Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

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Summary (from Goodreads):

All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author, Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

That's it, that's the review.

But if you wanted a little bit more than that, I loved this book. I loved the Ren Faire setting. I loved the characters. I loved the enemies-to-lovers romance. I loved that I actually read a book where I can swoon over Simon Graham aka Captain Ian Blackthorne and I'm not cradle robber. I want to read this book for the first time all over again.

This book follows Emily, who I thoroughly enjoyed as a main character. Her life is pretty much in complete upheaval after her breakup with her long time, rising attorney boyfriend and losing her apartment. So the timing is perfect, however unfortunate it might be, when she has to move in to her sister's guest room and take care of things for her while she heals from her nasty car accident. Running errands and carting her niece around gives her a purpose while she figures out what she wants to do with her life now.

On top of that, she has to volunteer for the school's Renaissance Faire as her niece's chaperone so that she can participate. And that's how she meets Simon, who she gets off on the wrong foot with almost immediately. The Ren Faire is his life and he doesn't care for Emily's lighthearted and less serious approach to it.

Simon, as a love interest, I adored. He took over the organization of the Ren Faire after the death of his brother, who started it. He is a stickler for the rules and making sure everything is perfectly the way his brother had it. But when the actual Ren Faire rolls around, in character, he is a lot more fun, flirty, care-free, etc. And then you get to see another side of him when him and Emily finally get to know and LIKE each other. I don't know what to say, Simon was just...

I liked the enemies-to-lovers romance. Real life Simon is not Emily's favorite person, but when she meets Captain Ian Blackthorne, she can't believe they're the same person and it makes her start to get more curious about the man behind the persona. And I loved it.

Besides the romance, Emily is also forming lots of other relationships in this new, small town. Her sister is 12 years older than her so they've never really been close. As Emily puts it, by the time she was starting to get 'interesting', her sister was off to college. So in this arrangement they have going on, she's finally getting to have a relationship with her sister. And by being her chauffeur, she is able to get closer to her niece who is only around ten years younger than she is.

Besides familial relationships, she is also forming friendships with the rest of the Ren Faire volunteers, particularly her fellow tavern wench, Stacey, and the attractive coach-in-a-kilt, Mitch.

Before long, she starts to consider that after she's done helping her sister, maybe she could stay and make a life in Willow Creek.

If I was going to complain about anything, it would be how quickly Emily just jumps to the worst possible conclusions about things without talking to people first. There is one big thing in particular that I'm thinking of where she jumps to the worst conclusion about something that is going on when she has literally not a single, solitary shred of evidence or real reason to believe that worst thing. It was a little bit annoying. But that just can't damper my enchantment with this novel.

Overall, this book was so so so good. Everything about it was just *chef's kiss*. I would highly recommend this book if anything I've said sounds like it could remotely be up your alley. I'm not entirely sure what exactly stood out to me so much to make me feel so strongly about it, but I am here for this book.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review // The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman

The Devouring Gray #1

Publisher: Titan Books

Publication Date: April 2nd, 2019

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 368

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Summary (from Goodreads):

On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…

Uprooted from the city, Violet Saunders doesn’t have much hope of fitting in at her new school in Four Paths, a town almost buried in the woodlands of rural New York. The fact that she’s descended from one of the town’s founders doesn’t help much, either—her new neighbours treat her with distant respect, and something very like fear. When she meets Justin, May, Isaac, and Harper, all children of founder families, and sees the otherworldly destruction they can wreak, she starts to wonder if the townsfolk are right to be afraid.

When bodies start to appear in the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can the teenagers solve the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another calamity strikes?

Four Paths is a small town in a woodsy part of New York that was founded by four families in the 1800's and who's descendants are now responsible for keeping the rest of the town safe from the Beast with different powers that are passed down through each founder family.

Recently, the town has been experiencing an influx of deaths caused by the Beast and the town is starting to become disenchanted with the founders and question what exactly they're doing to keep everyone safe because it certainly doesn't seem to be working. 

This book mainly follows four characters, one from each family.

Violet Saunders has just moved to Four Paths, her mother's hometown, after the death of her sister, Rosie. She is thrown into this whole founder family thing and has to figure it out without the help of her mother, who seems to have no idea what's going on. I liked Violet, but I felt like she just accepted literally everything anyone told her at face value. 

Justin Hawthorne is basically the town's golden boy. He is popular, athletic, the son of the town's sheriff. He basically spends the whole book trying to help everyone and make up for his past wrongdoings. He is also SUPER "woe-is-me" throughout the book about everything.

