Tag: reading

Book Review:  Daughter, by Kate McLaughlin

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   Daughter
Author:   Kate McLaughlin
Genre:   YA
Rating:  4 out of 5

Scarlet’s life is pretty average. Overly protective mom. Great friends. Cute boy she’s interested in. And a father she’s never known – until she does.

 When the FBI show up at Scarlet’s door, she is shocked to learn her father is infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. And now, he’s dying and will only give the names and locations of his remaining victims to the one person, the daughter he hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

 Scarlet’s mother has tried to protect her from Lake’s horrifying legacy, but there’s no way they can escape the media firestorm that erupts when they come out of hiding. Or the people who blame Scarlet for her father’s choices. When trying to do the right thing puts her life in danger, Scarlet is faced with a choice – go back into hiding or make the world see her as more than a monster’s daughter.

I can’t imagine living your whole life not knowing who your father is, and suddenly finding out he’s an infamous serial killer, and your whole life is kind of a lie. Scarlet had moments of extreme selfishness and childish behavior, but for the most part, she was doing her best to be a good person. The way Lake tried to manipulate her and everyone else was creepy in the extreme, but she was smart enough to realize she was being manipulated.

It seems like every teenager in this book—so, most of the characters—drank, did drugs, and had sex indiscriminately. While I’m sure that’s true for some teenagers, it’s not for every teenager, so the generalization bothered me. And…the way people treated Scarlet and her mother was horrific. This story may be fiction, but that sort of behavior isn’t, and that just bothers me in general. All in all, I enjoyed this read.

Kate McLaughlin lives in Connecticut. Daughter is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   Edgewood
Author:   Kristen Ciccarelli
Genre:   Fantasy, YA
Rating:  5 out of 5

No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions. 

When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.

 Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.

 With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

I really loved this!  From the opening scene, when the forest encroaches on Emeline singing, to the mystery of what was really going on in the forest, I was captivated. I thought the setting itself was very cool, and the idea there was an entire secret world nestled up against Emeline’s neighborhood (Isn’t that what every kid imagines?). The characters were a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to know everyone. I found this highly entertaining and a true pleasure to read.

Kristen Ciccarelli is a bestselling author. Edgewood is her newest novel.

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

 

Book Review:  Come As You Are, by Jennifer Haupt

Image belongs to Central Avenue Publishing.

Title:   Come As You Are
Author:   Jennifer Haupt
Genre:   Fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

Zane and Skye are two misfit teens drawn together by their love of music and their loneliness, both part of Seattle’s grunge scene in the early ‘90s. They dream of moving to L.A. together: Zane’s music career following the trajectory of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder, and Skye drawing Picasso-esque portraits on the Venice Beach boardwalk. When a tragedy violently catapults them from best friends to lovers, their bond is forever strengthened and their relationship destroyed. Ten years later, they must come together as parents, putting aside abandoned dreams and broken promises. The question is: can they face the truth of who they are, and become the parents their daughter needs them to be?

This was not an easy read. The things Zane and Skye went through—alone and separately—weren’t easy to read about. That makes this book a bit dark, but hope is threaded through the darkness as well. I loved how the scenes from the past amplify and shade the scenes set in the present, as the two come to know the truth about their past and who they are now. This was very moving book about two broken people trying to fit their pieces back together and move forward whole.

Jennifer Haupt lives in Seattle. Come As You Are is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Central Avenue Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

The Best Books I Read in February (2022)

In February, I had a lot of extra free time due to having surgery on the 1st: I read 26 books, and DNFed nine more (that’s really a lot for me, but if I found it the slightest bit boring, I just couldn’t do it). That brings me to 48 books read so far this year (only 202 to go to hit the goal I missed by six books last year…). Out of those 26, three of them really stood out:

The Bright Side Running Club, by Josie Lloyd. (So, the surgery I had this month was to remove an intermediate melanoma. I was blessed that the surgeon removed everything and the lymph node he removed was negative for metastatic melanoma—despite him thinking it looked very abnormal—so maybe I related to the ladies in this book a bit because of all that.)

This is about a group of women all going through different stages of breast cancer treatment, who meet and form a running club and an unbreakable friendship. This made me laugh and cry, and it was so, so good!

Sword and Shadow, by Michelle Sagara. I love the Chronicles of Elantra series and Severn is one of my favorite characters in that, so reading this series was a no-brainer. Getting to see what he was doing with his life before he and Kaylin met again is just pure enjoyment.

Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli (review forthcoming 3/4). This was just pure magic from the very beginning! I loved everything about it, and couldn’t put it down. And the cover is gorgeous!

What I Read in February (2022)

Books Read in February: 26

Books Read for the Year:  48/250

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

The Hawthorne Legacy, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (TBR). Loved this!

The Mystery of the Shemitah, by Jonathan Cahn (spiritual). Some of the data in this made it hard to absorb the details.

What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, by Lysa TerKeurst (spiritual). Excellent read.

Everything You Need: 8 Essential Steps to a Life of Confidence in the Promises of God, by David Jeremiah (spiritual). I enjoyed this.

Where are the Missing People, by Jimmy Evans (spiritual). This was an interesting read.

Twisted Twenty-Six, by Janet Evanovich (TBR). I needed the laugh Stephanie Plum always provides. #TeamRanger

Quicksilver, by Dean Koontz (TBR). I liked this new release by a favorite author. It reminded me quite a bit of the Odd Thomas books.

For Review:

The Family You Make, by Jill Shalvis. This was a solid romance read. I liked the group of friends in the novel, but didn’t find it very unique.

The Night She Went Missing, by Kristen Bird. I enjoyed this suspense read—at least the first half of it. The rest was…too far-fetched for me.

The Lady of Galway Manor, by Jennifer Deibel. I liked this historical fiction read set in Ireland. Sweet and fun.

Beyond the Lavender Fields, by Arlem Hawks. This historical read was set during the French Revolution, and I enjoyed the politics and watching the characters change and grow.

The Bright Side Running Club, by Josie Lloyd. I LOVED this read about women dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis.

Love & Saffron, by Kim Fay. This short historical fiction is told entirely in letters between two women.

Good Girl Complex, by Elle Kennedy. This was…beyond predictable, and most of the characters were kind of horrible people.

Sword and Shadow, by Michelle Sagara. I love the Chronicles of Elantra series, and I’m enjoying this spin-off series as well. Getting to know more about my favorite background character is fascinating.

Last Duke Standing, by Julia London. This was a fun, fluffy read that made me laugh. I’ve read some of the other Westloria books, and I always enjoying seeing familiar characters in the background.

Full Flight, by Ashley Schumacher. I enjoyed this light and fun YA read…until tragedy occurred about 85% of the way through. This tragedy didn’t make sense and seemed pointless, as it accomplished nothing, plot-wise.

The Paradox Hotel, by Rob Hart. This was…not that great. The main character was a horrible person to everyone around her.

The Sultan’s Court, by R.A. Denny. This is a continuation of a time-travel with the Puritans adventure.

Come As You Are, by Jennifer Haupt (review forthcoming). This was a bit dark. It deals with depression and addiction in the Seattle grunge scene. The music is a bit of a flashback.

Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli (review forthcoming). I thought this was pure magic from the very first scene. Loved it!

Daughter, by Kate McLaughlin (review forthcoming). This was a solid read. The things Scarlet and her mom go through because people don’t like her father are horrifying, but I enjoyed the read.

A Far Wilder Magic, by Allison Saft (review forthcoming). This was a decent read. An odd mix of present day cultures and cultures just a bit skewed, but it wasn’t enough to make me stop reading or anything.

The Suite Spot, by Trish Doller (review forthcoming). I loved this read! I enjoyed the first one, too, but I loved the body positivity and the sense of community in this book.

The Valet’s Secret, by Josi S. Kilpack (review forthcoming). This was a decent read, although it seemed a bit far-fetched to me (an earl’s heir and a maid?).

My Darling Husband, by Kimberly Belle (review forthcoming). This was a solid thriller read, although I didn’t care for Cam and all his secrets and lies.

Left Unfinished:

Clean Air, by Sarah Blake. I read about 15% of this, but it just didn’t hold my interest. I don’t read much scifi, and that’s probably why, as the POV and the action just felt too distant for me to enjoy.

The Last Grand Duchess, by Bryn Turnbull. I tried. I really did. I loved Turnbull’s previous book, The Woman Before Wallis, but this one felt so much slower. I made it about 50% of the way through before giving up because every page felt like it was in slow motion. Historical novels about the Romanov family usually fascinate me, so I kept on reading longer than I probably should have, but in the end, this just wasn’t a good fit for me right now. The glimpses of the cluelessness of Olga’s parents drove me crazy, and her own naivete about reality combined with the slow pace were just too much for me.

The Violence, by Delilah S. Dawson. This was…beyond far-fetched to me. The female characters all felt like cookie cutter versions of the same person, with very little knowledge of reality.

The Arc, by Tory Henwood Hoen. I made it 12% before giving up on this pretentious drivel.

The Harbor, by Katrine Engberg. I read 15% of this “thriller” and found myself bored with its leisurely pace and complete lack of urgency.

Red Burning Sky, by Tom Young. I’m very hit or miss with military fiction, so this just wasn’t a good fit for me.

The Lost Dreamer, by Lizz Huerta. I read 20% of this, but it was so slooow. Loved the culture, but the intricacies had me a bit lost, as there was nothing to give context.

Killing Time, by Brenna Ehrlich. Natalie acts like she’s about 12, not a person who just graduated high school. I read about 15% of this—I think—but I was just bored. Natalie’s mom comes across as a tyrant who wants to control every aspect of her daughter’s life without an explanation for why, but Natalie is just pointlessly rebellious in response, and again, childish. The “new boy” in town was borderline creepy. In the end, I just didn’t care enough about these characters to continue reading

The Tsarina’s Daughter, by Ellen Alpsten. I love well-done historical fiction. And this was well-written. I just could not get into it. Elizabeth came across as superficial and spoiled, and this started off so slowly that it lost my interest. Not a bad book, just not a good fit for me at this time.

Book Review:  The Sultan’s Court, by R.A. Denny

Image belongs to the author.

Title:  The Sultan’s Court
Author:   R.A. Denny
Genre:   YA, fantasy, historical
Rating:  4.0  

Left behind as a slave in Morocco while Daniel journeys to the New World with the fearsome corsair Ayoub, Peri gives birth to a daughter. The drive to protect the imperiled lives of those she loves leads Peri to the court of the ruthless sultan, Moulay Ismail. In a city built on the backs of slaves, Peri’s rescue plot hangs by a thread, dependent on a dubious disguise and the man she despises. It will take all of her wit and perseverance to survive.

 This spellbinding 2nd novel in the Pirates and Puritans Series takes the reader on a journey from Algonquin villages to Moroccan palaces, during the time when Morocco’s most feared leader rose to power and the American colonies sank into a bloody war named after Metacom.

 I really like the premise of this series:  time travel to the time of the early Puritan settlements in America. In the first book, I enjoyed getting to know Peri and Daniel. This takes their story further…but not their story together, as they are separated for almost two decades in this novel. I didn’t enjoy that aspect as much as I enjoyed the first book.

There’s a lot going on here:  Peri’s story, Daniel’s story (in several different locations and cultures), things set in the future (where Peri’s from), and even scenes from their enemy’s point-of-view. The author weaves these threads together to make a coherent whole, but don’t let the POV switches make you miss out on the nuances of this well-rounded adventure.

R.A Denny has a law degree from Duke University but chooses to do just what she loves:  write. The Sultan’s Court is her newest novel, the second in the Pirates and Puritans series.

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

Book Review:  The Paradox Hotel, by Rob Hart

Image belongs to Random House/Ballantine.

