The Treasure Keeper

Finished January 10

The Treasure Keeper by Shana Abé

This is the fourth book in the Drákon series, a historical fantasy series I've been reading completely out of order. The main character here is Zoe Lane. Zoe is the daughter of a seamstress in the English town of Darkfrith, a drákon town hidden from discovery by humans. When she was a child she used to play with Rhys Langford, the son of the head of the town. Rhys disappeared months ago, and men sent after haven't returned either. One of them is Zoe's fiancé, and she doesn't like sitting around waiting. 
Zoe, like many of the more recently born women in the community doesn't have the ability to shapeshift to either smoke or a dragon, let alone both, but she does have two gifts that no one knows about. One is the ability to become invisible. the other is the power to feel other's emotions, and often see their thoughts. 
Using her first power, she escapes Darkfrith and follows the trail to Paris, the last place her fiancé wrote her from. She bases herself out of a room in an abandoned royal residence, and frequents cafés listening to others' emotions and trying to find the men who have been hunting dragons, men known as the sanf inimicus.  
However Zoe is also finding herself seeing Rhys and she doesn't understand why. She is sure he must be dead, but she can talk to him and he seems to be the same as the man she knew. She believes that she is talking to his soul and that she can therefore talk to the dead. 
When his presence saves her from a confrontation with someone working for the sanf inimicus, she is taken aback, but very thankful. When a clue leads her to drákon men hunting the same people as herself, she asks to join, but is refused. She is hesitant to reveal her gifts, but may have to do so to be successful in her hunt. 
I really enjoyed this novel, cheering Zoe on as she revealed herself as a strong woman, and willing to learn how to take best advantage of the gifts she has been given.

Calling Invisible Women

Finished August 4
Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray

This novel is a funny look at women's lives in today's world.
Clover Hobart is in her early fifties, married to a pediatrician and with two grown children. Her son Nick is living at home after failing to find a job after university, and her daughter Evie is at university.
One morning as she is brushing her teeth, she looks in the mirror and can't see herself. She sees the toothbrush and the shower wall behind her, but not herself. She panics a bit, but a little later that morning finds that she is there, so she is not sure of her earlier experience. She confides in her best friend Gilda, who commiserates and discusses with her the phenomenon of feeling invisible, a feeling that many women find themselves experiencing as they age. Clover moves on.
But the next morning, the invisibility is back, and this time it sticks. Somehow she doesn't feel surprised, only comforted by the knowledge that she wasn't imagining things after all. As she goes through her day, she finds that most people she encounters, including her work-weary husband and her distracted son, don't even notice. Gilda does though, and
As Clover goes through the following days, she finds that she is not the only woman who has become invisible, and a local group has identified the cause, but apparently not the solution. As Clover gains a sense of confidence in what she can get away with in her current state, she takes chances, standing up for those who need standing up for, interfering in bad behaviour to correct and guide others, and finally taking a stand for herself and the other women in her predicament.
With great humour and a sense of fun, this book takes the notion of feeling invisible and makes it real, connecting it to the dynamic of women aging and speaking out. Thoroughly enjoyable.