Category: characters

Best Books I Read in September (2023)

In September, I read 19 books, bringing my total for the year to 154 books read. Of those, most of them were either meh reads or solid reads, but a handful were great.

Wrapped in Rain, by Charles Martin (audio). Another lovely book by my favorite author. This one made me cry, but it was so good!

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I forgot how much I loved this world and these characters! This was just plain fun to re-read.

The Roaring Days of Zora Lily, by Noelle Salazar. I do love reading about the 1920s, and this was such a good read! I loved all the details about life and culture during this times. The romance was so well-done, and I even enjoyed the fashion descriptions. Which is really saying something, considering my complete disregard of fashion.

The Scarlet Alchemist, by Kylie Lee Baker (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this read a lot! Love the magic system and the characters—I found the Crown Prince to be so endearing in his…uselessness. This was a strong fantasy read with vibrant characters, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Roaring Days of Zora Lily, by Noelle Salazar

Image belongs to Harlequin/MIRA.

Title: The Roaring Days of Zora Lily     
Author: Noelle Salazar    
Genre: historical fiction   
Rating:  5 out of 5

2023, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer’s label, leaving her to wonder—who is Zora Lily?

1924, Seattle: Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money, working her fingers to the bone just to survive. But at night, as she lies in the bed she shares with one of her three sisters, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin.

When her best friend gets a job dancing in a club downtown, Zora is lured in by her stories of music, glittering dresses and boys. She follows her friend to the underground speakeasies that are at once exciting and frightening—with smoke hanging in the air, alcohol flowing despite Prohibition, couples dancing in a way that makes Zora blush and a handsome businessman named Harley. It’s a world she has only ever imagined, and one with connections that could lead her to the life she’s always dreamed of. But as Zora’s ambition is challenged by tragedy and duty to her family, she’ll learn that dreams come with a cost.

This was a fantastic read! Granted, the 1920s are one of my favorite time periods to read about, but Zora captivated me from the very first page. She is so determined to move past her present and make a life that she loves for herself, but she also remains loyal to her family and those who helped her. It’s a testament to the writing and story that the fashion details fascinated me instead of boring me, but Zora herself is truly the reason I couldn’t put the book down. This is so well done, and I would recommend it to everyone!

Noelle Salazar lives in Washington. The Roaring Days of Zora Lilly is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  The Last Exchange, by Charles Martin  

Image belongs to Thomas Nelson.

Title:  The Last Exchange
Author:  Charles Martin   
Genre:  Fiction   
Rating: 5 out of 5 (Actually, more like 6 out of 5).

When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren’t working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.

It didn’t take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.

Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue’s life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that’s when he stepped in.

Yes, Charles Martin is my favorite author and I love everything he writes, but dang. This book. I laughed and cried while reading this—and I binge-read the entire thing in one afternoon. Martin’s characters are always so quirky and larger-than-life and Joe and Pockets are no exceptions. I loved how their friendship grew and the secrets they were both hiding made it even more tangible and real. (The scene with the Queen!) As always, Martin manages to illustrate the beautiful truth of the Gospel while weaving a beautiful, moving story, and that’s why he’s my favorite author.

Charles Martin is a bestselling author. The Last Exchange is his newest novel.

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

What I Read in September (2023)

Books Read in September: 19
Books Read for the Year:  154/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis (audio, spiritual): This was a very inspiring read/listen!

Wrapped in Rain, by Charles Martin (TBR): This was an excellent book! The relationships in this book are top-notch.

How to Listen to God, by Charles Stanley (spiritual): Excellent read.

gods at War by Kyle Idleman (spiritual): Very thought provoking.

Powers, by John B. Olson (TBR): Apparently I’d read this before…but I didn’t realize that until I finished it. This was very chaotic and confusing to me, and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Trapper Road, by Rachel Caine (TBR): People can be so evil.

Now I Rise, by Kierstin White (TBR): Yeah, these characters are…not nice people.

The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa (re-read): This was such a great re-read!

The Dry, by Jane Harper. I tried to read this before and got bored quickly, but this time I persevered and finished it. It got much better, but man, the setting was depressing.

For Review:

The Spy’s Daughter, by Bianca M. Schwarz. This was a solid read, but it seemed all to easy for the characters to me.

The Forest Grimm, by Kathryn Purdie. This had some dark fantasy aspects to it and there were several unresolved storylines, but it was a decent read.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas, by Mary Kay Andrews. This was an okay read, but the MC’s brother was a total jerk and she was a bit surface-level to me. No depth in this story, to me.

Case of the Bleus, by Korina Moss. This was the first of this series I’ve read, but I enjoyed it quite a bit—especially the cheeses!

The Roaring Days of Zora Lily, by Noelle Salazar (review forthcoming). Loved this! I loved all the details about life during Prohibition, Zora’s struggle to make something of herself, the romance, everything!

The Scarlet Alchemist, by Kylie Lee Baker (review forthcoming). This kept me guessing the whole time, and I really enjoyed the whole thing and can’t wait to read more!

Starter Villain, by John Scalzi. I liked the intelligent cats, but this isn’t the sort of thing I could read much of. The snark was on point, but it all felt a bit campy and B-rate to me.

Night of the Witch, by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this historical fiction-ish read, although the first quarter felt really slow to me.

Just Because:

Whisper, by Mark Batterson (re-read). Because I love this book.

Winter’s Passage, by Julie Kagawa. Pretty sure I hadn’t read this novella before, but I liked the glimpse into Meghan and Ash’s relationship.

Left Unfinished:

The Enemy Beside Me, by Naomi Ragen. This started off so slowly that I got bored. And Milia just wasn’t interesting to me.

The Name Drop, by Susan Lee. I kind of liked Jessica, but Elijah just got on my nerves. He says he doesn’t like everything being handed to him on a platter, but in reality, he wished for it, and that was annoying.

The Witches of Bone Hill, by Ava Morgyn. I don’t read horror, and this veered far too close to horror for me.

The Other Princess, by Denny S. Bryce. I read 50% of this, but I just did NOT like Aina/Sarah. She was very selfish and self-focused, and I got tired of reading about her, despite the excellent writing.

Book Review: Bright Lights, Big Christmas, by Mary Kay Andrews

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  Bright Lights, Big Christmas
Author:  Mary Kay Andrews   
Genre:  Romance   
Rating: 3.5  out of 5

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

This was an okay read. I think its main goal was to make NYC seem quirky, charming, and safe. I’ve never been there, but I think that may be a bit inaccurate. Kerry’s brother, Murphy, really was a selfish jerk, and that was basically his entire personality:  grouchy jerk. Kerry felt like she flitted from thing to thing, a surface-level person only. I liked the neighborhood and its inhabitants, but this novel didn’t have very much depth.

Mary Kay Andrews is from Florida. Bright Lights, Big Christmas is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: The Forest Grimm, by Kathryn Purdie

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: The Forest Grimm
Author: Kathryn Purdie    
Genre: Fantasy, YA     
Rating: 4 out of 5 

“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.

I enjoyed this read, although I felt like it could have used a bit more resolution or development in certain areas. I still had questions at the end, like, why, exactly, Axel was so enamored of Ella? I feel like she used her wish for that, but it was never said. The fairy tale characters were, of course, appropriately dark and evil—Hansel and Gretel especially—so that part made sense, but there were odd bits of things I found disjointed. I liked Clara, although her determination to die was slightly unsettling. This was a solid read, it just left me with some questions.

Kathryn Purdie is a bestselling author and lives in the Rocky Mountains. The Forest Grimm is her newest novel.

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

The Best Books I Read in August (2023)

In August, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 135 books read. Of those books, a few were standouts.

The River Runs South, by Audrey Ingram. This was an excellent Southern fiction read, and a debut novel from this author. I wasn’t too sure if I liked the main character at first, even though she was going through a very tough time, but I ended up loving her—and her adorable daughter. I also loved the setting so much and thought it was portrayed so well.

Touch of Power, by Maria V. Snyder. I’m a big fan of this author and I’d read this before, but I remembered almost none of it. I enjoyed the characters so much! They were so memorable and believable and made the rest of the story truly magical.

The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I’ve enjoyed this series so much, and I read this entire novel in one session, on release day. It did not disappoint. The Hawthorne brothers and their antics are thoroughly entertaining, and I love the relationship between the three brothers.

What I Read in August (2023)

Books Read in August: 17
Books Read for the Year:  135/225

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

The Pursuit of God, by A.W. Tozer (spiritual).
If the Tomb is Empty, by Joby and Charles Martin (audio, spiritual).
The God I Never Knew, by Robert Morris (spiritual re-read).
Get Lost, by Dannah Gresh (spiritual). This was a thought-provoking read.
A Fatal Illusion, by Anna Lee Huber (TBR). I always love the books in this series.
Mr. Owita’s Guide to Gardening, by Carol Wall (TBR). This was surprisingly good!
Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic, by Meghan Ciana Dodge (re-read). I enjoyed this re-read, although some of the cultural references were a little bit dated.
Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg (TBR). I really enjoyed this!
Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder (re-read). I have no idea how I forgot about this book. A good read!

For Review:

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker. Parts of this were quite funny, and I enjoyed the two main characters quite a bit.

Her Radiant Curse, by Elizabeth Lim. I did enjoy this fantasy read and the relationship between the two sisters, but I didn’t like the ending too much. I’d be interested to read more of this story.

Letters from My Sister, by Valerie Fraser Luesse. This started off a little bit slow, but it ended up being so, so good! Love the the sisters and their relationship, and everything about this family.

The River Runs South, by Audrey Ingram (review forthcoming). I wasn’t too sure about the MC at first, but I ended up really loving this read—it brought life in an Alabama coastal town to vibrant life.

Main Character Energy, by Jamie Varon. This was a solid romance read, though I found it pretty predictable. I did love how the MC came to accept and lover herself.

Just Because:

The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I binge-read this in one sitting the day it came out. Love these characters and their antics.

Scent of Magic, by Maria V. Snyder. This was a re-read I did not remember reading the first time, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Sacred Echo, by Margaret Feinberg. This was a very profound, thought-provoking read.

Spellmaker, by Charlie N. Holmberg. I enjoyed the first book in this duology so much, I immediately read the second one.

Left Unfinished:

Deadlock, by James Byrne. The first 10% of this just felt disjointed and choppy, and it didn’t hold my attention.
The Invisible Hour, by Alice Hoffman. I was so looking forward to reading this! I got about 30% in and realized I just didn’t care about the characters…and that was before I got to the time-travel bit that a lot of readers didn’t care for.
The Breakaway, by Jennifer Weiner. This is the second book by this author I’ve DNFed because I just don’t like the characters.

Kissing Kosher, by Jean Meltzer. I just could not make myself care about these characters. They seemed surface level, with not depth.

Dreambound, by Dan Frey. I read a third of this and was mildly interested, but the format was kind of jarring for me (switching between texts, emails, etc.,) and Byron was kind of a self-absorbed jerk, so it couldn’t keep my attention.

Book Review: Letters from My Sister, by Valerie Fraser Luesse  

Image belongs to Revell.

Title:  Letters from My Sister      
Author:  Valerie Fraser Luesse  
Genre: Historical fiction    
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

At the turn of the twentieth century, sisters Emmy and Callie Bullock are living a privileged life as the only daughters of a wealthy Alabama cotton farmer when their well-ordered household gets turned upside down by the arrival of Lily McGee. Arrestingly beautiful, Lily quickly–and innocently–draws the wrong kind of attention. Meanwhile, Callie meets a man who offers her the freedom to abandon social constraints and discover her truest self.

After Lily has a baby, Callie witnesses something she was never meant to see–or did she? Her memory is a haze, just an image in her mind of Emmy standing on a darkened riverbank and cradling Lily’s missing baby girl. Only when the sisters are separated does the truth slowly come to light through their letters–including a revelation that will shape the rest of Callie’s life.

This was a tiny bit slow to start off, but Callie was such a great character that I kept reading, and I’m so glad I did! The Bullock family was so fascinating to read about. I enjoyed every one of them! This book made me laugh out loud several times—and cry. I was immersed in the lives of the characters and the dreams of the sisters, and I ended up enjoying this very much.

Valerie Fraser Luesse lives in Birmingham. Letters From My Sister is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: Her Radiant Curse, by Elizabeth Lim    

Image belongs to Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Title:  Her Radiant Curse     
Author: Elizabeth Lim    
Genre:  Fantasy, YA  
Rating:  4 out of 5

One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

I enjoyed this like I’ve enjoyed Elizabeth Lim’s other novels. The rich cultures and diverse settings fascinate me, and she’s skilled at depicting intricate relationships of all sorts. I love Channi and Vanna’s relationship with all its history and complexity. I was engrossed in watching the sisters come into their own and become who they were meant to be.

Elizabeth Lim is a bestselling author. Her Radiant Curse is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)