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Pennies is Dark But Worth More

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
Pennies cover

I got Pennies for free last November; it came with a matching audiobook at the time. I figured if I got more audiobooks, I’d be able to read more books in general. I had been interested in reading A Boy and His Ribbon by the same author, so I figured I might as well pick it up.

This is definitely not a YA book. It’s fairly disturbing. But it’s worth reading if you’re okay with that.

Tasmin is strangled, revived, then renamed as Pimlico and sold as a sex slave when she was eighteen. She endures brutal treatment by the jerk that bought her, whose name is Alrik, but she is expected to refer to as Master A. After two years, she is just a shell of what she used to be, half starved and covered with scars and bruises.

Will she ever escape this living hell before death claims her? At one point this book seems hopeless and you know something has to change, or it wouldn’t be a good story. Fortunately, it does.

Alrik invites a client over, Mr. Prest, who sees Pimlico for what she is: a slave. He’s not a very nice guy himself and doesn’t want to get involved. Any involvement on his part could result in worse treatment. When he leaves, you want him to come back and take her away. You’ll just have to read the book to find out what happens next.

The book is very dark and hard to read at points, but fortunately, even though Pimlico undergoes extremely harsh treatment, we don’t have to read any graphic rape scenes or anything like that. We just know that it is happening. You have to feel sorry for her, want her to escape, and want her tormentors to see justice.

Pennies is difficult to put down.  I stayed up a little bit to late so I could finish it.  There are more books to this series, and you’ll want to find out what happens next, so you’ll probably want to plan on reading the next books in the series at some point after this one.

The Devouring Gray

By Brookelorren on 7 Comments
The Devouring Gray cover

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman is a creepy novel about a small town that’s… just a little different than most small towns. I enjoyed it a lot and plan to read the second book when it comes out. Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Violet is new to a town where everybody has known each other since they were babies. She soon discovers that even though she’s new to the town, her family’s roots in Four Paths run deep. Not only did her mother grow up in this town, her family is one of the founding families. While that might not mean much in most places, founder’s kids in Four Paths are revered, have special powers, and are tasked with protecting the town.

Oh, and Four Paths has a dangerous monster roaming about that kills people. No biggie.

As Violet gets adjusted to her new life in Four Paths, she learns about the town’s history, the long history between some of the kids, her powers, and the danger that lurks in the town. She also learns that… there may be some corruption in the town itself. While dealing with small-town politics and the monster lurking about in The Gray, she also has to deal with her family’s past and her own grief over the loss of her sister.

The Good

The Devouring Gray is a compelling story with delightful descriptions. The characters and friendships are complicated and realistic. The setting is creepy, and the small-town vibe is perfect for this book. I haven’t read Stephen King in a long while, but it reminded me of his books, with a lot less cursing and less gore.

The Downsides

The only downside I could see to this book is that there’s a little bit more head-hopping than I would prefer. One moment you’re reading through Violet’s eyes, the next paragraph you’re in one of the other character’s heads. The ARC’s format could have contributed to that a bit, as it still needed to get the paragraph breaks fixed an all that (the finished copy shouldn’t have these problems) but it still switches between POVs a little often. That was the only drawback I could see to this book.

Conclusion

While The Devouring Gray wraps up nicely, there’s more to this story. I enjoyed this creepy book, and plan to read the next book when it comes out.

My True Love Gave to Me Adds Holiday Cheer

By Brookelorren on 6 Comments
My True Love Gave to Me cover

Tis the season to be jolly!  And to read a holiday book or two!  This year, I read My True Love Gave to Me, a YA anthology featuring several authors whose books I’ve read this year (and some that are new to me).  If you’re looking into reading some short stories to get you into the holiday mood, you might want to read this one.

This is a companion book to Summer Days and Summer Nights, a book I reviewed over the summer.  If you’re living in the Southern Hemisphere, you might want to look into that one as well.

As with most anthologies, My True Love Gave to Me contains some stories that you will enjoy more than others.  My favorite story from the book was “Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell.  It is a sweet story of a couple of friends who realize how they feel about each other over time.  I really liked almost all of the stories though.

One of the nice things about reading anthologies like this one is that you get to try new authors that you haven’t read before, and sometimes you get to read authors writing in genres that they don’t normally write in.  For example, I’ve read Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince, but she has a story here called “Krampuslauf” which is more contemporary than fantasy, and although I’ve never read To all The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, I doubt that those stories involve elves like “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me” does.

My True Love Gave to Me is definitely a holiday anthology worth checking out, especially if one of your favorite authors has written a story here, or if you don’t want to invest a lot of time reading an entire holiday novel.  The stories are sweet and they might just get you into the holiday spirit this year.

Crow Flight Soared

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments

Crow Flight CoverRecently, I read Crow Flight by Susan Cunningham.  The description looked interesting.  “The curious flight patterns of crows lead a teen computer programmer down a path of mystery and romance.”  Just like earlier this year, when The Kiss Quotient had me at math (LOL), Crow Flight had me at computers.  I majored in computer science in college, and have been programming computers since fifth grade, so I immediately had something in common with the protagonist of this book.

I was fortunate enough to have been given an advanced reader copy of Crow Flight in exchange for an honest review.

Gin is a computer genius who’s starting her senior year of high school.  She loves computers, especially computer modeling.  She’s taking a computer modeling class with a world-class teacher this year, and hopes that excelling in the class will help her get into Harvard.  When she is paired up in her computer modeling class with Felix, the cute new boy, their model on the flights of crows uncovers something unexpected and potentially dangerous.

I loved this story.  Not only could I identify with Gin on the whole computer thing, I could also identify with her and her feelings for Felix.  She likes him, but there couldn’t possibly be any way that he’d like her, right?  He’s rich, popular, and other girls like him.
The does he like me or doesn’t he is only part of this wonderful storyline.  Gin has a friend that she’s always hanging out with, and their friendship is strained when boys get in the way.  There’s also the mystery about the crow model itself.  While a computer model on crow flight patterns might not sound interesting, it is when there’s potentially a crime involved.  While I did guess some of what was going on, it didn’t ruin the story for me.

You’ll just have to read this book if you want to find out what happens between Gin and Felix, or what kind of trouble the crow model gets out heroine into, but you won’t be disappointed if you do.

I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like about this book.  Maybe the only downside about Crow Flight is that it’s not getting the hype that it deserves.  I highly recommend this book, and hope that more people find out about it.