Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee, Petra Eriksson

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee, Petra Eriksson

My Rating: ★★★★★

When I saw this book, I knew I had to get it because I’m a big champion of women in history. While I knew of many of the women featured in this book from other books, such as Jason Porath’s Rejected Princesses, it didn’t bother me. If anything, I was excited to see these women featured again because it means more people will learn about them!

Here you will find beautiful artwork opening every chapter covering a different person once forgotten in history. Each chapter takes us through each person’s life story and what kind of badass things they did in their lifetimes. Mackenzi pulls these ladies and their stories from all over the world and mainly features women who are (sadly) not particularly well known. She also writes in a style that’s fun and seems geared toward people who find non-fiction, especially history, dry and boring to follow. It’s an excellent read and would also make a great gift for teenagers and young adults because of the hip language she uses.

Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst, Paula Garner

Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst, Paula Garner

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Candlewick Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sam Jones is a loner intent on staying invisible and hiding her feelings. Referring to herself as a robot, she’s content with flying under the radar until she graduates and escapes her home life. Everything changes when she’s noticed by one of the popular girls at her school, Zoe Miller. On the surface, Zoe is perfect and has her life together. Sam can’t fathom why she’d even want to talk to her. What she doesn’t know is that Zoe works hard to appear perfect. Abandoned by her biological mother, she was adopted by a loving family, but she considers herself a drop-in. On top of things, she’s both stressed and worried because her mom has cancer and her younger brother might be sent to live in a facility full time. Together, Sam and Zoe let their walls down, confide in each other, and create a fictional universe that they can both escape to.

Written in rotating perspectives, we follow Sam and Zoe as they navigate the difficult patches in their lives. Through Sam’s perspective, we learn that she walks on thin ice when home because her mom has OCD and has a list of seemingly random and irrational rules that must be followed. As someone with OCD, I can understand how compulsions and random rules related to them can seem bizarre and irrational. Trust me; I know! It was interesting to see how it affected Sam, but I also felt a little offended that she thought her mom couldn’t cope without her to help with rituals.

Through Zoe’s perspective, we see that she’s not as perfect as she makes herself appear. She struggles with abandonment issues because she was surrendered for adoption, but she also feels bad because she loves her parents and knows they love her. Convinced that she is defective, Zoe does everything she can to appear perfect because she worries that she’ll be left behind if she appears anything less than flawless. At home, Zoe has alienated herself from her friends because she hates the way they look at her younger brother for having developmental disabilities. She also worries about her mom and her battle with cancer, which is in partial remission when the story begins.

When these two characters meet and become friends, they both start to learn that it’s okay to let their walls down and let people see who they are and what problems they have. I love their friendship and how much they learn from each other as well as how much it makes them grow as people. I enjoyed watching them blossom and learn that they don’t have to appear or act a certain way. They can be themselves and people will still like them.

I have a few minor issues with this book. The first one is that Sam comes off as extremely pretentious for someone who is supposed to be so different from her peers. It was a bit off putting at first, but thankfully it lessens as the chapters continue. My other issue is the way that the text messages between Sam and Zoe are written. It was cringe worthy and left me wondering where the authors got the idea that teenagers talk like that. I find it hard to believe that two people would have entire conversations, via text message, written the way that these text messages were. If I hadn’t been hooked on the story, I might’ve considered not reading the book over these passages. Thankfully, I marched along, but these passages took me out of the story every time they appeared.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and look forward to seeing if the authors collaborate on future projects. I think they work well together and the story they delivered is relatable, aside from those terrible text message passages, as well as engrossing.

Highland Crown (Royal Highlander #1) by May McGoldrick

Highland Crown by May McGoldrick

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Isabella is a doctor who was once allowed to practice medicine under her husband. Now a widow and on the run from the British government, she finds herself hiding in a fellow widow’s home waiting to be taken to her next destination before she’s discovered. Instead of laying low, Isabella saves a man on the beach, Cinaed, revealing her true nature as well as her location. Hanging on by a thread, Cinaed quickly becomes her savior and lover as the stakes rise and the price on her head and his true family lineage leads them on a journey Isabella never could’ve imagined.

Told in rotating narrators, we follow Isabella and Cinaed. In the beginning, she hides out with a stranger and fellow widow and he gets shot right as he loses his prized ship. Isabella is a strong woman who is aware that she might never practice medicine again if she manages to escape danger with her life. When confronted with an injured man, Cinaed, she can’t sit back and stay quiet. It goes against her code as a practicing physician even though treating the injured could expose her as the rare female physician. Meanwhile, Cinaed is a gruff pirate of sorts with a heart of gold. While he initially wants to help Isabella out because he has romantic interests, he’s really helping because she saved his life and he’s aware that she may need more help than she thinks.

I like Isabella even though she’s stubborn enough to put herself at risk to save a stranger’s life. She’s aware of where her choices can take her and she finds comfort in knowing that her sister and step daughter are safe as long as she doesn’t know where they are, so it’s okay if she gets caught. I loved reading her narration and enjoyed watching her grow throughout the book. I also loved the banter between her and Jean, her fellow widow. I would honestly read a historical fiction novel just following the two if them.

Cinaed is an interesting character but I feel neutral about him. He’s not a good or a bad character, he’s just… there. Because I didn’t really feel him as a character, the romance felt kind of off to me. That said, I thought his family dynamics were interesting, especially when we find out his true lineage. I’d love to see more of him with the family he always thought was his as well as seeing where his journey takes him, Isabella, and possibly Jean. Maybe he’ll grow on me as his story progresses in future books.

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

My Rating: ★★★★

Blanca and Roja del Cisne have grown up knowing that one of them will eventually be claimed by the swans. Roja knows she’s been marked by the swans since birth, but Blanca has spent her life trying to prevent either of them from being claimed. Thinking they cheated the swans, fate has finally come to make its claim. Split by lies and sibling rivalry, the sisters still fight to save the other. However, fate has other plans, and two local boys are about to get mixed up in a blood curse they don’t have a full handle on.

I picked up this book and quickly became absorbed in McLemore’s beautiful retelling of Snow-White and Rose-Red and Swan Lake. Told in rotating perspectives, the story focuses on two sisters, Blanca and Roja, who were born to be rivals. However, Blanca has tried her best to make sure that they appeared similar enough that the swans wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. I really felt for the sisters and how much they cared for each other. As much as the blood curse tries to split them up, they both fight like hell to save one another from the curse that has claimed so many woman in their family.

I also understand the natural rivalry between the two and really felt for Roja, who has never been the chosen one while Blanca’s light hair and complexion has everyone in the palm of her hand. It’s easy for the rivalry between the two to finally split them up once Blanca starts lying. As the sister everyone always favored, she has no idea that they’ve always been unintentional rivals in ways that aren’t related to their blood curse. Unfortunately, I know their unintentional rivalry before the blood curse comes into play from experience, so I knew exactly what Roja went through as the sister who was never chosen based on appearances alone.

My only complaint about Blanca and Roja’s story is that so much of it could’ve been resolved if they just talked. For sisters who have always been so close, I found it hard to believe that Blanca wouldn’t have come clean sooner rather than later. Of course, that would’ve made the story take a different direction, but I kept wondering how close they really were if Blanca didn’t think her sister and best friend wouldn’t notice that something was wrong in an instant. Close or not, siblings know when one of them is lying about something right away, and Blanca is a smart character. She would know this.

Right as the swans appear to claim the sister of their choosing, two missing boys from their town return from living as various entities in the forest and are taken in by the del Cisne sisters. It’s clear that Yearling is hiding something huge, and no longer under the protection of the forest, he takes refuge with Blanca. His story is filled with shame, anger, and the need to become invisible. I wasn’t sure where his story was going for a while, and I must admit that I was a bit confused during his early chapters, but it starts to take shape and take us on a wild ride. I also wasn’t expecting his storyline to end the way it did, especially because I thought his family had some sort of fight club going on with him and his cousin as constant contenders.

Page, the other missing boy, is misunderstood by his family and peers. As a transgender boy who goes by he/him and she/her, very few people in his small town understand him. He finds himself among peers who accept him without question and finds the love of his life, Blanca. I love Page and how much insight he has. Part of his friendship is Yearling thinking he’s protecting Page, but as the story goes on, Page reveals that they have been helping and protecting each other all along even though Yearling never realized it. I also felt bad for him because as much as his parents love him, he knows they don’t understand him, and it makes him dread the idea of returning home. Thankfully, his story is one of acceptance and I was happy with how his storyline ended.

The romance plots are both beautiful and sad with the sisters fighting to figure out how to save one another and how these two boys fit into that picture. Blanca and Page only have eyes for each other while Roja fights her feelings for Yearling. The romance is intertwined with the blood curse and quickly becomes important to the primary plot. I love that both romance plots are organic to the story and do not make any of the characters suddenly lose themselves like they do in many young adult novels.

I love the story and the characters. I just wish that the ending was different because it left me asking where the next chapter was since it doesn’t truly feel like an ending. Otherwise, it’s a wonderful story and I can’t wait to check out more of McLemore’s work.

Dial M for Mousse (An Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery #3) by Laura Bradford

Dial M for Mousse by Laura Bradford

My Rating: ★★★

When Winnie gets called for a rescue delivery from the owner of an artists’ retreat, she’s excited to put together a series of desserts for a group of performers s. However, things go awry when the delivery is over, and she stumbles upon the body of her newly dead client. To top things off, her personal life is in shreds when she accidentally hurts some feelings of a close friend and her boyfriend is barely touching base. Determined to bake her way through her personal woes, Winnie throws herself into work… and a murder investigation.

I absolutely love this series. The characters are quirky and fun, and the desserts always sound tasty. Sadly, Winnie was down in the dumps from the start, but it somehow made the entire story drag along. Even though it was chugging along, it was still charming, and I enjoyed watching the characters interact with each other. It’s so much fun because I feel like I learn a little bit more about the cast of characters with each book even though I’ve been following them since day one. It keeps things fresh while remaining realistic.

It’ll be interesting to see how Winnie’s relationship with Jay’s daughter progresses from here. I understand her jealous response to her dad hitting the dating scene for the first time in her life, but she’s really getting on my last nerve. I’m glad that Winnie and Jay plan to try and get through her shenanigans together, but I have to say that it was a real delight when Winnie met one of her friends and they got to see that Winnie isn’t some vile person. I hope that she matures as the books progress. She may be a teenager, but she’s old enough to know that there’s a thin line between respectfully hating someone and just being vile herself.

All in all, I had fun reading this installment. I’m interested in seeing what mysteries Laura Bradford will cook up for the next book and where the characters will go from here. Winnie and company are just one big mostly happy family and I enjoy reading about their lives and adventures.