Cat Dragon

I sawSamantha Birch's  Cat Dragon when I was wandering around Chapters (sorry, it's now Indigo). It looked super cute, and sounded like a fun cozy fantasy, which was exactly what I wanted to be reading, so I decided to give it a try.

Cat Dragon is the story of Aloysia Papplewick, a magicobotanist witch who lives in Tangleroot Valley. Aloysia has never been able to bond with a cat dragon, the one animal who makes witches' magic more communal, and so has been doing her own thing on her farm. But when the valley's magical guardian sickens and the valley's Council blames her (and honestly, Aloysia blames herself as well), Aloysia sets off on an adventure with her best friend's brother, Hollis, and the cat dragon kitten she found to try to gather three magical ingredients needed to craft a potion to hopefully heal the guardian.

While this is the basic plot of the book, it's not at all what I expected from reading the synopsis. I was expecting a lot more of Aloysia at her home, dealing with the prattling pumpkin patch (that was an interesting bit of worldbuilding - some witches decided to save their soul in a soul seed rather than passing on when they died. So each year they would regrow as a pumpkin, which Aloysia then carved their faces so they could talk. Admittedly strange, but an interesting part of the world because the pumpkins who were related to Aloysia kept commenting on and trying to interfere with her life). But the trouble with the guardian happened pretty quickly, and then Hollis and Aloysia went wandering around from place to place looking for ingredients (I didn't feel like they were "whisked off to a mysterious mountain" - they deliberately went to another country (there was a border crossing) and several different towns and cities). Then after they got the ingredients and put the spell together, it didn't work, so they (unexpectedly) had to go have a magical standoff against magical plants in an ancient tower. Again, not what I was expecting to be reading, and a little all over the place. But interesting nonetheless. Birch created a very neat world of witches and their familiars and it was fun seeing different parts of it.

Some of the characters Aloysia and Hollis befriended along the way were quite interesting, too. Lan was probably my favourite: she was a blind basically treasure-hunter who used her cat dragon, among other things, to lead her around like a seeing eye dog.  She's smart and fun, and definitely (in my opinion) the best character of the book. Another character I really liked was Crow. He was funny and I wished he was in the book a bit more (being a crow, he kept being sent back to Tangleroot to bring the ingredients the party found).

Aloysia was, honestly, a bit annoying to be following. She blamed herself for everything, even when things weren't her fault. And through most of the book I never felt like she was growing or changing - she kept doing her thing (which she was good at) and blaming herself when things weren't working.  

I also have to say: the book's name is a bit weird in context of the story. Yes, Aloysia does find a cat dragon, Littlewick. Yes, he is there with her for most of the adventure. But the story was never really about Littlewick, or his bond with Aloysia. Littlewick was more a part of the setting, giving it some flavour. But the title could have very easily been something more fitting than "Cat Dragon."

So while I found Cat Dragon interesting, I will admit that I struggled with reading it at times. It has some really neat ideas in it, and some great characters. But it wasn't what I expected, and I was sad that I didn't get what I had been hoping for. 

Jolene

It's been quite some time since I read anything by Mercedes Lackey, but while wandering around the bargain book section of Chapters, I stumbled on Jolene, the 15th book in her Elemental Masters series. I've only ever read one other book in her Elemental Masters series, The Gates of Sleep, so I'm not super familiar with the series, but I thought that Jolene sounded interesting and decided to give it a try (The Gates of Sleep was a long time ago, too - I wasn't writing this blog yet when I read it).

Jolene tells the story of Anna May Lewis, the daughter of a coal miner who has been sick since she was young. Her Aunt Jinny sends for her, telling her parents that she can heal Anna if Anna will come and stay with her for awhile. After a bit of convincing on Anna's mom's part, her dad agrees. And so off Anna goes, leaving the only home she's ever known. Under her aunt's house, Anna discovers that she has magic ("the Glory," as her aunt calls it), and Jinny starts training Anna in the ways of magic and potion-making (as well as farming). Along the way, Anna meets Josh, a young carver who lives next door and who takes a fancy to her, as well as Jolene, a mysterious red-headed enchantress who starts to teach Anna a few magical things as well. But when Billie McDaran, a local mine foreman with a twisted Glory of his own, takes notice of Anna's power, it will take the help of her friends and her magic to outwit him.

The one thing I realized fairly early on was that the main plot wasn't going to happen until the end of the book. I'm pretty sure that's what happened in The Gates of Sleep as well (though it's been a long time so I don't really remember The Gates of Sleep). But most of the book was Anna and her aunt figuring out their lives together, then Anna learning from people, and finally Anna and Josh getting closer and starting to court. I don't think Billie McDaran was even mentioned until about halfway through the book, and at that point he had no idea Anna even existed. So that was kind of annoying because it felt like the book's blurb wasn't completely honest about the story (even though the things it mentions do eventually happen, kind of - Billie McDaran's interest is very quick and sudden, there was no real build-up to it happening). 

Another thing that needs to be said: the accents are really, really annoying. Most of the time, people in the book talk with a really thick accent that can be tough to read (there were a few times where I was left puzzling out what someone was saying). Most of the time it's understandable, but I think a few select words would have better gotten the accent across, rather than the whole, thick, every-word version that Lackey went with. The book lost a star on my Goodreads rating for the accent alone, it was that annoying (if you're interested, I gave it a 4/5, rounding up from 3.5).

I did enjoy reading Jolene. There were some interesting things happening in the story, and I liked the characters. But it wasn't really anything exciting - it mostly felt like the story of a young woman falling in love (wow did she pine for Josh when she couldn't see him for a day or two) while also learning a few useful skills. I remember feeling like that with The Gates of Sleep, too; for that reason, I much prefer Lackey's Heralds of Valedmar books to the Elemental Masters ones that I've read.

The Summer War

I was really excited to see a new Naomi Novik novella was out! I hadn't heard anything about it, and was really happy to see that it was more of the fantasy-style like Uprooted and Spinning Silver (it really reminded me of the world of Spinning Silver, so I was rather surprised that the two aren't connected, even by being in the same world).  

