Unasked-For Book Reviews

                 For my Unasked for Book Review of Book One in this series, please go here:  Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherworlds came out this past February (2025).  This is, supposedly, the last book in the Emily Wilde series. I read the 2nd book,  Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales,  last fall. I was extremely satisfied with this trilogy. Heather Fawcett not only weaves a compelling series with lots of action and adventure, but she creates characters that are loveable, complex and compelling.  I found myself rooting for Emily and Wendell's relationship, laughing at their banter, and worried for them at the situations they found themselves in. I loved the secondary characters introduced in all three of her books as well; finding myself just as attached to those Emily and Wendell cared about.  The world building in this series is really fun and enjoyable as well. ...

  The Divine Cities Trilogy is written by Austinite author Robert Jackson Bennett. I became aware of this series because I recently read Mr. Bennett's novel, The Tainted Cup , for my book club.  I liked The Tainted Cup  well enough to look into the other novels Mr. Bennett has written. When I read the premise of City of Stairs , book one in the trilogy, I did so with no intention of definitively reading the other two in the series.  I was intrigued by what the first book seemed to be about and I ended up enjoying it very much. I read, or rather listened, to the other two books, and was equally entertained and enjoyed them as well. The world building of this trilogy is quite well done, and Mr. Bennett explores many interesting themes throughout the three books.  These themes include the nature of war, belief, oppression, trauma, and all the various aftermaths. One of the reasons the books are so good, is that this is done so on a very human and relatable level, w...

  I want to preface by saying I love the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I read The Hound of the Baskervilles when I was in High School and was fortunate enough to read a version that included the original illustrations from The Strand Magazine. I was hooked!  I proceeded to read A Study In Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Valley of Fear , and all 58 of the short stories that Conan Doyle penned. I have read and re-read these stories numerous times.  Further, I have read a lot of Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Pastiche is an artistic work that imitates another work, artist, or period.  In writing, it’s generally professional, published writers that seem to write pastiches, as opposed to fan fiction, which is similar, but seems to be written by mostly novice writers and non-professional writers. With this unasked-for information, my latest Mystery Book Club book was the first book in the "Enola Holmes" series by Nancy Springer, The Case of the...

  The Tainted Cup , by Robert Jackson Bennett. An unasked for book review. Book 1 of the Shadow of the Leviathan series. Usually I include a Goodreads synopsis of the book I'm reviewing.  However, I am going to pass on doing that this time, because the synopsis of this book is both dull, and slightly inaccurate. The synopsis mentions magic, but there is no magic in this book, and a very basic description of the plot. I will instead include a portion of The Washington Post review: A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett “Great fantasy detective stories are too rare, but Bennett—[a] rising star of fantasy—more than delivers.”—Charlie Jane Anders,  The Washington Post The Tainted Cup takes place in a society and culture that has developed around the terror of Kaiju attacks, which are the Leviathan mentioned in the series title. These monsters change th...

  Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus , A novel by Orson Scott Card Goodreads describes this book as follows:  "In one of the most powerful and thought-provoking novels of his remarkable career, Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch interweaves a compelling portrait of Christopher Columbus with the story of a future scientist who believes she can alter human history from a tragedy of bloodshed and brutality to a world filled with hope and healing." So, I read this book because my parents recommended it to me years ago.  I remember they both told me that it was a really great read; that the premise of the book was that people from the future, after surviving devastating wars and human caused ecological disasters, have figured out how to both view and travel through time, specifically the past.  They realize that the world would be a better place, and would not have experienced the many horrors and catastrophes that it did, if the transatlantic slave trade had nev...

  The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency , by Alexander McCall Smith is a fun read set in Botswana, Africa. The book takes place in 1993. The main character, Mma Precious Ramotswe was born in 1958 and is 35 when the book primarily takes place. This is important because this was a time before cell phones, unless they were huge, ponderous monstrosities. This was also the very early days of DNA. It was not widespread in the US, and certainly wasn’t prevalent throughout the world yet. It’s important to remember this when reading the book. I really like the character of Mma Ramotswe, who is clever, resourceful, caring, and brave.   I love how she decided that she wanted to be a detective, though she had no formal training in forensic pathology, or criminal justice. She has a drive to help others and a practicality and lack of fear that enables her to become a detective. Precious can resolve most issues without involving the police. She’s really good with language; able to diffuse peri...