The Witch and the Tsar – Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

Title: The Witch and the Tsar

Author: Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Plot: Yaga is a half goddess living in the Russian countryside. She avoids mortals due to past hurts. The occasional mortal seeks her out for healing remedies. When Tsar Ivan’s wife Anastasia comes seeking a cure, Yaga’s life starts to get complicated. No one else has been able to help Anastasia. Yaga goes to Moscow to continue treatments. Then Ivan accuses Yaga of hurting Anastasia, Yaga escapes to the woods again. When Yaga hears that Tsar Ivan is pillaging every village and city to find ‘traitors,’ she must finds a way to stop him. On top of everything, Tsar Ivan has magical help destroying everything. Yaga soon finds help with a band of soldiers. Will Yaga and her newfound friends be able to defend the common people against the tsar? Or will he destroy everything in his path?

Rating: 3.5 – an interesting retelling of the Baba Yaga mythology

Opinion: This was an interesting story. I haven’t heard many stories about Baba Yaga. So I was curious to learn about a different side of her. The added historical fiction aspects made the story about Ivan the Terrible was a great touch. I enjoyed the combination of mythology versus history. I liked how the author explained the reason for Ivan the Terrible’s madness. I also liked that both sides had magical half gods/goddesses and magic. There’s always a good story with the good guys with longer odds taking on the bad guys with lots of help going against each other. Though, it helped that the bad guy’s foot soldiers were spread out throughout Russia. As much as I liked the ideas of the book, the pacing of the story was slow. There were so many side quests, it kind of distracted from the main story. It made it seem like the stakes were lower since there were so many distractions with a slower main plot. It also made it harder for me to connect to the characters. I really wanted to care, but I just couldn’t. Though I was still curious about the story and characters to see how the story ended. The ending was satisfying and wrapped up everything in a nice little bow. Overall, I did like the story. I’d recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a mythology and historical fiction combo.

A Good Animal – Sara Maurer

Title: A Good Animal

Author: Sara Maurer

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Plot: Everett Lindt has grown up on a sheep farm near Sault St Mary on the upper peninsula of Michigan. His dreams are to take over the family farm when he’s done with high school. He has no desire to see the wide world and knows what he wants from life. Then he meets Mary, a new girl in town, and only there because her father took a job with the local Coast Guard. Mary wants to go to college and be an artist. She craves something bigger than herself and her independence. Despite their differences, Everett and Mary start dating. Everett tries to show Mary the joys of farm life. Mary tries to convince Everett of a life outside of his family farm. One choice could change everything for everything. Will Everett and Mary be able to figure it out on their own? Can they find an adult they trust? Or will everything come crashing down around them?

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting small town, coming of age story

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I wanted a change of pace for a book and thought this would be a good one. I wasn’t disappointed. The author did a good job making me roll my eyes while I was reading about the teenage boy’s antics. I got a kick out of the fact that Everett related everything to sheep. I mean, you relate to what you know, but I still found it funny. I also liked that Mary called him out on the fact that everything was related to sheep. I also understood the fear and shame the characters to big decisions the characters had to make. It was also the 90’s in a rural, midwest town. There were certain things you didn’t do and certain things were taboo. You don’t always to admit to your parents how bad you messed up and want to fix it without them knowing. I think the parents knew something was going one, but didn’t want to push them into saying anything until the kids were ready. As soon as certain things happened in the book, other things were bound to happen. I really wished they hadn’t but am glad everything turned out okay in the end. Part of me wonders what would’ve happened if they’d talked openly with their parents about what had happened. But I do applaud Everett and Mary for wanting to do the right thing. Overall, I really did like this book. It’s a great story in trying to do the right things when everything blows up in your face, especially when you’re a teenager. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a coming of age story in a small, midwestern town.

The Boxcar Librarian – Brianna Labuskes

Title: The Boxcar Librarian

Author: Brianna Labuskes

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Alice Monroe is copper king’s daughter trying to get books to the miners at their isolated mining towns in the 1920’s. People around her say that the miners don’t need books. A local man, Sydney, with lots of connections helps Alice get the funding and books she needs. Alice starts building her boxcar library. After a long search for a librarian, Collette Durant lands at her door. Collette and Sydney convince Alice to come along and escape her sheltered life. Alice reluctantly agrees and learns to love the life on the road. Then something happens to Collette, but no one knows for sure what exactly happened. But after ten years, Millie Lang is gets stuck helping create a guide for exploring Montana after the original people miss the deadlines. Millie tries to find what went wrong and how she can fix it before the next deadline. When she learns about the Boxcar Library, Alice, and Collette. Can Mill find out what happened to Alice and Collette? Or will whoever’s behind the incident get the better of them?

Rating: 4.0 – a different part of history

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed seeing a different side of history. I was really curious how the two different storylines were going to connect. Especially since I was getting pieces of all the stories at the same time. I liked that there were one or two characters that bridged the two stories. The plot was a little slow to start but picked up as the stories started to connected. I found it interesting that there were connections to modern day times even though it was a historical fiction book. It kind of reminded me of the phrase ‘those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’ The history was well researched and well spread out. There wasn’t any info dumps and small repeats for a couple of things. I also liked that that the book focused more on the women’s side of the story. You don’t see as many stories about women in historical fiction, especially as the main characters. The men were important but the story was told by the women. I think this book would be good for a book club, even though it’s 400 pages. It might be a good one to read after the holidays, so people have more time to read it. Overall, I really liked this book. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves historical fiction.

Rings of Fate – Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Rings of Fate

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Plot: Aren is a barmaid at Raven’s Beak. She’s taken over after her father got sick. Between running the tavern and taking care of her twin sisters, she has no time for anything else. That is until Prince Dietan arrives on a quest to find a wife. He wants to join his kingdom with the one Aren lives in and thought the best way to do that would be to marry a commoner. Aren hopes he’ll pick one of her sisters. But Prince Diatan offers Aren a deal instead. His marriage proposal is a cover so he can get rid of his curse. If she accepts Diatan’s proposal, her family will be taken care of, and she’ll an adventure that she’s always longed for. Aren accepts after she sees how her sisters have fallen for the prince’s generals, and how much Deitan needs a guide. Together, they search the kingdoms for a way to find to break Prince Deitan’s curse. But is there even a way to break the curse? Or is there a way to control the curse? Or will the monsters and mad kings get the better of them?

Rating: 4.3 – a different kind of adventure fantasy

Opinion: I really liked this book. There were lots of fun characters. The author did a good job writing their relationships. It was easy to see how the characters cared about each other. The characters had lots of fun banter. They spoke in modern day language despite living in a middle age like setting. I think the author made it work, but it was weird a first. Or maybe I just looked past it because I enjoyed the story so much. It was a simple idea but well done. It was different enough that I liked how the author retold the story. Though if I didn’t know this was going to be a part of a series, I would’ve been more worried about the characters. I thought the magic system was interesting. Though I wish I learned more about it throughout the book. I hope there’s more about the magic in the later books. And I was thinking that there should be one way for the characters to learn about the magic system, especially Dietan. The author hinted it at the possibility for people to learn, but it’s frowned upon. Dietan started to teach himself but I want him to get a teacher so he can learn how to control his curse. I wonder how the author will continue the series because she kind of wrapped up a lot of the plot points. So I’m curious to see where the rest of the series goes. The one thing I was a little confused about was the time passage. Some times things came about too quickly. Relationships started after a day or two. Travel and healing had strange time jumps. There were times I thought only a day had passed, but multiple had passed. But the author did try to explain how the time had passed. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s a great romantic, adventure fantasy. It’s also a great easy read. I highly recommend it to any who loves adventure fantasy.

The Thread Collectors – Shauna J. Edwards & Alyson Richman

Title: The Thread Collectors

Authors: Shauna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: In 1863 Louisiana, Stella a black woman living mostly on her own with her sister, Ammanee, and mother, Janie. She’s allowed her own little Creole cottage under certain conditions from her Master Fyre. Secretly, Stella sews maps to freedom on scrap fabrics for other slaves who are running away. Her beau, William, is a black musician who’s lended out to other slave owners for musical entertainment. But William’s had enough and decides to escape and join the Union Army and play for them. There he meets Jacob, a Jewish musician who’s also playing with the Union Army stationed in Louisiana. They start playing together and young Tommy joins them as they play for the officers and soldiers. Meanwhile, in New York, Jacob’s wife Lily makes a quilts and rolls medical wraps for Union soldiers, as well as helps the abolitionist movement while waiting for Jacob to return. When Lily doesn’t hear from Jacob for some time, she makes the brave decision to go look for him in Louisiana. There she meets with family on the Confederate side of the war. Lily also meets William and Stella. Can she make peace with her Southern family? Can William and Stella help Lily find Jacob? Can William and Stella trust Lily to do the right thing? Can Jacob even be found? Or is it too late?

Rating: 3.7 – a different side of the Civil War

Opinion: This was an interesting book. Though it took me a little bit to figure out all of the characters and who was related to who and how they were all related. There were a lot of them introduced right away. Their relationship was said once then not mentioned again until later, so it made it a little harder to track. For some reason I thought Stella and Lily would be working on their sewing projects more together, and not focusing on their own projects. For some reason I found Jacob’s rescue a little underwhelming. I get the reasons why William couldn’t go back right away and I’m glad that Stella really wanted to help William find Jacob. But Lily coming in to save the day seemed a little too easy. Thought it made sense why she had to do it, it just seemed a like there should’ve been a little more risk with getting Jacob from the house he was staying at. But once I got into this book, I really did like it. I wish I’d learned more about women’s projects to help soldiers and runaways during the Civil War. You hear more about the nurses near the battles and the women leaders, but less about the common women who are also trying to help the soldiers. I wanted to learn more about the maps the runaways used to help them escape to freedom. It made me happy that there were other ways people helped each other escape. The authors made me understand what it was like for those people during the Civil War in Louisiana and why they acted the way they did. I also learning a little more about a different part of the South during the Civil War, too. It’s rare to find a happier story about the Deep South during that time. Overall, I really did enjoy the book once I got into it. I highly recommend this book who enjoys learning about different perspectives of the Civil War and historical fiction.

The Correspondent – Virginia Evans

Title: The Correspondent

Author: Virginia Evans

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Plot: Sybil Van Antwerp has an almost daily routine of writing letters and emails. She writes her friends about the daily goings on around her neighborhood and with her neighbors. Her main concern is that she’s slowly losing her eyesight. Sybil also has a strained relationship with her children and ex husband. She wants to connect and help but isn’t sure how. When her son gifts her a DNA kit for Christmas and old acquaintances start writing, Sybil is forced to confront her past hurts and come to terms with them. Over time, she starts to heal and make peace with the things that have happened in her life. Sybil also finds new friends and family along the way. But does she have enough time to reconnect with her family? Can she really make up for lost time? Or will everything come crashing down too soon?

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting letter style book about growing old

Opinion: This was an interesting book. It took me a little bit to get into because it’s all letters from Sybil to her friends and family, and their return letters. I felt like it took me a little bit to connect with the characters because of the different format. I do wish there was a mix of letter writing and real life interaction. I feel like it would’ve made it more relatable. I would’ve helped me follow the story a little easier to follow. Some of the time jumps and character switches are harder for me to figure out at first. It was also about older people and people at different stages in their lives, which also made it a little harder to connect at first. Once I started reading more, the more I started to understand where Sybil was coming from. Writing is her safe space. It helps her relate to the world around her. It gives her time to say the right thing. It’s also gives some meaning to her life as most of the people in her life are far away. Though, I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall for some of Sybil’s antics with Mick and Theodore. It really made her personality shine. She had such wit about her. She knew what she wanted and went for it, even in her old age. Though she had her setbacks, she found ways to fix it. I did find it nice, despite her bravado, she still had fears and falters. People call her on it and she has to find a way to fix it. Overall, I did end up enjoying this book. It was a sweet story of family and coming to peace with things at the end of life. I did like the different style of writing and using a letter format for the entire book. I highly recommend for anyone who wants a different style of reconnecting to family book.

We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat – Syou Ishida

This is book 2 in the Cat Prescription series. Book 1 is We’ll Prescribe You a Cat

Title: We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat

Author: Syou Ishida

Translator: E. Madison Shimoda

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Short Stories

Plot: Return to the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Join three more people on their journeys with the cats that are prescribed to them by the doctor and nurse at the clinic. Each person has issues going on in their lives. They’re given a cat, sometimes two or three, to help them. They say they’re not ready for a cat, or already have a cat. Sooner or later they realize that the cat is there to help them with the things going on in their lives. Each person learns about what is really important to them thanks to the cats. Some find purpose in finding cats their forever home. Others helping a lost cat. But will everything work out for the better? Or will the people realize things are at an end? Will they be able to help the cats in need?

Rating: 4.0 – a cute collection of short stories about the importance of animal and human relationships

Opinion: This was another set of cute stories. I really enjoyed seeing how cats can help people feel better. Sometimes all it can take is a pet to change someone’s outlook on life. I liked how the people in this one were more connected to each other. There were stories of friends and family in this one. They helped each other figure out what was going on with their cats. A new cat owner got help finding the right food and litter for her cats. The cats were able to help families reunite and couples start over and communicate better. The banter between the nurse and doctor at the clinic got me laughing again. I liked the messages in the stories a little more in this one. Though some were sad, there was still a hopeful ending in the short stories. One of them made me tear up a little with what the cat and owner went through. It made me sadder because my cat was snuggling with me while I was reading it. I wish there’d been more stories in this book. I liked seeing more of the Japanese culture in this book. I always love seeing how important family, friends, and pets are in different cultures. Overall, I really liked this book. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a quick, lighthearted book for all pet lovers.

11/22/63 – Stephen King

Title: 11/22/63

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Historical Fiction, Science Fiction

Plot: Jake Epping is a high school English teacher who teaches GED classes on the side. After one of his oldest GED students passes all the required courses, Jake takes him to a local restaurant. The owner, Al asks Jake to return in the morning. He has a surprise for Jake. Al tells Jake about a tunnel that takes people to the summer of 1958 in the alley outside his restaurant. Against his better judgment, Jake goes through the tunnel. He’s amazed that at the same city almost fifty years before. When Jake returns, he and Al talk about Al’s plans to save JFK. Al really wants Jake to take over his plans. Reluctantly Jake agrees, so long as he can help his former GED student in the past. Al agrees and Jake returns to the summer of 1958. There Jake assumes the identity of George Amberson. He goes through the next six years, to save his former GED student and find a way to stop Lee Harvey Oswald and save JFK. But things are not as simple as they seem. There are things that can change in the present because of Jake’s actions in the past. There are people he can meet that will change his life forever. But what things in the present day will change? Will the people he meets stop or help him along the way? Is it even possible to stop the JFK assassination?

Rating: 3.5 – an interesting take on time travel and the butterfly effect

Opinion: I’d heard good things about this book. A couple other people I know have read this book and liked it. The first half of this book was interesting. Then it started getting slow and seemed to drag on forever. There wasn’t a ton of action and seemed to focus more on the day to day of the characters than anything actually happening. Though it helped me understand Jake’s actions at the end of the book, I really didn’t care. I feel like some parts could’ve been cut out and I still would’ve seen how connected the characters became and how close Jake became intertwined with the cities he stayed in and friends he made along the way. I did admire Stephen King’s attention to detail with the historical facts and life in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Part of me wished he would’ve explored more with the alternative future after Jake changed the past. It would’ve been more satisfying for me if he’d been in the alternate future for a little bit longer and realized it through experience rather than the quick summery of what was changed at the end of the book. The mechanics of time travel in the book are interesting. I liked that things reset to the original timeline every time you time travel through the entrance. You would’ve had to redo everything every time. While only two minutes passed in present day, no matter how long you spent in the past. That made me hope there’d be more resets throughout the book. But nope, Jake only took a few shots at it in the beginning. Which is one of the reasons it felt so long and drawn out. I felt like it would’ve been better as a series instead of one giant 850 page book. Bonus little fun fact, this book connects to Stephen King’s book IT. This was a good book, but a slow book. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s got lot of time to plow through this historical fiction book.

The Phantom Stallion Series – Terri Farley

Title: The Phantom Stallion Series

Author: Terri Farley

Genre: Kid’s Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction

Plot: Join Samantha after she returns home to her family’s Nevada ranch after a bad horse riding accident. She learns to navigate ranch life while trying to protect her former mustang, Blackie. Samantha’s upset after she learns Blackie escaped back into the wild. Then she see that he’s in charge of his own herd. Her new mission is to protect her horse and his herd. During the series, she runs across other bands of horses, friends in trouble, rich ranchers who think they know better, and helping find good places for good horses. Samantha also learns lessons in friendship, family, and doing what’s right.

Rating: 4.0 – a great series for young horse loving girls

Opinion: I grew up reading this series. I think I found the first book or two in my school’s library and was bound and determined to find the rest. It was perfect for my horse obsession when I was younger. I still love horses today, but as horses are ridiculously expensive, I can enjoy them from afar. I do remember that the series had some good life lessons in them. The series also taught me about good old fashioned ranch life. I still remember that the books make a distinction between the average ranching family versus the rich family trying their hand at ranching. I also remember the series talked about Samantha’s family Buick and wondering why it was so important to distinguish it as a Buick, versus the non ranching car. I think this series that I remembered that talked about the local Native American people outside of a historical fiction setting. From I remember, the few Native people that are in the book are talked about respectfully and some of their traditions are included in the book. I had wished the author had wrapped up the series sooner. It started getting repetitive towards the end. But everything was wrapped up nicely and everyone got a happy ending. Overall, I do remember loving the series. I highly recommend this series for any horse loving young reader.

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.

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