Mailbox Monday

I didn’t post last Monday, because I wanted to use that day to post my September recap, and now I have 5 books to post about!

BOOKS RECEIVED THESE PAST TWO WEEKS

A Noël Killing,
by M.L. Longworth
Mystery
Published on Nov 12/2019,
by Penguin Books,
Received for review in Criminal Element

“Christmastime in the south of France is as beautiful as ever, but when a shady local businessman drops dead in the middle of the festivities, Verlaque and Bonnet must solve the case while keeping the holiday spirit alive.
Antoine Verlaque, examining magistrate for the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence, doesn’t like Christmas. The decorations appear in the shops far too early, festive tourists swarm the streets, and his beloved Cours Mirabeau is lined with chalets selling what he regards as tacky trinkets. But his wife and partner Marine Bonnet is determined to make this a Christmas they can both enjoy, beginning with the carol sing at the Cathedral Saint Sauveur, a beautiful service in a packed church.
Just as the holiday cheer is in full swing, a man is poisoned, sending the community into a tailspin. The list of suspects, Verlaque and Bonnet quickly discover, almost fills the church itself, from the visiting vendors at the Christmas fair to the victim’s unhappy wife and his disgruntled business partner. In A Noël Killing, with the help of an ever-watchful young woman named France, the pair must solve the murder while the spirit of the season attempts to warm Verlaque’s stubborn heart.”

Or What You Will,
by Jo Walton
Fantasy
Jul 7, 2020!
by Tor Books/Macmillan
Won through Shelf Awareness

“From the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning author of Among Others, an utterly original novel about how stories are brought forth.
He has been too many things to count. He has been a dragon with a boy on his back. He has been a scholar, a warrior, a lover, and a thief. He has been dream and dreamer. He has been a god.
But “he” is in fact nothing more than a spark of idea, a character in the mind of Sylvia Harrison, 73, award-winning author of thirty novels over forty years. He has played a part in most of those novels, and in the recesses of her mind, Sylvia has conversed with him for years.
But Sylvia won’t live forever, any more than any human does. And he’s trapped inside her cave of bone, her hollow of skull. When she dies, so will he.
Now Sylvia is starting a new novel, a fantasy for adult readers, set in Thalia, the Florence-resembling imaginary city that was the setting for a successful YA trilogy she published decades before. Of course he’s got a part in it. But he also has a notion. He thinks he knows how he and Sylvia can step off the wheel of mortality altogether. All he has to do is convince her.”

Summer of Reckoning,
by Marion Brunet
Thriller
April 15, 2020!
by Bitter Lemon Press
Received for review from the publisher

Winner of the prestigious French mystery prize 2018 Grand Prix de Littérature policière.

“A psychological thriller set in the Luberon, a touristic French region that evokes holidays in magnificent pool-adorned villas. For those who live there year-round, it often means stifling poverty and boredom. Two teenage sisters have grown up in a world where the main distractions are hatred of Arabs and booze. When Celine, 16, discovers she is pregnant and refuses to divulge her lover’s identity, her father embarks on a mission of revenge. A dark and upsetting account of an ailing society, filled with silent and murderous rage.
Brunet uses her tense and efficient novel to tell us a story of “people at sea, on a boat punctured just above the waterline, never far from a shipwreck”. No one describes better the poisonous claustrophobia of families trapped in small rural towns. She writes with a scalpel about couples, family, sexism, racism and poverty.”

The One-Pot Weight Loss Plan, 
by Shelley Rael
Nonfiction/Cookbooks
December 3, 2019
by Rockridge Press
Received for review though Callisto Media

“Sustainable weight loss is about more than dieting – it’s about changing your lifestyle. The One-Pot Weight Loss Plan has 85 mouthwatering one-pot recipes and a 28-day meal plan to help you lose weight quickly- and keep it off over the long-term.
You won’t feel like you’re missing out on your favorite foods with recipes like Pesto Quinoa Bowl, Turkey Chili, Ground Beef Tacos, and Strawberry Cheesecake that take only one “pot” to make and are packed with flavor. You’ll also get brief weekly exercise plans, handy grocery shopping lists, a helpful template for creating your own meal plans, and more.”

The 30-Minute Ayurvedic Cookbook,
by Danielle Martin
Nonfiction/Cookbooks
December 10, 2019
by Rockridge Press
Received for review though Callisto Media

“A healing diet for a healthy body―an Ayurvedic cookbook full of quick and tasty meals.
The traditional South Asian system of medicine―Ayurveda―is based on the concept of balancing your body to achieve total wellness. A diet centered around Ayurveda teaches us that the right food can ultimately balance and heal us. The 30-Minute Ayurvedic Cookbook makes it simple to eat an Ayurvedic diet, with 90 delicious recipes that take half an hour or less to prepare.
The recipes in this Ayurvedic cookbook are labeled for specific benefits―like digestion, heart health, weight loss, constipation relief, and more―so you can quickly find meals designed to benefit your individual healing process.”

Real Chemistry Experiments:
40 Exciting Steam Activities for Kids
by Edward P Zovinka
Juvenile Nonfiction/Chemistry
December 10, 2019
by Rockridge Press
Received for review though Callisto Media

“Become a better problem-solver, inventor, and innovator with these fascinating chemistry experiments. Each one has a clear purpose or question that’s being asked, step-by-step instructions, a list of materials you’ll need, questions to help you record your observations, and more. By the time you’re through, you’ll have chemistry for kids down to a science!”

My First Grade Workbook: 101 Games and Activities to Support First Grade Skills,
by Brittany Lynch and Robin Boyer
Juvenile Nonfiction/Chemistry
10/1/2019
by Rockridge Press
Received for review though Callisto Media

“Discover a great way to keep the learning going all year round. Bursting with exciting challenges, My First Grade Workbook is an educational activity book that young students will love.

From word searches and crosswords to color-by-sum and secret code puzzles, this first grade workbook is filled with loads of enjoyable games and activities that help kids learn as they play.”

ARE YOU PLANNING TO READ ANY OF THESE?
DO YOU LIKE THESE TYPES OF BOOKS?
WHAT BOOK(S) DID YOU RECEIVE?