Shomeret's Odd Number of October Reads 2/3

[Shomeret]

5)Tsura by Heather Anastasiu (historical fiction) Source: Author Started: 10/5 Finished: 10/15

Why Read: The MC is Romany which is a more neutral name for gypsy. It takes place during WWII. I'm interested in the Romany during WWII.

Comments: I learned some important things about the history of Romania during WWII, but I don't think that Anastasiu understood Romany culture. She made another serious error. I also didn't like the MC very much. Rating B- See my review at http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2015/...

6)Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart (historical mystery) 321 pages. Source: Library Started: 10/6 Finished: 10/15

Why Read: The detective was a former Imperial Librarian in China during the 18th century. He discovers the truth about the murder of a Jesuit.

Comments: I loved a number of things about this book including the role played by libraries. Yet my favorite thing about this book was Hamza the Storyteller and the stories he told. It is strange that Arab folklore was more prominent than Chinese folklore, but I loved that part of the book anyway. The mystery's solution wasn't much of a surprise, but the end of the book was one. Rating B+ I'm doing a giveaway of this book on my blog and you can still enter the giveaway by posting a comment on my blog by November 10th. See my review at http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...

7)Sophomore Campaignby Frank Nappi Source: Amazon purchase Started: 10/10 Finished: 10/13

Why Read: This is the second book dealing with a minor league autistic baseball pitcher. The third will be published soon. I hadn't read the first book, The Legend of Mickey Tussler, when I read this book.

Comments: This is the second baseball novel that I read in 2015 which is very odd because I'd never read any baseball novels at all previous to this year. This one deals with prejudice in several forms. It was inspiring and beautifully written. I was glad to be reading it on my birthday. I rated it A. See my review at http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...

8)The Uninvited by Cat Winters (historical fantasy) 343 pages. Source: Library Started: 10/16 Finished: 10/19

Why Read: This is the second book I've read by Cat Winters. The first one, which was the YA historical fantasy The Cure for Dreaming, was intriguing.

Comments: It's 1918 and Ivy Rowan sees ghosts whenever someone is about to die. Ivy was horrified by her gift. She decides to leave her parents' farm, but the town is having a flu epidemic and many are dying. I found this book very moving. I loved the characters, their relationships, the themes and the ending. I found the ending very original. Rating A.

To Be Continued...

[Dan in AZ]

Your choices are varied and interesting as always.

[Ann]

The Uninvited sounds very good!

[Melodie]

The Uninvited does sound good!