Witch You Well by Colleen Cross

Book Review, , , ,
Overview

Title: Witch You Well
Author: Colleen Cross
Series: Westwick Witches #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Cozy mystery, Paranormal fantasy, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2016

Thoughts

When I saw that there was a paranormal cozy mystery series available through kobo plus… my sleep deprived brain went straight to its happy place. And I really wasn’t disappointed. This was fun and light. With just enough mystery and drama to make it incredibly difficult to put down.

Any mystery that has a culprit I didn’t see coming is going to make me happy. There were a few aspects of this story that I DID anticipate. But so much that took me completely by surprise. I loved this balance. And for that alone, not only do I plan to read the rest of this series, but I’ll probably reread this again. Find the clues that I missed before.

I love that this is an incredibly female driven story. Not just in the lead, her mother and aunt, but also the way she lives her life. There’s a fair amount of commentary about the fact that we shouldn’t settle. Her relationship is this perfect example of taking a step back and letting someone just take you for granted. And that is actually not okay.

Aside from all the joys if a fabulous, female driven, cozy mystery; I loved all the magic and mayhem throughout. Mostly the fact that there’s a crazy, witchy aunty making everything incredibly difficult. It had me laughing and cackling all the way through.

<- More Colleen CrossRags to Witches ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Legend of Jane by Jessica Clare

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for hot summer nights book cover

Title: The Legend of Clare
Author: Jessica Clare
Series: Bluebonnet #2.5
In: Hot Summer Nights (Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This is probably my least favourite of the novellas in the Hot Summer Nights collection. But, that’s not saying saying because so far I’ve loved them all. I think it was just the whole premise of the video blogging that had me feeling a bit “eh”.

The lead male in this, Officer Sharp, was a great and fun lead. He is very serious and straightlaced, so a little different to many of the male leads I normally read. He’s still an alpha, just a little less grey and rebellious than I’m used to. But, I think that’s why I liked him so much… he was so damn different to other characters.

Aside from the fun of the romance, I really liked the setting of this story. I was immediately drawn into the world of Bluebonnet. Putting the first few books of this series on my wishlist was by no means a chore.

<- Perfect StrangerIce Princess ->

Image source: Goodreads

What We Find by Robyn Carr

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: What We Find
Author: Robyn Carr
Series: Sullivan’s Crossing #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Year: 2016

Thoughts

It was incredibly easy to attach to Maggie in this story. She is sweet and kind of innocent / naïve in a lot of ways. But, she’s also got this amazing sense of self and strength that you kind of don’t expect. It makes you pull for her from the very beginning. Makes you want her to have her happily ever after. And, as with many Robyn Carr stories, her tale acts as a fantastic reminder that sometimes the high-powered career and what you think you want… not even remotely the path to your happily ever after.

Most definitely I am currently addicted to Robyn Carr, she is fun and writes the sweetest of books. Plus, my brain is definitely far down the baby brain track, so it’s nice to read something that is a bit easier for me to digest. Maggie and Cal are obviously going to end up together, but they also have a few moments in between that throw a spanner or two into the works.

I liked that Maggie and Cal weren’t the primary focus of this story. Rather, it was about a small community and a whole series of relationships. Particularly I loved the fact that throughout this story, Maggie was able to reconnect with her father. I can’t imagine how difficult her childhood was when different aspects came up in the story, but throughout their trials and tribulations, they’re able to find a new beginning together.

Alongside Maggie’s childhood, there is Cal’s childhood. That is one that is somewhat tragic and made my heart hurt a little bit. Overcoming a difficult past is incredible, but I love the journey that you go through to see how Cal was able to do so. And, there’s not just the tragedy of his childhood and family, but also his own romantic past. Maggie also has a tragic romantic history – both of which are able to structure this amazing relationship and create a life as a healthy, adjusted couple.

All in all, I loved this book. Visiting Sullivan’s Crossing was fun and gave me a feeling of nostalgia for a place that I’ve never actually visited. I can’t wait to go back. Back to the mountains. Back to Sully’s and just back to this wonderful little town that made me feel welcome from the very first page.

<- More Robyn CarrAny Day Now ->

Image source: Booktopia

Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews

Book Review, ,
Overview

Title: Silent Blade
Author: Ilona Andrews
Series: Kinsmen #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Assassins, Paranormal romance, Science fiction
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novella
Year: 2009

Thoughts

Ilona Andrews manages to do it yet again. She constructs an amazing world that you can’t turn away from in a matter of words. For such a short novella, a whole, irreplaceable world is formed. One I look forward to visiting again.

This world and story had echoes of the Hidden Legacy series. And I like that although this was set I space, it felt quite familiar. I also loved how the lead female managed to take control of her own life. After all, she got dealt an incredibly shit hand. And then decided to become an assassin.

Petty revenge makes me stupidly happy. I’ll admit, I’m not that bigger person that it isn’t something I’d want to do myself. That the lead I’m this enacts her revenge across two fronts… I’m a little bit in love.

<- More Ilona AndrewsSilver Shark ->

Image source: Ilona Andrews

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Author: Maria Semple
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Humour, Mental health
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Year: 2012

Thoughts

I know that this book has a lot of strong recommendations and reviews. But I honestly wasn’t expecting too much from it. Probably because I don’t often love the books that get such rave reviews. Sometimes I think that people give said reviews because they feel that they SHOULD, not because it was actually enjoyable.

Having said that. I will most definitely rave about this book. It was nothing that I expected and it drew me in from the very first moment. After all, there is a mystery to solve from the very beginning. Combine that with the ways in which Bee is able to structure and tell the story, the larger than life characters… I was completely enmeshed.

I love that this is a story about the love between a mother and daughter. It’s a reminder that real love doesn’t come with conditions, but is about accepting and loving someone for exactly who they are. Or at least, that’s how I took this story. That Bee is able to find out more and more about her mother’s flaws. But still love her.

Underlying all of this is the question of mental health. What makes someone sane? What makes them “normal”? And where is the damn line between the two? I still have no answers, and it seems that Semple doesn’t either. A perfect approach as far as I’m concerned.

<- Today Will be DifferentMore Maria Semple ->

Image source: Goodreads

The Swan Book by Alexis Wright

Book Review, ,
Overview

Title: The Swan Book
Author: Alexis Wright
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Dystopia
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This is one of those books that I’m going to have to reread in the future. It was filled with intensity and symbolism. And set in a world that felt weirdly familiar. But, being 8 months pregnant I’m not entirely convinced that my brain absorbed all of the amazingness that is this story.

So maybe I’ll wait to reread this to write a far better review in the future…

<- More Australian authorsMore dystopia ->

Image source: Hachette UK

On Writing by Stephen King

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Author: Stephen King
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Memoirs, Writing
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Year: 2000

Thoughts

Stephen King fascinates me. And terrifies me. I mean, that is a twisty man who writes the kinds of stories he writes. Which all leads me to be fascinated by the idea of his take on writing and his own writing history. Who wouldn’t be? He’s one of the most famous writers…

I really enjoyed how this book was set out. It starts with a more autobiographical account if King’s life. And then heads towards tales and information on how he actually goes about the writing process. It males a complete logical sense and still provides insights to the man behind the writing.

Personally, although I enjoyed all of the writing on HOW to write. It was the autobiographical aspect of this novel that I loved. And it’s this first half that I would read again.

<- Needful ThingsThe Outsider ->

Image source: Bookdepository

Mash Up Love by Alexia Arthurs

Book Review, , ,
Overview
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs

Title: Mash Up Love
Author: Alexia Arthurs
In: How to Love a Jamaican (Alexia Arthurs)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Race
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Year: 2018

Thoughts

It took me a little while to “click” with what was going on in this story. Mainly because the author is female, the narrator in the first story of this collection is female. But the voice of this story is male. Once the penny dropped (I mostly blame the delay on baby brain), I thoroughly enjoyed this.

I know next to nothing of Jamaica. Besides Cool Runnings, so nothing. It was fun to read a story that was set in everyday, familial life there. The simplicities of everyday life seem so simple, until you look at them from the outside. And I was intrigued.

There was such a powerful underlying pain throughout this story. It was about life and love, but there was also this feeling of being inadequate. Wondering why the good wasn’t acknowledged when the bad so often was. And how this maelstrom of emotions can combine into a complex, mash up love.

<- Light-Skinned Girls and Kelly RowlandsSlack ->

Image source: Goodreads

Hot Summer Nights by Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare

Book Review, , , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for hot summer nights book cover

Title: Perfect Stranger
Author: Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare
In: Hot Summer Nights (Jaci Burton, Carly Phillips, Erin McCarthy & Jessica Clare)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Short story collections
Pace: Fast
Format: Anthology
Year: 2013

Thoughts

I may not be entirely sure why this collection is called Hot Summer Nights. But it was definitely good fun. I had imagined that I would be reading four beach romance novellas. Or stories of summer flings. Not quite what I ended up with.

The majority of these stories have a fun and light small-town America feel to them. They’re cute and simple filled with interesting characters. Interesting characters that I want to meet again in some of the series that these novellas introduced me to. More books to add to the wishlist!!!

This was a wonderful collection that left me feeling content and happy. Exactly what you feel after reading a good romance. Or really, any good book in my case. Definitely one that I’ll be reading again.

<- Ice PrincessHope Smolders ->

Image source: Goodreads

My Caesarean edited by Amanda Fields

Book Review, , ,
Overview

Title: My Caesarean: Twenty-One Mothers on the C-Section Experience and After
Author: Amanda Fields
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Essays, Memoirs, Pregnancy
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Year: 2019

Thoughts

Surprisingly, considering one third of Australians have a caesarean, after being blindsided by mine, I realised I had ZERO CLOSE FRIENDS who’d been through this. In the weeks after my daughter was born, this fact left me feeling surprisingly disconnected from my fellow mums. In a moment when I thought I’d feel even more connected by shared experiences. So I decided to do what I always do… find a book that could help me with this. And this was the perfect book to do that.

Every birth story is different. Including caesareans. Like everything, our stories run the gambit from seriously enjoyable to downright terrifying. My own sits somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards the positives. I love that this collection includes the different emotions and experiences. It’s not trying to paint caesareans in any light other than what they are… a modern medical intervention that has let countless mothers and children live. But one that is contentious and can leave people feeling like they somehow “failed”.

Although many of these stories take place many years ago (quite a few before I was was born), they still have that relatability. Even if the technology and process has continued to drastically alter and evolve, the process is still the same. This gave me so many moments of empathy and points that I could just smile and relate to. For someone that doesn’t have anyone in their personal life that can do this… it was incredibly cathartic. In some instances, this was a laughing moment or a secret smile. In others, I cried a few tears as I finished processing my own birth story.

Even if you haven’t or never will have a caesarean. If you don’t know anyone who has, or are just plain curious. This is well worth a read. It gives insight into the feelings and experiences of women who are unafraid to share their experiences and feelings. The good, the bad, the ugly and the out and out joyful.

<- More essaysMore pregnancy ->

Image source: Goodreads