M.A. Kropp: Writer, Blogger, GeekGirl. My Life. My Words. My Way.
My rating: 4 of 5 starsSet in WWII, White Rose Black Forest centers on Franka Gerber, a German woman who was arrested and imprisoned for belonging to a resistance group opposing the rising Nazi regime. She has been released and has returned to her family's summer cabin in the forest outside her hometown. She is … Continue reading Friday Review: White Rose Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey
My rating: 4 of 5 starsBecoming is Michelle Obama's memoir/autobiography, covering her life from childhood through Barak's terms as President of the United States. It is a simple and powerful book about a woman who has had a somewhat blessed life but remains true to herself and her ideals and convictions.Michelle Obama comes from a … Continue reading Friday Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama
My rating: 4 of 5 starsIn this twisty thriller, Lisa Jewell weaves the lives of three people together in a web of secrecy and misconceptions. Owen Pick is in his thirties, never married, living in his aunt's house. He is dismissed from his teaching job after several students allege sexual misconduct. Desperate and alone, he … Continue reading Friday Review: Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 4 of 5 starsIn this historical fantasy, Kay once again takes us on a journey through time. Fifteen-year-old Ned Marriner is in Aix-au-Provence with his celebrated photographer father. Edward Marriner is photographing local places for an upcoming book. While his father and his assistant, Melanie, are working on shooting the exterior of a … Continue reading Friday Review: Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 4 of 5 starsIn this third installment of Carriger's paranormal steampunk series, Alexia has been kicked out by her werewolf husband because she's pregnant and werewolves are known to be sterile. She has returned to her family, but things have never been overly familial there, and when the news of her "predicament" becomes … Continue reading Friday Review: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger
My rating: 4 of 5 starsThis is the fifth book in the Madison Cruz Mystery series and is just as fun to read as the others. In this one, Madison is doing her usual stint of side gigs between acting jobs, including dressing up as a slice of pizza. Then she runs into her high … Continue reading Friday Review: Standing O (Madison Cruz Mysteries #5) by Lucy Carol
My rating: 4 of 5 starsIn this cozy urban fantasy mystery, Mara (a practicing witch) is having a bad year. She's been evicted from her apartment, fired from her job, and she is persona non grata in Beverly Hills. And now, her Tarot cards are predicting her death. She decides to use a little magic … Continue reading Friday Review: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead (Toadwitch #1) by Christiana Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 starsThis is the second in the Legends of Shannara duology, following directly from the events of Bearer of the Black Staff. As Sider Ament, the last known Knight of the Word lay dying after his battle with and defeat of a powerful demon, he passes possession of his black staff … Continue reading Friday Review: The Measure of the Magic (Legends of Shannara #2) by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 starsIn this entertaining steampunk story set in 1900s Seattle, Karen Memery is an orphaned young woman making her living working in a high-class bordello. The girls are a tight-knit group, always looking out for each other in what is not an easy lifestyle. When a badly injured girl appears on … Continue reading Friday Review: Karen Memery by Elizabeth Bear
My rating: 3 of 5 starsPublished in 1993, Parable of the Sower is set in the 2020s in a society ravaged by climate change, corporate greed, and inequality of wealth. Lauren Olamina lives in a gated community outside Los Angeles with her father, stepmother, and brothers. Lauren is a hyperempath, which means she is able … Continue reading Friday Review: Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia E. Butler
