book reviews

Braxley by Allison Miller

| Jasmin De Anda

A Muddled Sci-Fi With Some Heart..

Braxley is at times a monotone story, but with it’s heartwarming surprises.

SYNOPSIS

Scorned by the realization his daughter isn’t his biologically, Braxley Tomlinson makes a move to take Sasha away from her lying mother.
Things go awry when he’s chased into an alternate dimension by an active shooter.
Trapped under a dome for a period of no less than five years, Braxley finds any way he can to get back to his daughter on the other side.

Not the Best Start…

This book I honestly liked more than I thought I would. At first the writing felt a little too disconnected for my tastes. The story begins with the moment Braxley learns that he is infertile, leading him to the conclusion that his daughter is not biologically his. As I began to read this event, his next actions lacked emotion. The words on the page were monotone, giving me the sense that Braxley was not at all phased by the knowledge that his wife broke their vows by having an affair. Braxley continues to make decision after decision over what should have been complex situations without a second thought.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 340

Genres: Sci-Fi

When he learns his daughter is not his because his wife had an affair, at that moment Braxley announces he is taking their daughter away. He then decides he will take her to his parents house, but that he needs to go to work first and therefore leaves his ten-year-old daughter in a hotel room. As the description explains, it is on his way that he is chased by a shooter and finds himself suddenly in an alternate reality where he is told he will have to serve a 5 year sentence before he is allowed to return home.

When someone finds themselves trapped in an unfamiliar place, I would expect them to react in confusion, anger, or frustration. Braxley simply took all of this new information in stride and proceeded, only short mentions in the story reminding the reader that he did in fact want to return home.

The Heart of the Story…

Although Braxleys part of this story left me empty, it was his daughter Sasha that saved this book for me. Sasha is I believe 10 years old and in her chapters the story follows her as she learns to cope with the trauma of believing she was abandoned by her father Braxley. After her abandonment, she is returned to her mother and faces a new challenge as she becomes physically abusive towards Sasha. As her story progressed, I started to take an interest in the book. There were times where the story still felt staged, actions without reason occurring, but I started to get attached to Sasha and the characters around and wished for their happiness.

A Unclear Picture…

Sasha’s story was wonderful to read, but when the story would return to Braxley I would get confused all over again. The story with Braxley was intriguing, but the world building and the technology in this alternate reality needed to be more fleshed out. New machines, rules, and characters were constantly thrown my way without much explanation, and in the end I didn’t have a clear picture of Braxley or the alternate dimension he was imprisoned in. The characters around him felt interchangeable and I wish I was able to get more information about them to develop their personalities. I believe the main issue was that the timeline stretched over multiple years and although Sasha’s story progression felt natural, Braxley’s felt rushed in order to keep his story in line with Sasha’s.

My Rating…

Although I didn’t connect with the sci-fi element of the story, I did connect with Sasha’s story enough where reading this book was actually really enjoyable and didn’t feel like a chore to finish if the author were to revisit the book and maybe release some kind of special edition or extended version I would reread it immediately. It’s because of that that my personal rating for this book is two stars because I really did love Sasha’s story but not enough to reread this book.

The next book I’m reading is “A Game of Thrones”, the famous epic fantasy by George R.R. Martin.

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Death Takes a Holiday in Pemberley by Kelly Miller

| Jasmin De Anda

A Beautiful Story…

Death Takes a Holiday in Pemberley is a beautiful written story that focuses on life, death, and family.

SYNOPSIS

Fitzwilliam Darcy’s well-ordered life is about to become a chaotic nightmare. A man of fortune, property, and social prominence, he has everything he could desire. Blissfully married to his wife, Elizabeth, they have a two-year-old son. With so much to live for, Darcy is shaken by a near-fatal riding accident. After a miraculous escape, he is visited by an otherworldly being: an angel of death named Graham. Threatening dire consequences, Graham compels Darcy to guide him on a sojourn in the world of mortals.

Darcy immediately questions the angel’s motives when he demands to be a guest at Pemberley. Can he trust Graham’s assurance that no harm will come to his wife and child? And why does Graham insist on spending time with Elizabeth? How can Darcy possibly protect his family from an angel with power over life and death?

In this romantic fantasy, the beloved couple from Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice must contend with both human and unearthly challenges. Are the fates against them? Or will their extraordinary love conquer all?

A Pride and Prejudice Story…

This book was beautiful. So this story is a Pride and Prejudice fanfiction. It is set three years after Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy marry, telling the story of an angel of death who intervenes with Darcy’s impending death and expresses an interest in his life. This angel of death, Graham asks, or more demands, to be a guest and observe and learn about the life of the Darcy’s, but of course Darcy is not so trusting of this powerful being who can so easily choose to claim his life.

I have to admit, I’ve never read a Jane Austen novel. I’ve never even seen a movie adaptation of any of her books. Then last week I decided to crochet all day and thought it was the perfect time to watch it, so I did. I wasn’t sure I would like the movie, but I did enjoy it and I was really glad I watched it before I started this book because knowing the character’s history made it easier to connect with the book. Although I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice, as I read this story after watching the movie it felt like a true continuation of the story and I never felt like I was reading fan fiction. It made me smile, and on occasion brought some tears to my eyes. To feel joy and sadness for characters is something I always love because it means I really connected with them.

An Angel of Death..

When Graham is introduced, he seems like he’s going to be potentially immature or at least naive, and very invasive and maybe that was the intention. It is clear from the start that he is a very direct person, and someone who never lies, which is exactly what I would expect honestly from an immortal being whose job is to retrieve the dead. But as he observes them, he seems to grow into a very empathetic character.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 307

Genres: Paranormal, Historical Fantasy, Romance

His conversations with them as he began to use his higher abilities to influence them is what made me want him to have his own book actually. He was the kind of character so fleshed out, and so interesting, that I could easily see a story with him outside the world of Pride and Prejudice. I wanted to see more of a struggle for him with his thoughts on human mortality as he walked among them.

My Rating…

Any book that has me emotionally invested gets a high rating from me.

Of course I have no idea if watching the movie and getting a visual representation of the character’s influence me. Who knows if this book would have had the same effect on me if the character’s were original, but the fact is it did. Which is why my personal rating for this book is five stars. I have books that I bookmark moments for so I can go back to them without rereading the whole book, and I have a few in mind that I want to bookmark which means buying it on kindle.

The next book I’m reading is “Braxley”, a sci fi mystery written by indie author Allison Miller.

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

| Jasmin De Anda

An addictive mystery…

The Silent Patient is a fascinating psychological mystery that keeps you wanting answers.

SYNOPSIS

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

An Intriguing Read…

The story follows Theo, a psychotherapist who expresses his interest in not only understanding Alicia, but his goal to get her to speak. The story seemed straight forward, it’s one that poses you with the question without directly telling you what to think, the question of “Did Alicia really shoot her husband, and if she did, then why?” At first I thought it would be a simple investigation. Theo of course has his therapy sessions with Alicia, but when the patient won’t say a word, he changes course, trying to understand her by other means. Speaking to her friends and family, trying to uncover not only what happened that night, but what led to it. 

A Guarded Mystery..

The story is actually one where the reader seems to know more than the main character because it goes back and forth between Theo’s first person narrative, and Alicia’s own diary entries. As a reader, I was given information that Theo didn’t have but was trying to gain.

This isn’t a story that feeds you evidence so you can figure out what happened. The author gives the information he wants. I knew I didn’t stand a chance in solving the mystery because there was nothing to solve. What this story does is take you on this journey both before and after the murder, and teases the truth. It definitely succeeded in keeping me interested because I was desperate to know what happened, and shocked at every crumb the author gave me. I must say when I finished the book, I was not disappointed.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ 85,000

Page Count: 308

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Psychological

My Rating…

My personal rating for this story is complicated. I want to give it five stars because I’m in awe of it. Psychological mysteries are one of my weaknesses along with sci fi thrillers, and romantic suspense so I am definitely biased. I also know stories like this are never the same once you know the answers. The question of whether I will read it again is one I’m not sure of. Maybe someday it will fade just enough to let me get even a little bit of that thrill again.

I’m still giving it five stars because the thought of reading it again is exciting, maybe like with movies I’ll notice things I hadn’t the first time. It feels great to finish a book again feeling excited to talk about it.

The next book I’m reading is “Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley” by Kelly Miller, Pride and Prejudice fan fiction featuring Death.

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Riley Jordan and the Fire Prophecies: Lion of Fire by Brittany Ranew

| Jasmin De Anda

An action packed adventure…

Lion of Fire is a chaotic, but exciting start to a series of magic and adventure.

SYNOPSIS

Riley Jordan, a college senior, goes from “least likely to succeed” to the world’s most dangerous wizard. After uncovering a plot to destroy humankind, Riley is plagued by dark visions of destruction involving an unsuspecting human girl he just met named Emma Clark, who he can’t get out of his head. Struggling to control his powers, Riley and his three best friends must portal-hop between magical realms to fight the darkness and discover the truth. Now, with graduation and Armageddon looming, Riley must face his own fears and learn how to protect those he loves before it’s too late.

An Epic Modern Fantasy…

I would consider this book to be a contemporary fantasy mixed with some epic fantasy elements because it exists in the modern world, but also in magical realms. There’s magic spells, secret passages, specialized magic. There are prophecies and hidden dangers, magical creatures, some there to help and others to harm. It’s a good balance between modern fantasy and the epic adventures of dragons and sword fighting. The world building is introduced in a way that’s easy to follow. Most of the information is given as it is introduced so you don’t have to worry about trying to figure out what’s going on or the rules of this world and its magic.

An Epic Adventure..

The hero’s journey is one of self discovery and thrilling adventure. There are a few moments of leisure where the characters are able to just coexist, enjoy a meal, have some fun but these are brief moments

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 396

Genres: Magical Realism, fantasy, coming of age

because the threats around them seem unwilling to let Riley rest for too long. There was never a dull moment in the story as Riley and his friends faced threats, seeked answers, and often found themselves running for their lives and fighting to survive.

Introducing Riley, the Fire Wizard…

The main character is Riley, a wizard who about to finish college, feels lost because unlike most wizards, he has not discovered his path.

All wizards have a specific type of magic they are capable of, and there are many categories mentioned which I will mention with the other characters. I would say Riley is your standard main character, the one every story demands. He is incomplete, looking for his place in the world and the reason. He is the one you may find yourself relating too, and this always makes it more satisfying to see him grow as a person. But Riley is shocked when he realizes he is a fire wizard, the first to exist in 70 years. Riley is a bit of a rule breaker, but not in the troublemaker way. Moreover, he seems to be the kind of person who believes rules aren’t always meant to be followed and is therefore willing to bend them when needed. Of course Riley is surrounded by friends, each with their own strengths.

Riley’s Loyal Team…

First we have his roommate Logan who is a combat wizard. As I mentioned there are many types of wizards, but I don’t want to get into that because learning what they can do is part of the fun of reading fantasy. Logan is the designated trouble maker, the one not only willing, but eager to get his hands dirty, almost like it’s a rush of adrenaline for him.

Then there is his girlfriend Madeline, the healing wizard. She is the moral compass, the compassionate one, the one you would want to hide reckless actions from, but want to be there when you’re in trouble.

Riley’s final friend is Caleb, a nature wizard, and the more responsible one of the group. Caleb had less to do in the story, not in the action, but in the social interactions, but I got the sense that he’s kind of a dork, and I say that in a good way.

Then we have Emma, a human girl who ends up involved in the chaos for reasons none of the characters can figure out.

