Stacking The Shelves: April Edition

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newsts

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

New To My Shelves:

May TBR

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May is an exciting month for me. It’s not only my birthday on the 10th but later this month is yard sale day. I live in a small town and every year we have yard sale day. I’m not sure if other places do that. Do you have it?  I always get so many books. However this means I might not get to all the books I want to read this month Even though I know I wont be able to read all of these, here is what I hoped to read.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by The Book Date.

Read Lately: 

Currently Reading:

Tuck Everlasting Natalie BabbittTuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Synopsis: Doomed to—or blessed with—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

Review: Deployed by Lizzie Mognoni

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Deployed Lizzie MognoniDeployed by Lizzie Mognoni

Publication Date: June 19th 2017
Details: Paperback, 180 pages
Publisher: iUniverse
Source: Won a copy from Goodreads.

Lizzie Mognoni:
Goodreads

Buy Deployed:
Amazon | Book Depository

Summary

Katherine is deeply in love with her boyfriend, Matthew, when she meets Trey. There’s an instant connection between her and Trey, and the feeling both excites and panics her. After all, she loves her boyfriend, so why does she feel so drawn to Trey–almost as if he’s a drug? She takes risks and has a beautiful, and wild story.

Well, one more complication proves to be too much, as Katherine loses control. Both Matthew and Trey struggle to pick up her beautiful, broken pieces, but it’s unclear to them both with whom her affection rests. Soon, Matthew joins the army reserve. When war breaks out overseas, he’s deployed for active duty and sent far away from the woman he loves.

With Matthew gone, Katherine chooses to lean on Trey. Eventually, Matthew comes home a different man. War changes people, but so can time, as he finds when he again sees the woman he still wants. Trey will protect Katherine from everything, even Matthew’s dangerous PTSD, but Katherine still has feelings for both men. Who will she ultimately choose?

Review

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads.

Where do I even begin? This book was not good. It was extremely immature, badly written and needs some editing. There is a character that is in two places at once, there is Aubrey who was Audrey for half a chapter before going back to Aubrey. The main character Katherine is the most beautiful woman in the world and every single man that she is around wants her, which is not realistic. Not to mention the bad representation of PTSD.

I should have been able to read this book in a couple of hours, but it took me two days. I couldn’t read more than ten pages at a time. I was constantly putting the book down to rant about it whenever my mom was around. I don’t even know how many times I considered just not finishing it. The only thing that made me read the whole book was the size. It’s less than 200 pages so I figured I should just suck it up, read it and review it.

If this review is harsh, I’m sorry. I don’t want it to come off that way, I just really disliked this book.

1 out of 5 stars

Review: Tiger, Tiger by Johanna Skibsrud

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Tiger Tiger Johanna SkibsrudTiger, Tiger by Johanna Skibsrud

Publication Date: April 3rd 2018
Details: Paperback, 240 pages
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
Source: Won a copy from Goodreads.

Johanna Skibsrud:
Goodreads

Buy Tiger, Tiger:
Amazon

Summary

A collection of intrepid and incisive stories from the Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author of The Sentimentalists 

Tiger, Tiger takes readers from the Paradise Valley Senior Centre parking lot all the way to Mars and examines the contradictions of life along the way. An astounding array of characters come up against the challenges of existence–both mundane and extraordinary–and their experiences never fail to surprise and delight.
A scientist finds the truth about love in a lab where he is learning to grow extinct tigers. A fake wedding at a nursing home brings a divorcee to the brink of despair while her grandmother marvels at the beauty around her. A small-town taxidermist realizes his fiancee is never returning–that he has lost her to an inscrutable ball of light. A soldier survives the bloody Battle of the Argonne Forest but loses the faith of his child. An uncanny teenager holds two hundred thousand years of the world’s history in her mind but feels desperately alone.
Profound and paradoxical, these fourteen stories bring us closer to the truth, even if we discover that it is ultimately unknowable. Masterfully crafted and astonishingly wise, Tiger, Tiger explores the limits of understanding, the future of humanity, and establishes Skibsrud as a rare and exceptional talent.

Review

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads.

I don’t read a lot of short stories but it is something I’ve been wanting to get more into. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going into this collection, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I was hoping I would like it. I never expected it to be a four star read.

I read this in a day because I was pulled in to the first story. Right from the beginning Tiger, Tiger hooked me and didn’t let go. Even though the rest of the stories weren’t as good as the first one, none of them disappointed me. I enjoyed ever single one.

I will definitely be reading more by Johanna Skibsrud in the future. If you like short stories and you haven’t picked this one up, you should.

4 out of 5 stars

Review: Demi-Gods by Eliza Robertson

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Demi-Gods Eliza RobertsonDemi-Gods by Eliza Robertson

Publication Date: September 5th 2017
Details: Hardcover, 240 pages
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
Source: Won a copy from Goodreads.

Eliza Robertson:
Goodreads | Twitter

Buy Demi-Gods:
Amazon | Book Depository

Summary

A bold debut novel for those who loved Emma Cline’s The Girls and Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers–a story of love, lust, and the spaces in between, from a “captivating” (NYTBR) new voice in fiction.

It is 1950, and nine-year-old Willa’s sheltered childhood is about to come to an end when her two new stepbrothers arrive at her family’s summer home in British Columbia. As Willa’s older sister pairs off with the older of these boys, Willa finds herself alone in the off-kilter company of the younger, Patrick. When, one afternoon, Patrick lures Willa into a dilapidated rowboat, Willa embarks upon an increasingly damaging relationship with Patrick, one that will forever reconfigure her understanding of herself and her place in a menacing, male-dominated world.
Demi-Gods traces the tumultuous years of Willa’s coming-of-age, as she is drawn further into Patrick’s wicked games. Though they see each other only a handful of times, each of their encounters is increasingly charged with sexuality and degradation. When Willa finally realizes the danger of her relationship with Patrick, she desperately tries to reverse their dynamic, with devastating results.
Daring, singular, and provocative, Demi-Gods explores a girl’s attempt to make a life of her own choosing in a world where woman’s independence is suspect, a world that threatens to claim a woman’s body as a mere object for men’s pleasure. A sensitive, playful, and entirely original evocation of the dualities within ourselves and our history, Eliza Robertson’s debut novel announces the arrival of one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary literature.

Review

I won a copy of Demi-Gods from Goodreads and I wish I could say that I enjoyed it but I didn’t. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, it wasn’t even the worse book I’ve read this year, it just wasn’t for me.

This book is a bit weird, and that’s okay because I love weird. However, it was also boring. Weird I can do, boring I can’t. I did like the writing. It is definitely well written and while talking to my dad about the book I said that it reminded me of The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. Both books are just okay in my opinion but they are both beautifully written.

I didn’t care about any of the characters. I didn’t care about the plot. The only thing I enjoyed was the writing.

I would like to read something else by Eliza Robertson sometime because maybe this story just wasn’t for me.

2 out of 5 stars

Review: Songs of Love and War (Deverill Chronicles #1) by Santa Montefiore

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Songs of Love and War Deverill Chronicles Santa MontefioreSongs of Love and War (Deverill Chronicles #1) by Santa Montefiore

Publication Date: February 13th 2018
Details: Paperback, Canadian Edition, 528 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Source: Won a copy from Goodreads.

Santa Montefiore:
Goodreads | Twitter

Buy Songs of Love and War:
Amazon | Book Depository

Summary

The #1 international bestseller about the enduring bond between three women and the castle they will never forget.

Their lives were mapped out ahead of them. But love and war will change everything…

It’s the early 1900s and Castle Deverill stands staunchly untouched by time, hidden away in the rolling Irish hills. Within the castle walls, three friends have formed a close bond: affluent, flame-haired Kitty Deverill; Bridie Doyle, Kitty’s best friend and daughter of the castle’s cook; and Celia Deverill, Kitty’s flamboyant English cousin. They’ve grown up together, always sheltered from the conflict embroiling the rest of the country. But when Bridie learns of a secret Kitty has been keeping, their idyllic world is forever torn apart.

Later, the three women scatter to different parts of the globe. Kitty must salvage what she can before Castle Deverill and everything she has ever known is reduced to ash. Songs of Love and War is an epic generational saga about the lasting bonds of true friendship and the powerful ties we all have to the place we call home.

Review

I won a copy of this book from Goodreads and when I entered the giveaway I thought I would like this book, I didn’t realize just how much I would like it.

Songs of Love and War is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I was hooked from the beginning. The writing is gorgeous and so descriptive. I loved Kitty and her grandmother. Some of the characters I loved to hate. Every time I picked this book up, I was excited to start reading it and every time I had to put it down, I was disappointed.

This is one of those books that while you are reading, you forget that you are reading. You just get so invested in the story. While I was reading it, the time flew by and before I knew it, my mom was home and I had to put the book down. Though as soon as she walked in the house I would gush about how amazing this book is and how much I’m enjoying it. When I was done I told my mom she had to read it. She also flew through it and loved it. Weeks later we are still talking about this book every day. We can’t wait until August for book two, Daughters of Castle Deverill to come out. We are already fighting over who gets to read it first. We might need to buy two.

If you love historical fiction, you need to pick up this book. I promise you will not be disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by The Book Date.

Read Lately: 

Currently Reading:

The Map of Salt and Stars Jennifer Zeynab JoukhadarThe Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

Synopsis: This rich, moving, and lyrical debut novel is to Syria what The Kite Runner was to Afghanistan; the story of two girls living eight hundred years apart—a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and a medieval adventurer apprenticed to a legendary mapmaker—places today’s headlines in the sweep of history, where the pain of exile and the triumph of courage echo again and again.

It is the summer of 2011, and Nour has just lost her father to cancer. Her mother, a cartographer who creates unusual, hand-painted maps, decides to move Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to their family. But the country Nour’s mother once knew is changing, and it isn’t long before protests and shelling threaten their quiet Homs neighborhood. When a shell destroys Nour’s house and almost takes her life, she and her family are forced to choose: stay and risk more violence or flee as refugees across seven countries of the Middle East and North Africa in search of safety. As their journey becomes more and more challenging, Nour’s idea of home becomes a dream she struggles to remember and a hope she cannot live without.

More than eight hundred years earlier, Rawiya, sixteen and a widow’s daughter, knows she must do something to help her impoverished mother. Restless and longing to see the world, she leaves home to seek her fortune. Disguising herself as a boy named Rami, she becomes an apprentice to al-Idrisi, who has been commissioned by King Roger II of Sicily to create a map of the world. In his employ, Rawiya embarks on an epic journey across the Middle East and the north of Africa where she encounters ferocious mythical beasts, epic battles, and real historical figures.

A deep immersion into the richly varied cultures of the Middle East and North Africa, The Map of Salt and Stars follows the journeys of Nour and Rawiya as they travel along identical paths across the region eight hundred years apart, braving the unknown beside their companions as they are pulled by the promise of reaching home at last.

Review: To Tame a Land by Louis L’Amour

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To Tame a Land Louis L'AmourTo Tame a Land by Louis L’Amour

Publication Date: October 1st 1997 (first published 1955)
Details: Mass Market Paperback, 176 pages
Publisher: Bantam
Source: It was a gift.

Louis L’Amour:
Goodreads

Buy To Tame a Land:
Amazon | Book Depository

Summary

Rye Tyler was twelve when his father was killed in an Indian raid. Taken in by a mysterious stranger with a taste for books and an instinct for survival, Rye is schooled in the hard lessons of life in the West. But after killing a man, he is forced to leave his new home. He rides lonely mountain passes and works on dusty cattle drives until he finds a job breaking horses. Then he meets Liza Hetrick, and in her eyes he sees his future. After establishing himself as marshal of Alta, he returns, only to discover that Liza has been kidnapped. Tracking her to Robbers’ Roost, Rye is forced to face the man who taught him all he knows about books, guns, and friendship. Two old friends—one woman: Who will walk away?

Review

I’m not 100% sure but I think I am the biggest reader in my family. I know there are others that read, but I’m not sure anyone reads as much as I do. I’m also a book hoarder collector so when someone in my family was moving, they gave me a bunch of books they didn’t want anymore. This person reads mostly westerns (especially Louis L’Amour) which was something I hadn’t really read but had been meaning to get into.

This is only my second or third western and it was my first Louis L’Amour novel and I was excited to get into it. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about To Tame A Land. Part of me really liked it, but I just couldn’t rate it high. I feel like this could have been an amazing book if it had just been longer. It’s 154 pages and when the story starts Rye is twelve years old, but by the end he’s a lot older (I can’t remember his exact age). I don’t know if this is a common thing for westerns, Louis L’Amour, or just this book, but I didn’t like that he aged a year basically every ten pages.

I am slightly disappointed and I’m not sure if it’s because I had higher expectations for this book than I thought I would, or because it could have been a great book if it was a couple hundred pages longer and more flushed out.

At the end of the day, I liked the characters, I liked the plot and the writing was great, but I just can’t give it more than two stars. It just seemed too rushed. Hopefully this isn’t a common thing with L’Amours books because I have a stack of them and they are all pretty short.

2 out of 5 stars

My April/Magical Readathon TBR

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OWLs

I was planning on just getting ahead on ARCs this month, but I just couldn’t pass on this. So I am going to do my best to read the books I’ve won from Goodreads, and complete all of the challenges for this read-a-thon. Luckily I was able to make some of the books I was already going to read count for a few of the challenges. This is a lot of reading for one month but I’m going to give it a try. I can do it for Hufflepuff!!! 😀

The Rest of my TBR: