Finding Gene Kelly

 Tell me a story... about finding love and balance

Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean

Publication date: September 20, 2022

Date read: April 3, 2023

When five-year-old Evie O'Shea married her next-door neighbor, Liam, in the wedding of the century, she had no idea she was swearing an oath to love the man who would grow into the bane of her existence until the end of time. Or that in ten years time, she'd start a long and winding journey to an eventual endometriosis diagnosis. Now, aged twenty-six, Evie O'Shea lives in Paris, balancing precariously close to her Charlotte Lucas birthday. A burden to her parents, with no prospects and no money, Evie's humdrum life needs a shake-up. But when a family announcement shakes up Evie's world weeks before her brother's wedding, Evie seeks Liam's help to get through the wedding with some semblance of sanity intact. 

This was a fairly cute Hallmark-romance-style story. Kind of cheesy, a little steamy, miscommunication, fake dating with a twist. I didn't love it, but I did like it. 

Positive thoughts: I thought the characters were well-written and really sweet. I liked their relationship and thought they paired really well together. I also loved the disability rep with having the character suffer from endometriosis. The author made it feel natural to the story (didn't try to shoehorn it in in an awkward way), but also made it integral to the story, rather than just a to say there was disability rep. The endometriosis affected the main character's life and it added an interesting aspect to the relationship. I've never read a character with endometriosis before and I thought that the author did a great job with it. 

Negative thoughts: At times the romance was a little too cheesy for my tastes (lots of swooning and Evie being obsessed with Liam's physical characteristics). Also, the 5 year old characters spoke in a way that didn't really seem like they were actually the age they were supposed to be, which took me out of that part of the story a bit. 

Overall, I thought that this was a decently good romance - liked it but didn't love it. I wouldn't suggest that people not read it, but it wouldn't be one of the books that I would recommend highly. Caveat to that, is that if someone has endometriosis or is curious about how this illness affects those who have it, it's a very good option. That was actually one of the best aspects of the book. 

Rating: 3/5 stars

Content warning: chronic illness

Note: language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Not Good for Maidens

 Tell me a story... about what you would do for family

Not Good for Maidens by Tori Bovalino

Publication date: May 3, 2022

Date read: April 27, 2023

Audiobook narrated by Laura Knight Keating

Lou never believed in superstitions or magic--until her teenage aunt Neela is kidnapped to the goblin market. The market is a place Lou has only read about--twisted streets, offerings of sweet fruits and incredible jewels. Everything--from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves--is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in. Determined to save Neela, Lou learns songs and spells and tricks that will help her navigate this dangerous world and slip past a goblin's defenses--but she only has three days to find Neela before the market disappears and her aunt becomes one of them forever. If she isn't careful, the market might just end up claiming her too.

I’ve long been intrigued by the idea of a magical market, so this book caught my eye right away - first with the amazing cover art, and then with the goblin market. 

This book goes back and forth between Lou and her adventures and the trouble that her aunt May got into back when she was a teenager. I really enjoyed that we were finding out about the Wickett family right along with Lou - and their ties to the goblin market - so she was asking the questions that we wanted to know without it feeling too much like exposition. May's story of her past was really intriguing, and I also really liked Lou, so I was happy no matter which storyline the book was telling at the time. 

The audiobook was narrated by Laura Knight Keating, who I thought did a great job of transitioning between the York, England accent of the Wickett family to the American accent for Lou. It felt seamless and really helped position the story in each time period. 

This is marketed as a YA novel, but I feel that this book can appeal to all ages. The story mostly revolves around family and the lengths the characters will go to keep each other safe, which is a pretty universal theme. And aside from the main character being a teenager, nothing about the book seemed stuck in the YA genre. 

As far as the horror elements, there was a fair amount of gore and body horror, but it wasn't over the top or too descriptive. More an atmospheric horror novel than a blood and guts horror. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and found it just the right combination of creepy and fun. I would recommend this to horror readers, both teen and adult (but due to the content, I would not recommend it for younger readers than that). A really enjoyable horror novel set in a unique setting that I think many readers can enjoy.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Content warning: gore, body horror, murder

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

The Paris Network

 Tell me a story... about resisting tyranny

The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham

Publication date: February 15, 2022

Date read: June 23, 2024

When Jeanne uncovers a dusty old box in her father’s garage, her world as she knows it is turned upside down. She has inherited a bookstore in a tiny French village just outside of Paris from a mysterious woman named Laurence. Travelling to France to search for answers about the woman her father has kept a secret for years, Jeanne finds the store tucked away in a corner of the cobbled main square, boarded up, and in complete disrepair. As Jeanne pieces together Laurence’s incredible story, she discovers a woman whose bravery knew no bounds. But will the truth about who Laurence really is shatter Jeanne’s heart, or change her future?

It feels like every other historical fiction book written these days is about World War II, and it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth reading. This is one book that I haven't really seen talked about, but which I thought was an incredibly well-written and fascinating story.

While Jeanne's present-day chapters were fine, and I had no issues with her or her father as characters, the star of this book is Laurence, and I always found myself wanting to rush through Jeanne's occasional chapters in order to get to more of Laurence's story. 

There are aspects of other WWII spy thrillers here, and I'm not going to claim that this book is unique in that regard, but I found the way that Laurence was working in a more isolated area to be really engaging. She was part of something larger, but still working more or less on her own a lot of the time, and her determination to resist the Nazi rule in her little town was endearing. And, without giving anything away, the ending was powerful and really got me in the feels even though I more or less knew what was coming. 

It's not a perfect read and did feel a bit heavy-handed at times, even though the messages were good ones. (The power of books. Never give up. The importance of resistance, even in the smallest of ways.) A few things that were said had me rolling my eyes a little, but not enough to take me out of the story. 

Overall, this was a great read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII fiction or historical fiction featuring strong women. This one, especially the ending, will stick with me for a while. 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: suicide, war, execution, anti-Semitism and Nazism, hanging, death of a loved one, starvation

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

The Violin Conspiracy

 

Tell me a story… about the cutthroat world of classical music 

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Publication date: February 1, 2022

Date read: March 2, 2023

Ray McMillan loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can’t afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. But when the violin is stolen right before a competition, the odds are stacked against him. Will he be able to get his violin back and prove he belongs among the best in the world?

This book had been recommended to me, but I kept putting it off and I'm not sure why. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. 

I thought that Slocumb did a great job of writing his characters. Ray was a very complex character. He wasn't unlikable, but this kind of hyper-obsessed artist can often be standoffish and hard to understand, and I liked the way he was written as that, but in a likable way. All of the characters were very well written, especially Ray and Nicole, and I found myself getting drawn into a story about the people even when the plot was light.

And despite this book being a mystery about a stolen violin, it's not a thriller, so don't pick it up if you're in the mood for mile-a-minute plot developments. But as much of a slow burn as it is, it's worth it to find out what really happened to the violin.

I think that if Slocumb can keep this up, he is going to become a writer to be reckoned with. Not an author for anyone looking for a quick read, but definitely one for those looking for a slow burn that will surprise you and stay with you. 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: racism and racial slurs, racial profiling by police and including threats of violence and false charges, slavery, torture

Note: language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster

 Tell me a story... about having to make a choice about your future

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster by Andrea Mosqueda

Publication date: May 24, 2022

Date read: June 1, 2023

Growing up in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, Maggie Gonzalez has always been a little messy, but she’s okay with that. After all, she has a great family, a goofy group of friends, a rocky romantic history, and dreams of being a music photographer. Tasked with picking an escort for her little sister’s quinceañera, Maggie has to face the that her feelings about her friends―and her future―aren’t as simple as she’d once believed.

This is a tough book for me to rate. There are some YA books that I think appeal to a wide audience and can be a good read for both teens and adults. Then there are some YA books that just scream YA. This is one of those books. 

First of all, the good. I loved the diversity and representation here. Multiple gay or bisexual characters, Hispanic main character, and a lot of diverse interests among the characters that I think teens would find interesting. I also adored the family dynamic in this story. If this book had been about Maggie's relationship with her sisters, I think it would have been lovely, and I would have enjoyed it a lot more. 

Unfortunately, the main plot of this book is the drama of Maggie having to choose between her ex-boyfriend, her best friend (who is straight, but maybe questioning), and the new girl in school. And I do mean drama. A lot of the thoughts from Maggie's point of view are very eye-rollingly cringy reading them as an adult, because the feelings are overly dramatic in a very teen way. But this is a book written for teens, so I can't completely throw it out. I think that many high schoolers wouldn't find it as cringy as I did and would enjoy the teen drama. 

My only real complaint is just how perfect the characters were, aside from their relationship dramatics. You had the amazing photographer and the amazing artist and the fashionista and the super sexy ex-boyfriend. No one has any flaws and are all way too perfect at their artistic endeavors that it just didn't seem realistic and often grated on my nerves. And unlike my previous complaint, this is an aspect that I don't think is great for teen readers either. 

Overall, I thought that this book had a lot of potential that it just couldn't live up to. I would still give it a light recommendation to teens, but I had so much hope for this book and I'm sad that it's not something that I think can appeal to a wide audience. Give me a book about Maggie's family next time, though, and I'll read it in a heartbeat. 

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Content warning: slut-shaming, sexual assault, underage alcohol and drug use, police profiling and murder, death of a parent, homophobia

Note: language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.