Review: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this. It was dark, creepy, and different from the regular YA paranormal romance I read.  This is a genre I read frequently. This was highly recommended by author Penelope Douglass as a must read, and I totally agree.  This fulfills my advanced challenge prompt A book recommended by an author you love.  I love Pen's books, and I recommend her's as well.

I tore through this as fast as I could. The story follows Isobel and Varen, an unlikely pair working on an English project. Isobel is the popular cheerleader, Varen is the stoic Goth kid. Isobel drove me crazy, she was so worried about what her friends and her boyfriend would think about her working with Varen on her homework, but she redeemed herself when she stood up for the right things. Varen is a tortured soul, who loves Edgar Allen Poe, who he's chosen for their project. He's sweet, funny, and kind of doesn't care about what other people think and he doesn't the most surprising things. Varen introduces Isobel to the works and world of Poe for the project, which leads her down a rabbit hole she never wanted to go down. She finds herself dreaming about strange things and seeing strange things in reality. A man named Reynolds appears to her and tells her that reality is in danger, and she's the only one who can stop what Varen has started.  The fate of the real world is in her hands.  Fueled by her blooming feelings for Varen, Isobel launches herself into the dark dreamworld Varen has created in order to save him from himself. Can Isobel's love save them both?  Does Varen really want to be saved or does he want to escape his kind of crappy real life and live in the fantasy world he's created where he is the master and he's adored.

I can't wait to finish the series.  I loved the Poe references.  I've not read much Poe, but I want to now.  His works seem dark and creepy, but interesting.

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Review: The Kite Runner Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini
Illustrated by Fabio Celoni and Mirka Andolfo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was excellent.  This is not your typical "comic" book.  I say that because my son asked me why I was reading a comic book when he saw my kindle  lying on the table yesterday, then proceeded to tell me about a comic he read at school.  The content is very adult and not whimsical at all if you don't know what this story is about.  It is very heavy and serious.

I am participating in a reading challenge and one of the prompts is "A book with pictures."  While browsing my library's digital media collection for graphic novels this popped up, and as I've been meaning to read this for quite some time and it was available I grabbed it. I'm so glad I did. I think the illustrations portrayed what the words would have, had you read the novel, which I'll be doing soon. My library is having a book sale that started the other day, so I picked up the full novel as I was so drawn in by this telling. This story is so heartbreaking. It tells the story of Hassan and Amir and the struggles they faced. The story takes place in Afghanistan prior to the Russian occupation and then afterwards when the Taliban takes up residence.  I think alot of the terrible things that happen to them are compressed in this version, but that's what you get in this format.  I'm hoping to get more out of the full novel because as soon as you start to get into the story it changes.  It was a very quick read, so for challenge purposes or book-a-thon reading I'd highly recommend it.

I did have a hard time keeping track of which character was which throughout the story. Some of the characters look very similar in their rendering, while others are very distinct. Later in the book it is a bit easier to tell them apart because only one specific character is present in the storyline.

Overall, my heart broke several times during the story, and it has inspired me to read the full novel and delve more into the world of graphic novels.


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Review: Dorothy Must Die: Stories by Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die: Stories by Danielle Paige
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed these stories. I wish I had "read" them earlier, I listened to the audio books for all of the Dorothy Must Die books so far. I think if I had listened to these earlier some of book 3 would have made alot more sense. They were certainly nice additions, but not required reading.

