The next Reader’s Advisory Roundtable is on Wednesday, February 14th at 9:30am at the O’Neal Library. The topic up for discussion is clean romance. I hope to see you there! An online option will be available later.
Today’s topic was gender representation. Alas, Lora R from Vestavia and I were the
only attendees and ya’ll missed out on some very nice dark roast coffee and
scrumptious iced gingerbread cookies!
We talked about:
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (fantasy, adult)
After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging
up her sword for the last time.
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in
the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to
mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she
won't be able to go it alone.
But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the
way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly
brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she
ever could have dreamed.
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (fantasy, adult)
Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's
Ravens isn't going as planned.
Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against
her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action
that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.
What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?
Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed
proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both
exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't imagine.
Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a
gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of
skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv expected.
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln (mystery, middle-grade)
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought
before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A
definition it is assumed they will grow up to match.
Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.
Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her
next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile’s long-lost treasure. She’s
excited to finally meet her arriving relatives—until one of them gives
Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.
So what if everyone thinks she’ll never be more than a troublemaker, just
because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a
detective. And she’s determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the
killer.
Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a
remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A
celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay,
and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and
define herself in a world where definitions are so important.
