Simone and Her Books

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  • The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig // Book Review

    The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig // Book Review

    I’m a huge fan of Erin A. Craig. Ever since reading The House of Salt and Sorrow, I’m always hankering for whatever she’s about to write next. And with this dark retelling of the fairy tale “Godfather Death,” Erin A Craig outdoes herself with a dark fantasy filled with magic, morals, and friendships.

    Here’s more about The Thirteenth Child

    All gifts come with a price.

    Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

    When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

    But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

    From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    There’s definitely an advantage to reading retelling where you’re not close to the source material. I had no idea this was a retelling of a Grimm’s fairy tale until I read another review. So without that frame of reference, I’m able to really come at this book without bias. The pacing of the book starts slowly as you get to know Hazel and the life she’s lived up to that point. She’s the thirteenth child of a family that should have stopped after one, so you get the sense that she’s the castout, the runt, the one that her parents really have no time or energy to raise. Hazel starts off on her own and with the blessing of her godfather, the god of death, she’s always been alone.

    Then you get to the years Hazel spends learning her craft. After Merrick, her godfather, finally picks her up and whisks her away to some in-between world, you watch as Hazel grows learning about the different medical procedures and remedies that will be useful in the career Merrick has chosen for her; a healer. She also has the ability to see what someone is suffering from and find a treatment for their ailments with a single touch. However, if the person is marked for death, then she’ll see the “deathshead” in her vision. From there, she needs to do the most difficult thing anyone can do –she needs to kill them.

    The great part of this story is the complex themes of morality. A healer like Hazel wants to save everyone she comes across, but the deathshead keeps her from executing the kind of treatment that might save the person, even if the person is the one that she dearly loves. From her own parents to her first love, Hazel’s decisions to save or kill those with the deathshead has led to some hefty consequences that makes her doubt her abilities, her godfather, and the life that’s been chosen for her.

    When she’s asked to save the king and confronts the deathshead again, she takes into consideration the current state of political affairs, the war that’s about to be on their doorsteps, and what it will do to the king’s family. And you’re never truly sure if the decision she makes will be the right one or cause the people around that person to suffer even more greatly. It makes for such a complex story and as things continue to unfold for Hazel, Leopold, and the kingdom they live in, you see how the effects of one decision could change everything. It’s truly my favorite part of this story.

    I will admit that this book isn’t perfect. I wanted a bit more about the gods, a bit more world building, a bit more complexity to the final scenes since everything felt rushed and revealed all at once. But I’m willing to look past all those things because of the chokehold this book had on me in its final pages. And the best part is that there is a happy ever after for Hazel. You don’t see it coming, but you’ll be surprised how much you hope for the best for her.

    Overall, this is such another feather in Erin A. Craig’s cap. It’s now my new favorite and probably the best she’s written so far. I cannot wait to read more from her!

  • The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter // Book Review

    The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter // Book Review

    This was a fun and entertaining, low stakes romantic mystery that very much feels like you’re reading Knives Out.

    Here’s more about The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

    The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas.

    Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:

    She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.

    He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.

    She hates his guts.

    He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)

    But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

    That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

    She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

    As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    The story features two main characters, Maggie and Ethan, two competing mystery authors who are invited to the most famous mystery author of all time: Eleanor Ashley. When Maggie and Ethan make it to the beautiful mansion in the middle of England, they’re greeted by Eleanor’s family and a huge mystery to solve: Eleanor’s disappeared and everyone is a suspect. It was such a fun whodunit with a bit of a Jennifer Lynn Barnes “Inheritance Games” vibe to it. I love puzzling books and mysteries!

    I will admit that the mystery component of this story could have used a lot of work. I didn’t mind that it was very much the plot of Knives Out or that I’m not surprised by the ending. It felt secondary to the romantic components of this book, which Ally Carter excelled at throughout the book.

    One of the more interesting parts is watching Maggie and Ethan’s relationship unfold. Being authors in the same genre, they found each other at the same events and knowing each other prior to getting to England. There was a palatable level of “enemies-to-lovers” that will definitely keep you intrigued, but what I adored the most was how Ally Carter shared their lives up to the point of being at the mansion. It’s obvious that Maggie and Ethan has had their fair share of downs before they finally got together and I loved how Ally Carter created a past, present, and future that feels real and built character for both of them.

    Overall, this was a highly entertaining and fast-paced story that will definitely keep you reading through the holiday season. While I prefer my mystery to be a bit more hard-boiled and much more deeply ingrained into the story, I can’t doubt that this book has lots of appeal when you’re in the mood for something lighter.

    Thanks to Avon Books for the gifted copy of this book.

  • The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon // Book Review

    The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon // Book Review

    I was recommended this book by another influencer who said if I liked The Book of Doors, then I would like The Shadow of the Wind. While the two books are vastly different from each other, I left reading The Shadow of the Wind with a sense of awe and adoration for the characters and the world Carlos Ruiz Zafon created.

    Here’s more about The Shadow of the Wind

    Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets–an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    The story follows Daniel, a young bookseller’s son who has the privilege of visiting The Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There, he finds a copy of The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. He’s so enamored by the book and by the author’s words that he decides to find out more about the author. The story gets a little more interesting when a mysterious stranger comes to visit Daniel asking to buy a copy of the book in order to burn it. From then begins a journey to finding Julian Carax and the tumultuous life of love, deceit, and death that followed him around.

    This definitely felt more like a character-driven story than a plot-driven one. Most of the stories about Julian Carax are told second-hand through the characters. They’re little stories within the bigger story and as you uncover the truth alongside Daniel, they point to the life Julian Carax lived up to the moment Daniel picked up his book in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. If I’m being honest, this method of writing the story felt detached. I would have much preferred the stories being shown, fleshed out with characters in how they acted and what they said in the moment, so reading the stories from someone else’s POV didn’t work for me.

    That being said, the other parts of the story really interconnect in this interesting way that brings life to what feels like fiction and turns real life into the story. I loved how Daniel and Julian’s life somehow felt intertwined with each other. It’s an interesting play with the story and intrigued me to keep reading since you see these connections begin to take place. It wasn’t puzzling (and I realized who the mysterious man who burned books was very early on), but more about the journey than the destination.

    It was truly a lovely read with tons of nods to the bookish and writerly life that any reader would absolutely love. I think I highlighted some incredible quotes about books and writing that just resonated so much with what I believe about reading. It’s definitely a book lover’s book and I highly recommend.

  • 5 Vampire Books Worth Reading this Halloween

    5 Vampire Books Worth Reading this Halloween

    Happy Halloween, everyone!

    There is an unbelievable amount of vampire stories to pick from during this season. I’m so happy about that because I’ve been a fan of vampire stories since I was a kid. And if you’re like me trying to wade through all the stories to find the ones worth reading, then I would recommend these. This is a list of a few of my favorite stories and while my TBR of vampire books is much longer, the ones I’ve picked here are perfect for learning and loving vampires.

    Sorry, I didn’t include Twilight here but I will admit that I’ve been a fan since I was a kid of that one. But that’s for your guilty pleasure reading if you’re into that.

    Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker

    This is my latest vampire pick and it is perfect for any fans of Dracula, especially since the book is written by Bram Stoker’s great grand-nephew using his own personal notes discovered by the Stoker family years after Bram had passed away. The story follows the Stoker family and the mysterious happenings around their nanny, who turns out to be a vampire on a mission. It’s suspenseful, mysterious, and very bloody.

    An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

    Not only is this time of year perfect for spooky books, but it is also a great time for dark academia and what better way to celebrate both than with a vampire story of sisterhood, friendship, and the choice between your romantic paramour and your best friend. Laura and Carmilla are academic rivals winning over the praises of their favorite professor. But when Laura, the new girl, learns a bit more about Carmilla’s relationship with her professor, she’s included on a huge secret about her favorite poetry professor and the school.

    A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

    While technically not a vampire story, it does feature a vampire who falls in love with the main character, Diana Bishop. But not only is it such a great vampire story, it’s super rich in its witch-y history telling. It seems a bit perfect for the holiday! The story follows Diana Bishop as she uncovers a missing alchemical manuscript at Oxford University. It turns out this book is much more valuable than an old book and embroils her into the world of witches, vampires, and other monsters who are also on the hunt for this book.

    From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

    While there’s many choices in the romantasy realm this year for vampire stories, I’m partial to Jennifer L. Armentrout and her romance series, From Blood and Ash! This is the story of a young person, Poppy, who is forced to be “The Chosen One” has been pretty secluded all her life. But when Hawke becomes her personal guard, it gets a bit difficult to stay pious right before her ascension. This one is filled with so many twists and turns that you’ll definitely be reaching for book 2 by the time you’re finished.

    The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Garth Hendrix

    This was my first Garth Hendrix book and probably the one that made me a fan of his writing. The story takes place in a small town in South Carolina where people live pretty boring American lives. Patricia lives a pretty average life, but when a sensitive artist and stranger moves in next door and children start to go missing in the neighborhood, Patricia and her book club start to investigate. With a very similar vein to My Best Friend’s Exorcist, this book combines two very different genres to give you a book filled with blood, gore, and the enduring power of friendship.

    What are some of your favorite vampire books?

  • Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke // Book Review

    Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke // Book Review

    Well, this was a massive undertaking of a book, but worth pretty much the entire month it took me to read it. Sadly, my thoughts on this book will be a bit scattered since it took me so long to read it and I took a massive break in the middle of the month to go to a wedding.

    Here’s more about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

    The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation’s past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country.

    Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

    Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    Imagine yourself in the 19th century. Napoleon is on his warpath to conquer Europe. Allies are in short demand in England and there’s a middle-aged gentleman who is trying to revive English magic. Because in this world created by the brilliant Susanna Clarke, magic exists and her alternate history epic, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, we get a glimpse into the deep history of magic and the wildly entertaining shenanigans these two English gentlemen unleash into the public.

    The story reads much like a history of the magic. I think the added footnotes bring this sense that this is based on historical evidence and reality when in fact, it’s just made up by Susanna Clarke. It’s the piece that makes this story so incredible –how realistic it feels and how much you wonder how real it could be. I truly found myself believing in the magic, wanting to see if Americans would ever adapt magic for themselves (honestly, is it just me or the best magic stories based in England?).

    Strange and Norrell lend themselves as the best examples of the two sides of English magic. One of the theoretical (Mr. Norrell) who prefers to learn his magic through books, careful study, and deep thinking. The other is practical (Mr. Strange) who uses magic in many more ways than Mr. Norrell and finds his level of study requires more action than sedentary study. This dichotomy in their magic is probably one of the biggest cruxes in the book. While they first start off as pupil and teacher, their dynamic changes as their beliefs in magic change. With a volume dedicated to both characters (and a special one for the most famous magician of all, Jonathan Uskglass), the two magicians play against each other in their method and bring readers an argument of morality when it comes to magic.

    But both of them together embody how magic can be used. Since this book takes places during the Napoleonic Wars, one of the biggest uses of magic is to protect the English borders from the enemy and actually use magic to fight troops down on the front lines. I loved this part of the book because it’s not just magic for some selfish purpose, but magic for a greater good. These are not some witches in a coven plotting revenge against some enemy, but strategic people who use magic as a skill much like combat training is a skill in war.

    Funny enough, this isn’t even the plot! The story also features a mysterious gentleman who ensnares people close to Mr. Norrell and Mr. Strange for some dastardly premise I don’t want to share in case of spoilers. Magic does get used for some more selfish purposes, but not to the benefit of Mr. Norrell nor Mr. Strange. In fact, it’s the misuse of magic that causes the greater plot to slowly unravel and reveal itself in such an incredible end!

    But you can tell from those components alone that this is one immersive book and it’s absolutely what I loved most about it. The detailing is like looking at an embroidered tapestry and finding one more extra thing you didn’t see the first time you saw it. It’s a story carefully crafted to incorporate magic into real world events. It’s so immersive that despite the time it took me to read this book, I didn’t ever want to leave it. I found myself laughing at some scenes. I found myself frustrated with others. Each time I picked up this book to read, it felt like I was traveling into the book and experiencing a world where magic existed and there’s two very strange magicians who are quietly fighting each other for recognition and control.

    If you’re expecting some highly adventurous plot with outrageous moments, then this might not be the book for you. There will be things to follow along with throughout the story, but like I said earlier, it feels more like a history of English magic than a magical story. It’s the piece that sets it apart from other fantasy books I’ve read recently and what makes it so unique and special.

  • I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones // Book Review

    I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones // Book Review

    If you’re a fan of slasher films like Friday the 13th or Halloween and you’ve always wanted to know what motivates the killer to do what he does? Well, this insightful story dives into the mind of a slasher and plays around with the idea that maybe they’re as much the victim as the ones they murder.

    Here’s more about I Was a Teenage Slasher

    1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, and shared sense of unfairness of being on the outside through the slasher horror Jones loves, but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My Thoughts

    Again, please don’t let me tell you I’m a good person in any way. I don’t claim not to have done what I most definitely and really did. My hands are forever red, and my heart will always be black.

    I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started reading this book. Honestly, it started off as a confession to some heinous murders this young boy Tolly Driver committed when he was a kid. However, it wasn’t just a confession, it was so much more and exactly the kind of story I love reading. And in some ways, you do end up rooting for the killer in this one.

    The story follows Tolly as he goes into the events that led him to killing six of his fellow classmates in the summer of 1989. And at an ill-fated party with a bunch of his classmates, he’s bullied by members of the marching band to eat peanuts, a food he’s allergic to. When the zombie of a fellow classmate arrives at the party to enact his revenge on the kids that caused his death, Tolly knew that he was cursed to do the same to his own bullies.

    I am honestly surprised by this book. It’s playful in using slasher films tropes as a curse Tolly is forced to enact. You see him and his best friend Amber trying to figure out what his mask is, what triggers his transformation. They see the transformation in the kids that he kills as well turning into the type of victims you see in slasher films (horny teenagers who put their guard down). They even discuss the final girl; the trope of all tropes in slasher films where there’s only one victim left and it’s usually a young girl who inexplicably escapes the clutches of the slasher. It’s fun to see how a slasher is born, what makes them tick, what motivates them, but this book offers something more.

    This book is extremely literary. I knew that we were going to get a confession-style story from Tolly, but it dives even further than that. Tolly is still mourning the loss of his father, how to handle his grieving mother. He’s still figuring out how to be a normal teenager, how to navigate his future, how to handle his past. A lot of what you read is about his potential to be something bigger than he is and the total regret that he will never live up to it. He mentions Lamesa being the only place he’ll ever know and writing his story from the knowledge that he’ll never return. He even hopes for his best friend, Amber, to have the future that he can’t have for himself. This was the most intriguing part of the story and perhaps even the part we don’t see when it comes to slashers; the potential if they didn’t do the horrific things they did.

    Of course, you’re going to still get a good dose of horror in this book. After all, this is a slasher book and so the rules of the slasher must be followed, which both Tolly and his best friend Amber figure out by the end of the book. But if there’s a genre for literary horror stories, I think Stephen Graham Jones would be in there.

  • The God and The Gumiho by Sophie Kim // Book Review

    The God and The Gumiho by Sophie Kim // Book Review

    If you’re a fan of those fantasy-focused Kdramas filled with Korean mythical creatures and a fun little contemporary romance twist, then you’re going to love The God and The Gumiho. Thanks to Del Rey for the gifted copy of this book.

    More about The God and The Gumiho

    Kim Hani has retired from a life of devouring souls. She is, simply put, too full. Once known as the infamous Scarlet Fox, she now spends her days working in a coffee shop and annoying a particularly irritating, if unfairly handsome, trickster god as often as she can.

    That god is Seokga the Fallen. Exiled from the heavenly kingdom of Okhwang, he now begrudgingly resides in the mortal realm, working toward his redemption and suffering through his interactions with the particularly infuriating, if sneakily charming, gumiho barista at his favorite café.

    But when a powerful demon escapes from the underworld and threatens to end all of humanity, Okhwang’s emperor offers Seokga an enticing bargain: Kill this rogue creature, as well as the legendary and elusive Scarlet Fox, and he will be reinstated as a god. Hani, however, has no intention of being caught. Seokga might be a trickster god, but she has a trick of her own that he’ll never see coming: teaming up. As Seokga’s assistant, Hani will undermine and sabotage his investigation right under his overly pointy nose. Sure, she’ll help him kill the demon, but she certainly won’t allow him to uncover her secret identity while they’re at it.

    As the bickering partners track their case down a path of mayhem and violence, the god and the gumiho find themselves inescapably drawn to each other. But will the unlikely couple stand together to prevent the apocalypse, or will they let their secrets tear them—and the world—apart?

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    Such a fun read that combines my love of Kdramas and fantasy. A genre-bending story that really has a little bit for everyone, but if you’re a fan of Kdramas like Goblin and Tale of the Nine-Tailed, then this one is for you.

    The story follows Seokga (the god) and Hani (the gumiho aka nine-tailed fox). Seokga is the fallen god of mischief who’s coup to usurp his brother ended up with him losing his power and forced to spend his life collecting 20,000 unruly demons from the human world. Hani is a 1600-year-old gumiho who had her fill of men’s livers and souls back in the 19th century and now living quietly as a barista at a small coffee shop (even though she hates coffee). When a mysterious force starts killing randoms throughout the city, Seokga is on the case to find the killer and Hani volunteers herself as his assistant because is also on the search for an unruly gumiho who recently took the lives of two men (it was Hani).

    This book seriously brought the drama. Even from the premise you know there’s going to be a lot going down between Seokga and Hani. It’s one of those dramas where you find out the twist and you’re just wondering the entire time how the heck they’re going to work this one out and I’ve seen my fair share of dramas.

    The enemies-to-lovers between Seokga and Hani was really cute. I imagined Seokga as this hardened grumpy trope who only finds pleasure in a decent cup of coffee. And while Hani played a bit of the sunshine, her secret gumiho side definitely shows you she’s anything but. Both of the characters were worthy to root for and their unlikely partnership to find the creature that’s causing all these murders really made for some fun banter between the two of them. And of course, you know they fall for each other with all the intensity you see in the dramas.

    And I was actually surprised by the end! The difficult decisions, the larger than life villain, and the ultimate ending just really sucked me in and I was reading at the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. I wasn’t a huge fan of the world building and I felt a little lost by how powerful the villain and the other unruly demons were. It lacked that level of ambient danger and what Seokga and Hani were getting into was way over their heads. I also noticed a couple of things being introduced all the way at the end, which I thought could have been snuck in here and there throughout the story.

    Overall, a great start to a new romantasy book and I can’t wait to read the next one!

  • Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange // Book Review

    Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange // Book Review

    “Wandering stars, to whom it is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

    Here’s more about Wandering Stars

    Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion Prison Castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

    Oakland, 2018. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield is barely holding her family together after the shooting that nearly took the life of her nephew Orvil. From the moment he awakens in his hospital bed, Orvil begins compulsively googling school shootings on YouTube. He also becomes emotionally reliant on the prescription medications meant to ease his physical trauma. His younger brother, Lony, suffering from PTSD, is struggling to make sense of the carnage he witnessed at the shooting by secretly cutting himself and enacting blood rituals that he hopes will connect him to his Cheyenne heritage. Opal is equally adrift, experimenting with Ceremony and peyote, searching for a way to heal her wounded family.

    Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange once again delivers a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous, a book piercing in its poetry, sorrow, and rage—a masterful follow-up to his already-classic first novel, and a devastating indictment of America’s war on its own people.

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    I originally gave this one three stars, but after a week of thinking about it, I feel like I did this book wrong. Granted, it’s not perfect. The writing style is very disjointed, it doesn’t give a lot of that interesting backstory it starts off with, and I found myself wanting more of a lot of pieces here and there. If you’re not a fan of these elements or find it frustrating to read, then you may not like this story. But this is a character-driven novel and something these stories are really good at doing is getting characters into your head. These are characters you think about, you worry about, and you wonder about well after the final page. And the circumstances that Orvil, Lony, Loother, and the rest of the folks in Star’s family line weigh heavy on my heart weeks after reading it.

    If I could check in with characters, I would. Check in and see if they’re doing okay, if they’ve accomplished their goals, if they’ve stumbled. Reading Wandering Star isn’t a prequel or a sequel to There, There, but it’s a check in. If you were thinking about the characters and how they coped with the shooting at the powwow and then how their lives turned out then this is the book for you. And I know Tommy Orange didn’t write this book to assuage the mental and emotional state of his readers, but it does help with it. Tommy Orange was just obliging to let you know.

    While the historical bit of the book (the prequel) was truncated, it was the most fascinating. Hearing the history of Orvil’s family starting from Star, his time as a prisoner of war in Florida, how he was forced to assimilate to the “American” culture, how it didn’t phase Star, but somehow fractured his family line to the point where the generations to come wouldn’t know anything about him. How Richard Pratt, the white guy who made this all happen, thought he did the Native Americans a service when he only aided in them losing their sense of identity that only expands to present day Redfeathers and his lack of knowledge of the Cheyenne people. It reminded me a lot of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and how fractured history is for the characters in that book as well.

    And of course, there’s a level of artistry when it comes to Tommy Orange’s books. You’re not going to read a linear story. It jumps from character to character learning bits and pieces of the fractured people they have become and the methods of coping with those fractures. Lony and his obsession with the energy coming out of our abdomens (shout out to Donnie Darko, which was an obsession for me when I was a teenager) then Loother and his relationship with girls, to Orvil and how he’s coping with being shot while doing his dance at the powwow (spoilers, not good). Using various perspectives and POVs, you’re not just reading a story but experiencing an entire ecosystem of cause and effect of history touching reality and the present pushing towards the unknowable future. It’s almost beautiful.

    Overall, an intriguing story that answers “the after.” What happens after you’re shot? What happens after you’ve been whitewashed? What happens after your teens? It’s such an incredible way to share this story and like I said, you’ll be rooting for this family the entire time.

  • Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood // Book Review

    I will admit, I was drawn to this one by the cover. It’s not one of those “oh this is a cutesy cover, but we’re going to hit you in the face with a side of spice,” but definitely brought the spice and story for me.

    Here’s more about Not in Love

    Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

    Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through – and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.

    Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business – one that plays for keeps.

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    My thoughts

    This is the story of Rue and Eli. Rue is a biotech engineer at Kline and Eli is one of the business partners trying to buy Kline from its current owner. So you can say there’s a definitely conflict of interest here. When Eli and Rue see each other in the board room as changes to Kline’s business are announced, they both realize that that moment was not the first time they’ve seen each other. In fact, the night before they had matched on a dating app and nearly went to bed with each other. So of course, the embarrassing moment of knowing that they were about to sleep with each other and the fact that their work lives are about to collide make for the perfect enemies-to-lovers romances.

    For me, this book redefines enemies-to-lovers for me and makes me wonder what hate sex might be like. Because Rue and Eli can’t control their attraction for each other despite knowing that they’re natural enemies. So of course they try to get it out of their system only to share their deepest secrets with each other and fall a little harder than they imagined.

    When it comes to spicy food, the hotter the better. When it comes to spicy books, I’m a huge wimp. And honestly, I thought this book was super spicy and almost heading towards territory I rarely go when it comes to romance, but my friend also read this book and said it wasn’t all that bad. And she was right. While the open-door scenes were pretty spicy, they weren’t so hot that my face was flush in the middle of the grocery store.

    I think my favorite part of this book was the corporate takeover. Yes, I’m a business nerd and seeing Eli make some incredible sacrifices for Rue just made me root for them even more. I know that both of them have their own baggage when it comes to relationships and family, but it was obvious with their interactions that they were willing to make something work even if it was just hot sex every once in a while.

    I think the only thing I didn’t like were the too coincidental moment at the ice rink. I liked when they saw each other in the conference room at Kline that second day after their failed date, but then to also have them connected through ice skating just felt like too much. There’s already that connection, so adding another layer of connection felt like squeeze in there for no reason. You do learn a little bit more about Rue and Eli’s life through this shared connection, but it didn’t have to literally be the same rink with the same people. It felt too forced.

    Other than that, this was such an entertaining and fun story. I loved the intrigue with the corporate takeover, the commitment issues, and deep character development taking place with everyone.

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry // Book Review

    Holy cow, am I going to be calling my challenge off early because I’ve finally read my favorite Emily Henry book?

    Here’s more about People We Meet on Vacation

    Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

    Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

    Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

    Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

    Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

    Anyway, the first Emily Henry book I’m reading in my summer reading challenge and it’s already going so great. I feel like I never hear much about People We Meet on Vacation, but it seems to be the silent sleeper in Emily Henry’s collection.

    The story follows Poppy and Alex who couldn’t be more opposite with each other than possibly can. Poppy comes from a free-spirited home while Alex’s is a bit more laced up. Poppy’s education was a little unconventional while Alex has gone to more school than most doctors. And while they are pretty much complete opposites, they find themselves on a road trip back home together launching a friendship that includes frequent vacations to faraway places every summer.

    One of the first things that came out of my mouth when I read this book was “wow, this story reminds me a lot of When Harry Met Sally…” and the story does carry that idea of two friends who’ve known each other for a very long time, seen each other at their worst and their best, dated their worst and their best, and only to realize very too long in their friendship that they had feelings for each other. It’s definitely my kind of slow-burning friends-to-lovers romance!

    Of course, Emily Henry also has the uncanny ability to really tap into the emotional and mental states of her characters. And like most of the books I read by Emily Henry, I felt a certain resonates with Poppy’s need to escape the small town she grew up in and explore what the rest of the world has to offer is a feeling I know all too well stemming from an early traveling experience that I haven’t forgotten for 25 years. And then that need to always be free stemming back to her inability to commit in relationships just shook me to my core. Honestly, Emily Henry, how does she know me so well?

    The romance was subtle and sweet and the perfect amount of heat for me. If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, then you know that I’m not a huge fan of the big old spicy books, but I can’t help but to get giddy when the couple finally address the big purple elephant in the room. So I had such a blast reading this one. It’s the perfect summer vacation read with low stakes romance and very big friendship energy. Already the top of my favorite Emily Henry book of all time!