Fia

I received the ARC from Ballantine Books and I'm glad I did. There is beauty and sadness in Arthurs' stories. For me, her stories are eye opening for anyone who isn't a foreigner in America (perhaps some who are). The struggles here, the decision to come and/or stay, the life one leaves for a better one here only to discover what they must give up in order to stay – sometimes their children so they may work, sometimes their soul – marrying to stay here and not for love, are woven beautifully through this collection. I found the irony of leaving Jamaica for a better life, but sending a child back home to rid them of their Americanize self heartbreaking, but admirable. Many of her stories are stuck in my mind. Like many, I look forward to her next body of work, be it another collection or a novel.

I am a huge V.E. Schwab fan and was, according to my husband, more excited about receiving this ARC from Tor than I have been for any present he's ever given me. Obviously, he's never given me novel by Schwab. Her writing, the ideas she comes up with, begs the question of whether or not she made a deal herself. And, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is no exception. For me, the most interesting aspect of the story was Addie's pursuit of leaving her mark on the world since the deal she made with the devil made her forgettable and unable to do so. Over three hundred years no one has remembered her or that she influenced them, except the devil. That is, until she meets Henry. Schwab weaves their stories together and you know, and don't want to know, what will happen to them. I won't say. Buy the book, preorder now, and find out for yourself.

I received Ordinary Monsters ARC from Flatiron in exchange for an honest review. This dark Victorian fantasy traces the lives of Talents - children with special gifts - and those that find and care for them with the hope to keep them safe in an old crumbling castle in Scotland. But the darkness is also hunting them.

In Ordinary Monsters, Miro explores humanity in all its shades, from the brutal to the sympathetic, and from locations around the world. There was a lot of familiarity in this story. It was difficult not to see shades of Harry Potter with Marlowe's story line, and I couldn't help but read Emmett Till into the Charlie Ovid character. A bit of Pippi in Ribs.

Though other Talents were introduced into the story, it centers on Marlowe and Charlie who have been hunted and brought to the Cairndale Institute for Talents. The trip alone to the Institute was as dangerous as their lives where before they were found. They are who the darkness seeks and who the Institute is trying to protect. But all is not what is seems to be. There they meet other Talents and begin to unravel the lies, find the truth. Their purpose.

Well over 600 pages the story jumps between past and present allowing the reader to become familiar with the diverse cast of characters, and there are several to meet, some popping up late in the story. As the Talents come together outside Edinburgh, secrets, fears and the dead threaten to rip the world apart.

The story was compelling enough to keep me turning the pages. It is a planned trilogy. I look forward to reading the next installment. If you're looking diverse and strong female characters and monsters in a Victorian fantasy, this one's for you.