Flint

Sep. 27th, 2025 10:54 am
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Flint by Louis L'Amour

A man who left the West, and the fame he won in one shooting, to grow rich in the East, returns to the West.

Read more... )

Summer’s end

Sep. 27th, 2025 07:41 am
moonhare: farmer bunny (gardening)
[personal profile] moonhare posting in [community profile] gardening
The garden is all but done, now. We have harvested as many tomatoes as we can, and only a few green peppers remain. The pumpkins were brought in early because of bacterial wilt and rodent damage. Cucumbers were pulled up in late August due to wilt. All in all, though, it was a good season.

We put up ten pint jars and three quart jars of tomato sauce. Salsa was made from the remaining green tomatoes which wouldn’t ripen: two pints canned and a quart-and-a-half refrigerated.

Onto planning 2026!

Tucker

Sep. 26th, 2025 10:50 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Tucker by Louis L'Amour

An tale of adventure.

Read more... )

Jeeves and the Tie That Binds

Sep. 25th, 2025 03:36 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Jeeves and the Tie That Binds by P.G. Wodehouse

The continuing adventures. Spoilers for the earlier works ahead.

Read more... )
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Sanders' Rhetorical, or Union Sixth Reader by Charles Walton Sanders

An advanced work of elocution.

Perhaps chiefly useful now for its selections and the light they cast on the era. It has several on the importance of the Union. It boasts of a wide variety, to fit young readers, and it does feature both prose and poetry on many different topics, fiction and non-fiction. I think it has more biographical essays than the earlier books in the series.

(Though it was amusing to read the side note that people used to eat a dish of fried dough known as a doughnut.)

[ 688 ]

Sep. 24th, 2025 01:25 am
katara: (JadeMars .:. 1)
[personal profile] katara posting in [community profile] ebookreview

Falling (Scared Sexy Collection #2) by Christina Lauren





Genre:
Romance, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary, Halloween, Novella, Short Story, Fantasy, Fiction

Publication Date:
September 23, 2025

Page Numbers:
56

Read/Finished Date:
September 24th, 2025

Rating:
.5/5

Premise:


One darkly seductive immortal’s powers of persuasion have worked flawlessly for nine centuries—until he meets the one woman who can resist him—in a wickedly hot short story by New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren.

Cat should be afraid of Brigan—the devastatingly gorgeous stranger at a Halloween party whose very presence makes everyone else fall at his feet. But while his supernatural allure drives others to mindless obsession, Cat somehow keeps her wits…even as she surrenders to temptation. When this cursed being realizes she alone can see his true nature, one night of searing passion could break a centuries-old spell—or doom them both.

Christina Lauren’s Falling is part of Scared Sexy, a deliciously dark collection of Halloween romance where things that go bump in the night might just steal your heart. These seductive stand-alone stories blend chills and heat in the perfect Halloween treat—each designed to be devoured in one sitting.


Review:


Well, this was a massive disappointment for me. The story had a lot of potential, not just as a short novella, but as an FLN. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. The characters felt underdeveloped, lacking the depth and nuance needed to keep a reader engaged. Additionally, the plot felt extremely rushed, making it harder for the pacing and world-building to be believable. I should have DNF'ed it but I really wanted to know the ending and even that was confusing.

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

Sep. 22nd, 2025 01:15 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

The continuing adventures of Jeeves and Bertie.

Read more... )

[ 687 ]

Sep. 21st, 2025 12:32 am
katara: (Utena .:. 2)
[personal profile] katara posting in [community profile] ebookreview

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer





Genre:
Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Romtasy, Netgalley, Young Adult, Retellings, Mystery

Publication Date:
November 4, 2025

Page Numbers:
432

Read/Finished Date:
Sepber 20th, 2025 - Septembe 21st, 2025

Rating:
DNF'ed @ 40%

Premise:


From the #1 New York Times bestselling "Queen of Fairytale Retellings" and author of Cinder and Heartless, this is the tale of Bluebeard as it's never been told before—a thrilling romantasy and murder mystery.

Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir—otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu—who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien's great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu's ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation—and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.


Review:


The House Saphir was one of my most anticipated reads for 2025 and I was excited to have scored an ARC. A gothic retelling of the French tale of 'Bluebeard' with murderous ghosts, witches, and a storyline meant to grab the reader until the very end. Unfortunately, the latter failed for me. I found the tale boring, the characters unlikeable, and I was uncertain about my feelings toward the romance. I suppose I had a lot of expectations for the romance and it just failed to deliver.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC. All review opinion are mine.

Creative Jam

Sep. 20th, 2025 11:06 pm
ysabetwordsmith: (Crowdfunding butterfly ship)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] crowdfunding
Welcome to the 147th Crowdfunding Creative Jam! This session will run Saturday, September 20-Sunday, September 21. The theme is "Journalism."

Crowdfunding Creative Jam

Everyone is eligible to post prompts, which may be words or phrases, titles, images, etc. Prompters may request a specific creator, but everyone else may still use that prompt if they wish. Prompts may specify a particular character/world/etc. but creators may use the prompt for something else anyway and post the results. Prompters are still encouraged to post mostly prompts that anyone could use anywhere, as this maximizes the chance of having creators make something based on your prompt. Please title your comment "Prompt" or "Prompts" when providing inspiration so these are easy to find.

Prompt responses may also be treated as prompts and used for further inspiration. For example, a prompt may lead to a sketch which leads to a story, and so on. This kind of cascading inspiration is one of the most fun things about a collective jam session.

Everyone is eligible to use prompts, and everyone who wants to use a given prompt may do so, for maximum flexibility of creator choice in inspiration. You do not have to post a "Claim" reply when you decide to use a prompt, but this does help indicate what is going on so that other prompters can spread out their choice of prompts if they wish.

Creators are encouraged, but not required, to post at least one item free. Likewise, sharing a private copy of material with the prompter is encouraged but not required. Creative material resulting from prompts should be indicated in a reply to the prompt, with a link to the full content elsewhere on the creator's site (if desired); a brief excerpt and/or description of the material may be included in the reply (if desired). It helps to title your comment "Prompt Filled" or something like that so these are easy to identify. There is no time limit on responding to prompts. However, creators are encouraged to post replies sooner rather than later, as the attention of prompters will be highest during and shortly after the session.

Some items created from prompts may become available for sponsorship. Some creators may offer perks for donations, linkbacks, or other activity relating to this project. Check creator comments and links for their respective offerings.

Prompters, creators, and bystanders are expected to behave in a responsible and civil manner. If the moderators have to drag someone out of the sandbox for improper behavior, we will not be amused. Please respect other people's territory and intellectual property rights, and only play with someone else's characters/setting/etc. if you have permission. (Fanfic/fanart freebies are okay.) If you want to invite folks to play with something of yours, title the comment something like "Open Playground" so it's easy to spot. This can be a good way to attract new people to a shared world or open-source project, or just have some good non-canon fun.

Boost the signal! The more people who participate, the more fun this will be. Hopefully we'll see activity from a lot of folks who regularly mention their projects in this community, but new people are always welcome. You can link to this session post or to individual items created from prompts, whatever you think is awesome enough to recommend to your friends.

How Right You Are, Jeeves

Sep. 20th, 2025 11:48 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
How Right You Are, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

The further adventures of Bertie and Jeeves. Minor spoilers for earlier works.

Read more... )

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit

Sep. 17th, 2025 10:49 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse

Another Jeeves novel. Spoilers ahead for the earlier ones.

Read more... )

[ 686 ]

Sep. 17th, 2025 05:10 pm
katara: (Gambit x Rogue .:. 2)
[personal profile] katara posting in [community profile] ebookreview

Sword Catcher (The Chronicles of Castellane #1) by Cassandra Clare





Genre:
Romantasy, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Magic, High Fantasy, Adult Fantasy

Publication Date:
October 10, 2023

Page Numbers:
624

Read/Finished Date:
September 16th, 2025 - September 17th, 2025

Rating:
DNF'e # 40%

Premise:


In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces.

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?


Review:


Honestly, I don't know where to begin this review. First, I am sad that I didn't get a chance to read this novel because I wanted to allow Clare to draw me into a world outside of the Shadowhunters universe, especially since I was around during her time of plagiarism in the HP universe. Something new. Something fresh. This was supposed to be that book. Unfortunately, the length of the novel carried so much information that it was easy to get bored and care less about what was going on.

The characters were just as bad—one-dimensional. No development. And far too many to get attached to. I found not a single one I liked. Don't get me wrong: the characters had a ton of potential (as did the story itself), but it wasn't there to bring any shine to any of the characters.

The world-building. Interesting, but the execution was lacking. I felt something was missing, and maybe it was just me.

I am so glad I picked this book (as well as book two) from the library instead of buying them. I would probably be disappointed.

The Mating Season

Sep. 14th, 2025 10:12 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
The Mating Season by P.G. Wodehouse

A Jeeves book. One with continuing history, so spoilers for earlier books ahead.

Read more... )

[ 685 ]

Sep. 14th, 2025 04:37 pm
katara: (NephewJup .:. 1)
[personal profile] katara posting in [community profile] ebookreview

The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi





Genre:
Netgalley, Fantasy Romance, Romance, Romantasy, Fairytales, Young Adult, High Fantasy, Retellings

Publication Date:
January 6, 2026

Page Numbers:
400

Read/Finished Date:
September 13th, 2025 - September 14th, 2025

Rating:
DNF'ed @ 35%

Premise:


In this lush and romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi, a prince is only as good as his beating heart and a maiden is only as good as her honest word. But when love and the truth become impossibly tangled, the two must figure out how to survive together, or fall completely apart.

To find love is a curse ...

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris's parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.


Review:


The premise of this novel sounded so promising that I knew I needed to see if I could secure the ARC for it. While I did enjoy the first book in the Pandava series, I could not find the interest in this one. It felt like something was missing from the plot and from the characters. I would have liked a small backstory on her parents. We don't get much except their toxic relationship, which is sad because I would have loved to know about her parents and why her father was the way he was.




Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC. All review opinion are mine.
Page generated Sep. 27th, 2025 04:24 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios