April 2018 Wrap Up

This is coming a couple of weeks late because I may have become a touch obsessed with the two fantasy books I've been writing. I'm not ready to share too many details but just a hint they deal with dragons and elves. The first is a twist on meeting a prince who is less than charming and his fall. The other, my baby right now, originally started as a Sleeping Beauty retelling that has now morphed into a tale of revenge and blood in four parts. So I'm obviously having a lot of fun. I can't wait to share them with the world!

So for a quick tally I read 6 books, 1 manual for a class on gun safety, and 1 sampler from an upcoming May release. The breakdown is 1 YA mystery, 1 YA Fantasy, 1 epic fantasy, 2 mystery/thrillers, and 1 mythology retelling. This brings my Goodreads count for the year to 39!

Below I have the six books and one sampler listed with information and my rating. There are some short reviews under each one. Be on the lookout for a future post detailing where I get my books! May's wrap up is going to be huge since we're not even two weeks in and I've finished 9 books. Oh boy. Have a great weekend!

Title: Truly Devious
Author: Maureen Johnson
Page Count: 432
Rating: B+
Format Read: Kindle
Genre: YA Mystery
Keywords: Sleuth, Anxiety, Murder
Kid Appropriate: Yes

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. "A place" he said, "where learning is a game."

Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym, Truly Devious. It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

My Review:

I really wanted to give this one a five star review. It is addicting, fun, and Stevie is a great protagonist. Her obsession with murder and solving crimes completely reminds me of myself as a teenager and I could empathize with her anxiety attacks as someone suffering with anxiety myself. The cast of supporting characters are not necessarily realistic but definitely memorable.

While I did have fun, there were parts of this story that just did not add up or felt unnatural to the progression of the story. I am not a huge fan of when characters or circumstances are so out of place that they temporarily jog you out of the story. It truly disrupts the reading experience. Despite this I fully intend to continue on in this series. Definitely check it out if you're looking for a fun, not too mentally taxing, murder mystery though.

I would recommend this one for fans of the Charlotte Holmes series (book 1 is A Study in Charlotte)

Title: Three Dark Crowns
Author: Kendare Blake
Page Count: 398
Rating: B
Format Read: Audiobook
Genre: YA Fantasy
Keywords: Sisters, Power, Trials
Kid Appropriate: Teen and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

My Review:

I just did not like this book. For the first two thirds I was bored and nearly DNF'd it a couple of times, never quite able to make myself really care about what happened to Mirabella, Katharine, or Arsinoe. They actually annoyed me most of the time. If I can't click with a character at all I have trouble keeping up with the story.

There was also the issue that I kept finding myself wanting more from this story than it was willing to give. Perhaps this is because I was listening to the audiobook, but I never felt like I got a clear image of anything and wanted to be more immersed in the world that I was.

So why did I not rate Three Dark Crowns lower? The writing was not bad by any means and the last third of the book did manage to capture some of my attention. I have seen on many other reviews that the first book is the least popular in the series and book two is much better. I probably will not be continuing on with this series though.

Title: The Emperor's Blades
Author: Brian Staveley
Page Count: 593
Rating: A+
Format Read: Kindle
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: Siblings, Assassins, Royalty
Kid Appropriate: Teen and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The circle is closing. The stakes are high. And old truths will live again...

The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy.

His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.

Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to an empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?

My Review:

So this was one of the books I snagged on a Kindle Daily Deal. I think I may have gotten it for $1.99. The prologue didn't really draw me in and I wasn't the biggest fan of the cover. It probably sat unfinished for a month before I picked it up again. Never have I been happier to give a book a second chance.

I LOVED this book. If any book I read this month can reduce me to a squealing fangirl, this is the one. To illustrate how much I love this book, I had a bolt in my tire and had to wait almost all day to get the tire replaced. Sitting in crowded waiting rooms and spending money unexpectedly are two things that should have had me freaking out. Instead, I was sitting there with a ridiculous smile on my face clicking away on my Kindle, NEEDING to know what happened next. 

Throughout this book we follow the three children of the emperor: Valyn, Kaden, and Adare. Valyn and Kaden are the primary perspectives that we read from though with Adare appearing less often. Initially, Valyn was my favorite (absolutely my newest book crush) with his chapters containing the most action and mystery that had me flipping through the pages. 

However, the development we see with Kaden and Adare's stories is a much slower burn. After dreading coming to their chapters in the beginning I found myself devouring their stories by the halfway point. And (not a spoiler) but that ending had me freaking out. Completely did not see everything wrapping up the way it did.

This book has everything. Totally unexpected mystery, supernatural elements, power struggles, politics, religion, a touch of romance that isn't overwhelming, even some adventure. Power through the slower beginning and you will not regret picking this one up.


Title: Our Kind of Cruelty
Author: Araminta Hall
Page Count: 288
Rating: C
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: Thriller
Keywords: Obsession, Kink, Murder
Kid Appropriate: Not at all

Synopsis from Goodreads:

This is a love story. Mike’s love story.

Mike Hayes fought his way out of a brutal childhood and into a quiet, if lonely life, before he met Verity Metcalf. V taught him about love, and in return, Mike has dedicated his life to making her happy. He’s found the perfect home, the perfect job, he’s sculpted himself into the physical ideal V has always wanted. He knows they’ll be blissfully happy together.

It doesn’t matter that she hasn’t been returning his emails or phone calls.
It doesn’t matter that she says she’s marrying Angus.

It’s all just part of the secret game they used to play. If Mike watches V closely, he’ll see the signs. If he keeps track of her every move he’ll know just when to come to her rescue…

A spellbinding, darkly twisted novel about desire and obsession, and the complicated lines between truth and perception, Our Kind of Cruelty introduces Araminta Hall, a chilling new voice in psychological suspense.

My Review:

I chose this as my Book of the Month. Creepy stories with possibly warped perceptions are some of my favorite reads. They make you think and leave your mind racing even after you've put the book down.

This one had a good start to it. You felt like you were inside Mike's mind and felt his mental state shifting further and further away from stability as he watched V. Unfortunately, this promising beginning fell a bit flat. The second half of the book drags on for far too long and the ending was just bleh. 

I don't regret reading it but wish I'd gone in with lower expectations. If you're interested in this sort of twisted story line I would recommend picking up You by Caroline Kepnes.

Title: Then She Was Gone
Author: Lisa Jewell
Page Count: 359
Rating: A
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: Mystery
Keywords: Missing children, family, obsession
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother's
golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie
disappeared, but Laurel has never given up
hope of finding her daughter.
And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.
Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age.
And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?
Who still has secrets to hide?

My Review:

Another choice I made for Book of the Month. This was a solid mystery novel that you can certainly predict parts of it easily enough but I was delightfully surprised to not be able to guess exactly how the elements I had figured would come about would wrap up. If you're looking for a mystery that focuses more on the family response than an investigative procedural pick this one up. 

Title: Furyborn (Chapter Sampler)
Author: Claire Legrand
Rating: B+
Format Read: Kindle
Genre: YA Fantasy
Keywords: Queens, angels, death
Kid Appropriate: Teen and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

The completed book will be hitting stores on May 22, 2018

Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Page Count: 394
Rating: B
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: Mythology retelling
Keywords: Greece, gods, witches
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

My Review:

My final Book of the Month pick. I did truly enjoy this book. If you are at all familiar with Greek mythology (whether from school or Rick Riordan) much of the story will be old news for you, but if you are unfamiliar with it then you won't feel completely lost at sea. The voice of our narrator, Circe, is slow. And I do not mean necessarily that it was a boring book. Rather, this story meanders along without a care to rush. If you're looking for a relaxing read this is the one.

Slight warning: Do be aware that rape is present in this story.