Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Covers That Made Me Want to Read the Book. Here’s my list:
1. Fable by Adrienne Young
2. These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling
3. Damsel by Elana K. Arnold
4. Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
5. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
6. City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
7. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams
8. Sisters of the Snake by Sarena and Sasha Nanua
9. Curses by Lish McBride
10. They Wish They Were Us by Jessica Goodman
(All book covers from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Title: Escape to Witch City Author: E. Latimer Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Tundra Books Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook, Hardcover Release Date: August 3, 2021 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
In a world ruled by fear of witches, some secrets are deadly. A thrilling new fantasy adventure set in historical London for fans of V.E. Schwab’s City of Ghosts and Serafina and the Black Cloak.
Emmaline Black has a secret. She can hear the rhythm of heartbeats. Not just her own, but others’ too. It’s a rhythm she’s learned to control, and that can only mean one thing… Emma’s a witch.
In a world where a sentence of witchcraft comes with dire consequences and all children who have reached the age of thirteen are tested to ensure they have no witch blood, Emma must attempt to stamp out her power before her own test comes. But the more she researches, the more she begins to suspect that her radically anti-witch aunt and mother are hiding something. The truth about their sister, her Aunt Lenore, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances years ago.
The day of the test comes, and Emma’s results not only pair her up with strange new friends, but set her on a course to challenge everything she’s ever been taught about magic, and reveal long-buried family secrets. It seems witches may not have been so easy to banish after all. Secret cities, untapped powers, missing family members — Emma is about to discover a whole new world.
Review:
Emmaline Black is the niece of Queen Alexandria. The Queen’s mission is to find and destroy all the witches. When Emma turns thirteen, she must be given a test to see if she has any witch blood. Emma is nervous about it, because she suspects she is a witch. She has the ability to hear heartbeats of people who are near her. Emma is also curious about her other aunt, who was a witch and was banished from the city. After Emma gets tested, she teams up with some new friends to find the truth about her family and the witches.
I love middle grade books about witches! This was book with a spooky, Victorian setting. Their society has a history of hunting witches, but Emma doesn’t know the true reason why. Her aunt, the Queen, hunted out witches to find the Witch City. Emma and her friends had to be sent there to find the secrets of the witches.
The witches in this story had unique powers. Emma had the ability to hear people’s heartbeats. Another character can persuade anyone to do anything, while another has the ability to control birds. These were powers that were quite useful to them but I haven’t encountered them in a story before. I really liked these original abilities.
Escape to Witch City is a fun middle grade witch story!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray by E. Latimer
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Have you read Escape to Witch City? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished Escape to Witch City by E. Latimer.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading The Gentleman and the Thief by Sarah M. Eden.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading Escape to Witch City by E. Latimer.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In a world ruled by fear of witches, some secrets are deadly. A thrilling new fantasy adventure set in historical London for fans of V.E. Schwab’s City of Ghosts and Serafina and the Black Cloak.
Emmaline Black has a secret. She can hear the rhythm of heartbeats. Not just her own, but others’ too. It’s a rhythm she’s learned to control, and that can only mean one thing… Emma’s a witch.
In a world where a sentence of witchcraft comes with dire consequences and all children who have reached the age of thirteen are tested to ensure they have no witch blood, Emma must attempt to stamp out her power before her own test comes. But the more she researches, the more she begins to suspect that her radically anti-witch aunt and mother are hiding something. The truth about their sister, her Aunt Lenore, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances years ago.
The day of the test comes, and Emma’s results not only pair her up with strange new friends, but set her on a course to challenge everything she’s ever been taught about magic, and reveal long-buried family secrets. It seems witches may not have been so easy to banish after all. Secret cities, untapped powers, missing family members — Emma is about to discover a whole new world.
Title: Switch Author: A.S. King Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: May 11, 2021 Rating: ★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A surreal and timely novel about isolation and human connection from Michael L. Printz Award winner A.S. King.
Tru Beck is a teenage girl from Pennsylvania who lives in a world that has become trapped in a fold in time and space, where “real” time has stopped but humanity continues to mark artificial time based on a website called N3WCLOCK.com. Tru lives in a house that has a switch at its center. No one knows what the switch controls, but her father continually builds larger and larger boxes around the switch (Tru lives in Box #7). Tru leaves the box through a Tru-shaped hole to go to school, where she pays no attention to the new “Solution Time” curriculum. In fact, the only interesting thing that’s ever happened to Tru at school is when she discovers (on her first try) that she can throw a javelin farther than any human has ever thrown anything before in human history.
Review:
In June 2020, time stopped counting. The world became trapped in a fold in time and space and a website called N3WCLOCK started keeping time. Tru Beck had to deal with a lot of other issues during this time. Her house had a switch in the middle of it, but no one knew what it controlled. Her father began building boxes around the switch to protect them from it. Her brother was moody and surrounded by strange rumors of an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Then, Tru discovers that she can throw a javelin in track and field faster than anyone ever has before. No one knows where Tru’s sudden talent came from, so they’re suspicious of it. Tru has to deal with all of these issues while also figuring out how to fix time.
This was quite a strange story. The concept of time stopping in 2020 was a relatable aspect. With the pandemic, it felt like time stopped last year. A company reacted by creating a new way to stop time. Whenever we think that one system is gone, another one sneaks up and replaces it, sometimes doing the same thing but with different packaging. This new website was able to take over and profit on time.
Tru’s house was one of the strangest parts of the story. Tru’s father obsessively build boxes around their house until their rooms were all just numbered boxes. The house became unstable and started flipping over. It was hard for me to imagine this concept. With the exception of this idea of time stopping, most of the story could have been set in the real world. The way the house behaved was a little too strange for me to believe.
Switch is an unusual dystopian story.
Thank you Dutton Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Title: The Coming Storm Author: Regina M. Hansen Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy Publisher: Atheneum Books Source: Publisher Format: Paperback arc Release Date: June 1, 2021 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Music, myth, and horror blend in this romantic, atmospheric fantasy debut about a teen girl who must fight a powerful evil that’s invaded her Prince Edward Island home—perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens.
There’s a certain wild magic in the salt air and the thrum of the sea. Beet MacNeill has known this all her life. It added spice to her childhood adventures with her older cousin, Gerry, the two of them thick as thieves as they explored their Prince Edward Island home. So when Gerry comes up the path one early spring morning, Beet thinks nothing of it at first. But he is soaking wet and silent, and he plays a haunting tune on his fiddle that chills Beet to the bone. Something is very, very wrong.
Things only get worse when Marina Shaw saunters into town and takes an unsettling interest in Gerry’s new baby. Local lore is filled with tales of a vicious shape-shifting sea creature and the cold, beautiful woman who controls him—a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Marina. Beet is determined to find out what happened to her beloved cousin, and to prevent the same fate from befalling the handsome new boy in town who is winning her heart, whether she wants him to or not. Yet the sea always exacts a price…
Review:
1950, Prince Edward Island: Teenager Beet MacNeill has always been close with her older cousin Gerry. On the night when his son, Joseph, is born in her house, she sees Gerry’s ghost and hears his fiddle song, so she knows he has died on his journey home. A year later, Gerry’s mysterious mother dies suddenly. Her niece, Marina Shaw, appears and takes her place in town as the mysterious loner. However, Marina seems to be able to control Gerry’s baby. Beet is the only one who holds the key to saving baby Joseph.
This was a mysterious story filled with folklore. There was a mix of Scottish and Eastern Canadian folklore. As the story progresses, the real secret behind Marina’s sudden appearance becomes clearer. The story was slowly unraveled through Beet’s present narrative and some flashbacks about people in the town who have met a strange woman throughout the previous century.
The setting of Prince Edward Island was an important character in the story. The beaches and water were influenced by the magic wielded by Marina and Beet. Music was also an important part of the story. All of the senses were used in this setting, so I really felt like I was in PEI while reading the story.
The Coming Storm is a beautiful Canadian story.
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Wide Starlight by Nicole Lesperance
Have you read The Coming Storm? What did you think of it?
Title: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) Author: Kerri Maniscalco Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: September 20, 2016 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Presented by James Patterson’s new children’s imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion…
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.
Review:
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose is a lord’s daughter in Victorian London. She secretly helps her uncle with forensic science in his laboratory. When a string of corpses seem to be connected to the same serial killer, Audrey and her uncle’s assistant Thomas Cresswell begin their own investigation into the identity of Jack the Ripper. Their hunt for the infamous killer leads them to someone close to Audrey’s inner circle.
I’m fascinated with the story of Jack the Ripper. I think one of the reasons I’m so fascinated by it is that the murders were never solved. They suddenly stopped, which ended his reign of terror. No one knows the true identity of Jack the Ripper, so it will probably always be a mystery. This story gives a plausible ending to that mystery.
Fairly early in the story, I figured out who was committing the murders, but I didn’t know the motive that person had. It made sense in the end, and I still found it suspenseful until the last page. There were some gruesome murders described, which were tough to read at times. However, I think this story is worth it!
Stalking Jack the Ripper was so amazing. I’m so glad that I have the next book that I can read soon!
What to read next:
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
Other books in the series:
Hunting Prince Dracula
Escaping from Houdini
Capturing the Devil
Have you read Stalking Jack the Ripper? What did you think of it?
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