Scribbles & Wanderlust

- Book Review: “The Reluctant Queen” by Sarah Beth Durst
  
  Posted at 8:55 am by Laura, on June 24, 2019
  
  The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
  
  Publisher: Harper Voyager
  Published: July 2017
  Genre: fantasy
  ISBN: 9780062413352
  Rating: ★★★.75
  
  Not long ago, Daleina used her strength and skill to survive those spirits and assume the royal throne. Since then, the new queen has kept the peace and protected the humans of her land. But now for all her power, she is hiding a terrible secret: she is dying. And if she leaves the world before a new heir is ready, the spirits that inhabit her beloved realm will run wild, destroying her cities and slaughtering her people.
  
  Naelin is one such person, and she couldn’t be further removed from the Queen—and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her world is her two children, her husband, and the remote village tucked deep in the forest that is her home, and that’s all she needs. But when Ven, the Queens champion, passes through the village, Naelin’s ambitious husband proudly tells him of his wife’s ability to control spirits—magic that Naelin fervently denies. She knows that if the truth of her abilities is known, it will bring only death and separation from those she loves.
  
  But Ven has a single task: to find the best possible candidate to protect the people of Aratay. He did it once when he discovered Daleina, and he’s certain he’s done it again. Yet for all his appeals to duty, Naelin is a mother, and she knows her duty is to her children first and foremost. Only as the Queen’s power begins to wane and the spirits become emboldened—even as ominous rumors trickle down from the north—does she realize that the best way to keep her son and daughter safe is to risk everything.
  
  The new, young queen is dying, and Renthia is on the brink of war with neighboring queendoms and from within: if the spirits of Renthia are not harnessed and controlled by a healthy, strong queen, they will attack the citizens within. Ven heads out once more to find the right person for the job, and it just so happens to come in the form of a mother, reluctant to leave her family and reluctant to use her power. Naelin just wants to have a quiet and simple life, but the needs of the country are much larger than she could ever know.
  
  I loved The Queen of Blood for having a world in which nature was literally violent against humans. Nature was the enemy. Every element had a spirit (think Celtic fairies) with a thirst for human blood; they are controlled and maintained by a human queen whose powers weaken over time and a new young woman would compete to take over. With the queen, the spirits are docile and live in harmony with humans. This continues that premise, but now instead of a young woman who was trained and schooled in the arts, we have a very reluctant woman who is also a mother. She has no interest in controlling spirits—she just wants them to leave her and her family in peace. But the kingdom needs her, for the queen is dying.
  
  It was so refreshing to read of a hero(ine) who wants nothing to do with the role. Truly, nothing. Naelin’s reluctance and feet-digging was expressed throughout in a very natural and understanding way. She felt so authentic to motherhood, to common life, that when she’s thrust into this new lifestyle and pushed into the role, I felt I could relate to her 100%. Meanwhile, the mystery regarding the queen’s illness, and the subsequent impending battle with the country to the north, fell a little short for me. The battle seemed rushed, the excuse weak, and the mystery not so mysterious, but this book also read like a stepping stone for The Queen of Sorrow. I’m especially intrigued by where this book ended, and I’m hoping the next installment is prepared for the big showdown!
  
  This qualifies as book 4 in my TBR challenge.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019, Rock My TBR | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, review, rock my TBR
- Mini Reviews
  
  Posted at 7:53 am by Laura, on June 3, 2019
  
  The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
  
  Publisher: Park Row
  Published: January 2019
  Genre: historical fiction
  Rating: ★★★
  Summary: Grace Healey is rebuilding her life after losing her husband during the war. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, she finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station. She learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a ring of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.
  
  Mini Review: I adored Grace and Eleanor’s characters, and I felt Marie was…lacking. This also wasn’t at all what I was expecting, which was great––but on the other hand, all of that suspense and build-up to what really happened fell flat for me. Though the end is tied neatly together, I would’ve given higher stars if all those questions and the tension didn’t build up to what ended up happening. If you love WWII hist fic, definitely read this. It’s exciting, it’s a neat little puzzle, but in many ways the true action of the story was kept hidden from the reader, all behind-the-scenes, which was meant to build tension I’m sure but left it feeling loose and frustrating. I’d recommend other WWII female agent or French Resistance stories above this one, but still good to add to the general collection.
  
  This qualifies as book 5 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  In Another Time by Jillian Cantor
  
  Publisher: Harper Perennial
  Published: March 2019
  Genre: historical fiction
  Rating: ★★★★
  Summary: 1931, Germany. Bookshop owner Max Beissinger meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist, and immediately he feels a powerful chemistry between them. It isn’t long before they fall in love and begin making plans for the future. As their love affair unfolds over the next five years, the climate drastically changes in Germany as Hitler comes to power. Their love is tested with the new landscape and the realities of war, not the least of which is that Hanna is Jewish and Max is not. But unbeknownst to Hanna is the fact that Max has a secret, which causes him to leave for months at a time—a secret that Max is convinced will help him save Hanna if Germany becomes too dangerous for her because of her religion.
  
  In 1946, Hanna Ginsberg awakens in a field outside of Berlin. Disoriented and afraid, she has no memory of the past ten years and no idea what has happened to Max. With no information as to Max’s whereabouts—or if he is even still alive—she decides to move to London to live with her sister while she gets her bearings. Even without an orchestra to play in, she throws herself completely into her music to keep alive her lifelong dream of becoming a concert violinist. But the music also serves as a balm to heal her deeply wounded heart and she eventually gets the opening she long hoped for. Even so, as the days, months, and years pass, taking her from London to Paris to Vienna to America, she continues to be haunted by her forgotten past, and the fate of the only man she has ever loved and cannot forget.
  
  Mini Review: I picked up this book because it was a pre- and post-WWII novel about a bookseller and a violinist, both professions tapping into my biggest life passions. But something about the premise initially kept me at a distance—dissociative memory loss, or amnesia, as a plot device. One of my least favorite. But fairly early on we learn it’s not quite that—it’s wormholes. Time travel. At first I wished I’d known about that up front. But then perhaps I wouldn’t have picked this book up. I fell in love with Hanna’s story, felt deeply her passion for music, for playing, for always being attached to her violin. Cantor is an excellent writer—I felt immersed in Europe, lost in time, along with Hanna and Max. I enjoyed this book, and I was eager to see how they found each other again, if ever. Moving and impactful, even with the time-travel-as-science element.
  
  This qualifies as book 6 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley
  
  Publisher: Sourcebooks
  Published: June 2013
  Genre: historical and contemporary fiction
  Rating: ★★★★
  Summary: Nicola Marter was born with a gift. When she touches an object, she sometimes glimpses those who have owned it before. When a woman arrives with a small wooden carving at the gallery Nicola works at, she can see the object’s history and knows that it was named after the Firebird—the mythical creature from an old Russian fable. Compelled to know more, Nicola follows a young girl named Anna into the past who leads her on a quest through the glittering backdrops of the Jacobites and Russian courts, unearthing a tale of love, courage, and redemption.
  
  Mini Review: I highly recommend listening to this on audio. The narrator does an excellent job not only when men and women are speaking, but also English, Scottish, Irish, French, and Russian accents. It was an absolute pleasure to listen to this! As to the book itself, it’s a long and quiet book, meant to be savored. The narrative storytelling is incredibly immersive, drawing you in with each of Nicola’s ESP experiences. Nicola wars between wanting to master her gift like her friend Rob, who utilizes his abilities to read minds and see the ghosts/spirits of history in his daily life, and keeping it suppressed like her grandfather wishes her to do. It’s an excellent commentary on what’s considered “normal” and what’s considered “a gift,” and drawing upon those strengths to navigate through life. I especially enjoyed Anna’s narrative too — she had to learn at a very young age how to distinguish between honest and distrustful people during a very turbulent time in European history. The combination of these two narratives with the help of Nicola’s ESP abilities made for a magical read (or listen)!
  
  This qualifies as book 7 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019 | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: historical fiction, mini review, review
- Book Review: “The Flatshare” by Beth O’Leary (ARC)
  
  Posted at 7:15 am by Laura, on May 30, 2019
  
  The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
  
  Publisher: Flatiron
  Published: May 2019
  Genre: women’s fiction
  ISBN: 9781250295637
  Rating: ★★★★★
  
  After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.
  
  Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.
  
  Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.
  
  But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you’ve never met.
  
  Tiffy needs to move into a cheap flat fast. Leon needs a little extra cash to pay his rent. Their arrangement is perfect for their needs — Tiffy works during the day and will sleep at the flat at night and on weekends; Leon works overnight and will sleep at the flat during the day and spend weekends with his girlfriend. Though they’ve never met, they begin to learn one another’s habits, get to know the triumphs and woes through culinary experiments and leftovers, and soon the post-it notes of quick information decorate the flat with full out conversations. As the weeks pass and feelings deepen, Tiffy and Leon must decide if falling for your flatmate is the right step for them.
  
  The premise for the novel is a standard, run-of-the-mill, surface-level romcom of meet cutes and bizarre situations. But this surprised me in the best way: the depth, the level of care, and the attention to Tiffy’s gaslighting ex-boyfriend was phenomenal. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who has been emotionally abused, or someone who is friends with a person recovering from gaslighting, or someone who loves a person who was emotionally abused or gaslit. Every situation experienced, or Leon witnessed, is exactly the kind of scenario a person experiences when recovering from abusive situations. O’Leary did an absolutely fantastic job portraying this from all perspectives — from Tiffy’s waffling (abused) to Leon’s instinctual need to care or defend (lover), and Gerty’s aggressive tough love (angry friend) to Mo’s patience and understanding (therapist friend).
  
  That’s not to say this isn’t a lighthearted book, because it absolutely is! I laughed out loud so many times. I really loved Leon’s dry humor and big heart, and Tiffy’s quirky job as an editor at a niche hobby publisher. Some of the best moments between Tiffy and Leon are in their post-it note exchanges — with Tiffy’s long stories and Leon’s short and to-the-point commentary. His calm and relaxed demeanor compliments Tiffy’s outgoing and fun personality. Plus the secondary characters felt just as fully-developed and genuine as Tiffy and Leon. In many ways I think I’m a Gerty striving to be a Mo!
  
  A refreshing read wherein I felt so seen. A million thank yous to O’Leary for writing this. It’s gold.
  
  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Macmillan for review!
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019 | 1 Comment | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, review
- Mini Reviews
  
  Posted at 9:30 am by Laura, on May 2, 2019
  
  Roomies by Christina Lauren
  
  Publisher: Gallery
  Published: December 2017
  Genre: women’s fiction
  Rating: ★★★.5
  Summary: For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush. Fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions. Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway’s hottest musical director. Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago. Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?
  
  Mini Review: Broadway, musicians, Irishmen, Midwesterner in NYC—a recipe for a book I knew I’d enjoy! This was my first Christina Lauren novel and I enjoyed the writing and romance—what a complicated and frightening, confusing situation Holland and Calvin found themselves in—all of it still somehow so grounded and relatable. From the crash info sessions while filling out paperwork to the drilled interview questions in the office, backstage swoons on Broadway to little moments of vulnerable quiet at home—I was immersed in all of it. Hopefully reading another Christina Lauren soon!
  
  This qualifies as book 3 in my TBR challenge.
  
  Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
  
  Publisher: William Morrow
  Published: March 2017
  Genre: women’s fiction
  Rating: ★★★★
  Summary: Nikki lives in West London, where she tends bar at the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a “creative writing” course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community. Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind. As more women are drawn to the class, Nikki warns her students to keep their work secret from the Brotherhood, a group of highly conservative young men who have appointed themselves the community’s “moral police.” But when the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife—a modern woman like Nikki—and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.
  
  Mini Review: I wanted something fun, with depth, and Punjabi Widows was just the ticket. Nikki needs to take on an extra job to make ends meet and decides to answer a callout for writing instructors while pinning her sister’s matchmaking ad on the temple community board. Though she was under the impression she would be teaching women to write creative stories, she finds out her real job is to help them learn to read and write, period. In Punjabi, in English, either, both, all of the above. But as she continues her lessons she finds these women seek escape in stories—specifically erotica—as these stories are the only ways they can express themselves without shame. The writing was engaging, and the plot—with male morality police (god, oppressive men are everywhere for us, aren’t they?), mysterious deaths, hush money, and double lives—unexpectedly twisty and thrilling. I loved these women and their stories, ones that stemmed from their lost loves and others from their imagination, the way Nikki empowered them and they ways they strengthened her. If you’re looking for a good sisterhood book and what it means to be part of a community, this is it!
  
  Meet Cute by Helena Hunting
  
  Publisher: Forever
  Published: April 2019
  Genre: women’s fiction, chick lit
  Rating: ★★★
  Summary: On her first day of law school, Kailyn ran – quite literally – into the actor she crushed on as a teenager, ending with him sprawled on top of her. Mortified to discover the Daxton Hughes was also a student in her class, her embarrassment over their meet-cute quickly turned into a friendship she never expected. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming either. Now, eight years later, Dax is in her office asking for legal advice. Despite her anger, Kailyn can’t help feeling sorry for the devastated man who just became sole guardian to his thirteen-year-old sister. But when her boss gets wind of Kailyn’s new celebrity client, there’s even more at stake than Dax’s custody issues: if she gets Dax to work at their firm, she’ll be promoted to partner. The more time Kailyn spends with Dax and his sister, the more she starts to feel like a family, and the more she realizes the chemistry they had all those years ago is as fresh as ever. But will they be able to forgive the mistakes of the past, or will one betrayal lead to another?
  
  Mini Review: Romcoms lately have taken a pleasant turn to include more than just a meet cute (ha!) and romance—other compelling elements in the narrative are propelling the plot forward, which definitely makes me happy! With a cute cover and classic romcom premise, I thought I would enjoy a very surface-level comedy on meeting and interacting with a celebrity crush. But it’s a little deeper than that—Daxton suddenly has to care for his little sister, and their aunt is suing for custody. Kailyn was a great character to relate to and root for, and she has a good head on her shoulders. Daxton’s situation was genuinely heartbreaking to read, and Emme’s teenage reaction to everything catapulted me back to my own middle school years. But around the middle of the novel I wished this custody case would just wrap up already—lots of repetitive scenes, dialogue, and thoughts bogged down the momentum of the story as well as the romance. Overall this was a solid, good read to pass the time.
  
  This qualifies as book 4 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019 | 2 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, mini review, review
- Book Review: “His Majesty’s Dragon” by Naomi Novik
  
  Posted at 10:15 am by Laura, on April 29, 2019
  
  His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
  
  Publisher: Del Rey
  Published: March 2006
  Genre: fantasy
  ISBN: 9780345481283
  Rating: ★★★★
  
  Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
  
  Laurence is a Captain in the Navy when his crew defeats a French ship. To everyone’s surprise, they find and capture a dragon egg on board. When the dragon hatches, his first words are to Laurence, automatically making Laurence his handler and requiring him to transfer to the dragon aerial corps and become a combat aerialist. But nothing is as simple as that — Temeraire is a rare and unique dragon breed, making him both an asset and a target for the British corps. Laurence and Temeraire must work together with their new crew to defeat the French, or risk worse fate.
  
  My first Novik experience was with Uprooted. A few years trickled by and I devoured Spinning Silver. Now as we wait for another similar fantasy from her, I turned to her first books: the Temeraire series, about dragons and the British aerial corps during the Napoleonic Wars. At first glance this doesn’t seem up my alley at all. I like witches and magic more than dragons in general. Especially talking dragons. Especially military fantasy. Plus I’d heard that those of us who read her standalone Eastern European fantasies first may be dismayed with her dragon series. But I took a chance—I pretended this was a wholly different Naomi Novik, with the expectations it would be nothing like Uprooted. I’m so glad I did, because I loved this!
  
  Temeraire is funny, unique, and intelligent; Laurence a gentleman and good officer. The adventures are fun and well-paced, and the training was interspersed with moments of adorable joy (the dragons running across the beach to splash in the ocean) and sadness (mistreatment and neglect). It was so well-written, the humor subtle but fantastic, and featuring a thoroughly explored world that I wished dragons were real and this was true historical fiction.
  
  I enjoyed this book and I have the next ready to go—and I highly suggest you give it a shot too if you were like me and read Novik’s latest work before her backlist. She’s an amazing storyteller. (Plus, gotta love the bromance!)
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, review
- Flipping Through the Pages: Winter Rewind 2019
  
  Posted at 7:15 am by Laura, on April 1, 2019
  Every three months I give a quick update on my life and work from the previous season. Enjoy the Seasonal Rewind!
  
  Through the Lens
  
  January through March was full of illness, life-changing decisions, and just trying to get through each day. I celebrated my birthday and the appearance of final editions of Don’t Date Rosa Santos, pushed through sinus infections and a bum knee, and decided to take control of my health by attending Orange Theory (and getting my butt kicked) and kickstarting running every Saturday morning plus doing an ab workout (with Lindsey!) every day.
  
  Life Highlights
  
  Well, everything from my If We Were Having Coffee post, if you’d like to click through and see. I also had an auction for my client Chloe Gong and you can add her book on Goodreads! Oh, and I tried on my wedding dress! It fit like a glove, so all we’ll need to do in alterations is raise the hemline a couple inches so I don’t trip over it. And last week I finally saw Mumford & Sons live! For years I’d joke that I’d marry the man who took me to a Mumford concert––and look, I’m marrying him! Haha. And, gosh, one more wedding thing, we have registries now. My mother was clearly so excited about it that she already purchased something on it. I had to tell her to stop because we didn’t have the right quantities or colors yet (scanned lots of things to look at again in a week or so). Apparently she had to then tell the rest of the family OOPS it’s not really ready yet! Oh, mothers.
  
  Bookmarked in the Community
  
  Since I’m spending more time on IG than I am on blog posts, I’m going to include some discussion topics I really liked while scrolling through the feed.
  1. “Addicted to Audiobooks” @ So Obsessed With — Hannah offers great recommendations for books on audio. Audio is seeing a resurgence in popularity in recent years, and loads of books are available for you to listen to while working, cleaning, driving…
  2. “What a Reading Year So Far” @ Bookmark Lit — Lauren shares some of her favorite books so far this year, plus the ways she thinks her reading habits have changed in order to read more books she’s drawn to.
  3. How do you cure a book hangover? @greadsbooks — Sometimes you read a different genre, sometimes you don’t read a book for a week or so, sometimes you watch TV…Ginger has a great discussion on all the ways we get over book hangovers.
  4. What was the last book you re-read that felt new to you? @soobsessedblog — Hannah spent the entire month of February re-reading old favorites. Some of them were books she hadn’t touched since the first time she read them!
  5. Which big books intimidate you but you want to read? @idlewildreads — There’s something about door-stopping fiction that gives many readers pause. Why? And which books do that for you? Have you read them, and if so, what did you think?
  6. Reading goals, big books, and motivations, @justagirlwithabook— Jessica brings up an excellent topic that I feel deeply, especially when I made my own reading goals for this year: reading for a goal number and reading for pleasure (which tends to be a lot of big books not meant for racing).
  7. What are some of the things you’ve realized about your reading habits or preferences since joining bookstagram? @eviebookish — Change “bookstagram” to really any social media platform and you’re in for a great discussion! For me, I think the biggest change of all is that I purchased books I intended to read the second I came home from the store. Now I have whole bookcases dedicated to books I was excited about but haven’t gotten to yet.
  Popular Posts on Scribbles
  1. Deal Announcement: Chloe Gong, YA Fantasy — How could this not be popular? You’re in for a treat, friends.
  2. If We Were Having Coffee — This is likely because I hadn’t posted in a while, but I wanted to be real with readers.
  3. Over on IG, Are you reading for quality or quantity?, inspired by this article which really resonated with me.
  4. Also over on IG, You are more than your number, inspired by all the discussions and stories lamenting over follower count, popularity, and how toxic social media can sometimes be.
  Cherished Reads
  
  She dropped the stone into a pan. “Stop turning into a statue, and you won’t have to deal with this.” She briefly paused to glare at him. “This is the third time I’ve had to treat you . . . people are not meant to shift into rocks!”
  
  He looked a little ashamed. “It’s very peaceful.”
  
  ––The Kingdom of Copper by SA Chakraborty ★★★★★
  
  “Where did you get all these from? Mr. Blezard in Padiham?”
  
  “Women I know,” she said.
  
  “Wise women?”
  
  “Most women are wise.”
  
  ––The Familiars by Stacey Halls ★★★★
  
  “It is very nice how many books there are, indeed; and on so many subjects.”
  
  ––His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik ★★★★ (coming soon!)
  
  Reading Goals
  
  In order to keep track of my 2019 resolutions, I’m keeping an updated roundup here each season of my progress.
  
  Required Reading: 4/15
  
  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close || A Gentleman in Moscow
  An American Marriage || Is It All In Your Head?
  
  Library Books (For Fun): 3/10
  
  The Light Over London || When You Read This || The Familiars
  
  Marillier & Gabaldon: 0/2
  
  TBR Pile: 2/10
  
  The Kingdom of Copper || A Curious Beginning
  
  Genre Fiction: 6
  
  MYSTERY || A Curious Beginning
  HISTORICAL || The Light Over London, A Gentleman in Moscow, The Familiars
  FANTASY || The Kingdom of Copper, His Majesty’s Dragon
  
  Overall Challenge: 12/45
  
  On the Radar . . .
  
