Spring is finally here! I’m so ready for warmer temperatures, no more snow (fingers crossed), and all the flowers to bloom. Some birds have already made their way back home, and there are ducks quacking away in the pond near my home (love them).

That being said, it’s time to dive into my wrap up for fall AND winter because…well…I didn’t get much reading done (big surprise). Yes, it is because of grad school, blah, blah, blah, you all know the drill by now.

And if you’re new here: hi! I’m a librarian in grad school. Welcome!

Let’s begin with the one book I read in the fall:

Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Genre: YA Fantasy

Summary: Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a witch hunter, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but now they are forced into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

My Rating: Two stars

Review to come!

Here are the books I read in winter:

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Genre: Adult Thriller

Summary: Alicia Berenson shoots her husband five times in the face, and then never speaks another word for the next six years. Why? That’s what her psychotherapist, Theo Faber, is going to find out. 

My Rating: Four stars

Check out the review here

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

Genre: Adult Thriller

Summary: When Rowan Caine stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. When she arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.

My Rating: Four stars

Check out the review here

DNF

Here are the books I didn’t finish:

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda

Genre: YA Fantasy

Summary: Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone—even the lowborn—a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.

Five Chapter Chance: Failed

This book gave me a headache, which has never happened before. The excessive amounts of commas and em dashes made the narrator sound like William Shatner. There was too much going on with little explanation, no description of the dragons, and the “fights” that took place in order to become a “dragonrider” were summed up in a paragraph rather than shown.

The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif

Genre: YA Fiction

Summary: Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, an elite organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice around the world. Athena operatives are never supposed to shoot to kill—so when Jessie can’t stop herself from pulling the trigger, she gets kicked out of the organization right before a huge mission. 

Five Chapter Chance: Failed

All tell and no show turned this spy “thriller” into a total bore. The action sequences weren’t written well, and the main character’s point of view didn’t fit the narrative.

Heart of a Royal by Hannah Currie

Genre: YA Fiction

Summary: With Princess Alina engaged to be married, Mackenna Sparrow’s presence as companion is no longer required, and  she must return to the birthright which should have been hers—that of a commoner. When the truths she’s based her life on start crumbling as fast as her future, will she find the courage to trust herself and the prince she’s fallen for?

Five Chapter Chance: Passed

Prepare yourselves for a rant.

This book reminded me of Kiera Cass’ The Selection series, and not in a good way. Not only do the covers look similar, but the character names are almost the same as well? There’s King Everson, Prince Thoraben (why?), and Lady Wenderley in this novel vs King Clarkson, Prince Maxon, and Queen Amberly in The Selection. 

Then there’s the story itself, which has zero plot and no world-building whatsoever. Apparently, the government fell to the “demands of equality,” so the “nation of Hodenia” reinstated a monarchy as a “single voice of reason”…what (19)? There’s also always talk of rebels invading the kingdom *cough* like The Selection series *cough*, and then you find out they haven’t attacked in SEVENTEEN years??? Do these rebels even know how to rebel?

Not only that, but Mackenna “Kenna” Sparrow’s character is beyond ridiculous. She grew up in the castle and received a royal education, which should make her somewhat intelligent, right?

“Don’t be dense, Kenna” sums up her character in a nutshell (14). I don’t know how many times I rolled my eyes over the things that went through this girls head.

“I think I opened my mouth to sigh, but a frustrated howl found its way out instead” (122)…

She thinks she opened her mouth??? I gave up after 13 chapters. I tried.

Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen

Genre: YA Romance

Summary: Lady Victoria Aston has everything she could want: an older sister happily wed, the future of her family estate secure, and the ample opportunity to while her time away in the fields around her home. But now Vicky must marry, or find herself and her family destitute. Armed only with the wisdom she has gained from her beloved Jane Austen novels, she enters society’s treacherous season.

Five Chapter Chance: Failed

I was really looking forward to this, but this book was painful to read. Victoria or “Vicky” knows absolutely nothing about her own society other than what she’s learned from Jane Austen novels. This story is set in the early 1800s! She should know!

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Genre: Adult Fiction

Summary: One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight headed for LA. The plane crashes, and Edward is the sole survivor. Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family.

My main issue with this book is the use of third person present tense. This tense makes the narrative read more like a screenplay than a story and tells more than it shows. It also doesn’t work with this story as each chapter switches between the past and the present. I don’t understand why the author didn’t use third person past tense for the past and third person present for the present. It would’ve made a lot more sense.

Some of the descriptions in this book were also strange: “Edward blinks his eyes—two hot, dry stones—and hauls himself up on his crutches to answer” …not a great visual.

Wrap Up

There you have it: my fall and winter wrap up.

What do you think? Am I being too harsh on the books I DNF’d? Let me know in the comments!