100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Emily Apell knows exactly what she want to do with her life.  When she gets the chance to join a renowned research lab, Emily knows this is her chance to make a breakthrough in the science of smell. Emily has never felt like she fit in with other people.   However, lab colleague Aeden intrigues Emily like no one before.  Unfortunately, Aeden seems to have no interest in Emily and only sees her as a competitor.  Aeden's research is surprisingly similar to to what Emily was brought in to work on. When Emily's research proves more promising and Aeden is faced with being kicked out of the lab, Emily makes a decision to make Aeden an equal partner in her research. Emily and Aeden begin a clunky relationship, but as things progress Emily realizes she is in uncharted waters.  Years later, as Emily is about to accept an award for her work, she tries to unravel what happened in their relationship.

The DNA of You and Me is a very different type of romance where a neurodivergent tries to piece together what happened to a relationship that almost changed her goal in life.  I could tell Emily's character was a bit different from the beginning and yet I could relate to her not attaching to any people and feeling like she was just fine without them.  I have to admit I found the science part of the book way more fascinating than the relationship part.  It was clear that the author had experience in the lab as well as an extensive knowledge of the science of smell.  I enjoyed reading about the process of tirelessly searching databases, finding something that looks promising, isolating the gene and seeing if it does what is expected.  The reality of research science is also highlighted, that most of what is worked on is a failure- or at least not what was expected.  Aeden was a conundrum to me, approaching his relationship with Emily as something he needs to hide, almost hate fueled and willing to ruin everything that she has worked on for what he believes is love.  I understood Emily's attraction more since Aeden seemed to be the first person she ever clicked with, ever felt that she needed to be around.  In the end, I felt that Emily made the right decisions for herself and highlighted the strength of women in the STEM field.  


This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Raven Birchfield is new to the small town of Half Horse, Illinois.  Raven, her mother and little brother, have inherited her Aunt Bestla's house along with all of it's belongings.  Now Raven is the new kid at school and just wants to fade into the background.  However, Raven attracts the attention of popular and pretty Janelle all too quickly when she is caught staring at Janelle's boyfriend, Dex.  To make matters worse, Raven has dug up a strange box in her backyard, opposite a graveyard.  The box contains a book of children's stories and a necklace.  After Raven finds the box she begins to hear whispers of the name Mary in the wind and becomes very attached to a watering can in her shed.  Eventually the force of Mary takes over and Raven learns what it's like to have her every desire granted. 

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary is a young adult fantasy that creatively uses nursery rhymes as a vehicle for suspense and a tool to help facilitate change.  The story is fast paced a quick read.  The preface quickly interested me in the story as Raven said that she was the Mary in the nursery rhyme, whether she liked it or not.  Raven's character is a junior in high school and she is facing a lot of the same issues a typical high school does.  However, the story is narrated from her point of view and her voice and inner-monologue seems a little more juvenile than the age she should be.  Although, through becoming Mary, Raven does grow and I hope to see the impacts of this in the next book. I did like the device of the nursery rhyme characters, the book and crystal transporting Raven.  There is some explanation of how it works and why, but I hope there will be even more questions answered in the rest of the series.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Bilqis is born to a jinni mother in the ancient lands of Saba, what is now known as Yemen.  Bilquis' birthday come with a prophesy- that she will have a great destiny to fulfill.  Bilqis doesn't seems to have the same talents as a jinn as her mother, but is easily able to soak up all of the knowledge that her mother can bring her.  As a young adult, Biqis learns of one of the jinn powers that she can use-her power of sensuality. After discovering the power of sex, Bilqis' world changes and opens. Then, tragedy strikes that leads Bliqis on a mission of revenge.  With her mission, Bilqis learns more of the terrible King ruling over Saba.  As Bilqis continues her journey, her destiny becomes clear- to end the King's regime and become the leader that the people need.

The full story of Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba is lost to history.  I have read several other versions this amazing Queen's story, but none quite like this.  Autumn Bardot is known for her strong female characters as well as erotic story lines.  Confessions of a Sheba Queen definitely falls firmly in erotic historical fiction, which isn't something I normally read, but I really enjoyed this.  Bilqis' story combined with the erotic story line makes for an intense and absorbing plot. From the beginning Bilqis jinn parentage and destiny add a sense of purpose to the story.  Even without her jinn heritage, Bilqis' character is strong, intelligent, and willing to put others first.  I liked that the jinn part of her parentage allowed Bilqis to use sex and her sensuality as a source of power and clarity in her life and allowed her to grow as a person.  The sex scenes were all unique, imaginative and used very modern language. However, what I appreciated most were the ties to what little history we do know of Bilqis.  I loved the lavish descriptions of the temple of Awwam and Bilqis' time with King Solomon. Richly absorbing and passionate, Confessions of a Sheba Queen creates a great blend of erotica and historical fiction.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Famed poet Hugh de Bonne is dead following his wife, Ada sixteen years earlier. From this, Hugh was thrown into a melancholy that produced some of his most famed works published in The Lost History of Dreams as well as a stained glass chapel where he buried his wife.  With Hugh's death,  distant cousin Robert Hightstead is charged with carrying out Hugh's last wishes- to be buried next to his wife and have a daguerreotype taken with his corpse in the chapel next to Ada's niece, Isabelle Lowell.  Robert is the perfect person for the job since he is currently a post-mortem photographer.  However, Robert is dealing with a ghost of his own and doesn't want to leave London for long.  Upon arriving to Hugh's home in Shropshire, Robert finds that his task is made much harder by Isabelle who will not let anyone open the glass chapel.  Robert and Isabelle finally make a deal where Isabelle will open the glass chapel if Robert will record Ada's story over the course of five nights.  

The Lost History of Dreams creates a haunting by hopeful story and a mystery that patiently waits to be unfolded and solved.  Every character, object and place has been created with a story and a secret that made we want to keep digging in deeper and deeper.  From meeting Robert at the beginning of the story I was very curious about and his past and how that led him to be a post-mortem photographer. As the setting moves to Shropshire in Victorian England, a weight settles upon everything that gives the book a distinctive Gothic, atmospheric feeling.  The ghosts in the story are created as characters just as much as Isabelle and Robert.  I loved the device of a story within a story as Isabelle tells Robert of Ada and Hugh; through the story some mysteries are solved and others arise.  The romance entangles not just the dead, but the living as well as two lost souls untangle death to learn how to live.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.  

Rachel Parker is a research scientist who has just taken a position in the Isles of Scilly to study the effects of climate change on the warty clam.  Rachel has moved around a lot in life and has never bothered to form lasting friendships or relationships. When Rachel is caught in a storm passing through the Isles, she takes cover on Little Embers, inhabited by the cantankerous Leah, an artist who prefers to be alone.  While on Little Embers, Rachel discovers the suitcase of a former occupant of Little Embers and some unsent love letters that she is determined to return to their rightful recipient.   In 1951 Esther Durrant is unceremoniously dumped at Little Embers by her husband.  Esther has survived a tragedy and still isn't quite right.  Little Embers is run by Dr. Richard Creswell, a retreat for men suffering from the psychiatric effects of the War.  Dr. Creswell has agreed to treat Esther as well.  After fighting and trying to get back to her family, Esther comes to enjoy life on the island and the company of the people around her.  

The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant feels like is was written just for me; I love the dual timeline in the story, the mysteries of an isolated island, and finding yourself before finding romance.  The characters were carefully crafted and pulled me into their stories before revealing everything.  Both Rachel and Esther were guarding secrets and were difficult to figure out creating complex and interesting women that I wanted to learn more about.  The writing flows easily through time and from character to character making the book easy to read and always wanting to know what's next.  I appreciated that the other characters on Ember Island in 1951 were also taken seriously, even at a time when psychological diagnosis were still being developed.  I also loved that Esther in 2018 was also a strong character and that I was able to see how she was not defined by her tragedy.  The romances were handled well for both Rachel and Esther, I'm glad that they were able to make decisions for themselves and find happiness.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Fifteen year old Tommy Arthur has had an interesting few years.  After his grandfather lost their family inheritance, the Arthur family was left destitute and Tommy fled to the prairie to survive.  Now, he is back in Des Moines with his mother and sisters, having found housing with the independent business woman Violet Pendergrass, an anomaly in 1892. Tommy tries his best to earn money for the family, working odd jobs selling prayers for the Reverend, being a bell boy at a hotel and doing some things for Miss Pendergrass.  As much as Tommy wants to be a good person, help his family and save money for their future, but it seems everybody else would like to see him fail. The Reverend asks him to steal trinkets from the houses that he delivers prayers to, Miss Pendergrass isn't forthcoming with what exactly the women in her house are up to and Tommy easily falls into the comforts of drink and gambling.  When Tommy's little sister, Yale is taken to a house for imbeciles he knows that it is time to be a man and help his family.  Luckily, Tommy has family and friends who still believe in him and know that he is a good person.

The Thief's Heart is a story of struggle and survival in the late 19th century.  This is the 4th book in The Letter series and while I could tell that a lot had happened before this book began, I did not feel lost at all.  I did find myself wrapped up in Tommy's strife and constant attempts to make his and his family's life better.  I had a lot of sympathy for Tommy as his successes were cut down and attempts to right wrongs were squashed by miscommunication or circumstance and found myself frustrated for him.  The love of family and friends stood out for me. Tommy is willing to sacrifice, steal and work unsavory jobs in order to help, but he is slow to see how other's are trying to help him.  One of the friendships and characters that I absolutely adored was Frank the crow, a perfect companion as well as an addition of humor.  Along with Frank, Pearl Riverside's character adds a lightness to balance Tommy's edge with her honest and strong personality as well as her ability to rebound from many situations.  As a lover of historical fiction, The Thief's Heart is a perfect read for me, bringing me back to the late nineteenth century in the midwest.  I enjoy Kathleen Shoop's seamless addition of touches of magic throughout the story to create hope, wonder and whimsy.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Timestamp is a collection of written works by Marcus Granderson, a Harvard Graduate and young black man.   As Marcus states in the introduction, the works are not related in any way.  The works range from essays, poetry, lists, observations as well as speeches.  The themes of the writings give a fresh perspective on what it's like to be coming of age in the world today with a highlight on racial disparity.  I was able to identify with many of the writings about life during and directly after college very well and remember those feeling. However, what I enjoyed reading the most were the pieces that gave insight to the author's experience a a young black person in today's world.  Oreo was a brilliant introduction to the collection and allowed me to get a clear view of his perspective. Some of my other favorite pieces were Hallelujah Anyhow, Last Night, Sunrise and Hair Like Mine.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Mildred Harnack, Sara Weitz, Greta Kuckoff and Martha Dodd all come from different backgrounds.  Mildred is a doctoral student from Wisconsin and married to Arvid, a German. Sara is a literary student and Jewish. Greta is an aspiring author who loves theatre and Martha is the daughter of the US Ambassador to Germany.  These four women are living in 1930's Germany as Hitler rises to power and witness first hand the terror, hatred, destruction and lies that spreads throughout the country.  The women find each other and vow to resist the Reich in any way they can.  Mildred continues teaching, helping her students think for themselves as well as passing on information to Martha at the US Embassy.  Martha's vivacious nature helps her to make many friends around the Embassy that talk to her about their parents work.  Greta translates works so that other countries can read about Hitler's terrifying words.  Sara passes out flyer and posts stickers all over Berlin.  All of the women know the price they will pay if caught, and all are willing to risk it for their futures.

History has a way of forgetting the women who have had an impact.  Mildred Harnack, Martha Dodd and Greta Kuckoff were all real women that were part of the resistance network dubbed the Rote Kapelle.  From the opening where Mildred is imprisoned and still fighting, I knew I was going to love these characters.  The writing flows between each of the four characters point of views beginning in 1929 and ending in 1946.  This gives a full perspective of where each character came from before the war as well as how Hitler's ideologies were able to slowly infiltrate, take over and become the norm for Germany.  This also highlights how aware and free thinking that each woman had to be in order to not be swept up the ideals. Each woman's resistance ranges from small acts of passing along lists or putting up stickers to full out defiance of passing along coded radio messages and making sure written works make it to other countries.  Throughout everything that happened, Mildred, Sara, Greta and Martha never wavered in the convictions. Chiaverini's writing dives deep into their individual thoughts and feelings to let the women's power shine through.  Inspiring and thoughtful, Resistance Women  is a story of women from our past that will resonate with many people today.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.