Ahoy there mateys! The What's Non-Fiction?blog introduced me to this book.  It deals with the Blakiston fish owl.  These owls are HUGE at two feet tall with six foot wingspans.  The author is a wildlife conservationist who studied these elusive owls.  If ye want lots of fish owl facts, this is not necessary the book for you as not much is known about them yet.  The majority of the book focuses with the practicalities of fieldwork and dealing with the local populations and life in Russia.  I found the stories of the Russian people to be the most fascinating part. It is such a dangerous part of the world.  I listened to the author tell the story in audiobook.  His love for owls and the people he met is palpable.  Recommended.

Ahoy there mateys! The Vanderbilts are a family I have been interested in due to some traveling I did as a kid seeing places like the Biltmore Estate and the Breakers.  Anderson Cooper is the great-great-great-grandson of the Commodore, Cornelius Vanderbilt who started the family fortune.  I listened to him read the story of his mother's family.  I particular enjoyed the stories of early days of the clan.  The excess and privilege is both fascinating and horrifying but no different then what we see the top 1% do today.  There is a lot of suffering and fighting too where money does not solve problems.  The major problems of the book came from when the author deals with the recent history of his mother.  The love he shows for her is lovely but her life felt very lightly touched upon.  I would have liked more about her business ventures and so much less about Truman Capote.  I also thought that the sailing section was too long even though I love ships (Arrrr!). I think in general this book skimmed over many things I wanted explored.  Personal preference but no regrets about the read.

Ahoy there mateys! Another recommended read by What's Nonfiction?  This was me first real foray into books about chronic illness as I accept the new reality about my own.  I found the scientific data and the discussion of the emotional aspects of dealing with illness to be the best things about the book.  I was not as onboard with reading about all the various techniques the author tried in her journey of relief.  I am either not interested in those treatments or I don't have those specific problems.  I did like that the book admits that for some of us there is no cure and that it just sucks.  The world does need to shift about how chronic illness is dealt with (i.e. hidden or ignored cause the patient is not dying).  There are several lists out there of books with women and mystery illnesses.  I will read some more. Arrr!

Ahoy there mateys! This is the story of a girl named Ivy who lives with her grandmother, the village healer in the town of Broomsweep.  Parts of this story were cute (griffins, dragon, and Poof) but I didn't like how mean the townsfolk were to Ivy's family who helped everyone and how the bullying got overlooked.  I also thought that all of the characters were rather flat.  There was not a lot about what Ivy was really thinking or feeling.  The contest and the results were lame and because the queen liked Ivy, the locals just switch?  Ugh.  I felt like this should have been delightful and wasn't.  Won't be reading the rest of the series. Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! The crew knows that I don’t read much urban fantasy. This one caught me eye because of the silly titles. I binged the first four books of the eight book series.

The books follow Tori, a human, who can’t keep a job because of her attitude and temper. She accepts a bartender job in a skeevy part of town. Her customers give her attitude and she ends up throwing a martini on the three men who are annoying her. To her surprise, she doesn’t get fired. She gets the job. Then she finds out the three men are mages, magic exists, and she works for a guild that deals with the supernatural world and not letting it infringe on the normals.

I actually really enjoyed the characters in this. I was able to suspend me usual eye-rolling at the fact that Tori becomes attached to the three gorgeous special guys (Aaron, Ezra, Kai) in four seconds. I loved Tori’s snark and pure stubbornness. I loved that romance was not here. I enjoyed the world-building that there was. I particularly enjoyed the characters of Twiggy and Zak. I did think that the magic system (especially the naming conventions) were a bit weak and that Tori is a human whose abilities to survive in the magical world were crazy and unbelievable. There are also physical descriptions of people and beings that are awkward.

But it didn’t matter. I particularly enjoyed books one and two (me favorite) but found that the next two were slightly less enjoyable. Book four’s plot took a turn that really wasn’t to me taste and I had me fill. I won’t be reading the rest of the series. That said, I recommend it to actual urban fantasy lovers because I think lovers of the genre could have a lot of fun with this series as long as ye take it for the light fluff it is and don’t think about it too hard. Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! The crew knows that I don’t read much urban fantasy. This one caught me eye because of the silly titles. I binged the first four books of the eight book series.

The books follow Tori, a human, who can’t keep a job because of her attitude and temper. She accepts a bartender job in a skeevy part of town. Her customers give her attitude and she ends up throwing a martini on the three men who are annoying her. To her surprise, she doesn’t get fired. She gets the job. Then she finds out the three men are mages, magic exists, and she works for a guild that deals with the supernatural world and not letting it infringe on the normals.

I actually really enjoyed the characters in this. I was able to suspend me usual eye-rolling at the fact that Tori becomes attached to the three gorgeous special guys (Aaron, Ezra, Kai) in four seconds. I loved Tori’s snark and pure stubbornness. I loved that romance was not here. I enjoyed the world-building that there was. I particularly enjoyed the characters of Twiggy and Zak. I did think that the magic system (especially the naming conventions) were a bit weak and that Tori is a human whose abilities to survive in the magical world were crazy and unbelievable. There are also physical descriptions of people and beings that are awkward.

But it didn’t matter. I particularly enjoyed books one and two (me favorite) but found that the next two were slightly less enjoyable. Book four’s plot took a turn that really wasn’t to me taste and I had me fill. I won’t be reading the rest of the series. That said, I recommend it to actual urban fantasy lovers because I think lovers of the genre could have a lot of fun with this series. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! The crew knows that I don’t read much urban fantasy. This one caught me eye because of the silly titles. I binged the first four books of the eight book series.

The books follow Tori, a human, who can’t keep a job because of her attitude and temper. She accepts a bartender job in a skeevy part of town. Her customers give her attitude and she ends up throwing a martini on the three men who are annoying her. To her surprise, she doesn’t get fired. She gets the job. Then she finds out the three men are mages, magic exists, and she works for a guild that deals with the supernatural world and not letting it infringe on the normals.

I actually really enjoyed the characters in this. I was able to suspend me usual eye-rolling at the fact that Tori becomes attached to the three gorgeous special guys (Aaron, Ezra, Kai) in four seconds. I loved Tori’s snark and pure stubbornness. I loved that romance was not here. I enjoyed the world-building that there was. I particularly enjoyed the characters of Twiggy and Zak. I did think that the magic system (especially the naming conventions) were a bit weak and that Tori is a human whose abilities to survive in the magical world were crazy and unbelievable. There are also physical descriptions of people and beings that are awkward.

But it didn’t matter. I particularly enjoyed books one and two (me favorite) but found that the next two were slightly less enjoyable. Book four’s plot took a turn that really wasn’t to me taste and I had me fill. I won’t be reading the rest of the series. That said, I recommend it to actual urban fantasy lovers because I think lovers of the genre could have a lot of fun with this series. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! The crew knows that I don’t read much urban fantasy. This one caught me eye because of the silly titles. I binged the first four books of the eight book series.

The books follow Tori, a human, who can’t keep a job because of her attitude and temper. She accepts a bartender job in a skeevy part of town. Her customers give her attitude and she ends up throwing a martini on the three men who are annoying her. To her surprise, she doesn’t get fired. She gets the job. Then she finds out the three men are mages, magic exists, and she works for a guild that deals with the supernatural world and not letting it infringe on the normals.

I actually really enjoyed the characters in this. I was able to suspend me usual eye-rolling at the fact that Tori becomes attached to the three gorgeous special guys (Aaron, Ezra, Kai) in four seconds. I loved Tori’s snark and pure stubbornness. I loved that romance was not here. I enjoyed the world-building that there was. I particularly enjoyed the characters of Twiggy and Zak. I did think that the magic system (especially the naming conventions) were a bit weak and that Tori is a human whose abilities to survive in the magical world were crazy and unbelievable. There are also physical descriptions of people and beings that are awkward.

But it didn’t matter. I particularly enjoyed books one and two (me favorite) but found that the next two were slightly less enjoyable. Book four’s plot took a turn that really wasn’t to me taste and I had me fill. I won’t be reading the rest of the series. That said, I recommend it to actual urban fantasy lovers because I think lovers of the genre could have a lot of fun with this series. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! I binged this series. The four books are pretty short (80 to 172 pages). The main character is detective James Keeley who doesn’t have a lot of money but does have a magical gun.

In book one (the shortest) Keely is hired by a dragon to solve the mystery of who stole one of the items in his hoard (the item is funny!). The confusion is how something that large was stolen out of a locked room. I really enjoyed the characters in this. James is a likeable guy. The dragon, Oz, is enthusiastic and clueless about humans. And then there be Dolly, the ghost of the 1920s flapper who inhabits the office building’s basement. The world building was light but the story was fun. There are plot holes in how the story resolves but it was entertaining enough for me to immediately read the next.

All things considered, I am glad to have read this series. It was light and fun and just what I needed. And the dragon made it all worth it. I loved him. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! I binged this series. The four books are pretty short (80 to 172 pages). The main character is detective James Keeley who doesn’t have a lot of money but does have a magical gun.

Book two has Keely looking into Dolly’s past, her demise, and why she still is around. Plus there is the delight of Oz being involved and his excitement for his new role. Again, I didn’t necessary love how the plot or mystery resolved and the world building is very light but the characters were worth it. And the gun continued to be great fun.

All things considered, I am glad to have read this series. It was light and fun and just what I needed. And the dragon made it all worth it. I loved him. Arrrr!