All posts in Fiction

Characters I’d Follow on Social Media

By Brookelorren on 23 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday

Hello! Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). Today we’re talking about characters we’d follow on social media. I’m not sure? I have a couple of characters with Twitter accounts, but I’m not sure they’re very interesting.

Chain of Gold cover

Lucie Herondale (Chain of Gold): I was going to say I’d follow Cordelia Carstairs because she’s awesome, but let’s be real. I mostly follow writers on Twitter. I’m not really into gossip or things like that. So I’d probably follow Lucie to see how things are coming along on her book, The Beautiful Cordelia. I get the impression that it’s not very good, although I’d be happy to cheer her on as she writes her book and improves as an author. The only way to get better is to practice, right?

Fangirl cover

Cath Avery (Fangirl): Cath is another author I’d follow on social media. She kept her Simon Snow writings a secret, but after she graduated, she’d probably become a professional writer and her publicist would probably tell her to get a Twitter account. She might use a pen name so she could keep her identity a secret.

Eliza and her Monsters cover

Wallace Warland (Eliza and Her Monsters): I don’t really follow webcomics like Monstrous Sea, but Wallace writes stories. So I’d probably follow him. He’s at the beginning of his career, and it would be cool so see him as he grows as an author.

Riley Kennedy (The Christmas Pact): Riley Kennedy works in publishing. She might have some insider tips for people like me, who would like to publish a book someday.

Obsidian cover

Katy Swartz (Obsidian): Katy is a book blogger. How could I not follow her? I’d follow her to find out about all the awesome new books coming out, and I’d root (and sympathize) for her over her personal life.

When Dimple Met Rishi cover

Dimple Shah (When Dimple Met Rishi): Dimple doesn’t write books, but she is a computer programmer. My major in college was computer science, so I might follow her to see how her career is going.

Warcross cover

Emika Chen (Warcross): Emika is another computer programmer. Plus, she works for Henka Games, so I’m sure she’d share news on new technological developments with her followers. I’m sure her tweets would be worthwhile reading.

Crow Flight Cover

Gin Hartson (Crow Flight): Gin is another computer programmer. She might have something interesting to say about apps or technology. She’d be worth a follow.

Divergent cover

Cara (Divergent): I’m sure a lot of people would be following Tris and Four, but I think I’d find Cara’s posts to be much more interesting. She’s Erudite like I am, so I’d probably enjoy what she had to say on different topics. Plus, she’s not like most of the Erudite people who think they’re too good to help the factionless.

The Hiding Place Cover

Corrie Ten Boom (The Hiding Place): Corrie was a real person, so I guess this is an anomaly for this list, but she died in 1983 so maybe she can count? Anyway, I ran out of other ideas. But I’d follow Corrie because she believed in forgiveness and in helping other people. I follow a few political/news figures on Twitter and the ones I care about most follow this philosophy. I follow Operation Underground Railroad, which rescues people from sex trafficking and slavery, which I think Corrie would also follow if she was still alive today.

So those are nine characters (and one historical person) that I’d follow on social media. Who would you follow on social media? Next week we’re talking about books with one word titles. See you then!

Books I Couldn’t Put Down

By Brookelorren on 20 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday

Hello again, and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s topic is supposed to be “The Last Ten Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover.” I don’t know if I get them? So I’m going to go with some of the most recent books I couldn’t put down. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Let’s get started!

Thousands cover

Thousands is the fourth book in the Dollar series by Pepper Winters. I don’t know what it is about these books, but they’re really difficult to put down. A warning though, they are definitely not for kids.

Every Stolen Breath cover

Every Stolen Breath by Kimberly Gabriel was another book I had difficulty putting down. I just had to know what was going to happen next!

That Night cover

That Night by Amy Giles is the story of some teens that survive a mass shooting. The characters and story kept me interested and I didn’t want to put the book down!

Rebel cover

I waited until 10 PM on September 30th to read Marie Lu’s Rebel and stayed up all night reading it. Fortunately, I had planned to do that and didn’t need to go anywhere the next day.

Naughts and Crosses

Naughts & Crosses is another book which had characters and a story that I became invested in. I had to find out what happened to this forbidden couple.

Rebel cover

2019 was the year when I read two really good books with the same title. I enjoyed Beverly Jenkins’ Rebel as well.

When Dimple Met Rishi cover

When Dimple Met Rishi was adorable and I flew through this book, finishing it well before I had planned. Now I get to be on Sandhya Menon’s street team, and I get to go to her Of Curses and Kisses launch party tonight (assuming the snow isn’t too bad).

Sky Without Stars cover

Sky Without Stars is another book I couldn’t put down. I can’t wait until the second book in this duology comes out, at the end of next month. Jessica Brody is going to be at The Tattered Cover for the next book in this series, Between Burning Worlds, and I can’t wait!

Oddly enough, I’m going to see four of the authors on this list at The Tattered Cover between tonight and the end of March, because Sandhya Menon, Marie Lu, and the next author are all going to be there soon.

Four Dead Queens cover

I couldn’t put down Astrid Scholte’s Four Dead Queens either. She’s going to be at the Tattered Cover with Marie Lu on the 5th. In October of 2018 I wrote a Top Ten Tuesday post talking about some authors I’d love to meet. Marie Lu, Kiersten White, and Astrid Scholte were all on the list. I thought I’d probably never get to meet Ms. Scholte since she lived in Australia. Kiersten White was at The Tattered Cover last month, and soon I get to meet two of the other people on my list! So far, 2020 has been pretty good to me.

Spectacle cover

Finally, I had a hard time putting down Jodie Lynn Zdrock’s Spectacle. It has murder, public morgues, mystery, and was written in a way that I didn’t want to put it down.

And here’s the part where I mention that I read all these books in 2019. Although I’ve still been reading good books, I’m behind on my ARCs (in fact, I have the ARC of Sensational, the sequel to Spectacle, and haven’t started it yet, even though the finished copy is out). I’ve barely touched my Winter TBR. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately or something else.

So what books did you list for this week? What was the last book you couldn’t put down?

Favorite Ships

By Brookelorren on 34 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday

Hi! Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!). It’s Valentine’s Day in a couple days, so this week is a love freebie. So I’m going to talk about some of my favorite ships! Some you can probably already guess, but hopefully there will be some new ones in there too. I’ll try to include at least some that are different from the Favorite Couples in Books that I did last year.

So as I’m writing this, I realize there might be some spoilers within the paragraphs for each book. If you don’t want any spoilers on each ship, like if you haven’t read the book yet, just skip the paragraph, please. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Legend cover

My favorite ship is Day and June from Legend. I’m a sucker for cinnamon roll boys and strong girls (which will probably become apparent in this post).

Cruel Prince Cover

Since I did do a similar topic last year, I’m going to mix it up with come couples that I didn’t mention before. I really love Jude and Cardan in The Cruel Prince. Yes, they are toxic. But they’re toxic together, at least! I don’t think I’d like them as a couple if one of them was a bully and the other was a victim, but they seem to be okay with being wicked together, and I’m okay with that.

Divergent cover

Divergent is one of my favorite books of all time and I blame Four and Tris for that. This is one of the series I plan on rereading this year, and I’m so excited! I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read this book (which I’ve also read in Spanish and German, and the first 50 pages in Russian) because I read this book several times before I started using Goodreads to track it. I love this book!

When Dimple Met Rishi cover

Dimple and Rishi in When Dimple Met Rishi are the cutest couple! This is a book I just couldn’t put down! It was such a funny book and they make such a cute couple. It doesn’t hurt that Dimple is into computers.

Shadow and Bone cover

I know some people like to ship other couples in the Grishaverse, but I happen to like Alina and Mal. There’s just something I find sweet about these two teens who grew up friends with each other and eventually fell in love.

The Rose Society cover

I adore Adelina and Magiano from the last two books of The Young Elites series. This book would have been a much different book without the twist that happened at the end of the first book. This is one of the series I plan on rereading this year and I’m so looking forward to it!

Fangirl cover

I don’t think I’ll be able to find time to reread Fangirl this year, but I absolutely adore this story! Cath and Levi are such a sweet couple.

Enchantée cover

Enchantée was my favorite book I read in 2018 and I absolutely love Camille and Lazare. I’m so glad I get to read another book with these characters, set in the French Revolution. I’m a little sad it won’t come out on Bastille Day this year, but I’d rather wait a little longer to get a better book than get a rushed book in July. I feel the same way about An Ember in the Ashes 4.

Carve the Mark cover

I loved Akos and Cyra in Carve the Mark. And here’s another ship I love with a boy with a sad story (he was kidnapped) paired with a strong girl. Weird that the book I’m writing and the book I’m editing are both stories like that. I read this story in 2019 so I probably won’t get around to reading this one again this year. But I’m sure I’ll read it again someday.

The End and Other Beginnings cover

So I know I’ve already mentioned two Veronica Roth books today already, but this is a new ship! Ms. Roth just writes these beautiful characters I fall in love with, sorry! But I loved Matt and Claire in “Inertia.” It’s a short story (also available in Summer Days and Summer Nights if you enjoy short stories set in the summer by various authors) but I just can’t help but love these two characters, long after I read this story the first time. It was optioned for a movie, but there’s so many steps between getting optioned for a movie and it actually getting made.

So those are some of my favorite ships! I know there were a few repeats from last year, but there are some people I just can’t get off my mind! What are your favorite ships? I’m looking forward to seeing what you did for Top Ten Tuesday this week!

Of Curses and Kisses

By Brookelorren on 8 Comments

Hello! I am super excited to be a part of Sandhya Menon’s street team (AKA Sandhya’s Sweethearts) and to be part of the Of Curses and Kisses blog tour! This is a great story and you’ll all be able to meet Jaya and Grey in just a little over a week! If you live near Denver, she’s having a launch party at the Tattered Cover Colfax location and you’re invited! You can meet Ms. Menon, and she’s really sweet. If you see me there, say hi. I know I can’t compare to Sandhya, but it’s always good to meet people that like the same books as you, right? I’m an introvert so I have trouble approaching people, but I promise I’m nice.

Standard Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Of Curses and Kisses is a Beauty and the Beast retelling set at an exclusive Colorado boarding school. The elements she uses in the story are so beautiful. Here’s a quick synopsis:

Will the princess save the beast?

For Princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity of a lifetime. She knows what she must do: Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. But much to Jaya’s annoyance, Grey’s brooding demeanor and lupine blue eyes have drawn her in. There’s simply no way she and her sworn enemy could find their fairy-tale ending… Right?


His Lordship Grey Emerson is a misanthrope. Thanks to an ancient curse by a Rao matriarch, Grey knows he’s doomed once he turns eighteen. Sequestered away in the mountains at St. Rosetta’s International Academy, he’s lived an isolated existence—until Jaya Rao bursts into his life. Sparkling and elegant, Jaya’s unlike anyone Grey has ever met. Still, he can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something. Something that might just have to do with the rose-shaped ruby pendant around her neck…


As the stars conspire to keep them apart, Jaya and Grey grapple with questions of love, loyalty, and whether it’s possible to write your own happy ending.

My Thoughts

Of Curses and Kisses cover

Who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-lovers story? This story has so many wonderful Beauty and the Beast elements: a girl that loves books, the rose that loses petals, magic, and two people falling in love. However, it also has other amazing elements, such as the sister relationship, loyalty to family, and questions about duty.

The story is told in two points of view, so you get to see both Jaya and Grey’s perspectives. I don’t want to give too much away, but these characters are put into an impossible situation and react with normal human emotions, and somehow they work through it.

The setting is great too. It’s at a boarding school! I live in Colorado, and so does Ms. Menon, and she does an excellent job describing things. There was one scene with a formal dance… so beautiful. Writing goals, I tell you. If you’ve never been to Colorado before, after reading this book, it’ll feel like you have.

If you’ve read her other books, you might notice that Of Curses and Kisses has a slightly different tone than the When Dimple Met Rishi books. It’s a little more serious and not as rom-com-ish. It still has both its funny moments and themes you’ll find in her other books, such as the line “Kiran was one of those guys who thought Jaya’s X chromosome stood for ‘xplain things to me.'” (The line was taken from the ARC and is subject to change).

Hopefully you’re excited for this book now. There were so many great lines from this book, I filled up two pages in my book journal of lines that I really liked. This is the first book in a trilogy, and you’re likely to love this one and be hooked for the other two (the next book, and likely the third, will also deal with characters in this universe). There’s still time to pre-order, but if not, it will still be available on the 18th.

Here are a few places where you can get Of Curses and Kisses (in the US, although it’s available in many countries):

You can also request an autographed copy from The Tattered Cover if you can’t go to the launch event. Their web site says that they can’t guarantee that it’ll be autographed, but I bet it will.

About Sandhya Menon:

Sandhya Menon

Sandhya Menon is the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi, Of Curses and Kisses, and many other novels that also feature lots of kissing, girl power, and swoony boys. Her books have been included in several cool places, including the Today show, Teen Vogue, NPR, BuzzFeed, and Seventeen. A full-time dog servant and part-time writer, she makes her home in the foggy mountains of Colorado. Visit her online at SandhyaMenon.com, on Twitter @smenonbooks or on Instagram  @sandhyamenonbooks.

So are you excited about this book? I know I’m excited about getting a finished copy because that cover is gorgeous. I’m also excited about the launch event.

Blog Tour Schedule:

The Kingdom of Back

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
The Kingdom of Back cover

I was SUPER excited when Marie Lu’s The Kingdom of Back showed up on Bookish First! Thank you thank you thank you Bookish First and Penguin Teen for this ARC! I have a lot of things to say about this book. But first, if you want the chance to get amazing ARCs like this one, you can sign up with Bookish First too (my referral code is 56cf541090ca608b4 if you want to help me out). I bought this one with points that you can earn on the web site, but you can also win books too (I have good luck with their drawings).

The Story

Nannerl was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s older sister. She was a gifted composer and clavier player in her own right, but because she was female, once she grew up and married, it was no longer appropriate for her to pursue her musical gifts. She invented an imaginary land called The Kingdom of Back which she shared with her brother.

The above paragraph is true and if it stopped there, would be a nonfiction book. A boy in The Kingdom of Back, Hyacinth, started visiting them through dreams… or were they real? Nannerl doesn’t want to be forgotten, and Hyacinth promises her that she’ll be remembered forever–if she completes a few tasks for him. The tasks test her bravery, and ultimately, what she truly thinks is important in life.

What I Loved

I love history, and The Kingdom of Back is full of it. I knew prior to reading this book that Nannerl and Wolfgang had an imaginary place called The Kingdom of Back, because in my NaNoWriMo19 book, my main character plays one of Nannerl’s compositions, and I had to research them. In real life, her works supposedly don’t survive, but my book is set in the future and they discovered them. I looked up some of the history to see if it was true, and almost all of it was (the only discrepancy I saw was when the Empress Maria Theresa died of smallpox, and who cares). Something I found interesting was that the Queen of the Night and Hyacinth are both characters in Mozart’s works.

The characters in this book were great too. Nannerl was a complex character who is torn between various desires: the desire to please her parents, the desire to be remembered, her love for her brother. This story has a great sibling relationship. I had feelings about the father and the brother and the mother. Hyacinth himself had an interesting transition.

This book had some beautiful prose, almost in the vein of Laini Taylor at points. There were places where the story had this dreamlike feel to it that was absolutely gorgeous. Oh, and the maps and the cover! The photo of the cover doesn’t do the actual cover justice. The maps are going to be part of the front and back papers of the finished copies, and they are gorgeous. I hope they’re printed on blue paper.

Finally, The Kingdom of Back had a beautiful message. The message is especially applicable for artists: most of us want to be remembered, for our work to live on. It also has a message for girls, who have historically been invisible and in some places, still are.

What I Liked Less

I have a what I liked less section for a Marie Lu book? I know, that’s shocking. Although the beginning is beautiful, it does have a slow start. For a while, I considered giving it four stars. The final 1/3 of the book was exciting and I didn’t want to put it down though. The last couple of chapters made me weep. And oh! The final line took this book full circle and it was so lovely.

This book is unlike every other Marie Lu book I’ve read. There were a few similarities to her short story “The Journey” (from A Tyranny of Petticoats) and some fantasy elements from The Young Elites (including some similar phrasing), but for the most part, this is a completely new genre for Ms. Lu and although you might like some of her other books because you love dystopians or fast-paced fantasies with morally gray villains, this is different. This is like a historical fantasy with a little Brothers Grimm mixed in.

There really wasn’t much shipping going on in this story. One of the things I like about most Marie Lu books is that she usually has a couple I can root for. It’s not in this book.

Conclusion

I liked this book. Will it be my favorite Marie Lu book this year? My guess is that I’ll like Skyhunter later this year more, mainly because it’s going to be in a different genre with (I’m guessing) a little bit older characters and probably a little more kissing. Am I happy that I’ve pre-ordered both a Kindle copy and a hardback of this book? Yes. The finished copy is going to be gorgeous and I’ll definitely reread this book at some point.

So the question is, will you like The Kingdom of Back? If you like historical fiction, beautiful, dreamlike descriptions, and don’t mind slower pacing at the beginning, probably. The book shares its beautiful insight and compassion into people and their emotions that other Marie Lu books have. Don’t expect a lot of fighting, political intrigue, or couples you love to ship; if you need that, we’ll probably see that with Skyhunter later this year.

When We Were Vikings

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment
When We Were Vikings cover

I recently read When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald. A big thanks to Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for offering me an Advanced Review Copy! I really enjoyed it, although it was different than anything I’ve ever read before.

Zelda is fascinated by Vikings. Her favorite book is Kepple’s Guide to the Vikings. Early on in the book, she discovers that archaeologists discovered that one of the viking warriors which were once thought to be a male was actually female, and she finds this very inspiring. Zelda lives with her older brother and thrives on rules and routine. She also happens to have fetal alcohol syndrome.

Throughout the book, we watch, through Zelda’s eyes, as she gains independence and even bravely faces danger.

What I Liked

When We Were Vikings has such a unique voice! I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a book from the point of view of someone with an intellectual disability. I did read the Forrest Gump duology, but I think that might be in third person, and that was years ago. Zelda sees the world in a much different way than I do, but she has a fairly good memory, is brave, and is trying to become a better person.

Her brother, Gert, is in a difficult spot, and part of me feels sympathy for him, but part of me doesn’t. He’s faced with the difficult situation of taking care of his sister and dealing with unsavory family members. Gert makes a few bad choices that end up affecting Zelda.

One of the topics that Zelda is interested in is sex. She just turned twenty-one and thinks that she and her boyfriend Marxy might want to try it. It’s a fairly big topic in this book. It’s probably an important topic to include because people some people probably have incorrect ideas about how intellectually disabled people feel on this topic. There is a trigger warning in this book as there is an attempted sexual assault.

Is This Book Controversial?

Although I liked this book, it could potentially be a controversial book. Lately, a lot of people have criticized some authors for writing books with main characters that are unlike them. I personally think we should write the characters in our heart, and if we are writing about someone in another culture, we need to do our best to represent the character well.

I doubt Andrew David MacDonald was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Nevertheless, I think he did a good job in portraying Zelda in a realistic and compassionate way. I only know a few intellectually disabled people, but I would hope they’d like the book. I haven’t heard anybody say this book has inaccuracies, which I have with American Dirt.

Conclusion

When We Were Vikings is the story of an intellectually disabled girl trying to gain her independence, and I recommend it if you’re looking for that kind of story. It does have a happy ending, for the most part, and I am hopeful for this character’s future. It was interesting to step into her head for a while.

Don’t Read the Comments

By Brookelorren on 6 Comments
Don't Read the Comments cover

I have had the hardest time staying on top of my reading schedule lately! Netgalley was kind enough to allow me to read an ARC for Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith, and I finished it two days after it came out! Maybe that’s normal for some people, but I try to review the books by their release date (I have a couple other books to read ASAP too). Anyway, I have to thank them and Inkyard Press for the opportunity to read this book, which I really enjoyed.

Divya is a famous streamer in the Reclaim the Sun fandom. The game sounds really awesome–you drive a spaceship through the galaxy and try to claim one of trillions of planets. It seems like Minecraft in space, except it’s an MMORPG. It helps pay the bills–ever since her parents divorced, finances have been difficult. Divya earns enough money to help pay for rent, food, and her mom’s last semester in college. Things are going okay–until some trolls, who don’t like her as a female gamer, decide to troll her in real life.

Aaron loves playing Reclaim the Sun as well. His parents aren’t hard up for money, but mom wants him to be a doctor. Aaron wants to write for video games instead. He has a job for ManaPunk, an indie gamemaker, only Jason, the head of the company, hasn’t paid him for a lot of the work he’s done.

Video games with villains and trolls? What more could you want? My guess is that, if you loved the Warcross duology, you’ll love this book too. They have a lot of similarities.

Themes

This book had me at video games. Reclaim the Sun as a video game is well fleshed out and is something I think would be cool to play. So many people love to watch video games stream as well. Mr. Smith also included references to Ultima Online–I loved that game. I had a character named Lorren, who was a mage, and I cosplayed her when I went to the UO World’s Faire one year. Fun times. This book was a lot of fun too. They even went to a video game convention in the book.

On a more serious note, this book also tackles the issue of gender harassment in gaming. It’s never been an issue for me, but I understand that it is an issue that some elite gamers face. Page 84 of the January 2018 issue of Wired talks about women in professional eSports like Overwatch and the ladies at the top do face harassment. Divya’s case is probably more extreme, but people do dox one another and it can have some serious consequences. There’s also the problem of “swatting” in the gaming community, which has resulted in people’s deaths.

Another issue Don’t Read the Comments tackles is companies that don’t want to pay for art. There was a recent case, in fact, where Aaron Carter stole art from Jonas Jödicke–Carter told Jödicke that he should feel complimented that his art was stolen. Umm, no. I hope Jödicke sues the pants off him. Anyway, it’s an issue Aaron has to deal with, and deals with magnificently in this book.

Should You Read This Book?

While you probably shouldn’t read the comments if you write a book and people are reviewing your book, you should read Don’t Read the Comments. You should especially read this book if you enjoy gaming or books with gaming like Ready Player One or the Warcross duology. I admit, I haven’t read Ready Player One, but I did see the movie. This is a great book. I haven’t even had time here to talk much about the great characters or setting, but it’s got that going for it as well. I highly recommend this book.

My Favorite Book Covers

By Brookelorren on 23 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday

Hello! Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, where we talk about books! Today is a book cover freebie, and I’m going to talk about some of my favorite book covers.

Four Dead Queens cover

The cover of Astrid Scholte’s Four Dead Queens is gorgeous! It is really shiny too. I originally bought this book on the Kindle, but I recently bought a hardback because Ms. Scholte is coming to the Tattered Cover on March 5 and I want something for her to sign (I pre-ordered The Vanishing Deep on audiobook).

Wicked Fox cover

Wicked Fox drew me in with its cover. I can read books with lackluster covers, but a good cover can make me want to read the book even if I otherwise might have overlooked it (I wasn’t too sure about the title).

The Kingdom of Back cover

Some covers are more beautiful in person than they are in pictures, and The Kingdom of Back is one of them. In person, the cover is so detailed, it is lovely. AND the maps inside are gorgeous too. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished copy.

Chain of Gold cover

Cassandra Clare has some gorgeous covers. Bookish First is giving away Chain of Gold ARCs this week, and I bought one with my points, and I’m so excited to get this one! I’m still getting the hardback I pre-ordered in 2018 though.

Ghosts of the Shado Market cover

Ghosts of the Shadow Market is another cover that is more lovely in person than it is in pictures. The cover is so detailed! And it’s another Cassandra Clare book.

Queen of Air and Darkness cover

So today is Cassandra Clare day I guess, because I have one final Shadowhunter cover to share: Queen of Air and Darkness. What I’m most impressed about this cover though, is what is on the other side of the cover. There’s a gorgeous picture of the shadowhunters at the Santa Monica Pier. I couldn’t really get a picture of the entire thing, but I do have a picture of Church the cat from the inside:

Church the cat
The Guinevere Deception cover

Part of me is sad because I bought The Guinevere Deception on audiobook, and as a result, I don’t have a shiny cover to look at. I just love this drawing of Guinevere.

Start Here cover

Start Here by Trish Doller has such a fun cover! It makes me think of summer and sun and friendship, which is a lot of what the book’s about. It may not be the prettiest cover, but it makes me happy nonetheless.

War Girls cover

War Girls has a great cover too. I just love this girl on the cover–she projects so much attitude. It really sets the mood for the rest of the book.

Sky Without Stars cover

Sky Without Stars also has this beautiful, shiny cover. I love it. The first printing also has a gold embossed cover, which is a really nice touch.

So those are ten book covers that I really think are beautiful. I’m sure I could come up with others too.

So what books did you pick this week? What aspect of book covers did you decide to write about? Since this is a freebie week, I’m guessing that we’ll see lots of creative ideas that I wouldn’t even think about.

Disappearing Earth

By Brookelorren on 2 Comments
Disappearing Earth cover

I recently read Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips. It was on my TBR lottery because I was interested in reading a book that took place in Russia. The book has won a few awards, but the story itself didn’t really excite me. There were some parts of this story I loved though.

Disappearing Earth fills the slot for contemporary Russia in my Read Around the World Challenge. So far I’ve read contemporary books from 5 countries, so I have a long way to go still.

This is the story of two little girls that disappear on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. It gets into the heads of several different but connected people living in the area. All were affected by this tragedy. The book covers the community for the year after these children go missing.

What I Liked

What I liked about this book primarily had to do with its unique Russian setting. The Kamchatka Peninsula, in case you don’t know, is located on the Eastern coast of Russia, about as far away from Moscow and Saint Petersberg as you can get. While those two cities are quite European, Russia is a huge country and most of its landmass is located in Asia. It also has a very large native population, which reminds me a lot of the Native American population in the United States. Disappearing Earth immerses the reader into this little corner of the world which I haven’t seen too many books about.

The book also briefly touches prejudices that people throughout the world have about “the other.” When the girls go missing, some of whom we’d view as the “typical European Russian” type blame the natives, or people who immigrated to the peninsula after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was interesting to see how people in multiple cultures tend to have the same problems in this way.

What I Didn’t Care For

I didn’t care for the way this story was told. Each chapter is viewed through the eyes of a different narrator. As a result, I never had the chance to become attached to any one person. Their lives pretty much sucked too, and most of them weren’t likeable. Most of them were breaking up with their boyfriends or husbands, cheating on their boyfriends, or making their children stay away from “bad influences” that might have only one parent around most of the time. The one sympathetic character was the little girl whose best friend wasn’t allowed to speak to her anymore. I might have felt a little sympathy for the lady that lost her dog, but then she acted like a total witch, breaking any care I had for her. After reading this book, I’m certainly not going to rush out to find a Kamchatkan pen pal.

In many of these chapters, the characters had something they were dealing with, like a potential tumor or the missing dog or the loss of their friend, and I might want to find out what happened to them. However, each character only has one chapter from their point of view, so you never get to find out what happened to them. Another character might mention them in passing, but we never find out how their situations resolved.

Conclusion

I liked the ending. We do get to find out in the end what happened to the girls (yay!). The setting was great. However, the story itself: the characters, the situations that happened to them, etc., really didn’t draw me in. If you’re reading the book for the unique Kamchatka setting, then you might like it. I find it sad that I couldn’t really click with the characters and their situations.

The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

By Brookelorren on 39 Comments
Top Ten Tuesday

Hello! Welcome to this week’s edition of Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl), where we talk about various book topics every week. Today we’re talking book hauls! I’ve been living my best book life now and have a couple really awesome books in my most recent books. For purposes of this post I’m not going to talk about books I’ve pre-ordered but haven’t received yet (or that are currently on their way in the mail). Let’s get started!

My most recent two acquisitions were Slayer and Chosen by Kiersten White. Back in October of 2018 we had a Top Ten Tuesday topic called “Authors I’d Love to Meet,” and one of the authors I listed was Kiersten White, even though I had never read any of her books before. She always seemed nice on Twitter. I’m happy to report that not only is she extremely nice, she’s also very funny! I got her to sign the two hardback books of hers I own. The others are all digital, which are hard to sign. One out of ten of those authors met, nine to go!

Another one of my recent additions is an ARC copy of The Kingdom of Back! I’ve had the chance to read it already and I had so much to say about this book, my review ended up being 911 words long. It’s definitely different than any of the other books she’s published that are up on Goodreads.

Romanov cover

Romanov was on sale for $1.99 earlier this week, and of course, I had to pick it up. I had hoped to get an ARC for this one prior to publication, but was denied, so getting it on sale is the next best thing.

I’m guessing that some of the lists this week might have some serendipitous and strange books on it. Like this one: Legends and Myths from Wales. The book is free on Amazon. Anyway, the book I’m writing is slightly inspired by Wales, and I got this book for research.

I left Audible for a while because I had several books I hadn’t listened to yet and my credits were building up, so I got How to Write Best-Selling Fiction with one of my credits.

Another one of my Audible purchases was 11/22/63 by Stephen King. This book had seemed interesting. I’m somewhat picky at what books I listen to on audiobook. Some books are just easier to absorb through the printed/electronic page, and this one seems like its one that might work well on audio.

Eliza and Her Monsters was another Audible credit I needed to use up. I had been interested in this story for a while, but sometimes there’s not enough time to read all the stories you want. I did have time to listen to the audio version though.

The Summer of Impossibilities cover

The Summer of Impossibilities is a recent Netgalley acquisition. It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start thinking about summer books again! It is January, and I probably won’t read this for a couple more months, but summer books are on their way!

Song of the Abyss cover

Finally, Song of the Abyss was on sale for $2.99! It’s one of Kindle’s monthly deals for January. I read Isle of Blood and Stone last year, so hopefully I’ll get around to reading this soon.

I’ve gotten all these books in the last two weeks. I’ve read two of these already and am working on reading a third (How to Write Best-Selling Fiction).

What were the last ten books you’ve obtained? I wonder if this week we’ll see a lot of random books. Next week, we’re talking about books on out TBR that we predict will be five-star reads. See you then!