Saturday, February 26, 2022

Review: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia SPOILERS

Why did I not read this sooner. I selected this book for a year long reading challenge that I am doing this year. The prompt is to read a book that connects to last year. Last year I read my first Silvia Moreno Garcia book and there is the connection. I liked this book a lot more than Certain Dark Things. This is a horror and it reminded me a lot about a book that I always recommend which is The House by Christina Lauren. I wasn't as grossed out as I thought I would be but it was still disgusting. Also, one of my favorite things to eat is mushrooms, and now I will never look at mushrooms the same again.

Going into this, I was expecting the haunted house and the body horror. While reading, none of my predictions came true which made my reading experience that much more enjoyable because it wasn't predictable... at least for me. My guess was vampires because the author has written a vampire story before and figured that she would go the same route. I did have a jump scare thanks to my husband. I was reading a really disgusting part and he bumped into my chair and I gave a little shriek.

We follow our main character Noemi as she is summoned by her father who gets a letter from her cousin Catalina that is very weird. Catalina claims that she is hearing things in the walls and basically losing her mind at her husband's family estate. Noemi father send her to the estate to get a good sense of Catalina's well being and to determine if she needs to be put into an asylum. Her husband and family claim tuberculosis and the house is basically a ruin. The Doyle family is caught in the past about their silver mine that was subjected to flooding and revolution.

The body horror is triggering and very disgusting, so if you get queasy easily then this book is not for you.

Monday, February 21, 2022

Review: Who Put This Song On by Morgan Parker

A book that was going to be a 4 star read that jumped to a 5 star just because of the author's note. I absolutely LOVE author's notes because of their reasoning behind the story and just feelings. Morgan Parker's author note felt like she was talking directly to me. Also, I LOVED all of the pop culture references.

This is a young adult contemporary realistic fiction about Morgan Parker. The main character is named Morgan and this is her story of her junior year in a Christian high school and being clinically depressed and is coming from a summer where she had suicidal thoughts, so trigger warning. We are inside Morgan's head as she navigates a all white school in a conservative republican small town in California. We see her but heads with her parents when she "acts out" and they just don't get her.

She has a group of friends who are there when she needs them but she doesn't want to get to close to anyone. She meets a guy at her art class and they hit it off and he becomes another friend who is there when she needs to talk. She loves emo music and having a theme with her fashion every year.

She is also tired of learning the same thing and not more about Black history. She sets up a booth and schools her white classmates about the Black Panther movement. This is also set in 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidency. There was an almost sex scene which was really gross and it took me a minute to wrap my head around that and there was a lot of underage drinking and drug use.

I will have to read more of this author's work.

Review: You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

I don't remember why I picked this up or who I got the recommendation from, but it was needed. This is the first book in the You Are a Badass series and it's basically a self help book about how to get out of your head, stop comparing yourself to others, focus on your goals, stop procrastinating and basically be one with the universe.

Life has been really weird recently and I have been focusing a lot of my time and energy on work and my hobbies and things I enjoy doing with my family have been pushed to the backburner.

While reading a few things did stand out. One being that I don't need to worry about what people think of me and just to be myself and not burn myself out trying to be someone I am not. Another that when you say you don't have time, then you are creating that mindset that you will never have time and that you need to chunk block and prioritize things and then reward yourself with what you want to do after an hour of doing what needs to be done. I have been trying to do that the past month and I work, and then watch some youtube, work for another hour and then do my blogging or networking on Youtube.

Another was that if you really want something, create a vision board and hang it up where you can see it like everyday... kind of like when people put sticky notes all over there house with positive affirmations. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while because my husband and I want to build our dream home and I have a blueprint of a house that I really like but of course there are some changes that I want to make and how I want to the interior to look and how I want the outside to look.

This is a book that I will be buying my own copy of and going back through and tabbing.

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Is There Such a Thing as a Life Slump?// Sunday Post #26

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Is there such a thing as a life slump? I feel that I have been slumpy with every aspect of life since the new year. I feel that I am putting all of my energy into work and homeschooling my kids and that everything else is just being abandoned. I am disliking everything I do. I am not liking movies, and my reading has taken a hit with everything. I have read so many 2 star books so far this year and I have already DNF'ed a couple. It also feels like the only reason I am blogging is to do book reviews so I don't forget what I read. Hopefully, my mood will get a good kick in the butt and I will be happy to do things I used to enjoy.

Sunday: Blog Tour: Solimar: Sword of Monarchs

Tuesday: Top 5 Tuesday

Thursday: Blog Tour: The Swallowtail Legacy

Friday: Review: Lore Olympus

Saturday: Review: Anna Karenina

Who Put This Song On review

Top ten tuesday

www wednesday

tag thursday

mexican gothic review

I only bought one book so far this month. Doing pretty well with my book buying ban. I had to buy this book because my kids have been wanting to read it and we are obsessed with the series.

