A Bookworm's Book Reviews

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

Title: Project Hail Mary

Author: Andy Weir

Genre: Sci-Fi

Plot: Dr. Ryland Grace is humanity’s last hope. He just can’t remember it yet. He wakes up from a coma lost and confused in a spaceship. Dr. Grace starts doing some tests to see what’s going on. He learns he’s not only in space, but in another galaxy entirely. As his memories return, he learns he’s on a mission to find out why a different star isn’t reacting to the Astrophage, what people are calling space algae that’s causing our sun to dim. He needs to find out what to do about the Astrophage in order to save humanity. Soon Dr. Grace learns he’s not alone by the sun. There’s an alien spaceship right next to him. But is the alien friendly or aggressive? Can Dr. Grace still find a way to save humanity?

Rating: 4.3 – an accurate sci-fi with lots of humor

Opinion: This was a great book. This author is fast becoming one of my favorites. He combines accurate, and could be possible, with humor. Some of the humor is sometimes language learning based, not the stupid kind, but the funny relatable kind. The rest of the humor is sarcastic, which I love. There’s lots of science (and from what I stand it’s very accurate) but it’s easy to understand. There’s some humor mixed into the book as well. The alien race doesn’t have good eyesight and has evolved to use music and sound to learn about its environment and to communicate. I found it interesting that, before the characters learn to communicate, that all of the alien’s speech is written as music notes. I wish there could’ve been music lines to go with it so I could know which sounds where being made. I could figure out the rhythms and see that some sounds went up or down but not which sounds were being made. I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves sci-fi and humor.

Artemis 4-6 – Lindsey Stirling

Here are Artemis Issues 1-2, and 3

Titles: Artemis Issues 4-6

Author: Lindsey Stirling

Artists: Emily Chow, Rodrigo Luff, Damination, Anna Maria Navaja, Yato, Matt Krotzer, Zeablast

Genre: Fantasy, Comic Books

Plot: Issue 4 – Artemis has been captured by the goddess, Nyx. She’s convinced Artemis that if she helps Nyx she’ll really be helping everyone. If Artemis doesn’t help, she’ll kill her Uncle Sol. Artemis resigns and helps Nyx round up the rebellion leaders. Artemis knows where the rebellion is located and takes Nyx’s army there. While she is rounding everyone up, she finds their leader who happens to be her best friend. What will Artemis do next?

Issue 5 – Artemis has found hope again. She’s decided to help the rebellion. She frees her friend, Cece, and others. Together they start looking for the gulag where the rest of the rebellion is being held. But Nyx’s army is there blocking their escape from the gulag. Will Artemis and her friends be able to escape?

Issue 6 – Artemis and her friends have escaped the gulag. Now she must figure out how to defeat Nyx. Luckily, she’s learned about her past. She knows who she truly is. Nyx tries hard to keep her power, and her plan is nearly complete. Artemis’s power has grown and soon overwhelm Nyx. Her family able to rejoin her and helps trap Nyx so the true balance can be returned to the world.

Rating: 4.0 – a good conclusion to the series

Opinion: This was a great ending to the Artemis series. This has been a great series about learning about self worth. There will be people who knock you down, but there will be friends who still see your worth. There’s also been leaning that it’s not always about destroying the bad guys but finding a balance in life. Light can’t exist without dark. Good still conquered evil, but didn’t destroy it. I loved the artwork in this book. It was very beautiful. I found it interesting that each type of person has their own color of speech bubble. It made knowing who was talking easier to figure out. This series is great for anyone who enjoys comic books and enjoys Lindsey Stirling’s music.

The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary

Author: Sarah Penner

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Caroline finds an old apothecary bottle while searching through the mud of the Thames during a failed anniversary trip. That sends her on a search for the original owner of bottle. During this time her husband shows up out of the blue. He tries to talk to through what happened and earn her favor. When he gets hospitalized, the police suspect Caroline because of what they find in her notebook. Will her husband pull through? Did she poison her husband? Can Caroline and her husband work things through?

Nella is an apothecary who specializes in poisons. She once helped heal people but after a betrayal, she’s turned to poison. Eliza, a maid asks for help for her mistress. During her mistress’s vacation, Ella asks to apprentice under Nella. She’s hesitant to accept Eliza’s help. Eliza tried to help with a lady with a mistress problem. When the poisoning goes wrong. The police start searching. Nella and Eliza panic. Both look for solutions for ways out in different ways. Will either of the solutions work? Or will the police find them first?

Rating: 3.5 – a good historical fiction book

Opinion: This was a good historical fiction. It wasn’t one of my favorites. While it was interesting, I wasn’t too interested in the story. Part of me wishes it had been two separate stories. That way the author could’ve dove deeper into both stories more. I wish I could’ve learned more about Nella and her past and learned more about what to Eliza at the end of the story. Caroline’s was well done but I wish I had a little more back story for her, too. While this story was interesting I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I normally would like. I loved the idea but wished I could’ve learned more about the characters. This is a good book for anyone who loves a different side of history.

A Dream Within a Dream – Mike Nappa & Melissa Kosci

This is book 3 of the Coffey and Hill series.

Title: A Dream Within a Dream

Authors: Mike Nappa & Melissa Kosci

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Samuel Hill has gone missing. Trudi Coffey knows he’s on a mission, but nothing outside of that. An FBI agent, police chief, and a traitor CIA agent all seem to think Trudi knows what Samuel’s up to and where he is. She tells them all no, but they’re keeping tabs on her. Out of the blue, Samuel appears and tells Trudi he’s after a art forger, called Dream, who knows where some stolen art was hidden. Dream was forced into the business by the Irish mob. Then starts the game of cat and mouse. Who’s going to find Dream first? Who can help him figure out the missing pieces of his memory? Who will find the missing art first? Did Dream really commit the crime he’s accused of? Or was he framed?

Rating: 4.0 – a good thriller of cat and mouse

Opinion: This was a good continuation of the Coffee and Hill series. Though I wish I’d reviewed the first two books before I read this one. The main characters referenced some characters in the first two a couple times. But the more they talked about the past cases, the more pieces I remembered. This book was more steady paced with less lulls than the first two books. There were flashbacks thrown in which threw me for a loop at first. Most chapters have character viewpoint switches. Each chapter backtracks a moment from the last chapter. That bugged me a little at first, but then I enjoyed it because it let me follow along easier as things got more complicated. I wish the ending wrapped everything nicer. The ending seemed a little messy to me. Most things were wrapped up, but I’m not sure I believe the endings. I hope there’s another book in the works that answers the few questions I still have.

Found Things Series – Paula Brackston

Book 4 is available now.

Titles: Book 1 – The Little Shop of Found Things, Book 2 – Secrets of the Chocolate House, Book 3 – The Garden of Promises and Lies

Author: Paula Brackston

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Plot: Book 1 – Xanthe and her mother, Flora, have just moved to Marlborough to start a new life with their own little antique shop. Xanthe has always had a connection with some of the items in their antique shop. While exploring their new back yard and garden, Xanthe discovers a little shed like building. When she steps inside, she’s transported back in time. Xanthe soon learns she must help an innocent girl escape her fate in jail. But how can she help? Is there anyone she can trust? Can she return to her own time?

Book 2 – Xanthe’s learned she can time travel. She finds a new object, an centuries old chocolate pot, not long after she’s settled back into normal life that calls to her. When she returns home with the chocolate pot, she sees a vision of an old friend in trouble. Xanthe returns to the past to help him. But he’s not there, but in jail. In the past she also meets new friends and makes some enemies. Can her new found friendship help defeat her new enemy to save her old friend?

