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Books on My Summer 2019 TBR

By Brookelorren on June 25, 2019June 10, 201937 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Time to make up a new TBR for the new season. This is for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Before we get started, I’d like to review the books I read from my Spring 2019 TBR:

Kingdom of Ash – Sarah J. Maas: Read
Ruin and Rising – Leigh Bardugo: Read
Priory of the Orange Tree – Samantha Shannon: Read
The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden: Read
Sky in the Deep – Adrienne Young – Read
King of Fools – Amanda Foody – Read
Spin the Dawn – Elizabeth Lim – Read
The Tiger at Midnight – Swati Teerdhala – Read
Ghosts of the Shadow Market – Cassandra Clare et al. – Read
The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang – Read

10/10! Yay! One of the reasons why I like making these seasonal TBRs is that I can see all the books I really want to read actually get read.

For this season’s TBR, I decided to do something different. There are no new releases that I just have to read right now coming out in the next three months (as opposed to my fall TBR which will have a ton of books I pre-ordered). So I decided to go through my books and find the ones I have been saying I’ve wanted to read for a while. Then I added books by authors I really wanted to read but didn’t own.

I came up with 25 books.

So I let fate decide the rest. I assigned each book a number and chose ten numbers from a random number generator. So these are the books I’m going to read this season:

Allegedly – Every time I see this book I want to read it. A girl is blamed for the death of a baby when she’s nine. She suffers while growing up, and as an adult she has to confront her past.

Ash Princess – I got this book on sale over Black Friday weekend last year. It’s one of those books I had been thinking about reading for a while, but never got around to it. Looking forward to reading this fantasy novel by Laura Sebastian.

Rora – I’ve probably wanted to read this book for about a decade now? A long time. I bought the book last year (I think it’s out of print, so I got it from a third party seller) and am looking forward to it. It’s a true story about Christians that were persecuted (by other “Christians”) a long time ago. I first read about this group of people in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

Obsidian – I’ve been saying for a while that I need to read the Lux series. This is a book I don’t own, but I shouldn’t have trouble finding it at the library.

Truthwitch – I got this book when it was on sale. I love reading Susan Dennard’s posts on Twitter and people seem to like her books, so I’m giving it a try. A lot of the books on my list this week, like this one, are books that I’ve purchased in the past, but haven’t gotten around to reading yet. I have the first three books in this series (all purchased on sale) so I hope I like them!

The Thousandth Floor – Another book that I got on sale that looked interesting. A story that takes place in New York City 100 years from now.

Isle of Blood and Stone – Another book I got on sale. Every time I hear about it I think “I really need to read that book.” Well, I’m reading the book this summer.

And I Darken – Another book I got on sale, another author that I always say “I really need to read something by her” about (although I have read one of her short stories), and another book I always want to read whenever I think about it. This summer.

Naughts and Crosses – This book was a Goodreads recommendation based on the fact that I liked Marie Lu’s The Midnight Star. It’s not a book I hear a lot about, but it looked interesting. I don’t own this one, so I’ll have to get it from the library.

Dive Smack – This one looked interesting when I first read reviews for it last summer, but I never got around to reading it. It was on sale a couple of months ago, so I picked it up. Originally, the random number generator picked up A Court of Mist and Fury, but I ended up listening to that on audiobook, so this is a late addition to my summer TBR.

So these are the ten books that won the TBR lottery and are at the top of my summer TBR. Of course, I read more than 10 books in a three month period and will probably read more than these, but these are the books that I’ll be making a priority for in the upcoming months.

Next week we’re going to talk about books I enjoyed as a kid.

Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2019

By Brookelorren on June 18, 2019June 10, 201947 Comments

Hi! Welcome to another episode of Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). Today we’re going to talk about my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2019. I had to list one book that comes out in 2020, because I could only think of nine that come out between July and December (although I’m sure to find some new anticipated releases this week). I won’t be including books I’ve already read.

You don’t have to be a mind reader to figure out that my most anticipated release this year is Rebel by Marie Lu. I pre-ordered this book within an hour of the cover reveal. Legend is my favorite book series and is by far the series I’ve written the most fanfiction about (I recently started a fanfic that’s been going through my mind since last summer with mostly original characters that takes place between Wildcard and Legend). This book comes out on October 1st, and is competing with two other books I’ve pre-ordered for that day.

Since we’re talking about October 1st releases, another anticipated release is The End and Other Beginnings by Veronica Roth. Ms. Roth is my other autobuy author. This book features two short stories from the Carve the Mark universe, as well as the short story “Inertia” which was published earlier in Summer Days and Summer Nights and is a story I love. They’re making “Inertia” into a movie!

The final October 1st release I have pre-ordered is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. Her Grisha Verse books and Six of Crows duology, which I read earlier this year, were amazing! I can’t believe that there are three amazing books coming out on the same day. Although I won’t be able to read them all the day they come out, I’ll be pretty busy that week. I might need to forego my usual Monday ARC review on October 6th because I’ll be busy reading these (unless I can read ahead).

