The Dollmaker of Krakow took me completely by surprise. I was already hooked after the first few chapters. The story begins in The Land of the Dolls where Karolina is happily living her life as a seamstress until the day the rats invade. One day she is transported to our world by the kind wind and wakes up in The Dollmaker's shop in Krakow. The Dollmaker is a lonely WWI veteran, who struggles with the pain of losing his parents. But the appearance of Karolina in his life sets a series of fortunate events in motion. The fog he's been living in starts to lift as he meets a welcoming Jewish family of two, who makes him feel wanted and appreciated. The story follows The Dollmaker and Karolina's … [Read more...]
Odd & True by Cat Winters
Let me startoff by saying, I have never read a book by Cat Winters and boy have I been missing out. More than once, the story was so gripping that I cried. I am fond of historical fiction with paranormal elements and this book fits perfectly. Going in, I was expecting a quick and fun paranormal novel, but it's so much more than that. First and foremost it's a story about family. There are lots of secrets, which causes misery as secrets tend to do. That's not all though. It also deals with hope. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars. Comes out 12 September. Odd & True focuses on the close relationship between two sisters. I find it refreshing to read about sisters who stand up for each other, … [Read more...]
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue follows Henry "Monty" Montague on his Grand Tour around Europe accompanied by his sister and his best friend. But what he thought was going to be one big party, turns into something much more exciting and complicated. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Initially, I wasn't overly interested in reading The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. But after finishing the last book in the To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han, I wanted to read something that was both fun and romantic. I picked up the audiobook on a whim, and I absolutely freaking loved it. The audiobook version is a little shy of 11 hours long, and a tad bit less when listening to it … [Read more...]
Road Trip & Vacation tbr
So far I've read three of the books on my June TBR. The ones I haven't gotten to yet are still on my list, which I hope to finish before the end of the month. This is going to be a short list of books I want to enjoy while on vacation. I am pretty sure I won't be able to get to all of them, but you've got to be optimistic right? I basically just want to read all the books. I'm going on a Road Trip with a friend down the west coast starting in Portland, going all the way down to San Diego and then back to Portland. From there I'm flying to Los Angeles and staying with family for a couple of days before I go to Boston to visit another good friend. I'm so excited I can't wait. Hopefully I'll … [Read more...]
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Ink and Bone is an alternate history novel, where The Library of Alexandria has expanded to all corners of the world. The Library controls the flow of knowledge with an iron fist. It's illegal to possess original books and the only way to access literary knowledge is through the Library-issued 'blanks'. These blank books can display books from the Library's vast collection of originals. But it's not the same as handling a real book. The story follows Jess, who comes from a family of book smugglers. He loves books just as much as us readers, but to his family, books are the source of income. There is no sentimentality involved, unlike Jess' relationship with books. … [Read more...]
And I Darken by Kiersten White
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Lada is brutal and sometimes downright cruel. She's a complex character, because she is also capable of love. As much as she picks on her 'weak' younger brother, Radu, when push comes to shove, she loves him like nothing else. The story is never black and white. The most important parts are in the nuances, which makes the story come to life and makes it able to impact the reader with honest emotion and unavoidable facts of life. Like the story, the characters are outlined with ink-black broad hard strokes and slowly layered with color and nuance of strengths and weaknesses. Vlad the Impaler reimagined as Lada is one hundred percent human, which is more … [Read more...]
