The Best of The Best 2021 Weekly Reader

 

The Best of The Best 2021 Weekly Reader 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: 2021 was well not a great year. With a struggling economy, different strands of Covid, an insurrection, and political unrest, there are many reasons to stay inside and  curl up with a good book.

There have been many great books that I reviewed this year. So many that I have separate lists for New Book Alerts and Weekly Readers. Unfortunately, I didn't get to read that many classics, but I highly recommend the ones that I did get to review: Nancy Drew Series Books 1-10 by Carolyn Keene, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Collected Stories of Franz Kafka, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Women's Weird: Strange Stories by Women 1849-1949 Edited by Melissa Edmondson. I may phase out Classics Corner next year, we'll see if I get as many requests for Weekly Reader or New Book Alerts.

Now without further ado, the best of Weekly Readers, books published between 2010-2020. (Some of these are series that count as one.) 

20. Dreaming Sophia by Melissa Muldoon

Muldoon's love letter to Italy is deeply felt as Sophia, a college student realizes her dream to move to Italy. Along the way she receives guidance from spirits of Italy's noted past like Eleanora De Medici, Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" De Medici, General Guiseppi Garibaldi, Venus, Lucrezia Borgia, and Sophia Loren. Muldoon's love for Italy is paramount throughout the entire book revealing it as a setting enchanted by its history, art, literature, and entertainment.

19. Ugly Girl Sweet Nectar: Based on a True Story by D.D. Kaye

Kaye's  moving novel is about a woman writing about the troubles in her life to find some semblance of peace. Alessa, the protagonist, recalls child abuse, sickly aging parents, troubled romantic relationships, difficulties with her three daughters, and her own struggles with depression and her self-esteem. In making connections and finding the truth about her life, Alessa finds her own beauty and truth within herself.

18. Mother: A Mother Gothel Tale (Witches of Grimm Book 1) by C.M. Adler

Adler's short novel brilliantly subverts the fairy tale Rapunzel. Cerelia, a witch with an enchanted garden opens her home to Maia, a pregnant woman on the run from angry villagers. The two form a surrogate family and coven of two eventually drawing in a certain baby girl destined to have very long hair. Mother tells the traditional fairy tale from the point of view of the witch, making it a cry for independence and female togetherness.

17. Last of The Gifted Book 1-2 (Spirit Sight, Water Sight) by Marie Powell

Powell's two part series effortlessly combines History with Epic Fantasy. Set in 13th century Wales when the Welsh army is fighting a losing battle against the English army, Prince Llewellyn is killed. During this time, a brother and sister discover and embrace unusual abilities. Hwy can shapeshift into various animal forms and Llewellyn's spirit communicates mentally with him. Cat can see prophetic visions in water and might be the reincarnation of The Morrigan, the Celtic warrior goddess. As their world begins to fall apart around them, the duo discovers the difficulties and sacrifices that come with these powers as they fight their enemies and defend their loved ones. There is a sense of fatality throughout the books as Hwy and Cat are determined to fight in a war that history has already deemed that they will lose.

16. Gilded Summers: Newport's Gilded Age Book 1 by Donna Russo Martin

Martin's Historical Fiction novel explores the Gilded Age with its income inequalities, xenophobia towards immigrants, and restricted roles towards women. Two women, Pearl Worthington, a daughter of a wealthy family, and Ginevra Costa, an Italian immigrant hired to be Pearl's lady maid, form a close friendship despite class and ethnic barriers. The two explore their dreams of pursuing art and fashion design respectively while trying to maintain independence which society forbids. Their friendship is deepened as they protect each other from a potentially violent situation that changes them forever.

15. The Ginger Gold Mysteries Books 1-3 (Murder on the SS Rosa, Murder at Hartigan House, Murder at Bray Manor) by Lee Strauss

Strauss' Historical Mysteries are part of a bright sparking series with a witty bubbly fun protagonist. Set in the 1920's flapper and amateur detective, Ginger Gold solves murders on a luxury ocean liner, her childhood home, and her late husband's family estate. The mysteries are suspenseful and engaging towards the Reader. Ginger is a great independent lead, full of wit and style but possesses a dark side as she is mourning the death of her husband and was involved in the Great War more than she admits. Like her name, Ginger is pure Gold.

14. The View From Breast Pocket Mountain: A Memoir by Karen Hill Anton

Anton's autobiography is part travelogue and part personal story as she recalls her childhood with a loving father and mentally ill mother, her troubled first marriage, single motherhood, her happier second marriage and above all her many travels through the United States, Europe, and Asia. The highlights are a memorable road trip through Europe and Asia ending in Japan as well as the happiness that Anton and her family find in Japan. The book shows that you can find home anywhere, even if it's far away from where you started.

13.  Where The Sun Rises by Suzanne Strong

Strong's heartbreaking and suspenseful novel is about two women who join the all female fighting unit, Yekineyen Parastina Jin (YPJ), to fight Daesh forces in Syria. The two women fight for Kurdish independence for their own reasons:  Roza to protect her son and Karin to prove her status as an independent woman. The women get involved in major battles like rescuing a colleague's sister from human trafficking and losing some friends and fellow soldiers. It's a brilliant novel of true sacrifice during war.

12. Miss Mabel's School For Girls (Book 1 in The Network Series) by Katie Cross

Cross' fantasy could be considered a deconstruction of the Harry Potter series. Instead of starring a boy destined to be the Chosen One who joins a wizarding school to fight a clear enemy simply because he survived, it's about Bianca, a girl who works her way into a witches' school so she can face the headmistress who put a curse on her family. Bianca and other girls perform a series of tests that challenge their awareness of their abilities and recognize the dark nature in others and themselves. As Bianca ascends higher in school, she recognizes the enemy is around her and within herself, making this book more nuanced and morally gray than Rowling's more popular work.

11. The Berlin Escape: An Aubrey Endeavors Spy Thriller by Warren Court

Court's thrilling series has the romance of World War II spy films with the suspense of a James Bond movie and gives us a spunky protagonist to root for. On her first assignment, aviator Aubrey Endeavors is sent to Germany just as the Nazis seize power. Throughout her tense adventure, Aubrey encounters imprisonment, betrayal, romance with a possible enemy, switched allegiances, and exciting escapes. It is definitely a thriller with an old fashioned style but a more modern sensibility that leaves the Reader gripping the pages (or their mobile device) until the end.

10. Gol: The Legend of Ansu Book 1 by J.W. Webb

It feels weird to say this but there is a sense of Realism in Webb's Epic Fantasy series. Besides giving us sharp characterization to go with this magical setting, Webb takes the characters on journeys in which they are truly altered. Lovers, Erun and Lissane are separated and forced to go on their own heroic journeys where they emerge stronger, older, wiser and more mature people who don't even recognize each other when they meet again. Also, the antagonist is a fire demon that destroys everything in its path revealing that the characters' only options are to fight it to the death and then leave the destroyed world behind. Along with a pair of scene stealers in Scaffa, a sardonic giantess who trains warriors and Morwella, a mentally ill and dangerous princess, this is revealed to be one of the best Epic Fantasies of the year.

9. Centricity (Centricity Cycle Book 1) by Nathaniel Henderson

Henderson's Science Fiction novel is an expansive and immersive experience of several plots and characters facing each other. Most of the conflicts concern the 1 percenters, like Adasha Denali, who live on the high rises and the poorer people, like Nik Amlin, who live down below in what remains of the city slums. Technology is ever present as everyone has cyber implants connected to their brains and many are on the hunt for a super weapon called the Acorn which can be directly implanted into the user's brain. 

It's a brilliant multiplotted work which brings several characters with different stories and agendas together and have them fight against and bounce off each other. The two standouts, Adasha and Nik, represent their classes and problems in their societies as they struggle to make their voices heard and find answers to buried questions.

8. The Eidola Project Series Books 1-2 (The Eidola Project, Moonlight Becomes You) by Robert Herold

Herold's eerie Horror series explored the world of the supernatural in the Post Civil War United States. William James, co-founder of the American Society for Psychical Research creates The Eidola Project, a group that investigates various hauntings like werewolves, ghosts, and vampires. With a group including Annabelle, his female assistant, Sarah and Nigel, a pair of psychics, and Edgar, an African American doctor and skeptic, the James Gang has to face otherworldly terrors, people who mistrust their multiracial and unisex makeup, and their own prejudice and mistrust in each other. The series is both chilling and honest.

7. All Eyes on Me: A Miranda and Parker Mystery Book 1 by Linsey Lanier

Lanier's tense hard boiled noir novel focuses on a troubled investigator trying to solve an even more troubling murder. Husband and wife private investigators, Miranda and Parker try to find who killed pop star diva Ambrosia Dawn. While studying Ambrosia's abusive and unhappy home life, Miranda has to come to terms with her own past of surviving domestic abuse and the aftermath of the kidnapping and return of her young daughter.

6. Murder on The Dark Web (A Belfast Murder Mystery Book 4) by Brian O'Hare

This disturbing murder mystery subverts the notions of good and evil, right and wrong, innocent and guilty. Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his colleagues investigate the murders of members of an affluent club. However, what starts out as a typical murder investigation turns far worse as the Reader learns the real motives of the club. They are a truly horrible depraved bunch that hurt others, particularly children, without a thought and the murderer was someone who had been hurt by them. The backstory about the Club makes it easy to understand and sympathize with why someone would want to stop them in any way possible.

5. The Female Spies Series (355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring, Underground: Traitors and Spies in Lincoln's War) by Kit Sergeant

Sergeant's Historical Fiction focuses on female spies during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Her brilliant masterful work focuses on various strong-willed intelligent women like Meg Coughlin, Elizabeth Bergen, and Sally Townsend, three women who help form George Washington's spy ring. During the Civil War, we encounter the exciting lives of women like Hattie Lewis, one of Pinkerton's only female detectives and Mary Jane Bower, a former slave working and spying in the home of Jefferson Davis. Both books show the lengths these women go through to learn and pass valuable information and the consequences if caught. They were truly brave and deserve to be remembered.

4. Nightfall Gardens (Nightfall Gardens Series Book 1) by Allen Houston

Houston's eerie YA novel is a tribute to the Gothic works of the past like the illustrations of Ed Gorey or the comics of Charles Addams. Siblings, Lily and Silas Blackwood return to the Blackwood Family Estate of Nightfall Gardens where Lily must assume the role as Guardian and Silas is to be a Rider, or security guard. 

Nightfall Gardens is a memorably spooky setting with various creatures from werewolves, ghosts, Pans, and hypnotic sirens. It's the stuff of nightmares but a definitely fun imaginative experience.

3. Champagne Charlie and The Amazing Gladys by B.G. Hilton

Hilton's Steampunk Science Fiction novel is a throwback to the Adventure and Science Fiction novels of the 19th early 20th century. Nobleman Edward "Champagne Charlie" DeCharles attempts to solve the murder of a cab driver friend while Gladys Dunchurch, a magician's assistant tries to find out what happened to Gruffydd Pritchard, her boss, and his possibly real magic wand. Along the way they run into Irish pirates, a madman who wants to destroy the Moon, and aliens who resemble humanoid bats and live in England. The book is completely crazy but it is good crazy fun.

2. A Spell in The Country by Heide Goody and Iain Grant

Goody and Grant's Fantasy novel is wickedly witty and wonderful. Three women, Dee, Caroline, and Jenny are revealed to be witches and are invited to attend a series of courses for witches to study and demonstrate their powers. The witches go through a series of assignments that teach them about loyalty, togetherness, and embracing whatever inner power that they have. Along the way, they learn of a deeper conspiracy and that the terms "good" and "wicked" are constructs and sometimes are disguises for the real soul underneath.

