September Read: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

 

Finally, Fall is in the air here in Iowa! After an early September heat wave it appears we're heading into more comfortable weather. Phew. I've been done with summer for a few months! 

I'm a big fan of "witchy lit". Always have been; one of my favorite books is The Witch of Blackbird Pond. The surge in novels featuring magic and witchcraft has given me plenty to choose from, and this novel is one I've had on my radar for a bit. 

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this novel. It's definitely what I'd call a cozy light fantasy/romance novel. Yes, one of those novels that don't quite fit neatly into one category. It has the feel of a few other novels I've read in the recent past: The House in the Cerulean Sea and Legends and Lattes. Cozy reads where the characters are all likable, there are no dramatic horrible plot twists, and they leave you with a sigh of happiness. In other words, novels that don't twist your heart or send it into palpitations. A perfect read after a long day.

Mika Moon is a witch. She's darn good at potions. She's also young, single, and alone. That's the way it is with witches; they have to stay under the radar and are absolutely not allowed to show their magic or be friends. It's a dangerous world out there, even if it's today's world. And sadly, witches have been cursed: any witch who has a child is not long for the world. Witches become orphans rather early in life. Mika struggles with being alone. She longs for friends, a steady relationship with a man, and a place to call home. 

Mika's YouTube channel where she creates potions--all done in a way that leads people to think it's special effects--draws the attention of Ian, an older man who lives in a home tucked away in the countryside. Along with Ian, there's his husband Ken, Lucie the housekeeper, and Jamie the handsome but cranky librarian. And three little girls who are all witches, and not in control of their magic. Ian sends Mika a message, wanting to hire her to help the girls control their magic before the family solicitor visits in December. If he arrives and something wonky happens, they will be in trouble. After all, no one can know witches or magic exist. How Ian and crew know about magic is one of the major storylines. 

Mika arrives with Circe her dog, a koi pond, and a greenhouse--all neatly tucked into her car. Magic is a wonderful thing when you're moving. She's a bit leery of this opportunity, but decides to accept the job and moves into the home and begins to teach the three girls: Rosetta, Terracotta, and Altamira. And this is where the magic does truly happen.

Mika has found her family, but it's a bit of a rough go as trust issues, childhood trauma, and a few secrets lie in the way of a happy resolution. Loneliness is a key theme in this novel. People need people, and people need a place to call home. Mika has found just those people to be her family, along with her home--she just has a bit of work to do to reach that happy ending. And Jamie--oh, the sparks fly between them! 

The authors description of magic as a living thing that has moods, along with the physical description of it as shimmery gold mists that swirl around was one of my favorite parts of the novel, as well as Mika's absolute joy as a witch who fully embraces her magic. All of the characters are delightful, and make this novel the perfect read for a Fall evening--and most definitely break out the tea! 

Rating: 5/6 for a lovely cozy novel about the magic of home, the magic of the world around us, and the magic of finding your people. 

This book is available in paperback, ebook, and audio book. 

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September Read: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis

I can't even begin to describe this novel. It was definitely not what I expected when I picked it up at the library last week. I thought it was about a woman's survival in the wild after a plane crash. Well, that's a big part of it, but there's a lot more, and most of that had me scratching my head. 

It's September, 1986 and  seventy-two year old Cloris Waldrip and her husband are flying to a small cabin in the Montana mountains for a weekend getaway. They've traveled from Texas and this is the first vacation they've really had in years. 

They never make it to the cabin. The small plane they are in crashes in the Bitterroot Range, a particularly brutal wilderness in Montana. Cloris is the only survivor. What follows is Cloris' struggle to find her way out of the wilderness and to safety. With minimal tools to help her survive, she is sure to die before help arrives. Yet somehow, Cloris finds help in the wilderness, and with her own will to survive, you know that Cloris is going to make it. Her tale, told twenty years later from ninety-two year old Cloris' apartment in a retirement home in Vermont, is astounding and shows the power of fighting to survive in the worst of circumstances. 

The other side of this story involves Ranger Debra Lewis, who lives and works in the Bitterroot Range. She's a mess--so much of a mess that I had a permanent wince on my face whenever the story turned to her. She's a divorced raging alcoholic. Lewis has bottles of merlot everywhere, and she spends her days drinking wine out of a thermos while working out of the ranger office and driving the mountain roads. It's a lonesome job, and she's got no one. She hears about the plane crash, and even though the pilot and Mr. Waldrip are found dead, Lewis is convinced Mrs. Waldrip has survived and is out in the wilderness somewhere. She decides to pull together a ragtag team of people to start a search for Mrs. Waldrip. It quickly becomes an obsession. 

