In Your Dreams

Dream a Little Dream
By Kerstin Gier

Liv Silver moves around a lot. The latest place her mom has settled in is London. Because of this, her dreams have become weird. One night she dreams she's in a graveyard with four boys. Next day at school, those very same boys are there. Something is not right in the dreamworld.

This was on my to-read-list but not for this year. However, it came in the library and I had to take it out. I loved Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red Trilogy. It was fun and hilarious.

Can I say I liked this one better? The writing improved and the humour of the main character, Liv, had me giggling out loud. Gier has this magical ability to make funny heroines and really intriguing worlds. Long since I've been a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I've been fascinated by dreams and the riddles of our psychology that they play.

There could've been confusion when writing characters wandering around in each other's dreams, however, it is written with such ease that the transitions are non-confusing and delightful. The inserts of the high-school "Tittle Tattle" blog add a little extra, but might be superfluous. I do like the idea of including a different media into a novel.

Maaaaaybe a little bit of insta love. But I didn't care. Remember what it was like in high school? To have one crush one week and then next week another. Hormone's are wreaking havoc on the teenage system and they cannot fathom why they feel so attracted to someone immediately. At least, that's what I tell myself when I come across these "insta-love" type novels. Our main character was so head-strong that I don't believe her to be completely ruled by her heart over her head, or by her raging hormones.

Fun! Stupidly fun and a perfect summer read. Yet again, Kerstin Gier creates loveable characters and hilarious dialogue. Highly recommend for a quick, fun read.

4/5 STARS

Half-Hearted Takedown

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Soooo, there was a read-a-thon that I half-heartedly participated in. The TBR Takedown marathon. From June 1-7. Yes, there were challenges. Yes, I attempted them. Silly me, thought I had loads of time this week. And then the unexpected meetings came in waves... my time whittled down... my marathoning was disappointing.



In total, I read three books.
~ Resenting the Hero, #1 Hero Series (Moira J Moore)
5 STARS
~ Lies of Locke Lamora, #1 Gentleman Bastard (Scott Lynch)
2 STARS
~ Out of the Silent Planet, #1 Space Trilogy (C.S. Lewis)
4 STARS


Here's the challenges and my squeeeeeezing success out of them.

1. Read a book you've had for over a year.
 The Lies of Locke Lamora - on my TBR for a year, and in reading this it feels like I've been reading it for over a year.

2. Read an unread sequel.
---

3. Read the 1st book in a series.
All of these were firsts in series. I will probably continue the Hero series and the Space Trilogy.

4. Read a book out of your comfort zone.
Out of the Silent Planet was completely out of my comfort zone. I never liked Narnia. So my friend's way around recommending a C.S.Lewis book was his Space Trilogy.

5. Read a book from your most recent haul. 
Resenting the Hero is brand new! Loved this one. Laugh out loud funny.

Between the Spaces

Afterworlds
By Scott Westerfeld

Darcy Patel participated in a month long novel-writing challenge (not NaNoWriMo *wink*) and mailed in her manuscript. The Publisher sends her a contract and suddenly she's off to New York to begin a bright shiny life as a writer. We read her novel in alternating chapters as she polishes and gleans ideas from her peer writers.


Coolest idea for a book. It pulls back the curtain on the methods behind writing and how life experiences can effect the writing process. I love the tidbits of writing advice.

The voice of Darcy is believeable. She is confident and insecure at the same time. There were a few eyebrow-raising unrealistic parts, however, for the most part I was able to remind myself that it's fiction and Westerfeld was having fun.

Her novel: After an attack at the airport, Lizzie can now pass in the space between worlds. The Afterworld. There she meets Yamaraj, a sort of god of the underworld... but not quite. Now able to go between worlds, she begins a quest of revenge and soon realizes the consequences.

But of course there's love in this YA novel. Not the kind you're expecting though and it is utterly refreshing. In both stories!

I enjoyed both stories, neither being in my regular comfort zone genre. And, I didn't mind jumping back and forth.

The best part about the book was being aware that Darcy was the strings behind Lizzie. Darcy would say "I need to put that somewhere in my book" and then a few chapters later in Lizzies story there it would appear.  It brought us out of the Lizzie story, but further into Darcy's.

One downside: what genre is this?!??! One story is paranormal, the other is contemporary. Love the idea of bending the genre, two-in-one.

Overall, recommended to writers certainly. It's fun. And yes, a little long, but what do you expect when an average book is three-hundred and this is really two books in one.

4/5 STARS

The cover: The abstract tear with the ink makes more sense as you read the book. Something that doesn't come across in digital form is the pearl finish of the book. It shimmers. And the purple is a deeper indigo than your eyes can comprehend. Very striking.

Words Fly on Wings of Magic

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
By Leslye Walton

Ava Lavender was born extraordinary. Born with a pair of wings, no one knows why. We read the history of her family, 3 generations of foolish love and magical realism, to tell her poetic story.

About a week ago, I finished this book in three days. It kept me up at night until my eyes were drooping, unable to read any futher. I'm still thinking about it. No words that I can put down will capture what it made me feel. It is an esquisite debut novel.

It starts with the introduction to Ava, then abruptly jumps back in time to her great grandmother and grandmother's time. I thought I'd be bored with this sudden change, however, I quickly fell in love with the style of writing and peaceful kindness in the story telling. The story flows smoothly and gently. It allows you to contemplate and absorb the characters and their journeys.

Each character is unique and completely, even with slight magical elements, human. No one is without their flaws and no one is without their perfections. Leslye Walton captures humanity at its worst, at its most tragic, its most sorrowful, and its most beautiful.

It is haunting and it made me weep with relief and melancholy. And yet, it is uplifting.

Truly, this book is made of magic.

5/5 STARS

Month of 300

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Of my 27 books that I've read (so far) this year,  twenty have been over 300 pages and five over 500 pages. Sometimes, when reading the longer books and the epics, it feels as if I haven't been as productive. I look at my TBR and see forty still to go. Sooooo....

To knock off a great number off my TBR, I figured out which books were under 300 pages.  In which I'm calling

!!! THE MONTH OF 300!!!

For June, here are my options:

289 - The Summer Prince ~ Alaya Dawn Johnson
256 - The End of Eternity ~ Isaac Asimov
246 - Of Triton ~ Anna Banks
294 - Vanish ~ Sophie Jordan
288 - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore ~ Robin Sloan
201 - The Castle of Llyr ~ Lloyd Alexander

off the list options:

292 - Resenting the Hero ~ Moira J. Moore
246 - Bronding's Honour ~ Ann Ewan
187 - Out of the Silent Planet ~ C.S. Lewis

There are a few more unread, with less priority sitting on my bookshelf, but I'll stick with these nine.