Cathy Reviews: No Comfort for the Lost

My mother-law-Cathy is back with another review today! With BEA all last week, I'm of course behind on my reading, so she stepped up once again. I fail. :( Thanks so much Cathy!

NO COMFORT FOR THE LOST
Mystery of Old San Francisco #1
Nancy Herriman
Mystery/Historical
384 pages
NAL
Available Now
Source: Bought

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
In this historical mystery series, a courageous nurse and a war-scarred police detective in 1860s San Francisco champion the down-trodden and fight for justice …

After serving as a nurse in the Crimea, British-born Celia Davies left her privileged family for an impulsive marriage to a handsome Irishman. Patrick brought her to San Francisco’s bustling shores but then disappeared and is now presumed dead.  Determined to carry on, Celia partnered with her half-Chinese cousin Barbara and her opinionated housekeeper Addie to open a free medical clinic for women who have nowhere else to turn. But Celia’s carefully constructed peace crumbles when one of her Chinese patients is found brutally murdered…and Celia’s hotheaded brother-in-law stands accused of the crime.

A veteran of America’s civil war, detective Nicholas Greaves is intent on discovering the killer of the girl, whose ethnicity and gender render her as powerless in death as they did in life. Nicholas’s efforts are complicated by Celia, who has a knack for walking into dangerous situations that may lead to answers…or get them both killed.  For as their inquiries take them from Chinatown’s squalid back alleys to the Barbary Coast’s violent shipping docks to the city’s gilded parlors, Celia and Nicholas begin to suspect that someone very close to them holds the key to a murderous conspiracy…

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
My reading weaknesses are mysteries and historical fiction, so No Comfort for the Lost does a marvelous job of sating both of these loves. This is the first in a series and is set in the late 1800's in San Francisco. Ms. Herriman has a gift for painting an accurate and descriptive picture of the era. We can easily place ourselves into this setting.
 
Celia is a nurse and active in bettering the lives of Chinese prostitutes. A very courageous and forward-thinking venture in those times. When a friend is murdered, Celia is compelled to investigate. She steps on lots of toes including those of Detective Nick Greaves. At first the duo are not on the best of terms, but there is a warming up and a collaboration becomes apparent.
 
This is a well-conceived mystery because of the extensive research that must have been done to make the plot so convincing. Much of the mystery and investigation touches on actual events of the times.  The characters are fully fleshed out and we are drawn to them and care about their well being. We are rewarded in embracing the characters because we know we will meet them again in the next mystery.
 
On a personal side note, Ms. Herriman lives in our hometown and she attended our book club the evening we were discussing this novel. It was so much fun and interesting to get an inside look into this story and the author.

Rating: 4/5

Find Nancy:

Website • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

BEA 2016!

Hey Everyone!

I'm on my way to Chicago to attend BookExpo America, so posts will be light this week. This is my 6th year attending, but the first year it's been in the Windy City, so I'm looking forward to exploring a new place. I know I said this last week when I listed my top 3 BEA picks, but I'm really, REALLY excited about the fact that the hotel and convention center are connected. No walking (and sweating) down dirty NYC streets with my rolling suitcase. WOO HOO!

Also? Room service. It's calling to me. Our normal hotel in NYC is closer to Times Square than the Javits Center, so we almost always go out to dinner. Since the Hyatt is connected to the convention center, it's a little more out of the way and there aren't as many restaurants within in walking distance, which means room service is likely. Yessssssssss. It's already been established that I'm lazy you guys, so room service is basically heaven to me. My mom and mother in law are accompanying me once again, so it's going to be books, family, and room service all the way. Best. Trip. Ever:)

Talk to you next week!

Children's Book Week: Celebrating Graphic Novels with Sam Bosma!

Today I'm excited to be a part of a very special tour celebrating Children's Book Week, one where each blog features a fun interview with a graphic novelist! Each interview is conducted by Hippopotamister author John Patrick Green, and he's here at Supernatural Snark talking to Sam Bosma about his inspiration, sports and of course, wizardry. No interview is complete without wizarding questions. Obviously. Take it away John and Sam!

Your graphic novel series, Fantasy Sports, combines competitive sports like baseball and volleyball with spells and magic. Did you A) play a lot of sports as a child, and B) are you a wizard?

I did play sports as a child! I was on the swim team, played baseball and basketball for a few years, and tried my hand at soccer as well. I was just outrageously average at all of those things that, when I started getting older and the sports became more competitive, I couldn’t really keep up. I rode the bench for awhile, where I had plenty of time to think about wizards and dragons and stuff. Never did become a wizard, but maybe those powers manifest in middle age. Fingers crossed!

I'm a huge fan of Steven Universe, which you draw backgrounds for. How does working on an animation project with other writers and artists compare to making your own comics?

Making my own comics will always be number one. I love working on comics because I get to do the whole thing, every part, from A-Z. In animation, it’s more like I’m working on A, while someone else is working on B-Z, while sometimes maybe I’ll help out on M, R, and X. It’s not the same, having to rejigger your mind to be happy working on just part of the whole. In comics, because I write them as well, I create my own problems and then I solve them. In animation (and other fields of illustration), someone else creates the problems and I help to solve them. It’s still a process I enjoy, but it’s not quite as satisfying as working on my own stuff.

Making a graphic novel has a lot of stages, like brainstorming, doodling, or thumbnailing, and of course penciling, inking, and coloring. What's your favorite part of the process? Do you have a least-favorite part?

My favorite part is definitely the inking part. That’s where all of my story decisions have already been made and I can just draw and draw. That’s where I feel most comfortable and most confident. I like really any of the stages where I’m drawing, since that’s what first drew me into making comics. The writing is nice, but I still have a long way to go before that becomes natural for me. I’m a very mechanical writer.

My LEAST favorite part is definitely coloring. It’s so hard for me and takes the longest. It’s become a little easier over time, but I still spend more time floundering during that part than I do in any other part of the process.

What are some of your childhood influences, and where do you get your inspirations today?

I didn’t read a lot of comics as a kid – I didn’t really know anything about them aside from Spawn or Venom or any of the other SuperCool anti-heroes of 90’s. I did, however, watch a lot of cartoons. I really loved the RankinBass animated movies like The Last Unicorn and The Hobbit – both movies that were at turns funny and scary for a kid. I think those helped influence the tone I want to shoot for in comics. Possibly the most formative cartoon for me, though, was a VHS tape I had called Warriors of the Wind, which I would later learn was a butchered American version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. In the US version I had, whose cover featured a Pegasus, a laser-shooting robot, and a Luke Skywalker lookalike, the names were all changed and about 30 minutes were cut. I loved it so, so much.

Today, I cull most of my inspiration from books. I read a lot — like, a lot a lot. Maybe 40 books a year, mostly fantasy and non-fiction. My favorite authors are Ursula LeGuin and Gene Wolfe, who are both sci-fi/fantasy authors of very different colors, but both write great fantasy worlds with really unique viewpoints.

What are other topics you're interesting in covering with comics? Since you've combined "fantasy" with "sports," what sort of combination should we expect from you next?

Fantasy will likely be the constant in my work for a good long while. It’s what I’m interested in drawing, and so I must find new ways of exploring that. Fantasy Sports will continue for a little while, but I’m working on something of a Western in addition. Dusty frontier towns, cowboys, mesas, duels, the whole thing. But, you know, with swords and stuff.

If you couldn't be a cartoonist, what would you be?

Unemployed.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

FANTASY SPORTS 2

Wiz and Mug are back in action, and the action this time goes by the name of BEACH VOLLEYBALL!

Wiz and Mug's adventures continue when a misunderstood teleportation spell accidentally drops them off in a ruined beach town. When the town's amphibious inhabitants confront Wiz and Mug with the revelation that the United Order of Mages may not be exactly what it seems, a new tournament begins!

In this sequel to the 2015 best-selling graphic novel, we’ll also find out where young Wiz’s story began—and if you were to find out it was on a baseball diamond, would you really be surprised?

Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

SAM BOSMA

Sam Bosma was born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, but lived most of his life in suburban Pennsylvania. Sam relocated to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he subsequently taught in the Illustration department from 2011 to 2013. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Known primarily for his award-winning work in the illustration industry, Fantasy Sports #1 was his debut graphic novel. Sam loves basketball, comedy podcasts, roleplaying games, smoothies, and Ken Burns documentaries. His greatest regret is that he's never dunked on anyone.

Website • Tumblr • Twitter

Be sure and follow along with the rest of the tour!

Monday, May 2^nd – Forever YA featuring Gene Luen Yang

Monday, May 2^nd  – Read Write Love featuring Lucas Turnbloom

Monday, May 2^nd – Kid Lit Frenzy featuring Kory Merritt

Tuesday, May 3^rd – Sharp Read featuring Ryan North

Tuesday, May 3^rd – Teen Lit Rocks featuring MK Reed

Wednesday, May 4^th – Love is Not a Triangle featuring Chris Schweizer

Wednesday, May 4^th – SLJ Good Comics for Kids featuring Victoria Jamieson

Thursday, May 5^th – The Book Wars featuring Judd Winick

Thursday, May 5^th – SLJ Fuse #8 featuring Eric Colossal

Friday, May 6^th – SLJ Scope Notes featuring Nathan Hale

Friday, May 6^th – The Book Rat featuring Faith Erin Hicks

Saturday, May 7^th – YA Bibliophile featuring Mike Maihack

Saturday, May 7^th – Supernatural Snark featuring Sam Bosma

Sunday, May 8^th – Charlotte’s Library featuring Maris Wicks

Sunday, May 8^th – The Roarbots featuring Raina Telgemeier

Guest Post: Catherine Bybee + Doing It Over

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I have a very special guest post from author Catherine Bybee as part of the promotional tour for her latest contemporary romance release, Doing it Over. You guys know there's never a time I'm not in the mood for a good romance, so I'm thrilled to welcome Catherine back to the blog. She's here to share a little bit about Doing It Over and life during her high school years, so I hope you guys enjoy and add this one to your lists!

THE HARDEST PART ABOUT MY HIGH SCHOOL LIFE

Jumping off a new series based on three high school besties, was both cathartic and fun. It helps that I have two teenage children either in high school, or just out of high school sparking my muse.

So when asked…what was my worst high school experience, and one that truly shaped my life…this is what I came up with:

I didn’t have a lot growing up. My mom fell in and out of love a lot, dragging her children along for the ride. My older siblings dropped out of school leaving me to set the example of doing it right. I was determined to graduate and go on to college. I learned early on that a university was out of the question. My grades weren’t such that I could compete on that level to get in, and money wasn’t there at all.

I worked as a waitress every day I could and still found time for after school plays and homework. Not that I gave much attention to the latter, but I did manage to pull halfway decent grades. My senior year in high school offered me the lead in two plays, which thrilled and challenged me. I was skating toward the finish line with the couple of academic classes I needed and the rest revolving around my passion. Theater and choir. I’d made the jazz choir, was vice president of the drama club…and lets not forget the lead roles of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker and Marty in the musical Grease.

Then… during the Christmas break, my mother came home to the apartment she was renting, and told me we were being evicted. She was moving in with her friend ‘Stoney’… name given for obvious reasons…and I should find a place to live.

Holy Shit! 

Yeah, that isn’t made up folks. I was six months away from graduating high school, 17 years old…and being told to ‘figure it out’.

I did!

I dropped out of all my fun classes, acting, directing, choir…gone were the after school roles in the plays. I added classes like computers…remember MS DOS?  I took a ten key class, and left school around noon to work so I could pay my way.  I had two families over the next six months take me in and offer a room. I paid them rent…not a lot, but something. I often only came to their homes to sleep.

I was on my own!

So there you go… the hardest part of my high school years.
The drive and determination I learned during that time has sat with me my whole life. But boy it sucked at the time!

Happy Reading
Catherine 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

DOING IT OVER

One small town. Three close friends. True love to last a lifetime.

Voted Most Likely to Succeed, Melanie Bartlett ended up anything but. The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.

Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?

Amazon • B&N • BAM • Book Depository

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

CATHERINE BYBEE

New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Weekday Brides Series and the Not Quite Series. Bybee lives with her two teenage sons in Southern California.

