Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Happy Halloween 2017!


Maybe not my favorite holiday, but Happy Halloween!

Monday, October 30, 2017

Review: Hide and Seek by MJ Arlidge

Hide and Seek
by MJ Arlidge

Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 416
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Framed for a murder she didn't commit... 

As one of HM Prison Holloway's most high-profile new inmates, Helen Grace has a target on her back and nowhere to hide. She has made a long list of enemies over the course of her career--some are incarcerated within these very walls. When one of Helen's fellow prisoners is found mutilated and murdered in her own locked cell, it's clear that the killer is someone on the inside. 

But time is running out for Helen as she races to expose the person who framed her, and the body count in the prison starts to climb. Helen will need to draw on all her investigative skills and instincts to catch the serial killer behind these murders and discover the truth--unless the killer finds her first.


Kritters Thoughts:  This is book 6 in a series and I will have to warn you that there could be spoilers below because book 5's story line completely informs book 6, so you at the very least would have wanted to read the book before this before you dive into this one and to be very frank, I would start at the beginning.  These books are too good to jump around in the series, you will enjoy the series so much more if you start at the beginning.


Ok.  With that warning in mind, I am going to proceed with my review which could very well have quite a few spoilers and such!

We find Helen Grace in this book in jail for the murders from the previous book in the BDSM community.  This is a completely different setting than any of the other books and having her inside the jail was so so interesting.  

Of course since Helen Grace is in a jail, there are going to be murders in the jail and she is going to have to insert herself and help solve them.  But the added security and inability for her to access information makes this book so different than the rest of the series.  I loved that she was almost handicapped, but was risking it all to try to help solve these murders of her new "friends."

I will always love and adore this series.  The murders are crazy and not for the faint of heart, but the twists and turns are oh so good!!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.


Sunday, October 29, 2017

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

So after a crazy weekend last weekend, I forgot to post this, so this is two weeks worth of reading.  This weekend was nutty also as we were out of town for a wedding.  I am ready for a quiet weekend at home with minimal things on the to do list!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:
The Diplomat's Daughter by Karin Tanabe
The Winter Guest by Pam Jenoff
The Other Girl by Pam Jenoff
No Way Back by MJ Arlidge
Running Blind by MJ Arlidge
Hide and Seek by MJ Arlidge
The Boyfriend Swap by Meredith Schorr
Does this Beach Make Me Look Fat? by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Currently Reading:
The First Husband by Laura Dave

Next on the TBR pile:
The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Review: The Diplomat's Daughter by Karin Tanabe

The Diplomat's Daughter
by Karin Tanabe

Publisher: Washington Square Press
Pages: 451
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  During the turbulent months following the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, twenty-one-year-old Emi Kato, the daughter of a Japanese diplomat, is locked behind barbed wire in a Texas internment camp. She feels hopeless until she meets handsome young Christian Lange, whose German-born parents were wrongfully arrested for un-American activities. Together, they live as prisoners with thousands of other German and Japanese families, but discover that love can bloom in even the bleakest circumstances.

When Emi and her mother are abruptly sent back to Japan, Christian enlists in the US Army, with his sights set on the Pacific front—and, he hopes, a reunion with Emi—unaware that her first love, Leo Hartmann, the son of wealthy of Austrian parents and now a Jewish refugee in Shanghai, may still have her heart.

Fearful of bombings in Tokyo, Emi’s parents send her to a remote resort town in the mountains, where many in the foreign community have fled. Cut off from her family, struggling with growing depression and hunger, Emi repeatedly risks her life to help keep her community safe—all while wondering if the two men she loves are still alive.

As Christian Lange struggles to adapt to life as a soldier, his unit pushes its way from the South Pacific to Okinawa, where one of the bloodiest battles of World War II awaits them. Meanwhile, in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, as Leo fights to survive the squalor of the Jewish ghetto, a surprise confrontation with a Nazi officer threatens his life. For each man, Emi Kato is never far from their minds. 


Kritters Thoughts:  What an epic story!  Emi Kato is the daughter of a Japanese diplomat living in the United States as Pearl Harbor occurs.  She has two loves in a short amount of time and this story documents those loves as they happen and what happens after.  

