Tag: book review

• Mini Reviews III

  Posted at 7:00 am by Laura, on June 29, 2015

  Mini Reviews

  Quick, bite-sized reviews of fast, enjoyable reads!
  A penny for thoughts, a snappy two-cent reflection! 

  Love Likes the Movies by Victoria Van Tiem

  Publisher: Panmacmillan
  Published: February 2014
  Genre: women’s fiction
  ISBN: 9781447269731
  Rating: ★★★
  Summary: Kenzi Shaw knows the plot of her life down to the last line – the career she’s building as a marketing exec, the gorgeous fiancé she’ll marry in a fairytale wedding, the children they’ll raise in her dream home. But when ex Shane comes back into her life, life starts going off the script. Not only is her head in a spin over Shane, but now her job is on the line. With her perfect sister-in-law showing up every tiny thing Kenzi does wrong, she feels like she’s permanently in the corner. One thing’s certain: she’s not so sure who her leading man is…

  Mini Review: When Shane comes back into Kenzi’s life as a potential client with her firm, he really rocks the boat. He gives her an ultimatum (re-enacting all their favorite rom-coms) that puts her job and future life with Bradley on the line. Kenzi was an overanxious, self-conscious character around everyone except Shane, so whenever he was in the picture I liked her a lot. Her mother’s horrible, her sister-in-law sucks, and her best friend is scum. I wanted nothing but happiness for Kenzi! This read more like a blend of cutesy chick lit and Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments. I thought I’d be roaring with laughter, and while that never really happened, it was good read.

  Magnolia by Kristi Cook

  Publisher: Simon Pulse
  Published: August 2014
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
  ISBN: 9781442485341
  Rating: ★★★.5
  Summary: In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are practically royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when the families finally have a baby boy and girl at the same time, the perfect opportunity seems to have arrived. Except Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen — oh, and also? They hate each other. But when a violent Mississippi storm ravages through Magnolia Branch, it unearths feelings Jemma and Ryder didn’t know they had. And the line between love and hate just might be thin enough to cross.

  Mini Review: This felt like a mix of Anna and the French Kiss (focus on a love story more than anything else) and Second Chance Summer (underlying serious issues), and just what the doctor ordered. I wouldn’t say Jemma and Ryder hate each other — “hate” is a strong word for what Jemma feels (and boy, she’s quick to temper) and Ryder is frustrated by that temper — but their tension is perfectly reasonable. It would be quite annoying to have parents planning every inch of your life together simply because you’re of the opposite sex of the BFF family. The hurricane that blows through Mississippi felt so real, and I think I enjoyed the story more in that third of the book than anything else. The writing was at its best there. And, no matter how many flaws this book had, the story was still well-told, and I’m glad this was a gradual attraction instead of instantaneous. They’ve been in each other’s lives since birth. I liked that establishment from the get-go. This is a nice, light read, a book you can breeze through on a summer afternoon.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 4 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, mini review

• Book Review: “Rook” by Sharon Cameron

  Posted at 5:45 am by Laura, on June 22, 2015

  Rook by Sharon Cameron

  Publisher: Scholastic Press
  Published: April 2015
  Genre: young adult, science fiction, romance
  ISBN: 9780545675994
  Goodreads: 3.82
  Rating: ★★★.5

  History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

  Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.

  As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

  The French Revolution meets The Scarlet Pimpernel in this daring, futuristic adventure. Technology is banned, and for a good reason: polar shifts caused technology to malfunction and satellites to fall from the sky, effectively ruining the lives of the Ancients. To adapt to a new way of living, the surviving humans vowed to never use machines again. Race forward a couple centuries, and this new regime works a step further to punish dissenters. The Sunken City, once Paris, is filled with “criminals” locked away in the Tombs. One vigilante, the Red Rook, saves these unjustly imprisoned citizens and leaves behind a rook feather tipped in red. But soon the Red Rook’s nighttime rescues come knocking on Sophia Bellamy’s door, bringing danger, high stakes, split-second decisions, spies, double agents, and one René Hasard.

  This feels like historical fiction thanks to the French Revolution atmosphere (rich versus poor, unjust law, and the philosophy that religion should be dropped for chance or Fate), but very clearly set in the future (the characters uncover shiny plastic discs (CDs), cross-shaped handles with buttons (Nintendo game controls), and space debris (NASA)). We, today in 2015, are considered the Ancients, the population intensely connected to and dependent on technology to function day to day. I loved reading Cameron’s Author’s Note, all the “what ifs” meeting “history repeats itself.” Seriously, when you’re done reading this book, you’ll begin to wonder, too…

  While I found the world at first difficult to wrap my brain around, I was really into the characters and their individual stories. Especially when I was trying to figure out who was on what side and double-crossing whom, and seeing what was happening to one person in this ten-minute time frame while something else was happening to another (the last 150 pages, for example!). This was probably the most intricately plotted book I’ve read this year, and now I’m very curious to see what The Scarlet Pimpernel is like!

  Sophia is definitely a girl you want on your side. She’s daring and compassionate and wicked intelligent. Her steamy scenes with René were fantastic, too, though it took me much longer to like him the way Sophia did. Must’ve been that skepticism and inability to trust anyone I experienced while reading.

  Read this when you’re mentally prepared for a thriller, for espionage, for a book so detailed you can devote hours to it just following the strings. I was not prepared for what this turned out to be! I think, with another reread, I may bump my rating up to 4 or 5 stars. In the meantime, check out Lindsey @ Bring My Books‘s post (especially if you’ve read Cameron’s other books) and Morgan @ Gone With the Words‘s post (especially if you want to look at her character casting)!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 6 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: romance, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Finding Audrey” by Sophie Kinsella

  Posted at 7:00 am by Laura, on June 19, 2015

  Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

  Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
  Published: June 2015
  Genre: young adult, contemporary
  ISBN: 9780553536515
  Goodreads: 3.89
  Rating: ★★★★ 

  An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

  Audrey has a host of anxiety issues, and her mother’s helicopter nagging the entire family isn’t helping. Audrey wears sunglasses all day and watches QVC in a dark room, avoiding all aspects of The Incident that triggered her mental state. When Dr. Sarah gives her an assignment to film her life like a fly on the wall, Audrey watches the life around her through a lens and slowly ventures out to the Starbucks around the corner. With her brother Frank taking a hit with Mum’s fanatics, Audrey is able to branch out and rediscover the world on her own.

  “[Bloody] is in the Harry Potter films, OK? Harry Potter. How can it be swearing?”
  “What?” Mum sounds wrong-footed.
  “Harry Potter. I rest my case.”

  The publisher synopsis annoyingly makes it sound like Linus swoops in and saves the day and erases Audrey’s multitude of serious, severe anxiety issues. That’s not the case. He certainly helps her deal with it, come to terms with it, and tackle it. He doesn’t treat her like a science experiment or an animal in the zoo — her constant use of sunglasses and tendency to dash out of a room mid-sentence only to cower in a closet corner can make normal conversation difficult — and Audrey recognizes this and finds a way to speak to him about her issues.

  “So you’re allergic to eye contact.”
  “I’m allergic to everything contact.”
  “No you’re not,” he says at once. “You’re not allergic to brain contact. I mean you write notes. You talk. You still want to talk to people, you just can’t. So your body needs to catch up with your brain.”
  I’m silent for a while. No-one’s put it like that before.

  That being said, Linus and her family help her take steps back into the world as well as accidentally pushing her back to invisibility. She grows so much through this book on her own terms, fighting against her “lizard brain” that’s constantly on high alert, doing things that feel daring to her and normal to others. She watches Mum grow paranoid about computer games and their effects on her older brother Frank. She cuddles younger brother Felix and works on eye contact through his innocent gaze. She observes her dad grow more and more tired as the months wear on. All of this is recorded on her camera that she shares with Dr. Sarah, so she can get a better idea of Audrey’s environment, home life, and progress.

  We sip our drinks and smile at each other. Thoughts are racing through my head, crazy thoughts like I’ve made it! I’m in Starbucks! Go me! But there are other, weird, random thoughts popping up, like Everyone’s looking at me and I hate myself. And then suddenly I wish I was home right now, which is just weird. I do not wish I was at home. I’m out with Linus! In Starbucks!

  Though we never find out exactly what triggered Audrey’s severe anxiety, we do get a good idea of what happened. (I also have a theory Mum was a huge contributing factor because WOW I wanted to box her ears and shut her up on a lot of issues. This is when I’d pull out my nonexistent pom-poms and cheer on Frank’s responses to everything she said and did.) And this book is so damn funny. Her situation isn’t funny, but the events happening around her, outside of her inner world, are so hilarious I couldn’t stop laughing. It made her moments with Dr. Sarah even more meaningful. I’m so relieved to finally see a mental illness story with a therapist that’s not a stereotype or unhelpful, with a protagonist that wants to make progress.

  I’ve never read Kinsella’s adult books, but if they’re anything like her YA debut, I’m definitely going to give her a read!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 6 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Emmy & Oliver” by Robin Benway (ARC)

  Posted at 6:35 am by Laura, on June 17, 2015

  Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

  Publisher: HarperTeen
  Publishing Date: June 23
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
  ISBN: 9780062330598
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life. She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

  Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart. He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

  Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

  Emmy’s life has always been in relation to Oliver. It began when they were friends, and then it took a terrible turn when he was kidnapped. Emmy understands why her parents have such strict rules, but it means she has to lie to them about surfing and applying to UCSD — and she doesn’t like doing that to them. But when Oliver returns home, she realizes just how much everyone focused on wanting him back but not the after. And Oliver finds a friend in Emmy, a healer to combine his childhood, his disappearance, and his reappearance together, without judgement or stress. But how will he come to terms with understanding the man who raised him was also the man who committed a crime?

  This is unique in topic, and I think that’s why I enjoyed this so much. While there are books on Stockholm Syndrome, that’s not exactly what happened to Oliver. He was 7 when his father picked him up from school for a three-day weekend, and then he never returned. His father, a man he already loved and saw as an authority figure, then raised him and taught him everything he knew. But when Oliver discovers his mother was looking for him all this time, he decides to go back to California and live with her and new family — and that’s when it really hits him that his father is a criminal. To everyone in town, Oliver’s dad is a monster. But to Oliver, his dad is his dad. That’s a tough situation right there — toss in the fact his father said, all the way back when Oliver was 7, that his mother didn’t want him anymore, and you’ve got 10 years of resentment and longing built up.

  While the story is told in Emmy’s point of view, I couldn’t help but look forward to Oliver’s shattering facade moments. The moments when he’d break down a bit more and reveal how he felt and what happened all those years. I wanted to hear what he had to say, to try to put myself in his shoes — and let me tell you, it was an emotional wreck for such a good guy. He does the best he can to be as normal as possible, to look to the future and see the positive in everything. He’s so dimensional and really stuck with me.

  That’s not to say Emmy’s voice wasn’t memorable. She’s the first teen protagonist I’ve seen in a while that’s a good girl but not a doormat. She actually speaks her mind when she gets frustrated with her parents. They’re (understandably) protective, and all it takes is a letter from UCSD for them to see the extent of the damage panicked decisions can do.

  Emmy and her friends Caro and Drew were a riot. I loved them. They were easy-going and fun and supportive, and absolutely adored their humor and back-and-forth attitude. Even in the moments when they had rough patches, it felt genuine and true to life. Nothing is hunky-dory in their world, and they certainly have their own home lives to deal with, but they make the most of it. Oliver always belonged with them — and of all the emotional stories, it was their open arms bringing him back into the fold that made me tear up.

  If you love the friendship stories of Emery Lord, the family stories of Sarah Dessen, the psychological undertone of Lucy Christopher, and coming-of-age of Morgan Matson, you’ve got to read this book.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from HarperTeen for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 8 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by SJ Maas

  Posted at 6:05 am by Laura, on June 15, 2015

  A Court of Thorns and Roses by SJ Maas

  Publisher: Bloomsbury
  Published: May 2015
  Genre: young adult, fantasy, retelling
  ISBN: 9781619634442
  Goodreads: 4.36
  Rating: ★★★★★

  When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

  As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

  Feyre is a hunter by necessity. Her family depends on her to bring back meat for food and hide for money. But one snowy evening in the woods changes her future forever. The night after she kills a gigantic wolf, a beast arrives at her family’s cottage and drags her into the magical realm of the faeries, a place Feyre has been taught to fear her whole life. But once at the Spring Court, Feyre learns the beast is not a creature, but a High Lord, a faerie named Tamlin. Tamlin shows her compassion, brings her art and peace each day she dwells in Prythian. But an ancient magic haunts Tamlin and hinders his powers, and Feyre is swept up in a deadly game plaguing the faerie lands.

  Move over, folks, because I need a spot on the SJ Maas bandwagon. Though I own Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, A Court of Thorns and Roses ranked higher on my priority list because, hello, Beauty and the Beast retelling! Instead of a beautiful girl obsessed with books swapping her father’s life for her own (and a whole mess of Stockholm Syndrome that I like to ignore), we’ve got an artistically talented and illiterate young woman who chose to spare her family’s slaughter by agreeing to cross into faerie lands for eternity. And the beast? He’s all terrifying when he storms into her home, but the second they cross into Prythian he’s not a person to fear. He’s nothing but kind to her, no masks (well, except for the one permanently glued to his face — part of the curse) or bickering dialogue.

  Tamlin and Feyre really have chemistry. Not love-at-first-sight chemistry, but a steady, growing attraction that is so deep as well as steamy. That’s what made her friendship with Lucien feel genuine, too. No love triangles here. And her connection later with Rhys? I don’t see a triangle on that end either, at least not reciprocated by Feyre, but it made me like Rhys’s character as well when he helped her during the torturous trials.

  Favorite scenes: the starlight pond, the gallery showing, Feyre’s sister Nesta’s reveal, Feyre’s fae maid Alis explaining the curse, the frightening mud scene in Amarantha’s mountain . . .

  I don’t know how to review this book without doing this

  

  There’s action, romance, adventure, faerie lore, retelling parallels, excellent characters, depth and plotting. It’s a book.

  Now, I’ve had this conversation with Morgan and Lindsey before, about how we can’t seem to cast characters as we’re reading but it makes sense in hindsight when we see an actor with those physical features. The characters are hazy, blurred. Well, Kelly solved all of these issues with her excellent ACOTAR casting. Not only do I approve of all those yummy men (especially Shuegs), I also approve of the roles they’d play.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 5 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: action/adventure, genre: fantasy, genre: new adult, genre: young adult, review

• Book Review: “Murder is Bad Manners” by Robin Stevens

  Posted at 6:30 am by Laura, on June 12, 2015

  Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens
  also published under Murder Most Unladylike in the UK

  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / Corgi Children’s
  Published: April 2015 / June 2014
  Genre: middle grade, mystery, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9781481422123
  Goodreads: 4.05
  Rating: ★★★★

  Deepdean School for Girls, 1934. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t, really.)

  But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident – but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there’s more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.

  Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

  Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong, best friends and co-starters of several societies at Deepdean School for Girls, are smack dab in the middle of a murder case before the rest of the school realizes what’s happened to two of their teachers. Hazel discovers Miss Bell, the science teacher, dead in the gym, and Daisy launches an investigation by starting up the Wells and Wong Detective Agency. By listing suspects, motives, and gathering evidence, the girls seek out ways to prove teachers’ innocence, and are on the right track to sniffing out the murderer when another teacher winds up dead. Soon, the murders seem too real to the girls, and their friendship is stretched thin.

  Daisy liked rushing headlong into things and triumphing, and I liked waiting
  and thinking — but why should that make her right and me wrong?

  If you want a good middle grade mystery for a young Holmes or Marple in your life, look no further. This has that classic Doyle or Christie feel, and the characters — Hazel, in particular — are so well-rounded I felt like I was in school with these girls in 1930s England.

  Daisy and Hazel occasionally let their emotions guide them to their conclusions, but they conduct their investigation like a detective would: writing down possible suspects, sniffing around for evidence to cross suspects off the list — rather than pinpointing a person and blindly ignoring evidence that suggests otherwise — sneakily discover information by creating diversions or running off somewhere in the school late at night, and even confronting the criminal when they’ve finished their work. What’s extra wonderful is that the girls solve the basic part of the mystery halfway through, and quickly realize they’re not necessarily wrong, just that there was more to it than they expected, and they continue the investigation before bringing it to the police’s attention.

  That’s not to say the murder doesn’t bother them. Daisy tries very hard to see the crime as something in her detective novels, but there’s a scene in here where she buries herself under a pile of coats (kind of like a comfort tactic) and admits to Hazel they may be in over their heads. Hazel is bothered by the case from the get-go, having seen the victim firsthand. Several middle grade mysteries lack this haunting psychological element, so I was very happy to see Stevens write this into the story. It was also refreshing to see the friends work hard together, but still have some bumps along the road that tests their friendship. There are moments when Hazel’s “otherness” gets in the way as well, and I liked how she handled these situations.

  A satisfying ending that works as a standalone and a promise for more (and I know there’s more — the perks of watching UK books come to the US!). I’m thrilled I read this book! I can’t wait to read the other adventures Daisy and Hazel experience!

  This qualifies as book #6 in my resolution to read 10 library books in 2015. 

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 1 Comment | Tagged book review, books, genre: historical fiction, genre: middle grade, genre: mystery, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “A School for Unusual Girls” by Kathleen Baldwin

  Posted at 6:15 am by Laura, on June 10, 2015

  A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

  Publisher: Tor Teen
  Published: May 2015
  Genre: young adult, historical fiction, romance
  ISBN: 9780765376008
  Goodreads: 3.69
  Rating: ★★★

  It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don’t fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

  After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their hearts…

  Georgiana knew her parents were upset and humiliated to have an odd daughter, one who’d burn down the stables or attempt flying off the top of the manor. So when they left her at Stranje House after witnessing several of the finishing school girls in medieval torture devices, she’s stunned and devastated. But things are not as they seem at Stranje House, and her scientific curiosities to create an invisible ink to end Napoleon once and for all are encouraged. With the help of her friends and Lord Sebastian Wyatt, Georgie is propelled in an adventure like no other, a mission that could save several thousand men, and would surely shock her parents beyond belief.

  I knew going into this book that I would enjoy the spies-and-espionage aspect of the story. Toss in a finishing school that’s not as it seems and I was sure this would be a favorite. While it’s not on my favorites list, it’s definitely a book I’m glad I read. It was like an action-packed version of Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty, only without the magic. Science drives the mission, and ultimately alters the Napoleonic history.

  What knocked my rating down from an automatic 5 to 3 stars was the pacing, more specifically the pacing of the romance and the reveal of the mysterious Stranje House. Georgie and Sebastian are thrust together to create this invisible ink, and within six days they’re practically pawing each other and drowning in kisses. I’m not saying that can’t happen, but at this point they’d only been in the other’s presence maybe three times, and each interaction is filled with directionless bickering-written-as-banter (one of my least favorite romance tropes). Secondly, I knew going into the book that Stranje House was not a finishing school but training grounds for young female spies. While it wasn’t as straightforward as Lee’s A Spy in the House, I almost wished it would be. About halfway through the book a character finally spills the beans to Georgie (who is, apparently, incredibly intelligent, so why did they have to spell it out to her? All the clues were there) and explains what the torture devices were for and what their classes are meant to instill.

  While I do appear to be groaning about the faults, I can honestly say that I did enjoy this read. It was a blend of Bray and Lee’s books, and I was absolutely fascinated by the chemistry sessions in creating the ink. As a non-science person, scenes like those are always intriguing (my concoctions always exploded in class). It was quick, fun, filled with swoony moments (if that’s your style!), and I’m interested to see what the next book brings. They really do alter Napoleonic history, so it’ll be neat to see what Baldwin does next.

  Thank you, NetGalley, for providing this book from Tor Teen for (a belated) review! 

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: historical fiction, genre: romance, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, review

• Book Review: “The Royal We” by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

  Posted at 6:00 am by Laura, on June 1, 2015

  The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

  Publisher: Grand Central
  Published: April 2015
  Genre: fiction
  ISBN: 9781455557103
  Goodreads: 3.91
  Rating: ★★★★★

  American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it’s Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain’s future king. And when Bex can’t resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

  Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick’s sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he’s fated to become.

  Which is how she gets into trouble.

  Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she’s sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

  Rebecca would’ve thought twice about making a syphilis joke in front of Prince Nicholas if she had known Prince Nicholas was the one opening the door to her Pembroke home at Oxford University. But she didn’t meet Nicholas — she met Nick. Nick, an insomniac who pigs out on Twinkies; who runs before dawn just to find a quiet, outdoorsy place to work on crossword puzzles; the young man obsessed with Devour, a strange American TV show that blends humans, witches, vampires, and leopards in a small town. One night on the town, Nick solidifies his place in Bex’s heart, and the two can’t look back. But loving Nick also means loving Prince Nicholas and all that entails: media, family secrets, tight social circles, and keeping up appearances. On the night before their wedding, Bex wonders if giving up who she was almost a decade ago is really all worth it.

  England is the motherland, and I am their loyal [American] subject! So when The Royal We came out (perfect timing for HRH Princess Charlotte’s birth), it was an automatic buy and immediate read. This is a fictionalized — although recognizable in many respects — Will-and-Kate story. All the best characters are there, from the gorgeous sister Lacey constantly making the papers to the younger, more charming brother Prince Freddie. Prince Richard, Nick and Freddie’s father, is a distinguished figure though not loved by many, and Queen Eleanor is quite regal and humorous to boot. But what really makes The Royal We stand out are the secondary characters. I haven’t seen secondary characters this fleshed out in adult fiction in quite some time. I fell in love with Cilla and Gaz, with Bea’s posh-ness and Marj’s strict code, and even with Clive to some extent. Nick and Bex rely on their close Oxford circle, and the way they bring Bex into the fold from the very beginning is endearing and wonderful and made me miss college.

  Bex’s family is remarkable. While I was invested in the Nick-and-Bex story, I found her interactions with her family deeply compelling. She’s away from them for most of the novel, but they influence her decisions every day. Bex is close with her father, and he has a way of bringing her mind down from the clouds. Lacey, her twin sister, is competitive in every aspect of their lives without it feeling like a competition, and yet her selfish personality made her downfall somewhat inevitable. Despite all of this, she and Bex are incredibly close, and they go through their ups and downs as any adult sisters would.

  The same could be said with Nick and Freddie. The Heir and the Spare. Freddie is fun and playful, trying to make it into the papers the further Nick’s immersed in the family politics and responsibilities — something to distract the public from what’s going on underneath. He was obnoxious and fun, and soon he cracked and gave a glimpse of his character on the inside. I couldn’t help but feel deeply for him! The whole family, really. From the Queen Mum cracking jokes and whacking people with her cane, to drunken aunts and snobby cousins, to the cold father and mysterious mother. This family is full of secrets, and it was thrilling to discover each one as Bex moved deeper into the circle.

  Nick and Bex grew as characters as time moved on. Like life, I didn’t notice how much they had grown up independently and together till I re-read the first couple chapters again. It was amazing how Cocks and Morgan could immerse the reader into this story and show the progression of Nick and Bex’s relationship from college students to adults, secret to public, private to daily media, and broke to royal. Though the story may seem familiar, The Royal We can definitely stand on its own. It’s a dream come true smashing headline into the reality of modern celebrity, and it was a phenomenal ride!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 7 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, genre: fiction, genre: romance, review

• Book Review: “Letters to the Lost” by Iona Grey (ARC)

  Posted at 7:00 am by Laura, on May 21, 2015

  Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey

  Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
  Publishing Date: May 26
  Genre: adult fiction, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9781250066770
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★.5

  Late on a frozen February evening, a young woman is running through the streets of London. Having fled from her abusive boyfriend and with nowhere to go, Jess stumbles onto a forgotten lane where a small, clearly unlived in old house offers her best chance of shelter for the night. The next morning, a mysterious letter arrives and when she can’t help but open it, she finds herself drawn inexorably into the story of two lovers from another time.

  In London 1942, Stella meets Dan, a US airman, quite by accident, but there is no denying the impossible, unstoppable love that draws them together. Dan is a B-17 pilot flying his bomber into Europe from a British airbase; his odds of survival at one in five. The odds are stacked against the pair; the one thing they hold onto is the letters they write to each other. Fate is unkind and they are separated by decades and continents. In the present, Jess becomes determined to find out what happened to them. Her hope—inspired by a love so powerful it spans a lifetime—will lead her to find a startling redemption in her own life.

  A young woman on the run from an abusive boyfriend and a terrible situation breaks into a small English home and comes across a shoebox full of WWII letters. The letters are written by the same man who recently sent a desperate plea to a Mrs. Thorne to get back in touch with him — a letter dropped through the slot that Jess opens out of curiosity. The letters transport Jess back in time, to London 1942, to US airman Dan and sheltered vicar’s wife Stella. They stumble across one another in a bombed-out church, searching for Stella’s bracelet. As time progresses, their friendship-through-letters turns into something much more, and Stella struggles to find a way out of her destructive sham of a marriage.

  At first this book had a lot going for it — nearing five stars for this WWII fanatic — and for a while I was convinced that, as a Kate Morton fan, I would adore this. Dual timelines are hard, historical fiction is hard, and getting the reader to fall in love with the parallel stories is even harder. And that’s where my love for it dwindled away: I didn’t care one bit about Jess. Her story — on the run from a bad situation and seeking solace in a quiet place before getting back on her feet — was compelling at the beginning, but then she latched on too quickly to the next man to come into her life (Will, and he’s another (boring) story) and became dependent on a male once more. I didn’t believe it, I didn’t enjoy it, and I felt her story could have been so much stronger if it went in a different direction.

  But Dan? Dan and Stella totally made up for it. Stella was a poor orphan who, once she was of age, became the housekeeper at Charles Thorne’s vicarage. She didn’t know what love was, so when Charles proposed — and this meant having her own home and building a family, things she didn’t have growing up — Stella’s overjoyed. She quickly learns there’s something off about their marriage, and begins to wonder if it’s her fault. (Oh no, honey, it’s definitely not you!) Enter Dan: charming in a quiet and chivalrous way, not at all cheeky or boisterous like the other Americans roaming London. He helps her find jewelry she’d lost, and they decide to have lunch together. Lunch turns into an exchange of letters, which turns into “when are you on leave next?” and “let’s go on a weekend trip together” and “how can we get you out of this marriage and start over?”

  I know that sounds predictable for a WWII romance, especially when the characters not only have a war to deal with but also an entire body of water if the war ever ends and they’re both still alive. But it’s really not that predictable. I had no idea if their plans would work, I didn’t know why Dan was reaching out to her in modern day (did things not work out, and why?). They’re full of love and fire and logic that everything seems possible and yet hopeless. The modern time portion of the narrative gives us a trail of clues to follow, and that was enjoyable up to a point (cue Jess and Will rants).

  Lindsey @ Bring My Books and I had a long conversation about this. We love Dan just like we love Jamie and Red, and we really felt something for Stella. Their story was beautiful and heartbreaking and we wanted more. We also wanted to shove Jess in a broom closet till she examined her life and looked at her choices, and we wanted to kill off Will (not even going to bother more comments on him) so that no reader would ever need to read his passages. If you want to know the definition of “weak,” I’d point you to this storyline.

  That being said, I’m definitely going to watch out for Iona Grey’s next books. Stella and Dan won me over, and if Grey’s publications follow that line I’m on board!

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from Thomas Dunne Books for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 2 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, genre: historical fiction, genre: romance, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Under a Painted Sky” by Stacey Lee

  Posted at 6:15 am by Laura, on May 11, 2015

  Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

  Publisher: Putnam
  Published: March 2015
  Genre: young adult, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9780399168031
  Goodreads: 4.09
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York to be a professional musician—not an easy thing if you’re a girl, and harder still if you’re Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and struggle to avoid any unwanted attention. But when they cross paths with a band of cowboys, the light-hearted troupe turn out to be unexpected allies. With the law closing in on them and new setbacks coming each day, the girls quickly learn that there are not many places to hide on the open trail.

  If Samantha just listened to her father’s plan about moving to California, then tragedy would not have left her an orphan — or so she believes. Over the course of one night, Samantha murders a man and is aided by slave Annamae to disguise as boys and flee Missouri. A Chinese girl and runaway slave aren’t easy to hide, so they quickly forge a bond with three cowboys and claim to be heading to California for the gold rush. But these girls-turned-boys, now Sammy and Andy, find they’ve got more to worry about than prices on their heads. The Oregon Trail is no walk in the park, and danger can strike at any moment on the open prairie.

  Maybe what matters is not so much the path as who walks beside you.

  When I first saw this book on a list of to-watch reads, I latched on immediately to three things: YA historical fiction, west/Oregon Trail, and diverse protagonists. A year ago I said I wanted more historical fiction in YA, more Western themes (even mentioned the Oregon Trail!), more pioneers, more POC as protagonists. And guess what? This book has it. So if you’re looking for something fresh and unique that your mind will cling to long after you finish the book, you want to pick this one up. There’s not enough historical fiction in the YA category, and everyone loves a good adventure. Plus, this troupe has a Chinese girl (and her philosophy really plays a role in the story), a black girl (whose faith is so steadfast, it makes me weep), two white Texans (who are so very American it cracks me up), and one Mexican (whose story I wanted to hear more of). You will fall in love. Also, music. Music and storytelling are massive components to this book.

  If eyes left footprints, this man’s face would be worn as a welcome mat.

  At first I wondered how Sammy could pull off being a guy. She and Andy are girls with defining feminine features, and Chinese are typically built thinner anyway. The likelihood people could see through their disguise was pretty high, which is why it was so great the three cowboys — Cay, West, and Peety — took them under their wing without asking too many questions. With those guys by their side, teaching them how to ride, shoot, and use rope, Sammy and Andy could take on the whole Oregon Trail and any outlaws they’d stumble across. With each passing day, the guys open up to them, and Sammy noticeably relaxes from a fearful girl dressed as a guy, to a strong-willed girl stretching her wings and independence.

  They say time freezes, but I’ve never experienced it until now. I stay like that, lost in his eyes for that eternal moment, and then the dawn breaks, and we are Sammy and West again, boys on the trail.

  About a third into the book you begin to wonder if the cowboys have caught on to the girls’ disguises. It’s most visible in West’s demeanor around Sammy. He’s an artistic, tortured, quiet soul, and it speaks to Sammy’s philosophical, musical side. They dance around each other. After several life-threatening events, Sammy’s certain West knows, but at this point in the trail she’s not sure what to believe. The romance is not a major component to the story, yet it’s fraught with emotional turmoil and tension and confusion. It’s a difficult situation, pretending to be someone you’re not, when the people who’ve helped you from the beginning have been nothing but kind, generous, and honest. Truly, all the relationships, platonic or otherwise, were so well-written and believable I can’t help but hope their journey continues beautifully.

  It is no easy thing, living under the weight of public scrutiny day after day.

  Sammy and Andy are the stars of this book. Forced together under difficult circumstances, a blessing to the other, they grow and bond like no other new friendship I’ve seen in any other book. They’re torn over their paths to freedom: Sammy to California to find the man who was going to help her and her father, Andy to an unmarked, potentially mythical falls, where she would meet her runaway brother. As time passes and the necessity to stay linked to the cowboys becomes apparent, the girls are torn between continuing on those separate journeys or linking them together. It’s incredibly touching, and made doubly so by their shared and yet vastly different life experiences. Sammy’s singled out because she’s Chinese, a foreigner, a marvel to some and scum to others. Andy is singled out — or invisible — because she’s black, a slave girl with a brand on her arm, with no one to believe she’s good and clean and human. They bond over their otherness, and they learn from their differences. And what’s even more beautiful is that West, Peety, and Cay don’t give a lick what these girls (boys?) look like, just that they do their part on the trail.

  “Dig in for a second, boys,” breathes Cay. “My eyeballs are full.”

  This is a story about friendship and sacrifice, compassion and humanity, philosophy and faith, music and art, danger and bravery, all on the stunning backdrop of the Oregon Trail.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: historical fiction, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

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• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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