Happy Friday, Beloved Patrons, and welcome to another Five Book Friday. Our favorite postman and several UPS drivers have been bringing boxes of books to our doors every day, and our shelves are looking much more robust as the days pass, so be sure to come in and whet your literary appetite before another sunny and adventuresome weekend.
The Sage of Waterloo: The narrator of Leona Francombe’s book is a rabbit. A rabbit who loves history. I fail to see what more incentive anyone could need to run out and read this book. However, if you would like some more details, William, a white rabbit, lives at the site of the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium, where his mysterious grandmother, Old Lavender, teaches him to hear the ghosts whose voices still reverberate around the battlefield. Library Journal called Francombe’s narrative “gentle and poetic”, and the story itself “an eloquent reflection on the nature and cost of war…Everything in this little book is perfect.”
Trailer Park Fae: Lilith Saintcrow is a born storyteller, and this debut in her Ragged and Bone series is sure to be a hit with her many fans and new readers alike. Half-mortal Jeremy Gallow walked away from his fairy legacy years ago, and now lives the boring life of a construction worker–until the day he is dragged back into the fairy realm by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife, urging him to hunt down an other-wordly serial killer. RT Book Reviews raves that Saintcrow “blends the realistic and fantastic with gusto to create a world that is beautifully detailed and wonderfully off-kilter, and a cast that is magnetic and empathetic, yet beguiling and mysterious”
The Lost Concerto: Helaine Mario’s blend of thriller, romance, personal journey, and historic quest has been garnering rave reviews from critics and book bloggers alike, with Publisher’s Weekly calling it a “suspenseful, heartrending novel…which builds to a highly satisfying resolution.” Like any good symphony, this story starts off quietly, but builds in tension and suspense as a young woman, who had fled the world years ago, is forced back when her godson disappears, and a mysterious photograph sends her on a quest that lead her to uncover a plot surrounding a famous manuscript thought lost to the ages.
The Blooding: This is the fifth book in James McGee’s super-terrific historic thriller series featuring Matthew Hawkwood, a soldier-turned-spy whose adventures unfold across the landscape of the early American frontier. In this installment, Matthew finds himself stranded behind enemies lines during the War of 1812, with no one to trust but a former comrade, Major Denis Lawrence. As the two men make their secret way to Canada, they uncover a plot that could lose the war for Britain–but will they survive long enough to alert the British authorities?
Franklin Barbecue: The Meat-Smoking Manifesto: After the sensational Saturdays at the South post on grilling, we’ve seen an uptick in grilling books and other summertime-eats books, so this particular tome couldn’t have come at a better time. From Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, the winner of Texas Monthly’s Best Barbecue Joint in Texas award, comes the self-proclaimed complete guide to meat and brisket cooking that goes beyond how to make a hamburger, and explores how to make a smoker, select your wood and meats, and creating the perfect fires for cooking them. I don’t eat meat, but even I have to admit, the pictures in this particular book look down-right delicious.
So there you have it, beloved patrons! Have a happy weekend, full of fun adventures, good food, and plenty of good books!