Tag: overdrive

Friday YA: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

You know when you have a name that is on the tip of your tongue but you can’t recall the word? The story of Shahrzad was that tale that I knew I had heard before and as I started listening to the audio book I immediately searched for it. The re-telling of that story stays pretty close to the original. However, instead of a husband who has each wife killed as the sun rises to save himself from infidelity, our hero Khalid’s reason is a mystery for most of the book. Don’t worry, I’m not going to give it away here in my review. It is not because he is trying to save himself from the hurt infidelity brings, it’s a more “honorable” reason. If you can call having hundreds of women killed, honorable. When our heroine, Shahrzad volunteers to be the kings next wife, she surprises everyone. Why would you volunteer to die? That reason is what is at the heart of this story, and she and Khalid’s budding relationship is what kept me listening.

Not only is Shahrzad a great storyteller, keeping Khalid hanging on the plot each night, she is the type of heroine that I enjoy reading about. She is strong, willful, smart, and emotional. Shazi’s original intent for volunteering is soon betrayed by her feelings. How can someone fall in love with a man who has had so many women killed? Her internal struggle was riveting.

Taking place in Persia when women were seen behind screens and through wispy bits of fabric, Renee Ahdieh modernized this version allowing Shazi to be bold and adventurous. Her King, Khalid, seemed to actually be more reserved and traditional than she, but as we get to know his reasons for his actions, we see why she would be attracted to him. That reserve was self protecting. I couldn’t really see how this novel could have a happy ending, and just as in one of Shahrzad’s own tales, I was left wanting more.

The narrator for this story, Ariana Delawari, took a more traditional route for her storytelling. She did a straight read, delivering emotion well, but not really changing her voice for the different characters. Once I got used to her style I found that this really fit the pace of the novel. This isn’t a story that you rip through. You need to enjoy the flavors, sights and smells of Persia through this authors words without any special effects to detract from them. I really enjoyed listening to it and will also listen to the sequel too. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Wrath

Click this link to purchase!*The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

This Chick Read: The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Have you ever been asked “If you could have dinner with any five people, dead or alive, who would you choose?”  The Dinner List is a novel about Sabrina, who sits down to dinner for her 30th birthday with five people, one of whom is Audrey Hepburn. An interesting premise, but as the novel moves forward, we are given hints that there’s a reason these five people have been chosen, and in a few hours Sabrina is able to work out her feelings of regret, sadness, love, and friendship so that by dinner’s end she, and everyone else at the table can move in the direction their lives have taken them.

Even though I didn’t have a clue where this novel was going to take me I quickly found myself wrapped up in the dinner conversation and in Sabrina’s life as told through flashbacks. This dinner list was started when she was in college with her roommate and best friend Jessica. On this list was her father who had left she and her mother when she was a toddler, her college Philosophy professor, her best friend Jessica, Audrey Hepburn, and the boy she had a blind crush on in college. As the novel progresses we see the reasons why each of these people were at the table. As each course is eaten, something new is revealed about Sabrina’s life and the people at the table help her deal with her emotions about that time in her life. These scenes were sometimes sweet, funny, fascinating and sad. However they made me feel, I eagerly ate them up digesting the words as if they were a calorie free all you can eat dessert buffet.

I think the reason why this novel worked so well was because Sabrina was not a perfect woman. She was completely flawed. At times, I didn’t understand her reactions yet I wanted to know so much more about her. In one scene we find out Sabrina is named for Audrey Hepburn’s character in the movie Sabrina because her mom and dad thought that that character was a young woman that knew what she wanted and was determined to get it. A great person to emulate, however this Sabrina was more like Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly. Sabrina was afraid to be alone, wanting to always be connected to others and she let that fear rule her.

This book made me reflect upon my own list of five people I’d like to sit down to dinner, dead or alive. Should I sit Jon BonJovi next to Abraham Lincoln or Margaret Thatcher? Or maybe I should ask Candice Bergen if she’s available? Regardless, I don’t think it would be as interesting as Sabrina’s journey was in this book.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

The Dinner List

Click this link to purchase!* The Dinner List: A Novel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: August Wrap-Up!

When I look back on August, the first thing I think of is my fabulous vacation in France. I’ll admit, I stop and dream for a bit, then focus myself on writing this post!  When I look back there were a surprising number of good books! Just in case you missed these, I want to highlight the books that had a 5.0 rating.

The Tower by Nicole Campbell

This book deals with friendship, love for your best friend and the difficulties of being different while in high school. The three main characters were enchanting and grew throughout the novel. Oh, and did I mention they are witches?

The Tower

“It is a wonderful story about love and acceptance and I’d wish for each of you to pick this one up and give it a shot.”

To read my full review of The Tower click HERE.

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh

Sarah meets Eddie while on a visit home to England. They hit it off, spend a week together, fall in love and then she never hears from Eddie again. Were their feelings imagined?

IMG_2562

“This novel was part love story, part mystery, and every bit of it fascinating. As I learned more about Sarah’s life, I really wanted this happiness to be real.”

To read my full review of Ghosted click HERE.

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

Have you ever eagerly anticipated a novel so much that you then didn’t really want to read it? That’s how I was with Magic Triumphs, the 10th and final installment in one of my favorite fantasy series by Ilona Andrew, Kate Daniels. The buildup towards Kate’s final showdown with her father Roland has been HUGE! Ilona Andrews did not disappoint.

Magic Triumphs

“Kate-The reason why I love this heroine so much is because even though she has this incredible power and could do and be pretty much anything she wants, she remains true throughout this series. She wants to have friends, love and have a home with Curran.”

To read my full review of Magic Triumphs click HERE.

I fit in a couple Sunday Commentary posts:

Will These Genre’s Get Me Out of My Book Rut? I’ll admit, I still have not read any of the books in this post, but I did get out of my book rut. How? I read an old favorite by Kristen Ashley called Lady Luck. I knew the story, knew I liked it and was able to enjoy reading again!

Book to Movie- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society– Click this link to read my review of the book and movie. I’ll give a hint. I did like one more than the other but enjoyed them both!

I also interviewed a couple of amazing book bloggers in my Blogger to Blogger series! If you missed those posts, please click their links to read them.

Amanda @Cover2CoverMom

Trang and Lashaan @Bookidote

If you have had the chance to read any of these books did you agree with my 5.0 rating? What did you think of Amanda, Trang and Lashaan’s answers to my questions? Aren’t they great bloggers?

What was your favorite book that you read in August? I’d love to hear about it!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads7 Comments

Friday YA: Hunted by Meagan Spooner

When her father goes bankrupt, Yeva, her father, and her sisters have to sell off all of their wealth and move back in to the rundown hunting cabin he owned prior to marrying their mother. He is determined to build back up their wealth by tracking and hunting the fantastical creatures of the forest he taught Yeva about in her childhood. Instead on of those beasts ends up killing him instead. Yeva, nicknamed beauty by her father, goes off on a hunt of her own finding much more than she’d bargained for.

As you can guess, this is a fairy-tale retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast- but with a twist. Meagan Spooner sets her Beauty in Russia and fills her tale with Russian folk tales that embodies this tale with life beyond a Beauty falling in love with her Beast in a broken down castle. In her captivity, Yeva keeps herself sane by telling her captor every story she can remember turning her dark and dank cell into multi-hued world, if just for a moment. As she spends more time with her Beast, she see’s through his outer appearance to see the humanity within him, realizing he may be one of her tales turned to life.

I am not sure why it took me so long to read this book other than I had a ton of fairy-tale re-tellings on my list and even though I’d heard this one was very good, I thought I knew the story of Beauty and the Beast. However, the Russian folk stories gave life to this Beauty and the Beast and I really liked the world Meagan Spooner built for the setting. I liked the Beast’s origin story and the journey Yeva had to take, both internal and external, to save him from becoming a true Beast gave more meat to the romantic musical that Disney made popular. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

IMG_2555

Click this link to purchase!* Hunted

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick Read: The Air He Breathes by Brittainy Cherry

Elizabeth is still reeling from the loss of her husband a year before. She is trying to keep her sanity intact because she has their young daughter to raise and she doesn’t want her to continue to see her sorrow. Tristan Cole is the loner next door. When Elizabeth arrives back in town after a year away, all she hears is that Tristan is scary, violent, a loser, and not to let him get close, but there’s something in his eyes that calls out to her and draws her in.

Tristan is pretty much what all of her friends say. He, too, is dealing with tragedy, but he has let it break him down. Even when Elizabeth reaches out to him he doesn’t know if he can handle the responsibility without it tearing him apart. So the two of them make an agreement to “use” each other. Their relationship is meant for them to not feel so alone, but it doesn’t help them get over their pain, it actually enhances it. It’s only when they stop that they realize their feelings had changed.

This was one dark and emotional novel and at times I was worried that it wouldn’t ever lighten up. The surprise for me was that it was Tristan who saw the light first and helped Elizabeth find it. I read so many novels where the woman “saves” the man and I think if The Air He Breathes had taken that route I would’ve disliked the novel. Thank goodness Brittainy Cherry took me down a different path. It’s really hard to read a book where your hero and heroine are in so much emotional pain, but Ms. Cherry seems to relish these kinds of stories and she is very good at delivering a satisfying conclusion. If you love hardcore, dark, emotional romances you will love this novel. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Air He Breathes

Click this link to purchase! The Air He Breathes (Elements)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads4 Comments

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box Reveal- Aug’18

I’m a little late getting this post for August, sorry! This subscription usually comes in just a little bit after the 15th, but August is a super busy month! My husband’s birthday and a vacation threw me off my game. So finally (!), here is my Uppercase Box reveal for the month of August.

I get the super deluxe version of this subscription, so get a few bookish items along with my YA book surprise. For those of you who are Harry Potter fans, there was a cute little HP notebook included.

IMG_2595 (1)

I always love cute notecards, so the next bookish item was right up my alley!

IMG_2596

Sometimes Uppercase includes a cute jewelry item and this month there was a necklace included that gives a really HUGE clue on the book title for this month… Any guesses?

IMG_2594

Finally the book! As signed copy of Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson.

Synopsis:

A stunning new adventure set in the kingdoms of the Remnant.

A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.

A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.

Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen’s premier guard.

A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.

A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.

When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.

54C64458-FBD1-414E-A348-8B389F064812

I have actually seen a few reviews on this book already and it looks pretty good! I’m looking forward to reading it, and of course, reviewing it too!

IMG_2599

What do you think about this month’s box?

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

Friday YA: The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Clara Shin is skimming through life having fun and playing practical jokes until one day at school one of those jokes goes a little too far. In order to get out of being suspended she is forced to work with her arch enemy Rose on her father’s food truck, the KoBra, for the summer, skipping her trip to Tulum with her mom. What starts off as torture turns into a summer of making new friends, discovering a lot about herself, and falling in love. She learns there is more to life than living on the surface. Life’s rewards come from caring deeply about the people around you even if you may run the risk of getting hurt.

At first Clara’s life with her single father dad, Adrian, didn’t seem to have any consequence. He was the cool parent, finding himself a father to a teenager while only 34 years old. Clara wasn’t the only person to grow in this book. Her father also saw that he wasn’t doing his daughter any favors by laughing at her antics. A little discipline, while hard for both of them, ended up proving to be the best thing for both of them, forcing them to deal with feelings that neither of them were comfortable sharing.

Clara’s friendship with Rose grows slowly and is really very sweet. Clara’s prior friends were two boys who egged her on in her unruly behavior. Rose was a very structured person and they ended up being the Yin to the others Yang. Perfect complements to each other. Hamlet, the boy Clara meets while working the food truck is totally different then the other boys she’s used to being around. While movie star handsome, he has an old school charm that makes his personality different than any one else. He is polite and her dad likes him for goodness sake! He pursues Clara and her shy uncertainty with this alien creature was very sweet. I enjoyed their growing relationship and was pleased that this author stayed true to the sweetness of their feelings by not advancing them into adulthood too quickly.

This was my first novel by Maurene Goo and I really liked it. It was so easy to read and I liked the growth all of the characters showed from beginning to end. She delivered her message in a way that didn’t preach, instead showed how Clara’s life improved by allowing herself to feel things. That’s a message that a person at any age can appreciate and understand. This was an Uppercase Box subscription book and was totally worth the money spent. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Way You

Click this link to purchase! The Way You Make Me Feel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and will receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments

This Chick Read: Friends Without Benefits (Knitting in the City #2) by Penny Reid

Elizabeth Finney has come a long way since her shy, skinny days in high school. She’s now a well respected doctor in Chicago and her looks are decidedly different. As soon as she see’s Nico Manganiello in her emergency room she slides right back into old bad habits. The two of them grew up together and had always  antagonized each other. Nico was the best friend of the boy she had loved who had died tragically in high school. When she see’s him all of those old feelings come back, including the back and forth bickering. What she doesn’t realize is that Nico has always been in love with her and he’s determined to show he’s worth her love in return.

Most of the Penny Reid novels I’ve read are more relationship building than sex and this novel is no different. The chemistry between these two characters is off the charts and you almost feel like you’ve been reading sex scenes after finishing an emotional exchange between these two characters, it’s that sizzling. Nico is a famous underwear model turned talk show host. He’s hot with a capital H and makes Liz feel small by comparison. Seeing him again drums up old feelings, including Liz feeling bullied by Nico in her youth. His past behavior was the typical tease the girl you love behavior, but Liz never got the message. She is gobsmacked when he reveals he’s always been in love with Liz and reluctant to let him back into her life.

This was not my favorite Penny Reid novel. It did have all of the humor and relationship building I’ve come to expect, but that hint of childhood bullying threw me off Nico a little bit. When Liz finally realizes her love for Nico I went all in on my feelings for them as a couple because I liked her character so much. I just wish I had liked Nico just a little bit more! I still really enjoyed reading this novel and love Penny Reid’s quirky characters and fun dialog. Reading her novels are always worth my time.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Friends without Benefits

Click this link to purchase! Friends Without Benefits: An Unrequited Romance (Knitting in the City) (Volume 2)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels #10) by Ilona Andrews

I am thrilled to have gotten an ARC of Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews. I am a huge fan of  this series and have read, listened to, and dreamed about every novel. I’ll be honest though, if I hadn’t gotten this ARC I may have sat on this novel for a little while. It’s so hard to say goodbye to characters you love so much! As this book comes out on 8/28 I knew I’d have to buckle down and get over my emotional pain and read the novel. Without giving away the plot too much, here are my brief thoughts.

Kate- The reason why I love this heroine so much is because even though she has this incredible power and could do and be pretty much anything she wants, she remains true throughout this series. She wants to have friends, love, and have a home with Curran. A home, not a castle, not as ruler, just as a woman wanting to be with her man. Magic Triumphs stretches Kate further than she’s ever been. As we have seen in the Oracles visions in past novels, Kate knows she will battle her father, Roland, which may cause her son or her husband Curran’s death. She will do absolutely ANYTHING to keep their deaths from happening.

We found out at the end of Magic Binds that Kate is pregnant, so I’m not spoiling anything by saying that this novel starts off with the birth of their son and the majority of the novel takes place while her son is around 1 years old. He is such a fun presence in this novel and added something new and fresh to Kate’s character. MOM. I also loved seeing how proud Curran is of his son, and I think my favorite line in this book is Curran’s “He’s a prodigy.” Conlan, their little boy, is a little more than Kate had expected and his antics provide some much needed humor to what could have been a really darkly emotional novel.

The whole Kate Daniels series has been leading up to her battle with her father, Roland. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone when I say that yes, they battle. However, before that happens they have a couple of heart twanging moments that make you wish things had been different for Kate. It’s a shame she didn’t get the father she needed, but then we wouldn’t have had all of these wonderful stories to read! I feel like Roland paused for a moment reflecting on that same wish. That he’d have had the chance to just love his daughter. However, he is who he is and can’t change his megalomaniac ways…

Curran. I just love him. In Magic Triumphs he proves his worth as mate to Kate. They are now parents and we see them go through another evolution in their relationship, but Curran takes things even beyond where I saw his character going in order to keep his family safe. When I stop to think about it, it’s pretty jaw dropping, but my lips are sealed!

Magic Triumphs ends on a positive note. When I say that, I mean that we are given hope that more novels in this world will be written. We already know that Hugh and Elara have their own series, and they are actually an integral part of this book as well. We get a hint at the end that two more characters may have their own stories written. I can only hope!

I am going to end this review by copying what Ilona Andrews wrote on their blog. Paraphrasing, of course. ‘If this is the first time you have picked up a book in the Kate Daniels series. Put it down. Pick up Magic Bites. It’s our least favorite in the series, but the first and it needs to be read in order. It gets better, we promise.’ Boy does it!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Magic Triumphs

Click this link to purchase!*Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

Friday YA: Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Amani, our 16 year old heroine receives facial tattoo’s that tell a story about her family’s history as well as attributes of her personality. When some robot type soldiers scan her face and take her hostage, I was intrigued. OK, this is a Moorish/Sci-fi book. Interesting! When Amani finds out why she has been taken, because she has features close enough to be their princesses body double I thought hmmm again. I’m not sure how this is all going to fit together. Even though at times I stopped to hmmm at the plot, I did think Samaiya Daud crafted a really interesting world.

As I read further the interesting bits seemed to fade away until I felt like I was reading another Alwyn Hamilton novel though not as exciting. A young woman finds herself in unfortunate circumstances and rises above her situation to take a stand against the evil empire and fall in love. Don’t get me wrong, it was an enjoyable story! It just felt kind of familiar. What wasn’t familiar was the science fiction aspect of it and I really wish that the feeling was more sci-fi than Moroccan? It was that that made this novel original, although I suppose a mash-up of the two hasn’t been done before.

Characters:

Amani was a nice solid heroine. Once she got past her circumstance she was determined to make a difference. I always like a heroine who doesn’t turn to mush when things get difficult. The Vathek is a conquering race who has subjugated the natives, slowly killing them off (sounds familiar to us Americans, doesn’t it?) and Amani wants to do her part to help stop them.

The evil Princess Maram, who’d had Amani kidnapped to be her stand in was the most interesting character. She was evil, anxious, and confused and her flaws made her interesting. As the story went on and we learned how sad her life was, she went from black and white 2D to full 3D technicolor. I wished that this book had been written from her POV instead of Amani’s.

Yes, there was also a love interest. Idris? Ilbis? I’ll be truthful, I couldn’t get Idris Elba out of my head and have smashed his name together in my head. Anyway, he was from one of the subjugated tribes, fated to be the sole survivor and marry the evil princess. Instead he hangs with her body double. You can guess what happens to that love triangle.

Did I love this book? No. Did I hate it? Definitely not! I just couldn’t get past some similarities to other novels I’d read and that kind of ruined it for me. If the pace had been a bit quicker, I might’ve enjoyed it a bit more. However, other readers have absolutely LOVED this novel. I say, read it and you be the judge!

❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

MIrage

Click this link to purchase!* Mirage: A Novel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads