Book Review

Book Review: A Sea View Christmas

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A Sea View Christmas
An On Devonshire Shores novella
by Julie Klassen

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Christian historical romance, Christmas fiction

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Sisters of Sea View.

Sarah Summers is beginning to regret her rejection of Callum Henshall, even while part of her knows that she can’t marry and leave the boarding house her family runs behind. While she struggles with her indecision, the family prepares to host a series of holiday events at their boarding house.

After reading the main On Devonshire Shores series, I was glad to know that Sarah, who is at least a partial main character in each of the other books (I’m pretty sure I’m remembering that right) would be finally getting her happily ever after here. What I wasn’t expecting was the slow, light romance that half of the book focused on regarding the youngest Summers sister, Georgiana, who is 17 in this book and has caught the attention of an old friend. The sad thing is that I was more interested in Georgiana’s plot arc, even though it was pretty clear by the end it wasn’t meant to be the main one. Sarah’s arc, on the other hand, really bogged the story down for me. I think someone just needed to yell at her sooner and tell her that she wasn’t in control of everything. Then the story could have been a little shorter. It’s actually on the long side for a novella, at least I think so…maybe it just felt longer? Apparently at this time in history, there were something like fifteen parties throughout the Christmas season. I don’t know how everyone didn’t go broke trying to celebrate. I suppose I’m exaggerating, but it did feel like a lot of parties really close together. On the other hand, half of the fun of the book was reading about some of the festivities, especially the odd role-playing game on Twelfth Night

The book was atmospheric and a nice one to read during the Christmas season, but overall, I can’t say I enjoyed it as much as I hoped to. Based on past experience, though, I have good reason to believe that most fans of Regency-era Christian romance will enjoy this book and the series before it. Unlike the other series like this that Klassen wrote, and the Christmas-themed follow-up novella to that one, I don’t really recommend that you read this novella as a stand-alone. Sarah and Callum’s story starts in the first book in the series, and I think you’d lose something by not having read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Dawn and the Impossible Three

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Dawn and the Impossible Three
The Baby-Sitters Club #5
by Ann M. Martin

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

For complete transparency, I’ll say up front that I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen. And at the time, my name was the same as the founder of the BSC (with the first name spelled slightly different). Nostalgia will hugely affect my reviews for this series, and I have no plans to try to be objective.

Dawn was always my least-favorite of the main five kids in the club, and that might just be because her health-food, California ways are pretty foreign to me. But I also feel that she isn’t quite as developed as the original four, at least in this first book from her perspective. Maybe that will come with future books. The title of this book is a little misleading, since, though the three main kids in this story did tend to be impossible for the other babysitters, Dawn didn’t really struggle with them that much and she did most of the sitting for them. Their mom was really the impossible one, but even there, once Dawn talked to her directly about the way she was making Dawn’s job more difficult, things smoothed out. Overall, the story was a good one for the series.

Whether or not this book will translate well to kids and pre-teens now, I couldn’t say. I wish I had thought to start reading this series to/with my daughter when she was around 8-10, because I think she would have enjoyed it, and we could have discussed the good and the bad of the books.

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Book Review: The Abduction

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The Abduction
Theodore Boone #2
by John Grisham
read by Richard Thomas


My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

When thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone’s best friend April goes missing, he knows he can’t just sit idly by and leave it up to the cops to find her.

I enjoyed this second story in the series as much as the first. Compared to the previous, this one involves a lot less of the courtroom side and more of the investigative side of Theo’s interests. He does get to help out in pet court though, up against a real lawyer, which was fun. One of the things I appreciate the most about this series is that Theo doesn’t get up to things that kids could never really do or get away with in real life. Whether alone or with the help of his uncle that was so instrumental in the previous book as well, Theo has to weigh the consequences of every action and make his decisions based on that. When I compare this book and series to others for the same age group that I’ve read that are full of action and adventure, this one might seem a little slow, but it’s so much more real.

Richard Thomas does a great job with the narration, too. For some reason I can’t really explain, every time he says, “Hello, Theo,” I smile. Overall, I’d say whether or not a teenager or pre-teen will be interested in this book will depend on what kind of fiction they like—if fast-paced action is important, this probably won’t suit them. If they’re interested in realistic fiction about crime and law and trials, this could be fascinating for them. There is a brief mention of the story from the previous book, but overall, I don’t think it’s necessary to read them in order (so far).

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Book Review: A Scheming in Parliament

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A Scheming in Parliament
Of Cloaks & Daggers #2
by Erica Vetsch

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical mystery

After spending years cultivating his reputation as a drunkard amongst the peerage, Sir Bertrand Thorndike, agent for the crown, has been given a mission that requires him to go straight so he can be presentable as he takes his new seat in Parliament. Meanwhile, the Eleos school, run in part by Philippa Cashel, a former courtesan who now attempts to help other women in a similar position, seems to have become a destination for injured or sick women before they’ve barely gotten themselves set up. Philippa and Bertie have to work together when the dirt Bertie is trying to uncover in Parliament ends up colliding with Philippa’s work.

I just love the way Vetsch weaves her stories, and this one is no exception. Philippa has terrible history, but she allows it to inform her present and future and help others who are going through what she did or worse. And Bertie’s completely unassuming yet protective nature is exactly the right foil for Philippa. The slow development of their relationship is one of my favorite kinds, and while they learn to lean on each other, there’s the terrible secret in Parliament to ferret out. Bertie is capable yet just clumsy enough to be endearing, and Philippa adds her own skills to the team. I really enjoy this twosome.

My favorite Vetsch character may have had a smaller role in this book, but that just means that the others get to shine more. And there’s still plenty of Marcus Haverly, so it’s all good. I’m really looking forward to the culmination of this trilogy. I highly recommend this book for fans of this genre and time period, whether you like romance or not, because there is some, but it’s not the focus of the book. But keep in mind that this book is the second in a trilogy. They each have their own main plot, but there’s enough that carries over from the previous book that it’s better to start with A Thieving at Carlton House. Of course, I would really recommend starting at the beginning for the full, rich experience, but diving in here is fine, too.

Note: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, but my opinions are my own.

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Book Review: Forever Odd

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Forever Odd
Odd Thomas #2
by Dean Koontz
Read by David Aaron Baker

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Paranormal thriller

When Odd’s best friend’s recently deceased (like, super recently) father visits him, Odd starts off on a mission to find his friend and save him from whoever seems to have abducted him and killed his father.

After finding the first book in the series interesting but a bit slow, this book is just as slow and less interesting. I still like Odd himself as a character. He’s very different from what you normally see in fiction in a lot of ways, a kind of throwback to a different time. Some reviewers seem to see this as a fault with the book, but I appreciate that his gifts have led him to live a simpler life—he has no real ambition, no need for vices, and in fact, what most people would see as a minor complication would throw his life out of whack completely. However, the first book really felt like a stand-alone. There’s usually a very different feel to a book that is the intentional first in a series compared to a book that was written to be a one-off, and though plenty of times a sequel or two may come after an original stand-alone, to me, this just didn’t work as a sequel. The main thing that I felt was seriously lacking in this book was the use of Odd’s gifts. His psychic magnetism gets plenty of play (and a new angle, unless I’m just forgetting something being mentioned in the first book), and he does see a few ghosts, but it seemed like a huge chunk of the book was just trying to escape from, hide from, and outwit the bad guys. It dragged down what was already a fairly slow read for me. Good thing I listened to the audiobook, or it might have taken me a really long time to get through this book. As for recommendations, if you haven’t read the first book, you probably shouldn’t start here, since it definitely references back and spoils some things. If you have and liked it, you may or may not like this one, depending a lot on which aspects of the first book you particularly liked or didn’t. That’s all I can really say.

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Book Review: Mandie and the Cherokee Legend

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Mandie and the Cherokee Legend
Mandie #2
by Lois Gladys Leppard

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s Christian historical fiction

I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen, and I read some of them to my now-teen daughter when she was younger. I would expect nostalgia to affect my reviews for this series, but I sadly have to say that this book did not hold up nearly as well as the first one did for me. There are three main areas in this book that really bug me. Mandie’s too-perfect characterization stands out in this book. I think the author tried to combat that some by having Mandie struggle with her hatred toward her rude Cherokee cousin, but it was a small part of the book, and she didn’t struggle with it that much. Plus, he miraculously changes his tune by the end of the book for no reason, which is one of the other issues I had.

On top of all of that, this book introduces a trope in the series that I remember my sister complaining about when we were younger, though somehow it didn’t bother me. It does now. Every guy that meets Mandie is attracted to her, charmed by her, jealous of other guys’ attention of her…. She inspires a lot of attention for a 12-year-old (though the guys are all at least a year or two older). Of course, Mandie is completely oblivious and doesn’t understand why these guys are so competitive around her. It’s unnecessary at best and a little disturbing at worse. I do hope that some of the issues I had with this book smooth out as the series continues, because plan to keep going and don’t want to continue to be this annoyed.

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Book Review: The Crossover Graphic Novel

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The Crossover Graphic Novel
The Giver series
by Kwame Alexander
illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade graphic novel

Josh and Jordan bell are 12-year-old basketball stars and sons of a man who was a player in his own time. Told from Josh’s perspective in a mixture of free-verse poetry and prose, their lives are all about basketball until Jordan gets a girlfriend. Then it seems like things only get worse from there.

I was recommended this book by a friend and had no idea what it was about, other than clearly a heavy focus on basketball. I’m sure I’m the completely wrong audience for it, being in my 40s with not much connection to basketball and not much of a poetry person either. Yet the basketball and poetry combinations appealed to me quite a bit, and when the greater story began to take shape, I was drawn into it. Josh struggles with the changes in his life and can’t really put words to his feelings, and I feel the author handled everything really well.

I have not read the original book that this was adapted from, so I can offer no comparison in that regard. But I believe this story in general and the graphic novel in particular would appeal to a demographic that might not be as interested in reading. And the poetic sections could definitely give some early exposure to an art form that is definitely not as widespread as it used to be. Overall, I recommend this book for preteens, male or female, and they don’t even have to be into basketball.

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Book Review: How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse

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How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse
How to Train Your Dragon #4
by Cressida Cowell
read by David Tennant

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

When Fishlegs is diagnosed with a deadly dragon’s curse, the cure for which can only be found by raiding a particularly crazy band of barbarians, Hiccup defies his father to go on a quest for the cure.

This book brings a refreshing break in the formula, with Hiccup not just failing some kind of training and happening into a situation where he has to save the day. Instead, he deliberately sets out to save the day and even takes a different cohort along—Camicazi, his female counterpart from another tribe, who is a lot of fun in this book too. I wasn’t sure about this series after the first couple of books, but I find I’m quite enjoying it now. The narration is brilliant as always, and I recommend the audiobook for readers young and old alike, and really the book in general.

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Book Review: In the Light of the Sun

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In the Light of the Sun
by Angela Shupe

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical fiction

Rosa and Caramina Grassi, Italian Filipinas, are both extraordinary singers. Rosa, the older sister, lives in Italy with their grandmother, who was also a famous singer in her time, and attends a music school to develop her gift. Younger sister Caramina is only 14 and still at home in the Philippines, but dreams of one day following her sister to Italy. But as war comes to both Italy and the Philippines, both sisters are forced to re-examine their priorities and fight just to survive.

I don’t think I have a lot to say about this book, good or bad. It was just kind of okay, to me. Both of these angles of WWII are fairly fresh—I especially have never read a book set in the Philippines when the Japanese invade. The horrors they endured there were no less horrible than what was going on in Europe, and the author did a good job of showing some of that without getting too dark or graphic. However, the overall pacing is really slow, which might have been partly to do with the fact that the book covers a few years. But I think the author also focuses on details now and then that just aren’t that important to the story. Though each of these stories could have been interesting on its own, I’m not sure the choice to go back and forth between the basically completely disconnected sisters was the right one. The sisters are fairly similar in personality and actually even experience some very similar situations, so some of it felt really repetitive. There is even some romance involved, but it’s all so broad-scope, I found that I didn’t particularly have much interest in it. Overall, I could see a lot of people really loving this book. The writing is smooth and easy to read, and I really liked some of the side characters. If you’re interested in these less-explored aspects in WWII fiction and don’t mind a slower-paced book, I encourage you to check this out.

Thank you to Netgalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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