The Irresponsible Reader - I Read (a lot) and then Rant, Rave and maybe Review

DETAILS:
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 339 pg.
Read Date: January 9-10, 2024

What’s Charm City Rocks About?

Billy Perkins is happy. Everyone knows this–he’s got his dream job (music teacher), he’s good at it–and makes enough money to keep going. He’s got a great kid, and a solid relationship with the kid’s mother. He’s well-liked in his neighborhood and at Camden Yards. Who wouldn’t be happy? He’s also got this newfound appreciation for cardigans, “the perfect garment, like, the convertible of sweaters”–and he looks good in them. If you can find pleasure in the little things like that…why not be happy?

Margot Hammer is a drummer best known as part of the all-female rock group Burnt Flowers*. Then as the wife of Lawson Daniels, the giant movie star, her fame grew even more. Then she dumped the cheater, quit the band in a dramatic fashion, and vanished from the public eye, becoming a “whatever happened to…” name. She was pretty satisfied with that until Burnt Flowers is featured in a documentary series, which renewed that itch to play again and generally reminded her of what she lost with her bandmates.

* Not for nothing, that’s just a great 90s band name. I would thoroughly enjoy hearing Norman talk about coming up with it and what some of the other contenders for that name were.

But after listening to his dad talk about Margot after seeing her on that history of rock documentary on Netflix, Billy’s son, Caleb wonders–what if his dad isn’t as happy as he could be? Is he maybe a little lonely? So Caleb does something harebrained, problematic in several ways, and destined to fail.

He brings the two together in a move straight out of a rom-com’s first draft, but instead of the meet-cute he hopes for–we get kind of a meet-ugly. Billy, being the almost-impossibly decent guy that he is, tries to salvage the time and make it up to her. Also…how often does he get the chance to spend time with his all-time favorite drummer?

Something strange ensues for Margot–she has fun. With Billy and in general. She also gets a little social media attention (which spills over into mass media). This is enough to get her old record company to try to capitalize on that. She’s not interested in doing that, but does decide to spend a little more time with Billy.

The pair have great chemistry–and maybe more. But will figures from their pasts derail them? Should they?

Baltimore

As they stand on Thames Street, he imagines the neighborhood from Margot’s perspective. Daquan is one block over, pounding away. The sun is moving toward the horizon. The twinkly lights strung around the outdoor eating area at the Greek restaurant next door come on, and people are out with their tattoos and interesting outfits and cool beards. Like always, there’s music everywhere.

“It’s not like how everyone says,” says Margot.

“What isn’t?”

“Baltimore,” she says. “I thought it’d be, I don’t know, more murdery.” …

“Be patient,” he says. “The night is young.”

As much as this book focuses on the love story between Billy and Margot, there’s a strong thread about love for Baltimore. I knew, on some level, that there has to be more to the city, but at the end of the day, I really think of Baltimore in much the same way as Margot in the quote above.

But that’s not Matthew Norman’s Baltimore–and it’s not the Baltimore of these characters. Frankly, if this Baltimore resembles the actual thing, I’d love to spend time there (you know, assuming I can shake the David Simon associations).

There are two neighborhoods (that don’t seem too far apart) that we spend most of our time in–and both have a strong sense of community about them. Particularly the area that Billy’s apartment is in, which also contains the place where Caleb’s plan was executed and the bar that the adults found themselves in to recover. The neighborhood figures from this area both grounded and sold the experience for me (and, I think, Margot). Too often people talk about the location of a novel/movie being another character–but when someone depicts their setting so strongly and so warmly, it’s hard not to resort to that kind of language.

Caleb

I’ve frequently talked about great Mother/Daughter and Father/Daughter relationships in various books, but I don’t think I’ve talked much about great relationships with sons. I also can’t think of many off the top of my head.

The relationship between Caleb and Billy, however? It’s a standout. Caleb’s relationships with his mother and stepfather are good to see, too. But man…the link between Father and Son here is something special. The lengths that Caleb went to in order to give his father a shot at happiness–and the life-altering choices he makes because of his parents (particularly, it seems, his father)–tells you a lot about this kid and the bond he has with his parents. I really can’t think of a better son in Fiction (not that I’ve spent a lot of time trying, but authors seem to do better at daughters).

He gets off a little easy when it comes to the shenanigans he got up to in introducing his dad to Margot, really the more I think about it, the worse it was (but consuming a large amount of edibles thinking they’re just candy is a pretty good justification for it). But, I think Norman is right to cut him some slack and not get into just how bad it was. Actually, most books (and almost every movie I can think of) would’ve allowed Caleb’s scheme to work for a bit, and would extend the nonsense for far too long before having it collapse for the sake of drama. I am so, so, so glad that Norman didn’t do that. He simply let the idea fall apart and then moved on, making lemonade out of Caleb’s citrus offering.

So, what did I think about Charm City Rocks?

I knew I should’ve read the book as soon as it landed on my doorstep in June. I knew I was missing out on something–and I was. But on the plus side, it’s a pretty good way to start off the year, too. This is just a fun book.

So I loved the whole super-star story and the debacle Margot made of her career and life–it’s a very VH-1 Behind the Music tale. All the behind-the-scenes show business stuff, both in the past and present, were great. But what sold me was the connection both Billy and Margot (and several other characters) had to music–listening to it, performing it, creating it–even just thinking about it. Strip away fleeting fame and money, that’s what counts. That’s why people care about musicians, it’s because of the music that they bring us and what it does for our souls and psyches. As Norman celebrated that, you couldn’t help but respond. (and as flakes wanted to twist that for their own benefit, you respond as well)

One shouldn’t overlook Caleb’s mother–even though I pretty much have–her arc isn’t pivotal to the book as a whole, but it’s so satisfying. She’d be an easy character to bring on for a few scenes as a plot complication, or just to add a little flavor to the world–but Norman fleshes out her character, gives her an arc, and gets the reader invested in her and her happiness.

There’s another ex- in the picture, and while you know how they’re going to complicate the characters’ lives almost instantly upon their introduction, I can’t bring myself to get into the details. I wanted to say something about a jealous toddler wanting their discarded toy just because someone else has it–but Norman wisely takes that option away. That’s not to say that the character doesn’t muck things up pretty seriously for almost everyone in the book…I’m just saying they’re not a monster.

I think the best way to sum up my reaction to the book is that I noticed that every time I put the book down for some reason, I was grinning. Not because I set the book down, but it just made me happy. Not Billy-happy, but happy.

A little cheesy? Sure. Generally predictable? Sure. Engaging, charming, witty, optimistic, and upbeat? Sure. If you’re looking for more in a rom-com, you’re not looking for a rom-com. This won me over in the beginning and kept my affection throughout. This was a sure-fire winner for me.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

PUB DAY REPOST: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown: We All Know Books are Magical, but Some Books Really Are Magic

By HCNewton

On February 13, 2024

In Fantasy, Fiction

The Book of Doors

by Gareth Brown

DETAILS:
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Format: eARC
Length: 416
Read Date: January 10-16, 2024

What’s The Book of Doors About?

Cassie Andrews grew up in the Northwest and had what you’d call a typical, nice life (with a little tragedy, because we all do). She grew up, had one big adventure, and then settled into New York City, and is having a typical life—with enough fun and love to keep going, but nothing exciting happens to her. Then one day a regular customer that she’d befriended dies and leaves a book for her. It’s a lovely little book, so she takes it home with her.

She quickly discovers that this isn’t any ordinary book—in fact, it’s called “The Book of Doors” and the inscription inside it tells her that every door is any door. An odd thing to say, but she discovers that it means she can open and step through any door with the book in her hand. Cassie and her roommate Izzy have some fun with the book, before Izzy starts to worry about the cost of this magic.

Cassie’s undeterred, however, and keeps experimenting. It’s not too long before a man called The Librarian (by some) finds them—warning Cassie that she’s in danger because of this book. There are many “special books” like the Book of Doors (not all as powerful), and there are those who want to add her book to their collection and will stop at nothing to get it. As these people are equipped with their own special, magical books—the things they can do are pretty remarkable.

Can Cassie stay ahead of these people—or off of their radar entirely? Can she use her book to help the Librarian keep his collection of books safe from a mysterious woman determined to possess them all?

Time Travel

This is more of a Fantasy kind of Time Travel than a Hard Sci Fi Time Travel. That’s really not a profound observation on my part, come to think of it—everything these books do is described as magical. So a lot of your typical rules when it comes to Time Travel are thrown out. You’re not going to get a butterfly effect here, or see what happens if you go back and keep your dad and mom from going to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance together. It’s more along the lines of what the Wyld Stallyns did (at least in the first movie, I can’t speak to the others).

I mention this just so you know what you’re getting into—I have friends who take a very purist approach to Time Travel, and want scientific explanations for everything (hopefully with a good amount of theorizing). They will probably not appreciate this book for that. On the other hand—I have friends who get tired of that kind of thing—they’ll have a lot of fun with Brown’s take. There are probably more people who won’t care, and will just have fun with the wibbly wobbly of it all.

The Rest of the Magic

There are many more books than The Book of Doors running around (more than we’re told specifically about), and all of them have applications you wouldn’t immediately think about. What the Book of Illusion can do by someone who knows what they’re doing? Awesome. The Book of Luck is pretty much what the tin says. The Book of Despair…it’s worse than you think, at least when used by someone who knows what they’re doing (and who should never be allowed to use it).

I’m tempted to keep listing the books, but that would get boring for you and me. The great thing about Brown’s magic system is the wide diversity of magical abilities and the way they’re used. I don’t know how much time he spent coming up with the ideas behind them, or if he just had a handful and then created a new book when he wrote himself into a corner—but either way, a good deal of ingenuity is displayed here, and I want to see more of it. (honestly, I assume he did a thorough job of coming up with the books beforehand, but I just like the idea of him getting to the point where says…”I need a Book of Antigravity so Cassie can float away from a thrown knife.”*)

* Not anything that actually appears in the book.

Quibbles

It’s not a perfect book. Few are, so this isn’t about me listing off reasons to avoid this book. I just want to be thorough as I talk about it.

First off, the book (particularly in the beginning) relies too much on the POV characters looking at reflections of themselves. This is a pretty common thing—some would call it a cliche (particularly as a woman character describes some of her physical attributes)—and the first time that someone did it, I rolled my eyes and moved on. But then it happened again, quickly after that, while it was still echoing in my ear. And then again. And it became a thing I paid too much attention to because it happened so much. If mirrors and reflections had become very important to the magic or plot as a whole—I might have spent a paragraph or two lauding this. But it didn’t. It just distracted and kind of annoyed me.

The “Big Bad” doesn’t have a name. She’s simply, “the woman.” If she was a character who showed up in other places, and we were supposed to figure out which of female characters she was—that’d be one thing. But there’s never a doubt about that, she’s simply “the woman.” She doesn’t even get a nickname like “She Who Must Not Be Named” or even “The Big Bad.” Surely, at some point, the subculture surrounding these special books would’ve started referring to her as something along those lines. A name, a title (like The Bookseller did), something whispered in the shadows. Not just “the woman.”

There are probably other flaws in the book—undoubtedly there are*—but these are the only two that jumped out at me (and kept doing so). In the end—both were easily overcome by the weight of all the good-to-great things about it. But I was irked enough that I had to talk about them a bit.

* Just before I hit “Publish,” I remembered a chapter focused on “the woman” that made me briefly consider stopping entirely. I am so glad that I persevered, and it wasn’t that difficult to.

Now, let’s get back to the good stuff. I probably won’t think about these issues again myself, when I think back on this book, I’m only going to think of what I say next.

So, what did I think about The Book of Doors?

If you took Peng Shepherd’s The Cartographers and merged it with Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, you’d get something sort of like this. The secret subculture that arose around these special books—subcultures, really—made me think of these books, as well as the devotion to something that’s increasingly archaic—a typeface, paper maps, antique books, etc. There is great power, as well as great affection, in these artifacts of a former age. Sure, they’re not magical or mystical like Shepherd, Sloane, or Brown say. But these novels resonate for the same/similar reasons, these things call to us.

Setting aside all the magic and plot and character—just focusing on what The Book of Doors says about books in general, is pretty special. This aspect alone is going to speak to a lot of readers (most people who’d call themselves “readers,” in fact.). And you could spend time just flipping through those parts of the book.

On the whole, this novel was a slow burn for me—I was instantly drawn to the idea behind the books, I liked Cassie, and the way that Brown showed her reacting to the book. But then once we got into the story about “the woman” and the Librarian, my interest waned a lot. I’m not sure it should’ve, and many will likely have a different reaction, but it did. But as I kept reading, I got more and more invested and my inner-critic shut up because he was as interested in what was going to happen next as the rest of me was.

By the time you figure out what Brown’s end-game was—and Cassie’s, too—it’s so satisfying to see it all play out. It’s really a very tidy book and everything means something. But it’s not just the plot that works so well, all the emotional beats are so well-executed that you will be tempted to go back through Brown’s non-existent backlist to see where he figured out to write them so effectively.

If you like the idea of a kind of magic you’ve not seen before, magical time travel (among other things), an off-the-radar subculture devoted to this magic (or at least the idea behind it), and a quiet bookseller finding her inner strength and perseverance in the face of evil—you’re going to want to check out The Book of Doors. I strongly recommend you do.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from William Morrow & Company via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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MUSIC MONDAY: Banks by NEEDTOBREATHE

By HCNewton

On February 12, 2024

In News/Misc.

Music Monday’s originated at The Tattooed Book Geek‘s fantastic blog and has shown up here and there since then.

Let’s get a little sappy for Valentine’s Day week.

(from CMT Campfire Sessions)

Book Blogger Hop: Happy Publication Day

By HCNewton

On February 12, 2024

In Book Blogger Hop, Books, News/Misc.

Man, it’s been too long since I’ve done one of these. Time to get back in the swing of things, I generally have fun with these.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Review:

Do you post Happy Publication Day posts for books you read?

Not as such, no. I do see plenty of people tweeting that kind of thing—or posting to Facebook, etc., etc. But I rarely do that.

I try to do a blog post on the release day for books I receive an advanced copy of—hopefully a repost of my already written thoughts on a book or I’ll sometimes get a post up on the day itself if I didn’t have my act together in time.

I also make a practice of noting the release of books that I’m interested in or am excited to read in my Saturday Miscellany posts.

I’ve thought about moving that to Tuesdays, but that seems like too much work, and just one more thing for me to keep track of.

If you do, how do you commemorate publication day for books?

(authors need not reply, we all know you’re obsessively clicking refresh to see sales numbers)

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Sorrow’s Forest by Kaitlin Corvus

By HCNewton

On February 12, 2024

In Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Kaitlin Corvus’s Sorrow’s Forest. If you take a look at the feed for https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next few days, you’ll see a lot of bloggers who did find the time to write interesting things about it. Sorrow’s Forest was a finalist for the 2023 Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award, so you know there’s a lot of good to be said about it–but before getting to the spotlight for it, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.

BBNYA:

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Book Details:

Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Age Category: New Adult
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 272 Page
Publication Date: July 15, 2022

About the Book:

Sorrow’s Forest teems with beasts, some ugly, some beautiful, all unnatural. A ban restricts travel beneath her branches, existing for as long as Lakeview Township has, and most who disobey do not return.

To win a bet, twelve-year-old Mackie King enters the forest, and in its depths, he discovers a boy-like devil. Then he steals him from the trees.

In as little as an hour, the devil names himself Blue and fits seamlessly into the Kings’ life. No one seems to remember he wasn’t always there. Only Mackie knows the truth.

Now, Mackie and Blue are grown, Queen Sorrow has awakened, and she wants her devil back. She’s willing to tear the town apart to reclaim him. Mackie has always been resourceful, but it will take every bit of ingenuity he and Blue possess to thwart Queen Sorrow and her minions, save the town, and free themselves from the shadow of the bittering forest.

Book Links:

Amazon Canada ~Amazon UK ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ The StoryGraph

About the Author:

Kaitlin Corvus is from Ontario, Canada. The north holds the best part of her. She writes about nobodies, monsters, and gutter glitter, loves the stars, the deep dark sea, and a good horror mystery.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

The Lord Bless You and Keep You by Michael J. Glodo: It’s More than Just a Signal that the Pastor is Done

By HCNewton

On February 11, 2024

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

The Lord Bless You and Keep You:
The Promise of the Gospel
in the Aaronic Blessing

by Michael J. Glodo

DETAILS: 
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: September 19, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 174 pg.
Read Date: December 3-17, 2023

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

What’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You About?

This book is a reflection on, study of, and application of the Aaronic benediction (above), “possibly the most frequently heard passage of Scripture in Christian worship”.

Luther called the Psalms “a little Bible” since each psalm sets out in brief form all that is taught in the rest of Scripture. I am suggesting the same observation is true of the Aaronic blessing. By exploring the blessing’s background, central elements, spiritual meaning in Israel, and realization in Christ, we will grasp the comprehensive nature of the theme of God’s face and be enabled to stand more fully in its light. We will see that God made us with faces so that his could shine on ours and that the Aaronic blessing could be to us not only a “little Bible,” but a “little gospel.”

The book is essentially broken into two sections—the first three chapters examined the context of the Aaronic blessing’s introduction, the content of the blessing itself, and then looked at it in the light of the New Testament. The second section is more practical—the consequences of the blessing both for ourselves and the way we treat others, and the pastoral use of the blessing.

A Question of Timing

I would’ve appreciated a version of this book written in 2019. Too often, Glodo, sounded to me like he was trying to re-fight the battle over masks from 2020-2021 with a theological veneer in the latter chapters (and the introduction). A version of those chapters without reference to that would’ve been more helpful—and less potentially off-putting—and might have prepared the reader to come to their own informed conclusions on that issue if a similar pandemic occurs again.

Maybe I’d have been happier if he took a firm pro-/con- mask position, because the mentions of the practice with just a negative tone (or so I took it), was unsatisfactory. (if only because it was so vague it’s hard to interact with)

So, what did I think about The Lord Bless You and Keep You?

I was very excited to hear that someone was giving us an entire book on the Aaronic benediction—and overall, I was pleased with what we got. Personally—I wanted chapters 1-2 to be longer, more detailed and a little more developed, especially 2. I think three could’ve probably used the same treatment, but I didn’t write that in my notes (unlike with the other two). The chapters on the consequences of the blessing were fine. I also anticipated that the book would’ve featured a lot more of what the chapter on pastoral use and application gave us—and would’ve liked more of that.

That said, I’m not complaining that Glodo didn’t write the book I wanted/expected—but it would’ve been nice. (I’m not sure we needed the appendix, but, eh—it’s an appendix, so…who cares?)

I really do think that this is a good contribution and will be helpful to readers. I do recommend reading this—particularly the first half.

4 Stars

Saturday Miscellany—2/10/24

By HCNewton

On February 10, 2024

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I struggled to find time for pretty much everything this week that wasn’t work, so this list ended up on the shorter side, but I still think you’ll find something you like.

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Children’s Publishers on the Role of BookTok
bullet The Case for Paper: Books vs. E-Readers —Psychology Today weighs in on the side of paper.
bullet Fantasy reimagined: Arab and Asian authors are rising globally by embracing their cultures
bullet Literary Awards – What are they and why should you care? – Part 1—Rediscovered Books has started a series on their blog about those foil stickers on books.
bullet Why Are Books Featuring Old Protagonists Trendy Right Now?—Good question, and Corson offers some good answers.
bullet Nick Petrie on the Best Boundary Pushing Novels in Beloved Mystery Series—Petrie talks about some of the novels where authors broke/pushed the rules governing their series (and mentions a couple of unbreakable rules)
bullet The American Cancer Society is running a fundraiser this month, and I figured I’d jump in: I’m Reading Every Day for American Cancer Society – Please Donate!—(I sort of wish I did this under the blog name, instead of my personal profile, oh well)
bullet Shortly after starting that challenge, I saw that Hair Past a Freckle is doing something similar for Sarcoma UK, if you’re in the donating mood.

A Book-ish Related Podcast episode (or two) you might want to give a listen to:
bullet SFF Addicts Ep. 90 Robert Jackson Bennett talks The Tainted Cup, Murder Mysteries & Moretitle—This is a great conversation. And although I wish he’d gotten Rex Stout’s name correct when talking about the inspiration for his detective characters, I love the image of Dr. Doolittle/Henry Higgins writing Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin.

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago Week?
bullet The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones – 1899-1981 by Iain H. Murray
bullet Hell Hole by Chris Grabenstein—the mid-point in a series I so wish was ongoing
bullet The Humans by Matt Haig
bullet Mandarin Plaid by S. J. Rozan—I can’t imagine I could write something so pithy today (especially about a Rozan book!)
bullet The Bat by Joe Nesbø
bullet I mentioned the release of The Martian by Andy Weir…I wonder what happened with that one…

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett—This murder mystery/fantasy hybrid my first 5-star read of the year as I described a couple of weeks ago. I can’t imagine I won’t be mentioning this a few more times this year, so I’ll just leave it there for now.
bullet Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out by Shannon Reed—”A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber Prize Semifinalist.” Looks fun…and what bibliophile doesn’t enjoy reading about others afflicted with the same addiction?
bullet Fourteen Days by many people—”Set in a Lower East Side tenement in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Fourteen Days is an irresistibly propulsive collaborative novel from the Authors Guild, with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of New York neighbors has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice–from Margaret Atwood and Celeste Ng to Tommy Orange and John Grisham.” I don’t know when/if I’ll get around to reading this, but I’m fascinated by the idea.
bullet I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes: And Other Tales from My ADHD Brain by Emily Farris—”A hilariously-honest, heartwarming essay collection about life, love, and discovering you have ADHD at age 35.”
bullet The Price You Pay by Nick Petrie—Peter Ash comes to Lewis’ aid in his latest adventure. This looks great. If only I didn’t have to three books to read to catch up on the series.

(you’re welcome for the earworm)

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 46: Fake by R. T. Slaywood: Trial Run

By HCNewton

On February 9, 2024

In Urban Fantasy

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 46: Fake

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #46
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: February 8, 2024

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

He’s abducted by some representatives of a mysterious group who subject him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. He takes refuge in a homeless encampment shortly before a police raid. He’s apprehended and finds himself an interrogation room and shortly escapes after using his grift (but with results he didn’t quite intend). He finds himself by a group of squatters who seem to have strapped a woman to a chair for reasons that can’t be good. He attempts to rescue her before he even realizes what he’s doing, and seems to have succeeded—well, the two of them got away from the group anyway—breathing but bruised. They make their way to a fast-food taco joint and Bonaduke really needs to refuel to keep going. He tries, but fails to get food because he keeps passing out. Thankfully, the clerk is the same guy from the liquor store and he both recognizes him and gives him first aid. The woman (Zero) wakes up and shows some abilities of her on as she helps them escape from her captors who’ve tracked her down. One thing leads to another—Zero and Bonaduke’s magics don’t mix well (at least until they understand what each other can do?), and they end up in a video-game race against the squatters in a tricked-out version of Eric (the clerk’s) car. Note, I said video-game race, not a video-game-style race. They’re actually in one. When dumped back into reality, he’s surrounded by bruised and broken bodies (of people and cars). And then he gets into a supernatural fight and survives…just.

Or maybe not. But he gets better. And then his new…friends? Acquaintances? People who keep popping up in his life?…start explaining exactly what’s going on to him while they set up a new HQ and try to teach him about his abilities (and everyone tries to understand them).

What’s Fake About?

Bonaduke has a notion or two from what he learned in the last episode and does some experimenting with his abilities using these notions. And something happens. I’m not exactly sure what, but something.

So, what did I think about Fake?

Insert default complaint about grammar and spelling, again. There’s a pretty big point made about contracts here. Well, actually it’s about “contacts.” But I think he meant the other one. If you’re going to make a significant point about something, you should probably get the word right.

The last few paragraphs restored a bit of confidence in where this is going. It wasn’t that long ago that I was feeling excited about this series, but the last couple of episodes have poured cold water on that. But maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel?

2 Stars

Grandpappy’s Corner: Bush-turkey Needs a Friend by Ann Göth: He’s a Strange Bird (At Least a Little Different)

By HCNewton

On February 8, 2024

In Fiction, Grandpappy's Corner, YA/MG/Children's Books

Bush-turkey Needs a Friend

by Ann Göth

DETAILS:
Publisher: Natural Publishing
Publication Date: November 13, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 34
Read Date: February 7, 2024

What’s Bush-turkey Needs a Friend About?

This is the tale of Tom, an Australian brush-turkey (aka bush-turkey), and his quest to meet someone like him–or at least enough like him to befriend him.

It doesn’t go well for him, most birds deciding that Tom’s a bit too strange for them. But he carries on, grows up, and eventually meets another bush-turkey and, yes, makes a friend.

The Author

Göth is a Science teacher and a Brush-Turkey researcher, who has written a book for adults on the Brush-Turkey. So she comes at this with a dual expertise and a mission to teach accurate lessons about the bird.

It reminded me of Valerie D. Johnson’s 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm, where you get an expert on an area coming along to teach young readers (in her case, math). We could use more things like this in the world (they probably exist, I just need to learn about them).*

* If I was in a snarkier mood, I’d say that we need more things like this than children’s books written by celebrities. But I’m not in that kind of mood.

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

Eh…this is the biggest stumbling point with this book. It’s pretty obvious that Göth is not a professional illustrator, and won’t be anytime soon. This is not to say that the art is bad–it’s just not good. It’s fine. A little inconsistent, a touch sloppy, but good enough.

I don’t know that a young reader is going to have a problem with it–I don’t see most of them being as snobbish as we grown-ups can be.

How is it to Read Aloud?

It’s a simple, straightforward style–no rhyme, no rhythm, no tongue-twisters, no made up words. That can be a nice change of pace, really. The nice short sentences should work well for reading aloud or coaching someone through early sentences on their own.

So, what did I think about Bush-turkey Needs a Friend?

This was a pretty nice book and a good introduction to a bird I’d like to know a little more about.

The life lesson isn’t a particularly novel or groundbreaking one–but it’s one that needs to be repeated throughout a child’s life (and many adult lives, too), so bring it on. Add that to the ornithological lessons, and this is a good read.

Disclaimer: I received this book from BookSirens in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

3 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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COVER REVEAL: Pierced by Silver by Anca Antoci

By HCNewton

On February 8, 2024

In Book Tour, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

I’m very pleased to welcome the Cover Reveal for Anca Antoci’s Pierced by Silver to The Irresponsible Reader this morning! This novel is an an urban fantasy (with a romantic subplot) focused on Romanian mythology (by a Romanian), if you’re like me, that alone will pique your curiosity. The blurb will crank that up for you. Before we get to revealing the cover, let’s learn a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all feast on the cover.

Book Details:

Book Title: Pierced by Silver by Anca Antoci
Series: Paranormal Misadventures, Book 2
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Release date: March 21, 2024
Preorder: Yes
Kindle Unlimited: Yes

About the Book

Where the boundaries blur between the living and the dead, the line between hero and monster is thin

Deep in the heart of Transylvania, nestled amidst ancient forests and shrouded in centuries-old superstitions, lies the village of Vânători. A string of gruesome murders has left the villagers terrified, and the authorities baffled. Joining forces are Ella Martin, a witch with a hidden past, Felix Goia, a brilliant but haunted police inspector, and Radu Lupu, a mysterious police captain whose supernatural nature has the potential to unravel everything.

As the bodies pile up and the villagers’ fear turns to rage, Ella, Felix, and Radu find themselves caught in a race against time. The locals suspect one of their own to be a strigoi—a relentless force that hungers for blood. They must uncover the truth behind the killings, whether it’s a human monster or a strigoi, before the village is consumed by darkness.

However, their investigation takes a perilous twist when Radu, as a vârcolac, becomes the target of an unrelenting predator armed with silver tipped arrows. With their strongest ally out of commission, Ella and Felix must hurry to save him and stop the killings before Vânători becomes a ghost town.

*Based on Romanian folklore and mythology, the story follows the events of Midsummer Night’s Curse, but can also be read as a standalone. Each book in this series features a new mystery that will be solved by the end of the story, but the dynamics between the characters may change and evolve, so I recommend that you read the books in order.

Book Links

Amazon ~ Goodreads

About the Author

Anca’s overactive imagination pours into her stories bringing otherworldly creatures to life. Her debut novel, Forget Me Not, is the first part of a trilogy published in 2020.

Before starting her writing journey, Anca was active in the blogging community as a fantasy book reviewer. The fanfiction stories she wrote long before she dreamed of being a writer are still popular and available on her blog. Although not as often, she still posts book reviews and book recommendations on her blog www.summonfantasy.com.

Living in Romania, Anca speaks English as a second language and is quite self-conscious about her accent, which is why she never speaks in her videos on TikTok. She loves taking long walks through the parks to recharge her batteries before a writing sprint. Anca loves cooking and can often be found in the kitchen trying out a new recipe while an audiobook keeps her entertained.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ Medium ~ Mastodon

and now…

The Cover

Pierced by Silver Cover

Antoci adds:
Fun fact: The wolf head on the cover is called Draco and was a religious and military symbol for the Dacians, an ancient people who inhabited what is now Romania and parts of surrounding countries (before we were conquered by the Romans 2000 years ago). It was a standard, typically made of bronze, that depicted a wolf head with an open mouth and a snake-like body.

The Draco held significant meaning for the Dacians in two ways: military and religious. It was mounted on a pole, carried by a standard bearer, and often displayed proudly during battles and religious ceremonies.

The Draco played a crucial role in uniting Dacian warriors and intimidating enemies during battle. The wolf head contained metal tongues that vibrated in the wind, creating a howling sound resembling wolves or dragons. Its wind-borne howl served as a psychological weapon against the enemy, striking fear into their hearts.

The Draco also represented the Dacian pantheon, particularly the sky god Zalmoxis (serpent) and Gebeleizis (wolf). Both gods embodied power, protection, and connection to nature.

Now, you may be wondering why I’m telling you all that. Since this is the second book in Paranormal Misadventures, I’ll assume you have already met police captain Radu Lupu (by the way, lupu means “the wolf” in Romanian and it’s a pretty common surname). Just in case you haven’t finished Midsummer Night’s Course, I’ll avoid spoilers. Let’s just say it’s relevant to the story. There’s actually a Dacian legend of the Great White Wolf I drew inspiration from. I hope you’ll enjoy the pieces of my culture and heritage I included in this story.

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