The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

The Fox Wife My Rating: 4.6

Manchuria, 1908. In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach—until, perhaps, now.

Meanwhile, a family who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change—or does it?

Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.

I really enjoyed this beautifully written, magical novel. The world of the foxes was richly imagined and immersive, and the characters—especially Bao and Snow—were memorable and full of heart. A thoughtful, atmospheric blend of folklore, mystery, and emotion.

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

 My Rating: 4.7

1895: Antonio Sonoro is the latest in a long line of ruthless men. He’s good with his gun and drawn to trouble but he’s also out of money and out of options. A drought has ravaged the town of Dorado, Mexico, where he lives with his wife and children, and so when he hears about a train laden with gold and other treasures, he sets off for Houston to rob it—with his younger brother Hugo in tow. But when the heist goes awry and Hugo is killed by the Texas Rangers, Antonio finds himself launched into a quest for revenge that endangers not only his life and his family, but his eternal soul.

1964: Jaime Sonoro is Mexico’s most renowned actor and singer. But his comfortable life is disrupted when he discovers a book that purports to tell the entire history of his family beginning with Cain and Abel. His father has never talked about his family's history so Jaime is intrigued. In its ancient pages, Jaime learns about the multitude of horrific crimes committed by his ancestors. And when the same mysterious figure from Antonio’s timeline shows up in Mexico City, Jaime realizes that he may be the one who has to pay for his ancestors’ crimes, unless he can discover the true story of his grandfather Antonio, the legendary bandido El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower.

This family saga is a Mexican Western with grit and magical realism. The writing is beautiful! I found myself really enjoying getting lost in this book. Go along for this wild ride and enjoy. Be sure to read the author's note at the end how this was loosely based on his great-grandfather.

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

Rating: 4.9

George finds a giant white crane in his back yard with an arrow through it's wing. In the cold winter blue moonlight, George helps the bird and watches as it flies off not realizing that his life is transformed. The next day, Kimoko walks into his print shop and this is the beginning of a magical, romantic and unexpected journey.

I loved George, Kimoko and even George's socially challenged daughter Amanda.  This captured my heart. The magical realism parts were a bit much for my taste but Ness' writing is so gorgeous that it kept me reading till the last page. I didn't want this to end. This is a unique novel and won't be for everyone but for those who enjoy amazing writing you will be enthralled.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4.8

I absolutely loved Simon and all of the other characters. I think knowing it is a "Harry Potter remake" helped me get into this book very quickly: Simon=Harry, Baz=Draco, Penny=Hermione, Watford=Hogwortz etc. etc. For me, the characters just fell into place seamlessly so I instantly got lost in the story line. Then suddenly WOAH!!!...I wasn't expecting that!!!

This is Rainbow Rowell's version of Harry Potter but make no mistake, this is NOT the Harry Potter storyline. If you don't like Harry Potter or if you think that J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter concept then, you won't like this at all. If you loved Harry Potter and want another version of it, run out and grab this book.  LOVED it!  Now I want to read Fangirl.

Slade House by David Mitchell

My rating: 1.0

Despite David Mitchell's wonderfully readable writing style, this was another book that is just not for me. A couple reasons were:

• Each chapter read like a short story and I don't generally like short stories;
• He would start using 'magical terms, phrases and references that you didn't know what they meant.  If you hung in there long enough he would explain them but, he did this all too frequently for my taste
• The characters felt very fluffy and superficial. If this was supposed to be scary, I felt it was more silly and childish with the characters

All in all, I am happy to let this go and move on to other books.

The Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Rating: 4.4

Another one that was very difficult for me to rate/review. A huge part of me loved this book.  It was so unique and unlike anything else I have ever read. For most of it, I felt like I was in a dream and wasn't sure what was real and what was the dream. 

This book was about so many things but, the general story line is that after being abandoned by their mother young Sean O'Sullivan is taking care of his teenage brother Finn when a beautiful girl Roza shows up in their barn. Roza is kidnapped away from them and young Finn sees it happen but no one believes him.

Beyond this surface storyline is how women are perceived in the world, how you have to deal with men...their looks at your looks, having your guard up, love and so many other layers that I probably didn't grasp.

I don't generally care for magical realism so I wasn't thrilled with the ending but I have to give the author huge kudos for such an original piece of work told in such an ingenious way. If you care for magical realism at all, I bet you would love this book even more than I did.