Book Review: An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have so many Kelley Armstrong books.

I've collected them for years. I still remember the series that made me want to read everything from Kelley Armstrong. I was randomly searching through books from my city's digital library when I found a book called Omens. It seemed interesting enough so I borrowed it. I was done with it by that evening, after which I promptly tried to find the rest of the series and consumed it in its entirety by the end of the week.

After that, I randomly saw A Stitch in Time for sale at Subterranean Press and I got a copy, then got the rest of that series when it became available. I started collecting the Otherworld series, searching used bookstores and websites to find every novel and novella that had been published. Then I heard the news of an upcoming series from Armstrong, a book called A Rip Through Time. The title sounded similar to A Stitch in Time, so I thought it was a spinoff and promptly pre-ordered a copy. Easy enough mistake to make but I'm glad that it happened because I LOVE this series so much. Every book is better than the last, and this book, An Ordinary Sort of Evil, is everything I've been waiting to see in this series for the last several years. I can't wait for this book to be released because all the fans of this series is going to be so excited. I spent quite some time sitting with a goofy smile on my face and hearts in my eyes during passages of this book, followed closely with shocked eyes and mouth agape because Armstrong threw in a few unexpected tidbits that caught me by surprise. I want to read this whole series again, I want to read the NEXT book already because there has to be more coming, right? I'm so grateful that the novella is out next month, even though it will set between books #4 and #5, as long as I get to spend more time in this world. THAT is how much I love these books.

An Ordinary Sort of Evil is about Mallory Mitchell, a modern-day homicide detective who has traveled 150 years back in time and now inhabits the body of a housemaid. Mallory has managed to make a good life for herself in the past, filled with people she can trust. She works for Dr. Duncan Gray, an undertaker who has an interest in what is becoming the start of forensic science, and Detective Hugh McCreadie, Dr. Gray's best friend and a well-respected officer of the law. Together they solve the murder cases that McCreadie brings to Gray for help to solve them. They know Mallory's background and have her expertise to help them, trusting her because of the friendship they have developed since the events of book 1. One night, Duncan and Mallory are summoned to the house of one of Duncan's patrons. When they arrive, they are told that a seance had taken place and that the ghost of a missing maid appeared and requested Dr. Gray by name to investigate her death. Mallory and Gray aren't sure if a crime took place but they decide to investigate in the hopes of finding the young woman alive. As they work, they are drawn into a case that has many twists and dangers that they have to stay ahead of because the case is more complex than it first appeared to be.

When I first started reading book 1, I was afraid of one thing. I was worried that the lead, a homicide detective from modern times, would walk around in the past without working to change the way she is. I thought the character would blaze around the town, demanding answers, acting the way a modern woman would despite the fact that she was in the past which would have different customs and expectations. It makes me so grumpy when I read books in which a lead is put in a situation they know nothing about and instead of being cautious and careful, they stomp around like nothing is different. So when Mallory arrived in the past, I cheered when she continued in her role as a maid, trying to fit in while working to understand where she had ended up and how she could get back home. Her reasoning was that in the event that she ended up back in her own time and body, she would want to be sure that the young woman whose place she took could slip back into her past without finding that Mallory had destroyed her life. And I LOVED that.

Mallory is one of the greatest, most interesting female main characters I've ever seen and I adore reading about her. I search every year since the first book was released to see if there will be a new book about Mallory and so far, these books don't disappoint. I love the way Mallory's mind works, how she sees the world she's in, making comparisons to the present, pointing out history that has not taken place yet, enriching the world of the story for the reader. I love the banter she has with her friends, the way they trust and believe in her, the way they know that she is intelligent and a detective in her own right and how that helps them with their cases. I love Dr. Duncan Gray, the way he holds back when he speaks but has a weakness for pastries. I love the way he believes in Mallory, the confidence he has in her abilities, the way he protects his sisters and works in a job that he inherited, being an undertaker, even though he hates it. Gray is on one hand the classic example of a Victorian and on the other an open-minded man who is not afraid of what Mallory is, fiercely independent and exceedingly intelligent. They are a match made in book heaven and their connection is what has kept me coming back to read these books, 5 novels and soon to be 3 novellas by my count so far.

I love Isla, Gray's sister, and Hugh, the detective best friend. They are the perfect companions to the two leads of this series, and together, this quartet of characters are so much fun to read about as they work on their cases together. Eccentric in the best ways and a found family that includes so many other interesting characters. After the last book, I was thinking to myself that it had been a while since we'd seen the rest of the Gray household so I was happy that so many favorites had moments in this book. Alice, the young maid with a questionable past, made an appearance with her new wildcat kitten rescued in the last adventure. Miss Wallace, the housekeeper, was around to keep Mallory on her toes. Simon, the groomsman, was the quiet support in the background, available for the many tasks and assistance that his employers needed. And we can't forget about Jack, the latest addition to the house who now works as a maid, who is also a self-described journalist who works with Isla to write out chronicles about Mallory and Duncan's adventures, which are apparently gaining popularity among a large variety of readers. Every character is enjoyable in their own way and to see them all again was such a pleasure after the last book had the main quartet out in the country for a wedding.

The main mystery of this book was an intriguing twist. I thought the idea of trying to solve a murder that no one knows for sure took place was the perfect new plot for Mallory and Gray to tackle. The idea of ghosts and spiritualism was something that gained a lot of popularity in the Victorian era, especially with Queen Victoria's interest in it, so it was definitely a draw to see how Mallory and Gray work on a case that has so many reveals that come about because of it. Also, the cameos that Armstrong placed in this book left me gobsmacked. I mean, the first big reveal was fun and I thought wow, that was unexpected but that final reveal just threw me for a loop, it was so unexpected and yet it made me giddy with laughter and FINE, okay universe, I get it, I'm going back to try reading some particular works of literature again. I swear, I say one time in a review that I don't particularly like something and then one of my new favorite books does something like THIS and okay, fine, I'll read them again. I can't be more specific than that without giving it away and that reveal is just utter perfection. Ugh, I'm still not over it.

Finally, the title of this book. I have not really thought to reflect on the titles of these books, they're usually sufficient in the sense that they perfectly encapsulate the plot of the novel and that's all there is to it. But this title, that phrase, just, I don't know if I can put it into words. When it hit in the story, I felt my stomach drop or maybe my heart turned over, just the impact that it made, a bittersweet melancholy that made me wistful and yet heartsick at the way it was used. It elevated this book just that much more compared to the rest of the series and for that, I want to shout off the rooftops about how utterly brilliant this installment was, it is just that great. I just finished talking to my Dad about this book because I bought these for him and he's catching up on the story and he LOVES these books too and until more people in our family read these, he's the only one I can talk to about how much I adored this book and have him understand because he feels the same way about these characters. I didn't spoil it though. I'm not that cruel. Still, the sentiment remains, readers will absolutely love this installment, I'm confident about that fact. I hope this series has many more books to come. Please, I beg of you, let this series continue for years to come, I love this world and its people so much.

Rating on my Scale: 10 STARS!!! Read this series and then come and read this book and revel in the reveals and the twists and the developments because this series is perfect for mystery lovers. I love these books and I will be reading these again and again for years. Please read these books so Kelley Armstrong can continue writing for this world and we readers can continue to have the opportunity of watching Mallory and Gray solve mysteries in Victorian Scotland. Then they can read everything else by Armstrong and we readers can continue to get great books from her for as long as she is able to write and we are able to read. A win-win for everyone if you ask me.

Book Review: Heartsong by S.E. Wendel

My thanks to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and S.E. Wendel for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What caught my attention first was the beautiful cover art. The blues and purples accentuated by the pinks and oranges mixed in the clouds behind the couple. I stopped in my tracks while I was looking at new reads and looked at the synopsis. The reference to Ruby Dixon sealed the deal. I took the chance to find a new author and I'm so glad I did because this was sweet and steamy and in the end, so interesting because a good romance has to have enough story to draw you in for a series if that's the goal and this one passed with flying colors.

Heartsong has gargoyles, or more accurately grotesques, on display in a special museum owned by an eccentric couple. Anna works at this museum, taking care of the visitors by giving tours and taking care of the front desk at a job that is almost too good to be true. She's happy with her job and interested in the museum pieces, specifically a warrior that is slate grey in color. Anna calls this one her statue and takes her breaks and lunches near him when she has the chance. Masked commandos storm the museum one night that Anna is working late and Anna ends up touching her statue as she is trying to escape. He comes to life and whisks her away to safety, calling her his mate, his heartsong. Frey tells her about a fae queen who stole the magic that created his people, turning many of them into the statues that are now on display at her job. Now Anna has to try to help Frey adapt to the modern world while trying to figure out how to help the rest of the statues that were once his people. All while trying to understand the connection she has to the warrior Frey.

I loved this book. It was everything I expected for a monster romance and it kept my attention through every twist and turn it took. I'm hoping for more news about the projected sequel soon. I found the world-building interesting, the story about how Frey was created to help the Druids fight against invaders for several centuries. It sounded like a legend that could have been passed down for generations. The hook about how a fae queen stole their magic back and forced them to become statues for fifteen hundred years was tragic and I was quickly drawn in to the entire mythology built for this book. I wanted to understand everything and I was happy to go along for the ride. This is my first book from Wendel and I was impressed with the writing skill, the easy flow of the writing and the chemistry between the leads. Nothing felt clunky, threads were woven and then came together seamlessly, the reveals were earned and nothing felt out of place. As a result, I'm looking into more works by Wendel to start reading to tide me over until book 2 is released.

Anna was an intriguing character, a woman who is suffering from chronic pain in the form of debilitating migraines that she is slowly trying to get under control with the help of medical care she finally has access to because of her job. I thought this was unique because so many heroines in these stories are young and healthy, thin and maybe awkward but Anna felt like a real woman with real issues. She's a little bigger than the average woman, has struggled to build a life for herself with the problems that arise from having to live a life with chronic pain holding you back. I enjoyed the fact that Anna had childhood issues keeping her from opening up, that hold her back from trusting people and that it was part of journey to learn that she deserved good things and that it was safe to trust someone when they proved that they could be trusted. It worked at keeping me rooting for Anna to get her happily ever after.

Frey was fun, a bit of a jerk at the start of the book but quick to learn and adapt. He was once a well-respected warrior, arrogant and bullheaded, and now he is determined to protect his love from everything, even herself, no matter what. I loved how he butted heads with Anna, how he thought he was making all the right moves and had to sit back and learn when she didn't fall over swooning when the reality was that he had made an ass of himself. Frey was a sweetheart with good intentions and I enjoyed watching him learn to read Anna, to understand that he needed to hear her side and take in what she said. Their dynamic made their connection feel earned. I've read many "fated lovers" stories leave the development of the romance to rest on the idea of being fated instead of showing how that is only the first ingredient to a good love story. The characters still have to make the choice to work together and make their connection worth it in order for their story to resonate and I loved that this book showed that.

My only complaint was with the reveal about the villain. The mastermind behind the breach at the museum seemed a little off, not enough to feel like a threat. After everything that had happened in the book, it came off as a bit of a letdown. I'm not sure what I was expecting but the way it was left definitely shows that this is the first book in a series. There will be more development in later books and more answers revealed, I know that, I just really didn't care about the whys for the villain, or really anything for the villain. It's just that for now, the way this was revealed, the villain turned out to be the weakest link of the story. Still, it led to some interesting reveals for the whole book so I will be reading the prequel novella Stone Hearts, within the month.

I also adore when authors provide glossaries and chapter notes to enhance their story. I greatly appreciate an author showing the effort that they made to expand their world with real sources that I can see for myself. It really helps with the world-building and just in appealing to my senses as a reader. I'm the type of reader who enjoys footnotes and having a romance novel with that kind of information added in makes my heart sing. Read this book if you love monster romances that have realistic leads and prove that love takes work. I hope this series is going to have lots of books in the future.

Rating on my scale: 9 Stars. Seriously, this is a VERY respectable read. I loved it, I just feel really annoyed about the villain. They seemed to have too much power for very little page time and I want more definitive dealings with getting rid of them. I'll have to wait and see how they deal with them but here's hoping it's not drawn out. So far, they are not interesting enough to make me care about their devious plans. But I loved the couple and I want to know what happens with the next leads for book 2.

Book Review: Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Nancy Springer for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gentle Reader, I can remember it like it was yesterday, the moment I discovered the Enola Holmes series. I was perusing some entertainment sites, as I was wont to do in the mornings before getting out of bed, when I saw a headline about a new film adaptation in the works. The article spoke about the new undertaking and how it would be based on the Enola Holmes books, a series that follows the adventures of a heretofore unmentioned younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. Color me intrigued because any mention of a Holmes adjacent or even related work is enough to garner my interest. So I went in search of the books at my library, downloaded the entire series and set to reading.

I loved those books with every fiber of my being. I've read the original six books three times each and have read the new books each at least twice. I have an autographed title sheet of the book Enola Holmes and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets. I bought the entire previously released set of books, nine total, for my Dad last year and he is slowly working his way through them. (I also bought the entire original series for my sister but the scoundrel has yet to read them, I doubt she even knows their location, confound it.) I have also watched the movies based on the books countless times by this point, they are just a set of movies I sometimes put on late at night when I want something sunny to brighten my mood. I will also say that I had previously tried searching for news of another Enola Holmes adventure, but my search proved for naught for I found nothing to indicate that another adventure would be provided ever again. Which cemented my disappointment, dear reader, for I felt that the last Enola book was not the ending the series deserved.

THIS in the ending the series deserved.

And now without further ado, the rest of the review.

Enola Holmes has just finished attending the service of her former landlady when she hears the sound of a bell ringing. Needing to find the source of the unusual sound, she searches the cemetery until she finds the bell attached to a new headstone with a line leading into the ground of the freshly dug grave beneath it. Summoning help, Enola unearths a young woman, Trevina Trairom, who after her ordeal has lost her memory and Enola, spurred to help the lost, decides to take Trevina home with her and endeavors to help her regain her memory and find out why she was buried alive. At the same time, her brother Sherlock has come into conflict with Professor Moriarty, which leaves Enola on her own, as always, to figure out what had befallen Trevina to lead her to such a tragic fate. As the story continues, Enola proves once and for all, her rightful place as an honorable member of the Holmes family alongside her respectable siblings.

I can still remember the feeling of disappointment I had when I reached the end of Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose. I read my little review over again and still feel how meh I felt about the epilogue, which usually gave enough of a wrap-up from either Enola or Sherlock that I would feel somewhat buoyed by the parting sentiment from those last few pages. That was not the case with the last book and I immediately went searching for news that there would be another book. If I remember correctly, and obviously I was wrong because here is the book, but I could have sworn I saw some statements that indicated there would not be another publication. I distinctly remember that and it was in my last review, so it was SOMEWHERE, but now it's false so I guess it doesn't matter anyhow.

If you'll allow me, I'll explain a little more about my fascination with all things Holmes adjacent. You see, a long time ago, I took a class at university entitled, Detective Fiction and Film. Part of the syllabus had students reading some of the original Sherlock Holmes adventures and I'm sorry to say, I did not care for them. I'll wait a moment for the sounds outrage or disbelief to end and now I will say, I KNOW, they just didn't really click with me and I haven't read them since. Still, it has not discouraged me from finding other books that are Sherlock related for me to enjoy. If it has something mildly related to the lore and is a mystery, I'll try it. Which is why a series of books about the much younger sister of the Holmes siblings seemed to be the perfect fit for me. And it turned out that it was and continues to be a favorite series of mine. I'm also so ecstatic to report that this book turned out to be everything I expected for one last hurrah for a favorite character.

In this book, Enola does what she does best, takes in the lost and tries to help them. In this case, the intriguing story of Trevina and her mysterious fate was enough to keep me invested in this book. I literally started reading it last night and finished it this afternoon. Somewhere in the time there I managed to eat, drink, sleep and take care of my kids but yes, I finished this book in a day. I loved every thought that passed through Enola's head. She's a smart young woman who follows the teachings of her mother and manages to one-up her siblings by being brilliant at what she does. She's a master of disguise, plans her clothes to allow for hidden weapons on her person and has amassed a rather large amount of allies, people who are willing to do whatever it takes to help her succeed. By this point in the series, readers should be familiar with Harold, the cab driver, Joddy, the boy in buttons, Mrs. Hudson, Mary Watson and even Florence Nightingale. Each has their own part to play as Enola tries to understand the mastermind villain that would abuse their niece and leave her buried in a cemetery.

I want to talk more about the plot but there has to be a point I don't cross and I can't say more without giving the entire story away. Suffice to say, every clue made me that much more invested in this story. I did not want to stop reading for anything and I'm happy that the experience of reading this was quick even if I wish there was more to read. Still, when I reached the final sentences of the epilogue of this book, I wanted to lift my hands up and cheer. I've already gone back to read it twice more because it was the perfect ending to the series. If this book is actually, well and truly, the LAST Enola Holmes adventure, well then reader, I am supremely satisfied.

Reader, if anything, go back and read this entire series. If you like the movies, you'll love these books. Each adventure is different and fun and Enola is a wonderful character to read about as she grows up into an accomplished perditorian, or a finder of lost things and people. It was a long time coming to this end but it was all worth it to read those final words. Nancy Springer, hats off to you, well done, and bravo.

Rating on my Scale: 10 STARS!!! I loved, loved, LOVED this final book of Enola Holmes and I can't wait to have my copy join its companions on my shelves (even though it has yet another cover redesign, but fine, beggars can't be choosers.) Buy this book for any fan of the mystery genre, that's how much I loved this book and the series overall. And now I bid you adieu, gentle reader, and Happy Halloween!

Book Review: Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

My thanks to Netgalley, Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore and Heather Fawcett for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I'm going to try something new here with my review, one line to CONVINCE you to read this book. Are you ready for this one line wonder?

Howl's Moving Castle but with CATS!!

No, I'm serious, if that had been the line someone told me to convince me to read this book, those would be the magical words, the pìece de résistance that would have made me clasp my hands together and fall to my knees because yes, that is a book I NEED.

And Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter did not disappoint.

Oh, how I LOVED this book. It was sweet, and charming, romantic and funny and filled with cats coming out of the dark corners and alleys everywhere in this book and I want to be a volunteer at Agnes' cat sanctuary, do you think she'd let me help? I came away from this book half convinced to start my own charity with the aim to get cats adopted and then I thought wait, how about volunteer at the humane society? After which I came to my senses because I barely have time to SLEEP, how exactly do I have the time to manage a one woman crusade to rescue cats? THAT is what this book did to me. I can't wait to see it take over and conquer reader's hearts, one cat toe bean at a time.

Agnes Aubert has made it her life's mission to rescue every cat she can find on the streets of Montreal. After a duel between two wizards leaves her original shelter with a hole in the wall, she is forced to relocate to a shop that turns out to be too good to be true. The owner of her new shop space is Havelock Renard, a wizard who tried to bring about the apocalypse a few years earlier and who also runs an illicit magic shop in the same space, and the cat shelter is now in place to hide his activities from authorities. As the two come to work together to make Agnes's dream of expanding her cat shelter a reality and getting homes in place for every cat in the city, a dangerous wizard from Havelock's past returns, determined to take everything from Havelock that they possibly can. Agnes now has to work with Havelock to save her shelter, his shop and the possibility of something more for the both of them together in the future.

I love Agnes. This is a no-nonsense, list-making, type-A personality that spoke to the depths of my soul. Here was a woman who looked at a problem and created a solution, a cat shelter to help cats get adopted. She even has a deal in place with a veterinarian to get them treated and ready for their forever homes! That alone shows so much initiative, even if she does sometimes seem to be too focused on getting her cats off the streets and safe. Seriously, there was a cat called Your Majesty that I would have foisted off on my worst enemy ages ago but Agnes was too kind to do that. I loved Agnes and her sister Èlise, who understood her sister without the two having to exchange any words. Their relationship felt so real, I was reminded of my own sister and the easy way we have of knowing what the other is thinking and oh, I loved these two on the page together.

Havelock Renard is Howl re-imagined, I can't say it enough. This was a wizard with so much power but was reluctant to let people get to know him. The fact that he was allergic to cats but never forced Agnes out of the shop said a lot about his character. I loved the surly attitude and yet the show of how he cared for the few people he held dear and his back and forth with Agnes made me smile. Basically, Havelock's interactions with everyone made me smile, from his sarcasm with dealing with Èlise to his careful care to dealing with Yannick, his apprentice, to the way he handled the villain of the work, Havelock was the perfect foil to Agnes. His reservation made sense and his shop was so interesting and the fact that it was disorganized made me wait in anticipation of Agnes entering his space and getting it into order.

The villain of the piece was interesting despite their not having spent that much time on the page. The ending that came about for them made me smile though so there is that, which was funny because I wanted something big to happen to them and yes, what it came to made me feel satisfied. The world building was interesting, the way that magic worked for wizards, how they created spells and artifacts and what magic meant to them was so intriguing. It was easy to grasp and made sense and it felt like something believable.

But the best parts, for me, involved the few patrons that adopted the cats in the book. They came in and bonded with cat that spoke to them, and their words of wonder at finding a companion made me feel like I'd found my people. Cat people will read this book and feel a kinship to Agnes and the people who come to her to find a new member of their family. Readers will read the description of each cat and their perfect names and have their favorites and maybe even think they can find a cat like that out here in the real world. This book was a warm hug and a cat to keep you company and it was the perfect read for the autumn season.

Read this book. Seriously, if you love Howl and you love cats, this is the book that will fit in with your favorites on a shelf. I loved every moment of this book so much, I wish there would be more adventures with Agnes and Havelock in the future. At least I have the Emily Wilde books to keep me company, and there are THREE of those to read. Also, it probably goes without saying but I will now read everything I can find by Heather Fawcett.

Rating on my scale: 10 Stars! Love, love, love this book. I hope everyone loves it too. That is all, happy readers!

Book Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

My thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Marissa Meyer for the audiobook of this work in exchange for a review.

A long time ago, I tried to read Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I'm not sure what it was that happened but I ended up putting the book down. A few years later, I saw that Meyer had continued with her series of retellings and randomly picked up Scarlet and started to read. I finished the book by lunchtime. I finished Cress and Winter by the next day and then finally picked Cinder up and tried it again. I LOVED the last 3 books of the series but I only just liked the first one. It's just the way things go sometimes with books. You can love some books from an author but sometimes one book of theirs just doesn't click with you the way you expect it to and that is perfectly fine. Unfortunately, that was the case with The House Saphir and me.

The House Saphir follows Mallory Fontaine, a young woman who has made a living giving tours through the Saphir house in her town, the site where the Count Bastien Saphir murdered his first wife. Mallory calls herself an expert, she knows all the details about the mansion. She's also a fraud, working with her sister to sell fake spells to patrons, and setting up the house to scare her customers in the hopes of getting a good tip at the end. But her fortunes change when Armand, heir of the Saphir line, comes looking for the Fontaine sisters, hoping they can help him to rid the country manor of the ghost of the Count himself, who came back through the veil some years earlier. Mallory sees this as the perfect opportunity to get enough money for herself and her sister. Who cares if the only thing Mallory is able to do is talk to ghosts? She'll make sure that Armand believes she's a witch who can get rid of the ghost, no matter what it takes. But when another murder happens on the property while the sisters are there, Mallory is forced to figure out who is behind it. Is it the ghost of Monsieur Le Bleu, or is the murderer someone mortal on the property? And does Mallory have enough witch in her to put a stop to it before someone else dies?

The story of Bluebeard has been used in a few retellings, following a man known for marrying his wives and then killing them in some bloody manner. When I heard that Meyer was working on her own retelling, I waited for the right opportunity to preorder a copy. I thought it would be a great mix, Meyer, an author whose retellings I'd been keeping up with for years and Bluebeard, a bloody fairytale just waiting to be retold again. For all intents and purposes, I did LIKE this book. At the same time, there are things that held me back from LOVING this book, which bums me out so much.

The first thing that bugged me about this book was the lead, Mallory Fontaine. Oh good grief, I wanted to wring this child's neck. She drove me absolutely bonkers. Every action of hers was motivated by her greed, her intent was to swindle anyone and everyone. When confronted with the truth, she still made every claim that it had nothing to do with what she had done and while I listened to this audiobook, I found myself talking back to this kid, griping at her, snapping when she'd done yet something else that made me want to throw my hands up in despair. I might have banged my head on the counter a few times because please, let me smack her, just once, she needs to get her head straight, she can't possibly be this obstinate, there has to be something redeemable about her. And yet no, the hits just kept coming with this girl, I rolled my eyes so much I think I pulled a muscle. I tried to give credit to Meyer for an unlikable lead that would get some kind of redeeming story arc but honestly, by the end of the book, I barely tolerated her, it was the characters around her that made her into something a little better. Since the book is from Mallory's point of view, it was difficult to finish it. I wanted to put this down so many times but I stuck it out because I wanted to know if the twist I'd thought of was correct and I liked the ghosts of the murdered wives. Even Mallory's sister, Anais, did nothing to redeem Mallory. If Anais wasn't stealing the many shiny things that caught her attention, then she was just there to let Mallory repeat over and over that they were there at the mansion to get their money, it didn't matter that they couldn't help Armand, the money was all that mattered. Excuse me while I get something to bang my head against, won't be a moment.

The next thing that just didn't work for me was the romance. When Armand is introduced, it seemed like he could be an interesting character. Here was a guy who mostly understood who Mallory was, a young woman who had been trespassing on his property for who knows how long, conducting tours based on his murderous ancestor. But the moment the Fontaine sisters end up on the property, Armand is not given as much development as he needed to make him interesting. He has an interest in plants, which is "different", I guess because what kind of wealthy young man takes the time to learn about plants and then grows his own? Armand is worried about becoming something like his ancestor and what is left of his staff seem to treat him like family but every moment he spends with Mallory is filled with lingering glances and attempts to spend time one on one with her and I'm sitting here thinking why is this moving so fast? Where is the banter that makes a reader smile and yearn and maybe even swoon? The effort might have been there from Armand at times but Mallory is such a drag, it all falls to the side. When Mallory starts to reflect on how handsome Armand is, just randomly and out of the blue sometimes, it felt shoehorned in because it needed to be there, not because the romance was developing at a natural pace. Both of these characters could have been more. I'm sorry their story didn't resonate enough with me to like them together.

I liked the ghosts of the dead wives but there wasn't a lot of them on the page. I liked the background of the Fontaine sisters but it feels like there is a lot of story missing there. Maybe Meyer is saving that for companion pieces but who knows? I liked the reveals about certain plot points involving the ghost and his intentions but the overall impression of Monsieur Le Bleu was that he was just a bad guy, that was it. The book overall felt very surface level, maybe barebones, without enough to make the story really feel intriguing. It's just there and meh, and that makes me feel so tired because I wanted this to be absolutely brilliant. I know Meyer has the ability to make me love her books but this one just made me feel like it tried too hard to make Mallory not like other girls and characters like that just bug me. In the end, what saved this for me was everything except the main plot and that is not enough to make me a fan of the book.

The audiobook was an interesting experience for me. While I liked narrator Rebecca Soler, I continuously felt like I didn't know what the time period of the book was. Soler had a very clear and distinct way of speaking but for me, it made the book feel like it was set in modern times. Also, every now and then, there were moments where lines were looped in that sounded different from the original production. The story would be flowing and then suddenly the voice sounded like it was closer than it was before, louder too, which was jarring enough to make me stop the book and rewind it so I could listen to it again. I know there is a lot that goes into the production of audiobooks and I am very grateful for all the work the narrator and the team go through to make this audiobook available for readers. If anyone part of that process reads this point, I hope it helps with making future audiobooks sound a little smoother with the transitions in piecing together the audio sessions. It just needs a little tweaking to make it sound seamless, otherwise it was great work.

Rating on my scale? 4 Stars. It started out strong enough, it felt like it would be my kind of book, but then Mallory proved over and over again that she was not a girl I was going to click with and it all went downhill from there. Read if you want to see a new take on the Bluebeard tale but be wary of girls determined to prove they're master con artists when the reality is far from that.

Book Review: Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik

My thanks to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Jessie Mihalik for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I just finished reading this book and there is only one thought repeating itself in my head: Jessie Mihalik, you have outdone yourself!

I have been reading books by Jessie Mihalik since the 2019 release, Polaris Rising, book 1 of the Consortium Rebellion trilogy. If my memory is right, I was wandering around my local bookstore when the cover art caught my eye. I was ready to try something new and the synopsis hooked me. Now here we are, six years later, and I've bought every Mihalik book in paperback and eBook since and read each at least three times or more. Yes, I need to read the original trilogy that Mihalik released but I look at things this way: Silver & Blood is not out until January 2026, which means the 2nd book could be a year out from there, totaling 15 months in which I am waiting for the next book. More than enough time to have some Mihalik books I haven't read to keep me company. And there's some novellas too that might last me to this Thanksgiving. All to say this: it's going to be a long wait to book 2.

Silver & Blood is about Riela, who has been living on her own for a long time before her powers as a mage suddenly appeared. Now she has agreed to her village's insistence that she go into the woods to kill the monster that has been attacking her foolish neighbors at night. When Riela finds more monsters than she had anticipated, she's rescued by a handsome mage and his trusted wolf. She ends up a guest in Garrick's castle where she hopes to learn how to control her power. As time goes on, Riela finds out that Garrick is an exiled king, stuck on this side of a magical door that leads to Lohka, where the rest of the Etheri are and where he sent the rest of his court before they were trapped with him. Now Riela, with her growing magical talent, has to work with Garrick to understand where her magic came from and how to get the door open before the Blood King, who trapped Garrick in this world, manages to capture Riela and her magic for himself. As they start to fall for each other, the truth about Riela's origins threaten the tenuous ties between them and Riela's hopes for the future.

First of all, for me this had a lot of Beauty and the Beast vibes, so right there that cemented this as an absolute awesome book for me. Also, within a day of Riela becoming a guest at Garrick's castle, she finds a massive magical library. Seriously, a book can't go wrong when it gives you a magical library. With that said, the world of this book started to fill in and kept me hooked trying to understand the hows and the whys of everything going on. I found it interesting that Riela was a seemingly ordinary woman until a flood that threatened to wipe out her village caused her magic to suddenly manifest, allowing her to save them by forcing the water to go around their homes. The fact that she's an older protagonist is definitely a plus, because Riela was able to think logically when she had to stop and take stock of her surroundings and what was going on. She had fits of temper, don't get me wrong, but she was able to reflect on her situation and try to work out things for herself and I like that in the leads of a good romantasy book. Most of the book follows Riela's perspective with a handful of chapters from Garrick's point of view, showing how the king has become wary in isolation and how he perceives Riela with her magic and her connection to the Etheri. Their development worked individually and as a couple and I loved their banter and their fights because a good couple needs to be able to fight and then come back together stronger than before. By the time the final line hit, I had a massive grin on my face and just about fell over. I even wanted to cheer a little because THAT is how well that ending hit for me. It just stuck the landing and judging gives it 10 points for perfect execution, form and technique.

As for the world itself, I was very intrigued at the the way the castle and the forest worked for the setting. It turns out that anything magical that enters the forest is unable to leave it again because of a curse that was placed on it by some powerful Etheri sovereigns. The idea was to keep humans safe from the monsters that wandered through the trees and the Etheri who had no problem taking humans for pets. That definitely colors the impression of these magical people, who have apparently been thought to have gone out of existence because they hadn't been seen in at least a century. It all lends a tragic slant to the story because all Riela wants to do is go back to the home that has the memory of her father in it and now she can't step past the treeline. It also lends a sort of urgency to Riela wanting to master her magic so that she can see if there is some way for her to return to the life that she once had. The creatures that live in the woods were also interesting in the sense that they gave the right amount of a threat to keep Riela in the castle where it was safest without it being just a convenient way to keep the main couple together. I appreciate books that give the couple the distance they need to find their way back to each other. It makes the connection feel earned instead of just simple, and it's stronger as a result.

Side characters were well-developed, even the ones not directly seen on the page. The Blood King is only mentioned by the people in the book and I already hate him with a fiery passion. I know once he makes his appearance on the page in book 2, I'm going to have a hard time watching what he does to the leads of the first book. All of that already and I have not even been formally introduced to the guy yet. I loved Grim and the people of the Silver Court and the little glimpses seen of Riela's parents when she spoke of them and her loss. The cast was lovely and I hope to see more of them in the coming books.

Mihalik is talented as a writer. I have been coming back to read Mihalik's books for years because I know that I will end up loving the couple at the center of every adventure. This is the first time I've read the more fairytale/fantasy based work by Mihalik but if this is the direction she's going to continue to move in, I'm all for it. Past series had each book focus on a separate couple that was part of a found family type of situation but I don't think that will be the case here. There might be a dual storyline situation in the next book but that just might be me trying to hope for too much. If anything, as long as there is a chance for more books, other leads might take the center stage after this initial conflict of the Blood King is resolved. But I'm getting too far ahead of myself. If you are a fan of Mihalik's past works, this is a book you NEED to read. If you like the romantasy trend in the book world right now, this book is right up your alley. It is filled with everything that makes these books great like forced proximity for the leads, a magical castle that tries to do what you say and a beautiful library that is out of a dream. What more can readers ask for in their next romantasy read?

Rating on my Scale: I've had time to sit with this a few hours and I'm giving it 10 Stars. I just loved everything about it and I know that I will read this again once I have my copy in my hands. The wait is going to be long until book 2 is finally out but I will be here, sitting patiently, until that moment arrives.

Book Review: The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri

My thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Tasha Suri for the audiobook of this work in exchange for a review.

Full disclosure: I heard of this book because of V.L. Bovalino. I saw pictures of Bovalino with Tasha Suri talking about their upcoming books together and that they were touring together for their books. Since I loved The Second Death of Locke, I looked into what information was available for The Isle in the Silver Sea. It sounded interesting so I added it to my list of books I want to read. When I saw this was available to listen to, I decided to take a chance to see if I could get approved. I was so excited when I got the email and immediately started carving time out of my day to devote to listening to this book. I can say with the upmost certainty, this was a wonderful book. I'm so grateful I already pre-ordered a copy because I'm going to go through it and read over passages to relive this book again. It was engaging and unique and I enjoyed this book so much.

In the alternate Britain of The Isle in the Silver Sea, the country is literally fueled by its stories. As a result, these stories are reborn again and again, for centuries now, forcing people, known as incarnates, to relive the fates inscribed in the words of those stories. The story of the Knight and the Witch is one of those stories, about a pair that fall in love with each other and then die tragically. Simran is the new witch of this story and Vina is now the Knight. They have just met, they know the end of their story, and while Vina has more or less accepted her fate, Simran wants to fight it. As they start to trust each other, maybe even fall for each other, they meet a mysterious assassin who has been killing off off incarnates. Now Simran and Vina have to find a way to rewrite their story so that it is strong enough to change their doom and finally give them a chance to find a way to reach their future and choose each other without it being part of a story.

I loved these two women. There's no other way about it, Simran and Vina are delightful. I loved the sass from Simran and the self-deprecating humor from Vina. Both had led interesting lives up to the point that they finally meet. They understood who they were going to be and yet they were able to be their fates and that much more. Simran was devoted to the family she had created for herself and the family she left behind when she realized her fate as the Witch of the tale. It made her both devoted and tragic. Vina was raised in the castle, constantly told about the fate she was meant for, and while her childhood was not as loving as Simran's, she still managed to hold on to a sense of honor and loyalty to the friends she was raised with, Edmund and Matthias, fellow knights in the castle. After Simran and Vina meet, they're slowly forced to come together again and again, as the Eternal Queen in charge of Britain is determined to gather all the incarnates together in the palace to avoid losing any more of them to the assassin. There is also a group known as the archivists who work for the queen, trying to preserve the stories and ensure that they continue to play out again and again without any variations. It's all intricate and interesting and I wish there was more to this because I still have so many questions.

That brings me to the world building. As much as I loved the characters, I still have so MANY questions about this world. How many stories are there? How many have been lost because of the assassin? What made these stories start their never-ending cycles? How does the existence of these stories effect the land? Because when a story dies as a result of one of the incarnates being killed, the land the story fuels is apparently wiped from existence and I still have so many questions about this. Also, who created the archivists? Because at the start of every chapter, there is a piece of writing that talks about the world and the tales and each of these little inserts is given a judgement by the archivists to either be kept or destroyed and where did this group come from? Why do they have so much control? Are they loyal to the crown or just loyal to the overall story of the Isle? Where did they learn what they do and how many ways have they changed things to fit the narrative they have created for the Isle? I was hooked on all of it but I'm a stickler for details and I wanted MORE. That's why I want to read this again, so I can go chapter by chapter and make notes to be sure I understand everything that Tasha Suri put in this book.

A long time ago, let's say it was, well, never mind about the timing, moving on, I took a class in college called King Arthur Through the Ages. I studied various stories focused on the legend of King Arthur and the many knights of the round table and the stories that were linked to them. Thanks to that, I was able to parse out some of the things Suri put into this book, like the names Elaine and Morgaine, and the legends that are tied with them. There are other things I recognized but I feel that veers into spoiler territory and I try very hard not to spoil books for readers if I can help it. Still, that knowledge helped to fill in just that much more of this book and as a result, I really want to know every inspiration that Suri used to build this book. I want to be able to find all those sources and read them for myself and then I want to dig through this book and put all the pieces together. It's a puzzle, the pieces are there and it's been solved but I want to understand the process of getting to the solution and ugh, the questions, I just want to know more.

I was hooked from the synopsis. The tale of The Knight and the Witch seemed so interesting and I wanted to be able to read it. If Tasha Suri is taking suggestions, I would love to see a complete volume of all the stories that are mentioned in this book. Besides the tales, it could also give information about the various people who have been forced to relive the tale, the part of the land it fuels, maybe even the sources Suri used to build her ideas for each tale. Hand on my heart, I would ADORE having a book like that about this world. That's how many questions I still have that I want to figure out. I also kind of wish this book had footnotes, just to provide a little more for readers like me.

The complaints I have is that one, I'm still not sure about the time period for this book. It felt like it could have been set in it's own world but then the setting would change and it would feel different and I had to take a second to reset what I thought was happening and then continue. Two is that I wanted just  little more time to develop the connection between Vina and Simran. They spend a lot of their time on a quest to save Simran's adopted family, Harry, from the assassin and the actual time for them to fall in love felt like it was sped up a bit to fit with the time frame of the book. And maybe three is that I'm still questioning the magic system and the way stories fuel the Isle and I want to know more, and I'm going to keep repeating that because argh, I have a NEED to know more. I'm a reader, it means that if something catches my attention, I will go and research it and find everything I can and then have that in my mind to inform everything else I read from there. It's a cycle of my own that I willingly let myself get sucked into and that is perfectly fine because expanding my knowledge is a useful endeavor.

Still, I highly recommend this book. If you love sapphic knights, legends and found family dynamics, this is the book for you. I also plan on reading everything else I can find by Tasha Suri so I thank this book for bringing Suri to my attention.

Before I forget, Shiromi Arserio is AMAZING as the narrator for this audiobook. There is a musical quality to the way she reads, which made it easy to get lost in the book. I found myself listening to lines again because she has a way of conveying the feelings of the characters so that it was easy for me to go along for the ride. I actually cheered at the reappearance of a character in part 2 because I was so swept up in how Arserio was performing the book. I'm adding Shiromi Arserio to the list of audiobook narrators I'm collecting for books to listen to because I love the performances they give. The entire production was well-made, clear and concise and the perfect audiobook to listen to whenever I could squeeze in the time to listen (and let's be honest, I even listened to this book when I was supposed to be doing anything else because I couldn't stop, this book and it's narrator had me hooked). Hachette Audio did a wonderful job with this production and I will now be looking into other audiobooks from this publisher.

Rating on my Scale: 9 Stars. I would give 10 but there are some minor quibbles and I want to be sure that people understand there might be some things in the book that could irk them. Still, this is a beautiful, unique story that I'm so grateful I got the chance to read. I can't wait for my book to arrive in the mail so I can read it all over again.

Book Review: Red City by Marie Lu

My thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Marie Lu for the audiobook of this work in exchange for a review.

I've been reading books by Marie Lu since the beginning, starting with Legend, and have tried to keep up with every book since. So when I heard Marie Lu was going to have an adult debut release, I was immediately interested in reading the book. Everything about the synopsis seemed to be exactly what I love to read about and I was so grateful and excited when I was approved to listen to the audiobook. As much as the world interested me however, I did not end up loving this release as much as I had anticipated.

Red City follows two characters, Sam and Ari, childhood friends who have been drawn into the world of alchemy. Alchemy controls this world and provides a drug called sand, which enhances the user in different ways specific to who takes it, allowing them to become their perfect self while on the drug. Specifically, two crime syndicates, Grand Central and Lumines, have been close to war with each other for a long time and are the ones with the most at stake. Sam joined Grand Central to protect her hardworking mother who was injured at her job and is unable to find work. Ari was recruited as a child to be trained as an alchemist for Lumines, and his progress allows for money to be sent back to take care of his family. The two met in school when they were young and kept in touch until graduation after which they both went down their separate paths in the alchemy world. Now they are brought together again as key players on the front lines at the start of a fight between Grand Central and Lumines, torn between what they were once to each other and who they are loyal to now.

First, this feels like a book meant to establish a series. What I mean is that there is a lot of background for the ways alchemy has infiltrated all parts of the world for centuries, explanations for what people can do with alchemy and how the drug sand has become so important. With that said, I know there are several different "powerful alchemy syndicates in the world", but we only see Grand Central and Lumines front and center. I know there's a table with a list of these syndicates at the start of the book but very little is given outside of the two main syndicates. The same goes for the alchemy studies mentioned and the discussion of the metals used in alchemy. There is a lot to the world but readers will have to wait for more books to see exactly how all of this world development pans out. We see a lot of the goings on for Grand Central and for Lumines and a few times where the two cross each other, but the rest of the world remain in the background.

Next, while the world is well-developed, the characters seem to be mainly surface level. Over the course of the book, readers are supposed to believe that Sam and Ari were once in love when they were classmates in school. I found that hard to believe because of the lack of interactions between the leads. They spent time together in school and exchanged letters but we are only told about the contents of the letters and how they passed messages to each other, sometimes given the contents of an exchange here and there but mainly told about what they wanted to write to each other. The majority of time, Sam and Ari are shown doing separate things, developing them as characters on their own but their connection to each other didn't come through as strong. Sam is shown as a child growing up with a mother who almost neglects her while she works long hours to provide for her child. We see Sam's mom, Connie, have a few meaningful interactions with Sam that change the way Sam sees the world, and we learn about Connie's past through a few chapters from her point of view. On the other hand, we see Ari with his family for a chapter before he's brought to Angel City and enrolled in classes with other students to study alchemy alongside his regular studies. He's bullied by classmates, befriends some others and is mentored by the man who recruited him. This is where the characters spend most of their time, so the quick interactions at school as a basis to fall in "love" felt a bit lacking and not enough to change the adults that they would eventually become.

Finally, I know that the alchemy syndicates were antagonistic with each other but not enough was given to really flesh out their fraught relationships. They seemed to be fighting with each other because that is what they are supposed to do, try to claw control from each other at every opportunity. The actual escalation seen in the book seemed to be starting for the sake of moving the plot forward. I know they were fighting but I didn't care for their reasons to fight. Also, the other syndicates seemed inconsequential, because the focus was squarely on Grand Central and Lumines. Whenever another syndicate was mentioned, I had to refer back to the table at the start of the book to remember who they were. All together, it left me feeling overall bored with the book, waiting for something big to happen, instead of the beats I expected to see as the story continued.

I will say that the cast for the audiobook did an excellent job with their narrations. They provided interesting voices for the alternating views of Sam and Ari, along with the little inserts between chapters about how alchemy has affected the world at large and what it means in the current news cycle. Each narrator was able to speak clearly and provide the right inflections for feelings such as a sense of loss for Sam and frustration for Ari. Their work kept the book flowing at a comfortable pace, revealing information in a way to keep the listener engaged with the work. I'm just sorry I didn't find the book they were performing as interesting as I had hoped.

Rating on my scale: 6.5 Stars. I really feel like this is a book best judged by the next release in the series. It's a solid start, just not enough to make me love this release. I'm hoping book 2 takes everything book 1 established and throws in all the twists and development I was waiting to see. Until then, read this book to see the development of a world that could have been once upon a time and wait with the rest of us to see if the alchemy syndicates burn it all down.

Book Review: Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

My thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow and Rainbow Rowell for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

For me, it's simple. There's a new book by Rainbow Rowell? Instant add-to-cart decision.  Most likely it does not even require thinking, it's just see the new book and click, done. The thinking comes while waiting for the book to be released because then I have time to ponder what is the next character to come to readers from the mind of Rainbow Rowell. I've been a fan of Rowell's since Fangirl was released. I went back and read her previous works and have been moving forward with her ever since. Fangirl holds a special place on my shelves, followed by Landline, Scattered Showers, then Carry On? The order sometimes fluctuates, and I do own nearly every Rowell book, but the point is that when I saw that the next release, Cherry Baby, was available to request, I waited with fingers crossed to see if I'd get the chance to read this book.

It was a quiet kind of beautiful story, hearbreaking and yet heart-warming to meet Cherry and see her move through her past and her present to a better version of her future. Also, I really need to rearrange my Rainbow Rowell books. They deserve an entire shelf of their own, with room to grow with each new release.

Cherry Baby follows Cherry, the third sister in a family of five girls, who has been quietly dealing with the fact that her husband isn't coming back home. Her husband, Tom, is in LA, working on the film adaptation of his hit webcomic, Thursday, which is semi-autobiographical and has a character based on Cherry in it. The character's name is Baby and no matter what, Cherry can't escape her. Baby is a caricature of Cherry, a fat woman who was secure with herself until she saw herself as a character in her husband's comic. Now she has people staring at her, calling her "Baby", while she stays home with her ex's dog and lives in the house that still has all of Tom's things meshed with hers. Cherry has to figure out this new existence and who is going to live in it with her.

This book is somewhat straightforward, almost stream of conscious writing. Thanks to that, the pace is fast, allowing readers to move along with Cherry as she tries to live her life without her husband. Rowell excels at this kind of writing, giving meaningful glimpses into the workings of Cherry's mind, how she interacts with coworkers, with her family, with her oldest friends and with new ones. Rowell also provides chapters set in the past, scenes that show when Cherry met her husband, how they came to date and how they came to get married. We see how Cherry dealt with particular moments of her past where her weight seemed to dictate how a situation turned out. Each of these moments is heartbreaking, showing how much Cherry works to be comfortable with herself and confident. She is without a doubt confident, but the loss of her husband has changed the way she thinks and this book gives us these thoughts in a sequence that brings us through the journey with her to the other side.

This book is an opportunity to witness the everyday workings of a woman trying to move on. There is no big conflict, this is a more quiet, introspective journey. Cherry has been living with this idea of herself available for others to consume, and she needs to be able to cut herself away from that. Cherry has to be able to live the way she wants and know that she is being her true self, and that the Baby character is something that in no way encompasses who she is or what she means to people. This book might not be my new favorite Rowell book, but it is definitely a must read, very respectable book. I wanted Cherry to be happy, to be hopeful. Her journey to get there was eye-opening, and Rowell was able to convey this character in such a way that she felt alive in these pages. Cherry was always beautiful, and by the end of the book, she believed that again with all of herself. And that point made all the difference with this read.

Rating on my scale: I'm going with 9 Stars. I will say, this book did not go completely the way I expected it to. I loved Cherry but at the same time, I wanted just that much more to come about for her. In the end though, if you are a Rowell fan, you are in for a treat. 

Book Review: Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han

I've seen several reviews for this book during my time reading this and after I'd finished the book. I needed to see what others have said, to feel like others have witnessed what I did by reading this book. I've seen the word stunning used to describe this and while I agree with the sentiment, there are other words I would use to describe this book. Haunting comes to mind, heartbreaking as well. I have always known that history is written in a way to keep certain things from coming to light and that has never been more apparent than it is with the subject matter of this book. 

I had never heard the term "comfort women" before but I promise that now that I have, I will NEVER forget it. If anything comes of this book, I hope it opens more eyes to the things that have been hidden in history to preserve the images of the countries involved. I am in no way an authority on this subject, I have no right to speak about the atrocities that these people suffered. I'm a reader that managed to learn something by reading this book and as a result, I will continue to look into this and learn as much as I can as a sign of respect, so that these women are never forgotten.

Honey in the Wound is a story about several generations of a family in Korea and how their lives are forever changed when Japan begins to move in during the early 1900s. The book begins with Geum-Jin, a young man whose family is first affected by the Japanese when his sister flees into the mountains to avoid a horrible fate and his parents struggle to keep their family together with the changing circumstances of their nearby village. Geum-Jin's story leads into the story of his daughter, Song Young-Ja, which is where the majority of the story has its focus. The book focuses on Young-Ja's childhood and follows her into her adulthood. The final part of the story brings Young-Ja's granddaughter, Matsumoto Rinako, into the book, when she discovers the existence of her grandmother and learns about a past that has been kept hidden for too long.

A large part of this book focuses on magical realism. Geum-Jin's sister turns into a tiger to be able to escape into the mountains with other tigers and live a better life. Young-Ja's mother had an ability to make people tell her the truth just by speaking to them. Young-Ja had the ability to infuse the food she makes with the emotions she felt at the time of making her creations, which in turn forces the people that eat her food to be overwhelmed with those feelings. Rinako can see truth and secrets in her dreams about the people around her, from her family to classmates and even to people she bumps into on her commute to and from school and stores. The book follows several timelines, gradually moving forward with each character, with the largest amount of the book being focused on Young-Ja and the places she traveled and the trials she faced.

Han has a wonderful use of words. There is a lyrical quality to the sentences, where they are able to evoke emotions and draw the reader into a world that feels real from the mountains that were part of Geum-Jin's childhood to the various locations in Japan that Young-Ja travels to over the course of her life. The words are able to draw up images of small town life with vendors and people trying to remain anonymous with soldiers following their every move before moving on to a small city in the Empire of Japan and a life working in a tea house. Through it all, Han is able to insert the ways people tried to fight back and the ways they were forced to keep themselves small. All together, it's powerful and beautiful despite the horrors hidden in the spaces around the leads of the book.

The use of magical realism is a key part of helping the story, allowing for the horrors shown in the story to be expanded on in ways that make the story more than a simple account of events from the past. It gives power to the characters where power would have been a way to change their fates, where history shows that things were not only filled with pain and shame and loss but were also hidden away and lost to time until those involved slowly began to come forward and speak their truths. It built the characters into forces that were able to withstand their fates, to face their evils head on and to find the strength they needed to finally fight back when they could and make the decisions to continue to fight back and make a difference.

This is a powerful debut. It sheds a light on a subject matter that continues to be brushed aside. It also shows the beginnings of the survivors coming forward to reclaim their past and shed light on what they were forced to endure. These women should not be ignored. They should never be forgotten. It is my hope that this book reaches an audience that can appreciate the light it shines on history and use this as an opportunity to continue to research the subject matter. That way in can continue to exist in the present instead of being lost and forgotten in the past. In a way, it seems like those in charge of this thought they'd get away with it because not only did they not keep records of what they were doing but they thought their victims, either because of a lack of education or just because the way were raised, meant they'd stay quiet rather than speak of this. Now, many of them have come forward and continue to speak out about what they witnessed and suffered which just proves the authorities made a mistake underestimating these people. It proves that when given the chance, the victims became what they always were, a force to be reckoned with and respected. They will not fade into the past no matter how many times they are ignored and that is everything in the end.

Rating on my scale: 10 STARS! I don't know what else I can say to convey what I think about this book. I love the writing and I respect the subject matter. I mourn for the characters and I have hope for their future. Read this and I hope you learn something about the resilience of people. I'll continue to follow Jiyoung Han's writing for as long as she is willing to write.

Book review: High By the Beach by Wren Amari

I got the chance to read this eARC and I am so grateful. I was notified about submitting an application to read this book and I am so happy about that because this book was so lovely, heartbreaking but beautiful.

High by the Beach is about Brielle, a young woman holding in her grief about a horrible loss and dealing with it in unhealthy ways while her parents ignore their loss and pretend that everything is fine. Brielle and her family decide to stay somewhere next to the coast for the summer while they try to move on. The first night there, Brielle sees someone swimming out in the water and decides to try staying underwater in an attempt to get over her fear of swimming. She's rescued by Carson Eli, who takes one look at Brielle and decides that she is a spoiled party girl and wants nothing to do with her. But as days go by, Brielle is brought into Carson's orbit by his friends and the more time they spend together, the more they both start to realize that they don't know everything about each other. And the more they learn, the more they want to know about each other.

This was romantic. There is no other way about it. This is one of those slow-burn romances where the leads have to learn everything about each other while falling in love and the development was just wonderful. Brielle is such a sweet and tragic young woman. I wanted to force her to eat and sleep and make sure she had a safe place to cry and mourn her horrible loss. I wanted to drag her parents over by their ears and force the whole family to talk because their methods of dealing with their loss were obviously not working but the point of the book is the journey, and they get to a happy, or at least a happier point, eventually. Carson was a bit quick to jump to conclusions but I was happy to see how fast he started to learn to communicate with Brielle. His devotion to his sister was so sweet to see and the quiet ways he took care of Brielle showed how he was able to listen and learn about what she needed as situations came up. 

The side characters are all very well developed. I want to know more about Aspen and Dylan and Reese so if it is possible for Wren Amari to give readers more about them, I will gladly read their books. It feels like the setup of what could become a series so I'm going to sit here with my fingers crossed and hope that something involving those characters eventually gets written. Also, I have to admit that there was a moment where I teared up reading this book which for me meant that I was emotionally invested in these characters. If a book has the power to bring out those kinds of emotions, it is definitely a good thing.

Rating on my scale? I'm doing 9.5 Stars only because there were a couple of things in the story that I'm not a fan of in romance novels like miscommunication, for example. And I'm not a fan of a certain romance beat that happens in the third act of these books but I can repsect the why behind this one. Still, this book is worth the read. Wren Amari has the talent to be truly brilliant and I can't wait to see what comes next!

Book Review: The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

I've been sitting on this one a few days and have come to a few conclusions.

The first? This was a wonderful, BEAUTIFUL book.

The second? I must read more books by Roshani Chokshi. I have the Gilded Wolves trilogy and Pandava series, so I'll be fixing that soon.

I'll admit, besides the author name I recognized, the stunning cover art caught my attention. There are three things that can guarantee I pick up a book: author name, cover art and the final point? An intriguing synopsis. And this book had one very intriguing synopsis.

The Swan's Daughter follows Demelza and Prince Arris on a quest to find independence and a happily ever after. Prince Arris is the latest descendant of a long line of kings that have ended up with shortened lives thanks to a wish made by one of his ancestors. Marriage for Prince Arris means he most likely will die on his wedding night because all his bride needs to rule the Isle of Malys is his literal heart and hand. Demelza is the youngest daughter of a wizard and a veritas swan, and as a veritas swan herself, Demelza can force people to tell the truth by singing to them and asking any question she wants. At the start of the story, Prince Arris's mother has put together a competition to find a bride for her son. Demelza makes a deal with Prince Arris in exchange for a safe place to stay. Demelza will question every bridal candidate, weeding out each one with murder on her mind so that Prince Arris can have a chance at a long, happy life. As the two work together, they come to find that the possibility of a happy life with love could be something they both can find in ways they would not have considered until their partnership.

Honestly, I'm still thinking about this world. Chokshi came up with the most unique setting, filled with so many interesting locations and creatures and people. I hope the official book has a glossary with explanation for every animal in this book, every plant, every location and information on all the different people. And a map! A book like this needs an elaborately detailed map. I would study it for hours with a magnifying glass so I could understand this book that much more. It was just so beautiful, I was in awe half the time reading because of everything that was in this book. 

The story itself is so sweet. Demelza and Arris are young and hoping for something more than the hand that fate has dealt them. Demelza has been trying her whole life to be as important as her sisters and when she finally gets the attention she wants, it is for the wrong reasons. She's independent enough to fight for herself which leads her to joining the competition for marriage to Prince Arris. She's awkward but willing to learn, happy with the chance to finally make some friends with people she would not have had the chance to meet while being kept alone at home with her parents. Prince Arris is a daydreamer, wishing for a true love match that would mean he could live long enough to try everything he want while he is alive. With so many candidates to choose from and unable to discern their true intentions, Arris has resigned himself to dying young. Putting Demelza and Arris together, they make an interesting partnership, working together as friends as they get to know each other while working to keep Arris alive. Their relationship develops carefully, making their ending feel earned and this reader smiling happily while hugging her phone.

Each of the side characters are so much fun in this book. There is the reigning King and Queen, who have managed to keep their relationship going strong while the Queen has fun trying to kill her husband every few months, just to keep him on his toes. Arris's twin sister, Yvlle, is a force to be reckoned with, working with every resource she has to keep her brother safe. Ursula and Talvi, Demelza's first friends are endearing, and if there is a chance for more from this world, I hope Chokshi gives readers more about those two characters, with a lot of Yvlle thrown in. I loved every character in this world, from the mean girls trying to win the competition to the wizard Prava, Demelza's father and a trickster of a character with his own evil machinations driving portions of the story from the sidelines. Everything is so detailed and developed, I'm still sitting here sighing and thinking how much I loved this book.

Rating on my scale? 10 Stars. I am still not over the way this book unfolded, from the characters to the worldbuilding, and everything in between. Read this if you want something that feel like Howl's Moving Castle, which has been on my mind lately, especially as I was reading this book. 

Audiobook Review: What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher

My thanks to Netgalley, Tor Publishing, Macmillan Audio and T. Kingfisher for the audiobook in exchange for a review.

Let it be known far and wide that I am a big fan of T. Kingfisher. So much so, that I have made it a goal to read all of T. Kingfisher's works and I have been slowly making my way through everything I can find for the last few years. One such series I've been following is the Sworn Soldier books featuring the character Alex Easton. Alex has been through several let's say "adventures" and each has been their own unique take on horror.

The first, What Moves the Dead, had readers introduced to Alex, who served in the army for Gallacia and has since left said army and moved on with their life. A letter from a childhood friend brings Alex to Usher Manor, where something sinister is growing, invading the lake, the land and the house. The second book, What Feasts at Night, has Alex, their closest friend Angus, and Miss Eugenia Potter, a mycologist and illustrator seen in book 1, traveling to a hunting lodge that belongs to Easton's family for the sake of rest and relaxation and as a favor to Miss Potter. Instead they find rumors of a monster that steals the breath of those that stay in the lodge and together have to discover the truth to the story and survive their stay.

I've loved each book, the second maybe a little more than the first, so the anticipation for the third book of the series has been keeping me on edge since September started. I'm happy to report that this adventure is just as good as the previous books. This novella, What Stalks the Deep, has Alex and Angus traveling to America to help their friend Dr. Denton, who was originally seen in the first book and helped Alex with what was happening in Usher House. This time around, Denton has asked for Alex to come help find Denton's missing cousin, who was studying an old mine that belongs to Denton's family. They put a team together and work to investigate the mine, the disappearance of Denton's cousin and what is hidden deep undergound in the mine.

First of all, this is a little more light-hearted in tone. The dread and horror has more to do with the confined spaces at first, which Alex repeatedly states do not bother them, and the threat of gas and explosions in the mine. When what is hidden in the mine comes to light, the desciptions reminded me of some classic horror films but if I get into namimg those, I'm afraid I'll reveal too much and the joy of this novella will be spoiled. Suffice to say, the monster of this book had its moments of being the thing that creeps in the dark but Kingfisher changes things up by also making it the hero in moments of need. All together, it was an unexpected surprise and it makes this another brilliant installment in what has become a favorite series of mine.

This was my first time listening to an audiobook and narrator Avi Roque is incredible with this story. There were accents to distinguish separate characters and the tone was the perfect voice to bring Alex Easton to life. As a result, I'm looking into other books narrated by Roque because the performance here impressed me that much. I can't believe I never truly took the time to listen to an audiobook. This production has cemented that I'll be listening to more in the future.

Rating on my scale: 9 Stars!! Honestly, I still love What Feasts at Night just that much more. It's a miniscule, tiny quibble, but enough to make me reflect that in my rating. Still, it seems there will be more in the future for Alex Easton's adevntures and I will be sitting here patiently, listening to Avi Roque narrate the previous audiobooks, until book 4 is ready for readers to enjoy. The wait will be worth it, I'm sure.

Book Review: The Holiday Hookup List by Alexis Daria

My thanks to Netgalley, Montlake and Alexis Daria for the eARC in exchange for a review of this book. 

I've been reading books by Alexis Daria since I tried You had me Hola five years ago. I also get Daria's newsletter, so I had this on my radar and when it was mentioned that it was up on Netgalley, I rushed to see if I'd get the chance to read it. I should also mention that I generally, mostly, hate Christmas, so my still wanting to read a novella that is based around the holiday should show that I'm reading this for the fact that it is written by Alexis Daria.

First of all, the dedication made me cackle. It helped set the mood for what I expected to find in this story. There was a sparkling charm to the introduction of our lead getting ready for a dance party (literally sparkling, as FMC, Valencia ends up wearing twinkling lights not long after we meet her) and I was immediately invested in the story of a workaholic lawyer trying her best to enjoy the holidays despite the year she's had. Add to that a run-in with a former classmate that Valencia used to butt heads with, lawyer Gideon Noble, and I was ready to settle in and watch the sparks between them fly.

The characters were sweet and well-developed, easy to cheer for as they navigated the tricky set-up of figuring out how to make their connection work while working through the issues they had with each other when they were in school. I was angry for Valencia when she mentioned her ex-fiancé and for Gideon when he talked about his father. I laughed at their antics and smiled as they made their list of things to do so they wouldn't spend the holdiays alone. It was all sweet and swoony and their romance was enough to keep me so  invested in the story that I read this in one sitting. Daria has a way with these shorter works that is able to provide enough dimension to the leads that allows for readers to grow to enjoy the characters and never feel like something is lacking. Everything is revealed at the best time, developed in a way that flows with the story and keeps readers hooked. I wanted these two people to be happy together, I wanted their second chance to work out, and I loved their quiet moments together as much as their spicy scenes made me want to blush.

As much as enjoyed this though, it feels slightly unresolved with the scene involving Valencia's ex. With the way the scene unfolded and the implications it made, I wanted more comeuppance to hit that guy in the head with the force of a crowbar. But I can be a little vindictive, so most likely it's just a me thing and no one else would be very happy with a little bloodshed in their Christmas novella. Also, it just stops and while yes, it had an ending, I wanted more with the happily ever after in the future. Some kind of epilogue would have been the cherry on top, but again, that's just me.

Rating on my scale: 8.5 Stars. I wanted a little more overall but it in no way detracts from the overall impression of the book. This is a sweet and spicy story about two people realizing that the past does not define them and that sometimes they belong somewhere they least expect and that's okay too. 

Book Review: He Knows When You're Awake by Alta Hensley

My thanks to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Alta Hensley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. 

I'll start by saying that I did not read the first book. My hope was that I did not have to read it first and for the most part, I think I'm right in saying it's not necessary. I'll also say that I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas but the title intrigued me. The focus is not necessarily about the holiday itself though, it's more of a backdrop and occasional set piece for certain moments, think ice skating, gift shopping and looking at Christmas trees and so on. With all that said though, I'm sorry to say I didn't like this as much as I'd hoped I would.

The book follows Sloane Whitmore, a jewelry designer who is feeling stifled at her job where she is unable to design jewelry pieces that she would love. She's tried getting loans from the bank to start her own business but she keeps getting turned down. A chance encounter with Cole Asher, a billionaire and a recluse, leads Sloane to the opportunity of a lifetime: work for Cole Asher and design the jewelry line of her dreams. The catch is that she has to move into his penthouse, where he's built a workshop for her and her jewelry line needs to be done by Christmas for it to launch by New Years. Their attraction grows and soon they try their luck at being together. But Cole has other motives behind funding Sloane's jewelry line and there are people who would do anything to destroy him. Including hurting someone he has come to love.

My first issue had to do with inconsistent characters. Sloane seemed like she was tough and had a good head on her shoulders but she was quick to follow and do anything and everything for Cole. She would talk about her struggles with pleasing her mother in one breath and then in the next, mourn the fact that she wasn't going to spend the holidays with her family. Now, usually this is par for the course, the lead character has issues with a parental figure and it explains some of the character's background. But readers don't get more than just the talking about what happened in the past. It didn't have much reflection as it was being revealed and as a result, the emotional impact felt like it was nonexistent.

I can't even tell you anything about Cole's background. I think his father was a drunk and abusive? Other than that, I don't know where he used to live, why he came to the city, what he was interested in most to make himself money. He had a mentor with questionable morals and followed his way of things for a while before he made changes. He was more consistent in character but not by much.

The characters being inconsistent then lead to a lack of chemistry. I'm reading this book for the romance and it all felt very bland. Their connection felt like it was only surface level, nothing felt like true depth and as a result, I found their connection to be bland. Even their steamy scenes felt boring. It's not a good sign when the couple you're supposed to root for feels like they would be better off moving on from each other.

Which leads to issues with the pacing. The book has scenes focused on Sloane making her jewelry, Cole watching her on cameras and then the two of them together. Wash, rinse and repeat. Which would have been fine if they were interesting together but the lack of chemistry made it difficult to enjoy them as a couple. Not to mention, the biggest threat of the book is Cole's former mentor, a character that spends most of the story off page. There was no sense of urgency, no real feeling of peril. Readers know that there is something Cole is hiding about that man but we don't get enough of a chance to feel true concern for what could befall our leads. And then it wraps up in the blink of an eye and the book is over.

I wanted to love this, really I did, but I'm left thinking this might not be the best fit for me as a reader. I might try another book by Hensley somewhere down the road but it won't be anytime soon.

Rating on my Scale: 3 Stars. I hope this book finds its audience. I'm sincerely sorry this book and I didn't click.