Cursed, Wild, and more!

I have so many book reviews and frankly, I have no more room in my calendar until mid November for posts, so my solution is to do a couple of books on one post. Sneaky, huh? Ha! Which will be tricky because for me to condense my thoughts so these aren't the longest posts of all time is going to be tough.

Cursed - Thomas Wheeler 

Whosoever wields the Sword of Power shall be the one true King.

But what if the Sword has chosen a Queen?

Nimue grew up an outcast. Her connection to dark magic made her something to be feared in her Druid village, and that made her desperate to leave…

That is, until her entire village is slaughtered by Red Paladins, and Nimue’s fate is forever altered. Charged by her dying mother to reunite an ancient sword with a legendary sorcerer, Nimue is now her people’s only hope. Her mission leaves little room for revenge, but the growing power within her can think of little else.

Nimue teams up with a charming mercenary named Arthur and refugee Fey Folk from across England. She wields a sword meant for the one true king, battling paladins and the armies of a corrupt king. She struggles to unite her people, avenge her family, and discover the truth about her destiny.

But perhaps the one thing that can change Destiny itself is found at the edge of a blade.

Alright, so if you have a child who is really into comics- this is a really great book for them. If you have a kid who loved comics when they were little and now they "hate to read"- this is a really good book for them. Make no mistake, this isn't a comic book, it's a 400+ page novel with amazing illustrations throughout to make this story come alive. I'm not super excited about fantasy but even I had a good time reading this one, and now my son (11) is completely into it. The cool thing is that this is going to be Netflix original series soon so you could read this and then watch it on screen. I'm interested to see how they bring some of this to life on the screen. I will say it read kind of like a screen play to me? I do like the story, I like a re-telling of a classic but with a twist, and I like when the character we have always envisioned is completely different than the one we're getting in the book. Overall, this is 3 for me. I liked it, I didn't love it, but I think if fantasy is your preferred genre you may enjoy this one a lot.

A HUGE thank you to Simon & Schuster for my ARC!

   

Wild  (Honor Bound #4) - Angel Payne

Five mini-episodes give emotional updates for the couples with whom you’ve fallen in love during the series’ first three books, as well as a not-to-be-missed preview of what’s in store for Tait Bommer and Kellan Rush in Wet, book five in the Honor Bound series.

“Raze the Barn”: Garrett and Sage reignite their flame as Dominant and submissive during a well-timed visit to see Wyatt and Josie on the farm, and a visit to “kinky barn” that neither will soon forget.

“Tie the Knots”: Garrett and Sage have finally said “I do,” but the knot-tying lessons have just begun for Zeke and Rayna, the best man and maid of honor who only have eyes—and other body parts—for each other.

“Diamonds In The Rain”: Ethan is taking Ava home to meet his parents, but when a mansion full of friends is invited for the occasion, there’s a storm of deeper conflict for the couple, requiring Runway to expose his “inner Dom” in a decadent new way.

“Glacier Girl”: Josie is burned-out and emotionally frozen until Wyatt whisks her away for a weekend full of erotic surprises—and one shocking surprise guest.

“Moonrise”: Their road to love was filled with the craziest twists life could deal before it completely blew up the route. Now, Luna is locked from Tait in a night that doesn’t seem to have an end. Can he bring the light of love back to her?

If you've been a reader for awhile you know I have read a good variety of books. I've read some stuff that made even me blush, some that made me feel downright uncomfortable, some that were so on the edge that if this were a real person I'd call for a welfare check. I think we all have a different idea of what is sexy so this might be a home run for someone. Maybe lots of people.

It very much was not for me.

Also, I want this noted that this was one of the "extra" books in my Bookworm Box so it isn't one that I necessarily would have picked up at a store. It has a series of five short stories, which I love because I feel like I can get a section done before bed and I'm not hanging on a cliff hanger. I should tell you I only made it through three of the five, so technically this is a DNR (did not finish) but I read enough to surmise what the heck was going on.

They are heavy BDSM stories so if that isn't your thing, right off the bat this isn't your thing. It's not even Fifty Shades BDSM, this is more "realistic" I suppose and I say that loosely because if any guy said some of this stuff to me I'd tell him to pound sand. The men are supposed to be domineering, macho, and masculine but they come off as assholes in need of therapy. The first story was the worst for me and why I stuck around, I don't know. Sage has post partum depression so her husband's solution is to reinstate their D/s relationship to show her who is really the boss. (EYE ROLL) Sage is all for it apparently and just... I don't understand the mentality of any of this and maybe it's because I'm in extensive counseling for depression myself but this couldn't be any more unhealthy. Honestly. Oh, and at the end he's like "and see a counselor". (Do you hear that sound? That's the sound of my eye balls rolling out of the back of my head onto the floor.) Just.. no. The stories are all kind of like that and I just can't deal with this. It's too corny, it's too dumb, it's just too much.

Of course everyone else on Goodreads loves it so maybe it's me.

   

Coming Soon! 

Here are some things you will see here soon... 

   

   

Book Review: Something Like Gravity

I can't remember who I was talking to when I mentioned I really haven't read many books in the LGBTQ+ arena because it isn't my jam. I am incredibly support and pro everyone, it's just not the thing that really interests me. I can't really explain it but I normally leave those books for others to enjoy. But then this pretty book showed up at my house and I'm really enjoying the recent YA releases so immediately I was interested. I actually didn't know this was about a transgender boy until I was into the book and I felt like that was how it was meant to be.

Something Like Gravity - Amber Smith

For fans of Love, Simon and Eleanor and Park, a romantic and sweet novel about a transgender boy who falls in love for the first time—and how first love changes us all—from New York Times bestselling author Amber Smith.

Chris and Maia aren’t off to a great start.

A near-fatal car accident first brings them together, and their next encounters don’t fare much better. Chris’s good intentions backfire. Maia’s temper gets the best of her.

But they’re neighbors, at least for the summer, and despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

The path forward isn’t easy. Chris has come out as transgender, but he’s still processing a frightening assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her older sister and trying to find her place in the world without her. Falling in love was the last thing on either of their minds.

But would it be so bad if it happened anyway?

I went into this book not realizing it had a transgender boy. I only read the first three paragraphs and assumed this would be solid, I'd enjoy it, all would be swell.

And then I started reading. I'll tell you right now that I am so glad I didn't skip this one and I am so glad it came into my life. I know there are others who have read this and are critical with how the transgender character was fleshed out and I guess I don't share any of their critiques. I really liked Chris and I thought he was 10000 times better than Maia. I didn't like Maia's character from the start because she seemed greatly immature but also self absorbed. Chris was just genuine and kind, beautiful and strong, just really such a great character.

The book centers on Chris and Maia told in alternating voices. Chris has moved to Carson for the summer to live with his aunt after a pretty scary and horrific event back home which have sent his parents reeling and unsure how to deal so him being in a different location while everyone gets their bearings straight and some perspective is the best solution. Maia is fresh off the unexpected death of her sister and her parent's subsequent divorce. Very much left to her own devices, Maia has tried to... I'm not even sure? Like try to become one with her sister because... I'm not even sure? To feel special? I don't know and I don't think Maia knows.

They come together when Chris almost hits Maia with his car. Naturally.

Over the course of the summer Chris would learn how to open up to someone about being transgender, how to handle those beginning flickers of love and lust, and how to really embrace the realities and challenges of being transgender.

I won't give anything away but I want you to know that the first love and the first heartbreak and all of the feelings that come with it? This author nailed and when I finished the book I could feel in my gut what each of them was feeling. Secondly, I love how the author tackled the horrifying reality of being transgender and experiencing violence and what that does to their family as well. That is a hard topic to handle and she did it really well. Maia's storyline and character development felt a little murky for me. I felt like I expected, and wanted, there to be more to her dark secret and I was a little disappointed when it was what we knew all along. I felt like in real life, that secret wouldn't have warranted the result that it did but.... we're in a book so we get what we get.

In the end, Chris was all that mattered and Chris was so well written for me that it trumps everything else.

Towards the end was a conversation between Chris and his mom that hit me so hard because I am a mom and I understand what she was saying and experiencing. They were talking about Christina become Chris and how Chris didn't understand how his mom was so supportive of the changes of being less girl but wanting to become a boy somehow crossed the line. On page 372:

"You have to understand" - she gripped my hands tights- "you were taking her away from me. That's why I was angry. I had to get all mama tiger on someone, and that someone was you." She coughed, trying to hold back her tears. "And I think I was grieving too, mourning you. I was holding on so hard to the person you used to be, I didn't realize you were still here." 

I feel that to my core. I am going through something with one of my kids where, though I love them fiercely and 100% supportive of their new path, I have to mourn what I had accepted as our future. When you're kids are born there are a set of milestones set in place: walking, talking, school, driving, graduation, first love, prom, college, wedding, grandchildren, etc. When something happens and you realize the future is uncertain and you don't know what milestones are coming, if any, a parent is going to feel sad. Maybe for awhile, maybe for just a minute, and I sometimes wonder if kids forget about that. It's their life and their choices, but as parents we will always want to see you go through these milestones. Even when my kids are 50, I still can't wait to see what they do with their life. All that to say, I could understand Chris's mother.

I highly recommend this book. It's a really great book that tackles transgender, family acceptance, death, grief, teenage love and loss and just being a teenager and how hard it is learning to navigate life and relationships. I really thought this was done well and just enjoyed it start to finish.

   

This post contains affiliate links which helps keep this little blog going. A big thank you Simon & Schuster for a copy to review, all thoughts are my own and I want to hear what your thoughts are on this book! Sound off below!

When Dimple Met Rishi

*This post contains affiliate links ~ I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This entire week I'm giving you book reviews! I know, it doesn't sound exciting, but it is! I'm going to be featuring different genres and books geared towards young adult and middle school age kids, so please keep checking back. If you are in a reading slump and need some new reads I'll have a few I think you should check out.

When Dimple Met Rishi - Sandhya Menon

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways. 

I have a pretty funny story on how this book arrived to me, first of all. So it was early evening when I had a knock on my back door and my kids all scream, "MOM! THE POLICE ARE HERE!!" Not knowing what the heck was happening, I answer the door. 

The very nice police officer informs me that a package for me was delivered to the wrong address by the post office (no shocker, back then I had a really awful, lazy mail carrier) and the person who received it was "alarmed" and thought perhaps it was something illegal, possibly related to terrorists. The police officer looked my name up and said he would deliver it and found me, and this blog, easily through a Google search so he didn't think I was a terrorist. He was inherently curious as to what was in the package though, so I said it's probably a book, look at the return address, it's a publishing house. But I open it anyways and it's this book! The look on his face when he see it was a book but one with a woman who looks of Middle Eastern decent? 

Hilarious. Totally hilarious. 

And no, I'm too lazy to be a terrorist but thank YOU, concerned fellow citizen. HA! 

Anyways. Let's talk about the book! 

This is kind of an interesting YA novel about two kids fresh out of high school, ready to start their lives, but at very different points of doing so. We have Dimple, who was born in America to parents who are from Mumbai and her parents try so hard to get her to live in their traditions, and appreciate her culture, except Dimple is from America- her culture is American. That statement alone is totally upsetting to her mother who is dead set on Dimple finding a nice Indian boy to marry, sooner rather than later. While her parents aren't exactly stopping her from going to college and enriching herself academically, they are plotting behind her back to meet Rishi. 

Rishi follows the traditions of his culture and has agreed to meet Dimple, under the assumption she's game for this as well. I think he really wishes he were more like Dimple but he isn't, he's following tradition because that's just what you do. 

It's a cute book that stands out in the bookstore because the cover is amazing, the description and author bio jump out at you, but my issue is that it was just.. OK. I'm giving this book 3/5 stars and only because I think that the book covers the generational gap really well and I think a lot of readers can relate to it, even if you don't have foreign parents. I think we all, in some way, have those moments where we feel like our parents don't understand us because times are different. I can't give this book it's fourth star because Dimple as a character is really... she's awful. She has such a dislike for everything and everyone and frankly, is not a character I would want my daughter emulating. Adolescent attitude aside, there's a part in the book where she waits in line just to throw an ice coffee on someone. 

WHO DOES THAT? 

Secondly, there's another part where Dimple actually punches Rishi and I get how it's downplayed in the book but in my head I couldn't help but think- really? Is this really how we would want our daughters to treat someone? Absolutely not. I take serious issue with downplaying any kind of domestic violence as light hearted or something a character does offhand. Can  you imagine if a male character did that to a woman? It would be an issue, so that really bothered me. 

I wanted to much to love this book because I'm fascinated by the Indian culture it promised and I wanted this to almost be like a modern Romeo & Juliet minus the suicides, but it didn't get there for me. But the discussion about the generation gap and arranged marriages in modern society was interesting and that's what is giving it the 3/5 stars versus 2/5. I can't think of another book like it at my local bookstore so we have to give it props for being one of a kind. 

The Last Chance Matinee (review)

*This post contains affiliate links that I may earn a commission from; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

The Last Chance Matinee - Mariah Stewart

From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew.

When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake—and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz’s first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life ended in a tragic overdose. Meanwhile, Fritz was falling in love on the Delaware Bay with New Age hippie Susa Pratt—they had a daughter together, Cara, and while Fritz loved Susa with everything he had, he never quite managed to tell her or Cara about his West Coast family.

Now Fritz is gone, and the three sisters are brought together under strange circumstances: there’s a large inheritance to be had that could save Allie from her ever-deepening debt following a disastrous divorce, allow Des to open a rescue shelter for abused and wounded animals, and give Cara a fresh start after her husband left her for her best friend—but only if the sisters upend their lives and work together to restore an old, decrepit theater that was Fritz’s obsession growing up in his small hometown in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Guided by Fritz’s closest friend and longtime attorney, Pete Wheeler, the sisters come together—whether they like it or not—to turn their father’s dream into a reality, and might just come away with far more than they bargained for.

I'm going to tell you I am likely biased right from the start because I am such a Mariah Stewart fan and I have been reviewing her books for quite some time. As soon as I had the opportunity to review her newest, which is the start of a new series, I got right on board! I'm so glad I did because while this book is longer than ones I choose to read for fun (right around 450 pages), it really sets up the beginning of what I hope to be a really fun chick lit summer series.

So the book starts off with the death of Fritz, who we find out was a bit of a hound dog. He leaves behind two separate families, who didn't know each other at all. They soon find out all about each other because of course a large inheritance is at stake, bringing all three of his daughters together to hash it out. In some really bizarre, "please forgive me" move, Fritz leaves a stipulation that if they can work together to revamp and restore this old theater, they'll get the inheritance. All three of them, for varying reasons, really need this and it would catapult their lives into a different direction and seemingly solve a lot of their problems. Can they do it? Can they get along despite not knowing each other at all? Time will tell. This book is basically Cara's story, narrated by her, which is a good place to start because she's the East Coast daughter. The other two daughters are sisters who share the same parents, but they didn't know about Cara, and they don't totally get along. Mariah Stewart sets up the entire series SO well that I am certain we're in for a treat, if it only results in a trilogy. Love interests are introduced, the setting is adorable, and once again, Mariah gives us an excellent summer read. I just hope the next ones aren't quite as long because even though I'm a fan, I'm a bigger fan of quick reads. I like being able to finish more than one book on a weekend or a trip and this one isn't a quick read!