The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Mika is a young woman who never stays in one place for long. If she moves every six months or so, never making any permanent connections, then no one will ever discover her secret. The only rule she breaks is in making internet videos where she pretends to be what she really is- a witch. No one would ever believe it is real magic, but then someone sees through the facade. This leads her to break more rules, sharing her secret with a ragtag, makeshift family who is trying to raise three young witches of their own.

I thought this book was a sweet read for the spooky season. I've always loved books about witches, and this one was cute. More family drama/ found family than magic spells, I think this one could be enjoyed by most. There are definite feminist views expressed, which I really like, and it kept the romance aspect of the story from pushing it too far into saccharine territory. If you're looking for a cozy read for Halloween, this one is pretty good.

 

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Early this morning I finished reading Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I watched the Netflix movie shortly after it came out and I liked it, but I have to admit I had forgotten most of the plot. Last week I stumbled across this slim paperback version at my local library sale and I was intrigued. I brought it home with me and immediately started reading. 

Augustine is a world-renowned scientist at the end of his days studying the stars from a research facility near the north pole. When a mysterious world-ending event forces the evacuation of the post, he chooses to stay. He has no family to go back to and he would rather spend what time he has left gazing through the massive telescope at the universe. When he discovers a small child has been left behind in the emergency departure, he must force himself to keep living a little longer and set up some way for her to survive.

Sully is an astronaut halfway through a two-year expedition to Jupiter when mission control suddenly goes silent. She and the rest of the six-person crew have no idea what has happened and must wait until they are back in Earth's orbit to make a plan for their future. There is no way to know what has become of the families they've left behind or if there is any way for them to return to terra firma.

I loved this book. It is beautifully written and filled with so much emotion in so few pages. It is a quiet kind of book with plenty of internal examination by the characters, and yet it is far from slow. I was struck repeatedly by how a book like this should be a bit boring with all the reflection on memories and lives now passed, but Brooks-Dalton crafted it in such a way that I couldn't put it down. When I finally closed the back cover, all I could say to myself was, "Damn. That was a good book." Over and over again, I said it. It probably seems silly, but I actually cried because it was so good, not because of what the characters faced or their outcomes, but just because it was so good.

I love this book. I wish there were more of it. I wish I knew more at the end, but I also respect the way the author chose to tell the story. It was magnificent.

 

A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps

As we were approaching Spooky Season, I thought A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps could be a fun way to get into the spirit. Three elderly women are having coffee in a shop when a teenage girl comes running in and begging for help. In that moment they are transformed from lonely old ladies to heroines in the making. Set in southeast London, Meg, Daphne, and Grace must find a way to save Nina from a terrible fate and stop a very bad man.

Told from each of their four perspectives, we get to know these women and the tragedies that have affected their lives. I liked the main characters, but some of the secondary characters were frustrating. It is assumed that old ladies won't know anything about murder, but the bumbling about seemed excessive. Stopps did a good job keeping the tension ramping up, but then the resolution was too quick and without much of a satisfying ending, almost as if she had run out of pages. A good ending could have made all the difference with this book, but as it stands I have to say it was only okay.