I’ve been reading a lot lately, and trying now to catch up on reviews. This is kind of an eclectic mix of genres – YA, real life drama and fantasy.
One of Us is Next
This is book 2 after One of Us is Lying which I enjoyed. This one isn’t quite as absorbing, but still enjoyable. It’s a YA book, with the main characters in high school. There are some younger siblings of the characters from the first book, along with some new additions. There’s no big mystery to start with, and I wasn’t all that caught up in the story until about midway. There’s a truth or dare scenario going on in town, and for the most part the kids take the dare rather than admit any truths. This is all fine until someone dies performing the dare and the rest of the kids need to find out what happened. There’s some appearances of characters from the first book, but not so much to detract from the story. Rating 3 stars.
House of Gucci
I borrowed this from the library based on the pictures I saw on line of the upcoming movie, with Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. The book is supposed to be about murder, madness, betrayal and high fashion and yet I think the movie stills I’ve seen look way more interesting. The book starts with the murder of Maurizio Gucci, heir to the dynasty…and then goes way back to the humble beginnings of the fashion house. It was absorbing for awhile, but the middle of the book sagged, and then the last part returned to the murder. And yet then it was rather clinical and not gossipy in the way I’d imagined. Rating 2 stars.
The Age of Witches
This was like a historical romance crossed with Practical Magic. Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it – I devoured this in short order. Set in 1890, it’s the tale of Harriet, a witch whose niece has come of age without knowing her true destiny. Annis, the young woman, is bold and hopes to breed horses rather than marry. Her step-mother, Frances, cousin to Harriet, intends Annis to marry into aristocracy and uses her own dark magic to get her way. To this end, they cross the ocean from New York to London, where Annis meets a young marquess that needs to marry an heiress. Will this be true love, or will magic be the reason for the romance? Harriet senses something is amiss and has to intervene to save Annis and reveal what the family history is all about.
Annis is a wonderful heroine, who loves her horse Black Satin above all else. Based on that devotion, I spent a lot of time worrying that her horse would come to some horrible end! Rating 4 stars.