Hot Off The Press


Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr [Book Review]

Summary

“When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase. Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers get there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture. Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge? Justice Gone is the first in a series of psychological thrillers involving Dr Tessa Thorpe, wrapped in the divisive issues of modern American society including police brutality and disenfranchised returning war veterans. N Lombardi Jr. is the author of compelling and heartfelt novel The Plain of Jars.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. It is an ARC and will come out February 22, 2019.

I haven’t been taking many books for a review request for a while because I’m just so busy with school work and I really like to read for fun, and not as a chore, especially when it’s my free time. But when I got an email from Mr. Lombardi, I was really excited because the synopsis of this book immediately had me curious as well as it seeming like it would read like TV show episode. And I wasn’t disappointed at all.

Just like a crime show – decently paced.
Honestly, while I was reading this book, I kept thinking I was watching Law and Order as it was broken up in that way. It started with the incident, then would go to people who knew people involved, and then it would jump to the trial and so forth and I really liked that. I don’t generally read books that are set up like a show, as I just watch shows to get that kind of atmosphere, but now and then I do like these real-life books! To me, it was well paced and kept me guessing as to what was going to happen and to whom.

An interesting look at our justice system.
Besides it being an interesting story overall, it was also an interesting look at the American justice system and how flawed and corrupt it was. In a way it did stress me out, as it was incredibly accurate in how the situation took place and I wanted to shake the politicians and say ‘where is your honor you piece of s$%t’. It was just so infuriating how a Veteran, Donald Darfield, was treated – and it was a double whammy because he was also an African-American so that just brought in the race card as well. I really liked it because while it was a normal book, it was tackling quite a few issues in society and I always love me a book that does that and makes you really question things.

Not just our justice system, but Vets as well.
I haven’t come across many books with Vets in them, honestly. I mean sometimes they’ll make a passing comment about someone having been to war, but it is never the center of the story and this one was interest, addressing mental health issues, PTDS and how these individuals are treated in society, after everything they have done for their country. So seeing this issue, something which really isn’t talked about much, was really nice to see and new.

Great character development.
I really enjoyed seeing how the characters changed and grew throughout the story, depending on the situation that was presented to them. Especially with a situation that was controversial such as this, seeing how there was such a range of reactions to the situations was really refreshing as well. It was executed in a very realistic way.

Overall, a fantastic book!
I really did enjoy this book. Yes, there were a few moments that were slightly slow, like in the courtroom proceeding, but it didn’t exactly bother me because it was much more realistic and you got to see how the system worked, which I really liked. This book addressed some very important issues and I think is a book that people should read to maybe understand issues regarding our justice system a little better. It was an eyeopener and was written well, especially since it was like a TV show so it really kept you engaged!

I give this book 4/5 teacups!

4 Teacups

Happy Reading!!


A Pocketful of Crows by Joanne M. Harris [Book Review]

Illustrations by Bonnie Helen Hawkins

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

Summary

I am as brown as brown can be,
And my eyes as black as sloe;
I am as brisk as brisk can be,
And wild as forest doe.
(The Child Ballads, 295)

So begins a beautiful tale of love, loss and revenge. Following the seasons, A Pocketful of Crowsbalances youth and age, wisdom and passion and draws on nature and folklore to weave a stunning modern mythology around a nameless wild girl.

Only love could draw her into the world of named, tamed things. And it seems only revenge will be powerful enough to let her escape.

Beautifully illustrated by Bonnie Helen Hawkins, this is a stunning and original modern fairytale.

From Amazon.com

Review

I was immediately drawn in by the cover of this book, because yes, I am one of those! The black with the gold in contrast, especially since the gold is so shiny, really caught my attention. Also, the design on the cover is just so gorgeous.

Simple writing style- even though its for adults.

While this is classified as an adult book, because of maybe one or two of the themes, the writing style is very simple. To me this didn’t bother me because since it was a fairytale, it was like re-reading some of your favorite classics from when you were a child. It was written in first person which was a little different as not many books are written in first person now, or so I see.

A classic fairytale with a new twist.

This was the traditional kind of story of love and revenge when a lover turns against you. But instead of it being a wicked witch who does all the work, it was the hurt lover, who happens to be some kind of witch or woodland creature. So it was interesting to see how the townspeople viewed her and why they disliked her but as a reader you really understood what she was going through. I really did enjoy that being able to see it from a few sides.

Gorgeous illustrations – so rare!

Once you get to a certain age, people stop putting illustrations into books and this one had so many gorgeous illustrations! Each chapter started with an illustration with sometimes images being placed throughout. It was so refreshing and really added to the story in my opinion. Since it’s so rare to get a book with pictures, to me, it just took me back to my childhood more!

One of the gorgeous illustrations from the book!

Overall this book was incredibly simple to read, with it really only taking a day to get through. It’s not challenging but just so beautiful overall. It had an interesting ending, which I didn’t see coming, and was just such a joy to read. I’m very happy that I picked it up and this would be a wonderful book to add to your collection, or give as a gift!

For that, I give this book 4/5 teacups!

4 Teacups

Happy Reading!


Book Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Contain affiliated links.

book review: a court of frost and starlight by sarah j. maas

From Instagram

Purchase from B&N or Amazon!

Summary

“A companion tale to the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series that takes place several months after the explosive events of A Court of Wings and Ruin

Narrated by Feyre and Rhysand, this story bridges the events in A Court of Wings and Ruin and the upcoming novels in the series.
Feyre, Rhys and their companions are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated – scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court.”

-From sarahjmaas.com

 

Review

book review: a court of frost and starlight by sarah j. maas

From Instagram

Once again, I am happily surprised with this series. I was a little disappointed as it was so short. It is smaller than ACOTAR, so I was kind of curious how the story was going to continue. But as I started to read, I realized that this book wasn’t actually a continuation of the story, but more of a light filler to show what they were doing in their off time. It was a deviation from the story, which isn’t bad, but not exactly what I was expecting. That being said, I did really enjoy it.

I’m always a little confused what age range this book falls into, because it is YA, but I would say mature YA. The story itself is perfectly fine, but some of the love scenes are a lot for younger YA, so I classify it as mature YA. In that area, it fits perfectly!

POWERCOUPLE GOALS!
First off, I just have to say how much I love these two. They’re honestly so strong and powerful. Feyre is such a fantastic character. A strong woman and doesn’t take prisoners. Then you have Rhysand who is protective and wants the best for Feyre, but knows when to step back and let her do her thing. The two of them together could rule the universe. They also have the best Court of friends who support them. I mean these characters are all completely unique and Feyre and Rhys are the best….I can’t stop with how much I love the two of them. You get to really see their dynamic in this book and the struggles that each of them are facing, alone, but together.

The Court of Dreams by Charlie-Bowater Deviant Art

Side stories give you another perspective.
I do love side stories though, where it’s more of a novella, because you get to see another side of the characters and you’re just reading about the characters being themselves. It just expands the characters to let you see another side of them that the main story line might not be able to cover. I do like when that is done because I feel that a single chapter within a book doesn’t do the characters justice. Sure, it can give you a glimpse, but having a side book that is completely different is refreshing.

Chapters changed between characters.
I am personally not a fan of when authors do this. I like to immerse myself in the book, so when a chapter is suddenly in someone else’s POV, I really do struggle to figure out what is going on and where they are, and then I have to remember who exactly is being covered within this chapter. I know that some readers really enjoy that, as it gives you more perspectives, but when every chapter is a different characters POV, I feel like I’m being jostled around a little bit and spending the entire time figuring out where and who, I am.

Overall really happy and going to re-read soon!
I loved this book. I’m really excited for the next one (there is another one right?) and I’ll be re-reading again soon. I read it so fast the first time as I was excited and now I can actually sit down and read it and digest it properly.


book review: a court of frost and starlight by sarah j. maas

This book gets 4.5/5 teacups. It only doesn’t get 5 teacups as it’s a side story and I wasn’t expecting that, also the jumping around, but still, it’s one of my favorites!
rating four tea cups mlcwo

HAPPY READING!


Book Review: Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely

This post contains affiliated links for your convenience.

Summary

“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

Review

This book was absolutely fantastic and not what I thought it was going to be like at all.

Absolutely gorgeous cover!
First off, just look at that cover! It’s so beautiful! What caught me were the colors and the combination chosen (photo above slightly muted as color corrected for Instagram) but that’s what initially drew me in. Then the female on the cover. Clearly there was going to be a badass lead and I just had to pick it up then. I don’t think I read the summary before I borrowed the book, and even before I read it, I only skimmed it. So honestly I didn’t really know what the book was about going into it. Just that it was about a girl and she had some guns.

Strong female lead.
As I said before, it clearly had a strong female lead and boy did it ever! Pity was such a fantastic character. She was realistic, in that she didn’t do something that was ‘superhero’ like like some characters do. She was completely human, just with the ability of being a good shot, and even then she wasn’t always perfect. That was one thing I really liked. She was strong, but wasn’t perfect! I like when you have flaws in your main character as it just makes them so much more relate-able. She felt things, she got injured like everyone else, she got confused and fell in love.

She developed through the book as well, which was fantastic. Sometimes you come across stagnant characters who just kind of have a personality and don’t grow or shift through the book. Sometimes that is okay, but when they develop with the story and as they interact with others, the story line is just so much better. So seeing her develop was definitely a highlight.

Fast paced ending but didn’t see it coming.
The ending of the book moved fast, like the final action sequence. But it didn’t move too fast that it was like ‘here is the book and oh, quickly, here’s the closing’ like some books do. The build up to the end was slow and I really didn’t know where the book was actually going at some points, but not in a bad way. I was just so caught up in the life of Pity and what was happening within the world she was in, it didn’t really bother me that I wasn’t sure where the story was eventually going because it kept me invested in her and seeing what happened. Then the ending came and you were like ‘ohhhh!’

Ambiguous time period.
I was a little unclear as to the time period of the book. I know that it happens some time in the future but I was just kind of unclear as to what kind of world I was looking at. I got this kind of Mad Max/The Gunslinger vibe from the entire book and I was able to visualize everything on my own, but if you struggle coming up with visualizations of worlds and such, it might have been a little challenging. It was after a New Civil War and the world had been supposedly destroyed with kind of a New World Order going on and such, but I sometimes had a feeling it could be a modern day kind of thing just based in the middle of nowhere. It’s not a complaint about the book, as it didn’t detract from my reading experience, but just something I noticed.

Highly recommend!
Overall I really did enjoy this book. If I had the money I would buy it and will add it to my list, but borrowing it will have to suffice for now. However if you want this book, get it from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It definitely is a book you might want to re-read because there was just so much and you could re-read it and find something new in the story. I loved the strong characters and the story line kept the pages turning. I mean I read it in one sitting in 3 hours.

Happy Reading!

 


Book Release: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Today is the release in America of The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. 

It was such an incredible book and I highly recommend it as a read or if you’re looking for a gift for someone. It’s absolutely gorgeous and it has such an elegant story!

If you are looking for a newer book that has an older style writing feel, then this is the book for you! Check out my review for my full opinion on the book!

Book Release: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry