This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Young Adults Save the World

The other day I finished reading a Young Adult book that I felt was kind of well, average. The writing was good, the scenes were set pretty well, but there was just something that bothered me about the plot. It was a contemporary ya action novel that seemed to be inspired by the Jason Bourne spy movies. It was fun, it was well written, but why didn’t it connect with me? I did also have trouble emotionally connecting with the hero, but I really think it’s because I didn’t believe it.It didn’t connect because the world this seventeen year old lives in could be my own world. I had to fight my own reality and couldn’t immerse myself completely into the story.

Is that why it’ easier to accept a 17 year old saving the world or falling in love when it’s a Fantasy novel?  

Absolutely! Why?

  1. World building: When I read V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series, or Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, I didn’t have time to stop and question the logistics, emotional capacity, training, and fortitude of the main characters. I was too busy immersing myself in the world they were building. Trying to figure out the schematics of jumping Londons distracted me from scoffing at such a young person single handedly saving her race. (yeah, I mixed the plots a bit to prove my point, but you get the drift.)
  2. Magic: It may be a tired trope, but if our hero or heroine has a magical power, that power trumps how old they are. 17? Pshaw! This girl can fling lightening out of her hands! This guy is a billionaire who has created a virtual reality game that is taking over the world! When he/she uses that power to save herself, her friends, or the world… well, I’m all in! I don’t even stop to think twice about it! Of course, not all powers are used for good, but point made.
  3. The power of love: I am not going to say that love can’t conquer all because love changes people and makes them view life differently. Love is life changing, but is that power of love more believable when it’s a 17 year old girl who turns into a dragon or a seventeen year old girl late for class in high school? Well, I’m intrigued by this girl who turns into a dragon and will be more willing to overlook her age than the girl I envision as myself in a high school setting.  The comparison to myself makes me remember all of her life that remains in front of her. I’m a little more skeptical that she may have found the love of her life at 17 than that she turns into a dragon. Weird, right?
  4. Fight experience: I’m speaking VERY generally, but I believe the percentage of 17 year old’s in the real world who have the fighting skills to overcome terrorists are pretty slim. However, in a fantasy setting where sword skills are learned by the age 10, and of course there are those magic powers  they can use (!), I can believe the storytelling for that world. After all, it’s not my own world, it’s make believe.

teen super hero's

You get the point. So, here’s the dilemma. How do you write a YA novel, set in the world we are living in, where it’s believable for the main protagonist to have the skills, knowledge and fortitude to save the day, fall in love and otherwise be a hero that is believable?

How do you review that book and not let your own opinions (yes, maybe even disbelief) of that story reflect in your review? Or do you let it affect your review?

I’d like to hear your opinion!

Until next Sunday,

Deb

p.s. I am in no way saying that a 17 year old can’t save the world, only that it is more believable in a Fantasy novel. There are amazing young people out there who love this world and will hopefully keep helping save it. This post was a silly way for me to procrastinate writing a review about a teen spy that saved his school. Back to it!

 

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This Chick Read: Wrong Number Right Guy (The Bourbon Street Boys #1) by Elle Casey

May Wexler receives an urgent text from her sister from a dive bar downtown called Frankie’s. Responding to the urgent nature of the text, she grabs her mini Chihuahua and rushes out the door. Dressed inappropriately for a biker dive bar in her pink espadrilles and Ann Taylor clothes, she braves the biker element in search of her sister and her three kids. Needless to say, her sister isn’t there. The text was sent in error, and before she figures that out, she’s in the middle of a shoot out and a burly bearded gorilla grabs her and hustles her out the door.

This was the first of the fish out of water scenes in Wrong Number Right Guy for May. She was not the brightest bulb in the bunch, however she was plucky! and damned funny actually. There were a couple of scenes where I was laughing out loud and wiping tears from my eyes. Normally I abhor stupid women in books, but there was more to May than met the eye and I can only think that Ozzie saw right through that Ann Taylor facade before I did. Even though he was mostly the strong silent type, he seemed to like her shenanigans and actually gave her credit for having more brains than I’m convinced she had. He was the perfect stoic foil to her beard jokes and took her teasing very well.

The best thing about this novel, besides the humor, was the fact that even though May was kind of nutty, she wasn’t a victim. This girl seemed terrified of everything, but when push came to shove, her instincts were on fire and she’d kick butt. Sometimes by accident, but she didn’t need a man to save her, she always ended up saving herself. This is why this book ranked so high. Well, that and the humor. My god, I laughed! I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the series to see if they are just as funny. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Wrong Number Click this link to purchase! Wrong Number, Right Guy (The Bourbon Street Boys) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

One night while Starr and a friend were driving home from a party they were pulled over by a police officer and her friend was shot dead. This incident sets up a chain reaction of violence, hate and mistrust between law enforcement and the black community in Starr’s neighborhood and around the country. Through Starr’s eyes we see her struggle with the shooting and prejudice, but also see her struggle to find an identity between the two worlds she lives in. Private school during the day where she is one of two black people in her class and in the ghetto at night where she lives. The Hate U Give while fictional is a voyeuristic view through Starr’s eyes of how African American and other ethnic communities struggle to rise above their circumstances, and how a young girl finds her place between two worlds.

The dichotomy of Starr’s school and home life was the perfect counter balance to the escalating violence between the police and the community of Garden Heights. As she navigated her feelings about what happened to her friend Khalil and whether she is the girl who fits in with the white kids at school or the slang talking teenager from Garden Heights her emotions escalate, just as the emotions escalate between her community and those who are trying to contain them. The two stories running parallel to each other amp up the tension. Even though I am not ethnic and did not grow up in those same kind of circumstances I was emotional, feeling everything that these people I had come to love through this story were going through. It felt very real. It felt very wrong.

I had obviously heard a LOT about this book before I finally made myself pick it up and read it. I knew it would be difficult to read. It was. As a middle aged, middle class white woman who has never been judged for the color of my skin, I was afraid of how I would feel when I read it. What would this book MAKE me feel? Well, I felt horrified. Ashamed. Sad. Sickened. Hopeful. Energized. and Ambitious. It made me want a change. This is why it is good to read and learn things outside of your comfort zone. Thank you, Angie Thomas for writing a book that was difficult to read. That made me think. That made me wake up. That made me hopeful for change. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Hate Click this link to purchase! The Hate U Give Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1) by Patricia Briggs #Giveaway

The Giveaway for Cry Wolf has ended!

Burn Bright, Patricia Briggs’ fifth novel in the Alpha & Omega series, is being released on March, 6, 2018. In honor of that release Berkley Publishing and I am going to be giving away a copy of Cry Wolf the first novel in the series.

CRY WOLF

“Anna never knew werewolves existed until the night she survived a violent attack…and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the pack, she’d learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But Anna is that rarest kind of werewolf: an Omega. And one of the most powerful werewolves in the country is about to recognize her value as a pack member—and as his mate.”

REVIEW

I will be reading and reviewing Burn Bright soon, but it had been awhile since I’ve read the other novels in the series. I decided to listen to the audio book as a re-read. Narrated by Holter Graham I again enmeshed myself in this fabulous Urban Fantasy series about Anna, a female werewolf, who finds herself mated to Charles, son of the Marrok or premier Alpha of all werewolves in the United States. As stated in the synopsis above, Anna, only a werewolf for three years was told she was a submissive, a werewolf at the bottom of the pecking order in a pack. Dominated and brutalized by a pack that should’ve protected her. She finds her self confidence and place in werewolf society with her mate Charles an enforcer for the Marrok, his father. He often gets sent on missions by his father and in Cry Wolf, he and Anna investigate a rogue werewolf.

There are so many things I loved about listening to this novel. Holter Graham does a wonderful job narrating. He imbues Anna’s voice with a strength and cleverness that she is only now discovering for herself. Charles who is described as being the strong silent and deadly type is voiced with a kind of nasal intelligence. Other werewolves have seen Charles as being kind of dumb, when in fact he is very smart as well as deadly.  Holter Graham’s voice for Charles gave him more cleverness than my own voice in my head. It made me see him differently than I had when I first read the novel. His gentleness with his new mate fit his characterization to a tee. Anna’s courage and sass strengthened as the novel moved forward and Holter Graham did a great job of starting off shy and moving towards an independence and self confidence that you wouldn’t think would come across in a narration. It did and it was so well done! So, not only was the writing fantastic, but that narration was brilliant as well. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This series, I believe starts and runs congruently with book 4 of the Mercy Thompson series, but you do not have to have read that series. This one stands completely on its own. The mystery is well thought out and the fantasy paranormal elements believable. Please enter the giveaway below to win a copy of Cry Wolf. I hope you will enjoy this novel as much as I have and want to re-read it or listen to it in the future as well!

Cry Wolf

Click this link to purchase! Cry Wolf (Alpha and Omega, Book 1)

Enter here for the Giveaway! US only!

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Patricia Briggs is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mercy Thompson novels Silence Fallen, Fire Touched, and Night Broken, among others. Her Alpha and Omega novels include Burn Bright, Dead Heat, Fair Game, Hunting Ground, and Cry Wolf. She lives in Washington State with her family and a small herd of horses.

 Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Amber (Red Hot Love #1) by Elle Casey

Amber’s life is peaceful if not a little boring living on a hippie commune in Maine with her three mothers and two sisters. She and her sisters lives get flipped upside down when a lawyer shows up on their doorstep representing a famous rock band offering a $10 million settlement each to their three daughters. Not only are they shocked that their father’s may be alive, but also that their mothers had been groupies for the band Red Hot, gotten pregnant at the same time, and retired to a commune to raise them and never telling them that their fathers were alive.

I’ll admit, this premise was a new one for me! Groupie moms, now hippies on a commune raising their daughters? When hippie chick Amber arrives in NY, a little heated about these fathers trying to buy their daughters off, she is a duck out of water. Ty, new lead guitarist for Red Hot, meets her at the airport, but she takes the old adage “Never talk to Strangers” very seriously and although cute, she ditches him. The hijinks between Ty and Amber begin. They have some serious chemistry and Amber soon can’t resist this tortured musician.

Yes, this was a love story that I really liked, however the real conflict is between Amber and this band of possible fathers. When she gets past her anger, she starts to build relationships with the band and those scenes are written so well, the pain on both sides heartbreaking. I really liked how her feelings for them and learning how they loved her mothers really added depth to the story and as a comparison made the love story between she and Ty real. Amber was different than other Elle Casey novels, but I really enjoyed it!  I will definitely be reading her sister Emerald’s story when it comes out in April 2018! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given an ARC of this novel through NetGalley for my honest review, and it was honest!

Amber

Click this link to purchase! Shiver

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick’s Sunday Commentary: Reading Challenges- why participate?

Reading Challenges. What do they mean really? If I finish the year at 40% to my reading goal am I giving myself an F? Is that what reading challenges are supposed to make me feel like? I hope no one takes them that seriously! As many do, I set a goal for myself on Goodreads for last year and again set one up for 2018. Does it drive me? Do I feel good or bad when I hit a mark that shows progress?  Society has taught us, with grades through school, goals and budgets to hit at work, and even how many times we have sex with our spouse in a week, to grade ourselves against what someone else has declared the norm. So my reading challenge shouldn’t be about if I hit my goal or not, right? At what point do I start feeling bad about myself? Being driven to succeed by overachieving?

overachieving meme

OK, I’ll fess up. I’m somewhat of an overachiever and actually surpassed my Goodreads challenge for last year by 12 books. I may have cheated a little bit because I listened to quite a few books too and counted those as having been read. Technically they were listening, but it was a book and I finished it and because I was driven to succeed by a number no one else set for me but myself, I counted it. Whew! Glad I got that off my chest….

Let’s talk about these challenges. Why do we do them?

  1. Well, I’m a book blogger! I read books. I talk about books. I review books. Sometimes I need help motivating myself. I’m a goal oriented person and these challenges do the job! It seems silly, doesn’t it? Why would I procrastinate reading a book when I love to read? Well, sometimes if you feel like you have to do it, you put pressure on yourself. So having someone else challenge me? It’s a contest, and well, I love to win. Even if the prize is only reading a great book.
  2. I like to feel like I’m part of a group. Isn’t that why we read popular books and comment and have conversations about them? Isn’t it fun to interact with people who are doing the same things you are doing? Feel free to nod in agreement. 🙂
  3. Focus!  This is a big one for me. Like most of you, I too have a ton of books to read, lots of ARC commitments and still want to read my own stack sitting on my nightstand. A challenge, whether it be a Goodreads countdown, or even a TBR Take down challenge helps me focus and get the job done!
  4. Organization- I’ll admit, I mainly use Goodreads to keep track of all of the books I read. It’s a great tool!  The extra side benefit is I get to see what my friends read too. Want to be my friend on Goodreads? I would LOVE that!  Click HERE.  I love to scroll through the feed to see what everyone is reading.
  5. I created my own mini challenge last year when I went on vacation. Kindle Unlimited lets you borrow 10 books at a time and I noticed that I’d let mine get up to 10 and had to delete a book (horrors!) in order to add a new one. I needed to read down my Kindle Unlimited list. I challenged myself to read only Kindle Unlimited books while on vacation.  I think I read 6? Of course, I read the first in a series and then read the other three that hadn’t been on my list previously so I kind of defeated the purpose. However, it was a goal I set and I somewhat stuck to it! LOL.

giphy

I know there are other readers, bloggers and talkers out there who love challenges.

Do you participate in any challenges? Or have you created your own? Feel free to add the link to your challenge in the comments. We all need motivation!

Why do you participate? For the same reasons I mentioned? Or do you have your own reasons. Tell me in the comments. I bet Quite a few of us feel the same way!

Until next Sunday!

Deb

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This Chick Read: This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan #3) by Kelley Armstrong

Rockton is a town in the middle of nowhere, completely off the grid with no electricity, email or internet. It has been established as a haven for people running away from their previous lives, most of whom were victims of some sort, although their histories aren’t revealed so a few are more threat than prey. When the council who decides who lives and leaves Rockton drops an unexpected guest in their laps, Detective Casey Duncan and her lover Sheriff Eric Dalton find themselves harboring a serial killer.

Is Oliver Brady a serial killer? Without being able to jump online and check out his story and background, Casey and Eric have to try to contain him safely in a town that wants nothing to do with him. This mystery was a classic is he or isn’t he, and when someone turns up dead and Brady goes missing this classic mystery turned into an action-adventure novel that I could envision in technicolor on the big screen.

This Fallen Prey is the third novel so we didn’t need the back story on Rockton or its inhabitants, so more than the other two novels in the series, we jumped right into the story.  The psychology of this story was thrilling. Rockton is full of scary and scared individuals, so seeing their reactions to Oliver Brady’s presence put a twisted spin on an already twisted plot, pitting Casey and Eric against pretty much everyone. I enjoyed the anxiety I was feeling as the plot unfolded, is that weird? Well, regardless, this was an edge of your seat thrill ride.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

This Fallen Prey Click this link to purchase! This Fallen Prey: A Rockton Novel (Casey Duncan Novels) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Lingus by Mariana Zapata

Kat is your average ordinary twenty something young woman. She teaches grade school, has had a few boyfriends, has a group of very close girlfriends, and has a wonderful relationship with her father. She also loves porn. Yep! You got it, porn. Kat gets dragged to a porn convention by one of her best friends, and although she is constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure no one she knows see’s her, she is having a blast. While waiting for her best friend to get her favorite male porn star’s autograph, she meets Tristan. Beautiful Tristan who is just sweet as can be. They strike up a funny conversation and inadvertently end up eating lunch together. While he is gorgeous with a capital G, it doesn’t occur to Kat that she is at a PORN convention and that Tristan could be a porn star. Not until she see’s him signing his own autographs at a table later on that same day and he beckons her over asking if he can see her later.

Except for the porn aspect of this novel, this is your typical Mariana Zapata friends to lovers novel. (I would’ve said “typical slow burn” novel, but porn and slow burn, ewww!) Tristan wants to be Kat’s friend. He doesn’t have girlfriends because he doesn’t think it’s healthy to be doing porn and trying to have a relationship. Well, ok, that makes a ton of sense! However, Tristan and Kat have this incredible energy together and even though it takes a while to get there, they do end up together. What makes this novel so different is that this crisis of sorts is well, porn. That is what is keeping them apart. Told entirely from Kat’s perspective, she agonizes over his job. We see that, we hear her feelings, and we know how knowing what he does disrupts her peace of mind.

Tristan through Kat’s eyes is perfect. Beautiful, great personality, fun, and a really really nice person. His explanation for why he does porn doesn’t really ring true for me, but then I’m not a guy and don’t have guy sexual thoughts, so who knows! Maybe it’s that easy to get into porn! Knowing what he did for a living would be a deal breaker for me, but Kat and Tristan are just friends, and one of her other best friends is in that industry. So, even though it’s kind of common to Kat, it’s still strange to me, but I kept reading. LOL.

I’ll give the author some kudos for making me like her writing enough to pick up a novel where the lead characters meet at a porn convention. The friends to lovers story rang true and their friendship did not revolve around porn. (thank God!) I loved both Kat and Tristan and rooted for them to find their happy together. They were quirky, the dialog was fun and just as with her other novels, Ms. Zapata delivered! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Lingus Click this link to purchase! Lingus Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Catalyst (The Deception Game #1) by Kristin Smith

Catalyst is set in a world where genetically altered teenagers are the norm and being naturally born is abnormal. When her father dies suddenly, Sienna has to leave school to find a way to make money to support her mother (who has lupus) and her little sister. Uneducated and “normal” Sienna turns to a life of crime. Taking a job to steal from the man who created the technique to genetically alter human life, she is caught by a military group and blackmailed into killing that scientist. Sienna turns to the Fringe, a semi- terrorist group that is helping extract teens from science labs where they are being tested on against their will not wanting to be a killer. Yikes, there’s a lot going on in this world and really very little explanation, which did make my head spin a bit.

Sienna was a hard headed girl who had good intentions. She’s trying to take care of her family but really just wants someone else to take care of her and make this all go away. I mean, what 17 year old wouldn’t want that? She was torn between two men, Zane, the first genetically altered boy/man, and Trey, the leader of the Fringe. Zane, protected since he was a child, seemed very naive. He was friendly, handsome, charming, but somehow innocent. Trey was also friendly, handsome and charming but a little more dangerous. I am a bit tired of the torn between two guys trope and was looking for an angle that hadn’t been taken in previous novels. Unfortunately, other than they were both nice guys instead of one being evil, Sienna’s situation wasn’t unique.

I really wanted to feel more for this book more than I did. The concept was interesting and I love a strong good versus evil theme, but I thought the world building needed more explanation and I didn’t connect with Sienna. That lack of connection hurt the impact of the final moments of the novel. What happened rocked Sienna’s world, but it just didn’t rock mine. Was it horrible? No. I saw a lot of promise in this novel that just wasn’t fulfilled. Can the author deliver on that promise in the next novel? If she gives Sienna more heart, yes. Will I pick up the next novel, Forgotten? Undecided. ❤️❤️❤️

Kudos to the beautiful covert art which grabbed my attention and made me pick up the book. (Although it didn’t scream apocalyptic genetically altered teen novel.)

Catalyst Click this link to purchase! Catalyst (The Deception Game) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

When Alexa and Drew get stuck in an elevator together at the Fairmont Hotel during a power outage they pass the time by flirting and eating the cheese and crackers she brought to share with her sister. When the elevator starts moving they are both slightly disappointed. Arriving at their floor Alexa gets off the elevator but Drew stops her with a question. Would you be my date to a wedding and rehearsal dinner this weeken? Alexa, normally shy and insecure feels somehow confident in his company and agrees to this kind of strange blind date. When she shows up for the rehearsal dinner they totally click and she helps him navigate what could be a rather uncomfortable event. He’s a groomsman in his ex girlfriends wedding.

The Wedding Date quote

There were a lot of things that I really liked about this book. Alexa and Drew were a bi-racial couple. Seeing things through Alexa’s eyes while navigating the relationship were eye opening. Something as simple as going to a backyard barbecue can be difficult as the only black person at the party. I cringed in horror at some of the things Alexa had to endure. Crude talk from drunk white men hitting on her was normal to her, and it just shouldn’t be. Her job as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Berkeley was a highly qualified position. She had a law degree and was beautiful and personable, but was denigraded by men because of her race. It pissed me off for her. How did Drew handle this? Extremely well. He was mad on her behalf and tried to save her from these unsavory characters, but being a part of a bi-racial couple was not something he was used to navigating. Although to give him credit, the mistakes he made in the relationship were normal man-woman mistakes and didn’t have anything to do with race.

Drew was also an adult with a big job. He was a pediatric surgeon, used to making life altering decisions in the blink of an eye. However, when it came to women Drew was a man-child. His only long term girlfriend being the bride whose wedding he was in. Both characters had their insecurities, but Drew’s were about his failure to make a commitment. It took having to fight for Alexa and for them as a couple to make him grow up.

The topics I talked about above make this sound like a serious book. There were moments that were eye opening and serious. But really, this was a fun romance. Drew was charming, as was Alexa. Their courting song and dance was similar to other books I’ve read, but it was the topics above that gave this book heart and these characters something to overcome to fight to be together. It didn’t take long for me to be charmed into reading the whole novel. Really, I think it was by page 3.  These two characters had great chemistry and the sex scenes (NC-17 rated) didn’t get in the way of a very good story.  This is Jasmine Guillory’s debut novel and boy did she hit a home run. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

The Wedding Date Jasmine Guillory is a graduate of Wellesley College and Stanford Law School. She is a Bay Area native who has towering stacks of books in her living room, a cake recipe for every occasion, and upwards of 50 lipsticks.

Jasmine Guillory Click this link to purchase! The Wedding Date

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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