Recent Reads

This was not a good reading month for me. We are still in the midst of Ramadan.. the last few days in fact and I have been so busy and or tired that picking up a book has been the last thing on my mind.

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts

Synopsis - Long ago, Arthur Poole built a grand house overlooking the turbulent ocean, in a Maine village that bore his name. Today, Sonya MacTavish lives in that house, a manor that has been cursed for generations. Within its walls, she has witnessed the deaths of seven brides and the thefts of seven wedding rings. And now, to break the curse and banish a malevolent spirit once and for all, a difficult task must be completed.
After Sonya, her boyfriend, Trey, and their friends are forced to hear, see and feel the suffering of the house’s many ghosts as their torment is reenacted by the evil presence, their bond only strengthens and their anger is renewed. Refusing to let her spirit be broken, Sonya searches each room for clues to her ancestors’ hidden story, putting the picture together, unearthing small treasures, and uncovering the moments of joy that existed among the sorrows. She’s determined to bring light to this haunted place and to fill it with people, with life and hope, once again.
But the enemy in the black dress continues to hover, to come at her in frightening forms. They may be illusions but illusions can be powerful enough to wound and kill. She feeds on fear, and lies are her weapon. This dark-hearted witch wants to be mistress of Poole Manor, at any cost. And Sonya will need to fight a battle across two realms to finally take possession of the house on the clifftop—and of her own future…

Thoughts - This was the final book in Nora Roberts' Lost Bride series. I enjoyed it but I feel like it was unnecessarily too long. There was no need for a trilogy. Two books would have been just fine. The book spent far too much time with cooking and entertaining etc. Now on the other hand I was so envious of these fake relationships in the book. The friendship between Sony and Cleo, the men in their lives.. the comfort they had in just being around each other.. but that was not the point of the book. The book was supposed to be about vanquishing an evil witch and there was just too much in between stuff. Overall still a good series. 

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd

Synopsis - Some women won't be painted out of history . . .
Everybody knows that in 1938, runaway heiress artist Juliette Willoughby perished in an accidental studio fire in Paris, alongside her masterpiece Self Portrait As Sphinx.
Fifty years later, two Cambridge art history students are confounded when they stumble across proof that the fire was no accident but something more sinister. What they uncover threatens the very foundation of Juliette’s aristocratic family and revives rumors of the infamous curse that has haunted the Willoughbys for generations.
But what does their discovery mean? And how is it connected to a brutal murder in present-day Dubai?

Thoughts - I liked this one. It's not going to make any top ten lists.. no offense but it was still a good read. I didn't put all the pieces together.. so that is always good. 

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Synopsis - Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.
Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.
Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

Thoughts - I read Ruta's Fountains of Silence last year and I had really enjoyed it. I learnt a lot from it.. I had no idea Spain had been under a fascist dictatorship in the 1950's. I picked up I Must Betray You again knowing nothing about communist dictatorship Romania was under in the late 80's. Late 80's.. I was alive and it blows my mind.. it was really not that long ago. So for the sake of history I can say I learnt a lot.. but I did not love the story. I did not feel connected to Cristian like I did to Dan and Anna from the first book. Maybe it had to do with the page count. This one was 200 pages shorter so we didn't get to really know our characters. I don't know. I understood their plight.. it was horrible to imagine living like that.. but all the emotions I felt were just for learning that this happened.. it had nothing to do with the book. I considered not finishing it. So this was definitely a pass for me. 

Vicious by V E Schwab

Synopsis - Victor and Eli started out as college roommates, brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch nemesis have set a course for revenge but who will be left alive at the end?

Thoughts - This is my second series by V E Schwab. The first was the Shades of Magic trilogy which I enjoyed greatly. This here is book one in the Villains series. I have book two on hold and book three will be released later in the year. Even though I have to second book on hold I didn't really love the first book. Both MC's were very stiff. There was little excitement. There were some interesting elements but for me at least it was a page turner. So if any of you have read book two I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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