reviews

Heartless Hunter: Exploring blood magic

by Stefani

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Published: February 20, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.

Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can’t help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

Rating:

Rating:

This book was another recommendation by friends and luckily this one was much more successful than the first. I really loved this book. Rune was a fascinating character. She felt like a real person. She tried to make the right decisions and she was trying to do the right things, but she didn’t always succeed. It was really refreshing to read a young adult female heroine who isn’t absolutely amazing and perfect at literally everything. That’s a very annoying trope in the young adult space and I am ready for it to stop. But Rune was different and I appreciated that.

The magic system in this book was fantastic. I loved the idea of magic having a price. You may be a witch and be able to wield magic, but you have to pay for it with blood and scars. And the more complex the spell is, the higher the price. Some spells are outlawed because they required the unwilling sacrifice of someone else’s blood.

We learn early on in the book that this world used to be ruled by three witch queens, sisters. They were evil and abused the non-magic citizens horribly and used their magic to make the general public their slaves in every sense of the word. So, they overthrew the witch queens. Killed them. And outlawed witchcraft. Then we institute the Bloodguard. Their job is to hunt down witches and then execute them.

One thing that didn’t make a lot of sense to me was Rune’s insistence on saving all witches. She knows that some witches are evil and corrupted by their power. But she insists on saving all captured witches as the witch version of Robin Hood. She doesn’t even know these women but is convinced that she should save all of their lives. Why> How does she know that these women are innocent? Most of them likely are but not all. But this book doesn’t really delve into that moral gray area, which disappointed me. I hope that might be a bigger theme in the second book.

The big reveal at the end was also a bit predictable. I knew it was coming a long way off. The payoff of the reveal was still really good though. Overall this was a great book and I immediately jumped into book two.

The Twists of Behind Her Eyes: Expectations vs. Reality

by Stefani

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Published: January 31, 2017 by Flatiron Books

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.

When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend, but she also just happens to be married to David. David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife, but then why is David so controlling, and why is Adele so scared of him?

As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong, but Louise can’t guess how wrong―and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.

Rating:

Review:

This book came highly recommended. Several friends of mine read it recently and absolutely raved about it. The ending left them floored, they said. It was spectacular, they said. You’ll never guess the ending, they told me. They were right, I never would have guessed the ending. Because it was utterly nonsensical.

Everything about this book was great all the way up until the end. Louise was a little boring. I couldn’t understand what David saw in her because I found her very dull. But I was drawn into the story and the mystery. Was David an abuser? Was Adele mentally unstable? What exactly is going on with this couple?

Then we got to the ending. It came out of nowhere but not in a good way. All of a sudden this typical domestic thriller threw in a paranormal element that had never been hinted at previously. It was bizarre. While other people really loved it as a “twist”, I found it jarring. It made no sense in the context of the book. It made no sense in the context of this world. Don’t worry about missing this “hidden gem”, you’re not missing anything.

Meet Me at the Crossroads: A Journey Beyond the Doors

by Stefani

Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings

Published: June 3, 2025 by Amistad

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

On an ordinary summer morning, the world is changed by the appearance of seven mysterious doors that seemingly lead to another world. People are, of course, mesmerized and intrigued: A new dimension filled with beauty and resources beckons them to step into an adventure. But, perhaps inevitably, people soon learn that what looks like paradise may very well be filled with danger.

Ayanna and Olivia, two Black Midwestern teens—and twin sisters—have different ideas of what may lie in the world beyond. But will their personal bond endure such wanton exploration? And when one of them goes missing, will the other find solace of her own? And will she uncover the circumstances of what truly happened to her once constant companion and best friend?

Rating:

Review:

Based on the synopsis I wanted to love this book. It had all the makings of a book that was right up my alley. And in the first portion of the book, it seemed hopeful. I was absolutely riveted by the description of the doors and how various portions of humanity interacted with these doors.

It all came to a halt once Ayanna and Olivia went through the door. Initially it got very confusing. I read a few chapters several times in a row because I couldn’t figure out what had happened and where I missed it, I never found the missing piece. And then the plot just stopped. No more mention of the doors. The only thing that happened after that point was Ayanna navel gazing about her all consuming grief.

In the end I gave up about halfway through. Nothing was happened and I have other things to do and other books to read.

Exploring Sisterhood in Julia Phillips’ Bear

by Stefani

Bear by Julia Phillips

Published: June 25, 2024 by Hogarth

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

They were sisters and they would last past the end of time.

Sam and her sister, Elena, dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works long days on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena bartends at the local golf club, but even together they can’t earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.

Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it’s time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the plan to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.

A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us — and within us — Bear is a propulsive, mythical, rich novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers in America.

Rating:

Review:

At its heart this is a story about two sisters. They have spent their entire lives longing to get off their little island. They watched their mother struggle in bad relationships and care for her elderly mother and wished for more. They stayed up late at night to dream of the day that they would get on the ferry together and never return. Then their mother gets sick and those plans get sidelined. Now they have a new dream, care for their mother until she passes and then escape the island together. Or, do they still have that shared dream?

This story is about so much more than the bear. Yes there is a bear and the two sisters react in completely different ways to the bear. Sam is absolutely terrified and wants the beast removed from their island before something terrible happens. Elena is fascinated with the bear and finds herself looking for him and befriending him. But its not really about the bear. It’s about the fractured relationship between these two sisters. Their differing reactions to their mother’s imminent death. And their shared realization that they will have nothing tying them together once she’s gone.

I loved every minute of this book. I read the entire second half in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. And there is a singular moment, toward the end, that shocked me to my core. It’s not often that a book elicits an involuntary physical reaction from me. But this did. My jaw dropped, my hand clapped itself to my mouth and I audibly gasped. I didn’t expect it for a moment. And yet, it also made perfect sense. It was extraordinarily done.

Exploring Identity in ‘The Names’ by Florence Knapp

by Stefani

The Names by Florence Knapp

Published: May 6, 2025 by Pamela Dorman Books

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son’s birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she’d like to call the child, Cora hesitates…

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora’s and her young son’s lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

Rating:

Review:

This boo was so interesting that I couldn’t put it down. We start the story with Cora. Her husband is terribly abusive and controlling. He instructs her to go into town and register the birth of their son, whom he wishes to have named after him. From there the story splits into three separate stories. In one story, Cora names her son after her husband as expected. In another, she names her son the name that she picked and wanted to name him. And in the third, she lets her daughter pick the baby’s name.

The entire rest of the story is about how this family changed over the years based on that singular choice that Cora makes. It was such a touching and moving story about autonomy and the power of a name. This story makes it clear that it’s not really about her son’s name, but about the choice of a name and the power and expectation that comes with each name.

This book was heartbreaking. It was fascinating. It was rich. It was beautiful. The only thing keeping it from 5 stars was that it was difficult to track which events happened to which name. I had to make some notes to keep it straight. But I think that was just part of the nature of the storyline. Also, be aware that this book contains a lot of spousal abuse and is quite graphic in some of those descriptions.

The Masks We Wear: Six Days in Bombay review

by Stefani

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi

Published: April 15, 2025 by MIRA

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

When renouned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she’s expected to make a quick recovery, and Sona is excited to spend time with the worldly woman who shares her half-Indian identity, even if that’s where their similarities end. Sona is enraptured by Mira’s stories of her travels, and shocked by accounts of the many lovers she’s left scattered through Europe. Over the course of a week, Mira befriends Sona, seeing in her something bigger than the small life she’s living with her mother. Mira is released from the hospital just in time to attend a lavish engagement party with all of Bombay society. But the next day, Mira is readmitted to the hospital in worse condition than before, and when she dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona immediately falls under suspicion.

Before leaving the hospital in disgrace, Sona is given a note Mira left for her, along with her four favorite paintings. But how could she have known to leave a note if she didn’t know she was going to die? The note sends Sona on a mission to deliver three of the paintings—the first to Petra, Mira’s childhood friend and first love in Prague; the second to her art dealer Josephine in Paris; the third to her first painting tutor, Paolo, with whom both Mira and her mother had affairs. As Sona uncovers Mira’s history, she learns that the charming facade she’d come to know was only one part of a complicated and sometimes cruel woman. But can she discover what really happened to Mira and exonerate herself?

Along the way, Sona also comes to terms with her own complex history and the English father who deserted her and her mother in India so many years ago. In the end, she’ll discover that we are all made up of pieces, and only by seeing the world do we learn to see ourselves.

Rating:

Review:

This book was just extraordinary! Truly I find myself at a loss for words to describe it. Historical fiction is sometimes a hit or miss for me, but this one knocked it out of the park. The first third of the book is spent on building the character of Sona and her relationship with Mira. But also giving us a very good background in what it was like to be half-Indian, half-English in 1937 India. A time when India is having a reckoning of the colonialism that they want to be free from and are starting to take back the power to cast out the English. But where does that leave people who have spent their entire lives in India, are half Indian and love India with all their hearts. This was absolutely fascinating and frankly I would have read an entire book about that topic alone.

After that primer on this time period in India, we are launched across the world with Sona. On a mission to deliver paintings and letters on behalf of her dear friend Mira. And along the way she realized that she didn’t know as much about Mira as she thought she had. Sona discovers that Mira was a different person to everyone she met. Everyone had a different memory of her and experience with her. Along the way Sona also learns a lot about herself and the English father who had abandoned her and her mother.

This book is exactly the kind of historical fiction that I love. This one will likely be on my short list for best book of the year.

Exploring Magic and Mystery: The Otherwhere Post Reviewed

by Stefani

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor

Published: February 25, 2025 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis: Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

Rating:

Review:

This book was an interesting journey. The world building and magic system was a 10 out of 10. It was fantastic and magical. I loved learning about these worlds and how the magic worked. And I loved that we had a mystery wrapped up in this beautiful fantasy world. When this book was good it was spectacular, when it wasn’t then I honestly wanted to stop reading. In total, a bit of a mixed bag.

Maeve was pretty boring if I’m going to be honest. I wanted to be able to root for her so badly. But she just didn’t interest me at all. I understand that she separated herself from other people because she was treated badly nd the stigma that her name carries but she just didn’t do anything particularly interesting. Even when she was searching for the truth about her father I just couldn’t get invested in her.

I also was really confused about exactly what her father did?? It must have been something pretty terrible for people to verbally, emotionally and physically torture his daughter for it….right? The actual incident of what happened is only ever discussed in vague detail and euphemism. They’ve given the event a name and we get vague references to roots and trees and people dying. But that’s about it. We learn almost nothing else about it. I found that frustrating. Everyone else might already know what happened but I don’t! I need someone to tell me and I didn’t get that. Every time they vaguely mentioned the “crime” I just found myself screaming in my head, “BUT WHAT DID HE DO??!!!”

Tristan as a young adult love interest was so refreshing. He is kind, quiet, patient and melancholy. He’s very gifted but he prefers not to draw attention to himself and he identifies with Maeve in all the right ways. More importantly, he listens to her and lets her decide what the best decision is for her. And he’s there to comfort her and help her if it doesn’t work out. That is such a nice change from the usual male love interest in young adult books.

In the end it was a beautiful book that won’t be the most memorable for me.

Pride’s Children: Netherworld Review – A Captivating Continuation

by Stefani

Pride’s Children: Netherworld by Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt

Published: September 19, 2022 by Trilka Press

Buy this book at: Amazon

Synopsis: Every decision he makes from here on will hurt someone .

