I read a boatload of books for April’s book review selection, but some just didn’t make the cut. Usually, this would be my A-Z’s Z post, but I decided to read more books for the challenge instead. These books, I read so fast, especially series starters, that it was a lot like speed dating. LOL. Here are the reviews, in no particular order.
About the Book
The Questing Beast by Ilona Andrews
On a world far far away, where cute things eat computers and the sky is emerald green, a small team of scientists struggles to save the planet and their own careers by mixing genetic engineering and Arthurian legend. Too bad they had forgotten the first rule of planet exploration: Nature always has the last laugh.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
Not what I was expecting – more science that fantasy.
DNF 31%
About the Book
Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter
She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.
If anyone had told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.
Her father was right. The monsters are real.
To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.
My Review
Alice always thought her dad wasn’t playing with a full deck – never allowing them outside after dark, always eating dinner early so they can be in their reinforced bedrooms that no-one can break into before sundown, and patrolling the house with his gun. Until her sixteenth birthday when he relented and they all went to her little sister’s ballet recital – which ended after dark. Turns out, the monsters are real.
There’s a lot to like about this book. Her grandparents are so sweet, trying to learn slang so they can relate to her, grilling the boys she goes out with about their intentions and future plans, and just loving her unconditionally.
Kat is the best friend that somehow always knows exactly what to say or do – because she has secrets and pain of her own.
As for the guys… They look like an ad for bad boys (tats, scars, bruises, a don’t-care-what-you-think-of-me attitude, and loads of muscle), but they are the sweetest guys who need to be as tough-as-nails to fight the evil in the world night-after-night. There are even kick-ass girls in the group.
There’s the usual high school drama, but it has a lot more layers – like the world only some can see and protect others from.
I liked that it was a spiritual battle – the slayers having to leave their bodies in order to fight on the spirit realm with the evil zombies. I also liked that it’s good vs evil with no wiggle-room. I liked the layers of complexity there as well as the fact that Alice and Cole aren’t ashamed of saying they go to church every Sunday, and Alice actively prays during her battles with zombies. There’s also no swearing in the book.
Cole is the perfect bookboyfriend in so many ways.
Alice grows so much, learns so much about herself, grieves in her own way, and knows what she wants and goes for it.
There are slight references to “Alice in Wonderland”, mainly the chapter titles, the cloud rabbit in the sky (sometimes holding a watch), Alice asking more questions than one person can answer, the opening scene on where Alice and her sister sit on the grass while she makes a flower crown for her little sister, and the club is named “Hearts”.
A wonderful, slightly scary, book I read in one sitting – I couldn’t put it down.
About the Book
Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2) by Gena Showalter
Zombies stalk the night.
Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls.
Sadly, they’ve got mine…
Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.
After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.
She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend, Kat, at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole’s secret and learn to fight the darkness.
But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they’re all doomed.
My Review
A vision shared with a slayer who happens to be a man-whore makes Cole act irrational and ignore Ali – getting her injured and then he dumps her because of what might happen. Both Cole and Ali act irrational, silly and aggressive for no reason. Unlike the first book in the series, this book doesn’t flow or have the same kind of draw. I’ve found myself putting the book aside because the characters irritated me…
DNF 18%
DNF series
About the Book
Tithe (Roses Red Trilogy #1) by Chani Lynn Feener
Cursed with the sight and torn between forbidden loves, she will make the ultimate sacrifice.
Arden Archer is cursed: she can see the Unseelie fae. It’s a gift that sends the women of her family to an early grave. The only way to break the curse is to offer herself up as the Tithe. Every seven years, the faerie regents pit cursed humans against one another, offering salvation to both parties.
This year, Arden is one of those human competitors–a Heartless–and with the help of Unseelie Mavek Midnight, she intends to win. That is, until Eskel arrives, unearthing secrets and planting doubt. Can Mavek be trusted? Is there more to the Tithe than what Mavek had told her?
Torn between the Unseelie regent she’s loved and a human boy with a dark past, Arden must discover the truth before All Saints’ Eve, or risk losing her soul to a beautiful monster.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
It started well with interesting worldbuilding and fae politics. Then it sort of fell apart with repetitive scenes, inner dialogue and thoughts of the past instead of getting on with the story. Even the end is muddled with dragged out explanations.
The good points: Arden can see the fae, believes there’s a curse on her family which eventually drives them insane, and makes a deal with the fae to remove the curse for her sister’s sake (her mum had committed suicide). She’s ready to be all noble about fighting others to be the tithe and save her family.
The weird points: despite all that, knowing the rules state that she’s not allowed to fall in love, she falls for the faery prince and then for some awkward reason, a new guy in town. To make things even more awkward, one of her opponents is her ex.
There’s an interesting story beneath it all, but all the manipulation from Mavek the faery prince and the lies from the new boy in town, doesn’t a romance make.
DNF series
About the Book
Trust the Wolf (Shift #1) by Zoe Ashwood
You never forget your first wolf.
Emilia’s first encounter with Jason is memorable: it’s not every day you see a stranger change into a wolf. Her attraction to him is undeniable, but the secret he shares shakes the foundations of her life.
Jason’s need for Emilia unnerves him. It’s his job to report shifters without proper ID, yet he can’t make himself do it this time. The decision bites him in the tail when he discovers exactly who she is. He must keep his distance—or there will be hell to pay.
Their fates entwine when rogue shifters learn of Emilia’s identity and will stop at nothing to get to her. Emilia and Jason will have to fight together or risk losing everything.
But most of all? Emilia must learn to trust the wolf.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
The setting didn’t draw me in, but I decided to keep reading. The assault, thankfully stopped, made me nauseous, but I decided to see what happens – there has to be a reason, right? And then the – reminiscent of Twilight scene – the guy strips down and shifts into a wolf. Yeah, I’m not feeling this story. There’s also a lot of swearing.
I read chapter 1 then DNFed.
DNF series
About the Book
Frivolous Magic (Chantilly Lace #1) by Kimbra Swain
When Lacey finds a trunk full of magical tomes in her attic, she just assumes that it’s all fun and games.
You know what happens when you assume?
Chantilly Lace Ashcraft is a typical college student who is trying to define herself in this big world. While dabbling with the spells from her attic books, she draws more attention than she ever expected. A robed figure who calls himself, Ajax, warns her that her magic use is going to get her in trouble. He offers to help, but wary of the mysterious man, Lacey rejects his offer.
Lacey can’t stop using the spells once she learns more about her ability. When she saves a friend from certain death with that magic, she finds out that Ajax was right. They come for her. All of them.
Lacey’s focus turns from passing geology to running for her life. Is Ajax friend or foe? Does she have enough knowledge to save herself? How are her closest friends involved? To what lengths will her enemies go to contain or siphon her power?
Frivolous Magic is book one in the Chantilly Lace Series by Kimbra Swain. It’s a New Adult magical adventure based in the south.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
So much backstory/info dump about everyone sitting around the table. Yawn.
DNF 5%
DNF series
About the Book
Wicked Magic (The Royals: Witch Court #2) by Megan Montero
They all fear my power…they should.
Finding out I’m a witch was a shock. But now that I’m in the world of Evermore I’ll do anything to protect it even if that means dying…
The evil King Alataris has stolen my mother, my life, and now he’s taken something that could unleash hell on earth. With a powerful Ice Dragon under his every command there is no telling where he will strike next. The Witch Queens have been tasked with saving Evermore. The only problem? The others fear the wild, powerful nature of my magic and sometimes so do I!
The only one who can help me contain it is my protective Knight, Tucker Brand. But even he has his own set of secrets. My feelings for him are overwhelming and strictly forbidden, if we give into the fire we share for even a moment we will lose everything.
When it comes time to take back what Alataris has stolen we set out on our most perilous mission yet. To save the Dragon and Evermore before it’s too late. If we fail, the world as we know it will come to an end…and all will be lost for Evermore.
Featuring a badass heroine, forbidden romance, and magic you’ll hope was real, fans of The Percy Jackson Series, Twilight, or the Archana Chronicles will love Megan Montero’s brand-new urban fantasy series!
Pick up Wicked Magic and join the magical world of Evermore today!
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I’ve waited a while to finally continue this series as I like the worldbuilding. Unfortunately, the missing punctuation (especially commas), the typos (e.g. “ladder” instead of “latter”) and consistency issues (e.g. “running around the tent” when they were inside the building’s infirmary) just started to work on my nerves as it pulled me from the story. (A good AI editing program like ProWritingAid would have caught most of these issues and fixed it.) As for Tucker, why is he still lying to her?
It seems I need to binge a series from start to finish, or things like this irritate me enough to DNF the series, despite the things I like.
DNF 14%
DNF series
You can read my review of book 1 here.
About the Book
A Deal with the Elf King (Married to Magic #1) by Elise Kova
The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.
Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella’s village to be their Human Queen.
To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she’s dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town’s only healer.
That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives… for her.
Everything Luella had thought she’d known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.
The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another… but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.
A Deal with the Elf King is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone, as well as Beauty and the Beast, with a “happily ever after” ending. It’s perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I really like romantasy. But this book has missing words, missing commas, and so much dialogue without getting to know the heroine first (besides that she’s a healer or herbalist or apothecary) that the worldbuilding takes precedence over characters. I’m not feeling it.
DNF 5 %
DNF series
About the Book
Ash Princess (Ash Princess Trilogy #1) by Laura Sebastian
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.
For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.
Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield.
For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.
My Review
I liked the premise, but the story drags along in back flashes and pain and humiliation for longer than I can bear. Also, there’s not enough about the heroine to bond with – and misery doesn’t count. I’m not feeling it. I get that a siege, conquering, etc. takes its toll, but it’s just too much at once when the full loss is finally revealed to the heroine – and she suddenly wants to do something about it (after inaction and not really feeling anything for ten years) which makes it a little unbelievable.
DNF 15%
DNF Series
About the Book
Rivers of London (Rivers of London #1) by Ben Aaronovitch
Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
The magical world is interesting, especially where and how it intersects with police work. I liked the descriptions of the world as it made me feel like I’m in London.
But… The MC telling the reader how he wants to get into the pants of another cop and how she’s polite enough not to mention his erection – wish he was polite enough not to mention it, either. Keeping a dog locked in a car is criminal. The language at places is cringe-worthy. And throwing a baby out of/through a window… I’m not going to be able to get that awful image out of my head. Though what made me DNF was the gaps in narrative. How did they catch the killer? One moment he ran past them and the next he was in the morgue.
There’s potential here, but the whole harming a baby like that is just crossing the line.
DNF 19%
DNF series
About the Book
Moonless (Maiden of Time #1) by Crystal Collier
MOONLESS is Jane Eyre meets Supernatural.
In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor’s estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world—especially later when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night.
Among the many things to change for her that evening are: her physical appearance—from ghastly to breathtaking, an epidemic of night terrors predicting the future, and the blue-eyed man’s unexpected infusion into her life. Not only do his appearances precede tragedies, but they are echoed by the arrival of ravenous, black-robed wraiths on moonless nights.
Unable to decide whether he is one of these monsters or protecting her from them, she uncovers what her father has been concealing: truths about her own identity, about the blue-eyed man, and about love. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with the man of her dreams and risk becoming one of the Soulless.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I’ve wanted to read this book for quite a while. I was able to look past the weird word choices (some clearly from a thesaurus to minimise repetitive words, e.g. ‘conveyance’ instead of ‘carriage’ for a third time on a page), but I had no idea what was going on or really who the heroine is to bond with her (which would have made the rest a discovery worth bearing). Also, too many blocks of italics. I had a problem with the italics as it messes with my eyes and head, making it difficult to read and enjoy the book. Authors and publishers: please consider the neurodivergent when making decisions about italics so books are accessible to all.
DNF 12 %
DNF series
About the Book
First Dreams (In Her Dreams #0.5) by Joanna Reeder
Emily’s history with memory dreams goes back several years. They’ve changed her in many ways, but she was once a more carefree girl. Experience her very first dreams with her. See how she was like before the dreams began to affect her life. If you loved In Her Dreams, you are sure to enjoy this short prequel story about Emily’s first dreams in… First Dreams!
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
A strange collection of dreams that the MC has in the POV of other girls. Not sure what’s going on, except she has some sort of psychic power. Must make more sense if read with/after the novels set in the same world?
About the Book
Dante & Calliope (A Shifter Academy Story) by Joanna Reeder
I got this as part of the free stories with the author’s newsletter. Check out the series here.
My Review
A very “Romeo and Juliette” tale about shifters – and for some reason loads of italics in the narrative accompanying it. I had a problem with the italics as it messes with my eyes and head, making it difficult to read and enjoy the book. Authors and publishers: please consider the neurodivergent when making decisions about italics so books are accessible to all.
Not really sure what to think of it.
About the Book
Year One (Chronicles of the One #1) by Nora Roberts
It began on New Year’s Eve.
The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed–and more than half of the world’s population was decimated.
Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river–or in the ones you know and love the most.
As word spreads that neither the immune nor the gifted are safe from the authorities who patrol the ravaged streets, and with nothing left to count on but each other, Lana and Max make their way out of a wrecked New York City. At the same time, other travelers are heading west too, into a new frontier. Chuck, a tech genius trying to hack his way through a world gone offline. Arlys, a journalist who has lost her audience but uses pen and paper to record the truth. Fred, her young colleague, possessed of burgeoning abilities and an optimism that seems out of place in this bleak landscape. And Rachel and Jonah, a resourceful doctor and a paramedic who fend off despair with their determination to keep a young mother and three infants in their care alive.
In a world of survivors where every stranger encountered could be either a savage or a savior, none of them knows exactly where they are heading, or why. But a purpose awaits them that will shape their lives and the lives of all those who remain.
The end has come. The beginning comes next.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
It starts out promising: a stone circle, blood sacrifice unwittingly made on the last day of the year, talk of an old prophecy. But then it’s all symptoms of plague (trigger warning for vomiting and diarrhoea), jumping POV from the man to his wife to his paramedic to the next… Probably some omniscient narrator stuff, too. Yeah, I need to bind with a character, not a disease.
DNF 5%
DNF series
About the Book
VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
Lucky St. James, a Métis millennial living with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella, is barely hanging on when she discovers she will be evicted from their tiny Toronto apartment. Then, one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. Burrowing through a wall, she finds a silver spoon etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM, humming with otherworldly energy.
Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.
Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo’s network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power.
But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He’s Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.
To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning…or remain underground forever.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I liked the prologue. The premise intrigued me. The worldbuilding is interesting. But the profanity and use of the Lord’s name as an expletive is unnecessary and unacceptable.
DNF 10%
About the Book
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Between life and death there is a library.
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.
The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.
Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I was looking forward to reading this as the premise intrigued me. But the dead cat and Nora’s depression is just way too triggering.
DNF 8%
About the Book
Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
In this game, even winning can be deadly…
Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it—teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy’s sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.
Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it’s naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way—a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.
When they’re alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn’t give her what she asks for, what she deserves, she’s going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another.
To protect herself and her family and save the life she’s built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game, matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets. Amy knows the consequences if she can’t beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.
A diabolically entertaining tale of betrayal, deception, temptation, and love filled with dark twists leavened by Joshilyn Jackson’s trademark humor, Never Have I Ever explores what happens when the transgressions of our past come back with a vengeance.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
It had a promising premise, but the language and the things the story focused on didn’t work for me.
DNF 25%
About the Book
Shunned (Kings of Miskatonic Prep #1) by Steffanie Holmes
I should have kept my mouth shut.
I should have let them win.
Now the kings of the school are out for my blood,
… and they’re not the only ones.
The fire took everything.
My parents. My best friend. My life.
Now I have a second chance.
I only have to endure one year at this prestigious academy for rich snobs.
One year of being the charity case no one wanted.
One year of taunts and insults and bullying. Then I’m free.
But I didn’t count on Trey, Ayaz, and Quinn.
Arrogant, privileged, dangerous.
Drop-dead fucking gorgeous.
They want me gone.
They want me to suffer.
They’re determined to make my nightmares real.
Tough luck, bully boys – I won’t hide away.
I’m not afraid.
But maybe… I should be.
HP Lovecraft meets Cruel Intentions in this dark paranormal reverse harem bully romance. Warning: Not for the faint of heart – this story of three broken bad boys and the girl who stood her ground contains dark themes, crazed cultists, books bound in human skin, high-school drama, swoon-worthy sex, and potential triggers.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I usually enjoy this author’s books and though this one has interesting worldbuilding, the use of “dreads” and “dreadlocks” instead of “locs” is something that didn’t read right as other fiction has shown the latter to be the accepted term, and especially without a clear reason why the heroine would have them (her name could belong to any ethnicity and class) so I didn’t have a clear image of who I’m supposed to bond with (everyone else were clearly described). Add to that the crass blasphemy… Yeah, I’m not feeling it.
DNF 14%
DNF series
About the Book
Unnatural Magic (Unnatural Magic #1) by CM Waggoner
Onna can write the parameters of a spell faster than any of the young men in her village school. But despite her incredible abilities, she’s denied a place at the nation’s premier arcane academy. Undaunted, she sails to the bustling city-state of Hexos, hoping to find a place at a university where they don’t think there’s anything untoward about providing a woman with a magical education. But as soon as Onna arrives, she’s drawn into the mysterious murder of four trolls.
Tsira is a troll who never quite fit into her clan, despite being the leader’s daughter. She decides to strike out on her own and look for work in a human city, but on her way she stumbles upon the body of a half-dead human soldier in the snow. As she slowly nurses him back to health, an unlikely bond forms between them, one that is tested when an unknown mage makes an attempt on Tsira’s life. Soon, unbeknownst to each other, Onna and Tsira both begin devoting their considerable talents to finding out who is targeting trolls, before their homeland is torn apart…
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
First: big blocks of italics. Second: info dump.
DNF 2%
DNF series
About the Book
Horse Crazy (Saddle Club #1) by Bonnie Bryant
Carole Hanson and Stevie Lake have been best friends ever since they met at Pine Hollow Stables. So when Lisa Atwood joins their riding group, the girls aren’t sure she’s got what it takes. Lisa may be the smartest student in the classroom, but she’s got a lot to learn when it comes to horses…
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
Yeah, Stevie missed the point her mother made and is going to do exactly the opposite. A bit of a brat. No thanks.
DNF 7%
DNF series
About the Book
Unicorn Seasons by Janni Lee Simner
A unicorn for every season.
From a mythical time before the winds were fixed to the corners of the earth to a present-day forest where unicorns are not—quite—extinct, this ebook collection by acclaimed fantasy writer Janni Lee Simner brings together four magical tales about unicorns and the humans who are forever changed by them.
In Lost or Forgotten, a unicorn sacrifices his mortality for the woman he loves, leaving their descendants to mourn the loss. When sisters Sara and Amelia hear the trees calling to them one spring night, they have to decide whether to take on an ancient sorrow—or accept an ancient magic.
In Unicorn Season, Megan’s small-town summer turns more interesting when a local boy offers to help her find unicorns in the nearby mountains. But why is Josh so interested in the elusive creatures? Megan may not know as much about unicorns—or Josh’s motives—as she thinks.
In Tearing Down the Unicorns, Stacey is furious when her older sister tears the unicorn posters from their walls. Then she sees a real unicorn dancing in the autumn night, and she discovers there’s more to the mythical creatures than those rainbow-and-butterfly bedecked pictures show—and more to herself, as well.
In Windwood Rose, Miranda has been haunted all her life by strange music and uneasy dreams. When a unicorn appears in the snow one winter afternoon, it may have the answers she longs for. But will it be willing to give her all that she seeks?
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
The first story had lots of blocks of italics, but the story was interesting. I had a problem with the italics as it messes with my eyes and head, making it difficult to read and enjoy the book. Authors and publishers: please consider the neurodivergent when making decisions about italics so books are accessible to all.
The second story’s MC is such a brat not even glimpsing a unicorn is enough reason to stick around.
DNF 22%
About the Book
I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell
The author of the “clever, atmospheric, and creepy” (Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon returns with a sly and addictive new mystery about an advice columnist searching for answers about her predecessor’s murder.
Alex Marks’s move to New York City is supposed to be a fresh start. She plans to lay low with her mundane copywriting job but the news of the murder of her childhood hero, Francis Keen, throws her for a loop. Beloved staff writer and the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance , Keen’s death is a shock to her countless fans and readers.
When Alex sees an advertisement searching for her replacement, she impulsively applies, never expecting to actually get the job. But almost immediately, she begins to receive strange letters at the office and soon, Alex wonders why the murderer has never been found. Worse, she can’t help but question if her new boss and editor-in-chief, Howard Dimitri, was involved with Keen’s death.
As she starts her own investigation, the dark secrets of her own past rise to the surface and soon, Alex finds herself trapped in a dangerous and potentially deadly mystery. Will she solve the murder and save her own skin? Or will Alex face a similar fate?
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
First: big blocks of italics. I had a problem with the italics as it messes with my eyes and head, making it difficult to read and enjoy the book. Authors and publishers: please consider the neurodivergent when making decisions about italics so books are accessible to all.
Second: the woman sees her front door is open (at night) then goes outside to investigate. Asinine behaviour. Either too stupid to live (see most horror movies) or has a death wish. Either way, I’m not sticking around.
DNF 2%
About the Book
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
If faking love is this easy… how do you know when it’s real?
When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.
Jamie Carter doesn’t believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about. It’s the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there’s a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend…
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
My first issue with this book: the endless italics.
I had a problem with the italics as it messes with my eyes and head, making it difficult to read and enjoy the book. Authors and publishers: please consider the neurodivergent when making decisions about italics so books are accessible to all.
My second issue with this book: the gaslighting from the start.
Just, no.
DNF 3%
About the Book
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
First published in 1941, Walter Farley’s best-selling novel for young readers is the triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse. From Alec Ramsay and the Black’s first meeting on an ill-fated ship to their adventures on a desert island and their eventual rescue, this beloved story will hold the rapt attention of readers new and old.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
What I got from this book: it’s okay to abduct and torment wild horses for money. Just no.
DNF 4%
About the Book
Pegasus by Robin McKinley
On her twelfth birthday, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to her own Pegasus, Ebon. For a thousand years humans and pegasi have lived in peace, relying on human magicians and pegasi shamans to converse. But close friends Sylvi and Ebon can talk. As their bond strengthens, can their friendship threaten to destroy the peace between their nations?
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
Massive info dump.
DNF 2%
About the Book
The Inside-Out Man by Fred Strydom
Brilliant jazz pianist Bent lives from gig to gig in a city of dead ends. He is plagued by fragmented visions of the past, and has resigned himself to a life of quiet desolation. That is, until the night he meets wealthy and eccentric jazz fan Leonard Fry.
In the days that follow, Leonard makes Bent a devilish deal, proposing a bizarre experiment in which Bent will play a vital part.
The deal provides an opportunity for Bent to start afresh, to question everything he knows, and for the two men to move beyond the one terrifying frontier from which neither of them can be sure they’ll ever return: the borders of their own sanity.
Fred Strydom’s novel The Inside-Out Man is a jazzy and surreal mind-bender of a book.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
Nothing much going on with something like an inciting incident happening (a phone call) that just leads to an info-dump. I caught myself falling asleep, so not the book for me.
DNF 6%
About the Book
The Wild One by Terri Farley
When 13-year-old Samantha returns home to her family′s cattle ranch in Nevada, she′s worried. She moved away two years ago to recover from a bad fall off her beloved mustang, Blackie, and she′s still not sure she can get back in the saddle. Her new colt doesn′t seem to like her, and the other ranchers treat her like the boss′s spoiled daughter, and Blackie has been missing since that fateful day. But that′s just the beginning. When Sam suddenly finds the fate of a mysterious mustang who may or may not be the missing Blackie – resting in her hands, she has to learn to be a real cowgirl, ready or not. The classic theme of a girl and her horse is set against a backdrop of mustangs, tumbleweeds, and a West that′s still Wild. Phantom Stallion #1: The Wild One On a moonlit night, a mustang comes to Sam. Is it Blackie grown up and gone wild? Is it the legendary phantom stallion? Or could it be both? Ages 10+
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
There’s nothing objectionable, really, about the book, there’s even the lure of the wild stallion and his herd, but I’m not connecting to the story.
DNF chapter 3
DNF series
About the Book
My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
It seems Ken can’t do anything right. He loses saddle blankets and breaks reins…but then comes the worst news yet: a report card so bad that he has to repeat a grade. How can you tame the dreamy mind of a boy who stares out of the window instead of taking an exam? Enter Flicka, the chestnut filly with a wild spirit.
Over the course of one magical summer, both will learn the meaning of responsibility, courage, and, ultimately, friendship.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I barely began reading this book before disliking the MC for his treatment of his horse. Just no.
DNF
About the Book
A Man Downstairs by Nicole Lundrigan
What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?
From the acclaimed author of An Unthinkable Thing and Hideaway, a breath-stopping novel of suspense about a woman tormented by memories of the past and threatened by long-held secrets in the present.
Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.
What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony – “There was a man downstairs” – sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.
After Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, the threats begin. At first they seem random, but soon Molly realizes that she is a target, and even those closest to her seem suspicious, especially as unsuspected links between them emerge. More than one life was destroyed on that horrific long-ago day, and now someone intends to hold Molly accountable.
With its gripping descent into the shadowy corners of the human psyche A Man Downstairs is both an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride and a masterful exploration of the fragile nature of memory.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
A really creepy book. About halfway through I’d guessed the plot and players, but read to the end to see if I was right (I was).
There are themes of what it means to be a good parent, how psychologists don’t see the obvious, how people turn a blind eye instead of doing what’s right, and that small towns are more dangerous than big cities because no-one wants to acknowledge that bad things can happen anywhere.
But: there were just too many cringe-worthy things in this book to make it good. So many scenes about food, on-page sex and masturbation, lack of impulse control on the part of most of the characters to make things happen, people lying to shift the blame to whomever they think deserves to suffer most.
Not much to make one root for any one of the characters. And the ending leaves one wondering what more creepiness the town has to offer.
An okay book.
About the Book
When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they’re willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
Not sure what’s going on. One moment a girl (a young girl?) is found in a water tower and the next she’s a teenager with a rose growing from her arm, making out with the boy who comforted her before when the water tower came down. I’m not following. So, book-reader mismatch.
DNF 6 %
About the Book
My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary school teacher is the murder-solving team no one asked for, but they’re stuck together, come hell or high tide until a killer is found in this spicy rom-com with a brand new bonus novella from Tessa Bailey, #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Summer . It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just Taylor Bassey and her beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in their rental house has really thrown a wrench into their tanning schedule. Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe Taylor can be helpful, despite the countless hours she’s spent listening to true crime podcasts. Not to mention her fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders. Myles Sumner is only there to do a job, not babysit an amateur sleuth. Although…it is becoming less and less of a hardship to have Taylor around. Sure, she’s stubborn, distracting and can’t stay out of harm’s way. She’s also brave and beautiful and reminds him of home. In other words, the insatiable hunger and protectiveness she’s awakening is a threat to his peace of mind. Before Myles sinks any deeper into this dangerous attraction, he needs to solve the murder and get back on the road. Only now there are two threats—and the biggest one is to his heart.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
The police divulging information (essentially gossiping) about the deceased so the MC can have clues to the puzzle of the murder? I’m not buying it.
DNF 7%
About the Book
The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.
Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.
But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.
The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
I was excited to read this… But there’s an undercurrent in this book that made my teeth ache. I took a break, but the italics in the flashback tipped the scales to a DNF.
I had a problem with the italics as it messes with my eyes and head, making it difficult to read and enjoy the book. Authors and publishers: please consider the neurodivergent when making decisions about italics so books are accessible to all.
DNF 5%
About the Book
Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
The follow up to the War of Art. In the War of Art Pressfield identifies the enemy to living an authentic life – resistance. In Turning Pro, Pressfield teaches you how to defeat it.
Check it out on Goodreads.
My Review
This was recommended by an author who says she rereads it annually for inspiration running her six/seven figure business. I hoped to get some inspiration… (Despite not finishing the War on Art because the author doesn’t believe that depression is a real thing, I decided to give this recommendation a chance.)
An interesting treatise on what it takes to be a professional artist. I liked the idea of a shadow career (that which isn’t your passion). Beyond all the waffle, there’s some actionable advice. Though it could all just be summed up with: amateurs tweet, professionals write. Which is a chapter all its own… one of many one-sentence chapters.
I’m not sure the whole do-or-die attitude is healthy, though. And saying people are either artists (professionals) or addicts (amateurs) is a rather harmful message to send in a self-help book – and in general. I know a lot of self-help books have some memoir in it, but saying that he was considering how to kill himself if he didn’t turn pro (something about jumping off the roof) as well as some other things throughout the text, makes me wonder if it wouldn’t have been more beneficial for the author to get professional help for his mental health issues than pursuing going pro according to his definition. Many a true word is spoken in jest.
A quick read, but an inspirational poster is less harmful.
I hope you enjoyed this. For more books I’ve read and reviewed, check out either my Pinterest board about reviews or my Goodreads profile. Alternatively, you can check out my reviews on BookBub. Have you read any of the books? Loved or hated any of them?
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