Weyward by Emilia Hart
Goodreads blurb: 2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century. 1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom. 1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family’s grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom. Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.
My Take: 4 out of 5. I really enjoyed this tory. A wonderful mystical take of female empowerment and how to take power back when it is lost. I really enjoyed the fact that it bring magic down to its most elemental nature, that of appreciating and revering nature and the power that is in ourselves, nature and the traditions that are passed from our ancestors. A thorough mix of historical fiction and women’s studies all in one. There are some strong ethical questions that get posed and that you grappled days after finishing the books. Some grey lines like are some things murder or justice, which is not an easy answer, especially when you are in the world of self defense.
Why did I choose it: It was voted very highly on 2023 Historical Fiction books, and you know I love me a good historical Fiction
Read this if you like(d): The Familiars, Scarlet Letter
The Teacher by Freida McFadden
Goodreads blurb: Lesson #1: Trust no one. Eve has a good life. She wakes up each day, kisses her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except… Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye. Addie can’t be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that’s what everyone says. But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet…
My Take: 3 out of 5. I had very high expectations for this and they were just not met. It did not get ranked lower because the final twist was awesome but in the meantime I was underwhelmed. Never mind that I cared absolutely nothing about any of the characters, the story wasn’t interesting either. Eve’s personality can be summarized in that she likes shoes, that’s it , that’s the extent of the character development and Addie is insufferable. Also Nate is probably the worst. A great potential that flounders but somewhat redeems itself at the end. Tt is however a very easy read, i finished in one sitting.
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Goodreads blurb: Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game. As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived. Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy. Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories. Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher. it comes out July 16, 2024.
My Take: 4.25 out of 5. A beautiful whimsical Narnia style take that makes you believe in Happily Ever After. This was not an easy book to get into, it took me a while to fully emerge and I have to accept that I put it down quite a few times. But once i fully got into the story and it started picking up speed, I was all in! The relationships are beautifully written and you have a plethora of them. I also fully commend the writing in painting this world for me. It is hard to describe not only the whimsy of a fantasy world but the intricate art that Rafe does and I could picture it all in my head. Its super sweet and I kind of want a part 2 now?
Why did I choose it :The Wishing game was one of my favorite books last year so getting an ARC for her new book – amazing!
Read this if you like(d): Narnia and The Wishing game of course, but also any TJ Klune, if you like Fantasy books and disney world 😉
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
Goodreads blurb: A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science—from New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood. Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down. Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through—and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him. Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business—one that plays for keeps.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher. it comes out June 11, 2024.
My Take: 4 out of 5. This was a weird one for me. I love all of Ali Hazelwood’s books, and don’t get me wrong this is still a really good book, but it might be one of the ones I have liked the least by her. Still a solid 4 stars but it doesn’t get to the higher rankings that her previous books had for me. What I liked, I actually was into the business side of this, her science takes are always cool but this time it had the business intrigue and an M&A side that totally targeted me and I liked it. I kind of like the business side more than the romance side, because although I was all over the relationship by the end I did not necessarily love the way there as I do in many others. However I did appreciate how much thought was put in character development (and especially of Eli) to actually understand their motivations (and some of the dumb decisions they make) Definitely a book you should pick up for the summer, a perfect beach read it is.
Why did I choose it: A new Ali Hazelwood book – thats all that needs to be said
The Ladies Rewrite the Rules by Suzanne Allain
Goodreads blurb: From the author of Mr. Malcolm’s List comes a delightful romantic comedy set in Regency England about a widow who takes high society by storm. Diana Boyle, a wealthy young widow, has no desire to ever marry again. Particularly not to someone who merely wants her for her fortune. So when she discovers that she’s listed in a directory of rich, single women she is furious, and rightly so. She confronts Maxwell Dean, the man who published the Bachelor’s Directory , and is horrified to find he is far more attractive than his actions have led her to expect. However, Diana is unmoved by Max’s explanation that he authored the list to assist younger sons like himself who cannot afford to marry unless it’s to a woman of means. She gathers the ladies in the directory together to inform them of its existence, so they may circumvent fortune hunters’ efforts to trick them into marriage. Though outraged, the women decide to embrace their unique position of power and reverse the usual gender roles by making the men dance to their tune. And together… the ladies rewrite the rules.
My Take: 3 out of 5. This is a cute and very well written book but I took some issues in the fact that it could have been so much better. I love the concept of the list and how the women use it to generate their own empowerment movement out of it. I think my core of the issue with this is that in trying to rewrite the rules, the author really rewrites none of them. Specifically, this book definitely does not pass the Bechdel test. The spin in giving women a bit more power is placed but really its only used for the same purpose of furthering their relationships with men. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I absolutely loved the romances , but there are books, like the Leonas Series and even a League of Extraordinary Women that does it better.
Why did I choose it: It was recommended to me by a fellow bookcluber!
Read this if you like(d): Bringing down the Duke, Bridgerton, Las Leonas series (A caribbean Heiress in Paris, An Island Princess start a scandal)
Tati's Tidbits 