This post has been ready for literally months and now the day to post it has finally come and I’ve realised I never wrote an intro for it. If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m struggling to keep this introductions interesting – I may need to stop bulk writing these.
Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey
Every time I look at this cover I’m convinced I own this book, I don’t know why because I don’t. Maybe I’ve just seen it in bookshops a lot?
As with most of the books in this post, I have no intention of actually reading this so it’s a very easy and very swift remove.
Verdict: remove
Synopsis: 1834. Sophia Thompson wants nothing more than to be one of the famed Bow Street Runners, London’s most elite corps of detectives. Never mind that a woman has never before joined their ranks–and certainly never mind that her reclusive family has forbidden her from pursuing such an unladylike goal.
She gets the chance to prove her capabilities when an urgent letter arrives from her frantic cousin Daphne, begging Sophia to come look into the suspicious death of Daphne’s brother.
As Sophia begins to unravel the tangled threads of the case–with the help of a charming young policeman–she soon realizes that the murderer may be even closer to her family than she ever suspected.
Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry
I’ll be honest and say I added this to my to be read because of the title. Also because it has toast on the cover and that is not something I’ve ever seen before.
I thought this book was going to be about magic but after actually reading the synopsis, I can see that it definitely isn’t. So, it’s a no from me, goodbye Heretics Anonymous.
Verdict: remove
Synopsis: Michael is an atheist. So as he walks through the doors at St. Clare’s—a strict Catholic school—sporting a plaid tie, things can’t get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow nonbeliever at that. Only this girl, Lucy, is not just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.
But Lucy introduces Michael to other St. Clare’s outcasts, and he officially joins Heretics Anonymous, where he can be an atheist, Lucy can be an outspoken feminist, Avi can be Jewish and gay, Max can wear whatever he wants, and Eden can practice paganism. After an incident in theology class, Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school’s hypocrisies. When Michael takes one mission too far—putting the other Heretics at risk—he must decide whether to fight for his own freedom, or rely on faith, whatever that means, in God, his friends, or himself.
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare & various authors
This is the only Shadowhunter Chronicles book I haven’t read so far. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for an embarrassingly long time and I really do need to get around it. I’m not a huge fan of short stories so I’ve been putting it off for years, but I do want to know more about Simon becoming a Shadowhunter. I’m going to make sure I read it before the end of the year, if I don’t, I’ll get rid of it.
Verdict: keep
Synopsis: Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.
So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.
But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Book Confessions: Popular Books I Didn’t Like