I love a good dystopian story, and this book had that plus great characters and a mix of magic that had e totally entranced!
The magical powers that these characters have were exciting, and I loved learning about them. It’s a magical system that was easy to understand, which I always appreciate! The story begins with an accidental use of powers, and it gripped me from the first line!
Continue reading “Power Divided by S. Behr”
Alright everyone…this was was something completely different, and it was wonderful! You get to choose which way you want to read this one. You can read it the regular old way, front to back…OR you can be adventurous and read it the Baronness’ sequence way. I chose adventure 😉, because seriously, I can read a book from front to back any old time, but bouncing around is something rare!
Crossings is a story about the journey of two souls through a multitude of bodies trying to right a wrong. If you read this the chronological way, it is a book broken into three separate stories. I did not choose to read it this way, so I don’t have a lot of information on the experience of reading it like this. I chose the Baronness’ sequence. Reading the story this way, at the end of a chapter, it will send you to a new page number. When that chapter is over, you jump to a new spot in the book, all the way through.
Continue reading “Crossings by Alex Landragin”
This book was a bit like a time travel story for me. A man from the 1800’s wakes up in present-day Alaska, having been frozen for almost 200 years. I liked how the story takes the reader through the initial confusion of Wyatt, our frozen-in-time character. He is unsure of where he is and who he is. I thought that Lee Matthew Goldberg did an excellent job of bringing the reader into the story right from the beginning with this opening scene.
As the story progresses, we find Wyatt spiraling into this obsessive character. When I chose this book, I didn’t realize it would have this thriller aspect, so I was surprised when Wyatt finds who he believes is his great-great grandson, and becomes overly-attached to him, and his family. This obsessive behavior really turned this into an interesting read for me!
Continue reading “The Ancestor by Lee Matthew Goldberg”
What an absolutely stunning, fabulous book!! To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a story filled with excitement, adventure, surprises, aliens, space ships, sassy AIs, great characters, and a load of other things!
It’s the year 2257, and Kira Navárez accidentally stumbles across an alien relic that turns her world upside down. A dust-like substance begins to crawl over her, and she cannot remove it. It encompasses her entirely, creating a suit (the “xeno”), but one that has a mind of its own, sharing Kira’s body as a host. Kira soon finds herself in a situation where she is racing against the clock, and an army of dangerous aliens to save humans and life as we know it.
So, that was a pretty short description of an 880-page book. But don’t let the length be a deterrent for you! This was an absolutely excellent book. Christopher Paolini created an amazing world with characters that you connect with, and a story that you can’t put down!
Continue reading “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini”
What I Loved:
This book was filled with exciting battles and struggles! It was definitely my favorite in the series and an excellent end to the family’s story!
How I Felt:
Our main character Ella is turning 15! Her birthday celebration involves continuing the family’s journey to find a cure for Ella’s cancer. This family is so amazing. The lengths that they go to to save young Ella are so moving. This final book in the series really speaks to the choices we all have to make in life. Will we be compassionate or unloving? Will we choose to embrace or exclude? Ella and her entire family battle these questions as they navigate the final steps of their journey!
Continue reading “Inside the Sun by Alexis Marie Chute”
What I Loved:
I loved that this book did not let me down! I felt like it did a great job of staying true to the story, but introducing even crazier situations and exciting plots to keep me interested!
How I Felt:
Below the Moon picks up right where we ended Above the Stars. While it is the second book in the series, it could be read as a stand-alone, but I think the reader would take longer to understand the story and the world. I would recommend reading the first book in this series before reading Below the Moon.
Continue reading “Below the Moon by Alexis Marie Chute”
What I Loved:
The utter craziness of this story was so intriguing! I think that sometimes, it’s just so fun to dive into a book that takes you into the oddest moments and quirkiest characters, and that’s exactly what I got with this story!
How I Felt:
Above the Star was seriously one of the wildest, craziest books I have read in a while. The world was very different, and it takes some getting used to, but I think if there are readers that are interested in immersing themselves in a totally new and different place, this would be a great series for them! I also liked that there is a glossary in the back of the book to help you figure out what’s happening. I thought it was a needed, and nice, addition!
Continue reading “Above the Star by Alexis Marie Chute”
What I Loved:
I LOVED everything about this book! The time travel was fabulous, Oona was a wonderful character, and the story unfolded with surprises big and small.
My Synopsis:
It’s New Year’s Eve, and the Eve of Oona’s birthday. She is partying with her friends and boyfriend to count down to the new year (and turning 19). The clock strikes midnight, and she awakes…in a new house and a significantly older birthday.
This is the beginning of Oona’s new life. As she turns a year older, she bounces to a new year in her body, sometimes older, sometimes younger. There’s no explanation as to why, it’s just the life she must now live.
As Oona travels from year to year, she finds struggles in the knowledge of things to come, and the unknown of what happened in years she hasn’t lived. This story takes the reader on Oona’s life as she experiences her life, out of order.
How I Felt:
I love time travel. I talk about my love of it all the time, so sorry, but here’s another FABULOUS time travel book! Holy moly, I enjoyed this book! The time travel was such an interesting twist. She can’t control it, and it’s not a one-time jump. She jumps at each birthday into another year in her life.
Continue reading “Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore”
What I Loved:
Well, what a delightful book this was! I loved that this book had so many surprises. I literally had jaw-dropping moments multiple times in this book. Something completely unexpected would happen and I was just completely taken by surprise! I loved it!
My Synopsis:
We meet Virginia as she does her daily household duties for the Howards, a prestigious English family. Virginia, we soon find, has a secret! Two years ago, she stumbled across a time warp and landed in the past. She hasn’t figured out how to get home, so she has hung up her Metallica t-shirt and her dreams of owning an art gallery in exchange for the only work she can find, a lady’s maid.
She is about to give her notice to her employers when her lady shows her a photo of the gentleman caller for tonight’s dinner. Virginia cannot believe it. It is Eric Rylander, and Virginia knows him…from the future. Through an accidental comment, Eric realizes that Virginia is also from the future. A bond is immediately formed that leads to a steamy romance with one problem. Eric is all but engaged to Lady Lara Howard.
How I Felt:
Virginia and the Vagabond was more than just a romance. There are elements of a woman’s struggle for equality as well as touching on gender identity. I liked all the layers within the story that made it an engrossing read.
Continue reading “Virginia and the Vagabond by Skyler Frey”
What I Loved:
A kick-A** female lead will always get me excited about a book, and Death Donor absolutely had that!! Samantha Jones was this interesting, amazing woman.
How I Felt:
The story drops the reader into a world where humans donate their bodies to extend the life of others. It’s the ultimate rich versus poor view of the world. Only the wealthy can afford these procedures, while the poor exchange their lives for the payout to keep the rest of their family alive and fed.
Samantha Jones is a bodyguard for Ethan Anderson, one of the wealthiest men in the world, and an owner of one of the life-extension companies. Her job provides “death insurance” so she considers herself lucky.
Then her daughter goes missing. Ugh, this broke my heart! Sam and her husband search for their daughter and soon find out that she was sold on the black market to an underground lab for body parts to extend someone else’s life.
Continue reading “Death Donor by Matt Ward”
What I Loved:
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. I liked the story that was being told and loved where I thought the book was going to go.
How I Felt:
Overall, I found this book to be a bit of a let-down. The story started strong, and I was really invested. It sort of stumbled and never found its footing again about 30-40% in.
A Companion is the mental awareness of a human that has been placed into a robotic casing. These casings range from low-end R2-D2-like robots all the way up to human-looking companions. People lease companions for friendship, to keep family members with them when they near death, and a variety of other reasons.
The number of characters was overwhelming. The beginning started with a companion, Lilac, and a young girl quarantined in a home. The companion is sharing her life’s story with the girl, and I was really interested in where the plot was headed. Then, we meet a young employee at a nursing home, then a young girl on the street, then an actor/companion, and the list just keeps going. It became a confusing list of characters that I couldn’t connect with and didn’t care about.
Continue reading “The Companions by Katie M. Flynn”
What I Loved:
The Testaments was everything I hoped it would be! I loved the three perspectives that this story was told through. It propelled the book forward and gave insight into different things that were happening. The three characters that were narrating had different experiences and thoughts, and I enjoyed all three.
How I Felt:
Hyped books come with a lot of expectation. I put off reading this one for quite a while. I was extremely worried I wouldn’t like it and would be utterly disappointed. The beginning of this book was a bit slow as the scene was set and characters were introduced. It picked up a few chapters in though, and didn’t slow back down at all!
The characters were surprising. I didn’t expect Aunt Lydia to make an appearance in this book, but I’m so glad she did. Her portions provided SO much backstory. She gave me all the answers to questions I had after reading The Handmaid’s Tale! She was rigid and strict, but she has another side that was surprising and extremely interesting.
Continue reading “The Testaments by Margaret Atwood – Book Review”
She Just Loves Books 