Book Review - Quintessence by Jess Redman

 

 

 Quintessence by Jess Redman is about a young girl who tries to find herself in a new town.  Three months ago, twelve year old Alma moved to Four Points with her family. A week after the move, she had her first panic attack and they continued to happen. She told her parents that they’d stopped just to avoid them being worried. However, she knows the panic attacks won’t stop because she feels homesick and has no friends at her new school. With every passing day, she feels less and less like herself.

While visiting her parents at work, she decides to visit the town’s junk shop. The shop always looks empty and abandoned. While exploring the store’s contents, she comes across a telescope. She was so excited by her discovery and took home the telescope.

Later that night, Alma uses the telescope to view the stars. She notices a star that looks like a child falling from the sky and into a crater in her backyard. Alma knows what it feels like to be lost, afraid, and missing her home. She is determined to help find and save the star. However, Alma is at a loss on how to help the star. She decides that she would need to open up to her classmates in the Astronomy Club for help. Will Alma and her friends be able to help the star?

I was on the fence for this children’s book. I normally like reading children’s books as the majority of them are well written and very entertaining. I found this book to be a bit boring and predictable, and at times, long winded. I would have liked a bit more humor and character development. I felt like other than Alma, most of the other characters fell flat.

While I did like reading about Alma blossoming out of her shell and finding herself, I did worry for her and her friends. A lot of the tasks they were assigned to do took place at night and involved dangerous situations, i.e. like climbing a mountain in the dark or descending deep into a cave in the dark or accepting a ride from a stranger. I felt like while I understood it was a part of the story, the characters had to lie to their parents to go out at night and partake in these situations. I was a bit torn on this portion of the book because I wouldn’t want a book to encourage a child to put themselves in a dangerous situation and then lie about it. I  did like the bits about the science and magical adventures but I could have done without all the danger these kids were putting themselves into.

 

Book Review - The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher

 

 

 

 

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher is about Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy’s time in London. In 1938, Kick and her family moved to London when her father was named ambassador. She enjoys spending time in high society social circles and attending balls and parties with highly influential people. Kick loves being on her own and free from her family’s expectations of her.

Kick’s mother, Rose, is strict and overbearing. She expects Kick to follow all of her rules and to always be mindful of her image. Her older brothers, Jack and Joe, are always up to something and are still their father’s confidantes. Kick has always felt left out that her older brothers could do whatever they wanted and yet still be in their father’s good graces. Her older sister, Rosemary, displayed erratic behavior that many people in polite society frowned upon. As her behaviors are considered strange, Rosemary tends to be excluded from events by her family to avoid people passing judgment on her.  As Kick begins exploring all that London has to offer, she finally feels free to pursue things that matter to her, including a certain future Duke.

Kick and Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire run in the same social circles and spend a lot of time together. The pair find themselves drawn to each other and they fall for each other. However, their love is prohibited as Kick’s family is Catholic and Billy’s family is Protestant. As they navigate their budding relationship, war breaks out and the entire world is thrown into chaos. The Kennedys are forced to return to the States, causing Kick to try and find her way back into Billy’s arms. When she finds work that allows her to return to London, she must decide if she will choose Billy or her family.

I thought the book was an okay read. I started losing interest though towards the halfway point. It felt very boring to me because the book only talked about parties that Kick or someone else from her social circle was attending. I was struggling to find a plot during portions of the book. 

The novel included a lot of famous people and characters that weren’t fleshed out much. A few of them I had to look up to learn their backstory but after a while that became tedious. It would have been nice to have a glossary that gave a snippet or footnote of each person’s background, or some story building by the author.  The ending was a bit abrupt and the author did include more details about Kick’s life that happened a few years after the book concluded. I felt like that part of Kick’s life was more exciting than the parts we got to read about in the novel.

 

Book Review - Ruinsong by Julia Ember

Ruinsong by Julia Ember is about a young woman, Cadence, who must decide if she dares to stand up against her ruthless queen, Elene. Cadence was a small child training to be a principal singer for the palace. Her singing is imbued with magic and can be controlled and used depending on the song Cadence sings.

Cadence was chosen by the queen to be a mage for the palace. As Cadence is one of the most powerful mages in the castle, she is made to do the queen’s bidding, whether or not she wants to.  The queen’s latest request was for Cadence to host a concert to torture the country’s nobility. 

While Cadence doesn’t enjoy using her powers to hurt people, Cadence just accepts that this is her fate. That is, until she is reunited with her childhood friend, Remi. Remi is a noblewoman and has a deep hatred for the current queen. Remi and her family have ties to an underground rebellion. Cadence must decide if she will finally stand up for herself against the queen or continue doing Elene’s bidding.

The novel was a quick and straightforward read. It didn’t have any unexpected twists or turns. I was surprised that this was considered a “Phantom of the Opera” retelling as I would have never assumed that from just reading the book. The idea that magic can be conjured by singing was cool to me and I wish magic took a bigger role in the book. I also wish there was an epic magic showdown in the book at least once, or that the concept was explained in more detail. I was interested in learning more about their world. It seemed pretty basic and not much details about it were given other than magic is done by singing. I thought the ending seemed a bit rushed and felt disjointed. I did enjoy the novel and would be open to reading more books by the author.

 

Book Review - A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

 

A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly is about a woman, Evelyne Redfern, who finds a dead body at her new job. In England 1940, Evelyne is famously known as the “The Parisian Orphan” because of the nasty divorce between her mother and her adventurer father that unfolded very publicly.  Evelyne wishes to leave her parents’ shadow and move on with her life.

She decides to take a job working on the line at a munitions factory to help out with the war efforts.  During the night, she and her friends at the local boarding house go out for a fun night out. There she crosses paths with one of her father’s old friends, Mr. Fletcher. 

Mr. Fletcher asks if she is interested in taking a new job as he remembers how clever and resourceful she was as a child. Evelyne is intrigued and decides to take him up on his offer. She wasn’t sure what to expect of the new job but now she is working as a secretary for the Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.  She feels that this job would have more of an impact with the war efforts than working in the factories as it would have a “more” direct impact.

As Evelyne tries to find her way around the underground bunker, she comes across a person she thinks is sleeping at the desk. When she goes closer to the person, she realizes the person is dead and it was someone she knew and worked with. Evelyne is determined to find the killer. She loves reading detective novels, and she believes that she can find the culprit, but her plan puts her directly in the path of David Poole. 

Evelyne doesn’t know much about David other than he is sketchy and always seems to turn up wherever she is. She hopes that they will stay out of each other’s way until she finds out that David has been tasked to find the mole that has been selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies. Evelyne feels that their missions are connected and begrudgingly agrees to team up with David. Will the pair be able to find out who is behind the murder? 

I thought the book was an interesting read but it wasn’t as enjoyable to me as I would have expected. It took me a bit of time to get into the author’s writing style. I found myself going back and rereading the same thing over again because I couldn’t grasp what the author was trying to communicate. There was also a large cast of people that it was difficult to keep everyone’s motive and story straight. It felt like tons of information was given about minor characters who didn’t really add anything to the story. Then at other times, I feel like we didn’t really get to know many of the characters other than their basic cursory backgrounds.

I felt at times the pacing was a bit off. The book was boring and plodded along slowly towards the middle and the ending came out of nowhere. It felt a bit unexpected on how the book ended but not unpredictable. I did find it odd that the only qualification that Evelyne had to solve the murder was that she was a fan of murder mystery novels. She had one job prior to being a secretary, and she had minimal office experience. I can understand her being considered clever but there weren't really any facts or reason to back that up. I didn’t like that the author made it seem that she knew more than other people because she was an amateur sleuth that liked murder mysteries. If you like cozy mystery reads, then this book might be enjoyable to you.  I would be open to read more books from the series but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find or read it.

Book Review - The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde

  

The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde is about a young woman, Ife Adebola, who is trying to adjust to her new school. Ife knows she should be excited about starting at the prestigious Nithercott School. However, she misses her old friends and school. She felt like she used to belong at her old school but at her new school she feels like an outsider.

As her parents couldn’t afford the tuition on their own, she is placed in the Urban Achievers scholarship program. She feels that this makes her an outsider and she is determined to focus on her schoolwork. However, when another student, Malika, starts acting strange, Ife wonders if there is more going on at the school. She wonders if Malika’s new behavior is related to the disappearance of the older brother of her classmate.

I love horror and mystery books, so I was so excited to read this book. The cover had a lot of spooky vibes.  However, I had a hard time getting into the book. The writing didn’t flow very smoothly for me. It also felt forced and disjointed. I had a hard time liking Ife. She was struggling to make friends but, when someone was interested in being her friend, Ife just used her when it was convenient. For example, she was only interested in talking to one girl, Bee, because Ife wanted to use Bee’s phone. I felt that there were also a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them all. It was a cumbersome process to remember how they all related to the plot. The book was so slow that nothing happened for more than half of the book. I stopped reading towards the midpoint as there wasn’t anything keeping me tethered to the novel.

 

Book Review - Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

 

 

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns is about seventeen year old Marley West, who is trying to find a place to belong. In 1990, Marley and her mother arrived in the small river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. Marley and her mother are constantly moving city to city looking for work. Marley felt like a loner and is looking for a community and a place to belong.

When Marley arrives at Mercury, she sees three men on top of a roof. She isn’t able to make out who the men were as only their silhouettes were visible from the sun. Later, when Marley decides to watch a local baseball game, she runs into one of the Joseph brothers and is later introduced to the rest of the family.

Marley receives an invitation to join the Joseph family for dinner and eventually leads to a standing invite. It started as a simple dinner but it led Marley to be intertwined with the entire Joseph family and eventually she married into the family. Marley finds the connection and family that she has been searching for but, she realizes that it comes at a steep cost.

I thought the book was a dull read. I thought there was going to be a mystery around the dead body but it wasn’t until almost halfway into the book that it was even mentioned. I felt like there wasn’t much going on in the book and a lot of the drama was just drummed up or exaggerated to make it seem like more was going on. I didn’t understand what the point of the book was. Was it to show how consuming a small business is? Or should we be careful about what we wish for? 

While the plot was moving as slow as molasses, I didn’t find any of the characters to be enjoyable. I found it weird that Marley wants a family of her own, when she is barely an adult and has a very supportive mother. Instead, she jumps headfirst into building connections with a highly dysfunctional family and continues to stay with them even though she has her reservations about them.  No one from the Joseph family seemed remotely interesting. Elise Joseph, the mother, seemed to be welcoming, but then cold at times. I wish we were given more information on her behaviors along with the other members of the family. The entire family just seemed selfish and unbalanced. Readers who enjoy reading about people’s everyday lives and family drama, might find this more entertaining than I did.

 

Book Review - The Fury by Alex Michaelides

 

 The Fury by Alex Michaelides is about the murder of a famous movie star, Lana Farrar, and its aftermath.  Lana is feeling a bit under the weather after being surrounded by the dreary rainy weather in London. To escape the weather, she decides to invite her friends, Kate and Elliot, to spend Easter with her and her family on her private Greek Island.

Lana and her friends are settling into the island when news of an incoming storm hits. While the island is being buffeted by high winds and rain, Lana’s body is discovered. Everyone is worried that someone else has snuck on the island and that they might be the next target. However, when it becomes clear that the murderer is someone they might know, will anyone be safe?

I loved the book Silent Patient by the author and have also read his other book, The Maidens. However, I am starting to feel that the author is a one hit wonder. The story was told from a protagonist, Elliot Chase, who breaks the fourth wall. He invites us to sit with him at a bar to share the story of how his friend, Lana, gets murdered.

At first, it was interesting listening to Elliot describe the events that lead to murder and the murder. However, after a while it got tiresome. He jumps around in his narration and fills it with pointless details. He would constantly dangle the proverbial carrot in front of us teasing juicy details, but they led nowhere.

The book plods along slowly with barely enough action to keep you interested. The twists are seen a mile away and are very predictable. The ending was disappointing. I was expecting to have my socks blown off after sloughing through the boring narration. All I was left wondering was, “Is that it”?  The characters themselves are insufferable and I didn’t care for any of them. After reading two disappointing books by the author, I am in no rush to read another one of his books.

 

Book Review: Twin Sisters Livingston and the Mystery at Madame Molineaux's by Mary Knight

Twin Sisters Livingston and the Mystery at Madame Molineaux's by Mary Knight is about two sisters, Maddie and Jo Livingston, who discover something is amiss at their new boarding school, Madame Molineaux's. The twelve year old twins have spent most of their lives traveling the world with their famous archaeologist parents. However, when their parents take on a new assignment in Siberia, they decide to leave the girls at a new boarding school in Switzerland. The girls are disappointed that they can’t join their parents but they are excited that their new school is in a castle.

The school is filled with students and professors from all over the world. Shortly after arriving at the school, the girls realize that the school is unlike anything they have ever seen. Not only are the residents interesting but the school is filled with secret tunnels, weird hybrid animals, and tapestries that are hidden under artwork. Maddie and Jo are excited to try and figure out all the mysteries the school contains while they wait for their parents to return.

I was excited to read the novel because I love mysteries. However, I was thoroughly disappointed at how boring and unnecessarily long the novel was. The book clocked in at a little under 450 pages but nothing happened for more than 400 pages. I was more than 95% done before I stopped reading the novel because we learned nothing after 400 pages other than something is happening but we don’t know what, who, or why.  There was nothing keeping me tethered to the novel to continue reading the last few pages. I am very surprised that this book was targeted towards middle school aged readers as it is a hefty read without any humor or engaging plot to keep young readers entertained. 

Book Review - Perfect Shot by Steve Urszenyi

 

Perfect Shot by Steve Urszenyi is about a former US Army sniper who uncovers a nuclear threat.  Special Agent Alexandra Martel is no longer in the battlefield where she had a reputation as one of the most decorated Army snipers in the service. She is now an FBI special agent on loan to Interpol. When on assignment with Interpol, she learns that an old friend, Krysten, had died under mysterious circumstances.

Krysten was an MI5 officer that Alex had met years ago but fell out of touch with. Alex is unsure whether or not to get involved because she lost contact with Krysten and feels that if there was foul play involved, MI5 would get to the bottom of it. However, Krysten’s roommate isn’t letting Alex off the hook and has been persistent that Krysten’s death is sketchy and that someone needs to look into it.

Alex decides to take a look into Krysten’s death after receiving a mysterious email from her. As Alex tries to piece together the clues, she realizes that Krysten might have been warning Alex of something. While Alex is trying to figure out the clues, an American nuclear warhead goes missing on her base. Alex is trying to figure out if Krysten’s death and the missing warhead are related before it’s too late.

