A Home for Hannah - Amy Lillard

 It's been 15 years since Hannah McLean has left the amish way of life in Pontotoc, Mississippi and she's returning a widow with a 15 yr old son.  Her heart has never forgotten her first love Aaron.  Will she be able to settle again into the community or will she be turned away?  How has 15 yrs changed Aaron?

This was a sweet read.  Life changes so completely sometimes, taking us from our roots that if we were ever left with no other way but to return would we try?  I appreciate the incorporation of teenagers into the story and the no hard core romance aspect of this book.

I would recommend if you want a little lighter romance read.

Faeborne - Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

Brennon was stolen from his family at 16 and forced to use his gifts in service to a malevolent goddess.  For seven years he knew nothing but hardship and pain.  When he finally escaped he returned home to find his sister and parent murdered and his little nephew blind and broken.  He continues to persevere for his nephews sake, worrying that the dark stain on his soul will destroy him one day. Seren is an outcast an ostracized by her people.  Her gifts allow her to transform into a deer like all her people however she was also granted a once in a generation gift - the power to heal grave wounds.  When she reveals this to her peers their hatred forces her to flee far beyond her peoples borders in deer form.  Brennon mistaking her for food, injuries her.  When he finds her she has reverted back to her human form and he realizes his mistake and takes her home to nurse her.  So begins a friendship that will cross races and heal more wounds than physical.

This book was a very light read (only 700 or so pages) but well done.  I didn't feel rushed reading it nor did I feel like I was left feeling there wasn't enough character development. The story alternates between Brennon's pov and Seren's pov.  I didn't find Brennon's nephew annoying which was huge bonus points for me.  I enjoyed watching the development of the relationship between the characters and how they over came obstacles like communication and differences in culture, realizing at the end that they can trust one another if they one talk. 

I would recommend this light read for something a little different.

*Note: I didn't realize that this was #7 in a series of books.  It didn't feel like I missed out on anything as it seems like each novel is standalone-ish?

Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros

 Everyone including Violet herself expected her to die before Threshing.  Not only did she survive that, but bonding with not just one but 2 dragons and she's made it to her second year.  Throughout all that - bonding with the most badass, strongest man of his generation; discovering she has one of the most if not the most powerful channelings; learning to rely on her instincts to stay alive; 2 also super powerful dragons - the war they thought they were all training for isn't nearly as big as the secret that the academy has been covering.

As far as sequels go I have to say this one didn't fall flat.  The author does a good job keeping the momentum going and keeping characters story lines along the same growth and personality.  Just enough suspense and surprise to keep the reader entertained and involved enough to keep reading.

Going to have to pick up book 3 now...

If you've read the first one and enjoyed it, keep reading the series.

All Last Summer - Stephanie J. Scott

 Sometimes life doesn't go according to plan.  And for Lila Vaughn who is a type A personality and makes lists for EVERYTHING it can completely turn your life upside down when your boyfriend who you were supposed to go to Brazil with for the summer the night before is out partying with a new girl.  Sure you weren't "supposed" to be at that party.  And you weren't "supposed" to find out that they'd been together for 2 months.  So out the window goes the trip.  The money for the trip and any hope of having a perfectly planned summer.  But sometimes surprisingly things happen that are good when they aren't planned.  

This was a short, sweet read. The setting, character development and story were all very well done in the 400 pages it encapsulated.  It was a nice YA read that evoked teenage memories of trying to find yourself and the self doubt you experience at that age while trying to navigate high school, social relationships and responsibilities.

Great quick summer vacay read!

Lion - A Long Way Home - Saroo Brierley

I have to admit that breaking tradition I watched the movie first and it got me interested in the book.

Based on a true story of a 5 year old boy in India who got lost on a train not knowing how to read or write, how he got adopted by a family in Australia and how in his twenties and the invention of Google earth he found his way home.

This is one of those heartbreaking stories of lost children.  You really feel for his brother who originally took him along to the train station and also for his adoptive mom Sue who really took him in and loved him as her own son (incidentally she also wrote a book about the experience from her point of view and about her upbringing - Lioness by Sue Brierley).  

100% worth the read AND watching the movie.

Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers - Stephanie M. Kriesberg

 

Written by a psychologist and expert in narcissism, Adult Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers offers proven-effective strategies drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you reduce anxiety, build confidence and overcome self-criticism. Practical tips to help you build healthy, trusting relationships; stop apologizing for the failures of others; and start trusting your own good judgment.

A little bit of a different read for me. This one while being a very thin book was VERY emotionally heavy.  I struggled growing up with a lot of feelings of self doubt, self criticism, anxiety and lack of confidence. This book would have skyrocketed my work on myself by a decade at least at the height of my depression however reading it now that I've been able to work on myself over the last decade or two it reinforced that I am on the right path of building my self confidence, finding my own voice and realizing that the things I thought was wrong with me were actually only things that were that critical voice in my head and while I cannot completely silence it, I can acknowledge that its there and not let it rule my inner voice like it has all my life.

This one is a tough read if you struggle with inner criticism and your relationship with your mother.  I would recommend only if you are in a place where you are ready to be open to the work and possibilities of self reflection and growth.  You will have to open some old wounds fair warning.

Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

For Twenty yr old Violet Sorrengail, the life that she was supposed to have - entering the quiet peaceful life of the Scribe Quadrant - is not where is currently is. Her tough as nails general mother has ordered her into the death elite Dragon Rider quadrant following the path of her older brother who died and her older sister.  Her whole life she's struggled - she's smaller than everyone and her body is brittle - so this new struggle isn't anything new.  But Dragons don't bond with fragile humans and the Rider's quadrant isn't just fraught with them - other cadets want to kill you too for the chance and Violet has the biggest bullseye on her back just being the generals daughter.  It's a cut throat quadrant.  But what others see as weaknesses in Violet, is actually her greatest strength and there are a few that see that strength in her too. 

This was actually a pretty good novel.  I enjoyed the obstacles that Violet had to overcome within herself and the premise.  The book had the right amount of politics, romance, character growth and world building.  It's not the next greatest novel but for a series beginner it did itself justice and I would recommend.

Gild - Raven Kennedy

 

The legend of King Midas - but what happens after he gets the golden touch?  This book is from the perspective of the love interest and willingly taken and "gilded" as the favorite of Midas.   

3 chapters.  I read 3 chapters and I was done.  I was sooooooo looking forward to this one and the premise was something that highly intrigued me.  Literally the first paragraph was gratuitous sex scene. Yes this book comes with a trigger warning.  Yes I knew that there was going to be darkness but honestly I felt like the author didn't even try. All men are absolutely cringe characters, or at least all the ones introduced in 3 chapters, from reading other reviews now there isn't one redeeming or character building one.  The mc is an absolute snore fest.  Ya she has a bad past and she was "saved" from the streets but she has no personality other than - I'm bored being a golden saddle.  Ya.  Women in Midas's palace are referred to as saddles.  And yes it is precisely what you think that means.  The mc just happens to be the golden favorite saddle.  I just couldn't continue.

1000% would NOT recommend.  Save yourself.

The Invisible Hour - Alice Hoffman

 Mia Jacobs lives in an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden.  As a child she sneaks into the closest towns library, befriends the librarian and a whole new world is open to her through pages.  Opportunity presents itself for her to leave the oppressive community after her mother dies and she strikes out and away from it but her past comes back to haunt her.

This was an...interesting book.  It covers oppression/cult upbring, time travel, coming of age and longing.  I will say that Alice Hoffman is a beautiful writer.  Her style is very ethereal and fantasy like but grounded in reality.  The premise of the book was intriguing however she kinda lost me after the main character left the cult and grew up and found a cabin in the woods and met an author from the 1800s and has a romantic affair with him.  I feel like the author wants the reader to feel the longing and connection with books but felt that she took it too far with a relationship.  It didn't make sense it leaves you feeling discombobulated.

Overall I appreciated the writing style and the premise but in the end probably would recommend this book.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Switching gears yet again.  Classic novel and I have to admit that I know the story but have never read the book.

Handsome Dorian Gray had his portrait painted at 18.  After an admirer stated "life is nothing without beauty and sensuous gratification" Dorian gets scared of growing old and make a fateful wish that the painted image should age rather than himself.  Fearless of the consequence, he launches himself into a life of excess and depravity.  And every sin that he commit is reflected in the picture.  Banishing the portrait to the attic where it becomes so loathsome to Dorian he tries to destroy it.

A shorter read, The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of Irish author and poet Oscar Wilde's acclaimed works of writing. 

Its a shorter read but of the older english style

The Rowan - Anne McCaffrey

An orphaned young girl simply called the Rowan, cries telepathically from a mud covered transport on a newly settled planet.  At her young age, her telepathic and telekinetic powers are top tier the kinetically gifted are trained in mind/machine gestalt. She is taken and settled into training to become a prime talent on Callisto, a planet on the outer limits of the Nine Star League.  When she is grown and serving the network on the outer most planet system, she intercepts an urgent medical call from a powerful Jeff Raven on the outer solar system in a newly settled planet.  She convinces the other primes to merge their powers to help Jeff fight off an attack by invading aliens.  Once the heavy lifting is complete, her relationship with Jeff quickly grows and he changes her view of status imposed isolation and helps her to learn what love and family means.

Another series from Anne McCaffrey that I would 100% recommend.  She writes such human characters and beautiful worlds.  I won't write a review for each of the books but each book is from the perspective of the family and each continues on the story.  Personally Damia is my favorite in the series although some might cringe.  

Simple series premise of good against mindless evil ultimately but you can never go wrong with a  classic

There Will Be Dragons - John Ringo

Set in a future will no war, disease nor ill timed death, the world is a paradise and lives under all possible protections.  The "Net" has a council of men and women who govern it through technology however as humans often do they have a falling out because some want more power than others.  When it happens the "Net" goes down and leaves the world without the life saving nano technology.  Across the world, communities have to fall back to old ways of natural life.  Herzer Herrick was born with a crippling disease which in a world with near perfection shouldn't have happened.  But he was a fighter and learned early on survival.  However he is naive and follows too easily at first. In the small village of Raven's Mill, Edmund Talbot, unassuming master smith and historian finds that his hobbies are life saving and people start looking to him for leadership.  He's lived a long, storied life and has the skills even if he is reluctant to do so, but his former lover and daughter are a driving force for his life and he will do anything to save them.

I saw this book on a random table in a thiftlike centre and loved the cover.  It is so much more than the cover and that caught me right away. This is not a book for people that are feminists.  There are STRONG male characters in this that at times are macho and manly men.  John Ringo is a excellent writer and weaves a futuristic tale of woe on the tales of technology gone wrong and how in one moment what happens if it all disappears.  Personally I LIKE Herzer and Edmund.  I appreciate the character growth and when they make mistakes how they learn from them.  I appreciate Herzers drive to make more of himself and ya he's mostly a meathead but not all characters are "heros".  I like Edmunds character just as much. Theres internal politics and shuffling for power and strategic placements.  This book has a little of everything centered around an interesting premise.

Baring the warning, I would recommend to the right reader.

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

This one is a little bit different than other Ali Hazelwood books. It had less smarty/sciencey stuff and more internal emotional hurdles to overcome.  Rue is very emotionally detached from the world however she's still a woman with woman needs. Some might view Eli's obsessiveness with Rue as...well I'm not sure how to define it but it spoke to me on a level that I appreciated it and enjoyed reading it from his perspective.  It does boarder on well it's getting in 50 Shades of Grey area BUT not bondage.  Control is the name of this man's pleasure.  There is a trigger warning at the start of this book fyi.  

I appreciated this one for what it was and would still recommend.

The Takedown by Lily Chu

For Dee Kwan, every day is the perfect day. No, really. She has a house she loves, a job she adores, and a ridiculously attractive “nemesis” who never seems to mind when she wins their favorite online game. How can life possibly get better? (It can’t, obviously. It can only get much, much worse.)

Dee is a product of her mother's positivity upbringing.  Always look on the bright side, see the silver lining no matter what happens, positive thoughts manifest and all that.  But what happens when she is surrounded by things happening that aren't positive and her life's circumstances change and everything happens at once that it makes it tough to see the positive?  

I can kinda relate to Dee on some level - trying to find the positive in this world is tough sometimes and sometimes you question yourself whether you are a positive person or not.  I didn't connect with Lily Chu as a writer or Dee the character like I do with Ali Hazelwood but I did enjoy this book enough to finish it relatively quickly.  

I would recommend as a light, summer beach read if it peaks your interest.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

I know I say this with every one of her books, but I think I like this one the best.  This one had me flipping pages and stayin up late to flip those pages.  LOVE the chemistry with Bee & Levi.  Love how Bee's brain works.  And love the working relationship and quirks.  

Of course I recommend this book...it's Ali Hazelwood.

Lightlark by Alex Aster

 

Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

I must admit that this was a book club read however I most likely would have eventually added this to my list.  The premise intrigued me immediately.  And it was good.  The character development wasn't all ecompassing but was enough to get a feel for the them and want more.  The twists and turns and the development was great.  I would recommend this one.

Check & Mate - Ali Hazelwood

Story from the perspective of Mallory Greenleaf who is a chess prodigy however quit before entering the competitive world as a child and 3 years before her father passed away after she found out he was cheating on her mother with a chess referee. Fast forward to  age 18 Mallory who is left with the responsibility of caring for her two younger teenage sisters and ailing mother. Mallory's best friend ropes her into a "fun" competition one weekend and she's pitted against the worlds number 1 chess player who she also had a crush on when she was younger and she wins.  Suddenly her world completely upends and sends her into the competitive chess world.

I may be alone with this opinion but I am a HUGE fan of Ali Hazelwood.  I find the way she writes the characters connections and slow burn, imperfect human emotions and doubts, appealing and draws me in.  I haven't been this deeply connected to books in a long time and it's just hitting something for me in this moment in time.  I appreciate that the incredibly book smart characters she writes about experience the same mind numbing doubts as a normal human being.  And I absolutely cannot get enough of the emotional connection the characters make with each other - even though the writing is thru the eyes of Mallory, you feel Nolan's thought process and can make out what his thinking.

This book has less graphic romance than others of hers that I have read but I still enjoyed it.  And I leaned things about chess I never knew...

I would recommend this book.   

The Maid - Nita Prose

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

Molly Gray is a character who if I had to describe her according to today's standards I would say is on the spectrum in a LARGE way.  Her social skills at reading peoples sarcasm is non existent and her trust at taking people at face value is well it is criminal that someone would take advantage of it.  Poor Molly gets tied up in a scandal from trusting the wrong people - not for the first time.  The book weaves the story from Molly's perspective and I found it very heartwarming to read about her.  The author was very good at describing how Molly was taken advantage of in a way that you as the reader have no doubt that she was by you can separate Molly and your perspective.  

I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone.