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The Adventure of the Demonic Ox

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The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold

This is a Penric and Desdemona fantasy novella. The first novella is Penric’s Demon, the most recent title is Penric and the Bandit.

Penric goes on an adventure with his children who are 8, 9, and 12, and are starting to think about their futures. Wyn is spending the summer as an errand boy with an engineer uncle, who’s rebuilding a nearby bridge. Wyn comes home with an incredible story about a white ox, who may have a demon. Penric travels back to the work site with Wynn, Rina, and his adopted daughter Otta while Penric’s wife Nikys and her mother Idrene stay behind, for a very good reason. Rina, 12, knows that she doesn’t want to teach small children. She is already talented at weaving and being a scribe, but is looking for a more exciting career. Otta has a lot of schooling ahead of her, as does her companion Atto. Wynn might want to be an engineer, too.

Penric is a scholar, a sorcerer, and a physician. Desdemona is his demon. There is quite the adventure with the possessed ox, even turning a bit scary, but with a lovey, cozy ending. Some humor and memorable characters make these fantasy novellas a treat to read.

Brenda

The Guncle Abroad

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The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

I loved reading The Guncle, and looked forward to reading more about Gay Uncle Patrick and his niece Maisie and nephew Grant, but sequels aren’t always as satisfying. This one is a winner. The settings are different, and the story is set five years later. It’s a vivid, bittersweet, joyous, funny, and engaging read.

Patrick takes his niece and nephew to Europe for a vacation before their father Greg’s upcoming marriage to Livia, an Italian marchesa. Maisie and Grant are now 14 and 11, and not as adoring of Uncle Patrick. They meet him in London, where Patrick is finishing up filming a movie. The kids get to visit the movie set, which they enjoy. Then they visit Paris, Austria for scenes from The Sound of Music, and then Venice, before traveling to a fancy hotel overlooking Italy’s Lake Como for the wedding festivities. The children want Patrick to talk his brother out of getting married, while Patrick tries to show them different aspects of love. He is jealous of the children’s connection to Palmina, Livia’s sister.

Patrick is 49, acting again, and single after a five-year relationship. He tries to share his wisdom with the kids, and strives to always be witty, funny, and the center of attention. The European setting is amazing, and the kids are great characters. There are a few cringey moments among the bittersweet and funny ones, with a surprise ending. If you liked The Guncle, this is a fine follow-up.

Brenda

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

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Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman

I have read Abbi’s five other novels, beginning with The Garden of Small Beginnings, and loved most of them. They tend to have an ensemble cast with quirky, big-hearted main characters. This novel has an outrageous plot, complete with twists and turns, and is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny.

Christa Barnet is the youngest daughter of Denise and the late Jasper Liddle. As a child, she sometimes appeared on television with one of her parents, usually holding a cute animal. Now she is a marine biologist on a remote island in the Indian Ocean, studying sea snails. Summoned back to Los Angeles along with her older sisters, Christa learns that her father has reappeared in Alaska, where his plane crashed when she was 2. Before rejoining his family, Jasper first appears on a popular talk show.

Christa hasn’t spent much time recently with her mom and sisters and doesn’t remember her dad. She does remember the trials of being a slightly famous teen, and is haunted by memories of a Hollywood party at which she was handed a drugged drink. Family friend Nate Donovan comes to the rescue, then and now. He is very handsome and doesn’t mind that Christa is prickly, short, and has many tattoos of marine life.

An over-the-top storyline with appealing main characters and cool settings in scenes set on the fictional island of Violetta, and on a merry-go-round, add to the book’s appeal. Also, there’s Marcel, the cute family dog, a bear cub named Dorothy, plus a gorgeous book cover. You don’t need an interest in snails or tide pools to enjoy this engaging novel, which is sure to be popular. I also enjoyed the illustrations by Julia Waxman. Readalikes include books by Emily Henry.

Brenda

Maggie Finds Her Muse

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Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst

Maggie Bliss, 48, has writer’s block. The second book in her romantic adventure Delania trilogy is to be published soon, and she is completely stuck on the final book. Her boyfriend Greg is completely unsupportive, even when Maggie misses a deadline. Her agent Lee and his partner Martin have an apartment in the Marais section of Paris, and invite her to stay there and write. Maggie gets to spend time with her daughter Nicole, who’s living in Rennes, and Nicole’s father Alan, who’s just retired. They tour the Musée d’Orsay together, and visit Versailles. Lee and Martin have a live-in housekeeper Solange, whose son Max often travels to Paris on business. There’s also a cute dog Jules, who keeps Maggie company when Solange is out of town. Handsome Max becomes Maggie’s muse, and she has trouble writing when he’s out of town, leading to a desperate Maggie lying about trouble between Nicole and her boyfriend Louis. The descriptions of life in Paris, especially the wonderful meals, make for perfect armchair travel, and the possibility of romance between Maggie and Max, or Maggie and Alan, make for very entertaining reading.

I really enjoyed the author’s newest book, Lucy Checks In, set in Rennes, in northwest France.

Brenda