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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

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Fantastic Apprentices: Remedial Magic and Assistant to the Villain

21 Feb

Remedial Magic
by Melissa Marr
Remedial Magic is the new novel by Melissa Marr. In the creative world Marr shaped, people only find their magic when they are in the most dangerous of circumstances such as about to be in a fatal car accident or falling off a cliff while hiking. Their magic saves them and they are then brought to a magical realm, Crenshaw, where they are enrolled in the equivalent of magical community college. Hobs, manifestation of magic are there to assist them. Unfortunately all is not currently right in Crenshaw. Prospero, a long time resident hopes that amongst the recent arrivals Ellie, a small town librarian, may be the prophesied savior; sparks fly between the two women as well as between several of the other characters. If you are looking for a romantacy series more adult than Harry Potter, but more whimsical and fun than the Magicians than this novel will delight. The book ends on a cliffhanger so I’m interested to see what book two in The Course of Magic series has in store for its diverse cast of characters.

Assistant to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Assistant to the Villain begins with out of work Evie Sage happening upon a very unusual job opportunity to assist the empire’s most notorious villain. If you enjoyed John Scazi’s recent Starter Villain, you should also enjoy this more fantastical spin on the concept. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook version read by Em Elridge. As with any story where the villain is in the protagonist role, often Evie is left looking more like the hero and less truly evil as is her boss and love interest, The Villain, whose perspective we are also given in the novel. Warning though, this one also ends on quite a cliffhanger. I’m glad to see that we are beginning to have more humor and less grimdark in Fantasy works that are coming out recently. While there is a place for serious speculative fiction, many of my favorite works manage to slip in a few laughs and smiles rather than keeping things bleak. 

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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