The Dark Alchemy Trilogy

A few years ago I read a really creepy young adult book called The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle. Most of the time when a YA book claims to be creepy I end up being really disappointed, but this time I was pleasantly surprised. It really was a good creepy book. I read that book and it's sequel and then I looked for more by this author. In my search I came across her latest trilogy written for adults, the Dark alchemy trilogy. While I can't say I enjoyed it as much as her YA books it was still pretty darn good. What I like about it the most is that it's a bit different from other paranormal fantasy books I've read.



Dark Alchemy by Laura Bickle

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Supernatural Horror
Content: Strong Language


Petra Dee is a geologist looking for her father who disappeared in the town of Temperance, Wyoming twenty years ago. Why she waits so long to look for him, I'm not exactly sure, but she has just come from a traumatic experience where she lost the man she loved because of an accident and blames herself for it. Petra doesn't believe in anything she can't prove through science. Little does she know how much her world view is about to change. While in Temperance Petra discovers that there is a whole lot of weirdness there involving alchemy and magic.

I liked Dark Alchemy quite a lot aside from the fact that there is a whole lot of cursing in it that I could have done without. I can ignore it to an extent, but I felt like it was excessive here. There is a lot of mystery to unravel in this book and it kept me turning the pages. The story has a bit of a wild west feel to it, mixed with the whole "somethings not right in this small town" theme. Petra and Gabe were probably my two favorite characters. Gabe had me feeling all warm towards him, yet repulsed at the same time. Not repulsed by his personality, but by his secret and what it entailed. I did feel like the kissing scene in the trailer after Petra "rescued" Gabe was kind of came out of nowhere. The romance definitely could have been developed better, but other than that I liked the way their uneasy relationship progressed.

This is the first adult novel I've read by Laura Bickle. I read her YA duology The Hallowed Ones and really liked it. I was expecting this to be on par with The Hallowed Ones as far as creepy horror goes, but it wasn't really that creepy at all. I really want to categorize this as Urban Fantasy, even though it's not in an urban area, so I'm going to go with that for now. The ending left me feeling sad for one character, but there is a sequel, so I'm hoping that part of the story continues.




Mercury Retrograde by Laura Bickle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Supernatural Horror
Content: Strong Language


At the beginning of Mercury Retrograde it has been 2 months since the events in Dark Alchemy. This time around Petra Dee finds herself battling a basilisk and a female motorcycle gang/cult who call themselves The Sisters of Serpens. I'll give you one guess what they worship. It's also been 2 months since Gabe last spoke to Petra. The ending of Dark Alchemy was rather heart wrenching as far as Gabe went and was the main thing that kept me reading this series.

While I did not find this book as good as Dark Alchemy I did enjoy it. What I enjoyed about it were the parts about Gabe and The Hanged Men. If there had been more focus on The Hanged Men and less on the giant snake I might have given this a higher rating. I'm not even sure I really liked the overall plot of this book. The parts with the giant snake felt like watching one of those Syfy channel B movies at times. I also kind of felt like the motorcycle gang/cult was a little pointless, and I never really cared about Cal or what happened to him. But I was very happy that Gabe got some resolution to his story line.

I kind of wish this had just been a duology instead of a trilogy or series or whatever it's going to end up being, but I will probably stick it out and read the next book because I don't mind continuing on with Petra's and Gabe's story.




Nine of Stars by Laura Bickle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:Urban Fantasy, Supernatural Horror
Content: Strong Language, Implied Sex


Winter is the most deadly season in Temperance. And it’s not just because of the fierce cold. Evil is stalking the backcountry of Yellowstone, killing wolves and leaving only their skins behind.

As the snow deepens, Geologist Petra Dee is staring her own death in the face, while former Hanged Man Gabriel struggles with his abrupt transition back to mortality. The ravens and the rest of the Hanged Men are gone, and there are no magical solutions to Petra’s illness or Gabriel’s longing for what he’s lost…and what he stands to lose now.

Meanwhile, there’s a new sheriff in town. Sheriff Owen Rutherford has inherited the Rutherford ranch and the remnants of the Alchemical Tree of Life. He’s also a dangerously haunted man, and his investigation of Sal’s death is leading him right to Gabriel.

It’s up to Petra, her coyote sidekick Sig, and Gabriel to get ahead of both Owen and the unnatural being stalking them all – before the trail turns deathly cold. 

Nine of Stars was a good entry into the Dark Alchemy series. I liked it better than the last book, but that ending! Way to leave us all hanging. Apparently the author has decided to make this trilogy a prequel to another series called The Wildlands. At least I think that's what she's doing. I'm a little confused. I'm still enjoying this series though and I'm curious about what direction it is taking in the new series. I do want a couple of things resolved in the next book though.


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The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy



"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.

She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.

In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.


The Rook is what I would describe as Jason Bourne meets Men in Black meets X-Men with a touch of James Bond thrown in. It sounds like nonstop fun doesn't it? Well the beginning is very intriguing and had me turning the pages. However it became a less compelling read when the info dumps in the form of letters from the original Myfanwy (pronounced like Tiffany with an M and if you don't know what I mean by original, then you haven't read the book description) began to intrude on the present day action. I'm not sure why we had to have two missions interrupted by these letters. It was kind of aggravating to me, and just made the whole story less compelling which in turn made it seem like the book was far longer than it actually was. I didn't mind the letters themselves. They were vital to the story, but I just didn't always like where they were placed within the story.

I ended up liking Myfanwy a lot, at least the present Myfanwy. I don't think I would have liked her predecessor very much. The book was loaded with interesting characters and good action scenes, at least when they weren't interrupted. I think the book had the right amount of humor and action. Parts of it still make me giggle if I think about them.

Overall this was a fun read that was at times more compelling than others. I originally wanted to read the sequel, but now that I've found out it's a companion novel with different characters I'm not so sure.



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Two ghost stories by Simone St. James -An Inquiry Into Love and Death and The Haunting of Maddy Clare

Back in October I was really in the mood for some ghost stories and author Simone St. James's books caught my eye. Although the romantic relationships in these really bothered me, I was mostly happy with these as they filled my need to read something creepy. I also really enjoyed the time period that these are set in.



An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery
Content: Implied sex


After her uncle Toby, a renowned ghost hunter, is killed in a fall off a cliff, Oxford student Jillian Leigh must travel to the seaside village of Rothewell to pack up his belongings. Almost immediately, unsettling incidents - a book left in a cold stove, a gate swinging open on its own - escalate into terrifying events that convince Jillian an angry spirit is trying to enter the house and is haunting the woods around Blood Moon Bay. If Toby discovered something sinister during his investigations, was his death no accident?

This is the first book I've tried by this author and I enjoyed it a lot. It had the creepy ghost story element to it that I loved. I do wish there had been a bit more of it though. I felt like it was overshadowed a little by the murder plot which I thought was too easy to figure out. The best thing about this book and the thing that kept me reading was the whole atmosphere of it. I enjoyed the setting, the characters, and the creepy ghosts enough to give this 4 stars.

There is a fair amount of romance in this book. I didn't mind the romance in general, but there was a certain aspect of it that I wasn't crazy about, namely the nature of the relationship from the beginning. It didn't seem too convincing as anything more than insta-love, or maybe lust in this case. I was happy with the way the romance ended up in the end though.

I've heard that the author's first book, The Haunting of Maddy Clare has more ghosts in it so I think I will try that one next.




The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery
Content: A sex scene


Sarah Piper's lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis-rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts- has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah's task to confront her in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in a desperate struggle. For Maddy's ghost is real, she's angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair's assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, whereshe came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance-before she destroys them all?

The Haunting of Maddy Clare was a good but not great read for me. I was somewhat disappointed for a couple of reasons, the first being that although there were a lot of ghost scenes in this book, they were not really all that creepy to me. I found the ghost scenes in An Inquiry into Love and Death to be creepier, even if there were fewer of them. The second thing I disliked was the insta-love/lust. I wasn't crazy about the romance in An Inquiry into Love and Death, but it was even worse here. The reason I had an issue with the romance so much in this book is because of the first romantic (really not romantic) encounter and how it was portrayed.

*Minor spoilers here so skip down to the next paragraph if you don't want to read about the love scene...The love interest enters Sarah's room in the middle of the night, says nothing to her, and roughly thrusts himself upon her. As soon as he's done he apologizes, saying he won't do it again. Sarah actually tells him she's glad that he did, even though she thinks he has probably just used her. She seems to blame it on his PTSD, which still doesn't make it ok! Seriously ladies, don't ever be ok with someone using you for any reason. This scene was rather disturbing to me. He never asked her permission and up to this point he had hardly even spoken to her. He barely knew her. And even though she kissed him back and raised up her night gown I felt like some verbal communication was needed.

Even though I was disappointed in some things about this book, there are things I like about this author's writing style. Her story telling is excellent and I like the setting of the 1920s a lot. It's a nice departure from the Victorian and Regency era historicals that I've been reading, despite the fact that I feel at times the characters are a bit too modern in their morals for the setting. I like ghost stories so I may get around to reading more from this author. I do have a couple more of them on my to-read list.





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Scarlet Widow by Graham Masterton

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Horror
Content: Strong language, gore, a graphic rape scene, and a mild sex scene between a married couple.


London, 1750: Beatrice Scarlet is the apothecary's daughter. She can mix medicines and herbs to save the lives of her neighbours - but, try as she might, she can't save the lives of her parents. An orphan at just sixteen, Beatrice marries a preacher and emigrates to America.

New Hampshire, 1756: In the farming community where Beatrice now lives, six pigs are found viciously slaughtered, slices of looking-glass embedded in their mouths. According to scripture this is the work of Satan, but Beatrice suspects the hands of men. As she closes in on the killer, she must act quickly to unmask him - or become the next victim herself...

This would have been 3.5 stars, but I'm docking a whole star from this book because of the rape scene, which I will talk about later. When I picked up Scarlet Widow I was expecting something a lot milder; something along the lines of a mild historical mystery. I probably should have done more research, especially on the author before I read this. This is an author who has a history of writing horror and that became obvious as I read this book. There were some very gruesome murders. This is definitely not for the squeamish.

The things I liked about the book were: it kept me glued to it from the first page; the protagonist was a strong, intelligent person; and it kept me guessing throughout most of it.

There was something about the writing style that kept me turning the pages. I found Beatrice to be very likable and intelligent, and her interest in her father's profession was one part of the book I really enjoyed. For a girl back in the 1700s, Bea was an independent thinker. I liked reading about Bea's past with her parents in London, and I found the part with her relatives interesting too, although they were not ideal. That part with her crazy uncle was shocking and weird and personally I think it could have been left out of the book completely as it didn't really seem to fit.

After Bea immigrated to America, the mystery behind what was happening to the townspeople kept me guessing for a long time. Not the part Jonathan Shooks played, that was obvious, but who or what was behind the whole thing. Was Bea right about it being a person behind it all, or were the townspeople right that it was a demon or Satan himself? Logic says that Bea is right, but I've read enough supernatural type books to know that it isn't always the logical answer. And if it is just a person then who? Those were the questions I kept asking myself. The mysterious person in the brown cloak was an easier mystery to figure out. I kept wondering if that person was who was behind the murders. I'm not going to say if it was or not though because of spoilers.

The things I didn't like so much were: the strict puritanical views of most of the people; the superstitious beliefs of most of the people; the lack of any real emotion or romance between Bea and Francis, whom I didn't find very likable at times; and the rape scene.

Superstitious Puritans do not always make for pleasant reading. It's hard to believe that people could be so ignorant and superstitious, but they can- The Salem Witch Trials come to mind. Also the way women were viewed really angered me. Bea was such an intelligent woman and I had a hard time not being disappointed in who she chose to marry. He was a good man, but I think she would have thrived in a less puritanical setting. I felt like her husband Francis was mostly boring, and we really aren't given any reason why she fell in love with him. Their whole courtship is skipped over. Their scenes in bed as husband and wife are just the mechanics with no romance or real emotion. I would have rather they had just been skipped over completely because they didn't add anything to the story. This might sound sexist, but I've yet to read a romance scene written by a man that I've liked.

That brings me to the rape scene. The author couldn't craft a good love scene, but he didn't have a problem writing all the awful details of a rape scene. I don't know if that was done on purpose, or just the way it ended up, but it bothered me. I've read rape scenes in books before and they fit the story and were a part of the plot. They didn't leave me as disturbed as this one did. This rape was really unnecessary and I didn't want to read all the details of it. It bothered me more than the grisly murders did. For the writer to put the main character through that after reading through over 80 percent of the book was just needless. It did nothing for the story and felt like it was just put there for shock value. I kept thinking someone would come and help her, but no one did. Where was the mysterious person in the brown cloak then? I'm sorry if anyone thinks this is a spoiler, but I think potential readers need to know this is in the book. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have read this book.

It turns out that this is the first book in a series. While I would kind of like to know what happens next in Bea's life, I'm not sure if I can go there again. The rape scene just tainted the whole reading experience for me.



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The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Clean


***There are some relationship spoilers in this review.

The Bands of Mourning is the third book in the Second Era Mistborn series and it was just as good as the first two. It's rare that I like every book in a series equally, but that's what happened here. Hopefully the fourth and last book will be just as good too.

There's a fair bit of traveling in this book, but it's a good thing. A kandra has images that seem to depict the Bands of Mourning, metalminds that belonged to the Lord Ruler, that are supposed to give whoever wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had. Wax is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate, while Marasi has a mission to find a missing Kandra spike. So Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and even Steris this time, travel to New Seran and beyond to investigate. While there they encounter Wax's uncle and learn more about what he is up to, and as usual with a Sanderson book, there end up being a few big surprises.

Yet again I came away loving each of the characters. I did feel like Wax dove headlong into things a couple of times without thinking them through, but I can't help but like the guy. I still loved Marasi and although the Mariwax ship has sailed- I'm not gonna lie, I did find that a little disappointing- I feel like things ended up how they should anyway. It's rare that I'm this ok with a relationship I've been such a fan of not happening. Steris grew on me a lot in this book and I can see how she and Wax are not only good together, but good for each other. They sort of balance each other out. Steris makes him think before he acts.

One thing I really like about the Mistborn world is that the magic system continues to be added to and evolve. It's just really cool how that happens. I don't think I've ever read another fantasy series that accomplishes that the way this one does. I'm looking forward to reading the next book. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long!



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The Archived and The Unbound

I picked up this book, The Archived,  to read a couple of years ago. I had never read anything by Victoria Schwab (she goes by V.E. Schwab for her adult books) so I didn't know what to expect, but I was intrigued by the description of this book. It sounded rather macabre but fascinating. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, so much so that I read the sequel as soon as I could get it from my library. The best thing that came out of reading this book was that I was introduced to an author that I enjoyed reading and I eventually read her Shades of Magic books, which I liked even better than these.



The Archived by Victoria Schwab

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Clean


Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

In this story the dead are called Histories and their bodies rest in a place called The Archive. Each body has a story to tell, and only the archive librarians can read them. Recruited by her grandfather, Mackenzie Bishop has been been working for The Archive for just four years. The Archive is a secret place that not many people know about so Mac has kept it a secret from the rest of her family just as her grandfather did. After her grandfather dies, Mac becomes a Keeper. When Mac discovers someone is deliberately altering Histories and erasing essential chapters she sets out to find out who is doing it and why.

The Archived is kind of like Warehouse 13 with dead bodies. The bodies are copies of dead people that contain the history of those people. Or picture a library with stacks of morgue type drawers containing these bodies instead of books. Sometimes these bodies wake up and escape and it's the Keeper's job to return them to the archive. The younger the body, or the more recent the history, the more restless they are and the more prone to waking up they are. The older the history the deeper asleep they are. Most of the time the older histories do not wake up. I liked that the older histories were asleep and kind of forgotten; a lot like real history is to a lot of people. How many times do we really think about things that happened a long time ago? Mostly we think about more recent events.

I thought this was a pretty original idea. I liked the character Mac and I also liked Wesley, even if I could have done without the guyliner. Yes, he wears guyliner. The biggest weakness of the book to me is that there is no real reason given for why the archive exists, other than it's the Keeper's job to protect the histories. It's kept a secret from everyone but the people who work in it or for it, so who really uses it and why are all of those histories stored there? It just kind of seems to exist for no reason. Despite that I enjoyed reading this so I am planning on reading the next book. Maybe the reason the archive exists will be explained in it.






The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy



Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe.

I thought The Unbound was a very good follow up to The Archived and I had a really hard time putting it down. I liked the way we get to see Wesley in a whole different light here. There was a side to his life that was hidden from Mac in the first book. Also the edition of some new characters was nice.

I do have a few of small complaints. One would be that Mackenzie keeps one bit of information from everyone including Wesley and Roland and there was no real reason for her to, except to create drama later in the story. Another is that there just doesn't seem to be any reason for the character Sako to dislike her so much, or Agatha for that matter. And I also disliked that Mackenzie kept wanting to protect Wesley like he was some fragile flower. But most importantly, did it answer my questions about why The Archive existed? No, not really. Despite those things I still managed to like the book quite a lot. The story is wrapped up pretty well in the end, but there looks to be a planned third book, although the author has said she doesn't know when it will be released. When or if it ever is I will most certainly read it.



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Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian
Genre: Romance, Mystery
Content: Clean


It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war. Outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. Back on shore, Boston Navy Yard secretary Mary Stirling does her work quietly and efficiently, happy to be out of the limelight. Yet, despite her reserved nature, she never could back down from a challenge. When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is found, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges--and dangers--await them.

Sarah Sundin takes readers to the tense months before the US entered WWII. Readers will encounter German U-boats and torpedoes, along with the explosive power of true love, in this hopeful and romantic story.

Through Waters Deep is a light romance/mystery. There were some Christian elements to it as well, which at times I liked and at other times I thought was a little heavy handed. What I liked most about this book was the time period. I've always been interested in the 1940s, especially during WWII. I've seen countless movies from that time period, but have not read many books from it or about it, so it was interesting to read about what was going on just before the U.S. entered WWII.

Although this book was mostly fictional, there were a few aspects of it that were pulled from real events. I thought the conflicting opinions about entering the war were very well drawn, and the tension felt very real. The mystery of the saboteur was pretty easy to figure out, although there were a few red herrings thrown in, only one of them fooled me into believing that person was involved.

The romance between Mary and Jim was sweet and I liked that it was a slow building one, at least up until the point Quintessa comes to town. The book went downhill for a while after that. I didn't really see the need to throw that obstacle in the way. Mary's going overboard with the pride thing and being a martyr for her friend annoyed me, even though I could understand why she thought the way she did. Jim's not speaking up about his feelings for Mary annoyed me as well. I wanted to shake both Mary and Jim a couple of times. I mean oh my gosh, JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER! At a couple of points I felt like throwing my Kindle against the wall. This is the reason I couldn't give this book 4 stars.

Like most romance novels, this one is part of a companion series. I plan on reading the second book, which features Jim's best friend Arch and his sister Lillian.



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