The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

True Grit meets The Road in this post-apocalyptic psychological thriller--narrated by a young girl who has just learned that her adopted father may be a serial killer, and that she may be his next victim.

In the remote wilds of a ravaged land, Elka has been raised by a man who isn't her father. Since finding her wandering in the woods when she was seven, he has taught her how to hunt, shoot, set snares and start fires--everything she needs to survive. All she knows of the world outside is gleaned from whispers of a cataclysmic event that turned the clock back on civilization by a hundred and fifty years and reduced governments and technology to shambles, leaving men at the mercy of the elements--and each other. 

Everything changes when Elka learns that the man she has been calling father is harboring a terrible secret. Armed with nothing but her knife and her wiles, she decides to escape his clutches and sets out on a long journey to the frozen north in the hope of finding her long-lost parents. 

But as the trail of blood and bodies grows in her path, Elka realizes that daddy won't be letting his little girl go without a fight. If she's going to survive, she'll have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about what he's turned her into.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I bought this book because it was suggested to me by Audible based on my previous books listened to. Now, these suggestions are usually hit or miss. Often as not, it's a miss. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised this time!I started listening to it on my way to work one morning and had to drag myself out of the car. I sat in the car listening to the book until the very last minute for me to get inside the school on time. It was that good from the start!! The next day I listened to it, Amber was in the car with me. She told me I couldn't listen to it if she wasn't in the car too. She had gotten hooked. Needless to say, it played in my car every time the two of us were together and both of us would come up with reasons to go somewhere in the car. It was THAT GOOD!The book is set in post apocalyptic what sounds like British Columbia because she keeps calling it "The BC". Elka is lost in the woods as a child and is found by a man she calls Trapper. Trapper takes her in and raises her as his child. He's not exactly loving to her but he does seem to care about her. He teaches her to survive in the wild (something that will prove to be helpful later on) and to always be on her guard around strangers. When she is older, she finds out that Trapper is not the man she thought he was. Now, she's on her own, trying to survive in the wild and Trapper is looking for her. And it's not because he wants to bring her back home safe and sound.... She decides to go North to search for her parents who left her as a toddler so they could go make their fortune in the Yukon. The people she meets, both good and bad, make an impact on Elka and change her in ways she never could have imagined.  I was late to work a couple of days just because I had to find out what would happen next. It kept me (and Amber) enthralled the entire time we listened to it. Never once was I tempted to fast forward or skip over parts.  This was an AWESOME book and I plan on buying it in actual book format to give to my dad. I give this book 5/5 stars~Laurie

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.








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I'm so conflicted. I love all things HP so I had such high hopes. I ignored all the hype and went in expecting nothing. But, I really, really wanted to love this book. I've missed my friends and wanted to be with them again. Sigh...

I have no problems with reading play format so that wasn't the problem. It just wasn't the characters we used to know and still love. I know, I know, they're grown now. But again, that wasn't even the problem. I honestly couldn't tell you exactly what wasn't right for me. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. BUT....I did love Draco and I adored Scorpius. Scorpius was by far my favorite character. He felt the most real to me. Harry's child Albus just irritated me -very whiny most of the time. I loved seeing some of the characters we've lost even if it were only through flashbacks or paintings. So there were some really good parts. I guess the good and bad parts kind of balanced each other out to equal the 3 stars.

I would totally go see this play if it ever comes to Atlanta. I've heard it's quite good as the actual play. But, I will say, don't go into this expecting it to be JK Rowling's world. Accept it as what it reads like - fan fiction. Give Draco a chance to be who he has become, ignore most of Ron's role, and embrace Scorpius as the great kid he tries to be. 

3/5 stars~Laurie

Long time no see! Or write...Or read...

Let me start off by saying sorry that it's been so long since either of us have posted. Let me just say that things have been really crazy. Like REALLY crazy. I'm not going to go into anything but everything should be calming down now. Amber is getting ready to start college in the Spring (and just started a job at Publix!!), I just completed coursework to get my ESOL endorsement so everything should be calmed down for a while.

Chris and I took a two week vacation to Surfside Beach, SC to celebrate our 25th anniversary a little early and surprisingly, I didn't read a single books the entire time we were there.  I took 5 books with me and didn't even open one until our last full day there. I know, I should be ashamed but I'm not. The weather was gorgeous and we stayed outside and enjoyed being childless for a change.  Now that we're home, the school year has started and I'm actually reading more.

All this is to say, yes, we're still here. I'll have some reviews posted by the end of this coming week and hopefully I'll be able to get Amber to post some reviews on one of her days off. Be on the lookout for new posts soon!

~~~ Laurie

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.~Goodreads



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I had heard so many good things about this book that I just couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately for me, I had listened to all the hype and was expecting some miraculous. That would change my life forever. Meh. Not so much. I realize I am in the minority since I didn't fall in love with this book. But, we started this blog with the intentions of always being honest and I intend to do just that.  To be totally honest, I couldn't even finish the book. This is saying something as I am one of those people who will slog through a book no matter how terrible it is, in the hopes that it will improve.  I didn't care about the characters, it was all just too whiny and "poor, poor Jude" the whole time. I get that Jude had a terrible past but maybe if there was more attention to the other characters, I would have liked it more. It just depressed me and left me with no interest in continuing reading. I can't give it any stars as I didn't finish but I will say 2/5 for the half I did manage to read.

As I said, this is my own opinion and the vast majority of people who read it, loved it. Read some of the other reviews on Goodreads and if you read it (or have already read it), drop me a note here in the comments and let me know what you thought of it. I'm fine with dissenting opinions, just please no hate mail.lol~Laurie

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The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey

I'm doing something a little different in this post. I just recently read the first two books in The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey.  I thought rather than make two separate posts, I would just combine the two. Let me know what you think of this or would you rather I keep the books in a separate post next time I do a series review.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.~Goodreads



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Let me start by saying, I had a hard time getting into this book. It started out kind of slow. Give it a chance. Once you get past the first chapter or so (basically once they leave civilazation), the story really picks up.  

Okay, so on to the review. Aliens have landed on Earth. At first everyone is still pretty optimistic. Maybe the aliens are good aliens like in Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Yeah, not so much. Rather than me rewrite it, let me quote the blurb here again, "After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one."  The 1st wave- all energy sources no longer work. The 2nd wave- A massive tsunami that wipes out all the coastal cities/towns in the world. The 3rd wave- A plague that wipes out most of the people left. Made worse because it's spread by birds. The 4th Wave- A group of aliens called "Silencers". The Silencers job is to kill anyone who is human. You can't tell them apart from a normal human, that's where the "Trust No One" comes from.  I'm not going to tell you what the 5th wave is. You're really going to have to read it to find out about that wave. If I told you it, it would be giving away too much.

The main characters are a girl named Cassie, her crush Ben, her little brother Sammy, and a gorgeous guy she meets named Evan. Most of the book is spent looking for her brother once he is taken from her (are they good guys or the Others that took him?!?!). Just as she's about to give up, she meets Evan who gives her hope for the future (but how has he survived so long by himself? Is he a good guy? Can she trust him?). There is so much action in this book, it really keeps you attention. And the question of who is good and can be trusted is always there making you second guess everything you thought you knew about the characters. 

This book was AWESOME. I didn't put it down for about 3 days. It was one of those books you think about when everyday life is getting in the way of your reading it. I honestly couldn't wait to pick it back up and even had dreams about it. I give this book 4.5/5 stars (the half is because of the first chapter or so).~ Laurie

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate. ~Goodreads

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Wow. I thought there was a lot of action in the first book in this series. Man, was I ever wrong. This book starts off running and rarely slows down. 

We've got more characters in this book. Well, most were introduced towards the end of the first book but they really develop more and we learn their back stories in this book. Great, we learn more about the characters, therefore we grow to care about them (Which always sucks in distopian books. It's never a good sign when you start to love one of the characters). Thankfully, Cassie and Sam are back together but things are not the same between them. So much has happened to each of them, they're not the same people. Ben is with them also. Does she act on her crush on Ben or does she follow her heart and wait for Evan? Can she trust either of them? 

This book is mostly the group of survivors against the Others. With only a few guns and their wits to fight the Others. How can the survivors continue to survive? Did Evan survive the fight at the end of The 5th Wave?  I loved this book and give it 5/5 stars.~Laurie


I totally reccommend both of the current books in this series. There is another book in the series, The Last Star, it has a  release date of May 24, 2016.  I cannot wait for it!

The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates

Could you survive a week in a haunted house? 
Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums and talk of ghostly presences. 
When Mara finally left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition or false religion into her life again. Now she’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts. 

But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet. 

Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, children’s handprints appear on the windows, and cold spots appear in the basement where the house’s original owner was murdered. But Blackwood was dirt-cheap and came with a large plot of overgrown land. Mara loves her new home, and disregards the warnings. Because ghosts aren’t real… 

…are they?~ Goodreads

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Okay, y'all all know I love ghosty/haunted house books. I really, really wanted to love this one. Don't get me wrong, I didn't NOT like this book, I just think it could have been better.  The book started out pretty good.  Mara grew up in a Spiritualist household and has totally cut herself off from her family. I had a hard time with this. What exactly was so terrible about being Spiritualists that she refuses to talk to her parents?  Just because you don't like or agree with someones beliefs you cut them out completely? SMH...  Oh, and back when Mara was younger, she was told that she was a Medium and could see/hear spirits.  So anyway...on to the present day. Mara has to move out of her apartment so she is on the lookout for a new place to live. The realtor tells her she has a house in her price range but she really doesn't think she would want it (Red Flag #1 Mara! ).  They go to look at the house and even before she goes in, Mara knows this is THE HOUSE (When does that ever mean a good thing in a scary book!?).  Turns out...a serial killer killed like, a ton of people (okay maybe 8 or 9? But still!!) in the house.  Does this keep her from wanting the house? Nope (becuase people are usually idiots in these kinds of books. Seriously? Would you buy a house that a serial killer actually killed people in? Reminds me of the dumbasses who bought Fox Hollow Farm.).  So to skip over some things that happen, turns out, the house is haunted. The rest of the book deals with Mara and the hauntings,  Does she leave? Does she stay and try to contact the spirits since she was once told she was a medium? Who are the ghosts anyway? 

I'm not going to tell you any more about it since it would spoil the book for anyone who wants to read it. If you can suspend your belief enough, it's a quick, kind of enjoyable read. I give it 3/5 stars. ~ Laurie

New Release--- Uprooting Ernie by Pamela Burford

Death Diva Jane is simply going about her business, which in this case requires her to empty a three-liter spigot box of cheap rosé on a grave, when she and her furry sidekick Sexy Beast make a grisly discovery in the town cemetery. 

The victim was murdered three decades ago, but memories are fresh and old grievances fresher as facts come to light and fingers start pointing. Naturally Jane must investigate. Well, what would you do if one of your best pals turned out to be Suspect Numero Uno? 

Meanwhile, between her amorous ex and a sexy bad boy who keeps popping up in the most distracting way—not to mention the (creepy? bizarre? pathetic?) guys she’s meeting through a dog lovers' dating site—her love life has never been so (creepy? bizarre? pathetic?) … interesting. 

Author- Pamela Burford

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Review to come soon!

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

                     

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm, she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

-Goodreads

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This was the third book I read for the read a thon.  I'm kind of disappointed I didn't read more but I keep forgetting I have to feed my family and keep the house decent.  As much as I love to read, adulting takes precedence.  I started this book after supper and finished it before I finally went to bed. There was no way I was putting this book down until I finished it. It was that good.  This book begins with the telling of a fairy tale. A Russian fairy tale about a childless couple who want nothing more in life to be parents. So great is their desire, they build a little girl out of snow and she becomes real. I have always loved fairy tales and had them read to me for as long as I can remember. This book beautifully took the premise of the tale and made it its own. Set in 1920s Alaska, the author perfectly described the people and the hardships they faced. I grew to love the characters so much. I cried for and with them. Their joys and pain were felt by me almost as if I was a character in the book. This book will be added to my favorites shelf and I will be buying it in hardback to keep. I give this book 5/5 stars. ~Laurie

Endless Possibilities Read-a-thon ~June 4-6

The Heir by Kiera Cass is the first book I've finished for the read a thon. Having read what I thought was The Selection radiology, I was ecstatic when I heard a book was coming out centering on their daughter. O.M.G. I dove into it and stayed up all night reading it. I was totally invested in Eadlyn's story and the boys that were in her Selection. I absolutely loved it but was so disappointed with the ending!!  How could it end like that!?! I can't wait a tear to find out who she picks!! You know I'll be pre-ordering the sequel. I give this book 4.5/5 stars but only because I hate cliffhangers.~Laurie

There is a reason fairy tales end when they do ... because happily ever after is just the beginning of real life.

Once upon a time in the quaint, forgotten coastal town of Joyce, Washington Emmy Burns existed in the middle of an inconsequential life that resembled a small-town fairy tale; days filled with caring for her daughter Avery, running her small but thriving pottery store, married to the only man she had ever loved.  But all of that changed when the fog rolled out one beautiful morning, leaving emptiness where Emmy had stood only the day before. She had seemingly and without a sound vanished into the thick misty air of the Pacific Northwest, taking with her a lifetime of secrets.

In the aftermath Stephen Burns is content telling the police his wife must have simply chosen to walk away from him and their daughter. But Sidney Ruth, Emmy's closest friend, knows the truth. Sidney is the one person who had watched as the vines grew around the dark forest that was the Burn's marriage trapping Emmy inside and keeping everyone who loved her out.

Years of abuse has led to this moment. As the days unfurl so do the secrets Emmy kept walled away, leaving the people of Joyce wondering: What really happened to Emmy Burns in her happily ever after?

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This book was  not what I expected. I admit, I picked it based on the cover.lol  But it turned out to be pretty good.  Avery learns that her best friend, Emmy, has disappeared.  Even though they had a falling out 2 years ago, she drops everything to go help find her. This book had me trying to figure out what happened to Emmy and it was a great mystery. I totally didn't see the ending coming.  I give this book 4/5 stars.
~Laurie

BOOK TOUR --- Molly Lee by Andrew Joyce

Title: Molly Lee
Author: Andrew Joyce
Publication Date: March, 29, 2015
Purchase Links: Amazon ~Goodreads ~ B&N ~ iTunes ~Kobo
Genre: Literature

It’s 1861 and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them—a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn—ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice. We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six.

Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her. Molly Lee is the story of a woman who knows what she wants and starts out to get it. Molly is about to set off on the quest of a lifetime . . . of two lifetimes.

Author Bio:

Andrew Joyce's MOLLY LEE is the sequel to his best-selling novel REDEMPTION: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Andrew Joyce lives on a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his dog Danny.



     

Author Links:

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

 

This tour was hosted by Good Tales Book Tours.

I received this book in return for my honest review.

Confederate soldiers Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (yes, that Tom and Huck) desert their army unit and find shelter at the farm of some homesteaders in Virginia, while there, they save their hosts from some Yankee foragers and, more specifically, the farmer's daughter Molly Lee from rape. Molly immediately falls in love with Huck and persuades him to take her with them when they leave. But Huck and Tom depart before dawn, leaving Molly heartbroken.  Molly, not being one to just give up, decides she’s going after Huck. No matter what, she’s going to get her man.

The main character, Molly Lee, is awesome! She is a strong willed woman who stands up for herself.  Something not very common back in the 1860s when women were supposed to just look pretty and do as they are told. Molly gets into just about every form of trouble you can think of but manages to get through it all. There is so much action and adventure in this book.  I listened to it in the car on my way to and from work, I read it in the tub at night and stayed up way too late reading it.  I had the hardest time putting it down.  I just had to know what was going to happen next.  Andrew Joyce is writing a sequel called "Huck and Molly" and I can't wait for it to come out! 

This book will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys western movies or the old “dime novel” style of book. I wholeheartedly recommend it! I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

~Laurie

Thoughts on editing: Guest Post by Andrew Joyce

 My name is Andrew Joyce, and I write books. I have no day job; my books sell well enough to keep body and soul together (barely). The same for my dog. I mean the royalties from my sales help keep his body and soul together also, not that he writes books. He only writes short stories, but hasn’t sold any as of yet.

When I’m in the editing process, I have two friends who read my stuff and they put a lot of effort into making suggestions and pointing out to me that I don’t know where to place commas and other punctuation errors that I continuously make. They also give me suggestions on how to better state a sentence or to eliminate one altogether. My point is that the more eyes that read my manuscript, the better. Because each set of eyes will see it from a different perspective and each will see things that the other has missed, myself included. Make no mistake about it. Writers cannot edit their own work.

Steinbeck, Baldacci, the greatest writers in the world all depend on editors. And you see it time and time again when the first person they thank in their books is their editor. It’s tempting to throw my stories out there right away. I want people to read my genius. However, now that I’m in my dotage, I’ve calmed down. I will not publish a book until I’ve read it through at least fifteen times, and my editors, at least half that number.

 On my last book, I worked on the editing an average of eight hours a day, seven days a week for four months straight. After I sent it off, one of my editors came back with another correction. I fired her on the spot! Just kidding, I don’t pay her anyway. And I always read the last draft myself before sending it off to my agent. Notice, I’m referring only to my books. My blog is still a mess because I HATE TO EDIT!

FREE TO BE ME Blog Hop

 We were told to choose a book that represents ourselves.   

 It may sound a little weird but the book I chose was, 

"A Dog's Purpose" by W. Bruce Cameron.

  This is one of the BEST books I have ever read.  I very rarely give books 5/5 stars but I would give this book more stars if I  could. This book is the story of a dog who goes through many different reincarnations while trying to find out what is his purpose in life.  Each chapter is a different reincarnation. Some of the chapters are funny and others will break your heart. It really made me think about how we treat our pets and whether they are sentient beings with a soul. I've always felt that pets know and understand a lot more than we give them credit for.

Anybody that knows me will tell you I love animals (except opossums but that's another story for another time).  I especially have an affinity for dogs.  I know a lot of people say their dog is their child.  When I would hear someone say that, I'm ashamed to say that I would laugh to myself and say, "That's because they don't have real children."  That all changed when a fuzzy brown puppy came into my life and honestly, saved it. 

 I was going through a  deep depression but as soon as I picked him up and he put his paws around my neck, I knew I was going to be okay. I've had some good dogs in my life but nothing like Newton.  He has never growled at a person, he lets little kids love all over him and wants to play with every dog he meets. Heck, he's never met anybody he didn't like.  He was put on the Earth to love and to be loved.  He can't stand for any of us to cry. If he sees one of his family sad, he'll come up and give you kisses until you smile.  If you're sick, he'll lay in bed with you and won't leave unless you get up.  He's starting to get gray muzzled and would rather sleep than anything else but, he still stops and wants to love every person we meet as we take our walks down to potty.  I will never have another dog like him and I know for a fact that my dog's purpose in life was to show me how to love unconditionally.  He is truly a member of our family and is totally one of my children.  If I could love others even half as much as he does, I will know I've had a life well lived. ~ Laurie

 

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the blog hop!

https://lauriestarkey.wordpress.com/blog/

http://wackymommareads.blogspot.com

https://bookandbastille.wordpress.com/

https://gloriouspanic.wordpress.com/

http://lexicalcreations.weebly.com/jens-blog

http://www.mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/