I’m surprised that I haven’t posted a picture of The Queen of Nothing on this blog before, since I’ve been talking about it all year. At any rate, Matthew the Book Snake will appear on two books on my shelves this year. In addition to Leigh Bardugo’s book, he also appears on Holly Black’s The Queen of Nothing. This was originally supposed to come out in 2020 but was moved up. On the other hand, Cassandra Clare’s Chain of Gold was moved from November of this year until next March.

I just recently posted my review of Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett (I loved that book!). Shortly after that, I saw that she was publishing The Lady Rogue later this year. It’s coming out in September, but Netgalley was kind enough to approve me for an ARC, so I’ll probably read this in August (unless I get ahead in my ARC reading). This book has Vlad the Impaler’s magical ring in it!

Are dystopian books making a comeback? Let’s hope so! Joelle Charbonneau’s Verify is a story about a civilization where nobody can lie. It sounds interesting.

I’m going to really have to learn how to spell Guinevere, because I really want to read Kiersten White’s The Guinevere Deception, which comes out on November 5th! Let’s not pay attention to the fact that I’ve already bought two of her books that I haven’t read yet, I want this one too! One of her books is on my summer TBR, so I will be reading one of her books soon though.

When I saw Renée Ahdieh’s announcement that she was writing a book about vampires, I wasn’t really all that excited, even though I love the three books I’ve read from her already. But I had the chance to read the beginning of The Beautiful on Bookish first. I really liked what I read. Maybe I should add her to my autobuy author list?

The last late 2019 release that I’m really looking forward to is Color Outside the Lines. I was fortunate enough to have Edelweiss approve me to read a review copy (although it’s missing a couple of the stories).

The one 2020 release I’m including on this list is Cassandra Clare’s Chain of Gold, the first book in The Last Hours trilogy. It was originally supposed to be released this November, but it got pushed back to next March. I pre-ordered this on December 26th last year; right now that’s a record for me: I pre-ordered this book 14 months in advance. I know it’s going to be good though.

So those are my most anticipated releases for the second half of 2019 (and one for early 2020). I can’t wait to see all the books you’re looking forward to (as if my TBR needs help). Next week, we’re going to talk about books on my summer 2019 TBR.

Fantasy Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on June 4, 2019June 3, 201948 Comments

Hello! Time for another Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl)! Today we’re talking about books from our favorite genre. I like all sorts of books, but I tend to read a lot of fantasy books, so we’re going to go with that (although dystopian might be making a comeback soon, so there’s that). This week, I’m picking five fantasy books (or series) that I love, and five that I’m looking forward to reading.

An Ember in the Ashes Quartet – Sabaa Tahir

I’m looking forward to reading the final book in this series next year, but for now, this series belongs up here. I read these three (long) books in three days. They were difficult to put down! I originally got the first two books from the library, but then I had to own the set (even though they don’t match, because one’s Kindle, one’s paperback, and one’s hardback).

Shadowhunter’s Books – Cassandra Clare

I love these books! I guess this would belong in the upcoming release books too, because we have Chain of Gold to look forward to next March, but these definitely belong on this list. I’m also getting Ghosts of the Shadow Market today, which I’m excited for. They’re shipping via UPS (which typically arrives later at my house than the post office) so I guess I’ll be reading something else until it arrives.

The Young Elites Trilogy – Marie Lu

Of course this one had to make my list. I adore Magiano and Adelina! Even though Adelina is evil. I really need to finish the fanfic I started writing telling this series from Magiano’s POV (which will continue on and will have a happier ending). This is my first week as a full-time writer/homeschooler, so I should have more time to work on it now!

Flame in the Mist Duology – Renée Ahdieh

I was originally going to put the Grisha Verse books in here, but then I realized “didn’t I talk about all these books last week?” so I decided to throw in something new instead. This might be the first fantasy book I read based in a medieval Japan like place, and I loved it! I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was at work.

I wasn’t sure about reading Ms. Ahdieh’s new book about vampires, but I got the chance to read the beginning of The Beautiful the other day, and it was really good, so I’ll probably read that one too.

The Cruel Prince Trilogy – Holly Black

This book had me hooked from the first page! I love Holly Black’s writing. I can’t wait until The Queen of Nothing comes out later this year! Yes, I know Jude and Cardan don’t really have the model relationship, but they’re not exactly model citizens themselves. I couldn’t put down the first two books in this series and think I finished them the day they came out.

New Books I’m Looking Forward To!

I’m really looking forward to Wicked Fox by Kat Cho! I got to read the first part of the book through Bookish First, and I won an ARC through them! I haven’t received it yet, but I’m going to my mailbox with expectation every day (although I have some other books I need to read first). I actually won three books (two through them, one through Goodreads) so this isn’t the only bookmail I’m anxiously awaiting.

October 1st is going to be a huge release day for me, because not only is Rebel coming out that day, but so is The End and Other Beginnings (Veronica Roth) and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo! The cover features Matthew the famous Book Snake (who also appears on the cover of Queen of Nothing, another book I’m getting)!

Speaking of The End and Other Beginnings, here it is! It is a collection of short stories, including two stories from the Carve the Mark universe and “Inertia”, a story I adored from Summer Days and Summer Nights! I don’t own that book so I’ll be happy to read that story again.

Oh, and I just read in Entertainment Weekly while writing this article that “Inertia” is going to be turned into a movie! If you read this blog a lot, you know I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I definitely want to go see this one!

I really liked Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett (my review will be up in a couple of weeks) and when I found out that she’s coming out with a fantasy novel where a girl has to hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring, I thought “sign me up!” Netgalley was nice enough to approve me to read The Lady Rogue, although it’s in protected PDF format and I’m having trouble downloading it, but I’m sure I’ll get that figured out before it comes out in September.

I’m excited for The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White to come out this November! Camelot is such an interesting legend (I happened to get Once and Future on sale on Sunday) and this sounds like a great book. I’ve still only read one short story by Kiersten White (despite owning more than one of her books) but I hope to remedy that soon.

So there’s ten books from the fantasy genre – 5 I love, and 5 I’m looking forward to reading! What books are you looking forward to reading? I can’t wait to see what you all came up with today.

Favorite Books From the Last Ten Years

By Brookelorren on May 28, 2019May 27, 201952 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This should be an interesting week, because we’re going to talk about our favorite books released in the last ten years! I’m interested to see what some of our favorite older books are, because we’re always talking about the new books, but although I’ve been a reader for my whole life, I haven’t been a book blogger for that long. As you’ll see, some of these years were a challenge for me! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

Since 2019 isn’t even halfway over yet, I’m going to start my blast from the past in 2009. Like my “Favorite books I read for the first time in 20XX” lists, I’m only going to list the first book that I enjoyed in a series. Unless I say otherwise, you can assume that all the other books in the series should be on this list too (that way you don’t see the same series year after year).

2009: Aяguing With Idiots – Glenn Beck

This was a hard year for me to do. Even though I’ve been a reader for years, this is the only book I could find that I read that was released in 2009. Weird, huh? I can find books from 2008, books from 2010, but I went through an entire list with over 1600 books released this year, and the only other books I found on that list that I’ve read… weren’t actually released that year (or they were books in the middle of a series, like City of Glass or Catching Fire). So while I did enjoy this book and it has a lot of good information, this book actually won the year by default.

2010: The Twelfth Imam – Joel C. Rosenberg

2010 was a much easier year to find books from. Perhaps it was a little too easy. There were so many amazing books that came out this year. Not only did The Twelfth Imam, the first book in the David Shirazi series, come out, but so did Clockwork Angel, the first book in The Infernal Devices, as well as Unbroken and Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. They were all great books, although the last two are nonfiction books. It’s been a while since I read this book, and I almost picked Clockwork Angel, but I remember totally shipping David and Marseilles (I think that was her name) and now I want to read the series again, so I’m putting it here.

2011: Legend – Marie Lu

This was probably the most difficult choice I had to make on this list, because Divergent came out in 2011 as well. These are two of my favorite books by my two auto-buy authors. I’d like to say that they are tied, although I’ve read Divergent so many times (in English, Spanish, German, and partially in Russian even) that I kinda need a break from it for now. So Legend wins out by a hair (today), but if we did this list five years from now, Divergent might win.

2012: Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo

Going through a list of books that were released in 2012, a recent read of mine, Shadow and Bone, tops the list. Throne of Glass also came out this year. They’re both fantasy books, but completely different. I think Shadow and Bone ultimately wins out because of 1) its Russian inspiration and 2) the sweet relationship between Alina and Mal. I go for that over the Throne of Glass relationships any day (sorry Sarah J. Maas, your books are still good).

2013: The 5th Wave – Rick Yancey

Normally, when I think a book is really good, I’ll recommend the entire series to someone. That really isn’t the case with The 5th Wave. While I loved this book, the last two books in the series disappointed me. That’s pretty much the opposite of how I feel about Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, which started out as a 3 star book for me, but by the end of the series got consistent 4 and 5 stars (Clockwork Princess came out this year, which made me ugly cry). But this book was good, and I’d read it again, but maybe not the rest of the series.

2014: The Young Elites – Marie Lu

Although I think The Rose Society and The Midnight Star were better books than The Young Elites, 2014 was a year of sequels. The Grisha Verse Trilogy was ending, as was The Mortal Instruments. Four: A Divergent Story Collection also came out this year. The Young Elites was the first book on this list that I actually read the year it came out, which I find surprising. I remember reading it shortly after we moved to Colorado, which was in late 2014.

2015: An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir

There were a few books I loved that came out in 2015. Not only did An Ember in the Ashes come out, but so did Six of Crows. Since I already gave Leigh Bardugo a book series on this list, and I kinda like the both quite a bit, I’ll give this year’s book award to Sabaa Tahir. A Court of Thorns and Roses and Red Queen also came out this year, which I liked, but still, I think Ember deserves the top spot. At least today.

2016: Lady Midnight – Cassandra Clare

I read so many Cassandra Clare books last year that I’m a little surprised that this is the only of her series that ended up on this list. Several other great books came out this year including Summer Days and Summer Nights (a collection of summer stories) and Ever the Hunted, but I have to give Lady Midnight the top spot for this year, especially since I loved so many of her other books that didn’t make this list.

2017: Carve the Mark – Veronica Roth

To be honest, Marie Lu’s Wildcard might win this year (I put it as the best book I read for the first time in 2017), but I really liked Carve the Mark (I’d kinda like to reread it again soon) and since this was the #2 book, and I gave Legend the top spot for 2011, I’ll give Ms. Roth the spot for this year. Other amazing books from this year include Caraval, Flame in the Mist, and Strange the Dreamer. This was a great year for books!

2018: The Cruel Prince – Holly Black

Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince gets the final spot in our favorite books from the last ten years list. It was my third favorite book I read for the first time in 2018, but the ones that beat it were Enchantée (released in 2019) and Wildcard (the second in the series) so I’m giving this the top spot for the year. Queen of Nothing, the final book in this series, was the first book I pre-ordered for 2020 (although they moved up the release date to November, so yay!).

So there you have it, some of my favorite books released in the last ten years. If I were to do this list next year, there would probably be many of he same books, but there might be a few changes as I get to try out new books.

What were your favorite books from these years? I’m looking forward to seeing your lists, especially for some of the older years. Next week, we’re going to talk about some of my favorite fantasy books.

Book Stuff that is Valuable to Me

By Brookelorren on May 21, 2019May 19, 201934 Comments

Hello! Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, where we talk about a different book topic each week. This week’s topic is ” Books That I Refuse to Let Anyone Touch”, but there are only a few books I won’t let anybody touch, so I decided to twist the topic a bit to make it about “Book Stuff that is Valuable to Me”. As always, it’s hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today I’m only listing 8 items. Here we go!

The first book on my list is Stories by Grimm, Andersen, and Hauff. It is copyright 1895 and is in German, with an old-style German font. I’m really not sure where I got it. I found it in a box when we moved to the house we live in currently.

I have a few other old books from the late 1800s/early 1900s. I’ve used one as my boy’s spelling book one year. Another two books I used to read as a kid. I’m pretty sure I got them from my grandma. I don’t know where they are at the moment, so I couldn’t take a picture.

The second “book” on my list is actually a collection of books: my Marie Lu collectibles. When I found out that Ms. Lu was going to release a fourth Legend book, I decided to get the original series in hardback. I had been thinking about it already, because when I only had my paperback copies, I was like a helicopter parent whenever I let my family members borrow them. “Are you done reading the book yet?” When I heard that Rebel was going to be released, I wanted to get first editions, but then I learned that Amazon has a “collectibles” option and not only could I buy a first edition, I could buy a first printing. That’s what these are.

Then I have a copy of Life After Legend II, which was a pre-order gift from Wildcard. I’m still looking for someone with the original Life After Legend that’s willing to sell it, in case you have one that you want to get rid of.

Then I also have La Estrella de Medianoche, which isn’t an actual collectible but it comes from Spain. My Day and June magnetic bookmarks are cute too.

You might notice I don’t have a first printing of Champion yet. I actually bought one about a week ago, but the company I bought it from was robbed before they shipped it to me, so they refunded my money and I need to look for another one to buy.

The next item on my list today is a thank you card from Laura E. Weymouth. She sent it to me for pre-ordering The Light Between Worlds. What I thought was most special about this card was that she remembered me from Twitter.

The next book that is valuable to me is Дивергунт, or my copy of Divergent in Russian. I have the book in Spanish and German too, but only on the Kindle. I’ve only managed to read the first 50 pages in Russian, and I don’t have the rest of the set in Russian either. They’re difficult to find now. At one point I saw the Russian edition of either Insurgent or Allegiant selling for over $600! If I want to practice my Russian, there are cheaper books I can get.

When I decided to go to the Colorado Teen Literature Conference, I thought I wanted to read one of Sandhya Menon’s books first. And of course, I wanted something for her to sign, so I bought a physical copy. This is my latest signed book.

My husband is a Blackstone Fellow, and as part of their training, they got to hear speeches from different people. One night Eric Metaxas was going to speak, and I was able to go. I took my copy of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy along so he could sign it.

The first printing of Sky Without Stars has a secret under the dust jacket: it either comes with a shiny crown underneath or a shiny symbol (I think of the Regime). I really wanted the crown, and as soon as the book came, I ripped off the dust jacket, and that was the one I got! I was pretty happy about that. I read the ARC, so I haven’t read my physical copy, but I’ll probably read this copy before the second book in the series comes out.

My final book is valuable because my grandma gave it to me: a copy of Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. It’s probably from the 1970s (the copyright page doesn’t have a year on it). My grandma wrote on the inside cover with the date she gave it to me. I was about seven at the time.

When my grandma died, the main non-money thing I inherited from her was a box of books (I got a doll she made too). I always loved her books. She had Anne of Green Gables that I read and several more. She had a copy of a book on Boadicea that I got from her, and I found a bookmark she left it it. It brought out feelings to see that.

So there’s a list of 8 books or bookish items that are valuable to me. Next week, we’re going to talk about ten of my favorite books that came out between 2008 and 2018 (one per year).

Books I’d Like to See Made Into Movies (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on May 14, 2019May 13, 201938 Comments

Hello again! It’s Tuesday again, so you know what that means. Time for another edition of Top Ten Tuesday! Each week, it’s hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Today is a “Page to Screen Freebie”. I’ve decided to do one on “Books I’d Like to See Made Into Movies”. I’ve done one other Top Ten Tuesday on movies, so if you’re interested, you can also see “Books Made Into Movies: Which Was Better?” Let’s get started!

Legend – Marie Lu

Of course I have to put my favorite book up on this list. I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I would definitely go to see this one. And you’d probably get sick of hearing me talk about this on my blog in the months leading up to its release. It’s been optioned for a movie, but that still means there’s fifty bajillion steps between that and an actual movie coming out, and at any one point, the movie could fall through.

An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir would make an amazing movie, if it was done right. You’d have to get the kind of director that could do Lord of the Rings style epic movies. The final book in this series isn’t quite done yet, and it’s supposed to release in 2020, so maybe wait to start doing this for a bit? But I’d love to see this as a movie… someday.

Carve the Mark – Veronica Roth

Carve the Mark would make a great movie, if it was done right. I loved this duology and I keep wanting to give it a reread at some point. This might actually be easier to do as a movie than Divergent, but you’d want to get someone to direct it that’s good at making space movies.

Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer would make a good movie. Ten or twenty years ago, the moths might have been difficult to render on a movie screen, but you could completely do it with CGI now.

When Dimple Met Rishi – Sandhya Menon

Although I haven’t seen To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (like I said, I don’t watch many movies), it was really popular, at least among book lovers. When Dimple Met Rishi would be the cutest movie. Unlike all of the fantasy books listed above, this one wouldn’t need a ton of CGI or epic sets either. That’s one of the most difficult things about bringing fantasy and/or dystopian books to life… they don’t always translate well to movies.

Flame in the Mist – Renée Ahdieh

Flame in the Mist would make a great movie. The casting directors would have to make sure that they got the right actress to play Mariko, but if they did, this movie could have a lot of potential. The medieval Japanese-like setting could be gorgeous to see upon a large screen.

Enchantée – Gita Trelease

I’d love to see Enchantée as a movie. The contrast between the poor beggars on the street and the nobility lounging about in the palace would be interesting to see. Although there have been movies done that take place in revolutionary France, as far as I know, a lot of them don’t have magic to them.

The Last Year of the War – Susan Meissner

If The Last Year of the War were made into a movie, you’d definitely have to get out the tissues. A girl of German descent befriending a girl of Japanese descent in the US internment camps, losing each other, and then meeting again right before Alzheimer’s and cancer threaten to take them? Yes please!

Sky Without Stars – Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

I’d love to see this dystopian movie set in a French-like society on another planet turned into a movie. However, movie makers might want to hold off a bit, since the book series isn’t done yet. I’d love to see it as a movie when the books are finished though!

Spectacle – Jodie Lynn Zdrock

People love a good crime thriller. Spectacle, if done as a movie, would have visits to an old-timey morgue, visions, killings, a murder mystery, and a thrilling chase through catacombs. I could definitely see there being a market for a movie like this.

Bonus – Dragonlance!

We were on our way to go see Detective Pikachu on Sunday and my husband mentioned that they were thinking of making another Dragonlance movie? The first time they attempted to make a Dragonlance movie, it was terrible. My kids were named after Dragonlance characters and they deserve better than that. I really hope that this movie turns out well.

There’s my ten for the week, plus a bonus! What did you all come up with? I’m looking forward to seeing your ideas. Next week, we’re going to talk about books I refuse to let anyone touch. See you then!

Characters That Remind Me of Myself (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on May 7, 2019May 7, 201940 Comments

Hello friends! Today is Tuesday, so you know what that means! Another episode of Top Ten Tuesday. It’s hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Today we’re going to talk about characters that remind me of myself.

Cara: Divergent – Veronica Roth

When the Divergent movies were coming out, several quizzes went around where you could find out what faction you belonged in. If I had lived in the Divergent world, I probably wouldn’t have any difficulty figuring out what faction I belonged in. It’s always been Erudite. I have the first book in this series in four languages… and even though I’ve only managed to read the first 50 pages or so of Дивергент, I’m pretty sure that only book collectors and the Erudite (or people who are divergent with Erudite traits) do that. And yes, I have the Russian keyboard installed on all my devices and can touch-type on it.

However, I couldn’t have supported Jeanine’s efforts to overthrow Abnegation. I was in the military, so I have a smidgen (maybe) of bravery to me. Like Cara. So that’s why I identify with her.

June Iparis: Legend – Marie Lu

While I don’t have the knack for counting time or the eye for very specific details like June does, I do identify with her in a lot of ways. First, there’s that erudite thing again. I never skipped a grade, but I always found school to be easy. Sometimes I didn’t seem to have a lot in common with many of my classmates. And I did take Tae Kwon Do for several years, so I know how to fight. And we went to the same college (Drake University was modeled on the University of Southern California).

Dimple Shah: When Dimple Met Rishi – Sandhya Menon

When I found out that I was going to see Sandhya Menon at a couple of conferences in April, I wanted to read one of her books. When I found out that Dimple was into computer science, I knew what book I was going to read. Just as The Kiss Quotient had me at math, When Dimple Met Rishi had me at computer science (you might be noticing a theme here, LOL).

But it’s not just Dimple’s ability to manipulate code that causes her to remind me of myself. I could definitely identify with her when some boys were mocking her for her looks. While people didn’t overtly mock my looks in front of me (at least not since elementary school, when I remember coming home crying one day because people were making fun of my overbite when I was on the bus), I did have someone write “dog” over my picture in my copy of my eighth grade yearbook.

Stella: The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang

I did say The Kiss Quotient had me at math, right? I’m not a mathematical genius like Stella is, but we do have several things in common.

Although I didn’t pay for my husband to give me kissing lessons, I did meet him on the Internet. If it wasn’t for the internet, I probably would have ended up marrying my house or something like that. Not because I have any particular attraction to houses or anything, I just don’t think anybody else would have been interested. I never went to prom or anything like that… I felt like such a loser. The only thing I had going for me was my mind.

Stella and I have a few other things in common. Like Stella, I sometimes have difficulty interacting with people. I rehearse conversations in my head. I have to mentally prepare before contacting a stranger on the phone. I may work with the public in my job as a self-checkout host, but I’m almost always saying the same things to people all day long: “the computer got confused,” “you have to be old enough for that,” “thank you,” “have a good evening,” “I could ring up a dead fly if I had to.” When I’m asked to be a cashier I have more difficulty because most of the time I don’t know what to say outside of “did you find everything you were looking for?” and “how are you today?”

Scarlett: Caraval – Stephanie Garber

I don’t have a sister (and my brother and I weren’t really close as kids) but Scarlett and I do have a lot in common. Scarlett seems to be something of a rule follower who doesn’t take too many risks… and I tend to be on the neutral/lawful good side myself.

Alina Starkov: Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo

While I don’t have superpowers, I can see myself as Alina Starkov in a few ways. For one, she had to watch as the love of her life was interested in other people. She also wanted to do the right thing, which didn’t seem particularly clear at one point.

Clary Frey or Tessa Gray: Shadowhunters books – Cassandra Clare

I’m sort of torn between Clary Frey and Tessa Gray in the Shadowhunters universe. They both were something of rule-followers, but they had another, brave side to them that came out when necessary. Tessa really liked to read, but Clary sometimes would go out to the dance clubs with her friend.

They both have a few similar traits to them, so I’ll give them both a tie here.

Britta: Ever the Hunted – Erin Summerill

Britta lost her family, and then she did what she had to do. Life is like that sometimes… you just do what you have to do. She didn’t purposely go out to seek trouble, even though trouble seemed to find her. She also had her lost love that she wasn’t sure if she would ever have the chance to be with.

Cath: Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

One of the reasons why I was such a big fan of Fangirl is that Cath is a lot like me. We both write fanfiction (although Cath has a much larger fanbase than I do). We’re both a little socially awkward. I have to admit though, I did find my way to the cafeteria when I was in college, whereas Cath did not.

Fiona: Frequency – Christopher Krovatin

One of the things that resonated with me about Christopher Krovatin’s Frequency was Fiona’s love for music in this book. I thought about majoring in music in college, although I ended up majoring in computer science instead. Fiona also had sympathy for the boy she found beaten up and left on the side of the road, and I hope most of us would have been like that.

So that’s my Top Ten Tuesday and characters that remind me a bit about myself. I can’t wait to see what characters you chose this week… this week seems to be a little more personal than many weeks, so it’ll be good to get to know some of you better.

Next week is a page-to-screen freebie. I think I’m going to do books I’d like to see made into movies. See you then!

Book Quotes That Move Me

By Brookelorren on April 30, 2019April 29, 201936 Comments

Hello! ::waves:: It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday. Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Topic is supposed to be “Inspirational/Thought-Provoking Book Quotes” but I’m going to twist that idea just a smidge and post about Book Quotes that Move Me today instead. I just started a book journal, where I write down reactions to things I read/quotes, just recently, so you’ll probably see most of my quotes from there.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Let’s get started:

And that’s when I realize that, at the end, we’d all wish for the same thing.
Just a little more time.
Wildcard, p. 316 – Marie Lu

This quote puts me in tears almost every time I think of it. I also almost always think of the same person when I think of this quote: my grandma. I never really got to say goodbye to her.

Sometimes our heroes don’t make it to the end.
Ruin and Rising, dedication – Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo dedicated Ruin and Rising to her dad with this quote. So sad!

I hope that your dreams, whatever they may be, come true. I hope you pursue those dreams with your whole heart; I hope you work toward them no matter how long it takes, no matter how unlikely the odds.
Kingdom of Ash, p. 984 (acknowledgements) – Sarah J. Maas

This was part of the note that Sarah J. Maas left to her readers in the acknowledgements. I thought it was inspirational.

Warning: Potentially Spoilery Quote Ahead!

I don’t need immortality. You’re my forever.
Finale (ARC), loc. 5162 – Stephanie Garber

When I read this quote, my heart just melted. Such a sweet thing for someone to say.

Sometimes the most impossible things are the things most worth fighting for.
The Land of Yesterday, p. 238 – K.A. Reynolds

Although this is a quirky little middle grade book, there are some beautiful, thoughtful quotes in here.

Maybe your soul didn’t break like a bone. Maybe it broke like a promise.
King of Fools (ARC), loc. 5318 – Amanda Foody

People don’t purposely try to become bad people. It just happens. One bad decision after bad decision. This quote speaks a truth to me in that regard.

Perhaps all monsters were heroes in their own eyes.
Blood Heir (ARC), loc. 1632 – Amélie Wen Zhao

I try to keep this in mind when I deal with people. Most people think that they’re good people. We’re all just dealing with the difficult things that life throws at us. Maybe realizing that can help us be more compassionate towards the people we disagree with.

You’re going to see a lot of it. People getting ahead unfairly because of the category into which they were born: male or white or straight or rich.
When Dimple Met Rishi, p. 347 – Sandhya Menon

I guess this is another unavoidable fact of life. While it’s true that we need to take advantage of our gifts, what’s not okay is when we cheat while doing so.

I remind myself that my voice was strong and change had to start with me.
No Place Like Here (ARC), loc. 2617 – Christina June

This is a good thing for anybody to remember. If you want to make a change in your life, or the world, then change has to start with you.

Maybe the thing no one had told her about growing up, was that nobody ever really became the person they’d wanted to be.
The Devouring Gray (ARC), loc. 1654 – Christine Lynn Herman

Do kids ever say, when they’re really little, “I want to be a junkie when I grow up!” or “I want to be homeless!” or “I want to go to prison!” No. We all want to be heroes or famous or someone that will do good in the world. But not all of us become the people we dream to be.

Bonus Quote:

Most people live their lives as if the end were always years away. They measure their days in love, laughter, accomplishment and loss. There are moments of sunshine and storm. There are schedules, phone calls, careers. Anxieties, joys, exotic trips, favorite foods, romance, shame, and hunger.
A person can be defined by clothing, the smell of his breath, the way she combs her hair. The shape of his torso, or even the company she keeps.
All over the world, children love their parents and yearn for love in return. They revel in the touch of parental hands on their faces. And even on the worst of days, each person has dreams about the future. Dreams that sometimes come true.
Such is life. Yet life can end in less time than it takes to draw one breath.
Killing Kennedy, end of chapter 24 (audiobook) – Bill O’Reilly

That passage just spoke to me when I heard it.

So those are some book quotes that stood out to me, most of them recently. I can’t wait to see what quotes you use this week (I bet there will be many unique ones). Next week we’re going to talk about characters that remind me of myself.

First Ten Books I Reviewed on this Blog (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on April 23, 2019April 22, 201934 Comments

Hello! Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, where people all over the planet get together to post about a different bookish topic each week. Today we’re talking about the First Ten Books I Reviewed. To be honest, I really couldn’t tell you about my first ten book reviews. Long ago and far away, I used to write for a site called Epinions.com, and I’m sure I wrote at least ten book reviews there. Since I can’t tell you about my first book reviews, I’ll just tell you about the first books I reviewed on this blog.

When I first started this blog, I imagined this as a blog where I just posted all sorts of general reviews, which is what I did on Epinions.com. Back in the day I had also posted a lot of articles on places like Squidoo; every January 1st, I’d post a list of my favorite books from the previous year. In 2016, I didn’t write down all the books I read in a year like I do now, and I forgot to put The Hiding Place on my list of favorite books I read the previous year. So I wrote a review of the book instead.

Since I started the blog at the beginning of the year (January 1, 2017, to be exact), I figured that the New Year is the time people want to make a new start. I reviewed Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money a few days later.

Of course, once you get your finances in order, you’ll want to get your spiritual health ready for the New Year as well. It was only January 8th when I reviewed The American Patriot’s Bible. Book reviews have evidently been a big part of this blog from the very beginning.

I think Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark was the first pre-order I ever bought, and I remember counting down the days towards its release. Not only did I blog my review of this book, I also blogged about the pre-order gift you could get by buying it.

From there, we have to jump a year into the future before I start posting again. I had gotten a job and just couldn’t find the time to keep up with posting here. The Titan Strain was the first book I downloaded from Netgalley. I was so in awe of the fact that I was able to read a book before it came out!

The next book I reviewed was Flame in the Mist. I had discovered Goodreads’ Listopia, and I found it to be such an amazing resource at the time. Smoke in the Sun was towards the top of its Top YA Books of 2018 list, and after following the links, I found the first book in the series. I was in luck, because the first book in the library was in stock! I remember how I couldn’t get this book out of my head while I was working.

The next book review post that I wrote was two short stories in one post: Ōkami and Yumi, which are two short stories from Renée Ahdieh’s Flame in the Mist series. I was excited for the release of Smoke in the Sun at the time.

Since I pretty much skipped blogging for an entire year, two books from the same series ended up in this post. The Fates Divide is the second book the Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark duology, and of course, I had to review that one too.

It was less than 11 months ago that I reviewed Marissa Meyer’s Heartless, but it seems like quite a while ago. This was even before I discovered Top Ten Tuesday!

I reviewed Smoke in the Sun shortly after that. It had the most amazing pre-order gift: when I bought a copy of Smoke in the Sun, they gave me a paperback copy of Flame in the Mist! This was the second set of full duologies that made the first ten books that I reviewed on this blog.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour back in time to the earlier days of this blog. What were some of the first books you reviewed? I look forward to seeing the other posts on this week’s Top Ten Tuesday.

Next week we’re going to talk about some inspirational and/or thought provoking quotes. I decided to write about quotes that moved me. I’ve only recently started to keep a book journal, where I write those sorts of things down, so most of the quotes are from books I’ve recently read. I ended up with one bonus quote after this one passage from an audiobook completely moved me.

Rainy Day Reads

By Brookelorren on April 16, 2019April 9, 201934 Comments

Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Today’s topic is Rainy Day Reads. Ummm… wouldn’t that be the same as what I’d read on any other day? So this might end up just being a list of books that I like that you might want to read on a rainy day? So probably not deserts or snowy landscapes.

Maybe on a rainy day you’d like to read a Les Miserables retelling? While I haven’t read the original yet, I tend to enjoy stories inspired by that book. Sky Without Stars was amazing. As an added bonus, the weather is cloudy and rainy all the time. Perfect for a rainy day read, right?

Perhaps you’re in the mood for something a little creepy on a rainy day instead. The Devouring Gray might be up your alley instead. It’s a book with a small town, secrets, and a creepy forest where people die. It might be good for a rainy day.

Six of Crows was a recent audiobook I listened to and would probably make a good rainy day read? There isn’t too much snow in the book, it’s not a desert, and it’s a really good story that will suck you in. It just seems to have a rainy-day feel written on it.

While the rain is pounding outside, maybe a book about people who can control the wind would be in order? The Dysasters is about a couple of teenagers with that kind of elemental ability to them, that end up (towards the end of the book) searching for some teens that can control the water.

So maybe it looks like I’m going for the creepy books while it’s raining outside? Although I tend to plan out what books I want to read a week or more in advance (and often stick to it), Spectacle, in which you can find several visits to the morgue and a run through the Catacombs, seems like a good book to read when it’s raining.

If you have several days of rain up ahead, you might want to read The Infernal Devices books, starting with Clockwork Angel. It’s set in England in the late 1800s, with a bunch of paranormal figures involved. Lots of fog and damp weather, I presume. And if you happen to read Clockwork Princess while you’re around people, you can go outside to read the ending and people will think the tears streaming down your face are just raindrops.

The Cruel Prince isn’t creepy, but it would probably be a good book to read on a rainy day. Maybe because the fae in this book are so in tune with nature. I could imagine that they would be comfortable in the rain. Plus, it’s just a really good book, and there isn’t any snow or deserts in the book either.

Into the Hollow‘s green Appalachian setting would probably be good to visit on a rainy day. Lots of forests. Plus, it’s a really good story that will take your mind off the weather outside for a while.

Top of the mornin’ to ya! Ireland is a really green place that gets a lot of rain, and that happens to be where Brenna Morgan & the Iron Key is set. Plus, there are leprechauns and fair folk in this book. We all know that the leprechauns like to hang around rainbows and pots of gold.

Gambling is one of those things that people tend to do indoors? While it does get hot in New Reynes, where this story is set, there’s a lot that goes on indoors too. Plus, there’s a little bit of creepiness and grit in the story that might work with the rain beating down in the background. So if it’s raining, maybe you’d like to take a look at Ace of Shades to make you forget about the weather outside.

So there you have it. Books that you can read when it’s raining outside. Next week, we’re going to take a trip back in time and talk about the first ten books I reviewed on this blog. My first book reviews were actually done on Epinions.com (which no longer exists) and since I couldn’t find those, we’re going to a place that I actually have available to me.