A Bookworm's Book Reviews

The Lost Sisterhood – Anne Fortier

Title: The Lost Sisterhood

Author: Anne Fortier

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Diana Morgan is a philologist at Oxford when she gets a message from a friend about an ancient language discovered in Algeria. The thing about this ancient language is that she’s seen it before in her Granny’s journal. The problem is that this ancient language hasn’t been seen before. When Diana gets to the dig site in Algeria, she finds a well funded site. The leader of the site is Nick and is unsure of her help at first. Then he has no choice when he sees the jackal bracelet on Diana as in the tomb on a high priestess. Together, they start looking into this ‘new’ ancient language and how it’s connected to Diana’s area of expertise, the Amazon women. But there are those who don’t want them to know about the Amazons and others who do anything to control the Amazons.

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting take on the Amazons

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I liked how the author turned the idea of the Amazons and worked the women into actual historical fiction. There’s lots of details and good historical world building and things that could’ve happened and been included in history. The books makes a good point about our dependence on technology. It makes sense and helps with some plot points of the books. I enjoyed the dual story line and both plots were well written. This is a great book so long as you don’t mind a longer book. I recommend this book for any who enjoy historical fiction.

Time and Again – Jack Finney

Title: Time and Again

Author: Jack Finney

Genre: Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi

Plot: Simon Morley is an artist with a local magazine when an old friend, Rube, offers him a different sort of job. It’s a secret government job that involves time travel. The lead scientist, Dr. Danziger, explains how to time travel. Simon seems to understand and agrees to take the job. His assignment is to observe and not interfere with someone delivering a letter in 1882. It takes Simon to find the right mindset to time travel, but he manages to do so with help from Kate. Together they watch the man deliver the letter. When Simon reports to his superiors, he learns that nothing has changed. Then he’s given a new assignment. This time, Simon must learn more about the person delivering the letter. He must go alone this time. The second time Simon goes, he meets Julia at the boarding house he’s staying at. She’s Jake Pickering’s girlfriend. Jake is the man who delivered the letter. The more Simon learns about Jake, the more he falls for Julia. But can they be together with all that Jake is up to?

Rating: 3.5 – an interesting take on time travel

Opinion: It’s easy to tell that this book was written in a different time. The original publication was in 1970. There’s a lot of unnecessary description. Everything that Simon saw was described in detail, the time travel was described in detail, and events were described in detail. It was annoying to me because it took away from the plot. There wasn’t a ton of plot anyway. The character development was slow, if at all. It felt like the standard ‘no one listens to the smart scientist’ plot we see a lot of nowadays. Overall, this wasn’t my favorite book. I recommend it if you like descriptive books.

Original Nancy Drew Series – Carolyn Keene

Title: Nancy Drew Series

Author: Carolyn Keene

Genre: Children’s Books, Mystery

Plot: Join Nancy Drew as she solves mysteries around River Heights and around the world. She always gets help from her dad Carson, boyfriend Ned Nickerson, and cousins Bess and George. Sometimes Officer McGuiness asks for her help solving a case. She’s always willing to go the extra mile to help solve a case but always willing to ask for help. There are new adventures and mysteries with every book.

Rating: 4.0 – a good mystery series for girls

Opinion: I grew up reading these books. I loved the mysteries and adventures. There’s always something to learn about solving crimes, other cultures, and how to help others. I always enjoyed how Nancy Drew always did things correctly and was always willing to help others. Yet she was always stuck up for herself and others. I highly recommend these books for any young girl who loves to read. With 64 in the original series, she’ll have plenty to read. Now there are computer games to play to teach her how to put those crime solving, puzzle working, learning to good use.

London Seance Society – Sarah Penner

Title: London Seance Society

Author: Sarah Penner

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Plot: Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to ask famed spiritualist and medium Vaudeline D’allaire about her recently murdered sister, Evie. Vaudeline’s specialty as a medium is speaking with the recently murdered. But Lenna and Evie are from London and Vaudeline can’t return to London for her own safety. So Vaudeline tutors Lenna so she can do the seance in London correctly. While doing a different seance, Vaudeline receives a letter that a close friend has past. That friend is the leader of the London Seance Society. Together the two women go to London to figure out how he died. But they go in secret for the women’s protection and at the insistence of Mr. Morris, who’s taken over the London Seance Society. When the evidence starts to point to someone within the society, who can Lenna and Vaudeline trust? Can they find the murderer in time? Or will there be two more victims?

Rating: 3.5 – an interesting murder mystery

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed learning about how seances work and the history around them. It was interesting to learn about how easily they can be faked. I’m sure this lead to all of the skepticism with seances. You could kind of figure out who did it earlier on in the book if you pay enough attention. The way everything ended up happening was really well written. I enjoyed how the big reveal went down. There were a few over the top dramatic scenes for me, but worked themselves out. Overall this was a good book. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys murder mysteries and historical fiction.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe – Emma Törz

Title: Ink Blood Sister Scribe

Author: Emma Törz

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Ester and Joanna are half sisters who grew up in an isolated part of Vermont. Ester’s been moving every year to protect her family, no one remembers why, except Ester. Joanna’s stayed home protecting the books that contain magic. Ester can use the books and she’s not affected by the magic. Everything’s been going smoothly for both girls until Ester stays past her move date. Then she gets a mysterious envelope through a mirror telling her to run. She hesitates. Then Ester’s attacked. While on her travels she meets Nicholas and his bodyguard Collins. Nicholas is like her. Together they travel back to Vermont and to Joanna. Together they must find a way to stop whoever’s after them and the dirty plans they’re up to.

Rating: 4.0 – a different take on magic and family

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the different take on magic. That there were few people who were immune to magic and couldn’t use magic. There were strict rules on how magic spells could be made. The author did a great job with world and magic building. But anyone but the few immune could use magic. The author did a good job explaining how this kind of magic could be used for monetary gain how someone did just that. There were many gray characters in this book. They did things for good or bad regardless of consequence. It made the book more interesting. Overall I enjoyed this book. I recommend this book for anyone who loves magical fantasy.

Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson

Title: Just Mercy

Author: Bryan Stevenson

Genre: Memoir

Plot: Bryan Stevenson is a new lawyer in Alabama. He has a passion for representing inmates on death row. Bryan helps the Equal Justice Initiative. The first case that meant a lot to him was representing Walter MacMillan, a truly innocent man on death row. Walter’s case was a mess with corruption, incorrect procedures, and prejudice. Bryan tries his best to untangle Walter’s case and prove his innocence. All the while, Bryan shares insides on what it’s really like representing people on death row and the prejudices inmates face and what it looks like for the incarcerated. Can Bryan prove Walter’s innocence to the court? Can they work past the prejudices of the courts?

Rating: 3.5 – a heartbreaking court case

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed learning about court cases throughout history. Though, the book was dense with lawyer speak and terminology. I also wish it would’ve focused more on Walter’s story and a little less on the background of other court cases and what lead to other people getting put on death row. Though the author did a great job describing the realities that those people face. Those additional stories distracted from the main story. Overall, I enjoyed this book. This is a good book for those who enjoy memoirs and don’t mind lots of technical terms.

Love on the Brain – Ali Hazelwood

Title: Love on the Brain

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Genre: Romance

Plot: Dr. Bee Königswasser has recently been asked to join a NASA project on brain stimulation in astronauts. The other lead on the project is Dr. Levi Ward, a guy Bee’s sure is purposely stalling her part in the project. But when she confronts him, he denies it. Then she overhears something she was not expecting. Levi talks with both of their boss, and he’s defending her and asking for things on her behalf. She’s shocked. They make a tentative peace and actually start making progress on their project. The more they work together, the more Bee and Levi start enjoying each other’s company. But with weird kinks showing up in the project, will their new found relationship last? Then when someone gets hurt, what will happen to their beloved project?

Rating: 4.0 – a sappy scientific romance

Opinion: I enjoyed this book. The science was well explained and it wasn’t overwhelming. The characters were relatable and interesting. There was a fun little twist in the book, I kinda saw it coming but was distracted by other plot points. There was another plot point I totally saw coming, though. The one little thing I didn’t love was the sex scenes. I’m okay with them in the book but it was multiple and descriptive each time. That’s when it bugs me. I really like that this author really put well written women characters in science fields and what they have to deal with in men dominated fields. It seems very accurate and well researched. Overall, I really liked this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves science and romance.

The Librarian of Saint Malo – Mario Escobar

Title: The Librarian of Saint Malo

Author: Mario Escobar

Translator:

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Jocelyn and Antoine marry in 1939 in Saint Malo, France. Shortly after, Jocelyn gets sick and Antoine is drafted into the French army. Jocelyn gets better while the Nazis start to occupy France. Jocelyn is a librarian and hides the books the Nazis deem unacceptable. Most in Saint Malo unwilling host a Nazi officer, making Jocelyn’s job of hiding books even harder. She meets an officer who enjoys books and is not as harsh as the other Nazis. He soon sees Jocelyn’s side of things. But will it be enough? Then Antoine returns after being a POW. He’s not the same and is sick. There’s also the French Resistance that ask for Jocelyn’s help. Will Antoine get better? Can Jocelyn save her beloved books? Or will the Nazis find them all?

Rating: 3.8 – a book lovers side of history

Opinion: This was a great book. I’d read another book that takes place in Saint Malo, but focuses on other aspects of the French Resistance. This was one person’s attempts to help save a piece of France. Jocelyn had little help from others. Yet she still held her head high and helped others as much as she could. While this book was sad, as most WW2 books are, there was still hope. Forewarning, the book has a sad ending. While the legacy of Saint Malo’s library lived on, not everyone who helped the library survives. There were a few slow parts, they were short lived. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction books.

The Broken Girls – Simone St. James

Title: The Broken Girls

Author: Simone St. James

Genre: Thriller, Historical Fiction

Plot: Fiona Sheridan keeps revisiting the place where her sister was murdered. There’s something about Idlewild Hall that keeps drawing her back. Maybe because she feels a connection to the ‘unwanted’ girls that lived there in the 1950’s? Maybe is Mary Hand, the young girl who died there with her baby before the hall was a school? Maybe because there’s something unfinished about her sister’s murder? When Fiona learns that Idlewild Hall is being renovated, she starts looking into the school’s past. There are some people, from the past and present that don’t want her to keep searching. What is worth hiding? What is worth protecting?

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

Opinion: This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the small town thriller. It was one of those everyone knows everyone and people are expected to do certain things. The stories get told and passed on. The ghost story was based on fact that got passed down with some spooky evidence to prove it. The added historical fiction was great. It got me interested in learning more about Idlewild Hall and Ravensbruk. I liked that the ghost was actually a ghost and not some over the top people pretending to be a ghost. I also liked that the ghost wasn’t some super dramatic ghost either. The one thing that took me by surprise was the theme of corrupt cops. I liked how one of the cops wanted to change things for the better but it was it was hard for him. Overall this was a good book. It was a interesting read and I recommended it for anyone one who likes small town thriller and historical fiction.

Truly Yours – Abby Jimenez

Title: Truly Yours

Author: Abby Jimenez

Genre: Romance

Plot: Dr. Jacob Maddox is a new ER doctor at Dr. Briana Ortiz’s hospital. Briana’s finalizing her divorce and her brother, Benny, is on dialysis. So she’s got a lot on her mind. When she first meets Jacob, she brushes him off. As it turns out, Jacob recently went through a breakup and his ex is dating his brother. His family wants the best for Jacob. He panics when they ask if he’s dating someone and he says yes. They want to meet her. Thinking quick, he asks Briana. She accepts. They exchange a sweet handwritten letters. As she gets to know him, she finds another side of Jacob. But when things get complicated, will their relationship last?

Rating: 4.5 – a sweet, sappy (and healthy) relationship

Opinion: This was an super sweet book. The characters are well written. They respect each other and have boundaries. They remember little quirks about each other and find ways to work with them, and not turn them into huge things. There were a few little communication errors, but what new relationship doesn’t. They talk about them in a healthy way. Which is a great change for any romance book. I liked that the family members encouraged Briana and Jacob privately. I didn’t mind that the characters wouldn’t admit their feelings for each other. Sometimes that bugs me when they drag that part of a relationship out, but it didn’t feel forced or drawn out this time. It made me happy that this how relationships should work and gave me warm fuzzies throughout the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a sweet, sappy romance.