Publisher: Macmillan

ARC Review: Trial By Fire

Posted October 3, 2014 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

Oh god oh god this book!! Wow. Within the first chapter, I already knew I was going to love it. I was a bit nervous heading into it because I had just finished about two or three months of reading pretty much only contemporary romance. (A lot of lighter reads for the summer, ya know?) I was itching to get my hands on something a little heavier and paranormal, so this surprise book mail was delivered at exactly the right time. Lily, a girl who (in our world) is extremely sick and allergic to everything, has a seizure at a party one Friday night. She ends up being transported to a very different world that is also located in Salem, Mass. The alternate universe piece was REALLY freaking cool. Lily’s other self, Lillian, is an evil witch who has been killing her own people for some unknown reason that is supposed to help their world. The world-building in this book was just amazing. Realistically, this book was definitely an introduction to the rest of the series in terms of setting up this alternate universe. The reader slowly learned about witches, crucibles, the Woven, the Outlanders… it was so detailed and complex! Because of all of this world-building and setting the stage for the next books in the series, there was a little less action than I expected. They spent a lot of time laying low and figuring out what to do next while Lily uncovered her abilities. It was interesting, […]

Review: Eleanor & Park

Posted September 16, 2014 / Book Reviews / 14 Comments

So I read this book right before I decided to start my book blog. As I said up there in the basics section, I saw the book at the store and passed it by countless times. The concept didn’t sound overly interesting to me so I never bothered. I had just lent my John Green books to a friend of mine, who then passed on Eleanor & Park to me. She highly recommended it so I decided to finally give it a go. The story was simultaneously an adorable tale about first love and a story that will break your heart. The love between Park and Eleanor was slowly developed perfectly. Pretty much think of the opposite of insta-love. The two were fascinated with each other at first but they both were mostly just curious. It all started when Park finally tipped his comic book so she could read along with him on the bus. Rainbow Rowell does such an amazing job of bringing the reader into their world and making you really feel for them. You remember all the first love jitters like they happened yesterday. Their story is more than just first love, though, as Eleanor struggles with her home life and Park is unsure if and how he can help. It’s just so heartbreaking. Eleanor & Park follows the two characters as they build their relationship, struggle with issues at home, and navigate high school. The end of the book was fitting but definitely left me wanting more. […]

Review: There’s Cake in my Future

Posted August 31, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Review: When I saw this book at Barnes & Noble for less than $5, I knew I needed to have it. I haven’t read a lot of adult fiction books lately, but this one was a nice break from the YA. The plot summary sounds so unique and interesting. A bride-to-be, Nicole, organizes a cake pull for her friends at her bridal shower. She rigs it so that the girls receive exactly the charms they’d be best suited for: the engagement ring for Mel, whose boyfriend of six years STILL hasn’t asked to marry him; the red hot chili pepper for Seema, who has been in love with her best friend Scott for a long time; and the shovel for Nicole, who needs some luck in finding a new job and getting her career back on track. When each person accidentally picks the wrong charm, each person at the shower finds their fortune coming true. What is Mel going to do with a chili pepper charm when she doesn’t need any hot lovin’ in her life? She already has a boyfriend. What is Seema’s life going to be like now that she has the shovel? Her career is already in a good place. How does Nic feel about the baby carriage, when she doesn’t feel ready to be a mother yet? This book alternates between the perspectives of all three women as their lives begin to change. I didn’t really feel super attached to the characters and didn’t feel like the […]

Review: Love Letters to the Dead

Posted August 25, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Review: Before I say anything and you think three stars means this is going to be mostly bad review – it really isn’t. I liked this book. I just didn’t love it and I found a lot of things that I didn’t connect with. I was so excited about this book; I loved the cover and it had been on my wish list for a very long time. When I saw the low audiobook price, I knew I needed it. I planned to listen for Bout of Books while driving up to spend a few days in Maine. I was able to finish it within 2-3 days thanks to the heavy amount of driving. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it didn’t really end up meeting them. The thing I really liked about Love Letters to the Dead was the fact that it was written strictly in letters. I absolutely loved this format; it worked perfectly for the storyline. I loved seeing who Laurel was going to write the letter to (she stuck to the same few people) and how she was going to relate her experiences to the dead person’s. The person she wrote to always connected, in some way, to the letter and to her life. That was a really cool touch, especially because they were people I knew and loved too. The book had some amazing quotes that made me wish I was able to highlight on my Kindle. I can see why people described this […]

Mini Reviews: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and Ajax Penumbra 1969

Posted August 20, 2014 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

I read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore a few months ago for my Book Club. I saw it in the store and was intrigued by the story, and then I had the excuse to push it higher on my list for the meeting. I really enjoyed it; the concept was beyond what I normally read. When I saw that there was a prequel, I was definitely interested in reading it eventually too. I saw it on Audible recently and it was only an hour and 45 minutes long. Without further ado, here are my MINI REVIEWS for both books! Mini Review: Who wouldn’t want a 24-hour bookstore, with high ceilings and infinite shelves of books? The summary Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore immediately grabbed me. Clay begins working in this peculiar store when he loses his job within advertising. He has the late, overnight shift and makes crappy money. He wonders how the bookstore stays open when there are so few actual customers. The only people who really enter the shop are not even buying books – they’re taking them out as if it were a library. He becomes curious about the old books he needs to climb up to the ceiling to get. Clay and his friends slowly uncover the mysteries of the bookstore and its clientele. Clay begins cataloging the books and the store’s clients, when he starts to notice some odd patterns. He eventually learns the secrets of Mr. Penumbra’s store and what the readers are looking to achieve. This book […]