A Bookworm's Book Reviews

The Lady of Bolton Hill – Elizabeth Camden

Title: The Lady of Bolton Hill

Author: Elizabeth Camden

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Clara and Daniel are the best of friends, despite their drastic differences in social classes in the late 1800’s. Clara’s father sends her to England where she becomes an investigative journalist. She gets in trouble for reporting about children in the coal mines. She’s forced to return to the United States where she’s reunited with Daniel. He’s become a railroad tycoon and rich. But he’s holding a bitter grudge against his former employer. It’s now causing a rift between him and his employees after Clara writes an article about his business practices. Now it’s getting Daniel and Clara in trouble. But who’s causing the trouble? Can they put an end to it? Or will it all end in trouble?

Rating: 4.0 – a sweet historical fiction

Opinion: This was a sweet, sappy historical fiction. This does a good job with giving some details about the differences between classes and lifestyles. I was surprised with the return of a character. He’s been in a couple other of Elizabeth Camden’s books and I was glad to get to know the character more. I enjoyed reading the sappy romance. I loved one of the themes was holding onto grudges and how it can affect your life. It can be easy to hold a grudge and this book talks about how it can effect others when you have a long lasting grudge. This is a good sappy romance and historical fiction book. I recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction.

The Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo

Title: The Night Tiger

Author: Yangsze Choo

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Ji Lin is helping her mother pay off her mother’s mahjong debts in British colony Malaya (now Malaysia). She has an apprenticeship with a dressmaker and works part time at a dance hall. One of her dance partners drops something after a dance. A finger. Ji Lin’s not sure what to do. She asks her step brother, Shin, about it. He thinks it belongs to the local hospital he works at. There she meets Ren, who’s searching for the same finger which belongs to his former master. Ren must reunite the finger with is former master’s body or his master’s spirit will wander the earth as a weretiger according to local lore. With a tiger in the area, is the local legend true? Or is it a real tiger? Or something else?

Rating: 4.0 – a surprisingly good mystery and historical fiction book

Opinion: This was a good book. I enjoyed learning about Malaysian history and culture. The book gave good insight into the daily lives and beliefs of Malaysian people and what outsiders thought of them. It was interesting to learn how the local people thought of the British and Chinese who came to Malaysia. I enjoyed the air of mystery woven into the book. The author does a really good job with this. She a good job throwing suspicion on the right people, and animals. It gave good reasons why the locals, or anyone, could believe in the local legends. This was a steady read and kept my interest throughout the book. It did a good job building up to the ending. There was one thing that bugged me about the book. There was so much description in certain parts that it was easy to miss little things. This is a great book for anyone who loves historical fiction and wants to learn more about another culture.

Behind the Lights – Helen Smallbone

Title: Behind the Lights: The Extraordinary Adventure of a Mum and Her Family

Author: Helen Smallbone

Genre: Memoir

Plot: Helen Smallbone is the mom (or mum because she hails from Australia) of 90’s and early 2000’s Christian singer Rebecca St. James and now popular Christian duo for King and Country. In this book, she tells the story of growing up in Australia, meeting her husband, starting a family, and starting over in the USA. Life was never easy for her and her family. She learned with her family and shares stories of success and failure. Helen tells stories of how Rebecca St. James and for King and Country got their start and how it was a family venture. Everyone had a role in their family and how they learned what they now. Helen leads us all the way up to the present and what led her to write the book.

Rating: 4.0 – a good story about faith, family, and music

Opinion: This was a great book. I grew up listening to Rebecca St. James. I think she was one of the first concerts I went to when I was a kid. I didn’t know she was so young when she was popular. Now I love listening to her brother’s band, for King and Country. I loved knowing that for both of them, their music was a family business. I’m glad their whole family was a part of their music. I loved that everyone in their family got to help and had a part to play. It was interesting to know how much they all were able to do and showed that not everything is learned in a classroom. Some things are better learned on the job. It was nice to hear about the ups and downs of life and not everything is easy. It paints a better picture of family life and makes it easier to relate to them. I loved getting to know more about two artist I love from the eyes of one of people who loves them the most. This is a great book for anyone who loves Rebecca St. James and for King and Country.

The Hacienda – Isabel Cañas

Title: The Hacienda

Author: Isabel Cañas

Genre: Thriller, Historical Fiction

Plot: Beatriz has just gotten married to Rodolfo Solórzanos not long after being arrested by Mexico’s newly founded republic after their war for independence with Spain. She and Rodolfo move to his house, Hacienda San Isidro. Beatriz longs to make the house hers. But not everything is as it seems. After Rodolfo returns to the capital, Beatriz begins to notice odd things: red eyes in the shadows, temperature fluctuations, blood soaked things, and a skeleton buried in the wall. When she tries to show others what she saw, the things vanish. Still, Beatriz seeks help from the local priests. They try to dismiss her, but Padre Andrés believes her. He promises to help. Padre Andrés being there only brings up more secrets from the past. Secrets that people want to keep buried. Will Padre Andrés’ help be enough? Should the secrets of the past really be uncovered? Can they save the hacienda? Or is it lost to whatever, or whomever’s taken up residence there?

Rating: 4.0 – a good blend of historical fiction and thriller

Opinion: This was a great book. It was hard to put it down. There were a few times I had to put it out of sight so I wouldn’t be tempted to read it. It was definitely creepy but not creepy to keep me up at night or freak me out if I read it at night. I loved the history of this book. It was interesting to read about a different culture and their history, even if was a thriller. I learn a little about the caste system Mexico had in college, but this has a more in depth and more interesting way to learn about it. I enjoyed learning about daily life on an hacienda and life from an outsider’s perspective. This book does have a fair bit of Spanish, but most of it has the English equivalent nearby or is self explanatory. I loved this book. It’s a great blend of history and spookiness. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves history and thrillers.

Legendborn Cycle 1 – Tracy Deonn

Book 2 is Bloodmarked, Book 3 is Oathbound

Title: Book 1 – Legendborn

Author: Tracy Deonn

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Plot: Bree Matthews has just arrived at her early enrollment program at the University of North Carolina with her good friend Alice. They sneak off campus to party. There, Bree sees something she shouldn’t, a magical creature attacking. Alice and Bree get in big trouble. Not long after, Bree sees another magical creature. Her new mentor Nick, attack the creature. Bree starts asking Nick about the creatures and she’s introduced to a secret world of Merlins, King Arthur, Arthur’s knights, and magic. Everyone in the group is a descendent of the knights of the round table, called Legendborns. Bree knows someone among the Legendborns knows something about her mother’s death. She convinces Nick to let her in so she can find out. But can Bree survive long enough to find out? Or will the creatures or someone darker get her first!

Rating: 4.3 – a great new telling of the knights of the round table

Opinion: This was a great story. I loved that the author took a known story and made it her own. It’s a different kind of magic, too. It was interesting that there are different kinds of magic in this book. They’re based on different people’s backgrounds and origins. Both are well developed and have different strengths and weaknesses depending on the person. The book talks a lot about grief and deals very well with it. Bree’s gone through a lot before the books starts and learns to let go while looking for answers. It’s not an easy process like in some books. It makes it seem more relatable that a character holds onto the person they’ve lost. They don’t wanna lose someone close to them. The one little thing I didn’t like was that there were a whole bunch of characters introduced at once. It made it harder to keep track of who was who. Overall, this was an amazing book. I loved it. I’d highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers.

Kaikeyi – Vaishnavi Patel

Title: Kaikeyi

Author: Vaishnavi Patel

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Kaikeyi is the only daughter of a raja. She’s also the oldest of eight, the rest are boys. She longs for the freedom her brothers have. After her mother is banished, Kaikeyi looks through the library and learns from them. She learns she has a magic ability. She also begs her twin brother, Yuddhajit, for sword, spear, archery, and chariot lessons. Kaikeyi also decides to learn about the royal court. When her father decides to marry Kaikeyi to a neighboring country’s raja, she protests. With the help of her handmaiden, she learns to accept her new role and flourish, as an advisor, mother, and protector. She helps other women in the kingdom and starts to make progress for women. But will it be enough? Or will someone threaten and take away all Kaikayi’s worked for?

Rating: 4.4 – a good story about making changes

Opinion: This was a great book. I wasn’t sure I’d like it or what to expect. It wove Indian mythology in with some modern ideas beautifully. I was expecting the book to be more about Indian mythology and legends. I didn’t expect it to follow Kaikeyi. But this book was great because of the great world building and great story telling. I enjoyed learning more about Indian culture and some of their legends and mythology. With how long this book was, I shouldn’t have been surprised with all of the time jumps to follow Kaikeyi through her life. With all that’s going on in the world today, I felt like the author drew on some parallels for her story. It wasn’t too obnoxious though and well done. Overall, I really enjoyed this book for its imagery, storytelling, and fantasy. I recommend this book for anyone who loves mythology and fantasy books.

The Dot – Peter H. Reynolds

Title: The Dot

Author and Illustrator : Peter H. Reynolds

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

Plot: It’s the end of art class and Vashti hasn’t created anything. Her teacher tries to encourage her, but Vashti’s unsure. Vashti doesn’t think she’s an artist. Her teacher suggests she starts by drawing a dot. When she’s done, Vashti’s teacher has her sign her work. Later, Vashti thinks she can do better. What will she create?

Rating: 4.3 – a cute story about being creative

Opinion: This was a cute story. The daycare I work at did a school wide lesson on this book. I really enjoyed it. It teaches kids that anyone can be creative even if they don’t think they are. This can also be a good lesson about the fact that there are different kinds of creativity. It’s also a great book to teach about self confidence. There are lots of things you can add on to this story. It’s a great addition to any classroom library.

Land of the Lone Star Trilogy – Tracie Peterson

Titles: 1. Chasing the Sun, 2. Touching the Sky, 3. Taming the Wind

Author: Tracie Peterson

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Plot: 1. Hannah Dandridge’s father has disappeared from their Texas ranch. Now she’s in charge of her family’s ranch and her two much younger siblings. Hannah looks to her father’s friend, Herbert Lockhart, but he’s not all he says he is. William Barnett is a Union soldier returning to his family’s ranch only to find Hannah and her siblings living there. Now everyone must decide what to do. But with the Comanche threatening the land and others wanting their way, can Hannah and William work together to save the ranch?

2. Laura and Carissa Marquardt are ladies in Corpus Christi. Carissa is swept up in a whirlwind romance with a man she’s just met. Laura is unsure of the man. Something in her gut doesn’t trust him but she can’t convince Carissa otherwise. Laura soon finds a confidant in Brandon Reid. He’s a lieutenant with the Union Army and on a secret mission to stop Carissa’s soon to be husband. Can Brandon put a stop to his plan? Can Laura keep her sister safe?

3. Carissa’s followed her sister, Laura, and Brandon, Laura’s now husband, to their ranch to start new with her daughter, Gloria. But old wounds are slow to heal. Luckily, her friend, Tyler Atherton, had patience. But his lingering anger and old wounds are slow to heal as well. Brandon, Tyler, and some other men have decided to go on a cattle drive. Can the women stay safe with the Comanche getting ready for war? With two of the women pregnant, what will happen when the past comes back to haunt them? Will the men make it back to help? Or will they make do by themselves?

Rating: 4.0 – a sweet, old west tale

Opinion: This was a really sweet, sappy trilogy. I thought it would be a lot sappier, but it had just the right amount of sap. I was surprised by the high amount of Christianity there is in this trilogy. It was a very pleasant surprise. It was a really important part of all of the main characters. A lot of the historical fiction books don’t have as strong of a sense of faith. It’s there, but not as prominent. I really appreciated that. I haven’t found a lot of books that talked a lot about Texas history during the Civil War. It’s usually about the standard states during the war. I liked learning more about this side of the war and what the people thought about it. I really enjoyed the combination of sappy romance, historical fiction, and faith. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction.

Verdi – Janell Cannon

Title: Verdi

Author and Illustrator: Janell Cannon

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

Plot: Verdi is a python living in the rainforest. He’s young and yellow. The adult pythons are green and boring. All they do is lay around. Verdi is full of energy. He spends his day playing and trying crazy tricks. When he notices a green spot on his back, Verdi tries everything to keep from turning green. But will it be enough?

Rating: 4.3 – a cute book about being okay with growing up

Opinion: This was a cute book. It was one of my favorite books growing up. I loved Verdi’s antics. Rereading it now makes me understand a little of where Verdi’s coming from. It’s a bit long for most of the kids I work with, but I think the older kids I work with could sit through it, though. They would love Verdi’s antics, too. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has kids or has a unit one wild animals.

New is Fun, Too! – Ariel Leshchinsky

Title: New is Fun, Too!

Author: Ariel Leshchinsky

Illustrator: Jeremy Wells

Plot: Panda Ya and her family are moving far away from everything’s she known. Panda Ya is very nervous. Her parents talk to her about how life in her new town is different but also the same. Panda Ya starts to understand and accept her new life. That night her parents have some surprises for her. But what are they?

Rating: 4.5 – a cute story about moving with children

Opinion: This was a very cute book. It does a good job explaining how life can be different and the same in a new place. This is a great book for families moving with kids. It can help with their anxieties about the unknown with moving and that some things can stay the same. A kid brought this book in to the daycare where I work. Her mother wrote it. The kids loved it. They thought it was cute, too. They seemed to understand the general concept of moving. They loved the pictures and activities in the book. This is a great family book and great and I highly recommend this book.