http://booksandfath.blogspot.com/

http://matinasbookcase.com

http://sarasbooksandthings.blogspot.com/

http://dcttr.blogspot.com/

http://anovelkindofbliss.blogspot.com

http://lovelyparanormalbooks.blogspot.co.nz

http://thenorthernwitchbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

http://onceuponawish.weebly.com

http://2kasmom.Booklikes.com

http://britishbookwormblog.com

http://snoopydoosbookreviews.com/

 Organized by Good Tales Book Tours

Endless Possibilities Read-A-Thon TBR List

Gone- Michael Grant

The Heir- Kiera Cass

The 5th Wave- Rick Yancey

Archer Voice- Mia Sheridan

In the After-
Ashley Mackler Parrernostro
  

The Snow Child- Eowyn Ivey

Organized by Good Tales Book Tours

  

Locks: Rapunzel Unhinged by Sarah J. Pepper

Locks: Rapunzel Unhinged by Sarah J. Pepper

I received this book from the author for my honest review. 

Rapunzel isn't the stereotypical Damsel in Distress. Her Bad-Boy Prince Charming is a renowned mercenary, and their Happy Ending Plays out like a bad movie. However, she is determined to breakout from her tower prison-love be damned- and do it in a fabulous pair of heels. Gunned down by the Mercenary, the deadliest assassin in The Badass Archives, isn't exactly Rapunzel's end-game. Falling for him isn't either, but his Rated R demeanor is strangely Charming. Even though most girls wouldn't fall for their captors, Rapunzel isn't like most dames. Her major girl-boner for the Mercenary is so pathetic it verges on cliche. Yet, in spite of his appeal, Rapunzel must escape before she's locked away in the Chateau de Immortelle's highest tower forever.~Goodreads

When I first heard about this book, all I heard were great reviews and how much everyone loved it. However, I don't think it lived up to all the hype that I was hearing. While it had a great plot and story line, there were also parts that were hard to keep up with. There were so many characters that I had a hard time remembering whose side they were all on.

I loved how Rapunzel didn't crack when Taryn's would break her bones over and over. Rapunzel would rather die than be held prisoner. But when it comes to those she loves, she would go through any amount of pain to keep them safe.

I give this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars. 

~Amber

Untethered by Katie Hayoz

A young adult novel about jealousy and obsession.

Sixteen-year-old Sylvie isn’t comfortable in her own skin. In fact, there are times she can’t even manage to stay inside it. But if there is one thing she’s sure of, it’s her love for Kevin Phillips. She’s willing to stake everything on it -- her family, her friends, and possibly her soul.

Junior year is off to a less than stellar start for Sylvie: Her parents are splitting up, her little brother is sitting at her lunch table, and she’s the target of the school bully. Plus, she accidentally astral projects, slipping out of her body again and again at all the worst times. Sylvie is cast as the class freak and a medical misfit. She wishes she were somewhere else. Someone else. But it's only when her best friend catches the attention of the boy Sylvie's loved in secret since the fifth grade that Sylvie makes up her mind to do something drastic.

Sylvie intends to get Kevin by any means possible -- even if it involves treachery, deceit, and the insidious side of the paranormal. After years of trying to ignore her ability to astral project, Sylvie finally decides to embrace it. But she also decides to embrace the shadows that accompany her on her out-of-body experiences. Opening herself up to the shadows and their evil, Sylvie comes up with a dark plan. She is positive her scheme will give her what she wants, but she doesn’t count on it all spiraling out of control.

Untethered by Katie Hayoz explores the intoxicating and dangerous world of jealousy and obsession when coupled with paranormal ability. It is a touching, sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking novel that speaks to the self-doubt lurking in us all.

I received this book from The Books Machine in return for my honest review.


I must admit, I was drawn to this book by it's cover. It is beautiful! I'm wavering between 3 & 4 stars here. I thought the premise was really good but was a little disappointed in the actual book. Maybe it's because I'm no where near a young adult anymore. I still enjoy YA novels but this just kind if fell flat for me. I loved the character of Cassie but really didn't like Sylvie. I tried to like her. I really did. Her attitude had a lot to be desired. All in all, it was an ok book.  There was enough action in it to keep your attention as long as you don't let the character of Sylvie irritate you to the point of quitting. I give this 3.5/5 stars (mostly because of Cassie).
~Laurie

The Tusk that did the Damage by by Tania James

From the critically acclaimed author of Atlas of Unknowns and Aerogrammes, a tour de force set in South India that plumbs the moral complexities of the ivory trade through the eyes of a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and, in a feat of audacious imagination, an infamous elephant known as the Gravedigger.

Orphaned by poachers as a calf and sold into a life of labor and exhibition, the Gravedigger breaks free of his chains and begins terrorizing the countryside, earning his name from the humans he kills and then tenderly buries. Manu, the studious younger son of a rice farmer, loses his cousin to the Gravedigger’s violence and is drawn, with his wayward brother Jayan, into the sordid, alluring world of poaching. Emma is a young American working on a documentary with her college best friend, who witnesses the porous boundary between conservation and corruption and finds herself in her own moral gray area: a risky affair with the veterinarian who is the film’s subject. As the novel hurtles toward its tragic climax, these three story lines fuse into a wrenching meditation on love and betrayal, duty and loyalty, and the vexed relationship between man and nature.

With lyricism and suspense, Tania James animates the rural landscapes where Western idealism clashes with local reality; where a farmer’s livelihood can be destroyed by a rampaging elephant; where men are driven to poaching. In James’ arrestingly beautiful prose, The Tusk That Did the Damage blends the mythical and the political to tell a wholly original, utterly contemporary story about the majestic animal, both god and menace, that has mesmerized us for centuries.~ Amazon

Oh.My.Gosh.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved this book. I love animals and am a huge supporter of protecting endangered species so I hold this book close to my heart.  The story is told from three points of view (I know I said earlier that I don't enjoy books that jump around from person to person but this one was totally different that usual!). It was different because not only did it give the point of view of the documentarian and the poacher, it told the story from the elephant's point of view.

I was seriously surprised to find that I was more invested in the poachers story than I was the documentarian's story. You would think I would go for the "good guy" but her story didn't draw me in like Manu's. When you hear his story, (while I don't agree with his actions), you can't help but feel for him.

My very favorite part of the book is Gravedigger's (the elephant) side of the story. My heart broke for him from birth up until the end of the story. The story of all he went thorough in his life really explained how he became rogue later on.  I will never look at elephants in the zoo the same way again.

This was an incredible book that I read in one morning while sitting in the waiting room as my husband had surgery. It was intense enough to keep my mind off what was going on in the operating room and that was some feat. If you are interested in endangered animals or just looking for a book that will draw you in and keep you there, you must read this book. This is one I will read again and again. I give this book 5/5 stars.

~Laurie

Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

In Paris, family and friends gather to mourn the tragic passing of Charlie Price—young, handsome, charming, a world-traveler—who is presumed dead after an explosion. Authorities find only a bloodied jacket, ID’d as Charlie’s. At the funeral, two teens who are perfect strangers, Lena Whitney and Aubrey Boroughs, make another shocking discovery: they have both been dating Charlie, both think Charlie loved them and them alone, and there is a lot they didn’t know about their boyfriend. Over the next week, a mind-bending trip unfolds: first in London—then in Mumbai, Kerala, and Bangkok, the girls go in search of Charlie. Is he still alive? What did their love for him even mean? The truth is out there, but soon it becomes clear that the girls are harboring secrets of their own. 

No one knows whom to trust in this thrilling tale of suspense and deception.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

This is another YA book I picked up on Netgalley.  While I enjoyed this book, I kept having the nagging feeling I'd read it before. Or at least something very similar to it.  I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out to no avail.  Amber told me there is a Carrie Underwood song called "Two Black Cadillacs" that I may be thinking of. (Apparently it goes along the same lines as this book.)

This book is told from several different points of view.  You have Lena, Charlie's long time girlfriend. Then you have Aubrey, Charlie's girlfriend of 2 years and then of course, Charlie's view point.  Right away, I wasn't sold on the multiple view point aspect of the book. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping everybody straight and it's often hard to follow. This book did a better job of jumping around from person to person than a lot of other books I've read but I still had a hard time getting into the book.

Honestly, I had to force myself to finish it. It was an okay book but I really felt like the author was trying to hard to make the reader like the book. I liked it in the beginning but my interest started to wane after a while.  I think most typical teenage girls would enjoy it but I doubt if many other adults who read YA books would enjoy it. I give this book 2.5/5 stars.

~Laurie