The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Tao is a travelling fortune teller, but will only tell “small fortunes,”minor things that do make a difference but aren’t life-changing--usually. Not only do major predictions take a lot out of her, but they also draw unwanted attention.  Tao needs to keep a low profile, and that’s already difficult since she is a Shinn woman in Esthera. Then a small prediction has greater consequences than she expects, and she ends up with not one but two travelling companions:  a mercenary and thief (possibly reformed), who are not going to give up until her prediction comes true. . . if it does.

This was my choice for the “debut novel” for Book Bingo, though it could have gone for “judging a book by its cover” for that enticing drawing of a woman with a cat sitting on the steps of a brightly colored wagon under the stars. The cover is an accurate one, because this is a charming tale indeed.  I liked all the characters.  Tao is a brave and determined young woman who is trying to make her way in the world but is forced to keep a low profile or risk being commandeered into the Guild. Mash, the soldier is seeking his young daughter who was lost, probably kidnapped by raiders while his companion Silt is just along for the ride.  And possibly to lift a few valuables.  Reforming is a process, not something one can do cold turkey. They are soon joined by Leah, the baker’s apprentice, whose baked goods taste marginally better than they look.

While I can’t say that this book broke new ground, it is a fun and cozy fantasy full of adventure, characters we enjoy rooting for, a dash of romance, and family.  Tao has more than a few secrets of her own, and there’s a whole backstory to gradually unravel.  Leong has some points to make and she does so elegantly and without fanfare. There’s humor and heart in this book, and I’d be ready to join in on another adventure should one be in the offing.  

And yes, there is really a cat with a role to play!

The Revenant by Michael Punke

Reviewed by Ben 

You may recognize "The Revenant" as the 2015 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. However in 2002 Michael Punke wrote a novel-of the same name-based on the true survival story of American frontiersman Hugh Glass. The book is a perfectly-paced, well-researched, engrossing story of survival and persistence that celebrates the vast beauty of the American frontier in the 1820s.

 Hugh Glass was a hunter and scout for a fur trapping company seeking to establish a trade route on The Grand River. Glass was savagely mauled by a grizzly bear and presumed to be dying by the members of his fur trapping party. When the group decided it was time to move on, two men-John Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger-were left behind to tend to the injured Glass, helping him rejoin the main group should he recover or giving Glass a proper burial should he perish, the latter of which seemed imminent. Fearing hostile Arikara Indians who were seen patrolling nearby, Fitzgerald and Bridger abandoned Glass, leaving him for dead, but not before taking his knife and cherished Anstadt rifle. Miraculously, Glass recovers and sets out on an agonizing journey to settle the score with the two men who left him wounded and alone in the wilderness, with no gun or knife with which to provide for or defend himself. 

 It may be a trite expression, but I found The Revenant to be a "real page-turner." I can't help but resort to this tired expression because the book earns that title so handily. The story runs at an almost-perfect pace, with the action moving quickly in dangerous situations and slowing down as Glass inches his way cross the vast American west. This varied tempo accentuates the agonizing scale of the task that laid ahead of Glass while also demonstrating how quickly things can go wrong when one is alone in the wilderness without the weapons and tools needed to even the odds against hostile people, wildlife and the landscape itself. Punke kept his novel at just the right length: around 230 pages. His book is long enough to engross the reader and impart the sense that Glass went through a real odyssey. 

However at no point did I feel bogged down in unnecessary scenes or chapters. Every scene served a purpose. Even the procedural parts worked, like when the author describes Glass's attempts to trap small animals or the grisly task of making "bull boats" out of tree branches and the remains of freshly-killed buffalo. This was not mere exposition or scene-establishing. Punke uses these scenes to immerse the reader into Glass's situation, which required grit, determination and know-how just for existence.

I highly recommend The Revenant. Also, if you haven't, watch the movie after finishing the book. 

 

Note:  We're delighted to present the first review by Ben, our newest staff member.  We hope to beg, plead, and cajole him into writing more for us.

Tuesdays with Ambrea: Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

 

The Earl of Wrexford is a brilliant scientist.  Intelligent, dedicated, and coldly logical, he’s considered one of the greatest minds of his day—and yet he has a steak of brashness and a tendency toward pridefulness that often leads him into trouble.  His most recent feud with Reverend Josiah Holworthy, for instance, has seen him mocked mercilessly in the newspapers by cartoonist A.J. Quill.  However, when the reverend is found murdered in his church, Wrexford is quickly accused of the deed.  Now, he’ll have track down every suspect and turn over every stone if he hopes of uncovering the identity of the real murderer.

I was delighted by Murder on Black Swan Lane.  It isn’t a deep dive into historical fiction, I’ll admit, and it does have its flaws—like repetitive phrases, misspellings, missed opportunities, overabundant plotlines—but I found it to be a compelling story and I liked the setting descriptions.

Andrea Penrose does a marvelous job of evoking a place, using smells and sounds and textures to properly weave her setting.  I was especially appreciative of the little details that seemed to bring the scene to life, like the mention of mud caked onto Wrexford’s boots or the smell of chemicals in a lab or the chill seeping through the window pane as winter crawls into the city. 

I also liked the characters.  Take Kit Sheffield, for instance.  He’s a mooch and a reprobate, but he’s a canny one and he’s clever enough befriend Wrexford.  Tyler, on the other hand, makes a terrible valet, but he’s a wonderful lab assistant—and he’s unafraid of Wrexford’s moods, which makes him invaluable to the household.  Dr. Henning, like Wrexford, is a curmudgeonly delight and interesting to meet.  And, of course, Wrexford.

