Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

by Carol11 Comments
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel Reading this, I got caught up in its spell. It's not a perfect novel, but the story of obsession, loss and searching transfixed me. Lilia was kidnapped by her father when she was young and has been constantly traveling since then, eventually leaving behind everyone everyone she meets, including those who care about her, like Eli her lover in New York. She just can't stay. Forever is the most dizzying word in the English language. The idea of staying in one place forever was like standing at the border of a foreign country, peering over the fence and trying to imagine what life might be like on the other side, and life on the other side was frankly unimaginable. Eli heads to Montreal in pursuit of her and meets Michaela, a young woman who says she knows how to contact Lilia. The basic story revolves around these three, their feelings for...
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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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