Book Review 008

Hey guys! I am back with another book review! I am pretty proud of myself, I now read books at the rate of 1 per week/week and a half. I never had the energy to read when I was in school, but now that’s I’m done it’s all I want to do. Today I have four books, one stand-alone and series.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

I believe that my mom got this for me either for my birthday or Christmas a year or two ago. After reading The Woman on the Train a couple of years ago I’ve gotten into adult mystery/thriller dramas. It makes sense since I enjoy watching thriller movies. This one was okay. The story follows Dr. Anna Fox, an agoraphobe (someone who is afraid of leaving their home/crowded places) who witnesses a brutal crime in her neighbours’ house.

I liked Anna, the main character. Finn really plays up the unreliable narrative aspect of Anna, so I was supposed to question what Anna was thinking. But because I liked her I couldn’t help but believe her. It was also interesting to read about an agoraphobe during a pandemic because Anna was too scared to leave her house and I wasn’t supposed to leave my house.

I found that not a lot happened throughout the novel. And when stuff did happen it wasn’t that exciting or impactful. I also found the twist at the ending that amazing. I didn’t guess it, but it wasn’t very satisfying.

I am giving this book a 3/5. I enjoyed it, but there are better thriller novels out there.

The Lacey Chronicles by Eve Edwards

I like to review series altogether, because realistically who reads the 3rd novel of a series if they didn’t read the rest? Some books in a series are better than others, but I like to recommend them as a whole. So overall I give The Lacey Chronicles a 4/5 and will break it down.

The first novel, The Other Countess, follows Ellie and Will. Ellie is the daughter of a Spanish Countess and English alchemist. Will is the Earl of Dorset. Will hates Ellie because her father financially ruined her late father. The second novel, The Queen’s Lady follows Jane and Will’s younger brother James. Jane is a widow and the newest lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth and James is setting sails to the Americas. The final novel, The Rogue’s Princess, follows Kit and Mercy. Kit is the illegitimate brother of Will and James and a famous actor in London. Mercy is the daughter of a rich, Puritan merchant.

As you can tell, all three novels are historical romances. What I really like about them is that they focus on aspects that are not always common in YA historical novels. The novels discuss alchemy, death, racism and religion. They are not deep dives into these topics, but they give more than some other novels. For example, an important secondary novel in the second book is Diego. He is a black man who was stolen from Africa and is a servant to Will and James. Edwards gives Diego autonomy by writing in his perspective and he is integral to the storyline instead of just being a token black person. Now I will say that Edwards doesn’t necessarily dives deep into these topics, but I appreciate that she at least mentions them instead of leaving them out.

It’s hard for me to pick a favourite. I like the main characters in the first the most, but I found that the first lacked the depth and complexity of some of the later novels. I give this series because I think it’s some of the best YA historical fiction I’ve read. But I wouldn’t say it’s genre-breaking, so it isn’t a 5/5. If you like historical fiction I highly recommend you read this series.

And those are the books I read. With every book review, please let me know in the comments what are some of your favourite books or books that you have read recently.

xoxo

Lea