Carol – Page 499 – Carol's Notebook

Flash Fiction: Better to Wait

November 11, 2011 by Carol5 Comments

Better to Wait 353 words "She's here." The woman gazed into the polished black disk she cupped in her hands. She slid the stone into a pocket in her gown and stalked into the forest, her crimson cloak trailing behind her. The woods hushed, the creatures scurried to their hiding places, birds kept silent in the trees. The man at her side, heavy sword slung across his back, grumbled under his breath. Even if she was here, as the Queen saw, he knew they wouldn't find her. She was as silent in the woods as she was in the town, but the Queen seemed to think this was the one chance to kill the girl. The girl she had seen in that stone of hers, the girl who would kill her. They continued deeper into the trees. He could feel the eyes watching him, and he pulled his sword from its leather scabbard. He felt safer with it in his hands. The woman...

Thursday’s Tale: Dorani

November 10, 2011September 14, 2017 by Carol10 Comments

Image source Today's tale comes to us from India. It's a love story, but does involve fairies, actually kind of unusual in fairy tales. Dorani, daughter of a man who sold scents and essences, is the most beautiful young woman in the land. She is also good friends with a fairy and sings along with her for Indra, the king of the fairies. Dorani has lovely long golden hair that smelled faintly of roses, but it's heavy, so one day, Dorani cuts off a tress, wraps it in a leaf and lays it in the river. I understand wanting to cut your hair, but I don't quite get why she had to put it in the river, but of course the prince finds it and falls in love with her based on her hair. That's even beyond love at first sight, but he's sure he will die if he can't marry the girl the hair belongs to. The King find Dorani and sets...

Review: A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon

November 9, 2011 by Carol11 Comments

I would love to visit Italy one day, and especially Venice. Leon's books, along with others, have made me fall in love with the city. A Noble Radiance features Commissario Guido Brunetti, a good honest man searching for the truth while working in a police force and political system that are often corrupt or uninterested. In this installation, a body found in a field turns out to be the kidnapped son of one of Venice's aristocratic families. Brunetti can't accept any too easy answers and keeps digging, unearthing deadly secrets about the family and it's business. Setting and character are Leon's strong points for me. Brunetti keeps me coming back to this series. He's intelligent, determined, and has a wonderful, strong, loving relationship with his wife and children, who are actually in the books, not just shadows rarely mentioned. And Signorina Elettra, the secretary of the Vice-Questore, is a treat, a woman I would love to know in real life. This is not...

Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

November 8, 2011November 8, 2011 by Carol12 Comments

I wasn't going to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, but a lady I know insisted that I would like it and it turns out she was right, against all odds, I liked it, didn't love it mind you, but did find it enjoyable. Sixteen year-old Jacob travels to Wales to find out the truth behind his grandfather's stories of amazing children and the orphanage where he found shelter during WW 2. Reasons I shouldn't have liked it. First, I don't read much YA, even those that adults will love too. It's not necessarily a conscious choice, just the way my reading tastes have been trending lately. Second, I'm not a big fan of time travel, which it turns out is an integral part of the book, even if it's a loop, a little outside of the usual time travel scenario. Third, I don't do monsters, and they're real in this one. Fourth, the ending wasn't really an ending....

Review: “Ride-Along” by Brendan DuBois

November 7, 2011November 9, 2011 by Carol3 Comments

Image Credit In "Ride-Along" by Bendan DuBois, a veteran police officer has agreed to allow a freelance writer to ride long with him on his nightly patrol. When called, to a the scene of a jewelry store robbery, it turns out that everything is not as simple as it seems. This was not my favorite story in The Best American Mystery Stories 2011, but it was enjoyable enough. I like the cop character, smart, hard-working and conniving. The "reporter" was an interesting woman, too, but the story-telling style, was too disjointed for me. It jumped too many times from the present to the crime and back, for a short story. On the other hand, it was interesting how the author kept giving us bits until we had the whole story. I read it in The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 which can be ordered from Amazon or an Indie bookstore. Even though it's not really a mystery, more of a crime story. 3 out...

Mailbox Monday

November 7, 2011November 10, 2011 by Carol13 Comments

I can’t believe it’s November already. These are books and other goodies I received during the month of October. Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted at Mailbox Monday this month. $15 Amazon certificate and box of Novel Teas (Won from A Novel Source. Thanks!) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Purchased) Hallow's Eve by Sarah Diemer (Purchased) Review A Clockwork Christmas by Jenny Schwartz, J.K. Coi, PG Forte, Stacy Gail (From Carina Press via NetGalley) In Other Worlds by Margaret Atwood (From Knopf Doubleday) Bright and Distant Shores by Dominic Smith (From Atria) A Double Death on the Black Isle by A. D. Scott (From Atria) The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe (Won from vvb32 Reads. Thanks!) The Time In Between by Maria Duenas (from Atria) Reflecting Him by Carla McDougal, along with video teaching series, leader's guide and music CD (Won from the blog tour through Cathy Carlton Willis Communications. Thanks!) Yesterdays Tomorrow by Catherine...