#jamietukpahreviews

[jamietukpahwriting]

Into the Jungle: A Review of A Company of Swans

Harriet Morton is a young woman whose life is strictly controlled. Her autocratic father and miserly aunt only allow her to go certain places, speak to certain people, and have recently disallowed her to attend school. Harriet’s only freedom is dancing. She cherishes the ballet classes which have been her salvation since she was a child. Classes which suddenly also offer adventure when a Russian ballet master attempts to recruit for his corps from amongst his old friend’s pupils. 

To her disbelief, Dubrov chooses Harriet as his “eighteenth swan.” Her father forbids her from going, of course, and terminates her ballet classes in the wake of her earnest request. However, a serendipitous meeting at the heart of a maze encourages Harriet to pursue her dreams. She determines to run away—and succeeds. It is in the Amazon that the little dancer meets the chairman of opera trustees, Rom Verney. 

Harriet had hoped to find Rom since that meeting in the maze, but never thought she truly would find him. She certainly never expected that he would belong so utterly to the wild, lush jungle he had made his home. And though she’s unaware, whether Rom will return to England is the least of Harriet’s concerns when her father has already sent someone after her to bring her home by force.

-

A passionate character can inflame a reader to heights unknown. Harriet Morton’s ardent tendre for dance, her affection for children, her delight in nature, her fascination with words, her yearning to experience and discover, and her sincere belief that all emotion—love, fury, joy, grief—can be turned into art, will surely endear Harriet to anyone who reads her story.

Rom is similarly passionate, though more about nature than the arts.He loves to grow things and has always had a particular talent for doing so. His tendency to nurture is apparent in his cautious affections toward Harriet. He tries to prevent her from being the subject of gossip, from thinking she would need to choose between him and her career. 

The main characters are engaging enough, but the vivid secondary characters add a delightful depth and charm. They each have their own motivations and foibles making them unique and enchanting. They keep the perspective fresh, providing evidence of how deeply you can be affected by someone you’ve never met or barely know.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who believes in pursuing your dreams.

[jamietukpahwriting]

Learning to Love: A Review of All About Love New Visions

“When I was a child, it was clear to me that life was not worth living if we did not know love.”

Renowned scholar, cultural critic, and feminist, belle hooks, doesn’t pull any punches in All About Love. She peels away the layers society uses to mystify love and exposes the vital essence of the art of loving. Knowing intimately the pain of lovelessness, hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a people and society similarly bereft of love.

Incendiary and intensely personal, hooks explores the question “What is love?” Her answers resonate deeply, while she provides methods to practice the art of loving. In thirteen pithy, but piercing, chapters, hooks ponders her personal search for love, as well as society’s failure to provide a blueprint for learning to love. While torching the cultural idea that love is an instinctive feeling that can’t be controlled, hooks teaches readers to accept the deep wounds of lovelessness and strive to learn the art of loving, leading to healing, redemption, and transformation.

-

This book is truly transformative.

hooks takes care to define love, offering readers a map for how to practice loving oneself and others. She expresses the feelings of pain and despair that lovelessness caused in her own life, urging readers to accept the natural yearning for love and the suffering that accompanies its lack. hooks also suggests to readers that their views have been shaped by a culture which disdains the essence of true love, and actively encourages the idea that it must be infused with sexual desire. 

As hooks explains how difficult it is to find love without properly defining it, she discusses how mystifying love contributes to lovelessness. Defining love is the first step to learning the art of loving. hooks points out that because society is embarrassed by love, there’s no common cultural understanding about what love is. It’s often defined as a noun, but more than one theorist has implied that ‘love’ would be better employed as a verb, an active choice. Additionally, hooks espouses the position that love is not a helpless feeling, but a dedicated decision.

hooks mentions love transcending death, love requiring relinquishing any obsession with power and domination, and how lovelessness experienced as a child can affect our entire adult lives. She talks about learning the art of loving through service, how society has attempted to teach us to sublimate our yearning for love into yearning for material possessions, and how community can provide the loving experience that the nuclear family might not be able to.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone interested in love.

[jamietukpahwriting]

Asking the Right Questions: A Review of Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Since she was a child, Gifty has been told she asks too many questions. Her insatiable curiosity has led her to become a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Gifty tells people she gets mice hooked on cocaine before taking it away from them. It’s more interesting—and less tragic—than explaining that she’s experimenting on how to restrain reward-seeking behavior because she needs to know whether something could have helped her older brother kick heroin before he OD’d and died. 

Back then, the death of her brother sent Gifty’s mother into a depression that spiraled out of control. She recovered with difficulty, but now, Gifty again has to deal with her mother laying in bed, back turned, barely responsive. With her mother living in her bed, her experiments finishing up, and her unwritten thesis looming, Gifty finds herself in a place of uncertainty she thought she had left behind.

Gifty’s pursuit of the sciences has always been intertwined with her religion. Living with her mother, reminds Gifty even more of her staunch faith in childhood, leading her to question what would truly lead to salvation. Is it the constant questions of science or the singular answer of religion? Could it ever be both?

-

Many of Gifty’s relationships are examined in this novel. Not only her relationships with her family members, but her relationships with science, religion, her colleagues, God. While delving into those relationships, Gifty is so honest about her impressions and emotions that readers can’t help but begin to intimately understand Gifty herself. 

What Gifty strives for, what Gifty regrets, what Gifty wants, what Gifty misses, all of it melds into a vibrant illustration of an intelligent, complex woman. A woman who is attempting to reckon with what she believes and why. A woman subject to extreme pressures in her career and private life. A woman who finds it difficult to get close to people for so many reasons. A woman trying to find answers. 

Gifty’s narrative encompasses so many struggles. Her brother’s addiction, her mother’s depression, her father’s abandonment, the racism in her hometown and career. Yet she still holds close her hopes for the future, her dreams of enlightenment. This book is truly transcendent.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who believes finding answers depends on asking the right questions.

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Every day, Pecola Breedlove prays to be beautiful. She knows what makes her ugly is her dark skin, curly hair, and dark eyes. Beautiful is bright blond hair. Beautiful is brilliant white skin. Beautiful is beaming blue eyes. Pecola begs God for blue, blue eyes so that she will be beautiful enough to be loved. 

Claudia MacTeer, Pecola’s classmate, is utterly baffled as to why beautiful is blond hair, white skin, and blue eyes. Why can’t beautiful be dusky velvet skin, plush dark lips, and fathomless ink eyes? Why is one classmate beautiful enough to hold everyone under her sway, while another is deemed so ugly even teachers avoid looking at her?

In her first book, Toni Morrison explores the meaning of beauty, and how destructive attempting to conform to beauty standards can be, with lyrical language that grips the soul.

First off, the language is so pretty I want to drown in it. I love Morrison’s vivid descriptions and the way it contrasts so sharply with the subtly layered dialogue. The dialogue is beautiful in its own way as Morrison manages to capture some of the rhythm of Black speech patterns while differentiating the ways men, women, and children speak in their own groups. 

Additionally, Morrison closely examines parenthood: the complex dynamics between parent and child, how parents think about and act toward their children, and how children integrate what they learn from their parents into their lives. She questions how someone parents when they have no reliable example of what good parenting looks like. Furthermore, she questions whether and to what degree parents truly see their children, not just their and society’s expectations for children. 

The text also probes into the marital relationship. What happens when a husband wants his wife to depend on him, but not need him? What happens when a wife uses imagination and employment to construct a sanctuary outside of her home? What happens when his feelings of emasculation and her unfulfilled dreams manifest as rage that allows them to commit any violence upon each other besides murder?

All in all, it could be argued that the central question of the book is how does one stand tall, grow strong, and feel beautiful if the world demonizes the very color of one’s skin?

5 stars! Recommended for anyone fascinated by family dynamics and examinations of social norms.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden used to stay up at night because of her parents’ fighting. Now, she just stays up. Auden has always been mature for her age, so her parents never kept close track of her. Now that they’ve divorced, her dad is with his new family, while her mother occupies herself with literary dinners and graduate students. And Auden rambles around the night, restless for a reason she can’t grasp. 

When summer hits, Auden realizes she desperately needs a change of pace. She accepts her father and stepmother’s invitation to spend the summer with them and her new baby sister. Unfortunately, it seems her father still hasn’t learned how to correctly prioritize work and family. Auden is plagued by Thisbe’s endless wailing and Heidi’s silent suffering, but her father seems oblivious.  

Auden’s wondering if she made a mistake when she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac. Nocturnal life is different with Eli. Auden doesn’t struggle to connect with him the way she does everyone else. Quickly, they’ve devised a quest to recover Auden’s lost childhood moments. But problems in her father and stepmother’s relationship remind Auden of the run-up to her parents’ divorce causing her to retreat. Is it possible for her and Eli to start again?

-

In this book, Auden learns what all children eventually must— that her parents are as fallible as anyone. Auden has always felt that it was a struggle to retain her mother’s attention, that she must be the best and most outstanding for her mother to be proud. It’s a feeling that only deepens after her parents’ divorce. Neither Auden nor her mother are used to communicating their feelings; learning how is part of their journey.

Auden has also found solace in education her whole life. Both of her parents are in academia and academic achievement was her way of trying to get their attention. The girls at Clementine, her stepmother’s store, are the first girlfriends Auden has ever had. She learns how to open up to people her own age, and what it means to have friends who will be there for you, be honest with you, give you advice, and cheer you up. 

Similarly, Auden’s nights with Eli are the first interactions she’s had with a boy. She’s had crushes before, but not the deep connection she feels with Eli that seems to be more than just their shared insomnia. Eli has his own struggles and his comfort with Auden is unique enough to help him open up to her.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who’s ever had a life-changing summer.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Once Upon A Dream by Liz Braswell

What happens when the end isn’t The End?

The evil dragon is dynamically defeated. The beautiful princess slumbers, awaiting her awakening kiss. The valiant prince offers the curse’s cure… and immediately falls into slumber beside his princess. 

Apparently, Maleficent isn’t willing to give up so easily. She’s hidden herself in the dreams of the sleeping princess, confusing Aurora’s mind and memories. In a castle of thorns at the end of the world, Aurora struggles to escape the maze Maleficent has made of her mind. Outside the castle, monsters and moving landscapes hinder her. 

Fortunately, Aurora isn’t alone as she flees. Unfortunately, Maleficent’s magic makes it difficult for her to remember her alleged true love. Phillip seems compassionate, courageous, and unfailingly cheerful—but the more coherent Aurora’s confused memories become, the more she realizes how much she’s been lied to. Phillip isn’t necessarily someone she can trust.

In any case, Maleficent isn’t willing to give up. Her agents stalk the runaway princess, attempting to capture her and drag her back into Maleficent’s clutches.The further Aurora flees, the more Maleficent tries to turn her own mind against her. Aurora must confront the nightmares of her subconscious and discover her hidden natural talents in order to defeat the evil fairy.

Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

-

One of the things I love the most about this book is that it deals with the mental health of teenage girls. The book heavily implies that Aurora struggles with depression—and that there aren’t any magical fixes for it.  

Aurora is a beautiful girl. She’s (previously) in love with a boy who loves her back. She has grace and godmothers and a good future. And she still has depression. She still tries to pass the endless hours of the day by sleeping them away. Her upbringing, both with her godmothers and in Maleficent’s dream world, left Aurora vulnerable to the darker emotions that often come with loneliness and isolation.

While growing up with her fairy godmothers, Aurora had maternal love and freedom, but no structure and no interaction with anyone besides her godmothers. In Maleficent’s dream world, Aurora grew up as a princess, allowing interaction with others, but her parents were evil and neglectful, leading to a lack of parental love and, again, a complete lack of structure. 

Phillip is present, and his genuine good intentions, general optimism, and willingness to let Aurora take the lead (including in their relationship since she doesn’t remember him) are amazing. In the end, though, it’s Aurora who must face Maleficent directly to break the curse and wake herself up.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who struggles with depression.

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Lara Jean Song Covey doesn’t have a mom, but she has sisters and a dad and an optimistic viewpoint. She also has a precious few memories and possessions of her mother’s. The teal hat box her mother gave her was meant to keep her most treasured keepsakes. It’s where Lara Jean keeps her love letters. There are five of them, in all. 

They’re not letters that have been written to her. They’re letters Lara Jean has written—to all the boys she’s loved and let go. She’s achingly honest in these letters, because they’re meant for her eyes alone. Once the letters are signed, sealed, and dropped into the hatbox, Lara Jean is released from heartache. 

It’s just that heartache finds her all over again when her letters get mailed out. Three out of five past loves go to her school and they all have something to say about Lara Jean’s letters. It’s a lot to handle when her older sister and rock, Margot, has gone away all the way to Scotland for college. 

Once those letters are mailed, Lara Jean’s life goes from zero to a hundred, and she’s not a good driver. Can she make it as the oldest Covey girl without a cataclysmic collision?

-

Lara Jean is quite the romantic soul. She gathers memories like treasure, treasures objects with romantic stories, and romanticizes the simplest joys in life. In the tradition of off-beat middle kids, her sisters are more practical than she is. Of course, despite their differences, Lara Jean sees herself and her sisters as the three Song girls: indissoluble

I love Lara Jean’s relationship with her family. Even though she knows her father struggles to fully understand her and her sisters, she genuinely appreciates his every attempt and show of love. She also appreciates how much her older sister, Margot, has done as a surrogate mother. Lara Jean hopes she can be as good of a big sister to her little sister Kitty. 

One of Lara Jean’s love letters was written for Peter Kavinsky. It was, admittedly, the angriest of the letters. Lara Jean was quite outraged that Peter K. had the audacity to make her like him. Even though Peter K. now goes by Kavinsky, he’s still able to make Lara Jean like him when she least expects it. The problem is that Lara Jean still has no confidence in her ability to make Peter like her back.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who likes quirky girls, hallway shenanigans, and fake-but-actually-real dating. 

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: The Princess Game by Melanie Cellier

Since her sixteenth birthday, Princess Celeste has been cursed to live with her mind asleep. She’s astonishingly beautiful and very kind, but her intelligence is hardly as shallow as a puddle. At least, that’s what everyone thinks. The Sleeping Princess’s mind actually has the breadth and depth of the ocean. Unfortunately, the curse punishes her for the slightest indication that she’s not a particularly ravishing royal ornament.

Unless she disguises herself.

Reborn as Aurora, Celeste works in the shadows to protect the kingdom while maintaining her vapid persona during the day. Over the years, she’s grown used to the deception, but a dangerous new threat requires her to recruit a foreign prince for assistance. A foreign prince that happens to be handsome, charming, valiant, and altogether too observant for her comfort. 

The connection she feels for Prince William is present whether she’s Aurora or Celeste, but William has no idea they’re the same person. There’s no way she can tell him, and it shouldn’t be what she’s concerned with anyway while her kinsmen and kingdom are in danger. If Celeste doesn’t manage to keep her focus, victory will be nothing but the stuff of dreams. 

Celeste makes my heart race and ache in equal measure. I love that she’s gorgeous and kickass. I love that she’s obsessed with dresses, flowers, and knives. She can be the belle of the ball and still run around in the dead of night conducting investigations and cracking ciphers. Celeste is a very interesting and complex individual, but she can’t let anyone know. Everyone in her life only gets to knowingly see one side of her. 

Constantly having to switch between two nearly opposite personas has caused Celeste a lot of mental strain, though she’s become somewhat accustomed to it over time. But the length of time, along with the curse’s backlash when she reveals her intelligence in her princess persona has also contributed to Celeste honing an ability to compartmentalize her aliases. It’s only when William arrives that the line between her personalities starts to blur. 

Celeste has to start watching every word and gesture to make sure the right quirks match with the right personality. Of course, her identity crisis and confusing almost-romance are occurring in concert with danger to her kingdom. Celeste struggles to unravel the plot, but her personal prejudices affect her investigation, and the suspected culprit isn’t easily accessible.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who wants to read about a gorgeous spymaster princess falling in love and saving her kingdom.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

There’s a dearth of princes across the nation after a series of accidents caused bereavement to several royal households in a row. Princess Poppy of Westfalin and her 11 sisters are indirectly involved in the tragedy, therefore their father devotes every unmarried daughter to the royal exchange program meant to strengthen ties between kingdoms. It’s Poppy’s first time being away from her large family, but her relatives in Breton are quite welcoming despite her absolute refusal to dance.

Having been cursed to dance with her sisters in the nightmarish palace of the King Under Stone for years, Poppy refuses to don another pair of dancing slippers. However, she can’t very well refuse to attend balls altogether, which leads to an introduction to Prince Christian. He’s surprisingly easy to make friends with and doesn’t seem devoted to his alleged diplomatic mission of finding a Bretoner wife—at least, at first.

Then the Seadowns hire a new maid, one entirely hopeless at her job due to originally being born into a noble family. But the orphaned Ellen suddenly starts appearing in the oddest places covered in soot. She’s also started appearing at balls, beautifully adorned, but seemingly unrecognizable to those familiar with her. Poppy is sure there’s some enchantment afoot, especially when all the men suddenly seem mad for the mysterious Lady Ella. With her experience with magic, Poppy might be the only one who can break the spell and ensure everyone’s safety. 

Poppy isn’t your typical princess. Aside from the fact that she’s one of a dozen, she can also curse, shoot, and play cards like a soldier, thanks to her older brothers-in-law. Additionally, she managed to escape being cursed by the King Under Stone with her life, though she arguably still suffers from the trauma of that time. 

Poppy is very perceptive. She quickly notes any odd behaviors or stories and keeps them in mind, slowly connecting things as she gets more information. She’s also compassionate. Though Ellen has been thoughtless, and somewhat cruel, Poppy embraces her through their shared experience of suffering under beings more powerful and malicious than them. 

Although Poppy suffers from nightmares and anxiety throughout the novel, she does her best to maintain a strong front. I don’t believe it’s the best coping mechanism, but at least she’s willing to release all the emotion if she feels safe enough. 

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who’s transitioning from their past to present selves.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Being the eldest of twelve girls is exactly as troublesome as it sounds. Add in being the crown princess, and the pressure is intense. There’s also the fact that their country is barely solvent after a dozen years of war. Plus the tiny detail that Crown Princess Rose and all her younger sisters are under a curse that compels them to dance night after night in the Stygian palace of the wicked King Under Stone.

A soldier since fifteen, Galen Werner is long used to facing death. Now that the war is over, he hopes to settle down with the distant family he has left. After successfully making contact with his relatives, Galen begins working with his uncle in the royal garden. 

As Galen slowly becomes closer with the royal family, gossip of the princesses disappearing in the middle of the night to wear out their dancing shoes spreads around the country, forcing the king to offer one of his daughters in marriage to whichever prince uncovers the secret behind the worn shoes. 

Rose just wants to protect her sisters and make sure they escape Under Stone with their lives. Galen is no prince, but this is likely a soldier’s job. To banish the curse, they’ll need an invisibility cloak, enchanted knitting needles, and, of course, true love. 

I like this take on the fairy tale of the twelve dancing princesses. The girls are trapped as dancers through no fault of their own, and the plans the King Under Stone has for them would certainly bring disaster to the sunlit world above. The solution to the curse was interesting as it incorporated elements that had been explained throughout the book in an unexpected way. 

Rose is perceptive and intelligent, but I feel like the author set up the framework for her to be awesome without executing it. Rose has to keep track of her sisters, court matters, and stay up half the night dancing— which is physically taxing— in the terrifying court of the evil otherworldly king she’s pretty sure murdered her mother— which is emotionally taxing. That was before her father started inviting conceited, condescending princes for her and her sisters to entertain. 

Yet, Galen seemed more dynamic and solution-oriented than Rose. However, I liked Galen’s character a lot. He was smart, polite, brave, and pretty romantic. He gave Rose so many little gifts that he personally made. It was very cute. 

Three stars! Recommended for anyone who believes being nice to old ladies on the side of the road can change your fate. 

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Janie Crawford is still a teenager when she first feels the bloom of spring deep in her soul. The intensity of the feeling inspires her to search the world for true companionship, a bond of mutual attraction and fervor. However, Janie has no chance to plunder her newfound emotional depths. Her grandmother, terrified that Janie’s curiosity and courage could ruin her, forces Janie into a marriage in the name of stability. 

Janie’s marriage isn’t what her grandmother promised, and it’s even further from what she imagined herself. At first, her grandmother’s warnings about being a woman without any assurance of stability are enough to keep her in place. Yet eventually, the yearning inside her that thirsts for experiences to nourish her parched soul can no longer be silenced. Janie refuses to waste any more time. 

In her subsequent journey, Janie endures the life her grandmother wanted for her and experiences the love she always wanted for herself. She meets all kinds of people and goes through hell and high water. Through it all, Janie is constantly evolving, ultimately discovering how to remain true to her inner soul-self without regard for the judgment of others. 

When Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, pushed her into marriage, Janie was too young to understand the difference between her aspirations and Nanny’s. Nanny wanted stability for Janie, but Janie wanted love for herself. Janie’s relationship with her first husband helped her discover her disinclination to bow down to material possessions. She refused to be in awe of her husband’s wealth, and chose to leave once she was sure she could never find happiness with him.  

Janie’s next relationship taught her to be silent. Her second husband always isolated her from others by putting her on a pedestal, above everyone else. He resented her for wanting experiences outside of those he approved. Janie endured until she couldn't take his constant criticism of her looks, intelligence, and age. When she finally spoke out, it shattered his self-confidence and he can’t bear to be near her even though he doesn’t hate her. 

Janie’s last relationship was the love she always longed for. Tea Cake didn’t only see her as a status symbol. He wanted to provide for her, but he also wanted her right next to him instead of insisting on putting her on a pedestal she wasn’t allowed to get down from. Janie truly loved and felt loved by Tea Cake. 

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who believes it’s never too late for love to bloom.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

Become enchanted by fairy tales reimagined.

In this poetry anthology, Nikita Gill ushers readers into a world where familiar characters have new tales to tell. Princesses and witches alike find meaning and discover hidden inner strength. Princes are challenged to be more than what society has made them. New words shape old lessons into precious diamonds to be mined. Each poem is a story unto itself, meant to help readers discover the magic within. 

Gill spans a wide range of stories and characters in this anthology. The main themes seem to be feminism and female magic. She encourages women to find their inner strength, to learn from and protect each other. She encourages women to be sweet and soft, or wild and wicked, as they please, because both have their strengths. 

Her poems also imply that human existence is proof enough of magic, proof enough of the universe’s blessing. Gill explores how creation and existence are related to women, providing women with unique powers and strengths. She also presents the intense power in how women endure suffering, endure breaking, and reshape themselves into wiser beings. 

Gill examines the relationships between mothers and daughters. Some of her poems are a mother’s warnings, a mother’s teachings, a mother’s blessings. Some poems describe the emotion behind a mother’s behavior; some describe what a daughter learned from her mother, and what she wishes she learned instead. 

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who wants to believe their existence is magic.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Once Upon A Marigold by Jean Ferris

When Christian was six years old, he ran away from home. It turned out better than it might have, considering he’d had to trick his foster father, a very nice troll by the name of Edric, into keeping him. Though off to an inauspicious start, Chris and Ed, along with Ed’s two dogs, get along like a boat on fire. It’s just that as Chris gets older, they both realize that Chris needs a wider circle of friends.

Ed never expected that Chris would make friends with the princess across the river. Chris never expected it either, but Marigold truly is the best friend he could ask for. The more they communicate, the more sure Chris is that no one could be better than her. When Chris sets off to the castle for a job, he has no thoughts of introducing himself, sure that a princess would never want a commoner for a friend.

Despite his efforts, Marigold quickly discerns his identity. Unfortunately, Chris doesn’t have time to enjoy her willingness to remain his friend. He’s discovered that Marigold is in danger from none other than the queen, her own mother! It’s up to an extraordinary commoner and a cursed princess to save the kingdom and themselves.

This story was great fun from beginning to end. Ed hadn’t planned to have a kid until he was a bit more successful in life, but once Christian refused to go home, he was a devoted foster father. Christian is also a sweet child, though quite stubborn when he feels the need to be. The first part of the book is a testament to adults raised by loving, accepting parents.

Once Chris gets a bit older, Ed also supports him in going out to learn about the world. Chris’s friendship with Marigold also inspires him to leave home. Chris and Marigold are both intelligent, compassionate, dog lovers. Chris is an inventor, while Marigold is a perfume maker. They both consider their friendship to be precious even before they’ve met in person. 

The side characters are interesting, making the entire world come alive. The writing is simple, but amusing, making it easy to giggle the whole way through.

I’d give it 5 stars! Recommended to anyone who believes true love is the best cure for all wounds!

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: A Midwinter’s Wedding by Melanie Cellier

Princess Cordelia believes that the position of second-to-youngest of seven is particularly unenviable. She’s far behind her exemplary older siblings, but not babied like the youngest. Cordelia is sure she would be able to stand out if she wasn’t being surrounded by her similar looking siblings. Luckily, she’s been given permission to travel to Northhelm for her older brother Rafe’s wedding. 

Cordelia is excited to experience a new place and spend time with her favorite brother. If a bit of her excitement is about meeting a handsome prince that’s not a relative, no one else has to know. Unfortunately, Cordelia hasn’t even alighted from her carriage when she catches whiff of a plot targeting the attending royals.

With her brother occupied, and the handsome prince somewhat skeptical, Cordelia decides to rely on her keen senses and discerning observational skills to pursue her suspicions. When she realizes there’s a bit more to the plot than she might be able to handle alone, she enlists the help of the only person willing to listen to her, Ferdinand. Together, they’ll have to ensure the safety of all the royals at the midwinter wedding. 

Cordelia feels that she’s too apt at fading into the background. Attending Rafe’s wedding is the first chance she’s truly had to assert her individuality. In Northhelm, her brother is as lovable as she remembered, and the crown prince is as handsome and gallant as she imagined. It’s just that she keeps overhearing the same two men having seemingly suspicious conversations. 

Despite neither Rafe, nor William, believing there’s anything to worry about, Cordelia trusts her intuition that her sibling and new friends are in danger. She’s long honed her senses of hearing and observation. She’s sure that she didn’t mistake the men’s intentions. Due to her determination, she manages to become an amateur spy, ascertaining the identity of the voice owners and a good deal of their plot. Additionally, the investigation helps her get closer to Ferdy.

One of the lessons in this novel was judging people based on appearances or expectations. Cordelia maintains from the outset that Ferdy’s appearance prevents her from seeing him in a romantic light, while Ferdy obstinately believes that a beautiful princess belongs with a handsome prince. Of course, by the end, both of them realize how absurd it is to refuse to be with the person who makes you happiest based on appearances or titles.

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who believes a woman should always trust her intuition.

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George

The Wolves of the Westfalian Woods take no prisoners. They’re already struggling enough without extra mouths to feed. Therefore, kidnapping Princess Petunia is absolutely an accident. Oliver, leader of the wolves, certainly would have preferred fewer interactions with the young woman who aimed a pistol at his face. However, one can’t always have what one wants, something Oliver knows well. 

Petunia knows Oliver likely wouldn’t have kidnapped her had she not lied about her identity. Since he’s willing to escort her to her intended destination, she’s willing to talk to her papa about making sure Oliver can feed his people without banditry. Thinking the most unexpected events of her trip are behind her, Petunia is horrified to once again endure the malicious machinations of the Princes Under Stone. 

That her sisters are also being affected, and that the princes’ shadow forms are roaming the garden beneath Petunia’s window, point to the lock imprisoning the Kingdom Under Stone breaking. Petunia and her sisters must once again battle against the princes for their freedom and lives, along with the help of their husbands, some white magicians, and a few two-legged wolves. 

I believe Petunia is the second-to-youngest of all 12 sisters. Like her sisters, Petunia can shoot and curse like a soldier, though she’s unique in her particular fascination with fire and cultivating new strains of roses for her mother’s garden. Odd, maybe, to love both fire and flowers, but Petunia herself mixes a fiery personality with a somewhat passive disposition.

As one of the youngest girls, she was relentlessly babied—especially by their father, according to her sisters, since her appearance and interest in gardening are similar to her mother. As a result, when faced with dangerous situations, Petunia is sometimes at a loss, having always depended on her older siblings to have a plan which protected her. However, she’s had enough role models that when the situation calls for it, she can at least bluster her way through until help arrives, if not handle the situation on her own. 

Petunia and Oliver develop an affinity for each other that begins with a back and forth of threatening, and ends with a back and forth of saving. Enemies to friends to lovers, I suppose, though Oliver is quite reluctant to be enemies from the beginning. 

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who believes a girl in a scarlet cloak should have a pistol in her basket instead of baked goods. 

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!

[jamietukpahwriting]

Book Review: The Star Side of Bird Hill by Namoi Jackson

Neither Dionne, nor her younger sister Phaedra, had ever anticipated their mother actually shipping them home. Home being, in this case, not their shoebox apartment in Brooklyn, but their mother’s hometown in Barbados. And Avril isn’t even going with them. Instead, they’ve been handed off to their grandmother, Hyacinth, a midwife and practitioner of the local spirit practice of obeah.

To Dionne, having been ripped away from her boyfriend, best friend, birthday plans, and beloved Brooklyn, this summer trip to Barbados is more like exile. Phaedra, on the other hand, begins to feel like the hill is the best place for her to grow steady and strong, nourished by stories of her mother and the intimate hill community. Hyacinth, having known her granddaughters solely through letters and pictures, isn’t quite prepared to handle Dionne’s stubborn, heartbroken rebellion, or Phaedra’s confused desperation for validation and affection. 

As the three get more familiar with each other, they try to orient themselves around the empty space left by Avril. Things are only made more difficult when the girls’ flashy-like-fool’s-gold father blows into town, apparently having decided it was about time he saw to them. Yet, the Braithwaites are from a long line of strong women—between the three of them, there’s nothing they can’t handle.

Family is complicated. Whether your family is blood-related, made, or a combination of both, loving people through thick and thin isn’t always easy. This book explores the lives and lessons learned of three generations of women, spanning two countries. The girls, especially Dionne, viscerally remind Hyacinth of Avril in countless ways, just as Dionne and Phaedra discover more of their mother in Barbados than they ever knew of her in Brooklyn. Hyacinth, Avril, Dionne, Phaedra—each of their personalities is made distinctive by their age and experiences. 

Hyacinth’s roots are planted deep into the earth of the hill. She could never understand why Avril was so determined to leave when it was clear to her that Avril needed the comfort of home more than anyone else. Avril gives so much of her love to people who are powerless to stay—or are indifferent to doing so— that she no longer has enough to sustain herself or her daughters. Dionne loves her mother fiercely, but is so determined to avoid making Avril’s mistakes she’s blind to how recklessly she makes her own. Phaedra is uncertain whether she’s the pitiful, penniless outcast she was in Brooklyn, or the powerful, preternatural woman she might become in Barbados. 

5 stars! Recommended for anyone who knows loving your family doesn’t always mean getting along with them. 

Follow me for more content like this! If you’d like to support me and my writing, buy me a coffee!