Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott...

 

JAY:  "I'm a national park ranger, not some Prince Charming, who swoops in on his noble steed to save the princess and falls in love at first sight. Rescuing a damsel in distress is something best left to fairy tales."

DAISY:  "For his thirtieth birthday, my boyfriend Tye decided to hike the Appalachian Trail. For the record, that's over two thousand miles. He promised it would be an 'epic adventure.' I said yes. Love makes us do crazy things."

THE PLOT IN BRIEF:  When an early snowstorm sweeps through the Great Smoky Mountains, Jay and Olive take shelter in a small moonshiner cabin to wait out the storm. It's Jay's job to protect the thru-hikers. And Olive? She broke up with her boyfriend back in the Berkshires and is now hiking alone. They're both a bit prickly, and neither are looking for love, but they can't deny the attraction they feel for each other. And there's nothing to do at the cabin but talk and get to know each other better. There's a definite spark between them, but then the snow clears and they have to return to the real world.

WHAT I LIKED:  I've always loved books where people get snowed in; I just can't resist them. And I've always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail, so that was another draw. Plus, Jay's an ornithologist and Olive's become an enthusiastic birder, so that was fun, too. I enjoyed Jay's and Olive's humorous banter and sarcastic digs. And I liked that they were both characters with layers. And the romance? I liked that a lot, too. This was a fun read, and I look forward to reading Prescott's next book.

THE ONE THING I DIDN'T LOVE:  It's written in present tense, which is NOT my favorite, but Prescott did it so well I ended up not minding it at all.

HAPPY READING!

Haiku Reviews...

 

Safe by S.K. Barnett

Missing for twelve years, 

Jenny's come home. Safe at last!

Or is it all lies?

Psychological thriller .... 319 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

Murder at Queen's Landing by Andrea Penrose

Murder. Missing friends. Math.

It's another mystery for

Wrexford and Charlotte.

Historical fiction/mystery .... 360 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(I love this series!)

In the Dark by Loreth Anne White

Eight guests haunted by

past lies are now hunted in a

twisted game of death.

Psychological thriller .... 399 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

 "Our train got snowed up and I and some others tried to walk across country to another station, Hemmersby, but the snow was so bad that we got lost, and then I fainted like a fool, twisting my foot, and a young man carried me to the house where we now are and may have to stay till the snow stops if it ever will. It's funny because although no one is here the tea was laid and the fires going....Of course, it's a funny situation."

 

Heavy snowfall forces seven strangers to seek shelter in a deserted country house. Only, one of the seven might be a murderer. And there's something strange, almost eerie, about the portrait over the mantel as well as the house. One man, who claims to be psychic, says it's haunted. And where are the house's inhabitants? It's a mystery. Outside it just keeps snowing and snowing. And did I mention it's Christmas Eve?

My thoughts:  I always enjoy reading these British Library Crime Classics! There's an old-fashioned charm about them that I really like. They're not usually super suspenseful, but there's always a puzzle to be solved and some thoughtful sleuthing to be done. I appreciate the 1930s dialogue. And the plucky characters, too. They're never perfect reads, but they're always good fun. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Happy Reading!

Other British Library Crime Classics:

Murder in the Museum by John Rowland

Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton

Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay

Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon

The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley

Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon

Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho

 

From the blurb:  "Eighteen-year-old Lee Somin's heart is breaking. Her friends are grieving: Jihoon the loss of his beloved grandmother, and Miyoung the loss of her mother and her fox bead--her immortal gumiho soul. Somin, who is no stranger to loss, wants to help them pick up the pieces and move on with their lives, but neither seems to want her help. As Jihoon and Miyoung become more distant, Somin finds unexpected comfort in Junu, everyone's not-so-favorite dokkaebi. 

"But before Somin and Junu can discover what's truly between them, the group of friends discovers the supernatural world isn't quite done with them. Somin is seeing ghosts on the streets of Seoul, and Junu is visited by a reaper from his past. Turns out, Miyoung's lost fox bead has caused a tear between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The only way to repair the rift is to find Miyoung's bead or for Miyoung to pay with her life."

