Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark, Walker Books US, Forever, Bloomsbury USA, Inkyard Press, Owlkids Books, and Penguin Teen Canada for providing copies of these books!
Title: Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) Author: Chloe Gong Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: November 16, 2021 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.
After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on a mission. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.
Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.
Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.
Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls “deliciously dark.”
Review:
Shanghai 1927: Juliette Cai sacrificed her relationship with Roma Montagov to save him from the Scarlets. Roma is mourning the death of his friend Marshall, who he thinks Juliette killed, while his cousin Benedikt is also mourning his best friend. However, the monstrous virus they thought they had vanquished has now returned. There are threats of civil war from the Nationalists and Communists who are rising in the city. Roma and Juliette must try to put aside their differences to reunite and protect the city they love, while figuring out if they still love each other.
It’s been three years since I read These Violent Delights, so it was a little difficult to get back into this fantasy world. There are a lot of characters who each had their own point of view, even though some of them were brief. I love the Shakespearean elements of the story. There were many nods to Romeo and Juliet, though the story deviated from most of that play. After finishing this one, I’m so excited to read Foul Lady Fortune, which is a continuation, focusing on different characters.
Our Violent Ends is a great ending to this duology!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a digital copy of this book!
Title: The Umbrella House Author: Colleen Nelson Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary Publisher: Pajama Press Source: Publisher Format: Hardcover Release Date: June 6, 2023 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
In this intimate and inspiring novel about the power of art and the value of community, award-winning author and former New Yorker Colleen Nelson brings life and liveliness to an eccentric cast of New York City neighbors . Middle-schooler and Manhattanite Ruby Markowski wants to tell the truth fearlessly and powerfully, just like her idols at Veracity News. She and her best friend Scout already make YouTube videos together about East Village life, so when Veracity News announces a Young Voices video competition, Ruby knows it’s the perfect opportunity to make a name for herself, if only she can find a story worth telling. When a real-estate mogul threatens to buy her historic East Village apartment building, Umbrella House, Ruby sets out to create a video about the people who live in her building, depicting their love for art, community, and family.
With time—and her options for saving Umbrella House running out, Ruby finds herself caught up in the mystery of the Midnight Muralist, a famous East Village artist whose murals once buildings famous and valuable. Could finding this enigmatic artist be the key to saving her historic East Village apartment building?
Review:
Twelve-year-old Roxy Markowski has a YouTube channel with her best friend Scout where they talk about their lives in the East Village in New York City. They both live in an apartment building called The Umbrella House, which is a historic building. When a real estate mogul wants to buy The Umbrella House and tear it down, Roxy becomes determined to do anything to save her home. Along with help from Scout and her grandmother, Roxy starts a campaign to save her historic home.
I had never heard of The Umbrella House before reading this story. There was a brief note at the beginning of the book that explained the history of the building. It was an abandoned building that was made uninhabitable, but squatters still moved in. Eventually the squatters improved the building, making it habitable again, and turned it into a co-op building. It was so nice to learn about this through a middle school story. The story showed first hand why it’s important to save historical buildings that embody the personality of a neighbourhood.
The Umbrella House is a fun and empowering story!
Thank you Pajama Press for sending me a copy of this book!
Have you read The Umbrella House? What did you think of it?
Title: Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose (Enola Holmes #9) Author: Nancy Springer Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction Publisher: Wednesday Books Source: Publisher Format: Paperback arc Release Date: September 5, 2023 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
In May of 1890, Enola Holmes is finally fully on her own and, no longer hiding from her older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft, attending classes and occasionally pursuing her chosen profession as a scientific perditorian, a finder of lost things and people.
Wolcott Balestier, the representative of an American book publisher, arrived in London on a singular mission – to contract with English authors for their latest works. When Balestier disappears on the streets of London one day, his great friend – Rudyard Kipling – bursts into Enola’s office looking for help in finding him. Brash and unwilling to hire a young woman, instead he turns to Sherlock Holmes. Convinced that evil has befallen Balestier, at the hands of rival American publishers who pirate the works of English authors, he sets the elder Holmes on the trail.
But Enola is not one to accept defeat, especially not to her brother, and sets off on her own – determined to learn the truth behind the disappearance of the young American. Can book publishing truly be so ruthless and deadly or can the missing man be rescued from his apparent fate and returned to his friends and loved ones?
The redoubtable Enola is determined to do just that, even if it means working with her brother Sherlock!
Review:
Enola Holmes, the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, is a scientific perditorian, which means she finds lost things. The author Rudyard Kipling bursts into her office one day, demanding that she find his friend, Wolcott Balestier. However, when he discovers that the perditorian is a teenage girl, he doesn’t hire her, but hires Sherlock instead. Enola won’t accept being passed over for a man, so she still conducts her own investigation to find the missing man.
I love the character Enola Holmes. She’s dedicated to solving mysteries, and won’t let anyone say she can’t do something because she’s a woman. This story took an unexpected turn into looking at rabies. Through her investigation, Enola met a doctor who studied rabies and was developing a vaccine from the brains and spinal cords of dogs and rabbits who died from rabies. Though animal testing for medication and other things has been done throughout history, it’s not something we promote today. In the author’s note, she says that there was no evidence of a rabid dog in the lives of the real people who are mentioned in the story, so it seems like an unusual topic to include in this story.
Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose was a great new Enola Holmes mystery.
Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me a copy of this book!
Content warnings: rabies, animal testing, animal death (mentions), stabbing, kidnapping
Other books in the series:
The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1)
The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (Enola Holmes #2)
The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Enola Holmes #3)
The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (Enola Holmes #4)
The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (Enola Holmes #5)
The Case of the Gypsy Good-Bye (Enola Holmes #6)
Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (Enola Holmes #7)
Title: Don’t Want to Be Your Monster Author: Deke Moulton Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fantasy Publisher: Tundra Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: August 1, 2023 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Two vampire brothers must set aside their differences to solve a series of murders in this humorous and delightfully spooky novel for young readers. For fans of Too Bright to See.
Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it’s morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They’re vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.
Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in life (well, death) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?
Review:
Adam and Victor are brothers who are also vampires. They live quiet lives with their moms and older siblings, hidden away from everyone else. When a serial killer starts murdering people in their town, they both start to venture away from their home. Ten-year-old Adam wants to help solve the murders, so he befriends two mortals who don’t know he’s a vampire. Fourteen-year-old Victor wants to find his purpose as a vampire but he ends up encountering a vampire hunter instead. When the serial killer begins to target vampires, the brothers must work together to save their family.
This was a fun middle grade vampire story. I really liked the characters. Adam and Victor were trying to learn how to be vampires, while their moms wanted them to stay children. The characters were all diverse, from different cultures, religions, and sexualities. There were twists at the end that kept me guessing what would happen next.
Don’t Want to Be Your Monster is a great middle grade vampire story!
Thank you Tundra Books for providing a digital copy of this book.
Have you read Don’t Want to Be Your Monster? What did you think of it?
Jill's Book Blog 