So many words. So little time.
This was a GREAT writing week! I wrote four book reviews: Highlands Christmas – Wishes Come True, by Amy Quick Parrish, The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch, by Jacqueline Firkins, When I’m Dead, by Hannah Morrissey (will be up tomorrow), and Swarm, by Jennifer Lyle (up on Friday). Even better, I got in FIVE fiction writing sessions! This is the most writing I’ve done in a long, long time, and I’m very happy with it. How’s your writing week going?
Happy writing!
Title: The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch
Author: Jacqueline Firkins
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5
Imogen Finch has just been through her seventeenth breakup. She saw it coming, so she’s not as crushed as she might be, but with all seventeen of her exes leaving her for other partners, she’s come to believe a prediction her well-intentioned and possibly clairvoyant mother made over twenty years ago: that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone. Is her love life failing due to a magical curse? Insufficient effort? Poor timing or personality mismatches? Everyone has opinions on the matter. Imogen’s ready to give up altogether. But when Eliot Swift, her secret high school crush, returns to their small coastal town after a decade of nomadic travels, Imogen has new motivation to try again. Eliot’s full of encouragement. He suggests that her curse is not only imagined, it’s easily breakable. All they need is one win–any win–and she can believe in love, and in herself again.
From trivia games to swimming races to corn-shucking contests, the pair sets out to snag Imogen her first first. But when victory proves more elusive than Eliot anticipated, and when his deep-seeded wanderlust compels him to depart for far away places, Imogen fears she’s destined to remain in second place forever. Fortunately for them both, sometimes magic lingers in the most unexpected places. And love is far from predictable.
I’m just going to say it: maybe if Imogen hadn’t hopped into bed with every random guy that showed her a bit of interest, she might have had more luck in the romance department. I mean, the signs are all there in her flashbacks, she just refused to see them. Which brings me to what bothered me about this book: it’s all about the guys’ issues, even Eliot’s, but there’s not a whole lot of talk about Imogen’s clear problems. It’s’ mentioned a little bit, but mostly glossed over. So, yeah, books are better when both MCs grow and learn from their mistakes.
That being said, I liked the friendship between Imogen, Eliot, and Franny a lot. Actually, Franny and Imogen’s friendship and support of one another was fantastic. Eliot almost lost me immediately with the man bun, but he ended up being a pretty good character, too. This ended up being a solid read, just don’t expect everyone to be well-adjusted and self-aware.
Jacqueline Firkins works at the University of British Columbia. The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: Highlands Christmas – Wishes Come True
Author: Amy Quick Parrish
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Christmas wishes do come true.
Melissa MacKenzie is an American interior designer with a seemingly happy life — until her husband Dave reveals he’s been cheating on her and wants a divorce and the house. But when a letter informs her that she will inherit a home in Scotland, things start looking up. At the airport she inadvertently meets Colin McGregor, a charming Scottish-American lawyer who happens to be her husband’s divorce lawyer. She’s taken by his sexy Scottish accent and charm and, as fate would have it, he’s on Melissa’s flight to Edinburgh … and on her train to Inverness, and happens to live in the same town where she’s inherited her home.
As sparks fly between Melissa and Colin, he agrees to help her secure the Scottish home that she believes she’s entitled to. They dive right into Scottish culture — and each other’s arms — as love and a new home seem within reach. Will they be able to succeed in both missions? Or will everything fall apart?
Highlands Christmas is a romantic and delightful story that will set hearts afire. In a fairy tale as captivating as the Loch Ness monster, Melissa and Colin must cross an ocean to end up right where they belong… because home is where the heart is.
This is a novella, so it’s a quick read. And I like the setting. Those are pretty much the only positives I can come up with. This was predictable. Melissa was naïve and clueless to a ridiculous extent—a relative you’ve never heard of dies and you just hop on a plane without determining if the “inheritance” you’ve been emailed about is legit? Really? She comes across as willfully gullible and without an ounce of common sense. Colin is too good to be true, as are the rest of the secondary characters. This just wasn’t a good fit for me. I’m all for HEAs and charming reads, but they have to be believable and well-drawn, which I didn’t find this to be.
Amy Quick Parrish is from Michigan. Highlands Christmas—Wishes Come True is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Flying Cactus in exchange for an honest review.)
This was a decent writing week: I wrote one book review, Unholy Terrors, by Lyndall Clipstone, and I got in two fiction-writing sessions on the cozy mystery/fantasy, so I’m happy with that. My goal for this next week is five fiction writing sessions and three book reviews (Yeah, pretty audacious, I know. Go big or go home, right? Right?). How was your writing week?
Happy writing!
Title: Unholy Terrors
Author: Lyndall Clipstone
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 4 out of 5
Everline Blackthorn has devoted her life to the wardens—a sect of holy warriors who guard against monsters known as the vespertine.
When a series of strange omens occur, Everline disobeys orders to investigate, and uncovers a startling truth in the form of Ravel Severin: a rogue vespertine who reveals the monsters have secrets of their own.
Ravel promises the help she needs— for a price. Vespertine magic requires blood, and if Everline wants Ravel to guide her across the dangerous moorland, she will have to allow him to feed from her.
It’s a sin for a warden to feed a vespertine— let alone love one— and as Everline and Ravel travel further across the moorland, she realizes the question isn’t whether she will survive the journey, but if she will return unchanged. Or if she wants to.
This felt like a very atmospheric novel: dark, secretive, a gloomy landscape. I never did really understand the culture and its history, so I never had a good feel for the characters and the why behind all their rituals. While the characters were moving from place to place, I f let like they were just going in circles—and the idea that these two opposing forces had strongholds located so very close together didn’t make sense to me, either.
I would have liked to see more character development: Everline was the only one I had any sort of insight in, and her rash impulses never made sense to me, either, not for someone who’s supposed to be such a warrior and focused on being a good little warden. I enjoyed the read, but it was lacking in some areas.
Lyndall Clipstone is from Australia. Unholy Terrors is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s/Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: The Unmaking of June Farrow
Author: Adrienne Young
Genre: Mystery, fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors.
It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. Faint wind chimes, a voice calling her name, and a mysterious door appearing out of nowhere—the signs of what June always knew was coming. But June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own.
After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love.
I’m a huge fan of this author’s YA books. I wasn’t quite such a fan of her first adult novel, but this one was so good! I was just as confused as June during parts of this, and my mind was spinning, trying to figure out what, exactly, was going on. The women in the Farrow family are such strong characters, and all of them fascinated me. I can’t imagine having to make the choices June had to make. This was an excellent read, and I read it straight through in one sitting.
Adrienne Young is a bestselling author. The Unmaking of June Farrow is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Random House/Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.)
This was not a good writing week: I got in one fiction session…and that’s it. Better than nothing, I suppose, but life was just so busy this week! Work was super crazy and I worked around 50 hours. My dad had surgery on Tuesday, and instead of getting out of the hospital Wednesday as planned, he was in until yesterday. I ended up doing a 15k trail race yesterday that I hadn’t planned on, because my best friend’s mom had signed up and couldn’t go, and I had family and friends in town this weekend. I. Am. Tired. So, yeah. That’s it for me.
Happy writing!
Title: The Hurricane Wars
Author: Thea Guanzon
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
The heart is a battlefield.
All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, Talasyn has found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows.
Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, Alaric has never been bested. That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.
Talasyn and Alaric both know this war can only end with them. But a greater threat is coming, and the strange new magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Thrust into an uneasy alliance, they will confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion–one that could save their world…or destroy it.
I’m not going to lie: I was intrigued by the setting and culture all along, but the Reylo fanfiction aspect was almost too much for me to take. It wasn’t even disguised as anything else, frankly, and that was almost enough to make me put the book down. Thankfully, that improved. I liked both characters, although Talasyn’s unbridled anger was a bit wearying. Like, please just stop being furious for 30 seconds, okay?
The characters grew on me, and the culture of the islands was fascinating. I’d love to read more set in this world, but I hope there’s some character growth in the next book, so the hatred doesn’t grate on my nerves and destroy my enjoyment of the story.
Thea Guanzon is from the Philippines. The Hurricane Wars is her debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: Night of the Witch
Author: Sara Raasch; Beth Revis
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5
A witch and a hunter. Vengeance is their mission. Love is their destiny.
Fritzi is a witch. A survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she’s determined to find her only surviving family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader—Kommandant Dieter Kirch.
Otto is a hexenjäger and a captain, the second in command to Dieter Kirch—but that’s just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjagers burned his innocent mother alive and since then, he has been planning a move against the witch hunters that tore his family apart. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they’ve done.
When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other, despite their common enemy. But all they have is one another, and they both crave revenge. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.
This started off a little bit slow to me and I got bogged down while Fritzi was on the run, but it picked up when she and Otto met. The historical background was horrifying, although I’d never read anything in this time period/space. I was engrossed by the end, and would be happy to read more of this setting and these characters.
Sara Raasch is a bestselling author. Beth Revis lives in North Carolina. Night of the Witch is their newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.)
This has been a busy week, writing and life. I wrote one book review, The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon, and one fiction session. I also wrote my September reading post and my best books I read in September post. I also DNFed four books (Man, that really sounds like a lot!): The Mis-Arrangement of Sara Saeed, Love Interest, Snow Place Like Home, and Silent City.
This next week will be even busier, but I hope to get two fiction writing sessions in and at least one book review.
Happy writing!
Tomorrow Is Another Day 