The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Seams Like Murder (Grace Designs Mysteries) Tilly Wallace, 2023 Premise: Grace is hoping that things are about to turn around for her struggling boutique, but when she's accused of a client's murder, everything gets more complicated.  I picked this up cheap on Kindle on a whim. Every so often I try a new historical cozy mystery in hopes of discovering a new obsession. They are usually underwhelming, and I often don't even bother to review them. This book was good, but it didn't quite scratch that itch for me. It's set in 1920 in New Zealand, and the setting puts me in mind of Phryne Fisher, but Grace is no Phryne (probably for the best). She has a minor supernatural ability which seemed less important than I felt like it should have. She has a complicated and slightly mysterious past having to do with the truth about her deceased husband-who-she-probably-wasn't-married-to that I didn't enjoy; it was teased constantly and then not actually spelled out in this...

The Dragon and the George Gordon R. Dickson, 1976 Premise: A man jumps mentally into a medieval fantasy world in search of his fiancee. I picked up a copy of this off a dollar rack ages ago because I knew it was the (partial) inspiration for the animated movie The Flight of Dragons, a staple of my childhood. This background knowledge meant that I finished the book despite an extremely lackluster opening section. The beginning reminded me, negatively, of Connie Willis' Oxford time travelers books, in that the characters are unlikeable, insufferable academics. Jim and his fiancee Angie are poor, depressed adjuncts scrabbling for enough work and money to buy a home. Jim feels quite hard done by, by his boss, his landlord, and the world in general. He idly wishes that he lived in a time when you could use physical force against those who wronged you, thinking this would somehow be simpler. As a historian, he should really know better. He also has a weird obsession with Angie's abi...

Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 Kevin Hearne, 2011 Premise: A nigh-immortal druid gets into trouble with some gods and other supernaturals in modern-day Arizona. This was another one of the books that had lingered on my shelves for ages. I think we may have won this copy in a raffle or part of some online contest? Something like that. I honestly don't recall. So I finally read it, and it's (drumroll)... fine.  Good, even. Perfectly adequate and enjoyable urban fantasy. Smooth, readable writing, funny characters and scary villains, twisty plot with a strong ending. Very workmanlike and well-done. Had I read it when it came out in 2011, I might have read more in the series. And that's not a slight on the book, that's a look at how different my life is now, with a full-time job and a young child. If book one is enjoyable, but not outstanding, there had better be some compelling reason to pick up another. If I were particularly drawn to the protagonist, or the w...

The Song of the Lioness Series Tamora Pierce, 1983-88 Premise: Four YA books about a young woman who disguises herself as a boy to become a knight. This is awkward, because these books were a staple of many of my contemporaries' childhoods. But not of mine.  I have read, and enjoyed, later books by Tamora Pierce, so I had this series on my shelf, snapped up some time ago at 0.50 cents a book. But I'd never read it. Until now.  These books are not, largely, bad books. They are fine, even good books burdened with bad/painful/awkward/dated parts.  My quick reactions: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983) This is fun. Some of the character introductions are clunky or weird, but it's easy to overlook. The characters are mostly fun, the structure of the story works. The gender-bending is fairly well done, although there's a bit much of "she'll always be a girl" for today's audience. It's fine if she's a girl despite pretending for specific reasons to be...

She Who Became the Sun Shelley Parker-Chan, 2021 Premise: As a child, Zhu was told her fate was nothing, while her brother's fate was greatness. When circumstances give her the chance to change that, she steps onto a path that leads to the future. I read this book to take a break from reading older books that had been on my bookshelf forever; I wanted to sort of recalibrate my brain with something current. And this was a great choice.  This is based loosely on the life of the Hongwu Emperor in the 14th century. We assume that he was not, in historical fact, AFAB, but Zhu is, and she struggles throughout the book with the tension of this secret. Zhu assumes that if anyone discovers that she "stole" her brother's identity, that she will not achieve the greatness she burns for.   And she does burn. (Side note: I waffled briefly between using "she" or "they" for Zhu, as she feels somewhat beyond gender by the end, but the narration uses "she"...

Blindness José Saramago, 1995 Premise: What happens to a small group of people during an unexplained epidemic of blindness. Content warnings, y'all. LOTS of them.  This is part of the "read the books already on the shelf" project, although I didn't pick this book. It was a gift, where "gift" means that if I remember right, an out-of-town visitor finished the book while visiting and didn't feel like bringing it home with them. (Not naming names here, just saying that I didn't choose this book.) I can see why it's an award-winning book, the style is interesting at first, and it feels like it's trying to say something about humanity.  Unfortunately, what it seems to be saying is that people generally suck, but women can somehow both bear horrific treatment and efficiently hold society together, but without actually getting any respect or sympathy.   It started out promising, but by the end, the style was oppressive and annoying to read, the fact...

Nine Princes in Amber (The Chronicles of Amber, Book 1) Roger Zelazny, 1970 Premise: Our main character awakens with no knowledge of who he is or where he's from, but soon he's on his way to challenge his brothers for control of the one true city of Amber. The Amber books have been on my radar for an incredibly long time, and I've had a giant omnibus on my shelf for quite a few years without cracking it open. I finally read the first one, and... I'm not sure how I feel. This book was intriguing, but I have a lot on my to-read list.  I really liked the beginning (despite its cliches) because it introduced us to the world in a surreal way without a ton of exposition. I was fascinated by Corwin's blend of insecurity and surety as he tried to navigate by his instincts in a dangerous situation.  But then he does some magic to get his (incredibly long) memory back, and all his powers, and... it was suddenly much less interesting to me.  The world is potentially very cool...