Teresa_L

This was a stunning, beautiful historical fantasy! I was immediately sucked into the magical below the surface 1970's Singapore. The main character Adeline Siow was the best anti-heroine who lived by her own rules and finds her place among this secret underground. I really liked that she had no idea about her mother's life and its the catalyst for the whole plot.

Very fast paced filled with glorious feminine rage! Not a moment will pass while reading where you don't want more! Adeline Siow's character arc is intricate, intriguing and she is a force to be reckoned with. I love a strong female protagonist!

If you read at least one historical fantasy this year, please go check this one out. Author Wen-yi Lee has knocked it out of the park!

I loved Louis Sachar's Holes as a kid, so I was super excited to read his adult debut The Magician of Tiger Castle. This book was fun to read and had a few surprises, but it took a bit to get into the story and characters. This has a lot of fairy tale undertones and once you get past the first world building pages; the story Anatole spins does draw you in. This reminded me of the movie version of The Princess Bride with the narrator drawing you into a fantastical story that couldn't quite be real. If you like cozy mystery type books you probably would like this one.

This is one creepy book! The way the author described the house really made the house a character in its own right. I did have a hard time liking the main character Margaret (who kept lying to her own daughter) and found it hard to relate to her. She was so dissociative to what was really going on around her (but maybe that was the author's point?)

This was a creative story and had surprises I didn't expect. If you like haunted house stories you will most likely enjoy this book.

Its always so interesting to me to read a story from outside the "Western" world and Iron Curtain: A Love Story delivers!

I'm not really sure I would call this a "Love" Story, more a story of a naïve privileged sheltered girl who lives a life in a Golden cage...when she finds her first love she decides to leave her comfortable bubble and grows up quickly when exposed to the real world!

Set in the 80's during the Cold War Communist Era, I think this book more shows the contrast between those at the "top" in the Communist party and the "workers" who are divided below. All the themes of isolation, East vs West, rich vs poor, democracy vs communism, etc were really well developed and captured.

Personally; without giving anything away, I was disappointed in Milena's final choice, but I understand why she made her choice, maybe we can't fight our nature. If you like a little tragedy in your stories, this book will speak to you!

Overall a good read.

Firstly, you had me at Greek Mythology retelling!

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint is a compelling reimagined Theseus myth but from the point of view of Ariadne and her sister Phaedra, princesses of Crete.

I loved that the Minotaur tale is only a fraction of this book. It dove deeper into the lives of the sisters and what happens to them after the Minotaur is defeated.

Ariadne’s voice really shown through and yes, her life is a tragedy, but the power of this book is how Ariadne faces that tragedy head on!

I was surprised that this was a debut novel by Jennifer Saint. I can’t wait to see what else she brings to the table, her writing is alluring and you won’t want to stop reading!

4 asteria!

Do not read this book alone in the dark...like I did! Ghostly, creepy supernatural with a mystery thrown in...all the good stuff you have come to expect from a great Simone St. James book! The interwoven timelines of Carly Kirk looking for her missing aunt, Viv Delaney, at a haunted motel in the middle of nowhere New York leads to an un-put-downable gripping read! And the cover is amazing! If you like ghost stories, loved "The Broken Girls", then do yourself a favor and pick up "The Sun Down Motel" on sale February 18, 2020!