Last of 2015: flash book reviews

Cry of the Peacock by V.R. Christensen. Mid November
This was a Kindle book I got for free. It's a historical fiction story set in Victorian England about a girl being pressured to marry for what she'll inherit upon her marriage. The dialogue felt too modern, as were some of the characters' opinions on things, and some of the characters were cartoonishly evil. For the two main characters to get together, something has to be done about the people they're actually with, so the spares are magically paired off to each other in the end even though it makes no sense for them to be attracted to each other (well, the girl, anyway. She's so nice and the guy is such a douchey jerk that it's hard to see why she'd be secretly in love with him the whole time). This was otherwise good. 3.9/5 ***BREAKING: as of today, 1/8/16, the ebook is free on Amazon!***

I have this app (Appsgonefree) that tells me about the apps that are free that day, and one a while back was an ebook app of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It had interesting animations made from the illustrations, but the "page" background had that burnt/antiquated look that made it hard to read the black text sometimes. I would have been annoyed had I spent money on it, but for free it's fine. 3.9/5

Sorcery and Cecilia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. Late November
I LOVED THIS. I had read an excerpt a long time ago but never got around to getting this book until the ebook version (I think Nook from Barnes & Noble) went free, and I pounced on it. It's historical fantasy set in Regency England, like if Jane Austen were more lighthearted and could do magic. Way more bubbly and fun than Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but along those lines (nothing about fairies tho). The two authors are because it's an epistolary novel: two cousins write letters to each other about a magical plot, cute annoying gentlemen, the Season, London, parties, fashion, and getting around their strict aunts. I highly recommend this. 4/5

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. Mid December
This is an excellent book to read if you want to be immersed in grief because you cannot be best friends with Mindy Kaling IRL. It's a book of essays like her last book, so if you liked that/other "essays by famous people/comedians" books, you'll like this too. 4/5