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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #827, Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? ~ “Pretty Woman” (1990)
by muffy
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, * a debut novel by Tom Hanks, who needs no introduction, is about the making of a star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film and the comic books that inspire it.
This is one title that you could do no wrong with either the print, eBook, or the audiobook format.
First, the audiobook… narrated by the author and joined by an accomplished ensemble cast is simply delightful, at times laugh-out-loud funny. In the print (and eBook) formats, interspersed throughout are three comic books that are featured in the story, all created by Tom Hanks himself, including the one that becomes the official tie-in for “Knightshade: The Lathe of Firefall, a mashup of Marvel-esque superhero fare, war story, and artsy melodrama “ (Kirkus Reviews)
1947, Bob Falls, the World War II vet who served as a flamethrower in the Pacific theater, returns home to Lone Butte, California and meets his nephew Robby Andersen, then disappears for the next 23 years.
In 1970, Robby, now an underground comic books author in Oakland, California, reconnects with his uncle and creates a comic book series titled The Legend of Firefall, inspired by his uncle's wartime experiences.
In the present day, Bill Johnson, a successful Hollywood director acquires the Firefall property and decides to turn it into a contemporary superhero movie, and charges his small army of actors, assistants, and technicians with shooting the film in Lone Butte, to help him meet deadlines and stay on budget.
“The writing is spot-on, bringing to the novel all the passion Hanks feels about his profession: 'Making movies is complicated, maddening, highly technical at times, ephemeral and gossamer at others, slow as molasses on a Wednesday but with a gun-to-the-head deadline on a Friday.' The whole book is like that: lovingly crafted, a wildly entertaining story beautifully told. If you love movies, you'll love this book.” (Booklist)
* = Starred review
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #826, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde
by muffy
2022 National Book Award finalist, and The New York TIme Book Review Editors’ Choice, All This Could be Different * * * * by Sarah Thankam Mathews (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), is a “darkly witty and finely wrought exploration of the struggle to embrace one's identity, this debut also illuminates the hardships of immigrant life, the elusiveness of lasting romantic love - and ultimately the joy and belonging that can come from a 'family' of friends.” (People Magazine)
During the mid-2000s recession, 22 year-old Indian immigrant Sneha, a recent college graduate, is fortunate to land an entry-level job in Milwaukee, “where she tries on adulthood like an ill-fitting suit.” (Kirkus Reviews) No longer under the watchful eyes of her traditional parents, Sneha scours online dating apps for other queer women, befriends (An)Tig(one) Clay, a philosophy student, and develops a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful older white dancer.
But before long, trouble arrives - her boss stops paying her, the landlord threatens eviction, and a childhood trauma demands to be reckoned with. It's then that Tig begins to draw up a radical solution to their problems, hoping to save them all.
“Recounting this heady time a decade or so later, Sneha is a magnetic teller of her tale of finding love, growing up, and summoning the power to change--and choose--her life. Kindred to Brandon Taylor's stellar Real Life (2020), this novel burrows deep.” (Booklist)
The Skin and its Girl * * by Sarah Cypher (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook).
Elspeth Noura Rummani is born in a Pacific Northwest hospital, the very day her Palestinian family’s centuries-old soap factory in Nablus is destroyed in an air strike by the Israeli military. An infant with impossibly cobalt-blue skin, she is refused by the lesbian couple intent on adopting her.
With her neuroscientist mother, Tashi, emotional fragile and battling mental illness, great-aunt Nuha, the matriarch and keeper of the family lore, raises her as Betty, believing that the blue girl embodies their sacred history, when the Rummanis were among the wealthiest soap-makers and their blue soap was a symbol of a legendary love.
Decades later, Betty returns to Aunt Nuha's gravestone, faced with a difficult decision: Should she stay in the only country she's ever known, or should she follow her heart and the woman she loves, perpetuating her family's cycle of exile? Betty finds her answer in partially translated notebooks that reveal her aunt's complex life and struggle with her own sexuality. The Skin and Its Girl is a searing, poetic tale about desire and identity, and a provocative exploration of how we let stories divide, unite, and define us--and wield even the power to restore a broken family.
Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook). Frustrated artist Dawn Levit works as a conservator/ bookbinder at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while spending most of her time scouting the city’s street art for inspiration. Genderfluid, she presents as female at work and is concerned that her musician boyfriend Lukas increasingly seems to be attracted to her when she's at her most masculine.
