Call the Midwife
By Jennifer Worth
Genre: Nonfiction
Personal Rating: 10/10

It has been a long time since I've enjoyed a book this much. I am a big fan of the BBC series Call the Midwife, and when my neighbor offered to lend me her copies of the books that this fascinating show was based off, I couldn't refuse. I have just finished the second book in this series and have not been disappointed in the stories, the writing, and the overall heart of these books.

What makes these books so fascinating is that they are filled with absolute true stories of life in the East End of London in the 1950's. Jennifer Worth trained in nursing, not writing, and yet she has such marvelous descriptions and she gives such life to the characters. Her writing is so engaging that I felt like I was truly living the life of a Midwife in the 1950's. Few professional writers have the story telling skills that this retired midwife has.

As far as appropriateness, I will say that this book gets a bit graphic in its descriptions of child birth and the horrible circumstances the author has encountered. Nothing I read was overly disturbing to me, however, and since it is all historical it didn't bother me or feel unnecessary. The author is respectful and tells her stories as accurately as she can. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone younger than 16, however.

I love these books. I would say that anyone with a love of history--particularly English history--needs to read these books.

Blood Rose Rebellion
By Rosalyn Eves
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Personal Rating: 6/10

Anna has been a social outcast almost her whole life for her lack of magic. Things only get worse, however, when she accidentally breaks her sisters debutante spell. To protect her from the scrutiny of society, her family sends her to Hungary, where she meets a band of magic wielding Gypsies. As Anna gets caught up in a rebellion against the magic system, her entire word changes and her true potential is revealed.

This book was interesting enough, but in the end I couldn't find anything really unique or captivating about the story, characters, fantasy elements, or much else. I did like how the book was set in Hungary, that was different. I was very excited to read a book set in Hungary, excited to learn about the culture, however the book did little with the unique setting, I didn't feel like I actually learned anything about Hungary, which was the main reason I chose to read this book.

There wasn't anything necessarily bad about this book, but nothing extremely good either. I'm not a big fantasy fan, and this book didn't really change that, unfortunately. There isn't any usage of major swears or explicit content. It was a clean book, but sort of boring.

By Your Side
By Kaise West
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: 9/10

Over a long weekend Autumn, anxiety prone good girl, and Dax, reclusive loner, accidentally get locked in a library together. Autumn isn't thrilled about being locked in a spooky building with Dax for three days, knowing that her friends would soon realize that she was missing and would come back to rescue her. Except, no one comes. When it becomes clear that they are stuck together, a reluctant bound forms between the two, but can it survive outside of the library?

Everything about this book is just my favorite. Being locked in a library for a weekend? Yes please! And of course I love Kasie West's work, so it's safe to say that I was extremely excited to read this book. It definitely lived up to my expectations! It was cute, romantic, and addictive, just like all of her books. One aspect of this book that I wasn't expecting but really appreciated, is the focus on anxiety and mental illness. I felt like a normal level of anxiety that a lot of people live with everyday was perfectly represented in this book. I liked it so much better than Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, where the anxiety disorder was handled with too much humor and the anxiety wasn't very realistic. I really enjoyed it.

Overall, I really loved this book! I read it really fast and never wanted to put it down. Kasie West is my favorite contemporary writer.