Historical fiction fantasy! 18yo Hazel lives in her family’s manor and continues to help those in need of medical care until she’s arrested for murder. She’s released and brought to the ailing princess to heal her. Hazel still has to fight the societal standards that believe a woman isn’t capable of intelligent work, let alone being a doctor. While at the palace treating the Princess, Hazel receives an invitation to a Companions to the Death meeting. She’s astonished at what she discovers!
Likes/dislikes: The romance is sweet. Intense parts kept me glued to the pages. I wish there was a third book in this series. Mature Content: PG-13 for kissing. Language: PG for 6 swears and no f-words. Violence: PG-13 for bloody death. Ethnicity: The ethnicity is predominantly white with mention of a Black man.
A perfect ending to this historical fantasy duology! Two weeks after 18yo Iris was forced to watch her husband struggle against a gas bomb in the attack on Avalon Bluff, she’s back in Oath living with her brother Forest. 19yo Roman is trapped in Avalon Bluff under Dacre’s watchful care with no memory of who he is or his past. Iris manages to get her hands on the Alouette typewriter in the museum and uses it to search for Roman or anyone who may be using one of the other two Alouettes. Roman unknowingly writes back and forth with Iris as he gets his memory back a little at a time. He also sends a warning that Dacre will be invading the area that Iris is staying at while writing war correspondence. Roman is terrified that Dacre will learn of his secret messages and Iris is terrified of an invasion.
Likes/dislikes: Beautiful story telling. I love the brave and loyal characters. A riveting story and I didn’t want to put the book down. Mature content: PG-13 for nondescript implied sex Language: PG for 7 swears and no f-words Violence: PG-13 for bloody fights and bloody wounds Ethnicity: The ethnicity falls to white.
Alternating timelines in this engrossing mystery! 15yo Sana moves into a decrepit large house in Africa with her father. The other residents say it’s haunted and this makes Sana curious. She asks the other residents questions about the house and its past and she explores everything and every place in the house. In the attic, Sana discovers a diary and she reads until the ending. What she finds, haunts her and she hopes there’s more of the story to unravel.
Likes/dislikes: The book is slow and builds the setting and characters until the second half when the mystery piqued my interest and grabbed my attention. I found it fascinating that Sana was a conjoined twin but she’s the only one who survived and now Sana sees and hears her dead sister. I loved discovering the background of the haunted home that is the setting for this story. Mature Content: G for kissing. Language: PG-13 for 14 swears and no f-words. Violence: PG-13 for bloody death. Ethnicity: Indian and African with some white.
Extremely interesting read based on a victim in Seattle and the victims in Tallahassee, Florida of a serial killer during the 1970’s. I applaud the author for getting into the headspace of the survivors and the era.
Deep, food for thought, and justice for the bright young women who died at the hands of a serial killer.
Insight into the tragic events, the ridiculousness of the Defendant’s lawyer tactics, and life’s consequences, struggles and inspirations.
Once again 17yo Enola becomes inadvertently involved in a mystery when a customer asks for help from the new false identity she’s using, Dr. Ragostin. This new London mystery is a missing man who was bitten by a rabid dog. His sister Caroline and best friend Rudyard Kipling ask for help in finding him. Enola throws herself into the search and comes across strange characters, a strong leader and an odd group with the mark of the mongoose. She’s determined to find the missing man no matter how much danger she puts herself in.
Likes/dislikes: I like how the author ties history into the fictional Enola Holmes’ stories. The author states what’s true history and what’s fictional in the ending notes. I enjoy Enola’s perseverance, bravery, and generosity. Mature content: none Language: PG for 6 swears and no f-bombs. Violence: PG for fighting. Ethnicity: Predominantly white.
Resolve lives in New England with her mother who helps the community as a midwife because she’s very good at healing. Abigail loses her mother to poison during childbirth and some of the villagers blame Abigail, saying that she poisoned her mother and baby because of jealousy just like she killed her sibling twins. The community thrives on gossip, backtalking, and drama and Resolve, her mother, and Abigail are different, therefore problematic. A few good people help protect Resolve and her mother, and in turn, Resolve helps Abigail. The ominous feel of the story drew me in and I enjoyed the Native Americans involvement and the mystery and foreboding intensity.
Mystery wrapped in prejudice! Avery goes to her mother’s hometown in Bardell County, Georgia, to take care of Mama Letty, who’s dying from cancer, after being away for twelve years due to the contentious relationship between her mom and Grandmother, Mama Letty. Racism and the Ku Klux Klan destroyed Mama Letty when they killed her husband when Zora, Avery’s mother, was just a baby. Afterwards, Letty drank and checked out and was cruel to Zora and now they continue to be angry with each other. Avery and her father are caught in the crossfire. Scandals and secrets are revealed while Avery tries to break down the hurt between her mother and grandmother before time runs out. Mystery wrapped up in prejudice.
Likes/dislikes: I like the mysteries surrounding the different families in the story and they pulled me into the book. Avery and her father made me chuckle. I like how the author represents all types of people and also the prejudice that still lingers in our society. Mature content: PG-13 for making out vague descriptions, underage drinking, brief kissing, weed smoking , nondescript kiss. Language: R for 157 swears and 25 f-bombs. Violence: PG for murder with no details. Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly Black and White. Korean American is represented.
Charlize is looking for her older brother, 18 year old Cisco, who disappeared after infecting Raquel’s mom at the hospital where she works as a nurse. Cisco played a game that’s an urban myth and it backfired. Charlize, Raquel, 16, and her friend Aaron play the game to find Cisco. Twenty people have disappeared in the last year and no one has been able to get to the bottom of the problem but these three are determined to find and save Cisco so he can give information to help heal Raquel’s mom and stop the spread of infection. The game becomes creepy and brings the corruption of the past to light as the young people learn how residents were manipulated, used and pushed out of their Bronx homes. These teens have to work together to stop the corruption and save their families.
Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed learning about Bronx history and how it was used in the supernatural aspect of the story. The infection conveys the corruption in the community creatively. I like how Raquel, Aaron and Charlize work together and how the mystery becomes spooky quickly. Mature Content: PG-13 for high off edibles, nondescript kiss. Language: R for 85 swears and 23 f-bombs. Violence: PG-13 mention of cannibalism, bloody unexplained death. Ethnicity: The ethnicities include Black, Dominicans, White, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican.
In 1855 Philadelphia, Molly lives at an orphanage until her aunt requests that she live with her. Before she even meets her aunt, she’s told she has to pick up a package first which turns out to be nothing like she expects. Molly is mourning the death of her friend Kitty who drowned in the river. Mother Superior told Molly, with a sneer, that Kitty was pregnant and this made Molly angry because Kitty told that secret in confession and no one else should know except the priest. Tom works for Molly’s aunt Ava and he picks her up from the orphanage, takes her to pick up the package then transports her to Ava’s home. Molly finally meets Ava and is given snippets of information about living there and what she’s required to do to stay. She’s expected to collect bodies for Dr. Lavall’s lectures and usually this requires dishonesty. Molly is eventually allowed to join the lectures and discovers that she wants to become a doctor herself even though she’s not welcomed into the surgical world by society. Molly also becomes deeply entwined in the mystery of The Knifeman and it’s going to take all her cleverness and bravery to keep from becoming a victim herself.
Likes/dislikes: Suspenseful, creepy and frightening story kept me riveted. Molly’s strength overcomes her insecurities from being left in an orphanage by her parents and the abuse she suffered there. I enjoy the diverse characters and Tom’s personality and perseverance. The mystery is interesting.
Language: R for 43 swears and 4 f-bombs. Mature content: PG-13 for premarital sex without details and unwed pregnancy by side characters, kissing with main characters. Violence: PG-13 for grave robbery and stealing parts from dead bodies, such as teeth, an ear and skin, bloody remains, stabbing.
In 1885 Sacramento, amidst the fight for women’s rights, runaway twins work for a performance troupe as psychics. Edie is reserved while her twin Violet is theatrical. They conduct a seance for an elderly woman who recently lost her cat. While pretending that the cat’s spirit is with them in the room, Edie senses the Veil thinning and a cold, uncomfortable feeling enters the room. She douses the smoldering lavender and the feeling goes away. They’ve helped their customer feel comfort but they’re shaken. Edie’s and Violet’s mother had spiritualist powers and she helped her daughters learn how to be safe with the powers they inherited from her. When their mother dies due to a shadow spirit, their preacher father threatens to send them to an asylum so they run away. They join up with the troupe and meet like-minded women trying to make a living. Edie and Violet become embroiled in a mystery that’s bigger than they ever imagined and much more dangerous than they planned on. Riveting, suspenseful and fun to read, 5 stars!
Likes/dislikes: I appreciate the author’s note explaining how she based this story on her deceased great grandmother and her twin sister, who both happened to be spiritualists. I was riveted throughout the entire book because the story is interesting and I love the characters. The danger and suspense are intense. The ethnicity is mixed with white, Italian and Black.
Language: PG for 4 swears and no f-bombs Mature content: PG for a lesbian couple mentioned. Edie (female) and Laws (male)kissing. Violence: PG-13 for An angry shadow spirit threatening spiritualists, kidnapping and trapping and a bloody death.
The Thought Spot 