If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell

Title: If Walls Could Talk (Haunted Home Renovation #1)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Obsidian 2010

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 316

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: A to Z - I; I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - First Book

Melanie Turner has made quite a name for herself remodeling historic houses in the San Francisco Bay Area. But now her reputation may be on the line.

At her newest project, a run-down Pacific Heights mansion, Mel is visited by the ghost of a colleague who recently met a bad end with power tools. Mel hopes that by nailing the killer, she can rid herself of the ghostly presence of the murdered man-and not end up a construction casualty herself...

Finally started this series after reading and loving Blackwell's Witchcraft Mystery series. I do enjoy a good cozy mystery now and again. This one really hit the spot. I immediately fell for Mel and her band of misfit characters. The storyline was a great introduction to her world and what we can expect from the rest of the series. Can't wait to dive into the next one.

Haunted Home Renovation

#1 If Walls Could Talk
#2 Dead Bolt
#3 Murder on the House
#4 Home for the Haunting
#5 Keeper of the Castle
#5.5 A Haunting is Brewing
#6 Give Up the Ghost
#7 A Ghostly Light

Next up on the TBR pile:

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Title: 84, Charing Cross Road

Author: Helene Hanff

Publisher: Grossman Publishers 1970 (Penguin Books 1990)

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 97

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Bookstore; I Love Libraries

This charming classic love story, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, at the time, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London at 84, Charing Cross Road. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Their relationship, captured so acutely in these letters, is one that has touched the hearts of thousands of readers around the world.

This book has been mentioned on Anne Bogel's podcast What Should I Read Next so many times, I had to add it to my library holds list. And I'm glad I did. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but was pleasantly surprised by the cute letters between Helene and the various people at the bookstore at 84 Charing Cross Road. Over the course of a few years, a relationship develops that I wasn't expecting but was delighted by. Such a slim little volume, but a great read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: Glamour in Glass

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal

Publisher: Tor 2012

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 334

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - Second in Series

Mary Robinette Kowal stunned readers with her charming first novel Shades of Milk and Honey, a loving tribute to the works of Jane Austen in a world where magic is an everyday occurrence. This magic comes in the form of glamour, which allows talented users to form practically any illusion they can imagine. Shades debuted to great acclaim and left readers eagerly awaiting its sequel. Glamour in Glass continues following the lives of beloved main characters Jane and Vincent, with a much deeper vein of drama and intrigue.

In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates his throne, Jane and Vincent go to Belgium for their honeymoon. While there, the deposed emperor escapes his exile in Elba, throwing the continent into turmoil. With no easy way back to England, Jane and Vincent's concerns turn from enjoying their honeymoon…to escaping it.

Left with no outward salvation, Jane must persevere over her trying personal circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband from prison . . . and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded on the shoals of another country's war.

A good second volume in this series. I don't think this will be one of those series that I rave about to everyone I meet, but I am enjoying myself. I love the mix of fantasy and Regency. I love the descriptions of using glamour and the results of the efforts. I enjoy the characters although both of the main characters can be trying at times. I did enjoy the moving of the setting to France. Interesting little volume.

The Glamourist

#1 Shades of Milk and Honey
#2 Glamour in Glass
#3 Without a Summer
#4 Valour and Vanity
#5 Of Noble Family

Next up on the TBR pile:

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

Title: Not That I Could Tell

Author: Jessica Strawser

Publisher: St. Martin's Press 2018

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 324

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Share-a-Tea

When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal.

By Monday morning, one of them is gone.

My Book of the Month selection for March. I picked this one as it was a read-alike to Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I really loved that book and was hoping for an intriguing mystery with interesting characters. Unfortunately, this book lacked the hook that got me invested in the characters. For the most part, I just didn't care about them. I wanted to figure out what happened to Kristin, but wasn't perched on the edge of my seat with suspense. The plot line was okay. I was just really not connected to any of the characters.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller

Title: The Philosopher's Flight

Author: Tom Miller

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 422

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Published in 2018; Share-A-Tea

Eighteen-year-old Robert Weekes is a practitioner of empirical philosophy—an arcane, female-dominated branch of science used to summon the wind, shape clouds of smoke, heal the injured, and even fly. Though he dreams of fighting in the Great War as the first male in the elite US Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Service—a team of flying medics—Robert is resigned to mixing batches of philosophical chemicals and keeping the books for the family business in rural Montana, where his mother, a former soldier and vigilante, aids the locals.

When a deadly accident puts his philosophical abilities to the test, Robert rises to the occasion and wins a scholarship to study at Radcliffe College, an all-women’s school. At Radcliffe, Robert hones his skills and strives to win the respect of his classmates, a host of formidable, unruly women.

This was my Book of the Month selection for February, but I wasn't quite sure what I picked. Turns out, this is exactly the type of book that I enjoy reading. We're drawn into an alternate history where women (and a few men) have discovered and begun practicing a version of science/magic. This, of course, has impacted the course of history in very interesting ways. The book itself is set decades after the discovery of these powers and we connected to an unusual man who has the ability to do empirical philosophy. Obviously there is a fantastical element to the book. But really the book connects us to interesting characters that go on a journey of self-discovery. Slow-moving in certain parts, but overall a really entertaining read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Title: Cranford

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

Publisher: 1853

Genre: Classics

Pages: 257

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Movie I've Already Seen; A to Z - C

Cranford is an affectionate and often moving portrait of genteel poverty and intertwined lives in a nineteenth-century village. One of Elizabeth Gaskell's most beloved works, it centres on a community dominated by women and governed by old-fashioned ways. The formidable Miss Deborah Jenkyns and the kindly Miss Matty's days revolve around card games, tea, thriftiness and an endless appetite for scandal, until change comes into their world - whether it is the modern ideas of Captain Brown, a bank collapse, rumours of burglars or an unexpected reappearance from the past.

Classic that has been sitting on my shelf for too long. I enjoyed this one, but it's definitely not for everyone. I love how Gaskell has structured the book as more of vignettes than cohesive consecutive chapters. The reader gets little slices of life in Cranford filled with colorful characters and insights into relationships. I see this as a mix between Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. I'm not a huge fan of Dickens, but I adore Austen. This was a good mixture of the genres. While the book is very good, I loved the BBC miniseries starring Dame Judi Dench as Miss Matty. She is a treasure!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Title: The Birth of Venus

Author: Sarah Dunant

Publisher: Random House 2003

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 426

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: TBR Pile; Popsugar - Set in a country that fascinates me;

Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter’s abilities.

But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola’s reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra’s married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art.

Hmmm... So I think this is a perfectly fine book with a fine plot and gorgeous setting. I just couldn't find myself connecting to anything or anyone in the book. I finished it, hoping to make a connection t some point, but I just didn't. Possibly this book just wasn't for me. I must say that the setting in Florence is perfect! I usually love stories set in Italy. I just didn't love this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Darkfever (MacKayla Lane #1)

Author: Karen Marie Moning

Publisher: Bantam Books 2006

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Pages: 347

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Fantasy Project); Reading Assignment

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death—a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone—Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae. . .

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane—an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book—because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands. . . .

This novel was quite a disappointment for me. I was hoping for a fun paranormal fantasy and instead I got an extremely unlikable main character, a confusing storyline, and way too many unanswered questions. I don't mind when the first book in a series leaves things unanswered. I do mind when it seems like all we get are questions and nothing more. Plus, MacKayla is a horrid character. Her Barbie doll exterior and seeming interior were of no interest to me. I hope that she grows through the series, but I don't really have an interest in following her journey. Probably an entertaining book for some, but not for me.

MacKayla Lane:

#1 Darkfever
#2 Bloodfever
#3 Faefever
#4 Dreamfever
#5 Shadowfever
#5.5 Fever Moon
#6 Iced
#7 Burned
#8 Feverborn
#9 Feversong
#10 High Voltage

Next up on the TBR pile:

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Title: The History of Love

Author: Nicole Krauss

Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company 2005

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 252

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (21st Century Women Authors); Modern Mrs. Darcy -- Recommended by Someone with Good Taste; I Love Libraries

A long-lost book reappears, mysteriously connecting an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother's loneliness.
Leo Gursky taps his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he’s still alive. But it wasn’t always like this: in the Polish village of his youth, he fell in love and wrote a book…Sixty years later and half a world away, fourteen-year-old Alma, who was named after a character in that book, undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With virtuosic skill and soaring imaginative power, Nicole Krauss gradually draws these stories together toward a climax of "extraordinary depth and beauty" (Newsday).

I really really wanted to like this book. It's our book club selection and I've heard so many great things about it. I loved the final scene between Alma and Leo. I loved the mystery of the novel and the characters' pasts. And yet, I just couldn't find myself to love this novel. The format of pseudo-stream of consciousness and enumerated memories threw me off. I kept getting lost as to the multitude of characters and their perspectives. I even found myself confused by the time period on certain pages/chapters. I can see that this is a worthwhile book and I'm sure that there are people who love this one. That person is just not me...

Next up on the TBR pile:

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Demon Glass (Hex Hall #3)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion 2012

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 327

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; I Love Libraries

Hailed as "impossible to put down," the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted. Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that's what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn't as confident. Sophie's bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it's too late?

A fitting end to the series. I wasn't particularly surprised by anything that happened in this volume, but I did enjoy the ride. Hawkins writes in a very easy manner, pulling the reader along at a fast pace. I enjoyed the characters (especially Archer) and the storyline. And even though one particular death was devastating, I understand why it had to happen. Overall, a very good fun series. Now I can finally read School Spirits that has been sitting on my shelf for over two years.

Hex Hall:

#1 Hex Hall
#2 Demonglass
#3 Spell Bound

Next up on the TBR pile:

One Week in the Library by W. Prince

Title: One Week in the Library

Author: W. Prince, John Amor, and Frazer Irving

Publisher: Image 2016

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 96

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

Welcome to the Library. It's here that every story ever written is catalogued and monitored by a single man, who's begun to notice something strange: the books are rebelling. Image Comics proudly presents this experimental graphic novella from writer W. MAXWELL PRINCE and artist JOHN AMOR, which recounts a troublesome week in the Library via seven short stories—one for each day—that use comics, infographics, prose, and poetry to play with the graphic medium and explore the multivalent world of living narrative.

Such a weird little comic that I picked off the library shelf. I loved the strange tales collected in this slim volume full of wonder and mystery. Plus, we get a serious love of books celebrated. I sped through this but it was a good one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh

Title: A Summer to Remember (Bedwyn Saga #0.2)

Author: Mary Balogh

Publisher: Dell 2003

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Finishing the Series; What's in a Name - Season

Kit Butler is cool, dangerous, one of London’s mostinfamous bachelors—marriage is the last thing on his mind. But Kit’s family has other plans. Desperate to thwart his father’s matchmaking, Kit needs a bride...fast. Enter Miss Lauren Edgeworth.

A year after being abandoned at the altar, Lauren has determined that marriage is not for her. When these two fiercely independent souls meet, sparks fly—and a deal is hatched. Lauren will masquerade as Kit’s intended if he agrees to provide a passionate, adventurous, unforgettable summer. When summer ends, she will break off the engagement, rendering herself unmarriageable and leaving them both free. Everything is going perfectly—until Kit does the unthinkable: He begins to fall in love. A summer to remember is not enough for him. But how can he convince Lauren to be his...for better, for worse, for the rest of their lives?

A fluffy romance was just what I needed this week. I accidentally read the related series to the this one before so the ending was a bit spoiled (although most of these books are easy to predict the endings). I did enjoyed the story of Kit and Lauren. I especially liked seeing Lauren come out of her ice queen shell from the last book. This volume was quick and enjoyable. Just what I like in my Regency Romances.

Bedwyn Saga

#0.1 One Night for Love
#0.2 A Summer to Remember
#1 Slightly Married
#2 Slightly Wicked
#3 Slightly Scandalous
#4 Slightly Tempted
#5 Slightly Sinful
#6 Slightly Dangerous

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Wicked + The Divine Volume 6

Title: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 6: Imperial Phase Part 2

Author: Kieron Gillen; Jamie McKelvie; Matt Wilson

Publisher: Image 2018

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 168

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

When you're at the peak of your powers, there's only one way to go. The question becomes—how many people are you willing to drag down with you? The bestselling, critically acclaimed comic by KIERON GILLEN, JAMIE McKELVIE and MATT WILSON reaches its most dramatic arc yet. Collects THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #29-33

Oh holy cow that was a crazy collection of issues. I truly did not see the ending twist coming, but the earlier ones weren't as much of a surprise. This volume has me falling more and more for the remaining gods. So very interesting! I love how this series combines modern times and problems with ancient mythology. Plus the graphics are just absolutely amazing. I can't wait for the next volume.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Demon Glass by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Demon Glass (Hex Hall #2)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Pages: 359

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Finishing the Series

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

I sped through this middle volume of the trilogy. It was fast-paced and action filled. We follow Sophie to England and to the Council and then lots of things happen. I enjoyed getting to meet her father and learn about the history of the Prodigium and specifically her family. I loved the inclusion of Cal and Jenna. And I especially enjoyed the continuing storyline between Sophie and Archer. But I must say that this volume left the readers on one hell of a cliffhanger...

Hex Hall:

#1 Hex Hall
#2 Demonglass
#3 Spell Bound

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Passion of Cleopatra by Anne Rice and Christopher Rice

Title: The Passion of Cleopatra (Ramses the Damned #2)

Author: Anne Rice

Publisher: Anchor Books 2017

Genre: Horror

Pages: 399

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (Anne Rice); Popsugar - By Two Authors; Finishing the Series

Ramses the Great, former pharaoh of Egypt, is reawakened by the elixir of life in Edwardian England. Now immortal with his bride-to-be, he is swept up in a fierce and deadly battle of wills and psyches against the once-great Queen Cleopatra. Ramses has reawakened Cleopatra with the same perilous elixir whose unworldly force brings the dead back to life. But as these ancient rulers defy one another in their quest to understand the powers of the strange elixir, they are haunted by a mysterious presence even older and more powerful than they, a figure drawn forth from the mists of history who possesses spectacular magical potions and tonics eight millennia old. This is a figure who ruled over an ancient kingdom stretching from the once-fertile earth of the Sahara to the far corners of the world, a queen with a supreme knowledge of the deepest origins of the elixir of life. She may be the only one who can make known to Ramses and Cleopatra the key to their immortality—and the secrets of the miraculous, unknowable, endless expanse of the universe.

I finally got to read the long-awaited sequel to The Mummy. Overall I really enjoyed the continuation of the story. We get to see how the relationships between Ramses, Julie, Alex, and Cleopatra evolve. We get to see and hear the backstory of the elixir. We get to hear about the long-lost kingdom of Shaktanu. I even loved the inclusion of a few new characters from the past. When they first appeared, I was concerned that they would muddle the storyline, but in the end they were good additions. I loved traveling around the world with all the characters. What I wasn't a huge fan of was a few of the long philosophical passages about the soul that appeared towards the end of the novel. To me, they got a bit preachy in tone.

Ramses the Damned:

#1 The Mummy
#2 Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra

Next up on the TBR pile:

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

Title: As Bright as Heaven

Author: Susan Meissner

Publisher: Berkley 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 387

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - About Death or Grief; Share-a-Tea

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.

I really enjoyed the other book I've read by Susan Meissner, so I had high hopes for this Book of the Month selection (from January, but shhh.... I'm a bit behind). This book had a very different field, but I really did enjoy this story. Taken as a whole, the story is a beautiful exploration of death and grief within one family. The story takes us on a journey that I wasn't quite expecting. The level of tragedy surprised me, but I was completely on board. The switch between chapters narrated by the four Bright women added another level of interest. At times I was drawn out of the story by the youngest daughter's voice, but for the most part I was right there with all of the characters.

I enjoyed this book while drinking multiple cups of Stash's Acai Berry Herbal Tea. It has a very strong berry flavor, but was a good choice before bed. No caffeine to keep me up all night, but warm tea to comfort me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Title: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson

Publisher: Norton and Company 2017

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Modern Mrs. Darcy - Essay Collection

What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.

But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.

While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.

Our book club selection for February (actually the meeting isn't until next weekend due to last weekend's retreat). I was looking forward to learning more about astrophysics and this did not disappoint. I have always enjoyed Tyson's way of relating scientific information. This collection of essays has some great pieces with a ton of information about the universe. I know I didn't really retain all the information and will have to reread this one soon. But that's okay, Tyson's style of writing will make that reread enjoyable.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: Shades of Milk and Honey (The Glamourist #1)

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal

Publisher: Tor 2010

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 306

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy - Red in a Day; A to Z - S; I Love Libraries

Shades of Milk and Honey is exactly what we could expect from Jane Austen if she had been a fantasy writer: Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It is an intimate portrait of a woman, Jane, and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality.

Jane and her sister Melody vie for the attentions of eligible men, and while Jane's skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face. When Jane realizes that one of Melody's suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right-and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical of this book when I first started reading. Based off of the blurbs from the back, I was unsure of how this book could live up to a description of it being a cross between Jane Austen and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. And yet, the volume delivered on the promise. I was immediately drawn into a seemingly Austen-like world except for the fact that magic in the form of glamours is real. I connected to Jane and dove straight into her world. I ended up speeding through this book, finishing it in less than 24 hours. I just had to see what became of Jane and Melody and Beth, what Mr. Vincent created, who the scoundrel was, and how everything would be resolved in the end. This volume can be read as a stand-alone novel, but I'm glad and excited to read the rest of the series soon.

The Glamourist

#1 Shades of Milk and Honey
#2 Glamour in Glass
#3 Without a Summer
#4 Valour and Vanity
#5 Of Noble Family

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Title: The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1)

Author: Stephen King

Publisher: Scribner 1982

Genre: Horror

Pages: 251

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi; Popsugar - Antihero; I Love Libraries

A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.

This series has been on my lists for years, years I tell you! I don't know why I waited so long to start this one. I finally did and it's amazing! I have enjoyed some of King's writing and this one seems to be the kind of King that I enjoy. We get a big world(s), some spooky happenings, cryptic messages, an antihero, a villain, an audience connection point, and plenty of atmosphere. The first book isn't super long, but even then, I sped through it in two days. I just couldn't stop myself from reading about The Gunslinger's walk getting him closer and closer to the man in black... On to the next book soon!

The Dark Tower:

#0.5 The Little Sisters of Eluria
#1 The Gunslinger
#2 The Drawing of the Three
#3 The Waste Lands
#4 Wizard and Glass
#4.5 The Wind Through the Keyhole
#5 Wolves of the Calla
#6 Song of Susannah
#7 The Dark Tower

Next up on the TBR pile:

Jane by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramon Perez

Title: Jane

Author: Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramon Perez

Publisher: Boom 2017

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

A powerful modern day reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre. Jane learns that in the world of New York’s elite, secrets are the greatest extravagance and she must decide if she should trust the man she loves or do whatever it takes to protect his daughter from the consequences of his deception.

I didn't realize that this was a Jane Eyre adaptation when I grabbed it at the library. Pleasant surprise over here... Once I realized what it was, I really enjoyed this slim volume. The updates were very in tune with the 21st century.

Next up on the TBR pile: