Book: The Collected Autobiographies Of Maya Angelou

Published April 2012 by Random House|1161 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: None

Genre: Adult Non-fiction: Autobiography

You can find The Collected Autobiographies Of Maya Angelou on goodreads

Goodreads Summary: 

This Modern Library edition contains I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, and A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

When I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published to widespread acclaim in 1969, Maya Angelou garnered the attention of an international audience with the triumphs and tragedies of her childhood in the American South. This soul-baring memoir launched a six-book epic spanning the sweep of the author’s incredible life. Now, for the first time, all six celebrated and bestselling autobiographies are available in this handsome one-volume edition.

Dedicated fans and newcomers alike can follow the continually absorbing chronicle of Angelou’s life: her formative childhood in Stamps, Arkansas; the birth of her son, Guy, at the end of World War II; her adventures traveling abroad with the famed cast of Porgy and Bess; her experience living in a black expatriate “colony” in Ghana; her intense involvement with the civil rights movement, including her association with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X; and, finally, the beginning of her writing career.

The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou traces the best and worst of the American experience in an achingly personal way. Angelou has chronicled her remarkable journey and inspired people of every generation and nationality to embrace life with commitment and passion.

What I Thought:

Maya Angelou really is quite the woman!  After hearing that she passed away, I knew I had to read her autobiographies. I read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings years ago, but it never occurred to me to pick up her other ones.  I really am sad that I didn’t read them earlier.

I’m actually glad I went with her collected autobiographies, because she did so much, and I felt like her life story flowed a lot better being able to read all of her autobiographies as a collective whole.

I loved seeing her life up to when she started writing I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and she had such an eventful life! It did get a little tedious at times, especially with All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes and A Song Flung Up To Heaven. All together, it was a definitely a marathon, and I think by the time I got to her last two books, I kind of wanted to be done with her autobiographies.  They were interesting, and I don’t want to take away from that at all, but I also wish I had taken a little more time with them.

It’s so easy to see how she became the person that she was- she is definitely a survivor, and always landed on her own two feet, no matter what happened to her.  I was quite surprised by some of things I read- like running a brothel, and traveling all over the world (and even making an effort to learn the language of every country she visited) and working for both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr…she is truly an inspiration, and I feel like we’re so lucky that she shared her story with us.

She really does have a way with words, and there were times when I forgot I was reading an autobiography. There’s something very poetic about the way she writes, and she has a way of feeling like she’s telling you a story.

Let’s Rate It:

I feel so honored to have read Maya Angelou’s story.  I feel like I understand her world so much better after reading her autobiographies, and I really regret taking so long to read them!  Reading them as one collective work was daunting, especially with her last couple autobiographies, but I also liked seeing her life as a whole, instead of in shorter stories. Her Collected Autobiographies get 4 stars.

Book: Five Ways To Fall by K.A. Tucker

Published June 2014 by Atria Books|343 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #4

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

You can find Five Ways To Fall on goodreads & you can find K.A. Tucker on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intention of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plane and leave that mistake behind her.

Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s ready to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about.

If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumor has it she’s trouble. The only problem is, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…

What I Thought:

I’m really sad to see this series come to an end, because I’ve really loved this series!  But I am glad to see Ben’s story, and I liked it more than I expected.

I loved that characters from the previous books made appearances in this one, and while I vaguely remember Ben from their stories, I’m actually glad he got his own book.  I loved the first 2 books, and really liked the third- which didn’t have that special something the first two had.  Five Ways To Fall brought that something special back.

I just loved Ben and Reese together.  They really have an interesting relationship, and I just loved how their relationship developed over the course of the series.  I also loved that the book was narrated by both Ben and Reese, and I loved getting to know both of them.  I especially loved the relationship Ben had with his mom and the relationship that Reese had with her step-dad Jack.  Especially Reese and Jack, because he took care of her even though he was no longer married to her mom. But seeing Ben and his mom showed that he really is a good guy, and why he acts the way he does.

And I really wish that Reese and Kacey met more, because there’s something about Reese that really reminded me of Kacey. I like to think they’d be fabulous friends, and they really would get along quite nicely. I really felt for Reese, and she’s definitely a survivor.  You can’t help but get drawn into her story and I really wanted her to come out on top!  (And up with Ben, of course).

It did get me emotionally at the end, but there were some really funny moments too!  Reese and Ben together were hysterical at times, but it works.  I really couldn’t ask for a better couple to end this series with.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Five Ways To Fall- not as much as Ten Tiny Breaths or One Tiny Lie, but more than Four Seconds To Lose.  I loved Ben and Reese’s story,  but I do wish we got more of Ben’s story, since the main focus seemed to be Reese.  Which is fine, since I really love her, but I was expecting a bit more of Ben.  Five Ways To Fall gets 4 stars.

Book: Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

Published July 2013 by Penguin|282 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Earthbound #1

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Earthbound on goodreads & Aprilynne Pike on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Tavia Michaels is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed her parents. When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told. Tavia will soon to discover that she’s an Earthbound—someone with the ability to create matter out of nothing—and that she alone holds the key to stopping the Reduciata, an evil society that manipulates global events for its own shadowy purposes. Tavia will ultimately have to make a choice: to come into her powers and save the world from the evil Reduciata or to choose free will and a love of her own.

What I Thought:

After reading Pike’s Wings series, I’ve been looking forward to reading anything new she had coming out, and so I started off with Earthbound.  Which is very different than Wings, but in a good way!

It’s a really interesting take on the paranormal, and I like the idea of people being Earthbound.  I liked the addition of the Reduciata and the good guys (I just wish I could remember who they were).  I liked that small details were added throughout the book, and that you had a fairly decent sense of the “mythology” of the world by the end of the book. Granted, I wanted to know more, but you learn things as Tavia learns things, so I’m sure there’s a lot more to come in terms of world-building.  I just wish the towns had more description to them, because I couldn’t get a good feel for them, and it was hard to picture.

There is quite the love triangle in Earthbound, which does make sense by the end of the book.  It definitely made the book more interesting, once things started unraveling.  But I also didn’t particularly care for either guy, and they really didn’t stand out a lot.  Still, I’m curious to see how things go with Logan, given what we know about this world.

Still, I felt like things were all over the place, and I felt like things were a tad uneven.  There were definitely some things I should have predicted, since they were pretty obvious.  But the plot is different enough that I’m willing to overlook the obviousness of some things.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked the mystery in Earthbound, and I’m looking forward to reading the next book to see where things go. I didn’t love it, but it’s definitely interesting.  Earthbound gets 3 stars.  

Book: Tirade by Cambria Hebert

Self-Published by Cambria Hebert in November 2012|396 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Heven & Hell #3

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Tirade on goodreads & Cambria Hebert on Twitter, Facebook, and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Betrayal burns. Death hurts and the clock ticks…

Minutes and hours stretch into days. How long can Sam survive being confined in Hell? I have a plan… a plan with a lot of holes. I need someone who can make up for my weaknesses, someone who possesses the power that I lack. Riley is supposed to be off limits. He’s dangerous, he’s mean and he’s not to be trusted. But I do. 

Beelzebub is on a tirade, bent on revenge. I took what he wants and sent him into the flames. I will wear the scars of his punishments forever. But scars don’t scare me anymore.

On my way to free Sam I find my true path, a secret place and new allies. But in Hell nothing is easy… and everything is cruel. The only thing left to do is survive.

What I Thought:

One thing I’ve really liked about this series from the very beginning is how unique it is!  I liked Tirade, but not as much as I was hoping.  Still, it’s an interesting addition to the series, given everything that happens.

I’ve really come to care about Heven and Sam, and I just want Sam to be okay.  Same with Heven, and I think they’re such interesting characters, especially with everything that we’ve learned about Heven so far.  I didn’t see that coming but I knew there was something more to her character and the Supernatural Treasure angle. I’m glad we got to know Sam’s brother better, and I really felt for him in this book, mostly because we got to know the real Logan better.  And I just love how important Heven’s grandma is to her, because she really is more of a mother to Heven than Heven’s own mother.  And if there’s something I love, it’s grandparent-grandchild relationships.

I wasn’t expecting the possibility of a love triangle, but I don’t think it will turn into a full-blown love triangle. Which is good, because I can’t imagine Heven with anyone except Sam.  I’m still not sure what to think about Riley, but I do feel like I understand him a little bit better.  I’m actually curious as to how the end of the book will factor into the next book.

We spend quite a bit of the book in hell, and I really liked Hebert’s vision of hell- a dark, dreary barren place, and not the flames you’d expect.  Overall, this book is a bit darker than the previous two, and it makes me wonder if the next book will be darker, and how everything will turn out.

I didn’t like the dual narration as much as I did in the last book, but it still worked well for the book, given Sam’s in hell and Heven’s not.  It really does give you perspective on what’s going on with both Heven and Sam.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Tirade, but it kind of seemed like it was bridging the gap between the first two books and the last book.  It’s definitely different than a lot of the other paranormal books I’ve read, and I’m looking forward to reading the next (and last) book. Tirade gets 3 stars.

Book: City Of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Published March 2009 by Margaret K. McElderberry Books|413 pages

Where I Got It: nook store

Series: Mortal Instruments #3

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find City Of Glass on goodreads & Cassandra Clare on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters — never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and her best friend, Simon, has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. 

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City — whatever the cost? 

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling The Mortal Instruments.

What I Thought:

I can’t believe I’m halfway through this series already!  So far, the series has been pretty constant, which is good, because I have a general idea of what to expect, but at the same time, I keep hoping for something unexpected to happen.

Jace and Clary finally learn they are not siblings after all (which isn’t that surprising), and who her real brother is.  And at least Jace and Clary can be together without the ick factor of being related.  Those two things were pretty predictable, and it was a matter of when they would be revealed.  And I can’t remember if we see Clary’s mother when she’s not in a coma or whatever (if we do, it’s totally not memorable).  I’m not sure how I feel about her, because I’ve gotten used to her not being around.

In order to save Clary’s mother, we finally get to go to the City Of Glass.  Sadly, I wasn’t impressed with this city that’s supposed to be amazing.  I’m not sure if it’s because of all of the build-up surrounding the City or it just wasn’t described very well (because it wasn’t, in my opinion) or if it’s just because we spent of the book in a couple places.  Or some combination of factors.

There’s a lot of action, and there is also quite the battle as Valentine continues his quest to take over the Shadowhunter world.  It doesn’t end well for him, of course, and I’m definitely glad he’s no longer around. Still, I’m not completely convinced that he’s truly dead, even though it seems pretty permanent.

Here’s what I’m wondering: I know that the summary above said that this book was the final installment of the series, and this book does seem to wrap up the entire series pretty well.  But there are three books after this one, so I’m wondering if maybe it’s a misprint and six books were intended all along, or if it was meant to be three and was later extended to six. Which I think is partly why I’m not entirely convinced that Valentine is actually dead.  And if he really is dead, what’s in store for the next three books?

Also: I find the timeline interesting, since the first three books take place over several weeks.  Which is hard to believe, and it feels like it should have happened over a longer period.  Things definitely move at a really fast pace, and there’s a lot going in.  Which makes it easy to read, and you want to keep going, but even with City Of Glass, it feels like things could have been slowed down.  At least a little.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked City Of Glass, and it was a fun read.  I’m definitely curious to see where things go, since City Of Glass resolved the events of the first half of the series pretty well.  City Of Glass gets 3 stars.

Book: Desire by P.T. Michelle

Published March 2014 by Limitless Ink Press|179 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Brightest Kind Of Darkness #4

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Desire on goodreads & P.T. Michelle on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary:

Now that Nara and Ethan are working together to uncover the Corvus’ secrets, they’re confident nothing can stop them.

But while they’ve learned to anticipate dark outside forces gunning for them, neither is prepared for the insidious evil that slithers its way into their lives, nor the new challenges that surface so close to home.

Despite all the chaos and turmoil around them, the one constant they can depend on is their devotion and loyalty to each other. But as their relationship moves into deeper territory, sometimes the toughest battles are the ones waged within.

While the hunt for answers unravels more layers in the Corvus world, they also uncover new truths about themselves and their intricate connection to the powerful raven spirit.

When boundaries are suddenly redrawn and control shifts, Ethan and Nara will be forced to make choices that could bring them closer together or rip them apart forever.

What I Thought:

I’ve been intrigued with this series ever since I read the first book, and I’ve always love how unique the series is in comparison to most of the other paranormal books I’ve read.  I didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the other books, but I still liked it.

I think part of why I didn’t like it as much as I was expected is the fact that it’s been a while since I’ve read the other books, so the series wasn’t as fresh in my mind.

I really like the relationship between Nara and Ethan, and they’ve been through a lot together.  It’s really changed and grown throughout the series, and I’m looking forward to seeing how their relationship grows/changes in the next book.  I did like seeing Ethan and his perspective, especially with all of the Master Corvus stuff going on.  Especially with how he came to accept it but the Corvus inside of him wasn’t accepting it.

