The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

Published: February 28, 2023Publisher: DuttonAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn't quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret's history threatens to catch up with her, it isn't long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall. (goodreads.com)

THE SECRETS OF HARTWOOD HALL is an incredibly atmospheric book that sets the tone from page one. A widow with a questionable past and a maybe suspicious death of her husband. A creepy old house with figures lurking in the shadows. Conspiring servants that promise to make life difficult. It's a lot for one person to handle, yet I think Margaret handles it quite well, all things considered. I'm not sure if I would have let Susan get away with the things she did, but social conventions and hierarchy in the household are things I don't have the best grasp on with this particular setting.I loved the underlying thrum of creepiness Lumsden created with the setting. That even despite a sunny day, there's almost something sinister and looming about Hartwood Hall, the people living in it, or the townspeople looking at it with fear. She mounted that well throughout the book, creating an ambiance of distrust with the reader, making them question whether Margaret is a reliable narrator or not. And as a reader, you honestly don't know until the very end of the book where everything comes to a head.A part of me wants to say that Paul wasn't that necessary of a character, and that whole plotline wasn't very needed. At the same time, the emotional growth Margaret got out of it was integral to her character arc, and I'm not sure how else that specific growth could have been done. Granted, there wasn't much buildup to that pivotal moment when she has that awakening. It seemed sudden and not out of nowhere, but they weren't thoughts in Margaret's head until Paul forced them in there, which makes it seem kind of out of nowhere where that plotline went. At the same time, it's completely relatable, because I've found myself in certain relationships where one person thought waaaaaaayyyy beyond what I did and his ideals weren't in alignment with mine. It just wasn't a conversation we thought to have until that final moment. So with that in mind, it is a rather realistic moment.LOL glad I could talk myself in a circle there!I enjoyed what I was reading in THE SECRETS OF HARTWOOD HALL. The story had me hooked, and I wanted to know how everything was going to come to a head. Are there really ghosts in the manor, or is it something else? Something far more sinister? That absolutely kept me going. But also the evolution of Margaret. And the honest emotions of her, especially in regard to Susan. I liked how she wrestled with those. It lent realism to her situation and her emotional growth.I don't want to say much else because it may spoil things, but I liked the ending. It wrapped up in a very satisfying way that had me on board with every character in the story. It's a good book, and I think it would do well as a read on an overcast, rainy day or a fall evening when the wind is blowing and the leaves are rustling. Get that extra-sensory mood in there as well.4I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Poster Boy by NJ Crosskey

Published: April 1, 2019Publisher: Legend PressAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Broadcast live, Rosa Lincoln takes to the stage at her brother’s memorial service with a bomb concealed beneath her clothes. Being in Jimmy’s shadow was never easy, even when he was alive, but in death he has become a national hero. When she crosses paths with the enigmatic Teresa, she discovers that those she has been taught to view as enemies may not be the real villains after all. The lies need to be stopped, and Rosa intends on doing just that. (goodreads.com)

I found this book on YONDER, the next generation reading app from the WEBTOON and Wattpad family of apps, and I'm so glad it's available to purchase outside of the app. POSTER BOY is a fantastic, gripping book with somewhat unlikeable characters, yet you can't pull your eyes away from them. There is a disturbing similarity between the society unfolding in the book and the one we're currently living it that I think makes the book all the more chilling and relatable. I think dystopias that play so close to the line like this make some of the best books for that very reason, because it makes us see what a couple more steps in the current direction can get us.It's a dual POV story with Rosa and Teresa narrating their own versions of the stories. Rosa is a very lost teenager who has always come in second to her brother, who died and whose death was warped for the needs of the state. Rosa finds herself basically out on her ass with no parental support. No surprise she spirals, but ultimately finds meaning before everything goes completely belly up. Teresa is telling her story on the same timeline, acting as a double agent working for the insurgents trying to overthrow the fascist government while working for said government. Hers is a personality that's a bit grating, and I think if the entire book were in her POV it would be hard to read because she is so single-minded and comes off rather robotic as a result. She's not necessarily unlikeable, and it's interesting watching how far she's willing to push the "by any means necessary" mantra for her cause, but she's not the most likeable character either.The book opens at the end, then reverts back to the beginning with how Rosa ends up on stage with the prime minister with a bomb strapped to her chest. My knee jerk reaction is "why would you give away the ending?" But it's not quite the ending, and the ending will kick your teeth in. I was wholly sucked into reading about how Rosa got to that point and where her road and Gridless's road intersects. I often found myself wondering where the story was possibly going. How does THIS end up THERE? There's not a whole lot of action in the story, and from that perspective it is a more character-driven narrative, but the characters are fascinating in a morbidly curious sort of way that I couldn't look away from.The ending was spectacular. Completely unexpected until the very last second. I honestly can't recommend POSTER BOY enough.5

