Book Review

Review of Bewitching by Jill Barnett

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Bewitching
By Jill Barnett

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 464

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)bewitching200
What’s a duke to do when a carefully selected bride rejects him rather than marry without love? He salvages his pride by marrying the next woman who falls into his arms. Joyous Fiona MacQuarrie bewitched the Duke of Belmore the moment she appeared from nowhere and knocked him over…literally. Joyous MacQuarrie is a Scottish witch whose powers of white magic are not always easy for her to control. When Alec’s pride makes him choose to marry her, Joy turns the life of the most serious and snobbish duke in England upside down. Too soon Alec finds his well ordered and controlled life a mess, because he married a witch–one who turns him to fire when he kisses her, who charms everyone around her, and threatens to destroy both their lives as scandal looms over her. Too late, Joy discovers she’s desperately in love and not even the strongest magic can seem to turn her into a proper duchess, or make her husband love her. Passion holds them spellbound in an irresistibly funny and tender tale of two opposite but lonely hearts.

Review:
Joyous was quite easy to relate to, as many of us have had things we have wanted to badly to be good at and yet fail, despite our best attempts.  Schooling is quite reflective of Joy’s trials, since many have a subject they simply cannot master, even if they are interested in it.  While necessary, I found the opening chapter of the novel tedious and a bit boring, though that could be seen as how life seemed for Joy as she tried to master her magic.  Once past the beginning I couldn’t help but become enthralled within the story, but I had to push myself over that hump to get into the meat of the tale.  Nothing is as it seems within the depths of Bewitching, and with great use of foreshadowing and hidden agendas, it is impossible not to fall bewitched yourself.

41xswK+IwUL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)


Check out Jill Barnett’s Amazon page.







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Review of A Witch’s Concern by N. E. Conneely

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A Witch’s Concern
Book 4 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 237

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)25010389
Michelle has been figuring out what her life is like now that the demon has been killed, and Sylvia and Varro are dead. Even the clans of witches trying to attract her to their way of life have backed off and given her a chance to grieve. Her relationship with Elron is stronger than ever, but there are things left unsaid.

On the way to her parents’ wedding, the delicate calm she’d been living in is broken. Witches are out for her blood, her family is caught in the crossfire, and friendships are threatened. Work doesn’t let up either, and she partners up with Elron to deal with magic gone wild. Michelle finds that her problems are larger than one clan of witches, and is forced to choose between the people she holds dear and the way of life she loves.

This is the fourth book in a series, following A Witch’s Trial. It is a standalone novel, however, your reading experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve read the previous books.

Review:
After such an odd and life changing ending as seen in A Witch’s Trial which I reviewed I absolutely had to know what came next for Elron and Michelle.  The progress they have made from disliking each other is astounding, and I was quite glad, because it was something I had wanted to see from the first book in the series.  This book held a lot of questions for me, namely about why Elron and Michelle are choosing to stay so distanced.  I am hoping that this question will be answered in the future, so I will not get into detail about what, in particular, I kept expecting to see.  While this novel had the same issues as the previous ones, this time part of the descriptions actually mattered, which made me quite pleased.  Certain locations that are frequently referenced also had major impacts on the story, with important plot points happening there.

Unfortunately, while there was a lot about this novel that is different from previous ones, the plot itself seemed more of a run off from the end of the previous book, and not powerful enough or gripping enough to have been made into a whole novel on its own.  While the page count was around the same as the last couple of books, I felt as if the story as a whole was more of a novella than a novel.  I loved the ending, and look forward to reading more in the future, but I wish that some of the happenings that seemed like side events were more important in this novel (though it is evident they will be important plot points in books to come).

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of A Witch’s Trial by N. E. Conneely

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A Witch’s Trial
Book 3 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 236

Season Read: Fall

 81z+OWT3CLL
Synopsis:(From Amazon)
When Michelle pulls an old book out of a fire, she finds answers and heartbreak. The book confirms that a demon walks the land, though according to legend they were all dead. Now, she needs to rediscover the secrets to killing demons before her loved ones fall victim.
Elron’s budding relationship with Michelle suffers a blow when his mate returns. While he struggles with love and guilt, it becomes clear that not everyone gets their happily-ever-after.

This is the third book in a series, following Witch for Hire and A Witch’s Path. Your reading experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve read the previous books.

Review:
Once I read the 2nd book in A Witch’s Path series, titled, A Witch’s Path which I reviewed I wanted more, immediately.  So I went forth and purchased this third book and began to read.  While not everyone gets their happily ever after, how they have to go about preserving the future is likely not something anyone but Conneely could have dreamt up.  Though A Witch’s Trial suffers from some of the same issues as the previous novel (too much detail/description of unimportant things), the story itself is gripping, and has some great foreshadowing throughout.  The further we continue into Michelle’s world, the more we get to understand her relationships, which makes her even more human.  A Witch’s Trial is a great read, which will have you quickly buying book four to continue the adventure.

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of A Witch’s Path by N. E. Conneely

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A Witch’s Path
Book 2 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 240

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)21570552
After a near death experience, Michelle has vowed to do her job, magical assistance for the police, and leave the heroics to someone else. Besides, life should be settling down for her since the trolls have been captured and the sorceress was neutralized. Unfortunately, the power behind the sorceress wants her dead, Elron starts acting funny, a magical creature wreaks havoc on a town, and there’s trouble with the werewolves. As if that wasn’t enough, the clans have started to notice her power and she has more reasons than ever to fear the clans.

Things go from bad to worse when Michelle’s best friend is abducted, and she must decide between her friend and her vow to stay out of dangerous situations.

A Witch’s Path is the sequel to Witch for Hire and continues the story of Michelle and Elron.

Review:
Wasn’t really sure what I felt like reading, but I suddenly remembered that Witch for Hire had a sequel/was the beginning of a series, so I bought A Witch’s Path and decided to read on.  Oh my goodness!  While there are some lulls in the novel, predominantly over description that is simply unnecessary, and some grammatical/editing errors, this series is a gem!  I absolutely adore the characters and find them easy to relate to (though I forget what colour Michelle’s hair is, perhaps because her friend Amber’s hair is always described in such detail).  Although I had a slight hunch over one of the big bad evils to emerge, it floored me when I found out exactly who it was.  Definitely not a novel to be missed!

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

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Little Women
By Louisa May Alcott

Star Rating: 33ca69cabaa0cbc84d3d2435e6201f63
Genre: Fiction/Classical
Number of Pages: 280

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Following the lives of four sisters on a journey out of adolescence, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women explores the difficulties associated with gender roles in a Post-Civil War America.

Review:
When I was younger I read the Great Illustrated Classics version of this novel, and I loved it.  The kindle version of this novel is free, so I would greatly recommend a purchase, though I do have a leather bound edition from Barnes and Noble.  This novel has a great way of showcasing many difficulties that people have while growing up, and I love that it is often the girls’ mother who teaches them lessons about their behaviour.  Although there are some sad parts, I do believe everyone has to deal with separations and trials in life, and it is better to be prepared.  While I did not particularly like the shift between the first half and the second half of the novel, in which Alcott breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience, I can understand why she did.  Like Jo, Alcott is not capable of keeping her opinions on her writing to herself.

I would also add that while there are a lot of various renditions of Little Women in film my absolute favourite is the 1933 edition with Katharine Hepburn, which you can find here.  I will likely write a review of the movie and how close it is to the book in the near future.  I absolutely adore the movie, so much so that I purchased the DVD (because my VCR ate a VHS, so my VHS version of this movie is no longer watchable).

Louisa_May_Alcott_headshotAuthor Bio: (From Wikipedia)
Louisa May Alcott (/ˈɔːlkət, –kɒt/; November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888) was an American novelistand poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Little Men (1871) and Jo’s Boys (1886).[1] Raised by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May and Amos Bronson Alcott in New England, she grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day such asRalph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.

For a more detailed biography of Lousia May Alcott, please visit her wikipedia page, but if writing a paper, don’t use Wikipedia as a source.

 


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Review of Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

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Castle in the Air
A Companion to Howl’s Moving Castle
By Diana Wynne Jones

 

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young People
Number of Pages: 400

Season Read: Late Spring/Early Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)castle-in-the-air-by-diana-wynne-jones
Young merchant Abdullah leads a humble life. Or he did until a stranger sold him a threadbare—and disagreeable—magic carpet. Now Abdullah is caught in the middle of his grand daydreams. Waking one night in a luxurious garden, he meets and falls instantly in love with the beautiful and clever Flower-in-the-Night. But a wicked djinn sweeps the princess away right before Abdullah’s eyes, leaving the young man no choice but to follow. This is no ordinary quest, however, for Flower-in-the-Night isn’t all the djinn has stolen. Abdullah will have the so-called help of the cantankerous carpet, a cranky genie in a bottle, a dishonest soldier, and a very opinionated black cat. Will this motley crew be able to find the djinn’s mysterious dwelling and rescue a castle full of princesses?

Review:
Howl’s Moving Castle was sheer perfection.  While this novel is set in the same world, and many of the previous enchanting characters resurface, it seems removed from the amazing setting we came to love.  Abdullah may be easy to relate to, given that he is always lost in a daydream, but he seems otherwise boring.  His family is horrid, and although Abdullah does find a quest, it is half by luck that he does.  While the adventure was interesting it took quite a while before the characters from Howl’s Moving Castle became prevalent.

Nevertheless, looking forward to see what the third book connected to these two is like!

Author Bio:
Diana Wynne Jones has had a career spanning four decades, and for more information about her, please visit her Amazon page.

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Review of Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward

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Stepbrother Dearest
By Penelope Ward

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 246

Season Read: Late Spring/Early Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)stepbrotherdearest
You’re not supposed to want the one who torments you. When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him. At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. But things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night. Then, just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California. It had been years since I’d seen Elec. When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again. And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane. I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.

Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel. **Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+

Review:
This book is a doozy!  There is so much in this novel that it is, indeed, a true piece of art.  Though it is a romance novel, there are so many other underlying events tackled and experienced that one cannot help but fall in love with Elec a little.  Elec hasn’t had an easy life.  He’s never had a normal life.  While trying to get used to the hardened guy is hard, learning why he became so standoffish and cool is easy when one understands his family life.  Though he and Greta have their differences, it’s impossible to deny their forbidden romance is completely perfect, and one can only hope for a happily ever after.  Well written, this book will have you reading into the late hours of the morning.

AuthorPenelopeWard Bio:
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and an 8-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life. Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island. She is also the author of My Skylar, Jake Undone, Gemini, Jake Understood and Sins of Sevin due out in 2015.

You can also find more of Penelope Ward’s works on her Amazon page
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Review of As Black as Ebony by Salla Simukka

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As Black as Ebony
Book 3 in The Snow White Trilogy
By Salla Simukka
Translated by Owen Witesman

Star Rating: 

Genre: Mystery, Young Adult

Number of Pages: 208

Season Read: Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)As-Black-as-Ebony
After a harrowing summer in Prague, Lumikki Andersson is back in Finland at her prestigious art school, concentrating on graduation. She lands the lead role in the school’s modern-day adaptation of “Snow White” and finds herself facing a new distraction—Sampsa, the boy playing the role of the huntsman, who has an undeniable allure that makes Lumikki conflicted about what, and who, she wants.

As Lumikki starts falling into something more than just her role on stage, a shadow is cast over the production when she begins receiving creepily obsessive love notes. Lumikki can’t ignore the increasingly hostile tone of her admirer’s messages, and when the stalker threatens mass violence at the play’s premiere, Lumikki knows she must discover who is behind the menace and stop the person at all costs.

With a foe who has a heart as black as ebony, does Lumikki have any hope of saving those she loves?

Review:
I was the first to admit that I had been quite disappointed with the second book in The Snow White Trilogy, White as Snow.  It had seemed so short!  The book itself, the mystery within, had been awesome.  Now, the concluding book, is perfection.

Lumikki knows that something is wrong with her.  It has nothing to do with having to become her namesake on stage, though she finds that to be a bit odd.  She has to fight through what she feels in her heart, and what she thinks she remembers from her past.  Someone out there has done a great deal of investigating her, and she doesn’t want that person to harm her or the people she is closest to.  While she thinks of a particular few who might have the potential to stalk her, the truth is far more explosive than anyone likely would have considered, proving that Simukka really does have a knack for incredibly interwoven stories.

simukkaAuthor Bio: (From Amazon)
Winner of the 2013 Topelius prize, Salla Simukka is an author of young adult fiction and a screenwriter. She has written several novels and one collection of short stories for young readers, and has translated adult fiction, children’s books, and plays. She writes book reviews for several Finnish newspapers and she also writes for TV. Simukka lives in Tampere, Finland.

Photo Credit: Karoliina Ek

 

 


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Review of Victoria House by Denise Moncrief

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Victoria House
Haunted Hearts Book 2
By Denise Moncrief

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Supernatural/Paranormal, Murder
Number of Pages: 359

Season Read: Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)Haunted by a dark mystery in her famcoverLH2-1ily’s past…

When Tori Downing takes possession of the abandoned Hamilton estate on the longest peninsula on Lake Jefferson, Arkansas, she avoids revealing her connection to the ill-fated Hamilton family. Is the glowing image that shimmers in the second floor window of Victoria House the ghost of Victoria Hamilton? Can Tori handle moving into a house with paranormal activity…again?

Tormented by a scandal she thought she’d left behind…
Until she leaves her career at the Arkansas State Crime Lab behind, she never even considers moving to Lake Jefferson, but the fallout from scandal gives Tori a very good reason to escape to Hill County and refurbish and restore the old family mansion. She settles into her new life…until the old accusations from her past start resurfacing.

Attracted to a man haunted by secrets of his own…
Drawn together to solve the murder of Jared Crenshaw, Tori and Lt. Grayson of the Hill County Sheriff’s Department dive into a tangled web of jealousy, deceit, and revenge as they attempt to solve both crimes, Jared’s death and the mysterious death years ago of Victoria Hamilton. Grayson’s past keeps interfering with his present, causing turmoil in both his professional life and his personal life. Can their love survive revealing the truth—from both the past and present—surrounding the tragedies at Victoria House?

Review:
I read the first book in the Haunted Hearts series, Laurel Heights, a while back.  This book, while entertaining, seems to merely fill in bits and pieces of what happened in Laurel Heights from the standpoint of other characters.  The plot overall was good, but I felt as if all the mentions of Laurel Heights were tedious as I had already read them.

When confronted with Victoria House’s own peculiar problems, I was enraptured.  There were so many twists and turns that I truly wasn’t sure who the bad guy was until near the end, and even then, the “why” was always a bit out of reach, never to be found.  A good and quick read, but would have been nicer if it hadn’t been so entwined with a previously read book.

 
MoncriefAuthor Bio: (From Amazon)
Suspense, She Writes

Where the road to happily ever after takes a suspenseful detour.

Want to know a little bit more about Denise? She’s a Southern girl who has lived in Louisiana all her life, and yes, she has a drawl. She has a wonderful husband and two incredible children, who not only endure her writing moods but also encourage her to indulge her writing passion. Besides writing romantic suspense, she enjoys traveling, reading, and scrapbooking.

Accounting is a skill she has learned to earn a little money to support her writing habit. She wrote her first story when she was a teen, seventeen handwritten pages on school-ruled paper and an obvious rip-off of the last romance novel she had read. She’s been writing off and on ever since, and with more than a few full-length manuscripts already completed, she has no desire to slow down.

Learn more about Moncrief and her books by visiting her Amazon page.


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Review of The Ghost Bride: A Novel (P. S.) by Yangsze Choo

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Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 384

Season Read: Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)ghostbride
Li Lan, the daughter of a respectable Chinese family in colonial Malaysia, hopes for a favorable marriage, but her father has lost his fortune, and she has few suitors. Instead, the wealthy Lim family urges her to become a “ghost bride” for their son, who has recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at what price?

Night after night, Li Lan is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, where she must uncover the Lim family’s darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family.

Review:
This book allows the reader to travel back in time to a place they may have only had a hint of knowledge of.  Choo expertly describes the place that Li Lan lives, allowing the reader to vividly see the streets and goings on.  The myths and old wives tales of the village are so completely intertwined with the story that one cannot help but become enraptured.

As someone brought up in western culture, there were times that I found myself a bit confused with all of the names and connections between the characters of the great Lim household, but that did not diminish the story overall.  The core of this story is Li Lan herself, her desires, and what she thinks will bring her future happiness.  While Li Lan learns more of herself and more of the past, she has to make a choice of what will be best for her in the long run: to go with the expected and hard fought for future, or step out into a completely new reality.

 

chooAuthor Bio: (From Amazon)
Yangsze Choo is a fourth generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Due to a childhood spent in various countries, she can eavesdrop (badly) in several languages. After graduating from Harvard University, she worked as a management consultant and at a startup before writing her first novel. THE GHOST BRIDE, set in colonial Malaya and the elaborate Chinese world of the afterlife, is about a peculiar historic custom called a spirit marriage.

Yangsze lives in California with her husband, two children, and a potential rabbit. She loves to eat and read, and often does both at the same time.

You can always see more of what Choo has published by going to her Amazon page.



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