Thursday, August 31, 2017

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera


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3 Stars


I’m not even going to bother with a review on this one. I’m always aware that I’m not the target demographic while reading young adult stories, but this one really made me feel like a super geezer and very much a mom. And also . . . 







Go look at what Matthew had to say instead. He felt all the things this book is supposed to make you feel and his review is perfection. Then come back and join me on the countdown to the release of They Both Die at the End next Tuesday because if there’s one thing I’m certain about – it’s that I’ll continue to read whatever words Adam Silvera puts on paper. He’s real good at them . . . . 



“He broke me in a way everyone should be lucky to be cracked open at least once. I had the privilege of being destroyed by him until we found a better, real me inside of the person I was pretending to be. I hope I make him proud.” 



He’s also real good and writing characters I want to adopt. It was Aaron in More Happy Than Not, and it was Wade this time around . . . . 



Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory


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5 Stars

“You’re not like the rest of them, Stony. Maybe it was the way you were born. But you’re different. You’re more . . . human.” 
Dear Daryl Gregory . . . . . 



I stumbled upon this author a few years ago when everyone was raving about We Are All Completely Fine (followed up by a library copy of Harrison Squared since (1) it featured the MC from We Are All Completely Fine in child format and (2) I’m always on the lookout for YA to force upon my own children). I forgot all about him until Spoonbenders showed up (once again on NetGalley – seriously authors, get your shit out there so people start talking about it – unless your publisher finds someone to release a blurb stating your new book is the “next Gone Girl” – in that case buy a big bed so you can spread your bajillions of dollars all over it and roll around). Anywho, Spoonbenders hooked me with only the title and I didn’t put two and two together regarding the author until waaaaaay after I clicked the request button (or maybe not even until I was almost done reading the book – #oldladybrain). Same goes for Stony here. I had never even heard of this book until status updates from my pal Zombieslayer put it on my radar.

My finger has been hovering on the 4 Star button, but I can’t really figure out why I’m so anxious to deduct anything from this one. Well, except because . . . . 



I haven’t met a zombie I loved more since I ran across this fella in the back shed umpteen years ago . . . . 



And the story? REMARKABLE! While I’m sure there will be some comparisons to Warm Bodies simply due to the humanity factor, to me Stony was a (nearly) brand new take on things (and there was no romance sidestory to muck things up either, if that's not your idea of a good time). To begin with, Stony was a living dead who grew from baby to adulthood rather than the norm. I’m going to try and keep this brief in order not to drop any unintended spoilers, so let me just say not only do you get the story of Stony's (or Brother John, as he’s known to his family) upbringing, but when stuff and things happen which make Stony leave the comfort of the family farm where he’s been hidden his entire life you get to venture out into the real world with him as well. It’s there that he learns about the Living Dead Army, a potential leader who may seem familiar to many . . . . 



(Well, maybe more like the Gorton’s Fisherman, but you get the idea). Stony also discovers that due to his unique history . . . . . 



We learn that you can’t always trust everything you’ve always been told and you most definitely shouldn’t rely on the . . . . . 



And we readers get introduced to The Lump. Oh good golly Miss Molly The Lump!!!!!!!



Why has no other author ever thought about things like this before?!?!?!?!?!?!

Anyway, I’m going to wrap it up here before I say alllllll the things about allllllll the things. If you’re a zombie aficionado, this one can’t be missed. And once again, to you Mr. Gregory (because I know I tend to be pretty vague): I’ll read anything you write . . . . . 



All the Stars.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci

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3 Stars

Roman Crazy was a “no we still don’t have the disgusting I want to make all the sex with my stepbrother selection you wanted, maybe you should try being less of a pervy weirdo and read something nice for a change” recommendation from the porny librarian. I took their suggestion – and then immediately requested they acquire Stepbrother Dearest in order to show that I will never give up the fight until I receive some stepsibling smut. 

The story here is of Avery, who recently discovered her husband in a compromising position with his secretary . . . . oh excuuuuuuse me Administrative Assistant. Avery did what any self-respecting woman would do . . . . . 



Followed by accepting an invitation from her best friend to spend the summer with her in Rome.

To say I was an easy sell on this one is the understatement of the year. I immediately got the warm and fuzzies thinking of one of my favorite guilty pleasures . . . . . 



And found myself practicing some seriously pitiful mom dance moves in the kitchen while drying dishes and singing Ed Sheeran’s “Barcelona” . . . . . 



Yeah yeah yeah, I know that one’s not even in the same country, but it makes me feel all the romantic getaway feely feels while trying to get in the “back to school” swing of things here in flyover country.

Then we got to meet Marcello and found out this was a trope that I don’t seek out too often . . . . 



Yes, the second chance romance. Turns out it ended up working out pretty well for me. Not that you could tell since . . . . 



For those of you who have a pretty clear line in the sand with respect to what are dealbreakers in your romance novels, please allow me to drop a little spoilsie and tell you that there’s some questionable ethics when it comes to what is and what isn’t cheating. It’s up to each individual to decide whether starting a new relationship while being separated from your spouse is acceptable in your smut, but Marcello and Avery’s first go ‘round definitely did not include the maybe factor . . . . 



^Not this time.

Which made all of the manufactured “drama” at the end of the book make me want to say . . . . 



I guess things can’t be 100% angst free in a romance novel. I’m just glad there wasn’t some whoopsie pregnancy thrown in to muck up my HEA . . . . . 



If you want something fluffy for the upcoming weekend’s farewell to summer, this might be a winner. As for me?

Monday, August 28, 2017

Shark Island by Chris Jameson


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3.5 Stars

Good lort am I far behind on reviews. I read this one way back during the most magical week of the entire year . . . .



No one is more familiar with how sharks behave around a group of seals than Naomi Cardiff. You see, awhile back Ms. Naomi thought it would be a great idea to jump into an ocean full of seals in order to get some one-of-a-kind nature photographs. What she ended up with instead????



Fastforward to the present and a new feeding frenzy in the waters of Cape Cod. This time Naomi has been hired to report on a team of scientists who have developed a signal which will lead the seals – quickly followed by the sharks, natch – away from the touristy areas and over to a remote island instead. The only problems? They will have to play beat the clock with a Nor Easter and something wonky is going on with the sharks’ behavior ever since they started sending out the signal . . . . . .



It doesn’t take long to realize . . . . .



And even less before . . . . .



I try to pick up a sharky book annually in order to keep with the theme. Imagine my delight when an advanced copy of this one was available at just the right time! I try and keep my expectations low and only hope for a teensie bit of plot along with lots of nomming by the sharks on these selections and this one delivered in spades. I was surprised by how much story this included and that we actually got to know the characters before they became shark bait. In fact, the only complaint I have is that there were too many characters. More and more people kept getting added to the mix which was obviously done in order to make a bigger body count. Really, though? I don’t care if 5 people or 25 people get killed as long as it’s good and bloody : )

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

ORIGINAL "REVIEW":

It's here it's here it's finally here. The best week of the entire year!!!!!

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Friday, August 25, 2017

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

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2.5 Stars




Wrong Reader, Party of One??? Yep, that’s me! I put Ginny Moon on hold at the library because every single one of my friends who read it gave it at least 4 Stars. Now that school has started I’m assigned the task of finding stories my book-hating (I know, the hospital obviously gave me the wrong baby, but he’s grown on us over the years) kid might actually want to read without me tying him down and forcing him. One thing I know for certain is it won’t be this one because I pretty much looked like this the entire time I was reading it . . . .



Put your rocks and pitchforks down and give me a second to explain myself.

I’m not even sure if this is a young adult selection or not, but that really doesn’t matter. We’ve discovered the kid succeeds with “contemporary realistic fiction” so as long as I read the book first and make sure it’s not too adult for his developing brain to wrap itself around, it doesn’t really matter if it was marketed for teens or grown-ups. That being said, a lot of parents would be uncomfortable with the content here and obviously that’s totally up to each family to decide for themselves.

I am also not familiar enough with autistic children to determine how accurate Ginny’s voice was. To someone inexperienced such as myself, she seemed very realistic. Again, I’m sure there are others who will bash this character and/or the author and become super “offended” by her portrayal, but since it’s not a trigger for me I can’t participate in that party.

So let’s get to the plot. The story here is of Ginny Moon (you don’t say, huh?). Ginny was taken from her birth mother when she was nine years old due to severe neglect and placed in the foster care program. Fastforward nearly five years to the present and a Ginny who has been adopted by her “Forever Family.” The only problem is that Ginny has more than a bit of a tunnel-vision issue when it comes to a certain Baby Doll that was left behind all those years ago and she is willing to do anything to get back to it.

The above leads to my biggest issue with this book and why I won’t be recommending it to my kid . . . .



Ginny Moon was FIVE HUNDRED PAGES long. I understand the reader kind of has to become part of “the loop” which is Ginny’s thought process, but this thing should have been cut down to half the size. I’m going to try real hard not to spoil things, but let me just say as a grown up, it was 100% clear what was going on with the Baby Doll immediately and it should have been for all of the other adults in Ginny’s life as well which equaled a Kelly and Mitchell who kept getting more and more perturbed.

Leading to the other problem. The “Forever Mother” . . . .



I can’t remember the last time a character infuriated me this much. I mean I was literally screaming at my Kindle at one point. As the story developed, the less believable it was that this woman would have ever went along with adopting a special needs child to begin with. I mean, I know first-hand that pregnancy/new baby/postpartum can make you go a little batshit, but Ginny was a child with serious issue even before the “miracle pregnancy” happened just like the “Forever Mother” was probably a giant bitch way before then too. Ginny came into their lives looking like she “came out of a concentration camp.” She was a child with severe food issues (up to the point where a lock had to be put on the refrigerator to stop her from gorging herself and vomiting every day). She had been removed from another foster home due to an “incident” with the family cat. She had impulse control problems to the point of putting herself in harm’s way repeatedly. There is not one part of me that believes this woman would have adopted this child and when the whole point of the story is how realistic it is supposed to be, it becomes a glaring neon sign. But like I said, everyone else loved it, so you probably will too. 2.5 Stars for me : (


Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater


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3 Stars


I had a pretty sever book hangover after finishing She Rides Shotgun and needed a “buffer read” before starting something new. This was exactly what I expected it to be. Except for the *cough penetration cough*. Times have changed! Anyway, what can I say? I’m a pretty cheap sell when it comes to werewolf books. After all, I am the woman who not only called a radio station for weeks on end in order to win tickets to the early screening of New Moon, but who also attended said screening with her boss while wearing this shirt:








#noregrets #teamjacob4eva



If you loved The Twilight Saga unapologetically and still like to get your teenie bopper howl on, you might find this one to be aiiiiight as well. You know. For science . . . . .