A Merry Little Meet Cute

Finished December 5

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

This holiday romance has a few interesting twists to it. They all made it more interesting. 

Teddy Fletcher is the producer of an upcoming movie, Duke the Halls, who discovers in the opening pages that many of his crew as well as his leading lady have been injured in a freak accident. He must come up with replacements for the crew as well as the star on a very, very tight timeline. 

This is Teddy's first movie for Hopeflix, a well-known producer of holiday romance movies. Teddy has a deep background in producing, but not one Hopeflix is aware of, because it is in the adult movie industry. Teddy is trying to cross into mainstream movies and this can't go wrong for him. 

He's not the only one depending on this movie. The male star is Nolan Shaw, former member of the boy bank INK. He has his own past to overcome. The turning moment for him was being photographed carrying an unconscious Olympic skater out of her hotel room, with two naked speedskaters in the background. It ended both his and her careers. He's been working in local theatre recently, but needs more money to support his mom and younger sister. 

When Teddy grabs his files to meet with his director Gretchen Young to look over possibilities for replacements for the female lead, he grabs a file from his adult movie business by mistake, and when Gretchen sees the picture of Bianca von Honey (the adult industry stage name of Bee Hobbes), she picks her. 

Bee had always wanted to be an actress, but her plus size body wasn't accepted as star material during her school years, and a personal crisis had her revealing parts of her body to the public at a young age, leading her to her current career. She started with an account on Closed Doors, a subscriber only site for many adult stars, and then segued that success into a movie career in the adult industry. She only works for Teddy, as his reputation is good for treating stars and crew with respect. 

This chance to be in a mainstream film is both scary and enticing, but she will have to keep her adult star persona hidden to make it through. 

Unfortunately, when the two leads meet up, Nolan quickly realizes that Bee is the woman that he has ardently watched as a subscriber, and things start to heat up very quickly. 

I liked the humour that pervaded this novel, as well as the depth of many of the issues the book brought up. Things like body image, slut shaming, the nastiness of social media, the financial realities of the US healthcare system, and tabloid-style journalism to name a few.

I'd read Julie Murphy before and liked her style and this new team-up with Sierra Simone is a definite winner and kept surprising me as it flowed along. 

The End of October

Finished December 2

The End of October by Lawrence Wright

I started reading this novel in March 2020, but it felt too close to what was happening in the world at that time, so I put it down and moved on to another book. I decided to tackle it again, and it still felt eerily real to me, with so many aspects of the pandemic within its pages relatable to the real-life pandemic. But this time I kept reading, because I truly wanted to know what would happen to Dr. Henry Parsons, his wife Jill and their children Helen and Teddy. 

Henry is a microbiologist working at the CDC and for the WHO. When an outbreak occurs in Indonesia, he travels there on behalf of WHO to investigate. 

The book takes us through scary moments, when Henry first realizes the virulence of the outbreak and then when he realizes that he has lost the moment to contain it. Henry is a dedicated scientist, using his skills to help figure out what he can. Like our pandemic, things are constantly happening that change the situation, and adjustments are constantly being made. 

Also, like our pandemic, authorities don't always give all the information they have, and aren't always clear to the public of the risks and the real numbers affected. 

The side of the book with Henry's family personalizes it more. Jill is a school teacher, worried about her kids in the classroom, but also about her kids at home. With limited access to be able to communicate with Henry, she is forced to make decisions with limited information. She second guesses herself. 

I found the character of Helen the most interesting as she developed. She is in her teens, and is forced to deal with very adult situations. She is scared and very brave. I really liked her.

There are many loose ends here, as there are in real life. We don't know what happens to the Saudi prince that Henry worked so closely with, and the end of the book doesn't tie everything up. But this feels real, and so many of the issues that arise are real: foreign diplomacy, threats of war, suspicion that the virus is manmade, climate change, countries taking advantage of weaknesses to attack other countries, and interruptions to communications and trade. This was still a difficult read, as so many of the issues are real for us now, but it is one that will keep you gripped to the book.  

Raven Reads Fall 2022 Box

 I've been subscribing to this book package for a while, but not posted about it before. This is a Canadian-based subscription, and comes out quarterly. With each package you get a book by an indigenous author, and other items from indigenous businesses. 

This is a great way to enhance your reading and find new and unique items that are made with care and dedication. 

I love the pattern on the boxes

Inside each box, there is a short newsletter about the contents of the box and a thank you card. The filler has a woodsy smell to it. 

This month's contents included a bag

as well as the book and other items. 

This quarter's book choice was one that was already on my radar as one to read, The Theory of Crows by David A Robertson. I like Robertson as an author and am looking forward to this one a lot. 

Also included are two soap bars, one a facial bar and one for the body. Both smell fantastic. The last item is a smudge spray, an interesting alternative for those situations where burning smudge may not be an option. 

December Reviews for the 16th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 Here is where you add links to your reviews for books you've read in December. Add comments as well to tell us about where you are in the challenge or about the books. 

The Twilight Wife

Finished November 29

The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner

This novel starts with marine biologist Kyra Winthrop walking the beach on Mystic Island, set in the San Juan islands of Puget Sound. Kyra had a diving accident a few months ago and, as a result, has no memory of the last four years of her life. Jacob, her husband has told her that she taught at Seattle University and that they've been married for three years. She goes through picture albums, both of the earlier years that she remembers and of the years she has forgotten. When she tries to force the memories, she gets headaches, so she slows down, but it bothers her a lot that she has this gap in her life. Jacob says that they recently moved to the house that he grew up in, on this remote island to allow her a quieter environment to recover. He's also told her that they spent time here on the island last summer, staying in a local bed and breakfast, before the accident.

Kyra is beginning to have spurts of memories come through. She remembers another man, Aiden and knows that she had feelings for him, and intimacy. When an older local man, Doug, seems to recognize her she wants to find out who she reminds him of. 

One of their neighbours is Nancy and her husband Van. Nancy grew up with Jacob and seems to have confused feelings about him. Nancy has befriended Kyra and yet seems to also resent her in some ways. 

As Kyra begins to remember things and learn things from the few others on the island, she also finds that Jacob has kept some information from her. Is it to protect her as he claims, or are there secrets he doesn't want her to know? 

This is a tale of narcissism, control, and manipulation, along with Kyra's struggle to find the truth about herself and the people in her life. A book that is hard to put down. 

Let's Add Up!

Finished November 27

Let's Add Up! by Victoria Allenby, illustrated by Maggie Zeng

I always like finding good number books for children, so this is a winner. A careful look at the cover gives a clue to the theme of the book, the number 10. The book goes over various combinations of numbers that add up to 10, and also uses the same combination to introduce the idea of sorting. For example the first combination of 5 drums and 5 tambourines equals 10, but it also shows the concept of these two different things also being sorted as musical instruments, and then follows that with the introduction of them being put to use, resulting in a band. The pictures bring even more depth to this, with each drum being different from the others and each tambourine unlike the others. 

The book gives so much to explore with this in terms of sorting and adding that it can support a lot of discussion. 

I also really like the diversity of the children depicted here, showing different races and abilities among them. The drawings have movement and interest, and looking closely offer more things to talk about. At the end of the book, suggestions are given for more activities that involve classification, adding, observing, counting, and being creative. A great choice for any young reader.

The Witch of Babylon

Finished November 26

The Witch of Babylon by D.J. McIntosh

This novel, the first in a trilogy, reaches back to ancient Babylonia and Assyria in the events that influence the plot. The main character, John Madison, is a Turkish-American art dealer, who was found and raised by his older half-brother Samuel after his parents' deaths. 

The two are close in many ways, but not in all. Samuel was also involved in the art world, specializing in ancient artifacts from the Middle East. As the book begins, John is going home from the hospital, where he has been recovering from a car accident, one in which he was driving the car, and that resulted in Samuel's death. Samuel had just returned from Iraq, where he had been trying to save museum pieces from looters following the Iraq War. There is one particular relic that Samuel had been focused on, one that hadn't yet gained the attention of the art and archeological world. 

