There's nothing much that I can say about this book that already hasn't been said/written/thought. I enjoyed this. I'm sure I will again if ever I re-There's nothing much that I can say about this book that already hasn't been said/written/thought. I enjoyed this. I'm sure I will again if ever I re-read it. 'Nuff said....more
Presence: Awakening by Charity Becker pulled me in straightaway. Atmospheric, creepy, occasionally violent, modernOne of my top 5 reads for 2023.
Presence: Awakening by Charity Becker pulled me in straightaway. Atmospheric, creepy, occasionally violent, modern, all while creatively nuanced. I got pulled into MC Mina Jewel’s world and didn’t really want to leave. The world building is great, which I always love and appreciate. I’m also always a sucker for institutional villains because that adds another layer of complexity to a protagonist’s problems. And this book had that, too. I loved, Loved,LOVED the first 100 pages. Being set in my home state of Washington was totally awesome too. (Oh and yes, (view spoiler)[October – not a good time to be vacationing in western WA unless you’re a duck. (hide spoiler)])
I had started to get nervous between pages 100-200 because I feared it might devolve into the same tropey stuff that appears in a lot of urban fantasy. We learn through Mina’s exploration of the world that (view spoiler)[vamps, werewolves, people with special abilities, and a “chosen one” (hide spoiler)] all exists. Then it seemed to draw on stuff that started to look like the more typical urban fantasy stuff like love triangles and multiple love interests. I started to wonder if I would end up bored.
NOPE!
What might have seemed like common elements turned out to have delightful and engaging originality and nuance. It has people with powers and forces aligned against each other, but it went in directions and involved issues of religion, cults, violence, rescuing, issues of the greater good which drew me back in by the time the third act gets going. There were twists, agendas, stuff I didn’t expect and people I cared about.
So all I can say is, if you read it and see stuff thinkyou’ve read before… stick with it. I think you’ll like where it ends up.
I can ask nothing more of a book. Lucky for me, there’s more to the series.
I enjoyed Haunted Everett. I learned a lot about a town near and dear to my heart. The collected photographs, many dating to the late 1800s and early I enjoyed Haunted Everett. I learned a lot about a town near and dear to my heart. The collected photographs, many dating to the late 1800s and early 20th Century, were fascinating to look at. Yes the stories are a bit superficial, but at 108 pages that's to be expected. While the author does not appear to be an Everett native or resident, she's in the Pacific Northwest, so I appreciated that.
It has plenty of stuff to inspire my own creativity. Stories and experiences of those thoroughly convinced they've seen otherworldly spirits and events at locales I've been to and some that I've yet to see. All that was cool. All that, and learning some anecdotes and historical information was what I wanted out of this book and I got that....more
The best part of this installment is getting some pay-off as to Sloan' past.The best part of this installment is getting some pay-off as to Sloan' past....more
I found this entertaining. I saw it as an audio-CD book and decided that was going to be the way to go for me instead of reading it. As I am sure manyI found this entertaining. I saw it as an audio-CD book and decided that was going to be the way to go for me instead of reading it. As I am sure many think...
Yes, it's Meyer going back to that same well...
No, it's not particularly original considering the rest of the series she already put out.
Yes, it might have been a money grab. Who knows for sure.
But I personally found it entertaining. It is an interesting idea, and then having to work various nuances from the main story and adapting them to switching the genders of most characters. I also found it interesting in that (view spoiler)[Beau is made into a vamp near the conclusion of this book. And then the rest of it is a very, VERY condensed version of the events from the subsequent books in the last maybe 15% of of it. Except there was no showdown with the Volturi. (hide spoiler)]
In short, if you are looking for something light but somewhat engaging this was pretty good as an audiobook. ...more
In this installment, we have a mustache-twirling bad guy who ends up dead. A "demon rum" Prohibitionist trying to jack Leavenworth's whole economy. ThIn this installment, we have a mustache-twirling bad guy who ends up dead. A "demon rum" Prohibitionist trying to jack Leavenworth's whole economy. The vic's motivations and conduct, as well as the townsfolk made for an interesting mystery.
I liked this outing, although, again, there were little details that bugged me. I listened to the audiobook on this one. As to the audiobook cover, did no one producing the cover realize that stouts are dark beers? So why does the beer on the audiobook cover look like a pale ale??? Grrrrr...
Plus, when narrating the part about Ursula's sauerbraten stew, there's a reference to (view spoiler)[ a "mystery, secret ingredient" of crushed up gingersnaps. Okay, granted, this was supposed a stew made AFTER making sauerbraten with some added ingredients, but crushed up gingersnaps are a pretty basic ingredient in a sauerbraten. It took me all of about a minute to confirm that with a google search. (hide spoiler)]
And it still kind of drives me nuts that (view spoiler)[the story goes that no one in Leavenworth locks their front door. Dude, I'm pretty sure that is NOT the case. I don't know why that keeps getting said. Even though I realize this is fiction, it brings me out of the story to think that any festival/tourism/party town ANYWHERE that has alcohol as its centerpiece is going to be so idyllic that regular townsfolk feel no need to lock their doors. (hide spoiler)]
All that being said, it was a nice mystery and I like the beer setting, being an avid brewer and beer drinker in the Pacific Northwest. And more is revealed of the mystery of Sloan's birth parents and her history that adds new layers to the backstory.
