Review: The Library Book

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Rating: 3 Stars

This book is billed as true crime, and while it does cover the mysterious fire (arson? maybe) in the LA Central Library in 1986, it reads more as a love letter to libraries. As a library lover, I found the glimpse into the history and inner workings of the LA Public Library system fascinating. Orlean is a fantastic writer, who blends the story of the fire with the history and future of the library seamlessly. This is well worth a read if you have any interest in libraries at all. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy of the book.

Review: An Anonymous Girl

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I was so excited to get an ARC of An Anonymous Girl to read this fall, and it was the perfect read for the Halloween season. This was a creepy, twisty, wild ride from start to finish. The way these two authors right is so engaging, and I was quickly drawn into the story, even though I felt like I didn't know what was going on about half of the time. This was a fast read and well paced. Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, and who the bad guy was, they threw another twist at me, and I was wondering all over again. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of the book. On sale January 8, 2019.

Review: On The Other Side of Freedom

On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope by DeRay Mckesson

Rating: 3 Stars

DeRay Mckesson's book is both a call to action and hope for the world as it could be.  Using his own experiences as an activist, organizer, educator, and public official, Mckessen speaks to all of us about how we can work to make the world better. He writes that we all can and must work to make the system better, because that is the only way it can be done. There are some hard truths in this book, but they're important truths, that remind us to all be active and engaged citizens.

Thank you to GoodReads and Viking for the complimentary copy of this book.

Review: Educated

Educated by Tara Westover

Rating: 4 Stars

Tara Westover's memoir about growing up in an extremely conservative, fundamentalist home is both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. Her father (and probably one of her brothers, although that's not ever said outright) is mentally ill, living in a closed society (their family) that enables him and his abuse. And while Westover never glosses over that aspect, she also writes very frankly about her struggle to reconcile the father that abuses her with the one that she loves and who loves her in return. The same for her brother. It was fascinating to read about her journey through the world of academia after having no formal schooling until college, and how she struggled to come to terms with her changing worldview. This is a wonderful memoir that gave me a glimpse into a world I could have never imagined, and I am so inspired by Westover. 

Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Review: Lady Jayne Disappears

Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano

Rating: DNF

I struggled to get through this book for a week, but finally gave up at about 60%. I probably could have finished it, but life is too short to read bad books.

I had a couple of issues with this book. The main one was that it was so boring. I read 258 pages before giving up, and nothing happened in said 258 pages, except for the heroine Aurelie writing, praying, and having really obnoxious self-doubting monologues. It's marketed as a gothic mystery, and at first I thought that's what it was going to be. I expect Aurelie to sleuth around and uncover the great mystery of what happened to Lady Jayne, but at 60% into the book, she hadn't done anything like that. I skimmed the last bit of the book and the great mystery was all revealed in about the last 10 pages of the book, without even the true benefit of a "reveal." The other characters basically just told her what happened, finally. Politano wasted roughly 400 pages by choosing that as the method of reveal in my opinion. I also felt like the twist at the end was supposed to be this huge shock, but it also fell flat even as I skimmed through to the end. 

I also didn't enjoy the Jasper story line, and to be honest, I'm not sure what purpose it served at all, except to create unnecessary conflict. If Politano had focused more on the mystery aspect and worried less about conflict between Juliette and Aurelie (and everyone else), the story would have been much better. That conflict, like so much of the book, simply felt like filler. However, all the filler meant that the plot line that could have really been interesting was neglected and not nearly as good as it could have been. 

This falls into the category of Christian fiction, although there's no way to know that until you've started. That in and of itself wouldn't be a problem, but the faith element is written so poorly. There's no naturalness to it; the prayers/invocation of God are dropped into the story often seemingly at random, in such a clunky and awkward way, it really interrupted the flow of the story. Along with that, much of the dialogue and especially the dialogue regarding faith is so sappy-sweet it made my teeth hurt. 

I really tried to like this one, but in the end, it just wasn't for me. Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Romance Awareness Month Wrap-Up

August was Read a Romance and Romance Awareness Month, so I'm going to give you a quick rundown of all of the romance novels I read this month. I'm going to throw this out there: I love romance novels, making this an easy focus for the month.

Savor You by Kristen Proby

Rating: 2 Stars

This book was okay, but it didn't blow me out of the water. I enjoyed the story and the characters, and was glad that even though I haven't read any of the others in the series I could jump right in and not feel lost. I really enjoyed the emphasis Proby put on female friendship, and the relationships between the female characters. I liked reading about a body-positive hero, although that felt a little heavy handed at times. I also really appreciated that consent was represented and still sexy. In this day and age, showing that consent can be sexy is so important. What I did not love so much was the lack of conflict. Everything seemed to be resolved too quickly and much too easily. And while I enjoy stories where there is less drama, there was a number of conflicts introduced and then quickly resolved. I guess I just didn't feel emotionally invested in any part of the story. Overall it was a fun, easy read.

The Chase by Elle Kennedy Rating: 4 Stars I wrote a whole post about this book earlier this month, so I'm not going to completely rehash it. Just know that I loved this book and if you're interested in the New Adult genre, check out Elle Kennedy. She's one of the best writers of the genre, in my opinion.  Blush for Me by Kristen Proby Rating: 2 Stars This was a quick and easy read. I enjoy that Proby didn't use the usual formula that involves a fight and the main couple being broken up before coming back together. I do enjoy reading a romance where the conflict comes from something other than the couple breaking up. However, the conflict Proby did use was too quickly resolved and not very believable. This was a fine book, good for a Sunday at home. Hard Sell by Lauren Layne Rating: 4 Stars I also reviewed this on the blog earlier, so again, I won't repeat myself. This was a fun and easy read, with an enemies to lovers trope done really well. This one also went on sale today (September 4th) so be sure to get yourself a copy this one right away! The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare Rating: 3 Stars This was a quick and easy read. Having never read anything by Tessa Dare before, I have nothing to compare it to style-wise, but she does appear to have a certain style that may not be for everyone. It’s silly, which I enjoy once in a while, but may not be for everyone. The other thing that threw me off a bit was the modernization of the dialogue and thoughts of the characters. They spoke and thought like modern day people, which did occasionally take me out of the story, as I wouldn’t expect characters in a historical to speak like characters in a contemporary. But overall it was a fun story, so if you’re looking for an easy, sexy, sometimes silly romance to read at the beach, give this a try! Close to You by Kristen Proby Rating: 2 Stars This was a fast and easy read. I appreciate Proby’s books for their lack of relationship drama, but her writing style is a little lackluster for me. The dialogue in particular reads amateurish. (As you can probably tell, by this time I've about given up on Kristen Proby. We'll see if I try any more of hers). At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec Rating: 2 Stars This was a pretty easy read, although I thought it was a little slow at the beginning. It was fun and I really liked how sex-positive it was, as well as the focus on the female friendships and the relationship between Cindy and her daughter. However, I wish those relationships had been more fleshed out. There was too much going on in the story to really focus on that. Also, even knowing it was a Cinderella retelling, that aspect was a little heavy-handed for my taste.  Boy Toy by Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby Rating: 3 Stars A fun and easy read, perfect for an afternoon at home. I enjoyed the characters and the story, although Sadie's insecurity got a little annoying at times. However, due to the nature of the book that was resolved pretty quickly. It was a low drama story as well, which I often enjoy. I like a good soap opera sometimes, but every once in a while it's nice to have a story that feels more realistic, with conflict, but not over-the-top conflict. This book has that. Sleepover by Serena Bell Rating: 3 Stars I just reviewed this one on the blog as well, and I enjoyed it. It was well-written, with well-rounded characters and a realistic take on real-life issues single parents who are dating often face. Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai Rating: 3 Stars I probably wouldn’t have picked this up by myself, but the Book World was all abuzz about it when it came out, so I thought I’d give it a try. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting. It was dark in places, but not as dark as I expected, more intense. I enjoyed the characters and think Alisha Rai tackled some tough issues (like depression) really well. I also enjoyed that the couple was interracial, but that wasn’t a source of conflict. They were dynamic characters, each with their own flaws and issues to work through. I’ll definitely be picking up the next one in series.

Review: Sleepover

Sleepover by Serena Bell

Rating: 3 Stars

This was a fairly quick and easy read, with relatively low drama. The writing could use a little tightening up, there were times it was a little repetitive and overly descriptive, but overall it was well-written. I especially appreciated Bell’s treatment of tough issues; mainly death and adultery. I felt that all the characters were well-rounded and felt very real in how they dealt with their individual issues. The only character issues is that I would have liked to see Sawyer’s in-laws either less or more. They were introduced it seemed, to be a source of conflict, but that never fully panned out. I think either there should have been a confrontation/discussion with them about Sawyer and Elle’s relationship, or they shouldn’t have ever been introduced at all. Still, overall a good read, so if you’re a fan of contemporary romance and/or the single parent trope, be sure to check this one out.

Release date: November 13, 2018

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kinsolver

With Steven L. Hopp & Camille Kingsolver

Rating: 2 Stars

I want to preface this review by saying that it didn't take very long for me to discover that I am clearly not the intended audience for this book. As a North Dakota farm girl (we didn't live on the farm, but between my family and friends, I spent many of my formative years on farms) with an Agricultural Economist who worked for North Dakota State University's Research Extension Center for most of my life, and a mother who is a dietitian working for the local medical center, I know about food and food culture. My best friends father is an agronomist, who also works for the NDSU's research arm, so I also have a pretty tight connection to the research involved in GMOs and conventional farming. Basically, I am not the food moron that this book is meant for. So keep that in mind as I discuss all the things I disliked about this book.

My first issue was the discussion early on about how what we eat is causing everyone in the United States to become fat and killing us slowly from a mountain of diseases. I'm certainly not saying that what we eat doesn't play an important role in our overall health, but the complete focus on what we're eating, and not how we're eating is problematic. Portion size and a much more sedentary lifestyle are just as important when determining how to lead a more healthy life. 

Another thing I had trouble wrapping my head around was Kingsolver's contradictions, of herself! At one point in the book she waxes poetic about how difficult it has been for her local tobacco farmers since the downfall of tobacco. She goes on and on about how sad it is for those farmers because that was their livelihood and paid their bills, sent their kids to college, etc. and how will they survive as tobacco falls out of fashion. She's trying to evoke these feelings of sympathy for these farmers, and while I do sympathize, I struggle with the fact that she doesn't apply that same logic to any other farmers. It's like it only counts if it's her life experience. Many of the farmers in my area/life grow the crops and animals that are deemed the evils of farming by Kingsolver: soybeans, wheat, corn, cattle that will be sold before it's ready for slaughter. But these farmers are good people too. Soybeans and wheat sent my friends and cousins to college. Cattle sold before slaughter pays my aunt and uncle's bills. It's not nearly as cut and dried as Kingsolver wants it to be. Yes, corporate farming is a problem, but there are lots of what she would consider to be "large" farms that are still family operated. 

Along those lines, the constant harping on organic got really old, really fast. Almost all the farms in our area are considered conventional farms, but that doesn't mean they're not doing their part for conservation. Pasture rotation, crop rotation, and cover crop use are a regular part of farming around here. There are also tons of programs that farmers are taking advantage of to help preserve wildlife habitats in our area. So no, conventional farming does not always equal the end of the world as we know it. 

The other thing I struggled with was the lack of citation. All of the writers tossed out statistics and information often without anything concrete to back it up. There were some references made at the end of the book, and websites listed, but if you're going to be putting out hard statistics, I need a footnote and enough information to find the study myself. 

Finally, while I appreciated what they were trying to do, I found the book itself to be way too long and way too preachy for my tastes. Kingsolver is an excellent writer, but the whole thing came across as a way to prove how awesome their family is for doing this and how we should all just magically be able to do the same. I would have liked to read more about how the year actually went, how true to the eat local movement did they stay (at the end she briefly mentions they did buy some things like boxed mac and cheese), because just a little shot of humility and true struggle would have gone a long way to making this book more palatable for me. I also thought it could have been shortened considerably. I went in expecting to read a story about a family spending a year growing their own food, not be bombarded for over 300 pages about how organic is better and commercial farms are evil and conventional farming is killing the planet. Whether or not you agree those things are true, that's not how I felt that the book was promoted. I'm not made I read this, but I'm more than glad to be done with it and able to put it on the donate pile.

Book Shame

We've all done it; hidden what we're reading from others. Maybe you leave a different book than the one you're reading out in your living room when you've got company visiting. Maybe you slip your book into a cover or another book when you're on the train on the way to work. Maybe you just flat-out lie when someone asks what you've been reading recently. Don't feel too bad about it, because truly, I think we've all been there at some time.

But why? What has led us to believe that some books are more "worthy" than others? Reading is good, no matter what it is. It's exercising your brain, teaching you about other cultures, and making you an all around better person. Or at least, it should be. And yet, there are those people out there who feel that their status as "bookworm" makes them superior somehow, and that sucks.

I recently left a book group on Facebook after discovering that it was filled with such people. It started with a post (from a group admin, no less) discussing the current hit book, Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis.

The poster was wondering: "Am I the only one that as soon as non-reading type people start posting up a picture of a newly popular book and screaming "OMG IT'S SO OOOOOO GOOD YOU HAVE TO READ IT" I immediately put it on my "that book is probably trash" pile???"

Now, in my mind, the post itself is bad enough, but then it got 42 comments of people saying basically the same thing. It really disgusted me, because that's such a terrible attitude to have. I haven't read this book, but it is on my list, partly because I have seen it hyped up all over social media. Some of the people recommending are not huge readers, it's true, but that doesn't invalidate their opinion that it's good. The original poster even mentions later on that this attitude kept her from Twilight, which she ended up loving, but apparently doesn't understand the irony of that.

My real issue with this is the implied shame put on so-called "non-readers." If someone joined this group who maybe doesn't read much and was looking for a place to read a book a month and join in some discussion on his/her own time, I would think this would completely turn them off and scare them away. Which is a shame, because we should be encouraging people to read as much as they're able, and in general, book social media is such a great place! Look, everyone isn't going to like the same books, and that's okay. You can dislike a book without utterly trashing it and putting down the people who do like it. You especially shouldn't be doing that for a book you haven't even read. So here's the moral of the story peeps: don't be a jerk, and don't worry about what other people are reading. Just encourage people to read! We need that now more than ever!

Review: Hard Sell

Hard Sell by Lauren Layne

Rating: 4 Stars

Lauren Layne's second installment in her 21 Wall Street series is just as much fun as the first! This story focuses on Matt and Sabrina, who were introduced as enemies in the previous book. It is a romance, so it's pretty clear they won't stay enemies for long, but I really enjoyed how Layne played the trope out. It wasn't done in the usual enemies to lovers way, and  without giving too much away, I really appreciated how much more believable and real the book feels as it moves through that plot, as each character realizes the true nature of their feelings, both past and present.

Like always, I enjoy Layne's emphasis on friendship, and while there was slightly less of that than in the previous book, those relationships were still extremely well done. I like that there was no underlying drama or cattiness between Sabrina and Lara, as that relationship could have been used as a source of drama and conflict. I much prefer Layne's approach, which is to have Sabrina understand that she's not losing her best friend (Ian), but gaining a new friend (Lara), while still acknowledging that Sabrina's relationship with Ian will change. I very much enjoy books that have the appropriate amount of drama/conflict, without heading into soap opera territory, and this definitely delivers. I also really hope that Montlake picks up the third book in the series, because I'm desperate to read the story of Kate and Kennedy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Montlake Romance for a review copy of this book.

Review: The Favorite Sister

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

Rating: 2 Stars

This is a tough one for me to review. There were aspects that I liked, and aspects that I didn't like. I was tempted to put it down and not finish at least once, but I'm glad I didn't. 

Jessica Knoll writes a compelling thriller, that kept me guessing until the very end. I thought I had figured out what had happened about halfway through, and was surprised to get to the end and realize I was completely wrong, and completely surprised. I always find that a sign of a good thriller, one that isn't too predictable.

However, I also struggled. I felt like the build-up took too long, and the beginning was too slow. I didn't connect with any of the characters, they were all terrible people, and I didn't feel any sympathy for any of them. Admittedly, that may have been part of the point, showing how no one is as perfect as they seem on the surface, but for some reason, that didn't really resonate with me. I also struggled to keep track of all of the characters and their ventures/story-lines. There was just too much going on in my opinion. I was never able to fully invest in a character or story-line because it jumped around so much. I was also left with a number of questions at the end. I feel like I never truly got to know Kelly as a character well enough to understand the ending, which is a little frustrating.

Overall, this was an okay read. It was well-written and surprising, but a little slow and confusing. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Review: Belong to Me

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Reader beware: spoilers below.

I have to say, I don't really know how I feel about this book. One the one hand, it's beautifully written. It's a different style than what I'm used to, but it was lovely. Marisa de los Santos definitely has a way with words.

On the other hand, it moved so slowly, and I didn't really like the story. It felt like there was too much going on, too many story lines to keep track of, and I never really got very invested in any of them. I also hated the Teo-secret child story line. I know that's almost the anchor of the book, so maybe that's why I didn't like it very much, but when I got to the part where Dev figures it out, I got so mad. I just hated that that's where she took the story, and it was a real turn-off for me. I can't really explain why, it was just kind of a gut reaction. 

However, despite all the things I didn't like, I still was compelled to read until the end and find out what happens. And I will admit the second half moved much more quickly than the first half. De los Santos wrote a lovely, quiet novel, so if you're looking for a read featuring compelling characters and emotional writing, this is one you should pick up.

Review: The Chase

The Chase by Elle Kennedy

Rating: 4 Stars

What better way to participate in Read a Romance Month than with a romance I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for?! Okay, not forever, but it’s been a long time and I’ve been impatiently waiting the get back to Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus universe! The first book in the Off Campus spin off series Briar U does not disappoint. I loved reading about Summer and Fitzy and getting quick cameos from some of the characters from the original books. The characters are loveable and believable and I was rooting for them the whole time, even when I wanted to slap them for not making good choices! I will say, I didn't love the Summer-Hunter issue throughout the book. I definitely could have done without the love triangle aspect of the story, but I'm so over love triangles as a trope that that's more of a personal preference than anything else. I have to say, New Adult is a tough genre. At least for me, it's such a hit or miss genre, and I'm not completely sure why. They tend to skew to soap opera, but I can get down for that if it's well done. It just seems that so much of it isn't well done. With Elle Kennedy, it's always well-written and she's one of the bar-setters in the genre, in my opinion. This was a fast and easy read that was paced really well. I loved spending my Sunday back in this world, and am very glad we don’t have to wait nearly as long for the next installment! If you enjoy the New Adult genre and/or sports romance, this is definitely one not to miss! Even if you're on the fence in terms of New Adult, check this out because Elle Kennedy writes some of the best in the genre, hands down.

Review: After the Game

After the Game by Abbie Glines

Rating: DNF (Did Not Finish)

I think this is going to have to be my last Abbi Glines book. I found her earlier works to be hit or miss for me, but all the more recent ones I've tried have just been bad. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I DNF'd this at about 15% and then skimmed the rest of the way through just to see if there was any redeeming qualities or a worthwhile resolution. There wasn't. The reason I decided early on to skim rather than actually read this book was the writing. There's no flow and the whole thing reads as a poorly written fiction project for a high school writing class. There's too much detail for the inner-monologues, almost like the author forgot she was writing in first person, not third, and the dialogue is completely unrealistic. I also really hated that the text conversations were not stylistically set apart (i.e. italics, etc.), because it was confusing to read a sentence or two before realizing it was meant to be a text message between characters. I continued to skim through the book, though, in order to see if there seemed to be a good story underneath the bad writing, only to be disappointed on that front as well. There are so many problems with the plot of this book, I could hardly stand it. I'm going to start with Riley. Her whole story line was a mess, from start to finish. Riley is raped at 15, becomes pregnant and has the baby, is run out of town as a liar, and she's perfectly fine? Give me a break. There's no way that she wouldn't be dealing with some major psychological issues after trauma like that, and it's upsetting to me that Glines didn't take this opportunity to address some of that and add some depth to the character. Also the fact that Riley's mother wants her to stop holding on to her anger and bitterness and spend time with Brady, even though he was one of those people who wouldn't listen and called her a liar is so not cool. Honestly, it's written like Riley's parents are so great because they took her away from the town, but in reality, they should have worked harder to get justice for their daughter. The "resolution" to this story line was also horrible. At the very end the rapist "just wanted to see" the baby, and is so sorry, and Riley forgives him. Gross. It's almost like Glines forgot that part of the story line and had to rush to some conclusion at the end.  I also didn't love that this book made being a teen mom seem like such a breeze. It just didn't seem to accurately depict what that life is really like, and again was a missed opportunity to add some much needed depth to characters and the plot. But Riley wasn't the only one with issues in this book. There was a total 180 degree character shift with Brady's dad, for no apparent reason other than to cause some conflict to make Brady's life more dramatic and less perfect, which was weird. There was also a concerning amount of toxic masculinity to deal with throughout the book. Even though Brady's dad is the cheater, Brady thinks his mom is weak for not "dealing with it" or however it was put, in the way that he thinks she should. Riley isn't accepted into the group until Gunner invites them to the party, which, considering he's her ex and her rapist's brother is problematic on so many levels. It reads almost like Gunner forgives Riley, but for what? For not just keeping her mouth shut that his brother raped her and got her pregnant? And now everyone else is going to treat her well again, because he's going to? That's messed up.  Basically this book is a disaster from start to finish, and I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone.

Review: The Accidentals

The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen

Rating: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed Sarina Bowen’s new young adult novel. I don't pick up too many young adult novels anymore, but since I've enjoyed Bowen's other work, I thought I would give it a try and I'm glad I did. The story was well-developed, with good pacing throughout. The characters were flawed, but that only added to the story. Obviously the main plot point was pretty out there, but the way Bowen handled the emotional development of the characters as they progressed through the plot was extremely believable. Even though there was conflict, there wasn’t a lot of drama just for the sake of the drama, which I really like. The major plot was dramatic enough without adding overly dramatic side elements. I also liked that as Rachel didn't ever seem to hate either of her parents; she was rightfully angry, but learned to forgive and move on. I guess I just really appreciated that the story never turned into a soap opera. The progression of emotions Rachel went through felt very true to life. This was a fast and easy read, perfect for anyone who enjoys young adult fiction and emotional coming of age stories.

Review: The Risk of Rogues

The Risk of Rogues by Sabrina Jeffries

Rating: 3 Stars

I enjoyed the final installment in Sabrina Jeffries' Sinful Suitors series. Because it's a novella the story moves to the resolution extremely quickly, but that doesn't detract from the story. The characters are not as well-developed as if it had been a full-length novel, but I didn't feel like the characters were in any way flat. I really liked that the heroine was strong enough to look out for and stand up for herself, and that the hero understands and respects that. This was a quick and easy read, bringing closure to the series. Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy of this book.

June Book of the Month Readathon Wrap-Up

This month I participated in the Book of the Month readathon. Just a note: this was not started by the official Book of the Month page, it was started by another book blogger/instagrammer - booknerdnative. And what a great idea it was! I'll admit, I'm terrible about keeping up with my Book of the Month picks, and while I only made a small dent in my pile, I really enjoyed most of the books I read. Keep reading to find out what specifically I liked or didn't like about each of the seven Book of the Month picks I read in June!

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri

Rating: 2 Stars

This is the book equivalent to cotton candy. It was and fun and easy read, but there wasn’t much substance. It felt like the whole story was surface-level only, and I would have liked if there had been more depth to the story, or the characters, or both.

Overall it was okay, especially if you’re looking for something light and easy, but it didn’t make me feel any sort of emotion.

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir

Rating: 4 Stars

I really enjoyed this book, even though the subject matter was very hard to read about. Early on, I sort of got a picture about what was going to happen, but it didn’t come fully clear until the end, which meant I couldn’t stop reading!

Weir did an excellent job of creating believable characters with depth. I don’t know how I would react if I were in Essie’s place (thank goodness), but I believed how she reacted. It felt real and raw and rough. I hope Weir continues to write, I would be interested to read more from her.

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

Rating: 4 Stars

This was an extremely enjoyable read about a woman who overcomes great hardship. I really appreciated that Center stayed true to life in that everything wasn't magically fixed by the end of the  novel. I felt that the characters and the plot were all well-developed.  

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Rating: 4 Stars

This was an extremely fun, steamy, perfect-for-summer read! I enjoyed the reverse Pretty Woman plot and the diverse cast of characters. The heroine is autistic, which makes it a buzzworthy book by that point alone. However, the author is also on the spectrum which lends wonderful (and needed) authenticity to the character. The hero is a young man just trying to help his family and not turn into his deadbeat father, which may sound like a cliche trope, but Hoang approaches it in such a way that I really felt I understood Michael and where he was coming from. Not to say I didn't want to shake him sometimes, but I felt for him. I also enjoyed the fun cast of secondary characters, particularly Michael's Vietnamese family. Diversity in romance (and all publishing) is so important, but diversity for it's own sake can often come off as flat or forced. I didn't feel that way at all about this book, so I suggest if you enjoy fun and sexy romances, be sure to put this one in your beach bag!

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Rating: 2 Stars

This was a fairly quick, easy read. Nothing to write home about, in my opinion. The writing was fine, but the style didn't work for me. It was written as journal entries, which I often enjoy, but it didn't seem to work in this instance. To me, this story would have been better served as a narrative, not as a diary.

I never felt any real connection to any of the characters, and everything came across as very superficial. If the characters and/or plot had been more fleshed out I would have enjoyed it more.

Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Rating: 3 stars

This was a pretty good debut novel. Ritter is a good writer, and I think she had a good story to tell with this book. It was a thriller that wasn't too terribly scary, but it went off in a direction I didn't really expect, which I appreciated. I would pick up another if Ritter continues to write.

The English Wife by Lauren Willig

Rating: 4 Stars

This was a great mystery that kept me guessing until the end. It was exactly the kind of mystery that I enjoy; the kind where I think I’ve figured out what’s going on and the author parcels out important information a little bit at a time to keep up the suspense and surprise.

So there you have it! And I have to say, if you're thinking about trying Book of the Month Club, I can't recommend it enough. Just look at all these good books! 

Book World Controversy: Negative Reviews

Recently the issue of negative reviews has been cropping up in some of the book groups I'm in. So on this rainy day off from work, I thought I'd talk about it. 

The controversy is that some readers seem to feel very strongly about keeping the book community positive. And while I understand that, and I definitely believe that the social media book community should stay civil and it doesn't need to get personal, the idea that you should only share positive reviews just doesn't make sense, for many reasons.

For one, sometimes readers legitimately don't like a book, for any number of reasons. Maybe the writing wasn't good, maybe the story didn't resonate with them, maybe they didn't like the subject matter. It doesn't matter what the reason is, everyone has different tastes and there isn't a book in the world that everyone likes. 

I've seen lots of arguments about the word hate. Some readers don't think that word should be used when discussing a book, which I definitely do not agree with. I really don't like the implication that my feeling isn't valid because "hate is such a strong word." I know, that's why I chose it. It doesn't matter if another reader doesn't like the word hate, that doesn't make the my feelings less valid. And here's the thing: I, like many other reviewers, know my own feelings. If I hate it, I hate it, and I'll do my best to explain my reasoning, but I'm not going to tone down my feelings to make someone else happy. 

Aside from wanting to be honest with anyone who may read a review I've written, as a reader I appreciate negative reviews, sometimes even more than positive reviews. When I'm reading reviews deciding whether or not I'm going to pick up a book, I often go to the negative reviews first. I find that negative reviews better inform my decision about choosing a book because the negative reviews can tell me right away if there's something in the book that I just won't like. Negative reviews are often where you can find true information about the quality of writing or if I'm going to have a big problem with part of the story line. Reviewers who loved a book will write a glowing review, which is fantastic, but they'll also usually overlook writing or plot issues, and those are the kind of issues I want to know about when deciding if I'm going to pick up a book or not.

I often also hear the argument that "authors work hard to produce a book," or "how would you feel if someone who didn't know tried to tell you how to do your job?" News flash: people have been telling me how to do my job for literally every job I've ever had. That's how people are. Everyone thinks they know better than you when it comes to your job. As humans, we have to learn to live with that. And honestly, as long as the reviews don't get personal (as in, no calling the author or readers who like the book stupid or the like), I don't see what the problem is. I try to keep my negative reviews constructive and informative, to hopefully help other readers avoid books they won't like. And that can go both ways. A trope I hate is someone else's catnip! So someone reading my bad review might think, "Well, she hates that plot device, but that's one I love!" and maybe that person will go buy the book and love it. It is my true belief that both positive and negative reviews have their place in the world. 

So, while I understand wanting to keep the book community a happy place, I also don't think that keeping it happy means not acknowledging that as a reader, you didn't like a book, for whatever reason. Keep it civil and don't make it personal, but feel free to express whatever feelings you have about a book! Like I've said before, we all have different tastes and not every book is for every person. And as a final note, reviews are all just opinions, so take them with a grain of salt. 

Stay tuned! Next week I'm going to do a round-up of all the Book of the Month picks I've read in June as part of the #botmreadathon! 

Review: Just Let Go

Just Let Go by Courtney Walsh

Rating: 3.5 Stars

As someone who avoids inspirational fiction like the plague, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The story was fun and sweet and the writing was good.

I enjoyed the small town setting and the character development. Even though there were multiple characters, the main characters were well developed and believable. 

The main reason I avoid inspirational fiction is the writing. It seems like so much inspirational fiction is just poorly written and so preachy. This book is neither. The dialog (a particularly difficult thing to make believable in inspirational fiction, apparently) actually sounds like how people talk, which I loved. I also really appreciated that while there are mentions of faith and God, and it’s clearly Christian, it was not overbearing. I hate having religion shoved down my throat, but this felt natural and not forced at all.

If you’re looking for a sweet story with little drama and some light, clean romance, I recommend picking up this book. I will definitely try more by Courtney Walsh.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for review consideration. 

Book World Controversies: ARCs

Today I don't have a book review for you, I'm going to start a short series on some things that have come up recently in the discussion boards of some book groups I'm in on Facebook. 

There are three issues that have caused controversy and/or much discussion among the different members of the group. Discussion is good, but sometimes they get heated, and often the posters come off as condescending (at least to me). And since this is my blog, I can air my feelings on this issue without getting into a fight with anybody (I hope).

Today's issue has to do with ARC copies. This is the issue that most irritated me personally. A couple of weeks ago, completely unsolicited, someone posted a long, long rant on one of the Facebook groups about ARC (advanced reader/review copies) and how they aren't just free books and if you get one you need to read and review it right away. She also went on to say that if you just want free books, look for giveaways, etc. because by taking ARCs from places like NetGalley, you're taking them away from people "who really take it seriously." 

I had a lot of problems with this rant. The first and foremost is that giveaways, whether through publishers or authors or Goodreads, are almost all also ARCs. So the idea that ARCs from NetGalley are different than ARCs given away somewhere else is just ludicrous. Publishers have a certain number of copies to give away for free, and they're separated out to different medias for disbursement. There are also "fail-safes" if you will to guarantee reviews are done. The ARCs given to bloggers go to bloggers with large followings: unless something extreme happens, I'll never get ARCs as a blogger. NetGalley also has a system: publishers may choose not to give you an ARC of a book if your profile isn't filled out to their satisfaction (or your blog doesn't have enough followers) and/or your review percentage (calculated by the number of reviews written to how many you've been granted) isn't high enough. I never get anything from Harlequin because my review percentage is too low. I'm working on getting more reviews done, but I'm a mood reader, so while I only sign up to get books I want to read, I have to be in the right mood to get them read. This person definitely came across like she knows better than the publishers and their marketing teams, which I find very hard to believe.

Another point that she completely left out of her rant, which she either didn't know about or chose to ignore, is that publishers CAN NOT require reviews for ARCs. Amazon in particular has recently cracked down on reviews that seem like they may have been given in exchange for free product. This makes sense, because if reviews are required, reviewers often feel like they can't be honest if they didn't like the book. And despite what some people believe (I'll have another blog post about this later), I appreciate a well thought out negative review. I'm not  fan of "this book was stupid" reviews, and I don't always agree with a negative review, but I'm certainly skeptical of a book that only has positive reviews. Books are subjective; there's never going to be something that everyone in the world agrees on. In order to keep reviews honest and unbiased, publishers can't require reviews. 

The final thing that really bothered me about this rant was that other members of the group suddenly felt the need to justify their reading habits to this random stranger on Facebook. All these people started commenting on why they might not always get their ARCs read and reviewed in a "timely" manner, and the original poster then would very condescendingly give advice on how they should improve their ARC habits. These readers legitimately felt guilty about their reading habits because of her. And I'm not okay with that. Reading is a very personal experience. You do you, don't worry about what others think about it. I really don't appreciate someone shaming a reader, however unintentionally, for their reading habits. 

The whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way, and made me a little sad as well as irritated. I'm sad because I honestly have found that book social media has been a very welcoming and fun place, and this kind of stuff takes away from that. I also can imagine it turns off other readers, and why would we want to potentially scare people away from the wonderful world of books?

I am a strong advocate for reviewing books, even if it's a short couple of sentences and rating, because it's important to the authors, but reviews should never feel compulsory or forced. It is my belief that if authors and publishers want more reviews, which we all know they do, making it an obligation is not the way to go about it. If the community is welcoming and reviewers are made to understand that reviews are appreciated and important whenever they get written, more people might not find reviewing a stressful and miserable and more reviews will get written. Let's make the book community a welcoming space, especially to new readers in order to keep the community active, engaged, and a fun place to be.