Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

Lynnie

contemporary fiction, mystery

Tuesday Mooney is a researcher for a hospital charity and she is very good at her job. She has an eye for details and the meticulousness of research takes full advantage of her strengths. When an eccentric billionaire dies, Tuesday, and the entire city of Boston, are swept into an adventure to solve various clues and find his treasure.
 
I was a huge fan of The Westing Game in 4th grade and in Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts, Kate Racculia took me right back to that time in my life when adventure was everything and the mystery was fun and only took itself sort of seriously. 

Interestingly, as enjoyable as the treasure hunt was, I enjoyed the characters more than the hunt. Tuesday, her moody teenage neighbor Dorry, the fabulously wealthy "Archie," her best friend and confident Dex... I loved them all. It was a fun book, with an entertaining premise, great execution and satisfying ending. All in all, an enjoyable end to summer reading.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Amy 

mystery

This clever mystery questions how a well-to-do family self-destructed to the point that the parents killed themselves and the teenagers disappeared. The sole surviving family member, a 10-month old baby, had been adopted into a good home after being found alive.  Upon her 25^th birthday she inherits her birth family’s mansion and its mysteries.

The premise of The Family Upstairs was inviting and the way Lisa Jewell told the story via three different points of view kept me intrigued.  I was riveted. The setting was perfect, the characters were well-developed, and the desire to understand how everything happened to them grabbed my interest. As with most mysteries, there isn’t much to say without giving things away. But it’s definitely a great read!

The three audiobook narrators were all wonderful.  My only disappointment was that one of them had an unemotional “narrator voice”, which I dislike. It was whichever one voiced Lucy’s story and I’m guessing it was Bea Holland.  The other narrators were Tamaryn Payne and Dominic Thorburn.  They all were wonderful voice actors with a nice repertoire of voices. As an ensemble, I’ll give them an A+.

  

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Amy 

fantasy

Alex is down on her luck, almost killed in a drug bust, when she is gifted with the opportunity to attend Yale University. Why? Because she can see ghosts and Yale happens to have several (eight, to be exact) groups of the occult functioning on campus. Her ability will help the Lethe (the ninth) House control the potential disasters that could occur during the other groups’ various shocking activities.  But the person teaching her the ropes in her new role has disappeared. 

Yes, really. The reader is supposed to believe that suspicious, criminal activities involving the dead are taking place at Yale and that the members of these groups are successful members of public society who are benefiting from these activities.  So, right off, Leigh Bardugo did not do a great job of making the setting in Ninth House very believable for me.  I decided to go with it for the sake of potential future story enjoyment.  It was a struggle at times to keep reading since it gets quite convoluted and character/group-heavy in the middle.  Much of the time, it was difficult to understand what, exactly, was happening.

The only character I really cared anything about was the missing person. I kept reading only to find out what happened to Darlington. Alex’s misgivings about a murdered girl’s death never really seemed logically related enough to warrant Alex’s need to investigate. And since the whole story is built around that investigation it just felt forced by the author.  It didn’t work for me.  While I have had mixed feelings about the other Bardugo novels I’ve read, this one was a completely different novel from her others (and, really, from any other novel I’ve read) so I give her credit for stepping out of her comfort zone and trying to be creative. However, the bumpy effort seemed huge for little reward. This novel won the 2019 Goodreads Award for Fantasy (which is the reason I wanted to read it) and I have to resoundingly disagree with that achievement. Needless to say, I won’t be reading any more novels in this series.

The Bird and the Sword (#1) and The Queen and the Cure (#2) by Amy Harmon

The Bird and the Sword (The Bird and the Sword Chronicles #1)

Amy   

fantasy, young adult

Lark, unable to speak since a young age, was stuck at home with her father.  Her mother had been a Teller—able to make predictions--and was killed by the King when Lark was young because “gifted” people were not allowed to live. Since then, Lark had been trying to grow and thrive in her stilted existence. However, once she crossed paths with the new, young King everything changed.

Amy Harmon even writes fantasy!  And she does it extremely well! My new favorite author has such a large writing repertoire and it makes me so happy. Every book of hers that I’ve read is completely different from the others. And I’m thrilled there are still so many for me to read! I loved this novel! 

The Bird and the Sword had the same elements as many other fantasy novels set in kingdoms: an undervalued daughter from a disgruntled home, people with special powers being murdered, a young, handsome king with secrets, a prediction/curse, the heroine having unexpected superpowers, etc.  However, the story that Harmon wove had me interested from the very beginning with imaginative scenarios and loveable characters. I adored Lark.  She’d been sheltered but she was no pushover. She was smart and industrious. I loved her story and was fully engrossed. It was a very fun ride.  The only aspect of the story that bugged me was when Lark noticed suspicious things that were never questioned or addressed. This happened a couple times. This was disappointing because it was out of character for such a smart girl and felt forced by the author so that future problems could play out in the novel. Otherwise, it was practically perfect in every way. I look forward to reading the sequel!

The narrator, Trina Nishimura, did a great job.  She had a large repertoire of voices including male voices. Her voice acting was just about ideal for this story. I give her an A+.

The Queen and the Cure (The Bird and the Sword Chronicles #2)

Amy  

fantasy

Kjell, whose healing ability is still new, is the brother of the King of Jeru.  While out vanquishing the freakish flying creatures who have plagued the country, he comes upon a slave girl named Sasha who is barely clinging to life.  He manages to heal her and is then unable to convince her to not join him on his journey.

The Queen and the Cure was a sequel that wasn’t as good as the first novel in the series but was still enjoyable. I actually had several issues with sections of the story which were, surprisingly for Amy Harmon, written unclearly and/or felt like they’d been inserted after the fact. It bugged me that the main characters in this novel played the same “either/or” game to get to know each other as the main characters in her novel Making Faces. Also the title gave away too much from the beginning. Still, Harmon continues to impress me with her romantic stories which are so different from each other. I was glad to see that this sequel focused on different characters from The Bird and the Sword but still included critical characters for added enjoyment and continuity. This story stands on its own but there is benefit from reading The Bird and the Sword first so that the reader can more fully understand all the characters and their motivations.

STEVE WEST!!!!!  I hadn’t known my favorite narrator was reading this novel!!! The moment I started to hear his voice and recognize it, I held my breath and hoped I would hear him introduce himself and HE DID!  I seriously laughed out loud because I was so excited!  I was going to REALLY enjoy listening to my favorite voice for hours and hours! Even though his repertoire of voices isn’t as diverse as many of my other favorite narrators, the quality, timbre, and tone of his voice is my absolute favorite.  Plus, his British accent is so pleasing to my ear. Of course, he gets another A+ from me, his adoring fan.

   

Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Amy   

Lynnie

young adult, fantasy, action/suspense

Alina and Mal had grown up together as orphans in the home of a benefactor until they were old enough to join the First Army.  As soldiers, they find themselves at a risky crossing of the Shadow Fold—an area of darkness inhabited by murderous monsters.  In the midst of attack within the fold, Alina and the powerful Darkling suddenly discover that she has a powerful magical Grisha ability and she is whisked away to train with the Grisha population. However, despite now living in luxurious accommodations for the first time in her life, she misses Mal and isn’t sure she can meet everyone’s expectations.

Amy's Review

At the beginning of Shadow and Bone, I felt like I had read similar stories before. But I ended up enjoying the adventure and the unique world painted by Leigh Bardugo. Her characters were enchanting.  It didn’t have a complicated plot but it pulled me in and I’ll look forward to reading the next installment of this trilogy.  I had previously read Six of Crows by the same author and had not felt the need to continue with that series. I liked this one better.

The most surprising thing is that the story ended only 56% of the way through the Kindle file! The rest of the file contains previews to other novels and various end material. How bizarre that the story was such a small percentage. 

Lynnie's Review

I don't know why I avoided this book when it was first released, particularly after I read Bardugo's Six of Crows series which is part of the Grishaverse. Regardless, I enjoyed this story quite a lot. The characters were charming, the story held my interest, and the universe Bardugo created made me want to learn more about it.

Like my sister, I was shocked when it ended when the Kindle read 58% (even though she had warned me- I forgot!) so the ending felt abrupt to me. Still, I'm eager to read the next book and find out what happens to Alina and Mal.

Graphic Novels- Quincredible, Thor, Locke & Key

Whether you call them graphic novels or comic books, doesn't change that I love reading them.  Here are a few of the ones I've spent time with lately. 
 -Lynnie 

Quincredible, Vol. 1: Quest to Be the Best by Rodney Barnes, Selina Espiritu (contributor), and Kelly Fitzpatrick  (contributor)


Come for the superheroes, stay for the social justice!

I stumbled onto Quincredible at the library and decided to try it out. It was an interesting book and particularly relevant to the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The story takes place in a universe that is apparently already established, but one I'm not familiar with- after Hurricane Katrina a meteor shower rains down upon New Orleans gifting some of its citizens with super powers. Quin develops invulnerability, but as a scrawny kid he doesn't quite know what to do with it- as he says, it just makes him a better punching bag for the local bullies. With the help of some other local super heroes, Quin learns how to use his ability to help his community and open himself up to his family and the girl he likes.

As a super hero story I didn't love it though. Quin rarely bothers to hide his face and uses his actual name in his superhero name so it's no surprise that his identity is discovered. I mean... obviously. Still, the social justice aspect of the book makes it worth reading.


Thor, Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron (Writer), Jorge Molina (Illustrator), and Russell Dauterman (Illustrator)

I've heard about this title forever, but it took me a while to get it as I really haven't read Thor in... decades maybe? Anyway, it was a fun read- I really enjoyed a lot about the story, but I also thought some of it was clunky. Why did Thor give the new Lady Thor his name? Sure, the hammer gives you the power of Thor, but doesn't say you have to BE Thor. So who is Man Thor now? Is everyone just going to call him the Avenger formerly known as Thor? She needed her own name- that's all I'm saying. Also, to be five books in and not reveal WHO has become Thor now? Ridiculous. So yes, I cheated and looked at spoilers-I cannot say I was surprised. Why wait on the reveal, particularly when there were opportunities for it to be told.

Still, the story and the art were entertaining and I enjoyed reading it. I'll probably hunt down the next volume and find out where this goes. 


Locke and Key, Vol. 6: Alpha and Omega by Joe Hill, and Gabriel Rodriguez (Artist)

There's not a lot to say about a story well-told. This review is really for the entire series.

As I finished the final pages of Locke and Key, I found myself thinking back to how much all the characters have grown since the series began. I was particularly struck by Tyler- a forlorn kid, understandably full of regret and guilt in the first volume, he has grown into the man of Keyhouse both in appearance and action.

There is definitely closure in this issue, but it also leaves open the possibility of future stories of the Locke family and/or Keyhouse. Once again, the graphics are fantastic, adding depth and detail to the story. This was my first experience with Joe Hill's work, but I'm certain it won't be my last.

Hideaway by Nora Roberts

Amy   

women's fiction

Caitlyn, a fourth generation movie actor, is kidnapped from her grandparents’ house when she is 10 years old.  She escapes but learns that her abduction was planned with the help of someone very close who betrayed her.  She learns to live in the shadow of rumors and family drama and tries to not always be on the run from her past.

While the story of Hideaway was a bit of a soap opera, it was rich with details and some interesting characters. I enjoyed the drama of it all. (And, boy, was there drama.) The storyline was engaging. It was a good ride even though the bad guys’ motivations never really seemed believable. I had never read a book written by Nora Roberts before.  I suspect they’re all good beach reads like this one. 

The audiobook narrator was outstanding. In fact, I think she’s the best one I’ve heard this year.  January LaVoy had SO many individual character voices and even excelled at male voices.  I was so impressed.  Her acting was really good but I would say that she made the main “bad guy” sound so obnoxious that she gave away the identity of the bad guy before the story itself gave me a clue.  Also, that same character was so melodramatic that I actually laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of it all twice.  Normally, I would cut her back to an A for these irritations. But her repertoire truly floored me so I have to give her an A+.  It’s just really difficult to have so many unique voices and I appreciate her talent! I bet she enjoyed reading this novel since a main character is a voice-over artist so there was a lot of material she definitely understood and the extra voices allowed her own talent to really sparkle.

  

Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi

Amy  

historical fiction

In 1776, 15-year old Frannie finds the body of a young girl who died in a shipwreck and jumps at the chance to escape her home of Grand Bahama Island and the unwanted advances of her step-father.  She dons the dead girl’s clothes, boards a ship heading to America, and assumes the girl’s identity. She must transform herself from a rough island girl to a young society woman in order to survive.

As much as I have enjoyed Veronica Rossi’s previous novels, Rebel Spy was a disappointment.  Her previous novels were young adult fantasy while this one was historical fiction.  I felt the story idea was good but the way the characters acted did not feel authentic to the 1700s. Rather, they were too modern in their behaviors and actions.  I suppose it all could have happened but Rossi did not succeed in making me believe it.  

I enjoyed the main characters and admired Frannie’s spunk most of the time.  But the novel generally fell flat since it never felt real. Even the book cover did not look authentic for the time period.  In addition to the story simply not feeling right, it took several completely unbelievable turns including the way that she was inexplicably found three times in the last half of the story.  Ridiculous. 

Therefore, even though Rossi’s great adventure writing was evident at times, this novel never swept me away and made me shake my head and roll my eyes too many times.

 

 

 

From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon

Amy   

historical fiction 

 

Eva, a Jewish violinist, and her family face terror and death as the Nazis take over Italy.  Meanwhile, Angelo, a Catholic priest who was raised in Eva’s household like her brother, does what he can to help save the Jewish people.

From Sand and Ash was a WWII novel with the typical heartbreaking tales of Nazi cruelty and horrors.  The Italian characters were lovable.  I appreciated that the Prologue prepared me for what was to come for the cherished characters. And I kept reassuring myself that Amy Harmon’s novels have happy endings. I felt that the story did a good job covering the realities of living through religious cleansing and it was upsetting, as expected.  As always, Harmon's writing was terrific. I had read another WWII novel not long before reading this one and think it would have been better if I’d let more time pass before reading this one.  I tend to get too depressed reading war novels, especially WWII. But this was the audiobook that was available when I needed one. 

Speaking of the audiobook, it was very well done by narrator Cassandra Campbell.  Her accents were good and her voice acting was sensitive and astute. I give her an A.