Category Archives: The Must Reads

These are the books that I think are a must read.

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Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

I haven’t read anything of Jio’s before. Blackberry Winter was a Kindle Daily Deal and the description sounded interesting. At worst, I’d be out three dollars. At best, I’d find one of those gems that sneak up on you. Blackberry Winter is definitely a gem.

Blackberry Winter weaves together two different tales of struggles and loss. Vera heads to work one evening and when she leaves there is snow blanketing the ground and her son is gone. Claire’s life is in pieces and it takes a snow storm to put her on the path to fixing herself. The stories are beautifully interwoven, constantly pulling at my heart and never giving a moment of rest.

I did figure out early on most of how the characters are connected. I initially thought that knowing the big mystery would take me out of the novel. It didn’t at all. I still needed to know how things got from point A to point B and all the little pieces in the middle.

Vera’s story had me in tears. The pain she went through is something no mother should ever have to go through. And to have it set in 1933, when times were dire or times were fantastic, all depending on how much money there was to your name. She worked hard to make life as good as she could for her son, and it was so easy to feel the love she had for him.

Claire is going through her own heartache. Her world has been broken to bits and she’s not sure how she’s supposed to put it back together. When a May snowstorm hits and she comes the story of Vera and Daniel Ray, something in her compels her to dig the truth out. She needs to find out how Vera’s story ends and I loved going on that journey with her.

Sarah Jio is an author that hadn’t been on my radar before. But after reading Blackberry Winter, I will definitely be reading more of her writings. She wove a breathtaking story through these pages and had me tearing up at the end. This is a book that needs to be read.

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The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Here’s the thing. Obviously scary things don’t scare me. I can watch horror movies and not really flinch. In order to have me freaked out, things can’t be obvious.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer had me freaked out. Mara isn’t the most reliable of narrators, even though I knew she wasn’t crazy. She’s still a little bit unstable at times. And I loved that. It makes everything just a little bit unknown. I knew she was telling the truth, but I also knew she didn’t know the whole truth. When things in the novel started to change, I was getting freaked out.

In The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I felt like the balance between paranormal and romance was off. There was too much romance and not enough paranormal. The Evolution of Mara Dyer found the balance. There’s enough of Noah Shaw being romantic to keep me swooning and smiling, but there was more than enough paranormal to keep me turning page after page.

Noah Shaw was another issue I had with Unbecoming. He was too perfect. Tall, British, rich…it was just a little too much. His perfect exterior started to crack, though, in Evolution. He’s still the same tall, British, rich boy, but his imperfections are starting to break through. They are making me love him a little bit more each time I see one.

Mara. I like her. She does what she has to in order to keep fighting. She doesn’t wait for the guy to swoop in and save her. She knows when to take things on herself and when she needs help, but she does things for herself. She may not always trust what she sees or hears, but she trusts herself to do what she needs to. I wish there had been a bit more explanation of her powers and what in the world is going on, but I get why that wasn’t in this book. And I can’t wait to read it in the next one.

After being a little let down with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I didn’t want to expect too much out of The Evolution of Mara Dyer. Hodkin wrote a book I was not expecting, even a little bit. It has that creep factor that had me on edge. It has that sweet teen romance that makes me smile. It has everything I like to read in a book and then just a little more. I’m riveted and after the ending of The Evolution of Mara Dyer, I need 2013 and The Retribution of Mara Dyer to get here now.

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A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young

I was feeling a little “eh” about A Need So Beautiful. It was good, but it was missing something. A Want So Wicked made up for that and then some. My eyes were getting foggy as I read my way through the book; it was that touching and wonderful.

A Want So Wicked picks up where A Need So Beautiful left off. We’re thrown right into Elise’s life, all the while knowing where she came from, even though Elise doesn’t have any idea. It was a little easy to pick up on the good and bad in the novel, but that didn’t make me enjoy it any less.

Harlin was even more wonderful in this book, and even Abe’s charms worked on me every once in a while. Lucy was a fantastic secondary character. I felt for the relationship between Elise and Lucy, it’s the type of sister relationship I wish more novels had.

Elise had me tearing up. As much as Charlotte’s story pulled at me, Elise’s did tenfold. Her confusion around her life and feels was so well written, it made my chest hurt. I wished more than anything the story would end differently than I knew it had to.

The ending was perfect and yet I hated it (in a good way). I’m just going to hope and wish there will be a third novel. I want more of Harlin and Elise/Charlotte’s story.

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The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Some books are so good that when you reach the last chapter, after every line, you look away and say “I just can’t handle this. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” The Crown of Embers is one of those books.

Elisa grew up so much in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, that I wasn’t sure there would be any room left for her to grow. I was so wrong. She still doesn’t have the strength she needs to rule a country. She’s not that sure of her own power yet. Despite her best efforts, she’s able to be manipulated and the glory of her victory in war is starting to fade. She’s not weak, however. She is willing to do whatever she needs to save her country and its people, and she’s definitely not stupid about how she fights her battles.

The romance in this one had me feelings like a giant puddle of goo. Her love with Humberto was sweet, and it’s a love she’ll never forget. First loves are like that. I’ll even admit to spending the first couple chapters just wishing Humberto would make a surprise appearance. But then, something wonderful happened and now I’m even more in love with Elisa’s romance. It’s built upon trust and respect and it’s so, so, so amazing.

Once again, Carson is able to build Elisa’s wonder fantastically. Every location is beautifully described, jumping off the page and coming to life.

The Crown of Embers is one of my favorite books of the year. It’s filled with everything I love and nothing I don’t. Carson writes the story I didn’t even realize I wanted and she does it so perfectly that there really isn’t anything I can say against it. The Crown of Embers is a book that deserves to be read and I really can’t wait for The Bitter Kingdom.

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Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

I love a book that can give me that creepy feeling, where you don’t want to turn the page but you have to because you need to know what comes next. Girl of Nightmares is that kind of book.

Girl of Nightmares follows Cas as he tries to come to terms with losing Anna, and finding a way to see if she’s at peace after she sacrificed herself to save him. It’s a little more emotional than Anna Dressed in Blood, but it also has those light moments to keep it from dragging. There are enough side stories to keep the secondary characters involved and real, and yet it’s easy to see the main storyline.

Anna isn’t in this book much, but that’s okay. She doesn’t need to be in order for her to have an impact. Her absence in Cas’ life is felt by having her absent in the book. She only really shows up near the end, and while I’m sad there’s not going to be another book to their story, the ending is perfect for them. It was exactly what I wish for in any ending of a story. It felt right and gave me that happy feeling while still making me sigh because there’s nothing more.

Once again, Blake’s writing style helps make this novel amazing. She doesn’t skimp on anything. You get the full effect of everything creepy and morbid in this novel. If something happens, she doesn’t make the book prettier and gloss over it. If a ghost is gross, you read that. If a place is creepy beyond belief, she makes you believe it. It is fantastic.

Girl of Nightmares is an amazing sequel to a wonderful book. It’s a fitting conclusion to the story of Anna and Cas. Even though I wish there could be more, Blake managed to end the series on a perfect note.

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Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

I had never read a book written in free verse style. It’s not really my thing. I prefer my poetry to be poetry and my novels to be novels. That said, there is no other way this story could have been told. I simply don’t think all the emotion and passion and heartbreak could have gotten across any other way.

The characters in Exposed are amazingly well-written. They aren’t really black and white, but I felt for them in some way in every poem. The story is told through Liz’s point of view, and her aching was completely visible and palpable. It oozed off the page and crawled under my skin until I was a teary mess because it was horrible, and yet the book was so good.

The way Marcus didn’t really give a definitive answer on the major plot point was genius. I didn’t need to know the yes or no answer. Either way, it was a horrible situation and an answer wasn’t going to solve it. Too much hurt had already happened for any result to heal the wounds.

There honestly isn’t anything else I can say about this book, except that people need to read it. It is so incredibly raw and powerful that there aren’t words that adequately describe how stunning this book is in its heartbreak.

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Defiance by C.J. Redwine

I try to go into books with no expectations, that way I’m not disappointed when they don’t live up to what I wanted. I tried to do the same for Defiance, but for some reason, there was this voice in the back of my mind telling me it was going to be a good book.

It was.

The characters are real. They have flaws, but they work with them and find ways to work situations to their advantage. They grow as characters in real ways. They don’t suddenly come to life-altering conclusions that make your head spin. Every time they realize something, it fits. It makes sense.

There’s wasn’t insta-love like so many Young Adult books like to have. Yes, there was attraction right from the beginning. But it wasn’t disguised as love. It took a while to get to the love and when it happened, it was perfect.

The story itself is pretty unique, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. There’s plenty of action to keep the pace moving, but when there is a moment to rest and relax, it’s not filled with dribble. Every word has a purpose and I loved that.

There was enough world-building to make it work, while still leaving enough questions to have me eagerly awaiting the next book. There was enough of a resolution to leave a content feeling, but enough of a cliffhanger to have me counting down the days until the next book is released.

Defiance is a fantastic novel, kicking off what is sure to be a huge series. It has enough of everything a great novel needs without being completely heavy. It’s definitely a book people need to pick up and read.

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The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

I’m not sure I have enough words to adequately express how much this book moved me. Usually, a book that feels slow to start and has slightly confusing chapters doesn’t affect me this much, but The Paris Wife slowly tore me to pieces with its heart and pain, and at the very end, I was reading through tears.

The Paris Wife tells the story of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley, and the beginnings of his career. No one seems especially thrilled at the start of their relationship, but they were in love. It was easy to see, even through the very end. And I think that’s why it hurt so much at the end. It wasn’t hatred that I felt, reading those last chapters. It was Hadley’s love; so much love that she knew she had to let it go, or it would destroy them more than it had already.

It’s easy to see the Ernest Hadley fell in love with. But as he gained success, he began to lose himself to his work, and in turn, losing his wife and family. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to read, because as much as you want it to turn out, you know it doesn’t. Each little piece of love and adoration I read was like another tiny needle poking me; simply because I knew their happiness wouldn’t last forever.

The novel does start of a little slow, and some of the vacation chapters where lots of people are mentioned got a little confusing, but all of that pales in comparison to how fantastic the rest of the novel is. It will make you feel, it will hurt, and the ending breaks your heart, but it is such a fantastic, amazing, wonderful, splendid novel that you can’t help but keep reading. This has easily become a must read book, and one of the best books I’ve ever read.

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Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Nothing makes me happier when reading a book than when that book is able to completely shock and stun me. Speechless is one of those books. I figured it would be a good read, maybe a little preachy, and ultimately get a message across. What I got instead was a book that was real and twisted my heart in one of the best ways possible.

After what she says nearly gets someone killed, Chelsea takes a vow of silence. In the beginning, her silence feels more like an attempt to make herself feel better about what happens. She realizes that words can have an impact, but it didn’t feel like she really understood that. By the end, though, she understands how her words can and should be used. She grows from a typical teen obsessed with social ranking and the latest clothing trend to someone comfortable being herself and understanding how important her words can be, in both using them and being silent.

Harrington’s ability to create real people out of book characters is fabulous. Aside from a few of the secondary characters, everyone feels like a real person. Kristen and some of the jock boys fall a little flat, but I didn’t mind that. This story wasn’t about them. I wasn’t expecting them to grow. It wouldn’t have been real if everyone had come to the same conclusion about the events in the book.

This isn’t a book that will blow your mind. It’s not a book you have to think deeply about in order to understand. But it’s a book with an impact that still leaves you with a little smile at the very end.

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The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

Here’s the thing. I love history. A lot. I love when Philippa Gregory novels. A lot. The fact that her books are historical novels makes me nearly giddy. I might love Gregory’s novels to the point I almost hate them just a little bit, too. The Kingmaker’s Daughter was no exception.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the story of Anne Neville and her road to becoming queen. It starts when she is 8 years old and ends when she is 28. She starts off as her father’s pawn, a way to move higher in importance by marrying her off to the best offer. Her father uses her to try and win back his power over the king after King Edward’s (of the York side) wife and her family steal his influence away. She is married to Prince Edward of the Lancaster side as a way to buy a tie to the kingship. After her husband dies and the Lancaster line is officially ended, she loses nearly all her potential power and influence.

It is at this moment she starts to make choices for herself. She knows there are very few options to gain independence for herself, so she takes the next best road and marries someone she cares a great deal for, and eventually loves. Richard. I never doubted for a second that they came to love each other. To begin with, it almost feels as though the marriage is one of purpose. She wants to leave the house of her sister and brother-in-law, and Richard wants access to the land, wealth, and power her name brings. But by the end of the novel, there was love there.

The princes in the tower are touched upon, and yet nothing is definitively said about their fate. I like that Gregory doesn’t try to take a side. She keeps that mystery going and I appreciate that.

In the past 3 novels, I had come to form an opinion of Anne Neville and it wasn’t the greatest. Even though I saw her as a product of those around her, I wasn’t overly fond of her character in the last three books. However, when it’s finally her turn to tell the story, I fell in love with her and started to despise characters I had loved previously.

This is what I love most about The Cousins’ War series. In one novel, a character is painted as horrible, but the next makes him or her lovable. There isn’t one “villain” you can root against. They are all good and bad. Gregory has taken the stories we read in history books and made them into people. I can’t get enough of it.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter is yet another brilliant addition to The Cousins’ War series and I’m hopelessly upset I have to wait another year to hear Elizabeth of York’s story.