Search Results for : between us and the moon


Between Us And The Moon by Rebecca Maizel

Book cover Between Us And The Moon by Rebecca Maizel

Between Us And The Moon

Summary

A luminous YA love story that evokes Judy Blume’s Forever for a new generation.

Sarah—Bean to her friends and family—is an aspiring astronomer and champion mathlete. She lives behind her beloved telescope, with her head in the stars and her feet planted firmly on the ground. For as long as she can remember, she’s also lived in the shadow of her beautiful older sister, Scarlett.

But after a traumatic end to the school year, Sarah goes to Cape Cod for the summer with her family, determined to grow up. It’s there that she meets gorgeous, older college boy Andrew. He sees her as the girl she wants to be. A girl like Scarlett. He thinks she’s older, too—and she doesn’t correct him.

For Sarah, it’s a summer of firsts. Before she knows what’s happened, one little lie has transformed into something real. And by the end of August, she might have to choose between falling in love, and finding herself.

Fans of Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins are destined to fall for this romantic and heartfelt coming-of-age novel about how life and love are impossible to predict.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

Well this was definitely a different book than most that I’ve read. But it was really interesting! It was a teen romance book and definitely was quite teen oriented, though there was talk about sex, but in the aspect of teens and stuff like that, though it wasn’t really a romance book per se, more like coming of age and stuff like that.

The writing was simple in nature, definitely for YA, probably 16 years or so, and followed teenage problems. The main character, Sarah, didn’t really fit into society very easily because she was interested in the stars and kind of didn’t mold into the societal ‘teenage girl’ perception. It followed her transformation from a younger girl into her wanting to be different and learn how to be beautiful and have a boyfriend.

Now, one thing which I really didn’t like about the book was the fact that Sarah lied. She lied about her age and where she was going to school and while that was what the book was about, it kind of annoyed me. In the modern day and age, people lie about so many things and this just seemed to reiterate it. Yes, it did make it clear that lying was wrong and shouldn’t be done, it took the entire book for her to get to the point where she was able to come clean and I really didn’t like that. But, that was the point of the book. My disliking of it is a personal opinion. And I don’t mean the fact that it was written, but I honestly hate people who lie so it hit a chord in me.

There was also the aspect of how she was treated in the book. All teenagers have communication issues with their parents. Their parents won’t listen to them and we have arguments with them. So this showed her relationship with her parents and her Aunt, Aunt Nancy, who wanted to mold her into the perfect lady and was pushing her too fast to become that. It showed their arguments and conflicts and how it was sorted out towards the end.

Sarah did also have a sister, Scarlett, and it was a good touch to show their love/hate relationship. Many kids have siblings and seeing how they argued and either resolved it or mended over the area/hurt was interesting. It wasn’t a perfect relationship nor a destroyed one as it had its ups and downs.

One point that I would like to make is the fact that the sex in the book was against everything which teens are taught. It was not safe sex. While in most books that isn’t an issue, especially in adult romance books, in books for YA’s, it is wrong in my personal opinion. They will read that sex is okay and happening and they didn’t use protection and no consequences will occur. Sure, romance in adult books is just for the fix, which is fine, but for kids, the sex in this book was just to round out the teen experience, and it makes sex seem like something so simple and something with no consequences, when it does – especially with teen pregnancy on the rise. Might make the sex seem more awkward to add a sentence about condoms or something, but that is how it is and it should be explained as such to get it into teens head.

Overall this was a typical teen romance book with summer romance. The ending was, while deserved, highly un-fulfilling and made me wanting answers and to see something else, but, can’t really complain. This was honestly a great YA book and I really do suggest reading it as it was very well written and can teach some valuable lessons.

Lesson number one, and the main one to take away from this book ~ Don’t lie. Ever~

Enjoy and happy reading!


Riven: My Myth Trilogy, Book 1 [BOOK SPOTLIGHT and INTERVIEW!]

Riven Cover

Imaginative Heroine Uses Fantasy as
Salvation from Abuse in Issue-Driven
YA Psychological Thriller, Riven

Coppell, TX – In Jane Alvey Harris’s award-winning debut psychological thriller, Riven (ISBN 978-1944244163), readers are swept inside the fantasy world created by a teenager who finds the trauma and abuse she has endured to be vastly more than she can handle. The novel is the recipient of the 2016 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Gold Medal for Best E Book, Young Adult Fiction and the 2016 BookLife Prize in Fiction in the Young Adult category.

Told in the first person, Riven opens with seventeen-year-old Emily in the unenviable position of parenting herself and her younger brothers and sister. Her father is in prison for securities fraud, and her mother is strung out on pain meds. Emily thinks she has her life under control until a few weeks before her dad’s release, when she begins hearing voices. Then Gabe, the attractive lifeguard at the pool, notices strange markings engraved on her arm. Emily doesn’t know what these symbols mean or how they got there. All she knows is that they appeared overnight and are becoming infected.

Filled with anxiety, unable to sleep and driven to self-medicate, Emily’s childhood nightmares begin resurfacing. They are commandeering her consciousness even when she’s awake. The fairytale creatures she created as a little girl insist they need her help.

Triggered by the return of her childhood abuser, unable to cope with reality and desperately in need of refuge, Emily slips completely inside her elaborate fantasy world. She wants to stay here, to lose herself in enchantment and romance, but something sinister lurks in the forest shadows. Before long, Emily discovers her demons have followed her inside her beloved fairytale. They are hunting her.

“I wrote this story to document how victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse often use fantasy as a coping mechanism for their trauma,” said Harris. “I also wanted to show that the essential first step taken by those who wish to thrive in spite of their abuse is self-acceptance.”

Jane Alvey Harris has a humanities degree from Brigham Young University with emphases in art history, Italian, and studio art. She is fascinated with the visual and performing arts and enjoys playing classical piano, painting, sketching, singing, acting, and writing poetry and prose. Nonetheless, her real passion is people; she loves to watch and study human beings. An unabashed dreamer, her favorite activity is to weave together sublime settings and stories for characters to live and learn in, herself included. Jane currently lives in an enchanted fairy-princess castle in Dallas, Texas, with her three often-adorable children and their three seldom-adorable cats.

For more information on the author or Riven, please visit www.JaneAlveyHarris.com.


Q&A with Jane Alvey Harris

Jane Headshot

  1. What inspired you to create Riven and the My Myth Trilogy series?

Honestly, when I began writing Riven, I was just looking for relief. I was struggling through a really dark time in my life and was doing therapy with an amazing counselor who encouraged me to write. I didn’t have a synopsis or even an outline; I was just writing scenes from my head and connecting them together. It took me a couple years to get the first draft out and even longer to realize what the story was really about.

Somewhere in the middle of undoing myself in therapy, the narrative in my writing transformed. It matured from a pretty fairytale to a hard-hitting, issue-driven documentation of a survivor’s journey to make peace with her wounded egos and achieve self-acceptance. It was dark, but it felt important. More than that, in the act of weaving my tale I realized I was laying my hands directly on the tattered pieces of a buried map leading to rich interior landscapes I’d never acknowledged or explored before, because I considered them ugly, worthless, and humiliating.

It was about this time that other people in my life began sharing their long-guarded accounts of abuse with me. I was overwhelmed by sorrow at their suffering, but also inspired by their confidence in me, which helped me understand I wasn’t alone. With the help of my therapist and my editor, who both prompted me to dig deep and tell the real story, I gained new purpose, new confidence. I learned that I was brave, that I was strong. I realized that my writing might actually help others who struggled.

  1. Your main character, Emily, is a seventeen-year-old who finds herself in difficult circumstances. What is her situation in the story and how did she get there?

The story opens at the end of July, the summer before Emily has to repeat junior year of high school. Her dad’s been in prison for ten years, and her mom, a school teacher, becomes increasingly dependent on prescription pain meds. She loses her job and basically stays in bed all day, relying on Emily to parent her two younger brothers and younger sister. Still, Emily thinks she’s got things mostly under control. But as the date for her dad’s release from prison gets closer, Emily’s stress levels increase exponentially. She finds herself unable to cope with her reality and slips into a fantasy world she created as a little girl.

  1. What are the main themes in Riven and how are they developed in the story?

Riven is all about hard hitting social issues, including mental illness, feminism, and rape culture, to name a few. But the main theme is one of self-acceptance. My goals were to illustrate the damage that buried guilt and shame have on the psyche and demonstrate how acknowledging personal truth is the first step in healing from trauma.

  1. There are a number of fantastical elements to Riven, including the imaginary world of the First Realm. What role does fantasy play in the story, and how is important to the development of the book’s characters?

Okay, this is juicy stuff. First, like Emily, many victims of childhood abuse use fantasy to escape a reality they can’t cope with. Not only is it key in the backstory, as a plot device, and in Emily’s growth throughout the book, it also adds layers of depth which engage readers on different levels.

Fantasy keeps the readers on their toes, too. Emily is an unreliable narrator, to say the least. She questions her own sanity, and as her stress increases throughout the first half of the book, she starts to self-medicate. At times, she’s unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality. The reader experiences this fracturing along with her, catching glimpses of the past, and is sometimes plunged into the fantasy First Realm without warning. Ultimately, it’s up to each reader to decide what is really real.

Mixing fantasy elements with gritty contemporary realism also adds action, adventure, and gave me the perfect opportunity to play with some really gorgeous settings. I’m a huge fan of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. On one hand, fantasy is whimsical and innocent. It lightens some of the darker themes of Riven. On the other hand, juxtaposing the ethereal with horror heightens poignancy of tragedy and psychological distress.

Most importantly, it is through the world of imagination that Emily is able to envision herself as a powerful individual. She creates a Realm where she’s able to accept and forgive herself.

  1. Much of Riven is based on your own real-life experiences. How does your personal story inform the novel and, more-specifically, Emily’s character?

Well, Emily basically has my personality. The book began as a love story to my three children, (Jacob, Aidan, and Claire, who you’ll meet in the book) at a time I was very vulnerable in my life. So, if the strength of the sibling relationships seems super-real, it’s because that’s really them, and Emily is really me. Lots of the dialogue I’ve taken directly from real life. While I don’t claim all of Emily’s experiences, I will say they are true, a combination of stories and experiences which have been shared with me, along with a healthy dose of my dreams and imagination.

  1. Riven deals with serious issues for teens, including abandonment, drug use, cutting, and sexual abuse. How do novels like yours help survivors and supporters with awareness and solutions for these issues?

Issues like these continue to be such a huge problem, because they make people uncomfortable and because they’re difficult to talk about. It’s easy to sweep the topic of childhood sexual abuse, and the many destructive behaviors which result from it, under the rug, because it just isn’t comfortable. The vast majority of survivors never reveal their experiences because of guilt and shame. How can we heal if we hide? My hope is that telling this story will help to normalize people. Not just victims of abuse, but anyone who struggles with negative self-image.

While I wrote Riven to be as entertaining and immersive as possible, my main purpose was to shed light on darkness and ugliness that don’t have to be life sentences of suffering. There is hope. There are resources. There are networks of supporters waiting to help. My dream is that Riven and the My Myth Trilogy will spark discussion and help people heal, while calling the rest of us to action as supporters. If we educate ourselves and abolish buried guilt and shame, we can end the cycle of abuse.

  1. Are you working on the next novel in the series and, if so, what can you tell us about it?

Yes, and I’m SO EXCITED! The second book in the trilogy is called Secret Keeper. While Riven deals with the nature of legitimate victimhood, Secret Keeper is all about what comes next. Self-acceptance is just the very first step in recovery; Emily still has to do all the work of telling her truth in the real world if she wants to protect her siblings. And what happens when you speak that kind of truth? How do people react? How do you stop being a victim? How do you protect yourself from repeating the cycle of abuse? The pendulum swings in the completely opposite direction from victim in Secret Keeper, though not necessarily in a healthy way. There’s a lot of bad-assery afoot. I’m having a blast writing and meeting new characters, and I know readers will love them!


Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

51m8jsbwskl-_sx331_bo1204203200_

From Amazon.com

Summary

“The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver-deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can’t, and there’s nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school-Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she’s ever experienced. When Ben reveals he’s a werewolf, Avery still trusts him-at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash inhuman silver. And she learns that she’s not the only one who can’t remember the night her parents died.Part murder mystery, part grief narrative, and part heart-stopping, headlong romance, Low Red Moon is a must-read for teen paranormal fans. As breathless as Twilight and as spooky as Shiver, this is a book to be devoured in one sitting-by an acclaimed YA author making her paranormal debut under the pseudonym Ivy Devlin.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

So I received this book as a gift from someone so naturally I just had to read it, quickly. Getting a book from someone is the best thing ever because I love to read, so who needs jewelry. Give me a good book and I’m set.

In all honesty, I read this book in about 2-3 hours as it’s not a difficult read at all. I would classify it as younger YA as the story is much more simplistic, the writing is simple, and there are not tons of words on the page. Meaning it’s not written like Shōgun where the font is really small and so is the spacing – it is larger font and more space between the words.

One thing which I thought was really cool about this book was every time the word ‘moon’ showed up, it was written in red. I haven’t seen that before really, or not that I remember, so it was quite a nice touch and added an effect to the story.

As for the actual story itself, it was quite simple and there was some character development but it wasn’t terribly deep. This is, of course, because it was a younger YA book so the stories are not as complex as books for older readers but it still had a good story. Werewolves are always kind of interesting to read about. The ending took a turn I was not expecting and that was nice as well. I had this horrible feeling that the ending would be a little bit predictable but it definitely wasn’t.

The story, as a whole, was a good story and for a YA book it was good. As I am an older reader, I would really have liked to see a little bit more going on with the story such as some more explanations, maybe some more detailed interactions, less of the whole ‘I just met this cute boy, I’m 15 years old, and I’m hinting at sleeping with him but I’m not going to…or am I…”. It sometimes bugs me when that happens. I mean the character is not always clearly 15 or 16 or so because of things that happen so you could see them as being older, except during these moments of passion when she would think to herself how young she is and I’m here like “NO…STOP THE TRAIN!!!!!!! 15 YEAR OLDS SHOULD BE PLAYING OUTSIDE…NOT WANTING TO SLEEP WITH A BOY THEY MET 5 DAYS PREVIOUSLY!!!”

I mean, I know it isn’t such a big deal, but it feeds into the constant culture that it doesn’t matter how long you know someone, sleeping with them is okay if you feel like you truly love them. Like come on, 24 hours ago Avery didn’t even think Ben would kiss her and then he did and then suddenly she’s ready to sleep with him. I did want to smack the character over that. That’s the only kind of aspect that made it maybe a little bit more older YA. They didn’t sleep together, but they kept hinting at it. And no 15 year old should be getting these ideas into their heads.

Overall, it was a decent werewolf YA book and I would recommend it. Would I have liked more from the story? Yes. But for a younger reader this would suit them perfectly. I haven’t been reading many YA books recently so it took me a while to adjust back to that writing style with the simpler story lines, but for the book it was good.

It had a beautiful red cover and caught my attention as soon as it was given to me.

Do check this one out (purchase it here) and let me know what you think.

Until next time, happy reading!


Book Review List

All the book reviews done on this blog can be found here in alphabetical order by author.


A

The Bridesmaid by Hailey Abbott 
Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham
MAX CASSIDY Escape from Shadow Island by Paul Adam 
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Caina by Joe Albanese
Trapped by Alison Aimes
George Washington, Spymaster by Thomas B. Allen 
Zahras Paradise by Amir and Khalil 
Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral 

B

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker
Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordium by Clive  Barker
The Lost Years of Merlin
by T.A. Barron (Book #1)

The Seven Songs of Merlin by T.A. Barron (Book #2)
College Safety 101 by Kathleen Baty
The House With a Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs
When You Lunch With the Emperor by Ludwig Bemelmans
Dark Road Home by Angela Bennett
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
The Name Of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Something Wick This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown 
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 
Inferno by Dan Brown
The Shadow Project by Herbie Brennan
Moloka’i by Alan Brennert 
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel 
Spy High by A. J. Butcher
The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

C

Graceling by Kristen Cashore
Siren’s Call (A Rainshadow Novel) by Jayne Castle

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark
Citizen Kill by Stephen Clark
Shogun by James Clavell
The Naked Roommate: And 107 Issues You Might Run Into In College by Harlan Cohen
The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
Finding Magdalena by Shannon Cordon
How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer 
Dangerous Territory: An Alpha Ops Novella by Emmy Curtis

D

Raining Embers (Order and Chaos Book 1) by Jessica Dall
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of an Empress) by Julie C. Dao
The Ledge
by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan

Hacking Timbuktu by Stephen Davis
Outlaw by Stephen Davies 
Horrible Histories: Edinburgh by Terry Deary
Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin 
The Spider and the Fly by Tony Diterlizzi 
My Family and Other Animals by George Durrell

E

Are You My Mother? by P.D Eastman
Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely
The Middle School Survival Guide by Arlene Erlbach

F

The Research Project (The Research Project Trilogy Book 1) by Sarah Fawcett
Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush Book #1) by Becca Fitzpatrick 
Silence (Hush, Hush Book #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick
Star Wars vs. Star Trek by Matt Forbeck 
The Girls’ Book HOW TO BE THE BEST AT EVERYTHING by Juliana Foster 
Who Was Ben Franklin? by Dennis Brindell Fradin 
Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon by Matt Fraction
On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt
Lyrec by Gregory Frost
Inkheart by Cornelia Funk

G

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman 
Katana (A Katana Novel Book #1) by Cole Gibson
Senshi (A Katana Novel Book #2) by Cole Gibson
Noah’s Knits by Fiona Goble 
Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan

H

Found (The Missing Book #1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix 
The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
A Discovery of Witches by Debroah Harkness
Riven by Jane Alvey Harris 
Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy 
Out Of The Dust by Karen Hesse 
First Strike (Book #4) by Jack Higgins
SilverFin (A James Bond Adventure) by Charlie Higson
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge 
Stormbreaker (Alex Rider Book #1) by Anthony Horowitz 
Alex Rider Series (Book #1-9) by Anthony Horowitz
Tiger’s Curse (Tiger’s Curse Series Book #1) by Colleen Houck
Tiger’s Quest (Tiger’s Curse Series Book #2) by Colleen Houck
Tigers Voyage (Tigers Curse Series Book #3) by Colleen Houck
Tiger’s Destiny (Tiger’s Curse Series Book #4) by Colleen Houck
Soldier Boys by Dean Hughes
Into The Wild (Warriors Book #1) by Erin Hunter
Fire and Ice (Warriors Book #2) by Erin Hunter
Forest of Secrets (Warriors Book #3) by Erin Hunter 
Rising Storm (Warriors Book #4) by Erin Hunter
A Dangerous Path (Warriors Book #5) by Erin Hunter
The Darkest Hour (Warriors Book #6) by Erin Hunter
Midnight (Warriors: The New Prophecy Book #1) by Erin Hunter 
Moonrise (Warriors: The New Prophecy Book #2) by Erin Hunter
Dawn (Warriors: The New Prophecy Book #3) by Erin Hunter
Starlight (Warriors: The New Prophecy Book #4) by Erin Hunter 
Twilight (Warriors: The New Prophecy Book #5) by Erin Hunter
Sunset (Warriors: The New Prophecy Book #6) by Erin Hunter
Firestar’s Quest (Warriors Super Edition) by Erin Hunter
The Sight (Warriors: Power of Three Book #1) by Erin Hunter
Dark River (Warriors: Power of Three Book #2) by Erin Hunter
Outcast (Warriors: Power of Three Book #3) by Erin Hunter
Eclipse (Warriors: Power of Three Book #4) by Erin Hunter

I

J

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirley Jackson
A Bargain in Silver (Solis Invicti Book 1) by Josie Jaffrey
Repossessed by A.M Jenkins
The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John 
Dead Mans Cove by Lauren St. John

K

A Million Shades of Grey by Cynthia Kadohata
Zahras Paradise by Amir and Khalil 
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Misery by Stephen King 
The Mist by Stephen King
Joyland by Stephen King
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower Book 1) by Stephen King
King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak

L

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan
Justice Gone by Nick Lombardi Jr.
Rules by Cynthia Lord
the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace
The Headhunters by Peter Lovesey
The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry
Number the Stars by Louis Lowr
The Young Elites (A Young Elites Novel) by Marie Lu

Kill Switch by Chris Lynch

M

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah. J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Dashing Through The Snow by Debbie Macomber
Between Us And The Moon by Rebecca Maizel
Twilight (Book #1) by Stephanie Meyer
Must Love Dukes by Elizabeth Michels
Destiny of the Republic: A Take of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
Fracture by Megan Miranda
Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe
Strange Magic by Syd Moore
Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran
The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern
Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa 

N

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Forsaken by Ken Newman
Evermore by Alyson Noël

O

A History of Weapons by John O’Bryan
The Flame of Olympus (Pegasus) by Kate Ohearn
Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
Japanese for Healthcare Professionals by Shigeru Osuka

P

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
C3 Corvette 1968-1982: How to Build and Modify – Performance How-To Series by Chris Petris
Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot by Dav Pilkey (Review by M.O.M)
Captain Underpants by Dav Pilney (Review by M.O.M)
Die For Me (Revenants Book #1) by Amy Plum 
Until I Die (Revenants Book #2) by Amy Plum 
The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley

Q

R

Ready or Not? by Tina Radziszewicz
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Ford Small Block Engine Parts Interchange – Performance How-To Series by George Reid
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Book 1) by Rick Riordan
Jackaby by William Ritter
Somehow Tenderness Survives by Hazel Rochman
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (Book #1) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book #7) by J.K. Rowling
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan (Reviewed by M.O.M)

S

She’s So Dead To Us by Kieran Scott
Embrace by Jessica Shirvington (Embrace Series Book #1)
Lost in Yonkers by Niel Simon
Angels’ Blood (Guild Hunter Series Book #1) by Nalini Singh
Archangel’s Blade (Guild Hunter Series Book #5) by Nalini Singh
Guild Hunter Series (Books #1-6) by Nalini Singh 
Archangel’s Shadows (Guild Hunter Series Book #7) by Nalini Singh
Archangel’s Enigma (Guild Hunter Series Book #8) by Nalini Singh
Archangel’s Heart (Guild Hunter Series Book #9) by Nalini Singh
Archangel’s Viper (Guild Hunter Series Book #10) by Nalini Singh
Archangel’s Prophecy (Guild Hunter Series Book #11) by Nalini Singh
Lord of the Abyss (Royal House of Shadows Book #4)  by Nalini Singh
Slave to Sensation (Psy/Changling Book #1) by Nalini Singh
Visions of Heat (Psy/Changling Book #2) by Nalini Singh
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Santa’s Snow Cat by Sue Stainton
Parker by Richard Stark
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedmad
The Hitchhiker by R.L. Stein
Beach Party by R.L. Stein 
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

T

The Secret DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
Shibumi by Trevanian
The Art of War by Sun Tzu

U

V

The Ledge by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan

W

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood Book #1) by J.R. Ward 
Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood Book #2) by J.R. Ward
Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood Book #3) by J.R. Ward
Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly
Gol (The Legends of Ansu) by J.W. Webb
McDuffs New Friend by Rosemary Wells
Oh Deer! Coloring Book by Christie Whelan 
Night by Elie Wiesel
Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1) by Pepper Winters 

X

Y

Z

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff 

#

100 Questions You’d Never Ask Your Parents by Elisabeth Henderson and Nancy Armstrong
1984 by George Orwell


Top 3 Reads of 2018 2

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

This year definitely wasn’t my best year of book reading. I read a decent amount of books, but not all of them for pleasure, as I had a ton of reading to do for my school from my major related classes as well as Spanish literature which was so detailed and I never got to review here.

So instead of rounding up everything I’ve read, I’ve decided to just pick a few books that I really enjoyed and thought were fantastic choices for this year!


Book 1 – Forest of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao

“Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her.

Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng’s majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high? Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and  exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins–sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. Fans of HeartlessStealing Snow, and Red Queen will devour this stunning debut.”

From Amazon.com

I absolutely adored this book as it had such a strong main character and it was so different than anything I had read! Check out my pitiful review (I have no idea why it is so small…), but I definitely loved this one. 4.5/5 teacups!


Book 2 – Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Lay

James Patterson presents a bold new heroine—a cross between Katniss Everdeen and Annie Oakley: Serendipity Jones, the fastest sharpshooter in tomorrow’s West.

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity “Pity” Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She’s been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great….

In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity’s struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.

From BN.com

I loved this book so much! It was filled with adventure, once again a strong female character and the story was just so intriguing. I think this could make an incredible movie, just saying!

Find my full review over here – this is certainly one you don’t want to miss!

Book 3 – The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

“First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.”

From Amazon.com

This is such a perfect read for the spooky season but honestly it’s great for any time of year. It’s simple, not too scary and a classic that everyone should read. Find my review over here!

Bonus Book – My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

So I don’t have a review up for this book yet, but I just finished My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It’s a beautiful memoir and one that I absolutely love so it’s definitely one of my favorites! Definitely a book you will want to purchase.