Author Archives

by

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I wanted to like it so much, I read the entire book hoping it would get better, even though all I wanted to do was give up. The only thing that kept this book from being one star was the writing itself. It was stunning, even if the rest of the story failed to live up to the hype.

It took forever for this book to get a plot started. There were pieces of information given and a beautiful setting described, but nothing really happened. I kept waiting for the challenge or duels referenced in the description to start, and they never did. The characters didn’t really have much depth to them until the final stages of the book.

The one saving grace of this book was how well Morgenstern can write descriptions. I could picture everything, in detail, in my head as I read. I could smell everything and sometimes felt like I could reach out and touch what she was writing about.

This book will appeal to some people. I am not one of those people. I need the writing to match the story and this book falls drastically short, in my opinion.

by

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I’m a little conflicted about this book. I liked some parts and other parts made me come dangerously close to just giving up on the book.

I enjoyed the attempt at mixing up the traditional YA book by writing in the lead male’s POV; however, he just didn’t seem male enough. As much as the 16/17 year old girls in Young Adult books don’t seem to fit the typical teen girl idea, Ethan was even further from the typical teenage male ideas. I can’t think of any guy I knew growing up that could focus on a girl’s clothing so much or how he was feeling towards her if it went beyond lust.

I did like the newer take on witches (Casters in this book) and their world. It was interesting to see a little bit different spin on the powers and abilities so many others have written about. It wasn’t entirely unique, but there was enough of a change to keep me interested.

The length of this book was entirely too long and the portrayal of the South is way too clichéd. It just didn’t work.

It took me nearly 200 pages to get interested enough to ignore the things I should be doing in favor of reading. This book just wasn’t my cup of tea, but I do know the select few friends I’d recommend this to. However, for the general public, I’m not sure it’s all it’s been made out to be.

by

Hand Me Down by Melanie Thorne

I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how much this book moved me.

I could feel the pain Liz was going through each time I turned the page, and the anger she had at the world around her. I had more hope for her than I’ve had for any other character in a long time. She was such a strong character, with so much determination to not let the mistakes of those around her bring her down to their level.

I wanted to shake some sense into the adults in this book. They are flawed and not very good human beings, but as horrible as they are, it is written so wonderfully there are a few you feel a tiny bit of sympathy for. You learn enough about why some people are they way they are that, while it doesn’t excuse them, it makes their behavior believable. Each person is the way they are for a reason, and after you learn those reasons, each character becomes a real person.

I was incredibly touched by this book and will tell every single one of my friends they need to give this book a read.

by

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

I’m having a hard time coming up with the words I need to describe this book. I loved Never Knowing and was excited to start Still Missing. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started read it, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I went through reading this book.

I love the way Stevens wrote this book as a set of flashbacks, each “chapter” book ended by Annie’s therapy sessions. I think the reason I love it so much is because it makes this a story about Annie and how she deals with the world after this horrible things happens to her.

The one line from the book that really stuck out to me was, “I just wonder why nobody cares much about the after—just about the story. Guess they figure it stops there. I wish.”

It’s one thing to write a moving story about the “during,” but to tackle a novel about the after really got to me. Yes, Annie’s depictions of what happened to her in the cabin were horrible, and there were times I had to stop reading for a little while. But what really made me feel for Annie was her struggle to return to something normal, her fights to eat whenever she pleased, or to sleep on a bed instead of in the closet.

Annie fought in one way to stay alive when she was in captivity, but she was fighting a completely different fight when she returned to her life. That is what made me love this book. Everything is out there and it’s raw and while I have never been through anything Annie went through, I felt a little bit of her pain.

The last line of this book made me cry more than I thought a book could make me cry. This is a book that has made me think and feel and I will tell anyone who will listen to read this book.

by

Pure by Julianna Baggott

I’m not even sure what to write about this book. It was yet another dystopian novel, and yet it wasn’t. Because the future painted in this book is one that people can actually think of. Each time the Detonations are mentioned, it’s hard to not think about what could have happened, had the Cold War ended very differently.

People remember what the world was like before, and they see what life has become after. Life has been changed so much, and yet there are touches of the old world thrown about to remind the survivors of what used to be. This eerie collision of the past and present creates one of the best settings for a novel I’ve ever read.

Pressia slowly became one of my favorite examples of a strong novel heroine. She does not have the physical strength to compete against others, she can’t scare attackers away with just her looks, she’s not the most creative thinker, and yet she gets things done. She finds strength in her hope and compassion, in her drive to remember the past and who she is. She wants to prove people wrong, and to prove herself wrong and to find something better in the dark world she lives in.

Partridge finds his strength when he sees just how imperfect his seemingly perfect world is. He’s hunting for his mother and he sees just what has happened to those people that weren’t lucky like he was. It makes him want to fight for those people and what he knows to be right, not what he’s told is right.

The one hitch I found in the book is how easily some things slide into place, or are explained. It seems like some aspects of the story were made to fit easier into the story instead of present a problem so the story could progress a little fast. While I understand why it was done, I do wish a few parts of the story hadn’t been so easy.

I was completely drawn into this story and am already wishing I had the next part of the story. I can’t wait to see the next part of Pressia and Partridge’s story.

by

Dark Lake: An Allie Armington Mystery by Louise Gaylord

This was the first of the Allie Armington books I’ve read, and it definitely drew me in right away. The action was very well paced and I really enjoyed the characters. They had a bit of a Nancy Drew feel, but with a much more adult and realistic feel to it.

There were a few loose ends that I’m left wondering about, but I’m wondering if, because this is part of a series, those questions will be answered in a later book. Along the same vein of being just one in a series, having little pieces of her history pop up that are never fully explained, was just a little distracting. Maybe those little tidbits are explained in the previous books, but I was a little thrown off pace when they would creep up.

The characters are all very well developed and unique. While some characters might have the same general tones, their individual personalities are all very different and interesting to read about.

Overall, this was a fantastic book and a gripping mystery that had me guessing until the very end. I will definitely recommend this book to any mystery lovers I know.

by

Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

After I finished reading this book, all I wanted to do was drive home and give my own dogs a huge treat and all the love I could.

This was a heartwarming book that made me laugh and cry. As a person who loves her dogs more like little people than actual dogs, I simply loved reading about life through a dog’s eyes and his search to find his purpose. Why was he put on this earth and what can he learn each time his soul is brought back?

I fell in love with the dog a little bit more through each of his lives, completely immersed in the story he was telling. This wasn’t like The Art of Racing in the Rain where the dog understands words and concepts completely. Instead, this dog knows simple words, but builds the view of the world through actions and his own feelings. He trusts his dog instincts and uses those to guide his life. He’s more like how I envision a dog thinking about everything going on around him.

There were several times when I started to cry reading, so I suggest having a box of tissues near you as you read. It’s happy and sad tears, but it’s all worth it to read this stunning book.

I wish I was able to write more about how this book made me feel, but I can’t think of any words that adequately describe the feelings. If you are a dog lover, you must read this book. It will make you love your dog even more than you thought possibly.

by

Bloodspell by Amalie Howard

Like most Young Adult novels, I go in hoping for a diamond, be prepared for piles of dirt. Bloodspell is definitely a diamond and I am so thankful to JKSCommunications for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

The book starts off with a bang and it just keeps going from there. There is rarely a lag in the action and forward progression of the story, but it is paced just right. There’s never a flood of information, and everything that is reveled makes sense and isn’t confusing. Each time more magic and mystery was reveled, I was left wanting just a little more information, only to get more a few pages later. It was wonderful and kept me glued to the pages.

While I understood why it was necessary, the “I love you but we shouldn’t be together” subplot is starting to get old. However, it does make sense in this book and I was able to look past that aspect of the relationship between Victoria and Christian. Christian is another swoon-worth YA male character. Victoria is a strong girl coming into her own, who knows how to rely on herself, but also knows when she needs to ask for help. I enjoyed the other, more minor characters, but I was really hoping some of them would play a bigger role in more of the story, instead of just the climax.

Overall, this was a great read and I found it hard to put down. I can’t wait to see what Howard does next with this wonderful story.

by

God’s Eye by A.J. Scudiere

I was a little worried when I started reading this book that it would be more on the religious side of looking at good vs. evil and angels and demons. I was happily surprised that this couldn’t have been further from the truth. This was a fantastic look into a woman growing into her own life and how things can be deceptive on the surface.

Katharine lives under the shadow of her family’s wealth. She does what is expected of her without much questioning and lives the life someone else has planned for her. By the end of the novel, she is a strong woman, taking charge of her life and doing things her way. The progression between the two personalities was amazingly well written and seamless. It wasn’t some moment of clarity that didn’t fit with the rest of the novel. Bits and pieces fell into place so that by the time the climax of the book hit, it all made sense.

Margot was perfect as a friend for Katharine. She’s strong and smart and doesn’t turn away from Katharine when she needs someone more, even though she would have every right to turn away and let Katharine handle her problems on her own.

As for the rest of the story, I loved how Scudiere took a pretty common idea, the battle between good and evil, and looked at it in a new way. She really made me think about the differences between the two and how something might seem like it is good and wonderful, but the end result may be just the opposite. It wasn’t thrown in my face, but it was slowly introduced through the character’s actions and words.

The ending of this book was powerful and just like it should be. Everything in the novel led up to one moment and the way Scudiere write the ending couldn’t have been more perfect. It’s empowering and just what a person wants when they read something like this.

I loved this book and am so happy I was able to read it.

by

Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to read Hunted through JKSCommunications. I’m so happy I was able to read this book.

I was a little worried when I started this book. The first couple of chapters felt a little too much like a typical teen/high school story. The new girl shows up, almost everybody dislikes her right away, she crushes on the hot guy everyone wants and is befriended by the other outcasts. However, once the story really started to pick up, it was fantastic.

Caitlyn is a wonderful strong female lead character. She knows her own strength and uses it to not only help herself, but help others. She doesn’t look to others for her power; she looks to herself for strength. Rachel is the best friend everyone needs to have and Alex is completely swoon-worthy. I have to say, my favorite character was Mrs. Vespa. There was just something about her that made me love her.

The message for this book is an important one and I feel Rainfield was able to get it across without using flashing lights and neon signs. It’s in the way she reveals the characters, the school, and society. It’s a subtle placing of words that makes your skin crawl because you know what is happening is wrong.

This was a wonderful book and I can’t wait to read what happens next.