I thought that the novel was an okay read. It was a fast paced read that was filled with action. I didn’t like that it included a lot of military terms and acronyms I am not familiar with. I wish that they included a dictionary or glossary.  The novel had a bit too much detail that it was overwhelming to read and parse out what was pertinent to the storyline.  There were times that the story seemed a bit unrealistic and there were too many coincidences happening.

I liked that Alex was a confident character that was able to get things done. However, there were times I would question her skill level and found her annoying. She kept using a device that she knew was compromised to share sensitive information or she would share mission details with people she just met. It was confusing because sometimes she would be on guard right off the bat and then other times she seems so trusting of others. I would have liked if the author had included more of her backstory because it was hard to connect with and understand her sometimes. That said, I am interested in reading more of Alex’s adventures and learning more about her.

Book Review - Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear

 

 

Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear is about a woman who finds out the man who raised her was not her biological dad. In December 2018, three months after her father’s death, Kyo receives DNA results that shows that someone else is her biological dad. Kyo feels completely unmoored by the discovery and feels her life is unraveling. She starts to question her entire identity. 

Kyo decides to try and figure out who her father is. She tries to get her mother to open up and tell her the truth. However, Kyo finds that her mother is not forthcoming even though her mother is dying of cancer.

I was excited to read the book but my interest started to wane at many points of the story. I found it confusing when the author would jump back and forth in the book. It was hard to keep track of the events and felt the book was all over the place. I also found the book to be overly wordy and boring. It would be too descriptive on certain events and it was exhausting to read after a while. The author would repeat some of the same ideas several times. I thought the book would reveal a bunch of family secrets and have many twists but the main secret was her biological father was kept a secret from her.

I was more than 90% finished with the book before I decided that it was too boring to continue. I didn’t understand the connection that the author was trying to make with her relationships with her love for plants to her relationship with her family. I am sure a general connection could be said of any relationship. Overall, I am very disappointed in the book.

 

Book Review - The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning

 

 

The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning is about a young woman, Alexandra, who is trying to find out the truth about her family’s past. In 1939, a young Jewish European refugee named Romy escaped to Shanghai with her family to escape from the growing Nazi influence. While Romy and her family try to acclimate to their new surroundings, Romy befriends her neighbor’s daughter, Li. The pair and their families become close friends and inseparable. However, Shanghai isn’t invisible to the terrors of World War II and its destruction comes to their little corner of the world.  After a devastating act of violence, Li and Romy find their friendship violently torn apart.

In 2016, Alexandra decided to leave her home in London to Australia after experiencing a bad breakup. She decides that spending time with her grandparents, Romy and Wilhelm, would be good for her soul and to help mend her broken heart. Alexandra wants to spend time with her grandparents as her grandfather wasn’t doing too well over the past week. Her grandmother fears that his death might be imminent.

While going in and out of consciousness, Wilhelm lets a secret drop from his past. Alexandra is desperate to learn how it fits into her own past and history. She knows that her mother had struggled in life because she didn’t know her own history of her adoption. Alexandra is determined to find out the truth about her family’s past, so she decides to fly to Shanghai and try to trace her grandparents' past.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the novel. The book was a long read but I enjoyed most parts of the book. I did wish at times that the story would pick up pacing wise. The book did go into a lot of details that I thought could have been cut down a bit.  It was told from alternating timelines and narrators. I loved reading about Romy and her time in Shanghai. I felt that those were the best part of the book. I was disappointed that it took Romy so long before she told Alex the truth. I felt that this could have been done earlier instead of drawing it out. I would be open to reading more books by this author.

 

Book Review - The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James

 

The Woman in the Castello by Kelsey James is about a young woman, Silvia Whitford, who reconnects with her estranged aunt, Gabriella Conti. In 1965, Silvia left behind Los Angeles and traveled to Rome’s famed Cinecittà Studios for a supporting role in a movie. Silvia hopes that this would be her big break and she would be able to save enough money to support her young daughter, Lulu, and her ailing mother.

She is disappointed to learn that production of the movie that she was casted in was canceled. Silvia is desperate for money and doesn’t have much left before she and her family are put out of the hotel they’re staying in. Silvia is ashamed to tell her mother the news and how dire their situation is. She decides that she will reach out to her estranged Italian Aunt Gabriella and ask for help. Silvia is nervous because she has never met her aunt and she knows that her mother and aunt do not get along. When Silvia brings up her aunt, her mother clams up and never explains what drove them apart.

Gabriella Conti lives in a crumbling massive castello near the edge of a volcanic lake. Silvia is hesitant to reach out because of the feud between the two sisters but she finds herself entranced by her aunt. Gabriella was once a charismatic and famous actress. However, Silvia finds it curious that her aunt never leaves the castle, and that the townspeople do not get along with her nor do they ever see Gabriella.  Gabrielle is a woman shrouded in an air of mystery.

As Silvia tours the castle, she is both fascinated with it and terrified of the castle. Especially when Gabriella mentions that there is a ghost haunting the grounds. However, when Silvia gets a second chance to star in a new movie called The Revenge of the Lake Witch, she will need to convince  Gabriella to allow the movie crew to use her castle to film the movie.

Silvia is the main lead in the movie. She is playing an ingenue that is tormented and haunted by the ghost of her beautiful and seductive ancestor. Silvia thought she would be able to reconnect with her aunt when she wasn’t filming. However, Gabriella vanishes and Silvia believes that someone or something is the cause of her aunt’s disappearance. To make matters worse, Silvia is seeing signs that something is amiss and things are happening that makes her believe that person won’t stop at nothing to prevent Silvia from finding her aunt. When Silvia tries to get help to search for her aunt, no one believes her. Even Silvia starts to question her own judgment. Will she be able to figure out what happened to her before it’s too late?

The novel was a cozy read. It felt boring at times because nothing much was happening. I found the ending and the twists to be predictable. I thought the book was going to have a lot more mysterious and spooky elements. There were a few plot points in the book that could be perceived to add excitement to the book but they turned out to be nothing. For example, it was unclear why Silvia thought for certain another female actor was out to get rid of Silvia but there was no evidence of that. It was a bit annoying that Silvia did this several times throughout the story. I didn’t care for any of the main characters because they felt boring and one - dimensional.  Silvia was selfish and unlikeable as a character because of her penchant to overreact and assume the worst without any evidence.  The book is billed as a thriller but it was more of a cozy mystery. I would be open to reading more books by the author but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find her books.       

Book Review - ChupaCarter by George Lopez

 

ChupaCarter  by George Lopez is about a lonely boy named Jorge, who meets and befriends a magical creature named Carter. Twelve year old Jorge is upset that he is shipped off to live with his grandparents after an incident at school. His mom feels that she isn’t able to control him nor give him the discipline and structure he needs. Jorge struggles with containing his emotions and often loses his temper.

During his first day at the new school, things didn't go well either. He catches the attention of school bullies and an aggressive principal who likes hunting animals. They both have it out for Jorge after he stands up for a bullied classmate. The principal feels that there is something that Jorge is hiding. Jorge is desperate for a friend to have in his corner and to feel less lonely. 

Jorge was hanging out on his grandparents’ roof when he noticed someone or something hanging around in the trees. The next day his stash of junk food is depleted. Jorge decides to follow the trail of empty food wrappers and comes across a scary looking monster called chupacabra. Chupacabras are well known for their bloodthirst and the slaughtering of livestock. However, Carter is nothing like the lore. He is friendly, kind, and a good listener. Jorge is so excited to have a friend that he doesn’t even mind that Carter is a mythical creature because he feels that he is a good being. Not everyone feels the same way when some local cattle are slaughtered. Will Jorge be able to prove Carter’s innocence? 

I have read a few books by the co-author, Ryan Calejo, and have enjoyed his books. I am familiar with George Lopez and have enjoyed watching his shows. The novel was a quick and easy read. It had black and white illustrations and some funny moments. I did wish it had a little bit of humor that George and Ryan are known for. The book did have some Spanish words that were a nice inclusion for young readers to pick up a new language. I would read more books by the authors and thought this was an interesting collaboration.

Book Review - Unknown Threat by Lynn Blackburn

 

 

Unknown Threat by Lynn Blackburn is about two U.S. Secret Service agents who are racing against the clock to find out who is murdering their fellow agents.  US Secret Service Special Agent Luke Powell was on a run with a colleague when they were attacked. Luke barely made it out alive and his partner is in critical care.  Luke’s attack has been one in a series of attacks against his colleagues. In the past ten weeks, three of his fellow agents had died in unusual circumstances. 

Luke is shattered by the death and loss of his friends. He feels that it’s his personal mission to find the killer and find justice for his colleagues.  Luke feels helpless that he can’t protect the people he loves, especially since they are good people who have spent their lives protecting others.

FBI Special Agent Faith Malone is driven and ambitious. She is confident that she will solve every case that she is assigned. However, when she is put in charge of the investigation of the attacks on Secret Service agents, she is worried that as she and Luke get to know each other on professional and personal levels, it raises stakes higher than any of her previous cases.

Faith and Luke have worked together before but he doesn’t feel that Faith is the right person for the job. He feels that his department should be handling the investigation since the attacks seem to be targeting his team. Faith feels that Luke is hiding secrets that could jeopardize the investigation and cause more people to get hurt. As more people they love are targeted, will Faith and Luke be able to put their disagreements aside and work together?

The book was a quick read. It was interesting to try and guess who the killer was and their motives behind the attacks. There weren't many clues and the story did feel slow at times. However, the ending seemed a bit weird to me and I thought the motive was a bit far-fetched. The romance element between the two characters felt a bit flat. There wasn’t much chemistry or cute moments between the two characters. I might read a few more books by this author but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get them.

 

Book Review - Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

 

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher is a retelling of a fairytale about a princess, Princess Fayette, who is trapped in a tower and the creature that protects it. 

