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Sunday, April 12, 2020

From my TBR shelf...

My library has been closed for an entire month now. The books I put on hold back in March for my next two buddy reads with Melody are languishing on the hold shelf at my library--hostages to COVID-19. And the last of my library books have all been read, leaving me with only the books on my shelves. Luckily, I have a lot. Some I'll review; some I won't. And though I am grateful I do still have books to read, I REALLY hope my library reopens soon! Anyway, here's one from my TBR shelf:


Title & Author:  Voyage by Ellisa Barr

Why I bought it:  I read and enjoyed Barr's previous book, Outage, and wanted to read the next one in the series. Also, it's one of those EMP disaster/survival books that I like to read so much.

Favorite line:  "Wake up and smell the apocalypse, Sena."

The plot in brief:  Sena and several of her classmates are on an Alaskan cruise when the EMP hits. Chaos quickly ensues as Sena and a few new friends struggle to make their way back home to Washington state.

My thoughts:  Sena's a foster kid with a fear of the dark and a past she doesn't like to talk about. You'd think she'd be tough and guarded, but she comes across as meek, timid and naive, and even a bit spineless at times. It wasn't until the last half of the book that she finally stands up for herself. Despite these flaws, I still liked her. And I liked this book, although I do wish it had been a little more fleshed out in places. At only 200 pages, the story felt a little thin and left me wanting more. Barr's first book, Outage, is definitely the better read. But this one was still fun.

My rating:  3/5 stars.

Happy Reading!


38 comments:

  1. Our libraries have closed since last week and I already feel the loss so I totally understand how you feel, Lark. Hopefully the situation will improve quickly so businesses will resume as usual.

    Voyage sounds like a fun read and Sena seems like an interesting character. Hopefully the next book will be better. :)

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    1. Hey, Melody! How are you? I'm hoping very hard that all the libraries will reopen in the near future! :D

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  2. I always knew there was some reason I was obsessively hoarding books!

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    1. Right? All those impulsive book buys I made over the years now look like pretty wise investments! ;D

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  3. We take what we can get, right now. I seem to be alternating between good and OK books, but as long as they keep me occupied, I can't complain. I haven't read anything by this author, buet will keep her in mind.

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    1. I'm with you; I'll take any book that will hold my attention at the moment. :)

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  4. This is the perfect excuse to tackle our TBR shelves lol. I am still guilty of checking out ebooks though.

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    1. The lure of the library is always hard one to ignore. :)

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  5. You know, it could be both fun and interesting to see what we've all got stashed on our own shelves. Library closings are about the only things that would get most of us to ever get to reading some of them. No telling what goodies we all might pop up with a little in-home browsing.

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    1. You're right. Who knows what gems might be hiding at the back of our bookshelves. I'm wondering how many unread books I have sitting on mine. Might have to count and find out. :)

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  6. I think you have reason enough to break into the library and liberate those books. I'm sure the judge would understand and give you a very light sentence. :-)

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    1. Right? I mean, it would totally be justified! ;D

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  7. I haven't read it but it sounds like it would be an enjoyable read. Happy Easter.

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  8. Hopefully the libraries will reopen soon. But I do agree this is the perfect time to tackle the TBR pile. Happy Easter! :)

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    1. Thanks, Ashley! I hope you had a happy Easter, too. :)

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  9. I don't like it when the main character gets walked all over. At least she started standing up for herself at the halfway mark. Sorry to hear this wasn't a total win, but happy that you at least enjoyed some of it.

    Does your library not lend digital copies, Lark? I got a message that even people who didn't have a library card could get a temporary card without coming in to check out digital copies, audio books included. Hope you find some gems on your shelf in the meantime! :)

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    1. My library does lend out digital books. I just really prefer reading actual books, so I haven't gone that route...yet. :)

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  10. Nothing like a pandemic to make us read what we own before we buy or borrow more, right? I could have Mantel's The Mirror and the Light right now, but I waited one day to pick it up and the library closed! But that's OK. Like you, I will not run out of things to read anytime soon.

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    1. Missing a book by one day! That hurts. I'm glad you've got other things to read, but still... :)

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  11. Same here w/ our library! I miss being able to just go there... glad this one was decent though. the other one definitely sounds good!

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  12. Luckily with over 1000 books to read, I'm not about to run out any time soon!

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    1. And aren't you glad you'll never be without something to read? :)

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  13. I haven't heard of this author or series, but it sounds like one I would enjoy. I don't know why, but even during a real pandemic I still like to read disaster novels!

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    1. Me, too! :D I think you'd really like the first book in this series, Outage. The main character's neighbors are Mormon, which made it kind of fun. :)

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  14. I don't know why but the idea of books being held hostage on the hold shelf struck me as so funny. Do you use Overdrive or Hoopla? It's been a lifesaver right now.

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    1. My library does offer ebooks through Overdrive, but I'm more of a real book reader. Just my personal preference. :)

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  15. I miss the library so much. Not so much for me, but for my daughter. Voyage sounds like an interesting read. Seeing people overcome such dire circumstances would be kind of therapeutic right now for some, I would think.

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    1. And they survived! That's always a good thing, right? :)

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  16. oh that is an awesome line! This looks pretty good!

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  17. Yay for TBR shelves! I sure hope we can all safely get back to the library soon.

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    1. Me, too!!! In the mean time, I'm very grateful I have books at home to read. :)

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  18. I think my husband is getting tired of hearing me say I miss the bookstore! You would think I have no piles of books on my shelves that have been waiting for me. haha... Not sure about this one for me but then again I'm kind of not into apocalypse type fiction at the moment. Our recent days are strange enough!

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    1. But knowing you're cut off from your favorite bookstore or library makes the longing to acquire new books to read worse.

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  19. Does your library have ebooks? Ours has been adding ebook titles at a great rate. Not that I've made much of a dent on my stack of physical library books, to be honest. I've mostly been rereading comfort books.

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    1. My library does offer ebooks, although a lot of the popular ones have long hold lists for them. And I'm glad to know that they're available if I get desperate. I just prefer reading real books, you know?

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