She Kills Me: The True Stories of History's Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright

 
She Kills Me: The True Stories of History's Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from ABRAMS Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited when I saw that one of my favorite non-fiction writers was dropping a new book. Jennifer Wright has done it again, and this time she brought her sense of humor to the table with a book about some of the deadliest women recorded in history. If you like true crime, I promise you that this book is for you.

When I say that Jennifer brought her sense of humor to this book, I also mean that it’s done tastefully. As always, she knows when she can be funny and when it’s time to scale back. However, this book isn’t in any way funny, and you won’t see her brand of humor shine due to the subject matter. As I was saying, she is always tasteful about when and where she can lighten the mood as her readers take in heavy subject matter.

This time around, we check out the lives of 40 different deadly women that have been recorded in history. Each chapter has a drawing as well as a trigger warning if the woman whose life as well as murderous deeds that’s being covered mentions rape, torture, or anything that may be a trigger for readers. While suicide is not one of the trigger warnings in the ARC I received, it may be added to the final edition of the book.

I found this book quite interesting. Many different women were covered, and the book is separated into sections based on the type of crimes each person committed. While they were each killers, some killed out of self defense while others murdered a steady stream of husbands or were deadly on the battlefield. Each chapter is short, but covers who each person was, a little bit about their lives, who they killed, why they killed if it was known, and what happened to them. Rumors and tall tales were included and are stated to be stories that went around.

All in all, I think this is a great book. I’m always excited when I see that Jennifer is publishing a new book and I’m excited to see what she comes up with next.

The Queen of Rhodia (Tales of Inthya #3) by Effie Calvin

 
The Queen of Rhodia by Effie Calvin
My Rating: ★★★★

Princess Esofi and Princess Adale have been enjoying the married life in addition to motherhood with their baby dragon, Carinth. Things seem to be going well, especially since they have begun peace discussions with the dragons. At least, things were going well until Esofi’s mother, Queen Gaelle of Rhodia, hears about Carinth. Convinced that Esofi is undeserving of this blessing from Tacia, Gaelle arrives unannounced to take what she believes is hers no matter the cost. 

After the previous book, I was a little sad to leave Orsina and Aelia behind. It turns out that I’m indecisive because I was initially sad to leave Esofi and Adale behind to follow Orsina and Aelia, and now I’m sad to leave Orsina and Aelia behind! However, I quickly found that I was happy to see Esofi and Adale again. Plus, I have been wondering how big of a showdown there would be when Gaelle showed up to snatch Carinth. All I have to say is that I’m glad I’ll never meet Gaelle. Phew. Talk about one mean and powerful woman. I’m interested to learn more about Esofi’s upbringing as the series continues, but I have a pretty good idea about what that looked like.

One of the most interesting parts about this book was the dragons. I was very excited to learn more about them. This time around, we got to see them up close and personal. It was so exciting to see how they lived, how their views differed from humans, and what led to their war with humans. I’m excited to see where this goes in addition to seeing whether or not Gaelle is going to turn up again with her crazy plans for dragons.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It was great to revisit Esofi and Adale along with everyone I grew to know and love from the first book in addition to seeing some characters from the second book turn up. The pace was a bit slower, but I didn’t mind. I was too busy finding myself absorbed in the story and excited about where it was going to think much about the pace until later.

Mystical Stitches: Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment by Christi Johnson

Mystical Stitches: Embroidery for Personal Empowerment and Magical Embellishment by Christi Johnson

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Storey Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for ideas on how one might make their spirituality and embroidery meet, then this is the book for you. Here you will find out how Christi Johnson expresses her spirituality through embroidery and how she hopes to inspire you to do the same if that’s what you wish. It applies to any beliefs, and she includes 200 symbols along with their meanings so that readers can figure out how to create their own talisman.

While this is not a traditional pattern book, as it includes many pictures of the symbols she’s made so that people can create them, they do not include the patterns themselves. At least, there weren’t patterns in the digital ARC I received. It’s possible that the patterns are included in the final edition that goes to print. In addition to providing tips on how to embroider as well as how-to graphs on various stitches, there are also tips on how to connect with your spirituality or personal power along with stretches to do in between stitching.

Organza Hoop Art: Embroidery Techniques and Projects for Sheer Stitching by Sarah Godfrey

 
Organza Hoop Art: Embroidery Techniques and Projects for Sheer Stitching by Sarah Godfrey
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Fox Chapel Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book and was fascinated because I’ve never seen embroidery on organza. As a newbie embroiderer, I was even more fascinated because it looks absolutely stunning. The opening introduces us to everything we need to know about stitching on organza. One of the most important things is the fabric. Sarah thoroughly explains what to look for in organza as well as what she likes to use. Then she continues to set us up for success by giving us some tips that will make the process easier on ourselves, such as stitching over a bright surface and avoid making knots. One of the most important pieces of advice is to practice and that not even her first piece on organza was perfect. It's good to remind people that it takes practice even if you’re skilled when working with other fabrics.

One of the things that I like about this book is that it goes through everything you need to embroider, so it’s perfect for people who have never embroidered before. There’s a pretty nice stitch glossary in addition to a list of supplies and why you’ll need them for your organza pieces. I also think that it’s nice that the stitch glossary shows a step-by-step process of each stitch on organza, which is great because I’ve never stitched on it before and it’s great to get a visual on what to expect the process to look like.

There are 12 patterns included, which each have instructions as well as tips to aid reader’s stitching. I also like that there’s photos showing a bit of the process for each pattern with instructions on the type of stitches used for the section of the pattern shown in the pictures. I think this is a great book and I’m inspired to pick up some organza the next time I’m at the fabric store so I can give this a go.

The Hellion's Waltz (Feminine Pursuits #3) by Olivia Waite

 

The Hellion's Waltz by Olivia Waite
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Avon and Harper Voyager through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Roseingrave’s lives were turned upside down when they became the victims of a conman, causing them to lose their piano company. A year later, it still hurts Sophie to so much as look at a piano. Now that Sophie and her family have relocated and are trying to start over, playing the piano is almost completely out of the question because it just brings back the shame of what happened in full force. Then she meets Maddie Crewe, a beautiful yet suspicious woman who is running a con. Sophie is torn between what her mind and body are telling her until she finds out that the Maddie’s con has heart behind it.

While this is the third book in the series, each book follows a new cast of characters, so each book can be read as a stand alone without any confusion. I started this book expecting a good romance novel and quickly discovered that it exceeded my expectations. There’s romance, friendships, good family relationships, and breathtaking worldbuilding. I will be checking out the first two books in the series for sure.

The characters are absolutely wonderful and fun to follow. I loved the Roseingrave’s family dynamic, especially the relationship that Sophie had with her parents. They’re just wonderful, supportive, and talented people who care deeply about their children. I kind of want to hang out with them! I particularly loved Sophie and her dad’s relationship, which pulled a bit on my heartstrings without actually being sad. I also love Maddie, her friends, and how much she cares about the other women working in the textile industry.

I thought the con that Maddie and company were running was interesting, especially because it was to take down a greedy and vile character who is all about making money at other people’s expense. She’s doing it for the greater good with revenge mixed in, which I found to be an interesting plot. I enjoyed watching it develop and eventually reach its peak.

All in all, I think this is a wonderful read and I’m excited to check out the other books in the series. If you’re looking for an LGBT historical romance, I think this is something you’ll want to pick up.

Extraordinary: A Story of an Ordinary Princess (An Ordinary Princess #1-3) by Cassie Anderson

Extraordinary: A Story of an Ordinary Princess by Cassie Anderson

My Rating: ★★★★

Each of Princess Basil’s sisters were blessed with extraordinary talents at birth by fairies. Whether it’s beauty, music, dancing, or humor, they each have something that draws people in. Then there’s Basil, who feels cursed because she was doomed to receive a blessing from a grouchy fairy. Her blessing? To be 100% ordinary. Her family have tried everything they could think of to spruce her up, but she always ends up feeling useless and ignored. Everything changes when Basil decides to hunt down the fairy who blessed her with being ordinary, leading her on a quest to become extraordinary.

This is such a sweet story about a princess who is ordinary and feels left out and looked over. However, it turns out that being ordinary is not such a bad thing because Basil holds her fate in her hands instead of having it chosen for her. I think sends a great message to kids because it’s real easy to feel left out, ordinary, and even dumb. However, what people see doesn’t define you and you’re just as special as anyone else. You just have to find what makes you feel great and shine.

While most of the characters are one dimensional, we do see some character development for Basil and her new friend, Hudson. I wasn’t expecting a super detailed and deep as this is a story aimed for kids middle school age and younger. That said, I do think there was a good amount of character development and world building that’s not overwhelming for the age group this is meant for. I do have a few questions, but they aren’t anything that the intended audience will have after reading.

Overall, I enjoyed the story as well as the artwork. I also enjoyed the concept art in addition to seeing the original few pages of the story that eventually lead to this novel. I think this is a great book for kids, especially any kid that feels like they don’t fit in due to their appearance or abilities compared to their peers.

Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #2) by Leigh Bardugo

 
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
My Rating: ★★★★

Just when Alina and Mal think they escaped The Darkling’s clutches, they discover he’s been hunting them and only a few steps away all along. Now that they’re back in his hands, Alina is miserable and stuck watching Mal from a distance at sea. The Darkling is determined to control her, but Alina has something to say about that. She is not going down without a fight. It’s why it shocks The Darkling when she takes off with the mysterious privateer, Stormhond, and takes his place as the leader of the second army.

I absolutely love this installment. The issue I had with the lack of descriptions in the first novel is thankfully not something that continues. That was probably the most exciting thing because that was the big issue while reading the first novel. This time around, there wasn’t a single moment that left me wondering what just happened or thinking I somehow skipped a paragraph for a hot second.

The world building was absolutely wonderful. It was quite interesting seeing where Alina and Mal went before they found themselves back in Ravka. I could vividly see where they were traveling like I was there. Though I was sad to see Alina floundering and suppressing her powers out of fear of being discovered while on the move, which also affected her health just as it did before she knew she was Grisha.

We have a cast of new characters in addition to getting to know some older characters better. I particularly liked Stormond, Tamar, Tolya. They added a new dynamic to the story in addition to being great characters that I’m excited to see again in the final installment. Without spoiling anything, I feel so bad for Genya. You’ll have to read the story to find out what’s going on, but ugh. I was so excited to see her only to get slapped in the face with the reality of the situation. I feel incredibly bad for her.

The character development was excellent this time around as well. While I’m sad to see Alina become power hungry, she’s aware of what she’s becoming and is both afraid and full of desire. She’s obviously going to become an extremely powerful contender in the next book, but I’m really interested in seeing if the darkness she thinks The Darkling placed inside her blooms or if she’ll be able to stick to what she knows it right. I was disappointed that she was able to become the head of the second army when she doesn’t have the experience, it did make sense given that was the terms she threw down when returning to Ravka since she was already craving power.

The entire ending of the book had me reeling. It went from zero to one-hundred and was so packed with action, revelations, and one hell of a cliffhanger. I’m excited to start the final book in the trilogy soon.