The Letters of Enchantment series by Rebecca Ross includes two novels: Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. Divine Rivals was recommended to me by the editor I hired (remember that new years' goal? I'll post about that experience soon!) She said it would be a good comparison title for my manuscript, and when I started reading, I couldn't put it down! (Am I flattered she thinks this is a comp for me? YES!)

Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows follow Iris Winnow and Roman C. Kitt, two budding journalists, in an early 20th century fantasy world. War has broken out between two of the last gods, Enva and Dacre, and though their city remains neutral, Iris wants to report more about the war because her brother enlisted--and hasn't been heard from since. In the meantime, Iris is competing with Roman to be hired full time by the best paper in town. Iris is barely keeping afloat financially as her drunken mother drinks their income, while Roman is the son of a cold railroad mogul. What connects these rivals are their enchanted typewriters, which allow them to send letters magically to each other--but only Roman knows who he is writing.  Rivals at work and lovers by letter--it's a WWI/magical twist on the movie You've Got Mail.

I loved this series. I normally dislike rivals to lovers because I often get infuriated with whichever of them I think is in the wrong as a rival. However, this couple really worked for me. At the end of the first book I screamed and race to download the sequel. I'll probably buy hardcopies because I enjoyed them so much--an honor I've only ever bestowed on one other ebook. 

Could I find something to complain about in this series? I'm sure, if I tried hard enough. But I devoured them so quickly and was so absorbed by them that I didn't have time to be distracted by any faults. 

This series is for you if you enjoy rivals to lovers, fantasy with 20th century technology, and You've Got Mail. This series will not be for you if you want a real world WWI novelization, if you are not in the headspace to read about alcoholic family members, or if you are not in the headspace to read about war and being in a warzone. 


Have you read Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows? (I won't bother asking if you only read one, the ending of Divine Rivals demands you pick up the sequel!) Let's discuss in the comments!

One type of writing resource book I love is a reference I can go back to time and time again. The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is one such book (series!) that I keep next to me whenever I edit. However, I'm always on the lookout for more! I found 1,000 Character Reactions from Head to Toe by Valerie Howard while browsing Amazon and received it as a gift over Christmas.

Overview
At just 88 pages, this book is a quick read. What you get is basically a thesaurus of body parts in order from head to toe (plus some overall things like skin). Each entry contains actions or sensations associated with that part of the body. Sometimes the action is linked to an emotion, such as cheeks burning with embarrassment. After each short list (which is never longer than a page plus a few lines) there are empty lines for you to write your own entries for that body part.

My Experience
I felt like each entry's list was too short. I also wanted more of them connected to a cause, like embarrassment, since a reaction is happening because something is causing it to happen. Some body parts were also conspicuously absent, so don't expect this to help you write a romantic encounter, for example. I think the empty lines are a good idea, because plenty of reactions aren't present, but it also made it look like the author didn't do enough of the research for you.

Is It Worth It?
This book is $5 for a paperback on Amazon and $0.99 on Kindle, though the empty lines for you to write on become useless on the Kindle. If you're trying to add more reactions and emotions to your writing, I think The Emotion Thesaurus is a better option, but if your budget can't accommodate a $17.99 Emotion Thesaurus at the moment, this book could be a good substitute or even just an entry into the concepts if the larger book is too intimidating. If your budget can handle either book, go with the more robust Emotion Thesaurus. 



Have you used 1,000 Character Reactions from Head to Toe? Did it help you improve your writing? Let's discuss in the comments!

ACOTAR, or A Court of Thorns and Roses, is a series by Sarah J Maas with a huge following. As of this blog post, the series isn't complete yet, so to be clear this review covers A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames. 

What is the series about? (SPOILER FREE)
This series (mostly) follows Feyre Archeron, who lives in a world where a wall separates the human realm from the seven Fae courts. (On other continents there are other situations, but we're focusing on her island, Prythian). Feyre and her family (sisters Nesta and Elain and their dad) live destitute after their father's trading business fell apart years ago. Feyre hunts to feed the family and no one else does literally anything. However, after Feyre kills someone she believes is a creature, but is actually a Fae, she's forced into a deal: leave the human world behind and live at a Fae court, or die. The series follows her adventures in the Fae world. The first book is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast but the rest of the series moves away from that model. 

Does it live up to the hype?
This series was consistently sold to me as fairy smut. I will say there is more smut as the series goes on (looking at Silver Flames here) but the first several books had only a couple of explicit sex scenes each. Less than Fourth Wing, honestly. However, I really enjoyed the twists and the surprises in the plot. My favorite book was A Court of Mist and Fury, although the first act of Wings an Ruin is a close second.

I could list some complaints, but they are spoilery. Suffice to say, I disliked some characters and even though it seems most other readers warmed up to them, I didn't. My least favorite of the series might be Silver Flames because of that problem. 


So, does it live up to the hype? Yes, I think so. When the next book comes out, I will read it right away. I will say that if the first book doesn't do it for you, give the second one a chance, it changes so much.


This series is for you if you like Fae, Romantasy, and are Team Xaden from Fourth Wing. It's not for you if you're looking for sweet/non-explicit romance, dislike Fae/fairies, or if you're not in the headspace to read about starvation, torture, or abusive relationships. 


Have you read the ACOTAR series? What do you hope the next book will be about? Let's discuss in the comments!

After a short hiatus, I am back with a review of Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. The first book came out in 2003, and now it's an eighteen book series. It won several awards in the category of best first novel (Agatha Award 2003 and Macavity Award 2004) and also several nominations in the same vein. It was recommended to me by a friend and I picked it up at a second hand bookstore.

Maisie Dobbs, the titular character, is a female detective starting her own agency in the years after WWI in London. As a WWI nurse, a former detective's apprentice, and a college-educated woman, she's certainly seasoned and ready for the job. However, when her first mystery comes along, she can't help but keep digging into the past, finding a connection to those closest to her.

This book reminded me a lot of the early seasons of Downton Abbey, since Maisie grew up as a "downstairs" girl. I thought the mystery and the look at the immediate effects of WWI on veterans and citizens was an interesting angle that I hadn't seen before. 

My largest problem with the book was that the mystery was interrupted by a 150 page flashback to Maisie's childhood/youth. It was information that I felt could have been sprinkled in more delicately over time. The entire flashback, I just wanted to get back to the present. Then in the present, the mystery was solved, and Maisie kept looking into it for what seemed like no reason to me. Without understanding why she was doing it, I couldn't root for her to succeed--because I didn't know what success would look like. Eventually, what she was digging into tied back to people she knew, but it took a lot of time to get there. If I was a less patient reader, I don't think I would have gotten that far.


This book is for you if you like WWI books, Downton Abbey, and female detectives. It's not for you if you read mysteries only to solve the mystery, if you dislike historical settings or WWI in particular, or if you are not in the headspace to read about PTSD, major facial wounds, or death in war.



Have you read Maisie Dobbs or the rest of her series? Which book is the best out of all eighteen? Let's discuss in the comments!