In The Summer War, when Celia is 12 years old, she discovers that she is a sorceress when she curses her brother to never find love again. Desperate to try to undo the curse, she has only a little time to find him before she is wed to the crown prince of the realm. But when the prince and the king pull a double cross, she finds herself at the whims of the mortal's ancient enemy, the immortal summerlings.

I really enjoyed The Summer War. It was a fast read (I read it in a day because it's fairly short). I liked the characters, especially how Celia learned and grew as a person as she grew up. The dynamics between her and her brothers were interesting as well 

I also liked the summerlings and how they thought so differently from the mortals in the story. For immortals, they were very much willing to die in glory so their names could live on in story. Their revenge plan was also kind of funny in that they expected a mortal to do something the way they expected, and were so surprised and angry when they didn't. It was a neat touch that they could only do things in the mortal realm during summetime, and would go running back to their world when the autumn winds hit.

All in all, this was a super fast and enjoyable read (especially after my last few reads). 

The Enchanted Hacienda

I found a review on Goodreads that sums up J.C. Cervantes' book The Enchanted Hacienda quite nicely: "like encanto but boring." The main character, Harlow, is from a magical family, only she alone doesn't have magic. She tried to move to New York and be an editor. But when she's let go, she finds her way back to her family's hacienda to try to figure out her next steps. There she encounters Ben, an intriguing guy who is trying to stay away from his journalist ex-girlfriend by hiding at Harlow's table in the local cafe. Circumstance after circumstance keeps throwing them together and they get caught up in a whirlwind romance until Harlow starts to question whether what they have is real or not.

The Enchanted Hacienda has a really good the beginning.  I was swept away with the Hacienda and learning how all the magic worked, as well as the bond between all of the women in Harlow's family. But then the story became a straight up romance, and it really started to lose me. Harlow and Ben had this amazing connection. He said he wasn't romantic, then did a lot of really romantic gestures. They kept almost having sex, but something made them stop. I found it really boring and almost stopped reading (but I was already so far into the book that I decided to just finish it and be done).

But then, something happened that made the whole romance part make sense, plot-wise. I was still bored reading it, but at least I appreciated it from that point on.

I also found there were some weird inconsistencies. For one thing, for someone who was unemployed, Harlow seemed to be blowing a lot of money (new clothes after her wardrobe had already caught up with her, flying to New York, etc). For another thing, I found it really difficult to tell how much time was passing through most of the book. Did Harlow go to Quebec City immediately after the events with the bouquet, or did some time pass? What time of year was any of this even happening? The book also didn't really explain why certain things happened (William's dream of Harlow, as one big example). And it glossed over other things (what happened with the journalist, even sometimes an event would happen, a chapter ends on a cliffhanger, then the next chapter is a day or two later and has glossed over what happened during the cliffhanger).

While in the end, I didn't mind the story of The Enchanted Hacienda, I definitely wasn't in love with it. I don't think I'll be reading any further in the Estrada family saga.

The Honey Witch

I picked up Sydney J. Shields' The Honey Witch earlier this summer. It sounded like an interesting, more cozy fantasy, which was appealing: I haven't been interested in grand quests and fate of the world scenarios lately. 

The Honey Witch follows Marigold, in a Regency-era/style story. Marigold is different from everyone else and doesn't feel like she fits in. Rather than dress up and attend balls, she wants to be running around in the woods and visiting spirits that no one else can see. But when her grandmother unexpectedly visits and tells her that Marigold, like all the first-born daughters of their family, is a honey witch, Marigold accompanies her grandmother back to the isle of Innisfree. She takes to her new life immediately, having no interest in a husband at all (Marigold even disdains other women who choose such a life for themselves, though her grandmother immediately disproves of her thoughts when she shares them out loud). But after her grandmother's passing, Marigold slowly grows lonelier and lonelier until an old friend of hers comes for a visit with his friend, Lottie Burke. Marigold finds Lottie impossible yet incredibly attractive. But her family was cursed by an ash witch to not know any love. Yet she finds herself thinking of and longing for Lottie all the more. 

While I thought the premise of The Honey Witch was intriguing enough, I found the book to be rather predicable and often boring. I predicted most of what happened (from fairly early on), including Lottie's heritage and who August's soulmate would be. About the only thing I think I got wrong was that the weird fortune teller at one point in the book wasn't actually the main antagonist of the book, but was in fact a random weird fortune teller who had no further bearing on the book (and honestly, in hindsight the fortune teller's inclusion seems rather weird since Marigold was constantly seeing omens in the world around her - why would she need her fortune read?) Marigold and Lottie's relationship was slow and boring in very stereotypical ways ("she can't possibly love me because of the curse!" and "I must keep her away because this is harming her!" kind of ways). The world building was confusing at times (I'm not 100% sure what a honey witch can do vs what an ash witch can do because honey witches could heal but ash witches can raise the dead somehow? Also ash is apparently the opposite of honey? That never really made sense to me). Oh and the curse itself seemed weird - Lottie seemed quite capable of loving Marigold, she just got hurt in doing so, but I thought the curse was that the honey witches couldn't be loved? In the end it seemed like they weren't capable of having a soul mate, but that's not really what the curse was supposed to be at the beginning of the book.

I'm sad that The Honey Witch didn't live up to my expectations. :( 

Never Too Late

So after trying my first ever Nora Roberts book, I decided to give a Danielle Steel book a chance too. I chose Never Too Late, one of three Danielle Steel books I recently picked up from some relatives. It tells the story of Kezia, a widowed woman who decides to start fresh in New York City. But after a tragedy strikes the city, she befriends her new neighbour, a well known movie star names Sam who is also recovering from the death of his spouse. And as the two start spending more time together, they start to wonder if they might have a second chance at love.

Never Too Late also features their adult children navigating their own relationships. Kezia's youngest daughter Felicity is a supermodel who is proposed to by her much older boyfriend. When she accepts, and starts planning her wedding, it makes her older half-sister Kate jealous. Kate, and aspiring writer, has been with her boyfriend for four years. After going to meet her father in Africa (and discovering he doesn't live up to the fantasies she had of him), she decides she wants more out of life. She gets engaged to her boyfriend, but he refuses to set a date or even talk about the wedding. Meanwhile, Sam's son has been up front with his current girlfriend that he doesn't want to get married (and doesn't even want her moving in). But she has her sights set on marriage with him anyway! 

