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This is a full-length novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the fourth book in the 'Knitting in the City' series.

There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit.

Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous— local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee.

Review: The Windup Girl

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I didn't care for this book, however Bacigalupi's writing and creativity is 5 stars. I loved his YA books, but I found this adult work to be be too slow paced for my taste. I didn't really care for any of the characters or the plot in the book which made it really hard or me to get through it.  I pushed through so I could complete the challenge for  book from a a genre/subgenre you've never heard of. This is considered cyberpunk.

What is cyber punk you ask? It is a subgenre of sci-fi set in the near-future. It typically features advanced technology and/or scientific achievements with a breakdown of social order. They are usually post-industrial dystopian societies that center their confict on AI, hacking, and megacorporations. In the case of The WIndup Girl it is more of a biopunk, yet another subgenre of cyberpunk. Biopunk is cyberpunk centered around biotechnolgy advances instead of computer based tech. The Windup Girl has megacorporations which focus on manipulation of human DNA and the gene hacking of the world's food sources.

The Windup Girl is definitely a dystopian, biopunk adventure set in futuristic Thailand and follows several main characters, Anderson is attempting to build a factory and gain access to the Thai seebank, more on that later. Jaidee and Kanya who are both "white shirts" a kind of military police force that monitor the imports, exports, and the calorie use. Many of the white shirts are corrupt, but Jaidee is known as being by the book and has many enemies, Kanya is his second in command. Hock Seng works for Anderson and is always bargaining with someone trying to get back to his status as a great shipping captain. Emiko, is a New Person, genetically engineered to be beautiful and perfect, and trained to serve. She was revered and loved in Japan, but her previous master abandoned her in Thailand where she is abused and used as the New People are hated and feared.

The world of The Windup Girl is violent and brutal. Food is limited to what big gene-ripping corporations can produce, each company trying to outsmart the next gene-plague and outbreak. Money no longer exists, people pay in calories as currency. Corporations are trying to develop disease resistant foods, but no one has been able to crack the DNA code to get there. Anderson is playing the political game with the major players to gain access to the Thai seed bank which may in fact hold the secret to new genetic material. Each of the stories of the characters progresses independently for quite some time, but as the book progresses they begin to intertwine until they are completely entangled. Emiko, who is supposed to be completely subservient, does something out of character and it starts an uprising. Anderson and the rest of the political players try to take advantage of the situation and overthrow those in power. No one really wins in the end.

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Review: On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first time listening to On Dublin Street, but I've read the book more times than I can count. The experience was just as enjoyable.  I purchased the e-book when Samantha Young was still self-publishing and before On Dublin Street was a huge success.  Some of her self published YA Paranormal books are my favorite books ever, and I'm so glad to see her have such great success.  Samantha is one of my favorite authors and I'm looking forward to her upcoming releases.  

On Dublin Street follows Jocelyn, or Joss as she prefers to be called, just after she's graduated from University and tries to make it on her own as a writer. To do this she needs a place to live as her college roommate has moved from Scotland to London, and Joss is smart with her money. Joss has had a rough go at it and it has left her emotionally stunted and unable to develop friendships and let anyone into her life. Then she literally runs into Braden Carmichael on her way to view an apartment. They share a cab and some snarky banter. Joss ends up loving the apartment, however her new roommate is none other than Ellie Carmichael, Braden's wee sister. Braden is used to commanding a room and getting his way. Joss doesn't bend easily to Braden's will and through interesting circumstances they take off on a friends with benefits relationship. Braden, having had a rough go at it in the past himself can relate to Joss' baggage and is willing to give her space until she figures her own stuff out. He encourages her to be there for Ellie when his sister needs a friend through her own tough life situations, which is a big, scary step for Joss. In Scotland, the home of her mother, Joss finds a family she never wanted, but that she was always missing.

All in all if you like New Adult, Contemporary romance, I'd give this one a shot. I don't read a ton of these types but every once in a while I need a good romance that is easy to read or listen to and Samantha Young and the On Dublin Street cast are always there for me. If you like Penelope Douglas, Penny Reid, or Mia Sheridan these all have similar vibes.

