The Ruling Class and Lessons in Power (The Fixer #1 and #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Lynnie 

Amy    

young adult, mystery, contemporary fiction, series

Tess’ much older sister, Ivy, left her in the care of their grandfather. But when his dementia starts becoming serious, Ivy, some sort of infamous “fixer” for the politicians, puts the grandfather into a specialized care facility and takes Tess home with her to Washington, DC. While Ivy is very secretive about her career, she sends Tess’ to a school where she befriends the children of some of DC’s powerful politicians. There, Tess is unwittingly pulled into the mystery and subterfuge of her sister’s life.

Lynnie’s Review

Previously published by Jennifer Lynn Barnes as The Fixer in 2015, I hadn't even realized this series existed until my library got this shiny new version of The Ruling Class. I'm not sure why it needed a new title, but looking back at the older cover, I understand why they decided to republish with this new cover now that The Inheritance Games series is such a huge hit.

I don't often go back to read earlier works by authors, but this book had sky-high ratings and great reviews so I decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad I did. I loved it! Tess Kendrick is forced to move to D.C. to live with her sister Ivy. She has no idea that her sister is the go-to fixer for D.C.'s politically connected, getting them out of trouble and hiding their secrets.

As Tess starts to adjust at her new school, she takes on a roll similar to Ivy's, helping other students get out of their own problems and working with her new friends to solve their own murder mystery. Tess and Ivy's situations intertwine and they both become targets in each other's drama. The question becomes will they be able to save each other or will they lose each other and everyone they have grown to love?

I loved Tess as a character - she was feisty and smart and not afraid to advocate for herself which isn't something you often see in a high school character. You could definitely see the seeds of Avery Grambs in Tess. And I really enjoyed all the secondary characters - from the adults Bodie and Adam, to the high schoolers, Vivvie, Asher and Henry, they all added so much to the story and again, I could see the idea of the Hawthorne brothers in the interactions between all the friends.

I never thought that a high school political thriller was the book I was waiting to read, but here we are. It was great fun to read and I can't wait to read the second book in the series. And it's safe to say that whatever Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes next, I'll be reading it. So far I have loved everything she has written.  

Amy’s Review

I often rolled my eyes at the behavior of Tess and her friends—high school students who were overly well tuned in to the world of politics and intrigue. And Tess herself, an outsider, somehow understood more than seemed plausible. These teens took matters into their own hands in a manner I found to be unbelievable. But, if I ignored the times when I started to feel the story was unrealistic and just went with it, I enjoyed The Ruling Class a lot! 

This novel had great characters—both students and adults, a gripping mystery that pulled me in to Tess’ story, and a good non-stop pace. I really enjoy Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ writing. I’ve adored her The Inheritance Games series. The Ruling Class was an earlier novel but it had the same ingredients as her later novels. I’ll definitely read the next book in this series.

Amy     

Lynnie  

 

NOTE: Amy read this novel under the original title of The Long Game.

Amy's Review 

If you read The Ruling Class and decided that you wanted to read its sequel, The Long Game, then you already made peace with the fact that Tess is unrealistically savvy, clever, and unfazed by things that would shock, confuse, and be ignored by the average teenager, especially one like her who was raised on a farm in Montana. This novel found Tess able to broker deals, outmaneuver professional criminals, and tame terrorists. So, it was another large gulp to swallow. But I managed to not focus on how unlikely Tess’ actions were and I really enjoyed the ride on this one. 

The story was never boring. It was entertaining, tragic, and redeeming. All the same great characters are back and Tess’ story continues to progress. 

Those who have read Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Inheritance Games series will definitely see strong resemblances in the characters between that series and this one. Barnes likes writing about high schoolers who have lost parents and become part of a new family, who have become distrustful/cynical, have a knack for problem-solving, and have loyal friends with whom they can share harrowing experiences. Each series has a set of twins who are very different from each other.

The audiobook narrator was Cassandra Morris. The whole time I was listening, I assumed it was the same narrator who had voiced Gigi in The Inheritance Games series. But I just realized they are different people. Oh well. Morris has the high pitched teenager voice down pat. She had a repertoire of other voices and I thought her voice acting was great for this novel. I’ll give her an A-.

Lynnie's Review 

Originally released as The Long Game, but rereleased with a colorful new cover & title, Lessons in Power, picks up after the events of The Ruling Class (also known as The Fixer).

Who knew that a young adult political thriller could be so entertaining? Honestly, who knew that a young adult political thriller could even be a thing? Well, Jennifer Lynn Barnes did! And I’m glad she wrote it because despite the fact that this series is eye-rollingly unrealistic, it is highly entertaining and great fun to read. Like the Ruling Class, I was absolutely invested in the characters and the stories and found myself reading late into the night to find out what would happen next.

I was, at various time, amused, furious, on the edge of my seat, nervous, and a host of other emotions. Barnes kept me guessing at many times throughout the story as the drama unfolded. All the characters from the first book that you loved - and hated - were back again and it was great to see more of them and watch the relationships grow in some cases and fracture in others.

I admit, I’m a little sad this is the last book in this series. I would love to see what happens to Tess and Ivy in the future, as well as the secondary characters. Barnes does a great job of writing about young, rich, found families who are too clever for their own good.

You’ll have to suspend some disbelief, but this series is a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you enjoyed The Inheritance Games, you’ll definitely enjoy this duology.

The Uncool: A Memoir by Cameron Crowe

 Lynnie 

memoir, nonfiction 

 

I'm a big fan of Cameron Crowe's. I think his story of being a successful teenage rock journalist, as portrayed in his movie and musical, Almost Famous, is fascinating and he has written some of my favorite movies, so I was eager to read The Uncool and learn more about his life from his perspective.

Ultimately though, I'm not sure what to think and I wonder if that's because, at the end of this memoir, Crowe also seems to still be searching for a larger meaning. A lot of this memoir seems to skate along the surface of the events of his life. It's a catalog of really remarkable events that he witnessed and was a part of, particularly as a young rock journalist and witness to some of the best bands of the 70s, 80s and beyond as they trusted him to tell their stories on the pages of Rolling Stone. What did these musicians see in this teenager that got him in the door? I wish that had been explored more deeply. Instead there was a lot of, "I went to this town, saw this band while they played these songs and these other cool people were there." And that's pretty much how the first 3/4 of the book goes. Interesting, but not riveting.

It gets a little more interesting when Crowe talks about his family dynamic which is woven throughout the book. The relationship between his parents and siblings, his own difficulty at school being a smart kid who skipped multiple grades, the mental health struggles within his household, the love of music shared between his siblings and how his mother eventually grew to accept music and his love for it were packed with an emotional punch. I also enjoyed learning more about his films; I would have liked to read more about each of them.

Overall, there is some good stuff in The Uncool, but also a lot of navel gazing. I expect navel gazing in a memoir, but there was more here than usual. Fans of 70s rock will find some interesting stories and the makings of a great playlist. I was adding songs to an Uncool playlist as I read through the book and listened to it as I read, which may end up being my favorite parting gift from any book this year.

Thanks to Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. The Uncool will be published on October 28, 2025.  

 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Amy    

historical fiction

In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Amir was a child of privilege in Afghanistan before he and his father fled Russian occupation to the safety of the United States in the 1980s with nothing more than their lives. His best friend in Afghanistan, Hassan, was the son of Amir’s father’s servant until, through his own cruel behavior, Amir drove them away. The guilt Amir always felt over his mistreatment of Hassan led him to take meaningful action as an adult in an attempt at atonement.

I had always heard this was a great story but never got around to reading it until now. I really enjoyed this look into Afghanistan’s history, culture, and people. It was a very well-written first-person account of Amir’s life…his childhood experiences, his family life, his victories, his shames, his immigration to the United States, beginning anew under diminished circumstances, dealing with loss, and achieving professional success before finally doing something truly good and important for someone other than himself.

Hosseini usually gave warnings of what was to come except for one glaring exception when he made the reader wonder, for a time, what specific tragedy had transpired. This novel contained many tragedies but also kindnesses and hope. 

This was a story of Afghanistan, perseverance, and redemption. Interestingly, I noticed some similarities between this novel and the much more recent The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (even though it is about Iran instead of Afghanistan). I wonder if she was inspired a little bit by The Kite Runner. I don’t want to specify so as not to ruin any surprises.

The audiobook was narrated by the author himself and he did a terrific job! I love a good author narration. I’ll give him an A-.

Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines

 Lynnie 

contemporary fantasy 

 

Marketed as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Golden Girls there was no doubt I would read this book. 

In Slayers of Old, Jim C. Hines introduces us to three former monster hunters who have chosen to spend their retirement years living together and running Second Life Books and Gifts in Salem, Massachusetts. Jenny is a Hunter of Artemis, once sworn to hunt down and destroy monsters and demons, Annette is a half-human, half-succubus former private investigator, and Temple is an old and powerful wizard with a symbiotic relationship to the home and store where all of them live. Now the three of them protect the nonhuman community of Salem while trying to live as normal a life as possible.

When supernatural trouble starts to find them, however - because of course it does - the three of them have to work together to do what they do best, save the world! 

This was a fun and clever book that held my attention from beginning to end and I loved the idea of older heroes. They were imperfect, they were tired, and frankly, they were kind of over it. I loved how well they knew one another and were able to cut through some of typical hero grandstanding and just support one another, offering what each other needed no matter the cost. They make mistakes, they apologize and they keep trying. There are good lessons for all of us in these pages.
 

I enjoyed the world that Hines created and the characters are simply delightful. There are a selection of entertaining secondary characters who add to the nonhuman world of Salem and the banter between all the characters often had me smiling. There are snippets in between chapters of the evil villain's conversations with his minions and I found those confusing at first, but as the book goes on they do start to make more sense and add some necessary context. Unfortunately I also think sometimes those snippets gave too much information away. 

Still, I enjoyed Slayers of Old quite a bit as will the other old folks who watched Buffy and Golden Girls when they were in their original runs on TV. 

Thanks to DAW Books and NetGalley for the advanced review copy. Slayers of Old publishes on October 21, 2025. 

The Postcard by Anne Berest

Amy    

historical fiction, mystery

A mysterious postcard arrives containing the names of four of Anne Berest’s ancestors who had been killed in the Holocaust. At the time it arrives, the family doesn’t really know what to do with it. But, fifteen years later, Anne decides to solve The Postcard mystery. Anne herself is the protagonist of this tale which, I’m assuming, is based on her real life.

At the start of Anne’s quest, and taking up the first half of the novel, her mother shared all the research she had previously performed to discover exactly what happened to her grandparents, aunt, and uncle during the Holocaust. Their stories illustrated the plight of Jewish people who had no way of predicting the danger that was going to become inescapable in France. They had seen public opinion changing but assumed they’d be safe. And then it became too late to flee the country as restrictions and actions against the Jews became more far-reaching, unavoidable, and deadly.

The second half of the novel described the detective work that Anne performed in an effort to determine who had sent the postcard of family names and why. Her strategies involved onsite visits in her great grandparents’ old neighborhood, interviewing some experts as well as old friends of her ancestors, and a bit of luck. Anne did eventually solve the mystery of the postcard. Meanwhile, in the midst of gaining understanding of her ancestors’ lives, she discovered her own priorities and identity. 

I enjoyed the feeling of authenticity of Anne’s search efforts. It was a challenge locating records and information which had been purposely destroyed, hidden, and/or made misleading in order to cover up atrocities and protect the guilty. All the books I’ve read about the Holocaust usually take the reader back to the point of view of the people living through it, rather than a current viewpoint attempting to look back for answers. Perhaps this is because most people killed in the Holocaust had no survivors to search for their truths. But I appreciated this fresh story perspective as well as the homage Berest paid to her ancestors by sharing details of their lives, dreams, and struggles.

The audiobook was narrated by Barrie Kealoha and she did a great job, especially considering there were plenty of difficult pronunciations including Hebrew and Yiddish words and names. I’ll give her an A-.

Red City by Marie Lu

Lynnie 

fantasy, audiobook

 

Set in an alternate version of Los Angeles, Red City is set in a world where mob-like rival syndicates control the city by controlling the production of a drug called sand - created through alchemy, the art of transformation. Sam, a girl neglected by her single mother, and Ari, a boy taken away from his family to become an apprentice to one of the syndicates, befriend one another growing up. But life in the city pulls them apart and affiliation with rival syndicates ensures they have no future together.

I’ve been reading Marie Lu’s books since Legend was released in 2011 and have found her books hit or miss. Jumping onto the romantasy bandwagon, Red City reads like a YA book with some awkward sex scenes thrown into it. Truth be told, if the sex scenes were carved out, this would be an enjoyable YA fantasy book.

As always, I loved Lu’s world-building. My favorite thing about Red City was learning about the syndicates and the rules of alchemy; it was often fascinating. The hardest thing about this novel is that there weren’t a lot of characters to cheer for. I really liked Sam and I had a lot of empathy for her throughout. But I never felt like she had any chemistry with Ari and I generally thought most of their interactions were awkward and felt forced. Because of that, I wasn’t particularly interested in Ari’s sections of the book. I think, because of the romantasy aspect, some of the relationships in the book felt forced and I frequently found myself wondering if the book was originally written to be YA and someone suggested that Lu spice it up and try to turn it into book for adults, or if it was her intention all along. I wonder if I would have been more forgiving of some of the plot if it had been a YA novel?

Overall I enjoyed it and will read the next book in the series, but it definitely isn’t a book that I couldn’t wait to get back to at the end of the day.

I was able to get advance copies of the book and the audiobook so read this book reading when I had time and listening to the audio when driving and doing chores around the house, which is how I really prefer to enjoy a book. The audiobook is narrated by André Santana, Eunice Wong, Natalie Naudus, and Sid Sagar. I’m not sure who read which parts, but I enjoyed all of their voices as they really made the story come to life. All did a wonderful job on a variety of voices.

Thanks to Tor Publishing, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copies of Red City. This title will publish on October 14.  

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

Amy      

historical fiction

Orsola is the daughter of a well-respected glassmaker from Murano, Italy in the 1500s. As a young woman of the time, she is not allowed to work in her father’s business. Rather, her activities are expected to be caring for the family home and the people within. However, she admires a matriarch from another family who is defying the odds and running her family’s glass business and Orsola embarks on her own path to satisfy her desire to create beautiful glass.

This is the setting for The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier. The story centers around Orsola’s experiences but covers life, business practices, and historically significant events throughout Venice and Murano across 500 years until present-day. I hadn’t known anything about the historical glass artisan families who were forced to work and live on Murano—the island just north of Venice. I had no idea that Murano glass had been produced for so many centuries.

The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was Chevalier’s device of telling Orsola’s story so that it halted periodically and then jumped ahead decades at a time to change the environment for her family. Chevalier plucked all her characters from the world and then put them down at a much later point in the future. Their lives continued in a changed situation where there were new inventions and situations which all the characters just handled in stride. Perhaps she thought Orsola’s true lifetime wasn’t exciting enough for a novel and she wanted to squeeze in all the history about this region of the world? I feel like she could have more successfully made this a generational story where she used Orsola’s descendants to tell the historical stories she wanted to cover. But Chevalier strung the reader along with glass dolphins that kept appearing across the years, supposedly from Orsola’s true love, presumably to keep us reading. Whatever her reasons, it bugged me every time the story jumped decades. It was clearly explained every time it happened but it was uncomfortable and illogical for Orsola’s story. I’ll say that I liked the way Chevalier reconciled the time jumps at the very end but the ending didn’t help me get over my bristling at the time-jumping.

The audiobook narrator was Lisa Flanagan. In general she was good but it took me a while to warm up to her because of her “narrator voice” when voicing the narrator. Why is this so frequently a problem for voice actors, especially in the audiobooks I’ve listened to lately? Why do they think they have to read the story so stiffly when characters are not actually having conversations? Sigh. At one point, she had to voice a parrot with a high squawking voice which was hilariously perfect. I’ll give her a B+.

Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk

 Lynnie 

contemporary romance, holiday

 

This is my first book by Lindsey Kelk and, based on all the four and five star reviews I’m seeing, she has quite a following. I thought the description of Christmas Fling sounded intriguing - in a case of mistaken identity, Callum’s parents find Laura in his flat and believe that she is the girlfriend he has failed to introduce to them. Shenanigans ensue, leading to an invitation to Scotland for the holidays. Sounds fun, right?

In reality though, it was…odd. From the start, I realized that this book is more romantic farce than romantic comedy and in truth, farce is not really my favorite genre. So much of the humor was ridiculously over-the-top that it turned the characters into caricatures. For me, that meant that none of them, with the exception of our main male character Callum, were really likable for most of the book. His family is ridiculous, Laura’s friends are obnoxious (though they improve quite a bit when they actually get to Scotland, weirdly), and Laura herself goes out of her way to purposefully be a horror when she’s in her “Caroline” persona, so I could not really blame her - she’s quite lovely when acting as herself. It’s just hard for me to love a book when I don’t actually like the people I'm reading about.

Still, there were parts that I enjoyed, particularly the friendship between Laura, Desi and Joel (once Desi and Joel stopped annoying me so much), and I liked the way Callum and Laura interacted with one another when it was just the two of them and they weren’t trying to pretend for his family. The last third of the book brings it all home nicely and saved the book for me. If you like over-the-top shenanigans, and farce comedy, I think you’ll enjoy the dynamics in Christmas Fling much more than I did.

Thanks to Harper 360 and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. Christmas Fling will publish on October 14, 2025.