I'm not going to lie, the ending and how these relationships turn out was fairly predictable from the point the book let's you know that Sam has a son who is Kate's age. But that part of the story was still probably the most fun of the book. I honestly felt like Kate was the most interesting character with the most growth. Everyone else was fairly flat and stagnant.

Never Too Late is also not very well written. The book tells you almost everything without showing you much, and is extremely repetitive (a thought will be repeated not only a few times on the same page, but multiple times in the book). I started wondering if Steel has an editor because the book reads very much like an early draft. :(

Needless to say, Steel's books do not seem to be for me, so I will not be reading the other two I got. :(

The Witness

I've never read a Nora Roberts book before. But after asking my partner's mother what she was reading, her explaining The Witness to me, and then offering it to me after she finished, I decided to give it a shot. 

The Witness is the story of a young girl, Liz, who, during her one act of rebellion against her controlling mother, witnesses a double murder. Liz and her friend accidentally got involved with a couple of mobsters, one of whom was ratting the mob out to the police. So the mob retaliated, killing her friend at the same time. When they realized that Liz had witnessed everything and gotten away, they came after her, even when she was in a witness protection program. And so she had to run again, relying on no one but herself to stay safe.

Fast forward about a decade, and Liz, under a new name, finds herself in a small town in the Ozarks. There she attracts the attention of Brooks, the chief of police, whose curiosity is piqued by the beautiful girl who keeps to herself and goes everywhere with a concealed weapon. As much as Liz tries to keep him at arms distance, Brooks manages to worm his way into her heart. But can she risk being with him when she knows the mob is still after her (and will kill everyone she loves if they need to to get to her?)

I honestly quite enjoyed The Witness. I loved both Liz and Brooks, and how their relationship blossomed. Liz doesn't really know how to behave in social situations due to her upbringing, so she's very blunt in an endearing way (she often catches herself after she says something to make amends and try to better understand the situation). Brooks is an upstanding man who wants to do right by everyone, even if that means he doesn't exactly follow the law to the letter. While it gets him into some trouble, you know he has everyone's best interests at heart. 

I did find the end of the book was a bit abrupt though. I expected some sort of showdown with the mob, especially after there was a random part of a chapter from one of the mobster's perspectives about halfway through the book (then the book never went back to their perspective). There was also a sex scene that was a little steamier than I normally like to read (as I told my partner, I am perfectly okay with them "fading to black" so to speak). But otherwise, I found this a very enjoyable read. The plot was interesting, the characters were great, and I enjoyed how their relationship grew. I'll have to give more Nora Roberts a try one day. :)

The Dallergut Dream Department Store

The Dallergut Dream Department Store was the second book that a friend from work recommended to me. It is the story of Penny, who gets a job at the titular Dallergut Dream Department Store, where dreams are sold to the dreamers who visit Penny's world when they sleep. In this world, our brains don't create our dreams; instead, there are beings who craft dreams (and it's a whole big thing in Penny's world, where the big dream makers are celebrities and they have a yearly award ceremony that everyone watches). The dreams are paid for after the fact, with strong emotions that the dreamers experience. Those emotions can be bought and sold, and used as needed (added into cookies and drinks, sprayed on furniture to create a certain feeling, stuff like that). 

The Dallergut Dream Department Store is Penny's first year working for Dallergut, from her initial interview into the new year. She begins learning the ins and outs of the business, and meets some of the dream makers, all the while tending to the dreaming customers' needs. Most of the chapters are interspersed with stories of dreamers in the waking world (and how the dreams they choose to purchase influence them). These dreamers are often loosely connected, in that one may be friends with another, or hear of another's life, but otherwise their stories standalone.

The characters who work at (or around, in the case of the dream makers) Dallergut's store are quite varied and eccentric. I enjoyed a lot of them, especially Dallergut. Dallergut is both wise and infinitely curious, asking questions that make the others around him think. He values curiosity and insight, as that was largely how Penny was hired in the first place. 

Unfortunately, while the world and the characters are interesting, I found the story of the book largely lacking. I started losing interest in reading it part way through (possibly in part because it reads like a bunch of kind of boring short stories after the initial wonder of the setting wears off). I actually really struggled to finish reading the book (I found myself wishing I was reading one of the graded French readers I've been reading lately instead). It's such a shame: The Dallergut Dream Department Store has a lot of promise, but failed to live up to that. :(

The Frugal Wizard's Guide for Surviving Medieval England

Oh geeze, I forgot to write about The Frugal Wizard's Guide for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson.

The Frugal Wizard's Guide for Surviving Medieval England is another one Sanderson's Secret Projects books. I wasn't really sure what I would think of it (I wasn't immediately grabbed by the title and premise like I was with the other two Secret Project books I've read). But I needn't have worried: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England hooked me from start to finish!

The book starts out with the main character awakening with no memory of who he is, where he is, or why he is there. Around him he finds only pages of The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, a guidebook that explains that he is in a multiverse, and Frugal Wizard TM has found a set of dimensions that resemble medieval England in our world; Frugal Wizard TM sells the dimensions to people so they can be the hero of their very own world. You see, the people from his world are advanced, with nanobots and other augments, so even though they might be ordinary in their time and world, they are extraordinary in a medieval setting. But our hero is not alone; he discovers that there are others from his time who are here and are looking at conquering the world. Piecing together who he is and why he's here, he needs to figure out who he is and what he's willing to do for this new world he's found himself on.

Once again, I enjoyed all the characters. The setting was a lot of fun (I really liked how the chapters were interspersed with pages from the actual Frugal Wizard's Guide to Medieval England - it was fun, and the drawings were fantastic!) I really enjoy Sanderson's writing, and I'm looking forward to reading The Sunlit Man (though I intend to keep it for a time when I need a good read, rather than jumping straight into it right now). 

The Rainfall Market

A friend at work recommended You Yeong-Gwang's The Rainfall Market to me (as well as a second book) after I told her that I've had a bit of a tough time reading lately. The Rainfall Market is a really quick read at only 209 pages, so I thought it was a great place to start. 

The Rainfall Market is the story of Kim Serin, a girl who feels like her life is a depressing mess. Her father passed away, her sister disappeared, her mother has no time for her, and she has no friends. When she hears that if you write a letter to the mysterious Rainfall Market, a magical place where you can exchange your misery for a better future, she jumps at the chance to obtain an invite. Once there, she has until the rainy season ends (about one week) to make her choice, or she will disappear forever.

But Serin isn't alone. As the holder of a golden ticket, she is given a guide cat, Issha, who can help her find the future she wants. Together the two of them go searching through the Rainfall Market, meeting (and often helping) many of the inhabitants (the Dokkaebi, a race of human-like beings who take and use different emotions and memories of humans) in search of the perfect Dokkaebi orb to bring back to her world for a better future. 

The Rainfall Market is a really cute and overall feel good story (though I admit, even though it has a happy ending that I kind of saw coming, I was crying at some of the events that got us there). This is the perfect read for when you're in need of something more light-hearted. :)  

Heartwork Journaling: Play with a Purpose

I stumbled on the idea of Heartwork Journaling a little while ago, I believe as an e-course. I didn't really want to sign up for it, but I discovered that the creator, Maritza Parra, had created a book, Heartwork Journaling: Play with a Purpose. So I decided to give that a read to see what this idea was all about. I've been journaling on and off for a few years now, so I thought this practice would be worth checking out. :)

The idea of Heartwork Journaling is that you use art to better uncover the feelings that you are dealing with, to both work through them and help you create a good life through self care and creativity. The main idea Parra reiterates all through the book is that your art doesn't have to be perfect or even pretty - it's 100% fine if the art you make is messy and something that you don't want to show anyone! She recommends getting a book of watercolour paper, watercolour paints, and some markers for outlining and writing on the pages (though near the end of the book she also mentioned using crayons or markers as an alternative, so that was nice to see). The book is made up of a bunch of lessons that I think are to get you started with Heartwork Journaling, though I'm not really sure....the lessons seemed to be kind of one-off art projects, and nothing really seemed to build off of previous lessons. There are some journaling prompts in most of the lessons as well to get you to reflect on emotions and other areas of your life (for example, boundaries and relationships). 

While I like the idea of Heartwork Journaling, I didn't really connect to it in the book. I didn't connect with the idea of being a divine scientist, and found the book overall too structured (in that I wasn't really interested in doing any of the lessons). I did find some helpful journal prompts though, so that was great.

I'll also admit, I wandered to the dollar store part way through reading this book, but I couldn't find anything I would call "watercolour paper," so I didn't really have any of the materials to follow the lessons in watercolour anyway. I have pencil crayons and could give those a try, but the whole idea really felt made for watercolour paints (they can kind of blend and bleed together in your art; pencil crayons or markers wouldn't really). 

While I am grateful for some of the prompts I discovered in Heartwork Journaling: Play with a Purpose, I'm not sure how much I will use a lot of the concepts in this book. But I also think it's worth checking out and deciding for yourself on how you feel about the idea. :) 

Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently

I almost returned Caroline L. Arnold's Small Move, Big Change: Using Microresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently to the library unread. I'd taken out a few self-help books around the same time that were all along the same lines (transforming your life for the better), read a bit, then ultimately sent them back. But something stopped me with Small Move, Big Change. And whatever it was, I'm glad it did!

Small Move, Big Change is all about transforming your life by slowly changing your habits. A lot of your behaviour runs on autopilot, or through habit, as Arnold explains. So when you try to make a big sweeping change, you run up against that autopilot, eventually succumbing back to those habits you always use (this is specifically due to the limited amount of energy your willpower and decision making capability have per day; each time you decide to do something counter to these auto-behaviours, you use some of your will power up until you have nothing left). By targeting small, select behaviours with microresolutions (small resolutions that have instant gratification because they are so small, it's much easier to follow through with them), you can, over time, change your habits by making new ones, which in turn will change your life.

I felt like a lot of this idea was also in Atomic Habits (though this book predates Atomic Habits, so maybe Clear got some ideas from Arnold?) But I really liked how Arnold packaged this. The first part of the book explains the whole process of setting microresolutions, and the rest of the book shows examples in action in different parts of your life (sleep, fitness, diet/nutrition, clutter, relationships, spendig, punctuality, and organization). You honestly don't even really need to read the second part of the book, as you get everything you need from the first part. But there are some interesting ideas based off of examples from the author's life (and from some of her clients and friends). I honestly already started a couple in my own life as I was reading this book (and believe me, as you read it, you get so many ideas for things you can try, it's very hard to limit yourself to the two that Arnold recommends at a time!)

While I was reading Small Move, Big Change, I was honestly struck by how Arnold's method felt like the missing piece in my own attempts at self-improvement and goal setting. I was very impressed with the microresolution method, and I hope it helps me in my own life!

Lost in the Never Woods

I saw Lost in the Never Woods at work and thought it sounded fun. I like fairy tale retellings, and have really enjoyed the Peter Pan stories I've read (specifically The Child Thief by Brom and Lost Boy by Christina Henry). So I was quite excited, especially for a story about a more grown up Wendy trying to remember her time in Neverland.

Lost in the Never Woods opens with a very traumatized Wendy trying to finish her volunteer shift at the hospital. But when the police show up to ask questions about a child who went missing, she is, of course, under suspicion. Five years previously, Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods; only Wendy returned, and she has no memory of what happened during that time. But when, on her way home, she nearly hits a strange boy with her truck, and recognizes him as the boy who she has been secretly drawing for years, she begins to piece together what exactly happened to her family all those years ago.

I really enjoyed Thomas' version of Peter Pan (the character). Out of the Peter Pan retellings I've read, this Peter is the most wholesome. He is upbeat, friendly, brave, and just a really wonderful guy.

I also quite liked the ending of the story, when you find out exactly what is happening (spoilers here): What Peter's Shadow is (the manifestation of the fear and anger of a person) and how he is gaining power (he has been kidnapping local kids and feeding off their fear). What happened to Wendy's brothers (they tragically passed five years ago), what Peter is (he is like a guardian spirit who brings the souls of children who meet tragic ends to Neverland where they can recover and finally move on), what happened to Wendy all those years ago (she was the one and only living girl to go to Neverland; her presence, and also that Peter likes her (she is the only person he has ever really wanted for himself) are what caused Peter's Shadow to start to gain power and split off from Peter), all of that was really well done.

