Tag: Magical Realism

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

On By JolieIn ARC, book review, Del Rey, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - BallantineLeave a comment

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: August 1st, 2023

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Retelling, Fiction, Adult, Fantasy, Chick Lit, Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Helene was young, she dreamed of the perfect man and filled her notebooks with stories about him and about love in its purest form. But after a messy divorce, she has let go of such naive fantasies. She has moved to a small town in Alaska, where she is ready to write her novel and build a new life without romance. Fate has other plans, though.

Helene soon meets Sebastien Montague, a handsome fisherman who is her invented hero made flesh, down to the most idiosyncratic details. But how can a man she created possibly exist in the real world?

While Helene tries to discover the truth behind his existence, Sebastien is determined to keep that truth from her, for he is a man scarred by serial tragedy, hiding a secret that has broken his heart time and again. Yet the shadows of the past emerge, endangering Helene and Sebastien’s future before it even begins–and it becomes clear that it won’t be easy to forge a new ending to the greatest love story of all time.

A woman fleeing her disastrous marriage discovers that she is part of a legendary love story that spans lives, years, and continents in this modern-day reimagining of Romeo and Juliet.

First Line:

Alaska in January is a fairy tale, with frost-rimed branches glittering in the pale moonlight, like lace woven by a snow maiden.

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Sky

Finding her husband in a compromising position with his intern was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Helene. Leaving her husband, she travels to Alaska to start over. She plans on working on herself and her novel while living there. Men were not part of the equation. Then she meets Sebastien and feels an immediate connection to him. While Sebastien feels the same, he is determined to keep Helene at arm’s length. Why? Because Sebastien is Romeo, cursed to immortality by his cousin Mercutio and destined to repeatedly watch Juliet die horrible deaths. And Helene is the reincarnation of Juliet. Will Helene find out the truth about her and Sebastien? How will she react?

When I saw that this was a Romeo and Juliet retelling, I was immediately drawn to this book. I am a big Shakespeare fan and like to read (and watch) any stories or adaptations of his plays. I am happy to say that this book lived up to my expectations!!

The main storyline of The Hundred Loves of Juliet centers around Helene, Sebastien, and their romance. It was bittersweet to read, making this book so good. This book has medium to fast pacing, and it suits the storyline. I also loved Sebastien’s growth and healing throughout the book.

Several secondary storylines feed into the main storyline, adding extra depth. The main one that stood out to me was Helene’s relationship with Merrick.

I liked Helene and loved seeing her character grow during the book. She was damaged when the book started. The death of her father when she was in elementary school changed her. What also changed her was her marriage to Merrick. I didn’t blame her for running to Alaska after what she witnessed. I would have done the same. I also understood her reaction when Sebastien showed her that room and when she read the journals. Everything she had written was true and were memories. Her mind was blown. By the end of the book, Helene had morphed into the woman she should have been from the beginning. I loved how she took down Merrick (with Sebastien’s help).

I loved Sebastien. The author revealed reasonably early that he is Romeo. But then the author took that storyline down a path I didn’t see coming. Romeo is cursed to an immortal life and is forced to meet Juliet and watch her die repeatedly. By the time he meets Helene, he is a shell of a man, tortured by what has happened, and has extreme survivor’s guilt (along with some PTSD). His last interaction with a reincarnated Juliet never happened because Sebastien couldn’t stand to watch her die again. When he met Helene in Alaska, I understood his reaction. I would have reacted the same way. I loved seeing his growth throughout the book. The Sebastien at the end of the book differed from the Sebastien at the beginning, and it was a big difference.

The romance angle of The Hundred Loves of Juliet was bittersweet. The author kept 90% of the romance focused on Sebastien and Helene. But she also highlighted the other Juliet romances, which all ended horribly. So, I was rooting for this incarnation to survive and help heal Sebastien.

There are sex and sexual situations in The Hundred Loves of Juliet. But, the sex is either off-page or described in a non-graphic way. There is also a couple of fade-to-black sex scenes between Sebastien and Helene.

The end of The Hundred Loves of Juliet was sweet. I loved that Helene and Sebastien could get their happily ever after. The author’s note had me in tears, and I agreed with what she wrote.

I would recommend The Hundred Loves of Juliet to anyone over 16. There is mild language, mild violence, and nongraphic/fade-to-black sexual situations.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Evelyn Skye for allowing me to read and review The Hundred Loves of Juliet. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The Hundred Loves of Juliet, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Evelyn Skye:

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

On By JolieIn ARC, book review, Del Rey, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - BallantineLeave a comment

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: July 18th, 2023

Genre: Horror, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Adult, Mystery Thriller, Fantasy, Historical, Magical Realism

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film–and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

First Line:

An engorged, yellow moon painted the sky a sickly amber hue, illuminating a solitary figure.

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Montserrat is a sound editor trying to make it in a highly competitive but male-only market in Mexico City. Her best friend, Tristan, is a former telenovela star trying to break into the business after being blackballed by his ex-girlfriend’s father, who blames him for her death. Tristan is thrilled when he discovers that his new neighbor is cult horror director Abel Urueta. Montserrat is slightly more reserved, but her interest is piqued when Abel tells a tale about a former Nazi occultist, Ewers, using silver nitrate film reels to imbue them with magic. But Ewers died before the film was finished, and Abel believes that caused him to be cursed. But, after agreeing to do so, Tristan starts seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend, and a dark presence haunts Monserrat. With cultists on their heels, Tristan and Monserrat must unravel the movie’s mystery and why it is so important to those people.

I am not a modern-day horror movie fan. I am not a fan of gore and blood. I am a fan of the type of horror movie that was made in the ’50s and ’60s. That is why I decided to wish on this book on Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine’s NetGalley page. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the wish to be granted and was very surprised when it was. While it took me a while to get to read the book (thank you, backlog), once I did read it, I was immersed and very glad that I did. Silver Nitrate was a great book.

Silver Nitrate is a medium-paced book that starts slowly. At first, I was a little irritated with how slow the book was. But, as I got into the book and everything started unraveling, I appreciated the slow start. Without that slow start, I wouldn’t have known how Tristan’s background would affect him later in the book and how Momo girl bossed everything.

The main storyline of Silver Nitrate is centered around Momo, Tristan, the film, and the Nazi occultist. It was a meandering and sometimes infuriating storyline that was well-written. This storyline is like good wine; it must be read slowly and savored. If you read too fast, you will run into the problem of missing some essential information. Trust me; this book is worth reading slowly.

I like Momo. She was a great friend (well, almost too good, Tristan did walk all over her at the beginning of the book), a good sister, and she was a good employee. I felt terrible that she was in such a challenging profession. I never considered a sound editor a male-dominated profession in the ’90s. It didn’t cross my mind, and by the middle of the book, I was very mad for her. My other favorite thing about Momo is that once she committed to something, she committed. She started reading Ewer’s book to see if there were any clues about what was happening. I won’t get much more into it, but I was surprised at what she learned.

I hate to admit this, but Tristan annoyed me at first. He was childlike in his actions and mannerisms. I couldn’t understand why Momo even kept him around as a friend. But, as the book went on and the author peeled back Tristan’s layers (and there were many), my annoyance gave way to understanding and pity. His character growth during this book was immense, and I loved his epiphany towards the end of the book. I wanted to smack him and say, “Duh, you idiot.“

Even though he was dead, Ewers was a considerable presence in this book. I had read about Nazi occultists in the past, so I did understand what the author was writing about. But, she got into depth with his character. I was fascinated by everything that the author had written about him in the book. In the author’s note, she did explain that this character was a mishmash of a multitude of occultists, but the namesake was from a Nazi sympathizer who traveled to Mexico.

The book’s main secondary characters (Abel, Clarimonde, Ava, and Jose) were prevalent. They played critical roles in the film (both past and present). I won’t get into how they were involved with Ewers, but it was surprising when everything was revealed. And honestly, the only one I felt bad for out of the four was Abel. He had zero clue what was going on behind the scenes.

The horror angle of the book was very well written. This book wasn’t a gory, blood-everywhere horror. Instead, it was more of a psychological horror. It started with the uneasiness that Momo and Tristan felt when Abel explained what he wanted to do, and it just expanded throughout the book. I loved it.

The paranormal angle of the book was just as well written. I liked that it started gradually (Tristan seeing his dead ex, Abel having a premonition) and then started snowballing. The pinnacle was the scene toward the end of the book, where Momo did what she did.

I also was thrilled to learn about silver nitrate. I had never heard about it before this book, and I did read up on it. In a weird coincidence, my husband listened to a podcast detailing silver nitrate and films (like the book). Learning about silver nitrate was fascinating, frightening, and creepy (the occult angle).

The end of Silver Nitrate was exciting but not what I was expecting. While the author wrapped up the film/Ewer storyline, I wondered what would happen to Momo and Tristan. I wasn’t expecting the turn it took. But looking back, I did see that storyline turning in that direction.

I would recommend Silver Nitrate to anyone over 16. There is language, violence, and no sexual situations.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of Silver Nitrate, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Other books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

On By JolieIn ARC, Ballantine Books, book review, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine3 Comments

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: May 30th, 2023

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Magical Realism, Books About Books, Contemporary, Adult, Mystery, Adult Fiction, Mystery Thriller

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

Make a wish. . . .

Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for. . . .

Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

. . . You might just get it.

First Line:

Every night Hugo went for a walk on the Five O’Clock Beach, but tonight was the first time in five years his wandering feet spelled out an SOS in the sand.

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Lucy’s entire childhood was made up of neglect and loneliness. Her parents were more committed to her sick older sister than to paying attention to their youngest daughter. Lucy’s one solace was the Clock Island series written by Jack Masterson. Years later, Lucy is a teacher’s aide living in California, introducing a new generation to the joy of reading. One of those students is seven-year-old Christopher, whose parents died and who Lucy wants to foster to adopt. But that dream is out of reach since Lucy doesn’t have the money or means to pursue that dream. But things change when Jack Masterson comes out of retirement with the announcement that he has written a new book. Also, in that announcement, there will be a contest that will determine the winner. The contestants: Adults who had run away to the real Clock Island when they were children, and Lucy is one of them. Lucy is determined to win but must first dodge book collectors on the island illegally, opponents who will do whatever it takes to win, and handsome Hugo, the illustrator of Jack’s books. Will Lucy win? Will she be able to adopt Christopher and live happily ever after?

When I first read the blurb for The Wishing Game, I immediately compared it to Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The only difference is that Jack is an author, not a candy maker, and the contestants are adults, not children. I figured I wouldn’t get it if I requested it from NetGalley, so I left it alone. Imagine my surprise when I got an invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine asking if I wanted to read the book. I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

The Wishing Game is a medium-paced book in California and Maine. The pacing of this book suited the plotline. I didn’t have to backtrack to the beginning of a chapter to figure out what was going on. I also loved that it took place in Maine. I am familiar with coastal Maine and thought it was a perfect setting for The Wishing Game.

The main storyline of The Wishing Game centers around Lucy and Hugo. Lucy is a teacher’s aide who wants no more than to adopt seven-year-old Christopher. The first couple of chapters of The Wishing Game laid the foundation for that. The other part of the storyline centers around Hugo. Like Lucy, his past shaped him into who he was. Both parts of the storyline were well-written and kept my attention.

Several secondary storylines fleshed out the main storyline. The one that stood out the most to me was Lucy’s early childhood. That storyline explains why Lucy came across as almost needy when it came to Jack’s attention. It also explained why she made some bad mistakes when she was younger. The resolution to that storyline was heartbreaking. Another secondary storyline that stood out to me was Hugo and his relationship with his younger brother. It sheds new light on Hugo, why he was on the island with Jack, and why Hugo felt responsible for Jack. While reading it, my heart shattered several times, but it also made me happy.

Lucy went through significant growth during The Wishing Game. At the beginning of the book, she is bitter about her past, about not being able to adopt or even foster Christopher, about her life—-bitter about everything. She was allowed to be upset. What I liked was that she didn’t wallow in it. Instead, she turned that bitterness into action when she found out she was in the contest. She was determined to win. I liked how she immediately clicked with Jack. For her, it was like she was finally coming home. By the end of the book, she had discarded that bitterness (a huge scene detailed it), and she became the person she was meant to be.

Hugo wasn’t my favorite character when I started the book. He was rude and abrasive. Hugo was rude to Jack. But as the book went on, it was explained why he was so prickly. The author took her time explaining everything but dropped enough hints that I figured out most of what happened. It still didn’t take away from me getting emotional when it was revealed. Hugo didn’t exactly do a 180 by the time the book ended. Instead, it was more like an onion being peeled, with more depth underneath than initially hinted at.

I enjoyed Jack’s character. Again, he was another character who had so much depth to him. When Jack was introduced, he came across as a kindly children’s author who suffered a tragedy that kept him on his island. But, as the story went on, the more in-depth the author got into Jack’s character. I will not drop spoilers and tell you guys what his backstory is. I will only say this: Jack overcame his upbringing to become what he was. He also couldn’t be himself because of what he thought society would think (and that got me so angry). The author also included the entire 100 books that Jack wrote. I know they are fictional, but I hope the author decides to write them. From the excerpts that the author wrote, I was very interested in them. I also liked the riddles and puzzles that he came up with. He had me guessing the answers along with the contestants.

The end of The Wishing Game surprised me. Remember how I said this book initially reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Up until the end of the contest, I kept seeing the similarities. Then the author did a quick 180, and any resemblance ended. I won’t say what happened, but I was shocked. I will also say that Jack is a very good man who tortured himself over things he had no control over.

I would recommend The Wishing Game to anyone over 16. This is a clean book with no sex or sexual situations. There is mild violence and language.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Meg Shaffer for allowing me to read and review The Wishing Game. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading this review of The Wishing Game, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde: Book 1) by Heather Fawcett

On By JolieIn ARC, book review, Del Rey, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine2 Comments

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: January 10th, 2023

Series: Emily Wilde

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries—Book 1

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adult, Historical Fiction, Fairies, Fae, Fiction, Historical, Paranormal, Magical Realism, Fantasy Romance

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | IndieBound | Indigo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love, in this heartwarming and enchanting fantasy.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.

First Line:

Shadow is not at all happy with me. He lies by the fire while the chill wind rattles the door, tail inert, staring up at me from beneath that shaggy forelock of his with the sort of accusatory resignation peculiar to dogs, as if to say: Of all the stupid adventures you’ve dragged me on, this will surely be the death of us.

Emily Wilde’s Encycolpaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

When I got the email inviting me to read/review this book, I was immediately taken by two things. The first was the cover. Now, covers don’t usually get my attention or play into why I want to read a book. Mainly because I read using my Kindle Scribed. But this one caught my attention because of how simple it was. The other thing that grabbed my attention was the blurb. A female professor studying Faeries in an alternative Norway in the 1880s? That is when I decided that I wanted, no needed, to read this book. And I am glad that I did because it was a good read.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries takes place in the late 1800s in an alternative world where women could hold jobs and have the same rights as men at that time. 95% of the book is set in the fictional country of Ljosland. Now, I was curious, and I googled the country. It turns out that Ljosland is a village in Norway. The village is made up (I googled that too). I liked that the author created a whole country similar to Norway but simultaneously different.

The plotline for Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is an interesting one. In this alternative world, fairies are real. Emily Wilde is an expert on Faeries and is writing an encyclopedia of fairie lore, which will be the first of its kind. She is almost finished and is traveling to Ljosland to study the most elusive and feared Faery of that area, the Hidden Ones. A loner by nature, Emily struggles to make connections in the village. Connections that she needs if she is going to finish her encyclopedia. Help, or a hindrance if she had her say, comes from Wendell Bambleby. Wendell is her rival in the world of Faery lore. But there is something about him that Emily can’t put her finger on. As the winter rages on and her studies continue, Emily learns that Wendell is more than he seems. And when The Hidden Ones start taking children and creating mischief, Emily takes it upon herself to help. That sets off a series of events that forces Emily to reevaluate everything she knows about Faeries, herself, and Wendell. What does Emily learn? What does she find out about Wendell? Will she finish her encyclopedia?

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is the first book in the Emily Wilde series. Usually, I would put in here if you need to read the other books in the series first or not. Well, since it’s the first book, it doesn’t apply.

The pacing of Emily Wilde (I am shortening the title for this review. Plus Encyclopaedia keeps getting autocorrected) is slow for the first 70% of the book. And when I mean slow, it was snail or turtle slow. There was a point in the book where I debated DNF’ing it. It was that slow. But, once certain things happened (I can’t say because of spoilers), the book picked up speed.

The characters of Emily Wilde were interesting and diverse. I liked that the author chose this alternative world to be LGBTQ-friendly (a lesbian couple is featured prominently in the middle and last half of the book). I enjoyed it. It was refreshing for the period it was in (as was Emily, 30 and unmarried).

  • Emily—She was an odd duck right from the beginning. She had zero people skills and managed to tick off not only her host but the unofficial chief of the village. Her only companion was an elderly dog named Shadow. She was able to win over a couple of the Fairy. One was a sprite who lived in a tree, and the other was a changeling who just wanted to go home to his mother. I did feel bad because she did try. I wasn’t prepared for what she did 70% through the book. I am not going to go into it much, except that it went against everything she had warned the villagers about during the first few days of her stay. But, in a way, it did make sense because she got the last bit of information she needed for her encyclopedia.
  • Wendell—Ok, so I figured him out from the beginning. I don’t know how Emily didn’t figure it out sooner. All the signs were there. I can’t get more into what I am talking about because of the spoilers. But it is something huge. One thing I can talk about is Wendell’s feelings for Emily. Even I could see that he loved her. He followed her to that snowy land and helped her with her research. And then, he stayed and helped her out when things went sideways. Wendell made me laugh because he did things to annoy Emily deliberately. Like adding entries into her journal or just being a pain in the butt. But he did have an alternative reason for being there. One that made me sad.

Emily Wilde fits perfectly into the fantasy genre. The author spun a world where Faeries were real and were studied. There were points in the book where I wished that it was true. But then I would read about the more dangerous Faery and say, “Nope, glad they’re fictional.“

There was a slight, very slight, sliver of romance in Emily Wilde. It was so small that I almost missed it. But, towards the end, it became more apparent.

The storyline with Emily, Wendell, and the research into her encyclopedia was interesting. I couldn’t believe the different kinds of Fairies that Emily had encountered on her research journies. I wondered how much of the folklore was true and how much the author made up. Usually, I google this stuff, but I didn’t want to go down a rabbit hole, so I didn’t. The Faeries that Emily met in the north were as cold-blooded as the weather. There was a point towards the end of the book (after the rescue mission) when I worried for Emily. There was a neat twist in the plotline that happened after the tree scene. I did laugh a little at Emily’s dismay (what did she think was going to happen!!), but my laughter did turn to concern for her. Everything did work out in the end.

The end of Emily Wilde was interesting. I was slightly put off by how it ended until I remembered it was a series. It ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and those annoy me. But it did its job and made me want to read book 2. I pray that it isn’t as slow as this one was. I couldn’t do that again.

I recommend Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, no language, and no sex.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, and Heather Fawcett for allowing me to read and review Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoyed reading Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, then you will enjoy reading these books:

The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang

On By JolieIn ARC, book review, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press2 Comments

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: November 15th, 2022

Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism, Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary, Family, Mystery, Adult

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powell’s | IndieBound | Indigo

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ohioana Book Award finalist Ruth Emmie Lang returns with a new cast of ordinary characters with extraordinary abilities.

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird…

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

First Line:

Nora Wilder was supposed to be a bird.

The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang

When I first read the synopsis of The Wilderwomen, I was very intrigued. I am a big fan of anything fantasy or paranormal, and with what the blurb said, it was right up my alley. And it was. But, as I got into the book, I realized that it wasn’t what I thought it would be, which kept me from truly enjoying it.

The plotline for The Wilderwoman was interesting. It centers around two sisters, Zadie and Finn, and their search for their mother, Nora. Aiding in that search is Zadie’s ability to see glimpses of the future and Finn’s ability to see echoes of the past. On their journey, they meet people that can help them find their mother. Can Zadie and Finn find Nora and confront her? Or will this trip tear them apart for good?

Before I do anything else, I will throw up a trigger warning. There are two significant triggers in The Wilderwomen; they are the abandonment of children and mental illness. If any of these trigger you, I highly suggest not reading this book.

The Wilderwoman is a fast-paced book in the Southwest, the Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest. Zadie and Finn started in Texas, stopped at a campsite in Arizona, followed Nora’s trail to a house in the Rockies, and ended the journey on the beaches of Oregon (or Washington, I wasn’t sure).

The book centers around three main characters: Nora, Zadie, and Finn. I will highlight what I liked/disliked about each character (instead of writing huge paragraphs).

  • Nora––The author didn’t spend as much time on her as I would have liked. Anything I got from her was from Finn’s echoes and Zadie’s memories (mostly not nice). The more I got into Zadie’s memories; the more Nora became unstable. The author did try to redeem her at the end of the book. But I had already made up my mind at that point.
  • Zadie—I had alternate feelings about Zadie. I pitied her for what had happened to her (her mother taking off and having an unplanned pregnancy). But, at the same time, she annoyed me. She had a woe-is-me attitude the entire book. I also wanted to shake her because she wasn’t the only one affected by Nora’s leaving. As for her secret, I understood why she wanted to keep it from Finn. Also, I didn’t understand why she was so afraid of her ability, but I guess if I could see glimpses of the future, I would have acted the same way.
  • Finn—I liked her. She was the exact opposite of Zadie in so many ways. She was upbeat. She was determined to use her ability to find Nora. At one point in the book, I got worried when it seemed like her ability threatened to overtake her life. I thought her storyline would go in another direction, and I was surprised by the turn it took instead.

Several secondary characters added some much-needed depth to the book. I liked them all except Finn’s foster mother. She annoyed the cr*p out of me. I could hear that high-pitched voice and see her facial expressions whenever Zadie was around. Uggh.

The Wilderwomen’s primary genre was magical realism and a bit of fantasy and mystery mixed in. I wasn’t a big fan of the magical realism angle. I thought it covered the fact that Nora took off on her kids. But I did like the fantasy and mystery angles. The fantasy was great, and I liked how the author showcased it differently. The mystery angle was also good. I liked that Zadie and Finn had to work to find Nora’s echoes. I also liked that they had to solve why she left them.

The end of The Wilderwomen was a little disappointing. The author did an excellent job of wrapping up all the storylines, but there was something off with it. I didn’t particularly appreciate how Zadie could accept things (same as Finn). It just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Three reasons why you should read The Wilderwomen

  • Complex characters
  • Finn’s use of echoes to see the past
  • Zadie and Finn’s road trip

Three reasons why you shouldn’t read The Wilderwomen

  • Triggers of child abandonment and mental illness
  • Zadie’s attitude for 90% of the book
  • The ending. I wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did.

I would recommend The Wilderwomen to anyone over 16. There is no sex. But there is some mild violence and language. Also, see my trigger warning above.

If you enjoyed reading The Wilderwomen, you will enjoy these books:

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal

On By JolieIn ARC, Atria Books, book review, Emily Bestler Books, NetGalley2 Comments

Publisher: Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books

Date of publication: February 1st 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea.

But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her.

In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?

Moving from the pleasure gardens of Victorian London to the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea, Circus of Wonders is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility.

First Line:

It begins with an advertisement, nailed to an oak tree.

Circus of wonders by elizabeth macneal

It is not every day that a book about English circuses in the late 1860s comes across my email. When I read the blurb for Circus of Wonders, it immediately caught my attention. I am glad that I read this book, even if it made me uncomfortable in places.

Circus of Wonders had an exciting storyline. Nell is a nineteen-year-old girl living in a village on the coast of England. Nell is an outcast because she is covered in brown birthmarks, including a big one that covers the side of her face. Because of that, she keeps to her cottage. Her everyday life is mundane, packing flowers dipped in sugar and shipping them to London. But then the circus comes to town, and Nell’s life is turned upside down. Sold by her father to Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders, Nell finds love and fame. But, Jasper (the circus owner) is jealous that her fame goes beyond his and vows to take her down. Will Nell be able to hold onto her values and her love? Or will she be left in worse straits than when she joined the circus?

Circus of Wonders had a medium-paced storyline that did pick up steam in places. The pacing of the book did it justice. It was a nice, steady pace from beginning to end. It took me around two days to finish Circus of Wonders.

Nell was powerful in this book. She went from this meek, timid girl afraid to show her face to a powerful woman who wasn’t scared to fight for what she wanted. Her character’s growth throughout the book was terrific.

I wasn’t that big of a fan of Toby. I didn’t see what Nell saw in him except that he was safe because he was so big? He was also abnormally close to Jasper, his brother. It creeped me out how close they were. I did like that his character did show some growth during the book. By the end, he was becoming his own person. I wish he had made the right choice (if you read the book, you know what I mean). He would have been so much happier.

I was not too fond of Jasper. He was overconfident, took too many risks, and was cruel. You don’t see how evil he was until his chapters when he was in the Crimean War. After those chapters, his cruelness was more apparent. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked how he treated Toby. From the beginning, he used Toby’s secret to keep him around and constantly reminded him about it. He disgusted me with how he treated his “attractions” (the animals and humans).

I did like the look into how circus life was in the 1860s. I liked the peek behind the big top that the author gave me. I wasn’t surprised at what she described when talking about the human attractions. They were treated as subhuman, like monsters (as Queen Victoria and her Ladies in Waiting described Nell). I like that they showed how everyone became a family unit and protected their own. Even when Brunette ran, they didn’t tell Jasper until he discovered she was gone.

The romance between Nell and Toby seemed a little forced to me. It didn’t do anything for me. I also wasn’t surprised by how it ended. I called it when they first met (not even when they had sex when they first met). Toby was too damaged, and Nell, well, she was a force to be reckoned with.

The end of Circus of Wonders was “blah” to me. I wish that the storyline with Jasper went the way I thought it would. I also wish that Toby had made a different choice when it came to Nell. I liked that the author went 11 years into the future to show where everyone ended up. It was interesting how the tables had flipped. And I loved that dreams were realized!!

I would recommend Circus of Wonders to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, nongraphic sex scenes, and no language.

The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

On By JolieIn ARC, book review, St. Martin's PressLeave a comment

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: July 26th, 2016

Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Adult, Historical, Historical Fiction, Horror, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | IndieBound | Indigo

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984:
the year a heatwave scorched the small town of Breathed, Ohio.
The year he became friends with the devil.

When local prosecutor Autopsy Bliss publishes an invitation to the devil to come to the country town of Breathed, Ohio, nobody quite expected that he would turn up. They especially didn’t expect him to turn up a tattered and bruised thirteen-year-old boy.

Fielding, the son of Autopsy, finds the boy outside the courthouse and brings him home, and he is welcomed into the Bliss family. The Blisses believe the boy, who calls himself Sal, is a runaway from a nearby farm town. Then, as a series of strange incidents implicate Sal — and riled by the feverish heatwave baking the town from the inside out — there are some around town who start to believe that maybe Sal is exactly who he claims to be.

But whether he’s a traumatised child or the devil incarnate, Sal is certainly one strange fruit: he talks in riddles, his uncanny knowledge and understanding reaches far outside the realm of a normal child — and ultimately his eerily affecting stories of Heaven, Hell, and earth will mesmerise and enflame the entire town.

Devastatingly beautiful, The Summer That Melted Everything is a captivating story about community, redemption, and the dark places where evil really lies.

I don’t even know what to write here (which is a first) because the book was THAT good. It was written so that you couldn’t help but get sucked into it, and then you can’t put it down. As I said, it is THAT good.

I was introduced to the Bliss family in the book’s first chapter. Autopsy, Stella, Grand, Fielding, and Aunt Fedelia. Autopsy is the local prosecutor for the town of Breathed. Autopsy decided, one day, to write a letter to the devil inviting him to Breathed and posted it in the newspaper. Guess what? A young boy claiming to be the devil showed up right before a major heat wave.

This is where the story became interesting. The author kept you guessing if Sal (Satan and Lucifer’s name combined) was the devil. He had insight into the different relationships that were going on in the town that no 13-year-old should know. I never figured out if he was the devil or not.

Strange events started happening every time Sal went into town. The heat kept rising; a woman had a tragic accident, a mob was incited, and stuff along those lines. He isn’t allowed out of the yard/house to keep him safe.

The story is told in flashbacks from a 70-something-year-old Fielding. Who suffers survivor’s guilt. I don’t like it when books are told in flashbacks. You lose something from it. In this case, it worked. I got to see the long-term damage caused by the events of that awful summer/fall, which is heartbreaking. The author did a perfect job of taking older Fielding’s memories and turning them into a story about younger Fielding.

There was a huge twist in the story that I saw coming. It involved Elohim, Fielding’s former mentor and Sal’s biggest enemy in town. I did a WTF when it was revealed.

I would recommend The Summer that Melted Everything to anyone over 21. There is strong language and violence.

If you enjoyed reading The Summer that Melted Everything, you will enjoy reading these books:

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

On By JolieIn ARC, book review, NetGalley, Simon & SchusterLeave a comment
Faithful: A Novel by [Hoffman, Alice]

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date of publication: February 9th, 2017

Genre: Contemporary, Magical Realism, Coming of Age, New York

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible |Apple Books |WorldCat

Goodreads synopsis:

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.

I cried while reading this book. I, unemotional as a rock, cried while reading this book. The heartbreak that is portrayed is mind-numbing. But what rose from the ashes….well, that was something special.

The writing was fantastic. I love a story that draws you in and makes you feel for the character, and this one does. I felt for Shelby. She was broken, and she managed to piece herself together. Not perfect, but perfect for her right then.

The ending wasn’t what I expected, but it went well with the book.

If you enjoyed reading Faithful, you will enjoy reading these books: