This book was great. I had a little difficulty getting into it at first. The chapters went from present time to past, to past, back to present tense and it was a little hard to get in to, but it gets better. This book gets graphic, and it touches on some things that may be triggers for other people. I know it won’t be in everyone’s taste. If you’re looking for a happy book, this isn’t it.

2. Paper Princess by Erin Watt  (✬✬✬✬)

I enjoyed Ella’s story more than I thought I would. I enjoyed the plot, the characters, and the presentation of this story and flipped through the pages as soon as I finished, skimming parts that I love. It’s got graphic/adult themes for a book about high school kids so it’s definitely not for young teens. It’s definitely a fun, quick read if you want something mindless.

3. The Letter: An edgy and new-age, black, romantic comedy.by Sean-Paul Thomas  (✬✬✬✬✬)

The story The Letter by Sean-Paul Thomas is a well-written book you will fall in love with! I don’t want to give the plot away as you need to experience this short story for yourself, but I will say the word fascinating came to my mind often as I was reading along. The writing is humorous and excellent, as are the characterizations and plot lines, but what makes the novel stand out is the main character herself. Sarah, an introverted young lady, who is smitten by a handsome neighbor. Sarah is a character that I could empathize with and identify with her completely.

4. The Ruby Ring by Diane Haeger  (✬✬✬✬✬)

I have read almost all of Diane Haeger’s books, and this is yet another exquisite tale, a love story filled with vivid, rich descriptions that made me feel like I was actually there on the streets of Rome, walking right next to the characters! She paints such a detailed picture with her words remarkably.  If you enjoy a good story, that’s well-written, plus a good love story set against a historical background, this is the book for you. I guarantee it will not disappoint you.

5. The Season by Sarah MacLean   (✬✬)

This book is just a total letdown, and it completely fails in the aspects of storytelling that I enjoy as a reader. The characters are flat, the promise of romance is disappointing, and the mystery rarely materializes, although it is slightly hinted at on rare occasions. 

6. The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent    (✬✬)

In this story we follow Claudette Laurent who loses everything in a fire and has to start her life over, we see her struggle to come into her own in a time where it was uncommon for women to be successful in business and looked down upon by most people. We also follow the story of Marie Antoinette, a story that blends fact with fiction. This is an interesting book, and though there are enjoyable parts, I found a large part of it slow and dull, it was predictable and some of it was stretched, but the story captivated me enough to finish the book.

7. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith  (✬✬✬)

The story was great to connect on an emotional level but felt it was lacking in more details and a timeline of events. The ending was heart wrenching and made me cry, but the very ending was so quick and no time to get over the heartache that was felt and have closure.

8. The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett  (✬✬✬✬)

The Warded Man has a sound beginning and just the right amount of detail and story behind the story. There is a small group of main characters that come together near the end of book one, nicely setting up book two. 

9. Notes on a Scandal: What Was She Thinking? by Zoë Heller  (✬✬✬✬✬)

This is a delicious book. It looks deep into the human heart, loss, love, betrayal. The story is very well written. You feel the loneliness of the main character and her lack of understanding of the people around her. The characters are vividly drawn, and the book is well-plotted, making for an immensely readable novel that the reader will find difficult to put down until it turns the very last page. 

10. The Genesis Secret by Tom Knox  (✬✬)

 This book starts fascinating, shedding light on little pieces of the world few haves heard of: the Gobekli Tepe, the politics of modern Kurdistan, and mythology’s origin in folk memories. But as the story continues, many factors, particularly the bloody and unending violence turned me off and left me disappointed.

11. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox  (✬✬✬✬)

I enjoyed this book! Meticulously researched, the historical detail bogged down the book, but that was its only flaw. The characters and their surprising actions were fascinating and the intricate plot moved unpredictably. 

12. Fatherland by Robert Harris  (✬✬✬✬)

Mr. Harris consistently provides us with literature rich in character development. Fatherland, not surprisingly, is a good read with lessons to all of us as he addresses integrity, honor, and loyalty to friends and what we know intrinsically as good moral conscience.

13. The Favored Queen by Carolly Erickson (✬✬✬✬)

If you’re looking for a different twist on a story that we all know so well, then this book is for you. Erickson did a delightful job in creating a fictional account of Jane Seymour’s life at court, marriage to Henry VIII, the birth of Prince Edward, and her death. Very enjoyable!

14. Signora Da Vinci by Robin Maxwell (✬✬✬✬)

Maxwell does an excellent job of taking what little we know of Da Vinci's mother and creating an interesting character and compelling life story, lacing it with plenty of fascinating information about Da Vinci, art and the politics of the day. The author did a good job of covering the history of the church and the people of that age.

15. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (✬✬✬✬)

Barnes writes a simple tale with wit and sophistication. Sense of an Ending takes the reader on a contemplative journey through and ordinary life. The complexities of life are intertwined with a basic understanding and self-reflection as the reader feels like the characters are acquaintances and location close by.

16. Jane's Melody by Ryan Winfield   (✬✬)

Not thrilled with this at all. I felt bored at points and couldn’t like Jane. I wanted to quit a few times, and that is not me at all. Overall, it was OK but moved too slow and lacked something. Maybe it’s just me but I feel like I missed what everyone else loved about this.

17. Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman (✬✬✬✬)

I enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It felt like a trip back in time, to one's childhood, and the mindset that comes along with being a child. Not an easy thing to capture, and yet, Neil Gaiman did it beautifully. He makes everyday things seem magical.

19. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins  (✬✬)

 I was pulled in by the hype. And I love psychological thrillers. That is well done. This wasn’t. The characters are not very believable.The pitching back and forth between character viewpoints and times is confusing at best. Truly, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s an okay book, but not outstanding by any means.

20. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman  (✬✬✬✬✬)

Gaiman’s gift for prose, world-building, and character development are on full display in Neverwhere and while all his characters are delightful, there are none more dynamic and engaging than our antagonists, Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup. It is a story of good and evil, of above and below, seen and unseen, real and more real, and of a quest to find what was lost and lose what was found. It’s a fairytale and a true story and the book one reads again and again, just for the pleasure of the words.