Seeds are set for the year. The cucumbers are for BF – he thought they looked interesting. The kale came along with that, which was nice – it’s a variety I’ve thought about.
The rest are flowers to intersperse with the veg I’ll be putting in the community garden. I have all that seed already. I’m planning to start the peppers next weekend.
Viola’s life is based on a family lie – for centuries, her family has served as the prime ministers to the Eternal Prince of their kingdom. Except there is no Eternal Prince – the family has used magic to show just enough of the Prince to keep him believable, while taking care of the kingdom themselves.
And then one day, a stranger stumbles upon the secret, and assumes the Prince’s identity. He’s talked to Viola’s father, who has accepted his presence for now, but Viola’s in the dark about why. But she has to go along with it, or risk everything her family has worked for. As time goes on though, it become clear that having a real person as the Prince might just be the very best thing that could have happened to them. Viola’s going to learn a lot about herself, and the kingdom of Lenore will never be the same.
This is another fun story – it’s hard to go into much more detail without spoiling certain things, but Voila and the Prince together are a ton of fun. It’s a great read.
This was a fun book – Essie is a princess, on her way with her brother, the king, to a meeting with the neighboring Elven kingdom. They desperately want peace, because there are worse enemies out there. Essie’s the one that comes up with the idea of offering herself in marriage to one of the Elven princes, figuring it’ll be a good starting point that’ll immediately be rejected, but at least show they’re serious.
So, of course, the Elves accept, and she finds herself married off to the Elven king’s younger brother in the course of a week. The prince happens to be their most formidable warrior.
What I liked about the story is that Essie immediately decides to make the best of it, which she hopes will include managing to have a good marriage, but she doesn’t immediately try to go that way- she’s practical enough to recognize that at least striking up a good friendship is the best way to start. Of course that means there will be a romance, but it at least isn’t forced. And I also liked the secrets of the other royal family that Essie finds – kind of refreshingly normal. I feel like I’m damning the book with faint praise, but I just liked that it had a solid story and wasn’t over the top.
Jude Dubuisson had always been lucky – he knows that his father was a god, though who exactly he is, he’s never known. But Jude’s managed to use his luck to exist in the supernatural side of New Orleans. Until Katrina came. For the last six years, he’s hidden from his magic. Until he receives a summons from Mourning, the “Management” of New Orleans, and ends up at a card game he was never meant to win, where a god is murdered.
I really enjoyed this book – it’s a great melting pot of the mythologies of all the people that have populated New Orleans over time. You can tell pretty early on what Jude’s journey will have to be, but the steps he takes along the way are surprising.
It’s also an interesting mediation on New Orleans, and what the storm did to the city. Definitely worth a read.
I had to go find my review for the first book in this series, and I find I have the same complaint about this book as I had in the last. Lady Hardcastle and her maid Flo have retired to the English countryside after a life of adventure, and I’m just not getting enough stories of the adventure.
After the previous book, the police have noted the pairs’ detective skills, so when a local farmer who everyone hated turns up dead, they’re enlisted to help. After all, it’s pretty hard to narrow down the suspects when absolutely no one liked the man, including his own family. I will admit, I admired how a theft at the local rugby club ended up being connected. And Flo did get to work a few of her connections from their prior life, but I want more. This is definitely a series I’ll only continue if I can read it for free.
The North Wind and the Sea 