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Book Review: A Beautiful Disguise

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A Beautiful Disguise
The Imposters #1
by Roseanna M. White

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical mystery

Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother Yates, an earl, may have inherited a grand estate, but their father left no money to keep it running. He blew it all on entertainment, which fortunately included circus acts that gave Marigold and Yates the training they needed to earn money as private investigators. When Sir Merritt Livingstone brings them a case involving possible espionage and treason, the investigation brings the Fairfaxes a little too close to home. Marigold’s carefully cultivated disguise of wealthy, vapid noblewoman might just blow up in her face.

This book drew me in right away, and I loved it all the way to the end. The story alternates between 3 POVs—Marigold, Yates, and Merritt. I worried it might be too much at first, but I really appreciated all 3 of these perspectives. I enjoyed the balancing act that both Yates and Marigold had to perform as anonymous investigators hired by Merritt and as acquaintances in social settings. While there’s a subplot of romance, it is not a focal point of the book, in my opinion. In fact, I feel like there’s more of a friendship base before anything further develops than normally happens in a book where the romantic pair start off as strangers.

The mystery that Merritt brings to The Imposters, Ltd. is not super complex, yet was not easy for me to unravel on my own. It actually seemed a little too simplistic at first, but then it became more complex as it went. Overall, it kept me engaged, as did the unique lifestyle of the Fairfax siblings, living on their estate with circus performers, complete with a monkey, a peacock, and Marigold’s lion friend.

It is never difficult for me to explain what I don’t like about a book (and I’m usually the outlier, struggling with books that most others loved), but it is often difficult to put into words what I enjoy about a book. What I have expressed above doesn’t adequately explain my love for this book, but I liked it so much, I’m going to immediately add previous books by this author to my TBR list, plus I’m so excited to see the next book in the series has already been announced! I highly recommend this book for fans of Christian historical mystery (this is set during the Edwardian era in London), but be aware the romance is a fairly slow burn.

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

Find out more about A Beautiful Disguise

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

2023 in Books

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

2023 was an unusual year for reading, which reflects the difficult year as a whole. My mom died at the beginning of February, which led to a months-long drop off in reading, which was just as well, because I also stopped writing reviews for at least a month. I stopped doing much of anything productive for a few months in general, but then by July, I was at least back to reading more regularly. By then, though, I was behind in my Goodreads challenge enough that I read a series of super-short kids’ books to catch back up, and then I proceeded to hit my original goal earlier than I have the last few years (then kept raising it).

I read 140 books in 2023, hitting my Goodreads challenge of 140 books on December 28th. My total page count was 37,252, making my average book length for the year 266 pages.

Below are the books I read in 2023. The link is to my review for that book, and a link to the book on Goodreads is at the bottom of each review.

January

diamond
tcw-14
Keep Moving
old yeller
lost-world
mv-2
7.5 Deaths
hunger-games-1
dresden-4
sound
Candy Box
Kowalski

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau (4.5 / 5)
The Cat Who Wasn’t There by Lilian Jackson Braun (4.5 / 5)
Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke (4 / 5)
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson (3 / 5)
The Lost World** by Michael Crichton (4 / 5)
Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle** by Stuart Turton (5 / 5)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5 / 5)
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (4.5 / 5)
The Sound of Light* by Sarah Sundin (4.5 / 5)
The Mystery of the Candy Box** by Elspeth Campbell Murphy (5 / 5)
Kidnapping Kevin Kowalski** by Mary Jane Auch (4.5 / 5)

February

valley-of-fear
st-patrick
little-house-4
tcw-15
mcgee-2
Office BFFs
olivia
escape

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (4 / 5)
Saint Patrick the Forgiver* by Ned Bustard (5 / 5)
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Went into the Closet by Lilian Jackson Braun (5 / 5)
A Star In The Breaking by Bill Myers & Ken C. Johnson (4 / 5)
The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey (5 / 5)
Olivia & the Gentleman from Outer Space* by Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev (2 / 5)
The Escape Game* by Marilyn Turk (2.5 / 5)

March

Dresden 5
39 2
Little House 5
Beezus and Ramona
TCW 16
Red Fern
Jeeves 2
white placeholder

Death Masks by Jim Butcher (3.5 / 5)
One False Note by Gordon Korman (4 / 5)
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Came to Breakfast by Lilian Jackson Braun (2.5 / 5)
Where the Red Fern Grows** by Wilson Rawls (4 / 5)
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)

April

ralph-2
edelweiss
little-house-6
yonwood
ramona-2
TCW 17
McGee 3
white placeholder

Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary (3.5 / 5)
Code Name Edelweiss* by Stephanie Landsem (4 / 5)
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau (1 / 5)
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle by Lilian Jackson Braun (4 / 5)
The Not-So-Great Escape by Bill Myers (5 / 5)

May

smartest-kid-3
hobbit
mv-3
p-p
ferryman
jeeves-1
tcw-18
little-house-7
39-3
ramona-3
sherlock-return
white placeholder

Evil Genius* by Chris Grabenstein (4 / 5)
The Hobbit** by J.R.R. Tolkien (5 / 5)
Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans (3.5 / 5)
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, adapted for younger readers by Fern Siegel (4 / 5)
The Ferryman* by Justin Cronin (4 / 5)
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Said Cheese by Lilian Jackson Braun (4.5 / 5)
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 / 5)
The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (3 / 5)
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (3 / 5)

June

aftk-cover
mcgee-4
mv-4
catching-fire
tcw-19
dragonback-1
doon
WivesDaughters
love-is-the-point
white placeholder
white placeholder
white placeholder

A Fire to Kindle* by Daniel Dydek (3 / 5)
Skate Expectations by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief by Lilian Jackson Braun (3.5 / 5)
Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn (5 / 5)
Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon (1 / 5)
Wives and Daughters** by Elizabeth Gaskell (5 / 5)
What If Love Is the Point?* by Carlos PenaVega & Alexa PenaVega (4 / 5)

July

The Novice
39-4
jeeves-3
tcw-20
ralph-3
mockingjay
facing
mcgee-5
tcw-21
little-house-8
molly-1
ramona-4
mv-5
signs
sherlock-case-book
39-5
royal-christmas
mohicans
white placeholder
white placeholder

The Novice** by Taran Matharu (4 / 5)
Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (5 / 5)
Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun (5 / 5)
Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (4 / 5)
Back to the Drawing Board by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
Facing the Enemy* by DiAnn Mills (2 / 5)
The Cat Who Saw Stars by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4 / 5)
Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (5 / 5)
Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans (3 / 5)
Molly Learns a Lesson by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Molly’s Surprise by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Happy Birthday, Molly by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Molly Saves the Day by Valerie Tripp (5 / 5)
Changes for Molly by Valerie Tripp (4 / 5)
Signs of Life by Creston Mapes (3 / 5)
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (4.5 / 5)
The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (4.5 / 5)
A Royal Christmas* by Melody Carlson (4 / 5)
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, adapted for younger readers by Eliza Gatewood Warren (4 / 5)

August

molly-mystery
jeeves-4
click-here
little-house-9
ramona-5
tcw-22
waffles
mv-6
tcw-23
last-bow
dragonback-2
jeeves-5
lydia
ramona-6
songbirds
white placeholder

Spy on the Homefront by Alison Hart (3.5 / 5)
Very Good, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse (4.5 / 5)
Click Here to Start by Denis Markell (2.5 / 5)
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (3.5 / 5)
Ramona and her Mother by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr (4 / 5)
Fall of Hades by Richard Paul Evans (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lilian Jackson Braun (4.5 / 5)
His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle (3 / 5)
Dragon and Soldier by Timothy Zahn (4.5 / 5)
Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Woman from Lydia* by Angela Evans (5 / 5)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (4 / 5)

September

39-6
tcw-24
swirling-sky
witness-protection
mcgee-8
annabel-lee
The Inquisition
good-girls-guide
LOTR1
tcw-25
mv-7
bite-before-christmas

In Too Deep by Jude Watson (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun (3.5 / 5)
Beneath the Swirling Sky* by Carolyn Leiloglou (5 / 5)
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt (5 / 5)
Take Me Out of the Ball Game by Bill Myers (4 / 5)
Annabel Lee by Mike Nappa (4.5 / 5)
The Inquisition** by Taran Matharu (4 / 5)
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (4.5 / 5)
The Fellowship of the Ring** by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Brought Down the House** by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
The Final Spark by Richard Paul Evans (2 / 5)
‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas* by David Rosenfelt (4.5 / 5)

October

talking
abby
hangman-audio
baskervilles
divergent
Right Ho, Jeeves
tcw-26
ramona-7
39-7
snow-place
the-event
hope
tcw-27
glipwood
white placeholder
white placeholder

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (4.5 / 5)
Abby’s Letters by Dana Romanin (2.5 / 5)
Hangman’s Curse** by Frank Peretti (5 / 5)
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (4 / 5)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (4 / 5)
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lilian Jackson Braun (2 / 5)
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis (3.5 / 5)
Snow Place for Murder* by Diane Kelly (2 / 5)
The Event by Whitney Dineen (2 / 5)
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (3.5 / 5)
The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest* by Andrew Peterson (5 / 5)

November

LOTR2
visitation
mv-8
little-guy
4-years
dragonback-3
not-if-i-save-you-first
nightmare-audio
feel-lke-christmas
children-of-the-shadows
white placeholder
white placeholder

The Two Towers** by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Visitation** by Frank E. Peretti (4 / 5)
The Parasite by Richard Paul Evans (1 / 5)
Look Out for the Little Guy by Scott Lang with Rob Kutner (4 / 5)
4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace** by Johan Twiss (audiobook) (3.5 / 5)
Dragon and Slave by Timothy Zahn (4 / 5)
Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter (1.5 / 5)
Nightmare Academy** by Frank E. Peretti (audiobook) (3 / 5)
You Make It Feel Like Christmas* by Toni Shiloh (4 / 5)
Children of the Shadows* by Erica Vetsch (4.5 / 5)

December

mcgee-9
jeeves-6
shiloh
ramona-8
porcelain
alls-fair
lemoncello-gn
caffeine
39-8
LOTR3
faithful-spy
tcw-28

‘Twas the Fight before Christmas by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (3.5 / 5)
Shiloh** by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2 / 5)
Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary (3.5 / 5)
The Porcelain Maker* by Sarah Freethy (3 / 5)
All’s Fair in Love and Christmas* by Sarah Monzon (4 / 5)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel* by Chris Grabenstein (5 / 5)
A Caffeine Conundrum by Angela Ruth Strong (2.5 / 5)
The Emperor’s Code by Gordon Korman (4.5 / 5)
The Return of the King** by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun (2.5 / 5)

This list includes 21 ARCs (marked with a *) and 18 re-reads (marked with a **). I’m not going to try to pick my single favorite book from the year, but I did post about my top 10 favorites already. During the last year, I started 12 series and finished 11 series, caught up on 1 series (meaning the author plans to release more in the future), and decided not to continue 1 series (after being at least 2 books into the series). I currently have 11 series in progress. I also DNF’d 1 book (not listed anywhere in this post).

Here is a break-down of the ratings I gave (minus some re-reads whose rating I didn’t count again):
1 star: 2
1.5 stars: 1
2 stars: 8
2.5 stars: 6
3 stars: 12
3.5 stars: 10
4 stars: 44
4.5 stars: 16
5 stars: 35
Average rating: 4

Because I did read 140 books, despite the few months of difficulty, I’m going to set my goal for the Goodreads challenge at 140 books (I started last year with 130 and kept adding to it in December). This number is only achievable if I read a lot of shorter children’s books, but that has been my plan for the last few years, and I did stellar with it this last year.

My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here. I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads, if anyone is interested in that.

What did you read last year? Let me know in the comments, and even feel free to link to your own summary post!

December in Review

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

I read 12 books last month, a respectable end to the year’s reading. Though the total page count was the lowest of the 2nd half of the year, reflecting quite a few shorter books in there. I hit my Goodreads goal of 130 books early in the month, but I had no idea until I checked the site later. That made me sad, since I like seeing the announcement that I reached my goal, but for whatever reason, I didn’t get that. So I added 5 books to the goal and kept going. Again, no announcement. So I set it for 140 books, which I ended up hitting with the very last book I read this month. Still no pop-up for me, so I gave up. I was out of time anyway. But then the next day, I went to the Goodreads app, and it randomly popped up to tell me I’d reached my goal. So yay, now I have a picture to share!

Here are the books I read in December:

mcgee-9
jeeves-6
shiloh
ramona-8
porcelain
alls-fair
lemoncello-gn
caffeine
39-8
LOTR3
faithful-spy
tcw-28

‘Twas the Fight before Christmas by Bill Myers (5 / 5)
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (3.5 / 5)
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (2 / 5)
Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary (3.5 / 5)
The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy (3 / 5)
All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon (4 / 5)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel by Chris Grabenstein (5 / 5)
A Caffeine Conundrum by Angela Ruth Strong (2.5 / 5)
The Emperor’s Code by Gordon Korman (4.5 / 5)
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix (5 / 5)
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun (2.5 / 5)

This list includes 3 ARCs and 2 re-reads. My favorite book from December was The Faithful Spy. I started 0 series, continued 4 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: All’s Fair in Love and Christmas

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All’s Fair in Love and Christmas
by Sarah Monzon

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Christian Christmas contemporary romance

Mackenzie Graham wants nothing more than to do her job without drawing attention to herself and without having to talk to people any more than necessary. So when she’s put into the spotlight as a contender for a promotion, against a man she’s had a crush on for two years, for a boss who has a history of promoting the people who show the most Christmas spirit, she will have to force herself out of her comfort zone. Jeremy Fletcher really needs that promotion, since he’s raising his twin niece and nephew after the deaths of their parents, so he plans to use his penchant for meticulous planning to win the promotion. Mackenzie throws a wrench in his plans, though, by being much more than the quiet co-worker he’d never really paid attention to before, now that she’s been thrust front and center for him.

This is bizarrely the 2nd book I’ve read this holiday season that has a lot of overlap with my own life. Mackenzie’s mom has Alzheimer’s and has days where she doesn’t remember Mackenzie and/or is extremely agitated. My mom had Lewy body dementia, which declined quickly, but during that time, we dealt with a lot of memory issues and agitated states (even before we knew that she had dementia). Also, I have social anxieties similar to Mackenzie, though mine seem to be a different flavor, so to speak. While I recognized a lot of the inner monologue and choices made to avoid being in the spotlight, I don’t think I could bring myself to do some of what Mackenzie does to try to win the promotion—though possibly with such a powerful motivator (needing to pay for her mom’s care), I could. There was a certain thing she does a few times to try to push herself to be more confident that I know I would never do, and that angle doesn’t really go anywhere anyway, so it’s a little strange in the story anyway.

I was a little thrown off by the many references to TV shows and movies at first, but I think that’s just because I don’t actually read a lot of contemporary fiction—more historical or even SFF. But even in those references, there were a lot made to shows and movies I love, so it made me feel all the more connected to both main characters. Jeremy’s little shudder over thinking about his pre-teen charges spending countless hours watching other people play video games on YouTube made me feel as seen as the reference to Mackenzie’s half-print/half-cursive style of writing. If I could stop here, this would probably have been a 5-star read for me.

There were a couple of things that stuck out to me throughout the story, though, that brought the rating down: I don’t care for 1st-person, present tense for one POV and 3rd-person, past tense for the other. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine, especially since it almost never seems necessary to do it that way. I suspect the author wanted to be more “in the head” of Mackenzie, with her social issues, and didn’t feel the need to do that for Jeremy, but even then, why the present/past difference? And the Christian content was weirdly paced. I had seen this was marked as Christian, which is why I was surprised to see absolutely no references to God by 15% of the way into the book. There is, though, flirting and suggestive movements, lots of secular music and such, and then suddenly there’s a prayer and biblical reference that seem to come out of nowhere. To be clear, I do not expect every book marked Christian to be chock-full of prayers and references to God or even to have a solid Christian message or moral. But other than Mackenzie’s belief that her lack of faith keeps her from getting past her social issues (which I kinda wish had been explored more), I would never really know that these characters are Christians. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book. It contains a lot of Christmas charm and is not too sappy, as Christmas romances go. I recommend it for fans of Christmas romance, especially with some Christianity involved.

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

Find out more about All’s Fair in Love and Christmas

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Porcelain Maker

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The Porcelain Maker
by Sarah Freethy

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Historical fiction

In 1993, Clara Vogel seeks an answer to the secret her mother kept from her—the truth of who her father was. Her only clue is a rare porcelain figure that her mother said had been made for her by Clara’s father, the Porcelain Maker of Dachau. Told in parallel with Clara’s search is the story of her mother, Bettina, and father, Max, who meet in Germany in 1929 and fall in love. But Max is Jewish, which means their relationship—and his very life—is in peril. When he is arrested and sent to Dachau, even working as an artist in the porcelain factory doesn’t assure his safety. Bettina will do anything she can to help the man she loves, even if it means putting herself in danger.

I always appreciate a book that gives me insight into something I didn’t know before, especially when related to a subject matter that a lot has already been written about. Historical fiction set during the Holocaust is prevalent, but the art and porcelain factory angles were new for me, and I did learn some interesting facts about the Nazis’ push for a certain style of art during their rise to power, mostly as a means of propaganda. Since I am not an artist and have never studied art or art history, a lot of the nuances of the different styles that were preferred by “degenerates” compared to the Nazis were lost on me, which is unfortunate, since it’s a big theme in the book. There are also several scenes about the making of porcelain figures that did provide some vague explanation, but not enough for a complete novice like me. So I definitely skimmed a lot of descriptions and discussions about expressionism, romantic realism, and other art styles that don’t mean much to me.

I felt for Max and Bettina, but I don’t think I got enough of a sense of their relationship—what brought and kept them together—to have quite the anguish the author would have preferred to provoke in the reader when they faced being apart. Of course, considering the circumstances of their forced separation, the reader doesn’t necessarily need a connection to the characters to understand how terrible it is. On top of that, though, the pacing of this book is very slow. I often found myself wondering if whole sections were really needed, such as a scene about a little girl and a rabbit that seemed completely unnecessary to me. I can’t even say I believe the more modern timeline with Clara added all that much to the story. Then, the last few chapters speed through the rest of the story, with very little detail given on matters I would have liked to know more about.

For those like me who like to know about graphic content before reading a book, there are references to a physical relationship (and Max and Bettina are not married), but nothing graphic, though there is one brief mention of nudity early in the book (Bettina during a party). I can’t recall a single bit of foul language, though God’s name is taken in vain a few times. I didn’t dislike this book, but overall, I think I wasn’t quite the right audience. I do think that most fans of historical fiction, especially WWII/Holocaust-related fiction, will like this book more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Find out more about The Porcelain Maker

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!

November in Review

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

I read 10 books last month, a fairly average number for this year with a fairly average page count as well. For once, I have nothing more to say about last month’s reading.

Here are the books I read in November:

LOTR2
visitation
mv-8
little-guy
4-years
dragonback-3
not-if-i-save-you-first
nightmare-audio
feel-lke-christmas
children-of-the-shadows
white placeholder
white placeholder

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (4 / 5)
The Visitation by Frank E. Peretti (4 / 5)
The Parasite by Richard Paul Evans (1 / 5)
Look Out for the Little Guy by Scott Lang with Rob Kutner (4 / 5)
4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace by Johan Twiss (audiobook) (3.5 / 5)
Dragon and Slave by Timothy Zahn (4 / 5)
Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter (1.5 / 5)
Nightmare Academy by Frank E. Peretti (audiobook) (3 / 5)
You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Toni Shiloh (4 / 5)
Children of the Shadows by Erica Vetsch (4.5 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 4 re-reads. My favorite book from November was Children of the Shadows. I started 0 series, continued 3 series, and finished 2 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: Children of the Shadows

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

Children of the Shadows
Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries #3
by Erica Vetsch

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Christian historical mystery

While already working on a murder case, Bow Street runner Daniel Swann is brought a case of missing street children by more than one individual. With the Duke of Haverly’s help, he’s also attempting to prove his rightful status as Earl of Rotherhhide, and both his future with Lady Juliette Thorndike and his future as an agent for the Home Office are in question depending on the outcome of the suit. Lady Juliette has also been asked to re-examine her commitment as a spy and is given time to think it over, while not being allowed to work on any cases.

I don’t gush over a book often, but I don’t think I can avoid it with this book, especially considering that it is the end of a series that I have loved and also follows up another series that I loved (Serendipity & Secrets). Vetsch is hands-down my favorite writer of Regency fiction, and I am so very sad to see this series come to a close. It feels like it’s just getting started! I want more mysteries for Thorndike and Swann, especially since they didn’t really get to work together in this book. And I really want more Marcus Haverly! Though he was a side character in this book, he still stands strong as my favorite overall character from these 2 series. 

The mystery in this story is engaging and exciting. It works well as a wrap-up to the series, since it involves some of the characters that recurred throughout. I tried so hard to guess at the identity of the main villain, but even though the clues are right there, I totally missed them. I kept grasping at outlandish theories, but hey, that’s why I’m not an investigator. There was another hidden identity that I did guess correctly, though. Juliette’s forced break from any real spy work was the only reason I rated this slightly less than 5 stars—the series is all about them teaming up to solve mysteries, after all.

I’m already looking forward to starting back at the beginning of the Serendipity & Secrets series and going through to this final book again. And maybe by then, there will be more of Marcus, Daniel & Juliette, maybe even Sophia or Philippa Cashel or the Cadogans, to carry on with. I highly recommend this book and series 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 books. But I would also really recommend checking out Serendipity & Secrets, and maybe even consider reading that trilogy first.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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October in Review

/ Kristi / Leave a comment

I read 14 books last month, a couple more books than September, but about 100 pages less than September. Of course, I spent half of the month listening to 80% of a very long audiobook, so the numbers are a bit skewed, since I didn’t finish it within this month, but oh well. It’ll boost next month’s numbers!

Here are the books I read in October:

talking
abby
hangman-audio
baskervilles
divergent
Right Ho, Jeeves
tcw-26
ramona-7
39-7
snow-place
the-event
hope
tcw-27
glipwood
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Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (4.5 / 5)
Abby’s Letters by Dana Romanin (2.5 / 5)
Hangman’s Curse by Frank Peretti (5 / 5)
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (4 / 5)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (4 / 5)
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (4 / 5)
The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lilian Jackson Braun (2 / 5)
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (4 / 5)
The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis (3.5 / 5)
Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly (2 / 5)
The Event by Whitney Dineen (2 / 5)
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (3.5 / 5)
The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lilian Jackson Braun (3 / 5)
A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest by Andrew Peterson (5 / 5)

This list includes 2 ARCs and 1 re-read. My favorite book from October was Talking as Fast as I Can. I started 3 series, continued 4 series, and finished 1 series. My ever-changing short list of to-be-reads, as well as a flag for the book I’m currently reading and an ongoing list of those I’ve read and posted about can be found here.

I’m also keeping my Goodreads page updated with a more extensive list of to-be-reads. Despite my almost too-long TBR list, I’m always looking for more to add. Feel free to offer suggestions of your favorites or just recent reads you enjoyed.

Book Review: A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest

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A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest
by Andrew Peterson
Illustrated by Aedan Peterson

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s fantasy

This travel guide through the dangerous and wondrous Glipwood Forest was written by one of the founding members of the Glipwood Official Rangers Guild (GORG). Not only does he share the best and safest (relatively speaking) path through the forest, he also tells of how he met each of the other original eight members of the GORG.

I really wasn’t sure what this book would be like when I first picked it up, and it turned out to be a really fun, quick read. The humor and whimsy of the original series can be found throughout this book. At times I felt like Andrew Peterson was making up as outlandish of names and descriptions of items as he could to try to stump his son, who drew sketches of Glipwood Forest flora as well as the members of the GORG for the book. I particularly loved the sketches of Owin and Chonis Ponius Groverly, the “in-world” author and illustrator of the guidebook. Fans of The Wingfeather Saga will enjoy this return to the land of Skree, with many references to locations they’ll remember from the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for providing me a copy of this book to review.
Publication date: November 7, 2023

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