Home Sweet Motel (Welcome to Wonderland, #1) by Chris Grabenstein

This was an ARC but the review is my own.

Chris Grabenstein outside of being known for his Mr. Lemoncello's Library series and co authoring several books with James Patterson such as the I Funny series, is a genuinely nice man, so I've been told since I've never had the pleasure of meeting him face to face. I have known for quite a while that his books are devoured by young readers so when I had an opportunity to read his new book I grabbed at it. Well, I have to say that I think everybody has hit the mark. This book was funny, entertaining, with a bit of high jinks thrown in to round everything out. This is the kind of book you don't mind buying your kids because you know they're gonna read it cover to cover.

P.T. Wilkie is an 11 year old who gets to live the ideal life, his family owns the Wonderland Motel and his living room has a snack machine, the pool has a frog slide, and the soda machine still gives out glass bottles. Best of all P.T. has the gift of the gab just like grandpa. Everything would be great if only the Motel had more customers. When the bank tells his family they have a month to pay off a loan, P.T. and his new friend Gloria realize they're gonna have to think up something huge to get the cash in time. But with Gloria's business savvy and P.T.'s story telling magic there's nothing to stop them. But when their ideas start causing resentment with their neighbors on the strip and lead to a possible jewel cache on their property from a robbery decades ago stirring up a hornet's nest, they may have bit off more than they can chew. Or have they? 

Go grab your copy first week of October to give your kids a sweet treat. Hey, Halloween is just around the corner!

The Other Paris by Luc Sante

Think you know about Paris, about the cosmopolitan city that shines as a beacon of sophistication around the world? Full of romance and charm but scratch just beneath the surface and you'll find heathens in a city that has been the epicenter of vice, greed, and insurrection. A warrior city covered in gore and wounds that refuses to lie down quietly. Her armor is the generations of Parisians who have fought for their rights and sometimes taken them. Men and women of the lowest classes who lived their lives without apology or remorse, the quintessence of Parisian. Names that will never be known along with famous ones that helped to create a Paris where cultural bigotry ran side by side with revolutionary ideas that helped to change the world at large. 

This book is not for the casual reader but for the enthusiast who wants to delve into the reality of Paris. The photographs of Brassai perfectly illustrate the attraction of Paris, the sensuality and the glint of danger under the surface. The music of Edith Piaf gives you a glimpse into the tormented soul of the working class. And Luc Sante's book lays bare her foundations built upon the bones of her people who refuse to relinguish their rights to be Parisians. Jean-Paul Clebert once wrote, " All cities are geological: you can't go three steps without meeting ghosts fortified with the aura of their legends. " In this book you will come to realize that Paris is a monolith of untold stories that you never imagined were waiting to be told.

A definite recommendation to anyone who thinks they know Paris or the Parisians. This is a bold cup of coffee wake up, first thing in the morning. Welcome but bracing.

We're All Mad Here

The horrible truth is that although I wish I was so good at book reviews that publishers and authors clamored at my door like a literary Oracle, I along with many other book lovers have a regular job that demands I actually work for my money. With limited time to indulge in my one true love I sometimes get lazy and find myself reluctant to read. I know, I know, the horror but surely I can't be the only one that at the end of the day has only one thought. Get me outta these shoes! You collapse having mentally prepared a list of things to do once you can relax such as reading, taking a soak, drinking, or perhaps some YouTube only to wake up at the shrill insistence of the alarm clock that it's time to start it all over again. Ce la vie, n'est pas?

For many of us yes but when you're a bibliophile you cannot indulge in this particular laziness. Whereas the working part of your obsession is crawling along the other side of your obsession, the collector, is still working hard at making sure that you will never have a day where there is not a single book to be read any where near you. Can't afford to buy them, ARCs for all! None to be had? Well then, the opium den of any reader is your next stop, that's right, the LIBRARY.

So why I ask myself have I not been reading and editing reviews within days of each other besides the laziness? Fact is one book has basically caused a literary backup. I have been compacted by one book that I refuse to admit I do not want to read. I am struggling through this particular fiend as though across a battlefield with the last of strength left in my bruised and wounded body. I will reach the end and review it fairly if I have to etch it into my retinas. Why? Why not just admit I don't want to read the book? Or come back to it another day? Because my friend, every time I put a book down I am admitting defeat as a reader. I am saying I cannot read this, and if I am not a reader than what am I? I read, recommend, and review .... books. It is in my very fabric as a Frenchman and a wannabe scholar to absorb the written word like the nectar of the gods themselves. In my blood runs the ink of a million writers, introduced to me as a young child until my present day. I am books, breath books, and always shall be books. So what does this all mean?

I have had an epiphany, reading, even when enjoyed, is a lot of hard work. It requires commitment not only in time and energy but self awareness. That's right, you are investing in yourself when you read. You cannot read and not be self aware of your thoughts, you cannot distance yourself from what you are absorbing. And that is truly where the backup has originated, not the book itself but my reaction to facing the ink being injected into my mind. Now for some of you this will not be surprising, we all have tried to read something that made us want to throw it off a balcony but for some one who approaches reading like a much needed life action this is tantamount to self betrayal. I am plotting my own subterfuge against myself, I will refuse to find reading this book enjoyable because ...... I on an unconscious level do not like myself reflected back in its words. I have found a book that shines light into the dark crevices that can be found deep in me. I do not like to look into mirrors especially when they show so clearly my faults and weaknesses.

Therefore I am now more determined than ever to finish this book and fairly review it. It will cause me ceaseless and unfounded anxiety until I lay it to rest as DONE. So what is the purpose of this rant you ask? There is none. Merely reflections of a mad reader.

Remember. When I started this blog I did warn you that there would be moments of madness included. But count yourself lucky that you are among the gently mad in these fields. Welcome fellow reader and feel at home.

By the by, the book that I've been so fatalistic about is The Other Paris by Luc Sante. And in it I have seen reflected back the lack of my own Frenchness. Hard to take a hit to the solar plexus but there you have it. Now, what's next?

The Masked City (The Invisible Library, #2) by Genevieve Cogman

This was provided as an arc from the publisher but the review is my own.

This is the second book in the Invisible Library series by Cogman and definitely carries on the promise that the first one created of a new heroine who is right up there with those you want to read more about. The book is full of moments where you'll find yourself holding your breath wondering if this is where the author lets her character fall into the maelstrom of cliches that threaten any young woman facing certain doom and challenges to her modesty but at each such junction she proves both she and Irene are more than up for the challenge.

In this followup Irene will find herself in the unenviable position of not only losing her assistant whom so far shes been able to keep her hands off but of being the only one who can possibly save him. With war between the Fae and Dragons quite likely and the support of The Library definitely not behind her Irene has only her wits to guide her as she attempts the impossible. Free a Dragon Prince from a Chaos World modeled on a decadent Venice, where the Fae are in power, alone, prey to any one set to use her to further their own story and forced to work with the one Fae who has proven he cannot be trusted under any circumstances. Irene must complete this task before Kai's time is up and he becomes a trophy and the catalyst for the beginning of war or dies. And all that is standing in her way are two Faes that are more than willing to bring Chaos to all worlds and in failing to do so either cause Irene herself death or at the least pawn her off to anyone looking for an exotic pet. And a prison which is its own world of entrapment. Also a Fae of such power that it may very well be the only one that can help her escape with a wounded dragon, if she can assure it freedom from its own current prison. Irene's future has never seemed so perilous as she fights to survive and places her position with the Library at risk. Some jobs just ask a little more of you than others.

The Elusive Elixir (An Accidental Alchemist Mystery) by Gigi Pandian

This was provided to me as an arc from the publisher but the review is my own.

This is the third installment in the Accidental Alchemist Mystery series. However, one could plunge into the series midway if they wanted a taste and still be able to follow the story line as Pandian makes sure to remind readers of what has happened previously to our characters.

In this book we find Zoe has traveled to Paris to find out more about the connection to Notre Dame and its gargoyles and how they relate to Dorian's plight. With time running out Zoe is faced with a possible break when stories of a strange gargoyle reach her ears, could it be that this is a link to freeing Dorian at last? But swift on the heels of her attempt to find out more comes an unexpected result, she's been recognized by someone who last saw her during World War II and as unlikely as it seems they hold her responsible not only for the death of their mother but for her assistant at the time. With the possibility of her identity being discovered by the authorities Zoe flees Paris back home only to find that the past has followed her and in its wake Zoe will be faced with losing her only chance at a normal life or losing her best friend. Questions are being revealed but the answers continue to elude her and Zoe will find that she may be the only answer that there is. The only thing that she can attempt is anathema to all she believes so the only answer that can help her now is how far will she be willing to go for those she loves and how far will they go for her.

This is a well crafted series that is engaging and fresh. Zoe Faust is the kind of character you wish you could sit down with over a cup of tea and an astrology chart. Perfect for anyone who loves mysteries or wouldn't mind dabbling in the realm of the paranormal. Highly recommend.