  Netflix / TV / Film: It’s been a long season of loads of Netflix and Redbox: Planet Earth II, Christopher Robin, Tidying Up, Grace & Frankie, One Day at a Time, Bohemian Rhapsody, Queer Eye season 3…And two rounds of binge-watching The Office. My favorite was Grace & Frankie though, and I’m looking forward to the next season already!
  
  Shopping Bag: In an effort to stick to my word, I’ve become a Fabletics member and now am the proud and excited owner of some excellent workout clothing! Throwing down the money for some proper clothing really is my own motivator. I wouldn’t want to let them go to waste!
  
  Miscellaneous: Marie Kondo’s Kon Mari method impacted my household, too. Our closets are leaner, our drawers folded nicely, the books examined and evaluated (I donated ~150 books from my TBR cases!), and once it properly warms up for spring we’re going to air out the apartment and really deep clean and extreme tidy the closets and remaining storage spaces.
  
  Looking Ahead . . .
  
  April through June is going to be packed. I think I’m subconsciously trying to preemptively make up for the rest-of-life-slow-down August through October in favor of all things wedding, which meant saying yes to lots of things in the spring. April, May, and June I’m traveling to writing conferences, April and May I’m participating in WisRWA, I’m working extra weekends at the library, and then there’s all the meetings pertaining to the wedding planning happening as well. Let’s hope I survive all of this…
  
  ~
  
  What have you been up to this season / this month? Any new obsessions or good reads or great music? Share some of your favorites here, and let me know if I should check out any great blog posts!
  Posted in This Season's Rewind | 3 Comments | Tagged rewind, this season's rewind
- Book Review: “The Familiars” by Stacey Halls
  
  Posted at 7:45 am by Laura, on March 21, 2019
  
  The Familiars by Stacey Halls
  
  Publisher: MIRA
  Published: February 2019
  Genre: historical fiction
  ISBN: 9780778369189
  Rating: ★★★★
  
  Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.
  
  Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.
  
  Fleetwood Shuttleworth is a young noblewoman living near Pendle Hill in 1612 and approaching her fourth pregnancy with trepidation. Her other pregnancies have failed and she’s terrified this one will be the death of her. She requires the midwifery services of Alice Grey, who is later accused of witchcraft along with a dozen other women in the Lancaster area. Desperate to prove her innocence, Fleetwood defies the men in her life and tries to piece together the puzzle of Alice’s unfortunate situation.
  
  This solidly historical novel, with writing and atmosphere that feels like there’s a touch of magic, recounts the Pendle Witch Trials in northern England, taken from transcripts, letters, and notes of the time. Halls does an incredible job of making the reader question if Alice really was a witch––the eerie coincidences, Fleetwood’s moments of fear, and the misunderstandings of the townspeople are full of the uncanny and unsettling. Hundreds of years later our society is fascinated by witch trials and witch hunts––what really happened, what caused them, and why don’t we believe it now––and let’s just say Halls really nails it with this novel.
  
  Poor, illiterate women were the scapegoats for any instances of misunderstanding or coincidences. These women were also relied upon (“wise women”) to serve their villages and towns with their knowledge of herbal medicines and remedies––far more than any doctor at the time, and far more successful. Whether people (particularly men) were offended or threatened by them for their poverty and illiteracy, or for their expertise in something one was not familiar with, or for the plain fact they were female and it offended one’s masculinity, these “wise women” were sought out and accused of witchcraft. In the case of the Pendle witches, they were poor, possible mentally abused and traumatized, and neighbors as well––perhaps there was a long familial rivalry and things just snapped––and immediately were the ones blamed for all bad luck in the Lancaster area.
  
  In a way, Hall makes us examine just how much we’ve “grown” from these trials. We still have prejudices against the poor, mentally ill, and boundary-pushing women, all who are still at risk of being pushed down, silenced, and minimized. They’re not witches anymore, but they’re still “unwanted” members of society.
  
  Politics aside, I was enamored with the writing, the power behind the story, and all that women were still able to do (in very roundabout ways) in order to stand with each other on the right side of justice. Excellent, atmospheric novel!
  
  This qualifies as book 3 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019 | 1 Comment | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: historical fiction, review
- Book Review: “The Light Over London” by Julia Kelly
  
  Posted at 6:15 am by Laura, on March 18, 2019
  
  The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
  
  Publisher: Gallery
  Published: January 2019
  Genre: historical fiction
  ISBN: 9781501196416
  Rating: ★★★★
  
  It’s always been easier for Cara Hargraves to bury herself in the past than confront the present, which is why working with a gruff but brilliant antiques dealer is perfect. While clearing out an estate, she pries open an old tin that holds the relics of a lost relationship: among the treasures, a World War II-era diary and a photograph of a young woman in uniform. Eager to find the author of the hauntingly beautiful, unfinished diary, Cara digs into this soldier’s life, but soon realizes she may not have been ready for the stark reality of wartime London she finds within the pages.
  
  In 1941, nineteen-year-old Louise Keene’s life had been decided for her—she’ll wait at home in her Cornish village until her wealthy suitor returns from war to ask for her hand. But when Louise unexpectedly meets Flight Lieutenant Paul Bolton, a dashing RAF pilot stationed at a local base, everything changes. And changes again when Paul’s unit is deployed without warning.
  
  Desperate for a larger life, Louise joins the women’s branch of the British Army in the anti-aircraft gun unit as a Gunner Girl. As bombs fall on London, she and the other Gunner Girls relish in their duties to be exact in their calculations, and quick in their identification of enemy planes during air raids. The only thing that gets Louise through those dark, bullet-filled nights is knowing she and Paul will be together when the war is over. But when a bundle of her letters to him are returned unanswered, she learns that wartime romance can have a much darker side.
  
  While searching through a client’s estate for antiques to bring back to the shop, Cara stumbles across an old tin filled with trinkets and a diary. The diary belongs to a young Cornish woman in 1941, experiencing her first romance and making a name for herself as a Gunner Girl. Cara has experienced recent turmoil in her life and solving the mystery of the owner of the diary rejuvenates her. She is determined to identify the owner of the diary and return it to her, especially because it may lead to answers in Cara’s own family’s past. The Gunner Girl, Louise, breaks free from her mother’s oppressive control by enlisting in the ATS, and then becoming one of the first women in Ack-Ack Command, shooting down German planes bombing London and other large cities—but she also finds herself caught in a whirlwind romance that does more harm than good.
  
  I was listening to this book on audio, two hours away from finishing, when I had to return it to the library—so I ran to the bookstore and bought it to finish! I love the WWII fiction that’s coming out lately, focusing on the brilliant efforts women made during the war, the unsung heroes and lesser-known stories, the powerful female friendships taking center stage over the wartime romances. Don’t get me wrong, romance is fine, but the accounts of these brave women are far more inspiring, empowering, and interesting to me. (Plus I love a good modern-day heroine who is a curator, archivist, librarian, etc…)
  
  What touched me most about this novel was Louise’s story. She’s swept up into a love affair as epic as the movies, full of urgency due to the war. She’s desperate to leave her mother’s grasp and defiant in anything her mother believed, but also wants to find herself in the midst of turmoil. Her search for an identity, to know herself and her strengths and weaknesses, and subsequently finding the thrill of independence among other like-minded women, was such a joy to read, even during her naivete in love. I want more of this. More female empowerment, more female friendships, and less focus on finding The One in order to make oneself “whole.” The Light Over London is all about second chances, starting over, reinvention, independence, and strength amidst chaos.
  
  This book is perfect for fans of Guernsey Literary and The Alice Network (likely also Lilac Girls and The Nightingale, though I’ve yet to read those!). Next on my TBR is The Huntress so expect lots of feminist history reviews!
  
  This qualifies as book 2 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  Posted in books, Reviews 2019 | 1 Comment | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: historical fiction, review
- Mini Reviews
  
  Posted at 6:25 am by Laura, on February 25, 2019
  
  Today I’m sharing two vastly different novels — one is deeply character-driven, and the other deeply plot-driven — both eliciting similar ratings for enjoyment. Should be fun!
  
  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
  
  Publisher: Viking
  Published: September 2016
  Genre: historical fiction
  Rating: ★★★.5
  Summary: In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
  
  Mini Review: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this novel. Character-driven narratives are my jam, but for a novel to be almost entirely devoid of plot was astounding. This novel follows a man living in confinement as a Former Person in a Moscow hotel following the Revolution. He was once a member of the aristocracy, and as the decades pass he continues to live with one foot in nostalgia and one foot looking toward the future. I enjoyed his turn of phrase, how he made the most of his circumstances, and the way time (passage of, experience within the moment, and history itself) altered while he was trapped in the hotel. He was an individual who still saw his “comrades,” the believers of the People as one homogeneous group, as individuals. When one girl’s life rests in his hands, he moves from a life of leisure to one of purpose, which was a joy to watch develop. (The experience was a bit like reading a narrative of the Earl of Grantham through the eyes of Carson the Butler in Downton Abbey.) I can’t pinpoint what exactly pushed me through to continue reading, but I’m glad I did!
  
  When You Read This by Mary Adkins
  
  Publisher: Harper
  Published: February 2019
  Genre: contemporary
  Rating: ★★★.5
  Summary: For four years, Iris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyi, helping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has died, taken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleague, Smith is surprised to discover that in her last six months, Iris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eager, if overbearingly forthright, new intern Carl, Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris’s last wish. Before he can do so, though, he must get the approval of Iris’ big sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who’s been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggage, Smith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other.
  
  Mini Review: Perfect for fans of Attachments and Eleanor Oliphant, this novel is a modern-day epistolary told through emails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, and other snippets from the characters’ virtual lives. There’s so much that can be gleaned from a person’s online presence! Though the formatting kept me from deeply connecting to the characters, I really enjoyed this quick read for all the ways one can see how people go about their days — their “external” communications with other people, as well as their “internal” struggles that still leave a footprint online (for example, all those pizza deliveries!). It’s also a captivating discussion on grief and death in the modern age — by emailing or writing on the loved one’s wall, knowing they’ll never see it or respond to it but somehow it helps us cope — that remarkably stays bittersweet and even funny without becoming too gloomy.
  
  This qualifies as book 1 of 10 in my library books challenge.
  
  Posted in Reviews 2019 | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, genre: historical fiction, mini review, review
- Deal Announcement: Chloe Gong, YA Fantasy
  
  Posted at 12:13 pm by Laura, on February 22, 2019
  
  Deal Announcements feature my most recent deal as an agent and the story behind it. Writers and readers should experience how an agent knows when they’ve struck gold and sign an author, the beginning of the journey to publication.
  
  I’m so excited to announce the publication of Chloe Gong‘s These Violent Delights!
  
  Tricia Lin at Simon Pulse has acquired, at auction, Chloe Gong‘s debut YA fantasy These Violent Delights, pitched as a Romeo and Juliet retelling by way of The Godfather. A monster has awakened in 1920s Shanghai, killing off citizens and stirring trouble between two feuding gangs. The rival heirs, Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai, must work together before the monster destroys all they hold dear, even while the Chinese Civil War breaks out around them. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency did the two-book deal for North American rights.
  
  Once upon a time…
  
  In early summer 2018, I received an intricate, complicated, multi-layered, no-way-she’s-a-rising-sophomore query for a gorgeous, thrilling, and dark manuscript that was a blend of historical science fiction fantasy. I was immensely intrigued and requested to read 50 pages…and a week later requested to read the full…and a week after that (which was about two weeks before I left for Greece) I offered representation. I was so blown away by Chloe’s writing, enthusiasm, skill, and intelligence (she’s going to rule the world one day, mark my words) and I knew I had to represent her! Her acceptance was the last email I read before flying out of the country!
  
  Before diving into edits we needed to clear up some matters. I wanted to be sure nothing bad would happen to her academically or legally if we were to publish her work, as she is a student in the US from New Zealand. We spoke with her academic and international advisors to make sure every rule was followed, as well as making sure none of this would complicate her studies. With the green light, we were able to dive into edits, polish this up, and present this to editors across YA and Adult markets. (I mean seriously, it’s that good.)
  
  It was so important that the editor not only connected to the writing and story, but also to the Chinese experiences, to the history of Russia’s pogroms, to the deep understanding of Shanghai’s tumultuous history, to the complicated matters of generational and cultural diaspora. Tricia Lin hustled for this project, and I’m so thrilled she and Chloe will be bringing These Violent Delights into the world!
  
  And the rest…is history.
  
  Congratulations, Chloe! You’re going to be a published author!
  
  Posted in agenting, deal announcement | 6 Comments | Tagged agenting, deal announcement
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- Hello, I’m Laura!
  
  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent and librarian, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I have a passion for Victorian culture, Gothic lit, and music. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to knit, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm obsessed with popcorn. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!
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