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Ranking Fifth Avenue Rebels
Shupe’s latest Gilded Age romance delivers on opulence, scandals and simmering romance so let’s get to it.
- The Lady Gets Lucky: This was a lovely book wit a nice share of character development for both. When shy Alice goes to Kit for seduction lessons so she may marry a man who’ll love her for her and not her dowry, they both end up falling hard. Kit is determined to open a supper club to prove that he is not the layabout wasteral his father says he is, seeding the insecurity that he’s “as deep as a puddle.” He hides behind a charming facade because he fears it’s all he really is. Meanwhile, Alice has deep insecurities that she’s too plain, too stupid, a nothing thanks to her mother’s constant criticisms. So they’re mutually pleasurable arrangement has surprising results besides orgasms. Alice begins to realize she does have worth, she shares her cooking skills in public, she gains confidence and starts to stand up for herself. And Kit realizes that just as he snubs his nose at society rules, he needs to snub his nose at his inner voice because he already knows his father’s a con, why should he believe his words about his worth. Best of all, they learn together.
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The Reckoning of Roku Review
It’s always a delight to return to the world of the Four Nations and the Avatar that keeps them in balance. Here, Ribay delves into one of the most well-known of them all, at least if you watched the original series. Roku, Aang’s predescessor whose friendship with Fire Lord Sozin is a bond turned tragic.
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Top 5 Caroline Years
After reading Laura Ingells Wilder’s classic Little House on the Prarie series, and then the sequel inspired by her daughter, The Rose Years. It’s only fitting to go back in time to mid 19th century to see the coming of age of Caroline Quiner, the beloved Ma of America’s famous pioneer family.
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Lina Girgis Interview
Lina Girgis is a poet and author of her thoughts past midnight. After meeting her at an author signing, she kidnly took the time to answer my questions on her journey and her poetry. Enjoy!
1. When did you begin writing?
I used to write all my life. I recently took a trip back home-my home is Egypt and moved to the US when I was 13 in 2013-this was my first trip since I left 11 years ago.
I actually found all the poetry I used to write when I was little, around 6 or 7, in Arabic. It was inspiring to see that folder and look back in the head of six year old Lina and how I expressed myself even though I didn’t know it was poetry.
So I could say I’ve been writing all my life. I stopped writing when I moved to the US because it was a drastic culture shock especially at thirteen which is already a tumultuous time period, dealing with the language difference, a new school, everything
I started writing again when I was senior year of college, around October 2021 as I was reconsidering my career in engineering along with other overwhelming things. Poety helped, I found my passion again.
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Book of the Month: 1st to Die
Well, we return to the formation of theMurder Club and wow, it’s been awhile since I read the book.
Awhile but I did remember key parts so the sequence of events and the serial killer reveal wasn’t too big of a surprise for me. Nor was it for my friend but she’s always been good at guessing the killer. She feels like a genius.
Still it was the usual Patterson mystery with quick description, tight pacing and a twisty plot. More of the appeal for me was seeing how much had changed for Lindsey Boxer since the beginning. Like the fact she spent the entire book battling a fatal anemia, concerned about her future and whether or not she’ll ever reach her goals of getting promoted, finding love etc. Just knowing it will all happen makes it surreal.
Same with seeing how young the rest of the club members feel with Cindy spunkily making her first big break when one knows that she’ll not only become a big time reporter but a big time author; Claire’s calm and cool demenour when knowing she has big traumas coming ahead; and Jill, poor Jill, I feel like she’s really forgotten as the series continued.
Same with Chris Raleigh, I completely forgot about him. Still he made a poignant emotional impact on Lindsey in the short space of time with their work-trauma bond, opening her up to the concept of love again. Could he be a rare case of male fridging?
My one nitpick would have to be with the epilogue that reveals the true mastermind behind the serial killer’s strategies. Even though the ending implies this is a real scene but the way Patterson wrote it, it felt more like a nightmare with sparse description, clustraphobic surroundings and distorted features, not a realistic ending.
Next up: Bobbie Faye’s very (very, very) bad day by Toni McGee Causey.
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Vanessa Riley Interview
Vanessa is the prolific, best-selling author of the Lady Worthing Mysteries series, Queen of Exiles, Rogues and Remarkable Women, and much more. From mystery to historical to regency, Vanessa puts strong, dynamic Black women and women of color in her novels in all their joy and complexity. She graciously took the time to answer my questions on her work. Please enjoy.
1. You have a PhD in mechanical engineering. How did you pivot to writing?
Even while pursuing my engineering career, I’ve always had a passion for storytelling. The analytical skills from my engineering background help me plot intricate stories, be adept at researching historical details, and bring additional insight into understanding how money flows in the past. My background lends to my fascination with materials and how things are made—more ways to draw a reader into appreciating the past.
Writing became a natural extension of my love for history, allowing me to explore new worlds and characters and engage readers in meaningful ways.
2. What are some of your biggest influences in writing?
My influences range from classic literature to contemporary authors. Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and Longfellow profoundly shaped my understanding of character and society. Additionally, Toni Morrison’s rich narratives and James Baldwin’s cultural insights have inspired me to delve deeper into the experiences of people, particularly marginalized people, throughout history.
3. What is it about the Regency period that has an enduring appeal for you and your audience?
The Regency period is a fascinating era of transition, filled with social and political changes. The elegance, wit, and drama of the time provide a rich backdrop for storytelling. It’s also about uncovering the untold stories of people of color who lived and thrived during this period, bringing a fresh and inclusive perspective to the genre.
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Author Highlight: Wendy Mass
In small-town Willow Falls, nothing is a coincidence.
It’s all thanks to octagerian resident, Abigail whose distinct duck-shaped birthmark and her perchant for appearing everywhere, all at once throws the lives of these kids into a tailspin on their birthdays.
For instance, Leo and Amanda, best friends literally from the day of their birth experience a groundhog day loop on their eleventh birthday.
Rory finds out that trying to rush through childhood leads nothing but problems on her 12th birthday.
Tara gets into trouble when she tries to dupe Abigail herself and must go on a town-wide scavenger hunt to find 13 gifts before her 13th birthday.
And Grace. . . well they all have to come together to figure out the secrets of this town and help Grace on her tenth birthday in order to fulfill her destiny.
I have previously encountered Mass’ writing with Every Soul a Star, a thoughtful tale that expounds on the vastness of the universe and uniqueness of each individual finding their place when she brings three disparate teens together in a coming of age tale under an eclipse.
Her Willow Falls series is much more whimsical and humorous as one can tell by the premise of each novel. It falls under the realm of magical realism with more magic as the series continues forth. Well magic mixed with physics.
But that starts getting into spoilery territory so Ill focus on the characters which are the real draw of the series. While Abigail and the town fall under the magical side, the kids are three-dimensional and realistic in their strengths and flaws.
She totally gets how kids might react in these situations from Amanda and Leo happily taking advantage of the groundhog day loop in order to fix friendship problems and skip school or Rory’s insistance on following through on her list no matter the amount of physical injuries she encounters. The kids misunderstand one another while making fun of the crazy situations they get up to.
They’re not bastions of maturity but they’re endearing in their awkwardness and confusion while trying to be supportive of their friends and the magical mishaps they are thrown into by Abigail.
I’ll admit Finally, Rory’s book feels like an outliar in the series as the magical events seem more like orchestrated coincidences but it’s the funniest so I don’t mind. It still fits as Mass continually ages up the characters and incorporates them into each other’s lives in order to bring the series to its conclusion in regards to friendships and growing up and the interconnectedness of community. Magic or not.
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Aug Books
She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sara Smarsh
Who doesn’t love Dolly Parton? I mean, she can sing, has fabulous costumes, has an amusement park and still gives back to her roots. So it’s no surprise that Dolly has a few books written in her honor.
Smarsh’s book is part autobipgraphy, part music analysis and part memoir as she relates her and her grandmother’s rural experience to Dolly’s and what she represents to other demographics.
Dolly’s story is relatable yet aspirational in how she grew up poor but rose to great prominance by navigating the music indutry and gaining confidence to manage her image.
And it may sound overused but you can tell Dolly is authentic in the way she writes and the way she speaks. The big takeaway is that she knows her mind, she knows she has talent and that her heart is what matters more than her appearance. Although she sidesteps it by keeping her philanthropic efforts out of the press and poking fun at her enhanced body and hair.
This relates to her background in a big way as everyone knows that Dolly is not overtly political. Not because she doesn’t care but as an extension of her rural upbringing, she doesn’t have the fancy, Oxford definitions academics and others use to define their ideologies and speeches. Rather she lets her actions and classiness demonstrate that.
If there are three words to describe this book, it’s music, sex and God, and that’s not a bad way to live one’s life.
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Twisted Tales: Suddenly Super Review
What if Violet was an Agent of Syndrome?
This was another solid addition to the Twisted Tales series. It’s unfortunate this tale is only available out of the U.S. because Calonita does a great job on the first Pixar-based tale.
All from Violet’s POV, Calonita explores the girl’s negative feelings about her powers. Since being Super is illegal, it’s been ingrained into her to never show her powers to others. Problem is, she can’t quite control it when she turns invisible from anxiety, embarrassment or any high emotion. I mean, it’s teenage hell amplified.
Add in the fact that they’re constantly moving when Mr. Parr blows their cover, chasing his glory days, Violet wishes she was never born super. She wants to be normal.
What’s more normal than getting grounded for sneaking to a party without her mom’s permission. And almost getting exposed. But that brief bout of normality is all Violet’s gonna get. When her parents don’t return from their vague conference, Violet has an inkling that her mom’s paranoid attitude the day before might have something to it.
She certainly knows it when goons break into their house to kidnap them!
With no one else to turn to, she accepts the help of Mirage, a woman she only knows from her dad’s mess of business cards, and her boss, Syndrome. Syndrome offers Violet a chance to rescue her parents with a special bonus. To ensure that they won’t be targeted by supervillains again, he’ll help get rid of their powers.
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Summer Comics
Scout is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong
Scout is obsessd with Pristine Wong’s fantasy series and when the author is scheduled to go to AlmonteFest, Scout is determined to attend. However, she needs money. Money. . . or a skill in trombone. The school band is also attending AlmonteFest for their final music competition so Scout signs up.
However, it’s not easy to fake skill at the trombone and Scout is assigned to uberserious, Type A Merrin who belittles and scolds her for her lack of interest in the instrument. Band is torture, can Scout survive the next three months?
This was a delightfully, adorkable graphic novel. Some readers may get annoyed with Scout as she causes her own problems with her laziness and disinterest in learning trombone. But she is rightfully called out by others and she soon learns to appreciate the skill and discipline involved in playing trombone and the friendships she makes with the other band kids. In fact, Merrin and Scout gave me serious Luz/Amity vibes although Armstrong did not make them go in the romantic way like in The Owl House. Still, it’s a delightful little novel.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 