Impossible Things

September 28, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

18570069

Title: Impossible Things

Author: Kate Johnson

Performer: Penelope Rawlins

Length: 13 hr, 34 min

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2015 by W.F. Howes, Ltd.

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I decided to veer away from the realm of Young Adult fiction because most of the audiobooks I want to listen to are on hold. I browsed around for awhile and landed on this audiobook, which was immediately available through my library. I checked it out with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised from the very first chapter. The performer was very engaging, and I was immediately sucked into the story of Ishtaer and Kael.

Ishtaer was an interesting character. She had a lot of depth and her character arc was very profound. She spends most of the book working through her traumas, coming into her powers, and finding the version of herself that was lost through years of abuse and captivity. Kael was a rather cliché character – brooding, fierce, and secretly sensitive – but, I still enjoyed him. I appreciated that this was not an insta-love story, but rather a slow build romance (my favorite kind). Although it was clear that there was going to be a romantic angle, it wasn’t very critical to the plot until the very end. This allowed for a lot more character development from Ishtaer and overall made the story feel more like high fantasy rather than a paranormal romance.

This book lost a star for me because although the author is a very talented writer, her action sequences were short on description and entirely implausible. I was glad to see representation for people with disabilities in a fantasy novel (Ishtaer was blind and her best friend was an amputee), but it almost seemed like Ishtaer’s blindness was used as a literary crutch to explain away things that should have been better described, and this was especially apparent during scenes where Ishtaer was pulling off something heroic. Even so, the book was so engaging and well-written that I was able to look past these shortcomings and love the story for what it was. I will absolutely be reading more books by this author!

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Young Adult

Crown of Midnight

September 19, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

17167166

Title: Crown of Midnight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Page Count: 418

Series: Throne of Glass, Book 2

Publishing Date/Publisher: August 27, 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Format: Paperback

Review: Sarah J. Maas is a truly an exceptional storyteller. These days it seems most fantasy series are trilogies, but she manages to drag her stories into long sagas without becoming boring. Her characters are engaging, her twists surprising, and her plot layering is superb. The only reason this is not a 5 star book for me is because it reads very much like a second book in a trilogy (i.e. setting the stage for a final installment), at least at the beginning. I have noticed this is a common trend in Maas’ writing. She starts out slow and then hits you with a lot in the last 25% of the book. Her ability to write strong endings is what keeps her readers chomping at the bit for more. I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Heir of Fire.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Horror · Young Adult

Foul is Fair

September 19, 2019September 19, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme2 Comments

42595554

Title: Foul is Fair

Author: Hannah Capin

Page Count: 336

Series: Foul is Fair, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher:

Format: eBook

Review: I am shocked at the positive reviews this book has been receiving from early reviewers. All the characters, including Jade/Elle, were terrible people. I did not enjoy reading about them, and I found it very difficult to get behind the revenge story because it was so ridiculous. Although I can completely empathize with a sexual assault victim wanting justice, a murderous rampage certainly does not seem like the answer and I did not find it at all gratifying. I would be extremely hesitant to promote this book to teen readers, because it glorifies murder and manipulation through sex. None of Jade/Elle’s coping mechanisms for her assault were positive, and I personally feel this book would be very unhealthy to put in the hands of someone who has actually been sexually assaulted.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fiction · Historical

Cilka’s Journey

September 19, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

45033931

Title: Cilka’s Journey

Author: Heather Morris

Page Count: 352

Series: The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Book 2

Publishing Date/Publisher: October 1, 2019 by St. Martin’s Press

Format: eBook

Review: I was beyond thrilled when I saw that Heather Morris would be publishing a book about Cilka. Like many other readers, I was intrigued by her character and utterly heartbroken by her unjust sentencing after the horror of the concentration camps. It did not feel right leaving her story untold, and I am glad that the author felt the same way.

This book reads so smoothly that I flew through it over the course of a couple days. Morris has an incredible way of writing that evokes such strong emotion while still being incredibly straightforward. I actually found that I enjoyed this book even more than The Tattooist of Auschwitz because it covers a topic in history that I know almost nothing about. I have read many books about the Holocaust, but I have never read one about the work camps in Russia. I was appalled that these camps operated for decades in terrible and dangerous conditions completely unchecked. It is staggering how many people were sentenced to these camps and how many of them died.

Cilka was an incredibly brave and resilient woman to have survived both camps. I would have very much liked to meet her, and it makes me happy to know that the legacy of her extraordinary life will live on through this book.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Romance

Running Barefoot

September 19, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme3 Comments

19054212

Title: Running Barefoot

Author: Amy Harmon

Performer: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 10 hr, 45 min

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 26, 2014 by Tantor Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This is a very wholesome romance about two people seemingly destined to be together. I regret that my library did not have a hard copy of this book, because I did not enjoy it in eAudiobook format. I almost didn’t finish it because I really was not feeling the performer, but I was invested enough in the story to forge ahead.

In hindsight, I found the story to be sort of dry and I found my attention drifting often. It often goes on philosophical tangents, and I was surprised by the strong religious undertones given the fact this book is not tagged in any way that would indicate that it is Christian Fiction. I’m not saying this was a problem for me, it was just unexpected.

A lot of this story revolves around waiting. Waiting for Samuel to come back and waiting for Josie to grow up. She is 13 years old at the start of the story and Samuel is 18 years old. I give the author props for managing to not make this love story creepy, but sweet.

It was incredibly difficult for me to rate this book because it was hard for me to separate my feelings about the reader from my opinion of the book. After some consideration though, I thought the story was just ok. It didn’t completely suck me in, but I still felt compelled to finish it.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

The Wrath and the Dawn

August 29, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

18798983

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn

Author: Renée Ahdieh

Performer: Ariana Delawari

Length: 10 hr, 38 min

Series: The Wrath and the Dawn, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2015 by Listening Library

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I like the story of A Thousand and One Nights, so I was excited to read this YA adaptation. I was underwhelmed. This book did not do nearly enough to develop the story or the characters before jumping into the romance. The whole time I was thinking, they have spent hardly any time together, know almost nothing about each other, and yet they are deeply in love. After so many extraordinary girls before her, it is unclear why Shahrzad is the one who gets to live. She tells stories? So what. I personally did not find the stories she told to be that riveting and I was perplexed by the rapid passage of time. She tells one short story and then it’s dawn. Hooray she lives to tell another tale! The king trusts Shahrzad implicitly, but again, why? I just didn’t buy it.

I did enjoy the imagery and I listened to the book in it’s entirety, so I didn’t hate it. I would have loved to see the magic aspect fleshed out better. I saw great potential with that particular storyline, even if it didn’t get a lot of page presence. I am on the fence about starting the next book The Rose & the Dagger.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Magical Realism · Young Adult

Dig

August 29, 2019August 29, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme2 Comments

40714769. sy475

Title: Dig

Author: A.S. King

Page Count: 394

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 26, 2019 by Dutton Books for Young Readers

Format: Hardcover

Review: This book is bizarre from start to finish. It comes together in the end, but I was confused for about 3/4 of it. Personally it wasn’t my cup of tea. It was dark and delved into difficult topics such as abuse, murder, and deeply entrenched racism. There were many things that still didn’t make sense to me even at the conclusion, but I just did not have the bandwidth to wade back through the book to try to make all the connections. The writing style is very unique and it took me awhile to adjust to it. I would not be surprised if people DNF this book simply because it is difficult to follow. Although I can see why there is buzz surrounding this book, it is not one I will be widely recommending.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fiction · Historical · Young Adult

Across a Broken Shore

August 3, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustme

40024145

Title: Across a Broken Shore

Author: Amy Trueblood

Page Count: 360

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: November 5th 2019 by Flux

Format: eBook

Review: The setting for this book was lovely, but I found the plot to be painfully slow and I did not find any characters to be particularly compelling. This falls into the rare category of books that I did not finish (I stopped at 42% completion).

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

A Court of Frost and Starlight

August 2, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

31076583. sy475

Title: A Court of Frost and Starlight

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Performer: Amanda Leigh Cobb

Length: 6 hr, 24 min

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Book 3.1

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2018 by Recorded Books

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I don’t know how this author churns out as many books as she does. With both her Throne of Glass series and this one, she has supplemented her series with interspersed novellas. This novella is much shorter and less action packed than the three full-length books that come before it, and it is focused on the introspection of our main characters as they deal with the aftermath of the great battle with Hybern. It reveals more insight into our main characters and offers POVs that were not present in previous books. I did enjoy the book and the reader, but I found this book to be much soppier than the rest of the series. A lot of focus is put on the mating bond between Rhysand and Feyre, and the rest of the book is more of a snapshot in time as our characters prepare to enjoy a holiday together.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

A Court of Wings and Ruin

July 30, 2019 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

36233660. sy475

Title: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Performer: Amanda Leigh Cobb

Length: 25 hr, 8 min

Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Book 3

Publishing Date/Publisher: 2017 by Recorded Books

Format: eAudiobook

Review: This book was very much like the two that proceed it in that the plot starts out slow and then later picks up speed. I was never bored during this story, but it sort of annoys me when things work out too perfectly in the end. Sure there was a lot of bloodshed, but I never truly feared for any of the main characters, because they always seem to come through in the end. I was also a little annoyed that Feyre was all of a sudden some sort of master spy and manipulator; however, I was greatly entertained by the shifting allegiances, political maneuvering, and a couple surprising character reveals. This story certainly keeps you on your toes as friends become enemies and enemies become friends. I don’t see a release date yet for the fourth book, but the Throne of Glass series should keep me busy in the meantime.

I was a little surprised that they changed the reader partway through this series, but was even more shocked at how similar she sounded to the woman who narrated the first two audiobooks. At first I didn’t even realize that the performer was different because she did such an excellent job matching the character voices to how the original reader performed them. Amanda Leigh Cobb is very talented, and the switch did not negatively impact my listening experience in the slightest.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: