review Archives - A Bookie's Books

What I Read This Week

I had another good reading week. I read five audiobooks and 1 physical book. Let’s talk about them…

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

Disclaimer: I work for Minotaur Books the publisher of this book. My opinions about this book are mine and have no representation of the company.

This book rocked! I am excited that the story ARC of the last books has kind of finished up. This book had me giggling uncontrollably while I listened at work. It was so funny, just like her other books. I love this series and cannot wait to find out what happens next.

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Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

I thought this book was really fun, and I liked the premise. I have not read a YA romance that I enjoyed as much as this in a little bit. It was fun because it takes place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and I currently am living in the city. So I recognized some street names. I just think the whole situation was cute. I am hoping to get my hands on some more of her books shortly.

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Witch King by Martha Wells

This book was a shocker to me. I really love fantasy, but only fantasy that is uncomplex. I know that makes me simple, but I simply want to read a lot of books, and anything I have to spend a long time disgusting and understanding, I just lose interest. This book would have shaped up to be that if I had not listened to the audiobook. I read the physical book mostly at the same time I read the audiobook. I finished this book in a week. I loved it a lot. It was one of those stories that I will think about for years to come. It was excellent writing and lyrical prose. I loved all of the characters. It had Martha’s signature humor that I enjoyed when I read a couple of the Murderbot series.

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

I read it. It was an experience. Here’s the backstory. I am working at a mystery imprint at Macmillan. I am hoping that I can hone my mystery skills to continue in this genre. Therefore I have to read the most prolific mystery writer. I love starting with a writer’s first book. So I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles. And it was good. But it was not my favorite. Reading this book on audiobook is what made this not the best. I missed clues and I kept forgetting who was who. I know what to do better next time I read one of her novels.

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Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from an industry connection. I was so excited to read this since Aimee is one of my favorite authors. I once had to read her poetry for class back in college, and she spoke at a visiting writers series. The love grew from there This book was honestly the best thing ever! I loved getting to experience this book early. Her writing is superb. She had me crying on the subway with how her writing impacted me. She talks about her family, and it was cool to see the evolution of her stories since World of Wonders, her other book I loved.

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A Rogue’s Company by Allison Montclair

Disclaimer: I work for Minotaur Books the publisher of this book. My opinions about this book are mine and have no representation of the company.

This is the third in the series and I am still happy to continue reading the series. It is witty and a fun romp through the wartime UK. This one was especially fun because we got to see a bit more personal sides of both the main characters, and one was put directly in danger. Still a fantastic series and am currently starting the next one.

Add this to your Goodreads!

Thanks for reading!

Put We Deserve Monuments On Your TBR Now: ARC Review

I received an ARC of We Deserve Monuments from sweepstakes on Net Galley. I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher.

The Book:

We Deserve Monuments cover, A girl looks at the camera wiht her curly hair covering her face, sunflowers in fronts of her — We Deserve Monuments cover pulled from Goodreads

Title: We Deserve Monuments

Author: Jas Hammonds

Expected publication: November 29th, 2022 by Roaring Brook Press

Genre: YA, LGBTQIA+, Romance

Pages: 257

“What’s more important? Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.

While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the town’s most prominent family—whose mother’s murder remains unsolved.

As the three girls grow closer—Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance—the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t even imagine. With Mama Letty’s health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she’s built in Bardell—or if some things are better left buried.” –Goodreads

My Review:

We Deserve Monuments is an epic book. It was fun, emotional, and very complex. I had my e-reader on me at all moments of the day trying to devour this book.

Plot:

This was a more character-driven story, but the plot was not horrible. We got to see some different conflicts take place. The character development was actually very good in this story.

This story is very sad though. I mean I was tearing up in front of my roommates as I read this book. So many happy and sad tears. This book had me so emotional.

Characters:

Avery encapsulates the meaning of awesome. She is temperamental but has a real love for the people around her. She is not afraid to stand up to the people around her who are trying to belittle her. I envy her and her lip ring she has, but I could never get one because I am too chicken.

Simone, the love interest, creates a safe place for Avery. There is not toxicity in their relationship that I noticed which is such a nice thing I have been trending more towards reading. Simone is the sunflower girl and now whenever I see a sunflower I think of this amazing book!

Jade was a little annoying. I understand some of her hurt, but her response shouldn’t have been so dramatic.

Mama Letty was the real star of the entire novel. I loved hearing her slowly start to love her granddaughter and slowly open up to her family.

Setting:

This book takes place in some boondock Georgia called Bardell. It was a little confusing how a small town could have an extraordinarily fancy hotel when there didn’t seem to be any tourist attractions nearby. I don’t think Avery did a lot of looking around the town though, so I could be wrong.

There is also a restaurant in the middle of nowhere that I wish was real. It is a safe haven from the world outside for multiple characters in this book. I want to be able to visit this place and dance the night away.

Romance:

There is quite a cute little romance between Simone and Avery. They were too cute to handle at times. There was some tension about Simone’s sexuality in the first half. It is so interesting to read about these things that happen to everyday people.

Quality of Writing:

As this was an ARC, this was not the final draft. It will need some last-minute edits on commas and some spelling. But other than the writing was so good. I loved the symbolism that persisted. This author really can suck you in and make you feel so connected to the events and characters in the book.

What I Liked:

LGBTQIA+ representation
Happy couple stuff
Focus on the familial relationships and less on romance
The COVER

What I Didn’t:

Some questions weren’t answered at the end, but I won’t fault it for that too much

Read This If You Love:

LGBTQIA+
Black perspectives
Beautiful writing
Non-toxic relationships
YA Books
White Jeeps

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star: 4.5

Books that Have Been on my TBR Since 2016

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s theme:

Books that You Still Haven’t Got to that Have Been on Past TBR Lists

Rebel of the Sand by Alwyn Hamilton
Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill
Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige
Cinder by Marissa Meyers
Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsey Cummings
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken
Fated by Alyson Noel

I had to go way way back for these, but I still havent read any of these. I have most of them on my shelf.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Is Wings of Olympus Book 1 Worth the Read?

Wings of Olympus would be a great read if I were in middle school. This had everything I would have wanted: Greek mythology, horses, and bits of adventure.

The Book:

Cover of Wings of Olympus, forest background and a girl in white dress petting a white pegasus with black tipped wings, White scripty font saying Wings of Olympus — Wings of Olympus cover pulled from Goodreads.com

Title: Wings of Olympus

Author: Kallie George

Series: Wings of Olympus #1

Genre: Middle-grade, Fantasy, Mythology

Pages: 240

“High on the slopes of mighty Mount Olympus, among the sun-splashed meadows and sparkling waters, glide the winged horses of the ancient gods. Here up high is normally no place for a lost, parentless girl like Pippa. But once every hundred years, the gods and goddesses descend to the mortal realm to choose jockeys for their winged horse race—and Pippa is one of the lucky children chosen to ride.

With her undersized, impetuous winged steed, Zephyr, by her side, Pippa has to confront the greatest challenge of her life: achieving victory in a race across the sky.

No one expects Pippa and Zephyr to win, or even finish, this death-defying race. A poor orphan who’s spent her life working in stables, Pippa doesn’t seem to belong in the world of the gods. And while she loves Zephyr with all her heart, he’s smaller than the other winged horses racing. But if Pippa and Zephyr don’t find a way to win, the gods will separate them—forever.

To stay with Zephyr, Pippa will have to work harder, train longer, and dare more bravely than her competition. In a race filled with petty, jealous gods and goddesses and a host of ruthless riders, Pippa must prove that love is greater than might.” –Goodreads

My Review:

I wish this book had just a bit more stuff to it. It was a bit underwhelming. A common wish in this review is that I wish there had been more stuff. I wish I had had more plot, more character building, more worldbuilding, etc.

Plot:

The plot for Wings of Olympus was neither exciting nor boring. It was so-so. I didn’t have anything super crazy that I liked about it. It was a good premise. I think there could have been more “challenges” but from a 240-page book what more could I ask for?

The fates made an appearance, but they didn’t really aid to the story. I thought that there would be more about them since they were like the introduction to the story, but they existed in a half a chapter.

Characters:

The main character, Pippa, was so sweet. She, like me, has a love for horses. Pippa seems to have a strong sense of not feeling like she belongs, and I feel as though many middle-grade readers can find themselves in this character.

The side characters were unmemorable, except for one boy character (who I do not remember the name of and don’t really want to search to find) who helps Pippa out.

I love how all the Gods came off exactly how I expected them too. Ares was arrogant and Aphrodite didn’t really seem to care about her competitor. Hades attempted to cheat. It all worked.

Setting:

This takes place in Olympus and honestly, I wish there was more worldbuilding. The whole thing is a mountain (duh), but what kind of mountain was it? I don’t know. Was it rocky? Was it snowy? Was it full of luscious green grass? I have no clue.

Quality of Writing:

The quality was middle grade. I do think the audiobook made the story more fun. Middle grade books sound less middle grade when they are read aloud, in my opinion.

What I Liked:

Horses!
Winged horse races!
Lovable child character

What I Didn’t:

Needed more worldbuilding
Short
I wish I could have gotten to know the characters better

For a middle-grade book, it was great. As someone who reads more complex novels daily, it was so-so. I wish we had gotten more, but there is a second book. I am just waiting for it to get to my online library.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3

Read This If You Love:

Horses
Greek mythology
Middle-grade
Non-romance books
Pet bonding

Weather Girl Book Review: A Romantic Seattle Story

Oh, weather girl! Here is the review where I gush about the book, Weather Girl.

The Book:

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon cover, A blue background with a rain foreground, an umbrella hides two figures behind it, the only thing of the figures we can see is the feet and legs, one is wearing blue jeans and brown boots, the other is in a red dress and yellow boots with clouds, the title and author are written in blue — Weather Girl cover pulled from Goodreads

Title: Weather Girl

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Published January 11th, 2022 by Berkley

Genre: Romance, Fiction, Adult

Pages: 330

“Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tempestuous relationship with her ex-husband, the station’s news director, to give Ari the mentorship she wants. Ari, who runs on sunshine and optimism, is at her wits’ end. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer.

In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?” -Goodreads

Weather Girl Review:

This is one of my favorite books of 2022 thus far! It will be the easiest review I have written in a while because I have LOVED IT!

Weather Girl has everything I love: Washington, rain, spice, drama, and a scheme to get their bosses together!

I was born and raised in Washington state, so I was excited to pick this book up at The Strand, especially since I was so far from home. My least favorite thing is when books or movies have location plot holes, such as it takes X amount of hours to get somewhere when it really only takes X, or the two places the person lives and works are on literally the opposite end of the state. This book represented Washington so well! I even heard a mention of this itty bitty town called Darrington. A few friends from college live there and so I rushed to text them about their town being in a book.

The writing was so beautiful and stunning in the Weather Girl book. Romance book with this simple style of writing has been hard to come by that didn’t make me feel stupid in a month or two, like Heartstopper.

I loved the number of weather puns that Solomon sprinkled in. Sometimes I didn’t notice them, and then my brain had a “Hold on, what did that say?” moment and it was a good laugh. Some of them were glaringly corny but in the best way.

I devoured Weather Girl in a few days. This is largely related to the two main characters because they were so fun.

The protagonist, Ari, has depression, and she struggles with hiding that from her love interests and friends. She is frustrating at times, but in the end, she makes the right decisions. It was fun falling in love with her. I also went through a similar experience to her, a breakup, so when I opened the book we were at the same place in life.

Russel was amazing! He is one of my top love interests for the year. He is a “fat hero,” as I saw in many reviews. He is sexy and knows exactly what to say. He never does anything toxic or weird. He cares for his family and for Ari in ways I wish a man would care for me.

I love to see representation and this book served it. Both Ari, Russel, and many side characters, are Jewish. There is also talk about body image, stretch marks, and other things not normally mentioned in books. It is not all lean, mean bodies in this book.

I love everything about Weather Girl. The romance was exciting and fun. I have a new love for the rain. It was nice to see my home through this book while I was gone. This book should be read by anyone from Washington or looking for a cute, sweet romance. I hope you all liked my review of the book Weather Girl.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 5

Read my latest posts:

Another Gail Carriger Review?! Here Is My Changeless Review

The Book:

Gray background made of clouds, gradient London skyline near bottom, blimp at the top of the cover, female in blue dress and steampunk style hat holding onto a railing, title and author name written in blue — Changeless cover pulled from Goodreads.com

Title: Changeless

Author: Gail Carriger

Series: Parasol Protectorate #2

Published April 1st, 2010 by Hatchette Book Group

Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 389

“Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

CHANGELESS is the second book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.” –Goodreads

My Review:

I am going to keep this short since, at the time of writing, I have read the next book and am onto the next.

I love Gail Carriger, but damn she writes A LOT.

All of these reviews are going to sound the same because I love her books and they are all similar. They are all really well done and have the same sort of plot line.

That being said, a lot of her books seem to blend together, so I am not 100% on all the events in this book, hence why I am keeping this short.

The saddest part of this book for me was how we slowly got away from the romance portion of the book. There was no more slow-burn like the first. The characters are happily together. That is always great, but there is not a huge extent of books anymore. There is no waiting to get together tension, there is just them being loving.

We got introduced to beloved characters from the prequel series Etiquette and Espionage in this book. I was so excited to see familiar characters again.

I wonder who else she will bring in.

Carriger is so witty and fun. Her writing is always amazing and she definitely deserves the read. Check out my review of Soulless, the first book in this series if you are interested in starting.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4

For more check out my latest posts:

My Policeman: A Book Review

The Book:

Title: My Policeman

Author: Bethan Roberts

Published August 3rd 2021 by Penguin Books (first published February 2nd 2012)

Genre: Fiction, Romance, LGBT

Pages: 304

“It is in 1950’s Brighton that Marion first catches sight of Tom. He teaches her to swim, gently guiding her through the water in the shadow of the city’s famous pier and Marion is smitten–determined her love alone will be enough for them both. A few years later near the Brighton Museum, Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted, and opens Tom’s eyes to a glamorous, sophisticated new world of art, travel, and beauty. Tom is their policeman, and in this age it is safer for him to marry Marion and meet Patrick in secret. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed.

In this evocative portrait of midcentury England, Bethan Roberts reimagines the real life relationship the novelist E. M. Forster had with a policeman, Bob Buckingham, and his wife. My Policeman is a deeply heartfelt story of love’s passionate endurance, and the devastation wrought by a repressive society.” -Goodreads

My Review:

Did I read this book solely because of Harry Styles?

Yes.

Did I leave this book with so much more?

YES!

This book is going to be made into a movie and one of the main characters is being played by Harry Styles. It was a major factor (really the only factor) in me picking up this book.

It was fascinating. The writing was spectacular. The two character’s voices used were amazing. I love all three characters, Marion, Tom, and Patrick. They were all imperfect characters, which is apparently what I now enjoy.

Lots of reviews complain about the two gay characters being miserable the entire time. I have to agree that yes it would be nice to have less traumatic portrayals of the LGBTQIAS2+ people in media, especially books. I thought that this book seemed pretty historically accurate (at least according to very very limited research on my part) and was that not the point? To look at the lives of three people who make mistakes, and the woman who makes a really horrible mistake and wrecks the lives of others.

I don’t know. I am an ally to the community, so I really cannot make those judgements for the community.

I thought the mistakes and miserability of all three characters were amazing though. None of the characters left unharmed. I hated them all, except for maybe Patrick, he did not really do anything wrong. He was a victim of happenstance and Marion’s rash actions.

Getting away from the problems of the books, the book was beautifully written. It was poetic and touching. It highlighted a slice of life, and I felt so sympathetic to all the characters (in a sense). The writing is why I stay saying this book is good even with the controversy I said earlier.

I loved it, it was beautiful, please go read this book!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.6

Loveless: A Book Review

The Book:

Title: Loveless

Author: Alice Oseman

Series: Osemanverse #10

Published July 9th 2020 by HarperCollins Children’s Books

Genre: Contemporary, YA, LGBTQIA+

Pages: 433

“It was all sinking in. I’d never had a crush on anyone. No boys, no girls, not a single person I had ever met. What did that mean?

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.

As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.

But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.

Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

This wise, warm and witty story of identity and self-acceptance sees Alice Oseman on towering form as Georgia and her friends discover that true love isn’t limited to romance” –Goodreads

My Review:

This is going to be the shortest review ever!! I am trying to avoid saying anything wrong and there is seemingly a lot of controversy about this book these days.

The story was cute. I liked the self-discovery we went on with Georgia. I liked seeing her friends’ lives through her eyes. I felt like I also learned about asexual/aromantic sexualities. I did not understand completely understand, but now I fully comprehend and respect the author for creating that understanding.

Oseman has a nice YA style writing. I definitely don’t think this is my favorite by them, (Heartstopper has my heart).

The main character of the book was so-so. I thought that the story was great, but sometimes the character just didn’t do anything. It seemed like we were exploring their sexuality, but that was it. We weren’t doing anything else with the main character. I don’t think that is wrong but I love it when characters have more. What I mean is Georgia had no interests that really drove her. Does that make sense?

I don’t think the book was bad, but I do not feel qualified to talk too much about it. It was mainly about sexuality, and I have seen mixed reviews about the representation in this book. Since it is the only thing this story really has (meaning there is no real plot), I don’t feel like I can say too much due to my lack of authority on this topic. Let me know what you think if you have read this book.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.5

One of Us Is Dead: A Review

The Book:

Title: One of Us Is Dead

Author: Jeneva Rose

Published April 26th 2022 by Blackstone Publishing

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Adult

Pages: 272

“Opulence. Sex. Betrayal … Sometimes friendship can be deadly.

Meet the women of Buckhead—a place of expensive cars, huge houses, and competitive friendships.

Shannon was once the queen bee of Buckhead. But she’s been unceremoniously dumped by Bryce, her politician husband. When Bryce replaces her with a much younger woman, Shannon sets out to take revenge …

Crystal has stepped into Shannon’s old shoes. A young, innocent Texan girl, she simply has no idea what she’s up against …

Olivia has waited years to take Shannon’s crown as the unofficial queen of Buckhead. Finally, her moment has come. But to take her rightful place, she will need to use every backstabbing, manipulative, underhand trick in the book …

Jenny owns Glow, the most exclusive salon in town. Jenny knows all her clients’ secrets and darkest desires. But will she ever tell?

Who amongst these women will be clever enough to survive Buckhead—and who will wind up dead? They say that friendships can be complex, but no one said it could ever be this deadly.” –Goodreads

My Review:

The start of this book instantly hooked me. I was so intrigued to hear about these pretentious housewives and their lives.

One thing about the mystery books I have read, or just any book, is they cannot achieve the tension necessary to keep me begging for more. They reveal secrets to quickly. But this book… this book does it so well. It hints at things to come, but you dont know what the wives’ secrets are until it is necessary to reveal them. It keeps you ensconced in the story.

This one also had a play on the language is used. There are very few hints of death or talk of it in the beginning. But as the story grows more tense and more drama unfolds, more and more euphemisms and mentions of death are sprinkled throughout the end. It gave a good symbolism for that growing sense of doom the wives’ felt.

I did love the ending. There was a huge plot twist. I did not expect the ending, but I did, but I didn’t, if that makes sense. I cannot say much without spoiling, but the ending was good.

I have never read a book by Rose but let me tell you I definitely am going to check out more of her books. She wrote beautifully. I have not read a book in a long time that is written about a modern time that uses modern terms but is not cringey or cliche… if that makes sense. A lot of books using modern slang always come off so insincere and make me roll my eyes. This one didn’t though. I really liked it.

This book had everything. It had Real Housewives drama. It was a budding romance. It was about murder. It talked about how sh*tty adult white men are. I loved it so much.

I loved this book. This will definitely be on my top books this year’s list.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4.5

Etiquette and Espionage: A Review

The Book:

Title: Etiquette & Espionage

Author: Gail Carrier

Series: Finishing School #1

Published February 5th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Steampunk, YA, Fantasy

“It’s one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It’s quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners–and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine’s, young ladies learn to finish…everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage–in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year’s education.” -Goodreads

My Review:

Wow!

This book was fantastic. I could not stop listening to it.

I have become fully entrenched in this world. I finished the series within a week and I loved it. I thought it was so amazing.

My grandmother tried to have me read these book for the past seven years. Everytime I asked for a book recommendation, she would suggest this book. I always turned her down and now I really regret it.

I had picked this up back in high school and I didn’t like it. But I decided to try it out since it was available on my library app. I am in shock at how good it way.

It was so funny and light-hearted. The series takes us through the whole schooling of finishing school, which I love books about school, and then introduces the act of “finishing” meaning murder and espionage. How cool!

This Victorian age novel immediately trapped me in this world. As I said in my review of Stalking Jack the Ripper, I have been getting so into these Victorianesque novels. I would like to blame Bridgerton, since I have been into that Regency era, and this is similar.

I loved Saphronia so much. She was spunky and loved all things espionage. She was a strong female character, but I don’t think she goes through a lot of growth in the book. Sometimes that is okay, like in the case of this book. That just is a thing I like to see. I like the see characters becoming more. Her growth lies in her skills but not in her personality or character in this book.

All of the other girls in the series were awesome and I loved Soap and the other sooties. They are all so unique and I cant wait to see where they go in the series.

I loved all the funky names in this series. They are all so interesting like Frowbritcher the butler.

It also has vampires and werewolves which was just amazing. Carriger makes her own rules for these individuals. The world-building just with the use of these two species alone is amazing.

This book is such a nice fun light reading. I believe the narration probably made this book 100% better. The narrator is literally so fun and makes wonderful voices for all the characters.

I recommend this to anyone literally. I apologize to my grandmother who I said was wrong for liking this book. Grandma, you were right and thank you for introducing me into Carriger’s novels.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4.5