Book Review: The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, by Kate Westbury

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Title: The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies
Author: Kate Westbury
Genre: Historical fiction, mystery
Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Oxford, England, 1951 – The Honorable Ginevra Bishop likes red lipstick, clever retorts, and earning top marks in her tutorials. She’s following her mother’s footsteps by studying at Oxford, eager to prove she’s more than a debutante.

Sidney Braithwaite likes brooding, Latin, and ignoring his nightmares. He’s determined to forge a new life for himself at Oxford, far from his childhood mining village and free from memories of the war.

Though Gin and Sidney have little in common, the British Security Service is keen to unite her charm with his espionage experience: there’s a Soviet spy at the university, and the agent tracking them down was poisoned. MI5 wants Gin and Sidney to pick up the trail and identify the informant before more sensitive information is compromised. As a team, the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste––but have a connection neither can deny. Gin and Sidney must unite their respective talents to follow the clues before they’re caught in the traitor’s crosshairs…if the sparks flying between them don’t blow up the operation first.

This felt a tiny bit slow at first, trying to get into the setting and time frame, but I ended up liking it a lot. I do love historical fiction, especially WWII historical fiction—which this isn’t, but it’s linked—and I definitely enjoyed the historical aspects of this. I really liked Gin and her friends. They were a  lot of fun. I also liked Sidney, although I wanted to smack him a couple of times. The two of them together were believable and a joy to read.

Kate Westbury teaches Latin. The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry, by Ransom Riggs

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Title: Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry
Author: Ransom Riggs
Genre: Fantasy, sci-fi
Rating: 4 out of 5

Seventeen-year-old Leopold Berry is seeing weird things around Los Angeles. A man who pops a tooth into a parking meter. A glowing trapdoor in a parking lot. A half-mechanical raccoon with its tail on fire that just won’t leave him alone. Every hallucinatory moment seems plucked from a cheesy 1990s fantasy TV show called Max’s Adventures in Sunderworld—and that’s because they are.

Not a good sign.

In the blurry weeks after his mother’s death, a young Leopold discovered VHS tapes of its one and only season in a box headed for the trash—and soon became obsessed. Losing himself in Sunder was the best way to avoid two things: grieving his mother and being a chronic disappointment to his overbearing father. But when the strange visions return—at the worst possible time on the worst possible day—Leopold turns to his best friend Emmet for help. Together they discover that Sunder is much more than just an old TV show, and that Los Angeles is far stranger than they ever imagined. And soon, he’ll realize that not only is Sunderworld real, but it’s in grave danger.

Certain he’s finally been chosen for greatness, Leopold risks everything to claim his destiny, save the world of his childhood dreams, and prove once and for all that he’s not the disappointment his father believes him to be. But when everything goes terribly, horribly, excruciatingly wrong, Leopold’s disappointments prove to be more extraordinary than he ever could have imagined.

How do you battle darkness when no one believes in you—not even yourself?

Welcome to Sunderworld.

I found this to be a fun read! I felt kind of like the movie Labyrinth—which, yes, I did love—campy, fun, with a touch of magic. Was it totally believable? No, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the read. This was a quick read, entertaining, and didn’t require a lot of brain power to follow. I recommend it for a fun weekend read, and I look forward to reading more in this world.

Ransom Riggs lives in L.A. Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry is the first book in the Sunderworld series.

(Galley courtesy of PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Dutton Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #389

This was an excellent writing week! I wrote five book reviews this week: Immortal Rose, by Alexandra Bracken, Night Songs, by Alli Dyer, Fire Power, by Mir Benitz, Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry, by Ransom Riggs, and The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, by Kate Westbury.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Fire Power, by Mir Benitz

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Title: Fire Power     
Author: Mir Benitz              
Genre: Fantasy, YA       
Rating: 3.5 out of 5    

The Silverscale Grand Prix is the national championship of dragon racing—a high-speed, often deadly, elite sport with an unimaginably big cash prize.

Asta and her dragon Carmine are unlikely competitors. No sponsors, no high-tech gear, no fans out in the stands. Not to mention that a female rider hasn’t won the Prix for nearly sixty years. The odds are stacked against them—but Asta is determined to prove everyone the training school that kicked her out for fighting a classmate, her family who wished she’d never left the farm, and, most of all, her infuriatingly arrogant childhood-best-friend-turned-rival Felix, the poster-boy heir to the Seraphin racing dynasty and reigning tournament champion.

Raw talent alone won’t be enough to get Asta and Carmine through these races—and it soon becomes clear that the risks Asta has taken to get to Silverscale could have devastating consequences. Time to think fast, or die trying.

This didn’t work too well for me. I couldn’t really picture dragon racing as a whole, so it was hard to buy into everything else, too, but…I don’t know anything about Formula 1 racing, so maybe that was the problem. I liked Asta, but her repeated bad decisions were a lot to take in and the chemistry between her and Felix was…lacking.

Mir Benitz lives in Pennsylvania. Fire Power is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of Little, Brown and Company in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Night Songs, by Alli Dyer

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Title: Night Songs
Author: Alli Dyer         
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

On the morning of Rhea’s eighteenth birthday, she makes a shocking discovery—her mother was the famed singer of some of country music’s most iconic tunes, the legendary Lulabelle “Belle” Powers, and she’s just inherited her massive estate. Eager to know more about this woman she barely remembers, Rhea travels to Nashville to retrace her mother’s footsteps. But as she gets to know Belle’s closest friends and learns more of her story, she can’t help but think something is being kept from her.

It isn’t until years later that her mother’s best friend Hess reveals the truth—her mother believed all the women in her family were cursed to die at thirty-three—Belle’s exact age when she passed away in a mysterious plane crash. Hess dismisses the curse as pure superstition, but Rhea feels something sinister stalking her, her own life beginning to mirror her mother’s as she gets closer to her thirty-third birthday. Desperate for answers, Rhea delves deeper into her mother’s music, uncovering Belle’s last unpublished album Night Songs, which leads her back to her roots in ways she never could have imagined.

This was…a bit weird, not going to lie. I loved Rhea’s and Belle’s different storylines, but it felt very chaotic in places. (Which…makes perfect sense, considering, actually.) I like the characters and the behind-the-scenes look at life in Nashville. I just was never quite sure where this was going to end up.

Alli Dyer was born in Tennessee. Night Songs is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: Immortal Rose, by Alexandra Bracken

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Title: Immortal Rose
Author: Alexandra Bracken    
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Members of the ancient House Rosebourne have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion.

When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy.

Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life—and fortune—that should have been hers.

As Hugh and Viola race to find the perfume’s lost fairy ingredient, hidden deep in Albion’s dark underbelly, neither can deny the scorching attraction building between them—especially as the attempts on Viola’s life grow increasingly brazen.

But a terrible truth lurks in the heart notes of their kingdom—and while every bargain has a cost, Immortal Rose may demand more than Hugh and Viola can ever pay.

I really enjoyed this read! The secondary characters are fantastic, and I loved both of the main characters as well. The setting was believable (okay, except for the name of the city), and I loved the history and culture. A lot of action in this story, and layers of mystery and intrigue. I can’t wait to read more set in this world!

Alexandra Bracken is a bestselling author. Immortal Rose is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon in exchange for an honest review.)

 

Sundays are for Writing #388

This was a good writing week! I had some time off, which was lovely, followed by a chaotic shorter work week (which was not). I wrote three book reviews, The Gods Will Sing Our Song, by Autumn Krause, The Best I Never Had, by Amy Buchanan, and Our Strange Duet, by Erin A. Craig.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Our Strange Duet, by Erin A. Craig

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Title: Our Strange Duet     
Author: Erin A. Craig 
Genre: Fantasy, YA      
Rating: 4 out of 5

She was never just the voice he shaped . . .

A rising soprano with a gift she is only just learning to embrace, Christine Daaé has moved through the glittering world of the Opera Populaire longing to find her purpose. Instead, she finds herself caught between two men who refuse to let her slip quietly into the chorus.

One is Raoul, her childhood friend turned devoted admirer, offering her a future filled with warmth, safety, and a love that feels like sunlight. The other is a mysterious masked figure who lurks beneath the Opera House: The Phantom. His brilliance, obsession, and dangerous devotion to nurturing Christine’s talents ignites a dark and complicated passion in her heart.

As Christine’s star ascends, so does the tension between Raoul and the Phantom. She must decide who she is when the curtain falls—and what she’s willing to risk for the life she wants.

I’ve never read or seen The Phantom of the Opera, so I came to this read with basically zero knowledge of the original story. I’m not sure what to say. This was a very atmospheric read, dark and glittering at the same time. I liked Christine, although the hints of mental health issues were scattered throughout the narrative did seem pretty obvious to me. I loved reading the behind-the-scenes stuff of the opera itself, but Erik was pretty creepy to me. I don’t know. This was well-written, but it was pretty dark.

Erin A. Craig is a bestselling author. Our Strange Duet is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children’s Books | Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Best I Never Had, by Amy Buchanan

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Title: The Best I Never Had
Author: Amy Buchanan      
Genre: Romance      
Rating: 4 out of 5   

Thea Pappas has always been the storm in her own life—fiery and unpredictable—traits that led her and her younger sister, Addy, through a series of foster homes. But with Addy’s whirlwind engagement, Thea is determined to be the perfect maid of honor, even if she finds it odd that she hadn’t heard of the fiancé until the ring was on Addy’s finger. She believes she can survive a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains with a group of strangers without causing any trouble.

But upon arrival, Thea realizes these aren’t strangers. Among the familiar faces is Owen Hayes—the man who, three years ago, paid her to pretend to be his girlfriend at a family wedding. Now, he’s looking at her with the same panicked expression.

Owen’s life has always been about control—managing his mother’s matchmaking schemes, his family’s expectations, and the career path he never truly chose. Thea was his one rebellion, a beautiful lie that ended with a “heart-destroying” fake breakup. Now, with his younger brother’s wedding underway and his mother on the prowl, Owen begs Thea to reprise their roles. One week. Same fake breakup. No feelings.

But as old sparks reignite and the lines between pretense and reality blur, Thea and Owen will have to choose: carry on their greatest performance yet or admit the truth—that it was never fake at all.

The family issues in this story were over-the-top—like the Pappas family in general. I actually loved the family as a whole and how they showed up for each other was fantastic to see. Owen’s mother was pretty horrible, though. The layers of manipulation and emotional abuse that woman dished out made me want to scream.

Thea is like the embodiment of my inner voice: she blurts out the first thing that pops into her head, without even a half second’s pause for thought, but her feeling of being unworthy/less than is probably how a lot of us feel. And Owen is also entirely relatable. I loved seeing them grow out of their old selves and into their new, stronger selves together.

Amy Buchanan lives in Florida. The Best I Never Had is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin in exchange for an honest review.)

The Gods Will Sing Our Song, by Autumn Krause

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Title: The Gods Will Sing Our Song
Author: Autumn Krause              
Genre: historical fiction, YA   
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

A divine favor can change everything.

1942. War rumbles across the world, gods stir in the wind, and two lives are set on a collision course that will change them forever.

Seventeen-year-old Ren Hamada has always been defined by his troubled past, while Violet Aratani has only ever worried about keeping her straight-A grades and helping her parents run their beloved print shop. The two have little in common beyond the old magic that thrums in their worn family relics—and the fact that they’re Japanese American in a country determined to cast them as the enemy.

Forced out of their homes and into ramshackle wooden barracks in the California desert by the US government, Ren and Violet collide. In a barbed wire world where everything they thought they knew is upside-down, the magnetic pull between them is the only thing that makes sense.

But there’s more than just desert dust swirling in the air. A god walks among them, his mortal form tethered to the camp, and only Violet and Ren hold the key to freeing him—an act that would earn them an immeasurable reward. Yet with tensions rising and their lives on the line, is even a divine favor powerful enough to save them?

I do love World War II-era historical fiction, but this dealt with something I haven’t read much about. Parts of it were horrifying and sad. Parts of it were inspiring, magical, and full of hope. I loved both Ren and Violet and found the mythology in the story fascinating. Even the secondary characters were vivid and had me emotionally attached. This is a solid read that I enjoyed very much.

Autumn Krause is from L.A. The Gods Will Sing Our Song is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children’s Books | Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)