Historical Mystery Review: A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

Title: A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell #1)

Author: Deanna Raybourn

Genre: Historical Mystery

Pages: 368

Published: July 12th 2016 by Berkley Books (first published September 1st 2015)

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

This novel took a long time to become interesting. It’s voice is very impersonal, and it tells more than shows you the story. I was also able to discern that the author put a lot of time into the background and history of the male supporting character, more so than she did her female lead. This was disappointing. 

YA Book Review: There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Title: There’s Someone Inside Your House

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 289

Published: September 26th 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers

Rating: 3 stars of 5

I really enjoyed Stephanie Perkins’s Anna and the French Kiss series and was curious at how she would do in the horror genre. This novel reals like a typical teenage horror film, and would be a great read around Halloween. But…

Audio Book Review: Hunger by Roxane Gay

Title: Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body

Author: Roxane Gay

Pages: 391

Audio:

Published: June 13th 2017 by HarperCollins

Genre: Nonfiction, Feminism, Memoir

Rating: 5 Stars of 5

I have been a fan of Roxane Gay since I read Bad Feminist. Her writing is so painfully honest and her perceptions so acute, that reading her nonfiction is like a spiritual experience. 

Audio Book Review: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Title: The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage 

Author: Philip Pullman

Pages: 546

Audio: 13:08:31

Published: October 19th 2017 by David Fickling Books

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

Rating: 5 stars of 5

Oh my god, y’all. I discovered the His Dark Materials trilogy when I was around fifteen and it immediately became one of my favorite books. I have been waiting for the Book of Dust since discovering in 2005 that it was a possible addition to the series. This book did not disappoint and I love this world now as much as I did when I was a teen.

Series Review: The War that Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Title: The War that Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won

Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Pages: 316; 389

Genre: Children Historical Fiction

Published: January 8th 2015 by Dial Books ;October 3rd 2017 by Dial Books

This is a middle grade series that really captured my attention. The Narrator, Ada, is so unique and her perceptions of life and the history that is happening around her are so purely childlike that it seems as if you are reading an account of a young girl living in England during WWII. 

Audio Book Review: One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul

Title: One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter

Author: Scaachi Koul

Pages: 241

Audio: 05:30:06

Published: March 7th 2017 by Doubleday Canada

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Humor

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

So I was impressed by this book for one important reason: I have not read an autobiography or memoir by a fellow Millennial. I didn’t think we were old enough to write those.

New Releases: May 2018

So, May has some promising releases, include one where I hopefully get to meet the author.

1. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

I’m excited to have another fantasy smut novel to read. I like this series a lot more than the Throne of Glass.

Release Date: May 1

  2. Royals by Rachel Hawkins

I met Rachel back in 2011 or so at a Writer’s Conference. She’s from my hometown and lives in my college town. I’ve been a fan of hers from the beginning, and she is doing a book signing at my local Barnes and Noble. I hope I am able to go!

Release Date: May 1

 3. Not That Bad edited by Roxane Gay

 It’s Roxane Gay. We all have writers that we will read anything by, without even looking at the topic, and she is one of mine. This book is about rape culture, something she has spoken widely on in the past. It will be interesting to read her edited collection on the topic.

Release Date: May 1

4. Calypso by David Sedaris

I generally listen to David Sedaris’s audio book versions of his works because it adds to the hilarity of the work. The summary promises a different type of book than usual, so I’m excited to see how this one compares to the others, especially Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Release: May 29

What books are you looking forward to this month?

Children’s Book Review: The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange

Title: The Secret of Nightingale Wood

Author: Lucy Strange

Pages: 304

Published: October 31st 2017 by Chicken House

Genre: Children’s Historical Fiction

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a really sweet and interesting book with deep topics of women’s mental health, grief, imagination, and persistence presented in an interesting format for young readers. Read More…

AudioBook Review: I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson

Title: I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away

Author: Bill Bryson

Pages: 304

Audio: 09:17:01

Genre: Non-fiction, Travel Writing, Memoir

Rating: 4 stars of 5

YA Book Review: Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Title: Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1)

Author: Maureen Johnson

Pages: 416

Published: January 16th 2018 by HarperCollins

Genre: YA Mystery

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

So I read this book pretty much nonstop until I finished it, but I am only giving it 4 stars. Why you ask? Read on.