Tag Archives: 2016 books

Book Review: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

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The Girl From Everywhere CoverBook: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Published February 2016 by Greenwillow Books|464 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: The Girl From Everywhere #1

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Heidi Heilig’s debut teen fantasy sweeps from modern-day New York City, to nineteenth-century Hawaii, to places of myth and legend. Sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end. The Girl from Everywhere, the first of two books, blends fantasy, history, and a modern sensibility. Its witty, fast-paced dialogue, breathless adventure, multicultural cast, and enchanting romance will dazzle readers of Sabaa Tahir, Rae Carson, and Rachel Hartman.

Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures…her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I want to like The Girl From Everywhere so much, because it’s such a cool and interesting idea.  But it ended up because okay.

I loved the idea of being able to sail anywhere and anytime, as long as you have the map to get there.  I wanted more of that, and instead, I felt like we barely saw or the adventures that they previously had.  I get that her dad wanted to get back to Nix’s mom before her mom died giving birth to her, but I wanted more of the traveling anywhere by map. Instead, the book was mostly planning a heist.

It’s definitely a very slow story, and it definitely dragged for a good chunk of the book.  And even though I didn’t skim, my attention wandered a lot because of how bored I got when I was reading.  Pirates and time travel had the potential to be really interesting and full of adventure, and I felt like we got none of that.  I don’t mind long books (even though I don’t read long books often), but this book felt longer than it really was.

Also: I got really frustrated by the love triangle, because, from the summary, I felt like there was one clear direction the romance was going to go.  And I was wrong, so very, very wrong.  Kash definitely has a personality, and the other guy does not, because the only thing I remember about him is that he exists.

There are too many things going on in this book, and it made everything seem really confusing.  Dragons and time travel and fortune tellers and all sorts of other stuff.  I really wish Heilig had focused on a few things, and really fleshed them out.  Like the crew, and the actual time travel (which showed up a lot later than I thought) and how they manage to time travel by maps.  I can’t remember when the time travel actually shows up, but it’s at least halfway through the book.  And I don’t remember it ever being explained as anything other then if you believe it will happen, it will.  Seriously, that’s the explanation for why they can do it?  I really wanted more than that.

Things did get really confusing, and there are all of these backstories that come together in a way that doesn’t make sense.  Not only that, but there seem to be a lot of different timelines, and they too don’t come together in a way that makes sense.  I wasn’t really sure how everything tied together and where they were going or what they wanted to do.

Nix wasn’t completely flat and boring but at the same time, I could care less about her.  I feel like we know nothing about her than she’s really good with maps.  I also didn’t get her relationship with her dad: she wants to leave him, then she doesn’t, and he wants to find her mom until he seemingly doesn’t want to anymore…it was just strange to me.  And Nix…even though she’s supposedly traveled to all these different

Blog Graphic- My Rating

2 stars.  The time travel didn’t make any sense and had a horrible explanation, plus, most of the book doesn’t even focus on the time travelling.  I felt like the summary described a very different book than the book we got.

Book Review: Wild Seed by Octavia Butler

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Wild Seed CoverBook: Wild Seed by Octavia Butler

Published July 1980 by Doubleday Books|245 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Patternmaster #1

Genre: Adult Sci-Fi

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflex — or design. He fears no one until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is a shapeshifter who can absorb bullets and heal with a kiss and savage anyone who threatens her. She fears no one until she meets Doro. Together they weave a pattern of destiny unimaginable to mortals.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

After reading Fledging last year, I figured it was time to read another book by Butler.  This was a really good choice, because I ended up really liking it!

I wasn’t sure about it at first, but eventually it won me over.  I think what really stood out was slavery and freedom, especially with how different Doro and Anyanwu are.  And with how they deal with their immortality and abilities…I felt really immersed in their world and what they (but particularly Anyanwu) were going through.  You see so many different issues, like race and sexuality, in Wild Seed through Doro and Anyanwu, and I really liked that about the book, because it somehow made the book more accessible and interesting to think about.  Especially since it’s sort of sci-fi but also sort of fantasy and sort of historical fiction.

The relationship between Doro and Anyanwu also really stands out to me.  They have a really uneasy relationship, and they definitely struggle for control.  Not only that, but their relationship is always changing, and with the span of time we see in the book, we see that highlighted really well.  Their lives are very much entwined.

I am curious about how they both got their abilities and discovered it in others.  It’s very much a normal part of life for them, even though those around them might not see them that way.  They may be seen as different by others, but their abilities don’t seem to be the main reason why in some cases.

Wild Seed is a really hard book to pin down because it’s not just one thing- it’s a mix of genres and touches on so many different things that I’m not even sure what to talk about next.  This is only the 2nd book I’ve read by Butler but I think it’s a great one to read if you’re new to her work.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

4 stars.  I really liked the relationship between Doro and Anyanwu and how much they contrast each other.

Book Review: The Crown by Kiera Cass

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The Crown CoverBook: The Crown by Kiera Cass

Published May 2016 by HarperTeen|279 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: The Selection #5

Genre: YA Dystopia

Blog Graphic-What It's About

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

Going into The Crown, I wasn’t sure what to think.  I loved the 1st and 3rd books in the series, and liked the 2nd and 4th books.  I loved America’s story, but I wasn’t a big fan of Eadlyn’s story, and thought she came across as distant, selfish and whiny in The Heir.

As it would turn out, I loved The Crown, and thought it was such a great ending to the series.  Maybe, with this series, I only love the odd-numbered books?

I really felt for Eadlyn in this book, and she had a lot of tough choices.  As much as I felt for her, though, I also thought she didn’t really understand what was going on in Illea.  She didn’t seem to care about her people until the end of the book, and I wish we saw more of that in the book, because she seemed more interested in her image, and what they thought of her, instead of what was best for them and actually listening to them about what they need.  She did take a step in the right direction, and as much as she talked about how the Selection changed her, something about it didn’t ring true to me.  I think it’s because it felt so sudden, and it didn’t match up with the Eadlyn we saw in the previous book, and for quite a bit of this one.

Still, as spoiled and distant as Eadlyn seemed, I also get why she was that way.  It can’t have been easy being the daughter of America and Maxon, and knowing that people, for whatever reason, didn’t like her (or at least, seemed to dislike her).  I think a lot was put on her shoulders, and there was a lot that people maybe expected from her, and with everything that happened in the series so far, I think I understand her a little bit better.  I do wish we saw little changes in her, because the Eadlyn we see at the end of the book…I wanted more of that Eadlyn to come through.  I am glad we saw that, though, and it will have to be enough.

And I did find myself getting teary-eyed at the end of the book…not the way I wanted to spend my lunch break, but oh well, there’s nothing I could have done about that.  I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t cry when reading.  I think a re-read of the series is in order, though, because I had some trouble remembering who some people were.  And the Illea that we see at the end of the book is different than the Illea we see at the beginning of the series.  I kind of want to see that Illea- the one that Eadlyn proposes at the end of the book.  I don’t know if we ever will, but I am curious about it.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

5 stars.  I just loved this book!  It’s been a while since I’ve loved a book the way I loved The Crown, and the sort of book The Crown is…it’s been few and far between this year.  Hopefully, I’ll find a few more like it this year.

Book Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

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The Star-Touched Queen CoverBook: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Published April 2016 by St. Martin’s Griffin|352 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: The Star-Touched Queen #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets – thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran’s magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar’s plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk – it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I liked The Star-Touched Queen!  As much as I wanted to love it, I didn’t, but I did love that it’s inspired by Indian mythology.  I feel like, with all of the mythology re-tellings that seem to be cropping up lately, that there’s less of a focus on Greek mythology, and more focus on other mythologies.  Like the Indian mythology we see in this book.

I have no knowledge whatsoever of Indian mythology, so I can’t say how much it matches up with Indian mythology. I did find this Q & A on goodreads helpful, since the author explains what myths she drew from/was inspired by. And it makes it easier to actually look up the myths on my own.

I did get a Hades/Persephone vibe from the book, which is odd, considering the book seems to draw on Indian mythology.  That came through very strongly for me- much more than the Indian mythology the book is inspired by, but maybe that’s my own lack of familiarity with Indian mythology.  And possibly because it seems like every culture has their own take on that story.

What I thought was most interesting about The Star-Touched Queen was how much I was reminded of things that were not India.  I mentioned the Hades/Persephone myth, and I felt like this book was an interesting mix of India and the Middle East.  Which isn’t that surprising, and some things did seem like they were Indian…but I also felt like there was something distinctly Middle Eastern about the book too.

Something about the mysterious castle and the locked doorways reminded me a lot of Cruel Beauty.  If you like Cruel Beauty, this might be a book worth checking out.  Cruel Beauty and A Star-Touched Queen are very different stories, though, and there was something very vivid about this story.  I could picture things really well, and Chokshi paints a very vivid picture of this world.

I think part of why I didn’t like the book as much as I thought I would is because there were times were I had no clue what was going on.  That’s partially my fault, because there were times where I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have.  And there were times where I think my lack of familiarity with the mythology worked against me, because I felt like I was missing something important.  And when you add in the fact that I felt like things were sort of explained but not really, and the fact that it sort of meanders and is slow paced and takes a while to get to the point where things happen (which seemed to be several times).

Honestly, though, Maya didn’t stand out that much to me…and sadly, the same goes for the other characters.  I am having a hard time remembering the characters…man, I really should have paid more attention when I was reading it, because I have the feeling I would have liked it a lot more if I had.  Maybe I’ll do that…after reading up on Indian mythology, which also might help.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars.  I did like the world Chokshi created, and she paints a very vivid picture of this world. And even though I liked it, I didn’t love it, even though I wanted to!  It’s definitely worth checking out, though.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Books So Far This Year

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

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Top Ten Favorite Books So Far In 2016

I love that we’re doing a mid-year favorites list, because it’s always fun/interesting to talk about my favorite books from the year that’s not part of all of the end-of-year reflection.  Which is always fun, but I like doing lists like this at other times too, and mid-year seems perfect for that.  Here are my favorite books so far!

  1. The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary Pearson.  How HoB managed to be better than The Kiss Of Deception, I don’t know…but it did, and I was blown away.  It’s definitely one of my favorites!
  2. Welcome To Night Vale, the book.  I both listened to it and read it, which is why it took me forever to read it, because I wanted to compare them.  The audio is completely amazing (and sadly, I didn’t love it in print) and it’s such an odd but cool book.
  3. Walk On Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson.  I really liked it, and it’s such a good combination of Gold Rush historical fiction with a splash of paranormal/fantasy elements.
  4. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older.  I really liked the Caribbean legends we see in the book, and I loved how normal the characters are.  And that Shadowshapers are normal, and not seen as different.
  5. Night Study by Maria V Snyder.  I just love Yelena and Valek’s story, and the next book seems so far away!
  6. Rogue by Julie Kagawa.  I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, especially after thinking the first one was just okay.  But since she’s one of my favorite authors ever, I read it, and I’m glad I did, because it’s one of my favorites so far.
  7. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone.  I think, if I were to rank this list instead of doing it in random order, this book would easily be my favorite book so far this year.  It’s so nice to see a character struggle with a mental illness that isn’t depression, and even more than that, I love that we actually see Sam in therapy for her OCD.
  8. All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.  Everything that we see in this book is something that, unfortunately, is all too familiar, but it’s still an important book that I think everyone should read.
  9. Gabi, A Girl In Pieces by Isabel Quintero.  I loved how honest Gabi was, and she’s a character that I can really relate to.
  10. False Illusions by A Cramton.  While new adult (especially the contemporary romances) isn’t my typical read, I really loved this one!  Yoel and Madison belong together, and it really made me want to give the genre more of a chance!

Book Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Carry On CoverBook: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Published October 2015 by St. Martin’s Press|522 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On – The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

When I heard that Rowell was writing Carry On, I was so excited, because I LOVED Fangirl so, so much, and I was really curious about what a Simon Snow book would look like if we actually got one.

BUT.

Simon Snow lost the magic that it had in Fangirl.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the impact that Simon Snow had on Cath in Fangirl, and as a Harry Potter fan for life, I related a lot to the fictional phenomenon that is Simon Snow.  It’s just…I think the magic was in the little snippets we got in Fangirl and FOR ME, it didn’t work as a full, fleshed-out novel.

I definitely appreciate Carry On as an ode to the chosen-one novel that clearly has inspired Rowell, and I appreciate it as a fictional parallel to the awesomeness that is Harry Potter, but it also relied too much on the nostalgia of Harry Potter.  But as it’s own story?  Not so much.

Let’s do random bullet points, because this is probably going to be all over the place.

  • I wanted more plot!  I mean, I know Simon is trying to defeat the Insidious Humdrum and all, but everything felt random and all over the place, and it was just weird.
  • The bits with Lucy were weird and out-of-place until the end of the book when it actually made sense.  At that point, it was too late for me to care about the random chapters narrated by Lucy.
  • The multiple narrators didn’t work for me at all.  I thought they were absolutely horrible!  Of course, there’s Lucy, who didn’t make any sense until the end of the book.  Of course, there’s Simon and Penelope, who I didn’t care about at all, Bas, who was actually the most interesting character in the book, and Agatha, who…why was she there?  It seemed pointless to me to have her in there, because she didn’t add anything to the book except be part of a trio.  It seemed like an unbalanced trio to me.
  • Anyway, with the multiple narrators: it randomly switched and it was always jarring, especially when we were going back and forth between Baz and Simon every couple of sentences.  It was quite dizzying and not in a good way.
  • I was really disappointed in the Mage.  He became an evil villain sort of guy, and I wanted someone more like Dumbledore.  I guess that’s because Rowell was doing a fictional parallel to Harry Potter but still.
  • I wanted something more fun, and I felt like Carry On took itself a little too seriously.
  • I know it’s Rowell’s take on Simon Snow, and that it’s NOT Cath’s fanfic or the 8th and final book in the Simon Snow series, but I really felt like we were just thrown into this world with not enough backstory.  It has been a while since I’ve read Fangirl, but Simon’s world seemed more confusing than it should have been.  Maybe I’m not as well-versed in Chosen One stories as I thought I was, or maybe Rowell tried to explain things without actually explaining things or both or other things I’m too lazy to think of at the moment.
  • It felt like we were just supposed to know this world and how the magic works and that seemed a little unneccessary.  I needed more world-building for some of the more original elements of the book, and Rowell did not deliver on that.
  • Have I mentioned that there’s no plot?  Because there really isn’t.  I kept waiting for something to happen, and it didn’t.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

2 stars.  I wanted to love it, but instead, I am so ambivalent, I don’t care enough to actually hate or dislike it, even though I didn’t like it at all.  I just didn’t care as much as I thought I would.  I can see why people like it, but it’s not for me.

Book Review: Radiant Days by Elizabeth Hand

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Radiant Days CoverBook: Radiant Days by Elizabeth Hand

Published April 2012 by Viking Juvenile|272 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA

Blog Graphic-What It's About

It is 1978. Merle is in her first year at the Corcoran School of Art, catapulted from her impoverished Appalachian upbringing into a sophisticated, dissipated art scene.

It is also 1870. The teenage poet Arthur Rimbaud is on the verge of breaking through to the images and voice that will make his name.

The meshed power of words and art thins the boundaries between the present and the past—and allows these two troubled, brilliant artists to enter each other’s worlds.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

When I first saw the summary after randomly browsing the YA section at the library, I was oddly reminded of that one movie (I think it’s Keanu Reeves and someone else) where they’re both staying at that one house but in different years and they’re somehow able to write letters to each other.  Which, mind you, I actually haven’t seen, but that’s what I was reminded of, just based on the trailer…and honestly, this book was so, so confusing.

Arthur’s timeline seemed a lot more confusing than Merle’s- although I will say that there were points where Merle’s timeline was sort of confusing, mostly where Arthur was concerned.  It didn’t help that Hand randomly switched perspectives and time periods, and it was hard to be fully into a book where things just randomly jump around.  The Orpheus myth at the end of the book didn’t make sense, since it was randomly thrown in, and I didn’t get why it was even mentioned, since it wasn’t important, or even mentioned, up to that point.

