So many words. So little time.
Author: tamaramorning
This week wasn’t a good writing week. I did get some writing done twice…but probably only about 500 words total. Stress seems to make writing nearly impossible for me, so I’m floundering. I’ll try to gain some focus next week.
The good news is my characters are talking to me, so yay!
Title: Spectacle
Author: Jodie Lynn Zdrok
Genre: YA, fantasy, historical
Rating: 3.7 out of 5
Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column in 1887 Paris. It’s her job to tell about each day’s new arrivals to the morgue, which the citizens of Paris are fascinated with. It’s morbid, but it’s just a job, until the day Nathalie sees a vision of the murder of the body before her…from the perspective of the murderer.
When the body of another woman is found a few days later, all of Paris is talking about it—and speculating it won’t be the last. Nathalie’s visions may be the only way to help find the killer, but can she figure out who the murderer is before her own life is forfeit?
This wasn’t a bad read. The premise is unique, but I found it a little erratic. Sometimes, Nathalie seemed very childish and naïve—who wanders around a busy city alone when they are the target of a serial killer? And who would go into the Parisian Catacombs like that, especially? I liked the concept, but the execution could use a little bit of polishing.
Jodie Lynn Zdrok holds two MA degrees in European History, and an MBA. Spectacle is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Tor Teen via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
#spectacle #jodielynnzdrok #torteen #ireadthereforeiam #books #bookstagram #bookreview #reading #netgalley #netgalleyreads #ya #ireadya #historical #paris
Title: The Warrior Maiden
Author: Melanie Dickerson
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 3.7 out of 5
Mulan doesn’t want to stay home and marry the butcher’s son, but with her father dead, there aren’t many options for her and her mother. Rather than waste her life tied to a man she doesn’t love, she disguises herself as a soldier and goes off to war to protect her liege lord’s castle.
Wolfgang, a duke’s son, is eager to fight against the rampaging Teutonic Knights, but his brother, still bitter from a childhood tragedy, defects to join the Knights, leaving Wolfgang to fight his battles alone. Until he meets the young soldier Mikolai, who is inexperience but brave, and the two form a formidable team.
But there’s something that doesn’t quite add up about Mikolai, and when the boy is injured, Wolfgang realizes he’s really a girl—Mulan. She is still determined to be a soldier and to keep her mother safe, but Wolfgang just wants to protect her—and make a future for them together.
I love the Disney Mulan, and I love a good re-telling, so I was eager to read this. The story itself was solid and enjoyable, but I never did feel close to the characters. All of their emotions and motivations felt distant, and unconvincing because of it. I’m actually interested in reading more of these re-tellings from this author—I do love Disney—because she has a solid following and I’m hopeful this book just wasn’t a good fit for me.
Melanie Dickerson combines her love for history, adventure, and romance in her writing. The Warrior Maiden is her newest novel, a re-telling of Mulan.
(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
Rough week at work, so I planned to do no writing until the weekend. I started yesterday morning with a 10-minute session—I find that if I try to write for longer than that, my brain wanders, but I can focus for 10 minutes—re-doing the first scene of my story (since my hard drive died the week before last, taking everything with it.
I’ve had an online backup program, Mozy, for years, but I didn’t realize it stopped working 6 or 8 months ago. My file download took two days to finish, but when it did finish yesterday morning, there was the first 3k of my story draft!
Do I wish it had been more? Absolutely. Will I be better about keeping an eye on the program to make sure it keeps working? You better believe it! But, it’s better than nothing.
I only recently wrote the other 5k words, so it’s pretty fresh in my mind. My goal is to get back to where I was over the next two weeks, and to work through Lessons 7 and 8 of HTWAN. I did get another 500 or so words added on to my recovered file, so there’s that.
Happy writing!
Title: A Danger to Herself and Others
Author: Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Genre: YA
Rating: 4 out of 5
Hannah should not be institutionalized. Her roommate at an intensive study program, Agnes, fell out a window and was severely injured, but Hannah had nothing to do with it. She and Agnes were friends—best friends—even though Hannah was hooking up with Josh, Agnes’s boyfriend, on the side. But she’d never hurt Agnes.
Her parents are off to Europe, as usual, so Hannah decides to play along with Dr. Lightfoot so she can get out of here and back to her life. School’s about to start, and she can’t afford to be late with her college applications. Hannah is on her best behavior—but nothing seems to make an impact on the doctor until Hannah’s roommate, Lucy, arrives.
With Lucy’s help, Hannah can prove to Dr. Lightfoot that there’s nothing wrong with her, nothing at all, but Lucy will show her truths she never imagined.
Hannah is an unreliable narrator at best, but her story and the way her mind worked drew me in immediately. I knew there was something else going on here, but only started getting glimpses of what that was about halfway through. In the end, the book wasn’t what I expected at all, but I was enthralled.
Alyssa B. Sheinmel was born in California and grew up in New York. A Danger to Herself and Others is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
#adangertoherselfandothers #alyssasheinmel #sourcebooksfire #firereads #yareads #yalit #yacontemporary #ireadya #ireadthereforeiam #books #bookstagram #bookreview #reading #netgalley #netgalleyreads
Title: Roam
Author: C.H. Armstrong
Genre: YA
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Abby is 17, new to town, and she and her family are living on the streets as a result of her mother’s bad decision. They had to leave Omaha behind because of the backlash—and the friends who abandoned them.
Now they’re ready to make a fresh start. Abby dreams of having a boyfriend, going to college, and a career in music, but the winter is bad, and they never know where their next meal is coming from. Her stepfather is having trouble finding a job. Her mother is similarly out of luck. Abby’s family needs help, but she’s afraid to tell her new friends the truth, after the devastation of losing all her friends at her old school.
Roam was a difficult book to read. The subject matter is heavy—and sad. I cannot imagine being homeless, much less homeless with two kids. Abby is a strong person, but guarded, after everything she’s been through. Sometimes, asking for help is the hardest thing to do.
C.H. Armstrong holds a B.A. in Journalism, and lives in Minnesota. Roam is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Central Avenue Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
Title: Castle on the Rise
Author: Kristy Cambron
Genre: Historical fiction.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Laine Forrester is in France for her best friend’s fairytale wedding—and to forget about her own failed marriage. But her friend’s devastating diagnosis takes Laine’s mind off her own problems, and she agrees to return to Ireland with her friend and new family. There, she finds an empty castle filled with treasures and a family who won’t even speak to each other, but everything she needs may just be in Ireland.
This story is actually three different stories in three separate timelines, and I loved all three of them! The troubles in Ireland are a sad subject, but the author does a good job capturing the emotions in the situations—as well as the hope. This is well-written and full of vibrant characters and settings I’d love to see!
Kristy Cambron is an award-winning author. Castle on the Rise is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Thomas Nelson via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
While I’ll continue to post my monthly reading re-caps—my goal is an ambitious 175 books this year—I thought it would be nice to also focus a bit on the three books I enjoyed the most in the previous month.
For January, that was:
This book had a very dark aesthetic, but I loved so much about it! Janneke was a character I connected with from the first page: she’s scarred and ugly (in her eyes), she’s weak (compared to the goblins around her), she has no magic, and she longs to go back home (she thinks). But she’s the strongest character in the book! I love her smart mouth, her sarcasm, and her kick-butt-and-take-names attitude.
Find out more about this author here.
Unmarriageable, by Soniah Kamal.
Can I say again how much I loved this? I love reading about different cultures, and I love Pride and Prejudice, so this was a win-win read for me. I was fascinated by both the differences and the similarities between this and the original, and I love when a talented author re-does something I love…and does it justice!
Check out the author’s site here.
And Winter of the Witch, by Katherine Arden.
This book. This book. I’ve loved this entire trilogy so much. It’s dark. It’s cold. And the legends and magic are riveting. The layers of history and culture entwine with fantasy to create this fascinating mixture that is almost impossible to put down.
Find out more about the author here—she’s led an interesting life.
This writing update won’t be quite so upbeat as the last four…
I did get my 750 words in on Tuesday. Everything flowed, and I enjoyed the process.
Thursday…my hard drive died. All my school stuff, personal stuff, and story draft just gone. Thursday was not a good day.
But…at least I only have to re-do 8,000 words. And it’s still fresh in my mind. So, starting that is on the agenda, but not until next weekend, as this will be a crazy week.
Books Read in January: 18
Books Read for the Year: 18/175
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
Perlambria, by C.S. Lewist (classic). Loved this. Can’t believe I didn’t know Lewis wrote a space trilogy.
My Plain Jane, Cynthia Hand (TBR). I loved the premise of this, but…the writers make a habit of inserting themselves into the story and speaking directly to the reader in a somewhat juvenile tone, and that detracted from the story a lot for me.
De-Cluttering at the Speed of Life, by Dana K. White (non-fiction). A few interesting tips here, but not totally life-changing. I like the container concept.
Where the Wind Leads, by Vinh Chung (cultural). An excellent read about a refugee family from Vietnam. A little odd to read about Fort Smith, a place I used to live close to.
Follow Me, by Mary Jo Pierce (spiritual).
For Review:
An Anonymous Girl, by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Jess lies to get into a psychology study—she needs the money—and thinks it will just be answering a few questions and collecting her money. But she finds herself drawn in, and soon she realizes Dr. Shields is using Jessica to test her estranged husband’s fidelity, and Jessica is caught in one of the doctor’s tangled, dark experiments. Yeah, I finished this book—but I didn’t care for any of the characters.
White Stag, by Kara Barbieri. Fantastic read! Loved the goblin society, and the concept of this story was riveting. This felt a little dark, but Janneke was a character I loved from the first page. Soran was compelling, the world was fantastic, and I can’t wait to keep reading this series!
The Perfect Liar, by Thomas Christopher Green. Another book—in the same week, no less—where I didn’t like any of the characters, but continued reading. Susannah and Max have been married for a while, and he’s everything she thought she wanted and fits into her artsy world perfectly. Susannah ignores all the warning signs, until a note is left on their door, I know what you did. Susannah’s anxiety/issues made me feel sorry for her, but, seriously? You can’t see hints something is wrong with this guy? And Max is a sociopath. Not a book I’d recommend.
Unmarriageable, by Soniah Kamal. Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan. You had me at that. Alys Binat is a schoolteacher, and the second of five unmarried daughters. She wants to encourage girls to think for themselves, not follow cultural traditions like sheep. When she meets Valentine Darsee, she’s convinced he’s snobby, judgmental, and prideful, not to mention his dislike of her family. YOU SHOULD ALL READ THIS.
Famous in a Small Town, by Emma Mills. Sophie is a small-town band geek who just wants the marching parade to go to the Rose Bowl parade. When August moves to town, he joins their group, as Sophie convinces them all to help her convince a local-turned-star help the band in their mission. A lovely read! The friendship in this book is fantastic!
Breath of Dust & Dawn, by L. Penelope. This is a novella that follows Song of Blood & Stone, and tells the story of one of Jack’s adventures in the past. I enjoyed it a lot. It gave a nice twist to the waiting for book two.
The In-Between Days, by Eva Woods. Rosie Cook was hit by a bus. Or did she walk in front of it. No one knows, not the doctors, her sister, or even Rosie herself, who’s in a coma in an in-between state. She visits memories from her past, gaining more of her memory back as she struggles to awaken from her coma. This book. Wow. It was both sad and inspiring, and Rosie’s mental wakening while still in a coma to the type of person she was was powerful.
The Falconer, by Dana Czapnik. This is a hard book to describe. Set in 1993 NYC. Lucy is a basketball star ignored by the boys and in love with her best friend. She’s surrounded by feminists and is struggling to sort out her identity. I loved Lucy’s growth in this novel, but her best friend is a total jerk.
*Updated because I forgot to include: Roam, by C.H. Armstrong. A great read!
Castle on the Rise, by Kristy Cambron (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this story of the fight for Ireland’s freedom (in two of the timelines), and the current timeline that is based on the histories of the first two.
A Danger to herself and Others, by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (review forthcoming). This wasn’t what I expected at all, but it was a good read.
Just Because
Winter of the Witch, by Katherine Arden. The last of the Winternight trilogy, which makes me sad. These books. Phenomenal. Set in ancient Russia, and centering on Vasya, who is much too independent to be a good Russian woman. Magic in the winter. This book series is magic.
Puddin’, by Julie Murphy. Excellent follow-up to Dumplin’.
Stopped Reading
Restoration Heights, by Wil Medearis. I read half of this because the setting fascinated me, but I just couldn’t suspend my belief that an artist/art handler would be asked by an uber-wealthy stranger to investigate the disappearance of a neighbor’s fiance.
Tomorrow Is Another Day 