Posted on by Meghan G

TBR Thursday: My Lady Jane

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It’s a historical fiction novel with a comical twist about actually people a looooonnnnnggg time ago.  Quite frankly what else could you need in a book?  For myself personally not really anything else but it is a book that requires a certain craving behind it.  You know?

Like if I were looking to cry over a beautiful love story then I would assume that My Lady Jane wouldn’t be what I was looking for (though you know what they say when you assume…).

Basically what I’m getting at is I just haven’t found myself in the mood to read this book yet.  I’ve literally read the first 10 pages several times but then I usually end up reading something else because I know I want to read it I just haven’t been in the right mind space to do it yet.

But I will do it eventually.  Hopefully!

Happy Reading,

Meghan

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Caraval: Book Review

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“Whatever you’ve heard about Caraval, it doesn’t compare to the reality. It’s more than just a game or performance. It’s the closest you’ll ever find yourself magic in this world.”
― Stephanie Garber, Caraval

Title:  Caraval

Series: Caraval Series

Author:  Stephanie Garber

Publish Date:  January 31, 2017

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Reading Format:  E-book

Publisher’s Summary:

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Review:

I was almost certain that I might not come across a book this year that I would truly enjoy, but Caraval may have saved the day!

Caraval has been on my want-to-read list ever since it came out last year and I’ve almost bought it a dozen times while in Books-a-Million, but for some reason would decide to go with something else.  However, Amazon came through (or I suppose the publishers of the book did) when it was a Kindle daily deal sometime back in January or February.  I immediately bought it and couldn’t wait to start reading because I knew by reading the description of the story that Caraval was just going to be a book I would love.

And I was right. This was exactly the type of story I like.  It’s fantasy with romance and a magical world to get lost in, which are all prefect elements to books I love to read.  I will admit though that the beginning was a little slow for me, however that isn’t very uncommon in fantasy novels because world building is apart of the genre and that usually takes up some of the plot.  It was easy to get over though because once the main characters were in Caraval the story really began to take off and I couldn’t put it down. T

There is so much mystery surrounding the game of Caraval and it’s creator, Legend, that as the reader you seem to get lost in this magical place as much as Scarlett does.  And I think this makes her as the narrator of the story  a great idea because you see Caraval through all of Scarlett’s first time experiences with the game.

Also the imagery that came to my mind while reading the book showed to myself at least how much I liked Stephanie Garber’s writing.  She brings Caraval’s world to life well by her descriptions of the places and people Scarlett meets while in the game. I didn’t feel overwhelmed at anytime by the magic in the story or the world building either, but I could tell while reading the book that there was so much more to explore in this world in future books.

Which I’m super excited for the next book in the series that I already pre-ordered.  When I finished the book and knew I had to pre-order the next one, that was the best way for me to tell I really liked Caraval.  Plus I don’t have to wait that long, as it comes out the end of this month. Yay!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Happy Reading,

Meghan

Posted on by Meghan G

TBR Thursday: The Making of The Masters

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Alright so this weeks TBR Thursday pick is a bit strange I’ll admit, but I’m trying to read more nonfiction books.  And because the Masters is often watched by most people in my family (at least my grandfather, my mother, and myself) I want to understand more about why this particular golf tournament became the ultimate event in golf.  Granted I don’t usually watch any other golfing events except for the Masters, I was curious to learn more as I tuned in at the beginning of April to watch 2018 tournament.  When I went searching for a book to find out more, The Making of The Masters was one of the top choices.  While I’ll be rather surprised to finish this book if I do ever get to reading it, I do hope I might learn something along the way.

Happy Reading,

Meghan

Posted on by Meghan G

The Address: Book Review

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Title:  The Address

Author:  Fiona Davis

Publish Date:  August 1, 2017

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Reading Format:  Hardback Book

Summary:

Told in the perspective of two different characters, The Address follows Sarah Smythe in 1884 as she is given the opportunity to become the lady managerette of The Dakota in New York City after a chance encounter with the architect Theodore Camden at her former job in London.

The other perspective follows Bailey Camden in 1985, who fresh out of rehab is given the chance to start a new by her “cousin” Melinda to renovate her apartment, the former home of Melinda’s great grandfather Theodore Camden.  Bailey, who’s own grandfather was the ward to Theodore, has always known the rumor that surrounds Melinda’s apartment; which is that the famed architect was murdered by a former servant of the Dakota, Sarah Smythe.  But Bailey soon begins to uncover the truth behind that tale.

Review:

One of the reasons I’ve hesitated to write some book reviews as of lately is that I haven’t really been enjoying some of the books I’ve been reading in the past few months.  I feel as though most of these books have so much potential to be great but end up falling flat in the end.  I also don’t love writing negative reviews.  I find them unpleasant to write and never like trashing something someone has spent a lot of their time on creating.  However if I want to keep my blog going I’ll have to write reviews that are both good and bad, and I always want to be honest about how I feel about the things I read.  So with all that said The Address was not my favorite Historical fiction book.

For starters I don’t love dual timelines. I find that if they aren’t written well I can get the characters mixed up or find it hard to follow.  Also Bailey’s story wasn’t really interesting to me.  I realize that she is used to uncover the mystery surrounding Theodore Camden’s death, but I could have done without her all together and purely had a story that only was told through the eyes of Sarah.

Sarah’s story also takes a weird turn.  It is almost as though the author came across some interesting history during the time period and decided to add it in, but she speeds through it so quickly I wonder if it was even worth telling the story that way.  In my opinion Fiona Davis could have found a better way to tell this part by going a different path.  But what do I know?

By the last one hundred pages I was ready to stop reading The Address all together.  I had more or less figured out how it would end and had almost completely skimmed all the Bailey chapters to get to the end as soon as possible.

I feel that if I’m going to read a Historical Fictional novel I would prefer it stuck to one time period instead of two.  I know it is possible to have a dual timeline that works, for example The Wedding Dress that I read back in February did a nice job.  And my all time favorite novel The Nightingale also does a nice job, but it only touches on a more present time period all of three times and mainly focuses on past.  I guess what I’m trying to say is the author of The Address just didn’t have writing style I was looking for, and I know it could have been better.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Happy Reading,

Meghan

 

Posted on by Meghan G

April Wrap Up 2018

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How was everyone’s April?  Ours was pretty rainy here is Georgia and the weather kept fluctuating enough through out the month to make me confused on whether Winter was coming or going.  But thankfully it looks as though Spring has finally sprung and I cannot wait for the warmer weather, though with Summer quickly approaching I might be biting my tongue as the South’s summer often comes with 100% humidity everyday.

Okay enough about me and my complaints about the weather, here is what I read in April:

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I managed to read three books this week.  After spending most of March reading Historical fiction I made my way back to my first love YA fantasy.  I finally got around to continuing the Falling Kingdoms Series and I can’t wait to keep going, it truly is one of best YA Fantasy series out there in my opinion.

What did you read in the month of April?

I’d love to know in the comments below.

Happy Reading,

Meghan

Posted on by Meghan G

TBR Thursday: Radio Girls

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Do you ever just get into a reading mood where you’re only in the mood to read a certain genre or story line over and over again?  Well mine lately has been books set in the early 19th century, both fictional and nonfictional that focus on women during that time.

While I’ve mostly been focusing on books set during World War II I’ve been wanting to find something a little different.  So when I was browsing through goodreads to decide what I should add to my to read list I was recommended Radio Girls.  This book is set during the very beginning of the BBC radio age in 1926.  It follows Maisie Musgraves as she navigates this new world of radio and the fast pace energy that comes with it.

I’ve never read anything like it and look forward to getting my hands on it soon.  I’m going on vacation for my birthday in June and think this will make a great book to bring with me.

Have you been in a reading mood lately?  Let me know in the comments below.

Happy Reading,

Meghan

Posted on by Meghan G

TBR Thursday: I’m Bringing it Back!

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I’m bringing back TBR Thursday!

I had originally gotten rid of it because I was barely finding the time to get all my book reviews up, yet alone attempting to add anything else.  But I have decided it is time to get this post series back up and running again.

I miss being able to share books I’m anticipating to read and I love sharing it this way rather than attempting to make a list of what I plan to read within the next month.  This also feels like a unique way of showing my TBR list and explaining why I want to read each book.

Raise your hand if your excited for TBR Thursdays again and be on the lookout for the first one tomorrow!

Happy Reading,

Meghan