All the Books.

"Once Galaxy "Alex" Stern has a goal, there's no stopping her. And since, at the end of Ninth House  she'd made it her mission to figure how to get Darlington out of Hell and back in Lethe where he belongs, well, Hell Bent  is the perfect title and as wild of a ride as you can imagine." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Stern and Darlington's chemistry is exquisitely painful/Darlington is the gentleman Demon and I adore him.  Cons: Bardugo mixed the Eitan storyline in well but at the same time, you want Alex to be able to focus on one thing at a time/Sometimes too many side quests get this old brain confused.  Full Review ***Diisclaimer - if you’ve not read Ninth House please go and do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you’ll know what I’m talking about.*** It's been a long Summer for Alex Stern.  It's been spent mostly reading in the warmth of Il Bastons' safe, secure library and researching everything she can about how to get into Hel...

​ "Though this was an extremely interesting and unique premise, of one woman getting a chance to live her life again and again, make different choices and eventually try to change the course of history, overall it went on for far too long and I skimmed the last 100+ pages."  ⭐️⭐️ Pros:  It was definitely a very interesting concept and Atkinson handled the repeating timelines well/Ursula is intelligent, independent and driven/Her repeated lives help her learn from her mistakes.   Cons: There were a number of characters who were mentioned repeatedly but they just didn’t quite stick in my head/Though I liked Ursula, I found her a bit detached emotionally, though that could have been simply the culture of 1930s/40s England/This book went on for far, far, far too long.   Full Review Ursula is born but never draws breath, the umbilical cord wrapped around her throat. The doctor was caught in the snow storm and never made it in time.  Ursula is born again and...

"A dark and gripping thriller set on the posh and polished campus of Yale University and within the eight Secret Societies. There's more to these houses than famous Alumni, there's magic but it's dangerous and disturbing and Alex Stern, accepted into the House of Lethe, will learn quickly how far people are willing to go when money and power are involved."  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  Darlington and Stern's repartee is amusing, since he's so refined and she's rougher around the edges/Though Stern can be headstrong and a little obnoxious, she is a good person to have an ally/The magic in this story is complicated and elaborate but interesting and unique.   Cons:  Stern is street smart but her unwillingness to trust others gets her into a lot of bad situations/The "I'm the only one who can solve this murder" attitude is kind of overdone/The map at the front of the books is impossibly small, so, whenever Bardugo goes into detail about where Stern is at any...

​“Robert Neville is the only man left alive after a plague has ravage the population. Though the plague didn’t kill them, it turned them into Vampires and now Robert spends his time killing those affected, reinforcing his house against attacks, and trying to learn as much about the plague as he can. Considered to be one of the end all, be all of Vampire books, I found myself entertained but also wanting to know more about Robert's life before the plague.”  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Since the story is told in slightly reverse order, we learn more about the events leading up to Robert’s situation just when it feels like there won’t be any explanation/It was moderately good pacing.  Cons : It was never quite explained how the plague began, it was after a vaguely mentioned war and dust storms but that was about it/I wanted to know more about Roberts life before the plague but only got the vaguest details/I never quite understood the difference between the Vampires, living and dead and Matheso...

​ “Theo, a quiet, unassuming, older man comes to Golden on business. When he sees portraits lining the walls of the local coffee shop and is amazed at the quality of the artwork, he decides that his mission is to buy each portrait and give them to their rightful owners, the subjects of the paintings themselves. What follows is a gentle, genuine, feel good story of one man's mission to spread beauty and love wherever he can. And Levi does not disappoint."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros:  Theo was a genyuinely good, kind, caring person and it was easy to love him as a character/Though the ending was abrupt Levi tied it all together well and I had a tear in my eye.  Cons: The writing started to feel a little stunted, staccato, wooden/The bestowals became a bit repetitive and the ending was surprisingly abrupt.  Full Review:  Theo, an 86 year old man is in the small town of Golden on business. When he visits the local Coffee Shop, The Chalice and sees the lines are walled with port...

“Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department In Charge of Magical Youths (DICOMY) is given a top-secret assignment, to assess the orphanage on a small, remote island of Marsyas where some of the most unique and possibly most dangerous magical children are kept. This was a fun, whimsical book about love, found family and the strength that comes from finding your voice and unashamedly being yourself even if the world isn’t ready to see you for the amazing person that you are. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series has to offer.”  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Linus, off the bat has an an amusing inner monologue, irreverent and relatable/I liked that Linus really transformed and found his voice eventually.   Cons: Linus’ spluttering indignantly at every other moment got a bit tiresome but it was pretty easily overlooked.  Full Review:  Linus Baker is a case worker with the Department In Charge of Magical Youths (DICOMY). He firmly believes im the rules and regulat...

“During a tumultuous time in Mexican history Magdalena (Nena) and Nestor, two childhood friends who are now grown, are forced to confront their own feelings as well as Vampires that the invading forces are using as weapons. The supernatural element was more background filler and Nenas’ constant struggle between duty to her family and herself made for an infuriating character. This was a disappointment.”  ⭐️⭐️ Pros: Nestor was the only reason I didn’t DNF this book/Beto was another one.  Cons : Nena is spineless, selfish and cruel/I didn’t DNF because I wanted to see what happened to Nestor, I honestly couldn't have cared less about Nena. Full Review :  Magdalena (Nena) and Nestor are best friends. Nenas father is the head of Los Ojuelos, a large ranchero in the villages of El Norte. Nestor is her best friend but only a lowly Vaquero, not someone she should be spending so much time with, since he is beneath her in the hierarchy of society.  When white men come callin...

"Gretel Fernsby's quiet, peaceful life is threatened when a new family moves into the Flat directly below hers. Ar first everything is civil and she's pleasantly surprised that Henry, the young boy who's moved in is a quiet, polite bookish type. Of course, the peace is quickly shattered when one night she wirtnesses a disturbing scene and is soon forced with a choice. It's a choice that she was faced with before and has struggled with the guilt of those consequences her entire adult life. At its heart, this is a story about guilt, shame and running from your past but it was also a story of growth, courage and finding your voice. It was a deep, intense and rough read but it was well done and I'll be picking up more of Boyne's works, particularly The Boy in the Striped Pajamas  very soon."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐ Pros : Gretel’s sharp as a tack and rather saucy, I quite liked her/Though she's not a fan of children, she and Henry hit it off well and she's very ...

“Every child hopes to step through the wardrobe into Narnia, to find another world full of magic and adventure. Guinivere and Ennis, the protagonists of the Ninth City series, penned by Edith Sharpe are two such lucky children. Of course, the real Guinivere (Guin) and Ennis' actual childhood was fraught with tension, neglect and an endless wave of debauchery from the revolving cast of hopeful artists that would visit their isolated Vermont farmhouse in hopes of soaking up their mothers genius. It all ended in a catastrophic fire that only Guin and Ennis survived. Decades later, Guin has published a memoir as a way to try and forgive and forget what happened but it's all threatened when Ennis announces his next art Exhibit, simply entitled Mother. Guin fears that whatever he's planning will expose the very real and horrifying truth and so, she sets out to confront her brother and try to stop whatever he has planned. This was a dark, eerie, unsettling but entertaining read an...

"Woodrow (Woody) Wilson Nickel knows it's only a matter of time before the Grim Reaper comes and so he puts pen to paper and decides to tell his story. An amazing adventure of traveling cross country with a gruff but kind-hearted old man and two Giraffes, bound for the San Diego Zoo. This was such a wonderful read. Every character, with their strengths and flaws, found their way into your heart and it was with a genuine, teary eyed smile that I turned the last page and read a beautiful ending to a truly remarkable and memorable book." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros:  Woody was a confused and desperate boy who had been through far too much in such a short time. Though he didn't always make the best decisions he was still a kind-hearted soul who tried to do the right thing/Riley Jones (the old man) was a good hearted if gruff character/The parts that showed the obvious racial tension within the Country and how Jones/Woody handled them only helped cement the fact that they were the goo...

​ “When giant skeletal creatures start rampaging through the land and abducting young people, all of New World is threatened. Ben and Max, Todd and Viola’s sons  try and solve this horrifying mystery and save everyone. It was basically the story of the Pied Piper only on another planet. It was a quick, tense, exciting read and I'm eager to see where the series goes.”  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: I liked Ben for his logical, rational mind, trying to see all sides of a situation/Max was genuine and tough though full of doubt and uncertainty/Though things have improved, sadly people are still people and will always have their opinions and prejudices. Cons : The whole situation with the Land felt repetitive from the first trilogy but it was to be expected. Different generation, same issues/Burly’s monologue in the Marketplace after the violence with the Land was very poorly timed, like there were far more important things to focus on at that moment/The epilogue was ever so cliche.   ...

“Celie, who is now a Chasseur and engaged to Jean Luc, the Captain, isn’t really a good huntswoman. When bodies of different creatures, Dames Blanche, Loup Garou and Mélusine begin appearing, drained of blood, well, Celie just has to investigate. Of course, Lou et al, haven’t been keeping her informed since they fear it will upset her. When she runs away she’s abducted by a tall, pale, beautiful stranger and whisked away to a magical island and the plot thickens. I had hopes but Celies constant questions, snooping, bickering and overall hysteria were so over the top and annoying that I almost DNFed it even though I was 80% done. I don’t know if I’ll be finishing this duology.”  ⭐⭐ Pros:  It was moderately entertaining for the first few parts/Michal is the quintessential mysterious, beautiful, immortal stranger with a domineering presence but a heart that Celie is inexplicably drawn to, it was cliche but it had its moments, at the beginning.  Cons:  Celie is annoying ...

“Death is personified as a quiet, unassuming man named  Travis. He’s there when people pass over and he’s never cruel or judgmental, just  a steady calming presence. When he befriends the woman across the hall, Dalia and forms a friendship with her and her two daughters he knows it’s foolish but he does it anyway. Though I struggled with the last half of the book, the ending more than made up for it.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros:   Some of the deaths were sweet, others crushing. Reeves has a real gift for pulling at the heart strings/Travis was like a genuinely caring person, though he often struggled when faced with difficult emotions/The ending was so well done.  Cons:  It wasn’t told in a linear fashion so much as it seemed to jump around a bit/Dalia and Layla could be rather abrasive at times/I struggled through the last half of the book.  Full Review Travis is death. He finds people and is there when they die. He’s not the catalyst of their death but he’s there to hel...

“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...

"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...

"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...

​ "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...

"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...

"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...

"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...

“Dolores Price is just trying to navigate the eternal roller coaster of life. She’s has her fair share of ups and downs, Divorce, Mental Illness, Abuse but through it all she keeps plodding along and Lamb, in his honest, heartfelt way makes her journey one that you won’t soon forget.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Though Dolores sometime makes bad choices and can be difficult, you’re rooting for her unequivocally/That gut-punch in Part 3 😞/Lamb is a master at ending and he had me tearing up at times.  Cons: I kind of wish Dolores would stop sabotaging herself at every turn/Her mercurial moods got old/Her relationship with Dante started off badly and just got worse.   Full Review:  This is the story of Dolores Price. We watch as she grows from a child, to a teenager and into adulthood.  Along the way she has to learn how to navigate the tricky parts of life and for Dolores a lot of her life is tricky. Her parents divorce, she learns that her mother is unwell and is soon hospitalized....

"Every day Rachel rides the train into London, gazing out the window at her old street. She often sees a young couple that lives a few houses down from where she once lived, when she was married and happy. She likes to pretend that the couple she sees is passionately in love but when she sees something that shatters that dream, she decides to get involved and is soon entangled in a desperate web of lies, half-truths, betrayal and murder. This book once again had all the hype but for me, it just didn't quite deliver."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Another book that kept me guessing and curious until about 60% of the way through. Since I’ve read that far, I might as well finish it but it’s been a frustrating reading trend lately.  Cons: None of the characters in this book were honest or very likable IMO/Another book that had all the hype but just ended up being obnoxious and tiresome by the end.  Full Review:  Rachel rides the train into London every morning. And every morning she p...

"The final installment in what has been an incredible series but this book, sadly, was a bit of a disappointment. It had its entertaining moments and its fair share of twists and turns but once it all came down to the end, it was a little too perfect and it went on for far too long."  3 Stars Pros:  The same cast of characters except for the addition of Simone and Bradley, two scouts from Viola's convoy/The story did keep me on my toes and there were definitely a few times where I was floored with how things turned out. Cons:  The ending was just a little too rote and perfect, "skipping off into the sunset" for me. I liked it since it wrapped up the series but it all just seemed a little too perfect. Full Review:  ***Disclaimer*** - If you haven't read The Ask and the Answer,  please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about. Starting off right where The Ask and the Answer  left off, t...