Books to Enjoy as Spring Approaches

by Donna Huber

Spring is just around the corner. Here is the south my yard is already green and turning a bit wild so I'll be spending my weekends with yard work and airing out the house. Then we lose an hour next weekend as we change to Daylight Savings Time. With all the new releases this month I need all the hours I can get for reading. But I guess the good news is that these books can be a reward for all that spring cleaning and yard work.

Review: Circus of the Queens by Audrey Berger Welz

by MK French

Donatalia was raised in a life of privilege in St. Petersburg before the fall of the Romanovs and had been in training to be a ballerina. Her father, a textile factory owner, sent her away as the restlessness in the city grew worse, and on the way to New York broke her leg. Unable to be a professional dancer anymore, she leaves her aunt and explores the United States. When she meets the circus "royalty" she knew in Russia, it's almost fated that she would join the circus as their fortune teller.

4 Books to Read Before the End of Winter

by Susan Roberts

I don't know about you but I sure am ready for spring.  We've had more snow in NC than normal and I've seen enough snow for this winter.  The only good things about these cold and snowy days is that there is more time to read.  I have reviews of four January and February books that I've read that will help spend your time until the warm weather arrives.

SAILING THE STARRY SEA: The Appeal of Space Opera

by Gareth L. Powell

While I have been known to write other types of science fiction, there’s something about space opera that keeps drawing me back.

The Darkside

by Ross Kitson

I've just released the second book in my YA sci-fi series, excuse the shameless plug, and one sci-fi trope that the book features is the darker version of the hero. I'd written it into the story before I'd even really thought about the classic nature of it, and it wasn't until I got talking to a mate at work that I recognised how commonly it's become used in literature/ media of late.

Review: The Vain Conversation by Anthony Grooms

by Susan Roberts

The Vain Conversation had such an impact on me that I can barely think of the words that I want to use to describe it. I think it needs to be read by middle school and high school children and their parents so that they can have an open dialogue in their homes about race. Even though the book is set mainly in 1946, it still resonates in today's racial problems in this country.

Donna's February Reading Round-up #MondayBlogs

by Donna Huber

I knew my reading streak wouldn't last. I'm still a couple of books ahead of schedule for my reading challenge so that isn't too bad. Two of the reasons my reading is down are pictured above. I adopt two 8-month-old kittens three weeks ago. They are now all integrated (I have 2 dogs) into the family so I'm getting more reading done. The other reason my reading is down is my library switch the digital library they use at the beginning of the month. I listened to 6 audiobooks in January and only 2 this month. The 'listen online' option at RB Digital is horrible - it doesn't save my spot, there is no rewind/fast forward function, and it constantly crashes and has to be reloaded. So I might be listening to fewer books from now on.

Review: Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

by MK French

Tess Dombegh lives in Goredd, a Medieval-esque nation where women are meant to be perfect ladies, men are protectors, and falls from grace are expected to either be governesses or nuns. She decides to do neither and instead cuts off her hair to pose as a boy and take to the road. She is a prickly, angry young woman, and eventually joins the quigutl she had befriended as a child in search of the World Serpent. This search takes her across Goredd and Ninys, with various detours along the way.