A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard | Book Review

(I just love the covers to the books in this series!)

Last Thursday I posted a review of Strange and Ever After to Tynga's Reviews, and in the interest of thoroughness I'm now posting reviews of the first two books in the trilogy, Something Strange and Deadly and A Darkness Strange and Lovely.  I originally read A Darkness Strange and Lovely in October 2013, gave it 5 of 5 stars, and here is what I wrote:

Paris! Now the awesome kick-ass Spirit Hunters are in Paris! This book made my day. It's a sequel, so all the main players are back: Eleanor and Joseph and Daniel and Jie. And we get some new characters, one of which is impish and (I imagine) good looking and snarky and I love that. Add nineteenth century Paris and ball gowns and a dirigible... It almost doesn't matter what the plot is anymore! However, a warning: the end is absolutely completely undeniably non existent. None! It's a trilogy, so we know there's a third book to wrap it up, but COME ON!!! Nothing?!? Complete cliff hanger!!! It's a good thing this book rocked so hard or I'd have docked it stars for leaving me hanging.

*I checked out my copy of A Darkness Strange and Lovely from my local library.

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard | Book Review

Yesterday I posted a review of Strange and Ever After to Tynga's Reviews, and in the interest of thoroughness I'm now posting reviews of the first two books in the trilogy, Something Strange and Deadly and A Darkness Strange and Lovely.  I originally read Something Strange and Deadly in October 2013, gave it 4 of 5 stars, and here is what I wrote:

This book was fantastic!!! I almost never pick up books involving the undead, but I am so glad I picked up this one. I started the sequel immediately; didn't even pause to write this review right off!

Before I even started the book I was totally in love with the cover. I read the hardcover & the cover is swoon-worthy. 

The book itself: Eleanor has just come of age. Her family's wealth is gone, following the death of her father six years prior. Her older brother has mysteriously disappeared after a trip to Egypt. Her mother is trying very hard to keep up the high society facade, and to marry Eleanor off to a wealthy bachelor. While all of these things are playing in Eleanor's personal household, Philadelphia is playing host to the first World's Fair (1876) and is under a plague of corpses rising from the grave, hungry for living flesh. 

Something Strange & Deadly is full of action and intrigue. I loved loved loved how spunky Eleanor was! She will stop at nothing to find her brother & bring him back. The only reason this book didn't get five stars is that I feel there could have been a bit more background/explanation to some plot points. For instance: no one seems to think it abnormal that thousands of corpses are reanimating. Also, it was really really hard to get a feel on some of the interesting secondary characters such as Daniel, Joseph, and Jie. I'm hoping the second book in the series goes a little deeper. But overall the book is just superb & I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy. 

A word to the wise: Susan Dennard pulls no punches! There's one or two really graphic undead attacks, so this book isn't for the faint at heart. And don't expect any "happily ever after." No character is "safe" from the undead. (Can't say anything more without giving the review a spoiler alert!)

*I checked out my copy of Something Strange and Deadly from my local library.

Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard | Book Review

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews talking about this great trilogy wrap-up!  Click on the cover image to find out more!

(I will post reviews of the first two books in the trilogy Friday and Monday, so keep posted!)

*I received my copy of Strange and Ever After from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.  Thank you!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Books I Picked Up on a Whim

I almost always read books on recommendation; these are the top ten books I picked up on a whim- mostly at the library and sometimes at a bookstore.

1. Shovel Ready and Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh.  Picked these off of the Blogging For Books website.

2. Situation Momedy by Jenna Von Oy.  Picked up this one at the library while pregnant.  I think pregnancy led to more impulse reads than anything else so far in my life.

3. Penguins With People Problems by Mary Laura Philpott.  Wowbrary impulse request, because my sister and I love love love penguins.

4. Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan.  Impulse pick from Blogging for Books website.  The hubby and I love Jim Gaffigan, and his book turned out to be just as good as his stand-up!

5. The Maker Movement Manifesto by Mark Hatch.  Impulse request from Wowbrary, because of my work in the makerspace at my library.  I loved it and ended up recommending that all my makerspace coworkers read it too!