The narration was pleasant and fit the tone of the story and series....more
Another solid installment featuring Sloan Krause, brewer and citizen detective in the Bavarian tourist town and beer mecca of Leavenworth, Washington.Another solid installment featuring Sloan Krause, brewer and citizen detective in the Bavarian tourist town and beer mecca of Leavenworth, Washington. I enjoyed it. Sloan figures a bit more out about her past and this one had a bit of a twist at the end that impressed me more than prior installments....more
I like Sloan as a character. I like her down to earth feel. I love the setting of Leavenworth for these cozy mysThis is 3.5 for me rounded up to four.
I like Sloan as a character. I like her down to earth feel. I love the setting of Leavenworth for these cozy mysteries. Alexander's prose is smooth and easy to read. The mystery was good.
But there are a couple of things that are bothering me with this.
First, Sloan is a brewmaster in these stories (as that term is used in American brewing vernacular). Very cool, but then there were things in the narrative that I thought didn't really fit. There were parts that left me scratching my head. For example at one point Sloan is "sauteing" cranberries to add to a test batch. I'm an amateur brewer and I am not sure one would "saute" something before you put it into any part of the brewing process. The limited understanding I have is that you wouldn't want the fats from sauteing into a fermenting beer. Small thing but part of what attracts me to this series is the background stuff of working in breweries and brewing beers. Small issue, however.
Second, I like the background mystery of Sloan having been abandoned as a kid and growing up in the foster system. That forms her character a lot. And as Sloan is trying to solve the dastardly murders that are now plaguing Leavenworth, she is trying to unravel who her birth parents are where they are, etc. We get a little more development on that issue in The Pint of No Return. But here's where I was thinking What the WHAT!?! Apparently Sloan (view spoiler)[was abandoned at the hospital as a six year old? Did I read that right? Abandoned at 6? Granted it's been a while since I was six. But wouldn't a 6 yo have a better memory of what happened? Wouldn't they have known birth names for themselves and their parents? Wouldn't they have better understanding of where they had lived? I know that this is young, but it seems like Sloan could have had a better idea of who her parents were and she might have been able to recognize people in Ursula's pictures. For example, I can still picture my second grade teacher in my mind. Something about that is odd to me. Just one person's thoughts. (hide spoiler)]
All that being said, I love the series and I most definitely look forward to the next installment. ...more
Death on Tap was my first foray into the world of cozy mysteries. So I don't have anything to compare it to. But that being said I loved it and it is Death on Tap was my first foray into the world of cozy mysteries. So I don't have anything to compare it to. But that being said I loved it and it is a world I intend to revisit. And I definitely intend to read more of this series.
I'd only heard about this genre before, but when I wandered by the books at my grocery store, the cover caught me. I picked it up. And lo and behold it's got all kinds of stuff that I like. Beer? Check. Setting in Leavenworth, Washington, a touristy, but fun Bavarian themed town? Double check? And a story and a mystery around brewing beer??? As a home-brewer and one of my favorite hobbies??? And a talking about brewing and beer geeky stuff???? Umm.....
Anyway, so about the book itself. The main character is Sloan Krause. She's an awesome home brewer turned professional head brewer and now amateur sleuth after someone gets murdered in quiet Leavenworth. The story isn't told with the sort of stereotypical cop/detective looking for clues and finding the murderer. The story isn't told that obviously. Instead what follows is a sort of seamlessly integrated sleuthing while other events are unfolding, some ordinary, some not so ordinary. It is more of a story that sort of unfolds and the events. But yeah she does subtle investigating and she's smart and figures it all out. I thoroughly enjoyed this. There is frankly nothing to not like about this. The writing is easy to read and follow. ...more
There's not much new I can say that hasn't been said about this book and this series that hasn't been done a billion times. Fully understanding that tThere's not much new I can say that hasn't been said about this book and this series that hasn't been done a billion times. Fully understanding that this book has rabid fans and those that despise it, I can only offer this.
Emotions are not linear. They aren't constant. But they are ambiguous. And sometimes messy.
I think this book does a pretty good job of portraying that. ...more
This is based on an old book, but it was wonderful. It is full of tall tales, legends of the creation of the world and moral messages. When I first piThis is based on an old book, but it was wonderful. It is full of tall tales, legends of the creation of the world and moral messages. When I first picked this book up, I was looking for some very particular reasons and research to help my writing. It had a bookmark in it. That bookmark was placed at a tale entitled "How Raven Helped the Ancient People." I knew from that moment I was meant to have this book. I found it so wonderful and entertaining and useful all at the same time.
I found it particularly interesting about how so many of the tales dealt with the issue of greed and why greed was bad. Words and ideas to live by.
It enlightened me on geography and history that to my embarrassment, I had not known before.
It inspired me because another common theme was a discussion and arguments about forming the world between the Creator, Coyote, and Raven. Since I am trying to "create" a world with my own fiction writing and it will have history and people and full of things and life, I found this analogy quite interesting. So thank you Coyote and thank you Raven for all the discussions I foresee in the years to come. ...more
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