ARC Review | Sounds Like Trouble

3.5

A huge improvement over the first novel. I feel like the story and writing flowed better, and the author’s were able to meld their writing together more. There are improvements that can still be made, but I feel as if they’re moving in the right direction.

I was not a fan of Jackson in the first novel, but his character is much improved in this one. His comments are much less sexist, and the few he does make in a joking manner work better with the conversation. There wasn’t a single “tight, little body” comment, of which I am eternally grateful. His relationship with Mackenzie has a big improvement as well. While they still bicker, it fits better with the story and you can see more of the respect and trust they’re gaining for each other.

The story does feel as if it moves a little too fast for how short it is. The book is a little over 250 pages but barely lets up. Slightly longer with a little more to the plot would have helped. We don’t get much character development from anyone besides Mac and Jackson; and while I’m happy Jackson’s character gained a lot of development, Mac’s was less so, and every other character was almost non-existent, Hopefully we can get a little more development from other characters, especially those that seem to be mainstays in the series.

I believe the authors are getting a better groove and feel as if they will continue to improve, as they’ve shown a lot of improvement since the last novel. A bit more polishing and I think this will be a great series.

ARC Review | The Other Side of Now

4.5 stars

Wow, this was so much better than I was expecting. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten through something so fast. I ready about half one night, then finished the next day. I thought it was going to be a basic Hallmark style romance with a little bit of heart thrown in. But it is so much more than that.

The story revolves around Meg, who goes by the stage name Lana Lord. She seems to have it all – a starring role in a tv series, a gorgeous Hollywood boyfriend, a huge house and lots of money. But she’s miserable. After a meltdown, she books an impromptu trip to Ireland to see the town where she might have lived another life. Instead of going to college in Ireland where she was accepted, she went to California to live out her acting dream. But when she gets to Ireland, she seems to actually be living that life. People know her, she has a job, and her best friend is still alive. She begins to piece together what is going on – a sliding door life, where she had gone to Ireland for college after all. Meg was warned about this once, when her and her best friend visited a fortune teller many years ago. Back then she didn’t give it too much thought, but it comes back to haunt her in the most unexpected way. It sounds like there is a lot of mayhem and confusion, which there is, but there is also a lot more.

Meg slowly realizes how much she hates her Hollywood life and wants nothing more than to stay in Ireland living out a quaint, simple life. But while realizing this, she has to contend with dealing with the choices the Meg in that life made. As she living there, it is assumed the Meg from there ended up in California. There are so many things she doesn’t understand – such as why her best friend is alive and why she hates Meg, why she seems to have given up on a great relationship, why she’d want out. You get to see Meg dealing with each of these issues while coming into herself. There is a lot of growth, heartache, and laughs. The ending made me sad, but hopeful at the same time. I really wouldn’t have minded this being longer. It was just so well put together.

Definitely recommended for anyone who likes sliding door stories, or a bit of magical realism with their romance.

Late ARC Review | All the Stars Align

2.5 stars

A somewhat cute, but rather predictable YA romance. The story focuses on Fate and believing it can do everything for you and knows what’s best. It also focuses on family and how they are the most important thing and know Fate will fix it all. Supposedly.

The main character, Piper, believes in her family’s Blessing and is waiting for her turn to receive it. The Blessing chooses the person’s love, and Piper’s family believes it is the most important thing and no one should ever go against it or the family itself. I found myself frustrated a lot with this book. Piper believes in the Blessing and not disappointing her family so much that she won’t make any choices or herself. Her job, her college degree, her love life, everything revolves around what her family wants and letting the Blessing choose her love for her. Because she believes so much in all of this, she can’t see how incredibly toxic her aunts are.

Piper’s parents divorced, going against the Blessing and everything the family stands for, Piper can’t accept this at first, and conspires with her aunts to get them back together. No one can accept that Piper’s parents went against the Blessing and have their own thoughts and dreams and feelings. Piper’s aunts basically threaten her with getting them back together in order for her to be able to take over the family jewelry business. Towards the end of the book the aunts pull an absolutely ridiculous stunt, which for any normal family would have been waaaay over the line and really ground in how toxic they are. Just because you have a family doesn’t mean they are always good or that you have to stick by them no matter what.

The romance and how everything works out is rather predictable. There is a love triangle, which I don’t generally enjoy, that comes about because of the Blessing and Piper’s absolute stubbornness over it. Also, you will never forget there is a Blessing, as it is mentioned on damn near every page. And if it’s not, then fate is.

I think this will appeal to younger teenagers. Though the teens in this are all 18, they certainly don’t act like it most of the time. But the whole Fate and Blessing storyline will fit better with a younger crowd than those of us who have grown up and out of those kinds of things.

ARC Review | The Year God Died

3 stars

I think I was a little out of my depth with this. I am definitely not an expert on the history of the Roman Empire, and don’t have a ton of knowledge on Jesus’ life and death besides the basics.

This didn’t just cover the year Jesus died, but many years before his birth, during his life, and then his death. Most of what is covered is the history of the Roman Empire and how it influenced Jesus’ crucifixion. While the history is definitely interesting, there are a lot of people to keep track of and it can a bit dry at time with all the info dumping. The author did a ton of research, which shows throughout the book. He defends his stance, and points out why other scholars who don’t believe in Jesus or the resurrection may have interpreted their research wrong.

My biggest issue is with myself really. There was just so much I didn’t know, and I think it would have helped me get into this more if I had. There were plenty of places and cities mentioned which used their names at the time that I needed to look up in order to understand better of where they were. And since I wasn’t raised in a very religious household, I missed out on reading the Bible and learning more in depth about Jesus. Some things are explained, but there is definitely a lot that isn’t, as it’s assumed the reader is already aware of such things.

This probably would have appealed to me more if I had had more understanding beforehand of the life of Jesus, but this will definitely appeal to those who enjoy history and religion, or anything to do with the life of Jesus.

ARC Review | The Language of the Birds

3 stars

This was quite an interesting book. It’s basically a cross between National Treasure and the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown, but for teenagers. I do have to admit that Dan Brown books are my guilty pleasure. They’re interesting and easy to read, but still keep your attention throughout the book and make you ask questions. I also like the puzzles Dan Brown uses in his books. They can be fun to try and solve and the story doesn’t generally get too overwhelming with them. This wasn’t quite on that level; while it did have an interesting storyline, it couldn’t quite stand up to what it gets compared to.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Arizona, but she grew on me. A teen on the spectrum, she loves puzzles and cyphers. It was hard to believe at times some of the things she does; it felt way out of the depth of most teenagers. While she isn’t supposed to be your “typical” teenager, it still feels too much at times. And while puzzles and cyphers don’t usually bother me, here they were more of a struggle to get to. Part of the problem is that half of them were missing – the text would skip right over where they should be and continue on. I know this is an advanced copy, but it really took me out of the story as I wanted to actually see and read the puzzles. The other part is they get over-explained and then solved way too fast. There isn’t much anticipation and mystery. I did learn some new things though, such as what the language of the birds is and the difference between NAD 27 and NAD 83. I liked Lily as well. She’s really the only other character the reader spends much time with. Arizona’s mom and the villains aren’t fleshed out and don’t have a lot of page time, so it’s harder to connect with them.

The ending was a little too neat for me as well. So a random character we’re introduced to briefly in the middle of the book shows up again at the end to help Arizona after her crazy story and asks no questions? Then just disappears again? And Sam Yeats and her part seemed out of place. I just can’t see things going the way they did.

I do think it was interesting though, and the author obviously spend a lot of time crafting the puzzles. With just a bit of polishing this could work quite well. I do think it will appeal more to its intended audience in its current form. It just didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

ARC Review | Oracle of Helinthia

3 stars

This seemed to move a lot slower than Epic of Helinthia. While there was a lot of important stuff happening, I found myself skimming some parts as there was simply too much information that didn’t matter. It did also take me a bit to get back into the story and remember who was who.

The characterization is done very well, and it feels like you’re in Ancient Greece. I really like Gadnor and seeing him come into himself. He’s got a lot riding on him, and he’s slowly learning what it takes to be a leader. Gonivein almost seems to be suffering from some sort of Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to Kelric. It’s understandable, but can be frustrating at times. Kelric is a dick. It feels like we’re supposed to have some sympathy for him cause life is so rough cause his mom died, but there’s no sympathy here.

The ending did set up the next novel quite well, and will leave you wanting to know what’s gonna happen next. Just be prepared to trudge through lots of descriptions of food, places, and inner monologue.

ARC Review | Uplifted

4.5 stars

Even though I’m a rock climber myself, I can’t imagine doing the climbs that Sonnie, Alex Honnold, and many others do (I’m a solid 5.10 climber right now). It always amazes me reading about the climbs and how incredibly talented these guys are. I actually had the chance to meet Sonnie just last week, but only found out last minute and wasn’t able to make it. I so would have loved to discuss his book and the climbs in it.

I enjoyed reading about Sonnie’s climbs, not only because he’s talented and has climbed some amazing routes, but also because he is quite humble and doesn’t really brag about his accomplishments, even though he very well could. He talks about his start in climbing, in a little gym in Canada, working his way through the ratings and getting outdoors to keep pushing himself. Some of the routes he’s done I’ve never heard of, so I would stop and check them out online to get a better idea and help visualize (Cobra Crack is insane, and definitely one I will pass on). And while I may never get to the level that he’s at, or even close to it, reading about it gives me more motivation and excitement. I look forward to working on my skills and continuing to read about the climbs that Sonnie and many others do. Climb on.

Late ARC Review | A Drop of Corruption

4 stars

This was a solid sequel to The Tainted Cup. It featured a good Holmes and Watson style case with plenty of mystery and intrigue. There were a lot of new characters to go along with Ana and Din, and a new setting. But while it was solid, there were still a few things it lacked.

Ana is the equivalent of Holmes – a brilliant mind and lots of eccentricities to go with it. The problem is, there is way too much telling and not enough showing when it comes to her. I get that she claims it’s too hard for her to go out and interact most of the time, but every time she had a conversation with Din and Malo, she snapped at them. Literally. It says it on damn near every page of the book. It made it less enjoyable to read her parts, as she was so irritable throughout the book. She did have some good banter with Din, but not nearly enough to cancel out the rest of their interactions. I love Sherlock Holmes in his many iterations, but I really struggles with Ana this go around.

There was a section a little over halfway through where this book really dragged as well. There’s just so much going on but the pacing doesn’t match – it can be really slow at times, and then blazes others. A more even pacing would have helped. I wish we could have spent a little more time at the Shroud learning about the Leviathans. There’s still so much that isn’t explained. And while I know it really isn’t the same at all, every time they mention the Leviathans, I think of Attack on Titan. An odd connection, but it’s there.

I am still looking forward to the next book. This is a unique fantasy world with mystery weaved in. While there were struggles with this book, it was still overall quite good and sets the next one up well.

Late ARC Review | The Rival

3 stars

I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as Emma Lord’s last book, The Getaway List. There just seemed to be so many things that were off and made the story less enjoyable.

This is supposed to be an enemies to lovers type story, but the main characters aren’t really enemies, they’re rivals, which didn’t have the same feel to it as if they’d been actual enemies. And once you find out why they’re rivals, it nearly ruins the story. There is absolutely no reason that their rivalry should have lasted this long, because if they were as good of friends as they claimed, the whole situation would have been cleared up pretty quickly. It’s so silly and way more juvenile than it needs to be.

I liked Seb, but I couldn’t really click Sadie. She’s the peacekeeper of her family, which I totally understand, but at the same time she doesn’t really talk to her sisters and she’s embarrassed by everyone. Like I get that your family can be loud and obnoxious; whose can’t? But to be constantly embarrassed by them is so odd. Also, Seb’s family spends every Sunday with hers and has for years and they never cleared up what made them rivals in the first place? I just don’t buy it.

Most of the side characters are pretty forgettable. The author spent so much time trying to make them ~quirky~ and ~unique~ that it really fell flat. The only one I can even really remember is Betty. And while I enjoyed her characters, she even got to be too much. Christina, supposedly Sadie’s best friend, is shoved to the side and forgotten for a good chunk of the book. Sadie doesn’t understand her point of view, which seems to happen a lot. The Newsbag people were the most forgettable to me. I guess the author felt that since they all wanted to be writers that they had to be as unique and different as possible? The author tried way too hard which ended up having the opposite effect of what I feel she was going for.

This isn’t terrible; there are some good parts with some character growth. I think this might have worked better though as a dual POV so we could get the other side of the story.

ARC Review | The Paris Express

3 stars

While the premise and story sounded interesting, the execution wasn’t the best. The story had a very slow pace and too many characters, which made it hard to keep track of them all. But it was interesting enough to keep reading.

The book is about a real train derailment in Paris in 1895. It begins when the train leaves its first stop at Granville, and ends with the derailment in Paris. There are a few interesting storylines, such as Mado’s and the train workers, but others are almost completely forgettable. One chapter could focus on several different storylines, as each chapter starts with either an arrival or departure. This can get a little frustrating as it jumps from person to person so much, and then drags through the storylines. I did enjoy some of them though, which was enough to keep me going.

I must admit, I was hoping for a bigger derailment. This book focuses on one than really wasn’t all that impressive, which makes me wonder why the author decided to write about this particular one.

Good for people who enjoy historical fiction based on real events that don’t mind multiple storylines and a slow pace.