Book 38 Circe

 

Circe by Madeline Miller fulfilled the category “Book about Witches” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. Oh my God, the books about witches that I read… Way too many, to say the least. I also read The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike, and Dark Witch by Nora Roberts. I had Circe down for “Book about the Afterlife,” but “Witch” made better sense.

Let me mention why I read and reread for the category. I wanted a brilliant story to share, but I wanted to check some items off my TBR list. The Witches of Eastwick was a magnificent film with a stellar cast. I dove into the novel expecting Cher and Jack Nicholson. The book and movie were not the same. Only about a half-dozen times have I liked the movie more than the novel (Practical Magic, Fight Club, Umbrella Academy, and now The Witches of Eastwick.) The story didn’t have an adversarial relationship between the witches and Jack. I thought the women taking power was the best message in the film. The book didn’t have that. So I grabbed another.

Romance, I thought! I’ll read a Nora book. She always has great witches in her books. Dark Witch failed to thrill me. The premise is about an ancient curse between a witch and a warlock. The family must come together again to save themselves from the dark power. Iona Sheehan goes to Ireland to start over. She has no plans for her future, but she has ties to the region. She meets her cousins and gets a job at a local horse farm. There are huge sparks between her and her boss. But honestly, the story didn’t thrill me. I wonder if it was the reader for the audiobook. She tended to scream out the spells the witches cast and read the Irish accents oddly. So I read another book. 

I had Discovery of Witches also on the list. Looking at the twenty-four hours of listening time curdled my stomach. Not that I’ll never read that one, but with two already under my belt, I worried about another dud. I put it aside and grabbed Circe for the afterlife prompt. It didn’t fit, but Circe was undoubtedly a witch.

Finally! 

I enjoyed this retelling of classic Greek mythology. We learn who Circe really was, from her beginnings to her rise to power to her choice of where she belongs in this world. I loved her journey, growth, and the woman she became. The book is perfect for the prompt, as Circe doesn’t understand her powers and grows into them. She becomes a witch because she explores who she is and how she can use her power. She must deal with gods, men, and monsters. I love how the story tied so many myths to the woman.

For all the witches, here’s a quick recount:

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike Four Savory Spells because it’s not anyone’s fault the movie is better.

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts Four Calling Spells ending with “so mote it be” because it’s not Nora’s fault the reader was meh.

Circe by Madeline Miller Five Little Piggies to go with tradition.

 

 

 

Book 37 The Power

 

The Power by Naomi Alderman fulfills the category “Book About or Set in a Non-Patriarchal Society” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. 

The Power begins in our patriarchal world. Then women learn about a hidden power within them and the tables start to turn.

I’ll be honest. There will be big spoilers. I can’t review it without telling everything, including the ending. Don’t read my blog post if you plan to read the book. I’m spilling all.

I didn’t care for this one. Not because of the writing, pace, or characters. I found the author did an excellent job of building the conflict through multiple characters. The pace was perfect. It’s the material that made me stabby.

In the novel, women discover they have a latent superpower. Through the “sea ape” theory of evolution (man came from the sea), some environmental pollution, and thousands of years of repression, women discover they can produce electricity at will. The ability is similar to an electric eel, in how they use it for defense, manipulation, and offense. Women can show each other how to harness the electricity.

The book shows many ways the women use the power–to punish, to retaliate, to free themselves, to lord over others. The women whose stories we follow many times abuse their new power and use it for ill.

Not everyone. Some women try to find a new place in the world where they don’t have to fear men. They save themselves and others.

The point of the novel is Power Corrupts, and almost every character is a victim. They use and abuse their new power through violence, politics, or simple manipulation. And it happens fast. Within ten or so years of women learning to use their electrical ability, the world is victim to nuclear war. All because of the women’s abuse of power–whether political, religious, or militant. 

That bothered me. I thought it was interesting to see how different women used their power to get ahead, gain dominion, or even take over. I liked their stories, but it all moved too fast. But to say that the world could only handle the reversal of power between men and women for ten years before nuclear destruction?

Maybe, or maybe not.

I realize men would not easily give up their seats of power. To have women tear everything down so quickly is a little insulting. Yes, the electrical power is a weapon. Someone holding a gun all the time would be scary and nerve-wracking. Yes, many people would abuse it. But global destruction? I don’t know. I would hope we are better than that. 

The book also had some seriously tough scenes. Rapes abound in the novel, and I wouldn’t recommend the novel to anyone who is triggered by the topic. The men are abused with the women’s new power, but men retaliate as well. It’s a hideous picture of humanity.

And here’s another huge spoiler. In the end, it’s revealed the entire story is a novel written in the future under a matriarchal society. The women in his society have the electrical power, and his novel is a fictional history of ancient times when the women first discover their power. So it’s a book by a man telling how women destroyed the planet. Sigh… Yes, the actual author is a woman, and the plot twist here is clever, but I was done before I got there.

I give The Power by Naomi Alderman Four Electric Eels because it’s well-written and interesting. I just didn’t care for the path the story rode down.

 

Book 36 Finding Home Again

 

Finding Home Again by Darlene Fredette fulfilled the category “Book that takes Place During my Favorite Season” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge. I’m a fall girl through and through. The cool, crisp weather, the start of school, and Halloween thrill me to no end. I’m not a fanatic about any one thing. I love it all.

Finding Home Again takes us to Redford Falls, Nova Scotia, as the leaves are turning. Jordan McKenzie is working for her friend, Pearl Foster, in her large home as a helper. They do not reveal immediately the exact nature of her job, as she and Pearl have cooked up a plan to solve some past issues. 

Together, they are converting the friend’s home into a bed-and-breakfast. Pearl’s family believes the two are restoring the building to its former glory. The transformation is part of Pearl’s big plan for her siblings, Jordan, and her town. Jordan plans to help run the place for Pearl. They’ve told Pearl’s kin and the community that the woman suffered from a life-threatening heart attract. Pearl hides, as she is supposed to be in intensive care. 

As the book unfolds, we learn Pearl has a mystery from the past she needs to solve. She further wants to correct some wrongs with her nephew. Jordan gets caught in the middle. And there she  discovers truths from her history and the possibility of a new future. 

Okay, “caught in the middle” is an understatement. The poor woman becomes the target of an assassin! Well, more like a person trying to hide their past. Jordan’s dog is kidnapped, and she is almost poisoned. (Though we find out later that it was an accident.)

The family returning for the reunion each have their own issues to deal with. Logan Crane, our hero, wishes to reconnect with his aunt after a painful parting. He and Jordan begin a romance that is fueled by all the drama and danger happening around the inn. Logan learns the truth about his relationship with Pearl and realizes his dreams of owning an architecture firm might not really be what he wants. 

Finding Home Again is the fifth book in the Redford Falls series. I read the title as a standalone. It was great all by itself. I mean, honestly, I do not know how Ms. Fredette wrote a romantic mystery with elements of women’s fiction and family drama in only 162 pages. The book had it all. The story was concise and wanted for nothing. If the rest of the series is anything like this one, I need to grab them ASAP.

I give Finding Home Again by Darlene Fredette Five Husky Puppies (because we all deserve puppies).