Review: You Don't Know Me

You Don't Know Me by Theo Baxter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Annabelle feels as if her family is falling apart.  Her father recently died of cancer and her mother was killed in a hit-and-run a few days later.  As if that is not enough, a woman comes to the double funeral and introduces her son … Annabelle’s half-brother.  Annabelle feels sorry for the situation and invites them to move into the family ranch and even convinces her siblings to split the estate … that is until a strange car keeps following her and many in the family keep getting sick. 

You Don’t Know Me is a stand-alone thriller that sounds amazing but did not satisfy.  The ending was believable, but too many of the actions that happened throughout the story were not as plausible.  Overall the story was easy to read and it was a nice escape, but it doesn’t need to be added to everyone’s TBR list.  

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Review: Among Ghosts

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

St. Muckle may be out of the way, but anyone can earn their freedom by living there for a year and a day.   Charl and his mom have been there for seven years when Charl sees a ghost.  That event is only the beginning when there is a murder, a plague, and a dragon!    Charl gets away from the dragon but ends up at an abandoned abbey with terrors of its own.  What truths will Charl learn from his experience?  Will he make it out of these events with his life?

Among Ghosts is a stand-alone fantasy novel that is set in the world of Seraphina.  Readers do not need to have read the original story to understand the events of this book, yet those that do will find correlations.  This story had fantasy and adventure with a young man discovering who he is and who he wants to be.  I wanted to love this book because I loved the original series, but this story just couldn’t keep my attention.  Among Ghosts will please some, but not all readers.

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Review: Daughter of Doom

Daughter of Doom by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yrsa lives in Denmark in the year 870 AD.  She should have been left to die since she was born with a crooked foot, but she is the daughter and granddaughter of strong people, and they raised her to also be strong.  Her ability to see people’s futures has brought marriage offers, but her crooked foot is a bad omen.  Yrsa becomes friends with Sister Job, a hostage brought back from a raid, they must both run away from the village when Sister Job is assaulted, and Yrsa protects her.  How are their fates intertwined? 

Daughter of Doom is a stand-alone historical fiction story that also includes a good dose of adventure.  Since the story takes place during a time and place that I am already familiar with, I didn’t feel as if there was a lot of world-building at the start, yet the story did drag in spots, and I wondered where it was going.  The ending was a little abrupt, so I re-read the last chapter to make sure I didn’t miss something (which I didn’t).  Daughter of Doom will be a good read for those who already enjoy a good Viking story.

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Review: A Forgery of Fate

A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Truyan is an art forger.  She didn’t plan to live a deceitful life, but after her father is lost at sea, she must help support her mother and sisters.  Unfortunately, her mother has accrued large gambling debts and Truan is pressed into repayment.  She tries to raise the money by herself, but it is not enough.  A new option is presented.  She can marry a dragon lord who will pay off her mother’s debts, spend time in his undersea home, and help him work against the Dragon King.  Will Tru learn what happened to her father?  Will she survive the conspiracies that are rampant in the undersea world?

A Forgery of Fate is a stand-alone fairy-tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  This fantasy world has an Asian feel with dragons, sorcery, and romance.  Lim’s reimaging was so seamless I enjoyed this story without wanting to compare it to the original.  Although this is a longer book, since it is a stand-alone story, we don’t have to wait to discover how everything ends.  This is a great read for all fairy-tale retelling fans.

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Review: Best of All Worlds

Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Xavier didn’t want to go to his family’s cabin, but it was only going to be a short visit.  That was the plan until he woke up and discovered that he was in their cabin, but their cabin had moved.  They go outside to investigate their surroundings and learn that they are in a dome … and alone.  They slowly learn how to live a subsistence life until a new family arrives three years later.  Who put them in the dome?  Is there a way out?

Best of All Worlds is a stand-alone science fiction story that hides the truth until the end.  Many theories are presented as the characters learn about each other and their surroundings.  Oppel has given his characters depth and variety while also working with a small world.  I’m glad this isn’t a large volume or a multi-book story because I wanted to know what happened now and the ending was very satisfying.

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