6. Honey by Hattie Ellis.  This cookbook was an impulse request from Wowbrary, because the hubby and I were trying to cut sugar from our diets, but I have a sweet tooth.  This was so much more than "just" a cookbook- I also learned so much about honey types and honey production in it!  And it had gorgeous photographs of the recipes.

7. Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The hubby and I love love love Tolkien, but somehow neither of us had heard of this children's book!  Impulse library pick-up.

8. Patches of Godlight by Jan Karon.  This peripheral Mitford book had escaped my attention, and I LOVE the Mitford books!  Impulse buy at a library book sale in Blowing Rock, NC, which is Mitford.

9. The Zhivago Affair by Peter Finn.  Impulse Wowbrary request, and boy was it fascinating!

10. Would You Kill the Fat Man? by David Edmonds.  Impulse library pick-up; I was intrigued by the title.  Turned out to be really interesting, and I went on to recommend it to many others!

And you?  What have you impulsively picked up and enjoyed lately?

PopSugar Reading Challenge Update!

This week I read the Journal of Major George Washington, 1754, which is a book translated to English.  (Yes, I know that doesn't sound quite right.  Turns out the original (English) journal was confiscated by the French in 1754, translated to French, the original destroyed/lost, then the French one was "discovered" and translated back to English in the 20th century.  So it's a book translated to English!)  I also read The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks, which is a graphic novel.

Previously, I've read:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which is a YA bestseller.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which is a book set in Europe.

The Fireflies Book by Brett Ortler, which is a book that's under 150 pages.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a New York Times bestseller.

Prohibition Bakery by Leslie Feinberg with Brooke Siem, which is a book I can finish in a day.

Situation Momedy: A First-Time Mom's Guide to Laughing Your Way Through Pregnancy & Year One by Jenna Von Oy, which is a book written by a celebrity.

Meridian by Josin L. McQuein, which is a science-fiction novel.

On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo with Robert Bucknam, which is a book recommended by a family member.

Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner, which is a book that takes place during Summer.

What We Lost in the Dark by Jacquelyn Mitchard, which is a murder mystery.

Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh, which is a dystopian novel.

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book with a blue cover.

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, which is a book from the library.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book about a culture I'm unfamiliar with.

Mama Tried by Emily Flake, which is a satirical book.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu, which is a book that takes place on an island.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira | Book Review

Aaaaaaaaaangsttttttt...... sooooo much.... angst...  Seriously.  This book was downright depressing.  I feel like it made me cranky to read it.

The whole book is a series of letters that the main character, Laurel, writes to dead rock stars and actors, like Kurt Cobain and Heath Ledger.  In the letters, she tells the dead folks about her day to day life.  The thing is, she's been through some stuff.  Now I'm not griping that she's angsty about legit sad things.  I would totally sympathize with her losing her sister and her parents divorcing, but Laurel goes out of her way to make some pretty bad decisions and to exclude the adults in her life that might actually help her.

Then all of Laurel's friends (all the secondary characters) are also troubled.  Like, deeply.  What are the odds of not one, not two, but SIX teenagers all becoming good friends who ALL have major life problems to overcome?  The author hits every single after school special topic:  drugs, alcohol, parental divorce, death in the family, familial abuse, partying, rape, and homosexuality.  All in one book!

The main plot point of the book is Laurel and her deceased sister, and the mystery of why and how she died.  This is very, very slowly revealed through the series of letters.  Have you read Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver?  Quite similar concept, but I think Oliver did it better.  (And she did it first.)  

My final gripe?  The book wraps up.  That really long list of problems that the teens have?  They all get resolved!  It's not overly cleanly wrapped up, so that's not a spoiler.  You might not see the ending coming, as parts of it are a bit unexpected, but just the fact that it all wraps up lost it reality points in my book.

I would only recommend this book to more mature teens, and would maybe try to hand out Prozac and/or chocolate with it.

*I received an advanced copy of Love Letters to the Dead from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.  Thank you!

Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L. Travers | Book Review

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, talking about this delightfully magical book.  For details, click on the cover image above!

*I checked out my copy of Mary Poppins Comes Back from my local library.