Review: A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca

Posted March 10, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 12 Comments

A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca
Series: standalone
Published by Simon Pulse on March 6th 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When the lights go out at a Georgia high school football game, Macy Atwood finds herself in the arms of a boy who kisses her senseless – but is gone by the time the lights come back on. All she knows is that there was something special – and oddly familiar – about her mystery kisser.
Noah Granger, Ridgedale’s resident bad boy and newest transfer student, has no problem taking credit for the kiss, but Macy can’t shake the feeling that he’s lying. Especially since a photograph of Macy and former star football player Joel Hargrove resurfaced online moments before the blackout, a not-so random reminder of how hard she fell for Joel last year. And how doing so ultimately sent her lifelong friendships with Meredith Kopala and Ben Collins up in literal smoke.
Soon junior year’s wounds begin to reopen as Macy realizes the events that unfolded are somehow tied to her mystery kisser. Discovering how means finally facing what really went wrong with Meredith, Ben, and Joel – and finding out what Noah is covering up.
But the closer Macy gets to figuring it all out, the more she starts to worry that the boy who kissed her in the dark and the boy who is stealing her heart might be two very different people.

Macy had a rough junior year and is hoping to make the best of her senior year, including mending some relationships that were destroyed last year. When the lights go out at her high school during the football game, Macy finds herself in the arms of a boy who kisses her senseless. The boy seems to know her and everything about him is familiar, but she can’t quite figure out who is he.

Noah, the resident bad boy has no qualms about taking credit for the kiss and Joel - her junior crush who bailed from taking her to homecoming is acting weird again.

But Macy is also trying to build a bridge between her best friend Meredith and her former friend Ben after something happened during Junior year as she continues to try and find the boy who kissed her in the dark.

Okay, this book was… Okay.

First, I am very confused because the football game happens at night and when the lights go out, well am I the only one who is confused how Macy still did not see this person? Because I did not get an impression that this was a dome setting (maybe I missed the part?) because otherwise, Macy should have been able to see the person who kissed her. Not really up to how she was so blind that moment.

Two, Macy was a sweet character and easy enough to follow, but oh my god I did not understand how she was super oblivious. Like the signs were everywhere and the other characters knew, but no one apparently bothered to tell her what was going on. I found this beyond frustrating and I wanted to throttle her. She was always confused about Ben and Joel and was questioning their behavior and “mysterious” words the entire damn book and somehow could not see what is in front of her? I find it hard to believe. That, or the character herself really was that thick.

This book takes place during senior year, but we get chapters that tell us what unfolded during junior year. I liked Meredith and I felt so sorry for what she went through.

I thought the romance could have been so sweet, but a lot of the book focused on Macy navigating senior year and a lot of it was about homecoming. I couldn’t relate to the obsession of homecoming because when I was in high school about ten years ago, we didn’t have homecoming in my school. The romance kind of happens slowly and by accident, but the focus of the book felt like everyone around Macy were mad at her the entire time because she seemed to just…Not get it.

Overall, I found some of the book cute. It was a fast read. I just found some things to not make sense and the whole case with Macy being completely blind to everything was a little frustrating through the book. But, I did find that I still enjoyed it well enough. Also, I LOVED Macy’s parents and I was glad for positive parent representation in the book.

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Guest Review: Death at the Durbar by Anjun Raj Gaind

Posted March 9, 2018 by Lily B in Guest Post, Reviews / 18 Comments

Happy Friday everyone! I got Sophia Rose on the blog today with a Historical Mystery set in India , that sounds really fun and interesting. Hope you enjoy her exciting review below.

Guest Review: Death at the Durbar by Anjun Raj Gaind

Death at the Durbar by Arjun Raj Gaind
Series: Maharajah Mystery #2
Published by Poisoned Pen Press on March 6th 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery
Pages: 312
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

December, 1911. All of India is in a tizzy. A vast tent city has sprung up outside the old walled enclave of Mughal Delhi, where the British are hosting a grand durbar to celebrate the coronation of the new King, George V. From across India, all the Maharajas and Nawabs have gathered at the Viceroy's command to pay homage and swear loyalty to the King Emperor, the first monarch of England to travel out to India personally.
Amidst the hullabaloo of the Durbar preparations, Maharaja Sikander Singh of Rajpore is growing increasingly frustrated, cooling his heels at the Cecil Hotel as he awaits the King's imminent arrival. Just as his boredom is about to peak, he is paid a surreptitious visit one night by a pair of British officers, who insist that he accompany them to the British Encampment. His curiosity piqued, Sikander agrees to go with them. Much to his surprise, they take him to the King Emperor's camp, where he an old school friend, Malik Umar Hayat Khan, who is also the Durbar herald, is waiting for him. It turns out that Malik Umar is working for none other than Lord Hardinge himself, the Viceroy of India and the highest-ranked Englishman in the country. He tells Sikander that his services as a sleuth are needed by King and country. After being sworn to secrecy, Sikander is ushered into the King Emperor's personal chambers.
Inside, a most unexpected surprise awaits him - a dead nautch-girl who appears to have been strangled. Lord Hardinge tasks him with uncovering the killer before the King arrives, and Sikander agrees to take the case. Faced with Malik's insistence that one of the British officers accompany Sikander on his investigations, and with far too many suspects and motives, Sikander, an admirer of Sherlock Holmes, puts his skills to work...and in the end, wishes he hadn't.

I was captivated by the fact that this was a historical mystery set in the waning days of the British Colonial era in India and the detective is a maharajah.

Death at the Durbar is the second book in the series and I didn’t realize until after I read this one which worked just fine as a standalone or out of order.

Sikander Singh is the maharajah of the fictitious Indian kingdom of Rajpore. His is one of the less powerful and smaller, but nonetheless he is expected by the Brits to be at their latest Durbar in honor of George V who is the first British monarch to actually visit India. Sikander is not impressed with the hoopla and is bored until he is brought to the Viceroy and practically ordered to look into the death of a dancing girl right in the royal enclosure at the Durbar in Delhi.

I found the strong mix of historical background and setting blended with the mystery was a heady combination. I admit that all the details about each Indian maharajah and their history, general history up to and including the British era could be considered ponder-some to many readers, but because I love history and was lacking when it came to Indian history that I ate it all up with eagerness.

Sikander was an amazing character. He can get autocratic and cranky, but he is also personable and understanding. He is not afraid to say and do what he must though he has the rep of being a hot head and one who speaks his mind. But, he’s also one who takes the time to think. There are moments in the story where other characters challenge him and he gives their words due consideration- will he support the Nationalist movement or British Colonial rule. The time is there when he can no longer stay out of the argument.

His situation is fascinating to me all through this book. I don’t know if it was authentic, but it didn’t ring false to me. This man is a wealthy, educated, traveled King of a minor kingdom and yet, when near anyone British, he is treated like a second class citizen or beneath them. Among his own people he’s king, but among Brit’s he just one of the natives. It was a stunning realization.

The author has an Indian protagonist so this book/series is a frank look at British Colonialism from one who was not a fan. I didn’t feel it went overboard as Sikander is portrayed as being a moderate in word and action though he would prefer the British went away and left India to its own devices. The time period is 1911 so Imperialism and Colonialism are actually on their last wheeze.

The setting was Delhi and the grounds used for the Durbar. It was lavish and I enjoyed the vivid descriptions that took me right there. The diversity of peoples and classes, the opulence of the Maharajahs, the entertainments of the period from balls to wrestling matches to moving pictures was all captured and made the story three dimensional.

The mystery is a little complex. I actually guessed somewhere in the middle of it all as people were being eliminated as viable suspects. It was the motive that I couldn’t fathom. There is a lot of interviewing going on and it was mostly a process of whittling down the suspect list which turned out to be a long one.

I enjoyed Sikander and some of the side characters. I enjoyed getting immersed in historical India so now I want to go back for the first book and press forward as the series continues. This had a feel more of historical fiction, but the mystery element is the catalyst so I think this would appeal to both genre’s lovers and particularly those who enjoy the combo of the two.

I rec’d this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

Facebook | Goodreads

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Review: The Pajama Frame by Diane Vallere

Posted March 8, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 9 Comments

The Pajama Frame by Diane Vallere
Series: Mad for Mod Mystery #5
Published by Henery Press on February 27th 2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 268
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nightie Night!

Interior decorator Madison Night is no stranger to the occasional odd inheritance. But when an octogenarian friend dies and leaves her a pajama factory, the bounty is bittersweet.

Once a thriving business, Sweet Dreams closed decades ago after a tragic accident took the life of a young model. Or was that simply a cover up?

Between her friend’s death and her own stagnant life, Madison is tempted to hide under a blanket of willful ignorance.

But when family members and special interest groups lobby to expose the secrets of the factory, Madison gets caught in a tangle of secrets and lies and discovers that sometimes, the bed you make is not your own.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE PAJAMA FRAME by Diane Vallere | A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.

When a friend of her’s dies, Madison Night inheritance her pajama factory. Sweet Dreams use to be a thriving business hiring women that needed jobs during the war, but closed decades ago after a tragic accident that had taken the life of one young model. Years later, some of the locals still believe that the entire thing was a cover up and that it was actually murder.

But when Madison and Tex discover the body of the lawyer that contacted her inside Sweet Dreams, things go south really fast. Now Madison is being set up, and it’s up to her and Tex to figure out by whom and why.

I read the last book in this series and really enjoyed it. Madison Nights series is a fun read, it’s fast paced, the writing and the storyline flows and before I knew it I was blowing through the pages. I once again found myself reluctant to part with Madison and her story until the mystery wrapped up. I loved the characters, I really liked the dynamic with Tex and Madison and I am curious to see where the author will take the relationships of the main characters as this series progresses.

If you are looking for a fun, fast paced cozy mystery with a down to earth character - I recommend the Mad for Mod series. I do love Madison and her Doris Day obsession as well as all the trouble that seemed to follow her. I did enjoy Tex in this book because I loved the way the two worked together.

Overall, a great series that I will continue to follow and eagerly await the next book.

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Review: The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine

Posted March 7, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 10 Comments

The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine
Series: The Impostor Queen, #2
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on January 3rd 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Glbt
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 2.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ansa has always been a fighter.
As a child, she fought the invaders who murdered her parents and snatched her as a raid prize. She fought for her place next to Thyra, the daughter of the Krigere Chieftain. She fought for her status as a warrior in her tribe: blood and victory are her way of life. But the day her Krigere cross the great lake and threaten the witch queen of the Kupari, everything changes.
Cursed by the queen with fire and ice, Ansa is forced to fight against an invisible enemy—the dark magic that has embedded itself deep in her bones. The more she seeks to hide it, the more dangerous it becomes. And with the Krigere numbers decimated and the tribe under threat from the traitorous brother of the dead Chieftain, Ansa is torn between her loyalty to the Krigere, her love for Thyra, and her own survival instincts.
With her world in chaos and each side wanting to claim her for their own, only one thing is certain: unless Ansa can control the terrible magic inside her, everything she’s fought for will be destroyed.

My Struggle with The Cursed Queen was real…

The Cursed Queen is a companion novel of The Imposter Queen. Although the two are set in the same world, they follow two different sets of character. In this specific book, we follow Ansa, who as a child lost her parents to Krigere invaders and was taken and raised by that tribe of people. All Ansa knows is blood and the thrill of being a fighter, nothing else seems to matter outside of her love for Thyra, the daughter of the Krigere Chieftain.

But on one mission Ansa faces of the Witch Queen and something happens. Now Ansa fears that she is cursed by the same magic of the Kupari Queen and must not reveal the war waging inside her. As Ansa battles the invading magic from destroying everything around her, Thyra is now the new Chieftain and her tribe is being escorted by Jasper, of another Krigere tribe in hopes of “combining” their forces under Thyra’s uncle Nisse.

Got it?

Okay, I had a lot of issues with this book. I knew it wasn’t going to follow the same sets of characters, but I wasn’t expecting to be trusted into a world where there seems to be that the Krigere have, almost like a civil war going on. It felt like we started in the middle of the story and it quickly got confusing.

It did not help that Ansa was a really hard character to warm up to through most of the book. She comes off childish, with loose loyalties, immature, and flip flops so much it was giving me whiplash. Ansa was easily manipulated and what was going on between Thyra and her uncle felt like way over her head. She seemed a lot younger than Thyra especially with the level of competence she kept presenting. I also did not understand her way of turning her book on people she cared for most, especially Thyra. She kept saying how much she loves her and would follow her, but continually through the book demonstrated the opposite.

Ansa’s loyalties were all over the place and she just did not know how to trust anyone. It was a wonder that most of the characters tried to alienate her from their plans, she couldn’t really be trusted. I found her character super frustrating and I did not like her very much. She finally grew as a character, but it was also like 90% into the book and by then I was already set on not caring.

I loved the world and Sarah Fines writing was still good, there was a lot going on in the book, but it did take a while for you to kind of get used to everything. A lot of stabbiness, a lot of blood and death.

The other thing that did not work for me was the romance. I prefer mine to develop over time, this one is just there and we are supposed to accept it. I like that there was a female/female romance in this, which gave this book diversity - but it was hard to accept the romance because of Ansa’s character. For someone who was so in love with Thyra, she had a funny way of showing it with the lack of faith she started to have in her.

Overall, this is advertised as a companion novel. If you want to know more about Ansa before the third book, go ahead, but don’t hold it with too much expectation. I DNF’ed it a couple of months ago, but in light of the third book I decided to finish it. I struggled, but hopefully others had/will have a better experience.

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Tell Me Something Tuesday #2: Spring Picks 2018

Posted March 6, 2018 by Lily B in Tell Me Something Tuesday / 7 Comments

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post hosted by Heidi over at Rainy Day Ramblings where we discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. If you would like to participate, grab the question and post it on your own website. Don’t forget to jump over to Rainy Day Ramblings and link your post in the comments!

Spring Picks for 2018

My Young Adult Picks

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett - I loved Alex, Approximately when I read it last year and just found out a few weeks ago that she has a new book coming out. Really looking forward to jumping into this one. I love the way Bennett did romance in her last book and looking forward to seeing what she got for us next. The cover has a summer feeling to it.

Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong - It’s Armstrong and this book looks both chilling, nerve wrecking as well as emotional. Cannot wait to see what she has for us in store with this.

Sky in the Deep Adrienne Young - This said to have female vikings and that sounds original, plus I love books with vikings in it and need more of them in my life.

My Adult Picks

On a Cold Dark Sea by Elizabeth Blackwell - I have enjoyed Blackwell’s writing before and kind of want to try this author again. This one features titanic in it and secrets between three women.

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel - yes, yes, give me now. I am super excited for this one! I listened to book 1 on audio and really enjoyed it, now on book two I am already looking forward to third book.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang - I have been in a big romance slump but after reading the blurb for this one, I have to say this looks like something that can definitely help pull me out of that funk.

Dead As A Doornail by Tonya Kappes - Read Kappes for the first time last year and fell in love with this cozy mystery, looking forward to see where it goes next.

That is a light list, I am sure I am forgetting stuffs because I know that are other more awesome titles I am looking forward to this Spring. What are your picks?

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Review: The Reader by Traci Chee

Posted March 5, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 13 Comments

The Reader by Traci Chee
Series: Sea of Ink and Gold, #1
Published by Putnam on September 13th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 442
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

Once there was, and one day there will be. This is the beginning of every story.
Sefia lives her life on the run. After her father is viciously murdered, she flees to the forest with her aunt Nin, the only person left she can trust. They survive in the wilderness together, hunting and stealing what they need, forever looking over their shoulders for new threats. But when Nin is kidnapped, Sefia is suddenly on her own, with no way to know who’s taken Nin or where she is. Her only clue is a strange rectangular object that once belonged to her father left behind, something she comes to realize is a book.
Though reading is unheard of in Sefia’s world, she slowly learns, unearthing the book’s closely guarded secrets, which may be the key to Nin’s disappearance and discovering what really happened the day her father was killed. With no time to lose, and the unexpected help of swashbuckling pirates and an enigmatic stranger, Sefia sets out on a dangerous journey to rescue her aunt, using the book as her guide. In the end, she discovers what the book had been trying to tell her all along: Nothing is as it seems, and the end of her story is only the beginning.

The Reader follows a girl named Sefia, who lives her life on the run. After she watched her father get murdered, she flees her home with her aunt Nin. Unfortunately, the very people who came for her father have finally caught up with them and now they have aunt Nin. What do they want? The book that Sefia and her aunt Nin are protecting. In this world, reading is unheard of, but not only can Sefia read she also knows how to write. Now she must save her aunt Nin and find out why the people who are hunting her, want the book so badly.

This was… Interesting. I am struggling with writing this review. I loved the writing, I thought the author’s writing was really beautiful and you could just picture the world so vividly with her descriptions, it was a pleasure reading this book as well as experiencing it on audio.

That being said, I found the book to be confusing and a little weird. I wasn’t sure what was going on for half of the book and we get randomly thrown around for a while trying to figure out what is going on because we don’t just follow Sefia, we also follow Reed in real life and his stories, and we also follow a librarian named Lan and how he ties into all of this.

My husband and I did have a discussion about the world in the book being advance, but not knowing how to read or write. We both wondered if such a thing was possible. He seemed to think it was, but not likely. Also, I could not think of recent civilizations in history who did not have record keeping that managed to thrive without having to research a lot of it.

I liked Archer, the boy that Sefia finds on her journey and who then follows her as she tries to find Nan. She saves him from people who raised him basically to be a killing machine. Of course Sefia tells Archer that he never has to fight or kill again, yet there are times that it was almost like she expected that of him without much of an argument.

I never felt like there was a real plan revolving around rescuing Nin. Sefia does not know how to fight and towards the end of the book, they don’t really have a plan when they find themselves in a dangerous situation. No plan, just walk in there and expect everything to work itself out. Maybe they planned on talking themselves out of the situation? I mean, these people killed her father, but Sefia was just like “okay no plan, let’s just waltz in there and see what happens…” umm, okay?

Overall, the writing was beautiful and this had so much potential, but I felt the execution was lost somewhere and the plot at points felt undeveloped. I will finish the series eventually because I do feel invested, but I do not feel in the hurry to do so.

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Weekly Wrap Up #19

Posted March 4, 2018 by Lily B in Wrap Up / 15 Comments

Weekly Recap

Happy Weekend Everybody and Happy March! I hope the weather is looking up for you guys. Here in PA we just had a beautiful weekend that ended with sleet and snow. I think I am ready for some warmer weather, I am definitely looking forward to getting my garden up and running this year. Last year my son absolutely adored the fresh garden peas so I am hoping to have more rows for them this year.

I do have one frustration this week. My three year old was bought a dinosaur by his grandfather and uncle that if you put it in water, it grows. They told him that but did not read the label that says 72 hours. So now all my three year old wants to do is sit there and watch it grow and does not understand yet that it will take days. /sigh

Today is also my husbands birthday and we hope to have a quiet dinner, nothing big. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I also joined Kim’s Take Control of your TBR Challenge in March. I have quiet a few books I need to get through and seem to be doing well already, my goal was at least 10. Sign up are Here.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer

Last Week On The Blog

[26 Feb] Unearthed by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner ★★★½
[27 Feb] Tell Me Something Tuesday #1: Best Time to Read
[1 Mar] Where the Wild Cherries Grow by Laura Madeleine ★★★★½
[2 Mar] The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett ★★★★
[3 Mar] How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake ★★★
[4 Mar] Weekly Wrap Up #19

Currently Reading

New Arrivals

Thank you Macmillan, Sourcebook Fire, Thomas & Mercer Publicist.

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Review: How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake

Posted March 3, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 5 Comments

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake
Series: standalone
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on May 2nd 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Glbt
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 3 Stars

Heat:

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

All seventeen year-old Grace Glasser wants is her own life. A normal life in which she sleeps in the same bed for longer than three months and doesn't have to scrounge for spare change to make sure the electric bill is paid. Emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie, and the tiny cape on which she lives, she focuses on her best friend, her upcoming audition for a top music school in New York, and surviving Maggie’s latest boyfriend—who happens to be Grace’s own ex-boyfriend’s father.
Her attempts to lay low until she graduates are disrupted when she meets Eva, a girl with her own share of ghosts she’s trying to outrun. Grief-stricken and lonely, Eva pulls Grace into midnight adventures and feelings Grace never planned on. When Eva tells Grace she likes girls, both of their worlds open up. But, united by loss, Eva also shares a connection with Maggie. As Grace's mother spirals downward, both girls must figure out how to love and how to move on.

The story follows two girls, Grace Glasser and Eva. Grace just wants to have her own life, but she is emotionally trapped by her unreliable mother, Maggie. Maggie, who does not know how to be a mother and jumps from boyfriend to boyfriend, with a constant change in their living environment.

Eva has just lost her mother and now lives with Grace’s best friend Luca and his mother Emmy. She used to be a dancer before she lost her mother, now she is just looking to pick up the pieces.

Key Points

This book took me a couple of months to finish, mostly thanks to Grace’s mother Maggie. I get that this was part of the plot and to add some sort of drama, but I am honestly so fed up with crappy parents in YA books that this completely turned the book upside down for me. I get that Maggie is not the only parent in this book and that Emmy is just wonderful, warm and understanding. The difference between the two single mother women is stark, but Maggie’s actions had been literally just gross till the very end.

The plot was slow moving. Outside of Grace constantly being angry over Maggies actions and Maggie acts unhinged, there wasn’t much going on. Not for a while anyway, but at that point I didn’t really care.

I loved that this book had LGBTQ relationship and it was interracial as well. I always adore the diversity in my books. Problem is, Grace and Eva never worked for me. Grace just had too much problems and Eva was this sweet broken girl who just could not seem to understand Grace’s problem. Like really, she didn’t. Grace warns Eva countless of times to stay away from Maggie and even after Grace tells Eva why she wants her to stay away from Maggie and everything her mother is capable of, what does Eva do? Not listen to her and something bad unfolds.

I loved Eva, but the relationship felt forced and I wished Eva would have listened to Grace - I felt like she should have.

Overall, I can see how people would love this book for what it is but the main element of unhinged mother did me in. There is something that happens in the end of the book that honestly drove the rating down even lower for me.

The saving grace (no pun intended) here for me was Eva, Luca and Emmy - I thought they were great characters. I loved Emmy’s kind heart and her dynamic with Luca. I loved that she cared so much for Eva and even Grace despite everything that happened.

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Review: The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

Posted March 2, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 7 Comments

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
Series: Demon Cycle, #1
Published by Del Rey on March 10th 2009
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 434
Format: Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4 Stars

Heat:

As darkness falls after sunset, the corelings rise—demons who possess supernatural powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards—symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.

Why I enjoyed The Warded Man by Peter V Brett

It’s been a long time since I read an adult fantasy. I introduced my husband to the book because I figured it was something he would like and then he pressured me into reading it. My relationship with The Warded Man started out slow. The book, like any adult fantasy is awfully dense and since it’s been a while since I read an Adult Fantasy, I almost forgot how dense the books can get. I was pleasantly surprised that it did only take me a week to finish the first book.

So let’s explore a few points of why I thought this was interesting.

The World

The world set in Peter V Bretts books is super different. It’s dark, it’s riddled with demons called Corelings that come from The Core. The corelings can come in different shapes and forms. There are wood demons, fire demons, wind demons, sand demons, etc. Mankind, fear them because they destroy towns, kill people without mercy and they seldom have a way of fighting them. They do only come out at night, and the only protections, most people have, that choose not to fight them, is warding. People ward symbols into their homes, or the walls of their town or posts in order to keep the demons out and from destroying their lives. If the wards fail, it creates a breach and the demons can come through without mercy and rain havoc on the town and its inhabitants.

There are stories of people who choose to fight the corelings, but most have succumbed to what they think is their fate and hide behind the wards. Those people choose to believe that their main job is to survive by populating humanity the world as fast as they can since their numbers are getting smaller.

The world is dark, it’s gritty, its cruel and at times it was really hard to read. Parts of the book made me cringe. I can’t say I enjoyed the parts about women thinking their only goal left in life is to make babies as soon as possible. It was both disturbing and hard to digest. I did enjoy the world as a whole and the different places that it was broken down into and how everything worked together. There was definitely a difference in people depending on where they came from.

The Characters

There are three major characters in the first book. We follow Arlen, Leesha and Rojer. Like all adult books, we start their journey from when they are very young and the events that unfold around them to make them into the type of people they become at the end of the book. All are cruel, all are not easy to read, but the world that they live in is dark and scary and molds them as people. I found them all really interesting and enjoyed how each chapter was devoted to a specific character as they grew, what was happening up until the point that their lives intertwined.

The Plot/Pacing/Writing

The plot was enjoyable, the stage is set and I cannot wait to see what happens next on their journey.

The pacing was slow at first, there is a lot of information, there is a lot of character growth at the beginning of the book. I started enjoying the book more the last 60% because the characters were grown and their life has taken a critical turn. There was more action and adventure, so the movement of the book was better.

The writing is good, Brett definitely knows how to weave a story that is unlike anything I have yet read. It’s interesting and I am looking forward to see how it unfolds.

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Review: Where The Wild Cherries Grow by Laura Madeleine

Posted March 1, 2018 by Lily B in Reviews / 13 Comments

Where the Wild Cherries Grow by Laura Madeleine
Series: standalone
Published by Thomas Dunne Books on February 13th 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Rating: 4.5 Stars

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I closed my eyes as I tried to pick apart every flavour, because nothing had ever tasted so good before. It was like tasting for the first time. Like discovering colour . . .
In 1919, the cold sweep of the Norfolk fens only holds for Emeline Vane memories of her family, all killed in the war. Whispers in the village say she’s lost her mind as well as her family - and in a moment's madness she boards a train to France and runs from it all.
She keeps running until she reaches a tiny fishing village so far from home it might as well be the end of the world. Transfixed by the endless Mediterranean, Emeline is taken in by Maman and her nineteen-year-old son, and there she is offered a glimpse of a life so different to the one she used to know: golden-green olive oil drizzled over roasted tomatoes, mouth-wateringly smoky red spices, and hot, caramel sweetness.
But it's not just the intense, rich flavours that draw her to the village, and soon a forbidden love affair begins. One that is threatened by the whispers from home that blow in on the winds from the mountains . . .

In 1919 Emeline Vane has lost most of her family to war and her mother to the flu. When her uncle decides the fate of her house, her youngest brother and her, for her, Emmeline unable to cope with it decides to run away.

Now in 1969 Timothy Vane (her youngest brother) is dying and his descendants want to sell the abandoned family home to a developer. Bill Perch a local young solicitor in training is tasked with finding Emeline Vane or find proof that the great aunt was as crazy as they were said to believe.

This was a beautiful, poignant story of self discovery in the face of self perseverance, family and romance, brimming with rich vivid detail of food and French landscape.

I loved the book, I loved the strong willed, driven characters. I loved the setting and the descriptions made me feel like I was in France watching the tale unfold. I felt so wrapped up and invested in Emeline story and how she overcame everything, that I found it difficult to part with.

I found that the story was never dull as we follow the journey of both Bill and Emeline and the pages flew rather quickly. Thought that being said, I did find Emeline story much more richer not only in the setting that the author enveloped us in but also in quality. The love story between her and the boy that discovers her grows slowly despite the stakes that seemed to rise against them.

The ending did feel a little abrupt to me. Bill’s story was left a little open ended, but provided a world of possibilities for the young solicitor. Emeline’s ending thought a happy one, also was a bit sad.

Overall, this was a great book. It didn’t feel long, it didn’t drag and the author was a master at creating a rich atmosphere with vivid details of the landscape and the food described in the book. I adored both the characters and their story and am looking forward to more from this author.