White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black

Overall Rating:3 Stars

Date Finished: November 23, 2016

The concepts of this book were very unique and fascinating. People have "gifts" that allow them to change people with just a touch of a hand. Change their emotions, change their memories, change their luck, change their physical appearance, even kill them with just a touch of a finger.

The main character comes from a family of con artists and mafia hit men. He's used to running schemes but then he realizes that he is being conned, and by his own family.

Now, the plot itself is fine, there's some scheming and twists and risk taking but it still didn't feel fully satisfying at the end. Part of it is the fact that he still winds up stuck working for a mob boss for the rest of his life. Part of it is how things end with his family. They lied to him and used him for years and yet he just lets them gets away with it, even trades himself for them. And then he ends living with his psychotic mother and running schemes with her. 

He did some great stuff and improved throughout the book, only to revert back to same old pushover he was at the beginning. Frustrating.

Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3) by C. C. Hunter

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Date Finished: November 5 2016

As the Della part of this series closes up there is a lot of things to resolves and lots of questions to answer and Della is receiving pressure from her aunt the ghost to find those answers fast.

Chase is back. He is determined to do things right this time and he will willing to give up everything to do it. He is working hard to earn Della's trust again and has promised not to lie to her ever again (I'll believe that when I see it). And while the new Chase is very sincere and open about his feelings, he is also super frustrating because he just keeps saying, were meant to be together, and trying to force things. 

Steve is back too, and while things with Steve are awkward there is satisfying resolution of their relationship in the end. 

There is the usual mystery and searches while they try to find the murderer of their aunt in time to get Della's father removed as a suspect. And it doesn't help that Della's father is an idiot and turns Della into the police as a suspect for murder herself!

Della finally meets her uncle, lots of things are answered and everything is wrapped up in a nice little bow. And that was actually what I really hated about this book. I can live with Chase. I can live with some of the other changes and info reveals. What I can't live with is the magical, Disneyesc resolution with Della's father. 

I get it, he finally realizes that his daughter is not a monster. He cries and he feels so bad, blah, blah blah. And then she forgives him and somehow they automatically go back to having that amazing relationship that they had before. 

I don't care how great your relationship with your dad is, after years of being treated like crap by him, after being kicked out of your house and accused murder, there is no way that relationship is fixed in 5 minutes. Even if you still love him, even if you forgive him and do it sincerely, that relationship is never going to be the same. There is will always be drama, and hurt, and it is going to take them years to really resolve everything that happened. And I hate that she tried to just erase all of that in order to give Della her perfect, happy ending. You can still have a happy ending without it being perfect, that's called real life

So, overall it was good but I had some major issues with the ending. 

Eternal (Shadow Falls After Dark #2) by C.C. Hunter

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Date Finished: October 31, 2016

So, let's all start by being honest and just admit that whether we love or hate these books, we are still going to keep on reading them because we loved Shadow Falls and we just have to see how it all ends!

Now, coming back to this series, as I mentioned in my review of the previous book, I am reminded how much drama there is in these books. There is of course the continuation of the love triangle from the previous book. I wasn't a fan of Chase in the previous book. And while I liked him more in this book than I did the previous one, like Della, I find myself wondering how much of that has to do with the bond and the shared visions. 

There is are still some unanswered questions and Chase still is not very forthcoming with information, which again continues to cause issues on the relationship front. And yet, there are also issues going on with Steve. Add into that Miranda's issues with Perry and there is lots of romance drama going around everywhere. 

The part that I do enjoy about these series is the murder mystery. You have these murder mysteries that also seem to tie into the history of Della's family and that leads to Della running out trying to solve it all before it's too late. 

At the end there are still lots of questions left unanswered and there is a big cliff hanger at the end that leaves Chase in the hot seat. 

I will say that it is getting harder to like a love interest who is constantly being an idiot, or lying. And yet, despite it all, I still enjoyed the book and I still look forward to the next book in the series, 

Magic Binds (Kate Daniels #9) by Ilona Andrews

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: October 18, 2016

I originally came into the Kate Daniels series very reluctantly and was skeptical that I would enjoy it. And yet, despite the romance section which I tend to avoid, I found myself really drawn in by the characters. There are very few series that I will keep reading this long (or at least keep enjoying). If I don't give up by book 2 or 3, I will sometimes continue but not enjoy the books as much. This series, on the other hand, has always done a good job of maintaining.

Now, after everything that has happened in this book comes the inevitable show down with her father. And while this is just one battle it what will most likely prove to be a long war, if they lose this battle it's game over. 

It all starts when Kate it showed a vision of the two possibilities for the war. In one version Curran dies, and in another, their son dies. And so Kate is desperate to make sure that neither one of those happen. 

