Today I'm reviewing C.K. Bryant's debut novel, Bound, as part of the Dark C.A.R.M.A. Tour. I'm excited to share this book and fabulous author with you. I had the pleasure of reading and doing an edit on this book this past summer.
Bound is a fast-paced read. Here's the book blurb.
When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.
BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.
Seriously, what more of a secret can you keep from your best friend than having two completely different souls inside of your body? C.K. Bryant has created a fun story here, with plenty more amazing secrets. I really liked Kira's best friend, Lydia, and her less of a best friend alter ego. Kira was a great heroine who I enjoyed rooting for. I loved her determination to help Lydia despite the dangers. And as with many great stories, the male love, Octavion, interest is interesting and complex and gives opportunities for swooning if you're the swooning type.
If you enjoy adventurous love stories with fantasy twists, you'll enjoy Bound!
If you'd like to learn more about C.K. Bryant and her great book, you can visit her website.
You can go to Smashwords to download the book or Amazon to get it for your Kindle.
Every time I read a book by Shannon Hale, I end it thinking, "I want to BE Shannon Hale." I'm giving this book 5 stars because I love her prose. I love how she writes. It's as if she pays special attention to each sentence and makes sure that each sentence is perfect and almost musical.
I really love Miri. I love that she is a strong character and at the same time, isn't sure what she wants until the end. There were times I was able to relate to Miri, thinking back to being in grade school and wanting the friendships I felt I saw other girls having without me, not caring that I was excluded, but at the same time hating it. Then only realizing later that it was partially my own fault for not taking the initiative.
I'm debating reading it to Megan. There is a scene that I think will scare her, but I think in the end, she'll be fine. Especially if we read through it to the end so she can see it ends ok after the scary stuff.
If I could it would be somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars. Or maybe I'd do 3 stars for the first half of the book and 2.5 for the last bit.
This was the most recent book club book. I enjoyed a lot of the stories and found Deschenes to be an amusing writer. However, she is quite stuck on herself. The first 2/3 of the book contain stories about mostly friends and family and how they are like certain ice cream flavors. The last 1/3 of the book is about guys that she dated and the ice cream flavors they are like. It's that last 1/3 of the book that lost me. I got tired of her dropping the guys because she got scared, or didn't want to be committed, or whatever.
The whole idea is that people are like certain flavors of ice cream for a reason. Or rather, that certain flavors of ice cream have human characteristics (however you want to look at it). But, she didn't really do a good job of showing that through the book. It was more, "I ate ice cream with this person and most of my memories associated with that person are centered about that flavor ice cream, so that person is said ice cream." Or, "This person liked this flavor best and this is why they are like it since it's their favorite." It was all based on her memories of what ice cream she ate most often with each person instead of what each person was actually like.
That being said, I did enjoy a lot of the stories and I enjoyed her description of each ice cream's personality and there were times I laughed out loud to myself. If you decide to read it, stop when she starts all the stories about internet dating :)
Also, I think according to her I'd be vanilla because I'm pretty conservative. I have a problem with that since I only ever have vanilla in my freezer if I'm planning on making root beer floats. :)
I finished reading this for a book club discussion a couple weeks ago. It was my second time reading it, the first being for a college class. The second time through it hit me harder how sad it really is. The first time I read it I think I was too busy trying to think academically to really read it. The first time I gave it 5 stars because it was so different from anything I'd read to that point and shocking. This time, because I was reading it with a different goal in mind I can't quite want to give it 5 stars. There's nothing about his writing style or anything of the like that has gone down in my view, it's just that there just aren't any really happy parts of the book and that makes it hard for me to want to give it 5 stars. I know the subject matter of racism isn't a happy topic, and being that it's a true account he couldn't change story to make people feel good (that would have defeated the purpose of the book), but I feel like if I'm going to give a book 5 stars it needs to make me feel good about something.
I do recommend the book as a book to be read by a more mature audience, 15+. There are few swear words being used in general conversation, and a chapter that deals with sexuality, but he covers it in a vague way, or at least as vague as he can be and still get the basic message across.
The book is one that should make you squirm in your seat and feel uncomfortable, make you think about how and why you act and think the way you toward other races.
I'll be honest, the cover terrifies me and every time I put the book down, I placed it upside down so my kids wouldn't see it
Gary Darby's first novel, Star Scout Rising: First Trail, is a science-fiction tale about a young man trying to establish an identity for himself that is separate from the bad rap associated with his father. Del Baldura is part of an organization called Star Scouts. He and his team of Junior Scouts are working to learn about a terrifying alien creature in an area that should be empty of other people when the unthinkable happens. One of their team members is kidnapped by poachers. All the while, another set of villains have their own plans. This leads them to another adventure in what Darby calls "Out There" in reference to outer space.
The Star Scouts appear to be an organization somewhere between the Boy Scouts, the military, and Starfleet of Star Trek. They boldly go where no one has gone before, they go in peace, and they go to learn and discover. I liked Darby's main character, Del. He was a well thought out and believable character. Darby also had an incredibly evil character, who was just a little too much for me. I like my villains less obvious with their cruelty and selfishness, but that might just be me and my wimpiness. I think it would have helped me if I saw the villain from someone else's view point instead of being in the villain's head for those scenes.
Being that I'm not really a Star Trek fan, don't know anything about the military (yet--give me another year and we'll be there), and I was never a Boy Scout, most of the book is new to me. I think the idea is original and fresh--putting these programs together to make something new and then putting them in space for awesomeness.
There were some things I really struggled with while reading the book which are apparently not a big deal to other readers who have reviewed this book--it's received a lot of positive reviews. There was a great need for another pair of eyes for an edit before publishing this book. There were enough grammatical, punctuation, and formatting issues that it was constantly taking me out of the story. I had to work too hard to get back into it. If those errors had been caught previous to publishing the story, I know I would have liked the book a lot more because I would have been able to focus more on the characters and what they were doing instead of sitting there with a pencil and marking out, through, or writing notes. I couldn't help myself.
Other than the major typos in the book there was only one other thing that made the story difficult for me, and that was the blatant and obvious use of LDS scripture and innuendo. While I don't have a problem reading LDS fiction or nonfiction, or even a story with LDS scripture or innuendo, I want said book to be marketed as an LDS fiction, non-fiction, or obviously about about Mormons. I felt like Darby was trying to preach Mormon scripture without telling his readers what he was going to be doing.
Taking away the printing errors and religious innuendo, the book was exciting with characters that were fun (except the scary villain!) and interesting. The book doesn't come close to answering all my questions at the end, but rather leaves us with more questions than we started with. However, that's ok because Darby is already working on the sequel as this book is part of a trilogy.
You can learn more about the author here or purchasing info here (or here for Kindle).
Disclosure: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher for review, but this did not influence my opinion.
I thought most of the stories I read were interesting, but the book itself wasn't interesting enough to hold my attention. Usually I'd just pick it up and open it randomly, read a story or two and put it down. She lived a very interesting life, I guess, but I have a very different relationship with food, butter, and France.
I thought I'd let Megan give the first review of the book. My review follows hers.
Megan's Review:
I really liked this book. I like the funny things about it. It was kind of sad when Hope lost Honey. I liked Hope got candy, it made me hungry for candy! It was kind of exciting when Hope's garage opened and she was taken to the Memory Bank.
Kellie's Review:
This book was really different from most children's books. The closest I can think of would be Lemony Snicket's series, but even then there are major differences. I LOVED that the author used amazing illustrations to move the story along.
There are two sisters, Hope and Honey, and they have terrible parents that are kind of in the same vein as parents in Roald Dahl's books. They kick Honey out of the car one day and leave her on the side of the road, telling Hope to forget her. The rest of the book is Hope's adventure of trying to get her sister back because she is unable and unwilling to just forget the sister she loves.
The Memory Bank stores the strongest memories and also, memies (someone's first memory). Hope is taken there when her memory account drops too low. I loved the characters at the bank, from the man in charge of memories, to the woman of the dreams area, to the women who pick through the memories, they were all fun.
It's an awesome story and one that has an unexpected, but happy ending.
Jacob asked me to read and edit this book for him. He's been trying to publish it for three years and I think he'll do it. The book is excellent. It very much reminded me of The Maze Runner and Ender's Game, so boys who enjoy a good adventurous fantasy book will really like this one. I found it to be a little violent for me, but I guess that's what you get in a book that takes place during a war with people training for battle.
The characters were well developed minus one who ended up being very important at the end. He is writing a sequel book, so I'm hoping we learn more about this character in the next one. There is minimal language in the book, so be forewarned if you pick it up, but nothing horrible.
I really enjoyed reading it and stayed up pretty late to finish it (without realizing how late it was). I recommend it to anyone who likes The Maze Runner, Ender's Game, or any good fantasy adventure. I hope Jacob gets it published soon because I'd really like to see this book go far.
I read this book while in labor with Lincoln. I thought it was fitting. I'd started it before with Nathan, but we got caught up in something else and never finished it. I decided I should read the whole book before having him. And I did. But mostly because he came on 10-11-10.
I would have given the book 3.5 stars instead of four, but that wasn't an option. It was really funny, which is why I bumped it to 4 instead of leaving it at 3. The only things I didn't like were the few references to either their not being a God, or God having made a mistake when he made the world. They were made in jest, I think, but they still bugged me.
The story was fun and people who enjoy British humor will enjoy the book. But if you don't like British humor, don't bother with the book. There were plenty of times where I laughed out loud, despite the hard contractions I was experiencing while reading.
The basic story is (but not really) Arthur Dent is rescued from the earth seconds before its destruction by a friend of his who he didn't know was an alien. Because of this they go hopping from one space ship to another and find their way to a ship that has the last female earthling-Trillion. Arthur, Trillion, and the others find a planet that was supposed to only be legend and by so doing, discover the meaning to live the universe, and everything. Oh, and get a new earth:)
I think Nathan and I will go as Arthur Dent and Trillion for Halloween and make Lincoln be the number 42.
To be honest, I only enjoyed half of this book. Anytime he started talking about the history of football I got bored and eventually started skipping those sections. If he ties these tangents in somewhere, I missed it or didn't make it that far.
I enjoyed the heart of the story about Michael and the Tuohys, but returned the book to the library when it came due instead of renewing it, probably because I'd just gotten to another side story about an ex-football player and didn't feel like muddling my way through another boring part.
Also, there was more swearing than I expected in the book. Almost every one of the side football stories has quotes from coaches or players using vulgar language.
I'm skipping the rest of this book and watching the movie instead.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wow. This book is one of the best I've read this year. It's definitely my favorite by Annette Lyon.
Here's the book blurb.
When the war on terror calls their husbands to duty, five LDS women are left behind to fight battles of their own: Kim, newlywed and pregnant, frightened of what the future might bring. Brenda, struggling to manage three unruly boys and a crippling bout of depression. Jessie, secretly grappling with mixed feelings about her crumbling marriage. Marianne, wrestling with a rebellious teenage daughter. And Nora, the seasoned Army wife with perfect hair, an immaculate home—and an ill-tempered mother dying of cancer.
Knowing the separation of deployment is extremely difficult, Nora gathers the wives every week to share lunches and burdens. In good company, they worry over safety in the field and stability at home and offer one another counsel and comfort.
But as their personal crises build, each woman faces the risks of forming deep bonds of trust. And when tragedy strikes, they must confront the painful realities of war that pull families apart and bring friends together as sisters.
Lyon does a fantastic job creating five distinct and real women, and I was able to identify with each in some way. Her writing is compelling, and the way she sets up the chapters had me not wanting to stop, with each chapter focusing on a different woman. There were a couple times I felt like she head jumped, but it was never so big of a jump that I got confused or was bothered by it.
Read it expecting to laugh, to see yourself (even if your husband isn't in the Army), and with a box of tissues. Last night Nathan asked me both, "What's so funny?" and if something was wrong because I was crying so hard. He thought there might be something more than just a sad part in the book, but nope.
While I'm not positive, the book's dedication leads me to believe that there is some truth to the novel. Lyon dedicated it to five women and their husbands who served in the military, so while I know it's fiction, I can't help wondering if there's some truth to the story.
One really cool thing I learned on Lyon's website is she is willing to participate in your book club via telephone or in person if you choose to use the book. I thought that was pretty awesome.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars As a child this was my very favorite story. I would beg my mom and dad to read it to me every night. After having Megan, I would tell her the story of the twelve dancing princesses as I rocked her to sleep, hoping it would become a favorite of hers, too.
When I found out that Jessica Day George had reworked my favorite childhood story I got very excited and knew I had to read it. I ended up waiting much longer than I wanted, unfortunately, but I finally bought a copy while I was at the Storymakers Writing Conference.
I couldn't put this book down. She has done a phenomenal job with this story. It is seamless, engaging, magical. Despite being in a frantic rush to get my house in order before my parents arrive in a few days, I had to take time to finish it before tackling the mopping or dishes.
The story is no longer simply about princesses who like to dance and defy their father. Here's the book blurb.
Returning home from the war, young Galen finds work with his mother’s family in the royal gardens. There he learns that the king’s twelve daughters have a secret: every night they dance their shoes to tatters, but no one knows how or why. When prince after prince tries and fails to find the answer, and the family is haunted by accusations of witchcraft, Galen decides to help. Armed with a pair of silver knitting needles and an invisibility cloak given to him by a strange old woman, he follows the princesses and unlocks the secret of their curse.
And then here is another really cool thing about this book. At the end of the book after the story is over, she includes knitting patterns of items from the story that are key to the plot. I believe there are also more patterns on her website www.jessicadaygeorge.com.
If you like Jessica's other books or if you like Shannon Hale, you'll love this book!
The Mormon Mishaps and Mischief Giveaway and Blog Tour!
In celebration of Mothers, and all they do for us, Mormon Mishaps authors C.L. Beck and D.N. Giles have put together a giveaway in conjunction with a week-long blog tour. If you aren’t interested in winning a fantastic advertising package valued at $150, you can stop reading now.
Wait, you’re still reading. That must mean you want to hear about our prize package, correct? Well. Okay then.
yourLDSneighborhood.com is an online shopping mall which features innovative products and LDS-based services, and great ideas for your home, all without the worries of questionable content. Shopping categories include Clothing, Music, Preparedness, Family Entertainment, Scrapbooking, Books and Art, Health and Food, Travel and Recreation, Weddings and more! Visit yourLDSneighborhood.com today.
Your LDS Neighborhood Newsletter is a free online newsletter that comes three times a week right to your email inbox. It provides topical stories and insights that set the tone for your day. The newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources, and interviews from around the world, all with an LDS focus. Sign up today by clicking here!
YourLDSradio.com commits to bringing you the best in LDS Music – all day, every day and it is totally FREE to listen! Make them your web-surfing companion. It's free and easy to use and makes for the perfect online companion. Listen for yourself at yourLDSradio.com!
Okay, and now for the prize!
Your LDS Neighborhood has offered a YEAR LONG advertising package which includes space on the Neighborhood website as well as tiles in the newsletter. Were you to purchase advertising with them, this package would cost $150.
Here’s the best part. You don’t have to be LDS to advertise with the Neighborhood. As long as the business, blog, or product you’re promoting is family friendly, this advertising package will benefit you. Neighborhood ads are viewed daily around the globe, and by thousands of people.
So how do you win?
Entries will be accepted between May 4th and midnight, MST, May 16th. On May 17th, (or as close there about as possible) the winners will be chosen and announced on the LDS Humor blog. Although it's not required for entry, please take a minute to read the Mormon Mishaps and Mischief review/interview I've posted. Then, you must do the following four things to enter (but don't worry, they aren't hard):
1. Follow my blog, here.
2. Leave a comment here, at this blog.
3. Follow the LDS Humor blog.
4. Follow the Your LDS Neighborhood Newsletter blog.
Extra entries: 1. Blog about this contest, then come back and leave either a url address or a link in a comment.
2. Follow me on Twitter. (Bloggers, you can hyperlink this to your twitter page if you’d like, or include your twitter username.) And then tweet the contest. (Make sure to mention this in a comment.)
3. Facebook the contest. If your Facebook page is private, and I’m not your friend, I can’t see that you’ve done this, so you’ll need to friend me.(Same goes here.) Be sure to leave the link to where you've FB'd the contest in a comment.
All of these options can be mentioned in a single comment, and you can enter at all the participating blogs, as long as you follow and leave a comment for those bloggers so they know you love them.
You may enter this contest here, as well as on any of the tour posts at the following blogs:
To purchase Mormon Mishaps and Mischief click here.
*****
Ok, here's the review!
This was such a fun book! So many of these stories had me laughing out loud and searching the house for Nathan so I could share them with him. It's had me looking for the humor in life more often, especially at Church:)
I have to mention, in case you missed it in my blog earlier, I have a couple stories in here! It's my first time being published somewhere other than a newspaper, so that's pretty exciting for me.
I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this book. It's funny, well-done, and a really quick read.
Here's a little bit of the cover blurb listing some of the stories inside!
Read about:
*The preschooler who was afraid of being eaten by ‘Sunbeans’
* Establishing Zion in Cougar Stadium
*The ‘oddmonition’ of Paul
*The 14th article of faith
*Doing battle with the “Laman Knights”
*A young women outing that almost landed the class behind bars…and lots more!
My rating: 2 of 5 stars So apparently Little House in the Big Woods is a deep book. Or at least Megan thought so. When we finished it, she immediately started asking me why all kids have a mom and a dad and how it is that kids a long time ago had a mom and a dad, and who fed them (she determined that Jesus must have fed them).
We finally figured out that she was referring to Adam and Even and how they were able to grow up without a mom and dad.
It was an interesting conversation, all sprung from Laura Ingalls Wilder reflecting on what was past and what was present. Weird.
Anyway, at certain points I wanted to quit reading, and at other points I thought it was mildly interesting. It's not a book I would have found worth my time as a kid, but Megan really enjoyed it and even read it on her own at times, leaving me out of the loop and having to catch up to get to where she was. And boy does that girl read fast. I had no idea she could read so fast and retain so much.
Anyway, it was an ok book. If I could give it another half star to make it 2.5, I would. It did spark other interesting conversations about what life was like back then for kids and families. I think Megan appreciates some things more now.
I'm not sure who to recommend the book to. I guess if you like quaint histories, this book's for you.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a wonderful, clean, regency romance. If you like Jane Austen, you'll like Sarah Eden. If you can't stand reading Austen because she can be difficult to get through at times, you'll love Sarah Eden for being much easier to understand.
This story had my heart pumping for Persephone and Adam. When I only had one chapter left I couldn't imagine that she'd be able to tie up the story in a satisfying way, but she accomplished it well.
This is a self published novel and there were a few times I could tell it needed another editor, a pair of fresh eyes to go through it. But overall I really loved this book. She successfully wove a story with characters I fell in love with and cared about, even a few minor ones like Henry. I loved how she brought Greek mythology into it. I kind of wish it had been a running theme in the story all along the way, but I like how she had Persephone's brother tell the bulk of the story to Adam.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars Nathan and I read these books together. We both really like this author and find these books to be very entertaining. Sanderson is really funny and has a very creative magic system in this series. I like how the storyline got more complicated in this book.
Alcatraz is a kid who has the magical talent of breaking things. It's true. His grandfather has the magical talent of being late. That would so bug me. But in the books, it's great. In this installment, Alcatraz is finally home and trying to figure out life outside of librarian controlled lands when he discovers the librarians are about to takeover one of the last of the free kingdoms.
The book was fast paced, hilarious, and is littered with fun characters that are easy to see in my head. I love that this book introduces a "recovering librarian."
My one big complaint in it would be the title. I guess it fits, but it still bugs me. Alcatraz is up against multiple Knights at only one time and it isn't in a way that fits the rest of the books, Alcatraz Vs. The Evil Librarians and Alcatraz Vs. the Scrivners Bones. In the end, he's really up against one knight and doesn't even fight the knight himself, as you can see on the cover.
Over all, it was a great, fun story and it's a series that I can't wait for Jeremy to be old enough to appreciate!
A friend of mine reviewed a book called Love Your Body. I read her post today and the book sounds like an excellent read for anyone who has a hard time getting on the scale or eating healthy. It isn't a diet book, in fact, it's subtitle is A Diet Free Approach to Balanced Eating.
Here's the link to my friend's review. I'd do my own, but I don't have a copy of the book yet. Still, it looked like such a good book when most of us are starting to think weight loss resolutions or swimsuit season (not that it gets warm enough here in Cleveland for swimsuits, even in July).
Go check it out! There's even a contest to win a free copy of the book!
My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was such a fun book! So many of these stories had me laughing out loud and searching the house for Nathan so I could share them with him. It's had me looking for the humor in life more often, especially at Church:)
I have to mention, in case you missed it in my blog earlier, I have a couple stories in here! It's my first time being published somewhere other than a newspaper, so that's pretty exciting for me.
I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this book. It's funny, well-done, and a really quick read. If you have stories like these, you can email them to the authors for their next book. Or you can visit their website which has all kinds of daily funnies to see.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved this book. Having it broken up into days instead of chapters made it a really fast read. I couldn't put it down when I got to the middle of the book.
I love Shannon Hale's writing style here. This is the first of her books that I've read, so I don't know if she carries this style through with the rest of them. I've been wanting to read her books for a long time and just hadn't done it until Tuesday when I saw one at the library and decided to pick it up. The story is a retelling of an old Asian folk tale, so it is one that most of us here in the U.S. haven't heard before and according to her author's note in the back, she took a lot of liberty with it.
Her writing is beautiful and deliciously descriptive. The story is not one that I would recommend to small children. Even though it is a "fairy-tale" there is some violence that I couldn't imagine reading to Megan (5). Megan is pretty mature for her age and can handle some books that are maybe considered too old for her, but this one I would wait until she's at least 8 or 9. Maybe I'm too overprotective, any comments from people who have read it that would read it to their kids or let their young kids read it on their own?
My rating: 5 of 5 stars I first heard of this book about three years ago. This was way before it had been published and still had a lot of editing needed. I met James and he told me a little of the idea behind the book (a little less than what's on the back of the book) and I was intrigued. The last time I saw him he told me it was being published and would come out Fall of 2009. I didn't think I could wait and wanted to ask for an advanced reader copy.
I bought it almost as soon as it came out, but had to wait to read it because I was reading a book for book club and wanted to give my full attention to my friend's book. As soon as I was finished with the book club book I started on Maze Runner.
I think James did a great job. The idea behind the book, which is the first in a trilogy, is interesting, the way he developed is amazing. The characters remind me of characters in The Outsiders, a group of teenage boys who have their own language, slang. The boys have created a lot of their own slang that gets used frequently. Having their own words seems to help bring them solidarity.
The story itself is terrifying and the ending, of course, left me wanting more. It is, after all, the first in a trilogy. I found myself ignoring my kids all day and almost fed my family hot dogs without the buns because I had such a hard time putting the book down. In the end I had to stay up until almost 1AM finishing it.
My only complaints would be 1) the characters do sound very similar to one another. Occasionally I couldn't tell who was speaking because their language was so similar. The main character stuck out from the others, but among the rest of the boys I did have a hard time. However, I understood that all the boys were in exactly the same situation, with exactly the same background, not remembering anything before showing up in the maze and some of them being there for over two years, and so they would sound very similar because of that. 2) I have to wait for the next book!
All in all I really loved this book. It was scary, emotional, and fun. Great job, Dashner!
