Jenn's Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy

 Blurb:  Darcy Merriweather is Enchanted Village’s newest resident Wishcrafter—a witch who can grant wishes for others. But as Darcy prepares a celebration for a magical florist, she discovers that every rose has its thorns…

When magical florist Harriette Harkette decides to throw a lavish eightieth birthday party for herself, she hires Darcy’s Aunt Ve’s personal concierge service, As You Wish, to plan the soiree. But turning eighty isn’t all Harriette is celebrating—the Floracrafter has recently created the midnight black Witching Hour rose, the first all-natural rose of that color.

Darcy works hard on planning an extravagant celebration that will make Harriette feel like the belle of the ball. But when cake delivery boy Michael Healey—a former employee at Harriette’s greenhouse—is found dead, the celebration takes a turn. Now Michael’s ghost has imprinted on Darcy, meaning that they’re bonded until she can untangle the thicket surrounding his murder—and what exactly it has to do with the Witching Hour rose…  

Review:  Oh, how I love the Wishcraft series!  You will hear me say that about Heather Blake's alter ego Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series too.  Last year I also tried one of her Nina Quinn mysteries and loved it as well, so I guess it has become abundantly clear that I will have to shorten this by saying, I love her writing, no matter whom she is writing as.

Heather Blake/Webber books are usually labeled cozy and are the pinnacle of what a cozy mystery should be.  For me, cozy mysteries are often predictable and overly quaint; neither of these are words I would use to describe Heather Blake's books.  Whenever I pick up one of her books I find it hard to put down.  I love her characters, I love her mysteries, and I love that she can write about magic without making it the focal point of the story.  (In fact, I'm betting that even non-fantasy readers will love her work -so much so that I've sent Julie the first book in the series!)

Things are finally starting to return to normal for Darcy when she stumbles across another body.  Although the chief of the village police is her boyfriend, the Crafters to turn to Darcy to find resolution, the Elder has even tasked her with it.  This would cause a normal amount of friction if it weren't for the fact that the woman trying to steal her man is on the force with him just waiting to make her life difficult for interfering with the investigation.  While there were a few things I guessed, I did not solve the mystery and that is always a plus in my book.

I cannot recommend the Wish Crafter series enough... or the Lucy Valentine series... and Heather Blake has a new Magic Potion series coming out in November and I'm sure I'll love it too.  In the mean time, I will have to catch up with Nina Quinn...

Final Take:  5/5


 

Alice's Review: And Then I Found You

Summary:  Katie Vaughan is no stranger to tough choices.  Shes made them before. Now its time to do it again. Kate has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And shes getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. She wants the facts to move from her head toward her heart and settle in with deep love, something past admiration and comfort. But when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowans drawer, she panics. It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, shes filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how? When the mistakes have been made and the running is over, its time to face the truth. Kate knows this. She understands that a woman can never undo what can never be undone. Yet, for the first time in her life she also knows that she wont fully love until she confronts those from her past. Its time to act. Can she do it? Can she travel to the place where it all began, to the one who shares her secret? Can the lost ever become found? And Then I Found You gives new life to the phrase “inspired by a true story.” By travelling back to a painful time in her own familys history, the author explores the limits of courage, and the price of a selfless act. ~ powells.com

Review: And Then I Found You is a deeply moving novel by Patti Callahan Henry.  This is the first time I am reading a novel by this author and I enjoyed it.  Overall, the novel is quite wonderful.  It is deeply moving with memorable characters.  It tugged at my heart.  It is well written and beautifully told.  Invest in some tissues, you will need them.

I do have one little quirk I can’t quite get over.  It’s that I never warmed up to woman formerly known as Katie.  I know everyone’s reasons for placing a child up for adoption are personal and won’t always make sense to others.  However when the main character in a novel is the one facing this life altering decision, I think it’s fair to expect those reasons be understood by the reader.  I still don’t get it.  I truly believe it takes a tremendous amount of courage and selflessness to do what she did, yet I never felt it was a great sacrifice on her part.  It seemed more like an excuse not to move on with her life and pine for her first love Jack.  She was 21 years old when she made the decision.  She was old enough to think it through and be selfless and courageous in other ways, like letting go of a failed relationship with a high school sweetheart.  Now that would have made sense.

I realize I am being overly judgmental of Kate.  What really surprised me is that in spite of my dislike for her, I really enjoyed this novel.  I openly cried more than once.  It is very heartwarming and touching.  I really warmed up to the supporting characters and loved the southern feel of And Then I Found You. I also like Jack a lot.  Although his story is secondary, I understood him. 

Ms. Callahan Henry wrote this novel in a way that I see a road trip in my future to the South.  And while I’m there, I’m going to look for Mimsy’s and LUNA and hope to see Jack or Nicole at the corner coffee shop.  That’s how real this novel feels and that’s how good this novel is.

Final Take: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher and SheReads.org for a copy of the book.

Julie's Review: Don't Go

Summary: Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has thrilled millions with her emotionally-charged novels that feature strong women exploring the boundaries of family, justice, and love.   In Dont Go, she breaks new ground and delivers the story of a soldier who discovers what it means to be a man, a father, and ultimately, a hero. When Dr. Mike Scanlon is called to serve as an army doctor in Afghanistan, hes acutely aware of the dangers hell face and the hardships it will cause his wife Chloe and newborn baby.  And deep inside, he doesnt think of himself as a warrior, but a healer. However, in an ironic turn of events, as Mike operates on a wounded soldier in a war-torn country, Chloe dies at home in the suburbs, in an apparent household accident.  Devastated, he returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart.  His medical practice is in jeopardy, and he is a complete stranger to the only family he has left - his precious baby girl.  Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral. Ultimately, Mike realizes that the most important battle of his life faces him on the home front and hell have to put it all on the line to save whats dearest to him - his family. Gripping, thrilling, and profoundly emotional, Don't Go is Lisa Scottoline at her finest. ~powells.com

Review: Lisa Scottoline is an author that my dad turned me onto years ago and she's still one of my go to authors. Her recent books have dealt with legal issues but that is more in the background than the foreground of her previous novels. While Don't Go wasn't what I expected, it was not a disappointment.

What I really liked about the novel was that we truly got a sense of Mike and the effects that war has on our soldiers, even if they aren't physically hurt. There are some very intense moments during the book especially when Mike is over in Afghanistan. I found myself holding my breath at times. Not only is there the emotional toil of re-entry for Mike when he comes home but he's still dealing with the death of his wife Chloe.

Since we are viewing all of this from Mike's point of view, it is very easy to empathize with him. He's a broken man who is trying to fix himself. He's not sure how to connect to his young daughter since he's been away for the majority of her short life. He's not sure how to move on from the death of his wife and the subsequent secrets he's learned about her.

This story is about family, love, loss and healing. Ms. Scottoline did an excellent job on telling the story of Mike. Of course there were times where I wanted to smack him but you could feel his pain through the pages.

If you are a fan of Ms. Scottoline, then this isn't one to miss. If you've never read her, then Don't Go is a good one to begin with too.

Final Take: 4/5

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an ARC of the novel.

Julie's Review: Seduction

Summary: From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries.  In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed. Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher. What follows is an intricately plotted and atmospheric tale of suspense with a spellbinding ghost story at its heart, by one of America’s most gifted and imaginative novelists. ~amazon.com

Review: Seduction sucked me in by saying it was a historical fiction and it is but it's also a bit more than that too. It's about the seduction of temptation. It is about being pulled into something that is over your head and finding your way out of it.  It's about past lives intermingling with present ones. It's about reconciling with your past and moving forward.

It is a very nuanced novel and you need to pay attention to the details that Ms. Rose is including. They all end up being tied together in the end. About 1/2 way through I thought I had figured it out but Ms. Rose did an excellent job of throwing in a twist that made sense and worked better in the novel. (Hence why she is the writer and I am the reader)

Other than being a huge Les Miserables fan (musical and movie), I don't really know a lot about the man behind the story, Victor Hugo. I had no idea that he wrote much more than that novel and that he was exiled due to his political views. He was a man who was indeed brilliant but was also haunted with a profound sadness when his daughter died. In the beginning stages of his grief he wanted to connect with her so badly that he began to have seances as his home. Not only did he not speak to his daughter via these, he seemed to have opened a portal to Satan himself. It is his journals that lead Jac and Theo on a discovery that will impact their lives and those around them.

Seduction isn't a fast paced novel. Ms. Rose weaves an intricate story around 3 different time periods on Isle of Jersey. The characters in the novel are all engaging and intriguing to keep you pulled in. I would love for Ms. Rose to write a novel surrounding Theo's Great-Aunts, Minerva and Eva. I found them most fascination.

Reincarnation isn't something that fascinates me and I found myself more intrigued by Jac and her family's history, than I did in the weaving of the past lives. I am also curious to see how Jac moves on with her particular gift and if this will finally release her of some of her sadness.

I will definitely find my way to The Book of Lost Fragrances since that focuses on Jac and her family more. As for the other books in the Reincarnationists series, I will have to see.

Final Take: 4/5

Thanks to Amy Bruno at Historical Fiction Virtual Blog Tours for including me in this one!

Children's Corner: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

Review:  Frankly, you can never go wrong with a Mo Willems book. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs is my daughter's recent find at her school library. I admit it, I was so excited when she brought this home. Of course we read it together the first night and I'm pretty sure she's read it every other night since.

I love that Mr. Willems has taken a well told tale and put a new spin on it. It is wacky and hilarious, just what I've come to expect from him. Goldilocks will look a bit familiar to those of you who have read his Knuffle Bunny series.

My daughter and I laugh throughout the book, albeit at different places and more than likely for different reasons but we still laugh. I love that he gives a separate moral for Goldilocks and then one for the dinosaur family. I think some of his wit might be lost on younger kids but my daughter seems to be catching onto most of it.

This one will probably be making its self at home on our bookshelf fairly soon. I can't resist a Mo Willems book.

Jenn's Review: Clockwork Princess

Blurb: A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

 Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

 As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Review:  Clockwork Princess is the last of the Infernal Devices so I expected a lot from it... it delivered and went way beyond my wildest dreams.  It changed my perspective on the Mortal Instruments series so much so that I immediately plunged back into the first three books.  (I was tempted to start City of Fallen Angels, but with book six of the Mortal Instruments series not publishing until next year, I am trying to hold off until I can read the last 3 all the way through.)  I just can't get enough of Shadowhunters.

There were so many details I wanted resolved and Cassandra Clare touched on them all, including some things I never thought of... I laughed, I cried, I sobbed, I gasped.  The one thing I was beyond thrilled about was the family tree that is included in this book; I am still pouring over it with fascination.  It was interesting to see the effect this generation of Shadowhunters has on generations to come... and how wrong things can go. It would be interesting to gain the perspective of the Infernal Devices generation on all that has come to pass...

I fell in love with these characters along the way and it was hard to let them go.  The epilogue took me a while to digest.  For a while I thought that I'd rather she hadn't written it at all, but then I realized I would have missed the closure it provided, even if it was hard to see things come full circle.  Honestly, I can't imagine a better ending.

Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter books have made my list of all time favorites.  I will be sad to see the end of it next year, but at the same time I can't wait to find out how everything works out.

Final Take:  5/5