Author: tamaramorning

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Iron Raven, by Julie Kagawa

Image belongs to Inkyard Press.

Title:  The Iron Raven
Author:  Julie Kagawa
Genre:  YA, fantasy
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

You may have heard of me…

Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Prankster, joker, raven, fool… King Oberon’s right-hand jester from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The legends are many, but the truth will now be known as never before, as Puck finally tells his own story and faces a threat to the lands of Faery and the human world unlike any before.

With the Iron Queen Meghan Chase and her prince consort, Puck’s longtime rival Ash, and allies old and new by his side, Puck begins a fantastical and dangerous adventure not to be missed or forgotten.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything set in this world. Like, a really long time. But I remember Puck. He was always a character I loved. So, it was fun to read his story. The voice of this novel is perfect for his story, too.

Of course, all of faerie—and the human world—is at stake (it wouldn’t be a Kagawa book if it weren’t), but seeing the “old” Puck, a.k.a Robin Goodfellow, was the most unsettling part of this novel. Seeing Meghan and Ash again was great, too, but I think I need to go back and re-read all the other books again, so I feel a bit more up-to-speed. This was an excellent read. A touch of nostalgia, but Puck is front and center—and larger than life.

Julie Kagawa is a bestselling author. The iron Raven is her newest novel, the first book in The Iron Fey:  Evenfall.

(Galley courtesy of Inkyard Press exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #107

More book reviews and fiction this week! Only two book reviews, as I DNFed one of the books I was supposed to read (it was way too slow), but I got in three fiction-writing sessions. I hope you had a good writing week!

Happy writing!

Book Review: Dearest Josephine, by Caroline George

Image belongs to Thomas Nelson.

Title: Dearest Josephine
Author:  Caroline George
Genre:  Fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

2020: Chocolate and Earl Grey tea can’t fix Josie De Clare’s horrible year. She mourned the death of her father and suffered a teen-life crisis, which delayed her university plans. But when her father’s will reveals a family-owned property in Northern England, Josie leaves London to find clarity at the secluded manor house. While exploring the estate, she discovers two-hundred-year-old love letters written by an elusive novelist, all addressed to someone named Josephine. And then she discovers a novel in which it seems like she’s the heroine…

1820: Novelist Elias Roch loves a woman he can never be with. Born the bastard son to a nobleman and cast out from society, Elias seeks refuge in his mind with the quirky heroine who draws him into a fantasy world of scandal, betrayal, and unconditional love. Convinced she’s his soulmate, Elias writes letters to her, all of which divulge the tragedy and trials of his personal life.

As fiction blurs into reality, Josie and Elias must decide: How does one live if love can’t wait? Separated by two hundred years, they fight against time to find each other in a story of her, him, and the novel written by the man who loves her.

I’m honestly not sure what to say about this novel. I enjoyed it and the writing was excellent, but to me there was a major question left unanswered. The author tells the story creatively, using emails, texts, letters, a manuscript…There are three storylines—2020, Elias’ letters, and Elias’ manuscript—and I had difficulty telling the two Elias wrote apart, as they were partially very alike.

It seems, for all intents and purposes, that somehow Elias met Josephine in the past, but that “How?” question is never answered. That’s the biggest mystery of the story, and the reader never gets an answer. I loved how the 2020 storyline wrapped up, and Elias’ novel, too, but Elias’ own story was a bit disappointing to me, mainly because of the lack of resolution. Nevertheless, this was a solid read.

Caroline George is an award-winning author. Dearest Josephine is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson exchange for an honest review.)

Blog Tour and Book Review: How to Build a Heart, by Maria Padian

Image belongs to Algonquin Young Readers.

Title:  How to Build a Heart
Author:  Maria Padian
Genre:  YA
Rating:  4.0 out of 5

All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. When Izzy’s hardworking mom moves their small family to Virginia, all her dreams start clicking into place. She likes her new school—even if Izzy is careful to keep her scholarship-student status hidden from her well-to-do classmates and her new athletic and popular boyfriend. And best of all: Izzy’s family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to build and move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community and permanence she’s been searching for, until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.

I’m pleased to say this was nothing like I expected! I liked Izzy a lot. She struggled in this book:  with grief over her dad, her struggles with his family, her identity, and accepting and embracing who she is. Honestly, I expected a mean-girls scenario, and there was a tiny touch of that, but not much.

Izzy friendship with Roz was well-done, and how the two grew and changed in the novel made this a story well worth reading. It’s not a typical YA/romance, although there is romance, it’s not the focus of the story. There were a few loose ends left when the story was over, so it felt a bit unresolved, but this was a solid, heartwarming read.

Maria Padian was born in New York City. How to Build a Heart is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour: Girlhood: Teens around the World in Their Own Voices, by Masuma Ahuja

Image belongs to Algonquin Young Readers.

Title:  Girlhood: Teens around the World in Their Own Voices
Author:  Masuma Ahuja
Genre:  Nonfiction
Rating:  5.0 out of 5

All around the world, girls are going to school, working, creating, living as sisters, daughters, friends. Yet we know so little about their daily lives. We hear about a few exceptional girls who make headlines, and we hear about headline-making struggles and catastrophes. But since the health, education, and success of girls so often determines the future of a community, why don’t we know more about what life is like for the ordinary girls, the ones living outside the headlines? From the Americas to Europe to Africa to Asia to the South Pacific, the thirty-one teens from twenty-nine countries in Girlhood Around the World share their own stories of growing up through diary entries and photographs. They invite us into their day-to-day lives, through their eyes and in their voices, in a full-color, exuberantly designed scrapbook-like volume.

This was a fascinating read! The author gives a brief overview of each girl’s life and cultural/national customs and experiences, asks each girl a few questions, and includes pictures and journal entries written by the girls themselves. Glimpsing each of the girls’ worlds through their own eyes is compelling, as is reading their story—not just the glossy and social media-ready version, but the reality of their day-to-day existence. This book is a powerful experience.

Images belong to the author/publisher. Used with permission for blog tour.

Masuma Ahuja has worked all over the world as a journalist. Girlhood is her new book, chronicling the lives of girls across the globe.

(Galley courtesy of Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)

Best Books I Read in January (2021)

In January, I read 19 books towards my goal of 240 books this year. I also left two other books unfinished. I’m two books behind schedule so far this year…Of those 19 books, three were really good!

Girlhood: Teens Around the World in Their Own Voices, by Masuma Ahuja. This was a fascinating read! It told the stories of girls from all across the world: the history of where they live, their culture, and their lives, including journal entries written by the girls themselves. An excellent read! Lots of pictures as well, to truly bring their stories to life.

Everybody Always, by Bob Goff. I love the author’s voice as he tells stories, using everyday occurrences to make his point. The reader ends up enjoying the lesson. And, when I found out the story behind the cover illustration, it blew my mind! I’m already reading another of his books.

The Iron Raven, by Julie Kagawa. It’s been years since I read anything in this world, but I loved this! Puck was always my favorite character, so it was great to see him get his own story—with characters I loved from the other books in the background of this one.

What I Read in January (2021)

Books Read in January: 19

Books Read for the Year:  19/250

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books: 

Jo’s Boys, by Louis May Alcott (classic re-read). I really loved this!

Swing, by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (TBR). Despite being told entirely in verse, I really enjoyed this—until the ending, which seemed completely unrelated to the rest of the book.

Eveybody Always, by Bobb Goff (spiritual). I LOVE the voice in this!

Made Like Martha, by Katie M. Reid (spiritual). Excellent read!

It’s Not Supposed to Be this Way, by Lisa TerKeurst (spiritual). This would wonderful for someone going through a tough time.

Dressed to Kill, by Rick Renner (spiritual). There were a few too many exclamation points and redundancy for me.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling, by Neta Jackson (TBR). Still loving this series!

For Review:

Girlhood: Teens around the World in Their Own Voices, by Masuma Ahuja (review forthcoming). This was a fascinating read! Stories of girls all over the world, complete with pictures and journal entries.

Dearest Josephine, by Caroline George (review forthcoming). Enjoyable novel, although I thought the main question of the story was left unanswered.

How to Build a Heart, by Maria Padian (review forthcoming). This was a solid, heartwarming read, without all the drama found in a lot of YA novels.

The Iron Raven, by Julie Kagawa (review forthcoming). This is the first time I’ve read anything in this world in years, but I loved the start of Puck’s adventures. He’s so much fun! A little dark here, though.

Killer Content, by Olivia Blacke (review forthcoming). This just didn’t work for me. The MC was almost a farce, and she was super judgey of everyone around her, mentally condescending while being superficially nice—then being surprised when her judgments were wrong.

The Vineyard at Painted Moon, by Susan Mallery (review forthcoming). Mallery is an excellent writer, so that wasn’t a problem, but the characters here—for the most part—were just awful people. Awful. Vindictive, mean, cruel, petty, lying…the list goes on. Which means I had to struggle not to stop reading. The MC and her two friends were fine, but the rest of the characters were just so horrible it turned my stomach.

Just Because:

As Death Draws Near, A Brush with Shadows, An Artless Demise, and A Stroke of Malice, by Anna Lee Huber. I LOVE this series! I read the first one some time ago, and I just binged the rest of the series (new book out soon).

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. It’s been so long since I first read the first part of this series. I really enjoyed this re-read.

Devotions Inspired by The Principle of First Mention. This was my church’s yearly 21-day devotional read.

Left Unfinished:

And Then She Vanished, by Nick Jones. The whole time-travel premise sounded great, so I gave this a shot. I read 20% of it, and it was very sloooow…and I did not care for the MC.

The Obsession, by Jesse Q Sutanto. I didn’t get very far in this. Solid writing, but the creepiness-factor was too much for me.

Sundays are for Writing #106

I finally got back to writing book reviews this week! Three of them, to be exact. And three fiction sessions, so it was a good writing week. Still trying to get comfortable with the new story and the new characters, but it’s slowly happening.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Happy Singles Day, by Ann Marie Walker

Image belongs to Sourcebooks Casablanca.

Title:  Happy Singles Day
Author:  Ann Marie Walker
Genre:  Romance
Rating:  4 out of 5

 As a Certified Professional Organizer, everything in Paige Parker’s world is as it should be. Perfect apartment, perfect office, perfect life. And now, the perfect vacation planned to honor Singles Day. After all, what’s better than celebrating her pride in being single? Because who needs a man anyway? They have zero taste in quality television, leave the toilet seat up, and sleep with your best friend. No thanks. Her life is fine just the way it is.

As the owner of a now-dormant bed & breakfast, Lucas Croft’s life is simple and quiet. It’s only him and his five-year-old daughter, which is just the way he likes it. Because who needs a woman anyway? They nag you to clean up your stuff, want the toilet seat put down, and expect the dishes to be done the same day the meal is cooked. No thanks. His life is fine just the way it is.

But when Paige books a room that Lucas’ well-intentioned sister listed without his knowledge, their two worlds collide. If they can survive the week together, they just might discover exactly what they’ve both been missing.

Paige is very Type-A and OCD about organization, which made me laugh. I have a bit of that, but not to her extent. Lucas is struggling and doesn’t think he needs to make any changes to his admittedly messy life. Honestly, this was a pretty standard romance. The insta-love thing doesn’t do much for me, but the writing was solid, and the characters were interesting, so it was a decent read.

Ann Marie Walker lives in Chicago. Happy Singles Day is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Capturing the Earl, by A.S. Fenichel

Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Title:  Capturing the Earl
Author: A.S. Fenichel
Genre:  Romance
Rating:  4 out of 5

 After the demise of her friend’s disastrous marriage, Mercedes Parsons isn’t about to let the widowed Wallflower of West Lane, Lady Aurora Radcliff, undertake another perilous trip to the altar. At least, not before the bridegroom-to-be is thoroughly investigated. If only Mercy could stop her uncharacteristic daydreaming about Wesley Renshaw’s charm, his intellect, his dashing good looks. After all, the earl has already set his sights on her best friend! She must keep her wits about her and avoid giving into temptation.

Wesley is both irritated and intrigued by the machinations of Mercy—He cannot let her cleverness and beauty distract him. He needs to marry her friend, Aurora, so he can reclaim his family’s ancestral home. A wrong he has hoped to right his entire life. Besides, who is penniless spinster Mercedes Parsons to decide whom he can and cannot marry? Yet while he admires her unwavering loyalty to her friends, he decides it’s high time the misguided woman had a dose of her own medicine. Two can play at this spying game. But they are both embarked on a dangerous charade. And it won’t be merely Mercy’s reputation at risk—or her heart on the line—as Wesley comes to the inescapable conclusion that he has found the right woman at exactly the wrong time.

I really enjoy The Wallflowers of West Lane series! Solid writing and vibrant characters who are always up for an adventure make these books fun to read. Mercy is probably my favorite one of the Wallflowers so far, and I loved how she went from being passive to standing up for herself in the course of this book. This is a fun read good for some laughs.

A.S. Fenichel lives in Missouri. Capturing the Earl is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.)