The Literate Kitty

When you hear the word “honeymoon”, chances are, you picture a happy couple walking into a posh hotel suite (complete with artfully-folded towel swans surrounded by a heart made of rose petals, laid out on the bed). Holding hands as they stroll along a sandy beach, pausing for long kisses as the sun sets in glorious technicolor behind them. Clinking glasses of bubbly together while lounging in a hot tub, all heart-eyes between them.  [Basically, what every wedding and travel brochure catering to the newly-hitched advertises in beautifully-printed, vivid colors.] So, there’s a honeymoon in Simone St. James’ latest novel, too… but darlin’, this ain’t remotely that kind of honeymoon. In fact, you might say that the after-ceremony vacay in Murder Road would more aptly be called a “ bloodymoon ”…  _______________ It’s 1995, and Eddie and April—the brand-spanking-new Mr. and Mrs. Carter—are cruising along a deserted Michigan road (bizarrely named Atticus Line) late at night, ...

A fascinating and beautiful medieval city. A young American woman on temporary foreign assignment, coping with the unknowns of working in a strange land and with the hassle of trying to avoid her misogynistic new supervisor. A host of vampires, witches, ghosts, and assorted other fae creatures. What could be more entertaining?  Well, a lot of things, actually—although there are, fortunately, a few high points—in E.J. Stevens’ urban fantasy, Hunting in Bruges .  ________________________ Jenna Lehane is a young—check that, very young—member of the American order of a worldwide organization known as the Hunters’ Guild, whose mission it is to keep humans safe from all manner of dangers… especially those of the supernatural variety. It seems nefarious paranormal activity has recently picked up in the ancient city of Bruges, and the Guild there—woefully understaffed—has put out a call for assistance. Fresh off a job that had kinda gone sideways, Jenna’s boss kno...

Children--as most adults who’ve more-or-less-successfully traversed those difficult years and emerged triumphant on the other end will attest--can be quite horrid.  It’s not that they’re irredeemable little monsters, or anything... just that all children have the capacity to be incredibly cruel in their words and actions. Whether it be their peers and siblings, parents, other adults, pets (or other unwitting animals), or even inanimate objects, no one (and nothing) is safe from a child who feels compelled for whatever reasons to be nasty. There’s a difference, though, between outright meanness to others and simple mischief--although the latter can also have the appearance of cruelty. The difference, of course, is in the intent, which is why most of us find mischievous acts more understandable and easier to forgive and forget. As with anything else, however, not everyone agrees, as is the case in Diane Setterfield’s Bellman & Black , the compelling tale of a well-meanin...