#Review - The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham #Historical #Romance

Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, 432 pages
Release Date: May 10, 2022
Publisher: Avon
Source: Publisher
Genre: Romance / Historical

Norway, 1942. War rages, and operation Shetland bus is in full swing. Under cover of darkness, Rumi Orlstad and other locals smuggle British agents, fugitives and supplies across the North Sea to the relative safety of Scotland.

But when one mission goes awry, and Rumi’s fiance is lost to the dangerous waters, she retreats from the clandestine group, vowing never to take to the seas again.

Meanwhile, her childhood friend Anya has been placed in Lebensborn, one of Himmler’s secret Aryan maternity camps. And when Rumi learns the fate of Anya’s child, she knows she has no choice but to face her fears and help Anya flee from Nazi grip.

Set against the backdrop of a Nazi-occupied Norway during World War II, author Mandy Robotham's The Resistance Girl is the story of the Norwegian resistance movement and shines a light on clandestine SOE group, The Shetland Bus, and the Lebensborn program, Himmler’s secret Aryan maternity camps that resulted in the kidnapping of hundreds of thousands of babies. This book is not just about Rumi Orlstad, it's also about SOE operative Jensen (Jens) Parkes who was raised in England, but has family in Norway in the way of his aunt Marjit Sabo.

Rumi lives in a small Norwegian town of Bergen and her widowed father Peder is a fisherman. Rumi is mourning the death of her fiancé Magnus, who drowned while operating the ‘Shetland Bus’ (the secret special-ops waterway link between Shetland in Scotland and German-occupied Norway) promised herself that she would not get involved but soon does. The Shetland Bus is the amazing true-life account of storms, attacks, danger, and the heroic efforts of brave men. The Shetland Bus continued until the end of the war in 1945, during which time 210 missions were carried out and over 400 tons of weaponry, explosives and other supplies, delivered. 44 crewmen had lost their lives.

Jens is a member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) who  survived Dunkirk, but still has memories of leaving his best friend behind to die, while he walked away with shrapnel in his leg. Jens drops into Bergen, Norway, where he and his partner Karl are picked up by Rumi. As a member of the SOE, Jens life is literally hanging in the balance. Any wrong move, and he's likely dead. Staying in front of the Germans as they set their explosives, destroying munitions, realizing retribution would be immediate, was a constant challenge. When a dangerous German, Lothar Selig from German Military Intelligence, is able to get a fix on his messages, Jens becomes one of the most wanted men in Norway. The only thing that keeps his sanity is Rumi and her strength. 

The realism in this story comes from both The Shetland Bus, which made a permanent link between Scotland, and Norway after Germany invaded Norway, as well as the Lebensborn program, Himmler’s secret Aryan maternity camps that resulted in the kidnapping of hundreds of thousands of babies. Most Norwegian women have blond hair and blue eyes, which made perfect subjects for the Third Reich and childless German couples.  

The Lebensborn aspect of the story is important to Rumi after her best friend Anya gets herself in trouble and pregnant and she has to work to help her escape to safety. We do get a glimpse of the Lebensborn in Bergen through the eyes of Lauritzens family housekeeper and trusted family companion, Fru Nesse. Her extended family is threatened with dire consequences if she reveals anything of what is now happening in the house. Without spoiling anything, Nesse gives readers a glimpse into what the operation begins with, and how certain characters tried hard to escape knowing what was going to happen to their babies.

The Resistance Girl is very well written and researched story. I actually love seeing different resistance groups in different parts of Europe and how they gave up everything to keep Hitler from taking over the entire world. The romance isn't so strong that it takes up large parts of the story. Jens love for his aunt who is like a mother to Rumi grows on her in the long run. Jens aunt is also a strong character as was Peder and Rubio who lay their lives on the line every day to their beloved Norway.

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#Review - Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts by Kristen S. Walker #Teen #YA #Steampunk

Series: Divine Warriors # 1
Format: Kindle, 276 pages
Release Date:  January 24th 2018
Publisher: Kristen S. Walker
Source: Amazon
Genre: Teen, YA, Steampunk

Suggested Reading: 13-17

A clumsy school girl with the magic of a goddess. Mechanical beasts attacking her friends. Can she become a divine warrior and save the floating city?

Fifteen-year-old Riwenne is bad at school, chronically late, and lost in a daydream, but she has help from her best friend, Nexita—until the two of them get separated. During the mysterious test on Choosing Day, they both wanted to become priestesses, an important job in the sky city. But only Riwenne became a novice, and Nexita was chosen by the engineers. Now she’s on her own for the first time in her life.

When a talking bird tells her that her best friend is under attack, Riwenne faces her worst fear. She must become a divine warrior and save her best friend from mechanical beasts!

As she juggles warrior training and priestess duties, Riwenne can’t let herself get distracted. She must recruit other warriors and lead the quest to find out the mystery behind the mechanical beasts, but most of all, she must follow her heart.

If she trusts the wrong person, she’ll face the gods’ judgment.

Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts is the first installment in author Kristen S. Walker's Divine Warriors series. In the floating city of Lyndamon are essentially raised by the state and don't know their parents. 15-year-old Riwenne is bad at school, chronically late, and lost in a daydream, but she has help from her best friend, Nexita—until the two of them get separated. During the mysterious test on Choosing Day, they both wanted to become priestesses, an important job in the sky city. 

But only Riwenne became a novice, and Nexita was chosen by the engineers. Now she’s on her own for the first time in her life. When a talking bird named Tika, from the sea goddess who has been invading her dreams, tells her that her best friend is under attack, Riwenne faces her worst fear. She must become a divine warrior and save her best friend from mechanical beasts! As she juggles warrior training and priestess duties, Riwenne can’t let herself get distracted. 

She must recruit other warriors and lead the quest to find out the mystery behind the mechanical beasts, but most of all, she must follow her heart. The book plays to the strength of the Magical Girl anime genre as the main character gathers her team of powerful girls with their customized outfits and powers. Riwenne becomes a leader of a group of divine warriors, each who have chosen a god or goddess of their own to enhance their abilities.

I am going to come out and say that this book is way too young for someone my age. Amazon says book is recommended for those 13-17. The books final chapters are the most exciting as well as action packed.  Riwenne also spends a whole lot of time in heat over her new roommate who has no uses for Riwenne's nonsense or Tika's constant presence in their room. That, of course, changes after they are forced to work together to fight off mechanical beasts who seem to target specific individuals. 

I do not recommend this to anyone over the age of 30. At times the dialogue is churlish, and it feels as though an actual 15 year old wrote the story. I won't be continuing the series at this point. 

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#Review - Elektra by Jennifer Saint #Fantasy #Mythology

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Release Date: May 3, 2022
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines, from the author of the beloved international bestseller, Ariadne

Three women, tangled in an ancient curse.

When Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon, she ignores the insidious whispers about his family line, the House of Atreus. But when, on the eve of the Trojan War, Agamemnon betrays Clytemnestra in the most unimaginable way, she must confront the curse that has long ravaged their family.

In Troy, Princess Cassandra has the gift of prophecy, but carries a curse of her own: no one will ever believe what she sees. When she is shown what will happen to her beloved city when Agamemnon and his army arrives, she is powerless to stop the tragedy from unfolding.

Elektra, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon’s youngest daughter, wants only for her beloved father to return home from war. But can she escape her family’s bloody history, or is her destiny bound by violence, too?

Jennifer Saint's Elektra weaves the stories of Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra together, allowing us to witness events during the Trojan War from their perspective. The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. A spellbinding reimagining of the story of Elektra, one of Greek mythology’s most infamous heroines, from the author of the beloved international bestseller, Ariadne.

Clytemnestra was the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, the King and Queen of Sparta, making her a Spartan Princess. She's also the sister of Helen, alleged daughter Zeus who chose Menelaus as her husband. But after a peace contingent from Troy arrives, she is spirited away by Paris, the prince of Troy. Agamemnon of Mycenae raises a great army against them, and determines to win, whatever the cost. But after he murders one of her daughters, Iphigenia, as a sacrifice to the Goddess Artemis, Clytemnestra spends the next 9 years waiting for Agamemnon to come back to war so that she can pay him back for the betrayal. Clytemnestra all but ignores her own daughter, Elektra, as well as the new born son Orestes. She begins a love affair with Aegisthus, her husband's cousin who saw his father Thyestes betrayed by Agamemnon. 

Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, lords of Troy, making her a Princess of Troy, sister to Hector and Paris. Cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it, she knows that Paris is going to be the trigger a war that will see Troy face the entire Greek army when he returns with Helen. She is powerless to stop it since few people believe her prophecies. She saw that Troy would fall by a clever machination of the Greeks, but her fellow citizens, including her father, did not listen to her words, thus causing the end of the city. In a final embarrassment to her, she's taken by Agamemnon back to Sparta. Cassandra is much more sympathetic than either Clytemnestra or Elektra.   

Elektra was the youngest daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae. She was the sister of Iphigenia and Chrysothemis, as well as Orestes. Elektra story in this book is kind of twisted. She adores her father, who she barely knew, idolized him like he was Achilles, and is sad that it takes 9 years for him to return. Her singular focus and fixation and devotion to the idea of a man Elektra is a person who has this image in her head of her father and will do absolutely anything to keep up that image, including justifying his cruelty and brutality. She hates her mother because she not only ignored her for years, but plotted to assassinate her father with her lover. If you are into mythology, I would recommend that you look up her story and see that she and Orestes had an interesting.

The reason for my rating is simple. I would have liked this story more had the publisher and author separated the years. I know the story begins shortly before the Trojan War. I know that certain characters like Elektra and Orestes grow up quickly but there's no timeline as to how old these characters are at the end of the story. The Trojan War allegedly took place between 1194-1184 BC. 

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#Review - A Whole New World (Twisted Tales) by Liz Braswell #YA #Retellings

Series: A Twisted Tale # 1
Format: Hardcover, 376 pages
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations

What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie?

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.

To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again. 

A Whole New World, by author Liz Braswell, featuring Aladdin, kicks off a brand new YA line called Twisted Tales which takes classic Disney films and twists them into compelling, aged-up adventures. Each book will start off with the events of the familiar film before a "what if" moment is introduced, instantly propelling readers into an alternative history which develops the familiar, beloved characters in a fresh new way. The story almost assumes the reader is familiar with the Disney characters.

Unlike other fairytale retellings in the market, these books play upon recognizable Disney characters, worlds, and iconography, appealing to young and new adults who grew up with these stories and have a nostalgic attachment to them. This story features the same characters you would find in Aladdin. Aladdin, of course, Prince Jasmin, Genie, and Jafar. The story takes place in Agrabah. Aladdin is one of the Street Rats who live in the poorest section of town. It's filled with thieves, beggars, murderers and poor children who no one wants.

Aside from a few details like Aladdin's mom making a brief one-chapter appearance, this book sticks mostly to the 1992 movie. Then the twist happens. After a chance run-in with Princess Jasmine, Aladdin, a poor street rat, ends up arrested. An old man promises riches beyond his imagination, enough to even possibly buy himself into being a Prince and then eligible to marry Jasmine. All he has to do is get the old man an old lamp. One could say that at this point, things are going to get much darker.

When Jafar does not hold up his part of the bargain and takes the lamp for himself, chaos ensues in Aladdin's village, and Jasmine, Aladdin, Morgiana, and friends must rage a war against Jafar and his army, which includes zombies. Abu and Rajah were there as well, though Abu didn't have his same spunk. There is a whole new aspect of this story that may not appeal to those who watched the original movie. In fact, it's a bit offsetting. We know that no matter what happens, whether Jasmine becomes a rebel against Jafar, that the ending will likely be predictable.

I would say that if you want to read this book, borrow it from a friend, or the library. That way if it let's you down, you won't waste any money.

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#Review - Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli #YA #Fantasy #Contemporary

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: March 1, 2022
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Contemporary

Internationally bestselling author Kristen Ciccarelli weaves an epic love story of a girl forced to return to the home she's left behind in order to break a terrible curse

No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.

When she learns her grandfather disappeared from his nursing home, leaving only a milky orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. After searching for him almost everywhere, Emeline finally succumbs to the call of Edgewood, entering the forest she has spent years trying to escape.

Emeline finds herself in the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of a life she has worked so hard to forget.

With the help of a handsome and brooding tithe collector, a surly blacksmith, and a lost childhood friend, Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

Kristen Ciccarelli's Edgewood is an epic love story of a girl forced to return to the home she's left behind in order to break a terrible curse. Two years ago, Emeline Lark left her small town of Edgewood to move to Montreal to pursue a career in music. Emeline wants to become a famous singer, joining tours, living a different life she’s left in the Edgewood. She's risen to the point where she is about ready to tour with a group called The Perennials soon. Of course, that's when things start to sideways. No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. 

 

The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. No one notices the strange things that happen when she sings. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions. Someone at one of her stops steals her bottle of water. Then she learns that her grandfather, the person who raised her when her mother disappeared when she was child, goes missing from his nursing home. 

 

The only thing left behind is a milky orb in his wake. It seems as though the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. Her grandfather suffers from dementia, and she’s worried that he’s wandered into the woods. Nobody else seems to be trying to find him. After searching for him almost everywhere, Emeline finally succumbs to the call of Edgewood, entering the forest she has spent years trying to escape. Emeline finds herself in the court of the fabled Wood King himself where she learns that her grandfather was tithed.  

 

Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of a life she has worked so hard to forget. With the help of a handsome and brooding tithe collector (Hawthorne Fell), a surly blacksmith (Sable Thorne), and a lost childhood friend (Grace Aber), Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice. Emeline goes through a complicated and emotional journey, and she learns more than she ever bargained for.  

 

The one thing I really liked about Emeline was her relationship with her grandfather. She struggles with the thought of leaving him behind and putting him in a home where he can be watched. Emmeline's struggle for identity and belonging in terms of both her career and her personal life drew me in. One could say that the ending was predictable, but there's a few surprises and twists along the way. 

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#Review - Acca by Christina Bauer #YA #Fantasy #Paranormal

Series: Angelbound Origins # 3
Format: Kindle, 330 pages
Release Date: July 9, 2019
Publisher: Monster House Books
Source: Amazon
Genre: YA / Fantasy / Paranormal

In just one week, supernatural warrior Myla Lewis must discover enough evidence to send the evil House of Acca to prison… or she’ll end up in jail herself, along with her fiancé, Prince Lincoln. No pressure.

To gather proof, Myla and Lincoln go undercover at an all-girl’s high school on Earth. Lincoln acts as the new gym teacher; Myla becomes the school’s least popular transfer student ever. To stop them from getting the goods, Acca releases Hell on Earth. Literally. Good thing Myla and Lincoln aren’t afraid of a tough fight. This one promises to be the hardest yet. After all, who ever said high school wasn’t hell?

Acca is the third installment in author Christina Bauer's Angelbound Origins trilogy. Quasi Demon Myla Lewis, aka the Great Scala, who can move souls to hell and heaven, and her fiance, Prince Lincoln of the Thrax House of Rixa, who is part Angel, are on the hunt for evidence against House Acca which has been itching to take power from Lincoln's father, King Connor. Six months ago, Myla, with her dragon scaled tail, was one of the best arena fighters in Purgatory. Then she became the Great Scala after Armageddon tried to rule. 

After a demon steals their evidence stored in a Rixa Codex, Myla and Lincoln learn that a heavy hitter may still be controlling things. They only have a few days to gather all the evidence to bring before the Arbiter so she can decide the outcome of the case. The house of Acca has it in for Myla and Lincoln and wants them out of the way so they can take over Thrax so they are trying to send them to prison. With Myla and Lincoln about to be sent to jail, they manage to escape with the help of Myla's dad, Xavier, and find themselves on Earth.

They are going undercover at a school on Earth to find the evidence they need to clear their names. Myla will be going in as a student and Lincoln as a teacher. It is here they must uncover the proof they need in order to save Hell overpowering all the realms. But things are really bizzaro here. They learn that Aldred may be trying to bring back Armageddon for good if he can find the key to unlock Hell. There's lots to be said about Lincoln's father as well, but I'll reserve that for another time.

Coincidentally, it is also only a week away from Myla and Lincoln wedding day where they will become King and Queen of Thrax. The Thrax are still a bit angry at Myla for her actions in the previous installment, and needless to say, if Myla can't get through all the parties the mothers, Queen Octavia and President Camilla, insist on having, there may be bloodshed in Myla's future. A positive development, Myla still has absolutely no filter, and her tail has a mind of its own, although Myla is getting better at controlling when she says around certain people. Lincoln has had a good influence on her in that way. 

Very interesting ending to this story. Which obviously means that one needs to make a choice. Continue to the next book in the series, or flip over to one of the 300 other books I'd like to read this decade. Choices. Choices.

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#Review - Spark of Ash by Molly E. Lee #Fantasy #Romance #Paranormal

Series: Ember of Night # 3
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: May 24, 2022
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Dark Fantasy / Romance / Paranormal

The final installment in Molly E. Lee’s compelling and compulsive angels-and-demons YA series will have readers on the edge of their seats with a conclusion no one saw coming.

The Seven—the Divine beings meant to protect the world—just declared war. On Harley. They took Ray, her baby sister, and they’re using her boyfriend, Draven, to do their dirty work.

But she’s not about to stand for that.

She may not be able to wipe them off the face of the earth right now, but she knows what can.

Thanks to an Ather connection, she’s found out about the Seven Scrolls. An ancient incantation made by the Creator to counteract the Seven’s great power, scattered into pieces across the world.

With the help of her new crew, Harley’s on the hunt. And with each located scroll, she faces new battles, bloodier and harder than she’s ever known before. But now the stakes are even higher, because Ray has always been her bright light in the darkness, and Draven is her hope when all seems lost—so what’s left if she doesn’t get them back?

Harley will become the scariest legend the world has ever known.

Spark of Ash is the final installment in author Molly E. Lee's Ember of Night trilogy. This story picks up right where Shadow of Light left off. The story is told in Draven's and Harley's POVs. Harley has been though literal Hell over the first two books in this series. After traveling to the Ather, she found out that she's the daughter of the man who the devil is based on, and she may end up having a hand in destroying the world. After her little sister Ray, and her mate Draven are taken away from her by Aphian, she accepts her birthright and unlocks Rainier from his prison.

Aphian demands the Harley find the Seven Scrolls. An ancient incantation made by the Creator to counteract the Seven’s great power, scattered into pieces across the world. Meanwhile, Draven is ordered to train Ray with her Seer powers and doesn't remember who Ray and Harley are to him. Thankfully, Harley has put together a group of individuals like Cassiel, the Angel of Death, Wallace, her Ather guide, and even Rainier, who is trying hard to make up for lost time with Harley, and trying to make her understand that what happened when she was born, was due to actions he had no control over.

Harley was supposed to be a weapon for Aphian and the Seven. But after all the danger she's been through, she's no longer interested in being guided or pushed around by abusive individuals like her stepfather and a megalomaniac who wants to change the world under his control. With her powers growing, and with seven different scrolls, in seven different locations from the Ather and Earth, Harley has her work cut out for her. To make matters even more twisted, one of the final stops on her tour de force is to come face to face with a supreme being who has stood back and didn't do anything while Aphian and his thugs were unleashing chaos on Earth and the Ather.

I gave this book a pretty good overall rating due to the fact that Harley has grown leaps and bounds since we first met her. She's powerful, she's very protective of Ray, who may end up becoming a force of her own, she has a group of people she can count on like Draven, Rainier, Wallace, Kaz, Nathan, Anka, Ryder, and Cassiel who will walk through hell with her and not give it a second thought. There are some surprises as well, and no, I don't think the ending was rushed in any way. Harley goes to battle. There are loses, and there's a heartwarming reunion with someone she thought dead. 

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