....unfortunately, it is a SLOG to get there. I wasn't prepared for that at all...pretty much nothing happens for a good 50-60% of the book. I very nearly stopped reading it multiple times (and wouldn't have felt bad if I had because it was so boring). A friend of mine suggested I keep trying because Thomas is an author she likes, so I did decide to persevere. The end was good, but you honestly could skip the first 200 pages and wouldn't miss a whole lot. This really should have been a novella, or a Murderbot-sized book; coming in at nearly 400 pages, Lost in the Never Woods should have lost a lot of the excess bloat.

While the end of Into the Never Woods was rather good, I do not recommend this book as a whole. I am proud of myself for making it through though. Unfortunately, having read it, I have no desire to read anything else by Thomas (at least at this time).

The Blanket Cats

I saw The Blanket Cats and thought it sounded like a cute read. The premise is that there's a pet store that rents out cats for three days to people; as long as the cat has its blanket, the cat is fine in the new environment. The endorsement on the cover even said "Utterly charming...I would read a hundred of these stories," so I was ready for some cute stories about cats in temporary homes. So I was utterly unprepared for the reality that is The Blanket Cats: terrible people, terrible situations, and a cat being there for no real reason.

There are seven stories in The Blanket Cats. The first one is about a childless couple who decided to try renting a cat to see if a cat would work in their lifestyle. But the couple is a couple in name only; after they were unable to have children, they basically started leading separate lives at the wife's insistence (they have separate bedrooms, where they go to hang out alone all the time). The wife is enamored with the cat, until the cat catches a mouse when they take her to a park. At that point she wants nothing to do with the cat, though the story sort of implies that maybe the couple will be a bit closer now? I'm not sure though because the story just kind of abruptly ends (honestly, that's how most of the stories in this collection end).

The second one is about a lady who always rented the same cat every few months. The two of them would go off on adventures together. The cat she normally rented had retired, but the pet store owner let the lady take the cat on one more adventure. This one had some supernatural elements to the story, where the cat seemed to be able to show her either memories of people or the future of people. As the story unfolded, it turned out the lady had cancer, she stole from the company she worked for (who were all good people) and was intending to commit suicide. The story ended at the beach where she didn't drown herself, and the cops finally caught up with her.

The third story is about a loud and obnoxious man and his son, who together rented a cat (well, the pet store owner let the boy rent the cat - he didn't trust the father). It turned out the boy had been bullying another kid at school quite badly. The boy named the cat his own name, and seemed to use the cat to work through his own emotions? It was a bit confusing because both the cat and the boy had the same names. Either way, it wasn't a good story.

This was the point where I was pretty sure that endorsement on the front cover was lying.

The fourth story was about a family whose cat had passed. But they were having their grandmother with dementia over for the last time before the grandmother went into a home. And the grandmother had loved their cat, so rather than tell her the cat had died, they rented one in the hopes that she wouldn't notice. This story also featured the family's older daughter lying about breaking up with her boyfriend, so she asked him to come to dinner for her grandmother's sake. 

So basically more terrible people.

The fifth story was arguably the best of the lot. A man lived in an apartment building where no pets were allowed. The landlord would periodically rent a cat from the Blanket Cat place who was a fairly rough, kind of mean cat; he would go through the building and use the cat to find out if any of the tenants had animals (and promptly evict them). The main character's girlfriend wanted to move in with him, but she had a cat, so they decided to rent that same cat in the hopes that the two would be okay with each other come inspection day. Unfortunately, their kitten loved the older cat too much and got super excited when she could smell him.

This story had some of the most interesting and sympathetic characters. The landlord had a very sad story, and while he was a gruff man, he was by no means horrible (when he discovers the kitten, yes he wants the couple out, but he also wants them to get better jobs/be financially better off before they leave). The cat he rented out also had an interesting and tragic story (he was the kitten of his family before they passed), so while the man didn't want the cat living with him full time, he still gets him to visit often. This was the one story that I genuinely thought was good - I didn't feel like anyone was horrible.

The sixth story was also really good. This one was the only one from one of the cat's perspectives. One of the cats gets rented out to someone who seems like a pretty horrible cat guardian. So the cat takes off on the first chance he gets. He jumps into the back of a truck to get away, and discovers two kids who are running away from home. The cat helps them, then at the end of the story moves on with the intention of helping others.

Again, this story had some good people going through some tough things. Some of the things going on from the cat's perspective were a bit weird, but overall I really enjoyed this one, too.

But we can't end on a good note, can we? No, of course not. So that brings us to the final story of the collection. A man was laid off from work, and his family will need to sell their house and go back to a smaller apartment. The man feels like he has betrayed everyone, and wants to make even just one dream of his kids' come true: they had told him they wanted a cat before, so he rents one for a few days. His wife is against it. His daughter basically doesn't want to give him the time of day. But his son is quite excited. The two of them attempt to build some memories (with the women wanting no part in this). But when their real estate agent surprises them with some clients who are interested in viewing the house, the couple send the kids and cat to the park. And their daughter takes the blanket from the cat's carrier and purposefully leaves it at the park.

Now, this one didn't feel as horrible as the earlier stories in the collection. I felt like these were good people dealing with a traumatic situation. But the story itself wasn't a good read. It dragged in weird parts (like when the dad tried to get his son to guess what was in the cat carrier....why would a moment like that need to go on?) but also wrapped up too quickly. This story felt like it could have been more fleshed out. This was especially true of the end; the end just sort of happens, and I didn't feel like there was good closure (the father and daughter went back to the park to retrieve the blanket).

So that was The Blanket Cats. It's not a charming read, and I would not read hundreds of these stories. These seven were enough, thank you. 

Where the Dark Stands Still

I saw Where the Dark Stands Still by A. B. Poranek at the library and knew that I had to read it. The premise is a fairy tale that reminded me of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, and the whole book is inspired by of Polish/Slavic mythology; all things that I quite enjoy. 

In Where the Dark Stands Still, Liska was born with magic, but taught by everyone in her village that magic is evil, and so she does her best to hide it. Unfortunately she cannot always control it. So in desperation, she braves the Driada, the demon woods near her village, in an attempt to find the legendary fern flower. If she can find it on midsummer's eve, the flower can grant her a wish. And the only thing that she wants is to be free of her magic once and for all. Unfortunately she is discovered by the Leszy, the demon guardian of the Driada. He makes her a deal: serve him for a year, then he will let her have the flower. But she never dreamed that part of the deal involved Liska actually learning to control her sinful magic!

So yes, at this point, the story is very similar to Uprooted: a magical girl having to serve a magical being on her own, and a malevolent wood overshadowing everything. I admit that I was a bit annoyed at how similar they were; I also didn't think Where the Dark Stands Still was going to be very good because it was falling into some of the YA paranormal romance tropes (obviously they ended up falling in love - that you could see coming from a mile away). But as the book progressed, and Liska unravels more and more of the mysteries surrounding the Leszy, I was hooked.

I also really liked the characters. Liska is an interesting heroine, struggling with some very real trauma from her past. But through it all she keeps trying to find a way forward, trying to right the wrongs around her, even when that means needing to use the very powers she wants nothing to do with. The house spirit, Jaga, is awesome. She's basically a cat who you can bribe with jam. The house itself is a fun character; while it doesn't talk, some of the ways it makes itself known (I particularly liked when it unfurled a scroll to "stick its tongue out" at the Leszy). Maksio is another character who doesn't really speak, but can convey his thoughts so well through body language especially when he first comes to live with Liska and the Leszy. 

The book also takes some very unexpected turns. Finding out just what Maksio is was unexpected. Finding out how the Leszy got his power, and what he has to do to maintain it was pretty shocking. And everything that Liska and the Leszy do in an attempt to get the Leszy out of the bargain he made long ago was quite the ride. The ending, while not expected from a YA book, was also really fitting; after everything the Leszy had done, both good and evil, it made sense that he didn't live. I'm not going to lie, I cried at the end.

All in all, I really enjoyed Where the Dark Stands Still. I hope to see more from Poranek one day!

Seeking Serenity: The 10 New Rules for Health and Happiness in the Age of Anxiety

I've been pretty stressed over the last year or so, so I decided to give Amanda Enayati's book Seeking Serenity: The 10 New Rules for Health and Happiness in the Age of Anxiety a try. I was expecting a book about reducing stress, but that's not really what Seeking Serenity is about. Instead, the book is aimed more at changing your outlook on stress: stress can be a big motivator, helping you get things done, learn, and grow; it isn't the big bad force we all think it is (though Enayati does concede that chronic stress is still bad for you).

After the introduction, Seeking Serenity breaks its ten rules down into four areas of life: your world (rules 1-4, Be Resilient, Belong, Be Creative, and Be Free), your mind (Be Happy, Be Giving, Be Kind), your body (Be Healthy, Be Uncluttered), and world, mind, and body (Be Present). None of these rules are really groundbreaking; we are social beings who get a lot out of helping others and having purpose, so many of the rules are either around that, or about clearing yourself of clutter. But the book was a good reminder to work on what is important, rather than chasing material things.

I quite liked her afterword, too. In it, Enayati tells of preparing a speech for a day of climate action, where she was struck by the similarity between environmental sustainability and personal stress: our everyday habits and practices can make our individual lives more sustainable, much like how our individual actions can make our home more sustainable for all. It is a great parallel, and a really interesting thought for her to leave her readers with as they finish the book.

While it is, understandably, not the easiest read (I found the book needed to be read in smaller digestible chunks), Seeking Serenity is a good read, especially for anyone who is struggling with feeling overwhelmed and stressed in their daily life. While the advice isn't really new, Enayati provides some new perspectives that will help you consider stress in new ways. I highly recommend it.

Characters from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Book Series

When I was reading The Dark Crystal: Age f Resistance book series, I found the characters were really overwhelming. Lots of characters are introduced by name and it's hard to tell who is who (and who is important to the narrative vs one-off mentions). Plus many characters that you meet in one book may reappear in a later book. So I created a list of all the characters from the book. I wanted to share it in case it helps someone else who reads these books!

Jump to:

Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4

Book 1: Shadows of the Dark Crystal

Drenchen Clan

• Laesid - maudra
• Bellanji - Laesid's husband
• Naia - Laesid's daughter. Hero/POV character of Book 1 and 4
• Neech - Naia's muski
  
• Eliona - Laesid's second daughter
• Pemma - Laesid's youngest daughter
• Gurjin - Laesid's son, Naia's twin

Vapra Clan

• Tavra - a Vapran soldier
• Mayrin - all-Maudra 
• Mira - Rian's friend from the castle.

Spriton Clan

• Mera - maudra of Sami Thicket
• Kylan - songteller 

Skeksis (from all four books)

• skekOk - Scrollkeeper
• skekLach - Census Taker
• skekSil - Chamberlain
• skekSo - Emperor
• skek-Mal - Hunter
• skekTek - Scientist
• skekUng - General
• skekGra - Conquerer
• skekLi - Satirist
• skekSa - Mariner (female)
  
• skekZok - Ritual Master

Other

• Jarra-Jen - Gelfling hero of legend
• Olyeka-Staba - the Cradle Tree of the Dark Wood
• Smerth-Staba - the great tree in Sog
• urVa - the Archer
• Rian - Stonewood Gelfling. Branded a traitor along with Gurjin

Book 2: Song of the Dark Crystal

Stonewood Clan

• Mythra - Rian's sister
• 
  Fara - maudra
• Shoni - Rian's mother
• Timtri - Rian's little brother
  

Grottan Clan

• Argot - maudra
• Amri - their guide

Others 

• Gyr - songteller of legend
• urLii - in the tomb of relics (Storyteller)
• Krychk - spider

Book 3: Tides of the Dark Crystal 

Sifa Clan

• Onica - far dreamer
  
• Ethri - maudra ("Gem-eyed Ethri")
• Captain Staya
• Tae - Onica's friend
• Captain Medso
  

Vapra

• Seladon - Tavra's older sister
• Brea - Tavra's younger sister
  

Dousan Clan

• Periss - a thief
• Seethi - maudra
• Sandmaster Erimon - Periss's brother

Note: the 12 Dousan groups are divided into "xerics"

Other 

• Oszah-Staba - the Wellspring
• urSan - the Swimmer (female)

Book 4: Flame of the Dark Crystal

Mystics

• urTih - Alchemist
  
• urZah - Ritual Guardian (connected to skekZok)
• urSu - Mystic Master (connected to skekSo)
• urSol - Chanter
  

Others

• Lun - Spriton guard (boy)
• Gereni - Spriton guard (girl)
• Chapyora - Laeid's muski
• Kipper - a Drenchen guard
• Deet - Grottan girl who came with Rian to Stone-in-the-Wood
  

Flames of the Dark Crystal

Wow, I really did fly through The Dark Crystal: the Age of Resistance series!  I had to buy Flames of the Dark Crystal, the final book, on my Kindle because I couldn't wait to read it!

Flames of the Dark Crystal once again returns to Naia's point of view. Three of the seven flames of resistance have already been lit; now Naia and company just need to light the Stonewood, Grottan, Drenchen, and Spriton flames. After escaping SkekSa's ship, the Gelfling decide to split up, with Tavra (still controlling Tae's body because the Sifan was quite badly hurt in the fight against SkekSa at the end of Tides of the Dark Crystal) and Onica agreeing to go light the Stonewood and Grottan flames, while Naia, Gurjin,  Kylan, and Amri going south to light the Spriton and Drenchen flames. (Amri was given the choice of whether to go with Tavra and Onica to light his home flame, but chose instead to continue with Naia). Returning to Sami Thicket, Naia and company discover that the Spriton and Drenchen are on the verge of war between their clans, as the Drenchen want to march on the Skeksis at the castle but the Spriton under their maudra want to remain loyal to the Skeksis in an attempt to save their clan from the Skeksis' wrath. 

Naia also knows that getting the Spriton maudra to agree to light the flames of resistance will be tough. Maudra Mera made it clear from the original book that she was doing only what she thought was best for her clan. Even with Kylan's help, the group knows changing her mind won't be easy. Plus Naia's mother is pretty strong-willed, ready to go up against the Skeksis with only her clan. So getting her to back down and find another way won't be easy either. 

Knowing that the Mystics are linked to the Skeksis also makes Naia question whether violence is the answer, as killing a Skeksis means an innocent urRu will perish as well.

But in the middle of everything, Naia and company receive news that the Stonewood clan has been shattered by the Skeksis. Their maudra, Fara, tried to lead the clan against the Skeksis and was horribly beaten, and their home, Stone-in-the-Wood, was destroyed. 

After successfully stopping a war between the clans, losing her mother in a fight against SkekSa in the Swamp of Sog (though they succeeded in trapping skekSa rather than killing her), and lighting their two fires (plus knowing that the Grottan fire was also lit), the Drenchen and Spritons set out for Stone-in-the-Wood to help the remaining ragtag Stonewood Gelfling light the final fire. Unfortunately when they succeed in lighting it, they discover the Skeksis emperor, skekSo, can also speak through the crystal to the Gelfling rebellion. When the Gelfling do not give in to his demand that they stop this rebellion, he takes his Skeksis to forcibly crush the Gelfling in Stone-in-the-Wood. What follows is the epic battle for the spirit of the Gelfling rebellion!

As you can probably tell from my synopsis, like Tides of the Dark Crystal, a lot happens in Flames of the Dark Crystal.  The book is very fast-paced, which at times was detrimental because it made the story feel rushed. It was okay for the ending, but before that, everything felt a lot like Tides of the Dark Crystal: convenient and rushed. Like right off the bat, when Gurjin is magically there with Naia on skekSa's ship to rescue everyone else who was captive. He gave an explanation for being there, but it didn't really make sense. How was he even on the ship? I honestly thought he was going to be evil or something, but nope, he honestly just was there and tagged along with the group for the rest of the book.

I was also sad that we were back with Naia. I know it made sense with the narrative to be back under her pov, but she bothered me a lot, especially after being with Kylan and Amri during the last few books. I think I was really worried about how much she was doubting everything after the rescue of the group from skekSa - she felt alone, like people were moving away from her, and even like her brother had taken her healing powers. After everything she had gone through with these people to this point, those fears seemed silly. It made way more sense to be worried about the impossible task Thra and Aughra had given her, rather than the bonds she had with her friends.

I did like how things were handled when her mother died though. Having lost a parent myself, I both empathized with Naia and thought that sequence was well done. That was really brave of her to be able to put aside her grief and lead the Drenchen to Stone-in-the-Wood just after her mother died as well.

I also was glad that Naia and Amri got closer in this book. When I first started reading the series, I thought her and Kylan would end up a couple, but as the story unfolded, it seemed more likely that it would be Amri she ended up with, and I was glad.

The Garthim never do make an appearance in this series, which honestly was probably for the best. The series is about the Gelfling ultimately uniting to resist the Skeksis and take back their world; had the Garthim entered the narrative, even at the end, it would have drastically changed things.

So overall, I enjoyed reading The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance book series. I'm glad to have read it, and I am looking forward to watching the show!

Tides of the Dark Crystal

I practically flew through Tides of the Dark Crystal, the third book in J.M. Lee's Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series. This time around we're following Amri, a Grottan Gelfling who joined Naia and Kylan in the second book. Amri is excited to see the daylighter world, though he is not sure of himself and his place within it. 

The group's adventures take them on a whirlwind tour of the land. Arriving on Ha'rar's doorstep, Tavra instructed them to meet with a Sifa Far-Dreamer, Onica, first so they could get the lay of the land.  While consulting with her, they discovered that Rian was nearby and needed their help - he was caught by the Skeksis! Naia, Amri, and Tavra succeed in saving him. In the middle of their rescue, Aughra created a dream space and tasked Naia and company with lighting the seven flames of Gelfling rebellion; Rian was given another task, and so he went his own way once again.

