August 30, 2015

Series Sunday: Bookheart's Choice


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My next Series Sunday pick could be your choice! Please recommend your favorite or newly discovered series.

 

August 28, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"My girlfriend relayed a story to me recently about her conversation with my youngest daughter, Remy."

~ For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

 

August 26, 2015

Who Do You Love


"He'd been lonely, and I'd been lonely, but if we were together, we'd never have to be lonely again." ~ pg. 126

One of my fave bestselling authors recently released a new heartfelt modern-day fairy tale novel of first love and soul mates. Eight-year-old Rachel Blum is no stranger to hospitals. She was born with a broken heart literally (tricuspid atresia). Andy Landis is also eight years old and sent to the ER with a broken arm. The two children meet in the waiting room, introduce themselves and share a story. After Andy is taken back to the doctor, the new friends think they will never see each other again. Fast forward throughout the years and Rachel and Andy cross paths often thanks to fate.

A big factor in whether I like a novel is how I feel about the characters. Are they likable? Are they realistic? Is their intelligence level age-appropriate? Are their decisions logical? Yes, I question all of these things and more when reading about main characters. In Who Do You Love, Andy was very ambitious. He set goals and reached them. He took control of his future and genuinely put effort in making a better life for himself. I could totally relate to Rachel. She grew up with a heart deformity causing her to be really sick, fragile, unable to attend events or birthday celebrations and missing a lot of school. As a migraineur, I was the same way throughout elementary, middle-, high-school and college. I miss events, work and holidays still today due to being really sick on the most inconvenient of days. The sad part is, like Rachel states, is I'd never known anything different. And this is why I enjoyed reading about Rachel and her life with Andy. 

Who Do You Love is one of this year's greatest stories of love, fate and happy endings. Rachel and Andy are two memorable characters that I would love to see on the big screen. If I had to compare, this novel reminds me of Nicholas Sparks (but with a happy ending) and Rainbow Rowell with a witty, whimsical Jennifer Weiner signature twist. Who Do You Love is simply a very good novel that I recommend bookhearts read. 

Watch the video below of author Jennifer Weiner discussing Who Do You Love.



DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.


Title: Who Do You Love
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Published: August 2015
Pages: 299
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

August 25, 2015

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend


"Since you've liked To Kill a Mockingbird, I'm sending you Kathryn Stockett's The Help too. They've got racism in common, at least." ~ pg. 25

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a book about books. The summary suggests it is witty and charming. The setting is in a small farming town called Broken Wheel in Iowa. The residents let books into their confined world, share stories they've read and make book recommendations. There is a lot of name-dropping and references, as expected in a book about books. Among those mentioned in letters between main character Sara and her pen-pal Amy are Little Women, Harry Potter, Lisbeth Salander, and Jane Austen. And still...

I wanted to like The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. I really did. What's not to love about a book about books?! But somehow it didn't give me that escape I need when reading fiction. Sadly I cannot recommend this book about well...readers' recommendations.


DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Author: Katarina Bivald
Published: January 2016
Pages: 398
Edition: Galley
Challenge: New Author
Rating: ♥

 

August 23, 2015

Series Sunday: War and Peace

(War and Peace TV Mini-Series)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read/Watch an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is War and Peace, the classic book being adapted to a TV mini-series early next year. Anyone who read this thick novel may be overwhelmed with how long the TV adaptation has to be. The original saga revolves around five (5) aristocratic Russian families; the drama, history and romance classic will be split into a TV mini-series focusing on the love triangle between Pierre (Paul Dano), Natasha (Lily James) and Andrei (James Norton). It will air on Lifetime, A&E and History channels in January 2016.

Title: War and Peace
Author / Director: Leo Tolstoy / Tom Harper
Published / Air Date: August 1869 / January 2016
Pages / Time: 1,369 / 6 episodes
Edition: Book / TV Mini-Series

 

August 19, 2015

The Boston Girl


"I believe you are a girl with gumption." ~ pg. 37

"How did you get to be the woman you are today?" And so begins the story that 85-year-old Addie tells her 22-year-old granddaughter Ava. Born in 1900, Addie lived in Boston her whole life. Born to immigrant parents who were unprepared for the effect America would have on their three daughters. Addie was introduced to short skirts, celebrity pop culture, love, college, opportunities for women, feminism and a career.

The Boston Girl is a literary portrait of a young jewish woman growing up in America. Anita Diamant wrote with historical detail that made Addie's storytelling hard to pause reading. It wasn't too long and wasn't so short that I wanted to read more about Addie. A great balance! The Boston Girl is a good for 30- and 40-something women's book clubs.

