whatsleahreading

  Deep in the forest, in a time where man and machine can coexist side by side, an inventor android named Giovanni Larson lives with a sociopathic refurbished nurse machine, a highly-anxious but very loyal robot vacuum, and his human son, Victor. For Giovanni, Vic, and their unlikely companions, life in the protection of their hidden wood is full of wonder. Then, one day, Vic discovers the remains of an android they name "Hap" in the scrap yard near their homes in the trees. Following in the steps of his father, Vic restores the mysterious machine and unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will alter the course of their lives forever as a shared, dark past between Giovanni and Hap comes to light. A rather dystopian, robot-riddled retelling of Pinocchio, "In the Lives of Puppets" is teeming with the kind of dark, laugh-out-loud moments, unforgettable misfit ensembles, and heartstring-tugging magic that trademarks TJ Klune at his very, very best. This story is...

  The year is 1939. Against the backdrop of a tumultuous, war-torn London, sisters Hazel and Flora Linden escape as often as they can into a magic world all their own--Whisperwood. In the whimsical world of Whisperwood, there are no bomb threats or impending calls for evacuation; no message from the battlefields that their father will not return home to them. Before long, Hazel and Flora are evacuated to a quaint, rural village to live with Bridie Aberdeen and her young son, Henry. And there, away from the horrors of World War II, Flora disappears into thin air. Set in a dual-timeline of 1939 and 1960 London, "The Secret Book of Flora Lea" is what devoted Patti Callahan Henry readers have come to love from her: a modern story with an undercurrent of mystery that leans on flashbacks from the past as the true story comes to light. Despite its allure as part-historical fiction and part-modern fairytale, "The Secret Book of Flora Lea" was lacking in execution for me...

  In the wake of a domestic tragedy, fate has seemingly brought D.C. philanthropist Sloan Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery together. After the jarring loss of both of their spouses, the Montgomerys are desperate for a fresh start in the capital and ready to put the unnerving past behind them. But as she settles into the solace of her new marriage, Sloan begins to succumb to the ceaseless grip of her chronic illness, something she very much hoped to leave in the past. As her health rapidly deteriorates, the Senator enlists the help of in-home health aide Athena Karras, who may have more than the Senator's wife's recovery on her mind. "The Senator's Wife," as many reviewers have remarked, is a full-throttle, can't-really-believe it soap opera. While the premise and backdrop of Washington D.C. are compelling enough, the plot lacked even a nuance of profundity. Once again, I found myself thinking that Liv Constantine--dare I say it--writes like someone who...

  Nestled in a small, sleepy town in upstate New York lies the house of lineman Aidan Thomas and his 13 year-old daughter, Cecelia. Behind the house is a shed. And within that shed, is a nameless woman. She's been there five years.   And she's the one victim whose life Aidan has--for reasons unbeknownst to her--spared. When Aidan and Cecelia must unexpectedly move to a rental house in town, the nameless woman comes too. Still Aidan's prisoner, but presented to Cecelia as Rachel, the quiet tenant renting out their spare room. As the woman's world expands beyond just Aidan for the first time in years, her hope of escape--however small--returns, but one wrong move under the guise of the tenant could be the end of everything. Told in various points of view that alternate between the woman from the shed, Cecelia, and Emily, a bartender from a popular restaurant in town, "The Quiet Tenant" is a masterfully-executed story that tells you exactly what it is from t...

  On the utopian island of Prospera, Proctor Bennett leads a rewarding life as a ferryman. Tasked with guiding those ready to "retire" onward to a mysterious island called the Nursery when their embedded monitors fall below 10%, Proctor believes in the Prosperan way: live, retire, and be born anew, with a restored body and a mind wiped of all previous memories. By this process, Prospera has order. And life is good. That is, until Proctor receives the call to retire is own estranged father. Riddled with unease as he accompanies his father to the ferry, Proctor soon realizes something is very wrong. His father leaves him with a disoriented, unsettling message: "Orianos, it's all Orianos." But what does it mean? From that moment on, Proctor finds himself propelled into a ceaseless pursuit for the truth. Life on Prospera may not be all that it seems; the same goes for its neighboring island called the Annex. All around, unrest is growing, mysterious "echoes...