Across the Library

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.