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One morning in a quiet town in southern England, a woman walking her dog discovers a man's body on the beach. At first thought an accident, it is then discovered that the man was stabbed to death. DI Matthew Venn, recently returned to his hometown, is placed in charge of the case. As the investigation continues, it seems to revolve more and more around The Woodyard, an arts center for the community and a place for learning-disabled adults to receive care during the day. Unfortunately for Matthew, his husband Jonathan is one of the chief administrators there. When one of the adults with Downs syndrome goes missing, Matthew must put aside his personal attachments and rely on his team to solve the case before it's too late.
The Long Call is the start of a new series from acclaimed mystery writer Ann Cleeves. It is well-plotted and has interesting characters. At times it is very obvious that the book is setting up for a series, rather than focusing on the individual storyline of the novel, but that isn't too much of a detractor. It's a good read for fans of atmospheric mysteries.
Laura has recently returned from New York City to her small hometown in Connecticut to stay with her sister after a bad breakup. Her sister encourages Laura to get back out there, so she agrees to go out with a man she has met through a dating website. As the date progresses, she notices things that lead her to believe this man is not who he seems, and trauma from her childhood resurfaces to complicate matters. The next morning, her sister discovers that Laura never came home from her date.
The Night Before is a fairly typical psychological thriller. It alternates between Laura's perspective from the night of her date and her sister's perspective the next day. The format and storyline pull you through the action, and there is a pretty good twist at the end. It's a fun, quick read for fans of this genre.
4.5 stars The Soul of Power is the final installment of the enjoyable Waking Lands series, and switches perspective yet again. Having experienced events through first Elanna's eyes and then Jahan's, we next have Sophy Dunbarron's viewpoint. Sophy is the bastard daughter of the exiled king of Caeris, and has been raised since the age of eight by Elanna's parents to potentially rule one day. Now that her half-brother Finn is dead and her father remains in exile, Sophy has assumed the throne of Eren and Caeris in the wake of Elanna's revolution. However, uniting a once-divided country proves more difficult than she anticipated. She must battle her detractors and those who work to depose her along with her own self-doubts in order to bring peace to a fractured land.
I have enjoyed this trilogy, which improved as it progressed. This last book is action-packed and keeps you turning the pages. It wraps everything up nicely and brings the series to a satisfying conclusion. The underlying foundation of female empowerment throughout is refreshing in the current times. I recommend this trilogy for fantasy fans who enjoy fierce female characters!
Give me a good Jane Austen retelling any day! Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is inspired by - you guessed it - Pride and Prejudice. Sonali Dev does a delightful job taking inspiration from the classic while also making the story her own. In the novel, Darcy James “DJ” Caine is a working class chef who dropped everything and moved to California to support his sister Emma, who has a brain tumor. Trisha Raje is Emma's surgeon and part of the family employing DJ as a caterer. Their first encounter in the kitchen of the Raje estate leaves both with an unfavorable impression of the other, which only worsens in subsequent encounters. When the two are forced to work together on an event, Trisha begins to be irresistibly drawn to DJ despite the animosity between them.
While it doesn't take much for me to enjoy stories inspired by Austen, I particularly enjoyed this one. I love how Dev reworked the characters (including gender flipping!) while still leaving them recognizable and also without feeling the need to reproduce every person from the original book. Everyone feels so real and relatable, and getting both Trisha's and DJ's perspectives help the reader clearly see how easily we can misunderstand and wrongly judge people when we don't know them. You don't have to be an Austen fan to enjoy this fun, sweet, romantic novel!
Courting Mr. Lincoln is a fictionalization of the relationship between Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln from the time they met in the frontier town of Springfield, Illinois. The other perspective included in the novel is that of Joshua Speed, Lincoln's closest friend. Mary's fiery personality and passion for politics draw Lincoln to her, but are their shared interests enough to overcome their differences?
I enjoyed this story, as I don't know much about Lincoln's background outside of his time as president. I know even less about Mary Todd, so it was interesting to get to know her better as well. The choice to alternate perspectives only between Joshua and Mary serves to maintain the air of mystery and reticence that has always characterized portrayals of Lincoln - we get to know him only through the eyes of others. As the title suggests, the novel focuses only on the courtship period of Lincoln and Mary, so do not go into this book expecting a window into Lincoln's presidential years. A fun read for fans of historical fiction.
Fatima is a slave girl born and raised in the harem of the Sultan of Grenada. Hassan, the palace mapmaker with a miraculous gift, is her only true friend. When a Catholic envoy comes to claim Grenada in the name of the Spanish monarchs and discovers Hassan's “blasphemous” talent, Fatima convinces him to escape with her. Aided by supernatural friends, Fatima and Hassan must make their way to safety while being hounded by the Catholics, and in particular a cunning and ruthless woman named Luz who is determined to fulfill her religious calling at all costs.
A story of friendship, love, strength, faith, and perseverance, above all The Bird King is a message of tolerance. Strip away differences such as language and wealth, and at the core we are all human, and faith is not about the trappings of organized religion but about belief and love. This beautifully written journey of self-discovery connects you to each character and through the wondering eyes of Fatima, who has never been outside the palace, makes you appreciate the world anew. Somewhat of a cross between The Alchemist and a fairy tale, The Bird King is perfect for fans of magical realism.
Alicia Berenson and her husband Gabriel seem to have the perfect life, until one night Alicia is discovered standing over Gabriel's body holding a gun. It seems unbelievable, but Alicia's prints are the only ones on the gun and there is no evidence of another person being in the house, so the police have no choice but to conclude that Alicia murdered Gabriel. The one question on everyone's mind is - why? It appears that they will never know, as what makes the case extraordinary is the fact that Alicia has not uttered a single word since she was found that night.
Theo Faber is a psychoanalyst who is drawn to Alicia and is determined to find out her story and help her break her years-long silence. He gets a position at the psychiatric facility where she has been since her trial and begins working with her. He soon finds himself ensnared in the tangled web of Alicia's past, and the lines between professional and personal start to blur as he becomes more and more desperate to make Alicia speak again. Will he be able to get answers before too many lines have been crossed?
After the Gone Girl craze of years ago I got somewhat tired of psychological thrillers, but I devoured The Silent Patient in one sitting while on an airplane and had to spend a few minutes absorbing everything when it ended. It's impossible not to get drawn into the lives of Alicia and Theo and the mystery of why Alicia killed Gabriel as well as why she has never spoken a word since. I can't say much without risking spoilers, but the story is intricately plotted with a mind-blowing twist at the end that I did not see coming. I recommend this book for fans of psychological thrillers and suspense!
It's Paris in 1889, and the Exposition Universelle is just around the corner. Séverin Montagnet-Alarie manages a wildly popular hotel by day, and by night “acquires” treasures that once belonged to his now-extinct family House. Everything is going smoothly until one such acquisition traps Séverin in a contract to steal something with potentially world-ending repercussions. He would be lost without the help of his trusty team: Enrique, a historian longing to belong; Zofia, a brilliant scientist who can make sense of math but not people; Laila, a dancer and cook with a magical secret; and Tristan, Séverin's foster brother with an extraordinary gift for plant magic. Will this be the one acquisition that is too much even for these experts?
The Gilded Wolves is an enchanting historical fantasy novel with a host of fantastic characters. I loved experiencing the viewpoints of Séverin, Enrique, Laila, and Zofia, and felt as though I were becoming friends with them as the story progressed. The action and suspense made this book hard to put down, and the explosive ending left me not-so-patiently waiting for the sequel!
In the final installment of the Winternight trilogy, Vasya finds herself feared and hated in the aftermath of the fire that ravaged Moscow when she set the firebird free. What the enraged mob doesn't know is that Vasya also saved the city that night. Narrowly escaping death, Vasya escapes Moscow and embarks on a journey to save her family and her people from the invading Tatars while also protecting the chyerti, the spirits and magical creatures only she and a few others can see.
I enjoyed this entire trilogy, and The Winter of the Witch was a satisfying conclusion. At times I was frustrated with Vasya, but that ended up serving as a reminder that she is only a teenager who has had a huge burden put on her at a young age. There was one new element to her character that was introduced in this book that seemed to come somewhat out of nowhere and was a bit underdeveloped, but it did not detract from the overall story. As with the other books there was a lot of good character development, even for the more peripheral people. I highly recommend this series for those who like fairy tales and fantasy novels.
Alma Rosales is a disgraced former Pinkerton's agent who turned her talents to smuggling after being dismissed from the detective agency. Her current mission: figure out who has been stealing opium from her boss's smuggling operation in Port Townsend, WA. If she can get to the bottom of it there is a big promotion in store for her. She goes undercover as a man to infiltrate the crew and solve the mystery, but faces distraction, betrayal, and the risk of exposure at every turn.
The summary description for The Best Bad Things piqued my interest right away, but I found the book did not really match the sense of it that I got from that description. It focused less on the mystery and more on physical fighting and sexual tension among the characters. At times it was difficult to keep track of everything and everyone because the novel skips back and forth in time. While there were interesting characters, the only one that really got any development was Alma. Despite that, it was still an interesting read and definitely a page-turner. Fans of antiheroines will enjoy cheering for Alma throughout her criminal endeavors.
Inspired by Bram Stoker's notes and other texts that he left behind, Dracul is a prequel to the events in his famous novel. This story centers on Bram himself as well as his family, who throughout much of Bram's childhood were served by a nanny with some unusual attributes. Now an adult, the strange occurrences of Bram's and his siblings' childhood are brought back to the surface as they are pulled into a living nightmare.
Similar to Dracula, Dracul is told through the journal entries and letters of various characters, alternating between past and present The tale draws you in and leaves you with a new perspective on the events of Dracula. An enjoyable read for those who liked the classic novel.
Ia Cocha, Blood Wolf of the Skies, is the most feared criminal in the Commonwealth - so no one can believe their eyes when they find out this notorious outlaw is a petite 17-year-old girl. In order to avoid going to the worst prison imaginable, Ia agrees to join the Royal Star Force academy, living and working among her sworn enemies; the people who have been conquering the galaxy and contributed to the destruction of her home planet. Ia's every thought is directed towards escape, but over time doubts begin to encroach as she gets to know Knives, the academy's flight master, and Brinn, a cadet who shares a room with Ia.
Ignite the Stars is a fast-paced YA novel that mixes timely themes such as refugees and terrorism with fun science fiction. Each character is relatable in their own way, and the action pulls you through the story. I look forward to the next installment in the series!
Aiden Bishop wakes up alone in the forest with no memories except one name - Anna. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or how he ended up there. A compass pressed upon him by a mysterious stranger guides him to the Blackheath estate, where people seem to know him as Sebastian Bell. The mystery deepens when a man dressed as a plague doctor informs him that he has eight days and eight “hosts” to solve a murder that won't seem like a murder. If he can't convince the plague doctor of the answer in eights days' time, he will lose his memories and the whole cycle will start again.
Groundhog Day meets Agatha Christie in this complex, character-driven whodunnit in which nothing is what it seems. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a bit hard to follow at times due to overlapping timelines and a complicated web of a plot, but the action keeps the story moving. In true Agatha Christie fashion, it keeps you guessing until the very end!
Rust & Stardust is a fictional portrayal of the 1948 kidnapping of Sally Horner, the event that inspired Nabokov's infamous novel Lolita. Sally attempts to shoplift a notebook from Woolworth's to join the “secret sisterhood” of some girls in her class, but she is caught by an older man claiming to be an FBI agent. 11-year-old Sally has no idea the man (Frank LaSalle) is actually a sexual predator recently released from prison, and she obeys his command to go away with him to avoid being sent to jail. For the next two years, Frank drags Sally across the country as her family works with law enforcement to find her.
T. Greenwood brings the story of this harrowing crime to life with attention to historical accuracy as well as imaginative fictional characters to fill in some of the blanks. While of course the story is disturbing and hard to read at times due to the nature of the crime, the care shown to Sally by people she encounters along her journey helps to restore the reader's faith in humanity. Rust & Stardust is a powerful and heartbreaking illustration of the impact one event and one person can have on so many lives.
Star-Touched Stories returns to the world of A Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes with three short stories of love, friendship, and self-discovery. Death and Night illustrates that even deities are not exempt from the desire for love and the fear of rejection. In Poision and Gold, a young woman struggling with her identity finds the strength to be herself. And finally, Rose and Sword illuminates both the joy and the pain of intense love. In typical fashion, Roshani Chokshi makes the reader feel like they have been transported to a world of magic and dreams where anything is possible, drawing on the rich well of Indian mythology. The stories revisit some of the beloved characters from the earlier novels, but are also strong stand-alones. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of the Star-Touched universe!
Spinning Silver weaves a tale of magic, resilience, love, leadership, and family through the eyes of myriad interconnected people struggling to survive a harsh winter made worse by the Staryk, a people made of ice and snow. Among them are Miryem, a young Jewish woman rescuing her father's moneylending business from ruin; Irina, a duke's daughter thrust into the spotlight as a result of her Staryk ancestry; and Wanda, hardworking daughter of an abusive father fighting to protect herself and her brothers. Naomi Novik does an amazing job of bringing these characters and their feelings to life in a story inspired by Rumpelstiltskin and other Polish folk tales. Spinning Silver grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go!
4.5 stars We first met Jahan Korakides in The Waking Land, when he helped Elanna Valtai unlock her powers as steward of the land and save her people. In The Memory of Fire, the story picks up where the first book left off, but from Jahan's perspective rather than Elanna's. We learn more about his childhood and the events that led him to Elanna, and we are with him as he fights to discover his new place in the world and who he truly is. I enjoyed the first book, but this follow-up is better. It was fun meeting a new cast of characters as well as learning more about existing ones. Additionally, it was more settled into the complex world created in the first book, so it wasn't as confusing to keep track of everything. I am interested to see where the third book goes from here!
An ancient prophecy foretold the coming of two queens with the power to control all seven types of elemental magic - a Blood Queen who could destroy the world and a Sun Queen who could save it. Furyborn alternates between the perspectives of Rielle Dardenne, a noblewoman who reveals her stunning powers while saving her friend the prince from an assassination attempt, and Eliana Ferracora, a fierce and lethal bounty hunter living centuries later. The action-packed narrative draws readers in right from the prologue and leaves them wanting more at the end. I can't wait to reenter the world of the Empirium with the next installment in the series!
Only Human is the much-anticipated conclusion to the Themis Files trilogy. We discover what has been happening to Rose, Vincent, and Eva after their abrupt departure from Earth, as well as what has been happening on the planet they left behind. Offering a rather bleak, but sadly realistic, view of humanity, the story suggests just how close we are at any given time to WW3. I continued to enjoy the told-through-transcripts style, which keeps the story moving at a good pace. It was also fun getting to know the newly introduced characters and experiencing the alien planet. A satisfying end to the series!
Eelyn is an Aska, raised from birth to be a warrior and to hate the Riki, a rival people whom the Aska battle every five years. She has never had a problem with this hatred until she discovers that her brother, thought to be dead for the last five years, is in fact alive and living with the Riki. In pursuing her brother she is captured and taken back to a Riki village, where she slowly discovers they are not so different from the Aska after all. When both the Riki and Aska are threatened by a larger tribe, Eelyn must try to overcome years of hate on both sides to convince them to fight together against the common enemy.
Sky in the Deep is an engrossing story of love and hate, and the damage that can be caused by passing on prejudice through generations. It is Viking-inspired, with equally fierce women and men. Some parts of the plot felt a bit rushed, and overall I think the book could have been longer to allow for more character development. However, I enjoyed the story and the characters, and would certainly read a sequel if one were to be written!
The Trauma Cleaner tells the story of Sandra Pankhurst, who runs a company that handles cleaning for traumatic circumstances such as death and hoarding. This biographical narrative alternates between sharing these cleaning experiences and relating Sandra's tumultuous journey to her present career. From an abusive childhood as an adopted boy, to achieving her true identity with sex reassignment surgery, to leaving sex work behind and finding success in several careers, Sandra has had a truly unique life. While it is tough to read about some of the awful experiences Sandra has endured, what shines through is her incredible resilience and the positive impact she has had on others. The narrative is a bit confusing at times, but is an interesting read nonetheless.
Suitors and Sabotage is the “protagonist falls in love with wrong person” story with a twist - a mysterious someone is out to get the “wrong person.” Imogene Chively is a young woman who dreams of pursuing her passion of art, but who must instead entertain a suitor whom she met during the latest London season. Luckily she has her best friend Emily by her side. When her suitor arrives with his brother, there is an instant attraction - with the brother. Hijinks and heartbreak ensue, and although it involves fairly common YA tropes, the mystery saboteur was not easy to predict. A fun read perfect for vacation or just a break between more intense books.
As the title implies, Macbeth is a modern interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Set in a tiny town in northern Scotland, the characters are police officers rather than nobles. The law enforcement hierarchy is not too far off from that of royalty, and provides a logical setting for all of the death that ensues. While I enjoyed the interpretation, the book was a bit slow at times and could have been shorter. Nonetheless, Nesbo does a good job bringing this Shakespeare story into the modern age.
Lira is a siren princess, destined to become the Sea Queen after her mother. She has taken the heart of a prince every year on her birthday, earning her the infamous title of Princes' Bane. Elian is the human prince of Midas, who has made it his life's mission to kill as many sirens as possible, especially the Princes' Bane. When the Sea Queen decides to punish her daughter by transforming her into a human and charging her with taking Elian's heart, Lira must play a dangerous game of deception to try and win the trust of Elian and his loyal crew.
To Kill a Kingdom is an engaging, suspenseful tale with echoes of The Little Mermaid and other mythologies woven in throughout. I enjoyed the ever-evolving relationship between Lira and Elian as they each tried to figure the other out and began discovering they had more in common than they realized. One undertone of the book is how our families and responsibilities shape who we are, but also that we can stay true to ourselves in spite of them. Overall a fun read!
The Gone World is a science fiction mystery that follows Shannon Moss, an NCIS special agent, through a high-stakes murder investigation spanning over 20 years. Shannon Moss is not just an NCIS agent, she has also been trained to travel through Deep Time to the future. When she is called in to investigate the murder of a sailor's family and his missing daughter, she is pulled into a complex web of secrets that threatens to unravel the world itself. She must get to the bottom of the mystery before it's too late.
While the premise of The Gone World is interesting, the book never really grabbed me. Some parts were a little slow and others were confusing, which distracted from the overall plot. However, the characters were interesting and many parts of the story were quite engaging. Fans of time travel fiction will probably enjoy The Gone World.