Review: The Essence of Darkness

The Essence of Darkness by Tom Clearlake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full disclosure:  I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.  

This book is a translation from the original French version.  I usually try to read a book in its original form but since I don't speak French, I can only hope the translation matches up to the original.

I thought this would be sort of a standard FBI procedural about some missing children.  Boy, was I wrong!  Maybe the title or the cover should have given it away, but I was not expecting the occult angle.  I'm not considering that a spoiler because it is revealed pretty early on.  What happens after that was an adventure I would not have predicted.  There were also some very steamy bits that you usually don't encounter in this type of book.  Chock full of surprises!

Bonus points for the cat love!

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Review: One to Watch

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full disclosure:  I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House and The Dial Press via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

It is well known I am not a big fan of romance novels.  I don't watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  I'm not even really into fashion.  Yet, for some reason, I was drawn to read this book.  I think because the protagonist, Bea, sounded like someone I would be friends with.  Also, it isn't all that frequent to encounter a main character that is a size 20.  Finally! 

I think many women will relate to Bea.  As the book points out, the average woman in the US is a size 16 - 18.  They will relate to the trolls, the mixed messages from men, the pressure to be thin, the pressure to get married, and the guy who strings you along in private while he is with someone else in public.  Take out the fashion and the reality TV, and this could have been my story. 

I loved the way the story unfolded in a mix of blog posts, text messages, tweets, and such along with traditional narrative.  You also got the feeling like you were seeing behind the curtain of reality tv dating shows in same vein as UnReal. 

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Review: Utopia Avenue

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Full disclosure:  I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. 

I was really excited to be approved for this book.  The description sounded fantastic.  Following the rise of an obscure band in the last 60s to 70s.  Unfortunately, I could not really get into the book.  I normally don't mind if a book is disjointed, but I found this really hard to follow.  I liked Elf but not really anyone else.  If it had just been about Elf, I probably would have enjoyed it much more.  Still, I'm sure there will be plenty of people who enjoy the story.

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Review: The City of Tears

The City of Tears by Kate Mosse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full disclosure:  I received a free Advanced Reader's Copy of this book from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

The City of Tears is the second book in the Burning Chambers series by Kate Mosse.  You will want to read the first book before this one as this book builds upon that foundation.  The length of the books requires a willingness to invest in the Reydon family.  I read pretty fast, but they still took me several days to finish.

This book takes place ten years after the last one.  All your favorite characters are here and doing well.  There are even a few new additions.   You know that can't last forever because the Catholics still hate the Huguenots and vice versa.  A royal wedding takes the family to Paris which is where things start to go horribly wrong.  There's less mystery in this book than the first.  In fact, there is a lot of sadness for about two-thirds of the book.  Life was not easy in the 1500s.  Just when you think this book is just the story of a family trying to survive religious persecution, the tension and action really ramp up, and you are racing with them to the end of the story.

I'm not going to spoil the end, but I felt Kate Mosse set herself up for a possible third book.  We'll see.

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