Madison Reads Books

I thoroughly enjoyed The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. Its an enemies to lovers fantasy romcom with a morbid side and a healthy does of zombies. Hart is a Marshall patrolling a dangerous magical area inside of a portal and Mercy is an undertaker living in a border town, and they have hated each other from the moment they met, however, after unknowingly becoming pen pals, they start to reevaluate their first impressions. This book made me laugh and cry, and I was very invested in the two main characters and their romance. The only real criticism I have is that there could have been more world building. There was some background throughout the book to explain the new gods and the old gods and how the religion works, but there wasn't alot of explanation for the technology, and I never really felt like there was a point in the book where I understood how this world works. It didn't really detract from the main plot, it just felt like there was no reason for why some ...

I love this series, and My Imaginary Mary lived up to all of my expectations. The story features Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace as the protagonists of an alternate history fantasy with lots of ties to the Frankenstein story. Like all of the books in this series, the book is full of jokes and modern references targeted at the reader in the style of The Princess Bride or The Hitchhiker's Guide. Overall, this is a fun historical fantasy that never takes itself too seriously. * I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley

I absolutely loved Violet Made of Thorns. It has everything I enjoy in a book; a morally grey anti-heroine, a good system of magic, a believable enemies to lovers plot, and an intriguing story line that kept me interested and theorizing until the end. Violet is a Seer who grew up poor on the streets before saving the prince and becoming the royal seer. She has no problem lying or embellishing her visions in order to keep the King on her side, even if the Prince hates her for it, until she realizes that her lies may have triggered a curse that could end them all. I really hope there is a sequel to this, and I hope it is coming soon. * I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley

Established characters don't always translate well to YA, but that is not the case with this book. Zatanna is a teenager living on Coney Island with her parents, who are stage magicians and can't wait to spend the whole summer with her two best friends and the boyfriend her parents don't approve of. It looks like it will be a normal summer until she discovers the ability to do real magic and uncovers a mystery regarding her family. The story was well-written and engaging, and the artwork is gorgeous. The only other Zatanna story I've read is the DC Comics Bombshells series, but I can't wait to read more and hope a sequel is coming soon. * I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley

Accomplished is a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Georgiana Darcy's point of view. It picks up in the aftermath of her older brother and guardian discovering George Wickham selling drugs out of her dorm room and deals with Georgiana learning to cope on her own and accept help from others.The story is written in the first person, and there is lots of teenage angst, but overall it is a really good story. I'm always interested to see how author's handle the Wickham situation in modern retellings, and I think Amanda Quain chose well. Overall, if you don't mind a bit of teenage angst, I highly recommend this book. *I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley

Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. Thank You For Listening is a fun romance set in the world of audiobook narration and features a main character who is cynical about love and has to learn to accept herself before she can accept romance. One of my favorite things about Thank you for listening is that romance novels play a very important role in the plot, and Whelan includes several common tropes in a very tongue in cheek way that makes it clear that both the characters and the reader are in on the joke. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I've always been a fan of classic country music, so I was excited to read Marc Eliot's The Hag. This was a well written, well researched biography. Marc Eliot sticks to the facts and still managed to tell the story of Merle Haggard's life in an interesting and engaging way. I would highly recommend this book to any music fans. This was a slow read for me, not because it was poorly written or uninteresting, but because it is dense with lots of information backed up by footnotes and source material. I received a review copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

Anybody who knows me knows my two favorite authors are Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, so I feel like this book was tailor made for me. Its a cozy mystery a la Agatha Christie featuring characters from all six Jane Austen novels. The book was well written, all of the characters felt true to the original novels, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end.  I received a review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.