Category: Books

This week is Vacation Bible School at our church. Which means after work every day we head over there. It runs 6-8:30, but both David and I volunteer, he coordinates the wood craft project and I help with registration and other randomness, we're usually there by at least 5:30 and are lucky if we're home by 9. It makes it a long week, but definitely worth doing. My giveaway is still open for a few days. The random winner gets to pick a book of his or her choice, up to $20 from The Book Depository. It's open internationally, so enter here. Anyway, I got one book in the mail this week, The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma, thanks to the publisher. David saw it and asked why I got it. Time travel is not usually my favorite, but how could I pass this one up? "Set in Victorian London with characters real and imagined, The Map of Time is...

The Honey Month is a book to be savored, a book whose words, filled with longing and love, drip slowly from the page. It's such a unique book that I've been having trouble writing a review. I loved it, devoured it on the beach one afternoon, but it's difficult to describe. In the introduction, Danielle Sucher tells of giving thirty-some vials of honey to Amal and Amal used these little tastes as inspiration, writing the 28 pieces in this collection, one for each day of February. Each day begins with a description of the honey, its colour, smell, taste. She sample such a wide variety of honeys I was amazed at how different some of them seemed, how lyrical her writing is even in this part. For example, thistle honey- Taste: Intriguing—definitely an apple taste, definitely green apple, and again, this is one of the refreshing ones; there's a crispness and a mellowness at once, and I feel it's playful, a child among honeys,...

Steam and Sorcery was a perfect summer read, a fun romance with bits of steampunk, fantasy and mystery. For me, in a romance, the two main characters are the most important pieces, and I have to say that I enjoyed this couple. Sir Merrick Hadrian is a Knight of the order of the Round Table, dedicated to protecting Victorian London from monsters, both human and supernatural. He's a skillful fighter and magick user, physically strong and sexy, but a good guy, not chauvinistic or cruel in any way. Miss Caroline Bristol is a governess, hired to manage Merrick's five gifted ward, formerly street children. She's bright, beautiful, and adores the children. The sparks of course fly between the two, and I liked how their relationship progressed. You've got the usual but "he's out of my league" from Caroline, but Merrick is not one to bow to social conventions. They're perfect together, a good team. The mystery involves vampires, nasty ones. They are...