NIGHT OF THE WITCH By Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

September 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

NIGHT OF THE WITCH By Sara Raasch and Beth RevisNight of the Witch by Beth Revis, Sara Raasch
Series: Witch and Hunter #1
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 10/3/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Fritzi is a witch. The lone survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she's determined to find her only remaining family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader, the merciless and enigmatic Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger—but that's just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjägers burned his innocent mother alive, and he has been plotting his revenge against the people who tore apart his family ever since. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they've done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other. The reluctant truce fueled by their common enemy takes them from the city at the heart of the hexenjägers' power to the wild and mysterious Black Forest. As old truths come to light and new dangers are revealed, Fritzi and Otto uncover a horrifying magical plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks that leads back to Kommandant Kirch . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

Short and Sweet Review

Fritzi is the only survivor after her coven was brutally murdered by the hexenjägers (witch hunters), and now she’s made it her mission to find her only surviving relative, her cousin Liesel. To accomplish her mission she’ll need to take down their leader, Dieter Kirch. On the other hand we have Otto who is one of the hexenjägers and Dieters second in command. Ever since the hexenjägers killed Otto’s mother he’s been planning his revenge. When Fritzi and Otto meet they’re weary of each other ones a witch and the other is a hunter but they both have a common goal.

I feel like Night of the Witch was predictable, We have Fritzi a witch teaming up with a rogue witch hunter and the villain was just weird and felt like his motive was just to be powerful and in charge. Fritzi encounters Otto and his fellow witch hunters while on the search for her cousin, which is when Fritzi becomes imprisoned herself. When the two have time alone Otto explains that he’s been working to free the other witches that are set to burn and he needs Fritzi’s help to do it. This is where things get weird because we learn how Fritzi and Dieter are connected and then Fritzi escapes with Otto and Liesel and they learn that they’ve been picked to be a Goddess’s chosen one and warrior. We also learn that there are different kind of witches, out main character Fritzi uses herbs to cast spells, while her cousin is able to control fire. I didn’t like the romance between Fritzi and Otto mainly because it felt too easy in a sense, they were supposed to be enemies but not really since Otto isn’t who he’s portraying to the world, but the romance between them felt forced and a little to instant for me. Honestly the book was slow and I think it was due to all the world building, but also the villain just seemed too predictable and the ending was ridiculous especially when you read the epilogue.

Overall, I liked that this book did have historical elements in it, but I wish there was more going on to keep my interest and hopefully in the next book there’s more action and character development. Night of the Witch was an okay book and I’m still on the fence of whether I would want to continue the series.

Filed Under: Reviews

ROOK By William Ritter

July 26, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ROOK By William RitterRook by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #5
Published by Algonquin Young Readers on 8/22/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Abigail Rook never intended to be the mortal bridge between the human and supernatural world. But now, the power of the Sight--and all the chaos that comes with seeing the essential truth of everything, every human, fairy, werewolf, enchanted slip of paper, and municipal building, at all times--is hers alone. With this overwhelming new gift, she should be able to solve crimes and help New Fiddleham, New England find calm in its supernatural chaos.

The only problem? She has no idea what she’s doing.

And New Fiddleham isn't waiting for Abigail to be ready. Local witches and other magical beings are going missing, as tensions between human and supernatural residents curdle into a hatred that could tear the city apart. Abigail's fiance, Charlie, works alongside her to unravel the magical disappearances, but as a shapeshifter, he's under threat as well. Then Abigail's parents appear, ready to take her back to England and marry her off to someone she's never met. Abigail has no choice but to follow her Sight, her instincts, and any clues she can find to track a culprit who is trying destroy everything she holds dear.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of The Dire King, Abigail has become the new seer and she’s been struggling to adapt to her new found ability. Abigail should be ready to help solve all the supernatural phenomena happening around New Fiddleham but she’s not ready. When some magical beings start to go missing Abigail knows she needs to put aside her fears and trust in herself and do the job of a seer.

Rook is an enjoyable book, especially if you’ve read the other books in the Jackaby series. It was nice to see characters from the past books especially Jackaby, Jenny, and Charlie. Jackaby still brings his wackiness and humor which is great because he has a carefree nature about him and he still knows when things are serious. Jackaby is living his life without the sight and he’s having a good time experiencing seeing things as a normal person, which was what Abigail used to do for him. I liked seeing how all of the characters have grown since we’ve seen them in past books. What I enjoyed the most was watching Abigail get her footing and becoming more sure of herself as the seer. I liked how this book was in Abigail’s POV but now that she’s the seer we get to see how intricate everything she’s seeing really is like peoples auras and the things left behind by people. We also see that more magical beings are out and about and there’s even a magical division at the police department now. Abigail is asked by Marlowe to look into somethings, but it ends up turning into something bigger as it usually does, and Abigail learns that magical beings are going missing. This is her first big case and luckily she’s not alone she has the help of those around her. We meet Abigails parents who aren’t really sure what she’s been doing in New Fiddleham and if she should even stay there. There’s also two agents who always seem to be one step behind Abigail and Jackaby but who are also not very helpful, they seem to do more damage than good. The mystery was great, and I wasn’t quite sure where it would lead or who the culprit was, but the ending wrapped everything up quite nicely and everything was answered.

This book was a lot of fun and it was great to be back in New Fiddleham with all of the characters I’ve grown to love. Definitely get your hands on Rook and join Abigail and Jackaby for another adventure in New Fiddleham but this time with Abigail as our paranormal detective and Jackaby as her normal mentor!

Filed Under: Reviews

THE DIRE KING By William Ritter

July 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE DIRE KING By William RitterThe Dire King by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #4
Published by Algonquin Young Readers on 8/22/17
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 353
Format: Ebook, Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push the earth and the otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve mysteries in New Fiddleham, New England—like who’s created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why the undead are appearing around town.

At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby’s resistance to his feelings for the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, Jenny Cavanaugh, begins to give way. But before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether.

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of the last book, the fate of the world is basically in Jackaby and Abigail’s hand. This moment has been building up since the first book, The Dire King is planning on ripping the veil between Earth and the magical realm. All of the things that Abigail and Jackaby have investigated were all leading up to us finding the Dire King, who is an old and powerful evil, who is ready to cause mayhem.

This is my second time reading this series and it was just as enjoyable as the first time. We see characters from past books and I liked seeing the camaraderie between the secondary characters and our main characters. We also see Charlie again and this time his family is also around so we get to see the life he left behind. With Charlie being back we see a little more romance between him and Abigail which was nice but we still had bigger things to worry about. When Jackaby and Abigail learn more about the Dire King, they begin to worry because of the amount of loyal followers he has and if they will even be able to defeat him. The book is filled with action, and some suspense because time is of the most importance with this case. We still get a few comedic moments thanks to Jackaby, which I love because he has a certain element with his delivery.

I don’t want to give any spoilers as this is the fourth and final book of the series. Actually no it’s not we have a book about Abigail coming out. Anyway the ending was great and Abigail has some new abilities, and I love how Jackaby is ready for the next chapter of his life. This is one of my favorite series, I love the mix of supernatural elements with mystery solving. Jackaby and Abigail were great characters and I can’t wait to see what Rook has in store!

Filed Under: Reviews

GHOSTLY ECHOES By William Ritter

July 17, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

GHOSTLY ECHOES By William RitterGhostly Echoes by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #3
Published by Algonquin Young Readers on 8/23/16
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 353
Format: Ebook, Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the services of her detective-agency tenants to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all. Soon Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her down to the mythical underworld and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

Short and Sweet Review

Jenny Cavanaugh the ghost who lives at 926 Augar Lane, is ready for Jackaby to solve the mystery around her murder. Jenny has always tried to avoid talking about her past but now that she’s ready we get glimpses of what her life was like and what she was doing with her fiancé before her murder occurred. I did like learning more about Jenny, we also see how hard doing some of this is for her, she ends up having echoes which is when she gets stuck in her memories and can’t remember where she currently is.

Jenny’s case is an interesting one, before Abigail even met Jackaby, he started to investigate her case but wasn’t able to make progress because Jenny wasn’t ready. Now Jackaby and Abigail are following some leads, but those leads end up taking them in different directions but it always comes back to one central person, who ends up being the cause for a lot of the messes we’ve seen in the last two books. We’ve seen a lot of development and growth from these characters, but especially from Abigail our narrator. Abigail is a lot more confident and willing to take risks to help the ones she cares about the most. We do see Charlie in this book, but there wasn’t a lot of romance mainly because this was supposed to be Jenny’s story. I did enjoy all the twist and turns that the book took and how it was revealed that there was one main villain calling all the shots.

This was a good book, and I’m glad we got to see more of Jenny’s story because it’s been hinted at in past books that her murder was pretty brutal and there haven’t been any clues as to what happened. Seeing how this book ended I’m sure the next book will be full of action now that our group has found its main antagonist and has to work to stop them. I’m excited to see how everything will wrap up!

Filed Under: Reviews

BEASTLY BONES By William Ritter

July 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

BEASTLY BONES By William RitterBeastly Bones by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #2
Published by Algonquin Young Readers on 9/22/15
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 305
Format: Ebook, Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby, are called upon to investigate the supernatural. First vicious shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens, and a day later, their owner is found murdered. Then in nearby Gad’s Valley, bones from a recent dig mysteriously go missing, and an unidentifiable beast starts attacking animals and people, leaving mangled bodies behind. Charlie calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt—for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

Short and Sweet Review

Abigail is still working with Jackaby and they’ve been asked to investigate the supernatural. Their day starts off with investigating some shape shifting kittens and a day later the owner of the kittens is found murdered. In a nearby town, Gads Valley dinosaur bones from a recent dig go missing and a beast is attacking the townspeople. Abigail and Jackaby head there to see if they can figure out what is going on in the Valley and report back to Police chief Marlowe and they end up reconnecting with policeman Charlie Cane.

Abigail has already helped Jackaby solve one case and she was still learning about the supernatural world, but in this book we see Abigail shine and put her knowledge of fossils and bones out there. Abigail and Jackaby have a lot on their plates but their main focus is finding the dinosaur bones that have gone missing, but not only that they have to try to avoid the beast that is attacking people and animals. I loved seeing these characters back for the sequel. Jackaby is able to see supernatural things that most don’t and Abigail can catch the details that he misses that are considered normal. I do like their partnership, Abigail is able to keep up with Jackaby and offer her own opinions and he respects them and I love that about them. We also see Charlie and it was great because him and Abigail like each other and I did like seeing the shy nature of their romance. We meet some new characters in this book a couple of paleontologist, Hank a skilled hunter, and Nellie a reporter, each character adds a little something to the plot. There was a big climax at the end and a wrap up, there was a cliffhanger that involves Jenny and what happened in her life.

I’m ready to read the next installment and see where Abigail and Jackaby end up and what new mystery they’ll take on (even though I already have a good idea).

Filed Under: Reviews

AND BREAK THE PRETTY KINGS By Lena Jeong

June 14, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

AND BREAK THE PRETTY KINGS By Lena JeongAnd Break the Pretty Kings by Lena Jeong
Series: Sacred Bone #1
Published by HarperTeen on 6/20/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 447
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae’s beloved older brother is taken—threatening the peninsula’s already tenuous truce.

Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.

Short and Sweet Review

Mirae is a princess and everyone is looking to her to save the kingdom, but first she needs to pass a series of test before she makes it to her coronation, but unfortunately things go awry. Mirae finds herself with a new power and her brother has gone missing and its up to her and a group to go find him and bring him back home. Mirae is desperate to save her brother, stop an ancient enemy, and stop a war from breaking out.

And Break the Pretty Kings had an interesting concept that involved a setting of historical Korea, characters that had powers, and history and myths. I honestly don’t think everything worked as seamlessly as it could have. Mirae is very head strong and doesn’t listen to advice from those around her. I think the magic system in this book was interesting, Mirae is about to control elements around her and she ends up with a new power, the power to time travel. The time traveling confused me, only because I didn’t understand the jumping around and the things other characters were telling Mirae when she would end up in their time period and what their motives were. This book was very confusing to me and I think it lacked a clear concept, from the synopsis we can see what the intentions were but it fell short. The characters lacked a clear motivation for what they were doing and it was hard to relate to any of them. We’re also introduced to the antagonist of the book and their motives made everything even more confusing for me. I was interested in seeing Mirae use her time traveling powers and learning more about Korean myths. Some of the things that were introduced were fascinating.

All in all I was just confused for 80% of this book. The ending didn’t make anything better, things weren’t wrapped up or answered in a clear way, and I think that was because there’s going to be a sequel. I believe for me to truly understand what was going on in this book, I would have to reread it… and I don’t want to.

Filed Under: Reviews

NIGERIA JONES By Ibi Zoboi

April 26, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

NIGERIA JONES By Ibi ZoboiNigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/9/23
Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Young Adult
Pages: 379
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Warrior Princess. That’s what Nigeria Jones’s father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch of their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.

Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. ­There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe.

As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

Short and Sweet Review

Nigeria has been raised by her father who is a social justice warrior. He has a Movement that is a black separatist group in Philadelphia. Nigeria runs the youth group for her dad and leads rituals that connect group members to their ancestors. The only thing missing in Nigerias life is her mom, who she’s sure is coming back. When Nigeria learns that her mom wanted a different life for her she starts to question everything she’s learned. Nigeria also learns that her mom wanted to enroll her in a private Quaker school so Nigeria goes to honor her mothers wishes. Everything changes when Nigeria gets to experience a little freedom and wonders if everything she’s learned in the movement is right.

I have very conflicting feelings about this book. Nigeria was raised in a household where their beliefs are taken very seriously, so to see her go to this new school and interact with people who weren’t black was painful. She also holds out hope that her mom is coming back so there was a little mystery about where her mom was and why she would have left the movement in the first place. Nigeria goes to school with an old friend Sage and her cousin Kamau. Nigeria’s dad doesn’t want her going to school, she’s been homeschooled her whole life, but Nigeria knows she needs to go because this is what her mom wanted. There was a lot of layers to this book and I found myself frustrated at some points because they take the movement so seriously and I understand I’m all about making changes but it got too intense and it was crazy. Whenever they talked about the movement, I felt like I was at a black panther meeting, it was almost like Judas and the Black Messiah. Anyway Nigeria and her dad find themselves most of the book and I just felt myself rooting for her to get out from under him and just make a way for herself and experience the world for herself so she can make decisions instead of having them made for her.

The ending makes up for the rest of the book and I was glad to see Nigeria kind of become her own woman. The whole thing with her mom was pretty shocking and I wasn’t ready for it. This book made me really stop and think about my own experiences being black and a woman and I get how Nigeria was raised but I’m glad that I was able to know my history and not having that experience be so restrictive. I enjoyed following Nigeria during her journey even though at some points it was hard but in the end it was rewarding.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE SILENCE OF BONES By June Hur

April 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE SILENCE OF BONES By June HurThe Silence of Bones by June Hur
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 4/21/20
Genres: Historical, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 343
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak;
Ears, but I mustn't hear;
Eyes, but I mustn't see.

1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.

As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.

But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly.

Short and Sweet Review

It’s 1800 and we’re in Joseon, Korea. Seol is an orphan and is indentured to the police bureau, and she is given the task of helping an investigator look into the murder of a noblewoman. As their investigation progresses, Seol forms a friendship with the investigator but things take a turn when he becomes one of the suspects.

The synopsis is what drew me into this book, to go back in time in Korea sounded amazing, and also a mystery? Count me in. Unfortunately this book wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Seol lives by strict rules because she’s basically a servant so she can’t speak out of turn, but luckily for her Inspector Han has a sort of respect for her opinions. Korea in the 1800s is so interesting, the noblewoman was also a Catholic and that is looked down upon which is why she was killed, for her beliefs. Seol and Inspector Han do the basic detective work, going around talking to people who knew the noblewoman and dig deeper into her life. Sadly a few more people are killed and time is running out to find the killer. We see Seol do her own detective work and she starts to question whether Inspector Han is the man she thought he was. We also have a side plot of Seol trying to find her older brother, whom she was separated from as a child.

All of the elements of the story were great, unfortunately I found myself confused more often then not. I think it was all of the characters and names and just trying to remember their importance. Also the first half of the book didn’t really hold my attention and that might have been because of what I mentioned above, but the second half of the book is where things started to pick up for me and I was interested to see how the mystery would wrap up.

I would recommend this book, it was fun getting transported to Korea and solving a mystery and you can really tell that things that are acceptable now were looked down upon then. Seol is an interesting character to follow and she had character development as the book progressed and her story is an interesting one.

Filed Under: Reviews

ENTER THE BODY By Joy McCullough

March 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ENTER THE BODY By Joy McCulloughEnter the Body by Joy McCullough
Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers on 3/14/23
Genres: Historical, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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In the room beneath a stage's trapdoor, Shakespeare’s dead teenage girls compare their experiences and retell the stories of their lives, their loves, and their fates in their own words. Bestselling author Joy McCullough offers a brilliant testament to how young women can support each other and reclaim their stories in the aftermath of trauma.

Short and Sweet Review

In the Trap Room, a room beneath the theater stage, there’s a room full of girls who have met a tragic end in Shakespeare’s plays. Ophelia, Cordelia, and Juliet share their stories and maybe even change things around to make it so they’re living their own lives and not one that was written for them.

Enter the Body is a novel in verse, which was interesting because through this style each girl told her story differently. The girls take turns telling their stories and how they ended up dying in the tragic ways they have. I liked reading their stories, mainly because I’m only familiar with Romeo and Juliet. Ophelia and Cordelia were more mature than Juliet and they did tell their stories as if they were older. The sharing of stories in the trap room formed a bond between not only the three, but with some of the other girls who were listening in the background. At first we see them share what has happened in a way that we’re all familiar with: the way Shakespeare wrote it, but they decide to take matters into their own hands and change the parts of their stories that made them so tragic and change it so that they’re the author of their own fates.

This book was short and easy to get through and I enjoyed how creative it was in how it was written in verse and how each character had their own flair.

Filed Under: Reviews

MY DEAR HENRY By Kalynn Bayron

March 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

MY DEAR HENRY By Kalynn BayronMy Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 3/7/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, LGBT, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 266
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood...

Short and Sweet Review

The year is 1885 in London, and Gabriel Utterson is in medical school per his dad’s wishes. The medical school is predominately white, but Gabriel ends up meeting Henry another student who is black and they hit it off. Unfortunately, this time period doesn’t look to kindly upon the relationship these two boys form. Both of the boys are kicked out of the school and along with them Henry’s father, Dr. Jekyll. After being kicked out of school Gabriel is offered a position as a law clerk and he hasn’t seen Henry in quite some time, but Henry does make it clear that Gabriel should keep his distance. Gabriel begins watching the Jekyll house and comes across Hyde, a strange gentlemen who claims to be friends with Henry. Gabriel can’t understand why Henry would push him away but he’s not going to stop pursuing his friend until he finds out.

I can’t really say anything about Bayron’s take on the story of, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, because I’m not really familiar with the story unless you count that one episode of Scooby-Doo I watched as a child. That being said this was a book that held my interest, I wanted to know more about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and what exactly was going on in that house. Gabriel and Henry had a sweet relationship, but they were really risking it all to have a same sex relationship in 1885 and I don’t think it made it any better to those around them that they were both black. I did like the representation and the fact that both boys were intelligent. We do see that Henrys father Dr Jekyll is a mad scientist. Also Hyde was just so mysterious that it made trying to figure him out more fun, like why is he always stalking around at night? I did like that even though Gabriel felt alone without Henry, he did have a good support system, his landlady, his cousin, and another friend from med school.

The mystery of Henry was great to solve and I also learned a bit about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This is the third book I’ve read by Bayron and I just think her writing has a way of sucking you into the story. I would recommend My Dear Henry, its a good remix on a classic and it was short, fast, and captivating.

Filed Under: Reviews