Not fluffy

from amazon (book 1);

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama ("Rue" to her friends) is bequeathed an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female under similar circumstances would do -- she christens it the Spotted Custard and floats off to India. Soon, she stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis (and an embarrassing lack of bloomers), Rue must rely on her good breeding -- and her metanatural abilities -- to get to the bottom of it all. . .

this is a sequel series to her The Parasol Protectorate books that feature the children of some of the characters of those books.
overall i was very lukewarm on the whole series. i don't regret reading them, but I just feel like the sequel series (next gen series, really. the characters from the first series only have guest roles.) was not needed. like many sequels.
and when characters from the previous series do show up, they feel like parodies of their former incarnations.

minor issues; the author uses "bedsit" to describes where a character is living. the definition is a single rented room that serves as both a bedroom and a living area, often featuring basic cooking facilities while sharing a bathroom with other rooms. but then she mentions a library, a hall & hints at a kitchen as a servant is going to make tea at one point.
has a character "chivvy" up to someone, implying that they walked up quickly when the word means to persistently nag, badger, or urge someone to do something they do not want to do, or to hurry them along.

long ago the place where i live would have two community days/block party things per summer. they stopped having them in 2019.

this year they decided to have some thing. at first it was just a "kids day" with games to win cheap prizes (bead bracelets, crayons, small toys), face painting, a slip n' slide thing and some food.
then it was a "end of summer event" with most of the above and "light refreshments".
it became a "back to school event" with the everything listed, plus a backpack (with some school supplies) giveaway.

we were not going to attend, but were part invited, part "encouraged" to go. they had hot dogs, chips, baked beans, fruit punch, shaved ice & cupcakes (full size).
despite a big turnout (or what looked like one to us) there was some leftovers that we got; an unopened bag of chips (like party size), several hot dogs, a full pack of hot dog buns, some baked beans & 6 cupcakes.

it is too hot most of the time. some rain now and then, but that makes it too humid.

the sun is too bright. daylight lasts too long into the evening.

we had smoke from wildfires a couple of weekends ago. we kept the windows closed & i was sweating like crazy*. i think the temp inside was 110+, but my brother disagrees. if there's smoke again, i'm tempted to keep the windows open & deal with the smoke.


*there's an old joke about a guy with a lamborghini that pulls up to a gas station. he tells the attendant (gas jockey) to fill up the tank, leaves the car running & goes inside to pay. he's talking to the clerk when the attendant come in and says; "hey mister! can you come out & turn your car off? it's gaining on me!" (meaning that car was using the fuel almost as fast as the guy put it in.)
that's how i was that weekend. it seemed as soon as i drank water, i was sweating it out.

1. What is your cellphone wallpaper?
i have this blue nebula thing (called universe under the microscope 3 or something) for my lock screen & just a basic color of blue gray for my home screen.

2. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight, or nighttime? Why?
twilight/sunset. because sunsets are just as good as sunrises, but you don't have to be up early to see them.

3. What season would you be?
i don't know. maybe fall.

4. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
at various times; the girl versions of indiana jones, han solo, or james bond.

5. Have you ever been told you look like someone famous? Who was it?
no.


other answers are over here.

1. What would you do right now, if money were not an issue?
get my hair cut & dye it blue.

2. What would you do for the next three years, if money were not an issue?
travel.

3. What is bringing you the most joy right now that requires little or no money?
reading e-books free from a library.

4. What types of things do you find enjoyable that require no money?
naps. watching the rain come down.

5. Is there anything you've been meaning to do for a long time, but put off because of money?
buy some clothes to replace ones that are pretty worn .


other answers over here.

the rest of the title; The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World

from amazon;

Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet-in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport-these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.

The two queens commanded armies and negotiated with kings and popes. They formed coalitions and broke them, mothered children and lost them. They fought a decades-long civil war-against each other. With ingenuity and skill, they battled to stay alive in the game of statecraft, and in the process laid the foundations of what would one day be Charlemagne's empire. Yet after the queens' deaths-one gentle, the other horrific-their stories were rewritten, their names consigned to slander and legend.

not much is known about the frankish (pre-france) merovingian royals, they wrote on papyrus which didn't hold up in the humid air of the lands of the franks. the carolingian dynasty, of which charlemagne was a member, wrote on vellum which holds up better.
plus, the carolingians portrayed the merovingians as barbarian pagans not worthy of remembering.

one thing that is known from the merovingians is salic law. famous for its rule excluding women from inheriting land, thrones, and fiefs, though it also covers many other aspects of early germanic life like fines for crimes, property, and judicial procedure.

a very interesting book. i recommend it if you want to know more about european royals that are not some of the more well known ones. or want to know some of what happened in the years between the fall of the roman empire & the early middle ages.

NOTE: the icon i have on this post is labeled tudors. i figured it references a royal family & is close enough out of the ones i have available.

this is one that i submitted a while ago, because all of the questions with random letters from a generator just have one question options. i used a random letter generator, for random questions.

1. What is place you have visited, or want to visit, that starts with D?
i would like to visit denver, dublin (ireland), or denmark.

2. What is a food that you like, or don't like, that starts with R?
i like relish (the sweet kind put on hot dogs) & red velvet cake. don't like radishes, rice, or raspberries.

3. Own anything that starts with the letter M?
not currently. i had some moccasin-type shoes long ago.

4. Know anyone whose name (first, middle, or last) that starts with N?
a couple of people.

5. Favorite movie, book, TV show, or song whose title starts with T?
(not a favorite book, but a good one) Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. by Leanda de Lisle. and of course (star) trek for favorite tv show(s).


other answers are over here.

These questions were written by canadiangirl16 .

1. Do you enjoy reading?
yes.

2. What is the first book you remember reading?
no idea. it was probably one of those little golden books.

3. Who is your favourite author?
i don't really have one. i like certain series by elizabeth peters, carole nelson douglas, rita mae brown, charlotte macleod, steven saylor & laura joh rowland.

4. What is your favourite book?
don't really have one. check out the links in the sticky post to see some i've enjoyed reading.

5. What is the last book you read and the first you'll read next?
the last one was mission to paris by alan furst. the current one is twilight man: love and ruin in the shadows of hollywood and the clark empire by liz brown.
no idea what the next one will be. i try to alternate between fiction & non-fiction, but it depends on what the library i get my e-books from has available at the time.


other people's answers are over here.

i've read that people do not know their own phone number because they don't call it. i suppose it's worse these days because people just have a list of contacts on their phone & they just click one when needed, for the most part.

but if a person has to put down their phone number on forms for new doctors, online orders, and whatnot you'd think people would remember it. i do. i even remember old numbers that my family doesn't have any more.

1. How long to you hope to live (to what age)?
i don't know.

2. Based on the lifespans of your grandparents and/or great-grandparents, what is your realistic lifespan?
most of my grandparents lived to their late 70s/early 80s. not sure about my great-grandparents.

3. What is the average lifespan of people in your country?
i think for men it's 76 & for women it's 81.

4. At what age do you plan to retire (or did you retire)?
65. probably.

5. What are your plans for retirement?
to travel. otherwise do as little as possible.

other answers here at thefridayfive