The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Parts of it were so engaging I couldn't put it down then all the sudden whatever I found fascinating dropped off and the author picked up something different. There is a very long stretch in the middle that screams for editing. It goes on forever offering little to no value. And the end. Dang it! No matter how I felt about the rest of the book, I still wanted it to have a proper ending! But alas, no such luck. It just stops. Drops right off. The epitome of cliff hanger. This is the first of a trilogy and if someone gives me the next one I'll read it but I certainly won't pay for it. 

You will find an official plot line description at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16158565-the-thinking-woman-s-guide-to-real-magic.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini

Historical fiction is my favorite kind of fiction but I had a hard time loving Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. Dressmaker Elizabeth was too perfect. I can't love a character with no flaws or weak spots. That kind of pristine character is too inhuman and makes the whole novel ring false. By the end of the novel I felt like I do when I listen to a doting mother go on about her perfect child for too long. I found myself issuing the mental eye roll and an obnoxious "Puh-lease" each time Elizabeth accomplished yet another feat of brilliant loving kindness despite the insanity that was Mrs. Lincoln. The aspect I found redeeming was the little bit about Abraham Lincoln. I'm a fan of his so I like to imagine what he was like in his home with his family and I always enjoy perusing what others imagine he was like. I enjoyed Chiaverini's perspective of our 16th president in that setting.

You will find an official plot line description at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808287-mrs-lincoln-s-dressmaker.

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol

I love a book with lots of characters and a couple subplots to go along with the main theme. Pancol's, The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, definitely fulfilled my wishes in that respect. Beyond that, I was disappointed. I wish I was fluent in French so I could read this novel in its original format. I suspect a great deal of the linguistic magic was quite literally, lost in translation. 

The characters fell flat for me, leaving me detached from their trials and successes. The subplots are weak and often baffling as to their purpose and resolution. I don't like sports but I LOVE sports movies. I love the prevailing hero, the winner against all odds. What I love about sports movies is also what I look for in fiction. I want a hero. I want an underdog, at some point, to come out on top announcing victory against all odds. I didn't find a hero here. All the potential in the world exists for a number of heroes, but alas, not one comes forth with the passion of a big win. Main character, Joséphine, never takes her power back with the fervor I hoped to see. I want to jump up from my chair and shout "Atta girl!" or some other like sentiment but there's none of that here. Just quiet acceptance of the potential to make an impact and then the final curtain falls. 

This novel is right on the verge of taking its place among my favorite sports-movieesque novels, it just never quite makes it. Perhaps the most poignant aspect of my disappointment is that Pancol created characters struggling with some very difficult and heart wrenching challenges but even with the groundwork all laid, the passion in those trials is missing and the opportunity to create dynamic, vibrant, lasting characters is missed. The emotions are mentioned but more as credits rolling by. I couldn't feel for characters written without feeling.

You will find an official plot line description at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/809094664.

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

I know I have confessed my love and admiration for Jodi Picoult before but seriously, she is my pen-wielding hero. Sage's journey into her grandmother's past and the resulting examination of her own present had me completely ensconced for the duration. I could not put this down. I stayed up half the night and read at every available moment until the final page. WWII is one of the most widely written about times in our history. Rightfully so, of course. It's hard to imagine another event that had such a dramatic impact on so many lives around the world. Picoult flexes her literary prowess by taking a story that's been told hundreds of thousands of times and presenting it in a way that pierces the reader's heart anew. Reading The Storyteller made me feel as though I was being introduced to the horrors of the Holocaust for the first time. Is there anything better in this entire world than a novel that has you crying and cheering and hoping and holding your breath? If there is, I cannot call it to mind just now... Thank you, Jodi Picoult, for the gift you've given me in the form of The Storyteller.

You will find an official plot summary at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/779919764.

City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte

City of Lost Dreams, the sequel to City of Dark Magic, surprised me by surpassing its predecessor on every level. I wish I had a 3.5 star option! The first book left me divided, feeling let down by some aspects and really loving the potential existing in others. Ambivalence is resolved in this second installment! The potential in City of Dark Magic is fully delivered in City of Lost Dreams. The heroine is more capable, easier to love. You get to know lovable Nico much better and get a sense for what he faces in his peculiarly long, long life. And Max...there's a character a girl can have a book crush on ;0). Flyte creates the character depth in this one that is missing in the first one, allowing the reader to emotionally invest in the fate of the characters in a way that wasn't possible in City of Dark Magic.  Though not entirely removed, the bizarre sex scenes that were so disruptive in City of Dark Magic were less abundant in City of Lost Dreams. Add in the exciting and unexpectedly twisty ending and you have a winner in City of Lost Dreams!

One of the things I love about reading across all genres of fiction is the opportunity to pick up something of value in what appears to be the unlikeliest place. I wasn't disappointed when I found the "life lesson" I'm always on the lookout for anytime I have a book in hand. This particular gem, delivered from the mouth of Pollina, young musical genius in need of a miracle, reminds City of Lost Dreams heroine of what's really important when she says, "Don't put such stock in this physical body. [...] Passion, in all its forms, that's what endures." Well said and an excellent reminder. I wasn't sure I would follow the work of Magnus Flyte after City of Dark Magic but coming off a City of Lost Dreams high, I can be counted among the many, many fans.

You will find a plot summary at: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17707700-city-of-lost-dreams.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

I really LOVED this book. I have been known to say that I don't enjoy Stephen King. It's true. I know; how could I make such a blanket statement in so stoic a manner? Somehow, even though I don't enjoy Stephen King (wink, wink), I managed to devour The Stand. Three times. I explained this away with some lame excuse like, "There's an exception to every rule!" I think I now know the truth of it. I don't enjoy gory horror novels. But this kind of horror, The Stand kind of horror, or the Under the Dome kind of horror-now that, I can get into. And did. For over 30 heart-stopping hours. I was totally into it. So I'm revising my bizarre tendency to write off Stephen King (no pun intended). I will no longer claim that I don't enjoy Stephen King because I do enjoy some Stephen King very much. This is one of them. 
Under the Dome, in a very The Stand kind of way, weaves an apocalyptic drama that tests every strength and flaw in the character of each of the characters. While in the throes of my fresh-out-of-the-closet Stephen King adoration I had a reader's revelation-Stephen King brilliantly shows readers everything about his characters, without emotion. You know the good and the bad of all the players involved. The information is delivered in a matter-of-fact tone that forces no emotional ties, but somehow creates them anyway. The flat-lined unemotional delivery adds horror to the horror and before you know it, it's 3:00 in the morning and you haven't eaten or drank water or taken a bathroom break in 7 hours. And who cares, where is that guy with the gun/generator/dog/girl?!?

You will find an official plot summary at:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6320534-under-the-dome?from_search=true. 

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Dang it... This series reminded me of a crossover vehicle. It wasn't quite The Hunger Games but it was parked on the same side of the lot as The Hunger Games. A similar look and feel without the blood curdling suspense. A little more thought provoking from a societal point of view but not nearly as heart-stoppingly intense. This final installment feels like a cop out. I think Veronica Roth could have come up with a much better ending had she not relied on the out-of-the-manual ending she chose. Some of my reader friends warned me that I would be disappointed. I resisted those dire predictions, refusing to believe Roth would let me down now, but alas.... 

You will find an official plot summary at: 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18710190-allegiant?from_search=true.

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

I am having a difficult time deciding if this was a two or three-star read for me. As a matter of fact, at last count I had changed the star rating on this review four times. Ugh. All elements for an engaging read are present and accounted for. Mystery, intrigue, romance, a dashing prince, a brainy beauty, alchemy, magic, drugs. Really. It is ALL here. But… (the ubiquitous "but") I found it incredibly difficult to keep things straight. One moment I felt I was enmeshed in a clever Young Adult novel (which this book never claims to be), the next I was hopelessly mired in plot complications I could not untangle and bizarre and disturbing sex scenes that had me checking the front cover to make sure I hadn't mindlessly picked up the wrong book right in the middle. Two days later I'm still not sure I've figured out what the premise was or how it was resolved. I read another review by a gentleman who felt the sex in the novel distracted from the story rather than added anything to the experience. I have to agree with him. The promiscuity of the musically inclined heroine really adds NOTHING to the story line. Shock factor? Maybe. That was the two-star part. 

Now for the three-star part- I loved the Beethoven stuff. I always love entertaining thoughts of famous historical figures going about their daily lives. Talking with friends, making bad jokes, eating too much. When Flyte's characters walk through time and visit the energy of characters' past I couldn't get enough. So I will try the next book in this series, conveniently released today,  and see where it takes me :0). 

You will find an official plot summary at: 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808242-city-of-dark-magic?from_search=true.