August, 2023

"The Six" by Loren Grush

Once NASA decided to allow women into the program, they selected 6 women to be part of their 1978 astronaut candidate class.  This book follows their selection and the beginning of their careers.

Although the book had a slow start, it quickly picked up steam once the women were selected and training for missions.  I was amazed at both the bravery and determination of these women.  It couldn't have been easy to be among the first, where being good, just wasn't enough, you had to be the best.  Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

"Voice of the Ancient" by Connilyn Cossette

When King Saul asks for fighters, Avidan sneaks away with his cousins to join the fight.  In order to protect the youngest, they hide him in a case for the battle.  Afterwards, there are few signs of what happened to him and where he went.  Determined to find him, Avidan leaves the rest and searches alone.   Keziah, the daughter of a clan chief, is set to marry a brutal and violent man.  On the day of her wedding, her maid hatches a plan to free her.  Keziah cuts her hair, disguises herself as a boy, and leaves with her horse.  On her first day alone, she is robbed.  Avidan saves her from the robbers and the two decide to travel together.

This was a fairly interesting read.  At times the book felt too preachy and repetitive.  Keziah seemed a bit stereotypical at first, but quickly grew and developed throughout the series.  Avidan was easy to like from the beginning.  I'm not sure I would pick up another book in the series, overall 4 out of 5 stars.

"The Guidal: Unearthing Secrets" by Roxy Eloise

This is the second book in the Puracordis series.  After discovering that she has magic, Aurora begins to explore her powers with Tayo, a boy from her past.  

I hate to write this review, but I really disliked this book.  The first book in the series was really good and I was looking forward to this one.  I'm not sure what happened to the storytelling.  The entire first half of the book was two characters making out and seeing how far they could go without actually having sex.  Plot wise, nothing else was happening.  In the second half of the book, Aurora told her best friend and her match about puracordis.  Their reaction was pure excitement.  This seemed at odds in a society who deems magic malevolent and seeks to exterminate it at any costs.  Sadly, this book just did not work for me.

"Caravans in the Dark" by B. K. Oldre

Jana's Romani family travels and trades horses throughout Czechoslovakia and eastern Europe.  When rumblings of Hitler begin to surface, her family moves to Prague.  Determined to help out, Jana joins the resistance, smuggling and passing messages.

Not a lot actually happened throughout this book.  It moved slowly and just felt like one big build-up.  The book left the plot line hanging, setting itself up for a sequel.   I wish the book had covered a greater time period, or that more actually happened throughout the story.  Due to these criticisms, this is not a book I would re-read or recommend.

"The Girl from Bologna" by Siobhan Daiko

This book alternates between 1944 in Bologna and 1981.  In the 1944 timeline, Leila joins the resistance after her best friend is deported to a concentration camp.  In 1981, Leila takes in a foreign exchange student, Rhiannon.  Rhiannon studies at the local university, where she befriends Marie, a girl with secrets, and starts to fall for Leila's nephew. 

I have mixed feelings about this book.  I really enjoyed the WWII storyline.  I have never read anything about Bologna before, and was fascinated by the resistance efforts.  The characters in this storyline were dynamic, well developed, and engaging.  The 1981 storyline was just not as interesting.  Rhiannon seemed very stereotypical and one dimensional.  The plot also seemed forced and uninteresting.   Because of these problems, 3 out of 5 stars.