December Reads: YA Novels!

 I've been involved in a project with YA novels for the past few months so I've been reading so. many. YA. novels. 

I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites. They're all a bit different, but each definitely tugged at my heart! 

Here they are in no particular order:

This will appeal to anyone who likes to read short stories. Each author writes at the end of the short story about their personal mental health experiences, which made the short stories more impactful for me. Issues include self-harm, anxiety, depression, grief, and much more. 

YA historical fiction centered around a young Japanese American teen living in the Pacific Northwest, and the fallout her family goes through in the days after Pearl Harbor as neighbors turn against neighbors. 

A young teen (Avery) has to move from Washington DC to a small town in the South when her grandmother's cancer takes a turn for the worst. Avery doesn't know her grandmother, but wants to learn her family history--which is deeply wrapped up in the black and white tensions that run through the town. 

Sports fans will love this novel set in Minnesota, where a young man with big talent has to lead his Native American basketball team to the state finals, all while grieving over his older brother's death and the expectations to live up to his brother's legacy. A study in grief, family dynamics, and tensions between Native Americans and the world they must navigate within a white world. 

This one got me fired up and angry pretty quickly. Definitely a hot button issue. A young woman finds herself pregnant and decides an abortion is the only answer. She must leave her Texas town with her boyfriend to get an abortion. Oh, it's a good one--this would make an excellent book club discussion.

This book had my heart from the first few pages. Ian lives on the last few acres of what was once a 300 acre family farm in Vermont. His mother is addicted to drugs, they have no money for food or heat, and Ian keeps it all to himself to stay on his family's land. His friendship with Gather, a very large dog that arrives at his home is the center of this novel about survival, family history, self-reliance, and learning to trust people. This was such a good book!!

If anything, my diving into YA books has reminded me that there are so many excellent stories just waiting to be read and shared. Don't forget to explore the YA section of your local library or bookstore. There are many gems out there!

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December Reads: YA Novels!

November Read: Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy Book 1 by Nora Roberts

 November has been a hot mess for me reading-wise. I'm working on a bit of a project that is taking up a lot of my reading time and I blinked and tomorrow is December first. 

I have read a few of Nora Robert's trilogies over the years and I always enjoy them, and the fact that they are just a trilogy and not a series. I couldn't wait to read this, her newest trilogy that combines a bit of romance, a bit of history, and a bit of the unexpected in a family curse, an evil witch, and a whole lot of dead brides. 

Sonya MacTavish lives in Boston and has just gotten out of a terrible relationship mere weeks before she was set to be married. It turned her world upside down, but she's moving on and making plans. Her plans are disrupted by a visit from a lawyer from Poole's Bay, Maine. He tells Sonya that she's inherited a majestic home and investments from her unknown until now Uncle Collin Poole. Collin and Sonya's father Drew were twins who were separated at birth; neither knew the other existed until Collin found out as an adult, but too late to meet Drew, who died in an accident. Now Collin is dead, and he's left the family legacy to Sonya. She has to move to Maine and agree to live in the home for three years--all expenses paid. Overnight she's become a wealthy woman. 

With nothing to lose, Sonya moves to Maine and immediately falls head over heels for the home. She sets up her freelance business as a graphic artist and starts settling in, but quickly discovers some unsettling things about the home--it is haunted. Not by just one spirit, but by a whole group. And there is one nasty spirit who is determined to push Sonya out by any means possible. 

So who are the spirits? The family history paints a terrible picture of tragedy after tragedy for generations. Once each generation, a Poole woman dies either on her wedding day, or within the first year of marriage. All manner of deaths--but each is a murder, and those murders are done by a woman who was rejected by the first Poole man for his true love. She's still in the house, and at night Sonya wanders the house, looking into the events leading up to each of the seven brides and their tragic deaths. What do they want with her? And why does the evil witch take the wedding ring off each woman as they lay dying? 

This was just a fun read, and classic Nora Roberts. The house is fascinating; the premise of the family curse is interesting, and I have to say I do love the reaction of Cleo, Sonya's best friend, to the evil witch and her attempts to scare the women. A few "F*** You" quotes fly through the air, and honestly, if I was in Cleo's place, I'd probably say the same thing, too. This witch has had centuries to hang around, but she hasn't met any modern women--and she has met her match. 

Sonya gets involved with Trey Doyle, a lawyer in town who has a family history with the Poole family and grew up and around the house. He's well aware of the history and the hauntings. Sonya's best friend Cleo is also a treat--and I suspect her relationship with Owen Poole, Sonya's cousin, will be the second book in the trilogy. 

This one ends suddenly and boom! Done. Not even a teaser for the next book. I surely hope it comes soon, because it definitely left me hanging. So yes, suspend belief; enjoy the little dog named Yoda, the copious amounts of wine drinking between Sonya and crew, and the glorious home Nora Roberts created for us to enjoy. I can't wait to read more and watch Sonya destroy the family curse so she can live happily ever after and not become the next lost bride. Wrench those stolen wedding rings off that hag's hand, Sonya!

I don't see any dates or anything at all about the second book in the trilogy. Stay tuned. 

Rating: 5/6 for sheer entertainment, a clever story, and characters that are easy to get to know and enjoy. The romance is light and sex is tastefully done and exactly what a modern grown up couple would do and say.  I will be trying to wait patiently for the second book. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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November Read: Inheritance: The Lost Bride Trilogy Book 1 by Nora Roberts

The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick

I was looking over my post from 2015 on Ellen Herrick's first novel The Sparrow Sisters,  and saw that I ended my review with a wish that Sorrel's story was told in a future book.

My wish was granted.  I'll start out by saying you should read The Sparrow Sisters first before you read The Forbidden Garden.  Having Sorrel's background, and understanding where she comes from and the talents of the Sparrow sisters will give this novel more clarity.  Granted, you could read this without reading the first novel, but then I imagine you'd spend a lot of time wondering about Nettie and Patience, and just what the heck happened in The Sparrow Sisters. Save yourself some frustration!

So.  Sorrel Sparrow is asked to travel to England by Sir Graham Kirkwood to re-create a Shakespeare garden on his family's estate, Kirkwood Hall.  This garden has been lying dormant for hundreds of years, thanks to a curse placed on it by Graham's ancestor (and complete nasty creep!) Thomas Kirkwood. Sure enough, anyone who attempted to bring the garden back to life mysteriously became ill and died.  Sir Graham's wife had been determined to succeed, and became very ill.  Sir Graham has decided once and for all to break the curse, and Sorrel, known for her mysterious gifted ways with plants and gardens, was recommended to him.  

Sorrel is unaware of the curse when she arrives, but is soon given the story of the garden, as she is quickly drawn into the Kirkwood family.  They really are a wonderful group of people; warm, friendly, down to earth, and people who love and protect their legacy.  One part of their legacy are the legendary family tapestries, kept locked up in a room where they are left in quiet.  Why?  Because these tapestries tell a disturbing story of a chase, but the seventh tapestry is missing, and without that tapestry, the story remains inconclusive.  The tapestries are so disturbing that no one is allowed to view them.  But, as you find out, they are a big part of the reason why the Shakespeare garden is cursed.  

Will Sorrel's magic way with nature overcome the dark history of the garden?  Can she break the curse?  I have to say I was sucked into this story pretty quickly.  The Kirkwood family is so well drawn out that I was ready to sit down in their cozy kitchen and visit with them.  Sorrel's magical ability--which she doesn't see as magic at all, just the way she is--causes people to both admire, be astonished, and be doubtful of it all.  What is magic, and what is Godly?  Can something be both?  Sorrel's budding romance with Andrew, who is going through his own crisis of faith, leads you into some interesting thoughts on faith, having a calling, and how those can be based in reality.  

Gardens, luscious flowers, delicious foods, a cast of characters that are pretty fantastic, and an interesting family history--complete with a villain. It's a combo that I couldn't resist!

Rating:  4/6 for a lovely sequel to The Sparrow Sisters.  I hope there is more to come, as I love the world Ellen Herrick has built and want more!  For fans of Alice Hoffman, Sarah Addison Allen, M.J. Rose,  and Brunonia Barry.  

Available in paperback, e-book, audio, and hardcover. 

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The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick