Advent Reads Day 8: The Christmas Club by Barbara Hinske

 Welcome to Advent Reads!

This is an event I have had on my blog for several years running now.  Each evening I feature a different holiday themed book. Think of it as your Book Advent Calendar! I post a variety of holiday books including romance, children's, middle-grade, mystery, paranormal, and I try to find some that are other holiday celebrations than Christmas too. I hope you will stop by each evening to see what new book I have for you!

Synopsis: "Verna Lind expects Christmas of 1952 to be the best holiday she’s had since the war ended. But as she’s leaving the bank, a frigid wind off Lake Erie catches her hard-earned Christmas club savings, whisking the bills into the busy streets of downtown Cleveland and devastating her plans. Strangers come to her aid, though no one anticipates the power of their chance encounter or the seeds of happiness Verna’s lost money will sow."

My Review: I was looking for a quick holiday read while my son had a lesson when I found this one, I had no idea what I was getting into with it! This might end up being my favorite holiday read of this year! This book does jump around a bit as it follows how different characters react and use found money during the holiday season. It has such heartwarming moments that are exactly what I want to read during the busy Christmas season, and wish I saw more on a day to day basis. It restores a bit of your faith in people after trying to get through the busy stores and being stuck in awful traffic. As an added bonus it also has a touch of romance to sweeten the deal. This was a super quick read, I would recommend it for a drive with family when traveling to holiday gatherings, a bit of a reminder what the season is really about.

My Rating: I absolutely loved this book and will forever recommend it to everyone looking for a great holiday read! I give it a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

Graphic Novel Review of The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Read for: Graphic Novel/ Borrowed Books

Synopsis: "In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life- he's leaving home to build a better future for his family.

Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy."

My Review: This book has been on my wishlist for quite a while, so when I saw it available in the library I grabbed it. This is a completely wordless graphic novel, but the sentiment of the story is conveyed beautifully through the illustrations. The fact that it is wordless also works with the story as our character tries to learn the language and ways of a new country. I love the way we are taken on a journey to meet new characters from all kinds of new and different places. It is a wonderful example of working together to make a great society. I loved this book and will definitely be tracking down my own copy.

My Rating: This might have been one of the most beautiful graphic novels I have ever read, both in the story and the illustrations! I cannot fully express how wonderful this one is and I can't wait to get my own copy.  So of course, I give it a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

Top Ten Tuesday: One Word Is All

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  It is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and you can find the list of topics on her page HERE.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is for all those one word book titles. I didn't think that I would be able to find many but it turns out that, once I scrolled through Goodreads, many of my favorite books have one word titles.  So here are some of my favorites in no particular order . . .

 

 

 

 

 

So there are some of my favorite one word titles, have you read any of these? Do you prefer books to have simple titles or longer titles?

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Book Hangovers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  It is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and you can find the list of topics on her page HERE.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is all about those books that give us hangovers, make it hard to move forward to another book and new characters.  I usually manage to avoid book hangovers by binge reading series and by reading multiple books at once, but it is still inevitable that as a reader, I will get a book hangover occasionally. Here are the most recent books that I recall giving me book hangovers. . . .

Okay so this is a weird one to see pop out while I was looking back, but even though this was a pretty short book, and one outside my normal reading comfort zone, I could not stop thinking about this book! Even now, months after reading it, I still think about it.  It was such a bizarre book, it really toes that line of is it fact or fiction so well and makes you really wonder if there was this crazy doctor out there during that time period.  I have only seen one other friend even pick it up and I so want more people to talk to about this one!

Even Children's books can give you a hang over.  This book hit me and Munchkin at just the right time and it really made us pause to think about it.  I can't tell you how many times we re-read this book, or how long Munchkin carried it around in his backpack just to have it with him (I probably would have too if we had a second copy). 

This is book 5 in the Queen's Thief series, last year I spent an entire month in this world and with these characters catching up with the series in anticipation of the 6th and final book to come out.  Only after I had finished this one did I find out that the final book was pushed back almost a year and a half! Now my beloved characters are just left hanging, waiting for a conclusion and I am dying! 

This book! If you have been around here at all you will know Frankenstein is my all time favorite book and I tend to torture myself reading all these inspired by and re-telling books but they never hold up to the original, until this book!  It was so heart breaking that it is a standalone and I will probably never get as close to the original perfection as this book. I could only read it for the first time once!

And for the second time in as many months Kiersten White killed me! This was the third and final book in the And I Darken series.  I was listening to the end of this audio book on my way to an event to meet White and she killed me! The end of this series was brutal and heart breaking and so beautiful! Just thinking about it makes me NEED to re-read this series!

If you are looking for a book that will completely devastate you, leave you curled up under a blanket drowning in your own tears, unable to pick up another book, read this one.  I promise it is totally worth the pain! It has been over a year and a half since I read this book and I really want to read it but I know I am not ready for that kind of pain and heartache again so soon.

Oh man, this book, it was tedious and long and beautiful and bittersweet! This was one of my favorite books of 2018 but it broke my heart with how beautiful it is.  I haven't been able to bring myself to finish this series because of how this first book touched me. 

Okay so here is an example of a not so good book hangover.  I loved this series (well mostly, A Court of Wings and Ruin was a bit of a disappointment), but this book was such a let down.  It was a chance to get to revisit favorite characters without the threat of death for a change, but I was left with a completely bleh feeling.  It also landed in the middle of a string of eh books so it really made me start to question whether my taste in books was drastically changing or if I had just over read so much that I ran out of love for reading.  Let me tell you, that was the worst kind of book hangover.

When I first read this book 2 years ago, there was no news or date for the 2nd book, which when I picked it up I didn't realize it was the first book in a series.  So by the end of it I was insanely attached to the story and the characters, then it leaves off at a pretty big cliffhanger. I was frantic! I couldn't find anything that could compare, for months I tried recommendations from the library and the bookstore but nothing quite pulled me in the way this book did.  Thankfully, I finally got to re-read it just last month and immediately jump into the second book, but now comes the painful wait for the 3rd and final book!

Finally, the 10th most recent book hangover came from A Man Called Ove, this book had me right from the beginning and I couldn't stop reading, even though I kind of guessed where it would end up.  I loved this so much and was so glad I got to read it.  It was again one of my favorite books I read that year and so worth the hangover!

Isn't it funny how the books that gave us hangovers, so often end up being favorite books?! Have you read any of these, did they give you hangovers as well?  What was your most recent book hangover?

Review of A Blight of Blackwings by Kevin Hearne

Read for: Highly Anticipated/ Netgalley/ Requested Review

Review of A Plague of Giants

Synopsis: "SOLDIER AND AVENGER

Daryck is from a city that was devastated by the war with the Bone Giants, and now he and a band of warriors seek revenge against the giants for the loved ones they lost. But will vengeance be enough to salve their grief?

DREAMER AND LEADER

Hanima is part of a new generation with extraordinary magical talents: She can speak to fantastical animals. But when this gift becomes a threat to the powers-that-be, Hanima becomes the leader of a movement to use this magic to bring power to the people.

SISTER AND SEEKER

Koesha is the captain of an all-female crew on a perilous voyage to explore unknown waters. Though Koesha's crew is seeking a path around the globe, Koesha is also looking for her sister, lost at sea two years ago. But what lies beyond the edges of the map is far more dangerous than storms and sea monsters. . . .

In this sequel to A Plague of Giants, these characters and more will become the voices of a new generation bringing hope and revolution to a war-torn world."

My Review:  Since I read A Plague of Giants 2 years ago, this book has been on my most anticipated list, and it is finally here and I will start off by saying it was so worth the wait!! I am glad I took a bit of time in January to re-read the first book because this one picks up immediately where it left off. I am so glad we get to dive right back in with Dervan and Fintan as well as the overall story. We got some new character POVs which was great too, I love Olet's and you can't help but smile at Hanima's quirky and cheerful determination. While this book is clearly a transitional book, it doesn't suffer from that second book slump we see so often in trilogies. There isn't as much action as there was in the previous book but we get an opportunity to get to know the characters better when they aren't scrambling in life or death crisis' constantly. There are some great discoveries revealed throughout the telling of the story that will have you just as excited as the citizens are. Also, thank goodness for well made maps to help visualize where all the characters are throughout the story! And now I have to wait ages for the next and I believe final book.

My Rating: Even though there wasn't as much action in this book as there was in the first, I was still fully invested in the story. There are some great twists, some fantastic character development and great plot movement that just keep the pages turning.  I am beyond excited for the next and final book and I can't help but give this one a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley, the above is my honest review and opinion.

To find out more about Kevin Hearne and this series as well as his other books, check out his Goodreads Page or Website.   I also highly recommend joining his newsletter and following him on social media because he seems like an all around fun dude.

A Blight of Blackwings was just released on Tuesday, February 4th so you can obtain your own copy now in print or digital format from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or check at your local bookstore or library.  I also highly recommend the audio books for this series, they are complete with multiple narrators and voices and even the bard songs.

Graphic Novel Review of The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Read for: Recently Added

Synopsis: "Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most important life lessons.

The conversations of the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared thousands of times online, recreated in school art classes, hung on hospital walls and turned into tattoos. In Charlie's first book, you will find his most-loved illustrations and some new ones too."

My Review: I have been eyeing this book for a bit but when it was voted Barnes & Noble's Book of the Year 2019, I was able to pick it up locally. I can completely understand why it was voted Book of the Year! This book is beautiful with beautiful writing, and stunning illustrations. All that is wrapped around some of the simplest but most amazing words of wisdom. This book hit me at just the right time and they gave me such peace. I will keep this book handy as I want to use it as guidance in the coming year.

My Rating: I cannot say enough about or recommend this book enough to you, even pictures online do not do the beauty of this book justice.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy, even if it is just to borrow from a friend or from the library.  I give it a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

Review of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley adapted for young readers by Rosie Dickins & Illustrated by Victor Tavares

Read for: Favorite Books!

Synopsis: "Victor Frankenstein dreams of doing what his scientific peers called impossible; creating life from death. As lightning flashes across the sky, his creature stirs. But will it be the perfect being he imagines, or a monster?"


My Review: Since Frankenstein is my favorite book and I make it no secret, Munchkin has been wanting to know what it was all about, so I set out to find the perfect young reader edition for him. This one did a really good job of condensing the story and getting across a bit of the story without being overly scary for a young reader. It didn't quite convey the concept of there being multiple forms of monstrous behavior but it is a concept that might be above the average young reader's abilities. I think this would be great for readers (or parents reading to them) between the ages of 6 to 9. The illustrations really added a nice element to the story and helps young readers stay engaged in the story and understand it as well.


My Rating: I think this is a very good adaptation for younger readers, it doesn't quite convey my favorite parts but it is still a good introduction to the story.  Munchkin has yet to read it (I wanted to check it first) but I am looking forward to him starting to enjoy my favorite! I give it a rating of Three Paws!

Review of Proud: Living My American Dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Read for: Audio Books/ Borrowed Books

Synopsis: "The inspiring all-American story of faith, family, hard work, and perseverance by Olympic fencer, activist, and Time"100 Most Influential People" honoree Ibtihaj Muhammad

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ibtihaj Muhammad smashed barriers as the first American to compete wearing hijab, and made history as the first Muslim-American woman to medal. But it wasn't an easy road--in a sport most popular among wealthy white people, Ibtihaj often felt out of place. Ibtihaj was fast, hardworking, and devoted to her faith, but rivals and teammates (as well as coaches and officials) pointed out her differences, insisting she would never succeed. Yet Ibtihaj powered on. Her inspiring journey from a young outsider to an Olympic hero is a relatable, memorable, and uniquely American tale of hard work, determination, and self-reliance."

My Review: I picked this audio book up from the library on a whim to find strong females in books for young girls. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one as I don't usually read memoirs or non-fiction but this book blew me away. Ibtihaj and her story are such an inspiration! The narrator did a fantastic job with inflection to show the full range of emotions Ibtihaj experiences throughout her journey from disappointment, stress, joy, love, excitement, anger and frustration. I loved how she told us not only the triumphs but also the times when she lost her way, it is clear that all of her accomplishments are due to her determination, hard work and a great family support system. I not only learned a lot about fencing but also about the Muslim faith. This was such an informative and inspirational book, I am so glad I picked it up!

My Rating: I will certainly be paying more attention to fencing in the Olympics, in fact Ibtihaj's journey is so inspiring that I am now looking into fencing as a possible sport for Munchkin (while I am entirely aware of the fact that he is the norm for fencing) in hopes that it will help encourage his confidence, problem solving and hand eye coordination.  I highly recommend this book and give it a rating of Four Paws and a Stump Wag!

Top 5 Wednesday: Nostalgic Ships

Top 5 Wednesday is a group on Goodreads hosted by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes on Youtube.

So this week's top is all about those early romantic relationships we encountered that made our hearts flutter.  Now this is a difficult topic for me, I didn't read a lot of books when I was younger that had romantic interests and the ones that I did encounter are ones I seem to always talk about.  But what the heck, I always like shining a light on those old favorite books and ships; and since I am participating in Beat the Backlist challenge, why not give everyone some great backlist books to pick up too (all of these books are from 10 years and more ago)!  (Obviously this will contain spoilers for these books and series)

The earliest ship that I remember coming across was in the Song of the Lioness series. I always shipped Alanna with Jonathan, though I do adore George too, but he doesn't fit with Alanna the way Jonathan does.

If you have not read the Path's to Camelot series, you should do yourself a favor and go pick them up! Each book features one of King Arthur's round table knights and a love interest.  Camelot's Blood is the 4th and final book in the series, it wasn't published in the US (at least when I was actively reading the series) and it took me forever to track down a copy from Australia but it was so worth it to read about the relationship between Agravain and Laurel! In fact I think I need to revisit this series soon.

Another of the early ships I came across was Valeria and Kerrec in the White Magic Series, Song of Unmaking is the second book in the series and it made me feel too much! This series has already been put on my TBR for this year, it is over due for a re-read as well.

Then we have the book that sparked me love for Hades & Persephone, Goddess of Spring features a modern day woman named Lina who takes Persephone's place for the required 6 months with Hades and during her time there we get one of the most romantic scenes featuring soulmates I have ever read anywhere!

And finally we have my all time favorite ship, favorite book boyfriend and 2nd favorite book of all time! Fire and Brigan's relationship is classic hate to love and slow burn and oh so beautiful; it hurts my heart how much I love them and this book!

So have you fallen in love with any of the same ships I have? What were some of your favorite early loves?

Review of 2018 Books: The Stats, the Surprises, the Disappointments and the Best of the Best

I guess it is about time I wrap up my 2018 reading year since we are well into 2019 already.

2018 Reading Stats:

In 2018 I read a total of 324 books (give or take a couple that aren't on Goodreads)

broken down that is 40,307 pages and

616:20 hours (25 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes) of audio book time

of those books:

43 earned 5 star ratings

152 earned 4 star ratings

102 earned 3 star ratings

32 earned 2 star ratings

and 

14 were DNFed


95 were in the 0-50 page range
57 were in the 51-150 page range additionally 5 audio books in this range
65 were in the 151-300 page range, additionally 21 audio books in this range
23 were in the 301-400 page range, additionally 30 audio books in this range
11 were in the 401-500 page range, additionally 14 audio books in this range
6 were in the 501-650 page range, additionally 1 audio book in this range
none were over the 650 range

55 were Children's Books

35 were Early Reader Books

57 were Middle Grade Books

58 were Young Adult Books
93 were Adult Books

29 were Graphic Novels

46 were Romance

85 were Fantasy
14 were Sci-Fi

71 were Audio Books 

24 were by local Rhode Island Authors


Things I have discovered in 2018:

I did a lot more tracking than I have done in the past and I have learned a lot about myself as a reader through that tracking.  First, I always thought of myself as a YA reader but even without reading as many romances as normal I ended up reading nearly double the number of adult books over YA books! I have a sweet spot for audio books, I seem to prefer listening to books between 250-350 pages which take about 8-10 hours.  I should not be afraid of big books, some of the books I have enjoyed most have been the longer books.  DNFing books does not harm me in anyway! Yes you heard that right, it doesn't do anything negative to you when you decide to put a book down that you are not enjoying, in fact it has quite the opposite effect!

Biggest Disappointments:

So besides the 14 books I DNFed this last year, there were a few disappointments. It doesn't mean that these were bad books, or even that I hated them, just simply books I felt were going to be fantastic but just didn't live up to my expectations.

The cover is stunning, the idea behind it is super intriguing, a blend of historical fiction and fantasy, but it just did not work for me. I honestly almost DNFed it a few times.

This one hurts! I love Hades & Persephone re-tellings and was really looking forward to this one and the next book in the series. I struggled to get a grasp on the world and didn't connect with the characters, except the bone and soul eating horse.

 

I know, this is probably going to upset a lot of people but I did not like this duology! I struggled to get through it only because of King of Scars coming out. I did not like most of the characters, I know everyone loves Kaz but he was my most disliked character. Honestly my favorite was Mattias.  I wasn't a fan of the heist process either, too much was done off page for my liking. Luckily, we now get to return to Nikolai and forget all this Kaz nonsense. 

Biggest Surprises:

I read some books this year that I wasn't sure about or that sucked me in far more than I ever expected. Some pulled me into new genres and others introduced me to new authors and worlds.

  

 

This series completely consumed me the first half of the year. I had seen it a few times over the years but had put it off as being too science and clinical for my liking. I finally decided to read them and picked up the audio books as well (which I cannot recommend highly enough). They were so intriguing and engrossing, it really felt like this was a part of our history and that dragons were out there to be studied.  The twist in the final book was AMAZING! Even talking about it now makes me want to re-read them again!

  

So I have pretty much avoided Sci-Fi (except Star Wars) most of my reading life because I have no desire for math or science in my books. I also have a difficult time picturing a lot that is described with nothing to base it on. So this series was never on my radar but several of my favorite Booktubers constantly rave about this series, also it came recommended at the local bookstore, so I thought I would give it a try. I  was beyond shocked when I ended up loving it so much. Even with the distant and clinical format, the human element came through so strongly and I really became invested in this series. Again I highly recommend the audiobook versions! Because of these books I am starting to dip my toes into the Sci-fi genre a bit more. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book but Pirates haven't really been my thing in the past. I ended up absolutely loving this high seas, steam punk, found family, girl power book. I was sucked into the story and the adventure, it even ended up triggering a full month of pirate themed books!

I have pretty much given up on YA contemporary but received this as part of a trade so gave it a try. It ended up being everything I ever wanted in a YA contemporary romance. It was all I wanted Princess Diaries to be and more! Even though it was dramatic at times, and it was pretty predictable, I still loved every minute of it and can't wait for the next book!

2018 Honorable Mentions
I don't normally do this but I read so many fantastic books this year that I just had to mention some that just barely missed out on my top books of the year.

Middle Grade, tough subject, told from the perspective of a tree, go read it!

  

Witty banter, lots of tension, girl power yet feminine, far more fun to read than I ever expected!

 

I get what people talk about now about assassin nuns, it just works! 

I loved this twist on the original! And so much attention paid to the details.

This was a bit predictable but the cliffhanger ending has me hooked!

Another Middle Grade book told from the perspective of a refugee in verse, go read it!

and finally

The Best of the Best Books in 2018:

So here we go with my top books of 2018! I did not expect a single one of these to land at the top, but they have all clearly earned the right to be here. I love that they are all so different, 2 historical fictions, 2 fantasy and 1 contemporary.  All of them except for 1 is over 400 pages and 3 of them are over 500! Do you have any idea how hard this was to narrow down?! Here we go in reverse order from 5 to 1 . . .

This cover kept catching my eye every single time I went into the book store, so I finally caved. But then it sat on my shelves for a couple of months because it was intimidating with its 624 pages. I did finally pick it up and read it while listening to the audio book and was completely consumed by it! I can't even tell you how into this story I got, I want a GOT like TV show of this, but of course first we need the 2nd book which he hasn't even finished writing yet!!

This is why you wait until after the first of the year to determine your favorite reads, you never know what the end of the year will bring. After a week long slump I picked this book up. It hadn't even been on my radar even though it is a Arthurian Legend book, but it came in the Once Upon A Book Club box so I decided to read it. I again became so invested in the characters and the story that I just couldn't put it down. I did again read it while listening to the audio book and the audio book captures the accent so beautifully!

This book was on my shelf for a while and then I also received an ARC for a Penguin edition release. I knew it was going to be a tough read but OMG I bawled and bawled and bawled! So sad but so good!

 

Yes I am counting this as one because I read them all nearly back to back and there was no way I was breaking this trilogy up. I know that this may not be the most popular series, but I urge you to try it and if it didn't work the first time try again as an audio book! I was and am obsessed with this historical fiction Vlad the Impaler re-telling series.  Lada and Radu will forever be my favorite siblings, their relationship is one for the record books. This series will have you hopefully, scared, sad, happy, you will cry, you will cheer, you will be disgusted and you will see love like you have never seen before.

I was intrigued by this book because there are horses on the cover but I passed it up last year, but Sam at Thoughts on Tomes just kept raving about it and I became really interested.  I am so glad that I finally picked it up this year. I read it for Tome Topple and it was a buddy read, I also read it while listening to the audio book (because I was worried about pronunciations and names). I really struggle to put into words how beautiful this book was,  it has an almost lyrical writing style, the characters and the way their relationship grows throughout the story is just beautiful. Their dedication to each other blows me away.  This will not be a book for everyone but it was definitely the book for me this last year!

So what were some of your favorite books of 2018? Have you read any of mine? Will you be picking any of these up this year?