MY BOOKTUBE VIDEOS

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Review: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I did it. I finally picked up this beast after buying it two years ago. I have the pretty Barnes and Noble leather edition and I ended up listening to the audiobook for THREE WEEKS!!! I listened to the public domain audio recordings and I listened to them on the highest speed possible and I wish there was a faster speed because at two times speed, this book was still a SNOOZE FEST!

Going into it, I thought it would be the life of the woman Anna Karenina. It's not that at all. It is about Russian aristocracy and their lives dealing with love and scandal. There is another couple we follow who was not that interesting. The characters are always referred to by first and last name and it was hard to keep characters separated because they had no substance. They were all the same. It has a really crappy love triangle aspect that was abandoned very quickly.

Anna was a jealous hypocrite and a shitty mother. She got her sister in law to stay with her husband who cheated with the kids governess and then Anna turns around and cheats on her husband and ends up getting knocked up. She didn't love that baby as much as her son and she ends up resenting the baby and she refuses a divorce, and then years later asks for one and she gets denied. She has severe mental health issues and she is a ruined woman because she went after love and she commits suicide to make her lover Vronsky feel bad and miss her and take fault and then her husband ends up taking her and Vronsky's daughter who is legally his by the marriage and not by blood.

When I was in the home stretch and had 150 pages left, I was completely over this book. I did not care about the characters what so ever and I was bored with their lives and their judgments and prejudices and the customs.

I did get the movie from the library because Kiera Knightly is such a great actress and she does period dramas really well. Let's hope it's another case of ADAPTATION IS BETTER THAN THE BOOK.

Friday, February 18, 2022

Review: Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Reading this physically was just amazing. I love the webtoon and after reading this, I immediately wanted to go on to the site and finish. The colors and the pacing of the story was just excellent and it takes a toxic relationship between two Greek Gods and makes it into a love story.

Hades is a sweet blue idiot and he is not having a fun night thanks to a nymph who is his current fling. While at a party, he sees Persephone and he thinks that she is more beautiful than Aphrodite. Aphrodite hears this and gets her sons Eros to set Hades up with a possible kidnapping and a implied sexual assault as an act of revenge. Which there is an eventual non consensual act between two characters and it's kind of force but it is more of peer pressure and hush hush.

Persephone has finally been let of her leash by Demeter and is exploring and rooming with Artemis and she is trying to make her way in the world as a minor goddess.

I can't wait for the bind up of Volume two and I just love all of the characters.

Thursday, February 17, 2022

BLOG TOUR: The Swallowtail Legacy by Michael D. Beil

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE SWALLOWTAIL LEGACY: Wreck at Ada's Reef by Michael D. Beil Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book:

Title: THE SWALLOWTAIL LEGACY: Wreck at Ada's Reef (The Swallowtail Legacy #1)

Author: Michael D. Beil

Pub. Date: February 15, 2022

Publisher: Pixel+ink

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 256

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Punctuated with transcripts, letters, maps, black-and-white illustrations and more, The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada's Reef is a vibrant contemporary mystery with a classic feel exploring righting past wrongs, redefining family, and finding yourself.

Twelve-year-old Lark Heron-Finch is steeling herself to spend the summer on Swallowtail Island off the shores of Lake Erie. It's the first time that she and her sister will have seen the old house since their mom passed away. And while her stepfather and his boys are okay, the island's always been full of happy memories--and now everything is different.

When Nadine, a close family friend, tells Lark about a tragic boat accident that happened off the coast many years before, Lark's enthralled with the story. Nadine's working on a book about Dinah Purdy, Swallowtails's oldest resident who had a connection to the crash, and she's sure that the accident was not as it appeared. Impressed by Lark's keen eye, she hires her as her research assistant for the summer.

And then Lark discovers something amazing. Something that could change Dinah's life. Something linked to the crash and even to her own family's history with Swallowtail. But there are others on the island who would do anything to keep the truth buried in the watery depths of the past.

A compelling and complex mystery with a classic feel, Wreck at Ada's Reef is perfect for fans of The Parker Inheritance, Holes, The Westing Game, and anyone looking for a satisfying puzzle that stretches across decades.

Review:

★ "Each character, historic and contemporary, sparks with life. Lark’s process and the reveals are perfectly paced. . . . Most heartwarming, Lark develops feelings of loyalty toward her blended family and uncovers a surprising link to their property. Readers will be hooked—more, please!"—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Review:

About Michael D. Beil:

In a time not long after the fifth extinction event, Edgar Award-nominated author Michael D. Beil came of age on the shores of Pymatuning Lake, where the ducks walk on the fish. (Look it up. Seriously.) He is the author of the Red Blazer Girls series, Summer at Forsaken Lake, Lantern Sam and the Blue Streak Bandits, and Agents of the Glass: A New Recruit. For reasons that can't be disclosed until September 28, 2041, he now lives somewhere in Portugal with his wife and their two white cats, Bruno and Maisie. He still gets carsick if he has to ride in the back seat for long and feels a little guilty that he doesn't keep a journal. For more on the author and his books, visit him online at www.michaeldbeil.com.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE SWALLOWTAIL LEGACY: Wreck at Ada's Reef, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

2/7/2022	Pick A Good Book	Review/IG Post
2/7/2022	The Reading Wordsmith	Review/IG Post
2/8/2022	YABooksCentral	Excerpt
2/8/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post
2/9/2022	Nonbinary Knight Reads	Review/IG Post
2/9/2022	Girls in White Dresses	Review
2/10/2022	Little Red Reads	Review
2/10/2022	@jypsylynn	Review/IG Post
2/11/2022	Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog	Review/IG Post
2/11/2022	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review/IG Post

Week Two:

2/14/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
2/14/2022	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post
2/15/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
2/15/2022	@coffeesipsandreads	Review/IG Post
2/16/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
2/16/2022	BookHounds YA	Review
2/17/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
2/17/2022	@enjoyingbooksagain	Review/IG Post
2/18/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
2/18/2022	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Top 5 Tuesday: Series That I Need To Finish

Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm, and is now being hosted by Meeghan reads.

I have a lot of series that I want to finish this year because the one thing I dislike about my reader self is starting all of these series and never finishing them. I did make a rule that if I don't finish the series that I want to this year, I will unhaul the books because it's obviously not priority.

1. Caraval by Stephanie Garber.

I have read book one and two and have put book three on so many TBR's. I have it and I just look over it.

2. Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab

I started this series back in October of last year and the first book wasn't my favorite, but I am still interested in the series, so I want to pick up book two and hopefully it is better than the first.

3. Dark Gifts by Vic James

I loved book one and two and just not have requested the third book from the library. I did read these first two back in 2018, so I may have to reread them first.

4. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

I read the first book in 2019 and thought it was OK. I didn't like the romance, but have kept an interest in book two which is Hunting Prince Dracula and it is always an add to cart but never click the checkout button.

5. Iskari by Kristen Ciccarelli

When I first read The Last Namsara, I didn't like dragons. I was not interested and didn't think I would like this book. I picked it up on a whim and fell in love. Now I know the reason why I haven't picked up the second and third books is because they are from different perspectives and the covers are not my favorite.

Sunday, February 13, 2022

BLOG TOUR: Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Munoz Ryan

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SOLIMAR: THE SWORD OF THE MONARCHS by Pam Muñoz Ryan Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: SOLIMAR: THE SWORD OF THE MONARCHS

Author: Pam Muñoz Ryan

Pub. Date: February 15, 2022

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 272

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Middle-grade fans of Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising, will find a new Mexican heroine to love in Solimar and a fresh, magical story!

On the brink of her Quinceañera, and her official coronation, Solimar visits the oyamel forest to sit among the monarch butterflies. There, the sun pierces through a sword-shaped crevice in a boulder, which shines on her and sends the butterflies humming and swirling around her.

After the magical frenzy, she realizes she's been given a gift―and a burden: she can predict the near future! She has also become a protector of the young and weak butterflies. This alone would be a huge responsibility, but tragedy strikes when a neighboring king invades while her father and brother and many others are away. The remaining villagers are taken hostage―all except Solimar.

Can this princess-to-be save her family, the kingdom, and the future of the monarch butterflies from a greedy and dangerous king?

Written for ages 8 to 12 by the Newbery Honor Medal winner of the highly acclaimed novel Echo.

Review: Currently reading with my 10 year old. Her favorite butterfly is the monarch and she is reading this outloud, so taking our time. But so far we are loving Solimar and her protecting the butterflies.

About Pam Muñoz Ryan:

Pam Muñoz Ryan is a New York Times best-selling author and U.S. nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award. She has written over forty books, including Esperanza Rising, Becoming Naomi León, Riding Freedom, Paint the Wind, The Dreamer, and Echo, a Newbery Honor book and the recipient of the Kirkus Prize. She is the author recipient of the National Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for Multicultural Literature, and is twice the recipient of the Pura Belpré Medal and the Willa Cather Award. Other honors include the PEN USA Award, the Américas Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, and the Orbis Pictus Award. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, but now lives near San Diego with her family. Many of her stories reflect her half-Mexican heritage.