Category: Book Review

Book Review: 13 County Road 666

Erin Penn Leave a comment

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13 County Road 666 by C.L. McCollum

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It’s the full moon again, and that means Melanie Smithson’s job just got a lot harder. She’s got a demon boss, a drunken werewolf tearing up the place, a long-time crush on her straight trans girl best friend, a toxic witch-with-benefits situation, and brand new interest in the aforementioned drunken werewolf.

But Mel’s relationship problems are hardly her worst problems.

A stranger appears on the property after a vicious attack by what looks like a rogue werewolf, but may be something even more sinister. Worse yet, one by one, Mel’s tenants turn up possessed and violent, forcing Mel to kill in order to protect herself and her other residents. Mel has to track down the one responsible for all the carnage before she risks losing one or more of the people she cares about.

But finding that killer may not save her from a monster much closer to home, and that confrontation may change Mel in ways she could never predict.

 

MY REVIEW

Full disclosure. I was on the editing team for this one, and have been talking about it ever sense – telling people to look out for it.

Being on the editing team means, basically, I got the equivalent of an ARC read. And I LOVED this book. As soon as I get discretionary income, I am going to pick a paperback for my trophy shelf … and reread it. I read it over a year ago for it (due to the length of time things take for publication) and I have been wanting to reread it ever since but couldn’t, ethically.

Let me tell you, when you want to reread a story after editing it … after seeing it at its “worst” … that is one heck of a book.

This is a FUN romp. Over 5% of all Americans live in trailers and mobile homes. In Urban Fantasy, that number would include werewolves and ghosts. Melanie Smithson, a human, has learned over time how to deal with those that live in the trailer park she manages at 13 County Road 666. But when the things that bump in the night get bumped, they expect her to keep things safe at home.

Book Review (SERIES): The Asarlai Wars

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Per space opera. Every one of these action-packed, complicated books had something that held me back from pure enjoyment, but they are still all really, really good space operas.

The Asarlai Wars by Marie Andreas

  1. Warrior Wench
  2. Victorious Dead
  3. Defiant Ruin

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Vaslisha Tor Dain is a mercenary starship captain with a few simple rules: A good ship is better than a great man, in case of confusion always err on the side of blowing someone’s head off, and never fall for a telepath or a member of her crew.

All of those are about to bite her in the behind.

Vas’s life takes a turn for the worse when she comes back to her crew after what should have been a two week pleasure trip to find out she’s actually been gone a month and has no memory of missing time. Her beloved ship, The Victorious Dead, has been sold for scrap and its pieces scattered throughout the galaxy. In addition, there are unmarked ships blowing apart entire planets and the Commonwealth government can’t, or won’t, stop them.

And that’s just her first day back.

Vas has to fight her crew, the Commonwealth, and a mysterious cadre of warrior monks to get her ship back and save a universe that may not want to be saved.

MY REVIEW FOR Warrior Wench

Warrior Wench is a pretty standard Space Opera with standard characters. I struggled to believe the captain for the first 10-20% of the book – she has a wicked temper that I just don’t see thousands of mercenaries following without question. Too reactive to be a captain of an elite multi-species unit.

But the temper is not entirely out of place when a merc comes back from vacation to discover her ship has been sold for parts. Even a Star Trek captain may be violating some of the conventions if the Enterprise had been through a Ferengi chop-shop.

When I hit the 20% mark … I kind-of lost track of the world outside the book. The non-stop action finally sucked me in. This story is action driven and the characters are along for the ride.

Is the manuscript exceptional? Nah. Did I pick up the next book of the series at 3 am when I completed this one – absolutely. The author has a way of adding mishap upon disaster on top of complication that is just – chef’s kiss. I am having a blast reading this series.

 

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The galaxy was in for a world of hurt—chaos unseen since the violent, sadistic Asarlaí ruled hundreds of years ago.

And for the first time in her life, Vas doesn’t know if she can fight hard enough to stop it.

Vaslisha Tor Dain was a simple sort of mercenary starship captain. She fought hard, drank hard, and killed people when all else failed. Those were the good days–blown to interstellar dust when a band of crazed monks tried to resurrect a race of long-dead homicidal rulers: the Asarlaí.

