strange and random happenstance

Bookstore: Bookworm Books

Location: Kennewick, Washington

The Official Patter: "Serving the Tri-Cities since 1974, we are a community staple. We sell new and used books, and encourage all bookworms to come on in and grab a great read. The Bookworm first opened in Richland and is now owned by Cindy and Mark Bitzer who are the the third owners. Cindy started as an employee in 2005 and bought the business with her husband in 2009 when the previous owner decided to retire. Being readers and fellow book lovers helps Bitzer and her employees make suggestions to customers looking for something new to try. Bookshelves hold many of the 250,000 books the Bookworm carries in stock. Comfortable chairs are arranged to give customers a chance to peruse their selections."

Why I Love Them: Bookworm Books is kind of an odd choice for me to include, mainly because I have dealt with them only the once, but it was so memorable, and they went over and above what I expect of a bookstore that they deserve to be featured here, even if our acquaintance to date is fleeting. From their pictures online they look like a wonderful little store, much like Books and Company in Oconomowoc. The kind of store that feels like one you'd stumble on during vacation, but also perfectly suited to cater to their local customers. I'm a huge fan of Patricia Briggs and seeing as her Mercy Thompson books are set in the Tri-Cities I like to think that Mercy herself has stopped by occasionally to pick up a book, we all know how much she hates large malls and Bookworm Books is in a cozy little L-shaped strip mall.

Best Buy: And it is because of Patricia Briggs that I reached out to Bookworm Books. On her 2016 book tour promoting Fire Touched Patty and her much missed husband Mike took ill and much of the tour was called off. Therefore she never made it to Murder By The Book and I was at loose ends as to where to get my signed copy. Thanks to NetGalley my buying patterns with my favorite authors have changed over the years because I usually have read an ARC of their recent books and then have the luxury of buying a signed copy online instead of racing to my Barnes and Noble on release day to devour the most recent story. And yes, this IS how it used to be, just ask my Dad who ran out to get me Patty's Fair Game when I was sick. That book literally healed me people! But back to Fire Touched. I saw she still had a signing coming up at Bookworm Books and being as it's near Patty's house I figured, even if she's sick she'll probably eventually show up and sign stock. Well the event went on but because of some snafu my copy was only signed, not inscribed. Instead of writing me an apology about this fact they instead had the store manager send the book to Patty who then resigned it and even did a coyote doodle! And they still apologized! Because having to send the book to Patty meant there was a delay in getting the book to me. I was literally sitting at my computer jaws gaping when they sent me this email. They were apologizing for fixing a problem that most bookstores would have just made me accept. But they "wanted to make sure it was signed as [I] requested." Seriously Bookworm Books, above and beyond, standing ovation here! Get on your feet people and give them the respect they deserve! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Above and Beyond, ARCs, Barnes and Noble, Books and Company, Bookworm Books, Coyote, Fair Game, Fire Touched, Kenniwick, Mercy Thompson, Netgalley, Patricia Briggs, Support Your Brick and Mortar, Tri-Cities

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
ARC Provided by the Publisher
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

The Fae have an interesting way of showing their displeasure. They disappeared into their reservations and have slowly been letting their more dangerous monsters into the world just to hint at what they could do, given the motivation. One of those monsters happens to be attacking the Cable Bridge which spans the Columbia River, right smack in the middle of the Colombia River Basin Pack's territory. Mercy and Adam's pack. The pack stops the troll, at the cost of the bridge, but luckily not at the cost of any lives. It is obvious that the Fae need to be brought to heel, and at just the right moment Tad and Zee walk back into Mercy's life perhaps with the answer. They have brought with them a young boy Aiden. Or at least Aiden was young once before the Fae and Underhill took him and played with him for perhaps centuries. He is now Fire Touched, but more importantly a link to Underhill. If there's anything the Fae want above all else it's to reestablish their link to Underhill and it's magics. The Fae want Aiden and Mercy has Aiden. Perhaps an agreement can be reached? But the Fae never play fair and attempt to take the boy by force, but Mercy has pledged the pack's protection, even at the risk to their own lives. Yet Aiden himself is dangerous and therefore negotiations are eventually opened. As Mercy and Adam journey into the realm of the Fae they will be lucky to survive whatever underhanded tricks might be headed their way, but a successful outcome could be a boon to all.

I feel like I've started my reviews for the last few Patricia Briggs books talking about the harsh realities of long running series and how some of the books just won't be as good as others. You're being judged against your best and therefore if you stumble, well, your book might be a higher rating for another author, but not for you. And it's not that I haven't liked continuing on these adventures with characters I view as my friends, I just haven't enjoyed the ride as much with these last few forays. The apex for me in recent years was 2011's River Marked. The reason that this book stands out is because the narrative was streamlined. There are a lot of characters inhabiting Mercy's world, some have even gotten their own stories or series, so it's hard to get them all in on the action. With Frost Burned, Night Broken, and now with Fire Touched, Briggs seems determined to bring everyone by the Hauptmans house just to say hi. This is making the books unwieldy, with these drops ins compromising the time in the book that should be spent on plot development. I would rather the story have a solid groundwork than have Mercy baking brownies for the pack with orange oil. Between the knock down drag out fights and Fae politics, I didn't feel as if there was actually anything to this installment.

In fact, my major grip over the recent books is the increasing time spent on pack politics and Mercy's unsuitability as a mate for Adam. Firstly, I think Mercy has proven time and time again that she is more than capable of being the Alpha's mate of the Colombia River Basin Pack. Isn't that basically what every book is? Showing her suitability? Therefore to have these politics brought up again and again, it is really starting to fray my nerves and try my patience. When it was decreed in this book that there would be no more pack political infighting about Mercy I quite literally shouted for joy. The biggest hurtle in my enjoyment in these recent installment had been removed, and quickly replaced with Fae politics. I mean seriously? I feel like Mercy, can I never catch a break? To finally remove the politics only to have OTHER politics fill the void? Ugh, you have got to be kidding me. I feel that this is some kind of punishment. At the end of Fair Game when the Fae basically declared war on humanity, I was really excited to see how it would all play out. I was hoping for all out war and bloodshed. I should have taken into account that I was thinking from a very human perspective. The Fae don't operate in expected ways; and therefore, the politics have taken over.

Here's the thing about me and politics. I don't like them. I avoid them at all costs. And not just governmental politics, oh no, even petty academic politics drive me round the bend. Some of the worst moments of my life have to do with getting my BA in Theatre and the weekly tech meetings we had that were never about what we needed to do and all about the politics of the department. I was once literally brought to tears. As for governmental politics, well, yes, I am paying attention at the moment because this is an election year, but if this wasn't the case I'd be attempting to bury my head in the sand. Now why would I want to read about politics give how much I hate them? The answer is that I don't. As for otherworldly politics? I want to read about them even less. The politics have taken over this series and if this doesn't change I seriously don't know what I'm going to do. There wasn't really a plot, there was no suspense, and if it wasn't for the last forth of this book nothing would have happened at all. Yes, a book CAN be all about politics. Should it? Not if you want me to read it. And of course, I know this book wasn't written just for me, but I'm sure there are people out there with the same aversion to politics as me who just want a cracking good story.

And yes, that means I want a story. I want a plot. I want some sort of narrative that combines what is bound between the two covers into a whole. I don't want politics, fight scene, politics, fight scene, politics, fight fight fight. I am not a fan of the big budget movies because I do not want to watch a three hour fight. I remember all my friends going on and on about how good the second Captain America movie is. So I watched it; and I hated it. In fact hate might be too weak a word for my feelings. All that movie was was one action scene after another. The first Captain America movie was more my style, a period superhero movie with an actual plot. But the thing is, plot is becoming less and less important in this age of spectacle. This is why I have given up on Marvel movies. In fact almost any "blockbuster" movie in general. Mad Max: Fury Road... Mad Eliza: Where's the Plot. Fire Touched felt like it wanted to be a blockbuster movie opening up on the big fight scene that decimated the Cable Bridge. If you think I tune out watching a fight, I tune out even more reading about a fight, because something in me just doesn't care to visualize it. Something in me just doesn't give a damn. I always think of that Eddie Izzard bit when he's talking about car chases in books... it's not that they don't happen, it's that they rarely work.

The redeeming factor of this book is that more mystical aspect of the Fae: Underhill. Underhill is that most interesting of places. This is the only mystery of the book, and that's because the whole place is a mystery, shifting and reshaping itself like a living breathing entity. The journey Mercy, Adam, and Aiden undertake in this realm focuses what was hundreds of pages of politics and pugilism into a story I was interested in. Fae politics are boring, which almost seems impossible given how fascinating the Fae and their world can be given the right writer. This is what the whole book should have been! A journey taken through fairy to mend the rift between the magical and non-magical worlds so that we can move beyond the politics and onto something new. The whole book could have been this epic quest, heck Tolkien got a whole trilogy and then some out of a similar quest. Save the world by journeying through strange lands! The moment I think that this whole series clicked for me was the first time Zee brought Mercy to the reservation and in her coyote form she accidentally slipped into Underhill and was there in that mystical realm. This was a magical moment for me, realizing a had found a new series I loved. For a few minutes I found that initial love again and most of the flaws of this book were forgiven, if not forgotten. Hopefully.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adam, Captain America, Coyote, Eddie Izzard, Fae, Fights, Fire Touched, Frost Burned, Mad Max, Mercy Thompson, Night Broken, Patricia Briggs, Politics, River Marked, Underhill, Werewolves, Zee

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mercy Thompson has been hailed as “a heroine who continues to grow and yet always remains true to herself.”* Now she’s back, and she’ll soon discover that when the fae stalk the human world, it’s the children who suffer...

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae.

Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched?"

The highlight of every year, a new Patricia Briggs book! 

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 720 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series."

I almost want to read this to see what season of Buffy she's ripping off now. Almost.

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss
Published by: Midnight Ink
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When Maddie Kosloski's career flatlines, she retreats to her wine-country hometown for solace and cheap rent. Railroaded into managing the local paranormal museum, she's certain the rumors of its haunting are greatly exaggerated. But a new ghost may be on the loose. A fresh corpse in the museum embroils Maddie in murders past and present.

With her high school bully as one of the officers in charge, Maddie doubts justice will be served. When one of her best friends is arrested, she's certain it won't be.

Maddie grapples with ghost hunters, obsessed taxidermists, and the sexy motorcyclist next door as outside forces threaten. And as she juggles spectral shenanigans with the hunt for a killer, she discovers there truly is no place like home."

Paranormal cozy heading your way!

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Paperback, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Katya deals in Authenticities and Captures, trading on nostalgia for a past long gone. Her clients are rich and they demand items and experiences with only the finest verifiable provenance. Other people’s lives have value, after all.

But when her A.I. suddenly stops whispering in her ear she finds herself cut off from the grid and loses communication with the rest of the world.

The man who stepped out of the trees while hunting deer cut her off from the cloud, took her A.I. and made her his unwilling guest.

There are no Authenticities or Captures to prove Katya’s story of what happened in the forest. You’ll just have to believe her."

Some new Mary Robinette Kowal to tide me over till her new book comes out this summer? Yes please!

Sisi by Allison Pataki
Published by: The Dial Press
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of Philippa Gregory, Paula McLain, and Daisy Goodwin comes a sweeping and powerful novel by New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki. Sisi tells the little-known story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, the Princess Diana of her time, in an enthralling work of historical fiction that is also a gripping page-turner.

Married to Emperor Franz Joseph, Elisabeth—fondly known as Sisi—captures the hearts of her people as their “fairy queen,” but beneath that dazzling persona lives a far more complex figure. In mid-nineteenth-century Vienna, the halls of the Hofburg Palace buzz not only with imperial waltzes and champagne but with temptations, rivals, and cutthroat intrigue. Feeling stifled by strict protocols and a turbulent marriage, Sisi grows restless. A free-spirited wanderer, she finds solace at her estate outside Budapest. There she rides her beloved horses and enjoys visits from the Hungarian statesman Count Andrássy, the man with whom she’s unwittingly fallen in love. But tragic news brings Sisi out of her fragile seclusion, forcing her to return to her capital and a world of gossip, envy, and sorrow where a dangerous fate lurks in the shadows.

Through love affairs and loss, dedication and defiance, Sisi struggles against conflicting desires: to keep her family together, or to flee amid the collapse of her suffocating marriage and the gathering tumult of the First World War. In an age of crumbling monarchies, Sisi fights to assert her right to the throne beside her husband, to win the love of her people and the world, and to save an empire. But in the end, can she save herself?

Featuring larger-than-life historic figures such as Bavaria’s “Mad King Ludwig” and the tragic Crown Prince Rudolf, and set against many of Europe’s grandest sites—from Germany’s storied Neuschwanstein Castle to England’s lush shires—Sisi brings to life an extraordinary woman and the romantic, volatile era over which she presided."

If you don't know who Sisi is, why are we even talking? Get thee to a bookstore!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Allison Pataki, Buffy, Cassandra Clare, Cozy, Fire Touched, Forests of Memory, Kirsten Weiss, Lady Midnight, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mercy Thompson, Patricia Briggs, Sisi, The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum