The Witches of Bone Hill is a fast-paced, interesting story that moves way too quickly and has way too many moving parts going on at the same time to qualify for an easy recommendation. And yet it’s fun, just the right sort of thing to read as we enter the fall and Halloween looms. Real…
Are you ready to get witchy? Hex Education is a fun, snarky, fast-moving slice of fantasy fiction featuring one winning heroine and some fun twists on witch-related tropes. The leads are quite imperfect and their journey to self-acceptance is quite the interesting ride, but several crucial building blocks are missing from the narrative. Alicia, Katrina,…
The WWII time period is starting to feel a bit overused in fiction, but some stellar works set during this era are still being published. One such story is The Midnight News, a haunting tale that captures the essence of London during the heart of the fighting. It’s 1940 and Lottie (Charlotte) Richmond has built…
I have to grade Lessons at the School by the Sea on a curve, because it’s the third novel in a series, and I haven’t read the first two books. And while Jenny Colgan is a great writer and does manage to get across the different personalities of the students and adult characters, I felt…
The Blonde Identity is a whale of a good time, if a bit on the juvenile side. Snappy, action-packed, funny and well-plotted, it’s wonderfully entertaining summer fare that’s worth its weight in enjoyment. A woman awakens in the middle of a Parisian street and realizes several things at once. She has no idea who she…
One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the…
Do you believe in the power of cheese? I do, and yet The Hundred Loves of Juliet doesn’t do too bad a job of making its storytelling interesting. Unfortunately it crashes into stale predictability and empty angst. I know author Evelyn Skye was inspired by her own husband’s illness and their beautiful, intense romance. I…
Forever Hold Your Peace is a little too sitcom-y to be fully enjoyed as a novel. Or perhaps ts zaniness might work a little better as a full-length movie. As-is, it’s a just okay reading experience that you know you’ve experienced at least once before. Olivia and Zach are hoping for a nice, peaceful wedding…
Sally Brady was only eleven when her parents put her on a train headed to the west coast – back when her name wasn’t Sally Brady. She’s under strict orders to send money home to Iowa, to help support her sick mother, the dying farm, and her four siblings. It would be an enormous burden…
Esme Chill Fails Spectacularly suffers a little from its non-linear timeline, and a little bit more from its ordinary storytelling. But the end result is a perfectly readable book with some charming characters and a warm and pleasing narrative. Though it doesn’t reach a peak of greatness, it’s a nice book with some really delicious…
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