Archive | April, 2024

Find the Missing Piece: The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers, Puzzle Palace, and Puzzles at the Library

10 Apr

The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers
by Samuel Burr

Looking for a sweet gentle read with a hint of romance and a lot of heart? The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers is your solution. The story interweaves the journey of Clayton Stumper to find out who his birth parents were with the life of his adoptive mother, who was the recently deceased leader of the Fellowship of Puzzle Makers who range from crossword creators to painters of puzzles to creators of intricate hedge labyrinths. The story will resonate for those who are looking for found families and a sweet lgbtq story in the vein of TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea or Under the Whispering Door. Though the Puzzle Makers lack actual fantastic powers, there is a sense of whimsy and joy that feel a bit fairy tale like with one character living on a house boat and a female taxi driver who has every country’s capital memorized. Because he was raised by the mostly aged puzzle makers, Clayton has adopted many old-fashioned affectations and interests and yet he at times seems also more childlike then many in their early 20’s would be. This was a fast paced read which slowly reveals the truth of Clayton’s heritage. There are also several puzzles throughout that you can try to solve.

Puzzle Palace
from Hoopla

When our Hoopla rep would ask me what I thought they could do to make Hoopla even better for our patrons, one of my suggestion was to add some sort of games to their selections since I know our patrons often enjoy interactive options like video games or crossword puzzles. Puzzle Palace Binge Pass is Hoopla’s first foray into gaming and if you are a Soduko lover you will be in heaven with 10 variations available including Stacked Sudoku, King Mini Sodoku, Classic Sudoku, and more. Plus crossword puzzle fans have 5 choices including the Premier Sunday Crossword to choose from. There is also puzzles like Namester, Guesstionary, and Word Sleuth to keep your mind sharp. The Puzzle Palace Binge Pass is good for 7 days and counts as just one of 20 checkout choices you have a month towards ebooks, comics, music, movies, and TV shows. New games are added daily!

Puzzles and Games for in Library Use
Some days you may feel like getting out of the house and what better than a visit to the library, but if you feel like something other than reading you can stop by the reference desk and borrow one of our puzzles, games, or drawing supplies. Perfect for family or friends. We hope you’ll stay for awhile and see what you can piece together. And if you have a puzzle or game that you no longer want, please consider donating it to our collection!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Seductive Vampire Stories: Court of Wanderers & The Witch and the Vampire

3 Apr

Court of Wanderers
by Rin Chupeco

The Court of Wanderers is the second novel in, Filipino author, Rin Chupeco’s Castylvania inspired duology centering around Remy Pendergast, a vampire hunter, who falls in love with two royal vampires, Lord Zidan Malekh and Lady Xiaodan Song. You can read my review of the previous book here. The trio is making their way to Fata Morgana, the center of Malehk’s court aka the Court of Wanderers where they hope that gravely injured Xiaodan can be healed. Along the way Remy encounters his repugnant father who is the antithesis of his heroic and yet kind son. When the Night Empress begins to invade Remy’s dreams he begins to wonder about her connection to his own mother and grows concerned about what he may have inherited in his own blood line from his mom. Chupeco’s words brings to life stunning visuals like haunting vampiric trees and Remy’s eerie surreal dreams as well as epic vampire battles. This will appeal to those who like high fantasy action/adventure and court intrigue with an added spicy dash of polyamourous romance mixed in. Consent between the members of the throuple and the meaning of love both fleeting and eternal is explored.

The Witch and the Vampire
by Francesca Flores

Ava and Kaye were best friends, but after an attack by vampires left Kaye’s mother dead and Ava and her mother turned into vampires has left them on opposite sides. Kaye is a Flame witch who is duty bound to kill any vampires. Eugenia, Ava’s mother, had been keeping Ava captive for the past few years in order to steal her power and hide her own vampirism. When Ava escapes Kaye joins her, but will the two find salvation and love together or will Kaye follow her training and end Ava as a potential threat? I enjoyed the audiobook version especially when the the narration of Ava’s mother who was gloriously over the top villainous. Narration is performed by Bailey Carr and Mary Helen Gallucci. The Witch and the Vampire takes some inspiration from the Rapunzel myth for those that enjoy fairytale retelling, but it strays enough from the original that it feels wholly unique. It is also a sweet friends to enemies to love story for queer romantacy fans.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager