The time change has me completely out of whack this week, so I didn’t get nearly as much reading in as I would have liked to. I did get to squeeze in a book event at my favorite independent bookstore, so that’s a plus!
Books Read:
Venco by Cherie Dimaline: READ IT! LOVED IT! Lucky St. James lives with her quirky and surly grandmother, Stella, in Toronto. Facing eviction, Lucky is at her wit’s end. One night, she uncovers an antique spoon with the word “SALEM” printed on it. Curious, she holds onto it. She’s soon contacted by a company called VenCo about a job. They offer to provide housing for Lucky and her grandmother. Lucky can’t imagine how this company could have such an interest in her; her life has never really gone anywhere. VenCo (anagram of coven) is actually a well-funded front that has provide resources for witches since the colonial days. She learns that in finding the spoon, it reveals she is the sixth of seven witches who must reunite to reform a coven. Once the spoons are reunited, the coven will regain power once again. They don’t have much time to find the final witch; the group is being tracked by an ancient witch-hunter who seeks to put an end to the coven…for good.
I’m intentionally keeping this summary vague, for I think so much must be revealed by the reader. It’s a fun read, with a delightfully addictive blend of magic & history. I can definitely see this being turned into a movie.
Red London by Alma Katsu: READ IT, LOVED IT! I’ve been a fan of Alma’s writing since the early days of The Taker. I’d read anything she writes; she really got me interested in reading spy thrillers with the release of Red Widow. This is the second book in this series. While it could be read as a standalone, you’d get a lot of backstory and character development by starting with the first. In this thriller, Agent Lyndsey Duncan is in London, focusing on her newest Russian asset, a war criminal. When a Russian oligarch’s home is attacked, Lyndsay is personally contacted by her MI6 counterpart, asking for her help. He needs someone on the inside, and he thinks Lindsay may be that person. Once she’s inside, she learns there are others that are seeking the same information and are taking steps that aren’t exactly legal to get that information. A thrill of a read, I devoured this in an afternoon!
Alma’s talent crosses genres. From supernatural to historical horror and back to spy thrillers, Alma can write it all. Her career as an intelligence analyst gives you a hint at the level of research she does with everything she writes, and you can definitely see it in the success of her work. I can’t wait to read what’s coming up next…more to come on that!
Coming up on my bookshelf next week:
I’m currently reading Wilderwomen and hoped to have it read by the end of this week, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me, I guess! Following that, here are some books calling to me from my bookshelves:
The Curator by Owen King
Piñata by Leopoldo Gout
