Gather the Fortunes | 
pickDeath is both an end and a transition. Simultaneously a crossing over and the guide on that journey... Death is able to be every one of these and more -- all at once without conflict or contradiction -- because death is the end of all conflicts, is beyond contradictions. Both nothing and everything.
The only thing Death has never been is lonely.
Bryan Camp's writing is prose. This is an excerpt of the 1st paragraph. I read it a dozen times.
It's time for my very first #Readingbracket! I always think hey, that's a fantastic idea! In December. When I can no longer remember anything.
Thank you to @chasjjlee for the great graphic this year!
I got lucky with many fantastic reads this month but the tagged really stood out and I need to spread the word.
Runner up also with 5⭐️ is The Vanishing Type, 5th book of the Secret, Book & Scone Society. My favourite of the series hands down!
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I just loved the tagged book SOOO much I had to go and get the follow up immediately. Already sad that that will be where it ends, as there‘s no third book yet 🤞🤞
Mythical New Orleans ✔️
Magic, Intrigue ✔️
Witty, laced with expletives ✔️
Gods, Monsters✔️
Mystery, unexpected turns EVERYWHERE ✔️
#Bookspin
#ReadySetRead Foil on the cover
#ispybingo Hand
#serieslove2023
We are gearing up to start book #5, which is my January #bookspin. I‘m actually really looking forward to this one. It also checks off #ispybingo Hand and #ReadySetRead Foil on the cover 🤩👌
pickGood read. Reminded me of American gods. Def long and a little slow at times, but i enjoyed it.
“Even worse……he‘s a zombie.” Not one thing i dislike here!!!! Six chapters in and I‘m hooked.
pickBk2 of #LizpixiesLongWeekend #readathon is finished. I absolutely loved this book! It‘s a small package full of voodoo, lost gods, swamp water, shrimp bakes, chicory & jazz music. And a whole lotta attitude. It‘s hard to put the whole story into a small package but it‘s like holding a magical version of The Big Easy in your hand. Highly recommended.🎷🎺🥁
Coming into the final hours of #LizpixiesLongWeekend #readathon and I haven‘t managed as much as I‘d hoped. I started & finished one book but I‘m only halfway through the audiobook of The Killing Dance-Laurell.K.Hamilton, and halfway through this magical realism novel by Bryan Camp. Though it is a bit of a chunkster at almost 500pgs. It‘s also fascinating, especially if The Big Easy & voodoo are things you love to read about.
I ended up starting this interesting book. Jude Dubuisson is a street magician in post Katrina New Orleans but he‘s more than he appears. He has a gift for finding lost things, one passed down from a father he never knew. But so many things are missing from the storm his gift becomes a curse and he tries to hide in the cracks of his former life. Until the Fortune God is found murdered. #LizpixiesLongWeekend #readathon
The hubby has gone to Bathurst to help out our brother-in-law for the weekend & won‘t be back til Monday night. So I‘m having a #LizpixiesLongWeekend #readathon all by my little lonesome. I have two full tote bags of library books & a ridiculously large #MountTBR in my library, so I‘m planning on reading my way through as many as I can.And snacking. Of course I have to have snacks.Like icecream & mangoes.Plus copious amounts of tea. Who‘s with me?
#scarathonevent #ChillingPhotoChallenge @TheReadingMermaid @Clwojick
#Voodoo
This book set in New Orleans is full of Voodoo.
pickWowza! This book was good. Definitely no let down in the 2nd book in the series. I enjoyed the way Bryan Camp intermingled old and new characters. He makes me want to move to New Orleans (or more correct...N‘awlins”)
Reread of this one. I love the feel/atmosphere of this book. Kind of like American Gods meets New Orleans meets mystery. About to begin the next in the Crescent City series.
Next up! Loved the first one, can‘t wait to dive into this one!
so-soThe writing was as wonderful & descriptive as I had expected. Renai was a great character & the part she had to play in this story was terrific. I liked that Jude, from book 1, played a part in this story as well. What I wasn‘t a fan of was that, although the story had many great & interesting elements, I felt like it dragged in sections. It had its moments of excitement but I didn‘t feel compelled to stay in the story as I had in the first book.
pickI really enjoyed this book. Very interesting use of a variety of mythologies while emphasizing their universality. Exciting, well-paced, and celebrating the Trickster god (whom I‘ve often had difficulty empathizing with). Wonderful fantasy in a real setting.
It's a super springy Easter morning and thos book is why I am running behind to get ready!
pickPicked this up from the library because it was based in my favorite city and I was not disappointed.
Magic, fortunes, gods and all things supernatural fit perfectly in the New Orleans landscape as Jude tries to find a murderer and survive a game of fate and fortunes 🔮
pickThe City of Lost Fortunes mixes magic and mystery in a way that makes this a difficult book to put down. One could easily get lost in this impressive cast of characters, many from mythology and folklore, and find themselves spending hours researching their origins and back stories. Check out Camp's novel if you love a magical YA read that's more than just traditional fun and fantasy.
so-soThis is an urban fantasy set in New Orleans, featuring a hero with a few magic spells and a talent for finding lost things, who finds himself sitting in on a poker game among gods. There's a lot to like here: a hero out of his depth in a rich exotic world populated by interesting and dangerous beasts. But for me the overambitious writing got in the way. Cut out the superfluities and you'd have a cracking story.
pickOne of my best magical bucket list moments was sitting at the Cafe du Monde with chicory coffee and beignets. After Katrina, the city has lost its soul. Street magician Jude has an uncanny talent to find lost things but is lying low as he can‘t cope when so much remains lost. He is caught up reluctantly in a poker game to determine the fate of the city. Magic, voodoo, monsters, angels, demons, and music as Jude finds his luck and fortune.
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A slow starter, but once the story picked up, it was hard to put down. A murder mystery set in post-Katrina New Orleans, starring Gods, tricksters, zombies, vampires, psychpomps, and a foul-mouthed, wise-cracking assistant.
Another laid-back morning. Coffee in new mug #2.
I just wanted to show off one of my new mugs because I love them. I've got four days off between Maymester and Summer I, so I'm having a leisurely morning of reading and drinking coffee.
pickA well written ode to New Orleans. Full of magic and the supernatural. The characters were richly portrayed and so perfect for the plot. Great debut for Mr. Camp. I am looking forward to more from him. 5 stars all day!
pickWas steeped in magical realism & a delight to my imagination. Magic was a living, breathing thing in this New Orleans & through the alluring descriptions of the people, food, music, and history, the city took on an identity all its own. The setting is the perfect backdrop to create an environment where you can almost believe that this collision between the mystical & temporal could really be occurring. www.thegenreminx.com #TheGenreMinxBookReviews
Very good! Has a hint of Neil Gaiman with a touch of Walter Mosley
A cup of Joe and a book. The best way to start a Friday! Excited to start this one and to have a Friday off.
pickFull disclosure: I went to grad school w/the author & read an early draft in class. So I'm not a stranger to the story, but neither am I a gushing sycophant just because I know the guy.
That said, I loved this book. The pre-pub blurbs compare it to AMERICAN GODS which I get, but it reminds me of everything I loved about Tim Powers' LAST CALL & Clive Barker's IMAJICA, except so steeped in New Orleans essence it'll get you contact-high.
I am glad this book is coming out soon because so many of us need a story of epic hurricane survival right now, from a writer with the voice of experience.
Been waiting on this since I read an early draft in grad school.