Then, one day at work, Dawn finds something hidden behind the endpaper of an old book she is restoring - the torn-off cover of a '50s lesbian pulp novel, Turn Her About, with what appears to be a love letter in German written on the back.
“The discovery leads to unexpected adventures as she becomes obsessed with tracking down the mysterious note's elusive author even as she questions her own complicated identity. A bookbinder herself, Savran Kelly is also a fine writer, and her debut novel is smooth and involving." (Booklist)
Endpapers will appeal to readers of queer, nonbinary, or trans fiction like Torrey Peters' Detransition, Baby as well as anyone who loves character-driven, setting-rich stories like Tell the Wolves I'm Home or The Immortalists.
* * * * = 4 starred reviews
* * = 2 starred reviews
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #825, Spotlight on the Michigan Connection
by muffy
Wade in the Water * (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) by Nyaneba Nkrumah (MFA, University of Michigan) is the unlikely friendship between a precocious black girl and a mysterious white woman in rural, segregated Ricksville, Mississippi in the early 1980s.
11 year-old Ella, the product of a fling between her mother and a black man is ignored by her mother, abused by her stepfather - her only friend being the blind old Mr. McCade. Love-starved but wise beyond her years, she is fascinated by Katherine St. James, a white graduate student, newly arrived from Princeton on a research project, who chooses to rent in the Black half of town. Curious and suspicious, most of the Black folks stay away except for Ella who eagerly befriends Katherine.
In a series of flashbacks, we learn that Katherine St. James used to be Kate Summerville, daughter of a notorious Mississippi Ku Klux Klan leader in nearby Philadelphia, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. The family fled north after the killings of three voting-rights activists, and the case remains unsolved.
“What looks like it could be a narrative of atonement and redemption is turned completely on its head in the final chapters, as more details on Katherine's involvement with her father are presented - some to the community, some only to the reader. Nkrumah seems to agree with Faulkner, who said, "The past is never dead. It's not even past…. A furious look at the long tail of Jim Crow, with lively writing and a well-drawn setting. A promising debut.” (Kirkus Reviews)
Moonrise Over New Jessup * (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) by Jamila Minnicks (UM), the winner of the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, is a period novel set in the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, and “brilliantly presents the Black struggle through an anti-integration lens that is equally powerful and persuasive.” (Booklist)
1957. Alice Young steps off the bus in New Jessup, on the way to Chicago to reunite with her sister, in hope of starting a new life. In this unique settlement founded by a coalition of Black families who believed in the ideas of separation espoused by Booker T. Washington, Alice finds warm welcome, lodging, and a job sewing in a dress shop, and soon falls in love with Raymond Campbell, son of one of the town’s founders.
As they marry and raise a family, Alice becomes aware of Raymonds clandestine involvement with National Negro Advancement Society, ideals that the town frown upon, believing it will draw unwanted and dangerous attention from the white side of town and the law. Alice must find a way to balance her undying support for Raymond’s underground work with her desire to protect New Jessup from the rising pressure of upheaval.
Based on the history of the many Black towns and settlements established across the country, “(a)n outstanding writer, Minnicks excels at capturing the atmosphere and issues of a specific locale at a particular time, the Deep South at the dawn of the civil rights era.” (Library Journal)
The One by Julia Argy (MFA in fiction from the UM Helen Zell Writers' Program, 2021) (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) is a razor-sharp and seductively hypnotic debut novel about the very fantasy of falling in love.
20-something Emily Boylan just lost her job as an adm. assistant, never mind she does maybe 10 mins of real work every day, and she is determined to move forward. So when she is approached on a Boston street by Miranda, a TV producer for the hit reality dating show The One, to join the cast after a contestant backed out at the last minute, she's on board. But the moment Emily arrives on location, it becomes clear she's been tapped to win it all, after meeting Dylan Walter and the other 29 women vying for his proposal. And as Emily's fascination with another contestant grows, both Emily and Miranda are forced to decide what it is they really want--and what they are willing to do to get it. A brilliant send-up of our cultural mythology around romance, The One examines the reality of love and desire set against a world of ultimate artifice and manipulation.
“Fans of reality TV will appreciate the insider feel first-time novelist Argy creates for her version of a very famous dating show, with the addition of cheeky suggestions of the secret motivations of some contestants that have nothing to do with love or marriage. The characters are flawed and likable, utterly convinced of the rightness of their participating in the unhealthy behaviors encouraged by the producers…A pop-culture send-up bound to inspire lively discussions.” (Booklist)
* = Starred review
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #824
by muffy
Named 2012 Sweden’s Book of the Year, and based on real events, (read The New York Times article) Stolen * by Ann-Helen Laestadius (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), is part coming-of-age story, part love song to a disappearing natural world, and part spotlight on an indigenous culture under siege.
On a winter day north of the Arctic Circle, 9 year-old Elsa skies alone to visit her beloved reindeer calf at the family’s corral, only to find notorious local poacher Robert Isaksson, standing over her brutally savaged calf. Threatened to silence in order to protect her Sami herder family, the police has no choice but to declare it another case of “stolen” animals instead of a crime.
Ten years on, Elsa is now working the family herd and teaching at the village school. In the intervening years, she has lost a beloved uncle to suicide, her brother becomes estranged from the family and yet, the torture and slaughter of the reindeer continues with the apathetic police force. Finally, Elsa decides to push back, with the help of a young journalist.
“The novel highlights the problems and issues the Sámi face - racism, loss of culture, alcoholism, suicide, governmental mistakes and neglect, and the devastating effects of climate change. “ (Library Journal)
“Of Sámi descent herself, award-winning journalist Laestadius offers a rare, multigenerational look at the diverse and deep-rooted cultural heritage of this traditional arctic community. Akin to gritty stories of Old West cattle rustlers evading the law and society, Laestadius' unvarnished saga demonstrates the universality of oppression and revenge and conflicts over land and race.” (Booklist)
Stolen is Laestadius’ (English language) first adult novel and is being adapted into a film for Netflix.
* = Starred review
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #823 - The 1%
by muffy
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (also available as eBook and audiobook) is a deliciously funny, sharply observed “comedy of manners, charting the fates of the Stockton siblings and their spouses…A wealthier cousin of Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest. ” (Kirkus Reviews)
The Stocktons, residents of Brooklyn Heights’ renowned fruit streets are the product of generational wealth and capitalist success. Cord, middle-child and the only son, had just moved into the family home recently vacated by his parents, downsizing to a nearby condo. His wife Sasha, a successful graphic designer from a middle class family, secretly referred to by his sisters as "the GD" (gold digger) because of her hesitation in signing a pre-nup, is struggling to fit in with this tight-knit family.
Darley, the eldest daughter who gave up her banking career for motherhood, regrets renouncing her inheritance when she married Malcolm, a first generation Korean American, now that a scandal has derailed Malcolm's career. Party-girl Georgiana, the youngest, considers herself a “do-gooder”, works for a non-profit and is secretly involved with a colleague while no one cares to tell her he is married.
“Jenny Jackson has written a lovely, absorbing, acutely observed novel about class, money and love. These are the themes of Henry James and Jane Austen, but they are observed with a fresh eye and a contemporary voice. Who wouldn’t want to read Pineapple Street?” ~ Nick Hornby
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #822 - Resourceful Women
by muffy
The Bandit Queens * * by Parini Shroff (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) is “a darkly hilarious take on gossip, caste, truth, village life, and the patriarchy….. A perfect match for fans of Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer (2018) and clever, subversive storytelling.“ (Booklist)
Ever since her abusive husband Ramesh disappeared five years ago, Geeta has become a social piranha in their small Indian village. She is feared and ostracized - for rumor has it that Geeta killed him. It turns out being a "self-made" widow has its perks…freedom. When a member of her microloan group (that funds her thriving wedding jewelry business) consults her for her “expertise” in husband disposal, it sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything, not just for Geeta, but for all the women in their village.
Inspired by the resourcefulness of Phoolan Devi, the Bandit Queen (the subject of a 1994 featured film), a folk heroine who exacted revenge on her abusers, Geeta reluctantly agrees to help Farah kill her husband. In the process, Geeta connects with widower Karem, a gentle and kind bootlegger, and her estranged childhood friend Saloni, fortuitous because bigger troubles come knocking at her door.
“Shroff deals sharply with misogyny and abuse, describing the misery inflicted as well as its consequences in unflinching detail, and is equally unsparing in her depictions of mean-girl culture in the village. Readers are in for a razor-stuffed treat.” (Publishers Weekly)
Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man, the first in the Girl Friday Mystery by Emily J. Edwards (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook). New York City, 1950. Viviana Valentine is girl Friday to Tommy Fortuna, a private eye working out of Hell’s Kitchen. When fabulously wealthy Tallmadge Blackstone hires Tommy to tail his 18 year-old daughter Tallulah, who is resistant to marry his partner, the much older Webber Harrington-Whitley, it looks like routine business, and it will pay the bills.
At a society event, Viviana meets the delightful Tallulah. Unfortunately, before she could report to Tommy the next day, she finds a lifeless body on the office floor and Tommy missing. The cops, led by Detective Jake Lawson who finds Tommy’s business tactics questionable at best, is quick to issue a warrant for his arrest. It is now up to Viviana to take on the Blackstone case, and to clear Tommy’s name.
“Though the mystery doesn’t seem to be up to much, Edwards sneaks in a raft of twists and complications under your guard, and the big reveal is surprisingly big and revealing. Just what 1950s men’s magazine fiction would be like if it were written by and about women.” (Kirkus Reviews)
The Socialite's Guide to Murder: A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery by S. K. Golden (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) a series debut perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.
1958. 21 year-old Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, heiress to The Pinnacle Hotel, one of New York City’s premier hotels, is privileged, pampered and frankly, spoiled. Since finding her mother’s body in an alley when she was six, she suffers from agoraphobia, and rarely if ever, leaves the hotel. From her perch in the penthouse suite and the hotel staff at her disposal, life is grand, until a valuable painting in a splashy affair goes missing, and the artist murdered in the hotel corridor, following a violent confrontation with her best friend, actor Henry Fox. Before Evelyn could prove Henry’s innocence, the head of hotel security is arrested.
Enlisting the help of bellboy/her secret crush, Malcolm "Mac" Cooper, they pick locks, snoop around the hotel, and discover the walls around them contain more secrets than they previously knew. Now, Evelyn must force herself to leave the hotel to follow the clues to find the murderer. “Suggest to readers who enjoyed other hotel-set mysteries with young amateur sleuths, like Nita Prose's The Maid and Audrey Keown's Murder at Hotel 1911.” (Library Journal)
* * = 2 starred reviews
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #821, Spotlight on Indigenous Voices
by muffy
One of CrimeRead’s Best November Novels, and USA Today’s 15 great reads to honor Native American History Month (according to Goodreads), White Horse * * by Erika T. Wurth (she is of Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee descent) is part horror novel, part detective story (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook), that's perfect for fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Catriona Ward . (Library Journal)
The title, taken from the name of the Denver bar where our protagonist Kari James often parks herself for cold beers and hot metal. It is where she meets up with her cousin Debby, who presents her with a beaded bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother, a woman who disappeared just two days after Kari was born.
Every time she puts on the bracelet, it causes Kari to see the ghost of her mother - screaming, bloody, and crying for help, and she wonders for the first time if her mother's disappearance wasn't all it appeared to be. Growing up, her permanently-disabled father and Auntie Squeaker were mum on the subject, forcing Kari now on a quest to uncover what really happened, and the truth long denied by both her family and law enforcement forces.
“Wurth creates a compelling world that feels so real it's easy to forget you're reading a work of fiction. She allows readers to truly get inside Kari's head, and they will ache for her as she leaves no stone unturned in her investigation. White Horse is a must-read for anyone fond of ghost stories and the horror genre, as Wurth's voice is both authentic and insistent.” (Booklist)
Longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize, A Minor Chorus * * * by Canadian poet Billy-Ray Belcourt, a Lambda Literary Award winner, and a member of the Driftpile Cree Nation, which the BookPage reviewer called “a feat of technical brilliance… a slippery, scholarly work, rooted in the layered complexity of Indigenous life."
Our protagonist is a queer Indigenous doctoral student in Northern Alberta who temporarily steps away from his dissertation on critical theory, and returns home to write a novel, informed by his conversations with fellow doctoral student River over the mounting pressure placed on marginalized scholars; with Michael, a closeted man from his hometown whose vulnerability and loneliness punctuate the realities of queer life on the fringe; and memories of cousin Jack, trapped in the awful cycle of police violence, drugs, and despair. In between, he has casual sex, analyzing the differences between rural and urban Grindr profiles and hookups.
“Belcourt's smart, thoughtful writing will appeal to readers who prize introspection over plot, and is also a great crossover for memoir readers.” (Booklist)
“Belcourt weaves in a steady stream of references to work by Judith Butler, Roland Barthes, and Maggie Nelson without losing narrative momentum, and he delivers incendiary reflections on the costs, scars, and power of history and community. This is a breathtaking and hypnotic achievement.” (Publishers Weekly)
Readers might also want to check out the other titles on Oprah Daily’s 31 Native American Authors to Read Right Now.