The first story tells us how dear Dorothy got her lovely red shoes and how she got to be so mean. As you know she didn't start out that way, and I had a really hard time with the Dorothy Must Die series in the beginning with an evil Dorothy and Glinda. It all makes alot more sense now having gotten through book 3 and 6 of the short stories. In this story we find Dorothy preparing for her 16th birthday party on her farm with her beloved Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. She's been back in Kansas for some time now, and she still has a bit of fame from her tornado experience. Em and Henry are doing their best, but Dorothy wants more, she wants Oz. After a horrible birthday, Dorothy receives a magical present of the red shoes, from a mysterious benefactor. The shoes take Dorothy back to Oz, which is not as she left it. She's been gone for quite some time, Ozma is Queen, Glinda is missing, but otherwise Oz is a happy magical place. Dorothy is reunited with old friends and makes a new one in Ozma, but Dorothy is ever suspicious about Glinda's disappearance. She is also quite irked when her Aunt and Uncle just want to go home instead of staying in Oz. Alot happens in this story that lead up to how things are when Amy arrives in the first book, and this filled in alot of questions I had.

The second story is about Jellia, Dorothy's head maid. Jellia worked for Ozma, and then came to work for Dorothy after Ozma's accident. I don't remember Jellia from any of the main novels, so I'm anxious to see where she fits in. Her story is pretty interesting. Jellia can use magic, and it turns out she's pretty powerful, this catches the eye of Glinda. Glinda, always up to something, borrows Jellia for the summer for a sinister plot with the Scarcrow. When Jellia fails to prove useful, Glinda sends her back to the Emerald City. In swoops the Order of the Wicked, where we meet some familar characters before Amy comes to Oz. Based on this story, Jellia should be a significant player in the saga of Oz, so I'm anxious to see if she appears in book 4 which I haven't gotten to yet.

The final story in this compilation tells us about the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or as he is known in this story, Hex. The wizard has been cast out by good Dorothy, and he has sailed away in his hot air balloon. Taken out by a storm, he's spent a long time in the field of poppies, only to be awakened by none other than Pete. If you know who Pete is you know that means Dorothy is back and she's evil this time. The wizard can't remember who he is or why he's been sleeping in a poppy field. Pete tells him he can get his memories back if he passes a test. Pete also tells him that he's basically a jerk and done alot of pretty bad things in his past, but he can make up for it if he wants to. I love that we get to see more of Pete in this story, even if its only a little. Hex, anxious to regain his memories, goes with Pete. He has a few interesting adventures mainly involving a spreadsheet loving monkey named Iris, then he ends up being tested by the fairies to get his memory back. He has to choose between going home to a live of luxury, or staying in Oz and having real magic and a chance to put things right. I thought this was a really interesting story. You never really knew what he was going to do.


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Review: Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This picked up where Nevermore left off, with Isobel still trying to save Varen from himself. Only this time she doesn't have Reynolds to help her get back to the dreamworld and she doesn't know how to get there herself. She's consumed by nightmares, and has a hard time distinguishing dreams from reality.

Varen has the ability to visit her in her dreams, and she knows he's trying to tell her something. Each time he visits he's getting darker and scarier to the point where she thinks it is Pinfeather's visiting not Varen. Pinfeather's tries to help her reach Varen, as Varen has been watching her from the dreamworld. Varen is only seeing Isobel push people away from her to keep them off her trail as she tries to find a way back to him, but he can't see that. She still loves him, but she won't tell anyone but Gwen a sort of part of the truth about what is going on.  Her acting skills are pretty believable and pretty hurtful.

Gwen, who is hilarious, has become Isobel's best friend since the whole ordeal started. Gwen actually has kind of figured out what is going on with Isobel and is all in trying to help her. This leads to nothing but mayhem, but she's nothing but comic relief. I loved Gwen for the hilarity she brought.

This book wasn't as good as the first one. It kind of just follow's Isobel around as she flounders about trying to figure out how to get back to Varen to save him. LIke the first book, Isobel is constantly making rash decisions without putting much thought into them or the consequences they may have.  Her impulsive personality is at an all time high in this book and you can tell she is going to do some thing really stupid eventually. When she finally gets to the dreamworld, everything happens so fast and its over so quickly you don't have time to register what happened. Don't get me wrong, I still liked it, but I wanted more of the Poe inspired world and wanted more Varen in this one. He was critically absent.  I even wanted more Pinfeathers, you rooted against him and his band of Nocs in teh first one, but he has this redeeming quality in the 2nd book that makes you almost want like him.  His character in this book is a complete 180 from the 1st, this time he's the last little bit of hope Varen is holding on to that he and Isobel might one day be together.  I'm anxiously awaiting the last book to come in at the library so I can find out how it ends.

This book is fulfilling challenge prompt "A book with an unreliable narrator" as Isobel rarely knew if she was awake or dreaming throughout the book.  Overall I'm at 17 of 52 books read or listened to for this challenge and I have books identified for almost all of the remaining prompts.  I picked up a bunch of books at the local used book sale this week specifically for the challenge and because well...all the books were $1 or less.

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Review: One Last Summer by Jo Noelle

One Last Summer by Jo Noelle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this in exchange for an honest review. This is a very quick read, I think it took me about 3 hours to read over the course of a day. It is sweet and clean novella, which you need sometimes to cleanse the palate if you will. Overall I really liked it.  I'm using this for the Popsugar reading challenge prompt: A book with one of the four season in the title.  It fits nicely I think.

The story alternates between perspectives of Jenna and Cole, who both have alot of baggage. They have been best friends since age 10 and they both love Misty Harbor cottages where Jenna's Uncle rents cabins not far from Seattle. Cole has lived there most of his life and Walter has been like a father to Cole. Cole's mom was not an upstanding citizen and not a great role model. Jenna's mom has hopped from husband to husband, filling Jenna's head with nothing but nonsense about men and relationships. Cole and Jenna have a strong friendship and they love each other. Cole expresses his feelings to her, but Jenna always runs hearing her mother's voice in her head. This summer is different, Uncle Walter wants to sell the cottages to Cole or Jenna and retire. He devises a competition, playing on both of their competitive natures, where winner takes all. Cole hopes he not only will win Misty Harbor, but that that he can use the summer and the competition to win Jenna's heart as well. Jenna wants to win, but she has other plans and a romance isn't part of her plan.

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Review: The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid

The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this. It was not what I was expecting at all. The Diabolic is about a girl named Nemesis. She was created to be a protector and essentially sold to the highest bidder. Diabolics are neurologically bonded to their charge to do whatever it takes to protect them. They are essentially treated like animals, caged and rewarded with treats until they learn and act appropriatly in accordance with their creation and duty. Upon purchase a Diabolic is bonded to their master and will live and die to protect them. Nemesis lives to protect Sidonia, aka Donia, the heir to her father's seat in the Senate. Donia's father hasn't made many friends, as he has spoken out against the ways of the empire, which are a little outdated. As punishment for his insubordination the Senator is ordered to send Sidonia to the Chrysanthemum, the hub of the empire. Sidonia's mother devises a scheme to send Nemesis in Donia's place to protect her only daughter from the dangers of the empire and the Emperor. Nemesis will do anything to protect Sidonia even if it means impersonating her.  No one has actually seen Sidonia in person, as everyone interacts with avatars virtually, unless they are physically in the same place.  Sidonia has never left the safety of her home planet.

Upon her arrival at the Chrysanthemum, Nemesis is overwhelmed with the political games and alliances surrounding her. She is built for protection, strength, and action while everything around her is led by emotion namely jealousy, self-preservation, hatred, and other emotions she doesn't understand.  Nemesis must navigate the actors and actresses, determine who she can trust and who is out to undermine her every move, and understand what is real and what it means to be a Diabolic.

Overall, I really enjoyed the mix of characters. The romance wasn't too much, and the story stands on it's own. I felt like the plot moved along at a decent pace and there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing.  I understand there may be more books coming, if there are I'll definitely be interested in seeing where the story goes, if not I felt like this ended and stands on its own and doesn't need anything to follow it up.

I'm using this book as my Popsugar reading challenge prompt: A Book about an Interesting Woman.

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Review: The Magician's Workshop, Volume One by Christopher Hansen and J.R. Fehr

The Magician's Workshop, Volume One by Christopher Hansen and J. R Fehr

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided this for an honest review.  I'm also using this for my Popsugar Reading Challenge prompt, A Book with Multiple Authors.  I've completed 11 of the 52 prompts so far.

This book has promise, its whimsical and the idea behind the magic system is really interesting. I think if I were a much younger reader, I would enjoy this book alot more.  I think my 9 year old would enjoy this, I thought of him throughout the book as I was reading it.  I can picture him laughing at the many antics the kids in the book are apart of. There's no real plot to the story, if there was I missed it. The story is called the Magician's Workshop, but it isn't about the Magician's Workshop at all, it is about way to many characters and the time leading up to their color test. A color determines if you are going to be a mage and maybe one day make it to the Workshop, this part isn't really clearly explained and kind of confusing. Every person in the land can use magic, or projections, but commoners are limited to what they can do were as mages are not. Everything is centered around projections in the society the characters live in entertainment, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, social status, wealth, etc.

Every two chapters or so you are following one of 8 or so characters in the book and their story line which is way too many people to keep track of, and it was cumbersome to keep switching back and forth between stories. The character lines aren't really flushed out either, they don't pick up where they left off and I just found them jumbled and confusing.  Each of the characters story lines leads up to the color ceremony day where they can take different tests to earn chips for their projections, but none of that actually matters because the tests don't determine if they have color or not. The book kind of just ends and says read volume two to find out what happens next. And you don't know if any of the kids are successful, void of color, and you only know that one of them actually registers to be tested.

I will say you want to find out what happens to them when you are done and you start to care about the characters which is good, but I was left feeling like "what is the actual point to this story" when I was done.  I have a huge issue with books with no closure at the end.  I prefer structured plots with a definitive ending, even if the story line will continue on in another book in the series.  A volume should stand on its own with a beginning, middle, and end.  This just misses the mark for me.


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Review: Dorothy Must Die: Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die: Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This compilation was really dark. They fit in nicely with the story line and kind of answer the how did they get this way question that I've been asking myself since I started the series. The personalities of the beloved characters from my childhood make so much more sense in the retelling of Amy's story after reading these.

The first story is about the Tin Woodman and his love for Dorothy. It isn't a normal, romantic, sweet love. It is a toxic, creepy, stalker love. He is consumed by his love for her. Upon her return to Oz, he is overwhelmed by her presence and will do anything to be near her and make her happy. When she is displeased with him or his actions which happens frequently, he is devastated. He teams up with the Scarecrow to create an army of experiments to protect her an her new kingdom. Glinda also plays a part in helping him show Dorothy that he will do her bidding to make her happy and show his love. This was dark and disturbing.

The second story follows the Scarecrow's short reign as King of Oz. He is quickly usurped by a girl named Ginger and her girl army. Ginger doesn't believe he should be king, and attacks the palace. The Scarecrow and the Lion escape and team up with the beasts and the monkeys, but they prove match for Ginger and her army. Enter Glinda, again with a sinister plot, to help Scare win the day. She suggests placing Ozma on the throne, as she is the true ruler of Oz anyway. The people of Oz seem pretty happy with Ozma, however Ozma is not very happy about taking orders and suggestions from Glinda and the Scarecrow all the time. She's the queen afterall, she shouldn't be taking orders from anyone. Clearly this doesn't make Glinda or the Scarecrow happy as they felt they could rule from behind the scenes. This story was very insightful, and while it didn't really add much to what I already knew, it helped fill in some gaps.

The final story is about the no longer cowardly Lion. This one was my favorite of the 6 short stories. I also felt like this one filled in the most gaps for me other than story 1, which is about Dorothy and actually takes place after story 6. The Lion, who is no longer scare of anything these days, and much more lion-like is finding himself pretty bored as king of the beasts. Other than taking pleasure in eating, there isn't much more for him to do. Glinda appears and suggests he go to the city and spend some time with Ozma, but also take on a quest to find a ruby necklace as an undercover quest. The Lion jumps at the opportunity to have something to do and goes. Glinda has told him to be suspicious of Ozma, but he finds himself becoming friends with the girl. Ozma has a quest of her own and invites him along with her to the kingdom of Ev, where the Gnome King resides. This part is very interesting and we learn alot about Ozma that we haven't seen before and get quite a bit of information about the Gnome King and Ev. Upon their return from Ev, Ozma must face Glinda as she knows she is up to no good and has been for some time. Sinister forces are at play and the Lion has to choose a side.

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Review: The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was not what I expected in such a good way. This is dark and twisty, but so good. It is violent, and not for the faint of heart or for the squeamish. It was the perfect Halloween time read. There are 89 chapters to this book, or atleast there are in the audio book. Don't let that deter you, some of the chapters are very short. The book keeps going at such a good pace and I found myself wanting to listen to just one more chapter to find out what happens next.  The two narrators were excellent.

The Murder Complex follows our two main characters Meadow and Zephyr. They are connected but they don't know it in the beginning. They come to find each other later after an accident and make and unlikely coupling. Their relationship is kind of underwhelming for the most part.

Meadow is strong and will do whatever it takes to survive and keep her family safe, even if it means killing. She has been trained well to survive in The Shallows by her father and feels no remorse for her survival. Meadow has a deep need to keep her little sister Perry safe, and feels almost a sense of duty to protect and obey her father and brother Koi.

Zephyr is a ward, an orphan, who spends his days cleaning up The Shallows with his best friend Talon. The two of them clean up the streets after the nightly murders take place or whatever odd jobs the Initiative solders aka Leeches find for them to do each day. Zephyr sometimes wakes up in a fog feeling terrible after having gone on his own murder rampage, feeling overwhelming guilt about what he's done. He mourns the lives he's been forced to take, but can't remember why he's done it.

We finally find out what the Murder Complex is about half way through the book. We learn why it was created and who created it. I won't spoil it. This is where we kind of get into the normal recipe of dystopia, bad thing happens, new government takes over to keep the populace in check, and resistance swoops in to overthrown the government. Enter Meadow and Zephr to lead the resistance to glory...read book two to find out what happens next. I'm anxious to see what happens in the next book.

The actors who played the alternating perspectives in the audiobook were fantastic. They both had a wonderful ability to make unique voices for all of the characters in the story. I normally don't like dual perspective books, but it especially well in this audio presentation.  The audiobook was very well done. I'm not really one for all the violence that is inherent in this book, but it is so different from what I normally read. I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one, The Death Code.

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2017 Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge

In an attempt to read a little more diversely and meet my Goodreads reading goal for 2017, I'm participating in the Popsugar 2017 Reading challenge.  There are 52 challenges in total, 40 regular and 12 advanced reading prompts.  I found this challenge through YouTuber Bree Hill.  I'm hoping to use this challenge to breakout of the YA Fantasy binge I've been on and read some different genres, read some books on my TBR list, and maybe read some new books I've never heard of.  The Goodreads group has been a great resource so far for suggestions for the prompts.  I highly suggest you join.

There really aren't any rules other than you have to follow the prompts and have fun.  The prompts are open to interpretation by the reader.  I've already read/listened to 15 books this year and several of them fit on the list so I'm well on my way.  I'm trying only count one book per prompt, but we'll see how I do.  I have a bunch of books that count for more than one.

I'm going to create a google doc to keep track of my progress, check it out here.  Feel free to make suggestions.  I feel like the excel doc will be easy to manipulate as I read more books, plus I just like to use excel for lists.

Happy reading!

Review: Winter Falls: A Tale of the Snow Queen by Jacque Stevens

Winter Falls: A Tale of the Snow Queen by Jacque Stevens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was provided for an honest review. Let me start out by saying I enjoyed this book. If you read the author's note at the beginning, you can really tell that the author was going through something when she wrote this and it comes through in Katie's story. The message of the story that whatever struggles you are going through end and that you can over come them is a great one and I really appreciated the message and the way that the main character never gave up, though you thought she might a couple of times. My only real issue is Katie's self loathing attitude, I have a hard time connecting with characters like Katie. She refused to admit her feelings for other people, refused to be cared about by those around her, and never knew her own worth, and for me that gets old after a while. I needed her to snap out of it sooner than she did. I don't think it is an issue with the writing or the character development, I think after having read a few characters like Katie, I just don't connect well with them.

On to the actual story...Katie Graham lives in a hotel with her father. The book starts with Katie finding Avery, a talking crow from a place called the Four Kingdoms. Where Avery is from there are all manner of talking animal and fairy tale creatures, specifically the Fairy Princesses of the four seasons who take turns ruling. Avery has a broken wing and Katie vows to nurse him back to health and find his way home, in the meantime the two become inseparable companions. In the meantime, at the age of 7 Katie must take over the hotel while her father mourns the loss of her mother. Katie wants to keep the hotel in business and she has to grow up way to fast. The story follows her from the age of 7 to 17 while she runs the hotel, her father gets remarried and has more children, and Katie never feels like she is part of the family, she always feels left out even when she's included. Part of her issue is because she closes herself off to everyone and is cold so she doesn't get hurt. Even to Shay the boy who has liked her since they were 7. Much of the book follows Katie through her life at the hotel and her interactions with her family and the townspeople. After a while the story begins to alternate between Katie's adventures in the Four Kingdoms.

One of the guests at the hotel turns out to be the Snow Queen, Flurry. Flurry takes Shay to the Four Kingdoms, and Katie isn't very happy about it. She can't decide if they are just friends or something more, but she knows she has to go after him, so she goes to the Four Kingdoms herself and meets each of the princesses, who help her along the journey in some way. Katie's perseverance to save Shay and restore the Four Kingdoms and reunite the fairy sisters was really enjoyable. Overall a great retelling of the Snow Queen tale.

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Review: Condemn Me Not: Accused of Witchcraft by Heather B. Moore

Condemn Me Not: Accused of Witchcraft by Heather B. Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was provided for an honest review. I very much enjoyed this. I loved learning about the Salem Witch Trials in my youth and the cast of familiar characters and excerpts from the actual trials was a very nice touch.  I actually wrote a paper on the Witch Trials in high school after having visited Salem on a family vacation to Massachusetts.  The trials were a testament of how awful people can be to one another and how people will turn on one another.  Moore does a good job capturing that in the book and trying to give a bit of a history lesson within the story.

The story follows Susannah North Martin at various times in her life, the story alternates between her time in jail as a 71 year old woman accused of witchcraft and as a 25 year old unmarried woman living with her family. Susannah's time in jail shows us her strength and devotion to her family and her faith.  She never once broke her faith in God and never once let her moral compass slip like so many of the other accused did.  Her time as a young woman, though she was almost a spinster for the times, tells us the story of a woman devoted to her family but who had a mind of her own and often said what she thought and did what she thought was right. This was not generally accepted in 1646, and those who did not conform to social norms did not often do well in the community. As the Salem trials proved, those who dare cross those in power ended up at the Gallows.  As I learned about the trials from my own research, accusations were made if you didn't agree with the masses or those in positions of power which is what happened in this story.  If you did something unfamiliar or not generally understood, you must be a witch.  Susannah often spoke up when she was supposed to be reserved and quiet, usually trying to do what was right or speak out toward injustice and it ended bady for her.  Susannah's story takes us through her romance with her new neighbor George and develops their relationship nicely. Their love story was really sweet, the kind of love that really endures.  Moore states that Susannah Martin was actually her relative, and while I'm sure much of story is fiction I hope some of it is true I really loved George and Susannah.  I really appreciated revisiting the subject and the author's ability to stay true to the events that took place during the time.

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