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#Spookathon
I’ve recently discovered how much I love read-a-thons. They motivate me to read more and I get a ton of ideas of books to add to my (never ending) TBR pile. So, when I came across #Spookathon, I knew I wanted in!
There’s challenges, like reading a book about a childhood fear, but you don’t have to do them. I’d already started two books, so I’m going to finish them first, before starting the challenges. So, first up for #spookathon will be:
I read the first in this series last year and am just now getting to the sequel. I kind of did it on purpose because I have a bad habit of forgetting details, so I wanted to read this later so I’d remember more when the third in the series gets released.
I received Beyond A Darkened Shore as an ARC from Netgalley and wow, this is great. I love the Vikings theme, mixed with magic. I think this will be a popular book when it’s released in April. I’m about a third of the way done so I’ll review the book when I’m finished.
Revenge
Currently reading:
I’m about a third of the way through and I love the revenge factor of this book, so far. I have a sister and would go to great lengths to avenge her, just like Alex. Although, it appears as though she may not be done yet… Is it more revenge? Or is she a secret psychopath? I can’t wait to find out!
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
4/5 stars
This book! Where do I start? I had so many thoughts reading this book. The writing was beautiful and descriptive. The book is full of Cameroon culture. I loved that! The characters are…so real. You will both love and hate all four of the main characters in this book. Each of them showed a side that made them amazing, wonderful people and each of them showed a side that made you think they were crazy and not someone you’d want to know. Ultimately, I think every reader of this book will take away something different. There are many points of views and many conclusions to be made from this book. One thing that stuck with me upon finishing this book was how the selfish decision of one person, can affect the lives of so many other people. How being entitled leads to being selfish and careless with your decisions, and how these decisions can literally destroy a person’s life. Another thought – how one person’s reason for happiness and joy can be another person’s reason for sadness and desperation.
Being born in America, we take so much for granted. Reading this book will make you realize this. This country is far from perfect, but we have so many rights simply by being born here that other people come to this country to get. Hard workers, full of integrity, and full of innocence, they believe that this country will provide them with happiness. For many it does, and others it does not. This book will allow you to see America from an immigrant’s point of view. On the flip side, you will also see how the “top 1%” live, families from Wall Street. Husbands who work so much their kids never see them. Wives who think having to fly coach would be just awful. What happens when the economy collapses and things change? The vast difference between these two families in the book will highlight two different ways people in this country live, and how their lives come together and affect each others. We also take for granted how fortunate most women are in this country. We have not been raised to cater to our husband’s every need and follow him through his whims and fancies (I’m trying not to spoil anything!). I can’t elaborate any more on this without giving anything away… so difficult!
Overall, this was a wonderful book. As I said above, the writing is superb and it would make a great book club book. I feel the book is particularly good considering the anti-immigrant position many Americans feel right now. Perhaps reading this book would open their minds and help them to see that immigrants are real people, hard-working, decent people who only want to raise their families the best they can! I almost wish there would be a sequel to find out what happens years later! I feel like these characters are friends of mine and I don’t want to say goodbye to them!
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
I received this as my Uppercase Book Box subscription selection in August. I rarely read romance of any kind and while I LOVE most all sub-genres of YA, I cannot get into YA romance at all. But, this was my surprise book so I figured I better give it a go.
| This was a cute book. I rated it 4/5 stars in comparing it to other contemporary YA romance books, not in general. Much of it was silly to me, probably because of my old age (half kidding…I’m 38) but that being said, if I ignored my old lady brain and remembered how it was to be a teenager, then it was a really cute book. It starts out almost mystery like because you have a few idea on who the boy writing notes to Lily could be. The book has a great plot that keeps you turning pages. It’s a quick read and definitely swoon worthy at the end. Since I was kind of “forced” to read a YA romance book, this was a great pick and I’m glad I did! |
WWW Wednesday
This blog is pretty new, but I thought I should add something in other than review. Some fun stuff. I came across this today and thought I’d give it a try!
What’s fun about this is it gets everyone involved in my blog and it’s always a great way to get ideas on books to read! If anyone is reading my blog, please comment your answers below!
The 3 W’s are:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
Here are my answers:
I am currently reading Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. I am loving this book so far! It is about an immigrant family from Cameroon trying to make it here in the US and in New York City. They’re a hard working, honest family but have struggles with immigration, money, and navigating US culture. It’s interesting to see what we look like from an immigrant’s point of view. We take so much for granted and this book really opens your eyes to that!
I recently finished reading The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. You can read my review on the book here. I don’t normally read mysteries too much but this was a good book. I was hooked from the first page and read it all in just a few days (that’s quick for me…once you have a 6 year old, you can’t finish a book in a day anymore!…I miss those days!).
As for what I’ll read next…that’s a hard one. I always float around from book to book and see what captures me. I have my eye on November 9 by Colleen Hoover. And this is embarrassing – but I’ve never read Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. What is wrong with me, right? Amazon had the first in the series, Throne of Glass, on sale for $2.99 for the Kindle version the other day so I bought it. So I might read that. Or, my second Book of the Month book that I bought is The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. I might read that one too. What do you guys recommend?
What are your 3 W’s everyone? Have you read or been wanting to read any of the books I listed? What did you think?
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
| 5 out of 5 stars!
Amazing book. Just amazing. I agree that’s it’s not for everyone. But if you can be open minded and read it from Wavy’s perspective. From the perspective of what it would be like growing up like her, it’s easier to get. Yes, I had a hard time with parts of their relationship when she was young. But I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know where the story was going and I was so caught up in the story. It’s a deep and moving book. Not one you’ll read and forget. The writing is wonderful. The storyline is so unique and different than anything I’ve ever read. Sorry this review is all over the place and does not do this novel justice. But I couldn’t just rate it 5 stars and leave it. I had to say something. I literally felt every emotion reading this. Sadness, anger, shock, humor, humiliation, vindication, joy, and more. It’s a very different book, like nothing you’ve ever read, but if you give it a chance and read it with an open heart and an open mind, you will be forever moved and changed by this book! |
The Woman in Cabin 10
| 3.5 stars out of 5
Lo Blacklock had a horrible week. She was burglarized in her apartment, which made her panic attacks and anxiety even worse. Just days later she leaves for a cruise for her job as a reporter. This was supposed to be a chance to promote her career but instead it has her thinking she’s losing her mind. She meets an intriguing woman one night in the cabin next to her’s, in cabin 10. The woman is missing at dinner and later that night, Lo sees a nightmare when she thinks she sees a body in the sea. Yet, no one is missing on the ship. No one believes her and think that perhaps it’s her being paranoid. Is she just losing her mind or is something more sinister happening aboard? This was a great book and I had it finished in just a few days. The plot is very interesting and fast paced. You are kept wondering about each character on the cruise and the role they could have played. Or is everyone on board a suspect? The book reminded me of an Agatha Christie mystery, a classic whodunit. The book is set in the North Sea and the beautiful fjords of Norway, a unique scene for a book. I did find the sea scenes a bit gloomy but then again, there were scenes in the book that would be gloomy. The book is written by a British author so Americans might notice different wording and phrasing being used, but nothing big. I thought that the plot was very unique. It didn’t follow a formula like many mysteries these days are based on. The reader is truly unsure about things until the very end, literally the last pages. Sometimes I felt that the main character, Lo, made some choices that I wouldn’t have made. But her choices are what led to the book working out the way it did. I am not a huge fan of thrillers and mysteries so I worry I’m not reviewing this book accurately, but overall it was a good book. It had a storyline that captured me from the beginning and kept me wondering to the end. |
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down and read it all in just a few sittings. It was sad, touching, scary, and funny. Like other reviewers said, it reminded me of Mean Girls. I loved the many 80s references throughout the book. I think this will be a very popular book for young adults after its release.
We all remember how innocent and true our friendships were when we were young, especially with our best friend. How that one friend just “got” us? How they could finish our sentences and would be there for us no matter what? This book brings up all those memories and feelings of that one friend that you had when you were young. And if you grew up in the 80s like me, you will love the hundreds of references to songs, TV shows, movies, and pop culture.
One of the best parts of this book is how much Abby will do for Gretchen. She is her best friend and she will not give up on Gretchen, even when everyone else has. How many of us would stand by our friends while they became embarrassing, unhygienic, rude, and even dangerous? But Abby knew this wasn’t the Gretchen she loved and she refused to give up on her. But will she be able to save her?
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review of this book.
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
This book was one of those books that grabs you right from the beginning and the next thing you know, you never want to put it down and you’re hooked. I read this book in just a few sittings and couldn’t wait to pick it up again. Now that I’ve finished, I am dying for the sequel!
The way Ahdieh wrote the book is different than most YA novels. Right from the beginning, the reader is aware that something nefarious is happening, but you won’t find out until the novel is almost done. This brought a hint of a mystery to the entire book.
The main character Shahrzad is a strong, independent female main character, but she gets confused as the novel moves along. She begins to fail at her purpose of marrying Khalid and she doesn’t understand why. Why doesn’t she hate Khalid? He murdered her best friend! She begins to feel all sorts of fuzzy, happy feelings towards this supposed cold blooded murderer so what is wrong with her? Or is there anything wrong with her at all?
Khalid is supposed to be an evil boy king who murders his wives but do we really know the whole story? Why is Khalid so mysterious?
The romance between characters in this book is very swoon-worthy. You will love the characters and cheer for them to work out their problems. The book ends on a big cliffhanger so be prepared to hold your breath and wait until May for the sequel!
Crazy cat lady loves to read! 
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