Tag: 4 stars

Books I really liked! Maybe they weren’t the best of the best, but I’d probably recommend them (especially if you’re a fan of the genre).

The Visitors by Caroline Scott

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Title: The Visitors
Author: Caroline Scott
Format: eBook
Genre(s): Historical, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

This was a gorgeous post-World War I story about Esme Nicholls, a war widow and housekeeper who visits Cornwall with her employer for the summer and discovers a beautiful landscape, an eclectic group of veterans, and a possible future for herself.

I was initially drawn to the story by the immersive descriptions of the Cornish landscape, flora, and fauna — all things that blew me away when I did a walk along the coastal path from St. Ives to Penzance, the area where this book takes place. As the chapters went on I became fascinated with the characters and their stories, especially Esme’s struggle between her past and her future and Rory’s reflections on his time in the war.

There’s a twist that comes about halfway through the story, and even though I saw it coming I still felt the impact. This is definitely a character-driven story (where Cornwall feels like another member of the cast of characters) full of self-discovery and the journeys we take to overcome grief and embrace life.

A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy

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Title: A Wicked Kind of Husband
Author: Mia Vincy
Format: eBook
Genre(s): Romance, Historical
Rating: ★★★★☆

One of the most reliable ways to discover new authors you might like, in my experience, is to get recommendations from authors you already love — so when I got a peek at KJ Charles’s TBR pile and spotted a new-to-me name, I immediately grabbed a copy of one of Mia Vincy’s books (the only one of hers at my library).

I was intrigued from the outset: This book has main characters from Warwickshire (a county north of London, which includes industrial Birmingham, rather than the South, which is so commonly a setting for this genre) who have been in a marriage of convenience for two years, yet who literally don’t recognize each other when they meet by chance in London. Cassandra and Joshua are both intelligent and the challenging spark that appears between them develops into a fascinating dynamic as they get to know each other and their histories come to light.

Having a story begin with an already married couple shifts the usual will-they-won’t-they conflict into a question about how they will reconcile their needs and expectations and shape their marriage for the future, and the way it plays out feels consistent to the characters even as they grow over time. This was a witty, emotional, satisfying regency romance and I’m looking forward to reading Vincy’s other Longhope Abbey books.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Format: eBook (library)
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

What does it mean to belong to someone else, and what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? After making a deal with the darkness, Addie finds that her wish to be free makes her something of an outcast — and spends the rest of her unnaturally long life defying the limitations of the deal.

Although at times I got frustrated by the short chapters and shifting timeline of the story (which frequently flips between past and present), I enjoyed how this presented Addie’s many overlapping layers: her young naïve self, her longing for connection, her sense of wonder, her anger and frustration at her circumstances, and her stubborn insistence not to give up or give in. I also appreciated the juxtaposition of the other main characters, Luc and Henry, who are very different and yet very similar — in their looks but also in how Addie is drawn to them while she also struggles with her relationship with each of them.

I loved following Addie’s journey (both internal and external) over the years and found the ending gleefully satisfying while at the same time very open and unfinished, in the best way.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

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Title: A Marvellous Light
Author: Freya Marske
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this story — on its surface, a historical fantasy romance involving the affable baronet Robin Blythe being shoved into a ministry position that introduces him to the magical world, via the stand-offish magician Edwin Courcey and a magical curse.

Robin and Edwin are captivating characters, both struggling with other people’s expectations for them as well as their desire for each other. But the story goes beyond that, including blatant examples of sexism and racism (hat tip to the fabulous Adelaide Morrissey and Kitty Kaur — all I can say is “woe.”) that cloud the judgment of not only the non-magical Edwardian society but the magical community as well. I enjoyed how these themes were woven together with the plot, how the main characters grew through the story, and the delightful (albeit a bit hand-wavy, pun intended) magical system based on Cat’s Cradle.

I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel focused on Robin’s sister Maud, A Restless Truth.

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

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Title: The Road Trip
Author: Beth O’Leary
Format: Audiobook
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

The Road Trip was just the kind of contemporary romance I enjoy: a story with conflict caused by the characters’ values and priorities (not just miscommunication), gradual character growth, and humor alongside dealing with serious issues. The audiobook was recorded with two narrators (for the two leads), which worked well for the way the POV was passed back and forth between them. I also enjoyed the structure, which interspersed the present day timeline — full of unexplained interpersonal tension — with flashbacks that gradually filled in the reader on everyone’s history. I genuinely liked both Addie and Dylan, even when they were making mistakes, and most of the other flawed characters had enough humanity and depth to explain their actions. A really enjoyable read with a humorous literal journey and a moving figurative one.

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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Title: Gallant
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre(s): Gothic fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

This was a beautiful, dark, compelling tale about an orphan girl searching for home and family. It took me a little time to get into it — getting used to the slow pace and Olivia’s internal world — but once I did I was all in. I loved the way Olivia kept returning to her mother’s journal, revealing something new about her story each time. The fantasy aspects of the story were a bit simplistic, but I found I didn’t really mind that since my focus was on Olivia’s experience and the creepy yet captivating setting. I loved seeing the shift in her perspective and her relationship with the people and places (and ghouls) surrounding her.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

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Title: Husband Material
Author: Alexis Hall
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

There are a few things I adore about Alexis Hall’s romance novels that are well represented in this book: his couples communicate and act like real people, and so don’t end up in conflicts that could be solved with a straightforward explanation, thus inspiring me to yell “just talk to each other already!” (but do still sometimes end up with communication problems because, well, people are complex and sometimes communication is hard); his stories are full of feelings that often are not just about the two main characters, but also portray the benefits and challenges of friendship; and he is interested in looking for satisfying endings that aren’t necessarily the simple marriage and heteronormative HEA or the simplified fall-in-love-and-done story. Luc and Oliver are such interesting characters to me because at this point (heads up if you didn’t know, this book is a sequel to Boyfriend Material!) they are dealing with the kinds of problems that come up when the New Relationship Energy has run out and you’re left with questions about long-term compatibility and values and identity and those conversations that you see turning into arguments but can’t quite stop because the disagreements are well-worn grooves that you just fall into. They feel like such real people in a caring, imperfect long-term relationship. I maybe wasn’t a huge fan of the “Four Weddings and a Funeral” structure, which felt a little too predictable once I realized what was going on (around the end of the second wedding). But I was sucked in to the story, from the serious and loving moments to the hilarious — including the continued failed jokes with Luc’s coworkers and the very satisfying jabs at Tories and religion and the middle/upper classes.

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King

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Title: Five Tuesdays in Winter
Author: Lily King
Genre(s): Literary fiction, short stories
Rating: ★★★★☆

This collection of short stories portrays a fascinating variety of relationships, with characters at different points in their lives struggling through very different situations. All of the stories have a profound element of sadness, and some even violence, but they are also threaded with hope and love. As with my favorite short stories, these drop us right into the middle of a character’s experience, seeing their struggles from their perspective, and they aren’t all resolved pleasantly. We sit with the messiness of real conflict, mixed with pain and affection. A wonderful set of stories and a great introduction to a new-to-me author; I’ll be reading more of Lily King’s work.