Spirits and Thieves series by Morgan Rhodes

I might have been living under a bit of a rock when it comes to YA books because until I stumbled across the second book in this series I had never seen or heard of Morgan Rhodes books before.

In fact, when I realized how seriously much I loved this series, I was more than happy to learn there was a whole much longer series written by her (in the same universe I think?) that I needed in my life! Those beauties are part of the Falling Kingdoms series and they are living on my shelf as we speak.

Anyway, as to these books. They are perfect. I loved them so much. I got sucked in immediately and taken for a ride that I was more than happy to go on. The endings were on the cliff-hanger side (which means that there better be another one coming out in this series), but still, so good.

This book has sisters from modern day Toronto, a boy from a different world called Mytica, and a book that caused one sister to fall into a coma and appear in this other world as a spirit only the boy from Mytica can see or hear. Of course, there's another boy. One back in modern day Toronto who's part of a secret society that just might have everything to do with the girl in the coma and that other world.

I was also seriously happy to learn that the author is in fact from the same province that I am, so many of the books in the two series I picked up came signed!

I loved her writing style. It was totally a series that picked you up and carried you away as if you were in a dream. It was effortless to follow along and fall in love with these books. I didn't want to put them down and I didn't want them to end!

I haven't started the longer series yet because I know that she ends things on a cliffhanger and the newest book *just* came out so I'm not in a hurry to rush to wait for the next one (since I'm collecting paperbacks).

Recommendations: If you've thought about reading these, or any of her works, just go do it. You won't be disappointed and you'll be seriously missing out if you don't! Fantasy lovers, these are for you!

The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny

It's been a hot minute since I've posted anything about the wonderful books by Louise Penny. She is still one of my favourite authors and I am still working through her books. I read this one last year I believe, but I think it's taken me so long to write the review because I didn't want to post too many reviews of books by the same author all at the same time, then I simply forgot!

I've got this book on my shelf as it came in this awesome box set. I think the reason I don't have all the published books in this series is because they are being published from a different company and because of that the book sizes don't match. Don't know if that annoys anyone else.

Anyway, back to the book. This is the third in the series following the wonderful Chief Inspector Gamache. It's held in the wonderful small town of Three Pines, which is supposed to be out there in Quebec, Canada. This mystery digs into the past of the inhabitants of this place again, revealing secrets. It's Easter and some of the villagers decide to hold a seance in an old house full of history. Someone dies during the seance. Was it of fright? or something else? The colourful cast of characters comes together again, trying to figure out who is the next killer, and who is going to next, and why.

There are so many different levels to these books that it's like they are their own special experiences. They make you feel things for people and situations that you wouldn't normally feel. It's hard to explain but it takes you into different perspectives and shows you other sides to things you wouldn't normally consider.

This book was great and I do recommend it, but of course, I recommend you start with the first one and get ready to enjoy yourself with these beautifully written mysteries.

Recommendation: For the lover of the more intensely human murder mystery type novel. Be prepared to feel.

Dead Cold by Louise Penny

I cannot stop talking about these books. Fair warning: I'm going to write about each and every one in this series. Sorry, but I can't help it. They are just so darn good! And Canadian!

Louise Penny's characters draw you in, and it doesn't matter if they are good people or bad. She shows the flaws in everyone that really goes deep into human nature. You really can't help but identify and feel for her characters.

This book also involves the town of Three Pines. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she wrote more than one book about the town and their super interesting cast of characters. Nothing feels stale or over done about these books either. Its a new murder and a new mystery each time.

In this book, a very disliked socialite is murdered and there seems to be a lot of unanswered questions in her past. I had no idea how it was going to turn out and I was quite surprised. As well, there is a lot of backstory in this one about Inspector Gamache and what has happened in his career that keeps coming back to haunt him.

I loved every page of this one. Louise Penny opens doors within the reader and its more than just reading a book, it's an all around experience.

Recommendation: If you enjoy mysteries and great writing, this is definitely the book for you!

Kilmeny of the Orchard by L. M. Montgomery

One of my absolute favorite authors is Lucy Maud Montgomery, and has been since I was a little girl. Her writing is just amazing and special. You may know of her as the author of Anne of Green Gables or Emily of New Moon.

I picked this one up used (as her lesser known books are harder to snap up) and was super happy to add it to my collection. This book is a love story. It's a sweet old time courting story that is so different from the love stories of today. It's about a guy who falls in love with a girl who is mute. He must work hard to win her heart.

As always the writing was descriptive and detailed but in such a way it's like each sentence is a gem on its own. It's beautiful and lovely, and totally great. It was simple and the ending worked out exactly how I had hoped. Yes, I can admit that the story is a little silly on the surface but I enjoyed every second of it.

I am really not a fan of love stories or romances at all, but this one was good. It's really different and old fashioned.

Recommendation: If you love the writing style of L.M.M, or if you are a fan of beautiful romances, then this one is definitely for you!

Wallflowers by Eliza Robertson

This one was a short story collection written by a fellow Canadian. I actually heard about this book first from a magazine. It was under new and hot reads. I remember cutting out the little blurb and saving it to look for it later. By chance, I came across it at the library totally by accident!

I will say I didn't get to read them all. I believe I read about half of the stories before I needed to return the book to the library.

What I did get to read, I will tell you, was strange and haunting, and perhaps even a bit magical. I found I couldn't read more than one at a time. Once I finished reading a story, I had to step away for a while to digest what I read. They were so different and so empty but full of life all at the same time that you were left feeling unsettled but intrigued.

I am not usually a huge fan of short stories. I always want more from them. I know that's just me, but I will say I did have quite a few questions after reading these. They were so different and left so much to our imagination.

Recommendation: These are weird. They are strange. They are haunting. But they are crazy good. Perfect for any short story lovers!

Still Life by Louise Penny

If you haven't seen the review I did on The Beautiful Mystery you may not know that it was the first book I read by Louise Penny, even though it is technically the eighth book in her series about Chief Inspector Gamache. I picked that one up at the library first to get a feel for her work before I purchased the first three books in a boxed set from the book store.

Still Life is her first book in the series. It's set in a small little town in Quebec, with a small cast of characters. Someone is found murdered and it is up to Gamache and his associates to find out what happened.

The author has this incredible way of drawing you into her characters and revealing their very essence in little to almost no words. Immediately you get a sense of who they really are and you feel so familiar with them, almost as if you knew them for real.

Her writing is perfection. She switches between character points of view so seamlessly that you hardly notice, but it just makes sense. In both of the books I've read so far I've laughed out lout at times. It's not that she told you jokes, but more like there were humorous situations that you could picture happening to those you know that would make you laugh. It really deepens your connection with the characters.

As for the mystery, I figured out who had done the murder early on, but it was only a hunch. I had no idea why this person committed the crime. It was just a thought I had that turned out to be right. It did not bother me in the slightest that I was right, the story was still really great in my opinion.

I really loved the Canadian touches she added into her work. It was pretty neat (well I think so, but I'm Canadian!). I just hate that she had be writing for 10 years and I just discovered her books now!

I don't usually review every book in a series, but I think I will keep writing about her books because I am totally enamoured by them!

Recommendation: If you enjoy a good mystery then please, please read these! You will not be disappointed!!

Flavia De Luce Mysteries by Alan Bradley

I discovered the Flavia De Luce mysteries purely by chance a couple years ago. I was looking to step away from my usual authors and pick up something new. There was a whole display of newer books and I picked up The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie mostly because of the title.

The novels follow Flavia De Luce the eleven year old chemist as she discovers dead bodies and becomes wrapped up in the mysteries that ensue. She's stubborn, shes very smart, and she keeps you on your toes. She is an English girl living in a big mansion with her father, two sisters, a man of all trades, and a cook that comes to help out in their kitchen. Everyone is a character and a half and well worth getting to know. 

I love these books. I really do. The main character is a refreshing one, and the titles alone are totally cool. There are six so far in the series, and I have them all. I read somewhere that there are plans for 10 which makes me incredibly happy because these books are great.

The latest one that has come out this year has the novel going in a bit of a different direction, but I am a-okay with it. These are definitely up there with my favorite books. I had hoped to get them all in soft cover, but I found the third one at a thrift store for about $5 in hard cover so I couldn't resist. Same with the newest one, it was 40% off I believe, so I didn't wait for soft cover. 

I love that these books were written by a Canadian, but I still find it a little odd that a man can write a little girl so well. I will say that perhaps Flavia is a little more masculine because of it. Doesn't matter though, I am still on board and loving these books.

Recommendation: If you love a good mystery, pick these up! They are wonderful!


Thank you for reading!


Pamela