A Bookworm's Book Reviews

The Kingdom of Sweets – Erika Johansen

Title: The Kingdom of Sweets

Author: Erika Johansen

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Natasha and Clara are twins born on Christmas Eve. Their godfather, Drosselmeyer, gives Clara the ‘light blessing’ and Natasha the ‘dark blessing.’ Clara grows up beautiful and the center of attention. Natasha grows up plain and a wallflower. Natasha grows jealous of Clara. One night, on Christmas Eve, Clara gets taken to the Land of Sweets and Natasha follows. The Sugar Plum Fairy finds Natasha and offers her a deal. She takes the deal and becomes Clara. Now she can live her dream. But is it really everything Natasha ever wanted? Will Natasha live up to her end of the bargain? Or are there more strings attached to her bargain?

Rating: 3.3 – a decent, dark retelling of a classic tale

Opinion: This was a different book than what I was expecting. There wasn’t a ton of plot development in the book. It felt like there was too much side stories and background information that didn’t really apply to the story. It felt a little too petty for my liking. There was a decent amount of character development, but it was limited to the main character. It was a decent book, but not one of my favorites. It’s an easy read if you don’t mind a darker read. It’s a decent tale about the consequences of revenge and jealousy. I’d recommend this book for anyone who needs a quick read.

West with Giraffes – Lynda Rutledge

Title: West with Giraffe

Author: Lynda Rutledge

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Woody Nickel is an almost 18 year old in the 1938 dust bowl survivor. He’s hitched his way to NYC in time for the infamous hurricane of that year. Then Woody learns of the giraffes that survived the storm. He meets them and loves them. The giraffes are heading to the San Diego zoo soon. Woody is determined to go with them to California. He follows them on hot-wired vehicles until the giraffe’s driver suddenly quits. Woody takes his chance and becomes the driver. The Old Man in charge of the giraffes begrudgingly takes Woody on. He keeps telling Woody he’ll drop him off at the next big city. But the two grow fond of each other. They continue west through wild and wacky adventures. Can they overcome all the odds to get the giraffes safely to San Diego? Or will the troubles of 1938 USA get to them?

Rating: 4.0 – a different side of Great Depression

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed learning about the history of the late 30’s. I feel like books tend to focus on the start of the 20’s or WW2 and not much time in between. It was nice to learn more about those who traveled the roads and what it was really like. I’ve heard about the Hoovervilles and Sundown Towns, but it was nice to learn more about those, too. This was a nice coming of age story and I liked how it showed a different style of that trope. There was good character development and had a steady pacing throughout the book. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book for any historical fiction lovers.

The Fury – Alex Michaelides

Title: The Fury

Author: Alex Michaelides

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Elliot is a lowly playwright and friends with the famous actress Lana Ferrer. Lana’s invited him and a couple other people to her private Greek island. The locals call the island cursed. Lana doesn’t believe in them. Until she ends up dead. The night follows Elliot as he tries to figure out who killed his closest friend. But everyone has a reason and no one has an alibi. Then Elliot explores the other’s backgrounds. Then his own. Nothing is it what it seems. Will everyone survive the island? Or will the curse get to them?

Rating: 3.5 – a different style of murder mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. It was my first book with an unreliable narrator. I wasn’t sure about it at first. I enjoyed it more after the story picked up. The ending kinda left me with an ‘oh for Pete’s sake’ and ‘another twist? Really?’ feeling. It wasn’t the most thrilling of thrillers. It felt like the book spent half the time on character development and the other half on a tamer thriller. It felt a story of petty revenge with characters trying to backstab each other. The thriller would start to pick up, then it’s more character backstory. I really wanted to like it but it wasn’t the best thriller I’ve read. It was a pretty good book. I recommend this book if you like the unreliable narrator in thrillers.

Secrets of the Nile 1 – Isabel Ibañez

Book 2 is now available and is called Where the Library Hides.

Title: Book 1 – What the River Knows

Author: Isabel Ibañez

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Plot: Inez Olivera is the only child of Argentinian Egyptologists during three British occupation of Egypt. Her parents spend half the year finding artifacts with her Uncle Ricardo. She misses them desperately when they’re gone. Inez spends her time learning more about ancient Egypt while they’re gone. She’s devastated when she receives a letter they’ve died under mysterious circumstances. Inez makes a rash decision to go to Egypt to find out what happened. As soon as she arrives, Inez learns that no one wants her there and wants to send her home. Her uncle’s assistant, Whitford Hayes, is ordered to keep an eye on her after she finds a way to sneak onto her uncle’s travel boat. She promises to be useful and lead them to what they’re searching for. But then, someone makes an unexpected appearance and asks for Inez’s help. Who can Inez trust? Will she find the answers she’s looking for? Or will the shadowy forces at work catch up to her?

Rating: 4.0 – a different side of history

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I thought it was going to be a little cheesy at first. But it was a really interesting book. I enjoyed learning about the British occupation of Egypt and what happened with all of the archeologists in the country. I enjoyed the touch of fantasy in the book. It wasn’t strong, but it really helped the characters and was well written. The author did a good job with throwing suspicion around between different characters. She did a good job with making one of the characters rub me the wrong way and a little extra suspicious of them. I was still thrown for a loop with some of the character’s actions. The ending was great. It ended on a cliffhanger with a great build up. I’m excited to see where the second book goes. I highly recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers.

Shadows of the Dark Realm – Tyler Edwards

Thank you Tyler Edwards for an early(ish) copy of this book. You can find out more about Tyler and his books here.

Title: Shadows of the Dark Realm

Author: Tyler Edwards

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: The dragon stone that kept Parisia safe has been stolen by a dragon. Now the whole world is in danger. The king orders groups of seekers to search for the stone. Dante, the king’s mage, Vale, a disgraced knight, Celeste, the king’s niece, Caelen, a rouge archer, and Azaela, an unusual witch, are sent as the most likely to succeed. None of them remotely likes the other. Each has their own secret. Along the way, they find new allies how have even bigger secrets. There are also people and creatures hunting them and killing other groups. There are also those seeking the stone for their own gain. Can the group overcome their differences to retrieve the stone? Will everyone make it alive? Or will betrayal get them all in trouble?

Rating: 4.0 – a interesting fantasy quest

Opinion: This was interesting book. I liked the classic fairy tale quest. The story kind of felt like a D&D campaign to me. Maybe because I did a campaign before I read the book, but the story felt similar to that. I enjoyed the world building. One or two parts felt like I should’ve known more about part of the world’s history beforehand. I think it was the point of this character, but one of them doesn’t learn anything on the journey. The ending felt a little rushed to me. It kind of felt like there was going to be a sequel, but everything got wrapped up at the end. The book had an open ending, so there’s still the possibility of sequels and spinoffs with the characters separate adventures. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy adventures.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea – Patti Callahan Henry

Title: The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Author: Patti Callahan Henry

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Hazel and Flora Lee are kids during WW2 in London. Operation Pied Piper sends all of London’s children to the countryside. Hazel and Flora are sent to a small town outside of Oxford. The girls end up with Birdie Aberdeen and her son, Henry, who happens to be Hazel’s age. To help keep Flora calm, Hazel tells stories of a make believe world called Whisperwood. While there, Flora disappears. She’s presumed drowned when the police find her stuffed bear at the river’s edge. Hazel, her mom, and the Aberdeen’s are distraught. Hazel refuses to believe that. She still holds out hope that she’s out there somewhere. Twenty years later, a journalist is doing stories about the kids who were sent to the countryside during the war. Hazel refuses to talk to the journalist, as she wants to talk about Flora. She works at a rare bookstore. Her boss receives a set of first edition illustrations for an American series. It’s from a book about Whisperwood. But Hazel’s never told anyone besides Flora about Whisperwood. Hazel becomes bound and determined to find out who else knows about her childhood stories. But that brings up old memories. As she digs deep into the mystery, she learns more about what could’ve happened to her sister. But what really happened to Flora? Who else learned of Whisperwood?

Rating: 4.0 – a great historical fiction mystery

Opinion: I really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow to start, but ended up being a good book. The author does a good job with the time jumps between chapters. There’s just enough information sprinkled through the book to keep you guessing. The ending was a little confusing at times because there was a bigger amount of info dumped. But it a sweet ending. It seemed like a more logical ending than I was expecting. I expected a little more of a fluffy happy ending. This was still a happy ending, but the characters know that things change and can’t go back to where they were before. Overall, this was a great book.I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction mysteries.

You Again – Kate Goldbeck

Title: You Again

Author: Kate Goldbeck

Genre: Romance

Plot: Ari Stone and Josh Ketsenburgh met a their mutual girlfriend’s house and instantly hated each other. They get on each other’s every nerve. Ari storms out and they don’t see each other again. But then they see each other a few times some time later. They make such negative impression on each other that they instantly see and avoid each other. Until they can’t. They slowly start to understand each other. But they don’t want to be more than friends, in case they ruin what they have. When they want something more, they may not be ready for what comes next. Can Ari and Josh come to an understanding? Will they stay friends? Or work together to start a deeper relationship?

Rating: 3.5 – a different take on enemies to lovers

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I was interested in this enemies to lovers story. But I really wanted to like this story but I couldn’t get into it. I had a hard time relating to the characters. I was a little distracted with how Josh could afford his place in NYC without seeming to work. Though for some reason the author described how Ari could afford it. I had a hard time picturing the connections in the book. Though the one thing I’ll give this book is that it talked about different expectations in a relationship and wanting different things from a relationship. While this book wasn’t bad, I didn’t really enjoy it. I’d recommend this book for people who like a different style of romance book.

The Unmaking of June Farrow – Adrienne Young

Title: The Unmaking of June Farrow

Author: Adrienne Young

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: The Farrow women are cursed. June Farrow knows this all too well. Her mother lost her mind and disappeared when June was a couple months old. Her grandma who raised her is losing hers as well. She found out a year ago, June is starting to lose her mind as well. Not long after her grandma passes, June gets a letter from her grandma. It has photos of June’s parents, but dated from 1912, about 50 years too early. This leads June down the path to discover what really happened to her mom, and what’s happening to her family. But what did happen to her mom? Why do the women in her family lose their minds? What’s really going on in her mind?

Rating: 3.8 – a slow start time travel romance

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I wasn’t sure I’d like it because of how it started. It was a bit of a slow start for me. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book with time travel. I liked how they did it. It was a little confusing at first. There was good explanation about what was going on. One or two times it felt a bit too much like an info dump. But as far as info dumps go, it wasn’t bad. The author does a good job of explaining things. Overall I really enjoyed the book. I stayed up too late to finish the book because I ended up loving the book that much. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes small town fantasy.

Ever Faithful – Karen Barnett

Title: Ever Faithful

Author: Karen Barnett

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Elsie Brookes is a ranger’s daughter in Yellowstone National Park. She’s working as a maid to save up for college so she can be a teacher. After the summer, she should have enough money saved to go actually go to college. That summer, FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC) starts in Yellowstone. Nate Webber is one of the men to sign up. He is a natural leader and soon becomes the foreman of his group. He and Elsie meet and spark an instant connection. But Nate has a hard time with a certain aspect of his job. More fires than normal threaten the park and Nate and Elsie’s friends. Can their friendship keep going? Will it grow to something more? Or will something happen to put an end to everything?

Rating: 4.0 – a sappy romance and historical fiction

Opinion: I enjoyed this book. It was nice to read a sappy romance. I loved that the characters made smart decisions, especially for a romance book. The history surrounding the book was interesting. I’d heard of FDR’s New Deals, but not the Civilian Conservation Corps. There was a blurb in the back that this was one of FDR’s most successful programs. I liked this program cause it helped people get a better education and a better job. It was an interesting part of history and a part you don’t hear as much about. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a quick and easy read. I liked the slight air of mystery, too. I recommend this book for anyone who likes sappy romance and historical fiction.

Fairy Tale – Stephen King

Title: Fairy Tale

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Charlie is at the end of his junior year of high school. He had a rough childhood, he and his father are learning to get along again. Then Charlie heard the creepy house neighbor’s dog scared barking. He found the owner, Mr. Bowditch, with a broken leg. Charlie called 911 and promised to take care of Mr. Bowditch’s dog, a German Shepherd named Radar. During visiting hours at the hospital, Charlie starts to befriend Mr. Bowditch. Charlie finds some strange things in Mr. Bowditch’s house when he starts looking after the house, and asks his dad about it. His dad looks into it but finds nothing conclusive. Then Charlie agrees to help take care of Mr. Bowditch when he’s released from the hospital. As Mr. Bowditch gets better, he suddenly dies. No one sees anything suspicious except Charlie. Then he finds an old recorder with a message from Mr. Bowditch in it. He explains that there’s a hidden world in his shed with the power to turn back time for someone. Charlie checks it out and finds out that it’s real. He brings Radar with him. He hopes he can heal Radar in the magic land. Soon Charlie finds himself on a bigger adventure than he bargained for. The magic kingdom needs help and Charlie gets sucked in. But what can Charlie do to help? Is there any way to help the broken kingdom?

Rating: 4.3 – a darker take on classic fairytales

Opinion: I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure I would since, it’s a Stephen King book. I’d heard good things about it from non horror/thriller fans, so I thought I’d give it a try. It was a slow start, but picked up after a while. There was lots of great character development. It was a great coming of age story. I really enjoyed the fairytale style of the book. It was truer to the original, darker fairytales. Which is truer to the style of what I know of Stephen King. I like this style of book. I’m planning on reading more of Stephen King’s books, as I liked the book that much. A fun little side note is that the book mentions another one of Stephan King’s books in this book. This is a great book. I highly recommend this book if you like darker fairytales and have time for a 600 page book.