Stories and Book Talk

Category: Book Reviews

  • Inheritance

    Inheritance

    Inheritance

    by Nora Roberts

    1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…

    Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light.

    Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…

    Thoughts

    I love a good mystery romance, and this one has a great start. Sonya faces heartbreak at the start, and she does her best to bounce back from it. Then, an intriguing past knocks on her door in the form of a lawyer.

    Sonya discovers she has an uncle she has never met, Collin Poole, and he has left her the most interesting legacy: a majestic Victorian house in Maine. The house has a lengthy history, and Sonya begins discovering every bit of it. I always enjoyed how well Roberts spins a tale. This is the first book in a series and is heavy with setup and catchup. I love how Sonya manages her expectations and fights to move on from a situation that should have broken her at the start.

  • Belladonna

    Belladonna

    Belladonna Book Cover

    Belladonna

    by Adalyn Grace

    Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
     
    However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

    Thoughts:

    A story about a girl who is immune to Belladonna, hence the title. This book has a delicious gothic mood to it, down to a gothic manor filled with eccentric family members, and Signa, the main character, who is discovering the mystery of her existence. I enjoyed the impact of the opening scene. It was a great opening for the most unlikely character in this story, Death. Signa and Death have a strong connection that only grows from the opening scene, all the way to their unlikely relationship.
    This is certainly a unique story. Mostly, I loved how gothic it felt, from the eighteen-hundred setting, the parties, and the use of Belladonna itself.

  • A Sign of Affection

    A Sign of Affection

    A Sign of Affection

    by Suu Morishita, Translated by Christine Dashiell

    Yuki is a typical college student, whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. But when a chance encounter on a train leads to her meeting friend-of-a-friend and fellow student Itsuomi-san, her world starts to widen. But even though Itsuomi-kun can speak three languages, sign language isn’t one of them. Can the two learn to communicate the budding feelings between them?

    Thoughts

    This manga is quite special. The protagonist, Yuki, is deaf. She has her own world in a world full of sounds she doesn’t hear. So, when she meets someone she wants to know more, there is this gap they both have to bridge in order to better understand each other. The art is so clear cut and I love the progress through each panel. Yuki wants to get to know Itsuomi better, and their journey towards connecting is the cutest thing ever.
    Suu Morishita takes her time to explain the use of sign language, and the differences in sign language styles in Japan. This manga becomes quite special when you understand that Yuki’s language is sign language and it is how she communicates best. A Sign of Affection is engaging, cute, and full of warm feels.

  • The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath

    The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath

    The Dragon King’s Imperial Wrath

    Written by Aki Shikimi | Art by Akiko Kawano

    Thirteen clans rule the land, and the Rat Clan is the weakest. Ruiying, the princess of the Rat Clan, is summoned to the land of the dominating Dragon Clan along with princesses from the other clans. The Dragon King seeks a bride, and they are all candidates! Yet instead of vying for the Dragon King’s favor, Ruiying takes refuge in the palace’s enormous library–a place she can read to her heart’s content. It’s there that the Dragon King discovers her by chance, sparking an immediate connection that will change Ruiying’s life forever!

    Thoughts:

    The artwork is so beautifully done, I love it. I enjoyed the world-building in this volume. And Princess Ruiying is a great protagonist. This reads like a cute, fast romance story, that is not asking too much from the reader. The series is a fast read, I loved how easy going I felt reading it.

  • Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega

    Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega

    Frizzy

    by Claribel A. Ortega

    A middle grade graphic novel about Marlene, a young girl who stops straightening her hair and embraces her natural curls.

    Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and “growing up.” That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have “presentable”, “good hair”.

    But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn’t understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby—she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair.

    Thoughts:

    Frizzy’s mother has a ritual. Every Sunday, she takes Frizzy to the hair salon where they spend almost all day, as the hair dresser straightens Marlene’s natural curly hair. Marlene does not like this ritual, and often wonders why her natural curls are not considered pretty by her mother.

    “Do you think she’s right? That I can’t be my best if my hair isn’t straight?” Marlene asks.

    Frizzy, Claribel A. Ortega

    Marlene embarks on finding the answer to her question. Wanting to find a different perspective than the one her family has given her, especially her Mom. She does this with the help of her friends Camila and Tia Ruby. Frizzy is a beautiful book about accepting ourselves the way we are.

    “We learn things from our parents, who learn things from their parents, who learned that from their parents. It doesn’t make those things okay to believe…”

    Frizzy, Claribel A. Ortega
  • Circe by Madeline Miller

    Circe by Madeline Miller

    Circe

    by Madeline Miller

    In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child–neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

    Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

    But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.

    Book Thoughts:

    Circe. I read this with expectation. Greek Mythology is so very fascinating, but Circe is not the book to discover more about Zeus. It is about Circe, a girl born to Helios, who grows up learning she is not his favorite child. Every moment as she grows up is excruciating lonely, and I hoped she would find moments of happiness with every turn of the page.

    That is one thing gods and mortals share. When we are young, we think ourselves the first to have each feeling in the world.”

    This retelling of Circe focuses on a goddess’s internal world as she faces judgment from her parents, siblings, the titans and Olympians. She finds herself isolated and in the isolation, she finds her center and the will to fight the cage.

    You have always been the worst of my children,” he said. “Be sure not to dishonor me.” “I have a better idea. I will do as I please, and when you count your children, leave me out.”

  • Babel by R. F. Kuang

    Babel

    by R. F. Kuang

    Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

    1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

    For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

    Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

    Thoughts:

    “That’s just what translation is, I think. That’s all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”
    ― R.F. Kuang, Babel

    Robin Swift is a Chinese boy who finds himself at Oxford eager to explore translation, and study and read to his heart’s content. However, there are also a million nuances to his existence in this world, and they can all be captured in the following quote:

    “They were men at Oxford; they were not Oxford men. But the enormity of this knowledge was so devastating, such a vicious antithesis to the three golden days they’d blindly enjoyed, that neither of them could say it out loud.”
    ― R.F. Kuang, Babel

    To be different in a society can be challenging. Babel leans and explores heavily on the themes of language, translation, colonialism, identity (or lack there of), and finding a place of belonging in a society that may or may not want to understand a different individual, culture, language, mannerism. The adventures Robin Swift lives through in his tenure at Babel, with his fellow mates, all make you wonder and consider these themes at every turn.

    “Translation means doing violence upon the original, means warping and distorting it for foreign, unintended eyes. So then where does that leave us? How can we conclude, except by acknowledging that an act of translation is then necessarily always an act of betrayal?”
    ― R.F. Kuang, Babel

  • Daughter of the Moon Goddess

    Daughter of the Moon Goddess

    Daughter of the Moon Goddess

    Daughter of the Moon Goddess

    by Sue Lynn Tan

    Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

    Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

    To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

    Thoughts:

    Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a story inspired by the Legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess.  Xingyin is the daughter of the moon goddess. She lives a peaceful life at the start, but a moment of curiosity changes her life forever. She soon discovers her mother’s life is in dire straits, and her existence as the daughter of the Moon Goddess is even more dangerous. Her mother urges her to flee to save her life. Xingyin makes it to relative safety and discovers a new world in the Celestial Kingdom. She trains along a celestial kingdom prince and does her best to become stronger. Her goal is to save her mother.

    I love that this story is so plot driven, taking you from Xingyin’s cozy life with her mom when she knows no strife. Then, she flees and must struggle to survive, to fighting to grow her strength, and in the end, discovering a path she can follow to save her mother. It’s a rollercoaster fantasy quest and I was there for every minute of it.

  • Tobiko, The Maasai Room, And Leader, The Dog That Would Not Leave

    Tobiko, The Maasai Room, And Leader, The Dog That Would Not Leave

    Tobiko, The Maasai Room, and Leader,
    The Dog That Would Not Leave.
    by Felicita Churie

    This is a story about Tobiko’s adventures at our home in the rural areas near a National Park.
    We called this home The Fort because at the time there were no other homes near it, only wild animals from the park.
    It is a story about Tobiko, his friends, and Leader the dog exploring the area, and fishing in the nearby river. There were many happy days with the Maasai Cattle Traders and their stories with lessons.

    Feature:

    When I’m not writing NaNoWriMo novels, I edit/format/make book covers. These past weeks, I’ve been caught up with a sweet, little book called Tobiko, The Maasai Room, and Leader, The Dog That Would Not Leave. It is written by Felicita Churie who I’ve worked with before on her book, I Once Had A Son.

    The essence of this story is an exploration of Tobiko’s adventures in a rural home where he has the space to run as a young boy. He plays with his dog, his siblings, and friends. They have camp-outs, watch the stars, go fishing, play football, and learn invaluable cultural lessons from The Maasai who visit their home. Their lives intertwine into a colorful tapestry of modern life, cultural lessons from The Maasai, herbivorous wild animals stopping by, and a lovely dog with an undying sense of loyalty.

    You can find a copy on Amazon. Here is the link.

  • Morrighan – The Remnant Chronicles

    Morrighan – The Remnant Chronicles

    Morrighan

    Morrighan
    The Remnant Chronicles #0.5
    by Mary E. Pearson

    Before borders were drawn, before treaties were signed, before wars were waged anew, before the great kingdoms of the Remnant were even born and the world of old was only a hazy slate of memory told in story and legend, a girl and her family fought to survive.

    And that girl’s name was Morrighan.

    In this prequel novella to the Remnant Chronicles, a girl and a boy from enemy camps meet, fall in love–and set history in motion.

    Thoughts:

    I keep wanting to call this book The Morrighan. The lore in this story is so beautiful. Morrighan is an introduction into a world that is post apocalyptic. There are two groups in this world, The Remnants and The Scavengers. The Remnants are survivors of the old world, they love knowledge, farming, honor and love work. The Scavengers are insanely wild, and live in wild tribes with harsh customs, they are brutal and savage. They are enemies of the remnants and will destroy the remnants, and damage what they build.

    This is the story about a girl named Morrighan. She’s a remnant who meets a boy who is a scavenger. Together, they forge an unexpected bond that changes their world. A bond that brings them together, despite the many challenges they must face being from different groups|clans. Through them, a story of the past and the future unfolds.

    “Our stories must be passed to our sons and daughters, for with but one generation, history and truth are lost forever.”

    ― Mary E. Pearson, Morrighan