Bring out your contemporary’s! This month I am reading a lot of different books and decided to start it off with The Sun Is Also A Starby Nicola Yoon.
Synopsis
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
The main reason I picked up this book was because the movie came out recently and I wanted to read it before I watched the movie to see if the movie could do the book justice. I am really glad I picked this book up!
It was told from multiple perspectives and the entirety of the book was spanned over just one day. It explores the life of Natasha whose family is getting deported and her struggle trying to do everything in her power to stay in America. It also follows Daniel as he is on his way to his interview to get into a prestigious school to become a doctor. Their paths cross by complete luck (or was it fate) and you see them get to know each other.
I love when books play off of the “everything happens for a reason” bit and it shows how everything is connected and how it all played out because of certain events. This and books involving time always get me.
I don’t necessarily believe in the whole Insta love thing but I could see how it was kind of essential for this book.
The ending was absolutely amazing! I can’t say anything because I refuse to spoil this book but if you do pick it up, go all the way to the end because it is worth it.
There were a lot of side characters in the book and my favorite character actually was one of these side characters. Daniel and Natasha would annoy me at times but in their own little ways.
Honestly, this was a fun, easy contemporary read and is great to pick up for the summer and read at the beach or on the patio.
Hey bookworms! Sara has been busy reading lots of books and she has another review ready for us! She recently read Windsworn: Gryphon Riders – Book One by Derek Alan Siddoway.
Synopsis:Eva has never swung a sword. She’s never flown through the open sky on a gryphon or dreamed of being a hero. She’s content with a quiet life — two feet firmly on the ground, working in her foster-father’s forge. But that’s all about to change.
When Eva discovers a young thief hiding in her woodshed with a stolen gryphon egg, the shy, timid girl is forced to leave everything she’s ever known to become Windsworn — elite warriors who ride fierce gryphons into battle. As she struggles to learn the ways of the Windsworn, Eva finds herself caught in a plot to destroy the gryphon riders and plunge the kingdom into war, a plot that somehow involves her deceased parents.
In the face of growing danger, can Eva conquer her fears and unravel the secrets of her past in time to save the Windsworn?
This book is about a young blacksmith’s daughter named Eva. Through a strange series of events, she finds herself in possession of a Gryphon egg, which hatches only for her. She is then swept off into an adventure to learn about her new life, as a trained Gryphon Rider, protectors of the kingdom.
This book was a really fun read. I was engaged and staying up too late to read JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER for the whole book. I really enjoyed Eva as our main character and her struggles with what should have been a dream, but really felt like a chore. All the main characters in this book were unique and well developed.
I enjoyed that the plot never felt predictable. I never knew exactly where it was going next, or what was coming around the corner. The world that the author created feels cozy and believable. I’m eager to learn more about it in the sequel, as well as the implications of Eva’s special Gryphon.
My only complaints about the book would be the fact that the author seems to have leaned too heavily into their other favorite series for their inspiration. The beginning feels a lot like Eragon, and the final chapters felt a lot like the final chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. I think the author has created their own world here with unique characters and needs to be more careful with pulling elements from others in the genre, as it felt very familiar.
Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to the sequel. Where this world goes and how Eva develops after the ending of this book can only get more intense and engaging. Great book! Wonderful for junior readers too.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to us by the author in ebook format in exchange for an honest review.
I made my latest TBR video where I talk about all the books I will be reading in June and the buddy reads I will be taking part in. The new TBR jar also commences its journey with me.
Another day and another book read! I took part in a buddy read with my friend Josh from highliterature.com and he actually suggested this book as it was on his TBR. It is called The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen and is contemporary with some sci-fi aspects to it (superpowers).
Synopsis:From Lauren Shippen, the creator of the beloved and award-winning podcast The Bright Sessions, comes the first novel in a series that follows the struggles and discoveries of three teenagers with supernatural abilities who end up on the couch of Dr. Bright, a mysterious therapist who specializes in atypicals.
“What if the X-Men, instead of becoming superheroes, decided to spend some time in therapy?” (Vox on The Bright Sessions).
This book was ok. It didn’t have a very big synopsis which was alright because it left it open to the imagination but I guess I expected more from it. When it mentions the X-men in a quote about it, you would think that it has to be good right? Wrong. It wasn’t horrible but there was a lot lacking.
First off, I did enjoy the development of relationships. As Caleb and Adam become friends, you see different sides of each of them that exposes their feelings and shows how they react to different situations.
Caleb’s chapters were a little too much for me because they were overly descriptive. I found them hard to get through as I would get lost in the depiction of how he was feeling. I also believe that the author wanted to express the struggles of his power so kudos because I could feel the frustration as well. *Not sarcastic, I actually believe she did a good job with this*.
Adam’s chapters were more relatable and fun. He was a nerd and the goody two shoe type which is kind of how I felt that I was like in high school so I connected with his character.
The plot progressed kind of slowly which brought it down a bit and overall, not much happened. I was hoping for something with a little more action in it since the characters have weird powers but there were no battle scenes or anything like that. It was more a studious version of an origin story where they learned how to handle their powers.
It might be time to pick up another fantasy book to satisfy that action craving I am having.
I would recommend it if you want a contemporary book about young love. Also, it is very much LGBTQ+ positive so if you want another book with a healthy representation of this, then you have found your book.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by my friend Josh from highliterature.com to buddy read with him. This was my honest opinion on what I thought about the book.
I recently did the “Do I Have That Book?” tag and I had so much fun making this video! I would love if you could check it out and leave a like or comment what you thought!
What up reader fam? Hey Hi Hello. Any guesses what this is? These are the intros to popular booktuber videos. But I will just say, hey it’s me again. I want to start this off by saying that I successfully completed my OWLS for the magical readathon! This was the last book I tackled. It was called The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima and is the sequel to The Warrior Heir.
Synopsis:Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. And it’s not his attitude that’s the problem: it’s the trail of magical accidents – lately, disasters – that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained, and his powers are escalating out of control.
After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys’ school on the coast of Maine. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his mysterious order of wizards. But Seph’s enthusiasm dampens when he learns that training comes at a steep cost and that Leicester plans to use his students’ powers to serve his own mysterious agenda.
This sequel begins with a new character named Seph and the book is set in his point of view instead of Jack’s from the first book. It deals a lot more with wizards instead of warriors in this one.
It starts off in Toronto which is really cool and then progresses to Maine for rest of it (at least for the most part). I love when books include places that I have either visited or are a part of the country I live in.
There were magical battles. A private school. Some tense family issues. What more could you want? I really enjoyed the friendships he made and I liked that his character was very different from Jack’s.
I found that some plot points were very easy to figure out but it didn’t hinder the book’s capability to dazzle me with its magical elements. And there was more discussion about this urban fantasy’s wizarding world and the different factions of magical folk which I really liked learning about.
The wizarding world seems to be very flawed and Seph and the other characters are working to fix it so that all the factions are treated equally. I look forward to reading the next book in this series to see where Cinda takes it.
I would recommend this book for anyone that likes a good urban fantasy tale!
Netgalley!! Thank you, thank you. I got approved to read an ARC of Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and I crushed it over my vacation to Ireland/Scotland. This one was read on many of the buses during the day tours to cool landmarks.
Synopsis:A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.
The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
This book was freaking adorable. The main character Alex represents a millenial perfectly. He is the poster child for America and everyone knows who he is. He goes on a little bit of a self discovery where he finds out more about himself in ways he didn’t think he would (and they involve a prince).
This book is a great representation of a healthy LGBTQ+ relationship that spurs from a friendship. And by friendship, I mean that they hate each other and then are forced to be friends to appease the media and then actually become friends and then more. It made me so happy to see that they made each other happy. The way that they feel about each other is hard to express but Casey McQuiston made the love feel very real and something that one hopes for in a relationship.
Also, Nora is the epitomy of awesome. She is Alex’s best friend and is bisexual, 100% amazing and very sarcastic but will always get to the point right away. She is that friend that will tell you how it is even if it is difficult for you to see.
His sister June is also such a sweetheart. She is so caring and does everything a protective sister can to make sure that Alex is well looked after and stays out of trouble. She is the sister I would want if I had siblings.
The only thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the political aspect of the book. I love that they made the president a female for 2020 but aside from that, I am not really into politics and tend to avoid that subject in conversation. However, it was done in a way that kept it interesting and easy to follow so the book still progressed at a nice pace.
Overall, I would recommend this book. It is a fun LGBTQ+ book with a lot of new ideals that our future could really use and it just made me happy to read it.
Hey bookworms! I am just finishing up my vacation and I have some reviews for you since I managed to crush a couple books while I was away. I will also have a post coming soon about my vacation and everything I did. But for now, here is my latest review. This one was called High School Queens by Zachary Ryan.
Synopsis: They all thought they did a masterful job of keeping their secrets close to their chest. These stupid fools thought they were the high court of this kingdom, but they had no clue who was really pulling the strings. You might wonder to yourself, who would be that heartless to make them backstab their friends, expose other’s secrets, and lose their morals? You don’t need to know who I am, but you better remember my name, The Marked Queen.
Danielle, Andrew, Delilah, Aman, and Jasmine all are now faced with a mysterious villain whose one goal is to ruin each of their lives. They must protect their secrets at all cost, or they’ll be the next victim on Marked Day. They know what’s at stake, and they’ll stop at nothing to continue being: the rich spoiled girl, the normal teenager, the girl who isn’t banging the principal, the straight vlogger, and the girl who isn’t her dad’s punching bag. What happens when The Marked Queen changes up the game just in time for prom? Will each of our favorite puppets survive? Or are they willing to backstab each other just to keep up their personas? The only thing lost at this prom wasn’t going to be their virginity.
So, I have never read a book that was this dramatic before. BUT, I absolutely loved it. I was skeptical when I started it but quickly fell into the dramatic high school atmosphere of what the popular kids must feel like. They were so savage to each other with insults and backstabbing, it was very intense.
I have never seen Gossip Girl but based on what I have heard about the show, I feel like this book is very similar and may have drawn some inspiration from it.
All of the characters were very easy to follow and I enjoyed learning about each of their stories. There was LGBTQ+ inclusion in this book which was a plus for me as I believe it was represented well in how it was spoken about and reacted to.
Every chapter would end with the marked queen talking to you and I really liked this because it would leave it as a question of what devious thing was going to happen next. She speaks with spite and disdain for the characters as if she is above them all and it makes sense when you find out who she is.
I honestly want to read the next book in this series. It has its hooks in me and I can’t get enough of it. This might just be my sassy side coming out for this one because I am not like any of the characters in real life but I guess I like the drama in a setting where I am not a part of it. This must be why reality TV is becoming something I like to watch.
Overall, I would recommend this one to anyone who wants a dramatic, fast-paced book about some teens just trying to get to prom. If you have any sass at all, you will like this book.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to us in physical format by the author to read and give an honest review.
Is anyone taking part in the Harry Potter Magical Readathon? Here is my video showing the books I chose to read for my OWLS! Let me know in the comments if you are participating.
Wow! Talk about cover love! I am so happy to reveal this unique cover of upcoming book by Didi Oviatt, Called Sketch. Today, I also have a sneak peek for you, so be sure to read on!
Sketch
Expected Publication Date: June 2019
Genre: YA Thriller/ Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Creativia
When the body of the local girl, Misty Crawl, is found dismembered in an underground bunker, the town is thrown into a whirlwind of panic and speculation. Times aren’t exactly smooth sailing with a depression in full swing. The spaced out community of farmers pull together as one, trying to uncover the guilty party.
Thrown smack in the middle of such chaos, is a group of teens. They’re known troublemakers, but have good hearts. Although they’re innocent, the local law enforcers believe otherwise, and the true killer is lurking far too close for comfort. Will the four be able to uncover the truth before one of them pays the price for Misty’s death? Or will the brutal killer strike again, attacking the heart of the four?
*Sketch is a young adult psychological thriller. It’s a quick easy read, appropriate and gripping for mid-teens and up, with no sexual content and some bloody gore. Parent’s be advised.
Excerpt
As soon as Steven’s dad, Robert Smith, pulls down the road, they look mischievously at one another and then take off in a sprint down the steps into his basement. Steven’s always wanted to know what’s locked away down here. His father told him years ago that it was just a room full of old newspapers. But, Steven’s always known there has to be more to this dingy looking door all locked away. It doesn’t take Chloe long to pick the lock. She’s getting better and faster at it with every lock she opens. The door creaks as it swings open, and there it is.
“Holy shit,” gasps John.
“This is the best day of my life,” says Michael.
“Look at the dust on all this stuff. I’ll bet this door hasn’t been open in years! No one will even notice if we take it!” adds Chloe.
Steven whispers in fear, “I don’t know guys, my dad will kill me if he finds out.”
“No he won’t, Red, I can take him,” jokes Michael.
Staring back at them from the wall to wall metal storage shelves are two small crossbows and an open chest of arrows. Along with old war paint, hatchets, a couple machetes, rope, and one box of newspapers setting on the floor.
“What the hell was my dad doing with this stuff?” Steven asks, more to himself than the others.
Steven’s dad isn’t an adventuress man, and aside from the yearly deer and occasional bear he shoots, he doesn’t even like to get out and do much.
“The bears are getting out of control around here,” and, “we gotta’ have meat to survive,” is his logic for hunting.
He doesn’t enjoy hunting as a sport like the majority of other men and even women in town. It’s more of a chore for him. Which is only one step away from insanity, in Steven’s point of view. Hunting is Steven’s favorite thing to do with his dad, aside from throwing a football.
“Who cares why he has this stuff!?” John says, always the planner of the group. “Let’s just take it now and hurry, in case he forgot something and has to come back home. We don’t want to get caught carrying it all out of your house.”
They grab as much as they can lift and head straight for the woods. Distracted by all the cool things, they don’t even bother to glance at the newspapers in the box on the floor.
Didi Oviatt is an intuitive soul. She’s a wife and mother first, with one son and one daughter. Her thirst to write was developed at an early age, and she never looked back. After digging down deep and getting in touch with her literary self, she’s writing mystery/thrillers like Sketch, Search For Maylee, Aggravated Momentum, Justice for Belle, and New Age Lamians. Along with a six-piece short story collection called the Time Wasters. She’s also collaborated with Kim Knight in an ongoing interactive short story anthology The Suspenseful Collection. When Didi doesn’t have her nose buried in a book, she can be found enjoying a laid back outdoorsy life. Time spent sleeping under the stars, hiking, fishing, and ATVing the back roads of beautiful mountain trails, sun-bathing in the desert heat, along with watching the relaxing dance of a campfire plays an important part of her day-to-day lifestyle.
Is anyone taking part in the Harry Potter Magical Readathon? Here is my video showing the books I chose to read for my OWLS! Let me know in the comments if you are participating.
Hey bookworms, long time no chat. It has been busy over here on our end as I am planning for my vacation to Ireland and Scotland in about 3 weeks. We did have time to have C.S. Johnson stop by the blog today for an author interview though. Her recent release Slumbering is out now for purchase and I will post the links below.
Publication Date: December 2014
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Hamilton Dinger leads a charmed life. He’s got the grades for the top of the class, the abilities of a star athlete and Tetris player, and the charisma to get away with anything. Everything seems to be going along perfectly, including his plans to ask out Gwen Kessler, as he enters into tenth grade at Apollo Central High School. Everything, that is, until a meteor crashes into the city, releasing the Seven Deadly Sinisters and their leader, Orpheus, from their celestial prison, and awakening Hamilton’s longtime dormant supernatural abilities. Suddenly Hamilton finds reluctantly allied with his self-declared mentor, Elysian, a changeling dragon, and Starry Knight, a beautiful but dangerous warrior, as they seek to protect the souls of Apollo City from the Sinisters and their evil intentions. Can Hamilton overcome his ignorance and narrow-mindedness to see what is truly real? Can he give up his self-proclaimed entitlement to happiness in order to follow the call of a duty he doesn’t want? More importantly, will he willingly sacrifice all he has to find out the truth?
C. S. Johnson is the award-winning, genre-hopping author of several novels, including young adult sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more at http://www.csjohnson.me
Author Interview
1. What was your top read of 2018?
I am going to break all illusions of being fun and admit I am a total nerd. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction books. For 2018, my top read was “Saving Cinderella,” by Faith Moore. It’s a nonfiction book, but I’m a bit of a sucker for Disney Princess books, and I liked her cultural appraisal of feminists and fairy tales. The book really helped me work through some of my own symbolism as I was writing The Princess and the Peacock, which is my first new book in 2019.
2. What is your favorite book friendship?
In terms of fiction, I really think Harry Potter takes the prize. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were a great pairing, and while I know a lot of people said that it would have been better if Harry wound up with Herminie, I was actually able to guess Ron and Hermione would end up together early on. In many ways, they were a reflection of Harry’s own parents from what he knew of them, and it made sense to me when they got together. For people who say Harry and Hermione would have been good together, I actually agree with Harry’s own take on it in the book, where he says she’s always been like a sister to him. Harry, as an only child, would have had that sort of longing, and Hermione is actually a really great foil to Dudley.
In terms of nonfiction, I really like C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as friends. I can see them smoking and drinking in Oxford, arguing in one breath and laughing in the next.
3. Most anticipated book release of 2019?
I’ve already pre-ordered it, but I’m eager for “Another Kingdom” to come to print. I liked the podcast version and I’m interested to see how much of it changes, if it changes at all.
4. How many books are in your TBR Pile?
Honestly, I’ve lost count at this point, haha!
5. Who is your favorite author?
I have a lot of favorite authors, and most of them for different reasons. But that’s part of the reason I am a writer, too. I like too many things and it’s a lot of fun to get to pick and choose which ideas I get to use in each of my books. Some of my favorites are C. S. Lewis, Andrew Klavan, Amy Tan, J. K. Rowling, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, and Nora Roberts.
6. How did you start writing?
For this one, it’s not a very “good” or “kind” reason. I started writing because I really hated reality. It turns out I hated reality for any number of reasons – some of them people – and I was able to work out a lot of my angst in writing. It allows me a moment or two of control, and I have been able to see a lot of things much differently as a writer.
7. Where is your favorite reading spot?
I like reading at the coffeeshop. I like this because there are always people around that don’t try to bother you, but you can bother them if you like. I also like this because I don’t have to clean up (as I would in my house) and I don’t have to worry about scrounging around for food.
8. How long have you been an author?
I have been an author for a long time, if you include my early poetry credits. I have been trying to make a living as a writer now for about two years, part-full-time (it’s never easy with kids, haha, but I wouldn’t trade any of it. I love my life as a stay at home mom and author.)
9. What do you like about reading?
I like that it allows us to pull back from the pressing moments of our own lives. We get a glimpse of another existence and we get to become more of who we are because of the questions we instinctively feel from a story.
10. If you had to describe yourself in a book title, what would it be?
“The Opposite of Irony,” or “Exceptionally Mediocre.”
I thought about what I would title my memoir, if I ever truly set out to write one – I doubt I will – and these are the two I love the most and are the most fitting. My life has played out completely different from what I expected, but it’s so different from the opposite of what I expected, too; that’s why the first title resonates with dry humor and truth. The second is more a commentary on how I’ve never felt extraordinarily extraordinary at anything in particular. I might be a bit smarter than some, or a bit more creative, but I am still a woman who loves her husband, family, and faith, and I strive to do the best I can with what I have. That’s nothing extraordinary, and yet it is, too. It’s what many would call a mediocre life, but there’s so many extraordinarily exceptional moments that mark it. I’m not a hard topic to hit, but I am a complicated one, haha!
For your chance to win a print copy of Slumbering by C.S. Johnson, click the link below!
Is anyone taking part in the Harry Potter Magical Readathon? Here is my video showing the books I chose to read for my OWLS! Let me know in the comments if you are participating.
They tell me the country looked different back then.
They talk of open borders and flowing rivers.
They say the world was green.
But drought swept across the globe and the United States of the past disappeared under a burning sky.
Enora Byrnes lives in the aftermath, a barren world where water has become the global currency. In a life dominated by duty to family and community, Enora is offered a role within an entity that controls everything from water credits to borders. But it becomes clear that not all is as it seems. From the wasted confines of her small town to the bowels of a hidden city, Enora will uncover buried secrets that hide an unthinkable reality.
As truth reveals the brutal face of what she has become, she must ask herself: how far will she go to retain her humanity?
Author Bio
Kristin Ward has loved writing since middle school but took thirty years to do something serious about it. The result is her Best Indie Book Award-winning novel, After the Green Withered, followed by the sequel, Burden of Truth. She lives in a small town in Connecticut with her husband, three sons, and many furry and feathered friends. A SciFi geek to the core, she is fueled by dark chocolate and coffee and can be heard quoting eighties movies on a regular basis.
I really enjoyed The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky. I love strong female characters and this was a different take on gender roles and what they mean for one young woman as she struggles to survive in a remote society. The main character, Omat, explores her strength and gender identity in a way that takes her on a journey of self-discovery as she comes face to face with who she is within her Inuit community. The world building, mythology, and clash of cultures create a rich story in a frozen landscape. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with an unflinching look at what it means to survive in a hostile environment.
2. What is your favorite book friendship?
I’m going to go back in time for this one. As a teenager, I read and immediately fell in love with, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. The bonds of friendship among this group of greasers is powerful. They are a family, though not by blood, and defend one another at great personal cost. I especially loved the relationship Ponyboy and Johnny have as they are forced to leave their community and then return to face the repercussions of events that unfold before and during their exile. It is when the two of them are separated from society, that their friendship reaches new depths. They shed their bravado and really show who they are beneath the layer of stereotypical behavior that keeps them on the outside of ‘acceptable’ society. I admit to some serious tears as the story unfolds.
3. Most anticipated book release of 2019?
On the top of my list is the recent release, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Being a fan of Game of Thrones, I’m excited to delve into this story! The fact that there are dragons has nothing to do with it. Nope. Who needs dragons? Psh.
4. How many books are in your TBR Pile?
At the moment, I’ve got just over one hundred in my TBR pile and I’m often adding to it!
5. Who is your favorite author?
That’s a really tough question. I would say that the author whose titles take up the most space on my shelves is Stephen King. But that is not to say he is my favorite author out of all of the titles I’ve read. I’ve simply been reading his books for thirty years and he’s a prolific writer!
I don’t anchor myself to any one genre as I have a rather eclectic taste in books and am a classic re-reader of stories that I love. I’m a huge fan of young adult fiction and have many authors that I enjoy reading. I am always looking for my next dystopian read! I also love a good historical fiction or romance when the mood strikes. If it’s set in medieval Scotland, my interest is immediately piqued!
6. How did you start writing?
I would have to go back to middle school, 7thgrade to be precise. When my English teacher, whom I still keep in close contact with, likened my writing to Saki, the author of The Interlopers, I was hooked. That defining moment began my foray into mad scribblings of terrible poetry and story starters galore.
As an adult, I spent many years dabbling in writing and began a few book ideas that I have yet to complete, though I may not ever finish those as my interest waned. The inspiration for my first self-published novel came from research I conducted while writing a graduate course in environmental education. As I dug into the history of the earth and learned about various environmental shifts, a seedling of an idea took root. I began to wonder what the world would look like if drought ravaged the planet and water became the global currency. While this first book took about five years to write, family and career being the primary reason for the delay, I finally reached that pinnacle of achievement and published in May of 2018. The sequel was published in November, following a very strict deadline that I had set for myself after completing the first book.
7. Where is your favorite reading spot?
I love reading in bed while propped up with pillows! This makes paperbacks or my Kindle essential, as a hard back gets awfully heavy. During the daylight hours, I enjoy reading in my writing chair. It is an upholstered recliner that belonged to my grandmother. I will park myself in it for writing and reading stints with the wood stove pumping out heat in the winter or the windows letting in warm breezes in the summer.
8. How long have you been an author?
While I was officially published many years ago after writing curriculum for a zoo, I consider 2018 to be the start of my authorship. My journey has just begun and I have spent the last year learning more than I ever expected as I delved into what it means to be indie. The adventure has just begun and I have many stories to tell!
9. What do you like about reading?
Reading is a passion. When you open a book, you enter a world created from nothing more than words spun together in a way that never existed before. I believe writing is the true magic in the world. Writers are the magicians. Books take me on a journey and if I truly love them, I will visit again from time to time.
10. If you had to describe yourself in a book title, what would it be?
The Adventures of Unicorn Geek-Girl
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It’s about time I bust back into the world of……FANTASY! I started a new series that was recommended to me by my boyfriend (yes, I am bisexual if you didn’t know…surprise). The first book of the series was called The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima and I loved it. I feel like I have been reborn into the world of books. Either that or I read a lot of duds so this one brought me back up to good standards of books. I probably just missed fantasy because it has been so long since I have read this genre.
Synopsis:Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great – until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.
Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game – a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.
As if his bizarre heritage isn’t enough, Jack finds out that he’s not just another member of Weirlind – he’s one of the last of the warriors – at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.
This book was a really great start to a series. The main character Jack reminds me of Percy Jackson and the series seems to have that kind of vibe going for it. I love anything to do with magic so it was nice to jump into a series with a lot of promise.
Honestly, the book started right away with a pretty intense action scene and I had decided to just read a little before bed. 100 pages later and now 2 am, I finally decided to go to sleep.
The book even caught me off guard at points which I loved. I hate when a book is too predictable. The magic system that is built in this series is really cool. There are different types of magic users and they all have their own special sets of skills. Wizards are the all-powerful ones but then there are sorcerers, enchanters, and warriors that each have their own unique abilities. The warriors are very rare and the different wizard families will pit them against each other in battle. The winning wizard family gains control over the society if their chosen warrior wins in battle.
It reminded me of the Hunger Games as well (which is a good thing) in the sense that young teenagers are put into a fight to the death situation that they don’t really have any control over.
I can’t wait to dive into the second book in this series because I am not ready to be done with this magical world the author has created and the wonderful cast of characters that she has built up and fleshed out. Did I mention that all the characters are very well fleshed out?! Because they are! The only character I found slightly annoying was Jack’s aunt Linda. She just bothered me for some reason.
I have to read a couple of other books but I know I will be thinking about this series in the back of my mind until I jump into the next one. All in all, if you like fantasy or any of the series I have mentioned above, then give this one a chance.
Disclaimer: I borrowed this book from my boyfriend’s bookshelf and read it because I wanted to (and he wanted me to as well).
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