Book of the Month: The Christmas Candle

Imagine a Victorian England village in the Cotswolds where very little out of the ordinary ever happens... except at Christmas time.

This year, Edward Haddington, a lowly candle maker, is visited by a mysterious angel. That angel silently imparts a precious gift—a gift that’s bungled and subsequently lost. The candle maker and his wife, Bea, struggle to find the gift.

And when they do, they have to make a difficult choice. Who among their community is most in need of a Christmas miracle?

My Rating: ***** 

This was a nice, short, Christmas read. Actually, it was a lot shorter than I originally thought it would be, because it turned out that a good chunk of the book contained excerpts from other books. The length isn't really a negative, as a short story can be really great, but it does make it slightly harder for me to review. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so this is probably going to be short as well.

The Haddingtons are a family of candle makers with a very special tradition. Every twenty-five years, an angel will impart a gift on one of the Christmas candles, and the family will give it to someone in their community. Whoever receives this candle will light it and pray, and they will receive a Christmas miracle. Edward and Bea believe this will be the last year of the Christmas candle, and with everyone in their community in need of a miracle, choosing someone is difficult. And when an incident occurs with the candle, well things aren't exactly going as planned.

The story primarily revolves around Edward and Bea, with a little bit of focus on the community's new minister who doesn't believe in the Christmas candle miracle. There are also a few segments with a woman and her baby who making a journey on their own. In the end, everything comes together and we have a happy Christmas tale.

If I were to have any complaints, it would be that I would have liked a few more details with some of the other people in the community. I just feel like it would have been a nice addition and it would have added more to the story.

Overall, this was a good Christmas story, and if you're looking for something to read this weekend in preparation for Christmas, I'd recommend picking this one up.

Book of the Month: Severed Veil

A dream-traveling boy haunted by a broken girl. A cursed warrior, weary of bloodshed. A princess who battles dragons in an enchanted slumber. A treacherous graveyard in the stars. From Bethany A. Jennings—author of Threadbare and Dragon Lyric—come twelve mesmerizing short works of poetry and prose that boldly pierce the shadows. Severed Veil contains a selection of fantasy, sci-fi, and poetry, including “Dreamskip,” the winner of an honorable mention from the Writers of the Future Contest in 2018. Illustrated with ethereal pencil sketches by artist Julia Busko, these tales dance on the delicate rift between life and death, waking and dreams.

My Rating: ***** 

I love a good short story. I've mentioned before in an earlier review, that I think short stories can be difficult. You have to have an entertaining, engaging story with a small word count. It doesn't sound that hard, but thinking about it, it has to be complete. This one story may be all you ever see of the story's world. You have to bring the reader in without spending a lot of time focusing on worldbuilding, because you're sort of dropping the reader off in the middle. Needless to say, I'm always impressed when this is pulled off well, and Bethany A. Jennings was able to do just that with her short stories in Severed Veil.

I'm a little bit at a loss of how to review and sum up my thoughts when it comes to a short story and poetry collection. There's so much to say, and at the same time I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything in these stories. The worlds of these stories were fascinating, and a few left me wanting to see more of them – which is both good and bad. Good, because I was pulled into these stories so easily. Bad, because I was left with questions and wanting answers. Don't get me wrong, these stories made sense on their own. I sometimes just find stories where I want to know everything that's going on in that world, especially when the story feels like one that could be expanded into something bigger. My favorite story in Bethany's collection would without a doubt be “Dreamskip”. This short story just felt so complete and left me completely satisfied with the ending.

I also really enjoyed the poetry in this collection as well. I'm typically not a big poetry person, because frankly, poetry and I are not friends. I've never had a good grasp of it, and that's something that frustrates me both as a reader and a writer. I do occasionally come across poems that I do enjoy, and I'm glad to say that the ones in Bethany's collection are in that category.

On one final note, I also want to say that the artwork by Julia Busko that accompanied the short stories in Severed Veil are wonderful. You can see an example of two of them up above in my cover image. Bethany had a giveaway for swag packs for this short story collection that contained two random artwork pieces (along with other goodies) from Severed Veil, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the winners. You'll see the artwork right before the short story starts, and I found that they were a nice little hint of what the story would be about.

So if you're looking for some sci-fi and fantasy short stories to read, I'd recommend reading Severed Veil.

Book of the Month: Darkest Fear

A surprise visit from an ex-girlfriend is unsettling enough. But Emily Downing’s news brings Myron to his knees. Her son Jeremy is dying and needs a bone marrow transplant from a donor who has vanished without a trace. Then comes the real shocker: Jeremy is Myron’s son, conceived the night before Emily’s wedding to another man. Myron is determined to help him. But finding the missing donor means cracking open a dark mystery that involves a broken family, a brutal kidnapping spree, and the FBI. And as doubts emerge about Jeremy’s true paternity, a child vanishes, igniting a chain reaction of heartbreaking truth and chilling revelation.

My Rating: ***** 

Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors, and I especially enjoy his Myron Bolitar series. One thing I will note about this series is that I've read it out of order, and there are still a few books in it that I haven't tracked down to read yet. The Myron Bolitar books actually work as standalone stories. There are progressions with the characters and their lives throughout the series, but a new reader could pick up a book that takes place in the middle of the series and understand what's going on without much trouble.

Darkest Fear is book seven in this eleven book series, so it's sort of around the end of the middle of the series (at least of how it stands today). It's a thrilling mystery, filled with twists and turns that leave you trying to guess what will happen next.

As it is part of the series, Darkest Fear also features the typical Myron Bolitar characters. Myron himself, Win, Esperanza, etc. It also brings in other characters that have had roles to play in Myron's past or that are in some way connected with the big mystery at hand. It was interesting piecing together everyone's goals and motivations as the story progressed to see what role they had in the mystery.

As I said before, the Myron books can work as standalone stories, and Darkest Fear is no exception. The overall mystery is completely wrapped up by the end of the novel. There are no hanging threads (at least none that I could see) that would require the reader to find another book to get a complete resolution. Of course this is still part of a series, and if you want to see what happens next with Myron, you will have to pick up the next book to see what's going on in his life and what mystery he discovers next time around.

Overall, if you're looking for a mystery-thriller, I highly recommend reading Darkest Fear (and some of Harlan Coben's other works as well).

Book of the Month: Hell in a Handbasket

They say the road to hell is paved in good intentions, and Rose Gardner can’t shake the notion she’s headed there in a handbasket. She feels responsible for the death of a woman she tried—and failed—to save with her visions, and though she intends to do the “right” thing and tell James Malcolm she can’t possibly accept his offer of a relationship, she hasn’t yet mustered the strength. Worst of all, her sister is terminally ill, and there isn’t a thing she can do to save her.

When a new case falls into Rose’s lap, she eagerly shifts her attention to someone else’s problems—except it’s Henryetta, and every person, and problem, is somehow connected. The case will bring her back into contact with James, whom she still hasn’t answered, and force her to confront her past in other unexpected ways.

Meanwhile, Rose and Neely Kate find themselves playing host to an unlikely house guest. Helping the stranger may require them to become more entangled with the crime world, something Rose knows she should avoid. She and Neely Kate have the very best of intentions, but are those intentions ushering them down a path they can’t easily leave?

My Rating: *****

Hell in a Handbasket is an enjoyable addition to the Rose Gardner series. The characters are entertaining and engaging, and the mystery was an interesting one that tied into the multiple plot points throughout the novel.

That being said, having read the previous Rose Gardner series, I feel like Denise Grover Swank is starting to retread ground when it comes to some of the relationships. I won't say much as to avoid spoilers for both series, but there is a character that I really liked in the last series, and I'm not a fan of how he's being portrayed now.

The character made mistakes by Rose, but it's hard for me to completely disagree with his motives. The town of Henryetta is corrupt and the criminal underground is really running things. Naturally, you would want to see that corruption stopped. That being said, I feel like the series is going to portray that as the wrong thing to do, since Rose is part of the crime world now and so is her current love interest. And it's hard for me to view it that way having seen both the bad and the “good” parts of the crime world of Henryetta in both series.

Maybe Denise Grover Swank will surprise me and not go the way it appears she's going to go with the story as of this novel. I really hope that will be the case.

Regardless, I do plan on reading the next book of the series when it comes out.

