DNF

I think this was my least favorite so far simply because Alaric was such a massive asshole for the first half of the book. Once he got out of his own way, I enjoyed it a lot more.

The world Lexi came from was safe, years and miles removed from international intrigue. That all changed when she married into European landed gentry. A Deadly Provenance captures a 1970’s snapshot of an altogether different reality, which forms the backdrop for a fast-moving redirection of Lexi’s exotic, yet ordinary, new life, until unresolved conspiracies from her in-laws’ past surface and burst in to threaten Lexi’s marriage to Jon and their life together.
Without heavy historical detail, the Cold War ambiance weaves masterfully in and out of their characters’ lives, in just the right amounts of a cultured and historical accuracy, based on experiences drawn from the author’s life in Upper Bavaria and Lower Austria during that period. Lexi, the transplanted Southern blue blood, must face down compound challenges of culture, language, new love, an accident, in-law drama, and now, espionage. Injected into this mix are shadows from her past, thought long since left behind and of no consequence.
As this mix reaches critical mass, the demure NC Magnolia produces a steely side that amazes herself and puts everyone else off guard. Lexi simply refuses to roll over and play dead, and the reader is quickly sucked into this maelstrom with her.

I had a hard time putting A Deadly Provenance down. The mystery kept me coming back for more, the artistry that was a large part of Lexi’s life helped to show how the character was feeling even when she wasn’t sure herself, and the historical aspect was absolutely thrilling from beginning to end.
Lexi was probably my favorite character in the entire thing, and while I understood her to a point, I think she has absolutely terrible taste in men. There were marked similarities between the ex-husband who she hated so much and the new husband that she loved too deeply to leave, especially in the manner in which they treated her. I felt, and was sometimes (though not always) agreed with by Lexi, that Jon was incredibly high-handed in his dealings with her, exceedingly controlling, and pulled back every time that Lexi wanted or needed comfort and help from him. It just all rang through as very unhealthy relationship to me, with a severe disconnect in their communication. There were some very romantic moments, but as a whole, the relationship would never have worked for me.
Other than that, I adored Lexi’s dedication to the WIDOW cause, and the description of the sculptures she did made me want to photograph them. I loved how dedicated she was to everything she did, whether it was her sculpture work, trying to get along with her in-laws, or figuring out who was actually trying to kill her, and who wasn’t.
Being overly fond of mystery books and cop shows, I was remarkably surprised at who was actually behind everything. However, I shan’t spoil anything for you readers! I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a good bit of history involved, as it’s a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Ben Chalmers is a successful novelist. His wife, Rachel, is a fledgling artist with a promising career, and their daughter, Stacy, is the joy of their lives. Ben's novels have made enough money for him to provide a dream home for his family. But there is a force at work-a dark, chilling, ruthless force that has become part of the very fabric of their new home.

A malevolent entity becomes trapped in the wood and stone of the house and it will do whatever it takes, to find a way to complete its bloody transference to our world.

Local sheriff, Elizabeth Cantrell, and former pastor-turned-cabinetmaker, Jim Perry, are drawn into the family's life as the entity manipulates the house with devastating results. And it won't stop until it gets what it wants. Even if it costs them their faith, their sanity, and their lives.

My dad knows Thomas Smith, the author, but I hadn’t read anything by him previously, so I didn’t know what to expect. Christian horror can either be really good or really bad, but due to the chance of a free book in exchange for a review, I figured I’d try it, and it turned out fairly well.

As far as pacing goes, this book was pretty weak. Almost nothing happened in the first two thirds of the book, and then suddenly all hell has broken loose. No pun intended. It wasn’t terrible, but it definitely could have used some work.

The family dynamic between Rachel, Stacy, and Ben was absolutely heartwarming, and I found their relationship and the way it was written – not to mention the way that Jim called them out when it was obvious they weren’t themselves – to be the best part of the book, hands down.

The way that Jim spoke to them about their grief for their son was probably the best thing I have ever read about handling grief, and I applaud Smith for putting that in there, because the way the characters had been handling their grief was so incredibly unhealthy that it hurt.

Jim was a great character to add in, and while I liked the development that we got through him, I would have liked to see more development on the Sherriff’s part. She could have been a much more fleshed out character, rather than the bare bones character traits and love interest that we ended up with.

The demon that is summoned is really creepy and I had to put the book down a few times to take a mental break, due to the fact that I’m a huge wimp when it comes to horror/creepy stuff. I won’t spoil it for you, but this was like six different horror movies stuck together in the end, and it creeped me out hardcore.

The author is clearly skilled, I just wished that there had either been more to the story, like an epilogue, or that the pacing had been a little more even. Another author with a similar writing style and characterization to Smith would be Frank Peretti.

Final rating: 3.5 stars, leaning towards 4.

I received this book from a PR representative of the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Duchess Adlai, Introductions, Inventions, and the Most Awesome Adventures has all of the trappings of a great high fantasy novel – a cute dedication (or non-dedication), a map, some magical advisor-basenji-creatures and a glossary.

However, what was missing from this book was a real plotline. It was designed to be the first installment in a series, but there was no real conflict in this story. In fact, it really went nowhere. I felt that author Tonya Knudsen did way too much telling and not showing. I loved all of the pieces of this story, but I think I would have liked it if we’d seen Adlai learning things, or taking the placement trial, or even going on the adventure she was talking about the whole book.

I felt that it was also unrealistic that the younger sister of a monarch would know nothing about the way her country works. As the book talked about, politics is super important to running a country, and Adlai knew next to nothing about her role in it, which is shown in her promotion of her friend to Master Inventor, and that she knew nothing about many of her fellow leaders.

Now, this isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. I actually really did enjoy what there was - there just wasn’t anywhere near enough to it! If it had continued and more had happened, it would have gotten a much better rating. The Duchess Adlai, Introductions, Inventions, and the Most Awesome Adventures simply felt entirely cut off to me. For that, I have to rate this book 3 stars.

This review is also posted at my booker blog as of Monday, July 27th.