Book Review
A lot of people don’t know about this reading list. I’ve mentioned here and there, listed it in my current reads, and even made a shelf in Goodreads, but I haven’t been overly vocal. In 2016 my husband and I watched the movie Captain Fantastic. In a small way, the movie really changed our perspective and today I’m going to open up and share the last two years with you guys.
Read MoreJamie Watson wants nothing more than to be back in London, away from his estranged father and his new possible rival, Charlotte Holmes. That is, until the cases of their great-great-great-grandfathers’ start to be replicated on the students of Sherringford. All clues point to Holmes and Watson being the culprits, leaving Watson with no other choice but to trust the girl that has haunted his mind for years.
Read MoreVictor was Elizabeth’s savior. But she was his savior too. Needing a friend, his parents pulled her out of poverty to live with them and befriend their strange son. She only needed to make him love her to secure her place. The two grew up together, never being separated, until Victor’s mom died and he left for college, disappearing without a word for over a year. Elizabeth was set to find him. To secure her place in the family forever. What she didn’t expect was the monster his genius had sparked.
Read MoreThe month of February was a little different. I read two amazing classics instead of one. The first, a Regency England romance between two people that hate one another, and the second, an American classic about sisters and loving one another. Both books were the same and different in many ways.
Read MoreRushed out of Boston at rumors of a family scandal, Lydia and her two sisters find themselves permanently living in their family’s intended summer home. A home built on the very ashes of the burned down house before it. Lydia immediately feels that the place is different. Starting with her father’s new business partner, Mr Barrett, who just learned that there’s a family attached to his partner. As summer passes, Lydia learns that the scandal may be more real than she thought, and that her own secrets may have more truth in them than she wants them to. She must pull on her family’s history to save herself and those she loves.
Read MoreIn a world where magic is scarce and those with magic aren’t allowed to have control, Zaira has eluded the Falconers since her mage mark appeared. That was, until her anger got the best of her. Amalia was the only one present that could place the jess on Zaira as her fire burned out of control, fueled by those she’d killed, binding Zaira’s magic to Amalia - becoming Falcon and Falconer. But there was a problem. Being an heir to the Council of 9, Amalia was never meant to become a Falconer. High houses aren’t allowed that much power. The two girls, thrown together by fate, are forced to trust each other as war looms and the political structure of Amalia’s home is threatened, sending her and Zaira to the front lines.
Read MoreToday I’m taking a break from book reviews to talk about something that’s been bothering me for a few weeks.
Read MoreSeven husbands in the course of one lifetime… Why did she do it? It’s the question everyone asks when the elusive Evelyn Hugo decides to donate gowns to a charity auction. Monique asks it when she arrives at Evelyn’s house to conduct an interview for Vivant magazine. She also questions why Hugo requested such a low rung staff writer. Evelyn promises to explains it all if Monique does one thing - writes her biography instead. Now, as the story of Evelyn’s life unfolds, Monique has to decide between the chance of a lifetime and keeping her job at the magazine.
Read MoreAfter the death of their father, three sisters and their mother establish themselves in a new home at the insistence of a distant relation. Elinor, the sensible one, is forced to not only leave her childhood home to her half-brother but to also leave the man that has stolen her heart. Marianne, yet to see the world past her 17 years, falls into a man one rainy day while exploring her new home. Together the sisters must discern who deserves their love in the twists and turns of 19th century English society.
Read MoreNine people come to a health retreat for different reasons - health, relationships, vacation. The owner, Masha, has plans for this group. People come and go, even returning to feel her great results again and again, but no one ever practices what they’ve learned when they get back home. This time she wants it to be different and she plans to make it happen no matter what it takes. What these nine people don’t know, amid their own tumultuous lives, is that they might be in for more than they paid for.
Read MoreBorn with a curse, Val has never known what it means to be free. Her grandmother always said to keep something for herself - something from him. But his pull is getting stronger and, with the new family in town, she has her work cut out for her. Marion has a lot on her shoulders. She’s the rock in her family. The one keeping them all moving since her father’s death. But now that they’ve moved to Sawkill, she can’t keep it together. And then Zoey, the outcast, isn’t helping the situation much, scouring the town for her missing best friend. As the number of bodies grows higher, these three girls find themselves as the island’s only possible savior.
Read MoreWhat if your son had done it? What if your son had sexually abused someone and the proof was floating around? Not only does Nina struggle with the truth but what it also means for her as a mother. How can she bring about justice when her husband undermines everything she does? As Nina watches events unfold, she begins to see how their rich lives might be to blame. Lyla, living with her single dad, just wants it all to go away, to ignore what happened. She has a crush on the boy, and doesn’t this really mean that he likes her? How will she handle the ridicule at school? It wasn’t that racists, but her dad won’t let it go, won’t let Lyla fade into the background. Because there’ll always be another scandal.
Read MoreThree girls, the closest friends, are born in a town thought cursed because, since its creation, the girls born within the border have a gift; either making enough, finding what’s lost, fixing what needs mending, or healing those that are hurt. Rome lives in the town, and she doesn’t think her ability can save her or her mom from the landlord that wants to evict them, even trading her most prized possession for just a few more months. After a nasty tornado rocks the town, Rome and her two friends stumble upon a discovery that could either fix everything or tear them apart.
Read MoreNot only are we ringing in a new year but there are a lot of new books to get excited about. Below are a few of my most anticipated reads of 2019.
Read MoreIn a world… (insert deep voice)... where there are two sides, the Commonwealth and the fringe, Ia thinks she’s got the right side - Blood Wolf of the Skies. That is, until she is caught, shocking the world. It’s no harden criminal terrorizing the skies, but a seventeen-year-old girl behind the helmet. Seeing this as an opportunity, the Commonwealth sends her to be trained at the Star Force Academy where she has only one goal, escape. Brinn on the other hand is trying to stay in the Academy. She’s joined to make a difference, set to stop the likes of Ia from destroying the safety and security that the Commonwealth provides. But then why must Brinn hide who she really is? Thrown together at the academy, the two learn what the truth really is, and whose side they should be fighting on.
Read MoreIt’s time to flip the story of the damsel on its head. Who says every girl needs to be saved? Except that’s the way it’s been for generations - the prince goes to rescue his damsel, claiming her as his wife and future queen. And now it’s Emory’s turn. After scaling the wall he climbs inside the tower to kill the dragon. Hours later, with no memories of her own, Ama awakens besides Emory. She tries to piece together her past, finding no memories of her life before she awoke. The two return to Emory’s home where Ama is rushed to be married and feeling herself change as the wedding day draws near.
Read MoreIn a world where the gods walk amongst us, Circe is born with no place of her own. Though birthed to one of the most powerful Titans, she’s left to drift with no power or beauty to carry her through life. So she waits. One night the tides turn when one of their own is punished. That same night Circe defies all those around her, setting her own path - from one crazy ill-thought decision to the next - all leading to her exile for eternity alone, but now with power, where she watches history shape itself.
Read MoreLiving her entire life in front of the camera, Essie must play the greatest role of her life - deciding her own future. First she waits. Waits on others to decide how to deal with her unplanned pregnancy and the PR nightmare to follow. Essie plays the game, placing tiny pieces along the way to curve the narrative around her will. She convinces her mother to let her pick Roarke, and then recruits the help of a reporter who has her own family crisis. Though Essie’s family thinks they’ve got it all figured out, Essie reveals the scandal of a lifetime.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered the story? Pondered how the Sea Witch came to be? In a world of merpeople, why was she so different? With power and vengeance of her own, why did she haunt the cave among other lost souls? Well, her name was Evie once and this is her story.
Read More“Choose the path that's right by you. Always. It may end in misery -a small price to pay. No amount of hardship compares to the emptiness of regret. Of never having lived at all.”
Hello book world. I was kind of scared to pick this one up. I’ve been watching Moreci for a bit on YouTube but it’s one thing to talk about writing and another to pull it off well. So eventually I figured I needed to see what she was made of. Could she do as she preached?
I jumped, feet first, into her second book The Savior’s Choice.
In a world where a Savior brings fertility to the land, all men of competing age may try to win her hand in marriage and become the Sovereign. And many want to… just not Tobias. The thought of killing 19 other men for supposed love sends his stomach churning. He keeps refusing to enter until he no longer has a choice. His sister, crippled from an accident, needs more help then his feeble income can provide. So he enters, risking all, but assuming that he won’t make it far; all for the coin purse handed to the selected’s family. Once in the maze, fate has a different idea for Tobias, sending him on a wild journey that may get him out alive.
Romance, palace intrigue, blood, guts…. What more could I want in a story? With the perfect balance of everything, including the kitchen sink, I was immediately lost to the labyrinth and everything held within its walls. Moreci sets the tone in the first scene by opening with the brutal killing of the current Savior. By doing this, Moreci makes a promise to her readers, showing them upfront what they can expect. .
Next we meet the main protagonist. How Moreci pulled off writing from the mind of a male protagonist, I have no idea. Her grasp of internal dialogue, thoughts, and actions was superb. Reader’s weren’t handed the perfect male specimen from our dreams, but an honest guy with his own faults. Just one that we can stand behind. His actions throughout the story make sense. We aren’t given this overwhelming good boy act. Maybe just a nice little hero to make every girl swoon for.
“You are the strongest man I've ever known. And you are kind. And you are good. You are bruised by this tournament, but you are not broken.”
Which leads me right into a very important point - that does not mean that Moreci’s female characters were weak or needed saving. Quite the opposite. Moreci created a female cast that was strong in every way possible without losing their femininity. Instead of the man coming to save the woman, we got a woman who could save herself, and did so on many occasions, but decided to team up with a man. Reader’s were still gifted with the strong man scenes, but got a better story when the woman could stand right beside him in the fight.
Sadly, not all of Moreci’s characters were this well done. One of my biggest issues with the book, I only have two, is that the bad guys were made to be very bad. They were too easy to hate and, at times, felt evil just to move the story along. There was no guilt from the decision Tobias had to make. You eventually wanted something bad to happen to them. Overall, every antagonist or negative character in Tobias and Leila’s way, fell flat. Every character in a book needs to be fully realized, and come across as human, even if we, as the writer, don’t like them. Don’t make it easy for the reader to hate them. It takes out a large emotional factor from the story. Look at the Darkling in the Grisha Verse. That’s an excellent example of a fully developed antagonist.
And I might as well let you know the other issue. Even though the dialogue was superb, bordering on genius, there were some points when the quips and back and forth felt a little too modern for the world. I’m not looking for old English, but I don’t want to hear Joe from down the street when this story is set in some other universe not contemporary to ours.
Ok, hard part is over.
“If everything looks good and pure, then nothing's truly beautiful. The ugliness is what makes beauty so distinct.”
Still, Moreci’s art is in her dialogue. Seriously. You need to work on that in your writing… here’s your textbook.
What I think sets this book above all others was Moreci’s work with sex and her ability to make what many deem to be inappropriate, natural. She broke boundaries and showed a natural side to human nature. Instead of hiding the male anatomy, she placed it front and center in a respectful, story important way. This isn’t some romance, sexually explicit book. Every sex reference felt vital to the story and worked to create an atmosphere of what competing in the tournament would be like. This includes the same sex relationships as well.
I think what took me on the biggest ride was the imagination in each section of the tournament. I really don’t want to see inside Moreci’s mind because I have no idea how she came up with all of the challenges. Each one was unique and interesting, and kept the reader on their toes. Each scene was well constructed to not leave the reader lost in the what was happening. If you’ve read some of my other reviews, you know I hate when writers don’t craft well choreographed fight scenes. Most of the time I’m lost, which loses the whole point of the fight scene.
If you haven’t guessed it… I’m giving this book 5 stars. Man it was amazing. I was left with some serious book hangover. I need a reread, but to do that, I need to actually own the book. Well, my birthday is coming up. Fingers crossed.
Happy Reading.
Love Kait.
Reading Challenge: 97/100
