The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

Review by Norma from Elbow, SK

Genre: Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: Adult

Order it from the library

Order a large print copy from the library

Get the eBook on Overdrive/Libby

This book review is on The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton.  The story explores the lives of several individuals; sharing their hopes, and fears.  Their stories are told over the course of decades, connected by the coincidence of sharing residency of the same living space in Birchwood Manor, of the Upper Thames.  

Each character discloses some secrets, evident as the story advances.  I enjoyed this book of intrigue, giving some detail, but leaving the reader to interpret the writer’s description of events. 

I enjoyed Kate Morton's writing style. She describes character flaws well, and shares her insights in a unique and descriptive way.  She describes one individual touching the “bottom of the creek bed, lungs expanding pushing into her throat and head as her brain burns." She notices a blue light, and recognizes that if she reached out to grab the light it would show her the way.  Suspense builds in this book as each character also is impacted by a valuable blue pendant which is missing.

More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn

Review by Jillian from Moose Jaw, SK

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Recommended Age: 14+

Order it from the library

Get the eBook on Overdrive

Get the audiobook on Overdrive

More than Maybe is a Young Adult Romance centering around Luke and Vada. Luke’s dad used to front a punk rock band and Luke doesn’t like the spotlight. He prefers to write songs in secret and prefers the anonymity of hosting a podcast with his twin brother, Cullen, who is in a long-term relationship with Luke’s best friend, Zach.

Luke has a major unrequited crush on music blogger Vada Carsewell. Vada is a woman with a five year plan, work at her mom’s boyfriend Phil’s club to learn about the music industry (check), run a music blog (check), and get into school in California for music journalism (and check). Next up in her plan is to manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is definitely not in her plans. So what if his self deprecating charm and out of this world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or that his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about a mystery girl on his podcast and she really wishes it were her?

This was a situation of it being the perfect book for me at the perfect time. It was so cute. I loved the evolution of Luke and Vada’s relationship throughout the book and I liked how they both had what they thought were unrequited crushes on each other. I also like how music was woven through the plot, highlighting certain emotions and even moving the plot along at times.

This book was well written, cute, funny (I burst out laughing while reading more than once), and was just a delightful, uplifting, absolute gem of a book! I recommend reading this book if you want to read a sweet YA book that reads very easily. Thoughts about it will stay with you for a while after you read it.

Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs

Review by Sandy from Elbow, SK

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Recommended Age: 18+

Order it from the library

Get the eBook on Overdrive

My favorite series is the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Fire Touched is the 9th book in this series. Mercy Thompson is the daughter of a Blackfeet Indian.  She is a Walker/Coyote Shapeshifter and mechanic.  She was raised by Bran, The Merrok of the werewolves.  She has a talent for fixing cars and owns an Auto Repair Shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington.

Mercy always stands up for what is right and her friends have her back because they know she will always have their back.  She is a strong-willed, steadfast heroine who is always authentic and a champion for those who find themselves in trouble; therefore, she often finds herself in unfavourable situations.  Due to Mercy’s coyote/trickster nature she often, narrowly, finds her way out of what seems to be impossible odds. She never harms anyone but if you find yourself on the wrong side of her ire, she will find a comical way to let you know.  

I will give you a few hints about what happens, but you will have to read the series to find out for yourself... the scrap car incidents, the peanut butter incident, the hard-boiled egg incident, and my favorite: the blue dye incident!  There is always some comic relief that makes you sit back and go… ”good for her”!

In Fire Touched, Mercy finds a child who was lost in Underhill when she closed her borders.  Underhill has finally opened her doors once again and a young boy has escaped.  This boy needs Mercy’s protection.  Underhill wants him back and the Fae want him so they can find out how Underhill changed him.  They want to acquire his power and knowledge.  Mercy and her friends claim the Tri-Cities area as their territory and they must fight to protect the innocents who live in this territory.  This leads to unexpected consequences from Bran, The Merrok.

Mercy; she is a force of nature with a devilish side.  I love how Patricia Briggs builds on her character through each book. I love that Mercy is a tomboy, strong and beautiful, yet she does not have the nicest nails or the fanciest clothes.  I like her independent nature. She struggles with people helping her do what she can do for herself.  I also see the reality in her struggles despite the fact this is a fiction novel.  I get lost in these stories, letting the words rush over me, transporting me into her world.  This is a well-written series that I just can’t put down.  I have read the whole series and I can’t wait until a new book is written about Mercy’s newest adventure.  If you like fantasy fiction this is a world for you!