There’s still too much going on in my life, too much stress, too many things. I escape into books as much as I can, and my one week vacation obviously offered much opportunity for that, though there was a lot going on during that time too. So anyhow, 18 books, 6604 pages, a lot of excellent books in Febuary💜

• Cat Dragon (Tangleroot Valley book 1), by Samantha Birch – A truly delightful whimsy cozy mystery romantacy adventure with witches and wizards and magical beasts, especially the awesome cat dragons, those designated familiars of the magic users. Eagerly waiting for book 2 (which won’t be until November).
• Enchanting the Fae Queen (Queens of Villainy 2), by Stephainie Burgis – Enchanting second book of the whimsical, magical trilogy where magical queens battle against the emperor who wants to sweep magic and magical beings out of the realm and rule over everyone.
• The Chatelaine, by Kate Heartfield – Magical historical realism, or historical fantasy or something. but we plunge straight into the middle ages of Europe, where the king of France is conniving with the chatelaine of Hell (which is a beast more than a place), but a slighted widow (or is she?) has other ideas.
• The Murder at World’s End (Stockinham & Pike 1), by Ross Montgomery – Fun, witty, twisty, the mystery keeps you guessing till the very end. Excellent detective story, entertaining characters, a totally enjoyable read.
• The Valkyrie, by Kate Heartfield – A retelling of a Nordic/European mythology story with the expected love, deception, greed, trickery of wicked gods and goddesses, wars, and persistance. Good reading.
• Dangerous Damsels trilogy (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, The League of Gentlewomen Witches, The Sercret Service of Tea and Treason), by India Holton – Whimsical satire of the Victorian society, literature, and clichés. Three different romances, with separate mysteries, but never fear – the characters move through the trilogy, so you’ll be among friends (and known foes) the entire ride. And what a wild ride it is!
• Orphia and Eurydicius, by Elyse John – More mythology retelling, Greek this time. A compelling weaving of Orphia’s journey and the uncinditional love of Eurydicius, of prophesies and gods, and how it is our choices that make our life and death. In the end, prophesies only show the result of those choices, but the journey to those results is our own.
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë – Finally a Brontë book I actually enjoyed. More Austeny than the other books (that I’ve read), with actual action and characters more regular and relatable. I guess, less Gothic.
• Into the Midnight Wood, by Alexandra McCollum – Absolutely wonderful, sweet, loveable 💜 Finding oneself, one’s worth, and a love so hidden you didn’t realize it until it bit you in the ass. Queer characters, and the struggle against boxes and labels.
• The Baby Dragon Bookshop (The Baby Dragon 3), by Aamna Qureshi – Enemies to lovers, romance with (baby) dragons and chimeras, competition and undeniable passion, family messiness and love that is both healthy and not. I quite enjoy the world and the characters, and while I might not label these as excellent, I know I will return to these friends again in the opening story of the Dragon Racers trilogy (coming out in August).
• Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, by Heather Fawcett – Excellent magical realism/fantasy in historical Montreal, heartwarming and fully enjoyable story about prejudices and surprises, a bit of magical warfare and war against magic users, of cats and love.
• Moonlight Inn (Moonlight Springs 5), by Lula Ward – The writing of this series is getting better, though the storylines remain a bit thin, but I enjoy these enough to want to see all stones united and Moonlight Springs saved and finally rid of its nasty enemy. Book 6 will be out in May; I’m pretty sure these are quite AI generated, or at least written with a lot of AI assistance.
• An Arcane Inheritance, by Kamilah Cole – Another excellent read, this dark academy story where nothing is as it seems, magic is hoarded while hidden, and love is strong enough to conquer the evil. Loved this book!
• Hiiriä ja ihmisiä (Of Mice and Men), by John Steinbeck – A snack of a book, read in Finnish as I happen to have this in Finnish. I remember loving East of Eden as teen, but haven’t read any other Steinbeck since, and won’t really after this again. Not my cuppa. Crude and brutish, realism at its worst 😄
• The Sea Witch (Salt & Sorcery 1), by Eva Leigh – Oh, when will book 2 be out, when?! The piratees of the Caribbean – a ship full of women, some of who are witches, some not – who aren’t exactly like all other pirates. The British Navy officer caught in the middle of things, finding that true nobility lies not where he thought it did. And of course there’s the fated love. And the cliffhanger ending!
• Mika Waltari – Mielikuvituksen jättiläinen, by Ritva Haavikko – an academicy collection of analyses, articles and essays about Mika Waltari’s (one of the greatest Finnish authors of all time) works and of him as an author and play/screen play writer, dissecting his career and author person from multiple points of view.

Feb 14, Victorian England. Society ladies, just not that society. I mean, yes, that society, but not. Because while pirates, witches and suches may enjoy their afternoon tea like any civilized people, they don’t exactly have the time nor the interest in balls and marrying their daughters off. Well, except for relieving the hosts of their valuables and encouraging their daughters to NOT do the right thing – I mean, doing the right thing would totally ruin the family reputation!

It’s a world where wrong is right, up is down, every statement is an oxymoron, and what I say is definately not what I mean, but God forbid you go out without a parasol and get freckles! A satire of the Victorian society, where trading barbs concealed as polite conversation is down to art and being set as the target for assassination (by an honorary aunt) is the height of accomplishment.

Oh, but did I even mention? Of course there’s magic! I mean, how else would the pirate battle houses fly around and about? But withches certainly DO NOT exist, but if they did, they would be the sworn enemies of those scoundrel pirates, duh! But we all know animosity is the best breeding ground for romance, and an inn ALWAYS has only one room left.

Add the regency romance twist – of COURSE our heroins are obsessed with literature; after all, one of them is most certainly the granddaughter of Branwell Brontë (or it might’ve been Darwin, but brooding poets ARE more romantic). And what can cause more delightful friction between people than differing opinions about Wordsworth and Byron?

Hilarious, delightful, just a touch steamy! Let me introduce my latest find of absolute joy: the Dangerous Damsels series, by India Holton.

Feb 17, Out of anything (by any) Brontë I’ve read, I have enjoyed The Tenant of Wildfell (by Anne Brontë) Hall the best. By which I mean, of course, this is the first book of theirs I’ve enjoyed reading, to begin with. It’s not boring, nor outrageous or insane, but more like austenish, I suppose. Though still dwelling more on the ugly side of life than Austen, but still.

I can understand why it didn’t catch the same fame as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, in their outrageous insanity (latter) and miserable peculiarity (former), it being simply a story of rather ordinary life and love. I can relate to Helen, I can be outraged by the cruelty of Arthur, I can root for Helen’s happy ending and for Arthur’s demise. I’m not dusgusted or bored, I see a life, a story with possibilities.

And I do so like a happy ending,