[Review] Forbidden by Eve Bunting

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read with quirky, creepy characters and a great setting on the Scottish coast. Young Josie is recently orphaned and sent to live with her aunt and uncle. When she arrives she finds that while they are not thrilled to see her they have something in mind for her to do and it involves their secretive livelihood. Fortunately, she befriends a local boy named Eli and his grandmother, and together they provide the only friendly faces amongst a town full of weird and disturbing people. Even the dog is disturbing!

Poor Josie was so naive that I couldn't help but worry about her and hope that she found a way to get away from her horrible aunt and uncle. Unfortunately, the ending made very little sense. It explained some things about Eli and his odd habits and way of dressing, but beyond that it was just strange and almost silly. The afterward by the author is worth reading though, because I doubt most people are aware that the type of activity that Josie's aunt and uncle were engaged in was real and that there are many accounts in history of this very thing occurring along the rocky coastline of Scotland. I can't say anymore without spoiling the story for anyone who has not read it.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Clarion in exchange for an honest review.

[Review] These Shallow Graves--Jennifer Donnelly

Historical mystery is a favorite genre of mine, especially those that are set in NYC or London. This one is set in NYC and concerns the mysterious death of Charles Montfort, a partner in a successful, international shipping business. His 17-year old daughter Jo isn’t satisfied with the official conclusion that her father accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun. Searching for answers she encounters Eddie, a handsome news reporter, who not only agrees to help her but also shows her the gritty realities of life from which she has always been sheltered, first by her father and then by her doting uncle Philip. Jo learns things aren’t always as they seem and finds some unlikely friends along the way, all while trying to maintain the façade of a demure society girl engaged to a boy from one of the city’s wealthiest families.

Overall, the story is good and the characters are enjoyable. The romance between Jo and Eddie is cute if not somewhat predictable. The mystery, however, is obvious from the beginning and Jo remains incredibly naïve nearly until the end. At almost 500 pages, this book is way too long. I skipped around for the last 100 pages or so and was still able to follow what was happening. The conclusion is great though, and absolutely justified sticking with the story, at least for me.

These Shallow Graves will be released in late October by Delacorte Press. Thanks to Delacorte and Netgalley for providing this ARC for review.

[Review] Defending The Dead--Sheila Connolly

I enjoy Sheila Connolly's County Cork mysteries, but this was the first in the Relatively Dead series that I have read. I was intrigued by the Salem witch trials connection and having never been to Salem myself, the descriptions of the town then and now were fun to read. The genealogy research also was interesting and Abby is an easy character to like. The afterward is particularly fascinated where Sheila describes how much of the story and the genealogical connections are true.

I guess because I didn't read the previous books I feel a bit confused about the situation between Ned, Leslie and the children Ned fathered. I should probably go back and read the first two books to understand that relationship and also how Ned and Abby came together. Overall, it was good, just not great. As a mother of a little girl, I found Ned's biological daughter Ellie a bit too mature in her words and actions for a 7-year old, so some scenes with her didn't quite ring true for me. Also, I highly doubt any mother would let the babysitter take her child out all day without asking where they were going. I also kept wondering what the son was doing while Ellie was romping around with Abby and Leslie was at work. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for providing me with this ARC.

[Review] The Dead Assassin--Vaughn Entwistle

Arthur Conan Doyle and his playwright friend Oscar Wilde team up to discover who is behind a bizarre scheme to reanimate corpses of executed prisoners and instruct them to kill key members of the British government. All the while a menacing fog hangs over London. Wilde is hilarious, and I must admit that despite years of English lit courses I never knew he was married with two children. I didn't love Conan Doyle bringing his soon-to-be mistress into his home with his wife and children, but I know he did carry on an affair with her while Touie was dying.

All in all I think Entwistle does a nice job of bringing Oscar and Arthur to life in a new and unique way. In the course of their adventures they tussle with a strange toymaker and the menacingly flamboyant Marquess Rufus DeVayne, who rides in a yellow carriage pulled by zebras. Despite the light banter between Arthur and Oscar the overall feeling of the book is quite dark, particularly the first half, and the duo barely escape with their lives. The Marquess is truly a disgusting character and unfortunately it seems the sleuths, and Queen Victoria herself, haven't seen the last of him.

