Books
When Stars Come Out by Scarlett St. Clair
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fiction, YA paranormal romance, Greek mythology retelling, 2.5 stars, 📕 ebook
I am a sucker for YA paranormal romance and mythology retellings. This is a retelling of the Greek Charon who ferries the recently deceased to the underworld. I ultimately gave this book 2.5 stars, but I think I’ll start the next book in the series because there is a good chance the pacing will improve since the world isn’t brand new to the reader, the characters are interesting, and I’m hoping the mom gets killed off. You can read my full review on Goodreads here.
I received this book through NetGalley’s ARC program, and I was grateful that Bloom Books gave me the opportunity to review it.
Know the Heretics by Justin S. Holcomb
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Nonfiction, Christian worldview, church history, 4 stars, 📖 paperback
Early in our marriage, Ben and I read a chapter of this book together every night. I picked it up again because I have found myself engaging with people who are concerned about “purity” of our denomination. My thought is that our focus should be on orthodoxy. And a denomination needs less protection than the people—bodies and souls— that make it up. I think a poor view of our bodies and an inflated view of a denomination is the result of a small view of Jesus. Which is often heretical. Holcomb is articulate in explaining the history of, responses to, and reactions to heresy. It is concise, though not comprehensive. This little book is digestible for a layperson like me.
Castles in their Bones by Laura Sebastian
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ YA magical monarchal fantasy, 3.5 stars, 🎧 Audible
This book was a fun read. I enjoyed Sebastian’s Ash Princess series, and her writing has gotten even better! However, I’m giving it 3.5 stars because the ages seemed very off for the characters’ behaviors, and the multiple POV took a while to get into, but the premise is interesting and the author was BRAVE and killed some darlings. I think the issue of ages characters are/ages characters act could have been resolved with a different editing strategy, and I’ll be reading the sequel.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fiction, crime thriller, 3.75 stars, 📕 ebook
Dark, twisty, and creepy— just how I like my summer reads. Jewel’s characters were well developed. The premise was horrifying in the best way. Even if it was a predictable plot, it was well-paced, eloquently written, and the characters were distinct from each other.
I’m giving this one 3.5 stars because it was the tried and true “dead kid/grieving parent” crime thriller formula, but I’ll be reading other books Jewell writes.