CheriePie's Books

Came in very useful during the reading of the Mayfair Witches series. In addition to a Family Tree showing the complex relation between the various Mayfair characters, there's a street map of New Orleans, showing where everything's located, as well as a glossary for nearly every character, location, and term encountered throughout the Mayfair Witches series.

The continuing story of Ceony Twill and Magician Emory Thane didn't quite live quite up to it's predecessor, The Paper Magician, for me. I'm not sure if I was simply in a different frame of mind this time around or what, but was Ceony this annoying in the first book? If she was, I certainly didn't pick up on it until now.

Ceony has been pining after Emory ever since she saved him in the first book. The bad guys are still on her tail, consistently putting her and everyone around her in danger. But I seriously felt that the emotions she now has for Emory have clouded her judgement, making her quite short-sighted and reckless! Gone is the young girl I fell in love with in The Paper Magician and while she's still headstrong, she's now making foolish decisions and letting her emotions rule her actions, putting everyone in jeopardy with her foolishness.

I also disliked how a certain details in the story would come along and then suddenly be dropped and forgotten. For example, what happened to that super nice safety bicycle Ceony had, the one she took to her luncheon with Delilah with the enchanted tires that wouldn't wear? When she fled the scene, she just left it there, never went back to retrieve it, and it was never mentioned again. Perhaps the author thought it an unimportant detail but it still bugged me that Ceony would treat her belongings so carelessly. Several other things about the way Ceony now acted and thought irked me too, one that was already mentioned by several other reviewers was her thinking that Langston needed a wife because he didn't know how to cook? Puhhlease!

That said, I still liked the story overall, and found it a fast-paced and entertaining read despite it's drawbacks for me. If Ceony wasn't so vexatious this time around, I may have even liked it as much as The Paper Magician.

I love Doctor Who, and I quite enjoyed this short story. Holly Black has captured in writing the expressions and mannerisms of the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) quite well. There was one part, when the Doctor was describing the duties of his companion, in which he says, "remind me how brilliant I am, notice things that I've already noticed, ask me questions whose answers are so blazingly obvious that it would never have occurred to me to explain." That quote had me cracking up laughing. It is soooo snarky Capaldi-esque!

In this forty-page story, the Doctor meets and befriends a young, scaly monster at the Intergalactic Coffee Roasting Station (ICRS). When the lights go out and one of the coffee shop patrons is murdered in the dark, everyone becomes a suspect. The Doctor works through the clues in his usual genius way, deducing the murderer and saving the day.

Thank you to NetGalley and Puffin Books for providing me a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Mercy and Peter are happily married and looking forward to the birth of their son. Unfortunately, it seems everyone has it out for Mercy right now, and her life is consistently being put in danger. The other anchors of The Line want to take her out, afraid of the power she holds, and their fear that she will be responsible for taking down the line down and letting loose all the old Gods and Demons to return to our world. Not only that, but severed body parts have begun to show up scattered all around Savannah, all with dark magic attached. The Taylor family, in their usual close-knit fashion, have bound together to protect Mercy, while at the same time trying to get to the bottom of these horrible slayings and figure out the meaning behind them.

The third and final installment in the Witching Savannah trilogy ends with a bang! There are all sorts of twists and turns that will keep the reader on their toes. Whether you'll like all those twists and turns however, I can't truly say. Like the previous books in the series, the story really draws you in. It's fast moving, the characters are well developed, and the writing gives you a spectacular feeling of place, as if you're walking the streets of Savannah yourself. I was happy to see Jilo make a minor re-appearance here as well as she was definitely one of my favorite characters.

The story shifted drastically about halfway through however, and many readers may be disappointed they're not getting the nicely wrapped-up ending they were seeking. I did find it a bit unsettling myself at first, but after awhile, I resigned myself to what was going on and then was pleasantly surprised with how it all turned out, especially after I'd been expecting the worst. Overall, I quite enjoyed the Witching Savannah series and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good ole southern witchy tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, 47North, for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mercy Taylor has finally come into her powers and is slowly learning to control them. But when her long-presumed-dead mother makes an appearance, and asks Mercy to keep her presence a secret, Mercy starts to wonder whom she can really trust--the sister who tried to kill her, the aunts and uncle who hid the truth about her mother's death, or even mother herself, who is suddenly making a reappearance in Mercy's life after twenty plus years.... With all the deception surrounding her, Mercy knows she needs to get to the bottom of all these mysteries before it all blows up around her.

This was a pretty good follow-up to The Line, although overall I liked the first book slightly better. We learn a few secrets about Peter here, and though he was more of a background to Mercy and Maisie's story in the first book, his character begins to take on more prominence in Mercy's life here, though not necessarily for the better in my opinion. The same is true of Emmet, the golem who manifested during The Line, and I actually came to like him better in this book. I hope to see some of the loose ends with Mercy's mother tied up in the third book, The Void, which I plan on reading next. And I hope Peter finds out the truth about himself too. I don't think it's right his family keeping such an important secret from him!

Mercy and the rest of the Savannah Taylors are part of a long line of witches that have been given the responsibility of holding down the "Line" that keeps demons from entering our world. Mercy's fraternal twin, the golden-haired Maisie, was born with all the beauty and power of a true witch, while poor flame-haired Mercy is ordinary and weak, powerless by comparison. Burdened throughout her life as a disappointment to the family, Mercy has blissfully accepted her lot in life, living instead in the glow of her sister's blessed existence, and remaining remarkably happy and full of spunk for someone in her shoes.

Though the main character was only 20 years old (21 by the end), I wouldn't consider this a young adult novel as there's a few adult themes going on, or at least discussed. I believe it may actually fall into a somewhat new genre called New Adult. So parents, definitely don't push this one on your teen unless you've read it first yourself.

Overall, I thought this was a really good read that ramped up even more about halfway through and then kept you on your toes right up to the very end. The first chapter started out a bit choppy, and didn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the story. After reading it, I didn't have a strong sense about the book overall, but in retrospect, it seemed to have introduced and even added a bit of dimension to several characters in the story, Mercy's included, without having to go into long lengthy explanations. The characters were well developed and I really felt for Mercy and everything she went through. Though I did question her angelic like quality of being able to unequivocally forgive some of the people who've wronged her so terribly. Mother Jilo, another awesomely drawn character, really pulled you into the whole vibe of Savannah. Witches, Hoodoo, boo hags, and golems... all taking place down in the deep south. I look forward to the next title in this series.

The Time Roads is an intriguing collection of related steampunk era stories that tie together into a larger, more complex picture. Ireland, referred to by it's ancient name of Éire, is the stronghold of Europe here, instead of England. Mathematical scientists of the time have discovered ways to access alternate realities by traveling what they call the Time Roads. These time roads later prove quite invaluable for Queen Áine and the livelihood of the Éire kingdom, which is under threat from Anglia (England) and the Prussian Empire, to name but a few.

The first and fourth stories, the longest of the four, are both told in the first person point of view from Queen Áine of Éire. The second and third stories shift to third person point-of-view and focus on different characters which are still related to the overall picture. I actually liked the first and fourth stories best, feeling more of a connection with Queen Áine. But at the end of the first story, I did find the shift to an entirely new set of characters whom we hadn't yet been introduced to, a bit unsettling at first, and I honestly didn't like that story as much as the others. Once I realized how it tied into the overall story however, I was a bit more tolerant. :)

I also longed for a pronunciation guide throughout. The spelling and pronunciation of the many Celtic names were difficult to master, and without it, I had a harder time remembering and recalling names since I couldn't sound them out in my head as I came across them. My Kindle came in quite useful in this regard as I could highlight and search for previous mentions of that particular name, but if I had to read this one in traditional book format, it would've bugged me quite a bit more.

Overall, the stories were quite thought-provoking, with some better than others as already mentioned. The character development was decent and the world building was great as I truly felt immersed in the time in which these stories took place. I look forward to reading further works from Beth Bernobich.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A rogue re-animationist is causing mayhem in the streets of 1880's London, reanimating the dead to all sorts of deadly, nefarious deeds. But the Crown has their own weapon to fight back. The Secret Commission, an arsenal of supernatural beings, has been established exactly to help fight such crime. Artifice "Art", a very recently reanimated Quaker, and her partner Jim Dastard, a talking skull, have a job to do if they're to stop the string of recent murders plaguing the city.

Having only been recently reanimated, and remembering nothing of her former life by design, Art's journey of self-discovery is endearing, warming me to her character even more. For we as the reader get to discover and learn more about her as she does herself. And her partner Jim, a reanimated skull with no other living organs or parts and fueled by fire and smoke, is chock full of witty remarks and simply darling as well.

I truly enjoyed this supernatural romp through the streets of Victorian London. The author tells a lively, animated story, full of mystery and intrigue, and the characters of Art and Jim are simply awesome! The world building puts you right in the middle of the action, the author's descriptions giving just the right amount without bogging things down... a perfect balance. I very much look forward to reading the following titles in this entertaining series.

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

All the stories in this anthology revolve around the carnival and/or circus life, a subject I really enjoy.  Didn't y'all want to run away and join the circus when you were younger... or is that just me? ;)

I reviewed this book on a story by story basis, and most of these stories were really good.  I was also introduced to several "new to me" authors whose books and series I've since added to my TBR or wish list.

Painted Love by Rob Thurman - 6 stars
This story about a man, who's really a monster underneath, is purposely misleading, deceiving the reader into believing something that isn't so, just as Bart wears his false face to the rest of the world.  I thought Doodle's endless narratives could drone on a bit too long at times, but overall the story was thought provoking and had me rereading it again after I'd finished.

The Three Lives of Lydia by Delilah S. Dawson - 6 stars
Parts of it were cool, other parts, not so much.  I enjoyed the carnival scenes, but the reality of the situation was pretty depressing.

The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne - 8 stars
This was a fantastic short story, part of the Iron Druid Chronicles taking place after the 4th book in that series.  The writing really drew me in, snarky yet action-packed.  It can definitely stand on it's own outside of the rest of the series, but I enjoyed it so much that I immediately hunted down the Iron Druid Chronicles and added that series to my TBR list.

The Sweeter the Juice by Mark Henry - 1 star
Sorry but I didn't like this one at all.  A transvestite junkie in a post-apocalyptic world of zombies.  No thanks!

The Werewife by Jaye Wells - 6 stars
A riveting tale that teaches the lesson to be careful what you wish for... particularly while in the vicinity of the carnival freak show.

The Cold Girl by Rachel Caine - 7 stars
This was a fast-paced young adult story, and it held my interest throughout.  Though I didn't like seeing Kiley as a victim, it at least depicted life honestly, albeit brutally, as to how cruel some people can be.

A Duet with Darkness by Allison Pang - 3 stars
I didn't really get this one at all, and the end was too obscure and made absolutely no sense to me.  All the characters were unlikeable as well.  Not a great introduction to this author for me.

Recession of the Divine by Hillary Jacques - 6 stars
The Greek goddess Mnemosyne taken on a human form and enslaved as a fortune teller at the local carnival.  An interesting read.

Parlor Tricks by Jennifer Estep - 7 stars
An exciting short story that takes place in the world of the Elemental Assassin series.  I got a bit of a feel for the main character Gin and think I'll check out the full series of which these characters are a part.

Freak House by Kelly Meding - 8 stars
Really liked this one, so much so that I'd like to check out more of this author's work.  The title of this story states that it's a Strays Short Story, though I don't see that that's the name of any of her existing series, so I don't know if these characters are part of any of her other books or not.  I hope so however, as I really liked the characters of Shiloh and Julius and would love to learn more about them.

The Inside Man by Nicole D. Peeler - 7 stars
This was a pretty decent read, and also part of an existing series, Jane True.  I'm not sure if I loved it enough to seek out more books by this author or not, but I will definitely be checking goodreads to see what the Jane True series is about and find out what others thought of them.

A Chance in Hell by Jackie Kessler - 7 stars
I enjoyed this one, and liked Jezebel's character.  I guess this is part of the author's Hell on Earth series, the first 2 books of which I have somewhere in my TBR boxes in the garage.  I may just have to pull them out to add them to my more current TBR pile after this short but enticing short story.

Hell's Menagerie by Kelly Gay - 5 stars
The story itself was alright, though I didn't care for the author's writing style all that much.  The action scenes, which should've been fast-paced and exciting, were instead bogged down with excessive detail.  For this reason, even the actions scenes seemed to just sort of creep along with the rest of the book.

Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea by Seanan McGuire - 7 stars
Mermaids are magical!  Though this story wasn't nearly as dark or action packed as the others, the author's writing style really drew me in.  The quality of that writing, combined with mermaids and carnies, will definitely have me seeking out additional works from this author.

2.5 stars

Mary is lost in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, continually jumping between various fairy tales and myths to escape the Wolf who's trying to kill her... and so the story goes.

I almost didn't finish this, had pretty much decided to give up after five chapters in. Mary was quite contrary alright, so much so that I couldn't care less what happened to her. I started to wish she'd just die already so the story would be over! Her bad attitude was just plain rude, vulgar, nasty, and mean. And it was hard to believe she was only twelve years old based on her thought process!

However, after reading several Goodreads reviews that mentioned Mary's change in attitude, and the dawning realization that a change was taking place, I decided to plod on. It was around the 1/2 way point that I started to enjoy this story a bit more. Mary's tough exterior began to soften and crack in places, and as she opened up her emotions to her companions—a rat and a wooden doll—the reader starts to learn a bit more about what makes her tick, and why she's so nasty.

The final chapter was a bit of a letdown. It tried to summarize the entire story, making it Mary's own instead of that of Little Red Riding Hood, but it left out a lot of detail, and also changed some parts along the way. I guess the author's reasoning for including it was that Mary was retelling her own story, but I still thought it was too simplistic.

Overall, the last part of the book redeemed itself for the first half, thus bringing my rating up slightly from the original 1 star I was going to give it.

Hearing the thoughts of plants and insects can be a bit unsettling for Alyssa Gardner, especially if it means she may eventually follow in the crazed footsteps of her matrilineal relations.  In a desperate attempt to rid her family of their curse, Alyssa decides to take things into her own hands and travel down the rabbit hole, her dear friend Jeb by her side.  A wildly psychedelic trip to Wonderland, with the darkly enchanting netherling Morpheus as their guide, pits Alyssa against a series of challenges designed to right the wrongs committed by her great-great-great grandmother Alice Liddell when she'd visited Wonderland so long ago.  But Alyssa also finds her loyalties torn between the stoic and dreamy Jeb and the deliciously magic and mysterious Morpheus.

I thought the story started off a bit slow.  It had trouble holding my interest until around the 4th chapter when things started to pick up.  But once the real ties to Wonderland started to materialize, even before Alyssa ventured down, is when it got good.  The characters were all written quite well, the descriptions of Wonderland and its various creatures and netherlings fantastic, throwing you right into the middle of the brilliant yet frightening world opening up around you.  At times, when the romantic aspect between the characters would start to take center stage, I felt my interest waning a bit.  But that's probably just me since I don't like romances.  Other readers may thoroughly enjoy Alyssa's tangled feelings for Morpheus versus her guilty feelings for Jeb.  Fortunately for me, there was so much more going on here that the romance didn't bother me all that much.  Overall, I thought it was an interesting read and I plan to read the other books in the series sometime soon.

see my review of Parlor Tricks at the Carniepunk anthology: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1048948562

Sophronia and her friends are off on another adventure, this time in an attempt to return Sidheag to Scotland to reunite with the broken werewolf pack her grandfather left behind. But along the way, they uncover a sinister plot that forces Sophronia to decide where her loyalties lie.

Another action-packed read in the young adult Finishing School series by Gail Carriger, this third book was just as riveting as the first two. Though there's a bit of a love triangle starting to go on now—a plot device I'm not particularly fond of—it hasn't really been over done here, not to the point where it's driving the plot by any means. That said, I'm really curious to see the direction the relationships with both Felix and Soap take after this book, especially with Soap's new station in life.

Ms. Carriger has crafted a wildly imaginative steampunk world that continues to dazzle with it's charm and strong characters. I realize it'll be awhile before another book in this series is released, so I've decided to check out her Parasol Protectorate series to tide me over. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sophronia is enjoying her time at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy. In addition to learning a proper curtsy, she's also learned how to wield a letter opener to deathly effect. In this second book of the Finishing School series, the school is on the move—a trip to London to witness the very first transcontinental dirigible expedition, with possibly more to it than meets the eye. With Monique's coming out ball on the agenda, the recently botched kidnapping attempt on Dimity, and untoward advances from Viscount Mersey, Sophronia's certainly got her hands full if she's to make it through the school year.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, just as much as the first, if not more so. Ms. Carriger has build a wonderfully detailed steampunk world, abounding with dinghies, airships, gadgets, and mechanicals. Full of action and adventure, this book draws the reader in and doesn't let go. One thing I noted is that these books can easily stand alone if necessary. When a significant event would occur, one that relates to or depends on something that occurred in the previous book, the author neatly summarizes the event to bring the reader up to speed. So though you may have missed out on the excitement of said event the first time around, there's enough information given so a new reader is up to speed on current events, even if they haven't gotten to know the characters quite as well yet.

As I said in my review of Etiquette & Espionage, I love Sophronia's audacious character, and think all the major characters in this book are very well drawn. I'm very much looking forward to Waistcoats & Weaponry, the third book in the series, due to be released in November, but which I luckily have an advance readers copy of waiting right here. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When mischievous young Sophronia Temminnick is sent off to Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, she immediately envisions the worst—for she would much rather be climbing and dismantling mechanicals than learning how to be a lady. But coupled with the fine arts of social etiquette, dress, and dance, the girls are also trained in espionage, diversion and intelligence gathering. Insofar as Sophronia had expected to abhor the boarding school, housed in an air dinghy hovering over Dartmoor, she instead finds that she's quite enjoying her time there, thriving in an environment that seems to cater to her shenanigans. Danger ensues as Sophronia commissions some of her new friends in tracking down a mysterious prototype, and meets an odd assortment of gentlemen, flywaymen, and Picklemen along the way.

This was a fantastic read! I quite enjoyed the romp through this fantastical 19th century world, of dirigibles and air dinghies. The writing style was fairly fast paced, slowing down at times when extra description was needed, but otherwise moved along pretty quickly. There were elements of the supernatural as well, though they definitely didn't dominate the story. I loved Sophronia's character, her determination and fearlessness were inspiring. And the little mechanimal Bumbersnoot... awesome!

I've already started on Curtsies & Conspiracies, the second book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Revelation Dyer is descended from a long matriarchal line of New England witches, each with their own curious power. Revelation's power is that she can vanish into thin air, making her talent as a stage magician quite legendary. When her husband, famed magician Jeremy Maskelyne and the other half of her act, is killed in a freak accident—which turns out to be not quite an accident after all—Reve's life starts to fall apart. On the prompting of her grandmother, whom she fondly calls Nan, she does the only thing she can think of: gathers up her three daughters and returns home, to the small town of Hawley Five Corners, Massachusetts, an area where her ancestral magic runs strong. The little ghost town, residing on the edge of Hawley Forest, and next to it's larger Hawley neighbor, has quite a bit of controversy surrounding it, and it's own rich set of historical legends the locals are reticent to even talk about. But if Reve is to defeat the elusive enemy that's haunting her, she's going to need all the help she can get.

Wow, what an amazing, spectacular, spellbinding story! It gripped me from the moment I picked it up, and though I was excited to hear that there will be more Revelation stories to come, I'm sad I'll have to wait for them. Chrysler Szarlan has got some mad skills with world building and character development, a startling fact considering this is her debut novel. I found myself lost in the story for hours on end, difficult to put down.

This story was both haunting and magical, drawing the reader in with it's flowing prose and vivid descriptions. If I had to give any criticism at all, I'd say it's only that Reve frustrated me at times, with her reluctance to believe what was right in front of her, especially coming from a magical family as she did. I liked that the story took place primarily in Western Massachusetts as well as Las Vegas, both areas I'm familiar with, as I love feeling that connection with place that a story can evoke. I'm definitely looking forward to more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.