Series Report: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Ghostbusters, but make it fashion!

Seriously, everybody, this trilogy is so much fun and the covers are actually representative of the contents. Eleanor is a society lady who goes to balls but she also gets tangled up in the occult. She discovers that she's a necromancer and teams up with the Spirit Hunters, who fight the living dead. Or at least the dead who have been risen by another corrupt necromancer set on gaining more power and wealth. Eleanor has to learn how to control her powers while not being corrupted by them along the way. Of course, there's also a romance, but...it doesn't turn out how you think! I was shocked! It's been a long time since I was genuinely surprised by a series ending.

There's ghosts, zombies, MUMMIES, black magic, seances, kissing, sword fights, explosions, airships, demons, betrayal, and lots and lots of excitement! And pretty dresses. Duh.

Review: Blended by Sharon M. Draper

I was super excited to discover Blended, because I knew I was going to be able to relate to Isabella. We both have a Black father and white mother, so what does that make us? Isabella has never really thought about her race or what she identifies as until her parents divorce. She notices that she gets odd looks when she's with just her mom, but not with her dad. Then the subject of racial discrimination comes up at school and she wonders if the world sees her as Black or white.

Blended deals with some seriously heavy topics, which surprised me. It's not that I didn't think kids know about this stuff, but I don't know. It just surprised me. After a class discussion, a student puts a noose in Isabella's best friend's locker. A situation which scared everyone and raised a ton of questions. Then something happens to Isabella and her stepbrother toward the end of the book.

I am torn on the ending though. Something super traumatic happens which I never saw coming. But then, everyone goes home and life goes on. That's all well and good, because I do love a happy ending. However, this was huge! There needed to be some kind of after math, discussions, something! There was more time given to the incident which happened with Imani at school.

If the ending had been a bit more fleshed out, this would have easily been a 5-star read for me. It's relatable, eye opening, and relevant in today's world. I'd highly recommend it to everyone.

Series Report: Book of Love (1-5) by Meara Platt

First, I love these covers. They're so colorful and pretty.  There are three more books, which came out this year, but I haven't read those yet. Which is probably a good thing, because this is not a series I'd recommend binging. I read these five back to back and I think I would have enjoyed them more if I had spread them out. They're just TOO similar, so it was almost like reading the same book five times. It was a good book, but it didn't need to be repeated that many times so close together.

This series is all about a book that explains how men and women fall in love. It's very scientific. Each woman in this friend/family group read it and pass it around so they can each find their true love. Of course, each of them need to test the information out so they choose a man that they trust, not intending to actually fall in love with him. We all know how that goes. Especially when you read it five times in a row.

It's a very cute series and I do recommend, but just one book at a time.

Review: Dearly Departed (Gone With the Respiration, #1) by Lia Habel

This has been on my to-read for way too long, and I'm so glad that I finally read it. It felt oddly timely, since the world has been mostly destroyed by a virus and other natural catastrophe. Civilization has rebuilt in South America, and has fallen back to Victorian times. But with zombies and technology.

There are five narrators here, which always makes me suspicious. It usually means that someone is going to die or that they're a mole. I'm not saying that this is what happens, but, lots of perspectives. Captain Wolfe only has two short chapters, and they're nonessential. Nora's not really dead father has a handful of chapters as well, but those easily could have been a recap saved for when he was rescued near the end. It also would have allowed for a good plot twist of revealing he's alive 300 pages in rather than 30 pages.

Our main characters are Nora and Bram. Bram kidnaps Nora to save her from being kidnapped by someone even worse. And he is one of the undead who retained their personality and brain functions. She's the daughter of the scientist who has been working on a vaccine for the Lazarus virus. Our secondary character, Pamela, is Nora's best friend who's stuck at home during a zombie invasion and allows us to see what's going on in the real world while Nora is being held with the zombie army.

This book is 470 pages, which is quite long for a YA novel, but I was never bored. Oddly, it took be nearly 2/3 of the book to even realize that nothing important had been happening. I was just enjoying it so much! The relationship between Nora and Bram and the other "good" zombies reminded me of that Disney Channel movie, Z-O-M-B-I-E-S. It was just fun, despite all of the violence and gore. A very strange combination, but it worked.

Ultimately, I just really enjoyed Dearly Departed. I normally don't like Steampunk, and zombies tend to be hit or miss, but this one was 100% hit! While this could work as a standalone with a bit of an opening ending, I'm eager to find out what happens next.

Series Report: Romancing the Page by Laura Ambrose

I read this series for the #Sapphicathon. With that said, obviously these are F/F romances. They're also all about bookish ladies! They're authors, editors, etc who fall in love with other bookish ladies. Each couple has their own issue to overcome: second chance, boss/employee, agoraphobia, and revenge! They're all novella length, so it's a quick, bingable series if ladies loving ladies and books are your thing.

Series Report: Onyx by J.S. Lee

This is the spin-off series to H3RO, but you don't need to read that one first. Although I'd highly recommend it. Now, we're following Kate, who is Holly's photographer friend. She gets hired to go on tour with K-Pop sensation Onyx and take pictures, obviously. It's lust at first sight! Yes, this is another "Reverse Harem" romance, but it's quite different than the previous one. At first, it's just a lot of sex, but as they spend more time together, they all start to fall in love.

The relationship dynamics in this series are much more complicated than the previous series, despite having the same number of players. Some of the guys might be interested in each other as well, which leads to numerous threesomes and foursomes! It's a good ol' time!

I didn't love this series quite as much as H3RO, but the third book was a solid 5-star. The rest are 4, except for the last one which was a 3. And that's only because it totally focuses on my least favorite Romance trope, so I'd still recommend this series whole heartedly since our tastes vary.

Series Report: Gold Sky by Rebel Carter

 

If you're looking for diverse Historical Fiction, this series is for you! It's set in the Montana Territory frontier town known as Gold Sky. It's a place where all kinds of people can live without judgement. The romances and sweet and sometimes steamy, but always happy-making! They're pretty low drama reads. Not that the couples/triads don't face challenges, because they do, but it always felt real.

Heart and Hand: Julie is a mail order bride who gets TWO husbands! She's black, they're white.

Hearth and Home: Julian (Julie's twin) is a mail order husband to Violet! She's Mexican.

Honor and Desire: Seylah is Julie's oldest daughter who falls for her childhood friend.

Three to Love: Florence sets out to find two husbands just like her parents. Ansel and Brendan were already a couple.

Leather and Lace: Two women out in the frontier!

If you know of any similar books or series, please let me know!