Quite a Marvel

 The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Ella is the first Conjuror to be accepted at the Arcanum Training Institute, a school for Marvellers.  She is excited and nervous.  Will she be accepted by the other students?  By the teachers?  Will she make friends?  Along with the regular perils of growing up and of being different, Ella finds out there are plots, schemes and evil afoot in the Institute.  With the help of her new friend Ella must find out what is going on.

This is fine if you like magical coming of age stories.  There are some moments that were fun, but I was rather unimpressed by the story as a whole.  I felt lost at times because ideas were not explained very well.  The beginning of the story is rather slow.  But my main complaint is that nothing feels new, or original.  I feel like I have heard this story before. It was a not unpleasant, but I never felt excited or engaged.  I have no desire to read the next books in this series. 

I got a free copy of this book from Bookishfirst.com.  

Fixing the roof is not the same as keeping the lid on

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns

In 1990 Seventeen-year-old Marley West pulls into town with her mother.  It has always just been the two of them, but then Marley meets the Joseph brothers, the local roofers, and their lives become intertwined in ways Marley could not foresee.  Soon it seems like the whole Joseph family revolves around Marley.  But the past doesn't die and secrets will out.  Can the family survive the turmoil of old wounds, the chaos of new ones, and the uncertainty of eerie discoveries?

The book starts out with a bang.  There is mystery and murder and the promise of old secrets coming to light.  But then it slows down, a lot.  It took me a while to get interested in the characters here.  But once I did, I was caught.  From the way the book began it was not what I expected.  I thought it was going to be more of a mystery, but it a character driven story about family.  All the parts of being a family, the good, the bad and the ugly.  It is heartbreaking at times and sometimes you want to smack some of the characters, but that's what good writing is all about.  You care enough about the characters to be mad at them, or happy for them, or worry for them.  The story follows the Joseph family through many changes as they try to deal with each other in a whirlwind of love, hate and hurt.  I like the way Burns uses Marley's appearance to show the family from the outside, both to the reader and to the family, so you can see the big picture.  I like how at the end you got to see a little from each person's perspective.  In the end I enjoyed the story a great deal, but after the lighting quick beginning the story took a little while to pick back up for me.  

I got a free copy of this book from Bookish First.

I Curse You

 Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool

A year ago Marlow's mother disappeared, forcing Marlow to give up everything she knew and start a new life as a curse breaker.  But no matter how many cases she can solve for other people she is unable to solve the one of her mother's disappearance.  When a man from her former life comes to her for help she does all she can to break his curse.  And along the way she just might find answers for herself as well.

Now, when I started this book I didn't know there was going to be a sequel.  So, when it ended in the middle of the story I was a little frustrated.  That might have affected my rating a bit.  But if you go in knowing there is a sequel you will not suffer the same fate.  And until the abrupt ending I was enjoying the story.  I like fantasy and magic and this book has lots.  I think Marlow, the main character, is well done.  She is bitter, but not so bitter that you can't like her, she can take care of herself but has some cool friends to help her out, she is confident enough in herself to be different, but is not obnoxious.  The story is full of intrigue, and secrets and magic and lies.  There is romance too.  Which usually I can do without.  But here it fits into the story without taking it over.  As I read, the story picked up speed and I did get wound up in it.  I enjoyed watching all the threads start to come together.  I wanted to get back to it to see how Marlow would work it all out.  It is a fun, rather quick read.  I will probably read the second one because I am involved with the characters now.  And I might seek out more by Katy Rose Pool in the future.

I got a free copy of this book from Bookish First.

It Didn't End With the War

 Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash

As bombs fall over London, Beatrix's parents decide to send her to America, where they hope she will be safe.  She finds a new home in America, one that is hard to leave when the war is over.  Back in London the experience in America is still very much a part of her, and everyone else's life.

Although the war plays a crucial role in this book, this is not a book about the war.  It is a character driven story.  And every chapter is told from the perspective of a different character.  (Always in the third person.) I like how this gives you an insight into the minds of all of the characters and how you get to see the same event from different angles.  You get to see both sides of every coin.  You get to sympathize with the characters in a way that makes it almost impossible to choose sides in any conflict.  The characters are well written, and you feel their emotion through all the turmoil, joy and fear of their lives.  This one decision, to send their daughter to America, changed everyone's life forever and as the book spans many years you can see the repercussions of it as they grow and change.  It's a beautiful. if not always happy, story.  I found myself wanting to get back to the book so I could find out what happened to these people.  I was completely engaged from beginning to end.

I got a free copy of this book from Bookish First.

At What Cost the Stars

 Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby

Jessica is being transported across space to meet her parents on the spaceship, Theseus.  Or so she thought.  But she wakes up in a blood-stained crash site on an unknown planet.  She needs to find out what happened and what to do now.

I thought this book was a lot of fun. I always wanted to get back to it so I could find out what happened next. I liked the way it was told in 'before' and 'after' sections, so you see where she ended up and then go back to figure out how she got there. There is adventure and danger and excitement, but it also makes the reader think about what makes you, you. It presents a lot of questions about identity without becoming overly philosophical to the point that it interferes with the flow of the story. There are some things that happen that don't seem to have any logical (or any other) explanation. And there is a scene (a rather long one) that seems to have nothing to do with the plot. But I have to admit it didn't bother me at the time of the reading. I assumed it would all come together at the end. I was only disappointed when it was over and things that I felt needed to be explained were not explained. It had a couple of hiccups, but I still found it enjoyable and would be interested in reading more by Kirby.

I got a free copy of this book from Bookish First.

Go Get Them, Girl!

 Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

Mrs. Plansky finds that she has been a victim of fraud.  All of her savings and investments are gone.  The police tell her the odds of getting any of her money back (or even catching the criminals) are very low.  Mrs. Plansky, unwilling to be a helpless victim decides to track down the criminals on her own.

I like Mrs. Plansky.  I like the fact that she refuses to fall behind the times just because she is getting older.  I like that she is determined to still find joy and fun in life even though she is a recent widow.  And I loved how she did not panic and fall apart when she finds out her money is gone.  She is a fun character and I enjoyed following her adventure and listening to her internal dialogue as she works through everything.  There were a lot of fun and interesting situations that she gets herself into.  And you even start to like some of the people who scammed her.  I was a little disappointed that this intelligent, savvy woman fell for a scam that seemed so obvious to the reader.  And when she gets to Romania there are a lot of conspicuous coincidences that start to strain believability.  But the book is a lot of fun to read and any criticism I have mentioned here did not lessen my enjoyment at all.

I got a free copy of this book from Bookish First.

Do You Keep Your Promises?

 Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

The principle of Urban Promise Prep School has been murdered.  Three boys happened to be in detention that day and all three had a motive.  With everyone willing to believe that any or all of them could have done it, can they trust each other enough to work together to clear all their names?  

This book grabbed me from the beginning.  I like the way it is told from different perspectives.  I think I got to know the characters more by hearing them all speak in their own voices.  I also liked how you got a different piece from everyone, and you got to try to piece them together like a puzzle.  The writing was good.  Everyone had a unique voice so they didn't all sound alike and they were all believable.  You could meet these people.  You could also feel the frustration as, even in a school that is supposed to be helping them, the deck is stacked against them.  They feel powerless: against the school that feels more like a prison, against the principle who has a wonderful reputation but is not always just, and against the instant belief of almost everyone that they could have done this.  The only issue I have with this book is they try to solve the crime themselves.  I understand that they could not trust the police but sneaking around, breaking into places and confronting possible murderers do not seem like actions that should be condoned as a solution to your problems.  But I liked it all the same.  I like how the characters drew me in.  I like how it explored some weighty issues with honesty but was still able to fit it all into an engaging and entertaining story.  I liked how it kept a good pace and never dragged and how I liked all the different perspectives the same and didn't find myself suffering through someone's story just to get back to someone else's.  There is a lot to recommend this book and I hope to read more by Nick Brooks.

I got a free copy of this book from Bookish First.