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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Cinnamon and Gunpowder: A Novel in Books

Sep 19, 2018  
CA
Cinnamon and Gunpowder: A Novel
Eli Brown | 2014
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cinnamon and Gunpowder reminds me a lot of Treasure Island. Or at least of my childhood memories of reading Treasure Island, as it's been decades since I read it. The book is told from the viewpoint of Owen Wedgwood, a chef who finds himself kidnapped by a famous pirate and forced to cook gourmet meals for her in exchange for his life. As a home cook who's had a small amount of actual training, I really enjoyed his descriptions of making do with only the cooking tools the ship has on hand and whatever rations he could lay his hands on. The creativity he displays in making amazing meals out of almost nothing is one of the best parts of the book. (And the descriptions of those meals - YUM.)

The formatting is set up as a kind of personal ship's log, each part dated and written down after the events happen. Wedgwood (or "Spoons," as the crew calls him) even mentions how he hides it and leaves out a decoy log, since he also writes down his dreams (and plans!) of escaping the pirates.

Some of the events in the book are incredibly predictable, but there are still a few surprises. I was a little disappointed when one thing in particular happened; I saw it coming but hoped that wasn't where the author was going with it. I know that's vague, but I don't want to spoil anything!

I enjoyed learning about Mad Hannah's background and why she's a pirate; she's fighting against the opium trade, and she actually gives Wedgwood a pretty accurate summary of the terrible things the opium trade was responsible for.

Any book that can combine sumptuous description of exotic meals with action and cannonballs will have my attention. And Brown does not shy away from proper action scenes. These are pirates, and fights get brutal. Men lose limbs if not their lives to storms and Navy bombardments. Keeping order on a pirate ship involves lashings and brute force. The book doesn't shrink from those, but it also gets philosophical with Wedgwood's description of flavors, and almost comedic with the images of using cannonballs as pestles for grinding herbs. It's that contrast and variety that makes this book so much fun to read.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
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Lindsay (1812 KP) rated Michelangelo's Ghost (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery, #4) in Books

Feb 8, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)  
Michelangelo's Ghost (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery, #4)
Michelangelo's Ghost (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery, #4)
Gigi Pandian | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
aya was somehow recruited to find a lost treasure. Her old professor starts it off by trying to get to her and with her research. Something happens that, makes Jaya, has to pick up the research after her professor dies.

The author has you intrigued by wanting to know what Jaya gets an email from her former Professor. Once she gets her hands on the sketchbook or famous artist from Italy. Are there connections with Michelangelo?

You will be so involved you will be wondering what's going on with it. How is a ghost story connected to present day Murder? For me, this book seems to have you guessing along the way.

They're a disappearing boyfriend that comes and goes. What up with that. It seems to grow even more intense with a ghost that keeps appearing and disappearing. It comes to be even more intense, as you, go. I thought it was growing creepier. It, not creepy scary. It just my opinion of how I felt at a point. I loved it. You did not ever know what was going to happen when you go to turn the page.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated If You Ever Want to Bring a Pirate to Meet Santa, DON’T! in Books

Dec 11, 2018  
If You Ever Want to Bring a Pirate to Meet Santa, DON’T!
If You Ever Want to Bring a Pirate to Meet Santa, DON’T!
Elise Parsley | 2018 | Children
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Matey, This Picture Book Will Give Ye a Christmas Laugh
When your father tells you that you are going to meet a man with a beard and a sack of treasure, he means Santa, not the pirate by the mall fountain. And even if you befriend the pirate, it might not be a good idea to ask him to join you in line. After all, he is on the naughty list. His ideas of songs might not be festive. He might want to pillage anything you are offered in line. Will he reform before you get to the front of the line?

This is another delightfully silly picture book. As the situation gets more out of hand, the more fun the book is, and the ending is priceless. The book is narrated in second person, but more as Magnolia, the main character, using her own bad experience to warn us away from what could happen. The pictures are on the cartoony side, but they perfectly capture the fun and absurdity of this story. It's perfect for Christmas, but I could see it slipping into a reading list the rest of the year.