#BookReview – Cindy's Love Of Books

Review/ Beyond Forever

Posted on December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 by Cindy

Beyond Forever (Beyond, #3) by D.D. Marx
Published by Beyond Dreams Publishing Group on December 12th 2017
Pages: 225
Goodreads

Just as their life is seemingly back on track, Finn McDaniel’s gets news that sends him into a tail-spin. He is faced with the prospect of losing Olivia Henry forever. He immediately turns to Dan, Olivia’s deceased best friend, who is her loyal and constant guardian angel from the beyond, imploring him for his help. In the midst of all of the chaos a special package is delivered that changes their lives forever.

While Finn is determined to grow his restaurant to new heights by chasing after the coveted Michelin Star, it is Olivia who finally sees her dream come to fruition in a way never thought possible. Finn is determined to support Olivia through her shocking breakthrough and even has a very special surprise up his sleeve that she never sees coming. Just as their plan is set in to motion and they settle in to their new normal, they have an earth shattering encounter. In that moment it is revealed that they have much more than just a spiritual relationship with the beyond.

This is the third and final book in the Beyond series by D.D. Marx. What a fantastic read and it was nice how D.D Marx wrapped up the series. Although I wonder if there could be a series of books on Jules and Mac? I would definitely read that one too.

What a roller coaster of emotions this was. I am so happy that I got the chance to read this series. All three books were super quick reads and it was nice to read them all one right after the other because I knew I would be going crazy if I couldn’t have read them all.

Since this is the third book I am going to keep this short and sweet.

Olivia is getting ready to have her baby but things don’t go as smoothly as the couple hopes and before long Finn is asking Dan for help because he is their guardian angel because its a matter of life and death.

Just when things seem to be getting back on track a mysterious packages arrives causing their lives to never be the same again. Is it in a good way or a bad way?

Good things come to those that wait. Finn is striving to earn that Michelin gold star rating so that he can push his restaurant to the success it truly deserves and bring it to new heights. Will he achieve that? Also receiving some good news is Olivia and she is beyond thrilled never thinking something like this could happen to her and it will change everyone for good.

Sometimes we just need to read something light and fun and that makes you think that some one somewhere is out there watching you and guiding you along the way. We all have guardian angels looking out for us, we just need to recognize the signs and welcome them.

If you are looking for a light fun read then I highly recommend this. But you need to read all three books in order.

Review/ Midnight at the Electric

Posted on November 21, 2017November 30, 2017 by Cindy

Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Format: Hardcover
Published by HarperTeen on June 13th 2017
Pages: 272
Goodreads

Divided by time. Ignited by a spark.
Kansas, 2065. Adri has secured a slot as a Colonist—one of the lucky few handpicked to live on Mars. But weeks before launch, she discovers the journal of a girl who lived in her house over a hundred years ago, and is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding her fate. While Adri knows she must focus on the mission ahead, she becomes captivated by a life that’s been lost in time…and how it might be inextricably tied to her own.
Oklahoma, 1934. Amidst the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl, Catherine fantasizes about her family’s farmhand, and longs for the immortality promised by a professor at a traveling show called the Electric. But as her family’s situation becomes more dire—and the suffocating dust threatens her sister’s life—Catherine must find the courage to sacrifice everything she loves in order to save the one person she loves most.
England, 1919. In the recovery following the First World War, Lenore struggles with her grief for her brother, a fallen British soldier, and plans to sail to America in pursuit of a childhood friend. But even if she makes it that far, will her friend be the person she remembers, and the one who can bring her back to herself?
While their stories spans thousands of miles and multiple generations, Lenore, Catherine, and Adri’s fates are entwined.

This was a book I picked up to read on summer vacation and I actually did read it on vacation. As I was reading this I realized that I have never read anything by Jodi Lynn Anderson before this and I don’t know why considering I have a few of her books sitting on my bookshelf. This will be another author that I will have to make sure I read in 2018.

Midnight at the Electric is told in three perspectives ( Adri, Catherine and Lenore) and three different time periods (Kansas 2065, Oklahoma 1934 and England 1919).

