Book 16 One Last Stop

 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston fulfills the category “Book Set on an Airplane, Train, or Cruise Ship” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. I also read Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters. Though the novel had a ship and a train, it was more about the country music song. One Last Stop centers on a woman who cannot leave the Q train in Brooklyn.

This novel fits so many categories! It has a found family. It’s a sapphic tale. There’s a subway at the center. Booktok recommends it. You could argue it’s about the afterlife… but then maybe not. I’m keeping it in the ship/train/airplane category because those stories have not been easy to locate.

One Last Stop chronicles the life of a young woman named August. She moves to New York City, searching for her true self. She’s finishing college, trying to find true love, and a family to support her. In a random train encounter on the Q, August falls in love with an Asian woman who lends her a scarf. August knows about those quick flashes of love that occur on the subway. She thinks nothing more of it until the woman is on the same train again and again. She and Jane seem to have the same commute. August, who is juggling a new job, new roommates, and a mother obsessed with a cold case, takes a chance and asks Jane out. Jane turns her down.

This could be the end of our story, but August finds a picture of Jane at her place of work. The picture is forty-five years old. Something is very wrong with Jane, and August wants to help. The woman has been stuck on the Q train for half a century. Jane has no idea how she got there and why she can’t get off the train. August uses all of the detective skills she learned from her mother to find the truth about Jane.

Did I mention along the way Jane and August fall deeply in love?

This book had everything—a love story, an interesting mystery, spicey, fun side characters, and a little magic. It had fantastic questions and kept the reader guessing. How do you fall in love with a person who’s not really alive? How do you maintain the relationship? Throw in quirky LGBTQA+ characters that help August with Jane, with her life, and become her family. It’s a recipe for success.

The only problem I had with the book was an oops on my part. I like to listen to audiobooks. In fact, I find I have a harder time reading a paper or digital copy now that I’m addicted to audio. Anyway, I asked my fifteen-year-old if I could listen to the story while we ate dinner. Then boom! A sex scene popped up. Boy, was my face pink! I turned it off immediately and apologized profusely. The teen just rolled their eyes at me.

I give One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston Five Red Scarves to cover my coffee-stained shirt.

 

 

Book 15 Reckless

 

 

 

Reckless by Cornelia Funke fulfilled the category “Book with a Reflected Image on the Cover or ‘Mirror’ in the Title” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. Not only is there a reflected image on the cover, but the series is called Mirrorworld.

As per usual, I read two books for the prompt. I’m not including Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll as part of the review though. I read it, went “huh,” and decided it would take some serious literary digging to write a review for it. Also, I didn’t want to discuss the meaning of “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” So, it was cool, absurd, and way too short.

After I shot through The Looking Glass in two hours, I grabbed Reckless. I enjoyed Inkheart and figured Ms. Funke would deliver again. She did. And in such a clever way.

Reckless is a fantasy book about two brothers who travel through a mirror in their father’s study into an alternate universe, the world of fairytales. We never run into Rapunzel or Cinderella, but the story has their iconic items as artifacts. One hair from Rapunzel can become a climbing rope of any size and is very strong. The author throws items like that at the reader constantly. It’s fun, but she also builds her own folklore and magic.

Our hero, Jacob Reckless (yes, that’s his last name, a little on the nose but okay), and his brother, Will, have entered the mirror world. Jacob has traveled many times, but Will, not so much. And Will is struck down by a fairy’s curse that is turning him into living stone. He will become a Goyle, a violent stone person and part of a faction taking over the land in the Mirrorworld. (Yes, read gargoyle there for Goyle. Love that.) Jacob must save him, but the evil fairy wants him, too. The novel is one great big adventure, dealing with fairytale lore, true love, and brotherly devotion.

I don’t want to spoil, but the book is a great start on an adventure. It has enough fairytale retelling to keep it familiar, but a ton of new ideas that make it super interesting. I love a good fairy story and reading that the group (the brothers, a werefox, and the brother’s girlfriend) stayed in a gingerbread house was wonderful.

I also love how she blends our world with theirs. We discover their father has given the Mirrorworld tons of technology from our side of the mirror. These fairytale creatures have guns, elevators, and electricity, but not all the sharing has gone well. The guns have allowed the world to change completely—a thought-provoking statement on how one culture can affect another.

