All the Books.

"The emotionally heavy and harrowing story of Cora, a woman born into slavery, who attempts to escape and find freedom with the help of the help of the Underground Railroad. It turns out that the Railroad itself is an actual series of tunnels that run from State to State and though there are many helpful Station agents, there are always those who won't hesitate to turn in fugitives just to collect the bounty. This was a rough, raw book that didn't flinch from the darker side of our Nation's history and Cora's story will stay with me for a very long time."   ⭐⭐⭐ Pros:  Cora was fierce, feisty and never broke even under the worst pressure/Some of the "station agents" were helpful, gentle, kind souls and gave you hope that not everyone back then was a close minded bigot.   Cons:  The fact that people ever thought they could own other people, is sickening. Not a con of the book but of the Country itself/Ridgeway and Homers ending was just odd.  Full Revi...

"The thrilling conclusion to the House of Lethe and the powers of the Secret Societies of Yale. Bardugo doesn't disappoint. This book is filled with moments of intensity, tension, desperation, joy, love and heartbreak. It was an acceptable conclusion to a great series."  ⭐⭐⭐⭐️ Pros:  The story does move along quickly and definitely kept my interest/Darlington and Alex's tension is exquisitely painful/The trip to Hell was brutal for everyone and left me teary eyed.  Cons:  There were times where Alex's ability to pass through doors and enter different times got a little confusing, it took me a second to re-orient myself/For someone not well educated, Alex certainly knows a lot about the classics and old literary references.  Full Review ***Disclaimer-If you’ve not read Ninth House and  Dead Beat by Bardugo, please go and so 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 few months since the ...

"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...