Hi everyone, here are our recommended reads for the week!
*More information on the three catalogs and available formats is found at the end of the list of recommended reads*
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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are usually published on Wednesday; unless yours truly is swamped, and then they are occasionally published on Thursdays, as is the case this week.
And the next Suggested Reading posting will be published on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
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1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Watler Borneman
This thoroughly readable popular history of the War of 1812 may exaggerate in its claim that the war forged America’s national identity; after all, there were enough regional identities left lying around after the conflict to cause a national civil war. But otherwise it’s a fine narrative history that traces the major of events of the war, from the preliminary plots by James Wilkinson and Aaron Burr that revealed the ambitions of Westerners for territorial expansion, through New England’s secessionist Hartford Convention to the Battle of New Orleans, which wrapped up the war in 1815. Borneman makes clear that the performance of the American army was mostly disgraceful, that the Canadians can pat themselves on the back for courage and endurance and that the decisive victory of the American navy was not the famous frigate duels but the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814. Borneman (Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land) is also strong in vivid personal portraits (the gigantic Winfield Scott and the diminutive and sickly James Madison) and evenhanded as far as atrocities (too many, by all parties) are concerned. Even the annotation and bibliography of this sound introduction will propel those whose curiosity is piqued to read further in all directions. -Publishers Weekly Review
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Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
The beguiling first installment of a new fantasy trilogy from El-Arifi (The Final Strife) introduces a mystical world filled with conflict. Elves were born of the moon, fae were born of the sun, and humans were born of the earth, or so the myth goes. Now, only elves remain, and all is not well. The Forever War between elven tribes has raged on for as long as sisters Lettle and Yeeran have been alive. Yeeran is a decorated soldier determined to help the Waning Tribe win and thrive. Lettle, a diviner, is repulsed by the conflict but driven to prove her worth to her sister. When one of Yeeran’s command decisions ends in tragedy, she’s exiled to the harsh environment outside of the Elven Lands. Lettle and Rayan, one of Yeeran’s soldiers, follow her by choice, and all three find themselves unexpectedly drawn into the world of the fae, creatures they believed were long extinct. Relying on their scant knowledge from old stories, the sisters and Rayan must navigate this strange, underground world, replete with magic, secrets, and romance beyond their wildest imaginings. The worldbuilding is lush and exciting, and the focus on character development and relationships makes for a cast that readers will be excited to revisit in future installments. El-Arifi is off to a great start. – Publishers Weekly Review
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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarrows
Violet Sorrengail wanted to be a scribe rather than join her siblings as dragon riders defending Navarre’s borders, but her mother, a decorated general, had other ideas. She’s forced Violet to enlist as a rider cadet in the Basgiath War College, even though Violet’s hypermobility–a disorder that destabilizes her joints and leaves her easily injured–puts her at a disadvantage. To make matters worse, Violet has been assigned to the Fourth Wing, led by Xaden Riorson, the son of a rebel leader whom her mother executed. Surrounded by dangers in a school designed to weed out the weak, Violet must use her wits and skill to overcome brutal challenges and vicious opponents. The bonds Violet forms with her fellow cadets offset the college’s constant violence, and her slowly developing enemies-to-lovers relationship with Xaden will appeal to fans of the trope. Violet’s hypermobility gives her a unique way of moving through the world, and Yarros (The Things We Leave Unfinished) uses characters’ reactions to thoughtfully explore the ways in which others respond to the lived realities of people with disabilities.
VERDICT A good selection for fans of Naomi Novik’s “Scholomance” series; will fly off the shelves. – Library Journal Review
Reader’s Note: Fourth Wing is the second book in the ongoing Empyrean Series.
