Why Saint Patrick’s Day and why green? Well, many believe that Saint Patrick, foremost patron saint of Ireland, died on March 17. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the green shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. Others say wearing green makes you invisible to impish leprechauns so you don’t get pinched!
Well, again. Dyed-in-the-shamrock bibliophiles can join the holiday fun with a good book! Especially if it has green in the title.
Want to read more? Find more books like your favorites?
Well woof and double woof! Cuz you’ve come to the right place!
Kimber here. Being all brilliant and beautiful. Yep. Being a genius is hard work. But I’m up for the challenge! Especially on a Fine Wine Friday. Where we only recommend/feature books we’ve actually read.
I know. It’s a bark-worthy stroke of genius. And to be honest, it was my idea. Well, okay. Mom helped. A little. You know how Mom is, right?
Squirrel!
Wait. Where was I? Oh yeah. Fine Wine Fridays. Well, time’s a-wastin. So…
C.H. Armstrong’s The Edge of Nowhere is set in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl days of the “Dirty Thirties.” The protagonist is a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners spitfire named Victoria Hastings Harrison Greene.
Victoria is a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks. Now elderly, she has a tumor on her pancreas. So the novel opens with a letter. It’s penned by Victoria and addressed to her grandchildren. Dated November 12, 1992, the epistle begins:
“I know you refer to me as ‘the meanest woman you’ve ever known.’”
The rest of the book – 261 pages – fills in the blanks. What emerges is the fictionalized story of a woman who refused to be a victim.
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Well Yabba-dabba-doo and Glory Hallelujah! spake I, Kimber the Magnificent. That’s what I said when the author contacted us for a review request for his book about a little girl who lives on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. Little’uns and a remote island off the coast of Scotland?! Does it get any better than that?! As in, these are a few of my favorite things..
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mom: Kimmi, what are you doing?!
Kimber: No interruptions, Mom! I’m practicing the Ruskan hopak and scouting up my balalaika.
Mom (eyes rolling): Hate to break it to you, Kimster. But you’re a dog. Dogs don’t dance the hopak. Or play the balalaika.
Kimber: Wanna bet?
And that’s where we were after turning the final page of M.L. Farb’s mesmerizingly masterful fairy tale/fantasy novel, Vasilisa. One of the main themes that shimmers throughout this witty and uber engaging story is a question: Is the heroine Vasilisa the strong or Vasilisa the good? Can she be both? How?
Pssst! Yeah. You. Kimber the Magnificent here. Asking if you can keep a secret, bub? Cuz I’m gonna letcha in on one today. But first ya gotta promise not to tell She Who Must Obeyed, okay? Agreed? Pawsome. Here goes:
One of us – the one with opposable thumbs- started this here Magyk book under shall we say, less than optimal conditions?
Okay, okay. The conditions were downright lousy. I’m talking ruff here. (Not a typo.) Cuz the one with opposable thumbs started reading this book while waiting for news about a sweet furry face we all know and love undergoing emergency care at the vet. Fur (also not a typo) background, see: The Patient Is Home & Resting Comfortably.
You’re kidding, right?
I say this to Mom a lot. Especially when she gets The Look. You know. That Look. It usually precedes a mile-long description of her new favorite book. Of course I listen. Because, ya know. That’s my job. Well, that and being beautiful and brilliant. (It’s a tough job. But I’m up for it!)
So when Mom came up with yet another harebrained idea for Fine Wine Fridays – where do these things come from? – I just smiled and listened.
Mom’s latest brainstorm? A list of really cool murder mysteries/whodunits.
Being the brains in this dynamic duo, I reminded Mom that she doesn’t typically gravitate toward either genre. But you know Mom!
So here, in no particular order, are Mom’s version of Fine Wine Friday murder mysteries/whodunits. (See more Fine Wine Friday picks here.)
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Kimber the Magnificent here. Giving you a quick heads up: The hero of this story isn’t a hooman. It’s Pharaoh the Rottie. You’ll get that if you read the book. Cuz Pharoah’s like, Pawsome! And my new best friend! Oh yeah.
Crystal Shadows: Gripping New Blood (Olympia Publishers, 2020)It was a dark and stormy night…
No. Really. It was. I, Kimber, was there. And the night wasn’t just “dark and stormy.” Rain was coming down in sheets. Sideways. The wind was howling like a banshee with a tooth ache. A flood watch and a wind advisory were in effect.
“It’s a perfect day to curl up by the fire with a good book,” spake Mom.
Well. Who am I to disagree?
Thankfully, R.J. Parker’s Crystal Shadows: Gripping New Blood filled the bill. Here’s why:
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When Her Momness was young a whipper-snapper – back when dinosaurs roamed the earth – she spent a coupla summers on staff at a Christian camp in California. One of the musical guests one week was a tenor. He sang a song Mom never forgot. (And for Mom, that’s really sayin’ somethin’!) It was called His Stubborn Love. We’ll get to the lyrics in a min. So kindly keep your shirt on. But this memoir reminded Her Momness of that song.
I’ll let Mom explain:
Pages & Paws 