Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything
I read every kind of book from the absolute serious to the downright silly.
Hi Everybody!
I launched the Adapt Me Podcast this week! It’s available on Spotify and Amazon Music as of now. It’ll be on more in the coming future. I plan on releasing episodes on a monthly basis.
If you want to be a guest, feel free to email me here!
Content warning: This review discusses mental health and suicide.
There’s been a lot of more focus on mental health now more than ever. It explains why there’s an uptick in accessing resources of that kind. This even includes fiction, for it provides a window to understand why someone might feel a certain way. Some of these work, but others aren’t as effective. One of the most popular books that deals with mental health is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. With his latest novel The Midnight Train being released this month, I figured it would be a good time to visit the novel that put him on the map. While I enjoyed certain aspects, The Midnight Library fell short when it came to tackling mental wellness.
The Midnight Library is about a woman who encounters a library that contains books that allow her to try lives she could’ve lived while she is in between life and death. Nora Seed is a 35-year-old woman dealing with depression. When she attempts suicide, she comes across the Midnight Library, which has every possible book that details the lives she could’ve lived. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, she must search within herself as she travels through the library to realize what is truly fulfilling, and what makes it worth living in the first place.
Before I get started with this review, I’m aware that author Matt Haig has been open with his mental health struggles. For many people, it’s not easy dealing with that. What am I about to say has nothing to do with him personally.
I want to start off with some good things about the novel. I liked the concepts of the Midnight Library and parallel lives. The institution and who is in charge of it manifest differently depending on the person, which I found to be neat. For Nora, it’s a library because the most influential person in her life was her school librarian Mrs. Elms, thus the “owner.” For minor character Hugo, it’s a video store run by his uncle. Also, I like how Nora went from one life to another simply by opening up a book and how she came back to the library whenever she felt disappointed. Of course, she can’t stay in those lives forever, and this proves more difficult as she continues to explore them.
In addition, I like Mrs. Elm, well, Nora’s perception of her. She is her mentor in this strange place. Mrs. Elms tries to get her to see that life is certainly worth living in spite of the regrets. She can be extremely blunt about this like when she said, “‘Sometimes regrets aren’t based on fact at all. Sometimes regrets are just . . .’ She searched for the appropriate term and found it. ‘A load of bullsh*t.”
With that being said, I felt underwhelmed by the book for two reasons. The first is the mental health aspect. Since this is a stranger-in-a-strange-land kind of story like Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and The Phantom Tollbooth, I understand why Haig made Nora a bit bland, so she could be a vessel for people in similar situations. However, I wish that she wasn’t entirely defined by her depression even though I get why, for this is how she might see herself. I felt invested when she was experiencing her final parallel life with Ash as her husband and Molly as their daughter. I simply wish that Nora had more of a character.
Moreover, the overall message didn’t sit well with me due to its snap-out mentality. I’ve read plenty of books that deal with mental health, and saying that all one needs to do to improve is to have a better outlook on life and to work on relationships will not cut it for everyone. I can certainly see how it can be effective with those with situational depression, yet not others whose mental wellness issues are much deeper. One can’t simply walk on the sunny side of the street right after a suicide attempt. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine also involves opening up to new possibilities, yet it still acknowledges that the road to recovery is a long way for the titular character due to past trauma. With Nora, all she had to do was realize that the perfect life is right in front of her all along. In other words, she has a It’s a Wonderful Life moment, and everything is supposedly hunky dory.
The second main reason why I felt dismayed was because of how predictable it became. The entire premise is about a woman trying out different lives to see what she could’ve done had she made some changes no matter how small they are. And, it goes on like that until the very end. Don’t get me wrong. I felt sorry for her and understood why she wanted to take her own life because she felt that certain relationships were being severed one by one. It didn’t help that most of that happened within 24 hours. But, once the Midnight Library and its mechanics were explained, it became clear that Nora exploring these lives was going to be the entire story, and after a while, I sort of checked out. I came back when Nora was living her life with Ash and Molly, but even then, I knew the outcome before the story ended.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Carey Mulligan. Mulligan is one of the most famous people who recorded an audiobook I’ve reviewed on this website. For those who aren’t familiar, she is an actress who has been nominated for an Oscar for her performances in An Education, Promising Young Woman, and Maestro. For me, Mulligan is best known as Daisy Buchanan in the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of The Great Gatsby and as Sally Sparrow in “Blink” – one of the most iconic episodes of Doctor Who (the one with the Weeping Angels). I enjoy her work very much, but I felt that her performance narrating The Midnight Library was only solid. I loved her nimble and melancholic tone that remains consistent through the audiobook, but there was barely any distinction between characters. I sometimes had a hard time figuring out which person was speaking. There were times that Mulligan tried adding a wiser and somewhat sassier tone to Mrs. Elms and envisioning Molly like a mature child towards the end. While this was only a solid vocal performance, I would like to see Mulligan cast as Nora in a movie version. Luckily, that is coming soon since that adaptation was announced at CinemaCon last month.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a book that tries to tackle mental health in a way that appeals to everybody, but it doesn’t work. Sure, there are cool concepts that it explores. At the same time, it’s too predictable, and its message is possibly too general for people who may need more than just changing their outlook on life and working on relationships. This is why I hesitate to recommend it. It could be empowering to those dealing with something like situational depression, yet it could potentially be insulting to those who need more. But then again, it also deals with parallel lives, so I could suggest to readers who like that. I’m sure that people can find other books that handle mental health issues in more nuisance ways.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
May the Fourth be with you! Growing up, Star Wars intrigued me. I’ve seen a handful of the films in the franchise, and I knew people, including my husband, who were aware of its lore. There’s even a great YouTube channel called The Art of Storytelling that often dives deep into that aspect in shows like Star Wars. In addition, I was aware of the books in the “Star Wars Disney Canon” series, which expanded its universe, so I wanted to look at one to see what it’s all about. I asked some people on social media which titles to read, and one of them recommended Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp. It’s a good book that further explores the relationship between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine with plenty of great action scenes and memorable characters.
Lords of the Sith is about Vader and Palpatine fighting off a Twi’lek revolution between Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi knight, is no more. In his place is Darth Vader, a newly appointed Sith Lord. The Emperor’s chosen apprentice has proved his loyalty to the dark side. However, the Sith Order’s history is riddled with duplicity, betrayal, and usurping Masters, and the truest measure of Vader’s allegiance has yet to be taken. Until now, the planet of Ryloth served as a source of slave labor and a narcotic known as “spice” for the Empire, but an aggressive resistance movement has arisen, led by Cham Syndulla, an idealistic freedom fighter, and Isval, a vengeful former slave. However, Emperor Palpatine will not be intimidated nor denied his resources. Accompanied by Vader, he sets out on a rare personal mission to ensure that his will is done. For Syndulla and Isval, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime to strike at the heart of the ruthless dictatorship sweeping through the galaxy. For the Emperor and Darth Vader, it’s more than putting down an insurrection on Ryloth. When an ambush sends them crashing onto that planet, where inhospitable terrain and an army of freedom fighters awaits, they will find their relationship tested as never before. With their lightsabers, the Dark Force, and each other, the two Sith must decide if the bond they share will make them victorious allies or lethal adversaries.
I enjoyed how cinematic the novel was. At first, it moved slowly because of the exposition. But, once the Ryloth freedom fighters got on the spaceship that contained Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, I was hooked. I could even hear John Williams’s score as I read the action scenes. I was even invested in when Vader and Palpatine fought the lyleks when they were on Ryloth proper.
At first, I wasn’t sure how much I would be able to root for Syndulla, Isval, and the other freedom fighters. Not because they weren’t likeable, but since I never heard of these characters before (yes, I’m aware that Syndulla was in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, yet I’ve only seen bits and pieces). I didn’t want it to be a Rogue One situation, where the main cast only appears in that film, and they die at the end. It doesn’t help that the most memorable part of that movie comes in the last 5-10 minutes with cameos from Darth Vader and Princess Leia.
Luckily, this was not the case. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still invested in the cause because of its engaging characters. Cham is an idealistic person who wants freedom for his people, but he often wonders what will happen after they capture and kill Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. He butts heads with Isval, a female Twi’lek who wants to catch and murder them immediately, while he is more methodical. Isval is my favorite character in the novel, for she’s strong and confident who refuses to rest on her laurels. She even frees an enslaved Twi’lek from an Empire officer.
The strongest part of this book is the relationship between Vader and Palpatine. They are a student and mentor, and it’s similar to the kind that Vader had with Obi-Wan before turning to the dark side. In fact, a good chunk of the novel spends time on Vader reflecting on past events. Palpatine reminds him that remembering what occurred before makes him weak, so Vader finds ways to channel that into the Force. The best scene was when Vader has some sort of panic attack while flashing back to the scenes from the prequels after escaping the soon to be decimated spaceship. It’s moments like this that make me understand why Darth Vader is such a compelling character to begin with.
Lords of the Sith is a good Star Wars book. It expands on the universe and its characters in meaningful ways. It also helped that it had some great action scenes. Even though I had a sense of how it was going to end, I was engaged throughout with its cast. I would recommend it to both Star Wars fans and readers who are curious about the lore outside of the films. May the Fourth be with you all!
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Content warning: this review contains discussions on sex and sexual assault.
I’ve read books that I didn’t care that much about, but I continued as an obligation. Some might say that I should do what’s in my gut and stop. I understand that sentiment. At the same time, I’m in charge of a book group, and I need to read the chosen titles to answer questions that the members who haven’t read it all the way through might have. If I didn’t have that responsibility, I would immediately stop or skim through books that I wasn’t invested in. I didn’t care much about The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller because it became too much all at once despite the interesting characters and being picked as the book of the month for Reese’s Book Club.
The Paper Palace is about a woman who has to choose between the life she’s had and the one she wants to live. It’s a nice July morning, and Elle, a 50-year-old mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace” – the family summer place which she has visited every summer. But this morning is different: she had sex with her childhood friend Jonas for the first time behind their spouses’ backs the night before. Now, over the next 24 hours, Elle has to decide between the life she has made with her husband Peter, and the life she always imagined that she would have with Jonas if it weren’t for a tragic event that changed their lives forever.
I found the characters to be interesting in a mostly good way. Elle gives me Laura-Dern vibes. I’m not fully sure why, but maybe it’s in the snarky, but insecure manner that she presents herself. It’s a nice character study. However, there were times that I shouted, “Just pick already!”
Then we have her mother Wallace. Elle describes her as an a** and like Margaret Dumont – an actress best known for her work with the Marx Brothers. Those who’ve read my reviews in the past will know how much I love that comedy team. That was an accurate description because Wallace is classy, but emotionally distant, but I love her one-liners. Cowley Heller had me at Margaret Dumont.
On the other hand, I didn’t care for Peter nor Jonas. The former was kind of bland since he’s supposed to be the nice husband who provides Elle the safe haven that she needs. And yet, he is aloof and demanding at times, especially when he confronts her about bandaging Jonas’s hand in the kitchen. I wanted to care about the latter. I certainly liked him when he was a child who was highly in tune with nature. I wasn’t so sure about him as an adult. He desperately wants Elle so much that he does things to her on the beach, in which she tries to resist at first, but later gives in. The book attempts to convince readers that Elle will only truly be happy with Jonas, but what he does to her to stay with him just simply rubbed me the wrong way (no pun intended).
It contains plenty of flashbacks to show all of the events that influenced the decision that Elle is supposed to make in the present day. It also pads out the pages because if one takes away said flashbacks, not much happens in the novel. This is not a bad thing as plenty of character studies (even the good ones) tend to do this. It depends on how strong the main characters are and how the flashbacks are employed. Elle and her family are mostly compelling, so I like exploring how they came to be on the surface. In addition, the flashbacks were interwoven into the story with a smell or a conversation triggering a memory. However, by the halfway point, this device was overused. At one point, when a lot of dramatic stuff occurred, I said out loud while listening to the audiobook, “Can we get back to the present?”
My main problem with the book was how it handles the roller coaster of emotions, mainly sadness and anger. I can grapple those feelings when they are balanced with happiness, survival, and/or humor. At first, I thought this would be the case. For example, Elle’s mom reveals early in the book that she used to give blow jobs to her first step-father when she was young. When Elle’s grandmother walked in on them in the act, she slapped her daughter instead of her then-husband. This rightfully made me angry. A chapter later, Elle gives the description of her mother that I mentioned above.
Then later, the book becomes more sad and melodramatic at the halfway point and continues until the end. The turning point of this was when Elle’s stepbrother Conrad rapes her. Normally, I can tolerate rape or scenes involving sexual assault if they are briefly shown or mentioned. Novels like The Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, and Darling Girl by Liz Michalski do this. The issue that I have with this book is that scenes involving Conrad committing sexual assault on Elle are prolonged. I understand this was supposed to show the long-term effects of that action on her, but it simply makes readers, even the ones who love the book, uncomfortable.
Afterwards, the drama kept piling and piling up like trash washing up on the shore. There was a boating accident, in which Conrad lost his life (I was glad that he was dead). Then, Leo – Elle’s stepfather – left Wallace, and she gave birth to a stillborn. Soon after, Anna – Elle’s sister – reveals that she has terminal ovarian cancer. On top of that, this book was marketed as a beach read. This was as far away from a beach read as it could get (outside of being on a beach of course). It’s like a film featuring a race where a horse breaks its neck and doesn’t get shown again. (This actually happened in a Marx Brothers film with Margaret Dumont). I had to take a break for days at a time before returning to the audiobook because it was too gloomy to tolerate. Even my husband thought that it was too sad, and he listened to it with me while we were on vacation.
I did some research on Cowley Heller, and it turns out that she’s the former Head of Drama Series at HBO. She was there when they were producing shows like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood, and Big Love. This makes a lot of sense as to why The Paper Palace feels so melodramatic. It’s as if Cowley Heller was like, “What are some things that could deeply traumatize a person and make for a good story? Oh! I know! Divorce, rape, and terminal cancer!”
Let’s go back to something more positive and lighthearted, shall we? I know! We can talk about that ending! I understand that a lot of readers have their interpretations of it. For me, I didn’t care about it at first because I simply wanted the book to be over. I had lost my ability to care for Elle and the rest of the characters after what happened to her prior. However, once I re-read the last page, it all clicked to whom Elle chose in the end. In other words, it’s an ending that one really has to pay attention to in order to truly know.
Nan McNamara narrates the audiobook. She is an actress who has appeared in television shows like Switched at Birth and Criminal Minds. She has also recorded several audiobooks for fiction titles like A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante as well as nonfiction ones like Antitrust by Amy Klobuchar and This is Your Brain on Birth Control by Sarah Hill. McNamara does a good job. Part of what I said about how Elle gives off Laura-Dern vibes is because of how the narrator sounds when she portrays the character, which is extremely suitable. I also enjoyed how McNamara voices Elle’s mom as refined and smug. The male characters have a similar tone, but Leo and Conrad are standouts. The former has a relaxed Southern accent. While the latter has the same dialect, he sounds emasculated despite his need to feel dominant. This definitely suits his character. Additionally, McNamara does the kid voices well except for Elle’s oldest son Jack, for he’s supposed to be a teenager, and he still sounds like he’s 10.
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller is a novel that really tested my patience. I wanted to like the book for its characters, but its use of flashbacks and emotional manipulation made me want to put the book down for days at a time despite Reese Witherspoon making it a book club pick in 2021. I know that there are people out there who love it because of the premise and the complex characters, and I respect that. For those who want to read it, I will ask you one question: can you handle a lot of sadness? If you can, that’s great! If you can’t, go read something else that tackles that plotline better like Brooklyn by Colm Toibin.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Content warning: this review contains some spoilers and mentions suicide.
Welcome to Part 6 of looking at various adaptations of Wuthering Heights and seeing if they can capture the spirit of the book by Emily Brontë. Today, I’ll be reviewing the 1970 movie starring a pre-James Bond Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff.
If one is keeping track, this is the first film adaptation of the story since 1939. It must have been daunting for American International Pictures to rise to such an occasion. At the time, they were best known for low-budget movies in genres like horror, western, and science fiction, with some being directed by Roger Corman. However, they had a way to stand out from other versions. Founder Samuel Z. Arkoff devised a formula for producing a successful low-budget flick. It was called the “ARKOFF formula,” and it consisted of action, revolution, killing, oratory, fantasy, and fornication. Did it work for this Wuthering Heights adaptation? Well, it’s a mixed bag. I’ll explain with each letter.
Action meant having exciting and entertaining drama, and this one certainly has them. While there were parts that I didn’t care much for, there were a few standout scenes that made the film pretty entertaining. One of them is when Catherine and Heathcliff spy on the Lintons by barking at them, which results in the latter’s dog chasing after them and injuring her in the process. This is better than the similar scene in the 1967 BBC series because Catherine and the canine are in the same shot, and that animal looks menacing. Another is when Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights after her stay with Lintons, Hindley orders Heathcliff to smile at and shake hands with her. In other adaptations, Heathcliff would do that reluctantly, but in this case, he kicks his abuser in the knee and runs to the stable with others trying to catch him. It was very fun to watch.
Revolution is supposed to show novel or controversial themes and ideas. This version has an infamous way of doing that. One of the subtexts of the book is the idea that Catherine and Heathcliff are half-siblings because Mr. Earnshaw is his father. This adaptation brings that to the forefront. Like the 1967 BBC series, Mrs. Earnshaw is not keen on the idea of bringing that dirty boy into her home. The 1970 flick takes this one step further by having her assert that Hindley will inherit the estate because he is her son, not Heathcliff. This was likely done to shock audiences and to justify why Catherine and Heathcliff shouldn’t be together (and possibly to secure a white guy as Heathcliff). This becomes more apparent when they have their rendezvous in the orchards behind Thrushcross Grange, even though I’m not sure they’re aware that they’re half-siblings. At the same time, it didn’t make too much of a difference because someone was going to go on that route at some point. I think it would have been more revolutionary if the studio had cast a multiracial actor as Heathcliff to explore racism in 18th-century/19th-century England.
Killing refers to what Arkoff describes “a modicum of violence.” He wanted to show a little bit of cruelty. Wuthering Heights fits the bill with some scenes of Hindley abusing Heathcliff and vice versa. Furthermore, when Catherine is locked in her room wanting to die, she tries to take her own life in disturbing ways. This works because Catherine in the novel and other versions simply doesn’t want to live after she finds out that Heathcliff marries Isabella. Also, Catherine’s pregnant, which brings in more shock value. The violence that doesn’t work is when Heathcliff dies after Hindley shoots him. In the previous adaptations, Hindley contemplates killing Heathcliff for essentially ruining his life, but he never goes through with it because he’s a coward. On the other hand, this version allows Hindley to murder Heathcliff because it portrays the former more sympathetically. By doing this, it lets the bad guy win. As much as Julian Glover tries to make his character work, Hindley is not one I would want to get a sympathetic treatment.
Oratory is all about notable dialogue and speeches. With a novel like Wuthering Heights, this would be a slam dunk because it contains some memorable lines, especially “He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”
However, American International Pictures fumbled this one. Sure, there are some notable dialogues from the book that made it into the film, yet some were omitted, like the aforementioned line. The closest is when Catherine says, “I am Heathcliff.”
Fantasy involved acted-out fantasies common to the audience. The novel is all about two lovers who can’t be together, so this fits perfectly. The movie plays into this, especially when they have their trysts in the orchards, Heathcliff digging up Catherine’s grave, and chasing her ghost at the end. And, it takes this one step further with Nelly having feelings for Hindley. In many adaptations, she is often an older woman, but in the novel, she’s closer to Hindley’s age. In this version, Judy Cornwell is a young Nelly. I understand her feeling sorry for Hindley, yet I’m not sure why she had to have a crush on him. I can believe that the writers and director Robert Fuest were aware that Nelly is not as objective as she wants to be in the novel, and to give her something to do besides narrate the story. In fact, they omit Mr. Lockwood. It doesn’t work because it gets dropped halfway through when Hindley allows Nelly to serve at Thrushcross Grange.
Fornication is sex appeal for young adults. Timothy Dalton’s shirts are unbuttoned at times, and the cleavages of Anna Calder-Marshall (Catherine) and Hillary Dwyer (Isabella) are on full display. In addition, Catherine and Heathcliff have intense makeout sessions, which will make people think that they’re going to certain places. Moreover, those scenes are depicted with a sheen that can only be found in shampoo commercials from that time. And of course, the best scene is when Heathcliff is chasing after Catherine’s ghost from the Moors to the Wuthering Heights estate at the end. It’s like she’s teasing him to get the prize. It highlights the supernatural elements in the story in a unique way.
The main problem of this Wuthering Heights version is its budget limitations. It’s not that it needs to be lavish. The sets are realistic, and I like the color schemes of each (Wuthering Heights being brown and grey, Thrushcross Grange being white, and the English Moors being blue). The problem is that it feels like it had a time crunch to get it done. It wouldn’t shock anybody at this point when I say that it cuts the second half of the book, although it includes notable scenes like Heathcliff digging up Catherine’s grave. What’s more egregious is that it moves at such a quick pace that scenes are not as developed as they should be. When it seems that something is going to happen, it cuts to the next part. That disjointedness might bother viewers who’ve never read the novel.
And of course, I can’t forget to talk about the performances. Anna Calder-Marshall plays Catherine, and she’s fine. She has some big emotional moments, like when she’s dying in her bedroom, but she’s a bit too high-class. An actress playing Catherine needs to show the wild side and build it up to the character’s death. But then again, the little girl playing the young Catherine doesn’t help either when she’s not given opportunities to display that volatile side. Plus, it’s a hard act to follow when Angela Scoular did such a fantastic job with the role prior.
As I mentioned earlier, Timothy Dalton plays Heathcliff. He’s another white guy in the role, but he does a decent job. Some people have complained that he doesn’t brood enough, yet I think that he interpreted the character who has spent so long bottling up his emotions so much that when he does express them, it leads to some great outbursts, even if they are comical. My favorite is when Heathcliff finds out that Catherine died, Dalton screams and bashes his head against a tree.
The Wuthering Heights 1970 movie is fine. It certainly wants to stand out from the others and build upon what the prior ones had established. Additionally, it actually fit the ARKOFF formula better than I expected, yet I feel that some changes weren’t needed. The flick has plenty in common with the 2026 film because of how provocative it wants to be, but it fails to deliver. They also want to appeal to a teenage audience. In addition, a lot of the problems could have been resolved if the film was named Hindley. On the other hand, there were scenes that I liked, and I enjoyed Timothy Dalton’s performance as Heathcliff. Although it’s not my favorite version, I would still recommend it to people watching every adaptation of Wuthering Heights, diehard Timothy Dalton fans, and 19-year-old boys. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching the Monty Python parody version, which was released in the same year, with my semaphore flags.
Now, let’s see how this one fits into the ranking.
We’ll see how this ranking evolves after I see all the others.
Stay tuned next month when I review the 1992 movie with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Hi Everybody,
I was back at the Rose City Romance Conference this past weekend in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and it was fantastic! It went on from Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12. I was only able to go on the Sunday due to work, but there was plenty to do. All of the photos taken were mine and can be seen at the bottom of the page.
The theme for this year was bigger and better. Last year, the event was confined to one small room at Caesars Windsor Casino. Here, it was in a large space that combined two adjoining rooms. This meant MORE AUTHORS AND VENDORS. I spoke to various people about how vast the area was, and some mentioned that about 600 people attended the day prior.
I met writers from both the States and Canada at the conference, including one that went to the same college as I did. What a small world! There were new faces and familiar ones like Kate Smoak, Wren Grey, Bridget L. Rose, and Alyssa Milani. Smoak recently made an appearance in the local news because she was interviewed for a story about a woman planning to sell her Harlequin romance novels. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes the face of the Rose City Romance Conference.
There were certainly more diverse vendors at this year’s event. They included book stores like Book Nook Windsor and Turns & Tales Board Game Cafe and Bookstore in Chatham, Ontario. The people from both places were super cool. In addition, there were other vendors selling book-related items like bookmarks, stickers, buttons, etc. Two of the most unique ones involved 3-D printing and crochet. The people at the first booth showed off all the 3-D prints they made, which included little signs, book and eyeglasses dragon holders, dragons to place in between books on a shelf, and lights. I bought a dragon eyeglasses holder for my husband because it looked so cool. At the end of the day, I visited Wren’s Crochet’s booth. Along with her mom, the person who runs that store makes all kinds of crocheted items. These include coasters, fans, and flowers. She even did crochet workshops at the Windsor Public Library in the past. I live for those kinds of collaborations.
The photo wall returned for this year. I was a little sad that it didn’t have the giant letters, but I still had fun posing in front of it.
The ambitiousness came in the extra things that people could do. Conference goers had the opportunity to attend seminars on Friday and a costumed ball on Saturday. They could also do a scavenger hunt on Saturday and a raffle on Sunday. The raffle contained more prizes than last year like books, baking ingredients, and a mini-photo printer. Sadly, I didn’t win, but I still had a good time doing it.
While I mentioned plenty of neat things at this year’s Rose City Romance Conference, the coolest thing was the Ink District. In one section of the room, people could get real tattoos! I’m totally serious! Three artists were present for anyone looking to get body art. By the time I got to their booth, the appointments were already filled up.
And of course, I have to talk about the romance books I bought. My goal this year was to purchase titles from new authors and of even more sub-genres. With the exception of A Blessed Fall by Kate Smoak (I bought a book of hers last year), I was able to achieve this with the following titles: Bro Amazing by Alby Blake, Devil of Dublin by BB Easton, Winging It by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James, Fear and Fortitude by Cheri Champagne, Perfect Strangers by J. Rhys, Unforgivable Lust & Fire by Shay Lee Soleil, Jaded Hearts by Renee Gendron, Mercy by Ashley Matthews, A Follow-Through in Faking by Bridget L. Rose, and Rival Hearts by W. Million.
Overall, I had a great time, and I’m happy that the Rose City Romance Conference was able to expand on its offerings. I hope to attend next year and meet even more authors and vendors. You can learn more about the conference on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
And that concludes the tenth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. Strangely enough, I’m still not quite done with Canada yet. However, that won’t be until next month.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Full disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book from SparkPoint Studio in exchange for an honest review.
It’s always fun going into bars. I found some interesting people there. More likely than not, good stories will come out of bars. Willa Goodfellow knows plenty of them. She even wrote them down for her memoir, A Gritty Little Tourist Town: Bar Tales From Costa Rica. It’s a funny memoir with a great atmosphere and, of course, good stories.
A Gritty Little Tourist Town: Bar Tales From Costa Rica is a memoir surrounding a group of expatriates (expats) entertaining each other by telling stories at a bar in a Costa Rican village. Willa and her wife, Helen, travel to Costa Rica to visit family, but they discover more than they ever expected. In a sleepy village off the coast of the Pacific Ocean, they meet a curious and vibrant group of expats looking for paradise, or at least some cheap beer. At the local bar – the Pato Loco, they meet a cast of colorful characters. They include Mama, the blind 72-year-old co-owner of the place; her partner, Mary, Willa’s sister, a bartender, and an installation artist; and Richie, the aging hippie whose words are few but mighty. These and other people answer questions like what is it like to live in another country, how does a tight-knit community face the pressure of development, and how do you perform CPR on a fish? This collection of stories follows Willa as she discovers a connection with a community of strangers, one bar tale at a time.
I’ve never been to Costa Rica, but I knew people who went there while I was in college as part of their study abroad program. Even my husband’s cousin has been there too, Regardless, I could imagine the area where the main cast lived in that country, and the Pato Loco – the bar/restaurant/inn Willa’s family runs. I also had no trouble picturing the tropics as well as the critters that greet Willa and Helen every time they went down there. It was so vivid that it made me want to travel to Costa Rica and visit the Pato Loco sometime. I’m glad that Lonely Planet highlighted it in one of their travel guides.
And of course, the stories in the book were informative and fun. I learned so much about Costa Rican culture like its influx of Nicaraguan immigrants and how the locals celebrate Easter with Semana Santa. My favorite tales involved Mary. She is a force to be reckoned with. In one story, Willa discusses how much Helen loves the ocean, especially fishing. After one morning of fishing, Helen comes into the bar, and Mary asks her if she caught anything. She said no, thus breaking the fisherman’s cardinal rule: any story worth telling is worth improving. Luckily, Helen recovered quickly by saying the following, “Mary, you should have been there. The fish were biting, the fish were jumping, the fish were walking on water. They were flying, they were attacking the pelicans!” (p.54).
I can only imagine the stink eye Mary gave to Helen after that first response.
Another tale that I alluded to earlier was when Mary performed CPR on a fish. She, Richie, and two of their friends were fishing when Richie caught a four-footer. He got a picture with it and threw it back into the ocean since that’s another rule fishermen have to follow. However, the fish went belly-up. Mary turned into Aquaman and saved the fish through CPR. How did she do this? One has to read the book to find out. All I have to say is that it made me love her even more.
I enjoyed these stories, but there was one problem. It doesn’t have much of a core. In other words, there was barely anything that made me invested throughout. I know that it’s a little strange to say that, considering it’s a good collection of bar tales. They needed a theme to show why they are being told. I recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (review will be up soon). In it, the main character writes a collection of stories based on interviews she conducts with the residents on the island of Guernsey and how they survived Nazi occupation during World War II. At one point, her publisher tells her that the novel needs a core, or something that holds everything together. I wish A Gritty Little Tourist Town had more of that. There could have emphasized Willa’s struggles to write a story or how the Pato Loco brought people together. As of now, it’s simply good for one full read.
A Gritty Little Tourist Town: Bar Tales From Costa Rica by Willa Goodfellow is a fun memoir. It’s full of memorable characters and bar stories in a unique location that I want to visit. On the other hand, there wasn’t much to latch onto after I finished reading it since it lacked a core. Nonetheless, I would recommend it for those looking to go to Costa Rica and visit bars, as well as books by LGBTQ+ authors. A Gritty Little Tourist Town: Bar Tales From Costa Rica is out now, so grab it wherever you get your books.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Hi Everybody,
Back in June, my husband and I stumbled upon the Rose City Romance Conference on a day trip to Windsor, Canada. See, I told you that I wasn’t done with Canada yet.
We had a blast checking out indie authors and vendors at the event. On top of that, it was their first year. Their second annual conference is this weekend from Friday, April 10th to Sunday, April 12th. Today, I’m going to show you why you should go. All of the photos taken were mine and can be seen at the bottom of the page.
On a hot day in June 2025, my husband and I were hanging out at Caesars Windsor Casino. We were just about to leave when we came across a couple in an elevator. They told us that their daughter had a booth at the book festival in one of the conference rooms. According to my husband, I looked at him with my “we have to go to this” face, and that was final.
The Rose City Romance Conference brings romance books of all kinds together. They include the conventional types, romantasies, sexy kinds, sporty ones, etc,. It’s not just about the genre – it’s an experience. While I’m not a hardcore romance person, I have enjoyed that genre in the past. The entrance tickets were reasonable, and it was all located in one room along with a photo booth outside.
We spent plenty of time walking through and talking to every author and vendor we met. They were all approachable and cool. I asked them about their interest in romance and told them about this website. In addition, I was able to take photos of many of the authors, the room, and myself at the booth.
We bought plenty of romance novels at sensible prices. I purchased the following: A Bright Summer by Kate Smoak, A Spy’s Fateful Bond by TM Goodkey, Vice + Virtue by Wren Grey, Your Lonesome Loving Harold by Gary Percival and Ashley Percival, Miss Adventures: Abroad from Bangkok to Bali by Ashley Percival, Tell Me You Do by Alyssa Milani, The Mistletoe Ball by Jennifer Willcock, and Steamy on Set by D.S. Walls.
Along with books, Carl also purchased a pair of duck sunglasses because author C.A. King’s mascot is that animal. We also received bookmarks, pens, and candy.
While we were there, we participated in a raffle. We had to check off as many vendors as possible to increase our chances of getting some fabulous prizes. Sadly, we didn’t win, but it was fun regardless. For this year’s conference, you can find out more information on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
And that concludes the ninth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. I’m still not quite done with Canada yet. I’ll let you know how this year’s Rose City Romance Conference is next week.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Full disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book from BooksForward and SHP Comics in exchange for an honest review.
Content warning: this review briefly mentions violence and animal abuse.
If I had a nickel every time I reviewed a graphic novel written by Shawn Hainsworth under the pseudonym Darin S. Cape, I would have a dime, which is weird that it’s happened twice. It’s been awhile since I read a manga. Luckily, Hainsworth along with illustrators Zeno Decrux and Hiorsh Gabotto have one by infusing that genre into their latest graphic novel Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King. It’s a fun adventure story with self-aware humor and contrasting visuals that blend together.
Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King is the first volume of the “Zicky” series. Deep underground, Zicky plunges into the lair of the Rat King – a tyrant with an army of rodents striving to invade the real world. Meanwhile, a mysterious supervillain hides in the shadows, and the fate of both places hangs in the balance. Just as the battle begins, Zicky wakes up…back in his bedroom surrounded by his siblings who tease him for believing his adventures are more than just dreams. Join Zicky on his first adventure where he will need all of the persistence, humor, and ninja skills to survive.
I adore the book’s tone. The humor is spot on. It contains slapstick, pop culture references, and breaking the fourth wall. I especially love its homage to the 1960s Batman television show by saying “Same Zicky time, same Zicky channel.”
At the same time, it knows when to be serious, especially the conversation between Zicky and his dad early on. Hainsworth, Decrux, and Gabotto also avoid undercutting emotional scenes with jokes. The graphic novel strikes a good balance between the story and the humor.
One of the most unique aspects of this graphic novel is the use of two different illustration styles. Decrux employs the manga style while in the Rat King’s realm with a bold color palette and swift movement, while Gabotto utilizes a more realistic one in the human world with subdued colors and relaxed pacing. Both work separately and together. The transition from one style to another when Zicky travels back to the real world is beautiful and effortless. There’s even a plot point where the supervillain, while in the human realm, has to come up with a potion to make the rats appear like they did in their universe.
Both the tone and visuals make the graphic novel appealing, but it’s the story that readers will come back to time and time again. It’s about a boy who actually fights various enemies when he’s supposed to be asleep. He tells his family about it, yet they don’t believe him because they think he’s imagining them. I was invested in the plot throughout, but I was locked in when both worlds collided. I wanted to know how Zicky was going to triumph. Although the ending was abrupt, I bet that was done deliberately to set up the sequel.
