Review: Smuggler's Lady by Jane Feather

Synopsis: Her auburn hair tucked into a severe chignon, dressed in a shabby brown bombazine, Merrie Trelawney was the picture of dowdy widowhood and sober respectability. No one would guess that those demurely lowered eyelids hid a sparkle of pure adventure. Or that the white hands so modestly folded in her lap could handle a sword as well as any man. Certainly, no one would suspect her of being the notorious leader of a smugglers' band who called themselves, "The Gentlemen"... Lord Rutherford, who had just inherited some property in this godforsaken corner of Cornwall, looked upon the local gentry with distaste. The men were pompous and stuffy; the women - that Merrie Trelawney, for example - were utterly insipid. How that auburn-haired church mouse had managed to best him in their verbal sparring, was completely beyond him. But if she thought that he was finished with her, she was sadly mistaken. Something about her struck a false note. And though he was not in the habit of seducing country widows, it might make an interesting change at that.... (from the back of the book)

Review: Lord, this was awful. The premise sounded fun, but it was so disappointing.  The Heroine, Merrie, was suppose to be this intelligent and daring adventurer pretending to be a dower widow - and yet, she ditched the facade willy-nilly, making it seems like a contravenes of the author and not a part of her character. The Hero, Rutherford, was ridiculous. First, making him the heir to a Dukedom was over-kill. Dukes (or their Heirs) aren't in the habit of running off to Cornwall - they have flunkies and lackeys for that sort of thing. And they don't go to war, either. It was utter nonsense to think his parents would risk losing their only heir by sending him off to fight for King and Country.

As for their interaction, it was stupid. He was all “I love her” after about five minutes and she was all “he’s so hot”. Given that they started banging about one week after they met, I’m thinking it wasn’t love, but lust.  The conflict between them, particularly at the end, was over-done, drawn-out, and annoying. It made no sense. Her objections to the marriage seemed contrived - and ludicrous to think someone wouldn't find out about her lack of wealth and position eventually.  She was suppose to be this headstrong woman with a mind of her own, but she came off as snobbish, ornery, contrary, and weak because the Hero could talk her into anything just by kissing her. Lame.  He came off as naïve and a bully.  As for the secondary characters, they were flat, annoying, and felt like set-pieces as a high school play instead of real people. In particular, the heroine’s brothers felt like puppets, only there to bring the couple together, to be discarded once their job was done. In the end, I was barely able to finish this and only managed it because I skipped through as much nonsense as I could. Don't waste your time on this twaddle.

Bookmarks: 5 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-8217-5401-7
Date Finished: 12-28-2015
Pages: 460

Review: A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan C. Bradley (A Flavia de Luce Novel, Book 3)

Synopsis: In the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey, the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce had asked a Gypsy woman to tell her fortune—never expecting to later stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned almost to death in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets. (from the back of the book)

Review: Once again, I "read" this by listening to the unabridged audiobook, performed by the talented Jane Entwhistle. As with the previous two, it was marvelous. Bradley's story combined with Entwhistle's voice acting make this story alive, sparking, intriguing, and delightful. Miss Flavia once again finds herself in the midst of murder (her favorite) and, much to the outward annoyance and inward amusement of the local constabulary, sets out to solve the mystery herself. To avoid spoiling the story, I won't go into the details, but I will say the mystery wasn't as tight as the previous two, and had some rather odd bits and far-fetched answers. But to be honest, I don't read it for the mystery - at least, not the murders. I read it because Flavia is just my sort of person, because Bradley's other characters have depth, charm, and intrigue enough, and because watching Flavia grow is fascinating. I'm eager to see how the young miss gets on in the next adventure!

Bookmarks: 8 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-385-34346-6
Date Finished: 12-28-2015
Pages: 415
Audio Hours: 10 hours and 47 Mintues
Read by: Jane Entwhistle

Review: Answers for Atheists, Agnostics, and Other Thoughtful Skeptics: Dialogs About Christian Faith and Life by E. Calvin Beisner

Synopsis: Christians and non-Christians struggle with vital questions about God and themselves. Honest questions deserve honest answers. And in an age when people often have little acquaintance with Christianity, the answers must be especially clear and understandable--no religious jargon, just straightforward truth. In this unusual book, frank dialogs between a non-Christian and his Christian friend move intriguingly from topic to topic, covering such pertinent questions as: Is there a God? How do we know? So, why does evil exist? Why should modern man believe in the Bible rather than evolution or in miracles rather than scientific law? What are the evidences for Christianity? If Christianity is true, why has so much evil been done in its name? Can God really forgive me for what I've done? Answers for Atheists presupposes no prior understanding of Christian vocabulary or beliefs but concisely explains each new term or teaching as it comes into the dialog. Invaluable both for the unbeliever looking for answers and for the believer who wants to learn how to better answer friends' questions--and his own. (from the back of the book)

Review: Written as a conversation between two characters (Jim, a Christian, and Dave, a Non-Christian), this is intended to help Christians learn how to intelligently, compassionately, and logically answer questions about the facts of Christianity - the reasonableness and validity of the Bible, Evolution vs. Creation, and why Faith makes sense. This is a lofty and noble goal. However, while it contains large quantity of information, the conservation format comes off cheesy and unrealistic. It's sort of like rehearsing a conversation in your head - it never goes as planned in real life. Real people don't respond the way Dave did - with mutual respect and inquiry. Mostly, people believe what they want and aren't open to logic. Add to that elementary arguments with glaring holes and you have an unhelpful book for study - although most of those holes have been adequately explained in more modern Apologetic books (see Lee Stroble's Case for Christ). The list of books in the back is a helpful place to find resources for further study, but again, in the 20+ years since this was published, academics has moved on and much of those are either out-of-date or out-of-touch or don't address current controversies. I will note that this book was written in 1985 (with a 1993 revised edition) and was written for missionaries in the former Soviet Union. I gather it was useful for that purpose but for those of us in America during the 2010s, not so much. Not a bad source if it's all you can get, but with many other, much better, books on Apologetics out there, this one is not worth the time.

Bookmarks: 6 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-89107-700-6
Date Finished: 12-22-2015
Pages: 191

Aquisitions: Loot from a First Time Visit to Used Book Store

We recently returned from a trip to Florida, to visit my Dad. Every time I've been down there, in the last few years, I've attempted to visit a used book shop I found near his house. But as it was always closed when I could go, I was constantly thwarted.

Until this time.

Black Sheep Books in Jacksonville, Florida was marvelous! I found far more books than I intended, and many more I was forced (by my dear Husband) to leave behind.

Here is what I purchased:

Battletech Books: I collect them, having played and greatly enjoyed the table-top game. They are rare in used shops, so you can imagine my happy dance to find this stack sitting in  pretty little row on the shelf. For the record, there are sixteen!

The Red Pyramid: The first book in the Eygptian Mythology series by Rick Riordain. Now, I just need to find the next two, in paperback and I'm set.

E.E. "Doc" Smith: Smith is an older author, from the 50s - 70s, and I greatly enjoy his science fiction works. He is another difficult author to find - people who own him tend to keep him - so I did a little jig when I saw these and snapped them up!

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: I have most of the original 56 Nancy Drew - but not this one. And although this is from the second printing (where they condensed the stories slightly) I bought it anyway. And I found several Hardy Boys that I was missing, so now I have first 9, as well as a dozen or so more.

Review: The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin

Synopsis: It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang Li, where imperial scholars and bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China... Maidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties. Street-smart and practical, she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress-until she meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang. Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, yet alone share, but as they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means that all she could ever be to him is his concubine-will she sacrifice her pride to follow her heart? (from the back of the book)

Review: I picked this book up solely because it was not based on a ranch, in Regency England, or somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. No, it's based in the Tang Dynasty, around 850 A.D. Lin does a fine job of creating real characters and setting them in a rich world. I wish she had given more details about life during this time, as it would have added more to the story. Aside from that, my only complaint is how neatly the love story over came what felt like a larger obstacle. But Lin's way of handling that included a mild gender comment and didn't detracts from the overall story. Worth reading this one, and I plan to read any others of her's I can get.

Bookmarks: 7 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-373-77773-0
Date Finished: 12-19-2015
Pages: 378

Review: Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton

Synopsis: In the summer of 2010, photographer Brandon Stanton began an ambitious project —to single-handedly create a photographic census of New York City. The photos he took and the accompanying interviews became the blog Humans of New York. In the first three years, his audience steadily grew from a few hundred to over one million. In 2013, his book Humans of New York, based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List. It has appeared on that list for over twenty-five weeks to date. The appeal of HONY has been so great that in the course of the next year Brandon's following increased tenfold to, now, over 12 million followers on Facebook. In the summer of 2014, the UN chose him to travel around the world on a goodwill mission that had followers meeting people from Iraq to the Ukraine to Mexico City via the photos he took. Now, Brandon is back with the follow up to Humans of New York that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories. Ever since Brandon began interviewing people on the streets of NY, the dialogue he's had with them has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of humans, complete with stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candor. Let Brandon Stanton and the people he's photographed astonish you. (from the online description)

Review: After reading the instagram account of HONY and finding it funny, moving, heart-rending, and educational, when I saw this book on sale for $10, I might have strained something trying to buy it so quickly. Worth every cent twice over. Stanton has an eye for capturing the inside of people through his photos, and for eliciting emotions from them that connect us all. You see people every day and they blend together, but to Stanton, each person is a Cosmos. I see people differently after reading this book. Each human has a life and story as rich as my own, and Stanton reminds us all of that fact - and hopefully, knowing that pushes us all to be kinder to those around us.

Bookmarks: 8 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-250-05890-4
Date Finished: 12-15-2015
Pages: 428

Review: Corrie's Christmas Memories by Corrie Ten Boom

Synopsis: A collection of Christmas prose written or told by Corrie Ten Boom. This includes the scriptures of the Christmas story,  a Christmas parable, and a Christmas message by Corrie's Father, Casper Ten Boom.

Review: Ten Boom's The Hiding Place remains a most favorite book, so of course, I picked up this volume when I found it at a thrift store. It was sadly disappointing. While Casper Ten Boom's message was excellent, the remaining items (scriptures exempt) this felt cheesy and trite, and more of a way to cash in on Miss Ten Boom's name. But of course, any money Miss Ten Boom made went directly back to helping people. I doubt same could be said for the publisher.

Bookmarks: 6 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-8007-0822-9
Date Finished: 12-12-2015
Pages: 64