Month: June 2017

Color of Love by Anita Stansfield

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coloroflove

Title: Color of Love

Author: Anita Stansfield

Published: January 3, 2017

Genre: Historical Romance, Christian/Religious Fiction

Stars:  3           Content Rating: Clean

Synopsis:

England, 1857

The British aristocracy is an inflexible judge. And for Amala, a lovely young Indian woman, that judgment is most keenly felt. Raised from a child by the wealthy Hepworth family following the murder of her parents, Amala grew up alongside the Hepworth’s own daughter, Katarina, and was loved as both sister and daughter. The family is part of the charmed circle of the upper class, but Amala’s place in society is tenuous. As an Indian woman, her life is marked by a sense of otherness and voices of prejudice. So when she embarks upon a sweet acquaintance with Henry Breckenridge, a white Englishman, Amala is both elated and terrified. She knows first-hand the opposition that an interracial couple would face, and courtship with Henry could destroy his standing in society.

Determined to spare the reputations of both Henry and her sister Katarina, Amala flees England with the hope that an extended trip will allow her time to heal her broken heart. But she never imagined the repercussions of that decision, and the heartbreak awaiting her. For when she returns to England, she finds those she holds dear facing unparalleled devastation. And now it is her love that holds the key to healing a broken family.

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One of the reasons I love Anita Stansfield’s novels is that they are about people going through trials. All of her books that I have read are about people that have some sort of hardship in their lives and in finding God and keeping their faith in Him, they find happiness. Color of Love was no different. It has been quite awhile since I have read any of her books and I had forgotten what a whirlwind it can be.

Usually when you read a romance it starts out with ‘boy meets girl or girl meets boy’ and they flirt and eventually figure it out. Anita’s books there is always some big reason why one of the two thinks it can’t work. Or something happens that breaks them apart. In this case, Amala is very aware of her being Indian in an English society. She gets snubbed everywhere she goes. She doesn’t fit in and doesn’t want to marry or have children that would be ridiculed for being with her. Henry takes interest and even though she loves him she tells him no. AHHHHHH! This part always makes me scream. JUST SAY YES! Her fears are not unfounded but love conquers all! Right? RIGHT? I am not going to tell you anymore! You will have to read it for yourself. Amala does some soul searching and maturing and discovers herself. Will he still be home waiting for her? Did he move on like she asked him to? What hardship will they both have to face..?

What I really loved about this book was the different issues there were for this relationship based on race, society and the time period. Not that I loved the issues (obviously..) but the way it was brought to light. The way she made you understand a little bit better the struggle it must have been and then looking at our own society and trying to understand now if it has changed. I do also love the religious view as well. Trusting in God that things happen for a reason. That the whole picture is BIG and we only see a piece.

This story is a little bit messy. Life is messy. Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned and there are trials and hardships we don’t understand but in the end there is a happy ending. (hint, hint)

Alright, now is the time that you STOP reading if you want to leave this post spoiler free. After I wrote the above review I decided there was a little bit more I wanted to talk about  but it does include spoilers.

Seriously.. stop now if you don’t want spoilers..

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Continue on for mostly my ramblings about all the crazy that is in this novel…

So I have to admit that most of the romances I have read lately are not proper romances. Meaning that the content would not be rated clean. It has been awhile since I have read a proper romance and at first I was a little annoyed at how fast things happened in the beginning. They meet and feel a connection and he wanted to offer for her really quickly. I was thinking “NO WAY, lets get real” but then it got real and things got real slow. Not as fast paced as my naughty romances..  wink, wink.

Amala’s fears were definitely legit. To be Indian in England at that time and be taken in and raised as a daughter in the English society would have been very hard and lonely. I can imagine feeling out of place and scared of the risk of love. I personally believe that if two people are committed to each other and love and respect each other they can overcome hard things. Every day my kids tell me that “_______ is to hard.” (fill in the blank with whatever.. I swear they say it about everything.) My answer every time is that  “Yes it is, and YOU CAN do hard things.” Sometimes the hardest things we have to face or overcome end up making us the happiest in the end. Going on Amala’s journey with her after she turned Henry down was hard to read about because I get that in the story she is supposed to learning more about herself and gaining perspective, but I felt like she was just running away. I also had a hard time with Henry just getting over her and moving on… AND THEN MARRYING HER SISTER! Ugh. No. You don’t do that Henry!! You just don’t.  Amala receives the news while abroad with her Aunt Paulina and you can tell she isn’t over him. So now what!? Amala finally makes peace with it all and they go back to England. This whole story, since it is a Christian novel, is about finding and trusting in God. That through Him all things work out for a reason. Even if it is not how you would have wanted. Even if you don’t understand why. For some reason things happened as they did.  Amala’s sister Kat is pregnant but they also find a tumor that is diagnosed as cancer. She delivers the baby but never gets her strength back and eventually dies, not before she lets Henry and Amala know that her dying wish is for them to be together. Most of Anita’s Stansfield books are this same format. I’m actually mad that I had forgotten. She likes to write about making it through our trials and hardships and knowing that we are not alone in our endeavors but have God helping us. The whole story was a little bit depressing to me. It was good but it was slow and really sad too.

 

The Traitor’s Kiss by Erin Beaty

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thetraitorskiss

Title: The Traitor’s Kiss (to buy on Amazon click here.)

Author: Erin Beaty

Published: May 9, 2017 by Imprint

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Stars: 5                  Content: 4

Synopsis:

An obstinate girl who will not be married.
A soldier desperate to prove himself.
A kingdom on the brink of war.

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls’ military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

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I listened to this one on Audible. I have loved every narrator so far, however this one has been my least favorite to listen to. I didn’t feel she did the different characters voices as well as some of the others have. Now I want to reread this book just because I feel like I would have read some of the expressions differently.

This story was amazing. I absolutely loved it! *Me squealing*. At first it reminded me of Disney’s Mulan. Sage is to be married off and sent to the Matchmaker for her interview. All dolled up and lines memorized to impress this woman to gain an advantageous match that she doesn’t even want. She is stubborn and like most women wants to be loved for who she is. Not for pretending to be someone she is not. The interview doesn’t go well and Sage finds herself not being matched but being an apprentice to the Matchmaker!!  She is very smart and observant. She learns fast and finds that she is really good at reading people. She learns all she can about the ladies and their families whether it be by playing a lady or by playing spy.

Every 5 years the Matchmaker takes so many eligible ladies to the capitol to be matched. The girls don’t come back. The go willingly to get a husband and align their families with the powerful nobles that are looking for wives. At first Sage has to pretend to be a lady so she can learn more about them and for her own protection. Being a lady gets into her into circles otherwise denied her and she finds she can intermingle with the nobility and the commoners. Perfect for finding out everyone’s secrets. If there is one person she can’t seem to find anything out about though, it is Captain Quinn.

Captain Quinn is the General’s son and nephew to the King. He feels it is punishment to escort the brides to the capitol until he is told something is brewing. The Royal Army wasn’t sure what exactly but something is definitely brewing and Captain Quinn is supposed to be getting as much info as he can. Every member of his ‘team’ has a part to play. The Captain needs someone on the inside with the brides to feed him any information that might be useful. They send their “mouse” in to make contact with a maid and instead he meets Sage. Sage is more useful than a maid would have been but she is also too smart, too observant, too curious. She asks questions that he can’t answer. Their country is on the brink of war and all information is top secret. Will they come to trust each other or will they ruin everything? And who exactly is playing “mouse”? I have to reread this because I was surprised! I’m a little disappointed in myself actually because it was probably very obvious but I didn’t catch on tell they full on spelled it out for me. Ha ha.

I really did love this book. Sage is strong, brave and smart. She meets her match in Ash. There were a few surprises. I didn’t really try and predict this one and I loved the twists and turns. I was really sad when it ended and was ecstatic when I learned it was a trilogy. Those of you that have to have the whole series out will want to wait. The other 2 books won’t be out for a few more years. Those of you who like to look forward to the release date of the next book in a beloved trilogy need to read this now!! Happy reading friends!

 

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

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fairest

Title: Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles 3.5 Novella)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Published: January 27, 2015 by Fiewel & Friends

Genre: Sci-fi, Young Adult, Fantasy

Stars: 3                Content Rating: 2

Synopsis:

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

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This is Queen Levana’s story! I love when we get to know more about the villains and their backstory. What made them the way they are. I really enjoyed this Novella. I do wished I had read it in the right order. I didn’t realize it was 3.5 so I read it after Winter which is book 4.

When Levana is burned badly as a child by her older sister Channary she tries on so many different glamours to cover her scars that she doesn’t know what she truly looks like anymore. She has had a crush on a palace guard for most of her life. He is the only one that shows her any kindness. Her parents didn’t bother with her and now they are dead and Channary is a Queen that doesn’t take her role seriously. She is cruel and selfish. Do any of you have an older sibling that is this way? (ha ha ha. . unfortunately I am the older sibling.) You get a few gaps filled about Levana’s upbringing. Her version of love and jealousy. A little bit on Winter and Jacin when they were kids. You get more about Luna and the people in it.

How Levana becomes Queen is the whole purpose of this book so I don’t want to get into details too deep. What is interesting to me is how when you want something that much… How you can justify whatever the means is to get the ending you want. She wanted love so badly that she tried to force it. She wanted to be beautiful so she manipulated it. She took and took and took some more and then it was so second nature to her. If her parents gave her attention. If her sister loved her. If she had ANY friends. If she could have just been honest and took the happiness that would have come if she would have just been HERSELF. If, if, if..  then she could have been happy. BUT if she was happy then we wouldn’t have our villain! Mwahahahaha! Every story needs a villain and she is pretty good in that role! It definitely adds another layer to The Lunar Chronicles!

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Bookish Pet Peeves?

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Lets talk what about bookish things that make us peevish. No, I don’t have a lisp. (Haha) I just wanted to write a little bit about bookish things that bother me. I’m wondering if I’m a complete nerd psycho that has the most ridiculous bookish pet peeves. Why is it called a pet peeve anyway? No seriously.. why?

Q: Where does the phrase “pet peeve” come from?

A: “Pet peeve,” an alliterative expression referring to something that bugs you, is relatively recent in origin and dates to about 1919. Here’s the entry from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

The noun “peeve” isn’t much older, going back to only 1908, according to The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology. It comes from the much older word “peevish,” an adjective from the 1300s. The derivation of “peevish” is unknown, but the Barnhart dictionary suggests that it might be linked to perversus, the Latin word for perverse.

Interestingly, one of the oldest meanings of the noun “pet” is a fit of peevishness. (The Oxford English Dictionary has published references going back to the late 16th century.) As an adjective, “pet” can mean “favorite,” as in “pet project” or “pet topic” or, getting back to the subject at hand, “pet peeve.” (The Grammarphobia Blog: The pedigree of “pet peeve”)

According to my finding the word ‘pet’ can mean favorite. That’s interesting. Lets see if I can narrow it down to my “favorite” peeve and see which one I’m the most peevish about! I think I am feeling this way because lately I have read quite a few books that are ALMOST really good. I liked them but I could have loved them if it wasn’t for this or that. Which is weird for me because I am the girl that likes to just go on the journey and see where I end up. Lately I have found myself disappointed. I know it must really hard for a writer. You have all these ideas and your inner genius is wanting to put it out there. I commend your work! Heaven knows I could never write a novel. This post isn’t going to be about the inner workings of a novel that bug me.. like lets say a really slow beginning. It’s hard to keep reading when your not interested. Sometimes it takes until you are half way before you really get into it. No this is just going to be about basic, bookish things that hopefully bother others too. .(I really hope I’m not some lonely, nerdy psycho).

Let’s start with just the physical things about books that make me peevish. Now remember these are things that bother me. Peeve means that it may bother me but not you.

Dog eared corners. Check. I used to.. back in the day.. bend the corners down to keep my place. Now I will use almost anything as a bookmark. Luckily I have quite a few on hand. (wink, wink) This doesn’t bother lots of people but I just feel like I’m hurting the book somehow.

Stickers on the cover. Check. I hate buying a brand new book and it has stickers all over it. 20% off. Best Seller. Ugh. If I could handle keeping the stickers on but I can’t. I have to peel them off. You guys.. I. HAVE. TO. It always leaves sticky mark and even if I can get the sticky off sometimes you can still tell where the sticker was. Very frustrating.

Shelving your books with the spines on the inside. Check. This can be pretty for pictures. I’ll give it that. That is it. I see on pinterest everyone doing this and it makes me so sad. The spines are pretty. I love looking at my books and knowing what I have. They really are like old friends. How would you ever find anything? You would be pulling everything out trying to find whatever specific book you were looking for and it would be chaos. No thanks. I’m convinced the people that do this must not actually read those books.

Writing or marking books with pen. Check. Pencil can be erased. I had a semester of school where the professor whole heartedly encouraged us to mark up our books. To write notes in the margins. Highlight everything. I get it. Lots of people do this. My experience was me cringing as I marked up this beautiful brand new book. Then later not remembering why in the world I marked that particular passage. Either I was doing it wrong or maybe I missed the whole purpose but now days I find sticky notes are the bomb. If I want to write something then it is there and can be taken out. I use tabs all over for quotes and marking particular things. Suits me much better.

Changing the cover halfway through the series? Check. Why does this happen? I can understand anniversary editions. I don’t understand why when the series isn’t even completely out yet they decide to go with a whole new look? Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. I love the covers. I luckily came in late to the game because I didn’t know that her first published was different (even tho now I wish I had every edition ever printed). Or when they start a series out in paperback and then 3 or 4 books in they come out with hardbacks? I like all mine to be the same. Bookish peeve right there! I want all my beautiful books that are together in a set to be the same. Whether they be paper back or hard back copies.. they need to match. I know. OCD.

Books reprinted with the movie cover. Check. This one doesn’t bother as bad BUT if I am given the option to buy the orginal vs. movie cover, I am always going to pick the original. I like to use the books description on the characters. I like reading the book FIRST and THEN seeing the movie. I always kick myself when the movie screws it up. I expect it now but back in the day I was REALLY disappointed with the Twilight series. I LOVED that series and couldn’t wait for the movies. Total bummer. In the end they turned out okay but now I have those character stuck in my head and that changed the books. Not cool.

Book jackets. I usually like book jackets on my books. I even read with them on. I have been reconsidering this lately. I have noticed that they slide all over the place. The get torn or damaged from sliding around and me trying to keep it in place while I’m reading. I might have to start taking them off from now on. Everyone likes naked books, right? I guess this one isn’t quite a peeve of mine yet but I thought I would mention it since it has started to bother me.

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On my Instagram Friday I did a fun follow train and asked you all to tell me what your biggest peeves were. There were so many good ones that I hadn’t thought of! Peeves that definitely bother me but I didn’t put in my original post! (slapping myself .. !)

I want to add a few of the really good ones that it seems we all really get peeved by.

  1. When you order online and you think you are ordering one version and it comes in and it is a completely different edition. This has happened to me a few times.  I don’t know if it is because I am viewing a paperback and then I buy a hardback copy and the edition changes and I just don’t realize, or if they just send you whatever they can find!
  2. Bent spine, especially on a not so well made paperback and all the pages fall out. I have a book I just ADORE. I have read it multiple times and there is a huge section that falls out. Completely falls out.
  3. Ebook prices. I do think authors deserve their money for their ebooks, BUT it is ridiculous how much a digital copy costs sometimes! Almost as much as a book! I have honestly wanted an ebook and the paperback was cheaper so I bought the paperback! Why can’t there be some agreement that if you buy the physical copy you get the digital copy free? DREAMING. I know. At least cheap. *LIGHTBULB* They should do something like “Buy the physical copy and get the digital copy for $1!” I would do it. I love being able to pick up on my kindle if I didn’t bring my actual copy with me. .. Why does it cost so much for a digital copy?
  4. When your trying to read and people want to talk to you. It’s honestly like, “Really? Can you not see I am trying to READ!

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My biggest pet peeve really might be the stickers. I just absolutely hate it. All these things bother me but that might be the winner. They can put a sign up that says Best Seller, or Discounted. It’s such pain to ruin the covers with that blasted sticky mark the sticker leaves. .. because yes. It leaves a mark. Drives me nuts. Obviously.. I can tell I’m ranting. Do any of these bother you as well or am I really the only nerdy psycho getting worked up over nothing? Is there a peeve that I missed? I would love to hear it! What is YOUR BOOKISH PET PEEVE?

As always happy reading dear friends! I try and post a new review every Friday but I have been so crazy busy! I will get back on schedule soon. A special thank you to all of those that subscribe to my blog! It means the world to me to have support in doing something that I love so much. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Hugs,

Whit

 

 

 

 

 

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane

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sincewefell

Title: Since We Fell

Author: Dennnis Lehane

Published: May 9, 2017 by Ecco

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Stars: 2         Content Rating: 7 (language, violence)

Synopsis: Since We Fell follows Rachel Childs, a former journalist who, after an on-air mental breakdown, now lives as a virtual shut-in. In all other respects, however, she enjoys an ideal life with an ideal husband. Until a chance encounter on a rainy afternoon causes that ideal life to fray. As does Rachel’s marriage. As does Rachel herself.

Sucked into a conspiracy thick with deception, violence, and possibly madness, Rachel must find the strength within herself to conquer unimaginable fears and mind-altering truths. By turns heart- breaking, suspenseful, romantic, and sophisticated, Since We Fell is a novel of profound psychological insight and tension. It is Dennis Lehane at his very best.

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Hello lovelies! It has been a few weeks since I have posted a review due to just being a busy Mom. We are also doing some remodeling plus its SUMMER so there is that. I’m soooooo glad it is summer.  I have a HUGE tbr list for the month of June and I can already see that I won’t get to half of them. *sigh*. I decided on the ‘Since We Fell’ as my Book of The Month Club novel for May. (If you are interested click the link and it will take you to their website.) I was really excited about this book. My whole purpose for joining the BOTM was for it to help me read something I normally wouldn’t pick. . (also.. it’s only $10 a month and you get a hardback best seller). Since this is my first book I have read in this genre I feel like I don’t have much to compare it to. Or experience with one that I just loved to officially tell you how much I .. cough.. ahem.. cough .. didn’t like this book. SURPRISE! I didn’t like it. You probably figured that when you saw I only gave it 2 stars. Let my tell you why and hopefully it doesn’t come across as a rant.

Maybe I just didn’t really know what the book was about but the beginning was really slow. You meet Rachel Childs and get all this back story on her teenage years and her psychotic mother. Anyone would need lots of therapy after growing up with a mother like that. At first this book had a few twists and turns. Things I wasn’t expecting but for what? None of it had anything to do with the story. I supposed he was trying to build Rachel’s character. I felt like she was really shallow. She was negative and desperate. I do get it. I understood why she was that way but it didn’t make me like her. If I can’t love the characters I’m reading about I want to at least like them. I couldn’t relate to her at all.

After you get all this back story that you don’t really need, Rachel meets Brian. Brian is safe and positive. Brian loves her. Brain helps her find herself again. For a minute you think FINALLY the poor girl catches a break and meets a guy that is her opposite in every way and is everything she needs. Until she starts catching on to little things that don’t make sense. She was a journalist after all. She wants the truth and she will do whatever it takes to find it. This part is suspenseful. You know something is up and of course you want to know what it is.

Then the last of this book where it is supposed to be intense and you finally get your answers was so incredibly cheesy to me. I felt like it was just too unbelievable. Too crazy. Things didn’t really make sense. I was picturing it my head and thinking it was the was worst movie ever. Her logic wasn’t my logic. If I didn’t just have to know how it all ended I wouldn’t have finished. .. and the ending. Ugh. It ended with me thinking she is as crazy as her mother but at least her lying, con man of a husband loves her. Apparently that is all that matters. It was just so messed up to me. I didn’t think this book made any sense! Is this how mystery/suspense/thrillers all are or did I just start off on a bad introduction to the genre?

If you read this book I would love to hear what you thought! Am I way off? I would love to hear some of your recommendations if you have any for a good thriller! Happy reading friends!