And the ending!  I did not see that coming, and I can’t wait to see how that gets resolved.  I’m hoping it gets resolved in a good way, because I want it to turn out well.  I really do.  I also wish it were a little longer, because it seemed really short, and a bit like filler until we get to the next book (which I think is the last book, but I could be mistaken).

I just don’t have a lot of thoughts on Desire.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m in need of a refresher on the entire series, or if I’m feeling a little blah about the series because I’m feeling a little burnt out on the series.  Or even if maybe I’m just anxious and looking forward to seeing how everything ends.

Let’s Rate It:

I don’t have a lot of thoughts on Desire, and I just couldn’t get into it like I did with the previous books.  It’s still a fantastic world, and one of the more unique paranormal books out there.  Desire gets 3 stars.

Book: Tampa by Alissa Nutting

Published July 2013 by HarperCollins|223 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: None

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction

You can find Tampa on goodreads & Alissa Nutting on Twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. She’s undeniably attractive. She drives a red Corvette with tinted windows. Her husband, Ford, is rich, square-jawed, and devoted to her.

But Celeste’s devotion lies elsewhere. She has a singular sexual obsession—fourteen-year-old boys. Celeste pursues her craving with sociopathic meticulousness and forethought; her sole purpose in becoming a teacher is to fulfill her passion and provide her access to her compulsion. As the novel opens, fall semester at Jefferson Jr. High is beginning.

In mere weeks, Celeste has chosen and lured the lusciously naive Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his teacher, and, most important, willing to accept Celeste’s terms for a secret relationship—car rides after school; rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works late; body-slamming encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom between periods.

Ever mindful of the danger—the perpetual risk of exposure, Jack’s father’s own attraction to her, and the ticking clock as Jack leaves innocent boyhood behind—the hyperbolically insatiable Celeste bypasses each hurdle with swift thinking and shameless determination, even when the solutions involve greater misdeeds than the affair itself. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress driven by pure motivation. She deceives everyone, and cares nothing for anyone or anything but her own pleasure.

With crackling, rampantly unadulterated prose, Tampa is a grand, uncompromising, seriocomic examination of want and a scorching literary debut.

What I Thought: 

I have no idea what to think about Tampa.  It’s a bizarre, unsettling and disturbing book that you want to stop reading all while feeling compelled to keep reading.  You want to look away and stop reading, and there was a point where I strongly considered abandoning Tampa, and yet I found myself unable to stop reading.

I definitely could have gone without quite a few things- it’s definitely…descriptive…and while I could handle Celeste masturbating, the sex scenes with her student was way too much, and the reason why I almost walked away from the book. She really is calculating and selfish and doesn’t care about the consequences of what she’s doing.  At the same time, though, it really does show how far Celeste goes and it really does give you insight into who Celeste is, and she became a middle school teacher.

While some of the scenes were really hard to read (at least for me), I don’t think Tampa would have worked if they weren’t in the book.

Celeste does get caught in the end, and not surprisingly, she takes the plea bargain offered to her: meaning she sees no jail time for statutory rape.  Tampa does such a wonderful job at showing a double-standard: she gets off scot-free because her 14-year-old students had “consensual sex” with their gorgeous 26-year-old teacher.  And yet, if things were reversed, with a male teacher and a female student, all hell would break lose.  It really made the book frustrating, because what she did was horrible, and gets away with rape because what teenage boy would pass an opportunity to be with the young, hot teacher?  And it makes me so sad for her students.

Which is why the reader really needed to get in Celeste’s head.  As uncomfortable and unsettling as it was, it really does make what’s going on that much more effective.  And it really does make you think about how differently sexual violence is seen depending on who is committing the crime and who is the victim.

Let’s Rate It:

To be honest, I’m not sure how to rate Tampa.  How on earth do you rate a book like this?  It definitely got me thinking, and while it’s definitely on the graphic side, I’m also glad Nutting didn’t tone it down, because it really gave you insight into Celeste’s world.  I really do think it made the book a much better book, even if it was unsettling and uncomfortable and even a bit disturbing.  Nutting really does have a way with words.  Still, Tampa gets 4 stars.  Not because I liked it, but because it really is different, in an odd sort of way.