The Wishing Boy

by Emma Maxwell McCone

Summary from GoodReads

Dublin, 1930s - political unrest between Republicans and the De Valera Government. An art exhibition takes place and contains an unusual painting entitled "The Wishing Boy". Catrin Kilpatrick, the daughter of a well-known business man, admires the unique painting and wants to buy it, but Devlin O'Farell the artist refuses to sell it. Determined to have her way, she travels to Galway where he lives, and plans to make the purchase. Little does she know, Devlin worked for Flan Maguire, the most powerful man in Galway, and Commander of the Galway IRA Brigade. She has walked into the Lion's Den, and will find herself in great danger. 

Thoughts on the Book

I got this one from BEA from Austin Macauley publishers.  I selected this one because I don't know much about Ireland and their fight for independence, and I really wanted to learn more.

My Review

This book didn't really seem to have a set plot, there were too many things going on.  There was Catrin's obsession with a painting, the artist, Devlin's struggle with his work and his past, as well as all sorts of other odd storylines.

Catrin, as a main character, was extremely unlikeable.  She was so self-entitled.  She would not take no for an answer and she pestered everyone she possibly could to get what she wanted.  I guess her strategy is to annoy everyone to the point where they just gave her what she wanted, so she could go home smug and relish in always getting her way.

Devlin on the other hand I liked very much.  He lived a hard life, but was kind and loyal.  I sympathized with him a lot, and of all characters to get a happy ending I wished it for him.

The fact that the heroine was unlikeable and the hero got the short end of the stick every single time made this difficult to get through, without a solid plot (other than Catrin trying to get what she wanted through any means necessary) the only one you had to root for was Devlin because the more you learned about him the more you pitied and rooted for him.  Even the 'character growth' moments I found to be lacking.  The whole bit with the soldier, what was the point?  To show that Catrin is unnecessarily lucky?  Her 'traumatizing' moments with him could have been so much worse.  Or was his point to show how awful the Galway IRA leader was?  We could have gotten that from a multitude of other ways.  The ending left a sour taste in my mouth because of this, reading the book was kind of pointless, Catrin got exactly what she set out for and the other characters?  Eh, nothing changed for them, they got the endings they were always going to get. 

Overall I give this book a 7/10.  It did hold my interest and it was cool to read about Ireland, but I just wish Catrin was a better character, it would have made the whole book so much better.

The Sword of the Maiden

by Kathleen C. Perrin

Summary from GoodReads

The Sword of the Maiden is Book 2 in The Watchmen Saga, which begins with Book 1: The Keys of the Watchmen. 

After being abruptly separated from Nicolas le Breton during the battle to save Mont Saint Michel from the English siege in 1424, Katelyn Michaels finds herself back in her normal twenty-first century life as an American teenager. Depressed and anxious to be reunited with Nicolas, she is comforted when a series of events and impressions lead her to believe she is being prepared for another mission as a Watchman. 

After her beloved mentor, Jean le Vieux, comes to her in a dream and gives her the injunction to “Learn of the Maiden and take her the sword,” Katelyn understands that her mission involves assisting one of the most iconic figures in all of French History. 

Katelyn is once again whisked back to the turmoil of medieval France during the Hundred Years’ War and to Nicolas. However, before the two can consider the future of their relationship, they must first complete their mission to take the sword to the Maiden. Little do they know that their old nemesis, Abdon, is already on their trail and will do everything in his unhallowed power to stop them.

About the Author

Katherin C. Perrin holds bachelor’s degrees in French and Humanities from Brigham Young University and is a certified French translator. Besides being the author of The Watchmen Saga, she has published several non-fiction articles, academic papers, and a religious history about Tahiti.  Kathleen has lived in Utah, New York City, France, and French Polynesia.  She and her French husband have spent years investigating the mysteries and beauties of his native country —where they have a cottage—and have taken tourist groups to France.  The Perrins have three children and currently reside in Utah.

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Thoughts on the Book

I received this book as part of the France Book Tours, which I'm super excited to be participating in!  Emma from Words and Peace mentioned this book to me in a Top Ten Tuesday post and I visited her blog and immediately got sucked into the French books blogging world.

I'm also participating in the giveaway for this book, there will be five winners for either a print or digital copy of Sword of the Maiden and an additional three winners will receive a $10 Amazon gift card.  This giveaway is also open internationally. You can enter here:

Enter here
Visit each blogger on the tour:
tweeting about the giveaway everyday
of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time!
[just follow the directions on the entry-form]

May the odds ever be in your favor.

My Review

I started this book without realizing that it was part of a series.  Since I've been in a reading slump and this post actually had a deadline I didn't go back and read the first one before continuing, and really, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book much.  It did, however, make be really want to go back and read the first one, I really want to see how Nicolas and Katelyn first met!

Overall I really enjoyed this book.  I loved the time period and the settings.  Mont Saint Michel is one of my favorite places in the world and I've been to Chinon where Jeanne d'Arc identified Charles (in the exact room where it happened).  So reading about those places was very cool.  There were some things that I wasn't too keen on that made the reading experience not the best.  

Let's first start with the characters.  Katelyn.  I'm not really a fan of her, she dwells on things a lot.  And what's with all the crying?  For a strong badass female protagonist she cries an awful lot, over every little thing.  It doesn't fit with her awesomeness.  She also is all-consumed with Nicolas, but I really can't fault her for that, even though it did get annoying when it was brought up out of the blue.  Another thing about Katelyn that really bothered me were the pop culture tangents, especially the Princess Bride.  I love that movie as much as the next person, but she brought her laptop into medieval times for the sole purpose of playing the movie for Nicolas?  And the references were one off, they had to be explained, as were all modern pop culture references.  They weren't even explained to the medieval characters, they were part of her internal monologue, as though she was explaining to herself.  Katelyn also repeated things ad nauseam like Jehanne's (Jeanne d'Arc) fate and how she couldn't change it and her and Nicolas not having time to talk.

Nicolas, on the other hand, was awesome, definitely my favorite character.  His constant thinking about Katelyn wasn't nearly as annoying as Katelyn's constant thinking of him.  He was also a badass character, the stuff he went through and had to figure out, a lesser man would not have been able to do it.  Another awesome character was Brother Thibault, I wish he was in it more.  His role in the book seemed very superfluous, he was a plot device to get the sword, then to return Katelyn home.  I also really liked Jehanne, she was another super strong awesome character. 

The parts of the book that annoyed me the most were the unnecessary explanations about things (like the Princess Bride references), the heavy reliance on modern technology for everything, and most of all Katelyn's obsession with planning out her entire future with Nicolas.  The "no time" mantra that they had got really annoying really fast.  Really?  There was no time to talk at all, not in the hour or so they were packing and waiting for Katelyn's parents to leave?  Not with the extra four days they stayed at Mont Saint Michel waiting for Thibault to finish the sword?  Not before then when Katelyn was lying in bed recovering after arriving?  Or later when Nicholas was lying in bed recovering in Chinon?  Discussing their relationship really shouldn't be all that emotional.  But I suppose it would have been for Katelyn and Nicholas would have to waste all their time consoling her endless tears.

The technology bit seemed a bit like a cop-out.  For some things, sure, brilliant, for others, was it really necessary?  All the pictures and research she did seemed a bit much too.  Why did she need to bring her iPad with her?  Or her laptop.  She couldn't have just printed out the pictures?  Call them miniature paintings?  It was as though Katelyn didn't know how to function without copious amounts of modern tech with her and that bringing the tech was her only purpose for being in the past.

Another thing that took away from fully enjoying the book was the different perspectives.  I don't mind chapters flipping between characters, what I do mind is the point of view changing.  Katelyn was always in first person, and everyone else was in third person.  Frankly, the third person sections were so much better.  Katelyn being in first person is probably why I disliked her so much, had her sections been told in third person a lot of her annoying narrative bits wouldn't have been there.

Despite my dislikes of the book I did really enjoy it.  I was a history major in college, and was sorely tempted to get my PhD either in Viking history or Medieval French history, so I'm a stickler for not messing up history.  Some things I'll forgive a tweak to progress the story, or make it a more cohesive narrative (IF it's a work of fiction) but I judge books hard on accuracy.  This book, what a wonderful job!  Even with the changes for modern tech it was wonderfully woven into the story without changing any of the major points.  The tech was used mostly to explain people's change of mind or to make the character's lives a bit easier.  Nothing actually effected the historical narrative.  I especially loved the end of the book when Perrin took the time to go into the few changes she did make and to explain decisions she made.  Even Katelyn's annoying explanation of the events that led up to that point of the 100 Year's War was very accurate and really nice to have in the book.

Overall I give this a 7/10.  The story was great, the historical nature of it was great, Katelyn was super annoying and unimportant things got very repetitive.  I recommend this if you're looking for a fun time travel book with lots of accurate history from one of the coolest time periods.  I'm definitely going back and reading the first in the series and I'll be waiting for Perrin to publish the next!

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A Madness So Discreet

by Mindy McGinnis

Summary from GoodReads

Grace Mae knows madness.

She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

In this beautifully twisted historical thriller, Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, explores the fine line between sanity and insanity, good and evil—and the madness that exists in all of us. 

Thoughts on the Book

This one appeared in a Waiting on Wednesday.  Needless to say I was super excited to receive it in my Owl Crate.

My Review

This book is about a girl, Grace, who is in an insane asylum because she is pregnant, unmarried, and a daughter from an affluent family.  She refuses to talk because of the injustices of life.  

All the characters in this book were great.  Grace was such an amazing protagonist.  She was so strong and put up with so much, how she stayed sane throughout everything she had to deal with is an incredible testament to her strength.  Thornhollow was another awesome character.  I was fully expecting not to like him, he started off as being described as a psychopath, and at the beginning it seemed like he might be one.  The more you get to know him you realize that he's actually not, he just doesn't show his emotions in typical ways and he has reasons for behaving like he does.  His actions at the end of the novel made him my favorite character!

The supporting characters were great as well, Lizzie was a lot of fun to read about, and I really want to know more about String!  Nell was a lot of fun too, it made her illness that much worse, especially when you find out about her past.  Even the 'bad guys' were great characters as well.  I love how this book played with the brain and why people act they way they do.  The murderer and main antagonist were not inherently evil, it was events that made them that way, and the evil wasn't so much as knowingly doing horrible stuff, but more of not understanding how to do it any other way.

I really enjoyed the story line as well, I always love it when there's a duel plot going on, especially when it's well done.  There was the serial killer Grace and Thornhollow were hunting down as well as Grace's backstory catching up to her.  It was masterfully done and wonderful to read.

I give this one a 10/10.  I loved every second of it!  I highly recommend it, but be warned it's not really a horror book, there's nothing super scary about it.

Streams of Mercy

by Lauraine Snelling

Summary from GoodReads

Anji Baard Moen, a recent widow, returns from Norway with her children. She quickly settles back into life in Blessing, teaching Norwegian history in the high school and writing articles for the Blessing Gazette. When tragedy strikes, Anji steps in to run the newspaper and soon finds a kindred spirit in the widower who owns the printing press. As they spend time together, Anji wonders if there's something more than friendship growing between them.

But Anji has also caught the eye of a recent arrival to Blessing. He has put his carpentry skills to good use on the town's building projects, including Anji's house. But Anji is torn between her feelings of loyalty to someone who needs her and the chance to build a new life with this intriguing newcomer.

Where will her choice take her?

Thoughts on the Book

I love the world of Blessing, North Dakota and the Bjorklunds.  I grew up reading them and I will continue to read them for as long as Snelling continues to publish them.  The description made me really nervous though, Thorliff, one of my favorite characters ever written, owns the newspaper.

My Review

This book is about a train that comes into Blessing seeking medical attention.  It also continues everyone's story, focusing on Ingeborg (of course), Anji, and Devlin.

This is probably my least favorite of the entire series, bumping up Blessing in Disguise's ranking.  It didn't have the same rhythm and feeling as all the others.  It seemed kind of forced.  The characters were pretty flat and there was a lot, and I mean a lot of reminiscing.  Weird uncalled for reminiscing.  Like Kaaren out of nowhere stating that she was randomly crying one day and realized that it was because she missed Carl, Gunny, and Lizzie.  The books have progressively getting much more religious focused too.  It used to be religion was just a part of who they were, now it's like any chance Snelling gets she randomly adds a quote from the scripture.  It's part of the problem with the flow of the book, it doesn't occur naturally it's so forced.

Another issue I had with the book was Anji.  I didn't care about her at all.  I used to really like her, then she screwed over Thorliff, and now?  I still find her totally unlikable.  Maybe I would have cared more if the love interest wasn't Devlin.  If she were still in love with Thorliff and after her husband died she came back and suffered while Thorliff was living a happy life with Elizabeth and their children.

I don't understand why Ingeborg was such a focus in this story.  Lately it's seemed like she's the main focus of everything, but in the original series half of the books she was a side character.  As well as a few of the sub-sequential series.  There was absolutely nothing going on with her in this book, but there were a lot of scenes, for no reason, at the farm.  Since Anji was supposed to be the main focus of the story I was expecting to see a lot more of Penny (and Hjemler) but then were both mentioned once.  And Penny's daughter was mentioned out of the blue in one section.

Overall I'm giving this a 5.5/10.  It felt too forced and there were so many things that just didn't feel right.  Characters that should have been crucial to the story (Astrid, Elizabeth, Deborah, Miriam, Penny) barely showed up or were missing completely and characters that served no purpose were in it a lot (Ingeborg, Emily, Manny).  I'm hoping the next in the series brings back the original feel to the world of Blessing.

Waiting on Wednesday [24]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating

This week I am waiting on The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (February 16, 2016)

Summary from GoodReads

Heidi Heilig’s debut teen fantasy sweeps from modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend. Sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end. The Girl from Everywhere, the first of two books, will dazzle readers of Sabaa Tahir, Rae Carson, and Rachel Hartman.

Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures . . . her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own.

In The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig blends fantasy, history, and a modern sensibility with witty, fast-paced dialogue, breathless adventure, and enchanting romance.  

Why I'm Waiting

I'm a sucker for time travel and boats, so a time travelling boat? Yes please! I don't know much about historical Hawai'i, just the basics, so it will be very cool to read about it.  And the travel being completely paradoxical sounds so awesome!  I can't wait for this one!

The Name of the Star

by Maureen Johnson
narrated by Nicola Barber

Summary from GoodReads

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. 

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Thoughts on the Book

This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for a long time (like years).  I love love love Jack the Ripper.  I find him completely fascinating, the mystery of it, the brutality of it - how could someone do that to another person????, the media frenzy around it.  What's not to love?  I'm also a big fan of Maureen Johnson.  So why did it take me so long to read?  I met Maureen and she signed my copy.  With my love of Jack and my love of her I really really didn't want to damage my copy.  My boyfriend and I went to the library before our big road trip and I saw this sitting nicely on the audio-book shelf and I super excitedly grabbed it, while he groaned and commented that we had more than enough books to get us to Canada and back.  I don't think he regretted me grabbing this one though :)

My Review

This book is about Rory, a southern belle from Louisiana who goes to boarding school in London's East End to spend some time away from Louisiana to be more cultured.  She becomes great friends with her roommate and her roommate's friends and struggles with the culture shock of British school versus American school.  The day Rory arrives in London the first of "Jack's" victim's was found, August 31st.  The murders are more of a background thing at first, but after the double murder on September 30th the murders and the search for the culprit come more to the forefront of the story.

I loved this book.  I loved every second of this book.  I'll start with Nicola Barber.  Best voice actress ever!  Her accents were unbelievable - so damn good, no one can be that awesome.  I love how no one sounded the same, even the regular narration voice was totally different from the characters.  Rory's slight southern accent, Jazza's posh English accent,  Boo's more urban London accent, Callum's Irish accent.  Everything was so good!  I don't think I can read the rest of this series, I just have to listen to Nicola read it to me.

Now for the nitty gritty of the book.  I loved how Jerome was so into the murders, I would have acted the exact same way (did I mention that I absolutely love Jack the Ripper?).  He was the most relatable character to me.  The other character besides Jerome I could identify the most with was Jazza.  She's so serious and down to earth about stuff.  

Rory was a great protagonist, while not the best I've ever read, she was definitely up there close to the best.  She was very realistic, she had a good balance of things that needed to be done and enjoying herself.  I especially enjoyed how her romantic relationship was told.  It just happened in the background, it wasn't all encompassing, and it wasn't over the top like so many other YA romances are.

As for the Shades, Stephen was interesting.  I like him, and I can't wait to learn more about it, his past was tragic and he's very closed off to everyone, but I have a feeling he's going to start opening up a bit more, at least to Rory.  Callum I loved, he's such a fun character.  There's so much going on with him, his past was awful as well, but it made him angry where it made Stephen withdrawn.  Boo was also a great character, but she was probably my least favorite, at least of the main characters.  She actually reminded me a lot of Jess's older sister Pinky from Bend it Like Beckham.

Pinky from Bend it Like Beckham

The pacing of the book was great too.  It didn't jump over things, time marched on at a steady pace throughout.  Things didn't happen super fast (I'm getting sick of characters falling madly in love in 3 days, or becoming the best of friends in a day. Really people?  This doesn't happen.) and when they did happen it felt like the natural progression of things.  I also loved that Rory still kept in touch with her friends back home.  While her, Jazza, Jerome, and later Boo became close friends she still didn't ditch her friends.  Sure she didn't talk about them much, but she'd drop hints that she still kept in touch with them.  

I also loved the end of the story. It was so unpredictable, even thinking back over the events there was no foreshadowing of the conclusion, but it didn't feel like it came out of left field.  I completely agreed with Rory for why she was so creeped out everything that was going on.  The very end was awesome as well, I can't wait to read the next in the series!

Overall I give this a 10/10.  Great characters, great story, great pacing, and the best narration I've heard.

Book Rating: 10/10

Narration Rating: 11/10

Waiting on Wednesday [17]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis (October 6, 2015)

Summary From GoodReads

She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

In this beautifully twisted historical thriller, Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, explores the fine line between sanity and insanity, good and evil—and the madness that exists in all of us. 

Why I'm Waiting

This book sounds really cool.  I love historical settings.  And after reading We'll Never Be Apart I found that I enjoyed some psychology in books.  I'm really excited to read this one, I have high hopes for it, and based on the blurb alone I'm already rooting for Grace.

Valkyrie's Song

by M.D. Lachlan

Summary From GoodReads

The Harrowing has come to the North. And the wolf of Viking legend, a wolf that will kill a god, is on the hunt...

M.D. Lachlan's brooding and powerful tales of Vikings, Norse gods and werewolves have already won praise from, amongst others, Joe Abercrombie, Adam Roberts, Mike Carey and Chris Wooding.

With an original and terrifying take on magic, an ability to bring the Norse gods to vivid life on the page, a keen historical eye and a knack for fast-moving and brutally effective plots, M.D. Lachlan's series has won over critics, fellow authors and readers alike.

VALKYRIE'S SONG moves the action to Norman England and the Harrowing of the North. An immortal wolf and an immortal woman are on the run, fighting for their lives. They carry a magic within them, runes which flare with power when brought together. But others hold runes of their own, and the runes desire to be united.

And when they are, Ragnarok will come. 

My Thoughts

I'm a big fan of these books.  Lachlan does his due diligence with the mythology and the setting.  Historical Fantasy Fiction done right.  I had pre-ordered this one so I didn't run into the same trouble I had with acquiring a copy of Lord of Slaughter, they're published in the UK, with not many copies sold state-side.

Review

This book continues with Loys and Styliane surviving over a hundred years until the cycle begins again.  This time the wolf does not change, it is Loys, and Beatrice reincarnates as Tola.  It's set in 1066 in the north, right after the English won the battle against the Vikings and were defeated by the Normans (the French led by William the Conqueror) during the Battle of Hastings.  Loys has been waiting for Beatrice's reincarnation to kill him, thus ending the cycle, while Styliane tries her hardest to thwart him so she can remain immortal while the Gods' story is broken.

I was so excited to find out that this book took place in England in 1066.  Finally entering the time period that I know a lot about!  It was really cool to read about the Normans, the Englishmen, and the Vikings all in the same area, how everyone killed the Englishmen, and the Normans and Vikings killed each other, all vying for control over England.  At times it got a little confusing, just trying to remember Normans were Frenchmen from Normandy, not the Northerners.  But other than that the historical setting was fantastic.

The characters in this one I didn't care for as much as those in Wolfsangel and Fenrir.  Tola was okay, Gylfa was annoying, as was Freydis.  I really disliked Styliane, but I think you're supposed to.  The only one I was actually interested in was Loys.  His struggles against the wolf inside, his constant search for a permanent death so the story wouldn't replay and inflict the pains and horrors on future incarnations of himself and Beatrice.

This book, like all the others, added a little more Norse mythology to the mix.  There were the Valkyries, as well as Hel.  Even Jörmungandr (the serpent around Yggdrasil, the tree of life) was alluded to, though not by name, yet.  So two of Loki and Angrbodas' three spawn accounted for as important characters in the story, Fenrir and Hel.  I hope Jörmungandr plays a role in future installments.

The one odd thing about this book that bothered me a lot was the random mistakes.  I don't know how they made it past the editor's desk.  Someone wasn't doing their job.  In one paragraph at the very end of the book Gylfa's name is spelled Gylpha at the beginning and Gylfa at the end.  The only occurrence of "Gylpha" in the entire book.  Then there were some pronoun mistakes scattered throughout the book that made me stop and reread the last bit to figure out who it was.  It was very strange for a published book.  I'm used to small things like that in ARCs, but an actual published book?  Sloppy.

Overall I give this book a 9/10.  Not my favorite of the series, but things are getting very interesting in the story.

Lord Fenton's Folly

by Josi S. Kilpack

Summary from GoodReads

Lord Fenton is a gambler, a dandy, and a flirt—and he must marry or else he will be disinherited, stripped of his wealth and his position. He chooses Alice Stanbridge for two simple reasons: he once knew her as a young girl, and she is the least objectionable option available to him.

However, Alice has harbored feelings for Fenton since their first meeting ten years ago, and she believes his proposal is real. When she discovers it is not, she is embarrassed and hurt. However, a match with the most-eligible bachelor in London would secure not only her future but that of her family as well.

Determined to protect herself from making a fool of herself a second time, Alice matches Lord Fenton wit for wit and insult for insult as they move toward a marriage of convenience that is anything but a happy union. Only when faced with family secrets that have shaped Fenton’s life does he let down his guard enough to find room in his heart for Alice. But can Alice risk her heart a second time?

Thoughts on the Book

I love a good romance novel.  Sadly it seems like a lot of them these days are all about the smut.  Which is fine, if that's what you're looking for in a book, but sometimes you just really want to read a romance that is actual about romance: two people falling in love with each other, and that actually has a plot.  At BEA Shadow Mountain publishers gave me this book to review and told me that this was what they call a proper romance (meaning a romance without the X-rated frivolity), so needless to say I was intrigued.  Especially when I got home and looked at the cover, it looks like a book full of heaving bosoms and loosening corset strings with no plot other than said corset coming off.  I was happy to find that the book did live up to its proper romance status.

My Review

This book is about a young man, Lord Fenton, who is over the top and ridiculous whilst discontent with his life.  His home life isn't ideal, his father is a jerk, but his mother is a wonderful person whom he loves greatly.  Lord Fenton ends up marrying Alice Stanbridge, a girl six years his junior and an old family friend.  The story is about why they marry and how they navigate said marriage.

Lord Fenton can be off-putting, he has this persona of a stupid careless boy who loves to dress in the most offensive manner (I cringed just reading the descriptions of his clothing, embroidered humming birds on his waistcoat, really?).  He's extremely unlikable when he's acting like this, but the first time you see him this way  you see how much he hates his persona and how sick he is with that part of society.  The shifting perspectives from Alice to Fenton is the only way that Kilpack could write him that made him even remotely likable.  By being able to understand his feelings and have access to his thoughts you were able to sympathize (or maybe even empathize) with him.  I definitely pitied him towards the end of the book

Alice on the other hand was awesome.  She stood up for herself, and while her curt responses to Fenton seemed improper for a girl of her standing, she did remarkably well keeping her socialite persona in place.  To anyone but Fenton she played the perfect demure high society girl.  She paid the correct amount of attention to the correct people, said the correct things at the correct time.  She even had all of the desired qualities of girls at that time, she sewed, she played the piano, and she sang.  The perfect British noble-woman.  However, it was away from society that Alice really stood out and shone.  Like Fenton that was just her persona for London, in reality she was just as caring and genuine, but she was a gardener, that was her passion.  She wanted, more than anything, to be elbows-deep in dirt planting things.  She also refused to be bossed around and told what to do by her husband.  She stood up to him and fought until she had her way, much to Fenton's chagrin.

This book was really character driven, I love the growth of Fenton, or perhaps the regression of Fenton back to what he was like at sixteen before he was exposed to the negative aspects of his family.  The other characters in the story didn't change much.  Alice just grew up, her childhood crush turned into more genuine feelings for Fenton and less romantic feelings for the idea of him.  But it was Alice which spurred Fenton into becoming the best version of himself

Towards the end of the novel things got a little predictable for me, but not completely.  There was still a surprise or two, mostly because I had forgotten a seemingly insignificant sentence from earlier in the book.  But the ending was perfect, all of it.  Fenton and his father, Fenton and Alice.  It was great.

I give this book a 8/10.  It was such a fun quick read with great characters.  I couldn't put it down!  There were some characters, like Alice's family, that should have made a reappearance at the end of the book, it felt weird that they weren't there.  And the end was a little too predictable for my taste.

Lord of Slaughter

by M.D. Lachlan

Summary from GoodReads

The terrified citizens of Constantinople are plagued by mysterious sorcery. A boy had traded the lives of his family for power. A Christian scholar must track down the magic threatening his world. All paths lead to the squalid prison deep below the city, where a man who believes he is a wolf lies chained.

Thoughts on the Book

I forget now how I heard about Wolfsangel, but I gave it a chance.  I'm super picky about what I read or watch that is derived from Norse mythology because they typically get it wrong, and most people don't know about that mythology, so they start to act like they know all about it.  Don't believe me?  Thor.  Enough said.  Thor's essentially a nobody, he's a big strong idiot with a beautiful wife.  There's a reason why Loki is constantly picking on him, it's too darn easy!  Just because Thor is associated with thunder does not make him Zeus's equivalent.  Thor is to Hercules as Odin is to Zeus...except Odin is so much more badass than Zeus.  Go read the Poetic Edda, you'll see what I mean.  

Lachlan stayed true to the mythology, as well as to the history.  Wolfsangel is set in Scandinavian during the height of the Vikings.  Fenrir is set in France while it is being invaded by the Vikings.  Both books focus on the same story - Fenrir breaking from his chains to cause Ragnarok (seriously, read the Poetic Edda, it's straight from there).  I can only assume Lord of Slaughter will do the same, and I can't wait.  I'm really really curious to see how far around the world Lachlan will take us, how many attempts Fenrir makes to break free.  What will happen to the world when he does?

My Review

Yet another awesome installment of this series.  In each incarnation you learn a little bit more about the fight between Fenrir and the Gods.  More characters come into play and get intertwined with the god's death, and it looks like once they get involved they remain involved.

This story, like the two before it, is beautifully told.  I love the descriptions of Constantinople and the Greek mythology.  I especially love how Lachlan didn't associate Odin with Zeus, but instead associated him with Hectate.  While she is not the Greek equivalent of Odin she is one aspect of Odin, which is the aspect that this series seems to focus on.  

I wasn't really a fan of Loys, he was a monk that ran away from that life to marry Beatrice.  He was a scholar who enjoyed learning about pretty much everything.  Once he started having to deal with the Norse mythology he began getting exceptionally annoying.  He was dismissing what he learned because it wasn't Christian, he would be, at times, obstinate about everything until finally at the end when he was essentially clobbered over the head with proof of the Norse gods.  I know it's historically (and even presently) accurate for a lot of people of faith that refuse to believe anything other than their own teachings, but that doesn't mean I have to like those individuals or enjoy one of them as the main character.

I give this book a 9/10.  I found the main character hard to get behind, but everything else about the book I loved.  I highly recommend it (and the first two) to anyone who has the slightest interest in Norse mythology or epic battles that span space and time.  However, I have to warn anyone about to read this that's a super devout Christian, there are some things that could be seen as blasphemous or heresy or offensive.  But it is a story about Vikings set in early-Christian Europe, so it should be expected...

Short Story Sunday

Jim Greely, The North Sea Skipper

by R. M. Ballantyne

Review

This is a story about a North Sea fisherman from Yarmouth.  He marries a wonderful woman who he loves dearly.  After a few years he turns to drink, but after his ship sinks and he nearly dies he reassess his life and returns home sober.

The language in this story is a bit difficult if you're not familiar with ships, but skipping over those parts you still get the gist of the story.  The speech of the characters is also a little difficult to understand since it was written in the mid to late 1800s and seemed to be spelled phonetically (noo instead of new).

The story was a little predictable, and it seemed a bit rushed.  This could probably have been told as a novel or novella length story where the characters were really developed so you could feel for Nellie, Jim's wife, and for King, the stand-in ship hand.

I give this a 7/10.  I loved the way it was written as well as the story itself, but Ballantyne could have expanded a bit more with it.