The Crown

I was surprised that this book existed. I read the one previous...The Heir. And from my memory it ended in a way I thought the story was done but I must have remembered wrong! It was interesting because I remember her falling for one guy then in this book she falls for someone else. It was obvious who it would be, but I didnt like that they hardly spent any time together or talking really. To me the love story didn't seem real. I liked seeing Eadlyn's character grow, but I felt disappointed in the ending of this book. There are also details shared at the end of the book about old characters that I thought were totally unnecessary to the story and almost felt like it was totally made up on the fly to make it all more meaningful or something? This story is pretty clean, I think I would want to talk to my teenagers about the details shared at the end and maybe even throughout the book when Eadlyn realizes who she is falling for...and if she was making correct choices trying to hide it, etc. I read this book in a day or two so it was a quick enjoyable read (until the last little bit) but  again I was left feeling really disappointed with the ending and even a little mad at the author for her choice of ending. Ha!

Snow Whyte and the Queen of Mayhem

I grabbed this book not remembering that I had read it before. After a couple of chapters I realized I had read this book previously but since I was enjoying it again and couldn't remember the ending exactly I kept reading!  I originally found this book because the author is my friend's sister! My friend Sharee had a Mary Kay party at her house because her sister Melissa Lemon had just started selling it, so I met her before she was an author!
I really liked the story and I love retellings of fairy tales. At times it felt like it needed a little more editing or something...it didn't quite flow right but I loved reading the book and did so quickly. I also love that it is clean so I would let a teenager read it with no qualms. She has another book published and one coming soon...go check her books out!

The Siren

I could not put this book down! It was definitely a teenage love story which are always unrealistic. Nevertheless I really enjoyed it and the different complication of her being a mythical Siren owing 100 years to the ocean and he being a human.  I read it in a day which shows you how much I couldn't put it down! If you want a fun easy read, check this one out! There is a little bit of innuendo but nothing at all in detail, I would be okay with my teenagers (if I had any) reading this book.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

 I loved this book!  The beginning was so interesting and fascinating.  I thought it was so interesting to read this during an election year and comparing this year's election with one long gone by. I thought the beginning of this book was great, in the middle it started to feel really slow and drug on.  I had a hard time wanting to keep reading but then in the end it gets really interesting again and I loved the ending so, so much.  I have always loved Abraham Lincoln and reading this book made me love him even more. Elizabeth Keckley was a real person and bought her freedom and moved to Washington where she began sewing dresses for the women there.  She became Mrs. Lincoln's "modiste" (which includes so much more than just sewing her dresses) and was a good friend to her. It was heartbreaking to learn all of the history of Mary Todd Lincoln and there were some scandals that happened because of some of her poor choices. Elizabeth always supported her and tried to help her.  When she wrote a memoir of her life, there were some things that happened (according to this novel, which I don't know if it is all true) that caused Mrs. Lincoln to push Elizabeth away as a friend.  I thought this was the most heartbreaking thing of all...she wrote it trying to help Mrs. Lincoln and instead caused even more problems.  The end told of how Elizabeth tried so many times to reconcile the friendship with Mrs. Lincoln but ultimately Mrs. Lincoln died before she could.  The end was filled with hope though.  I loved that she realized her legacy was so much more than just the dresses she had sewn or who she had sewn them for but was a sum total of all the things she had done and even how she had paved the way for other African Americans.  The last sentence reads "she was ready to lay down her burdens and rest, and perhaps to find in heaven the reunion and reconciliation that had eluded her on earth." I loved that so, so much!  I have come to the realization lately that dying won't be a bad thing...not that I want to die!  But I will be so happy to be reunited with those I love who are in heaven. I also have been learning the importance of our relationships with people.  It is one of the only things that can last and we can take with us when we die. They are so important, one of the great commandments is to "love they neighbor as theyself" and how awful would it be to not treat people well and then to see them after this life and have regrets. Anyway I really enjoyed many aspects of this book, learning a little more about politics which I know almost nothing about, learning more about Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln and all the historical aspects that were in this book.  Also the inspirational message I felt it conveyed.  This is not an action book by any means, so if you're looking for that this wouldn't be the book for you, but I highly recommend it!

The Night Garden

This book was a quick easy read but I didn't feel like I loved it when I really wanted to.  It was interesting and different from other things I've read.  It includes a bit of fantasy that never really makes sense to me.  Olivia becomes "poisonous" after growing a garden with her father of poison plants.  This in turn makes her drive everyone away for fear of hurting them with her touch. Her teenage love comes back after years and they still love each other but she doesn't want to hurt him so she tries to push him away again. He has been in an accident and can't physically feel anything anymore. There are a couple of sexual scenes which don't go into a lot of detail but it still was more than I wanted to read.  This is an adult book, not for teenagers in my opinion.
Anyway I think it would be a good book club discussion and even includes some great questions in the back, but I feel like I need to think about it more to decide if I really like it.  There is a theme of temptation and touch.  How important is touch?  Can you have a relationship without it? I feel like Olivia was so afraid she just pushed everyone away when if she had been open they could have been closer and understanding and found ways to get around her toxic touch. I felt like this book everyone was hiding something...hiding the poisonous touch, hiding that the "saving gene" skipped them, hiding the fact that you caused your daughter to be this way...and all the hiding made everyone miserable for years. I did like the ending which seemed hopeful and old hurts were resolved.
Sorry this is a disjointed review but overall I enjoyed reading this book.  I didn't love it like I had hoped and was frustrated with some of the decisions of the characters...they all need to learn how to talk to each other!!