WOW these end of summer and beginning of fall reads have been plentiful! I won't belabor the point, so please read on and enjoy my reviews! Happy reading!
I picked up this book while being rushed through the bookstore on the way to a play because of the pretty cover - and I am so happy I did!
I would highly recommend going into this book like I did while knowing nothing about it. Part of the enjoyment is figuring out the story while reading. Piranesi does not lie in an ordinary building and he is not alone. He lives with a person he calls the Other. This building is strange and large and contains beautiful statues. But there is a truth about this place that Piranesi has yet to discover.
Clarke's writing is unique and fantastical. She has written a spellbinding thriller that took me entirely by surprise! 4.5 / 5 stars!
My summer goal was to try to read more within the romance genre (which I tend to dislike) but this regency romance really fit the summer-romance-reading bill!
Annabelle is studying at Oxford but her scholarship states she has to recruit influential men to women's suffrage movement. Incidentally, she becomes entangled with Duke of Montgomery whilst persuading men to their cause, and a budding romance begins!
This cartoon cover is really hiding the fact that there is serious spice on the page - wow! But I enjoy the protective, over-intellectual male stereotype, and I mean who doesn't love the regency period with balls, big mansions, and dark political schemes?!
My library suggested this book for me!
Mrs. March is going about her normal routine, running errands for her famous author husband. She hasn't read his newest book but it seems to be all the rage. When she approaches the counter of her favorite bakery, the girl working there mentions that the main character in her husband's new book was based on Mrs. March. This throws Mrs. March into a spiral and our story begins here.
I kept picturing a Hitchcock movie during this book! I was tearing through the foreboding pages and terrifying edge to Mrs. March...overall 4 out of 5 stars!
This book is freaking everywhere lately, and after The Mother rated it 5 stars, I knew I had to pick it up!
Adeline LaRue is desperate when she reaches out in the dark and begs for her life, the way she wants it to be. What she gets is a life meant to be lived forever, but she will be forgotten by everyone who meets her. We travel around the world with Addie as she tangles with this curse/blessing.
Regardless of my rating, Schwab has written a lyrical, beautiful book. Her writing was transportive. I loved and hated Addie in equal measure, but that made the character and story compelling to me.
This book took me over 100 pages to really get into the story, but once I did, I couldn't put it down!
Sorcha has six brothers, and they are all extremely close. When her mother dies and her father remarries a horrible woman, Sorcha escapes to help her family and brother more specifically.
This book is so deep and atmospheric! I read it while on vacation in the forest and I highly recommend being in nature when reading this book. WOW! The writing is deeply lyrical and immersive. Sorcha and her brother's relationships were so fantastic and I really loved reading this! 4.5 stars / 5 stars!
The premise of this book really roped me in but I was severely disappointed.
This Norway 1617 story is told through two different women - Maren and Ursa. A small fishing village has every man die during an unlikely storm, and when a Scottish commissioner comes to this village, it quickly turns into a witch hunt.
The author's writing was stunted and disagreeable. The pacing had huge issues for me and I didn't enjoy picking this book up. I actually found myself dreading having to read it! 2 stars out of 5...potentially less stars the more I think about it...
Since I enjoyed the first book in this regency series, I figured I would give the sequel a shot. Unfortunately it was not as charming and endearing as the first.
Following Lucie for this story, she and her Oxford suffragist friends are still pursuing women's rights and equality. Lucie's old nemesis (?), Tristan Ballentine, seems to be working against them...or is he?
Dunmore's writing was just as cute as the first, but I found the sequel rambling and a bit disjointed. I didn't feel connected to the characters either. The magic captured in the first book was not present in this sequel which made me a disappointed.
I am the biggest proponent for this book - EVERYONE MUST READ IT!!!! 5/5 stars!!!
Lucrezia, a young girl and daughter to the Grand Duke of Tuscany in the mid 1500s. Lucrezia in the opening page is realizing her husband, the ruler of Ferrera, is plotting to kill her. O'Farrell masterly conveys a factual recounting of Lucrezia's circumstances while postulating about Lucrezia's inner monologue.
I cannot say enough about O'Farrell's writing - the style and depiction of characters and stories has got to make her one of the most exciting novelists of this time. Her writing makes a chilling, suspenseful, foreboding read that I enjoyed every single second of.
Eight female authors were tasked with retelling British folktales in modern times with a feminist twist. All the short story tales are creepy, foreboding however I was ultimately let down.
All these authors had interesting takes on folktales but I really was look for something specific in this book and I just didn't find it. I don't generally love short stories so this probably just wasn't the right pick for me.
Two out of the 10 short stories gripped me...so because of this, I rated the book 2 out of 5 stars. Overall, I was entertained but didn't enjoy.
Sold to me as "Rebecca but darker". Involving Daphne du Marier in any recommendation is huge for me because she is one of my all time favorite authors!
I'm honestly having a hard time writing the synopsis because this book had such little impact on me so I don't really remember what happened. Beatriz marries Rodolfo and move her life to his hacienda. Troubles arise when the hacienda itself tries to force her out.
The writing was lackluster and boring. This book was nothing like Rebecca. The romance here? I was uncomfortable to say the least. The plot leaves you unsettled and bored, and the twist at the end?! Just no. Underwhelming.
During Nazi siege of Leningrad, two local Soviet boys are sent on a ridiculous mission. In a city completely cut off from food, supplies, and safety, this incredible story of to boys behind enemy lines is absolutely riveting.
If the author sounds familiar, it's because he worked on the hit show Game of Thrones! His writing is just as exacting and enthralling as it is on the show.
This book had a huge effect of me and even up to the last page. I literally yelled to the house "now that is how you write a book!" as I finish the last sentence! This book made me feel all the feelings and I couldn't read it fast enough. Easy 5 star book!