As I was reading this I was always wondering how each of the girls would play a part in the book and how it would all join together at the end and I was happy to see Jodi Lynn managed to connect them all together.

The book begins in the year 2065, and one of our main characters, Adri has been selected to be one of the colonists living on Mars. How neat would that be? Adri is sent to go live with a distant cousin in Kansas that she had no idea she had, while she completes her final training. Its there that Adri discovers the journal of Catherine, a girl living during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, and letters from Lenore, an English girl coming to terms with the loss of her brother in World War I, hidden away in her closet and curiosity gets the better of her and she starts reading the letters and journal.

With Catherine we discover that she is a young girl growing up in Kansas during the great Dust Bowl, which is something that actually happened and was also known as the Dirty 30s. Something that I never knew actually happened and I have to say that I found Catherine’s chapters interesting and horrifying. She is finding first love who just happens to be someone who is helping taking care of the family land and she is also watching her farm be buried in dirt and her sister’s cough not going away. How scary would that have been in that time?

It is through Catherine’s story, that we learn about her mom and how she left England during the war and how her best friend, Lenore stayed behind. Even though the friends were separated they never lost touch and wrote letters to each other. With Lenore we learn what the war was like and how she struggled with the losses her town had suffered and her need to want to flee England and go to America so that she could be with her friend.

Having not read anything before I wasn’t sure what to expect but I am happy to say that I really enjoyed the book and the roller coaster of emotions that I would feel. Seeing as I was reading this on vacation I didn’t get to read it in one sitting but over a few nights. I would definitely continue to read Jodi Lynn’s previous and future books.

Review/ Winter Street

Posted on November 15, 2017November 16, 2017 by Cindy

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
Published by Little, Brown and Company on October 14th 2014
Pages: 352
Goodreads

In bestseller Elin Hilderbrand's first Christmas novel, a family gathers on Nantucket for a holiday filled with surprises.
Kelley Quinn is the owner of Nantucket's Winter Street Inn and the proud father of four, all of them grown and living in varying states of disarray. Patrick, the eldest, is a hedge fund manager with a guilty conscience. Kevin, a bartender, is secretly sleeping with a French housekeeper named Isabelle. Ava, a school teacher, is finally dating the perfect guy but can't get him to commit. And Bart, the youngest and only child of Kelley's second marriage to Mitzi, has recently shocked everyone by joining the Marines.
As Christmas approaches, Kelley is looking forward to getting the family together for some quality time at the inn. But when he walks in on Mitzi kissing Santa Claus (or the guy who's playing Santa at the inn's annual party), utter chaos descends. With the three older children each reeling in their own dramas and Bart unreachable in Afghanistan, it might be up to Kelley's ex-wife, nightly news anchor Margaret Quinn, to save Christmas at the Winter Street Inn.
Before the mulled cider is gone, the delightfully dysfunctional Quinn family will survive a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling, in this heart-warming novel about coming home for the holidays.

As I was doing some much needed computer work I realized I had a few reviews of books that I bought/borrowed that I never shared with you so I thought it was time to add them to my blog finally.

I remember picking up this book last year and reading it right away and I fell in love this this trilogy and had to read the other books in the series. The other books in the series are: Winter Stroll, Winter Storms and Winter Solstice. So in reality this is no longer a trilogy and I am so happy that I got to read this series.

This is Elin Hilderbrand’s first Christmas story. It takes place in Nantucket with the Quinn family. They run a family inn and every year they through a huge Christmas Eve party with a Santa and all. The house is decorated from top to bottom.

The hosts are Kelly (the dad) and his second wife, Mitzi. Kelly is looking forward to spending Christmas with his kids from his first marriage even though financial troubles are hanging over head. He is determined to make this a great Christmas until he catches his wife kissing Santa. But Kelly is shocked when he finds out its been actually going on for years and what he saw wasn’t the first time. Mitzi decides she would rather be with Santa then Kelly and packs up and leaves.

Everyone in this family has drama and it all unfolds within this book. Such as the oldest son, Patrick being investigated for unethical practices and his wife leaves taking the kids with her to go to her parents causing him to head down a downward spiral. If thats not bad enough Kevin is not happy and has a secret romance that he has been hiding from his family but decides he needs to come clean and finally the youngest child Ava who is struggling to hold onto her boyfriend and hopes that he will propose but little does she know that he doesn’t exactly feel the same way about her. Finally Bart, the son he had with Mitzi is currently in the Marines and deployed in Afganistan is missing. No one knows where he is.

As you read this you will probably think that this is going to be a Christmas to remember well in some ways it is going to a be Christmas to remember and not in a good way. This is the story if anything can go wrong it will go wrong.

The book is told in a basically a few days span with its told in several points of view from the Quinn family, Kelly, Mitzi, Margret, Ava, Kevin and Patrick. This was a great way to get to know the characters in a short amount of time.

I loved how even though Kelly and Margret are divorced she is still actively involved in and with the family and that she is still included in family events. I know sometimes divorces can be tricky but it was nice to see that yes they had issues in the past they were able to over come them.

I really enjoyed the book and it was such a fun and quick read just the thing to sort of get you into the holiday mood. Thankfully I was able to pick up the other books in the series quickly from the library so that I could continue this.

The one thing I have to say is going into the book I knew it was a trilogy so the way it ended so quickly I knew I had to read the next book right away. Reading it it honestly felt like the publisher just cut it to make a second book. So you were left hanging.

If you plan on reading this then I highly recommend you have all the books in the series before you begin.

Review: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse

Posted on June 9, 2017June 12, 2017 by Cindy

Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse
Format: ARC
Published by Little Brown Books on January 1st 1970
Pages: 325
Goodreads

Sophia has seven days left in Tokyo before she moves back to the States. Seven days to say good-bye to the electric city, her wild best friend, and the boy she’s harbored a semi-secret crush on for years. Seven perfect days…until Jamie Foster-Collins moves back to Japan and ruins everything.
Jamie and Sophia have a history of heartbreak, and the last thing Sophia wants is for him to steal her leaving thunder with his stupid arriving thunder. Yet as the week counts down, the relationships she thought were stable begin to explode around her. And Jamie is the one who helps her pick up the pieces. Sophia is forced to admit she may have misjudged Jamie, but can their seven short days of Tokyo adventures end in anything but good-bye?

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

One of the best things about working with a publishing house or with a rep is hearing about new books that you might not have heard about and this was the case with this one. I didn’t hear about the book until I was pitched and after reading the description I knew I had to read to read it.

Seven Days of You is about Sophia who currently lives in Tokyo but only has seven days left until she moves back to the USA. Seven days is not really a lot of time to say good bye to friends you have made that you love and especially a city you have grown to love.

Sophia has known for a little while she was moving back to the USA and when she found out Jamie was moving back to Tokyo she couldn’t be more happier to be leaving because the two didn’t exactly part of good terms. She only wishes that she wouldn’t have to see him before leaving but we all know that it wouldn’t be a story if that happened right?

When Sophia and Jamie meet up you can almost sense the awkwardness but yet there is a connection still there between the two of them. I have to admit I kind of liked Jamie because he always just seemed to be there and know what to say at the exact right moment.

I loved how Sophia and Jamie were opening up to each other and it just feels wrong that they didn’t have more time to explore those feelings for each other. Hmm perhaps that is for another book….

One of the things that I thought was just not needed was the drama she was having with her friends. I felt like that wasn’t really needed for the book to progress or perhaps I just wanted more of Sophia and Jamie.

I loved how Sophia was trying to figure out ways so that she could be much closer, she even reached out to her father who is know living in London with his new family and basically told her that she couldn’t go there and I just wondered how a father could do that to his daughter. I felt bad and wished that could be fixed before the book ended.

I love the concept of books that take place within a set period of time such as over a course of a day, a week, etc they are always fun to read and they never feel rushed is that makes sense.

This is Cecilia’s debut novel and I look forward to reading future books from her because I really enjoyed this one.

Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Cindy

The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons
Format: Paperback
Published by Tor Teen on August 2nd 2016
Pages: 352
Goodreads

Once there was a time when men and women lived as equals, when girl babies were valued, and women could belong only to themselves. But that was ten generations ago. Now women are property, to be sold and owned and bred, while a strict census keeps their numbers manageable and under control. The best any girl can hope for is to end up as some man's forever wife, but most are simply sold and resold until they're all used up.
Only in the wilderness, away from the city, can true freedom be found. Aya has spent her whole life in the mountains, looking out for her family and hiding from the world, until the day the Trackers finally catch her.
Stolen from her home, and being groomed for auction, Aya is desperate to escape her fate and return to her family, but her only allies are a loyal wolf she's raised from a pup and a strange mute boy who may be her best hope for freedom . . . if she can truly trust him.
The Glass Arrow: a haunting, yet hopeful, new novel from Kristen Simmons, the author of the popular Article 5 trilogy.

I have been wanting to read Kristen Simmons books since I first heard about them, but funny enough Chapters doesn’t have then in store and I am always meaning to order them but just haven’t done so yet but hoping that when I go to Chicago this summer I will find them in B&N and pick them up to read on vacation.

When I spotted The Glass Arrow on the shelves I chapters I had to pick it up and I am so happy that I did because I literally just finished reading it and I absolutely loved the book. Going into this I had no idea what to expect from the writing or storyline because I haven’t read the previous books. Which I think is a good thing but now its left me wanting to read her series Article 5.

The Glass Arrow is about a world that no longer views women/girls as equal in the world or with value. Women are now viewed as property that can be sold and bought and bred. Basically girls and women are like a piece of meat. In this world girls dream about becoming a forever wife but in reality that is very rare. They are sold and resold until they are used up.

I loved the main character Aya AKA as Clover. She is a fierce girl who stands her ground and will do anything and everything in her power not to be sold. She loves her family and will do anything in her power to protect them. She vows she will always get back to them.

Aya has always lived outside the city in the safety of the moutains with her mother and a small group of women and children. But she knows she is truly never safe and is always afraid of the trackers that come looking for girls. Even with a escape plan ready and set to go can one truly be safe from the trackers?

Then the worst thing happens the trackers catch Aya and she is brought into the city and placed in the garden where she will be groomed for sale. Every chance Aya gets she sabotages the auction only to be punished but Aya is strong and lets nothing detour her. She will find a way to escape and get back to her family. She is determined to escape before she is sold. Will she be able to escape before its too late?

Aya is almost always one step a head of the game. When she is forced into solitary confinement she thinks all hope is lost until she spots a driver across the way and she hopes he will be able to help her. These drivers are mute boys who come into the city to work. He spots her and comes over but little does Aya know there is more to this boy then meets the eye and she will be shocked to discover this.

With a month in solitary confinement Aya comes up with a plan to escape before its too late. She tries everything but nothing detours her. She is strong will and nothing will break her.

Will she be able to escape and get back home?

Review: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Posted on June 7, 2017June 6, 2017 by Cindy

Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Format: ARC
Published by Quirk Books on April 4th 2017
Pages: 320
Goodreads

Anything can happen once upon a con…
When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield, she has to enter. First prize is an invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her stepmother’s back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all—not to mention a fangirl’s dream come true.
Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s ExcelsiCon. He used to live for conventions, but now they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the diehard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

I have to apologize for the delay in getting this review up considering I read this book a while ago but better late then never right?

Geekerella is a retelling of Cinderella. I am trying to think back but I am pretty sure that this is my first retelling I have read and not quite sure why because there are so many out there and I really do like the modern day retelling of all those great classics I grew up loving.

As I was reading this I instantly thought of the movie A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray. As you read the book you almost get the feel that those characters could totally play these characters in the movie version.

I have to say I loved Elle and she was completely relatable in my opinion. Her father introduced her to one of her favorite shows, StarField growing up and she is a blogger. Not a book blogger but a blogger just the same. For Elle all she wants to do is get through life and cherish the memories she has of her parents but her step mother makes it very hard for her to do so. I loved how as the book progressed Elle began to stand up for herself and every step of the way I was rooting for her to do so.

Elle is not quite sure how to feel about her beloved Starfield being turned into a movie and she is quite vocal on her blog about it especially the main male character Prince Carminder being played by Darien Freeman, who is Hollywood’s newest heart throb but little does Elle know but Darien is truly a fan of Starfield and he thinks its a honor to be playing the Prince. Elle things that Darien is going to ruin the movie and not do it justice for the fans who love it.

When Darien discovers that he will have to attend ExcelsiCon (which just so happens to be the con her father has put together) to promote the movie he is less then thrilled and tries to back out by texting a number he thinks is for the con and texts but its actually Elle’s number (the phone was her father’s) as the two converse they begin to flirt not knowing who each other really is. What will happen when they both discover it?

Geekerella is told in both Elle’s and Darien’s point of views. I have to say that I really do enjoy when this happens because you get both sides of the story.

I really enjoyed reading this and its inspired me to hunt out other retellings and read them. Have you read a retelling that you really enjoyed?

Review: Crazy House by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

Posted on June 6, 2017June 5, 2017 by Cindy

Crazy House by James Patterson, Gabrielle Charbonnet
Published by Hachette Book Group on May 22nd 2017
Pages: 368
Goodreads

No one gets out alive.
Seventeen-year-old Becca Greenfield was snatched from her home and thrown without reazon into a hellish prison known as the Crazy House. To avoid execution, she’s told to shut her mouth and keep her head down.
Becca was never really good at either.
Her only hope for survival is for her sister, Cassie, to find her—that the “good twin” will stop following the rules and start breaking them, before it’s too late. Because the jailers at Crazy House soon discover they made a mistake that could get both sisters killed…

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When I was first pitched Crazy House I admit my first instinct was that I had to read it because a) its a James Patterson book and he never disappoint and b) because it sounded it like it was going to be a wild and crazy read and I have to say it was crazy and a page turner.

Crazy House is a thrilling young adult read told in the perspectives of Cassie, Becca, Ms. Strepp, and Nathaniel.

Crazy House takes place in a world where teenagers are taken and imprisoned and forced to fight for their survival. The world of Crazy House is divided into cells and depending on what class you are dictates where you live and the Provost who is ruled by the governement dictates what happens. Teenangers go missing daily and no one seems overly concerned about this but Cassie is determined to find out what happened and where did Becca go to.

Cassie’s and Becca never had and easy life. The Provost took their mother a few years ago for “mood adjustment” and were told she would be back soon but she never returned. Their consumed with loneliness decided that he would kill himself but now he is in a hospital comatose waiting for death to take him. The SAS (system assisted suicide) has approached the girls numerous times to allow their father to go but the girls have refused.

Cassie wakes up one more to discover Becca is missing. She is determined to find her. Cassie is frantic at first because she doesn’t want her sister to get into trouble but when she questions her friends only one says that they spotted her crossing the boundry which is strickly forbidden and against the law.

Before Cassie realizes it she is expelled from school and labelled a bad citizen. Once again she is approached by SAS. Once you are labelled a bad citizen you are cut off from everything and that means her father’s care as well.

Mean while with Becca she has actually been kidnapped and put into a maximum security death row prison. This is not your typical death row prison because its housed with teenagers and everyone entering the prison is put to crueling test on various subjects and are trained to fight each other. The winners move on and the losers are killed.

Its during this process that the Ms. Strepp from the prison discovers they have taken the wrong sister and set out to make it right. What will happen when Ms, Strepp is determined to make it right? Can Cassie remain out of the prison or is she willing to risk it all for her sister?

I really enjoyed reading this and I was literally finished this within three days. The ending left off like there could be another book and if there is I would definitely read it.