Category: Reviews

Reviews

Review: The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

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Review

The Dark Days Club
The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal, Young Adult, Romance
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Synopsis
London, April 1812.

On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

What I thought
I have no idea why when I know I am going to love a book that I “save” it. New Goal read all the books I know I am going to love. This book sat on my shelf for way too long.

This story checked so many of my boxes:

Regency area checkmark
Strong female character checkmark
Some hate to love romance vibes checkmark
Fantasy elements checkmark

So in the story, Lady Helen has lived with her aunt and uncle since her parent’s death when she was younger. Helen has long been told that her mother was a traitor to the crown, but this may not be the case. Helen soon learns that her mother was part of a secret society that fights demons.

I really enjoyed the character Helen and how she was a very strong female character even though this is it any regency time. Of course, Lady Helen’s views cause some problems because she is definitely not a product of her time, she is an educated woman and proud of it. She’s also very opinionated which seems to get her in more trouble than anything else.

I won’t lie I really want horrible things to happen to her uncle, I think he is just scum. Then you have Carlston I really want to see more happen there. And there is just something about the Duke of Selburn that I can’t quite like.  I think he has an ulterior motive and he does not have Helen’s best interest in mind at all. I think he showed interest just because he thinks Carlston has. 

I cannot wait to pick up the next book. I already have it pulled off my bookshelf and on top of a stack of books ready.

My Rating: /55 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Reviews

Review: I am Drusilla: by Lucille Moncrief

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Review

I am Drusilla


I am Drusilla by Lucille Moncrief
Fantasy, Mythology
23 pages
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Synopsis
Best-selling author Lucille Moncrief takes us back to the beginning of time, where gods and mortals lived together in a perpetual summer. In this riveting prequel to Moncrief’s timeless and dark Nefarious series, we learn the origins of the Great War between the Scion Hive vampires and the Alpine Manticore witches.

High Priestess Drusilla journeys into the terrifying underworld of her vampire brother, The Great King Abaddon to free her lover Egino from the clutches of the vampire horde. Will she succeed in rescuing Egino before the darkness destroys her magic forever?
Beautifully written, I am Drusilla is an enigmatic work reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno and Le Fanu’s masterpieces. Follow the heroine Drusilla in a tale that bridges the magic of literature with an innovative new take on classic vampire mythology.

What I thought

I was very kindly gifted a copy of this short story by the author for my honest opinion.  All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

This is a prequel to the authors Nefarious Series. With that said I went into this story knowing nothing since I had not read the other books. So I did feel a little lost at first.  I liked this take on vampires and it explains a little of how they came to be. I enjoyed how mythology was weaved into this story and it makes me think that I would really enjoy picking up this series.  Sorry, this is such a short one but this story was only 23 pages and if you like stories what twist vampire lore some you will really like this.

My Rating: /53.5 starsFollow me on other platforms:
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Reviews

Review: Alphas and Airships by Melanie Karsak

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Review

Alphas and Airships

Alphas and Airships by Melanie Karsak
Fantasy, Retelling, Steampunk
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Synopsis
With Lionheart as the new alpha, the streets of London are quiet. But above the realm, mischief is brewing. While airship pirates are a common plague upon the kingdom, the airship Fenrir proves particularly troublesome, especially on a full moon. Clemeny must take to the skies before these shape-shifting Vikings kick off a new Ragnarok. Easier said than done now that she’s down one good eye, a partner, and not to mention the fact that she gets motion sick. On top of that, the new scar across her face makes Clemeny feel like she’ll have better luck intimidating her foes than finding a beau. But Agent Edwin Hunter, recently assigned as head of Clemeny’s division, is proving to be an interesting prospect. Despite her apprehensions, it’s up to Agent Louvel to chase Fenrir across the heavens. Alphas and Airships is a retelling of the Red Riding Hood fairy tale set in Melanie Karsak’s bestselling steampunk universe.

Alphas and Airships is Book 2 in the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series.

What I thought

I reviewed book 1 Wolves and Daggers if you are interested in reading it please click here.

As Clemeny emerges back into the field she is given a new partner Agent Harper a new recruit into their department. There appears to be some unrest with a wolf pack in Scottland…okay I am just going to say it they are Airship Vikings Pirates! So in this book, you get a little Norse Mythology mixed in.

I am really loving this series and not just because a character I love from another series has a cameo. I like the character Clemeny and her determination. There are somethings that happened in this book that I really want to see what caused them to happen.

I only had one big drawback to this story Clemeny is obsessed with finding love. I get it that it is a product of the time period but it still annoyed me. I felt that it was a little over the top because she is such an independent character it just didn’t seem to fit with her personality.

If you have read the book and want to talk more leave me a comment below.

My Rating: /54.5 starsFollow me on other platforms:
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Reviews

Review: The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

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Review

The Radium Girls
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women
by Kate Moore
Nonfiction, Historical
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Synopsis
The incredible true story of the women who fought America’s Undark danger

The Curies’ newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women’s cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America’s early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives…

What I thought
I waited a few days before I begin thinking about writing this review and I still do not know where to start. So bear with me and we will start at the beginning of this journey. I had never heard about the Radium Girls, they were not talked about when I was in school. I found a podcast called The Morbid Curiosity Podcast, now anyone that actually knows me will not be surprised that I jumped on this as soon as I saw the name.  So since I found it around the end of last year I have been working through the backlog of episodes that they have and one of them was on the Radium Girls.  I was so amazed by the story that I began looking into them and that led me to find this book.

While reading this book I was constantly surprised at the new lows that these women went through.  I know this should not have surprised me but their story was so tragic and a lot of things could have been prevented. My heart truly went out to these girls they suffered so much and were treated so horribly. I know I am not doing any justice for this book I just can not put the words together that I want to.  I was so moved and truly inspired by the spirit of these women.

***SPOILER*** 

I usually try not to do this but…

I can’t even imagine living through what they did, having bones and limbs removed just to slow down the radium poisoning.  Then to have the person that put you in that position, who knew that you were being poisoned, to just stand back and say prove it.  The exams they made them go through just to humiliate these women and try to dismiss them like they were worth nothing just makes me want to scream. They knew the dangers hell they protected the other Male staff in the labs with lead aprons and then told these women to lip point their brushes again and again. Then knowing they were going to die, they tried to delay the trial so that they wouldn’t survive long enough to be able to finish the case. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but I had more faith in people.

***SPOILER END*** 

Sorry, I guess I needed to just vent all those thoughts since they are the first things that come to mind when I think of this story.  I guess there is no way to really not spoil the story.

I really wish that their story was at least touched on in school it is such an important part of our short history.

My Rating: /55 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Reviews

Review: Heartless by Gail Carriger

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Review

Heartless
Heartless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate #4
Steampunk, Historical Romance, Paranormal
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Synopsis
Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband’s past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux’s latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf’s clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama’s second best closet?

Read-along
Midway through 2018, I decided that I wanted to read the books from Gail Carriger’s Parasolverse in chronological order. This led me to start the journey of the Parasolverse Read-Along in August 2018. If you would like more information about the read-along please visit my post about it here. At the beginning of each month, I will have a brief read-along post go up letting you know what the book for that month is.

What I thought
We are getting to the end of this series and there is only one more book left.  I have to say this is the book that I like the least in this series.  It was still a good book I mean I am giving it 4 stars.

I am so disappointed in two of the characters that I love so much. I won’t say which two but they broke my heart. Passions run high and actions are taken and revenge is never an answer that is good in the long run.

My Rating: /54 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Review: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

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Review

Red sister
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
Book of the Ancestor #1
Adult, Fantasy
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Synopsis
I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin.

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.

But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

What I thought
Assassin Nuns do I need to say more?

Well if I do.

I really enjoyed this book.  The beginning seemed a little slow but then again that tends to happen when you are developing your own world but once I really got into it, it seemed to fly. This book has a medieval feel to its fantasy I only point that out because some people like it and some are really put off by it.

There is something about the character Nona that I just love and I can’t decide if the author intended her to be liked or not but I have made my decision. There were many times that I wanted to yell what do you think you are doing??? But then I would have to remind myself that Nona is only 10 when this story starts out.  As you read her story and see all the crap that she goes through you really start feeling like she is much older than she is.  Essentially Nona is a survivor and she values her friends above all.

I really can not wait to pick up the next book in this series so I can see what all is going to happen next.  I can’t wait to see what happens and if new bonds are formed. Yes, I have theories but we will see what happens.

Have you read this book yet if so what did you think. I really want to talk more about this book and now that I have written this I can finally pick up Grey Sister.

My Rating: /55 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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Reviews

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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Review

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
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Synopsis
Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. ‘He never says please’, she sighed, but she gathered up her things.

When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she’s a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in ‘Elsewhere’, she has never understood Brimstone’s dark work – buying teeth from hunters and murderers – nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn’t whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

What I thought
I was on the fence for a very long time on whether or not I wanted to read this book.  I kept going back and forth and finally, I took it off my Want to Read list about a year ago and thought I was never looking back. Well then in walks Caz from Little Book Owl. I really like her taste in books and when she was like who wants to read these books with me starting in March…and now here we are.

So this book is partly set in Prague and I love that setting so I was like sure let’s do this but the US covers suck so I then ordered a copy from book depository. Don’t you think this one looks much better? (see above)

Sorry for rambling.  Okay so when I first started reading this book for some reason it just wasn’t jiving with me right away then somehow it all just clicked and I really got into the story.  I really do like the writing style, not having read anything else by this author I was not sure what to expect but I can say I was pleasantly surprised. So you can believe all of the hype there.

This world is not black and white in the good vs evil category. I mean this human girl has been raised by demons and they truly seem to care about her wellbeing. So it is a nice change from what you usually expect.

I felt some hate to love vibes but then it got kinda instalovey, but in the end, it all worked out and was not bad. I might have had a small idea of how it was going to work out in the end, but all and all, I really enjoyed the ride.

I will be picking up the next book in April (from my library).

My Rating: /54 StarsFollow me on other platforms:
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