Review | Forsaken (Daughters of the Sea #1) by Kristen Day

Author: Kristen Day
Published: January 27, 2015 (2012)
Publisher: Mark My Words Book Publicity
Format: PDF ebook ARC
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Mythology, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

[Show Synopsis]
Synopsis
Once you’ve been touched by darkness, it never leaves you…

Abandoned by her parents as an infant; seventeen year old Hannah spent her childhood wading through countless foster families until being adopted by the Whitmans three years ago. Unfortunately, Atlanta’s high society wasn’t quite ready for Hannah…or the strange events that plague her. Chilling visions of murder, unexplained hallucinations, and a dark, mysterious guy who haunts her nightmares all culminate to set in motion a journey of self-discovery that will challenge everything she’s ever believed; not to mention her sanity. Sent to live at The House of Lorelei on Bald Head Island, NC for ‘kids like her’, Hannah quickly realizes things are not what they seem. Her fellow ‘disturbed’ teens are actually the descendants of mythical Sea Gods and Goddesses. And so is she. But when Finn, the ghost from her dreams, appears in the flesh; her nightmares become reality and her dark visions begin coming true. Inexplicably drawn to him, she can’t deny the dangerous hold he has on her heart. The deadly secrets he harbors will ultimately test her courage and push the boundaries of her love. She must decide if she is ready to embrace the ancient legend she is prophesized to be a part of. The fate of all the descendants will forever depend upon it. (from NetGalley)

Review
I received this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

Forsaken turned out to be fantastic. Way better than I was expecting. I am surprised more people do not know about this series especially with how popular the Percy Jackson series has become. The cover caught my attention immediately and after reading the summary, I thought it would be something I would like to give a try. I love mythology especially when incorporated in a contemporary fashion. That it is a mermaid-esque story also intrigued me. I've never really read a lot of mermaid novels, and the ones I have read really didn't thrill me, however this one definitely exceeded my expectations, and I will be reading the second book.

Plot
The idea behind the story was pretty original. It is somewhat similar to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but other than these two series, I cannot think of a series or novel that takes this kind of take on ancient Greek mythology. In both series, the main characters do not know the legacy left for them, they go to a meeting place of people similar to them, and they face difficulties because of who they are and grow because of it. However, what I like about Daughters of the Sea is that it is from a girl's point of view. Just having that makes this story entirely different from Percy Jackson. Many stories like this seem male dominated. It is great to have these two stories from different perspectives.

Review | Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell

Author: Lisa Jewell
Published: October 15, 2013 (July 19, 2012)
Publisher: Atria (Simon & Schuster)
Pages: 448
Format: ARC/ebook
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Women's Fiction
Rating: ★★★☆☆

[Show Synopsis]
Synopsis
After her grandmother Arlette’s death, Betty is finally ready to begin her life. She had forfeited university, parties, boyfriends, summer jobs—all the usual preoccupations of a woman her age—in order to care for Arlette in their dilapidated, albeit charming home on the English island of Guernsey. Her will included a beneficiary unknown to Betty and her family, a woman named Clara Pickle who presumably could be found at a London address. Now, having landed on a rather shabby street corner in ’90s Soho, Betty is determined to find the mysterious Clara. She’s ready for whatever life has to throw her way. Or so she thinks . . . 

Review 
I received this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

This book seemed to be in three parts. You have Betty's childhood and growing up on the island with her step-grandmother, Betty living in Soho, and Betty solving the mystery. The first part of the book was pretty good. It was enjoyable but unsurprising. During the second part, the mystery is introduced and Betty goes off to try and solve it. At first, things seem to be moving along, but then they kind of go to a standstill and you see Betty doing this and that while you get pieces of Arlette's past. During the last part of the book, the pace all of a sudden picks up again as the mystery finally starts fitting together. Unfortunately, this happens very late in the book, so I spent most of the book trying to force myself to get through everything.

Review | And Then There Were None

Author: Agatha Christie
Published: May 3, 2004 (first published 1939)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 264
Genre: Classics, Mystery
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Reading Guide from LitLovers

Synopsis
(from Goodreads)
First there were ten--a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal--and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

Review
I gave this book a try because I have a lot of friends who love Agatha Christie's books, especially this one. I've seen in many places where it has been heralded as one of the greatest mysteries ever written. I fail to see how this book lives up to such a designation.

The mystery was pretty good and well thought out. There was a lot of planning that went into it, and it was never obvious who the murderer was. But that was the only thing that really left me guessing. The thrill and suspense that engrosses me in many books just wasn't there. There weren't really any twists and turns and shocking realizations.

Review | A Vintage Affair

Author: Isabel Wolff
Published: January 19, 2009
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 432
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Women's Fiction, World War II
Rating: ★★★★☆
Reading Guide from LitLovers

Synopsis 
(from Goodreads)
Every dress has a history. And so does every woman.

Phoebe Swift’s friends are stunned when she abruptly leaves a plum job to open her own vintage clothing shop in London—but to Phoebe, it’s the fulfillment of a dream, and her passion. Digging for finds in attics and wardrobes, Phoebe knows that when you buy a piece of vintage clothing, you’re not just buying fabric and thread—you’re buying a piece of someone’s past. But one particular article of clothing will soon unexpectedly change her life.

Review | Devil in the White City

Author: Erik Larson
Published: October 17, 2002
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 447
Genres: Mystery, Non-Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
Reading Guide from LitLovers

Synopsis
Burnham had a vision. A vision of Chicago being the center of attention of the whole world. And he got his wish, in more ways than one.

In the late 19th century, Chicago was voted to become the home of the Columbian Exposition World's Fair. There was a lot of work to be done before the fair could open. It was one of the grandest times in US history, filled with wondrous inventions, architecture, and art, but while Chicago was experiencing one of it's greatest moments in history, it was also experiencing one of it's darkest.

Just a few blocks from the fair, Dr. H.H. Holmes built his castle. A castle of death and deception. Women went in and were never heard from or seen again. But no one suspected the charming, young doctor. And the longer he remained undetected, the more confident he grew, and the more fun he had.

Review
This was a wonderfully well written book. It's obvious that a lot of time and research went into the making of it. It was a bit frustrating to read since it's such a long book. It seemed to take even longer since there is so much information that you can easily go into information overload, but having all that information is what made this book good. It brought it to life. Larkson had a very descriptive writing style that made everything easy to imagine. All the missing commas were rather annoying though.

Review | Affliction (Anita Blake #22)

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Published: July 2, 2013
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: ebook
Pages: 576
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural, Vampires
Rating: ★★★★☆

I was so thrilled to see this was coming out. I checked months ago but forgot the date. I checked a couple days ago and was excited to see that I didn't have long to wait. As soon as it was out, I hurried and got a copy.

The sex has been steadily decreasing in this series much to my delight. Hamilton comes up with some awesome plot lines that are diminished by how much pornographic material is added. I wonder if someone complained about it or if there was some indicator that caused her to decide to decrease its amount.

I was excited that they were going to Micah's home. You don't hear or see much of anyone's home life. You hear back stories of some people, but aside from Jason, no one returns home or sees their family much. You hear every once in a while that Anita's family doesn't approve of something she does, but it's usually a passing comment touched on and left quickly. I would like to see Anita in a setting where she had to return home too.

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13)

Wow. My first book this month. Life has been super busy, and I kind of went on hiatus. I'm so behind in reading. I need to read 3 books before the end of the month for my book clubs, and I went and read this one instead!

Find Dead Ever After on GoodReads
Genres/Themes: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

I was really excited when I stumbled across this book last night. I have been a bit starved for good vampire romance novels and hadn’t realized this had been released. I seem to be caught up on all my favorite series at the moment, and it’s frustrating having to wait for the next book to be released. If you’re like me and starved for more material, check out Kerrelyn Sparks and A Discovery of Witches (Review) if you haven’t already. Two of my favorites!

This book was pretty good and definitely temporarily satisfied my vamp cravings. I feel like Sookie’s tone was different in this book than the others though, but that just could be because it’s been a while since I’ve back-read and it’s being tainted by the horrible setting of True Blood. (Sorry to anyone who likes it. Good for you, enjoy, but I don’t like it.) I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but some of the things she said and did were just slightly un-Sookie like to me. She just seemed too blasé about everything—like she’s gotten used to the situation or is a bit shocked.

The whole thing with Eric wasn’t really done very well. I was finally getting to like him, but for the most part, he was out of the picture in this book. [Show Spoiler] (Though now I understand why.) I kind of felt like Harris was tired of Eric and just wanted him out of the picture. With the way she tied everything up with him and Sookie and Sookie’s new romance and feelings, it gave the sense that she’s trying to bring the whole series to a close.

Echo Park (Harry Bosch #12)

Find Echo Park on GoodReads
Genres/Themes: Mystery
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Not my kind of book, but it was good for a one time read. I don't think I could read it again let alone the entire series.

It had a really slow start. Since I was reading this for a book club, I set myself a daily page goal in order to finish on time since I was having problems getting into it. It wasn't until about half way through that things really started picking up and two-thirds of the way through before it got exciting. Much of the slow beginning is groundwork for the climax to come, but I think some of it could have been cut out/down or made more exciting to help draw the reader in, but then if you're reading book 12 after the first 11, you're already drawn in. 

Return to Grace (Home Valley Amish #2)

Find Return to Grace on GoodReads
Genres/Themes: Mystery, Romance
Rating: ★★★☆☆

(finished May 6th)
Hannah Esh decides to leave behind her Amish life and becomes goth to get as far from it as possible. One night, her goth friends decide to have some fun and have a Halloween graveyard party at the Amish cemetery. And that's where everything goes wrong.

The mystery was was very good. I was kept guessing as to who the murderer was and why until the very end. I didn't like that it was set in Amish country though. I live near an Amish community in Indiana, and based on my experience, there were too many things that made me think, "The Amish don't do that! Or at least I don't think they do." Either the Ohio Amish are much more lax than in Indiana, or I think the author should have done some more research.

In the book, it says they have refrigerators and freezers on a small generator. Based on conversations I've had, the Amish don't do this. They would instead have an ice box.

It also made is sound like the telephone shacks are pretty common. I've rarely seen one. When I do, it's in an area where several houses can reach it.

Overall an interesting mystery, but somewhat unrealistic culturally.

The Thirteenth Tale

Find The Thirteenth Tale on GoodReads

Genres/Themes: Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: ★★★★☆

(finished May 4th)
At the beginning, I had a hard time getting into the book. It has a bit of a slow start, but as the story started twisting around, and as it presented more and more questions, I found it hard to put down.

When I started reading this book, I hadn't read anything about it yet. I just knew that a lot of people were reading it (and my book club chose it). I was expecting something like a fairy tale. At the end, Vida Winter relates the story to Cinderella. In that case, it is the most twisted Cinderella story I've ever read. (And I thought Cinder was different!)

I found it interesting that both stories told in the book were stories of twins. Twins aren't usually a common topic for books. Vida Winter's twin tale was strange, shocking and sad. Margaret's was strange and sad in another way. I found the camera/mirror scene kind of weird.

The ending for me was a surprise. Some people I have talked to said they guessed at it, but it wasn't until just before it was revealed that I figured it out. A wonderful twist of an ending, though I felt sad for Emmaline.

I'm rather surprised by all the high ratings this book has received on GoodReads. It seems to me that this is the type of book that would have more of an even spread over like, neutral, and dislike. If you find yourself not liking the book, try to make it to when the twins are born. I thought it got better after that.