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Alice is willing to go to Hell and back to retrieve her Cambridge College advisor. It makes sense since it was her magic screw up that sent him there. She didn't count on Peter wanting to come nor would he have been her first choice but better not to go alone. Their relationship - both past and present will change with each level as secrets are reveled. This book is two fold. You have the race through the levels of the underworld looking for the Professor but you also have philosophical questions about the underworld where the Greek philosophers and Dante left off. As with Kuang's other tomes the story is laced with moral dilemmas, wrong turns through a maze, complex relationships and much to ponder over. Her fans as well as readers of dark academia tales like those by Lev Grossman and Naomi Novik will eat this up. 4 1/2 stars 
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Nikki and Sadie are best friends attending an all girls college. They are mesmerized by the sad fact that there have been a number of suicides over the years by students all having a connection to the dead poet Sylvia Plath (who also committed suicide). Nikki and Sadie part ways until years later when Sadie comes home to attend Nikki's funeral and ends up in a relationship with Nikki's widowed husband which results in a baby. Sadie lives in Nikki's old house unchanged so it is not surprising that she begins to see Nikki's ghost and takes up where Nikki left off figuring out who is behind the Sylvia Club deaths. Of course the deeper Sadie probes the closer she comes to the truth and danger. Told in a dual timeline this is about deep female friendships, bad behavior in Academia and the hidden sadness and isolation of young women all wrapped up in a dark and sometimes disturbing debut. 4 stars  Prohibition and the Great Depression force many a good man to make bad choices. When fishermen Eld and his son start running rum over the border from Canada to Michigan it seems like their luck has changed for the better. Rival gangsters put a wrench in the operation and suddenly the family is violently split apart. Unlikely friendships are formed as family is lost and the survivors do what they must to survive. Amidst the violence is the quiet realization of what you had and what was lost was not worth the cost of a better life. Moody writing and tragic characters that leave you heartbroken add up to a story that readers of Jeanette Walls and Lisa Wingate's BEFORE WE WERE YOURS will love. 4 stars  A poison specialist and self-made healer is asked? (summoned) by the king to come and attend to his ailing daughter who he thinks is being poisoned. Anja is not the most social person and this will set her research back but who can say no to a king. She travels to the castle under the protection of knights and begins to wonder what she is in danger from the most - a displeased ruler if she can't cure the princess or being assassinated if she succeeds. As she rules out every poison in her retinue she discovers a secret world beyond the mirrors that might be the source of the trouble. A reimagined fairy tale you could never have imagined told with the wit and charm we expect from T. Kingfisher. The audiobook is told perfectly and I loved the tough but vulnerable character of Anja. 4 stars  This little gem somehow performs a small miracle in playfully explaining Catholicism (history, rituals and saints) thoroughly without insulting anyone or ruffling the Pope's feathers. For Catholics it is a fun jaunt down memory lane preparing for a lifetime of practicing your faith and for non-Catholics (or in my case married to one) it explains all the rituals, rites and relics that can seem over the top. Written in good natured teasing text with Monty Pythonesque illustrations and wit sprinkled throughout, this slim book offers history and great insight into some of the more bizarre tales of the saints. A fun choice for a guest room nightstand or graduation gift from a Catholic school. 4 stars  A mystery writer and his sister board the Orient Express to celebrate his cancer remission. While Joe is busy looking for inspiration Meredith just wants to enjoy the glamour but that ends on the first night as murder and mayhem begin. A killer is on the loose, a serious virus outbreak has many passengers locked in quarantine cars and the fun is just beginning. Luckily they happen to have an unusual number of qualified sleuths on board. Drawing inspiration from all the classic Orient Express stories this is a cat and mouse mystery full of red herrings, international characters and a ticking time bomb of an ending. The perfect choice for lovers of classic mystery , Knives Out and those embarking on a train journey. 4 stars  Lottie has killed before and she will do it again if she needs to even though her life has been fairly quiet( bingo, church socials etc. ) since the murders years before that she was exonerated for. But now this mild mannered elderly woman has a journalist poking about asking questions and it is back to kill mode once again. Lottie may be a stone cold killer but she has a sharp mind, sharper tongue and is not without feeling. Samantha Downing delivers a villain we all want to root for (I can't get Helen Mirren out of my head for the movie role). More fun than a serial killer story ought to be with smart writing that is full of snark and wit. Fans of the trend towards capable and sometimes dastardly elderly protagonists (KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, THURSDAY MURDER CLUB) will zip through this without searching for their reading glasses. 4 stars  A writer's retreat overlooking vineyards in the French countryside - what could go wrong? Almost everything it turns out when the main attraction (an odious but very successful author) turns up dead the first night. As the attendees all go quiet or get busy writing Inspector Roche and Berit begin to search for the culprit only to uncover more secrets, jealousies, desperation and suspects than they know what to do with. This is a nod to classic murder mysteries told with a fresh voice and a large cast of characters/suspects with multiple connections so you may want to keep a notepad (or whiteboard) handy. A twisty choice for armchair detectives who don't want clues spoon fed to them and instead want to solve it alongside the author. Fans of Katarina Bivald's previous book (featuring Berit) as well as readers of slightly less cozy but not enough to keep you up at night stories. 4 1/2 stars  Picture the family - mom, dad with two teens living at home and two grown kids. Everyone is happy, everyone is doing well and life is perfect... except it is a lie. McClane is about to graduate with a full ride college scholarship for wrestling when he gets some unexpected news from the love of his life and then he goes missing. We follow McClane and his mom Meg in alternating chapters covering the days before and after he disappears. It seems like nothing until the police get involved and then it falls apart fast. Secrets spill out faster than the floodgate can close and everyone is sure they know what happened and who is at fault. A family nightmare, an intense manhunt, an uncertain future all of which make for an intense police and family drama. Readers of DEFENDING JACOB and HAPPINESS FALLS will find much to love here. 4 stars  A romantasy that involves a much needed alliance between neighboring kingdoms that include a match between a king (with a violent rep), a princess who is not happy being used as a political pawn and her friend who has been exiled and forced into the assassination business. This has all the violence and court politics of GAME OF THRONES with the broken but good hearted king and knights reminiscent of King Arthur and a steamy love triangle between king, princess and assassin. Can they learn to trust each other before someone puts a knife to their throat? The first in a series that may have been written by a young adult author but is clearly for adults. A flicker of magic but more important are the sparks that fly between the three of them that could burn down the kingdom all on its own. 4 stars  |
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