This Scot of Mine (The Rogue Files: # 4)

This Scot of Mine by Sophie Jordan
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through Edelweiss.
I have read other books by this author and so was looking forward to reading this book. I was very disappointed, however. The story was disjointed, the characters were flat, and the plot was weak. I almost did not finish it, but plowed on.
The story begins with Clara headed to Scotland after fleeing London from the scandal of informing her betrothed that she is pregnant with another man's baby. On her way she encounters a Scottish laird to fascinates her. Upon arriving at her brother's house she discovers that this mysterious man is a friend to her brother. The laird, Hunt MacLarin, has refused to marry because his family has been cursed--each laird will die before his first-born child takes its first breath. Hunt decides Clara will be the perfect wife because she is already with child. So he proposes. She eventually accepts...
This book had problems for me from the very beginning. The whole backstory of Clara leaving London because of her nefarious fiancé was glossed over, yet a great deal of the machinery of the plot was devoted to it. Clara's actions in London with regards to her mother and fiancé either needed to be shown (and not told), or much less emphasis should have been placed upon it. I kept waiting for matters to be explained, elaborated upon, or cleared up. But none of that happened.
There were also numerous continuity errors that an editor should have spotted. I am hoping that this is just due to the fact that this was an ARC and the book has not been published yet. Surely these matter will be cleaned up before publication. (But I have read countless ARCs that had no mistakes.) There were times when I wasn't sure if it was morning or night, if people had been introduced to each other or not, or why certain things were even happening.
I also wasn't sure why the hero and heroine had taken each other into dislike after the first few chapters. I didn't get it, and it wasn't explained well.
The pacing was strange, as well. At one point, after about a week had taken place in the book, I thought to myself, "Okay, now the story is really starting. I am ready!" And then I checked and there were only about 60 pages left in the book. I was stupefied. And then a period of six months or more was completely glossed over and took place off of the page. I was stupefied again.
This book was full of missed opportunities. The story needed to be tightened up and the plot was full of holes. I did not enjoy it at all. I would not recommend it unless an editor can get in there and fix the problems.


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Evil Things

Evil Things by Katja Ivar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book and would give it 4.5 stars. It was unlike anything I'd read before, but I am glad that I took a chance on it.
Hella is one of the first real female police officers in Finland during the early part of the Cold War and feels compelled to investigate the disappearance of an older man from a remote Lapland village. Once she arrives she finds an even deeper mystery when the remains of a woman are found in the stark icy forest. Hella must figure out if and how the missing man is connected to the woman, and what has brought such "evil things" to a seemingly inconsequential place.
The writer does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the story by recreating the atmosphere of northern Finland in the 1950s. From the descriptions of the weather to the clothing to the architecture, I was totally immersed in the environment along with the character.
Hella was a really great protagonist for this story, as was her village hostess. Secondary characters were also well-developed, even if they only appeared in the story for a few pages.
The story and plot was engrossing. A mystery grew out of what seemed like something that probably had a logical explanation. And the farther I went into the story, the more the threads of the plot wove to create a tale of tension, danger, and thrilling suspense. The last portion of the book and the climax were breathless.
I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery, suspense, Cold War-era history, or anyone who would just want a a great book to curl up with by the fire on a cold winter night.


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The Beholder

The Beholder by Anna Bright
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss.
I am not really sure how to review this book. The author clearly has a very good imagination, and is also very clever to weave in various fairy tale/mythological/folklore influences. But the plot was disjointed and the characters were weak.
Selah is a girl who is forced by her evil step-mother (yes, that's right) to venture out on the ship "The Beholder" to "court" various princes from other countries to marry. She does not want to leave her sickly father or her homeland of Potomac (somewhere analogous to the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.?) and travel to "England" and then to a Scandinavian-like kingdom to meet her suitors. (There are also other suitors on her list, but we only get through two of them in this book.)
While this premise seemed very interesting to me, actually reading it was not so interesting. There were so many fairy tale references thrown in, I was not sure what was supposed to be a coincidental reference that the reader was supposed to notice and say something like, "Oh, yes, isn't it clever that the Protocol Officer is named after the author of Cinderella?" or if Selah and her shipmates were actually IN some version of a fairy tale. I kept getting confused. The geographical regions also confused me. Was it REALLY supposed to be England? Or Norway? Or Russia? And the time period also left me wondering. There were very few "technological" advances (Selah acted amazed at a radio), and there were no cars, airplanes, electricity, or anything of that nature, and yet many "modern" words were used, and at one point Selah mentions playing basketball. I could not get a grip on what was going on with the setting.
The characters also seemed flat. If I met Selah in person, she would no doubt get on my nerves. She was either crying, pouting, acting put-upon, worrying, or being annoying. I would not want to spend any time with her. Then she "falls in love" with various and sundry boys, alternately feeing guilty about holding their hands or declaring that they will be her whole world. I wanted to shake her.
This book could have been really awesome, and tried to be really awesome, but it was just kind of disappointing. I think if it could have been tightened up, polished, and developed better, it would have been a great book.


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The Day the Crayons Came Home

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very cute and clever book. It is just not quite as good as the first one. While the crayons have some funny "adventures," the book just doesn't quite flow as well. Parents will probably appreciate the humor more than their children.


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Corpse and Crown (Cadaver & Queen: # 2)

Did not finish this one. Was not a fan. At all...

Corpse & Crown by Alisa Kwitney





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Lady Derring Takes a Lover (The Palace of Rogues: # 1)

Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Anne Long
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could find no serious flaws in it, and I cannot remember the last time I read a historical romance novel about which I could say that.
Lady Derring finds herself a penniless widow, the only thing to her name a warehouse on the Thames. She decides to take on a surprising partner and open a boardinghouse to support herself. Unbeknownst to her, her late husband was a person of interest in the investigation of a smuggling ring, and so the King's Agent Captain Hardy finds himself scoping out the boardinghouse and keeping an eye on Lady Derring and her associates. The two grow closer and the mystery unravels.
The story was really good, the characters were believable, and their actions rang true to me. The chemistry between the hero and heroine was great. I enjoyed Lady Derring, and while she was perhaps a bit naive, she was not annoyingly so. Her dogged optimism was endearing. Captain Hardy was a great male protagonist, and the supporting characters were well developed.
This book was also quite humorous, and I found myself chucking several times. It has been quite a while since I've read a book and not said to myself, "Why did she do that?" or "That makes no sense!" or "Yeah, right, that's totally unbelievable!" or something along those lines. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance. I will be looking forward to the next book in the series.


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Sorcery of Thorns

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret  Rogerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An orphan who was raised in a library, believing magic and sorcery were evil, must try to find her way when it seems the world is being threatened and the only ones who can help her are those she's been taught to fear.
Elisabeth, who has spent her whole life in a library taking care of malevolent grimoires, finds herself confronted one night by a grimoire gone rabid. The monstrous book attacks her and when she defeats it, instead of being praised for her actions she is held in contempt by her peers. Accompanied by a young sorcerer, Elisabeth makes the journey to the capital where she encounters demonic beings, magic, and sorcery everywhere. She must navigate her new environment, figure out who she can trust, and discover who she really is and how strong she can be.
I enjoyed this story and the originality of the plot. I have read other stories about "great libraries" and magic, etc., but this one was different and unique. While the pacing was a little roller-coaster-ish, I still liked it. It seemed like Elisabeth was plunged from horrific peril to furtive hiding to horrific peril over and over. I would have preferred a slower build to fewer climactic events, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.
I also liked Elisabeth's journey from a young trainee in her home library to a confident woman ready to fight for what she knew was right. She was a character to admire, and her choices and motivations felt believable and organic. Nathaniel was an interesting character, and I had a hard time pinning him down, exactly. Perhaps that's because the whole story was told from Elizabeth's perspective, so everything we know about Nathaniel comes from what Elisabeth observes and feels.
The setting and descriptions in this book are great, and really transported me inside the story. I felt like I could hear the grimoires muttering, smell the after-effects of incantations, and see the flashes of magical emerald light.
I enjoyed this book (as well as the author's previous book), and would recommend it to anyone who likes YA Fantasy.


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