Happy Pub day to S.B. Divya with Meru! This book is out today, so if you like amazing sci-fi, then try to check this out!
I really just started reading this today, but I’ll be back with a review as soon as possible.
Happy Reading!!! 💜
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!
A perfect sequel! I love historical fiction/fantasy, and this was a great addition to the genre. A little slow at parts, but the writing had such a great flow that it was a pleasure to read from front to back.
Hazel is going through it! After the ending of book one, this sequel begins with hazel getting into a really tough spot. However, she finds herself rescued and set to serve as a physician for Princess Charlotte. Many things happen at Pall Mall, but of utmost importance is (finally) Jack’s return.
This was a great read, and I loved how nicely the strings were tied up at the end, leaving me feeling very fulfilled.
Out February 28, 2023!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!
A nun with full body tattoos who also smokes the cigarettes and other contraband from her students, all while starting a new reputation as super sleuth as she works on the clues for multiple fires at her convent. This story didn’t need any more surprises, but it definitely kept them rolling in.
I love that this takes place in New Orleans, a perfect city for the scene of any murder/mystery. Sister Holiday has been a nun for about one year after leaving her tumultuous life behind in NYC. There are many looks into her past throughout this book, which only adds to the drama. Sister Holiday teaches at the private school attached to the convent with a few other teachers and nuns. When fires begin erupting seemingingly out of nowhere several times at this school and convent, Sister Holiday takes it upon herself to find the culprit.
This is an intriguing read that definitely kept me entertained. However, I felt like some of the characters and the interactions in this story fell a bit flat. With that said, I still couldn’t put this book down!
Out February 21, 2023!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!!
I’m not crying! My eyes are just watering….
I knew what I was getting into with this novella because I’ve read different variations of the folktale The Crane Wife, and it always leaves me devastated.
This, though? This, in particular, really got inside and had my heart beating for this family. A 15 year old girl is narrating in first person through this story. I think the author’s choice to leave this character so open to interpretation made her more relatable, not just to me, but I imagine, to many other readers as well. This is a hard-hitting quick read.
This 15 year old girl lives on a farm with her younger brother and artist mother. Her mother is quite flighty and has different men over for sleep-overs frequently. But, when the Crane man comes, everything gets bad fast.
The narrator takes care of the household and her little brother, even her mom’s finances and artwork sales. When this giant Crane appears, her mother is infatuated with him, although he leaves her bruised and bloody. This story is about domestic violence and child negligence, and I’ll admit, it’s difficult to read at parts, but this story ends with a powerful message and strength.
I loved this so much and highly recommend it. There are content warnings for physical abuse and child negligence.
Out February 28, 2023!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!
This was stunning and absolutely breathtaking. Literally and figuratively breathtaking!!!
This prequel to Priory of the Orange Tree is full of beautiful descriptions and content that compliments the first book so well.
The themes running through this novel are very similar to Priory. Mainly ideas on religion and also, women’s roles in history, the strength of women.
I just finished this and I know I’m going to have more to say while this story truly sinks in now.
Out February, 28 2033!
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!
I am really conflicted over this book and I just don’t know how to feel!
I love it as a retelling of Antigone, especially the ending. I thought Roth made Antigone’s character even stronger than in the original by sophocles. Antigone is originally a play by Sophocles. It’s short but with a lot of depth to quickly delve into during any lit. class.
There were some huge changes and this is where I have some unanswered questions. They are living in a world that is dying from radiation, but they are in a safe, protected spot and are focusing on continuing our species. But, this all gets strange to me. How are they safe from the radiation? I loved the important details of what women had to do to keep up this world and how it relates to today and what women are facing, but I don’t understand the whole extractor and build a baby thing. I like it. I just needed explanations. Just some background. I feel like I started blind and I ended with just enough light in the distance to truthfully admit that I do see something. These are great, brilliant ideas. But, if it was expanded upon, then this book would have been a showstopper instead of just passable.
These are all my own opinions and I urge all fellow readers to read and find out for yourself. Also, definitely take a minute to read a summary of Antigone prior to picking this up.
Out February 21, 2023!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!!
This is a sweet, gruesome, disgusting, caring, horrific and brilliant book! And, that’s as much as a warning as a recommendation. This book may make your bile rise, but it will also become a welcomed obsession when your flying on the wings of a reader high! (Don’t ask, idk)
The characters in each section are all somehow connected which was a satisfying plus. This takes place years after covid with the beginning of a new pandemic. However, some lucky patients seem to turn into Vampire and zombie-esque types of new people, maybe even a new species.
This story and the author’s powerful, no spare on the gore style had me from the beginning to the end. It’s not a long book and it’s a very quick read.
Out February 21, 2023!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!
This book is very strange, dark, and mysterious. Luckily, that is my favorite kind of book!
Bishop is a really small town that feels even smaller and narrow minded the more I learned about it. The prologue begins with a short preview of what is behind the darkness of this town. Specifically it needs blood, and as it so happens, the sacrifices are always women.
There are four main characters and four pov which is a bit daunting for a standalone. They live together, two twin sisters and two other girls, in the house they lived in with their mothers before their mysterious disappearance. This story is about fighting for the truth, their rights, particularly as women in a town ruled by men who seem to take as much as the blood hungry soil.
I thought this was an interesting read and I really enjoyed it. However, I have a few thoughts about the ending but I don’t want to include spoilers.
Content warning for sexual assault and violence.
Out February 21, 2023!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!!
This was one of those weird, creepy thrillers, and I loved every second! Give me the weird and strange with a Savannah setting and goth goth gothic style, and I am happy!!
Holly recently lost her brother to suicide and she has been picking apart the possibilities, the reasons why, nonstop. When she begins thinking of Dane’s girlfriend that he moved in with right before the tragedy, she feels not only suspicion but an attachment to this girl, Maura.
Holly soon finds herself interacting with Maura, trying to parcel together clues for her brothers sudden decline. However, when she decides to move in with her to further along her chances of figuring this out, everything seems to start slipping sideways. Maura seems to all at once to be in and out of control while Holly realizes she has stumbled into something beyond her understanding. Something so strange and unthinkable that she may follow the same path as her brother.
This was so fun! The author didn’t hide that Maura was a suspect, so I really felt like I was being led into the finale very purposefully. But, the finale itself!!! I am so glad I got to dip into this author’s creative and creepy mind! And, I’m looking forward to their next book!
Book Oracle 