Tag: books

Book Review: The Forget-Me-Not Library, by Heather Webber    

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: The Forget-Me-Not Library
Author: Heather Webber  
Genre: Fantasy  
Rating: 5 out of 5

Juliet Nightingale is lucky to be alive. Months after a freak accident involving lightning, she’s fully recovered but is left feeling that something is missing from her life. Something big. Impulsively, she decides to take a solo summer road trip, hoping that the journey will lead her down a path that will help her discover exactly what it is that she’s searching for.

Newly-single mom Tallulah Byrd Mayfield is hanging by a thread after her neat, tidy world was completely undone when her husband decided that their marriage was over. In the aftermath of the breakup, she and her two daughters move in with her eighty-year-old grandfather. Tallulah starts a new job at the Forget-Me-Not Library, where old, treasured memories can be found within the books—and where Lu must learn to adapt to the many changes thrown her way.

When a road detour leads Juliet to Forget-Me-Not, Alabama, and straight into Tallulah’s life, the two women soon discover there’s magic in between the pages of where you’ve been and where you still need to go. And that happiness, even when lost, can always be found again.

This was such a good read! I truly enjoyed it from the opening scene: looking for a lost little girl and finding her asleep in a tree she calls Bill. I wanted to hang out with every character in the story, and the town of Forget-Me-Not just felt so magical. The exploration of grief and guilt was handled so well, as Juliet ‘s mind lets her finally remember things, and Tallulah’s coming to terms with the truth of her past and letting go of her fears to embrace the future was done with such believable emotion. I highly recommend this!

Heather Webber is a bestselling author. The Forget-Me-Not Library is her newest novel.

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

Book Review: Fallen City, by Adrienne Young  

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | Saturday Books.

Title: Fallen City
Author: Adrienne Young            
Genre: Fantasy    
Rating: 4 out of 5

Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.

Maris Casoeria was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel’s inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.

As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.

I’ve read all but one of Adrienne Young’s books and enjoyed them, but I found the sequencing of this one a bit harder to connect to. I loved the characters and the culture and world but jumping from the siege in the present-day back to scenes from the past made it harder to truly love this. The intricacies of the political intrigue were disheartening at best, and I was never truly comfortable with what I knew of the theology system, either. Great characters and I’ll definitely read more, I just didn’t connect with this as much as I usually do with her novels.

Adrienne Young lives in North Carolina. Fallen City is her newest novel.

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

 

Book Review: Introducing Mrs. Collins, by Rachel Parris

Image belongs to Little, Brown and Company.

Title: Introducing Mrs. Collins
Author: Rachel Parris            
Genre: historical fiction    
Rating: 5 out of 5

When Charlotte Lucas chooses security over romance, her eyes are wide open to the decision she is making. Marriage to Mr. Collins offers stability, if not passion, and she is determined to make the best of it. While Elizabeth Bennet turns away in judgment of her choice, Charlotte builds a life in Kent—one of duty, routine, and quiet contentment.

But everything changes when an unexpected visitor arrives at Rosings Park. A spark is lit, an impossible longing awakened.

Torn between what she must do and what she truly desires, Charlotte finds herself at the center of a story she never expected to be hers. A tale of love, loss, and second chances, Introducing Mrs. Collins is for anyone who wondered if there was more to the sensible character we met in Pride and Prejudice. It is the story of a woman who had written herself out of her own life, only to learn it is never too late to find your own happy ending.

I’m just going to say that I loved this! Pride and Prejudice is a favorite read of mine—of course—but I never really thought about Charlotte Lucas much, so this was a fascinating read! I loved seeing things from her point of view and getting to know her, and even Mr. Collins, better. This was just such a good read!

Rachel Parris lives in London. Introducing Mrs. Collins is her debut novel.

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

    

The Best Books I Read in October (2025)

In October, I read 14 books, bringing my total for the year to 197 books read. Honestly, I don’t feel like I read very much–and most of what I did read was either meh or okay. But there were three books I read that were really good!

Falling Into a Sea of Stars, by Kristen Britain. I’ve loved this series all along, and I loved this, too. Karigan is such a great character, and I love the tension between her and the king. I binge-read this in a single weekend.

The Memory Gardener, by Meg Donohue. This was so good! The characters were great–vibrant and quirky–and the setting was fantastic. Oceanview Home became such a great setting! And the gardens. I loved the gardens. All of them.

Magic for a Price, by Devon Monk. How did I read this series over a decade ago, when they first came out, and somehow not read the final book in the series? I enjoyed this wrap-up! I listened to it on audio, and truly enjoyed that aspect of it. Shamus is my fave!

Sundays are for Writing #343

I only wrote one book review this week, The Memory Gardener, by Meg Donohue, but it was a fantastic read! The rest of the week was busy with work and getting ready for vacation this week–so don’t expect much writing!

Happy writing!

What I Read in October (2025)

Books Read in October: 14
Books Read for the Year:  197/225

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Night Window, by Dean Koontz (TBR): This was a good wrap-up to this series.
The Friends We Keep, by Jane Green (audio): I’m sorry, but Evvie was a terrible person.
Magic without Mercy, by Devon Monk (re-read): How did I read this series years ago…and somehow NOT read the last book?
Living as a a Christian, by A.W. Tozier (spiritual): A lot of deep ideas here.
The Last Phone Booth in Manhahttan, by Beth Merlin, Danielle Modafferi (TBR): I enjoyed this read.
The Little Venice Bookshop, by Rebecca Raisin (TBR): This was a little meh for me.
Falling in a Sea of Stars, by Kristen Britain (TBR): Loved this so much!

For Review:

An Academic Affair, by Jodi McAlister. At first, I really enjoyed this. Then it became monotonous.

The Cathedral of Lost Souls, by Paula Brackston. Another solid read by Brackston, although I enjoyed the first book in the series more.

Break Wide the Sea, by Sara Holland. This took me a bit to get into, but I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Evil Bones, by Kathy Reichs. This is usually a solid series, and for the most part, this book was. Temperance did a few things that seemed really stupid, and the ending seemed rushed and was more of a “this is what happened,” without showing the reader/letting them experience it for themselves.

The Memory Gardener, by Meg Donohue. Loved this so much! Loved the gardens, the residents of Oceanview Home, the characters, the dog…All of it.

Where He Left Me, by Nicole Baart. This was a solid thriller read–and ended up being not what I expected at all.

Just Because:

Magic for a Price, by Devon Monk (audio). I don’t know how I missed reading the last book in this series when they first came out, but I really enjoyed finally reading the complete series.

Left Unfinished:

Kingdom of Tomorrow, by Gena Showalter: I’ve always enjoyed Gena Showalter’s books, but this felt like cliched, poorly-written dross.

Family of Spies, by Christine Kuehn. This felt like a very distant POV, more of a tell, not show approach to the action.

The Last Vampire, by Romina Garber. This felt so cliched and predictable. I didn’t get very far, but the way Lorena kept mentioning (mentally) she was on her cycle felt like being bludgeoned with a big stick. Very clunky. Not a smooth narrative at all.

Book Review: The Dagger in Vichy, by Alastair Reynolds

Image belongs to Subterranean Press.

Title: The Dagger in Vichy
Author: Alastair Reynolds             
Genre: Fantasy   
Rating: 3 out of 5 

In a deep medieval future, a band of players travels across France to perform the same old tales in the same old towns. When passing soldiers entrust them with a mysterious box that they say must be delivered to the Imperator, old playwright Master Guillaume and young escaped thief Rufus puzzle at what the box might contain.

When Rufus overhears strange conversations between his Master Guillaume and the thing in the box, he must choose between his loyalty to the man who saved him from the noose and fear of the ancient intelligence working in their midst.

Secrets spill out over the road to Avignon, and none in the troupe are safe. Not Blind Benedict, who once saw the faceless Empty Knight patrolling the deathless Wald that creeps ever closer to the cities, and not Master Bernard whose sensible plans are not equal to the eldritch thing the company now carries with them. All the world’s a stage, and so was every world that came before.

The best thing I can say about this is that it’s short. There were aspects of the world and culture that intrigued me—like the Wald—and it had a bit of a steampunk feel, but I never cared about any of the characters. They all felt quite superficial, and we really didn’t get to know any of them. I never felt any sense of urgency or investment as I was reading, and I wouldn’t have kept reading at all if it weren’t for the brevity of the story.

Alastair Reynolds lives in Wales. His newest novel is The Dagger in Vichy.

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

   

Book Review: Final Cut, by Olivia Worley      

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books.

Title: Final Cut 
Author: Olivia Worley         
Genre: YA    
Rating: 3 out of 5

When recent high school graduate Hazel Lejeune gets the lead role in a slasher film, it feels like a dream come true. This is her chance to break into the industry, build her reel, and prove to her mom that this “gap year” can turn into a career. So what if it’s set in the nothing town of Pine Springs, Louisiana–the same place her father, the Pine Springs Slasher, was convicted of a series of murders fifteen years ago?

But when Haze arrives on set, she gets much more than she bargained for. The shoot is plagued with suspicious “accidents.” Mentions of her dad dot the entire script. And then, a gruesome murder shocks everyone to the core. Now, it’s clear there’s a real killer on set—one who’s determined to finish the film at all costs. But is this merely a copycat, or is the wrong Slasher behind bars?

As the body count rises and reality blurs with fiction, Haze must unmask the killer before she becomes a real-life final girl…or before the killer flips the script and makes her the next victim.

I’m not into watching horror or slasher movies. At all. Ever. So, I’m not sure why I decided to read this. The premise was eye-catching enough to get my attention, I guess, and I’d read one of the author’s other books. Solid writing here, and I liked the characters—mostly. Living in a town this small is my own personal idea of terrible, and the author captured it well.

However, the why of everything the MC did completely escaped me. Going off alone after the first murder happened? Spending any time at all with people you barely know after the murders started? Going out into the woods/bayou/wilderness alone at night to the house of a creepy man? Come on. I need believable characters to have at least a little bit of common sense.

Olivia Worley is from New Orleans. Final Cut is her newest novel.

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

      

Book Review: The White Octopus Hotel, by Alexandra Bell   

Image belongs to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey.

Title: The White Octopus Hotel
Author: Alexandra Bell       
Genre: Fantasy    
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

London, 2015

When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her London office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her.

His name is Max Everly – curiously, the same name as Eve’s favourite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she can’t shake the feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935

Decades earlier, high in the snowy Swiss Alps, Eve and a young Max Everly wander the winding halls of the grand belle epoque White Octopus Hotel, lost in time.

Each of them has been through the trenches – Eve in a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War – but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

I really enjoyed this read! I loved the touches of magic and whimsy throughout, like the magical objects from the hotel, Eve’s octopus tattoo, and the glimpses of the past (like the horse in the baths). I was fascinated with the hotel from the beginning. Even a deserted ruin, it was compelling—much less in its heyday. Eve was a complex character, but I liked her, and Max, too. This was truly a compelling, vibrant story.

Alexandra Bell lives in Hampshire. The White Octopus Hotel is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)

   

Sundays are for Writing #342

This was a busy week. I only got two book reviews written: Break Wide the Sea, by Sara Holland   and Evil Bones, by Kathy Reichs. Hopefully I’ll get more written this week, but I’m getting ready for vacation next week, so who knows?

Happy writing!