This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box Reveal October ’18

It’s time for another Uppercase Box YA monthly subscription reveal! As I opened the bag this time it was nice and cushy and I was really curious as to what was creating that pillowy look and feel.

My first winter snow hat! In maroon and gold, reading Ex Libris. I’ll admit, I knew Libris meant book, but wasn’t sure the exact meaning of this Latin saying. Here’s what I found:

Ex LIbris

There’s almost always a couple of bookish stickers inside the bag, which I’ll admit, are not my favorite bookish gifts. I’m a little past the sticker age, but can pass them along to some friends with small children… This box was no exception.

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The next gifty item is actually a clue to this month’s book. A pair of swan earrings, one white, one black.  Hmmmm. Guess yet?

Uppercase Oct 3

NO? Me neither. So, let’s reveal this months book!

Uppercase Oct 5

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

The biggest lie of all is the story you think you already know.

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan.

But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them. Blanca & Roja is the captivating story of sisters, friendship, love, hatred, and the price we pay to protect our hearts.

I’ve read that this is a re-telling of Snow White and Rose Red, but I’m definitely getting a Swan Lake type vibe as well. This sounds kind of interesting!

Has anyone read this book? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until next Sunday!

Deb

Uppercase Oct 6

Friday YA: Smoke in the Sun (Flame in the Mist #2) by Renee Ahdieh – Audio Review

I eagerly anticipated reading Smoke in the Sun, the sequel to Renee Ahdieh’s well received novel Flame in the Mist. I adored Flame in the Mist! The Japanese culture and the heroine, Mariko who was discovering her independence and starting to see the world outside her family’s domain. I had a lot of travel time in front of me so I decided to listen to the audio book for Smoke in the Sun, read by Nancy Wu.

As I started listening to the novel and re-entering the world that Renee Ahdieh created I really enjoyed the slower pace of Nancy Wu’s narration. It really fit the style of the novel and the colorful descriptions of the scenery.

My feelings for the story were very mixed. What I had enjoyed in the first novel, the styling of a new culture and intrigue between figuring out who was good and evil wore thin in Smoke in the Sun. The pace was sooooo slow. I can at times be an impatient reader, and maybe in this case listening to the novel actually gave it a disservice. Regardless, I wanted more from my heroine Mariko than I got in this novel. The beautiful descriptions that I enjoyed previously seemed to drag the story down. The elegance and styling grew suffocating. Where was my kick ass heroine? Too much time was spent on crafting the evil characters and not enough time spent on the resolution. The book had an imbalance that I just couldn’t get past as well as an ending that seemed unrealistic.

I know there will be people who will disagree with me and I’m ok with that! Reading is subjective, as it should be and what I like/dislike others will dislike/like. I do think Renee Ahdieh is a talented writer, but in my opinion she missed the mark with this sequel. Even though I’m giving the book a 2.5 rating, the cover still gets a 5.0. Gorgeous!

❤️❤️❣️

Flame in the Mist

Click this link to purchase!* Smoke in the Sun (Flame in the Mist)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

Friday YA: Love, Life and the List by Kasie West

Do you ever start off reading a book thinking it’s about one thing, but your own experience with the words on the page make your experience something entirely different? That’s what happened to me with Kasie West’s Love, Life and the List.

Abby is seventeen years old and in love with her best friend Cooper. As if that’s not bad enough, she is trying to enter her art into an exhibit to help her chances of getting into art school but her mentor tells her that she hasn’t lived through enough life experiences to portray art with feeling. Abby is pretty destroyed, but determined to live life to the fullest by following a list she creates. What’s on the list? Things like facing your fear; watch a life end; experiencing unrequited love, etc. and her painting changes as she does with each life event she faces.

I think we’ve all lived through Abby’s emotion of loving her best friend and not having that love returned. Although mine was at a little bit older of an age, those feelings came rushing right back as she tried to deny the importance of her feelings. Thankfully she had some other things to check off to keep her busy and as she did I realized I should make my own list because even though I’m older, there is still a lot I need to experience. Kasie West’s point about your life becoming 3D by living through different experiences was poignant, and even though sometimes I’m human and want to avoid heavy emotions, reading this book made me think I may be missing something by not living them. (OK, I am mostly thinking about my avoidance of movies and books that make me cry, but even so, I may be missing something!)

Cooper was a charming leading man. He was a typical teen in that he didn’t think that far into the future and so in making a joke of Abby’s feelings he actually hurts himself as much as he hurts her. He was a really fun character to read and I enjoyed their sparring, but was thankful to see his character growth because it gave him dimension and the story more impact. I enjoyed experiencing life through Abby’s character and loved how quickly this plot moved. If you are looking for a one hanky lighthearted romance, I think this is the story for you! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Love, Life and the List

Click this link to purchase!*

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

Friday YA: Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Taking place over one weekend, Save the Date explores the relationships of the Grant family as seen through the eyes of the youngest daughter, Charlie. As one of five children, Charlie has really looked forward to her oldest sister Linnea’s wedding at their family home this weekend. It will be the first time her whole family has been together in the last year and a half and she misses them horribly.  Of course, nothing goes as planned and Charlie’s envisioned family reunion does not go as planned.

Charlie’s mother is being honored for the retirement of the comic strip she has created and written through Charlie’s entire life. The antics of the kids in the comic strip mirrored the antics of her own children. This weekend wedding opens up Charlie’s eyes to the fact that some of her own memories are actually memories of things that happened in the comic strip and not exactly as it happened in real life. This awareness of what actually had been changes Charlie’s visions of what her future could be helping her make some decisions that she had been postponing.

I found this novel so refreshing because it was about a whole family. There was such a huge cast of characters to keep track of, but in the center of it all was Charlie, who seemed to be the one that grounded everyone. I don’t mean to give her more importance than her older siblings, but they all had flaws and Charlie’s only flaw seemed to be that she had glorified their family but in my own experience I think seeing everyone for who they are is actually a part of growing up. Even though this novel took place over a weekend, Charlie grew up a lot.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. It was an easy read with a lot of humor. This families antics actually reminded me a bit of my own family and I wonder if everyone who reads it won’t see a bit of themselves in one of these characters. There are a lot to choose from, after all! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase*! Save the Date

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

Friday YA: The Changeling (Sorcery & Society #1) by Molly Harper

Sarah Smith thought herself unmagical. After all, she was a Snipe (kind of like a muggle), growing up serving as a maid in the Winters household. Until one day she stops a vase from falling by levitating it.  Suddenly Sarah Smith becomes Cassandra Reed, cousin of the Winter family. Elevated into magical society and sent off to boarding school. Talk about culture shock! Cassandra must hide who she really is, and somehow look as if she’s lived in this world her whole life. If anyone finds out she was once a Snipe, their whole society might crumble. But would that really be a bad thing???

I thought The Changeling was a lot of fun. It didn’t take itself too seriously and I was allowed to enjoy each moment in the story without overthinking the plot. Cassandra was ok as a heroine. She spent the first half of the book in shock and when she finally accepts her role her character started to grow and become interesting. Her experience as a Snipe, living unnoticed among the magical society made her see their world through cynical eyes, although those eyes did not always see things very clearly. I enjoyed the good vs evil sub plot and I was kept guessing on the bad guy.

If you’re jonesing for a quick Harry Potter-esque novel I think you’ll enjoy The Changeling. At times I expected Hermione would walk around the corner of this girls school and join in the fun! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

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Click this link to purchase!*Changeling: (Sorcery and Society Book 1) (Volume 1)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

*Amazon Associate

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Uppercase Box September ‘18 Reveal!

Last week was the week that I received my surprise YA novel in the mail from Uppercase Box. I love coming home to that package sitting on my doorstep!

This month it looked kind of bulky which means it was filled with fun bookish items!

I found out that what made the extra padding in the Uppercase bag was this gorgeous cotton scarf. I love all of the stacks of books although they aren’t as large as my own TBR!

The other items in the bag are all related to the book, so Unfortunately that shortens my big reveal. Oh well, here is the book of the month!

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan- signed!

Synopsis:

Everyone in the universe knows his name. Everyone in the universe fears him. But no one realizes that notorious outlaw Ia Cocha is a seventeen-year-old girl.

A criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot, Ia has spent her life terrorizing the Olympus Commonwealth, the imperialist nation that destroyed her home. When the Commonwealth captures her and her true identity is exposed, they see Ia’s age and talent as an opportunity: by forcing her to serve them, they will prove that no one is beyond their control.

Soon, Ia is trapped at the Commonwealth’s military academy, desperately plotting her escape. But new acquaintances—including Brinn, a seemingly average student with a closely-held secret, and their charming Flight Master, Knives—cause Ia to question her own alliances. Can she find a way to escape the Commonwealth’s clutches before these bonds deepen?

In this exhilarating edge-of-your-seat sci-fi adventure—perfect for fans of The Lunar Chronicles—debut author Maura Milan introduces our world to a thrilling new heroine.

What a colorful box! I’ll admit this book hadn’t been on my radar at all but I like science fiction and it looks interesting!

Have any of you read this book? What did you think?

Thanks for reading my reveal!

Deb

Friday YA: Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West

Kate Bailey doesn’t really like people. OK, let me clarify. She doesn’t dislike them, she’s just kind of a loner. She’d rather be out on the lake then with a group of people, unless they are lake people. When her best friend Alana talks her into taking a podcast class at school, she agree’s half-heartedly. Their first assignment is to offer one suggestion each for the topic of their class podcast that year. Surprise! Kate’s topic, an advice podcast is the winner and Kate finds herself co-hosting, which is completely at odds with her loner personality. Suprisingly, she finds her caustic sense of humor plays well on air and their podcast becomes a hit and one day a young man calls in asking for advice on a crush….

Our young heroine has a lesson to learn, and in Kate’s it was that there is more out in the world to discover beyond lake life. Even though Kate is kind of loner, she isn’t really because her family is huge. Her parents, aunts and uncles all live on a block together so she’s surrounded by family, cousins et. al at almost all times. So for a loner, she surprisingly is pretty social. When she drives her cousin to her weekly tutoring sessions she gets to know Diego, the boy her best friend is crushing on. As she gets to know him, she develops her own crush. Due to the girl code and first dibs, she doesn’t do anything about it.

I didn’t think this was the best Kasie West novel I’d ever read, but it wasn’t the worst either. I did really enjoy the podcasts, and the supporting characters were energetic and fun. Which was good because Kate was not a ball of energy. She did have a good heart though and in the end, she did learn her life lesson, having fun with the podcast and expanding her horizons. Listen to you Heart was a quick read, so if you have a few hours on a rainy Saturday it will be the perfect book to spend your time.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

LIsten to Your Heart

Click this link to purchase!* Listen to Your Heart

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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

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?

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“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

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. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Click this link to purchase!* Hunted

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate