January is nearly gone. We’ve finally gotten cold, and snow had started to stick. (Although, as I write this it is raining and melting.)
Over the past year, I’ve been learning the more technical details of crafting a good story, and honing editing/proofreading skills. Lately, I’ve also been reading a lot. I love getting lost in a good book. I thought I’d share some of those books with you.
The Winter of the Witch is the third book in the series, The Bear and the Nightingale. I have enjoyed the series, although there were a few things I could do with out. (For sensitive readers, such as myself, there are several instances of the word b—h, and in this particular book, mostly in reference to a dog with nursing puppies.)
You can read my reviews for The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower here at my book blog.
Again, I enjoyed this book. I enjoy the way author Katherine Arden writes, the way she weaves her words. But there were a few things I didn’t care for.
The story picks up where The Girl in the Tower left off. A growing mob wants Vasya dead, endangering Vasya’s sister Olga and her family. So Vasya faces the peril head on, and goes into Midnight. Meanwhile, Russia is on the brink of war, the bear is again lose, and Morozko is trapped.
Sensitive Reader warning: Some language, nudity, and some sensuality. (the b word, Vasya gets naked a few times, such as a scene were she is drying her clothes, and there’s a mostly fade to black sex scene in the bathhouse.)
This book was a lot of fun. This book starts after Flower Boy Tour Guide, where we first met our leading lady, Letty.
We start off at the airport, where a classic K-drama scene unfolds. Letty literally bumps into her favorite star and becomes an overnight gossip sensation. Not to miss out on the free publicity, the Kpop singers agency launches a web show, Marry My Stalker. Because Letty doesn’t speak Korean, she gets her own charming translator, Ben.
From the array of reality brides, to the camera crew, the Kpop stars themselves, and to Letty’s developing relationships with her co-stars and translator, this story will keep you turning (digital) pages.
A delightful modern day fairy tale.
Only $0.99 today, January 23, 2019.
(this review also appears on my book blog.)
I’ve long been a fan of Carrie Fisher. Princess Leia was my childhood hero. Star Wars was also the first VHS movie my parents purchased with our very first VCR. They asked my sister and I to choose the movie, and Star Wars it was. I cried when she died.
I was also a fan of Debbie Reynolds. I had first known of her from Charlotte’s Web, and that she was Carrie’s mother. (We watched the animated Charlotte’s web a lot after my sister died. And during that time, Leia was even more important. Leia had lost her family too. She had to be strong and carry on, too.)
I knew that Carrie had a brother, and I was interested in reading his book. He had been lucky to have his sister longer than I had, but we had both suffered a tragic loss, and there is a sad kinship to that.
I liked seeing things from Todd’s eyes. You can tell he loved his mother and sister. The hard part is knowing that it’s only his version, and because it’s in his point of view, things are missing. There were a few things that were TMI about his personal relationships. I didn’t need to know that.
What I liked the most was, how valued family was. That they didn’t give up on Carrie. They didn’t give up on family.
Now, at the time I write this, the kindle edition of this book is $1.99. If you’ve been waiting to get a copy, now is the time.
What books have you read recently? Let me know in the comments!
Erica Laurie 
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