May Wrap Up

Ok so it has been a slow reading month and for my Goodreads 2017 reading challenge I have only completed 16 out of 50 books (32%).

The Lantern is a YA Halloween story I got for free on my Kindle.  This is a cute story about a young man who is trapped inside a lantern; appropriate for tweens.

Another winner from Hugh Howey.  Character driven yet reads like a fast paced action story.  The main character is very likable guy with a lot of emotional baggage from and a wicked sense of humor.  Science fiction for readers who think they don't like science fiction.  4 stars.

What Are You Reading Wednesdays (13)

What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well. 

How to participate:

Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

"You...are more dangerous than daybreak."

"I bet you were a good girl back home, a good girl all your life until you finally met the trouble that you want to get into."

I would be lying if I didn't say, YES.  In case you didn't guess from the first quote, this is a vampire story.  This world is darker than the one in Twilight but not a brutal as Justin Cronin's series (I would never survive in that world).

March/April Reading Wrap Up

It's been two months since my last wrap up when I only had two books and now there are too many!

Library of Souls is the final book in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Trilogy 4 Stars.  It had all the action and intensity of the first book that was very much lacking in the second.  If you liked the first book then be sure to read the third and final piece of the story.

If you are an old style Dean Koontz fan, this book may not be for you.  However, since I don't have a deep history with the author, I enjoyed this book.  The story is coherent and the main character is engaging.  My only issue is that the big reveal comes about 3/4 of the way through and it completely ruined the story for me.  From that point, I no longer cared what happened although I did read it to the end.  Also the last paragraph ends on a very jarring note which is probably supposed to make the reader go 'oooh' but really just feels like he forgot to write the next sentence.  3 Stars  Note - I listened to the audio book so that possibly made me more tolerant and I didn't really have to concentrate on the story the whole time.

This book was for the Central Library book club and the author came to our discussion group.  The book is somewhat a retelling of Dante's Inferno.  While I never quite connected with the main character or his quest, as soon as the supporting characters made their way into the scene, I was hooked.  I loved their individual voices and sense of humor with occasional bits of wisdom thrown in.    I gave this book 4 stars with a caution that it won't be for everyone; a tolerance for gore is definitely needed.

This was my February blind date with a book and yes it really did take me through April to finish.  I gave it 2 Stars because the story just never came to life for me and I was bothered some jarring notes through out which did not feel authentic to the time period.  This is the second Amanda Quick book I have read and I did not care for this one any more than the first one.  They sound good but they just aren't my style.

March Book for Dogwood Belles Book Club 2 Stars This wasn't Spark's best story.  It was very cliche and I think he was out of touch with two of his main characters.  They were written too mature and experienced for the age they were represent.  It didn't feel true.  Ira's story was the best part but even that was very predictable down to the big 'surprise' ending.  

April book for the Central Library book club.  Fantasy genre, 3 Stars.  My first Heinlein and he is a good writer.   There are a lot of great sentences that stand out but the overall story is lack luster and feels very very dated to me.

April Book for Dogwood Belles Book Club, 4 stars.  Very well written and complex but very character driven so it was slow in places.  I prefer plot driven stories but I wouldn't be averse to reading the next one in the Dublin Murder Squad series.

YA, dystopian and not necessarily original but very well done.  I really connected with the main characters and can't wait to see what happens next.  I listened to the audio book and the narrator was pitch perfect for the tone I imagine goes with the words. 4 Stars

Summary:  The Perfect Poison was the worst book of these 2 months with The Longest Ride a close second.  The Red Queen was the best book with In the Woods a close second.

Happy Reading Y'all

February Wrap Up

Wow, I only managed two books in February but it is a short(er) month and there was a lot going on.  So in that light, two is one better than none.

 The Machine Awakens was for the Community Library Science Fiction Book Club.  It is what I think of a typical science fiction grocery store aisle paperback.  It wasn't really my taste at all and would be the kind of book to turn me off of science fiction if I didn't know there is better stuff out there.  Several members of the club did not read it citing poor writing and overuse of 'false realism'.  Myself and another member found there were two many different story threads that might have been interesting but never connect to the main thread.  The final battle was won a little too easily.  There was a lot of naming of space craft that one member complained about but I just skimmed over those boring parts!  I didn't rate on GoodReads because I hate to give 1s and 2s but I can't quite bring myself to give it a 3.

This one was for the Dogwood Belles buddy read and is a sequel to An Ember in the Ashes that we read last summer.  The writing is good, the characters are interesting and likable, the world is brutal but the storyline is typical of YA Dystopian but it has some unique elements.  Overall I enjoyed it but I only gave it 3 on GoodReads and it won't be the top book that I recommend to readers who love this genre.

Here's hoping for a better reading month in March!

What Are You Reading Wednesdays (12)

What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well. 

How to participate:

Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children 3) by Ransom Riggs

"To some it might've seemed callous, the way she boxed up her pain and set it aside, but I knew her well enough now to understand.  She had a heart the size of France, and the lucky few whom she loved with it were loved with every square inch - but its size made it dangerous, too.  If she let it feel everything, she'd be wrecked.  So she had to tame it, shush it, shut it up.  Float the worst pains off to an island that was quickly filling with them, where she would go to live one day."

I think I answered no for the first book but now the world is so much bigger and full of potential and possibilities that in spite of the dangers, I would now say yes.

Blind Date with A Book

The local library hosted "Blind Date with a Book" again this February.

The book is wrapped so you can't see the author or title, only a short blurb on the front that gives a hint about the contents.

The wrapper said it was paranormal romance and historical fiction.

Hmmm sounds more like romantic suspense to me.

I admit I was disappointed.  I read an Amanda Quick book last summer and decided I had no interest in reading another.  However, I will give this one a go and see if it changes my mind.  

January Wrap Up

My reading has really slowed down due to other priorities as well as the end of vacation days and holidays but I managed 4 books in January so that is actually pretty good.

Central Library SciFi book club selection for January:  Ignore the tedious technical and unnecessary prologue and it reads more like an FBI thriller than science fiction.  A nice beach read, entertaining but not seat gripping.  The characters were very likable which made me keep reading.  3STARS

January Buddy Read for the Dogwood Belles Book Club:  A very interesting story told in the most boring way possible.  This book is very fact/statistic oriented and action or character driven.  I was disappointed because the author's Sunday school teacher was one of the women being written about so I thought there would more personal insight.  I ended up finishing the book as audio because I just couldn't get through reading it.  That being said, I did learn a lot and it isn't a bad book, I was just expecting a different type of story.

This is the final book in the Lunar Chronicles series (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter).  To recap, Cinder is a very loose Cinderella retelling, Scarlet is Red Riding Hood, Cress is Rapunzel  and Winter is Snow White).  The final book brings all the individual story lines together for the final conclusion.  I enjoyed this book but not as much as Cinder and Cress.  My one complaint is that it was too long.  The scenes were drawn with details that were unnecessary or repetitive,  I would have preferred it to be more compact and faster paced but I still gave it 4STARS.

This is Book 2 of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series.  I really liked the first book and also the movie but I wasn't quite as into the 2nd book.  Maybe the novelty was gone or the pictures weren't quite as compelling or chill-raising.  I did enjoy learning more about the children and seeing them use their powers outside the loop.  However, not a lot happened between the first couple of chapters where they were escaping the loop and the final cliff hanger chapter.  If you liked the first book then keep reading but if you weren't that into it, this book will reel you in.  3STARS