Short Stories I Read In February

It’s March twenty-ninth. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, podcast episodes, and miscellaneous posts I read or listening to in February.

Silver Necklace, Golden Ring by Marie Brennan (Uncanny Magazine; Issue Fifty)

I wasn’t too sure about this story going into it. But, I’m so glad I stuck around till the end, because I ended up loving Silver Necklace, Golden Ring by Marie Brennan. This story is best described as the beauty, whimsy, and darkness of a Grimm’s style fairy tale all wrapped up in just over three thousand and seven hundred words. With evocative and atmospheric language, the story chronicles bargains and ice palaces alongside a young woman displaced and in a situation that required every inch of wit she could gather. All-in-all, Silver Necklace, Golden Ring was an enjoyable story.

Guidelines for Using the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library by Marie Brennan (Lightspeed Magazine; Issue 153)

As it so happens, the second and last short story I read in February was a piece of flash fiction written, also, by Marie Brennan. I typically like stories like Guidelines for Using the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, which consists of a narrative that has a list-like structure and that tells about a specific object, person, or place. This time around, the story delves into the guidelines on how to navigate a fantasy library, which wove together a little bit of history, references to Dante Alighieri, and a whole lot of magic. Loved it! 

From around the web…

• Ologies Podcast: Vampireology Part One
• Ologies Podcast: Geology Part One & Two
• There's Really No Wrong Way To Read A Book [Molly Templeton; Tor.com; February 16, 2023]

Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico

Title: Four Parties and a Funeral

Series: Catering Hall Mystery #4
Author: Maria DiRico
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Cozy Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Kensington; March 28, 2023

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Agatha Award-winning author Maria DiRico returns with the fourth book in the Catering Hall Mystery Series, starring Mia Carina who is coming to grips with being back in Astoria, Queens, and running her Italian-American family's catering hall, Belle View Banquet Manor but a TV casting call is about to put murder in the spotlight . . .

The June events schedule at Belle View is busting out all over--proms, graduations, and of course, weddings. There are unexpected bookings too, including a casting call for the pilot of Dons of Ditmars Boulevard. But soon, Mia's fears about the cheesy reality show are confirmed . . .Belle View quickly becomes the site of a sea of wanna-be goombahs and phony girlfriends, and some of Mia's friends insist on getting in on the action. The production company owner and his executive producer ex-wife--who's also very minor British royalty--have assembled a motley crew that does as much infighting and backstabbing as the on-screen "talent." Even so, it's a shock when a dead body is found in the pool house of a local mansion rented by the show . . .Murder might boost the ratings. But Mia intends to make sure the killer gets jail time, not airtime . . .

One of the cozy mysteries I was anticipating this year was Maria DiRico’s Four Parties and a Funeral. It’s the follow-up to It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder, which was one of my favorite reads of 2021. That book…I adored the characters, the mystery was engrossing, and, generally, I had a great time with it. And, so far, its sequel is one of my favorite reads of 2023.

Four Parties and a Funeral picks up after the events of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder. The holidays are over, it’s June, and the familiar cast and crew of Belle View (a catering hall)—Mia, Shane, Ravello, Cammie, and others—are busy. However, they quickly get embroiled in the over-the-top hijinks of reality show filming with a side of murder. I liked the way the story gradually built up to the mystery as well as the actual introduction of the crime. It was seamless. By then, there were a handful of characters who had the potential to be a suspect, because the situation was, for the most part, tense and competitive—especially between the cast of the show as well as the production team behind the camera. Added to all of that, the book also delved into the various relationships between the usual cast, giving each one some time to develop further. And I was pleased by how those aspects were sprinkled throughout the story, heightening the emotional stakes alongside the present danger.

Maria DiRico really delivered with another witty and entertaining story—full of the same charm, family drama, and sleuthing as its predecessor.

About the author....

Maria DiRico (the pen name of award-winning author Ellen Byron) was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Queens and Westchester County. She is first-generation Italian American on her mother’s side. On her father’s side, her grandfather was a low-level Jewish mobster who disappeared in 1933 under mysterious circumstances. While growing up in Queens, Maria/Ellen's cousins ran the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Kensington) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Music Monday (236): Fall Out Boy, Shirley Brown

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Over the weekend, I was listening to Fall Out Boy's new album, So Much (For) Stardust. I love it! There are too many good songs to choose one, but, for today's Music Monday, my pick is I Am My Own Muse. It's one of my favorites.

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Woman to Woman by Shirley Brown. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to 1 by The NYChillharmonic

So, this year, I’m getting back into using Spotify regularly. After all, all of my current favorite podcasts are there too, and the recommendations are useful for finding more content to enjoy. Under one such recommendation page was I Lost It All by Aberdeen and The NYChillharmic. It was an interesting collaboration and one that I instantly loved. And that’s how I got introduced to what has fast become some of my top favorite music. It’s called 1, and it’s the 2016 album by The NYChillharmonic.

Their music is, in terms of sounds—and as the band’s name suggests—very orchestral in nature, which is something I love about 1. Each track felt like its own lovely little journey, with the epic feel of work you would find from Two Steps From Hell but with a singer who delivered consistent vocals across 1’s seven songs.

Overall, there isn’t much more I can say about this album. In a number of ways, it’s a delightful listening experience that I’ve already revisited more than once since adding it to my Spotify library.

Music Monday (235): Lizzo & SZA, Luther Vandross

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Lizzo released another version of her song, Special, from her most recent album (also the same name). I already loved the original, but I really like the collaboration with SZA. The vocals work so well together, and I love it!

Andrea: Hi all! This week, I'm listening to an oldie, Never Too Much by Luther Vandross! Enjoy and have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to A Reckoning by Kimbra

During the last couple of years, I feel like I’ve mentioned how I’ve waited for another Kimbra album far too often, but I really was anticipating it for the longest time. 2018’s Primal Heart contains some of my favorite music by this particular artist. Well, after three singles—Save Me, Replay!, and Foolish Thinking featuring Ryan Lott—released across as many months, on January twenty-seventh Kimbra’s A Reckoning finally arrived!

I like this album, a lot actually. It was energetic and loud (Replay!, The Way We Are, Gun, New Habit, and etc), which I not only appreciated but also enjoyed. Mainly, it made the album seem quick to listen to, even though it’s over forty minutes long. That isn’t to say that there wasn’t a mixture of sounds, because there was. Tossed in were some tracks with softer melodies, where Kimbra’s vocals were front and center, like the intro Save Me as well as the closing song I Don’t Want To Fight.

On another note, I’m always satisfied when the collaborations turn out good, especially when the other artists give verses that mesh well with the flow of the song. And, even though A Reckoning only had three tracks with features—Ryan Lott on Foolish Thinking, GTL featuring Erick The Architect, and La Type with Tommy Raps and Pink Siifu—they were excellent choices.

So, for the first major 2023 release on my radar, A Reckoning left a positive impression.

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan

Title: The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
Series: n/a
Author: Dan Egan
Source/Format: Won; Paperback
More Details: Nonfiction; Science
Publisher/Publication Date: W. W. Norton Company; March 7, 2017

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work, and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

Years ago, I won a paperback copy of Dan Egan’s The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. And, for years, it languished unread on my shelf. At the end of January and beginning of February, I was in need of a palate cleanser, and this book fit the bill. It’s nonfiction about science and history, which is one of my favorite combinations for this genre. And, from the introduction onward, I was hooked (no pun intended).

“The first day of June 1988 was sunny, hot and mostly calm—perfect weather for the three young researches from the University of Windsor who were hunting for critters crawling across the bottom of Lake St. Clair.”—pg. 108

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes was fantastic, fascinating, and a gripping account of the history of the Great Lakes. It reminded me of a different nonfiction book I read last year, which was called Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall. One of the points that book made was the architectural detail put into the malls and the specific clientele they were meant to attract and serve, ultimately created something of a boom-and-bust cycle—when the tourism and novelty wore off. The same kind of concept was present here too. However, the consequences weren’t a mall emptying of stores but an ecological disaster that had—as the book laid out—far reaching (nationwide) consequences for rivers, lakes, and watersheds. This was especially when invasive and destructive species, disruptions in the food web, and toxic (basically annual) algae blooms threatened key bodies of water.

The author laid out how many of the decisions that caused the issues seemed almost innocuous, simple, and even well meaning. One of my main takeaways was: if it sounds too good to be true, then it likely is. And the narrative had this steady build up—with the chapters on the construction on the canals and seaway as well as the conversion of the Great Black Swamp to farmland—before doing a deep dive into the consequences, the proposed solutions, and the actions taken.

I really have to applaud Dan Egan. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes was a well-researched book!

Music Monday (234): Aberdeen & The NYChillharmonic

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: A while ago, Spotify recommended I've Lost It by Aberdeen and The NYChillharmonic to me. I love this song so much!

 

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (230) & Book Beginnings: The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work, and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

Beginning: "There are few views that can draw noses to airplane windows like those of the Great Lakes."

56: "Applegate learned that spawning lamprey preferred streams with bottoms peppered with gravel that had a diameter no smaller than three-eighths of an inch and no bigger than two inches, and they typically did no migrate up those streams until early spring, when the water temperature rose above 40 degrees."

Comments: I finally read Dan Egan's The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. I loved this book! It was such a fascinating look at the Great Lakes. What are you reading this week?

The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland

Title: The God of Endings
Series: n/a
Author: Jacqueline Holland
Source/Format: Publisher; Paperback ARC
More Details: Fantasy; Historical Fiction; Horror
Publisher/Publication Date: Flatiron Books; March 7, 2023

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

By turns suspenseful and enchanting, this breathtaking first novel weaves a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman

Collette LeSange is a lonely artist who heads an elite fine arts school for children in upstate New York. Her youthful beauty masks the dark truth of her life: she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache in the wake of her grandfather’s long-ago decision to make her immortal like himself. Now in 1984, Collette finds her life upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger.

Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, The God of Endings serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?

One of the books I had my eye on this year was Jacqueline Holland’s The God of Endings. It’s few and far in between that a vampire book catches my attention in the way this one did, but I was intrigued by everything I’d seen about. The synopsis reminded me of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue—a book I’ve still yet to read—with dual timelines and the exploration of character through the eyes of an immortal across a long period time. Rather than a Faustian bargain like Addie LaRue, The God of Endings has vampires.

This book is a blend of horror, fantasy, and historical fiction. There were many dark aspects of the story, including animal death. It also doesn’t shy from the darkness of history. It's main focus though was the myriad of struggles and all too brief moments of comfort/joy so closely tied into the life of Collette. As a vampire, she lived with the constant turmoil between what she’d been made into—contending with the hunger that comes with it—and her own sense of right and wrong in a reality that was difficult and full of tragedy. The story begins in much of the same manner, joy and sorrow, beginnings and endings. But, that was tied into the themes of the book, which played out in Collette’s present of 1984—as the owner and teacher of an art school for children—and her history beginning in the 1830s as the daughter of a gravestone carver. She didn’t always make the best decisions, reacted with her emotions or on assumptions, but that was the point of the story (where the best/logical/correct action isn't alway the one that's taken). Collette was fallible, but that added another layer of complexity. So, I appreciated the way Holland gradually built the story toward its inevitable conclusion. 

The God of Endings is a slow, contemplative, and meticulously detailed story. As a character study and exploration of the question posed by the synopsis, it worked. And, more often than not, I was anticipating the realizations long before Collette eventually made them. Her story was so haunting, and I was invested from the first page to the very last.

About the author....

Jacqueline Holland holds an MFA from the University of Kansas. Her work has appeared in Hotel Amerika and Big Fiction magazine, among others. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two sons. The God of Endings is her first novel.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Flatiron Books) in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Music Monday (233): Roy Orbison & Montell Jordan

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: This week, I'm listening Roy Orbison's House Without Windows. It's a really great song, but I picked it because it was in the trailer for the upcoming Haunted Mansion movie (which I'm excited about).

 

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan. Have a great week!

What are you listening to this week?

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Title: A Deadly Education
Series: The Scholomance #1
Author: Naomi Novik
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Fantasy; Young Adult
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey Books; September 29, 2020 

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this deadly.

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets. There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere. El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

A Deadly Education has been out for a few years now. At the time when it was initially released, I wasn’t really looking to read any dark academia/fantasy (there was also a controversy because of a passage about dreadlocks; Novik apologized; and the edition I have is a later printing that doesn’t include the text in question). I recently decided to give it a try, since I have liked two of Novik’s novels before.

A Deadly Education’s synopsis and title tells you exactly what kind of story and characters you’re in for. It’s a slower kind of novel where the action is scattered and context is vital for understanding what’s going on. There was something of a social hierarchy and stiff competition between the students, particularly within the ranks of those in enclaves and those outside of them. And there were a few instances of good commentary about it. As for the action, when it did occur, there were some moments of pure horror with nightmarish imagery.

What I really enjoyed about the story was the complexity of the Scholomance as well as how detailed the magic was. It was a harder system, rather than the soft almost whimsical kind found in stories like Lud-in-the-Mist. In A Deadly Education, there were hard rules and clear consequences. As for the Scholomance, it was a complicated machine with a lot of moving parts, literally. On the surface, I wondered why anyone would want to go there, but, as the story explained, the school had a legitimate function in keeping the balance. It didn’t change the fact that it was a dangerous, isolated place full of all sorts of very hungry monsters, where being alone or with others determined whether you would survive or not. Or, at least, having a dependable group gives better odds. The way the actual education portions of the story were structured presented some interesting challenges too, to say the least, but I found the explanations (which were long at some points) pretty engaging regardless.

Galadriel (El) Higgins is grumpy, but her anger felt more like a knee-jerk defensive tactic rather than anything else. Her life has been what seemed like one nightmare after another, and with a dark prophecy hanging over her head, it didn’t make her time at the Scholomance any easier. I like the development her character went through in A Deadly Education, and it was satisfying to see the little changes as they occurred. Orion Lake was interesting. At first appearances, he’s overly strong and incredibly efficient at dispatching the monsters that also inhabited the school. But, he and El were more alike than I’d originally assumed, and the grudging friendship that developed between the two was very entertaining to read as it happened.

There was a host of secondary characters as well—Chloe, Liu, and Aadhya just to name a few. They, like everyone else, had their own motivations and methods for dealing with the challenges the Scholomance presented.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with A Deadly Education.