Fond of Fonts

Shelby Mahurin's fantasy novel, Serpent and Dove, is one wild ride between two polar-opposite individuals, both coming from backgrounds that reveal they're more alike than most others they consort with. Both Louise (Lou) and Reid come from different lifestyles, Lou being the daughter of one of the most powerful witches known to men and Reid being the head captain of the Archbishop's team of witch-hunters. Both Lou and Reid collide (literally) in an unfortunate incident that causes a public conflict of interest. In the end, both Lou and Reid agree-to-disagree and are bound together as husband and wife. They have to learn how to co-exist with each other, along with surviving among fellow witches and hunters. Readers are shown the intimate details of both Lou's and Reid's lives. Friendships and past relationships are brought to light, familial boundaries are pushed and secrets are revealed. Both Lou and Reid become the ultimate husband-and-wife duo when fate cat...

what does comfort look like to you? self-love? is it: waking up late on a Sunday morning, brewing a favorite perfect energy  cup of tea, before sitting down to finish the week's latest read? staying up past the usual time sleep claims you, in order to relish in a current television series you've been dying to catch up on before the final season becomes available? slathering on a facial mask, clearing off two-week-old nail polish, and lighting lavender-scented candles throughout your "me" space? or could it be: writing all your thoughts down, whether good or bad, in order to get whatever is clawing at the inside of your rib-cage to settle for a few mere minutes? crying yourself to sleep in order to find some sort of physical release, but isn't as obvious as screaming or moaning in protest? contemplating running away from everything that has become familiar in order to distinguish between what is actually liberating for your soul as opposed to ven...

Another YA romance that explores more than first kisses and one-night flings.  High school seniors Gabby and Ryan are BFFs who make "Top-Ten" lists with every subject they discuss between each other. This novel happens to go through their top-ten list of how BFFs become something a bit more intimate. Cotugno introduces two characters who are in foreign territory when it comes to loving one another as more than just friends. Reading each other's attitudes, knowing what the other will think before anything is said--it all comes naturally when there isn't a romantic time-clock ticking down from afar. A relationship is developed over the length of the book, distinguished by top-ten moments of what makes their relationship take such a drastic turn for the better. Which, it has to be for the better--right? Cotugno delves into more than just a romantic aspect for these characters.  Ryan is a high school hockey star who ends up having more to worry about among ...

A good series always ends with a dynamic prequel!      Let's flash backwards to Suzanne Collins' world of Panem, where President Snow is merely eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow making his way through his senior year in the Capitol's prestigious high school. He's preparing to become one of the 24 first student mentors in the Tenth Annual Hunger Games. Readers see a historic version of Panem, decades before Katniss Everdeen was even a blimp on the country's radar of civilization. Irony is alive and well in this prequel, however, as Snow's tribute as an unlikely female located in none other than... District 12!      Snow is fascinated by Lucy Gray, a witty-unconventional young woman who claims to not actually be from District 12 originally, but apart of a small traveling music group known as the Covey. The entire novel has short but meaningful instances featuring songs and music. Melodies shared among characters, all familiar as they are referenc...

I have never wanted to recommend an author more than I do Lisa Jewell. Once again, her suspense novel has taken me for a tailspin. The Girls in the Garden   centers around a thirteen-year-old girl who is found in a community park, half-exposed and passed out. She's discovered by her little sister and the entire community of neighbors are surged forward into a chaotic whirlwind of who-dunnit scenarios. However, a majority of the book is spent in the BEFORE stages of the young girl, Grace's, unfortunate circumstance. Centered around her, her little sister, Pip, and their mother, Clare, the three women move into the cliquey neighborhood, Virginia Crescent. Everyone knows everyone, pasts intertwine and the present is impacted by what once was. Loyalties have been established and trust is a hard characteristic to gain among these people. The three ladies have a hard time fitting in at first, but seem to mingle their way among the sets of parents and children, finding a peaceful...

Lisa Jewell's novel, Then She Was Gone ,   is a riveting suspense novel circled around the disappearance of an adolescent girl. The story line follows a mother, Laurel Mack, who's life has shattered after her daughter, Ellie, has disappeared without a trace. The timeline takes place both leading up to the disappearance and ten years after , when her remains are finally discovered and her parents put her to rest. Laurel and her husband, Paul, end up divorcing in light of everything and she ends up finding a new man in her life. This man, Floyd, changes Laurel's world in more ways than one--more so than her daughter's devastating disappearance. Laurel's life is turned upside down when secrets are revealed, from over ten years ago and up to the very moment of her discovering them. Characters interweave throughout the novel, exposing both past and present relationships. Laurel uncovers the truth of what happened to her daughter years ago, which also impacts her pres...

Another suspense novel in the books! I spent the entire novel attempting to identify what exactly the plot was and still ended up floored with the results in the end. Even the very last page stunned me! A complete connection to Gone Girl , in my opinion, which is saying a lot from me, considering that suspense novel had me contemplating concepts for a while. Based in the UK, Lisa Jewell's suspense novel, Watching You,  follows the day-to-day lives of a group of neighbors. All variable ages and backgrounds, watching the story line of the novel unfold meant understanding the weaving of every character's story into one another's. What I considered, and I'm sure other readers did as well, to be the crime wasn't entirely correct at all. Jewell has the ability to keep readers in suspense the entire time of the novel, having them believe a supposed crime was occurring, when in fact it wasn't. Jewell's attention to detail and development of characters is vital ...