There are also other characters there to help Riley and his friends when needed which includes the Dean of the college, Duncan, another administrative member Ms. Richards, the head of security, a professor, and mostly a faculty member Mr. Black.

The reason I said the characters might feel familiar is that I feel that most stories use the same combination of characters. The main character, the moral compass, the trouble maker for comedy relief, and the intellectual character. That being said, although their personalities were all made clear, the story was so action packed that there wasn’t a lot of room to go delve deeper into their personalities so I’m hoping to get to know the characters more in book two.

My Rating…

All in all, I think this book is a great introduction to the world building. My only problems, and these are my own preference not an opinion on quality, is that I wish the story had more resting room. There was always something happening so I found myself wanting more of those simple moments where characters just get to be people and not heroes, but I know some people see those scenes as a waste of time. Also everything was explained multiple times. This I can see being extremely helpful if you’re someone who doesn’t have more time to read because it keeps you up to date, but I read the book in five days so it just felt repetitive and I started skipping everytime Riley started filling other characters in on what happened since I had just read it minutes before and didn’t need the refresher. Which is why my personal rating for this book is three stars.

The next book I’ll be reading is “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides, a psychological mystery.

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The Wilder Women by Ruth Emmie Lang

| Jasmin De Anda

A beautiful story that falls a little short…

The Wilder Women is a beautiful story about a unique family that seems to lose focus in its mystery.

SYNOPSIS

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird…

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

The Wilder Sisters…

My feelings for this book I feel are divided between characters and plot. First, I want to talk about the character’s. There are two main character’s, Zadie and Finn who are half sisters. The sisters were separated five years before when their mother left and never came back.  Zadie who was legally an adult was left on her own while her sister Finn was placed in foster care.

There are a few clues given at the start of their story regarding their personalities. Zadie is described as an organized person, while Finn is a free spirit. I really enjoyed their interactions. Finn was more bold, speaking to strangers without a second thought, eagerly agreeing to spontaneous invitations, and excited at every new discovery. It was because of Finn’s behavior that Zadie seemed to take on a more motherly personality, constantly giving Finn reminders to be cautious.

The tone of the story at first reminded me of Practical Magic (the movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman), this story of family loyalty and betrayals because while the story is all about finding their mother, I kept being drawn in by Zadie and Finn’s different ideas of their mother and their abilities.

Expectations Dwindled..

Unfortunately the plot itself felt lacking for me. At first I thought the story was clear. Zadie did everything to pretend she was normal, shutting out her abilities. Meanwhile Finn seemed to use hers almost recklessly, never thinking of the consequences. I thought I was reading a story of self discovery and acceptance, that the sisters would learn more about their gifts and how it affected their relationships. However, it seemed the author was more focused on answering the question of where Nora Wilder was.

This was the part that felt strange, was when the character’s began to find answers. It felt too much like even the author wasn’t sure how to answer the question of “where is Nora Wilder?” Information that felt important didn’t seem to lead anywhere, and in the end I didn’t feel satisfied with the end of the journey. Although the plot reached its resolutions in one way or another, I didn’t feel like they made sense. I couldn’t shake the thought that the author didn’t really know how to end things and just did.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 329

Genres: Magical Realism, fantasy, contemporary fantasy

In the end although I wasn’t a fan of the Nora plot line, I did really like the sisters and their relationship and it made me want another story with them, specifically with Zadie who never really felt complete for me. It was Zadie specifically who I felt still had much more room to grow and as the story returned to Nora, Zadie’s struggles felt forgotten rather than resolved.

My Rating…

I liked the character’s, and the story did have some great moments during their journey, but I didn’t completely fall in love with this book. I was too confused by the direction it took which is why my personal rating for this book is three stars.

The next book I’ll be reading is “Riley Jordan and the Fire Prophecies: Lion of Fire” by Brittany Ranew, an indie author who sent me his book link on Threads.

