Different as Night and Day

Hello everyone!

The books I had read this week were really not that much different.  I would like to call them as different as night and day.  You will understand my meaning when you read the brief critiques below.

(Night) A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

I found this book to be really amazing.  I read it in maybe about 2 days.  I just could not stop reading it.  It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  Rhen has been cursed to turn into this beast every autumn, until he meets a girl to break the curse.  The reason for his curse is explained further in the story, but I will say it was all about revenge.

Harper enters his life, who has had her own struggles from her family.  Her father had walked away from her family, because his involvement with bad guys (Mob, maybe?).  And due to his leaving his family, Harper's brother must now complete where their father left off.  Aside from her family troubles, Harper is taken to this place called Emberfall, and it really is not that much different from where she was from.  She arrives to this place not on her own free will, but realizes that in order to leave she must help the town, to which includes breaking Rhen's curse.


(Day) Circe by Madeline Miller

I was a little hesitant for a while to read Circe.  The synopsis did not really grab my attention.  My mind changed when I was watching a couple of Book Tubers talk about this book, and I thought I'll give it a shot.  I am actually glad I did.  This is a story about Circe, who is an outcast among the gods.  She gets into some trouble with her magical powers, and is exiled to another island.  However, Circe is able to create creatures using her magic.  People in her family and life take advantage of her powers, to which often times makes her alone. 

As I was reading these books, I was able to come to the realization that Rhen and Circe are really not that much different.  They are both outcasts, must overcome their obstacles, and both characters are wanting to find love.  The reason I considered both of these books different as night and day is, because Rhen is made into a creature by an enchantress, while Circe makes creatures as she is a witch.

The "Woah" factor can be that what if Circe is a descendant of the enchantress, who turned Rhen into the beast.  What if in order to get revenge for what was done to Circe a curse is placed upon Rhen?

Of course, I could be completely wrong, but wouldn't that be insane?  Do you have any books that can be considered as Different as Night and Day?  Please feel free to comment below. 

March TBR

Hello everyone,

Another month is upon us, and new book titles must be selected.  I have so many books that I would like to get through by the end of the year, and of course, I keep on adding on to that pile.  Below you will find 10 books that I hope to complete in the month of March.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid I have been waiting for this book ever since I heard that Taylor Jenkins Reid was writing about the 1970s rock scene.  I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and I think I will certainly enjoy this next book.  It actually won’t be released until March 5, so I apologize for it not being in the picture above.  But, I will certainly do a picture for my wrap of the month.  My fingers are just itching to get my hands on it.

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo This is actually one of my choices for Book of the Month.  I was really drawn in by the cover of the book.  I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but there are some book covers that immediately draw me in and I want to read them.  All I know about this book is that there is a lot of mystery and magic involved, to which I love in a book. 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while, and I have been meaning to read it.  I know that it is a story about fairies and a lot of Book Tubers review the book.  So I will definitely check it out.

Circe by Madeline Miller Another one of my book choices for the Book of the Month.  I was drawn to read this book because I heard it is a retelling of a mythology story, something that is not done quite often.

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning Of course based on the title, you might know what this is about.  It is basically a retelling of The Little Mermaid, except for it is from the perspective the Sea Witch.  I know that with every villain there is a back story, and to hear what they go through makes you start to sympathize with them.

The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger I have been in the mood to learn about classic Hollywood.  I have been listening to You Must Remember This podcast a lot lately, and I am just so intrigued by how much dark history is in Hollywood.  I decided to choose this as one of my TBRs, because it is the backstory of film studios and how much pressure they placed on movie stars, especially females.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Nagan Again, another book where I was drawn in by the cover.  All I know about the book that it has a lot of fantasy elements.  Humans living among wild creatures. Demons.  Magic.  It just as everything that I love in a book, so I will definitely check it out.  Also, I noticed that James Patterson has hand in this book.  I did the same thing for Stalking Jack the Ripper, to which I enjoyed.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer This is another retelling of a classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.  I noticed that this is a little bit different as the male character turns human only for the length of autumn, and the rest of the year is a beast.  It was a curse that was placed upon him until he meets someone to break the curse.

The Girl in the Tower by Katharine Arden I immediately bought the rest of the Winternight Trilogy after reading The Bear and the Nightingale.  I just felt that there was more to this story and really want to see how it ends.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman Another book that has been sitting on my shelf that needs to be read.  This book is about death, but it is placed in the heads of two teenagers.  Something really difficult to decide, right?  I have heard good things about this book, and that it is part of a series, so I'm a little worried that I might be sucked in and buy the rest of the series.

There you have it.  10 books for my TBR in the month of March.  I am hoping to read these books within this month, and not get bogged down by school and work. 

I have been having a few people ask me on how I choose the books out of my TBR list.  Well, I lay my books down into 2 rows, and then I use a deck of cards to decide what I am going to read.  Whichever has the lowest card, it is taken out of circulation.  This is down until I only have 1 left and that is the book I am going to read.  I find this a little bit easier and less judgmental, because it allows me to read something that completely surprises me.

What ways do you choose your books?  What is on your March TBR?  Please feel free to comment down below.

Colleen Hoover Favs

In honor of Colleen Hoover’s Verity release tomorrow, I decided that I would list my favorite books of hers.  

Ugly Love

This is the book that made me fall in love with Colleen Hoover.  Tate Collins falls in love with Miles Archer at first sight.  Miles Archer is afraid to be open to the idea of being in love with someone else, until he meets Tate.  They each have a difficult time in denying their mutual attraction, and make a deal that only involves sex.  Soon, it becomes difficult for both of them to follow the rules that they had placed.

It Ends with Us

Grab some issues because this is definitely a tear jerker.  When I went to her book signing, Colleen Hoover mentioned how much this book was influenced from what happened during her childhood.  Lily has had a difficult road, but that hasn’t stopped her from accomplishing her dreams of starting her own business and meeting a handsome neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid.  Everything seems to be going right in her life, until she notices how assertive Ryle is in the relationship.  When she begins to question their relationship, Atlas Corrigan, her first love and a connection to her past, comes back into her life.   

All Your Perfects

Colleen really makes us want to cry.  I had the enjoyment of going to her book signing for All Your Perfects as you can see by the pictures below.  It was nominated this year for Goodreads Best Books of 2018 in the romance category.  Quinn and Graham are facing difficult times in their marriage.  After years of secrets, memories, and mistakes, it is taking a toll on the couple. 

  

Without Merit

A lot of people categorize Without Merit as a romance, but I agree with Colleen, this is definitely a young adult book.  Merit Voss has an obsession of collecting trophies, and is forced to keep secrets in her family.  She meets Sagan, a sharped witted man, who completely takes her by surprise.  After she finds out that he is already in another relationship, she retreats deeper into herself and struggles to get out.

What is your favorite Colleen Hoover book?  Please feel free to share at the comments below.

Time to Have a Little Chuckle

Happy Thanksgiving!  For today’s book review, I had started reading this book about 2 weeks ago after reading books that were really intense.  I wanted to read a book that had some humor in it, and to coincide with the holiday season, it was about family.

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

I came across this book by watching a few book review video blogs.  As the reviewers were talking about Save the Date, I thought this would be a good book to read in order to get out of a slump of reading suspenseful books. 

Save the Date is about Charlie Grant and her family preparing for her sister, Linnie, wedding.  They are not just an ordinary family.  Her mother writes a weekly comic strip that depicts their family in a more comedic light.  While the comic strip has had its share of success, it has also caused some issues in the family.  Charlie, the youngest sibling, intends to make the wedding weekend filled with family memories that she had when they were all living together.  She also has a goal of moving forward with the boy she has had a crush on, Jesse Foster, who happens to be her older brother’s best friend.  Trying to have this wonderful family weekend and to have everything go right for her sister’s wedding, Charlie does struggle with trying to maintain the chaos that ensues at any given moment.

Filled with humor and heart breaking moments, the story makes it feel like that this can happen in life.  Morgan Matson makes the story believable and it can really relate to readers.  I found the book to be a little slow at moments, but I loved how Charlie was able to come to a realization at the end that there is no perfect family.

Have a great turkey day everyone.  Please share any recommendations for book that are filled with humor and love.

Elizabeth's Frankenstein

I remember when I was in high school I was involved with a theater production of Frankenstein.  I played a merchant, who comes into contact with the creature.  While I did not have any lines, the role certainly made me interested in the way humans treat others just because they are different.  I have not read Mary Shelley’s original story, but I have seen the film by Kenneth Branagh that left me intrigued by the classic.  

For this week’s book review, we will be looking at the tale from a different perspective.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

I am came across this title after watching a video blog by jessethereader.  Again, I enjoyed listening to his brief summary of the book, and since it was about a week before Halloween, I thought it would be good book to read. 

This retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives a different perspective.  The story tells the life of Elizabeth Lavenza, who was raised poorly, but is taken in by the family Frankenstein.  She is basically brought in protect the eldest son, Victor, from causing harm to himself and others.  At the age of seventeen, Elizabeth goes on a journey to bring Victor home, wanting to protect him from the judgement of his family and citizens of Geneva.  However, when she does get to Victor, she is able to see how much darkness has consumed him.  She again has to protect him not knowing the consequences.

While this story was a little slow in the beginning, I really did enjoy how much the author’s interpretation to the original tale.  There are of moments of love, betrayal, mystery, and tragedy that left me riveted to the end.  I highly recommend in reading this book on a dark, rainy day and for anyone who wants to read a tale filled with horror.

Please feel free to comment below for any recommendations of books to read or your thoughts on this book.

I'm back!!

Hey everyone!  Sorry it has been so long.  Life has certainly passed by within these last few months.  I not only work full time, but have decided to go back for my 2nd masters in English.  So, that has been taking up most of my time.  But, now I have a plan.  I am still reading books (outside of my course readings) and decided to get back into the swing of things.  

With no further explanations, let’s get on with the book review.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalo

I came across this book about a month ago by watching abookutopia, a video blog dedicated to all things books.  I loved the premise that the person in the video was describing for the book.  Also, I love the cover.

Taking place in late 19th century England, Audrey Rose Wadsworth is a sixteen year old girl who is working alongside her uncle with corpses and escaping society duties.  She is thrown into becoming a detective when a serial killer is on the loose murdering prostitutes.  Undeterred by this investigation, Audrey Rose works alongside her uncle and his associate, Thomas Cresswell, to solve one of the most infamous murders in history.

I found that Stalking Jack the Ripper is somewhat an alternate version to Sherlock Holmes.  Audrey Rose (Sherlock) willingly goes to great lengths to solve this case, and Thomas (Watson) works alongside her with his charismatic personality.  I love that there was so many twists and turns leading to an unexpected ending.  I not only read this as a printed copy, but also listened to the audiobook.  Both versions were definitely an enjoyment.

As an added note, Stalking Jack the Ripper is the first book in this author’s series.  More reviews to come for Hunting for Prince Dracula and Escaping from Houdini.  

Please feel free to comment below for any recommendations of books to read or your thoughts on this book.