Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

Title: Spells for Forgetting

Author: Adrienne Young

Publisher: Delacorte 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 350

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; BOTM Cleanout

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.

Every month I would get so excited about my Book of the Month deliveries and then I would just let them languish on my shelves. I finally picked one up and flew through the pages. This slightly fantastical tale of secrets, betrayal, and lost loves had me engaged until the last page. I loved being able to experience the story from both August and Emery’s points of view. We get to really dive into these two characters and follow them as the past comes back. Sometimes I am annoyed by the little breadcrumbs an author leaves for the reader, but in this case, it was done well. Every reveal left me wanting more. Beyond the central mystery, which was fantastic, my favorite part of this book was the setting. I could feel rain and the fog closing in on the island as I read. I could see Main Street with it shops lining the curbs and the ferry station at the end. I could smell the salt water and smoke. Young really has a way of setting the stage in her book. Very enjoyable mystery with a side of magic.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Title: Other Birds

Author: Sarah Addison Allen

Publisher: St Martin’s Press 2022

Genre: Magical Realism

Pages: 290

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf - June; BOTM Cleanout

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It's called The Dellawisp and it's named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother's apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn't yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she's thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Sarah Addison Allen finally came out with a new book! I was so incredibly excited and had to get this one from BOTM as soon as it popped up. This book has all the hallmarks of a good Allen novel: a motley crew of characters, a specific and unique setting, and some just slightly odd magical realism. In this one, we follow the residents of the Dellawisp, both present and past. Of course we know that there are connections between the characters, and thankfully the book reveals all of those connections over the course of the novel. My favorite character was Charlotte. I really loved hearing about her story and seeing her grow and open up to others over the pages. I wish that we had seen more growth from Zoey. She seemed to stay the same throughout the entire story. At times she felt like she was written as a much younger character. I get her shelter background, but I wanted to see a bit more from her coming into her own. Overall, I really loved following these characters. The setting and the magical realism helped keep my attention to an essentially character driven novel. We are discussing this book at book club next week and I cannot wait to hear what everything thought.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Title: Weyward

Author: Emilia Hart

Publisher: St Martin’s Press 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; BOTM Cleanout

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

CW: Rape, Domestic Violence

Usually with content warnings like those, I would immediately say no thank you to the book. But something about the summary of the book really drew me in. I started reading and was immediately connecting with the three Weyward women. As their stories unfold, we understand just how these women have been shoved to the side of their lives and how the patriarchy has punished them for just about everything. Their stories are not happy ones, but we do get to see these women come into their own identities and triumph over many of the obstacles put into their paths. The stories end on very hopeful notes, but more importantly, we get to see the journey these women undertake to get to the hopeful spot. This may just end up on my Top 10 of the year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Babel by R.F. Huang

Title: Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

Author: R.F. Huang

Publisher: Harper Voyager 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 545

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; Unread Shelf; BOTM Cleanout

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

This is going on my Top Ten of 2023! It was truly an amazing masterpiece of a book. And one that I am still processing. Thankfully I have a Nerdy Bookish Friends Zoom this weekend to talk all of it through with other bookish people.

The book gets labeled as fantasy, but don’t let that scare you. This is more literary fiction than fantasy. The crux of the book is about the intersection of translation and language and colonization. We follow Robin as he attempts to create a home for himself at Babel in Oxford.  But will he ever really be accepted into society in England? And what’s the real purpose of Babel? And does Robin want the life that has been laid out in front of him? As the story progresses, we see Robin made friends and enemies, discover his love of languages and translation, and come to realize the true horrors of colonization. I am having trouble succinctly writing a review as my mind is still very much stuck in that world grieving for Robin and Ramy and Letty and Victoire. And realizing that Victoire was my favorite character and now knowing it until the very last page.

“Translation, speaking, is listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone understands.” (pg. 535)

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Title: The Cartographers

Author: Peng Shepherd

Publisher: William Morrow 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 392

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Unread Shelf Reading Challenge - Most recently acquired

Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.

But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence . . . because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way.

But why?

To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps . . .

On to our book retreat club discussion. Because the votes were split, we are technically going to discuss one romance book (Neon Gods) and one fantasy book (this one) at retreat. I had been so excited to get this one from Book of the Month, but then let it just sit on my shelf. It took about 50 pages for me to really get into the story. I never really loved Nell, but was very intrigued by the mystery once it was set in motion. I connected more with the other Cartographers and their backstories than Nell’s current life. I was not a fan of her and Felix’s pseudo-relationship, but did enjoy seeing her interact with Swann. Once the mystery kicked into gear, I was flipping the pages waiting to see where it went next. Putting the pieces together was my favorite part of this book. Unfortunately, the ending became a bit rushed and muddled and I did not love Nell’s choices. In the end, I didn’t adore this book, but it was a solid fantasy mystery. I’ll have to wait until next week to hear what everyone else thought about the book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Title: The Ex Hex

Author: Erin Sterling

Publisher: Avon 2021

Genre: Romance

Pages: 318

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Unread Shelf RC - Author You’ve Never Read Before

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

I picked this one up and sped through it in about two days. Perfect read for this witchy week. This is a light-hearted mystery and romance set in a small college town. I enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere. I enjoyed the side characters and the general vibe. I really loved all the fun witchy adventures. I could have used more romance inn that it seemed to get the romance started and then speed ahead. I wanted to sit int he romance a bit more before moving to the next scene. I also wanted a bit more of the mystery drawn out. The ending came very abruptly and I just wanted a bit more.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary

Author: Sarah Penner

Publisher: Park Row 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 298

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Seasonal TBR

Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

Spoilers in my review (I can’t not rant about the spoilers)

My immediate review after finishing this book was boring. But then I started to think about it more and I moved to “I disliked that book immensely.” It employs a lot of the strategies and techniques that I hate about historical fiction and women’s fiction and does them very poorly. More specifically, here are my problems with the book:

• I thought it was magical realism or a murder mystery or at least suspense, but nope just straight historical fiction.

• Dual timelime - I almost never enjoy these as one of the stories is much more interesting than the other. In this case, they are both boring.

• Modern woman is supposed to be the reader’s anchor, but I instantly disliked her. I didn’t find her relatable at all, but instead a sad sack woman who falls back into bad communication.

• Gaslighting men - Seriously, I know how terrible men can be. Kind of sick of reading books where they are so villainous. So many in a row!

• No distinction between “voices” - We are given three first person narrators who all sound the same. If you picked a randomly passage, I would be hard pressed to guess which of the three women it was without some historical marker clue.

• All women are obsessed with having/not having children - Big theme I’m noticing in books lately and I’m so over it. Even Eliza at 12 is obsessed with the state of womb, she just doesn’t quite know it yet.

• So many not plausible twists and coincidences. Seriously James ingested the poison to attempt get Caroline back? And her notebook with notes about poisons falls out of her bag and opens to that page so that the police immediately see it when they come in. No fucking way. Too much.

• Why does every modern woman in these kind of books have to be running away from something? In this case a cheating husband (who conveniently follows her and shows just how terrible he can be). Why can’t a woman just stumble upon a mystery and have a group of friends or dare I say a good partner that they share it with.

• Caroline’s stupidity throughout annoyed me so much. Why are we keeping things from Gaynor? Other than you breaking and entering the apothecary shop, nothing is scandalous or illegal. So why the secrecy?

• Warming tincture saved Eliza’s life in the river? WTF?

• (The characters were so forgettable that I almost wrote the main modern character’s name as Claire multiple times.)

So incredibly disappointed in this read. I guess it will be a good one to rip to shreds during book club.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Outlawed by Anna North

Title: Outlawed

Author: Anna North

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2021

Genre: Fiction - Alternate History; Western

Pages: 261

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Seasonal RC

In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.

The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada’s life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows.

She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she’s willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all.

I was so excited to grab this on from Book of the Month back in January. It was a very enjoyable story, but missed the mark just a bit for me. The book was slightly slow to start, but once Ada arrived at the Hole in the Wall Gang, everything started to pick up. From there, I was reading at a decent clip to get to the end of the adventure. Ada is at times, a very sympathetic character and a very annoying character. I enjoyed many of the other characters, and wished we had learned a bit more about some of them (e.g. Lo and Newsy). The book misses the mark just a bit by getting bogged down in Ada’s obsession with having a child/getting married. In this sections, I was less likely to keep reading the book. Upon reflection, I think this is a really good feminist alternate history western. But for my 5 star read, I would turn to Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. I love their take on a feminist western.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

Title: The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

Author: Lori Nelson Spielman

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 378

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf Project; UnRead Shelf Reading Challenge - Recent Acquisition

Since the day Filomena Fontana cast a curse upon her sister more than two hundred years ago, not one second-born Fontana daughter has found lasting love. Some, like second-born Emilia, the happily-single baker at her grandfather’s Brooklyn deli, claim it’s an odd coincidence. Others, like her sexy, desperate-for-love cousin Lucy, insist it’s a true hex. But both are bewildered when their great-aunt calls with an astounding proposition: If they accompany her to her homeland of Italy, Aunt Poppy vows she’ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her eightieth birthday, and break the Fontana Second-Daughter Curse once and for all.

