tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81085722420947758852024-03-19T04:46:22.630-04:00Wonderland NovelsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10180915188013138569noreply@blogger.comBlogger404125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-51172307948596046342021-04-10T14:12:00.003-04:002021-04-10T14:12:18.395-04:00[Review] These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtnLX_yO0GdDNTM0TbYHjWpciTbuUBiXA3HOc8brFMUnsJmmRW9VNWICR5re3VP2M6LNwHIeOf1G-DwTfv7ya4Hi8l4g7HKEPNLQVUEDBgR_bj7GZvkgnKmibkienCphCTL8YnIQoiBN7/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtnLX_yO0GdDNTM0TbYHjWpciTbuUBiXA3HOc8brFMUnsJmmRW9VNWICR5re3VP2M6LNwHIeOf1G-DwTfv7ya4Hi8l4g7HKEPNLQVUEDBgR_bj7GZvkgnKmibkienCphCTL8YnIQoiBN7/" width="159" /></a></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong</h2><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Imprint: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Margaret K. McElderry Books<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">ISBN: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">1534457690<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Published: November 17th 2020<br /></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rating: 4 stars</span></span><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span></span></h3><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s395/lumas4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="119" data-original-width="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s320/lumas4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><br /></div><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In glittering Shanghai, a monster
awakens. – p. 1<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These Violent Delights was a tribute
to 1920s Shanghai and the tumultuous changes that came with after effects of imperialism
and subsequent Western influence, enmeshed with a Romeo and Juliet retelling
that was violent and vicious. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dangerously delightful, indeed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Juliette Cai, of the Scarlet
Gang, and Roma Montagov, of the White Flowers – must put family politics and
past romance aside to save their city from a monster that intends to destroy Shanghai
from within. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I also just appreciate how Chloe
Gong just gave life to Shanghai, making it a living, breathing character in the
pages. The city is representative of its people, of its problems, and of its
history, and Gong really goes out of her way to show it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The decade is loose and the morals
are looser. As the West throws its arm up in unending party, as the rest of the
Middle Kingdom remains splintered among aging warlords and the remnants of imperial
rule, Shanghai sits in its own little bubble of power: the Paris of the East,
the New York of the West. – p. 1-2<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In a city not only bustling with
foreigners but also native Chinese from every corner of the country, most
civilians shared a language, but they did not share the same way of speaking
it. Two Chinese merchants could carry on an entire conversation with each one
speaking his own dialect. They didn’t need to meet in the middle. They only
needed to understand. – p. 227 – 228<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Look at this city. Look at the
starvation that squirms under the layers of glamour.<br />
Empires can fall in mere hours. This one is no different. Here in Shanghai, whoever
shoots first has the best chance of surviving. – p. 261<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The city does not know itself; it
will not feel the parasites that grow upon its skin until it is far too late.
This city is a miscellany of parts smashed together and functioning in one collective
stride, but place a gun to its head and it will only laugh in your face, misunderstanding
the violence of such intent.<br />
They have always said that Shanghai is an ugly daughter, but as the years grow
on, it isn’t enough to characterize the city as merely one entity. This place
rumbles on Western idealism and Eastern labor, hateful of its spit and unable
to function without it, multiple facets fighting and grappling in an
ever-constant quarrel. – p. 128<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The metaphor of the monster that encroaches
upon the people of Shanghai and the Western forces that also encroach upon the
city – these parallels had my analytical brain dissecting every line. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I loved Juliette Cai not only
because this girl would not hesitate to cut a b//tch down with a knife, but because
she is representative of the diaspora seen in people who are untethered and
part of multiple worlds. She had been in America for several years – learned its
language and its culture, and returns to Shanghai the same but different. She
styles herself in a Western fashion and speaks English with ease, but white men
still think of her as exotic Chinese girl, thinking themselves to be superior.<o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Juliette had met plenty of men
like him in America: men who assumed they had the right to go wherever they
wished because the world had been built to favor their civilized etiquette. –
p. 23 – 24<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even her own family, the
Scarlets, thought her different.<o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It clicked. The qipao. The Scarlet
gangsters had become accustomed to shortcutting their association of her to
glittering, beaded dressed and pomade in her finger-curled hair. As soon as she
dressed in Chinese clothing instead, they saw right past her.<br />
Juliette breathed in and found her lungs to be horribly tight. Could she never
be both? Was she doomed to choose one country or the other? Be an American girl
or nothing? – p. 143<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">She would bet her life savings
that he only thought her pretty because she was digestible to Western
standards. Her feminine beauty was a concept as fleeting as power. If she
acquired a tan, put on some weight, and let a few decades pass, the street
artists would not be rendering her face to sell their creams anymore. Chinese
and Western standards were arbitrary, pitiful things. – p. 169<o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">She would rather have been an
outcast than admit the blood in her veins was a product of the East.<br />
Juliette lied to think she had come down a bit from her high horse since then.
The second time she return to New York, she had seen the darkness behind the
glamour of the West. It was no longer so great to be a child constructed with
Western parts. – p. 234<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Before meeting every stranger in
New York, she went through the same routine: smile, shoulders back, eyes heavy.
She was light and bubbly and the epitome of the flapper girl, working ten times
as hard to maintain the perception she wanted just because of the skin she
wore. – p. 274<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
For a Chinese woman, your English is extraordinary. There is not a trace of an
accent to be found.”<br />
Juliette placed her hand on the door. When she pressed down, she felt the cold
of the delicate glass seep into her bones.<br />
“I have an American accent,” she replied dully.<br />
Paul waved her off. “You know what I mean.”<br />
Do I? she wanted to say. Would I be less if I sounded like my mother, my
father, and all those in this city who were forced to learn one language,
unlike you? – p. 317<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Paul sucks (pass it on). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Also, as I have said, girl is
violent and fierce. <o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“That’s not a necklace, is it?”<br />
“It is not, Baba.”<br />
“That’s garrote wire, isn’t it?”<br />
“Indeed it is, Baba/”<br />
“How many other weapons have you concealed on yourself?” <br />
“Five, Baba.” – p. 161<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Also, the simultaneous exertion
of Western influence is acknowledged constantly in this book, and how, in turn,
it impacts Shanghai and its people.<o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“This city is no longer Chinese.”
– p. 57<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another thing I enjoyed (honestly,
there were so many things) – how we can appreciate and follow with all the side
characters – Kathleen, Rosalind, Benedikt, Marshall, all given their own chapters
and their own arcs and I loved them all. I hate in books when you’re given such
a huge cast and you have no idea who is who and don’t care about any of their
plots, but These Violent Delights really gave everyone developed stories. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book seems fitting to read about during a
pandemic, with all the talk of a vaccine and finding a cure to the madness –
what relevant topics. <o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“Loyalty played its dirty hand,
too, and it is a fickle, ever-changing thing.” – p. 216<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Just as in Romeo and Juliet, the
idea of loyalty and betrayal and warring families carry over, and honestly the
backdrop of Shanghai just made it all the more interesting. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And this scene that broke the
fourth wall made me laugh. <o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“Montague, really?”<br />
“Shut up,” Juliette hissed back. “I couldn’t think of anything else and I didn’t
want to pause suspiciously.”<br />
“You’re fluent in Russian and that’s the best you could come up with?” Roma
asked, flabbergasted. “What is a Montague? It sounds Italian.”<br />
“There are Italian Communists!”<br />
“Not in Shanghai!” – p. 229<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I devoured These Violent
Delights. I can’t wait for the sequel. <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-66356305675787739842021-03-15T00:34:00.004-04:002021-03-15T00:34:59.005-04:00[Blog Tour] ARC Review & Mood Board/Tour Stop: City of Spells by Alexandra Christo <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8y2BqscQbMEIUzVNEhTVPg5XDHzZlQ0YOHbj07cUij_qM2EIeAiOyMpHfKra5_KP5323GJ2lsp6tOP9aJYucES4bBWQuIaH7DT0WmhEK2txpBK3G3pbRoCqeaAhDO8lDE4VA3Y2HyNlgo/s2047/City+of+Spells+Banner.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="2047" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8y2BqscQbMEIUzVNEhTVPg5XDHzZlQ0YOHbj07cUij_qM2EIeAiOyMpHfKra5_KP5323GJ2lsp6tOP9aJYucES4bBWQuIaH7DT0WmhEK2txpBK3G3pbRoCqeaAhDO8lDE4VA3Y2HyNlgo/s320/City+of+Spells+Banner.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h1 style="text-align: center;">City of Spells by Alexandra Christo</h1><div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Imprint: Feiwel & Friends<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pages: 352<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ISBN: </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">1250318408<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Published: March 9th 2021</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tour Hosted By</span>:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><a href="https://www.thebookterminal.com/blog-tour-home" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Book Terminal Tours</a></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rating: 3.5 stars</span></h3></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrluH-mSQnr3OsniGPnEnV3uk96RJcDpwHtzHdQ60TDV1wbJoSjtmg22txiIeNVjkVX7wKhBZD4TMpE4mcGDrn3j0uv3JUZpdBE72Eol6aAU3_MBrYbtB7_ssl8Ws9og-HTVi3lWf93jQ/s359/lumas3.5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrluH-mSQnr3OsniGPnEnV3uk96RJcDpwHtzHdQ60TDV1wbJoSjtmg22txiIeNVjkVX7wKhBZD4TMpE4mcGDrn3j0uv3JUZpdBE72Eol6aAU3_MBrYbtB7_ssl8Ws9og-HTVi3lWf93jQ/s320/lumas3.5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: justify;">(I received an ARC from the publisher free of charge from Netgalley, but this does not impact my review in any way.)<span><a name='more'></a></span><span></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyoqmlD3rkjYmU8UHYFr6T1M6lXo03pdigm7_ysTpk1COYvWDyddMh386YDF-zpjzueDFImb2T9bsX0nEYh2UGZ3yFi4XmoBoxXWmouk0AiLX3TTB_5GDtI9cRdiZgWFJCVjXxA7NaamI/s475/Cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="307" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyoqmlD3rkjYmU8UHYFr6T1M6lXo03pdigm7_ysTpk1COYvWDyddMh386YDF-zpjzueDFImb2T9bsX0nEYh2UGZ3yFi4XmoBoxXWmouk0AiLX3TTB_5GDtI9cRdiZgWFJCVjXxA7NaamI/s320/Cover.jpg" /></a></b></div><b><br />City of Spells</b> is full of dark
magic and deep secrets. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What a fun second book. It was
pleasantly more fast-paced than the first, which I enjoyed. This time, in
addition to the Crooked crew, we have a POV from Zekia, the sister of Saxony
who aligned herself with the Kingpin, Dante Ashwood. And I just adored the
banter and growing bonds between her and Wesley. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>He’d never had anything he hadn’t
stolen or taken with blood. Except for magic. Magic had always felt so very
much his, even when it was just a trick bag or a charm he kept in his back
pocket. Each and every one felt like air in his lungs. Now he finally knew why.
</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“I heard a lot about you,”
Bastian said.<br />
Wesley tried to make his voice sound breezy. “I bet none of it was good.” </blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of Wesley, our favorite
underboss is back and better than ever, and watching the gang reunite with him
was so sweet, because he’s a character that certainly grows on you. And
watching him come into his magic and its power was such a great twist. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“She changed from wanting to run
from Creije and its criminals, to fighting to save it and organize her comrades
into an army.”</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I loved the growth and
development of Tavia and Wesley. While all our characters are the morally grey
questionable sort, Tavia and Wesley go from wanting things of their own
volition to wanting things for the good of their friends, family, and city. And
even better, the really want to do these things together! <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The slow burn romance between
them was… *chef’s kiss*. Honestly, why don’t more stories take a while to get
around to the kiss? It’s so much more satisfying. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Reading both <b>Into the Crooked
Place</b> and City of Spells reminded me of the DnD campaigns I used to have with
my friends. The con artist, the thief, the mage, the monk. All morally
grey characters looking for trouble, when trouble eventually finds them. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Just like in the first book,
everyone is tested and bonds are reforged. The found family trope will always
get me, no matter what. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And speaking of secrets… there were
some really big ones that were dropped in this book! Definitely took me by
surprise. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Although what I would have wanted
to know is… <span style="color: white;">whether Wesley really was related to Ashwood. I mean, the guy spent
the whole last fight telling him so, but we never get confirmation</span>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you want a satisfying
conclusion to a magical and dark duology, with found family to boot, read <b>City
of Spells</b>! <o:p></o:p></p><p>
<span style="font-size: 14.72px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">_________________________________________________________________________________</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14.72px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Droid Serif"; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">Mood Board for City of Spells</h3><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_USOB8_RnIZ4iHLy-e3JSC_n9A75-IRI2RoJAyoHGsSz3g2UguyfdtsNDX1MBCCWE7Bl4Q1Xuwv26zF8Azb5ZVWQIDdTHO5p4ID5p58xLIXr_i0Kqwfmha-k9C1ENo0RxfQxPWYcOjK2t/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_USOB8_RnIZ4iHLy-e3JSC_n9A75-IRI2RoJAyoHGsSz3g2UguyfdtsNDX1MBCCWE7Bl4Q1Xuwv26zF8Azb5ZVWQIDdTHO5p4ID5p58xLIXr_i0Kqwfmha-k9C1ENo0RxfQxPWYcOjK2t/w400-h400/Fashion+Style+Brand+Mood+Board+Social+Media+Post.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Actually struggled a bit to make this one but I'm satisfied with the outcome? Tried really hard to evoke a steampunk but make it DND vibe that I felt like City of Spells and Into the Crooked Kingdom had. </div><div><p> <span style="font-size: 14.72px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">_________________________________________________________________________________</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14.72px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">About the Book</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-98787abb-7fff-3164-3797-0b9b3bca4152"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">City of Spells</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the follow-up to Alexandra Christo's gritty YA fantasy, Into the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crooked Place</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, finds the world on the brink of war and four unlikely allies facing sacrifices they had never imagined.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the loss of Wesley and the horrifying reveal that Zekia is helping the Kingpin of her own free will, Tavia, Saxony, and Karam flee to Saxony's home to rebuild their rebellion. Meanwhile, trapped in the Kingpin's darkness, Wesley must fight against the deadly magic that invades his mind and find a way back to his friends before it's too late.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the Kingpin's dark magic spreads and his army conquers Creije, these four unlikely friends have to decide just how far they’ll go―and how much they are willing to sacrifice―to win.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy Links</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41444244-city-of-spells?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=8ueVPKiRLc&rank=1" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DRMLF84/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/city-of-spells-alexandra-christo/1134053830" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a> <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250318404" target="_blank">Indie Bound</a></p><br /><h2 dir="ltr" style="background-color: #f6f3ed; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></h2><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 14pt;"><span style="color: #de0302; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEroZ2RYWNq7uoUdSKo3rjiqdMsc6kb_W3UZ0fLTqIXY6f_qVHwKVF0vga3fc9_A-QN6-VRFBM6-csJNsufCF8aI7fRjlC0wwzULleI8bXTBowxmdbf4PFrWXiehzu0q_bTRzKt51z7MAJ/s648/Alexandra+Christo+headshot.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEroZ2RYWNq7uoUdSKo3rjiqdMsc6kb_W3UZ0fLTqIXY6f_qVHwKVF0vga3fc9_A-QN6-VRFBM6-csJNsufCF8aI7fRjlC0wwzULleI8bXTBowxmdbf4PFrWXiehzu0q_bTRzKt51z7MAJ/s320/Alexandra+Christo+headshot.jpg" /></a></div><br />Alexandra Christo</span></h3><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alexandra Christo</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> decided to write books when she was four and her teacher told her she couldn’t be a fairy. When she’s not busy making up stories, she can be found organizing food crawls over London and binge-watching Korean dramas. Alexandra has a BA in Creative Writing and currently lives in England with an abundance of cacti (because they’re the only plants she can keep alive). She is also the author of </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To Kill a Kingdom</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span>Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-86451692067011735282021-01-29T17:46:00.004-05:002021-03-14T23:16:55.711-04:00[Blog Tour] ARC Review & Mood Board/Tour Stop: The Poetry of Secrets by Cambria Gordon <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmdev3Em6sa6l0KrIErfqAYGH8PhyphenhyphenZPDcDfbeBaR1L_LcK35jWYpkQI68He4ECjkuiYwwCJxZIOxJaq1ycoNuHeM8bMU3mFehqOJYgWxm8VzdWJOlqNZ5qkhYCB1RIesjVx7Erlomvx_K/s2200/the+poetry+of+secrets+banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="2200" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmdev3Em6sa6l0KrIErfqAYGH8PhyphenhyphenZPDcDfbeBaR1L_LcK35jWYpkQI68He4ECjkuiYwwCJxZIOxJaq1ycoNuHeM8bMU3mFehqOJYgWxm8VzdWJOlqNZ5qkhYCB1RIesjVx7Erlomvx_K/w400-h165/the+poetry+of+secrets+banner.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><h1 style="text-align: center;">The Poetry of Secrets by Cambria Gordon</h1><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Imprint: Scholastic<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pages: 416<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ISBN: </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">1338634186</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Published: February 2nd 2021</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tour Hosted By</span>:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><a href="https://www.thebookterminal.com/blog-tour-home" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Book Terminal Tours</a></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rating: 4 stars</span></h3><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s395/lumas4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="119" data-original-width="395" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/w320-h96/lumas4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Droid Serif"; font-size: 15.4px; text-align: justify;">(I received an ARC from the publisher free of charge, but this does not impact my review in any way.)<span><a name='more'></a></span></i></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oALvZKqCBTSRPKSWTGfQcK5SC3nUX068YPr14qkvG90WlJzF2V8NprJI6suKuMWkhjASzFoCAel-mm5eYK_OMEh7cwz-TGDUIlRNBMnPk3DOoy8ydYoE5RwhLFviJUgSd9Iqx_V9TDKD/s1200/The+Poetry+of+Secrets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oALvZKqCBTSRPKSWTGfQcK5SC3nUX068YPr14qkvG90WlJzF2V8NprJI6suKuMWkhjASzFoCAel-mm5eYK_OMEh7cwz-TGDUIlRNBMnPk3DOoy8ydYoE5RwhLFviJUgSd9Iqx_V9TDKD/s320/The+Poetry+of+Secrets.jpg" /></a></i></b></div><b><i><br />The Poetry of Secrets</i> </b>is both a
story of reclaiming identity and forbidden romance. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Isabel Perez and her family live
between worlds – appearing on the outside to be good New Christians, conversos
from Judaism, but practicing in secret in their homes. Isabel herself is torn
between duty to her family to marry the alguacil of the town or her love for the
nobleman Diego Altamirano. But the Inquisition is encroaching upon the town of
Trujillo, Spain, forcing Isabel to make difficult choices in both romance and
religion. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Identity is a big part of this
story and I appreciate that identity was featured through so many different
lenses. We have Isabel’s struggles and the struggles of her family displaying
the difficulties of being a converso, not welcome fully by either side. It was
chilling to read about the horrors of the Inquisition, as through the eyes of
someone in hiding, for one wrong move could land both her and her family in
jail, or worse. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>Isabel was well aware of the
tenuous ground the conversos walked on. The Jews judged them for rolling over,
for converting too easily and turning their backs on God. The Christians
accused them of tainting the blood of their children by intermarrying with Old
Christian nobility. – p. 12</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I admire Isabel’s tenacity in refusing
to adhere to the world as presented before her – she was to be a good, demure,
New Christian girl who was to marry a man in high standing. She questioned
everything, and it was that curiosity that opened her up to more. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“Forgive me. For a moment, I
forgot the rules of society. Let me recite them again in case you need
reminding, too. Spanish ladies of marrying age must acquiesce to the attentions
of any interested male,” Isabel began, “the more prestigious, the better. Serve
them wine and meat and… pistachios. We must dress modestly and speak only when
we are spoken to. We dare not express ourselves. We dare not have hobbies of
our own. And we certainly dare not show anyone we can read or write, for we
ladies might take over the world one day. And where wold the prestigious bachelors
be then?” <br />
Where had all this venom inside her come from?<br />
“It’s unequal and immoral!” she yelled. “Why do men get to decide all the
rules?”<br />
…<br />
Isabel glared at her parents. “Why must you always be so worried about what
other people think?”<br />
“As conversos, it goes with the territory,” admitted Mama.<br />
“Well, I’m sick of the territory. Every step I take is a lie.” – p. 33</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m not a religious person, but I
felt the journey that Isabel had towards re-discovering herself in her Jewish
faith to be very poignant, even more so since it was interwoven with a touching
bond between Isabel and her Abuela. In fact, you can tell from the first words
of the book how close she is with her grandmother.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>The day Isabel followed a
handsome stranger into an alleyway, her grandmother’s words echoed in her head:
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your impulsivity will be the death of
you.-</i> p. 1</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Readers can feel the wonderment
that Isabel feels when reading the Talmud for the first time, can feel her
connection to her poetry grow even stronger when she finds out she is related
to a famous Jewish poet Qasmuna. Even under suspicion for being a ‘judaizer’,
she goes in disguise to the Jewish quarter of her town, relishing in her family’s
once-forgotten world. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Her acceptance of her Jewish
name, Eva, in the end, is bittersweet, and calls back to a conversation with
her Abuela, chapters earlier:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“In the end, it is up to each one
of us to be worth of the name we have been given.” – p. 237</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I also appreciated the
juxtaposition of Beatriz’s and Isabel’s religious journeys. Beatriz is the only
one out of the Perez’s to fully accept her position as a New Christian and
wants to become a sister and take the vows pretty early, putting her at odds
with the rest of her family. However, the sobering experiences of the
Inquisition lead her to reduce her fervor, but still remain devoted. Isabel
questions religion and finds her faith in Judaism midway through the book, but
her belief is rooted in exploration and constant search for the truth. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In spite of their differences, I
always appreciate good sibling relationships in stories. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“I met a man once,” began Isabel,
“who thought his countenance would never please a woman. He was right. But not
because of his looks. It was because of his spirit. He was evil down deep. You
are the opposite, Beatriz. Your soul is good. And therefore, you are beautiful
to me.” – p. 347</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As for the romance, it is another
tale of star-crossed lovers who must defy the odds to be together. Isabel and
Diego make a good pair, because despite the fact that they are stifled from
being who they truly are (a poet and an artist, free to practice their faith),
their love only blossoms in adversity. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“My lover cries in his castle,
while I am imprisoned in my own cold, dark room. He needs succor. Only he holds
the key to my heart.” – p. 315</blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Poetry of Secrets</i></b> balanced
numerous facets – romance and religion, love and loss, to present a story of perseverance
in the rise of the Spanish Inquisition. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-565c6f53-7fff-f1f9-7400-30fcf05fb2f0"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_________________________________________________________________________________</span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Droid Serif"; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">Mood Board for The Poetry of Secrets</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsYjsEq5YQ0xxonYuDPvuETM0DEpsqPaXZl4pn_opV0AqRnOrJw5ug5w_7hyphenhyphen-fjBZeX9ZANh0sfmOvNJKT9O7e5IEj9E2-qzI08q0MNZDBIJLnXjJeHC6PwLdvTtLNpqybV8l00MjnD-z/s2000/The+Poetry+of+Secrets+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsYjsEq5YQ0xxonYuDPvuETM0DEpsqPaXZl4pn_opV0AqRnOrJw5ug5w_7hyphenhyphen-fjBZeX9ZANh0sfmOvNJKT9O7e5IEj9E2-qzI08q0MNZDBIJLnXjJeHC6PwLdvTtLNpqybV8l00MjnD-z/w400-h320/The+Poetry+of+Secrets+%25282%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div><div>Once more, I loved making this mood board! Wish I had more time to do them. My favorite part is the peacock, which I tried to replicate from the cover of the book. It looks like a stamp/a fancy letter at the beginning of a fancy book.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-565c6f53-7fff-f1f9-7400-30fcf05fb2f0"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_________________________________________________________________________________</span></span></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-786f7298-7fff-e8ff-c35e-6dd402ce1851"><h3 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About the Book</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys and Elizabeth Wein, this lyrical portrait of hidden identities and forbidden love is set against the harrowing backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Isabel Perez carries secrets with her every day.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a young woman in 1481, Trujillo, Spain, Isabel should be overjoyed that the </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">alguacil</span><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the city wants to marry her. She is supposed to be flattered especially because she and her family are </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">conversos</span><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jews forced to convert to Catholicism -- leaving them low in the hierarchy of the new Spanish order. But, although she can't tell anyone, she only has eyes for Diego Altamirano, a young nobleman whose family would never let him court Isabel.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So for now she sneaks out to attend poetry readings, for she longs to one day be a famous poet...another secret wish that may never come true.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Isabel's most dangerous secret is this: Though the Perezes claim to be New Christians, they still practice Judaism in the refuge of their own home. When the Spanish Inquisition reaches Trujillo determined to punish such </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">judaizers</span><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Isabel finds herself in more danger than she ever could have imagined. Amidst the bloodshed and intolerance, she and Diego will have to fight for their lives in a quest to truly be free.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Order </span><b style="text-align: left;"><i>The Poetry of Secrets</i></b><span style="text-align: left;">: </span><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52664783-the-poetry-of-secrets?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZRMrLaCmWw&rank=1" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #a8a6a1; margin: 0px; outline: dotted thin; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Goodreads</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444340;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1338634186/ref=x_gr_w_bb_glide_sin?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_glide_sin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1338634186&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #15b6b8; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Amazon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444340;"> </span><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-poetry-of-secrets-cambria-gordon/1136672448?ean=9781338634181" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #15b6b8; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Barnes & Noble</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444340;"> </span><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781338634181" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #15b6b8; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">IndieBound</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-565c6f53-7fff-f1f9-7400-30fcf05fb2f0"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_________________________________________________________________________________</span></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 310px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 354px;"><img height="310" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/9wzceg8ADXbOhz31D6-TH4TPCAx7ctPO0aLJ9_zTwukRx5dT4zvJxlxdmvGm-L4IofpjUDxDyfpEI0A2dpVzm0YbDIIwMQAiV0MoI6s8vhE7-pM8S_bDqhfhDrzO-UnPmH8JOdsn" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="354" /></span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 12.3109130859375pt; margin-top: 15.276031494140625pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CAMBRIA GORDON </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the coauthor of the award-winning </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Down-to </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 27.18817138671875pt; margin-top: 0.436279296875pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earth Guide to Global Warming</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, winner of the National Green Earth </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 27.03057861328125pt; margin-top: 0.556304931640625pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Award. She has written for </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Los Angeles Times Magazine</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boys' </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 28.16595458984375pt; margin-top: 0.556304931640625pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Parent Guide News</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Jewish Journal </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of Los Angeles. She </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 14.807373046875pt; margin-top: 0.5562744140625pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">splits her time between Los Angeles and Madrid with her husband and </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 38.866943359375pt; margin-top: 0.556304931640625pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">youngest son—and as close as possible to her two adult children, </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 188.61703491210938pt; margin-top: 0.55633544921875pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">without annoying them. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 11.04pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-ffhje" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121)); direction: ltr !important; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tour Schedule - Bloggers</span></span></span></span></h2><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-f4jv2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-5m20b" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121)); direction: ltr !important; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jan 27th</span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8dq4r" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="https://wewriteatdawn.com/2021/01/27/welcome-post-the-poetry-of-secrets/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #c3a384; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Welcome Post - We Write At Dawn</u></a> </span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-dnnm" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="https://ohthebooksyoucanread.wordpress.com/2021/01/27/the-poetry-of-secrets-cambria-gordon/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #c3a384; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh! The Books You Can Read! - Review</u></a> </span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8jqe4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="http://bbgrl4u82.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-poetry-of-secrets-author-interview.html" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #c3a384; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Angela Walker’s Reviews - Interview</span></u></a></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-1mg1u" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-f6ahs" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121)); direction: ltr !important; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jan 28th</span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-9484f" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="https://geekiemind.tumblr.com/post/641572876218138624/finally-got-around-to-finishing-this-amazing-book" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #c3a384; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Geekiemind - Review</span></u></a></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-ec87j" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="https://ladyreadsalotreviews.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/blog-tour-poetry-of-secrets/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #c3a384; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lady Readsalot - Review</span></u></a></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-afd0i" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="https://auburnreads.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/poetry-of-secrets-blog-tour/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #c3a384; cursor: pointer; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What She Will Read - Promotional Post</u></a> </span></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-6a4to" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-80msr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121)); direction: ltr !important; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jan 29th</span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8k8vr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kait Plus Books - Top 10 List</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-6335c" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wonderland Novels - Review / Mood Board</span></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-9o0h7" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-bt2fe" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121)); direction: ltr !important; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jan 30th</span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-c8t1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Clever Reader - Review</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-93qlk" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fantastically Bookish - Review</span></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-d8phg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-7vfjb" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121)); direction: ltr !important; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jan 31st</span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8aloq" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); 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background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pop Reads Reviews - Mood Board</span></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-7t92u" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8hmjl" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); 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font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Feb 1st</span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-9li1h" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; direction: ltr !important; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; 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box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The World of Celia McMahon - Review</span></span></p></span></div></span></div></div>Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-33121381323498411242021-01-05T08:00:00.076-05:002021-01-05T08:48:46.540-05:00[Blog Tour] ARC Review & Mood Board/Tour Stop: Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhx3BkBtRL1AtYPvfYcTZooyVB0PWhOf4Fvc5-QZMcYEw-ciYwN92Svt6itqXIC608MbJfGOy-I9pUkSEy9Q8rLTAwBwInS8wTavQx3-URNMtUIDr1YFJ2QXRWOPhFiv5p0AcQaLhU4XXx/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="2200" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhx3BkBtRL1AtYPvfYcTZooyVB0PWhOf4Fvc5-QZMcYEw-ciYwN92Svt6itqXIC608MbJfGOy-I9pUkSEy9Q8rLTAwBwInS8wTavQx3-URNMtUIDr1YFJ2QXRWOPhFiv5p0AcQaLhU4XXx/w400-h165/Hold+back+the+tide+banner.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h1 style="text-align: center;">Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury</h1><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Imprint: Scholastic<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Pages: 300<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ISBN: 1407180290</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Published: January 5th 2021</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tour Hosted By: <a href="https://www.thebookterminal.com/blog-tour-home" target="_blank">Book Terminal Tours</a><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rating: 4 stars</span></h3><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s395/lumas4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="119" data-original-width="395" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/w200-h60/lumas4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>(I received an ARC from the publisher free of charge, but this does not impact my review in any way.)<span></span></i></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />Small town meets paranormal
thriller meets mystery, thrown in with some horror – <b><i>That’s Hold Back the Tide</i></b>.
<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IXXub7EZztiCtVbFodiR7QNw_YVnjg-4qHLA0XXP4fbPuK4lHpNZsQ5nK-XRSxCT24a-gVtUDkGtH2R-Bl-4BAZdwBC6P9k3UvIJQ5qdOnm_2hgoW-dx9NBxQFUrJ0CmRan9fhSi85lW/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="794" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IXXub7EZztiCtVbFodiR7QNw_YVnjg-4qHLA0XXP4fbPuK4lHpNZsQ5nK-XRSxCT24a-gVtUDkGtH2R-Bl-4BAZdwBC6P9k3UvIJQ5qdOnm_2hgoW-dx9NBxQFUrJ0CmRan9fhSi85lW/" width="159" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Ormscaula, there’s an unspoken
secret – Alva’s father murdered her mother years ago. Alva heard the gunshots
when it happened, and ever since, has been planning to leave the small town,
away from her murderous father, who works as the town Naomhfhuil – guardian of
the loch. But leaving might just force some of these secrets to come to light…</div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alva falls under the category of
heroines who don’t hold back. From the very first line, you can tell she is not
playing around. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“Here are the rules of living
with a murderer.” </blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Girl is hardened after years of
living with this knowledge. Granted this is a /spoilers/ <span style="color: white;">miscommunication</span>, but
you can tell how much more jaded and driven Alva is because her whole life was
upturned following that one night. She’s ostracized, isolated, and bullied,
with few people to call close. And even those who are lucky to have her
friendship, she pushes away with a meter long stick.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>“Hear me, Murren Ross. I like you
well enough, but I’ll not be your wife, pretend or otherwise. If you want to
leave Ormscaula, leave. But you’ll not come with me. Do you understand?” – p.
101 </blockquote><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And because we’re stuck with Alva
from beginning to end, by the time the ending rolls around, you realize that
there’s the occasional bit of unreliable narrator in the beginning, because
Alva hated her father’s guts (understandably so). Readers are so caught up in
this compelling narrative that it’s only until you know the truth that things
change. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alva even puts her love interests
to shame, taking charge of discovering the mysteries of their town with grim
determination and a gun.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">“Have either of you used a gun before?”</div><div style="text-align: left;">Both of them shake their heads.</div><div style="text-align: left;">“Then you’re not having one.”</div><div style="text-align: left;">“How do we defend ourselves?” Gavan asks.</div><div style="text-align: left;">“We stay behind Alva.”</div><div style="text-align: left;">“Fine,” I sigh. “One of you can have the gun, after I show you how to use it.
And there’s an exe, wherever Ren left it. But also, yes – stay behind me.” – p.
175</div></blockquote>
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Also can’t forget the olanfhuil, the creepy monsters of the
loch. Tried to look up how they look like, and didn’t come up with anything,
but I was getting Pale Man (from <b><i>Pan’s Labyrinth</i></b>) vibes. They are spooky, and
Salisbury captured the horror-thriller atmosphere of death and disappearance
quite well. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But even beyond the obvious monster of the loch, there’s the
theme of the monster that is mankind, as well. How mankind brings ruin to the
environment (even in 19<sup>th</sup>/20<sup>th</sup> century Scotland we have
monsters impacted by man’s environmental carelessness), how mankind thinks it
is privy to every little thing --- Giles Stewart is the embodiment of evil
here, in more ways than one. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Maybe I don’t read these often,
but the fact that this book doesn’t have the HEA most books do is what makes me
so satisfied with it? It’s one of those inevitable thriller endings that have
both readers and characters accepting that this is the way it has to be. If it
were any other way, I’d be befuddled by how perfectly everything worked out,
but with this, I’m all for it. It’s the ending that makes the most sense, given
what shit has happened to everyone in this book. Basically, everyone is a
target. Those are the endings your rarely see, unless it’s Battle Royale or
something. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Much of what I enjoyed about this
book goes into spoiler territory. The complexity of Alva's relationship with her father, the theme of running from fate/responsibility versus chasing your dreams, <span style="color: white;">the surprise twist with her mother in the end</span>. I could go on, but to summarize – it’s a small town
paranormal thriller that will have you on your toes, from beginning to end. <span></span></p><!--more--><p></p></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></p><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mood Board for Hold Back the Tide</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNzpWUNQc6BYs0Qjlg2u-QDdeUAGx0ZI-fmBNnCMi6sRuTF_tu-9OvLogk_cnQdS8tObyKiUlhdeLPnZXyiG9YAA-COwu03HUKpOhImBhhSUY0PUCqIGa51egT2qd3uO5g_6B2vEG7Gpg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNzpWUNQc6BYs0Qjlg2u-QDdeUAGx0ZI-fmBNnCMi6sRuTF_tu-9OvLogk_cnQdS8tObyKiUlhdeLPnZXyiG9YAA-COwu03HUKpOhImBhhSUY0PUCqIGa51egT2qd3uO5g_6B2vEG7Gpg/w400-h320/Park-Miller+Nuptials+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p>First time making a mood board, but this book did give me a lot of <b><i>Pan's Labyrinth</i></b> meets pre-steampunk vibes, so I was mostly going for that. This does make me want to create more mood boards in the future. <span><!--more--></span><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Order </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/hold-back-the-tide-by-melinda-salisbury/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;">HOLD BACK THE TIDE</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">Links: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52664820-hold-back-the-tide" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1338681303/ref=x_gr_w_bb_sin?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_sin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1338681303&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781338681307">Indiebound</a> | <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hold-back-the-tide-melinda-salisbury/1136672264" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-db07d41c-7fff-8ee2-d257-c068dc39f154"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About the Book:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From internationally bestselling, acclaimed author Melinda Salisbury comes a darkly seductive story of murder, betrayal, love, and family secrets in a small town in the Scottish Highlands.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are the rules of living with a murderer.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One: Do not draw attention to yourself.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, when you live with a murderer, this is impossible. Even the subtlest of spectres is bound to be noticed. Which leads to the next rule.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two: If you can't be invisible, be useful.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone in this quiet lakeside community knows that Alva's father killed her mother, all those years ago. There wasn't enough proof to arrest him, though, and with no other family, Alva's been forced to live with her mother's murderer, doing her best to survive until she can earn enough money to run away.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of her chores is to monitor water levels in the loch-a task her father takes very seriously. Their family has been the guardian of the loch for generations. It's a cold, lonely task, and a few times, Alva can swear she feels someone watching her.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the more Alva investigates, the more she realizes that the truth can be more monstrous than lies, and that you can never escape your past …</span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSCaZr3IoAEv-7ewF-uD_cWyAC-CBLI94eDIlyqodnGQwf-VhQY-5n0L3Iyy1ilYxwNuKr6ttfYtDAW4swQmQjyHQSMunitKkU8WI9lnPNHJqE5mIQRdCG2DwynTIX9TUKTNYyXFpJXJt/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSCaZr3IoAEv-7ewF-uD_cWyAC-CBLI94eDIlyqodnGQwf-VhQY-5n0L3Iyy1ilYxwNuKr6ttfYtDAW4swQmQjyHQSMunitKkU8WI9lnPNHJqE5mIQRdCG2DwynTIX9TUKTNYyXFpJXJt/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About the Author:</span></p><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Melinda Salisbury</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was born in the 1980s in a landlocked city, before escaping to live by the sea. As a child, she genuinely thought Roald Dahl's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matilda</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was her biography. When she's not trying to unlock the hidden avenues of her mind, she's reading, writing, or traveling. She lives in the UK and can be found on Twitter as @MESalisbury, though be warned she tweets often.</span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-ffhje" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: cormorantgaramond-light, cormorantgaramond, "cormorant garamond", serif; font-size: var(--rce-header-two-font-size) !important; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" color="var(--ricos-custom-h2-color,var(--ricos-text-color,#212121))" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #263f5b; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><!--more--></span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></h2><h3><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tour Schedule - Bloggers</span></span></span></h3><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-4lop5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Jan 5th</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8loko" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="_2qJYG blog-link-hashtag-color _2xVcV" href="https://auburnreads.wordpress.com/2021/01/05/hold-back-the-tide-welcome-post/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-style,unset); font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ricos-custom-link-font-weight,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-link-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><u class="sDZYg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">What She Will Read - Welcome Post</span></u></a></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-2cnka" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Broke Book Blog - Review / Playlist</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-blq7m" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wonderland Novels - Review / Mood Board</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-f41de" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Polish & Paperbacks - Review</span></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-b1m54" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-5m20b" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Jan 6th</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-9qm1e" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Daily Dose of Books - Review / Fav Quotes</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-eh7qa" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Book View - Review (Excerpt?)</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-suh9" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Modern Bookworm - Review</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-dsf9v" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Momma Spot - Review</span></span></p><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-51ml5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></h2><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-fj986" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Jan 7th</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-311j4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">SepiaReads - Review </span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8lp8c" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Clever Reader - Review / Fav Quotes</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-8p389" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your Words My Ink - Review / Mood Board</span></span></p><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-48sqr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></h2><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-ep4ts" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Jan 8th</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-fn2eq" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Allisa White’s Book Blog - Review / Mood Board</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-e8svg" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Geekiemind - Review</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-euvn3" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">forthenovellovers - Review</span></span></p><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-b0ema" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></h2><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-a4dlq" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Jan 9th</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-24l6n" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Storme Reads A Lot - Review</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-eg897" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marshmallow Pudding - Review</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-31o1r" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pop Reads Reviews - Review</span></span></p><div class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-204ol" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;" /></span></span></div><h2 class="_3f-vr _208Ie blog-post-title-font z6qNR BOfyy _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-b0jsd" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-h2-min-height,36px); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Jan 10th</span></span></span></span></h2><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-2ccch" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Personal Opinions of a Fangirl - 15 Thoughts While Reading</span></span></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-aj9pl" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Booky Cat - Review / Playlist</span></span></p><p></p><p class="XzvDs _208Ie ljrnk blog-post-text-font blog-post-text-color _2QAo- _1XrpH _1-QUK ljrnk public-DraftStyleDefault-block-depth0 public-DraftStyleDefault-text-ltr" id="viewer-2l7md" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="vkIF2 public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; display: block; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">AndOnSheReads - Review</span></span></p>Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-18672749768695398162020-02-05T08:00:00.000-05:002020-02-05T08:00:04.867-05:00[Review] Followers by Megan Angelo <div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBrEeV1ZGlqZ3AOIkFWkZyvcZ605bLAeMUVAn-x40ecKeImWGft3Bi2hMaw54-L05efJyPS5U51qfr7mjpJ_Qvjxp9Kq5x2hJvsNwxnhPYgr_1OvZCXnwSUX4-f1zXK7E8nrMDk0MaTfy/s1600/42171136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBrEeV1ZGlqZ3AOIkFWkZyvcZ605bLAeMUVAn-x40ecKeImWGft3Bi2hMaw54-L05efJyPS5U51qfr7mjpJ_Qvjxp9Kq5x2hJvsNwxnhPYgr_1OvZCXnwSUX4-f1zXK7E8nrMDk0MaTfy/s320/42171136.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Followers by Megan Angelo</h2>
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Rating: 4.5 stars</div>
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Published: January 14th 2020</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">An electrifying story of two ambitious friends, the dark choices they make and the profound moment that changes the meaning of privacy forever.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Orla Cadden dreams of literary success, but she’s stuck writing about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Orla has no idea how to change her life until her new roommate, Floss―a striving, wannabe A-lister―comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they so desperately crave. But it's only when Orla and Floss abandon all pretense of ethics that social media responds with the most terrifying feedback of all: overwhelming success.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity―twelve million loyal followers―Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything, even horrible things, to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.</span></blockquote>
I'm full of thoughts about this book, because it's the type of book that leaves you thinking for a long time afterwards. A contemporary scifi that discusses the effects of social media and privacy? Fantastic.<br />
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I ended up rating it higher than my initial 4 stars because it's really sticking to me how good this is. And it did a great job of utilizing unlikable heroines, because the whole time I wasn't sure if I was rooting for Floss and Orla, but then at the end they definitely swayed me over to their side.<br />
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Floss and Orla are like if Snooki from Jersey Shore and Kim Ki-Jeong from Parasite decided to plot a heist together. They want to play the system of social media - Floss wants to be famous, and Orla wants to be a writer. But that isn't easy when the world of influencers and celebrities and fame exists. So they con their way through it. They're a perfect team, each so self-absorbed in their own ideas of fame that it blinds them to the consequences. And there are so many consequences.<br />
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Cue Marlow, who, thirty-five years later, is the product of everyone's social media and technological fixation. The government now runs the internet and what can be streamed - Marlow is one of many celebrities whose lives are broadcasted to the public 24/7 - on a service called Constellation. Everyone is also implanted with a chip that sends them information (as opposed to using phones or internet constantly).<br />
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Through a series of interconnected timelines, we retrace our steps between the present and the near-future to find out the secrets of our three heroines.<br />
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I'm going to be going at this from several angles, but mainly the literary analysis in me is jumping to discuss a lot of good devices used here.<br />
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Hyperbole. To be honest, is it even hyperbole if it can so easily be real life? There's an exaggeration of a lot of these characters, to show how far we're willing to go to get that like or retweet, just to be known with the unknown world. Aston Clipp is a great example of this.<br />
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So Austin changed his name to one of the fake ones his mother had come up with - Aston Clipp - and declared himself an artist. He traded in his Jordans for sandals and traveled the world, mainly amassing a collection of beaded bracelets. He sat shirtless atop the Holocaust memorial in Berlin and bothered monks in Tibet for selfies. He went to explore his roots in Japan, where he got bored of the customary bows and began to invent spontaneous dance moves in response to them. - p. 124</blockquote>
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It's both ridiculous and not ridiculous because it makes sense. I'm pretty sure we've all seen that one person do something inane to this standard on social. And everyone is so willing to buy into this, to buy it all up. Orla and Floss just want to play the game in their favor, which works, for awhile.<br />
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I mentioned previously that it was hard for me to decide if I liked Orla and Floss. They both want to make it in NYC, and put on airs of pretentiousness that initially was off-putting. Floss truly is a caricature of Snooki (Atlantis to Atlantic City, Jersey Shore to Snooki, get it?) But really, they're both characters who want things, and will stop at nothing to get it. Even if it means stepping on people they care for to do it. I think that's pretty admirable.<br />
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More than anything else - to be an author, to have a boyfriend, to learn how it felt to breathe without being forty thousand dollars in debt - she wanted to answer the question. She was living in the before of something, and she was getting tired of it. The dangerous thing about the way she felt, Orla knew, was that she didn't know exactly what she wanted to happen, and she didn't care that she didn't know. Almost any change would do. - p. 30 </blockquote>
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"I've done the math," Floss said. "I've done the actual math. There are eight million people here, and all of them want something as bad as I want what I want, as bad as you want what you want. We're not all going to get it. It's just not possible, that all these people could have their dreams come true in the same time, same place. It's not enough to be talented, it's not enough to work hard. You need to be disciplined, and you need to be ruthless. You need to do anything, everything, and you need to forget about doing the right thing." She released Orla with a little shove and put her hands on her hips. "Leave that shit to people in the Midwest." - p. 55</blockquote>
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Orla herself is viewed as a background character, a secondary character to the louder Floss. But it is repeated time and time again that Orla does shine just as strongly as Floss does, with each calculated decision she makes. And though they're using each other to get what they each want, I think it's undeniable, by the very end, that they do care about each other, in some weird convoluted way.<br />
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While Orla and Floss's journey was more about the deconstruction of social media, Marlow's definitely had to be the story of a woman reclaiming her agency and the societal implications of motherhood. Marlow's life is so grossly controlled by Constellation that it's stifling. She's the face of a mood-altering drug Hysteryl (hysteria, women... of course) that controls her every thought. She isn't allowed to think for herself, until she's weened off the drug to have a child with Ellis. The whole thing is planned in advance, even the facial structure of the child. And everyone sees it as a necessity for Marlow to have a kid, like it's the next big thing following everything else she's done. But the moment the drug is out of her system, she sees everything so clearly.<br />
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Marlow is finally seeing the world for all its ugly truths through a combination of no longer using the drug and removing the chip (which can be analogous to how social media paints things in such a pretty light). Without spoiling anything, Orla ends up losing a lot of her agency because of the social media game she played. Marlow was born into it from the very beginning. Both of them end up reclaiming their agency once they relinquish social media.<br />
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"Do you think I should have a baby?"<br />
Orla considers it, squinting. "Have you done everything else?"<br />
Marlow pictures her wedding-day face, drab and peeling, in Times Square. She thinks of what everyone agrees on: she has always gone along. "No," she says. "I don't think I know what everything else is yet."<br />
Orla leans forward. She takes Marlow's wax paper out of her lap and brushes the crumbs off her skirt. "Having a baby is one of the best parts of life," she says. "But still. It's only one of them." - p. 416</blockquote>
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I think this conversation speaks a lot to how for women, having children is seen to be the only thing that defines their success when there is so much more out for them.<br />
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This book does a lot in 400ish pages. It also does this cool thing I call The Witcher effect where we're bouncing back and forth between timelines and garnering what happened in between with context clues. Is there a message to be gained from it? Don't use social media? Probably not. But don't let the patriarchy get you down.<br />
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A good book that surprised me the more I read. Definitely recommend.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-66446181684938596812019-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-20T08:00:11.206-05:00[Review] Reign the Earth (The Elementae #1) by A.C. Gaughen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pLw8aGFCcNZtGv8Tz1inxJM37fS9GjbY_niN3LdOhRBuAah170s49sdtKhcby3XJGTrVTUfrkOJ9SsQTbpnrtu-bSIA3OChb1_lMJNtkQFi-6DnDHWH46uGXl5ccMwrEt5pxW_MyePtd/s1600/25566671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pLw8aGFCcNZtGv8Tz1inxJM37fS9GjbY_niN3LdOhRBuAah170s49sdtKhcby3XJGTrVTUfrkOJ9SsQTbpnrtu-bSIA3OChb1_lMJNtkQFi-6DnDHWH46uGXl5ccMwrEt5pxW_MyePtd/s320/25566671.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Reign the Earth by A. C. Gaughen</h2>
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Series: The Elementae #1</div>
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Rating: 4 stars</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s1600/lumas4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="119" data-original-width="395" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s200/lumas4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Published: January 30th 2018</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Shalia is a proud daughter of the desert, but after years of devastating war with the adjoining kingdom, her people are desperate for peace. Willing to trade her freedom to ensure the safety of her family, Shalia becomes Queen of the Bonelands.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">But she soon learns that her husband, Calix, is motivated only by his desire to exterminate the Elementae—mystical people who can control earth, wind, air, and fire. Even more unsettling are Shalia’s feelings for her husband’s brother, which unleash a power over the earth she never knew she possessed—a power that could get her killed. As rumors of a rebellion against Calix spread, Shalia must choose between the last chance for peace and her own future as an Elementae.</span></blockquote>
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TW: Domestic and verbal abuse<br />
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To protect her family and the people of the desert, Shalia marries Calix, who is said to be the head of their religion of the Three-Faced God. Calix will stop at nothing to rid his world of the Elementae, a people who have power over the elements (earth, wind, fire, water). But once she uncovers her powers over the earth, Shalia must find her inner strength in order to stop Calix from continuing his genocide, and to save herself.<br />
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This was hard subject material to tackle and read, and I absolutely hated Calix. But Gaughen did a great job of crafting a character who could see in himself no wrongs. The pattern of abuse, of repetitive, meaningless apologies and repeated occurrences, that Calix wrought on Shalia is something that is so visceral to people who have been abused themselves. Again, this was super hard to read so if this is something that you can't stomach, I wouldn't suggest reading it.<br />
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"And there are moments when he's kind to me, or thoughtful, and I feel something like hope - but I hate those moments more than any other, because they mean that I am beginning to mistake the absence of cruelty for love." - p. 300</blockquote>
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THIS. This is the cycle of abuse and why it's so hard to leave.<br />
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It pained me so hard to see Shalia, whose love and compassion for others made her strong, be beaten down by Calix. But watching her grow and stand up for herself was the emotional journey that was so needed in this novel.<br />
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I am a bit iffy on the last part of the novel. Yes, from the beginning we were given a love triangle and it was obvious that Shalia would end up with Galen, Calix's brother. But having that love come to its completion so quickly after Shalia found her inner strength made it pull more towards the romance as opposed to Shalia's own growth. Is a romance necessary for her to be her own character? She literally lost almost everyone in her family. Especially Kairos! What was that cliffhanger? Everyone gets a happy-ish ending except the one cool brother.<br />
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That's the part that frustrated me. I hope we get to see some definitive ending in a sequel.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-66462536510544960122019-12-18T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-18T08:00:19.470-05:00[Review] King of Fools (The Shadow Game #2) by Amanda Foody<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bCojx13i6GgUN5OKZ66kqxvAb0Fen7mKhtSFXJemSONU9K-_b7bIGrK2caC82w_kHKSFQ4lJqLhBUSEfdUx-nBRNnO86MBGyOC26IFP2QRqYZ_3HFlsEPRuCNqoLw5k3mtsqQw107io-/s1600/37545571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bCojx13i6GgUN5OKZ66kqxvAb0Fen7mKhtSFXJemSONU9K-_b7bIGrK2caC82w_kHKSFQ4lJqLhBUSEfdUx-nBRNnO86MBGyOC26IFP2QRqYZ_3HFlsEPRuCNqoLw5k3mtsqQw107io-/s320/37545571.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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King of Fools by Amanda Foody</h2>
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Series: The Shadow Game #2 </div>
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Rating: 3 stars </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5OTbBZMAeOS_mdn3GogW1aL_EW9yVka6IPidGv-i2qevv2_OvP7oRz5ZoJunX5pZ2ybEFdg4m4B_Ifwtg2nzM7ASr4LRQlOc7i7ZmG3oR-oxmqMqcqdJF4jiJXef2JUOe62zKpIMDAwvC/s1600/lumas3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="295" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5OTbBZMAeOS_mdn3GogW1aL_EW9yVka6IPidGv-i2qevv2_OvP7oRz5ZoJunX5pZ2ybEFdg4m4B_Ifwtg2nzM7ASr4LRQlOc7i7ZmG3oR-oxmqMqcqdJF4jiJXef2JUOe62zKpIMDAwvC/s200/lumas3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Published: April 30th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Indulge your vices in the City of Sin, where a sinister street war is brewing and fame is the deadliest killer of them all...</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">On the quest to find her missing mother, prim and proper Enne Salta became reluctant allies with Levi Glaisyer, the city’s most famous con man. Saving his life in the Shadow Game forced Enne to assume the identity of Seance, a mysterious underworld figure. Now, with the Chancellor of the Republic dead and bounties on both their heads, she and Levi must play a dangerous game of crime and politics…with the very fate of New Reynes at stake.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Thirsting for his freedom and the chance to build an empire, Levi enters an unlikely partnership with Vianca Augustine’s estranged son. Meanwhile, Enne remains trapped by the mafia donna’s binding oath, playing the roles of both darling lady and cunning street lord, unsure which side of herself reflects the truth.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">As Enne and Levi walk a path of unimaginable wealth and opportunity, new relationships and deadly secrets could quickly lead them into ruin. And when unforeseen players enter the game, they must each make an impossible choice: To sacrifice everything they’ve earned in order to survive...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Or die as legends.</span></blockquote>
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I said in my review of <b><i>Ace of Shades</i></b> that I would read the sequel for the sake of finding out what happens next. I still really have no idea what is happening, but it's become a semi-entertaining ride of trying to figure out.<br />
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The problem is that there are so many things happening in Foody's novels that it is hard to keep track of it all. It's a 600 page book that didn't necessarily have to be so long. Characters would fade in and out of importance. Enne and Levi are STILL dancing around their feelings for each other, and at one point, Levi has a lover for two chapters or so who I thought would be important (poor Narinder) but he's never brought up again even though he's related to another character!<br />
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I think the most clear-cut plot line was the fact that Levi and Enne want to be free of Vianca, and so Levi covertly aligns himself with her son, Harrison Augustine, in the upcoming election of New Reynes, while Enne establishes her own gang, the Spirits. Jac has to invade a drug den to take down the opposition from the inside, and his past of being addicted to Lullaby makes it harder. It's a lot of political machinations.<br />
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But it was also a lot of unnecessary romance - will they? Won't they? The first book took place over a few days. For Enne and Levi to be dancing around feelings so soon and to have Enne rise from nobody to leader of a gang felt incredibly realistic. At least this book slowed down the pace, but there was never a cohesive sense of focus. I wanted more badass fighting! More of the girl gang we were promised! Grace and Lola were really cool, but didn't feature as heavily as the three above. Even then, Jac had a more compelling plot that whatever Enne and Levi were doing.<br />
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Actually, I liked Jac's storyline! He had to stand on his own without Levi and that individualization was desperately needed in order to face his demons. I also wish there were more moments with him and Lola.<br />
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"No matter how many tattoos he inked, what color he dyed his hair, how he changed his clothes - it still lingered on him, a scar everyone could see, and that he always felt." - p. 155</blockquote>
It's just hard to like Enne when a lot of what is happening to her stems from luck/everything fall into her lap as opposed to her having natural character development. She was a nobody in her boarding school, and then seven days into staying in New Reynes, she's the lord of a gang?<br />
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Even Grace points it out how unrealistic it sounds.<br />
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"You've written yourself some kind of checklist for what a gang looks like. You call yourself a lord, but as far as I cant tell, you're just some tourist with almost no experience, no voltage, and no common sense. You haven't even asked me to swear, yet you're touring me around your future hideout." - p. 163</blockquote>
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I thought I was getting the hang of everything (you'd think after 300 pages + a first book you'd have a better grasp of where you're standing in a book, but you're wrong) but then Foody pulls out the supernatural element with Sophia having deals with demons, and then I'm lost. Again.<br />
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Really, it's hard for me to streamline the plot when I myself am struggling to remember everyone and what they're doing. I can't feel pity for a character when I don't recall who they are - Tommy? Sorry you were there for five lines, so I can't feel much for you. And then the villains and there backstories are so rushed and hurried because of all the focus on some contrived romance... Vianca deserved better?! What exactly was her motivation?<br />
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What is anyone's motivation in this book, really?<br />
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Again, I'd stick around for the third and final book to get some completion but this isn't one for a reread.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-66389071125636483212019-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-16T08:00:06.916-05:00[Review] Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7-Qb_-cmDeNrNTLejR9C8zu8gFRlWj2J5-nHjEZAKhZKztLMe6zy-RbKDYXiRulz5WIrmF9oRU16-t_tpq-3NzgWEUL0GGh5DGugO7jyOuv33xeXaVSbsnxEZcVeQZQflWpvRLun3CLJ/s1600/35715518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7-Qb_-cmDeNrNTLejR9C8zu8gFRlWj2J5-nHjEZAKhZKztLMe6zy-RbKDYXiRulz5WIrmF9oRU16-t_tpq-3NzgWEUL0GGh5DGugO7jyOuv33xeXaVSbsnxEZcVeQZQflWpvRLun3CLJ/s320/35715518.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto</h2>
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Series: Crown of Feathers #1</div>
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Rating: 3 stars</div>
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Published: February 12th 2019</div>
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<br />Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><b><i>I had a sister, once…</i></b></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.</span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><b><i>I promised her the throne would not come between us.</i></b></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks.</span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><b><i>But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.</i></b></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all.</span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><b><i>Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.</i></b></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><br /></span><span id="freeText17652062577593824051" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><i>Crown of Feathers </i>is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span></blockquote>
<b><i>Crown of Feathers</i></b> is one massive undertaking of a fantasy. Veronyka and Val are two sisters who live in a world where the Phoenix Riders - animages who bonded with phoenixes, once ruled. Now, they are exiled and cast from society, with the remaining animages living in hiding. Veronyka and Val hope to find phoenix eggs in order to join the Phoenix Riders. This story is interspersed with the events of sixteen years prior, when the Feather-Crowned Queen and the Council's Queen - two sisters, fought on opposing sides of a war that drove their country apart.<br />
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I wanted to like this so much! Because epic fantasy is always a fun ride. But this ride turned into a dull and taxing one. The pace of this novel is so painstakingly slow, with any plot progression pushed to the side for encyclopedic knowledge. It is clear that the author imbued her story with rich lore and history. But it really took away from the plot - every other paragraph was some information about the past, or about animages, or about magic, etc. It was really draining to read, and really prevented me from enjoying this book.<br />
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The story is split between several plotlines. Veronyka is learning to become her own person after her sister pushes her too far, and so, she joins the Phoenix Riders disguised as a boy. Tristan is one of the Phoenix Riders, and befriends 'Nyk', who helps him conquer his fear of fire and showcase his potential to his father, who leads the Riders. Sev is an animage hiding amongst the enemy army, an army bent on eliminating anything to do with the Riders and animages.<br />
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It really took awhile for these plotlines to kick off because there was so much info dumping beforehand (and after, too!). The most compelling moments had to be when Veronyka stood up for herself and developed her agency. It was a journey of emotional growth to her.<br />
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"I can't be broken forever. I have to make my own happiness."<br />His words struck a chord deep inside Veronyka. She'd been looking outside herself for answers, for a way to bandage the wound she had inside. But maybe she had to heal herself before she could hope to find a phoenix that would want to bond with her. She didn't know if she'd ever fully recover from the loss of Xephyra, but she could start by trying to feel whole again, by trying to find happiness instead of constantly striving for things beyond her control. - p. 235</blockquote>
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However, her plot (and the rest of the story) was far too muddled with info dumping that I could not enjoy this as much as I wanted. I will say that the twist in the end was unexpected, so maybe I could see myself picking up the sequel to see what happens next.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-66383879711285013112019-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-13T08:00:06.287-05:00[Review] Only Human (Themis Files #3) by Sylvain Nuevel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel</h2>
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Series: The Themis Files #3</div>
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Rating: 4 stars</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s1600/lumas4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="119" data-original-width="395" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKh2fZB3Eu2W0mOeB8S0HmK2jShBf7JXyqAf-wRiSpmKZ-axUDfajBu8lJzhBC7rYhyphenhyphenbHNFdREOgDeilMMpZ-mqfW27TjT9EMJcyEuRrbYwyQ3zgyaFVpWwlMdQJE-QR3nNq3Zv-nwDdn/s200/lumas4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Published: May 1st 2018</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">In her childhood, Rose Franklin accidentally discovered a giant metal hand buried beneath the ground outside Deadwood, South Dakota. As an adult, Dr. Rose Franklin led the team that uncovered the rest of the body parts which together form Themis: a powerful robot of mysterious alien origin. She, along with linguist Vincent, pilot Kara, and the unnamed Interviewer, protected the Earth from geopolitical conflict and alien invasion alike. Now, after nearly ten years on another world, Rose returns to find her old alliances forfeit and the planet in shambles. And she must pick up the pieces of the Earth Defense Corps as her own friends turn against each other.</span></blockquote>
A thrilling conclusion to the end of one of my favorite science fiction series.<br />
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Rose Franklin, Vincent Couture and his daughter Eva have returned from space almost ten years later. Instead of a war between aliens and humans, they are now in the middle of a war between world powers, as countries fight for control of the giant robots, and have strictly regulated who exactly is considered human.<a name='more'></a>This story is analogous to the current refugee and immigrant crisis. Levels of human to alien DNA is now calculated, and the more alien DNA a person has, the more likely they are considered "other" and deprived of their rights and are sent to camps, and are discriminated against and mistreated. Does this sound familiar? We're living in this world right now.<br />
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It's tragic to see how the world fights over who is deserving of rights on Earth, as though they are the authority to determine such. The solution Rose proposes to stop such terrible crimes from continuing further wouldn't exactly work in the real world, but aliens were able to intimidate humans into logic.<br />
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There were some instances were <b><i>Only Human</i></b> drifted away from its normally spectacular narrative, and this was during the drama of Eva's growth from child to teenager. Because of this story's nonlinearity, we don't necessarily see all the details of their life on Esat Ekt. We're missing details that would have made me more sympathetic towards Eva. Instead, I felt vague annoyance towards her actions.<br />
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Despite this, the series is an excellent introspection into the human condition, and I appreciate it to pieces. Rose Franklin continued to be an empathetic heroine to the end.<br />
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I'm a scientist. I find beauty in absolutes. I love the clarity of math, its unwavering dependability. Math will never say one thing and do another one. It will never harm you on purpose because its only purpose is truth. On Esat Ekt, I found that same clarity, that perspicuity, that is so lacking in people on Earth. I found it not because it was there but because I was searching for it. I saw faces in the clouds. I found what I was looking for here because I brought it with me. I know that now. I also know that I'm a hypocrite. I marveled at their idealism, applauded them for not wanting to share knowledge with us, but I lied to them to get them to teach me. I lied to them to try to save Eugene. I admired their principles, as long as they didn't apply to me. (197)</blockquote>
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Vincent and his banter continued to also be hilarious, as always. We also get Alyssa! And some new, hilarious additions with Alex and Katherine.<br />
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I loved how this book made me think, made me consider its parallels to the real world. Because the aliens are, unsurprisingly, very human in nature.<br />
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<br />Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-31219920078784190352019-12-06T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-06T08:00:06.497-05:00[Review] The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson</h2>
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Rating: 3.5 stars</div>
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Published: March 10th 2010</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Adrift after her sister Bailey's sudden death, Lennie finds herself torn between quiet, seductive Toby—Bailey's boyfriend who shares her grief—and Joe, the new boy in town who bursts with life and musical genius. Each offers Lennie something she desperately needs... though she knows if the two of them collide her whole world will explode.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Join Lennie on this heartbreaking and hilarious journey of profound sorrow and mad love, as she makes colossal mistakes and colossal discoveries, as she traipses through band rooms and forest bedrooms and ultimately right into your heart.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">As much a celebration of love as a poignant portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often uproarious, and absolutely unforgettable.</span></blockquote>
I read <b><i>The Sky is Everywhere</i></b> directly after <b><i>All the Bright Places</i></b>, and the subject matter is so similar (protagonist coping with loss of sister), that it's really going to be hard to separate myself from the two and not compare them.<br />
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Even though the two are super similar in premise, Lennie is coping with her sister's death in an entirely different way. Even though life was supposed to move on, Lennie isn't, or not in the most expected way. There's no one else who could understand her grief besides Toby, Bailey's boyfriend. And there's now a new kid at school - Joe, who complicates Lennie's feelings further. Lennie was supposed to share the woes of being a teenager with Bailey. But now that Bailey is gone, she's stuck in some kind of limbo, expressing her feelings through poetry, introduced at the beginning of every chapter.<br />
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To say that one book dealt with grief better than the other would be saying that coping with grief and loss should be done in exactly the same way. Strange things happen when one grieves.<br />
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However, though I thought this was a beautifully written book that addressed an understanding of grief and love, it veered too much in the direction of instalove for my liking. Some of Lennie's decisions were impulsive and selfish, and I wasn't sure what exactly to think of the love triangle with Bailey's boyfriend.<br />
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Maybe it was because I felt more profoundly affected by <b><i>All the Bright Places </i></b>that I couldn't relate/empathize as much as I wanted to with this book.<br />
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In spite of that, Lennie does address the feelings of loneliness and solitude that stem from grief. Even though she's surrounded by so much good, how can it compare when someone so important is gone?<br />
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I'm somewhere she can't find, and I don't have the map to give her that leads to me. (26)</blockquote>
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I think the next two passages summarize the sentiment of this novel, and how vital it is that Lennie go through her hardships, understanding that life will go on, but that doesn't mean that her love for Bailey will fade in the slightest. Lennie is allowed to feel things, and there's so much feeling in this novel, so much displaced feeling that ends up being a major conflict when it comes to Joe and Toby.<br />
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People die all the time. Every day. Every hour. There are families all over the world staring at beds that are no longer slept in, shoes that are no longer worn. Families that no longer have to buy a particular cereal, a kind of shampoo. There are people everywhere standing in line at the movies, buying curtains, walking does, while inside, their hearts are ripping to shreds. For years. For their whole lives. I don't believe time heals. I don't want it to. If I heal, doesn't it mean I've accepted the world without her? (168)</blockquote>
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Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is. Grief and love are conjoined, you don't get one without the other. All I can do is love her, and love the world, emulate her by living and daring and spirit and joy. (257)</blockquote>
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<br />Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-12606428782957768292019-12-04T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-04T08:00:00.953-05:00[Review] Amber & Dusk by Lyra Selene<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Amber & Dusk by Lyra Selene</h2>
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Series: Amber & Dusk #1</div>
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Rating: 3.5 stars</div>
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Published: November 27th 2018</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d'Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">But her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to assume what should be her rightful place, she'll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay.</span></blockquote>
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I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The moment I found out it had an enemies to lovers trope in it, I was all for what followed. Plus, I thought that the journey of a heroine to reclaim her inner strength is a tried and true quest of both physical and emotional growth.<br />
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Sylvie has been told her whole life that her ability to cast illusions is a cursed one. But she believes she's destined for more, and seeks out the Coeur d'Or to learn more about her powers. But the Coeur d'Or and its bourgeoisie are full of intrigue and deceit. Sylvie, now using the name Mirage, must distinguish friend from foe in this deadly court.<br />
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What I liked about this book was that Sylvie is distinctly flawed. She's arrogant and ambitious, even at times selfish, and she's utterly brazen about it. She's not afraid to do what it takes to get what she wants. I know some people might dislike this, but the fact that she is so passionate about what she wants makes her all the more a compelling character.<br />
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"So what?" The words burst from me louder than I expected. "What's wrong with being ambitious? I do want a world full of beauty and grace. I do want power. And what's more, I <i>deserve</i> it. It's my birthright, and I'll be damned if I don't claim what's mine!" (43)</blockquote>
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Even when she's knocked down a ledge, she isn't afraid to get back up. Her ego will take a bruise or two, but she's got so much motivation.<br />
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"You're ambitious," Dowser remarked. "You're arrogant. Perhaps even a little cruel. Whatever gave you the idea that you were owed so much, when you offer so little?" (110)</blockquote>
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Amber and Dusk also deals with the theme of being an outcast and the conflict of finding somewhere you feel like you belong in, mixed in with political intrigue in a very 17th century France-esque world. Sylvie begins to see the social inequality between the nobles and the poor. Even within the nobility is a fragile structure that bends its will to the empress, Severine (who parallels the infamous Marie Antoinette).<br />
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Wanting something badly enough doesn't make it real. And it certainly doesn't make it right. (276)</blockquote>
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Once these layers meshed with a touch of historical parallels were set into the world, that's when I started enjoying this more and more. And to top it off, the slow burn romance was fantastic.<br />
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"So you don't mind," I managed, "if I'm a monster?"<br />"No." He rocked closer, and his closeness sent a thread of desire stitching up my spine. "Because I'm a monster too." (316)</blockquote>
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I do wish that the supporting characters were given more room to grow, even with their limited roles. Thibo, Mender, and Lullaby had so much potential. It especially irked me when (spoiler alert) queer characters had to die. Stop burying our gays, please. It doesn't drive the plot forward.<br />
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At times, the writing was overly wrought with purple prose that didn't do it justice, using twenty words to describe something that should have been brought down to five descriptors.<br />
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I would read the sequel - hoping it's even better than the first.<br />
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<br />Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-70144613624257444702019-12-02T08:00:00.000-05:002019-12-02T08:00:09.645-05:00[Review] The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern</h2>
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Rating: 4.5 stars</div>
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Published: November 5th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues--a bee, a key, and a sword--that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians--it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose--in both the mysterious book and in his own life.</span></blockquote>
This was an intense, super abstract ride. I essentially equated <b><i>The Starless Sea</i></b> to "Alice in Wonderland on crack" because you're thrown into a mystical world amped up by a thousand. It's a story within a story within a story. Zachary Ezra Rowlins discovers a book called <i>Sweet Sorrows</i>, and finds that he is featured within its pages. He had a chance as a child to open the door to the Starless Sea, but chose not to. Now, as an adult, he has that chance to enter through that door, and start his adventure.<br />
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It's been awhile since I've read <b><i>The Night Circus</i></b>, but Morgenstern's writing is still enriching and vivid, drawing readers into the setting in its entirety. Normally I breeze through books, but The Starless Sea demands attention to each damn detail. This is not a bad thing in the slightest. It's beautiful and captivating to pay attention to everything on the page. It's super important, too. I attended the author's event at the NYPL, and when she brought up she loved video games (particularly Dragon Age), the reading that followed the event made even more sense. This is like a choose-your-own-adventure. You, or Zach, rather, are a character within a story. And so are the other characters, operating in and out of their own stories as both participants and observers. Interwoven between the narrative of Zach's are the many stories of our cast - Mirabel, Allegra, Dorian, the metaphorical pirate, the innkeeper and his lover, the Moon, and so forth. </div>
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Perhaps this is a homage to the craft of the story and the power it can hold. The writing is beautiful. I cannot emphasize this enough. I dog-eared my copy (but again, I did this with <b><i>The Night Circus</i></b>, too). We become Zach in this story - we are the gamer, the reader, the maker of our own story. Zach reclaims the adventure as his own. It's one of those books you can fall into and really really can't get out of. </div>
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Of course, there are certain elements I might be nitpicky about - the pacing and side characters aren't necessarily as developed/delved into as deeply as Zach and the aspect of storytelling (aka plot) might be. I wanted more of Dorian and Zach! But again, I nitpick. </div>
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I could include a bajilion scenes and lines in the remainder of this review, to highlight how much I enjoyed it. </div>
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This makes the story super meta:</div>
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"To be able to make your own choices and decisions but to have it be a part of a story? You want that narrative there to trust in, even if you want to maintain your own free will." (35)</blockquote>
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A story is like an egg, a universe contained in its chosen medium. The spark of something new and different but fully formed and fragile. In need of protection. You want to protect it, too, but there's more to it than that. You want to be inside it, I can see it in your eyes. I used to seek out people like you, I am practiced at spotting the desire for it. You want to be in the story, not observing it from the outside. You want to be under its shell. The only way to do that is to break it. But if it breaks, it is gone. (175)</blockquote>
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Not all stories speak to all listeners, but all listeners can find a story that does, somewhere, sometime. In one form or another. (187)</blockquote>
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He wanted to see it as it was. The house and the town and the city across the sea. The multitude of additions and overlapping narratives. He'd wanted to add something to it, maybe. To make his own mark on the story. He hadn't realized how much he'd wanted to until faced with the reality that he cannot. He can't decide if he's sad or angry or disappointed.<br />Time passes. Things change. (231)</blockquote>
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It is easier to be in love in a room with closed doors. To have the whole world in one room. In one person. The universe condensed and intensified and burning, bright and alive and electric.<br />But doors cannot stay closed forever. (240)</blockquote>
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"I've spent a great deal of my life doing what other people wanted for me and not what I wanted for myself and I'm trying to change." (295)</blockquote>
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"Be brave," she says. "Be bold. Be loud. Never change for anyone but yourself. ANy soul worth their star-stuff will take the whole package as is and however it grows. Don't waste your time on anyone who doesn't believe you when you tell them how you feel." (396)</blockquote>
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Endings are what give stories meaning. (466) </blockquote>
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Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-67057530571664452332019-11-25T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-25T08:00:01.579-05:00[Review] The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen</h2>
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Series: The Merciful Crow #1</div>
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Rating: 3 stars</div>
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July 30th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A future chieftain.</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A fugitive prince.</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A too-cunning bodyguard.</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?</span></blockquote>
This book was so hyped up on my TL, but then it ended up being rather disappointing.<br />
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Fie is part of the Crow caste, which has the ability to steal magic from other castes. It's the teeth of the dead that allow them to use such magic. The Crows are sent to collect the bodies of Crown Prince Jasimir and his bodyguard Tavin, but they may have gotten more than what they bargained for...<br />
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This was one of those books that had so much detail and description without providing any substance to the worldbuilding. I barely understand how the magic system works. Each caste has a different type of magic, and the Crows can steal this magic through teeth. But it doesn't work for long/has a certain kind of duration/limitation.<br />
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And even with the characters, I couldn't bring myself to care about them. I was struggling to remember who is who because there are a lot of characters and so much is happening. Beyond Fie, the Prince, and Tavin, everyone else just blurred and meddled together in my mind.<br />
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In terms of a plot - what plot? Yes, Fie is leading Tavin and the Prince to some fort, but to what end? There were so many ends that didn't seem to be reached or tied up. There was a lot of wandering, and it dragged on and on.<br />
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I was just reading for the sake of finishing this book. I wish I could have liked this better.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-81778534183745953762019-11-22T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-22T08:00:07.232-05:00[Review] All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven</h2>
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Rating: 5 stars</div>
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Published: January 6th 2015</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Theodore Finch</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Violet Markey</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.</span></blockquote>
TW: Suicide, self-harm, abuse<br />
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I read this after <b><i>Foolish Hearts</i></b> - contemporaries really are out to get me.<br />
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Theodore Finch is thinks of endless ways to die. Violet Markay thinks of getting out of Indiana, leaving behind her grief following her sister's death. When the two become partners for a US geography project, they help each other heal and cope with their shared trauma.<br />
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This book just made me feel sad. Because it has both of them dealing with so much, on top of Finch being ostracized by everyone in school.<br />
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I think <b><i>All the Bright Places</i></b> captures mental illness, grief, and suicide in a way that doesn't glorify it, but realistically paints how dark and helpless it can be/feel. Theo can go for weeks and months in some kind of forgetful haze, and then he'll become 'alive' again. And for Violet, she's still trying to process her sister's death while everyone else has moved on. We can never really come to terms with grief and mental illness in the exact same way. It isn't that they're just 'sad'. It's so much more, and that makes it all the more tragic.<br />
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"It's like I've got this angry little person inside me, and I can feel him trying to get out. He's running out of room because he's growing bigger and bigger, and so he starts rising up, into my lungs, chest, throat, and I push him right back down. I don't want him to come out. I can't let him out." - p. 226</blockquote>
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Their romance grew out of grief, but in spite of all that, there were still moments where things were good.<br />
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"I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257-foot bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you're standing next to the right person." - p. 104</blockquote>
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<b><i>All the Bright Places</i></b> is a sad, lovely book.<br />
<br />Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-16823151929846021072019-11-20T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-20T08:00:02.710-05:00[Review] Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQE7awE6AwkMiCJDSXK_jcUuc8JQK_foiaX_2NLSGAdmymWXWzTHGNXlGiM8jPkeUNvjysfzsXybl2RzFDyEnz2Dg1q8cCYG1BE0Mp5wFREHeRaygNJR8T5Jle9u35IIuudcLqId8n1Ke/s1600/30238163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQE7awE6AwkMiCJDSXK_jcUuc8JQK_foiaX_2NLSGAdmymWXWzTHGNXlGiM8jPkeUNvjysfzsXybl2RzFDyEnz2Dg1q8cCYG1BE0Mp5wFREHeRaygNJR8T5Jle9u35IIuudcLqId8n1Ke/s320/30238163.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody</h2>
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Series: The Shadow Game #1</div>
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Rating: 3.5 stars</div>
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Published: April 10th 2018</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Welcome to the <i>City of Sin,</i> where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow.</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Frightened and alone, Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">not</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">And she’ll need to play.</span></blockquote>
Enne visits New Reynes with one purpose - to find her missing adoptive mother. She enlists the help of Levi, street lord of the Scarhands. Levi is also using Enne for his own purposes - to complete a master con before time is up in ten days.<br />
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Just like with <b><i>Daughter of the Burning City</i></b>, I was bombarded with a wave of information and it took me some time to process it. But unlike Foody's first book, I was able to piece together the information and understand the world much better in <b><i>Ace of Shades</i></b>. It was still a bit confusing, though.<br />
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I think that the story was running along two concurrent plotlines that were struggling to be the dominant story. The story of Enne's hunt for her mother and Levi's need to complete Vianca's con were one story. But underneath it were the politics of New Reynes, the second story. And this was where it got super messy with details. There are corrupt street lords, corrupt politicians, an overthrown monarchy, and everyone is out to get everyone. It wasn't fully explained and the importance of the former monarchy and their powers was loss on me. Why were they the supposed good guys? I wish I knew. </div>
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<b><i>Ace of Shade</i></b>s really did remind me of <b><i>Fallout: New Vegas,</i></b> with how it combined politics with a city of sin. But I couldn't bring myself to care about the political aspect of this. The magic system itself was okay, but still could have been fleshed out. Why did some blood talents clash with some split talents? I didn't get how Levi's money making was considered at odds with his fire skills. </div>
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I did enjoy the characters more, but I don't think we were able to spend enough time with them. They would appear for one minute, and disappear the next. Reymond, Lola, Levi, Enne... etc. Which may or may not count as spoilers.</div>
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Speaking of spoilers, I think it was honestly a shame that at the end, we find out Lourdes died right before Enne came to New Reynes. Enne spoke about how Lourdes shaped her into the person she is today and took care of her - to find out she just died really cut meaningful interaction short. </div>
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I would read the sequel for the sake of finding out what happens next. </div>
Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-5149746746255825522019-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-18T08:00:03.871-05:00[Review] Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bwkpIW6BPbrp4mtGocWKaNtwrqU8FEiTpTxguCfz9nbLaXY21XC2zYHSeJaMxMFq873wV-aogy1n4Gk1tYTzDhf58yCSphU4eBFxTJU5HxMr6bItFh7_xuMd9fePP6Rmu6G0j4uhPa-7/s1600/41150487._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bwkpIW6BPbrp4mtGocWKaNtwrqU8FEiTpTxguCfz9nbLaXY21XC2zYHSeJaMxMFq873wV-aogy1n4Gk1tYTzDhf58yCSphU4eBFxTJU5HxMr6bItFh7_xuMd9fePP6Rmu6G0j4uhPa-7/s320/41150487._SY475_.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston</h2>
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Rating: 5 stars</div>
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Published: May 14th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic.</span></blockquote>
I've been recommending everyone this book for the past month. It's so good.<br />
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Also, it's set in an alternate timeline where we had competent world leaders! I wish we had that timeline.<br />
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Anyhow - After a faux du pas at a royal wedding, Alex, the President's son, and British Prince Henry must forge an unlikely friendship to show the tabloids/media that the US and UK are still allies. But this friendship slowly develops into something more, and so, Alex and Henry hide their blossoming romance from the press, as it could potential derail Alex's mother's reelection campaign.<br />
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This book had everything. I was in love with it from start to finish. Enemies to friends to lovers. Snarky main character. A well-rounded multifaceted cast. Diversity. Slow burn romance. Humor. It was all fantastic. I dog-eared so many passages.<br />
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The cast of characters was super well-developed, and they were just as hilarious and entertaining to watch in action as Alex and Henry were. Zahra's ability to keep everything under control, at her expense (poor girl!).<br />
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"<i>New Year's?</i>" Zahra repeats, eyes wide. "This has been going on for <i>seven month</i>s? That's why you - Oh my God, I thought you were getting into international relations or something."<br />"I mean, technically -"<br />"If you finish that sentence, I'm gonna spend tonight in jail."<br />Alex winces. "Please don't tell Mom."<br />"<i>Seriously?</i>" she hisses. "You're literally putting your dick in <i>the leader of a foreign state</i>, who is a <i>man</i>, at <i>the biggest political event before the election</i>, in a hotel room full of <i>reporters</i>, in a city full of <i>campaigners</i>, in a race close enough to fucking <i>hinge </i>on some bullshit like this, like a manifestation of my fucking stress dreams, and you're asking me not to tell the president about it?" - p. 233</blockquote>
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Alex's mother - what an amazing President. The first female President, with biracial children! There's also the dichotomy of President versus Mother, and I laughed during all these scenes.<br />
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The first slide says: SEXUAL EXPERIMENTATION WITH FOREIGN MONARCHS: A GRAY AREA. Alex wonders if it's too late to swan dive off the roof.<br />"Okay," she says when he sits down, in almost exactly the same tone he used on her earlier. "Before we start, I-I want to be clear, I love you and support you always. But this is, quite frankly, a logistical and ethical clusterfuck, so we need to make sure we have our ducks in a row. Okay?"<br />The next slide is titled: EXPLORING YOUR SEXUALITY IS HEALTHY, BUT DOES IT HAVE TO BE WITH THE PRINCE OF ENGLAND? She apologizes for not having time to come up with better titles. Alex actively wishes for the sweet release of death.<br />The one after is: FEDERAL FUNDING, TRAVEL EXPENSES, BOOTY CALLS, AND YOU. - p. 237</blockquote>
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The White House trio - their exploits! Their fun behind the scenes! Henry's sister Bea, his best Pez - I loved all of their misadventures. Underneath all their secrecy and fun is the constant desire for normalcy. It made them so damn human, because they were scrutinized so heavily by the media. It reminds me of poor Meghan Markle.<br />
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I also can't say much about Rafael Luna because spoilers, but what a guy! What a great senator.<br />
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The romance is actually slow, slow burn. Steamy, passionate, Romeo-and-Juliet esque modern day love. There's sappy texts! The emails! Henry's got such a strong writing background and the love letters just SHINE. They're so poetic. And also filled with jibes at American politics - Ha!<br />
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Please do keep me in your - what is it American politicians say? - thoughts and prayers. - p. 295</blockquote>
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Alex coping through humor also screams me. Very relatable. His flirting with Henry made me swoon and laugh.<br />
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"Are you quite finished?" Henry says, sounding strangled. "Can you perhaps stop putting your sodding life in danger now?"<br />"Aw, you do care," Alex says. "I'm learning all of your hidden depths today, sweetheart." - p. 48</blockquote>
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"Have you really rung me at three o'clock in the morning to make me listen to a turkey?" - p. 76</blockquote>
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He's also super insightful and his mind just analyzes everything to pieces. Beautiful pieces.<br />
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He thinks about roots, about first and second languages. What he wanted when he was a kid and what he wants now and where those things overlap. Maybe that place, the meeting of the two, is here somewhere, in the gentle insistence of the water around his legs, crude letters carved with an old pocket knife. The steady thrum of another person's pulse against his. - p. 260</blockquote>
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Make this a movie! Make a sequel! Or a novella! I'd scream from the top of the world to tell everyone to read it!Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-29435509125068468902019-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-15T08:00:06.432-05:00[Review] The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) by Helen Hoang<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Bride Test by Helen Hoang</h2>
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Series: The Kiss Quotient #2</div>
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Rating: 4 stars</div>
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Published: May 7th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis: </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.</span></blockquote>
Another enjoyable romance by Helen Hoang!<br />
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This time, we're with Michael's cousin Khai, who has recently lost his best friend Andy. Khai is autistic, sensitive to touch, and believes that he is immune to love. His mother wants to change that, and goes off to Vietnam to find him a bride. She meets Esme, a housekeeper with drive, and so, chooses her to come to America on visa. If she can convince Khai to fall in love with her over the summer, she can stay.<a name='more'></a><br />
To impress Khai, Esme hides several secrets about herself - especially the fact that back in Vietnam she has a young daughter. But despite Khai's refusal to fall in love, he finds himself doing quite the opposite!<br />
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The two of them are so cute together I just can't. They both get each other perfectly. The trope of one character being in complete denial about their feelings worked here well, because when Khai opens up, he gives Esme the world.<br />
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"Please, don't let me make you cry," he whispered in her ear. "if something is wrong, tell me so I can fix it. Please." - p. 186</blockquote>
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Also, I just loved Esme's ambition. She initially goes along with Khai's mother's plan in order to give her daughter a better life. A lot of what she does in the beginning is all for Khai to fall in love with her. But, over time, she realizes her self-worth and isn't afraid to chase after her own dreams that start to form.<br />
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She couldn't have Khai, but she didn't need him. She was going to earn her way all by herself, and that was a billion times better. - p. 261</blockquote>
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There were also these mentions of Michael and Stella - and their wedding! Yes!<br />
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I just didn't like the idea that Khai/Esme had to rush their love for it to be possible. For Khai, who's autistic, him being forced to tell Esme he loves her was a big step! And it felt super forced, because it was over the course of the summer. I can see him developing feelings for her... but love itself felt like a giant leap of faith that I don't think his character was ready for yet. I am glad, however, that they decided to postpone the wedding, until Esme finished college.<br />
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I can't wait to see what happens to Quan in the next book!Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-59471542428713520402019-11-13T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-14T14:29:47.720-05:00[Review] Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune</h2>
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Rating: 3.5 stars</div>
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Published: June 11th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">At the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around--she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.</span></blockquote>
Natalie returns home, following the death of her mother, and in her memory, works to revitalize her corner of San Francisco's Chinatown, by reopening her grandmother's restaurant. Natalie has had an estranged relationship with her mother, who suffered from agoraphobia. With the help of old neighbors and friends, Natalie hopes to rekindle her passion for cooking and return to her roots.<br />
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I wish I liked this book more, but even though it was short, a good portion of it dragged for me. The writing was beautiful, but also unmistakably slow, dropping detail after detail to build and develop the world in the beginning. 100 words were said, when sometimes all that was really needed were 10. I know being told to 'show, don't tell' is juvenile writing advice, but we were told so much about Natalie's backstory and personality and relationships without fleshing them out on the page.<br />
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My doubts billowed as dark as the clouds overhead. An ominous rumble echoed in the distance, the briefest of warnings before the rain descended. Fat droplets pelted my hair, soaking my white sundress and leather sandals. Unrelenting droplets heaved from the sky, soaking everything in sight, the gutters, the newly formed cracks in the sidewalk, painting everything in tones of gray. - p. 165</blockquote>
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Dusk's veil failed to hide the increasing number of converted office buildings and upscale, big-name chains moving in were bodegas and apartments used to be. These builds used to be small businesses that housed hives of families. I'd read that the boom in the real estate market in San Francisco, fueled by the tech industry, had created a housing crisis for those with low and middle incomes. Ma-ma had been lucky the she owned our building, otherwise she would have been prey to the mass evictions that occurred. Growing up, I was accustomed to an insular neighborhood where the faces were as familiar as my own, but with more and more, the demographics were changing. Gentrification was devouring Chinatown. Even knowing this, I hadn't expected the neighborhood to change so much in seven years. - p. 9</blockquote>
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It was even a tad bit too dramatic.<br />
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"I was entropy's handmaiden, bringing destruction to every life I touched. - p. 201</blockquote>
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Once unmoored from such lengthy descriptions, I did find myself enjoying Natalie's quest to charm her neighbors and fulfill their wishes through her cooking - even though that didn't go exactly to plan.<br />
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This was more or less a book about finding oneself and rebuilding connections in a community. I think once we moved past the drama surrounding Natalie and her meddling with her neighbors' affairs, this story became bittersweet, as we shifted focus towards discovering the truth about her family. It even made me cry.<br />
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I do wish that I was able to have all those relationships featured in the beginning. The mental health discussion was something that, honestly, should have came to light earlier. Natalie talks frequently about how her mother's agoraphobia affected her, but it was only until the end when we see how it affected her mother.<br />
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Overall, it was an okay book that hit home in the latter half of the story.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-42805694152588845002019-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-11T08:00:02.650-05:00[Review] Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills</h2>
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Rating: 5 stars</div>
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Published: December 5th 2017</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis: </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">the </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A Midsummer Night's Dream, </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year.</span><br span="" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span id="freeText4538653444206884232" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, <i>the </i>it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream, </i>along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year.<br /><br />Smart, funny, and thoroughly, wonderfully flawed, Claudia navigates a world of intense friendships and tentative romance in <i>Foolish Hearts</i>, a YA novel about expanding your horizons, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and accepting--and loving--people for who they really are.</span></div>
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This book was perfection and everything I love in contemporary - normally a genre I don't even read, too! I've always been a bit iffy with books set in HS because of the age gap between reader and characters - I haven't been able to relate to one until <b><i>Foolish Hearts</i></b>.<br />
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For the last four years, Claudia has been mostly a wallflower at her all girls preparatory school. That is, until she overhears the breakup of the most popular couple in school - Iris and Paige. Suddenly, she's thrusted into the spotlight as she is forced to work together with mean girl Iris and popular guy Gideon in the school performance of <b><i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i></b>. She's used to spending her time with her only friend Zoe, and her siblings, Alex and Julia. Now Claudia has to navigate the ups and downs of friendships and romance in her final year of high school.<br />
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There was just so much I enjoyed, especially with the tropes! There's the usage of enemies to friends, popular boy meets wallflower girl, wallflower girl comes out of her shell, etc. It was just so refreshing to see these tropes having a twist. Everyone in the main cast was just so sweet and lovable and MULTIFACETED. </div>
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For instance, I wouldn't even really call Gideon a stereotypical popular guy. He's super protective of his best friend Noah and he's really accepting of Claudia's interests and goes the extra mile to make sure she's included in everything - which makes him a great friend and love interest. Also really powerful and wholesome guy friendships I feel like I never see - we need more soft, emotionally in touch with feelings guys in books please. </div>
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"Because he loves me," Noah says, and lets out a breath of laughter. "What a dick." A small smile. "Sometimes I wish there were like a combination of a hug and a punch 'cause that's what I would do to him. Like I want to punch-hug him, but also keep anything bad from ever happening to him. Because I... Like, that's how I love him, too. If it were him, I'd wish it were me." - p. 289 </blockquote>
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I'd say Iris and Claudia's friendship was what blew me away though. The employment of fandom as a way to bond was honestly the best thing; it reminded me of how I met my friend. Their fangirling over TION just makes me think of how I fangirl over <b><i>IT</i></b> and <b><i>Good Omens</i></b>... I loved that Claudia and Iris had that type of friendship where they could call each other out on their nonsense. Plus Iris's character development from someone shunned for being that rich mean girl to someone who opens up and expresses herself! Girl deserves the world. </div>
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<br />"I give a shit about you, too, you know. We all do. And so to say that... it's like saying we're wrong. Do you think that we're all wrong? All of us? To care about you like that? To ... value you, the way we do?"<br />I blink. The way she says "value" makes it sound strikingly interchangeable with "love." - p. 299</blockquote>
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Even when Claudia makes new friends, she's always mindful of the friends she had growing up and she reminds me so much of me! Just having that one best friend from another school, able to share all her secrets with Zoe. And her snark was fantastic. </div>
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"...There was a lot of talk of this year being our year."<br />"Who did all the other years belong to?" - p. 16</blockquote>
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"We need to show Dennings we can work together," she says.<br />"So this is some kind of... redemption arc?" - p. 63</blockquote>
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Beyond that was Claudia's inner growth towards discovering her self-worth. It was beautiful to witness. I cried a little with this book because I related so much. I felt so sad for her because she, too, deserves the world. </div>
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After spending so much time with our guild - with Zoe and Alex and everyone - it's odd to be hanging out with different people online. To see Viola Constantinople with, well... new friends. - p. 192</blockquote>
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"You don't want anything to change," she says. "You don't want to get left behind." - p. 231 </blockquote>
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I felt the above quote in my soul. </div>
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I think this is the kind of book that could reverberate with anyone, regardless of age. It has a lot of that coming-of-age crisis with relationships and friendships. This makes Emma Mills my go-to for contemporary YA!</div>
Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-1572488533246356052019-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-08T08:00:07.799-05:00[Review] The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8KGueZsouEThg3OoZci3fxAvKhGU0Cc2i-O31sGaWWqLNn38MsXmBzOmuRl_M1zwY6Nzqm3l-HXdawoc7m_CVxbpG9qqp1SFja951rF9dNRZ7NRcrwudkRzyL-OyCTYng8Lffgn6K2xp/s1600/41945163._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8KGueZsouEThg3OoZci3fxAvKhGU0Cc2i-O31sGaWWqLNn38MsXmBzOmuRl_M1zwY6Nzqm3l-HXdawoc7m_CVxbpG9qqp1SFja951rF9dNRZ7NRcrwudkRzyL-OyCTYng8Lffgn6K2xp/s320/41945163._SY475_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Rating: 2 stars</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmfrIsldzBw66zKaOMjBrc5n0zTnipc69eRbRWkmP-xGJQe7YbutzcmRFqvmfddwJhQr7bcppaPrtUtZc2TlveVinQei33l5S5GMXHGEUSWZXG5GEJQXZ97sF5BMgjlbODnv3R48QVz9c/s1600/lumas+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="204" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmfrIsldzBw66zKaOMjBrc5n0zTnipc69eRbRWkmP-xGJQe7YbutzcmRFqvmfddwJhQr7bcppaPrtUtZc2TlveVinQei33l5S5GMXHGEUSWZXG5GEJQXZ97sF5BMgjlbODnv3R48QVz9c/s200/lumas+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Published: June 11th 2019</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen—especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.</span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_gjdgxs"></a><span style="color: black;">Sigh. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">This book made me tired. Here's why.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">On a superficial level, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>The
Friend Zone</b></i> is about Kristen Peterson, who must fight off a growing
attraction to Josh Copeland, who will be the best man at her best friend's
wedding. She's in a long-distance relationship with Tyler, who works in the
military overseas and who will be coming home soon. Kristen also believes that
she and Josh would never work out, because, in the long-run, Josh wants a large
family, and Kristen cannot do that, with her big secret: after years of
painful, almost life-threatening periods, she's about to have a procedure that
will prevent her from having children.</span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">She and Josh become the next best thing: friends! With obvious
complications. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">So, the premise is the setup of what could have been a slow-burn
romance between two friends who can't be together until the world works in
their favor. But underneath all the cuteness and smoldering smirks, is the
promotion of many unhealthy messages. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">First, the misogyny and the ideation of a woman who is not like
other women. This women-shaming, manic pixie dream girl-type nonsense is stale
and overused. Instead of uplifting other women, we're elevating types like
Kristen on a pedestal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">What I had sitting next to me was the "cool girl." That
rare woman who was gorgeous without being nuts. The girl in high school who
hung out with all the guys, but she never dated any of them because none of
them were mature enough for her. That girl who had a boyfriend who went to
college and picked her up in his car after school. She could beat you at beer
pong and had a football team who would kick your ass for saying one wrong word
to her, but she'd never let them because she could handle herself. - p. 53</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">She was like a unicorn. A mythical creature. An honest, no-drama
woman who didn't bullshit and drank beer and cussed and didn't care about what
people thought of her. She was a unicorn, tucked in the body of an attractive
woman with a great ass. - p. 99</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I could go on. In spite of what Josh thought about Kristen, there
was drama! So much unnecessary drama of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should they, or shouldn't they be together</i>, all because no one was
completely honest with what was going on. It's cute for a few pages, but not
for a whole book. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I put my face into my hands. "I like him so much. So much,
Sloan. And he's all sweet and wants to hang out with me. He asked me if we
could be exclusive. I told him no, that it's purely a sex thing for me, which
it's totally not. But what else can it be?" - p. 138</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">And yes, though we have the boyfriend (Tyler) that stands in
between Josh and Kristen's lust/love, he really becomes insignificant halfway
through the book. He proposes to her!? And nothing happens of it. She's given a
deadline to respond, but he's never brought up again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">All that really was just plot-related issues that happened in the
first portion of the novel. The latter half of this novel became a train wreck
of conveniences and [spoilers ahead]. I don't think characters had to die for
the sake of furthering a romance. I don't think a magical pregnancy will
somehow save anything. If this is a book about Kristen accepting who she is and
not letting her health problems define her, then this book went in the opposite
direction. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Of course, someone (the fiancé of Kristen's best friend Sloan) had
to die in order for Kristen and Josh to put away their stupidity and finally
get together. I felt so bad for Sloan because the poor woman did not deserve
this nonsense. Kristen and Josh literally get together and get some on-the-spot
wedding while Sloan is still mourning! Talk about terrible friends and being
terribly disrespectful (can you at least wait?).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Even more than that is the idea that pregnancy will save
everything! Kristen spent most of the book thinking about what she could give
to a relationship if her health problems prevented her from having children. I
really wish her character developed instead to be one that thought of what was
best for her, as opposed to constantly thinking of what was best for her
partner. She delayed having the hysterectomy (and didn't have one in the end)!
That's just super unhealthy! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I couldn't love Tyler the way he deserved, and I couldn't give
Josh a family. I could never give either man what he really wanted. - p. 216</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">How could I tell him that my body
could never do the one thing he needed it to? I couldn't. I couldn't get the
words out. I couldn't bear to see my value drop in his eyes, to see him realize
I wasn't actually what he wanted.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">
Less of a woman.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">
Damaged goods. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">
Barren.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">
Sterile. - p. 262</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Please, Kristen! Give yourself what you want! This is too much.
She is practically reducing herself to an object of value to Josh, and she
deserves better. She does not need to be seen as something of value to him when
instead she should value herself! This book does not promote this AT
ALL. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Kristen thought she was less of a woman for not being able to have
children and magically ends up having a child anyway. I don't think that is a
good message to send to women who are going through issues of infertility and
menstruation. These can be life-threatening issues. Having a magical pregnancy
will not solve this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">If this book was supposed to be empowering to women, it wasn't.
Instead, we got the message that pregnancy and children will save you from your
issues with infertility and make you 'more of a woman', and you should think
about what your partner wants as opposed to what is best for you. Also, women
who drink and curse are rare Pokémon, the 'cool girls' who just want to be made
into "honest women" (p. 355). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Ugh. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-16411743884493178032019-11-06T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-06T08:00:06.982-05:00[Review] Slay by Brittney Morris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEKm84d06ZXs6175KAuG2A00kx6u74zCuh_ranyMrtS1Cmzh8cR79UsOmbvjRz1cteE8H5z4iVL8oHD87_mqSAr4vE05k_ZgdwfQNq3l_MdhZ8lNOvukbi-NtGmrZeN6mYl07BoeA8Cv_/s1600/43723509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEKm84d06ZXs6175KAuG2A00kx6u74zCuh_ranyMrtS1Cmzh8cR79UsOmbvjRz1cteE8H5z4iVL8oHD87_mqSAr4vE05k_ZgdwfQNq3l_MdhZ8lNOvukbi-NtGmrZeN6mYl07BoeA8Cv_/s320/43723509.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Slay by Brittney Morris</h2>
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Rating: 3.5 stars</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrluH-mSQnr3OsniGPnEnV3uk96RJcDpwHtzHdQ60TDV1wbJoSjtmg22txiIeNVjkVX7wKhBZD4TMpE4mcGDrn3j0uv3JUZpdBE72Eol6aAU3_MBrYbtB7_ssl8Ws9og-HTVi3lWf93jQ/s1600/lumas3.5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="359" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrluH-mSQnr3OsniGPnEnV3uk96RJcDpwHtzHdQ60TDV1wbJoSjtmg22txiIeNVjkVX7wKhBZD4TMpE4mcGDrn3j0uv3JUZpdBE72Eol6aAU3_MBrYbtB7_ssl8Ws9og-HTVi3lWf93jQ/s200/lumas3.5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Published: September 24th 2019</div>
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<br /></div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the "downfall of the Black man."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for "anti-white discrimination."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?</span></blockquote>
Kiera Johnson leads a double life. By day she's an honors student at her school and one of the only black students at Jefferson Academy. By night she's the creator of SLAY, an mmorpg card-game. She's careful to keep the two lives apart, until one day, someone is killed over the game, causing a public outrage that might just reveal her secret.<br />
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This story read a lot like <b><i>The Hate U Give </i></b>meets<b><i> Ready Player One</i></b>. Beyond the struggle of hiding her identity as a game developer, she also has to struggle with the conflict of being in a predominantly white school. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Morris addresses different kinds of racism and sexism and that was what made me keep on reading - it's important to understand that racism can exist between people of the same race, and it shouldn't be about putting someone down to emerge out on top. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Malcolm makes me feel guilty for not being "black enough," .... He's pro-black and antiwhite, two ideologies that sometimes overlap but are not the same thing. He's pro a lot of things, but to realize he's not as progressive as I thought - that's hard for me to admit. - p. 175</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I liked and didn't like the plot, or in this case, the multiple plots, of <b><i>Slay</i></b>. There were many things being thrown to us, with the POVs constantly alternating back and forth between Kiera and a person connected to SLAY, whether it was Cicada or the professor speaking on the effects of SLAY or some businessman that would play a bigger role later in the story. Their jarring and brief introductions temporarily took me out of the story whenever we got into their POVs, and sometimes, their roles were so brief that I wished that there was only Kiera's POV all along. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Kiera and Malcolm's relationship was also presented in a very one-dimensional way. I wish there was more nuance to Malcolm's character (I can understand being angry, but to go against your girlfriend? Towards something she built her whole life around?). There was a forced need to cast a character as a stereotypical villain, and I just wish that there was more complexity around his character. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The card game itself was pretty cool, and it reminded me of Warcross, with its virtual reality nature. It a game that celebrated blackness in such an innovative way. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I do think that this book is important for its celebration of black excellence and culture, and for its empowerment of WOC in STEM fields. </div>
Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-45244292076948831462019-11-04T08:00:00.000-05:002019-11-04T08:00:00.381-05:00[Review] When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis</h2>
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Rating: 4.5 stars</div>
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Format: ARC</div>
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Release Date: November 12th 2019 </div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Eighteen-year-old Devon longs for two things.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">The stars.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">And the boy she fell in love with last summer.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">When Ashton breaks Devon’s heart at the end of the most romantic and magical summer ever, she thinks her heart will never heal again. But over the course of the following year, Devon finds herself slowly putting the broken pieces back together.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Now it’s senior year, and she’s determined to enjoy every moment of it as she prepares for a future studying the galaxies. That is, until Ashton shows up on the first day of school. Can she forgive him and open her heart again? Or are they doomed to repeat history?</span></blockquote>
<br />
<i>TW: suicidal ideation, depression, abuse</i><br />
<br />
I mentioned this before on Twitter but I just am really enjoying contemporaries lately and they're normally not my cup of tea. But they've been tackling a bunch of serious issues and have really well-developed characters.<br />
<br />
My latest contemp is <b><i>When the Stars Lead to You</i></b>, and it follows Devon, aspiring astrophysicist, who dreams of having the best summer ever. She meets Ashton, and the two have a perfect summer romance, until he disappears from her life without as much as a goodbye. Though Devon is devastated, she picks up the pieces of her heart and mostly moves on, and wishes, a year later, to have a perfect senior year. But when Ashton comes back into her life, as a fellow student of Preston Academy, that might be an obstacle in her perfect year.<br />
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First thing - STEM student M/C? And she's biracial? That rep! I loved Devon's drive and determination to stick to her goals. She definitely struggles with trying to stay afoot (especially when it came to Ashton), but she didn't let it deter her. The romance pulled me so strongly, watching Devon go back and forth between wanting to talk to Ashton and wanting to keep him in her past.<br />
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ALSO I'm so all in for supportive best friends. I adored Blair's loyalty to Devon, and vice versa.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Blair huffed. "I swear, I'm going to throat punch him. Twice. Once for hurting you. Once for getting you all flustered. Once for being so damned gorgeous." - p. 82</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Seeing all the couples twirling around the floor made me achingly sad, but I found enough room in my lonely heart to be thrilled for Blair. She looked so happy, and I loved to see my friend glowing like that. - p. 131</blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Blair stepped close to Ashton. "Listen up. The second you turn my best friend's smile upside down, I will knock your ass back to the beach where she met you."<br />Ashton stared blankly at her. "Okay."<br />"I mean it. You hurt her again, you answer to me. And you won't like what I have to ay."<br />"Oh my God. Come on." I yanked her into the classroom. "See you later," I said to Ashton.<br />He kissed his fingertips and pointed them toward me, then headed down the hall.<br />"I can't believe you threatened him," I said to Blair after we'd gotten settled.<br />"Do you even know how I am? Of course I threatened him. It's because I love you." - p. 155</blockquote>
<br />
When it came to the portrayal of depression and suicidal ideation in Ashton, my heart felt for him. This is an important book when it comes to handling with a loved one's depression. It was also super important that both Ashton and Devon were super supportive of each other, throughout everything.<br />
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Also, even though her and Ashton broke up in the end, this didn't deter her at all! She's going to have a happy life with or without him (I like how she didn't let him define her happiness) and honestly, more contemps need to have this ambiguous, realistic, and totally not a perfect HEA ending. It makes sense.<br />
<br />
There was also an undercurrent of privilege discussion here, when it came to Devon being biracial, needing financial aid for college, and when dating Ashton, as his parents didn't think she was good enough to him. I liked that Davis was able to address all of this and show how much Devon, and POC have to go through. And even with all of this - Devon perseveres! And doesn't let anything get her down. It made me angry to think that Ashton's parents thought she had to be good enough for <i>him</i>, and earn her place in their spoiled egalitarian world.<br />
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Everyone should read this book! It's empowering and moving in so many different ways.Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-71669471139126211102019-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:002019-11-01T08:00:09.022-04:00[Review] The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue</h2>
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Series: Montague Siblings #1</div>
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Rating: 5 stars</div>
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Published: June 27th 2017</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis: </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.</span></blockquote>
Because three months later, I still continue to love <b><i>Good Omens</i></b>, if you loved the show/book/radio broadcast as much as I did, you're going to love <b><i>Gentleman's Guide</i></b>.<br />
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Henry 'Monty' Montague, his best friend/long time crush Percy, and his younger sister Felicity, embark on a grand Tour of Europe. Monty initially thinks this would be the perfect time to spend with Percy before he goes off on law school, and to spend the year doing any sort of sordid debauchery. But he is wrong - his father wants him to use the time to mature into a proper lord. However, plans change when Monty steals a small box from the Duke of Bourbon. Now on the run from hired men seeking the box, Monty and his friends have a different kind of tour, one full of pirates, alchemy, and dead people.<br />
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Monty was hilarious. Reading this story, I really got a feel for Monty's voice and had a good laugh on more than one occasion. At times, he's grating and selfish, yes, but his charm grew on me as he matured. </div>
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Some examples of Monty's wit. </div>
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"I don't think it's a good idea to be courting trouble, is all."<br />"We're not courting trouble," I say. "Flirting with it, at most." - p. 252</blockquote>
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"It's 'Take away the stone' or something like that, but my version is a bit better."<br />"Did you say your version is a <i>bit better </i>than the Bible?"<br />"Well, the Bible's stale." - p. 261</blockquote>
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He's supposed to be entirely a rake, but that hides a lot of the trauma and abuse Monty had growing up from his father. </div>
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There are bodies buried beneath the flagstones of my parents' estate, and some graves are never green. - p. 211</blockquote>
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Also the slow pining for his friend Percy! My heart. Watching these two lovebirds dance around each other made me think of a certain angel and demon... </div>
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The great tragic love story of Percy and me is neither great nor truly a love story, and is tragic only for its single-sideness. - p. 28</blockquote>
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"So if things can't be the same between us, can they at least not be terrible. You're not permitted to be strange and uncomfortable around me now."<br />"So long as you don't go falling in love with me."<br />I don't know why I say it. Call it battlements around my helpless heart. Percy looks away from me fast, shoulders curling up. It almost looks like a flinch. But then he says, "I'll try my best." - p. 192</blockquote>
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For all the jesting that occurred, Lee does take the opportunity to touch down on issues that were prevalent for the period - racism, sexism, and homophobia being the main ones. </div>
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"You were caught with a woman and then you left here there? Monty, you tomcat!"<br />"She'll be find. They didn't chase me down."<br />"Because you're a man."<br />"So?"<br />"It's different for women. No one condemns a man for that sort of thing, but she'll carry that with her." - p. 96</blockquote>
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Another important thing Lee does, and we certainly don't have enough of these in YA, is have a science-loving heroine. Felicity's love of books and medicine made me think of myself (though I no longer necessarily have a love for medicine); I think she would be a great role model.</div>
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"I'd rather study medicine than go to finishing school. That's what I wanted. But they don't let girls into universities. Girls go to finishing school and boys go to medical school." - p. 166 - 167</blockquote>
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I will say, one of my favorite parts (and there are so many, honestly) is the running joke of Percy's indestructible fiddle. </div>
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Anyhow, this was a fun read! I can't wait to read the sequel. </div>
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Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-21897214511946497712019-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:002019-10-30T08:00:02.299-04:00[Review] The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory </h2>
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Series: The Wedding Date #3</div>
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Rating: 4 stars</div>
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Published: July 16th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Maddie and Theo have two things in common:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">1. Alexa is their best friend</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">2. They hate each other</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">After an “Oops, we made a mistake” kiss, neither one can stop thinking about the other. With Alexa’s wedding rapidly approaching, Maddie and Theo both share bridal party responsibilities that require more interaction with each other than they’re comfortable with. Underneath the sharp barbs they toss at each other is a simmering attraction that won’t fade. It builds until they find themselves sneaking off together to release some tension when Alexa isn’t looking.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">But as with any engagement with a nemesis, there are unspoken rules that must be abided by. First and foremost, don’t fall in love.</span></blockquote>
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<i><b>The Wedding Party</b></i> just reminded me how much I adore romances? This was so cute.<br />
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Theo and Maddie are complete opposites (supposedly), but must work together for the sake of their best friend Alexa's wedding in a few months! When they first meet after some time, sparks fly, and they assure each other it won't happen again... until it keeps on happening. They devise up a plan to stop this little arrangement the moment Alexa gets married, but they don't take into consideration the feelings that emerge.<br />
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If emojis were possible on Blogspot I'd give a decent amount of hot peppers. There was certainly no beating around the bush when it came to sex. The spicy text messages back and forth had to be my favorite part. Also just all the tension between Theo and Maddie... damn. </div>
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But even better was just watching the initial hatred fall apart and seeing them fall slowly in love with each other. The mutual respect that each one had was super great to see - I love supportive couples! </div>
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And Maddie's inner strength was something to commend. Gotta love a heroine who won't change for a man! </div>
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"Plus, I've given up on men - they all think I'm going to be some party girl when they start dating me, because of how I look and dress, but then they get to know me and discover I have a personality and ambitions and am actually kind of a homebody, and they freak out. I thought about changing the way I look and dress to make it clear who I am, but fuck that. I like the way I look and I like my clothes. I don't want to change that for a man." - p. 116 - 117</blockquote>
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This book had tension and angst and all these spicy moments in just the right amounts! I do want to read the other series by Guillory. </div>
Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108572242094775885.post-15807193489510768432019-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:002019-10-28T08:00:03.695-04:00[Review] The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson</h2>
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Rating: 3 stars</div>
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Published: July 9th 2019</div>
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Goodreads Synopsis:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life...until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother's death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them.</span></blockquote>
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Anthia, or Thia, is Princess of Rhodaire, who is forced to marry the crown prince of Illucia, a country whose Queen attacked Rhodaire's capital city several months prior. This attack kills Thia's mother and her aunt Estrel, and it leaves Thia suffering from depression.<br />
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Looking back on <b><i>The Storm Crow</i></b>, it does have a supposed enemies to lovers romance that I typically enjoy, but I wasn't really a fan of it here. Ericen was built up to be this antagonistic, attractive prince, but then the real romance came much later from Caylus, a rebel secretly working against Illucia. There was so much more development (and potential) for Ericen, especially since he ended up not even evil. Caylus shows up way too late (around the halfway point), and Thia automatically falls for him?! I need more buildup to this relationship to accept this. </div>
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That being said, just because the love triangle went one way, and not the other, doesn't mean that things can still be platonic. I do hope we see more acceptance on Ericen's part for this. </div>
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I think the focal points of Thia reflecting on her depression were important, and honestly, the best parts to read, because these points on mental illness are super important. I do wish we had more of them featured in this book. </div>
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He knew the scars were there, but I wanted him to really look at them. Under his gaze, they didn't feel wrong. They felt like something else, like a symbol of my survival.<br />"For the the longest time, I let these represent everything I lost, but I'm done. I won't let my scars define me. Not anymore. From now on, they're a symbol of what I have left to fight for. Of what I won't let Illucia take from me."- p. 216</blockquote>
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"There's nothing wrong with being sad. Everyone feels that way, one time or another." - p. 245</blockquote>
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The more I think about this book, the more I wish I liked it more. I wish the magic system surrounding the crows was more utilized (it's in the title, after all). I can see why it was omitted for a good portion, but still, some crow magic would be nice. </div>
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The characters (other than Thia and Caylus and Kiva) felt very flat to me. If they were introduced once Thia got into Illucia, I lost interest. There was also this sister dynamic between Caliza and Thia that could have totally be explored more. </div>
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I'm not sure how I feel reviewing this book awhile after I read it. It doesn't stick out prominently in my mind, so I don't know if I'd continue. </div>
Raisa Santoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949861609651368989noreply@blogger.com0