It is a series, so some conflict is resolved in the first book, but not everything. It’s not a kid’s story either. There’s death, violence, murder, and a hint of sexuality. I’d say this tale was for teens and adults, rather than the youngers.

I give Reckless by Cornelia Funke Four Pieces of Pure Jade (and one Black Moth).

 

Book 14 Refining Felicity

 

Book 14 Refining Felicity

Refining Felicity by Marion Chesney/M.C. Beaton fulfills the category “Book from a Favorite Prompt from a Previous Year” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. As usual, I picked “Audiobook” as my favorite prompt. I listen to three titles in the School for Manners series. Refining Felicity was the first. I can’t have a blog without one book from my favorite author!

M.C. Beaton was a prolific writer. By my count, she penned over 150 books. I aim to read them all. Last year, I finished her cozy mysteries for the second time, except for the new Hamish Macbeth from the ghostwriter. I’ve been slowly working on her regency and Edwardian romances. This week I picked up from Audible and the New York Public Library the first three in her School for Manners series.

In this set of six novellas, two spinsters, who still dream of marriage, realize they are in financial dire straits. They are house rich, but cash poor, with no servants and practically nothing to eat. They become chaperones to supplement their income. To make more money, they opt to take the most difficult girls and find them a match.

Boy, do they ever get some troublesome women! These two ladies, Amy and Effy, are not quite perfect society women themselves. The results are hilarious with defiant debutantes, revenge plots, and the spinsters’ attempts to attract a man of their own.

The books are short and simply plotted, which is how I read three in one go. In the first book, Felicity has attempted to please her father by acting manly—hunting, drinking, and being coarse. It does not help her marriage prospects. Their second charge in Perfecting Fiona keeps driving away suitors with a few comments. The sisters work to get the young woman to confess she’s afraid of marriage until she meets Lord Peter Harvard. The last I listened to was Enlightening Delilah, where the girl was a terrible flirt after having her heart shattered as a young woman.

All the novellas have the regency restrictions about women and Ms. Chesney’s humor. The author throws in some modern thinking, though. She points out the ridiculousness of duels, the double standard for females, and has a bit of sexuality. I won’t spoil, but I cheered when the women refused to condemn another for being pregnant out of wedlock.

I’ll be reading the last three in the series soon. Honestly, I plan to read all of her books in the next year. I love a cozy and quick historical romance.

I give the first three titles in the School for Manners series Five Cashmere Shawls that Make Amy Look Beautiful.

 

 

Book 13 Slave to Sensation

 

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh fulfilled the category “Book by a Pacific Islander Author” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. Ms. Singh is from New Zealand and is of Indo-Fijian descent. She’s one of the hottest romance writers out there.

I worried there might be some controversy about such a title. If you read the novel, you can see it’s merely a word choice. Our heroine, Sascha Duncan, is trapped by her society to feel nothing. She’d been trained to restrain her emotion and live using only her brain. Basically, she’s a Vulcan with some psychic superpowers. She’s spent her entire life hiding her deviant emotions until she meets pack leader Lucas Hunter. Then all hell breaks loose inside her head.

The world-building in this first of a series is fantastic. Ms. Singh touches on the familiar with were-animals and a hidden Star Trek reference. Then she builds a complete world structure that includes their powers, family life, and even business practices. It was as if I were right there, living in her futuristic California.

Speaking of feelings. Please do not read this book on audio with teens in the house. I received quite a few “Oh, my God, Mom! Really?” as I enjoyed this spicy story. Ms. Singh brings the heat in waves and droves. Right from the start, the couple had sparks, fire, and outright flames to the ceiling. And the inner conflict was so perfect. Sascha’s not supposed to feel, but she’s so hot for Lucas she can’t keep it contained. The two have chemistry for days.

The outer conflict worked well two, having their two worlds collide in a business deal. That could have been enough to bring them together and allow Sascha to explore her emotions. But then they discover a serial killer. Who doesn’t love a serial killer? Using both their powers, the couple must take down a very dangerous villain. This book had everything I love in a paranormal romance. I wish I hadn’t taken so long to grab a Nalini Singh book!

I give Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh Five Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies.