A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I don't usually read non-fiction books, my preference being for the fantasy genre. However, I was browsing through one of those airport stores that sells books and ran into this book for about the 10th time and couldn't resist. See, I have a random interest in the Appalachian Trail. I keep thinking about how much I want to hike it someday and even started writing a book where the main character starts off hiking the trail before I scrapped it. I kept seeing this book at Barnes and Noble, where I managed to keep walking away from it, but seeing it at the airport was just one time too many. I had to buy it. I'm really glad I did, too!

What the back of the book says:

Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes - and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings. Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods has become a modern classic of travel literature.

What I have to say:

I loved this book. As one critic described it, it is "choke-on-your-coffee funny". The tale follows Bill Bryson and his former travel companion Katz as they hike the Appalachian Trail starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia in 1996. The pair experience cold weather and blizzards and other hikers as they traveled north. Interspersed with Bryson's tale are his tidbits of the development of the AT and it's conservation. These bits were actually really interesting. I've taken classes on environmental science and heard a little bit about the awfulness of the Forestry Service, but didn't realize just how terrible they really are. Bryson also takes on the National Parks, who he charges with not only ruining parts of the national parks (he cites the Balds in the Appalachian Mountains, circles of grassy fields on top of the mountains that used to be used for grazing livestock, for this) but also ruining the wildlife by neglect. I don't say I blame the National Parks for bringing over the tree blights that destroyed the chestnuts, elms, and dogwoods, but it is sad to think that they didn't try to do anything about it. Bryson tells these tales and more throughout the book, making his plea for conservation, for more to be done. Meanwhile, he and Katz are having many misadventures, from chucking away necessary supplies and running into expensive tourist-trap towns (Gatlinburg, that's you). Bryson seems to obsess endlessly on the dangers of the AT; bears, snakes, diseases, and murderers. The last, Bryson soberingly tells us, happened during his year on the trail. It's a haunting experience for the reader, and he relates it well.

I would highly recommend this book. It is well written, very entertaining, and thought-provoking. You get behind Bryson and Katz, cheering them on through the trail while learning quite a lot. My book cover informs me that this is now a major motion picture starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, which means I will have to check that out eventually. I'd recommend this for adults, outdoor enthusiasts, and people passionate about the environment.

More about the author:

Bill Bryson's bestselling travel books include The Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There and Notes from a Small Island, which in a national poll was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed book on the history of science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Royal Society's Aventis Prize as well as the Descartes Prize, the European Union's highest literary award.

Bryson has written books on language, on Shakespeare, and on his own childhood in the hilarious memoir of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. His last critically lauded bestsellers were on history - At Home: a Short History of Private Life, and One Summer: America 1927.

Another travel book, A Walk in the Woods, has now become a major film starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson. Bryson's new book, The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island comes out in Autumn 2015.

Bill Bryson was born in the American Mid-West, and is now living back in the UK. A former Chancellor of Durham University, he was President of Campaign to Protect Rural England for five years, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society.
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Buy A Walk in the Woods now!!

**Disclosure - I am an affiliate at Amazon so if you buy any books from any of the links on this page, I may receive a small commission of your purchase. This doesn't cost you anything, but it helps me find new books to buy and review! Thank you!

The Concealed by Sarah Kleck

I got a surprise day off from practicum (the best kind!) which has me very much in the mood of a snow day. Not that I got it off because of a snow day, this is South Florida! But basically, I should be doing work - I have internship applications to finish, Christmas presents to make (ooo, now I sound super crafty) and housework that I now have time to do. Instead, I figured I'd review the book I finished last night. That's a productive use of time, right? This is another book I got for free from Freebooksy, which is a super awesome website that I would strongly recommend.

I'll do my best reviewing this book without spoilers, but the twist was pretty twisty, so it may be a vague sort of review. Be warned!

What the back of the book says:

After her parents died in a car accident when she was just a child, Evelyn Lakewood was left alone in the world. Now grown up, she enrolls at Oxford University, where she begins to create a new, stable life.

But when she encounters Jared Calmburry, who she later discovers is an orphan with his own tragic history, the equilibrium she was striving for is thrown off. Instantly drawn to this mysterious stranger with the incredible blue eyes, and confounded by the unusual events that occur whenever they meet, Evelyn resolves to investigate further. What she finds will startle her beyond measure: an ancient legacy of magic, a centuries-old secret society, and a foreboding legend with her and Jared at its center. As she follows a cryptic trail, Evelyn will discover clues to her own painful past, answers she hadn't even been looking for - and a passionate love she cannot resist despite the dangers it brings.

What I have to say:

This book is very much written in the same tradition as Twilight. At least the characters are older, but it's the same idea. While I loved Twilight when I was in high school, it's not really the kind of book I enjoy now. I guess I should start off saying that I didn't dislike the book, but I do have some mixed feelings about it. The whole "we're prophesied to be together" thing is almost cliche at this point, but I give props to the mythical story the author chose to use, that part was unique. I was actually surprised by that, but maybe because it wasn't a love story I typically think of so it wasn't even on my radar.

I didn't really like Evelyn. She gets crazy obsessive about Jared, to the point of skipping classes so she can look for a book with his family tree in the library. I read that and was waaay turned off by it, just because I like my female characters to be a little less....desperate and stalkerish. Also, she has another guy who is clearly interested in her and she clearly is aware, but continues to justify hanging out with him because it's just friendly on her end. To me, it feels like she's using him. I mean, he turns out to be a complete jerk, but that doesn't make her behavior okay in my mind. And she's all too eager to cut one of her friends out of her life "to protect her", and never actually seems upset about it. Basically, I got the impression that her entire story line is to be with Jared, and that just got boring. The reader learns nothing about her other than her entire family was killed and she loves Jared, so it's hard to relate to her.

To be completely honest, I had a hard time caring much about any of the characters, which is bad. I'm very much a character-driven reader (probably my psychology background) so a lack of connection with them is a big problem. And the plot is largely focused on the love story between Jared and Evelyn, so that got dull too. The ending did speed up a bit, so at least there's some hope that The Revealed will have a little more plot to it than The Concealed. Also something to consider is that this is Sarah Kleck's first novel, and my experience in reading first novels is that they tend to be rough but the authors tend to grow and improve in later novels. So, I wouldn't write her off based on this.

All in all, The Concealed is a fluffy romance novel that fans of Twilight might enjoy quite a bit. It's an easy read, well suited for young adult and new adult readers. Word of warning, there is a rape scene in the book so if that's not okay with you for whatever reason, I wouldn't recommend it.

More about the author:

Sarah Kleck studied education, psychology, and sociology at the University of Augsburg in Bavaria. Currently, she works as a human resources officer and lives with her husband in Germany near Lake Constance. The Concealed is her first novel.


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Buy The Concealed Now!!!

**Disclosure - I am an affiliate at Amazon so if you buy any books from any of the links on this page, I may receive a small commission of your purchase. This doesn't cost you anything, but it helps me find new books to buy and review! Thank you!

Pale Queen Rising by A.R. Kahler

I swear I haven't disappeared again! I definitely thought school would slow down after finishing my competency exam but that was a little bit of wishful thinking. I've been slogging through internship applications and cover letters galore for the past few weeks in between me trying to take a little time for myself to recover from the madness of graduate school. While I've been reading books (hooray!) a lot of them were the series after Poison Study and I didn't want to bore people with reviews of the same series. Unless someone actually requests me to review a later book in a series, I'll probably try to stick with the first books of series. But we'll see.

As far as Pale Queen Rising goes, I should state that I received the book for free as part of my Amazon Prime membership (I do love my Amazon Prime!) as part of a First Look email they sent me? I got a lot of books for free, it was super exciting! My boyfriend is all, do you actually need more free books? Are you ever going to read them all? And the answer to that is yes, and yes!

Anyways, onto the review!

What the back of the book says:

As the royal assassin, Claire is used to moving between the mortal world and the Winter Kingdom. When the queen commands her to kill, Claire does the job and doesn’t ask questions. Her deadly skills and loyalty are soon tested when Claire is sent to the Immortal Circus, one of the many places where “Dream” is harvested from the imaginings of mortals. There she must find the culprit who is causing Dream to mysteriously disappear before the Winter Kingdom’s supply is depleted enough to threaten its very survival. But when she meets Roxie, a beautiful mortal singer with a strange link to the Dream thieves, Claire quickly recognizes an odd and unexplained connection that may cloud her judgment. As each new clue unveils another secret, Claire finds herself confronting the riddle of her own buried past—and a dangerous illusion that, as part of the Immortal Circus, is just another act in the show.

What I say:

Faeries and faery assassins! I'm in! One of the first things that drew me in in this book is Claire's sense of humor. I would imagine a sense of humor would be important in her particular line of work, which she refers to as "bloody thankless work" in the second sentence of the novel, just after she excuses the pun. It's that sense of humor that drew me in as a reader. Despite the fact that she kills for a living (usually a turn-off for likability, unless you're Dexter), Claire is likable. A.R. Kahler does a great job making a faery-assassin seem completely human, throwing in quirks, likes, and dislikes that make her relatable. I'm reading her dislike of the cold (funny because she's an assassin for the Winter Kingdom) with an agreeing nod. As far as the other characters, I think I found Kahler's portrayal of Mab to be very interesting. A look back in this blog will show a review of another few books featuring Mab (Iron King, Iron Daughter, Iron Queen, Wondrous Strange), so I clearly like to read books about faeries. And I think it's fascinating how each author writes these standard set of characters. In Pale Queen Rising, Mab is waaaay less scary than she is in most of the other novels I've read. She is, on some level, still relatable. Claire describes her at one point as looking like a lost little girl - not a description I'd ever expect to be used with Mab.

One character I couldn't get myself to like was Roxie. Much of her role just didn't make sense. Until it did, I suppose. Even Claire couldn't understand why she liked the girl, which is important to note. Even in real life, if you can't figure out why you like someone, it might be worth a little more introspection! But that's slightly tangential, so we'll move on.

I really did like Kingston's character, as ringleader of the Immortal Circus. I wanted to see more of him, have him play a bigger role. I didn't realize when I read this that the series was a spin-off of The Immortal Circus series, so now I definitely want to go read those since a few characters in Pale Queen Rising made their debut there.

My biggest complaint about this novel was the fact that a lot of the questions about Claire's past and why it's important aren't answered (yet). Book 2, Cold Dream Dawning, isn't set to come out until May of 2016, so I have high hopes that these questions will be answered. There were just a few times where Claire would be going about, doing her assassin-thing, and the transition to the mystery of her past would jump in and seem very abrupt. Like it didn't quite relate to what was going on. The ending definitely hints that it will relate once Kahler is done with the series, but for now, I feel a little unsatisfied. But is that really a bad thing? 

Who would I recommend this book to? New adults (the 20-somethings), mature young adults (there's a lot of discussion of sexual topics, and Claire presents herself as bi-sexual so just keep that in mind), fans of novels about faeries, fans of fantasy novels. Not much romance to be found here, so I'd look elsewhere if that's what you want. Overall, the book was very entertaining, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I can't wait to read Cold Dream Dawning when it comes out! 

More about the author:

Alex is many things, but first and foremost, he's a Sagittarius.

In the past few years he's taught circus in Amsterdam and Madrid, gotten madly lost in the Scottish wilderness, drummed with Norse shamans, and received his Masters in creative writing from Glasgow University. And that's the abbreviated list.

He is the author of many things, including THE IMMORTAL CIRCUS, BLADE OF WINTER, THE HUNTED, and RAVENBORN (yes, all series, because his brain doesn't condense).

When he's not writing or climbing in the rafters, he's probably outside, staring at the clouds. And seeing as he now resides in Seattle, there are clouds aplenty.

He is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary.

Also of note - he wrote some spin-off novels of The Vampire Diaries, a TV show I happen to enjoy (but I'm at least a season behind so no spoilers). Some cool stuff!

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Buy Pale Queen Rising now!!

**Disclosure - I am an affiliate at Amazon so if you buy any books from any of the links on this page, I may receive a small commission of your purchase. This doesn't cost you anything, but it helps me find new books to buy and review! Thank you!

Poison Study by Maria Snyder

Welcome back! I decided to review one of my all-time favorite novels to get me started back in this whole reviewing thing. I'm actually surprised I didn't review this one before, it's been a favorite for a long time. I actually came across this book when I was in high school working at the local library. The library would receive these ARC versions that they would let the employees take. I was shifting through the pile when I saw the second book in the series, Magic Study. I thought the back of the book sounded enjoyable so I took it home and discovered that actually, it was the second book and I had to get my hands on Poison Study first before I could read it. The library had Poison Study so I checked it out and read it in one sitting before diving into Magic Study. That review on the front cover is spot on. I fell in love with Maria Snyder's world and have eagerly awaited all her novels since then (she has a few!) My copy of Poison Study is actually an autographed ARC that Maria sent me for referring her book to a few friends who emailed her to let her know I was spreading the word. I don't think she does that anymore, but if she ever reads this, I hope she knows I never stopped referring!

Also, Maria is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the release of Poison Study with these really cool posts about each chapter so please check out her blog for more information after you've read the book! You can find Maria Snyder here!

Now, without further ado...

What the back of the book says:

CHOOSE:
A QUICK DEATH...OR SLOW POISON...
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace - and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust - and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

What I say:

I love this book. The first time I read Poison Study, it was a one-sitting read. Despite the fact that I've read it again and again and know the story almost by heart, I can still read it in one sitting. It's a fantasy and romance novel woven into one that is refreshingly different from the rest of the pack. Maria Snyder created an interesting world that I haven't seen in this genre. Ixia is a military dictatorship more fitting for a dystopian teen novel than a fun fantasy read, but it makes sense here. The action keeps coming in this novel, which makes me almost feel bad for Yelena, who barely has time to breathe.

As far as the characters are concerned, I can't say I have one favorite. Yelena is strong, intelligent, and stubborn. She's also not perfect and makes mistakes, which makes her easy to relate to. Valek, Ari, and Janco are also wonderful characters and Maria's quick wit shines through all her characters. Not that there aren't a few I can't stand. Maria peppers the unpleasant ones throughout the story, but it's obvious you're meant to hate them. That's not a great thing to me since I tend to like my villains to have a little depth. Sometimes, the bad guys in Poison Study are just too flat.

There are a couple things about the book that have always bothered me. Throughout the novel, there are a few scenes where rape gets brought up. It began to feel like a go-to threat, which made me cringe. Does it ruin the book for me? Obviously not, since I still love the book. Also, I don't think she handled it poorly or dismissively towards victims of rape. I suppose my issue with this at all is that I felt she could have gotten a little more creative with the threats. After all, it could get tedious if every villain your main character runs into threatens to break their wrist. Variety is the spice of life!

Would I recommend this book? Ab-so-freakin'-lutely. Maria's writing style is so addicting and the first-person POV only helps it more. I'd recommend it to Fantasy lovers, Romance readers, adults and there's even a YA version that I believe gets rid of some of the rape-stuff I just complained about. I didn't say much about the romance because it's a little bit of a twist, but seriously. Just read it. So. Good. I've been recommending it to friends and family for about nine years, and no one who did read it came back saying they didn't like it.

Have you read it? Have a different opinion? Or agree completely? Comment below!!!

About the Author:
Maria Snyder

When I was 12, I learned about meteorologists and decided to become one. My visions of chasing tornados didn’t pan out since I was bad at forecasting. Let’s face it, I’m a daydreamer—always have been. I did graduate from Penn State University and was hired as an environmental meteorologist. It’s never a good idea to get caught idle, so I wrote my daydreams down. My first novel was Poison Study and it was published in 2005! I caught the writing bug and Magic Study and Fire Study soon followed. Even though I went on to earn a Masters degree in writing from Seton Hill University, I never lost my fascination with storms, which is evident in my Glass Series (Storm Glass, Sea Glass and Spy Glass). The environmentalist in me comes out in Inside Out. Trella’s world is contained and they must reuse and recycle everything. One thing they got right in one otherwise messed-up world! I love my new job. Where else can you take fencing lessons, learn to ride a horse, study martial arts, learn to pick locks, take glass blowing classes and get a tour of a maximum security prison and call it work? I’ll give you a hint—not working as a meteorologist :)
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Buy Poison Study now at Amazon!
**Disclosure - I am an affiliate at Amazon so if you buy Poison Study from this link, I may receive a small commission of your purchase. This doesn't cost you anything, but it helps me find new books to buy and review! Thank you!

I'm Back!

Hello, internet!
Long time, no see.
Well, okay, to be fair, no one followed this blog in the first place so I suppose no one really noticed the three year hiatus but I am back! I'm hoping to continue the book review theme in my little corner of the internet and will be trying my absolute best to read some novels to review for you, my hopefully future reader! Feel free to browse the old reviews (oh, they are old) and prepare yourself!

See you soon!

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

What the back of the book says:
Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.
The further Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim bloodline has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

What I have to say about it!

I think this book is a lot better than Hush Hush, and since I already liked Hush Hush, then that can only be awesome! Now, we start off early in the book with my least favorite thing. Twilight did it, and now I think every author thinks they have to too. 2nd book? Break the couple up for (in my opinion) stupid reasons! It drives me nuts every time I read that now. I know it creates conflict, and conflict drives the novel, but I just wish they could find another way to do it. BUT! And this is an important but, I love the way Nora handles it. I love how, after Nora dumps Patch, she really tries to get over him. Now, I'm not sure she does it the right way, but who am I to judge another person's post-break up actions? But she gets angry with herself when she gets all mopey about him, and that is a solid step in the right direction, which I whole-heartedly love.

 The climax was really exciting too. Nora goes to Delphic and suddenly, all hell breaks loose. Bad guys turn good and good guys turn bad and who the heck has a gun?! And there's something about the scene in the fun-house that I love. I always thought those places were creepy, and now I know why! And the ending was just crazy. That's the simplest way to put it, since I don't want to give anything away. Now I have to hurry up and read Silence to find out what happens!!

So, final thoughts? I think I’d have to give it….4 stars. I loved it, but I was so angry at Patch for half the book, that it made it impossible to do 5 stars. Yes, you’re dark and mysterious, but don’t take it to the point where the reader starts to hate you! And Marcie?! What, Patch, were you thinking!!!!!

The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

What the back of the book says:

"For eighteen year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. Up until recently, she has been incapable of feeling emotion. And when she's around Alex, the gorgeous new guy at school, she can feel electricity that makes her skin buzz. Not to mention the monsters that haunt her nightmares have crossed over into real-life. But with Alex seeming to hate her and secrets popping up everywhere, Gemma's life is turning into a chaotic mess. Things that shouldn't be real suddenly seem to exist. And as her world falls apart, figuring out the secrets of her past becomes a matter of life and death."

What I have to say about it:

I originally got this book because it was only 99 cents on my Nook and I was bored at my doctor's office. And let's face it, the purple eye looks cool. I originally described it as  "Just another teen paranormal romance", which sounds like a slam, but really isn't. After all, teen paranormal romance is huge! And I actually enjoyed the series. I read all four of them in less than a week, if that's any indication. 

Now, if you're one of those people who harps on why a book isn't 100% original, and that plot line was totally in Lord of the Rings or Twilight or whatever, don't read it. (Did Twilight really have a plot line?)  But as I subscribe to the belief that every idea possible has pretty much been written by now, I'm more interested in how they take an idea and make it theirs. And Jessica does a pretty good job of that. Now, Jace and Alex could probably be the same characters (that dark, troubled, brooding boy is so hot right now), and there are several character similarities to be found between The Mortal Instruments  and The Fallen Star, and probably every other teen paranormal, but I feel like the story plays out completely differently. 

And as for the plot, I have to admit, I haven't heard the fallen star story before (except in Starfall, but that's not the same at all). There is a plot, but I will admit that it gets a little overshadowed in the first book by the whole attraction thing between Alex and Gemma (my biggest complaint), but it picks up in the rest of the series. Now, you'll still find all your favorites (vampires, werewolves, fairies, and demons!), but I think the fallen star idea is really unique. I like what she does with it.  

Final thoughts?

If you like Teen Paranormal Romance, read it. Especially if the first one's only 99 cents, cuz that's an excellent deal! And finish the series, because I think her writing just gets better as she goes. And less, OMG ALEX!-y. It is a LendMe book for Nooks, so it's also pretty easy to share! However, if you hate books that have similarities to other books (especially those ones in the same genre), then put it down and walk away.