A Sitting in St. James

December 31, 2021January 5, 2022 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: A Sitting in St. James

Author: Rita Williams-Garcia

Performer: Machelle Williams

Length: 13 hr, 21 min

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: May 25, 2021 by HarperAudio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I admit, when I started this book I was unenthused about it. I would never have picked it up based on it’s description or cover, but it was on a reading list for a committee I am on, so I checked it out anyway. Let me tell you, this book impressed me more than any historical fiction novel I have read in years. It achieved a perfect balance of light tone with dark subject matter that left you feeling the whole gambit of emotion…horror, anxiety, hope, anticipation, shock, and mirth. One minute I would be experiencing stomach churning disgust and the next I would be laughing out loud. This author truly has a gift for writing complex characters. Sometimes you want to root for them, and sometimes you despise them. Be prepared for depictions of abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) and brutal violence. These are not themes to be glossed over during this era of slavery. Cruelty is so intrinsic to the culture that the character’s appear to operate by an entirely different moral compass. Relationships are twisted and shaped by atrocities committed, both large and small.

A truly illuminating read and one that will make you think deeply about the dark corners of our past. Also, do yourself a favor and listen to it in audiobook format. The reader was phenomenal.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: 5 Stars

Fantasy · Fiction · Paranormal · Romance · Young Adult

From Blood and Ash

November 29, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: From Blood and Ash

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Page Count: 454

Series: Book and Ash, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 30, 2020 by Blue Box Press

Format: eBook

Review: My expectations for this book were extremely low having read Obsidian by the same author. I was pleasantly surprised by a plot that was engaging and unique enough to hold my attention. There are many common tropes in this book, but somehow they felt like they had a fresh spin. Despite the occasional eyeroll worthy fight scene, I enjoyed it enough to immediately put the second book in the series on hold.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Paranormal · Young Adult

Slayer

October 30, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: Slayer

Author: Kiersten White

Performer: Madeleine Maby

Length: 11 hr, 59 min

Series: Slayer, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: January 8, 2019 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I was 100% the wrong audience for this book. This is essentially a fan fiction spinoff of the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, and I went into the listening experience knowing this. I have not seen the Buffy movie or the television series, but I downloaded this audiobook anyways because there were a couple Goodreads reviewers in the same boat who seemed to really like it. This was not the case for me. I had literally no context for many of the things referenced in this book, and for someone who is big on world building, this was a major problem. To me, it felt largely like a rant against a character that I have no prior knowledge of (except that she is a vampire slayer..duh). A significant portion of the book is devoted to all the things Buffy has done horribly wrong in her role as the “chosen one” and the new slayer’s adamancy that she will not repeat the same mistakes. Except guess what? She kind of does. So….yeah. Didn’t love it.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fiction · Mystery · Young Adult

Firekeeper’s Daughter

September 27, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustme1 Comment

Title: Firekeeper’s Daughter

Author: Angeline Boulley

Page Count: 496

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 16, 2021 by Henry, Holt and Co.

Format: Hardcover

Review: A beautifully written portrayal of a bi-racial young woman navigating through the complexities of identity, family, and the social issues plaguing both of her communities. There are a lot of difficult topics broached in this novel, and Boulley deftly tackles each one as she uncovers the mystery at the heart of the story. I have to admit that I especially enjoyed the time period this book takes place in. Daunis is roughly the same age as I am and grew up in the same era. I experienced some level of nostalgia with the pop culture references and other time period identifiers. I was also delighted by the mention of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, my very own alma mater.

Some readers may feel that the pacing of this “thriller” is too slow, but I personally enjoyed the gradual unfolding. This book is packed with social commentary, so I think it was appropriate for Boulley take her time and dive deeply into the subject matter. I look forward to future works by this debut author.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fiction · Science Fiction · Young Adult

The Last She

August 6, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: The Last She

Author: H.J. Nelson

Page Count: 352

Series: Unknown

Publishing Date/Publisher: December 7, 2021 by Wattpad Books

Format: eBook

Review: This is one of those times when I feel like I am reading a different book than most other reviewers. Unlike a lot of other readers, I felt this book had an overdone plot with no depth or real backstory for any of the characters. I think there was supposed to be a love triangle, but I’m honestly not sure. Gabriel made no sense as a character, so he was an uninteresting “villain.” Ara and Kaden? The reader surmises that they have all these deep conversations in order to justify their connection, but we are not privvy to any of the details. Plot twists? I guess, but they don’t go anywhere. The cliffhanger at the end implies that this story is going to go on a whole new tangent. No questions are answered, only more questions. You can draw a lot of comparisons to other books in the genre, but this one is nothing special.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fiction · Historical · Young Adult

Luck of the Titanic

August 6, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: Luck of the Titanic

Author: Stacey Lee

Page Count: 368

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 4, 2021 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Format: Hardcover

Review: I really enjoyed Lee’s The Downstairs Girl, so I was surprised by how little I enjoyed this book. The heroine, Val, felt like a regurgitation of Jo in a different setting. Not a whole lot actually happens in this book until the end, and her charade as the Merry Widow seems highly implausible throughout. There are a bunch of jumbled subplots that don’t add much to the story overall, and the relationship building between characters fell flat for me. I appreciate what Lee is trying to do with this novel, but the slow pacing and convoluted storyline made it hard to get through.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Horror · Mystery · Young Adult

The Project

May 28, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: The Project

Author: Courtney Summers

Page Count: 352

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: February 2, 2021 by Wednesday Books

Format: eBook

Review: Looking for a cliché and utterly predictable book about cults? Look no further, because this is your next read. Don’t get me wrong, the author is not a bad writer, but if you have seen any movies/tv series/documentaries or read any books with cults as a theme, then you know exactly how this story is going to play out. I wish I could say there was even one plot twist that caught me off guard, but I can’t. I have heard really good things about the author’s book Sadie, so this was a bit of a disappointment for me.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Contemporary · Fiction · Magical Realism · Young Adult

Home Is Not a Country

April 3, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: Home Is Not a Country

Author: Safia Elhillo

Page Count: 224

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: March 2, 2021 by Make Me a World

Format: Hardcover

Review: I could have never predicted the direction of this story based on the cover or the synopsis. There were many aspects of the story that were beautiful – the title, the emphasis on friendship, and the mother/daughter relationship – but where it started to get a little sloggy for me was when the elements of magical realism were incorporated. There was a turning point about halfway through where the author lost me and never really roped me back. I kept being reminded of A Christmas Carol after this point, and the conclusion was about what I would expect knowing how that story ended.

The style of poetry that this author uses has recently been trendy in the YA sphere. I understand that the spacing, use of symbols, and lowercase letters are all creative choices. I assume they have a purpose, but I don’t know enough about poetry to figure out what that purpose is. Sometimes I found it distracting because I would spend a lot of time trying to glean why these choices were made. Hopefully I will find somebody who can explain it to me, because Google cannot.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

Dark Shores

April 3, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustme2 Comments

Title: Dark Shores

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Performers: Jeanette Illidge & Jeremy Arthur

Length: 12 hr, 21 min

Series: Dark Shores, Book 1

Publishing Date/Publisher: May 7, 2019 by MacMillan Audio

Format: eAudiobook

Review: I didn’t dislike this book, but for some reason I could not fully connect with it. I finished it a couple of months ago and for some reason I have been dragging my feet in reviewing it. Perhaps it is because I have had a hard time pinpointing just what it is that didn’t jive for me. To be honest my memory has already started to erase the finer details of the story. There was nothing particularly memorable that stands out to me about the storyline, but I do remember feeling a sense of anxiety regarding many of the choices that the characters made. I found the villain to be flat, and his motives unclear. One storyline was dropped completely, which I thought was odd until I read the synopsis for the second book in the series and realized this plot point is the basis of a concurrent storyline. I liked the concept of the Rome influenced setting and the Maarin as a seafaring people who act as the go between for the East and West. I don’t regret taking the time to finish this book, but I probably won’t continue with the series.

Reader: Bekah

Rating:

Fantasy · Fiction · Romance · Young Adult

Soulswift

March 27, 2021 youwanttoreadthistrustmeLeave a comment

Title: Soulswift

Author: Megan Bannen

Page Count: 480

Series: N/A

Publishing Date/Publisher: November 17, 2020

Format: eBook

Review: Megan Bannen ripped my heart out in the best possible way with The Bird and the Blade, so I was very curious when I saw she had published a new novel. After reading this book, it is very apparent that Bannen enjoys breaking the hearts of her readers into a million pieces. She has a very distinct writing flow, so the tone was very similar to The Bird and the Blade though the characters and setting were entirely different. Even though the book was based in a fantasy setting, it felt like I was reading historical fiction. The author has stated that this book is not based on any existing story, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was heavily influenced by real events in history, particularly religious crusades.

There is a lot to enjoy with this story. Gelya in particular is a smart and witty character, and I couldn’t help but like her. Her relationship with Tavik is in equal parts funny and serious. Bannen seems to have a unique gift for achieving this kind of balance, and it adds a lot of depth to her characters.

Despite everything that impressed me about this book, the story itself was not particularly compelling to me. If it wasn’t Bannen writing it, I probably would not have picked it up based on the synopsis alone. The subject matter just really isn’t my cup of joe.

Reader: Bekah

Rating: