ARC Review | The Brightwood Code

4.5 stars

I started this book after work one day, intending to read just a couple of chapters before doing other things. I ended up reading about 85% before I’d even realized it, and decided to push through the last bit before the end of the day. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a full length book in a few hours, but this book was so gripping I couldn’t stop.

This book follows Edda, a former Hello Girl during World War I. I didn’t know much about the Hello Girls, as I’m not well-versed in much of WWI. They were bilingual English/French switchboard operators who helped connect the different American and French troops, and were essential to the war effort. Edda was discharged from her duty early and returned to the US, intending to forget her mistake which she believes cost the lives of the entire Forty-Eighth Baltimore Regiment. As we follow Edda, we learn more about how she became a Hello Girl, and what led up to the tragedy that caused her to return home. This book brilliantly crafts another aspect of the war that many people didn’t give much thought to and didn’t have words for – PTSD. Edda’s struggles with her PTSD are woven throughout the tale and offer great insight into her character.

I do have to say that I wasn’t expecting the ending at all. Everything is not as it seems, as Edda isn’t always the most reliable narrator due to her trauma. However, once you get to the end, you understand completely why Edda is suffering the way she is. There is a second part to the ending, which weaves in another thread of the story that packs an emotional punch. This story moves at a fast pace, with very few unnecessary words or scenes. It’s easy to get pulled in by the narration and even easier to keep flipping the pages to find out what really happened. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a bit of mystery involved. Just be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster.

ARC Review | Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade

4 stars

I am not nearly as familiar with WWI as I am WWII, so a lot of things mentioned in this book were new to me. The book follows Jessie Carson as she travels from New York to France to become a member of the American Committee for Devastated France (Comité Américain pour les Régions Dévastées de France), or CARD. I had never heard of CARD before, so I enjoyed reading about the committee and its members. Many of the characters in the book were real people, including Jessie Carson and the Annes, though others were created by the author.

The novel follows dual timelines, with the first being about Jessie during the war, and the second following Wendy, an NYPL librarian in 1987. Jessie is a librarian with the NYPL who joins CARD in order to help the people of France during the war. She believed that books were just as important to people as other necessities, and worked to create a library that villagers could enjoy. She ended up creating a bookmobile, as well as story hour for young children. We witness her struggles with trying to get these things created, along with the struggles of living so close to a war zone and being a Card (as they were called)

Wendy works at the NYPL, scanning and photographing old articles and photos for preservation. She comes across a box which contains information on the Cards and becomes fascinated with their many stories. She learns of Jessie and feels a kinship with her, as they both worked for the NYPL. She begins to research CARD and its members in hopes of tracking down Jessie and finding out what became of her.

The dual timeline worked well for this. Each woman had a distinct voice and their own story and struggles. My biggest issue was the ending. It felt rather abrupt, as it never actually goes over what happened to Jessie. We get some information on her after she left CARD and moved to Paris, but not a fully satisfying conclusion, which is an odd thing seeing as how Wendy was so obsessed with finding her and learning her story. In the author’s note at the end, we do get more information on her, but even then, we are left without the whole story. I ended up researching her myself after I finished the book to find out happened to her after France. The author’s note does include information on several other people in the book and includes some pictures, which I enjoyed. Even though I wasn’t satisfied with the ending, I still enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and war novels, and definitely recommend learning more about the Cards and their role in WWI.

ARC Review | Catchpenny

3.5 stars

There is so much going on in this book that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of it all. Besides the many goings on, there are also a lot of terms associated with the magic – or mojo as it’s called – used that aren’t explained very well, which can leave readers in the dark as to what it all means. The basic premise follows the main character, Sid Catchpenny, as he gets called on by an old friend to help track down a missing teenager. It quickly becomes clear that there is much more going on than a simple missing persons case, but it all gets rather convoluted at times. Sid jumps from event to event rather quickly and literally, as he is one of the few people in the world who is a sly – a person who can travel almost instantaneously from one place to another by jumping through mirrors. He’s also one of those main characters that you’re supposed to be sympathetic towards, but it’s rather hard most of the time as he makes himself very unlikeable, much like every other character in this book. There isn’t a single character I really enjoyed. They are mostly tolerable, with a few that I couldn’t stand. When you don’t enjoy the characters, it can make it a lot harder to get through a story, as you can’t connect as well to what’s going on. I do have to say though that most of the characters played their parts well and served their purpose in the story, even if I couldn’t connect to them. Eventually I did come around to Sid as more of his story is explained, but even then, I didn’t love him.

As the events continue, they get rather ridiculous, which is saying a lot for a book that involves jumping through mirrors and collecting mojo off beloved items. However, I did like the underlying message from the final event of the book, even if I didn’t necessarily like everything leading up to it. The ending was ambiguous enough to believe that a sequel could be possible, though not necessary. I think I would have enjoyed this more had there been characters I could connect with more and parts of the magic system explained better. It is one of the most unique magic systems I’ve read about and one I did enjoy, but I wish we’d been given just a little more information on it. If there ends up being a sequel, I’ll pick it up, as I do want to know if a few of the loose ends get taken care of.

ARC Review | Off the Air

3 stars

This book is a perfect example of why I hate the news and media: reporters who will do anything to get a story and don’t seem to care about the people involved in them, news stations that are all about the likes on social media, and all of them not being unbiased like they should be. It’s a world where honest, unbiased reporting seems to be a thing of the past, and those involved will do anything to get the scoop.

With that said, this was pretty well-written. The author definitely knows her stuff about the journalism world, as she spent many years being a journalist herself. There’s plenty of talk of what goes on behind the scenes to make newscasts, and how the world has shifted from the printed stories of old to the new era of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The mystery itself is pretty basic – a controversial radio talk show host, Larry Lemmon, has gotten himself murdered, and all the news stations are competing to be the first to get exclusive stories with the people close to him. You can easily see how this story could happen in real life, as Larry was a conservative voice who enjoyed riling up the other side. The political angle isn’t terrible, but we really need to get over the thinking of everyone on one side being the bad guys and everyone on the other side being the good guys. It’s tearing us apart having such black and white thinking, especially since things are rarely that simple.

As far as the murder goes, do I think what Larry did was terrible? Yes. Do I think it warranted murder? No. I was expecting a much bigger reason for why the murderer did what they did, and was a little let down when I learned the actual reason, seeing as how it all felt so hyped up with Larry being such a controversial person. It just didn’t live up to the expectations I had made for myself.

I think this will appeal to anyone with an interest or background in the journalism and news world, and those who like pretty straightforward mysteries. Just don’t set your expectations too high.

ARC Review | I Am Rome

3 stars

I’m not well-versed enough in Roman history and the history of Caesar to be able to comment on the historical inaccuracies, so I will leave that to other reviewers. From what I could notice though, there were definitely liberties taken and changes made, which in some cases is understandable, but in others is rather odd. Some of the side characters we may not have a lot of accurate information on, but Caesar is a very well-known historical figure with quite a bit of information about his life. The original Spanish cover of this book featured the tagline “the true history of Julius Caesar”, which is something I’m glad was removed from the English translation, as it’s basically stating this book is completely accurate, which it is not.

This book is part John Grisham legal thriller and part military strategy and battle. It jumps between timelines, with the present being the trial of Sulla, and the past moving from Caesar as a child, to his teenage years, and then into adulthood. It also features side parts dealing with other people in Caesar’s life, such as his uncle Gaius Marius, his future wife Cornelia, and people who were sided with Sulla, such as Dolabella. Now I understand that the author wanted to set up the conflicts between Caesar, Sulla, and Dolabella, but it was taken way too far. Dolabella and Sulla are both characterized as villains with absolutely no redeeming qualities. They are brutal, sadistic, power hungry men who only care about riches and alcohol and women. Towards the end there is a scene involving Sulla, Dolabella, and a bunch of slaves that just seemed rather ridiculous. Caesar, on the other hand, is written as the hero who can do no wrong. It is basically the Mary Sue and the Villain archetypes, which is frustrating as these were real people with much more depth to them who deserve to be written better.

There are some instances where you can see the story trying to shine through. You can feel the frustrations of the people of Rome and those that were conquered, the tenseness and fear of battle, and the hopes of those trying to do what is right. However, they mostly get overshadowed by the rest of the story, as Caesar’s heroics and Sulla and Dolabella’s villainy have to be center stage. Had each of these people been written with a more realistic edge instead of by archetypes, it could have shifted the story greatly.

This isn’t a terrible book, but I think those who are knowledgable about Roman history, particularly involving the times of Caesar, will find themselves frustrated at the liberties taken with the story and characters.

ARC Review | Sisters of Fortune

3.5 stars

Most people are familiar with the Titanic and its story – the unsinkable ship which sunk on its maiden voyage in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. Many people are familiar with the story from the James Cameron film, and even if they haven’t seen it, they still know the basic facts. This book tells the story of the Fortune family, who were real passengers on the ship when it sank. While I enjoyed the story overall, I felt that it was missing something in order to make it a more compelling read.

The story mainly follows the 3 Fortune sisters, Flora, Mabel, and Alice, as well as one of the sisters’ love interests, Chess. While the sisters were real people, Chess was a completely original character to the story, though he does take much inspiration from a real passenger aboard the ship. Most of the novel is spent following the sisters along their travels, from the end of their Grand Tour of Europe to the beginnings of their stay on the ship, to the eventual sinking. I understand setting the scene, but it began to drag a bit for me. The ship doesn’t hit the iceberg until the 60% mark, which is a decent way into the book. And while the sinking took a relatively short time in real life (approx. 2 1/2 hours), it almost feels too rushed in the book, with it being done by about the 80% mark. I felt disconnected from the events taking place during the sinking. This could partly be because the Fortune family and everyone they interacted with were first class passengers, so we only get their perspective. What the passengers in first class and the passengers in third class experienced during the sinking are wildly different, though I understand it would have been hard to include third class passenger perspectives without rewriting much of the book. This is not to say that there weren’t tragic parts, but more that there wasn’t enough time spend exploring more of what was occurring.

I also felt a little let down when reading the afterword and discovering the author made changes to the Fortune sisters’ lives. While there isn’t a ton of information on them, there were things that were known but were changed anyway. I think I would have preferred the author stick more to the truth about them, though I understand this would have changed a major dynamic of the novel.

I did enjoy many parts though – the descriptions of the ship itself and all the extravagances it featured were really interesting to read, along with the characters seeing and reacting to these things. I also enjoyed knowing that the author included all real people (besides Chess), as I like to stop and read more about the people themselves as I’m going along. It helps me get more into the story. There were also a few things I didn’t know about the voyage which I learned while reading, which shows that the author did do research before writing.

This was enjoyable overall, and I think it will appeal to anyone who enjoyed the film and like romantic novels, though those looking for a little more action or substance on this particular subject may not find it as enjoyable.

ARC Review | The Tainted Cup

4 stars

While this book started off a little confusing, it quickly started to draw me in. It’s fantasy, but not really in the way you’d expect. There’s a sort of magic system, but not in the typical sense. It’s one that’s rather hard to explain, but which I enjoyed. It involves people who have been given grafts to augment certain abilities – strength, memory, looks. These people can hold certain jobs and perform certain tasks, and all of this is integrated into the story and world very well. It might take a minute to understand at the beginning, but once you do it is quite enjoyable. This book also gave me major Sherlock Holmes vibes regarding the two main characters and the mystery in the plot. It’s not a bad thing – I love Sherlock Holmes, and it almost felt like a new take on the character, while still being completely original. There were also faint hints of Attack on Titan, though it isn’t a huge resemblance, and not nearly as depressing and such.

The book starts off right at the beginning of a murder investigation and throws you into the world of augments and their abilities. However, instead of being a simple murder investigation, it quickly becomes a much larger plot with many supporting characters and lots of threads to follow. As you move along, the leviathans are introduced – huge creatures that the world is desperately trying to stave off. Not much information is given on them – we don’t why they do what they do or why they have changed over the years, just that they have. I’m guessing this could possibly be revealed in future books, along with more information on the Empire itself, and on our main characters. While there is a lot of info given on Din, Ana remains mostly a mystery. I am quite interested to see how this series continues and am looking forward to the next book.

ARC Review | The Getaway List

4 stars

I really enjoyed this. It reminded me a lot of Kasie West’s books, which is one of the few contemporary romance authors I read regularly. I found the plot and characters to be engaging enough to want to keep reading, and I felt that New York was the perfect setting for it. I did find a couple of things to be slightly hard to believe with everything coming together the way it did, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the story.

I like the idea of a getaway list. Similar to a bucket list, it was a way for Tom and Riley to connect and get away to experience life. I have no problems with bucket lists, but a getaway list does feel a little more “in the now” instead of “in the future”, which I like. Through the list and her impulse decision to move to New York, Riley gets to experience much of life and grow as a person. And the streets of New York were a perfect place for this to happen. I can’t imagine any other city that would have worked as well. Having been to New York a few times, I could imagine all the places that were described which helped get me into the story more. The supporting cast of characters was also well done and well rounded, which helped give more life to the story.

My biggest gripes were all the constant name droppings of popular things (TikTok and such), and all the Taylor Swift references (I get that most teens adore her, but I absolutely can’t stand her and would love to go one day without some reference of her invading my life.) I also wish the author had discussed Tom’s relationship with his mom more, as we are left in the dark about a lot of things. However, these things weren’t enough to totally detract from the story. For anyone who enjoys Kasie West, Emma Lord, or contemporary romance, this is worth picking up.

ARC Review | The Heiress

2 stars

I really didn’t understand the hype on this one. I felt like it was a soap opera masquerading as a mystery. The supposed mystery is that of Ruby McTavish and the fortune she leaves to her adopted son, Camden, who wants nothing to do with the money or the remaining family and why.

The drama begins when another family member dies, and Camden finally returns home to take care of the house and fortune left to him. It gets very “Days of Our Lives” from there, with cousins being bitter over not gaining all the money, and being more bitter that it went to an adopted son instead of true flesh and blood. The many twists and turns are pretty easy to see coming, and none of them were very shocking. While all of the characters play their parts very well, it’s hard to feel anything for any of them because of how terrible they all are. There was a lot of people thinking they were owed everything because… well, I never actually figured that part out. I get that the author was really trying to show a corrupt family, but man does it make for hard reading. The only exception is Camden, who genuinely seems to not care about the money or the family he left behind, and for good reason.

The biggest saving grace for this novel was the setting. You can really imagine a mansion sitting in the Blue Ridge Mountains, surrounded by trees and full of the stories of those who lived there. The descriptions of Ashby House reminded me a lot of the Biltmore House in Asheville, but with a surrounding and atmosphere a little more like the Stanley Hotel or the Schweppe Mansion.

If you enjoy reading about shitty people being shitty to each other with a bit of mystery thrown in, this is the book for you. However, if you can’t stand soap operas or anything resembling them, I’d steer clear.

ARC Review | Mislaid in Parts Half-Known

4 stars

This series has been pretty up and down – it started off strong, then went downhill for a few books, and then started coming back up again. This book is one of the better ones in the series, though still not as good as the first few. I’m hoping the author can keep up this momentum though and finish off the series on a good note, whenever that may be.

This entry focuses on Antsy, who can find lost things. More specifically, she can find the thing every child in this series longs to find – the door back to their world. When a couple of students hope to exploit this by controlling Antsy, she flees along with a few other students who made appearance throughout the series. Along the way, she finds the door back to her world, and decides she needs to set things right once and for all.

If you haven’t read the other books in this series, this one isn’t going to make much sense. While a couple of them you could read without having read the others and still mostly understand what’s going on, this one specifically focuses on events and characters from previous books, and you will be lost without having read them first. For a short while I considered giving up on this series. There were a couple of entries that were pretty terrible and made me feel like it wasn’t going to get better. However, the last two entries have helped make up for it and I do plan on continuing for now. If you enjoy ya books with fantasy and a diverse set of characters, it is worth picking up. Just be aware that you may struggle with a few books along the way.