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The Devils (The Devils #1) by Joe Abercrombie

“Alex, who was nothing but a thief is found in the streets by her Uncle and is soon proven to be the long lost heir to the Serpent Throne. She’s accompanied on the dangerous trek back to her Kingdom of Troy, by the motley crew of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency whom are all prisoners of the Pope. There’s Balthasar, a Magician, Baron Rickan, a Vampire, Sunny the Elf and Vigga the Werewolf. There's also the grizzled warrior Jakob of Thorn and a jack of all trades, Baptiste. Right from the start there’s trouble as Alex’s many cousins attack in order to stop her from taking the throne.What started out as a fun and brutally bloody supernatural Romp was drawn out for far too long and the book could have easily ended 200 pages earlier."  ⭐️⭐️ Pros: Jakob of Thorn is a sturdy, dependable character/Rickan is very dapper for a Vampire/Sunny is silent but she has a good heart/The motley crew does have its entertaining moments.  Cons: Though Abercrombie’s irreverent humor was fun at f...
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Mockingbird Summer by Lynda Rutledge

"It’s the summer of 64 in High Cotton, Texas, a small town that’s struggling to accept the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Tensions are high but Katherine "Corky" Corcoran is mostly oblvious. All she cares about is the girls Summer softball game between the Methodists and the Baptists. And with her new friend, America, a black girl from the Southside of town, Corky knows this is the Summer they could actually win! Unfortunately, not everyone is as open and accepting as Corky and she'll soon learn that the world can be a very cruel place. Though Corky's inability to grasp social cues was extremely irritating, the overall message of the book was a good one."    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: I liked the bits of history peppered into the narrative. It helped with perspective/I did enjoy the ending, it made up for Corky's complete lack of social graces and gave the reader a bit of hope that things could get better.    Cons: I get it, Corky was a 13 year old girl and just h...
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The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

"Tom and Isabel live a quiet, isolated life on Janus Rock, where Tom is the lighthouse keeper. Their attempts to start a family have been met with tragedy and they've all but given up hope of having children of their own until one day a boat washes ashore and in that boat, is a perfectly healthy, baby. They're faced with a decision and the one that they make will cause a ripple effect that will alter the course of not just their lives but everyone around them. This was a deeply emotional, heart-wrenching novel about love, grief, morality and the impossible choices people make for those they love." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros:  Tom such a good, kind, gentle person who would do anything for Isabel/The Piano tuner at the end of Part One, like ❤️😢 Cons:  The choice that Tom and Isabel make isn't necessarily the right one but I completely understand why they did what they did/The ending wasn't the ending I wanted but it worked, in a gut wrenchingly realistic way.   Full Review...
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The Midnight Library (The Midnight World #1) by Matt Haig

​ "On the day she decides to die, Nora Seed finds hereslf in The Midnight Library. A place where she's given the chance to undo all of her regrets, to live a thousand lives, to be whatever she wants to be. She'll soon find though that nothing is ever that simple, that all of her lives hold some sort of struggle and time might very well run out before she can find the life she feels is worth living."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: It   was definitely a unique idea/It had a good message, that life will never be perfect, nor should it be, without pain you wouldn’t know joy.   Cons: The pacing left something to be desired/Nora was a bit indecisive and frustrating/ Noras' cluelessness when first "starting" a new life got rather repetitive and there always seemed to be some disaster waiting for her. Full Review: Nora Seed feels like a failure. She feels like her life has been one bad decision after another, never committing to anything, constantly letting her friends and famil...
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Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

"There's no magic slipper, no Fairy Godmother, no returning home at the stroke of midnight lest the magic wear off. This was a dark and gritty, re-telling of the Cinderella story that showed how the "wicked step-mother" is just a woman doing what she can to keep her family safe. Hocchauser didn't pull any punches and I liked it for its stark and brutal honesty."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: I liked the character of  Moussa, in a way he was the Fairy Godmother/The intricacies of court were interesting tidbits of knowledge, like how to carry your train over your left shoulder and bow with your right foot leading.  Cons:  Goodness, Elin was painfully useless. I wanted to take her little book of virtue and smack her with it/Characters always think the danger is over when really, they should always have one eye open, sometimes their obvliousness can be laughable.  Full Review:  Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley has been married. Twice and with each husband that's p...
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Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove #3) by Shelby Mahurin

"A heartfelt and satisfying, though rather long winded ending to an entertaining, fast paced, exciting and interesting series."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  Same cast of characters, so there weren't too many people to remember/The scenes with Ansel were heart wrenching/All the characters have an amusing and entertaining repartee and it's fun to have them all together.   Cons:  Mahurin has a tendency to overuse terms, such as "my legs grew roots" as in, the character was rooted to the spot, so that was somewhat irritating/All of the constant monologuing, the characters never stopped talking/ I wish Mahurin had expounded upon what exactly happened to Claud Deveraux but perhaps that's for another book.  Full Review: ***Disclaimer***If you have not read Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin, please go and do so and then come and read this at leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about. Our weary travelers are on their way to Chateau Le Blanc, to face Morgan...
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Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross

"Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are in fierce competition for the position of Columnist at the Oath Gazette. They write about the war brewing between two Gods, Dacre, God of the underworld and Enva, Goddess of the sky. The war has ravaged the countryside and taken Iris' brother, Forest, away, since she hasn't heard from him in months. When tragedy strikes, Iris decides to sign up as a War Correspondent and head to the frontlines and Roman isn't far behind. This had an interesting, idyllic, WWI, fighting in the trenches feel and though the magic was vague, it was believable and I quite enjoyed it. I'm eager to see how the series progresses."  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: It's quite a unique way to introduce the Frenemies trope but Ross did it well/Roman was an intense, gentle, caring soul, a very good character, very likable.  Cons:  Frenemies trope/Iris' cluelessness about Carver made me chuckle/The romance was a bit melodramatic and silly at times.  Full Review: Iris Winno...
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