September Wrap Up

September got off to a rough start.  I've been kind of in a reading slump.  I've been really busy with work, back to school, and fall activities, so I haven't had much time to read.  When I finally get time to read I'm either too tired or just not focused.  Nothing I've read lately really gripped me.  I'm starting to get behind on reviews so that just stresses me out more and I don't want to read because then it feels like work and it's just not fun.  I started this blog because I love reading and I actaully enjoy reviewing books.  When it starts to feel like work, I just don't want to do it.  I think I'm coming out of it as we have started to get into a groove with fall sports and I've read some stuff I actually like.

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

• Ruin of Stars by Linsey Miller
• Review
•  I really loved Mask of Shadows but Ruin of Stars fell short for me.  There wasn't enough action and it was just too slow.  It wasn't terrible it just wasn't as good as the first one.
• Rule by Ellen Goodlett
• Review
• I really enjoyed this YA Fantasy.  It came out this month.  It was a pretty quick read and while it wasn't the most complex, I liked it and am looking forward to the next one. 
• The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
• Review
• I've had this for a while now and its about time to get to it.  This came out on September 18th.  This was so unique and I really enjoyed it.  It takes place over the course of 8 days as our main character relives the same day in a different person to solve a murder.  He has to take what he learns each day before the murder happens to solve the crime.  It kept me on my toes.  I recommend it if you like mysteries and groundhog day types of books.
• Broken Things  by Lauren Oliver
• Review
• I've read a bunch of Lauren Oliver's other books and I really like her thriller/mysteries.  This one is no different. I loved every minute of this book.  This comes out October 2nd.  
• Scattered Plume by J.M. Miller
• Review
• I loved the first book in this series, Fallen Flame.  It was really well done and I loved the mythology aspect of it, the 2nd book is no different.  This took me a while to get into because I had to remember what was going on, but once I got into the story I really enjoyed it.  This was released on September 27th.

Audiobooks

I think I had a pretty good audio month.  A few of these were pretty long, and most of them were really good.

• Strange Weather by Joe Hill
• I didn't really care for this one.  I liked 2 of the stories and didn't like the other 2.  For a short story collection I think that's not unreasonable.  I read this for a Popsugar Reading Challenge Prompt for a book I saw a stranger reading.  I have a couple more Joe Hill books on my TBR.  
• Before The Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray
• I love this series.  I found a couple parts of this problematic, but it wasn't enough to deter me from the series.  I'm impatiently waiting for the next book.  I also love January Lavoy as a narrator, she is by far one of the most talentend audiobook narrators I have ever had the pleasure of listening to!
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• I love mythology and you don't often hear the story of Circe retold.  You always here the hero's tales told over and over again.  I really enjoyed this.  I read several negative reviews about this being long and boring and I think reading this in book format would have been a bit of a task but I recommend it on audio.
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• This is excellent.  It lives up to all of the hype.  The story is so unique.  I love all of the mythology and the magic.  I love the characters.  My only complaint was the unnecessary romance between Zelie and Inan.  Bahni Turpin is a wonderful narrator, she does an amazing job with this.
• Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake
• I really enjoy this series, and the audio books are great.  I didn't love the ending of this installment, but overall the book was great.  It was dark, full of plotting, and you still have no idea what's going to happen with the sisters in the end.  I'm very much looking forward to the next book.

Review: Sightwitch by Susan Dennard

Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
Narrated by Bahni Turpin (Narrator), Saskia Maarleveld (Narrator), Cassandra Campbell (Narrator), Lauren Fortgang(Goodreads Author) (Narrator), MacLeod Andrews (Narrator)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved learning Ryber's backstory. From the previous two books, you don't know that she has any witch abilities. This tell you the story of the Sightwitches and Ryber's journey as a sightless sister. It also tells the story of how she and Kullen meet. If you haven't read the first two books, you won't know who Kullen is and why their relationship is important. Ryber has been a Sightwitch Sister since she was 4 years old when she began serving the goddess Sirmaya. Ryber has yet to be blessed with the sight, and she is frustrated because she has always followed all of the rules of the temple and worked very hard to be chosen. It isn't until she finds that all of the sisters have been called into the mountain for service by the goddess and Ryber is left alone that she begins to uncover her unique gift sight. Her gift isn't the same as the other sisters, and she is the only one who can save them from the fate they have been called to. I won't spoil it. On her mission to save her sisters, Ryber runs into Kullen, a Nubrevnan Navy Captain, he has amnesia and they must work together to face the challenges inside the mountain to find the sisters and the way out. A connection forms between the two of them, which you learn more about in Truthwitch.

This gives so much information on the Witchlands, the history of what is going on in the lands, what has happened in the past, and what is yet to come in the story. While this is only a novella and it the main focus is on Ryber and her journey to save her threadsister we learn so much about so many other things in this short little book. I expect we will see more of Ryber in the next installment, especially given what we've learned in this little gem. I have so many conspiracy theories as I wait for Bloodwitch. Unfortunately that won't be out until early next year so I'll just have to be patient.

I listened to the audio and there are multiple narrators. Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin are always amazing. There is a full cast which adds so much to the audio experience. I highly recommend it. This is told in the form of journal entries and other documents so the timeline isn't linear, and it does jump back and forth between a few different perspectives. Using different voices for the various characters helped keep track of who and what time you were listening to.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and can't recommend it enough. Dennard's writing and character development just keeps getting better. This novella is much more focused on one character and plot line and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to see where the cast of characters takes us in the future.

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Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Narration by Bahni Turpin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was excellent. Starr reminds me so much of some of my friends from middle and high school. They not only struggled with the normal teenage angst of trying to figure out who they are and where they fit, but they also had to deal with keeping up two personalities like Starr did when she was with her friends from school and her friends and family at home. I know that happened with some of my friends because I saw it first hand, they were taunted because of the music they like or who they dated. It wasn't the accepted cultural norm. Unfortunately, the way they spoke and acted changed depending on who was around, much like Starr mentioned in the book. She spoke one way around her family and neighborhood friends and another way around her schoolmates. She never just got to be Starr, who was really a mix of the smart, beautiful girl who was from the not so great neighborhood but also went to the fancy school. I loved the pop culture references to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Harry Potter. I also loved that Starr was able to share those things with her friends on both sides of her life to bring the things she loved together.

While this isn't a true story it felt like it was. I felt like I got to know Starr and the Carter family. I felt empathy for what she was going through after her friend Khalil was shot. The story focuses on how the shooting affects Starr and her community after the fact. The shooting should have never happened, and Starr has to decide if she is going to testify against the police officer, if she wants to speak out as an activist and use her voice in the wake of the shooting, she also has to consider the safety of her family and how her friends will treat her if she does or doesn't say anything. She also has to deal with the guilt of not being there for her friend when he was struggling and grief of losing a friend. Fortunately she has an amazing family who has a wide range of experiences to help her through it. On top of that Starr is just a teenager, and she has to deal with normal friend and boyfriend stuff. I love the way Angie Thomas dealt with the "you just don't understand" conversations between Starr and her boyfriend Chris, who happens to be white. He may not understand but he always comes to Starr with love and a desire to understand. He wants to see her perspective, and doesn't come at her with argument or excuses. He just wants to be there for her and see her point of view as a person of color. There is also her friend Hailey who doesn't approach racial tension with that kind of desire to have an open discussion. I think those two viewpoints are very powerful. I think there are more Hailey's in this world and not enough Chris', regardless of what the topic of conversation (race, religion, gender, etc).

I didn't particularly care for the way that Chris was spoken to by Starr's friends and family. I can understand that he wasn't immediately beloved, as no boy usually is when he starts dating someone's daughter. It was more about their biracial relationship, and the slang that was used to refer to Chris. It would be racist and unacceptable if Chris had used those words in reverse when speaking to Starr and her family. Those double standards need to go in my opinion. We have a long way to go to break the racism barriers, and better communication, compassion, empathy, and understanding of differences are things we all need to do to break those walls. Overall this was a minor dislike compared to the book as a whole.

Bahni Turpin was an amazing narrator. I highly recommend the audio, she really brought life to the characters in such and authentic way. The characters, regardless of race are very well developed and the narration just adds so much to them as if you were really there and part of their story. The main thread of the story is how Starr uses her voice to give power to the injustice that occurred. Bahni Turpin's voice was very powerful here.

I'm trying to figure out which prompt to use this for the 2018 reading challenge.  It fits a few different ones.  I've got it penciled in as a book about a problem facing society today right now, but it also fits a Goodreads Choice award winner, a book I meant to read last year, and a few others.

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Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I learned so much from this book. While medical ethics have improved since the days when Henrietta Lack's cells were taken without her knowledge, I don't think most people know what their rights are with regards to their cells and tissue. I certainly didn't until Skloot laid them out. I also had no idea what Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells have done for medicine.

While this is a compilation of the science behind the cells and what they've done for modern medicine, Skloot also tells the story of Henrietta and her family. She presents Henrietta to us as a person, which is how it should be. The doctors who used HeLa cells didn't see her as a person, they just saw cells and cultures, they forgot that she was an actual person with a family. Unfortunately, given the time that Henrietta lived in the color of her skin meant that she didn't get adequate medical care and when she did go to the hospital doctors took advantage of the opportunity to study her cells. My heart broke so many times for the wrongs done to Henrietta and her cells. Learning the hardships her children faced after her death was so sad. The Lacks children weren't the only people impacted by medical ethics injustices, and I was angered to learn how some of our modern "cures" have come about.

I wish the Lacks family could have gotten some sort of reparations for all of their suffering, but I understand how the legality of their situation doesn't allow for that. I guess I'm thankful for what HeLa has done for medicine, but I sure do wish the Henrietta and her family had received better treatment both personally and medically. This was a great telling of the Lacks family history, the evolution of HeLa, and medicine in general. I really enjoyed this.

On a side note, Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin did an amazing job with the narration of the audio book.

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