When Toadling was born to her human family, she was stolen by fairies and switched with a Changeling.  She is taken to the swamp where she spends most of her childhood. Toadling is transformed from a human girl into a toad shaped being that can transform into an actual toad. She is surrounded and loved by the faeries at the swamp. They teach her how to use magic and coddle her. They are the only family she has ever known.

Toadling enjoys her time there and when she reaches adulthood, one of the fae asks her for a favor. Toadling is to return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn baby. She is given her mission and is offered training to help her succeed with her quest. However, as much as Toadling is prepared, nothing is as easy as imagined and something always goes wrong. Toadling fumbles the blessing and the faerie child’s power grows uncontrollably along with unleashing her evil side. As a last resort, Toadling placed the child under a curse that put her asleep to prevent her from using her evil powers.

Centuries have passed since Toadling was asked to pass her blessing to the child. A knight has stopped by a wall that is surrounded by brambles and thorns. He has heard that there is a curse and rumors of a hidden treasure beyond the thorn covered wall. Toadling is serving as the guardian of the wall and will stop at nothing to make sure that the curse isn’t broken.

I was excited to read the novella and was able to finish it in a day. I heard many good things about the author and was excited to read the book. However, I was a bit disappointed with the story. I found the novella hard to get into and the writing clunky and hard to follow. I found myself re-reading the same sentence a few times to try to understand what was going on.

There are a lot of things that I found confusing. For example, the timeframe and world the story takes place in. It wasn’t very clear to me when or where the story takes place. The family of the Princess was called a King and Queen but when they were describing the property they loved in, it seems like they were more like a lower level lord and lady.  The book was an okay read but I would be open to reading other books by the author.

Book Review - One Blood by Denene Millner

 

One Blood by Denene Millner is about three generations of African American women who are trying to find their place in society. Grace is a teenager who is raised by her beloved grandmother, Maw Maw, in post-segregation Virginia. Grace watches and helps her grandmother deliver babies. She loves her life and living with her grandmother. However, that all changes when, in a span of a few days, Grace’s mother, Bassey, dies and also her grandmother is accused of a crime she didn’t commit. Grace is heartbroken to have her grandmother taken away from her and thrown into jail.  With no other relatives in the area, she is snuck across state lines to live with her Aunt Hattie in the North so she isn’t at risk of being found by persons intending harm.

Aunt Hattie is a formidable and ambitious woman. She wants nothing to do with her Southern roots and wants only to focus on upward mobility. She started a school to teach young girls about manners and hospitality to show that she belongs with the rest of the society. Grace is grateful for having a roof over her head but she quickly learns that her aunt has a different purpose for her. Grace is put to work to take care of the needs of her aunt and her students. She barely has time for herself and she feels trapped because her aunt won’t let her practice any of her Southern rituals that Grace finds comforting. 

Instead, Grace finds comfort with Dale, the son of a prominent family in her aunt’s social circle. Dale believes that the Black community shouldn’t be focused on manners, fancy teas, and pageants. Instead, they should be working towards getting equal rights. He wants them to realize that racism still exists in the North, even though the community likes to pretend otherwise. While attending a protest he gets caught up with the police when the protest turns violent. His mother decides to send him away to avoid Dale getting into more trouble with the police. Dale wanted to spend one last day with Grace before he leaves. The one magical night they spent together leaves Grace pregnant. Grace is scared because she doesn’t know who to trust and she doesn’t have anyone else she can confide in once Dale leaves. When Grace gives birth to her daughter, Hattie takes the baby and gives it up for adoption without telling Grace.

Delores, or Lolo, as she is known to her friends and family is known for her witty and protective nature. She had a hard life growing up and it was filled with heartache and pain. Lolo had a dream of becoming a model but had to put her dreams on hold. She had to find a way to survive with little money and as a Black woman. She decides that having a family and a husband is the best option for her, and she is willing to do anything to obtain and keep her family. 

Lolo finally gets her dream of having a family. She has a doting husband and two kids with a beautiful home. However, when secrets from the past emerge, it threatens to tear apart the family Lolo has worked hard to create. Lolo will do whatever it takes to keep her family and dreams intact.

Rae, Lolo’s willful daughter, finds out she is adopted and learns that is just one of the few secrets that her family has been keeping from her. When Rae finds out that she is about to become a mother herself, she decides to address her past and her family. Will Rae be able to reconcile the truth over her family’s secrets?

I am on the fence for this book. The book was a hefty read and it took some time getting into the writing style. When we were first introduced to Grace, it took some time to understand the Southern dialect. As we get introduced to the later characters (Lolo and Rae), it was easier to read and get into the flow of things.  It was interesting to see how the different characters were connected but at times I was trying to understand the point of the book. Was it to show the demands of motherhood? Is it to show the lengths we go to for the ones we love? Or is it how hard it is and how long it takes before we come into our own? Or perhaps, the decades and generation long struggles of being a woman or a Black woman in society? Or is it the effects of generational trauma and how it affects the future? 