Against the backdrop of wandering Venetian canals, rolling Tuscan fields, and enchanting Amalfi Coast villages, romance blooms, destinies are found, and family secrets are unearthed—secrets that could threaten the family far more than a centuries-old curse.

I had such high hopes for this book and it just fell flat for me. Most of the book is set in modern times and full of what seemed to be a travelogue for Italy. That’s fine, but it didn’t really grab my attention. I really fell for the chapters detailing the romance between Poppy and Rico. I wanted a book just of them. Emilia and Lucy were complete wet blankets in comparison. I just couldn’t seem to get myself to root for either of them. So, I wasn’t super excited about the book and then we get to the revelations and secrets about Poppy and Rosa. And I wanted to throw the book across the room. I was so incredibly mad at Rosa and her entire attitude and actions throughout the story. And we don’t really get any real apology from her. For that matter, I was very disappointed that Emilia’s sister never truly apologies for her behavior toward Emilia. For a book that was touted as being full of family and forgiveness, I felt it was sorely lacking in the forgiveness part. Boring.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Invisible of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author: V.E. Schwab

Publisher: Tor Books 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

This was a beautiful, haunting, thought-provoking book. I didn’t want the story to end. I was sucked into the basic premise of the book and then grew to really love Addie and Henry and even Luc. I loved the first part of the book as we follow Addie in the, somewhat, present time and in her past. I loved following her along her travels and growth. And then Henry enters the picture. I loved him as an addition to Addie’s life, but wasn’t sure about the narration from his point of view. It took me a bit to settle into his story. When I did, I fell for Henry also. It surprised me that I grew to love Luc so much over the course of the story. Overall, I loved every part of this book. I am definitely keeping it on my shelf. And it’s going on my Top 10 of the year list!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Title: Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1)

Author: Evie Dunmore

Publisher: Berkley 2019

Genre: Romancec

Pages: 364

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf Project

England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....

I love a good historical romance and I definitely love one where the heroine has spunk! I definitely needed this book this week. I dove right in and only came up for air a few times. I couldn’t wait to see what happened between Annabelle and Sebastian. I couldn’t wait to see how Annabelle dealt with Oxford and the suffrage movement. I couldn’t wait to see what happened with Peregrin and many of the side characters. This was a delightful romance romp filled with conflict and good sexual tension. I loved every page of it! Will be on the lookout for the next book in the series featuring Lucie and Lord Ballantine.

A League of Extraordinary Women

• #1 Bringing Down the Duke

• #2 A Rogue of One’s Own

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

Title: The Library of Legends

Author: Janie Chang

Publisher: William Morrow 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf Project

China, 1937: When Japanese bombs begin falling on the city of Nanking, nineteen-year-old Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee. Lian and a convoy of more than a hundred students, faculty, and staff must walk a thousand miles to the safety of China’s western provinces, a journey marred by hunger, cold, and the constant threat of aerial attack. And it is not just the student refugees who are at risk: Lian and her classmates have been entrusted with a priceless treasure, a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends.

Her family’s past has made Lian wary of forming attachments, but the students’ common duty to safeguard the Library of Legends forms unexpected bonds. Lian finds friendship and a cautious romance with the handsome and wealthy Liu Shaoming. But after one classmate is murdered and another arrested, Lian realizes she must escape from the convoy before a family secret puts her in danger. Accompanied by Shao and the enigmatic maidservant Sparrow, Lian makes her way to Shanghai, hoping to reunite with her mother.

On the journey, Lian learns of the connection between her two companions and a tale from the Library of Legends, The Willow Star and the Prince. Learning Shao and Sparrow’s true identities compels Lian to confront her feelings for Shao. But there are broader consequences too, for as the ancient books travel across China, they awaken immortals and guardian spirits to embark on an exodus of their own, one that changes the country’s fate forever.

This was such a good book club selection. I was hesitant to read another WWII book, but the setting in China dealing with a slighter different conflict was a nice change. I am fairly ignorant about the Second Sino-Japanese War and this book gave me some insight into the conflict. I loved how the book moved back and forth across China as the characters made the journey to safety and then to family. Lian and Shao are interesting characters and interesting motivations. I loved the mostly fictional Library of Legends. I love the inclusion of the legends themselves and the glimpses that we saw of the mythical creatures and gods. Chang skillfully weaves the fantastical elements into a very down-to-Earth story of families. My only issue was the book was the very rushed last 30 pages. Everything wrapped up too quickly for my tastes. I would have liked a bit different pacing for the second half.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

Title: Things in Jars

Author: Jess Kidd

Publisher: Atria Books 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 369

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf; Monthly Theme

Bridie Devine—female detective extraordinaire—is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors trading curiosities in this age of discovery.

Winding her way through the labyrinthine, sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds the young girl, even if it means unearthing a past that she’d rather keep buried. Luckily, her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary. But secrets abound in this foggy underworld where spectacle is king and nothing is quite what it seems.

Blending darkness and light, history and folklore, Things in Jars is a spellbinding Gothic mystery that collapses the boundary between fact and fairy tale to stunning effect and explores what it means to be human in inhumane times.

This was such a wonderfully strange book. The closest that I can compare to is a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Neil Gaiman’s fairy tale-esque stories. From page one, I was drawn into the story of Bridie and the missing child. Bridie is a great main character with fun quirks. I loved her relationships with Cora, Ruby, and Rose. I really did love the overall mystery of the missing child. I loved the mix of classic mystery and fantastical elements. London became such a great character infusing each page with atmosphere. Beyond the mystery, I wanted to know Bridie’s life and how some of the characters connected to her history, especially Ruby. Kidd’s writing style really brings this story to life. The prose makes this book feel like it was written a very long time ago. I really enjoy the old fashioned style to match with the characters and mystery.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Title: Well Met (Well Met #1)

Author: Jen DeLuca

Publisher: Berkley 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 319

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

What an utter delight! I read the first 40 pages of this book before bed one night. The next day, I picked it up and could not put it down until the story had ended. I was completely sucked into the Ren Faire setting (I used to do living history!). I loved meeting Emily and her sister and niece. I was immediately taken in by the rest of the cast of characters, especially Chris! I couldn’t wait to see what happened in the hate to love romance brewing over the course of the summer. When Captain Ian showed up, I even swooned a bit! Definitely love a pirate! I’m keeping this one my shelf for when I need a feel-good romance to lift my spirits.

Well Met

• #1 Well Met

• #2 Well Played

• #3 Well Matched

Next up on the TBR pile:

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ninth House

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Flatiron Books 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 480

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.

I picked this as my BOTM selection for November and I’m finally getting around to reading it. The first few chapters were a bit slow (don’t love starting the book near the end of the story and then flashing back), but once I was in, I loved this book so much. This is right up my alley with dark fantasy full of murder, ghosts, and the occult. I loved the premise of the book and then really grew to love the characters. Alex is not an easy character to love, but by the end of the book, you understand her and are rooting for her to succeed. Dawes was a huge surprise for me. I loved how she became more and more a part of the story as the chapters sped. by. I had hoped to see more of Darlington, but obviously we will circle back to him in the next book. I loved setting the book on Yale’s campus. Apparently I really enjoy books set at schools or at college. New Haven adds such great atmosphere to the story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! Definitely a keeper for my shelf.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Title: The Family Upstairs

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Book s2019

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: UnRead Shelf

Be careful who you let in.

Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she’s been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London’s fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. But what she can’t possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well—and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

First read from my UnRead Shelf and I was a bit disappointed. The story moves along at a fast clip, but I wasn’t super invested in the characters and the ending left much to be desired. I was intrigued by the family mystery and the identity of the baby. wanted to know what happened in the house on Cheyne Walk. I kept reading because I really wanted to find out what happened. And yet, I found myself not really caring about the book after I finished it. Libby was a bit of a limp noodle throughout causing me to not quite care about her. As for the ending, I’m not a fan of the very sinister last chapter. I don’t need my books to always have a happy ending, but this ending was a little too dark. I won’t be keeping this book on my shelf.

Next up on the TBR pile: