Lit Literature Gang

By Jashan Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan is the first book in the Ranger's Apprentice series, and follows the adventures of young orphan named Will who aspires to be a knight but instead takes an unexpected turn in career. Set in the kingdom of Araluen, The Ruins of Gorlan  setting largely resembles medieval Europe. At this point in time, Will is 15 and is prepared to face war against Lord Morgorath, an evil overlord who tried to take over Araluen at the time of Will's birth, and is determined to strike again. Though small and not the strongest of boys, Will wants to be apprenticed by Redmont Castle knight school, as he wants to follow the legacy of his father, who supposedly died fighting as a knight, a hero. However, he is not accepted. Though Will is devastated, he is shortly offered an apprenticeship from the Ranger Halt. Rangers are the tacticians and watchmen of Araluen. Their ubiquitous weapon of choice is the bow and arrow, which Will is...

When I first started reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins at the recommendation of a friend, I had low expectations. I’m not usually one for romance novels, and the title led me to make the assumption that it would just be another one of those super spicy, kinda gross, absolutely-no-plot romance books. (I admit that I was wary of romance after my last book, Vendetta by Iris Johanssen, which I thought would be a cool spy novel with romance on the side but ended up being a weird romance novel with kinda boring spy stuff on the side [would not recommend!]). Once I read the first chapter of Anna and the French Kiss, I realized that my assumptions about the book were completely and utterly incorrect.                First of all, the only reason it’s a French kiss is because Anna (the main character)’s father sent Anna across the ocean against her will to a fancy boarding school in Paris, France for h...

By Kate A Escaping from Houdini is the third of four books in Kerri Manscalo’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series. It takes place in early January of 1889 on the RMS Etruria , aboard which the Moonlight Carnival performs nighly for the enjoyment of the ship’s passengers. The ship has just embarked on its week-long journey from London to New York, and the bodies of young, privileged women begin turning up. Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a forensic student from London, investigates the crimes along with her uncle and forensics professor, Jonathan Wadsworth, and her fellow student and lover, Thomas Cresswell. The trio works together to solve the crimes and interrogate each of the suspects, including the Moonlight Carnival’s mysterious ringmaster, Mephistopheles, and Harry Houdini, one of the carnival’s many performers. Who is behind these murders, what is their motivation, and will the mystery be solved before the RMS Etruria reaches New York and the murderer is set free in America? This book...