Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald REVIEW

This book! If you want a fake dating, feminist, Persephone and Hades retelling, read this book! Persephone is slowly becoming my favorite Greek deity, and this book may have cemented it. The world-building, the character dynamics, and the central romance are so well designed.

Kore’s mother Demeter has kept her on the island of Sicily her whole life. She is the goddess of flowers, but when it comes to every other task her mother wants her to do, she’s terrible at it: needlework, painting, and being polite. When her father, Zeus, tells Demeter that it is time to get Kore married off, Kore knows she cannot let that happen to her. She hatches a plan to go to the only place she won’t be found. The Underworld.

When Kore arrives in The Underworld, she finds out that Hades is not who everyone has said he was, and The Underworld is not exclusively a dark and dismal place. As Kore starts to discover who she is, she learns that she is more than just the goddess of flowers and that maybe marriage is not the horrible life sentence that it was meant to be. Because Kore is not naive, she’s Persephone, the chaos bringer.

Throughout this story, the two main characters, Persephone and Hades are truly well fleshed out. They grow into themselves with the help of knowing each other, and it is beautiful to watch. There are some scenes in this book that just give the ultimate giggling and kicking-my-feet vibes. Hades is especially wonderful, because he has so many hidden depths to him that make his reputation fall apart. He is nothing like the creepy old man in the myths, yet the attention to detail of his holding that scary reputation is wonderful.

The world-building in this novel is also out of this world. Not only is the Underworld fantastic (which it absolutely is), but even the lesser visited places in the novel, like Sicily and Olympus, are beautifully drawn. The attention to detail (like the Court of The Underworld and the Court of Olympus having the same layout with different decor) is impeccable. The world is lived in and vast. The side characters are fantastic and unique. Characters like Styx, as in the river, and Hermes, as in the god of messages, are fully realized and vital to the story. The world is rich and full of life, and I love it.

Fitzgerald shows off her knowledge of Greek myths with the sheer attention to detail in this novel. If you haven’t seen her TikToks, please go check out @chaosolympus because she is hilarious. It is clear that Fitzgerald loves this material and also bringing the stories into the 21st century. Giving Persephone agency without making it a takedown of the whole history of Greek myths is inspired. All fans of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint will love this book!

I definitely recommend this read to all readers of fantasy romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Romantic Subplot Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤/5

This book is more of a romance with a plot as the subplot, but when I tell you that this romance plot is so cute, I need you to understand. They start off as unlikely allies, who decide to work together to deceive Zeus. But as Persephone starts to make changes to the Underworld, they are forced to work in close proximity, and they start to become true friends. But when they have to take their fake relationship to the next level and get married, everything takes a wonderful, angsty turn. If you like fake dating and friends to lovers you have to read this book.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides REVIEW

Do you like Greek Mythology? Do you like mysteries? Do you like therapists who throw their job description out the window?  If so, The Maidens by Alex Michaelides is the book for you! This new mystery from the best selling author of The Silent Patient is full of twists, murders, and red herrings. You will not be able to put it down!

Mariana is alone.  Her niece, Zoe, is at college, and her husband, Sebastian, is dead.  After a particularly difficult session with her therapy group, she gets a call from Zoe. There has been a murder on her campus in Cambridge, and it was Zoe’s friend Tara.  Mariana drops everything to go comfort her. When she arrives in Cambridge, she meets the mysterious, Greek tragedy professor, Edward Fosca. He leads a small group of students, The Maidens, that had included Tara.  Mariana is distraught when the police consider the case closed without interviewing Fosca, who seems immediately guilty to her.  She decides to stick around and help Zoe feel better and figure out the case.

  The mystery in this book had me on the edge of my seat.  I knew that the story was leading the reader along the wrong way, but I did not figure out the true ending on my own.  Unlike The Silent Patient, I did not feel betrayed by the ending.  I still feel like I knew the main character and her needs the whole time.  

At some points, it felt like Mariana was a bit obsessed with her dead husband, and I think that there was a fine line between grief and obsession.  There were a few characters that felt extraneous and never went anywhere, but I think they were meant as distractions.  Some of the setting was a bit confusing, but it’s due to my American understanding of university campuses.  (I just have to say that Tara’s bedder seemed way more involved in her students’ lives than any hall director in the US I’ve heard of. She woke them up and made their beds? What?)

This book had a lot of short chapters that made the pace fly.  I also greatly enjoyed the references to Persephone, Demeter, and other Greek stories that Fosca’s students were studying.  Mariana is also from Greece, so the connections to her childhood draw her in even further.  After a while, Mariana’s therapist code sort of went out the window, but that seems to be this author’s favorite thing to do.