Title:   The Paradox Hotel
Author:   Rob Hart
Genre:   Fantasy
Rating:  3.0 out of 5

 January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

 Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

 Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

 None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

 On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

 January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

 There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

 But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

 I kind of wish I hadn’t bothered to finish reading this. I think the only reason I did was for the velociraptors. (Yes, really.) January was a horrible person. Seriously terrible to everyone she interacted with. Every single time she opened her mouth, I knew something ugly was going to come out (and she knew it but did it anyway.). She was the worst, so I felt basically no sympathy for her. I didn’t care about anything going on in this story—except the dinosaurs—and the ending felt like…no resolution was reached, things just stopped.

Rob Hart lives in Staten Island. The Paradox Hotel is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Full Flight, by Ashley Schumacher

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   Full Flight
Author:   Ashley Schumacher
Genre:   YA
Rating:  3.5

Everyone else in the tiny town of Enfield, Texas calls fall football season, but for the forty-three members of the Fighting Enfield Marching Band, it’s contest season. And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.

 When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.

 After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.

Solid writing in this, and I enjoyed the story, until tragedy occurred. Up until that point, this was a light, fun YA read. The tragedy felt pointless and completely unnecessary. It accomplished nothing in the storyline, as people’s perceptions had already been changed before it happened. And…the story ends shortly after it happens, so it’s not liked the reader gets to see Anna finding her way forward. The story just ends. Sorry, but this just didn’t work for me. It felt forced and manipulative, not believable.

Ashley Schumacher lives in Dallas. Full Flight is her newest novel.

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

 

Book Review and Blog Tour:  Last Duke Standing, by Julia London

Image belongs to Harlequin.

Title:   Last Duke Standing
Author:   Julia London
Genre:   Romance
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

When Crown Princess Justine of Wesloria is sent to England to learn the ropes of royalty, she falls under the tutelage of none other than Queen Victoria herself. She’s also in the market for a proper husband—one fit to marry the future Queen of Wesloria.

 Because he knows simply everyone, William, Lord Douglas (the notoriously rakish heir to the Duke of Hamilton seat in Scotland, and decidedly not husband material), is on hand as an escort of sorts. William has been recruited to keep an eye on the royal matchmaker for the Weslorian Prime Minister, tasked to ensure the princess is matched with a man of quality…and one who will be sympathetic to the prime minister’s views. As William and Justine are forced to scrutinize an endless parade of England’s best bachelors, they become friends. But when the crowd of potential grooms is steadily culled, what if William is the last bachelor standing?

 I’ve enjoyed the Wesloria books I’ve read, and I highly enjoyed this one, too. I thought Justine’s mom—and her cronies—were horrible, but I really liked the matchmaker. William was a fun character, and the banter between him and Justine was a lot of fun. I liked seeing some of the characters from previous Wesloria books in the background, too.

Julia London is a bestselling author. Last Duke Standing is her newest novel.

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

Book Review:  Sword and Shadow, by Michelle Sagara

Image belongs to Harlequin/MIRA.

Title:   Sword and Shadow
Author:   Michelle Sagara
Genre:   Fantasy
Rating:  5.0 out of 5

In exchange for information about his past, Severn Handred joins a Barrani lord on a mission to the West March—an enclave well outside the boundaries of the Empire. Granted a leave of absence from the Wolves, Severn is in danger the moment he steps outside the reach of Imperial law. But the instincts that led him to the Wolves and the sense of duty that keeps him there can’t be discarded as easily as the tabard he wears.

 In the heart of the West March, enmeshed in a tangled web of secrets that have been kept for centuries, Severn’s belief in justice is going to be tested. There are murders to solve, people to protect, and truths to uncover. It’s one mortal man and his single Barrani friend against a community of immortals who will die and kill to keep their secrets. But they’re up against the Wolves now.

I do love Michelle Sagara’s The Chronicles of Elantra series, and I think this spinoff series is fantastic as well. Severn is one of my favorite characters in the original series, and it’s lovely to get to know him better here. I love the verbal back-and-forth in these books, and the characters are such strong presences that I feel like I’m there with them. Detailed worldbuilding, nuanced plot, and plenty of action makes these books a must-read.

Michelle Sagara is a bestselling author. Sword and Shadow is her newest novel.

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