Books 60-61
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book came so highly recommended by friends, I had to dive in. I did not regret it in the least. Adam Binder is down on his luck and alienated from most of his family, except an elderly aunt. They live together in a trailer park in Oklahoma. His father disappeared when he was young and all he really knows of his father is that's where his magic came from. His mother and elder brother left him behind in a juvenile mental hospital years ago, leaving him with no schooling and not much in the way of skills. He is, at least, talented with cars.
Robert (Bobby) has been living in Denver working as a doctor with the perfect house, perfect wife, Annie, except they've been unable to conceive. The effect on Annie has been profound until one day even Bobby with his lesser amount of magic (he's buried it deep along with his hatred of their abusive father) sees the monster hooked into Annie. He has to do what he hasn't done in years: contact his kid brother for help.
While very reluctant to help after being abandoned to abuse by his brother and mother, Adam feels Annie - who treated him kindly via email - deserves to be helped. Turning his rat trap of a car northwest, Adam goes to help, getting drawn in by monsters, gods and goddesses even by death herself. With the help of a cute police officer whose life he entangled, Adam needs all his tricks to save Annie if he can.
There is so much emotion in this. This is a highly dysfunctional family, with Mom bordering on homophobia and definite neglect of her youngest son. Robert acts more like dad than big brother and while he might want the best for Adam he does it in the worst way possible. There are real stakes in this and all the characters feel so very real. I generally don't dive into the next book in a series right away but I am tempted here. I will certainly be reading it. Also while the story wrapped up the plot, its last chapter is a cliffhanger for book 2, not my favorite way to end but it works here.
View all my reviews
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this. It's a 3.5 read for me as from the mid point on I knew exactly where it was going (I read a ton of mysteries and this is not my first one with this plot) That said, I very much enjoyed Lady Petra, her lady-maid Annie, her cousin/friend Caroline and Duncan.
Lady Petra, like many historical mystery heroines, is a straight up feminist (almost a little too modernly so though I appreciate she is not homophobic which matters in this story). Again like many historical mystery heroines she is motherless and her father has indulged her including letting her ride his horses wearing her brother's pants instead of side saddle.
The mystery part takes a while to get going but I definitely predicted it. Petra's friend Gwen died two weeks ago but no one knew this. Feeling hurt and hounded at her father's home in the country by her mother's brother, a total misogynist, Petra attends the Dutchess's ball in London even though she knows she'll run into her former childhood friend, Duncan, the illegitimate child of a lord and grandson to the duke and dutchess whom she fought with three years ago after the death of her betrothed. (and a lot of this is info dumped in chapter one more than I would have expected).
Naturally he's going to be the love interest (though it was done with a too-light of hand imo) and at the ball Petra has to deal with no end of misogyny from both men and women because she declared she would never marry after the loss of her lover. Enter Doctor Drysdale and all too real ease at which troublesome women could be committed to asylums in the 1800s.
We're about half way in before there is a murder related to her friend Gwen's death and Petra with Duncan's help (such as she allows it as she blows hot and cold with him) starts to investigate it because she feels responsible for the murdered servant.
About the only thing I predicted that didn't happen (which I'm glad of) was I expected her underhanded woman hating uncle was going to bump off dad to get control of her and her money because he (like so many of the Ton) believed women shouldn't be allowed to inherit.
Even though it went as expected I still very much enjoyed the characters and hope to see more of them.
View all my reviews