I did come into this book with some opinions, because I knew a little about Elizabeth Bathory, mostly from this site: https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/elisabeth-bathory . This book plays into the traditional view of Bathory, which the link I list above contests somewhat (but it does describe gore, so read those parts at your own risk.) So I have mixed feelings about that.

Anna is the daughter of a midwife, skilled at herbs and medicines for her time. Of course, that also means people call her a witch. She runs into Bathory at her wedding procession, and circumstances bring them together twice more, until eventually Anna becomes a scullery maid at Nasdady Castle. Since the money Anna makes will support her family, she looks for ways to rise in the ranks. And although she loves Elizabeth, something is deeply wrong at Nasdady Castle.

So, again, I don't believe all these things are truth about the real Countess Bathory. However, it wouldn't be as much of a gory, horrific story without it. It is gory. I do like the ways it reflects on what power women could have at that time, and how they were viewed. I also could see how a teen would get wrapped up in all of it, doing the best she can and realizing when she fails. I did like the ending for Anna, which was a little bittersweet but felt right.

Auggie lives on an island with an amazing set of stables, which he is in charge of. The stables are full of magical creatures like a Gargantula. Auggie’s companions include Fen, a “stick-in-the-mud” that change into whatever Auggie needs him to be. A woman named Miss Bundt also lives there, near the Plotting Shed, where she builds things that the island’s owner, Professor Cake, requests. Auggie is happy minding the stables but wishes for a friend. One day, the stables shudder as a new stall is added. Inside the stall is a swamp, where Auggie meets Willa, a wispy critter who thrives in the moonlight. However, Auggie doesn’t know that others are hunting Willa as well. Who are they, and how can they outsmart them?

Auxier said his goal was to write a read aloud that the whole family would enjoy, and I think he did an excellent job. There is enough meat here to give people of all ages something to think about. Illustrations were not final in the ARC, but I liked what I saw. Demidova does a great job of catching the magical creatures, and they remind me a bit of Quentin Blake’s illustrations in Roald Dahl books. Expect to learn about lots of cool magical creatures and look for more books in the series to continue learning about who else wants these magical creatures.

I would hand this to those that also enjoyed books like Unicorn Rescue Society, Princess in Black, Owl Diaries, or Zoey and Sassafrass. If you are a fan of the author’s Peter Nimble series, familiar characters and places will be referenced along the way.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved Wilder Girls, so when I saw that Power was back with another book, I was very, very excited. This book is about the different ways we pass our sins on through our family, but very specifically what does a mother pass on to her daughter, to her granddaughter? Margot's life has always been just her and her mother, no information about anyone else, until one day she discovers the phone number of her grandmother. This leads her on a search for family, but what other secrets will be revealed?

There are some horror elements, but I almost prefer this one to other horror stories I've read, where the suspense builds and the actual gore is somewhat limited.

I'm a little sad, because I actually did not like this one as much as Acevedo's previous two BUT I think the reason why is that I didn't listen to this one. Her books are so powerful when they are read aloud. I missed that.

Two sisters, in two different countries, who don't know they are connected until a plane crash kills their father. Their lives are very different. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic, and only sees her father during the summer. He pays for her to go to a better school, and he also pays for protection for her and her Tita. Yahaira lives in NYC, and her father travels for work every summer. She doesn't always get along with her mother, and she knows her father has a secret.

This book is about forgiveness and family, and learning what it means to be a sister. I honestly can't wait to listen to it on audio, because I think I will enjoy it so much more then.

This is such a good gamer story about what doxxing (releasing information about where someone online actually lives so they can be harassed) can really do. I also appreciated that they showed how hard it can be to track.

I honestly loved the Divya sections much more than the Aaron sections. The struggle of being a successful female gamer/streamer was more interesting to me than a male gamer who isn't getting paid by the indie studio (although I suspect that is more common than I think) and whose parents aren't entirely supportive. It does illuminate different parts of the gaming world, but I really thought the Divya/Beckah parts were powerful and would have loved even more of that.

I really liked this one. It's about a woman with little direction in her life who starts to find it by taking care of combustible twins. So good.

(also, love the subplot about how many things money can fix.)

Amora is destined to be queen of Visidia based on her bloodline. All she has to do is pass a demonstration of her soul magic, showing how an execution is done. When that goes awry, she joins the pirate Bastian to perform another demonstration that will prove her ability to lead. Nothing goes smoothly, of course.

I read some so-so reviews about this book before I read it, but I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Amora's magic is gnarly, and wouldn't be my preferred magical type, but I guess she doesn't have a choice. I was annoyed that her father kept everything from her and she hadn't found anything out, but I did enjoy the general questing, the stowaway, and that the love triangle isn't the center stage part of the book.

Such a cute contemporary YA. It's a all-in-a-day love story, with social justice and the importance of voting, along with internet famous cats thrown in. Colbert wrote two really good, different, characters. I also felt Alex a lot, probably because he reminds me a lot of my own white self. It just made me so happy.