The best thing about this book is that Emi, Christian and Leo each get the opportunity to narrate their part of the story.  I love how the book was crafted and where you initially meet Emi and then the going back in time to see how she meet each boy and their impact on her life.  Emi is the main character, but Christian and Leo are so integral to the story and showing the many different impacts that World War II on different types of people.  

I have read so many World War II books and thought I had basically read it all, but after reading this one I have a whole new perspective and interest.  I had read about the impact on Japanese and how the United States mistreated this population, but I was clueless of Germans in the United States and how they could have persecuted, I never thought about that population having the same experience than the Japanese.  

I was hesitant to read this book because of the vast amount of World War II books I have read and I am so glad I disregarded myself and went ahead and read it.  I would love to know if anyone knows of other books that depict the German experience in the United States and even more from the Japanese point of view also.  I have read one or two, but would love more!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.


Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Review: The Other Girl by Pam Jenoff

The Other Girl
by Pam Jenoff

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Pages: 21
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  One woman's determination to protect a child from the dangers of war will force her to face those lurking closer to home…

Life in rural Poland during WWII brings a new set of challenges to Maria, estranged from her own family and left alone with her in-laws after her husband is sent to the front. For a young, newly pregnant wife, the days are especially cold, the nights unexpectedly lonely. The discovery of a girl hiding in the barn changes everything—Hannah is fleeing the German police who are taking Jews like her to special camps. Ignoring the risk to her own life and that of her unborn child, Maria is compelled to help. But in these dark days, no one can be trusted, and soon Maria finds her courage tested in ways she never expected and herself facing truths about her own family that the quiet village has kept buried for years…



Kritters Thoughts:  A novella that follows the book The Winter Guest that I reviewed yesterday.

This novella takes a viewpoint of the hardship that was happening in Poland, but from a different point of view than the original work.  Maria is married and pregnant and living with her in laws as her husband has gone off to fight in this war and she is having to get by in a home that isn't hers.

I definitely think you should read The Winter Guest before reading this one so you can see where she fits in the bigger picture.  I didn't read the synopsis before reading this book, so I actually didn't know who it was going to focus on and I was actually surprised by who the focus went on and maybe a hint disappointed.  I loved the story, but would have preferred someone else drive the novella's story.

I wouldn't mind a few more novellas in "this world" from other points of view or even a full sequel that carries on after the train departs.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Ebook 2017 Challenge: 52 out of 50


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Review: The Winter Guest by Pam Jenoff

The Winter Guest
by Pam Jenoff

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Pages: 352
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn't be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day. 

Then Helena discovers an American paratrooper stranded outside their small mountain village, wounded, but alive. Risking the safety of herself and her family, she hides Sam—a Jew—but Helena's concern for the American grows into something much deeper. Defying the perils that render a future together all but impossible, Sam and Helena make plans for the family to flee. But Helena is forced to contend with the jealousy her choices have sparked in Ruth, culminating in a singular act of betrayal that endangers them all—and setting in motion a chain of events that will reverberate across continents and decades.
 


Kritters Thoughts:  A set of 18 year old twins are holding it together for their three younger siblings, but not without the strengths of each other.  Their mother is at a hospital in the city and their father is gone, so they must do whatever it takes to keep this family together.  Helena finds an American soldier who crash landed in "her backyard" and she helps nurse him to health and helps him with his mission.  Throughout all of this she learns the truth about her and her family and realizes that their safety may be in danger.

I loved Helena and Ruth as twins and sisters.  I loved that they were foils of each other and that you couldn't have one without the other.  They challenge each other and I loved their interaction most in this story.

I loved how there is a prologue that sets up that someone is alive and is about to recount a story that changed their life.  Semi spoiler - I loved that there is an epilogue that wraps up the story and gives you clues because when the historical part of the story ended I was gutted because I couldn't believe that was where we were going to end it.

I want to keep reading Pam Jenoff's backlist and get caught up on all of her books!


Side note:  I read this one after the World War II book The Diplomat's Daughter that I am reviewing here on Thursday and I had to read a few books in between these because it was a little too much of World War II back to back. 


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Book Expo America.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Review: Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

Seven Days of Us
by Francesca Hornak

Publisher: Berkley NAL
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It’s Christmas, and for the first time in years the entire Birch family will be under one roof. Even Emma and Andrew’s elder daughter—who is usually off saving the world—will be joining them at Weyfield Hall, their aging country estate. But Olivia, a doctor, is only coming home because she has to. Having just returned from treating an epidemic abroad, she’s been told she must stay in quarantine for a week…and so too should her family.

For the next seven days, the Birches are locked down, cut off from the rest of humanity—and even decent Wi-Fi—and forced into each other’s orbits. Younger, unabashedly frivolous daughter Phoebe is fixated on her upcoming wedding, while Olivia deals with the culture shock of being immersed in first-world problems. 

As Andrew sequesters himself in his study writing scathing restaurant reviews and remembering his glory days as a war correspondent, Emma hides a secret that will turn the whole family upside down. 

In close proximity, not much can stay hidden for long, and as revelations and long-held tensions come to light, nothing is more shocking than the unexpected guest who’s about to arrive…


Kritters Thoughts:  Imagine being stuck in your home with your immediate for seven days under quarantine and adding in its the week of Christmas with heightened feelings involved!  Although I wondered from the beginning how real this could be and if the government would allow you to quarantine yourself and would have you quarantined with your family, it still made for a fun story.

Olivia and Phoebe are sisters, but that is as far as the similarities go.  They were raised in the same home, but thats about it.  Phoebe is still living and home and waiting for her prince charming to sweep her off her feet.  Olivia is the cause of the quarantine and has spent her life from adventure to adventure.  With Emma and Andrew their parents each holding secrets, the seven day quarantine will be full of fun drama!

I loved the story.  Although I may have rolled my eyes a few times at the plausibility of it all, I still loved seeing a small immediate family hash out the past and the present and try to reconnect and love on each other.  

If you are a fan like I am of the family drama then this one is right up your alley.  I will warn that it is set in England and definitely has a British feel to it, so if that isn't your thing, I would warn you against this book.  BUT if you don't mind a little Britishness in your reading, then this one is just great!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.


Friday, October 20, 2017

Review: Reader, I Married Him

Reader, I Married Him

Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 304
Format: ebook
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  This collection of original stories by today’s finest women writers—including Tracy Chevalier, Francine Prose, Elizabeth McCracken, Tessa Hadley, Audrey Niffenegger, and more—takes inspiration from a line in Charlotte Brontë’s most beloved novel, Jane Eyre.

A fixture in the literary canon, Charlotte Brontë is revered by readers all over the world. Her novels featuring unforgettable, strong heroines still resonate with millions today. And who could forget one of literature’s best-known lines: “Reader, I married him” from her classic novel Jane Eyre?

Part of a remarkable family that produced three acclaimed female writers at a time in 19th-century Britain when few women wrote, and fewer were published, Brontë has become a great source of inspiration to writers, especially women, ever since. Now in Reader, I Married Him, twenty of today’s most celebrated women authors have spun original stories, using the line from Jane Eyre as a springboard for their own flights of imagination.


Kritters Thoughts:  A collection of short stories with the prompt - Reader, I Married Him.  Each author took that line and went with it!  I loved the set up in the beginning with the forward by Tracy Chevalier, she describes what these authors were given and kind of a small glimpse of what the authors did with that prompt, I appreciated that little spoiler.

Many of these authors this was my first time reading them and this is one of my favorite parts of reading short story collections.  I have a list of authors that I now want to seek out their full works after reading just a small bit of what they can do.  In this collection there was only one or two stories that I didn't enjoy and could have skipped over, but this was probably the highest percentage of liking stories out of a collection.

It was interesting to see a few authors take on legit Jane Eyre.  There were flips on the point of views or "sequels" of sorts and I liked seeing an author take on the original work in a different way.  I am glad I had recently read Jane Eyre and was close to the original work and had it fresh on my mind!

I have enjoyed reading short story collections here recently and this one just sealed my feelings and I will continue reading them the rest of this year and into next year.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Review: The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell

The Madwoman Upstairs
by Catherine Lowell

Publisher: Touchstone
Pages: 352
Format: book
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Samantha Whipple is used to stirring up speculation wherever she goes. As the last remaining descendant of the Brontë family, she's rumored to have inherited a vital, mysterious portion of the Brontë's literary estate; diaries, paintings, letters, and early novel drafts; a hidden fortune that's never been shown outside of the family.

But Samantha has never seen this rumored estate, and as far as she knows, it doesn't exist. She has no interest in acknowledging what the rest of the world has come to find so irresistible; namely, the sudden and untimely death of her eccentric father, or the cryptic estate he has bequeathed to her.

But everything changes when Samantha enrolls at Oxford University and bits and pieces of her past start mysteriously arriving at her doorstep, beginning with an old novel annotated in her father's handwriting. As more and more bizarre clues arrive, Samantha soon realizes that her father has left her an elaborate scavenger hunt using the world's greatest literature. With the aid of a handsome and elusive Oxford professor, Samantha must plunge into a vast literary mystery and an untold family legacy, one that can only be solved by decoding the clues hidden within the Brontë's own writing.



Kritters Thoughts:  Samantha Whipple is now the last woman standing of the Bronte family and there have been rumors circling that there is a long hidden estate that will be coming her way, except she has no clue what and where it is.  Samantha heads to Oxford for a few reasons, one being an education, but also to reconnect with her previous generations and maybe find what she should be doing next with her life.

I loved that Samantha had her own story aside from her Bronte tie.  Yes, the story circles around her connection to the Brontes, but she had her own things to deal with and she was at such a great time in life, the cusp of adulthood and the time when decisions need to be made.  

There were things being pulled from all the Bronte books and having only read one of them, I got all the Jane Eyre references, but the others probably went over my head just a bit.  I was a little disappointed that I knew I missed things, but it didn't lessen my love of reading it.

I loved reading a contemporary story that was connected to Jane Eyre.  I would love to read another Catherine Lowell book that is maybe connected to another classic!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Jane Steele
by Lyndsay Faye

Publisher: GP Putnam's Sons
Pages: 416
Format: book
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A sensitive orphan, Jane Steele suffers first at the hands of her spiteful aunt and predatory cousin, then at a grim school where she fights for her very life until escaping to London, leaving the corpses of her tormentors behind her. After years of hiding from the law while penning macabre “last confessions” of the recently hanged, Jane thrills at discovering an advertisement.  Her aunt has died and her childhood home has a new master: Mr. Charles Thornfield, who seeks a governess.
 
Burning to know whether she is in fact the rightful heir, Jane takes the position incognito, and learns that Highgate House is full of marvelously strange new residents—the fascinating but caustic Mr. Thornfield, an army doctor returned from the Sikh Wars, and the gracious Sikh butler Mr. Sardar Singh, whose history with Mr. Thornfield appears far deeper and darker than they pretend. As Jane catches ominous glimpses of the pair’s violent history and falls in love with the gruffly tragic Mr. Thornfield, she faces a terrible dilemma: can she possess him—body, soul, and secrets—without revealing her own murderous past? 
 
A satirical romance about identity, guilt, goodness, and the nature of lies.


Kritters Thoughts:  As Jane Eyre week continues, this was the first book I thought of when I knew I was going to do this week.  I went to the signing for this book a bit ago and it has sat on my shelf because even though the author said I could read without reading Jane Eyre I knew I would want to do Jane Eyre first before reading this one.  

Overall this book was a great adaptation of the book and I loved how it was formatted exactly like Jane Eyre.  With three volumes that divide up the story, it was fun to read a story in that format again.  I absolutely loved that Jane Steele clearly referenced and referred to the original work Jane Eyre, she was obvious in the way that she spoke about Jane Eyre and I liked the transparency.  

The part of the book that dragged away for me was the middle volume.  I just couldn't get into the Sikh drama and the significance behind it.  I couldn't get connected with that part of the plot and was ready to get back to Jane killing people (that seems weird to say, but sort of true!)  

I liked this adaptation.  I loved giving Jane the "ability" to kill those who wrong her that was fun to read!  I would say I think you should read or have read Jane Eyre first because there are so many references and extra things you will pick up if you have read that previous to this one.  


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more


Monday, October 16, 2017

Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte

Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 507
Format: book
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead and subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte's innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers.


Kritters Thoughts:  I am not a reader of classics, so when I found out that it was the 170th anniversary of the publication of Jane Eyre, I knew I wanted to do a week celebrating and I had to start where all these books were inspired from - the source material, so here it goes!

My usual pacing for reading books is a page per minute, meaning I can read 120 pages in two hours, that was not the case with this classic.  I read much slower and I think for a few reasons.  One, I knew that I was going to read books inspired by Jane Eyre after reading this one, so I wanted to really read this one closely so I could see the original in the back of my mind when reading the inspirations.  Also, the language used.  The language in this book wasn't completely archaic, but it was definitely older which made me read a little slower.  

But even though I read this one at a slower pace, I enjoyed it.  I saw some inside jokes that in the past went over my head and realized where they were coming from.  After reading this classic and spending a whole week with inspirational work, it makes me want to do this once a year.  So I am going to try to tackle another classic book next fall and maybe do a week of books inspired by again - this was fun!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Ebook 2017 Challenge: 47 out of 50




I am doing a week of Jane Eyre fun to celebrate the 170 anniversary of the publication of this book.  I will be reviewing books each day this week that were inspired in some part or another by this book!

Sunday, October 15, 2017

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

It was another nutty week at work and my evenings were busy and a bit of a busy weekend, so I am proud with what I completed this week.

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
Honey on your Mind by Maria Murnane
Chocolate for Two by Maria Murnane
News of the World by Paulette Jiles

Currently Reading:
The Diplomat's Daughter by Karin Tanabe

Next on the TBR pile:
The Winter Guest by Pam Jenoff

Friday, October 13, 2017

Review: Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny

Single, Carefree, Mellow
by Katherine Heiny

Publisher: Knopf
Pages: 221
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Maya is in love with both her boyfriend and her boss. Sadie’s lover calls her as he drives to meet his wife at marriage counseling. Gwen pines for her roommate, a man who will hold her hand but then tells her that her palm is sweaty. And Sasha agrees to have a drink with her married lover’s wife and then immediately regrets it. These are the women of Single, Carefree, Mellow, and in these eleven sublime stories they are grappling with unwelcome houseguests, disastrous birthday parties, needy but loyal friends, and all manner of love, secrets, and betrayal. 

In “Cranberry Relish” Josie’s ex—a man she met on Facebook—has a new girlfriend he found on Twitter. In “Blue Heron Bridge” Nina is more worried that the Presbyterian minister living in her garage will hear her kids swearing than about his finding out that she’s sleeping with her running partner. And in “The Rhett Butlers” a teenager loses her virginity to her history teacher and then outgrows him. 



Kritters Thoughts:  Another collection of short stories and I am growing to love these in the middle of long, heavy novels.  There were a few of the stories in this book that had the same characters and as an amateur short story collection reader I am not used to repeat characters that are intermixed with other short stories.  

On that note, I loved Maya's stories.  I wouldn't mind a full novel that took those stories and flushed out the rest of her story.  

After finishing the collection I did read some reviews and I agree that there were quite a few books about cheating spouses and they got a little old, I wish that there had been a little more variety in the topic of stories.  I wouldn't have minded the theme of the stories if I hadn't read them back to back.  

Final thought - I loved her writing, so I would be open to reading more of Katherine Heiny.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Thursday, October 12, 2017

Review: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Rules of Magic
by Alice Hoffman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.

Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.

From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. 


Kritters Thoughts:  A little out of my comfort zone, the Owens family current generation highlighted in this book is made up of three siblings who are each trying to figure out who they are.  With magic abilities running through their blood, trying to figure oneself out may be a little harder.  AND then throw in a curse!

I don't tend to read books with magic, but when I saw a release date of 10/10 and I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone again and again, I decided to try this one out.  It had the right amount of magic where the characters were still human, but they all had great abilities where they could see the future or see things in other people, but at the end of the day the weren't floating around which made me enjoy this more than most books with fantasy and magic.

I loved at the heart of the story was family.  I love a good family drama, so with the foundation of the book being a family dealing with pain and tragedy and maybe a dash of a family curse.  I was so glad to read a book with magic with a male in the family with abilities.  I don't read a lot of books with magic and witches, but I still feel like every time witches are mentioned it is a female connotation, so I enjoyed some male witch action.  

I have only read one other Alice Hoffman book and I two-starred that one, so I may need a suggestion or two of where to go from here with Alice Hoffman.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 49 out of 50



Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Simon and Schuster.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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