My thoughts:  Melody and I read Kat Cho's first book, Wicked Fox, last year and we both really enjoyed it, especially Jihoon and Miyoung and all the Korean mythology surrounding them. So when Vicious Spirits came out this year we knew we wanted to read it together. And it's such a great sequel! I still love Jihoon and Miyoung, but I really enjoyed getting to know Somin and Junu better. Somin is rebellious and feisty and very protective of her friends. Her verbal sparring matches with Junu made me smile. And Junu's history as a dokkaebi, or goblin, adds such an interesting layer to the story. When someone from his past returns to threaten him and his three friends...that's when the supernatural suspense really begins to build. Kudos to Kat Cho for writing such an entertaining and fun duology. And thanks, Melody, for suggesting we read these books in the first place. I'm very glad we did. Be sure to check out Melody's review of this one.

And happy reading!

Melody's questions:

Q. The mythological characters in this book are said to be immortal even though they can be killed through other means. Based on your opinions formed from this book, do you think it is a good thing to be immortal? 

A. None of the immortal characters in this book--Junu, the gumiho, the reaper--seem very happy with their immortality. The weight of all those years, and all the things they'd done in the past that they now regret, makes me think immortality is not all it's cracked up to be. It was the human characters in this book who seemed the most content with their lives.

Q. Which book of this duology is your favorite and why?

A. That's a hard question to answer, because I liked both books a lot. The first book is more about Jihoon and Miyoung, two characters I really love. And this one focuses more on Somin and Junu. I guess if I had to pick I'd say Vicious Spirits, but only because the ending of Wicked Fox leaves you hanging just a bit, and this book wraps everything up so happily. 

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week's theme is all about fun holiday/seasonal books, whether they have to do with winter, or Christmas, or snow. 

I didn't really have a plan for this one...I just found ten covers that I thought were fun. Here they are:

Blizzard by John Rocco

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Magic Under the Mistletoe by Lucy Coleman

Her Christmas Cowboy by Jessica Clare

Snowbound by Kim Golden

The Christmas Wish List by Heidi Swain

The Illustrated History of the Snowman by Bob Eckstein

Mystery at the Ski Jump by Carolyn Keene

Happy Reading!

A Christmas Romance...

 

Title & Author:  A Christmas Bride by Jo Ann Ferguson

Genre:  Regency Romance

First line:  "All we need to do is find you a fiancee by tomorrow."

Plot summary:  All Timothy Crawford's grandfather wants for his 70th birthday is to meet his grandson's fiancee, Serenity Adams. The only problem is that she doesn't exist; Timothy made her up. He's on his way to York to tell Lord Brookindale the truth when he happens upon an overturned carriage with an injured young woman inside who looks remarkably like his imaginary Serenity. She appears to be an abigail, but she doesn't remember her name, or who she works for, or where she's from. When Timothy's cousin explains Timothy's situation to her, she agrees to pretend to be his fiancee over Christmas. In return, he promises to help her figure out who she really is.

My thoughts:  Sweet and frothy are two words that perfectly describe this novel. And I don't mean that in a bad way. Serenity seems to fit right in with Timothy's family, and he quickly finds himself falling in love with her. But he also doesn't want to take advantage of her situation. Besides their romance, there's the intrigue surrounding Serenity's accident and true identity. Though that mystery is NOT the main focus of the story, it does add a little twist at the end. Ferguson also throws in a lot of time period slang throughout the book, words like betwattle and skimble-skamble. I felt it was a little overdone at times, but it was a small thing and easily overlooked. For the most part, this is a completely predictable bit of light-hearted fluff. But it's also a fun read. And knowing a happy ending is coming isn't a bad thing when it comes to a Christmas romance.

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig 

Christmas-y Haiku Reviews

The White Christmas Inn by Colleen Wright

December's bookish art...

William M. Hay -- A Funny Story, 1868

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends,

they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors,

and the most patient of teachers."

--Charles William Eliot