Fantasy 5-/5
When high school drama teacher, Paul Samson, stages MacBeth, the three witches hanging out at the soda shop on the corner decide to get involved. I love Randy McCharles’ writing. Many of his works have a wonderful, humorous tone, and this book is a great example. But he doesn’t just go for laughs: the character, settings, and escalating plot are all eminently satisfying.
Finished the novel edit, and did the chapter for the non-fiction book. Pretty much caught up on current projects.
Fantasy 5-/5
Mr. Norrell doesn’t want an assistant or a rival, yet Jonathan Strange becomes both as they bring practical magic back to Napoleonic-era London. Stylishly written and full of interpersonal passions, one of the things I absolutely loved was the footnotes that spoke volumes about the world and the place of magic in it. I was disappointed in the ending.
Close to finishing the novel edit. Received the next chapter of the nonfiction book I’m co-authoring with a homicide detective, so should be able to move forward on that shortly.
Historical 4-/5
Osla and two friends work at Bletchley Park during World War II breaking codes and managing their love lives and relationships with others—and hunting down a spy. I was a bit disappointed with this book because I so adored The Alice Network, and this one, though expertly written, felt unfocussed. The spy plot was too thin and seemed artificially propped up by Beth’s unfounded incarceration for madness and an unreasonable vendetta sparked by Mab. Altogether, there was a lot of cool stuff about how codes were broken at Bletchley, and a lot of time spent on girls living their lives, but not a lot of story.
