Silvered Serpents and Bronzed Beasts by Roshai Chokshi

 

Pages: 406

"Severin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost -- one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Severin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God. Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into the icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all. As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined. A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job."

Pages: 400

"In love they breathed. In destiny they believed. In the end, will divinity be their demise? After Séverin's seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin. Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass. With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself...but at a price they may not be willing to pay."

Both amazing installments for this series. I really enjoyed Severin's arc even though I hated it in the moment and some of his choices. It was human and realistic and I wanted him to reach out to his friends the whole time. And I love Laila and how they wrapped up their story at the end. The pairings are great and the banter between them all is always a great piece of dialog. Combined with its unique magic setting and industrial revolutionary history makes this a wonderful and unique trilogy.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

 

Pages: 388

"It's 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artefact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.  Together, they will join Severin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history--but only if they can stay alive."

Historical heist plus a cool magic system?? Count me in! I loved the industrial vibes combined with the interesting magic system that reminded me of the small science from the Grisha universe. I have so many questions after finishing, not to mention a pile of tissues from the ending, I cannot wait to start the next one!

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

 

Pages: 305

"Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.

However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.

A hot cup of fantasy slice-of-life with a dollop of romantic froth."

I loved this book. I wish it was longer and I was so excited to see another book in the universe is being written. Give me more fantasy slice of life stories! The cozy vibes were amazing and I love all the side characters, especially their little pastry chef and watching as the coffee shop came together. I would definitely recommend this as a fantasy cozy genre blend.

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

 

Pages: 465

"Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel - by the command of his dying father.

But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and intrigues that beset him.

The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for together they are on their way to battle, an inevitable journey that will even take them to the world of the dead..."

This book might be my favorite of the trilogy. I loved seeing Dr Malone interacting with the new world and exploring their language and culture. The heartbreaking moments were so well done, I wanted to hold Pantalaimon and tell him it will be okay and the ending wrecked me. Listening to the author read the Audiobook version was amazing and I always love when they have a voice cast for the characters. Definitly would recommend to anyone who enjoys adventure and audiobooks.

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni

 

Pages: 351

"When Nar’s odar (non-Armenian) boyfriend gets down on one knee and proposes to her in front of a room full of drunk San Francisco tech boys, she realizes it’s time to find someone who shares her idea of romance. Enter Mom. Armed with plenty of mom guilt and an actual spreadsheet of Facebook-stalked Armenian men (complete with their height and weight), Mom convinces Nar to attend Explore Armenia, a month-long series of events in the city. But it’s not the mom-approved playboy doctor or bro-slinging engineer that catches her eye at the very first gathering—it’s Erebuni, a woman as equally immersed in the witchy arts as she is in preserving Armenian identity. Erebuni helps Nar see the beauty of their shared culture, and makes her feel understood in a way she never has before. But there’s one teeny problem: Nar’s not exactly out as bisexual. Her mom doesn’t even want her wearing flats, how would she feel about Nar bringing home a woman? The clock is ticking on Nar’s double life, though—the closing Explore Armenia banquet is coming up, and her entire extended family will be there, along with Erebuni. But Nar is determined to be brave, determined to claim her happiness: proudly Armenian, proudly bisexual, and proudly herself for the first time in her life." 

The beginning of this book was strong. Following Nar as she navigates her job, an unexpected proposal, and now the pressure from her family to find a good Armenian man. I was a little surprised that this was ladled as a RomCom style as there was a little too much tension that overshadowed the light-hearted moments. The ending conflict was resolved a little too easily in my opinion as well. Other than that, it was a fun romance that includes some cool looks into Armenian culture. The food descriptions kept making me hungry!

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

 

Pages: 206

"Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom. Pecola's life does change- in painful, devastating ways.

What its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morrisons's most powerful, unforgettable novels."

Late Banned Books week read. I was able to get the audiobook version read by Toni Morrison and I always love it when authors record their own books. It adds a depth to the story and this one is already beautiful in its prose. Definitely would recomend.

Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

 Pages: 181

"Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy." 

I was not expecting how this book turned out. It is so hauntingly nostalgic of childhood and I loved the dash of magic the Hempstock family embodied. It is hard to tell if the story is the vivid imagination of a child processing a family trauma, or some forgotten reality that we can only believe in when we are young. I will definitely be revisiting this book in the future and looking at some of this authors other books.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

 Pages: 325

"Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.... "

My taste usually runs in the sci-fi/high fantasy vein so picking up this mystery thriller is a new experience for me and I have wanted to try a new genre for a while. This definitely kept me reading as bits and pieces of the story were given but did not fit together until the shocking reveal near the end. I did not in any way see what was coming and I read the last bit with my mouth open. I had to stop and think back over the story to see if I could find any hints. The completion of the mystery definitely makes this worth the read.

Squire

 Squire

By Sara Alfageeh

Pages: 336

"Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program. It's not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the "greater good" that Bayt-Sajji's military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined."

I don't often read graphic novels, but my friend convinced me to buy this one and read it. It is such a cool story and reminds me of Tamora pierce woman knights, only in a middle-eastern inspired setting. The artwork was rich and full of movement and I loved the training montages. I was sad when the story ended as it left a very open ending that makes me hope for more installments in the future.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

 The Dictionary of Lost Words

By Pip Williams

Pages: 400

"Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the "Scriptorium," a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. One day a slip of paper containing the word "bondmaid" flutters to the floor. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means slave-girl, she withholds it from the OED and begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men. As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women's and common folks' experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. "

This was an interesting dive into how the dictionary was created and how historical events such as the woman's suffragist movement and WWII affected the creation and selection of words. Esme collects ones that are rejected from the formal dictionary, mostly written or said by women and minorities and turns them into her own dictionary and gives them a voice. I really enjoyed this book and I often do not read historical fiction, but the bookworm in me was intrigued by the title and I am glad I picked it up.

The Hate U Give

 The Hate U Give

By Angie Thomas

Pages: 454

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr."

Such an emotional roller coaster story of someone who has her foot in two different worlds. I highly recommend that it be read as words cannot express how much this book made me feel and think about the world we are living in.

April Book Dump

 

A charming and indispensable tour of two thousand years of the written word, Shady Characters weaves a fascinating trail across the parallel histories of language and typography. Whether investigating the asterisk (*) and dagger (†)--which alternately illuminated and skewered heretical verses of the early Bible--or the at sign (@), which languished in obscurity for centuries until rescued by the Internet, Keith Houston draws on myriad sources to chart the life and times of these enigmatic squiggles, both exotic (¶) and everyday (&).

Pages: 352

The 1928 explosion that transformed a West Plains dance hall into a raging inferno sparked feverish national media attention and decades of bitterness in the Missouri town it tore apart. And while the story inspired a popular country song, the firestorm that claimed thirty-nine lives remains an unsolved mystery. In this first book on the notorious catastrophe, Lin Waterhouse presents a clear account of the event and its aftermath that judiciously weighs conflicting testimony and deeply respects the personal anguish experienced by parents forced to identify their children by their clothing and personal trinkets.

Pages: 158

History has lied.

Anne Boleyn has been sold to us as a dark figure, a scheming seductress who bewitched Henry VIII into divorcing his queen and his church in an unprecedented display of passion. Quite the tragic love story, right?

Wrong.

In this electrifying exposé, Hayley Nolan explores for the first time the full, uncensored evidence of Anne Boleyn’s life and relationship with Henry VIII, revealing the shocking suppression of a powerful woman.

pages: 327

Ruthie Midona will work in Providence’s front office, and be at the Parloni’s beck and call, forever. That’s sort of her life plan. If Ruthie can run the place in her almost-retired bosses’ absence, with no hijinks/hiccups, she has a shot at becoming the new manager. She might also be able to defend her safe little world from Prescott Development, the new buyer of the prime site. Maybe after all that, she can find a cute guy to date. All she needs to do is stay serious—and that’s what she does best. 

Until, one day, someone dazzling blows into town. 

Teddy Prescott devotes his life to sleeping, tattooing, and avoiding seriousness. When Teddy needs a place to crash, he makes a deal with his developer dad. Teddy can stay in one of Providence’s on-site maintenance cottages—right next door to an unimpressed Ruthie—but only if he works there and starts to grow up.

Ruthie knows how this sweetly selfish rich boy can earn his keep—and be out of her hair in under a week. After all, there is a position vacant…

pages: 352

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin

By Mark Twain

Pages: 327

"A nineteenth-century boy from a Mississippi River town recounts his adventures as he travels down the river with a runaway slave, encountering a family involved in a feud, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt who mistakes him for Tom."

This was book 2 of my classical lit reading challenge that I have started. I remember reading this in school but it wasn't until now that I realized how hilarious it was. Every few chapters was another adventure of Huckleberry and Jim, and it all circles back at the end when we meet Tom and the adventures come to a close with such a sweet ending for everyone.

Arrowood by Laura McHugh

 Arrowood by Laura McHugh

Pages: 320

Rating 5 out of 5

This second novel, from Missouri author Laura McHugh is a gothic tale of family secrets in small town Iowa. A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman's return to her childhood home--and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds

After the death of her father, Arden Arrowood inherits the grand historical house, Arrowood, in her home town along the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. Searching to find her purpose and trying to finish her master's thesis she believes the quiet house and town are just what she needs. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

 

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

I loved this story. The kids are so sweet and funny, and I liked seeing the changes in Linus as he spends more time on the island. 

Pages: 394

Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1)

 Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1)

by Charlaine Harris

Pages: 305

Stars: 5 out of 5 stars

A fun read from the creator of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Aurora Teagarden series and other supernatural mysteries. Midnight, Texas is a very small town with the few businesses lining Davy Road and situated at the crossing of Witch Light Road. It is a small, old, western town. But newcomer, Manfred Bernardo is happy with the quiet location and the locals who keep mostly to themselves. There's a small diner and a gas station but you have to drive into Davy to find a grocery store and most other services. 

Everything starts out quiet and friendly enough, but a gathering for a picnic just outside of town reveals a murder. Now the county sheriff and other out of town people are snooping around and the local residents do not appreciate any digging into their past. They all have something to hide, but who is a murderer?

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This is one that my mom gave me to read, and I actually read it in one sitting. Do I think this one will stand the test of time? No, but it was a good read and I highly recommend it as a pandemic binge read!

Pages: 384

A Complicated Kindness

 A Complicated Kindness
by Miriam Toews
Pages: 253
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In this coming-of-age novel the author balances grief and hope in the witty voice of a teen whose family is falling apart.

Nomi tells the story of how her father and she spend their days together trying to piece together a life after her mother leaves them. To add to her and her father's sadness her older sister, then disappears. Has she left home or has something happened to her. Nomi and her father live in a small rural town founded by Mennonites on the cold, flat plains of Manitoba, Canada.

With dark humor, Nomi tries to make sense of her life as a 16-year-old taking care of her adult father while the rest of the community blame them for their own sadness. Despite everything, Nomi loves her family, all of them and tries to decide if she should stay or leave this oppressive town and if she leaves should she take dad with her?

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

I love Cyra and how she sees herself, because I understand it so deeply. She is me and I am her. I see myself the way she sees herself, or at least I used to (and I still do sometimes). She is fierce and I love her. I love the chemistry between Akos and Cyra.

Honestly Akos is husband goals... Gentlemen, take notes. I am not kidding. There are passages I want you to repeat back to me.

I didn't expect myself to love this book, and I actually listened to it first in my pile of audiobooks because I wanted to get it out of the way... ha ha. But my heart. I can't even right now. I have so many feelings...And I feel like I can't trust Veronica Roth for reasons which will not be named (as in I'm afraid something is going to happen, not that something has happened--because no spoilers).
I may or may not have texted my Hufflepuff at least twenty text messages detailing my feelings in both word and gif form...

As a side note, Austin Butler's voice is beautiful, and I would marry it.

512 Pages

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg

The Story of Arthur Truluv
by Elizabeth Berg

240 pages

A moving novel about three people who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow, meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. Maddy gives Arthur the name Truluv, for his loving and positive responses to every outrageous thing she says or does. With Arthur’s nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life’s most precious moments are sweeter when shared.