Witch Ever Way You Can by Deborah Blake

I don't know about you, but I need a break.

I have the world's most awesome job 48 weeks out of the year. Those other four weeks (midterms and finals) make for a bit of a mess of my office, my eating habits and my sleep cycle.  The end IS in sight, y'all.  We're almost there.

Just. Not. Quite.

Despite only having 64 total students, I swear I graded ONE MILLION papers today.

Yes, that's my office floor.
No, there's no more room
on the desktop.

It's nobody's fault but my own.  I have yet to figure out how to assign grades without actually assigning, um, assignments.

At a time like this, when I'm trying to remember if I left my brain on Spring Break or if it was an earlier time, I need a nice, easy distraction.  Nothing that makes my heart or my head hurt.  I need an HEA.*

*That's Happily Ever After for those of you who don't normally read romance.

And I have a fantastic and fun HEA for you today in Witch Ever Way You Can by Deborah Blake.  As a matter of fact, when I hit "publish" on this bad boy, I'm going to go home, collapse and re-read this one myself.  Not only is it fantastic and fun, it's also a bargain.  (And not just for me because I'm re-reading it. If you buy it now, it's only $2.99 at amazon.com AND barnesandnoble.com.)

Deirdre Connelly is a witch in real life (well, in the book, but you probably understood that.)  She's also an author who caught the eye of an eccentric corporate tycoon when she did an appearance on a popular morning show.  He wants her help, her magical help, with an ancient artifact that he's become quite obsessed with.  In order to convince Deirdre to help him, he sets up a meeting between the witch and her television crush, Robert Daniel Addison.  What starts out as a dinner date (with the actor) and a midnight meeting (with the tycoon) turns into a drawn-out, life-threatening adventure for Deirdre when the artifact responds to Deirdre's witchy ways instead of the tycoon's fervent wishes.

Deirdre is forced to temporarily abandon her home and her cats in order to pacify the tycoon and (hopefully) regain control of her own life.  On the bright side, her TV crush turns out to be a gentleman and hero, but on the downside, well, that temporary displacement is really just a thinly veiled imprisonment for both Deirdre and the TV hottie.  It takes quick thinking, teamwork, courage and determination to escape Mr. Obsession and do what's right with the artifact.  Despite fully expecting that HEA, I was left wondering how Deirdre and Robert Daniel were going to make it all happen.

(And I'm not spoiling the ending.  Read it yourself!)

I don't know about you, but I still need a break, and Witch Ever Way You Can is just the thing we all need.

From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns

This time of year (May in particular) is quickly becoming one of the most dreaded for me.  As both of my children are now school-aged I can literally hear the sound of money flying out the window (end of year teacher gifts, field trips and numerous birthday parties being the main culprits).  Add to that the fact that May officially starts the PCS season for us military folks (either we are preparing to move or at least half of our friends and neighbors are which translates to emotional goodbyes almost every weekend) and I am a tad bit grumpy.  Oh, and I haven't even begun to tackle the twice yearly "wardrobe transition" (you know, where you have to go through all of your clothes and the kids clothes to find out what still fits, what doesn't and what looks best with ghostly white legs).  Yeah, I don't like May.

Earlier this week, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I did what any good wife, mother and book blogger would do and avoided all of the above and started reading.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I found From the Ashes.  I had completely forgotten about this free download from Barnes and Noble!  It was the perfect escape and provided me with three and half days of solid procrastination.  That right there should be endorsement enough, right?

If not, here's more: graduate student brothers, Michael and Jonathan Rickner have been close their entire lives.  However now that Michael has a new girlfriend, Jonathan can't help but be a little jealous.  Having spent most of their childhood on archaeological adventures with their famous father Sir William Rickner, Jonathan is not adjusting to the fact that he must now share his brother with another person.  Unfortunately, Michael shows up dead in his Washington, DC apartment and the police want to rule it a suicide.  Jonathan knows better and starts to dig into his brother's latest dissertation research.  What he finds is disturbing.  And dangerous.  He and Mara (the girlfriend) agree to work together to pick up where Michael left off and try to solve a series of clues that are hidden throughout New York City.  Their quest takes them through the historical ugliness of the rise of Nazi Germany, the Hoover administration, the Great Depression and even the Rockefellers.  Their enemies are determined to stop them so the closer they get to uncovering the long-hidden truth, the more danger they put themselves in. 

There were lots of things about this book that made it the perfect escape.  I think the best part for me was the dedication and devotion Jonathan had for his deceased brother.  Nothing was more important to him than making sure his brother's work was finished and that the truth was exposed.  Familial loyalty, especially one highlighting brothers, is not often found in thrillers like this.  It was a nice touch.  I was also happy to see that Burns didn't take the easy way out and automatically make Jonathan and Mara a couple.  It was important to me that they continued on their quest and did not let the tragedy lead them straight into each others arms. 

Also central to the book were the historical references.  It was evident that Burns did a ton of research and it paid off.  As he and Mara were navigating the streets of New York and at one point climbing around the statue of Atlas in Rockefeller Center, I could almost hear the sounds of the city coming off the pages of the book.  Weaving in some historical references like Rockefeller, Hitler and their ties to the essence of our country in the 30's and 40's only added to the credibility of the author and the story.

I really hope Burns continues the story of Jonathan and Mara.  They made a good team and I would like to see them working together again in another book.  But really, I just need him to write another book and release it by next May.   I  don't like May.



 

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison

This post was supposed to be up on Monday, the last day of April.  April being Autism Awareness Month, I thought it was appropriate.  However technical difficulties ensued and so it's going up too late for the month designated for awareness, but I personally feel it's never too late to be made aware (or more aware as the case may be for some) of what life is like for people living with autism and/or Asperger's.  Look Me in the Eye is John Robison's first-hand account of growing up and living as an adult with Asperger's.  Mr. Robison has only realized as an adult that what he has experienced his whole life - difficulty connecting with others, the ability to concentrate on one thing to the point of obsession, and problems identifying and following unspoken social norms and cues - has a name: Asperger's Syndrome.

{Side note: When the APA starts using the DSM-V as part of diagnosing mental disorders, Asperger's and PDD-NOS will cease to be diagnosed as such.  Instead they will fall under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  For one thing, something doesn't change its properties just because we give it a different name.  A rose by any other name smells just as sweet and all that.  But at the same time, if the change in nomenclature means a difference in services prescribed then I'm worried.  Mr. Robison did not need the same services my daughter needs.  He has struggled with social skills, as does my daughter though she also struggles with language, communication, and basic self-care.  Under the new DSM, they would have the same diagnosis and possibly the same resources.  That would not be appropriate in my opinion. Anyway........}

Mr. Robison had a troubled childhood and not just due to his Asperger's.  Anyone who has read Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs has had a glimpse at Mr. Robison's childhood.  He and Mr. Burroughs are brothers.  Mostly their childhood was plagued by alcoholism, abuse, and mental health issues.  John was the older of the boys and "liberated" himself as a young teen by moving out.  Eventually he dropped out of high school.  He used his abilities to fix sound equipment and truly visualize musical wavelengths as a means of employment.  He worked at for some clubs and different local bands keeping their sound equipment functional.  Eventually he made a name for himself in the rock music community, and was hired by a legendary band at the height of their popularity.  Anyone with a love for the band KISS, should read this memoir for the interesting perspective Mr. Robison's experiences with the band provides.  He toured with them as an engineer of sorts, doing everything from repairing amps to designing and producing the more theatrical musical equipment the band used on stage; smoking guitars, guitars with searchlights, and guitars that exploded for example.

All through this, Mr. Robison still found it difficult to connect with other people.  He did marry (twice), but his first marriage suffered due to several things not the least of which his lack of understanding his own "disorder."  The book is well-written and organized in essays, like many memoirs, so the chronology is not strictly straight.  However, that won't be a problem.  I was touched by how Mr. Robison described finding out about Asperger's and the impact that had on his life.  Knowing that his various challenges were part of something that he couldn't will away on his own, allowed him to shake the feeling that he was "broken."  I was also touched by how it was possible that things could have been easier for him if he had had a diagnosis and resources at an early age.  Of course, then there's the lack of stability in his home life to also address, but still.  He says himself that he grew up at a time when Asperger's was relatively unknown.  All the more reason we need more awareness in my opinion.