L Is for Leave and Love

L is for Leave as in Leave No Trace and Love which makes you do crazy things. Deep in the northern Minnesota woods, a man and his son went missing. 10 years later, the son is found when he breaks into a camping store and things go wrong. Maya, a newly minted speech therapist, is the only one who can reach him but she has a complicated history of her own.

I loved the pacing of this. You gradually peel back the layers on Maya and Lucas. Mejia reveals just enough to keep you hooked and the story becomes more compelling as it goes on. Why did Lucas and his dad disappear? Why was Maya committed?

Mejia did a fantastic job on the ugly realities of depression in Maya’s mother. It was beautiful, broken, and tragic. As someone who has felt similarly, it made me glad to see she was getting it right. What ailed Maya was more complicated and nuanced which made it more interesting. It was messy and complicated without an easy answer which is the reality a lot of the time. These elements naturally woven into the story.

Nature was also a huge, inextricable part of the story from the woods to the lake to the rocks. It hovered somewhere between a character and a setting. I have been into stories with a heavy nature focus so I really loved this.

This is a layered and multi-part mystery I highly enjoyed. All of the pieces come together. The ending is satisfying. Highly recommend, nothing bad to say. 5/5

Witchy Halloween Reads

I saw an article on Bustle recently about witchy reads for Halloween. I have read none of these but own Circe by Madeline Miller. I’m dubious how Halloween-y that book will make me feel. I’m going to add a few of my own that might be more in the spirit of the season.

Toil and Trouble edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe

This is a YA anthology about women and witchcraft. I’ve read both of Spotswood’s YA historical fiction anthologies Tyranny of Petticoats and The Radical Elements

Serena Valentino’s Disney Villain series

Valentino has given Ursula, Maleficent, Mother Gothel, the Beast, and the Wicked Queen deeper backstories. I’ve only dabbled in some of these works but they’re light and darker than you’d expect.

Hocus Pocus: An All New Sequel by A. W. Jantha

Everyone knows the beloved Halloween classic but it got a literary sequel this year. My favorite local indie had several books get water damaged and this sequel was one of them. I imagine it will be a fast, easy read and similar to its original.

Conjure Wife by Frank Leiber

I have not read this but sounds fascinating. A man discovers his sweet, domestic wife is a secret magic user. He puts a stop to it but she is just one of many so things take a dark turn for him. It’s a look at gender dynamics of eras past and female power.

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

I dabbled in this book but it was bad timing. I want to revisit this when I will appreciate it because a freed slave, the Sorcerer to the Crown, needs to discover why Britain’s magic stock is depleted sounds pretty great.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies by Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

While this isn’t a direct Halloween read, Heaven, Hell, and the end of the world feels pretty on brand for Halloween. Read this. Immediately.

I’ve heard some folks hype Wicked by Gregory Maguire and The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch but I didn’t love either one. They both were a bit slow and tedious for me. I gave each 3/5 stars but they may work for you. Anything touching Salem is always good for Halloween, be it fiction or non. What are some of your favorite witches in literature?

(I linked to Amazon but I encourage you to utilize your local library or indie bookstore.)

Witchy Halloween Reads

I saw an article on Bustle recently about witchy reads for Halloween. I have read none of these but own Circe by Madeline Miller. I’m dubious how Halloween-y that book will make me feel. I’m going to add a few of my own that might be more in the spirit of the season.

Toil and Trouble edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe

This is a YA anthology about women and witchcraft. I’ve read both of Spotswood’s YA historical fiction anthologies Tyranny of Petticoats and The Radical Elements

Serena Valentino’s Disney Villain series

Valentino has given Ursula, Maleficent, Mother Gothel, the Beast, and the Wicked Queen deeper backstories. I’ve only dabbled in some of these works but they’re light and darker than you’d expect.

Hocus Pocus: An All New Sequel by A. W. Jantha

Everyone knows the beloved Halloween classic but it got a literary sequel this year. My favorite local indie had several books get water damaged and this sequel was one of them. I imagine it will be a fast, easy read and similar to its original.

Conjure Wife by Frank Leiber

I have not read this but sounds fascinating. A man discovers his sweet, domestic wife is a secret magic user. He puts a stop to it but she is just one of many so things take a dark turn for him. It’s a look at gender dynamics of eras past and female power.

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

I dabbled in this book but it was bad timing. I want to revisit this when I will appreciate it because a freed slave, the Sorcerer to the Crown, needs to discover why Britain’s magic stock is depleted sounds pretty great.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies by Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

While this isn’t a direct Halloween read, Heaven, Hell, and the end of the world feels pretty on brand for Halloween. Read this. Immediately.

I’ve heard some folks hype Wicked by Gregory Maguire and The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch but I didn’t love either one. They both were a bit slow and tedious for me. I gave each 3/5 stars but they may work for you. Anything touching Salem is always good for Halloween, be it fiction or non. What are some of your favorite witches in literature?

(I linked to Amazon but I encourage you to utilize your local library or indie bookstore.)

Slump

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump. I burned through some pages on vacation but it was slower going back home. I think there were a few big factors.

TV/YouTube

My husband and I love to watch and mock all Bachelor shows. It’s Bachelor in Paradise so various former contenders try to find love on a beach in Mexico. Two episodes a week air which means 4 hours of show a week.

I also got really into a We Happy Few play-through on YouTube. It’s a fascinating game with a pretty unique storyline. This was in addition to some of my booktube viewings. It’s been nice to watch after a rough day at work.

Work + Weather

I’m a dog walker and anyone who says nothing is uphill both ways has never seen some of my routes. The job is not easy and will whip your butt into some sort of shape. It doesn’t help that summer is not my season and the weather of late can best be described as the devil’s taint.

You know what’s worse than an unforgiving sun on a hot day with high humidity? All of that with no breeze. It sucks the life out of you. By the time I get home, I have very limited brain power or energy. It’s a lot easier to watch something than try to force an exhausted brain to concentrate on anything let alone my current reads.

Heavy Nonfiction

I recently had Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America by Alissa Quart come up on my holds list. I tabled Born Trump by Emily Jane Fox again to make a go of this. Squeezed has some important ideas and I really want to read it. I just can’t wrap my brain around it until the weather gets milder.

Born Trump is very easy to read but it’s still more than my brain can handle after walking several miles with a heat index of 107. I’m leaning into the slump and not pushing my brain further than it wants to go after a hard day.

I just had The 2020 Commission Report come up on my holds. It’s a speculative novel about a nuclear conflict with North Korea. I’m very early in but it appears to be straddling the line between novel and government report. I’m hoping a more narrative style plus the high heat of summer finally breaking tomorrow means I’ll roll out of my slump this weekend.

August Wrap-Up and September TBR

I got a little extra reading done on vacation. I still need to read a book that’s been collecting dust on my shelves and a poetry collection so I didn’t draw anything new from the jar for September.

August Wrap-Up

Rising Out of Hatred by Eli Slaslow

A fantastic story of the heir of white nationalism/supremacy changing his mind. Full review here 5/5

Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb

Another entertaining part of a long going series. 4/5

Campfire by Shawn Sarles

An entertaining teen slasher with a middling quality of writing. Full review here. 3/5

Bearskin by James McLaughlin

A novel with elements of thriller, magical realism, and literary fiction. I did a full post here but I really enjoyed this. 4.5/5

September TBR

Born Trump: Inside America’s First Family by Emily Jane Fox

I started this a while ago, put it down for vacation, and recently picked it back up. I’m a little more than halfway through. It starts with the current happenings, goes into their dad in their childhood and I’m just starting the chapters on the individual children.

Chesapeake Requiem: Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island by Earl Swift

Samantha Bee had something about this a while back so I’m excited to do a deeper dive.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

With the movie getting so much buzz, I thought the book deserved reading