The Menagerie by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland

I was motivated the other day to spend the morning cooking: bread, burrito filling, chicken breasts, etc. and I wanted to listen to something. As I scrolled through my Libby app I saw this title and was intrigued as one of the reviews said it was for fans of the series Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. Perfect, I thought, my time in the kitchen cooking will fly by as I listen. 

It is similar to Fablehaven in that it involves a secret place where magical and mythical animals are safely kept. And of course, there are those who want to expose them and who want to close down these safe havens. There are three young people who will do almost anything to keep them safe and adults who seem to not mind that they are often put in danger. Besides the basics in the plot line, that is where the similarity ends. The Menagerie plods along. I wouldn't call it boring, but it's also not exciting!  It was a bit wordy for my tastes and the main characters were a bit blah. I wouldn't recommend it to a reluctant young reader, but for an avid young reader of fantasy it may be fine. 

Recommend: not really

Children's fiction, fantasy, mythical animals

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

 My teenage daughter loves to read teenage romance novels and gushes about them to me when she is finished. She bought this one while at a bookstore with her brother. I picked it up and read it in nearly one night as I was waiting up for her to come home from her Homecoming date. It was pretty average and I admit I did enjoy the storyline and the characters, at least they kept me awake past midnight!

Liz is a hopeless romantic being raised watching rom-coms with her mother. Sadly, her mother passes away and those romance movies are Liz's connection with her mother. She frames all her relationships in the context of her beloved movies. Liz has a best friend who tries to ground her in reality and a neighbor, Wes, who tormented her as a child and continues to do so as a teenager. Between these two Liz starts to see things as they really are and is able to deal with the continued sadness of missing her mother and finds her happy ending. 

Recommend: Yes

Young Adult fiction, realistic fiction, romance, loss of a parent

Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones

 Browsing my library's online library I saw this title and was especially interested when the summary compared it favorably to one of my favorite titles, Sorcery and Cecilia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede. I enjoy a bit of magic and mystery intertwined with some romance with a backdrop of regency England. 

The story started out well, but after at least 6 or 7 chapters I was still waiting for something to happen. A few more chapters and still not a lot of action. The characters were fine and the setting up of the plot seemed to work well and had great potential. But I was disappointed overall. It seemed the book was in need of a fast forward button to get to the suspense and intrigue which all happened in the last few chapters. 

Recommend: Probably not

Mystery, magic, fantasy, regency England