Recently Read: The Uninvited

Author: Cat Winters
Genre: Adult- Historical Fiction- Paranormal
Publication Date: 2015
Page Count: 343
Rating: 4/5

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Also by Cat Winters:
The Cure for Dreaming
In the Shadow of Blackbirds 

Ivy is twenty five years old and feels she must serve as the protectors of her brothers, but the world is making that difficult for her. In 1918, WWI and the Spanish Flu are taking lives at staggering rates, and the whole country is in turmoil. One day, Ivy sees the ghost of her grandmother and knows that death is near; soon the word comes that her brother has been killed in the war. Ivy sets out from her home to explore what is left of the world she shut herself off from in order to protect her brothers, but the Uninvited, spirits of the dead, haunt her no matter where she goes.  

Cat Winters is an auto-buy author for me. She is the Queen of eerie historical fiction. Her novels mix historical fact and paranormal elements flawlessly. She is great at building an atmosphere in her novels and making the paranormal so believable and natural in her novels. This is her first adult novel, so it has a slightly different feel than her young adult novels that I have read, but the historical atmosphere and unnerving paranormal elements are still there and done so well.

This is Cat Winters' second novel that takes place in 1918, so it a time period she is comfortable with. The time period is accurate and well researched. I liked that this novel was targeted as an adult novel, as I enjoyed the slightly older protagonist and the more mature romance, but I think this is a novel that would cross-over very easily and appeal to YA readers. 

One thing I did miss in this novel was the visuals that accompanied Winters' two previous novels that I have read. Both The Cure for Dreaming and In the Shadow of Blackbirds have real and eerie black and white photos and other visual medias from the time period of the book. This novel didn't have any sort of visual, which was fine, but it was a signature elements that I missed from Winters. I didn't notice this absence until after I had finished the book, and was wondering why I felt slightly less enthusiastic about this novel compared to her others, and I think this could be part of the reason. 

I really enjoyed the paranormal element of this novel, and the mysterious element weaved into the plot. I enjoyed the characters, and the plot was engaging and entertaining, but it just fell a little flat for a five star rating from me. I preferred Winters' other 1918 novel In the Shadow of Blackbirds over this one but still enjoyed the heck out of this novel. 

I have a couple Winters' novels to get caught up on, and she has a new release coming up in October of this year, and I can't wait to get into them. If you enjoy historical fiction, paranormal fiction, or both; Winters is a must read! 

Recently Read: The Accident Season

Author: Moria Fowley-Doyle
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: 2015
Page Count: 280
Rating: 4/5

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I'm just going to share the summary from Goodreads because this book is really hard to summarize with no spoilers while still doing it justice.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.
But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?

This book was really good and was not what I was expecting it to be. The writing is really atmospheric and rhythmic, and I loved that it was a full and complete story in 280 pages. This book is a mix of contemporary and magical realism/paranormal that worked really well.Some parts were a bit confusing at times, but that is pretty common with magical realism. Everything was clear and answered at the end of the book and I really like how everything came together in the end. There were a couple of twists in this book, and even though they weren't that surprising, they added to the themes and story development nicely, and I didn't mind the fact that they weren't mind-blowing. 

I was really sucked in by this book; I finished this book in two sittings because I just couldn't put it down. I was a bit creeped out at some points and I was always intrigued to find out what was really happening.  Even though this was so short, I felt like the characters were fully developed and three-dimensional and the story was complete. This would be a great October read because the atmosphere is perfect, plus there is a haunted house. I'm really interested to see what Fowley-Doyle comes out with next, as her writing style is really great, it reminds me a little bit of  Maggie Stiefvater's writing. 

If you liked e. Lockhart's We Are Liars, I think you will like this one too. They both have a magical/ mysterious plot and are really quick and engaging reads. 

Recently Read: The Dream Thieves

Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Status: Book two in The Raven Cycle
Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy/ Paranormal
Publication Date: 2013
Page Count: 437
Rating: 5/5

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Also by Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Boys 

Ronan Kynch revealed a huge secret at the end of book one, just one of the many secrets Ronan is keeping from his friends, his family, and even himself. The search for Gelndower continues as does the danger and the magic.

I loved The Raven Boys and I loved this one just as much, if not maybe a little more even. The characters in this series are fantastic, and they really developed in book two, especially Ronan. I had picked up on the complicated nature of Ronan in book one in regards to a certain topic, (sorry about vagueness, trying to keep it spoiler free!) but I loved how it developed in this book. I love the writing, and the writing seems to be extra beautiful when it is connected with Ronan and his tough exterior.  

This book didn't do a whole lot to move the overarching plot line forward, but I didn't mind because the character development made up for it. I love the paranormal elements in this novel and the house full of physics. Kavinsky was a really interesting and developed character to add to this novel, and I thought his character was perfect for the role. 

One thing I really like about this novel and one thing I think about quite often is how complex the dynamics are between these characters. Each character has a special relationship with the other characters, and the male friendships in this series are so interesting. I LOVE seeing male friendships in books and movies and find them so interesting, especially when they are extremely deep and affectionate, and these relationships fit that bill. I love that there is no fear of loosing "manlyness" for these characters because they love their male friends.  

I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series, and I'm trying to make myself wait until the paperback comes out at the end of December, but I don't know if I can wait that long!   

Recently Read: The Raven Boys

Author:Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal/Fantasy/Supernatural
Status: First in The Raven Cycle Quartet 
Publication Date: 2012
Page Count: 408
Rating: 5/5

Blue grew up in a house full of physics; she has been around the paranormal and magic her whole life, but she's not a physic herself. One day a group of rich boys from the private school wander into her home for a reading, and Blue gets tangled up in their search for magic and their fate.

I have been meaning to get to this book for ages now, and I'm so glad I finally did! It was just as good as I expected it to be. The characters are fun and developed, and the magic and paranormal elements are a lot of fun. After I finished this book. I actually dreamt about going to buy the sequel, so needless to say I'm eager to pick up the rest of the series.  

One thing I loved about this book was how present the idea of fate was. I am a huge sucker for anything that explores the idea of fate and how the universe organizes itself, and everything in this novel intertwines so perfectly that it's impossible to not believe in fate while you are reading it. The paranormal and other-wordily atmosphere of the novel and the characters goes along perfectly with the idea of fate. I have always tended to believe in the slightly paranormal like energy, tarot cards, psychics (to some degree), but most of all fate.

The characters are really fun. They're a bit, for lack of a better word, expected, they fit into the usual archetypes for YA characters, but I think they have a lot of potential to get more developed and deeper, and even if they aren't ground breaking, they're just plain fun! Gansey is of course impossible to hate, and Adam is too sweet to handle. I loved the cast of characters that lived with Blue and her mother, and I really hope they continue to play a large role in the series. I loved the idea of a house full of powerful women.

This book was a lot of fun, and kept me up too late reading (I love when books do that.) I'm seriously chomping at the bit to get the next two books that are out, and I'm not looking forward to waiting for book four!

If you haven't picked this one up yet, please do. It's fantastic. Also, leave me your recommendations of books that deal with fate. If you like fate too, please check out Marcus Sedgwick- he's one of my favorite authors.

Recently Read: In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Author: Cat Winters
Genre: Young Adult/ Paranormal Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 2013
Page Count: 387
Rating: 5/5

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Also by Cat Winters:
The Cure for Dreaming 

Mary Shelley Black is named after, you guessed it, the author of Frankenstein. She is living in America during the Spanish Flu of 1918 and WWI; the country is paranoid about spies and germs and no one rests easy. After her father is arrested for voicing his political opinion Mary Shelly is sent to live with her young widowed aunt where she is reunited with her childhood crush Steven and his older brother who is a spirit photographer claiming to capture spirits of the dead in the photographs of loved ones. Mary Shelley doesn't believe in spirit photography, she prefers science, but events begin to change her mind.

First of all, I love Cat Winters' novels. She is so great at paranormal historical fiction, and this novel along with The Cure for Dreaming weaves in old photographs into the story that really add to the creepy atmosphere of the novel. The second thing I love about Cat Winters is the way she writes young female characters that defy their time-period and seek independence. Mary Shelley is a young woman interested in science, something quite uncommon and frowned upon by 1918 standards. She is outspoken and never shy about voicing her opinion. 

This book was actually much darker and more emotional than I expected it to be. The added element of WWI and Mary Shelley's childhood crush going off to war added a depth of emotion to the creepy elements of the story. I think I would go as far as to say that I liked this one more than The Cure for Dreaming which is saying a lot. I loved the science elements and how they mixed with the spiritual elements of the novel. I loved the part where Mary Shelley goes to the library and reads poems and first hand accounts of the war (naturally) and I loved the photographs chosen for this novel.    

This is a perfect Halloween read for those who like historical fiction or paranormal. Winters builds the terrified and death-filled atmosphere of 1918 America perfectly, and the mystery element of the plot is quite intense and hard to put down. 

October Reads: What I Want to Read

October is the best month for themed reading, so I thought I would make a list of the Octoberish books that I'm hoping to read this year. I probably won't get to them all because of school, but here's the books I'm going to be picking from this month.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

This is Winters debut novel. I loved The Cure for Dreaming and Winters has made her way onto my auto-read list. I love the way she does paranormal historical fiction, and how she adds old photographs and advertisements into her works. This is the first one I will be picking up this month.
The Uninvited by Cat Winters

This is Winters newest novel and  I just ordered it the other day, as stated above Winters is perfect for the month of October. This one takes place during the Spanish Flu. I also think that this is Winters first adult novel, so I'm interested to see how it compares to her YA novels. 

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

I've owned this one for awhile, and I think it will be a good quick fall read. It's about a teenage girl who is a ghost I do believe. 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvator

This one shouldn't be a surprise, it has been on every single TBR I have made for the past two years, but I am determined to get to it this year.

What's on your October TBR?
On Wednesday I'll be sharing my recommendations for October reads!