The Saturday Review is a weekly meme hosted by me (Taylor Fenner's Bookish World where fellow book bloggers and readers can share what books they've recently reviewed.
Blackhearts (Blackhearts #1) by Nicole Castroman
Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.
Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?
From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.
My Review:
Blackhearts is both a reimagined origin story for the pirate, Blackbeard as well as the fictional story of Anne Barrett - the daughter of a respected merchant and a slave. Anne is a maid in Edward "Teach" Drummond's father's household and Teach is expected to marry a Baron's daughter. Teach and Anne were never meant to fall in love - but their love will launch Teach into becoming one of the most widely-known pirates in history.
I've been dying to read this book for a couple years and I finally got around to it. I instantly liked Anne and her spirit throughout the book. She'd been done wrong by the only family she had left and only wanted to be somewhere she would fit in - even if she had to steal to get there. I also enjoyed Teach's arc from Merchant's son just wanting to earn the approval of his father to seeing one of his father's maids in a new light and then wanting to fiercely protect Anne at all costs to reputation and inheritance to the start of his legacy.
I couldn't put this book down, it's a wonderful historical fantasy and an enjoyable departure from my usual fantasy reading.
I've been dying to read this book for a couple years and I finally got around to it. I instantly liked Anne and her spirit throughout the book. She'd been done wrong by the only family she had left and only wanted to be somewhere she would fit in - even if she had to steal to get there. I also enjoyed Teach's arc from Merchant's son just wanting to earn the approval of his father to seeing one of his father's maids in a new light and then wanting to fiercely protect Anne at all costs to reputation and inheritance to the start of his legacy.
I couldn't put this book down, it's a wonderful historical fantasy and an enjoyable departure from my usual fantasy reading.
My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 of 5 Stars!
Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Blurb:
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie are looking forward to two days of boys, booze, and fun-filled luxury. But what starts out as fun turns twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. And things only get worse from there.
With a storm raging outside, the teens are cut off from the outside world . . . so when a mysterious killer begins picking them off one by one, there’s no escape. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on one another, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?
My Review
I first learned about this book when I watched part of the Lifetime movie adaptation. At the time, the movie was just "eh" for me, and reminded me of a take-off on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Then I grabbed a copy of the book, and yes it is in the style of the Christie book, but this book is a modernized, teenage reimagining. And the motivation behind the killings is more revenge than correcting a broken justice system.
Each death is gruesome in its own way and I loved Meg and T.J. teaming up to uncover who is behind the killings. It was supposed to be a weekend of fun, but what occurs is a bone-chilling thriller that will have our main character racing to find the killer before she becomes yet another victim of Henry Island.
Ten teenagers arrived. Will anyone be left alive at the end of the weekend?
Overall, I loved this book. It was exactly what I was looking for, a perfect blend of thriller and mystery. I'd definitely reread it.
My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 of 5 Stars!
Honor (The Breaking Point #1) by Jay Crownover
Blurb:
Don't be fooled.
Don't make excuses for me.
I am not a good man.
I've seen things no one should, done things no one should talk about. Honor and conscience have no place in my life. But I've fought and I've survived. I've had to.
The first time I saw her dancing on that seedy stage in that second rate club, I felt my heart pulse for the first time. Keelyn Foster was too young, too vibrant for this place, and I knew in an instant that I would make her mine. But first I had to climb my way to the top. I had to have something more to offer her.
I'm here now, money is no object and I have no equal. Except for her. She's disappeared. But don't worry, I will find her and claim her. She will be mine.
Like I said, don't be fooled. I am not the devil in disguise… I'm the one front and center.
My Review:
I used to love Jay Crownover's books. I devoured the Marked Men Series. But for me it just feels like her books have been going progressively downhill since then.
I picked up Honor because the blurb interested me but when the introduction of the book written by the author says that the book will probably be harder for the reader to read than it was for her to write I drew back a little. The last warning like that was in Built - that readers might not like the ice queen she had as a main character and at the time she was right.
I started Honor with a somewhat open mind but Jay was right, this book was hard for me to read. For one reason. The main character - whatever his name is - was untouchably unlikable. I couldn't get past the prologue. I didn't want to hear anymore about his past of his lack of feelings.
Overall, this book is not for me.
My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5 of 5 Stars!
After the Woods by Kim Savage
Blurb:
Would you risk your life to save your best friend?
Julia did. When a paroled predator attacked Liv in the woods, Julia fought back and got caught. Liv ran, leaving Julia in the woods for a terrifying 48 hours that she remembers only in flashbacks. One year later, Liv seems bent on self-destruction, starving herself, doing drugs, and hooking up with a violent new boyfriend. A dead girl turns up in those same woods, and Julia’s memories resurface alongside clues unearthed by an ambitious reporter that link the girl to Julia’s abductor. As the devastating truth becomes clear, Julia realizes that after the woods was just the beginning.
My Review:
This book = YES! YES! YAAAASSSS! I loved it. Every single page.
The crime, the aftermath, the betrayal and secrets. You won't be able to put this book down until you unravel the truth behind what happened in the woods.
Julia is a highly analytical character, she wants answers to the whys and hows of what happened to her - which in a way is only natural. Everyone else wishes she'd put it behind her and move on. But something still isn't right and Julia is determined to get to the bottom of it.
After the Woods is told both a year after the abduction and in Julia's memories that take the reader back to that horrible day.
The only thing I didn't like so much was the ending. I think things should have ended differently for Liv. There should have been some repercussions. And I thought for sure she was going to off her mother. But I guess it leaves the reader thinking - was she ever really Julia's friend?
My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
4.9 of 5 Stars!
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