Recursion by Blake Crouch

Title: Recursion
Author: Blake Crouch
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Rating: 4.5/5

--Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for this ARC to review!--

Wow. Just wow. I knew I was going to like this book because I thoroughly enjoyed <i>Dark Matter</i>, but I wasn't expecting this. From synopsis: "Memory makes reality. That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived." How could you not want to know what happens next?

<i>Recursion</i> follows main characters Barry Sutton, a NYC cop, and scientist Helena Smith who both find themselves intertwined in the mystery of FMS in ways that will change them forever. Helena has good intentions for her machine that can preserve memories, especially for people like her mother suffering from Alzheimer's. But, like the fears many have of new technology, Helena's science goes haywire and thus we have the story. I won't say much more because basically anything I could say could be a spoiler.

You HAVE to check out this book. It is both relatable and sci-fy-trippy and I challenge you to not wish you had some of this technology in your own life for one reason or another. The writing is thorough and paints a vivid picture of what the characters are going through. Nothing in this book is really too far-fetched. Even the acknowledgements mention that this science isn't too far off.  Crouch has done it again! There is even a deal with Netflix to bring this story to the screen! Can't wait!

#crownpublishing #netgalley #blakecrouch #recursion #books #currentlyreading #accordingtomrsmadonna #sciencefiction #pageturner

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

Title: Watching You
Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books
Rating: 📖📖📖📖 / 5

From the book jacket:
"Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England, home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It's not the sort of place where people are murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret and prying eyes lurk behind every curtain."

Jewell focuses her book around a group of characters that, to be honest, are all a bit dodgy. You have the flawed female character, Joey, who got married to her husband, Alfie after knowing him for less than a month. They move in with Joey's "perfect" brother Jack and his wife, Rebecca. Then you also have the well-known school head, Tom and his wife Nicola and son Freddie, "the watcher in the window". Finally, you have student Jenna and her mentally troubled mom.

We find out that a gruesome murder has occurred but have little to no context to work with at first. As the story goes one, Jewell reveals details about the murder through police interviews that keep the reader hooked. Jewell does an excellent job of not revealing too many vital details early in the book. I usually find myself figuring out who the perpetrator is too soon and it utterly ruins the book. However, I didn't see this one coming at all until the end. And it was great! The characters are developed in such a way that it is hard to tell who is "good" and who is "bad". EVERYONE is flawed and it is easily believable that any of the characters could be the killer.

Pick this one up if you're looking for a good thriller with a twist you likely will not suspect!


#lisajewell #atriabooks #librarybook #currentlyreading #accordingtomrsmadonna #thriller #mystery #bristol #books #reading

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Title: Caraval
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Rating: 📖📖📖/ 5

Caraval, the magical isle of deception and fantasy. The only way you can visit is by invite. After many, many letters to Caraval's leader, Legend, Scarlett Dragna has been invited to partake in the adventure of a lifetime! This year the prize for winning Caraval is a wish. The only problem is that Scarlett is to be married in a week to a man she has never seen. Along with her headstrong sister, Donnatella and a stranger whom she just met, Julian, the girls run away from home and their abusive father to finally have an adventure of their own. Soon Scarlett finds out just how easy it is to get swept away in the game as she tries to save her sister from the dangers Caraval poses while at the same time trying not to change entirely herself.

Garber's Caraval is a mixed bag for me. I loved the premise of a magical game where you don't know what is real and what is fantasy. Who doesn't want to get whisked away in a game like that? But on the other hand, Caraval fell short. We have Scarlett who literally will not make a decision or be honest that maybe not everything revolves around Tella, while at the same time she repeatedly says Tella is all that matters. Which is it Scarlett?? I loved Garber's whimsical writing style as it helped create in my mind the world we were traveling through. I do applaud her for this aspect as many authors forsake the imagery for character development. But, frustratingly, I have no idea why Caraval exists or really any backstory to it at all other than that Legend is a scorned lover with a wicked carnival as a result.

It just had so much potential mixed in...why couldn't it follow through??

Anyway, I believe the story is good enough to tell others to read it if they like a light fantasy, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to my heavy fantasy readers due to a lack of substance. I will likely check out the second book at the library just to see if the series gets any better.

#caraval #stephaniegarber #fantasy #carnivals #fantasy #currentlyreading #librarybook #flatironbooks #mrsmadonnareads #accordingtomrsmadonna

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Title: The Dreamers
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Publisher: Random House
Rating: 📖📖📖📖/ 5

The small town of Santa Lora, California is soon rocked when news spreads that students on the local college campus are mysteriously falling asleep and cannot wake up. Soon the number of sleeping rises and spreads throughout the town, but no one can figure out why. But what they do find out is that the afflicted are dreaming more deeply than has ever been been studied. The Dreamers follows various characters in the town affected by the sickness and gives multiple points of view to add a depth to the already complicated story.

If I were to describe the types of books I often pick up, it would be obvious that I love a good science-y mystery. A mysterious disease where people randomly fall asleep and can't be roused? I'm all over it. That's why after reading the book jacket I knew I had to pick up The Dreamers from the library. And I certainly wasn't disappointed. Unlike the typical "rampant disease" story where the death toll rises quickly, Walker weaves a situation where the illness in question is peaceful. There is no bloodshed and often, especially in the beginning stages, nobody can tell who is just sleeping and who is ill. Such confusion is often more scary than the typical mass infection. At the same time, the illness itself is not all that interesting. I hesitate to say it, but nothing really happens. The patients either die or wake up. There is no real resolution and no reason why it happened in the first place. I understand that it adds to the mystery to end it this way, but it's also very disappointing.

Walker's writing style is amazing. The way she weaves the story through the different characters' experiences really lends a different level of storytelling to the events of the story. The reader can really feel the emotions and understand the thought process of the characters as opposed to the typical disaster story. The story is more focused on the people involved rather than the disease itself and it is a breath of fresh air. Even if not much happens action-wise in the book. Overall, The Dreamers is an intriguing story in an often oversaturated and over-played "plague" genre. I would recommend it to basically any reader as, even though it a story of a spreading disease, there is no gore or anything that would turn many readers away.

#thedreamers #karenthompsonwalker #randomhouse #disease #mystery #illness #dreaming #reading #books #librarybook #currentlyreading #accordingtomrsmadonna

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh

Title: The Catherine Howard Conspiracy
Author: Alexandra Walsh
Publisher: Sapere Books
Rating: 📖📖📖.5 / 5

When you think about the wives of Henry VIII, there are definitely certain names that are most memorable such as Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. But for the lesser known wives, books such as these can be enlightening. Although fiction, The Catherine Howard Conspiracy does help to paint a picture of what life could have been like for Catherine Howard. The queen with such a short rule can often be overlooked as not much seems to be known about her. In Walsh's book, we are shown that not everything you read in history should be viewed at face value. There can be a little mystery in anything.

Perdita Rivers and her sister Piper are thrown into chaos when they find out that their estranged grandmother has died and they are left with her hefty fortune which includes Marquess House. Marquess House is full of history and art, along with their grandmother's research and unfinished manuscript of her latest book about Catherine Howard. Following the clues left behind, the girls and their new acquaintances soon find that maybe the documented fate of Catherine Howard is not in fact true. And not only that, but there may be outside forces that are trying to cover up any discoveries Perdita uncovers.

The Catherine Howard Conspiracy is a good introduction to Walsh's new trilogy. Walsh does a good job of introducing the characters involved as well as the setting and the history of what Perdita is uncovering. The story could have used a bit more background into who Catherine was, for those readers who may not be as familiar with Tudor history. Though, when information is sparse, perhaps this is the best that could be done. I found myself wishing for the Howard chapters more than Perdita's chapters.

I don't feel as if the mystery in the present day was built up enough to hold my interest. It wasn't until the last 10% of the book that the intrigue and the real "action" heated up. I couldn't get a real feel for what Perdita was doing as she uncovered the clues. They seemed to fall too easily into her lap. However, I felt more invested in Catherine and her plight than the people that were trying to find out more about her. However, as the first installment, I do believe that Walsh did a good job of building the suspense and I am for sure going to seek out the next book to figure out what happened to Catherine and the mystery surrounding her. Tudor buffs should check out this book for sure!

#catherinehoward #tudors #history #mystery #mrsmadonnareads #currentlyreading #books #henryviii #alexandrawalsh #saperebooks

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

Title: The Witch of Willow Hall
Author: Hester Fox
Publisher: Graydon House
Rating: 📖📖.5 / 5

Guys, it seems more common these days that I'm finding books that just disappoint me. Unfortunately, this is one of those books. I wanted to like this book. The cover rocks, the premise alludes to the Salem Witch Trials (which is always interesting in my opinion) and it promises magic and overall doom and gloom. But in all three of these categories the story falls short.

We meet Lydia Montrose and her family who move to Old Newbury in 1821 after a family scandal uproots the family from their home in Boston. The home they move into is the epitome of countryside, lacking the familiarity of the city that the family is used to. It also comes with an overall supernatural presence that Lydia and her family can't seem to shake. Lydia finds herself at the center of a power that has lived in her but is starting to grow without her control. How will this power affect her and her family and will she be able to control it before something happens to those she loves?

If you're looking for a horror story centered around witchcraft, look elsewhere. I would call this book more of a romance with some witchcraft thrown in the background. There were so many times where the author started a good thread of plot but then ultimately did nothing with it. There are ghosts that appear to Lydia, both good and evil, but they never actually DO anything. Evil little boy ghost? Well all he does is laugh. Ghost lady that walks through the garden? Not even a word.

Nothing really happened until the end, and even then it was a big letdown. A conflict with no real resolution and no real action. I'm sorry to sound so negative, but this is a book that never grew any legs. It is a good base for a story but overall did not feel developed. But if you're looking for a historical fiction/romance/quasi-witchcraft story, then this book is up your alley.

#thewitchofwillowhall #hesterfox #graydonhouse #mrsmadonnareads #accordingtomrsmadonna #witchcraft #romance #books #librarybook #bookblog #bibliophile #bookreview

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Heir of Fire
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Rating: 📖📖📖.5 / 5

The third installment of the Throne of Glass series here! And it sure was the most interesting of them all thus far. We are introduced to a host of new characters; including some Fae, Demi-Fae and a whole bunch of witches. But, unfortunately, most of them are either underdeveloped or so hopelessly devoted to Celaena that I thought for a moment I was reading Twilight. Finally by the end of Crown of Midnight I felt like I could like Celaena. That she had gotten strong and gotten over the whiny little girl that she was portrayed as. But most of the story revolves around her STILL not getting over the fact that people had died in her life and it is a major hinderance to her. Yawn.

And what is up with all the witches?? They are introduced and then forgotten, then brought back, then ignored again. And while I'm sure they'll play a big role in the upcoming book, they served no purpose to this particular story at all. It almost took away from the story as I had to slog through that portion of the book. But, at least, I liked the Wyverns they end up riding and ended up liking them more than the witches themselves.

But I digress. The book isn't all bad. It was pretty good once the story got going. Celaena and Rowan's new friendship was nice to see. I got a kick out of Rowan giving Celaena a hard time. She needed to be put in her place. A lot of the actual overall plot is starting to come together and we can really see what the King is up to. Overall, I would suggest the book if you liked the first two. It is decent for what it is and I'll finish out the series at least to see how it ends.

#books #reading #librarybook #bloomsbury #throneofglass #heiroffire #sarahjmaas #currentlyreading #mrsmadonnareads #accordingtomrsmadonna #fantasy #magic