Rachelle J. Christensen

Romance, Suspense, Mystery Author

Book Review: Followed by Frost by Charlie N. Holmberg

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

Wow! Followed by Frost was so well-written that I was sad when it was over. I loved reading the transformation of Smitha’s character as she suffers from an icy curse and learns to love. Smitha’s curse is that everything she touches freezes and she is followed by a never-ending snowstorm. This presents a unique environment for her to learn to connect and care about others.

I enjoyed the fantasy touches and world-building of this novel and the action and clean romance. The author did an excellent job of creating a character that I cared for as well as many obstacles to overcome. I haven’t read any books by Charlie Holmberg that weren’t fantastic so I guess it’s time to pick up another one!

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Book Review: Swimming in a Sea of Stars by Julie Wright

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

The Must-Read Novel About Suicide You Must Read

When I picked up Swimming in a Sea of Stars my daughter said, “Are you sure you want to read that one?” I said, “Yes, I love everything Julie Wright writes!” But I knew where her hesitation came from. This book is about a suicide attempt and as a survivor of suicide I was well aware that it might be difficult for me to read. I’m so glad that I mustered the courage to read it. Julie Wright has crafted a beautiful, original story that touches the heart, inspires the mind, and moves us to understand this devastating issue that is not going away just because we try to ignore it.

I devoured this book. I cried. I highlighted passages. I felt like Julie Wright had peeked inside my soul and understood the pain I feel because my husband died by suicide. I imagine that every person reading this book will have a different experience, but for sure they will experience something that will change the way they see the world. I also imagine that in a couple years when I read this book again I will cry in different parts and feel my heart warmed in others.

I sobbed over this line from the book:

“That was the thing I realized when it was almost too late. If I had succeeded, it wouldn’t have just been something I did to myself. It would also have been something I did to everyone who cared about me.”

Suicide is a problem that happens because of mental illness and we need to talk about it. Read this book, share this book, talk about this book, pass this book along. Please. Let’s give people the words they don’t know how to speak or understand–they are written here by Julie Wright for all of us.

Here’s more about the book:

Journal entry: Heading to school. I know what everyone will say. There goes the girl who tried to kill herself.

Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. It’s her first day back to school, several weeks after she survived her suicide attempt. She knows there are rumors about why she did it: A lousy home life? Bullying? Heartbreak? None of them are true, but it doesn’t matter because Addison still feels like she’s drowning. She still holds secrets she’s not ready to share.

During the school day, Addison encounters four other students struggling with their own secrets:

Booker is anxious about seeing Addison. They were sort of a couple until he tried to kiss her. She fled and then tried to end her life. Those two things couldn’t be related, could they?

Celia feels trapped by her mother’s abusive boyfriend. She can guess why Addison did what she did.

Damion is TikTok-famous and thinks befriending Addison could boost his followers. But what no one knows is he needs the world to remember him since his sick mom doesn’t anymore.

Avery is considered a loner and doesn’t know Addison, but they have neighboring lockers. With Avery’s older brother in jail for dealing drugs, Avery is desperate for meaningful human connection.

Swimming in a Sea of Stars is a poignant and gripping novel about how we’re all interconnected, like the stars in the night sky that form constellations and map out the universe, and if even one star goes missing, the effect is profound.

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Book Review: The Fire Queen by Emily R. King

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

I couldn’t read The Fire Queen fast enough to find out how Kalinda’s story continued. Even though it’s been awhile since I read The Hundredth Queen, I was pulled right back into this amazing setting.

King has done an incredible job of building a world with awe-inspiring powers, people, and traditions. There are so many threads to this plot and I can’t wait to see the full tapestry!

Here’s more about the book:

In the second book in The Hundredth Queen Series, Emily R. King once again follows a young warrior queen’s rise to meet her destiny in a richly imagined world of sorcery and forbidden powers.

Though the tyrant rajah she was forced to marry is dead, Kalinda’s troubles are far from over. A warlord has invaded the imperial city, and now she’s in exile. But she isn’t alone. Kalinda has the allegiance of Captain Deven Naik, her guard and beloved, imprisoned for treason and stripped of command. With the empire at war, their best hope is to find Prince Ashwin, the rajah’s son, who has promised Deven’s freedom on one condition: that Kalinda will fight and defeat three formidable opponents.

But as Kalinda’s tournament strengths are once again challenged, so too is her relationship with Deven. While Deven fears her powers, Ashwin reveres them—as well as the courageous woman who wields them. Kalinda comes to regard Ashwin as the only man who can repair a warring world and finds herself torn between her allegiance to Deven and a newly found respect for the young prince.

With both the responsibility to protect her people and the fate of those she loves weighing heavily upon her, Kalinda is forced again to compete. She must test the limits of her fire powers and her hard-won wisdom. But will that be enough to unite the empire without sacrificing all she holds dear?

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Book Review: Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

Love the clever magic system and mystery!

Spellbreaker has such a unique and clever magic system set within historic England. Elsie is a character to root for and I couldn’t read fast enough to sort out the layers of mystery! The book wraps up one mystery, but still ends on a cliffhanger. I see that it’s a duology so I’ll be eager to read the next book!

Here’s more about the book:

The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.

Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.

For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?

Other books you may enjoy:

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms (Whimbrel House Book 1) by [Charlie N. Holmberg]   

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Book Review: Impossible by Nancy Werlin

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

Impossible was an interesting book, very different from what I thought it might be and I enjoyed it.

I loved the character of Lucy and my favorite part of this teenage heroine was that she actually talked about her fears and asked for help. You know when you read those books and you’re always screaming at the character, “Just tell someone!” Impossible was refreshing because it was different. There was a strong family unit but in a different way than the traditional family.

The supernatural elements with the Faerie curse is written in a way that seems totally normal in the contemporary world. The building suspense, mystery, and romance make this a book that stays on your mind. It was fun to read it again and savor the excellent writing. Loved the romance in this one and all the different twists and turns!

Here’s more about the book:

Lucy Scarborough is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child’s birth. But Lucy is the first girl who won’t be alone as she tackles the list. She has her fiercely protective foster parents beside her. And she has Zach, whose strength amazes her more each day. Do they have enough love and resolve to overcome an age-old evil?

Inspired by the ballad “Scarborough Fair,” the New York Times bestseller Impossible combines suspense, fantasy, and romance to tell a story of love and family conquering all.

Other books you may enjoy:

Black Mirror (Nancy Werlin - Edgar-winning Suspense) by [Nancy Werlin]   

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Book Review: Fragments by Dan Wells

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

Great twists in Fragments. It did kind of meander a bit but Wells draws out such strong characters that I don’t mind following them on their journeys.

Here’s more about the book:

After discovering the cure for RM, Kira Walker sets off on a terrifying journey into the ruins of postapocalyptic America and the darkest desires of her heart in order to uncover the means—and a reason—for humanity’s survival.

Dan Wells extends his richly imagined, gritty world and introduces new memorable characters in this second installment in the Partials Sequence.

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