Category: book review

Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett    

Image belongs to Ballantine/Del Rey.

Title: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries    
Author:  Heather Fawcett   
Genre:  Fantasy   
Rating:  4 out of 5

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

I really enjoyed this read! It felt like a bit of a fairy tale to me, which is always enjoyable. I could really relate to Em and her social awkwardness. I wasn’t too sure what to make of Bambleby at first, but he grew on me. I loved the little community of Hrafnsvik and its inhabitants, and I loved how Emily gradually came to fit herself into their midst and feel at home for the first time in her life.

Heather Fawcett lives in British Columbia. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Ballantine/Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Stranded, by Sarah Daniels  

Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Title: The Stranded     
Author:  Sarah Daniels  
Genre:   Fantasy, YA  
Rating:  4 out of 5

Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States – a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . .

I enjoyed this dystopian read—not sure I’ve read anything with a setting quite like this. Esther is more than a bit naïve—sometimes willfully so—so focused on her pie-in-the-sky dreams of the future that she closes her eyes against reality. The setting and the tangle of rules and micro-cultures on the ship were the most fascinating parts of this story for me, but I liked the main characters, too. Lots of action here, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

Sarah Daniels is from the UK. The Stranded is her newest novel.

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

Sundays Are for Writing #207

This was a pretty good writing week to start off the new year! I wrote my December reading post, the best books I read in December, my 2022 reading post, and I reviewed Sam, by Allegra Goodman. I hope the good writing vibes continue.

Happy writing!

Book Review:  Sam, by Allegra Goodman

Image belongs to Random House/The Dial Press.

Title:  Sam      
Author: Allegra Goodman    
Genre: Fiction    
Rating:  3.0

There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother, Courtney, struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind her daughter that her life should be different. Sam doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. Sam doesn’t care about jeans or rules. She just loves to climb–trees, fences, walls, the side of a building. When she’s climbing, she discovers a place she belongs: she can turn off her brain, pain has a purpose, and it’s okay if you want to win.

As Sam grows into her teens, she grapples with self-doubt and insecurity. She yearns for her climbing coach to notice her, but his attention crosses boundaries she doesn’t know how to resist. She wishes her father would leave for good, instead of always coming and going, but once he’s gone, she realizes how much she’s lost. She rages against her mother’s constant pressure to plan for a more secure future. Wrestling with who she wants to be in the face of what she’s expected to do, Sam comes to understand that she alone can make her dreams come true.

This book felt very pointless to me. What was the plot? I’m not sure. What about conflict? Um…Yeah, there wasn’t anything in particular, except for Sam’s self-destructive tendencies. Sam doesn’t just “grapple with self-doubt and insecurity” as the blurb says. She’s flat-out childish and selfish—and frequently astonished when things turn out badly. Maybe this just wasn’t my cup of tea, but I’m not sure why I even bothered finishing this.

Allegra Goodman lives in Massachusetts. Sam is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/The Dial Press in exchange for an honest review.)

What I Read in 2022

January: 22 books.

February: 26 books.

March: 20 books.

April: 11 books.

May: 16 books.

June: 20 books.

July: 18 books.

August: 22 books.

September: 17 books.

October: 14 books.

November: 8 books.

December: 18 books.

The Best Books I Read in December (2022)

In December, I read 18 books, bringing my yearly total to 216 books, pretty far short of my goal of 250 books.

I’m going to make an exception this month and pick four “best books,” because two of them are by the same author and are basically connected.

I’m a massive fan of Charles Martin, and will basically devour anything he writes, but this month, I discovered his two non-fiction books, What if It’s True? and They Turned the World Upside Down. I never write in books, but I highlighted in in the second one, cried over both, and listened to the first on audio book (the author narrates, and it was just so wonderful to listen to.) Both were phenomenal reads.

The Secret Society of Salzburg, by Renee Ryan. This was an excellent WWII fiction! I enjoyed every single page.

Saint, by Adrienne Young. I’ve enjoyed all of Young’s books, but reading this prequel to the Fable books was wonderful!

What I Read in December (2022)

Books Read in December: 18

Books Read for the Year:  216/250 Definitely didn’t hit this one!

Yearly Reads:

Amazing Grace: 365 Daily Devotions.

Grace for the Moment, by Max Lucado.

She Reads Truth Bible.

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

Help is Here by Max Lucado (spiritual). Great read!

What If It’s True? by Charles Martin (nonfiction, audio). This was an incredible book!

They Turned the World Upside Down, by Charles Martin (nonfiction). Absolutely loved this.

The Raven Song, by Luanne Smith (TBR). I enjoyed the second book in this fantasy series

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop, by Jenny Colgan (TBR). I enjoyed this, but Rosie kind of got on my nerves.

The Sacrament of Happy, by Lisa Harper (spiritual). So good!

Live Your Truth (and Other Lies), by Alisa Childers (spiritual). I don’t entirely agree with Childers here. A lot of it, yes, but not all.

For Review:

To Get to the Other Side, by Kelly Ohlert. This was…okay. The characters felt very superficially fleshed-out, and their personality quirks felt forced, not believable.

The Wedding Ranch, by Nancy Naigle. This was a sweet read–definitely worth binge-reading on the weekend.

The Secret Society of Salzburg, by Renee Ryan. I was glued to the page with this one! I loved both main characters and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them.

Pretty Little Pieces, by Carmen Schober. I really enjoyed this novel! The interaction between Georgina and her BFF were stellar, and, let’s face it, Cassidy was pretty darn great, too.

Just Because:

Saint, by Adrienne Young (TBR). I have loved all of Young’s books, and reading this prequel to the Fable books was fantastic.

The 28-Day Prayer Journey Study Guide, by Chrystal Evans Hurst (spiritual).

Going Rogue, by Janet Evanovich. This series always makes me laugh.

Rules at the School by the Sea, by Jenny Colgan. I’ve enjoyed these books a lot!

Left Unfinished:

The Blackout Book Club, by Amy Lynn Green. I wanted to like this. I love books, I love World War II fiction, this should have been a sure thing. But I didn’t like the characters much, and I just couldn’t bring myself to read more.

The Lipstick Bureau, by Michelle Gable. Another DNFed WWII fiction? Who am I? This seemed a bit erratic, and the transitions between POV characters were clunky. And….Niki wasn’t a very likable person. I read 38% of this before realizing I didn’t care about her or what happened to her because she was pretty cold and heartless.

Sundays Are for Writing #206

Happy New Year! I hope 2023 is a good year for you.

This week, I didn’t write a single book review. But I did write my December reading post, my best books I read in December post, and my 2022 reading recap. I only read 216 books out of my goal of 250 books this year, so I think I”ll scale back next year.

Happy writing!

Book Review and Blog Tour:  The Lipstick Bureau, by Michelle Gable

Image belongs to Harlequin/Graydon House.

Title:  The Lipstick Bureau      
Author:  Michelle Gable   
Genre: Historical Fiction    
Rating:  DNF

1944, Rome. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy’s capital. One of the OSS’s few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she’s tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers.

Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others—now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau—find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband.

As the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she’s been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart. But one step out of line, one mistake, could mean life or death…

This seemed a bit erratic, and the transitions between POV characters were clunky. I felt very distant from all the characters—they were more paper dolls than actual people. And….Niki wasn’t a very likable person. I read 38% of this before realizing I didn’t care about her or what happened to her because she was pretty cold and heartless.

Michelle Gable is a bestselling author. The Lipstick Bureau is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Graydon House in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Pretty Little Pieces, by Carmen Schober    

Image belongs to Bethany House.

Title:  Pretty Little Pieces      
Author:   Carmen Schober  
Genre:  Romance   
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Ambitious influencer Georgina Havoc and her designer beau Lance Broussard have been dubbed the the next Chip and Joanna Gaines, but their happily-ever-after falls apart when Lance blindsides her with a “pause.” The show must go on, so Georgina takes on the task of renovating a forgotten cottage in the tiny, tight-knit town of Tarragon, Tennessee on her own.

Georgina has a plan to save her relationship–and her show–but a surprise drop-in from her troubled twin sister makes things extra messy. That, and the presence of rugged ex-sniper Cassidy Stokes, who throws a wrench in all her plans.

As she puts the pieces of her rippled life back together, will Georgina retreat to the familiar or embrace a new design?

This was a great read! I enjoyed the romance, as Georgina and Cassidy got to know each other. They were obviously perfect for each other! Cassidy’s ex was such a jerk, too. I loved the friendship between Georgina and her best friend—that relationship was absolutely believable and so funny! I even loved the small town of Tarragon—nosy busybodies and all.

Carmen Schober lives in Kansas. Pretty Little Pieces is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.)