Teach the Torches to Burn

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Teach the Torches to Burn by Christina Dodd

Daughter of Montague Series Book 3

This novel is for readers of historical fiction who also enjoy mysteries, romance, and humor. In the 3rd book in the Daughter of Montague series, Rosie, the 20-year-old daughter of Romeo and Juliet (no, their love story didn’t end in tragedy) is set to marry her prince. Montagues and Capulets are coming from all over Italy for the occasion. They still don’t get along, so how to keep the peace for the week of the wedding? Lots of winter activities are planned, plus Great Uncle Magno is not invited. Of course, he shows up anyway.

Magno is a braggart and claims to be a wine expert. Poisonings are attempted; who is the target and who is the culprit? Cal and Rosie try to keep their family safe and solve the mystery while Rosie is also organizing the wedding. Cal wasn’t her first choice as groom, but they are falling in love.

Mystery, adventure and romance all combine in a fun historical novel. A fourth book is planned, and there are also two novellas. I suggest starting with the first book, A Daughter of Fair Verona.

Brenda

Probable Caws

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Probable Caws, a Meg Langslow Mystery by Donna Andrews

I always look forward to new Meg Langslow mysteries. Enjoyable, very cozy, with plenty of humor, eccentric characters and a variety of animals. The books are usually set in or near the fictional town of Caerphilly, Virginia. Meg, a blacksmith, and her husband Michael, two sons and their large extended family are at a nearby castle/manor helping with the unexpected arrival of many horses. The book cover shows a mesh scarf meant to keep flies away from a horse’s eyes. A cute subplots tests other methods of getting flies to leave horses alone.

One of the mares is pregnant and finds Meg’s company calming, so she’s often in the pastures and stables. Annoying swans and wise crows are featured as well as horses. The plot is about two brothers and what happens to the family farm when their 100-year-old father dies and no will is found. The castle is owned by a generous and wealthy musician, who played percussion in several heavy metal bands. His chef is happily serving all the volunteers lusciously described Italian dishes. A holiday mystery, Jay to the World, is due out in October. The Meg Langslow mysteries are a comfort read for me, in print or on audio. The first book is Murder With Peacocks, but you can really start anywhere.

Brenda

The Reimagining of Thornwood House

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The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson

This is a cozy (though not too cozy) fantasy worth settling down to read and savor. Thornwood House needs a new caretaker as it’s grieving longtime caretaker Amelia, but is picky about who it will accept. The house is sentient, though it doesn’t exactly talk, mostly expressing its moods. And despite the feet shown on the book jacket, the house very rarely travels. This is definitely not Baba Yaga’s hut.

Evie Sharpe is a land witch used to dealing with natural disasters for ECRA. She wants to adopt her foster daughter Ruby, now 11, and needs a less dangerous job. Rub also has a magical talent and ECRA doesn’t want to let them relocate. Evie and Ruby take the train to Iskendra. The caretaker job also includes caring for the villagers of Iskendra. Evie is like an apothecary with magical plants. The house, which is not an inn, is in bad shape, especially after some recent traveling. A helpful neighbor, hard work, and a little magic all help Evie and Ruby settle in, though Evie hasn’t yet bonded with Thornwood House. The house won’t let her into Amelia’s study, either. Some villagers, including one or two with magical talents, aren’t very welcoming, though others are.

Evie and Ruby bike around the town and walk through the Thornwood. Evie’s not much of a cook, but delicious meals are still enjoyed. There are secrets and wonders to be found, as well as great dangers. Ruby makes friends with two kids her age, as well as a neighbor’s dog.

There are many cozy fantasy novels currently available that are just middling in quality and rather forgettable. This book is in the top tier. While their stories are not very similar, Sarah Beth Durst is among several authors to write blurbs for this book. I haven’t read anything else by Jaleigh Johnson but look forward to reading more.

Brenda

Hole in the Sky

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Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson

This is a science fiction thriller set in the near future, mostly in Oklahoma. The author wrote The Andromeda Evolution and Robopocalypse, has a Ph.D. in robotics, and is a Cherokee citizen, so you know there’s no coziness expected here. Ancestors, yes. Robotic horrors, definitely.

The story is narrated by five characters, one unnamed. Two are related, and four come together for first contact with alien visitors at the Spiro Mounds complex. The most appealing characters are Jim Hardgray, one year sober, and his estranged teen daughter, Tawny. They belong to the Cherokee nation. Fortunately, Jim listened to some of the lessons that Tawny’s grandmother Elisi taught them. Mikayla works for NASA on the Voyager project and uses AI goggles. Gavin Clark works for the U.S. government on investigating UAPs, or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. The novel is dark, but with glimmers of hope, and includes visions of Cherokee ancestors along with predictions of the very near future. Suspenseful, memorable, and unique.

Brenda

The Paris Match

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The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

Emily and Michael are getting married, in Paris!

Layla was Emily’s sister-in-law, and is amicably divorced from Emily’s older brother, Jamie. Emily pleads with her to come to Paris for the week. Awkwardly, Jamie is bringing his new girlfriend.

Griffin is Michael’s best man. Griffin and Michael have been best friends since they were kids. Griffin has chronic pain and visible burn scars. Bridesmaid Rosie thinks he might be a billionaire, though that’s not actually true.

Emily has second thoughts about the wedding. Griffin tells Layla that Michael’s happiness means everything to him, and that it’s imperative she talk with Emily and fix things. They met on the flight to Paris, when Layla helped another passenger with a health crisis. Layla is a doctor, traveling from city to city for temporary positions. She doesn’t like Griffin, who rarely smiles, but finds him fascinating, and a slow burn romance begins.

The main section of the book is set during a week in Paris and at Versailles while the next section is set three months later, well before the epilogue. There are plenty of tricky family dynamics and secrets that need to be revealed. I found this contemporary romance to be an engaging, immersive read. Not at all a light-hearted book, but well worth reading for memorable main characters, originality, and the Parisian setting.  

Brenda

Moss’d in Space

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Moss’d in Space by Rebecca Thorne

This was just what I needed; a cozy science fiction book from the author of the Tomes and Tea fantasy series, which begins with Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea.

Two sisters live on Colony 13, a large human space station. Torian has studied solar engineering and worked on a spaceship for Fleet Captain/smuggler Amelia. Once, and only once, they kissed. Torian’s older sister Celise is a medic. The not-so-healthy atmosphere on Colony 13 makes her cough, and the long-term prognosis is not good. Torian save up enough money to buy a very small spaceship covered in moss. The moss turns out to be inside as well, and sentient. Meet Moss, sort of a hybrid entity. Torian and Moss head out on adventures, first to the planet Rhymarra, and then on the mostly abandoned space station Vaesa. Moss is holding a grudge against a long-lived alien who left the ship behind on Colony 13, but Moss finds Torian’s curiosity and loyal recklessness oddly appealing. This is not at all hard science fiction, with a refreshing lack of violence or much danger. I thought this was a fun and charming read. I look forward to the second book, to be published next summer. Fun trivia: the author also works as a flight attendant.

Brenda

Ode to the Half-Broken

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Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer

I enjoyed this optimistic science fiction novel, even though it’s set in post-apocalyptic America. Robots, cyborgs, humans, and drones all co-exist. Once there were four mech, or robot, siblings. They were designed by disturbed genius Milton. Two have died, and the mech later named Be isn’t in touch with the other, Ver. After being offline for a while, Be finds that a leg is missing. Cyborg dog Atticus arrives, and brings help. The help is paid for by sharing a memory and transferring some energy.

Be and Atticus find Murphy, a human mechanic, repair a drone, and go in search of the missing leg. Murphy lives in the charming community of Greenapple. With the help of other humans, drones, and sentient trains, they go on a quest. There is a bit of violence, some memories of being a bodiless mind, a little humor, and lots of found family and hopeful vibes. There is still plenty of beautiful nature for the travelers and the reader to enjoy. This was a memorable read. I haven’t read anything else by Palmer, but plan to. Becky Chamber’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built is a readalike.

Brenda

Guilty by Definition

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Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

This contemporary mystery has a lovely setting in Oxford, with the focus on three women who work on the Clarendon English Dictionary, in their mid-20s, 30s, and 40s. Martha Thornhill has just moved back to Oxford to live with her father after working in Berlin for 10 years. Safiya is the youngest, while Alex has grown children and is always elegantly dressed.

Martha’s older sister Charlie vanished over a decade ago. Charlie also worked for the Dictionary, was writing her PhD dissertation, and worked part-time for a book dealer. The three women and their colleague Simon receive disturbing postcards at home, and their department at the Dictionary is sent cryptic letters with puzzles and Shakespearean references. Will the clues lead to information on Charlie, or possibly her research? The reader can try to solve the puzzles along with the three women, though I didn’t have any luck.

I enjoyed this clever mystery, with definitions of unusual words heading each chapter. The author is a well-known linguist, and this is an accomplished and compelling debut. More, please.

Brenda

Stay for a Spell

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Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe

I didn’t want this cozy fantasy romance to end. A remarkably good first novel, this is a fun and satisfying read. Princess Tanadelle, or Tandy, is on yet another royal visit. Her next carriage stop is to dedicate the new market square in Little Pepperidge. Tandy has just finished the last book she packed when she sees a bookstore. There’s only time for a very short visit, but the next morning, she becomes a cursed princess and new proprietor of a bookstore. The bookstore is very crowded and needs rather a lot of tidying.

Distraught, her parents send a parade of princes to try and break the curse with a kiss. Her teen bookstore assistant Sasha is fascinated and pirate Bash is amused. A lovely story, but I don’t want to give away any more plot twists, other than to say that Tandy is not at all upset at the break in her royal routine. I look forward to the author’s second book.

Brenda

The Vintage Shop

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The Vintage Shop by Libby Page

Have you ever gone into a vintage clothing store and found a fabulous dress or belt, or a blue sweater with wood buttons that reminds you of one your mom used to wear? No? Me, neither. But if we had, it would be just like Lou’s new shop on a cobblestone street in Frome, Somerset. Lou soon finds a connection in America, thanks to the yellow dress embroidered with flowers displayed in the shop window.

Donna, 60, has just found out she was adopted, and is looking for her birth mother. They both meet Maggy, who is rather lonely when not caring for her three grandchildren after school. This is a lovely story of love, loss, grief, friendship, and starting over. Sometimes starting over yet again, plus a little romance. There are tears, but also smiles. This book was published in Great Britain in 2023, and perhaps will be released in the U.S. in the near future, like her books This Made Me Think of You (which I really enjoyed) and The Lido (which I haven’t read). Little Bear kitty might be willing to lend out his copy.

Brenda