A Bookworm's Book Reviews

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Introduction

Hello all!

I am C.M. Mills, an avid book lover looking for the next good book. I usually read fantasy and historical fiction. I’ve started branching out into thrillers. I’m not the biggest fan of purely romantic books. Sure, put it in a book, but it shouldn’t take the place of a good plot. I am willing to give any book a try. I enjoy reading nonfiction, too. Most of the nonfiction books I’ve read are memoirs, but I’d be willing to give other types of nonfiction a try. I’ve slogged through terrible books and will put up with a lot before I give up on a book.

Some things that I love in a book: a map (if needed), a pronunciation guide (if needed), a reason to care about the characters, and suspense to keep me going. Give me a connection to the protagonist. Authors get brownie points if the villain has a relatable motive, or has a unique stance.

Some turn offs include: introducing too many characters at once (looking at you Game of Thrones), characters with difficult names to pronounce (a pronunciation guide can offset this), not enough character relatability, boring plot, not enough action, etc.

I do enjoy a sappy romance, but it drives me nuts when the characters won’t admit their feelings (yes I know it can be a plot point, but don’t let it be the main plot point), or have again off again relations (it can get annoying). Also too many steamy scenes cause me to skip or skim over book.

Some of my favorite books include The Book Thief (for its writing style and humor despite being a WW2 setting book), Redeeming Love (a slightly predicable romance/historical fiction set in during the California gold rush), The Last Sin Eater (a historical fiction focused on an unusual British Isle tradition) , Immanuel’s Veins (a unique take on vampirish/angelic lore set to a historical fiction book), The Lord of the Rings (a dense read but so unique), Harry Potter (magic, cause why not), and The Chronicles of Narnia (for the world within). These are the first that came to my mind. I have so many more that I’ve enjoyed.

Some of my favorite authors include Francine Rivers (for her takes on historical fiction interwoven with classic tales, also has some sappy romantic books), Ted Dekker (for his unique thrillers and ability to keep the reader interested), Paula Brackston (for her historical fiction and use of worldly magic), Arturo Perez-Reverte (for his descriptive historical fiction use of vocabulary), and Elizabeth Camden (for a sappy love story and use of historical fiction). These are the authors I usually gravitate towards.

Feel free to send me recommendations and requests. I’d love to hear about other genres, books, and authors. I’ll try my best to read those books as soon as I can. My room is a partial library of unread books. Also feel free to ask me questions. I’ll respond as soon as I can.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife – Anna Johnston

Title: The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

Author: Anna Johnston

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Plot: 82 year old Frederick Fife is down on his luck. He’s been lonely since his wife, Dawn, passed away. Now he’s short of funds for his apartment. His landlord gave him until the end of the day to move out. Frederick decides to take a walk through the local park. There he sees a group of old folks from the senior care facility. A man in a wheelchair is away from the group as they’re heading back. Frederick tries to help the man to his group. After some mishaps, Frederick is mistaken for the other man, called Bernard, and is taken back to the care facility. Frederick tries his hardest to protest that he’s not Bernard at first, but his protests fall on deaf ears. There Frederick finds a new sense of community and purpose. He befriends fellow residentAlbert and Viv. He finds a ‘daughter’ in Hannah. And he helps the nurses in unexpected ways. But the truth has a funny way of coming to light. Will Frederick be able to make peace with his past and present? Can he help others find some peace, too? Or will the truth cause everything to come crashing down around him?

Rating: 4.0 – a sweet story about second chances and found family

Opinion: This was a very sweet book. The side stories confused me for a moment but I figured they connected to Frederick’s story. It gave a great back story to the characters and how they reacted to Frederick pretending to be Bernard. Some of the things that happened to Frederick along the way were pretty hilarious. It made me happy that through all of the things that happened to Frederick along the way didn’t make him bitter, that he remind kind to everyone. I’m glad that Bernard and Hannah were able to find peace and forgiveness despite all of the bad things that happened to them. It was so heartwarming to see how Frederick was able to help so many people during his short stay at the senior care facility, even if some of those moments turned bittersweet. One or two chapters of the book had me worried that some of the characters would do something rash towards the end, but I’m glad it turned out differently. Despite all of the character’s tragic back stories are revealed, I’m glad they were all able to find their happy endings. It’s easy to see after reading this book how different actions we take can affect us later in life and how they affect others. As hard as it can be, some people in our lives do deserve forgiveness. It doesn’t have to be too late to ask for forgiveness. Though I know it’s not real life, I’m glad everyone in the book got their forgives and happy endings. I wish some of the characters had stuck around longer to see more, but they got their endings and left in peace. A funny thing is that after I realized the book takes place in Australia, I tried to read the dialog in an Aussie accent, but decided to read it normally. Overall, I really liked this book. It’s a great story about forgiveness and finding peace. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves found families books.

Tears of the Wolf – Elisabeth Wheatley

Title: Tears of the Wolf

Author: Elisabeth Wheatley

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Plot: Sorceress Brynn has asked for a divorce from her husband, Paega, after the death of her child. Divorce is rare in Hylden, but King Aeglar grants it. He also has another man, for he to marry, alderman (leader) Cenric of the northern territories, unbeknownst to Brynn’s mother, Selene, and high ranking Sorceress of the Istovari group they’re a part of. Cenric and Brynn are wed before the king and other nobles. They leave the next morning for Cenric’s home. Both have had past hurts and guard themselves closely so they’re uncertain of each other at first. Brynn learns how to take charge of the household and Cenric has disputes to settle. Over time, they start to trust each other. But they learn of others in the kingdom trying to worm their way into power, will their marriage last? Or will someone find a way to break them? Will the local thanes trust a sorceress? Can Brynn help Cenric keep his title as alderman? Or will everything come crumbling down around them?

Rating: 4.5 – an interesting type of fantasy romance

Opinion: I’d seen some humorous videos the author posted about book related things this past fall. I finally thought I’d give her books a try. I wasn’t disappointed. Though the book was slow to start, it was still a good read. There was a point where I was wondering if there was ever going to be a plot, because the book was focused more on the characters than moving plot forward. While the book focuses more on the character development, it did a great job setting things up for future books in the series. It gave a good sense of what the characters had gone through before the series started so we could focus on what was going to come next. It’s clear the author thought beyond the first book with her character development. Everything was pretty spaced out throughout the book. There’s not a lot of info dumping. The one thing I’d like to know more about is the magic system in the book. I get that it’s based on energy of all living things. But how much it is required for spells? Can you overexert yourself? Is there a limit of how much energy you can use? Maybe the author will explain the magic system more in later books. I did find it a little funny that some of the characters remind me of the Bene Gerest (a cult of people pulling the strings from behind the fences) from the Dune books. Overall, I really liked this book. I’m really interested in where the author is taking the series. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a different style of magical fantasy romance.

Katabasis – R. F. Kuang

Title: Katabasis

Author: R. F. Kuang

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Plot: Professor Jacob Grimes is dead and it’s Alice Law’s fault. Now she’s going to hell to save him. Not before Peter Murdoch joins her. He says he wants to save Professor Grimes, too. Both are his students, studying different aspects of magick. Together they use their magick to travel to and through hell to find the Professor. As they travel, they see why their plan might not be the best idea. Alice and Peter meet shades how help and hinder them along their journey. Then they learn about the Krepkies. They hunt any living person who’s traveling through hell. Their beasts taunt the shades living in hell. And they now they’re hunting Peter and Alice. Can Peter and Alice find Professor Grimes? Or is finding the Professor really what they’re searching for? Will the shades stop their journey? Or will the Krepkies put an end to their journey?

Rating: 4.3 – an interesting tale of finding what you’re really searching for

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I really liked the idea that hell appeared different for all the people who’ve journeyed through it. I thought it fitting that Alice and Peter had to suffer through university and that the shades were writing dissertations and thesis papers. Even in hell, they couldn’t escape graduate student life. That really does seem like hell in real life. The plot of the book was different than what I’ve been reading lately. It starts with the tragedy and as the characters travel through hell, you learn why they’re doing what they’re doing. The beginning of the book starts with them going to hell, too. While I don’t usually read a ton of journey books, the author does a good job with pacing and keeping the flow going. It kept me interested in the book and the characters. I liked the character growth in the books. They learn and grow from their travels. There’s even some side characters who learn a thing or two from the main characters. I found their changes of heart about their original intentions changed slowly throughout their journey. There was a lot of growth for the characters. There was a lot of ‘is this really what I want?’ moments. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s a great story about finding what you really want out of life. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a fantasy journey.

The Shadow Key – Susan Stokes-Chapman

Title: The Shadow Key

Author: Susan Stokes-Chapman

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Dr. Henry Talbot has recently been dismissed from his position at his London hospital. After months of job searching, he takes a position at Plas Helyg, an English owned mansion in the Welsh countryside. Lord Julian Tresilian is the owner and Henry’s employer. Henry’s job is to care for Lord Julian’s ailing aunt, Gwen, his cousin, Linette, and the Welsh tenants that live on the property. Linette is Gwen’s daughter and has grown up at Plas Helyg. She’s come to know to local Welsh people. She helps serve as Henry’s guide and translator for the Welsh townsfolk. The local people are distrustful of Henry and few are outright hostile. But strange things have been happening as soon as Henry arrived. He was shot at by an unknown person on his way to the mansion. The guest house had been ransacked. Henry finds a strange bottle with unknown contents. Henry takes it upon himself to investigate. His findings lead him deep into the mansion’s past. Then he learns of shady dealings at the mines Lord Julian owns. It adds to Henry’s suspicions that his employer has some unsavory connections. But what does Lord Julian truly want? What is real going on at Plas Helyg? Can Henry find out what’s really going on? Or will whomever’s behind the attacks get the best of everyone?

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting historical fiction mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the history of the book. It felt well researched and accurate. The distrust of the local Welsh people made sense if you know even a little bit of Welsh history. There’s lots of local legends and myths that were blended into the book. Part of me was glad some of the mythology in the book wasn’t explained. It left a nice little bit of magic in the book. The over part of me wanted to know more because they glanced over it during the end monologues. That’s one of the things that bugged me. The characters that ended up being the ‘bad guys’ had big monologues and long explanations. It didn’t really fit the story for me. It didn’t fell like the right time or place. I’m all for explanations and reasoning but it felt a little too dramatic for me. There was a bit too many plot twists for me that didn’t have a ton of lead up but gave the characters good motivations. It was still good ‘oh that’s why that it’s like that’ moments. Those things still kind of made it a little too dramatic for me.A fun tidbit is that there’s a little Welsh pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book. But, overall I really did enjoy this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction mysteries.

Book of Temeraire 2 & 3 – Naomi Novik

Book 1 is His Majesty’s Dragon

Title: Book 2 – Throne of Jade, Book 3 – Black Powder War

Author: Naomi Novik

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Plot: Book 2 – John Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, have been summoned to China to return Temeraire to the Chinese royal family. On their journey, they encounter troubles with the French and sea dragons. There’s also some strange occurrences during their travels. Most of the crew brush it off. Once they arrive, someone in the royal family wants to see Laurence and Temeraire separated. It grows less subtle. The pair also learn how different life is for dragons in China than in Europe. Temeraire starts to enjoy his life in China. Laurence still has his suspicions and shares them with Temeraire. But who is really behind the subtle attacks on Laurence and Temeraire? Will they succeed? Or will Laurence stop them before they can do too much harm?

Book 3 – John Laurence and Temeraire have decided to return to England. They want to show Europe that there are other ways to care for dragons. Temeraire is eager to make changes. Laurence is a little more realistic. They receive orders to stop in Turkey to acquire new dragon eggs. But complications soon arise. There are mysterious disappearances of people and money. Officials say the makes their agreement null and void. After asking around, the crew find the missing money and the fate of people. Then they make their great escape and nab a couple eggs. The crew stop in Prussia. The Prussians told Laurence they were expecting help from the British and Laurence will have to do. Then Napoleon’s forces appear and they engage them in battle. Will Laurence and Temeraire’s help be enough? Or will Napoleon’s forces overwhelm them?

Rating: 4.0 – a slow and steady historical fantasy

Opinion: This was a great continuation of an interesting historical fantasy series. There was lots of details in the history of the time period. There were parts in the third book that made realize that Napoleon got super lucky with some of the battles. He was also great at overwhelming his enemies and catching them unprepared. There’s also great details in the different types of dragons. Each country has different breeds of dragons. Each dragon breed has different abilities and tasks. I liked that the author had different ways people and dragons work together in different countries. I liked that the dragons in China had a wider variety of tasks in China than in Europe. I thought Temeriare and Laurence’s plan to bring change to England and Europe after their trip to China was a fun addition. Though, I do applaud the author for keeping that plan realistic. The pace of the stories was a little slow for me. There’s a lot of description to the places the crew visit and creatures they see. The story tends to focus more on the characters in some areas than moving the plot along. The third book also had a lot of mini stories within main story. Though I am glad that one part of the third story came back in the end of that book. The second book had a more straightforward plot. I appreciated that a little more than a bunch of little stories. Overall, I did enjoy this continuation of the series. It was a nice change to the higher action stories I’ve been reading. I recommend this to anyone who loves well planned, historical fantasy series.

Nibbles the Book Monster – Emma Yarlet

Title: Nibbles the Book Monster

Author/Illustrator: Emma Yarlet

Genre: Kids Book, Picture Book

Plot: Nibbles is a cute little monster. Then he escapes his cage and eats his way through the book. Follow Nibbles through the book and try to catch him before he escapes the pages.

Rating: 4.5 – a cute and funny kids book

Opinion: This was a cute book. One of the kids I work with brought it to school and we read it to the class. The kids loved it. They thought Nibbles was hilarious. They wanted the teachers to read it again and again. I thought it was clever how the book has ‘torn’ and ‘eaten’ pages throughout. There were clues and tracks for the kids to find, too. The kids liked finding where Nibbles was hiding or where he’d escaped on every page. As an added bonus, there’s four other Nibbles books for you and your kids to read. I highly recommend this book for your kids. It’ll make them laugh every time.

Good Spirits – B.K. Borison

Title: Good Spirits

Author: B.K. Borison

Genre: Romance

Plot: Harriet York is being haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. His name is Nolan Callahan. He needs to help Harriet find the error of her ways before Christmas. It should be another easy assignment for Nolan. Except Harriet seems to be the opposite of the people Nolan usually helps. She’s kind and caring and full of Christmas spirit. So Harriet and Nolan find a way to work together and find out why they were paired together. Nolan takes Harriet to the past to see why Harriet was chosen to be haunted by the Ghost of Christmas Past. And the more time they spend together, the more they learn they might be connected. Since they’re working together, the more they help each other become better people. They quickly become more than just friends. But can Nolan and Harriet figure out why they’re connected? Or will their time run out?

Rating: 4.0 – a different take on A Christmas Carol

Opinion: This was a super cute book. I really liked this take on A Christmas Carol. It was a fun idea to make the Ghost of Past, Present, and Future a job of sorts for people who’ve passed away. I liked that the author included the other ghost jobs, like a grim reaper, and management levels of ghost jobs as well. That was a clever touch. I’d love to learn about other ghost jobs and how they work in another book. I liked that Harriet wasn’t the normal ‘Scrooge’ like character. But her and Nolan still tried to work together to find out why they got paired together. I also liked that Nolan helped remind her of her true value beyond her family’s expectations and values. And that Harriet helped Nolan find his purpose and meaning again. The two of them worked hard to help each other and work together to make each other better. I found it interesting that they knew their relationship wouldn’t work out but tried it out anyway. Though I found the relationship revelation in the book was kind of anticlimactic for me. There was this big hidden thing that kind of fizzled into nothing. I wished there’d a little more to it. I also thought that one or two of Nolan’s things with his boss were a little distracting to the plot and weren’t necessary for the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this sweet story. I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs another PG-13 Hallmark Christmas story.

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat – Syou Ishida

Title: We’ll Prescribe You a Cat

Author: Syou Ishida

Translator: E. Madison Shimoda

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Short Stories

Plot: The Kokoro Clinic for the Soul is a hidden gem in Kyoto, Japan. Most people hear about it through a friend of a friend. It’s said you can’t find the clinic unless you need to. Most clients need help with their mental health. The doctor there prescribes clients cats to help with their problems. The clients are confused and skeptical at first. How will a cat help them with their problems? They reluctantly take their cat home. Of course they’ll come back and complain at first. Then they finally realize why a cat can be beneficial to their life. Five different cats help five people and their families.

Rating: 4.5 – a cute collection of short stories

Opinion: This was such a cute collection of stories. It was a fun way to describe the cat distribution system. This was one of those books that I kept seeing around and finally decide to read it. I got a kick out of the ‘ “I don’t want a cat!” but ends up loving the cat theme.’ I liked idea that you can only find the clinic if you’re looking for it and if you need it. I also liked that the clinic seemed liked a foster cat system for shelter cats. There were so many people who benefited from taking the cat home, not just the people who were prescribed a cat. There are so many benefits to owning a cat. As the book was originally published in Japan, they kept all of the character names and city names the same, which I appreciated. Thankfully Japanese can be easier to figure out how to pronounce. It’s fairly phonetic, but takes a second to completely wrap your head around how to pronounce the words. There was one short story that I wanted more to read more about and another that much longer than the others. I get that the author probably wanted to put more information about how the clinic worked in that story, but I wanted it more spread out in the other stories. Overall, I really did love this collection of short stories. It’s an easy read and great for any cat lovers.

Lovelight Farms – B.K. Borison

Title: Lovelight Farms

Author: B.K. Borison

Genre: Romance

Plot: Stella has been trying to keep her Christmas tree farm alive for the past year. But there’s been missing shipments, dying trees, and a family of raccoons living in the Santa barn. So she’s just trying to stay afloat as this farm is her dream come true. Then Stella sees an opportunity to save her farm. Evelyn St. James has a famous social media account and is having a contest with a $100,000 prize. But there’s a catch. When Stella applied for the contest, she lied and said she runs the farm with her boyfriend. Expect there’s no boyfriend. So she asks her long time best friend, Luka, to be her fake boyfriend while Evelyn is visiting Stella’s farm. Luka is more than happy to help Stella. They promise that whatever happens with Evelyn’s contest, they’ll remain friends after their fake relationship ends. There’s a possibility that they could be more than just friends by the end of it. But can they keep their relationship going strong while Evelyn’s around? Or will Evelyn find out the truth?

Rating: 4.0 – a fun Christmas time romance

Opinion: I really enjoyed this sweet Christmas time romance. I enjoyed that all of Stella’s friends supported her and her business. They wanted to see her succeed and believed she could’ve proven herself without a boyfriend to sell her story to Evelyn. I liked that Stella and Luka were good friends for such a long time before starting their fake romance. It made their relationship easier to fake. I liked that they set boundaries for each other before they started their relationship and told each other if they were crossing a line. I liked that they apologized to each other and talked through things. I liked the small town talk and bets on when Stella and Luka would start dating. I thought it funny that that was the true thing that complicated things with Evelyn. I really liked how that the plot line with Evelyn worked out. The one thing that kind of bugged me was that the plot line with the missing shipments, dead and drying trees, and so forth seemed to wrap up a little too nicely for me. It seemed a little too easy that they caught the person, they confessed, and wanted a cheesy reason they wanted to ruin the farm. It seemed a little out of left field for me. But it kind of redeemed itself because they were able to use the complications for good and save the farm. A little FYI, but the bonus chapter at the end doesn’t really help the plot much. It gives very little info about the plot and an extra steamy scene to the book. So you really don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. Overall, this a cute Christmas time romance. It really felt like a PG-13 Hallmark romance. I recommend this book for anyone who loves Hallmark Christmas romances.

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) – Jesse Q. Sutanto

This is book 2 in the Vera Wong Series. Book 1 is Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Title: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Genre: Mystery

Plot: Vera Wong feels bored with life. It’s been a year since someone died in her tea shop. She desperately wants more excitement in her life again. Then she gets a scam call and tells her police officer friend Selena, who also happens to be dating Vera’s son Tilly. Vera runs into a young woman named Millie outside the police station. They strike up a conversation and Vera learns that Millie’s friend Thomas has gone missing. Vera takes it upon herself to look into Thomas’s disappearance. Thanks to some snooping at Selena and Tilly’s place, Vera learns that Thomas died and it’s probably a suicide. But she doesn’t believe that. So, Vera does what she did last time and gathers up all possible suspects at her house and feeds them. She gets to know each of them and sees who’s behind Thomas’s death. But this time, she uses her new friends, and the new suspects, to use the internet to her advantage. But her new people are hiding deep secrets about how well they actually knew Thomas. So, who was Thomas really? Can Vera solve the case? Or is she in way over her head this time?

Rating: 4.5 – a fun, light hearted murder mystery

Opinion: I really enjoyed the this book. I had high hopes for this one since I loved the first one so much. I thank my book club for helping me find the first one. This one still had the same messages of loneliness, and the importance of family, friends, and community. But made it different and relatable. I liked that the author talked about how easy it is to fake things online. It’s easy to make your life seem perfect and the addiction of likes and views when you post things. But it shows the ugly side of comment section and the ache you can feel when you feel like you can’t compete with what others are posting. I enjoyed seeing Vera Wong bring more people together again. The new characters bring new adventures to Vera and her family from the last book. They do a great job of helping Vera expand her family and helping them with the new problems in this book. They have great character development. Everyone learns important lessons and learn and grow from their experiences. Vera always brings a smile to my face with all of her antics to try and help the people in her life. I like that everyone else is always so supportive of Vera as well. They know they can’t always stop her, but they can be there to protect her. Something I found interesting, and never really thought about, was phone scam rings. I guess it makes more sense that people are working in groups to scam as many people as possible. But it was extra despicable in the book that the bad guys were using children for their scams. But I’m glad they were brought them to justice in the end. Overall, I loved this book and I’m glad I found the sequel. Part of me hopes there more books in this series. Though, just happy there was a second one. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a happier, simpler murder mystery.