The Silver Queen

It's been a minute since I read the first book in the Sovereign series, but one chapter into The Silver Queen and it all came rushing back. It was like picking back up with friends who I hadn't seen in a while. There is no time lapse between this book and the first, but it is one you most definitely need to have read the first one to understand this one. It's a complex story line and readers jumping into this one would become easily lost. The Gilded King ended with the last uncontaminated city becoming tainted by treachery and blood. Julia is one of the few uncontaminated humans left and chaos is breaking out as the Nobles fight each other over the quickly dwindling blood supply (uncontaminated humans). Outside the walls of the city is only more destruction; Cam has taken several trusty silvers with him to go out into the Red to rescue his Queen and try to bring order and safety back to the city. Operating with the same alternating story lines (Cam and Julia); it's great to see the view of the world through such different perspectives. Action packed and full of betrayal, death, romance, and adventure. This is a high fantasy that readers won't want to miss out on! I can't wait for the third installment!

Full Disclosure

I couldn't NOT read this book. I had to know! I had to! And Stormy does not disappoint. It's ridiculous, a little trashy, full of drama, and I adored it. Trump is not the MAIN focus of this book, of course he has key importance, but Stormy does more than just center on him, she goes into depth about her shitty childhood, what led her into stripping, and then eventually porn. She talks about her many romances, her love for horses, how much she has overcome, and of course Trump. Trump and his weirdly shaped dick. Ugh. Stormy is a bit of braggart, I did this, then I did this, and omg can you believe I did this? But if you overlook all that, she has had one hell of an interesting life.

In the House in the Dark of the Woods

Maybe I'll just chalk this up to me not being smart enough to understand all the finer nuances. All I know is that this was lyrical, confusing, pretty, and haunting. None of those should go together but they do. I only picked up this book for the artwork and that's where I screwed up, lol. It's a "suspenseful" fairy-tale that's equal parts creepy and equal parts confusing. A young wife goes into the woods to pick berries and gets horribly lost. She wanders around and is eventually helped by a woman named Eliza, who lives in a creepy ass cottage. There's Captain Jane, a weird bird, a girl in yellow, and others, but honestly this story got a bit too weird for me. I can't even find the strength to summarize it. Hard pass.

Last Christmas in Paris

I find novels written in letters beyond charming and this World War I novel was charming. It very much reminded me of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in that two charming characters fall in love with each from a distance. Evie is a young woman with too much energy to be pent up at home while her brother and his best friend goes off to war. She starts writing them both immediately, trying to keep their spirits up and live vicariously through them. She's stuck at home attending tea parties, knitting scarves for soldiers, and writing the most humorous and heartfelt letters to Will (her brother) and Tom (his best friend). As the years progress and the tone of the war changes, she starts to find herself falling for Tom, but she's pretty sure it's one sided. What would Tom ever see in his best friend's younger sister? Romantic, thrilling, and full of wit and charm, this novel will be sure to charm readers.

Lady of a Thousand Treasures

Inspirational readers will be a big fan of this historical fiction involving, murder, theft, intrigue, romance, and a dash of adventure. Miss Eleanor Sheffield is practically running her late father's antiquities and appraisal shop. Her uncle is in declining health and it's on her and another young man to keep the business afloat. Many of the aristocracy and wealthy have reservations about a young lady's knowledge in treasures, but she was trained by the best, her father. When a large estate of treasures is placed in Eleanor's care to decide whether the collection should say with the deceased man's son or go to a museum, she finds herself torn. The son in question is her former crush, and she fears she still has feelings for him. What's a girl to do? If that wasn't complicated enough, counterfeits keep cropping up, and she discovers that bills have gone unpaid. How will she ever keep her family's business open? A delicate, inspirational romance with lush atmosphere.

Fox 8

I don't know what I was expecting, but I will admit, I picked up this book because it was small and it was beautiful Fox 8 is a dark short story about an endearing fox who is enamored by humans. He sits outside of a house night after night listening to the mother read to her children and over time Fox 8 learns how to speak like a "Yuman" and read. He puts his newfound skills to use for his pack to discover what is going on to their forest. Land is being clear and there are more trucks and white boxes every day. Soon their environment is gone and they are starving. Fox 8 is not so impressed with the yumans now. A chilling tale from a cute wolfs perspective on humans screwing up the environment.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I ADORED this book! It now ranks as one of the most moving coming of age stories I've ever read. It was poignant, heartfelt, and filled bits of humor and unique ways of looking at the world. Francie and her younger brother are no stranger to poverty. They've been dirt poor, but have found ways to find the beauty while surrounded by dirt. They live in Brooklyn, New York with a hard working mother and a lovable drunk father who is good hearted but useless. Francie is an odd child, she fiercely loves her family, loves learning, and is always questioning. She has grand dreams about being an author or a playwright and she loves to write. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is loosely based on the author's childhood in pre-World War I New York which doesn't surprise me at all. The voice of young Francie is so knowing, so delicate, and so well understood. A wonderful novel.