ARC Review | Ghost Fire

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Ghost Fire

Author: Wilbur Smith with Tom Harper

Format: Paperback (owned)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Categories: War, Military, Sex, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction

Disclaimer: I won a copy of this ARC from Bookishfirst.com – all opinions and thoughts are my own.

1754. Inseparable since birth and growing up in India, Theo and Connie Courtney are torn apart by the tragic death of their parents.

Theo, wracked with guilt, strikes a solitary path through life. Haunted by the spirits of lovers and family members, he is determined to atone for his mistakes. He seeks salvation in combat and conflict, joining the British in the war against the French and Indian army.

Believing herself abandoned by her brother, and abused and brutalised by a series of corrupt guardians, Connie vows never to let any man own her. Instead, she uses her beauty to manipulate her way to France, where she is welcomed into high society. But Connie once again finds herself at the mercy of vicious men, whose appetite for war and glory lead her to the frontlines of the French battlefield in North America.

As the siblings find their destinies converging once more, they realise that the vengeance and redemption they both desperately seek could cost them their lives . . .

An epic story of tragedy, loss, betrayal and courage that brings the reader deep into the seething heart of the French Indian War.

Thank you to Bookishfirst for giving me an opportunity to win this book.

I didn’t realize this book was part of an extensive series until after I completed the book. With that said, I surprisingly read this book in a few hours! It is a historical fiction novel spanning many locations across the globe like India, France and America. It follows two characters, siblings Theo and Constance Courtney, who’s father was once part of the East India Trading Company.

The writing is sharp and blunt as the the story navigates from one event to another, tearing our characters, violently apart. The story takes you on a journey through exotic locales. I felt the muggy air of India in my lungs as I was reading it and could only imagine what it was like being caught in a war there in the late 1700’s. I could envision the stealth of the Abenaki Indians as they hunted down their enemies in the woods of North America. But I almost had to skim the parts of the scalping.

The story is gruesome at times, but war is never pretty. Theo’s story arc is quite involved and epic and I definitely cheered him on, hoping he would be okay in the end. I gravitated to his story more because he seemed to have nine lives! He went from being a scrawny red head young man to a stealthy, brave, strategic fighter and leader. My other favorite character in this book is Moses, an Abenaki Indian who befriends Theo.

As for Constance, I had a big issue with her character. She came off selfish even before their lives go horribly wrong. But why was the one main female character in this book made to take such awful abuse from men in this book? At first I didn’t like her because she seemed to not give a care after her parents die. I felt Theo’s anguish, but where was hers? I understand the time period wasn’t kind to women back then, but I felt like every woman that Theo met or any of the men Constance encountered back then sexualized females constantly in this story. Was Constance really just there to take the abuse from men? I did not enjoy that part of the book at all.

This book has lots of action, lots of fighting and military strategy. I especially enjoyed Theo’s time with the Abenaki Indians where he finally gets to meet a woman and truly get to know her. But the writing is so brisk that it doesn’t spend much time with the characters growing relationships. Like the relationship between Theo and Connie felt one sided, all from Theo’s side. At times I felt Connie could care less about her brother. The best relationship in this book is between Theo and Moses, because we see their friendship grow.

I don’t usually read this type of book, I used to years ago, but lately I’ve stuck to romance and young adult. For me the locations and historical aspects of this book were my favorite parts. The female characterization, I did not enjoy as much.

If you are already a fan of the other books in this series, then I’m sure you will enjoy this one. This is the first book of Wilbur Smith’s that I have read, and it read pretty good just by itself.

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ARC Review | Stolen

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Stolen

Author: Marlena Frank

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 260

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

It’s difficult taking care of a delusional father by yourself. Sixteen-year-old Shaleigh Mallet would rather explore and photograph dilapidated buildings than cater to her father’s dark episodes. But when she’s kidnapped by a creature who carries her atop a flying bicycle into another world, she realizes this wasn’t the escape she wanted.

In a kingdom known as the Garden, where minotaurs pull carriages and parties are held in hot air balloons, Madam Cloom and her faerie servant, Teagan, rule over the land with incredible but terrifying magic. Shaleigh must prove that she is the reincarnation of a long-dead ruler, not because she believes it, but because it’s her only chance to survive. With the help of a trespassing faerie, a stoatling, and a living statue, Shaleigh hopes to outwit everyone. She aims to break the bonds of servitude and finally make her way home. What she doesn’t realize, however, is that she’s playing right into the hands of a far worse enemy…

Thank you to Parliament House and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this eArc.

This book review is way overdue but I finally finished the book. It took me awhile to finish this book which is unfortunate because I thought it started off pretty good. But it just couldn’t seem to hold my interest.

Shaleigh and her friend Kaeja, have an interesting hobby. They go to decrepit locations around town to photograph them. It helps her escape issues she’s dealing with at home. Shaleigh’s father is having problems at work and his mental state is called into question. Then one day Shaleigh and Kaeja are on location when something totally unexpected occurs.

Shaleigh gets kidnapped and taken to the Land of the Fae where she must convince them she is the reincarnation of a long dead ruler. The story reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, with Madam Cloom resembling the Queen of Hearts.

The world-building in the land of Faerie is great but something about the book wasn’t holding my interest, it might have been the slow pacing of the story. I wasn’t attached to any characters in faerie but I did like that there was diversity in the love story being represented between two fae, Teagan and Talek. Other than the world-building I felt like there was a lull in the middle of the story and most of the action comes in the end, with a cliff-hanger ending.

This may have been a case of needing to be in the mood to read this book but Stolen just wasn’t for me. Despite it not working for me, I think a lot of young adult fantasy readers would enjoy the world-building and story of Shaleigh trying to find her way home.

Get it here: Amazon

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ARC Review | The Girl the Sea Gave Back

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Author: Adrienne Young

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a Viking-inspired stand alone book set ten years after the events in Adrienne’s Young’s first book, Sky in the Deep. I am a big fan of Sky in the Deep. I thought it depicted Nordic life as I imagined it would be: violent, harsh and full of mysticism.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back brings us back to the same setting but this time we are following Tova and Halvard. The book is told through their dual perspectives. Tova is the girl who wasn’t supposed to be alive. She becomes the rune caster of sorts for The Svell people. The Svell think she is a curse, but the leader of the Svell keeps her with them. Among her own people, the Kyrr, who she has been separated from, she would known as a Truthbearer.

Halvard, is part of the Nādhir people. The Svell has been terrorizing their villages and they meet with the Svell to repair relations when the meeting ends up in bloodshed. From there, we see how Tova’s fate is tied with Halvard and the Svell as they all fight for their survival.

The things I liked about the book:

I found Tova and the mysterious Kyrr people fascinating. I loved learning about them and wanted to learn more about their mystical ways. I think the only time I really connected to the book was when it was about the Kyrr tribe.
The action and battle scenes are great. It is violent but for the time period this story is set in, I expect to see this type of violence.
The author does so well writing these historical fiction novels because I feel immersed in the world, especially when it comes to the landscape, battle scenes and mystical aspects of their religion.

The things I didn’t enjoy:

The time jumping threw me off it was so jarring because it went back 7 years, then 10 years, then 12 years…🤦🏻‍♀️. I think without it, my reading experience would have been way different. This was my biggest issue with the book.
The romance was not a thing in the book and then there it was in the end. It wasn’t nurtured enough throughout the book so for me it felt forced.
I also had a hard time connecting to any of the characters until maybe the ending of the book. I really I gravitated more towards Tova’s background and family. That’s where I felt excitement when I read the story.

Overall, I think I had higher expectations. I enjoyed the parts of the Kyrr and Tova’s history but everything else in this story was just okay for me.

Get it here: Amazon

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ARC Review | Vow of Thieves

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Vow of Thieves (Dance of Thieves, #2)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 480

Publication Date: August 6, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Suspense

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Kazi and Jase have survived, stronger and more in love than ever. Their new life now lies before them―the Ballengers will be outlaws no longer, Tor’s Watch will be a kingdom, and the two of them will meet all challenges side by side, together at last.

But an ominous warning mars their journey back, and in their rush to return to Tor’s Watch, just outside the fortress walls, they are violently attacked and torn apart―and each is thrust into their own new hell.

Unsure whether the other is alive or dead, Kazi and Jase must keep their wits among their greatest enemies and unlikeliest allies. And all the while, Death watches and waits.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Co and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eArc.

This book wrecked me but in a good way! I had anxiety, heart palpitations and I even cried a few times! Was I expecting any of that? NO.

Vow of Thieves continues right after the last chapter and harrowing cliff-hanger from Dance of Thieves. Kazi and Jase return to Tor’s Watch and what greets them is unexpected. From then on, it was non-stop worrying and praying on my part. The world-building is lush as usual and the story is written so well I was wondering if Kazi would get out of this alive. After all she had been through, Kazi needed to make it out alive, she deserved some happiness.

At each turn something thwarted Kazi, but this girl has a brain on her like no other. And her fighting skills are just so good, she’s my hero. I love her heart, her penchant for riddles, her skill for thievery, the survival instincts she’s honed because of her past and her will to not die when it seems like hope is lost, “die tomorrow“. Kazi inspires me.

Jase and Kazi together are a dream team. Their love is deep but not so consuming that they can’t do things without one another. They weren’t even together in a good chunk of the book, but in spirit, they were pushing one another to keep going. It was all the things I love in a romance between two characters. They are strong together as a couple, but strong also even torn apart. I was swooning all over their relationship, their teasing and banter. I love them. Speaking of this duo – the book once again is told in dual POV. The story flows so well between the two characters and builds up tension where it should.

Then there is the supporting cast who is always outstanding. The villain was unpredictable, devious, obsessive, and cunning. Some of my favorite characters reappear in this book, Kazi’s best friends Wren and Synové. These three young ladies make a fierce trio. We also see cameos from characters in Mary E. Pearson other series, The Remnant Chronicles which made me want to reread the series again!

I could go on and on about this book, but I don’t want to spoil anything. It is perfection in my eyes. I’ve read very few duologies, but I notice that it’s becoming the trend and personally I’m starting to love it more than trilogies. It keeps the story-telling tight, whereas a trilogy sometimes is one book too long, with a weak finish. If duologies are written like this Dance of Thieves series, then sign me up for more of them!

I fell in love with Kazi, her friends, Jase and his crazy, loving family. It ended beautifully. I hope this isn’t the last story in the Remnant world. I want more adventures set in this world or any world that Mary E. Pearson creates. Vow of Thieves is the perfect sequel to an epic series.

Get it here: Amazon

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ARC Review | The First Girl Child

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The First Girl Child

Author: Amy Harmon

Format: E-book

Pages: 391

Publication Date: August 20th, 2019

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Norse Mythology Fiction

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.

Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.

Thank you to 47 North and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the e-arc of this book.

This book is so gorgeously written and I wondered when I finished reading, why have I never heard of this author before? Where have I been? This story gave me the feels. It made me cry and it’s rare that a book can do that. I could not put it down.

It’s a story fictionally based on Norse mythology. As the author notes, Saylok was a god she created – but if I didn’t read that note, I was about to google Saylok and read about this god, that’s how believable this story seemed to me was. Bayr is born, but before his mother dies from childbirth she curses the land. There will be no more daughters in Saylok. This puts into motion a series of events for the future of Saylok and it’s demise.

The author depicted the life in early Scandinavia really well. I was immersed in this world. It is brutal landscape, harsh environment, and only the strong will survive. It’s a land that believes in Gods, blood sacrifices, and the power of runes. And with the blood curse ruling the land, the clans are desperate for women and girls. If there are no girls, Saylok would cease to exist. How can there be babies, without women?

It wasn’t only the setting that captivated me. I loved the bonds that develop between the characters, blood ties or not. I felt their love, anguish, trepidation and joy. I was so immersed into the characters I felt all of them. Their stories made me happy, angry, and it broke my heart sometimes too. Each character had a journey, not one path was easy, but through their sacrifices and actions, I witnessed so much character growth.

I experienced a full circle when this book came to an end and it was so beautifully done. That ending. That fantastic ending, it was powerful. I wanted to stand up and cheer but it was midnight in my house and everyone was asleep! The First Girl Child, is definitely one of my favorite reads in 2019.

Get it here: Amazon

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Book Review | Girls With Sharp Sticks

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Girls With Sharp Sticks

Author: Suzanne Young

Format: Hardcover (borrowed)

Pages: 393

Categories: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Suspense

The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.

As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

Girls with Sharp Sticks is a really interesting book and I don’t say that just to say something about it. It’s a book that made me think a lot after I read it, because of the some elements to it (and yes I’m trying not to spoil it 😅).

Philomena “Mena”, and her friends are students at a boarding school called Innovations Academy. They are all very beautiful girls with perfect bodies and looks. Something small like having a scar devalues a girl’s beauty. They attend classes and learn subjects to assimilate into society but they aren’t allowed independent thoughts. Thinking is a bad thing. They aren’t allowed excessive emotions, like regular girls, and take vitamins every night to keep them functioning the way the Academy wants them to.

The further into the story I got, it just made me feel creeped out because the way the men treat these girls is just wrong. And when I say men, I’m talking about their professors, their Guardians, and the administrator, Anton. They threaten, then smile at them, blame them if they don’t “obey”, and then praise them. And then if they really do something bad, they get impulse therapy. Ugh. They are grooming these girls, but for what? Apparently for investors interested in them- but we don’t know what they need them for. It reminded me of The Stepford Wives and when I mentioned the premise of the story to my husband, he said it sounded like Westworld.

One by one the girls start to “wake up” and then we find out what’s really happening at this school. The story kept me interested enough but it is slow going because we keep learning about the girls’ regiment and their life at the Academy. It unfolds like a mystery actually and hardly anything happens outside of the Academy. Mena is a daydreamer, kind of bland, but I see why since she wasn’t woken up yet. She loves her friends very much though – but emotion as well, isn’t something appreciated as a quality for these girls.

The meat of the story is at the end. There is action, a plot twist, questions and some answers but I’m hoping a lot more will be answered in the second book.

If you read the book and feel creeped out, it did its job. The book is supposed to make you uncomfortable like how girls or women feel when boys and men treat females a certain way. The grooming, the abuse, the assault, the constrictions, the expectations and rules placed on these girls is wrong. It is a book for right now with all the issues we are presently dealing with in society.

I wanted the pacing to pick up a bit more because I wanted the girls to start fighting back. Like, enough of this treatment! Let’s kick these guys’ butts already, I was getting so mad. 😤 But I was also getting mad because I was afraid for these girls, they needed help and there seemed to be no one they could turn to. The ending was gripping and it makes me curious as to what will happen in book two. Let’s hope the pacing in book two is quicker and Mena and the girls are equipped with more than just sharp sticks to fight back.

So be a girl to make them ~~proud~~ afraid.”
Girls With Sharp Sticks by. Suzanne Young

Get it here: Amazon

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Book Review | The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

Author: Kelly Harms

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 328

Categories: Romance, Marriage, Family, Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when the guilt-ridden husband who abandoned her shows up and offers to take care of their kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and escapes rural Pennsylvania for New York City.

Usually grounded and mild mannered, Amy finally lets her hair down in the city that never sleeps. She discovers a life filled with culture, sophistication, and—with a little encouragement from her friends—a few blind dates. When one man in particular makes quick work of Amy’s heart, she risks losing herself completely in the unexpected escape, and as the summer comes to an end, Amy realizes too late that she must make an impossible decision: stay in this exciting new chapter of her life, or return to the life she left behind.

But before she can choose, a crisis forces the two worlds together, and Amy must stare down a future where she could lose both sides of herself, and every dream she’s ever nurtured, in the beat of a heart.

I’m finally getting around to my Kindle Unlimited TBR list, thank goodness. They’ve just been sitting there as I try to finish my hardcover library books.

What drew me to this book was that the main character, Amy Byler, is a high school librarian. My dream job, once upon a time! I worked in a library, just never as a librarian. So Amy is a mom, with two teenage kids and barely married to a man who left her and the family for three years. Now John is back and wants to be a father again to the kids he left. Whew…this book could have be angsty and depressing but it wasn’t!

It is funny. Especially because her best friends Lena and Talia are awesome. And the new friends she makes are great as well. Watching Amy have a momspringa (like a mom spring break) made me cheer her on and I was living vicariously through her. I love how it was kind of Devil Wears Prada/Sex in the City, or should I say Date in the City? Because there isn’t much sex in this book. A few kisses here and there and morning afters but description of sex – nope, none. But Matt, Talia’s assistant is a fun character in this story who gives Amy a New York experience.

Seeing Amy get out of her mom shell when she goes to New York, for a library convention was great. Her college bestie Talia runs a trendy women’s magazine and gives Amy a make-over basically. Amy still wars with her conflicting feelings about still being in a broken marriage where they separated and never fully divorced. She’s met someone cute at the conference and the sparks fly, but what kind of future can they really have? She has kids back home, he has a life in New York. Her romance with Daniel was a nice build-up. I love that they became good friends, understanding of one another’s circumstances before making any big moves.

Amy is someone else in New York, someone she’s missed, someone she’s learning to love again. At home, she’s mom. Responsible, on top of everything, the fixer of problems, takes care of everyone but herself-Mom. Letting go of that and being the woman who could finally take the time to take care of herself was liberating for Amy, for women who followed her momspringa online and for me reading this story because I know I need a momspringa. It’s been overdue for 7 years now! So this book was talking to me.

It is a happy ending, which was lovely. Realistic? I’ve seen many people around me who end marriages and can still be civil with their ex for the sake of their children. Then there are those who can’t stand one another. So yes, I can say it is realistic. It’s the modern family, and as it is reiterated in this book, it takes a village, to raise kids.

As for how much I relate to this book? I relate a lot. I’ve been there where I look in the mirror and I wonder there that 22 year old who cared for her appearance more has gone. I miss her sometimes. In between the sleepless nights with the kids, keeping a house clean, making sure people are fed and happy, running the errands, taking them to the doctor and dental appointments, helping with the homework, etc…it’s easy to get overwhelmed because it IS overwhelming. As moms we are taught to put the lives of our children first. I mean once they are born, they put that baby in your arms and you have to feed it! It’s our job to keep that baby alive, thriving, meeting milestones and most time that baby only wants mommy. And it’s hard to let that mentality go.

This was a fun read for a mom who was needing a mental vacation. My momspringa will come soon enough. 😂 Even my husband agrees I deserve one. 👏🏼

Get it here: Amazon

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First Lines Fridays

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Aloha everyone! 🌺 In Hawai’i we like to call Fridays, “Aloha Fridays”, because it’s the last day of the M-F work week, and bye-bye to the work wee. Except, obviously people still work on the weekends. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Whatever. It still gives you a reason to relax a little, right?

I haven’t written many book reviews this week because I’m trying to slow down and take my time reading. It’s been kind of nice – but I do have a few ARCs I really need to get through, finish and review. So hopefully I’ll have time this weekend.

Let’s get to the BOOK though…can you guess where this is from?

“The forest had become a labyrinth of snow and ice.”

🙈

One of my favorite series! This book keeps staring at me, it’s on my shelf above my desk and I’ve been meaning to read it soon. But I have so many others to finish before I can re-read it.

What are your plans this weekend? What are you reading right now? Leave me a comment below – would love to hear from you!

Book Review: The Wicked Deep

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Wicked Deep

Author: Shea Ernshaw

Format: Hardcover (owned)

Pages: 310

Categories: Witches, Romance, Paranormal, Young Adult

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow…

Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town.

Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into.

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters.

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

“Magic is not always formed from words, from cauldrons brewing spices or black cats strolling down dark alleys. Some curses are manifested from desire and injustice.”
The Wicked Deep by. Shea Ernshaw

I read this book during tonight’s full moon and it was exactly what I needed. All I was missing was a cup of tea with some tea leaves in it. 😉

Let me just say this first about The Wicked Deep. The cover is so gorgeous. The silver lettering catches the light magically ! So at times you see a rainbow of color in the lettering. It’s just beautiful. 😍

I devoured this book. It’s not a long book, only clocking in at 310 pages. I was done in four hours. My mood was right, the moon was full and this was a book about a small town cursed by witches. Now just because this book is about witches that doesn’t mean this book is about them practicing magic. There isn’t much action in it, but it still sucked me in. This story is about the lore and history of the Swan Sisters, what was done to them and how they get their revenge. It’s a tragedy and a love story.

The writing is wonderful, I felt like I was in that town of Sparrow. I could envision the water, the trees, and the lighthouse. It was like I could smell the salt in the air, and the rain on my face. This story at times was eerie and dark, especially with how the Swan Sisters died and the drownings that happen annually during their anniversary. The town is popular for its cursed reputation. People from far away flock to Sparrow to see if the legend is real every June 1st.

Penny Talbot is a resident of Sparrow and she knows she will never leave. Her mom lives like a ghost after the disappearance of her father a few years ago. They live on Lumiere Island, where there is a lighthouse. Penny falls for a newcomer named Bo, and things start to change for her. Though their love is insta-love, I think it’s understandable because of the plot twist. The plot twist was predictable but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.

The ending for me was bittersweet. 😩

I think I really enjoyed this book because it was reminiscent of spooky stories told to me when I was young. For me, it was Hawaii urban legends, Hawaiian myth lore, Japanese scary stories, and Filipino stories about hexes, witchdoctors and curses (thanks mom 😅)! This book gave me that eerie, suspicious feeling that creepy stories tend to make me feel.

But can you imagine living in a town, known for a curse and where every year boys drown in the water? 😣🤭 It’s so creepy that the residents of Sparrow celebrate the anniversary with fanfare. And the Death Bell that tolled when a body was found? I wouldn’t be able to live in a town like that! I’d have anxiety all summer long. 😂

This book wove it’s spell on me and it didn’t let go of me until the very last page. .

Get it here: Amazon

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ARC Review: Frankly in Love

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Frankly in Love

Author: David Yoon

Format: Paperback (owned)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: September 10, 2019

Categories: Romance, Family, Contemporary, Young Adult, Culture, Race

High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo–his term for Korean-American kids who find themselves caught between their parents’ traditional expectations and their own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance–“Date Korean”–which proves complicated when Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful–and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and so they make a pact: they’ll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. Frank thinks it’s the perfect plan, but in the end, Frank and Joy’s fake-dating maneuver leaves him wondering if he ever really understood love–or himself–at all.

Thank you to Bookishfirst for giving me a chance to win a copy of this Arc.

When I read the first few pages of it on the Bookishfirst website, I knew I needed this book. If I didn’t win it in their raffle giveaway, then I would have eventually bought it. A Korean-American who wants to date a white girl? Here I am, a Filipino-American woman who married a white guy. I could relate.

I got the book the other day and finished it in one day. This book IS the story of my young adult years. Well it’s Frank’s story but wow, did it hit the bullseye. This story is about Frank Li, born in America, raised with Korean immigrant parents, trying to balance being American and being Korean – it is complicated. I am not Korean-American, I am Filipino-American, but it all resonated with me. This book hit me hard it also made me cry.

It could just be a book about a boy with immigrant parents, trying to date outside of his race, but this book is way more than that. It explored racism exhibited by his own parents and discrimination among their own race by their own race. I was like. Yes, yes and YES! And then when the difference between Frank and his white girlfriend, Brit, reveals itself in certain situations especially in the way her parents treat her and the way his parents treat him I thought I was having a flashback of my own life. The openness American families have (at least in Brit’s family) and the way they shared affection struck a chord in me. I struggled with that too – my parents were never affectionate or said I love you. I accepted as an adult that they showed their love through hard work and giving me a roof over my head and food to eat and sent me to college. They worked their bodies to the bone to give my sister and I an easier life in America. It made my heart ache when Frank realizes a few things about his parents and seeing Frank come to understand (good for him as a teen-because it took me awhile) that sacrifice from his parents equaled love. I saw me in him.

As for Frank and fake-dating his friend Joy, it was a pretty good plan but it was bound to hurt some people if the truth was let out. Without giving spoilers, I’ll just say he’s a teenager, confused about love and his role in life, and absolutely allowed to make his mistakes.

The part that made me cry was because of the family aspect of the book. It’s kind of amazing when you learn that your parents once upon a time were young and scared too. Sometimes we forget parents and grandparents were young too. I felt Frank’s desire to do the right thing, please his parents but try to be happy too. It’s a hard thing to achieve so young especially when he sees what happens to his older sister, Hannah, when she dates an African-American boy. And when something serious happens to his dad, it makes him deal with certain things much quicker than he expected. What is he supposed to do?

This book made me realize we all struggle in some capacity with our family, our friends, our love-lives, and trying to find our way through life and figuring our own selves out. Love sometimes doesn’t look like the kind of love you thought it should resemble. We are not perfect, we do not know how to get along with the rest of society or our own family, perfectly – we are not experts on each other’s cultures or way of life but we can be open, we can learn. We make mistakes, but we try to learn and figure things out. We live, we love, we get lost, we find our way, we reach the highs of happiness and we feel the lows of loss and despair. And we keep going, trying to make sense of life and who we really are.

This story reminded me I wasn’t alone in my thoughts and struggle as a child/teen/young adult. I think my heart broke for Frank Li and sixteen year old me. There were so many passages in this book I wanted to underline, but I don’t mark my books! There was a part in this book where Frank Li says one day his own kids will have parents who are open and show affection. My sister and I said that too before we had kids. We said, WE will show our kids so much love, show affection and say I love you…😭 And with our kids now, my parents have learned to say I love you to their grandchildren all the time and shower them with so much hugs and affection. ❤️

I could say so much about this book but this would be a super long post. It’s funny, touching, eye-opening, heart-warming, heart-breaking, and written beautifully. Of course it is, how did I not know until the end that Nicola Yoon (The Sun Is Also a Star) is his wife? She writes beautifully as well! What a duo!

I’m Frankly In Love with this book. I can say this is one of my favorite books this year.

Get it here: Amazon

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