CATCHING UP ON REVIEWS

So it turns out there was some kind of disconnect between my writing reviews across various platforms, and while my Goodreads account has at least one in-depth review a month for the last year, my poor blog hasn't been receiving my updates.

That's what I get for being so lazy, I don't even personally sign in to my site to check and make sure that my reviews were showing up the way they were supposed to. There will be a lot of reviews posted over the next couple of hours and hopefully, more of my reviews will be going up consistently once a month from now on.

Book Review: Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame

Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It's hard for me to say that I loved this book because the gut-wrenching honesty in this book and the story of the struggle of a kid growing up makes me feel like how dare I say that I loved reading about the lessons Mara Wilson has managed to get out of her childhood? It's just not the right sentiment, if that makes sense.

BUT I love her way with words, the way she turns a phrase, the quips and the snark and the way she doesn't pull her punches when it comes to the hurt. Despite the fact that she was a child star, and she grew up in a completely different way of life from me in terms of home and schooling, I found myself identifying with the situations she wrote about, the struggle to fit in, to figure out who you are, to find what you are good at and take chance at it. I teared up a lot more than I was expecting to because the truth is that this is a book about the struggles to grow up a little bit different from the rest of the kids. The fact that Mara Wilson was once a child star doesn't matter so much in the long run because she's a born storyteller, and as a reader, I wanted to hear more of her stories the further I got into the book.

I'm glad I took the chance to read this book. Mara Wilson is a voice in writing that I hope to hear more of in the future.


Rating: 10 Stars. This book was moving, unbelievably touching. I hope others come to it with an open mind because it's more in so many ways for all readers.


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Review: Reign of the Fallen

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


*I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways*

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. When I first read the blurb for this book, I honestly felt like it would be my kind of story. However, I found myself struggling to care about the characters. It felt like a lot of telling versus showing the reader why the characters interact together in certain ways, making me feel very removed from the story.

The setting seemed like it would be interesting but it was never developed enough beyond basically saying everything is like this because it has always been like this and that is all there is to it. I wanted to know the why's to this story and I feel like a lot of that was left out.

Finally, the pace seemed a little off. The story had a scene with what was supposed to be a major plot point of the book, or what I thought would be a turning point, and the characters kind of shrug it off to be dealt with after a festival. And why do they do that? Well, because the festival could be their last chance to enjoy themselves so off to the festival they go until the next bad thing happens. I did not understand the logic of the characters motivations. I felt they made poor choices for the sake of continuing the story and that does not sit well with me.

Overall, I feel like this book was okay, leaning a little towards I didn't like this much. I hope to read Marsh's previous release Fear the Drowning Deep in the next few months though, as I actually own the hardcover and have the e-book as well.


Rating: 2.5 Stars. I wanted to like this so here's to hoping I connect with the next book release.



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Review: Caraval

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

*I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways*

I feel bad saying this because I was so grateful and excited about the opportunity I had to read this book early but I was mostly frustrated and disappointed with this book.

Review: Gilded Cage

Gilded Cage by Vic James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways* 

Okay, I took a while to not only really gather my thoughts for this review but to also decide on how many stars I honestly thought it deserved. I've settled on 3 stars, and I'll explain my reasoning when I get there.

Review: Ghostly Echoes

Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've always really liked the Jackaby books by William Ritter. Originally, I only tried reading the first book from the library, as I am trying to be very careful with my book buying habit. When I was done with it though, I promptly went to my local bookstore and bought a copy. I was at the store the morning Beastly Bones was released and I read that one in a single sitting once I finally had a moment to just sit and enjoy it.

Review: The Flame Never Dies

The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have been waiting to read this book since finishing The Stars Never Rise last year. I wanted to see everything that Nina and her fellow exorcists did and I wanted to learn the back story to Finn.

But I honestly feel that this book was a bit of a letdown after the last book.