Each of the three main characters were unique and interesting. I didn’t like, though, that after Grace’s chapters were over that we never saw her again. I was interested in learning what happened to her and some of the characters in her story.  I felt attached to some of the characters and wanted to read more about them. I felt like their stories weren’t complete and were left unresolved. The three main characters didn’t really feel connected and their stories felt disjointed. The timelines were also confusing as characters would get older or we would be taken back in time but it wasn’t very clear.

The ending was a bit confusing to me as I didn’t quite comprehend what was going on. Did Grace and Rae finally connect with her blood family? I also didn’t quite understand the magical elements in the book. I felt like it took backstage in the middle until the very end. What was the purpose and role of the magical elements? The book is a powerful and emotional read but also has a lot of sad and depressing moments of how people and children were treated.

Book Review - The Plot - The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Michael Moreci

 

The Plot - The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Michael Moreci is about a man, Chase Blaine, who tried running from his family’s past. Chase wanted nothing to do with his family and their wealth. He wanted to live his own life without the weight of his family’s name burdening him. 

When his estranged older brother and sister in law unexpectedly dies, he has no choice but to come back home. He is the only living relative and becomes the guardian of his niece and nephew, MacKenzie and Zach. He decides to move them back to his childhood home in Cape Augusta. He doesn’t have enough space in his current apartment and he doesn’t want the children to live in the home where their parents were killed. Their ancestral home has been in the family for decades and is built on a remote and vast bogland. The home is filled with family secrets  that won’t stay buried forever.

The graphic novel was beautifully illustrated with dark and gloomy colors. The story behind the house and the family’s past was interesting but I felt like I was left with more questions than answers. I felt that the graphic novel hinted at a lot of mysteries and devious things but never actually spent any time explaining it.  I do wish that there was more plot and explanations in the first volume because I can see readers abandoning the series because there wasn’t a lot to keep them hooked. I am open to reading the next volume to see what happens next but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.

Book Review - More than Words by Mia Sheridan

 

More than Words by Mia Sheridan is about two young kids who fall in love and then meet years later. Eleven year old Jessica Creswell likes to believe in fairy tales and loves pretending that her life is a fairytale instead of the mess that it is currently. Her home life is fraught with her parents constantly fighting and bickering.  Her philandering father makes no effort to hide his affairs and her mother is in constant heartache. Jessica’s mother is so desperate for her husband to love her that she even tries to bring the kids into the mix. She would bring the kids to the hotels that her husband is staying in so the kids can see their father cheat on their mom.

Jessica wanders around her city to avoid spending time at home. She crosses paths with Callen Hayes when exploring the railroad tracks. She feels that he is her broken prince as he is also running away from something. Together, the pair find refuge with each other. Their hideout becomes their safe space from their troubled lives. They could be with each other and be themselves without any judgment. Things were going great until one day, Callen kissed her. It was Jessica’s first kiss and then he just disappeared from her world.

Years later, Callen Hayes went from the troubled boy from the wrong side of the tracks to a “somebody”. He is a famous composer and an infamous ladies man. The press loves to follow him and to witness his drunken antics.  Callen is troubled by his inner demons and he is usually able to quiet them with his music. However, lately he has been having issues with writing music which causes him to spiral out of control.

Callen’s agent decides that he needs some time off to recuperate and get his groove back. So, Callen and his friend decide to go to France to revel in the city. He wants to drink and sleep his way through the city. As Callen falls deeper into the darkness within himself, he crosses paths with Jessica. Jessica was the one who introduced Callen to music and inspired him. Callen feels drawn to her and hopes that she can inspire him to write again. However, the pair couldn’t be more different from each other. Will they be able to put their past hurt behind them?

I thought the book was an okay read but I didn’t care for it. It didn’t really have any unexpected twists or turns or plot points that weren't easy to guess. I did find it annoying in the book when Jessica was portrayed as innocent and Callen was the bad boy. That she had to save herself for him — couldn’t she also have been in a previous relationship and still be innocent? I also didn’t like that she kept calling him “my prince”, and then saying she would save him. To me, it made her character seem weak and more often than not. They both needed professional help, not “saving” by each other. I can’t say that I liked any of the characters in the book. The book also had a side plot of an ancient love story that Jessica was translating for work. I found myself more interested in that story than Jessica’s and Callen’s story line. 

The book also has things that don't seem plausible or made little sense to me. One of the main characters isn’t able to read. I find that hard to believe as someone who went to school and was born in the States couldn’t recognize any letters or words. How do they continue passing grades in school? Then during the end of one love scene, they just flushed a condom down the toilet. Almost everyone knows especially, a sex addict like Callen, that it doesn't make sense to do. Then Callen is a famous musical composer who is on the front page of every tabloid and international sensation. I have watched award shows and read the tabloids  but I can’t tell you a single time I have seen any musical composer who isn’t a singer featured. Personally, the book just seems like a fluff nonsensical read.

Book Review - Lake Silence by Anne Bishop

 

Lake Silence by Anne Bishop is about a human woman, Vicki DeVine, who is trying to get her life back in order after going through a divorce. Vicki was awarded her husband, Yorrick’s, family resort as part of her divorce settlement. She decides to fix up the place and open it up as a resort for both humans and Others alike. She hopes that she can get enough visitors to help support herself.

In this world, humans and animals are not the only beings that populate the world. There are extraordinary creatures that are called Others. They can be elemental, vampires, shape shifters, and even other scary things that go bump in the night.  The area that her resort is located on, Lake Silence, is controlled by these Others. Human laws do not apply here. It is something that every visitor and resident of Lake Silence must remember because if someone breaks the rules, they will face the consequences. 

As Vicki hopes to finish renovating the resort and start over, her lodger, Aggie Crowe, found a dead body on the property. Aggie is a member of the shape shifting Crow Other group. Vicki worries that the dead body would cause more trouble to be stirred up and may interfere with her renovating plans.

Detectives are called to the scene to help figure out who the victim is. As they investigate the murder, it is made very clear that nothing human could have killed the victim based on the condition the body was left in. However, the detectives still try to pin the death on Vicki. Vicki is desperate to prove that she is innocent and tries to find out who is behind the murder. As Vicki enlists her friends for assistance, it is discovered that someone has broken one of the rules set by the Others, and the Others will stop at nothing to enact punishment.

The novel is a standalone but takes place in the same world as another book series by the author. The book was easy to follow even though I am not familiar with the world. It did move a bit slowly with chapters after chapters of nothing happening. There were a few things I had to learn, like the days of the week in this fictional world, and the different types of Others. The author included a nifty section detailing some aspects of the world to make it easier for readers who are not familiar with her books and characters. I was confused that they put the “Lady of the Lake” on the cover as she was a minor character and didn’t really have much to do with the plot. It was a bit annoying because I had picked up this book based on the cover alone. I guess this teaches me not to judge a book by the cover.

The book started off okay but after a few chapters in I couldn’t stand Vicki DeVine. She was an annoying, blubbering fool. She sits there and feels sorry for herself yet does nothing. The only thing she does is talk about how “yummy” her vampire lawyer is and about various characters’ “vigorous appendages”. This novel reads like amateur and juvenile fan fiction.  Vicki’s behavior doesn’t seem like it would be something a grown woman in her thirties would be acting like. She constantly mentions the sex thoughts about the men around her.  Some of the other elements in the book are just plain laughable. For example, the “club” that the bad men belong to is called the “Tie Clip Club”. That name  seems like something a child came up with, and does not jive with the adult theme of the book.

If the book didn’t include Vicki, I would have enjoyed it alot more. She was a completely useless character and I found her annoying. She and other characters kept mentioning she had body issues and anxiety but the story never did anything to address them. Instead, Vicki would just shut down around men who were mean to her. And for some odd reason, men either acted cruel to her or treated her really nicely. Those same men are the ones who make all of her decisions. It feels at times, she is just a secondary character in her own story.  While I am in no rush in reading more of the author’s books, I will say that she is skilled in creating detailed worlds. In my opinion, her main characters were not so great.

Book Review - Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer

 

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer is about an American woman named Hannah Larson and her son, Nicky, finding buried secrets in an old English manor. Hannah and Nicky travel to Ashton Hall, a historic manor house outside Cambridge, England to stay with an ailing relative, who lives there. 

Hannah has given up her academic career to raise her son, who is neurodivergent and experiences the world differently. She is glad for the respite as she left her husband back in New York City. She is afraid what her next steps would be in her marriage after witnessing her husband commit a devastating act of adultery with someone else.

When the pair arrive at the manor, Hannah allows Nicky the freedom to explore the manor unsupervised. Nicky is good at noticing patterns and he was able to find a secret door hidden in the wallpaper. The door leads to a closed off wing and there Nicky finds the skeletal remains of a woman.

Hannah finds herself drawn to this mysterious woman’s story. She and another fellow researcher from the manor dig through personal papers and centuries old ledgers to piece together what happened to the corpse they discovered. As Hannah works to find out the truth, she finds her own life slowly unraveling.

I thought this was going to be a thriller or murder mystery novel as it was classified as a gothic mystery. Instead it was a boring and pointless book. The author goes into such mundane details about everything, that I found myself lulled to sleep while reading. The author would go into detail about what the person read or packed for lunch. However, even though we are given so many pointless details about everything else, we still don’t know what really happened to the dead woman. I think the book is more a research piece on how people lived back in that time period than anything else. 

I also didn’t care for any of the characters. Hannah spent so much time complaining about her husband’s affair and then dealing with his reaction to her confronting him.  Her son was also an unlikeable character. He gets violent to the point where Hannah fears for her safety and locks him in his room at night. She worries if she should tell others but never gives them any warning about his violent tendencies. If this book was billed as women’s contemporary fiction, I wouldn’t have been so disappointed.