The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Title: The Poet X

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Genre: YA Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme - September

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

Another amazing book by Elizabeth Acevedo. If I was a 14 year old girl, this may have been my favorite book read for the year. It’s such an amazing coming-of-age story featuring a multidimensional young woman. I loved reading every page of this book. It’s a beautiful story with a lot of heart. I definitely liked this one more than Acevedo’s Clap When You Land and I really liked that one also. Just a beautiful story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Last Curtain Call by Juliet Blackwell

Title: The Last Curtain Call (Haunted Home Renovation #8)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Mel Turner can’t resist the chance to bring the Crockett Theatre, a decrepit San Francisco Art Deco movie palace, back to life. But there’s a catch for Turner Construction: Several artists are currently squatting in the building, and they aren’t the only ones haunting the once-grand halls of the historic theater.…

When one of the squatters is found dead, the police department has a long list of suspects to investigate. Meanwhile, Mel and her fiancé, Landon, are remodeling an old house for themselves, and Mel finds being on the other side of a home renovation project more challenging than she expected.

When Mel discovers that the former owner of the Crockett Theatre died under mysterious circumstances, and that there just might be a connection to the ghost haunting her own attic, the case takes a new turn—one that could bring down the curtain for the last time.

Yeah! I’m so excited that Juliet Blackwell wrote another Haunted Home Renovation book. I really enjoyed this series and Mel’s world of construction and ghosts. (Although, I must admit that I enjoy Lily’s series more than Mel’s.) This volume is a delight with the theater setting. I enjoyed the ghostly mystery involved. I was less enamored with the human murder and the human characters. Too many shifty people in this book. And I’m still not convinced that Landon is the best choice for Mel. (Seems to echo my uncertainty with Lily and Sailor) Overall I did really enjoy this book.

Haunted Home Renovation

Next up on the TBR pile:

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Title: Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2)

Author: Justine Ireland

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2020

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 553

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America.

What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won’t be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive—even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

Yes! This was such a great follow-up to Dread Nation! We fall right back in with Jane and Katherine but time and circumstances have changed situation. I loved seeing what was happening out west after spending the first book in the east and in the middle of the country. I loved that we retained a few of the favorite characters and even added some new ones. I was along for the ride from page one. The book may not have ended with a happily ever after, but it definitely had a resolution to one of the big storylines. Loved every second of this series.

Dread Nation

#1 Dread Nation
#2 Deathless Divide

Next up on the TBR pile:

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Title: Burn Our Bodies Down

Author: Rory Power

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2020

Genre: Young Adult Horror

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - June

Ever since Margot was born, it's been just her and her mother, struggling to get along. But that's not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she may have just found the answer: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Only, when Margot gets there, it's not what she bargained for.

As soon as they see her face, everyone in town knows who Margot belongs to. It's unmistakable--she's a Nielsen. And when a mysterious girl who could be Margot's twin is pulled from a fire, Margot realizes that her mother left Phalene for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what's still there?

The only thing Margot knows for sure is there's poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she's there, she might never escape.

I was so incredibly excited for this book. I absolutely loved Wilder Girls and hoped that this would be another great horror novel. Instead, this book just dragged and dragged with whiny characters and no real direction. I was thoroughly bored for the first 70% of the book. I could not connect at all with Margot and really despised her mother. Even after showing up in Phalene, I was completely bored. The entire relationship, or non-relationship, between Margot and Tess was completely thrown in for no real reason. I just didn’t get it. And then we get to the last section of the book and everything went weird, but not in a good way. I love good gore horror, but this just seemed like a giant punch in the gut. Nothing was nuanced or interesting. The book ended and I just didn’t really care.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

Title: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #1)

Author: Roseanne A. Brown

Publisher: Balzar + Bray 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 480

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a heart-pounding course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death?

I absolutely loved the premise of this one. I loved the focus on West African myths. I loved the world building in this one. I just could not get behind the characters and the plotline. The characters are so incredibly whiny. They are directionless for most of the book. And then for the last strike, the two main characters fall in love in an instant. I just cannot with the silly young adult romance. Once we get into the story, the constant secrets and betrayals just felt super boring and predictable. I got to the end of the book and it just wasn’t worth it to me. I think I’m down with the series.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: Thief of Shadows (Maiden Lane #4)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Grand Central 2012

Genre: Romance

Pages: 385

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Romance; GR Random

A MASKED MAN . . .

Winter Makepeace lives a double life. By day he's the stoic headmaster of a home for foundling children. But the night brings out a darker side of Winter. As the moon rises, so does the Ghost of St. Giles-protector, judge, fugitive. When the Ghost, beaten and wounded, is rescued by a beautiful aristocrat, Winter has no idea that his two worlds are about to collide.

A DANGEROUS WOMAN . . .

Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge. Yet when she's asked to tutor the Home's dour manager in the ways of society-flirtation, double-entendres, and scandalous liaisons-Isabel can't help wondering why his eyes seem so familiar-and his lips so tempting.

A PASSION NEITHER COULD DENY

During the day Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills. At night their passions are revealed . . . But when little girls start disappearing from St. Giles, Winter must avenge them. For that he might have to sacrifice everything-the Home, Isabel . . . and his life.

Yes! We are back to another great and steamy historical romance. I absolutely adored Isabel and Winter as main romantic characters. They have such a great feisty relationship and I was here for every single second of it! The steamy scenes were definitely worth the wait. I was all in for their dance around each other until they consummated their relationship. Beyond them, I loved the background storyline dealing with the missing girls. I love how this series has another story along with the main romance. My only issues was Lady Margaret. She was just a bit too naive and flighty for me in this book. I hope her and Godric’s story is better than the bit we saw in this book.

Maiden Lane

#1 Wicked Intentions
#2 Notorious Pleasures
#3 Scandalous Desires
#4 Thief of Shadows
#5 Lord of Darkness
#6 Duke of Midnight
#7 Darling Beast
#8 Dearest Rogue
#9 Sweetest Scoundrel
#10 Duke of Sin
#10.5 Once Upon a Moonlit Night
#10.7 Once Upon a Christmas Eve
#11 Duke of Pleasure
#12 Duke of Desire
#12.5 Once Upon a Maiden Lane

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

Title: The Naked Sun

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher:

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 257

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi/Fantasy; Ebook

A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on. Now Baley and Olivaw are faced with two clear impossibilities: Either the Solarian was killed by one of his robots--unthinkable under the laws of Robotics--or he was killed by the woman who loved him so much that she never came into his presence!

I loved this one! In the last book, we got to see the culture on Earth and Baley started to see what lay beyond. In this book, Baley travels to another world and gets a whole new perspective. I loved the change of setting and the expansion of the book universe. Plus we get more information about the state of the universe and the relationship between the various planets. The murder mystery itself was sufficiently interesting, but was used to illustrate the larger problems facing humanity. So so good!

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: Scandalous Desires (Maiden Lane #3)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Grand Central 2011

Genre: Romance

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Perpetual - NPR Romance

CAN A PIRATE LEARN . . .

River pirate "Charming" Mickey O'Connor has lifted himself from the depths of the slums to be the king of St. Giles. Anything he wants he gets-with one exception. Silence Hollingbrook has been haunting his dreams ever since she spent a single night in his bed.

THAT THE ONLY TRUE TREASURE . . .

Once Silence was willing to sacrifice anything to save the man she loved. Now a widow, she's finally found peace when Charming Mickey comes storming back into her life with an offer she can't refuse. But this time she won't be the only one paying the price for his sins.

LIES IN A WOMAN'S HEART?

When his past comes back to torment him, Mickey must keep Silence safe from a merciless enemy, while wrestling with the delicious hold this widow has on his heart. And in the face of mounting danger, both will have to surrender to something even more terrifying . . . true love.

A better story than number two, but still not as good as number one. I loved Temperance and Lazarus. I didn’t really love Hero and Griffin. Silence and Michael are a much better character, but I must say that there were parts of their characters that I still did not love. Michael was a bit too arrogant even after he fell for Silence. I just was annoyed by his alpha male attitude. But I did enjoy their romance and the underlying conflict with the Vicar. All told, it was a good romance and I can’t wait until the the next volume in the series.

Maiden Lane

#1 Wicked Intentions
#2 Notorious Pleasures
#3 Scandalous Desires
#4 Thief of Shadows
#5 Lord of Darkness
#6 Duke of Midnight
#7 Darling Beast
#8 Dearest Rogue
#9 Sweetest Scoundrel
#10 Duke of Sin
#10.5 Once Upon a Moonlit Night
#10.7 Once Upon a Christmas Eve
#11 Duke of Pleasure
#12 Duke of Desire
#12.5 Once Upon a Maiden Lane

Next up on the TBR pile:

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Title: My Sister, the Serial Killer

Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite

Publisher: Anchor 2019

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 240

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

Korede’s sister Ayoola is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead, stabbed through the heart with Ayoola’s knife. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood (bleach, bleach, and more bleach), the best way to move a body (wrap it in sheets like a mummy), and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures to Instagram when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit.

Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she’s exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola’s phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she’s willing to go to protect her.

I really enjoyed this book until the last chapter. I was along for the increasing tension as the story moves on. I wanted to know more about the history of the sisters and their family and the coma patient. I was hoping that actions would be confronted. But the story did not end the way I wanted it to end. And more importantly, the ending felt incredibly unfinished. Not ambiguous (I don’t mind those ending), unfinished. I would have liked to see an actual resolution to anything in the story. I disliked the ending, but I think that Braithwaite did an amazing job creating such atmosphere in just a few pages.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen

Title: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Royal Spyness #12)

Author: Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Berkley 2018

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 299

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

If only Darcy and I had eloped! What I thought would be a simple wedding has been transformed into a grand affair, thanks to the attendance of the queen, who has offered up the princesses as bridesmaids. Silly me! I thought that withdrawing from the royal line of succession would simplify my life. But before Darcy and I tie the knot in front of queen and country, we have to find a place to live as man and wife...

House hunting turns out to be a pretty grim affair. Just as we start to lose hope, my globetrotting godfather offers us his fully staffed country estate. Mistress of Eynsleigh I shall be! With Darcy off in parts unknown, I head to Eynsleigh alone, only to have my hopes dashed. The grounds are in disarray and the small staff is suspiciously incompetent. Not to mention the gas tap leak in my bedroom, which I can only imagine was an attempt on my life. Something rotten is afoot--and bringing the place up to snuff may put me six feet under before I even get a chance to walk down the aisle...

Finally we got back into some good Georgie mysteries. I loved the central mystery to this book. And as much as I was annoyed by Claire and Belinda in the past, I really enjoyed them in this volume. And we get Georgie’s grandfather returning. I loved the coming together of the family. Plus a new setting (and home) for Georgie and the reappearance of a talked about character. Really enjoyed this one, even if Darcy’s gaslighting still bothers me.

Her Royal Spyness:

#0.5 Masked Ball at Broxley Manor
#1 Her Royal Spyness
#2 A Royal Pain
#3 Royal Flush
#4 Royal Blood
#5 Naughty in Nice
#6 The Twelve Clues of Christmas
#7 Heirs and Graces
#8 Queen of Hearts
#9 Malice at the Palace
#10 Crowned and Dangerous
#11 On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service
#12 Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding
#13 Love and Death Among the Cheetahs
#14 The Last Mrs. Summers

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

Title: The Caves of Steel

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher: 1953

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 276

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi; Monthly Theme - August

Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer.

The relationship between Life and his Spacer superiors, who distrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the “R” stood for robot—and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!

J finally got me started reading Asimov again by showing me the preview of the new Foundations TV series. I must read the books first! I’ve already read I, Robot so I picked up the next book in the big chronology of Asimov’s books. This was a good old fashioned murder mystery set in our distant future. We get the intriguing world building of all of the Earthers living in giant metal cities while the Spacers live in open-air domes. The conflict between the two ways of living is clearly part of Asimov’s larger discussion about our future. The murder is intriguing and I loved how he gives you all the clues as to who done it, but the reveal is still dramatic and fun. But most of all, I enjoyed Asimov’s discussion of the differences between robots and humans, Earthers and Spacers, and medievalists and futurists. We get some great talks between characters. I am interested in seeing where this society goes in the next books.

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium (Delirium #1)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins 2016

Genre: YA SciFI

Pages: 422

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 YA; TBR Random

In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn't about to make the same mistakes.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the Wilds who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?

This was just boring… Right away, I knew that the main premise of the world was going to be boring. Another recycled scifi dystopian plot. And sometimes, I can get over the boring recycled plot if the characters are interesting. Unfortunately, I just found Lena super boring. Alex was better, but seemed to dull as the story moved on. I wanted to know more about Lena’s friend, but alas, we had to focus on the “romance” in the story. I won’t be reading on in this series.

Delirium

#! Delirium
#2 Pandemonium
#3 Requiem

Next up on the TBR pile:

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Mexican Gothic

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publisher: Del Rey 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 320

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

Our book club selection and this was just what I needed this week. I dove into this book wondering if everything was in Noemi’s head or if weird things were really happening. The tension built and built and built over the course of the book. I just wanted to keep reading until I got to the end. The was incredibly creepy. I love how much the house became a character in the book. I could see every inch of High Place, all of the creepy darkness and moldy walls. The characters are appropriately sinister. Of course we know that Virgil is a bad guy from the first chapter. But I loved how much was kept hidden until right towards the very end. And Uncle Howard! Goodness he was beyond creepy. The ending was incredibly satisfying. I will definitely have to revisit this one someday.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: Notorious Pleasures (Maiden Lane #2)

Author: Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher: Grand Central 2011

Genre: Romance

Pages: 371

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf Project; Perpetual - NPR Romance

Their lives were perfect . . .
Lady Hero Batten, the beautiful sister of the Duke of Wakefield, has everything a woman could want, including the perfect fiance. True, the Marquis of Mandeville is a trifle dull and has no sense of humor, but that doesn't bother Hero. Until she meets his notorious brother . . .

Until they met each other.
Griffin Remmington, Lord Reading, is far from perfect - and he likes it that way. How he spends his days is a mystery, but all of London knows he engages in the worst sorts of drunken revelry at night. Hero takes an instant dislike to him, and Griffin thinks that Hero, with her charities and faultless manners, is much too impeccable for society, let alone his brother. Yet their near-constant battle of wits soon sparks desire - desire that causes their carefully constructed worlds to come tumbling down. As Hero's wedding nears, and Griffin's enemies lay plans to end their dreams forever, can two imperfect people find perfect true love?

Not quite as satisfying as the first book in the series, but I still really enjoyed it. I loved the overall story and mostly loved Hero. My biggest problem with the novel was the sex scenes. They were a bit problematic with Griffin basically forcing himself on Hero. I just couldn’t get past those scenes to absolutely love the book.

Maiden Lane

#1 Wicked Intentions
#2 Notorious Pleasures
#3 Scandalous Desires
#4 Thief of Shadows
#5 Lord of Darkness
#6 Duke of Midnight
#7 Darling Beast
#8 Dearest Rogue
#9 Sweetest Scoundrel
#10 Duke of Sin
#10.5 Once Upon a Moonlit Night
#10.7 Once Upon a Christmas Eve
#11 Duke of Pleasure
#12 Duke of Desire
#12.5 Once Upon a Maiden Lane

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

Title: Dreamland

Author: Nancy Bilyeau

Publisher: Lume Book 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 386

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.

The invitation to Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.

But soon it transpires that the hedonism of Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of.

Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal, and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamor of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything… even murder.

Wow that was disappointing. I was expecting a bit of The Night Circus tinged with The Great Gatsby. Instead, I got a meandering story of an unlikable heroine and her horrid family as they spend a summer by Coney Island. Not at Coney Island, but Coney Island. The Dreamland amusement park only has a few appearances in the novel, none very memorable. The author doesn’t take much time to describe the people or the scenery leaving me with very vague impressions. I was thoroughly bored by most of the book. It really only picks up int the last 20% or so when Peggy decides to solve the string of murders. But even then, I knew who the murderer was and didn’t really care. It was just boring…

Next up on the TBR pile:

The End of October by Lawrence Wright

Title: The End of October

Author: Lawrence Wright

Publisher: Knopf 2020

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 400

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020

At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with acute hemorrhagic fever. When Henry Parsons--microbiologist, epidemiologist--travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will soon have staggering repercussions across the globe: an infected man is on his way to join the millions of worshippers in the annual Hajj to Mecca. Now, Henry joins forces with a Saudi prince and doctor in an attempt to quarantine the entire host of pilgrims in the holy city . . . A Russian émigré, a woman who has risen to deputy director of U.S. Homeland Security, scrambles to mount a response to what may be an act of biowarfare . . . Already-fraying global relations begin to snap, one by one, in the face of a pandemic . . . Henry's wife, Jill, and their children face diminishing odds of survival in Atlanta . . . And the disease slashes across the United States, dismantling institutions--scientific, religious, governmental--and decimating the population. As packed with suspense as it is with the fascinating history of viral diseases, Lawrence Wright has given us a full-tilt, electrifying, one-of-a-kind thriller.

I was so excited when this popped up on BOTM and the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Read Guide. I am always up for a good infectious disease book (fiction or nonfiction) and heard this one was a great ride a la Michael Crichton. This is akin to one of the bad Michael Crichton novels. Bad, flat characters that act completely off type many times. Too many convoluted storylines instead of one straight narrative. Lots of teaching the read about pandemics and viruses and politics and foreign relations and lots of other random things. This book was a complete slog and left me wanting to throw it at the wall. Boring and complicated with no likable anything.

Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Challenge 2020.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: Seven Endless Forests

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - May

On the heels of a devastating plague, Torvi’s sister, Morgunn is stolen from the family farm by Uther, a flame-loving Fremish wolf-priest who leads a pack of ragged, starving girls. Torvi leaves the only home she’s ever known, and joins a shaven-skulled druid and a band of roaming Elsh artists known as the Butcher Bards. They set out on a quest to rescue Torvi’s sister, and find a mythical sword.

On their travels, Torvi and her companions will encounter magical night wilds and mystical Drakes who trade in young men. They will sing rowdy Elshland ballads in a tree-town tavern, and find a mysterious black tower in an Endless Forest. They will fight alongside famous Vorseland archers and barter with Fremish wizards. They will feast with rogue Jade Fell children in a Skal Mountain cave, and seek the help of a Pig Witch. They will face wild, dangerous magic that leads to love, joy, tragedy, and death.

Torvi sets out to rescue a sister, but she may find it’s merely the first step toward a life that is grander and more glorious than anything she could have imagined.

Such a mixed bag for me. I loved the writing style, very lyrical. I loved the allusions to various mythologies and stories, especially the King Arthur thread. I loved the world building, so sprawling. But overall, I was very disappointed in the actual story itself. We are treated to an almost 400 pages road novel with tons of meandering flashbacks and stories. And yet, we don’t move the plot forward at all in those 400 pages. I was left thinking this was just the beginning. Where’s the rest of the story? The characters are very bland to the point that I couldn’t actually see any of them in my mind. And sometimes that sprawling world building allusions to various myths overwhelmed everything. Like seriously, they have be the “Vorse” and talk about dying and meeting again in “Holholla”? It got old pretty quickly. Disappointing read…

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ship of Dreams by Gareth Russell

Title: The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era

Author: Gareth Russell

Publisher: Atria 2019

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 448

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: GR Random

In April 1912, six notable people were among those privileged to experience the height of luxury—first class passage on “the ship of dreams,” the RMS Titanic: Lucy Leslie, Countess of Rothes; son of the British Empire, Tommy Andrews; American captain of industry John Thayer and his son Jack; Jewish-American immigrant Ida Straus; and American model and movie star Dorothy Gibson. Within a week of setting sail, they were all caught up in the horrifying disaster of the Titanic’s sinking, one of the biggest news stories of the century. Today, we can see their stories and the Titanic’s voyage as the beginning of the end of the established hierarchy of the Edwardian era.

Writing in his elegant signature prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a time of unprecedented change in British and American history. Through their intertwining lives, he examines social, technological, political, and economic forces such as the nuances of the British class system, the explosion of competition in the shipping trade, the birth of the movie industry, the Irish Home Rule Crisis, and the Jewish-American immigrant experience while also recounting their intimate stories of bravery, tragedy, and selflessness.

Overall I was very disappointed by this book. I wanted a strong look at the events leading to the end of the Edwardian Era. Instead, I got a very convoluted narrative without a clear and concise voice. Often I got bogged down in the plethora of details. Not impressed at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Title: Beach Read

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

This one was a surprise. I was expecting a light-hearted romcom and instead I got a much more serious story involving a romance. Even with that shift, I loved this book. Henry has created two very human characters full of strengths and weaknesses. This was one of the most realistic romances that I have ever read. We have two characters with lives and backstory that come together and connect. I was completely along for the ride. I loved January and Gus both individually and as a couple. I ended up flying through this book putting aside laundry and cooking just to keep reading. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams

Title: Agnes at the End of the World

Author: Kelly McWilliams

Publisher: Little, Brown Books 2020

Genre: YA Scifi

Pages: 432

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Monthly Theme

Agnes loves her home of Red Creek -- its quiet, sunny mornings, its dusty roads, and its God. There, she cares tirelessly for her younger siblings and follows the town's strict laws. What she doesn't know is that Red Creek is a cult, controlled by a madman who calls himself a prophet.

Then Agnes meets Danny, an Outsider boy, and begins to question what is and isn't a sin. Her younger brother, Ezekiel, will die without the insulin she barters for once a month, even though medicine is considered outlawed. Is she a sinner for saving him? Is her sister, Beth, a sinner for dreaming of the world beyond Red Creek?

As the Prophet grows more dangerous, Agnes realizes she must escape with Ezekiel and leave everyone else, including Beth, behind. But it isn't safe Outside, either: A viral pandemic is burning through the population at a terrifying rate. As Agnes ventures forth, a mysterious connection grows between her and the Virus. But in a world where faith, miracles, and cruelty have long been indistinguishable, will Agnes be able to choose between saving her family and saving the world?

I started reading this book and had such high hopes. The first part of the book intrigued me. I find cults to be fascinating and I was very into learning more about the inner workings of the cult. I was on the edge of my seat through Agnes’s coming to terms with the lies she had been told. And I was desperate to see her escape the cult. But then, the book started taking a turn… and I got very concerned about the topics of the book. The second half of the book is all about Agnes accepting God (yes, uppercase G) and following his plan. SPOILER In fact, the book ends because Agnes realizes that she can cure the virus by becoming God’s new prophet. I was not prepared for this turn. The book became a whole story about accepting religion, a very specific religion. I just couldn’t. By the time I realized where this was going, I was 78% complete so I finished the book. Now I’m wishing that I didn’t.

Next up on the TBR pile: