Penguin

The Indigo Spell | Richelle Mead | Audiobook Review

by April (Books&Wine)

You probably should NOT read beyond the first paragraph if you don’t want to be spoiled for Bloodlines or The Golden Lily, just an FYI.

I am one of those people who is compulsive about the form I encounter a book or series in. For example, I’ve been reading Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series strictly in print and had no plans to change that. HOWEVER, when I was offered an advance audiobook copy of The Indigo Spell I was on the fence. Do I change up my routine and try to encounter Sydney and Adrian in different form — or do I wait for an agonizing amount of time for the print version? You guys, it’s a lot to consider — you know a poorly done audio can ruin the experience of a much anticipated book. I ended up quite lucky though — the audiobook of The Indigo Spell is very, very good.

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead | Good Books And Good Wine

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The Moon And More | Sarah Dessen | Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

When I read a Sarah Dessen book, I feel that the experience is akin to a pair of sweatpants. Bear with me here. Sweatpants are the most comfortable article of clothing, ever, at least in my opinion. Sarah Dessen’s books are the most comfy YA books. By this, I mean that when you open up a book by Dessen, you know that you’re going to get a quality contemporary read about a girl who isn’t too out of whack, usually with a pretty level head, although not all the time with a problem. I LOVE her books and each one I read feels like coming home. Y’all, The Moon And More definitely lived up to my expectations, and then some.

The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen | Good Books And Good Wine

It’s summer, obvs, and Emaline is working for the family beach rental realty agency. She has a perfectly comfortable life, living with her mom and stepdad (whom she calls dad) and two sisters. She’s been dating the same guy, Luke, since 9th grade. Yet, as we all know — things won’t stay comfortable and cushy for long. Emaline’s estranged father shows up in Colby for the summer and we find out that there are a lot of unresolved issues between the two – mainly centering around Emaline’s potential for going to Columbia University. To further complicate matters, one of the renters is a famous documentary filmmaker named Ivy and she’s doing a documentary on Clyde, one of the island residents who used to be a well-regarded artist. Also. Ivy is a pain in the ass. BUT she also has a kind of socially awkward, cute assistant named Theo who thinks that Emaline is destined for bigger things than Colby.

Emaline is a total Dessen protagonist and I mean that in the greatest possible way. She has a good head on her shoulders, she has good friends, an interesting family, and is at a crossroads. She’s on the verge of leaving and becoming independent in college, East U. This is her last summer before school, to state the obvious. Emaline does a ton of internal reflection and we see that she’s making that awkward transition from past to future. I think if you’ve gone away to college or experienced a major life change that involved leaving home, you’ll understand what I mean. Anyways, on the one hand Theo and her father say that she’s too good for Colby, she’s too smart to stick around. On the other hand, there’s so much that Emaline LOVES about Colby and so she’s conflicted about her future. And well, I don’t want to go too much more in depth because spoilers are the worst for brand new books.

YOU GUYS! I am so excited to return to Colby. I absolutely loved Along For The Ride, so it was nice to return to a familiar location. We get to revisit the bike shop and the all night laundromat/cafe. It is awesome. PLUS! We get to see characters from Along For The Ride again. Anyways, this book made me want to take some of my vacation time and spend it on the beach riding bikes and eating shrimp burgers. I have to say, Dessen really does the beach setting very well. OH OH and while we’re talking about Easter eggs, our favorite fictional social network makes an appearance and there’s a few more you will spot and be glad to be in on the reference as the super fans you all are.

Of course, there are boys in The Moon And More, not just one but TWO! Luke is Emaline’s long time boyfriend and he’s pretty adorable. He’s apparently good looking without a shirt. Kids love him. And he gets along very, very well with others. However, the spark between Luke and Emaline seems to have faded out. Enter Theo. He’s pretty much a hipster, or that’s my impression of him because he wears girl jeans. Anyways, Theo is totally awkward, but he’s ambitious and has big dreams. He might be a contendor for Emaline’s heart, but yes, you’ll have to read to find out. Although, to be honest, I thought the love interests weren’t nearly as important as Emaline and her coming of age.

When it came to swooning and The Moon And More, I actually swooned WAY HARDER for the supporting couple of Daisy and Morris. They definitely are not the lead characters, however, their relationship is solid. PLUS, they are just so different. Morris is not exactly what you would call ambitious, he’s slow moving, but he’s a super nice guy and genuine. Daisy, on the other hand, is a super achiever and really into art and fashion. You’d think their coupling would be weird and off, but it’s actually quite sweet and one of my favorite things about Dessen’s latest.

This book didn’t feel a page over 200 — despite actually having over 400 pages. What I mean by this is that I inhaled Dessen’s prose, as one does when reading her books. I was so caught up in the drama between Emaline and her estranged father. But then I was also absorbed by all of the side characters, from Benji the awesome little brother to Amber, the dramatic hair stylist character, to Ivy and Clyde and Daisy and Morris. Seriously, one thing Dessen never skimps on is character. ALSO! The parent/child relationship in The Moon And More is wonderful. Emaline’s big crazy blended family all really care for one another and are supportive of each other when you get down to it. Also, you guys totally need to meet Emaline’s grandmother. She’s the bomb. (Well, if people still said THE BOMB)

Basically you can just boil this whole long review to this: you should definitely preorder The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen. Actually I am pretty sure that a few of you were already going to do that. It’s another great addition to your Dessen collection — especially if you loved Along For The Ride and Lock And Key. I fell in love with this book and really appreciate that it was about SO MUCH MORE than cute boys and swooning, but about actual things that matter, like the future and life and the paths we take.

Disclosure: Received for review
FYI: For more about The Moon And More, check out Sarah Dessen’s Blog Tour Stop HERE

Other reviews of The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen:

Chick Loves Lit – “Fans of Dessen won’t be disappointed”

Books by Sarah Dessen:
Along For The Ride

SO MANY FEELS or in which I get to host SARAH DESSEN as part of The Moon And More Blog Tour

by April (Books&Wine)

Jon Stewart Oh My God GIF

This is really actually my face right now. Friends, you know how there’s one author who might have opened the YA floodgates for you? Sarah Dessen is totally that author. I read a few of her books – notably falling head over heels for This Lullaby in high school and being sad she didn’t have a TON of books at the time. Then we flash forward to college when I came home for vacation and ended up reading through my sister’s entire collection of Sarah Dessen books and thus returning from pretentious college reading back to YA. So it is kind of a SUPER HUGE omg omg omg deal to host Sarah Dessen today.

There’s no author who says “love” more than Sarah Dessen. And we don’t mean just romantic love (though she’s plenty good at that!). Sarah writes amazing, deep friendships, complex and true familial relationships, and, of course, swoony and wonderful first loves, so who better than Sarah to have a Valentine’s Day blog tour for her upcoming book, THE MOON AND MORE? Check with each blog every day for one of the 10 things you might like to know about THE MOON AND MORE that Sarah wrote herself.

Here’s the ninth of Sarah’s “10 Things You Might Like To Know About THE MOON AND MORE:”

This book was really hard to title. My first choice was THE BEST AFTER EVER, which I loved for so many reasons….but feared everyone would mix up as THE BEST EVER AFTER. Which is exactly what happened when we announced it. Back to the drawing board. Next choice was THE MOON AND MORE, which was deemed too close to my book KEEPING THE MOON. I really liked THE VIEW FROM HERE…until I saw there were about a million other books, many of them recent, with the same title. Finally, I was at the beach, racking my brain, when I fired off a quick, hail-Mary type email to my editor suggesting SOMEONE ELSE’S SUMMER, but my publisher wasn’t totally crazy about it, and neither was I, to be honest. They asked if I could PLEASE come up with another option. All I could think of—all that really EVER worked well—was THE MOON AND MORE. So I decided we’d go back to that!

You can find out more about Sarah’s books on Sarah-Land!

Sarah Dessen Author Photo | Good Books And Good Wine

Oh and if you don’t know what The Moon And More is about, no fear, I’ve totally got the synopsis right here:

“Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo’s sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she’s going?

Sarah Dessen’s devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.”

The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen | Good Books And Good Wine

But wait — there’s much more to be learned about The Moon And More! Check out the following tour stops for more information:

Monday, 2/11: Forever Young Adult
Tuesday, 2/12: The Story Siren
Wednesday, 2/13: Mundie Moms
Thursday, 2/14: Chick Loves Lit
Friday, 2/15: Good Choice Reading
Monday, 2/18: The Compulsive Reader
Tuesday, 2/19: The Perpetual Page Turner
Wednesday, 2/20: The Young Folks
Thursday, 2/21: ME!
Friday, 2/22: I am a Reader, Not a Writer

Still here? Awesome, because I’ve got a reward for you! So, I made sure to read my copy of The Moon And More just in time for this post to go up and that means that I have an ARC to giveaway. The contest is US Only. 13 or older. Use rafflecopter to enter. ALSO, my copy does have a weird sort of crease on the spine, but it’s perfectly readable, and seriously who is going to complain about the chance to read a Sarah Dessen book before it comes out in stores.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Paper Valentine | Brenna Yovanoff | Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

It’s hard for me to find the precise, exact words to convince you to read Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff. Like, how do I write the best argument possible without going all flailing arms and neon signs on you? You guys, I liked The Replacement, but I utterly LOVED Paper Valentine. I found myself highlighting passages on my Kindle, and hopping onto g-chat to hash out theories and OMGs (Thanks Christina at Reader Of Fictions, you are THE BEST EVER). Friends, I loved every single element of Yovanoff’s latest and am happy to report that she’s one of those authors who has grown over time.

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff | Good Books & Good Wine

It is freakin’ hot in the city of Ludlow, but heat isn’t exactly the only unfortunate thing. You see, there’s been a rash of murders of pretty, young innocent girls. To make matters worse, main character Hannah is haunted by the ghost of her best friend Lillian, who died of anorexia six months ago. Although Hannah is not a girl detective in any way, shape or form, she feels compelled by the murders and finds herself obsessed with the girls and finding out who killed them. Lillian tries to help, but she’s not exactly omnipotent. On top of that, Hannah is kind of a popular girl but she’s becoming attracted to Finny Boone, a boy who is very big, kind of scary and lumbering and also not exactly in the smart classes. He’s legit a wrong side of the tracks sort of person.

While I am likely making all the elements of the plot and story of Paper Valentine sound convoluted, have no fear, the story actually flows WAY better than I am able to describe it. Like, the thing that I LOVED about Paper Valentine was that it was dark without being weird and unrelateable. I didn’t feel at a distance from Hannah because she dresses differently or anything. Instead, I found Hannah to be quite likable, despite her faults. I mean, she’s the sort of character who lets other people railroad her and walk all over her, but as this is a coming of age book, she does grow and start to own her voice and feelings. And quite frankly, I love books where characters start off kind of quiet but then learn to speak up for themselves. It’s kind of the best as far as payoff goes. ALSO! Hannah is actually a good person, she’s kind and genuine, but she often is overshadowed by her more flashy friends.

I’d totally be the worst reviewer ever if I didn’t mention Hannah’s family. Clearly authors must be listening to our complaints, because Hannah’s family is VERY present. She lives with her mom, tattooed stepfather, and little sister Ariel. Her stepfather is legit the best, sure he comes off as scary but Hannah and Ariel see him as a father and he makes them pancakes and listens to them and proves appearances can be deceiving. Hannah’s mom is the worrywort sort which makes sense, because hello if some psycho is running around killing kids OF COURSE THE PARENTS SHOULD WORRY. Thank goodness logic applies to this book. THEN. There is Ariel. Who is super annoying and super adorable. She’s constantly talking and never ever shuts up, but the thing is even though her and Hannah fight sometimes, deep down there’s that sisterly bond there and it’s heartwarming.

OH OH OH and you guys of course there is swooning involved. I will say that I didn’t quite have the sense of Finny that I do with other male leads, because he’s not the main focus of Paper Valentine. While Yovanoff does a great job developing Finny’s character and again showing us appearances can be deceiving, the main focus is on Hannah and her development which is not catalyzed by a boy. So yes, there are swoons and some kisses, but this is NOT a kissing book.

Instead, it’s fairly suspenseful and scary. Like, omg, when I found out who the killer was, I almost put my Kindle Fire in the freezer a la Joey Tribbiani. Of course, I decided against that and hashed my feelings out over g-chat. Still, I legit could not believe who the bad guy was but then was like IT IS ALWAYS THAT GUY. And I realize I’m being super cryptic, but that is kind of the point. Anyways, if you are captain oblivious like I am, you’ll be surprised.

Finally, Brenna Yovanoff has so much talent. Y’all, I honest to goodness highlighted things in Paper Valentine because I loved the style of writing, not to snark on later like with other books. Seriously, maybe because she is critique partners with Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton, but I felt that, like those authors Yovanoff has this way with words that gets right to the heart of meaning. Like, Paper Valentine does not use 100 words when ten will do, but at the same time it doesn’t feel too sparse. It’s the sort of book where if you were to read it out loud the words will just roll off your tongue. Frankly, if words, characterization and coming of age do it for you, I think you ought to get yourself a copy of Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley

Other reviews of Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff:

Charlotte’s Library – “I was rather pleased with how much I enjoyed it.”

Cuddlebuggery – “To me it felt like Hannah’s life was tucked away from the conflict separately and safely, so it was hard to get invested in the climax.”

Pure Imagination – “Recommend it if you’re looking for something with mystery and vivid writing.”

Books by Brenna Yovanoff:

The Replacement
The Curiosities

The Cadet Of Tildor Alex Lidell Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

While my contemporary, new adult reading might not be up to par thus far in 2013, my young adult fantasy reading has just knocked it out of the park so far. Y’all, I gobbled up The Cadet Of Tildor by debut author Alex Lidell in pretty much one day. That’s right I just could not stop turning page after page on my Kindle. The Cadet Of Tildor was totally one of those JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER sort of books filled with intrigue, SLOW BURNING, magic, and sword fighting. Legit, I straight up loved this book and found myself shipping two characters very very hard. Y’all, I stan for those characters.

The Cadet Of Tildor Alex Lidell Book Cover

Renee is a young lady who attends Tildor academy in the hopes of becoming a Servant of the Crown. This isn’t the sort of academy where you learn to sew and junk like that. Instead, students learn to be soldiers and magistrates. The Academy is entirely merit based, students are consistently cut if they are not up to par. Renee, the only female in the soldier division is currently in danger of being cut. She has two best friends – Sasha and Alec who totally have her back. This semester at the academy is going to be totally awesome though, because the legendary commander Savoy Korish is coming to the Academy to teach. ONLY OMG YOU GUYS, Savoy totally does not want to be at the academy teaching because like, he’d rather be with his division, the Seventh leading them on awesome missions and battles. AND SO, there’s like a ton of intrigue and rival factions and then some political controversy over mages and omg kidnappings and basically The Cadet Of Tildor was the right book at the right time for me and AH I hope you read it right now and like it as much as I did.

I kind of want Renee to be my best friend because she’s fierce and loyal and brave and kind. Girl does not give up even when all of the odds are against her. She constantly gets knocked around in training and she’s like GUYS I CAN DO THIS RAWRRRR. Sometimes she is irritatingly stubborn and thick headed, like when it comes to learning a new way of fighting that would actually be an advantage for her, but whatevs you guys, whatevs, I am stubborn like that too. Regardless she does a ton of super brave things and I just spent the whole of The Cadet Of Tildor saying, live your life girl. JUST LIVE IT.

Savoy is the other main character and he is wicked awesome. He’s all brilliant on the field and LEGEN-wait for it-DARY. Seriously though, he is quite similar to Renee. He’s stubborn to a fault, but he’s like 100% loyal to the crown, even when it’s to his detriment AS YOU WILL SEE when you read. Plus, he’s very dedicated to his craft, which is wielding a sword and training and fighting and being awesome. OH OH and he takes care of his younger brother who is kind of annoying but also cute.

Y’all, I was definitely invested in the world of Tildor. Like, I wish there was a map included in my egalley because you know I am a big fan of maps as I say in every fantasy review I write, EVER. Anyways, this is a world where there are mages — people who specialize in being able to Control life forces and can break through this thing each person has called the Keraldi Barrier. Anyways, mages can be a bit unpredictable so they have to register in order to be trained, but also controlled. Besides the mages, there are two factions who work against the crown and are kind of like the mob or like gangs. First, there is The Family which controls this drug called Veesi. They also ask that people make payments for protection. Then there are the Vipers who are totally a gang. The Vipers are against the registration of Mages and engage in little acts of terrorism, but also do various awful things. OH and of course, there’s The Crown which is basically the King and he wants to rid Tildor of corruption which causes him to make an enemy of the Vipers and the Family. AND THAT is the world we get to hang around in. Awesome, am I right?

HOWEVER! My very favorite part of The Cadet Of Tildor was Alex Lidell’s use of the slow burn. You guys there is totally a Dmitri/Rose situation and the entire book I was shipping like a fan girl. Like, Renee is 17 and Savoy is 23 and I’m like GIRL YOU GET IT. GET IT GIRL. And the attraction is slow to build and takes it’s time and both fight and deny it. And there’s emotions and feels and ugh you guys this book better sell a bunch of copies so that we can get a sequel or something. For real. I NEED TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO WILL THEY WON’T THEY.

I enjoyed how The Cadet Of Tildor was written, although I did take issue with one thing. I thought the passing of time and the shifiting of point of view between characters was kind of confusing. I would have liked I don’t know, different chapters with a timeline or date or something above so it was a little more clear and I wasn’t out in space with what was going on. On the other hand, Alex Lidell’s writing is very compelling and exciting. I wasn’t like omg this is so boring please someone put this book out of it’s misery, instead I was all OHHHH YEAHHHH KIDNAPPING YEAHHHH because I am a bizarre person and I love when the calvary is called in to save the day.

Honestly, I would recommend The Cadet Of Tildor to most fantasy fans. I did see a few reviews where they said it’s not wonderful in comparision to Tamora Pierce or Megan Whalen Turner. Personally, I’ve only ever read one Tamora Pierce book (you’ll pry my YA fantasy card out of my cold dead hands) and I’ve only read two books from the Queen’s Thief series, so there is that. Alex Lidell’s debut is richly drawn, exciting and peppered with characters I found myself alternately shipping and rooting for.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley

Other reviews of The Cadet Of Tildor by Alex Lidell:

Hobbitsies – “It’s fresh and visual and gritty.”

Imaginary Reads – “This book wasn’t at all what I expected”

Recovering Potter Addict – “The Cadet of Tildor wasn’t my ideal fantasy read”

Reached Ally Condie Audiobook Review

by April (Books&Wine)

Obviously there will be spoilers for Matched and Crossed so click the links to read reviews of those instead, if you don’t want to be spoiled.

Ahhh! It’s so interesting to be reading and finishing series that have begun and ended within the timespan of my book blogging journey. YOU GUYS! I remember being beyond psyched for Matched by Ally Condie and enjoying it for the most part with a few reservations. THEN! I listened to the audiobook of Crossed and was sort of let down a little bit, but still wanted to finish the series. AND NOW IT IS OVER! And okay, there was a lot that I really liked about the conclusion, Reached and the audiobook, but also certain things that were kind of a total let down. AND OBVIOUSLY you know that you’re in for long winded explanations as to why I am of mixed feelings on Reached.

Reached Ally Condie Book Cover

Okay, so you know how Crossed was the book where we found out about The Rising, the rebellion group that wants to overthrow the Society and their mysterious leader, the pilot? Well, in Reached, we see the Rising’s plot finally play out. Cassia, Xander and Ky are all in different provinces doing different things. Cassia is a sorter in Central, but she also engages in illegal trading with the Archivists. Xander works as a medic and is a government official. He’s also a member of the Rising. And Ky is a pilot for the Rising and is working with Indie. As members of the society are hit with a mysterious plague, the Rising makes their move and takes over. ALSO! Cassia must choose FINALLY between Xander and Ky. Oh, and lots of other things happen within the plot but since the book is like 512 pages, I thought I’d just boil it down to the main things.

Probably my favorite thing about the whole trilogy was Cassia’s growth. From Matched to Reached, where she starts off as a girl who is pumped up for her matching ceremony banquet, to a woman who runs an underground gallery where people are actually creating their own works rather than relying on the 100. I just thought it was so cool to see her really come into her own. Plus, she really struggles to help find the cure for the plague — including trying to recover a memory erased by the red pill. I loved that. I loved seeing her sort through her feelings, FINALLY for Xander and Ky instead of keeping both on the line. I loved that Cassia just did not give up when all of the odds were against her — thus making her worthy of her main character status.

Of course besides the whole dystopia and down fall of society thing, I think the true driving force behind Reached and the other books is the love triangle. And I totally know that love triangles aren’t cool anymore, but you guys when this series first started triangles were a thing that all the books did. AND I started Matched and Crossed rooting for Ky. THEN I ended up changing my mind and was all whooooo Xander, because he’s a doctor and doctors are pretty useful. Also, because Xander comes across as a solid and steadfast sort of person. I will say that Reached was probably the least swoonworthy for me out of the whole trilogy, and that’s because yes, the decision is made, but we don’t exactly get a lot of PG-13 scenes or anything. Also, there was more focus on the plague than there was making out.

Which brings me to my next point, I am totally all for reading about plagues. Luckily, Reached totally delivers on it’s promise of disease. We get to see the beginnings of the plague, how immunity is developed and then also how the disease mutates, much like in real life. I just bizarrely love that sort of thing and realize that it makes me odd, but I’ve made peace with that. However, I was not entirely satisfied with how they cured it. It just came across as kind of anti-climatic. I remember thinking after listening — all this build up for that?!

Like Crossed, I listened to the audiobook version of Ally Condie’s Reached. I actually liked this one better than Crossed because Xander has a point of view and his narrator has probably the best voice. Kate Simses and Jack Riccobono revive their parts as Cassia and Ky, respectively. Matt Burns narrates Xander’s parts. As I mentioned above, I found myself rooting for Xander during Reached, and that’s due in no small part to the voicing of Ky and Xander. I just found Matt Burns’ voice much more appealing and believable than Ky’s. Don’t get me wrong, Jack Riccobono did an okay job narrating, but when it came down to it, for shallow reasons I just liked Burns’ better, he came across as less angsty. Crossed is produced by Penguin audio and is 13 hours and 15 minutes long. It does kind of drag for a bit and I found myself listening to the radio and spotify a lot more than this. Also I started another audiobook in the middle because I could not focus on Crossed, but I eventually did end up finishing it, obviously. So, take that as you will.

Disclosure: Received for review

Other reviews of Reached by Ally Condie:

The Sweet Bookshelf – “While I did enjoy this story, it definitely isn’t my favorite.”

YA Book Queen – “An excellent ending to an incredible trilogy”

Anna Reads – “I’m very satisfied with the ending of Reached“

Books by Ally Condie:

Matched
Crossed

The Different Girl Gordon Dahlquist Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

The fact that science fiction and books with complex, interesting themes are blowing up the YA market makes me excited. I think teenagers and regular readers of YA absolutely deserve smart books that will make them question and make them think. The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist is one of those smart books — while I had a few issues with it, I think that overall it’s worth checking out if you want your synapses firing.

The Different Girl Gordon Dahlquist

Veronika is one of five ‘girls’ who live on an island with two caretakers. Veronika and the other four girls lost their parents when they died in a plane crash. It is important to note that all five girls look identical except they have different colored hair. Each day the girls have lessons and take walks where their observations are questioned and recorded by one of the caretakers. One day, while on a walk Veronica finds a strange bundle — it turns out to be a human girl who has been washed up on the shoreline, alive. Y’all, the girl freaks out and we learn something interesting about Veronika and her sisters. Of course, more things happen and omg the island is in potential danger.

The main point of view character in The Different Girl is Veronika. Veronika is obviously different from you or me, yet she does share a few characteristics in common with us. For one thing, although Veronika cannot dream, she does have the ability to make choices and decisions. Her sisters do not have that ability. Yet, I felt kind of distant from Veronika the whole time reading, probably because she’s weird and not entirely warm or obviously human. And so, it was hard for me to really rally behind her character.

The human girl they find, May, is a lot more compelling. I was kind of disappointed that she wasn’t the main point of view character. May is completely different from anyone the other girls on the island have met before. May is bold and impulsive and sometimes reckless. Plus, she comes from the world outside which is totally in shambles. Further, May is terrified of Veronika and the sisters at first, but then we see a pretty well done building of trust.

Maybe I am just slow on the uptake, but I thought the world building was kind of all over the place. Maybe it was on purpose though. As I said above, The Different Girl is set on an island, which feels kind of claustrophobic. You don’t know anything about what is going on in the outside world until May washes up. Even then, we just get brief glimpses of the chaos. I have no idea if the world is modern like ours. I don’t know what the governments look like. None of that, and to be very honest with you all those are elements that I look forward to reading about, so I kind of felt meh about the whole island setting with brief glimpses of the world at large.

Unfortunately, I felt as though The Different Girl was very slow paced. I felt little connection with Veronika and so I was hardly motivated to turn page after page. Honestly though, the writing is competent and there are a lot of big ideas here about what makes someone human, etc. The Different Girl is BRILLIANT, however, I also thought it was boring. I know, I know. I think maybe if you are very smart and want to read a book for it’s overarching philosophical ideas then you are going to love The Different Girl. If you are like me and just want interesting characters, action and swoons, then yes, you’ll probably find yourself bored stiff.

Disclosure: Received For Review Via Netgalley

Other reviews of The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist:

Reading Rants – “a fascinating puzzle of a book”

Sirens Janet Fox Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

I am 100% positive that if I was a young adult during the roaring 20s, I’d totally be a flapper. This notion is purely based on the things I’ve read in YA books. After reading The Diviners by Libba Bray, I sort of felt as though I NEEDED to read more 1920s-set books and I had the desperate hope that this would become a new ‘thing’ in YA. Lucky me, Sirens by Janet Fox had EXACTLY what I was looking for and was a nice, non-paranormal book to read after The Diviners. Sirens has: flappers, strong women, books, speakeasies, gangsters, and THE ALGONQUIN! AHH! This is the sort of read where if you are on your kindle, you rapidly click the next arrow to get to what happens next because there’s a lot of unraveling to be done.

Sirens Janet Fox Book Cover

Josie, main character of Sirens has big dreams. She’s not quite a flapper and is quite a ‘nice girl’. However, she wants to leave her small upstate town and go to college to become a writer someday. She wants to be able to earn her own money. Yet, there’s a few wrenches in her plans. First off, her brother Teddy, who fought in WWI faked his death because a gangster named Danny Conner is after him and Josie has no idea why, but she has to keep the secret. Danny’s closing in though and has realized that Teddy isn’t quite dead. When Danny shows up threatening Josie’s bootlegging father, it is decided that Josie will be sent to New York City to live with her upper crust aunt and uncle. FYI, her aunt and uncle live next door to the Algonquin. Flush with the excitement of the city and new clothes and makeup from her cousin Melody, Josie gets her hair bobbed, and it turns out under all that hair she’s mad hot. She catches the eyes of a few men — including the infamous Danny Connor!

AND DID I MENTION THIS BOOK IS TOLD IN DUAL POINT OF VIEWS. Like, right now you are only hearing about Josie, however her story collides and intertwines with that of Lou. Lou ‘Louise’ is Danny Conner’s moll aka girlfriend. Her chapters are told as though she’s recounting what has happened to a detective. Her story is very much flashback and emotion. And frankly, Lou has spark even though she does not always make the greatest decisions. We see Lou get to know Josie and strongly dislike her because she thinks Josie has designs on Danny Conner. YES. JEALOUSY REARS IT’S HEAD IN SIRENS and I LOVED every minute of it.

I loved Josie’s character arc. She’s very much a small town girl in the big city at first, but she stays sensible. Like she’s not the sort to let completely loose now that she’s away from home. One day she gets this mysterious delivery and it turns out to be Teddy’s journal and so she must unravel the clues and secrets he has left behind in order to save her family from Danny Conner coming down on them. On top of that, she sees that her cousin Melody is a total train wreck and does what she can to protect Melody and get her through her issues. Y’all, I love that. I love seeing characters who are down for their family members in times of trouble. I also love that Jo chafes against the gender roles society has set for her — mainly so that she can marry up and out of the trouble. Jo wants to get herself and her family out without depending on some dude and I LOVE THAT. Seriously, I cannot write the word love enough during this paragraph. I basically love love love love Jo’s character.

Yet, as much as I loved Jo, I think I loved Lou even more. Yo, this girl, this moll is tough as freakin’ nails and I am positive she can hang with me any day. For real. Like, she uses her charm and looks to get what she wants. Plus, she puts up with Danny Conner (yes, she definitely should leave him because he’s a total douche). I don’t think that one should have to sacrifice everything in order to save their family from the street, you see Lou’s parents died when she was young leaving her and her brother Charlie penniless. It seems like their should be more options, but sometimes life isn’t fair and in the 1920s it’s not like women were as free and mobile as today. So yeah, I just, I loved Lou in that absolutely nothing was handed to her on a silver platter and she does the best she can. She has her darker moments, but I think that adds a special sort of complexity to her.

The beginning of Sirens by Janet Fox was rather slow for me. I wasn’t whipping through it like I had hoped. However, the book hits it’s stride about 10% of the way in — when Josie gets to NY and gets the diary. That is when things truly take off and I could not set the book down. I thought Fox’s writing style was quite eloquent. She did a great job making use of the 1920s jargon, but it never felt overwhelming. Plus, I truly got a sense of the Irish mob and how dangerous they were during the 1920s. AND, this book really made me want to be a flapper. AND AND AND there are subtle bits in there that touch on gender politics and the female experience and lack of female agency and power and I loved it. I felt sort of like a genius for noticing those things!

Honestly, in the deafening roar of The Diviners, Sirens might seem to come on silent and be overshadowed — because they are both 1920s set books about smart young ladies who are sent to NYC but for different reasons. However, the two main characters could not be more different. Straight up, I loved both reads but for different reasons. Do you like studious girls? Who turn out to be hot when they take off their glasses and ponytail? Who retain their brains post makeover? Who have courage in the face of the mob? Who would do anything for their family? Yes? Then get your hands on Sirens by Janet Fox, an unsung read that’s totally the bees’ knees y’all.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley

Other reviews of Sirens by Janet Fox:

Talk Supe – “In any case, fans of Boardwalk Empire will most definitely enjoy this book.”

Baseballvalbooks – “an electrifying coming of age tale”

In Bed With Books – “It’s one jazzy ride.”

Colin Fischer Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz Audiobook Review

by April (Books&Wine)

I love those moments when I’m like hmmm, I have this audiobook for review and it’s about four hours long and I have at least two hours of driving, if not more in my day, might as well give it a whirl AND the audiobook turns out to be incredibly enjoyable. Y’all, over the course of yesterday I listened to the entire audiobook of Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz narrated by Jesse Eisenberg. After finishing it, I felt a little bit bereft because it just WORKED perfectly for me — from the writing style to the characterization to the mystery right on down to Eisenberg’s pitch perfect narration. Colin Fischer is certainly an audiobook that I would recommend to audiobook aficionados and newcomers alike.

Colin Fischer Ashley Edward Miller Zack Stenz Audiobook Cover

Colin Fischer is a freshman boy with Asperger’s. He doesn’t like the color blue because it seems cold to him. He doesn’t like to be touched. However, he’s incredibly intelligent. When his classmate Melissa is holding her birthday celebration during lunch, a gun goes off. The main suspect is a bully named Wayne Connelly, HOWEVER, Colin who has a very keen eye for detail knows that it was, in fact, not Wayne who did it and so tries to solve the mystery.

Oh my goodness, friends, I loved reading about Colin Fisher. I thought he was eminently likable despite his quirks and extreme social awkwardness. Colin loves order and facts and rules. He tends to be an observer of others. Yet, he’s often not a participant, for example he needs index cards to help decode social cues and facial expressions. In all honesty, listening to Colin’s detective methods and powers of observation reminded me a lot of Adrian Monk from the TV show Monk which I straight up love. Plus, he keeps this notebook filled with facts and would often footnote and interject with these facts that I found to be utterly fascinating. ALSO like I mentioned, Colin has Aspergers and it’s nice to see a differently abled person as main character. I am not sure the extent to which Colin is an accurate portrayal of a person with Aspergers as I do not have it, nor do I know a whole lot about it.

I am not sure if it is because I was listening to the audiobook and a singular narrator and not actually reading physically, but I was not able to tell when Ashley Edward Miller’s writing stopped and Zach Stentz’s writing began and vice versa. At least in audio form, the narrative of the two authors is rather seamless. If you like a quirky sort of writing with strong character voicing you will probably enjoy Colin Fischer.

This may sound kind of biased, but I’d really recommend experiencing Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz via audio book. Seriously, Jesse Eisenberg is the perfect narrator for this book. His voicing of Colin is very matter of fact with a pleasant sort of patois, which you’ll find to be important when Colin talks about phone voice vs. speaking voice. I also liked how when we got footnotes and excerpts from Colin’s notebook, it sounded as though Jesse Eisenberg was playing back a recorder or talking into a cheap microphone. It just added a sense of legitimacy to the audiobook without going overboard with sound effects or anything. Colin Fischer is a relatively short audiobook — it is only 4 hours and 16 minutes unabridged and produced by Penguin Audio. If you’re looking for a unique and quirky audiobook for your commute, this is a book I absolutely recommend.

Disclosure: Received for review

Other reviews of Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stenz:

In Bed With Books – “I loved the format of COLIN FISCHER”

Bookitsch – “Colin Fischer was a hilarious read for me.”

Wandering Librarians – “We actually get to see some interaction between parents and with their children that is positive.”

Falling Kingdoms Morgan Rhodes Book Review

by April (Books&Wine)

WhenI first saw the cover of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes, I got immediately excited, because it contains things that I love — a bird, a castle, a hooded figure and awwww yeah DAGGERS! I was so pumped up because I absolutely love a good high fantasy story and with the whole Game Of Thrones popularity, it seems like that trend is reflecting in YA and I could not be more thrilled. Alas, it was not meant to be between me and Falling Kingdoms. Most of the time reading the book kind of felt like a chore I just had to get through, as I am not one to DNF, plus I kept hoping it would get more enthralling or better.

The plot of Falling Kingdoms is one that I really like on the surface — it just sounds cool you know. Okay, so there is this land that is divided into three kingdoms. The three kingdoms largely live in a tenuous sort of peace. However, one kingdom is rolling in the riches, another is doing fine for itself but kind of zealous and the final kingdom is poor and starving. So there’s a tiny current of unrest that soon bursts into roaring unrest. Further complicating the mix is magic.

You see, the kingdoms have forgotten about MAGIC, but then some of it starts to bubble to the surface. And there’s like four main players in this book — Cleo who is a princess in the rich kingdom, Jonas who is a rebel in the poor country I mentioned, Lucia who has been adopted into the royal family because she has these magical powers, and finally Magnus who is actually royal and Lucia’s adoptive brother and he’s pretty much a fighting machine. The four players have lives that become tangled.

Honestly, I thought the characterization in Falling Kingdoms was kind of weak. It was hard for me to muster up real concern or passion on behalf of the characters — they were hard to empathize with or even like. And you all know how much I dislike the arms’-length distance sort of characters. So there’s Cleo, and she’s a rich princess and spunky and by all means I should have liked her. Only she’s stubborn and she makes some pigheaded decisions that put other people at risk. Plus, she’s so callous about a death early on in the book and shows no real concern over what happened. Her inaction really irritated me. As someone who loves a good revolution, I also should have really sympathized with Jonas, especially because of what a family member suffers. However, I thought Jonas was very single-minded and didn’t seem to really consider the bigger picture. Also, I disliked the way he treated women, especially a certain chieftain’s daughter.

Lucia is pretty much your paint by number chosen one. She has all these mysterious magical powers that require her to be angry to use. Plus she’s super whiny, like oh wah wah Magnus is being weird wah wah. I have powers wah wah. Ugh. She’s so bland, like I cannot even remember very many of her characteristics and it wasn’t that long ago that I read this book. Finally, Magnus is someone I really could have felt for, because he has a crush on his sister who isn’t really his sister (not a spoiler, you learn this in his first POV chapter) and he has to fight it. Plus he has all this pressure to step up to the plate and emulate his violent king of a father. But, well, he turns out to be a huge douchebag and again, I had a hard time truly mustering concern for Magnus.

With any fantasy, the setting and world building are integral elements and can make or break a story. Unfortunately, the world in Falling Kingdoms is nothing I haven’t seen before. You’ve got your land in agony. You have unrest. You have players waiting to make a power grab. You have a mysterious sort of magic that manifests in a chosen one and uses the elements. Yawn. Like, I’ve read all of this before in other books and I just felt like this didn’t add anything new to the genre. Plus, I feel like usually I am okay with the familiar if there are other elements to make up for it — like strong characterization, interesting action, or the book presents a larger ideal that makes me think.

Luckily, one thing I actually liked and enjoyed about Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes was the pacing. The book goes by rather quickly and is divided into short chapters by character. There are four separate plot lines which means that there is a lot of action to drive the story. However, because the book is barely over 400 pages, this means there are barely 100 pages to develop each character’s plot arc and I think that does this book a disservice and really contributed to my dislike. Yet, I will say the action does help to drive the pace and I did whip through Falling Kingdoms in a day which is kind of excellent for a 400 page book.

I suppose if you have not read very many fantasy books and it’s not your genre of choice, you might dig Falling Kingdoms, a lot of what you read might be new to you. However, if you are like me and have read a lot of what the genre has to offer you probably will find this book to be a bit of a snooze. Unfortunately, I will not be back to find out what happens to the characters in the next book but luckily there’s still a few fantasy reads I haven’t dug into yet – Kushiel’s Dart, Touch Of Power, the rest of the Alanna series, The Hero And The Crown to name a few that I will be reading instead.

Disclosure: Won as part of the Breathless Reads slipcase from a signing at Oblong Books.

Other reviews of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes:

Cuddlebuggery – “With Falling Kingdoms I had conspiracies, action, war… blood. ”

Christina Reads YA – “This book and I did not get along.”

Sparkles And Lightning – “Falling Kingdoms was, if I has to sum it up in one word, awesome.”