Tag: Savannah

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#BookReview: A Spell For Saints And Sinners by Emily Carpenter

Not Southern Gothic. At All. More A Modern Day Gatsby. With Witches And Magical Realism. I’ve read at least one or two of Carpenter’s books before this one (and have a few more), and I know Carpenter knows Southern Gothic – Gothictown, her 2025 release, was spot on for that genre. But this aint that at ALL.

Yet what we *do* get is an “on trend” (re: magical realism) update to The Great Gatsby, that great work of Americana from a century ago, brought into more modern times (complete with sexting and #MeToo elements!) and with a Southern flair, moving it from New York to Savannah yet keeping a lot of the same overall look and feel… yet adding the fact that our main character is a witch and psychic. Had the description been based more on this, I do think at least some of the existing 1* reviews likely wouldn’t be there, as this is far more accurate than the current “official” one.

So yes, for those who want nothing at all to do with any form of witchcraft at all… I’m telling you now, this aint gonna be the book for you.

But for Mass Effect fans… our main character shares at least one verbal tic with one of the more popular characters in that franchise (certainly one of my own favorite non-Shepard characters), so you may want to read this book for that alone. Particularly if you love that particular verbal tic. But if you’re one that plays the drinking game of it… don’t do that with this book. You may get even more drunk than you do from playing ME3. 😉 Or maybe you’re a college student and/ or in your 20s (or later, really, but let’s face it, most of us grow too old for this shit by our 30s or so) and *want* a literary drinking game. In that case, I have a book for you! 😉 No judgement, have your fun. Just try not to land in jail, please. 😉

Gatsby is one of the Great Works Of American Literature for *reasons*, and while this book does a good or even great job of updating it and moving it several hundred miles South, it doesn’t *quite* hit *those* levels. Still, it is absolutely a solid look at how at least some of the themes explored in that book have both changed and remained the same over the last century or so, and for that alone it would do well to be studied in collegiate literature classes at minimum, perhaps even Junior/ Senior level high school classes… assuming, of course, modern high school students remain capable of such analysis and critique that was required of high school students when I was still in school 30 yrs ago.

One last personal note: I had this book for months as an Advance Review Copy before finally getting to it about a week after its release due to some personal “real life” issues that arose in mid March 2026 and are ongoing through April 2026 (and really all summer before they are fully resolved), and for whatever reason I had it listed as 288 pages long when I first entered it into my tracker when I originally downloaded it just before Halloween 2025. Finding out I was both missing the deadline *and* that the book was nearly twice as long as expected was… interesting. But that was also no fault of Carpenter or anyone involved in the publishing of this book and was entirely on me. Still, as it did come to bear on my overall experience with the book, it needed to be noted in my review. 🙂

Overall, this really was a strong book for what it actually is, and I think readers who go in with a more honest expectation of what it actually is will enjoy it quite a bit. But yes, readers who approach this book expecting Southern Gothic and finding absolutely none of that will feel disappointed, and honestly so. So approach this as the modern day update to Gatsby, moved to the South and with witches and magical realism added that it is, and I honestly think you will enjoy this book quite a bit, if that is something you’re into at all.

Very much recommended.

This review of A Spell For Saints And Sinners by Emily Carpenter was originally written on April 8, 2026.

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#BookReview: The Lost Supper by Taras Grescoe

Intriguing Romp Through The History Of Food That Fails The Sagan Standard. One of the core features of the scientific method, and indeed of rational thought more generally, is what is known in some circles as the “Sagan Standard” after he quoted it so much: Extreme Claims Require Extreme Evidence.

And this is where this otherwise truly intriguing tale utterly fails, coming in at just 10% documentation despite claims as extreme *even in the prologue* as claiming that 90% of US milk production comes from a particular breed of cows and ultimately is the product of just two bulls that ultimately created that particular breed.

Reading the text as less science and history – even though much science and history are discussed – and more as the “creative nonfiction” Grescoe writes of once describing his writing to a security officer as, the book flows quite a bit better and provides quite a bit of interesting and intriguing nuggets for people of various persuasions to track down on their own. For example, the global histories Grescoe explores, from the Aztec culture of eating certain bugs to the Phonecian/ Mediterranean culture of eating very fermented fish to the Canadian First Nations’ peoples’ culinary pursuits and several others as well all provide rich stories that *beg* for a more documented history. On the other hand, if one is more gastronomically inclined ala the author, perhaps one simply wants to try to track down these particular foods and techniques for him or herself to sample these items as the author did – including a particular breed of pig that “originates” from a small island not far from where this reviewer lives on Florida’s First Coast.

Ultimately, once one abandons any standard of documentation the way one would abandon any sense of “reality” upon entering a cinema to watch the latest MCU movie and appreciates the sheer spectacle of what is presented to you… this is a truly great book that foodies in particular will absolutely love. Given the literal hundreds of different shows about food and culinary pursuits, including several actively traveling around the world highlighting various dishes and techniques just as this book does… clearly there is a market for exactly this kind of tale, and this one does in fact appear to work perfectly within that market. Very much recommended.

This review of The Lost Supper by Taras Grescoe was originally written on September 3, 2023.

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#BookReview: Wherever The Wind Takes Us by Kelly Harms

Discover Yourself And Push Yourself Further Than You Ever Dared. This title of this review is pretty well exactly what happens in this tale of a forty something mother finally having enough and breaking away from the only life she has known as an adult. Along the way, we get the beautiful and sometimes charming waters and towns along the US Eastern Seaboard – and a *lot* of sailing terminology. The techno-babble didn’t bother me too much as a *long* time reader of military technothrillers (where Clancy infamously spent seemingly dozens of pages on the first *nanoseconds* of a nuclear detonation in The Sum Of All Fears, among numerous other examples), but perhaps it could be more of a problem for someone whose experience is more exclusively within the women’s fiction/ romance genres (where this book squarely resides). An excellent tale that almost begs for a sequel to more fully explore the new setting the characters find themselves in at the end. Very much recommended.

This review of Wherever The Wind Takes Us by Kelly Harms was originally written on October 1, 2022.

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#BookReview: The Lost Book Of Eleanor Dare by Kimberly Brock

Interesting Twist On Dual Timeline Historical Fiction. Over the course of 800+ books in the last three years alone, I’ve read quite a few dual timeline historical fiction books. Generally, one of the timelines is “current”, or at least mostly current – end of the 20th century at its oldest. Here, the “current” timeline is actually much older – the last months of WWII – and the “older” timeline is *much* older – 16th century. The poetic prose here highlights the idealized South of the pre-air conditioning era… and yet also doesn’t shy away from discussing some of its lower points, including both slavery and extrajudicial murders. (I intentionally don’t use a particular “l” word there, as it generally has connotations that do not apply in the particular situation in the book.) All of this is wrapped around the mysterious Dare stones and how so many of them could be judged to be fake… except the first one, Eleanor Dare’s stone and the tale therein inscribed isn’t necessarily so easily dismissed. The care Brock takes to show an atypical yet also completely realistic and plausible tale of what happened and why to Ms. Dare is quite remarkable, and indeed this shines through in the variety of other situations portrayed in this book as well. It quickly becomes readily apparent that Ms. Brock is a Southern storyteller of the best form – one that doesn’t excuse the atrocities of our past, yet one that also respects the real and vibrant cultures of the era, showing that even while misguided on particular points, the overall people were not the monsters many non-Southern (or even Southern of particular political persuasions) writers portray them as. Truly a remarkable work in so many ways, and very much recommended.

This review of The Lost Book Of Eleanor Dare by Kimberly Brock was originally written on April 23, 2022.

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Featured New Release of the Week: When It’s Time For Leaving by Ang Pompano

This week, we’re changing things up a bit because I noticed that a release wasn’t getting the attention it deserves and the book that was going to go in this spot has a fairly powerful marketing machine behind it. This week, we’re looking at When It’s Time For Leaving by Ang Pompano.

This book is really as laid back as its setting, along the gently flowing waters of the Savannah River just outside Savannah, Ga. It opens in a similar setting in coastal Connecticut, and also has a scene at the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia and northern Florida. It even references a region upriver from Savannah at Augusta, GA/ Aiken, SC (the two towns are on opposite sides of the River) known to locals as the Central Savannah River Area, or CSRA. Since starting this book blog I’ve lived in the northern Florida area, but I lived in and near the CSRA for several years before that and have been in the Savannah region several times. Since this book is one of few I’ve seen not named Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil set in the region, it had my attention from the beginning.

The mystery and action are just enough to keep the plot driving along – starting with our hero being involved in a major car crash in Connecticut that kills a suspect he is chasing and flowing with dead bodies, people being attacked, mysterious notes being left, and concluding with an epic showdown in the River itself. But the real star here is the area itself, and despite being a Yankee himself, the author really nails the actual feel of the region. Yes, we have our hot summer nights both on the water and not. We have our animals dead set on killing us if we don’t leave them alone. We have our crazy neighbors and our hot coworkers with high libidos. And we have our family members slowly losing their minds to Alzheimer’s.

Truly a great mystery, even if not in the action packed vein of a Reacher novel or the crazy whodunit plot twists every other page Gone Girl mold. But when you’re in the mood for a more relaxed yet enjoyable time, reach for this one. You won’t be disappointed. Very much recommended.

And as always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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Featured New Release Of The Week: The Post by Kevin Munoz

This week we look to an excellent post Apocalyptic zombie tale by a promising debut author. This week, we look to The Post by Kevin Munoz.

This was a book that was very reminscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in terms of overall bleakness. The key difference being that while I often cite The Road as the singular worst book I have ever read, this particular book was genuinely great. While I cop to being a Georgia native – and UGA athletics fan -, I am not overly familiar with most of the particular locales described in this book. That said, it is always nice to see an area you’ve known even a bit to be featured in a book. This book is an excellent examination of how society can rebuild itself from nearly anything, including the dual Apocalyptic events described as having happened years before the events here. Truly an excellent human centered book that happens to take place in a world that has survived the Zombie Apocalypse and is still in the process of rebuilding, this book shows those efforts – and secret efforts that could undo every ounce of progress made so far. I really cannot heap enough praise on this debut work. If you are open to genre, read this book. If you like post Apocalypse, read this book. If LGBT centered stories are your particular bent, you will also enjoy this book. If you’re just looking for a solidly entertaining read, read this book. Seriously, just read this book and hope – as I do – that we get an unnecessary yet welcome sequel.

And as always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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