A Girl Called Fearless By Catherine Linka

*****I received this book as an ARC about a year ago, it took me a while to get to it. In no way is my review influenced by the fact that I got this as an ARC****

Goodreads Summary:

Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl’s life is these days. After a synthetic hormone in beef killed fifty million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men, and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death threat is past, but fathers still fear for their daughters’ safety, and the Paternalist Movement, begun to "protect" young women, is taking over the choices they make.Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she’s also dreaming about college and love and what she’ll make of her life. When her dad "contracts" her to marry a rich, older man to raise money to save his struggling company, her life suddenly narrows to two choices: Be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run. Her lifelong friend, student revolutionary Yates, urges her to run to freedom across the border to Canada. As their friendship turns to passion, the decision to leave becomes harder and harder. Running away is incredibly dangerous, and it’s possible Avie will never see Yates again. But staying could mean death.From Catherine Linka comes this romantic, thought-provoking, and frighteningly real story, A Girl Called Fearless, about fighting for the most important things in life—freedom and love.


*****I received this book as an ARC about a year ago, it took me a while to get to it. In no way is my review influenced by the fact that I got this as an ARC****

(Advanced Reader Copy)

My Thoughts:

I was a serious slacker in that it took me forever to pick up this book. I admit I judged the book by the cover and honestly it turned me off. However, once I picked it up, I read this book in a day. Part of this is because I didn't want to put this book down. The other part was I was home sick and didn't feel like watching TV. 

This being said I liked the book but I didn't think it was the best thing ever. 

It follows the dystopian/post-apocalyptic formula, but I don't think that is a bad thing per se, just a little boring at this point. The plot point in this book that is different than others is that the majority of women have been killed off from ovarian cancer caused by hormones in our food. I actually think in a lot of ways this is more likely than a lot of possible end of the world scenarios. My point of view on that isn't really important to this review but I will say that this book gave me something to think about, which is always awesome.

Avie is a likable character, she is less annoying and whiny than some other female leads. I feel like she is more relate-able as a person. She is called fearless, but that doesn't mean she actually is. I think that people can force themselves to be fearless  when they are just trying to survive. And Avie is just trying to survive. I think this book is a bit more honest about the intentions of people. No one brave really intends to be that way, they just have to be.

Additionally, I felt the supporting characters were more believable. The intentions of all the characters were realistic and not overly complicated by plot twists that didn't feel natural which is often the case with the genre. Overall, I liked the book and I would recommend it to fans of the genre. I do intend on reading the second book in the series when it comes out later this year.  I could tell that this book was a first book for the author Linka. I think she has enough of a voice that she could really expand the ideas presented in the first book in a really smart way in the second. I hope she lives up to that potential and doesn't let anyone change her voice too much.

While writing this review I was listening to REM Losing My Religion.

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Goodreads Summary:

With her now-classic novel Outlander, Diana Gabaldon introduced two unforgettable characters — Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser—delighting readers with a story of adventure and love that spanned two centuries. Now Gabaldon returns to that extraordinary time and place in this vivid, powerful follow-up to Outlander....

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ... about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ... and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ... in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ... and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....

My Thoughts:

The second installment in the Outlander Series definitely didn't grab me as quickly as the first. This isn't anything against the writing per se, mostly there just wasn't as much action as the first book. But the story telling was rich and we got to know our characters better while meeting new ones.

This book is definitely quite sad but that didn't make me want to stop reading it, but I did take it a bit slower than the first book. Jamie and Claire have some rocky times in this book, but they stay true to who they are.

Overall, I liked the book but it didn't hook me as fast and as hard as the first. I am also not running to read the third. I fully intend to read the next book but I think I need a break as these are seriously long and seriously serious books.

I would recommend the book to those who have read Outlander, just be ready for it to be a slower and different read than the first. I wouldn't recommend reading out of order, I am not sure it is a stand alone read.

While writing this review I was listening to my husband and dog snore.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Goodreads Summary:

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My Thoughts:

Months ago my bestie asked me to DVR the new Starz show Outlander as it was based on one of her favorite book series. I was not at all interested in watching the show but I figured I could crochet or read while she watched it. As it turned out, I was immediately a fan of the show and decided to read the books. Who could blame me, have you seen Sam Heughan? The first time I saw him I wanted to find some screaming rocks to fall through. (Note: I told my husband this and he rolled his eyes and told me to take a flashlight in case it got dark looking for screaming rocks, yep that is marriage to the right guy, he gets me)

I read the first book not quite as fast as I thought I would but that had more to do with a hectic work schedule than the book. I really enjoyed getting a deeper insight to the characters I already liked from the show. After having read the book the series is in my opinion doing the story justice. I really think fans will like the show so long as they don't get too hung up on details, which is hard for super fans.

I am not normally a fan of historical fiction. I suppose I am actually understating that a bit. I often hate hate hate historical fiction. This book was definitely an exception to that. I wasn't a fan of the sheer number of rape, almost rape scenes in the book. I know that it happened all the time back in the day (still does) but it was hard for me to read. If you have an extra hard time with rape you may want to skip this book, well let's say skip the series.

I would recommend this book to historical fiction fans and romance fans. There is a fair bit of sex which I suspect is why the books are so popular. I recently read an article that described both the show and the books lady porn. I feel this is accurate in a lot of ways. 

While writing this review I was listening to that horrible Aston Kutcher movie Valentine's Day. 

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Goodreads Summary:

Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo's Calling.

When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days—as he has done before—and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives—meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

My Thoughts:

Often I am let down by the second book in a series. In this case I was definitely not let down much to my delight. I really enjoyed this read.  I am not generally a huge fan of mystery but in the case of Robert Galbraith I am becoming a real fan. This is independent of my love of JK Rowling, who is actually Robert. Do not read this hoping for wizards.

The Silkworm picks up shortly after the first book so this book didn't have the tedious introductions to characters as the last. However, this book did give us a better view of Strike and Robin, our two detectives. I like the balance between the current mystery and the lives of Strike and Robin. We get to know everyone without the feel of being rushed through a story.

I will say that I didn't see who the killer was until it was revealed in the book. I was pleased I had guessed incorrectly. This book definitely improves on the first book and leaves me wanting the third. I would (and recently have) recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read. This holds true to even non fans of mystery.

While writing this review I was watching Castle. 

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Goodreads Summary:
"A fresh present-day story infused with an original take on popular history. Forget broomsticks and pointy hats; here are witches that could well be walking among us today. This debut novel flows with poetic charm and eloquence that achieves high literary merit while concocting a gripping supernatural puzzler. Katherine Howe's talent is spellbinding." --Matthew Pearl, author of The Poe Shadow and The Dante Club A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history-the Salem witch trials.

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest--to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.

As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.

Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the witch trials of the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation.

My Thoughts:

I read this book as the September pick for my book club. I knew that it would be a rough read for me as I don't generally enjoy historical fiction but I thought that would be a side note, and I think perhaps that was the case for some readers. I was seriously annoyed by the tone and time shift in this book. I wanted to stop reading it several times. I didn't even finish it in time for the book club discussion. Part of that was because of my new 6 days a week work schedule and part of it was a admittedly a motivation issue.

This book read like a grad student's paper (yes I am aware the main character is a grad student) in that it was dry and hard to swallow from time to time while randomly being really good.

As you can tell I didn't love the book. I think if you enjoy historical fiction you might like this read. Also if you have a thing for the Salem Witches you would likely enjoy this read. Be warned though, if you are like me and have PTSD from college, reading way way way too many academic articles you may be annoyed by this book. Also if you don't love it when a book flip flops between time and story lines you might have the same frustrations with this book. 

While writing this review I was listening to absolutely nothing and it was awesome.

Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics by Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski

Goodreads Summary:

Over the centuries American society has been plagued by brutality fueled by disregard for the humanity of others: systemic violence against slaves, Native peoples, and immigrants. More recent examples include the Steubenville rape case and the murders of Matthew Shepard, Jennifer Daugherty, Marcelo Lucero, and Trayvon Martin. Most Americans see such acts as driven by hate. But is this right? Longtime activists and political theorists Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski boldly assert that American society's reliance on the framework of hate to explain these acts is wrongheaded, misleading, and ultimately harmful.

All too often Americans choose to believe that terrible cruelty is aberrant, caused primarily by “extremists” and misfits. The inevitable remedy of intensified government-based policing, increased surveillance, and harsher punishments has never worked and does not work now. Stand Your Ground laws, the US prison system; police harassment of people of color, women, and LGBT people; and the so-called War on Terror demonstrate that they themselves are forms of institutionalized violence.

Considering Hate challenges easy assumptions and failed solutions, arguing that “hate violence” reflects existing cultural norms. Drawing upon social science, philosophy, theology, film, and literature, the authors examine how hate and common, even ordinary, forms of individual and group violence are excused and normalized in popular culture and political discussion. This massive denial of brutal reality profoundly warps society's ideas about goodness and justice.

Considering Hate daringly invites readers to think differently—to redefine the meaning of justice within a new framework of transformative imagination, collective responsibility, and civic goodness.

My Thoughts:

I wish I had this book while I was still in college. I loved the challenges posed to every day thinking and the possibilities of changes presented in this book. I can easily see this book working in a wide variety of Social Science classes and I would highly recommend this for an upper division writing course. 

I read the book twice and found myself sharing quotes frequently. Considering Hate makes us all look at ourselves and our institutions with a new lens. While I am not saying you should buy into their ideas completely I do think that taking a different approach to how you look at the world around you is always a worthwhile exercise. The perpetuation of violence is an issue that needs to be tackled on both the large scale and the small. 

This book blew my mind and I am happier for it.

I would recommend this book to everyone, but particularly those looking for a read that is thought provoking, well written, and informative in a way that isn't textbook dry. I think the common person could easily read this book as it doesn't feel like it was written for academics. 

While writing this review I was listening to the calm sounds of the pond outside my door.

I should note that I did receive this book as an ARC but have since pre-ordered the book in hard copy to keep with my textbooks from school.

Horns by Joe Hill

Goodreads Summary:
Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples.

At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

But Merrin's death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It's time for a little revenge. . . . It's time the devil had his due. . .

My Thoughts:

I started this book after hearing about the movie with Daniel Radcliffe that is coming out, or is out. I admit I am not sure about that last bit. After reading the book I don't think that I will be seeing the movie.

I found the book interesting-ish at first, if not a little bit over the top with how depressing it was right from the beginning. The more I read the book the more I wished I hadn't started reading it to begin with. I found out about half way through the book that it was written by Stephen King's son. I suspect had I known that up front I would have looked into the story a bit more and likely would not have read the book. I am not at all a fan of Stephen King or similar writers. I just don't enjoy such heavy dark reads when there isn't something else to balance it out. This book is exactly that, too dark and nothing to balance it.

I disliked this book at best and totally hated it at worst. I was left with a grimy feeling in my head and I wish I could scrub it with a toothbrush. I had no reason to like Ig. Sure, the writer told me that Ig was a good guy, but I never really believed it. This book was just full of dark and twisty. Also, if I read the name Keith Richards one more time I was going to have to start a drinking game. The writing felt redundant and tired. It felt long and hard to finish. I never felt engrossed in the reading. It was never pleasurable. Mostly this book made me a bit sick.

So, to whom would I recommend this book? I guess to fans of Stephen King, though his fans on goodreads don't have nice things to say. If you like dark and twisty with no balance this is your book. I can't say I learned anything about myself or the world from this book and normally when I have finished a book I can at least say I got a new and interesting perspective on something. Sadly, I just felt tired and a little abused.

Really, I need to stop writing about this book. It has brought out the grumpy mean side of my reviewing and I don't really want to be a lame-o that way. So here is something nice about Horns. I think the idea was interesting and had a lot of potential. I think the writing, with more editing also shows potential for storytelling that can be engrossing. Also, good on you Joe Hill for being a writer, it is hard to finish a book, let alone more than one. Also this book is very successful at exploring a dark nature that all of us have.

While writing this review I was listening to the Once soundtrack.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Goodreads Summary:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.


My Thoughts:
First I would like to say that the drawings for this story are awesome and really add to the story. It has been a long time since reading a book with any kind of illustration and this book has made me think I should read more. I know that the same artist drew all the illustrations but there is such a difference in the styles that it helps with moments in the story where you feel raw emotion and growing up moments. The art really added to the storytelling.


Recently, I took a class in college about inequality in a democracy specifically in terms of economic inequality. A fellow student wrote her 20 page research paper on reservation life here in Utah. I heard about her experiences of first feeling Native and secondarily feeling like an American. I found it interesting that Junior also had those feelings. He had to come to terms with life on the rez and what he experienced when he dared to go to a public school not on the rez. The extreme poverty was something I expected to hear about. But from the point of view of a child is vastly different than the scholarly views I am used to.


***SPOILER***
The second or maybe third story in the book is about Junior watching his Father kill his dog because they didn't have the money to take the dog to the veterinarian. I got choked up thinking about what an experience like that will do to an adult let alone a child.
It was sweet though the way that Junior found friends who accepted him for who he was and didn't hold his poverty against him. So often in high school I saw how the poor kids were treated, or anyone who was even slightly different was treated. That isn't to say that Junior was accepted right away, he wasn't, but eventually he won some people over. I never saw that for the kids I went to school with who were picked on.


Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read, even with the heavy parts of the story you don't really need a break from the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a clear picture of Indian reservation life, but expect your heart to break a little. Additionally, I think anyone could benefit from reading this book.


While writing this review I was watching a rerun of Castle, the one where Alexis is kidnapped and taken to Paris.

Days of Blood and Starlight / Dreams of Gods and Monsters By Laini Taylor

Goodreads Summary:

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. Forhope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Goodreads Summary:


By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

My Thoughts:

I read the first in this series for the 9 3/4 Book Club. For some reason I can't start a series without finishing it. So I did.

...

And the thing is that I wanted to like these books. I didn't hate them, but they weren't great. They could have been good, the idea was solid. The execution was middle of the road with sudden swerves to extremely annoying. I don't have much to say about the second book but always whining is not hot. The third book however...

***SPOILER***

OK, seriously? Who introduces a crazy important character in the third book? Eliza the mostly human angel who happens to have the answers for everything ever? Oh yeah let's introduce her and make her the key and then barely explain all the huge crazy shit that has been going on with all the many worlds. What.The.Fuck.Ever.

I feel like the third book was a "just kidding on concluding all the shit I have been writing about for three books, I am really setting up my next series of books."

And really that is all I have to say about that. Sure, the writing was pretty in a lot of ways but I feel like the story was lacking (not Twilight lacking but pretty close).

I would not recommend these books. Sorry to the writer. I know you probably put a lot of work into these and writing is hard, but I just can't recommend these books even to fans of the genre.

While writing this review I was listening to a rerun of Castle.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Goodreads Summary:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hairactually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Thoughts:

This was the first selection of The 9 3/4 Book Club, which was recently formed by myself and my bestie. We judge books by their covers. Which the cover of this book is pretty. I am such as sucker for blue with black and white.

This was a really fast read for me. I would say the average reader could finish it in a week or two. I finished it in a long weekend. This is not a book I would have selected on my own as I am not a huge fan of fantastical books. This book has a lot of fantasy creatures running around making a mess of things. That being said, over all I liked the book once I suspended my disbelief enough to enjoy it. 

I was creeped out by the whole teeth hunting thing and what the point of the teeth ended up being didn't help with the creep factor. This book was more imaginative than a lot of YA novels. I liked that it was primarily set in Prague, which isn't a city I get to read about very often but have always wanted to visit.

Karou is a better female lead than a lot of YA females. But she still has some of the same annoying qualities that I wish writers would give up on. Vulnerability doesn't always have to take the form of weakness, which is all I am going to say on that.

Akiva could use a little work, which may or may not be addressed in the next book. For a fierce fighting angel he has a lot of growing up to do. I didn't love the overly masculine and immature nature. Those two things don't really balance this character so mostly I wanted to punch him and say "dude, grow some balls." But the end of the story he is all sorts of mean and evil so I am not sure how I feel about that.

Overall, I would say this was a good read. I would recommend it to fantasy folks who love some teen drama but want something better than the Twilight series.

While writing this review I was listening to They by Jem.