The Ace of Spades by K. H. Koehler

by Carol7 Comments
Black Jack Derringer Book I: The Ace of Spades by K. H. Koehler I don't know quite how to describe this one. Cyberpunky, post-apocalyptic western? Pure fun if you like an old-fashioned shoot-em-up and muto horses with bulletproof hides. "Wild" Alice West is a bounty hunter in the vast desert known as the Skillet, an area with an Old West feel, but she's barely hanging on in a culture where a woman doing a man's job gets no respect. In a saloon, she meets Mr. Treen, an albino card shark who she thinks would be the perfect front man for her. Of course, Mr. Treen has surprising talents and scary secrets of his own. The Skillet is a rough, dangerous place, no doubt about it. And Alice gets in more than her fair share of scrapes, but doesn't seem to regret anything. She does what she has to do. She's got guts, I'll give her that. I'm not sure who or what Mr....
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A Medieval Mystery

by Carol13 Comments
Now wide-eyed and fully awake, Crispin measured his predicament. Dead of night, floating in the Thames, and bound. (pg. 96, Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson) I'm about halfway through this mystery and really enjoying it. It's a dark, gritty version of 14th century England, not romanticized. I can't really say if it's historically accurate, but it's very readable. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. I borrowed my copy from the library and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
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Game Night – Hey! That’s My Fish! Deluxe!

by Carol2 Comments
Hey! That's My Fish! Deluxe! Designers: Guenter Cornett, Alvydas Jakeliunas Manufacturers: Phalanx Games, Mayfair Games Artist: Francois Bruel Year: 2008 Players: 2 - 4 Time: 20 minutes Ages: 8 and up Maybe I'm looking ahead to cool weather. Maybe I just want to talk about a fun little game. You're a group a penguins at the pole, jumping from ice floe to ice floe, tile to tile, hunting fish. The setup varies each game, and some tiles have one fish, some two, some three. Your goal is to collect as many fish as possible, by making strategic moves, blocking other players, and staking the best areas for yourself. Most fish wins. I love the penguins. They're adorable 3-D resin figures who actually look like smart alecks. It's a fun family game, easy to learn, but you can plan ahead and with some smart moves ensure that you get a good fishing spot. As the penguins move over the hexes,the player takes away the hex where the penguin...
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Alice in Wonderland

by Carol7 Comments
Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland retold by Jane Carruth I've come to a conclusion. I don't like Alice in Wonderland. I enjoy it in theory. The curious young girl follows a rabbit down a hole, landing in a magical land full of strange, wonderful creatures and people. But then I sit down and actually read it. Last time I read it in Spring of '08, I read Carroll's version aloud with Amber and I remember expecting to enjoy it more than I did. This time I read the book I have had since I was about 7, thinking that maybe a retold version, complete with beautiful full color illustrations would bring back the childhood wonderment. It didn't. I don't even think I can summarize the story. Alice falls down the rabbit, there's a hall full of doors, she gets smaller and bigger and smaller, there's a flood and Alice insults some of the other animals that become stranded on the shore. They...
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