Reviewed by Megan Saldecki

Having been rescued by the convent of St. Mortain from an arranged marriage to a heartless man, Ismae is raised to be one of Death’s handmaidens – assassins blessed with powerful gifts that carry out the god Mortain’s work. Carrying out His work, though, means killing the people who have wronged him.

Thrown into this life, Ismae embarks on her most important assignment yet. But when the convent orders her to kill someone she’s grown to love, she realizes that there may be another way to serve Mortain.

Grave Mercy starts off at a fast pace, throwing you into this new life of Ismae’s along with her. I loved being able to read about her various assignments.

Ismae was a wonderful character. She’s the type of person that has her walls up all the time and doesn’t let anyone in very easily. She grew up thinking her mother was ashamed of her and she was constantly bullied by everyone in her town for being the “daughter” of Death or Mortain, as he is often referred to. Despite the constant abuse, Ismae really grew as a person throughout Grave Mercy and I enjoyed reading about her progress.

Grave Mercy had some slow parts, often due to the fact that it is a highly political novel, delving greatly into the decision process and problems of the duchess trying to find a suitable marriage, one that won’t cause a war with the French. In fact, much of the novel was about this selection process, which got to be a bit too much for me. Grave Mercy was written very well, though, keeping true to the era and the plot.

Overall, I highly enjoyed the story line and would recommend Grave Mercy to fans of historical fiction.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Meghan is a 18-year-old book blogger. She likes to read and write in her spare time and would like to become a published author one day. She plans on going to college soon.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

In my opinion, So Pretty It Hurts mostly falls under the cozy mystery heading. Bailey Weggins, our protagonist, is working for a gossip magazine as the crime reporter. She’s rather independent and impetuous not to mention she has a reporter’s curiosity, which can get her into trouble.

Bailey is invited to a party in upstate New York and since her boyfriend is in Arizona, she accepts (partly as a way to get back at him for leaving in the first place). Most of the guests are centered around a famous fashion model, Devon, her friends and acquaintances. A sudden snow storm maroons everyone at the house and the party turns sour when Devon turns up dead. Bailey suspects possible foul play.

Even after everyone is allowed to go home, Bailey just can’t let it go. She believes that someone gave the already unhealthy Devon a push over the edge. Her suspicions grow dramatically when Devon’s mom claims that Bailey tried to blackmail her, which can be death to a journalist’s career should it not be disproven.

Overall, I thought So Pretty It Hurts was a pretty good book. It was easy to read, there were enough puzzles to keep it interesting and Bailey was a decent character. She was intelligent and caring but sometimes curiosity overrode her better sense. I enjoyed the book and I don’t think one needs to read the previous books in the series to get a hang of the story.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Caleb is a software engineer and amateur woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

A review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Marcus Hammond

The Mirage by Matt Ruff is a complex vision of an alternate reality. Ruff takes everything we know about the recent history surrounding the War on Terrorism and our interactions with the Middle East and turns it upside down. The United States does not exist. Instead there is a Christian States of America and numerous other independent countries including The Republic of Texas, and the independent countries of Louisiana and Mississippi. The Middle East is united into the United Arab States. Most important to the story is that Americans hijacked airplanes and attacked the Arab world in an act of terrorism.

Central to the story are Mustafa, Amal, and Samir, Homeland Security agents employed with the task to search out Christian insurgents. Within their investigations they begin to find evidence of an ideology-destroying concept that the Arab world they live in is not real, that it is only an illusion of reality. Others in Baghdad know of the theory as well. Saddam Hussein, a Baathist gangster much like a mafia don, is interested in the theory due to his relatively powerful position within the theory. Also interested is Osama bin Laden, the head of the UAS’s version of the CIA known as Al Qaeda. In his view, any trace of the theory needs to be censored and destroyed, in order to maintain the peace and security of the UAS. Each character has something to lose or gain within this alternate theory of existence. As the investigations by every involved party progress, it becomes clear that allegiances will be tested.

The juxtaposition of reality to a hypothetical situation accentuates the concept of a shared history. Ruff challenges the basic ideology that Christians and Muslims are different by emphasizing the basic human experiences involved with war. Each character has a unique desire to change the world, and that accentuates that whether one is Christian or Muslim, everyone strives for a better life. He also emphasizes the idea that no matter what governing system a culture has, there will always be corruption. At times, however, it is hard to envision Ruff’s alternative world due to the knowledge that dominates our preconceived understanding of current affairs.

I think a lot of people will pass The Mirage up based on its subject, others will view it as utterly ridiculous, and a select few will be amazed at its uniqueness.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

After obtaining a Masters in Liberal Arts and Literature Marcus has dedicated most of his time to teaching English Composition for a community college in the Midwest. In his down time, he spends time avidly reading an eclectic selection of books and doing freelance writing whenever he gets the chance. He lives in Kansas with his wife.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

Jared McKean is a private investigator with issues. He is divorced and cannot seem to get over it. He is still in love with his ex-wife Maria and misses their son Paulie; he is feeling down when he strolls into The First Edition Bar and Grill. Tonight is the first anniversary of Maria and her new husband D.W.’s marriage and Jared just cannot seem to believe that his thirteen year marriage is over and Maria has moved on.

The first person Jared lays eyes on upon entering the bar is a battered and bruised woman. Jared tells himself that it isn’t his problem, yet when the woman finds her way to his table and asks him to buy her a beer, she becomes his worst nightmare.

Jared and the woman – who introduces herself as Heather – wind up in a motel room with a bottle of Sangria. When Jared awakens in the morning with a pounding headache, his last memory is of them having sex. He finds a note on the table that simply says “I’m sorry”. Jared then sees his picture on the front page of the newspaper – wanted for questioning in the murder of Amanda “Amy” Jean Hartwell.

Jared has never laid eyes on Amy and has no idea where anyone got the idea that he is her lover, but things just keep getting deeper and more twisted from there. When he arrives at his truck, his gun is on the floor sticking out from beneath the seat and he knows that he left it in the locked glove compartment. His fingerprints and DNA are found at the crime scene. It becomes quite apparent to Jared that someone is trying to frame him for this and the race is on to not only dodge the police and stay out of jail, but to conduct his own investigation into who really killed Amy. Jared is convinced that this is the only way to prove his innocence.

I enjoyed Racing the Devil, but felt that it could have used a little more work. The story and events felt a bit distanced and while the beginning of the book moved extremely quickly, the rest of the book seemed to be dragging on. In fact, I had to reread the beginning of the book because by Chapter 4, I was completely lost as to what was going on. Although slow at times, Racing the Devil was interesting and I am interested in reading the next Jared McKean mystery to see if the pace of the story has been improved.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Permanent Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Alysia George

If you’ve ever watched one of those reality shows about hoarding or about interventions, you probably have quite a bit of insight into both of these situations. And you’ve probably thanked your lucky stars that you haven’t had to deal with either of them. But even though reality television is undoubtedly sensationalized, there  is some truth behind it which forms its basis, at least in these cases. Jill Smolinski takes us on a fictional journey involving both hoarding and addiction and intervention in her novel, Objects of My Affection.

The main character, Lucy, is on a bad luck streak. First she loses her job, then her boyfriend leaves her, and finally she is compelled to arrange an intervention for her teenage, drug addicted son. To pay for his rehab, she has to sell her house and most of her belongings. Feeling completely desperate to start a new life, Lucy takes a job helping a hoarder clean out her house.

The job is more challenging than she imagined, and so is helping her son overcome his addiction. But nonetheless, Lucy is determined. Unlikely friendships form, and Lucy comes to understand that she has a lot of self-growth to do along the way as well.

I love that Objects of My Affection touches on current issues in a fresh and interesting way. Smolinski writes real, likeable characters, just as she did in her last book, The Next Thing on My List. This is a quick and fun read that I would definitely recommend.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Alysia lives in Metro Detroit with her husband and four children. She writes about family life, parenting issues, and other things of interest to her on her blog, Michigal.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Touchstone. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Grace Soledad

Anna has been seeing them all her life: colorful outlines reflecting a person’s emotions surrounding their bodies. Nobody knows about her special gift and she doesn’t plan to relinquish that secret anytime soon. Everything changes when she meets Kaidan Rowe.

Kaidan Rowe is the complete opposite of anybody that Anna ever thought that she would be attracted to, but Anna can’t help herself. His alluring nature and dark personality draw her in, but when she turns sixteen, she finds out the real reason behind her attraction, as well as the reasons behind her father’s absence and her special gift.

Demons and angels control the balance of the world. Anna is the daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, splitting her nature and forcing her to choose which side to embrace at any given time. Turning sixteen is hard enough, and having an impossible choice thrust in front of her makes it even worse. So when she falls for Kaidan – the son of the demon of Lust – will she end up in the darkness too?

Hiding her past and trying to unearth her nature turn out to be more difficult than she ever could have expected, especially when she and Kaidan embark on a road trip to find out exactly what secrets lay hidden within her.

Sweet Evil is my favorite book of the year. No other book that I have read has even come close to toppling it from its throne. The character development was one of the most intriguing parts of this book, especially when Wendy Higgins threw in the struggle between good and evil and different shades of grey within the two. Anna was an engaging character and one that I instantly fell in love.

Everything about Sweet Evil – characters, writing, plot – was spot on and it has been one of the most put-together and balanced books that I’ve ever read. It’s hard to even find the words to describe the affection and addiction that I have for this book. The battling forces of dark and light and the sizzling chemistry between seemingly wicked Kaidan and tenderhearted Anna kept my eyes glued to the page.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Grace Soledad is a teenage bibliophile who runs the blog Words Like Silver. She is described as “antisocial” because she constantly has her nose buried in a book or a notebook. When not reading, she can be found dancing, writing, or at the beach.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by HarperTeen. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Alyssa Katanic

I was given the treat of reviewing two gorgeous fairytales retold and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson.

The first is The Twelve Dancing Princesses, which is the story of a king who promises the choice of one of his daughters to the prince who can discover why it is that the princesses’ new shoes are worn through every morning. In the end, it is a commoner who not only discovers the secret, but also wins the affection of one of the princesses and inspires them all to confess to their father themselves. Now that I have spoiled the ending for you you don’t want to miss the journey there! Sanderson’s princesses are absolutely lovely, and the enchanted woods are beyond fantastic with their oil paint illustrations.

Goldilocks is just as beautiful and artfully done. I do have to admit that this particular fairytale has never been a favorite of mine. I do not like the selfish, thoughtless girl who breaks into the Bear Family’s house and leaves it a mess. Sanderson, however, gives the story a little twist that shows Goldilocks helping to clean up the messes she has made and replacing the breakfast she has eaten up by sharing the berries that she picked along the way. Sanderson’s Goldilocks ends with a recipe for Papa Bear’s Blueberry Muffins, and an ending that is (finally) truly “happily ever after.”

Don’t miss the amazing artwork in these fairytale retellings. These are definitely books to treasure.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Alyssa is a wife and stay at home, homeschooling mother of five, with two boxers, two cats, a soft shelled turtle named after Bob the Builder, and 7 frogs (admittedly a homeschooling project gone froggy). In all her spare time, she loves to read and believes that there is no such thing as having too many books!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Ruth Sanderson. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Please welcome Anita Hughes, author of the new novel, Monarch Beach!

Have I Always Been a Writer? by Anita Hughes

I grew up in a family of writers. My father was a journalist at the United Nations in Paris after World War II. My mother was a copy writer at a large advertising agency before her marriage. She went on to write a nonfiction book and regular newspaper columns after my brother and I went off to college.

The written word was close to God in our house, and so was the book. I read everything from an early age – some things like GO ASK ALICE and THE SUMMER of ‘42 under the covers when I was supposed to be asleep. I still remember discovering Herman Wouk’s THE CITY BOY and Jacqueline Susann’s VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Literature was a way of entering countless worlds, studying emotions, feeling grief, joy and pain.

I banged out a couple of novels in high school and brashly sent them off to a New York editor. I received a handwritten note with suggestions for revisions but by that time my immediate world claimed my attention. The word was still holy – I was a columnist on the school newspaper and assistant editor of the literary magazine, but I was also a cheerleader and interested in normal teenage things like clothes and boys.

If I had only known what a coveted piece of paper I had! A New York editor had taken the time to give me notes on my novel. But youth is ignorance as well as bliss and I put the novel and note aside and immersed myself in high school.

During college I again became firmly attached to reading and writing. I studied British literature, took creative writing classes, collected rejection slips from Elle, The New Yorker and Vogue. I attended UC Berkeley’s Masters in English Program and made stabs at writing a new novel.

Then, like my parents before me, real life got in the way. My father gave up journalism in favor of starting a textile mill to support his family. My mother focused her attention on her children and her mother who came to live with us.

I too put writing aside when I got married. I became a mother and did the sales for my husband’s wedding film company. My days were busy and my nights mostly sleepless – spent changing and nursing a succession of babies.

Then one day, my children were old enough to take care of themselves. My husband hired a new sales person and I had hours in the day to fill. The first paragraph of a novel popped into my head while I was in the shower, and I couldn’t wait to get it down.

I wrote the whole novel without telling anyone, after all, my main job was being a wife and mother. So it was the greatest thrill when an agent responded to my query with the words: “You made me laugh, please send the full manuscript.” I had to read her reply twice, and then I eagerly attached and sent.

Since then I have been writing nonstop. I have a three book deal with St. Martin’s Press – two more books will be released next year. I can’t imagine life without my characters and love opening my laptop and immersing myself in their world.

Have I always been a writer? Yes, but this is the first time I will be a published author. Living can get in the way of your dreams, but if they burn within you bright enough eventually they will come to light.