Reading on a Theme: Summer Camp

 I love a good summer camp setting. Campfires, hiking, bug spray and sunscreen, swimming in the late. Camp is such a great way to get into a summery mode. Here are five books that will take you to summer camp.

Camp Reynolds:

After taking a mail-in DNA test, Abby learns she has a full sister, Savannah, whom she's never met. Confused over why her parents never told her about her sister and feeling like a consolation prize, Abby doesn't tell them she's found out about Savvy or that she will be spending the whole summer with Savannah at camp. Suddenly having a sister doesn't mean that you suddenly have a new best friend, and clearly there's some backstory behind the sisters' parents. You Have a Match would make for a great summer read. Emma Lord doesn't take the easy way out with this story. Finding out you have a secret sibling makes for a rocky ride. Out January 12, 2021. Review copy from NetGalley. 

 

 

 

Bear Meadow Camp:

A Kasie West book set at summer camp! Count me in! Avery Young is headed for two months of family summer camp in the California mountains. Being off the grid makes it easy for Avery to avoid the drama she left behind at home, for better or worse. A series of events makes Avery realize that she needs to take more risks and that happens to include spending time with Brooks, the lead guitarist of the camp band. As a member of the staff, Brooks is strictly off limits, but as Avery sees Brooks reaching for his goals, it makes her want to face her fears too. Sunkissed is sweet and very cute. While it is a little predictable and requires a hefty suspension of disbelief, it is also the best kind of fun and fluffy summer romance. Out May 4, 2021. Review copy from NetGalley.  

 

 

Camp Daybreak:

Lucy has spent every summer at the church camp run by her father. but this summer is different. Her mother's cancer has returned, and Lucy's mom might not have much time left. Somehow Lucy's parents talk her into taking a job as a counselor at the summer camp on the other side of the lake. It's a camp for kids who have been through tough times, and Lucy feels a little out-of-her depth. What do you say to kids whose world is falling apart when your world is crumbling too? I found Lucy's struggle with her faith after finding out that her mom's cancer has returned to be so poignant and heartfelt. I've long been a big fan of Emery Lord, and The Names They Gave Us is my favorite of her books. 

 

 

 

Camp Blue Springs:

Sam is off to summer camp to be a counselor to a group of young girls. Her boyfriend, Eli, is headed to Europe, all summer, and at camp, Sam is undeniably drawn to Gavin. What I really liked about Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe is that it shows how you can be doing awesome in one aspect of your life (it was so gratifying to see Sam hit it out of the park with those campers) while simultaneously really flubbing up another aspect of it. It's not pretty, but it is very realistic. Sarah Mlynowski's book is definitely on the older side of YA. Sam has just finished her freshman year of college, and so this book is not appropriate for younger reader of YA. (CW: There is cheating here if that is a turn-off for you.)

 

 

 

Knights Day Camp:

On her first birthday Abbi Hope Goldstein became the face of 9/11 when she was captured in a famous photograph and dubbed Baby Hope. Fifteen years later, Abbi is looking for one summer of normal where she's not Baby Hope. Her solution is to become a camp counselor at a day camp two towns over. She won't find the anonymity she seeks, but she will find Noah Stern, who has his own reasons for obsessing over the Baby Hope photo. Hope and Other Punchlines is a beautiful, poignant, funny, and hopeful read. I absolutely loved the relationship between Abbi and Noah. Julie Buxbaum's books always perfectly balance serious subjects with a bit of lightheartedness and a whole lot of humanity. 

 

 

 

Reading on a Theme: Witches

The Halloween season is my very favorite reading season. If I had my way, I would just settle in for a month or two of spooky, atmospheric reads. If you haven't settled on a Halloween read yet, we've got five great options for you here.

More Halloween recommendations here.

Child of a Witch:
Julia and her bother, Dack, are part of Spira City's underground. Working for a group of spies and thieves, Julia finds herself spying in a grand house full of mystery. Her interest in the house's activities are piqued when a witch and her young son enter the household. Julia Vanishes has such a rich setting. I love that Spira City is split into many different sections and it's easy to tell the rich areas from poor ones based on their names. There are many religions in this book as well as folklore, witches, and magic, all with great details. For instance, witches only do magic when they write things down. Catherine Egan has truly created a magical world and I loved every minute. (It was also a great audiobook!)

Necromancer in Training:
Rin Chupeco's The Bone Witch is gorgeously written and so interesting. Tea is a bone witch, meaning she can raise beings from the dead. Powerful and feared, Tea must leave home to train with a more experienced necromancer. This first book in the series mostly chronicles Tea's training. However, the book is set up as a story within a story, and so the reader gets glimpses of a more powerful Tea recounting her tale, which definitely piqued my interest. The Bone Witch reminded me more than anything of Miriam Foster's City of a Thousand Dolls. It has a similar geisha-like training aspect to it. The setting is truly rich and lavish. I'm definitely curious about the sequel. Review copy from NetGalley.


A Family Affair:
At River's new high school the three most mysterious, most popular students are the Grace siblings, Summer, who is River's age and her older siblings, twins Fenrin and Thalia. Everyone says the Graces are witches, and River, wants nothing more than to be taken into their circle. The Graces by Laure Eve has a very mysterious air to it. River is an incredibly unreliable narrator, and there's this sense throughout that she is leaving out something big, but what is it? And is there really magic or not? River's interest in the Graces is a full-on obsession, and as the pieces fall into place, the reader starts to understand why. This book is an excellent Halloween pick. Review copy from NetGalley.

Rose and Moon:
When the Moon was Ours by Anne-Marie McLemore is the unique story of a girl, Miel, born of water and with roses sprouting out of her wrists, and Sam, known to the town as Moon because of the beautiful moon creations he hangs on trees. Miel and Sam are inseparable and have been friends for sometime. As strange as the pair are they aren't nearly as strange as the Bonner sisters who the town whispers are witches. The Bonner girls have a fascination with Miel's roses and believe in their magical abilities. They'd do whatever it takes to get them from Miel. The story was third point omniscient which made the story very different than anything I have ever read before. The details in the story were lovely and it was a short pleasant read. Review copy from NetGalley.


Baking Magic:
Maire is a baker who can endow her treats with magical qualities. She has no memories before the day she came to live with in her small village. Things go horribly wrong when marauders attack the town and sell Maire into slavery. Her captor forces her to bake cakes for witches' homes and gingerbread boys. All the while, a mysterious, ghostly being, Fyel visits Maire. He's trying to help her, but he can't touch her or tell her anything outright. Who is Maire? Is she a witch or an angel? Charlie N. Holmberg tells the most creative and strange stories. Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet has really stuck with me, and I don't think I will ever forget this bizarre and beautiful tale. Review copy from NetGalley.


Julia Vanishes reviewed by Paige.
The Bone Witch, The Graces, and Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet reviewed by JoLee.
When the Moon was Ours reviewed by Sarah.

13 Spooky Reads for the Halloween Season

It's that time of year again--time to pull out all the creepy, spooky, ghostly books for a month of Halloween reads. Today we are linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for a Top Ten Tuesday all about Halloween.

What are you reading this Halloween Season? Today we're featuring thirteen (because that is the spookiest number, after all) YA and Middle-Grade books that you might not want to read with the lights off.

And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich: Sisters Silla and Nori must navigate their aunt's creepy, haunted house where Nori plays with a ghost in the basement.

The Delphi Effect by Rysa Walker: Hitchhiking ghosts, government conspiracies, kids with weird and creepy powers. This book is a perfect addition to a Halloween reading list.

The Heartless City by Andrea Berthot: A retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde where Jekyll unwittingly created a race of heart-eating monsters.

As I Descended by Robin Talley: A retelling of Macbeth set at a southern boarding school where aspiring power-couple Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten unleash a dark power.

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace: A girl rises from her grave a year after her murder. Who killed her and what has she transformed into?

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud: Reading the newest addition to the Lockwood & Co. series is my favorite Halloween tradition. I'm so happy but so scared all at once.

The Stranger Game by Cylin Busby: In this suspenseful thriller, Nico's sister returns after a four-year absence but can't remember anything about where she's been or why she vanished.

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather: Samantha Mather, descendant of Cotton Mather of Salem Witch Trial infamy, moves to Salem where she encounters unhappy Descendants and a unruly ghost.

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab: In a city divided between monsters and humans true enemies are not easy to spot.

Omega City by Diana Peterfreund: A middle-grade adventure featuring government conspiracies, Cold War era technology, and a hidden underground bunker.

The Graces by Laure Eve: Everyone says the three Grace sisters are witches but no one knows for certain. River will do anything to become part of their circle.

A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachman: Anouk is selected to help with the excavation of an underground palace in Paris and becomes a pawn in a creepy and sinister game.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar: Tamaya and Marshall take a shortcut home through a forbidden wood in this middle-grade thriller.

13 Spooky Reads for the Halloween Season

We love a seasonally appropriate read. And, really, there is no reading season we love more than the Halloween season. That's why the first thing we do every Halloween season is pick out which books we are going to read during October. After that we can focus on the less important aspects of the season, like our kids' costumes.

And, as thirteen is the creepiest number, here are the thirteen books we've piled up on our bedside tables for long nights of spooks and creaks.

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle: Cara's family calls October accident season because at that time every year horrible things happen their family.

Spooks and Saints by Cherie Davis: Paige lives in Utah, so she's excited to read these ghost legends from Salt Lake City.

A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis: A mad girl becomes an assistant to a criminal investigator. I just recently noticed the hand clutching the girl's foot on the cover. Yipes!

Beastly Bones by William Ritter: I am so excited to read this sequel to the exceptional Jackaby. Halloween is the perfect time for more mysteries of the weird kind.

The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson: I've been waiting for October to read the next installment in The Shades of London Series.

The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud: Reading the next book in The Lockwood & Co. series has become something of a Halloween tradition. This one is at the top of my list.

The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow: October seems like the perfect month to read a book about a girl working for a reality show about ghost hunters.

Shutter by Courtney Alameda: Micheline Helsing can see the auras of the undead. Yes, she is a descendant of those Van Helsings, and she's trained to destroy ghosts and monsters. This is definitely the creepiest cover of the group. I'm scared just looking at it.

A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano: Pram Bellamy can see ghosts. I've heard nothing but good things about this middle-grade tale that would be perfect for this especially spooky time of year.

This Monstrous Thing by MacKenzi Lee: Last year I read Frankenstein during the Halloween season. It seems only fitting that I should read a reimagining of that classic this Halloween season.

Compulsion by Martina Boone: Compulsion is a true Southern Gothic tale with a plantation setting, ghosts, and ancient curses.

The Unquiet by Mikaela Everett: A haunting story about a girl from a parallel world who's been trained to kill and replace her duplicate in the other dimension. Seeing as I love parallel reality stories, assassin stories, and spooky stories, this sounds like a winner.

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel: A mysterious middle-grade tale about a boy, his sick brother, and the queen wasp who invades his dreams.

Well, that should keep us busy all month.


P.S. Last year's picks.

Highly Anticipated Releases for the Rest of 2015

The year is more than halfway over, but there are so many great books coming out in the second half of the year. Here are fifteen that we are excited about:

Beastly Bones by William Ritter:

I'm so excited for the sequel to the fabulous Jackaby.

Time's Divide by Rysa Walker: 

Time's Edge was crazy amazing. I'm itching to get my hands on the sequel.

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow: 

I've loved everything that Erin Bow has written.

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle: 

The synopsis and cover are very intriguing.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon: 

 I've heard this book is absolutely lovely.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas: 

By September 1st, I'll be all caught up and ready to read book four in the Throne of Glass series.

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson: 

The alternate wild west, gold rush setting has me hooked.

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray: 

How did they manage to make this cover even more beautiful than the first in the series?

Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins: 

You know I love time travel books.

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin: 

I'm really curious about this alternate history where Hitler won.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell:

Rainbow Rowell. Simon and Baz. Enough said.

The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud: 

I'll be pulling out this ghost story come Halloween.

Winter by Marissa Meyer: 

The conclusion of the Lunar Chronicles!

The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas: 

It's the conclusion of the Elemental Trilogy!

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan: 

I was just thinking about how I'm ready to listen to another of Rick Riordan's tales.

JoLee's Second Quarter Review

I'm linking up with Janssen of Everyday Reading and Dana of Something Good again to give a quick(ish) recap of last quarter's reading. I read 33 books in April, May, and June. Only 4 audio books this time, but I had the whole month of June off, so that helped. You have already seen many of these books on this blog. Others are slotted for upcoming posts (any guesses what the topics will be), and some you may never see on the blog again.

April

• A Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman (featured here)
  
This sequel to Prisoner of Night and Fog has a "don't go back into the haunted house" quality to it.

• All the Rage by Courtney Summer (featured here)
Summer's books are always gritty and tough.

• The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathyrn Holmes  (featured here)
  A good survival book.

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (audio) (featured here)
Finally joining the Throne of Glass party.  

• Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (book club)
My first Sanderson. I know. 

• The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows (featured here)
A dethroned queen, a spy, a stuck-up prince, a handsome guard, a masked vigilante.

• Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby (featured here)
  
Return to Me with teenagers. And surfing.

• Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff (featured here)
A great debut about a teen whose best friend commits suicide.

• Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick (featured here)
  
A girl mourns the death of her brother. And surfing. 

 

May

• The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury (audio) (featured here)
What an interesting fantasy setting. And the audio version is great. Loved the reader.

• Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge (featured here)
Best Red Riding Hood retelling I've ever read. I gave it 5-stars.

•  The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris (featured here)
 Love romances that navigate that tricky bridge from friends to more-than-friends.

• Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos
I loved this Project Runway-inspired dystopia.

• Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (featured here)
The beautiful cover houses an equally lovely interior.

• Illusionarium by Heather Dixon (featured here)
It was worth the 4-year wait for Dixon's second novel.

• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (audio) (featured here)
Loved the dark and violent Ancient Rome-inspired setting.

• Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (featured here)
A stunning book about mental illness.

• Maphead by Ken Jennings (audio) (book club)
After finishing this book I started playing geography trivia games. 

• Time's Edge by Rysa Walker (audio) (featured here)
Wow. So intense. I am on pins and needles waiting for book 3.

• Tiny, Pretty Thing by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton (featured here)
I have mixed feeling about this one. So cutthroat and lots of classic ballet stereotypes.

• Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater
  
Picked this up at BEA and read it before I read any others.

• 84 Ribbons by Paddy Eger (featured here)
The life of a ballerina in 1957. Compelling plot but stilted dialog. Still, I kind of want to know what happens next.

 

June

• Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard (featured here)
The Phantom of the Opera in a ballet setting works really well. 

• The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West (featured here)
Every Kasie West novel is an absolute delight.

• Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (featured here)
  
This book had me silently wiping away tears.

• The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman
A world where spells can solve your problems but not without side effects.

• Remember by Eileen Cook
Truly some of the worst parents in all of YA.

• The Edge of Forever by Melissa E. Hurst (featured here)
This time travel novel has some pacing issues, but I liked the futuristic Denver setting.

• The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (audio) (book club)
The story of the rowing team that won in the Olympics in 1936 is 5-stars good. 

• Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider (featured here)
Extraordinary Means is extraordinarily beautiful.

• The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi (featured here)
Disappointed by this one. I thought it was kind of boring.

• Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (featured here)
Absolute perfection. A kidnapped boy returns home. The girl next door. And surfing.

• 99 Days by Katie Cotugno (featured here)
A summer with the two boys she hoped to never see again.

JoLee's First Quarter Review

I'm linking up with Janssen of Everyday Reading and Dana of Something Good again to give a quick(ish) recap of last quarter's reading. I read 30 books in January, February, and March. The 9 audio books certainly helped. You have already seen many of these books on this blog. Others are slotted for upcoming posts (any guesses what the topics will be), and some you may never see on the blog again.

• Landline by Rainbow Rowell (audio)
  
A final Christmas story for the New Year.

• A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas (featured here)
Sadly, not all I'd hoped for in a Sleeping Beauty retelling.

• Golden Son by Pierce Brown  (featured here)
  Like many of its characters, this book left me bleeding on the floor.

• Finding Paris by Joy Preble (featured here)
A high-stakes scavenger hunt.  

• Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (audio)
My favorite of the His Fair Assassin trilogy. 

• Twisted Fate by Norah Olson (featured here)
A surprisingly surprising psychological thriller.

• Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale
  
Princess Academy collides with the French Revolution.

• Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers (featured here)
A mash-up of The Amazing Race and Who Do You Think You Are. And it works.

• A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
  
It had been too long since I'd read a story by the author of Ella Enchanted.

• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (featured here)
Dystopian fiction crossed with X-Men. I'm a fan.

• Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (audio)
Fabulously fun steampunk about a spy school for girls.

•  Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (featured here)
 Sisters and the aftermath of a terrible accident.

• Fairest by Marissa Meyer (audio)
Well, now we know how truly messed up and scary Queen Lavana is.Yikes.

• Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan (book club)
This tale about a smart, socially awkward girls whose parents die wraps up a little too neatly.

• Dangerous Deceptions by Sarah Zettel
I had to get this one from InterLibrary Loan. I'm glad I gave the series a second chance.

• The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale (featured here)
5-stars and much love for the conclusion of the Princess Academy Series.

• The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall (audio) (featured here)
This book has a Da Vinci code vibe with secrets buried in artifacts and huge conspiracies.

• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (book club)
 An impressive girl with a rock solid family. 

• Death Marked by Leah Cypess (featured here)
This book just did not work as a series conclusion for me, at all.

• Shadow Study by Maria Snyder (featured here)
Completely revived by love of the Shadow Study series.

• Stolen Magic by Gail Carson Levine (featured here)
This book reminded me a bit of Tamora Pierce's Melting Stones.

• Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman (audio)
This book imagines what it would be like to grow up under the protection of Adolf Hitler.

• Bone Gap by Laura Ruby (featured here)
I can hardly even handle how exquisitely lovely this book is.

• The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
  
This one reminded me a bit of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone but not as fabulous.

• Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers (audio)
Annith's story has some rocky bits, but I'm glad I stuck with the series.

• Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger (audio)
I might read this series just for the awesome names.

• Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (featured here)
At its conclusion, I was so sad to leave this world and these characters behind.

• The Quick by Lauren Owens (audio)
A sprawling vampire book for adults.

• Lies I Told by Michelle Zink
  
After how long it took me to get through Shadow Scale I enjoyed this quick read.

• At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
A great new novel about Scotland during World War II by the author of Water for Elephants.

Fourth Quarter Reading Review

I'm linking up with Janssen of Everyday Reading again to give a quick(ish) recap of last quarter's reading. There are 33 books on the list this quarter. 5 were audio books. You have already seen many of these books on this blog. Others are slotted for upcoming posts, and some you may never see on the blog again.

• Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot  (featured here)
The first in a streak of retellings.

• The Fall by Bethany Griffin (featured here)
  
A creep reimagining of " The Fall of the House of Usher."

• Only With You: A Modern Retelling of Emma by Cecilia Gray (featured here)
  Wherein all of Jane Austin's characters go to the same high school.

• Love, Lucy by April Linder (feature upcoming)
Love Room with a View. Love Love, Lucy. 

• Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff (audio) (feature upcoming)
A ghostly story that could be fun for Halloween or a sticky summer

• The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde (featured here)
 Jasper Fforde is so incredibly weird in all the best possible ways.

• Stray by Elissa Sussman (featured here)
A sinister fairy-tale setting.

• Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond (audio) (featured here)
Romeo and Juliet as circus performers. 

• The Wonder by Colleen Oakes (featured here)
The Queen of Heart's back story. 

• The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright
  
A book club pick about a woman who lives in a dump in Cambodia.

• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (featured here)
  
Huge Maggie fan here.

•  While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell (audio) (feature upcoming)
 I'm working on a Sleeping Beauty post.

• Six Feet Over It by Jennifer Longo (featured here)
  
The graveyard setting was too good to pass up.

• Famous Last Words by Katie Alender (feature upcoming)
This creepy ghost story surpassed expectations in the best of ways.

• Firebug by Lish McBride (featured here)
  
Girls with fire magic. Perhaps the prettiest group of covers ever.

• The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud (audio) 
I love Lucy, Lockwood, and George. More please. Tens stars for the audio version.

• Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater (featured here)
Wow. I liked this book so much more than I thought I would.

• The Fire Artist by Daisy Whitney (featured here)
 A mash-up of circus performing and professional sports with elemental magic and genies. 

• Empire of Shadows by Miriam Forster (featured here)
The Bhinian Empire is a great setting. 

• Ignite by Sara B. Larson (featured here)
Better than the first in the series. 

• A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (featured here)
Love those parallel reality books.

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (audio)
My favorite book club pick of the year. 

• Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas (featured here)
Darling Christmas Eve story. 

• No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown (featured here)
A real beauty.

• Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch (featured here)
Everyone else loved it, but I couldn't finish it.

• Get Happy by Mary Amato (featured here)
A cute story about a girl and a ukelele.

• Jackaby by William Ritter (audio) (feature upcoming)
Loved this quirky historical fantasy.

• Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay (featured here)
I was absolutely blown away by this Sleeping Beauty story.

• Twelfth Night by Deanna Raybourn (featured here)
I miss Lady Julia, so I was happy to get a little holiday novella.

• The Unhappening of Genesis Lee by Shallee McArthur (feature upcoming)
The storing and forgetting of memories. Such an interesting premise.

• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (feature upcoming)
  
A great recommendation from a dear friend.

• The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (feature upcoming)
  
I also loved the sequel.

• The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (audio)
  
Fabulous conclusion to the Heroes of Olympus Series.

The Holidays with Lady Julia

I love Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey Series, and it is a really good one if you are looking for a Holiday novel or novella. One of the novels is set during Christmas time, and Ms Raybourn has written four novellas set during traditional English holidays.

Their First Christmas Together:
Silent in the Sanctuary is just the second in the Lady Julia Grey series. In this installment, Lady Julia returns to England from Italy just in time for Christmas. Unbeknownst to her, Brisbane, whom Lady Julia had employed to discover her late husband's murderer in the earlier installment, is one of the Christmas house-guests. And, as before, their relationship is full of friction and fireworks. When someone is found murdered in the March family chapel, Brisbane and Lady Julia are forced once again to take up their discordant partnership.

This book is so much fun. I love the crazy March family. I love how Julia is just feisty enough to be a match for Brisbane. I love what Deanna Raybourn did with the old literary troupe: British house party, everyone's snowed in, someone is murdered, throw a ghost in there for good measure and let the games begins. 

Of Ms Raybourn's Lady Julia novellas, Silent Night and Twelfth Night and particularly appropriate for this time of year.

Last year I read Silent Night around Christmas time last year. The story takes place after the fifth book in the series, The Dark Enquiry, so if you haven't read all the books prepare for some serious spoilers. In the novella, Lady Julia and Brisbane (and heaps of animals) go to Bellmont Abbey for Christmas. Of course, there is a bit of a mystery. Jewels go missing, Lord Bellmont is sulking, a ghost is sighted. It's great fun, and, as I had been missing Lady Julia and Brisbane, I was happy to get a little visit with them in this novella.  

This December I read Twelfth Night. This traditional English holiday marks the coming of the Epiphany and concludes the Twelve Days of Christmas, so clearly, it is perfect for the holiday season. This time the whole March clan is gathered at Bellmont Abbey as it is customary for their family to put on the Twelfth Night Revels for their English village. I love having the whole March clan together because there is always a ruckus and a good bit of eccentricity. It was particularly fun to get to know some of Lady Julia's young nieces and nephews. The mystery this time involves an abandoned baby and a haunted cottage. 

The other two novellas in the Night Stories, Midsummer Night and Bonfire Night, are set during Midsummer Night and All Hallow's Eve. I'm putting them on my list for the seasons to come.

All reviews by JoLee.

 

JoLee's Third Quarter Review

Today I'm thrilled to be linking up with Everyday Reading, one of my very favorite blogs. Janssen writes about her family, style, food, and of course books. She is living abroad in London for the next three months, so there are lots of fun travel posts right now too.

This quarter I read 35 books. 10 of which were audio books. Some you have already seen on this blog. Some are slotted for upcoming posts, and some you may never see on the blog again.

• Dissonance by Erika O'Rourke 
I kind of have a thing for parallel reality books right now. This is a fun one.

• The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt (featured here)
I have loved all of Lindsey Leavitt's books, but this is my favorite.

• The Vanishing Season by Jodi Anderson Lynn (featured here)
  It's not really a ghost story. It's not really a mystery. It's about three friends who just happen to be living with looming danger.

• The One by Kiera Cass (audio)
America kind of drove me crazy by the end of the series.  

• The Winter People (featured here)
A ghostly story that could be fun for Halloween or winter. 

• A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (audio)
Not my favorite book club pick. 

• The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton (audio) (featured here)
I loved this one with an unreasonable fervor. 

• The Fire Wish by Amber Lough (featured here)
Genies, princesses, and swapped identities. 

• Unknown by Melissa Pearl (featured here)
A fantasy that kind of dragged. 

• Half a King by Joe Abercrombie (featured here)
A fantasy that completely won me over. 

• One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington
Another parallel reality book. 

•  Tiger's Curse by Collenn Houck (audio) (featured here)
All of my friends have read this series, but I don't think I'll pick up the next book. 

• My Real Children by Jo Walton
A third parallel reality book. Look for a reading on a theme featuring parallel realities next month. 

• The Strange Maid by Tessa Gratton (audio)
I didn't love the sequel to The Lost Sun with the same burning passion, but it's still a great series. 

• The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
This is a fantasy-lover's dream. It's a great series for people who miss Harry Potter. 

• One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (featured here)
My second Jojo Moyes book. I liked it better than The Girl You Left Behind. 

• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
It started off a little rocky, but I loved Lara Jean by the end. 

• The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal (audio)
I listened to the audio book and was so delighted to find it has the same narrator as Seraphina. 

• The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas (featured here)
Fabulous sequel to The Burning Sky. I can't wait for the next. 

• Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (featured here)
This heady romance made me stay up way too late. 

• Watership Down by Richard Adams
Another book club book. I loved it when I was a kid and enjoyed the nostalgia as an adult.

• Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (featured here)
I don't think it's the tour de force that many seem to, but it's definitely something special. 

• The Jewel by Amy Ewing (featured here)
The Handmaid's Tale for young adults. 

• Falling into Place by Amy Zhang (featured here)
If you can handle the depressing subject and self-destructive teens, it's well written,

• Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes (featured here)
I couldn't finish this one.

• City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Foster (audio)
The Asian-inspired setting is really interesting. And the mystery/ fantasy hybrid reminds me of Terrier by Tamora Pierce.

• Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White (featured here)
This book seemed to get a lot of ad space, but it's not my favorite historical fantasy. 

• Pills and Starships by Lydia Millet (audio) (featured here)
I was absolutely blown away by this post-apocalyptic novel.

• Starry Night by Isabel Gillies (featured here)
The anti-Isla and the Happily Ever After 

• The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters (featured here)
Suffrage and hypnosis. It's an interesting pairing. 

• The Art Whisperer by Charlotte Elkins (featured here)
A fun mystery featuring an art conservator. 

• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The final book club pick on this list. I think Julian Fellows took his inspiration for Carson from this book. 

• The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg (audio) (featured here)
I've never had an author take me into a beating heart before. 

• Playing with Matches by Suri Rosen
A cute tale of a teenage matchmaker. 

• Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (audio)
On the one hand I read it super fast, and, on the other hand, I am flummoxed that the girls haven't resolved any of these issues in ten years time. 

13 Spooky Reads for the Halloween Season

Today is the first of October and that means that Halloween is creeping ever closer. We love a seasonally appropriate read. And, really, there is no reading season we love more than the Halloween season. It's is the perfect time to pull out a creepy book and settle in for a night of haunts. As thirteen is the scariest number, here are thirteen spooky reads. We'll freely admit that quite of few of these have caused us to lie awake long into the night.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield: This is one of my favorite Gothic novels. It's so true in style and character to the original Gothic novels of the 18th and 19th century.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson: I fervently wish that the third book in The Shades of London series was out this fall so I could listen to it for Halloween. These tales of London's secret ghost police and both creepy and funny.

The Fall by Bethany Griffin: This retelling of "The Fall of the House of Usher" is absolutely perfect for a Halloween read. It is absolutely worthy in every way of Poe's original.

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs: I love the Mercy Thompson series. Bone Crossed is the spookiest of the series, as Mercy goes to Spokane to help out a semi-friend with her ghost problem. 

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray: Rebel Angels is the second and scariest book in the Gemma Doyle series. The insane asylum and the girls in white totally creep me out. 

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud: The first in the Lockwood and Company series, The Screaming Staircase, was on my list of favorites last year. I am so excited to listen to the sequel this Halloween.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: This book was my creepy Halloween read in 2012. The monsters are pretty terrifying. Ransom Riggs incorporates photographs into the story and some of them are pretty creepy too. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane  by Neil Gaiman: Neil Gaiman has a magic touch. This is a short little tale about terrible, scary, magical things that happen to a little boy. It is kind of perfect.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: If you want a Halloween read that is not too scary, but still is suited to the season, this is a good choice. Bod is raised by a gang of haunts in a cemetery.  

Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow: If you want something really scary this is the book for you. The White Hands are petrifying. When I read a ghost story I want it to have a lot of atmosphere and this book has atmosphere to spare.

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff: Hannah is haunted by the ghost of her dead best friend, Lillian. As if that isn't scary enough there is a serial killer about murdering young girls. They occasionally haunt Hannah as well.

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourne: Don't let the cover turn you off, the third in the Lady Julia Grey series is a fabulous Gothic tale.  With its Wuthering Heights parallels, from the wild moor, to the returned gypsy, and the crumbling manor house, Silent on the Moor is just so dang creepy.  

Terrier by Tamora Pierce: Beka Cooper has some unusual talents. She can hear the ghosts that are carried by pigeons. Soon Beka is on the trail of the "Shadow Snake" who holds little children for ransom.  


P.S. You also might enjoy: Reading on a Theme: Hauntings