(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Although the world's newspapers are buzzing about the sinking of the Lusitania and the shooting of J.P. Morgan's son, aspiring reporter Capability "Kitty" Weeks has not been assigned those stories.  Instead, the 19-year-old is stuck writing about society soirees and fashionable apparel for the New York Sentinel's Ladies' Page.  It's a start, but Kitty longs to be on the front lines, writing the stories that really matter. 

Kitty's shocked—but secretly thrilled—when a murder happens at a high society picnic she's attending.  The victim is Hunter Cole, a blue-blooded gambler married to a fortune-less outsider.  Intrigued, Kitty vows to find his killer.  Not only will justice be done, but she'll finally have a real story to prove her mettle as a reporter.  The more she digs, however, the more she begins to realize just how big and dangerous a conspiracy she's uncovering.  With her life on the line, Kitty must get to the bottom of the affair before her own murder becomes someone else's big story. 

A Front Page Affair by Radha Vatsal is the first book in a new mystery series starring the intrepid Kitty Weeks.  With an atmospheric New York setting and a colorful historical backdrop, the debut novel offers an effortless, entertaining read that is both compelling and enjoyable.  While the book isn't terribly original or memorable, it's a promising start.  I'll be back for more Kitty Weeks, for sure.

(Readalikes:  Vatsal's books have been compared to those by Rhys Bowen.)

Grade:  

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs) and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of A Front Page Affair from the generous folks at Sourcebooks.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

With a surname like Mather, you're bound to get some attention in Salem, Massachusetts.  Even 300+ years after the Witch Trials.  Samantha, a 16-year-old descendant of Cotton and Increase Mather—key players in the Trials—isn't so keen on moving away from New York City in the first place.  When she almost immediately becomes the target of a group of mean girls nicknamed The Descendants, she's even less thrilled with her new hometown.  Can these kids, whose ancestors were convicted as witches with the help of Sam's forebears, really be holding a centuries-old grudge?  Apparently so.

As if that's not bad enough, there's a ghost haunting Sam's grandmother's home.  Elijah Roe is handsome (for a dead guy), but he's not exactly the chillest (pun intended) house guest.  The only bright spot in Sam's move is her next-door neighbor.  Unlike her classmates and resident apparition, Jaxon is kind and welcoming.  It doesn't hurt that he's good-looking enough to make Sam blush.  

Sam just wants to settle in and get on with life, but it soon becomes apparent that Salem has other ideas for her.  She, like everyone in town with a connection to the Trials, is at the center of an age-old curse.  To stop it, she'll have to enlist the help of her handsome haunt as well as The Descendants.  Only then, can Sam stop the ruinous cycle that ensures history always repeats itself in Salem.

Ever since I heard that a descendant of Cotton Mather was writing a YA novel about the Salem Witch Trials, I knew I had to read it.  How to Hang a Witch, Adriana Mather's literary debut, also boasts an intriguing, spine-tingling premise that seems to guarantee an exciting, engrossing read.  Imagine my disappoint then when I found the story to be just ho-hum.  While I liked its creepy, atmospheric setting, the novel's characters fell flat for me, never developing past cardboard teenage clichés.  The plot also struck me as choppy and clumsy, dragging in some parts, and making no sense at all in others.  These irritants combined with stilted dialogue, insta-lovey romance (x2), and some major melodrama soured me on How to Hang a Witch.  I wanted to adore this one, but it turned out to be pretty meh for me.  Since I can't resist books about the Titanic, I might give its sequel a go, but probably not.  Oh well.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't really think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, and blood/gore

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of How to Hang a Witch from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

Top Ten Tuesday is my favorite weekly meme by far and wide so, despite recent tweaks, I'm sticking with it.  In case you haven't heard, TTT will no longer be hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  In fact, that blog is dissolving.  You can read goodbye posts from the contributors that include links so you can follow them individually on their own blogs and social media accounts.  Thank you, ladies, for all your hard work over the years!  From now on, TTT will be handled by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.  Be sure to stop in and give her some love.  To join in the TTT fun, just read up on the meme, make your own list, then have a good ole time hopping around the book blogosphere.  It's a great way to find new blogs to follow, revisit old favorites, and of course, add to your TBR list mountain mountain chain.  What's not to love?

This week's topic is: Top Ten Bookish Resolutions/Goals.  I feel like I've already talked about this, so forgive the redundancy.  I'm really not making any hard and fast bookish resolutions for the new year, but here's what I wouldn't mind accomplishing: 

1.  Read 200 Books.  This has been my yearly goal for a number of years now.  The closest I've come is 186 in 2011.  I read 158 last year, so we'll see what happens in 2018.

2.  Read more non-fiction.  I've always been a fiction kind of girl, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy an intriguing biography, a scintillating memoir, a fun pop-psych book, or an uplifting inspirational read now and then.  I avoid anything too deep or too dry, but other than that, I'm fairly open ... Anyone have any great recommendations?

3.  Comment More.  Not gonna lie, I'm pretty good about commenting on other people's blogs.  I know how much I enjoy it when people react to my posts, so I always try to return the favor.  However, I'd like to do better about visiting ALL the blogs on my reader and commenting regularly so the authors know how much I enjoy their work.

4.  Keep up on reviews.  You guys, I totally suck at this.  Totally.  My bookish OCD makes me feel like I have to give every book I read its day in the sun, so I can't cheat with mini-reviews, skipping books, etc.  I must review them all!  Apparently, I am incapable of doing it in a timely manner, though, so yeah, I need to work on that this year.

5.  Limit the amount of books I accept for review.  This one is SO tough because I want to read all the things! It's hard to resist shiny new releases, hopeful debut authors, awesome-sounding ARCs, fun blog tours, etc.  I've gotten pickier over the years about what I accept, but I need to be even pickier so I don't go stark raving mad from the guilt I feel over not being able to review everything.

6.  Clean up my feed reader.  My feed reader is crammed full of book blogs (as well as food blogs, diet blogs, organization blogs, writing blogs, etc.).  It's overwhelming and guilt-inducing to see all those unread posts just sitting there.  A lot of the blogs have fallen by the wayside over the years, or my interest in them has waned, so I need to ditch the dead weight and focus on those that are still dynamic and helpful.   

7.  Find new blogs to read.  I love reading book blogs and am always looking for new ones to follow.  I prefer those whose authors share my reading interests, have a clean, upbeat writing style, and comment/follow back.  This is one of the reasons I love TTT—it helps me find new blogs to enjoy.

8.  Actually complete a reading challenge.  I get so excited for the new reading challenges that come out every year, but then I never finish them.  I'm doing some fun ones in 2018, so hopefully I'll actually have some success this time around.  Wish me luck!

9.  Catch up on all the series in which I am woefully behind.  Yeah.

10.  Keep enjoying doing what I love.  By limiting the number of blog tours in which I participate and being very up front with authors about the amount of time (years!) it will likely take me to review their books, I've minimized (but not erased) a lot of the pressure in my blogging life.  This makes the "job" much more pleasurable.  I want to keep that feeling going this year.  More than anything else, I want to make sure this gig remains a pleasurable labor of love.  When it starts to feel like a stressful slog, that's when I'll know it's time to give it up.

What do you think of my resolutions/goals?  What are yours?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor.     

Happy TTT!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

On December 14, 2012, in a small town in southwestern Connecticut, the unthinkable happened.  Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old man who had just mudered his mother, forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School.  He proceeded to shoot and kill twenty first graders and six staff members before committing suicide.  His violent actions left a peaceful town and a stunned nation in horrified shock.  

Among the dead was 6-year-old Emilie Parker, a sweet little girl who loved art and the color pink.  In the wake of the shooting, her grief-stricken parents—Alissa and Robbie—struggled to understand such a senseless act.  Faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they couldn't fathom how God had let such an atrocity happen.  Mostly, they missed and mourned their young daughter, who had been taken from them way too early in a terrifying, tragic way.  

Although Alissa Parker doesn't consider herself a writer, she wanted to share her story.  An Unseen Angel, a raw and heart-wrenching memoir, is the result.  In the book, she talks about the shooting, but she spends most of the pages discussing her long, rocky path to healing and forgiveness.  She doesn't sugarcoat things as she discusses her warring emotions, her bitterness in the wake of her loss, and her constant yearning for the one thing she can't have—more time with Emilie.  I especially love the parts where Parker talks about how learning to forgive Adam Lanza allowed her to not only find true peace but also to more fully feel Emilie's spirit as she moved forward with her life.  This passage has really stuck with me:

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of An Unseen Angel from the generous folks at Shadow Mountain.  Thank you!