It's been a crazy few months!

Phew! I can't believe the year is almost over. My reading took a nosedive towards the end of the year, and just when it started to peak again, I signed up for NaNoWriMo. Holy moly!

30 days of writing every day. I had to force myself to stop reading and focus on writing. It wasn't easy, but I didn't want my story to be too heavily influenced by what I saw before me. It was fun!

Starting in December, I will not only be keeping track of the books I read, I will also be hosting some fabulous authors during their Blog Tours and reviewing their newest works. Exciting stuff! I can't wait!

So, here's to December being the best and brightest month yet!

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Started October 10, 2013 - Ended October 12, 2013

Amazon: In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I've read "Divergent" a handful of times since it's release. This time I was drawn back to the story thanks to the imminent release of the final book, "Allegiant". "Divergent" has a good mix of action, romance, and discord. It's a pretty run of the mill dystopian YA read, but it's still very enjoyable. You want to know more about the factions and the members who fill them. If I were to chose a faction, I'd probably be with Erudite, but I'd like to think I was Divergent. I give this novel, "Divergent" a B+.






#57

"Shadow of Night" by Deborah Harkness

Started October 5, 2013 - Ended October 9, 2013

From Barnes & Noble: Harkness’s much-anticipated sequel, Shadow of Night, picks up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending. Diana and Matthew time-travel to Elizabethan London and are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana searches for a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.

I'm ashamed to say this is the first time I actually read this book. I've owned it since it was released, but because of my OCD I had to reread "Discovery of Witches" before I could start. There's not much to say except, holy cow. The amount of research and thought that goes into this series is astronomical. Like "Outlander", Deb pulls real life, historical characters in without a hitch. It's amazingly entertaining and educational to read. I love it! I give "Shadow of Night" an A.

PS- On a side note. When "Shadow" was released, a group of us went to a reading with the lovely Deborah Harkness. It was amazing and I quote "better than Christmas!"

#56

"A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness

I am the first to admit. It's been FOREVER. I fell into a funk and couldn't get out. The amount of books I started and didn't finish is staggering. BUT, hopefully I'm back and devouring fiction once again.



Started October 1, 2013 - Ended October 4, 2013


From Barnes & Noble:Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Words cannot truly describe how much I love this book. This was my second time reading this novel, and it was even better than the first. Deborah Harkness provides the perfect blend of heart-racing fiction and deep rooted facts. Matthew and Diana, while a vampire and witch respectively, are no Edward and Bella.
My first reading of "Discovery" is an interesting story. I was rushing through the library, intent on picking up a few books and getting home to make dinner when the bright blue binding of a book caught my eye. I pulled it out, read the cover and threw it on top of my stack. At home, I made dinner and then settled in to pick what I was going to read first. "Discovery" went to the bottom of the pile. Fast forward and by the end of my read, I was literally reading a chapter and then walking away so the book wouldn't end. I promptly made a fistful of my friends read the book as well. We're all obsessed. So, that being said. I give "Discovery of Witches" an A+.






#55

"Fire Along the Sky" by Sara Donati

Started July 10, 2013 - Ended July 16, 2013


From Amazon:The year is 1812 and Hannah Bonner has returned to her family’s mountain cabin in Paradise. But Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bonner can see that Hannah is not the same woman as when she left. For their daughter has come home without her husband and without her son…and with a story of loss and tragedy that she can’t bear to tell. Yet as Hannah resumes her duties as a gifted healer among the sick and needy, she finds that she is also slowly healing herself. Little does she realize that she is about to be called away to face her greatest challenge ever.

As autumn approaches, news of the latest conflict with Britain finds the young men of Paradise—including eighteen-year-old Daniel Bonner—eager to take up arms. Against their better judgment, Nathaniel and Elizabeth must let him go, just as they must let his twin sister Lily, a stubborn beauty, pursue her independence in Montreal. But on the eve of the War of 1812, an unexpected guest arrives from Scotland: It is the Bonners’ distant cousin, the newly widowed Jennet Scott of Carryckcastle. Far from home, Lily and Jennet will each learn the price of pursuing their dreams and the possibility of true love.

But it’s Hannah herself who must risk everything once more—this time to save Daniel, who’s been taken prisoner by the British. As the distant thunder of war threatens Paradise, Hannah may learn to live—and maybe love—again in one final act of courage, duty, and sacrifice.


I am sad to say that while I loved this novel, this is where my reading bug fizzled out. I haven't successfully finished a book since completing "Fire Along the Sky". HOWEVER! I did receive a few ARC's that I am so excited to start and review for NetGalley! (www.netgalley.com) So, keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks for some NEW and exciting material reviews.





