I Apologize.......and, I'm Down by Mishna Wolff

I'm a day late.  I apologize for that.  We got back from a very lovely vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina yesterday afternoon, and though I had been reminding myself all day that it was, indeed, Monday, my brain was too slow to realize that Monday meant book blog post day.  Sometimes my brain is slow (and I will immediately delete any comments to that effect from my brother, so don't even think about it Joshua).  Regardless, because it was vacation and my husband did all the driving I finished two books and half of another.  Here's the review for the most light-hearted of the three:

If you've ever wondered what it's like to grow up poor in Seattle, this book can give you a pretty good idea.  If you've ever wondered what it's like to grow up poor and white in Seattle with a father who sees himself as black (despite a lack of skin pigmentation), this book can give you a pretty good idea.  Mishna and her sister were born to hippy parents in New England, but were raised by their father in the poverty-stricken neighborhood of his youth.  Upon moving back to Seattle, their father re-adapted to his surroundings and became the soul brother he was growing up.  When Mishna's parents divorce, it's decided that the girls will stay with their father while their mother continues to work long hours. 

The book chronicles Mishna's struggles to fit in around her neighborhood and her struggles to fit in with her privileged classmates at the private school she attends.  Too white for her neighborhood and too poor for her school, her childhood is made all the more difficult by her constant attempts to prove herself to her father.  She tries to be "down" to make him proud, tries to be more middle-class to fit in with her classmates, and tries to be more ethnic to fit in with the kids in her neighborhood; ultimately never completely succeeding at any of her attempts.  But she doesn't fail completely either.

There are some very funny moments of track practices, being the smallest and whitest girl on her basketball, figuring out how to establish herself in summer "camp."  She is very quick to point out that these are the facts as she saw them growing up, that time and perspective may have told her a different story but these are the memories she has from her youth.  There is also quite a bit of family drama.  Eventually Mishna ends up living with her mother while her sister remains with their father.  It was easy to see that these decisions about family, money, lifestyles, and personal growth weren't easy for anyone involved.  It was often touching to read about the this family in a tough situation still loving one another as best as they could.

I found the ending a little abrupt and almost anti-climatic, but this is a problem I have with many chronological memoirs.  I understand I can't blame the author for not embellishing or nicely tieing things up (as life doesn't always work that way) but I always want something different from the end it seems.  This reminds me of a review of the movie "Ray" my friend *Jay gave.  He said he liked the movie but didn't like the way it ended.  Being obnoxious and having not yet seen the movie I said, "Well, I don't think he can help it that he died."  I thought it was funny.  Jay gave me the stink eye.  And now I know what Jay meant. 

I recommend you pick up I'm Down the next time you're in the bookstore - if for nothing else, for the cover art.  And don't blame me if you don't like the way it ends.  Don't blame Mishna or Ray Charles either. 

*Jay is an excellent friend and a superb movie critic.  However, based upon the company he keeps, it's clear he has issues.

Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

Meh.  Not a good way to start a book review but unfortunately, that is the only word that comes to mind as I sit to write this review.  Well, that's not completely true.  The word gin, the word tonic and the word vacation also come to mind, but those have nothing to do with this book. Maybe if I would have read this book while drinking a gin and tonic on vacation I would have liked it better.  Maybe.

I really thought I was going to like Millie's Fling.  First of all, it was free.  ALWAYS a plus.  Second, it was billed by Barnes and Noble as a fun, romantic tale.  Sounds good.  Google Books said it "proves the road to matchmaking hilarity is paved with good intentions."  Not bad.  Fourth, did I mention it was free?

In this particular story, Millie just happens to run into a famous novelist about to commit suicide by jumping off a mountain.  It turns out Millie was at the same mountain dumping her boyfriend.  Millie and Orla (the suicidal author) become quick friends (after she talks her off the edge, that is) and Millie finds herself the subject of Orla's next book.  Millie's roommate Hester is also central to the book as is Hester's boyfriend Nate, her on-again-off-again-crush Lucas (who also turns out to be Millie's new boss after she quits her job), Millie's mom, Orla's gardener, Orla's husband, Orla's husband's mistress, Millie's old boss (who ends up dating her mom) and Hugh, Millie's widower admirer.  Really, a story revolving around  Millie and Hugh themselves would have been plenty.  Those two characters were developed, had chemistry and were extremely likeable.   Why the author chose to muddy the waters with so many other half-developed characters is beyond me.  It made the book too busy, which made me annoyed.

To be fair, it wasn't a bad book.  But for me it was just so-so.  While the author laid out a vast array of characters there were JUST.TOO.MANY.    I found myself having to flip back to remember who certain people were and how they related to Millie.   It wasn't like I read this over a long period of time, either.  I finished it in under a week, and ended up being happy with the ending. 

I just found out the author, Jill Mansell, released a new book last month called To the Moon and Back.  I'm willing to give it a try.  This time I will cross my fingers for less, more-likeable characters.   If that doesn't work I'm willing to break out a gin and tonic and take a vacation.  Isn't that nice of me?


Here is what Barnes and Noble says.

Hexed by Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James, Jeanne C. Stein

Curses! Foiled again!

Except that this book is more like "Curses! But then safe again."

Hexed is an anthology of four short stories about curses (well, hexes, really) foisted onto characters from existing series by the four authors. I knew of two of the series when I noticed this book, and I bought it solely for the Ilona Andrews contribution. I was not disappointed. Magic Dreams focuses on two characters previously introduced in the the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. This series is urban fantasy with a touch of romance set in a world where magic and technology no longer co-exist. When magic is "up" technology stops working; conversely, when magic is "down" technology works as it should. In addition to an interesting take on vampires and weres, this series incorporates magical legends from cultures that aren't always represented in today's urban fantasy books. I really love the series, and it was great to get a closer look of the two re-occurring characters, Jim and Dali. The plot was an excellent stand alone story where Dali must save Jim from a Japanese whore-spider curse. (Yes, you read that correctly.) If you haven't read any of the Kate Daniels' books, this is an intriguing peak into her world.

The second series familiar to me was created by Yasmine Galenorn. Ice Shards was a decent short story about a house sprite trying to discover the truth from her past and lift a curse that's preventing her from having children. There's just something about this series that doesn't speak to me. I've started two of the full stories and have never finished them. I think it's just a matter of personal preference.

Of the two that were new to me, the Allyson James story, Double Hexed, really intrigued me. In Double Hexed, someone has worked a double hex (one that doubles in strength when someone unsuccessfully tries to remove it) into the wards on a hotel. The characters in this story are featured into Allyson James' Stormwalker series. I'm going to look into those books because I liked her main character and a few of supporting characters. Double Hexed is considered 2.5 of a 4 book, to date, series.

Blood Debt by Jeanne C. Stein was the weakest of the four stories, in my opinion. Here, a relatively new vampire is called to task for past actions and needs to save herself and a friend's brother. Short stories always make it hard to tell, in my opinion, but I found the romance part of Blood Debt to be a little too sudden and a little too pat. I was ready for the story to end, and that's never something that happens when I'm reading the Ilona Andrews' books.

One of the reasons I buy anthologies is for the opportunity to discover new series on the cheap. I would have considered this book worth the price even if I had only liked Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews. However, the Yasmine Galenorn story was decent enough filling and finding the Stormwalker series was an added bonus and treat!

I recommend this book for fans of urban fantasy, but don't take my word for it. Check out the reviews on amazon.com.