So I read 7 books in February and with my college workload and it being the shortest month of the year I am very happy with this but I am hoping to double this in March.
1. Selected by Barb Han *** - I have heard of Barb Han in the past, although Selected will be my first read from this particular author, so I am very excited to see what this book has in store for me. The opening to Selected was interesting, to say the least. We are introduced to Tori, who attends Easton prep school, however, she is one of the lowest ranks of student as a Sponsored student. Along with her friend Adalynn, they must study hard in order to avoid being kicked out of the school, through Adalynn we learn that Tori was admitted for her dance abilities but when an elite student, Caius takes an interest in her she immediately begins wondering why someone like him would want to bother with someone like her but she agrees to meet him later on, hopefully, to find out.
2. The Five by Hallie Rubenhold ***** - This book is split into five main sections, one for each of the Ripper’s attributed victims; Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elisabeth Stride, Catherine “Kate” Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. The introduction tells us of the duality of London in the year between 1887-1888 and how it was almost like two completely different cities depending on where you were at the time. Rubenhold’s intention with this book isn’t to hunt down a killer and places blame but to give back what was stolen from the Ripper’s victims, their dignity. The five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper were mothers, sisters and children all before they meet their ends at the hands of the Ripper in the Autumn of Terror.
3. The Gender Game by Bella Forrest ***** - I have read both the Gender Game and the Gender Secret a while ago but took a break from the series due to work commitments and I am jumping back into it. Rather than jumping straight into the Gender Lie, I am starting from the beginning to refresh myself and to see the blossoming relationship between Violet and Viggo all over again. We are introduced to the worlds of Matrus and Patrus, one ruled by women, the other ruled by men. In Matrus young boys are tested the see if they have the correct personality traits to continue living in Matrus, boys who fail the test are taken away and never seen again. Violet’s younger brother Timothy has been marked as a boy who failed the test and she attempted to smuggle him out of Matrus to the care of her cousin Cad, in Patrus. However, this doesn’t go to plan when Timothy accidentally cries out for Violet and all three end up getting caught.
4. Blood Countess by Lana Popovic ***** - I managed to get an ARC of this YA horror release that really caught my eyes as it is based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula. Set in 17th century Hungary, we are introduced to Anna Darvulia, a scullery maid for Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Anna meets the Countess for the first time at 13, when a kitten she rescued runs in front of their wedding carriage and she immediately feels a connection to the beautiful woman. We also know that both the Countess and Anna like women as it is in the prologue that they do become lovers at some point, and I am excited to see that. 3 year later she is called on by the Countess again for her healing skills and we learn a lot about Anna, her disdain for men and how she refuses to let her mother’s life become hers as she’d prefer a life of servitude over marriage.
5. Wilder Girls by Rory Power *** - So when Wilder Girls was announced it wasn’t something that really appealed to me but after sitting on my shelf for weeks I decided to give it a go. I know the genre tags for this are a little confusing so I am hoping the book itself is interesting, I am aware that this is also a book with either dual or multiple points of views which I am not too keen on, but we will see. We are introduced to our three main protagonists: Hetty, Byatt and Reese. These three girls all attended Raxter School for Girl when the virus known as the Tox hit. It killed off a lot of the teachers and students but those who have survived had strange mutations, Hetty is missing an eye and Reese has scales that cover her one hand. Unlike a lot of virus outbreaks novel this book doesn’t start with the initial outbreak but 18 months after on an isolated island, so we are only getting a small view of the world at this time. We can see very clearly that Hetty has feelings for Reese but believes her to be unattainable so doesn’t even voice them to her friend. The girls have all broken off into small groups but the Tox flares up in waves and Byatt is due for her next flare up very soon. From the outset of the novel, the tone is very dark, and I am excited to see where it is going to go.
6. Dear Wallflower by Sara Secora ***** - My readers will know I am not a massive fan of poetry, but I have read and loved novels written in verse such as Vanilla by Billy Murrell, I have also read all of Sara’s previous works and thoroughly enjoyed them. In Love & Ache, really spoke to me as someone who has been and out of love at various time in my life. This section makes it clear there is good love, bad love and something in between. Not all of the poems or written sections are from a woman’s point of view, some of them seem distinctly male to me. The images are also divine and really add to messages comings across. One of my favourite poems from this section simply reads: “her paper heart bleeds ink/filling pages with love stories/that will never be hers to tell” and it resonated with me and actually made me a little emotional.
7. The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte ***** - I didn’t know anything about The Vanishing Deep before picking it up, but the synopsis sounded very interesting and I couldn’t wait to get into it. I was aware from the synopsis that most of this novel takes place over a single day so I can’t wait to see how that works out and it also features people returning from the dead as well as a mystery. I haven’t read Four Dead Queens yet, but I heard nothing but good things about it. We are introduced to Tempe, whose full name is Tempest working to fund the resurrection of her sister Elysea, not because she loves her but because she has information that Tempe needs to know. Tempe works by diving in the wrecks of the cities under the water finding things that are valuable and trading them for notes.
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