For the most part Kate continues to be her same old self but the people she care about begin to doubt her. Mostly her ability to control her powers rather than letting them control her. And so, in order to learn to control her powers she does a crazy thing and resurrects her aunt. Granted, her aunt is only resurrected in spirit form but let's be honest, no one is overly happy to see her again. But she is able to convince her aunt to help and begins training to control her powers.

Now, I will say that there is a lot more planning and talking in this book than actual fighting so it can get a bit slow at times. And my only other complaint is that the ending of the battle seemed to be a little too easy. Now, I will admit that there was lots of planning that went into it and they had allies that her father couldn't have planned for, but her father is so much stronger than her and in the end he could have used his power to just flatten all of them instead of fleeing. Again, I understand the factors that affected that decision and I understand that this was just one battle of a long war but I just expected a little bit more from her father.

Either way in the end they are able to save the city and Kate and Curran finally get married. There are definitely some interesting things coming up for the next book and I must say I am interested to see a pregnant Kate because for some reason I don't see her being the glowing, cheerful type of pregnant woman. And I'm sure Curran's protective side with definitely cause some interesting relationship issues. 

And on a bit of a side note, can I just say that I am really excited about Christopher! He was always kind of a fun, quirky side character but now that he is whole again, I just can't wait to see that all play out!!!

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Overall Stars: 3.5 stars

Date Finished: October 16, 2016

I was a little nervous going into this series because I was disappointed with the Grisha series and so I found myself very reluctant to pick up this series. It says that it takes place in the same world at the Grisha series but doesn't really explain a whole lot beyond that. I found myself expecting (as with any other spin off) to run into the same characters from the previous series and I just didn't like that series enough to want to continue with the same characters. And I also didn't like the characterization of the some of the characters in the original series so I found myself expecting the same issues here.

And boy was I glad to be wrong! This book has everything that the Grisha series was missing.  It was fast paced and had enjoyable, gritty, complicated characters that all made the ride so much more exciting. 

I enjoyed all of the characters which was surprising. With such a mix of characters I expected some issues there but the reality is that they were all well-written. Each one had their jaded past and their darkness they were struggling with. and each of the characters continued to develop as the story progressed. I also thought that I would get tired of all the POV changes. And while I will say that it does change quite a bit, I did feel like each character added something different so I was actually okay with most of the changes.

I was a little disappointed with the ending. First was the way things ended with Kaz and "Ghost". Kaz had been progressing throughout the book and I was frustrated but his unwillingness to take that one last step to prove himself to her. 

Also, Kaz was always one step ahead and so I was really excited for some surprise reveal at the end showing how awesome Kaz is and how he planned for all of the contingencies, but alas it was not to be. I can see how this would be necessary for the plot and continuing the series but it was a disappointment from the person who had been such a dynamic, intelligent character to fail so epically at the end.

But overall, this was a very good book and I look forward to the next book in the series!

Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1) by C.C. Hunter

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: October 7, 2016

Now, I will say that most anyone to starts this series already comes in biased. If you're reading this series, it is most likely because you enjoyed the Shadow Falls series and you can't wait to hear more about your favorite characters from that series. After the ending of the original Shadow Falls Series, I wasn't quite sure where this series was going to pick up. Was it going to be strictly Della, or would we see some of the other characters? I was expecting it to be mostly her casework with the FRU or something similar.

Luckily for you fans of Shadow Falls it picks up mostly where it left off. While some time has passed  Della is still at Shadow Falls with all of our good friends from the first series. And while these books focus on Della you still get to see into the lives of the other characters and see how some of their drama plays out. 

I will say that I always loved cranky Della from the original series and it was interesting to see things from her perspective. While she is still the same old, hands off Della, you get to see inside her head and some of fears and frustrations. I enjoyed her progression throughout the book and felt it was a really good storyline. I enjoyed the fact that we got to see both the mystery of Chan and the murder mystery being solved side by side. 

And there is of course a love triangle introduced (it almost wouldn't be Shadow Falls without it) but I really found myself enjoying the series despite that.

Della is a tough character who isn't afraid to stand up for herself and those she cares about and I really look forward to reading more in the next book. 

City of Eternal Night (Crescent City #2) by Kristen Painter

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: October 6, 2016

So, I came into this book already slightly disappointed from the first book. Now, I liked the characters for the most part and the plot was interesting but I felt like the action was often brushed over and the ending was very anticlimactic. As such, I came in really hoping for a big, exciting finish in this book to make for the last one.

Unfortunately, I ended up having the same problem with this book as I did with the last one. The book builds and builds and then just kind of flops at the end. I like the characters, I like the world building and I even like most of the plot but nothing is ever resolved in a satisfying way. All conflicts are short and for the most part conflict is avoided. And the most frustrating thing is that this had a lot of potential to have a killer ending. The end brings this showdown between the evil father and not just Harlow, but her long dead sister, the first born that was prophesied to kill him. And as we approached the showdown I was really hoping for something big, and yet it was all over in like 2 seconds. She walks in, kills her father and then boom, it’s over.

And Harlow was still a bit frustrating in this book. Even after everything that happened she is still pushing Augustine away and then there is this random love triangle for all of one chapter. And when Harlow finally puts on her big girl pants and chooses Augustine, I really thought things were finally going to pick up for them, and yet it doesn’t. And while Harlow is finally coming to terms with who and what she is, and is finally trying to control her powers, she makes stupid, naïve mistakes. Like making a deal with the big, evil tree that only brings sorrow, in order to try to resurrect her sister. A sister she can’t bear to live without after just learning about her two seconds ago. And when said sister appears and seems more than a little unstable and a bit psychotic, she just ignores it because hey, it’s my sister. And when said psychotic sister asks to share her body, she doesn’t even hesitate. There’s no “hey, she might be psychotic and try to take over my body(duh)”, she just says sure sister go ahead. And then is soo surprised when said psychotic sister does in fact take over her body.

 And the storyline with Giselle is getting old. Not that it's not important, I mean she is involved in a lot of it, but rather than the intrigue of the previous book, it was mostly talking and relationships and I was ready to move on from that storyline. And while I could understand the occasional check in with that story, it was almost every other chapter and I was really bored with it.  I also felt like Giselle’s sister was a very one dimensional character. She just agrees with everything and goes along with everything. I kept waiting for her to be secretly planning something and to turn out to truly be sadistic because I felt like that would have at least made her feel more like a real person.

Overall, I will say that I still enjoyed the characters and plotline enough to want to read the next book, but I’ve been pretty disappointed overall with the series. 

What's Left of Me (Hybrid Chronicles #1) by Kat Zhang

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: September 27, 2016

This is hard book to review, and unfortunately a lot of has more to do with the fact that I have a very hard time imagining a world in which the concepts the author introduces can actually lead to a functioning society. So, I will try to divide my review and focus first just on the book itself and later on the concepts or questions the book raises that, to me, felt a bit unresolvable.

As far as the book itself goes I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. Going in I was expecting this book to be told from the perspective of the soul in control (Addie) but it was actually told from the perspective of Eva, which I feel like worked better for the book. We still hear Addie and her inner dialogue with Eva but Eva is always our narrator.

Having said that, the book was often frustrating because while Eva was narrating, Addie was in control of their body, and Addie was not really one to act. She shied away from conflict, ran away whenever she was afraid, and spent a lot of time crying. And I understand her frustration and her fears, but I feel like things got better once they were kind of taking turn controlling the body.

The other worry that I had was the romance. You have two girls in one body which can complicate any romance and when Eva started to show interest in Ryan I was so sure that the author was going to have Addie fall in love with Devon and wrap it all up in a nice shiny bow and ignore all the potential complications of a romance when two people share the same body. But happily, she didn't. Addie has no feelings for Ryan or Devon and was not too happy about Eva using their body to kiss Ryan. And while that brings up a whole round of other complications, I feel like they are part of the reality of this world she is trying to create and they need to be addressed so I am glad that she didn't shy away from that.

Now, romance is one of the things that I just can't see a good work around for in this fictional world we've entered. Just looking at the example the book gave us. Eva falls for Ryan and Ryan loves her back. But Devon doesn't like Eva or Addie and Addie doesn't like Devon or Ryan. Now, Addie is starting to show some interest in Jackson but Jackson is a hybrid too. So imagine for a second that Addie is with Jackson and Eva is with Ryan. But then what about Devon and Jackson other soul? So they each find another girl. So, now we're talking 5 bodies and 10 souls. But what about the second souls in the new girls they find? And so and so forth until there is almost no end. So then what? How do they marry and have children and create any form of meaningful society. Do you share weeks or days. And what about the children? Does that mean they only see their parents every other week or every other day? The whole idea just doesn't seem to really pan out very well.

And then you think about the general running of a society. Addie is an artist, but Eva is not. So does that mean that everyone in society only does their job every other day and the other soul does their chosen job the other days? Does the dominant always get to choose or how can they divide life in a way that makes it meaningful for both. And what if one of them is a criminal. Does that mean you punish the other one too, even if they had no control over the other one's actions? Do you suppress the criminal, or does that just equate to the death punishment for every crime?

Just imagine trying to elect a president. Would have to vote for both souls or just the one soul that wants to be elected. The fact that one would make a good president doesn't automatically mean that the other would. And then what happens when the other soul takes over? You just don't have a President for the day? The same problem exists with any necessary officials. Even simple things like police officers, school teachers. And while the concept worked in the book for the small group of hybrids among a society of one soul people, I just don't see a society functioning with all hybrids.

So, if we go off the idea that settling isn't natural and the government is forcing it to happen, so how does the rest of the world actually function? And they say the hybrids were in control before the great war, what exactly does that mean? If settling isn't natural, then wouldn't everyone have been a hybrid before then. Or is this double soul thing something that happened later? There is just a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of things that I just have trouble believing that the author will be able to resolve in a believable way.

House of the Rising Sun (Crescent City #1) by Kristen Painter

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Date Finished: September 16, 2016

This book left me a bit torn. There were things that I liked and things that I didn’t like, which made it very hard to rate.

Based on the blurb you expect a book all about Augustine, but there are actually two main characters and alternating POV’s between the two of them. The second character is Olivia’s daughter, Harlow. And this is where things get complicated.

See, Harlow is pretty hard to like in the beginning. She’s closed off, selfish, and afraid of just about everything except for computers and online gaming. She is even afraid of her own Fae heritage and closes herself and pretends to be human. The good thing is that it gets better. Harlow grows throughout the book and is more enjoyable towards the end of the book, but the first part of this book it’s still hard to deal with her. And while the character POV gives you some understanding as to why she acts the way she does she just keeps going back to that “void” in her life all because she doesn’t know her Dad is. I understand the frustration, but you don’t just cut yourself off from the world because you don’t know who your dad is.

On the other hand, Augustine was a very likable character. Just enough rogue and darkness to be interesting and his interactions with Harlow are quite enjoyable.

There is some action and intrigue and mystery and it all seems to be building up to something big, and that is where I got really disappointed. See, there is this big fight going on with the vampires and yet every fight feels summarized. There’s no suspense, no tense moments, and it was all usually over in one page or less. And so I kept thinking, well, she’s building up to the big fight at the end.

And then the vampire boss kidnaps Harlow, and when Augustine comes home the fight is literally over in 1 minute or less. So I think, now it’s all going to come to a head, or some new information will be revealed or there will be some sort of cliffhanger, and yet, it just ends. In fact, I found myself paging back and forth and the end of the book wondering if my copy was somehow missing the last chapter!

The beginning was slow, the middle got better, and there was lots of buildup and yet that was the worst ending ever. All the exciting parts of the book felt brushed over and not well developed and I found that very unsatisfying, and anticlimactic.

And yet, despite all of my frustrations, by the end I really liked the characters. That alone will probably be enough for me to read the next book but I really hope things pick up because this was frustrating.

And I should note that I did not read the House of Comarre series (I guess this is a spinoff of that series).

Silence (The Queen of the Dead #1) by Michelle Sagara

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

Date Finished: September 16, 2016

I absolutely love the Chronicles of Elantra series by Michelle Sagara. I love the characters and he world building and it is a series that I will keep reading as long as it lasts (and it’s already been going for a while). So, of course when Michelle Sagara comes out with her first YA series, I have to read it.

Now, I have to admit that I was really bored through the first half of the book. and at one point even thought of not finishing. I found the main character boring and uninteresting. Nothing was really happening (despite all the vague threats that something would happen) and there was mostly just a lot of talking. Both of the main characters are still caught up on their exes and so there is no real romance building and not a whole lot developing with the necromancy either so it was a bit frustrating.

And then they go to a random party and a necromancer shows up looking to recruit Emma and things start to pick up. From there things start to move faster and there are clear goals set so even most of the down time is planning or researching. Emma finally starts using her powers and the book comes to a big closing.

I will say that I was very surprised at the end with how much I found that I had enjoyed the book. I was more than prepared to give this book a very low rating and yet, things really turned around and left me excited for the next book.

By the end I really began to like all of the characters, especially Michael. I can't remember ever reading a book with an Autistic character. I have known a few people with Autism and I felt that the author did a great job of capturing the reality for many highly functional Autistic people and the challenges for those who care for them. And what I liked the most is that she did not make him a helpless character, she gave him strength and intelligence and he of all people was able to see what others couldn't. I was so glad with his inclusion in everything and what a great, realistic character he was!!

 I also really liked the growing relationship between Emma and Eric, and the fact that it isn't romantic makes it so much more real. By the end I was surprised with how much I ended up liking the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Discount Armageddon (InCryptid #1) by Seanan McGuire

Overall Rating: 2 Stars

Date Finished: September 15, 2016

This book has been on my to-read list for quite a while. I originally wasn’t going to read the book after reading the synopsis, but a number of my friends really enjoyed the series and so I decided to at least pick it up and give it a chance.

The one thing that I will say for it, this book had a lot of originality. The concept itself was very original. The Price family work as cryptozoologist or something to that effect, they basically study paranormal creatures and maintain the environment, which often involved protecting the paranormal creatures from hunters, or protecting humans from the creatures. The Price family was very quirky and there plenty of new paranormal creatures introduced, and there was a lot of potential here, but it just didn’t quite all come together for me

Verity was very frustrating in her decisions. Ignoring the fact that she works at a strip club, we expect her to make good, logical decisions, considering that it was all her childhood was spent training for. And yet…

She has been taught her whole life to avoid the Covenant at all costs. She gets caught by Dominic, a covenant hunter, and yet the first thing she does it blurt out her name! The covenant thinks they’re all dead! They’re basically in the clear! And not only did she now endanger herself, but her whole family. Having realized her error, she of course the kills him…right? No, she proceeds to invite him out to coffee and tell her all about her family and the dragon living beneath the city. You know, the dragons believed to be extinct because the covenant wiped them out? Yeah, that’s a good idea, let’s tell the covenant everything but trust Dominic not to tell his superiors because, hey, he’s hot.

And then there were the non-existent transitions in their relationship. After their little chat at coffee Dominic decides to track her down. He wants to make a point and let her know that he knows who her cover story. So he shows up at a dance competition. You expect the creepy face you keep seeing in the crowds as you spin, or some other scare tactic. But no, he knocks out her partner and gets on the floor and dances with her. First off, she is a professional dancer. No matter how good you are, you aren’t going to be able to keep up. Second, you have not only outed her but you have now put her face in the middle of a crowd, a crowd of elite dancers who probably all recognize each other, in a competition that is probably recorded. How did it make any sense for him to get on that dance floor, expect as some excuse for the author to get them to feel the attraction of having their bodies so close together.

And then later they are in an alley and Verity is considering running away while Dominic starts to reach for his weapon. And she thinks to herself, there is more than one way to fight a battle, and then she kisses him. Umm, what? No slow build of attraction (besides their random dance together), no leaning in, no small touch here and there, just a hey, we’re about to fight so let me kiss you instead. It was just so random and awkward and the whole progression of the relationship felt so forced.

The ending was also fairly predictable. Overall, I will say that I liked a lot of the new creatures introduced, I like the concept and the world building, but I just didn’t really like how it was executed. 

Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly #3) by Susan Dennard

 

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Date Finished: August 16, 2016

I just didn’t have time to sit down and really read this as I would have liked so I ended up reading it little by little over a couple of days. There was a lot going on in this book but most of it was actually good. That being said, there a couple of things that frustrated me.

The first thing that frustrated me was Eleanor’s personality/relationships. In this book she spent a lot of time pushing everyone away. Usually they’re stupid and do that in the second book but come back better in the third book. In the last book Eleanor and Daniel were struggling to come to terms with her power and whether they would be together. And in this book they express their love and desire to be together, and yet they still spend most of the book pushing each other away.

Towards the end of the book things finally started to come together and Eleanor finally started to really pull herself together. Eleanor’s relationship with everyone started to improve, but that also created another small issue. As her relationships improved, that included her relationship with Oliver. There was so much hinting and vague comments that is started to seem like Oliver had fallen in love with Eleanor, which was a frustrating turn of events considering she was finally mending things with Daniel.

As we reach the climax there was a lot going on. There’s plenty of fighting and action but there is also a lot of important things that all happen very quickly and there were a lot that happened in that final battle that left me feeling unsatisfied.

Oddly enough it wasn't for the reason that most people were. Rather than how things ended with Daniel, I was frustrated with how things ended with Oliver. I understand why most people fixated on Daniel, but there was a lot of relationship building with Oliver, and not necessarily in a romantic sense. At the end when she released him they had a communion of sorts and came to understand one another and Eleanor felt so empty and lost without him. And yet, when he came back and gave up everything to help, I never felt like that relationship really reunited in a satisfying way. I don't mean that it has to be romantic, obviously she still loves Daniel, but not all love has to be romantic and there was clearly love between them and a tender relationship that I feel like kind of disappeared after he left which was very disappointing. He could never take Daniel's place, but he was dear to her as well and there should be some joy at having him back, rather than just sorrow for everything else.

Having said all that, overall is a was a good book, there were just a few things that left me wanting more.

Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Date finished: August 10, 2016

 

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book! I will admit that going in I was expecting to be disappointed. The way the summary was written I was expecting a lot of the same things that I’ve already read. I expected Delilah to be one of many of the overused supernatural creatures, and I expected juvenile romance, but the reality was so much better than that.

Delilah was a well written character. I enjoyed the fact that she was a very original form of supernatural and that she had a dark streak in her that craved blood and revenge. I was kind of expecting her to be cowering most of the time, and while she did have her moments of fear for the most part she was strong and fought every chance she got. And her powers and how they work is very unique and I look forward to seeing her use them more.

I will also say that I was very glad that there no romance involved at this point. The tone of the book stayed fairly dark to highlight the suffering of those in the menagerie and I feel like a romance would have ruined some of that. I was worried at first that that’s where things were going with Gallagher but I feel like their relationship is much better just the way it is. I would be fine if a romance was introduced at some further point but I was glad to see a strong female character without any need for her to be tied up in a romantic relationship.

I also like the unique way that the other supernatural creatures were portrayed. While most of the characters are common supernatural creatures, they were often portrayed in unique ways. The one thing that I would have liked a little bit more history on the reaping. There were the headlines before each chapter that gave a little history into that but I would have liked a little bit more. Now, it does seem that not even the main characters of the novel know very much about what really happened, but there are hints at how supernatural creatures (cryptids) were a part of normal life before the reaping, but no clear picture of exactly what happened or how the surrogates fit into all of this.

Either way, overall I felt that this was an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series!

The Top 25 books that take place in Washington State

 

This week we took a day trip out to the Hoh rainforest which is located on the Washington coast.  We decided to do a loop around the whole peninsula and imagine my surprise as we’re driving north to find myself in the town of Forks, WA. I knew it was on the peninsula and I knew it was somewhere in that general area, I just didn’t realize how close it was. And while I am not a Twilight fan, you can’t help but at least stop and get a picture (right?). It was interesting to see how such a small, nondescript town could become so widely known on a national level, all because of a book (and I guess you have to count the movies too…). I am a born and raised Washingtonian and I love reading books that take place here so it got me thinking about all the other books that I had read that take place in Washington. And that got me curious as to whether there were other popular books that take place in Washington that I was missing out on. Now, whether you’re from Washington, have visited Washington, or still have it on your list of places to visit, I can say that there a plenty of beautiful places to visit and I’m am obviously not the only one who thinks so because that list of books that take place right here in Washington just kept getting longer and longer the more I looked into it. 

As I continued investigating the list got up there in the hundreds so I had to start cutting down. So I’ve stuck with the top 25 most popular books that take place in Washington. Now, I haven’t read all of these books and for those books that I haven’t read personally, I’ve included average ratings from other sites. I have organized books by popularity (based on total number of reviews for the first book on Goodreads). And for those of you who have read some of these books, leave me a quick note and let me know what you thought. Did I miss any of your favorites that also took place in Washington? Let me know and I’ll add it to the growing list!

1) Twilight Series by Stephenie Myers

   

Location: Forks, WA

My Overall Rating: 2 stars

Goodreads Average Rating for Book #1: 3.56 stars (3,496,184 ratings)

Genres: YA, Fanstasy, Romance, Teen angst (no offense)

As mentioned above, no list is truly complete without including this series. Now, by the time I got around to reading this series it was already hugely popular nationwide and the movies were already being filmed. One of my younger sisters had read the series and highly recommended it so I bit the bullet and read the first book. And, unfortunately, I didn’t like it (I know, I’m so sorry, please don’t hate me). I had a hard time getting through it but my sister insisted that the second book was much better. And so on and so forth until I’d finished the whole series (and really didn’t like any of them)! I know that a lot of people love this series, and there were some very passionate Edward vs Jacob teams. And if you are one of those people, Forks does a huge Twilight festival every September, so check it out sometime!

2)  Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James

   

Location: Vancouver and Seattle

Average Goodreads rating for Book #1: 3.68 stars (1.345,983 ratings)

Genre: Romance,

Now, I am not a fan of romance. I can take some very occasional romance mixed in with the plot as long as it doesn’t get too detailed, but just straight up romance is not something that I am the least bit interested in. And beyond that, the premise of this book, the whole domination aspect, is something that really grates on me. But, as you can see by the number of ratings this was a very popular book, and to each their own I guess.

3) The Art of racing in the rain by Garth Stein

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.18 stars (316,927 ratings)

Genres: Fiction, Animals

Having never heard of this book before, this one was a big surprise based on how many other books it beat out. This is a story on family, love, loyalty, and hope, all told from the perspective of Enzo the dog. He watches his master Denny very closely as loving Enzo tries to understand the complexity of human life and troubles.  While I have yet to read the book I have heard many good things about it.

4) Where’d you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.91 stars (220,352 ratings)

Genre: Fiction, Humor, Chick Lit

This is another book that I only heard about after some searching but is one that I fully intend to look into. From what I can tell this is a humorous story about Bernadette Fox, a quirky mother who is just done with life and her loving daughter who has planned a family trip to Antarctica of all places.  And now Bernadette (described as an eccentric genius) has disappeared and Bee is on a mission to find her. Have you read this one? Let me know what you think!

5) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars (191, 376 ratings)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, World War II

The story starts at the Panama Hotel in Seattle where belongings of Japanese families interned during World War II have been located, and Henry Lee reminisces on growing up during that time, and his first love, Keiko, a Japanese student who was interned with her family. It addresses both issues of the war and prejudice that Henry’s Chinese family had against Japanese. And in reminiscing Henry hopes to find what he needs to resolves not just the past but his present as well. I have yet to read this book as well, so any insights are much appreciated!

6) Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

        

Location: Tri-cities, WA

My Overall Rating: 3.5 stars (some books were a 3, some were a 4, hence the 3.5)

Goodreads Average for book #1:  4.18 stars (121,135 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Vampires, Native American

The Mercy Thompson series revolves around Mercy (yep, you guessed it) who is a mechanic, a coyote shapeshifter, and is overall awesome. She was raised by werewolves, is friends with local vampires, and works for the grumpiest fey you’ve ever met. I was reluctant coming into this series but I really enjoyed the first book and I have enjoyed each one after it. While not all the books in the series keep you on the edge of your seat, I love all the characters and this is one of those series that I will keep reading until they stop making books.  This series takes place in Eastern Washington, which is very different from our green, wet side of the state. Now there is a bit of rivalry between the Eastern and Western sides of our state. We are separated by mountains, have completely different weather, and us Westerners tend to think there’s nothing worth seeing in Eastern Washington (sorry guys!). But, this book proves there is plenty of exciting things happening in Eastern Washington (at least fictionally). 

7) Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Location: San Piedro Island

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.77 stars (119,776 ratings)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery

This is a historical novel that takes place on the fictional island of San Piedro (supposedly just off the coast of Washington) that revolves around a murder case set in 1954. A Japanese American man is accused of killing a respected fisherman from the community and the trial deals with the community, coming to terms with issues of race and justice. This book was adapted into a movie starring Ethan Hawke in 1999.

8) Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.03 (116, 199 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary fiction,

This story follows the unlikely friendship of Kate and Tully. This stories follows their friendship from its beginning in the 8^th grade in 1974 and through the following three decades as they learn and grow and try and discover who they are and what they want in life. Their lives differ but their friendship endures.

9) With me in Seattle Series by Kristen Proby

       

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.95 (48,975 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Romance

This is another romance series that takes place in Seattle that has become fairly popular. I will admit that I had never heard of it until I started researching. As previously mentioned, I don’t read romance but if you are someone who does, then here’s another one based out of good old Seattle.

10) Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead

     

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.95 stars (44,567 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Demons

So, I have not actually read this series. But here’s the gist. Georgina is a succubus who works for hell. She lives in Seattle and spends her time working at a local bookstore where she gets free books and white mochas and drools over local writer Seth. Now a local vampire has died and it is up to Georgina to figure out who (or what) did it. I can’t give you any helpful advice on this one so you’ll just have to check it out for yourself.

11) Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega #2) by Patricia Briggs

Location: Seattle, WA

My rating: 3 stars

Goodreads Average rating:  4.26 stars (43,983 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Werewolves,

This is a spin off novel from the Mercy Thompson series. While most of the series takes place in their hometown in Colorado, this book takes place here in Washington. Anna is a rare Omega werewolf and the new mate of Charles (adopted brother to Mercy). Charles and Anna are sent to Washington to meet with werewolf leaders and, of course, chaos ensues. I liked this spin off series just as much as I liked the original Mercy Thompson series. I really like Anna as a character and I really like her relationship with Charles

12) The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting

   

                Location: Buckley, WA

My Rating: 3 Stars

                Average Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars (42,341 ratings)

                Genres: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy

               

This book takes place in Buckley, WA, a small town that is just a hop, a skip and a jump away from where I currently live. What I liked most about this series it that it was very original. Violet can sense dead bodies. She feels an echo. Sometimes she’s sees colors, hears sounds but each death leaves behind a unique echo.  Finding the bodies is easy, the real question is can she find the killer? There is definitely some teen angst mixed in there but overall this is an interesting series.

13) True Colors by Kristin Hannah

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.88 stars (30,959 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit

This story follows the lives of three sisters as they band together after their mother’s death.  The story follows them into adulthood where loyalties are tested, secrets are revealed and their relationship begins to fray at the edges. A shocking crime rocks both the family and their community and the sisters have to learn to come to terms with each other, their family, and find their own path to happiness.

14) Boneshaker (The clockwork Century #1) by Cherie Priest

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.50 stars (25,893 ratings)

Genres: Steampunk, Zombies, Alternate history

This steampunk novel provides an alternate version of 1860’s Seattle. While testing a Bone-shaking drill, Seattle is exposed to a blight gas that turns anyone who breaths it into the living dead. The city has been walled off but Ezekiel, the teenage son of the inventor who created the Bone-Shaker, is determined to rewrite his father’s part in history and will have to face zombies, pirates, and criminal overlords along the way.

15) Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber

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Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.04 stars (22,849 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Crafts

When Lydia Hoffman, a cancer survivor and owner of A Good Yarn, starts a knitting class for her patrons, she forms a special friendship and bond with three extraordinary women--Jacqueline, Carol, and Alix--and together they share laughter, heartbreak, and dreams.

16) Microserfs by Douglas Coupland

Location: Redmond, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.87 stars (20,233 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Humor, Technology

This humorous story follows the lives of six code-crunching computer whizzes who work for Microsoft. They call themselves Microserfs, and spend 16 hours a day writing code for their “Lord” Bill Gates. The story is a series of electronic diary entries and follows their lives and they grow, eventually branch out into their own company, and try to find balance in their highly computerized lives! 

17) The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

Location: Spokane, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.08 stars (18,277 ratings)

Genres:  Short stories, Fiction, Humor

This series of short stories revolves around the life of two characters as they grow up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, where author Sherman Alexie grew up himself. The stories are full of stark realism, irony, and quite a bit of humor.

18) The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Location: Bainbridge Island, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.79 stars (17,513 ratings)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Emily’s life has taken a turn for the worst and so she accepts her aunt’s invitation to spend a month with her on Bainbridge Island in WA. While there she find a red velvet diary, dated in 1943, which has surprising connections to her own life.

19) Chinooks Hockey Team Series by Rachel Gibson

     

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.86 stars (17,280 ratings)

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports, Chick Lit

This Romance series follows the ups and downs in the love lives of the fictional Chinook Hockey Team. Each book focuses on a different member of the team and their misadventures in finding love and playing hockey.

20) Cedar Cove Series by Debbie Macomber

         

Location: Port Orchard, WA

Average Goodreads Rating for book #1: 4.08 stars (15,662 ratings)

Genres: Romance

This is a romance series that takes places in a fictional town in Washington State that is modeled after Port Orchard. The series became so popular that it was later developed into a hallmark channel TV show starring Andie MacDowell.

21) Blood and Roses series by Callie Hart

     

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.09 stars (12,441 ratings)

Genres: Romance, Adult Fiction, Dark,

This is another popular romance series that takes place here in Washington. All the book summaries are fairly vague so unfortunately I can’t give you too much to go on. From what I could find in the first book the main character is desperately looking for her missing sister and is willing to do anything to find her, including turning to bad boy Zeth for help.

22) Urban Shaman (Walker Papers #1) by C.E. Murphy

Location: Seattle, WA

My Rating: 3 Stars

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.72 Stars (11,978 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic,

Joanne Walker is a police officer in the City of Seattle and she is also a Shaman. She’s been avoiding her paranormal side, but now she needs to learn to control her powers, and she’s running out of time if she wants to save her city from the Wild Hunt.  This is an odd mix of Celtic and Native American mythology. It is very similar to many other Urban Fantasies out there (including the Mercy Thompson series listed above), but… it was published a couple years before most of the other ones came out, so technically, it was still pretty original when it first came out. J

23) Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon series by Yasmine Galenorn

         

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.65 stars (11,141 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Witches, Vampires

This series follows the D’Artigo sisters, three half-human, half-faerie sisters who work for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. At the Wayfarer Inn, a portal to the Otherworld, their job is to keep the things that go bump in the night from getting through the portal and into Earth. But their mixed heritage can make things interesting as their powers can often fix out at the worst possible times.

24) Hold me closer, necromancer by Lish McBride

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.97 stars (11,076 ratings)

Genres: YA, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Zombies, Humor,

Sam has just found out that he is necromance and he has only a week to figure out how to use his powers as he is roped in by Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Luckily, Seattle has as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. The one thing that most raters can agree on it is that this book will have you laughing out loud!

25) Greywalker Series by Kat Richardson

        

Location: Seattle, WA

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.43 stars (10,985 ratings)

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

This is another series that I have not read but that has just recently found its way onto my to-read list. Harper is a Private Investigator and after a near death experience she finds that she is now a Greywalker, someone who can cross over from our world into the Grey world were vampires, ghost, and all the other monsters live.