Positive Focus Sunday - Seven Book Reviews!

So far this month (and a bit of the end of September), I have been polishing off some really good books on my TBR list. After going through books which were not so great, it has been exciting to get some good reading, and listening, in. Actually, six of the seven books I listened to driving to/from work and only one is an actual read.

The first one is...

Before the Coffee Get Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is charming! 

If you could go back in time to meet someone, would you? Especially if there are rules. Rules like, it won't alter the future, it has to be someone who has come into this particular coffee shop, and, most importantly, this meeting lasts only until the coffee gets cold. 

Plus there is only one chance a day for someone to do so, depending on when...

Well, you have to read the book.

It is a good read (or listen). You follow the story of why a handful of people take this opportunity to time travel. And each person's reason for doing so is different. 

Each story is believable and, at times, makes you want to cry or at least think about relationships in your own life.

The best part is there is a companion book coming soon which I will be reading.

Next...

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner is set in a small village in England after WWII. A village where Jane Austen lived for about 10 years. A diverse group of villagers ban together to 'save' the home where she lived.

From a Hollywood actress, chance meetings, men who read Jane Austen, and entwined past histories, this is a lovely stay in the countryside. 

It does help a tiny bit if you at least know a bit about Jane Austen novels, but otherwise, if you are a reader and Anglophile, this is a must read.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow is a book I picked up from Net Gallery because I so enjoyed The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

A modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a LGBTQ bend to it and a definite feminist theme. 

Zinnia is turning 21 and, due to a rare genetic disease, will probably not see her 22nd birthday. Her best friend throws her a birthday party with a Sleeping Beauty theme since Zinnia's favorite story is Sleeping Beauty. Complete with a spinning wheel and roses. Then everything goes crazy.

To say much more would be filled with spoilers, so GO READ THE BOOK!

This is also the first book of a 'Fractured Fables' series by Harrow and I want my own copy of this book, as well as a copy of the new book, Mirror Mended. On my bookshelf is Once and Future Witches which is an ex-library book which the dog nibbled on I want to read soon. 

Needless to say, I am an Alix E. Harrow fan.

Another book I was allowed to read through Net Gallery, is The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker.

First off, if you are not in a space where you can read a 'dark' book, save this one for later. This is definitely not a sunshine and roses read. Not only is it dark in tone, but it is also dark in setting - as in mainly set at night or in lands without light.

Ren is half British and half Japanese. The British half makes her a Reaper and the Japanese half, a Shinigami. In other words, in either world she takes the souls of dying people to their final resting place.

However, despite growing up in England, she has never been accepted by the Reapers and pretty much ignored by her father. So Ren decides to head to Japan to see if she can claim her spot as a Shinigami and locate her mother to find out why she was abandoned by her at birth.

But things aren't much easier for her in Japan with her being half British. And her half-brother, Niven, is not thrilled with the way things are going and the choices Ren is having to make. 

A great read on fitting in and find your place in the world. 

The last audio book is also the last in a series.

The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card is book 6 in the 'Ender' series. I listened to this via Net Gallery also. 

Now I do have to admit I read book one, Ender's Game years ago. And I enjoyed it. So fast forward to this past week and I listened to book 6. Yes, I didn't read the middle 4 books, but I will in order to fill in more of the details. However, I am comfortable with reading books out of sequence. Some people can't, I don't have an issue with it.

Space travel, a new planet and species to explore, family dynamics - this book has it all. 

Being an audio book, there are several different narrators during the reading which makes this long book a really nice experience. Besides tying up some loose ends, this book definitely makes me want to go back and reread the first book and play 'catch-up' on the other 4 books. 

Now for a real book...

A Lesson in Vengenace by Victoria Lee is a book which has been making its rounds on TikTok and YouTube, so I followed the crowd (yes, a much younger crowd). And I have the same problems with the book many of the others did.

Felicity is back at Dalloway School to finish up her senior year in high school after the death of her best friend the year before. A death Felicity may or may not have had a hand in. While she is in the same house at the boarding school, there is a new cast of fellow students, one of which is Ellis, who is also a writer.

First off, a 17 year old Pulitzer Prize winner? Drinks after dinner in the common room? And where are the adults? Senior papers which sound like a master's or doctoral paper? And that is just the tip of the iceberg of things which take you out of the story.

If you can overlook some outlandish items, the story has witchcraft, some mental health issues, and did have me wanting to find out exactly how the book ends. 

And a book which surprised me once I started reading it...

The Inheritance of Orquidea Divine by Zoraida Cordova is enchanting and definitely not quite what I was expecting.

This follows Orquidea Divina and the her call out to her descendants to come claim their inheritance from her. And when she summons, they come without question, even though most of them have not seen her in years. I thought it would be about a Latino matriarch and her family. It is - somewhat.

There is a huge element of magic in this book. Magic, Orquidea has used to create her home at Four Rivers and to bring up her extended family. Now she is dying and has summoned her family home. 

Magic and family dynamics - a great read! 

So...

I have added 1 book to my October TBR to bring the number of books up to 21. This is seven of them, which puts me a third of the way through my list. I'm happy with the way things are going.