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Red-Haired Ash

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A poetic and beautiful collection of essays

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-13-24

This was a very poetic and beautiful written collection of essays that brings Native teachings to common views about nature and science. I quite enjoyed this and learned a lot. If you are interested in the natural world, plants, or Native teachings then pick this one up.

Also, the narration by Robin was beautiful and very calming. I loved that we got to hear this book in their own words and tone.

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Wasn't what I was expecting

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-07-24

3 stars - I liked it

This book wasn’t really what I was expecting. From the title, I thought that this was just going to discuss 100 objects that were in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Instead this book gives a lot of history on Egypt and links it to certain items of Tutankhamun’s. This made it a little harder to determine what 100 objects were being discussed because it would be intertwined with a bunch of Egyptian history.

While I did enjoy this unique approach to these objects and learned a lot of history, I think I would have liked it better to have just had an informative book about each item like I was expecting. There were so many items in his tomb and I was really hoping to learn more about them individually than in the context of history.

Also a downfall of listening to this audiobook was that I couldn’t see the pictures of these items so I would have to Google the items that he mentioned. An accompanied PDF of images would have been great for this audiobook, but Google worked in a pinch.

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disappointing

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-15-24

After Sally and Jack get married, Sally quickly realizes she isn’t prepared to be queen and doesn’t like how her role has changed. She struggles with the attention that comes with being queen. When Sally and Zero uncover a long lost doorway to Dream Town, she sets into motion a chain of sinister events for all the realms.

While this sounded like it would be a good book, I found it to be a bit disappointing. In the beginning I found Sally grating and whiny. She gets upset at people now seeing her as queen and struggles with all the pressure that is placed on her. But you would think she would have expected it since she knew she was getting married to the pumpkin king and she saw how in demand his time was over the many years she lived in town.

After the new doorway was opened, Sally got less whiny and so I decided to continue the story to see how this would play out. The Sandman and Dream Town were interesting but nothing mind blowing. The reveal about Sally’s heritage was a surprise and not necessarily a good one. I think I prefer her original origin story with Dr. Finklestein.

Overall, this story was a bit disappointing for me and felt a bit flat compared to the original Nightmare Before Christmas storyline. Also I didn’t really love the narrator and how she did Sally’s voice, or anyone else's voice really.

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Another wonderful addition

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-07-24

Well this was another book that i just couldn’t put down! This is such a fascinating and unique world that it is very hard to put the book down.

This book picks up shortly after the previous one ended. The humans are trying to take control of Thasia by blaming food shortages and other issues on the Others. This book basically shows how greedy and self-absorbed humans can be, especially when trying to gain power. I am really enjoying this storyline a lot, even if it is a bit dark at times.

Meg has changed so much since book one. She is continuing to figure out how her abilities work and is now crafting a guide to help others. She makes a lot of progress but also a few mistakes. I really am enjoying the progression of her character and how she is handling her urge to cut. She is building confidence in herself and learning to rely on her friends for help and support. All of the human pack members have become great side characters and I love how they take care of each other.

Simon is changing too. He is becoming more human-like in some ways but also more ruthless at the same time, especially when it comes to Meg. Simon also is learning that not all humans are bad and has started to trust them more. He is seeing them more as part of the pack than as just meat which I really enjoy. Simon is also still struggling with his reactions to Meg and still hasn’t worked out yet that she is his, but then again Meg hasn’t figured it out yet either. I am really loving the slow burn on their relationship, which isn’t something I expected since I don’t usually like slow building relationships like this.

Overall, this was another wonderful addition to this series. I cannot wait to jump into the next book, especially after the ultimatum given to the humans.

Trigger Warnings: self harm, murder including children, death of side-characters, injuries

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Meg's story continues to be fascinating

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-07-24

This was another amazing story! Just like with the first book, I was instantly addicted to this story from the very first chapter. I really love all the characters that have been introduced so far, and I just want to know more about them now. This world is so unique and fascinating that I just need to know more about it.

This book picks up shortly after the previous one ends. Meg has settled into life at the Courtyard and is still learning how to deal with her prophecies and urges to cut. Her relationship with Simon is changing and neither of them know how to deal with it. I love seeing Simon, who is a very confident leader, struggle to understand women and his feelings for Meg. This is definitely a slow building relationship but I am 100% on board with that and can’t get enough of them!

In this story, Meg helps lead the Others to find out the source of the new drugs that are killing Others and making humans crazy. She speaks a few prophecies in this one and the Others do a good job at deciphering what they mean. I like how protective they are of Meg and her prophecies, even if they do go a bit overboard at times. Meg needs that though because it lets her know they care.

I am jumping right into the next book now because I need to see how the Others deal with the other blood prophets and the fall out of taking down the Controller. I also really can’t wait to see more of Meg and Simon’s blooming relationship.

If you are looking for an unique urban fantasy series, definitely pick up this series.

Trigger warnings: self harm; rape; imprisonment; PTSD; drug use; murder; gore

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This was ok

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-25-24

2 stars - It was ok

The Emerson family is back in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season, but they quickly find themselves facing new trouble. Someone is accusing David of selling ancient artifacts that are actually forgeries and now they have to find out who is doing it.

This has been my last favorite book of this series. It felt like it dragged along and for a good portion it felt like the mystery had been forgotten about. If I hadn’t been listening to this book in audio, I most likely would have DNF because it was just so slow and tedious with the mundane things happening.

In this adventure, we have the return of Amelia’s nephew Percy and he causes a lot of problems for Ramses and Nefret. We also finally see Nefret and Ramses admit their feelings, but of course that doesn’t go to plan. I will admit that this started feeling like a bad soap opera with all the relationships that were happening in this book. Also, I hate how Nefret went from a smart and strong willed woman to an impulsive pushover in the end.

Overall, this was just fine. The mystery was weak and all the relationship stuff got old quick. I will probably read the next book but I think it will be a while before that happens.

TW: brief mentioning of kidnapping, beating, and the threat of rape; death; gun violence; miscarriage;

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A wonderful look at some forgotten women

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-23-24

5 stars - I loved it!

In Women in the Valley of the Kings, Sheppard tells the untold story of eleven women who changed the landscape of Egyptology in different ways. This book covers the life and careers of Amelia Edwards, Marianne Brocklehurst, Maggie Benson, Nettie Gourley, Emma Andrews, Margaret Alice Murray, Kate Griffith, Emily Paterson, Myrtle Broome, Amice Calverley, and Caroline Ransom Williams. These women challenged expectations of the time and went on to make great strides in Egyptology for women and in uncovering history. Also quite a few of these women were queer, which was a great surprise when reading this book.

I could talk about these remarkable women for a while, but I won’t. I am just going to highlight their lives and what they accomplished. Amelia Edwards was a novelist and Egyptologist who wrote the bestseller book, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile. She co-created the Egypt Exploration Fund (now called the Egypt Exploration Society) and left her vast collection and funds to the University College London to create an Egyptology department. This woman kickstarted everything for future women in this career, including the rest of the women in the book.

Marianne Brocklehurst and her partner Mary Booth were collectors and funded many excavations in Egypt and contributed to the Egypt Exploration Fund. Before her death she funded the West Park museum and donated her Egyptian collection for display and education. Marianne may not have been an Egyptologist, but she provided a way to educate the public on Egyptian culture and funded expeditions to gather that history.

Maggie Benson and Janet “Nettie” Gourley were partners and Egyptologists who worked together to excavate at the Precinct of Mut. They led the first all-female excavation in Egypt and discovered all kinds of statues, goods, and discovered how parts of the Precinct were built. Maggie and Nettie were a couple that challenged male Egyptologists' belief that women couldn’t run an excavation or do this kind of work. I really enjoyed learning about this lesbian couple who made so many fascinating finds at the Precinct of Mut.

Emma Andrews helped fund excavations in Egypt and helped document her lover, Theodore M. Davis, excavations. Margaret Alice Murray was a student at the new Egyptology department at the University College London, the department that was created by Amelia Edwards. She started teaching Egyptology students at Sir Flinders Petrie’s request and was the first woman to be appointed lecturer in archeology in the UK. Some more fascinating facts about Margaret was that she was the first woman to publicly unwrap a mummy and was involved in the first-wave feminist movement. She was a trailblazer. I would have loved to hear her lecture on Egypt and all the other fascinating things she researched.