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Pinterest

Review: Ride Hard

RIDE HARD
Raven Riders #1
Laura Kaye
Contemporary MC Romance
320 pages
Avon
Available Now
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Brotherhood. Club. Family.

They live and ride by their own rules.

These are the Raven Riders . . .

Raven Riders Motorcycle Club President Dare Kenyon rides hard and values loyalty above all else. He’ll do anything to protect the brotherhood of bikers—the only family he’s got—as well as those who can’t defend themselves. So when mistrustful Haven Randall lands on the club’s doorstep scared that she’s being hunted, Dare takes her in, swears to keep her safe, and pushes to learn the secrets overshadowing her pretty smile.

Haven fled from years of abuse at the hands of her criminal father and is suspicious of any man’s promises, including those of the darkly sexy and overwhelmingly intense Ravens’ leader. But as the powerful attraction between them flares to life, Dare pushes her boundaries and tempts her to want things she never thought she could.

The past never dies without a fight, but Dare Kenyon’s never backed down before . . .

MY THOUGHTS
Ride Hard is a fast-paced, swoon-worthy start to this series, giving us a delightfully mismatched leading couple with a rough and tumble hero and a sweet-as-pie heroine more than a decade his junior. Though they're miles apart in age and personality, unfortunate life experiences bring them together, and the romance that develops between them has us setting this one on that special shelf that houses all the books we plan to read over and over again.

Though Haven is initially as timid as they come thanks to an abusive father and life as part of a criminal organization, she never comes across as weak, merely a young woman attempting to survive in a potentially threatening environment the only way she knows how. She knows she's letting fear drive her in the beginning, and though she gets mad at herself for it, she still can't quite bring herself to be the life of the party the way her best friend Cora is. Slowly but surely however, we see her begin to find herself thanks to her new environment and the camaraderie with many of the Raven Riders, and by the end she has a spine of steel that causes more than one leather-clad biker to take a step back and give her space.

Dare is just the right amount of bad boy, running his MC as above board as possible while still being able to help those the law can't, giving a little kiss of danger along with our heart of gold. He's incredibly patient with Haven as she tries to figure herself out, never trying to be the missing piece that suddenly makes her whole, but rather content to be by her side as she completes herself and then shares her newfound wholeness with him.

As is always the case with a romance by Ms. Kaye, Haven and Dare sizzle throughout, but the heat is more than backed up by emotional substance. Dare and Haven are also surrounded by an outstanding cast of characters, many of whom are sure to get their own stories in future books, and I for one can't wait to dive back into this world with another one of the Raven Riders!

Rating: 4/5

Find Laura:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: BEA Edition!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

CROOKED KINGDOM

Six of Crows #2

Leigh Bardugo

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases September 27th from Henry Holt

From Goodreads:

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

Goodreads • Amazon

THREE DARK CROWNS

Kendare Blake

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases September 20th from Harper Teen

From Goodreads:

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose...it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

Goodreads • Amazon

CARAVAL

Stephanie Garber

Young Adult/Fantasy

Releases January 2017 from Flatiron Books

From Goodreads:

Before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it’s all a game . . .

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their ruthless father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the legendary, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

Then, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation to Caraval finally arrives. So, Tella enlists a mysterious sailor’s help to whisk Scarlett away to this year’s show. But as soon as the trio arrives, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nonetheless soon becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with her sister, with Legend, and with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Goodreads • Amazon

Next week is BookExpo America, an event I look forward to each and every year. This year it's moving to Chicago which I'm excited about because the hotel and convention center are connected (WIN!!!!) and I don't have to walk 11 blocks with a rolling suitcase full of books. I know, I know, first world problems and woe is me ;-) But you guys, it's a long walk and I'm lazy. Too lazy to be walking 11 NYC blocks twice a day. *starts sweating just thinking about it*

There are about 10 books I'm hugely excited for this year, but the above three are the ones I'm absolutely desperate to get my hands on. As you can see, I have a YA fantasy-themed BEA wishlist. I can't help it. YA fantasy just makes me happy, and if I manage to get in line early enough to get copies of these, I will simply wander the booths the rest of the day petting them and calling them My Preciousssss.

*puts on BEA game face*