Book Review: Earl to the Rescue by Jane Ashford

This was an interesting experience for me as this is actually a reprint of a much older book by the title of Gwendeline.  One of the reasons that I love Jane Ashford is that she writes marvelous characters and while there is chemistry between the characters, there aren't any sex scenes.  It was interesting to see the difference in characters between her older book and her more contemporary ones.  I find Gwen to be something of a widgeon, but at least she fights back when the situation calls for it.  Not my favourite protagonist, but at least she isn't constantly having fits of the vapours and fainting constantly.  My favourite character was the Countess of Merryn.  She is quite literate and has the most interesting discussions in the book.  I think I need to track down some Rousseau and add it to my TBR list!
Due to the irresponsibility of her parents, Gwendeline Gregory is now an orphan and is about to be tossed out on the street.  When Alex Audley, the Earl of Merryn comes and offers to help her out with a house and income put together by a group of her father's friends (the first example of crowdfunding!)  As she is out of choices, she says yes and goes to live with the Earl of Merryn's mother who intends to bring her out in society.  However, Gwen is suspicious of Alex as there is no proof of the secret partners.  When someone in society sets out to ruin her, will the Earl come to the Rescue?
I would suggest this to people who like books that have interesting plotlines and who want a decent love story without sex scenes.

Book Review: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

The Book of Dust is the sequel series to His Dark Materials.  The title of the first book is La Belle Sauvage, which, if you don't speak French, means "the Beautiful Wild".  This one takes place 10 years before The Golden Compass.  Lyra is an infant and has very little to do with this book.  This story surrounds her and provides a background for those of us who wanted to know more about the background behind the golden compass.
It all begins with a boy named Malcolm who is very good at being invisible.  When he is at the convent and hears that a baby is there, he is very excited as he is an only child and he befriends her.  When he witnesses something happen in his small village, he then accidentally becomes entangled with spies.  As danger creeps ever closer, he does what he can to protect his family, friends and Lyra.
I would suggest this to people who have read His Dark Materials.  This is because this particular book makes a lot more sense if you have read it.  Apparently the rest of the series will take place AFTER His Dark Materials, so you may as well read it now!  I highly suggest reading it while it is warm because Pullman is a master of description and a lot of the book is spent in a wet and cold environment.

Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The night circus is the venue for two magicians to compete by proxy each choosing a child as a game piece. They grow up learning different methods of magic and then they compete with each other, not knowing the horrible truth of the game until it is nearly too late.

The story is told from multiple points of view over different periods of time we see how the night circus came to be. This book has everything: love, revenge, magic, fantasy (it doesn't have pirates.  If you want pirates as well, read The Princess Bride by William Goldman).

This book was amazing! Once I got into it, I just couldn't put it down! The plot was very fast-paced and switched points of view (P.O.V) pretty much every chapter. However, the switches between P.O.V were so smooth that it didn't bother me at all. It took me a little while to figure out the changes between time, but at the beginning of every chapter (in tiny tiny print) there are the dates.  I referenced them frequently at first to see what was going on, but as I got to the end, I didn't need to reference them anymore because the pace and events picked up as I got closer to the end of the book. It is a circular story as well because the end of the book is the beginning of the book.

It is well worth the read!  People who would enjoy this are people who enjoy historical fantasy set in the real world or steampunk.

Super Conference!

Sorry!  No new blog post this week as I am preparing for the OLA Super Conference.  I can't wait!  3 days of professional development and meeting people.  See you next week!

Buy or Borrow: Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

Given some of the games I've been playing lately, I decided it was time for something a little more lighthearted and I decided that Harvest Moon:  Light of Hope fit the bill.  It is a very relaxing game that is a mashup of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing.  There is a bit of a plot, but you can take your time with it which is great!

The premise is that you've washed up on an island and have to repair the lighthouse to bring balance to the island and bring back the harvest goddess.  You start off growing some crops and as you upgrade your tools (hoe, axe, watering can, fishing rod and hammer) you use less energy to take on more difficult materials.  You also rebuild houses to encourage people to move back to the island.  One hour in game is equal to one minute in real life and at the beginning when you tire easily because there is so much to do, you will likely be playing for about 8 minutes before sleeping and starting the next day.

I'm really enjoying the pace of this game!  It is so relaxed, a lot of fun and shouldn't take long to finish.  I would definitely borrow this as opposed to buy because it is still relatively new and expensive (at least for the PS4 and Switch)!

Historical Romance Novels Based on Films

Based on the Bourne Identity, this story is about Jacinda who works at the Bourne matrimonial agency.  When she has a suspicion that he Duke of ? is hiding something she goes to investigate his estate.  When she loses her memory in a tragic accident, the Duke finds her on the shore close to his estate and tries to keep her from finding our his secret.  However, the Duke eventually softens toward Jacinda and 

This romance novel is based on Mary Poppins which was originally written as a book by P.L. Travers.  When blah turns up at the Governess agency where she has been promised a job, she is turned away by the owner.  Desperate and afraid, when she hears that the Duke of ? has fired yet another governess, she takes a chance and goes to apply for the job.

This book is based on While You Were Sleeping, which was one of my favourite rom coms in the 90s.  When shop girl Poppy sees the Duke fall and injured, she goes to help him.  When his family will not let her in, she claims to be his fiancee.  However, his half-brother does not believe her because his brother is so uptight that he would never befriend a shop girl, let alone propose marriage.  Convinced she is just another fortune hunter, he tries to keep her away from the Duke, only to fall for her himself.

Based on one of my favourite action movies of all time, True Lies, this husband and wife duo have no idea that they are working for the same spy agency.  But, with the Napoleonic wars over, what will they do now that the agency is downsizing and has them competing for the same job?

Review: Dynamic Dames (Turner Classic Movies): 50 Leading Ladies Who Made History

Dynamic Dames (Turner Classic Movies): 50 Leading Ladies Who Made History by Sloan De Forest
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I chose this book to read for a couple of reasons. The first is that in the #MeToo era, this book is exactly what is needed to promote strong female characters. Dynamic Dames indeed! The second reason is my knowledge on classic films is somewhat lacking. It covers characters and actresses from classic to contemporary films. I learned more about classic movies and can’t wait to start watching them!

The layout is wonderful and I like that you can hop around if you want to read about a particular actress or character. I also like the chapter titles, with the exception of Fatal Females because I prefer the French “Femmes Fatales”, which evokes more of a classic feeling for me. The writing is concise, fun and flows well. I like that the individual articles are short, but my favourite part was the little tidbit at the end with extra information that didn’t necessarily fit into the flow of the section. If your favourite actress or character wasn’t in the book, be sure to check the list of “More Dynamic Dames” at the end. If want to find out more about some of your favourite actresses, there is a bibliography following this section.

I read this on my Kobo and then looked at the photos on my computer. The photos look ok on the kobo, but they really stood out on my screen.

I know that this book hasn’t been published yet, but I’ve already suggested this book to my sister as I think that both she and her daughters would enjoy it.

#DynamicDamesTurnerClassicMovies  #NetGalley