Kate Griffith was Amelia Edwards former companion and was executor of her will. She and Emily Paterson, the general secretary of the Egypt Excavation Fund, were the main administrators and ran everything while the men were out excavating. These two women were the main touching points for all the Egyptologists working for the Fund and had an extensive network of well known people. These two women were the backbone of this society and because of them so many excavations were able to be funded.

Myrtle Broome and Amice Calverley were Egyptologists and illustrators who worked at copying relief walls at Abydos. They published four detailed and colorful volumes of their drawings that continue to be used today. I highly recommend looking at their drawings and seeing how detailed they are. Caroline Ransom Williams was the first American woman to be professionally trained as an Egyptologist. She had a long career of being a curator for museums, mainly the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA). She was the one who oversaw the Tomb of Perneb being mailed and reassembled at the MMA. She took a few trips to Egypt and worked in the field but her main accomplishments were in the museums in the states building their collections.

This was a fascinating look at some remarkable women. I love that these women keep journals of their travels because it’s now the only way we really know about them and what they accomplished. Reading this just makes me want to have a travel journal for my next trip so I don’t forget all the little details in the future.

Overall, this was a great book of forgotten women. It was cool to see how all of their lives seemed to be intertwined and built off what Amelia Edwards started. Also, I just loved learning about more queer historical figures who broke barriers and followed their dreams.

TW: Misogyny; death of family, lovers and children; grooming; internalized homomisia; racism; colonization;

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A fascinating look at history

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-21-24

After following James’ Kinky History videos on Instagram, I knew I needed to read this book. She always presents the kinky facts from history in a fun and easy to understand manner. This book is just a longer version of that.

James uses a mixture of history, science, and personal anecdote to tell the history of kink. She uses a dinner party as a framing device to showcase various well-known people from history and their proclivities and dives further into the history of that kink. This was an extremely well researched book and James does a great job at presenting the information in a fun and easy to read manner. As she presents this history, she is also teaching us to be more tolerant of people’s sexual choices and learn to embrace our own sexuality.

Overall, this was a wonderful and fascinating look at the history of kink. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in the history of kink because James really does a great job at presenting this information in an educated and celebratory way.

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Miki's story

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-21-24

Conall Viga-Feilan never thought he would meet a female strong enough to be his mate, especially a human one. But Miki Kendrick isn’t average. With her high intelligence and hint of crazy, she keeps Conall on his toes while they deal with a new threat to the pack.

Another crazy and enjoyable adventure for the Magnus Pack. Miki is just as crazy as I expected her to be. She was blunt, smart, and pretty deadly when she needed to be. I liked her. She is perfect for Conall because she challenges him and sees his true self. Conall was a protective alpha male who refused to be pushed away by Miki. He knows she has feelings for him and he just keeps pushing until she admits it.

Like with the first book, this one was filled with smart ass comments, crazy actions, and a lot of steamy sexy times. I quite enjoyed these two and their adventure getting Miki’s dissertation finished. I am really interested in seeing what is going to happen next with the new shifters and with Angelina.

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Angelina's story

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-21-24

Angelina Santiago didn’t think her life could get any stranger. Then she is kidnapped, dragged across the country, and dumped at the home of the gorgeous tiger shifter Nikolai Vorislav.

Angelina and Nik’s story was a wild ride. Angelina was a spunky, smart, and deadly heroine, who also had a great sense of fashion. She isn’t afraid to take what she wants, physically or sexually, and that leads to her having a fling with Nik. As you can imagine, feelings become involved pretty quickly the more they learn about each other and they soon realize they have fallen in love with each other.

Before they admit their feelings though, they have to deal with some hyena’s who keep trying to attack Pack members and each other’s nosy family members. The shenanigans that happen in these books are outrageous and hilarious. You never know what to expect when it comes to Angelina, or Miki and Sara, and that is what makes reading these so much fun. It’s just a hilarious journey of crazy fights, great friendship, and some steamy love.

Overall, this was a good conclusion to the Magnus Pack series. I am so glad I decided to reread this series because I had forgotten how crazy and fun Laurenston’s books were. They are wild and make for a fun read.

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