Review: The Billionaire Werewolf's Princess by Michele Hauf

This book is so fun. I read it on a long school trip, many hours on a bus with a bunch of teenagers, and it helped immensely to pass the time. While others complained about the long ride, I was like, I'm doing just fine. When else do I get to spend all day reading? And such a great, interesting story to dive into.

That evening, after we took the students out to eat, we were sitting at a park, and I was reading again. The students wanted to know what I was reading - so I tried to summarize it. Wealthy, handsome, billionaire werewolf/fairy meets a woman with a mysterious past - one she isn't even aware of until she meets him and something in her stirs. Anyway, it's been a few months since I read it - I am so behind on writing book reviews - so a little fuzzy on details, but I had the students hanging on my every word. The next day, they were all, "What happened next?" And it got me wondering, has Hauf ever considered writing YA fantasy? Some Beautiful Creatures stories geared toward younger readers, with less steam? Of course, in my descriptions to the students, I left out the sexy times - which Hauf always does very, very well.

I loved these characters, all the wonderful magic and the descriptive Paris setting  (when I was in Paris this summer, I walked by a signs and was all, there's the hospital mentioned in Billionaire Werewolf's Princess). The story is fast paced, and seeing the characters learn about their past made for a thoughtful read. Each of them had to deal with coming to terms with their true identities, both growing up thinking they are something they weren't.

Very much enjoyed this book. Would recommend to anyone who wants a fun, sexy read involving werewolves and fairies and saving the world (or at least the children of Paris.)

I received a copy of this via Netgalley.

Review: Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

A new book by Susanna Kearsley is always cause for happiness. I enjoy pretty much everything of hers I've read, and I've read quite a few. (Counting this one, I've read seven of her books, if you want the exact number.) I enjoy the historical aspects of her stories, and especially the paranormal bits she sometimes throws in there, and she writes some really beautiful love stories.

I ended up really liking this book, but I struggled with it in the beginning. There are two story lines, one in the past and one in the present. I usually like that format, but this time, the chapter changes from past to present made it too easy to put the book down between chapters, and sometimes I wouldn't pick it back up for days. For the first half or more of this book, I felt like nothing was happening. There's so much history explained. And again, rich, detailed history is something I tend to like in books. But for some reason, I didn't find it very interesting. The presentation felt more like I was reading passages out of a textbook, and much of it was information I already knew, so I did not find it enjoyable. I felt like I was being forced to sit through a lecture I'd heard before when really I was wanting some action, adventure and romance. Also, there are so many characters in this book - both in the past and present story lines - and we learn so many details about them, details that are not very significant to the main story. I had to keep stopping to remember if that person was the cousin or the friend or the neighbor or another soldier.

I admit that part of the problem could be me. I'm stressed at work, I'm upset by the current political situation, and often feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes reading helps, but sometimes, my mind is too distracted to focus on books.

Eventually, I found myself with several hours of time in which I couldn't do much of anything except read. That's when I finally got through what I considered the very long introduction in the book. I noticed I was right at 70% percent when I started to warm to the characters. That's when the romance in the past and the present finally moves forward. We know from the beginning who likes who and what direction they're going, but they don't make much attempt to get there until that 70% point. At that point, I really started to enjoy the story, both the past and present story.

Even though it took me a few weeks to get to that point, I am really glad I stuck with the book because I absolutely loved the last 30% of the book. Kearsley creates the best male love interests. The men she writes about are nice and respectful and noble and I love them so much. Even years after reading some of her books, I can, without having to think about it, tell you some of my favorite lines from her heroes in past books. Nice guys, in books, much like in real life, sometimes seem entirely too rare. In this book, in the present day story line, we have Sam, who is carefully making his way into Charley's life, becoming a friend at work, as well as helping her out around the house she's just moved into - replacing a broken door, showing up after a storm to clean up the area. In the past we have the French soldier, a man of honor, prepared to admire Lydia from afar because he fears he can never provide her with what she needs. I won't go into too much detail, because it's better if you read it for yourself. Kearsley has a gift for writing some sizzling romance, without the characters ever doing much more than holding hands or sharing an unexpected kiss.

Also, there's a ghost story, and I love good ghost stories. I wish this had been more of a ghost story, and less of a history lesson, but I did enjoy the ghost aspect quite a bit.

Frustrating that I find it easy to talk about the parts of the book that bothered me, but I'm afraid to describe what I really liked about the book without giving too much of a it away.

I ended up really liking this book, but it took me a while to get to that point. I definitely recommend this book to Kearsley fans and fans of historical fiction, with a bit of romance.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley.

Finished reading on April 15, 2018.

Review: Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Issacson

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed this book. For years, I've had something of a crush on Leonardo - as weird as that sounds. I'm an artist and an art teacher, so yes, I'm a Leonardo fan girl. The more I learn about him, the more I like him.

While most of us are familiar with his greatest work and achievements, this book provides the stories behind that work, and all the work that didn't get finished or receive the kind of recognition of Mona Lisa or The Last Supper. What I like the most are the parts of the story that portray him as just a normal person - a very intelligent, talented, interesting person - but in a lot of ways, normal. He had friends, he had family, they had drama - he adored his friends and family, he fought with them, he stopped speaking to them, he reconciled with them - you know, just like normal people. He had ideas - some that worked out, some that didn't. He didn't accomplish everything he wanted to accomplish. Like all artists, he was always striving for more. I think this book does a great job of presenting him as a whole, complex person, not simply a genius.

Some of the less interesting parts for me, were when the story got very analytical about his sketches, in particular, the scientific and military based sketches. Important topics, of course, but listening to this, I would sometimes find my mind drifting during those parts. That probably wouldn't have happened as much if I had the book with the images with me. (A pdf is provided for the audiobook, and I downloaded it, but was never near a computer while listening.)

Overall though, I loved the book. Because I checked it out from the library, and there's a huge wait list (I think I've been on the list since October) I could only have it for seven days. So I was listening every chance I got, sometimes when I maybe wasn't able to pay as much attention as I wanted. As a result of that, I plan to buy a copy of the book soon. (I'd planned to buy a copy after Christmas, knowing I would be getting book store gift cards, but after Christmas, the cost of the book increased - so I decided to wait on the library copy - anyway, after listening to the book, I'm now going to go ahead and buy a copy.)

This is one of those books that makes me wish I knew other art people, so that they could read this and we could discuss this. Quite a few things in this book that I'd not known that I found fascinating.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Leonardo or art history. Very enjoyable and interesting story.


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Favorites

Earlier today, a friend was looking for recommendations for book series. So I was scanning through what I've read in the past few years.

Not a lot of series that jumped out at me, other than romance series and I don't think that's what she wanted. But quite a few books jumped out at me as favorites that I feel compelled to recommend to others.

So I put together a list of books I've loved and think everyone should read:

2018:

Italian Party by Christina Lynch - this just came out, and I need to write an actual review of it. Will do that soon. It's good, set in Italy, lots of secrets and twists and a really, nice unexpected and very different sort of love story.

An American With in Paris by Michele Hauf - Loved this book so much! Super sexy vampire and witch romance set in Paris. 

Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan - I love this book. Became a bit obsessed with this book. 

2017 -

Covet Garden in the Snow by Jules Wake - really nice story about getting your life together, also a bit of a romance 

Bewitching by Jill Barnett

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

2016 -

The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown

Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan

2015 -

Enchanted by the Wolf by Michele Hauf

Stealing Venice by Heather Redding

Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King 

Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott

Moonlight and Diamonds by Michele Hauf

Shadows Over Paradise by Isabel Wolf

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Flirting with Disaster by Victoria Dahl

2014 - 

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

The Cranes Dance by Meg Howry

Review: The Italian Party by Christina Lynch

This is what I wrote immediately after finishing the book:

This is a really good book. I spent most of today in bed reading it because I'm sick, and I liked it enough that it took my mind off of how awful I was feeling.

Very well written, I never wanted to put the book down. And such great characters, these could have been characters that a person hated - with all their lies and secrets - but they are written in such a way that their behavior makes sense, at least in the moment. I really liked them and was a little sad when the book ended because I wanted more of them.

The Italian setting is wonderful, with quite a bit of information about the political situation during the 50s. I kept grabbing my ipad to look up names, only to realize that if I'd read another line or so, it would have been explained.

Overall, a great book, I highly recommend it.

Will try to write a more thorough review later, when I get over this sinus infection and can think more clearly. (Now that I'm done reading the book, I'm very aware of how bad I feel.)

I received a copy of this via Netgalley.

That was months ago and I never returned to write a more thorough review. I am so very behind on writing book reviews. I've been reading the books and rating them on goodreads, but not writing the reviews in a timely manner.

Anyway, I liked this book a lot. I think what I liked most about it was that it's very much a love story, but not a romantic love story. The people involved, they aren't in love with each other, but do, in fact, despite their strange circumstances, love each other. I think the author did a really wonderful job of showing how their relationship developed and how they grew to care so much about each other.

That's really all I have to add to my initial review. I think I had planned to expand more on the idea of a platonic love story or something like that. But really, just read the book. It's a good one.

Review: Hotel on Shadow Lake by Daniela Tully

I thought the ideas for this book were interesting, but I struggled with the format of the story. The back and forth felt jarring, making it too easy to put the book down, and the cliff hanger-like endings to chapters were frustrating - especially because they were so intentionally misleading. I was a little angry when I realized the truth because the setup it was leading to was so opposite what I thought it would be.

There were also big segments involving a fairy tale that I thought was boring. Usually, I love fairy tales, but in this case, it was kind of  pointless. I was drawn to this story because of the WWII connection, and I did find that interesting, but the modern day part of the story got a little confusing and far-fetched. The research and the travel and the weirdness at the hotel was a bit much for me to accept.

I'm very late writing this review, read the book months ago, and I gave this book three stars, so I must have liked it somewhat, but now I can only seem to remember the things I didn't like about the book. Took me a long time to read this book, which is unusual for me. In general, good story, I definitely appreciate the originality of the story, but I didn't feel as if it was told especially well.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.

Review: An American Witch in Paris by Michele Hauf

I have read a lot of books by Michele Hauf, (32 books, counting this one, according to Goodreads) and I've liked them all, loved many of them, but this one, this may be my favorite. It's possible that I say that after every new book by this author, but only because it's true.  This book has everything I always love about her books - great characters, interesting story line, fascinating magic, beautiful imagery and sexy, steamy romance - and then taken up to the next level. Tuesday may be my favorite out of all the wonderful characters in Hauf's Beautiful Creatures world. And have I mentioned, this story is so, so sexy? Reminded me a bit of Hauf's Paris Secrets erotica series that she writes under the name Michele Renae.

The women Hauf creates are always strong and independent, that is a big part of why I enjoy her books. These women can take care of themselves, and they're powerful - literally - but they're able to fall in love, absolutely and completely, while still holding onto their power and that's something that I find very appealing in a romance novel. In this particular book though, I feel like Hauf went a step further, giving us this character of Tuesday, a centuries old witch who has devoted much of her life to helping other women, because as history has shown us, that's what witches did. There's a line in the book that says, "Feminism was her right" and when I read that, I knew immediately that Tuesday was going to be one of my favorite characters. While a lot of romance authors write characters who are clearly feminist in their actions, I feel too often they're afraid to use the word. Not the case with Tuesday.

Another aspect of this story that I really loved was the dynamics of Tuesday and Ethan's sexual relationship. There is something so very sexy about Ethan asking, "May I?" Yes, explicit consent is sexy! There's something very mature and respectful about their relationship. They both know exactly what they're doing. Both of these characters have been around for a long time, they've seen a lot over the centuries and they're a bit jaded about the idea of love, but wonderfully philosophical about sex. "It's about finding yourself in someone else, yet not getting lost there." That quote was one of my favorites, but I highlighted so many lines in this book. The talk of "worlds." Another favorite, "I'll share myself with you, lover. But let's never take ownership."

And the visuals Hauf creates. Her descriptions always make me want to get out my sketchbook and attempt to draw what she'd described. Sometimes it's amazing fairy wings, but in this book, it was Ethan at the window of his Paris apartment, drinking Scotch. I could see that so clearly and it was beautiful.

Besides the romance, there's also a rather tense story line about stolen codes that could bring about the end of the world, and trying to find the demon who took those codes - which is the entire reason Tuesday and Ethan are together. Then there's the appearance of an former spouse and a deadly curse. Pretty much everything you need for a great book.

This book felt very relevant and important in the current landscape. This is the story of a vampire and a witch trying to prevent a demon from destroying the world, but it's also about two very powerful people, who realize they have to look beyond the horrors they've experienced in the world to save each other - because somewhere along the way, they've become a part of each other's world.

I highly recommend this book. If you like hot, sexy vampire/witch stories, you want this book.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley.

Review: Charlotte Bronte - A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman

Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've been a fan of the novels Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights since I was a teenager. This summer, I finally visited the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth and doing so made me want to learn more about the Brontes. This book reveals much about the family, Charlotte in particular and explains some of the inspiration for her writing.

This book shows that Charlotte's life really was as interesting as the characters she created. But after listening to this, I'm quite heartbroken at learning of the circumstances of her death. She seemed so very happy in her new marriage, after spending so much of her life yearning for the kind of love she now finally had. And her husband adored her, which makes me glad, because she deserved that after having lost so much during her life. There time together was much too short. Think of all the beautiful love stories she may have been able to write had she been able to live a bit longer.

I now plan to re-read Jane Eyre and her other novels.

I checked out the audio book through my library's Hoopla account, but I liked this book so much, I'm probably going to buy a hard copy so I can re-read parts of it and make notes.

Highly recommend this to Bronte fans.



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Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thought I would like this more than I did - being that I'm obsessed with all things Russian and I love fairy tales. But it took forever for me to get into this book, I found the first half to be a bit boring. I enjoyed the end, but I wanted more about the Frost Demon, he was the most interesting character and the book is nearly over by the time he shows up.

A while back, someone in one of my online book groups posted that this was a great book and was on sale - a kindle daily deal. I saw that it was a Russian fairy tale and clicked the buy button, without reading much more about it. Then I realized it was classified as "young adult" and sort of regretted my quick purchase. I am not much of a fan of young adult books. I read a lot of them when I was a young adult, and loved them at the time, but twenty or so years later, I no longer have much interest in reading those stories. So my lack of love for this book is my own fault. While I still enjoy fairy tales, I prefer there be more of a adult twist to them, with a bit of grown-up romance. By the time I got around to reading the book, I knew this was a young adult book, so I knew this probably wouldn't be the kind of story I'd hoped it would be when I bought it.

The winter setting is really beautiful, and it did make me want to read more about Russian fairy tales.


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Review: Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. Female pilots in the Red Army during WWII - that sort of satisfies everything I love in a book: strong women, Russian history, WWII setting.

For the most part, I loved this book. It drew me in immediately. The story is about a pilot, Katya, who was training to be a pilot before the war started. She then joins the Red Army and is part of group of women who became known by the Germans as "Night Witches" because they bombed German camps at night. I know nothing about piloting or navigating planes, but felt this story described the process well enough that I understood what was happening, without feeling overwhelmed with details.

One aspect of the book that I especially enjoyed was seeing how women were treated and how they handled finding themselves in what had previously been considered men's roles. Despite Stalin's support, they still had to deal with men not comfortable with seeing women being treated as equals. These were complex characters, with families and fears and ambitions, as well as insurmountable courage.

The action scenes are well written and exciting. Every time I picked this book up, I had a tough time putting it down. I was reading in the morning before work and during my lunch breaks, always dreading having to put the book away.

I read the entire last half in one sitting. And I continued to love the book, heartbreaking though parts of it were, up until near the end. As the story was progressing, the war was ending, and I was feeling hopeful for these characters, even after all the losses they'd suffered, and then something happened that upset me, that seemed unnecessary. I'm being vague because I don't want to spoil it for other readers - because even though I didn't like what happened, you all need to read this book.

Because this was based on true events, I thought at first that maybe the author had based this character on a real person so the author had no choice. But the author's note said the characters were fictional, and that she took liberties with the end, which was supposed to be a happy ending of sorts, but annoyed me. Sometimes, I think authors do things like this because they think it makes the story more serious or edgy. I don't know, maybe I just read too many books that have guaranteed happy endings. And as I said, this does have a happy ending, but not the one I had hoped for. The fact that I'm still so upset about this, two days after finishing the book, shows how well-developed these characters and this story was. I loved these characters and my heart is broken for them. I may as well admit, I cried through the last few chapters of this book, I felt that attached to this story. 

Anyway, I think this is a really great book. I highly recommend it if you are interested in stories set during WWII, and/or stories about interesting, strong women.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley. 

Review: Still Me by Jojo Moyes

This book is so good. As expected, parts of it made me laugh, made me furious, and made me cry.

I love Lou, so glad to return to her world and find out how she's doing, but part of this story infuriated me. I found myself thinking, all this time and she's learned nothing, she still lets people walk all over her, won't fight for what matters to her. This wasn't the life Will wanted for her, always putting other people's lives before her own. She's too nice, like pathetically self-destructively nice at one point. There were several times when bad things happened to her with regard to her relationship and her job and she just let them, did nothing to protect herself. I can't relate to that level of niceness, but, in the end, maybe her being nice is why things work out for her. Takes a very well written story and characters to make me feel so strongly about a book.

Things do eventually work out for her with regard to her relationship and her job.

In this story, Lou has taken a job in New York City, working as a personal assistant for a very wealthy man's new wife. (The wife reminded me of a rather well-known rich wife, and that bothered me because this was the last place where I wanted to be thinking about those people, but anyway. I imagine the description would apply to a lot of wealthy New York wives.) The couple is pretty awful and it upset me to see Lou in this position.

Also, Lou is still trying to maintain her relationship with "Ambulance Sam" and as you can imagine, that proves somewhat difficult. But this is Lou, and she makes things fun and interesting and sweet.

Overall, I loved the book. I imagine this is the last we'll hear of Lou, but I would gladly read more about it, because she really is a wonderful character.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley.

Review: Christmas in London by Anita Hughes

When I realized this was by the same author as Christmas in Paris, I probably should have stopped reading it. But I'm a sucker for a Christmas story set in London (or Paris for that matter).

As with Christmas in Paris, the setting is really nice. The author does a great job of describing the city. I've never been to London at Christmas, but it's one of my dreams and the author makes the setting sound magical. However, also like Christmas in Paris, the characters are, for the most part, not like able people and the relationships are not in any way desirable.

There are two relationships happening. One a brand new one, the other a couple reunited after many years apart. The women in the story were okay, but the men - why would anyone want to be with these men? The men are weak and whiny and have no respect for the women. It felt like in the end both women sort of thought, oh well, probably can't do much better, too busy with careers and all that, so may as well settle for these losers. I would have been much happier if both women had decided that the men weren't worth their trouble and decided to ditch them and continue to focus on their careers. I feel like their careers would be much more satisfying. As far as I could tell, there was absolutely nothing appealing about these men. I don't understand why any woman would want them.


As a romance, this didn't work for me, but I did enjoy the glimpse of London at Christmas.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley.

Review: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

Took me a while to get into this story, but once I did, I found it interesting. But I didn't love it.

There were too many different story lines and points of views for me to ever feel any kind of a strong connection to the characters. These were women who had suffered during the war and endured horrible situations, and yet I didn't feel the full impact of what they'd been through. There were a few story lines that I wish had been more fully developed. I felt like there was a lot hinted at beneath the surface of their stories. I wanted to know more.

What I did like about the book though is that it focused on an aspect that I've not read much about - the women in Germany, after the war. Their husbands had died because they tried to stop Hitler. They're trying to rebuild their lives, with the men gone.

Overall, I liked this book, especially toward the end, but it didn't leave a strong impression on me.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley. 

Review: A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa  Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a bit infuriating. Took me almost a month to read - I am not usually a slow reader. But this story was not interesting in the beginning.

This is the story of several generations of witches. Each witch has a book. The first few books were boring and repetitive. Each woman has a very similar experience regarding her awareness of her powers as a witch, followed by her attempts to either win the affections of a man and/or have a child - specifically a daughter to carry on the family line of witches. But I don't know why they felt so compelled to continue the line when they never really used their powers to their benefit. They spent most of their time trying to keep it hidden away, and when it was discovered, it usually resulted in their ruin or death. I found that so frustrating. At one point, near the end of the book, a witch from another family says people have always feared their kind because they didn't need a man. If that's the case, why did they waste all their powers on seducing men who didn't want them? Why didn't they try to use their powers to protect themselves from people who wanted to hurt them or to improve their lives without the need of a man?

The first few parts of the book felt like an intro, a setup for some sort of action, so I kept reading, but then I was noticing I was almost halfway through the book, and still waiting for something to happen. I had to start skimming then because I was spending so much time on this book, and there are so many other books I want to read, but I felt like I'd spent too much time on it to just give up.

I'm glad i stuck with it, I ended up really liking, almost loving the last part of the story. That's Veronica's book. She's the last of her line, her mother died in childbirth and she knows nothing about the family history. I enjoyed reading about how she discovered her powers, and the way she was later about to use them. Hers was the only story that felt developed and had emotion. Her story had heart, romance and family. I thoroughly enjoyed the role she played in helping her country during WWII.

I think this would have been a wonderful book if it had focused on Veronica, and the lives of the women before her had been explained in more of a summary. Maybe have Veronica learn about them as she's learning about her own powers, through research of some sort or from viewing the crystal or the stories of other witches who may have been familiar with her family. The details of their lives were not essential, and almost caused me to give up on this book completely. This is why I felt this book was infuriating. The story, if told differently, could have been great and entertaining. But the format in which it's presented is not enjoyable at all. Those first few books read like a dry textbook, providing information about the women's lives, but not in a way that you care about them. There were touches of what could have been, but weren't.

I don't know that I can recommend this book, except to say, rush through the first parts as quickly as possible to get to the story at the end. The last part of the book is really good. That's why I'm giving this three stars - I think the last part would have been four or five stars, but the first, more like one or two - so I'm compromising with three.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.



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Review: The Witch's Quest by Michele Hauf

The Witch's Quest by Michele Hauf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! Absolutely loved it! Really beautiful story about sacrifice and doing the right thing even when it hurts. Also, very sweet, sexy love story between a fairy and a witch. Hauf's Beautiful Creatures stories are some of my favorites, and I especially love her descriptions of fairy wings. I never thought much about fairies until I read her books involving them, now I'm a little obsessed.

Will attempt to write a more thorough and thoughtful review later. I know "I loved it and it's amazing" isn't really helpful review-wise, and yet, that's exactly how I feel about this book, moments after finishing it.

If you are a fan of paranormal romance, I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy via Netgalley.


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Review: Monsoon Summer by Julia Gregson

When I read the description of this book, I was hoping for a big romance, spanning continents. Forbidden love, culture clashes and such.

And I suppose that exists in this story, but the manner in which it's written sort of downplays everything. This is the story about an English woman who falls in love with and marries and Indian doctor, shortly after India has gained independence from the English. They move to India, and his family is unhappy with his choice of a wife and she's regarded as something of an enemy in the community. Also, the fact that she wants to work as a midwife is frowned upon.

This story should have created all kinds of emotional reactions, but it didn't.

I never felt any strong connection with any of the characters. I was not shocked or concerned or upset when bad things happened - and a lot of bad things did happen. She's attacked, she's thrown in jail, she disgraces her husband's family, she had problems with her own family. But I never felt like we were allowed enough of a glimpse into the characters emotions to invoke any kind of a strong response.

The story was interesting, and I liked learning about this time period and location, because it isn't something with which I'm familiar. I was also interested in the way the women lived during this time and place. But it wasn't quite the grand, intense romance I'd hoped it would be. Maybe that's my fault for having false expectations. I wanted something to read at the end of the summer that would completely sweep me up into the story, and this wasn't it.

It is by no means a bad book. I just wanted something a bit more.

I received a review copy of this via NetGalley.

Book review update

I am so behind with my book reviews. Hoping to post a few more in the next few days.

Have recently read Alice Hoffman's Rules of Magic - loved it so much! It's the prequel to Practical Magic. Will have a review soon, hopefully.

Also received and read a review copy of Krysten Ritter's Bonfire. Really good book.

And for romance readers, I recently read the first two books in Jennifer Bernard's Jupiter Point series, Set the Night on Fire and Burn So Bright. All of her books are great, including these.

And, I finally got around to reading Amor Towles' Gentleman in Moscow. That I got from the library. Wonderful book, highly recommend it.

Anyway - if I can get my act together - I should have reviews for those and a few more in the next few days.

Review: Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For me, this was easily the most anticipated book in a long while. Was so excited to get invited to read an advance copy. And even more happy to say it completely lives up the hype.

This book is wonderful. I read Practical Magic years ago, before the movie came out. I might have read it in anticipation of the movie. (As readers know, the movie is a bit different from the book, but the spirit is the same and I love them both.) That book turned me into a huge Alice Hoffman fan. I love the books in which she so skillfully weaves magic into every day life. Rules of Magic is one of her best at doing this.

The story begins with Franny, Jet and their brother, Vincent. (Not really a spoiler, but Franny and Jet will eventually be the aunts in Practical Magic.) Their mother, an Owens, tries to keep her children away from magic, hence the rules. But her efforts are in vain.

This is the story of how the Owens children discover magic, and the effect it has on their lives, for better or worse. This story is about family and secrets and uncomfortable truths. It's filled with romance and heartbreak - as is the lot of an Owens witch.

Reviews of books I love are the most difficult to write. It's tough to say much more than, I really loved this book. I can't think of anything wrong with it or anything that bothered me or I felt should be changed. The story is beautiful and of course, magical. I also really enjoyed the New York setting during the 60s.

I found it so interesting to learn about the lives of the aunts, before they became the aunts. They had dreams and plans and lovers and they wanted more out of life than to simply be, the aunts. But the Owens curse is a powerful one.

After I read this, I listened to the audio book of Practical Magic, and as much as I love that book, I believe I like Rules of Magic more.

I am so glad that Hoffman chose to return to this world. I hope she continues to do so.

I read this book in July and have every intention of reading it again, closer to Halloween because what better time to read about magic and witches?

If you like Practical Magic, if you like stories about magic or witches, if you like stories about women and families and struggling to be yourself while in opposition with a past over which you have no control, I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.


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Review: Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

I really wanted to read this book because I've become a Krysten Ritter fan as a result of watching Jessica Jones. Because of that, as I read the book, I may have been sort of picturing Jessica Jones as the main character - which isn't fair, but isn't entirely far off. She's not a superhero, but she's kind of a badass trying to uncover some dark secrets in her hometown after being away for ten years. I liked the characters, they were believable and interesting. This sort of explores the dark side of small town life. Having grown up in a small town, I could very much relate to some of this.

It's been a while since I read the book, and I'm not sure why I never got around to writing a review, but I did enjoy the book. It's a good, engrossing suspenseful mystery. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Gone Girl or Girl on the Train type books. I do like books like that, so I enjoyed this.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Review: Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis

Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was so looking forward to reading this book. Jill Shalvis has written some of my favorite romances. I recommend her books to everyone. And I've enjoyed the other books in this series. In the other books, I'd really liked this particular couple so I thought I'd love their book.

I was saving this for when I needed a great romance to read, when I didn't want to take chances on an unknown or unreliable author. And I'll admit upfront that maybe part of the problem is me, it's been a few months since I've read a romance. They used to be my preferred escape, but lately I've not enjoyed them much or felt any desire to read them - sticking to nonfiction or mystery or historical fiction instead. But whatever the problem, this book did not work for me.

The characters were painfully immature in their behavior and the scenarios were not believable. A group of guys wanted s'mores so much that they call one of their girlfriends and beg her to drive an hour and a half with supplies. Really? S'mores aren't even that good - not good enough to expect someone you care about to drive out into the middle of no where at night.

I found the character of Elle to be so irritating. All we really know about her is that she had a bad childhood and now wears very nice, expensive clothes. Over and over again, we're told that she has on a great dress and shoes and she looks badass. But she's always cold because she's under dressed and feels it's more important to look nice than be practical. At some point, she should maybe start to pay attention to the weather and dress accordingly, but then she wouldn't need to be wearing Archer's jacket all the time. This happened several times in the book. That might have been my biggest problem with the story, it felt so repetitive. The same things kept happening, and the same phrases were used. Elle wanted to "climb him like a tree" multiple times within just a few pages. I grew tired of the word "badass" being used so often. I need to know what makes that person a badass, don't just tell me they are.

We're told that Elle's strong and independent and she cares deeply about people, but I never saw that in her actions. She seemed incredibly shallow and rude most of the time. There's playing hard to get and there's downright mean. I'm not a big fan of the whole - "he/she picks on you because they like you." These are supposed to be adults. That Archer kept wanting her kind of made him seem like a creep who couldn't take a hint. As readers, we know that Elle really likes him, but he can't read her mind, and she keeps telling him to get out of her life. Then later on we find out more about Archer that made him seem especially creepy and I wasn't expecting that because, for the most part, I liked him. Thought he seemed like a nice guy, but not so much by the end of the book. When he was turned on by seeing her barefoot and in his kitchen and "maybe pregnant", I decided he was simply gross.

Then there were her "dancing" "happy" nipples. They could sense when Archer was near and would respond, even though she hadn't realized he was in the room yet. At one point, this is how she knows it must be him in the room, her nipples were happy. What? This, along with the use of the phrase "friend zone" sort of completely lost me. I can't take seriously anything that uses that phrase.

I'm being especially harsh, and feel somewhat guilty about that. Had this not been by one of my favorite authors, and had I not been so anxious to read it, and certain I was going to love it, I probably wouldn't be so critical of it. I have every intention of continuing to read this series and anything else by this author, but I might need to lower my expectations, just as a precaution.