I've got to say this wasn't at all the novel I expected it to be. I thought it would be a tale of one woman's survival--a woman vs. nature kind of tale. It was that, for sure, but the rest of it was just downright weird. Ranger Lewis and her motley rescue crew are all damaged people with no hope of rescue. And honestly, Lewis' consumption of merlot kind of made me queasy after awhile-and I love wine! So many lost souls. Mrs. Waldrip is one amazing lady, who looks back at her life and ponders decisions she made. She's got plenty of time to reflect, and her aloneness is so very different from Lewis and crew. 

I would love to discuss this novel and talk it out with someone else who has read it. It left me unsettled and uneasy; maybe because the theme of loneliness is overwhelming, and there isn't really a happy ending, or even a peaceful ending for any of the characters. 

Rating: 4/6 for a novel that is about human survival at the most basic level, and also survival when you are lost in the wilderness in your head. Very odd characters, but Mrs. Waldrip's epic adventure is amazing and keeps you reading. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Another novel that involves books, bookstores, literary references, and quirky characters. They are my reset kind of novel, when I need a mental break from the daily "stuff" and pure escapism. My partner finds that in movies, I prefer books. 

Nina is a 29 year old women who lives with her cat Phil, works in a bookstore, and is so organized it makes my teeth hurt. Plus, I'm a little envious of the organization, I've got to admit. But Nina is a little too organized, and her mind is running a million miles a minute. She's on a trivia team, and her head is stuffed with bits of facts about everything. Life is pretty good for Nina, until she finds out that the man who was her father has died, and she's in his will. 

This man was someone Nina never knew. Her mother, a world traveling photographer, had a quick fling, found out the man was married, and that was that. Except Nina arrived 9 months later. She had an unusual childhood-she was raised by a nanny while her mother roamed around the world, checking in but really leaving Nina to be raised by her beloved Lou. Lots of things contributed to grown-up Nina's love of being alone, anxiety, need for order, and overwhelming love of books and reading. 

Now, she finds out she's got a family she never knew about, and darn it all, that cute guy Tom on an opposing trivia team is giving her a look that's hard to resist. So much potential change is giving Nina a bit of anxiety. Just how much can she handle? Is she ready to open up her heart, and her life, or will she let her safe life continue the way it is?

Nina's internal dialogue is witty, and her quips with Tom are sweet. And what really got my heart was the fact that Nina loves books--absolutely loves them, and Tom doesn't really read much at all. That's my fate in life, too. Books are a HUGE part of my life, and by golly I love a man who hasn't read a book since high school. And yet, he gets me and my book obsession. Phew. I think if we both were avid readers, we'd probably never talk about anything else but books, so it's good we've got lots of other stuff to talk about. And he remains impressed when I randomly spit out bits of information and facts that "I read somewhere". 

I just realized Abbi Waxman also wrote The Garden of Small Beginnings , which I bought a few years ago, and still sits on my bookcase, unread. I'll be sure to read it now. I thoroughly enjoyed Nina's tale, and had moments of chuckling out loud while reading. Of course it had a satisfying ending, and I didn't expect anything else. 

Rating: 4/6 for a fun, lovely little tale about books, reading, trivia, romance, and finding your tribe. Conquering anxiety even when it wants to pull you down. Knowing that all those little baby steps can lead to some place wonderful, if you can just be brave enough to try. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio.

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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

I Finally Read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

My top ten reads list for 2019 is filling up fast and I've still got 5 months to go. This book is definitely on the list. It's a novel I've had my eye on since it first came out in hardcover; but as you know, other books crowd in and it's soon pushed waaaay back on the list. So far back that even buying the paperback earlier this year still didn't push it to the top of my TBR list. 

However, on Instagram I follow Penguin Random House, and they've been showing a new book bag that features Eleanor Oliphant. I really would like that bag! But their Instagram did what it was supposed to do, and it had me looking through my bookcases at home to find my copy. There were a few moments of "I'm pretty sure I bought a copy...I'm pretty sure...I think..." and yes, I was right. I did have a copy tucked away. I spent Sunday afternoon diving into Eleanor's world, and I was immediately captivated. 

