Bogormen

Title: Peace on Earth (isn't what we're good at)
Author: Audrey Faye
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 282
Date read: December 2018, December 2020

Jane has problems, and this December, keeping her assassin best friend from actually killing somebody isn't the biggest one. Her songwriting muse keeps trying to rise from the dead, they have a new sidekick they can't seem to dislodge from the back seat, and it's that time of year when the ghosts of Christmas shake their chains and make an unbearable season even worse.

Peace on Earth isn't what they're good at - but it's coming for them anyhow. Which isn't anything a couple of assassins want for Christmas.


Previously published as 4 separate "Lesbian Assassins" novellas (vol 1, 2 and 4 + one short Christmas story), but it really makes more sense as one longer novel. I really enjoyed revisiting Carly and Jane and getting to know Lelo and Rosie all over again. It's ridiculously readable and I loved how the rewrite turned it into a Christmas story.

Title: First Frost (Waverley Family #2)
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 305
Date read: December, 2018

It's October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree... and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.

Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley’s Candies. Though her handcrafted confections — rose to recall lost love, lavender to promote happiness and lemon verbena to soothe throats and minds — are singularly effective, the business of selling them is costing her the everyday joys of her family, and her belief in her own precious gifts.

Sydney Waverley, too, is losing her balance. With each passing day she longs more for a baby — a namesake for her wonderful Henry. Yet the longer she tries, the more her desire becomes an unquenchable thirst, stealing the pleasure out of the life she already has.

Sydney’s daughter, Bay, has lost her heart to the boy she knows it belongs to.. if only he could see it, too. But how can he, when he is so far outside her grasp that he appears to her as little more than a puff of smoke?

When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. And through it all, the Waverley sisters must search for a way to hold their family together through their troublesome season of change, waiting for that extraordinary event that is First Frost.


The sequel to "Garden Spells" and almost as good! I really enjoyed that Bay got to play a bigger part in this one, and that Clare and Sydney were finally learning how to be sisters. It's a nice comfort read, where the characters are a lot more important than the plot, as I enjoyed spending time with all the Waverleys (both real and adopted) again.

Title: Unf*ck Your Habitat
Author: Rachel Hoffman
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: 222 pages
Date read: December, 2018

Finally, a housekeeping and organizational system developed for those of us who'd describe our current living situation as a “f*cking mess” that we're desperate to fix. Unf*ck Your Habitat is for anyone who has been left behind by traditional aspirational systems. The ones that ignore single people with full-time jobs; people without kids but living with roommates; and people with mental illnesses or physical limitations. Most organizational books are aimed at traditional homemakers, DIYers, and people who seem to have unimaginable amounts of free time. They assume we all iron our sheets, have linen napkins to match our table runners, and can keep plants alive for longer than a week. Basically, they ignore most of us living here in the real world.


Yet another book on decluttering/cleaning much like "Sink Reflections" and "The Magic Art of Tidying Up"... however, if you've read those two (or others of their ilk) it really didn't bring anything new to the table. I feel kinda bad rating this so low, because it is NOT a bad book! It just didn't teach me anything new, and I ended up skimming large parts of it, as I already knew those things. But if you're approaching this line of books for the first time, it might be a lot easier to stomach than those two, as it doesn't make any assumptions about where you are in your life, your living situation, your finances or anything like that. So with that in mind I'd recommend "Unf*ck Your Habitat" over the others any day, as it's likely to be a lot less eyeroll-inducing than the other two.

Title: Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland
Author: Heidi Swain
Genre: Christmas, Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 400
Date read: December, 2018

After calling off her engagement, Hayley, the Wynthorpe Hall housekeeper, wants nothing more than to return to her no-strings fun-loving self, avoiding any chance of future heartbreak. Little does she know, Wynbridge’s latest arrival is about to throw her plan entirely off course . . .

Moving into Wynthorpe Hall to escape the town’s gossip, Hayley finds herself immersed in the eccentric Connelly family’s festive activities as they plan to host their first ever Winter Wonderland. But Hayley isn’t the only new resident at the hall. Gabe, a friend of the Connelly’s son Jamie, has also taken up residence, moving into Gatekeeper’s Cottage, and he quickly makes an impression on Wynbridge’s reformed good-girl.

As preparations commence for the biggest event of the season, the pair find themselves drawn ever closer to one another, but unbeknownst to Hayley, Gabe, too, has a reason for turning his back on love, one that seems intent on keeping them apart.

Under the starry winter skies, will Gabe convince Hayley to open her heart again once more? And in doing so, will he convince himself?


Honestly? I bought this because I couldn't resist the title :-D

A really sweet Christmas story. At times it was perhaps just a tad too twee, but for Christmas stories, that's allowed (even if I might roll my eyes at it at other times of the year). I liked that the story was all Christmas instead of just having a few chapters focus on it, and would have loved to visit the Winter Wonderland they set up.

I did feel like hitting Anna and Molly from time to time... for best friends, they were awfully pushy! I probably would have responded much like Hayley did, but still - as an outside reader, it bugged me. On the other hand, I'm really glad Hayley didn't allow Gabe's assumptions to fester. That could have been REALLY frustrating, but was nipped in the bud, which I appreciated.

All in all, a charming read, and I'll definitely check out more of Heidi Swain's books.... especially as many of them seem to revolve around the same characters :-D

Title: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3)
Author: Deborah Harkness
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 576, Audiobook ~23hrs
Date read: July 2016, December 2018

A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it. After travelling through time in SHADOW OF NIGHT, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew's ancestral home in France they reunite with their families - with one heart-breaking exception. But the real threat to their future is yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on a terrifying urgency. Using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the palaces of Venice and beyond, Diana and Matthew will finally learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.


Why did it take me this long to get started on this book? Once I did, I couldn't put it down, and finished it in just a few days.

Every bit as good as the first two books in the series, "The Book of Life" tied up all loose ends very nicely and served as a very satisfying ending to the trilogy. I'm actually kind of sad we won't get to hear more about Matthew and Diana, and feel positively book-hungover right now.

This trilogy is the kind of epic storytelling I love the most. It's "Outlander" with witches and vampires; just as rich in details and with just as large a supporting cast ;) It's difficult to say much about the plot without giving away spoilers for the two first books, but I think what I enjoyed the most was seeing Matthew and Diana's relationship with their families (both of blood and of loyalty) and watch Diana grow in powers and confidence as a witch. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when Diana and Janet sat to talk magic after the end of the book ;)

Title: The Silver Chair
Author: C.S. Lewis
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 215 pages
Date read: April 2009, December 2018

A prince imprisoned - a country in peril. Narnia... where giants wreak havoc.... where evil weaves a spell... where enchantment rules. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, a noble band of friends are sent to rescue a prince held captive. But their mission to Underland brings them face-to-face with an evil more beautiful and more deadly than they ever expected.


Audiobook version: I have to admit the narrator here annoyed me a bit (I've forgotten his name - sorry. I'll look it up if anybody's interested), because while good otherwise he kept saying Aslan with a long second a, which just sounded all wrong to me.

Otherwise I loved the book as much as always. There's a lot more frustration and regrets in this one than any of the others, but I absolutely adore Puddleglum :) And the bit on Aslan's mountain at the end it just beautiful.

What struck me as... if not odd, then at least interesting, is that TLTWTW is the only Narnia book where the kids get to stay for any length of time. In all the others, they're sent back to our world almost immediately after having completed their task. It seems a bit too quest like. I could imagine especially the Pensieves would have liked to be back "home" for longer periods of time... even if 1000 years had gone by between the first two times.

...but perhaps that's just my adult sentiments talking.