Even though Merle ends up being inspired by Arthur’s poetry, and he somehow manages to see her work in a gallery, there doesn’t seem to be a big connection between them.  I really thought there would be more between them, and when they do travel in time, they don’t particularly care about talking to each other.

It’s also a little bit new-age-y, which probably wouldn’t have bothered me in most cases, but it seemed a little weird and over-done in this book.  And honestly, the artist aspect didn’t have much impact for me, and it seemed to take a backseat to the aimlessness this book seemed to have.

I’m also not sure why this was shelved in the YA section, because even though Arthur and Merle are teens in this book, something about this book seemed like it was meant for an older audience, not YA audience.  In general, the overall feel I get from this book is old, and it really does feel like it was written long before 2012…that seems too recent of a publication date, at least for me.

I didn’t really care for Merle, who gets this scholarship (I think), only to drop out of school.  It seems like such a waste, especially for someone who wanted to get away from her family and the rural area she grew up in.  We do get to know more about her than Arthur- possibly because he was a published poet in real life.  Merle’s timeline seemed much more fleshed out than Arthur’s, and I kind of wanted a little bit more of Arthur.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

2 stars.  I think I liked the idea of the story more than the story itself.  Overall, Radiant Days was just okay.

Book Review: Ink And Ashes by Valynne Maetani

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Ink And Ashes CoverBook: Ink And Ashes by Valynne Maetani

Published May 2015 by Tu Books|368 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary/Mystery

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Claire Takata has never known much about her father, who passed away when she was a little girl. But on the anniversary of his death, not long before her seventeenth birthday, she finds a mysterious letter from her deceased father, addressed to her stepfather. Claire never even knew that they had met.

Claire knows she should let it go, but she can’t shake the feeling that something’s been kept from her. In search of answers, Claire combs through anything that will give her information about her father…until she discovers he was a member of the yakuza, the Japanese mafia. The discovery opens a door that should have been left closed.

So begins the race to outrun his legacy as the secrets of her father’s past threaten Claire’s friends and family, newfound love, and ultimately her life. Ink and Ashes, winner of Tu Books’ New Visions Award, is a heart-stopping debut mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I thought Ink And Ashes was really interesting, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

I like the mystery, and how connected things were between her step-dad and her dad.  I get why she called him her dad, because he’s the only father she’s ever known.  But at the same time, it was a little weird calling her step-dad dad, when she’s trying to figure out the mystery that is her biological dad.  And I get why her mom didn’t want to talk about Claire’s dad, but still, it’s her dad, and I think it might have been good for her and her brothers to know more about him.

I did keep getting confused about who was who- there were her two brothers, her best friend, and two other guys who were definitely friends, and possibly neighbors but I couldn’t figure that out.  Her best friend Forrest was the only one who I separate from the other 4, who weren’t distinguished enough from each other for me to remember who was who.  And…there was a thing with Forrest that I knew was going to happen by the end of the book, so it wasn’t too surprising when it happened.  Plus, I spent the entire book waiting for it to happen.

Everyone was super-protective of her for no reason.  I get the protectiveness of Claire, and I think if they were just protective, I wouldn’t have minded it so much, but they seemed to go overboard with it, in my opinion.

She is pretty resourceful and not too bad as an investigator, but overall, Claire wasn’t as memorable or as interesting as I had hoped.  That being said, I was really surprised by the ending, and didn’t see it coming, so at least it surprised me in that sense.  Some of it, I felt like Claire should have figured out, but no such luck.  At times, things seemed a little too convenient, and that made it hard to get into the mystery of who her biological dad was.

It also moved at a slow pace, and I was waiting for something more interesting to happen, because there’s not a lot of action.  Especially when it feels like you’re being told what happened, instead of seeing what happened.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

2 stars.  There were a couple of things I liked, but overall, the book fell flat for me.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The Next 6 Months

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

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Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The Second Half Of The Year

It’s always fun to do a post about new releases that come out during the 2nd half of the year, because when I do this at the beginning of the year, it’s so easy to focus on stuff that’s coming out the first few months.  These books are the releases I’m really looking forward to reading!  Clicking on the title will take you to Goodreads!

  1. Heartless by Marissa Meyer.  I love the Lunar Chronicles, and I can’t wait to read this one because it’s an Alice In Wonderland re-telling, and she did such an amazing job re-telling fairy tales that I know it’s going to be just as good as her other books.
  2. Empire Of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.  I still need to read Queen Of Shadows, but I know I’ll have it read by the time Empire Of Storms comes out!
  3. The Beauty Of Darkness by Mary Pearson.  The Heart Of Betrayal is even better than The Kiss Of Deception, in my opinion, so I can’t wait to see how this series comes to an end.
  4. Harry Potter And The Cursed Child script!!!! I am so insanely excited about this it isn’t even funny.  I’m normally not a big fan of reading plays, but this is one time I’m more than willing to make an exception!
  5. Paper And Fire by Rachel Caine.  I love the idea of the library of Alexandria being set in a steampunk world where personally owning books is forbidden, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
  6. The Reader by Traci Chee.  I’m excited about this book, mostly because I really like the idea of books being unheard of in this society,
  7. Imprudence by Gail Carriger.  I just love Gail Carriger, and I can’t wait to see more of Prudence’s adventures.
  8. Red Hot Rain by Rachel Caine.  Ever since I found out another Weather Warden book was coming out, I’ve been looking forward to reading it!
  9. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton.  I haven’t read anything by Brodi Ashton, but I am a huge fan of Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows, and that’s why I’m really excited about their take on Lady Jane Grey.
  10. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova.  I’m looking forward to this book because magic goes wrong at Alex’s Deathday Celebration, and I love the idea of fantasy that draws from Latin America.

Book Review: For The Record by Charlotte Huang

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For The Record CoverBook: For The Record by Charlotte Huang

Published November 2015 by Delacorte Press|310 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Blog Graphic-What It's About

If Almost Famous were a YA novel…a raw, honest debut celebrating music, friendship, romance, and life on the road.

Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like…until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything.

Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen hearthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level—not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.

Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band—and their fans—love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule…Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I liked For The Record!  I know it’s compared to Almost Famous, but as a YA novel, but as I’ve never seen Almost Famous, I’m not sure how For The Record compares.

All of the characters are so distinct, and they have their own personalities.  They’re so different from each other, and I liked that Huang made them so unique and not the same person.  They really stood out on their own, as individual people, but individual people who came together as a group.  There’s a lot of balance in the band, and I liked that about them.

I did get frustrated with Chelsea at times, but she’s flawed and not at all perfect, and I liked that about her.  She still has a lot of growing to do, but she also grew a lot in the book.

I also wish we saw a solid friendship in the book.  I’m fine with things being weird with the band, since she’s new but I was really disappointed in the only friend she seems to have.  Mandy seemed shallow, and unwilling to deal with the consequences of her actions.  She came across as ungrateful and expecting Chelsea to fix things for her.  I know she stuck by Chelsea in high school when everyone else hated Chelsea, but if they really were best friends, Mandy wouldn’t have used it to guilt Chelsea into helping her.  I thought Chelsea was too forgiving of Mandy, and even though they talk about what happened, something the way Mandy apologized and talked about it felt really fake.

Even though the ending was open-ended, and things are up in the air for Chelsea, I wanted a little more resolution. It fits with everything that happens in the book, and I do like it enough that if there were something that wrapped up For The Record, or even focused on what Chelsea’s up to, I’d read it.

Overall, it’s a cute book, and I thought Huang did a really good job at showing what it was like for Chelsea to be new girl on the bus, and what it was like for her adjusting to fame and what it was like on the road.  I’m not completely sure how accurate of a portrayal it is, but it did feel like a pretty realistic at all aspects of Chelsea’s rise to stardom.

I wasn’t into the romance, but it was complicated and messy and even a little bit predictable.  But I kind of liked how complicated and messy it was for Chelsea.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

3 stars.  I liked it, and it’s cute, but I didn’t love it.