Bretta

The Nightingale is about two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, who live in Europe during the German occupation of WWII. This story jumps between viewpoints and timelines, with one being an elderly woman in Oregon in 1995, and also following the lives of both women starting in August of 1939. A school teacher and a rebellious teen, the women could not be more different, but due to the occupation of France by the Nazis, Isabelle is sent to Le Jardin by their father to stay with her sister.

Vianne is married and has an 8-year-old daughter named Sophie. Her husband has been drafted into the war effort, and is sent to the front lines to defend against Germany. Throughout the war, Vianne is challenged morally and emotionally, due to the Nazi’s taking over their town, but Isabelle quickly decides she is not going to be a silent bystander. The opposition of their personalities creates a lot of friction in the story and eventually leads to Sophie leaving Vianne’s home to pursue her own interests.

Each woman embarks on their own harrowing journey during the war, and the differences are vast, but the biggest thing to note is that Sophie is the reason for all of Vianne’s decisions. This book does an excellent job of showing how differently a parent will function when they need to prioritize their child’s wellbeing. I came to respect each character for their own strengths and weaknesses, which Hannah did a great job highlighting. You watch them grow and strengthen in their own ways. They make mistakes and have triumphs, but there is loss and heartache.

The novel is based on a real woman from Belgium who aided downed Allied airmen by sneaking them out of German occupied areas. The story is intentionally vague in the POV for the character from 1995, but this plays into the story so well, and provides an emotionally charged reveal that is delivered masterfully near the end. It’s very easy to see why Hannah is a best-selling author, and her writing is engrossing and easy to fall into. The result is an epic story that brought me to tears in the middle of Wal-Mart (thank you audiobooks).

This book is heavily tied to a dark vs. light storyline, with a side of human ambition being our downfall. The U.S. government has secretly created a bio-weaponized disease in a secret facility in the Mojave Desert that is accidentally released when something in the facility goes wrong. One! Just one person, does not follow protocol and flees the hidden post with his wife and daughter. Within hours, they are succumbing to the disease and end up crashing into a gas station where a group of 5 men are hanging out. This begins the spread of this superflu, which is dubbed “Captain Tripps”.

Imagine all the worst-case scenarios you’ve seen in movies where the spread of disease is on an apocalyptic level, like Contagion from 2011 where it’s like a number to the exponent of itself, but then the result does the same thing. Here’s an example. This is taking place in the first, probably, 500 pages of the book, with a select number of people who are immune to Tripps, and while this is happening we are following several primary characters (good and bad) through their own journeys to survive. There are dreams brought on by either Mother Abigail (good guys) or Randall Flagg (bad guys) that bring groups of them together and they end up traveling to either Boulder, Co. or Las Vegas, Nv., respectively. The thing that I liked about this was the immunity had NOTHING to do with someone’s character, it was purely a luck of the draw. So you still end up with all varieties of people from genuinely good to horribly evil.

There is a lot of disability rep in this book as well, but don’t expect it to be handled with the same sensitivity as we have today. This is approached from a mindset of the 1970’s when people were not nearly as careful with how they spoke. If you are one who is opposed to certain dated terminology, like “deaf and dumb” to refer to someone who is deaf and mute skip this book or be prepared. There is a lot to get mad about in this book, so skip it if you are a member of the sensitivity police. It’s just going to piss you off, and this book is not intended to be PC.

If you are a fan of apocalyptic or dystopian fantasy I would highly recommend this book, it is an amazing book even if it is one of the chunkiest around. The story is intricate and compelling and proves just how amazing a storyteller Stephen King is, and while he can be the “king” of overkill when it comes to his descriptions, he balances it well in this story. I was highly invested in the characters, and that says a lot for how much they grew and developed through the story. If you really enjoy a light vs. dark trope, this book has all the elements that make a battle between these entities interesting.

In this series, the Scholomance is a school where magical children are sent to learn their craft. It was built in the Void and is intended to be safe, but there are some issues with the wards. It has become overrun by Maleficaria (mals), which are basically all manner of magical monsters. The FMC, Galadriel “El”, is studying to become a sorceress at the Scholomance. Her abilities are more destructive than helpful, and to top it off, she has a dark prophecy hanging over her head. During the course of her education she has been saved by the MMC, Orion, on two occasions, which irks her to no end.

The Scholomance is sentient, in that it moves around based on certain events, but there is the added problem of the magical monsters that it houses. They are able to hunt the students, but Orion has this incessant need to protect them, and he’s unnaturally good at it and at staying alive. This results in the students all having a bit of hero worship, and we learn that he can’t stand that everyone fawns over him. El’s animosity toward him is a breath of fresh air for him, and thus a reluctant friendship begins.

Throughout this story there are high stakes, due to the nature of the school's mals, and there is this budding friendship between the main characters. Orion metaphorically cracks El’s armor, which leads to a plethora of other characters coming into the mix. Hope becomes a tangible thing for her, because she has always felt like an outcast and this newfound popularity opens the door for real friendships to develop.

This is a definite coming-of-age story, with a lot of other complexities mixed in for the two main characters. Orion is faced with the unintended consequences of his actions, and El faces down her own preconceived notions of who she is, and what she can do to change her story. The plot is well thought out and interesting, and there are times where El is a bit irritating, but it’s intended to be part of her overall growth as a character.

There are friendships and rivalries deeply rooted in the typical high school cliques, but they are relevant to the story and to the outcome of this first book. Each side character seems to bring a unique skill to the team that begins to develop and, in that, it becomes a bit too convenient for me, but it is still good storytelling. This first book is not super long, only 338 pages, so I feel like the story’s pacing could have benefitted from a bit more build up.

If you’re a fan of magical schools, this is a good read for jumping into this type of world without being overwhelmed. There are moments where you may need to re-read for clarity, but overall it’s a pretty straightforward plot with a budding friendship that you can’t help but root for as you watch El and Orion banter.

Another 5-star from me for John Gwynne! In the second installment of the Bloodsworn Saga, we are continuing our trek all over Vigrid with Orka, Varg, and Elvar, but we are soon following along with Guthvarr and Biorr as well. The addition of these two POVs, adds the chance to see what’s happening with Lik-Rifa and those who have come to her aid, and provides a look at Queen Helka’s court and the deception taking place.

There are so many amazing scenes in this book, and it is by far one of the best second in a series books I have ever read. Gwynne provides something I have not gotten in any other fantasy series, and that is this amazingly succinct recap so you get a nice little kick-start for your memory so you can jump right into the action. I loved this! This world is huge in its detail, and not having to re-read the first book if I’m away for a while is amazingly convenient.

I have heard some criticisms of the meandering quality of this book, but I really felt like I was moving through the world in a way that made sense, and allowed the relationships to form that will inevitably drive act three. In the overall scheme of things, I feel like where we leave off in this book is going to make for an amazing conclusion in book three.

Welcome back to the world of the Hunger Games! In this prequel to the original trilogy, Collins has taken the reader back 64 years to the 10th Annual Hunger Games. Many areas of the Capitol are still in shambles from the rebellion, and a young Corialanus Snow (Coryo for short), has been selected to sponsor one of the 24 district tributes. The once prominent Snow family is struggling to maintain their facade of aristocracy, and the Capitol has promised free tuition for University to the winner’s sponsor. This is his only chance to turn his family legacy around.

Enter Lucy Gray Bird of District 12, she’s feisty, unpredictable, and, for Coryo, a bit enchanting. What follows is a constant battle for Coryo to weigh decisions based on survival or morals. His biggest challenge is how to take this young performing gypsy, and turn her into a real contender. Collins’ perspective on Snow’s story makes you root for him, even though you know where he ends up, which is masterful storytelling.

Snow makes many missteps in his journey to bring Lucy to the winner’s circle, and he has no shortage of enemies along the way. The Dean has it out for him, the game master is psycho, and a classmate who feels he abandoned her. An unlikely friendship, results in his mistakes not causing him more turmoil, but Snow can’t seem to keep the Devil off his shoulder.

This was an epically imaginative visit to Coryo’s start as the villain, and made so much about him in the trilogy make sense. I felt like it tied up all my questions, but gave me so much I didn’t know I was missing in the overall Hunger Games world. As always, Collins’ builds a world you can fall into and literally play in your head like a movie while reading. If you are a fan of the original story of Katniss, you will not be disappointed with this one. I can’t wait to read Sunrise on the Reaping!