Review: The Girl who Stole the Queen's Eyes

The Girl who Stole the Queen's Eyes by Marilize Loxton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Camilla is always being told she has beautiful eyes.  She is told that so often that she doesn’t think anyone notices anything else about her.  Things get weird after her eighteenth birthday.  There are new people in town, she sees a castle on the lake and she seems to control people who look into her eyes.  Extine is the Queen of Escana.  She is losing the power that put her on the throne, but none of her children have come of age.  If the queen doesn’t get control of her powers, her kingdom will no longer stay hidden.  What is the connection between Camilla and Extine?  Will Escana stay hidden or be revealed to the world?

 

The Girl who Stole the Queen’s Eyes is a stand-alone fantasy.  When I read the description of this book on NetGalley I thought it would be a great chance to try a new author.  The book had everything to make a great book, yet it still fell flat.  Now that I got that out there, I still want to say I am glad I read the book.  Loxton is a new author and I see a lot of potential in her next endeavor.  I look forward to her next novel, whenever it is finished. 

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Review: The Bone Code

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Temperance and Birdy have finished a night with a great storm.  They are on their way to Isle of Palms when she gets a phone call about a medical waste container with the remains of two people inside.  This phone call reminds Tempe of a similar case fifteen years ago in Quebec.  She can’t shake the sense that they are too much alike and goes to Montreal to gather additional evidence.  She wants to be able to convince her boss to reopen the old case.  On the heels of Covid-19, Charleston is dealing with a deadly bacterium.  Many are panicking and testing themselves for a rare genetic mutation that may determine if they are at risk.  Are there any connections between all these cases?  What about this death mask Tempe can’t get off her mind?

 

The Bone Code is the twentieth book in the Temperance Brennan series.  Wow!  I don’t know what to say.  I enjoyed this book.  Although I am a high school librarian now, my first teaching gig was as a Biology teacher.  I enjoyed all the genetic information explored in this book.  With that being said, some readers may find it confusing and distracting.  Reichs has pulled together several stories that finish as a wonderful read.  I truly think this book could be read on its own.  The little bit of back story needed for a new reader is included, but I also recommend readers just start at the beginning and watch Tempe grow as a wonderful character. 

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Review: That Weekend

That Weekend by Kara Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Claire wants to spend the weekend with her friends.  She just broke up with her boyfriend and now isn’t the time to sit at home when everyone else is at prom.  Claire and her friends hike up the mountain to camp, but she is the only one who comes down.  She also doesn’t remember anything after Friday, when they arrived at Kat’s family’s place.  What happened during the missing time on the mountain?  Are Kat and Jesse alive?

 

That Weekend is a stand-alone mystery that will quickly grab the reader’s attention.  Claire discovers that there are secrets everywhere and not everyone has her best interests in mind.  Thomas has written a novel that made me want to stay in one place so I could keep reading it.  All the questions do get answered in the end and everyone who enjoys a good suspenseful book should give this one a try.

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Review: The Betrayed

The Betrayed by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hollis is a young widow.  She was only married for one hour, but the heartbreak is still there.  She has had to flee Coroa with the Eastoffe family to Isolte.  This family has helped her come to terms with all her losses, yet Etan is constantly rocking the family dynamics with his distaste for Coroans.  There is unrest in Hollis’ home country as well as her new country and the Eastoffes may have what it takes to wrestle the country away from a dishonest king.  Will Hollis be able to love her adopted homeland?  How will she come to terms with the longings of her heart?

 

The Betrayed is the concluding book in The Betrothed duology.  This young adult romance was fun and intriguing.  Cass had these characters pondering many issues that are still apparent today, yet the different world lets readers escape current troubles for a time.  This book isn’t long and it isn’t short, so it should appeal to readers across the spectrum.  I recommend this book to everyone who read and enjoyed The Betrothed.

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Review: Blackout

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is a hot summer day in New York City when the power goes out.  Many people are scared, some are relaxing and others are finding love.  Blackout includes many stories that are woven together to tell a larger story.  Even though there are six writers telling this tale, the story is still seamless and well-executed.  We read about a couple meeting for the first time, friends who have been together forever, and exes that would rather not be stuck together.  Everything changes when the lights are out.  What will these characters discover as the darkness continues to advance?  This was a fun read, even if you aren’t usually a short story lover.  Since these all connect into a larger narrative, it is hard to look at this book as a short story collection.  It is a quick read and can be finished in one sitting if you so choose.  

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Review: Tell Me When You Feel Something

Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Viv has the perfect part-time job.  She is an SP (simulated patient) for a medical school.  She is really good at it because she is always faking how she feels.  When Viv ends up in a coma and there is video evidence of her taking drugs, the questions pile on top of each other.  What really happened to Viv? 

 

Tell Me When You Feel Something is a stand-alone mystery told from many points of view.  The narrators don’t always agree on what they saw or felt and the reader must untangle the stories as they unfold.  Grant did a wonderful job giving various viewpoints, but that same variety was the book’s downfall.  There were just too many changes in timeframe and person that the overall story was pushed to the side in order to follow and determine where the mystery was going.  I enjoyed the beginning and the ending, but the middle was hard to get through. 

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Review: Huntress

Huntress by Christina Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Huntress may be a princess, but she also knows how to protect herself and those she loves.  She is a glass dragon shifter … the last one of her kind and she likes to work alone.  That is until she meets Gage and can’t keep her eyes off of him.  She doesn’t want to be attracted to Gage because he is the leader of a crime family that threatens her family.  Huntress plans to live and fight alone; she has no plans to be in a relationship.  But when Huntress needs an army fast, she turns to Gage for help.  Will this unlikely alliance be enough to save her family?  Will Huntress stay in isolation or will she give her heart away?

 

Huntress is the seventh book in the Angelbound Offspring series.  Readers who pick this book may be thoroughly confused, but that would be understandable with all the references to characters from previous books.  Since I have read them in the order of publication, though, this was a rocket-fueled ride of action, romance, and intrigue.  Bauer outdid herself again as you created a storyline that was thrilling yet fresh.  The next book “Gage” is listed as the last of this series and I can’t wait to see where these dragon shifters go next.

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