Thanks to St. Martin's and Netgalley for this ARC.

[Review] The Book of Speculation--Erika Swyler

This is a fantastic read. Although it started out very slow for me and I was very tempted in the first quarter of the book to give up, I’m honestly glad that I didn’t. The story alternates between a modern day setting and a traveling carnival in post-Revolutionary war America. In present day, emotionally scarred brother and sister Simon and Enola ponder the fate of their crumbling family home 10 years after their mother, a breathholder, drowned herself in the ocean. Laid off from his librarian job and concerned about his sister’s erratic behavior, Simon becomes obsessed by the appearance of a mysterious book kept by the carnival’s owner, which contains a notation about his grandmother. Delving into the story, he is pulled closer to the truth about the women in his family who all drowned on the same date, and their connection to the carnival people in the book: Amos the mute fortune teller, his mentor/pseudo-mother Madame Ryzkhova, and his love Evangaline, the carnival’s mermaid.

Little sketches in the book add a nice touch, especially the one of the horseshoe crab. If you to read this at the beach keep your eyes open for invasions of those guys. Also, I grew up in Burlington, NJ, where a major plot point occurs, so that was fun and unexpected.

My actual rating is 3.5, but since half stars aren’t available and 3 is insufficient, I went with 4. My main issue throughout the book was that I wasn’t able to connect with any of the main characters on an emotional level. They are just not likable. I cared about the story and reached a point where I had to know how it ended, but I found myself not really caring if Enola drowned herself or not. It could have been so much greater if we had known more about Enola and what she thought.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and will look for more from Erika Swyler in the future. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for another great read!

[Review] The Mermaid's Sister--Carrie Anne Noble

It seems that carnivals and circuses are a big theme in fiction lately and I have to say, I like it! The Mermaid's Sister is beautifully written and has a half real, half fairy tale feeling throughout. The story focuses on sisters Clara and Maren, who are delivered to their aunt as babies by stork and seashell. As Maren begins to grow the scales of a mermaid, Clara and the sister's best friend O'Neill set off to take her to the sea and end up on an epic adventure involving evil carnival people, fantasy creatures and a curse.

To me this story is a good example of why fantasy YA fiction is so popular right now, not just with teens, but with middle aged moms like myself. This book will lift you out of the everyday and transport you to someplace safe yet "other," at least for a little while. Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Children's for this ARC.

[Review] The Golem and The Jinni--Helene Wecker

This was recommended to me by several people and I’m glad I finally found time to fit it into my burgeoning book queue. It's truly one of those novels that sweeps you away and before you know it you have forgotten to pick your child up from school (oops!). The story centers on a clay woman known as a golem, who is created in Europe to be a bride to a creepy little guy who packs her into a wooden box and takes her to New York as steerage on a ship. During the voyage the man becomes ill but can’t resist “awakening” his golem since the old man has provided instructions for both how to awaken and how to destroy her if necessary. The golem's husband does not survive the trip and the newly awake and nameless clay woman is left to fend for herself with no idea of where to go or what to do. To escape the ship she jumps into the Hudson River as it pulls into NY and walks along the bottom of the river to the shore. Eventually she meets a kind Rabbi who is one of the few people able to sense her true nature. The rabbi becomes her mentor, her first friend, and her protector, eventually bestowing on her a name, Chava, meaning life. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, a metalsmith named Arbeely accidentally uncorks a jinni who has been trapped for a 1,000 years by a wizard who imprisoned him. 

This long but glorious read tells the story of how Chava and the jinni Ahmad meet and form an uneasy relationship that changes both of them and the people they come into contact with forever. I can’t say enough about how this story and these characters captivated me. Every time I put the book down I found myself thinking about them and wondering what would happen next. The potential exists for a sequel, but I think in this case maybe it’s best to leave well enough alone.