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