The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I thought this would be a 5-star read for me based on other reviewers that share my reading preferences. It's definitely well-written and creative, which I value. I had a hard time getting into the storyline however. Once I understood who everyone was and was able to place all the events on a timeline in my head, I became more invested in the story. The time jumps around between 1873 to the 1880s/1890s to 1902.

The premise is a competition between two men: Alexander and Hector. Hector's contestant is his daughter Celia, who is dropped off on his door step when she is 5 years old after her mother kills herself. Alexander finds a young boy, Marco, in an orphanage to compete against Celia. These two children are trained intensively for many years. They are trained differently, with Celia having a natural talent towards illusionism and Marco studying books and making visual plans/blueprints to perform his magic. The setting of this competition is the Night Circus, which travels around the world mysteriously and only opens after dark. Everything within the Night Circus is black, white or gray. Each tent within the circus is a magical experience in and of itself. (I really loved the descriptions of the circus.)

It took me awhile to figure out each character's "place" in this story. Celia is the Illusionist of the circus with her own tent. Marco is actually an "assistant" to Chandresh, the circus owner, and doesn't actually travel with the circus. Marcus knows that Celia is his competitor, but Celia doesn't know who her competitor is for a long while. Celia is still controlled by her father, even though he is not fully "living" in the truest sense of the word. Alexander pretty much leaves Marco to himself. Marco's girlfriend is Isobel, who travels with the circus as the Fortune Teller. There are people who are connected to the circus but only gather for Midnight Dinners when the circus is in London. This includes Herr Friedrick Thiessen who is an extremely talented clock maker and becomes a close friend to Celia. The other key circus performers are Tsukiko, the contortionist and Poppet & Widget, red-haired twins born on the night the Night Circus first opened. Another main character is Bailey who, as a 10-year old, is dared by his friends to go inside the Night Circus when it was closed during the day. He meets a young Poppet that day and his life is altered by that experience.

Anyway, it's a complex story, especially since most of the characters don't really know what's going on either. The burden of the circus is definitely on the shoulders of Celia though, more than anyone else involved. This becomes even more of a problem after Celia and Marco fall in love with each other. They each find out in due time that the only way for the competition to end is for one of them to die. It's worth the read, but I can't see myself ever reading it again.

Wendy's Rating: ***3/4

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

Family vlogging gone wrong. Vlogging is such an interesting way of making money. Sometimes a lot of money. The problem is, it often seems to go wrong in so many ways, especially if you start counting on it for the financial resources it brings you. The pressure to keep providing content; the pressure on the children who are expected to "perform"; the warped sense of what is actually real and what's a performance for the camera. It doesn't have to be that way. I watch vloggers that still work and post videos in their free time for fun. If people can keep it light and treat it as a side gig, all the more power to them. This is not one of those cases. Children should never be expected to live their life on camera, especially when they are too young to give consent. 

Ruby Franke made national news when she was arrested for aggravated child abuse in 2023. Although she was heavily influenced by her relationship with life coach Jodi Hildebrandt, who developed a tyrannical & sadist program called ConneXions which Ruby followed, Ruby wasn't a warm & cozy mother from the start. This book is written by Shari Franke, Ruby's oldest child. Everytime I read another memoir, I am so eternally grateful for my parents and my upbringing. Children are so incredibly vulnerable to their parents. In this case, Ruby's husband Kevin, was also vulnerable to Ruby & Jodi's extreme tactics - all because he really loved Ruby. It's so terribly sad that a person (child or adult) can get so caught up in something that is drilled into them. It's easier to brainwash a person than I ever thought possible if love/family is involved. Then, add in the constraints of religious beliefs (in this case The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints) and a person doesn't have a prayer. No pun intended.

Shari was repeatedly, consistently, and continually emotionally abused by her mother & Jodi. And she was one of the "lucky ones" in the family. Her brother (second oldest) was sent away a couple of times and treated like a juvenile delinquent. He was separated from his family as a young teen. The four younger children were forced to stay with Ruby & Jodi, pretty much in hiding after they were pulled out of school. It's incredible that the authorities did not recognize what was going on in this household, despite the situation being reported again and again. There must be better safeguards in place! These poor children. Shari's sense of self-worth and self-regard was minimal at best. She was so mired in Ruby's abuse that she couldn't even recognize it when she became the prey for a married, middle-aged man for years.

I'm definitely not convinced that Shari, her father Kevin, or Shari's siblings are out of the woods yet. They are a work in progress and I see lots of therapy in their futures if they truly want to heal. The good news is that Ruby & Jodi are behind bars where they belong. One thing I was happy that Shari included in her narrative is the mental health description of Narcissism. There is a really important distinction between someone being self-centered and selfish vs. diagnosed Narcissism. Ruby is a Narcissist.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The 100 Rebellion by Kass Morgan

All I can say is, "What?" I hardly know where to begin. Did I miss something? For such a promising start of a series, and an interesting premise, what happened? This book introduced yet another group on Earth who is led by Soren and call themselves "The Protectors." The Protectors come into camp, steal all their weapons, and take Glass, Wells, and Octavia. They then travel two days to their fortress, which is the home for a group of people who have been brainwashed by Soren into thinking Earth itself is their god. Oh, and apparently, one of the other Drop Ships from the Colony crash-landed near them, so some of the people from the Colony are there too. Glass becomes quickly brainwashed by Soren (ridiculous) and sees her as a warm & cozy "mother figure". Oh, wait. Until she remembers her own mother, who was brutally murdered trying to leave the Colony and who died trying to save Glass.

And don't get me started on Bellamy & Clarke again. They love each other; no, they hate each other; wait....let's get married. Honestly. Obviously people are going to have a difference in opinion in crisis situations but these two are so over-the-top dramatic is drives me crazy. These two leave camp to find Wells, Octavia & Glass, but Bellamy wants to go in guns-abazin' once they reach Soren's compound while Clarke wants to figure out a plan first. But instead of talking it out, Clarke ends up securing, basically imprisoning, Bellamy so he can't follow through with his war-like mentality. She wants to engage in "peace talks" with Soren. They are both crazy. And why did the author add in yet another group for the original "100" to battle instead of clearing up the other issues in books 1-3? More people die in this book too, but since I found myself less and less attached to these characters, I found myself thinking, "oh well." I'm STILL upset that Finnick died in Mockingjay Part 2!! THAT is character building!

This was an add-on book that should not have been written. Morgan should have left it as a trilogy. OR, she should have addressed the questions raised in books 1-3:

1) What happened to the other Drop Ships from the Colony? Again, I thought there were originally 7. Even if no one knew exactly what happened to the missing ones, they should have been mentioned by those that were on the last one! (ie Glass)

2) Why were Clarke's parents even located if we aren't even allowed to know what happened to them when they left the Colony a year previously? Why introduce them as living characters if we never find out more about them?

3) The sudden personality change in Graham, Rhodes, the doctor (can't remember his name) who despised Clarke on the Colony, and some of the other power-hungry control freaks is completely unrealistic! All of a sudden, everyone treats Wells as their leader. One big happy family now, huh?

4) How was the original spaceship built hundreds of years ago, and how did the original colonists escape to it when the President of the USA couldn't even make it to the undergroud bunker built especially for him?

This was just too much. Kass Morgan needs a better story board when she is writing. She needs to take lessons from JK Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, etc to learn how to develop her characters and devise a well-thought-out plot. You can't just keep throwing new groups of people in randomly and expect the reader to care if you haven't explored the characters you already have.

Wendy's Rating: **

An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch

This is a Charles Lenox mystery and Goodreads listed it as #11. Now that I have read it, I realize it's actually #16. I like to read series in order, so I guess I jumped ahead - which explains why it was such a surprise that Lenox had two children in this book! Ha! (The Inheritance is actually #11, so I will read that next and get back on track.)

It's been awhile since I read this series and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading about Lenox. It's set in London in the late 1800s, so a very different world than 2026 in America. I had forgotten that it can be quite humorous too. I found myself chuckling out loud a few times. We learn in the beginning of this book that Lenox's detective agency has done really well and there are a lot of cases and requests for cases, which is causing some stress for Lenox, Polly, and Dallington. In the midst of this, England's Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, asks Lenox to travel to America on a diplomatic mission. Lenox feels compelled to stay in London for his agency, his wife, and his two little girls. Of course you know this won't happen! He really needs Lady Jane's blessing, which in the end she lovingly gives. So, Lenox is off to America!

This is Lenox' first visit to America and I loved seeing it through his eyes. He ends up spending most of his time in New York, specifically Newport, which is the home for the very wealthy, like the Vanderbilts and the Astors. Since Lenox is wealthy himself, you would think he would have more in common with these families. He does not. He is stunned by the way they live; by how the families operate; how the servants respond to their employers; by the children who don't have the same "manners" as British children. Also, they all know who he is and that he's in town: "the famous detective from London."

Lenox gets caught up trying to solve the murder of Lily Allingham, the most beautiful young woman to come out that season. She had dozens of men vying for her hand in marriage. Lenox works this case the way he always does: interviewing people and writing it all down so he can process it all in the privacy of his room. In London he has a sidekick to help him. In America, he gains help unexpectedly. The younger son of another wealthy family wants to become a detective and ingratiates himself into the case. His name is Teddy Blaine. Being a detective in America is similar to being a detective in London. It's frowned upon.

I will absolutely admit that there is an event in this book that absolutely stunned me. I don't want to ruin it for the next reader, so I won't say more here, but it was a turn of events I was not expecting! This is a quick read and I very much enjoyed it.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The 100 Homecoming by Kass Morgan

Book 3/4 in this series. Surprisingly, I liked this book the best out of the first three. This is rare. Third books can be iffy in a series. One reason is that the relationships have "settled". No more drama that plagued the first two books. This book was more action-packed as well. The Colony was quickly running out of oxygen and everyone who could, pushed themselves onto a Drop Ship to take them to Earth. This includes Glass & Luke, although Glass suffers a significant loss in the process. With the arrival of the colonists however, namely Vice Chancellor Rhodes, you can expect conflict. Rhodes is as mean-spirited on Earth as he was on the spaceship. He still hates Bellamy and his intent is to have him killed. Bellamy is imprisoned fairly quickly, which means Clarke & Wells have to figure out a way to rescue him and then leave camp to save him. They make their way to the earthborn compound, who accepts them.

Wells, Clarke, and Bellamy are all struggling with their inner demons. They beat themselves up over the decisions they have made. This is understandable because each of them have made some questionable decisions! Wells, of course, has brought all of this on. The colonists had to abandon the spaceship so suddenly (because of lack of oxygen which Wells set in motion) that they weren't able to gather and bring important supplies with them to Earth. The Drop Ships (three, if you are keeping track!) crash landed by the lake, killing a lot more people and leaving many injured. Again, with no extra medical supplies. Meanwhile, Bellamy escaped the camp with Wells & Clarke but is putting the earthborns at risk for attack by Rhodes and his guards. This is a serious risk, which is soon confirmed. Clarke wants to save Bellamy, support Wells, find her parents, and save all the injured without proper medical supplies. Big task!

So, you have the original 100 children (less because of death) who built the camp; the friendly earthborns whose homes are built near the bunker built hundreds of years ago; the killer earthborn group in hiding; Graham, the power driven kid from the original 100 and his people; Clarke's parents, who are supposedly somewhere on Earth and not dead; and now the evil Rhodes and his guards. So, lots of warring factions. To add to that, Glass & Luke leave camp alone since Glass discovers that Luke will be the guard assigned to assassinate Bellamy. To avoid that, they leave - and soon encounter their own trouble.

Not all goes well. Not everyone survives. The various groups are realigned. My question from the very beginning of this book is: what happened to the other Drop Ships?? The original 100 took one (which crash-landed); the colonists discovered by the lake had been in three (all which crashed-landed); and I believe there were three more ships which left the spaceship. Right? I thought there were seven ships. Anyway, I have to think they come into play in the fourth and final book. We will see!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The 100 Day 21 by Kass Morgan

Book 2/4 of this series. I definitely like this series and it's a very fast read. One thing that is annoying to me however is the intensity of the feelings of the characters. I completely understand that these characters are all under 18 years old and therefore their words and actions may be naturally more dramatic (their brains still developing and all), but for three of the main characters to go off the deep end about their "loved one" ("I hate you" one minute and then a half day later "I love you") seems over the top, even for teenagers. 

1) Clarke & Wells are the love of each other's lives in the Colony. Then Clarke despises Wells for turning in her parents (who were testing radiation on children in their lab) and she says that she will never forgive him; Wells jeopardizes the entire colony so that he can follow Clarke to Earth; Clarke forgives Wells, realizing she was being unfair to him; Clarke then hates Wells again when he prevents her from rescuing her friend from a fire that would have killed Clarke too; Clarke forgives Wells because he saved her life; Clarke then realizes that she actually loves Bellamy and wants to sleep with him; Wells falls in love with Sasha. What?? All this in 21 days??

2) In this same 21 days, Bellamy falls in love with Clarke. But wait. Now he hates her for killing the true love of his life, Lily. He will never forgive Clarke for this. Well, I guess he does because he realizes that Clarke simply did as Lily requested and that she loved Lily as much as Bellamy did. Hmmm. Okay.

3) Glass and Luke are the love of each other's lives in the Colony. But wait. Glass abandons Luke (she is actually confined because of her pregnancy) and Luke hooks up with someone else. Then Glass escapes from being sent to Earth (on the Drop Ship with the rest of the original 100 children who were in confinement) and runs to Luke, who is with his new girlfriend. Luke drops the girlfriend in favor of Glass, but then finds out that Glass reported that Luke's best friend & roommate is the man who impregnated her instead of Luke, to save Luke's life. So now Luke hates her. Until he doesn't. Until he loves her again more than life itself. Having raised five teenagers, none of them were this dramatic in their feelings, so it feels over the top.

All that aside, I do like the actual story. Things are heating up, as they always do in these situations - fiction and real life. People are taking sides, fighting for power, trying to survive. It's not The Hunger Games, but I am enjoying the story.

Wendy's Rating: ***1/2

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

I decided it's time to finish up this series. It's been many years since I read T is for Trespass. I easily fell back into Kinsey Millhone's life, despite how long it's been. I had forgotten how readable these books are. They move along, which I appreciate, and Grafton always mixes in details of Kinsey's personal life while Kinsey works on her recent case.

In this installment, Kinsey is contacted (cold) by Michael Sutton, who believes he may have witnessed the aftermath of a young girl's disappearance more than 20 years previously. Something he read triggered an old memory of him coming across two men in the woods digging a hole with something wrapped up laying nearby. Michael thinks it may have been the missing 4-year old girl who was never found. Unfortunately for Michael, he is estranged from his entire family and no one trusts him - or his memory - since he has been plagued with mental health issues, false memories (implanted, or at least suggested, by a former therapist), and false accusations against his parents & brother. This doesn't make him a reliable witness for sure, especially since he was only 6 years old when he supposedly saw the two men (which he calls "pirates") digging in the woods. There is something about Michael, and the details of his report, that leads Kinsey to think his report may be credible. Michael pays her for one day's work, but she continues her investigation after that day as well. Kinsey does not like unfinished business!

Meanwhile, we find out a lot more about her family. Kinsey's parents died when she was a very young child and she was raised by an aunt (Aunt Gin, her mother's sister). Kinsey didn't necessarily have a happy childhood, mainly because Aunt Gin was not exactly warm & fuzzy. Kinsey has a difficult time connecting to people, probably because she never felt a "family connection" after her parents died. After she found out about her fairly extensive extended family later in life, she felt abandoned. Aunt Gin had simply kept Kinsey to herself. In this book, Kinsey finds out that her Grandmother had several written letters to Aunt Gin and Kinsey herself that had been "Returned to Sender" by her Aunt Gin. She also finds out that her Grandmother had hired a Private Investigator and paid more than $4,000 for his services, which was a lot of money for that time. So, Kinsey does some research into her own family history while working on the 20-year old missing girl case.

I quite enjoyed this read and I am looking forward to finishing up this alphabet series. :)

Wendy's Rating: ****