But, while I enjoyed Wrexford’s company, I found I absolutely adored Charlotte Sloane.  She’s whip-smart, she’s pragmatic, and she’s tenacious.  More than that, I respected her for being thoughtful enough to know when to back down and when to pick a fight.  I loved that she didn’t once swoon or faint, and I was endlessly amused by her refusal to be intimidated by Wrexford.

Charlotte Sloane has definitely become one of my favorite heroines.

Murder on Black Swan Lane, however, is not the perfect Regency mystery.  As I mentioned, it has its flaws and it doesn’t quite toe the line for a true historical fiction.  Penrose’s novel seems to border more on the side of romantic suspense or adventure thriller, which worked in my favor, but it may not for other readers.

Oh, and I was also annoyed by the fact that Penrose had a grand opportunity for a joke—and then never took it.  You see, there are two characters named Hawk and Raven, who consistently help Charlotte in her clandestine newsgathering.  When bluntly asked how she gains so much gossip, Charlotte never once—not one single time in the entire blasted novel—uses the phrase “a little bird told me.” 

It’s probably the only thing that truly disappointed me about the novel, honestly.

The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey

Reviewed by Laura

          If you have ever read and enjoyed The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg or A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, then you need to read this book. It has the requisite curmudgeon and the same sweet, sad, and heartwarming qualities with a little adventure thrown in.

          Duffy and Carl are roommates in an assisted living facility (do NOT say nursing home!) and have become best friends, confidants, and partners in crime. At least Duffy thought they were confidants until Josie, Carl’s yet–to-be-mentioned granddaughter, bursts through the window one morning as they are preparing to go to breakfast. She’s shoeless and sporting one heck of a shiner. Turns out Carl had an affair and illegitimate child; hence the granddaughter. To say Duffy is blown away would be an understatement. Carl has always been the upstanding, moral one in the friendship and helped keep Duffy somewhat restrained (remember the requisite curmudgeon?)  Imagine trying to keep a young woman hidden in an “assisted living facility” and you have some idea of the hijinks that ensue.

          It doesn’t help matters that the new owner is systematically weeding out all residents who require actual assistance and in the midst of the crisis, through no fault of his own, Duffy ends up on her list to watch. Josie adds to the stress as Duffy recognizes a fellow alcoholic and tries to help her get clean, as he did. He is hoping to redeem his own mistakes and perhaps leave a lasting legacy after all. But when a suspicious man shows up looking for Josie, things go from bad to worse.

          This book may not be quite as good as the aforementioned examples, but it sure comes close. It kept me up reading past my bedtime two nights in a row. I love books with a good main character that I can fall in love with and appreciate as a real human, warts and all. None of us are perfect and I love digging into the gold mine beneath the bluster.  I laughed, I cried, and I found my heart sufficiently warmed while reading this book. I was pleased to find it was a debut novel and will definitely be looking for more books by Ms. Fossey in the future. (Fun fact: the author used to be an aerospace engineer with a secret clearance.) Read the book, you’ll be glad you did.  You’ll cry, but you won’t be sorry.

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Reviewed by Ambrea

Helen Carpenter—thirty-two and divorced—has decided it’s high time she get her life together and reinvent herself.  She wants to do something wild, something adventurous, something completely out of character for her—like enduring a three weeks’ long survival course in Wyoming.  A bit extreme, as Helen would admit, but she’s sick and tired of her well-behaved life.

As Helen’s new adventure takes off, she’s set to begin the strangest adventure of her life where she will survive various dangers—including a summer blizzard, a group of sorority girls, rutting elk, trailside injuries, and infuriating men—and learn something about herself along the way.  Helen quickly discovers, “[S]ometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.”

I absolutely loved listening to Happiness for Beginners.  After picking it out on a whim, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to Marguerite Gavin relate Helen Carpenter's story.  Gavin was an excellent narrator, lending her voice and attitude to Helen, making the story come to life.  It was an exceptional experience:  I found myself laughing in the midst of every chapter, thoroughly enjoying the narrator’s company as I walked my dog.

Although I enjoyed the retelling of Katherine Center’s novel, I also enjoyed the story and the characters.  Helen Carpenter is a candid narrator, a vivid storyteller, and a wonderful character, developing as her story builds and transforming from tentative, broken-hearted grade school teacher to a thoughtful, more knowledgeable woman.  She grows closer to her brother; she gains friends; she learns how to survive in the wilderness.

And it’s wonderful to see how she develops, how she accomplishes her goals and, more importantly, manages to surprise herself in the end.

Her adventure is ludicrous—three weeks in the wilderness, surviving on her wits and little else—and her story is full of unintended twists, which even she acknowledges.  She goes in search of a new identity, in search of happiness and a piece of herself that she feels has been missing for years.  It’s fun to watch her reinvention, to see her “rising from the ashes like a phoenix”—one of her many goals for her survival course.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to witness Helen’s growth as a character.  Helen is a really marvelous character:  smart, a touch sarcastic, insightful, courageous and thoroughly grounded in reality.  As a recently divorced woman, she’s been through the wringer and managed to come out on the other side—and I like that she succeeds in reinventing herself and reevaluating her life, as well as her relationships.

Overall, Happiness for Beginners was the perfect combination of narrator and story.  Something about the way the author wrote and Marguerite Gavin retold the story made me enjoy every minute of it.