The Tale of Hawthorn House by Susan Wittig Albert

A book based around the most popular children's author of all time? Don't mind if I do!

That is exactly what The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter are. Who is Beatrix Potter, you ask? Why, every child has heard of Peter Rabbit! That is exactly who Beatrix Potter is, the author of some of the most famous children's stories ever written.

Albert bases her stories (loosely) around events that actually occurred in Ms. Potter's life. From the history I have personally read of Beatrix it seems to me she made the personality of the character fit very well with the real woman as well. 

Shy, determined, intelligent, creative. Wonderful. 

In this story Beatrix is visits the lovely little town of Near Sawrey where she owns a farm that she, due to over bearing parents, doesn't get to visit very often. Ms. Potter loves her little farm and does her very best to take care of it and make it prosperous. However, every time she comes to the village, she seems to get tied up in some kind of mystery and mild mayhem. In this case it is the mystery of a baby that was left on her doorstep and no one knows who the child's parents are. 

By a series of fortunate coincidences she does in the find the child's parents and the child gets the best of all worlds in the end. In the meantime Beatrix is mistakenly marked a bride, assists a friend with some much needed courage, and misplaces a duck. I do believe the part about the duck is my favorite. Anyone who has read Beatrix Potter's stories knows the tale of Jemima Puddleduck and in this book we get to explore a little further into her story as well as her furry friend's. 

In all of the books Albert has done about Beatrix in her Cottage Tales series, they delve a little further into the children's stories that Potter actually wrote and it is really wonderful to add to those little stories in your head, even if it just seems like some insignificant detail. 

Now, if you're looking for a fast paced, action packed book then this series would not be quite right under those per-requisites. If you want an interesting, well written, quiet yet detail orientated mystery then look no further. I would give this book, and the entire Cottage Tales series, a solid five flopsy bunnies out of five. 


This book inspired me to make Shepherd's Pie.
     Nothing quite says old England to me quite like Shepherd's pie. It is something that could be found in many homes as a hearty meal.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C Wrede

I don't often go for sci-fi. A little bit of fantasy, sure, because what is life without a little imagination. But straight out sci-fi? That happens a little next to never. However, Dealing with Dragons is the first in the series of four in the Enchanted Forest chronicles by Patricia C Wrede and they take you into a world of dragons, fiery princesses, evil plots, and magic that is so carefully written into the story that it seems almost commonplace and normal. 

Cimorene is a princess of the Kingdom of Linderwall and she is not exactly what the king and queen would consider a normal princess. She conjugates Latin verbs, makes cherries jubilee, and can cast a mean invisibility spell. Her sisters learn when to scream as a dragon or orge is carrying them off and different embroidery stitches. But not Cimorene. When her parents arrange a marriage for her to an annoyingly proper prince in a neighboring kingdom, Cimorene goes off on her own and volunteers to become the captive princess of the dragon Kazul. 

Sounds like fun to me. 

While sorting Kazul's library, organizing her treasure vaults, and making her chocolate mousse Cimorene discovers a plot against the life of the king of the dragons. From here she works with a prince that was turned into stone (quite unfortunate), a ginger witch with perfect posture (and a lot of cats), and an only slightly silly princess to try to thwart the over-confident wizards from taking control of the dragon's throne. 

This series is absolutely wonderful. Wrede keeps to her themes, stays true to her characters, and the series itself winds together beautifully. If you have even a passing fancy of sci-fi or even just a good and fanciful story I cannot recommend the Enchanted Forest chronicles enough. If you aren't into science fiction I know it sounds a bit silly. However, I truly believe if you give the books a try you will not regret it. Wrede pulls you into her stories with such wonderful writing and you can't help but keep your eyes glued to the page. I give this book, and the series itself, five melting wizards out of five. (now go and find out what the melting wizards reference is, you silly goose!)

This book inspired me to make Coconut Potato Curry with Basil.
     Thinking of the dragons breathing fire makes me want something spicy but still with a "down home" feel. Potatoes and curry absolutely hit the spot!

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

I bet you would have never guessed that I have an absolute obsession with Egypt. Three books all based on ancient Egypt (and a little bit of ancient Rome thrown in for good measure) and ironically all by the same author. When I initially purchased these books I had no idea they were all by the same author. That is just not something I look at when buying a book. Why would I care who wrote it? It's the content that is of interest to me. But, here I am, my third book by Michelle Moran, lets see if I liked it, shall we?

Here's a hint, does Dumbo love peanuts?

We start with lovely and young little Nefertari, niece of Nefertiti. She worries over losing her two closest friends as they are older than her and leaving school. Ramesses becomes pharaoh (and if you haven't heard of Ramesses the Great then you have issues and need to go read some history books) and her friend Asha becomes a ranking member of the army.  Little Nefertari, what is she to do? Perhaps join the priestesses of Hathor and plot with the high priestess into becoming Ramesses' wife and overthrowing the high priestess' plotting sister's plans to take power form the throne. 

Just maybe. 

In a nutshell, this book is about love, struggle, war, and some rather devious plots whether they be for good or ill. The high priestess of Hathor (Woserit) has a sister named Henuttawy who is high priestess of Isis and she is, as Nefertari put it, a viper. Henuttawy spends all of her time plotting and planning on gaining a way to power from the throne by pushing a woman of her choosing, Iset, toward Ramesses who takes her as wife. Woserit and Nefertari have other ideas. Nefer becomes known as the Warrior Queen as she is made a wife and goes with her husband into battles and assists Egypt instead of sitting on her tush in a palace surrounded by every luxury. My kind of woman.

This story, as the others of Moran's, is full of historical fact as well as fascinating fiction. My main complaint, again, is that she really does not finish books well. I always feel like the climax is anti-climatic and the ending is rushed. It just doesn't feel quite right. The rest of the story is fascinating and completely engrosses me but the ending is just...stale. If she could just end her books better this one would have easily gotten a five, but as it is, this book gets four offerings to Amun out of five.


This book inspired me to make Fresh bread.
     The common Ancient Egyptians' diet was largely centered around breads and only the more wealthy had a steady diet of meats. 

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call

To storm or fire the world must fall

An oath to keep with a final breath

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death

Oh, the fad of reading books geared toward teens and pre-teens. We all know Harry Potter. How can you avoid those? Better yet, who would want to avoid those? Rick Riordan has written a couple of different series for a similar audience and I'm not ashamed to say I love them. Adore them. Have read them multiple times. The Mark of Athena is the latest in his The Heroes of Olympus series and Riordan did not disappoint. 

For the most part. 

We start with both Romans and Greek demigod (a mythological being who is partly divine and partly human) teenagers meeting in California. Yes, Cali. Near San Francisco to be exact. This is the part of the book that got the "for the most part" comment. I don't understand why it is important. I understand why it is important for both branches of Greek and Roman demigods need to meet, but then they start fighting and the Romans decide to try to blow the Greeks out of the sky. Riordan did not clarify why this was an important event and it seems to have no solid hold on the story other than the cop-out "they are supposed to." I just have to hope the Riordan follows up on this in the next book and explains why this needed to happen because it seemed so ruddy pointless. 

The story centers around Annabeth who is the daughter of Athena. She and her friends Percy (son of Poseidon), Jason (son of Jupiter), Piper (daughter of Aphrodite), Leo (son of Hephaestus), Frank (son of Mars), and Hazel (daughter of Pluto) need to get to Rome to stop Gaia from rising and destroying the world. Sounds like fun for a bunch of teenagers. Of course on the way they get waylaid multiple times, possessed by servants of Gaia, nearly shot down by the now angry Roman demigods, and stop to have tea and cookies with Aphrodite. Wait, what?

Upon reaching Rome, Annabeth goes off on her own quest as given to her by her mother. Her quest is really quite interesting so I won't spoil it for you here but I have to say it is the most interesting part of the book. Yes yes, running around saving the world from the evil Earth Mother is wonderful and all, but, once you read it you will understand why Annabeth's quest (hence the title Mark of Athena) is so compelling. 

At the end of the book, Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus heading toward the Doors of Death while the rest of their friends are topside heading in the same direction. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out, but unfortunately that will be about a year. Hurry up, Riordan! I'm on pins and needles. As a whole, I'd give this book three and a half Greek statues out of five however the series as a whole is a solid 4.5. 


This book inspired me to make Crunchy Taco Chickpeas
      Not only are they vegan, which would appeal to Piper, but they are full of protein to keep the demigods on
      their toes and spicy enough to keep things interesting.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Was I completely disappointed in the last time period based book I read? Yup. Did I get drawn in to read another one? Yup. I am a real sucker for Egypt. How could I resist a book based around the chief queen of the heretic pharaoh Ankenaten? Her famous bust sits in a museum in Berlin, taunting me to come to see it. If I have a love for all things ancient Egyptian, then rule of Ankenaten is my obsession. I had to see how this author could bring both the splendor and atrocities of that period to life.

I'll start with the fact that if you have no knowledge of ancient Egypt, then this book would be a little difficult to follow. Moran often names other pharaohs such as Hatshepsut as well as various gods of Egypt and cities. You could vaguely follow the story but if you don't fully grasp the importance of Thebes or the priests of Amun, I don't think that the story would make nearly as big of an impact.

This is one of those stories I was up until two AM reading with a cup of tea growing cold beside me. It completely drew me in. The characters had such life! When Queen Nefertiti began acting like a spoiled little child you wanted to put her in her place. When the pharaoh abandoned his country's boarders to make the soldiers build him a new city you wanted to throw him to the Nile crocodiles.

However, throughout the book you follow Nefertiti's younger sister Mutnodjmet. She gets brushed aside and treated as a servant when her sister comes to power. While the rest of us most likely would have put our overbearing, childish sister in her place, Mutny (her nick-name which makes me think of a kicked dog) follows along like (shall I say it?) a wounded puppy. She is quiet and soft and likes gardening and children. To each their own.

We watch as the new capitol city of Amarna is built to honor the Aten instead of the traditional Amun. We are there are Nefertiti is made co-regent (also pharaoh) of Egypt, and then the author makes us hurt for the hundreds that die as the Black Plague washes through the city, taking with it several member of the royal family. I must say that I also let out a sigh of relief when the heretic pharaoh Ankenaten passes away of the same plague he brought upon his people. He was written as a selfish, thoughtless, arrogant man and it was almost worth letting out a cheer when he passes. Almost.

As a whole, this book was beautifully written. It is rich in detail, the characters have plenty of personality, and there are very few dull moments. It's only downfall is it is not entirely suitable for people with no knowledge of the history of Egypt. I think it would be difficult for them to follow along through many of the discussions. Imagine walking up to someone who has studied the history of China all their lives and striking up a discussion of Egypt, They probably wouldn't know Hatshepsut from Khufu.  This leaves the book with a diminished audience. Never the less, I'd give this book four fallen deitys out of five.

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

     I have always been an avid fan of ancient history. Rome, Greece, and most especially Egypt will always draw my interest. While Cleopatra is certainly low on my list of favorite pharaohs (because, at least to my way of thinking, she was not a true Egyptian) this book still instantly caught my eye. I had passed it by in browsing several times, giving it a cursory glance and little else. Most books that delve into the folds of ancient history tend to be irksome with inaccurate details and failing plot line. Finally, I gave into my curiosity and purchased it hoping that it would turn out to be a wonderful book. As the old saying goes, hope springs eternal.

We start off in Alexandria, Egypt in the company of Cleopatra herself with her brood of children, guards, and politicians. The Romans are invading, as the Romans were wont to do, and Egypt has found itself in a state of chaos. The pharaoh has barricaded herself in with her children, and her precious Marc Antony stumbles in and promptly dies. Once the Roman's take the city, Cleopatra turns her children over to the invaders and sticking with history she dies by the venom of a cobra. Caesar then takes her children to Rome, parades them through the streets showing off his spoils of war. 

Sadly, I found it difficult to get through this part. The author seemed so focused on describing the scene that she seemed to fail at giving the characters any personality. I was reading along what so-and-so was thinking and couldn't for the life of me remember who the character was. There was nothing for many chapters that made any of the characters stand out enough to remember who each of them were in relationship to the next or why their thoughts were significant. But as I've never opened a book I've not finished, I pressed on. 

Once in Rome, after parading these poor children through the streets like trophies at the state fair, they are taken to live with the Caesar's family. They meet people their own age and the various member of the ruling family all of whom seemed dry as dust and utterly predictable. There were only two characters that really held my interest and that was Juba who acted as sort of a personal guard to Caesar and the slave Gallia who seemed to be a very fiery woman (it's the fiery ones that hold your attention).

Throughout the story Caesar is shown as heartless for the most part but with a softer side that surprises you, and always calculating. The kind of man that would happily kill his own family members while having a laugh over a glass of wine and roast pheasant. The story seems to center around not just the children of Cleopatra but a man called the Red Eagle who is enemy of the politicians and supporter of the slaves. In the end, the magnificent Red Eagle turns out to be exactly who I thought he was which was both wonderful and disappointing.

My main complaint of the book is there didn't seem to be a clear plot line. We more or less meander through the lives of these royal children as they come of age and vaguely wonder what this supporter of slaves is up to. Even up until the last page of the book I kept wondering what the point was. Honestly, I'm still not sure. The story was anticlimactic, dry, and predictable. Despite that, it was still beautifully written with great care to detail. I'd give this three denarii out of five.

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

I picked this book up on a whim. Browsing through recommended books on my Nook, this one had particularly good reviews. "What the heck, " I thought, "with that many good reviews it must at least be entertaining." Oh no, I overestimated the capability of the populace at large to choose decent reading material. 

This book starts, as many irritating situations do, in an airport. Flight delayed? Yup. Having to wait with a teenager? Yup. This woman, whose age is hovering around that turning-point of 30, is waiting in the airport with a teenager to fly to the Maldives to be his private tutor for the summer. Bored yet? That's what I thought. 

These two people, whom I will not even grace with names, end up lost in the tropics on a deserted island after their plane goes down when the pilot dies after having a massive heart attack while in flight. Can you hear the melodramatic background music? But wait! There's more!

You can imagine what goes on survival wise lost on a desert island. Find food. Find shelter. Pick up bits and pieces that wash ashore from your crashed flight which miraculously include a first aid kit and your suit case. How convenient. I think, however, that the main "interest" of the story was supposed to be based around these character's love story. 

The young man is around 17 and as I mentioned the lovely (of course) tutor is around 30. It seemed to me that the story was supposed to dance around the social faux pas of two people of such differing age becoming romantically involved. They do end up becoming involved and conveniently the young man is sterile (due to his battle with cancer which is the only emotionally wrenching part of the story).

As any good "lost on a island" story goes there is a brush with a shark, making friends with dolphins, finding a long dead body, illness from malnutrition, and quite a bit of doing the horizontal tango. If I recall they also make friends with a chicken. There is no imagery intended. They quite literally make friends with a chicken Sadly, that sentence was also the most interesting part of the book. 

After spending a few years on this island, a tsunami washes them off their happy spit of land where they are then rescued after floating about in the water for a bit. The remainder of the book involves the two growing apart in society and then coming back together to live happily ever after with a brood of children (apparently the young man had his sperm frozen for later use) . I promise you that it is no more interesting than it sounds. I felt that the book should have ended with them getting rescued from the island, however, on we trudged through them feeling sorry for themselves after being rescued from an island where they most certainly were doomed to die an early death. 

As a whole, the book had a good premise. We had tragedy, a meeting of minds (not to mention bodies), and a return to society to live out their lives together. What this book was missing was detail, lack of feeling, and it almost felt as if the author became just as bored in writing the story as I was in reading it. I'd give this book one and a half jelly fish stings out of five.

Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler

Christopher Fowler writes one of my favorite book series. The series is known both as the Bryant and May mysteries as well as the Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries. I have noticed, as I have recommended the series to many people, that readers seem to be along the lines of "love it or hate it" and that there don't seem to be any in between opinions. In my case, I love it. 

Arthur Bryant and John May are detectives based out of London's Peculiar Crimes Unit. The Unit was founded, if memory serves, during WWII out of the government's desire to keep panic out of the public eye. They did so by giving publicly sensitive cases with the potential to cause mass panic to the specialized and "experimental" unit called the Peculiar Crimes Unit. In one of the prior books in the series it is joked that the unit was originally called the Particular Crimes Unit and only ended up being called Peculiar by accident and joke. 

The two main characters, Arthur Bryant and John May, in this case are looking back at a case from their past. A very well to-do family with pedigree and influence, the Whitstables, have become the focus of a string of murders. We start with the death of a family lawyer, Max Jacob, who was murdered quietly in the lobby of a posh hotel. The detectives must figure who and what killed him as he died alone in plain sight of the entire hotel lobby.


The initial killing is followed by the deaths of three members of the Whitstable family. William, Peter, and their sister Bella. William is blown up in a public place without harming any of the people who are physically near to him, Peter's throat is cut at the barber's in the same posh hotel as the business man was killed in, and Bella is poisoned at a play surrounded by at least a dozen people including Mr. Bryant. How are these deaths occurring?

We follow Bryant and May as they trudge through the case, digging up clues with the help of a mildly annoying teen. You get absorbed as a young child of the Whitstable family is kidnapped, become disturbed when another family member is attacked within the family mausoleum, and either gasp in shock or are utterly bewildered by the cause and purpose of these deaths.

The conclusion is most entertaining and positively weird, so I won't give it up here. Overall, the book is fascinating. My only real complaint is the annoyance factor of the teenage girl that helps Bryant and May on and off throughout the story. Honestly, what teenage girl isn't a bit of an annoyance from time to time? I'd give the story four and a half cups of Earl Grey out of five.

Consider reading the rest of the Bryant and May series:
Full Dark House
The Water Room
The Ten Second Staircase
White Corridor (my personal favorite)
The Victoria Vanishes
On the Loose
Off the Rails
The Memory of Blood 

Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts (Valentines Day post)

In light of upcoming Valentines Day, I decided to review a romance novel. I had originally chosen a murder mystery but thought this would be entirely more appropriate, if less fun. 

It's a good bet every single one of you know this author. She's nearly impossible to avoid now that she is in both the romance and mystery sections. Roberts is an author with a plan. One that she repeats in nearly every novel or series she writes. Mind you, that's not altogether a bad thing. Honestly, what woman hasn't got lost in a good romance novel or movie when she's feeling blue?

Savor the Moment is part three of Roberts' Bride Quartet series. I picked this one because of the main character, Laurel. She is feisty and blunt and I figured that would take some of the frilly edge off of "I love you!" and "Oh God! I love you too!"

The plot takes on that of any romance novel, just in a different setting. You do come to like Laurel and her friends Mac, Emma, and Parker who run a venue that hosts and organizes weddings. Laurel makes cakes and it's a perfect literary world, so of course each and every cake is beautiful and perfect. Laurel falls for Del, Parker's brother, who is a lawyer and a bit of a bossy and overbearing individual.


You walk with Laurel through the discovery faze, hurt for her during the falling out, and are happy for her when it all works out in the end. Isn't that the point of a book, though? To make you feel for the character? Nora Roberts is a gem at this, she has her formula and works it. I won't deny that I enjoyed the book however it's something to be enjoyed over a box of donut holes, a bottle of wine, and under a snuggley blanket. I'd give this book, and the the whole Bride Quartet series, three and a half cupcakes out of five.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

First off, I love this book. I've read it twice now (as I do all books) and liked it even better the second time. I kept thinking, "If I had to be stuck in time somewhere, I'd be okay with being there." I could see the circus beautifully inside my head, but at the same time bits of it were fuzzy which gave it that magical feeling. 

Morgenstern painted a wonderful picture inside my head of the venue. The black and white tents, fascinating performances and performers, and even describing the wonderful smells wafting between the tents. The descriptions are so well written, if I close my eyes I can go there in my mind. Walking amongst the tents with a glossy caramel apple in my hand, reading the carefully hung signs that give only hints of what is to be found inside each tent. The world in which the author takes you is beautiful and wondrous, my bowler off to you Ms. Morgenstern. 

I will admit though, the story is a bit slow moving. For being nearly four-hundred pages you can easily fit the summary into one or two paragraphs. The first time I read the book through I put it down often because I'd tire of some scene or another and wonder when that section would end. The description and content of each scene is glorious, there is just too much of it at times. 

My other complaint of the book is jumping around through time frames. You read one chapter and get a good sense of the characters and what their purposes are and what is going on with the backstory. Then in the next chapter, it is a year later or ten years earlier and you are given no ruler to measure this time jump by. Only dropped hints such as "I was sad when he died last year" are there to give you a marker as to when it is during the story. If it continued to be foreword moving, I would not have a problem with it. However, sometimes a chapter will hop into the backstory some ten years prior to the main story in the previous chapter and you feel off kilter. It distracted from the story in general.

Mind you, despite these little complaints, the story is truly wonderful. If you are the kind of person that enjoys a fast paced, get things done and move on kind of story this book probably would not be for you. But if you want to wander through a magical world filled with interesting characters and a strange if sometimes confusing plot, this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I'd give the story four bowler hats out of five.

In the beginning

This is a project I've thought about tackling for some time now. With my passion being reading and my dream to be an author, my nose is almost always stuck in a book. Whether it be a thriller, romance, mystery, drama, sci fi, or a fact filled non fiction it simply doesn't matter. I love them all. Here I will give my reviews, thoughts, and opinions on whatever book I happen to find myself buried in...which is usually a large pile. If I don't have at least three books in the middle of being read, I start to jones. I've been told it's a sickness, and one I have no urge to cure. In the meantime... Read. Laugh. Love.