, but very important, incident that strained US/UK relations to the point of war. Antebellum US was dealing with its "original sin", the slaves and slave states and territories of the Southern US. The British West Indies were emancipated by 1838, creating an opportunity for slaves to escape from the US to the islands, and that's exactly what the slaves aboard the US brig Creole did while they were being shipped to New Orleans. The writing is clear and accessible to the armchair historian as well as the serious scholar, and the personalities are fascinating. I enjoyed it very much. View all my reviews

A Rogue's Paradise: Crime and Punishment in Antebellum Florida, 1821-1861 by James M. Denham My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another outstanding history that kept me turning pages when I should have been doing other things. Denham's comprehensive and extremely well-documented overview of Antebellum Florida's law enforcement gives a clear view of the frontier society, where justice was often administered by lynch mobs, where the lack of prisons and law enforcement offices truly made it a "rogue's paradise" and where fear of slave insurrections kept the public paranoid and twitchy. This book is a valuable asset for anyone writing historical fiction about the Florida frontier, and of interest to all who like a glimpse into history that's more than kings, queens and huge battles. View all my reviews

I've given my winter wardrobe a once-over, so it must be time for Boskone 52 . As I've said before, you know it's special if I'm willing to drag my Florida self up to Boston in February. Here's a blurb explaining all: "Boskone is New England's longest running science fiction and fantasy convention. Join us for a weekend of fun at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA from February 13-15, 2015. Programming begins at 2:00 pm on Friday, February 13th and is free to the public from 2:00-6:00 pm. Memberships are required after 6:00 pm on Friday and throughout the duration of the convention. For more information, visit www.boskone.org " MY SCHEDULE: An (M) next to my name means I'm moderating that panel. Growing Up in "Game of Thrones" Friday 17:00 - 17:50 , Harbor I (Westin) The consequences of their parents’ plots sit squarely upon the shoulders of the Stark, Lannister, and Targaryen children. Their childhoods are gone...

Black London: Life Before Emancipation by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent history. While we get a relatively small amount of African-American history in most public schools in the US, there's very little focus on African-Anglo life and how it affected attitudes here pre-emancipation. This book was enlightening and entertaining. View all my reviews

Forever in My Heart by Jo Goodman My rating: 3 of 5 stars I enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would. At first I found the plot contrived, but the more I read, the more it grew on me. The love story developed in an interesting and coherent fashion, and the secondary characters were great--even, or especially, The Other Woman. I'm glad I have the opportunity to catch up on some of Ms. Goodman's older Western romances in new ebook editions. Her new ones have been an autobuy for me for some time, so this is a treat. View all my reviews

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly My rating: 4 of 5 stars Very powerful, very satisfying chapter in the Harry Bosch saga. Harry's coming to the end of his time with the LAPD. He's still working cold cases, looking at crimes that remain unsolved. He's partnered with a hotshot young woman, Lucy Soto, who's a rising star in the department, there to be mentored by an old gumshoe like Harry. They're investigating two cases, one of which has a very personal connection to Lucy. Harry's not looking forward to retirement and wants to close as many cases as possible, but when they start turning over rocks to look at suspects, what they find could come back to bite them. Fans of the series will enjoy it with a touch of bittersweet feelings as Harry ages out of active police work. New fans are recommended to start with the first books to get the full flavor and enjoyment of Connelly's excellent writing. View all my reviews

Cleaning is usually at the very bottom of my "to do" list, somewhere after "sleep" and "invent flying car". However, I had the dictum "You don't put flowers on a dirty table!" drilled into me at an early age, so when I got a spiffy new pen display case, I knew I had to clean my desk before I could put my fountain pens in their new home. Once I cleaned my desk I realized I now had a floor to contend with, and bookshelves going gray and...well, you know how these things escalate. It's probably a good thing. I found books and notes under piles of other books and notes, the dust bunnies ran in terror from the corners of the office and the windows are letting in sufficient sunlight.  Here's a picture of my desktop with the new pen home. They seem very happy in their swanky surroundings. While 2014 was a difficult year because of the death of my elderly canine companion, it also saw a great deal of joy. My eldest son is engage...

The Kraken King by Meljean Brook My rating: 4 of 5 stars This novel was originally released as a serial, but it's now available in one volume. I liked it very much, but while the length of the story worked well for format used in serial segments, it was a bit unwieldy as a novel. Nonetheless, it's an excellent example of the best in steampunk romance and will be a hit with Brook's legion of fans. The characters in The Kraken King include some we've met previously (Zenobia Fox) and some new ones. It's also a fun departure from Eurocentric steampunk. I recommend starting with The Iron Duke to get the full flavor of the worldbuilding Brook's constructed with her Iron Seas stories. View all my reviews

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry My rating: 4 of 5 stars Jane Whitefield is one of my favorite heroines. She's not flashy, but she gets the job done.  In her case, "the job" is keeping people alive and getting them new identities when bad things happen. This time Jane is brought home, literally, when her Seneca tribal leaders task her with helping one of their own. Part of what I've enjoyed about the series is how Jane's methods have to evolve and change in a post-911 world. If you're new to the series, I recommend starting with the first book, but there's enough exposition in this one to bring new readers up to speed. View all my reviews