Title: The Boston Girl
Author: Anita Diamant
Published: December 2014
Pages: 891
Edition: iBook
Challenge: New Authors
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

August 14, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"Hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Betrayed. My rage was bottomless."

~ Naughtier Than Nice by Eric Jerome Dickey

 

August 12, 2015

Finding Audrey


"Don't you think I've tried snapping out of it?" ~ pg. 114

Some authors are an automatic buy/pre-order meaning I will purchase whatever book comes out regardless of title, cover or subject. Sophie Kinsella is on that short list of my automatic buys. She first won me over with the Shopaholic series, then captured me as a true fan with her standalone novels. Finding Audrey is her new release and it is a different genre: YA fiction.

"Social Anxiety Disorder. General Anxiety Disorder and Depressive Episodes. Episodes. Like depression is a sitcom with a fun punchline each time." ~ pg. 22

Fourteen-year-old Audrey's life is disrupted by an incident with school girls. Audrey can't leave the house, can't make eye contact and can't take off her sunglasses even inside the house. She is making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah but her brother's gaming friend, Linus, connects with her. She can easily explain her fears to him. She is comfortable interacting with Linus like she hasn't been comfortable around anyone else. Linus makes Audrey feel like getting back out into the real world is possible. A sweet romance develops that made me smile and root for young love and a reconnecting family.

Though this new release is different from Sophie Kinsella's usual genre, it was still light reading worth the few hours it took to finish the story. I would suggest fans of the Shopaholic series borrow it from the library or download the eBook when it is on sale. Finding Audrey is a YA novel about psychological recovery sure to inspire young people with an anxiety disorder.

Title: Finding Audrey
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Published: June 2015
Pages: 209
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

August 9, 2015

Series Sunday: The Lost Girl

(Fear Street Relaunch #3)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

"We all have moments of fear, I guess. But total paralyzing panic was something I never dreamed I'd experience." ~ pg. 26

My Series Sunday pick is The Lost Girl, the third book in the Fear Street Relaunch series by R.L. Stine. Yes, the Fear Street series is back with a new installment! Lizzy Walker is a new student at Shadyside High who constantly gets lost. She befriends Michael, much to his girlfriend Pepper's dismay. He invites Lizzy to a snowmobile party that (surprise, surprise) ends in a tragic accident. The aftermath is even more tragic with Michael's friends in lethal danger. Little do the teens know, the horror started over 60 years ago.

"I have powers. Time to use them." ~ pg. 29

Like most bookhearts, I grew up reading this popular horror series. I've often wondered whether R.L. Stine still has it. Were the Fear Street novels really as good as I remember? So when I had the opportunity to review an advanced readers copy of the relaunched series, I was giddy! I breezed through the 172 pages while sitting in my personal library enjoying the summer sunlight and fan breeze. The book is intended for young adults so the language and story line was not complex and very easy to follow. Unfortunately, my reader's imagination matured since reading a Fear Street novel so I guessed the plot immediately, plus author R.L. Stine kept the same formula.

Reading The Lost Girl sent me on a walk down middle school memory lane. It is a great nostalgic read for 30-something adults that you can read along with the teen(s) in your life. Add The Lost Girl to your pre-order or wish lists; its expected publication date is September 29, 2015. Welcome back to the Fear Street fan world, Robert Lawrence Stine!


DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: The Lost Girl
Author: R.L. Stine
Published: September 2015
Pages: 172
Edition: Galley
Challenge: Popsugar Book Set in the Future
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

August 7, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"What I remember most about that afternoon was the shimmering scarlet and yellow of the sky, as if the heavens were lighting up to join our family's celebration. The sunlight sparkled off the two-day-old snow at the curb, as if someone had piled diamonds in the street."

~ The Lost Girl: A Fear Street Novel by R.L. Stine

August 6, 2015

Book to Movie: The Room

Listen. The Room still haunts me long after I've read it. Just watching the below movie trailer brings that lump in your throat when you're about to cry. Bookhearts, set your iCal for November 6, 2015, to see The Room movie adaptation with me and Chickadee.



 

August 5, 2015

Paper Towns


"Forever is composed of nows." ~ pg. 233

Quentin "Q" Jacobsen is in love with the adventurous Margo Spiegelman. Perhaps in love is an understatement. Q is obsessed with Margo to the point that he idolizes her. So when she disappears on one of her adventures and leaves behind clues, Q does not hesitate to follow them in hopes of finding his dream girl.

As an avid reader, it takes an average of 3-4 days to start and finish a novel. It is a problem when it takes over a week to finish a book. Such is the case with Paper Towns. This book would've ended up a DNF if it wasn't a buddy read with my bookheart, The Nappy Bookish Babe. I heart The Fault in Our Stars but John Green has a way of creating unrealistic exaggerated teen characters. I did however learn about copyright traps, paper streets and paper towns so thanks for the geography lesson, John Green.

Paper Towns is in theaters now. (See the movie trailer below.) I hope their adventure translates better on the big screen but I am in no rush to see it. Share your thoughts if you've already seen Paper Towns and let me know if it is better than the book.


Title: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Published: September 2009
Pages: 246
Edition: eBook
Challenge: Popsugar Book That Became a Movie
Rating: ♥♡

 

August 4, 2015

Pretty Baby


"How do you know she's not going to kill us?" ~ pg. 93

It is official. I am addicted to reading psychological thrillers. It's like I am crackish and keep looking for that next hit to give me the feeling of my first high (Gone Girl). Some have come close, others not so much.

Heidi Wood is a charitable woman. She works at a nonprofit and makes a habit of taking in stray cats. But her husband and daughter are taken aback when Heidi comes home with a teenage girl named Willow and her four-month-old baby. Never mind this seemingly homeless girl may be a criminal. Heidi makes it her new charitable mission to help Willow get back on her feet. Hence begins the twisted story of an act of kindness gone wrong.

Book covers are important. Some authors and publishers take pride in choosing a cover that best fits the content. Others not so much. I do not like the cover of Pretty Baby. It would not grab my attention on a bookstore shelf. It will not jump out and scream "Download me now!" while I am browsing the NOOK store. And seriously, how hard could it have been to find a pretty baby for the cover? Because the girl featured is not it. Just saying.

All covers aside, Pretty Baby will make you question how far you'll go to help a stranger. The suspense wasn't enough to reach through the pages, grab me by the snuggie and hold me until I finished the last page. On the contrary, I would read a few pages, put it down, immediately forget what I just read, procrastinate picking it back up, read a couple chapters, be tempted to skip ahead just to finish. It doesn't help that the story finished on an incomplete note/cliffhanger. -__-

Every now and then, I run into a book that is full of hype and 5-star ratings. So naturally my expectations are high. Then I start reading and wonder if my copy is missing pages upon pages upon pages because clearly I am not reading the same story that many claim is a good read. Unfortunately, Pretty Baby is such a novel.

DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: Pretty Baby
Author: Mary Kubica
Published: July 2015
Pages: 380
Edition: Galley
Challenge: New Authors
Rating: ♥ ♡

 

August 2, 2015

Series Sunday: Bed & Breakfast Bedlam

(Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery #1)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is Bed & Breakfast Bedlam, the first book in the Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery series by Abby L. Vandiver. Logan Dickerson is a nearly 30-year-old black archaeologist trying to prove her worth outside of her mother's shadow. Logan's mom, Dr. Justin Dickerson, is a biblical archaeologist that discovered the Mars Origin Theory. (Click here for my review of Dr. Dickerson's story In The Beginning.)

"Archaeologists, like me, mark time around such events." ~ iBook pg. 5

After trespassing on a federally protected archaeological site, Logan ends up in a small Georgia town where one resident has keeled over dead in her bowl of Renmar's famous bouillabaisse. Suddenly the place where Logan wants a good meal and sleep becomes the scene of a crime. Maypop Bed & Breakfast is full of characters: an attractive FBI guy, a voodoo herbalist, a clueless sheriff, whispering old folks and more. Of all the colorful characters, Logan is recruited by the ninety-something, voodoo herbalist named Miss Vivee who tries to solve the murder before the local sheriff does.

"My idea of fun is not hunting down killers. I like digging in dirt." ~ iBook pg. 455

The death of a complete stranger marks the complete and utter change in the course of Logan's young life. This cozy mystery with a touch of romance was everything! A very quick engaging read indeed. It is worth reading if you like diversity on your bookshelf and a cozy mystery. I am really looking forward to reading the other books in the series. Thank goodness the author, Abby L. Vandiver, released the other books back-to-back. I am diving into the next one like Logan digs into dirt!


DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the author for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: Bed & Breakfast Bedlam
Author: Abby L. Vandiver
Published: May 2015
Pages: 186
Edition: eBook
Challenge: Diversity on the Shelf
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