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The Fury by Alex Michaelides
Everyone loves movie star Lana Farrar, especially her closest friend, Elliot, who offers charismatic narration twisted with fantasies, Agatha Christie overtones, and self-serving asides. They met when she was a young starlet and were instantly kindred spirits. So, when Lana discovers that her husband, Jason, has been having an affair with her oldest friend, Kate, she turns to Elliot. In drinks-fueled synergy, they concoct a dramatic plan to out the betrayal. Lana persuades Kate, Jason, and her assistant, Agathi, to join her, Elliot, and her son, Leo, for a getaway on their private island. The island seems to sense their tension, whipped to new heights by the Fury, a legendary wind famous for its malicious power. Lana’s inner circle, infected with barely suppressed resentments, gives the plan a new, darker impetus that ends in murder. Michaelides (The Maidens, 2021) again creates an almost tangible blend of tension, manipulation, and obsession. Even veteran crime-fiction readers will fall prey to Michaelides’ craft, nudged into shifting, sympathetic allegiances to the damaged, unlikable characters in this pitch-perfect, classic crime set-up and modern psychological thriller. – Booklist Review
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Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
In the 1990s, a young woman yearns to become part of one big happy family, and thinks she might be. When teenager Marley West arrives in the Pennsylvania town of Mercury in 1990, she falls in love almost immediately. Not with Baylor Joseph, the swaggering athlete who swoops her up, but with Baylor’s family–or at least what Marley thinks his family is. Baylor soon dumps her, and she falls into the arms of his younger brother, sweet, responsible Waylon. Soon Marley is pregnant and she and Waylon are married and living in a tiny apartment in the Josephs’ sprawling Victorian house. The only child of a hard-working single mother, she’s never experienced the clamor and warmth of a big family. She’s charmed by the three sons (the youngest is tender-hearted Shay Baby), and impressed by patriarch Mick Joseph, a damaged Vietnam vet who runs the roofing company that supports the family and employs most of them. But Marley is most enthralled by Elise Joseph, wife and mother, who rules the household with never a hair out of place. Marley doesn’t just want Elise to love her; she wants to be Elise. But Marley will discover deep fractures within the family and the extreme sacrifices Elise makes–not to mention a literal skeleton, not in the closet but in the attic of a local church. Marley forges her own identity, taking over the finances of the roofing company from the profligate Mick and raising her son, Theo, as her marriage wavers. Although by then it’s the mid-1990s and rights for women and gay people are gaining cultural force, they don’t seem to have any impact on small-town Pennsylvania, where Marley feels the same pressure of tradition Elise does, and another character suffers mightily. Though there’s a large cast, Burns brings depth and insight to each member. Well-drawn, engaging characters and a vivid setting make this is a compelling study of family dynamics. – Kirkus Review
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Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge: A Novel by Lizzie Pook
Pook (Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter) delivers a brilliant historical about a woman’s search for the truth behind her sister’s death during an Arctic expedition. After a tantalizing prologue, Constance Horton, 20, disguises herself as a cabin boy to join the Makepeace on its 1849 journey to the Arctic in search of missing explorer Sir John Franklin, who sought the fabled Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Two years later, Constance’s sister, Maude, receives a letter stating only that Constance died by “misadventure.” Maude refuses to accept such a vague explanation, even though the British Admiralty is reluctant to provide her with further details about the accident. Eventually, a clerk surreptitiously hands over the diary that Constance kept while aboard the Makepeace. In it, Maude finds entries that cast suspicion on expedition scientist Edison Stowe. She cozies up to Stowe, accompanying him on a new—and rather grisly—business venture in order to extract whatever details she can about Constance’s death. Pook’s masterful pacing and meticulous attention to historical detail make this sing. Fans of Stuart Tarton’s high seas whodunits will be rapt. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review
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Neon Gods by Katee Roberts
With this deliciously inventive retelling of Greek mythology, the Dark Olympus series launch, Robert (the Bloodline Vampires series) thrusts familiar figures into the present to intoxicating effect. There’s nothing explicitly supernatural here; instead, the gods’ powers are political. When socialite Persephone Dimitriou’s mother, Demeter, tries to force her into a strategic marriage to the much-older, alleged wife killer Zeus, Persephone flees the upper city of Olympus across the River Styx—and straight into the arms of Hades, the infamous ruler of the lower city. Strong, brooding Hades has shouldered the crushing responsibility of protecting the lower city ever since Zeus killed his parents, and very nearly him, when he was a boy. In Persephone he sees an opportunity for revenge—and in Hades, Persephone sees the chance to have an affair so wild and public that Zeus will no longer want her. After agreeing to spend the winter together, Hades introduces Persephone to kink she’s only dreamed of. But as their irresistible erotic connection deepens to love, Zeus will stop at nothing to reclaim his intended wife. Robert brings every element of a must-read dark romance to the table: high stakes, taut pacing, enticing characters, and sizzling chemistry. This red-hot romance is a winner. – Starred Publishers Weekly Review
Reader’s Note: Neon Gods is the first book in the, currently, six book with a seventh coming in August, Dark Olympus Series.
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Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham
The latest from Willingham (All the Dangerous Things) is a cunning if somewhat implausible campus thriller. As Margot nears the end of her achingly lonely freshman year—a far cry from the adventurous one she’d imagined with her bestie, Eliza, who had died under suspicious circumstances weeks after their high school graduation—at South Carolina’s Rutledge College, she can’t fathom why Lucy Sharpe, one of the school’s most popular coeds, would invite her to room with her and her wingwomen in the historic off-campus house they’re renting for the summer. Still, Margot leaps at the offer, plunging into what turns out to be a maelstrom of secrets, mind games, and possibly murder. Despite her natural reserve, Margot clicks with the uninhibited Lucy, sliding into a sidekick role similar to the one she played with Eliza. However, as the summer’s booze-soaked partying with the neighboring fraternity winds on, Lucy’s darker side emerges, especially after the arrival of prospective frat pledge Levi Butler—Eliza’s old boyfriend, who was reportedly the last person to see her alive. Flash forward several months: Levi’s dead, Lucy has disappeared, and Margot’s narration has become increasingly unreliable. Though the twisty narrative grows far-fetched as it nears the climax, Willingham’s prose remains evocative, and her deep dive into the thorny nature of female friendship rings true. Though this doesn’t rank among the author’s best work, it’s still a gripping ride. – Publishers Weekly Review
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Random In Death by J. D. Robb
This sturdy entry in Robb’s long-running procedural series featuring New York City police lieutenant Eve Dallas (after Payback in Death) again takes place in the recognizable future of the 2060s. This time around, Dallas and her team are on the hunt for a cunning killer who’s targeting Manhattan teenagers. His first victim is nascent songwriter Jenna Harbough, who’s injected with a cocktail of drugs at the trendy downtown Club Rock It and dies in the alley behind the venue. A short time later, another teenager dies under similar circumstances. Dallas is assigned to the cases and comes to the disturbing conclusion that the killer’s victims were chosen at random. Interwoven throughout the murder investigation are long sections depicting Eve’s idyllic marriage to the sexy, supportive, and ultrawealthy Roarke, including descriptions of the “castle he’d built in the heart of New York City” for the pair to inhabit. These envy-inducing segments can feel more frisky than the rote procedural beats, but Dallas’s final confrontation with the killer has some heat. Series fans will get what they came for. – Publishers Weekly Review
Random In Death is the fifty-eight book in the In Death series. If you’d like to binge read from the beginning, check out book one: Naked In Death.
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Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher
Harrow is a Seer, an Elemental who uses water magic to discern dreams and signs. Ever since her entire Seer tribe was annihilated by the fire queen’s mythical wraiths, Harrow has been hiding out in an Elemental circus pretending to be a human fortune teller. When she comes across a caged man with fiery eyes in the circus, the Water tells her this man is important. He calls himself Raith because he’s believed to be one. Harrow doesn’t believe he is, because wraiths never take human form. The Water compels her to save Raith, and together they escape the circus. Once alone, they explore their unbridled desire for each other and plan a future together. But when Raith’s ties to her past are revealed in a dream, Harrow learns the truth behind his fiery eyes that may be their undoing. Ascher’s latest is a fantasy romance that has everything nice–a hot love interest, a relatable main character, female friendship–and plenty of (consensual) spice. Fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Sarah J. Maas will enjoy this one. – Booklist Review
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Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Have questions or want to request a book?
Feel free to call the library! Our telephone number is 607-936-3713.
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Information on the three library catalogs
Digital Catalog: https://stls.overdrive.com/
The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout/download content to a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!
All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.
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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/
The Hoopla Catalog features instant checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.
Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.
The Hoopla App is available for Android or Apple devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.
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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org
Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.
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