Naia, Kylan, Amri, Tavra, and Onica make their way first to where the Sifa are gathering, then to the Crystal Sea for the Dousa before ultimately making their way back to Ha'rar after they discover the Vapra fire wasn't lit as promised. There they need to find a way to inspire the Vapra after their leader, the All-Maudra Mayrin, was killed and the new All-Maudra, Tavra's sister, bends the knee to the Skeksis and dooms all the Gelfling to servitude and worse.

I didn't like Tides of the Dark Crystal as much as Song of the Dark Crystal. For one thing, it felt like our Gelfling heroes got around to the three clans really easily and conveniently, and succeeded really quickly with everyone. Everything felt a little too convenient. Yes, some of the things they had to do were difficult. But they kind of just succeeded immediately everytime - there never seemed to be any real setbacks.

The other issue was Amri. I liked him as a character, but a lot of his story felt like it was treading the same spaces Kylan's did - he felt like he didn't belong and was struggling to find his place in both the group and the more larger world around him. 

That being said, the ending was still pretty crazy, and Tides of the Dark Crysal left me wanting more; I can't wait to see how the whole story ends in the final book!

Song of the Dark Crystal

Song of the Dark Crystal, the second book in J.M. Lee's The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance series, picks up right where Shadows of the Dark Crystal leaves off. Naia and Kylan have made it to Stone-in-the-Wood and make contact with Rian. Rian is determined to make it to Ha'rar on his own. While Naia and Kylan at first want to join him, they instead decide that they should go their own way in search of a means of transmitting a warning to all of the Gelfling about what the Skeksis are doing. And so they begin their trek east, seeking help from Aughra. On their way, they encounter some friends they thought lost to skekMal. Their joy is short lived though, when one of them seems hellbent on catching up with Rian to the exclusion of all else. 

I really liked Song of the Dark Crystal. The story is told from Kylan's point of view this time, so it was fun to see how he thought as opposed to how Naia thought in the last one. A lot of interesting things happen on their journey as well: we get to meet some really unique Gelfling, and see some very different creatures from what we've seen before in The Dark Crystal. While I had my suspicions of Tavra really early on, I was not expecting her story to unfold the way it did. 

I also really liked seeing some of the different Gelfling vliyaya, or magic/mystic arts. As this story centered around Kylan, we got to see what the Spriton Gelfling was able to do (helped in no small part by the wisdom of one of the urRu, who got Kylan to change his perspective when he said: "The only thing you could do...or a thing only you could do?")  It also give a glimpse of what's to come for the Gelfling (hint, hint). I really enjoyed reading this book, and can't wait to see where the story leads next!

Shadows of the Dark Crystal

I was really excited to find three of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance books (I was hoping it was a trilogy, but there's a fourth book I'll have to track down at some point). I participated in The Dark Crystal Author Quest, which was the contest they had to find someone to write this story, and was very excited to see what the end result was. Plus I love the world of the Dark Crystal, and was excited to spend more time there. :)

Shadows of the Dark Crystal is the story of Naia, a Gelfling from the Swamp of Sog. When her twin brother is accused of high treason and vanishes, she sets out to find him and learn the truth. 

I wasn't sure what to think of Naia at the beginning of the story. She was clearly competent - she's in training to become the next Maudra of her clan. But she's also a bit headstrong and treated like a child by many of the other characters (possibly because her wings haven't bloomed yet? I'm not sure). But I really liked her as the story continued. 

I also really liked Kylan. He is a song teller, and not at all what you would expect from the warrior Spriton clan. But he is resourceful and kind, and his skills are a good contrast to Naia's.

When I wrote my story submission, I envisioned this era of the Skeksis much differently from how they are portrayed in Shadows of the Dark Crystal. So one of my complaints about the book stems from that - the Skeksis are portrayed so similarly to how they appear in the movie, that it's hard to imagine the Gelfling believing the Skeksis were ever good. They're like cartoon villains, which I found rather unfortunate - they didn't even try to really pretend that they weren't when directly accused of their crimes (and did very little to hide it - the castle was basically empty of others by the time Naia makes her way there).

My other big complaint is the number of names and characters the book throws at you in the first chapter. You only really need to know a couple of them, but it was hard to keep track of who is who; I had fo start a character list to keep everyone straight at the beginning.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed Shadows of the Dark Crystal. It was fun to see different aspects of Thra and how they're all connected. It was also fun to see how different all the Gelfling clans are that Naia encountered. I'm excited to start book 2, Song of the Dark Crystal, to see what happens to Naia and Kylan next!

A Gentleman in Moscow

 Happy 2025 everyone! 

It took me quite some time, but I finally finished A Gentleman in Moscow. I started reading it before Christmas (and was enjoying it) but got derailed during the holidays and had a hard time getting back to it. But I still managed to finish it; it is now the first book I finished of 2025. :)

A Gentleman in Moscow tells the story of Count Alexander Rostov who is sentenced to house arrest inside the Metropol hotel after the Bolshevik revolution. My mom and I kept joking (she has read it as well) that it's hard to believe it's a good book based on the premise. But it honestly is. Very well written and interesting. 

 A Gentleman in Moscow is a surprisingly sweeping tale, starting in the 1920's and ending in the 1950's. During that time, Count Rostov must remain in the Metropol or be shot. While the Count has never worked a day in his life, he makes the most of his circumstances, forming great friendships with the staff and eventually becoming head waiter at the hotel's restaurant. But his life changes when he is charged with the care of a young girl, the daughter of a friend. As with all things in his life, the Count rises to the occasion, becoming the father figure she needs, and willing to protect her from everything.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are all so interesting and unique, and the narrative kept surprising me - while events seemed inevitable, I never really saw them coming. As I already mentioned, it's also very well written, with great descriptions and flow. I found myself always rooting for Count Rostov and his friends (and always disheartened whenever the Bishop wormed his way into things).

My biggest complaint while reading A Gentleman in Moscow was entirely my fault. Because I kept having to put the book down for extended periods of time, I kept forgetting who some of the characters were, in particular the characters who didn't work at the hotel. So I'd have to flip back a ways to figure out who this returning person might be. I doubt I would have had that issue had I been able to read the book in a more timely fashion. But I do wish there had been a list of characters to help me keep track of everyone! 

All in all, this was a surprising yet wonderful read. I very heartily recommend it. :)