2018 Delicious Reading Challenge

I have concocted a new type of reading challenge for myself this year that combines two of my favorite hobbies: reading and cooking!! For each title I read on the list, I will make a food inspired by the story. There are 16 slots on this Reading challenge; 15 of them are preselected titles and one is a wildcard spot. You have to leave some room for some spontaneity! I put 30 titles from my to read (or reread) list and drew 15 of them out. Iron Gold luckily was selected or I would have cheated to get it on the list!!!!

I want to write more this year, and this format will force my hand to do that. For each selected title I want to read, I will review each title on the list and also let you know how the recipes turned out and why I selected each dish.

1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown complimented with Iced Blueberries and Sweet Cream

2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck complimented with Bean and Bacon Soup

3. Iron Gold by Pierce Brown complimented with Pan Roasted Duck

4. Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien complimented with Mini Pork Pies and Honey Biscuits

5. River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey complimented with New Orleans Bourbon Chicken

6. The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka complimented with Buckeyes

7. The Outsider by Stephen King complimented with Maine Corn Chowder

8. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black complimented with Honeyed Chicken

9. Windwitch by Susan Dennard complimented with Butter Garlic Herb Steak Foil Packets

10. The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens complimented with Beef Jerky

11. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky complimented with Russian Apricot Chicken

12. Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson complimented with Potato Cakes

13. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt complimented with Beef on Weck

14. Death Sworn by Leah Cypress complimented with BBQ Chicken Kebobs

15. The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst complimented by Ribs with Garlic and Herb Crust

16. W I L D C A R D   S L O T

The rules are simple, I have until December 31st to read these books, make these recipes, and write my reviews. No order needs to be followed, and I can make the recipe before, during, or after reading the book as long as I’m not reading something else. I am really excited for this challenge that is going to grow me on multiple levels.

What is your reading challenge this year?? Tell me or link me in the comments!

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I didn’t really want to do a review on this book, but here I am.

This book takes place on a luxury cruise liner sailing in Europe. The ship is constantly described as being miniature, which I totally get. What I loved best about this detail was the perspective of the MC, Laura aka Lo. She didn’t really care for it, despite being impressed. This hit home for me because in the Spring I went on luxury cruise in the Caribbean and despite how NICE and BEAUTIFUL everything was, I would never do it again.

But what really missed the mark for me, especially in the beginning was the MC’s treatment of her boyfriend, Judah. While their relationship isn’t explored in depth, I loath her for her treatment of Judah. It really turned me off to her, built this wall that I never overcame while I was reading the book. The second barrier I encountered was the opening act. The opening scene where Laura, the MC, is robbed in her house was the reason that Laura acted the way she acted the entire book. It was this solid thing she could point a finger at and say “this is why I am acting this way!” both as an miserable excuse, and a triumphant validation. I thought that I didn’t understand because I had never been in the position but last night something parallel happened to me and now I know that if I had read this today, rather than a few nights ago, I would have just rolled my eyes.

The plot development with something like this had a lot of standard elements you would expect to find, but there were some pleasant twists and turns. I won’t ruin them for you.

So back to characters- there are really only other characters that are developed at all upon the ship. Laura’s ex receives some development, but it is little, but I sort of held onto it because so many of the other characters were cardboard cutouts. Then there was the MYSTERY GIRL. I am so impressed with how MYSTERY GIRL is handled. She is by far my favorite part of the story.

So would I recommend it? Not especially, but I wouldn’t discourage you if you are interested. I keep telling myself, it’s me not the book. I was hoping for Tana French or Gillian Flynn but that’s not what I got and that’s not the author’s fault.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Singing In the Shower Book Tag

This is my original book tag. Yes, I cringed too. So let’s waste no time and get ready to learn a few new songs, and stretch those creative muscles!! I tried to make this as surprising for myself as anyone else. So please enjoy, and if you decide to do it too please tag me or send me the link. I was surprised how many songs I could find that hit the mark so well.

1. Select a theme song for #girlboss character that you’ve recently discovered.
   Serena from Serena is most certainly a #girlboss. I think she’d appreciate Little Red Wagon by Miranda Lambert, a sort of guilty pleasure.
   

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2. Your all time favorite character just pulled up in your driveway. What song is most likely playing when you climb in?
   All time favorite character? Seriously? Who wrote this?
   I’m going with Darrow from Red Rising because climbing in a car with him is going to result in some sort of epic adventure. He’s got Back In Black by AC/DC. And Sevro is in the back seat singing it and playing air guitar.

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3. Go to last book on your shelf (or stack no judgement!) A character of your choice from the first chapter is singing karaoke. What song do the pick?
   Mark Watney from The Martian belting out Destiny Child’s Survivor  You know it.

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4. Pick an anthem for a beloved rascal.
   Jesper from Six of Crows would definitely identify is with Florida-Georgia Line’s This is How We Roll. It’s just the kind of song that would mark him subtly different from the citizens of Kitterdam.

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5. You know that one couple that just wasn’t meant to be? What’s their love song?
   It personally wounded me that Dagny Taggart didn’t end up with Francisco D’Anconia in Atlas Shrugged. Their love song would be Night Train by Jason Aldean. *Dreamy Sigh*

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6. Randomly select a book with from an author with the last name starting with C. Flip open to a random page, and the first character you see is singing in the shower. What song are they singing?
   YEssss. It’s Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park!!!! He is belting out Africa by Toto.

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7. What’s song would be your favorite OTP’s first dance?
   My OTP’s are often not cannon, but Gale and Katniss from the Hunger Games should get a dreamy first dance in some secret, sweet wood. How about the acoustic Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban.

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8. The villain from the last book you read is looking for a theme song. What do you suggest?
   Pekka Rollins was a villain from the last book I read, Crooked Kingdom, and I guess he’d probably like the song All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled + friends.

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9. Think of a tragic couple, they are dancing their last dance, what song is it?
   Ruby and Liam from the Darkest Minds trilogy are my token tragic couple. Their last dance song: Rewind by Rascal Flatts.

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10. Your favorite stand alone book just got made into a movie. What song is playing in the opening credits?
    Alas, Babylon getting made into a movie would be beautiful! Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift & the Civil Wars would be playing for sure.

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11. Pick up the 5th book on your shelf. The main character is standing in an elevator with you- what song comes on that annoys them the most?
    Well, Darrow from the Red Rising trilogy is going up and Lorde’s Royals comes on. His eye rolling is constant.

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12. What’s the last series that you started? The kindest character from that series is sitting next to moonlight pond. What song do you serenade to cheer them up?
    Strange the Dreamer….and the kindest character was definitely Lazlo Strange. If he were sad, a moonlight serenade would actually cheer him up. I’d get someone that isn’t me to sing Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Suede.

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Extra Credit: Do any songs come to mind that remind you a setting in a book you love?
The Red Mine that Darrow in Red Rising comes from, their song would have to be Drinking Class by Lee Brice.

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So I hope you enjoyed Singing in the Shower Book Tag. And all you fellow book review bloggers, copy and paste. Let’s see what you come up with!!

Zombie Apocalypse Book Tag

I succumb. Zombie Apocalypse Book tag will be dragging me into this book tag nonsense, but look how fun this actually is!! Plus I am a sucker for zombie related material.

The Rules:

• Choose 5 books!
• Randomly set up your books in order.
• Flip to a random page in the book and write the first two names you see.
• Put the names in the categories listed below in the order you saw them!
• Cry at how screwed you are…
• Tag some more people to join in the fun

My Books:

• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
• Pyromantic by Lish McBride
• Trespasser by Tana French
• Morning Star by Pierce Brown
• Six of Crows by Leigh B’Adugo

The first person to die: Edward (Breaking Dawn)

How pleasing. This is going well so far.

The first person you trip to escape the zombies: Jacob (Breaking Dawn)

What? That’s my favorite character in Twilight! He’s useful and loyal. I have terrible judgement. Hopefully my devious plan is thwarted and he’s okay.

The first person who trips you to escape the zombies: Bianca (Pyromantic)

I’m not really surprised, but I don’t know why she’d have to trip me. She can just disappear. Maybe she would disappear on me and leave me to get chomped.

The Team Idiot: Ezra (Pyromatic)

Hmmm….Ezra is daring and would take unnecessary risks. But he could be on my team!!

The brains of the group: Steven Moran (Trespasser)

I am not sure if that means we are in trouble or not. Steven is street smart, but I wouldn’t say he’s brilliant. Not sure how’d he do in a zombie apocalypse, but hey maybe have that Rick Grimes thing going on.

The team medic: Aislinn (Trespasser)

Pretty sure we are screwed, she’ll be one of the first to go. She has terrible judgement.

The weapons expert: Ragnar (Morning Star)

This isn’t so bad! Maybe with some training from Ragnar on how to be a general butt kicker we will be okay. Ragnar! He will save the day.

The team brawler: Mustang (Morning Star)

Well that is an interesting turn of events. She’s definitely dangerous, I just can’t see her brawling. Perhaps the zombie apocalypse brings out the worst in people.

The first to turn into a zombie: Jesper (Six of Crows)

I have mixed emotions about this. On one hand-NOOOOOOO. On the other hand- he isn’t the most reliable person. There was the business of revealing secrets, but he is very good with a gun.

The team leader: Nina (Six of Crows)

Can we please nominate Nina to team medic? It’s not that I don’t think that she could do it, it’s just….her witchy powers would be so handy for healing. But could she bring down the zombies from a distance? This would give her a clear advantage. Hmmm….

I am not really sure we will make it for long. It’s not terribly weak. I give us 3 months! Maybe 6 months if I don’t kill Jacob and we can keep our medic alive.

I tag: YOU! Reading this. 

 

 

 

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh B’Ardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo is the sequel to Six of Crows. It takes place in the same universe as her Grisha Series. If you keep reading, expect spoliers for both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.

Crooked Kingdom picks up right were Six of Crows left off. Inej is kidnapped by Van Eck and Kaz is plotting on how to get her and the money back.

The first thing that has to be talked about is the fearless gang leader, Kaz “Dirtyhands” Brekker. Kaz has got to the best example of a sympathetic dark antihero. He isn’t this kind hearted soul wearing a thinly veiled tough exterior. Nor is he this obvious villain that has good looks and a little bit of mystery to compel some heroine to swoon occasionally.  Kaz is this complex, brilliant leader that calculates every move as if his whole life is a chess game that is infinite and could end at any moment. Kaz’s plans are even more brilliant than Six of Crows, and I think that is because he has home field advantage. I thought for sure it would be revealed that Nina healed his crippled leg before the effect of her drug high wore off. But that didn’t come to pass. Which also leads to more development of his skin to skin weakness which was so raw and this idea that his crippled leg is his advantage. People don’t look for other weakness, they are obvious. Kaz makes my favorite observation of the book. He’s recalling an old crime wizard that compares a lock to a woman but Kaz is annoyed by it. “Sure a lock was like a woman. It was also like a man and anyone or anything else–if you wanted to understand it, you had to take it apart and see how it worked. If you wanted to master it, you had to learn it so well you could put it back together.” Kaz also reaches and grasps his dreams. He starts he own gang which was no easy feat, it required breaking up with his boss in a public and dangerous display.

This might sound horrible, but I was really hoping that Inej wouldn’t escape by herself. It would have destroyed their crew. Instead, the tension and poison Bardugo created with Inej’s raw fear of having her legs broken thus tossed away by Kaz was so powerful and gut wrenching because the audience can completely get behind that fear. “”He’ll never trade if you break me.”“ You believe that line in your stomach and so does Inej. So she clings harder to escaping Kitterdam and Kaz with lofty visions of being a pirate of pirates. It’s so real. Inej is reunited with her crew in this elegant disaster and escape. She ends up fighting this insane assassin she calls her shadow. For this first time, I see Inej as a dark soul that has a lot to be sorry for, she isn’t just a victim of slavery and prostitution. She has done her own dark deeds.

Which leads us to this relationship between Inej and Kaz. They spurn their feelings for each other. It’s way too complicated and messy for either of them. Inej’s dark fear that Kaz would abandoned her if she was no longer an asset builds this tension that has be addressed. It’s at this point, pretty early in the book, things really change between them. Inej tells Kaz about Van Eck wanting to break her legs and how she convinced him that she’d be a useless pawn for him if he did. Kaz grapples with it too. Finally he says, “”I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together–knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.”” This has to be the romantic line of either book. It’s not accompanied with any dramatic or physical gestures, but it’s this turning point. That doesn’t mean it’s roses for them afterwards. Kaz forgets her fear of being touched because he’s blinded by his own. Their is suspicion. But really from this point on, there is only reinforcement of their strong relationship. Inej displays unwavering loyalty. Kaz changes her bandages without his gloves. In the end, he spells out exactly how much he loves her, not with stolen kisses or well crafted words. He gives her freedom, her family, and her dreams on silver platter.

Bardugo doesn’t suffer from giving the audience too much information, especially with her characters. She lets them speak, rather than just telling us about them. The only dip in this if I find is with Nina. Nina is this almost trained Grisha solider. She is well educated and speaks a few languages. We are told that she is a fierce warrior, but I forget that sometimes and think of her as the softest one of the bunch. But then I have to take it back because boom, in the midst of street battle for her life she breaks her softness and destroys her would be assailant. Nina is also going through a sort of identity crisis. She is struggling with this new strange and dark power she has, and mourning the power she no longer has.

Matthias was under developed compared to the others and I think that is why he died. Bardugo didn’t bother to give him a future, a purpose beyond the moment. You can see it in the super sugary moments Nina and Matthias share like this: “”You’re better than waffles, Matthias Helvar.” A small smile curled the Fjerdan’s lips. “Let’s not say things we don’t mean, my love.””  I feel like his death was pointless. Not in the random way that sometimes bad things happen and there is nothing you can do about it, but in the let’s kill one of the main characters off kind of way. It was so anticlimactic and it lacked impact. I also thought it might be a sort of symbolic killing. Matthias was this traditional solider type with a streak of naivety and formality about love. His sort of ideas are dead, and so is he. I just sort of boxed him up and put it on the shelf.

Then there is Wylan and Jesper. I really feel like this was their book. These characters are two peas in a pod which strikingly similar obstacles they must over come. Both have pasts that are catching up them and problems with their fathers. They both try to hide their weaknesses, and both are struggling with acceptance. Wylan is rejected by his father, the odd man out in the crew with his upbringing, and even rejected (accidentally) by Jesper at one point. Jesper is also struggling with rejection from Kaz, fear of his father rejecting him, and rejecting himself, by rejecting his Grisha gift. This common thread is really the binding agent.

At one point, Jesper and Inej discuss forgiveness and she says “This action will have no echo.” I wish this was thing in our culture. It has so much more meaning than apologizing. Jesper really takes it to heart and it shows.

Wylan gets all the complexity he lacked in Six of the Crows. He is having a purpose crisis and rightfully so. He doesn’t really belong with Kaz and his group and he’s been completely rejected by his father. You see his toxic relationship with his father both in snippets like “I will treat you no more harshly then the world will. That was his father’s refrain.”  and the larger flashbacks like his father attempting his murder. Then the crux of Wylan’s purpose crisis resolving when it’s revealed his mother is alive. Wylan’s vigor is completely changed after that. He’s got this grit about him after that is respectable instead of just feeling pity for him.

I loved this book, it’s obvious from the time I took thinking about it. I want badly to give it 5 out 5 but, I just can’t because there are some glaring things I can’t over look. Leigh Bardugo wove an amazing tale worthy of praise. I wish our journey with Kaz, Inej, and Nina weren’t over. I feel like they especially have so much more to do.

4.5 out of 5 stars. Go ahead, dive and have a good time that will leave you whirling.

 

 

 

Pyromantic by Lish McBride

Pyromantic by Lish McBride

Pyromantic is the sequel to Firebug which takes place in the same universe as Hold Me Closer, Necromancer and it’s sequel. So if you haven’t read Firebug, don’t start with this.

The short version: I loved it! I ate it right up and couldn’t put it down.

McBride is an excellent weaver of sarcasm and wit. Ava, like last time, is the main character that is full of actual flaws that have real consequences. She isn’t quite the same Ava from Firebug, she’s more mature and has a stronger mindset. A lot of the old crew is back. Lock of course, being his charming self, Sylvie gets to be more fleshed out of a character which is fantastic. Cade is sort of shoved in the corner and standby and watched Ava’s life, I didn’t like it. It seemed really weird, especially for a father. Then there is Ezra…Ezra might have been my biggest disappointment of this book, he didn’t really sparkle like he did in Firebug. He just seemed kind of there because he was expected to be. But then there are some new characters like Bianca and Alistair that were fantastic. Of course, the dialogue is what really propels this novel and I wasn’t disappointed.

The plot of this book has it quirks but where I think it really shines is that the characters spend so much of their time fumbling around. Normally this wouldn’t be a strength but the nature of the problem is really beyond their experience, so there wasn’t this nice yellow brick road that they followed that lead them from plot point to plot point. They spent most of the book just playing catch up to the problem. There is this believable scramble and they don’t have all the answers. It just isn’t a problem they are use to facing, it really makes them come together and grow. It’s very satisfying, and very human.

Overall: 4 out of 5 Whoopie Pies. 😉

Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Technically I started this book way before my summer reading challenge, but I muscled through the last half of it this week so I’m counting it. Especially because of how painful this was to finish.

I have no idea how this has such a high rating on GoodReads. It’s slow, monotone, and boring. The action of this book could be condensed to a fourth of the length, if you removed all the 80s movie, TV show, music and video game explanations. I know kids today don’t know about tape players and whatever but it was like a grandfather trying to cram “back in my day” disjointed stories down your throat and expecting you care. Or a grandchild to trying to explain Instagram to a grandparents. It’s just not the same experience unless you live it.

Then there are the characters. Wade Watts is the main character. He has almost zero character development. He is shallow and doesn’t understand having personal relationships which is almost understandable but when he does have the chance, doesn’t face any problems that someone that hasn’t had personal connections with other people would have. For example: when his girlfriend leaves him, he doesn’t display any sort of trust issues.

The other characters including said girlfriend are about as flat as a piece of paper. Two do good philanthropists, a token girlfriend, a best friend that has social justice issues, and a dark, evil corporate executive. Wade the MC, suffers from being good at everything. It’s such a burden. Of course he is poor so that is challenge enough I suppose. Wade can play a perfect game of PacMan, escape from slavery, has endless time to relive the entirety of the 80s multiple times, super polished hacking skills, and never has to worry about conflicts with his friends. (He says he doesn’t have friends but he has has at least 4 which isn’t awful.)

There were some good things about this book, the idea of the Oasis is fun. Traveling through it was great. The contest concept was interesting. I can totally imagine being in the Oasis and how addicting it would be. Final ruling: 80s Fanfiction.

Rating: Two out of Five Extra Lives.

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Here is my partial rantings on Career of Evil. I wasn’t really impressed but continued to be entertained. I still feel like Robin is Emma Watson. Anyway, this isn’t really a review, it is more of airing my frustration. Spoilers are probably below.

1. Pretty girl (Robin) stumbles and gets catcalls and lewd remarks from construction workers.
   1. Ugh, I am so tired of this stereotype. Construction workers are always painted in a negative light. I am sick of it. Construction workers have manners, they are very respectful of women, they don’t wait around for a pretty woman to walk by so they embarrass themselves and her. Construction workers aren’t not the end all of sexist pigs. I wish writers would stop categorizing groups of people by irrelevant criteria. If you want to show sexism, show characters being sexist, not faceless generalities that promote fear mongering and false pretenses.
2. The constant comparison of Cormoran Strike’s hair to “pubes”.
   1. Does this need any explanation?
3. The negative portrayal of Matthew.
   1. Robin doesn’t make much money compared to Matthew. Matthew supposedly uses passive aggressive techniques to compel Robin to do such boring tasks like “go to the food store” just because she makes less money than he does.
      1. Seriously? Uncontrolled, raging feminism. Every household has to have someone go to the food store or pay someone to do it. There is absolutely nothing wrong Robin doing this. Stop making Robin a victim of petty sexual repression to suit your soapbox.
      2. And guess what! A couple should try to contribute equally to a household. Whether it is through getting a spirit crushing job that pays the bills or doing chores. Work together! Man or woman it doesn’t matter.

• While in the grocery store, she is treated like a sexual object again! A man stares at her breasts. Gosh, all this grocery store represents is woman’s oppression. What a terrible institution.

1. Oh gosh, the food store drama continues: Matthew did the food shopping and told her about it! Matthew is now upset.
   1. Matthew can’t even hug her without Robin being repulsed.
2. Also, when does the audience get to actually see any of these fights Robin and Matthew have? We get it all second hand from Robin’s memory.
3. Matthew is a punching bag, we never see anything good about him. He represents all that is bad in society and poor Robin is stuck with him when all she is trying to do is follow her dreams.
4. Matthew has been snooping on her! Reading her emails and using her computer.
   1. Robin must change her password in order to keep her privacy. Won’t she have a nice tidy list of reasons to leave Matthew when the time comes?
5. Matthew insists that their lack of car is her fault for not having a high salary. (According to Robin)
6. Matthew helps out at his future in-laws more than he does at home for Robin
7. Matthew become publically dismayed over being given an old car from his inlaws proving that he is self absorbent and ungrateful and Robin should add this to the list of why she is leaving him.
8. Matthew walks into a room after she literally threw a tantrum, politely offers not to discuss it, brings her tea, and then is regarded as embarrassed for her justified behavior and a terrible person. He just can’t understand.
9. Matthew, by spending time with her parents that they traveled a long distance to see, is wasting his time by watching TV with them. Robin is going to important work on her computer, and be alone and taciturn.

4. The antagonist is just another male supremacist. They litter this book.
   1. Says women are disgusting
   2. Refers the woman closest to him as “IT”
      1. This is a successful woman that brings home the money
   3. Purpose in life is expose his dominance.
5. Other men that pop up randomly are more often than not shown in the negative light, especially with sexual inappropriateness.
   1. When doing their investigating work the men that hire them do it in order to keep tabs on their lovers like possessions. When a woman hires them it is for some noble cause like to keep a dastardly man from stealing his child in the middle of the night away from the mother.
   2. Cormoran’s step-father was sexual repugnant
      1. He walked around naked in front of his step-daughter causing the girl to run away from home.
      2. Step-father was also awful in other ways: insulting Cormoran, discussing murder, lies, abuses animals, and getting stoned.
   3. The police man that comes to collect the severed leg checks out Robin thoroughly despite this being unprofessional and his being married.
   4. Robin’s younger brother is the only unsuccessful sibling: lives with parents, doesn’t go to school, hasn’t joined the army.
   5. Men simply can’t understand the importance of human life. They are constantly glib about the poor dead woman’s leg. So improper and horrible. The list of offenders include: police officer, Cormoran, Martin, the brother.
6. More sexism angles!!! Everywhere.
   1. “Has his employee been male, he wouldn’t be vulnerable…”.
      1. Seriously. Stop. Too much.
      2. But also as woman has been useful being a typical female: warm, gentle, ect ect. He owes her just for being a woman, to keep her safe.
   2. Robin’s mother brings up that men have a hard time when their women work closely with another man.
      1. Men are insecure and feel threatened by this.
   3. People with strange sexual fetishes on the internet could not be women in Robin’s eyes. They simply could not.

 

Things I like:

1. Robin and Cormoran’s relationship
   1. This is very genuine
2. The author makes her words very powerful
   1. Her word choice and diction is superb
3. The personal side of Cormoran is slowly unraveled. We haven’t go to see much of Cormoran’s back story so far, just enough to be intrigued. This time the plot is personal.
4. Cormoran’s disability is very reasonable.
   1. He does not find super human strength to overcome his missing leg.
   2. He experiences pain associated with being too active.

 

After this point. I stopped taking notes. So….enjoy these partial notes! Because it has been awhile since I actually read this……

The Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins

From the beginning, this novel disturbed me. (In a good way.) This novel has three female narrrators, Rachel, Megan, and Anna. All three are there own special kind of falling apart but Rachel to me, feels like the main character.

Anna, is the new wife of Rachel’s ex husband. I have no tolerance for her. I hate her. She is stupid and smug. I don’t want to talk about her anymore.

Megan is the most complex of the three. Her story spans the largest time gap but isn’t told in a clarifying way. She is emotional, uninspired and broken.

Throw all of these narrators together and sooner or later one of them was bound to end up dead.

Rachel starts off by telling us all sorts of things about a sweet couple that she see from the window on the way to work. It is stalker level 9000 but at the same time, it rings false. I mean, what kind of doctor lives in a house abutting the train tracks? And she did make things up about that sweet couple but that didn’t mean Rachel wasn’t a creepy stalker because wow, she took it to a new level for me. She has spiraled out of control and hit bottom with losing her husband, drinking, her job, her home. “I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head.”

As for the storytelling, this book did not simply take you from one point to another. This is an unraveling, slowly picked apart. A scab, not completely healed. One moment, it is relieving to pick at the old skin in order to find the new skin peaking through. Then the next moment you are gushing blood wondering where you went wrong. That is exactly how it is for Rachel.

The plot is a path in a dark forest that constantly is twisting and turning, unfurling before you but you can’t really see where it is going. The crafting of this plot feels like it’s own dark and sinister character.

But it did have flaws. I cannot see Tom putting up with Rachel’s antics like he did, especially for so long. Though without that we wouldn’t have had a story. I also don’t see Scott’s fat shaming as believable for that social context. He spent the whole book trying to put on a performance of “great guy” to the people around him, it would have blown his cover. I also find the therapist’s character to be unbelievable. It feels like the author might not have known another way to get the audience much needed information. The actual need for a therapist was important but just not believable.

I highly recommend it. It is a great thriller and I don’t want to give too much away. So if I seem vaguer than usual that is why. 4.5 stars out of five.

And Tom got exactly what he deserved.

2015 1st Quarter Wrap Up: Part One

I haven’t been doing much reviewing so I thought I would do a quarterly wrap up that would give you some insight on the books I’ve read so far in 2015. There won’t be any spoilers so have fun exploring and deciding if you want to pick up any of these books.

Because I completed 27 books, I’m going to break this up into multiple posts.

See Me by Wendy Higgins was the first book I read in the new year. Honestly I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It wasn’t spectacular and the male lead’s name was McKale. Shortened to Kale. The world building was mediocre, and the characters often silly but it was good entertainment. Give it a try if you like character driven, light fantasy. I gave this book 3/5 stars.

Dubiosity by Christy Barritt has it’s own full length review which you can find here. This was a very exciting read for me personally, because it was my first ARC! This also was a big encourager for one of the genres I want to start reading agian.  4/5 stars

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Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen also has it’s own full length review here. I really hope all you murder mystery fans give this one a shot. The characters in this book were compelling and not I hope to see another book in this universe.  4/5 stars

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Golden Son by Pierce Brown. There are not words for all my feels. Golden Son took us to even more unexpected places. This might be my new favorite series, ever. Red Rising set the bar so high but this is a completely different level. You, you need to read this. This series will be best enjoyed if you don’t know too much about the plot before you being. 5/5 stars.

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Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. Honestly after all the good things I heard about this I was a little disappointed. Other than being separated from your loved ones, her time in jail didn’t seem that bad. Overall I was bored and I can’t understand why they made a TV show abou this. 3/5 stars

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The Martian by Andy Wier should have been a disaster but it was success on every level. There was a great balance of dark humor, nerd talk, obstacles, and creative problem solving. The only thing that really stuck me as unbelievable was the lengths his government went to get him back, but really who I am to judge? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 4.5/5 stars

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How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie was the first book my husband challenged me to read. It could have been edited down to three chapters but driving the points home it what makes material like this stick. It did help me a few desperate situations though and for that it gets 3.5/5 stars.

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Jackaby by William Ritter is a paranormal mystery thriller with a good helping of Sherlock Holmes. I had very high expectations for this book, overall it was pleasing. I actually enjoyed the female MC which doesn’t happen too often and the mystery while unique did feel lacking toward the end. 3.5/4

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Blue Lily Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. I began this book in December by due to personal drama the library autoreturned it before I could finish it. I did finish it Feburary and was disappointed. I really loved the other three books in the series but this book felt so lacking plot wise. As always the characters and prose were gorgeous. 3.5/5 stars

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Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey was the most challenging read I’ve had in years. This book takes you places that scary, sad, and that are difficult to understand even though they are completely real. Maud had to be one of the most difficult characters to write and for the reader to truly connect with but Healey got you in the end and held the plot together with the smallest of strands. 4/5 stars.

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The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith. So many times I almost gave up on this one. I don’t even know what exactly about it makes it so hard to complete. The story is compelling and the characters are great but it must be the pacing and the writing style. I would only recommend this to people that really enjoyed the Cuckoo’s Calling. 2.5/5 stars.

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Pointe by Brandy Colbert was all over the place. It’s like the author decided she wanted to take on way too many topics for one book. In this book we have minimal ballet drama, boy drama, drug drama, under-aged drinking drama, eating disorder drama, friendship drama, school drama, and kidnapping drama. I didn’t like the main character and not (mostly) because she was edgy and devoid of morals. It was because she didn’t grow or thinks she needs to grow. It did compel me to keep reading though. 2/5 stars

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The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin was the last book of the Mara Dyer trilogy. The most interesting parts for me were the back story set in India and England. Mara and Noah’s story was sort of boring despite the author’s attempt at drama. This is not a stand alone novel. 3/5 stars

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Seraphina by Rachel Hartman was more of a character driven novel than a plot driven novel. I really enjoyed this novel because it didn’t spend too much time specifically world building, the world just sort of unfolded with the story. It isn’t too often I enjoy almost all the characters but I really did here. Seraphina was intelligent, courageous, and creative. I am excited to continue my journey. 4/5 stars.

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So that covers about half of my reading in the first quarter. I bounced around so much from being ahead to falling behind and now, only 4 days into the second quarter I’m just a few books away from my half way goal. I am lacking in some of my categories for this year but am looking to turn that around this quarter. If you have any questions or want to share your own opinions that would make my day. For an up to date tracker of my reading you can visit the 2015 Reading Challenge page. I would love to discuss any books on that list with you.

Leave a comment below with your favorite book of 2015!!!