Book Review: Love, Holly by Emily Stone

Love, Holly
by Emily Stone (Stone)

Emily Stone is one of a wave of hot young authors writing general fiction with strong romance overtones. Each of her first three novels has been connected, in some small way, with the Christmas season, although the plots and settings were not limited to that seasonal niche.

 

In Love, Holly (British title “The Christmas Letter”), Holly is a young woman who has retreated from friends and family following a tragic car accident and the resulting recriminations. However, she is participating in a “Dear Stranger” letter writing experiment — in which she writes an emotional letter to a complete stranger who is by themselves during the holiday season, and she receives one in return. Only…she recognizes landmarks mentioned by the other anonymous writer, and believes she might be able to held that stranger be reunited with a grandson they’ve been estranged with for decades.

 

But in the process of succeeding at that question, Holly encounters a man she met three years earlier and then lost touch with — someone she hasn’t been able to forget. And the rekindling of that relationship, in parallel with helping to track down the missing grandson, may also force Holly to come to terms with her own fractured family relationships.

 

Emotional, engaging, story, with fascinating characters. So what if there’s too much “coincidental” crossing over of stories…it still ended up being a “feel good” story in the end.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Always, In December and One Last Gift, the only other two novels by Emily Stone to date.)

 

See Scott C’s review of Always, In December by Emily Stone in the December 2023 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Rivers of London graphic novel series by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel and Lee Sullivan

The Rivers of London graphic novel series (9 volumes to date)
by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel and artist Lee Sullivan (741.5 Aar + Hoopla Comics)

Having previously reviewed Body Work, the first Rivers of London graphic novel, a few months ago here in the libraries’ Staff Recommendations, I’ve subsequently managed to catch up on the first 7 of the 8 graphic novels in this series that the libraries own (there’s a 9th we don’t have yet).

 

The quality of these graphic novels remains consistently high. The same writing and art team have stayed with them for the entire multi-year run, so the look of the main characters, Detective Constable Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale, Molly the Maid, PC Guleed and many other supporting figures, remains the same from volume to volume. Each volume compiles 4 to 5 issues of a serialized comic book, though most of these graphic novel compilations tidily cut out the unnecessary extra pages that began each new “comic book issue” and make it look like a single uninterrupted story.

 

The humor, British flavor, and deep dive into both British/World history, and the world of what the Rivers of London series calls “the demi-monde” (the world of a paranormal) make this series particularly appealing. What I particularly appreciate about these graphic novels is that the creators consider the stories told in graphical form to be just as legitimate to the overall continuity of the storytelling as the prose novels. so, these 9 graphic novels fit in between the events of the 9 novels and 5 novellas (and one short story collection), and anyone interested in this witty paranormal police procedural series should be reading them in all the formats!

 

The Rivers of London series is one of the absolute best contemporary mixes of detective fiction and paranormal. It’s like Law & Order meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with a heavy emphasis on British flavor. While individual graphic novel installments vary in how compelling they are, on the whole, overall, I’d rate the first 8 an average of “9” on our Staff Recommendations 1-10 rating scale. I particularly enjoyed Volumes 4 Detective Stories (a bunch of short tales interconnected as Peter Grant’s actual policing skills are being studied, outside of his wizarding skills), 5 Cry Fox (a very crafty and wily little story that introduces a potential new adversary, and 7 Action at a Distance, which is one of the first chances we’ve had to explore the background history of the mysterious Thomas Nightingale. Later graphic novels in this series have included detailed essays on some of the historical topics touched on by each issue’s plot — fascinating reading. Enjoy!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try everything else in the Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Also the novels about The Vinyl Detective by graphic novels co-author Andrew Cartmel are also highly entertaining and capture much the same feel and tone as the Rivers of London stories, just with less emphasis on paranormal proceedings.)

 

( Wikipedia page about the Rivers of London series including the graphic novels ) | ( official Ben Aaronovitch web site )

 

Read Scott C.’s review of Midnight Riot, the first Rivers of London novel, in the February 2012 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
Read Scott C.’s review of Body Work, the first Rivers of London graphic novel, in the May 2023 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: The Lost King

The Lost King

(DVD Lost)

 

This is a delightful film based on the true-life experiences of amateur historian Philippa Langley who spearheaded a search for the burial location of King Richard III of England. Based on her research, Philippa becomes certain that the remains of King Richard III are located in an area of Leicester where the Greyfriars Church had possibly been. After many setbacks, the archaeological dig takes place and the remains of an adult male with a curved spine are found. With DNA testing, it was proved that this was, indeed, King Richard III. What I loved about this film was the incredible performance by actress Sally Hawkins (playing Philippa) as she fights against the male-dominated society that ignores her work and her achievements every step of the way. Incredible performances by Harry Lloyd as King Richard III and Sally Hawkins as Philippa Langley make this a must-see for anyone interested in English history or Shakespeare’s version of Richard III. The bonus films at the end are fun to watch, too.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, or Richard III.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Body Work (a Rivers of London graphic novel) by Ben Aaronovitch and others

Rivers of London: Body Work
by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel (writers) and Lee Sullivan (artist) (741.5 Aar + Hoopla Comic Books)

Despite enjoying the novels in the “Rivers of London” series by Ben Aaronovitch, I was somehow unaware that a series of several graphic novels (each a compiled collection of multi-issue comic books) set in the same story continuity have been released over the past few years.

 

Body Work was the first of the graphic novels, compiling a five-part comic book storyline set between the 3rd and 4th books in the series. Young police constable Peter Grant, still relatively new to his position in The Folly (a mysterious department within the British police that focuses on supernatural occurences), is called to offer his expertise on a case in which an automobile seemed to create a fatal accident of its own accord. A bit of investigating by Peter and his boss, Thomas Nightingale (the last authorized British wizard), reveals that a supernatural entity had possessed a car, which was then sold to a junk dealer, who promised to crush it. When he couldn’t bring himself to do so, and instead used parts of the possessed car in repair jobs on other vehicles, those cars also went rogue, endangering lives and property.

 

Teamed up with a young female constable from the “normal” police force, Grant and Nightingale must use their own magical skills to try to stop the demon car’s reign of terror. The artwork in this story is terrific — capturing the physical essences of the “regular” characters from the novels very well, and introducing new, previously unseen characters as well. The story featured some moments of peril that were well-portrayed, and had me thinking of the novel, Christine, by Stephen King, also featuring a car with supernatural abilities.

 

Body Work isn’t necessarily the best “jumping on” spot for readers interested in getting started with the Rivers of London series. But for anyone who already knows these characters, this was a terrific short entry in the series and I do recommended it.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the rest of the Rivers of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch, starting with Rivers of London (UK title, US title was Midnight Riot).)

 

( official Ben Aaronovitch web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: A Royal Night Out

A Royal Night Out
(DVD Royal)

With the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II in England this past week, there has been renewed interest in her life, especially as presented in films and television. I checked out this DVD to see how she was portrayed as Princess Elizabeth on VE Day, the day that the war with Germany was declared to be over. With the deprivation and sacrifice behind them, the people in Britain are given the opportunity to celebrate the end of the war this particular night. Elizabeth and her sister Margaret receive permission from their parents to go out that evening to celebrate the end of this terrible war. This opportunity is not one to be missed — the one time in their lives when they can mingle with the crowds “incognito” and celebrate alongside their British subjects. Unfortunately, the Queen Mum has other ideas in mind — she sends them out with military escorts who take them to the Ritz to celebrate with older upper crust society members — certainly not their idea of a good time! Both Princesses manage to escape and the adventure begins, taking them all over London and into areas that were considered to be the roughest at that time. Here Elizabeth meets Jack, a pilot gone AWOL who helps her to navigate the streets of London in an effort to find Margaret who is caught up in the wild partying throughout the London streets. This DVD was very enjoyable — it has romance, humor and drama, much like Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, one of my all-time favorite films. Sarah Gadon and Bel Powley do an excellent job of portraying the young royals, Elizabeth and Margaret. I especially enjoyed the performance by Roger Allam (DCI Thursday of Endeavour fame) as Stan, a kingpin in the underworld of London. This is definitely a film worth watching!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Roman Holiday, or The King’s Speech.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official A Royal Night Out web site )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Audiobook Review: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

The Reading List
by Sara Nisha Adams (Compact Disc Adams)

 

I work in a library, where assemble reading lists for customers on a regular basis. So, when I stumbled across this audiobook, with the title The Reading List, how could I pass it up? It turns out to have been one of the best “by chance” check-outs from the library that I’ve made in quite a while.

 

At its core, this is the story of two specific individuals, living in the Wembley district of West London. But it’s also the story of the network of friends and relatives both of them have, and the relationships they have with each other. Mukesh Patel is a widower, who’s basically disconnected himself from much of life following the death of his beloved wife, Naina. The other central character is Aleisha, a teenager preparing to go to college, who is working a summer temp job at the local library branch, while helping her 20-something brother help care for their mentally ill mother, who lives with them in their modest flat.

 

AND…this is the story of a mysterious reading list, that keeps popping up in unexpected places, and having an impact on those who find it. Handwritten, it states: 

 

“Just in case you need it: To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, The Kite Runner, Life of Pi, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Beloved, A Suitable Boy.”

 

Mukesh, never a reader before, finds an old long-overdue library book of his wife’s under their bed — “The Time Traveler’s Wife”, and forces himself to read it, to connect to his lost spouse (who was an avid reader). Wanting to use books as a way to connect to his book-loving granddaughter, Mukesh visits the Harrow Road Library, to return the book and find something else to read. There he crosses paths with Aleisha, not much a reader herself. But when Mukesh asks for recommendations, and Aleisha comes across one of the mysterious reading lists, so decides to read the eight titles on the list and subsequently recommend them to Mukesh…creating opportunities for them to talk and make a personal connection.

 

The Reading List was an absolute treasure. The three audiobook narrators, Tara Divina, Sagar Arya and Paul Panting, bring a large cast of characters fully to life. I found myself completely invested in these characters’ lives, and was quite verklempt at some of the highly emotional moments Aleisha and Mukesh both experience. Highly recommended — truly one of the most engaging novels I’ve read in the past few years!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Beloved by Toni Morrison or A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.)

 

( publisher’s official The Reading List web page ) | ( official Sarah Nisha Adams Twitter feed )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

The Reading List is one of this year’s Top Ten finalists for One Book – One Lincoln, although it didn’t make the Top Three that the public can vote on. If you’d like to see a list of the others that made the Top Ten, click here!

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators: Series 1

Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators: Series 1

(DVD Shakespeare)

 

This charming contemporary British crime series features Mark Benton as sloppy and curmudgeonly private investigator (and ex-police officer) Frank Hathaway, and Jo Joyner as his unexpected new partner, Luella “Lu” Shakespeare. The pilot episode sets their partnership in motion, as bride-to-be Lu hires Frank to investigate her betrothed, who turns out to be a con artist trying to fleece her. When Lu ends up assisting Frank and his sole assistant, Sebastian, in their investigation, she finds she’s good at the private eye work. By the end of the first episode, Lu and Frank have entered into an uneasy partnership, as she helps prop up his failing business, and he slowly realizes she brings some useful skills to the team.

 

Shakespeare & Hathaway is supposed to be set in Stratford-on-Avon, William Shakespeare’s old stomping grounds, and many of the plots of the episodes feature variations on the plots of the Bard’s classic plays (although many are just straight mysteries). The chemistry between Frank and Lu and Sebastian in this first season of 10 episodes is delightful. Some of the plots are simplistic and predictable, while others kept me guessing. But the true joy in watching this series is seeing how Frank and Lu play off of each other. In another Shakespearean twist, during the first two seasons, Amber Aga plays Frank’s police contact — and former partner — D.I. Marlowe. Shakespeare fans will greatly enjoy all the light-hearted references to Shakespearean works and the world of the Bard.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Rosemary & Thyme, Hettie Wainthropp Investigates, Pie in the Sky, Lovejoy or any other light-hearted modern British mystery series, where the focus is not on an official police officer/detective solving the crime.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official Shakespeare and Hathaway – Private Investigators on the BBC web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Who Rescued Who? by Victoria Schade

Who Rescued Who?

by Victoria Schade (Schade)

 

I’ll have to admit — the main reason I picked up this contemporary romance novel was because of the adorable puppy on the cover. That dog, Georgina, does become one of the best characters is this light-weight piece of romantic fluff.

 

Elizabeth Barnes is a Silicon Valley software designer for an up-and-coming gaming company, who finds herself unceremoniously canned by her boss, over something that wasn’t really even her own fault. Reeling from that career/life setback, when Elizabeth receives word from Rowan, a man claiming to be her Uncle (though her late father never told her of any other family members). Rowan tells her she’s inherited a parcel of land in the English countryside that was supposed to have been her father's, but he refused to claim it. Now that he’s passed on, the land has become hers. Elizabeth decides a quick trip to England to meet relatives she never knew about -- and to sell land she doesn’t intend to keep -- will help her pass the time while she tries to figure out how to regain a foothold in the tech industry and reveal her former boss’s duplicitous nature.

 

But all good plans come to naught, as her new-found relatives, including a reclusive but famous painter, welcome her with open arms, and she quickly makes friends with several of her acquaintances in the village of Fargrove, making it more and more difficult for her to leave and exact her revenge on her former employer. And…most importantly…she rescues a little abandoned puppy, and is coerced into fostering it (after she names it Georgina) while she’s in England.

 

Who Rescued Who? was well-written and I fell for all of the characters, except for Elizabeth, who had such a tunnel-vision issue over her unjustified firing and how to fix that situation, that she was blind to all the interesting stuff surrounding her in her new locale, particularly her new beau, James. None-the-less, the relationship between Elizabeth (newly nicknamed Bess) and her uncle Rowan, and all the scenes with the dog(s) made up for Elizabeth’s own failings. A light, fun read…

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the “Rescue Me” series by Debbie Burns.)

 

( publisher’s official Who Rescued Who? web page ) | ( author Victoria Schade‘s Twitter feed )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Batman '66 Meets Mr. Steed and Emma Peel by Ian Edginton and Matthew Dow Smith

Batman ’66 Meets Mr. Steed and Emma Peel

written by Ian Edginton with art by Matthew Dow Smith (YA PB (Graphic Novel) Edginton & Hoopla Digital)

 

I’ve been following the Batman ’66 comic books (and their graphic novel compilations) for several years now. Batman ’66 tells retro comic book stories in the style and tone of the late 1960s Batman TV series, which starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo. That TV series featured a philosophizing and sermonizing Batman, who was as likely to make speeches to the villains as to hit them. And when it did come to fisticuffs, there were plenty of silly “POW!”, “BAM!” and “BANG!” sound effects balloons superimposed over the action. The comic book recreation perfectly captures this somewhat innocent and straightforward approach — ignoring the darker tone that Batman has taken in the past 50 years, as epitomized by the graphic novel The Dark Knight, and all of the films from 1989’s Batman to the present.

 

One of the most enjoyable things about Batman ’66 is that the writers and artists have teamed up Batman and Robin with other late-1960s and early-to-mid-1970s cultural icons. I’ve previously enjoyed their meetings with Wonder Woman ’77 (a similar comics venture styled after the Lynda Carter TV version of Wonder Woman), the spies of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Green Hornet and Kato. This 2017 Batman ’66 Meets Mr. Steed and Emma Peel graphic novel collects a six-issue storyline that crosses Batman and Robin over with TV’s original The Avengers — John Steed and Emma Peel. The story starts with an attempted robbery by Catwoman in Gotham City, of the famed White Diamond (on loan from the U.K.) — a robbery foiled by Steed & Peel, rather than Batman (who is attending a gala as Bruce Wayne). The caped crusaders share intelligence with Steed & Peel, and realize that an old Avengers foe — the cybernetic Cybernauts (and a vengeful operator behind them) — are in league with Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and Lord Ffogg — three of Batman’s arsenal of enemies. Batman and Robin must travel to Jolly old England to assist John and Emma in breaking up this cadre of evil and stop their pernicious plans.

 

Lots of fun, reasonably good art work, and enjoyable dialog very reminiscent of the original Batman TV series. Should appeal to fans of both franchises!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try all the other Batman ’66 titles available through the libraries by a variety of creative teams. The libraries do NOT have all Batman ’66 titles, but there are quite a few in the collection!)

 

( Wikipedia page about Batman ’66 ) | ( Batman ’66 page on dc.fandom.com )

 

See Scott C.’s review of Batman ’66 Meets The Greet Hornet and Kato, in the March 2016 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Scott C.’s review of the 1966-1968 Batman TV series, in the June 2017 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Scott C.’s review of Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77, in the June 2019 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Real James Herriot by Jim Wright

The Real James Herriot
by Jim Wright (B H4355w)

 

Having recently read all of James Herriot’s books, I decided that I wanted to know more about the author of these delightful stories. Within our own collection of biographies is an excellent biography of Alf Wight (the man behind the books) as told by his son, Jim Wight. No one could have done a better job in relating all of the things that made Alf such a master storyteller than the man who spent his entire life working alongside his father in the Yorkshire veterinary practice that Alf Wight describes so lovingly through his books. Alf Wight had been approached many times by publishers wanting to write his biography, but he had always turned them down. In his later years, he told his son Jim that if ever a biography were to be written about him, he would want his son to be the one to do it. Jim Wight would be the first to tell you that he was not a writer, but he accepted the challenge as a testament of his respect and love for the man whom he called Dad and with whom he worked side by side in the veterinary practice in Thirsk.

 

This was a deeply personal book, relating Alf’s experiences growing up in Glasgow, Scotland and the difficulties of his early years as a veterinarian in Yorkshire. Although Alf Wight did a wonderful job of showing the trials and triumphs of his career, we get to see behind the scenes with descriptions of health problems he faced, in particular, his bouts with depression. This is an excellent book and filled with the same humor that I cherished so much in the James Herriot books. If you want to know more about the “real” James Herriot, then look no further. Here you will find “a totally honest man whose fine sense of humor and air of goodwill towards other ensured that he was respected by all who knew him.”

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try James Herriot’s Yorkshire, All Creatures Great and Small, or any other titles by James Herriot.)

 

( official www.jamesheriot.org web site ) | ( official worldofjamesherriot.com web site ) | ( Wikipedia article on James Herriot )

 

See Kim J.’s review of the new PBS series All Creatures Great and Small in the June 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

See Kim J.’s review of James Herriot’s The Lord God Made Them All in the September 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!