Darlene's Digest

"Your eyes are the smoky bronze of coffee, rich and deep. It settles in your belly and warms you from the inside out. Hot, and able to get a man up in the mornin’, and keep him up all day. Without coffee, the day is dull, flat, lifeless. But with that first taste of the stimulatin’ brew, you know you can face anythin’. It makes your heart beat a little faster, and the colors all seem sharper, the air brighter." -- Smuggler's Bride It's #NationalCoffeeDay (Seriously? As if every day is not coffee day?) and I've already celebrated with a few cups of my favorite morning roast. If you're one of those who just can't face the day without that stimulating brew, be like Rand Washburn and raise your cup to coffee!

Sustained by Emma Chase My rating: 4 of 5 stars How do you reform a rake? Throw a plot moppet at him, or in the case of Jake Becker, six of the little darlings. Jake's living the good life as an up-and-coming defense attorney in D.C., on his way to making partner. Sure he defends low-lifes and spoiled brats, but he's good at it, he's handsome, he's buff, and he can get all the women he wants and ensure they're gone the next morning. Then he has his pocket picked and meets Chelsea McQuaid, a young woman caring for her orphaned nieces and nephews, and his life will never be the same again. I liked the dialogue and the depiction of the children, and the plot crisis was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, but it was handled well and the writing was fast paced and on point. The first person narration makes it harder for us to get a full vision of Chelsea, who had her life completely upended by her new responsibilities. Jake could walk away from the situation...

Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell My rating: 5 of 5 stars A swashbuckling delight, sure to thrill fans of Dumas, Sabatini, and people who know that even though Basil Rathbone plays the villain, his sword work is what you want to watch in the film. I loved the world building. Falcio Val Mond is a Greatcoat, one of the former king's magistrates, trained to sing the law and dispense justice in the king's name. But now the Greatcoats are in disgrace, scattered throughout a kingdom where the rule of law has been supplanted by the rule of venal, greedy men. De Castell does a masterful job of creating flawed but very human characters in Falcio and his companions, and the echoes of The Three Musketeers chime throughout the narrative. The fight scenes in particular are wonderfully done, and worth studying for craft and choreography. I look forward to the further adventures of the Greatcoats, reveling in this grand fantasy with larger than life characters. View all my revi...

I started my fifth year with Reading Pals , a volunteer organization that matches adults to young readers needing some assistance. We spend an hour a reading books together, and it's one of the highlights of my week. My pal this year is a young man in the 3rd Grade, and Jackson (not his real name) is already a veteran of the program, being matched with a pal last year as well. I usually have little girls as my Reading Pal, so it'll be fun and different having a boy. I try not to be stereotypical when it comes to gender roles, but having two sons, four brothers, and a husband, I know how most eight-year-old boys think. I anticipate more fart jokes in my future. I also spent a few minutes with my Reading Pal from two years ago, who's now a poised young lady almost ready for middle school. We talked a bit about books she read this summer, and she asked if I would pass along my Smithsonian Magazines to her. I used to give her my copies each month and I'm pleased as punc...

Thieving Weasels by Billy   Taylor My rating: 3 of 5 stars I'm conflicted about this novel because there were parts I enjoyed, the snappy writing in particular, and parts that bothered me. I wanted to root for the hero, who truly had a hellish childhood (and given the circumstances of the book, his family was doing its best to ensure a hellish adulthood), but his moral slides bothered me a lot, especially the casual thefts. I think it will appeal to teenage boys, and that is what got it three stars instead of two. Any book that gets teenage boys reading gets a star, even when there are morally ambiguous protagonists. View all my reviews

Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Captain James Holden's life would be pretty good, if only the dead man would stop talking to him. I can't say who the ghost is because of spoilers, but fans of the Expanse novels know that his insistence on interrupting Jim at the most awkward times, like when he's trying to just take a leak...well, it can't be good. And it's not. Holden has enemies he's not aware of, and alien life forces more vast and dangerous than he can contemplate. But it's not all about him. This is space opera! Huge ships traveling vast distances, conflicts both military and personal, truly existential questions of morality, humanity, religion and redemption. It's got it all, and it's a hell of a page turner. As much as I enjoyed the first two novels, I couldn't put this one down. I loved the discussions of responsibility and morality, and I enjoyed the human touches, the heroes and villains who were neith...

“A sail, Cap’n! Three points off the starboard bow!” Jack shaded his eyes and he could see it now, a schooner rigged fore-and-aft. This wasn’t a good sign, since schooners were the favored vessels of— “Pirates!” the lookout yelled. “It’s the Zephyr !” “Damnation,” Jack said to himself. It would be just his luck that out of all the pirates in the Caribbean, his ship would come across the Zephyr . The schooner was also flying Cartagenan colors. No doubt the Zephyr carried a letter of marque from the fledgling republic, full of official seals and ribbons, and about as meaningful as a parrot’s chatter. Jack knew this since he had a similar letter of marque. “Cap’n, he’s signaling he wants to parley,” the lookout called. The Zephyr’s gunports were closed, and she looked innocent enough. Plus they had the advantage of the wind while the Jade was on a lee shore. “Haul back, Mr. Rice. We shall see what Captain Sinister wants.” “That pirate’s name is Captain Sinister ? What kind of a name i...

We were blessed to have our previous dachshund, Yofi, for 16 wonderful years. You can find older posts in this blog where I refer to Yofi as "my muse" because she'd sleep in my office, and tolerated my reading my manuscripts aloud to her. She'd also help me break through sticky plot issues. We'd take long walks, and this freed up my mind to explore new directions with my writing. Sometimes I feared I was rushing her home to get to my keyboard, and I had images of her flying behind me like a wiener dog shaped kite. Now we have Dodi, nine months old (picture) and settling into her routine. Today on our walkies I suddenly saw a whole new direction which includes pirates  for troublesome Book #9, and I knew where I needed to go with this story. It's good to have my muse back again.

Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another excellent "Stranje House" tale, a sequel to A School For Unusual Girls . The first book was about an academy for girls who didn't fit into their neat little cubbyholes in Regency England, girls who had "abilities" that scared their families, or who liked to study engineering, or take long runs every morning. Their fed-up families would send them to Miss Stranje's school, known for its strict discipline and draconian measures. What the clueless families didn't realize is Miss Stranje's school takes these unusual girls and hones their abilities in service to the King and the fight against Napoleon and England's enemies. This second novel focuses on Tess, who suffers from dreams that come true, and who fears her life will end in madness as it did for her mother and grandmother. Tess also harbors a tendre for Lord Ravencross, the brooding and wounded neighbor whose estate...

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead My rating: 5 of 5 stars Sometimes, fiction is the best way to handle the horrors of history. It can bring to life an era, a place, in a way that involves the reader differently than the cold facts of non-fiction. The Underground Railroad is one of the best books I've read on the evil that was the age of slavery in the United States. I live in a former Confederate State and we're still dealing with the aftermath of the "peculiar institution", peculiar because after a point it was unique to the South, and the slave owners and lawmakers fought hard to keep it alive. Whitehead's novel incorporates elements of magic realism in the form of an actual underground railroad with cars and conductors and tracks, but this winding tale of Cora, who escapes from her life of bondage, incorporates details of the true Underground Railroad and the men and women who ran to freedom. It also focuses on Ridgeway, a slave hunter who become...

The Hating Game by Sally   Thorne My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved it. A classic rom-com updated for today, with great dialogue, characters who breathe life into the story, over-the-top situations and lots of fun times. It's always a pleasure to see a debut author take off like this. Kudos to Ms. Thorne, and I eagerly await her next novel. View all my reviews

The Guns of Empire by Django Wexler My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been engrossed in Wexler's series from the first, since it draws parallels from Napoleon's campaigns and I wanted to see where it would end up. But the parallels only go so far, since this is a fantasy novel and the characters don't match up to history. However, in this book we're introduced to the Duke of Wellington stand in, we have an analogy to the Russian Campaign, and we see the Vordan Army advance on its goal of seizing power from the Black Priests. It's a real page turner and there are multiple storylines and characters to keep track of, but it's a satisfying entry into the series. Lives are lost, loves are revealed, and there's a great build-up to the final book at the end. I'm eagerly looking forward to see how the story plays out. View all my reviews

Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan My rating: 5 of 5 stars So romantic! So wonderfully on point! So bloody! *Le sigh* The latest volume of Saga brings much of the story full circle as our "Romeo and Juliet" hero and heroine, and their daughter Hazel, find much of what they've been seeking. There are still crises and issues to be resolved, and threats hanging over them, but this volume was one of the most satisfying of a very satisfying series. There's a focus on the healing power of love and romance, and romance novels once again play a role in the narrative. I enjoyed seeing Hazel become more of a person too. Up until now she'd been an occasional narrator of her backstory, but I'm liking her as a child capable of action and agency. If you haven't been reading Saga, you must start with Volume 1. Really, I insist. The story, art and characters are so awesome you don't want to overlook a single bit of it. View all my reviews

Misbehaving by Tiffany Reisz My rating: 4 of 5 stars A fun, sexy romance with laugh out loud moments and lots of steamy action. Bea reviews sex toys for a living, but she needs a helper for a book review. Enter the man from her past, the one who got away. Over a wedding weekend (with a funny, very much in love couple) these two will rediscover the joy of sex, over and over and over again. Recommended for anyone who's been wanting to check out a well written, erotic romance. This is a great starting point for exploring the field. View all my reviews

It was a strange morning. Now that I've got  three books in my backlist available again ( Captain Sinister's Lady, The Bride and the Buccaneer, Smuggler's Bride ) and I have What the Parrot Saw under consideration by TPTB, I started work on Unnamed Book #9. Kind of like the unnamed Tropical Depression #9, but my book won't be called "Ian" or "Hermine". Anyway, I started to jot notes on the as yet unnamed hero and heroine for Book #9. Spent a good hour working on personality traits, location notes, what the MacGuffin is, etc. Then the diva dachshund disturbed me with her tennis ball. One must obey the doxie directives, so I got up to toss the ball a few times and (ha!) wear her out. After about the fourth squeaky ball event, I found myself thinking about a totally different novel. One I'd thought about a few years ago. One that linked to my other Regency Pirate books ( The Pirate's Secret Baby, Castaway Dreams , etc.) Suddenly, I knew what...

First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Phillips My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another winner featuring the Chicago Stars, a sassy heroine, a funny (and smart) hunk of a hero and some mystery too. SEP gives good banter, and the give-and-take between Coop and Piper shines. She's a private detective, he's a former quarterback who owns a successful nightclub, and together they make the sparks fly even as they insist they can't stand one another. There are even cameos by the heroine of the first Chicago Stars book and a certain tough sports agent. It's good to see Ms. Phillips back with a new offering, a fun, sexy, and witty read. View all my reviews

"They lined up before the platters of roast pig and venison, quails, turkey, and doves. Even a possum or two joined the potatoes in the smoldering coals. There was fish stew and slow-cooked turtle, gator tail and fresh bass, and plenty of home-brewed ale and scuppernong wine to wash it down." --SMUGGLER'S BRIDE Late summer in North Central Florida is pretty awful, with 98% humidity matching the 98F temps, but there are a few compensations. You can sneak off to the springs and dip yourself in wonderfully cool water, and you can eat grapes while you tube down the river. This is the season is when mounds and baskets and trays of scuppernong and muscadine grapes show up at the farmers market, and the U-Pick sites do a brisk business. I keep a bowl of these lovelies on the counter and snack all day on them. I'd be tempted to make them into jam but they never last long enough. They're perfect just the way they are. Soon the weather will turn cool, even here. So ...

Wintertide by Linnea Sinclair My rating: 4 of 5 stars I very much enjoyed An Accidental Goddess and was intrigued to see there was a prequel setting up more information about the society in that novel. Where Goddess was SF, Wintertide is pure epic fantasy, but quite well done. The protagonist is a classic young person on a quest, but it's always a pleasure to see a woman in that role for a change. I figured out what was happening with the love interest from the scene with the flower chain, but it was still a satisfying read. I especially liked how she wasn't dependent on her lover to complete her quest. A good, solid story with interesting characters, perfect for a long plane ride. View all my reviews

Tell No Lies by Gregg Hurwitz My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was good, but it wasn't keep-me-up-all-night-reading good. I couldn't buy into the villains having the skills to pull off as much as they did, and it was too over the top. But the premise was solid and the characterization, especially the probation counseling group, was very well done. View all my reviews

The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz My rating: 4 of 5 stars A true Southern Gothic tale with deeply buried family secrets about incest, sexual assault, race, the origins of the family fortune, and bourbon, of course. For bourbon is the southern drink of choice for generations, and while it's a part of celebrations, it's also been behind family tragedies as well. The Bourbon Thief begins with a beautiful woman, a one night stand, and a stolen bottle of rare bourbon. The thief begins to tell her tale, unraveling a skein of deception and drama through a long night fueled by bourbon. I liked it, a lot, but there were moments where I rolled my eyes over the lack of clarity between characters. One or two grown-up conversations might have staved off a great deal of heartache, but that wouldn't have made for a very good story. View all my reviews