The Naughty List (Make Mine A Menage Boo...

The Naughty List by Jodi Redford is a fun but naughty Christmas read.  Ms Redford has delivered a fun book loaded with amazing characters.  Lacey, Ry and Bram's story is full of drama, humor and five-alarm heat.  This is a M/F/M menage, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.  I enjoyed reading The Naughty List and look forward to reading more from Jodi Redford soon.  The Naughty List is book 1 of the Make Mine A Menage Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

Akata Witch transports the reader to a magical place where nothing is quite as it seems. Born in New York, but living in Aba, Nigeria, twelve-year old Sunny is understandably a little lost. She is albino and thus, incredibly sensitive to the sun. All Sunny wants to do is be able to play football and get through another day of school without being bullied. But once she befriends Orlu and Chichi, Sunny is plunged in to the world of the Leopard People, where your worst defect becomes your greatest asset. Together, Sunny, Orlu, Chichi and Sasha form the youngest ever Oha Coven. Their mission is to track down Black Hat Otokoto, the man responsible for kidnapping and maiming children. Will Sunny be able to overcome the killer with powers stronger than her own, or will the future she saw in the flames become reality?

Read to fill the “Diverse Voices” square of my 2017 Halloween Bingo card.

The Nigerian version of Harry Potter, with an albino Nigerian-American girl as the star. Sunny really only wants to be able to play football and attend school without being bullied, but her family has a legacy of magic that no one talks about and which is going to take her life in unexpected direction. Her talent is recognized by the friend of a friend and soon Sunny is being coached in juju, taken to the magical city of the Leopard People, and dealing with some very serious magical situations. Fortunately, she has her own coven of friends to aid and abet her in her adventures.

Here, there are leopards and lambs, rather than magicians and muggles, there is football rather than quidditch, but there is also a whole window into West African life and mythology that will be unfamiliar to many North American readers. Nnedi Okorafor is in the perfect position to open this window for us, being born in the United States with Nigerian immigrant parents. With feet in both worlds, she is able to weave a tale understandable to both sides of the divide.

The story begins when renowned safari hunter Allan Quartermain agrees to help Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good search for King Solomon’s legendary cache of diamonds. Eager to find out what is true, what is myth, and what is really buried in the darkness of the mines, the tireless adventurers delve into the Sahara’s treacherous Veil of Sand, where they stumble upon a mysterious lost tribe of African warriors. Finding themselves in deadly peril from that country’s cruel king and the evil sorceress who conspires behind his throne, the explorers escape, but what they seek could be the most savage trap of all—the forbidden, impenetrable, and spectacular King Solomon’s Mines.

***2017 Summer Lovin’ Reading List***

King Solomon’s Mines is very much a product of its Victorian, colonial times. Don’t go into this book expecting anything else. Allan Quartermain is an unlikely protagonist, an elephant hunter, something that would get him publically shamed on the internet nowadays. This is very much an adventure tale, set in deepest, darkest Africa. White men have no doubt that they are at the very tippy-top of the social hierarchy and have no compunctions about expressing that belief. They believe Africans to be primitive, superstitious, and prefer them subservient. An African may be king in his own lost-kingdom, but must still admit his unworthiness to equality with a ne’er-do-well hunter like Quartermain.

Not recommended for the overly politically correct, but providing many insights into the colonial mindset that still plagues us today. A fantastical adventure in the Victorian style.

Atticus’s apprentice Granuaile is at last a full Druid herself. What’s more, Atticus has defrosted an archdruid long ago frozen in time, a father figure (of sorts) who now goes by the modern equivalent of his old Irish name: Owen Kennedy.

And Owen has some catching up to do.

Atticus takes pleasure in the role reversal, as the student is now the teacher. Between busting Atticus’s chops and trying to fathom a cell phone, Owen must also learn English. For Atticus, the jury’s still out on whether the wily old coot will be an asset in the epic battle with Norse god Loki—or merely a pain in the arse.

But Atticus isn’t the only one with daddy issues. Granuaile faces a great challenge: to exorcise a sorcerer’s spirit that is possessing her father in India. Even with the help of the witch Laksha, Granuaile may be facing a crushing defeat.

As the trio of Druids deals with pestilence-spreading demons, bacon-loving yeti, fierce flying foxes, and frenzied Fae, they’re hoping that this time, three’s a charm.

***2017 Summer Lovin’ Reading List***

Best volume of this series so far!!!

I really liked the alternating chapters between Atticus, Granuaile, and Owen. This structure shows, better than any telling, that Atticus has severely underestimated both his partner Granuaile and his archdruid, Owen.

Granuaile gets to adventure on her own, while Atticus and Owen manage to get each other into trouble. Oberon and Orleith are fabulous hound sidekicks. Owen shows that he’s not just a cranky old coot, he’s still got good instincts, even if English isn’t the ideal language to express them in.
I’m getting a bit tired of the ‘dog-pile of gods on Atticus’ plot. Sure, he’s been annoying, but really has anything that he’s done warranted the amount of ill-will that is being expended on him? At least in this book we are back to dealing mostly with the Irish pantheon, which makes sense, but I am really tired of the Loki/Ragnarock plot line which keeps dragging along through so many books now. Says the woman who usually loves the Norse gods in fiction.

Owen steals the show, being completely unfamiliar with 21st century society and providing hilarious perspectives on it, while still showing that human nature hasn’t changed a bit! I used to read this series strictly for Oberon, but he has some competition now!

The vampires of Asheville, North Carolina, want to establish their own clan, but since they owe loyalty to the Master Vampire of New Orleans they must work out the terms with him. To come up with an equitable solution, he sends an envoy with the best bodyguard blood money can buy: Jane Yellowrock.

But when a group of local campers are attacked by something fanged, Jane goes from escort to investigator. Unless she wants to face a very angry mast vampire, she will have to work overtime to find the killer. It's a good thing she's worth every penny.

***2017 Summer Lovin’ Reading List***

I'd rather fight an old rogue-vamp in my underwear, with my bare hands, than deal with relationship problems.

Perhaps that’s because Jane’s love life is complicated. That would have to be her Facebook status! She is so busy fleeing from all the men in her life that she allows herself to take the blame for a bunch of things that truly aren’t her fault. But, realistically, that’s what happens when you’re a woman in charge of something—the men involved feel free to blame you for every damn thing that doesn’t go as planned. Jane hasn’t been in charge long enough to learn to throw it right back at them! She’s damn good at her job—despite all the wrenches that keep getting tossed into the works, things work out.

Jane has religious questions in her life that she needs to deal with too. Can she be a Christian of some sort and still practice her Cherokee rites? I think the two are compatible, but its not up to me! I’ll be interested to see where Hunter takes this question in future books.

I’m not nearly as into Rick as Jane is. I can see why she chose him in the beginning—choose the human, right? But now that he’s a were-jaguar-in-waiting, things get complicated. Not to mention Bruiser, hanging around in the background, waiting for Rick to disappear. Is a blood-servant any better than a vampire in the long run? And there are vampires who’d like to be in line to woo our Jane as well. She may tell the people who have a grudge against her to “get in line,” but that applies to her relationships even more!

Always entertaining, lots of action, plenty of emotional ups & downs, I am coming to appreciate Jane Yellowrock a great deal. I can hardly wait to get the next book from the library!