Vas and her crew defeated the first wave but at great cost, both professional and personal. Now lying low, she’s been taking tedious recovery jobs with a new ship, a new second-in-command, and a galactic government that has gone into hiding but is still on the hunt for her and her ship.

But there are noises in the distant corners of the galaxy that the Asarlaí have found new allies and another way to come back from the great beyond. A painful and brutal way that will destroy worlds.

In the darkest night of deep space, if she sits too still and thinks too long, she still misses her former ship, scattered in pieces across the universe, and Deven, her former second-in-command, also scattered in pieces across the universe.

When what should have been an easy job with easy money backfires in her face, the cosmic conspiracy engulfs her again.

The ghost–make that ghosts–of her dead lover appears, as do the deadly, long-gone Asarlaí who want their empire of worlds back. Never mind that other beings live there. And Vas realizes lying low was never a possibility, not for the Warrior Wench, and never for her.

Death is final. Except when it isn’t. But the righteous in battle are always the VICTORIOUS DEAD.

MY REVIEW FOR Victorious Dead

The non-stop action of the first book continued in the second installment of the series. Somehow, even with never-a-minute-to-breathe, the author still provided just enough time so a reader can get to know the characters as individuals. Not deeply, but deep enough to care if they survive the non-stop action. Victorious Dead even has a save-a-cat moment that manages to both be sappy and not sappy at all. A balance of Space Opera in being completely overblown, mesmerizing in its grander, while also accessible and fun.

There is one character which is complete deus ex machina, and the story even comments about how impossibly lucky our heroines and heroes are to have the character rescue them when all else fails. But as the emergencies and crisises continue to tumbling on top of each other, eventually the chain of the thriller reaches a strength to even capture the god-level character within the event horizon of the disasters.

If you want the non-stop action of a thriller within the romance and melodrama scientific-defying wonder of space opera, pick up this book.

 

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The fight for the Commonwealth comes to an explosive conclusion!

The good news is that Captain Vaslisha Tor Dain and most of her rag tag band of mercenaries managed to survive a devastating confrontation with the resurrected ancient enemy the Asarlaí. The bad news is that the Warrior Wench has crash landed on a deserted planet in an unknown galaxy. Priority number one is getting off this dead rock and hopefully reuniting with the rest of their missing crew.

Sadly, that’s easier said than done, especially when a supposedly long ago destroyed ship called the Defiant shows up.

Vas and the gang can’t seem to catch a break, for just as they are starting work on salvaging the Defiant, Garmainian bounty hunters suddenly appear to claim a prize on Vas’s head.

Vas is guilty of a lot of things, but she honestly can’t remember the crime she is accused of committing and as far as she knows hasn’t ever been to Garmainian space. Disturbingly, this crime apparently occurred during the mysterious missing weeks Vas experienced on her recent “vacation”.

Vas and her second in command Deven’s to do list keeps getting longer: escape from the Garmainian hunters before they get executed; reunite their small banged up fleet and try to get back into Commonwealth space; find out if their frenemy Marli survived; and of course, finally defeat the Asarlaí for good.

Unfortunately during the six months Vas and company have been stranded, the Asarlaí have been on the move….which means time and options are rapidly running out!

MY REVIEW FOR Defiant Ruin

Third novel of the Asarlai War series was published in 2018. The follow-up trilogy completed in 2025, so everything you need to read of this space opera goodness is available. (Book 3 does tie things up, but also tosses in a spanner into the engine to set up the follow-up trilogy.)

I am going to admit the willy-nilly way of galaxy and system and planet and governments makes me twitchy knowing just how much space is between galaxies in the universe and between planets within systems, but if you can turn off the science-y part of your mind and treat this like a fantasy with blasters and spaceships and aliens, you will be fine.

Vas and Deven have finally leaned into their attraction to each other and admitted their love, much to the relief of the crew. But that is about the only thing going right as they are shipwrecked on a planet outside the Commonwealth and beyond most space lanes. They are trying to get back into the deep-dark of space, because they are not meant to be planet-bound, but even the planet’s atmosphere is working against them. Things go from bad to worse as bounty hunters investigate the shipwreck specifically for her, because a civilization she had never heard about has put a bounty on Vas for stealing sacred texts…and her brother-her dead brother-told them where to find her. Then things start getting really bad.

Non-stop action, these well-known characters (after two books) are fleshed out and believable. The history of the aliens and bad guys and politics continues to build.

Very good space opera and worth the read if that is your cup of tea.

Book Review: The Art Thief

Erin Penn 1 Comment

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The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

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Stéphane Bréitwieser is the most prolific art thief of all time. He pulled off more than two hundred heists, often in crowded museums in broad daylight. His girlfriend served as his accomplice.

His collection was worth an estimated $2 billion.

He never sold a piece, displaying his stolen art in his attic bedroom. He felt like a king. Until everything came to a shocking end.

In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, Michael Finkel gives us one of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of our times, a riveting story of art, theft, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.

 

MY REVIEW

Read for a book club, bought the book on kindle when it was on sale for $1.99 since the library didn’t have it.

Things that make me angry. The topic of this story, the “main character” of this true-life criminal just enrages me as an embroiderer, a painter, a mosaic worker (see the Arts dropdown in the top-bar menu for details). The line “everyone thinks about stealing from a museum.” No – we don’t. Many of us go to them for inspiration, to learn new techniques, to see the past and the future in one vision.

The researcher had a lot of questionable narrators to draw his story from. He did a good job in creating a narrative.

But, let me say, the core of this story is a tragedy. Not of the people getting caught, but the Tragedy of the Commons. To make the past available to all, to make art and beauty available to all, some people think that means they are allowed to take it from “the all” because only they can properly appreciate it. Without training on maintaining it, of saving it. And worst of all, no chance of making more.

I often say, as an creator, we need an audience. Art isn’t art until it is seen and interacted with. But the MC took the art for himself and no one else.

He isn’t to be celebrated as the most prolific solo (dual) thief of all time. Because he stole from the future and destroyed the past. His wasn’t a theft without victim. His theft stole from everyone, our culture, our future, our artists, our appreciators.

The book itself is presented typical, acceptable writing. The topic for me was emotional.

Let me close by saying, if you want … need … original art – and I say this as a person who does, BUY IT / MAKE IT. It doesn’t have to be great. Buy it from artists on the street. Go to craft shows. Don’t do a Bed-Bath-and-Beyond generic “Live Laugh Love”; buy YOUR art. Make YOUR art. It won’t be great to start, but you will get better and it will become amazing. Even one piece that no one else in the world has that is opposite your door as you enter your home each night is amazing; the piece of sculpture a young woman at college made, a scarf a young man knitted from the bench waiting for his team to take the field again. It means so much more than something taken, or copied, or big-box-store multiplied. Do art. Make the world prettier, sweeter with music, amazing with food. Dance in the soul of humanity, the dance between creator and audience.

Book Review: Three BIPoC Children Books

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Today’s Book Review blog is a little different. I am recommended three non-fiction children books by BIPoC authors. Informative, innovative artwork, and fun, children non-fiction books give one time to read non-fiction, becoming informed on history and science. I highly recommend working your way through the non-fiction children section of your local library. Added bonus is picking up materials on BIPoC history, artists, and authors.

Today’s books are:

The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island words by Marni Fogelson with Mahani Teave and pictures by Marta Álvarez Miguéns

One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University by M.O. Yuksel (Author) and Mariam Quraishi (Illustrator)

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise (author) and Paola Escobar (Illustrator)

 

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Imagine living on a tiny island more than a thousand miles from any other inhabited place! That’s where a girl named Mahani lived―on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. Mahani grew up taking music lessons on the island’s only piano. She had the talent to become a great pianist, but pursuing that dream meant leaving the home she loved.

As Mahani toured the world as an acclaimed concert pianist, Rapa Nui stayed close to her heart. She knew the island struggled with problems like ocean trash and wondered how she could help. So she returned to Rapa Nui with a new dream―to build a music school! The unique building is constructed with recycled trash and has solar panels and a food garden. Now Mahani is helping build a more sustainable future for her island home―where the music continues.

The perfect choice for parents looking for:

  • Inspiring nonfiction about women making a difference
  • Stories about sustainability and saving the environment
  • Kids STEAM books.

MY REVIEW FOR The Girl Who Heard the Music

Do you have a young musician in your home? This non-fiction autobiographical children’s book tells the story of Mahani Teave (who co-authored this book with children’s book author Marni Fogelson, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens).

The line that got me was “In the teacher’s living room, Mahani practiced the notes…until one day, CLICK!” I have seen that happen when a child is learning to read. And it is true for anyone who has found their passion, be it sports, music, painting, or embroidery. At some point something just clicks, and this, this is your love! It might even be Legos or gardening.

The pictures are beautiful, making it easy to fall in love with Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The book ends with two pages of facts, making this book a great choice for home schooling on a variety of subjects from how the Pacific islands were settled, to different languages, the the Moai (the Easter Island heads), to ecology, and social planning.

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Fatima had one wish . . .

Fatima al-Fihri loved to learn. She wanted to know everything, like how birds flew, why the sky was blue, and how flowers grew. But more than anything, she wanted a school for all, where anyone could study and become whatever they wanted, like teachers, scientists, and doctors.

As she grew older, Fatima carried her one wish inside her, through good times and bad. Fueled by her faith and her determination, she worked hard to make her one wish come true. For over a thousand years, Fatima’s one wish—her school—served students and scholars from around the globe, and it continues to do so today!

With lyrical text by M. O. Yuksel (author of In My Mosque) and stunning illustrations by Mariam Quraishi, this true-life portrait of an extraordinary Muslim woman shows the importance of never giving up on your dreams and how we all have the power to change the world for the better.

MY REVIEW FOR One Wish

The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets do not leave behind gold or silver coins but rather they leave behind knowledge. (Hadith 3641)

Some children crave learning; Fatima was once such child. More than that was a desire to have a place of learning for everyone. Thanks to growing up in a rich family who managed to survive a displacement and a short time as refugees plus a beneficial marriage, she was able to do something beyond wish. She built a university and a community center – one whose history and activities have continued from 859 C.E. to its integration into the modern Moroccan university system. A University impacting history and the world. She built with purpose and the world has benefited.

This biography picture book includes three pages of history and a glossary at the end. The pictures are colorful without being overwhelming.

 

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON FOR Planting Stories

An inspiring picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian, who championed bilingual literature.

When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura’s legacy.

Brought to colorful life by Paola Escobar’s elegant and exuberant illustrations and Anika Aldamuy Denise’s lyrical text, this gorgeous book is perfect for the pioneers in your life.

Informative backmatter and suggested further reading included.

A Spanish-language edition, Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos, is also available.

MY REVIEW FOR Planting Stories

Some people report things can’t be changed, then you stumble across a story like Pura Belpre who through one simple action following another introduced the Latinx community to the public library system in the 1920s, starting children librarians performing puppet shows, and publishing bi-lingual children books.

This book features many Spanish words mixed in with English. If you are reading this to your children and you have not studied Spanish for some time, you might want to practice before reading it.

The pictures are colorful, show representation and clothes appropriate to the times, and are fun. Paola Escobar does a wonderful job as illustrator.

You can make changes by planting seeds.

Book Review: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

Erin Penn 1 Comment

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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker (a pseudonym for Tom Holt)

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K. J. Parker’s new novel is the remarkable tale of the siege of a walled city, and the even more remarkable man who had to defend it.

A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all.

To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.

Sixteen Ways To Defend a Walled City is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.

 

MY REVIEW

I love military sci-fi and/or fantasy, especially when it isn’t traditional forces. In Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, the protagonist isn’t a solider per se, but an engineer. The book also isn’t exactly a fantasy sci-fi, as no magic or wizards appear in the first book of the series, other than tech wizards/engineers – but the whole world has a fantasy feel with non-human mixed with human races in a medieval-like setting rife with emperors and gladiators.

That said (1) the SNARK – pitch perfect for engineers dealing with normal soldiers and civilians; (2) the SEIGE of a capital city and the resources available within; (3) the FRIENDSHIPS between slaves and non-slaves, between enemies and allies, between haves and have nots; (4) the TOOLS of walls and sapping and siege engines and ships – so many lovely tools; (5) the HORROR of tools of war used on humans.

This book, though first of a series, completely works as a stand-alone. I have looked at the blurbs of the other two books of the trilogy but have no urgency to read them. But Sixteen Ways also is a gateway hook into everything and anything by K.J. Parker – as soon as I have time and money I want to read everything by them! The author is amazing. The story is amazing. The concept is amazing. Be amazed. It’s like being pummeled by stone balls; the story will break you with loving engineering.