Ink Blood Sister Scribe By Emma Torzs
Goodreads: In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection–a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements–books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect .All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue–and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.
my take: 4 out of 5. This book is a fantastical magical tale that is quite intriguing. The magic concept is interesting if a bit convoluted. Why convoluted? it is not the simple magic of other books and movies, here its a precise formula that you need half a book to understand. I liked the mysterious aspect of it and the family drama but unfortunately I felt the twists were a bit more predictable than what I would have wanted. It is however and enthralling quick read.
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
Goodreads blurb: From the author of the bestselling memoir Wild Game comes a riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families, and long-buried secrets—for fans of the New York Times bestsellers The Paper Palace and Ask Again, Yes .Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit.Set in the fraught summer of 2016, and drawing on the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, Little Monsters is an absorbing, sharply observed family story by a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take 3.75 out of 5 . This is an interesting family drama,or what could be called a collection of all possible terrible family relationships. I mean I really felt bad for Abby. I don’t know what is worse her relationship with her father/ her brother/ her “boyfriend”, there are just toxic relationships all around but all the more power to her that she perseveres through all the proverbial shit! The art descriptions were gorgeous – I could imagine the art so vividly and it was delightful.
Drowning by T.J. Newman
Goodreads blurb: Flight attendant turned New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman—whose first book Falling was an instant #1 national bestseller and the biggest thriller debut of 2021—returns for her second book, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean, and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside, and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them. Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. Those still alive are forced to close the doors—but it’s too late. The plane sinks to the bottom with twelve passengers trapped inside. More than two hundred feet below the surface, engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon are waist-deep in water and fighting for their lives. Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver Chris Kent—Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon-to-be ex-wife—who must work together with Will to find a way to save their daughter and rescue the passengers from the sealed airplane, which is now teetering on the edge of an undersea cliff.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 3.5 out of 5. This is a thriller that might be better as a movie. It won some points by having a great twist of an ending but the changing narrations were rough. There were many convoluted viewpoints and voices and I had a hard time knowing what perspective we were on, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing. The main issue is that the story was too convenient and close knit for comfort. The mom storyline made it, although emotional, so much less believable. . Liked it did not love it.
Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Goodreads: Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall–with hopes that Reena will marry him. But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams. As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine— secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.
my Take: 3 out of 5. It is a perfectly serviceable cute romantic story, but it solidly remains in the middle of the pack. I enjoyed it and it was a fast listen but I will not be openly recommending it, I almost had to reread the blurb to remember what it was about. This would make for a fabulous Hallmark Channel movie and it was a great driving audiobook. Side note: Clearly I dont bake but the obsession with the sourdough starters was a bit much.
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
goodreads blurb: One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.
My take: 4 out of 5. This is an interesting read, because more than a novel I would even categorize it as a collection of short stories with a common theme or thread, a book that touched all these characters. With that it made the book be a bit less of a page turner but it had a premise that I could absolutely get behind: This is all about the impact a book can have. The lovely premise that a single fictional writing can affect a whole host of people. As book lovers we can attest to that and I think this is a book by a book lover for book lovers. WE have all been touched by books, and the right book has reached our hands at the right time. Celebrating that is celebrating this sisterhood/brotherhood of fellow book readers and lovers.
Tati's Tidbits 