February, 2021

"Girl A" by Abigail Dean         

After escaping her family's house of horrors, Lex is known by the media as Girl A. The oldest sister who escaped and freed her siblings. Years after escaping, her mother dies in prison, leaving Lex and her siblings the house and a substantial sum of money. Deciding that the best use would be a community center, Lex begins convincing her siblings to accept the plan.         

Although the premise of the story was interesting, the book itself was a bit lacking. It rambled all over the place and spent considerable time in the past, without giving any details of the past. Overall, not a book I would reread or recommend.

"Dangerous Women" by Hope Adams         

 Kezia, a young religious woman, has signed on as matron for a convict ship. The women aboard are being transported to Van Diemen's land, to serve sentences for thievery, prostitution, and other crimes. Three months into the journey, Hattie is found stabbed, and Kezia and Captain Ferguson begin investigating the crime.          

This book was extremely slow moving. All of the characters seemed stereotypical, lacked personality, and blended together. The love story between Kezia and Captain Ferguson was extremely predictable. Overall, this one was a bust.

"The Girl in the Painting" by Tea Cooper          

After showing an aptitude for mathematics, Jane, an orphan, gains the attention of siblings Michael and Elizabeth. They take her into their home, educate her, and teach her their auction house business. The book alternates with a young Michael and Elizabeth, as they arrive in Australia, only to discover that their parents have died. When adult Elizabeth has a fit after visiting a local art gallery, Jane realizes that there is some mystery in Elizabeth's life.          

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and engaging. The characters were very dynamic and the mystery unraveled nicely. I will definitely look for more books from this author. Overall, highly recommended.

"Women in White Coats" by Olivia Campbell         

This book outlines the stories of the pioneering women in the early 1800's who fought for medical education. These women encountered prejudice and obstacles every step of their journey. Although this book started strong, it quickly bogged down towards the middle. The stories were interesting, but after a while everything seemed to blend together. Overall, 2 out of 5 stars. 

"The Gilded Ones" by Namina Forna         

At the age of sixteen, every girl is subjected to a purity ritual. If her blood runs red, she is pure and welcomed as a woman of the village. If her blood runs gold, she is unpure, a demon who is immediately subject to death. However, those with gold blood are stronger, and much harder to kill. When Deka's blood runs gold, village elders attempt to kill her 9 times, before White Hands offers her a choice. Deka can either stay in her village and continue to be tortured and bled, or she can join an elite fighting unit composed of others of her kind.         

I really enjoyed this book right up until the end. The characters were dynamic, well written and engaging. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I thought the ending was poorly done. It seemed rushed and explanations were glossed over. Overall, the ending felt very unsatisfying. Because of these criticism, I am not likely to pick up the next book in the series.

"Unnatural" by Deven Greene         

When a young Chinese girl with blue eyes shows up in her pediatric clinic, Dr. Erica quickly becomes more involved with the family than she ever expected. After discovering that the son has very unusual hemoglobin, Erica speaks to Ting and learns of an illegal gene editing program in China. When it is revealed that a third child is still in China, Erica goes undercover with her roommate to rescue the child and record evidence of the illegal program.         

Although this book had an interesting premise, I thought the book was extremely dry. The author continually told us what was going to happen, and continually went over worries about what they were doing. This made the action, when it finally happened, extremely anticlimactic. Unfortunately, this is not a book that I would reread or recommend.