#54

"Dawn on a Distant Shore" and "Lake in the Clouds" by Sara Donati

July 2013
It's been awhile since I've posted. My dad had some health issues and with everything going on I was not in the mood to read. Because of this and because I beta'd an awesome story for another author, I honestly can't remember what dates I read the 2 books below. I'm a bad, bad girl.


From Amazon:Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have settled into their life together at the edge of the New-York wilderness in the winter of 1794 when Elizabeth gives birth to healthy twins. But soon the events in Canada draw Nathaniel far away from his new family. Word has reached them that Nathaniel's father has been arrested by crown officials in British Canada. Nathaniel reluctantly leaves Hidden Wolf Mountain to set out for the distant city, determined to see his father freed. Instead Nathaniel is imprisoned and finds himself in imminent danger of being hanged as an American spy.

In a desperate bid to save her husband, Elizabeth bundles her infants and sets out on the long trek to Montreal. Accompanied by her stepdaughter, Hannah, their wise friend Curiosity Freeman, and Runs-from-Bears, a Mohawk warrior and lifelong friend of Nathaniel's, Elizabeth journeys through the snowy wilderness and across treacherous waterways. But she soon discovers that freeing Nathaniel will take every ounce of her courage and inventiveness. It is a struggle that threatens her with the loss of what she loves most: her children.

Torn apart, the Bonners must embark on yet another perilous voyage...this time all the way across the ocean to the heart of Scotland, where a wealthy earl claims kinship with Nathaniel's father, Hawkeye. In his heart, the Mahican tribe of Hawkeye's youth is the truest kin he will ever know, just as Nathaniel will always remain loyal to the Mohawk nation. But with this journey a whole new world opens up to Nathaniel and Elizabeth--and a destiny they could never have imagined awaits them....



"Into the Wilderness" sucked me in, chewed me up, and left me begging for more. Elizabeth and Nathaniel's love story is on par with Jamie and Claire. Just sayin'. I will be the first to admit, that of the series so far, this has been my least favorite. It's still an epic story that introduces some amazing characters. I give "Dawn on a Distant Shore" a B+.





July 2013


From Amazon:It is the spring of 1802, and the village of Paradise is still reeling from the typhoid epidemic of the previous summer. Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have lost their two-year-old son, Hannah’s half brother Robbie, but they struggle on as always: the men in the forests, the twins Lily and Daniel in Elizabeth’s school, and Hannah as a doctor in training, apprenticed to Richard Todd. Hannah is descended from healers on both sides—one Scots grandmother and one Mohawk—and her reputation as a skilled healer in her own right is growing.

After a long night spent attending to a birth, Elizabeth and Hannah encounter an escaped slave hiding on the mountain. She calls herself Selah Voyager, and she is looking for Curiosity Freeman—a former slave herself, one of the village’s wisest women and Elizabeth’s closest friend. The Bonners take Selah, desperately ill, to Lake in the Clouds to care for her, and with that simple act they are drawn into the secret life that Curiosity and Galileo Freeman and their grown children have been leading for almost ten years. The Bonners will do what they must to protect the Freemans, just as Hannah will protect her patient, who presents more than one kind of challenge. For a bounty hunter is afoot—Hannah’s childhood friend and first love, Liam Kirby.

While Elizabeth and Nathaniel undertake a treacherous journey through the endless forests to bring Selah to safety in the north, Hannah embarks on a very different journey to New-York City, with two goals: to learn the secrets of vaccination against smallpox, a disease that threatens Paradise, and to find out what she can about Liam’s immediate past and what caused him to change so drastically from the boy she once loved. The obstacles she faces as a woman and a Mohawk make her confront questions long avoided about her place in the world.

Those questions follow her back to Paradise, where she finds that the medical miracle she brings with her will not cure prejudice or superstition, nor can it solve the problem of slavery. No sooner have the Bonners begun to rebound from their losses—old and new—than they find themselves confronted by more than one old enemy in a battle that will test the strength of their love for one another. Hannah faces the decision she has always dreaded: will she make a life for herself in a white world, or among her mother’s people?


This is the book that made me love the series again. Ms. Donati does a very nice job of mixing old and new characters and shifting the focus from Elizabeth and Nathaniel to their daughter Hannah without leaving anyone behind. My only complaint is that it seems so much happens in between the books you are forced to catch up on (children being born and dying before you know they exist, pandemics, etc.) it's sometimes confusing at first. In the end at least, the storylines are so intertwined and full bodied they all end up making sense. As soon as I was finished with "Lake in the Clouds" I immediately picked up book #4. Because of this, I give "Lake in the Clouds" an A.








#52 and 53

And then this happened ...

So I may have mentioned a time or two on here how Diana Gabaldon is one of my most favorite authors. Well, a few months ago it was announced that her novel, "Outlander", had been optioned by a studio for production. Hopes were high that Jamie and Claire's story would FINALLY be told on the big screen. We haven't been disappointed. Starz greenlit the project and has been running full steam ahead with the project, casting a Scottish actor by the name of Sam Heughan.

Now, I am a total fangirl when it comes to books. Making a movie and/or series that revolves around my favorites puts me in heaven. So when Sam Heughan favorite one of my tweets last night, I thought my life was complete.

Then this. Oh THIS happened.

Yes that's right. Herself tweeted ME.

I know to some it's nothing, but to me, as someone I've idolized for 18 years ... it's perfection.

"Into the Wilderness" by Sara Donati

Started July 2, 2013 - Ended July 8, 2013


From Amazon:It is December of 1792. Elizabeth Middleton leaves her comfortable English estate to join her family in a remote New York mountain village. It is a place unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man unlike any she has ever encountered—a white man dressed like a Native American: Nathaniel Bonner, known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives. Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village, Elizabeth soon finds herself locked in conflict with the local slave owners as well as with her own family. Interweaving the fate of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati’s compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portait of an emerging America

Holy crow. I think I've mentioned a few times that Diana Gabaldon is one of my favorite authors. "Outlander" and it's following novels are my favorite series of. all. time. So, it's rare for me to find anything in the same realm. "Into the Wilderness" is definitely there. It doesn't hurt that Ms. Donati and Ms. Gabaldon are friends. In fact Jamie, Claire, and young Ian make are briefly mentioned. I know some of Gabaldon's fans are put off by Donati's writing style because it does mirror "Outlander's". I think that's what I love about it. "Into the Wilderness" is a sweeping tale full of emotion and vivid wordage that paints a picture of not only the scenery, but also the love story that inevitably unfolds. I quickly picked up book 2 and am seriously debating purchasing the entire series. For me, that's big news. I give "Into the Wilderness" an A.






#51

Currently Reading ...

Currently reading: "Into the Wilderness" by Sara Donati

"Let It Go" by Brooklyn James

Started June 29, 2013 - Ended July 1, 2013


From Amazon:Savannah Bondurant, a marriage and relationship columnist for the Savannah Sun Times, just signed her divorce papers.

Brody McAlister, the elusive and smoking hot gym boy, has finally recovered from his divorce three years ago.

Be it spurred by loneliness or sheer attraction, the two slip into the sheets for a memorable one-night stand.

Savannah's pesky ex-husband continues to try and worm his way back into her life, insisting they remain friends, even though he is living with his jealous new girlfriend.

An up-and-coming woodworker artist, Brody has every socialite cougar in town promising him success and riches, for a price, of course.

With two advice-giving older sisters, one fiercely single and one seemingly happily married, Savannah learns her parents' long and successful relationship does not come without its own secrets. Why should she believe in happily ever after?

Her constant overanalyzing and skepticism bodes well in her profession as a journalist, but proves counterproductive in her personal life. Divorce, guilt, suspicion, holding on to the past—can Savannah trust in Brody to help her Let It Go...

Holy cheese factor. This was something I *think* I picked up as a Kindle Daily Deal, but I'm not really sure. I do know, that it wasn't the book I thought it was when I started reading. "Let It Go" was a whole lot of something else. It was a cute story, until the word honeypot was used twice and 'gawd' was uttered 4 times. Really? At this point I looked up the author to see if she really was 14. She's not. I'm just going to say it. This book sucked. I'm going to go ahead and give "Let It Go" an F.





#50

Currently Reading ...

Currently reading: "Let It Go" by Brooklyn James

"The Immortal Rules" AND "The Eternity Cure" by Julie Kagawa

Started June 24, 2013 - Ended June 28, 2013

The Immortal Rules

From Amazon:To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what–and who–is worth dying for…again.


I resisted this book, because I wasn't a huge fan of the "Iron Fey" series, also by Ms. Kagawa. All I can say is, "what was I thinking?!" I will hands down say I loved it. It sucked me in, chewed me up, and spit me out. I feel bad giving a YA novel a higher grade than "The Great Gatsby", but this isn't about classics vs. trash. It's about how much I enjoy a read, and how it makes me feel. So with that in mind I give "The Immortal Rules" an A.

The Eternity Cure

From Amazon:In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood.

She has done the unthinkable: died so that might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever—and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago—and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.


Because I was completely enamored with "The Immortal Rules", I had very high hopes for "The Eternity Cure". But, as most sequels do, this one failed to deliver on the same par. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and will most definitely return for the 3rd book (what a cliff-hanger!!), but of the 2, the first is still my favorite. I give "The Eternity Cure" a B+.








#48 & 49

Currently Reading ...

Currently reading: "The Immortal Rules" by Julie Kagawa

"Across the Universe" by Beth Revis

Started June 18, 2013 - Ended June 23, 2013


From Amazon:WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SURVIVE ABOARD A SPACESHIP FUELED BY LIES?

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends--and planet--behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead. Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

I first read this book when it came out a few years ago. At the time I liked it better than "Divergent", but that's not the case now. I, however, will continue to read the series because that's what I do. I just have to wait for it to hit my library shelves. At the end of the day, I give "Across the Universe" a B.







#47

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Started June 17, 2013 - Ended June 18, 2013
Unlike every other high school in America, ours never required us to read "The Great Gatsby". Weird, I know. I thought in honor of the film release I'd give it a shot.

From Amazon:The exemplary novel of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgeralds' third book, The Great Gatsby (1925), stands as the supreme achievement of his career. T. S. Eliot read it three times and saw it as the "first step" American fiction had taken since Henry James; H. L. Mencken praised "the charm and beauty of the writing," as well as Fitzgerald's sharp social sense; and Thomas Wolfe hailed it as Fitzgerald's "best work" thus far. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when, The New York Times remarked, "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s that resonates with the power of myth. A novel of lyrical beauty yet brutal realism, of magic, romance, and mysticism, The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.

I had a very hard time finding a good synopsis to post in the above section. Partly because every site has the same blurb, and partly because "The Great Gatsby" doesn't really have a traditional plot. While the story is rich in beautiful description, it's not a fast paced story. While I enjoyed the read greatly, it won't top the list of my favorites. I give "The Great Gatsby" a B+.







#46

"NOS4A2" by Joe Hill

Started June 13, 2013 - Ended June 16, 2013
Ok, here's the deal. I LOVE Diana Gabaldon. She is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her "Outlander" series is my go-to, my soul in novel form. I cannot, for the life of me, get into her Lord John Grey books. At all. I was hoping because this book is predominantly about Jamie Fraser (OMG the perfect man, ever), I would be able to finish it. It didn't happen. So, instead, I picked up Joe Hill's newest novel, "NOS4A2".


From Amazon:Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”

Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.


It was in this book where I could see Joe Hill's famous daddy's influence. I'm a huge Stephen King fan (second only to Gabaldon) and have been anxiously awaiting to read this book. It was great! A little bit of old school King, mixed will Mr. Hill's exciting writing style. I'm so glad I decided to pick this up after my failed attempt at "The Scottish Prisoner". At 704 pages, "NOS4A2" is a commitment, but it's worth every second. I give "NOS4A2" an A.





#45

Currently Reading ...

Currently reading: "The Scottish Prisoner" by Diana Gabaldon

"Boundless" by Cynthia Hand

Started June 7, 2013 - Ended June 8, 2013

From Amazon:The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she's headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all.

I ate this series like candy. Chocolate covered candy to be exact. The Unearthly trilogy has been one of my favorite reads so far this year. It's not classic literature, but it made me want to read. I couldn't wait to get back to it when I put it down, and I was sad when it was over. I even read the novella "Radiant" while "Boundless" was in transit from my library. In my book, that's pretty damn awesome. I'm of the firm belief that any piece of literature, no matter how cheesy or awfully written, is a masterpiece if it can get a person to read. It opens the door to so much more and encourages a love for something that can be positively amazing. I give "Boundless" a B+.




#44

"Hallowed" by Cynthia Hand

Started June 3, 2013 - Ended June 5, 2013

From Amazon:For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.



I'm kind of, sort of, obsessed with this series. Something about it grabs me. I can't put it down. I love that feeling! Don't get me wrong, it's not a classic. There aren't any life-changing moments in it, but it's good. Pretty sure I haven't felt like this about a YA series since "Twilight". For this reason I give "Hallowed" a B+ as well.







#43

Currently Reading ...

Currently reading: "Hallowed" by Cynthia Hand