Book Review: The Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining allegory on dealing with grief

Cons: Doesn’t quite stick the landing

The Bottom Line:

A grieving Colin

Goes on quest to find answers

Weak ending; still good

Journey with Colin Through the Maze

When I finally decided to branch out beyond Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax books, I wasn’t going to venture to her young adult novels since those were harder to find. But after finding that The Maze in the Heart of the Castle played a part in her adult novel The Tightrope Walker, I had to track it down and give it a read. 

This is a hard book to pigeonhole. It is partially a book with a fantasy setting. Not that it involves wizards or magic but more unknown realms. More than anything, it uses these elements as allegory. 

The story follows Colin, who has recently lost his parents. He’s struggling, as you would expect for any sixteen-year-old who was in that situation. So when a family friend tells him that there is a castle on Rheembeck Mountain that might hold the answer for him, he sets out. When Colin arrives, he learns he will have to journey through a maze in the castle to find what he is looking for. Will he find it?

This book is essentially a series of challenges that Colin faces along the way. While that gives us more of an episodic narrative, in this case, it works. I was always anxious to see what would happen to him next and how he’d deal with the next complication. 

As such, Colin is the only character we see in the entire book. But even those he meets along the way are strong and help bring their sections to life. 

It’s the allegory where things fall a little flat for me. Obviously, the challenges Colin faces along the way represent various responses to grief. And I liked the way Colin grew from each stop he made. But when we reached the climax, I just didn’t feel like it quite worked the way I wanted it too. The allegory didn’t reach the climax I was expecting. But maybe that is the point, what getting through grief looks like for one person is different for someone else. 

I do have to comment on the history of this book. As I said earlier, it was originally mentioned in The Tightrope Walker, where what happened to the fictional author drove the story. Then, several years later, Ms. Gilman actually wrote the story and published it under her own name. That kind of thing is very fun to me. 

I’m glad I tracked down The Maze in the Heart of the Castle. Even if the ending didn’t quite work for me, I still enjoyed the book. 

TV Show Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Good episodic version of the second Percy Jackson book

Cons: Nothing major for me

The Bottom Line:

Hunting for the fleece

Trying to save friend as well

Fun and adventure

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.  Usually There’s More S’mores and Less Ground Assaults.”

I was looking forward to revisiting the Percy Jackson characters for season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+. In the time between seasons one and two, I’d read the recent books, so I was a bit more connected to the characters. And I enjoyed the ride. 

Based on the second of the original novels, The Sea of Monsters, it’s been a year for Percy (Walker Scobell) since we last visited him. During that time, he’s made a new friend, Tyson (Daniel Diemer). Well, friend may be too strong a word for how Percy feels about the cyclops, but Tyson definitely appreciates their relationship. Unfortunately, Percy is taking Tyson to Camp Half-Blood with him this year, something that isn’t going to make him very popular. 

When Percy arrives at camp, he finds things are in chaos. The tree that has protected the camp is weakening, leading to increased attacks from monsters. Rumor has it that the famed Golden Fleece has been found, and it might help restore the camp’s protection. But Percy’s nemesis Clarisse (Dior Goodjohn), is chosen to lead the quest. Even weirder, Percy’s good friends, Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries) doesn’t seem to want Percy to go. Yet somehow, Percy and Tyson wind up on the quest, too. As they travel to the Sea of Monsters, will they find the fleece? And can they rescue Grover (Aryan Simhadri), who is being held in the area as well?

It’s been a long time since I read the book and watched the movie version, so I didn’t remember much of this story at all. That meant, I found the cliffhangers at the end of the episodes suspenseful and couldn’t wait for the next episode. 

Like with the first season, this show really highlights just how episodic the books are. Percy and the rest face a fun series of obstacles along the way, and many of them fit perfectly in a TV episode. Then, next week, we are off to a new complication as we get closer to the ultimate climax. It’s not my favorite storytelling method, but it works pretty well here. 

Along with the adventure of the week, we do get some nice character development for Percy and Annabeth. Grover doesn’t have quite enough screen time to feel like he’s grown as much as the other two. I also appreciated how Percy’s relationship with Clarisse grew. I don’t remember that happening at this point in the books, but maybe that’s just my faulty memory. 

Speaking of which, the show differs from the book in a pretty major way in the final episode. Okay, so I had to read up on it since I didn’t remember, but it will be interesting to see how that plays out going forward. 

Once again, the cast was excellent. We have some bigger names popping up in some of the episodes, but the leads hold their own when acting with them. 

And the special effects are good as well, although I did find myself creeped out by Tyson’s one eye. Good effect, but unsettling. 

Like with the first season, we got eight episodes, each roughly in the 35-to-40-minute range. 

And the season ramped up the larger story of the Titans, which fans of the books know is going to be more and more important. 

I’m glad to hear that season three is coming later this year. Season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was another fun adventure. 

Book Review: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (Fablehaven #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: interesting start to a fantasy series for kids

Cons: The set up, while entertaining, feels a little slow. 

The Bottom Line:

Trip to grandparents

Hiding magical secret

Slow to start, speeds up

Unexpected Visit

My nephew has been recommending the Fablehaven series to me for a while now, and I haven’t picked it up. There are just so many books to get to, right? But when he gave me the first one for Christmas, I prioritized reading it. And I’m glad I did. 

This is a middle grade fantasy series, not my typical mystery. Of course, I’ve enjoyed middle grade fantasy over the years, and I often say I fell into mystery and I can’t get out (not that I’m trying that hard). It was a nice change of pace for me. 

This book introduces us to siblings Kendra and Seth. When their parents need to take a trip, they arrange for the pair to stay with their grandparents. You might think that sounds ideal, but Kendra and Seth barely know their grandparents, who live in the middle of nowhere in Connecticut. But slowly, the siblings begin to discover there is more to their grandparents’ property. What does the revelation mean?

Being the first in the series, this book has a certain amount of set up to do. I expect this, and it is as entertaining as it can be while doing that, but I did find my attention wandering a bit during this part. Still, I’m not sure how we could have gotten the information we needed any faster.

However, once that set up has happened, the story kicks into high gear and never lets up. I didn’t want to put the book down when I got to this point, and I found the payoff very satisfying. Yes, the story is wrapped up well here while still leaving things opened for future books in the series. 

Kendra and Seth are a study in contrast, but they are both well suited for the story we get here. While I feel like we follow Kendra the most, we do get some scenes from Seth’s third person point of view as well. I did find Seth annoying at times, but I appreciated the growth we saw in his character. I also appreciated where Kendra ended the book. And I liked the rest of the characters we met along the way. 

Some of the scenes in the back half of the book might be a little intense for sensitive kids. But I’m sure most kids will devour those pages like I did. 

Would I be opened to a return visit to Fablehaven? Absolutely. It’s easy to see why so many kids are fans of this series. 

Movie Review: Gremlins

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fun third act

Cons: Dated effects; build up takes too long

The Bottom Line:

An early present

That gets very out of hand

Film slow and dated

“This is Christmas, Not Halloween”

Since I didn’t watch a lot of movies or TV shows growing up, I missed most of the popular 80’s movies.  I heard about them, but I didn’t watch them.  Every so often, I take a chance to go back and watch one of those, and recently, I caught Gremlins.

While an inventor (Hoyt Axton) is out trying to sell his latest gadget, he stumbles upon a shop in an alley in Chinatown.  There, he finds a weird little creature that he is sure his young adult son will love as an early Christmas present.

Sure enough, Billy (Zach Galligan), finds the creature cute.  He starts calling him Gizmo.  His father gives him the three warnings that taking care of Gizmo will require: Avoid light, especially sun light.  Don’t get him wet.  Don’t feed him after midnight.

As you can imagine, those rules get broken.  As Billy tries to figure out what is happening, the new creatures begin to change.  What will happen?

This movie originally came out in 1984, and is rated PG.  The sequel, which came out in 1990, was rater PG-13.  I think that’s probably about the right rating for the movie, so keep that in mind before you go to watch it.

Knowing very little about the movie before I sat down to watch it, I was surprised at just how much the movie was tied into Christmas.  There are carols in the soundtrack.  The third act takes place on Christmas Eve.  There are decorations everywhere.

Despite this, it is definitely not what I would consider a Christmas movie.  Then again, I lean toward the heartwarming movies during that season, not the mayhem we get here.  The gremlins that grow are pretty horrible to look at, for example.  They fit the film, but it isn’t Christmassy.  But I know others enjoy some mayhem with their holiday, so they will probably go for it.

I’m not sure I would quite label this as horror.  It’s more fantasy thriller, at least to me.  But I could see this being an intro to horror film.  Having said that, we do get some deaths.  Nothing too graphic, at least in the TV version I watched.  I can’t imagine there would be in a PG movie.

Overall, I was a little underwhelmed with the movie.  It was obvious to us early on something bad was going to happen, and it took quite a while for that to happen.  Once it does, the movie picks up.  The characters are only okay.  The creatures are the real star, and the characters just serve the plot.

This isn’t a reflection on the actors.  They are under served by the script.

This movie reflects 1984 technology.  For example, the creatures are all puppets of some kind, and we mostly see them in close ups, only occasionally in the scene with the actors.  Their movements are jerky.  Again, I get it, that’s what was available at the time.  But it is certainly dated at this point.

I’m glad I finally watched Gremlins.  And yes, I’m still curious about the sequel (even though it is, you know, a sequel).  But I have no desire to watch this movie again in the future, be it Christmas or Halloween.

TV Show Review: The Librarians - The Next Chapter - Season 1

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Enjoyable weekly show

Cons: Not quite to the level of can’t miss show

The Bottom Line:

New franchise spin off

Diverting when you’re watching

Still has room to grow

“What Are You?  SIS?  CIA?”  “More Dewey Decimal.”

I was cautiously optimistic when I heard that we were getting a new series in The Librarians franchise. I’ve enjoyed them over the years, although the original series had gone on a little too long when it ended (or at least that’s my memory of things). So I sat down to see what I would think of The Librarians: The Next Chapter. I mostly enjoyed it. 

If you aren’t familiar with the franchise, it started out as some made for TV movies starring Noah Wyle back in the 2000’s followed by a TV series about 10 years ago. Whichever version you watch, the story follows someone who works for The Library, but no, we aren’t talking about a place devoted to books. In this case, the Library is a collecting place for all those magical, mystical items that you thought weren’t real.  Turns out, they are, and the Library keeps the rest of the world safe from what could be dangerous items. 

This new series kicks off almost two hundred years ago with the Librarians of that time, Vikram Chamberlain (Callum McGowan), who is trying to keep his nemesis from getting his hands on one of those magical items. His solution is a time field, but instead of being there for a few minutes, they wind up trapped in it for centuries, only being freed in our time. 

Vikram finds himself stranded in our time, longing for his true love. But his duty is to The Library, which has opened up an annex in Europe. (But an English-speaking Europe, of course.) His path soon crosses with Connor Green and Lysa Pascal (Bluey Robinson and Olivia Morris) who have no idea about the world they are about to join. Well, Connor thinks there is magic, but he just can’t prove it. Lysa is a scientist and mathematician who doesn’t believe in anything beyond scientist. Rounding out the new main four is Charlie Cornwall (Jessica Green), the guardian the Library sends to protect the Librarian while they are on missions. 

The group is given six months to round up as many of the items that Vikram’s appearance has unleashed on the world. After which time, Vikram will not leave the Library again and the rest will return to their normal lives. Among the magic they encounter are magical dancing shoes, a train on a time loop, and a trip to King Arthur’s time.  Will they form a team to successfully fulfill their mission? Or will they fracture before their mission is up?

The original movies have a low budget Indiana Jones feel to them and are fun. The first series lost a bit of that feel but made up for it with a great cast of characters with great chemistry that we loved to watch. 

This show? Honestly, I struggled a bit to connect with the characters. They felt a bit safe with predictable arcs in the episodes and in the season overall. And we were missing the humor the original characters brought to the franchise. 

I’m not looking at the actors as being the issue here. It’s the writing that doesn’t recapture the magic of the original cast. Or maybe I’m just wishing to spend more time with those characters. Either way, the cast was fine. 

The stories are fun. They didn’t seem to capture the full mayhem that the magic could unleash every week, but they kept me engaged and wondering how our heroes would win. They did a good job of setting up the climaxes, too, instead of having a new object just appear as a dues ex machina. That happens a couple times, but it’s not the norm.

While most of the episodes are self-contained, there are some threads that carry over and a bigger story that takes up the last couple of episodes. 

The effects were mostly good as well. Yes, we could tell a time or two that the budget wasn’t as large as it could have been, but that’s a minor complaint. 

We got twelve episodes for the first season. And a second season was ordered pretty early on. I’ll be tuning in. 

I know I hit you with lots of franchise history at the beginning of the review. Honestly, the show gives you what you need of the premise, so you don’t need to do all that homework unless you want to. Yes, we do have Christian Kane guest star as his character Jacob Stone in the season premier and finale, and there are some quick references to other characters, but they are more Easter eggs for fans like me than a detriment to those new to the franchise enjoying it. 

While season one of The Librarians: The Next Chapter may not have been appointment television for me, I still found myself enjoying it when I tuned it. If you are looking for a light fantasy show, you’ll want to check it out. 

Book Review: Shady Hollow by Juneau Black (Shady Hollow #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Decent mystery and likable characters

Cons: One element bothers me (and is a me thing)

The Bottom Line:

Creative setting

Slow start to good mystery

But one thing bugged me

Not Bad, but Didn’t Quite Work For Me

When I heard about Shady Hollow, I knew I had to give the series a try. It sounded like a fun twist on the cozy mystery genre. Having finally read the first, I can say it didn’t quite work for me. 

The series is set in the town of Shady Hollow, where woodland creatures live together in harmony. The carnivores have sworn off eating animals, or at least their fellow residents (fish are still on the menu). It’s so peaceful that the sheriff and deputy have little actual crime fighting experience. 

Until one day when the body of Otto, a toad, is spotted floating in the pond. When evident that he was stabbed surfaced, it is quickly deemed a murder. Granted, Otto wasn’t well liked, but who would want to kill him? Fortunately, Vera Vixen, a fox and the newspaper’s ace reporter is on the case. Can she catch the killer?

Sitting down to read this book, I thought it had the potential to turn into one of my favorite series. When I set it down, I concluded that it’s not bad, but I don’t think it is for me. 

The story is told in omniscient point of view. While it’s not my favorite story telling method, the author did a decent enough job with it. But it worked to keep me out of the story. As did the backstories we got on some of the characters as soon as we met them. 

That backstory also contributed to the story starting out a little slowly. Once it got going, there were some decent twists and surprises along the way, and the ending made sense. 

And the characters were fun. I liked them and found myself rooting for Vera to figure things out. 

The cast of animal characters are human in every discernable way. You just have to accept that a mouse and easily talk with a bear or a moose owns a coffee shop. I’m okay with that, but I felt the author could have done a better job with the town. Maybe it’s just me, but I was expecting a bit more creativity like the book store they invented. That was brilliant. 

But what really bothered me was the idea of interspecies romance. I was willing to buy everything else, but for some reason, that really bothered me. I get it, this is a me issue, so your mileage on this will vary. 

So, that’s why I won’t be continuing on with this series. If the premise still intrigues you, give Shady Hollow a try. Lots of others love it, so you might as well.

Book Review: The Final Draw by Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers Inheritance #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Magical adventures in the Kingdom Keepers universe

Cons: Characters thin as always

The Bottom Line:

A final battle?

If so, fans will enjoy it

Lots of adventure

The Kingdom Kids Face Their Final Battle

It’s come down to this.  After countless adventures as the Kingdom Keepers, and now their kids, face off against the Overtakers, there will be one final batter for control of the Disney parks.  Fans will want to pick up and see where things go in The Final Draw.

If that last paragraph made no sense to you, then this book isn’t for you…yet.  This is the final adventure in a saga that has spanned three series and over a dozen books.  There is lots of backstory and mythology that you are not going to follow if you jump in here.

But, so you’ll have some context here, the series has followed five ordinary kids who were the model for interactive holographic hosts in the Disney parks.  They discovered that it came with an unexpected ability, to cross over to the parks as their holograms in their sleep.  Sounds sweet, right?  It might be except for their other discovery.  All the characters in the movies we love?  They are real, and the villains have formed a group called the Overtakers who are trying to take over the magic in the parks and use it for evil.  And these teens, known as the Kingdom Keepers, are the only defense against this happening.

This is the third book in the Inheritance spin off series that focuses on the kids of the original Keepers as they find themselves fighting the villains 20 years in the future.

This book opens with Eli Finn and his friends, who have dubbed themselves the Kingdom Kids, are in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom for the fireworks on Friday night.  But the fireworks all go off at once.  And then the kids make another discovery – all the villains and henchmen have vanished from the various rides in the parks.  Can they figure out the riddle they got from Tiana in time to save the magic?  Or will it be lost for good?

As I said earlier, if you’ve read the series this far, you’ll definitely want to pick up this book to see how things turn out for our characters.  While the original Kingdom Keepers have much smaller roles in this book than they had in the first two books in this trilogy, I really liked the scenes that Eli got with his parents.  In fact, I found a couple scenes with them to be better than much of what we get in a typical middle grade book.  They are very well done.

As is always the case with these books, I find the characters to be fairly thin.  But I wouldn’t have minded as a kid, and I’m sure today’s kids won’t mind either.

The plot allows for plenty of tense scenes in deserted Disney theme parks, which is always a highlight.  We get some time in various attractions as well.  As a Disnerd, these are the reasons I pick up and enjoy the books.

The story itself holds up fairly well.  Honestly, with these books, it is easier to go along for the ride than try to keep track of all the logic and plot twists.  Internally, the stories are consistent, but it’s the logic when you try to incorporate this into the rest of the world that doesn’t quite work for me.  As a kid, I wouldn’t have tried to be that logical about things, so just sit back and enjoy.

Author Ridley Pearson has stated that this will be his last story in the Kingdom Keepers universe.  But I feel like he said that several years ago before he started this trilogy.  So we’ll see if that stays true or not.

Whether this turns out to be our last adventure or not, The Final Draw is a fun one.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Kingdom Keepers saga.

Book Review: Unraveled by Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Interesting revelations and character development

Cons: Pacing. For some parents, two unnamed characters

The Bottom Line:

Focus is on Keefe

See what he learned from humans

Has pacing issues

Keefe’s Adventures in the Human World

Keepers of the Lost Cities fans have learned that the story has plenty of twists and turns. And some of those include the way the books are released. In order to fully tell the story, author Shannon Messenger realized she needed to tell the story of the time that Keefe spent in the human world during the first part of Stellalune, book nine in the series. And so we got Unraveled, book 9.5 in the series. 

It goes without saying that if you haven’t started this series yet, don’t jump in here. Not only are there massive spoilers, but you’ll be very confused. But you’ll enjoy the journey along the way, so definitely pick up these books. 

This book picks up where book 8.5 ended. (Told you there were lots of twists and turns in the series itself.) In order to protect his friends from his new abilities, Keefe leaves the Elfin world behind to hide out among the humans. While his first attempts are rocky, he soon finds a way to survive. And then he hits on an idea to not only figure out how to control his new abilities but also to figure out some things from his past. Will he succeed at either?

Yes, I’m being vague here. Remember what I said about spoilers. Although, anyone who has read Stellalune can pretty much guess the setup of this book. The important thing would be the details along the way. 

This book in the series is only 400 pages. Compared to some of the volumes we’ve gotten, it’s practically novella length. Even so, I felt like some things could have been cut. Yes, I get what they were supposed to be showing, but I felt like it took us longer than it needed to to get to the meat of the story. 

But once we got there, yes, we got some interesting developments. Things we didn’t know yet. And I’m very curious to see how everything is going to come into play for the rest of the series. 

I do want to discuss one aspect of the book that is causing controversy in the reviews I’ve seen. In the course of his travels, Keefe meets a couple of characters who are gay or lesbian. They are so unimportant that they don’t even get names, although Keefe does think it is nice that they can live their lives as they see fit. These references take up maybe two pages of the entire book, so clearly they are extremely minor. But that also makes them feel a little forced into the universe that’s been created. Do I wish they were not there? Absolutely. As an adult reading the books, they are easy to tune out. But parents will want to know it is there is they want to talk them over with their kids. 

Let’s move on, shall we? 

Over the course of the book, Keefe travels all over the globe. While some of these scenes are the ones that slowed down the plot, I did find some of them fun watching Keefe’s reaction to what we take for granted as humans. 

And yes, we also got some nice character development. We also got a couple scenes from Stellalune from Keefe’s point of view, which was really interesting given all that had come in this book. 

While Unraveled isn’t as action packed as I would have liked, it will still prove to be important going forward. Fans of the series will be glad they picked it up. 

Check out the rest of the Keeper of the Lost Cities books. 

Book Review: Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Percy and co, lots of laughs

Cons: A little low stakes and slow start

The Bottom Line:

Task two?  Pet sitting

Great characters and humor

But too much set up

Pet Sitting at Halloween

Percy Jackson is back to collect another college recommendation.  Of course, being a demigod, that means something much more difficult than it does for us mere mortals.   But we do get the fun of reading about it in Wrath of the Triple Goddess.

If you haven’t met Percy Jackson, you probably won’t want to jump in here since there are references to past adventures.  Of course, it’s been so long since I read those earlier books that I have forgotten much of the details, so maybe you’d be okay jumping in here after all.  What you need to know is that Percy is a demigod, the son of the Greek god Poseidon.  After several years spent saving the world, he’s now a senior in high school and hoping to get into New Rome University so he and his girlfriend can stay together.  But, since his grades are so poor, he needs to get three recommendations from gods.  And, in order to get those, he has to do favors for them.  And favors for gods are never easy.

This book opens in October, and things are been quiet for a few weeks now.  While Percy has enjoyed the down time, he is worried about needing to get two more recommendation letters to get into college.  So he has mixed emotions when he is contacted by Hecate.  She is planning to travel to enjoy all the Halloween festivities around the world and needs someone to pet sit.  Of course, when those pets are a polecat and a hellhound, both of whom used to be human, things aren’t as easy as they appear.  Especially when they escape.  Can Percy and his friends track them down before Hecate returns?  And what about repairing her mansion?

If you are looking for the world on the line stakes we had in the earlier books featuring Percy, you’ll be disappointed.  Don’t get me wrong, Percy faces death several times, but these are less dangerous books overall.  To be honest, I miss a bit of that life and death stakes.  I also found the set up took a bit longer than it truly needed to.

Now, this isn’t to say I didn’t find the book fun.  I honestly was wondering just how Percy was going to overcome the dangers he was facing here, and that kept me turning the pages.

I also really enjoy the characters.  Those familiar with the series will be happy to hear that the trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are once again the focus.  We also get some updates on a few other characters from the franchise.  But it is always great to spend time with these three.  I also really enjoyed learning about the new characters in this book.  I really appreciated where Percy left them.

But I can’t leave out the humor.  Whether it’s the situations that Percy finds himself in or his narration, there are plenty of laughs the entire way through the book.

Given the premise for the recent releases, I’m assuming we have at least one more book coming.  I’ll definitely be back for it.  Fans will be happy they picked up Wrath of the Triple Goddess.

Check out the rest of Percy Jackson’s adventures.

Book Review: Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s by Liz Ireland (Mrs. Claus Mysteries #5)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Mystery, mayhem, and fun with characters we love

Cons: I don’t want to show up on the naughty list

The Bottom Line:

Santaland strangers

Complicate Christmas murder

Series always fun

Interlopers at Christmas

It’s been no secret how much I love the Mrs. Claus mysteries from Liz Ireland.  When I get the ARC of the new book each year, it’s hard not to sit down and devour it right then.  But I waited until closer to release for Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s, and once again, I loved it.

