The Conference of the Birds (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #5)

The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jacob and Noor are rescued by Bronwyn and Hugh, and Jacob decides to go to Devil's Acre with them rather than continue to look for V like H instructed before he died.

Jacob is welcomed back and Noor is welcomed into the family. Jacob reveals H's message about the Apocryphon and with Miss Avocet's help they discover the prophecy. Then some of the wights that were being held prisoner including Caul's right hand (Murnau) escape with the hollowgast, Jacob had captured. Millard figures out the wights that escaped are trying to bring Caul back after he finds Bentham's secret study and discovers Bentham's recipe for bringing Peculiars back from collapsed loops without killing them.

Miss Peregrine who has been away conducting Peace Talks in America sends for Jacob, she needs his help tracking a peculiar girl (Ellery) that was kidnapped. Jacob chooses to bring Emma and Enoch with him but Miss Peregrine also sends for Hugh as she suspects that the wights have Fiona (her body was never discovered after she fell down the cliff in Library of Souls, and Hugh has always believed she was still alive) with them after spotting her flower. Jacob is able to track them to the bus station, while they are following the bus the wights and their hostages are on they see that the bus they were following wrecked. Ellery (the peculiar girl that was kidnapped) was badly injured in the wreck, but she manages to tell them that there was another girl with them that was being mind controlled. They return to Devil's Acre to look for clues as to where the wights are headed next.

The recipe for bringing Caul back Casting of the Uberworm (Ellery), Tongue of the seedsprout freshly harvested (Fiona), an indestructible flame (the sparkstone they took from the boy 6 months ago), Four Death Beetles (taken from Devil's Acre at the same time they stole the recipe) The Alphaskull of the Well of Hope and the last ingredient is the beating heart of the Mother of Birds 


They figure out the Alphaskull is in Hopewell, New York and try to get their before the wights. Unfortunately the weights are already there. Jacob is able to take control of the hollowgast but for a brief time Fiona has them imprisoned until Noor is able to break the mind control. Murnau escapes with the Alphaskull. Rejoicing that Fiona has been rescued it is not until they are safe that they realize they harvested Fiona's tongue, so only one ingredient is missing.

Noor wants to find V as she remembers V raising her when she was a little girl. She briefly returns to her foster home with Jacob to pick up her things and finds a postcard supposedly from V. They travel to the address alone and enter the loop which is protected by Storms. A nursery rhyme V taught Noor leads them safely through the storm to V. To late they realize that they were followed by Murnau who is after The Mother of Storms (V) still beating hear which is the last ingredient in the recipe. Murnau takes V's heart and collapses the loop on Jacob and Noor.

Caul is back...

View all my reviews

The Numbers Game by Danielle Steel

The Numbers Game by Danielle Steel
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Paul Jackson dumps his wife (Eileen) for a younger woman.

View all my reviews

Devoted by Dean Koontz (Goodreads Author)

Devoted by Dean Koontz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant to me Kipp and the other Mysterians (dogs) were the heroes of the book. But Megan, Woody, Ben, Carson Conroy and Rosa were all interesting and heroic in their own ways.

The villains as usual got what they deserved.

Lyle Sheldrake escaped from a mysterious lab minutes before it exploded killing all inside. Obsessed with Megan he heads to Pinehave intent on raping her and killing her son Woody. Before he gets there he discovers the pleasure of devouring human flesh when he kills a couple who had broken down on the side of the road. Throughout the book Lyle continues to devolve into something not quite human and the men responsible for his condition work behind the scenes to destroy all evidence of their culpability. At the moment of Woody's greatest need he will call to Kipp on the wire and Kipp will bring his new friend Ben to Megan and Woody's aid. Eventually Carson Conroy and Rosa will come to help Megan and Woody fight the forces of evil that are gathering and Kipp will gather his own forces of good to battle the "Haters".

View all my reviews

One Fatal Flaw (Daniel Pitt #3) by Anne Perry

One Fatal Flaw by Anne Perry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Daniel really seems to have come into his own in this book and his relationship with Miriam seems to be progressing albeit slowly but I think now they each realize they care a lot about the other.

A young girl (Jessie Beale) comes to Daniel asking him to represent her fiance (Rob Adwell) who is accused of arson resulting in the death of Paddy Jackson. Convinced the young man is innocent Daniel takes the case. At a loss how to prove his innocence he goes to Miriam for advice and she suggest a former teacher Sir Barnabas Saltram may be able to help. And indeed Sir Saltram's testimony gets Adwell off. But in the meantime through Pitt and Charlotte Daniel discovers that Saltram isn't what he seems.

When Adwell turns up dead in exactly the same manner as Paddy Jackson and they arrest Jessie Beale for his murder, Daniel is dismayed when Jessie demands he represents her convinced she is guilty but with no way to turn down her request Daniel works with Miriam to find a witness who can overturn Saltram's expert testimony. Miriam's mentor Ottershaw suggest Dr. Evelyn Hall (apparently in Holland women can work in whatever field they choose). Hall completely dismantles Saltram's testimony and Jessie Beale is found guilty.

And now things get really dicey for Daniel. James Leigh's widow ask him to overturn her husband's conviction which was based on Saltram's evidence. Pitt always felt James Leigh was innocent and that it was Marguerite's husband Roger Daventry who killed her, and set the fire to cover it up. The police even arrested Roger Daventry for her murder but he was found not guilty due to Saltram's evidence. It was only then James Leigh (a young laborer) was arrested for arson that lead to a death because he was in the vicinity at the time. Daniel seeing no honorable way out of not taking the case and with the support of Marcus (his boss) and Kitteridge, Daniel goes full Don Quixote.

A fire at Ottershaw's shortly after Saltram visited Miriam and knocked her unconscious almost results in the death of Miriam and the young boy who works for them. It is only Daniel's arrival that saves them.

Marcus who hasn't argued a case in a decade goes before the court to get James Leigh's conviction overturned. Kitteridge acts as his second and he is going to call Daniel as a witness. And Marcus does a brilliant job of destroying Saltram's testimony in fact he does such a good job that Saltram visits Daniel and attempts to blackmail him into changing his testimony when he is crossed examined. Miriam reveals to Daniel that at 19 she had a crush on Saltram and thought she was in loved with him, she was prepared to sleep with him but Saltram was impotent. But she insist that no matter what the risk to her reputation Daniel must tell the truth.

And tell the truth he does while neatly turning the tables on Saltram. James Leigh's conviction is overturned.

View all my reviews

The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel

The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book covers the story of the extraordinary women who wore the wedding dress designed for Eleanor Deveraux for her marriage to Alex Allen before the 1929 crash, when her family lost everything. Slowly Eleanor and Alex rebuild their fortunes by selling the family antiques her Mother Louise saved. A beloved daughter is lost to drugs, but their granddaughter Ruby Moon is cherished. Ruby's unhappy marriage to a tech tycoon brings the Deveraux family mansion back to them and her ambitious daughter Kendall discovers that love is more important than success.

View all my reviews

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's a very touching book about a young boy who lost his Father in the terrorist attack on September 11th and his attempts to stay close to him by engaging in various activities. And an old man who was afraid to love after losing his first love and unborn child in the bombing of Dresden and how he finds his way back to the woman who bore his son and the grandson who needs him.

View all my reviews

Grey Brook Bedroom

 I love the butterfly scent holder I got for Christmas. I have Gardenia in it now and the kitchen smells heavenly.

 We painted our youngest son's room Grey Brook. It was one of the 2020 Colors of the Year from Valspar.

Grey Brook – This pale blue welcomes you into a space like a cozy warm blanket.
Design tip: This charming bluish gray works in perfect harmony with classic wood tones, creating a timeless space.

And I love the cordless shades we added. The are Levolor Natural Shades - Bay Weave Room Darkening - White