1.Tales From The Hinterland: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Albert's anthology is an unforgettable blend of Fantasy and Horror. The stories are frighteningly fractured fairy tales. We have jealous sisters fighting to the death, fair folk with murderous intentions, an animal bride bereft of her original skin, children turning into toys, a grieving mother turning into a monster, a changeling girl who connives against her enemies, and several encounters with Death. Albert takes stories that could have been at home in a Brothers Grimm collection and makes them well Grimmer.

Honorable Mention: Home Front Girls by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan, Betrayal at Ravenswick: A Fiona Figg Mystery by Kelly Oliver, Mistress Suffragette by Diana Forbes, Demons of Time: Race to the 7th Sunset Time Travelers Book 1 by Varun Sayal, Victorian Adventure Stories by John Steven Jones, Mystic Guests: A Mystic's End Series Book 1 by Leanne Leeds, The Neon God by Ben D'Alessio, The Raven Tower (The Fire Walker Book 1) by Emma Miles, In A Town Called Paradox by Miriam Murcutt and Richard Starkes, The Dark Chorus by Ashley Meggitt, Little Blue Eyes by Rob Santana, One If: A Virago Fantasy by Carol B. Allan, Eternally Artemisia by Melissa Muldoon, 7 Days in Hell: A Halloween Adventure to Wake The Dead by Iseult Murphy, Rosemary For Remembrance by Nikki Broadwell, The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas's Casebook by Robert New, The Ghost of Villa Winter (A Canary Islands Mystery Book 4) by Isobel Blackthorn, More Than Words by Christina Benjamin, Girl Gone Ghost by Dawn Husted, The Hysteria of Bodalis by Marcos Antonio Hernandez

New Book Alert The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller by Ian Conner; Complex and Multi Plotted Political Thriller Closes Outstanding Reading Year

 

New Book Alert: The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller by Ian Conner; Complex and Multi Plotted Political Thriller Closes Outstanding Reading Year

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There are some authors that their very name tells you what book that they are going to write. Even in my experience with my blog, I have found that authors have preferences for certain genres and tropes. I see Kathy Ann Trueman or Catherine Dove's name and I know that I will read an Epic Fantasy or Regency Romance. Tom Vater will lead us straight to a Mystery by a European detective in an Asian location. Lee Matthew Goldberg will take you through a trippy Horror or Science Fiction with lots of drug use involved. Melissa Muldoon and Kit Sergeant will take a trip through Historical Fiction with strong confident female leads that are artists and spies respectively. Rob Santana will be counted on for a novel with a modern setting, plenty of biting satire,social commentary, and desperate not always likeable characters doing desperate things. Sawney Hatton is going to take his Readers through a bloody short trip into Supernatural Horror.

Yes, some authors leave their fingerprints all over certain books so Readers can recognize those fingerprints instantly. Then there are authors who are like chameleons. Each book is different from the others and they have next to nothing in common.

Take Ian Conner for example. His novel, Dark Maiden is a Supernatural Horror set in the limited setting of Pequabuck Lake in Nollesemic Village, Maine. It is set throughout four centuries and involves a sinister lake creature that haunts the village, especially two families that it considers its enemies.

Conner's next book, The Long Game: An Amy Radigan Thriller could not be more different from Skadegamutc Ghost Witch if it tried. Instead of supernatural horror, it is a political thriller set in the real world and involves real world issues like environmentalism, censorship, sexuality, hate crimes, xenophobia, and corruption. Instead of being contained in one rural setting,The Long Game goes all over the world from California, to Washington DC, to China, to Vietnam and so on. With such a wide setting, there are many plots that involve many characters unlike Skadegamutc Ghost Witch which features a much more limited cast that take on this demonic entity. Long Game is complex and multiplotted and handles itself well with interesting characters and strong political themes.

The plot or rather plots in The Long Game are rather intricate and varied but I will do my best to summarize (or as Indigo Montoya said, "I will explain. No it's too long, I'd better sum up").

 Along the California coast, Captain James Quinn's ship was sabotaged, nearly killing him. It's followed by another explosion along the San Onofre harbor. It may have had something to do with a sample of water outside the nearby San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station or SONGS that Quinn gathered and had analyzed. This water is revealed to be contaminated and toxic. The mysterious explosions, contamination, and sabotage are being investigated by intrepid journalist, Amy Radigan.

Meanwhile, journalist Amir Husseffgi is reported missing in Saudi Arabia. Even though the Saudi Prince denies any involvement and U.S. President Colin Rockwell swears that he won't investigate it, video footage of Husseffgi's murder and beheading in the name of the prince is leaked. It is revealed Rockwell has been currying favor with the Saudis and doesn't want to break those connections.

On the South China Sea, two U.S. Naval ships are attacked leaving several sailors dead. Vice President Susan Ralston wants to confront the Chinese government but Rockwell refuses. He has been having an affair with the Chinese ambassador, Xin Zhui, and is soon to be caught literally with his pants down. All of this leads to an impeachment investigation towards Rockwell and his affiliations with the Chinese and Saudi Arabian governments.

During their separate investigations into these events, both Ralston and Radigan and their friends and family are viciously attacked. Ralston in a deliberate plane crash and Radigan by an attempted hit. Don't worry, Reader, it all makes sense and everything is revealed to be connected to everything else, eventually.

Connervbrilliantly balances all of these plots rather well. He also has a handle on using them as mirrors for real life occurrences. The most obvious is the murder of Amir Husseffgi based on the real life assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Colin Rockwell's obstreperous misogynistic racist attitude is all too similar to a certain real life ex President. A smart calm independent female Vice President is certainly based on the real life Kamala Harris. They are groundbreaking female Vice President for different reasons. (First African American and Indian American for Harris and first LGBT for Ralston.) Also, the alternate universe scenario reveals that Harris herself, after getting the top job, was fatally wounded during an assassination attempt by a Trump supporter claiming to "stop the steal." (If that doesn't recall a certain insurrection by a multitude of Trumpers egged on by their cult leader, I don't know what does.)

As with many books that I have reviewed these past couple of years have proven, what we once thought existed only in fiction is no longer out of the realm of reality. It would have been ludicrous to assume that followers of a President would believe his claims that the election process was fraudulent and even after several investigations proved that there was no corruption, they still rioted at the Capitol verbally and prepared to attack the former Vice President and several Congress members. Not to mention that even though they had literally millions of eyewitnesses watching it in real time, said former President and his supporters still had people insisting that it was a spontaneous gathering of harmless tourists (or that it was an insidious plot by Antifa or BLM to make Trump look bad, even though they did a good enough job on their own).

After that, it is definitely not impossible to believe that a future President could openly conspire to assassinate his Vice President or pull a gun on those who are charging him with crimes. The only way the Long Game could be more synced to real time is if a 24 hours news station's correspondents could insist that Rockwell's impeachment investigation was a conspiracy and that Ralston secretly worked for the Deep State.

The Long Game is only a couple of steps off from what really happened and what still could happen.

With such a twisted plot, one would suspect that Conner would have trouble juggling such a large cast of characters but he excels at that as well. Many have outstanding moments. There is Randall, a bodyguard hired to protect Radigan and her girlfriend, Lily Pham. Randall is a real softie as he reveals in his dialogues with Twizzler, a troubled teen turned sidekick and informant.  

Lily also proves her mettle when she gets the better of a hitman. He thinks it will be an easy job and she immediately proves him wrong. Both Lily and Ralston's girlfriend, Carol Lee are the definite "Ride or Die" supportive spouses, ready to stand by the women in their lives, no matter what.

Amanda Rockwell, the First Lady, holds a press conference to put her husband in his place and uses the First Couple version of "Not tonight, Couch Boy." Meanwhile, Xin Zhui could be seen as a femme fatale but also has enough insight to take part in Rockwell's downfall. Then there's the President that Readers will love to hate, or just hate, Colin Rockwell himself. He takes Donald Trump's worst qualities up to eleven (if such a thing were possible) and thankfully gets his commeuppance. 

By far the standout characters are Amy Radigan and Susan Ralston. They are similar in many ways. Both are dedicated in their fields of journalism and politics respectively and both are lesbians in loving committed relationships. They also are born survivors who are able to get through touch situations such as surviving assassination attempts and conspiracies.

Their investigative techniques are very different and are respective of their positions in life. Radigan has to contend with slamming doors, voice mails, and receptionists giving her the run around. These are hurdles that Ralston's title and influence can open. Radigan however has the passion, idealism, and integrity that Ralston lost in her years of compromise and working in business and politics. It's not a surprise that when  the two women meet, they become friends. Radigan is the woman that Ralston once was and Ralston is the woman that Radigan could become. The two women bring out the best in each other and are able to see through the many tangled strands in this intricate spider web.

The Long Game is a brilliant complex novel that proves Conner has a great handle on plots and characters. He proved that she can write Horror and now has proven that he can write Political Thriller. His book is a great final well written word on 2021.

New Book Alert: Stories From The Vale: Gifts Of The Elven by Kathy Ann Trueman; Return to The Vale Now Troubled With Prejudice Towards Gifted Individuals

 

New Book Alert: Stories From The Vale: Gifts Of The Elven by Kathy Ann Trueman; Return to The Vale Now Troubled With Prejudice Towards Gifted Individuals

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: When it comes to Bookworm Reviews authors, Kathy Ann Trueman is the champ. With Epic Fantasies under her real name and Regency Romances under her pen name of Catherine Dove, this is the fifth book of hers that I have reviewed by request making Trueman one of the most reviewed authors on my blog. (Phillipa Gregory and Jasper Fforde have more.) Of course this blog is only almost five years old and I only started reviewing new books four years ago, so it's not a worldwide great achievement. But still quite impressive by my standards. Not only is she the most prolific reviewed author but every book received positive reviews, and two (Stories From The Vale: Path of the Dragonfly and Greenspell)  ended up in Best of the Best Year End countdowns. Anyway, when it comes to Bookworm Reviews Authors, Kat you are the GOAT!

And she continues to deliver with the sequel to Stories From The Vale Path of the Dragonfly with Gifts of the Elven. She takes the excellent world building and characterization of the predecessor to a higher level by deepeng on the themes of love and acceptance that are so prominent in the real world as well as a fantasy one.

In the previous book, Path of the Dragonfly, Shak, a middle aged and retired soldier is assigned to protect two children: Falin, a thief with the ability to freeze time and Celia, a mage with the ability to communicate with dragons. While looking after these children, Shak is seeking revenge against Lord Sefal, a childhood friend turned noble, whom Shak blames for the death of his wife. Meanwhile, Sefal is on a journey of his own, to search for his long lost son, who, surprise surprise, turns out to be Falin. Well, after many sleeps in inns, sword fights a plenty, encounters with snooty elves, an arrival of dragons, and magic spells galore, Sefal and Falin are reunited. Shak and Sefal restore amends. Shak discovers a familial connection with Celia and becomes an honorary uncle to the kiddos. Celia gets proper training from Shak's eccentric grandmother. Friends and family are united and goodness reigns overall.

The action of Gifts of the Elven is set over 20 years later and things have changed in the fantasy kingdom of the Vale, to say the least. "Medieval Yuppie," Lord Sefal has become king with Falin fully established as a prince and has had more children and grandchildren. Shak lives in comfortable retirement on a farm (and unfortunately does not appear in this book much.) Celia is a well known sorceress but mostly stays out of politics. The former children have grown, married other people, and have had children of their own. Things should be good but they're not.

Falin and Celia's abilities are not a one time thing. Many other children since then have been born with unique abilities like invisibility, telepathy, and  shape shifting. They are called the Gifted but to some they are more like the Cursed. They are ostracized, attacked, and treated like second class citizens. It's gotten to the point that families that are supportive of them have to keep their children hidden. Sefal created rules protecting the Gifted though some suspect ulterior motives. They are not that far off. Besides Falin, he has a grandson, Arlin, whose abilities are extremely hard to hide. He has an enormous pair of sharp wings and can fly. Unfortunately, Arlin accidentally injured his Aunt Celia and terrified and remorseful, he ran away from home.

On a road, he encounters Fiella, an apprentice book binder and seller. She too is Gifted, though with mental manipulation. The two meet and go through the usual animosity brought on by class distinction and differing personalities. A friendship is formed as they make their way to Safehold, a haven for the Gifted.

Meanwhile, Shonwin of Kuturan, a shape shifter, and his mother bear a grudge against Sefal. They long to seek revenge and what do you know, his grandson is wandering around the Vale with a bookseller, making a perfect opportunity for kidnapping.

Gifts of the Elven works on so many levels. It has the tone of a humorous buddy adventure. Fiella and Arlin are the typical adversaries turned friends from opposite sides of the economic spectrum. Arlin grew up pampered and spoiled until the moment when he ran away. It is kind of ironic since his father did not exactly have an easy childhood, separated from his parents and raised as a thief. I suppose he was the type of parent who overcompensated by giving his children everything that he never had growing up. Not to mention that the book upfront says that Falin and his wife unashamedly played favorites and Arlin was often left out. Instead he was preferred by Grandpa Sefal and since we saw what a great influence he was in the previous book, it's no wonder Arlin grew up as he did.

Fiella is that kind of rare character who is both book and street smart. As an apprentice bookseller, she loves and cherishes the written word. She is well versed in many subjects and is able to converse on multiple levels with other people from every class and walk of 

life. She is also very tough and practically carries Arlin through their adventures. However, Arlin has the political and diplomatic experience that she lacks and has only experienced through books and travels. Like all true friendships, each character is able to fill the deficiency that the other needs. Arlin needs to learn to be self sufficient and Fiella needs to learn refinement. 

It's also nice that unlike other Epic Fantasies, a romance does not develop between the two characters. In fact, Fiella falls in love with another character and there are implications that Arlin's romantic interests lie elsewhere. This is mirrored in the predecessor when Falin and Celia, despite being thirteen years old, do not fall in love with each other and in fact later marry other people.

Through Shonwin and his mother, Trueman shows that redemption does not come easy. In this book, Sefal is not the same arrogant social climber that he was in the previous book. He has amended his ways, but his previous actions are still called into question. He made a lot of unscrupulous decisions and hurt a lot of people to get where he is.

If he didn't have any former enemies, that meant he would have gotten off too easy for his earlier mistakes. Shonwin and his mother show that redemption and forgiveness are things that it takes along time to really get and accept even within oneself.

The other way that Gifts of the Elven works is as a metaphor for the world that we live in reality. Using special abilities as an allegory for racial, gender, and sexual identity is nothing new. X Men is the most prominent example and I have encountered it myself in many of the books that I have read. But in a time when division is most prominent and even the very idea of discussing such inequality in schools is being challenged, this theme could not be more prominent. Arlin, Fiella, and the other Gifted are trying to claim and accept their identities and learn who they really are. Society also needs to accept and learn to understand them as well and give them that geographical and psychological space to live their lives.

 

Hopefully, this won't be the last trip through the Vale. In fact since the books are not numbered, it would be nice for Trueman to do a midquel to reveal exactly how Falin and Celia met their spouses (a muscular warrior woman and a slightly spaced out troubadour respectively) and how they got brought into the family. 

I have a feeling there will be many more trips through the Vale to come. At least, I hope so.