If you haven’t found this series yet, you are in for a treat.  You see, this series takes place in Santaland and features April Claus.  Yes, she is married to the current Santa, Nick.  She just learned about Santaland a few years ago after meeting Nick when he appeared at her bed and breakfast in Oregon for vacation.  She’s still getting used to her new life, but she’s navigating it better with each passing year.

As the book opens, April is about to lose her husband…for a couple of days.  Yep, it’s time for Santa to take off on his around the world trip to leave presents for the good children of the world.  It also signals a week of game and rest for all of Santaland as the hard work for the year is over.

This year, however, things are going to be different.  An elf that lives on the outskirts of Santaland has found three humans out in the cold.  They aren’t dead, although one has been stabbed in the back by reindeer antlers.  While everyone’s first instincts are to send these strangers somewhere else immediately, they need immediate medical attention.  Then one of them dies.  Is April looking for another killer?  Can Santaland keep their secret from the strangers?

If you are expecting something super cozy when you pick up this series, you won’t be disappointed.  Author Liz Ireland has done a fantastic job of creating this fantasy world in which to set her mysteries.  I got a bit cold reading about all the snow even though we were having a heat wave here while I read it.  You’ll want to have some coco nearby to drink.  And you’ll get Christmas music stuck in your head.  It’s charming.  It’s fun.  And it really adds to the uniqueness of this series.

Now, this isn’t to say that the mystery isn’t taken seriously.  I love how everything is balanced.  No, the plot isn’t dark, it’s in keeping with the tone of the series, but April still wants to figure out what is going on, and her investigation drives the story forward.  The clues lead her to a logical and satisfying solution.

Then there are the characters.  April leads a charming cast that I just love to spend time visiting.  We’ve seen growth in some of them and their relationships over the course of the series, and that holds true again here.  And the new characters fit perfectly into this world.

I can’t leave out the humor.  The elves never do anything half-heartedly, and that hold true again here.  I’m not going to spoil some of the chaos that causes, but it is once again brilliantly done.  I grinned and smiled my way through the book.

If you are looking for a light, holiday themed cozy mystery, you need to check out this series.  Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s will please fans of April Claus.  If you haven’t yet explored this fantastic world, you really need to do so soon.  Skipping this series just might put you on the naughty list.

Enjoy more holiday mayhem with the rest of the Mrs. Claus Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Novella Review: A Feast Most Foul by Sarah E. Burr (Court of Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery and characters

Cons: One or two small things

The Bottom Line:

Tournament with death

Jax must free her intended

Great second entry

Murder in a Neighboring Kingdom

When I listened to the first Court of Mystery novella a couple of months back, I really enjoyed the unique setting and the wonderful characters, so I was looking forward to revisiting them in A Feast Most Foul, the second novella.  It was another wonderful story.

Duchess Jacqueline Arienta Xavier is heading out on her first official state visit since taking the throne.  She’s visiting the neighboring kingdom ruled by her grandfather.  It will not be a warm and pleasant visit, however, since Jax is estranged from the man, who is only looking out for his own kingdom’s best interests.

Her grandfather’s kingdom is hosting a two-week long tournament of champions that will featuring feasting and jousting.  However, the first night, one of the knights is killed in his tent.  Jax’s intended quickly becomes the prime suspect, and Jax’s grandfather seems only too delighted to believe the evidence.  Can Jacqueline prove what really happened?

I’ve mentioned this is a novella, right?  I feel like it’s roughly half the length of a full novel.  As long as you know this when you sit down to read it, you’ll be fine, and honestly, I didn’t feel like the story was missing anything because of the length.

After all, the story has plenty of twists and turns.  We get some conflict outside of the mystery that helps draw us in early, and things only heat up when the murder takes place.  I had begun to suspect the ending, but I wasn’t sure.  Once again, I was impressed with how Jacqueline pieced things together.  I did feel one of the subplots got a little shorted, but I was still happy with where it wound up.

Even though we aren’t at home for this story, we still got to see my favorite characters again, which was great.  I love the relationships we saw in the first book, and I liked getting to see them grow.  We meet a nice assortment of new characters, not all of them suspects, and I hope we see some of them again.

A word of warning – by necessity, this book hints at what happened in the first book.  If you don’t want to be spoiled, I recommend you read it first.  But since I loved it, I’d recommend you read it anyway.  I am very impressed with how the author gave us the background we needed without outright spoiling things.  That was a very tricky dance that she pulls off well.

I listened to the audio again with Melissa Green narrating.  She does a good job, although her voicing for one character annoyed me.  Overall, that was a minor irritant, and I understand why she was doing what she did.

These books have a slight fantasy setting.  No, we aren’t dealing with magic or anything like that, although unicorns were mentioned again.  I enjoy it for something different.

A Feast Most Foul is a worthy second enjoy in this charming series.  If you are looking for something a little different, you’ll be glad you picked up this cozy series.

Enjoy the rest of the Court of Mystery stories.

Book Review: Villains’ Realm by Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers Inheritance #2)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The magic of the premise is always fun

Cons: Weak entry in the saga overall

The Bottom Line:

Trilogy middle

Weaker entry in saga

Still has some magic

Enchantment Creating New Lands

Last year, Ridley Pearson revisited his Kingdom Keepers fantasy world, and this middle-aged guy jumped in.  Yes, these are technically middle grade fantasy, but I love Disney, and the premise of these books has always intrigued me.  Villains’ Realm is the middle part of this new Inheritance trilogy.  Sadly, it needed a little work.

If you are new to these stories, you really shouldn’t jump in here.  There is a lot of backstory you will have missed.  But a brief primer.  The Kingdom Keepers are a group of middle school kids who fought Disney villains in the parks at night in an effort to keep them from taking over and destroying the Disney magic.  There is so much to it than that, obviously; this is book twelve in the overall saga, after all.  The Inheritance trilogy picks up twenty years in the future as a new threat to the Disney legacy emerges and the kids of the original Keepers must now pick up the fight.

