Plot: Elsie Hannaway is a recent Phd grad who’s making pennies as an adjunct theoretical physics professor. She’s had to take up working for a fake dating company to make ends meet. Her current ‘boyfriend,’ Greg, takes Elsie to meet his family to get them off his back. There she meets his brother Jack. He seems familiar to her, but she can explain why. Not long after, a fellow physics professor tells Elsie about a job opportunity as a tenure track professor at a different university. Elsie jumps at the chance until she realizes who’s in charge of the physics department, Jack Turner-Smith, an experimental physicist and Greg’s brother, who hates all theoretical physicists. Elsie still wants this job so she pushes through with the interviews and lectures. Somehow they find some common ground. Will Elsie get the job? Can Elsie and Jack learn to work things out?
Rating: 4 – a sappy enemies to lovers in STEM academia
Opinion: This was a sweet book. I hadn’t realized that there was such a pay difference between adjunct and tenure track professors. It kinda makes sense but I didn’t know it was that big of difference. This gave a good insight of some of the politics of academia and ways to make it more inclusive for women. This style of science is easy to understand and doesn’t feel dumbed down. I like this authors style of romance. I’m always a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope. It’s mainly sweet and sappy with a little bit of sex. It’s nice that it doesn’t focus on the sex but the relationship itself. The characters have a deep relationship before that start to do anything in bed and it’s always consensual. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys sappy romance books.
Plot: Samuel Hill was born with ocular albinism. This makes his eyes bright red. His mother says his eyes are ‘a gift from God.’ His classmates call him ‘the devil’s child.’ What makes life bearable are his two friends, Ernie (the only black kid at school), and Mickie (the girl who doesn’t seem to fit in). His chief bully is Pete Davidson. Pete seems to have a personal vendetta against Sam. While Sam avoids Pete, he focuses on his studies. Will Sam rise against the challenges in his life? How so? Or will the negative voices in his life get the best of him?
Rating: 4.0 – a sweet tale of life, differences, and over coming challenges
Opinion: This was a bittersweet book. I was so hopeful for Sam. He stayed strong, even though he was scared. I liked that his friends believed in him and saw the best in him, even when he didn’t. They both thought he deserved better than his lot in life. I really hoped that Sam and Mickie would end up together and was so glad they did. The end of part six broke my heart. I was starting to get hopeful about that part of Sam’s life. I understood where Sam was coming from. I’m glad that Sam got the help he needed and was able to overcome his grief. I kinda related to Sam, with my speech instead of eyes. I learned to keep my head down like he did. I had a small group of friends, too. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book who loves a great coming of age story, and a story of life, love, and overcoming challenges.
Titles: 1 – The Crescent Stone, 2 – The Heartwood Crown, 3 – The Story King
Author: Matt Mikalatos
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Plot: 1 – Madeline is a junior in high school, and she’s dying. Every day she finds it harder to breath. One day in class, Madeline collapses. Her friends Wu Song, nickname Jason, and Darius rush her to the hospital. When she’s more stable, time freezes and a strange looking man named Hanali steps into her room. Hanali explains that he’s an Elenil and can cure her if he serves the Elenil in the Sunlit Lands for a year on Earth. Madeline reluctantly agrees. Jason overhears and demands Hanali that he goes with Madeline to protect her. Hanali begrudgingly accepts. Hanali gives them a bracelet that acts like a contract. Jason tells Darius what they’re doing and where they’re going. Darius promises to find them again. When Jason and Madeline arrive in the Sunlit lands, they’re amazed by everything. They’re given duties to preform and rules to learn. Then they meet the Skim. They’re the sworn enemies of the Elenil. When Madeline helps the Elenil heal those injured, something unsettles her. She and Jason start to dig deeper about the magic system, the more they want to change things. But what can two humans do?
2 – Darius has found Madeline and Jason. Darius has been fighting with the Skim. He understands things from the Skim’s perspective. He’s explained that to Madeline and Jason and they want to help Darius. Now the three of them are on run. A new friend, Shula, wants to help the three of them. Together they travel the Sunlit lands looking for a way to make things right. But they pursued on every side. The group seeks refuge with the Aluvereans. They tell them the story of the Heartwood Queen. After they tell the group that someone must take the Queen’s place. This will help reset the magic and make it more equal for everyone. All have a reason to do it. Madeline has the biggest reason. Will Madeline do it? Or will someone else take the Queen’s place?
3 – Madeline took the Heartwood Queen’s place. Her friends are grieving. Now it’s been a year and there is plenty of turmoil in the Sunlit Lands. The Elenil still want total control. Hanali has taken control charge of the Elenil. The Skim want their freedom and fight for it. They’ve gone their own ways to do so. Jason’s been broken up with and kidnapped. Darius finds his way back to the Sunlit Lands after being banished. Shula has been living peacefully on the shore with Madeline’s mother and a Skim named Yenil. Jason, Darius, and Shula must find a way to unit the Sunlit Lands. They have their missions and will do what it takes to unite the Sunlit Lands. But they must overcome their past obstacles and traumas to see things clearly. When they finally reunite they know what needs to be done. They’re going to do this together and bring the peace and unit the lands. What is the cost? Will the Elenil agree to peace? Or fight to the death?
Rating: 4.0 – a well built fantasy that tackles deep issues
Opinion: I loved the world building in this trilogy. It was really well done. It was spread out so there wasn’t too much of an info dump. The magic system was well done, too. It made sense and was believable. I found it interesting that the trilogy tackled deep issues with today’s society and made it understandable for everyone, especially for the target audience. The author wove it into both worlds beautifully. I also liked that the ideas presented at the end. The ending was done well and different. I liked that it was a different kind of ending, especially for a fantasy book with a slightly dystopian feel. The one thing I didn’t love was all of the stories. It kind of felt distracting to the main story. While I understand it was necessary to the story, I didn’t think all of them were completely necessary.
Plot: Natalka is a senior caretaker in a seaside town in England. One evening, she goes to check on one of her patients, Peggy Smith, is dead. Something about her death doesn’t seem right to Natalka. She talks with Edwin and Benedict, Peggy’s two friends, and discuss the options. They find Detective Harbjnder Kaur, show her a note from Peggy Smitj, and let her know their suspicions and that someone threatened them with a gun. Detective Kaur decides to take the case. The more they learn about Peggy Smith, the more they learn how well connected she was to the mystery writers in the area and what they’ll do to keep a secret. But who’s behind Peggy’s death? What secrets do they keep?
Rating: 3.5 – a different kind of mystery
Opinion: This was an interesting book. The mystery was good, but there wasn’t a lot of action to support it. The book held a steady pace that kept it all interesting. I liked that it was more ordinary people that took charge of the mystery. While they may not have made the smartest decisions, they three non-detectives did a good job with helping the case. The author did a good job with the character switches in the book. Though the loops thrown at you towards the end of the book made it harder to follow. I would’ve liked to see them spread out a little bit more. The surprises all at once almost took the fun out of the book for me. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I recommend this book for anyone who likes a simpler mystery,
Plot: The Phantom of the Opera has a new line of business. He employs women down on their luck to infiltrate shady businesses and bring them down. He calls the women he employs his Angels. The women work in groups of three. Each woman in the group has a certain set of skills to help with the missions. Some of the Angels include Christine Daee and Irene Adler. The groups of Angels must find out who is behind the shady organizations and bring them to justice, the Phantom’s version of justice. Who are the behind these organizations? Will the Angels be able to find and help the innocents in time?
Rating: 4.0 – an interesting twist on Phantom of the Opera
Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoy the Phantom of the Opera book, play, and movie. This book was an interesting take on that. It takes place after the events of the original book, and during the rest of Christine’s life. I enjoyed that there were different mysteries to solve with different characters. And that they were all brought together to solve a mystery together. The only think I didn’t love about the book was that it was a dense read. It was written closer to the style of the original book. So it took me a little longer to read, but it’s not a big deal. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction, mystery, and fantasy.
Plot: Pero has been hiding for the past 12 years. She has a secret talent that she needs to hide from Dr. Carper, who took her mom for the same reason 12 years ago and why she’s been hiding. If Pero wears her mother’s feather necklace, he’ll find her. On her 17th birthday, she puts it on, and he magically appears, forcing her best friend Henry to turn her in. Dr. Caper takes her to Moon City where he can use her talents to stop the Lesaries from destroying the city. But the Lesaries are the good guys and follow the guidance of Elohim. Pero knows she must help the Lesaries and follow Elohim. But Elohim wants Pero to protect Dr. Carper. What will Pero do? Will she protect Dr. Carper? Or let the Lesaries destroy him?
Rating: 3.5 – a good take on the story of Jericho
Opinion: I enjoyed the overall story, and enjoyed the ideas and themes. My main concern with the book was that there wasn’t enough world building. Most of the things that I feel like are normally explained with fantasy aren’t explained well or are glossed over. There is some explanation for most things but it wasn’t explained well, to me at least. Maybe I was looking too deep into it, cause the book is too young for me. For whatever reason, I didn’t love the lack of world building. On the other hand, I really liked the characters. They were realistic and relatable. I feel like they acted reasonable for the situations they were in. Overall, this was a good book, just not the right one for me. It’d be a great book for a teenager.
Plot: Nena and Néstor were childhood friends on a rancho in northern Mexico in the mid-1800’s. Nena’s the daughter of the rancho owner. Néstor’s one of the ranch hands. The two of them sneak away most nights to find silver so Néstor can buy his own land. One night, a strange creature attacks Nena and leaves her for dead. Néstor brings her back. Nena’s family declares her dead. Néstor fleas. Some years later, Néstor is forced to return to help Nena’s father protect his rancho. When he returns, he sees Nena alive and well. But what really happened that night? What was the creature that attacked them? When the time comes for Néstor and the other ranch hands to protect the rancho from Americans, they see the same creature again. Nena and Néstor are separated from everyone and must find their own way back. Can they make it back safely? Or will the creatures get them?
Rating: 4.3 – a different take on vampires
Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the mix of history mixed with local legends and myths. It was interesting to learn more the similarities between different cultures. It’s easy to see the European influences in Mexico in high society. This book has some scary moments, but it’s evenly spaced out in the book so you have a little time to calm down. Just a little FYI, there was a lot of Spanish words mixed into the book. Most can be guessed based on context. The rest are explained in the book. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book for anyone who loves history and thrillers.
Plot: Elodie is an archivist in London. Her boss asked her to sort through some boxes. In one of the boxes is a satchel. In the satchel there a sketch book and portrait of a young woman. Elodie uses all of her resources to find the connection between the objects. The more Elodie learns about the objects, the more she learns of a connection to her past. The house where the objects came from is the house of a childhood story. Birch wood Manor has a long and sad story. Edward Radcliffe was an up and coming artist. He’s engaged when he takes a new model, Millie. Sparks fly between Edward and Millie. During the summer, the two of them go to Birchwood Manor for the summer with some of Edward’s friends. Then something happens and Edward is left alone and depressed. What really happened that summer? What’s the connection between the items in the satchel?
Rating: 3.3 – an interesting historical fiction
Opinion: This book started out well. But there were so many characters introduced and so many time jumps at the beginning that I lost interest quickly. The book also had a slow pace. I read some of the other reviews and I agree that the ending of this book was anticlimactic. I was also a little confused about what exactly happened. While I enjoyed the idea of the book and the mystery of it, the slowness of the book and the characters made it hard for me to read. This was a good book but I couldn’t get into it. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a slow and steady historical fiction and mystery.
Plot: Lucy is a kindergarten aide with a love for reading. She’s been tutoring a kid named Christopher since she fostered him for a few weeks. She passed on her love of reading to him as it was one of the few things that could calm him down. Their favorite books are the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Lucy has grown fond of Christopher and wants to adopt him, but she can’t afford to and doesn’t have stable enough housing according to the fostering coordinator. Lucy and Christopher’s wish is to be able to be a family. A chance to be a family is answered in the form of a contest. The author of their favorite book series is offering the chance to win his newest book that hasn’t been published yet. All they have to do is answer the riddle to enter. Lucy’s answer is accepted and now she’s in the contest on the actual Clock Island. The author, Jack Masterson, has a series of challenges for Lucy and three other contestants. If they can win the challenges, they win the book. But the challenges bring up some painful memories for Lucy. Can she win? Or will one of other contestants win? Or will it all be too much for everyone?
Rating: 4.2 – a sweet story about family
Opinion: This was a sweet book. I liked how it talked so much about non-traditional families and foster care. I understand why there are so many restrictions in place, but at the same time I wish it wasn’t so hard for other families to foster and adopt. The characters in the book are well written and different in their own ways. I liked how they all connected to Jack Masterson’s books in different ways through their own pasts. The contest is different, too. There are different sort of challenges that force the characters to think in different ways and do things in ways that make them overcome things in a respectful and positive way. The way the competition was different than how I expected, too. It was nice to see something end in a way that was fair for everyone, in a sense. It was also nice for some of the characters to find a sense of peace through everything that happened to them. This book was a nice change of pace for me. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves books about the love of reading, overcoming obstacles, and good old fashioned competition.
Plot: Calla is a disgraced princess who everyone in San-Er is dead. She killed her parents, the king and queen, of Er in cold blood. Calla fled and was presumed dead. She knows that the crown is corrupt. Crown Prince August knows better. He’s required her help with the city’s underground in exchange for help in the ‘games.’ The anual games are a contest for 84 individuals to kill each other for a chance for fame and riches. When most of the city is poor and desperate, lots of people enter for a chance to win. The trick is that people in San-Er can ‘jump.’ Their souls can jump from body to another. Some can do it better than others. Jumping is not without its risks, too. Calla enters for the chance to win and kill the king. She needs to rid the city of the other corrupt royalty. While competing, she meets Anton, another ex-royal. He’s been disillusioned and knows of the corruption. They join together so they have a better chance of winning. August disapproves. He insists that the only way to get rid of the corruption is to win alone. But who will win? Will Calla get her chance to finish her job? Can Anton and Calla work together long enough? Or will everyone’s secrets get the better of them?
Rating: 4.0 – a different kind of dystopian fantasy
Opinion: This book was better than I was expecting. It looked interesting and I was curious. I’ve read another book by this author and liked that one, but didn’t love it. This one was much better. There was a part of the book that gave me Hunger Games vibes, but it was different enough that I could really enjoy the book. I liked that the book kept more of its focus on the competition and the different goals of the characters. The world was well built and the jumping abilities had plenty of realistic rules and restrictions. It almost seemed plausible. There’s definitely going to be another book. Near the ending of the book, you realize there’s too much stuff to wrap up before the book ends. I hope the second one comes out soon. This book was too good to not know what happens in the next book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and dystopian future.
A Bookworm's Book Reviews 