A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

Title: A Sorceress Comes to Call

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Tor Books 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project

Where I Got It: Book of the Month September 2024

Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.

But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.

When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.

Loved loved loved this book! I have loved almost everything that T. Kingfisher has put out. I love her blend of horror, fantasy, and fairy tales. The blend makes her book shave a great atmospheric quality mixed with solid plots. For this book, I wasn’t sure what we were getting at first. I was not super excited to spend 300+ pages with Cordelia as our narrator. Thankfully, we are introduced to Hester pretty quickly and from then on we get two narrators. Much better! I loved seeing the story and the situations play out from each perspective. The suspense ratchets up throughout the first half of the book leading to some great scenes. And then the plot kicks into high-gear and we get one long adventure leading to the conclusion of the book. I loved it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Book of Night by Holly Black

Title: Book of Night (Book of Night #1)

Author: Holly Black

Publisher: Tor Books 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 304

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Spooky Season

Where I Got It: Book of the Month May 2022

Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make.

She's spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie Hall.

Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but getting out isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that Charlie's shadowless, and possibly soulless, boyfriend has been hiding things from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies.

Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world—all trying to steal a secret that will give them vast and terrible power.

So very disappointed by this book. I was intrigued by the summary and interested in reading a dark magical story featuring a scrappy protagonist. What I got was a meandering, boring story featuring a highly unlikable main character. Charlie lies, cheats, and steals, even to and from those she loves to accomplish some very unspecified goals in life. I never found myself connecting to her. I also was very annoyed by those surrounding Charlie. Posey is terrible in her own way. And I hated that Vince keep everything important secret. I’m really sick of books where every character keeps very important information from the people who need it the most. All for a perceived gift for another character. Very annoying. As for the storyline itself, I was continuously annoyed by the interlude chapters about Charlie’s past. I really didn’t need all those long chapters detailing her past transgression. We get it. I would have cut most of those and focused more on the present.

Book of Night

• #1 Book of Night

• #2 Thief of Night

Next up on the TBR pile:

The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry

Title: The 22 Murders of Madison May

Author: Max Barry

Publisher: G.P Putnam’s Sons 2021

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Where I Got It: Book Flood November 2021

"I love you. In every world."

Young real estate agent Madison May is shocked when a client at an open house says these words to her. The man, a stranger, seems to know far too much about her, and professes his love--shortly before he murders her.

Felicity Staples hates reporting on murders. As a journalist for a midsize New York City paper, she knows she must take on the assignment to research Madison May's shocking murder, but the crime seems random and the suspect is in the wind. That is, until Felicity spots the killer on the subway, right before he vanishes.

Soon, Felicity senses her entire universe has shifted. No one remembers Madison May, or Felicity's encounter with the mysterious man. And her cat is missing. Felicity realizes that in her pursuit of Madison's killer, she followed him into a different dimension--one where everything about her existence is slightly altered. At first, she is determined to return to the reality she knows, but when Madison May--in this world, a struggling actress--is murdered again, Felicity decides she must find the killer--and learns that she is not the only one hunting him.

Traveling through different realities, Felicity uncovers the opportunity--and danger--of living more than one life.

I finally picked up this book that’s been sitting on my shelves for a few years. We chose it as a book club read this fall. I was very intrigued by the multi-dimensional murder mystery aspect. I wanted some thriller, some science, and maybe some trippy nonsense. And I got part of that. I enjoyed the chapters that followed Felicity as she attempts to understand what exactly is happening and how to save Madison May. I loved her slow unraveling of the truth. I even loved the quiet moments when she examined her own life and the small changes made each time she moved. And I really enjoyed the dichotomy between Felicity and Hugh. So much potential to explore their frenemy vibe. But the main reason that I knocked off two stars is due to the lengthy sections focused on Madison May. After the first murder, we get it. I don’t see the point of spending many many pages on her point of view as she is killed again. Those sections really drag down the plot and pacing. And it’s not like we as the reader gain any new information. We know Madison is going to die. Sitting around and watching her go about her life in this dimension for many pages before it happens is just boring.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dark Restraint by Katee Robert

Title: Dark Restraint (Dark Olympus #7)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 320

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Male Virgin Hero

Spice Rating: 6

Ariadne Vitalis is in trouble. She's betrayed her father—and his dangerous benefactor—and now she's left to rely on Olympus' questionable mercy. But in this city, mercy comes with a price. For Ariadne, that means a sham marriage to Dionysus. She has no choice but to agree, even if there's only one man she's ever wanted—a man she fears just as much as she desires.

The Minotaur never had any illusions about Minos's plans. He was willing to get his hands dirty as long as the old man kept his word—at the end of their bloody work, the Minotaur would be given Ariadne as a reward. She's meant for him, and he intends to have her, no matter the cost.

Ariadne knows better than to encourage the Minotaur—she's all too aware of how hot a passion like theirs can burn. Besides, she can never forgive him for the terrible things he's done, and he can never change. But when his hands are on her body and his wicked words are whispered in her ear, she might just be willing to let all of Olympus burn…

I’m really not have any luck with my reads this week. I adore Katee Robert and usually find her books, even the ones I don’t absolutely love, to be engaging and interesting. I appreciate how she explores different types of people and relationships. But this one really missed the mark for me. I just couldn’t get over how incredibly controlling and “alpha” The Minotaur was throughout. The sex scenes didn’t demonstrate enthusiastic consent or even mutual respect. I never did buy Asterion and Ariadne as a couple. Really, I kept reading this one for the background storyline about the coming war between Circe and Olympus. Those sections kept me from putting this one down and walking.

Dark Olympus

• #0.5 Stone Heart

• #1 Neon Gods

• #1.5 Hades and Hades

• #2 Electric Idol

• #2.5 Zeus and Hera

• #3 Wicked Beauty

• #4 Radiant Sun

• #5 Cruel Seduction

• #6 Midnight Ruin

• #7 Dark Restraint

• #8 Sweet Obsession

• #9 Untitled

• #10 Untitled

Next up on the TBR pile:

Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz

Title: Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

Author: Annalee Newitz

Publisher: WW Norton 2021

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 320

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Nonfiction Reader

Where I Got It: Afterword in Kansas City June 2024

In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today.

Newitz travels to all four sites and investigates the cutting-edge research in archaeology, revealing the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements. Tracing the early development of urban planning, Newitz also introduces us to the often anonymous workers—slaves, women, immigrants, and manual laborers—who built these cities and created monuments that lasted millennia.

Four Lost Cities is a journey into the forgotten past, but, foreseeing a future in which the majority of people on Earth will be living in cities, it may also reveal something of our own fate.

Usually history books annoy me as they are so incredibly surface level. I get bored as I know the surface level facts about a ton of history. Thankfully, this one was focused enough to deep dive into four “lost” cities highlighting a ton of new information and discoveries. We get sections on Angkor War, Catalhoyuk, Cahokia, and Pompeii. I found each section to be very interesting and full of information that I was excited to learn. Newitz takes a much more nuanced approach to teaching about each civilization. The author focuses on a different aspect of the civilization. I was extra fascinated by the section on Cahokia. The shift in understanding from trade center to center for religious and spiritual gatherings was eye opening for me. I took my time through this book, but enjoyed every page of it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Title: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1)

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

Publisher: Del Rey 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 413

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Where I Got It: Bliss Wine and Books in Kansas City June 2024

In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.

Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Oh wow! This may be my favorite book that the Nerdy Bookish Friends have read so far. I really fell into this intimate murder mystery set among a fantasy world where people can get alterations made from the blood of terrifying kaijus. That is a big strange sentence, but it really encapsulates the summary of this book. We follow Dinios Kol as he attempt to learn to be an investigator under a very unusual lead investigator. While a larger plot line is raging outside, Din needs to help Ana solve a very unusual murder. Of course, this isn’t a simple murder, but something much larger that points to other problems in the empire. I loved following along as Din reveals more clues and starts to put the pieces together. My favorite parts were the conversations that he has with Ana. She’s an amazing character and I really want to be her when I grow up. The book contains a fascinating group of characters. It reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel where you start to suspect anyone you meet could be the murderer. Even though this is the start of a series, the murder mystery wraps up nicely by the end while leaving the larger world to be explored in further adventures. I can’t wait to discuss at book club on Sunday.

Shadow of the Leviathan

• #1 The Tainted Cup

• #2 A Drop of Corruption

Next up on the TBR pile:

Leather and Lark by Brynne Weaver

Title: Leather and Lark (Ruinous Love #2)

Author: Brynne Weaver

Publisher: Zando 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Musical Instrument on Cover

Spice Rating: 5

Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first.

And they can’t stand each other.

Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to hide inside. The surly older brother of her best friend’s soulmate, Lachlan thinks she’s just a privileged princess, but Lark has plenty of secrets hiding in the shadows of her bright light. With her formidable family in a tailspin and her best friend’s happiness on the line, she’s willing to make a vow to the man she’s determined to hate, no matter how tempting the broody assassin might be.

As Lachlan and Lark navigate the dark world that binds them together, it becomes impossible to discern their fake marriage from a real one. But it’s not just familiar dangers that haunt them.

There’s another phantom lurking on their doorstep.

And this one has come for blood.

After the amazingness of the first book in the series, I had to snatch up the second and immediately read it. Unfortunately Lark and Lachlan aren’t my favorite couple in the romance world. This volume is much more of a slow burn romance than the first. We really draw out the story here focusing on their relations with the families instead of each other. I didn’t need them to really get going in chapter 3, but waiting until practically the end was a bit much. And I did wish for more banter and smoldering than what we actually got. Still, I’m really enjoying this series and cannot wait for the last in the trilogy to be released.

Ruinous Love

• #1 Butcher and Blackbird

• #2 Leather and Lark

• #3 Scythe and Sparrow

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Book of Scandal by Julia London

Title: The Book of Scandal

Author: Julia London

Publisher: Pocket Books 2008

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 360

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Second Chance

Spice Rating: 4

Nathan Grey, the Earl of Lindsey, is infamously known as the Libertine of Lindsey for his scandalous ways with women. But when he hears gossip that his estranged wife, Evelyn, is about to be named in The Book of Scandal, he has no choice but to remove her from London to protect her and himself from charges of treason -- even if it calls for abduction! While Evelyn has no legal recourse against the man who broke her heart years ago but is still considered her lord and master, she is no longer the immature girl Nathan married. Her enforced homecoming quickly turns into a battle of wills that tears down her husband's defenses and lays bare the passion that still burns between them. Before it is too late, Nathan must confront powerful adversaries as he convinces Evelyn that she is not only his wife, but the one woman he will love for all time.

Another absolute dud of a book for me. This has been sitting on my Unread Shelf for a few years. I finally dive and absolutely hate it. This is a second chance romance that I could have gotten behind if not for how the infidelity was handled. Now cheating is one of my deal breakers. The setup of why it was introduced in this story I understood. It was the reconciliation that I hated. Evelyn thinks about maybe cheating with a man and spends the rest of the book begging and pleading Nathan for forgiveness. Nathan actually has sex with multiple women and absolutely nothing. It’s just swept under the rug because apparently not having an emotional connection with those women makes it okay and you know “men have needs.” Nope nope nope. I am very much out of this series. Removing the other two from my unread shelf. Done.

The Scandalous Series

• #1 The Book of Scandal

• #2 Highland Scandal

• #3 A Courtesan’s Scandal

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

Title: Book of M

Author: Peng Shepherd

Publisher: William Morrow 2018

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 489

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Told in Non-chronological Order

Set in a dangerous near future world, The Book of M tells the captivating story of a group of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary catastrophe who risk everything to save the ones they love. It is a sweeping debut that illuminates the power that memories have not only on the heart, but on the world itself.

One afternoon at an outdoor market in India, a man’s shadow disappears—an occurrence science cannot explain. He is only the first. The phenomenon spreads like a plague, and while those afflicted gain a strange new power, it comes at a horrible price: the loss of all their memories.

Ory and his wife Max have escaped the Forgetting so far by hiding in an abandoned hotel deep in the woods. Their new life feels almost normal, until one day Max’s shadow disappears too.

Knowing that the more she forgets, the more dangerous she will become to Ory, Max runs away. But Ory refuses to give up the time they have left together. Desperate to find Max before her memory disappears completely, he follows her trail across a perilous, unrecognizable world, braving the threat of roaming bandits, the call to a new war being waged on the ruins of the capital, and the rise of a sinister cult that worships the shadowless.

As they journey, each searches for answers: for Ory, about love, about survival, about hope; and for Max, about a new force growing in the south that may hold the cure.

After reading Shepherd’s later book, The Cartographers, I wasn’t sure that I would like this one. But a ton of people thought I might, and they were right. This is a very thought provoking and moody tale. It reminds me of The Road and The Walking Dead but without the absolute bleakness of those stories. The story starts out pretty straight forward, but becomes weirder and weirder as we go along. At some point, the reader just has to accept the weirdness and keep moving forward. Many aspects of the shadowless are not explained, but that’s not really the point here. The point is an examination of how memories make us, how memories create our identities and allow us to live in the world. I found myself wondering about all the things that make up me. A much more thought provoking book than her later works.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Title: Rules of Civility

Author: Amor Towles

Publisher: Viking 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 335

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Decades - 1930s

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

This has been on my shelf for years and yet I kept putting it off. I’ve even read other Towles books before this one. I finally picked it up during my reading retreat and it just didn’t land for me. I was very interested in the time period and entire set up of the book. Unfortunately the best character in this book is the setting. The glimpses we get of NYC in 1937 were dazzling. But there’s where my real enjoyment of this book ended. I couldn’t care about any of the actual characters. I never truly felt like I understood Katey. I really didn’t get her motivations and background. Things that I thought Towles would focus on ended up bing a line here or there. We never really got into the meat of the character. While A Gentleman in Moscow is destined to be one of my favorite books of all time, this one will be quickly forgotten.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Title: Just for the Summer (Part of Your World #3)

Author: Abby Jimenez

Publisher: Forever 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Romantic Comedy

Spice Rating: 4

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work. 

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Another satisfying contemporary romance. Abby Jimenez is one of my go-tos for the simple fact that she writes real people. I feel like I could go and get coffee with any of her characters and it would feel real. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance between Emma and Justin. They are an effortless couple when together. I loved seeing them connect and then work through the hard parts. I loved Sloane’s friendship with Maddy and seeing them grow as friends. I absolutely hated the way that Emm’a mother treated her throughout her life. Truly not a good person at all. I had to take off a point for the absolutely bonkers twist/connection to other books. I thought it was very clunky. Still, I’ll try another Jimenez publishes.

Part of Your World

• #1 Part of Your World

• #2 Yours Truly

• #3 Just for the Summer

Next up on the TBR pile:

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson

Title: Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Author: Erik Larson

Publisher: Vintage Books 2000

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 323

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Nonfiction Reader

September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people—and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy.

Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude.

In my reading of all of Larson’s books, I somehow his first big book. A reader can tell that this is one of his earlier books. We don’t have quite as robust of a story weaving together plot lines and bringing everything together. As to the story itself, this is a fascinating look at a natural disaster. I loved finding out more about the 1900 Galveston hurricane. Apparently, I have a thing for natural disaster books. I do wish that we had got a bit more insight in Isaac, but I was with all the people of Galveston as they dealt with a horrific tragedy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Title: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Publisher: Knopf Books 2025

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 608

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Books - Secret in Title (totally fudging this one)

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
      The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
     But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

I remember when this book came out and I was very intrigued, but so busy with other things that I forgot about it. Years later, I picked it up at a used book store and finally started reading it. And I read it in 2 1/2 days. Yep! 600 pages in 2 1/2/ days. I could not put this one down. I had to see what was going to happen. I had to see if Kady and Ezra ever got back together in person. I had to see if the AIDAN just decided to kill everyone. I had to know the outcome of the story. More than anything, this is a space action adventure story. We are dumped right into the action and it never really lets up. Even at the end, we hare hurtling toward the unknown. I loved the mixed media/document style of the book. My favorite parts were the sections of AIDAN’s internal logs. Those were fascinating. This fast paced adventure was exactly what I needed this week to get me out of a bad head space.

The Illuminae Files

• #0.5 Memento

• #1 Illuminae

• #2 Gemina

• #3 Obsidio

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Morningside by Téa Obreht

Title: The Morningside

Author: Téa Obreht

Publisher: Random House 2024

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one you can’t. Welcome to the Morningside.

After being expelled from their ancestral home in a not-so-distant future, Silvia and her mother finally settle at the Morningside, a crumbling luxury tower in a place called Island City where Silvia’s aunt Ena serves as the superintendent. Silvia feels unmoored in her new life because her mother has been so diligently secretive about their family’s past, and because the once-vibrant city where she lives is now half-underwater. Silvia knows almost nothing about the place where she was born and spent her early years, nor does she fully understand why she and her mother had to leave. But in Ena there is an opening: a person willing to give the young girl glimpses into the folktales of her demolished homeland, a place of natural beauty and communal spirit that is lacking in Silvia’s lonely and impoverished reality.

Enchanted by Ena’s stories, Silvia begins seeing the world with magical possibilities and becomes obsessed with the mysterious older woman who lives in the penthouse of the Morningside. Bezi Duras is an enigma to everyone in the building: She has her own elevator entrance and leaves only to go out at night and walk her three massive hounds, often not returning until the early morning. Silvia’s mission to unravel the truth about this woman’s life, and her own haunted past, may end up costing her everything.

This was my other pick for the retreat book club discussion. I was very intrigued by the summary but feel like this one left me a little flat. I couldn’t quite decide what this book was really about. On the surface, we shoved into a world ravaged by climate change. We follow a family of refugees as they try to find a place on the new island. We touch on the effects of climate change, social upheaval, and economic downturn. At times, the author really hammers home the realities of a breakdown in society. All of that was very interesting and kept me reading. But the characters were so hard to root for! The entire time, Silvia’s mother keeps everything so close that we never really get to know her. I struggled to connect with any of the main characters. They seemed to lack depth and substance. And finally we throw in a dash of magical realism. I was not a fan of that portion of the book. It seemed out of place and not well-fleshed out a theme. I wanted more from this book. Looking forward to discussing at the retreat this weekend.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Title: The Ministry of Time

Author: Kaliane Bradley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2024

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Buddy Read

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.

I grabbed this one from Book of the Month and immediately some of the Nerdy Bookish Friends decided to do a buddy read this past week. Perfect timing! I dove in with a summary that I had heard on a book podcast. And I must say that the the first half of the book did not align with the summary I had heard. (And honestly I was glad of that because I wasn’t a fan of the summary.) For most of the book I was very interested in this time travel mystery. Who exactly are some of the more shadowy characters? What is the ultimate goal of the program? We know that the narrator is not currently in touch with the expats, but what exactly happened there? I had so many questions and really enjoyed the slow pace of the mystery. Unfortunately, the last few chapters took down my rating. The reveals were fast and furious without a lot of explanation. Some of my biggest questions were never answered. It felt like the author was trying to confuse us instead of explaining. And I really disliked the very last two pages. Thankfully we had a great buddy read in the group.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Title: The Phoenix Crown

Author: Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Publisher: William Morrow 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Decades - 1900s-1910s

San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.

His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . . until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.

One of our choices for book club discussion at the retreat. Kate Quinn is always a crowd-pleaser and I was hoping this new one would fit the group. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Right away we meet three women attempting to navigate life in early 1900s San Francisco. I loved Alice and was intrigued by Suling. Gemma was my least favorite of the women. Despite being “worldly,” I felt that she was the most naive of the women. I wanted to spend more time with Alice and her studies. And I wanted to see the city through Suling’s eyes even more than we get. The big earthquake is coming (they of course do not know) and there is a sense of dread in every chapter. More so than Quinn’s other books, this one has a suspense feel to it. I wasn’t opposed, but it was a different tone. Chang’s voice comes mainly through Suling and her discussions of Chinese Americans and Chinatown. I would have love more information about the Phoenix Crown itself and more discussions about the theft of artifacts. Alas, those sections fall a little short. I throughly enjoyed my reading time, but this one doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Alice Network.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Reckless by Anne Stuart

Title: Reckless (House of Rohan #2)

Author: Anne Stuart

Publisher: MIRA 2010

Genre: Romance

Pages: 408

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Historical Romance

Spice Rating: 5

Charlotte Spenser, straight-laced spinster with a search for knowledge, thinks observing an orgy from a safe distance is an excellent idea.

Adrian Rohan, black sheep of an already infamous family, has always encouraged female education, and he’s more than happy to give her hands-on experience.

They’re so mismatched it’s a wonder they don’t explode. He’s everything bad, and she can’t resist him.

What could possibly go wrong?

Wow… I am definitely done with this series. I had my hesitations about the first book. And this volume absolutely confirmed all my hesitations and really soured me on this author. The main storyline features a terrible pairing of people. Charlotte is a naive spinster. Adrian is just a complete asshole. I could not even find one shred of attraction to him. Their entire relationship was extremely dysfunctional. I just wanted both of these characters to run away from each other and never get together again. Blergh. I just cannot with this series at all. On a brighter note, I just removed two books from my Unread Shelf.

House of Rohan

• #1 Ruthless

• #2 Reckless

• #3 Breathless

• #4 Shameless

• #5 Heartless

Next up on the TBR pile:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Dawn of the Dreadfuls #1)

Author: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Publisher: Quirk Books 2009

Genre: Classics; Horror

Pages: 359

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an audacious retelling of English literature's most enduring novel. This expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem begins when a mysterious plague falls upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. It's the perfect read for literature lovers, zombie fans, and anyone who loves a reanimated Austen.

Technically this is a reread for me, but it was chosen as a Nerdy Bookish Friends selection. After we picked it, we realized that there are two different versions: the original and a reissue with 30% more zombies. Apparently I read the original, but own the new deluxe edition. So this was basically a new read for me. To be clear, this is not high literature. Sure it’s Jane Austen’s writing for 90%. But then we thrown in random zombie phrases and scenes. It create a mishmash of genres. But I enjoyed every page of it. I love Austen and zombies, and this was the perfect read for me. I suspect that this won’t be a favorite amongst my Nerdy Bookish Friends, but I still really loved it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Maybe

Title: Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband (Daughters of the Glen #1)

Author: Melissa Mayhue

Publisher: Pocket Books 2007

Genre: Romance

Pages: 356

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Books - Hybrid Genre

Scotland, 1272. Connor MacKiernan, a descendant of the Fae Prince, is a warrior who lives only for honor and duty. Though he’s vowed never to marry, that’s exactly what he must do to save his sister. Enter a little Faerie magic, and the search for a bride is on.

Denver, 2007. Caitlyn Coryell is having a really bad day—she just discovered that her fiancé is cheating on her, marrying her only for her family’s money and influence. Imagine her surprise when she puts on an antique pendant and Connor suddenly appears in her bedroom, begging for her help. He offers an outrageous adventure: travel to his time, marry him for a short time, and return home.

But nothing goes as planned. Cate’s trapped in the 13th century, the wedding’s delayed, and someone’s trying to kill her. And in the middle of all this, she realizes that she’s falling in love with a man who can only be her husband for thirty nights. It will take more than the magic of the Fae to help them now. It will require the most powerful magic of all—the magic of true love.

This book has been sitting on my Unread Shelf for years so I finally picked it up. The book should probably have been left on the shelf. This is a poor imitation of Outlander with a weird time travel bent to the romance. I didn’t quite buy the whole time travel and Fey angle to the story. It' seemed a little too hooky. The romance itself was also pretty lackluster. I didn’t love Cate and Connor and didn’t really buy their relationship. My biggest complaint has to do with the gender dynamics. Connor plays the alpha crap and Cate decides that the way tot play the relationship is to use her feminine wiles. It’s cliched and super annoying. Not a fan. I perused the rest of the series and it looks like we are going to get the same types of relationships. I think I will not be continuing to read this series.

Daughters of the Glen

• #1 Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband

• #2 Highland Guardian

• #3 Soul of a Highlander

• #4 A Highlander of Her Own

• #5 A Highlander’s Destiny

• #6 A Highlander’s Homecoming

• #7 Healing the Highlander

• #8 Highlander’s Curse

Next up on the TBR pile:

Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters

Title: Underground Airlines

Author: Ben H. Winters

Publisher: Mulholland Books 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club

A young black man calling himself Victor has struck a bargain with federal law enforcement, working as a bounty hunter for the US Marshall Service in exchange for his freedom. He's got plenty of work. In this version of America, slavery continues in four states called "the Hard Four." On the trail of a runaway known as Jackdaw, Victor arrives in Indianapolis knowing that something isn't right -- with the case file, with his work, and with the country itself.

As he works to infiltrate the local cell of a abolitionist movement called the Underground Airlines, tracking Jackdaw through the back rooms of churches, empty parking garages, hotels, and medical offices, Victor believes he's hot on the trail. But his strange, increasingly uncanny pursuit is complicated by a boss who won't reveal the extraordinary stakes of Jackdaw's case, as well as by a heartbreaking young woman and her child -- who may be Victor's salvation.

Victor believes himself to be a good man doing bad work, unwilling to give up the freedom he has worked so hard to earn. But in pursuing Jackdaw, Victor discovers secrets at the core of the country's arrangement with the Hard Four, secrets the government will preserve at any cost.

I was intrigued by this alternative history, but ended up really disappointed in the execution. The main issue is that I am uncertain as to the point of this book. Are we supposed to understand that everyone is terrible? Are we supposed to root for any of the characters? Because I truly don’t. It’s a cluster of unlikeable characters, confusing sequences, and an unsatisfying ending. As an extra note, the narration alternates between straight forward descriptions to a strange bit of stream of consciousness. I did not enjoy the book.

Next up on the TBR pile: