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Another book suggestion that just turned out to be marvelous! I admit that I judge books by their cover and when I saw this one I was highly skeptical. But with the opening line of "The mystery would never be solved" of course I was hooked. I had to know. What mystery?

Eric Flint's characters are strong and open individuals who face their "present" circumstances with a forward will. I found myself constantly asking "would I do so well if this happened to me?" The answer for me I think is no. I've been too much pampered by modern society and don't have enough survival skills. Honestly, I probably would have been shot just because of my mouth. :)

But I do know their are people out there who would behave this way. They would survive no matter what.

Altogether a fun read and one that I want to do again. This book is definitely going on my to buy list.

 Brown

Mastiff

Tamora Pierce has done it again. She wrote a twist into the book, that when I snooped ahead, I didn't like, but when I read it properly, well, it made sense. I still don't like it, but it does make sense.

This is the third installment and last book about Beka Cooper. She has grown in her training and become quite proficient in her job. Of course, Achoo is even better at hers, which gives Beka plenty of opportunity to work outside of the capital, doing special jobs that requires a scent hound. But work isn't the only experience that Beka has gained. Spoiler: no nothing happens with Rosto.

Beka and Tunstall, her partner, are called from Corus, on a secret mission to find the kidnapped Prince Gareth. (By the way, I love how names repeat themselves in the nobility.) Beka and Tunstall team up with the Knight Lady Sabine and a mage, Farmer Cape for this mission. The chase is pretty straight forward. The story is dealing with life as it is and how we can affect changes.

I'm just hoping this is one of my Christmas presents because I want to read it again.

Brown

The Gods of Winter

The Gods of Winter by Patricia Miles was an interesting read. I've been searching for this book for years. I think it was a recommendation from a favorite author, but the book is out of print, so I couldn't find it to buy it. Thank you for libraries that have amazing interlibrary loan systems. I'm definitely spoiled at the moment.

The story is narrated by Adam, a twelve year old boy, who is trying to just give us the facts of what happened at the same time as he is trying to make sense of it all. Set in England sometime after WWII, but definitely before 2011, we see a picture of a family that sort of reminds me of the Narnia series. Or maybe all British families have weird relationships. The family has been moved to the countryside because of Dad's job. In America, the kids would have been pissed. Here, the kids think it will be a fun interesting adventure and handle the move beautifully. Since the move out into the country, with the mom almost ready to give birth (at home), the hire a home help, who turns out to be Mrs. Korngold, who isn't all she appears to be.

It is a beautiful form of an ancient myth. I learned more than I knew before. This is definitely one to read,  but good luck finding it.

Brown