All the Crooked Saints

I will start with Maggie Stiefvater has written some of my all time favorite books- Scorpio Races being top 3. This one is not for the average reader. This is the story of the Soria family. They have lived in Bicho Raro, Colorado for generations. They are Saints and can perform miracles. But there are rules to being a Saint and rules for dealing with the pilgrims who have traveled from afar to receive a miracle. Daniel is the current Saint and he is cousins with Beatriz, the quiet one with no feelings, and Joaquin who wants to be a DJ and has a pirate radio station where he becomes Diablo Diablo at night. The strange thing about miracles is that the first part brings out your darkness, which can manifest in so many strange ways and you then have to figure a way through your darkness for the second part of the miracle. The Sorias cannot help you with the second part or it could bring the darkness upon them. So the town is full of people waiting for their second miracle. Marisita, who is followed by a rain cloud and wears a dress of butterflies, the Moss man who is covered in moss. A set of twins who are wrapped be a snake and cannot break free, a priest with the head of a wolf. All waiting for a second miracle. Pete rolls into town with Tony, a DJ looking for a miracle. Pete has been promised a truck if he works for it. He has a hole in his heart and can’t join the military like he wants, so he is searching for a meaningful life. He locks eyes with Beatriz and his future is no longer certain. When Daniel is taken by the darkness, the Soria cousins and the pilgrims must find a way to bring him home before it is too late. This is a town full of quirky and loveable characters. The imagination to create this novel is unparalleled. I found it charming and interesting and lovely. I also laughed a lot. It may not be for everyone, but to those readers ready to go on a quest for a miracle, I say go for it! Happy reading my friends.

The Last Magician

Magic is alive and well in New York in the early 1900’s. Of course, the gifted are being hunted by The Order, who are determined to eradicate all magic and if they can’t do that, they want to control it! The magicians are trapped, if they try to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, their magic is stripped from their bodies and they are likely to die. Esta is from the near future. She has the power to manipulate time. The Professor is sending her back to find the Magician and the book that will save the future. Esta will do everything she can to help her friends. But as she goes back in time, she finds herself drawn into a community that welcomes her and her talents. She is especially attracted to Harte Darrigan, the one she is sent to betray. As they find themselves after the same prize, Esta and Harte must work together knowing they will only wind up betraying each other in the end. Esta finds herself at odds with what she thinks she should do and what she is being asked to do. Time travel is a tricky thing, and she must use all her powers to save Magic and the new friends she has made. Nothing is as she thought and no one can really be trusted, even the boy she has come to love. I really enjoyed this book, I like the grit of NYC in that time period and can picture the characters bellied up to a bar plotting adventures. Harte is young, scrappy and hungry and out to save the people he loves. Esta is determined, brave and certainly no damsel in distress. I was left on a cliffhanger, so I look forward to the next chapter as Esta finds a way to get even for what has been done to her family. Happy reading my friends!

Thornhill

If you have read The Invention of Hugo Cabret you will enjoy the style of this book. It is told in pictures intermixed with a sad story of bullying. The pictures are of a modern girl who can see the abandoned Thornhill Academy out her window. She lives a lonely life as her parents seem to be working all the time. She sees a girl on the grounds of the academy and investigates. Meanwhile, the written story is of an orphan living at the academy in a different time, where she is bullied by another orphan. She lives in a world of dolls/puppets that she creates. No one will help her with her situation as she does not talk. When she tries to tell what is happening to her, circumstances prevent it from being resolved. The two girls find they have much in common and join their fates together. This is not a happy tale nor does it have a happy ending. It is haunting and disturbing and a definite comment on bullying. If you are up for a creepy tale- you may find this to your liking. Happy reading my friends!

Tower of Dawn

Oh dear fellow readers- when people ask what my favorite series is I always say, that's too hard to pick. But let's be honest, I have finally- 8 books and many tears later- decided that Sarah Maas's two series hold the crown. With the Throne of Glass series taking the top spot. This latest installment is the story of Chaol Westfall and what is happening to him while Aelin and the gang are massing an army to defeat the Valg. Chaol is in a wheelchair since his spine was crushed in Aelin's last stand. He is bitter and angry- mainly at himself and all he couldn't prevent during the battle. He is accompanied by Nesryn as they go to find a healer who may be able to fix his legs. Unfortunately for him, the healer is Yrene Towers, who happens to hate him on sight as Adarlan soldiers killed her mother. They come to an uneasy truce as she works to defeat the darkness in him. Nesyrn is sent to help Prince Sartaq with his Ruks to figure out what is happening in the tribal lands. Yes- of course- love interests change and grow. Those who hate come to love. And Chaol's self-hatred is put to the test by a woman who may or may not have been saved by Aelin in the past. Crazy? I've been reading this for a while and I don't know if it is because I didn't want it to end or because I have always loved Chaol and was so afraid that he may not make it through. Now, he may still not make it through, but I can't wait for his forces to join Rowan's to save Aelin from Maeve- who is NOT what she seems. (I won't spoil that one) I love this world and characters and am so happy to see Chaol get a little redemption after he was so unlikeable for a while. I haven't read Assassin's Blade yet, and I may take a small break from this world- it messes with my head a bit, but I wait with great anticipation for the next novel. I would follow them into battle any day. Happy reading my friends!

Genuine Fraud

One of my favorite surprises was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Totally surprised by it's ending and that doesn't happen often for me. So I was super excited to see her new book was out. This is an inventively told tale. It starts in the present and goes backwards to the beginning of Jules' story. Jules is a complicated girl. She is rich and on the run. But she is also super shady. One of the most unreliable narrators I have met in a long time. Think The Talented Mr. Ripley and you'd be on the right track. As her story is revealed, the reader will realize nothing is as it seems and she certainly can't be trusted to tell the story with any truth. She is a cold character and doesn't make you like her at any point, which is always problematic for my reading tastes, but I read to the end. It's a little bit much for an average reader, most definitely need to be more on the advance end to follow the backwards plot. And for a while I wasn't sure who was who... had a moment when I thought Jules had multiple personalities. Alas- that was not the case, and all her terrible deeds were indeed her own. I can't say I liked this book, but I am glad I read it. If that makes any sense. I am back in my favorite world with Chaol Westfall now so you won't hear from me for at least 660 pages. Happy reading my friends!

Blood for Blood

Spoiler alert! This one took it out on me. I should have known there is no such thing as a happy ending when dealing with Holocaust books. Even alternative versions. This sequel finds Yael, Luka and Felix captured by the SS guards after Yael attempted to kill Hitler. Unfortunately, it was the wrong Hitler- the SS has been employing skin shifters like Yael and all Yael accomplished was outing the fact that she was alive. After Felix turns traitor, the trio finds themselves on the run trying to reach the resistance and Yael's friends. But Felix can't be trusted and death is around every stop on the road home. A surprise friend from Yael's past returns and suddenly she is no longer alone in her quest for revenge for her wolves. Even Luka seems to be on board with taking out Hitler. There is no time for romance as their quest take them into the heart of the Third Reich and many surprising truths are discovered on the way. Sacrifice and honor will determine the fate of an entire race of people. Yael will discover that maybe revenge isn't as satisfying as it may seem and that forgiveness may be the most powerful tool of all. As Washington tells Hamilton in a song- Dying is easy young man, living is harder. Yael has a choice to make and the one she makes is the honorable one. The end of this made me super sad and super proud of this main character. I most definitely have found an author who's style is captivating and highly entertaining while remaining thought provoking. Happy reading my friends!

The Wrong Side of Right

Kate is about to start the summer before her senior year. She has survived the tragic death of her mother and has moved to South Carolina to live with her aunt and uncle. Then the unexpected happens. She finds out who her father is. He is Mark Cooper. He is a senator. He is running for president. And to avoid what will be a huge scandal, he invites her to join the campaign and meet her family. Now, Kate has a stepmother named Meg and a sister and brother- 8 year old twins Gabe and Gracie. Kate doesn't know if they will accept her. After all, Meg and the Senator were married when he cheated on her with Kate's mother. But Kate is hungry for a family and she loves history, so being on the campaign trail intrigues her. Unfortunately not all of Cooper's politics align with Kate's and she may have to compromise her beliefs to fit into the 'platform' of the party. To make things worse, the actual president's son Andy has taken an interest in Kate. Is he really interested in her, or is he trying to spy for his father's campaign? As the campaign rolls on, Kate finds herself pulled in many directions and making many mistakes, all the while trying to find a way to get her father to love her. After the last election, I found this book very interesting and entertaining. At the heart it is a love story. Yes, between Kate and Andy, but also between Kate and her new family. And all love stories have rocky parts. It's getting through them that makes it worth while. Happy reading my friends!