Tag: review

Things You Save In A Fire
jacqui_monet
July 28, 2019

Title: Things You Save In A Fire

Author: Katherine Center

Genre: Adult/ Romance/ International

Pages: 308

After seeing the book cover floating around online, this book instantly went on my TBR List. I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for a pretty cover. So imagine my surprise when I received and ARC/ARE/Galley as book mail from Macmillan Publishers! (Insert pterodactyl screech here.) I read it as much and as quickly as I could while holding/nursing/snuggling/diapering my two babies. It. Was. SO. Good.

This first person story is about a talented young female firefighter from Austin, Texas who, for a handful of reasons, relocates to the east coast to take care of her estranged and ailing mother. Her new firehouse is sorely out of date and underfunded, the guys are not particularly fond of having a female in their midst and the only place for her to bunk during shifts used to be the supply closet. It’s a high stakes story about love and family but ultimately forgiveness.

I recommend this book to anyone that has ever felt like an outcast or an under dog. AND it should totally be a movie.

Ratings

Plot: 5/5          Characters: 5/5          Ease of Reading: 5/5

Crazy Rich Asians
jacqui_monet
February 22, 2019

Title: Crazy Rich Asians

Author: Kevin Kwan

Series: Crazy Rich Asians, number 1

Genre: Adult/ Romance/ International

Pages: 546

I  enjoyed this book a lot. It was a pretty quick read and I appreciated that the author used authentic slang from the different languages that the characters speak and included a glossary for those terms and them bottom of each page.

Even though many of the characters come from obscene amounts of money, they still felt like real human beings. None of the characters were “all good” or “all bad” which tends to happen in these types of stories. Everyone had their own motivations, hopes and dreams. There were also a ton of characters, so I liked that the author titled the chapters with the character whose POV we were experiencing.

I’m definitely going to read the rest of the trilogy and watch the film.

Ratings

Plot: 3/5          Characters: 5/5          Ease of Reading: 5/5

The Belles
jacqui_monet
February 15, 2019

Title: The Belles

Author: Dhonielle Clayton

Series: The Belles, number 1

Genre: YA/ Coming of Age/ Fantasy

Pages: 434

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Like any novel, the first few chapters took a couple of days to move through. The world created by Ms. Clayton is very detailed and because of the concept of it is so fresh and unique, it took a moment for me to find my bearings, get a good grasp on the rules and understand the lingo. But, honestly, it doesn’t take long to hit your stride.

The characters are well thought out and in a world where changing your entire out appearance and your demeanor can take place in an hour, no one is who they seem to be. The settings and their descriptions are so lush but in a way that distracts from the action.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the second book when it comes out and as it’s published by FreeForm (an imprint of Disney Books), I would love to see this on television in the future.

Ratings

Plot: 4/5          Characters: 4/5          Ease of Reading: 5/5

Bonus!

Healing Stone
jacqui_monet
August 22, 2017

Title: Healing Stone

Author: Brock Booher

Series: N/A

Genre: YA/ Coming of Age/ Paranormal

Pages: 336

Check out my Two Minute Review of Healing Stone on my ‘booktube’ channel:

Witches of East End Book Review
jacqui_monet
October 25, 2016

witches

Title: Witches of East End

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Series: Witches of East End (book 1)

Genre: SciFi, Fantasy,

Pages: 288

Ok, so my favorite writer for the past few years has been Melissa de la Cruz of the Blue Bloods and the Ashleys series. I have loved almost every book that she has written. I mean, there was one that I got less than a chapter into and pitched it. But this book was great! In keeping with the Halloween theme I read The Witches of East End.

The Witches of East End is the first in her series about a pair of sisters and their mother who try to live quiet lives without magic in a simple cottage in the Hamptons. Now, I feel that I must add that this is not a “pretty, rich, white girls with problems they created” type of book. In fact, not all the problems that come their way are their fault. Trouble tends to come to them because they are a little too generous. You see, they have been banned from using their powers but then one of them does so to help a friend who’s been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant. Then they all start helping people. THEN they get accused of being witches. So much for laying low. The story is really interesting and has since become a series on Lifetime which is also pretty good.

Speaking of series: if you have read the Blue Bloods series of the same author (which you should in order to be able to laugh at certain jokes) you will recognize characters that have cameos. I’m not saying that you should read all of those to be able to understand this book, but I am saying that you should read this between Blue Blood books 7 and 8. Mimi talks about some of the action that takes place in this book, therefore it’s crucial for BB fans to read this.

 

Check out the links below to get the book yourself:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Monster High Book Review
jacqui_monet
October 8, 2016

MH

Title: Monster High

Author: Lisi Harrison

Series: Monster High (book 1)

Genre: YA/ SciFi

Pages: 246

Review:

So I started reading Monster High by Lisi Harrison, and when I say “started” I mean that I’ve inhaled all four of the original books. Ms. Harrison is the woman who brought us The Clique and Alphas. That being said, although I initially loved the idea of famous monsters’ children (or grandchildren) attending a normal high school while reluctantly “hiding with pride” I was afraid that the story would be well, shallow.

Ms. Harrison’s characters in her previous stories have tended to be incredibly one dimensional. I am glad to share that this series has been great. Heck, she even has a mean girl learn her lesson. Unlike Sharpay from High School Musical who has to relearn her lesson over and over and… Done with the rant. Anyway…

I love her decision to use nearly all of the different characters that Universal Studios explored in the 1930s. The books have everything from swamp monsters to mummies and Hyde to the son of Medusa. All of the characters are very different from each other and even though some of them are popular kids at the school, Lisi Harrison does a great job at making sure that they all have different goals and anxieties. Not all of them are popular by the way, some of them are practically invisible to those around them especially Billy (but he actual is invisible).

There is also a good mix of “normies” or normal kids like Melody and her sister Candace who move to Oregon from Beverly Hills at the beginning of the first book.

I say read the books or buy them for a teen girl you know. It’s a great way to introduce SciFi to younger people without being too out there. Another plus is that it’s a series and introducing a series to a young reader is the best way to ensure that they continue reading. Simply put: if they love the characters, they will want to know what happens to them.

Remember, if this book interests you, check out the links below to experience Monster High for yourself.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Audio Books

*Side note: my brother Josh and I plan to be dressing up as Clawd and Clawdeen Wolf, the werewolf siblings at the high school, for Phoenix ComiCon next year. There is also a cartoon for Monster High on youtube, but be aware that it doesn’t follow the story line of the books AT ALL. Think of cartoon as more of an extended epilogue. I still think it’s kinda cute though. They have also released some full length animated features and a live action film is in the works (supposedly).

The Invisible Library Book Review
jacqui_monet
July 15, 2016

Cogman_The-Invisible-Library

Title: The Invisible Library

Author: Genevieve Cogman

Series: The Invisible Library (book 1)

Genre: Sci-Fi; Steampunk; Fantasy

Pages: 351

Review:

I obtained this book as a part of some swag that I received at Phoenix Comiccon this year. I was totally drawn to this book and it was the first one that, based on the blurb on the on the back, I just had to read. The book is about a Librarian named Irene and her new trainee Kai. The pair must locate a book that was owned by a vampire and then stolen when he was beheaded. Unfortunately for them, they aren’t the only ones trying to recover the book. To make matters worse an evil Former-Librarian is on the loose and in the area.

This book contains elements of steampunk, Fae and magic and some supernatural stuff thrown in for good measure. The writing is decent if not a little dry but there is some excellent world building going on and considering that this is a series, it will be exciting to see what comes next for the Librarians.

Ok. So, if you have been following me on social media you know that I’ve been reading this book for what feels like years. Okay, it’s only been a couple of weeks but it feels like forever. I normally read books in days despite their high page count. This book though, was a struggle. It dragged. There would some interesting action going on and then it would drag… again. Getting through it was rough. I’m sure it won’t be that way for everyone. This book and I just didn’t click. Maybe I’ll reread it again in a few years or maybe I’ll just give it way for someone else to enjoy. Oh, well, there are other books out there for me to love.

 

Check out the first few pages of audio below:

Daddy-Long-Legs Book Review
jacqui_monet
June 17, 2016

1499952

Author: Jean Webster

Series: kind of the sequel, Dear Enemy, takes place in the same world but not with our protagonist.

Genre: YA

Pages: 185

When I first saw this book, it was sitting sadly on the shelf at the library. The front cover was particularly boring featuring an ambiguously aged girl sitting with a pen and paper half smiling out of a window. Then I thought, “Daddy-Long-Legs? Really? What is this, the true life story of Little Miss Muffet?” So, being the strange ol’ bird that I am, I checked the book out.

You know the old saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover?” It totally applies here. Daddy-Long-Legs was a great read. With only 185 pages, I inhaled the books in a couple of hours. Two words: page turner.

First published in 1912, Daddy-Long-Legs tell the story of an orphan named Jerusha aka Judy who gets sent to college anonymously by a man who donates to the orphanage. This mystery benefactor will pay for her tuition, books, food, clothes and any and all incidentals along the way. Judy is told that she can attend school without fear of being indebted to him, but on two conditions.

  1. Judy must write a letter to him every month until she graduates knowing full well that he will never write her back.
  2. She cannot know who her benefactor is.

At first I was worried when I realized that all but the first ten pages were written in a letter format. Yet, this style never got stale. Judy’s letters were so detailed that while reading, I forgot that there wasn’t any actual dialogue. The letters are also pretty funny especially when she is angry about something. Also, the book gets its title from the way Judy begins nearly all of her letters: “Dear Daddy-Long-Legs.” She calls him this because at the orphanage, she was got a glimpse of his leggy shadow.

Another worry I had, was the book’s publish date because I hate reading a book and experiencing some type of language barrier. (For example, Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere; it’s good but the British slang is confusing. I guess I don’t watch enough BBC.) Luckily, I didn’t have to deal with that one bit. It’s almost as if Jean Webster debuted this book yesterday! The diction sounds current if not a more polite way of speaking. You wouldn’t even realize that this took place in yester-year if it weren’t for the cost of things being so little back then. The story also has interesting twists and turns like Judy falling in love with her roommate young uncle, school dances, vacations with wealthy friends and potential boyfriends.

So, I’ve concluded that I love this book and I stand behind it all the way. I mean, if the only thing I don’t like about it is the outside cover, it’s great! If you read this and decided you want more, films have been made in the US (several times), Korea and Japan as recent as 2005. There are even anime and stage versions that have been created. I haven’t seen all of them yet, but I will say that the Fred Astaire film is great, but has some very bizarre sequences that are literally excuses to have him dance.

 

If this book interests you, check out the links below to experience it for yourself!

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006PV801Y/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daddy-long-legs-webster-jean/1120679007

 

Rules of Summer- Book Review
jacqui_monet
June 2, 2016

rules-of-summer-by-joanna-philbinAuthor: Joanna Philbin

Series: Rules of Summer (book 1)

Genre: YA

Pages: 368

I recently read Rules of Summer, the first book in a series of the same name, by Joanna Philbin. The story centers around two girls summering in the Hamptons. The girls are from two completely different worlds and are there for two totally different reasons.

Isabel Rule is the youngest daughter of the Rule family. She’s kind of a black sheep. She doesn’t fit in well with her older siblings, she isn’t interested in the same things as her peers from the exclusive Georgica Club and doesn’t really feel the love from her parents either. She’s been living in California at a boarding school and this is her first time being back with her family since she’s been away.

Rory McShane is coming to the Hamptons from New Jersey. She’s a pretty good student with two best friends and no boyfriend to speak of. Her family consists of a mom who can’t really take of herself and a revolving door of step-dads-to-be. Rory doesn’t want to deal with her home life nor does she want to work at Mario’s pizza place again. So, when her aunt hooks her up with a gig to be an errand girl for an uber rich family for the summer, she is totally down. If only the Rule’s youngest daughter was such a terror.

Rules of Summer was a very fun read. The first chapter was a little slow though, I think I read one of the pages like three times. But after that, it totally takes off!  Hot guys and surfing, make overs and family secrets. This book has a little bit of everything. It’s not very deep, I’ll admit, but the story does have some heart. As the summer progresses, Rory and Isabel learn more about each other and come to realize that they aren’t all that different. Despite only being in high school, they both want to experience true love, to be understood my their families and to be more independent. Like any YA novel worth its salt, there are secrets, misunderstandings, missed opportunities and mean girls. There were some unresolved issues at the end that frustrated me until I learned that there would be a sequel. I really did like this book and I plan on reading the second one soon.

This book came out in paperback right as the summer of 2014 was kicking off, so here are the hottest songs from that summer to set the mood!

If this book interests you, check out the links below to experience it for yourself!

http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Summer-Joanna-Philbin/dp/0316212040

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rules-of-summer-joanna-philbin/1113742188

http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/rules-of-summer/179648