The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe: A Book Review

Ally Condie's newest book did not disappoint. I'm a fan of her expressive, choppy writing style and I was so glad to sink into it again. This book felt familiar, almost as if I was picking up Matched again, but the storyline and characters were completely different than Matched. I appreciated the different, darker feel to this book.

One thing I adore about this book is the deepness of the characters. They were constantly changing, constantly surprising me, but they also had consistent personalities and habits. I trusted none of them, but at the same time I was intrigued by them. Having a main character bent on revenge was also new to me, and added some interesting dynamics in relationships, political loyalty, and personal perception.

I also loved the pacing. It was active, tense, and took place in a short amount of time (a couple days maybe?). I liked that, especially because most of the book plots I've been reading span over long periods of time. The change of pace in this book was fresh.

I do have some critiques. I missed the deep world building of Matched. Somehow, I didn't understand the political world of this book, especially within a futuristic setting. I wish there was more to help me settle into it, and to make the ending more well-rounded and complete.

All in all, I enjoyed it and couldn't easily put it down. For that reason, I'll give it a low four stars.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? Sure! A must-read for Ally Condie fans.

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!

The Huntress: A Book Review

This book holds a whole new view of World War II, a view that I found fascinating and original. It follows the perspective of three people: Nina, a Soviet air pilot who bombs German forces; Ian, a British war correspondent who captures fugitives from the war; and Jordan, an American girl who loves her camera and is deeply observant. I loved learning about WWII and its aftermath through these three different characters. I've never read a Russian perspective of the war before, or a book that takes place soon after the war. I think this is why The Huntress captivated me initially.

Another thing that captivated me is the intrigue, mystery, and tension of the novel. Every chapter had tension, either with character development or surrounding the hunt for the huntress. That's what kept me reading, and I couldn't put this book down.

The Huntress is a solid book. The characters are deep and likable, the plot is twisty and tense, and the history is fascinating and well-mixed with the storyline. My one issue with it is it does start out slowly. But once I was a third of the way through, I found it deeply satisfying and entertaining, and not easy to put down.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3.7
Plot/Movement: 4.5
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? Yes! A must-read for historical fiction lovers.

*Thank you HarperCollins for the free review copy!

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!

The Phantom Tree: A Book Review

I finally finished this! After a lot of false starts (which had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with library/book review deadlines), I finished this stunning historical fiction masterpiece. However, the book did start slow for me, and I didn't feel fully invested until about halfway through. But after that, I couldn't put it down.

I love the focus on the mysterious Mary Seymour. We don't know much about her life, but I love the possibility of her being a seer witch. I also love the added fictional character Alison. Their enemy/friend relationship was an interesting twist, though I viewed them more as friends than enemies.

I also thought the time travel was well done. I don't love books with time travel, especially when it involves characters in modern time looking for clues. But it was okay in this book. Perhaps because I felt the focus of the story was with Mary, not necessarily with Alison (which is strange, because the entire goal of the story is to find Alison's son). I loved reading Mary's side a lot more, and thought that the plot surrounding her was well done and interesting.

There are some reservations I have with this book. As I mentioned before, it does have a slow start. And I wish there was more relationship building between Alison and Adam. Even though they had a past relationship, I wanted to see more of their present one.

To end on a positive note, I did end up loving this book. I loved the characters, the time travel, and especially the ending. I think I would read this again.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 3.5
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? Yes, especially to those who love historical fiction.

*Thank you Sarah for the giveaway copy! Forever ago....

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!

Wicked Saints: A Book Review

Well. This book unlike any other book I've ever read. I have to admit it was horrifying, gruesome, and thrilling, which is usually not my thing. In fact, I often avoid horrifying, scary, gruesome stories. But the book's description interested me and once I started it, I couldn't put it down. That is purely due to the magic of Emily A. Duncan's writing.

First, the characters. Wicked Saints has some DEEP characters. Ones that have secrets on top of secrets and unbelievable magical abilities. I think every character in this book had some shade of darkness, some degree of moral grayness. And I'm surprised how much I enjoyed that. Sure, it got a little annoying when I would trust a character, then get whiplashed, and then trust them again, then get whiplashed. But that just shows the depth of the characters behind the scenes. Truly masterful.

Overall, I liked it. I thought the plot and pacing was engaging, the writing style poetic and fast-paced, and the world building excellent. However, in order to get through this book, you have to put on your "blood dripping from the sky/people's eyes and mouths/self-inflicted wounds doesn't bother me" hat. It's a rather hard hat for me to put on. For that reason, I would be careful about who I recommend this to. It's a masterpiece, but could be damaging if in the wrong hands.  Be warned.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? Carefully, yes.

*Thank you St. Martins / Wednesday Books for the free review copy!

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!

The Queen's Resistance: A Book Review

I loved this book, even more than the first one! I couldn't put it down. 

Continuing Cartier and Brienna's story was an amazing decision on Rebecca Ross's part. After finishing the first book, I wanted more from their story and their relationship. The Queen's Resistance explored their relationship more fully and gave it the challenges it need to grow. I also loved having chapters in Cartier's point of view. I feel like this change was needed for the plot of the book, but also for the reader to connect and understand him more as a character.

The pacing of this book was incredibly active, engaging, and interesting. I find it refreshing that, at the end of book one, Isolde didn't simply become queen overnight. In reality, there would be some resistance. I liked exploring that through this book.

A fantastic sequel to The Queen's Rising. This sequel will go in the list of "sequels that are better than the first."

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? Yes!

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!

Where the Forest Meets the Stars: A Book Review

You know how some books fall into your lap at the perfect time you need them? This is one of those books. I wasn't expecting a lot from this book, especially because I read next to no reviews and hadn't heard anything about it, but I ended up loving it. (I received this book for free through Amazon's First Reads program.)

The characters in this story are dear to my heart. I felt so close to Jo and loved learning about her life through the story. She is an extremely likable character and it's easy to get under her skin and feel like you're sharing her story. Gabe is another character like that. He is also easy to love and his relationship with Jo was one of my favorite arcs of the book. Their relationship had my favorite elements: sarcastic and witty one-liners, working through some tough histories and lingering trials together, and some slow-growing chemistry. And I can't forget Ursa, who completes the character trio. I normally dislike the all-knowing kid trope, but Ursa didn't seem smart-alecky or moral enough to bug me. In fact, I grew to like her too, and what she did for Jo and Gabe.

This story was intriguing and refreshing, and kept me reading through grammar classes and late at night. It's a book that I haven't read or seen before, and it truly touched my heart with its themes of love (not just romantic), nature, kindness, patience, hope, and acceptance.

I hope I won't ever forget this one. I think it's a definite re-read down the road. HIGH four stars.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 5
Overall: 4

Would I recommend? YES, especially if you love feel-good books.

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: A Book Review

If a writer only ever reads one writing book, let this one be it.

I liked the original Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder, but this one took his methods above and beyond for novel writers. Jessica Brody has such a great writer's voice that makes this book not only informative, but enjoyable to read. Her organization is impeccable, her inspiration is refreshing, and her tips and tricks about novel writing are worthy of highlighting. This book has become my Bible for writing, and it truly is "The last book on novel writing you'll ever need."

I love Brody's breakdown of the book. Much of it is similar to Snyder's, but this book is so much more approachable for writers. She begins with a chapter on creating a story-worthy hero, which is my favorite chapter of the book. Using a lot of recent, mainstream novel examples, she helps the reader figure out how to make a strong character before anything else - no pages of character information sheets needed. What a relief.

She then breaks down the Snyder-famous Beat Sheet, again using a lot of recent examples such as Because of Winn-Dixie, Hunger Games, Me Before You, The Martian, and so many more. I think her strength in this section is clarifying the Beat Sheet. I remember reading Snyder's Save the Cat! and getting confused on all the separate beats. But Brody breaks it down even more in relation to characters and their transformations. Her relevant examples from recent literature also help.

The chunk of this book is spent going into each of the novel "genres," which are basically the different ways a character can transform. For each genre, she has a complete Beat Sheet from a modern novel. Even though I like some genres more than others, each one was entertaining and informative. Seeing various Beat Sheets was also helpful to solidify each genre in my mind.

The last section of this book talks about book pitches, (which can help a writer face the terrifying question, "What are you writing about?") and a chapter titled "Save the Author!," which gives lots of tips and inspiration for writers who want to start using Save the Cat!. It gives an uplifting end to a book chuck-full of novel structure and character transformations.

After reading this book, I felt inspired to write and confident that I could give my best effort on my first draft, knowing the Beat Sheet and character transformation strategies. Brody is still very clear that no matter how you plot and use the Beat Sheet, you will always have to revise and change. But knowing all of this structure and other writing tips gives me the confidence I need to start and keep writing. I had my doubts before, but now I have no doubt that Jessica Brody was the perfect author to rewrite this book for novelists. I am infinitely grateful for a woman I met at a writing conference that told me about this book, and I am so ECSTATIC it was everything I hoped for and more.

As I said, this book is my new Bible for writing.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 5
Content: 5
Inspiration/Value: 5
Overall: 5

Would I recommend? Absolutely YES. To ALL novelists.

To see my review of the original Blake Snyder Save the Cat!, click here.

For more ratings and reviews and to see what I'm currently reading, visit my Goodreads page here!