Tag: Katherine Kellgren

Catch-Up Quick Takes: The Case of the Missing Marquess; Dark Arts and a Daiquiri; Breaking Silence; Everything Happens; Based on a True Story: A Memoir; How to Resist Amazon and Why; Nothing Like I Imagined

The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness. This time, I’ve got a handful of 3 Star reads/listens (I don’t think I planned it that way, it just worked out).


The Case of the Missing Marquess

The Case of the Missing Marquess

by Nancy Springer, Katherine Kellgren (Narrator)
Series: Enola Holmes, #1
Unabridged Audiobook, 4 hrs., 31 min.
Recorded Books, 2008
Read: November 1, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
This is a cute read for people who like the idea of Sherlock Holmes, but aren’t that interested (or ready) in the real thing. Which may sound dismissive, but it’s not supposed to be. I can easily see why the people behind the movie(s) latched onto this character. I can also easily see why they tweaked the content of this book and expanded it for the first movie (does the second book some/all of what they used to expand?).

I don’t know that I’m going to go the distance with this series, but I can easily see going for one more dip in the pool.

Fast, amusing and pretty clever. This look at Sherlock and Mycroft’s little sister is a pleasant little book.

3 Stars

Dark Arts and a Daiquiri

Dark Arts and a Daiquiri

by Annette Marie, Cris Dukehart (Narrator)
Series: The Guild Codex: Spellbound, #2
Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs., 39 min.
Tantor Audio, 2018
Read: October 22-25, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
For book 2 to remove our non-magical bartender to a guild of Magic Users from the Guild Members for the majority of the book is a pretty gutsy move. I’m not sure it was the right way to go, and I’m not sure it was successful. But it was gutsy.

The story was…okay, I guess. It really didn’t do a lot for me, but the last few chapters—pretty much when Tori reunites with her friends made the whole thing worth it. And the Dresden File hat-tip was fantastic.

I’m still in on this series/group of series, but I bet when all is said and done, this’ll be the one to forget.

3 Stars

Breaking Silence

Breaking Silence

by Linda Castillo, Kathleen McInerney (Narrator)
Series: Kate Burkholder, #3
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 21 min.
Macmillan Audio, 2011
Read: October 20-21, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Another horrific murder in Amish country. I’d love for a few books to involve other crimes in this community. I realize it’s her shtick, but a little variety could help things.

That aside—the villain of this piece is horrible and creepy, and you can feel the evil. Watching Kate and Agent Tomasetti try to figure out the motive behind the killing and the identity of the killer was a fun ride. I really do like these individually—even if I wonder about the series as a whole.

3 Stars

Everything Happens

Everything Happens

by Jo Perry
Kindle Edition, 119 pg.
Fahrenheit Press, 2019
Read: October 18-19, 2021

(the official blurb)
This starts as the story of a nurse trying to get a quickie divorce from a loser and then turns into a story of carjacking, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, robbery, vengence, betrayal, and car chases.

Basically: just another weekend in Vegas.

I was riveted throughout, but…I couldn’t stop asking, “Why?” I’m not sure I saw the point of the whole thing—but you know what? I didn’t care, I enjoyed it too much to bother with things like that.

3 Stars

Based on a True Story: A Memoir

Based on a True Story: A Memoir

by Norm Macdonald, Tim O’Halloran (Narrators)
Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs., 18 min.
Random House Audio, 2016
Read: October 12-14, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
A fictionalized version of MacDonald’s memoir, it’s hard to tell what’s memoir, what’s a joke, what’s a mixture. The more obviously genuine moments are marred by their vicinity to the clearly fictional. As a book? This is a mess—a self-indulgent, erratic, mess.

But wow. This was funny—even most of what I didn’t like was funny.

Don’t go into this thinking you’ll understand MacDonald’s life, career, or humor better. Go into it expecting a strange performance art-like experience with some giant laughs and you’ll be set.

3 Stars

How to Resist Amazon and Why

How to Resist Amazon and Why:
The Fight for Local Economics,
Data Privacy, Fair Labor,
Independent Bookstores,
and a People-Powered Future!

by Danny Caine
Paperback, 113 pg.
Microcosm Publishing, 2021
Read: October 6, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
This is a no-holds barred critique (screed?) against Amazon—their business practices, the way they treat employees, the way they deal with governments, their security products…and just about everything else. It’s also a call to arms against the giant.