With all of my praise for this graphic novel, I’ve noticed that it might not please every young reader. For starters, some of the jokes will fly over kids’ heads like the one about the oligarchy after Zicky defeats the Snake King. Most of them still work though. Additionally, there are several instances of violence. Zicky slices his enemies with his katana at times, but it doesn’t get too gory. There’s also animal abuse with how the supervillain treats his dog, yet other characters call him out for it. It’s for these reasons that I would recommend it for kids between the ages of 9 and 12.
Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King by Shawn Hainsworth, Zeno Decrux, and Hiorsh Gabotto is a fun, action-packed manga-inspired graphic novel. It channels the best comics and mangas for its humor, art style, and story and nails it on every level. The contrasting illustrations are beautiful to look at and tell the story perfectly. These are grounded with a good story about a boy who wants to go on adventures when he’s supposed to be asleep. While it’s not for every kid, I would recommend it to most, especially those between the ages of 9 and 12 and who love action/adventure graphic novels. Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King will be out Tuesday, April 14, so grab it wherever you get your books.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Hi Everybody,
It’s been awhile since I did a Literary Travel blog post, for I’ve been busy with working on several book and movie reviews. However, I had time to go to Canada, specifically Windsor, several times over an one-year period. I had previously talked about one bookstore in that city – Juniper Books. Today, I’ll show you two more and a book festival. All of the photos used were the ones I took and can be seen at the bottom of the page.
Let’s travel back to December 2024. My husband and I traveled to Windsor for lunch and to explore the Biblioasis Bookshop – an award-winning independent bookstore and publisher located in the Walkerville District of that city.
Even though it was in one small space, it was well utilized. To illustrate that, I took a normal picture and a panoramic one of the store.
Since we came there after Christmas, they still had a lot of decorations up. I didn’t mind because they were cool. In addition, I adored how some of the displays looked like Christmas trees. There was also a room in the back for used books with a warning on the left.
The bookshop had small labels that denoted which genre were shelved there. It also contained notes explaining what book a staff member recommended and why.
At the front of the store, a chalkboard shows what an employee was reading and programs were going on like author events and book clubs. Biblioasis hosts several book clubs like Books and Brews, Camp Coffee Book Club, the LGBT+ Club with the Windsor Public Library, Pen of Resistance, a Free Palestine Book Club, and the Poetry Book Club.
While we were there, I purchased Best Canadian Stories 2025 selected by editor Steven W. Beattie – a series Biblioasis publishes every year – and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I had a great time there, especially with its welcoming and Christmas spirit. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter. It wouldn’t the last time that I saw them.
About a year later, my husband and I discovered that there was a book festival at the Walkerville Brewery called the Nostalgic Book Fair. It’s the kind of book fair schools had but for adults.
While the fair was small, the brewery was able to fit several vendors. They included Auntie Aldoo’s Kitchen, which had some delicious treats like pies and s’more bars; Bookmarkit; Biblioasis; Higher Vibes & CO.; Whiskeyjack Boutique; Whimsy Brooke; and the Windsor Public Library.
Some sold novels. Other offered bookmarks, clothing, and other book-related items. All of these vendors were utterly delightful. Even one of them told me how much she loved libraries and librarians.
As I mentioned earlier, Biblioasis Bookshop was there selling books – both ones they published and didn’t. They were kind as always, and I bought a copy of Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen and a pack of library socks.
Before we left, we checked out the Windsor Public Library bookmobile. It’s one of the finest and most spacious ones I’ve ever seen. It contained lots of sturdy shelves and cushioned seats for those who want to sit down and read. We hope to stop at the library at some point this year, so stay tuned for a Literary Travel post about that.
The book fair was such a success that Walkerville Brewery held another a second this past January. I hope they have a third one soon because it was so much fun!
Right after the Nostalgic Book Fair, we visited the Storytellers Bookstore. This was a journey in of itself. I tried to check it out twice, but it was closed both times. It was this third time that I was successful, and it was worth it.
It’s in a small room, but it’s warm and inviting with comfy chairs; artwork; paint-by-numbers; puzzles; games; and of course, books. They were well organized. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Twitter.
My favorite part was checking out the classic novels with the redesigned covers filled with gold lining. I even bought one of them – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I also had a good time talking to owner Linda Ward about various things, mainly books.
While these bookstores and book fairs were on the tinier side, the atmospheres were still inviting, and we still had a blast at each.
And that concludes the eighth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. I’m not done with Canada yet. Next week, I have an entire article about another book festival that I went to.
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Hi Everybody!
The latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast is up right now. In it, guest Megan Kearns from the Women InSession Podcast and I discuss how we would adapt The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin as a big-budget fantasy movie. We talk about the book’s and the “Broken Earth” trilogy’s success and how an adaptation must juggle a lot of aspects like honoring BIPOC and queer stories and retaining its social justice spirit. We also discuss how traumatizing readers can be necessary in a story. Check it out at this link!
In the meantime, I have a review of the book itself, so check that out too!
Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!
Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything