Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern

From the creator of the hit webcomic My Life As a Background Slytherin comes a hilarious graphic novel pastiche of classic Romantic literature led by a trio of

queer misfits—and several angry vampires.
Set in early nineteenth-century Britain, Bloodlust & Bonnets follows Lucy, an unworldly debutante who desires a life of passion and intrigue—qualities which earn her the attention of Lady Violet Travesty, the leader of a local vampire cult.
 But before Lucy can embark on her new life of vampiric debauchery, she finds herself unexpectedly thrown together with the flamboyant poet Lord Byron (“from books!”) and a mysterious bounty-hunter named Sham. The unlikely trio lie, flirt, fight, and manipulate each other as they make their way across Britain, disrupting society balls, slaying vampires, and making every effort not to betray their feelings to each other as their personal and romantic lives become increasingly entangled.

I spied this graphic novel whilst walking through the library and was immediately drawn to it. In the initial flip-through, the third page opens with the heroine Lucy declaring to the group of men approaching her ‘Gentlemen, I do hope you like honey, for I have a bee in my bonnet’ while removing said chapeau and charging towards them with upraised sword.

I was hooked. 

The book follows Lucy’s battlefield meeting of Lord Byron, their journey to his magical castle (in Scotland), and encountering the bounty-hunter Sham (who perhaps has a secret agenda). The trio travels through woods, ballrooms, baths, Bath, wine cellars, and gentlemen’s clubs as they pursue the vampiric Lady Violet Travesty.

With a distinctive art style and biting (ha) wit, B&B is a both a love letter to and parody of the Romantic literature genre. I absolutely adored this book. At the moment I’m trying to minimize physical books coming into my possession, due to a lack of shelf space. Upon finishing it, I immediately put B&B on my wish list and strongly hinted to my husband that he should purchase it for my upcoming birthday. 

Also, in the course of researching this review, I discovered that the real Lord Byron really did use curling papers in his hair at night. 

You can find Bloodlust & Bonnets in the graphic novel section under the author's last name McGovern

No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid by Will Chesney

From the publisher: No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life.
Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is Cairo's story, and that of his handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL Team Operator whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo's.

No Ordinary Dog details the relationship between SEAL Team Operator Will Chesney and a Belgian Malinois Military Working Dog (MWD) named Cairo. The first 100 pages or so touch briefly on Will’s childhood and adolescence, and then focus on his enrollment in the US Navy, where he is determined to become a SEAL. The grueling details of preparation, training, and the infamous Hell Week are covered in painful detail. As his career progresses, Will is introduced to MWDs and begins the process of training to become a dog handler. 

After being partnered with Cairo, the focus shifts to training the handler (the dog already has thousands of dollars and years of experience by this point) and making sure both are prepared to ship out to Afghanistan. The book details the roles and duties that both handler and dog play, from bomb detection to taking down enemy combatants. It’s here and up through the latter bin Laden raid that the book tends to be a little repetitious, as over and over it describes the sheer force and power of MWDs. This was already touched upon in the fascinating section describing the training and procurement of said dogs, and it starts to wear a little, especially if read in one sitting (if, for instance, your flight is delayed….). New York Times bestselling author Joe Layden is listed on the cover as well as Will, and this is really the only part of the book that stands out as a negative. A separate section of photos would be nice as well; one can hope that it may make an appearance in the final edition. 

After the raid, Cairo returns to a less active military role, and Will is injured by a grenade blast. While his visible wounds heal, brain injuries and PTSD begin to make their devastating effects known, and Cairo transitions to a position of healer.
Overall, I found this to be a good book on a subject that the general public has had little chance to know about. As one might infer from the last line of the back cover (‘-and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most.’), this is a tear jerker, so beware if you’re easily affected and reading in public.

SPOILER ALERT... 

...Cairo does pass away at the end of the book. It’s a rough last twenty pages, but obviously written with love and dedication.

I read an advance reader copy of No Ordinary Dog. It will be published in April 2020 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

From the publisher: Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable. One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen. Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve Jane Austen's home and legacy. These people could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen so of course the premise of this novel appealed to me. Although there is a real Jane Austen Society this book does not tell its story. Author Jenner uses the formation of the Society as a device to introduce us to an eclectic group of characters of her own making. The author uses real places and things connected to Austen, but the people and the events in her novel are entirely fictional. Each has inner challenges, and each brings unique gifts to the Society.

The book had a slow and rocky start for me, but once I got to know the characters I became interested in their stories. Through their shared love of Jane Austen, they find strength and love (not all romantic) and a place in their small village. Despite the setting and time period, Jenner even manages to include a same sex couple in the small circle of friends. This is a debut novel, and I stumbled over a few odd sentences and passages, especially near the beginning. On the whole, however, it is a very assured debut.

I did find it odd that the Society members divide into two camps – Team Lizzie and Team Emma. What about Elinor and Anne? Humph. But there’s a lot here to touch any true Janeite. Recommended for lovers of historical fiction set in post-WWII England as well.

I read an advance reader copy of The Jane Austen Society. It will be published in May 2020 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman

From the publisher: Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors—men who work undercover for London’s first official police force—and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?

An enjoyable first in a historical romance series from Kate Bateman. The initial premise is a bit far-fetched – a rich heiress chooses to wed a prisoner to escape from her greedy lecherous cousin – but the relationship between beautiful and feisty Georgiana and gorgeous undercover ex-soldier Benedict is sweet and satisfying. I also liked the humor in the side characters of Georgiana’s sister and her besotted poet suitor.

One thing I did not like was the spoiler title. Benedict is not an earl until the last chapter (I don’t consider that a spoiler from me since it is in the title!). He is the second son of an earl and brother to the impoverished current earl, and I spent the whole book wondering if his brother was going to die so he could become earl. There surely were dozens of alternate titles that could have been used. Not sure why publishers think every historical romance must have earl, duke, viscount, or marquess in the title.

I read an advance reader copy of This Earl of Mine. It will be published in late October and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

The Absinthe Earl by Sharon Lynn Fisher

From the publisher: The Irish lord Edward Donoghue, Earl of Meath, consumes absinthe to stave off his sleepwalking, but the liquor has the unintended consequence of causing fairy hallucinations. When he meets Ada Quicksilver, a Celtic mythology scholar from London's Lovelace Academy for Promising Young Women, he begins to entertain the possibility these visions may be due to the overlapping of the living world with the world of Faery. One of these visions seems to herald the young woman's death, so Edward joins Ada in her scholarly exploration of his country in hopes of protecting her. Together they uncover a plot for the takeover of Ireland by the enemies of its most ancient people, the Tuatha De Danaan. In the process, they discover their own connections to a Danaan hero and heroine who want more than anything to use their bodies for a reunion that's been centuries in the making.

The Absinthe Earl has everything a reader of paranormal historical romance could want – a handsome, brooding, and gentlemanly earl, a beautiful, spunky, and independent scholar, and a mystery surrounding Ireland, Faery and absinthe. If you are a fan of Irish mythology and legend, you will relish the appearance of every creature, hero, heroine, and rogue you ever heard of.

I read an advance reader copy of The Absinthe Earl from Netgalley; it will be published on October 15 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

Kathleen Barber’s new thriller Follow Me does a fabulous job of capturing the shallow self-absorption of the average “social media influencer.” Audrey cares only about her latest insta and her followers. Her new apartment is a mess – but in one corner is a perfectly staged table that looked amazing in a photo enhanced by one of Audrey’s special filters.

I was intrigued from page 1 – and I loved the use of the familiar magnifying glass “search” symbol luring me on from page to page. Follow Me is sharper than Barber’s first book – which I also enjoyed – and the title is a perfect fit.

Not since Gone Girl have I so disliked every single major character in a book. For this reason I did not find Follow Me “unputdownable.” I just could not stand to spend that much time with those people. But the narrative is well written - it flows smoothly from section to section. It’s a good read, with nice touches like a morbid art exhibit that mirrors Audrey’s life. It’s clear the author is familiar with the New York and Washington D.C. settings.

You do have to set aside a certain amount of skepticism with psychological thrillers, but a few of the plot twists strained my credulity. I found Follow Me a little slow toward the end, like something else needed to happen before the big climax.

What Barber does best is capture the self-focused narcissism of those who want to be social media stars and who think everyone in the world is interested in every little thing they do. I believed in Audrey as a real person 100%. Some of the other characters felt a little flat.

Recommended for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries. I read an advance reader copy of Follow Me, which comes out on February 25, 2020. It will be available at the Galesburg Public Library in print and as an ebook. 

The Galesburg Public Library is planning to host the author sometime around the date the book comes out. Watch our Facebook page or newsletter for details!

Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine

From the publisher: A beautifully told and intriguing mystery about two generations of Scottish women united by blood, an obsession with the past, and a long-hidden body.

A Viking legend. A family story. And the excavation of an ancient mound amid the family drama of a storied mansion. These three timelines are woven together to form the plot of Sarah Maine’s Women of the Dunes.

Libby Snow is an archaeologist with a particular family interest in the legend of Ulla, a woman running from one brother and in love with another over 1000 years ago. Libby gets permission to excavate Viking ruins on Sturrock land in Ullaness off the coast of Scotland. Stern but attractive Rodri Sturrock manages the estate for his absent brother Hector. Libby keeps secret her family’s connection to Ullaness – her grandmother’s grandmother had moved to North America from this part of Scotland, carrying an ancient cross with her.

The story weaves together tales of star-crossed lovers. Excavation reveals the bones from more than one body, from more than one time period. The setting on the coast of Scotland is breathtaking. The plot takes some predictable turns, foreshadowed by the legend of the past, but surprised me at times as well. And I was happy when one villainous character proved not to be “foaming at the mouth stark raving mad,” as happens so often (too often) in mysteries, but a narcissist who acts entirely true to their spiteful nature.

Women of the Dunes is even better in my opinion than Maine’s first book, The House Between Tides. The characters are well developed, and humor is done with a light touch. My favorite scene happens in Chapter 13, when Libby’s pretentious boss comes to visit the manor house and Rodri and his housekeeper Alice put on a lordly homeowner/simpering servant act for him.

Women of the Dunes is a definite recommend from me for anyone who enjoys a historical mystery/romance and the wilds of Scotland. Women of the Dunes is available for checkout at the Galesburg Public Library, as is The House Between Tides.