I have a lot of sympathies for Caine’s positions and desires—and agree with most of them. I also follow some of the practices he espouses (not as many as I want, but hey…I’m on a budget).

Still, I’m not sure the megastore is a super-villain—it may resemble one, very closely. As much as we might want it to be.

Read this—blanch at some of it—but take it with a grain of salt.

3 Stars

Nothing Like I Imagined

Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes)

by Mindy Kaling
Unabridged Audiobook., 2 hrs., 19 min.
Brilliance Publishing, 2020
Read: October 1, 2021

(the official blurb)
I really enjoyed Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) and Why Not Me?—this has the same kind of humor—and the audio versions of all three are equally charming.

But I don’t know, this seemed lifeless? Sweet and genuinely funny, but it left me wanting a bit more. I don’t think it was just the length, either.

3 Stars


This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

My Lady Jane (Audiobook) Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, Katherine Kellgren: This YA Romance/Alt-History/Fantasy is simply delightful

My Lady JaneMy Lady Jane

by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows, Katherine Kellgren (Narrator)
Series: The Lady Janies, #1

Unabridged Audiobook, 13 hrs., 47 min.
HarperAudio, 2016
Read: July 2 – 5, 2016

           You may think you know the story. It goes like this: once upon a time, there was a sixteen-year-old girl named Jane Grey, who was forced to marry a complete strange (Lord Guildford or Gilford or Gifford-something-or-other), and shortly thereafter found herself ruler of a country. She was queen for nine days. Then she quite literally lost her head.

Yes, it’s a tragedy, if you consider the disengagement of one’s head from one’s body tragic. (We are merely narrators, and would hate to make assumptions as to what the reader would find tragic.)

We have a different tale to tell.

Pay attention. We’ve tweaked minor details. We’ve completely rearranged major details. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent (or not-so-innocent, or simply because we thought a name was terrible and we liked another name better). And we’ve added a touch of magic to keep things interesting. So really anything could happen.

This is how we think Jane’s story should have gone.

So begins the Prologue to this wonderfully fun book. It’s that second paragraph — but specifically the parenthetical sentence — that locked in my appreciation for the book. Thankfully, it continued to be as good as that paragraph, but I was going to be a fan of anything that happened from that point on.

The advantage you have with historical figures that no one knows anything about, is historical novelists — particularly those who like to play with their history — can do pretty much what they want. Lady Jane Grey is probably the English monarch that people know the least about (if they know about her at all) making her perfect fodder for this story.

This is one of those books that I can’t figure out how to summarize, so I’m just going to steal the publisher’s blurb, as much as I hate doing that, but my attempts have a mess, and theirs worked:

           In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

The characters are wonderful — no one’s perfectly good, or perfectly evil (although there are a few that come close in both directions). The authors keep things moving well, never letting the story detract from the characters, or one part of the narrative take over (there’s plenty of action, romance, friendship, espionage for everyone). Yes there’s magic, yes there’s comedy, but there’s also a lot of heart — a lot of joyful storytelling. This has it all. I really can’t point to a favorite bit, or favorite theme or anything. This is just one of those books I enjoyed all of.

Inside this novel is a love letter to books — and Jane is the representative book lover par excellence (though she could like poetry and novels a bit more) — there’s a treasure trove of quotations about reading, books, and related topics in these pages. All of them delightful.

The novel is clearly clever, witty, with a lot of heart, etc., but what sealed the deal for me was Katherine Kelgren’s outstanding performance. I would’ve enjoyed the novel pretty much no matter who wrote it (I’m not sure Scott Brick or Dick Hill could’ve pulled if off, but you never know), but Kelgren absolutely sold it. Her accent work was outstanding, the life and verve she brought to the project just wowed me.

I’m blathering on, I realize — yet I’m not sure I’ve actually said anything. Bah — just grab the book or audiobook. I don’t care if you’re YA or just A, if you like romance or not, male or female — if you like a fun story that’s well told and never takes itself too seriously (but never makes a joke out of anything important), read it. You’ll have a blast.

—–

4 Stars2018 Library Love Challenge

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