* * * = 3 starred reviews
* * = 2 starred reviews
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #820
by muffy
The Cloisters, * a debut by art history professor and museum professional Katy Hays is a gripping tale of “Murder! Occult! Obsession”, (Kirkus Reviews) set at the famed The MET Cloisters. (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook)
Ann Stilwell, a Whitman graduate still mourning the sudden death of her father, is glad to turn her back on Walla Walla where she has lived all her life, and heads to NYC for a summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upon arrival, she learns the offer has been rescinded and she is reassigned to The Cloisters, after a chance meeting with Curator Patrick Roland. Being a skilled linguist, Ann will be working with the medieval art collection, preparing for an upcoming exhibition of the arcane history of divination and the Tarot. Reserve and alone in a new city, Ann is surprised and pleased to be befriended by the beautiful and supremely competent Rachel Mondray, a fellow intern, and Leo, The Cloisters' gardener.
When Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future, she keeps it a secret, a secret she shares only with Rachel. Soon academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession. The dangerous game of power, seduction and ambition at The Cloisters among the researchers eventually turns deadly.
“Hays carefully leaves the supernatural elements open to interpretation, and Ann's summer is ultimately shaped by a tragedy with a traceably human cause. Readers will be fascinated by the evocative setting as well as the behind-the-scenes glimpses into museum curatorship and the cutthroat games of academia. It makes for an accomplished debut.” (Publishers Weekly)
* = Starred review
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #819, Small (Texas) Towns, Big Secrets
by muffy
They might be flying under the media radar, but these two debuts are not to be missed….
In Olympus, Texas * * * by Stacey Swann (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) the Briscoe family is well known in this part of east Texas.
Indiscretions and infidelity run through the generations. Peter, the patriarch, a real estate tycoon with a notorious roving eye, has exhausted his long-suffering wife June’s good will and forgiveness with his many affairs, and his ”other” family, twins Arlo & Arti, fathered with his mistress Lee.
After being caught having an affair with his brother Hap’s wife, Vera, youngest son March has just returned to town after an absence of 2 years. Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of allies are tested.
“Swann's debut is rich in Texas flavor and full of nods to classical mythology—quotes from Ovid, twins human and canine, and the kind of relentless bad luck that usually means you've offended a deity. A total page-turner.” (Kirkus reviews)
“Similar in tenor and tone to Brady Udall's The Lonely Polygamist (2010) and Cristina Alger's The Darlings (2012), Swann's rich and compelling novel will delight anyone anxiously awaiting the next season of HBO's Succession.” (Booklist)
AUDIO PICK
One of Kirkus Review's Most Anticipated Fall Books, The Old Place * * by Texas native/Brooklyn podcaster (Who? Weekly) Bobby Finger (also in downloadable eBook) is set in Billington, Texas. "Reminiscent of Alice Elliott Dark’s novel Fellowship Point (a tale of two New England dowagers), it focuses on best friends and neighbors Mary Alice Roth and Ellie Hall and their deeply intertwined past and present." (BookPage)
For the first time in almost 4 decades, high school math teacher Mary Alice is at loose ends, having been forced into retirement, and decides to rekindle a lapsed relationship with her neighbor Ellie. It used be they were each other’s best friends. Ellie, recently divorced, is a nurse at a nearby hospital when she moved next door with her 12 year-old son Kenny, the same age as widowed Mary Alice’s son Michael. The boys quickly became inseparable, until a tragedy took them both the morning after their high school graduation.
As Mary Alice and Ellie make effort to renew their friendship with morning coffees, their routine is upended with the arrival of Mary Alice’s sister Katherine, with news that would expose the many secrets she has been keeping from the citizens of Billington, especially from Ellie.
“Finger handles the nature of Kenny and Michael’s friendship and the town’s reaction with unexpected nuance, showing the problematic confusion in how people see themselves, see others, and assume they are seen by others. What could have turned melodramatic becomes an exploration of the danger of unnecessary secrets. A surprising page-turner—homey, funny, yet with dark corners of anger and grief.” (Kirkus Reviews)
* * * = 3 starred reviews
* * = 2 starred reviews
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Fabulous Fiction Firsts #818, Do You Believe in Magic?
by muffy
In Thistlefoot, * * * (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) poet/folklorist Genna Rose Nethercott “brings strong gifts to bear on this retelling of Slavic folktales. . . . at once a modern folktale, a road trip-like saga, and a chiller featuring ghosts, golems, and flesh-eating witches.” (Library Journal, “Top Fall Debut Novels”)
In the tradition of modern fairy tales like Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, Thislefoot is the saga of estranged siblings - Bellatine and Isaac, the youngest living direct descendants of Baba Yaga, who found themselves recipients of a bequest. The siblings agreed to meet at the Port Authority of New York though they have not seen each other for six years ever since Isaac took to the road at 17. When they opened the enormous crate, they found Baba Yaga’s famous chicken-legged hut. When actor/shape-shifter Isacc saw how woodworker Bellatine was immediately enamored with Thistlefoot, he made her a deal - if they would tour their family’s puppet show for one year, he would trade his half of Thistlefoot for the proceeds.
Unbeknown to them, a sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has been stalking the hut since 1919 and seeks to destroy it--and the Yagas--once and for all.
“Nethercott's quiet, lyrical, yet potent prose likewise breathes life into this stirring, multigenerational fairy tale, which suggests that you will always carry your ancestors' suffering within you, even when you know little of your own family history. In some chapters, the wise, cynical Thistlefoot speaks to the reader directly, recalling its history with Baba Yaga, the witch from Slavic folklore, as well as chilling anecdotes of Jewish persecution in early twentieth-century Russia (now Ukraine). This fable about fables reminds us of the staying power of stories, even as they evolve or contradict themselves over time. “ (Booklist)
BONUS FEATURE
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, * * * by Sangu Mandanna (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook).
From an early age, Mika Moon, an orphan from a long-line of witches in India, is told to keep her magic hidden, for her own safety. Raised in isolation by Primrose, a family friend and head of a secret British coven, as an adult, Mika takes to the internet and posts videos in which she “pretends” to be a witch. Then comes the invitation by Ian Kubo-Hawthorn, a retired actor, inviting her to Nowhere House, and tutor 3 young orphaned witches how to control their magic.
What Mika finds is a warm and loving household, all except for the "devastatingly handsome" Jamie Kelly, the house librarian, who is overly protective of little witches. Together they must learn to trust each other if they are going to survive the upcoming visit from the lawyer of the absent family matriarch that could mean the end of this found-family.
“The world Mandanna has created is exceedingly cozy and heartfelt, full of people bursting with love who have trouble expressing it due to trauma in their pasts. From the three magical girls to the elderly gay caretakers to the hot, young Irish librarian, each resident of Nowhere House is a lovingly crafted outcast reaching for family. Various threads laid out seemingly haphazardly through the story all come together in surprising ways… A magical tale about finding yourself and making a found family that will leave the reader enchanted. “ (Kirkus Reviews)
“This sweet and sometimes steamy fantasy romance will appeal to fans of TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) or Karen Hawkins' The Book Charmer (2019).” (Booklist)
Acts of Violet (also in downloadable eBook and audiobook) by Margarita Montimore, is “(a) winding tale of two sisters pulled together and pushed apart by fame, magic, and the cult of celebrity.” (Kirkus Reviews)
10 years ago, Violet Volk, a celebrated stage magician on one-night only performance, managed a remarkable stunt onstage: she vanished. As the anniversary of the disappearance approaches, her hold on her fans (called the wolf packs, the meaning of Volkov in Russia) and on the public imaginations is stronger than ever. Cameron Frank, host of a fledgling podcast “Strange Exits” is devoting the season to all things Violet. He fully comprehends that securing an interview with Sasha, Violet’s quiet and publicity-shy sister would very well guarantee a next season with the network.
“Supplementing the straightforward prose with a slew of narrative devices that include tabloid articles, email exchanges, and podcast transcripts, Montimore achieves a thoughtful, panoramic portrait of larger-than-life Violet while underscoring Sasha's pain as she tries to grieve under an unforgiving public eye. This spellbinding effort delivers its fair share of magic.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Montimore's (Oona Out of Order, 2020) second novel illuminates the darker side of fame as it highlights the burdens borne by family members and casts a wry eye on the true-crime phenomenon. Fans of Nicole Baart and Kelly Harms will enjoy Sasha's and Violet's sisterly contrasts: the shared frustrations between a pragmatic people-pleaser and an audacious extrovert. Like an enthralling magic trick itself, Acts of Violet asks readers to suspend their disbelief and rewards them for the effort.” (Booklist)
* * * = 3 starred reviews