BOOK REVIEW: Voice of Gods (Blood of Gods and Royals #0.5)

As the end of an age approaches, gods whisper horrors, families scheme for power, and one woman may hold the secret to a lost legacy.

At 19, Ada of Caria yearns to take the Snake Blood throne from her mad older siblings—and seeks the help of a young orphaned girl named Helen, the first True Oracle to have walked the earth in more than three hundred years. Helen may be able to channel the voice of the gods, but she hates her gift, and will do anything to get rid of it—even lie to her best friend, Myrtale, the priestess-princess of Epirus who is destined to marry King Philip II of Macedon even though she loves another. And in the shadows lurks a handsome green-eyed stranger who has more at stake—and more to lose—than anyone could possibly imagine.Amid jealousy and heartbreak, torrid affairs and secret rendezvous, it is spoken by the gods that either Helen or Myrtale —newly named Olympias— will carry the destiny of the known world within her womb.

I do not usually read novellas or even prequels very much, but I loved Legacy of Kings so much that I really wanted to know how things began. I actually think this one was even better than Legacy of Kings.

Eleanor Herman has such a great way of writing for this time period. Her world building is first class. I absolutely love this time period, despite the fact that women are treated as second class citizens and are only seen as worthy if they produce sons. Yeah, if you ignore all that, it may have been a fascinating time period to live in. One of the things that made this one better than Legacy of Kings was that Herman didn't overwhelm me with the POV of ten different characters. Of course, this book is rather short (about 120 pages) so it's possible she would have if the book were longer. But I loved the fact that there were only two POV's: Helen's and Myrtale. There were also a couple of chapters with Ada's POV as well, but she was dropped after the first couple of chapters. That was such a shame because I was fascinated by Ada's family. There were also a lot of names thrown at me at first and it took a bit to learn who everyone was. I wasn't sure who they were in relation to the characters of Legacy of Kings. But I quickly understood that Helen was Katerina's mother and Myrtale was Alexander's mother (and she would also change her name to Queen Olympias). Reading their story and learning how they became friends was wonderful. In Legacy of Kings, Queen Olympias is evil and a threat to everyone. But she wasn't always like that, as you learn in this novella. You learn exactly how power can corrupt people and how Myrtale went from an innocent princess to an ambitious queen. This was an excellent novella that tells of how the characters in Legacy of Kings came to be. I can't wait to read the rest of the series! 

Buy/Borrow/Skip: If you enjoyed Legacy of Kings, you will enjoy this one as well. Buy it!

BOOK REVIEW: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains. Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve. As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

Excuse me, but if I can't write a coherent review for this book, it's only because the tears are in my way. This book had me ugly crying so hard. 

Taylor and her family decide to spend the summer at their lake house because Taylor's dad has pancreatic cancer and has three months to live. The family used to be at the lake house every summer, but they haven't been back in five hours. Taylor ran away from hurt that she caused to her best friend and the guy she was going out with. When I read this premise, I was afraid the romance would take center stage, but I am so, so glad that is not the case. Taylor and her family are typical in that they never spend enough quality time together. Taylor and her siblings are always off and doing their own thing while their dad spends all his time working. During their stay at the cabin, they are forced to actually talk to each other and slow down. Taylor starts having breakfast with her dad every morning and actually starts getting to know him. All of his stories about his job and his childhood suddenly become precious to her because she is very aware that time is passing all too quickly. The author did a great job of showing the very subtle decrease in her dad's health: it was all in his coloring and energy level and even in how much he ate. 

While all of this is happening with her dad, she reconnects with her former best friend (Lucy) and the boy she liked five years before (Harry). I wasn't super invested in the romance, mainly because the author didn't put it in the forefront. Taylor and Harry had a few random meetings, there were a couple of flashbacks and then they were a couple again. Don't get me wrong: Harry seemed great and I really wanted them to work things out. Taylor had a horrible habit of running away every time things got rough and that's what she did with Harry and Lucy. But the main plot of this story was about Taylor and her family coming to terms with her dad's illness and saying goodbye. I seriously cannot think of some of those scenes without getting teary again. This book was AMAZING. And afterwards, I just had to tell my parents that I loved them. Read this book, have plenty of tissues handy and then tell your family you love them.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy. Buy. BUY!!!

BOOK REVIEW: The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father. In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.  Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation. As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own. But Carolyn has accounted for this. And Carolyn has a plan. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human.

Okay, I didn't know what to expect with this one. I don't think I ever would have read it, but I just joined a book club and this was the pick. I had never even heard of this book before. For the first 10% of the book, I was convinced this would be a two star read. The beginning was a bit confusing and new characters kept getting added. Actually, I am still not sure what I just read, but I do know that I loved it. 

Carolyn was a normal girl until her parents died when she was eight or nine. Then Father adopted her and a bunch of other kids. It is unclear whether Father is the creator of the Universe, but what is clear is that he is thousands of years old and is very vengeful and disturbing. He assigns each of the kids a different catalog of the Library. Carolyn is in charge of languages. There is also war and medicines and math, among others. Father and the kids play fast and loose with the rules of physics. At the beginning of the book, Father is missing and there is some kind of perimeter defense around the Library that prevents anyone from getting to it. Margaret, Jennifer, Michael and David are the main ones that are trying to find Father and trying to find a way back into the library. 

Like i said earlier, there are lot of different characters introduced. There are all the kids, Carolyn, Steve, and Erwin and even some pretty awesome lions. I had no idea what the plan was or where everything was headed until 70% of the way through the book. I think that was the point where all the pieces of the puzzle just kind of came together. But even though I had no clue what was going on for most of the book, I was still hooked. I did not want to put this book down. It was kind of funny, but also very dark and disturbing. The world building was fantastic, even though most of your questions don't get answered until the end. The Library was something that even Belle from Beauty and the Beast would have envied. I want that freaking library!

Carolyn was a very unique character. She is kind of naive about the world around her, yet she is a genius and people wildly underestimate her. I thought I hated her at first, especially because I had n clue whether she was a villain or not. But once I learned everything she had been through, I understood her anger and I understood her plan. Of course, even after things fell apart, she still didn't understand why Steve had a problem with some of the stuff she did. She was just very, very focused on the bigger picture. All the small stuff, like how humanity would react to her deeds, were just little inconveniences to her. 

The ending of this book provided an excellent segway to a sequel, should the author choose to write one. It doesn't appear that there is a sequel in the works. But if Scott Hawkins wants to give us more of Carolyn, I am all for it!

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one for sure! 

Top Ten Tuesday - Scary Books

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They feature a different top ten list every week. This week's topic is my top ten scary novels. I don't actually read horror books very much, so most of these are more creepy and chill inducing than scary.

1. Dismember by Daniel Pyle - I am so glad I did not read this at night. It's about a madman who kidnaps a boy to try and replace his family that was killed in a car accident when he was younger. This book was legitimately terrifying and I was freaked out by the ending. When I asked the author by Twitter if there would ever be a sequel, he said "Maybe someday." Sigh. I will be waiting.

2. The Barter by Siobhan Adcock - This ghost story was super creepy. I read it at night and had the urge to turn on my bedroom light because I was freaked out. 

3. The Uninvited by Cat Winters - A book about a girl who can see ghosts of loved ones before someone dies. The ending to this one gave me serious chills.

4. The Wayward Pines series by Blake Crouch - The conclusion to this series is the only book ever that was causing my heart to beat so fast that I just had to put it down to calm myself . . . then I immediately had to pick it up again to see what happens. The action doesn't really pick up until the second book, but it is the third book where the monsters show up. Yeah, these monsters or animals or whatever they were called were terrifying.

5. The Gone series by Michael Grant - Can I just live inside Michael Grant's head please? Mutated worm creatures, a kid who can fry other people's brains, parasitic bugs that eat people from the inside out, a boy who comes back from the dead with a mutant arm that he uses to whip people . . . yeah, that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

6. This Is Not A Test and Please Remain Calm by Courtney Summers - This is one duology you will not want to miss. Think The Walking Dead, but with teenagers. A virus infects society and turns people into zombies. One bite and you are affected. These books were high speed action from beginning to end. No one is safe and man, those zombies are freaking terrifying. I am still reeling from the ending.

7. Sister by Rosamund Lupton - A mystery about a woman trying to locate her missing sister. The ending of this book had a huge twist and it still gives me chills to think about it.

8. Alice by Christina Henry - This is not the sweet story from childhood. No, this is dark and twisted. Believe me when I say you would not want to come upon the Caterpillar in a dark alley.

9. You by Caroline Kepnes - Undoubtedly, this was the creepiest one I have read this year. It tells the POV of a stalker, Joe, who will do anything to get his obsession, Beck. It will also make you think twice about every single social media post.

10. Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne - Does anyone else find identical twins just a little bit creepy. Okay, how about a story where one twin dies and then the surviving daughter starts saying they made a mistake when they identified the body of her sister? Yeah, this one is creepy and disturbing as hell. The ending was kind of insane.

What are some of your favorite scary books?

Let It Go!

Lately, I have been feeling some pressure. Just a note that this is pressure is 100% self-induced. But there have been some things that have been causing a knot in the pit of my stomach.

I need to take some advice from Frozen and let some stuff go.

1. The need to read every ARC before the publication date.

Yeah, not only do I feel the need to read them before the publication date, I feel the need to read them weeks before. And if I am a week or two late reading it, what is going to happen? Will the ARC police come knocking on my door?

2. The need to continuously request ARC after ARC.

Yeah, it’s like a point of pride with me. Now that my ARC# is at a manageable level, I feel the need to keep requesting them. Meanwhile, I have over a hundred books on my Kindle that I am DYING to read. I am on a NetGalley/Edelweiss timeout right now.

3. The need to buy all the books.

Sigh. Yep, over a hundred books on my Kindle and two dozen ARCs . . . of course buying more books makes perfect sense, right?

4. The need to buy all the books ON their publication date.

Do you know how pricey books are when they first come out? More than I want to spend. Now there are some books that I have no problem paying full price for so I can read it as soon as possible. (I’m talking to you, Winter).

But do I have to read every single book on my TBR as soon as they come out?

5. My stupid need to compete with other bloggers.

Yeah . . . again, this is ALL ME. But when another blogger gets approved for a popular ARC that I desperately wanted, I just compare myself to them. I have been doing that a lot lately and it needs to stop. Instead, I am going to be grateful for the ARCs that I have received because seriously . . . a few of them have become favorites (Black Iris by Leah Raeder and Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill, for instance)

***To go along with this, I really need to let go of the fact that Harper Collins apparently hates me. I get rejected for everything from them. Let it go!!!

 Are there things about blogging you need to let go? Do you compare yourself to other bloggers?

BOOK REVIEW: The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey

I received the ARC for The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date is November 3, 2015.

Allie is devastated when her older sister commits suicide--and not just because she misses her. Allie feels betrayed. The two made a pact that they'd always be together, in life, and in death, but Leah broke her promise and Allie needs to know why. Her parents hover. Her friends try to support her. And Nick, sweet Nick, keeps calling and flirting. Their sympathy only intensifies her grief. But the more she clings to Leah, the more secretes surface. Allie's not sure which is more distressing: discovering the truth behind her sister's death or facing her new reality without her. 

I am so glad that I decided not to judge a book by its cover. The premise of this book sounded great, but the cover is just boring. Luckily, I requested the book anyway and I am happy to say that I thought it was very well done.

Allie and Leah made a pact: they made a pact that if they ever decided to commit suicide, they would do it together. Allie is devastated when Leah kills herself. She desperately wants to know why and she also feels guilty. Allie thinks maybe she could have done something to stop her and she also feels like Leah betrayed her because she did it alone. This was such an interesting story. Allie was so messed up from grief and she was clearly torn between wishing she had gone with Leah and wishing she had stopped her sister from committing suicide. As with most stories about suicide, the people who are left behind are desperate for answers. Allie does get some answers about what happened the night Leah committed suicide, but she also has to struggle with the fact that no one could have stopped Leah. 

Because of Leah's death, Allie turns to numbing herself with pills, alcohol and even cough medicines. Allie gives us little bits and pieces of her history with Leah throughout the book and it seems like Leah took pills and drugs way more than Allie did. Actually, Allie got made fun of because she hadn't even tried weed (or had sex, but that's another story). So I think Allie experimented a little, but didn't really use seriously until after Leah's death. Leah died of an overdose of pills and wine, so the last thing Allie needs is to take pills. But Allie is also an artist and she is having kind of a painter's block. I lost count of all the people who offered Allie pills . . . even her own mother. It seems like there were very few people in Allie's life to get her serious help. She was crying out for it. 

Speaking of awful parents, Allie's were a joke. Her mom takes a lot of Xanax and Valium and spends most of her time high on some kind of pill combination. Meanwhile, her dad left the family months before for a new woman and as far as I could tell, he only showed up when there was an emergency. God, I hated him. All he did whenever there was an emergency was yell and bully. Allie spent most of the book grieving by herself and taking care of herself. I can see why she was hurting so much, especially when there was no one around to see how much of a downward spiral she was on.

Okay, let's talk about all the guys. There was Nick, who was kind of a bland, judgy character and then there was Max, who was a huge jerk. Allie and Max almost hooked up, but she wasn't ready for sex so he got bored and she got laughed at by her sister and her best friend. Ugh, I hate that. And despite the fact that Max goes from girl to girl, she still has a thing for him. This whole kind of love triangle, but kind of not thing bugged me at first, but maybe that's because it reminded me too much of high school. In high school, there is a lot of pressure to have sex and girls often like guys that are no good. Add a drug problem and a sister's suicide and it makes it even worse. 

I think the main thing I didn't like about this book was that the ending seemed to forced. I just think certain things came too easily and wrapped up too neatly in the end.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!

BOOK REVIEW: Cam Girl by Leah Raeder

I received the ARC of Cam Girl by Leah Raeder from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. 

Vada Bergen is broke, the black sheep of her family, and moving a thousand miles away from home for grad school. Ellis and Vada have a friendship so consuming it’s hard to tell where one girl ends and the other begins. It’s intense. It’s a little codependent. And nothing can tear them apart. Until an accident on an icy winter road changes everything. Vada is left deeply scarred, both emotionally and physically. Her once-promising art career is cut short. So when she meets some smooth-talking entrepreneurs who offer to set her up as a cam girl, she can’t say no. All Vada has to do is spend a couple hours each night stripping on webcam, and the “tips” come pouring in. It’s just a kinky escape from reality until a client gets serious. “Blue” is mysterious, alluring, and more interested in Vada’s life than her body. But the steamier it gets, the more she craves the real man behind the keyboard. Now Vada must confront what she’s been running from. A past full of devastating secrets—those of others and those she’s been keeping from herself.

Leah Raeder has this amazing ability to create characters that aren't very likable, but you still care about them. That's kind of how I feel about Vada. From the beginning, I found it hard to like her or understand her. She pushed every single person in her life out of it. But I kind of understood where she was coming from. I have to say that I probably would have acted very similar to Vada in her situation. Maybe that's why I still found it easy to care about her and what happens to her.

Vada and her best friend/sometimes lover Ellis are in a horrible car accident. Vada is driving and a car rear ended them, killing the other person in the car. Despite the fact that the police ruled it an accident. Vada and Ellis are both still racked with guilt. Vada is devastated because her arm was badly hurt in the accident and she is an artist. I felt her devastation so clearly at the fact that she couldn't do what made her happy and complete. She had this way of imagining how she would draw everyone in her head and her vivid imagery was so poignant that I was as devastated as Vada that she couldn't physically create those images herself.

On top of all that, Vada is struggling with her sexuality. She is attracted to both guys and girls, but she is undoubtedly in love with her best friend, Ellis. Vada is Puerto Rican and that added a layer of depth to her confusion. Because of her conservative culture, she didn't want to admit to anyone that she was in love with a girl. She refused to tell anyone just how important Ellis was to her. This felt like such a real struggle for me. The way Vada explains it is that she always had this idea in her head of who she was supposed to end up with. And yes, this idea of a wedding to a man and beautiful children was influenced by her culture and her mother. But that doesn't make the idea (or her confusion) any less real. Vada thought that even though she was attracted to girls, she would always end up with a guy. How many of us can relate to this? Vada needed to realize that maybe her life would turn out differently from this idea she grew up with and that would be okay. Her journey to realize this was filled with pain and so much anger.

Vada pushes Ellis away and they end up living separate lives for a while. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I liked Vada and Ellis together at first. Their relationship struck me as extremely codependent and it seemed like they hurt each other more than they loved each other. It turns out that Ellis is keeping a secret too and once I understood this, I understood Ellis's motivations a little better as well. When Vada works as a cam girl, it made perfect sense for her character. Working as a cam girl allow her to keep everyone at arm's length. She has these sexual connections with strangers online and whenever anyone tries to make a connection in real life, she again just pushes everyone away. It was so incredibly frustrating. Her push and pull relationship with Ellis just made me want to shake both of them and it gets even worse when Vada meets "Blue." Blue is a client online who pays her to perform for him and no one else. The problem is that she starts falling for him. I can certainly see why because Blue is sexy and mysterious and seems to understand her in ways that not many people do. The problem is that because he is a stranger, she opened up to him in ways she never did with Ellis. She told him everything about herself. I was equal parts excited and terrified because she was taking personal risks with someone she knew nothing about. And she kept pushing Ellis (a REAL person) away for the thought of an imaginary person online. I do have to say also that the reveal of Blue's identity was a bit disappointing. I just did not want Blue to be who it ended up being . . . if that makes any sense.

Vada also starts getting close to Max, the father of the man who died the night of the crash. They become something like friends, but not really. It's more like they both lost something that night and they talk to the one other person who can possibly understand it. It is evident from the beginning that Vada is hiding something related to the crash. Ellis was drunk so she doesn't remember much and Vada wants to keep it that way. At some point, Max starts digging around too. I had a hard time understanding Max. He said that he didn't blame Vada for the crash, that it was an accident, but then he starts digging around in the details and also digging in Ellis and Vada's lives. That should have been a red flag for Vada, but she was a glutton for punishment (obviously).

There was one issue I had with the book, other than the identity of who Blue was. First, the pacing towards the second half of the book was a bit slow. There were two mysteries: the mystery of who Blue was and the mystery of what really happened the night of the accident. And in the middle of this was Vada's confusion about her sexuality. But there was a part of the book where it dragged so much because there was no focus on the mysteries and no real focus to Vada's confusion. For the longest time, it was about Ellis and Vada trying to repair their relationship. And yeah, I get that. I really do. The problem was that nothing was happening. It was several chapters of Vada and Ellis having dinner together and reconnecting. Sorry, but as important as this part may have been, it was just a bit boring.

The bottom line is that while the pacing may have been a little off in certain parts, Leah Raeder still creates a story with incredible three dimensional characters and a plot that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!

BOOK REVIEW: How To Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras

I received the ARC for How To Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date is November 3, 2015.

Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.

I am so glad this was once again a case of the story being way better than the boring cover. But my first complaint is about the cover. In the book. Georgia describes herself as overweight. She says she is a size 16. I don't know who the girl on the cover is, but she is no size 16. 

So Georgia is still grieving for her mother. Her mother was very overweight and had heart problems and diabetes, which both led to her death. Before she died, Georgia's mother gave her a letter in which she told her to be brave and live her life. So Georgia decides to create a list, kind of a bucket list. It has things on it like tribal dancing, learn how to flambé, go skinny dipping, and try pot, among others. She does these things with her best friend Liss, who is kind of awesome. A big portion of this book was kind of refreshing in a way, just because it was so positive. It was light and funny and you wouldn't expect that from a book about a girl whose mother just died. Georgia had this wonderful attitude where she tried to think positive thoughts every day. And they were little ones, like when a bus driver told her she had a nice smile. And it was funny when she was doing all these things she never did, like when she cut class and tried pot in the same day. Or when they went skinny dipping in a pool at an apartment building and got caught by a security guard. There was a little romance, but it wasn't a main plot of the book. Georgia has a major crush on a guy in her art class, Daniel. Two of the items on her bucket list do involve him: asking him out and kissing him. The relationship part was kind of sweet. It takes guts to ask a guy out and I admire her for doing it. 

It isn't all fun and games though. Georgia is still grieving and soon uses pot as a way to avoid dealing with her grief. And she starts cutting class a lot. But she's a senior so apparently none of her teacher really noticed that she was skipping class at least once a week. No one except her art teacher anyway. And her father is pretty absent, which I hated. He is very conservative and he's Greek and he pretty much spends all his time at the restaurant he owns. Then when she does need him or he FINALLY realizes how much school she has cut, he just yells at her and tells her she needs to be more aware of what people think. Umm, okay. 

One thing I didn't like about this book was that there was a lot of body shaming from Georgia herself. As far as I could see, no one really made her feel bad about her weight. As someone who has struggled with weight, I understand that those mean girl voices in your head can be way worse than what people say in person. But Georgia did talk a LOT about other people's weights. She did a lot of skinny shaming and she even criticized an overweight girl who tried out on the cheerleading squad. Georgia tried out too, but this other girl made it and she didn't. Georgia actually said that she doesn't understand "because she is fatter than me." I hated that statement so, so much.

Overall, this is a very sweet book about positivity and grief and living the best life you can even when you do get hurt.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!

Top Ten Tuesday - European Library Wish List

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They feature a different top ten list every week. For this week's topic, I will list the top ten libraries of the world that I would love to visit. These are all on my bucket list!

1. Admont Abbey Library in Admont, Austria

2. Old Library in Trinity College, Dublin

3. Austrian National Library in Hofburg Palace, Vienna (I have been to Vienna once, but was not able to make it to the palace. Planning another trip to Vienna next year and this one will be on the itinerary for sure!)

4. Baroque Library Hall in Clementinum, Prague (planning a trip to Prague for Thanksgiving . . . this is going on the itinerary!)

5. Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen

6.  Rijkmuseum Library, Amsterdam

7. Strahov Monastery Library, Prague

8. Abbey Library of Saint Gall, Switzerland

9. Bodleian Library, Oxford

10. France National Library, Paris

Is there a library on this list that you have seen? Which one would you most want to visit?