Fiction Archives - Page 10 of 32 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

The Future of Another Timeline

By Brookelorren on September 2, 2019September 2, 20191 Comment

The Future of Another Timeline is a time travel story written by Annalee Newitz. I recently had the chance to get an Advanced Reader Copy, thanks to Bookish First and Tor books. Oddly enough, it’s the third time travel story I’ve read in the last 12 months.

The story expertly revolves around two characters: Beth and Tess. Beth is a Riot Girrl in the early 1990s (her timeline starts in 1992). Her life is changed after she goes to a concert and witnesses a murder afterwards. Tess is in her late 40s and works in academia. Her official job is to go back in time to study different time periods, but she’s also part of a secret group that is editing the timeline so that women have more rights. She also goes back to visit Beth in the 1990s so she can fix the damage her former self created (but that’s a secret).

Beth is trying to navigate her senior year of high school, getting good grades, having fun with her friends, and dealing with a friend who has gone off the rails. Tess, in the other timeline, is trying to repair a timeline in which a group of controlling men have tried to create a time when women are nothing more than breeders.

As the story switches between their points of view, you discover more about the world and about the two people in the story. The way Ms. Newitz hides the information is genius. I was surprised to find certain details at different points in the story, but I won’t include them here.

The time travel mechanism in this story was interesting. The time travel machines are built into the earth itself, and you can access them from certain places in the world. Her worldbuilding around this possibility was quite clever. In this incarnation of Earth, everybody knows about time travel (although not everybody can do it). I also liked the way actual historical facts are interwoven into the story.

As a conservative libertarian, I tend to disagree with some of the main character’s politics (and probably the author’s too). The book is a little too pro-abortion for my taste; however, that didn’t keep me from enjoying the story as a whole. It was well-written and, for the most part, I agree with what Tess was trying to do.

The Future of Another Timeline is not a YA book, although some older YA readers might enjoy it. There isn’t anything that’s too explicit; however, some scenes might be a little too mature for younger YA readers. One of the protagonists is in her late 40s.

Overall, I thought this was a well-written story with an interesting plot and realistic characters. If you’re looking for a time travel story with a bit of a punk rock edge to it, you’ll probably like The Future of Another Timeline. It won’t be released until September 24th, but you can pre-order it now.

On the Come Up

By Brookelorren on August 29, 2019September 2, 2019Leave a Comment

On the Come Up is a book by Angie Thomas about a girl that wants to be a rapper and whose prospects are looking good. I recently had the opportunity to read this book on audiobook. I highly recommend this book on audiobook because of the lyrical nature of this book. This book is musically oriented, which was probably one of the things that drew me to it.

Bri is a girl living in a poor neighborhood that is bussed to a school in a nicer part of town. Her mom is having difficulty making ends meet; her brother helps to provide for the family. Her dad was killed several years ago; prior to his death, he was an up-and-coming rapper.

Bri has skills and is compared to her dad all the time. When she gets the opportunity to battle in the ring, everybody else finds out she’s good too. It gives her opportunities which draw her into a world that might be a little too much for her. She has to decide whether to follow her heart… or fame.

There was a lot I liked about this book. One thing I liked was the immersion into the rap world. Bri’s lyrics are pretty good (especially on audiobook). I used to listen to a lot of rap, so all the references to the old-school rappers was pretty enjoyable.

Bri herself is an interesting character. Ms. Thomas makes her well-rounded, with a little bit of a temper but a heart for her family. The world is also populated by a struggling single mom, an aunt with some questionable ties, and friends that provide us with realism and tension. I also enjoyed the setting.

I definitely recommend On the Come Up. It is an issue book that deals with topics like poverty, racism, violence, and being true to yourself when you’re pressured to be someone else, so I’d skip it if you’re looking for something light and fun. If you are looking for something with a little substance, then you might want to pick this up. Especially on audiobook!

The Lady Rogue

By Brookelorren on August 26, 2019August 25, 20194 Comments

Jenn Bennett’s The Lady Rogue is a historical adventure/romance set in the late 1930s. I have to thank Netgalley and Simon Pulse for providing me with an advanced reader copy. I enjoyed the other book I read by Ms. Bennett, Alex, Approximately (link is to my review), and I liked this book as well. This is definitely a different kind of book, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Theodora is a spirited girl who gets into trouble and loves crossword puzzles. Her dad left her in Turkey while he goes and traipses around Romania in search of Count Dracula’s magical ring. When he disappears and Huck, a boy she has a history with, shows up, they have to go on a trip to try to find him and rescue him. All while their funds are dwindling, they’re being chased by bad guys, and people around them are dying.

I loved the characters in this book. This book is set in 1937, so the mindset of people was a little different back then than it is now, but Theodora is adventurous and smart. I really liked her character. She and Huck obviously have a lingering attraction to each other, and their interactions are fun to watch. It’s also fun to find out exactly what happened and watching them work through their conflict. If you like enemies to lover’s books, this has got a little bit of that going on (also a twist on there’s only one bed).

The Lady Rogue has a great setting. Reading the book, you get to experience a little bit of old Turkey, the countryside of Romania, a haunted forest… it’s a lot of fun. The descriptions are great and well done. I enjoyed the historical context to this story as well. It was fun to learn about Dracula and Romania.

If you’re looking for an adventure story with a spirited heroine, evil magic, bad guys, and magical artifacts, then The Lady Rogue might be for you. It has a hint of romance to it (probably less than many of her books), but the other exciting elements of the book make up for it. I highly recommend it. It won’t be released until September 3rd, but you can pre-order it now.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

By Brookelorren on August 22, 2019June 19, 2019Leave a Comment

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi deals with a teenage girl in the year following the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. It is a story that can act as a warning of what can happen when we don’t treat people like… people. I thought it was a good book.

I purchased the special Target edition with bonus chapters, so I’ll comment about that as well.

Shirin is a sophomore in high school who grew up in America, but whose parents had immigrated from Iran. She chose to wear a headscarf, even though it caused trouble for her with her classmates. She also seems to have a huge chip on her shoulder, although she doesn’t realize it. You can’t particularly blame her, not when people give her one glance and assume she’s a terrorist or is weird. When Ocean James, a boy who is assigned as her biology partner, befriends her and later becomes something more, they both develop as people, and eventually, the community starts to come around as well.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea was entertaining. Shirin has a distinctive voice and you have to feel for her. Over time, you also start to see where she’s going wrong (although to be fair, the people around her aren’t saints either). I thought she was well done and realistic.

Themes

A huge theme in this story is how hatred can hurt yourself and the people that you care about. People looked at Shirin and automatically assumed that she hated America, or was a terrorist, or there was something wrong with her. As a result, they hurt their community when they tried to intimidate Ocean in an attempt to get him to break up with her. I guess I can’t say how because I don’t want to give away spoilers.

At the same time, Shirin hurt herself when she defaulted to hate for the people around her. Sure, a lot of the people in the school were jerks. Still, she hurt herself by shutting herself off. She said herself:

I could no longer distinguish people from monsters.
p. 110

It eventually worked itself out, but both she and the community had a lot to learn before they got to that point.

The Romance Aspect

While this is a story about teen romance, it’s really more about other things. Shirin pushes Ocean away for most of the story, even though she likes him. Even though he tells her repeatedly that he doesn’t care what other people think, she worries about how people will react to them being together. There is some kissing, but as the majority of the book is spent with Shirin trying to stay out of a relationship, there’s not too much of it. Still, first love is definitely one of the subplots of the story.

Bonus Chapters

The special edition that I bought came with bonus chapters told about Ocean’s reaction to meeting Shirin. It was interesting to see things from his point of view: his thoughts about his home life, sports, and what he thought of her for the first time. As of this writing, you can still buy it on Target’s web site. I thought the bonus chapters were interesting, but they don’t really provide more information than you already know after reading the book.

Final Thoughts

While I liked the book overall, I did think that the people’s hatred seemed exaggerated for that era. To be fair, I lived in Italy during the time that this story would have taken place, so I wasn’t really in the middle of American life at the time, but it didn’t feel like this from my perspective. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t pockets of places like this school where the people were jerks, I just don’t think it was the norm. At any rate, if people were only mildly bigoted, it wouldn’t have made such an entertaining story.

If you’re interested in a sweet love story between two people of different cultures, where they have to deal with a lot of bigotry, you might want to try A Very Large Expanse of Sea. I thought it was pretty good.

Ghost Fire

By Brookelorren on August 19, 2019August 18, 2019Leave a Comment

I recently read Ghost Fire by Wilbur Smith with Tom Harper (thank you to Bookish First and Simon and Schuster for the Advanced Reader Copy). Even though it was the first Wilbur Smith book I read, evidently, he’s written a lot of books. I really liked the book and would read more books by this author in the future.

Theo and Courtney grow up in India in the mid 1700s. Courtney is something of a wild child, and Theo always looks out for her. Until the death of their parents tears them apart. They spend the next several years growing into adulthood, without each other. Both of them go through a lot of adventures and travel the world, unaware of what the other is doing.

What I Liked

One of the things I liked about Ghost Fire was its historical accuracy. I’m a student of history, so I actually figured out ahead of time what one of the things the characters would have to go through would be (they were in Calcutta in 1756… I won’t give it away if you don’t know). Although I was expecting this event to occur, I didn’t know how it would affect the characters. Courtney and Theo were also affected by the French and Indian War. The book really emphasized to me how interconnected a world we live in. Even in the 1700s, something happening in Europe would affect both India and North America.

I also liked the characters. Courtney makes her own choices, even though it tends to go against the societal norms of the day. Although Theo doesn’t agree with them, towards the end of the book, he begins to accept them. Theo grows as a person too, from a cautious boy whose sister pushes him into doing things to a man who is willing to risk his life for the sake of others.

I’ve seen some comments that the book was misogynistic towards Courtney; however, I think the book reflects society’s attitudes well for the time period.

Other Things to Note

Ghost Fire is not a YA book even though the main characters are young adults for most of the book. Back in the 1750s, young adults often lived as adults, and the book reflects that. The vocabulary is more like that of an adult book as well (as in SAT-type words, military jargon, and Indian vocabulary) Trigger warnings you might want to be aware of: there’s an attempted rape and there’s widespread racism.

While I did enjoy Ghost Fire, I think it missed an opportunity with the ending (although in order to avoid spoilers I can’t say how). I wasn’t disappointed with the ending; I just thought there were a couple of things that would have made it more awesome. Nevertheless, if Wilbur Smith wrote more books about these two, I’d read them. This book doesn’t come out until September 3rd but you can pre-order it now.

The Raven Boys

By Brookelorren on August 14, 2019August 13, 20192 Comments

I finally got around to reading The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater! You know those authors that every week (usually right around Tuesday) you get a reminder that you have to read one of their books? Well, Maggie Stiefvater was one of them, and The Raven Boys is the book that everybody associates with her. So when I found out that there was a Raven Cycle readalong, I had to get involved. I wasn’t disappointed.

Blue is a non-clairvoyant girl in a family of clairvoyants. She does have a gift for making it easier for the other ladies in her family to be able to see into the spirit world more strongly. Her family isn’t wealthy, and she works a couple of jobs to help out.

She’s also been told that the first boy she falls in love with and kisses will die.

Also in her town is one of those stuffy-stuck up private schools for rich boys. The one in her town is Aglionby Academy. The boys absolutely rankle her when she has to help them at the restaurant where she works. So when a boy shows up and asks if she’d go talk to a friend of his (both from the Academy) she gets really upset. They don’t really hit it off on the right foot.

Until they realize that she actually has something in common with this particular group of boys. They’re in the process of going on this supernatural treasure hunt.

They’re not the only people going on this treasure hunt. And the other person searching doesn’t want to play nice. You’ll just have to read the book to find out more.

The Raven Boys is a great friendship book. Despite being from Aglionby, these particular boys aren’t stuck up or snobby. They allow her into their group, even though she’s neither a boy nor wealthy. The four boys themselves care about each other too. Additionally, these boys aren’t just caricatures… they all have little quirks, things they like, etc. that make them seem like real people.

At the end of book one, you don’t find out who Blue is going to kiss or who’s going to die, but you’ll want to read the next book to find out anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

Conclusion: read the book. Especially if you’re into the paranormal, great friendships, and cool settings with fairly small towns set near the forest. I’m glad I finally got the chance to read it.

Book Characters I’d Love to Be Besties With (TTT)

By Brookelorren on August 12, 2019October 5, 201934 Comments

Another Tuesday, another edition of Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!). Today we’re going to talk about book characters I’d love to be besties with. For the purposes of this little thought experiment, I’m just going to pretend that I’m the same age as any of the other characters. That’s part of the fun of reading, anyway, to pretend that you are living someone else’s life!

Alina Starkov – Shadow and Bone

Alina seems to have a good heart. She just wanted to live a simple life, maybe with her childhood friend, Mal, but that’s not how things were for a while. I think she’d make a good friend who wasn’t arrogant or pretentious or anything.

Clary Fray – The Mortal Instruments

I wouldn’t want to detract from her friendship with Simon, of course, but Clary would probably make a pretty good friend. Certainly life wouldn’t be boring! Maybe she’d sketch pictures of some of my book characters. I don’t know if she plays D&D or not, but if she doesn’t, Simon and I might be able to drag her into joining a campaign.

Violetta Amouteru – The Young Elites

Much as I have sympathy for her sister Adelina, I don’t think she’d make a very good best friend. However, Violetta deserves a million points for loyalty for sticking by her sister even when she’s not exactly being the nicest person. Loyalty is always a good thing to have in a friend.

Scarlett Dragna – Caraval

Part of me thinks that maybe Scarlett’s sister Tella would be the more interesting friend, but she might present more drama than it would be worth. But Scarlett would be a good friend, and like Violetta, she’s likely to be loyal. Then again, if Scarlett was my best friend, Tella would probably end up dragging us both on adventures, giving us the best of both worlds.

Cyra Noavek – Carve the Mark

While I certainly wouldn’t want to deal with Cyra’s brother, Cyra could probably have used a friend. She’s thoughtful, and if you ever got into trouble, she could kick your enemy’s butt.

Dimple Shah – When Dimple Met Rishi

Today’s list seems to have a lot in common with last May’s Top Ten Tuesday “Characters that Remind Me of Myself” but I guess that can’t be helped. Dimple Shah would make a good friend though. We could talk about computer code and study for all those computer science tests together.

Taylor Nicholson – Start Here

Taylor would probably make a very interesting friend: after all, she’s willing to take a sailboat from Ohio all the way to the tip of the Florida Keys! I don’t know a lot about sailing (although I had to learn in college) but I’m sure that going on an adventure like this would be a lot of fun. She probably would want to get out and explore other places as well.

Free – Into the Hollow

It just says something good about your character when your dad isn’t really that responsible but you’re willing to do what you need to in order to take care of your younger brother. Despite the difficult circumstances Free grew up with, she still turned out to be a pretty good person. I bet she’d make a pretty good friend as well.

Camille Durbonne – Enchantée

Camille is another person who you can tell would make a good friend because of the way she cares about her family (we’ll just forget about her dirt-bag brother). She’s also curious and is interested in the latest technology, like hot air balloons. If I was transported to pre-revolutionary France and ran into a hot air balloon, I’d probably think they were fascinating as well.

Gin – Crow Flight

Gin from Crow Flight would make an interesting friend. First, she’s into computer programming, so we’d have something to talk about. She’s also pretty smart to have figured out the whole thing with the crows (no spoilers here). Anyway, you couldn’t do worse than to have a friend who’s smart and into computers.

So there are some book characters that I think would make good friends. Who did you put this week? Next week we’re going to talk about my favorite tropes.

Crown of Coral and Pearl

By Brookelorren on August 12, 2019August 12, 2019Leave a Comment

I recently had the opportunity to read Mara Rutherford’s debut, Crown of Coral and Pearl. Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard Press for the opportunity! This is a book with a unique setting and an interesting premise. Although, for me, it started out a little slow, the last 2/3rds of the book kept me enthralled and I wanted to read more! I definitely want to read the sequel when it comes out.

Nor and Zadie are born at sea to a people who live their entire lives at sea: at gunpoint. The only way they’ll ever be able to set foot on land is if they are deemed to be the most beautiful girl in a generation and are sent to land to marry the prince. As a child, Nor dreamed of going, but a scar that she received on her cheek dashed those hopes.

Her identical twin sister, on the other hand… doesn’t have that scar… but she’d rather stay at sea and marry her boyfriend. We have a mess on our hands here!

Eventually, Nor actually does got (impersonating Zadie), but once she gets to the palace and meets Ceren, her husband-to-be, things aren’t exactly as she’d hope them to be. Not only is Ceren a jerk, there’s also some political intrigue going on, that we find out more about as the story progresses.

The Setting

One of the things that stand out to me the most in Crown of Coral and Pearl is the setting. I don’t know if I’ve read any book before where the main characters live at sea their whole lives, never to set foot on land. It makes a completely different culture than I’m used to. This is different than a story that takes place on a ship, because they swim or take a boat between houseboats, and frequently jump in the water to dive for oysters. The setting of the palace, once we get there, is also fairly unique, but I won’t describe it here and ruin the surprise.

The Story

I also enjoyed the story, although it started out slow for me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was the isolation of the community itself, and the silly mindset that came with the people there, that beauty was really the only thing that mattered in a girl. The book picked up considerably when Nor, disguised as Zadie, reaches the palace. I enjoyed her interactions with the people there more than I did at sea. And the end! It was incredible. I already added the next book, Kingdom of Sea and Stone, to my Goodreads TBR.

Conclusion

With its unique setting and premise, Mara Rutherford’s debut, Crown of Coral and Pearl, is worth checking out. Even though the beginning started off a little slow, the last part of the book was exciting, and the next book should be just as good!

The Priory of the Orange Tree

By Brookelorren on August 8, 2019August 7, 2019Leave a Comment

Earlier this year, I read Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree. In case you didn’t know, this is a brick of a book, at 846 pages. Despite its length, I don’t really think there were many wasted words. This has an intricate plot to rival Game of Thrones, although, as a stand-alone, you won’t have to wait over 20 years to find out what finally happened.

The Queendom of Berethnet needs an heir. For some magical reason, the Berethnet queens always have one child, and it is always a daughter. Queen Sabran the Ninth hasn’t married yet and doesn’t really want to. Still, she must have a child. There’s a prophecy that as long as there’s a Berethnet Queen on the throne, the queendom will be safe.

Meanwhile, evil forces are waking up, and in other places people are training to be heroes. All of the stories weave together until the final confrontation, where a different world will arise.

A Complex Story

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a long story with a lot of complexity. It’s one of those stories that might be better on a reread. There are so many characters, I wasn’t able to keep them all straight all the time. For me, it was the same with Game of Thrones. By the fourth book, I was starting to forget what plot line happened with which character, but I think a reread would be helpful with that too. For quite a while, I was getting confused between the West and the East. They both have vastly different politics. Towards the middle I was able to sort everything out.

Other Thoughts

The book had a lot of beautiful writing, and you could tell that the worldbuilding was well thought out. While I was reading it, I highlighted quite a few passages that I thought were beautiful.

The Priory of the Orange Tree uses a ton of archaic vocabulary. While it does add authenticity to the world, you might want to have a dictionary handy. Most of the archaic words deal with clothing, weapons, and other items in the universe.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. However, it did run a little long and I had a little bit of difficulty keeping all the storylines and characters straight, at least at first. Still it might be good for a reread. Someday.

Start Here

By Brookelorren on August 5, 2019August 1, 20191 Comment

I recently read Start Here by Trish Doller. It is a beautiful story about a trio of friends: Willa, Taylor, and Finley. Years ago, when Finley was healthy, they made a pact to sail from their home in Ohio to Key West, Florida after graduation. Only problem is, Finley, the glue that held their relationship together, died. Willa and Finley decide to take the trip anyway, but it’s not the same. I have to thank Netgalley and Simon Pulse for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy.

As they leave for their journey, Willa and Taylor are skeptical that they’ll have a good time. Without Finley, they don’t really have a lot in common. Taylor doesn’t enjoy sailing, and Willa still remembers hurtful comments that Taylor made years ago. The only thing that binds them together is their mutual grief. Somehow, they have to make this work.

This was a really sweet book. Along the journey, the two young ladies grow as people and discover things about themselves. They learn how to live in a world without their friend, and discover the next steps they want to take with their lives. The journey is challenging — but they come out better people on the other end. And it was a delight to read about.

Even though this story deals with the death of a loved one, it’s not a sad book. I did cry — when I read the first chapter and the last page of the book. Although Willa and Taylor went through a wide range of experiences on their journey, they didn’t leave me ugly crying.

The background to this book was amazing. I enjoyed virtually traveling with the two as they sailed down the coast and stopped to enjoy the sights along the way. Although I have sailed (in a frigate) from San Diego to places like Hawaii and Portland and the Caribbean and back, I’ve never sailed the route they took, and I enjoyed experiencing it with them.

Although there is a little bit of romance along the way, it isn’t the focal point in the story. The book leaves it fairly open-ended as to how those stories end.

I won’t tell you how the story ends, only that it does end towards the end of the summer, when the responsibilities of life after graduation tend to beckon. In that small sliver of life between high school and college, our futures are ambiguous. I will say that it left me in tears, but not because it left me disappointed. This book is a great book for reading during the summer, or at other times of the year if you just need a book that brings you summer vibes.