I was playing around with a new blog theme yesterday. I wanted one that showcased many things on the home page instead of just my latest post, so I think I finally got it looking somewhat close to what I envisioned?
Are you someone who likes to stick to the tried and true or do you like to change the look of your blog often, like I do?
What’s your favorite wordpress theme to use for your blog? The one I’m using right now is called Maxwell and I like the clean look of it even with so many things going on with the homepage.
Every time I mess with my blog, I end up seeing the Pages section which I don’t update regularly. I haven’t updated the Pages since the end of 2020. Here we are at mid 2021 and I’m wondering if I should update the Book Reviews list and Bookish links right now since I’m updating my blog. How often do you update your Pages info? Are you consistent about it or wait until the end of the year like me?
I really should be writing four book reviews though….so let me get it and leave this layout alone before it changes again! 🤪
Marin Cole has never: Seen the ocean Climbed a mountain Taken a risk on love ….But if her sister’s plan works, she just might do all three.
Ever since her journalist mother died on assignment, Marin has played it safe, refusing to set foot outside the state of Tennessee. Her wild-child younger sister, Sadie, has trotted the globe as a photographer, living off of art and adrenaline.
When Sadie returns from a tough assignment abroad and looks a little worse for wear, Marin reluctantly agrees to a sisters’ spa weekend on the tropical island of Saba. But her lifelong fear of travel is affirmed when Sadie misses the flight, Marin’s luggage gets mixed up with another passenger’s, and an episode of turbulence sends her hurtling into the lap of Lucas Tsai, the handsome stranger who stole her sister’s seat.
For the first time in a long time, Marin has to step outside of her comfort zone as she explores the island with Lucas and learns what she’s been missing out on. With each breathtaking new experience, Marin gets closer to her real self, the man she’s falling for, and the heart-wrenching truth about why she’s there in the first place.
Warning!! This is not a cutesy rom-com. Please don’t go into this one thinking it’s this funny cute rom-com because of the vibrant cover. That’s what I did – and I ended up crying a lot while reading this book.
It starts off with two sisters – it’s mostly told through Marin’s POV but Sadie comes in here and then because she has a story to tell as well. Sadie is the wild child and Marin is the safe and anxious one but there is a reason for that due to their mom’s death when they were young. But Sadie wants Marin to break out of her shell and she definitely makes that happen.
Marin finds herself waiting on the tropical island of Saba for her sister who has decided to blackmail her to have fun. I thought that was cute and you can tell right away these sisters are close, which is heartwarming. Marin even finds herself doing unexpected things on the island with Lucas Tsai who is rich, and gorgeous. From the moment Marin touches down in Saba it’s a very beachy kind of summer read, but things take a turn at the end.
There is a big twist in the story though and one that is heartbreaking. Oh my heart!
Let’s just say yes this is a story about love – one that is so deep between sisters and also a love that is newly found even through the pain of what they are all dealing with. I did love how Marin and Lucas get to know each other in the week they are together, fast maybe? They’re both adults though, and it happens – it’s not insta-love or anything just a really good time.
This story deals with a lot of grief and that topic always speaks to me personally.
Triggers: grief, death, cancer
This book is emotional from the middle onward – bust out the tissues! If you don’t want to read a book about grieving – stay away from this one. For me I thought the story was beautiful from beginning to end, but that’s me. I love Marin and Sadie. Marin and Lucas was just bonus.
Lucas at times came off hot and cold but he also is going through grief, having had lost his dad just recently. Then he went through everything with Marin and Sadie. It made me think this man is strong emotionally and I’m glad Marin had him. I know their romance had to take a backseat in the second half of the story but I didn’t mind. I thought it was cute how they found each other again – the time apart was good and I’m glad Marin got to explore on her own a little.
The book cover is misleading and I went into this expecting some hot summer fling story but what I got was Marin’s personal journey through breaking through her anxiety and then dealing with grief from her past and present. Marin grows a lot and meets so much people on the island of Saba that are kind, and open, something she was missing in her life. She needs that kindness when life deals her more heartbreak. Lucas is there too – with space or open arms, and ready to climb any mountains with her. It’s a story about sisters who love each other so much. It turned out to be a beautiful story about love in the past, present and future.
📚 ~ Yolanda
Quotes from the Book:
It’s a special kind of torture when the one person you want when you’re lost in a black ocean is the very person who just blew up your boat.”
~ Meet Me in Paradise by. Libby Hubscher
It is a truth almost universally acknowledged by survivors that you will ask yourself if you missed something. If you should have known.”
~ Meet Me in Paradise by. Libby Hubscher
I’m not as brave. But I am, finally, after all this time, myself. I’m not all the way there yet, but every day I spend out here on my own in places I’ve never been, the closer I get.”
~ Meet Me in Paradise by. Libby Hubscher
I wasn’t ready to be without you. But I’m doing it.”
Happy book birthday to these new releases! What are you excited for?
Susan Dennard’s New York Times bestselling, young adult epic fantasy Witchlands series continues with Witchshadow, the story of the Threadwitch Iseult.
War has come to the Witchlands . . . and nothing will be the same again.
Iseult has found her heartsister Safi at last, but their reunion is brief. For Iseult to stay alive, she must flee Cartorra while Safi remains. And though Iseult has plans to save her friend, they will require her to summon magic more dangerous than anything she has ever faced before.
Meanwhile, the Bloodwitch Aeduan is beset by forces he cannot understand. And Vivia—rightful queen of Nubrevna—finds herself without a crown or home.
As villains from legend reawaken across the Witchlands, only the mythical Cahr Awen can stop the gathering war. Iseult could embrace this power and heal the land, but first she must choose on which side of the shadows her destiny will lie.
Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and . . . queens?⠀ ⠀ Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she’s a mouse. Yes, reader, Mary is an Eðian (shapeshifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. It’s a secret that could cost her a head—or a tail.⠀ ⠀ Luckily, Mary has a confidant in her betrothed, Francis. But after the king meets a suspicious end, things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn. Thrust onto the throne, Mary and Francis are forced to navigate a viper’s nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary’s secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.⠀
A queen foretold to save the world…
Free from Malek’s clutches, Lyana returns to the world above determined to keep the isles from falling. But in a land where magic is forbidden, convincing the avians to believe in her power takes the one thing she doesn’t have—time. With Xander’s help, she must unravel the puzzle of the rift and gain their trust or lose her home forever.
A dragon in search of his destiny…
Turned into a monster by the king he loathes, Rafe flees Da’Kin. Yet even with the help of his crew, he can’t outrun the new power simmering beneath his skin or the gruesome visions haunting his dreams. A dark spirit calls out to him, and soon he’ll have to answer.
New enemies change the game as the final battle draws near…
Stuck in her spirit form, Cassi is at the mercy of the man she betrayed. Before he wreaks his vengeance, she must tell someone what she witnessed in the sacred nest. A demon walks the earth, an evil no one anticipated. But with all her friendships broken, who among them will believe her?
Prophecies unravel. War arrives. And passions burn, threatening to set the world aflame.
Furyborn meets A Curse So Dark and Lonely in this courtly feminist fantasy from Grace and Fury author Tracy Banghart.
Annalise may be cousin to the prince, but her past isn’t what she claims, and she possesses a magic so powerful it takes all her strength to control it. Evra is a country girl, and has watched as each friend and family member came into their own magic, while hers remains dormant. But everything changes after Annalise loses control of herself and Evra begins experiencing the debilitating visions of a once-in-a-generation clairvoyant meant to serve the crown.
Thrown together at court, Evra and Annalise find that they have the same goal: to protect their kingdom from the powerful men who are slowly destroying it. But neither is quick to trust the other — Evra’s visions suggest a threat to royal rule, and Annalise worries that her darkest secrets will be revealed. Their magic at odds, the young women circle each other, until the truth must come out.
Full of intrigue, romance, and shocking twists, this gorgeously immersive fantasy will keep readers spellbound until the very last page.
In the concluding installment to the Wrath of Ambar duology from masterful author Tanaz Bhathena, Gul and Cavas must unite their magical forces―and hold onto their growing romance―to save their kingdom from tyranny.
With King Lohar dead and a usurper queen in power, Gul and Cavas face a new tyrannical government that is bent on killing them both. Their roles in King Lohar’s death have not gone unnoticed, and the new queen is out for blood. What she doesn’t know is that Gul and Cavas have a connection that runs deeper than romance, and together, they just might have the strength and magic to end her for good.
Then a grave mistake ends with Cavas taken prisoner by the government. Gul must train an army of warriors alone. With alliances shifting and the thirst for vengeance growing, the fate of Ambar seems ever more uncertain. It will take every ounce of strength, love, and sacrifice for Gul and Cavas to reach their final goal―and build a more just world than they’ve ever known.
Acting like she’s in love with her handsome nightmare of a co-star–in a movie directed and produced by her complicated Hollywood royalty family–is Sloane’s job. But what happens when the lines between script and reality get blurred?
Out-of-work actress Sloane Ford is in desperate need of something to do after losing her steady TV gig. When her famous family ropes her into working as a producer on their World War II-era romance, they neglect to mention that the film will be headlined by Joseph Donovan, her least favorite former co-star of all time. The roguish actor made her life a living hell the last time they worked together, using his movie star good looks and Irish charm to cover for his erratic professional behavior. On their new film set, he promises he’s different now, but Sloane is far from convinced.
As filming gets underway, it becomes clear that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. When the lead actress is abruptly fired, Sloane agrees to step in and take over the role, and she starts to remember why she fell in love with acting in the first place. On camera, she and Joseph share an electric chemistry. Off camera, they’ve been honing their characters and, much to Sloane’s surprise, growing closer. But playing the role of a woman in love with Joseph Donovan is a dangerous business, and the more time they spend together, the less Sloane can tell what’s real between them, and what’s just for show.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl (Happy Birthday!)in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
Categories: Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Survival
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Gallery Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel.
This reads like a fairytale, at least in the beginning when Yona is taken from her biological family to be raised in the woods. I almost thought I was reading a magical realism book instead of historical fiction but we get to that part soon enough.
Yona is a young woman raised without interacting with other people except for one person, her caretaker, Jerusza. Jerusza is an elderly woman who knows how to survive the forests in Europe. Jerusza is Jewish but also worldly about many cultures and religions and she teaches Yona about everything she can, but why? Jerusza has seen the future, is more in tuned with the mystical elements of the world, maybe because of her life in the forest, and knows what is coming with the German Nazis. So she prepares Yona for what is coming.
When Jewish people flee the ghettos the Nazis have trapped them, some try to flee into the forest and that is where Yona finds her purpose. She teaches these groups how to survive living in the forest. I found the focus of this story quite unique because of Yona, her disconnect from the world and then being introduced to the horrors of it when she finally interacts with people coming in the forest. I love how the forest gave them everything they needed at a time when Jewish people were losing everything: jobs, family, friends, homes, loved ones, dignity, their way of life.
There is a little romance in this story despite how awful the circumstances but I thought it was nice it didn’t become the sole focus of the story. Yona is learning how to interact with others and belong with a group. She is trying to find out who she is after being by herself for so long and there are some harsh life lessons to learn. Despite everything that happens I love that Yona is smart, strong, optimistic and practical.
I love the overall message of this story. It’s not only one of survival but identity too. It’s also a reminder of how cruel and ruthless hate could turn people against one another and the everlasting trauma the Holocaust had on families that survived. A reminder that generations of families were wiped out.
Triggers: violence, death, kidnapping
I think the premise of this story is very unique, it almost has a mystical feel to it with Jerusza but it is intertwined with in real historical events. If you read the Author’s Notes in the back, the history of the Bielski brothers making camp in the forest during WWII is as gripping as the fictional story the author gave us.
This is the first book I’ve read from Kristin Harmel and it is an epic story. I learned a lot, and was reminded once more what survival was like in World War II for so many people and how much was lost in a span of a few years. This story was heartbreaking, and yet still full of hope. It’s a great book for someone who loves reading history or World War II stories and want something with a unique perspective.
Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.
What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.
Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…
It’s been awhile since I read a Jenn Bennett book so I was happy to find this one at my library!
Josie and her mother return back to their hometown after leaving years ago. Her mom and grandma doesn’t have the best relationship and Josie’s dad is a famous photographer who she hardly sees but Josie has a plan to one day leave and go be with him.
Coming back to Beauty, Josie runs into her old best friend, Lucky. He is the town’s bad boy now mostly due to some rumors and the way he dresses (leather jacket) and he rides a motorcycle (these boys always get the bad rep). From the first staring contest between them you can feel the sparks flying. But something happens and Lucky takes the fall for her and Josie doesn’t know why.
There’s a lot of family drama in Josie’s life. Her mom has a bad woman reputation in the town, her grandma and mom have a tense relationship, and she has a dad who is basically non-existent in her life but she wants a relationship with him. This whole story was about communication or the lack there of – Josie and her mom doesn’t communicate, her mom usually flees a town and dates a lot to avoid problems. Josie hasn’t really had close relationships since bouncing from town to town – so the closest friend she has is her cousin Evie. Josie’s lying to her mom about a lot of things too. And of course, the communication between Lucky and her is sometimes good, sometimes bad when there are walls between them. But Josie learns to get better at communication and that’s the main thing.
The thing I loved about Lucky and Josie was that they stuck it out and talked – even when it was difficult to get a conversation started. They got angry with one another and even would push so much that one person would shut down (usually Lucky)…but they also cared about one another so much that they couldn’t stay away from one another and wanted to make it work.
Triggers: Bullying, Slut-Shaming
Why was Evie with Adrian? He was such a jerk yet she kept going back to him but he really had no redeeming qualities. He played the villain I suppose but honestly Josie already had enough issues to deal with her mom and dad situation that even without Adrian it would have been enough drama for her to sort through.
Some of the family drama felt unnecessary like the mystery of who Drew was – did Josie and Lucky really have to fight about that?
There is a sex scene but it is not detailed and really it’s like a paragraph long.
Josie has a lot on her plate with high school coming to a close and her plans of leaving her mom is stalled by some events. But these events and Lucky teach her that running away isn’t the only way to deal with a situation. I liked Josie, and I loved Lucky. The drama might have been a tad bit too much for me at times but I still enjoyed the story. It’s not my favorite of Jenn Bennett’s but she definitely has a way of making me want to read a book to the end just to watch two characters fall in love.
#SixforSunday is… it’s really just that. You choose 6 books (normally) that you’d choose to fit whatever the prompt is that week. This meme is hosted by A Little but a Lot and you can follow the link to find the prompts for April to June.
This week’s topic:
Favourite LGBTQIA+ characters
Enrique is a bisexual character in The Gilded Wolves series. He is also Filipino which I love, since I am Filipino too, so I love everything he represents. Enrique is also the character that helps solve all the puzzles in the book, which is fun and thrilling at times. I love him!
I found Waylon precious. I love how he was confident about himself, most of the time (all of us have our insecure moments). Even though he is overweight and gay, it doesn’t stop him from living life to the fullest.
Sid is mysterious and seductive! Nirrim stood no chance haha, and I don’t blame her at all.
Liz Lighty is an awesome character. She’s smart, talented, and queer. She’s also brave and fights for her right to be prom queen!
Sophia really brought this Cinderella twist to life. She likes girls and flees her town to avoid getting married. She also uncovers the truth about the Cinderella myth and takes down a king. I’d say she is pretty badass.
I actually haven’t finished reading this book because my library time expired on it and I had arcs to finish reading. 😦 But from the amount I did read, I’d have to say, Yadriel is amazing and brave as he tries to prove to his family that he is a brujo. I’ll be borrowing it again soon and hoping to finish once I get it back again.
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.
But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.
First thing I love about this book is the cover. It’s vibrant and has a beautiful girl on the cover looking fierce. The synopsis sounded intriguing and for the beginning part of the book, I was hooked.
Deka is going through a rough time – her blood ceremony went haywire and it showed she wasn’t pure as she was hoping. She finds out she’s an alaki, basically a half-demon and she gets sent to the emperor to join his alaki soldiers to fight the Deathstrikers. Deathstrikers are demon creatures terrorizing the empire and Deka has a link to them, which makes her different.
I liked how the other alaki ~ all girls ~ decide to bond together instead of fight one another. They realize it’s not going to be pretty training as alaki but together, they can come out of this period successfully. So they become their own family and look out for one another. There was a lot of women power themes in this story.
There is a tiny bit of romance, nothing that takes away from Deka and her journey of finding out what she really is.
Triggers: death in many gruesome ways, violence towards women, torture, mention of rape
It’s gory. Deka is killed multiple times, in various ways but she’s a demon so – she doesn’t die yet, but her village elders definitely used her golden blood to profit from. Ugh. Many of the other alaki girls who didn’t arrive with Deka were violated and killed multiple times as well. So there is a lot of violence towards girls! On the other hand, the emperor’s elite fighting warriors/assassins are women, so the story showed both violence towards women and women committing violence. It showed the girls suffering because their survival shows how strong they are.
The story lost me at the halfway point when I felt like I wasn’t connecting to Deka at all. She tries to find out more about her mom, she keeps changing and as a reader, I could guess what she was changing into. I got a little bored and not even Ixa the shapeshifting animal could rouse my interest. Maybe I wanted Deka to be more angry? Like Belcalis? If my community tried to kill me nine times in every way possible, I’d be enraged and come back with a vengeance – but that’s me. Deka has more grace than I do! Haha! She’s a good person.
The message of The Gilded Ones is great – though we may suffer, whatever doesn’t kill us – makes us stronger. I enjoyed the world building because it is unique but I wish I connected more to Deka, I think I connected more to her friends. I think many readers will definitely love this book even if I didn’t, because it has a strong message and so much girl power infused in the story.
Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall–with hopes that Reena will marry him.
But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.
As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine— secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.
First off I liked that this book had characters that are Muslim and Indian, but Indians who have “double” immigrated, as Nadim in the book pointed out to Reena. Their parents left India, move to Tanzania and then to Canada. In Nadim’s case he triple immigrated because he also went to boarding school in London. So it was very eye opening for me to learn about Tanzania, even though this story is set in Canada.
Learning about the culture also means getting to read about the foods these characters were always eating. Reena is obsessed with making sourdough, it’s her greatest passion right now and she needs a passion when she finds her job as an accountant so dull. Outside of the sourdough though, Reena and her mom is constantly making Indian food, some with a Tanzanian twist because of Nadim – but yes I loved all the foodie content in this story. Yum! But yes, Reena enters this cooking contest (where she needs a partner), because she wants to win and go to a cooking school – it’s where the magic between her and Nadim happen.
Reena is Indian and her family is very involved in her life, there is so much pressure to be successful which in her parents minds means married and with a good job. They try to set her up with Nadim, but Reena isn’t down with her parents finding her a husband. There is also a lot of family drama with Reena’s sister – the two had some issues in the past and haven’t resolved them yet. For parents that are very involved in their children’s lives, there are a lot of secrets in this family and they only get closer as a family once the truth is out.
The romance between Nadim and Reena goes from fake-dating to casual dating to happily ever after. Nadim is very charming, sweet, and so easy going. Reena is the same as well so their relationship always felt light and not too stressful even when a secret about Nadim is revealed. They made a cute couple that seemed to get along well and bonded over food and understanding family drama.
Triggers: family pressure
I don’t know the Islam religion very well but there were a few things in the story that made me pause and think…oh okay – so this family doesn’t follow strict rules? Or is this normal? I’m not sure because I’m not Muslim. After I read the book, I read some reviews on it and at least on Goodreads, I saw many Muslim readers who did not approve of how they were portrayed. I understand no one is perfect and these characters are portrayed as being very real, imperfect people – but I did need a little clarity on that and glad those readers spoke out in their reviews.
The beginning was a little slow, I think it picked up when secrets started being revealed but before that, it seemed just light and easy going.
Maybe a little spoiler? But there a lice situation and maybe a foot fetish on Nadim’s part? For me it was weird and awkward haha – I think it was supposed to be funny lice? No…not sexy! You know Nadim is charming, very flirty but I just felt like I couldn’t trust him even by the end of the story. Maybe because the romance never got super deep for either of them and the secrets of course.
Some mental health issues are mentioned in the book but super quick. Would have like to learn more about that.
I definitely enjoyed all the mentions of food and cooking scenes. Also learning about Indians from Tanzania was eye-opening! Getting to know Reena and her family was interesting and her friends are great. I think the romance in this is cute and light but I felt like it was missing some spark. Overall it was just an okay read for me.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 