Giveaway: A Demon Summer by G. M. Malliet

by Carol3 Comments
I like G. M. Malliet's Max Tudor series and I was happy when I was offered a galley of the newest in the series, A Demon Summer. I was even happier when Minotaur sent me an extra to giveaway. About A Demon Summer: In this new mystery, someone has been trying to poison the 15th Earl of Lislelivet. Since Lord Lislelivet has a gift for making enemies, no one—particularly his wife—finds this too surprising. What is surprising is that the poison was discovered in a fruitcake made and sold by the Handmaids of St. Lucy of Monkbury Abbey. The powerful Lord complains loudly to the local bishop, who asks Father Max Tudor, vicar of Nether Monkslip and former MI5 agent, to investigate. Just as Max comes to believe the poisoning was accidental, a body is discovered in the cloister well. Can Max Tudor solve the case and restore order in time to attend his own nuptials? (more…)...
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Thursday’s Tale: Vasilissa the Beautiful

by Carol5 Comments
I talked a little about Baba Yaga last week in connection with the novella, Wickedly Magical by Deborah Blake. A couple people mentioned that Baba Yaga was a new character for them, so I thought I'd share one of her stories this week. As I said, Baba Yaga is a strong, powerful, frightening witch who comes to us from Slavic folklore. While she doesn't have her own story, she's present in several tales, including the Russian fairy tale, "Vasilissa the Beautiful." As happens to so many beautiful young fairy tale women, Vasilissa's mother dies early in the story. On her deathbed, she gives Vasilissa a little wooden doll. This wooden doll is magic. When Vasilissa feeds her, she comes alive, listens to Vasilissa's griefs and problems, and offers advice and assistance. Eventually, Vasilissa's father remarries and, surprise, surprise, the step-mom is awful to Vasilissa. She makes Vasilissa do all the difficult chores, while her own daughters do nothing. Yes, father is still around...
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Audiobook Review: Bitter Spirits by Jenn Bennett

by Carol7 Comments
Title: Bitter Spirits (Roaring Twenties #1) Author: Jenn Bennett Read by: Amy Landon Published: May 14, 2014 by Tantor Genre: Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Audible Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown's illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act. Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who's more comfortable with guns than ghosts. Unfortunately for him, he's the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida's supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her. On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise... Bitter Spirits is not perfect. Like too many romances, it falls into cheesy...
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Fitness Tuesday

by Carol3 Comments
Here's my plan, more or less. (SS stands for strength training/stretching; CT stands for cross-training) Since last check-in, I finished Week 6 and am starting Week 7. I switched Wednesday and Tuesday of this week. On Tuesday, I did the elliptical for 60 minutes. Wednesday morning I took the dog on a mile walk and in the evening I did some dumbbell exercises and ab work equaling 30 minutes. Thursday I ran 2 miles at a pace of 11:36 min/mile. And I ate good. I pulled back out my Lean Mom, Fit Family plan, which I guess I've never actually posted about. It's a great book about eating right and exercising. I actually like it for the meal plans - they're really doable. And it's helped me before when I wanted to lose weight. On Thursday evenings, I take Amber to an art class, and sometimes I run while she's there. One of her friends is also in it and her mom, who is a friend of...
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Feature & Follow Friday

by Carol8 Comments
Question: Tell us about a book character you’d trade places with? I'm going to cheat a little. I can't think of any particular character I want to trade places with., most characters lives are obviously full of drama, and I'm not really a fan of drama in my own life. However, I would love to live in a fictional town, Three Pines from Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series - even though it's in Quebec and has horribly cold winters. It just seems like an ideal little village, half-hidden from the world - picturesque, full of artists and readers and friends. I would love to browse the bookstore, have a bite to eat at the café, have dinner with the crazy poet. We'll just ignore that murders seem to happen there regularly - no town's perfect. Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The goal of the hop is to gain new followers and make new friends....
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Thursday’s Tale: Wickedly Magical by Deborah Blake

by Carol6 Comments
"Wickedly Magical" is a re-working of the Baba Yaga lore. As you may know, Baba Yaga is a strong, powerful, frightening witch who comes to us from Slavic folklore. She often lives in a hut that  stands on chicken legs and is sometimes surrounded by a fence with a skull on each pole. Sometimes the hut has a door which is not revealed unless a magical phrase is uttered. In most tales, Baba Yaga is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters have been known to seek her out for her wisdom. She often fulfills the function of donor; that is, her role is in supplying the hero, sometimes unwillingly, with something necessary to further his quest. Seeking out her aid is a dangerous act though. Any hero, or heroine, who seeks her out needs to be properly prepared and pure of spirit. He or she also needs to be polite. It is said she ages one year every time she is...
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