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Back from the Dead by Andre Spiteri

| Jasmin De Anda

A compelling story of the dangers of a gang war…

Back from the Dead is a story that keeps you glued to the pages, wondering what will happen next.

SYNOPSIS

Hapless Bertie Haig has no idea who the bloke in bed next to him is and how the hell he got there.

Or why he’s dead.

But when his nosey downstairs neighbour claims his flat is the source of a leak in her bathroom, and insists on sending up her plumber to check things out, he’s thrust into a world where nothing is as it seems.

Turns out, in Bertie’s corner of the world — the Scottish city of Strathburgh — everyone has something to hide. And when their past catches up with them, they’ll do anything to fight back. No matter how much collateral damage they leave in their wake.

As the war between life and death spills out in the streets, the people of Strathburgh must navigate a world where violence is all too often the answer, and those who are supposed to protect you are the ones who hurt you most.

A Different Story than Expected…

Take all the information you’ve just received from reading the plot description and erase it from your mind because it doesn’t matter and I’m going to explain why.

First I want to mention what I thought the book would be about based on the description. A man, Bertie, wakes with a dead man in his bed next to him and no recollection of how he got there and is thrust into rival gang war. From this I expected that the story would follow Bertie as he tries to figure out what happened, gets caught in the middle of something he has nothing to do with, and inevitably has to figure out how to get himself out of the fire. Maybe he’ll meet some people who are a part of it, and find some clues to help him get answers. Maybe he’ll uncover things even the people involved know nothing about. Tell me if that’s what you think the plot description means. Well it’s not. The plot description is a very miniscule part of this story, if anything it’s a hook before the book takes a complete detour to the real story.

The True Main Character’s…

I think the best way to explain this is with the character’s. Bertie is not the main character, he is the civilian caught in a bad situation, but if you’re expecting him to uncover what happened, he won’t. Because the book goes into a “here’s how I got here” narrative, but tells a story that Bertie really knows nothing about and never learns on his own. Basically I think if the book erased the “waking up next to a dead body” plotline which is really no more than maybe 5% of the book, it would be perfect.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 446

Genres: Suspense, Crime, Action

The real main character’s are Al and Kris, and I want to tell you about them because these are the character’s you will spend most of your time with if you choose to read this book.

First to be introduced is Al who works for a drug gang called “The Company”. This gang has been in an ongoing war with a rival gang called “The Red Hand”. Al is loyal to his leaders, but when his mom borrows money from someone in the Red Hand, Al finds himself in a bad situation.

He can either leave his mom at their mercy, or risk being marked a traitor by The Company by paying off her debt. This is what I think should have been the real plot description. When Al was first introduced, I thought he would be a brief detour that leads back to Bertie, but Bertie was hardly in the story after that. Al is what you would expect someone who works in a drug gang, but isn’t a leader to be like, he’s someone who clearly just wants to live comfortably, but also has a short temper that is entirely connected to his own ego.

The second main character is Kris, a detective who has been hard at work trying to take down organized crime. Kris finds herself caught between her commitment to her job, and the one to her husband and son at home. She is the second character who the story follows more. Kris is career driven, someone who will spend many sleepless nights working to get the job done.

The true story is the gang war and the people involved in it, or more accurately, pulled into it because none of the main characters are leaders in these two gang’s, just people with ties to them. Truthfully it’s when the story returns to Bertie in the present that it felt a little thrown together. I wasn’t sure if the explanation made sense in line with the story, but it is over 400 pages so honestly it could just be that the information I was missing was at the very beginning and I had forgotten. Luckily as I said, the story could have easily existed without Bertie’s plot line which is why I still ended up loving this book.

A Cinematic Story…

That being said, I loved this book. I was invested in their stories. The story format felt a lot like a show with brief detours into their lives, and I would talk about them, but I feel like I would be giving too much away. The thing is that when I got really into the story, I actually forgot about Bertie. There are brief chapters that cut back to what he was doing during the events of the story, mostly as he deals with things like a lazy boss and a pushy neighbor. In those short cuts, I wanted to skim these pages to get back to Al and Kris, whoever’s turn it was to follow. The good thing is that the scenes with Bertie were still well written, I just didn’t understand their purpose.

Content Warning…

Warning because I know from reading the reviews of this book that some people are bothered by these things. There is profanity. I didn’t notice it much, but I might just be used to it from watching shows and movies with similar themes. There was one chapter that, all I’ll say so I don’t spoil anything is, it involved a man being beaten and that chapter was a shock with the detail. It’s funny to say that because I’ve watched violent movies. John Wick, Deadpool, some of the Quentin Tarantino movies, but oddly enough I don’t think I’ve ever read anything with extreme violence in it.

My Rating…

My rating for this book is four stars because I loved it, but I just can’t give five stars to it personally because the Bertie plotline just threw me off in the end and I found myself less interested when I reached it, but this is a book I can see myself reading again someday. I think another book focusing on Al would be great, not because he was a character I ended up loving, but because I was invested in his story and noticed he had potential for an interesting book outside the gang life.

Well normally I say what book I’m reading next, but I already read it. The next book I’m reading is “The Wilder Women” by Ruth Emmie Lang.

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Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

| Jasmin De Anda

A “romance” with very little romance…

Romantic Comedy is a serious romance that is not at all what it is advertised as.

SYNOPSIS

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.

But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called The Danny Horst Rule, poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.

Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder if there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy—it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her . . . right?

A Strange Format…

The book was very unique in its formatting. First, the book consists of only three very long chapters.

Chapter one follows the main character, Sally, who is a writer for a comedy sketch show, so basically SNL with a different name. Chapter one is 128 pages. I thought the fatigue of not having small chapters would get to me, but luckily there are timestamps that split the chapter into sections with the day of the week and the time.

Chapter two is where it is truly strange because the second chapter which consists of 70 pages is entirely emails exchanged between the two main characters. There is no narrative throughout this entire section, only the emails with the subject line above them.

A Story Difficult to Enjoy…

Now for a book called “Romantic Comedy” with a plot description of a girl who thinks sparks are flying with a celebrity, my expectations were that this book would be bubbly, funny, and cute. The reality was it was more like reading the fictionalized memoir of a comedy writer. It was a lot of work schedules, meetings, and information dumps on the fictionalized world. There were several pages I skimmed because I honestly did not give a damn about the history of the sketch show or the world of a writer, at least not in so much detail. The narrator, Sally would constantly go into these long explanations that would make me lose interest. Meanwhile the romance is less a romance, and more some subtle flirting and a lot of Sally’s internal monologue of insecurities and doubts. That was the part that actually kept me reading.

Chapter two is the one I really want to talk about. Chapter two takes place during the pandemic. That was surprise number one, when what I thought would be a bubbly romantic comedy turned into a covid romance. The second surprise was of course the email format. At first, it was intriguing reading a chapter of emails. The problem is this is the moment in the story where the character’s begin to truly get to know each other. Reading their emails began to feel impersonal and even dull at times. I found myself missing the beautiful narratives and internal monologues which usually make written work beautiful. The emails began to feel lazy rather than interesting as I struggled to feel the connection between Sally and Noah.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 320

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Reading their emails began to feel impersonal and even dull at times. I found myself missing the beautiful narratives and internal monologues which usually make written work beautiful. The emails began to feel lazy rather than interesting as I struggled to feel the connection between Sally and Noah.

Chapter three is back to the first person narrative, still during the lockdown but when face to face interactions started. This is the chapter I actually enjoyed more because the romance felt real, but the thing is, it’s not at all what the plot description advertised and that’s just something I want to make very clear.

The plot description didn’t properly convey the tone of the book. This book is much more serious. It’s not a comedy, either that or my sense of humor didn’t match it because I don’t think I laughed once. As for romance, it’s very mild. There aren’t a lot of interactions between the characters so I wasn’t entirely sold on this cosmic connection, but at the same time it felt more real because the romance seemed to be based on how much these two wanted to continue to interact with each other, which might not be what you’re looking for in fiction.

My Rating…

I personally never felt captivated by this book, and although there wasn’t much I disliked, there also wasn’t anything I loved which is why I’m giving this book one star for my personal score meaning it just wasn’t for me.

The next book I’ll be reading is “Back from the Dead” by Andre Spiteri, an indie author who sent me his book link on Threads.

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A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw

| Jasmin De Anda

An interesting premise with a frustrating delivery…

A Wilderness of Stars is a beautiful story at the surface that turns muddled.

SYNOPSIS

Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But after her mother dies, and Vega sees the fabled twin stars in the sky, it’s an omen she can no longer ignore, forcing her to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. But the outside world turns out to be much more terrifying than Vega could have imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.

What Vega keeps to herself is that she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from generation to generation—and she is the only one who carries the knowledge of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to the cure. And so when locals spot the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an astronomer—chaos erupts as the threats her mother warned her about become all too real.

Fearing for her life, Vega is rescued by a girl named Cricket who leads her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos. On the run from the men who are hunting her, Vega, Cricket, and Noah set out across the plains in search of the cure the stars speak of. But as the lines between friend and protector begin to blur, Vega must decide whether to safeguard the sacred knowledge of the astronomer. Or if she will risk everything to try to save them all.

A Story that Never Felt Complete…

The book itself is all very ambiguous. It relies on your need to know the answers to the questions introduced to keep you invested. Because of that, it was the type of book that if someone had asked me what kind of book it was before I had finished it, I would have probably sounded like I was only pretending to read.

It’s all nonsense until the author doesn’t want it to be. Which is why this book is a mystery. Even the timeline is a mystery. There is information which lulls the reader into thinking they know exactly what they are reading. The existence and common use of wagons, saloons, and horseback riding for instance, but also the mention of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday as legends already gone. At the same time information is introduced which doesn’t match the suggested timeline such as constellations being information no one knows.

A Childish and Infuriating Main Character…

The main character, Vega is burdened with information passed on to the women in her family from generation to generation, but she is very unreliable in a way that made me worry if she was truly the last hope of humanity. It is mentioned that she was trained her entire life for the day she would leave the valley for this important journey, but her mother’s training didn’t seem to mean anything when danger arose. Most of the story seems to rely on her being childish, indecisive, and incredibly naive. Each time she should run or is told to run, she hesitates. Each time she notices possible danger, she goes toward it. I wanted to shake this girl and tell her to start using her brain. Even knowing she is in danger doesn’t seem to help her instincts. The book relied on her stupidity to introduce danger which made each situation frustrating.

To add to her lack of instincts, it is mentioned that the tattoo on her neck must be hidden, yet she does nothing to hide it, only covering it with her hair which constantly shifts, exposing the tattoo.

Each idiotic decision she makes is followed by her immediate regret as if the well deserved self chastising is enough to redeem her. It’s a miracle this girl survived so long, and by miracle, I mean she’s lucky she always has character’s with her who are much brighter than she is.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 416

Genres: Mystery

Wonderful Side Characters…

Luckily what made me keep reading this book was the wonderful side characters who kept her safe. There is her father, in name only, who is a wonderfully kind man. Then there are two teens, Noah and Cricket, who are much more equipped for survival and understand the importance of Vega’s role.

My Rating…

I hope this book has a sequel because if Vega is in desperate need of a redemption arc for her basic human instincts. My rating for this book is once again so complicated. I liked it so much that I don’t want to give it low stars, but what I hated was enough to deter me from a reread. I’ll give it three stars to remind me of the good in it, but really no rating makes sense for me.

The next book I’ll be reading is “Romantic Comedy” by Curtis Sittenfeld.

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Dark Corners by Megan Goldin

| Jasmin De Anda

An intriguing mystery with a captivating investigation…

Dark Corners is a modern crime thriller following the skilled podcaster, Rachel Krall.

SYNOPSIS

Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his freedom approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped—or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? Why was she visiting him in the first place?

When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems only to exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel Krall goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal.

When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail, the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krell herself. Suddenly a target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

Rachel Krall, the true crime podcaster star of Megan Goldin’s acclaimed Night Swim returns to search for a popular social media influencer who disappeared after visiting a suspected serial killer.

The Sequel to a Thrilling Series…

First, something I didn’t know when I read this was that Dark Corners is actually book two of a series. I know from reading it myself that you don’t need to read book one first to be able to follow along. I was never confused, and honestly had no idea I was reading the second book of the series until I went to get the plot description for my YouTube video and saw the words “Rachel Krall 2” above the title. I got my copy from my book of the month subscription and my TBR list is so backed up that if I saw it was a sequel, I had long forgotten that. The lucky thing about investigative fiction is that although it’s the same main character, it’s a new mystery with new suspects and I can confidently say it doesn’t tie into book one.

Rachel Krall…

This book follows Rachel Krall, an investigative journalist turned true crime podcast star as she tries to find out what happened to the missing influencer, Madison Logan. Something I really enjoyed about this book is that it felt realistic. Someone in law enforcement might beg to differ, but the thing is I don’t care if a book ends up being true to police protocol as long as it is logical. Actually I would prefer a story that doesn’t tell people exactly what law enforcement uses to find criminal’s. I’ve never liked the idea of ending up with a guidebook on what a criminal should avoid, so if it’s made up protocol, even better. Anyway, I’m getting off topic. 

In the story Rachel Krall is by no means law enforcement. Yes, she was an investigative journalist, but unless you have some kind of background in law enforcement, it seems unlikely an FBI agent would call her for help. Which is what I thought this book handled really well. Because despite what the description says, the FBI does not ask her for help, not with the case at least. Rachel is there for one reason, her name was linked to the man in prison and the missing influencer who visited him. But once they feel she isn’t needed, they want her gone.

The thing I loved about the character Rachel was that she was never the annoying character I’m used to reading in crime books. The ones that say that stupid line I wish didn’t exist, “I can take care of myself”. I die a little inside every time a female character says that, especially when it’s followed by the immediate proof that they in fact cannot take care of themselves. When the FBI tries to send her home, she doesn’t immediately go into dangerous situations. Granted, any involvement in the case is putting herself in danger, she plays it smart. She doesn’t try to pretend she’s a detective, but uses her skills to learn more about the missing pieces by going undercover.

MORE DETAILS

Word Count (rounded)~ ?

Page Count: 352

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological

Three Perspectives…

The book has something which I noticed is really common in crime thrillers lately, and that is to have chapters that follow the killer. From the beginning it’s made clear that the FBI believes Terrence Bailey is responsible for the death’s of the women, but they think he didn’t act alone and had an accomplice. Which is why a few of the chapter’s follow that accomplice and make it very clear that he’s a killer. It was told in a way that leaves the question of how this man is linked to Terrence and the missing influencer.

A Clear Story…

I’m a stickler for logic in a story. I need a clear explanation on how point A got to point B and was happy when by the end of the book, everything made absolute sense. I wasn’t left with questions or plot holes, and I never wished for more. The story doesn’t pretend that every strange occurrence is directly related to each other. There are clues introduced that end up being nothing more than a coincidence, while others end up being connected in ways I never expected. That’s what made this book wonderful to me, that it wasn’t clean, but it was not flawed.

My Rating…

Mystery is something I love, but I’ve always felt that once you know what happens, it’s never the same. I guess the same can be said about any genre, but with crime thrillers where the story is 100% about the mystery, it’s a little tough to reread which is why my rating for this book is three stars because I loved it, but I doubt I would reread it again. Now if it turned into a mini series, I would probably rewatch it once or twice.

The next book I’ll be reading is “A Wilderness of Stars” by Shea Earnshaw, a mystery story.

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