September 2020 – Page 2 – Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs..

Currently.. is hosted every month by Anne in Residence.

Didn’t I just write my August post? Sure feels like it. And yet, here we are in September already. Time is moving so weird this year.

Appreciating: my family – despite still distancing from them, we are still strong and united. We continue to support each other, and work as a community as much as we can. How we do it is a little different than normal, but we are working out ways. My brother and my mom have bubbled, as my brother and his wife work full time and my niece is going to be homeschooled, so my mom is on the job. My brother is helping my mother out in her home when something goes wrong, and if he needs to know how to do it, he calls my husband, who is usually the fix-it person. In return, I am coordinating all of my niece’s homeschooling, pulling together the lessons and resources and curriculum, and we are even having chat meetings to discuss materials needed for the weeks ahead and what the lessons will be covering. We are a team! And because I am me, I have given a name to our school – James Herriot Primary. I didn’t know how Wyatt’s transcripts would look in the future with our homeschool year, and I wanted to have a name in case it was needed. I am new to this whole thing! And I want to give a shout out to my dad as well – he lives farther away but has helped in his own ways. He and my stepmom drove an hour and half to drop off McDonalds to Billy and I at the hospital then turn around and head back home.

Anticipating: The changing of the seasons, from summer to autumn. These past weeks have been muggy and damp and hot, and I have not enjoyed them. I can feel fall in the air, and have even spotted evidence of it in the leaves on the trees and the ripening of the pumpkins growing in our garden. I am looking forward to jeans and boots and warm drinks on chilly nights, cozy mysteries, backyard fires, and more hikes in the woods.

Collecting: Random nature bits – hopefully by the time this post goes up my husband will have hung my awesome printer tray turned shelf for all of our little finds: acorns, rocks, an almost perfect yet empty robin’s egg, a blue jay feather, chestnuts.. whatever strikes our fancy and fits in our pockets for the most part. I am also building quite a collection of family/parenting/education type books! Some standout favorites are The Call of the Wild and Free, Awaking Wonder: Opening Your Child’s Heart to the Beauty of Learning, and Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids.

Starting: School! My son started kindergarten this week here at home. A different situation and beginning than we had ever imagined, but that is ok. We can do this! We are also working on some room redos – repainting the family room and freshening it up, and completely overhauling the office. And our house is not the only one getting a new look and a refresher – Harry our gecko is getting new digs this week too! We have been doing a lot of research and she will hopefully soon be enjoying her new bioactive enclosure! We are just waiting on everything to arrive! It will be bigger and have a much nicer atmosphere and substrate.

Finishing: Old projects! My hubby finally hung the shelves in my son’s room that I’ve been wanting him to hang for quite some time. Otherwise not too much – we are starting more right now than finishing anything.

How about you guys? Anything you are appreciating, anticipating, collecting, starting or finishing?

Goodreads Summary:

Sidra didn’t murder her husband. Yet even a jinni can’t wish away a wrongful imprisonment. Determined to prove her innocence, she returns to her adopted home—a French village renowned for its perfume witches—with her friends Elena and Yvette by her side. Here is where Sidra’s true destiny awaits, but danger also lurks in the village’s narrow lanes.

On her trail is Jamra, another jinni, who’s after more than revenge for the murder of his brother. He also seeks vengeance for the indignities inflicted on jinn by mortals over the centuries. When he learns of an ancient relic capable of unleashing chaos on the world, and that the weapon is in the hands of his murderous sister-in-law, he vows to destroy Sidra to get it.

Relying on a sisterhood of magic, a mysteriously faithful dog, and a second-rate sorcerer, Sidra defends herself using the village’s greatest asset: its perfume. It’s as beguiling a lure as it is a formidable shield. But is it enough for Sidra to protect herself and those she loves from powers yet to be released?

My thoughts:

This third installment in the Vine Witch series did not disappoint. I loved the first two, The Vine Witch and The Glamourist, and I have to be honest, this one might be my favorite of all three. No, wait..maybe it was The Vine Witch. Or maybe, The Glamourist. It is hard to say! I loved them all!

This book made me yearn for a place I have never been, with its descriptions of desert winds and the perfumed scents, such a sensory journey. And I absolutely loved getting to know the character of Sidra more; of the three characters, she is the most mysterious. We finally get to learn her backstory, what really happened to land her in jail, where she came from, and more about the jinni itself.

We see different sides to this hot tempered character- emotions such as vulnerability, fear, loyalty, and even fondness for Yvette. It was also nice to catch up with Yvette, and see how she was adjusting to her newfound ancestry and powers, and also with Elena who we started the series with. I love how their fates have been intertwined and how their shared experiences together has bound them to each other.

This book contains so much, witches and jinni and fairies and powerful, evocative descriptions; romance and danger, evil villains and brave allies. It was a fantastic read, and the very definition of the expression that reading takes you places.

I loved this book and I hope to read more from this author in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and to 47th North publishing for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.