Book Review: The Grave's a Fine and Private Place

TITLE: The Grave's a Fine and Private Place
Book 9 in the Flavia de Luce series
AUTHOR: Alan Bradley
CATEGORY:often shelved as adult, I say it's middle-grade
PUBLISHED: January 30th, 2018 (in the US)
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Mystery
PREMISE: While dealing with the death of her father, Flavia stumbles upon another mystery...
MY REVIEW: I am a latecomer to the Flavia de Luce series. I read the first book around...two years ago, I believe. The series has been out for quite some time now. With the ninth book, it is coming to an end. I'm sorry to see it go, but I think it's just as well. I could tell the author was running out of ideas of what to do with the series. Some of the previous books wandered in plot a lot. The same happened with this book. But we do ultimately get a good conclusion for Flavia and everyone else in her life. For the record, I wouldn't be opposed to a series about adult Flavia de Luce. Just saying.
It's always a bit bittersweet when a series comes to an end. On one hand...you get to know the characters are going to be okay in the end. On the other hand: no more books. Flavia, I'm going to miss you and your delight in stumbling upon dead bodies.
WHO SHOULD READ: those who've read books 1-8, cozy mystery fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five series coming to an end
RATING FOR SERIES: Four out of Five

Classic Book Review: A Separate Peace

TITLE: A Separate Peace
AUTHOR: John Knowles
PUBLISHED: 1959
CATEGORY: Young Adult (sort of)
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: A man remembers his time in school during WWII.
MY THOUGHTS: Sigh. This is yet another book in what I'm beginning to think is a sub-genre: Old (usually white and straight) guy thinks back on one memorable thing from his childhood. I've stumbled across so many literature books that do this and...honestly dudes? I'm sorry, but your childhood is not as interesting as you think it is. This one had all the problems that books that do this idea have: mainly...it's dull.
I get what the author was doing with it. War is hell, it effects us all, even those not in the war, etc. etc. Probably also some metaphors for losing your innocence as well. This is not a difficult novel to grasp or even to read. Which is probably why it winds up on reading lists for schools all the time. But personally, I suspect this is better read as an adult. I have no doubt that teenage me would have hated this. Adult me....didn't enjoy it, but appreciates what the author was trying to do.
I just, for the life of me, couldn't get into this one. Yet another classic that is just not for me.
WHO SHOULD READ: literature fans, those that don't mind slow-paced books

Book Review Catch Up Part 3: The Second Half of July 2018

Last of the review catch up posts, I promise. Here are all the things I read in the second half of July.

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding Book 1 by Alexandra Bracken
Category: Middle-Grade
Published: September 2017
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Enjoyable read, as usual, from Alexandra Bracken. Turns out this is going to be made into a movie, so I read it just in time.
Rating: Four out of Five snarky demons

Another Country by James Baldwin
Category: Adult
Published: 1962
Genre: Contemporary
Read mostly because it was on the Great American Read list. I'm kind of slowly going through the ones I haven't read. Not all of them, because there are some I'm just not interested in, at all (Atlas Shrugged, for instance). But most of them I will be reading....at some point.

Robots VS Fairies anthology by various authors
Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Published: January 9th, 2018
Fun short story anthology that had stories featuring either robots or fairies.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five short stories that I wanted to be whole books

Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley by Emily Chang
Category: Non-Fiction
Genre: Social Commentary/Feminism
Published: February 6th, 2018
A deep look into the sexism of the tech industry. How bad it is, how we got there, why it persists, and how we can change the culture. The book is good and interesting...it's just draining, hearing about all these incidents and seeing all the indifference from some of the people in the industry.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five informative, but sad books

Kat Holloway Book 1: Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley
Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
Published: January 2nd, 2018
Okay historical mystery. Didn't really impress me, but didn't really fail me either. It's good for if you just want some Downton Abbey-esque feelings with a dash of mystery.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five nosy maids getting shit done

Veronica Speedwell Book 3: A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
Published: January 16th, 2018
This series continues to be delightful. If you like slow burn romances, heroines who don't give a fuck about society's expectations, and snark, seriously pick this series up.
Rating: Four out of Five awesome snarky heroines

The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Category: Play
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1953
I started to read this one, and it turns out I actually already have read it...way back in school. I just apparently forgot that. Oh well. If nothing else, it was a good refresher.

Comics read:
Captain America original 1940s series on Marvel Unlimited
Heavy Vinyl vol. 1

Book Review Catch Up Post Part 2: First Half of July 2018

Here are some of the things I read in the first half of July:

River of Teeth Book 1 by Sarah Gailey
Category: Adult
Genre: Alternate History
Published: May 2017
This is a short novella that takes an interesting what if idea and just runs with it. The result is a really fun and fast adventure story. Need to get my hands on the second book.
Rating: Four out of Five hippos (the reference will make sense when you read it)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Category: YA
Genre: Verse/Contemporary
Published: March 6th, 2018
Contemporary verse novel about a girl finding her voice through slam poetry. I liked most of it, but the ending with the mother left a lot to be desired for me. If it wasn't for that, this would be five whole stars from me, because it's beautifully written.
Rating: Four out of Five let down endings

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Category: Adult
Genre: Contemporary, literary fiction
Published: January 9th, 2018
Everyone and their mother has been raving about this book and honestly...I don't get it. Half of it was good, the other half...not so much. Also I was really not into the way it stereotyped people a lot.
Rating: Three out of Five side-eyes

Caraval Book 2: Legendary by Stephanie Garber
Category: YA
Genre: Fantasy
Published: May 29th, 2018
Oh Caraval, I have so many mixed feelings about this series. I gave the debut a four out of five, but after much reflection...I would probably rate it lower now. I enjoy this series, it's very readable and everything. There's nothing really bad in it...it's just not really good either. If you like it, I get it. I like it too. But...I also fully acknowledge that quality wise...it's not the best.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five generic, but enjoyable fantasy reads

American Panda by Gloria Chao
Category: YA
Genre: Contemporary
Published: February 6th, 2018
Cute and fluffy contemporary about a girl finding her way while dealing with controlling parents.
Rating: Four out of Five satisfying reads

Magic Misfits Book 1: The Magic Misfits by Neal Patrick Harris
Category: Middle-Grade
Genre: Contemporary/Adventure
Published: November 2017
Yes, NPH wrote a book. It was...just okay. The thing with middle-grade books is that there are two kinds: ones written with a general audience in mind...and one just written for tweens. This was written for tweens and they should be happy with it. I am not a tween, therefore, I was not really the target audience for the book.

Graphic novels read:
Generation X (2017) series (yes, the whole thing, I recently got a Marvel Unlimited subscription and have been putting it to use)
America Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez
Runaways (2017) Vol. 1

Modern Classic Review: The Woman in Black

TITLE: The Woman in Black
AUTHOR: Susan Hill
PUBLISHED: 1983
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Paranormal, Historical Fiction
PREMISE: A man goes an old mansion to discover it is haunted...
MY THOUGHTS: The Woman in Black is very old school ghost story du jour. I personally really enjoyed it. I believe I've mentioned I love ghosts here, well this is basically ghost story 101.
This is another book that I think is perfect for the summer. It's atmospheric, has a great creepy vibe, and builds suspense very nicely. As it's a novella, it moves very quickly, but it tells the story in a satisfactory way.
If you want a quick read that gives a nice spooky vibe for those summer thunderstorms, I highly recommend this classic ghost story.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of ghost stories, those that have seen the movie

Graphic Novel: The Prince and the Dressmaker

TITLE: The Prince and the Dressmaker
AUTHOR: Jen Wang
CATEGORY: Graphic Novel
PUBLISHED: February 13th, 2018
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Drama, Romanceish
PREMISE: A prince hires a dressmaker to make dresses...for them.
MY REVIEW: If there is one thing that first comes to mind about this graphic novel it is that the art is beautiful. The whole book is beautiful, actually. It's hardback, that cover really pops in it, and the art is gorgeous throughout.
Along with the gorgeous art, is a just plain adorable story. Sure, it wraps up neatly and a little too tidy. But sometimes, you just want a feel good story about people supporting one another. This book gives you that. Sure, Sebastian goes through crap in this to get their acceptance. But they get it eventually and it is beautiful when they do.
In short, I adored this one. It is a single story, so the entire story is in it. It's a really good one to read if you are new to this graphic novel thing. If you want a story that will just make you happy, I highly recommend this graphic novel.
WHO SHOULD READ: Historical fiction fans, Lumberjanes fans, A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five graphic novels that just make you happy

Book Review: Beloved

TITLE: Beloved
AUTHOR: Toni Morrison
CATEGORY: Adult
PUBLISHED: 1987
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Paranormal
PREMISE: A family lives in a place haunted by ghosts...
MY REVIEW: I know what some of you are thinking: You haven't read Beloved????!!!! No, I haven't, until now. Remember: Bible Belt education. Teachers only taught books by straight dead white guys in my school. So I've missed out on a lot of stuff as a result. Toni Morrison was one of those things.
Now having read Beloved, I get it. I really do. Her writing is fantastic. She also does not hold back. If you are squeamish about dark subjects, her books will probably not be for you. Her books (or at least Beloved. I haven't read the rest yet, but they now are all on my list) are brutal and honest. She also doesn't care if you get hurt feelings from her criticism of white people. As a result, this gives you a LOT to think about. Like all literature, to some extent, it covers a lot of topics (and sometimes does meander in the middle).
I wouldn't call Beloved an enjoyment read. It's way too dense and dark for that. I pretty much guarantee that at one point, you will be uncomfortable about something. But it is a good read, and one I will happily be pushing into the hands of anyone interested. Also, I especially recommend reading this, after reading Gone With the Wind. It's the perfect antidote for all the romanticizing that that book does.
WHO SHOULD READ: Toni Morrison fans, Maya Angelou fans, anyone interested
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five brutally good books

Reading Through the Classics: Gone With the Wind

TITLE: Gone With the Wind
AUTHOR: Margaret Mitchell
PUBLISHED: 1936
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Romanceish
PREMISE: Follow Scarlet O'Hara and her trials and tribulations as the South goes to war with the North.
MY THOUGHTS: I have...complicated feelings on Gone With the Wind. First, I'm going to address the elephant in the room: yes, this book is racist. Anyone tries to tell you it isn't, please side-eye them like hell for me. It absolutely is. I see all of you defenders about to go "but but but historical accuracy! That's why it's in there!" NO. If Mitchell cared about historical accuracy, she wouldn't have had a scene with black men leering at Scarlet in public. Guys, black men back then would never have done that. Because if you were a black man back then, and you so much as looked at a white woman wrong, you got killed. Racism is not in there because of historical accuracy. It is in there because Mitchell herself was more then likely racist. This was written in the thirties. Racism was a big thing back then.
Ultimately, that is what hinders this book for me. Mitchell's personal biases shine through like a beacon in this book. It makes an otherwise decent saga of a deeply flawed woman dealing with the stuff life throws at her the best way she can just tedious to get through. I am in the minority where I actually love the character of Scarlet. Yes, she is horrible. I won't lie to you and say she's actually secretly likable and you're just sexist or something if you hate her. No. She is an aggravating character and I one hundred percent understand if you don't like her. I am personally glad Rhett left her. But damn is she entertaining sometimes. Also, she's oddly inspiring at times, with how she goes on no matter what life throws at her. She endures. She's that character that I like, despite wanting to shake her half the time.
Writing wise, this book is not at all hard to get through. The writing is straight forward. The story is easy to understand. It's actually a very easy classic. It's just LONG and you have to have a lot of patience with it. You also have to mine through a lot of racism, and just willful ignoring of history that doesn't suit the author's worldview in it and believe me, that can get frustrating. There's a reason it took me two months to finish this. My best advice going into this is to have a lot of patience with it, because you will need it.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that don't mind dealing with racism in their classics, people with a lot of patience

The Big Giant End of the Year Wrap Up Part II

Continuing from yesterday, here are the books I've read (so far) this month. Tomorrow will be the beginning of my favorite of the year lists (yes lists, I divide them up because I can't choose just ten favorite books to talk about. I'm just not wired that way).

Books I read in December (so far):

TITLE: One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter
AUTHOR: Scaachi Koul
PUBLISHED: March 7th, 2017
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Essays
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Very interesting collection of essays. I can definitely see why this has been making the rounds.
MY RATING: Four out of Five

TITLE: Our Dark Duet
Monsters of Verity Duology
AUTHOR: Victoria Schwab
PUBLISHED: June 13th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Schwab delivers again with another amazing ending to a duology.  But it's probably zero surprise to any of you I loved this, lets face it: I'm Victoria Schwab trash and am here for anything she writes.
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five
RATING FOR SERIES: Four out of Five solid duologies

TITLE: Girls Made of Snow and Glass
AUTHOR: Melissa Bashardoust
PUBLISHED: September 5th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy, Retelling
RANDOM THOUGHTS: One of my favorite fantasy debuts this year. This one retold Snow White SO much better then Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (and didn't have girl hate going on either).
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five

TITLE: The Dire King
Book 4 in the Jackaby series
AUTHOR: William Ritter
PUBLISHED: August 22nd, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fantasy
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Okay ending. I felt it was rather rushed to be honest. But it ended it in  a satisfactory way so I don't feel too cheated.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five
RATING FOR SERIES: Four out of Five

TITLE: Wonder Woman-Warbringer
Book 1 in the DC Icons series
AUTHOR: Leigh Bardugo
PUBLISHED: August 28th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy/Superhero/media tie-in
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Solid take on Diana and what it might have been like for her as a teenager. If you're just coming into this from the movie: it completely ignores the movie. And honestly the comics continuity in general from what I can see. So I just see this as one of the many different AU Dianas out there.
MY RATING: Four out of Five

TITLE: The Gilded Years
AUTHOR: Karin Tanabe
PUBLISHED: 2016
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Solid historical novel. A bit predictable but otherwise not bad. Not sure how well it will do as a movie (it's been optioned for a film apparently) as a lot of the middle parts are rather dull. But we'll see.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five

TITLE: Hunger: A Memoir of My Body
AUTHOR: Roxane Gay
PUBLISHED: June 13th, 2017
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Memoir/Essays
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Amazing memoir from Roxane Gay. If you guys haven't checked out Bad Feminist yet, seriously do so.
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five

TITLE: Ash and Quill
Book 3 in the Great Library series
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLISHED: July 11th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian/Alternate History
RANDOM THOUGHTS: I am now completely caught up with series. This makes me happy but also sad because now I have to wait for the next book like everyone else...
MY RATING: Four out of Five

TITLE: Dear Martin
AUTHOR: Nic Stone
PUBLISHED: October 17th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary
RANDOM THOUGHTS: I wanted to love this. I appreciate what the author was trying to do...but ultimately....this was just okay. The writing style was not my favorite, there was way too much excusing white people for the shit we do (I'm white and I'm sorry stop excusing us, seriously. We need to be held accountable and called out on our shit. Otherwise I guarantee we will never change), and plot choices that bugged me here and there. Plus I tried not too, but I couldn't help but compare it to The Hate U Give and I'm sorry but The Hate U Give is ten times better in quality. It's not bad. It just....was not my favorite.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five

TITLE: Little & Lion
AUTHOR: Brandy Colbert
PUBLISHED: August 8th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Damn good contemporary book. I have to say, contemporary genre, you all knocked it out of the park this year. More then half of my favorite reads from this year have been contemporary reads which is pretty unusual for me.
MY RATING: Four out of Five

TITLE: Final Girls
AUTHOR: Riley Sager
PUBLISHED: July 11th, 2017
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Thriller/Horror
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Okay thriller. I could tell the author was trying to be subversive but they quickly fell into many regular tropes that happen in horror/thrillers such as weird hang ups on sex/slut shaming/women can't be friends nonsense etc. I am still side-eyeing the author like hell for his reasoning behind the female pen name.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five

TITLE: Wicked Like Wildfire
Book 1 in the Hibiscus Daughter series
AUTHOR: Lana Popovic
PUBLISHED: August 15th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy
RANDOM THOUGHTS: One of the most interesting magic systems I've come across. Beautifully written and I loved that most of it involved family and family history. It's just...terribly slow in the middle.
MY RATING: Four out of Five

TITLE: The Afterlife of Holly Chase
AUTHOR: Cynthia Hand
PUBLISHED: October 24rth, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Paranormal, Classic Book Referencing
RANDOM THOUGHTS: This book is best read when you're on that Christmas high like I was when I read it (I finished it around Christmas Eve as a matter of fact). It's like the best of those cheesy Christmas TV specials in book form and it's delightful.
MY RATING: Four out of Five

Book Review: Now I Rise

TITLE: Now I Rise
Book 2 in the Conqueror's Saga series
AUTHOR: Kiersten White
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: June 27th, 2017
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: Lada continues her quest for her homeland while Radu deals with a mission he was given...
MY REVIEW: And I Darken was a favorite of mine from last year and I have been looking forward to this sequel for some time. I am happy to say it did not disappoint. Normally, I am not a fan of dual perspectives. It's usually a gimmick and not necessary and frankly a lot of authors don't use the technique well. This is one of the few times, it is actually used well.
Lada and Radu are so different that I have no issue figuring out who's speaking (this is usually a big issue with dual perspective). I love these characters. They are complicated and messy and are just so interesting. Thanks to the dual perspective, we get two sides of the war the characters are in and it's so well done. I admit, I don't know much about the history that White is talking about here, but she explains it so well that I got the gist.
To sum it up: I loved this book. It's definitely one of the top books of the year for me. If you loved And I Darken, you'll love this. I cannot wait to read the next book. I am also fearful, because I have a feeling it's going to be a tissue box kind of book (especially if White sticks to history. I don't know much about this time period, but I do know Vlad dies).
WHO SHOULD READ: And I Darken fans, Game of Thrones fans, historical fiction fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five fangirl squees

Mini-Review Catch-Up Number 2

One of these again. I really do need to get better about this. I apologize.

TITLE: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
AUTHOR: Mackenzie Lee
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: June 27th, 2017
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Fantasyish
QUICK TAKE: Absolutely adored this one. It's a fun romp through historical Europe with a cast you pretty much fall in love with from the get go. There's apparently going to be another book focusing on Feliciy and I for one cannot wait. One of my favorites of the year for sure.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of My Lady Jane, those looking for fun LGBTQA books
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five happy sighs

TITLE: All the Lives I Want: Essays About My Best Friends Who Happen to be Complete Strangers
AUTHOR: Alana Massey
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
PUBLISHED: February 7th, 2017
GENRE: Essays
QUICK TAKE: Fun essay collection covering a variety of pop culture topics. There are even a few literary analysis essays in here. Including one that managed to put into words just how sexist the Virgin Suicides book is and why so much of that plot was just not okay.
WHO SHOULD READ: Essay fans, if you like opinion articles about pop culture
MY RATING: Four out of Five satisfied nods

TITLE: Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Book 3 in the PS I Love You Trilogy
AUTHOR: Jenny Han
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: May 2nd, 2017
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance
QUICK TAKE: Okay ending that ultimately...I kind of felt wasn't very necessary. It didn't solve any lingering plots that were left over or anything like that. Basically all it did was tell you things like yes, her dad gets remarried, you find out what college she's going too, that sort of thing. It ended things for sure...it was enjoyable. It was just ultimately...kind of pointless which pains me to say, because I adored the first two books.
WHO SHOULD READ: Super fans of the first two Lara Jean books, everyone else...it's no big deal if you miss this.
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five shrugs
RATING FOR TRILOGY: Four out of Five

Book Review: The Disappearances

TITLE: The Disappearances
AUTHOR: Emily Bain Murphy
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: July 4rth, 2017
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Magical Realism
PREMISE: A girl gets sent to a small town in the 1940s where people are losing things such as the ability to hear music.
MY REVIEW: This book is one of those many YA books that is a mixture of many genres. It's historical fiction first and foremost. But it's also mystery and also magical realism. Now, before you look at that magical realism part and go "oh, she hated it then", brace yourself: I actually didn't hate this one. Didn't love it. But didn't hate it either.
This is incredibly atmospheric, I highly recommend reading it for fall. It has a good spooky vibe to it. I will warn though: it's very slow. That's actually its major flaw, it takes way too long to get to the point. But I've noticed, that's kind of a thing with magical realism. There is some interesting stuff here. Character dynamics were great. People finding ways around the Disappearances was interesting. I just kind of felt the ending was...a tad anti-climatic.
So I have very mixed feelings. On one hand it's a good atmospheric historical mystery that's right up my alley. There are things to like about it. On the other hand: it's painfully slow and drags and I'm not sure the ending was really worth it. So...yeah, I say this is worth a library read to see if it's for you but that's about it.
WHO SHOULD READ: Historical fiction fans, magical realism fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five spooky feeling books

Book Review: The Underground Railroad

TITLE: The Underground Railroad
AUTHOR: Colson Whitehead
PUBLISHED: August 2016
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: Cora escapes her hellish life on a plantation along the underground railroad...
MY REVIEW: You very likely have already heard about this book. Chances are, you've already read it. Chances are, you already know if you want to read it or not. It's one of those books that has been everywhere, partly because the author apparently has been around awhile and because Oprah blessed the book by making it her book club pick last year.
Books that get this big can be very hit or miss for me. But luckily, this one turned out to be a hit. Once again I must point out: Oprah does get it right on her book picks sometimes. Not all the time (I wound up hating Love in the Time of Cholera) but a lot of the time. The writing in this book is phenomenal. The characters are fully fleshed out and if you don't wind up rooting for Cora by the end...I don't know what to say to you.
The historical research is top notch here, the story is powerful and memorable, the characters are great. Like, the only bad thing I can say about it is that it's a bit like Color Purple where all the constant hardship can sometimes feel draining. But also like Color Purple the character survives and becomes strong and it's just inspiring.
WHO SHOULD READ: Color Purple fans, Colson Whitehead fans, anyone inclined to read it
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five harrowing journeys that are worth it

Book Review: Wolf by Wolf

TITLE: Wolf by Wolf
Book 1 in the Wolf by Wolf Duology
AUTHOR: Ryan Graudin
PUBLISHED: 2015
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian/Alternate History
PREMISE: In a world where Hitler won WWII, a girl joins a dangerous race so she can dance with Hitler...and then kill him.
MY REVIEW: I can't believe I took this long to get to this book. It's one of those series I've been meaning to read for awhile because the premise just sounds amazing. But things happen, you know? But I'm getting to it now and I'm happy to say: it did not disappoint.
Graudin's writing is as fabulous as I remember it being in The Walled City. There is more then a bit of a Hunger Games-esque set-up, but the author makes it her own. I do wish we hadn't had the forced romance bit, but it's YA, what can you do? The ending is also a bit of a random cliff-hanger but it's a fitting sort of cliff-hanger if that makes sense...it probably doesn't. Sorry.
I personally, really loved this one. There are some issues, as there always are in YA, but for the most part, this book is a very strong and solid action-packed book. Will definitely be reading book 2 sometime in the future.
WHO SHOULD READ: Hunger Games fans, fans of The Walled City, fans of alternate history
MY RATING: Four out of Five motorcycles

Series Review: Flavia de Luce

SERIES: Flavia de Luce
ORDER OF BOOKS IN SERIES:
1) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
2) The Weed That Strings the Handman's Bag
3) A Red Herring Without Mustard
4) I Am Half Sick of Shadows
5) Speaking From Among the Bones
6) The Dead and Their Vaulted Arches
7) As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust
8) Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd
AUTHOR: Alan Bradley
PUBLISHED: between 2009-present
CATEGORY: Packaged and sold as adult fiction, I say it's middle-grade but what can you do?
PREMISE: In 1950s England, in a small town, a precocious girl solves mysteries using logic and a love of science.
MY REVIEW: So last year I finally sat down and read the first book of this series and promptly fell in love. Since then I've been playing catch up and after getting to the eighth book last month, I finally am caught up. I'm still very much in love with it too.
Flavia de Luce is sort of a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Miss Fisher pushed into the body of a tween. The result is a delightful main character. On top of Flavia is a colorful cast of family members, and small town characters, who are all very entertaining. Basically, it's like one of those BBC mystery shows in book form, starring a awesome little girl.
The last book left off at quite a place so I'm very eager to get my hands on the next book which is coming out in September.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sherlock Holmes fans, BBC mystery show fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five awesome main characters

Book Review: A Perilous Undertaking

TITLE: A Perilous Undertaking
Book 2 in the Veronica Speedwell series
AUTHOR: Deanna Raybourn
PUBLISHED: January 10th, 2017
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Mystery
PREMISE: Veronica Speedwell investigates a murder at the request of the mysterious Lady Sundridge...
MY REVIEW: The first book in this series was a surprise delight for me last year. I wasn't really expecting much from it when I randomly picked it up at the library, but it managed to get me and this second book was just as delightful.
We get more banter, some more backstory on Stoker, some general mystery solving hijinks and all the fun things that should come with historical mysteries. If you're hoping for romance to ignite between Veronica and Stoker....doesn't really happen much. But, there is still banter and chemistry so I say it's a good trade off.
From the looks of things, we have at least three more books in this series coming, and I have to say: I'm here for it.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first book, Parasol Protectorate fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five lady detectives

Book Review: Refuge for Masterminds

TITLE: Refuge for Masterminds
Book 3 in the Stranje House series
AUTHOR: Kathleen Baldwin
PUBLISHED: May 23rd, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Romance
PREMISE: The adventures of the Stranje House crew continues with Lady Jane Moore...
MY REVIEW: The Stranje House series is a personal favorite of mine so I was looking forward to this book quite a bit. It did not disappoint. It kept the plot up, we got to get more background on Jane this time, and the romance was rather sweet. There's not really much I can add without going into spoilers. Just going to say: if you liked the first two books, you'll like this one.
Personally, I felt like that ending was a good one for the series, but it looks like we're getting another book according to the author. But I honestly can't complain. As I said, this series is a favorite. So I say bring on more books.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that have read the first two books, historical romance fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five female spies

Book Review: The Pearl Thief

TITLE: The Pearl Thief
Prequel to Code Name Verity
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Wein
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: Before Code Name Verity, see Verity's years during peace time when she uncovers a mystery and tries to right wrongs...
MY REVIEW: You guys know I'm always up for an Elizabeth Wein book. Especially if she's doing another Code Name Verity book. This is a tad more light-hearted than most of Wein's books tend to be. At least to me. It's set during peace time for one. And it deals with a mystery instead of a war.
Now, it does deal with some heavy topics, such as racism towards the Romani people that went on during this time (and honestly, still goes on). there's also a nice surprise in Verity having a romance with a girl, confirming that she is indeed bisexual (the term bisexual is not used, but she's very clearly attracted to both men and women throughout the book). That was nice to see. The mystery was also interesting.
It wasn't totally what I was expecting. I was expecting much darker, but overall I definitely enjoyed it. It was a nice solid, historical mystery. If Wein decides to write more historical mysteries, I definitely would not be opposed to them.
WHO SHOULD READ: Code Name Verity fans, historical mystery fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five stolen pearls

Book Review: Yesternight

TITLE: Yesternight
AUTHOR: Cat Winters
CATEGORY: Adult
PUBLISHED: October 2016
GENRE: Historical Fiction/Magical Realismish
PREMISE: A young woman comes to a town to help children and discovers one child might be remembering a past life.
MY REVIEW: Why didn't I know Cat Winters had branched out into adult fiction? Seems very strange for me as I enjoy her books quite a bit. This is apparently her second adult book. Who knew. Everyone but me, I guess.
This is very much like Winters' YA books. It has top notch historical details, interesting plot that you don't see every day, and an interesting conclusion. What I love about Winters' stuff is she mixes real events in with her plots and her writing is very atmospheric.
As always, I enjoyed this one. The ending is not my favorite thing in the world. It ends rather abruptly. But overall, this was a very interesting read, as usual with Winters. Not my favorite of hers (so far, the best I've seen from her is A Steep and Thorny Way), but definitely memorable.
WHO SHOULD READ: Cat Winters fans, those that like spooky fiction
MY RATING: Four out of Five reincarnated lives

Book Review: Dreamland Burning

TITLE: Dreamland Burning
AUTHOR: Jennifer Latham
PUBLISHED: February 21rst
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Mystery/Historical Fictionish
PREMISE: A girl discovers a corpse in her back yard, and we jump between her life and the life of a man in the 1920s who has something to do with the murder of said corpse.
MY REVIEW: So some of you may recognize the name Jennifer Latham. A few years back she had a book called Scarlett Undercover that I expressed excitement for. Now, I did try to read Scarlett, but ultimately I had to DNF it. While the diversity was great the story....not so much. So I put it aside with a sad sigh. This book is entirely another story. The author not only has great diversity, she has a great mystery going on as well and even the writing has improved. I love it when authors improve like this.
There's a dual perspective going on in this, but this one actually a) is necessary (sorry, but most dual perspectives are usually not necessary), b) is done well. I can actually tell the difference between the characters. The historic research is also very evident.
In short, I loved this book. I went into it not expecting much and it managed to surprise me in a good way. I think this may wind up being a favorite of 2017.
WHO SHOULD READ: Jennifer Latham fans, historical fiction fans
MY RATING: Four out of five dual perspectives used well