NEWEST REVIEWS

Senator's books

Atlantia

by Ally Condie

I wanted so much to love this book. The story and world is solid and fascinating, but I found Rio a taxing narrator for most of "Atlantia." This isn't her fault, exactly, but it just so happens that nearly everyone around her is way more...

I'm with Cupid

by Anna Staniszewski

True rating: 3.5

A Spy in the House

by Y.S. Lee

Spelled

by Betsy Schow

Review to come. ***Many thanks to Sourcebooks & Edelweiss for providing a galley to be used for honest review/ bookseller purposes.***

Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Book 1

by Eric Colossal

Full review to come. ***Many thanks to Abrams/ Amulet Books & NetGalley for providing me a galley to be used for honest review and bookseller purposes***

When a Book Goes Terribly Terribly Wrong (a DNF)

I rant a lot when it comes to books. When reading a book I'm more than not riding that special book high that presses all the right buttons -- whether it is good or bad in my eyes. Lately, it's been mostly good and I've been fangirling all over the place with a lot of authors/ books. It's been a while where I've been so torn on just dropping the book in disgust and carrying on because the book is by a favorite author of mine. This is one such occasion. (Warning: Spoilers Ahead)


The Book: The Hellion and the Highlander (#3) by Lynsay Sands
Genre: Romance
Crime: Perpetuating rapist enabling mentality
How It Goes Down: Lady Averill (the heroine) has already had a run-in with with her husband's brother -- a well established serial rapist. An unpleasant groping that was stopped. By the main almost rape, Sands has written Averill to have overcome her timidity and a strong female ready to take most situations in hand. However after the brother beats her and it between her legs lifting up his clothing and a maid stops him by hitting him over the head... Averill begins making excuses to protect her husband.

Oh yes, as the horrified maid (and readers) listen on, Averill explains her husband will surely have to carry the guilt of killing his own brother for the crime he has committed, and Averill wishes to spare him that decision. Thankfully the maid threatens to tell the Laird what has happened if she does not. Incidentally, she tells her husband half-truths and that's only because of the nasty state of her face.

To compound this giant ball of "what the fuuuuu?" the Laird goes in to speak with his brother, figures out that he didn't just beat up his wife, but because he found his brother unconscious on the bed (and knowing his brothers previous indiscretions) comes to the conclusion of a rape attempt. Twists of all twists, the brother is not unconscious but dead. And the kicker? The kicker that seals the fury I have for this particular portion of the book? When Lady Averill is told her attacker is dead she still lies for the bastard. I'm sorry, but that's not exactly the type of heroine I want to be reading in a book. Moreover, it makes no sense! Averill has no background of being an enabler, so why would she suddenly start now when she spilled the beans the first time she was groped?

WRONG WRONG WRONG. On so many levels.

What takes you to put down a book? Have you read this one? If so, what were your thoughts?

Cover Reveal: Bitter Pill by Stacey Kade

Stacey Kade is one of my favorite authors. Her Ghost and the Girl trilogy is equal parts cute, equal parts engaging. I'm really happy to spread the word on her latest ADULT novel -- Bitter Pill.

Summary: 

The truth is a bitter pill...

Rennie Harlow is having a bad year. She had a handsome husband, a good job, and a renovated condo in Chicago. Now, thanks to one "exotically beautiful" paralegal, she’s divorced, faking her way through a writing career, and living above her hypochondriac mother's garage back in Morrisville, the small town she couldn't leave fast enough at eighteen. On top of all of that, she just found Doc Hallacy, the local pharmacist, dead behind his counter. And the worst part is, he's the third body she’s stumbled across this year. 

Jake Bristol has lived in Morrisville his whole life. A former bad boy turned sheriff, he doesn’t believe it’s just Rennie’s luck or timing that’s the problem. He thinks she’s too nosy for her own good. The last thing he needs is her messing around with his murder investigation so that she can freelance for the Morrisville Gazette.  But as they both delve deeper into Doc's death, they find that things don't add up. This isn't a robbery gone wrong or the work of a desperate junkie. Someone has a secret they're killing to keep. The only question is—who's next? 

The Best Part: I already love the concept, but what really too me over the edge was what Kade herself says: " Rennie Harlow is a grown up version of Nancy Drew." SIGN ME UP! Better yet, enter the rafflecopter contest below for a chance to win an ARC of Bitter Pill, $25 for a retailer of your choice, or an annotated ARC of Bitter Pill. Good luck!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Book to Movie Review: The Mortal Instruments, City of Bones

Click me for trailer & more! 

Review: I recently went to see City of Bones in theaters and while the over-saturation of media blitz beforehand made me a little uneasy, any reservations I had were almost immediately put to rest. In short, I really really really liked this movie (dare I say love?). The acting is what you would expect, it seemed like everyone was giving there best and also having a little fun. The pacing was a little sub par and slow at many points, but redeemed itself with special effects and hitting all the important points from the books. The casting I thought was perfect, especially the widely popular Magnus Bane. A lot of people are saying that Jamie Campbell Bower (who plays Jace) is not right for the role. Personally? I am so very relieved that they made Jace more likable (see, not so pig-headed). Sure, they could have cast someone who was, well, more muscular but teen heartthrobs lately are lanky so I can get where the casting team was coming from. Overall, this is a movie MADE for fans of the book. There are quite a few Easter eggs for readers, although it described enough for those unfamiliar with the series to enjoy themselves too.


Read the Book Beforehand?: Advised. I'm almost always a fan of reading the book beforehand, but I didn't get a chance to before seeing this movie. Like I said, this movie is made primary with fans of the books in mind so it's a good idea. I had to go bad home and re-read this book to remember everything, because while I didn't feel like they had left anything out I still felt a little lost.


Theater or DVD: I say both! If you are a fan of the books, whether slight or full-blown it really is a fun little movie. I don't buy DVDs often, but I'm really excited to see the bonus content of this film.

Rating Books

Ever since Shy over at The Bookishville tweeted this:

I haven't been able to get the question "How do I rate books?" In the past, I have always been firm on if the story gels together, then it gets a better rating. If it gets me engaged in the story (an easy thing to do, at that point) then all the better. Since my injury, however, I have gotten quite a bit harsher on books and characters. I know that as we grow and change, so do our styles and reading habits. Add a traumatic event that completely upends your lifestyle, the speed of the change increases.

Why do I tell you this? Because, as a reviewer, I know I have a certain level of responsibility for objectiveness. As I'm reading (see also, listening too) an average of 4 books a week, I have learned that the way I rate books has completely, utterly, changed. I am almost militaristic in my swiftness. There is no hemming and hawing, I simply seem to ask these questions: "Did this book make me think? Did this book entertain me? Was there a plausible, cohesive, plot?" And based largely on those questions, I have my rating.

Reading is personal. By proxy, rating is personal. Rating, I think, cannot be completely objective. Rating is based upon who and where the reader is RIGHT THEN as they are reading that book. I may now have a better grasp on how to execute my reading choices, but no matter the answers to my questions my rating will be affected by how I felt while reading a book. What I think might be plausible or not will inevitably be different from another's experience. But I think that's whay makes it fun.

How do YOU rate your books?

Hello World

Hiya folks! I'm back to join the living! Since my last post my knee got worse, not better, and I had to be transfered to a specialist... who suggested surgery. I had arthoscopic knee surgery to repair the capsule that surrounds my knee cap on May 21, 2013. Since that point I have been off of work, and will be through July 30, 2013. I have a lot of struggles and questions of identity throughout this period and while I feel far from being on steady ground... I think I'm ready to start blogging again.

I will admit I checked out there for a while. I didn't read books I could review -- it was all motivational or faith/ spiritual scripture. But just as I am learning to walk again.. I'm learning to enjoy reading again.

I can't promise it will be often, or if I'll do reviews in the beginning, but I'd like to post a weekly round up for my own sanity. To feel I've accomplished something while I am recuperating, and as my incentive for motivation.

Be seeing you...

Happy Healing,

Senator

Out of Hiding

Remember the last time I hinted about my knee? That Monday it took a turn for the worst and I experienced something I never could have imagined: pain so bad I could barely walk.

And was promptly taken off of work.

I'm not going to lie, the last two weeks have been a roller coaster. I didn't know how to express what I've been going through. I didn't know what to say, how to say it, how to believe in myself.

It's only now that I'm on the mend that I am properly able to convey my emotional pain. The inability to walk (although temporarily) cut me down a few and the fact that I wasn't working exacerbated my crumbling self-confidence. The physical pain was (is) certainly still a factor and also didn't help things, but once that was an afterthought -- about 3-4 days now -- the real healing began.

I want to quell any concerns about my knee. It needs NO SURGERY  (yay!) and all that happened was that I damaged the cartilage under my knee cap. Physical therapy has been a God-send and just today I was promoted from crutches to a cane!

Me, at 25.
Original found at: http://dreamstime.com/

It's been a journey so far and it's not over yet. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I am grateful for the experience. It taught me to be more patient, to really take care of myself and listen to my body.

Even if that means using a flipping cane when I walk.


Happy Healing,

Senator