The In and Out Book Tag...

This is a book tag I saw on both Fanda's Classiclit blog and Cath's Read-warbler blog, and I thought it looked like fun. Have you done this tag? If not, would you be In or Out on these:

Reading the Last Page First:  OUT

(Though I do admit when I'm not enjoying a book, 

I sometimes flip to the end to see if it's worth finishing.)

Enemies to Lovers:  IN

(This is always a fun romance trope.)

Dream Sequences:  OUT

(I just don't enjoy them.)

Love Triangles:  OUT!

(I find them frustrating and not at all fun; they make me want to shake the girl and say: Make Up Your Mind Already!) 

Cracked Spines:  IN-ish?

(I'm NOT advocating cracking the spine of a book...in fact, I try very hard not to do that with my paperbacks...but if it happens, it's not going to keep me from enjoying the book.)

Back to My Small Town:  IN

(Small town settings are some of my favorites, especially in a romance.)

No Paragraph Breaks: OUT!

(That's just annoying.)

Multi-generational Sagas:  OUT

(They're long and I usually don't enjoy them. Of course, there's always exceptions.)

Monsters are Regular People: IN

(I love fun supernatural and paranormal elements in books.)

Re-reading: IN

(Though I haven't had much time lately to reread any of my books; library books keep getting in the way.)

Artificial Intelligence: IN

(I love a good science fiction novel.)

Drop Caps: IN

(They're fine, but I really don't care either way.) 

Happy Endings: IN!

(Of course!)

Plot Points that Only Converge at the End: IN

(Isn't that the point of reading?)

Detailed Fantasy Systems: IN

(I grew up reading a lot of fantasy, and while I don't read it as much these days, I still love it.)

Classic Fantasy Races:  IN

(I also played a little D&D growing up, and always wanted to be an Elf.)

Unreliable Narrators:  OUT

(I feel like this trend has been way overdone lately, and I'm a little tired of it.)

Evil Protagonists: OUT

(Isn't 'evil protagonist' an oxymoron? I want to like the main character, not hate them.)

The Chosen One:  IN

(Like Buffy? I'm in as long as the chosen one isn't whiny about it.)

When the Protagonist Dies:  OUT!!

(Even if it's for a "good reason" literary-wise, I don't like it...and usually end up hating the book when it happens.)

Really Long Chapters: OUT-ish

(I don't love them, but if the book is well-written, I tend not to notice.)

French Flaps: IN? 

(I'm not even sure what these are.)

Deckled Edges:  ??

(Again, I don't really care.)

Signed Copies by the Author: IN

(Especially if you get to meet the author and have them sign the book for you; 

though I'm certainly not paying more for a book just because it's signed.)

Dog-earing Pages:  OUT

(Can I just say bookmarks!)

Chapter Titles Instead of Numbers: IN

(Especially when they're humorous!)

Happy Reading!

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

 "That summer, the summer of '77, everything had edges. Our laughter, the sideways glances we gave and got. Even the air was blade-sharp. I figured it was because we were growing up. The law might not recognize it, but fifteen's a girl and sixteen a woman, and you get no map from one land to the next. ... But it turns out the sharpness wasn't because we were growing up. Or it wasn't only that. I know, because three of us didn't get to grow up."

 The plot:  Heather, Brenda, and Maureen are best friends. They're even in a band together. But their friendship is beginning to fray because Maureen is keeping secrets. When Heather and Brenda chance upon one of them, it's so shocking they vow they'll never tell what they saw. Then Maureen disappears, the second girl in Pantown to disappear in a week. Only no one seems to be looking for either Maureen or Beth. And while Heather and Brenda didn't really know Beth, they're sure Maureen didn't run away. When Heather starts investigating on her own, she uncovers more secrets than she ever knew existed about the men in Pantown. Including the sheriff and her very own father. Even the boys she's known her whole life can no longer be trusted.  

My thoughts:  Wow! Talk about a riveting read. This novel is part coming-of-age, part psychological thriller, and I could not put it down. Lourey does an excellent job of capturing that 1970s setting, along with creating an undercurrent of danger directed at these young women. After a few mediocre books in a row, it was a relief to read something so well-written and well-plotted. I loved it! This is one of the best books I've read this year. And I will definitely be checking out more by this author. 

Happy Reading! 

Celebrating Shakespeare...

While no one knows William Shakespeare's exact birthdate, we do know he was baptized on 26 April 1564, which makes this a day worth celebrating. So here's to the bard and all his wonderful words! 

My parents took me to the Shakespearan Festival in Cedar City, Utah to see my first Shakespeare plays when I was eight. We saw A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night that summer, and they both made me laugh. I've loved Shakespeare ever since. And while I haven't seen all of his plays performed live on stage...yet...I have read them all. There are so many amazing quotes in all of them, but I can't possibly post them all. So here's just one of my favorites:

Happy Reading!

P.S. And if you want to watch a very funny filmed version of Much Ado About Nothing, check out the one Joss Whedon did with his friends. They filmed it at his house! And it's hilarious.

 

The Bookshop of Secrets by Mollie Rushmeyer

How it begins:  "Only the sharp clang of a bell above the door and lopsided towers of books greeted Hope Sparrow as she entered Dusty Jackets bookshop. She breathed in their ancient paper dust, their gentle decay. Between pages like these, she'd always found her refuge. Her Lucy Maud, Jane, the sisters Brontë, dear Louisa--all whispered the words she'd pored over in the dead of night and now fortified her strength for what she hoped was the last leg in a long journey."

The plot in brief:  Hope's come to Wanishin Falls, Minnesota, in search of several books her mom left to her. They're her only family legacy, and they just might be the key to finding a rumored family treasure. And Hope could really use a little extra money right now, both to help her leave her traumatic past behind, and to make her dream of owning her own food truck come true. 

The owners of Dusty Jackets, Mags and Ulysses Barrick, offer to help her search for her mother's books if she'll work in their bookstore for a few months in return. Their handsome grandson, Ronan, is willing to help, too. But Hope isn't big on trust, and would rather not get too close to anyone in Wanishin Falls. Only the people around her are too kind and generous to just give up on her. 

My thoughts:  There's a lot to like about this one: a charming small town setting, a dusty old bookshop, family secrets and a lost treasure. And I liked Ronan and Hope. But there are several side characters and small side stories that never felt fully developed, and that sometimes detracted from the main plotline. And when you combine Hope's complicated past with Ronan's complicated past along with their families's history there's almost too much going on; I felt like it forced the author to do more telling than showing, which slowed the pacing and kept the characters at a distance. And I really wish that the mystery itself, and Hope's and Ronan's search for the treasure, had unfolded a little faster. While the overall story has heartwarming and uplifting moments, for me this ended up only being a 3-star read. 

Happy Reading!

P.S. This book counts towards Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

Brief summary:  The Banished Prince has seized the throne forcing the Imperial Princess Zhen to flee the capital along with her bodyguard, Ruyi, and Ning, who's been falsely accused of poisoning the emperor. Along with Ning's little sister, Shu, these four young women travel the length of the realm in search of some allies to help restore the princess to her throne.

Back in the capital, Kang watches his father and Chancellor Zhou take control, acting with merciless cruelty to anyone who stands in their way. Kang doesn't agree with his father's tactics, but he doesn't know how to oppose both him and the chancellor. To make matters worse, a shadowy serpent with ancient and evil magic has been loosed. And the serpent wants to consume all the inhabitants of Daxi.

My thoughts:  Melody and I both loved A Magic Steeped in Poison, so we were very excited to read this sequel to it, but this book is sadly not nearly as good as the first one. There's a lot of watching, waiting, and traveling in the first half of the book without much action or anything else to move the plot forward. I found all the court politics and the long descriptions of all the different places pretty boring. Ning and Kang don't even meet up again until 180 pages into the story. Their interactions and all of Ning's tea magic was what I enjoyed most about the first book, but there's just not enough of that in this one. 

And some of the most important plot points concerning the serpent and the magical relics needed to defeat him weren't even mentioned until the very end. This book just wasn't as well-plotted as the first. I still liked Ning and Kang, and I thought several other characters were fun. And the ending was more exciting than the beginning. But overall, I was pretty disappointed with this one. To see what Melody thought, be sure to check out her review.

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

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

This week's theme is a little different. It's a Non-book Freebie....giving us all a chance to share something about ourselves besides the books we love to read. 

Here are 10 Random Non-bookish Facts About Me (that may or may not be very interesting). 

1. I'm very organized...except for the top of my desk which is a paper-strewn mess.

2. I love exploring old cemeteries.

3. I can recite the alphabet backwards.

4. My ancestors came to America from England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark and Prussia.

5. For excercise, I like to walk, do yoga and pilates, and hike.

6. I've spotted 207 different species of birds so far; and I'd really love to see a snowy owl someday.

7. My sister and I are working on another Kindle Vella story. (It's a Christmas romance set in Grayhaven with one or two ghosts in it.)

8. So Help Me Todd is my favorite TV show.

9. I've ridden elephants in Thailand, fed the monkeys in Bali, and gone hot air ballooning over Karnak Temple in Egypt.

10. Donuts are my downfall.

Happy TTT...and Happy Reading! 

Haiku Reviews...

 

Pride & Puppies by Lizzie Shane

George loves Charlotte! But 

she's sworn off men and sees him

only as a friend.

Romantic comedy .... 352 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Charlotte was little frustrating at times, but I totally loved George!)

Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham

Dating app matches

long distance bookworms. Can they

find love through letters? 

Romantic comedy .... 409 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(An engaging epistolary romance with lots of bookish references and humor.)

Whispers of You by Catherine Cowles

Their past kept him away, 

but Holt's back, hoping to prove

to Wren his love is true.

Romance .... 319 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(I loved Holt and Wren! There's a mystery & suspense in this one, too.)

Happy Reading!