Song of Blood and Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)

Finally finished this book last night.  I was a bit disappointed.  The last 1/2 to 1/3 was not as good as the first.

Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After a chapter or two to really get into it, I began to enjoy this book. Jasminda was an interesting character who had to survive much hardship. When Jack almost fell into her lap, the book really picked up steam, and I enjoyed the journey the two of them had to go on, from war captives to magical caves, etc. Then, however, they made it back to "civilization" and Jack's military comrades. And at that point the book became just not as good, in my opinion. A lot of the "magic" was lost once they got to the big city, and the romance between Jack and Jasminda overwhelmed the story. To go back to my earlier analogy, the book lost steam at that point. I wasn't sure where the author was going and it seemed like some depth to the characters and story was missing. When the book reached the climax, the author's descriptions seemed almost matter-of-fact and therefore everything was a bit anti-climactic. While overall this was a good book, that was almost the problem with it--it was just "good" when it could have been great.


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Grace and Fury

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While the concept of girls, even sisters, competing for a crown in not original in YA Fantasy, I felt that this book had a bit of a different spin on the concept. Serina and Nomi have trained for their respective positions their whole lives: Serina will attempt to become a Grace--really a member of the ruler's harem--and Nomi will serve as her handmaiden. When the two arrive at the royal court, however, the Heir chooses Nomi instead. Neither one can process what has happened before Serina is taken to an island prison. Now both sisters, neither one knowing what is happening to the other, must find a way to survive in their new positions. Nomi must learn how to navigate court as the perfect example of a quiet, beautiful ideal of feminine virtue--not wanting for anything, yet with no freedom or independence. Serina, who has been trained to be soft, demure, pleasing and submissive, has been thrown on an island full of what society views as criminals: women who do not conform. Nomi and Serina have to figure out how to become something that is completely foreign to them while still retaining who they really are.
I did enjoy reading this book. It was a quick read and the two sisters' characters were well-developed. I did have a problem with the insta-love between Nomi and Asa. I saw that whole plot twist coming from their third encounter. I would have liked a bit more interaction between Nomi and Malachi. Serina and Val had good pacing, however.
The book ended on quite the cliff-hanger, and I will be interested to see what happens to our characters.


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The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart  Turton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book. It is original, engrossing, and fun to read. The author does an awesome job of creating suspense, tension, uncertainty, and mystery all while immersing the reader in the world of Blackheath. I think any lover of mystery should read this book!
The biggest problem that I had with the book was the first several chapters, or the first two "days" for our hero. You see, as the book opens, we are introduced to an apparent amnesia victim, who wakes up in a forest and believes a woman named Anna has been murdered nearby. As this man begins to learn of his identity and make connections with the other inhabitants of the old English manor house where he finds himself, he is nonetheless overwhelmed with sadness at the person he believes himself to have been. The desolateness of the location and the shabby yet foreboding manor house make for an oppressive atmosphere. When, at the end of the day, Evelyn Hardcastle, the new friend our hero has made, dies in front of all the guests gathered for the house party, the real mystery begins. And when our hero wakes up the next morning, in a different room, in a different body, yet on the same day, the mystery is compounded. Our hero, and the reader, is completely confused, uncomprehending, and frightened. This was the point where I almost stopped reading the book. It was very bleak, depressing, and dreary, not to mention with a feeing of dread.
I kept pressing on however, and was very glad I did. Eventually our hero discovers his true name is Aiden Bishop and as he wakes up each morning he finds himself in the body of a different inhabitant of the house. He's racing agains time to find the killer of Evelyn Hardcastle, as well as find the reason he's stuck at Blackheath living the same day over and over. He only has a few "days" and "hosts" left before he will lose his chance to bring the killer to justice and escape the strange time loop he is in.
I really enjoyed this book. It has definite Agatha Christie influences while being completely original. The "world-building" was great, as well as the characterization of Aiden Bishop. The author is able to weave together incredibly complicated strands of create a complex and fascinating story. The mystery is well-thought out and very suspenseful. I felt on-edge the whole time I was reading it, but I had a very hard time putting it down. Although it is a long book, it felt as thought it was just the perfect length. The ambiguous time period of the book, as well as the slight touch of sci-fi towards the end was just the right touch.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, suspense, and Agatha Christie. I think it demands a second reading.


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Born to Be Wilde (The Wildes of Lindlow Castle #3)

Born to Be Wilde by Eloisa James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I just could not get into this book. I understand that it is part of a series, but I felt as though I was missing all of the character development when the author jumped right in to the action, and everyone kept referencing events that happened before the book began. I never felt like I knew what was going on and like I had started watching a movie 45 minutes after it started.


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Wicked and the Wallflower (The Bareknuckle Bastards #1)

Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't just love this book, but it wasn't bad, either. It was well-written and I did want to keep reading it. The character development could have been a bit better. The heroine underwent a slightly abrupt 180, and I never really quite understood the hero's motivations--the reader was told all about his history and the background of his personality, but I would rather have been shown. Throwing in random accent changes doesn't really do the trick. The plot was a bit questionable, and some points were kind of left hanging (although we did find out who was stealing the shipments, why was that important?).
Overall, this book was good. I am not sure if I will read another in this series.


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The Duke Buys a Bride (The Rogue Files #3)

The first 2/3 of this book was 😍. The last 1/3 of this book was 😳😵😮.

The Duke Buys a Bride by Sophie Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I really enjoyed this book...until the last 1/3 to 1/4. For the most part it was a very sweet slow-burn romance with interesting identifiable characters. The initial "conflict" of the wife sale was slightly far-fetched but I was willing to suspend belief. I was really interested in the development of our hero & heroine's relationship. Plus, the "long journey in close proximity" is one of my favorite themes. However, once it came time for the "consummation" of their relationship, things got real raunchy real quick. I understand this is a historical romance novel and one should not read these if one is prude. But I've been reading this genre since high school and this one made me say, "Whoa!' The things they did, they words used, and the number of times they "did it" on just their first night together was just a bit much for me. I don't think I would recommend this book, just because the last bit was so jarring, and I am not sure that I will read another book by this author.


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Summer Reading

What are you up to today?

Our House

I really liked this book until the last three sentences.  Then I said, "OH MY WORD!! WHAT?!!?" and I loooved it.
It isn't really a traditional "mystery" or "thriller," but I'm going to characterize it as such.  A crime was committed, it must be solved, and people are in danger.  So there you go.

Our House by Louise Candlish


Going into this book I was expecting more of a suspensful thriller. But the reader knows from the beginning what crime has been committed: Fiona's dream house has been sold out from under her and her family, and she has no idea what it going on. The main action occurs over the course of the day that Fiona returns to her home after a trip to find strangers moving in. A great deal of the "backstory" is told through clever methods like Bram (Fiona's husband) writing a world document and Fiona telling her account of events in a podcast, complete with online readers and their comments. What makes this an interesting and compelling tale is finding out the why, who, and how of the events. Why was the Lawson home sold? Who is ultimately responsible? And how did those people make it happen? And in the final chapters, even when the reader thinks the mystery has been resolved, the author manages to throw in some surprises.
When Fiona Lawson comes home on a Friday afternoon she sees strangers moving their furniture into her home. She cannot believe what she is seeing as she looks at her dream home, the center of her universe, devoid of all her possessions and trappings of her family's life there. Where is her husband? Where are her things? Are her children safe? Who does the house actually belong to?
As Fiona attempts to find answers to these questions throughout the rest of the day and evening, the past is revealed through what appears to be a confession written by Fiona's husband Bram, as well as
Fiona's appearance on a podcast for victims of crimes. We discover that the Lawsons were living with a "Bird's Nest" arrangement, in which the separated couple shared custody of their children by taking turns living in the family's house. We learn the circumstances that led to the couple's split and the events that caused the fraudulent "selling" of Fiona's beloved Trinity Avenue home.
The author creates an engrossing tale of a family cracking at the seems; the wife who devotes herself to taking part in the community of their posh neighborhood while the husband chafes under the expectations of that life. One definitely feels for Fiona as she almost loses herself in her role of mother and wife while still working and participating in her sons' school and sports activities and keeping up with her neighbors. Bram struggles to find fulfillment with his job and home life while his wife seems completely occupied with her own life.
There are plenty of twists and turns, but as I was reading I kept thinking, "Is there something else?" I just felt like another big shoe was supposed to drop, but it never came. Even as I got to the end of the book and things built to a climax I still felt as though something was missing. As I came to the final chapter I was thinking, "This was a good book. I enjoyed it. Yeah, it was nice." And then I read the last three sentences. Then I said, "He did what?!!" That was a great twist.
So I would definitely recommend this book. It's a compelling story that builds to a great twist without relying on too much suspense. I loved it.


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Bring Me Their Hearts

After getting through the first several chapters, I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a fan of the cover--it makes Zera look too snarky and self-confident. She needs a little vulnerability in there somewhere, in my opinion.

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting book for me. I had a bit of a hard time getting through the first several chapters, because the main character, Zera, was a little annoying in the beginning. But soon the action picked up and Zera's attitude seemed to tone down. Then I really began to enjoy this book.
Zera is what is known as a Heartless. She was "rescued" from death three years earlier by a witch who keeps Zera's heart in a jar in her cottage hidden deep in the woods. The Heartless have several interesting characteristics, but the most important is that they cannot be killed. This makes Zera the perfect candidate to send on a dangerous mission: the witches want Zera to pose as a potential bride for the human Prince Lucien.
They want her to take his heart and bring it to the witches so they can turn him into a Heartless and use him as a bargaining chi to stave off war between the witches and humans. Zera agrees because she is offered the one thing she wants more than anything if she can take the prince's heart--her own will be restored to her.
As I mentioned earlier, Zera comes off as very sarcastic in the beginning and I was not sure if I was going to be able to root for her. Once Zera began her mission and was immersed in the court politics and society of Cavanos she seemed to soften and lost that tendency to snap at everyone. While she did not lose her edge and kept offering up smart-aleck remarks (often at the worst times), her character became less prickly and more relatable. Her attempts to earn the trust of Lucien and become the prospective bride offered by the outcast family of Y'Shennria became a journey for her to remember what it was like to be human.
The book was a bit predictable and had many YA tropes, and I could smell at least a sequel if not full-fledged trilogy coming at least half-way through the book. This did not make this a less-enjoyable read, though. Zera grew into a great character, and Lucien was a good match for her. The author also created a great cast of supporting characters, including Zera's "aunt" and Lucien's personal bodyguard. The world that was created by the author perfectly walked the line of being just developed enough for the reader to get an idea of what was going on without getting so specific and overwhelming to be boring or confusing.
I did question just a bit the author's choice to jump right in to the "meeting" of Zera and Lucien at the Spring Bride ceremony, and then going back to the more conventional beginning of the story. I don't think it really served any purpose and in my opinion the story would have been just fine moving in chronological order.
The ending was quite the cliff-hanger, but it did leave me wanting to read the next installment. I would recommend this book to fans of Fantasy, YA, and Romance.


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