In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf

 "Papaw gave me his death-talking gift when I was only nine. He  told me what he could do, then he told me how to use the secret Bible verses to do it. The gift jumped out of him and into me."

"There are only a few rules for death-talking. If you tell someone the secret scriptures, your gift is gone. You can only pass it to someone of the opposite sex. If you die with your gift, it disappears forever. And you can't talk the death out of someone twice."

"What Papaw didn't tell me is how you shoulder a lifetime of guilt for all the souls you can't save. That I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it."

 

 My thoughts: I liked the combination of mystery and magical realism in this book. And I always love that small town Appalachia setting with its deep-rooted families (and all their secrets), their strange superstitions, and their herbal folk magic. And I really liked Weatherly Wilder with her eerie gift of saving lives with her death-talking, and her vulnerability, especially as she tries to prove who murdered her cousin, Adaire. There's also a mysterious Soul Walker named Rook, who is sometimes a boy, more often a crow; I loved his connection to Weatherly. There's great Southern atmosphere, a compelling voice, and several good twists. Poignant, gritty, and beautifully written, In the Hour of Crows is a captivating novel.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

 

May's Bookish Art...

 

Charles Edward Perugini -- In the Orangery

"Literature is my Utopia."

--Helen Keller

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

 

From the blurb:  "Yeongju is burned out. She did everything she was supposed to: go to school, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. In a leap of faith, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop." 

"In a quaint neighborhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster--and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju--they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live."

My thoughts:  My nephew recommended this book to me; he loves Korea, bookshops and reading, so this novel was right up his alley. I liked it, too. It's an introspective character-driven novel set in a bookshop. What's not to love? All the characters are struggling to find happiness in a society where achievement and career success take precedence over personal fulfillment. Hwang Bo-reum describes it this way:  "Everyone in the novel is taking small steps forward, whether it's learning something new, or making a change to their lives. What they're doing might be far from achieving what society deems as success, but ...how others judge where they stand doesn't matter to them. The fact that they've progressed, and are happy where they are, is sufficient." This book is an interesting look at Korean culture and societal pressures. I thought some of the chapters dragged a bit, but I liked all the characters, and enjoyed the story overall. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite quote from the book:  "...happiness is never beyond reach. It's not in the distant past, nor on the horizon of the future. It's right in front of me. Like that day's beer, and today's quince tea. ... I think life becomes easier knowing that happiness is not that far out of reach."

Happy Reading! 

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

 

The plot:  Awakening Entertainment is about to launch their newest initiative: MetaChildren--children that exist entirely in the Metaverse. But first it's hosting a new competition reality show called The Family Experiment where four couples and one singleton get the chance to raise a virtual child from birth to age 18 over the next nine months. Millions of viewers will watch the livestream and vote for the winners. The prize? The right to keep their virtual child...or risk it all for the chance to have a real baby. 

My thoughts:  Set in the near-future, Marrs explores an unsettling and thought-provoking 'what if' scenario and all its unintended consequences. What if people could raise a virtual child as a replacement for having real children? 

I loved that he played out his scenario in the form of an immersive reality livestreaming show. The couples were all flawed and had some dark secrets in their pasts that led to some very unexpected twists and turns along the way. They weren't necessarily likable, but their stories were all compelling! This is one of those books that pulls you in from the first page and keeps you reading (and guessing) until the very end. I really appreciate the way Marrs writes. This book is set in the same world as his novel, The One, which I also enjoyed. I like that his novels are unique and always surprise me in some way. This one is definitely darker than The One--there's no real happy endings here--but it's very much a 4-star read!

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

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

This week's theme is AUTHORS WHO LIVE IN MY STATE. Or books by them. 

So, here's my list of 10 UTAH AUTHORS along with the cover of one of their books. Enjoy!

Jessica Day George

Brandon Mull

Julianne Donaldson

Ally Condie

Brandon Sanderson

Dan Wells

Charlie N. Holmberg

Jennifer A. Nielsen

Gerald N. Lund

Lisa Mangum

Happy Reading!

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

 

The plot:  A man falls from the top of a cliff in Wales. His last words: Why didn't they ask Evans? Bobby Jones is the only one to hear him. In the dead man's pocket is the photograph of a hauntingly lovely young woman. But at the inquest, the dead man's sister looks nothing like the photograph. And then an attempt is made on Bobby's life. And he and his childhood friend, Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent, start to think that the dead man might have been murdered. So they come up with a scheme to look into the matter themselves.

My thoughts:  I never know how much to say about a mystery like this. But I do think that the less you know going in the better. And Agatha Christie's mysteries are always full of hidden clues and unexpected surprises. I've been working my way through her books and quite enjoy them. There's no Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple to solve the murder in this one, but Bobby and Frankie make for two delightful amateur sleuths. They get into several entertaining escapades along the way, and their interactions are pretty funny. I liked them. And the mystery itself kept me guessing. Though I thought it got a little too convoluted. And I didn't love the long letter at the end explaining all the reasons and details of the crime. But it was still a fun read.  3.5/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

Recently finished reading:  Her Dying Secret by Lisa Regan.

This is the 20th Detective Josie Quinn mystery and it's another good one! I really like Josie and her husband, Noah, who is also a police detective. And their cases always have a compelling twist. These books read fast, and while I'd always recommend starting with the first one, Vanishing Girls, Regan does an excellent job of giving you all the information you need to enjoy this one, even if you haven't read any of the others. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recently bought this fun "Reading is my Superpower" tee shirt:

(It makes me happy.)

And last, but not least, my favorite glad things from last month:

• A fun afternoon playing Tobago with my sister.
• African violets blooming on my windowsill.
• Birding on Antelope Island (a state park in Utah on the Great Salt Lake) with my niece and nephew where we saw among other birds Western Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Burrowing Owls, two Great-Horned Owls guarding their babies, lots of Avocets, a Kestrel...and a porcupine sleeping high up in a Cottonwood tree. It was the cutest thing ever!
• Celebrating my neighbor's 95th birthday.
• The delicious scent of lilacs outside my window.
• Lunch with a friend. (Pera Pizza and a Strawberry Italian Float at Pizzeria Limone--YUM!)
• Observing Easter and remembering with deep gratitude and joy the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.