Isaac Sullivan was probably my favorite character. He's kind of like the destructive, bad boy one in the group. He's probably the one with the most interesting (read: sad) past and the one that I am the most curious about in the future of this series. I want all the good things for Isaac Sullivan.

Harper Carlisle is the outcast of the group, having been shunned after failing her ritual and losing her arm. She is angry, and rightfully so, but it didn't feel like there was all that much to her beyond her anger and her basically hating that she still wants Justin Hawthorne after everything he put her through.

Overall, I liked the characters, I just wish that there was more to some of them. But I liked seeing how they all came to be friends or at least tolerate each other after Violet came to town.

I would have liked to know more about the Beast and where it came from. You don't even really get to know what the Beast even IS in this book and I feel like it raises some questions about who is really the bad guy in the grand scheme of things in this town. So, interesting, would like to know more.

There really wasn't a lot of romance in this book. There are no pairings by the end of the book. But there are some feelings brewing and I liked one of the pairs more than the other, but for a book with so many characters that are bisexual, there don't seem to be any main m/m or f/f pairings in the works, which is a little bit disappointing.

I have not seen Stranger Things, but I feel like the Raven Cycle series is an adequate comparison, it has a similar vibe, but maybe doesn't feel QUITE as atmospheric or eerie.

I enjoyed this book for the most part but, I felt like some of the writing wasn't my favorite. Some of the pacing was a bit off for me. Like for example, one minute, Violet was leaving her house with her aunt sitting on the porch with her cat, Orpheus, and then it felt like the next minute, Violet was in the woods and Orpheus was already there.

And the other thing for me was each character being explicitly described by their skin color. Besides the fact that this felt unnecessary because I only remember one small character being black, there are only so many points of view I needed to know that one character was white from. I am pretty sure there were at least two points of view that we first saw Violet from and they both said something along the lines of "there was a white girl standing there". I'm not saying trying to say that this is a bad thing, it's definitely not. I'm just saying that there are probably more ways you can describe a person besides JUST black and white. Which, later in the book this did get slightly better, but it was really prevalent in the beginning.

And I just want to know how a cat that seems to be fairly active can spend the entire book with a piece of red yarn tied around his ear? Like, it's adorable, but it just kinda... sounds fake.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was interesting and I am pretty sure that I would die for Isaac Sullivan. If you liked the Raven Cycle series, this is definitely worth a try. I am excited to see where this series goes.

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it?

Waiting on Wednesday // The Deep by Alma Katsu

The Deep by Alma Katsu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Publication Date: March 10, 2020

Pages: 432

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Summary (from Goodreads):

From the acclaimed and award-winning author of The Hunger comes an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world's most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of its sister ship, the Britannic.

Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the passengers of the Titanic from the moment they set sail. The Titanic's passengers expected to enjoy an experience befitting the much-heralded ship's maiden voyage, but instead, amid mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, find themselves in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone. While some of the guests and crew shrug off strange occurrences, several--including maid Annie Hebbley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim--are convinced there's something more sinister going on. And then disaster strikes.

Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together by going to work as a nurse on the sixth sailing of the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship to support British forces fighting World War I. When she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier, she is at first thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the tragic night four years earlier. But soon his presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets, forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past--as they both discover that the terror may not yet be over.

Featuring an ensemble cast of characters and effortlessly combining the supernatural with the height of historical disaster, The Deep is an exploration of love and destiny, desire and innocence, and, above all, a quest to understand how our choices can lead us inexorably toward our doom.

What books are you looking forward to this week?

What I've Read Recently // #3

Hello everyone! I am back with another update of what I have been reading since I last updated you on what I have been reading!

I am so proud of myself, not gonna lie. I have never hit one of my Goodreads goals before, but I think this might be the year! Honestly, there are two books on this list that I counted as three because they contain three different volumes that could all be counted individually on Goodreads, but whatever gets me from point A to point B, right?

Also, I am currently 11 books ahead of schedule! I am at 46/52 at the moment and I definitely think that I can read 6 books in four months. Readathons and not requesting books from Netgalley have been the most productive things for my reading lately.

Anyway, let's get on with what I have been reading recently.

          

1. Hollow Fields by Madeleine Rosca

This is one of those books that is actually a bind up of all three volumes that I counted individually on Goodreads. It's about a girl who is on her way to start school and accidentally ends up at the wrong one and is stuck going to a school for evil geniuses and mad scientists where each week the student with the lowest scores is sent to detention and never seen again. It was pretty interesting.

My boyfriend picked this one up from a rummage sale for me. He has come such a very long way from buying huge boxes full of books indiscriminately for me just because, "They're books! You like books!"

2. What Was I Scared Of? by Dr. Seuss

This used to be my mom's favorite Dr. Seuss book to read to my sister and I. And I stumbled across a glow-in-the-dark version? Yes, please! I picked this one up one day and read it out loud to my boyfriend so that he could say he consumed one whole book this year.

3. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

This was the first book I read for the NEWTs this year. I listened to this one as an audiobook and I kind of wish that I would have read it physically, I don't think I dedicated enough concentration to this book and didn't really like it, but also didn't really DISlike it. I don't really know what to think of it, but I think I might reread it physically if the general consensus for the rest of the series is good.

          

4. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

I was sent an ARC of The Bone Houses and I was SO excited! Welsh mythology + undead goat sidekick + reanimated corpses = 5 stars from me! If you think that sounds like fun, I would highly recommend you check this one out!

5. Wilder Girls by Rory Power

This one, unfortunately, was a miss for me. I literally couldn't bring myself to care about anyone or anything happening in this book. I think my main problem with this book could have been the writing style, but overall, I just didn't enjoy it. It wasn't my idea of a good time.

6. Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

I listened to Ash Princess for the NEWTs as well. I got the audiobook shortly after the book came out because I actually got an eARC that I never got around to reading and I felt bad. But relatively recently the author has said some things on Twitter that I didn't really like and I don't know that I really want to support that so I probably won't go out of my way to review this one. I liked it. I really like the trope of a queen reclaiming her rightful throne. But this book isn't anything particularly revolutionary or unique. If I can manage to acquire the rest of the series without buying it, I might read it, but I'm probably not going to go out of my way to do so.

          

7. Saga vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

I was kinda scared when I picked this one up that I wouldn't really like it because Monstress didn't really work for me and I irrationally decided that it was because it was a graphic novel. Because clearly one graphic novel (my first!) not working for me, meant none ever would. I just couldn't really follow Monstress and nothing stuck in my head. But I didn't have that problem with Saga. It was a lot easier to follow for me. I think it was because the artwork wasn't as busy.

8. Saga vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples

9. Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki by Mamoru Hosoda

I have had this manga for so long and finally got around to reading it as my last necessary book for the NEWTs. I enjoyed it, but I feel like it wasn't super exciting. I liked the characters and things didn't go the way I was expecting them to in like.. any part of it. But overall, not the most exciting story I've read recently.

     

10. Kiss of the Rose Princess by Aya Shouoto

I could NOT follow what was happening in this manga at all, the artwork was FAR too busy for me and it definitely affected my enjoyment of it. I kinda knew what was going on from the dialogue, but there was just too much going on for me otherwise. It's probably not that bad and I'm probably just being a baby, but probably my least favorite manga I've read.

11. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

I really enjoyed this one. It is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses tale. I've never heard that tale before, but it might mean something to you. I have seen this book described as a horror fantasy, but paranormal mystery/thriller feels more accurate. But it was a solid start to my spooky season reading.

I would say that The Bone Houses, House of Salt and Sorrows, and then Saga were probably my favorite recent reads, with Kiss of the Rose Princess and Wilder Girls being my least favorite.

Have you read any of these lately? What has been your favorite read lately?

Review // House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Publisher: Delacorte

Publication Date: August 6th, 2019

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 416

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Summary (from Goodreads):

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

House of Salt and Sorrows is apparently a retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses. I immediately wanted to say a darker retelling, but I've never heard the tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, so really, how would I know?

Anyway, this story follows Annaleigh after the death of her sister Eulalie, who is the fourth of the 12 sisters to end up dead. But Annaleigh thinks there is something fishy going on and starts trying to figure out if her family is actually cursed or if there is someone out there murdering her family one by one.

With a new stepmother who wants her child to be the heir to the family's seaside manor and an attractive new guy on one of the islands who knows things that he shouldn't, Annaleigh has her hands full trying to figure out what's going on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a large cast of characters, seeing as there are eight living sisters who are all obviously important to the story plus the other characters important to the household and a love interest... There's just a lot of people to keep track of. I personally didn't have too much trouble keeping track of the people that needed to be kept track of.

Like all of the sisters are important characters, but not all of them are so important to the point that you need to be able to distinguish all of them super well. Maybe just what group they're in. Like there's the dead sisters, Camille (the newest heir), Annaleigh, the triplets, and the Graces (which are just the youngest three).

I liked Annaleigh. She is the only one who seems to believe that, rather than her family being cursed, something sinister is afoot. She especially starts to think something is up when she starts to see her dead sisters around. I don't really know what else to say about her, I read this book all in one sitting so maybe some things aren't as clear as they could be.

I liked the romance in this book. I almost thought there was gonna be a love triangle going on here, but there really wasn't. I feel like the romance doesn't really start until kind of late in the book, but that could be because the beginning of the book is really rather slow. Annaleigh and her love interest are so cute together, I absolutely adored it. However, I did feel like it was definitely a bit insta-lovey. But I loved it.

I loved the story and how things went. I thought at several different points that I definitely knew what was going on, but when it was revealed I didn't really know what to think. I feel like, looking back, there were probably enough hints and I probably knew in the back of my mind that this is what was going on, but I was still a bit surprised.

Obviously this book will hit you in the feels at least a little bit. At the start of the book, the Thaumas family is holding their fifth funeral, which is the four sisters and also the mother. And if you think the death stops there, well... you had better think again. This book hurt my feelings.

I really enjoyed this book. If I was going to complain about anything, it would just be that the beginning is slow and it feels like it takes a looong time for things to pick up. It was a perfect book to start my spooky-ish, atmospheric reading list. I think I have seen this book described as a horror fantasy, but it wasn't particularly scary or really fantastical. I think that kind of like a paranormal mystery/thriller would be more accurate.

If you have been on the fence about picking this one up, I would personally recommend it if anything I've said sounds like it could be up your alley.

Also, sorry if my review is atrocious, I still feel SO rusty getting back into writing reviews. I have been going into these reviews with the intention of trying to say a lot with few words, but I am WINDY, my friends.

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it?

Waiting on Wednesday // The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Publisher: Pan Macmillan (UK) (^^edition) // Little, Brown and Company (US)

Publication Date: February 6th, 2020 // February 11th, 2020

Pages: 256

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Summary (from Goodreads):

"Every once in a while, a modern day parable, perfectly told, reflects all that could happen in a world gone mad." - Adriana Trigiani

Finnmark, Norway, 1617. Twenty-year-old Maren Magnusdatter stands on the craggy coast, watching the sea break into a sudden and reckless storm. Forty fishermen, including her brother and father, are drowned and left broken on the rocks below. With the menfolk wiped out, the women of the tiny Arctic town of Vardø must fend for themselves. 

Three years later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet comes from Scotland, where he burned witches in the northern isles. He brings with him his young Norwegian wife, Ursa, who is both heady with her husband's authority and terrified by it. In Vardø, and in Maren, Ursa sees something she has never seen before: independent women. But Absalom sees only a place untouched by God, and flooded with a mighty evil. 

As Maren and Ursa are drawn to one another in ways that surprise them both, the island begins to close in on them, with Absalom's iron rule threatening Vardø's very existence. 

Inspired by the real events of the Vardø storm and the 1621 witch trials, The Mercies is a story of love, evil, and obsession, set at the edge of civilization.

Last weekend, I was going through upcoming 2020 books and figuring out what I was going to be looking forward to next year and this book jumped out at me.

So, a few weeks ago, I was aimlessly scrolling through Pinterest and I stumbled across a pin that said, "Are there any witches in your family tree? Here's how to find out." And I said, "I don't know. ARE there any witches in my family tree? Let's find out!"

So I spent two weeks obsessively creating a family tree on Ancestry and trying to go back as far as possible. That is a lot more work than it felt like it should be. The amount of hints you get when you get going is OVERWHELMING.

Anyway, in one little wing of my family tree, I got back to Norway to about the time of the events this book is based on and the name looked vaguely familiar from my family tree search. It's probably a made up name, and after loudly gasping and double checking, there isn't anyone in what I have filled out of my tree by that name. I think it just looked familiar because there is at least one, but possibly a few people by the name of Marit and I'm pretty sure I also came across the name Magnusdatter. But not together.

But how cool would it have been to find the answer to my aimless Pinterest scroll by doing a mostly aimless Goodreads scroll?

Anyway, this book sounds really interesting and I'm excited to check this one out in February! I'm thinking about preordering the UK version after I balance my checkbook because the cover (pictured) is way prettier than the US version.

What books are you looking forward to this week?