John finds that he must follow in Samuel's footsteps and stay one step ahead of the others trying to find the artifact in order to find out what Samuel cared this much about, and to resolve his own personal issues. It may also be the only way to save his own life. 

John's old friend and client Hal has inserted himself into the situation and left John a puzzle to solve to be able to move forward in the search. Also involved is an archeologist named Tomas Zakar and his brother Ari, an Iraqi photojournalist. 

Among the people trying to find the artifact by any means necessary is an attractive young woman named Eris and a mysterious group of masked people who have an interest in alchemy. John doesn't know who to trust and makes many missteps in his searching. From New York to Iraq, this novel takes John on a journey into the past, both ancient and his own. 

Bear Has a Belly

Finished November 23

Bear Has a Belly by Jane Whittingham

This delightful photography picture book introduces body parts to young children, having them look at animals' bodies and compare them to their own bodies. They can see how the parts can be the same and yet different. The first example has a rabbit with long, floppy ears and the child can see that they have ears as well, but theirs are not long or floppy. This book would be a good one to read interactively, touching and pointing to body parts and noticing differences. Kids can come up with other descriptions for body parts for different types of bodies and explore the world around them by noticing these things. 

The animal photos are appealing and illustrate the noted body part well, and the pictures of the children show diversity. 

The book also includes suggestions to augment the reading experience, including making it interactive, finding ways to integrate movement, and to encourage observation and learning beyond the reading experience. 

A great choice for young readers. 

Deck the Halls

Finished November 21

Deck the Halls by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

This mystery is set around a popular New York City based mystery writer and her family. Nora Reilly had planned to spend the holiday season with her husband Luke and daughter Regan in Hawaii. Unfortunately she tripped on a rug and broke her leg and now the family is spending Christmas in New York. Regan has flown in from her home in Los Angeles. Luke has a few plans, from putting in an appearance at a funeral taking place at the funeral home he runs with a partner to a dentist appointment before returning to the hospital later that day and then going out for a bit with Regan.

When calls go her dad go unanswered, and he doesn't show at the dentist, Regan knows something is wrong. At the dentist she runs into amateur detective Alvirah Meehan whose husband had an emergency dental visit just before Luke's scheduled appointment. Alvirah gives Regan a ride back to her parents' house and is there when a call comes in demanding a ransom be paid for Luke's release.

When Luke exited the hospital earlier, he and his driver were surprised by a former contractor with a gun. The contractor has teamed up with a disgruntled relative of a recently deceased business acquaintance of Luke's and the two have multiple grievances against both Luke and his young single mother driver Rosita Gonzalez. 

Gonzalez is worried about the inexperienced babysitter she had left her two young boys with and Luke is thinking of ways to provide information to his daughter that may help her find him.

Regan works as a private detective back in L.A. and with Alvirah's help and contacts quickly gets high-level support from the police. 

The ineptitude of the kidnappers provides both comic relief and tenseness as they seem to be ill-prepared for any changes to their plans. 

This is a light seasonal mystery book that provided me with a quick and enjoyable escape read. There is even a touch of romance. 

Dinos Driving

Finished November 20

Dinos Driving by Lynn Leitch, illustrations by Scot Ritchie

Dinosaurs are a common interest of children and this book provides information on different types of dinosaurs in a humorous and interesting way. Readers are asked to imagine what kind of cars different dinosaurs might drive based on their known attributes. From physical characteristics to diet to behaviours, these attributes are used as reasoning for the choices here. 

The illustrations bring both the dinosaurs and the attributes to life, showing an adult velociraptor driving their family around in their Mini, a group of motorcycle riding Triceratops, and a bus driver Diplodocus among others. The book pairs up the dinosaurs with vehicles in the main narrative, with information given about the dinosaurs at the end.

As usual with this publisher, at the end of the book additional activities are suggested. These include having a conversation with the child about the pairings and why they might be matched the way they are, coming up with matches for other dinosaurs or other animals, doing their own illustrations based on those ideas, and coming up with poses or actions to match with the different dinosaurs that can then be acted out. 

A fun and silly book that definitely has child appeal.