Review: The Poisoner’s Ring

I was very late to the Kelley Armstrong game, having only read my first book by her in 2020 - a whopping 19 years after her first published book. Since then, I’ve devoured her Rockton series and have been thoroughly enjoying her latest series which began with A Rip Through Time, published last year. (Review here.) The Poisoner’s Ring is the next book in that series and just published this week. I was so glad to be back with Mallory, Gray, Isla, and McCreadie and, dare I say it, I think I liked this one more than the first!

Here’s the book’s description:

Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid Catriona Mitchell―even though Mallory is in Catriona’s body―and Mallory is now officially an undertaker’s assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows… the latest of which is Gray’s oldest sister.
Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.

This is a mystery novel first, historical novel second. I think Armstrong recognized some of her missteps in book one and took pains to do more research to make the setting more believable and accurate. As a huge historical fiction reader, I appreciated that. But as a mystery reader, I cared a wee bit more about the whodunit. And by cared I mean I was totally addicted and had no idea how the case would be resolved. Armstrong had me guessing right to the end and I loved it.

I think I liked this one more than the first because Mallory was already in the past and wasn’t actively trying to get back to the present. Oh, she wants to return home, of course. But she does enjoy her new life, even with all the weirdness. I was able to get to know the characters and the setting more in this book, rather than focusing on said weirdness that was how Mallory ended up in the past.

The novel was really fast-paced, as you’d expect from a mystery. I love how smart all the main characters are and yet never felt like an idiot for not picking up on the clues they were seeing. I am but a mere library staffer, not a homicide detective. Shouting about how great the library is is more up my alley than sniffing out clues to find out who murdered someone. But the point is, the clues are there and I was perfectly happy not understanding how they all worked together until the big reveal at the end. The resolution of the case was satisfying - though I wish the court of public opinion was kinder.

Kelley Armstrong’s latest book, The Poisoner’s Ring, was an entertaining read that kept me engaged from start to finish. It’s not perfect but it’s incredibly enjoyable and that makes it a win in my books. I’m really loving this series and cannot wait until the next book!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Minotaur Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: A Rip Through Time

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I was late to the Kelley Armstrong game. I knew who she was, of course (you can’t work in a bookstore and not know popular Canadian authors) but I had just never picked up her books - until the Rockton series. I loved that one so when I saw she was writing a new historical mystery series, I knew I wanted to check it out. A Rip Through Time is the first and it did its job - I REALLY need to read the next book!

Here’s the book’s description:

May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness.
May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that night in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was strangled in the same spot.
When Mallory wakes up in Catriona's body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon discovers that her boss, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man, similar to the attack on herself. Her only hope is that catching the murderer can lead her back to her modern life . . . before it's too late.

This book wasn’t exactly the greatest literary work. The number of times Mallory’s “hands itched to grab her phone” was used made me want to throw my eReader out the damn window. The timeline may not have been as smooth as it should have been, and characters did things that didn’t always make sense. But, damn, if I don’t desperately want book two already! Armstrong wraps up the mystery in this book but leaves several dangling threads so you can’t help but want to know what happens next. And I thoroughly enjoyed my reading time (other than when Mallory wanted to check her phone All. The. Time.) so that is a win in my book.

I don’t read a lot of fantasy and definitely do not read much science fiction. Except when it comes to time travel - that’s the only sci-fi I can handle and I absolutely love it. I have no idea how accurate Armstrong was with 1869 Edinburgh, but it felt accurate enough. There was also the added twist of a modern-day character being thrust into the time while looking like someone from that time (how’s that for a mind-bender?). Not only was that a tricky thing for the character to figure out (HOW will she get home?) but having Mallory be the fish out of water allowed Armstrong to explain some historical things without it becoming an awkward info dump. Mallory is us, the reader, in this scenario and she can ask the questions we want to ask so we’re not left in the dark.

Given Edinburgh was my last big trip before the world shut down, I enjoyed the setting of this story. I didn’t get to explore much in my short trip but some of the streets Mallory mentioned were familiar. And it reminded me of how old the city is with so many modern additions. The charm and the long history of the city is everywhere, even now. Being able to “visit” the city in 1869 was a lot of fun and, no surprise here, I can’t wait to get back to visit Edinburgh in the future (but, like, not the future-future. I don’t need to time travel, thank you.)

A Rip Through Time was a really fun and thrilling read. I was drawn into Kelley Armstrong’s mystery and was rooting for Mallory to figure out the crime and get back to her own time (hey, I made a rhyme!). Enjoy this book for what it is - a sci-fi historical mystery caper - and you’ll have a great time reading it. Looking forward to book #2!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: In a Holidaze

Yes, I am aware the calendar just turned to November but the world of publishing cares not and SO MANY Christmassy titles have already been released. Including Christina Lauren's latest, In a Holidaze. I read it over Thanksgiving weekend (reminder: I'm in Canada and I celebrated Thanksgiving in mid-October...I'm not time traveling like the main character in this book) and was completely sucked into the story. It's festive, it's fun, and it's so heartwarming.

Here's the synopsis:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

I have to admit I was a bit wary of Lauren's newest novel. The last few of theirs (another reminder: Christina Lauren is a pseudonym for author duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) have been just...fine. Enjoyable but nothing groundbreaking. But In a Holidaze? Exactly what I wanted and needed. It was the type of Christina Lauren I expect and I'm so glad it held up to my (high) expectations.

I know I'm not alone with my tendency to not reread a synopsis before diving into a book. And, to be honest, I don't even think I read what this book was about before requesting it. Christina Lauren AND Christmas? Sign. Me. Up. Therefore, I had forgotten/not known that there was a really fun time loop element to the story. For those who don't like any whiff of fantasy or magic in their stories: fear not. Lauren works the time loop into the plot in such a way that it just...makes sense. You forget, sort of, that Mae has somehow been living the same week over and over and over again and you just roll with the story as she tries to figure out what exactly it is she wants out of life.

While this novel is billed as a rom com, there's also a hefty dose of real life drama that Mae is dealing with. It's less about the romantic Happily Ever After (though that is a part of the story) and more about her feeling settled in her life and doing what makes her happy. She's in her mid-twenties and I remember kind of feeling the same at that age. Hell, I still feel like that sometimes at 33. There was a really powerful scene right at the start of the book, before the first loop, where Mae wants to asks the universe for what she wants but she realizes she actually has no idea what she wants. So, she asks to be shown what will make her happy. Haven't we all wished for that a time or two?

There's a strong Christmas element to the novel. That's not always the case these days with Christmas books but In a Holidaze gets right to what many of us feel is the most important part of the holiday: family and traditions. And that family isn't just your blood relatives. It's your found family, those who are the most important people in your life. The group in this novel get together every Christmas and trim the tree and have snow sculpture competitions, and eat and drink far too much. You can feel the love, and the cheer, and that's what I loved about this story.

In a Holidaze was one of my favourite reads in October. Not only that, but I think all the holiday books I have yet to read will have a tough go ahead of them if they want to beat out Christina Lauren's for the top spot on my holiday reading list this year. 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Blog Tour: The Scribe of Siena

The Scribe of Siena is the final book I have to review for Simon & Schuster's Timeless Tour. It's been so much fun! I have one final post for you next Friday. I know nothing of Siena, other than it's in Italy. I also don't know much about the Black Plague, or any plague, really. So, because of all that, I was intrigued by Melodie Winawer's debut novel.

Here's the synopsis:

Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother’s affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined—a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city.
After uncovering the journal and paintings of Gabriele Accorsi, the fourteenth-century artist at the heart of the plot, Beatrice finds a startling image of her own face and is suddenly transported to the year 1347. She awakens in a Siena unfamiliar to her, one that will soon be hit by the Plague.
Yet when Beatrice meets Accorsi, something unexpected happens: she falls in love—not only with Gabriele, but also with the beauty and cadence of medieval life. As the Plague and the ruthless hands behind its trajectory threaten not only her survival but also Siena’s very existence, Beatrice must decide in which century she belongs.
The Scribe of Siena is the captivating story of a brilliant woman’s passionate affair with a time and a place that captures her in an impossibly romantic and dangerous trap—testing the strength of fate and the bonds of love.

I used to read time travel books quite a bit when I was a kid (no, I still haven't read Outlander!) so I liked the idea of a contemporary character making her way back to the 1300s. The time travel element set The Scribe of Siena apart from a lot of the other historical novels I've read recently (and not just for this tour...2017 is apparently the Year of Historical Fiction). I didn't know when Beatrice was going to go back in time. Was it going to be during a surgery she was performing? When she was having one of her "empathy" moments? (Side note...what was actually up with those moments? I found those harder to believe than the time travel.) I also didn't know when she would go back to present day. Or if she even would. The time travel really kept me in suspense.

I think the biggest problem I had with this novel was the sheer amount of detail included. I think it was a case of Winawer trying to fit too much research into one novel when the story didn't necessarily warrant it. I also found there were too many characters. It wasn't a matter of not being able to keep track of who was telling the part of the story, that was fairly well done. Beatrice's part was told in first person while the (many) others' were in third person. The issue was more that I didn't understand why some characters really had to have their part of the story shared. In particular, it wasn't until about halfway through the book that I realized why the young priest, Bartolomeo, may be important to the overall story. He had already had some, small, parts of the story dedicated to his POV but once the (very small) revelation was made, he's not mentioned again until close to the end of the novel. He does play a part at the end but not enough to warrant him taking up character space in my brain.

There were three main reasons I kept reading this novel (other than, you know, for the blog tour). The conspiracy - whatever Ben had found out about why Siena was hit so hard during the plague - was quite compelling. I'm also a sucker for a Happily Ever After and really hoped I would get one (though hoping for a character to stay in the past to get said HAE is a weird feeling). Finally, the scribe part of the story was so interesting.

One of the best things about reading The Scribe of Siena is it has made me much more interested in Italian history. It's one (of many) places I've never been but I'd love to visit Siena now and see in person the town Melodie Winawer described in such detail. It seems that I'm in the minority with other readers who received various advance copies of this novel as many Goodreads reviewers thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel. I liked it but expected to enjoy it a heck of a lot more.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, in exchange for a review for the purpose of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster

I used to read fantasy books all the time when I was a kid (hell, I read whatever new to me material I could get my hands on) but as I got older I started to push fantasy aside in favour of contemporary stories. Everyone once and awhile I'll read a book that reminds me how much I like novels that have some sort of fantastical element. Most recently that book was The The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster. Scott Wilbanks has written a page-turning novel that kept me up way past my bedtime so I could find out how it ended.

Here's the synopsis:

Annabelle Aster doesn’t bow to convention—not even that of space and time—which makes the 1890s Kansas wheat field that has appeared in her modern-day San Francisco garden easy to accept. Even more peculiar is Elsbeth, the truculent schoolmarm who sends Annie letters through the mysterious brass mailbox perched on the picket fence that now divides their two worlds.
Annie and Elsbeth’s search for an explanation to the hiccup in the universe linking their homes leads to an unsettling discovery—and potential disaster for both of them. Together they must solve the mystery of what connects them before one of them is convicted of a murder that has yet to happen…and yet somehow already did.

This debut novel isn't exactly a fantasy book in an obvious sense. It's very much a contemporary story that just happens to involve time travel. I enjoyed the way Wilbanks put his own spin on the time travel theme. It wasn't just the same old story but it was still very familiar. I don't think readers who aren't a fan of fantasy should be put off by the magical element.

I do have to say that I was just the teeniest bit confused at the end of this book. I don't know if it's because there actually were small loose ends that weren't tied up to my satisfaction (I have a couple of lingering questions about that door) or because I was finishing the book at 1:30 in the morning. I just couldn't go to bed until I discovered what happened in the end!

The cast of characters in this novel is so refreshingly eclectic. None of them are people you'd normally expect to read about in a book and I loved that. Every major character - Annie, Christian, Elsbeth, Edmund - is a loner and has appeared to come to terms with that. What I loved is that they all care so fiercely for each other and over the course of the novel they all seem to realize that life is a little better when you're surrounded by the best of friends. They all had hurdles to overcome and it was both uplifting and heartbreaking to read as they worked through their various issues.

Finally, there's a mystery in this novel that had so many twists and turns that it was almost hard to keep up. What I really loved was that I really couldn't anticipate many of the revelations. I don't think I've ever read a book that had my jaw dropping so often. It was awesome!

The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster is definitely a book for you if you enjoy time travel, mystery, and a damn good story. Scott Wilbanks has written an incredibly engaging first novel and I'm very much looking forward to what he writes next.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a guest post from Scott!

*A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher, Sourcebooks, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Here and Now

One of my favourite series of all time is Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Because of that, I've read her other novels. And I keep reading them even though I haven't loved them. I was pre-approved for the newly released The Here and Now on NetGalley so I thought I'd give her another shot. While I didn't love this new novel, I didn't outright dislike it either.

Here's the synopsis:

An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world...if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.
Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.
This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.
Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.
But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves. 

I don't really read sci-fi and The Here and Now sort of felt sci-fi-ish to me. That might be my biggest issue with it. And since it's pretty personal issue (obviously others like sci-fi), I encourage you to look past it...but I'm still going to talk about it! When I read non-contemporary novels, I tend to go more for fantasy novels...magic, dragons, wizards, you know. Time travel is a sci-fi concept I can get behind, though. In a way, this book was actually kind of a mix of contemporary and dystopian. Prenna came from the future and her world was all but destroyed by an awful pandemic. Instead of fighting her way through that barren world, she, and many others who also escaped, went back in time for a do-over, of sorts. It was interesting to read about what the world was like in the future (they came from 2080something or 2090something, I can't remember) and how they were trying to fix things. Trying to connect the dots and figure out how to save the world was stressful, in a good way. 

To generalize, it wouldn't be YA without a love story. I have to say that I liked Ethan more than Prenna. Not really sure why. Maybe because he was more relateable...I can't imagine losing almost my entire family, going back in time, and then being constantly monitored. I did like that Prenna was rebelling as that showed that she had a spark in her. Part of that rebellion included spending a lot of time with Ethan, which was a problem as she is forbidden from being emotionally or physically intimate with anyone from the present day. Bummer! I liked that Ethan automatically accepted Prenna once he learned all the details of her past (his future..weird). Even though they're trying to save the world, they're still teenagers and it was kind of fun to read as they figured out their feelings for each other.

Random note: I actually really like this cover. It's different than the YA covers we've been seeing and I think it really conveys the feel of the story. Plus the colours are pretty. :)

I have to say that I went into reading The Here and Now with low expectations, since I hadn't seen very many good ratings or reviews. Like I said, I didn't love Ann Brashares' latest novel but I didn't dislike it. This was one of those hard reviews to write because I was so middle of the road with my feelings. I think if you find the synopsis interesting then you might enjoy the book. In the meantime, I'm going to keep hoping for another Brashares book that blows my socks off like the Sisterhood!

*An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*