Across the Library

Title: Girl at the Grave Author: Teri Bailey Black My Rating: 4 stars I've had this young adult book for a while and finally got around to reading it, and then still I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get into it.  Once I started though, it went by so quickly and and I engaged and excited.  It turned out to be a nice, kind of spooky, murder mystery, perfect for October! It is the set in the 1800's. Valentine is a teen girl who is a bit of an outsider, but not for the typical reasons one might be.  Her mother was hanged when she was a little girl for murdering a man, who was a prominent member of society.  The man's son, Rowan, is now a classmate of Valentine's, and he tends to watch her closely, in contempt she thinks.  Soon after the book starts Valentine finds out her mother was innocent, but the person who tells her this turns up dead, and it may have been murder.  Surprisingly Rowan wants to help her find out who the new murderer is ; m...

Title: Onyx and Ivory Author: Minee Arnett My Rating:  5 stars I'm not in love with the cover or the title, but the book? Absolutely! This has earned its spot in my top 3 of the year! In this young adult fantasy, the main characters are around 19-20.  Kate's father was a traitor, having tried to kill the king, and that has left her with the name "Traitor Kate." Plus she has had to hide her wilder magic ability to speak with and control animals else she be judged for that as well, since wilder magic is illegal. But then she rescues her old friend, Prince Corwin, from a drake attack and things begin to change. Corwin doesn't want to rule. He has accepted that his brother, Edwin, will likely be the heir. Then he sees Kate again as she rescues him from the drakes and old feelings are rekindled.  But there are more important issues at hand...why are the drakes, typically called nightdrakes, attacking during the day? Is wilder magic involved? Right at 500 p...

Title: Shadow Weaver Author: MarcyKate Connolly Rating: 4 stars This dark tale of friendship, magic, and secrets was enchanting. The main focus is a young girl who can control and speak to shadows. Her parents do not approve of her magic, and soon, she is on the run from those who want to take her magic. She meets new people who her shadow warns her against telling about her secrets, but she finds they have some magic of their own. The story of magic weaves into one of true friendship.  This is the first book in a duology.

Title: Daughters of the Storm Author: Kim Wilkins My Rating: 4.5 stars Five very different sisters work to save their father, the king, while trying to keep their own secrets. Bluebell, the oldest and most loyal to her father, is a warrior, a fierce fighter that brings fear to her enemies. Rose is a queen, married off to a neighboring king to bring about peace, but if her king knew her secrets....  Ash is studying magic, but is more powerful than she should be at her age.  Ivy and Willow, the twins -- Ivy is lustful and vain, while Willow has turned to the trimartyr faith, believing her family to be heathens.  Will they be able to save their father and stop their treacherous step brother from taking the throne? I really enjoyed this book, both the flow and the story.  I know some reviewers felt there were too many characters, but I think that each character had just enough individuality and personality to stand apart enough for me to keep track.  Some o...

Title: Sky in the Deep Author: Adrienne Young My Rating: 4.5 stars Eelyn is a warrior, taught to fight and survive.  She is fighting alongside her clansmen when she sees her brother fighting on the side of the enemy -- the same brother that died five years before.  Feeling betrayed she goes after her brother, only to be taken alive by the enemy, and forced to live with them for a while.  In time, she finds herself developing feelings for one of the enemy clan.  And after an attack by another clan that nearly decimates the enemy clan and her own, she has to work to bring the two clans together. I really enjoyed this well-written warrior tale.  Unlike a lot of typical YA books, the romance was not immediate, it took some time before Eelyn began to trust Fiske and developed feelings for him.  The summary on the book would have you think it happens faster than it actually does.  Eelyn is a strong female character with loyal ties to her family. T...

Title: Then She Was Gone Author: Lisa Jewell My Rating: 4 stars Ten years ago, Laurel's 15 year old daughter Ellie went missing. Soon after, Laurel and her husband divorced.  Now, years later, she has let a new man enter her life, but she is shocked when she meets his daughter and she looks just like her Ellie. We learn this much from the summary.  I went in thinking that the man's daughter might be Ellie, but in the first few chapters, you learn that the man's daughter is young, and so it seems predictable that it will be Ellie's daughter.  It is also quite predictable who took Ellie.  At first I was disappointed by these things, but then I realized that these things were meant to be known and not surprises.  Once I accepted that, and that this wasn't a true thriller, I liked the book much more. Initially, I didn't like the author's writing style and wasn't sure I would finish the book, but I kept going and got into the story and style.  I di...

Title: The Tangled Lands Author: Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell My Rating: 4 stars Magic has been banned in Khaim because it causes the bramble to grow, choking out the cities and life.  If the bramble touches you, you fall into a deep sleep, never to wake. Only the Majister Scacz is allowed to use magic and yet, so many others do, causing the bramble to continue to grow.  Stories of magic, yes, but these are really tales of the lesser people fighting back, while losing people along the way. At first I was disappointed to find out this was a book of four stories set in one world, instead of a novel, but I actually found it to be well written and the stories were moving.  Each author writes two of the stories.  I think my favorite was the Executioness. In the first story, an inventor is trying to protect his young daughter who is sick.  He creates a device that can fight the bramble, but Scacz and the duke discover it can be used to find those...

Title: The Wizards of Once Author: Cressida Cowell My Rating: 4 stars A wizard boy without magic.  A warrior girl with a secret magical object.  The two meet and fight off witches, thought to have been extinct. Will they save the day and manage to stay out of trouble? Xar and Wish are a pretty cute team up, though Xar can be a little annoying and selfish.  He does have a little bit of character growth by the end, but not much.  Wish is the true star of the team.  She is much more likeable.  The story is told by an unnamed narrator, though he/she tells you it is a character in the book.  My guess is the bird on the cover or the sprite named Squeezjoos,  but I'm still not certain. Overall, this middle grade novel is a fun magical adventure romp and the illustrations add to the exciting tale.

Title: Bone Music Author: Christopher Rice My Rating: 4 stars When she was just a baby, Trina's mother was murdered and she was kidnapped by serial killers who then raised her as their own.  When she was seven, she was rescued, but her dad exploited her story for fame and profit.  As an adult she changed her name and tried for a fresh start, but then someone she trusted gave her an experimental drug that gave her powers.  What would she do with this newfound strength? I really like Christopher Rice's writing style.  I have since I read his first book Density of Souls.  I really enjoyed that first book, and his second, Snow Garden.  So I have continued to read his books, and enjoy his style, but after those first two, there always seems to be something weird about the books.  I enjoy the style, but maybe not always the story.  With this one, it's a good story, and I did give it 4 stars, but I felt that the way the term "bone music" is used...

Title: This is Our Story Author: Ashley Elston My Rating: 4 Stars Five boys go hunting in the woods.  Only four come out.  An intern working with the assistant district attorney begins to think it may not have been an accident like the boys are leading everyone to believe.  This is a well-told mystery, full of secrets and plot twists.  I really enjoyed the writing style, and the build up.  There was however one thing that annoyed me.  The author used a variation or exact phrasing of "framed her face with his hands" over and over, enough that it was very noticeable.  I was also a little underwhelmed by the reveal of who shot Grant, but the book was so well done otherwise, that I am still giving it 4 stars. The author is actually local to my area, but I did not know much about her going in.  I had not read her work before this, but I would like to read more. 

Title:  Honor Among Thieves Authors: Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre My Rating: 3.5-4 stars Zara is used to living in the outskirts of town, fending for herself, thieving when she has to, to take care of herself.  Then she is chosen as an Honor for the Leviathan program -- the Leviathans are a race of sentient ships that have partnered with humans to explore the expanse of space to learn about other planets.  They have helped humans survive, and have asked humans to help them with this project.  At first Zara is hesitant, but she quickly, though reluctantly, finds herself trusting Nadim, her ship, and Beatriz, her new tour partner. Together they form a cohesive team, ready to face the challenges that come. I really liked this book, but I was a little unsure about the relationship between Nadim and Zara.  I don't want to go into details because I don't want to spoil anything.  I was just a little unsure about the intimacy between a large ship and a h...

Title:  Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein Author:  Lita Judge My Rating: 4 Stars This beautiful biography of Mary Shelley is told in first person verse.  The illustrations are haunting, but lovely.  The story of her life is sad, yet told so well.  Mary Godwin was sent away from her family when she was 14, returned when she was 16, only to fall in love with a married man.  Her family shamed her, so she ran away with him, and was soon pregnant with his child.  I won't tell you the rest, because the book tells it so much better.  The back of the book has further notes on her life, as well as a summary of what happened to each of the people mentioned in the book.  It also has a bibliography.

Title: Losing Brave Authors: Bailee Madison (Actress) & Stefne Miller My Rating:  3 stars Payton was there a year ago, when her twin, Dylan, was taken, or possibly killed, but she can't remember what happened. She believes Dylan may still be alive, and now more girls, who look somewhat like her, have also gone missing. Payton is determined to find out what happened to all of them. In the beginning, Payton is pretty unlikeable, but she undergoes some decent character growth that makes her easier to stomach. However, the writing style was hard for me to stomach, especially the first 40 pages or so, but I kept going because I was interested in seeing where the story went. I wasn't exactly surprised by the story, but it did get better.  I think Madison has decent ideas, but if she truly wants to be an author, she needs more practice.

Title: Weave a Circle Round Author: Kari Maaren My Rating: 2.5 Stars I'll be honest -- I struggled to get through this book, and I think I'm going to struggle with this review. Without giving away the secrets of the plot, I'll just say that Freddy, her little sister Mel, and her step-brother Roland find themselves with strange new neighbors, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance, who have a strange house as well.  There's a strange sequence of time travel plopped into the middle that is far too abrupted.  I think iti's supposed to seem that way, but in my opinion, it is not well done, and makes the story too confusing. There were interesting bits.  I liked some of the rpg elements that were included.  I liked that there was a deaf character and sign language.  I was intrigued by Josiah, and a little bit of the secretiveness of the characters, but it just didn't play out in a satisfying way. I thought the descriptions of the three characters, Josiah, Cuerva La...

Title: The Outcasts of Time Author: Ian Mortimer This was a decent book, but not really for me. Two brothers just infected with the plague in 1348 get the chance to live out their last six days each 99 years further into the future, all while seeking redemption. They do explore a little, and learn a bit about each new era they are in, but I wanted more out of that aspect of the book.  I know they only had a day in each time period, so there wasn't much time to learn about each, but I still wanted more. That was a personal preference though, and I should have read the summary closer.  It was an interesting book though.

Title: Reign of the Fallen Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh This is a fantasy story of a world where mages exist, their powers determined by the color of their eyes.  This particular book focuses mainly on the necromancers, those who bring the dead back to the living world.  The Dead must remain completely shrouded ; if even the tiniest bit of their flesh is seen by a living person, they turn into a Shade, a monstrous creature that feeds on both the Dead and the living. The royal family has been using this method of returning to life for centuries ; in fact, the king himself has been ruling for 200 years.  Though he resists change, he is a well-liked king, as is the rest of the royal family. Our main character is Odessa, nicknamed Sparrow, and she is one of the necromancers.  She is very good at what she does, maybe to the point of being a Mary Sue character, although she does have flaws. All is going well, until one of the necromancers is killed by a Shade....

Title: Before I Let Go Author:  Marieke Nijkamp I was intrigued by the summary of this book. Two girls, best friends, living in a small town in Alaska. One moves away, and the other says she will wait for her. Just before the girl is supposed to come back and visit, her friend dies. She goes back to the town to try and find out what happened, but she is treated like an outsider. I was disappointed in the book. It felt like it was missing something. It didn't really feel like it went anywhere. Corey, the girl who moved away, did come back, and she does find out what happened to her friend, but it is rather anticlimactic. I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to believe the townspeople, especially Kyra's parents, would be that awful. I know there are bad people in the world, but whole towns of them, like this? I don't know. I did like the fast pace of the short chapters and the writing style for the most part, though the addition of the scripts in the middle w...

Title: Children of Blood and Bone Author: Tomi Adeyemi Release Date: March 6, 2018 I received an ARC of this book through the library I work at.  I was really excited to read this one.  The cover is beautiful, and the story is just as lovely.  What can I say without spoiling it? This book is about a girl who lives in a world that used to have magic, but the magic has died.  The king saw to that eleven years ago, killing the magic and the adults who once had it.  The girl, Zelie watched them take her mother, beat her father, and she has worked to never lose another family member.  Now there is a spark, a hope that magic may return.  A rogue princess that escapes the castle and brings that hope.  But there is also a prince who threatens that hope, and their father, the king, will see to the final death of magic if he has anything to say about it. There is so much more to this book than just magic. There is the world it takes place in....

Title: Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Good, Book 1: The Road to Epoli Authors: Ben Costa and James Parks At first glance, the cover art of this graphic novel could lead you to believe that it is meant for children.  It is actually intended for teens, and once you dive into the book you can see this through the art that might be too scary for young children, and the plot that may be too deep for young children to understand.  There are also a couple of things brought up that are inappropriate for children. Rickety Stitch is a singing, and lute playing, skeleton with a soul, an unexpected creation no doubt.  An unusual song that he cannot fully remember haunts his dreams, giving him little clues as to who he may have been in life.  This is a soul-searching story of some depth about this skeleton trying to find out who he is and who he once was.  Along for the ride is his friend that only he can understand, the Gelatinous Goo.  This fun quest story ...

Title: Noumenon Author: Marina J. Lostetter Review: I thought the premise of this book was interesting. Humans are finally ready to go into deep space, but they know that they as individuals will not live to make it there. So they send clones of the best scientists, engineers, historians, etc. Their plan is to continuously grow clones of these people throughout the years. The book is set up in sections, with each section from the point of view of a different character, or clone, usually decades or more apart. There are also a few sections from the point of view of the AI of the ship, which is probably my favorite character. The mission is to take a convy of ships to the star LQ Pyxidis and find out what is around it, blocking some of its light. It will take the convoy 200+ convoy years to get there and back, which will be 2000+ years back on Earth. To be honest, the book had a rough start for me. I did not like the first character, Reggie, who found the star and proposed the mi...

Title: Truly Devious Author:  Maureen Johnson Cover: I like the cover. The title font is fitting for a mystery. The cover is a little busy, but not overly. Review:  Stevie, who is a crime buff, is off to a specialized high school, where students get to focus on their own specialities. Stevie's plan is to solve the cold case of the murder and missing person case of the wife and daughter of the founder of the school, from back in 1936. But then a current day student ends up dead, and she gets wrapped up in that mystery. Are there connections? Will Stevie solve the cases? I have to start by saying that even though I've only read a few of her books (the Shades of London series), I adore the author Maureen Johnson, or at least what I know about her from her online personality, and what I saw in person once at ALA. She is fabulously quirky and fun. I saw a little bit of that personality in Stevie in the beginning of the book and then again about three quarters of the way t...

Title: The Cruel Prince Author: Holly Black I have read two other series by this author, one YA and one middle grade, and really enjoyed both. I've been interested in some of her other recent books, but have not had a chance to read them. Cover: I have seen three covers for this book: the one I have pictured, a variation of it that is black instead of white (Barnes and Noble exclusive, I think), and a purple one that shows a throne. I think all fit the book. Review: Once again, I have the unpopular opinion of not liking a book as much as the general populice seems too. Everywhere online I see people raving about how great this is, but I'm just kind of meh about it. The premise is that Jude and her sisters were taken in by a faerie when they were young, after said faerie killed their parents. Fast forward to when Jude and her twin are seventeen. Jude longs to be a faerie, to be like them, but for the most part, they are not treated well by the faeries around their ag...

Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Author: Mackenzi Lee Cover: I'm not sure that the cover properly represents the book, but the guy on the cover does look attractive and arrogant enough to be the main character. Review:  This book takes place some time in the 1700s, when a young respectable man is expected to take over his father's estate, and words such as homosexuality and bisexual were not in use. Monty is bisexual, has found himself in possession of strong feelings for him best friend, and his father is not accepting of this at all. Monty, his best friend Percy, and Monty's sister Felicity, are ready to set off on a Grand Tour across France and such, but Monty's father makes it clear that this will not be the party Monty thought it would be. And so they set off, with Monty's arrogance and ego in tow, and those cause trouble at each stop. At least, Monty does. They find adventure, danger, mystery, pirates...but will they find love? Thi...

Title:  The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding Author:  Alexandra Bracken Cover: I love everything about this cover. I love the colors. I love the fox and his expression. I love the use of font size for certain words in the title. The cover is very appealing to me. Review: This middle-grade novel is about a twelve (almost thirteen) year old boy, Prosper Redding, who doesn't really fit in with with extended family or at school. His family is known for being wealthy, successful, and important. It was one of Proper's distant relative's who founded the town of Redhood, where the family still lives. Just two weeks before his thirteenth birthday, Prosper finds out that his ancestor made a contract with a demon, or fiend, and that that fiend now lives inside of him. This sends Prosper on a path to trying to get rid of the fiend, all while communicating with him and trying not to let the fiend control his body. Nevermind that he has to ignore the fiend's request to make a...