ravensandlace's reviews
540 reviews

Title: Under the Surface

Author: Diana Urban

Genre: YA Horror

Format: eARC

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4.5 stars

One of my favorite horror movies is As Above So Below, which is about a group of young adults who go into the Paris catacombs and bad things start to happen. When I discovered that there was a YA book about a group of teens going into the catacombs, I knew I had to get my hands on this book by any means necessary. Luckily, NetGalley approved my request so I didn’t have to do anything too crazy. But just so you know, Diana, I would have done a lot of things to get my hands on the book. A lot. 

One of the best things about this book was how the teenagers behaved like teenagers. Ruby, the main character, had a huge fight with one of her friends. The reason why was so silly to me and I was starting to get annoyed about it. But one of my friends, who I buddy read this with, reminded me that they are teens. Of course, what we (as adults) think is silly is a big deal to teens. That put things in perspective for me and I enjoyed the book a lot more. 

The setting is so well done. The Paris catacombs are so creepy and I can tell that Diana Urban did her research about this place. There is so much history about the catacombs and I learned quite a bit about how vast the catacombs are. It made me really to visit the catacombs and also never want to visit them ever. 

I think I will end the review here. This is one of those books where you need to experience it with as little information as possible. Just know you will experience a lot of dread. It pervades the entire book and it will never leave you, even at the very end. I highly recommend this book! Especially if you enjoyed the movie, As Above So Below. 

Title: The Medusa Murders

Author: Joy Ann Ribar

Genre: Mystery

Format: eARC

Series: Bay Browning (#1)

Star Rating: 2 stars

I’m going to come right out and say it: This was not a good book at all. The murder mystery was incredibly confusing, the main character was insufferable, and the writing was very clunky. Let me explain more. 

Let’s start with the plot. It’s a murder mystery, so the main character is working with the police to find a serial killer. Sounds easy enough, right? No, it wasn’t easy. The whole plot mixed Egyptian mythology with Roman/Greek mythology. You were also expected to know pretty obscure paintings. The connection between the murderer and the main character was just so weird. I was confused the entire time. 

Speaking of the main character, Bay, she was one of the most pretentious characters ever. Not to mention she was a straight-up b word. She forced her sister, who had some trouble with addiction, to call her Professor even though her sister was trying incredibly hard to be a better person. She was so rude to the detective working the case. She demanded to help solve it but was pretty unhelpful most of the time. Bay was just awful in the worst kind of way. 

Now onto the writing. This book was just not written well at all. The dialogue tags were so weird. There were things like “she said demurely” That’s so weird. There was also weird sentence structure like “of course, he’d slept precious little since the discovery” That just rolls off the tongue weird. The whole book was filled with things like that. 

Overall, this just wasn't a good book. It needs some serious editing and fine-tuning. The main character was horrible and disrespectful. The plot was so confusing and it made no sense. Overall, I don’t recommend this book at all. 

Title: The Last Boleyn

Author: Karen Harper

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: paperback book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 2.5 stars

This is one of those cases where I thought the book was good but for some reason, I just really struggled with it. It took me so long to get through it; it was over a month. I don't know why either. This is the perfect book for me. 

This is a day in the life of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn. It spans over many years so there is a ton of detail. I can tell the author spent a lot of time researching. I wonder if Mary kept diaries because I felt we got to know Mary on a deeply personal level. Even the dialogue was well done. Honestly, it was some of the best I have seen from a historical fiction novel. 

I think maybe my problem was that I am such an Anne Boleyn stan and the way she was portrayed in this book kind of upset me. I think that Anne got the short end of the stick in history. I truly think she was completely misunderstood as a person. I’m glad we are finally getting the truth though. That she was just a victim in King Henry VIII’s game of life. But in this book, she seemed like such a brat through the eyes of her sister. But I think that might just be me being biased about my Queen. Take what I say about this particular part with a grain of salt. 

I just can’t put my finger on why I didn’t love this book the way I wanted to. But, with that being said, I think a lot of people would love this book. Especially those that are heavily interested in the Tudors. I think a lot of people would like it, especially since it’s not about the Tudors but someone close to them. Don’t let my low rating deter you. This is very much a me, not you situation. 

Title: The Guest

Author: Emma Cline

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: hardback library book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 3.5 stars

Two things will always be true: I will read anything Emma Cline writes. And I will always support women's rights and women's wrongs. It is also apparent that I am enjoying reading about incredibly delusional women. Alex has to be one of the most delusional women I’ve read about. And I loved her so much. 

This is a slow, langued book. It takes its time. The book wants you to get to know Alex, as much as she will let you. I felt that Alex knew you were reading about her and she didn’t want you to know her at all. She will open up when she wants to and not a second sooner. 

As for the plot, there is one but there also isn't. It’s really about the one singular goal of Alex’s, which is to get back to Simons. The plot is about how Alex is going to accomplish that goal. She will use people and do whatever is necessary. This is what I meant about supporting women’s wrongs. Alex knows that what she did was wrong and she knows that getting back to Simon is wrong, but she is determined to achieve her goal by any means necessary. And I do mean by any means necessary.  

While I truly enjoyed the book, it started to lose me in the last quarter of it. Things started to happen pretty quickly after things had been going so slowly. It was jarring. We were also getting so much information from Alex after having almost everything withheld. And the information revealed was like oh that’s it? I wish we had gotten more. 

Overall, I still liked and enjoyed this book. The first half was great. Alex is a very complex and extremely morally grey but I enjoyed her so much as a person. I just had a few gripes about the ending and the last quarter of it. Overall, a good book, I just wish it was a little better. But I still love Ema Cline and will read anything she writes and will be needing this as a trophy. 

Title: The Ghost

Author: Danielle Steel

Genre: Romance

Format: own paperback book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4 stars

I am so impressed with this book. One thing Danielle Steel does well is she can write male main characters so well. Her male characters always have so much emotion and aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. That is what I enjoyed about Charlie. He was just so great as a person. He was not afraid to show any sort of emotion, even if it was considered weak. 

My heart hurt for Charlie. Poor guy thought he had a great life with his wife and a job he liked. Instead, his wife cheats and he is forced to transfer. I just wanted to hug Charlie because he did not deserve what happened to him. Plus his ex-wife is just so awful. She expected him to just be completely okay with what she did to him, telling him to get over it. 

I think one of my favorite things about this book was how it’s a story within a story. Charlie finds journals of someone, Sarah, who owns the house he is renting. I was so invested in Sarah’s story. The way life dealt her an abusive husband and child loss was heartbreaking to read. But I was just so hooked on her story. She was such a strong and courageous woman. And I’m glad her journals helped Charlie heal from what was going on in his life. I think Danielle Steel should write a book about Sarah because I would read the heck out of that. 

Overall, I highly recommend this book. If you are interested in starting your Danielle Steel journey, this is certainly a good starting book. It’s a classic romance novel but it’s also so much more than that. I can't recommend this book enough. 

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth 

Author: Carrie Ryan

Genre: YA Horror

Format: ebook

Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (#1)

Star Rating: 3.5 stars

I was in the mood for a spooky book in preparation for the upcoming spooky season. I surfed my Libby app and found this book. It’s a zombie book with cult vibes so I thought this would be a good book. Which it was but it didn’t live up to my expectations of it. I’m truly starting to believe that YA horror isn’t the genre for me. I need my books more terrifying than what YA can give me. I’ll keep giving it a shot and see what happens. 

One of the plot points I did not expect to be so prominent was the romance plot. Mary, the main character, was pretty obsessed with Travis, the love interest. I don’t mind romance in horror/apocalypse books but I don’t want it to be the whole book, which was the case with this book. Mary has no interest in finding out anything more about the Sisterhood or the history of her town. It was all about Travis, which got old super quick.

I would like to say more about the plot. But that is pretty much it. Mary searches for the ocean and thinks about Travis constantly. It was just so frustrating. I was expecting a lot of zombies with some cults thrown in for fun. I just didn’t get that. It was just Mary going on and on about Travis and how obsessed she was with him.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this book. I looked up when it was published and it was published in 2009 so the tropes it has make sense for the time period. I think back in 2009, I would have really enjoyed this book. But, even though I’m pretty disappointed with this book, I am interested in continuing with the series. My interest has been piqued just enough to continue. Overall, I’d recommend this book if you enjoy the nostalgia of 2009 YA books. 

Title: Second Chance

Author: Danielle Steel

Genre: Romance

Format: own hardback book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 3 stars

This book did not hit in the way I thought it was going to. I had such high hopes for it in the beginning even though I thought the main character, Fiona, sounded like a lovely woman. There were just some things about this book that rubbed me the wrong way. 

I think John just sucked as a character and I think he was the main problem I had with this book. He knew the kind of life Fiona led but yet judged her for all the clothes she had and the people she associated with. Like I don't know what he expected. He also had some horrible kids, I mean just completely rotten. This might be slightly spoilery but one of his kids had an abortion and blamed it on John dating Fiona. How the hell did John and his late wife raise his kids? That is psychotic! There were so many other things that happened with John’s kids but that seems to be a common theme with Danielle Steel’s books. The kids are always so rotten. 

However, one of the worst things about John was that he just got up and left Fiona. She was so afraid of being left thanks to a rather traumatic childhood. John knew that and still decided to leave. He didn’t even bother with counseling or anything that made him entirely unforgivable in my eyes—and then had the audacity to try and come back, as if he didn’t completely destroy this woman. I was fuming almost the whole time, I was so frustrated with John. 

Overall, this was not Danielle Steel’s best showing. The love interest in the book completely ruined the book. He had no redeeming qualities and I truly don’t know what Fiona actually saw in him. He was a basic man who had nothing to offer such a smart and amazing woman. His kids were garbage and he should have grounded them into the next millenia. This was mediocre at best. 

Title: Now and Forever

Author: Danielle Steel

Genre: Romance

Format: own hardback book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 3.5 stars

So this was an interesting book, for lack of better words. This is one of the first Danielle Steel novels ever published and you can certainly tell. It hasn’t aged well. And the ellipses. So. Many. Ellipses. 

This book would absolutely not be published today. Especially in light of the Me Too movement. Throughout the book, it’s made very clear that the victim is a liar and Ian did not do anything wrong. It even sends out a message that the husband cheating is okay because that’s just what men do. It was just really gross to read. There were several times I had to put the book down to read something else because I just didn’t love how victim-blaming this was. 

As for Jessie, the main character, she had a ton of trauma she never dealt with and it’s obvious by how much she spiraled. I’m glad she did decide to work on herself but the fact she let Ian take advantage of her and let him cheat because his manhood couldn’t accept she was paying for everything since he refused to work. I honestly thought Jessie could do way better. 

I think the whole point of this book was if you love someone, the lengths you would go for that person should be endless. Which I think is a great thought in theory but how far do you go? Until your physical and mental health are broken I certainly think there is a limit. Also, when your loved one is accused of rape and it’s pretty obvious that he did, would you stay then? According to Danielle Steel of the 70’s you should. But luckily for us, I think Danielle Steel has matured and she hasn’t written another book like this since. 

Overall, despite my scathing review, this was an alright book. I think this book will have its audience for sure. Probably those who grew up with Danielle Steel and have been with her since the start. Overall, like I said, not a bad book but certainly not one of her best. It just had a lot of pretty icky tones that certainly would not fly with today’s standards.  

Title: Lucy Undying

Author: Kiersten White

Genre: Adult Horror

Format: hardback library book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4.5 stars

So this is a little known fact about me but I’m obsessed with Frankenstein and Dracula. For some reason, I latched on to these two classics. Probably because they were the first classics I could understand. So when I heard that this book was coming out, I had to get my hands on it. I may have threaded the author multiple times about it and I’m sure she was sick of me. So if you reading this, Kiersten, I’m sorry for fangirling a little too close to the sun. I just really love Dracula. Who can blame me? 

One of the best things about this book was how queer it was. The two main characters, Lucy and Iris, are queer. During Lucy’s many years alive, she came across a lot of queer folk. It was so fantastic to see! My queer (I’m bisexual) little heart was so ridiculously happy with this addition. It wasn’t forced or anything. It felt completely natural and realistic. Because there are many queer people out there, living their life. And I love that the book represents that. 

I also enjoyed the different ways the story was told. We had Iris's POV, Lucy’s journals, Lucy’s transcripts, and even a fun mystery guest I’ll keep as a surprise. All of it worked perfectly to tell an interesting story that spans decades. 

Another thing I loved about this book was the inclusion of modern day things. I especially loved that Iris’ mom essentially ran an MLM scheme. Even though it was nefarious, for some reason this tickled me. Even as I write this review, thinking about it now, it’s just so funny to me. When my book club asked me to describe this book, as it was a book I recommended, I told them it was essentially a book about vampire MLM schemes. Everyone thought that was pretty funny. 

Every single thing in this book was so great. Iris was great! I appreciated how real she was. She had a lot of trauma but she tried to make sure it didn’t affect others. She knew when she was being irrational and apologized when she had to. I also liked the addition of a chronic illness. She was just so incredible. 

Lucy was also well fleshed out. My heart bled for her and everything she was going through. I appreciated that when she died, she was 19 years old and her mental state more or less stayed 19 years old. I never felt she acted too old or too young. She did act slightly more mature than a normal 19 year old but I attribute that to her trauma. 

Overall, in case y'all couldn’t tell, I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, the way the book was written, and just everything about it. It makes me want to dig out all my Dracual related books and read them since I have a couple. As for recommendations, I highly recommend this book especially if you love Dracula! 

Title: Little Miss Jane

Author: Robin Rhoden

Genre: Mystery

Format: eARC

Series: Ghost Witness (#1)

Star Rating: 4 stars

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book when I first started. I like my murder mysteries pretty gritty and I was worried this wasn’t going to live up to my high expectations. I have been spoiled by Greer Hendricks. Well, my fears were unfounded and I ended up devouring this book. This book was amazing and I enjoyed every single minute of it. The best part of it was the accurate representation of anxiety and panic attacks. I haven’t read such an amazing anxiety representation since I read Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. 

The main character, Diane, survived a kidnapping but has major PTSD and panic attacks from it. As I mentioned above, Diane’s panic attacks were so accurately represented. The symptoms were spot on, at least for me. Everything about her panic attacks was written so perfectly. I appreciate that even though Diane is healed (for the most part), she still has bad days. And I appreciate that the love interest didn’t fix it. He was there to help her but his love didn’t fix everything. Too often, I see that in books and it drives me nuts. I just saw myself in Diane a lot. Her anxiety was my anxiety on the page and I truly appreciated the representation. 

The plot was well done. There were two plots but I felt they both were done well and they were both pretty different but in a good way. They kind of overlapped but I never felt confused at all. I was equally invested in both plot lines. To be honest, I just enjoyed the main character a lot so anything she did, I was with her. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It had everything I wanted in a book. The plot was well done. The anxiety rep was some of the best I’ve seen in a while. The main character and her love interest were so cute, I could have gushed about them for days. Overall, I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait for the second book.