It’s been a relaxing week here. It started when my sister, Linda, and I went to see the musical “Pippin”. It was different from the shows she and I had seen years ago. This time, the stage show had illusions, which were fun. Neither of us remembered the Leading Player, the narrator, being as nasty as she was towards the end of the show. But, we enjoyed the show. We made it through Saturday, then Sunday dinner before we had to settle in this week. Yesterday was the first day we didn’t have dramatic weather, although we still had rain.
Have you ever heard of a deracho storm? “A derecho is a group of intense storms that last several hours, travel for hundreds of miles and generate unusually powerful wind gusts.” The storms swept from northern Illinois and Chicago and into northern Indiana, but The New York Times didn’t spend much ink discussing the drama of our weather in Ohio, thunderstorms, with rolling thunder that went on forever, flooding roads, winds that even picked up a car and flipped it over (the driver is fine), hail in some places. I was lucky where I live. I didn’t lose power, and didn’t see trees down in our development. But, I felt lucky I didn’t have to go anyplace until yesterday. Dramatic weather.
How’s your weather been? What did you do this week? What have you been reading?
I used one of Kevin Tipple’s reviews yesterday because I was finishing Kate Ellis’ The Chapel of Bones. My review of that runs tomorrow. I’ve just started A Witch in Notthing Hill by Alexandra Paige, a paranormal romance. I have to admit I’m finding it a little silly, and I’m not sure if I’ll finish it. We’ll see. Here’s the summary.
Perfect for fans of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, this cozy and whimsical romance follows an accident-prone witch and a hot grumpy occult bookstore owner who doesn’t believe in magic as they travel across London to undo a spell gone awry.
When rising Hollywood actress and secret witch Willow James accidentally turns her manager into a cat while trying to escape her contract, she’s sure she’s hit her magical low point. Determined to fix her mistake, she journeys to London in search of a rare spell hidden within the famed occult bookstore, Coven & Codex. The last thing she expects? The shop’s brooding, handsome owner, Oliver Hadley, who’d rather avoid magic altogether.
Together—with a ragtag group of friends (both human and feline)—Willow and Oliver must scour every corner of the city, from museums to festivals to bustling street markets, to find the missing pieces of the spell. Along the way, Willow’s unpredictable magic and Oliver’s skeptical heart will face the one thing they can’t escape… love.
Filled with enchanting adventures, sparkling romance, and a dash of mischief, A Witch in Notting Hill is a sweet and spirited tale of discovering magic where you least expect it.
What about you? What have you been reading this week?
Goodness! I have not heard of a derecho storm. It sounds frightening and destructive.
Here in BC the wildfires continue, with entire towns given evacuation orders, and thousands of people will not have homes left to return to. I feel so fortunate that where we are, some smoke and poor air quality are the only things we have to deal with. And then there are idiots who start campfires near here even though they’re not allowed to because of the fire risk. David and I were out for a walk one morning and saw smoke from deep in the bush and trees by the river. We’re told to call 911 to report smoke/fire, so he did and the fire department arrived within three minutes.
This week I read:
THE DEATH OF DORA BLACK by Lainie Anderson (Book 1 of the Petticoat Police Mystery series)
The story is set in Adelaide, Australia during the time of WWI. The story follows Miss Kate Cocks, the officer in charge of the South Australian Women’s Police Branch. The story is inspired by the real-life Kate Cocks, and some of the exploits of that lady are woven throughout.
Kate is not an easy person to like – she’s tough, takes no nonsense from anyone, is strict about upholding morality in the community, doesn’t smile often, is touchy and humourless and yet …she has a soft heart which is proven time and time again. Her character is balanced nicely by that of Ethel, a young female constable who assists her.
From the book blurb: ‘When shop assistant Dora Black is found dead on a city beach, Miss Cocks and Ethel are ordered to stay out of the investigation and leave it to the men. But when Dora’s workmate goes missing soon after, the women suspect something sinister, and determine to take matters into their own hands.’
I very much enjoyed this book, especially the second half as things became quite tense and suspenseful. It’s billed as a ‘cozy’ but it was much more than that partly because of the subject matter which involved drugs, prostitution, and the issue of how difficult it was for women to break into ‘men’s work’, and partly because of the depth to the backstories of Kate and Ethel which made me care about them. I will definitely be looking for the next book in the series.
THE UNFORTUNATE SIDE EFFECTS OF HEARTBREAK AND MAGIC
by Breanne Randall
The story is told mainly from the point of view of Sadie, currently in her late 20s, born into a family of witches. Unfortunately, her magic came with a curse. Her beloved grandmother tells her she will suffer four heartbreaks, each one worse than the last; and if she’s not careful, when all four heartbreaks come to pass the curse will consume her, and her magic will flee, leaving chaos behind.
Also in the story mix is a man from the past who she had feelings for and enters her life again but in less than stellar circumstances; serious illness; a mysterious, possibly menacing ghost; a long-absent parent coming back; mental illness; and much else besides.
Despite being sympathetic towards Sadie and understanding how difficult it would be to live a life with this curse hanging over her, I couldn’t warm to her character. She seemed immature, whiny, and very woe-is-me. The second chance romance didn’t work for me either; we weren’t given enough of a backstory to feel invested in it.
There was a curious lack of depth to any of the characters despite some quite heavy themes including mental illness which speaking of, didn’t add to the story so I don’t know why the author chose to include it.
Sounds weird to say, but my favourite part of the book was the chapter with the death of a family member – as that was the only part of the 320-page book that made me feel a real emotion.