Review: Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This book is slated to be released on August 29th, and I recommend it.

I really enjoyed this. It gave me Robin Hood and Game of Thrones vibes. Sal the main character is female in body, but is gender fluid. Sal very clearly states that bodily appearance does not define "her" as today she may dress as him, and tomorrow them or her depending on their feeling for the day. I'll try to use they and them to describe Sal throughout my review but I may slip and use she and her. Sexual preference of all types are widely accepted in the world of the book. No one bats an eyelash. So from that perspective this book has good representation from some diverse characters from the LGBTQA+ perspective, and I haven't seen alot of that.

Onto the plot, Sal begins the book as a thief, stealing to make a living. Then Sal finds that one of the Queen's protectors, Opal, has died and there is a competition to fill the spot. Sal jumps at the chance to have a better life and kills the man she is working for in order to gain entry into the competition. Sal is known as 23 for most of the book, a masked competitor, as she must outwit and assassinate her competition to become one of the Left Hand, the Queen's four trusted protectors each identified by a gemstone. As Sal is "auditioning" for the role of Opal, she also has ambitions of her own as the nobility were responsible for the death of her people in Nacea and she wants revenge. Sal may be the only one to survive the magic that plagued her people before the Queen stopped the shadows and ended the use of magic. Sal loves the Queen and her love is part of her motivation to become Opal, but her undying love will be tested. As Sal goes through the competition, every part of them will be tested, physical strength, mental toughness, wit, friendship, all the while the members of Left Hand are watching and waiting to pick the best to be their fourth partner.

I felt each of the audition participants were different enough that you knew enough about them to be engaged. The side characters were well developed enough for my liking, though there were a couple that I would like to see flushed out a bit more. The romance between Sal and Elise was just enough, it didn't overshadow the plot, but it was there and there was no triangle or multiple participants. It was just I like you and I like you back, try not to die out there. I loved Sal's attendant Maud, she was helpful enough but definitely had her own agenda while trying not to get attached. I would have liked to get a little more backstory on the magic system and I want to know if magic will be restored, or if it is dead forever. You don't get much in the way of how magic was defeated, just that it was.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the next one. This is a violent book with some mature topics so I would recommend it for a mature young adult reader.

Review: Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
Narrated by Robin Miles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this! It was an amazing history lesson of not only the African American women, but history in general. While it tells the story of racial segregation and sexism that the women of Langley faced as they fought to show just how capable they were, this story also gives a great history lesson as well. I really related to this story, as a woman who studied engineering and went into the military. Women were the minority in my studies and profession for many years of my life, and I've definitely had to work a little harder to prove myself because I'm "just a girl", much like the women of this book like Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, and Mary Jackson. Having lived in Hampton Roads myself, I loved hearing about the area as Langley came to be the powerhouse of aeronautics and what would eventually lead to the creation of NASA. While Langley seemed to be a pioneer of breaking down racial segregation, it was slow to break through and allow integration to allow the brilliant men and women working at Langley to show their true capabilities. It took years before the first African American women who started as computers at Langley were recognized for their work at Langley even allowing them to received equal education and reasonable pay and job titles.

I really loved getting to know each of the women that were involved in the telling of the story, and Shetterly's writing is so poetic. With so much research and technical information, the writing is beautiful and I found it fascinating, then again I am an engineer at heart and have loved space since I was small. Having listened to the audio book, Robin Miles did such a wonderful job with the narration. I never wanted to stop listening. I was angry for the women when they didn't get equal pay and recognition for a job well done, or when they weren't allowed the same rights as the white men or women. I cheered when Katherine was finally recognized for her work with John Glenn. I learned so much from this, not just about these Hidden Figures, but about my country, history, inequality, and so much more. I feel that this book is so relevant to some of today's present political tensions, while we've come along way, we have so much farther to go.

I can't wait to watch the movie.  I hear it is also excellent, making this the perfect fit for my reading challenge prompt a book made into a movie in 2017.  This came out in January 2017.  This fits several categories, a book with a subtitle, a book about a difficult topic, a book by an author of color, and probably a couple of others.  I wanted to make sure I read this book for the challenge because it is an important book.  I may move it around, but I'm so glad I put it on my must read this year list.

Beard in Mind by Penny Reid is Available for Preorder NOW

Beard in Mind, an all new standalone in the bestselling, romantic comedy Winston Brothers Series by Penny Reid, is coming August 1st!   

If you haven't read anything by Penny Reid, and you like romantic comedy or romance in general, I highly recommend the Winston Brothers Series and the Knitting in the City series.  Her writing is witty and funny and her characters are so realistic and easy to relate to.  

Preorder Today!

iBooks: https://goo.gl/BA5x97

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Add to GoodReads: https://goo.gl/hsTLLC

All is fair in love and auto maintenance.

Beau Winston is the nicest, most accommodating guy in the world. Usually.

Handsome as the devil and twice as charismatic, Beau lives a charmed life as everyone’s favorite Winston Brother. But since his twin decided to leave town, and his other brother hired a stunning human-porcupine hybrid as a replacement mechanic for their auto shop, Beau Winston’s charmed life has gone to hell in a handbasket.

Shelly Sullivan is not nice and is never accommodating. Ever.

She mumbles to herself, but won’t respond when asked a question. She glares at everyone, especially babies. She won’t shake hands with or touch another person, but has no problems cuddling with a dog. And her damn parrot speaks only in curse words.

Beau wants her gone. He wants her out of his auto shop, out of Tennessee, and out of his life.

The only problem is, learning why this porcupine wears her coat of spikes opens a Pandora’s box of complexity—exquisite, tempting, heartbreaking complexity—and Beau Winston soon discovers being nice and accommodating might mean losing what matters most.

Review: Unraveling by Sara Ella

Unraveling by Sara Ella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley for providing me an advanced reader copy.

Unraveling picks up shortly after Unblemished (book #1) leaves off. El is the vessel of the Verity and she is about to become queen, Ky has left her without a word, and Joshua is by her side and wants to be with her. Everything seems perfect, but we quickly find out that all is not well.

Much like the first book I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the stuff going on and it took my a while to figure out what was going on. The book jumps around alot from El and Joshua's perspective, and we even get a few chapters of Ky's perspective. Everyone is researching the Verity and the Void, and it jumps from El speaking, to El thinking, to El reading, and it was sometimes hard to keep track of who voice we were truly hearing. I really appreciated getting more backstory on the Verity and the Void. I felt pretty confused at the end of book 1, but I really feel like the Void and Verity concept was developed alot more in book 2. I like where it is heading and feel much more comfortable with the concept and where that part of the plot is going. With El being the Verity's vessel, and the Void being split between both Ky and Joshua, El is on a mission to destroy the Void and free both boys she cares about and save the the Callings and the Thresholds from disappearing. As they learn more and more about the history of the Verity and the Void, the Fairy Queen becomes more and more important to the story.

I really liked the relationship development between Ebony and El, I wasn't sure where that was headed but I like where it went. I'd like to see that same type of development with their other sister Khloe. The love triangle, but there are hints that it might actually be a square, comes on really strong. El is still pretty love sick for Joshua in the second installment, and she is still pretty unsure of herself. Many of her actions are driven by Joshua's influence or her memories of Joshua. I thought that she had finally broken through the "I'm worthless because of my birthmark" thing at the end of book one, but that theme emerges again in book 2 and she still feels those same emotions of worthlessness. I do like that the story make a play to build her up and work with her abilities to make her strong on her own. Her journey of self discovery is still centered around the boys, but she kind of figured out how to break away from them and find her way on her own.

I'm anxious to see where book 3 takes us. If Josh/Joshua can fight the Void and if the Void can truly be destroyed. I really enjoyed book 2 and liked where things ended and feel like things ended in a good place.

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