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