Book 3 – Xanthe’s been working on her time travel skills while she waits for the next object to call to her. She’s also preparing to meet Fairfax again. He’s becoming stronger since their last meeting. Xanthe can only guess at what Fairfax wants. But when he starts attacking Xanthe’s family and friends, she has no choice but to tell them what’s really been going on. Then Xanthe finds a wedding dress that calls to her. It could be the clue to help stop Fairfax. With the help of her family and friends, Xanthe may finally have all the pieces she needs to stop Fairfax once and for all. But will it be enough? Or will Fairfax achieve all he desires?

Rating: 4.3 – a good time travel series

Opinion: This was a great series. This has a great combo of fantasy, historical fiction, and sappy romance. The time travel doesn’t too technical or too detailed but gives the reader a good sense of how the time travel works. It’s never overwhelming with details or info dumps at certain points. The romance in the series is sweet and sappy. It’s meant to look like a real relationship. I wish the ex-boyfriend had more of a tie in to book two. He just shows up at the beginning, appears once in a while, then disappears at the end of the book. I enjoyed the historical fiction parts cause it’s about different times than what I’ve read about. It talks about the daily lives of more ordinary people instead of the nobility. This is a slow building series that ends in some sort of cliffhanger at the end of every book. There’s a fourth book in the series and I’m having a hard time waiting for it to come out. I’m curious to see how the authors ties everything up. I really enjoyed this series so far and would recommend this series to anyone who likes historical fiction and fantasy.

My Wish for You – Katheryn Hahn

Title: My Wish for You

Author: Kathryn Hahn

Illustrator: Brigette Barrager

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

Plot: A mother dreams of all the things she wishes for her daughter. She dreams of all the life lessons her daughter will learn and how she can comfort her daughter. The mother wishes her daughter to have courage, believe in herself no matter what the world says, stay curious, and for so many more things.

Rating: 4.5 – a sweet book about a mother’s love

Opinion: This was a super sweet about about a mother’s love. It’s what every mother would want for her daughters. The pictures are super beautiful, too. I was looking through some of the classroom books when I found this book. I flipped through it when I had a moment and found the beautiful message inside. It talks of so many things that mother’s wish for their daughters and lessons they’d like to teach them. I’d recommend this book for any mother or any classroom.

Between Two Shores – Jocelyn Green

Title: Between Two Shores

Author: Jocelyn Green

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Catherine Stands Apart is a half French, half Mohawk trader near Montreal, Canada during the French and Indian War. All is well with the trading post her and her father run until an old friend, Samuel, returns. Then the French army arrives and asks all able bodied women to help tend the fields while the men are away so the people of Montreal don’t starve. Catherine is hesitant but agrees. When the army finds out that Samuel is British, serving off a debt to Catherine’s father, they demand he help. While working in the fields, they learn valuable information. In confidence, Samuel tries to convince Catherine to escape with him. Reluctantly, she agrees. They learn more about each other’s journey during the five years they were apart. Can they make peace with each other? Or will their past and secrets tear them apart?

Rating: 4.0 – a good historical fiction book about the French and Indian War

Opinion: This was a great historical fiction book about a part of history I’m not as familiar with. I never got the chance to learn much about colonial life that didn’t center around the American colonies. There was a bit of common French phrases that were included in the book (as the book takes place in Quebec and Montreal), but were translated right after or easy to infer given the context. The one thing I that took me a minute to understand was that Catherine often called her dad by his first name. I might have missed reading that but I caught after a little bit. The ending of the book was bittersweet and was almost sad, but was written in a way that I was okay with how the book ending. This is a great books, it’s got lots of good history and some sappy romance, though a little bittersweet.

Summer of Dreams – Elizabeth Camden

Is book is a short story connected with From This Moment

Title: Summer of Dreams

Author: Elizabeth Camden

Genre: Historical Fiction, Short Story

Plot: Evelyn White wants to prove to her general father that she’s capable of going to college to study engineering. She’s building a water pump for her greenhouse but doesn’t know how to power it for long periods. Clyde Brixton has been assigned to help Evelyn build the new water pump to work off some demerits at West Point. At first Evelyn is resistant to his help, but slowly she warms up to Clyde. Can Evelyn get past her fear of being a military wife? Can Clyde work off enough demerits to graduate from West Point?

Rating: 4.0 – a sweet, sappy romantic and historical fiction short story

Opinion: This was a super sweet romantic historical fiction book. I enjoyed learning about how military life worked and a little bit about engineering. Evelyn’s fear off marrying someone in the military was understandable considering her past. I so badly wanted Clyde to succeed, which he did, just not in the way I expected. I needed a super sappy book after the last book I read, and this book was what I needed. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes sappy romance and historical fiction.

Ariadne – Jennifer Saint

Title: Ariadne

Author: Jennifer Saint

Genre: Fantasy, Greek Mythology

Plot: Ariadne is a daughter of Minos, strict ruler of Crete. His legend is being the ‘father’ of the Minotaur, the half man, half bull. Minos demanded sacrifices in human form from Athens to satisfy the Minotaur’s need for meat. Then Theseus comes along. Ariadne is smitten with him. She helps Theseus escape the Minotaur’s labyrinth and kill the Minotaur. The two of them escape the island, but they’ve abandoned Ariadne’s sister who wanted to escape with them. Only Theseus abandones Ariadne on the island of Naxos. When she’s about to give up, a ship appears carrying Dionysus. Dionysus agrees to let Ariadne stay and care for the island. He proves he’s not like anyone else Ariadne’s ever met. But will it last? Is it a god’s trick? While she thrives on Naxos, her sister grows up under Theseus watch and married him once she comes of age. No matter how hard she tries, she’s never happy. Will the girls get their happy endings? Or will the men ruin everything again?

Rating: 3.6 – a different take on the legend of the Minotaur

Opinion: This was a good take on a classic Greek myth. But instead of focusing on the myth, it focuses more on the aftermath of the myth and all of its consequences. It’s definitely not the happiest book I’ve ever read. Just when I thought it’d have a happy ending, it changed course. A happy ending would’ve been nice, but that’s Greek mythology. Something that bugged me about the book was that the characters didn’t really seem to learn from their mistakes. Ariadne kind of does but her sister doesn’t. Overall I did enjoy this book. It’s a different spin on a classic tale. It’s not the happiest, but it’s still a good story. I’d recommend this book for anyone who enjoys new takes on mythology.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair – Jamie Jo Wright

Title: The Curse of Misty Wayfair

Author: Jamie Jo Wright

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Heidi received a confusing letter in her mom. Her mom’s in a memory care facility for dementia and needs help. So Heidi returned home after so many years away. Her sister Vicki has asked for help around the lodge their family owns. Heidi reluctantly agrees. Before she starts, a face appears in the window. In a blink it’s gone. Heidi runs to her car and drives away. Distracted she hits dog. To ease her conscience, Heidi agrees to help the family of the dog in any way. This starts her on a journey to discover the town’s history as well as her own.

Thea is traveling photographer in the early 1900’s who photographs the dead. She agrees to stick around the town of Pleasant Valley after photographing someone recently passed away. She starts helping at a local photographer’s place. The more she helps around town, the more she learns of the town’s mysterious past and curse.

Rating: 3.6 – a good mystery and historical fiction

Opinion: This was a good mystery. It was different from what I was used to with suspense mysteries. This was a ghost and curse mystery. It kept me wondering what was going to happen next and wondering who was behind everything. It also made me a bit nervous about looking outside if I was reading at night. There was a lot of small town historical fiction, too. I was curious to learn more about old fashioned photography and asylums. I was also pleasantly surprise that this book had lots of elements of Christianity in it. It’s not an overwhelming amount but carefully woven into it. It made some very good point about faith and belief. This is one of the few books I don’t mind that it switches view points. It makes complete sense why in the end. The book does a great job wrapping up everything in the book with no loose ends. Overall this is a a good book for anyone who loves a good mystery and historical fiction.