Fiction Archives - Page 28 of 32 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

Give the Dark My Love…

By Brookelorren on August 27, 2018August 19, 2018Leave a Comment

I was recently given the opportunity to read Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis. I received it through Penguin’s First to Read program. It was a good book, although I can’t say that it was my favorite.

Nedra is a 17 year old girl who grew up in a poor village. She doesn’t have many prospects in life… until she gets a scholarship to a prestigious school, where she plans to train to become a medical alchemist. While she doesn’t feel quite like she fits in, she develops a friendship with another student there, Grey, that seems to be developing into more than friendship.

There’s a plague crossing the land, and Nedra wants to stop it, or even try to find a cure. As the story progresses, she ends up discovering that there may be necromancy involved. Necromancy is illegal. Grey is not too excited about this. At the end, there are some twists and turns, and Nedra seems to be sliding into the dark side. Will she be a villain in book 2? I hope to find out.

The Good

There are a lot of good things about Give the Dark My Love. I liked the characters and the family relationships that Nedra had. There’s some political intrigue, and it speaks a little bit about class and privilege. The magical system is well thought out (except in this world, it’s not magic, it’s science). I liked the plot twist at the end of the story as well.

The Not as Good

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I would have liked to have seen more of the relationship between Nedra and Grey, and there was a lot that went on between Nedra and her professor that wasn’t shown either. The writing style didn’t draw me in as much as some of the other books that I’ve read recently have, but it was still quite good.

Conclusion

Give the Dark My Love has at least two books to it, and I would like to continue with the series (although I’ll probably try to obtain an ARC or check it out from the library). For me, I don’t think that this book has endless rereadability, but it I did like it.

This book is expected to go on sale on September 25th, but you can pre-order it now.

Caraval Invites You to a Magical World

By Brookelorren on August 25, 2018July 8, 20186 Comments

Welcome to the exciting world of Caraval! That is what my library could have told me when I found out it was available for download after a short time on the waiting list. Caraval is a book full of magic, mystery, danger, and love (mostly between sisters).

Scarlett had always wanted to experience the magic that was Caraval. From the age of ten, she wrote to Legend, the Master of Caraval, hoping to get tickets for her and her sister Donatella (Tella). Her grandmother had told her stories and made it seem wonderful. It seemed like a wonderful dream, while in her own life…

Her father was abusive, he wouldn’t let them leave the island that they lived on, and she decided to get married to someone that she had never met just to escape. One day, she finally gets tickets to Caraval, after she had given up. She no longer wants to go, thinking that her marriage will save her from her toxic life.

She ends up going anyway; you’ll just have to read the book to find out how. After she gets there, she discovers that it’s not quite what she was expecting. It seems to be a magical, more dangerous version of Las Vegas, where everything that happens in Caraval is supposed to stay there. We find out that not everything stays there, however. Scarlett’s sister is kidnapped, and she has to find her before it is too late.

She ends up partnering up with Julian, a brash sailor who is definitely not Scarlett’s type, although deep down inside, she finds him to be devastatingly handsome. Over the course of the search, Scarlett grows as a person, and comes to the realization that maybe she’s putting her hopes into the wrong things.

In the end, we find out the truth about what went on in Caraval. Maybe… Scarlett wasn’t actually saving Tella after all. Perhaps Tella was saving her. Maybe Julian isn’t actually a sailor. Again, you’ll have to read to find out.

What I Liked

I enjoyed this book. The characters were likeable, and they grew as people as they struggled through the book. Scarlett is very practical (maybe a little too much so) and protective of her impulsive sister. Tella is a little too impulsive. The love between these sisters is what drives the story, which I found to be a really sweet underlying theme.

There was a lot of mystery to this book, and as I read, I couldn’t help but to wonder what was really going on. In Caraval, nothing is exactly as it seems. The book reveals much of its mysteries by the end of the book… but then we realize that there is one more mystery to be solved. Now I can’t wait to read the next book, which I’m on the waiting list to read at the library.

Anything I Didn’t Like?

I can’t think of anything that I didn’t like about this book. Maybe at the beginning of the book, Scarlett seems a little hopeless and clueless, but as she grows throughout the book, she becomes a strong person in her own right.

I enjoyed Caraval quite a lot and am looking forward to reading the next book, Legendary, as it becomes available. If you haven’t read it yet and choose to check it out, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Origin: Not as Good as I Originally Hoped

By Brookelorren on August 23, 2018July 3, 2018Leave a Comment

The other day I was at the library and I found Dan Brown’s book Origin on the shelf. When it came out last year, I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to pick it up. I really enjoyed the puzzles in his book The Lost Symbol, and I was hoping for a book that had a similar feel to it. Sadly, I was disappointed in this book.

Our main protagonist, Robert Langdon, is a professor who was invited to an event by a former student and friend of his, Edmund Kirsch, who promises to unveil earth-shattering news that would destroy religion forever. Unfortunately, the event ends with a horrific crime, before the earth-shattering news could be delivered. Professor Langdon and the future queen of Spain, Ambra Vidal, need to find out a way to release this information to the world… before it is too late.

I didn’t feel the whole sense of puzzle-solving and excitement in this book that I thought I would. There was some symbology and some poetry to decipher, but there wasn’t as much in this book as I would have hoped. There were some drawings in this book, but the symbols printed weren’t really critical to solving the character’s problems.

The future queen, Ambra Vidal, didn’t really seem to be that interesting of a character, I thought. I just didn’t connect with her. When they finally are able to make the big reveal about the origin of life that was supposed to be so earth-shattering? That was a little disappointing as well. Rather than being an amazing discovery, it seemed to be something that futurists have been talking about for years… and as part of the presentation, the author made jabs at more conservative religious people, which I found to be unnecessary.

At the end, we find out who the criminal was that orchestrated the crime, and while it was surprising, it wasn’t incredibly shocking.

I did like some things about this novel. Since the novel is set in Spain, I like the liberal use of Spanish throughout the novel. It’s used in such a way that even if you don’t know Spanish, you can still figure out what is going on. I enjoyed translating it. If you’re an art lover, there is plenty of art talk. I found the buildings, description of architecture, and some of the concepts in here that are real (like the inclusion of the Palmarian church, for example) to be interesting as well. Even though the overall plot didn’t grab me, there were some elements that I found to be intriguing.

Although Origin wasn’t my favorite Dan Brown book, I think that there are people that will like it. It just wasn’t my favorite.

When Elephants Fly Was Good, But I Could Have Gotten More

By Brookelorren on August 20, 2018August 13, 2018Leave a Comment

I recently received a copy of When Elephants Fly, by Nancy Richardson Fischer. I forgot that I had entered a sweepstakes to win it, and I was pretty excited to see it in my mailbox. It is a wonderful story about a girl, Lily, whose mother had schizophrenia and tried to kill her. She just turned 18 and thinks that if she just keeps a stress-free life between now and the time she’s 30, then she’ll be able to prevent getting it herself.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t quite work out that way. Living a life without stress means that you also miss out on a lot of good things in life. She’s reluctant to apply for any college other than her local community college (her therapist convinces her to apply for a good college anyway, and she decides to apply to the best college out there, USC). She had been reluctant to apply for the internship at the local newspaper as well, but as our story begins, she had already been accepted and is working there.

At the internship, Lily gets to write little pieces for her local newspaper on local interest events, like the new baby calf being born at the zoo. Unfortunately, after the baby calf is born, its mother rejects the calf and tries to kill it, which brings up her own memory of when her mother tried to kill her. This triggers a series of events that changes Lily’s life forever, as she tries to save the baby elephant. It brings more excitement into her life for sure, but also causes the risk of mental illness to increase.

I thought this book was pretty good. I really enjoyed Lily’s friendship with her best friend, Sawyer, which unfortunately becomes strained during this book. Sawyer is going through his own problems with detached parents, and Lily doesn’t see that for a while because of her own problems. I would have liked to have seen more of their friendship though.

Lily meets a guy in this book that she develops a relationship with, but I don’t particularly feel it all that much. Maybe if they would have spent more time together, I would have shipped them more, but as written, they were just okay together. This part of the book could have gotten a little more attention.

The ending of the book leaves a lot unresolved. Does Lily get into USC? Does she develop schizophrenia? What happens to her friend? What happens to her and her new boyfriend? What happens to the baby elephant?

Overall, I thought When Elephants Fly was good. The subject matter is really important; there are so many people these days dealing with mental issues, so this book will be helpful for a lot of people. The story was good, the characters were interesting, and the friendship in this book was represented well. It goes on sale on September 4th, but you can pre-order it now.

The Life Choices Write Tag

By Brookelorren on August 19, 20182 Comments

I decided that I wanted to do the Life Choices Write Tag, where we talk about one of our works in progress. I have several WIPs at the moment, all in various stages. I originally was going to do this tag with the NaNoWriMo book that I’m planning, but I think I’ll just answer those questions to myself, for now, because I don’t even have all the main characters named yet! I have a pretty good idea of where that story is going, but I’m still planning it. Instead, I’ll be talking about Hero, which is a Legend fanfic… my first draft is at least 2/3 done, but I know exactly where the end of the story is headed.

RULES

Thank the person who tagged you but also link back to the original post! (I want to see all your lovely answers, people!)

I found this tag over at Drizzle and Hurricane books.

Provide a short description of your WIP/story!

Hero is a continuation of the Legend trilogy written by Marie Lu. It is not canon with Life After Legend or Life After Legend 2 (oops, did I just give something away that I wasn’t supposed to ;-)? It’s going to be one of the Wildcard pre-order gifts. Penguin Teen talked about it in a video they put out on Friday).

Anyway, Day, now going by Daniel again, returns back to the Republic with his brother Eden. He runs into June on his first day there, and ends up going to her 27th birthday party. Daniel of course is interested in her right away, but there’s one small problem… she has a 10 year old boy. The party pretty much ends when the boy, John, unwittingly announces that his dad is Day. Everybody has to get over that little snag, but after they all get to know each other, John is kidnapped. They have to rescue him, but after they find him, they also find someone else that needs their help…

This is pretty focused on main characters but don’t hesitate to use several characters for the answers if you want to! (We want to get to know as many of your characters as possible)

Just for clarification… I’m using the questions in the original form, but I never consider Day, June, Tess, Pascao, or any of the original Legend characters to be “my” characters. I’m just borrowing them. John (the boy), Rosie, and some of the other assorted characters in the story are mine, because I made them.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Where does your main character (MC) live? Were they born there or did they move to that place?

This story has three Point of View (POV) characters, plus Rosie, a girl that John runs into after he is kidnapped. Daniel, June, and John were all born in Los Angeles, CA, while Rosie was born in Salina, Kansas (in the Colonies). Daniel lives in Antarctica for the first chapter, but for the rest of the story he lives in Los Angeles, where June and John live for the entire story. Rosie lives in Salina, Kansas, until she moves to Los Angeles.

Does your MC have a dream career? What (if anything) stops them from pursuing it?

Daniel and June are both military people. They are pursuing their dream careers. John and Rosie are too young to think about their dream careers… and up until now, Rosie has been too busy trying to survive to even think about a career.

Did any of your characters ever go against their parents/family’s wishes? How did that change their relationship?

Daniel and June’s parents are dead, so there’s nothing happening there. Rosie did run away from home… but her father was a child molester that had killed her mother, so I really don’t blame her. She no longer has or desires a relationship with her father. She doesn’t even know if he’s alive or is in jail or anything like that.

If faced with their greatest fear – would your MC try to overcome it or run the other way?

I think they all have to try to overcome their fears out of necessity. Their biggest instinct is survival, and, in Daniel and June’s case, the survival of their son.

Did any character have to cut a person out of their life? Why?

Rosie had to cut her father out of her life. He was so toxic that it’s better to live on the streets than to live with him.

What is your main character’s biggest regret?

In hindsight, June probably regrets not contacting Daniel sooner. There wasn’t much they could do to prevent the kidnapping, however; it wasn’t a random kidnapping.

Which character is most likely going to help a stranger, even if they got nothing out of it in return?

Daniel.

If your character got good/bad news, who would be the person they first tell?

At the beginning of our story, Daniel would tell his brother, Eden. June would probably tell Tess, and John would probably tell his best friend, Tanis. Rosie really has nobody at the beginning of the story, but later on, she’d probably tell John.

BONUS: Make an aesthetic for your MCs life if there had been no obstacles (money, geographical, etc.) and they had everything they wanted. (It is up to you if you want to explain it or not!)

I’m skipping this one.

I TAG THEE
If you want to do this, there is no obligation!

I’m not going to tag anybody, but if you want to do this one, then go ahead. 🙂

Strange the Dreamer is Like a Beautiful Dream

By Brookelorren on August 16, 2018June 29, 2018Leave a Comment

Just recently I finished reading Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor. Her writing has been described as beautiful prose. If you’re unfamiliar with her writing, you’ll just have to read her works to see it. I didn’t want to put down this book, and I’m looking forward to reading the second half of this duology, Muse of Nightmares, later on this year.

Lazlo Strange is an orphan. He was originally raised in a monastery, but he is drawn to stories. When he gets the opportunity to deliver books to the library, he decides not to leave. He becomes an apprentice librarian, reading books in his spare time. With his head in a book and his mind in a fairy tale all the time, he becomes known as Strange the Dreamer. Above all other stories, he is fascinated by the story of a city called Weep. Or at least, that’s what everybody calls it now. Lazlo knows that it had another name… once. He felt it disappearing from his mind.

Lazlo would have continued this life indefinitely, living out his life as a lowly librarian, until fate intervened. He decides to take a chance and do something bold, which is a move that will change his life forever.

In the city of Weep, there is a girl called Sarai. She lives with a few other people, isolated from the rest of the world. Until the day that she finds herself in Lazlo’s dreams. This is the beginning of an unlikely romance.

Lazlo and Sarai are from two different worlds that don’t understand each other. Will their relationship ever evolve from anything outside of dreams? You’ll have to read the story to find out.

The characters in this story are outstanding. Lazlo is not particularly handsome on the outside, but he’s an interesting character that more than one avid reader will probably be able to identify with. In contrast to Lazlo’s rough exterior and beautiful insides, the people that are beautiful on the outside aren’t always the most beautiful people on the inside. Our other main protagonist, Sarai, is also a wonderfully complex character, who has changed over time as she gains understanding about the people around her.

Like the prose of this story, the world of this story is also beautiful. Ms. Taylor’s writing is wonderfully descriptive, which makes the deserts and cities and library come alive. Even though this world contains creatures and magic not present in our own world, it’s not hard to imagine.

Strange the Dreamer seems to have underlying themes to it. Revenge and hate is not the answer. Good people sometimes do bad things. Often, both sides of a conflict have good reasons to have grievances against the other, but if we let hatred simmer forever, it hurts everyone. If those aren’t messages that we need more than ever, I don’t know what are.

If you’re looking for a beautiful story in an imaginative world that you won’t want to put down, consider getting this book.

Alternate Universes for Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on August 7, 2018August 6, 201832 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Topic is technically “Books You’d Mash Together”, but I did a slightly different take today. Since I couldn’t really think of many ways I’d mash books together (although My New Best Friend technically mashes Divergent and Legend together, I guess), I thought that I’d think of alternative universes for different books instead.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted, as always, by That Artsy Reader Girl. Follow the rabbit hole down over there and see what other people have to say about this topic as well!

Here’s this week’s list (in no particular order):

Warcross in Wonderland: If you’ve read Warcross, then you know that it’s a video game that people play with virtual reality glasses. The possibilities for Warcross worlds are endless. Why not have Emika fall down the rabbit hole into Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland universe?

Flame in the Mists of the Middle East: Mariko is a fairly badass character. What would happen if she appeared in a story set in the Middle East, and she was captured by ISIS? She could escape, then meet up with a rebel group and fight against the terrorist organization.

A Legend in Medieval Times: Maybe this one is cheating, because in April I woke up from a dream and ended up writing the short story Happy Birthday, which basically features some of the Legend characters on June’s 17th birthday, in Medieval times. I made June a dutchess, Day her Captain of the Guard (previously he had been a brigand and then saved Prince Anden’s life and started working for her), and Natasha Jameson was her Lady in Waiting. It’s not the greatest story because I put it together in an afternoon, but I do think it makes a cool alternate universe. I’m probably going to do a fanfic of this fanfic for NaNoWriMo this year (although it’s going to be really different… it’s going to have elves and a different plot and I’m altering the characters quite a bit).

The Young Elites in Modern Times: This is another story that I’m cheating on, because this is basically what my work in progress Gamers is all about. In this story, Adelina and Magiano would meet in a World of Warcraft guild, then they run away from their abusive parents and end up finding other Elites like them who have already formed The Dagger Society. Of course, Magiano wouldn’t really be a petty thief stealing candy bars from Walmart; he’d be an expert hacker who stole some of the Bitcoin that the US government had seized from people.

Strange the Dreamer in Space: I could definitely see this book written in an alternate universe, where instead of having humans and gods, there are aliens instead.

Throne of Glass and Ice: The cover of Throne of Glass already has kind of an icy feel to it. I don’t know if the story would change a lot in this one, but it would make the world a little bit different looking.

An Ember in the Ashes of the American Revolution: Elias could be a revolutionary general and Laia could be helping him out. I haven’t thought this one out much, but it might have some potential.

Caraval cover Caraval in Vegas: Caraval already has a dangerous, risky kind of feel to it; I could imagine a kind of scenario where the story could take place in Las Vegas.

City of Bones Cover City of Bones in Old London: With its werewolves and vampires, I could completely see this story set in some sort of Victorian England setting. Not the setting of queens and royalty, but the Oliver Twist, workhouses for the poor type of Victorian England.

The Kiss Quotient of the Schoolmarm: I don’t know exactly how this one would work out, as school teachers aren’t paid very much, but we could put Stella in a role as a school teacher in the 1800s in the wild west (maybe she’s an heiress or something). She could hire Michael because she just can’t figure out how to find the right guy.

So there’s ten alternate universes for books that could have been… or could be, if you write fanfiction. Are there any books you could imagine an alternate setting for?

Ever the Hunted is Ever Wonderful

By Brookelorren on August 5, 2018July 6, 20184 Comments

Ever the Hunted was a wonderful book. I discovered it as I was looking through upcoming titles. Once a King looked really interesting, but since it was the third in the series, I figured that I better start at book 1. I was in luck, because Ever the Hunted was available at the library (I’m on the waiting list at the moment for Ever the Brave).

The book grabbed me from the beginning pages. Our heroine, Britta, is in a tough situation. Her papa died, and the king is ready to come and take her lands, because she can’t inherit it. She hasn’t seen her ex-boyfriend Cohen in over a year, but that doesn’t matter anyway, because she could never marry him anyway: he has a noble heritage and can’t marry an outcast like her anyway.

After she gets caught poaching, she is asked to go find the murderer: her ex-boyfriend Cohen.

Dun dun dun!!!

If you want to find out what happens, you’ll have to read the book. As the story progresses, we find out that things aren’t exactly as they initially appear to be. Britta finds out that she is not exactly the person she thought she was. She finds out that there is more that she can do than just finding out who killed her papa — she needs to try to save the kingdom itself. Even if it costs her her life.

I loved this book from the very beginning. The characters’ struggles grabbed me from the start, and they were well-written. There were many supporting characters, many which seemed to have their own personalities and desires.

The world was interesting. There are two main countries in this story, both of which seem to have their own unique personalities. The two countries are at the verge of war, and you can feel the tension as a result.

This book is suitable for teens of all ages.

I’m looking forward to getting to the front of the waiting list at the library for Ever the Brave. I can’t wait to read more of this trilogy!

The Kiss Quotient Adds Up!

By Brookelorren on August 2, 2018June 27, 201810 Comments

I recently saw a review for The Kiss Quotient and saw a review that made it look good. The main character is an econometrician who has Asperger’s. You had me at math, LOL! It certainly looked like a unique kind of love story. I had recently read a string of dark fics where the guy and the girl aren’t together at the end of the story, so I wanted something different. We can’t read Holocaust stories and stories with war all the time!

Our protagonists are Stella, the econometrician with Asperger’s, and Michael, who works part time as an escort to help solve his money problems. Stella has really bad luck with relationships. She really doesn’t care for them, but her parents are bugging her about grandchildren. Stella decides to hire Michael to teach her about relationships and sex.

Michael is getting a little tired of his job, but he needs to keep doing it because he needs the money. When Stella hires him, he’s expecting an old lady, but he’s happily surprised when he finds a lady that he’s quite attracted to. He doesn’t think that she needs to hire an escort, and initially doesn’t want to work with her (she wants to hire him for more than one Friday, but he has a rule to not work with someone more than once), but he eventually agrees.

I liked the characters. Even though I don’t have Asperger’s, I can see a lot of myself in Stella. Like Stella, boys have never asked me out (there’s a reason why I met my husband on the internet). I rehearse conversations in my head before I have them, and sometimes I almost have a panic attack when I have to call someone on the phone. So I found myself identifying with her quite a bit. She is also a person who has interests and dreams, and is not a stereotype. Michael is a kind person, which is exactly what Stella needs as she gains confidence with relationships. He has family and friends that make his life fuller. As you read the story, you discover why he needs all of this money.

The Kiss Quotient is not a young adult book; it has some scenes that are not appropriate for non-adult teens.

If you’re looking for a light book, The Kiss Quotient might be for you. It’s a cute little read that will keep you entertained. I would consider reading Hoang’s next book, The Bride Test (which deals with Michael’s cousin Khai, who also has Asperger’s) next year.

August Monthly Deals on Amazon.com!

By Brookelorren on August 1, 2018Leave a Comment

I have recently discovered how wonderful Amazon.com’s sales can be. While I’ve known for a while that Amazon has plenty of free books, I’ve often found them to be either books in the public domain or ones that were just “meh” to me. However, if you look at the right time, you can find books on sale that might already be on your TBR for $1.99 or $2.99. Here are the books that are on sale in August that I’m most interested in (or have already read):

Marissa Meyer’s Renegades is on sale this month for $2.99! I haven’t read it yet, but it’s been on a lot of people’s favorite book lists. Maybe it will be one of your favorites!

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is on sale this month for $1.99! It sounds like an interesting story and I’ve thought about getting it. Now would be a good time to do so.

I’m not a huge fan of superheroes, so I’ll probably pass on this one myself, but Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo is on sale for $1.99 this month. It’s part of the DC Icons series.

Although I’m not a fan of superheroes, I do like everything that Marie Lu publishes, and I did like her Batman: Nightwalker. It’s on sale for $1.99 this month!

Those are the books that seemed most interesting to me that are on sale at Amazon.com this month. This link will lead you to a list of the rest of the great August 2018 deals, if you’re interested in seeing more!