Eleanor is the voice inside your head that says everything you wish you could say out loud. And not because she's mean-she's just very honest and observant. She's also very lonely. In a world where everyone has some kind of contact or relationship with at least someone, Eleanor has none. Her weekly phone call to Mummy is filled with angst and dread, because Mummy is "away", and Mummy is a horribly mean person. Abusive, in fact. 

Eleanor meets Raymond, an IT fix it guy at work when her computer freezes and he comes to her desk to fix it. He's just an everyday Joe, and Eleanor slowly  begins a friendship with Raymond. And by slow, I mean bit by bit. As you read Eleanor's story, you quickly realize she's got a lot of issues, and she has quite the journey to overcoming those issues. But that journey is the best part of this novel. 

Eleanor is one of those characters that captures your heart right away, even as you hurt for her and sympathize with her. You understand why she is who she is-what made her a 30 year old lonely, timid woman. Her understanding that her life is not okay, and she's not completely fine, are key to her slow steps towards healing. She's weird, she's funny--oh so funny; you just want to give her a big hug. If she would let you. 

Read it, if you haven't already. It's a book that I will wholeheartedly recommend to anyone. Gail Honeyman really created one unforgettable heroine--and yes, she is a heroine. Read the book and you'll understand why. 

Rating:  6/6! Yes! For a book that will have you laughing, tearing up, cheering, and thinking about those who are quietly suffering. It's a book about acceptance, friendship, and simple gestures that can mean the world to someone. 

Available in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audio. It's been optioned by Reese Witherspoon for a movie...I hope the movie does the book justice.

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I Finally Read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron

Wow. This book blew me away. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I requested it from the library; I have a vague recollection of knowing it was about an archaeologist and a neanderthal, and that was it.  It was so much more that I am declaring it to be one of my favorite books of 2017.  

Two stories, thousands of years apart, yet entwined together.  Rose is an archaeologist working in France in a cave where she has recently made a ground-breaking discovery: the skeletal remains of a Neanderthal and the remains of a "modern" human, buried together facing each other.  This find will turn the idea of Neanderthals going extinct through extermination by modern humans completely around.  Many will doubt the clear evidence, as they are happy to continue to believe Neanderthals were, well, neanderthal-ish in their lifestyle and behavior, and were incapable of intersecting and living with modern humans.  This will make Rose's career.

The other story is told by Girl.  She is the Neanderthal Rose finds in the cave centuries later.  Girl lives within a small family:  Big Mother, Brother, Bent, and Runt.  Runt has stayed with the family ever since he was discovered wandering around the forest.  He's very different looking than Girl and her family:  dark skinned, black hair, more finely boned.  Girl has bright red hair, and a body that is made to be muscular and incredibly strong. She is a warrior queen. Girl is so finely tuned into the world around her that she, along with her family, are able to sense warm blooded creatures just by feeling the air currents flow over their upper gums.  They are so much a part of the cycle of life that they can feel the trees' thoughts, sense bears hybernating, and move through their days completely a part of the world around them. Claire Cameron's prose is just beautiful.  Her descriptions of the reverence and honor Girl and her family have for the world around them is one of the best parts of this novel. 

I quickly became obsessed with Girl's story.  Tragedy upon tragedy quickly follows Girl, and soon she is completely alone. Or is she?  I was all in on her quest to survive, and her fight to not give up.  Girl is tenacious, quick thinking, warm, kind, and capable.  She's a survivor.  Life is pretty black and white in Girl's time, and there was no room or time for contemplating morals.  It was kill or be killed.  

Rose is also obsessed with uncovering the two skeletons.  She is prepared to fight for her vision of Neanderthals, knowing it will be an uphill battle against established beliefs in the scientific community.  Working against time (Rose discovers she is pregnant at the beginning of the novel) she feverishly works to uncover as much of Girl as she can before she's forced to leave and have her child.  Two women, from two very different worlds, fighting for survival in very different ways.  Rose is Girl's storyteller, and she fights hard to tell the true story.

This was such a good book.  I would love to see this as a movie.  When it comes down to it, the connection we share with our Neanderthal ancestors (yes, we do have Neanderthal in our DNA) is knowing that we are not alone in this world. I was sad to see my time with Girl come to an end. What a powerful character. What a powerful woman.  

Rating:  5/6 for a roller coaster ride through the life of the last Neanderthal, Girl.  Her connections to the land and nature are beautifully written by Claire Cameron.  Girl is an unforgettable character to me.  Rose is also equally strong, but Girl is the star of this novel. 

Available in hardcover and e-book. 

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The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron