Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

“Our lives are, like these woods, ever changing. Nothing is static. And so you cannot count on an easy, carefree life to always remain that way. Or a harsh existence to stay the same. Life can get better. Or life can always become worse. And then you die. Don't reflect on the negative. Think about all the positives in your life.”

What It Is

Britta's father, a bounty hunter for the king, recently died, and she (by way of a bunch of bull honky anti-lady laws *grumblegrumble*) is forced into a manhunt for her father's killer - Cohen, her father's former apprentice and her dearest (although secret) love. She eventually escapes the guards and (slight spoiler) reconnects with Cohen to find the TRUE murder. Britta and Cohen spend the majority of the novel traveling through the words hunting this person while collecting clues from various characters. This is a fantasy novel and is mostly an adventure story with suspenseful fights and tales of survival. Britta often speaks of the "channelers" from the neighboring country who have spiritual abilities, similar to witches, though their powers are specific to one of the four major elements. 

What I Loved

I feel I need to preface that this book was almost a DNF. I point this out because it I feel it speaks even more to the pace of this book. I read about 75 pages earlier in the month. I started the book moments after finishing Sawkill Girls, which was a great, albeit heavier and longer read. I was burnt out and just not feeling this book. I had to force myself to read, and I just wasn't into it. I stopped and read a couple other books for CYRM committee, and then this week, I decided to pick it up again. It's one of my three official TBR's of January, so I must read it. (I am making a requirement for myself amidst my CYRM commitment: I must read at least 3 of my personal books each month. These books are posted  via Instagram on or around the first of the month.)

All of that being said, once I picked it up again, I didn't want to stop! I was finally drawn in, and I really appreciated that the language was a wonderful mix of easy, quick reading but still beautifully and poetically written. The purest form of "short but sweet". I really liked this book, and I definitely want to read the next book in the series. I have all three and will definitely finish them all by March 5, when I see the author on her book tour. I have several books to read between now and then. My CRYM reads might take a minor backseat (maybe audiobook only?). OKAY! I'm diverting way too much.

This book was fun, fast paced, and just a little bit sexy, which I loved. I really liked the concept, the world, and how easy it is to read. If you're looking for a fun quick fantasy that isn't overwhelming with lore, this is a great choice.

What I Didn't Love

I didn't love their names. I appreciate creative fantasy names, and I just kept picturing Seth Cohen every time she mentioned her fella. "Britta" makes me think of this cute blond I worked with in college. I like more fun names, but that's just a preference.

I thought she did a great job creating her characters and telling her story. Once magic came into the picture, the descriptions got a little confusing. It might have been because I was trying to power through the book quickly. 

The ending. Everything was GREAT until the very last scene, but it was definitely a little literary ploy to get me to pick up to Ever the Brave, and dammit, it worked!

4/5 stars

Author -Erin Summerill
Published - 2016
Series - Class of Kingdoms
Genre - Fantasy
Format - Print
Pages - 392

Personal Reading Logs

The purpose of this book blog is somewhat two-fold.

1. I want to feature my Instagram posts and include reviews of some great books I've read throughout the year.

2. I want to track my progress as I read my way through potential nominees for the California Young Reader Medal as well as my personal reads.

Just this year I accepted a position on the California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) committee. This committee of around 12-15 people is made up of representatives from the major literacy-based associations in California. I have been involved in the California School Library Association for several years and have presented at the annual conference both last year and will again in the next couple of weeks at this year's conference. I have met many great librarians, and I am looking for more ways to get involved. I thought this would be a great way to sort of kill two birds with one stone - I can keep reading and reviewing and working on my reading goal AND stay involved and meet new people and have a real impact on the reading world of student readers in California. 

I knew this would mean a lot of reading, and more specifically, a lot of library book circulation as I don't want to buy 100+ books just to read them once, rate them, and move on. I asked for a new Kindle for Christmas, and my boyfriend got me a cute white one to get started right away. As soon as we got back from Christmas with family in Wisconsin (real snow in that picture there!), he and I walked to the public library, got our library cards, and I've already checked out and read two books. It's making this process so much easier.

I'm using a few different reading logs including both the Beat the Back List reading log developed by Novel Knight, and then I modified her template to create a personal log for books I read for work, CYRM, and others. This post is simply to explain the purpose of these logs. The links are in the menu above!

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

“Screw that book,” said Val. “It was written by men.” She held out her free hand to Marion.
“We’re rewriting it.”

What It Is

I'll start this section with the official review from the author that I found on GoodReads:
"This is a book about girls--girls loving girls, girls kissing girls, girls being friends with girls, girls helping girls. Girls who hunger, girls who rage. Girls who fight, girls who make mistakes, girls who dream and pine. It's also about magic and monsters, family secrets and soul-friends, moths and wild horses and the churning wild sea, and trampling the patriarchy. I hope you love it as much as I do." - Claire Legrand

Sawkill Girls is the story of three girls - Marion, Zoey, and Val. They live on Sawkill Rock, a secluded New England island that experiences a strange and unfortunate trend: for the past 150 years, a teen girl has disappeared every 10 years or so. Edging on horror, we learn a monster, a spiritual entity of sorts, inhabits the island and feeds on these girls, but he can only do so with the help of a host. Val's ancestors made a bargain with him many generations earlier, and now her family is cursed to carry the burden of doing his bidding. Zoey moved to Sawkill just a couple years ago with her father, who accepted a job as the chief of police. She's spunky and rebellious and cannot stand flawlessly beautiful Val. Val "stole" Zoey's best friend, Thora, just a few months before Thora became the next victim. Zoey is convinced Val is connected to the disappearance. When new girl Marion arrives with her older sister Charlotte, Zoey watches the same events unfold as Val latches herself to the lovely Charlotte, who as if on cue, goes missing shortly after. As more truth unfolds, the three girls each take on a role in this hunt for the evil creature, with the help of Zoey's ex-boyfriend Grayson and a few gifted white moths.

What I Loved

Two Major Things:

1. The language. Ohhh this was so beautifully written. It was practically poetic the way the author weaved figurative language throughout her writing. The descriptions of the supernatural occurrences were especially good. It didn't sound rushed, or wordy, or too literal. I felt I could picture the physical that they were seeing as well as the emotional they were feeling. It was very beautiful.

2. This is freaking Supernatural! I am a big fan of the Winchester brothers (#teamsam), and about halfway through this book I found I kept saying, this sort of sounds familiar. Why aren't these people calling in help for these disappearances? Then towards the end of the book, we actually encounter "hunters" and went WHOA! So, go with me on this one:
Often during a more standalone episode of Supernatural, I've found myself wondering what life was like before Sam and Dean showed up and what happened after they left. THIS BOOK is exactly that. It is the entire backstory, lore, characters, everything that occurred before the hunters showed up. It was just gory enough to be spooky and just supernatural enough to be, well, Supernatural. The best part here is that these girls didn't need two hot guys to wander through the Canadian woods and swoop in to save them. They did it themselves. Woot!

What I Didn't Love

It was a little long. I tried to read it too quickly and got distracted a lot and found myself wanting it to be over sooner, although I'm not sure what I would cut. I really do think it is a great story. I didn't exactly understand the significance of the horses, but maybe I just missed some details. I also thought maybe the townspeople were actually like brainwashed or something because I could not understand why national reinforcements weren't immediately brought in once girls started disappearing more rapidly. Some of those questions were answered later in the book, but for a "fantasy" story that is definitely set in our reality, some things were slightly unbelievable.

4/5 stars

Author - Claire Legrand

Published - 2018

Series - Standalone

Genre - Fantasy OR Horror (debatable), LGBTQ+

Format - Print

Pages - 450

Pasadena Public Library

I love discovering new bookish places! I thought it would be fun to take pictures for the blog and share some of the cool things I discover when I find a new library or bookstore!

Today, the fella and I went to the Pasadena Public Library in Pasadena, CA where we live. I'd been here once before for a tour with several other school librarians, but it's just so gorgeous that I had to take him here. We finally got library cards! Since I'll be doing so much reading this year for CYRM, I got a gorgeous Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas and a new library card to fill it with FREE eBooks from my local library!

Check out some pictures I took of this gorgeous building. (Note the handsome dude wearing a tank top in our lovely 65-degree January weather... I like him a lot)

For more historical information, visit the Pasadena Public Library website.

 

   

  

    

    

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

“Remember when they call you girl, they're trying to tell you something. They're trying to tell you that they're more than you, that the body you're in makes you less. But you know, and I know, that you're exactly what you need to be.”

What It Is

The first in the Seafire trilogy, Seafire falls in line with the several big pirate-themed YA books out this past year or two. The big difference here, though, is Caledonia Styx is the young captain a crew of bold young women who kick some serious pirate booty (Yep, I said it). After the treacherous Bullets kill her family aboard the Ghost, Cal and her second-in-command, Pisces rebuild the ship, christen it the Mors Navis, and take on an exhausting number of enemies and obstacles on their quest to take down the notorious Aric Athair and his Bullet clip, specifically Lir, the Bullet who told the others of her family's ship. Along the way, Cal's girls kidnap a Bullet sailor, and after deciding he doesn't have to die... yet... Cal and her best friend Pisces develop a trust and possibly respect for this sailor as he shows his true colors against his old boss and helps them track down their target. Lots of daring sword fights, really cool ship technology, and some of the best named characters I've seen, this one is the female-led adventure novel we've been waiting for.

What I Loved

As I said in my last review, I love a book that really shows the author dug deep and did her research. This one felt like it even went beyond that. Parker does such a seamless job of blending old concepts of pirate ships and epic sea battles with realistic and very advanced technology in this new realm. I had a hard time placing the true genre of this book, and I really think it could go either way. I actually land in the Sci-Fi camp since it's our world but set in the very distant future. GoodReads reviewers are standing firm in the Fantasy camp, though, so it sounds like we could really argue this one out. I loved the characters' names and the descriptions and really so much about it. With so many characters to choose from, it's easy to find who you relate to and what your job might have been on such a ship When you look at the quality of writing, I think we have a great rival for Sarah J. Maas. The figurative language and syntax create a beautifully written story without going overboard (pun, sorry) or sounding to flowery (another pun, but you have to read the book for that one).

What I Didn't Love

Similar to a few of the ACOTAR books, I thought this one was a bit long. A little side adventure or two could possibly be cut. I also started this book at the end of a loooong week with my "in-laws" (quotes are appropriate), and I had just read all of Lauren James's The Loneliest Girl in the Universe the day before, so it took me a long time to get into Seafire. I read about half of it sitting in the middle seat on a plane, so I had a hard time focusing above all that LACK OF ARMREST. I wasn't sure if I'd want to continue the series when the next book is released later this year, but once I hit the last 150 pages or so, I was totally hooked (pirate pun!). All in all, not my favorite, but an intense adventure and great girl power story to be sure.

3.5/5 stars

Author - Natalie C. Parker

Published - 2018

Series - Seafire #1

Genre - Science Fiction OR Fantasy (debatable)

Format - Print

Pages - 374

Beat the Backlist 2019

I've recently developed a very sudden and severe addiction to book hoarding. Admitting it is the first step, right? Not the best hobby to pick up when I'm trying to save money, but my collection is coming along nonetheless. I've purchased nice print copies of several books I've read via eBook or audiobook or through the library, but I've also grabbed several books that I've always wanted to read or books that I was just particularly drawn to.... with like, no plan to read them.

Enter the Beat the Backlist 2019 Challenge....

Link to all the info HERE

Novelknight.com is hosting an extremely organized and super fun challenge for 2019. You can check out her killer website for the details. I was inspired to create my own backlist of all of these books I've just never gotten around to. I'm also on a mini ban from buying books until I've made a considerable dent in the bookcase. (More arrived today ...... I have a problem.)

My backlist is posted here, or you can use the link at the top of the homepage, to follow along with my progress. Better yet, go sign up yourself, and we can all connect through GoodReads, Insta, etc. Plus, there's a Hogwarts challenge! Put a House on it, and I'm doing it.

All Beat the Backlist images AND that tracker that would make any Excel user literally swoon (I did) come from Novel Knight. 

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

If this book taught me anything it's this: Just because things are "the way they are," it doesn't mean it's the way they should be.

What It Is

The follow-up companion of sorts to the stellar award-winning The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (2017), this historical fiction novel follows Henry Montague's (Monty's) sister Felicity as she pursues a career as a female physician in the 18th century when men still didn't know what was good for them. She learns her dear childhood friend is marrying her literal professional idol, Dr. Alexander Platt, a man whose work she has practically memorized and worships. Along the way, she encounters Sim, a daring lady pirate who teaches Felicity a thing or two about life outside of textbooks. She reunites with her friend and sets off on a high-seas adventure in search of medical secrets and a possible career. Monty shows up from time to time. Mayhem ensues. The story certainly ends much differently that it begins, as Felicity puts down her books, picks up her skirts, and makes a go at the real world as a smart, capable woman. 

What I Loved

This book is hilarious! I love a good book that makes me laugh out loud. I listened to the audio narration by Moira Quick, and I swear I was listening to the same flawless narration of the late Katherine Kellgren who narrated my favorite book, My Lady Jane. Monty and Percy were a delight in the first book, but I actually appreciated that this book was truly Felicity's story with a little Monty Mayhem thrown in, much like Felicity's role in the first book. I very much appreciated the great detail the author took in researching medical procedures, terminology, and history. Sometimes I can tell when the author really had to go educate themselves on a certain thing (or they don't know what they're talking about at all), and reading this book somehow helped me feel seamlessly included in the jargon, like I actually knew all this stuff, too. I never felt like I had no clue what she was talking about. Everything seemed medically and historically accurate but explained in very succinct ways. 

This next opinion might ruffle feathers, but my blog = my opinion. Hooray! 

This past year I've spent a good deal of time at work curating and marketing LGBTQ+ titles to the students at my school. Gentleman's Guide was practically monumental in YA fiction as it not only depicted a bisexual protagonist, but he was male and fairly out of the closet AND it was 17-whatever! I really appreciated the way his sexuality was truly integral to the plot but also integral to his character so it didn't seem unnecessarily overdone. Some LGBTQ+ books really push the subject, which can distract from the book as a whole. Lady's Guide is also considered an LGBTQ+ book as Felicity realizes she is asexual and explores whether she is also aromantic. Unlike Monty, however, her sex, rather than her sexual orientation, is what is important to her plot development, and appropriately, Lee does not play that up for the sake of a genre sticker or what have you. I really liked it as a character detail that was important to Felicity, but not to the plot. Well done.

What I Didn't Love

There was very little about this book that I didn't love. Everything developed nicely; characters were realistic; dialogue was very natural. There was a bit of whimsy thrown in at the end that I actually really liked since I'm not the biggest science fan. So I think I'll stop because I'm basically just listing more things I loved. Great book all around.

5/5 stars

Author - Mackenzi Lee
Published - 2018
Series - Montague Siblings #2
Genre - Historical fiction, LGBTQ+
Format - Audiobook from Audible
Pages - 464

Link to Amazon
Link to GoodReads