Is his happiness even in the equation any more?

Pride’s NETHERWORLD, Book 2 of the trilogy, continues the epic saga—one day later.

In Book 1, Pride’s PURGATORY , rising Irish megastar Andrew O’Connell embarked on a beautiful friendship with reclusive author Dr. Kary Ashe , and committed to his stunning costar Bianca Doyle ’s directorial debut film Dodgson , a Lewis Carroll biopic.

He never imagined either would shatter the impenetrable wall he built between his professional and personal lives.

His future as a leading man depends on being an bankable obsession in the lives of the women he seduces, on and off screen.

But a past regret makes his gorge rise when offspring are on the way and he’s suddenly responsible for their very existence.

Rating:

Review: ***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you Alicia!***

This book was such a lovely complement to the first book in the series. We pick up right where we left off with Kary working on her latest book idea, a fantasy that is far outside of her comfort zone. Andrew is jet setting across the globe for role after role as he becomes the most sought after actor in the business. And Bianca is scheming, really stepping it up a notch from the last book.

I always quite enjoy the author’s writing style. The occasional insertions of the character’s inner thoughts is a nice touch. I’m not sure it would work in any other book but it works for this one. It provides a deeper insight into the character’s and why they’re doing what they are doing. The style might not be for everyone but it makes the story easy to digest.

My only complaint on this book is that the middle dragged a bit. It felt like we were waiting on something to happen. Based on the synopsis I knew what the “something” was. As a result it felt like it took forever to get there and since the plot has a bit of a lull at the same time it dragged the plot down a little.

But apart from that I was delighted by this book. Kary was frustratingly pragmatic, seemingly more so than in the first book. But it’s her defense mechanism and survival technique. But I desperately wanted her to just drop the walls for a moment. Andrew was so sweet and I find myself falling for him more with every book. Even though he was a bit of a knucklehead in this one, I’ll forgive him for it. While I felt like Bianca was a rather dull villain in the first one, she justified her villain title in this one. I really hope that karma visits her in the end.

Overall, this book was great. I think I enjoyed it even more than the first one. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

What if Happiness Was Contagious? All Better Now Reviewed

by Stefani

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

Published: February 5, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

An unprecedented condition is on the rise. It behaves like a virus, with the first symptom being a fever, but those who contract it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen; utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone.

Almost everyone revels in this mass unburdening. But people in power—who depend on malcontents tuning into their broadcasts, prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince people they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Soon, campaigns start up convincing people that being happy all the time is dangerous. There’s even a vaccine developed to rid people of their inner peace and get them back to normal because, surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos.

It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their own agendas, and two teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in different ways by the virus find themselves enmeshed in the center of a dangerous power play. Can they reveal the truth?

Rating:

Review:

When I read the synopsis for this book I was interested, but wary. Given the fact that it was published in 2025, it had the capacity to be very preachy about any and all things COVID19. But, Neal Shusterman is an author that has earned by trust in taking topics that could be preachy but are not while in his capable hands. So I dove in and I loved this book.

It was such a unique concept. What would society do with a virus that seems to make your life better? Sure, you still might die from the virus. But if you don’t, you’ll just be blissfully content and at ease with the world. What does society do with something like that? How would different categories of humans react?

In this book, Shusterman explores all of these possible reactions. You have a kid who is desperately depressed and figures that even if he dies from the virus, he’s still better off than he is now so, why not get it? There are people who are desperate to avoid infection because they can’t imagine a world where their emotions are limited in such a way against their will. There are people who have made their fortunes by being ruthless and uncaring about their fellow humans, and now need to make provisions about what will happen to their assets if they get this virus and suddenly feel altruistic. You have people who are so blissfully happy that they feel everyone in the world should get the virus.

Now take all of these stories and focus on 3-4 of the best ones and you end up with this book. I really enjoyed every single storyline and could easily imagine that these are real reactions of real people. I loved it. My only complaint on the character side was that a few of them were desperately annoying, even though their story was interesting. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters either, they were more of a vehicle for the plot than anything else.

It ends on a cliffhanger…of sorts, and there is a 2nd book due to be published at some point in the future. I look forward to seeing where else this story can go because this was a fun ride. I really enjoy how Neal Shusterman’s brain works, he is an automatic read for me these days.

Unraveling the Secrets of Noumenon: Clones, AI, and Space Travel

by Stefani

Noumenon by Marina J Lostetter

Published: August 1, 2017 by Harper Voyager

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

In 2088, humankind is at last ready to explore beyond Earth’s solar system. But one uncertainty remains: Where do we go?

Astrophysicist Reggie Straifer has an idea. He’s discovered an anomalous star that appears to defy the laws of physics, and proposes the creation of a deep-space mission to find out whether the star is a weird natural phenomenon, or something manufactured.

The journey will take eons. In order to maintain the genetic talent of the original crew, humankind’s greatest ambition—to explore the furthest reaches of the galaxy—is undertaken by clones. But a clone is not a perfect copy, and each new generation has its own quirks, desires, and neuroses. As the centuries fly by, the society living aboard the nine ships (designated “Convoy Seven”) changes and evolves, but their mission remains the same: to reach Reggie’s mysterious star and explore its origins—and implications.

A mosaic novel of discovery, Noumenon—in a series of vignettes—examines the dedication, adventure, growth, and fear of having your entire world consist of nine ships in the vacuum of space. The men and women, and even the AI, must learn to work and live together in harmony, as their original DNA is continuously replicated and they are born again and again into a thousand new lives. With the stars their home and the unknown their destination, they are on a voyage of many lifetimes—an odyssey to understand what lies beyond the limits of human knowledge and imagination.

Rating:

Review:

I came to read this book in a somewhat interesting way. I was given an ARC for the 3rd book in the series, which I accepted without being aware that it was the 3rd book in a series. Once I started reading it, I realized that I needed more backstory for this one and I didn’t think it was fair to read and rate the ARC copy if I wasn’t familiar with the series.

Which brings me to reading this book, the first in the series. Surprisingly this one was a difficult one for me to rate and equally difficult to review. There were some parts of this book that I felt deserved 5 stars. And some parts that deserved 1 or 2. So, a 3 star overall rating seems fair. This is definitely not a hard science fiction book, if you’re looking for one of those then move on to the next one. It’s more fair to call this one a character study in space. Which I liked!

The most interesting portions of this book were the AI system for me. It was compelling and riveting and I wanted to see how the storyline developed. Frankly, I would have sacrificed a lot of the other storylines that weren’t nearly as interesting if we could spend more time with the AI. It was such an interesting problem. You have an intelligent AI system that watches generation after generation of humans (who it is programmed to care about and take care of) pass away and be replaced by another clone of that person, who is the same but not really the same. How can an AI grieve when the ones that are lost are still there? But also not there? I loved that so much and it was my favorite part of the book.

Unfortunately, because of the writing style there was a lot of jumping around with no warning. All of sudden you’re in the middle of a mutiny situation. Then just as suddenly we’ve arrived at the star system and completed 20 years of observation and we’re going home. Then we’re all having an identity crisis on why Earth feels like home even though it shouldn’t. Big, big time jumps between the vignettes and I felt like we lost a lot of great potential story in the middle. I also had a hard time becoming attached to any of the characters because they were going to be replaced by their next clone shortly, and I might not hear from them again until 200 years and 40 clones later.

Honestly, I was kind of surprised that in the course of 1 book we made a thousand year journey to the stars, 20 years of study, 1000 years back to earth, and then time on earth. It’s A LOT. I felt like just the journey to the star system could have covered an entire book. As such, it felt like the story remained very surface level because there was just too much material for 420 pages.

Overall I enjoyed the book and will continue to the next one, but with some reservations.