Also, big fans of The Silent Patient are in for a fun surprise about two thirds of the way in. I had to tell my whole family about it–but they were all asleep.  This book really did keep me up late!

Overall, this book is an enthralling tale of murder, mythology, and mysteries.  I highly recommend this book! Bring it to the beach, and see if you can figure out who killed Tara!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romantic Subplot Rating: ❤/5

This wasn’t the book for a romantic subplot. But that’s okay! There was one, but it feels like a spoiler to tell you about it, so just go read this book!

Temple of Ice by Christian Curo REVIEW

Thank you to Christian Curo for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book has a wonderful world and magic system that is enchanting and interesting. This was a cool trip to the Arctic with powerful Winter Mages. 

Tama and her friends are about to graduate and join the community as official Winter Mages.  One is a healer, one is an artist, and Tama is a warrior.  After they complete their pre-graduation tasks, the trio graduates and goes home to serve.  But in the village, there is trouble brewing, as someone is attempting to awaken the evil goddess and destroy the village.  It is up to Tama, her friends, and her new girlfriend to save the village and stop the goddess from awakening.

I really enjoyed learning about the magic system and the world that Tama lives in.  The Arctic setting is unique and interesting. I also really enjoyed that there were uses for the Winter Mages beside being warriors.  Tama’s friend uses his magic to create art and bring joy to the community.  He is not pressured by anyone to use his control over the wind, snow, and ice for battle.   The community in this world is very accepting.  They allow the Winter Mages to use their powers as they wish.  Also, there is not one character that questions Tama’s sexuality or judges her for having a relationship with a woman.  Everyone simply accepts her decisions and her choice.

While the characters in this book were great, I felt like I was waiting for things to happen. Once Tama and her friends got to the village, the story accelerated for me. I just wish that we had gotten there sooner.  The scenes showing their graduation rituals were good to tell me more about the unique culture of the world.  However, they were not very exciting, as everything seemed to go very smoothly for the characters.  I would have liked some more conflict earlier in the story.

Overall, I like the world in this book, I just wish that the pacing was faster.  But if you want to immerse yourself in a winter world, I recommend spending some time with Tama and her friends. 

⭐⭐⭐/5

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner REVIEW

Half historical fiction and half contemporary fiction, this novel brings together women across centuries. I loved this book because it knows what it is trying to be and hits the mark perfectly.  I really connected with the characters and appreciated the three unique women who make up this story.

Nella has been running her poisonous apothecary under strict rules.  She will only use her powers to protect women from the men who hurt them and never hurt women.  She also always works alone.  But on one winter afternoon in 1791, her rules are tested. Eliza Fanning comes for help with her mistress’s wishes, but does not want to leave.  But then a noble woman comes and demands a poison for her husband’s mistress and if she is not served she would ruin Nella. Together Eliza and Nella must  do whatever it takes to protect Nella and all the women she helped.  

Meanwhile, in the present day, Caroline’s marriage is falling apart, and she takes her tenth anniversary trip to London alone. On her first night, Caroline finds a small jar in the river with a bear etched on it.  She dusts off her old history degree and decides to investigate.  But when her husband comes across the pond to try and make things right, she starts to question what her direction going forward should be: to be safe or to take a risk on herself.

My surprise favorite in this book was Caroline. In books that are back and forth between the past and present, I usually zoom through the present day parts to get to the past.  But this book surprised me. I found myself wanting to know what was happening with Caroline.  Her narrative also truly struck a chord with me.  I have a history bachelor’s degree that I am not really using just like Caroline.  I also feel like my life is at a bit of a standstill like her. I really empathized with her, especially in the end. 

Nella and Eliza were great too.  I really liked how their relationship grew over the course of the novel. They both got a relationship that was missing from their lives.  I didn’t like either of them at first, but together they make a great team.

While some parts of this book were unrealistic, I really enjoyed it.  I was a quick, fun read that really made me smile.  I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a nice weekend read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romantic Subplot Rating: 0/5

Alright in a weird twist, I loved a book with no romantic subplot. (Am I ill? Maybe.) Eliza has a brief flirtation but the reader does not get to see how that develops.  The story is about women who don’t need a man, and really I didn’t miss it at all for them.

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R Sloan REVIEW

This dive into the harsh effects of being an early 2000’s pop star is a harrowing look at the toll that fame takes on the psyche and relationships of young girls.  While there is a lot in this book, it did leave me looking for a bit more.  But I truly fell in love with many of the characters, especially the girls in the band.

Cassidy didn’t know she wanted to be a famous singer.  But after losing a television singing competition at seventeen, she knows that it is what she wants.  She calls the record company that gave the record deal to the winner, and they eventually give her an audition to be the fourth member of a girl group.  Gloss is a group of three girls: Merry, Yumi, and Rose, who have lost their fourth member to prolonged hospital stays.  Together, the four girls become insanely famous. They get nicknames, hot boys, and mall tours.  The band has setbacks, and eventually Cassidy leaves. Now it is fifteen years later, and Cassidy has committed suicide.  Now the three remaining members of Gloss have to grapple with their past, present, and future as celebrities.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book.  Cassidy is fascinating to follow.  Her bandmates all have their own unique challenges and issues that they have to face.  They have complicated friendships that are not just catty back and forths.  All four girls deal with their fame differently, and it shows how the spotlight is different for everyone. 

The premise of this book was fun.  I always like getting behind the scenes of celebrity.  However, I did not anticipate how sad it was going to be.  The girls are supposed to be living their dream, but instead it is more of a nightmare.  There is assault, forced eating disorders, crazed paparazzi,  extreme loneliness, and more.  These women are young and have no freedom.  They were treated like products.  It feels too real, as we see in the news today.  Pop stars and famous women from the early 2000’s have come forward with all kinds of harrowing experiences they had.  

My main issue with this book was that the text spent the same amount of pages in a week in 2017 and between the years of 1999 and 2001.  I wanted more details about the time when the band was together.  Because of this, there was a bit of telling about the events when the band was together when the women in 2017 remembered them.  Merry especially had a lot of explaining memories.  Also, everything from 2001 got resolved within the same week of Cassidy’s death.  It may be because the other members of Gloss had avoided each other for many years, but it just seemed a bit forced in the end.  But the actual content of the story made up for it.  It was very intriguing to read.

I wanted more, which to me is a plus.  I could not put this book down.  I also did not want to say goodbye to Merry, Yumi, and Rose.  I think that there are more stories to be told about them, but would anyone be interested without Cassidy?

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 

Romantic Subplot Rating: ❤❤❤/5

Cassidy has a sweet romance with her childhood best friend, Alex, but it breaks your heart like everything else.  There are no other really intriguing romances, except a brief one for Rose and SPOILER. However, the reader does not get to truly experience it with them, as it is mostly told in the flashbacks. 

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron REVIEW

The title of this book is gripping.  The premise is genius.  I read the first hundred fifty pages of this book in one sitting, which is something I rarely do.  Cinderella may be dead, but her story certainly is not.  I ate this reimagined fairytale up, and I can’t help continuing to recommend it.

Cinderella is 200 years dead, but Sophia and every other girl in Lille can recite her story off the top of their heads. The story is more than a tale; it is the history of their kingdom and what they are meant to strive to be.  Their dictator-like king holds a ball every year, and all teen girls are required to attend.  At the ball, they must be chosen to be a bride.  If they are not after attending three times, they are considered a ‘forfeit,’ and they are never seen or heard from again.  Sophia does not buy into the fairytale, knowing that this isn’t the way to find true love and that she wanted a princess charming, not a prince. The night of the ball, Sophia ends up running from the ball and meets the last surviving descendant of Cinderella’s family: fiery, dagger-weilding Constance. Together, they plot to take down the king, and save the kingdom.

Sophia and Constance are adorable and brave protagonists.  I really loved watching them grow and learn together.  As a YA protagonist, Sophia falls into a lot of tropes, but she never annoyed me.  She is brave, but not senselessly reckless.  She is unique, but not in a way that is obnoxious.  The best thing is that she has a solid relationship with her parents, and they are both alive and well.  That was the most refreshing part of all.  I also loved Sophia’s relationships with her friends.  One develops into a crush and the other is a great view into a typical girl in the kingdom for the reader (and all their parents are alive! So many living parents!). 

Constance, on the other hand, is more than a YA love interest.  She is a great balance to the curiosity and hopefulness of Sophia. Constance knows more of the truth of the kingdom and the Cinderella story. Together, they are able to find a medium where they can figure out how to deal with the horrors that are happening in their land. 

However, I only gave this book four stars because in the second half the plot gets a bit weird.  There is a bit of weird side tracking with magic and a lot of time spent in the woods.  They also spent a lot of time plotting and very little time doing anything.  But once they start their final plan, the story reves up again.  The ending turns out pretty decent.  

My favorite thing though is that this book never says that killing the bad ruler will solve all the problems of the society.  The characters know that getting rid of the king will not make everyone in the kingdom instantly change their minds and get better. YA needs this kind of nuance in its teenagers overthrowing the government plots. I really enjoyed that the teenage girls at the center of this revolution know that they have to work on convincing their parents’ generation, who just put their heads down and did as they were told, to change. This is the kind of change that I hope teenagers are bringing into their own lives. 

Overall, this is a solid and enjoyable novel.  I really liked the characters and the plot.  I highly recommend this read to readers of all ages, and it is definitely a good sign for teen fiction coming out today. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romantic Subplot Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤/5

Sophia and Constance are adorable.  The girls both know that they are lesbians, so that has little to do with their budding relationship.  I enjoyed watching them get to know each other and eventually fall in love.

Outlawed by Anna North REVIEW

When I heard Western, I was skeptical.  But then I heard feminist, and I needed it.  I am glad I got it.  This book may be set in the 1890s, but the problems facing these women could be any place or time.  What do you do as a woman when you cannot do the one thing that you are “supposed” to do? Why, you join a gang of outlaws who belong to no one and nowhere of course!

Ada has been married for less than a year but has not gotten pregnant. Both her mother-in-law and husband are very critical of her, treating her as though it is her fault. Ada tries everything to conceive, but her mother-in-law has enough.  She sends for the sheriff, and Ada is deemed a witch.  She is sent to a convent, where the nuns know she does not belong.  They tell her about the Hole in the Wall Gang.  This gang takes in women who have nowhere else to go. Ada finds them, led by The Kid, an enchanting individual, and is slowly allowed into the group. Ada knows that her true purpose is to help people, as her mother did, by midwifery.  The Gang might just be able to help her, but what will it cost her?

The characterization in this book is fantastic.  As every gang member shares their story, my heart breaks in a new way.  Each story is more painful than the last.  The women of the gang all have their own deep personalities that are rooted in their backstories but do not rely on them.  They have complex relationships with one another.  I love figuring out all the dynamics along with Ada and what makes each woman unique.  

Ada herself is not as deep of a character, but she feels like someone that the reader can project themselves into a bit.  She has strong motivations and a strong spirit.  Her love of midwifery and medicine anchor her.  As she develops relationships with the other women in the gang, she grows and becomes more confident in herself and her place in the world.

My other favorite character is The Kid.  What is fascinating is that North never uses pronouns when referring to The Kid, just The Kid.  The Kid is neither man nor woman, and yet the writing never seems overly redundant, and I did not notice this was happening until another character pointed this out.  The Kid’s story is the most heartbreaking of all, and is worth the wait.

I also love Cassie, Elzy, Texas, and Angus Rose.  

The plot of this book is a bit weak, but it is more of a character piece.  The plan that The Kid concocts to expand the gang doesn’t quite make sense, but the stakes feel high.  

The reason I gave this four stars instead of five is the ending.  It wrapped up too tightly in a bow for me.  Not that I am not pleased with the turnout, but it was just too quick.

Overall, I highly recommend this book.  Maybe I’ll try a few more westerns! But I don’t know if there are any more out there quite like this one. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romantic Subplot Rating: ❤❤❤❤/5

Ada meets someone about halfway through the story who not only breaks my heart on hearing his story, but hers as well.  The love they share makes me so happy for them, and Ada learns lessons from the relationship that are fantastic. It just takes too long in the book to start to be a five star.

The Genome Odyssey by Dr. Euan Angus Ashley REVIEW

Thank you to Celadon Books for this ARC!

Dr Ashley has dedicated his life to studying the power of genetics.  This book is oozing with his passion not only for science, but for his patients.  He shares stories of his patients with rare genetics of all different kinds.  Each patient is full of life, and Ashley gives the abstract idea of a genome a very tangible face.

Genetics are an ever growing field, and Dr Ashley has a front row seat.  He is from Scotland, but works in Stanford.  He and several of his very distinguished colleagues are working tirelessly to personalize medicine based on the patients’ genomes.  They are making huge discoveries about genes that control everything from heart valves to cholesterol.

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of nonfiction, science books.  However, this one is so genuine that I could not help being involved.  There were a lot of different people to remember, and I did lose track of them, especially what the different scientists’ specialties were.  But I loved following the families and seeing them get specific diagnoses. 

This book infuses the reader with hope and curiosity.  They have achieved a lot in the field of genetics, but they have so far to go. And this book leaves me excited to find out what comes in the future!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam REVIEW

I found out after the fact that this book was supposed to be a satire.  I really expected there to be some payoff and there wasn’t.  However, the prose in this book was intriguing, and the descriptions of all the crazy things that happen are really great. And in hindsight, I think I get the satire of it all. 

Amanda and Clay are excited to spend the weekend away with their children in a nice house they rented on Long Island.  They live in the City, so it is a nice change for them to be in the quiet woods.  But two strangers knock on the door in the middle of the night, claiming to be the owners of the home and that the City is in an emergency. The dream vacation turns into a nightmare. 

The main characters in this book were a bit annoying.  I think Alam was going for the idea that everyone is self conscious and centered, but I found myself wanting most of the four adult characters to just shut up.  I really liked the kids, especially Rose, the thirteen year old girl.  She has a beautiful way of looking at the crisis that is more focused on the practical than the panic.  Archie, her older brother, is also great, but the poor kid really has the worst time in the book. But I won’t say why, because the shock factor of it is the most interesting.

The one thing that really drove me insane was how everything seemed to go back to sex.  There is no reason to describe characters the way that they are, or for how naked people in bathing suits are.  It was just off-putting for me, and took me out of the narrative. 

This book was written before March 2020, even though it hit shelves in the fall.  However, just the horribleness of world emergency is so real and spot on to how people were feeling in March.  As the page count dwindles, the author throws out tidbits of other horrid things that are happening that the characters don’t know yet, like a 2020 CNN notification list.  Then there are just not enough pages to get answers, which is the most realistic way the book could have ended.  You keep reading and reading, looking for answers, but there just isn’t.  

I can see why this book is liked by so many.  It is not my particular taste, but if you are into satire about the white middle class, their reaction to emergencies, and how they deal with race (sort of), give it a go!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Romantic subplot rating: 0/5

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong REVIEW

Romeo and Juliet is probably Shakespeare’s most popular play.  It has been remade, referenced, and adapted so many times.  But Chloe Gong has a fun, fresh, and feisty angle to look at the story that really adds to the original idea.  This book is also a great YA series opener that does not feel like it is forcing a sequel setup and did not bore me or make me mad at tropes!

Juliette Cai is back in Shanghai after spending four years as a flapper in early 1920’s New York.  She came back ready to learn all she could about her job as heir to the Scarlet Gang, one of the two gangs that lead the city through violence and power.  On her first day back, her former lover, Roma Montagov, comes into a burlesque club in Scarlet territory.  Roma is heir to the White Flowers gang, the Russian gang controlling the other half of the city. While they are interacting, a man freaks out and claws out his own throat! The two realize that this ‘madness’ is spreading through both their gangs.  Together, with the help of Roma’s friends, they work to figure out what is causing the Madness, while dealing with their interpersonal issues.

There was so much more to the story, but I honestly don’t want to spoil. 

The connections to the original were not too overbearing.  I loved the names (Tyler for Tybalt, Benedikt for Benvoilio) and the little callbacks (Juliette using Montague as a fake name for Montagov, Rosalind being repurposed as Juliette’s cousin).  However, with the mystery of the madness and the history the characters had with each other, there was not a beat for beat following.  

The characters were well developed and had very strong motives.  Juliette wants to prove that she is smart enough to save her city and rule more peacefully, and Roma wants to stop the madness because it has someone close to him in a medically induced coma. The side characters all have different levels of wanting to help or hurt the leads. There was no one that felt unnecessary or two dimensional, except Tyler, but hopefully he has more room in the sequel. 

The setting of the story was awesome.  I don’t know much about Shanghai’s history, but Gong’s research into 1926 Shanghai is clear.  The city is not only home to the two gangs, but also Communists, British, French, American, and more foreigners.  The foreigners are trying to take control of the city from the gangs, and the Communists are the closest to succeeding. Roma and Juliette have to find a way to keep power from all of those groups.  The setting also included different areas of the city, giving it a full, real feeling.  

My favorite thing about this book is, of course, the romance.  The romance takes a bit of a backseat, which I really like.  The main issue is the madness.  But Roma and Juliette are dealing with their former relationship, and how they left things on bad and confusing terms.  I don’t really want to talk about those terms, for fear of spoilers.  However, the way that the past revelations affect their relationship is intriguing and surprising.  They’re drawn together then apart, but there is no need for a misunderstanding that could be solved with one conversation.  The conversations keep making things worse! I also worry about romance series, but this book moves slowly through time, so the ending doesn’t worry me.

The book seems like it is wrapping up, but the last about fifteen pages make your eyes zoom and start panicking about page count.  There is just not enough room to fix it! I am now in a mega book hangover and dying for the next one.  I highly recommend you pick this up so you can suffer like me!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romantic Subplot Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤/5