A Discovery of Witches

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A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1)

Deborah Harkness

Viking Penguin: 2011, 579 pages

Audiobook length: 24 hours and 2 minutes

Read by Jennifer Ikeda

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Diana Bishop comes from a long line of witches (think back to Salem, Massachusetts) but refuses to give into her magical heritage.  She focuses instead on her work as a historian, spending the year in Oxford for her latest research.  When she unknowingly comes across a magical manuscript thought long lost for centuries, the creature world becomes abuzz with excitement.  Soon there are witches, vampires, and daemons coming into the Bodleian Library in droves, including one Matthew Clairmont, a very old and very intense vampire.  They all believe Diana holds the key in unlocking the bewitched manuscript but Diana doesn't want to be a part of it, at all.  Soon events bind Diana and Matthew to work together while facing increasingly dangerous enemies.  Audiobook narrator Jennifer Ikeda does an excellent job creating a soothing voice in Diana while also managing a wide variety of accents.

Red Rising

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Red Rising (Red Rising #1)

Pierce Brown

Del Rey (Random House): 2014, 382 pages

Reviewed by Tori Lyons

The Earth is dying, so Mars is being colonized by a brave group of pioneer Reds.  Darrow is one of these pioneers, mining for Helium-6 deep under the surface of Mars.  After Darrow’s wife is executed, he is recruited by a secretive group of rebels who open his eyes to the truth: Mars has actually been colonized for generations and Reds like Darrow are toiling away to support the extravagant lifestyles of the Golds living on the surface. Fueled by his rage and a sense of justice, Darrow is reformed into a Gold and sets out to overthrow the colorful caste system from the inside. 

A Great and Terrible Beauty

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A Great and Terrible Beauty 

Libba Bray

Simon and Schuster: 2003, 403 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Sixteen year old Gemma Doyle lives in India with her mother and father, miffed at not being able to go back to London for her first season.  Suddenly there is a horrible family tragedy and she is sent not only back to England but straight to Spence's Academy for Girls.  It's the quintessential Victorian boarding school, focused on educating girls on how to be great wives, hostesses, and mothers.  But Gemma isn't like the other girls; she has a secret, a power that she doesn't understand and doesn't know how to control.  She tries to ignore it while she learns to navigate her new surroundings.  Gemma tricks her way into the mean-girl clique consisting of power-hungry Felicity and Pippa, the most beautiful girl in the whole school, bringing along her roommate, Ann, the scholarship student who is constantly picked on.  When the girls find a hidden diary of a long-ago student who shares the same powers that Gemma is experiencing, the foursome decides to try their hand at this new and unusual magic.  Are they just having some fun they wouldn't ever be allowed to have in the real world or are they acting beyond their control?  What is the price to pay for such pleasure?  Readers should be aware that this is the first book in Bray's trilogy.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen

Quirk Classics: 2009, 319 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

In an interesting retelling of a beloved classic, this version of Pride and Prejudice is set in the same time and place as the original, just with the exception of the world having zombies. The lovely Bennet sisters are trained warriors, having studied in China under the expert tutelage of Master Liu, and have vowed to the King to keep their home and surrounding area free of the "unmentionables."  Lizzie is a most determined warrior, believing herself never to marry and relinquish her beloved katana sword.  However, the arrival of Charles Bingley and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy is putting everyone in a tizzy, and Lizzie is no exception, even if she can't stand the proud and standoffish Darcy.  Readers of the classic story will notice how similar this retelling is to the original, with the exceptions of the brain-eating zombies, of course.

Into Thin Air

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Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Jon Krakauer

Anchor: 1997, 337 Pages

Reviewed by Tori Lyons

Krakauer chronicles climbing Mt. Everest on a guided expedition in May 1996 while researching an article for Outside magazine.  Clients on Rob Hall’s Adventure Consultants guided expedition each paid $65,000 for the opportunity to ascend the world’s tallest mountain.  While Krakauer is able to successfully reach the summit, he is all too aware that reaching the top is only half the battle.  A strong storm hits the upper reaches of Everest as the climbers are returning to camp and claims the lives of multiple climbers.  Into Thin Air provides a first-hand account of the weeks leading up to the tragedy as well as the aftermath for the guilt-ridden survivors.     

Pennyroyal Academy

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Pennyroyal Academy

M.A. Larson

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers: 2014, 320 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

A girl, later named Evie because she has no name, leaves her family in a far away place, traveling through the haunted forests to come to the bustling city in order to enlist at Pennyroyal Academy.  Pennyroyal Academy trains future princesses and knights in order to fight the war against the witches and dragons.  Ever fearful of being cut and having to leave the Academy, Evie must survive the rigorous training by the Fairy Drillsergeant while also navigating this new world of friendships and enemies, of mean girls and cute boys.  The outside war continues to get closer to the Academy while also becoming closer and alarmingly personal for Evie.  She must draw on all her strength and courage in order to not just stay at Pennyroyal Academy but also to just stay alive.

Grin and Beard It

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Grin and Beard It (Winston Brothers #2)

Penny Reid

Cipher-Naught: 2016, 389 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

The second in Penny Reid's Winston Brothers series, this book focuses on oldest brother Jethro.  Jethro made some mistakes in his past but he's moved on and became a better person.  He feels like he's still making amends to his family but he knows he'll never go back to the way he was when he was trying to be a big shot in the local biker gang.  As a park ranger, Jethro finds a very lost but very beautiful woman who is part of the production company that's shooting a movie by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jethro doesn't realize, at first, that the lost woman is Sienna Diaz, the famous A-list comedian and writer.  She's America's sweetheart who is a workaholic but can't help but be captivated by Jethro's good looks and charm.  Will they be able to date like normal people?  Will Sienna's fame and Jethro's past ruin their future?  Readers don't necessarily have to read the first book in the Winston Brothers series but it is highly recommended.