Tag Archives: 4 1/2 stars

Six Strings Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Six Strings

Author:  Jen Sanya Williamson

Published:  June 2014 by Booktrope

Genre:  Young Adult,

Purchase:  Amazon

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Blurb

Riley Witt is running out of time. 

Battling Alzheimer’s disease, Riley’s grandmother Mary suffers from memory loss, mood swings, and a tendency to wander off. 

As senior year approaches, Riley has to face the reality that the one person she depends on most is slowly fading. Making matters 
worse, when Mary does remember the past, she tells tales of time travel and visions. As Mary’s version of the past gets more confused, Riley knows they are running out of time together. 
But when Riley discovers a guitar belonging to a famous rock star at Mary’s house, the truth behind the crazy tales finally comes out. 

SIX STRINGS tells the story of Riley’s journey back to 1973 where she enters a world of music, long-lost family, and first love. Her adventure is all about discovering her past, understanding her present, and figuring out how to step into her future.

(Blurb from publisher.)

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Let’s be honest here, I read this book in two nights.  It was so good I couldn’t put it down.  I got pulled back into my teenage years, but in a good way.  I’m not saying that Riley had it easy though, because she definitely didn’t.

Riley’s summer leading into senior year is basically taking care of her grandmother who has Alzheimer’s.  Riley and her grandmother were/are super close, so this is heartbreaking.  Sometimes her grandmother is perfectly coherent, other times she wanders off and is in her own world.  So when Riley’s grandmother tells her that Riley is going to have the ability to travel through time soon, Riley doesn’t know if it’s just her grandmother’s illness talking.

But it’s not, and Riley travels back to the 70’s.  I loved it.  I felt like I was back in time with Riley, living with the hippies.  Riley meets a guy, well two guys in a band, but I’m not going to say much more because I don’t want to give anything away.

You guys should really read this book.  It’s the first in a series, and it’s fantastic.  Although the time travel is in there, it doesn’t feel like a fantasy, more like contemporary young adult, with a little romance added in.  I can’t wait until the next one comes out!

My Rating:  4 ½ stars

***I need to disclose that I received this book free from the publisher, Booktrope.  And I also work for Booktrope, but in no way did that sway my opinion on this book.  I also receive no monetary gains from giving this book a good review.  This review is based solely on my honest opinion.***   

 

 

You Are Mine Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  You Are Mine

Author:  Janeal Falor

Published:  2013 by Chardonian Press

Genre:  Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

Purchase You Are Mine from Amazon

 

 

Wow.  I love it when I’m pleasantly surprised by a book!

You would not want to live in this society, especially as a woman.  Women are property.  They are left in the dark (legitimately), aren’t allowed to sit down in certain situations like waiting for an appointment, are physically punished for the most mundane things, and they are just treated so awful it will make you sick.  But stick around, because even though all that occurs it is really a good book!

It’s Serena’s 17th birthday and she is getting her blood examined.  This will tell her father and other warlocks (potential husbands) how much magic she has (which is useful to know for any baby warlocks she might have) and therefore how valuable it will be to marry her.  It’s not long before Serena has an intended husband lined up.  She is at a tournament where warlocks from all over duel with one another.  Serena’s future husband loses the dual, and therefore she is now property of one of the barbaric Envadi clan!  Chancellor Zade (Envadi) proves to be much different than Serena is used to, but that doesn’t keep her off her toes.  After all, he might just be testing her to punish her later.  Is Zade as nice as he appears, or does he have an ulterior motive?

You know one reason I loved this book was because it wasn’t like Zade jumped in and saved Serena.  Yes, he did make her life easier a bunch of times, but it wasn’t like halfway through the book he proclaimed his undying love for her.  He didn’t.  I actually wasn’t sure whether he had feelings for her or not until the very end.  I love that!

Serena was such a strong character.  She would often take punishments from her father to protect her 13 other sisters.  The poor women in this book.  As if they weren’t scared and tortured enough; if they make their owner angry enough, they can become tarnished; tattooed, barren, and worthless.  In fact, Serena meets and makes friends with a tarnished woman, and she learns that things aren’t always as they appear.

Maybe reading this review makes the book seem a little dark, but I didn’t feel depressed after reading it; I felt intrigued.  Perhaps it was Serena’s strong attitude; for a bunch of times I didn’t know if I could live through what she went though.  And Serena’s sister keeps her company a lot and helps keep the book uplifting because Serena has someone to confide in.  And the fact that it’s not an immediate romance, but there is substantial character development is another huge plus for me.  And lastly, the ending.  The ending was not what I expected at all, and that’s one of the reasons I liked it.  If you couldn’t tell by now, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to reading more from Janeal Falor.

 

My Rating:  4 1 /2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****       

Close to You Review

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Image from Goodreads

Title:  Close to You

Author:  Stacia Kane

Published:  October 2013 by St. Martin’s Press

Genre:  Novella, Urban Fantasy

Click here to buy Close to You from Amazon

 

 

I’m not usually a fan of novellas, or short stories, unless they are part of a series that I follow.  This one is.  It’s actually part 5.5 of Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series.  So I really don’t think that this one is a stand-alone book.  I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I already knew the characters well before going into it.

So Chess and Terrible are at a junkyard trying to get some free car parts when they are approached by a creepy old woman who wants money for the parts.  Although she was never there before, they assume she’s a new inhabitant and decide to follow her to pay for the parts.  Big mistake.  It was a ploy and the woman wants to use them to resurrect her dead husband.

Stacia Kane cracks me up.  I love her style of writing, and her characters personalities.  Chess is a drug addict, but I’m always routing for her and like her none-the-less.  Here’s a little excerpt that I enjoyed.

Just as Chess figured, Vincent’s body – well, it wasn’t much of a body at that point, just a skeleton covered in scraps of fabric and scraps of things Chess didn’t want to think about – lay at Mrs. Hudson’s feet.  A pillow supported its skull.  Around it several items were arranged like afterlife tokens at a Viking funeral:  a wallet, a pair of worn tennis shoes, what looked like baseball cards, a pair of socks and some underwear.  Very personal, so very powerful.  One of the items was a hammer, which was awesome because what they really needed was for Vincent’s ghost to have a deadly bludgeoning tool within easy reach. (Location 395 of 555 on Kindle)

Awesome right?  So if you’re already a Stacia Kane fan, definitely pick it up.  And if you haven’t read anything by her yet, try the first book in the series, Unholy Ghosts.

 

My Rating:  4 ½ out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****