"Every Last Word" by Tamara Ireland Stone - Two Different Takes On This One

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone is about Samantha, a popular high schooler.  She hangs around with a popular group of girls that she has been with since kindergarten with a secret that she has kept hidden all this time.  What that is you will have to read this book to find out.  She gets an urge to leave the group, but does she have the courage?

WOW!  This book was really good!  I thought all the characters were well developed and got into it very quickly.  I really liked Samantha, the main character.  I did not see the twist coming at all and the ending was fantastic!  A must read!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)


Karen read it too (2 stars):
I was not as impressed with Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone as my husband was.  It is realistic contemporary YA fiction about Samantha, a popular high school girl who loves swimming, the number 3 and struggles with obsessing thoughts because of OCD.  Through regular visits with her therapist and medication, she begins to make some changes in her life but still wonders if she is crazy.

I thought this was okay but didn't have much action or plot to it, other than Samantha learning to cope better with OCD by changing friends and writing poetry.  It does give some insight as to what OCD is like and it was inspirational when she experienced some small victories along the way. This book is mostly about friendship and accepting yourself for who you are.  Compared to the fun, fantasy page turners that I've been reading, this one just seemed to fall a bit flat.  I thought the unexpected "twist" was kind of dopey.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday--Four

Gerard's:

"I hid in the bathtub until help came.  A cop shot one of my dogs."

From page 13 of The Hand that Feeds You by A. J. Rich. (Click link for review)

When I just stared at him, he said, "For having the nerve to request where I slaughter you, I'll let you in on a secret, human:  Prythian must claim your life in some way, for the life you took from it.  So as a representative of the immortal realm, I can either gut you like swine, or . . . you can cross the wall and live out the remainder of your days in Prythian."

From page 37 of TA Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.

Still, I can hear this one thought hiding in the dark corners of my mind.  It doesn't attack like the others.

From page 9 of Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone.

Karen's: 

"No, tomorrow you won't."  In a move quick and precise, the sword cut the air, blood sprayed my horse's mane, and the man's head toppled to the ground.

From page 276 of The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles--Book 2) by Mary E. Paerson.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

"The Hand That Feeds You" by A. J. Rich

The Hand That Feeds You by A. J. Rich is about a lady named Morgan.  She is living with her fiance named Bennet and her dogs.  One day she comes home and her fiance is dead.  it looks like her dogs did it, but has a hard time accepting that.  On further investigation it turns out the name of her fiance was false and this man has a history of wrong doing.

This is a real page turner that I enjoyed.  I loved how the dogs were kept in the story for almost the whole book!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday

Gerard's:

Joe's body jumped as if he'd been given a jolt of electricity.  An alarm sounded.  Code blue.

From page 49 of Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich. (Click link for review)

She removed the dagger from his throat, using the blade to brush back a strand of his dark hair.  "I have my sources."

From page 72 of The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass Novellas) by Sarah J. Maas.

Karen's: 

"I don't think you particularly want to see how angry and vicious and awful I am underneath."  

"Go ahead and be as nasty as you want, Princess, because I've been ten times as nasty, for ten times longer than you've been alive."

 From page 89 of Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas.

Every day I would come home and see her shadow.  It's what gave me hope that one day we would be able to be together:  the fact that she still thought about me.

From page 25 of Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

"Invasion of Privacy" by Christopher Reich

Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich is told by Mary.  Her husband, Joe, worked for the FBI and was killed.  End of story.   BUT, Mary believes it is not that simple and wants to know why the cover up?  This book is a page turner.  I got into it early on and the story line is good and very believable.  I liked all the characters too.  Read this, you'll be glad you did!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)  

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Heir of Fire" by Sarah J. Maas (Updated)

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas is the third book in the Throne of Glass series so read the first two first!  In this book, you will be introduced to yet more new characters.  My favorite is Rowan and hope he is a main character now.  Of course, we get more of Chaol, Dorian and Celaena.  This series seems to get better and better with each book!  This is another action packed book full of twists and turns that I didn't want to put down with a fantastic ending!  I want more, Wow!  Can't wait to read the next one in this series!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
I thought this book started out very slow and was very confusing but the second part really picked up and got very good.  Things I liked about it are:  Celaena learning to use and control her magic fire power, Manon training Abraxos, her wyver and how they sort of bond, Rowan finally being nice to Celaena and them fighting together, Celaena's confrontation with her Aunt Maeve when she demonstrates her power, the showdown with the King at the end and Chaol still protecting Celaena's dog, Fleetwood. 

I think I'm probably the only person who liked the first two books better than this one.  I am looking forward to continuing on with this series because there are enough characters that I like and want to see how it all turns out.

Here are my two favorite quotes from this book:

The witch, Manon, trying to get her vicious wyver, Abroxos, to eat meat:

"He moved to sniff some white-and-yellow flowers.
A nightmare.  this was a nightmare.  "You can't really like flowers."
Again those dark eyes shifted to her.  Blinked once.  I most certainly do, he seemed to say." p. 261

Aelin to Rowan at the end when arguing about her plan of action:

"And, just like I said, magic doesn't work there anymore.  you'd be trapped in that form.  Though I do hear that Rifthold rats are particularly delicious, if you want to eat them for months." p. 560

Review of the previous books in this series:
Throne of Glass
Crown of Midnight

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Crown of Midnight" by Sarah J. Maas with Discussion Video

Both my husband and I are reading this series now, he is reading the book first and then I am reading it so be sure to come back and see my review of the book too.

Here's Gerard's review:
This is the second book in The Throne of Glass series which is action packed!  There is so much going in in this second book!  Celaena is such a bad ass, I love her!  She knows what she is and is not afraid of anyone and makes it clear she is not one to mess with.  The characters of Dorian and Chaol are further developed and some new ones are added.  We learn a lot more in this book than in the first.  Loved this book a lot!  On to book 3--Heir of Fire.
(5++ stars)

(Karen's review, 5 stars)
In Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, there are a few more characters introduced and lots of action.  Celaena plays a dangerous game making the king think she is following his orders when she isn't really.  She continues to pursue her own agenda, to find his secret power source and to seek revenge.  There are quite a few scenes I liked a lot including some with Chaol, Dorian, the king, assassinations and her dog, Fleetfoot.  I am still pulling for Chaol in the love triangle.  A couple of her secrets are revealed in this book too!

I liked the humor in this book and the fighting she does seemed justified to me.  She is very clever but way more curious than I would be.  Can't picture me wandering through dark secret passageways below a castle alone!  This is one brave girl!  I also like how Chaol is always willing to protect her and help her anyway he can.  There were lots of things I especially liked in this book but don't want to be more specific to spoil it for you.  Read it and discover the mysteries for yourself! 

Here is a discussion video on this book that Gerard and I did on our front porch yesterday:

See our reviews of the first book in this series:  Throne of Glass.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Arena Mode" by Blake Northcutt

image from Amazon

Arena Mode by Blake Northcutt is the first in a series of fantasy novels around 2041.  This is about Mox, a superhero comic collector genius with a photographic memory, a cancerous brain tumor, and a couple good friends who convince him to enter the Arena Mode contest held in Manhattan, NY to get enough money for the surgery he needs to remove the tumor.  He has no faith in God or anything, and is solely focused on playing the odds which have paid off for him in winning lots of money gambling.  The contest is only for superpower humans, so he has to sneak in by faking a superpower to get the attention of the guy who gives out the invitations to participate.

The majority of this book is the actual contest involving a lot of fighting. During the contest, Mox discovers what is really important to him and fights to survive by out thinking his opponents and getting some help along the way.  I was interested to see how this guy with no superpowers was going to survive against the others who all had superpowers which was pretty fascinating.  I think the theme is about being a superhero by making a difference, but it wasn't all that clear.  Overall, the book is pretty gruesome, corny and unbelievable with a surprise ending I didn't like.   This is not a series I intend to pursue.
(Karen's review, 3 stars) 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday

Gerard's:

It's impossible for me to make the connection between who I am now and who I was then--as if I died long ago in that town and resurrected somewhere else, with a brain full of another girl's memories.

Except that I miss my father.

From page 19 of When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord. (Click link for review)

Celaena reached a gloved hand into the sack and tossed the severed head toward him.  No one spoke as it bounced, a vulgar thudding of stiff and rotting flesh on marble.

From page 6 of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas.

Karen's: 

Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione had misgivings.  The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.

 From page 115 of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.

As I looked down my nose at mindless consumerism, I had to stop and remind myself that I was participating in a glorified reality show--a show where contestants signed a contract, agreeing to kill each other for obscene piles of cash.  As far as entertainment goes, it doesn't get any more mindless.

From page 161 (location 2164 on Kindle) of Arena Mode by Blake Northcott. (Review goes up tomorrow--loved it!)


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

Things on My Bookshelves That Aren't Books

What's on your shelf that aren't books?  I have lots more things, but since this is a Top 5 Wednesday tag, we only get to pick five things.

"When We Were Animals" by Joshua Gaylord

When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord is told by Lumen, part of it as she was growing up and part as a married woman.  Where she lived growing up, teenagers did something as a rite of passage that you will have to read the book to find out exactly what that was.

I really loved this book!  The story line was good and I thought the characters were well brought out.  It kept my interest throughout with a good twist at the end I did not see coming.  This is well worth reading!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Ruby (Dakota Treasures-Book 1)" by Lauraine Snelling if a Fun Read

Don't know why libraries can't put their stickers on the back!

Ruby by Lauraine Snelling is a good read about Ruby and her younger sister Opal (9 yrs. Old) who move to the Dakota territory from the east when their father sends for them just before he dies to give them their inheritance. It’s hardly a town at all with just a saloon/brothel, the Dove House that they inherit and another saloon, small store and a few other buildings. No sheriff, no children, no school, no church. The father’s dying wish was that Ruby would take care of the girls. She promised him she would before she finds out that they are prostitutes. Ruby is very uptight about everything and Opal is fun loving, friendly and adventurous. Ruby decides to stay only because she promised her father so decides to discontinue serving liquor, and the brothel, changing it into a respectable hotel that serves food and coffee. She agreed to permit the card room to stay open for gambling certain hours and let Belle run it.

I enjoyed this book very much because it was interesting to see how Ruby persuaded the others in the business to stay on and help change things. I liked Opal better than Ruby. I didn’t understand why Ruby did not pray more in this Christian fiction book than she did when she kept running into so many problems and challenges. It seemed she just complained a lot, yelled a lot and bossed people around, expecting Charlie to take care of everything. If you like historical fiction, I would recommend this book. Although it is classed as Christian fiction, I didn’t really find all that much Christianity in it.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Bobby Wonderful--An Imperfect Son Buries His Parents" by Bob Morris

Bobby Wonderful by Bob Morris is a non-fiction memoir.  Mr. Morris tells what he and his family went through as their mom and dad lived their final days.  I am sure this book will resonate with the older crowd that went through this time in their life too.  This is an emotional book that is well worth reading.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas is a Must Read if you like Fantasy! (UPDATED)

We both liked this one! 
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is a mix of fantasy, mystery, competition, relationships, survival, royalty and friendship. Celaena, a famous teen assassin, who was betrayed and worked in a death camp as a slave in salt mines is chosen by Prince Dorien to participate in a contest that could give her freedom. If she wins, she would have to serve the king as his Champion assassin for four years and then she would be free. Celaena is brave, confident, determined, skilled, snarky and feisty. She is housed in the castle and finds a secret passage into tunnels that lead her to trouble!

I am so glad I read this book and look forward to continuing in the series! The characters are interesting and I really like Celaena, Nehemia, Chaol—captain of the guard and Prince Dorien. I didn’t dislike Cain until well into the book but disliked Kaltain and Duke Pellington right from the start. This book kept my interest from start to finish and I found myself chuckling and cheering. I would have preferred the final duel to be a clean fight but I still liked the ending. Nor did I care for the otherworld stuff; however, the action, Celaena and her relationships with Chaol, Dorien, Nehemia and Kaltain more than made up for it. This is a really good story I recommend to anyone who enjoys a bit of fantasy.
(Karen's review, 4 stars because I hear the next book in this series is even better!)


Gerard's review:

Throne of Glass is a YA novel about a young girl named Celaena.  She has been trained to be an assassin and is "the best."  Unfortunately for her, she is captured and put in a death camp.  However, when the king decides that he wants his own assassin to work for him, he runs a contest.  His son frees Celaena to enter the contest and maybe a chance to be free IF she wins.

This is an outstanding read; I LOVED IT!   Celaena is a great character and I was quickly on her side!  This has plenty of action and the other characters are really interesting too.  It almost goes without saying that the story line is superb!  This is a MUST READ and I will be reading the next book in this series soon.  This is going to be hard to beat for my "book of the month"--it's fantastic!
(Gerard's review 7/3/15, 5++ stars)

Here is a video of Gerard and me discussing this book on our front porch:

See our Crown of Midnight review and discussion video.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want.

Happy Reading!

"More Happy Than Not" by Adam Silvera

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera is a YA novel told by a young teen boy named Aaron.  He is having problems figuring out who he is exactly and he does not have his dad to go to because his dad committed suicide.  Poor Aaron thinks he is the cause of that!

I enjoyed this book.  It covers a lot of modern-day issues and all the characters were very well developed. 
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesdays: Four Today

Gerard's:

Under a black-purple sky, a chariot is drawn by six angels harnessed like horses.  Blood and sweat stream down their shoulders and chests where the harness cuts into them.

From page 33 of End of Days by Susan Ee.

"I'm spending the night at Genevieve's.  Tell Mom I'm at Brendan's playing some new game or something."

From page 21 of More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera.

Karen's: 

"I demand to know," she began, but the Captain of the Guard pulled her back from the prince with spine-snapping force.  "I wasn't going to kill him, you buffoon."

 From page 12 of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.  (Click link for Gerard's review.)

One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to develop other leaders.  Those leaders will affect hundreds, if not thousands, of other people.

From page 4 of Leadership Lessons from West Point edited by Major Doug Crandall.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

"Leadership Lessons from West Point" Can Apply to Leadership in General

Leadership Lessons from West Point is written by different Army officers who have had actual battle experience in leading men. It is actually a textbook that is well organized and addresses many different aspects of effective leadership. I must admit I did not read the entire book word for word because it nicely set off main points of each topic. I read those main points and if it was related to something that I felt would be helpful to me as a Sunday School teacher or volunteer coach, I read those entire passages. After reading Hope Unseen about an army officer who became blind due to a war bomb in Iraq and eventually got a teaching position at West Point, I wanted to read this book to see more of what West Point cadets were taught about leadership.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"End of Days" by Susan Ee is a Great Finish to a Great Series!

End of Days by Susan Ee is book 3 and the last of the angel series which I loved! All three books in this series are very good! In this last book, Penryn and Raffe are on the run with a lot of twists and turns to come before the last part of the book that covers the final battle between angels and humans.

There is plenty of action in this one which made me enjoy it a lot! It’s a great series that has a really good ending. Super job, Miss Ee! I look forward to your next project.
 (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

The first book in this series is Angelfall and the second is World After.


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo is Historical Fiction

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo is an interesting read.  First off, it is told by a lady in a nursing home to one of the nurses and her son who visits her.  She is looking back to when she was 16 and telling the story about how they had an elephant in their garden during World War II and their walk across Germany to avoid the bombing of their city, Dresden.

I loved War Horse so when I found out Michael Morpurgo wrote this book too, I was eager to read it.  It is quite a story and I loved how it was told.  Although it is fiction, it is based to actual people and events.  This book has adventure and a bit of romance.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Here is the link to the actual story this book is based on:  Story of how Belfast Zoo's Baby Elephant Was Kept In Backyard of Home During Second World War Blitz to be Made into Film

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is a YA story about a 13-yr.-old boy, Conor, whose dealing with anger issues and fear of his mother dying of Cancer. His parents are divorced, and his dad remarried and now lives in America while Conor lives in England.

I didn’t really care much for this book because the Monster that appeared to Conor to help him accept the loss of his mother seemed real; however, that made no sense.  I thought it was a dumb book but read it because I heard so many recommend it on YouTube.  It is sad and has a realistic fantasy feel to it.  I really thought the cover was well done.
(Karen's review, 2 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Ask the Dark" by Henry Turner is Very Good!

Ask the Dark by Henry Turner is told by Billy, a young boy who lives by his own rules.  When his dad needs a lot of money, Billy buckles down and comes up with a plan to get it that puts him in real danger.  Does he pull it off?

This book is short and goes quick but is good.   I enjoyed it right off the bat and was into it.  Billy is a great character and a debut book by this author!  It's very well done, worth reading and loved the ending.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!