The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis   368 pages

There are two bad things about getting a new Fiona Davis book:  1) I’m probably gonna be up all night ‘cause I can’t put it down and 2) I’m going to have at least a year for her next book.

I have been a big fan of Fiona’s work ever since I read her novel, “The Masterpiece.” I’ve read her other works (and loved them all), except “The Address.”  I was saving that to take on an Alaskan Cruise (which the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted).

Like all her novels, at the core of each is a specific New York City building. In “The Masterpiece,” it is Grand Central Station; in “The Chelsea Girls, it is the Chelsea Hotel, in “The Dollhouse,” it is the Barbizon Hotel for Women, and in “The Address,” it is the Dakota Apartment Building.  In this outing, Fiona concentrates on the newly completed New York Public Library (NYPL). Fiona does a fabulous job of providing readers with just the right amount of architectural detail to make readers feel as if they are experie4ncing it first hand; it never gets boring with too many facts.

 Dueling timelines are also one of Fiona’s trademarks. I adore dueling timelines. In this novel, the period is 1913-14 and 1993. At the heart of this novel is also my favorite topic: books!  In 1913, Jack Lyons, who was the superintendent, and his family lived in a seven-room apartment that was housed inside NYPL. That bit fascinates the heck out of me; I wonder what has happened to that space. In the book, in 1993, it is storage.

Jack lives in the apartment with his wife, Laura, and their two children. Laura feels trapped in her marriage, in a life of taking care of her husband, her children and her house. She wants more out of life. Once she is accepted into the Columbia School of Journalism, Laura gets to lead a new exciting life…one where she hardly recognizes herself. Then Jack become the suspect in the theft of several important literary titles, and Laura ultimately becomes on the leading essayist of the 20th century.

In 1993, Sadie has been named the curator of an upcoming exhibit at NYPL. Important literary documents have disappeared. Vanished. Sadie becomes the primary suspect. She, like Jack, becomes the primary suspect.

Each woman, works within her time period to determine what happened to the valuable books and documents…and who is to blame.  I had the mystery of 1993 figured out near the end, before it could be revealed.  The 1913-14 storyline was a surprise.

I adored “The Lions of Fifth Avenue,”  which receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

  

The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis   368 pages

In the last month or so, I was lucky enough to snag a copy of author Fiona Davis’s new book, “The Masterpiece,” and I just loved it. So of course, since that was only her third novel, I knew that I had to read her first two. This was Davis’ debut novel. It’s as equally mesmerizing.

Davis employed the dualing timelines as her structure. I’m wondering if this is going to be a continued pattern for her; I sure hope so, as I love it.

In 1952, Darby arrives from Ohio to attend the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City. She plans to never marry and strives for financial and economic independence from her mother and step-father.  She moves into the Barbizon Hotel for Women. It wasn’t like a hotel that we think of today. She had to have three references in order to be even considered a place. Unfortunately, there isn’t room for her on the floor that houses other Gibbs’ girls. Instead, she is forced to live with aspiring models, who often distract her from her studies.

Darby becomes friends with the maid, Esme, who introduces her to the seedier side of New York. She also meets Sam, a cook in a jazz club who yearns to become a chef, using the spices he discovered in Southeast Asia.

Fast forward to 2016. The Barbizon Hotel for Women is now condos, except for the Fourth Floor. That’s where several of the now-elderly women from the Barbizon still reside. Rose and her divorced lover, Griff, have lived there for about a year. Thanks to Patrick the doorman, Rose learns about the women and the building’s history, especially the scandal that caused Esme to fall to her death from the rooftop terrace. Working for an internet news bureau called WordMerge, Rose wants to interview the women of the Fourth Floor.

She begins to knock on doors and finds some women wanting to talk with her; others who are not interested in bringing up the past. One of those women is Darby. Yup that Darby. As Rose is forced out of her apartment (Griff goes back to his wife, supposedly for a teenager’s sake), she becomes more and more obsessed with Darby and the rumors of her involvement with Esme’s death. It’s just happenstance that Darby winds up caring for Darby’s dog when the neighbor suddenly takes ill and is hospitalized.

I was enthralled with the story; I couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to get my hands on Davis’s sophomore book, “The Address.”  “The Dollhouse” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Furyborn

Furyborn by Claire Legrand     512 pages (read an ARC of this book)

Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

This book is a wild, high-fantasy ride. There is war, there is "elemental" magic, there is love-triangle madness, and there is lots and lots of female-badassery. This book felt like a hot-mess to me in a lot of ways, starting with the world building. I could never quite get a handle on the general lay of the land these characters moved about in, nor get a feel for what everyday life is like for the average citizen living either in the "past" portions of the story or the "future" portions. I couldn't really tell if Celdaria was a kingdom by itself or was one of many kingdoms, I couldn't tell what other areas were allies with Celdaria. It was just a lot going on and not a lot well defined. Also, the magic. It never seemed well described to me. Elementals can wield a certain element, but from the descriptions I couldn't tell what "wielding" it actually looked like, and why everyone need a casting in order to do this and how that effects their magic. I also couldn't tell if some people were better at using their element then others, or even how many people are born elemental (like, is it a large portion of the population? Is it genetic? Is one elemental likely to birth a child who is able to use the same element? Do people without elemental ability begrudge those who do have the ability? Does the existence of elementals make ruling the kingdom difficult if you're not an elemental ruler? How are elementals policed so they don't use their elements for bad? I could go on, but that would take too long for this review). All in all, I'm left with lots of questions and no answers. It was a bit distracting while I read this book. I'll be curious to see how the rest of the series goes, since so much of Rielle's story is already given knowledge in Eliana's world. I am definitely curious enough to keep reading the series as it progresses, but I certainly hope the following books will shed more light on the things I want to know. Overall, I would say I enjoy the story this series is trying to tell and I would recommend it to people I know who love high-fantasy (with romance).

Into the Bright Unknown

Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson     348 pages

The third and final installment of the Gold Seer trilogy finds Lee and her friends settling into life in Glory. When Becky hears news that her home, which was taken apart and shipped from Tennessee all the way to San Francisco, had finally arrived, she and Lee and their friends head off to San Francisco to claim it. Trouble ensues when they run across an old acquaintance and discover their deal with Hardwick for their town treaty might have fallen through. How will Lee and her friends save Glory and their claims? What ensues is a wild, high stakes heist that ends Carson's trilogy with a bang. 

This was an excellent finish to Carson's Gold Seer trilogy. I have loved each installment and I'm thrilled that the last and final book did not disappoint.

This book holds the same thrill and excitement as the previous two books. Each character that you know and love and have seen progress throughout the series continue to do so in this book. What's even more fun is that they take on new roles to pull off an amazing heist.

That brings me to my favorite thing about this series. Though it is a series, each book feels different and its own thing, while still remaining tied to the other books in the series. I love that each book takes place in a different place (the first one on a wagon train, the second in a homestead/mine, and this one in San Francisco). Each story is complete and well put together, while at the same time pulling the reader through the long arduous journey that its central characters are on. It's brilliant writing and I hold this series up to be one of my favorites that I've ever read.

I love the writing, I love how much effort Carson has put into make this story as true to history as possible - it shows! It feels like a real history being told, with, obviously, a little magic mixed it. I love that Carson has chosen to shine a light on the stories of people who history often forgets - Native Americans, our early Chinese settlers, African Americans. Keeping their stories in view, forcing the reader to acknowledge these individuals and what they contributed to America's history is rarely seen, especially in YA fiction. I'm so glad Carson put the time and effort in to sharing their stories, even if only a handful of her characters are based on real historical figures.

I'd honestly recommend this book to anyone - the story is so well done, complex and page-turning, the characters are so well developed, the history is vivid and detailed. It's great for anyone who enjoys historical fiction (especially magical-realism), or anyone looking for a high-stakes YA read. Their are strong female characters, there are diverse characters, and the story pulls you right in. Give it a read! 

Six of Crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo     465 pages

Set in the Grisha verse, Bardugo's story involves a heist, the highest stakes, and six very different people to pull it off. The job is to break into one of the most secure prisons in the world and rescue a certain prisoner, who holds the key to creating the worlds most dangerous drug for Grisha. Though very different from each other, each of the six main characters offers a special skill that will allow the group to potentially succeed in this mission. The stakes are high but the price is right.

Better and more interesting main characters than Bardugo's previous series. I'm glad to see the Grisha verse again, and finally with characters that are actually interesting and that I care about from Bardugo (thank goodness there are no Alina and Mal look-alikes in this book). 

The story is well crafted, the heist is exciting, the components all fit together nicely and Bardugo uses multiple pov to great effect in this area. The heist elements are nicely pared with the Grisha world and the stakes seemed real and important.

I guess my only hang up is that there are six main characters and, from what I can see, there will be six neat little pairs by the end of this series. I can understand one, maybe two bonds being formed amongst this group, but for all six of them to wind up in relationships seems so far-fetched and silly, but I guess I should expect it from Bardugo because she really likes nice, tidy romance endings. The pairing I find least believable is the one that seems to be forming between Jesper and Wylan. Their flirting feels a bit clumsy and last minute, but I guess Bardugo chose to have three couples rather than one solid couple and a love triangle. 

We'll see how things shake out in the next book, but I feel like this particular installment is very strong and I'd hate to see this short series go the way of Bardugo's previous series and fumble in the ending.

Mind Over Bullies: A MOB Forms

Mind Over Bullies: A MOB Forms by D. K. Smith  336 pages

 I won this YA novel in a contest on Shelf Awareness (I just love that newsletter).  I’ve picked it up several times to start reading and put it down several times. I could never get past page 40.  Yet, there was something compelling about the story line that kept pulling me back. After reviewing some of the remarks on Goodreads and Amazon, I was determined to give read this book.

I didn’t buy the opening car chase scene that involved two teenagers as part of a larger counterfeiting ring where the police not only pursue them in a high-speed chase, but actually send a helicopter. Maybe it’s because I’m not a tween or teen, but to me it didn’t seem plausible.

There are several things I like about this novel:

• ·        Strong female protagonist and antagonists.
• ·        The main plot is bullying and the willingness to combat it.
• ·        The diversity of the characters.
• ·        It has GREAT bones.

The things I didn’t like are:

• ·        Too many plot lines. The one about Ellis in London should be deleted; it’s irrelevant and confuses the reader. I had to keep going back to figure out what that was going on with those characters. The plot line about the anti-aging drug/terrorism that comes up in the last third is confusing. The counterfeit ring and the bullying are enough. 
• ·        Too many characters that are not truly defined. Yes, Margo and Kat are distinguishable, but the rest all blur together. I can’t remember reading any physical descriptions about the characters that would set them apart. 
• ·        The cover is unappealing. 
• ·        I saw MOB and thought Mafia.

As I stated earlier, this book has GREAT bones. I think another re-write is in order if there is a second printing. The ending gives the allusion that this is the first book in a series. I believe that Smith’s writing will get better as he or she continues to write.

I give Mind Over Bullies: A MOB Forms 2 out of 5 stars.