Which brings us to Eli, the focus of these new books.  The action here starts when Eli learns that Disney’s CEO has completely changed his mind about opening a Villains’ Realm in each park.  The man was opposing it because it was a clear threat, giving the villains a foothold.  But now, he’s greenlit them, and constructions has started immediately.  In order to stop them from being completed, Eli and his friend Blair are going to have to team up with Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.  Can they stop it in time?

When this series is on, there are a lot of fun and imagination in them that makes the magic come alive.  Sadly, this is the middle book in a trilogy, and it knows it.  The story moves along well, but we don’t have the epic battles against the villains and their henchmen that the series is best known for.  Instead, we get Eli and Blair moving from one area to another on their quest.  There are a few standoffs, but that’s really all they are.  And the ending is pretty abrupt, even if you are reading it as a cliffhanger for the next book in the series.

Of course, my complaint about the characters comes into play here as well.  They’ve always been thin, and that’s the case again.  I have a hard time connecting the kids to their parents, which doesn’t help.  Eli, as the main character, is a little better.

And the book needed a bit of an edit since I got confused a couple of times about what park the action was supposed to be taking place in.  I feel like some of the locations were changed, but not all of the edits were caught.

Not that I’m sorry I read the book.  There are some developments fans will need to know to follow what comes next.  And the fun of imaging all that is happening inside the parks is always great.  The idea of these characters interacting with classic Disney character still makes me smile.  The fact that much of the action takes place at the California parks added to the fun.

But I did have to laugh when the characters were dealing with the humidity when visiting California.  We rarely have humidity here.  Again, a minor thing that should have been caught in the edits.

Am I sorry I picked up Villain’s Realm?  No.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this is all going to play out in the final book.  But this could have been a much stronger entry in the series.

Enjoy the magic of the rest of the Kingdom Keepers saga.

Novella Review: The Ducal Detective by Sarah E. Burr (Court of Mystery #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and mystery in a fun setting

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Enter a new realm

With mystery novella

Promising series

Jacqueline Starts Her Reign Solving a Murder

I’ve really enjoyed both of Sarah E. Burr’s series that I’ve read so far, which are contemporary cozy mysteries, so I was intrigued by her Court of Mysteries series.  I got a chance to read The Ducal Detective recently, and I’m hooked on this different set up for a cozy.

This novella introduces us to the Realm of Virtues.  Essentially, this is a fantasy realm, although it is light on the fantasy here.  Outside a mention of a mythological creature, this really could be any medieval type setting with royalty and knights.

Here, we meet Jacqueline Arienta Xavier who has just been crowned Duchess of Saphire.  Jacqueline is still morning the loss of both of her parents in a carriage accident, and is struggling to take on her new responsibilities.

Then she gets word that her parents might not have died in an accident but instead were murdered.  Suddenly, Jacqueline’s world is turned upside down as she hardly knows who among her staff and advisers she can trust.  But she knows she must get to the bottom of it or her own life could be in danger.  Can she do it?

This novella really has a lot to do.  It must introduce the characters and start to create the world while also give us a compelling mystery.  That’s a lot to do in 120 pages.  Yet this book succeeds in spades.  It helps that we immediately can identify with Jacqueline.  And we watch her grow quite a bit here.  We like her, and we want to see her succeed.  We get to know several other characters as well, and I liked them.  I’m looking forward to seeing more of them as the series progresses.

The mystery itself is strong.  Since this is a novella, the mystery is appropriate for the length.  I was entertained the entire time, and I couldn’t wait to see exactly what was going on.  The ending was logical, and I appreciated how Jacqueline figured things out and how she handled the entire situation.

Honestly, that was my favorite thing in the story.  Jacqueline faces several nearly impossible situations, and I enjoyed watching her deal with them diplomatically.  We get a sense for the kind of ruler she is going to be here, and I’m looking forward to seeing her in action again.

Given the fact that Jacqueline is working on solving her parents’ murder, this book has a more melancholy tone at times than the cozies I typically read.  It’s mixed with some truly lovely scenes.  That balance is handled just right.

I actually read this via audio.  Melissa Green is the narrator, and she makes the story lots of fun, including narrating with a British accent.  I’m glad I’ve got the next few in audio already.

I always enjoy it when I can read a mystery with a creative setting and hook.  I’ve found that with The Ducal Detective.  If you are looking for something different, you’ll be happy you checked out this introductory novella.

 I'm looking forward to the rest of the Court of Mystery stories.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Movie Review: Ghostbusters - Afterlife

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Characters, story (mostly), fun

Cons: Pacing near the middle slows down

The Bottom Line:

Modern Ghostbusters

Builds on first one’s legacy

In fun way for fans

“None of This Rings a Bell?”  “It Happened 20 Years Before We Were Born.”

Since I didn’t grow up watching a lot of TV or movies, I missed Ghostbusters as a kid, watching it for the first time about a decade ago.  Oh, I heard about it at the time, so I knew something about it.  Watching it as an adult for the first time, I enjoyed it but didn’t fall in love (but that’s a review for a different time).  All that to say that I wasn’t dying to watch Ghostbusters:Afterlife when it came out in 2021.  But I heard enough about it that I was curious, so I decided to give it a chance.

This movie introduces us to Callie (Carrie Coon), a down on her luck single mother.  She and her two kids, Trevor and Phoebe (Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace) have just been evicted, which makes her inheritance from her estranged father well timed.  They pick up and move to his dilapidated mansion on the edge of a small town in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma.

The town and mansion are nothing to get excited about, but Trevor and Phoebe start to make friends.  Callie even catches the eye of Gary (Paul Rudd), a local teacher.

But as Phoebe starts to explore their new home, she starts to realize that the father she never met was up to something important.  Can she figure out his legacy in time to save the world?

This movie is a classic example of a requel.  Yes, this does mean that many of the original cast of Ghostbusters show up for cameos here.  And this movie is set in a world where the events of the 1984 film took place.  (My memory of the sequel is dim enough I couldn’t tell you if they kept any of it as cannon or not.)  It does ignore the 2016 reboot completely.  I remembered just enough of the original to catch some of the references, although I suspect most of that was more just my basic pop culture knowledge.

However, you don’t have to be fluent in Ghostbusters knowledge and trivia to understand this film or even enjoy it.  Yes, I suspect you’d get the fan service more than I did if you love the franchise, but the movie explains everything you need to know.

In fact, I would say that was the biggest flaw to me.  Even I knew where the movie was going.  I felt the first act was pretty good at setting things up without being too slow about it, but then we stalled out for a bit.  It was like the writers didn’t quite know how to get the characters from some knowledge to full-fledged hero mode so we got lots of exposition.  I wish this part could have been cut down a little, but it wasn’t too bad.

The teens are really the stars of this film.  And they manage to do it without the adults coming across as too dumb and incompetent, which I truly appreciated.  The teen actors pulled it off with flying colors.  All four of them, the two I already mentioned plus Logan Kim as Podcast and Celeste O’Connor as Lucky, were fun to watch.  And you could feel their relationships building as the film progressed.  That’s not to take away from the adults, who also shine.  They just happen to have supporting roles.

The best part is, we care about all of these characters.  They have strengths and weaknesses, but these are never exaggerated.  Instead, they come across as real.  Yes, we can guess where some of the characters arcs are going to go, but it doesn’t matter because we are having fun hanging out with them.  And how those arcs play out is wonderful.

I also really enjoyed the effects.  While I suspect there were a few CGI effects in the film, they used a lot of practical effects.  The result is a movie that looks great.

Parents should take the PG-13 rating seriously.  There is a little bit of foul language and a few lines that are definitely adult in nature.  (Ironically, they come from the teens.)  But the biggest thing is the climax, which leans more into the horror over the comedy.  Kids who are easily frightened will find it too intense.  This is a case of know your child before you let them watch it.

Speaking of comedy, I haven’t mentioned that yet.  There is are some great lines over the course of the movie, not to mention a very funny scene in a Wal-Mart.

Obviously, I enjoyed Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and I’m more anxious to watch the sequel now.  Fans of the 80’s movies should definitely give this one a watch.  Even if you haven’t seen the original, you will still find this one entertaining.

TV Show Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Season 1

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good adaptation of a novel

Cons: Some pacing issues; book nerd complaints

The Bottom Line:

Fantasy series

Is much closer to the book

Fans will mostly like

“Can I Ask a Stupid Question?” “It’s Like You Need Me to Make Fun of You.”

The two Percy Jackson movies from last decade have been pretty much panned by fans.  And, while I have a soft spot in my heart for them since they got me reading the books, I can certainly see the issues with them.  So as soon as Disney+ announced that they were going to create a Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and Rick Riordan, the author of the books, was going to be heavily involves, fans were excited.  While I certainly enjoyed what we got, it still didn’t quite capture the first book.

In the first episode, we meet Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) a pre-teen who struggles in school.  He’s also not very popular, with Grover (Aryan Simhadri) being his only real friend.

Things change one day when he is attacked by a monster the rest of the students don’t see.  That’s when he learns that the ancient Greek gods are real and his father was one of them.  Which one?  He doesn’t know quite yet.  Oh, and Grover is really a satyr sent to help protect him.

He is quickly sent to Camp Half-Blood, a place where demigods live and train during the summer.  And occasionally leave from to go on quests.  Percy hasn’t been there long before he is sent out on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s Lightning Bolt, which someone has stolen.  If he doesn’t return it by the summer solstice, it could mean a war of the gods.  With only Grover and his new friend Annabeth Chase (Leah Jeffries) to help him, can he do it?

That’s a lot of backstory and set up, I realize.  But, given the premise of this franchise, you kind of need it.  Just imagine trying to fit all of that into a movie plus telling the rest of the story.  You can see why the original movie didn’t do well with fans.  And this book is pretty much designed for a modern day TV show anyway.  Why do I say that?  While Percy and his friends are on a quest, they have many battles they face along the way.  You could consider them side-quests if you want.  Either way, they make for perfect episodes, with the characters getting a little closer to their ultimate destination and the ultimate answer of who the thief is while dealing with the complication of the week.

The season itself was eight episodes, mostly in the 35-40 minute range.  That was enough time to give us a monster battle or two, a little character development, and some advancement on who took the lightning bolt and why.

But here’s the thing.  Even with that, I feel like there were some things left out.  Maybe I’m confusing the book and the movies, which made some big changes.  After all, it’s been at least 10 years since I read the book or watch the movies, so I am very fuzzy on the details.

Still, with all that time, some things felt rushed, especially in the final episode.  I get why they broke the episodes down how they did.  They really did pick natural breaks.  But it made for a very rushed finale with lots of twists.  I guess book nerds are never quite satisfied, are we?

Overall, I liked the acting in the show.  We had some fun famous faces pop up for an episode or two playing some of the people that Percy must deal with.  And the three leads carry the show well.  They just didn’t quite act the way I picture the characters acting when I read the books.  Yes, again, my memory is probably faulty, and I am sure the actors from the movie influenced my view on that when I was reading them.  So, it’s still probably me.

I certainly can’t fault the look of the show.  There are lots of special effects and stunts, and they always looked amazing.

And yes, I’m being a book nerd here.  Which means I’m being overly critical of a visual version of a story I’ve enjoyed because it doesn’t match MY vision.

I say this because, my complaints really are more nitpicky in nature than anything else.  I was always looking forward to the next new episode and enjoyed all eight episodes.  And I’m hoping the show gets picked up for the next season soon.

Fans of the book will feel much like I do.  While it may not be a perfect adaptation, season one of Percy Jackson and the Olympians will keep them happily entertained with a version of the story that is much closer to the book.

Book Review: The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #6)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Percy and other characters, action, humor

Cons: I wasn’t questing for any cons

The Bottom Line:

Percy in action

Hunting for magic chalice

A delight for fans

Percy Has an Extra College Entrance Requirement

It’s been years since I read any of Rick Riordan’s books.  The last one I read was the climax of the Heroes of Olympus series.  When I saw he had a new Percy Jackson and the Olympians book coming out, I knew I had to read The Chalice of the Gods, but I was worried that I would forget some of the character history that would make me fully appreciate this book.

If you’ve missed these books completely, they are a middle grade series that updates Greek mythology to present day.  It turns out all those gods are real, and they are now based in the US.  Percy is a modern day demigod, son of Poseidon.  He’s found that this leads to him being the target of all kinds of monsters, and he’s had to save the world a few times now.

While this book is technically book six in the Percy Jackson series, it does take place after the events of the Heroes of Olympus series.  So does that make this book eleven?  There might even be some others I’ve missed with characters we’ve met along the way.  However, you don’t need all that background to follow what happens here.  Yes, there are references to some of the characters and events from those books, but the main focus is on what is happening to Percy in this book.  And what a great ride it is.

Percy is now a high school senior.  He’s starting at a new school, this time in Queens, and he’s hoping to get into New Rome University with his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase.  There’s just one catch, in order to get in, Percy will need three letters of recommendation from three different gods.  And, in order to get those, he will have to complete quests for each of them.

His first request comes from Ganymede, Zeus’s cupbearer, who seems to have lost the chalice he uses to serve the gods.  He needs Percy to find it before anyone else learns what has happened to it.  With the help of Annabeth and his best friend, Grover, he follows the few leads he has.  But will he be able to find it in time?

I had forgotten just how funny these books could be until I picked this one up.  I was laughing on the first page and I kept laughing pretty much until I reached the end.  Percy’s sarcasm is evident in the narration as well as his dialogue, and I loved his commentary on the action as a result.  Plus the trio get into some great situations.

The stakes in this book weren’t quite as big as in some of the others in the series.  Yes, Percy and the others face danger, sometimes mortal danger, but not everything was life or death.  I was still compelled to keep reading to find out what was going to happen, and I rather enjoyed the change.

That’s not to say that the action ever let up.  Things moved quickly from one even to another.  Like in the earlier novels, we have some episodic elements, which I enjoyed, but the overall quest kept me engaged the entire way.

And it was great to spend time with the characters again.  We really only spend time with the core trio and Percy’s mom and step-dad, but I enjoyed seeing their relationships were just as strong as ever.  Fans will enjoy that.

Even with the humor and action, the book slows down for some moments of characters growth, some of which are very touching.  I loved them, and found them satisfying.

I do think we had something funny going on with the timeline when what I thought was a Saturday was suddenly mid-week.  I guess the gods were just messing with me.  Or maybe the mist threw me off.

Obviously, I was glad to be spending more time with Percy Jackson in The Chalice of the Gods.  If you’ve missed him, you’ll be thrilled to pick up this book.

Enjoy more of Percy Jackson’s adventures.

I'm including this review in this week's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.  Stop by to find the other great entries for the week.

Book Review: Happily Ever After by James Riley (Once Upon Another Time #3)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Action, suspense, humor

Cons: Rushed ending doesn’t satisfy

The Bottom Line:

Fairy tale ending

Doesn’t satisfy: too rushed

Expected better

Rushed Ending Keeps Me from Being Perfectly Happy with This Book

I was anxiously waiting for Happily Ever After, the third book in James Riley’s Once Upon Another Time trilogy.  After all, the last book left us with some interesting twists and a great cliffhanger.  However, ultimately, I found this ending disappointing.

Since this is the third and final book in a trilogy, I’m not going to recommend you start here.  Technically, there’s even another trilogy before this one (Half Upon a Time) that is also set in this world.  While some of those characters have supporting roles here and tease what happened in those earlier books, you don’t need to have read (or remember) what happened to enjoy this trilogy.  But I do recommend you read the first two books before you think about reading this one.

A little context if you are new – as the titles teased, these are fairy tale adjacent stories.  You won’t see as many characters you already know in the Once Upon Another Time books, but a few of them will occasionally make cameos.  We’ve been focusing on Lena, a giant who is normal human size; Jin, a genie in training; and Shefin, a Lilliputian that the pair met along the way.

As this book picks up, Lena and Shefin are living in the Blessed City.  Everyone is happy and eagerly waiting for the fairy queen ball to take place that day.  Something in the back on Lena’s mind is saying that things aren’t right, but she does her best to ignore them since to go against the fairy queens means punishment.

But on her way to school that morning, she discovers a book lying on the road that seems to be for her.  What could it possibly mean?  And where in Jin?  Could he be the key to uncovering what is really going on?

The book started out great, like normal.  While I wish I’d had time to reread the ending of the last book before I jumped in, I was soon remembering where the characters were and caught up in the journey to fix what has gone wrong.

This series has also always had a fun sense of humor, partially because of it’s meta references to writing.  Those were present again as well, and I got a kick out of them, although they were a little toned down from previous books.

Plus, I do like the characters, and I was enjoying seeing them fighting against some of the worst odds they’ve had yet.  Trust me, it was hard to put the book down.

Part of Lena’s journey in this book involved her coming to terms with her size difference from regular giants, including her parents.  I struggled a bit with this section of the story.  While I agree with what was written on the surface about learning to accept who you are, reading it with the lens of today’s world, I felt like it was an allegory that treads on some dangerous territory that can do more harm than good.  It’s a shame because I can agree with part of the sentiment behind it.

Then there’s the ending.  It was like author James Riley ran out of room in the book and had to rush things.  The result was pretty unsatisfying, especially with what he did to a main character from the series.  In many ways, it felt like a gut punch.

Then comes the coda, which is supposed to make us okay with how things ended.  Again, it was too little and too rushed, and I felt like I was getting whiplash.  I also felt like one character’s ending didn’t fit what had come before for that character.  Maybe I would feel different if I had time to go back and reread the earlier books, but it didn’t sit right with me as it was written here.

As always, this book is told from a couple of different points of view.  The changes happen at chapter breaks, and they are used well to ramp up the suspense.

I really wish I had enjoyed Happily Ever After more.  Having read the author’s other books, I expected more.  While the characters are happy with the ending, I was left dissatisfied.

Here are the rest of the Half Upon a Time and Once Upon Another Time books.