Fiction Archives - Page 8 of 32 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

The Beautiful

By Brookelorren on October 30, 2019October 30, 2019Leave a Comment

October has been an amazing month for new releases! I recently read Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful. I believe it is part of a duology. This story is set in New Orleans in 1872.

I originally didn’t have any interest in reading this book, because I wasn’t really interested in reading a “vampire book”. I don’t read a ton of paranormal type books (although I love the Shadowhunter books, they don’t really seem paranormal). At any rate, it wasn’t until I read the first couple of chapters when it was over at Bookish First that I decided that I wanted to read it. I really liked it.

Celine is escaping her past by moving from Paris to New Orleans. The local convent is putting her up for a while, which starts to cause problems when she’s invited to make a dress for Odette, who must have been quite the scandalous lady back in those days. There, she meets Sébastien Saint Germain, who is wealthy, but isn’t exactly a gentleman. They have an instant attraction, but it doesn’t look like they can be together.

People start ending up dead around the city, and a lot of them have some connection to Celine. So now the question is, what’s causing it? Can it be stopped? You’ll have to read the book to find out more.

The Beautiful was great for several reasons. First, I loved the characters. Celine is a strong girl who won’t be bullied and stands up for herself. She may have had some problems in her past, but I don’t really blame her for what happened. Bastien seems to be her perfect match, personality-wise. The other characters that surround them seem lifelike and have their own lives apart from Celine. We get to see glimpses of the villain throughout the story, but we don’t exactly find out who he is until the end. This book might need a reread at some point, just to be able to read it knowing who the villain is.

The setting is good too. I loved being immersed in New Orleans after the Civil War. There is a lot of French (and a handful of Spanish) used in this book. It’s generally easy to understand, although I’m a polyglot, so maybe I’m not the best person to ask about that. The characters discuss pop culture references of the day, including Les Misérables (which I’m currently about halfway through listening on audiobook). Reading this book feels like being transported to another time and place.

If you’re looking for a book that’s a little creepy and also has a little romance, you might like The Beautiful. Vampires aren’t a huge feature of this book, but that was okay with me. I suspect there will be more vampires in the second book of this duology, but I can’t be sure. October might be almost over, but there’s still one day left, and a little murder mystery can be read any time of year.

Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts, Oh My!

By Brookelorren on October 28, 2019October 28, 201928 Comments

Hello! Once again, it’s Top Ten Tuesday, where we talk about our favorite books! Today’s topic is “Halloween Freebie” but I don’t really celebrate Halloween. However, I noticed that this month, there have been a lot of creepy/Halloween type books that have come out, so I’m going to highlight some of the creepy/spooky/Halloween-ish type books that have been in my life.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted (as usual) by That Artsy Reader Girl!

So of course I start today’s list with a book that isn’t scary or creepy at all. Pumpkinheads is actually adorable. I was happy to read this in October, and I turned it in long before it was due because there’s a waiting list at my library for this book. This book does happen on Halloween, which is why I’m including it here.

Then there are creepy vampires. Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful isn’t overly vampiric, but there is death, paranormal creatures, and yes… a little bit of the whole vampire thing.

If you’re looking for creepy, then all the secret societies at Yale kinda fit the description. Ninth House is a book set at Yale and deals with a lot of these creepy Yale fraternities. If that wasn’t spooky enough, the main character sees ghosts. This book could potentially be triggering to some people, so if you’re wondering, you could check out some of the reviews, such as my Ninth House review.

The one “scary” book I read last year was Slasher Girls and Monster Boys. Like a lot of anthologies, some of the stories were better than others. There are a few of these stories that I will probably consider reading again.

Jodie Lynn Zdrock’s Spectacle features murder, a public morgue, and even a bad guy chasing down his would-be prey in the Catacombs of Paris. What can be more creepy than a murderer on the loose in the middle of an underground city full of the bones of millions?

Count Dracula can be a pretty scary guy, and in The Lady Rogue, the main characters go looking for his ring. There’s some evil magic in this book too.

All of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter books have werewolves, vampires, and sometimes even a ghost or two. They’re not exactly scary, but if you’re looking for paranormal, you might like them. Ghosts of the Shadow Market deals with characters from The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices, so I’d probably read this one after you read the other three series.

I’m not sure if And I Darken is really that creepy, but it is a gender-swapped retelling of Count Dracula’s story, and there is some impaling going on here.

Give the Dark My Love was just okay to me; however, this book does have necromancy, so if you’re looking for something creepy, then this book fits.

If you’re looking for a book that’s a little creepy, you might like The Devouring Gray. This book has a spooky forest, a creepy town where everybody seems to know each other and nobody seems to escape, and magical families.

So that’s all I have for this Top Ten Tuesday! Next week we’re going to talk about books that give off those fall vibes (even though the snow caused school to be cancelled today, so I’m not sure how “fall” like it is right now.

Song of the Crimson Flower

By Brookelorren on October 28, 2019October 28, 2019Leave a Comment

I recently had the privilege of reading Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao. I have to thank Bookish First and Philomel Books for the Advanced Reader Copy. If you’d like to get physical ARCs for review, it’s a great place. If you use referal code 56cf541090ca608b4 you can start earning free books and help me at the same time!

Song of the Crimson Flower was a beautiful book. Lan is in love with a boy, Tam, who seems reluctant to marry her (but he’s very romantic). Bao is an orphan boy who works for Tam’s father as a physician’s assistant. He’s been in love with Lan for years, but his lack of social status and shyness have made him reluctant to tell her.

After a brush with death reminds Bao of how short life is, he decides to tell Lan the truth. She harshly rejects him. After he runs away, Lan feels bad for how she treated him, but by that point, he’s been magicked into his flute. He has a body only if someone he loves touches him periodically. The only way for Bao to break the spell is for him to find someone to love him in return within two weeks.

I loved these characters. Bao is such a soft, squishy, cinnamon roll boy and I can’t help but want good things for him. Lan is a sweet girl too, although like everyone, she can sometimes make mistakes. There’s also an evil antagonist who’s the hero of her own story, along with other people that they meet along the way who have their own wants and desires. Ms. Dao does a wonderful job creating complex characters that you can’t help but love.

The setting was unique and complex. Song of the Crimson Flower is a companion to the Rise of the Empress series, which I have not read. My guess is that I would enjoy this book more had I read the other two books in the series, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of a Blazing Phoenix, first, but I didn’t. You don’t have to read the other two books to enjoy this one though. I suspect that the two other books in this series contributes to the lifelikeness of this setting.

The book has a good message to it. Don’t let society’s expectations cause you to be pushed into a lifetime of unhappiness. While you may think that you can figure out the ending just by reading the synopsis, there is a twist to it that I particularly enjoyed (but won’t give away here).

If you’re looking for a sweet love story in a beautiful fantasy setting, I highly recommend Song of the Crimson Flower. Although it was the first book I read by Julie C. Dao, it certainly won’t be the last. I will probably go read the other books in the series and read other books she writes in the future. The book hasn’t been released yet, but will be available on November 5th.

Ninth House

By Brookelorren on October 25, 2019October 25, 20192 Comments

So many amazing books have come out this month and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House is one of them! This is a book that can be read any time of year, but if you’re looking for something a little creepy in October, you might want to check out this one.

You may have heard stories about creepy secret fraternities over at Yale like Skull & Bones before. George Bush was a member and… was he involved in the occult? Ninth House takes the idea of creepy Yale fraternities and makes an awesome tale about it. It has ghosts, murder, and creepy fraternity magic.

Alex Stern sees ghosts. You might think that’s kinda cool, especially at this time of year, but for her, it nearly ruined her life. Before she learned to keep her mouth shut, people thought she was crazy. But it did land her at Yale, so there’s that. The Lethe House, or Ninth House that oversees all the other creepy fraternities, could really use her skills.

Still, Yale isn’t a picnic. Alex needs to keep up with her classes, along with her fraternity activities. It can be pretty stressful. When a girl is murdered, Alex decides to investigate–then discovers that there’s a lot of bad things going on at the campus.

There’s a lot of things to like about this book. Creepy fraternities? Yes! Bad guys getting what they deserve? Also there… well, kind of. This is Yale we’re talking about, and people with lots of money sometimes use that money to keep things quiet. There’s quite a few bad people in this book, and some of them do get what they deserve.

I love the character of Alex Stern. She’s had such a hard life, but she keeps on going. Ninth House doesn’t give you all the answers right away; you’ll want to keep on reading to find out what actually happened in her past. There are still a few unanswered questions by the end of the book. It looks like this book is a duology, so we’ll have the opportunity to find out what happens… in the next book.

The creepy Yale fraternity setting is great. There’s a map in the front, which I found useful, but the book does a great job bringing you into this world. I’ve never been to Yale, so it was a lot of fun being immersed into the life of another college.

This book does have some trigger warnings you should be aware of. There is sexual assault. Drugs. Murder. I didn’t think there was anything gratuitous, but your reading mileage may vary.

Overall, I really liked Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut, Ninth House. I do plan on reading the next book sometime after it comes out. If you’re looking for a creepy book for October, you might want to check this one out.

Pumpkinheads

By Brookelorren on October 24, 2019October 20, 2019Leave a Comment

I recently read Pumpkinheads, a graphic novel by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks. To be honest, I initially didn’t have interest in reading this book. I don’t really care for the title and I don’t read too many graphic novels. However, I’m really glad that I read it because it is cute and funny. It’s definitely worth five stars.

Josiah and Deja have worked at the pumpkin patch together for the past few years. Now they’re seniors in high school, and it’s their last night working together. They’re a little sad about it. Josiah is additionally sad because there’s a girl that works here that he has a crush on. The only thing is, he hasn’t been able to work up the nerve to talk to her for the past three years. Deja is about to make him change that.

The two spend the evening tracking down the girl of his dreams. Hilarity ensues, because this girl is not easy to find. Eventually, he does find her, but I won’t say what happens.

Pumpkinheads is appropriate for YA readers of all ages. Older middle grade readers might enjoy it also. I loved the two main characters. They have such a sweet friendship. The pumpkin patch setting is really cute too. There’s a map in the front of the book where you can follow their journey as they look for Josiah’s dream girl.

I loved the illustrations. I haven’t read a lot of graphic novels yet, but I enjoyed Faith Erin Hick’s style and would be interested in reading more books illustrated by her.

Pumpkinheads is the perfect October read if you’re looking for something that makes you think of Halloween but isn’t scary. I borrowed this book from the library, and there was a waiting list for this book. Happily, I got to borrow it before the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is upon us. I often read books several weeks (or more) before I get around to posting my review, but I wanted to make sure that I shared this excellent graphic novel with you while it’s still the season to read it. This is a quick read that I highly recommend. I’m passing it along to my boy to read before it’s due back at the library.

Across a Broken Shore

By Brookelorren on October 23, 2019October 23, 2019Leave a Comment

If you like historical novels set in the 20th century, I highly recommend Across a Broken Shore. I recently had the opportunity to read it (thank you to Netgalley and North Star Editions for the Advanced Reader Copy) and I thought it was fantastic.

Willa is an 18 year old girl in an Irish Catholic family in 1937. She has four older brothers, but since she’s the only girl, her parents expect her to become a nun (it’s tradition). The only problem is, she’s drawn to medicine instead. Her life changes after she meets a female doctor and she’s invited to become her medial assistant.

I love the setting in this book, which occurs in San Francisco during the Great Depression. Workers are building the Golden Gate Bridge; even then, men are clamoring to work there (even though the job is dangerous). Poverty is rampant; some people aren’t getting enough to eat. Although Willa’s family owns a tavern, she faces her own hardships. People don’t take women in medicine seriously. Parents feel like they can direct their children’s lives.

Willa is a great main character. She is torn between her family’s expectations and her own desires. On top of that, she feels guilt over an event that happened when she was twelve. She’s selfless and heedless of danger. Over the course of Across a Broken Shore, Willa learns to stand up for herself. She gains courage. I won’t tell you what her ultimate decision is, but for a while, I didn’t know which path she would take.

There is a little romance in this book. This is the 1930s, and Willa expects to go into a convent, so the book stays family-friendly. Across a Broken Shore is a YA book, although younger YA readers might not find the subject matter to be all that interesting.

Across a Broken Shore comes out on November 5th, but you can pre-order it now. If you enjoy books set in the Great Depression, books dealing with families and the pressures that they can put on you, or books about young ladies learning how to stand up for themselves in the world, this might be the book for you. I thought it was great.

The Bear and the Nightingale

By Brookelorren on October 17, 2019July 24, 2019Leave a Comment

Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale is a story that reminds me of cold winter nights in front of a fire — which is why, after reading this book in April (when we were still receiving snowstorms in Colorado) that I thought it probably wouldn’t be a great idea to publish this review in July. This is a cold-weather tale.

The Bear and the Nightingale is set in early Russia, which is what drew me to the story in the first place. Some of the characters and places in the story were real, and the folklore is distinctly Russian as well, allowing you to immerse yourself into the life of an early Russian boyar family (boyars were wealthy landowners). Despite the characters being wealthy for their day, compared to the modern day, it feels very rural and peasant-like.

Vasilisa is the youngest daughter of one of these boyars, but she’s not like the other girls. She has the ability to see and communicate with the spirit world. She’s not interested in the two main career options available for young ladies at the time: marriage or life as a nun.

Her stepmother rejects the old folk religion in favor of Russian Orthodox Christianity. When a new priest comes to the village, he convinces the villagers to give up their old ways and to stop paying homage to the old spirits. This ends up having disastrous affects on the village. People end up blaming Vasilisa. She has to decide exactly what she wants, even if it means she has to risk even her life to get it.

The Bear and the Nightingale has this beautiful fairy-tale quality to it. It has the slow pacing of a medieval villager’s life, with gorgeous prose that evokes a life vastly different than our own. Yet, amongst the superstition and the harsh realities of village life, there’s the shining Vasilisa, who has the kind of determination and strength that was probably rare to see in that era.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for a book that will evoke a long ago era, with a strong female character fighting a system built by overbearing men, you might like this book. It’s the kind of book that you want to read while sitting next to a fire while the snow softly falls outside the window.

While I thought the book was beautiful and I loved the main protagonist, it’s not a book I’m likely to gush about for the next several years. Still, I enjoyed it enough that I’d like to read the second book — probably sometime after the snows start falling again this winter.

War Girls

By Brookelorren on October 7, 2019October 6, 2019Leave a Comment

I recently read War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi. An advanced reader copy was provided to me by Bookish First and Razorbill in exchange for an honest review (thank you!). Bookish first has a great program for getting physical ARCs. If you join and use referral code 56cf541090ca608b4 then you’ll help me get free books (and start earning free books for yourself too). Anyway, I liked this book, although the beginning was a little difficult for me.

Onyii and Ify are girls living in 2172 in Biafra, which is located in Africa near Nigeria. They are part of a group of girls hiding out from the Nigerians in a country that’s at war. Most of these girls have seen combat before, and Onyii has already lost her arm. When their camp is discovered, their lives are changed forever. Onyii and Ify, who were like sisters at the beginning of the book, spend the next several years apart.

What I Really Liked

War Girls is a compelling story. It’s actually inspired by an actual war that happened in Nigeria in the 1960s, which makes it even more interesting. I liked the characters of Onyii and Ify, and thought what happened to them was pretty tragic. They’re pretty strong characters, which draws me to them. The setting is unique, and it gives us a glimpse into the future which I hope won’t come to pass (although it’s unlikely that even the youngest of us will live to see it). The ending of the book was especially good, and makes me want to read the sequel when it comes out.

What I Liked Less

Familiarity tends to make a book easier to read. This is why I really enjoy books where I have things in common with the characters, whether it’s music, computers, or even snippets of a language I’m learning. Unique settings are cool too, but when things are too unfamiliar, it can be difficult getting into the book. The first couple of chapters of Carve the Mark were difficult for me the first time I read it because their society was so different (although with the vocabulary used).

I don’t know much about the Nigerian civil war. When the characters started throwing around terms like Biafra, Fulani, Igbo, and oyinbo, I get a little lost. I’m actually still not sure about all of these terms. While I’m trying to learn these new terms, there are a lot of characters I need to meet. It was a little overwhelming. Once everything became more familiar to me, the book picked up speed, but there was a little bit of a learning curve to this book.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a book with badass girls in a unique setting (just look at the cover!), then you might want to pick up a copy of War Girls. However, because the setting is truly unique (unless you know a lot about Nigeria and/or it’s history) it may take a while to really get into the book. War Girls will be released on October 15th, but you can pre-order it at Amazon.com now.

The End and Other Beginnings

By Brookelorren on October 4, 2019October 4, 2019Leave a Comment

We finally got to October! The month itself isn’t particularly special to me; but it is the month that many of my most-anticipated books get released. The End and Other Beginnings was one of those books that I just had to have. It is a collection of six stories; three of them were published previously. Since these six stories vary, I will be reviewing all six stories separately.

Inertia

I first read “Inertia” in Summer Days and Summer Nights (link is to my review). I still love that story about as much as I did the first time I read it. This story will probably get the most rereads in this anthology. It’s a story about a girl whose former best friend is dying and they realize what they mean to each other.

The Spinners

“The Spinners” is a story about sisters. It’s also a story with aliens in it. I liked it, but not quite as much as “Inertia”.

Hearken

“Hearken” is a story where people naturally have a song, and these people called hearkeners are able to hear these songs. For some reason, hearkeners are revered in society. This is a world where evil people will set off bio-bombs in order to hasten the apocalypse. It had an interesting end.

Vim and Vigor

“Vim and Vigor” was a pretty cool story about friendship. Four friends bonded years ago over a group of female superheroes. Things happened, as some friendships do, and their friendship just isn’t the same. The ending was pretty sweet. If I was to rank the stories in The End and Other Beginnings, this one would be close to the top.

Armored Ones

“Armored Ones” contains two stories from the Carve the Mark universe. One is from Teka’s point of view, the other one is from Akos’s. While I knew there would be stories about Akos and Cyra in this book, I was kind of hoping that there would be stories that took place after The Fates Divide.

The Transformationist

“The Transformationist” is another story that takes place in the Carve the Mark universe, although it primarily takes place on Zold, with new characters. I enjoyed seeing a different part of the universe. The familiar planets and concepts brought me happiness.

While the last two stories take place in the Carve the Mark Universe, you can probably enjoy the story without reading the duology.

At 256 pages, The End and Other Beginnings was a quick read. I really liked it, and I’m sure I’ll be reading these stories again in the future. Three of these stories were previously published, so if you already have the original anthologies, you might be less inclined to get this book. If you haven’t read the Carve the Mark duology, you might still enjoy the last two stories, but you’ll appreciate them more if you’re familiar with that universe. At $15 for a hardback, it might not be worth the money if you already have her stories in previous anthologies and haven’t read Carve the Mark, but since I don’t have her previous anthologies and did read her duology, it was worth it to me.

Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World

By Brookelorren on October 3, 2019October 3, 2019Leave a Comment

Over the summer, my boy and I listened to Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World by Scott McCormick. This Audible Original contains four entertaining stories about rivals whose feuds changed the way we live in the world today. All four stories were different, and it’s likely that you’ll learn something from this book.

The four stories in this book were as follows:

Cope vs. Marsh – these two rivals tried to become the most celebrated paleontologists in the land. They weren’t afraid to play dirty either. In their rush to be the best, some of their discoveries introduced confusion into the scientific world. But they did discover dinosaurs.
Queen Elizabeth vs. Mary Queen of Scots – their rivalry determined the fate of England. If Mary Queen of Scots (who sounded like a Valley Girl in this audiobook) had one, the country would have become Catholic, and history would have changed.
Adidas vs. Puma – This shoe rivalry split a town and created the sports industry we know of today. In this book we find out why Adidas has a three-stripe logo, how it got its name, and other interesting tidbits that you never knew you wanted to know about the shoe industry.
Hamilton vs. Burr – You may know that Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. In this story, you’ll learn all you wanted to know about duels (probably), some interesting political facts, and that Burr probably wasn’t the bad guy we think he is.

Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World was entertaining and well-acted. There were sound effects that added to the drama and comedy. This book might not be too exciting for younger kids, but it is entertaining for upper Middle Grade/Lower YA listeners. Even though its intended audience is younger, there’s enough interesting facts to make this entertaining for adults too.

If you’re an Audible member, I wouldn’t waste a credit on this book, unless you get an amazingly sweet deal on credits. The book is less than $5 (at least for Audible members). This is a book I’d recommend for listening to in the car with your kids.