Book of the Month: As Old as Time

What if Belle's mother cursed the Beast? When Belle touches the Beast's enchanted rose, memories flood through Belle's mind-memories of a mother she thought she would never see again. And, stranger still, she sees that her beautiful mother is none other than the enchantress who cursed the castle and all its inhabitants. Shocked and confused, Belle and the Beast will have to unravel a dark mystery about their families that is 21 years in the making.

My Rating: ***** (close to 4 1/2)

Beauty and the Beast is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies (the animated version, not the live action). So naturally, out of the Disney Twisted Tales books I bought, this was the one I was the most interested in.

One thing I have to say is that this book is different than the Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty retellings in that this book actually goes through the entire movie with it's rewrite. It's different from the beginning since we actually get the story of how Maurice met Belle's mom. The book is split into multiple parts, and during part one we go back and forth between the past with Maurice and the Enchantress, and the present with Belle.

The characters are pretty much the same. Belle is Belle, the Beast is the Beast. We still have Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Gaston, LeFou, etc. There are some new characters as well, though these are primarily featured in Maurice's past.

The story was interesting, especially with Belle and Beast attempting to figure out what happened in the past that caused the curse and what they could do to break it. The true villain is a dark, deranged individual (and slight spoiler, it's not Gaston in this version).

I do have to say that while I did enjoy this book, the ending was a bit flat. I'm a fan of happy endings, and while this book technically did have a happy ending, it didn't feel complete. And that's primarily because of the curse. I'm trying to avoid spoilers with this, but it doesn't feel like the curse was really able to be broken and as such, it doesn't have a good emotional impact. When Belle breaks Beast's curse in the animated movie, it's such a great moment. Here it's just there, and it doesn't even feel like the curse was actually broken.

Also, can I just complain that poor Beast never actually gets a name. Can we please give the guy a name? I mean I get that he's a Beast, but he had a name once too. Also, the “I'm not the same person I was back then” isn't a good excuse for him not to use it. He was a kid! Just because he was a bit of a brat doesn't mean he loses the right to use his name ever again.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I feel like the Twisted Tales books get better as the series goes along, and I plan on reading the new one that focuses on The Little Mermaid in the future.

Book of the Month: A Whole New World

What if Aladdin had never found the lamp? This first book in the A Twisted Tale line will explore a dark and daring version of Disney's Aladdin. When Jafar steals the Genie's lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war. What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

Rating: ***** 

I love Disney. I love fairytale retellings. So finding a retelling of one of Disney's movies had me intrigued.

This story goes over a few events from the movie before it diverges into the twisted tale aspect. Revisiting parts of the movie was nice, because it does give you a chance to get into the heads of Aladdin and Jasmine before everything goes bad for them. Because things obviously go bad when Jafar has the Genie under his control.

The characters were all enjoyable. Aladdin and Jasmine aren't too far off from their original Disney version, but they still go through some changes – Jasmine more so than Aladdin. Genie is pretty similar, but slightly more subdued in my opinion. Actually we learn a little bit more about his history in this book, which I found to be pretty interesting. Genie's past isn't something I'd thought much about before. Jafar is Jafar. There's really not much else to say there expect that he teeters on the edge of losing his mind on occasion and there are a few tidbits about his past as well. Abu, Rajah, and Carpet are all around too, though with smaller roles for the most part. There are also a few new characters from Aladdin's past, and they were a nice addition.

There was a notable absence in this book however. Jafar's sidekick, Iago, is mentioned a few times, but never actually makes an appearance. His absence is explained, but I found myself actually missing him. Part of me kind of wonders if the author kept him out of the story in an attempt at being more realistic. It sounds weird considering we have Genie, Carpet, and magic in this story, but the author does seem to be keeping things more grounded to an extent. Of the animal characters in the movie, Iago was pretty different than Abu and Rajah in the fact that he can verbally communicate more than a normal parrot. It might would be easier to keep him out of the story than trying to find a way to realistically explain it, but that's just speculation on my part.

Of negatives, I really only had two complaints. The first is the lack of interactions between Aladdin and Genie. In this story, Jasmine is the one who really befriends Genie and Aladdin has one or two meetings with them, only one of which where they actually talk. Aladdin thinks that the two of them could have been friends in another life, which we all know is true. Aladdin and Genie's friendship is one of my favorite things from the movie, and I found myself really disappointed that we couldn't have it in this book. My other complaint is the fate of a few characters. I won't say more than that, because it heads into spoiler territory.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable retelling of Disney's version of Aladdin. If you've ever wondered what it would have been like if Jafar had been the one to use the lamp first instead of Aladdin, I'd recommend this book.

Book of the Month: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World

Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of . . . a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go . . . NUTS?

My Rating: ***** 

The first thing that needs to be said about this book, is that it's meant for younger teens/kids. The only other Marvel book I've currently read is Black Widow: Forever Red, which was more of an older teen novel. To make another comparison, Black Widow would be like the MCU and Squirrel Girl would be like the Marvel cartoons. This is something that I've tried to keep in mind when it comes to my rating and review.

Overall, I found The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World to be an enjoyable read. It's funny, energetic, and lighthearted – much like it's protagonist. Doreen is a sweet kid. She's very optimistic and upbeat, and she's the type of person who would be a great friend to have. She's a big fan of heroes, which is something I think a lot of us can relate to. She's also pretty naive, which kind of got old after a while for me, but I'm willing to overlook it.

The formatting/style of the book is nice. It's primarily told in 3^rd person POV, with occasional chapters being 1^st person. It also will switch between Doreen/Squirrel Girl, her friend Ana Sophia, the book's villain, and Tippy Toe (Doreen's squirrel friend). Tippy Toe's chapters are the ones told through 1^st person. There are also occasional chapters that are text messages, and these are where you can find some appearances from some of the other Marvel heroes. Also, throughout the book you can find footnotes from where Doreen is reading the story with you. These footnotes provide some entertaining insight and additional information about some of the characters – like the fact that Ana Sophia reads comic books about made up heroes who are angsty, brooding, grown men who wear tights. Hmm, that sounds kind of familiar…

While the book is entertaining and it is meant for a younger audience, there were some areas I had a few issues with.

For one thing, the book can be pretty cliché/stereotypical at times. In the high school, you have the stereotypical popular girls. They're not nice, and you can only speak to them if they acknowledge you first. They're called the Somebodies, and even though there's nothing related between the two, the fact that they're called that made me think of Kingdom Hearts.

The villain, the Micro-Manager, is also pretty much a cartoon style bad guy right down to the fact he actually goes “Mwa ha ha”. His main goal is to be recruited into Hydra, and he thinks beating Squirrel Girl is the way to do it. That's about all there is to him, minus a small bit of backstory that did make me feel a little bad for him. Even though this is a book for younger audiences, I still think that the Micro-Manager could have been fleshed out a little bit more. From how the book ended with him, I suspect that he probably appears again in the second book, so maybe they'll do more with him then.

Another part that I didn't 100% like was the treatment of some of the other Marvel characters. Some of the characters were fine, like Black Widow and Thor. Rocket (and by extension Groot) provided some of the most entertaining text messages and was ultimately the most helpful to Doreen, which was a little surprising. The main issues I had were with Winter Soldier and Iron Man. I don't even know how to describe Winter Soldier except as intense. His idea of helping is to tell you to tell him where to go kill a guy and then for you to go change your name with something that starts with a 'Y', which just seemed sort of weird to me. In Iron Man's case, Doreen doesn't think he's a real hero. She think he's the Avengers errand boy. Her reason for this is explained, and while it does make me laugh, it's a pretty weak explanation. Considering how popular all of the heroes are, to the point where paparazzi follows Thor on occasion, I have a hard time seeing how Doreen is clueless about Iron Man being a hero.

I also didn't really care for Tippy Toe's chapters, and I didn't really see what the point was for a good chunk of them. This is a more minor problem though, as her chapters were usually on the shorter side and there wasn't a whole lot of them.

Despite these few problems, I still like this book and it gave me some good laughs. There is a sequel to it, and I think I might try to read it sometime, though it's not going to be a book I'd be in a hurry to read.

If you're looking for a fun Marvel read, or you have a younger cousin, sibling, or child who enjoys Marvel, I would recommend picking this book up.