Randomness...

 

Recently finished reading: Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz. This is the seventh Orphan X novel, and conflicted and complicated Evan Smoak continues to be one of my most favorite characters. These books have lots of action, violence, and suspense, but also a lot of heart. They are very compelling reads, and I love them. If you haven't tried them, be sure to start with the first one, Orphan X.

I'm heading to the library tomorrow, but I'm limiting myself to only checking out four books at the most, because I'm determined to tackle some of my own books this month. I've got a stack piling up in my room that I really need and want to read. I'm hoping to start with these five books from my TBR pile:

Miss Betsy Thoughtless by Eliza Haywood (my next classic read)

Hope's Highest Mountain by Misty M. Beller

Called Into Action by Paris Wynters

Home With the Dead by PJ Dziekan

Dark Magic by Adam Wright

 

Of course, now that I've written this I'll probably have five library holds come in all at once. That's usually what happens when I make plans to focus on my own books. It's my own bookish luck. 🙃

How about those gas prices?  I just spent $4.37/gallon to fill up my car this week. Fun times! What's gas running where you live?  

A favorite quote to end on:

Happy Reading!

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

 "...monsters don't hide in the woods; they aren't shadows in the trees or invisible things lurking in darkened corners. No, the real monsters move in plain sight. I was twelve years old when those shadows started to form a shape, a face ... When I began to realize that maybe the monsters lived among us. And there was one monster in particular,  I learned to fear above all the rest."

 

Chloe Davis is a medical psychologist with her own practice. She lives in Baton Rouge and is engaged to Daniel Briggs who seems like the perfect guy. She has one older brother, Cooper, who is very protective of her. And twenty years ago, her father was arrested in connection with six teenage girls who went missing the summer she turned twelve. When he confessed to killing all six, Chloe Davis's entire life changed. She still struggles with what happened in the past. It doesn't help that reporters like Aaron Jansen keep calling her about it. When two local teenage girls go missing in Baton Rouge, it feels eerily reminiscent to those other girls twenty years ago. And Chloe starts to question everything and everyone around her.

My thoughts:  I would describe this psychological thriller as intense and twisty. It's also hard to put down; I read it in a weekend. Chloe is guarded and struggles with anxiety, often self-medicating, which means she doesn't always make the best decisions. But I still liked her. I also appreciated the fast pacing of this book and the way Willingham weaves in Chloe's past memories with the present. And I thought the last twist at the end was a good one. Stacy Willingham is an author I would happily try again.

Happy Reading!

A little bookish humor....

 

Happy Reading!

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

The Emperor's daughter.

Forbidden magic.

A shape-shifting dragon.

A curse.

Six brothers enchanted as cranes.

And a small paper bird.

I love a good fairy tale retelling, and Elizabeth Lim's own magical version of Grimm's The Six Swans is a fun one. It centers around Princess Shiori, the emperor's youngest child and only daughter. She's betrothed to Lord Bushian's son, Takkan, although it's a marriage she's not excited about. She has another secret: she can do magic. She brought a small paper bird that she calls Kiki to life. But if anyone finds out, she'll be exiled. Because magic in the kingdom of Kiata is forbidden.

This story also has the requisite evil stepmother. Raikama is a sorceress in her own right, beautiful and powerful. And cruel. When Shiori discovers her secret, Raikama transforms her six brothers into cranes, curses Shiori to silence, then disguises her and hides her away on a far Northern Island. Shiori can't tell anyone who she is, and she doesn't know how to break her stepmother's enchantment and free her brothers. But she's not about to give up.

Besides her paper bird, Shiori has the help of a mercurial dragon named Seryu who can transform himself into a human boy. He has a penchant for rice cakes and might be the only one who can help Shiori learn to control her magic in order to break her stepmother's curse...if he ever shows up!  

I'm glad Melody @ Melody's Reading Corner suggested we read this book for our next buddy read. It's an enchanting YA fantasy and I enjoyed it. Shiori and her little paper bird, Kiki, are spunky and captivating characters; I liked both them and all six of Shiori's brothers, though the brothers aren't in most of the book. I also ended up really liking Takkan; he befriends Shiori when he doesn't know who she really is, and offers her protection and help. I wish the dragon, Seryu, had been in it more, but this magical adventure is really Shiori's story. I look forward to reading the sequel, The Dragon's Promise, which comes out this August. Maybe Seryu will be in that one more.

Happy Reading!

P.S. Be sure to check out Melody's review and her questions for me about this fun read:

Melody's questions:

1. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of Shiori?

I think Shiori's weaknesses at the beginning of the novel were her impulsiveness, stubbornness and how argumentative she could be. Also, she was kind of judgmental when it came to Takkan, even though she'd never really met him. But she grew up over the course of the novel, and learned to be more thoughtful and less self-absorbed. I loved how determined she was...her stubbornness came to be a strength for her when she was trying to break the curse. And I loved how she cared about the other people around her, and how she never gave up. I also loved that she made such good fish soup. 

2. What are the things (and/or characters) that you liked most about this story?

Besides Shiori, I liked Kiki, the little paper crane she brought to life, and Takkan the most. I loved Kiki's interactions with Shiori, and her unwavering support throughout the whole book. And Takkan had so many good qualities it was easy to like him; plus, he made up stories for his little sister and for Shiori. I really liked that about him. 

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme: Books With an Adjective in the Title. 

I decided to go with some of my favorite picture books this week, because they tend to have the best adjectives.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Creepy Carrots

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear

The Dragon and the Nibblesome Knight

Nerdy Birdy Tweets

My Big Bad Monster

The Blue Songbird

Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Happy Reading!

Nomadland by Jessica Bruder

 

They are not homeless. They are nomads. Rubber tramps. Vandwellers. Workampers. They've given up rent and mortgages in order to survive on less.  They live migratory lives, following seasonal jobs while stealth camping and boondocking. They've exchanged real estate for wheel estate. And many are retirees.

This book is a fascinating look at a growing segment of the population who have given up on the traditional American dream and found a different way to live. A life on the road. A life that costs less. Many lost their homes in 2008 when the housing market crashed. Others lost their jobs and pensions because of the recession that followed. All found that minimum wage jobs and their meager social security payments did not go far enough. But they haven't given up. They're resilient, and creative, and they've championed a new nomadic way of life. 

"Being human means yearning for more than subsistence. As much as food or shelter, we require hope. And there is hope on the road. It's a by-product of forward momentum. A sense of opportunity, as wide as the country itself. A bone-deep conviction that something better will come. It's just ahead, in the next town, the next gig, the next chance encounter with a stranger."

Though this way of life is certainly not easy, there's something about becoming this type of nomad that's appealing; I like the idea of having that kind of freedom. And I wouldn't mind trying it for a month or two. But for the rest of my life? I don't think I could do it. I'd find the uncertainty, the worry over money, and the constant struggle to survive too hard. But I admire those who do succeed at it. This is an amazing read about an equally amazing and interesting bunch of people. I loved it.

Happy Reading!

 

Similar read that I'm thinking about checking out next:

The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

 

The plot:  Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, Rockton is a town of secrets. People go there when they need to disappear from the real world. Some are victims, or witnesses; others are criminals. All have secrets they want to hide. So, when someone starts to reveal those secrets, the residents of Rockton begin to turn on each other. It's up to Detective Casey Duncan and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, to find the culprit before anyone else gets hurt. To make matters worse, the shadowy Council in charge of Rockton finally decides to shut the entire town down. Now what are they going to do?

My rating:  Five stars! I really love this series. Casey and Eric have been favorite characters since I read the first book, City of the Lost. They make such a great team, always supporting each other as they track down the bad guys. (And there have been some very interesting bad guys in this series!) All seven Rockton novels are suspenseful page-turners, with some unexpected turns and chilling twists along the way. It's best to read them in order. And if The Deepest of Secrets does end up being the last Rockton novel, I'll be very sad, but also satisfied with how Armstrong wrapped things up. But I really hope it's not the last one, because these books are just so good! If you haven't tried them yet, you should definitely check them out.

Happy Reading!

Want to know more? Check out my Haiku Reviews for the previous three Rockton novels.