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Published: January 31, 2023Publisher: Henry Holt & CoAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious "program's" strict rules. Extreme discipline, they’ve been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives.But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case's prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them? (goodreads.com)

PROMISE BOYS had me guessing who did it the entire time. Pretty much until the killer was revealed, I was guessing. I literally had no idea who it was other than I figured it wasn't one of the three boys. Other than that, Brooks did an excellent job of setting up a school of red herrings for people to follow trying to figure out who killed Principal Moore.It's interesting because reading this, I couldn't help but think of Ron Brown College Prep the entire time. No relation to Promise, that I'm aware of, other than it's a school for predominantly Black boys to help them get the leg up in the world they need. Where Promise, at its end, did it through militaristic discipline, Ron Brown does it through love and giving these boys the attention and care they need that they wouldn't otherwise get in a public school setting. At least according to NPR's CodeSwitch. But having this understanding that there are schools like this, with this exact mission, helped root the story in reality even more for me.I could feel the frustration of each of these characters. Ramón couldn't dodge gang life association despite the fact that he wasn't in one. But having a cousin who is was enough. And Trey and JB are basically angry Black boys who had a grudge against the principal (along with a number of people). Circumstances set them up nicely to be suspects in Moore's murder.I liked the asides interspersed in the story from teachers, other students, neighborhood people about what could have gone down, what Moore was like, and what the boys were like to help paint a picture that I'll fall short of calling well-rounded. Hearsay doesn't really paint a well-rounded picture. But it added more context to the situation.My favorite was JB and Keyana. I don't normally get googly-eyed over YA relationships, but ugh. These two just had my heart. I loved when Keyana was like I need to know you have my back too if the tables were reversed (understanding how often black women get forgotten in situations like these), and JB replies:

…I would hoist the whole planet up on my back and carry it around the sun, if you so much as whispered for me to do it.

Misty-eyed punch to my gut. But I got misty-eyed for Trey and his uncle, especially when his uncle realized the error of his own way. I won't spoil it, but that realization in that relationship had my eyes watery. And I can't forget Ramón and his abuela and her pupusas. The absolute love and community around these little stuffed tortilla pancakes and how they drove community and Ramón's desire to do right by his abuela by opening his own restaurant just had me floating.I feel like the love and drive in PROMISE BOYS overshadows the horrible situation these boys are in. It's a circumstance we don't often get to see because we only see the police side of things. We don't see the human side of it. We don't see how accusations like this can be ruinous and the effect they have on boys like this and the lives they've built. PROMISE BOYS is riveting and will keep you turning the pages until you hit the back wall of the book. By then you'll be completely satisfied.4.5I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

Pub Date: January 31, 2023Publisher: Delacorte PressAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t fact the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.But Tinsley has an agenda, too.Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed. (goodreads.com)

Could NOT put this down. THE BLACK QUEEN is so twisty and turny, I was second guessing myself the entire time. I had the killers pegged from the beginning, but Emill kept throwing these diversions at me I was constantly thinking, "well, maybe not." He set so many characters up so well to be suspects that even if you think you know, you'll be guessing until the very end.I like how Emill didn't use a killer prologue here. I think it could have fit, but Nova isn't fodder for a story. She's a real person who Emill makes you love real quick before ripping her away. I liked that conscious choice to not make her a tool for other characters' growth right from the get-go.I also liked how Duchess and Tinsley started the story on these binaries, fitting into these very specific molds, and watching them get broken down over the course of the story. I think Tinsley was a little more self aware about the mold she was in than Duchess, just because Duchess suffered some truths about herself that really rocked her world and put her more in alignment with Tinsley than she ever wanted to be.Tinsley came off a little wish fulfillment in her character arc, but I don't fault Emill for having that kind of ideal for people to see the error of their ways. And for how wish fulfillment Tinsley played out to me, I think her situation was completely realistic. A lot of people just will not change course unless they're facing down something catastrophic, like a murder charge, that puts them in the shoes of the very people they've been complaining about in the first place. It's actually kind of sad that people need to be in these kinds of positions in order to change, and you can only hope it changes them. Sometimes it doesn't change anything, and it forces people to double down, which we also see in this story.I loved Duchess's reluctance to give Tinsley the benefit of the doubt. Especially with Ev in her ear, I don't fault her for her reluctance, but I'm glad she listens to her gut, even if that means going against the grain everyone expects her to travel on. I also love her grudging acceptance that maybe Tinsley is a product of her environment too. Add in the rather awkward situation of Duchess's dad being one of the lead cops on Nova's case and that adds a whole other level of complicated to Duchess's world view.It's just one thing after another in this story. If you're bored reading THE BLACK QUEEN, we didn't read the same book. It holds a mirror up to society while giving you this twisty, turny story that you desperately want to solve and will not rest until you do. Every single character will suck you into their story and make you question whether they are what they say they are, regardless of how long they're actually on the page. And the number of subplots on top of it all. SUPERB. I can't say enough good things about it.5I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Cup of Holiday Fear by Ellie Alexander

Published: September 24, 2019Publisher: St Martin's PressAuthor: WebsiteInfo: Goodreads

Torte, Ashland’s favorite bakeshop is decking the halls and brewing up cups of holiday cheer. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is dark for the season, but spirits are high as twinkle lights illuminate Main Street and snow falls softly on rooftops. Torte is bustling with activity. Jules and her team are rolling out dozens of Christmas tree cutouts and dusting them with sparkling green sugar. Helen’s signature Antoinettes, a delectable almond cookie filled with raspberry preserves and slathered with chocolate buttercream, are an instant hit. As are Andy’s peppermint bark mochas and eggnog shooters. While carolers serenade shoppers in the plaza, Jules packages up festive boxes of holiday sweets. She feels a bit like Santa Claus as she delivers glistening Christmas stolens, dainty tea cakes, and mincemeat pies.To cap off the merry season, Jules and Helen host their annual staff party at the historic Winchester Inn’s Dickens Feast. The six-course dinner is a beloved tradition, complete with Yorkshire pudding and a Christmas goose. Santa, Mrs. Claus, and even a cheerless Ebenezer Scrooge delight dinner guests with jokes, friendly banter, and surprise gifts. As snow piles up outside the hot buttered rum and mulled wine keep everyone toasty inside. However, just as the dessert course is about to be served the power goes out. When the glow of warm light returns, the merriment evaporates. One of the guests is sprawled out in front of the twenty-foot Christmas tree. Suddenly Jules finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Her only wish this Christmas is to catch a killer. (goodreads.com)

A second cozy Christmas mystery I read this season where the main character isn't really a main character in her own story. Yeah, it's told from her point of view, but she is otherwise not invested in the catalyst of the book and can easily be removed from it with no adverse affect on the story. That disappointed me.First, it took me getting to a third of the way through the book before the catalyst in the blurb even happened. At least there was some setup happening about who the potential killer could be, along with motive. I saw that pretty clearly. But the book took it's time getting to the point.Second, there was a lot of superfluous detail about baking in here. I don't know if this is normal for this specific kind of cozy, but it got to the point where I was skimming because it was just so much unimportant detail about the construction of a pie (or whatever item she was cooking). In some cases it was pages of detail. While I did appreciate the recipes at the end of the book, and I will totally try some of them, inserting that level of detail into the story tells me that the book needed padding.Third, and the most fatal flaw of the book in my opinion, as I mentioned above, Jules isn't at all affected by the plot of the story. She can be removed and the story would go on just fine without her. Nothing actually happens to her. There is no real investment in her finding the killer other than to help her friends. The story itself takes place on a parallel path to Jules that she can step on and off at any time she feels. As a result, there's no real character development for her. She's the same character at the end of the story as she was at the beginning for how unaffected by the plot she is.Unlike the last cozy I read with this issue, I'm not sure if there's anything I could be missing here since it is the tenth book in the series. In the other book, I wondered if there was more depth to the relationship I wasn't getting that was creating that distance. Here I don't feel I'm missing anything. I feel like I have all the details I need to construct this story in my head. Jules is just largely uninvolved with the plot as much more than an observer.The voice was good enough to keep me reading to find out who actually did it, and I do think the mystery itself was really well-constructed and it kept me guessing. But the climax was very anticlimactic, didn't involve Jules at all, and the resolution was told to us second hand from someone else. I ended up reading right past it before I realized that that was it. The plot is concluded.I'm not incentivized to keep reading. I didn't like the voice enough to try another book to see if this was an anomaly. Plus, if the level of baking detail in these books is indicative of what the others are like, I'll pass. There's a lot of fluff in this book that isn't necessary to the story, and the main character is way too disconnected from everything for me to really be invested in them.2