REVIEW: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

 OUR REVIEW:

The way this series has a choke hold on us and we are its willing victims? Yes ma'am. 

Thank you baby Jesus for my library acquiring extra copies in their Libby app and so my wait time was significantly decreased. And while we're thanking people, thank you Rebecca Yarros for making it easy to pick up Onyx Storm and read it a whole year after reading book 2....I didn't do a re-read of the series and I'm happy to report that it was easy to get right back into the Empyrean world and remember plot and characters.

In this third book, there were definitely answers to some questions, definitely more questions raised, and a continued cliffhanger ending. I felt like I began to understand more and more about their world and the hazards of living in it. Secondary characters were given more development, the dragons were hilarious and wonderful and awesome...how do I get to bond with my very own dragon?!...there was a section that reminded me of The Odyssey (which I know felt long to some, but I appreciated the journey aspect of it), and of course Violet and Xaden gave us plenty to work with. 

My one complaint is that I'll have to wait for what will seem like a lifetime for the last two books and if Rebecca Yarros had any mercy at all she'd release them back to back. I know she won't but it's worth an ask. Ultimately, though, I've found each book to be worth the wait and I love that my students are DYING over these books and rushing into my classroom to tell me all the things about where they are and how they feel and that just makes my life, right now. 

Happy Reading. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3QIkRHP

SYNOPSIS:

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

REVIEW: The Favorites by Layne Fargo

 

OUR REVIEW:

The Libby app gods have been smiling on me; I didn't have to wait long to read The Favorites--a novel by a new to me author, following a young woman's quest to be the best ice dancer in the world. What I really enjoyed about this novel was how I didn't have to love Katarina to enjoy her story. As a matter of fact, I don't think you're supposed to like her at points in this novel, which makes her redemption that much better. I found myself fascinated at her evolution and her absolutely narrow minded focus to be the best of the best, no matter the cost. And as much as I shook my head at some of her decisions, as much as I'd like to think I wouldn't do the same, I also felt like I understood why she did what she did. Her justifications and excuses for her behavior weren't always likeable, they were honest. She was deeply flawed and I truly appreciated it.

While The Favorites mainly follows the story of Katarina, you also get to see the evolution of the characters that she interacts. You begin to understand how people like her, in those intensely focused, pressured-filled bubbles, make some of the good (and bad) choices that they make. 

I zoomed through this read and found it a completely satisfying read--the twists and turns held my interest, and the fact that it follows Kat for decades, so you get to see her change and grow made it hard to put down and easy to recommend. 

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SYNOPSIS:

To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.

An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating about a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the "real story" through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary. But she can't stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy either. So, after a decade of silence, she's telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

Inspired by the powerful love and hate that fuel Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, The Favorites is an exhilarating dance between passion, ambition, and what it truly means to win.

REVIEW: The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

REVIEW:

After reading The Stolen Queen, you better believe I will be reading Fiona Davis's backlist. I found the story to be well researched and engaging as it flips between the stories of Annie and Charlotte, two women who find themselves with a common end goal. 

The Stolen Queen starts with the story of Charlotte as she reflects on her life as a young woman in Egypt, trying to make a career as an anthropologist. We learn about her experiences there, interspersed with her current day life, working at the Met. As we get to know her and understand how and why she's where she is, we also get to know Annie. Annie is a young woman, struggling to make ends meet and to find her place in the world. Just when it seems like she's found something that might be a good fit, her entire world gets flipped upside down because of a heist at the Met. Through a series of related events, she and Charlotte work together to try to find the stolen work and get answers to  how it all went down. 

The stories of Charlotte and Annie were interesting and hard to put down. This isn't my normal read, and I'm so glad I picked it up. If you like historical fiction, pick this one up. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/4htjb0M

SYNOPSIS:

From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an utterly addictive new novel that will transport you from New York City’s most glamorous party to the labyrinth streets of Cairo and back.

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same.

New York City, 1978: Eighteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.” Though Annie soon realizes she’ll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana’s capricious demands and exacting standards.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She’s consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.

That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening.

As Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they’re to have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.

 

REVIEW: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

REVIEW

If you are following along, it's evident that I went on a Kristin Hannah kick; I was so curious about the novels that the interwebs kept raving about, so I got on the Libby waiting list for The Nightingale. Here's what I'm starting to understand about Kristin Hannah books: 

• prepare for the emotional rollercoaster
• are set in historically accurate and important time periods
• the novel will be well researched
• there's a twist (because, duh, what novel doesn't have that?), but it's usually not hard to predict

I can definitely see why readers fell in love with this novel: it features a time period that is important, and currently relevant: WWII, has two wildly different sisters who experience the war very differently, has lots of interesting and horrifying details, and spans decades--so it feels like a rich and satisfying read. I, too, enjoyed (if you can say that you enjoy reading about truly horrifying events?) reading this novel, and I'm pretty selective these days about which WWII novels I read. I'll be honest, I was prepared not to like it because I thought it might be overhyped, but it was actually really interesting and I cared about Vianne and Isabelle. They each had such varied and different experiences and handled the hard upbringing and hardships and obstacles of WWII very differently, and yet, the love that they had for each other and the people they surrounded themselves with was deep and abiding, though not always obvious to each other. 

The Nightingale probably won't beat out The Women, but it's probably on par with it. They're both memorable and engaging and will leave any reader with experiences that are hard to forget.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/4aUE4PN

SYNOPSIS:

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

 

REVIEW: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

 

OUR REVIEW:

After reading The Women by Kristin Hannah, I found myself very curious about her other works, so when this The Great Alone went on sale, I grabbed it. After reading it, I can definitely see that her curiosity about the impacts of Vietnam had to have been piqued, as it feels like the little sister novel of The Women. She explores PTSD via a male secondary character and his family. We see the damage that it wreaks on a family as they learn to survive in the beautiful, but unforgiving, land of Alaska. Leni and her mother try to weather the storms of her father, but as the days get darker and shorter, living with him gets harder and harder. 

The novel is filled with the beautiful and wild landscape of Alaska, as well as the people who migrate there. It's harsh and yet filled with community and love...and paranoia. We follow Leni from her early teen years to her adulthood as she struggles to find herself and what makes her heart sing. It's not the easiest novel to read, and not my favorite of Kristin Hannah's, but it was definitely a compelling read. 

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/3CJCpA4

SYNOPSIS:

Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.