June Wrap-Up & July TBR

June:

So in June I read many small books and travel books.  I would list them here, but I honestly don't feel like it.  I will say that I was mostly disappointed in the YA books I read this month though, so hopefully next month will be better.

Moving on to July...

July:

I want to read a classic this month!!  In addition to that, these three books are on my radar:

Up and Down (Loving Piper #1) by Charlotte Lockheart

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Asking For It by Louise O'Neill

Any suggestions for a classic to read?  I haven't read many.

Review: A Time to Dance

Title:  A Time to Dance
Author:  Padma Venkatraman
Rating:  5/5

Summary:

Padma Venkatraman’s inspiring story of a young girl’s struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of art, and above all, the courage and resilience of the human spirit.

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance—so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who’s grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

Review:

I LOVE novels in verse!!!  I extra love cultural YA books!  So this was a double win all around.

Veda is an amazing character who is put through a tragic accident.  Her spirit, however, is unbreakable and she comes back stronger than before.  Her journey to discover how to dance from her heart, and from Shiva again is profound and moving.

Govinda is an amazing supporting character about him trying to break free of society's and his family's expectations.

My favorite characer though was Paati, Veda's grandmother, whose unwavering spirit and faith carried Veda as well as us as readers.  I came very close to crying for her.

Scavenger Hunt Book Tag

Hey all!  Today I found a fun new thing that has been circulating through the book blogger universe.  I originally found it on Always Me, after that I followed it back to Book Coma, then to Wonderless Reviews, then back to Ravenclaw Book Club, and finally to All The Stories Are True.  My search stopped at the last one because it then led me to a blog that wasn't in English.  So moral of this, I have no idea who started this scavenger hunt, but I'm continuing it!

Before we begin, I tag Little Bookworm Reviews to continue the chain!

Rules are simple, find the books on your personal shelves that match the criteria.  Post pictures of the books themselves (preferably over a goodreads picture) so that we know you really own it!  Now let the games begin!

1.  Find a book with the letter "z" in its title or the author's name

Six Graves to Munic by Mario Puzo

2.  Find me a classic

Good old Dracula!

3.  Find the oldest book on your shelves

 

1929 copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

4.  Find a book with a key on its cover

Love this series!

5.  Find something that isn't a book on your shelves

Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas

6.  Find a book with an animal on the cover

Teeny-Tiny Elephant!

7.  Find a book with a girl on its cover

I LOVE this book!

8.  Find a non-YA book

Woo-Hoo Walking Dead!!!

9.  Find a book with stars on its cover

You can mostly see the moon, but the stars are the little dots

10.  Find a book with golden letters

Yay gold!

I liked doing this challenge!  Pick it up if you want to do it.

Review: The Rose & The Dagger

Title:  The Rose & The Dagger
Author:  Renee Ahdieh
Series:  The Wrath & The Dawn (#2)
Rating:  5/5

Summary:

The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.

In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once thought Khalid a monster—a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain—but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever.

Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid—a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.

The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again.

Review:

Oh my god, this series!!

I don't go for retellings very often, unless it's Alice in Wonderland related, but this is definitely my exception.  I can't decide who I love more in this story: Shahrzad, Irsa, or Khalid.  One of my favorite aspects of this story though is the introduction of the close family bond between Shazi and Irsa.  I would say I envy their bond as sisters, but I'm probably just as close if not closer with my own sister.

And the curse!  And all the magic!

I don't know how to review this book without giving away important plot aspects.  Shazi's relationship with Khalid is something I dream of, they fit together so perfectly and balance each other.  The country is in turmoil and the evil uncle is almost as bad as the mislead father.

I also approve of the ending.  It will rip your heart out first though, just warning you.  For once I approve of an epilogue thought!

Go Read This Series!!

Review: Written in the Stars

Title:  Written in the Stars
Author:  Aisha Saeed
Rating:  4/5

Summary:

This heart-wrenching novel explores what it is like to be thrust into an unwanted marriage. Has Naila’s fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny?

Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. 

When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.

Review:

I think it's obvious by now that I love cultural based books, especially when they revolve around family.  This one, while not one of my favorites, was rather well written and the family dynamic was fantastic, as well as the center of the plot.

Naila (and I cannot seem to settle on a pronunciation of her name in my head), is a bright young Pakistani-American teenager who has her whole life in front of her, until her parents take it away in the worst way you can imagine.

In the summary it says that Naila's parents found her a husband in Pakistan, that is an incredibly watered-down version of the events of the second half of the book.  Naila is thrown away like a dog who couldn't behave.  

Arranged marriages are not uncommon in this world, but this one is described in a detail that shocks people like me, someone who has never seen it first hand.  Many times they work out, but just as many times they do not, and this is a devastating example of when family pushes too far.

Diverse Young Adult Books & Fiction

I have a craving for diverse books.  By this I mean that I love books set in different countries with characters who come from different cultures than my own.  They are indeed hard to find though.

The following are some of my favorites in these genres:

Veil of Roses - Laura Fitzgerald

An Iranian-American in the United States of the first time

Dreaming in English - Laura Fitzgerald

An Iranian-American trying to stay in the United States with the man she loves

One True Theory of Love - Laura Fitzgerald

An American woman and her child are courted by an Iranian-American man

  

Written in the Stars - Aisha Saeed

American born and raised girl of Pakastani descent is forced back into a culture she has never known, having grown up in Florida

The Wrath & the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh

Twist on Arabian Nights

When the Emperor Was Divine - Julie Otsuka

A Japanese-American family put in an internment camp in the United States during World War II

Any suggestions for more fiction taking place in other cultures?  Or other cultures existing in the United States?  I have such a hard time finding decent ones.

Review: The Wrath & the Dawn

Title:  The Wrath & the Dawn
Author:  Renee Ahdieh
Series:  The Wrath & the Dawn (#1)
Rating:  5/5

Summary:

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

Review:

I have seen this book reviewed on nearly every book blog I follow so I finally decided to give it a chance.  It's not that I wasn't excited about the plot, I was, but I was afraid of it being predictable.  I was so wrong about that!

Every time I thought Shahrzad or Khalid would react one way to each other when another layer of the other was pealed back I was surprised.  Not always happily surprised, I will admit, but if I was happy with every direction of the characters of a book than I would hate that book.

Through the first half of the book I was strongly rooting for Tariq, but I admit I switched sides.  Khalid is simply too beautifully broken not to love.  I also love Shazi, she is so strong!  Not only does she do everything without looking back, she is cunning and determined.  However, she is not blind and she doesn't let hatred cloud her judgment.

Towards the end I'll give away only one thought:  why Jahandar?!?

Can't wait to read the sequel!  And I highly recommend.

Review: One With You

Title:  One with You
Author: Sylvia Day
Series: Crossfire (#5 Final)
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

Gideon Cross. Falling in love with him was the easiest thing I've ever done. It happened instantly. Completely. Irrevocably.

Marrying him was a dream come true. Staying married to him is the fight of my life. Love transforms. Ours is both a refuge from the storm and the most violent of tempests. Two damaged souls entwined as one.

We have bared our deepest, ugliest secrets to one another. Gideon is the mirror that reflects all my flaws ... and all the beauty I couldn't see. He has given me everything. Now, I must prove I can be the rock, the shelter for him that he is for me. Together, we could stand against those who work so viciously to come between us.

But our greatest battle may lie within the very vows that give us strength. Committing to love was only the beginning. Fighting for it will either set us free ... or break us apart.

Heartbreakingly and seductively poignant, One with You is the breathlessly awaited finale to the Crossfire® saga, the searing love story that has captivated millions of readers worldwide.

Review:

I picked up the first book in this series two or three years ago.  At first, I didn't have high hopes for it; I thought it was just going to be a slightly less kinky version of Fifty Shades of Grey.  I was so wrong!

This series was beautiful most of the time.  I admit the third and fourth books were slow compared to the rest, and I complained in the past about the repetition of relationship issues, but this book more than made up for those instances.

My favorite was the last 200 or so pages when Gideon and Eva finally seem to just click in that magical way we've always been craving.  The ultimate last hurtle for them was amazing as well.  And Lucky was the cutest little sidekick ever.

I really recommend reading this entire series.  There is some sex scenes, sure, but they by far do not overshadow the genuine writing and relationship between characters.

Review: Captivated By You

Title:  Captivated By You
Author:  Sylvia Day
Series:  Crossfire (#4)
Rating:  4/5

Summary:

Gideon calls me his angel, but he's the miracle in my life. My gorgeous, wounded warrior, so determined to slay my demons while refusing to face his own.

The vows we'd exchanged should have bound us tighter than blood and flesh. Instead they opened old wounds, exposed pain and insecurities, and lured bitter enemies out of the shadows. I felt him slipping from my grasp, my greatest fears becoming my reality, my love tested in ways I wasn't sure I was strong enough to bear.

At the brightest time in our lives, the darkness of his past encroached and threatened everything we'd worked so hard for. We faced a terrible choice: the familiar safety of the lives we'd had before each other or the fight for a future that suddenly seemed an impossible and hopeless dream...

Review:

I LOVE this series.  Seriously.  I hate the idea and writing of everything that has to do with Fifty Shades of Grey, but the Crossfire series actually has substance on top of the sex scenes.  Gideon is just... wow, what a man.  His demons just make me love him more.  And Eva, she's perfect in all of her imperfections.

There are two reasons why I gave this book a 4 out of 5 instead of the full rating:  POV shifts and lack of problem resolution.  First, the POV shifts aren't big, just jumping one chapter for Gideon and one for Eva and so on, however it's kind of a pet peeve of mine and it wasn't done in the first three books of the series.  On the second point, I mean it's the repetitive problems we've been seeing for four books now with little to no progress, but there was some progress I suppose.

All in all I cannot wait to read the fifth and final book which just came in the mail!

2016 Reading Challenge: A Book Published This Year

A Book Published This Year

I thought it would take me a few more months to find a book published this year that I liked enough to review and include in this challenge, but that's not the case.  Read my review of the book here.

Title: The Girl Who Fell
Author: S. M. Parker
Rating: 5/5
Published:  March 1, 2016

Summary:

His obsession. Her fall.

Zephyr Doyle is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and attending her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and…

Terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.

If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

Review: The Girl Who Fell

Title: The Girl Who Fell
Author: S. M. Parker
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

His obsession. Her fall.

Zephyr Doyle is focused. Focused on leading her team to the field hockey state championship and attending her dream school, Boston College.

But love has a way of changing things.

Enter the new boy in school: the hockey team’s starting goaltender, Alec. He’s cute, charming, and most important, Alec doesn’t judge Zephyr. He understands her fears and insecurities—he even shares them. Soon, their relationship becomes something bigger than Zephyr, something she can’t control, something she doesn’t want to control.

Zephyr swears it must be love. Because love is powerful, and overwhelming, and…

Terrifying?

But love shouldn’t make you abandon your dreams, or push your friends away. And love shouldn’t make you feel guilty—or worse, ashamed.

So when Zephyr finally begins to see Alec for who he really is, she knows it’s time to take back control of her life.


If she waits any longer, it may be too late.

Review:

A book about relationship abuse and control.  I had my reservations at first, but after the first two chapters they were completely gone.  I saw a lot of reviews on Goodreads saying people didn't like it because it wasn't realistic; I imagine they meant because Zephyr is a smart young girl and just because her father left doesn't mean she should have fell into the trap that Alec set.  However, take it from a smart girl who almost fell, it can happen.

This is a subject that girls, and guys, need to be a lot more aware about.  A significant other is not the end all-be all.  Never give up your dreams.

I recommend to all! (Over the age of 16).

Review: Goodbye to Yesterday

Title:  Goodbye to Yesterday
Author:  Wanda E. Brunstetter
Series:  The Discovery (#1)
Rating: 3/5

Summary:

Join Meredith and Luke Stoltzfus, an Amish couple who are faced with the greatest challenge of their young lives. Financial struggles. Arguments. A suspected pregnancy. A last-minute trip to Middlebury, Indiana. A drug addict on the run. A deadly encounter at a Philadelphia bus station. Will their love and faith be enough to bring them back together again, against all odds?

Review:

I'm not saying this book is bad, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.  It's novella length, and book one of a six part series about an Amish couple.

I had two major problems with this book:  I hate things involving amnesia, and it moved slower than an Amish buggy (and I'm not being mean with that, I think Amish living is fascinating).  I didn't really realize it had to do with amnesia until the very end, but from what I read the rest of the series is heavily focused upon that aspect.

Overall, not going to read the rest of the series, but may try the author again with a different book or series.

Waiting on Wednesday #1

Hosted by Breaking The Spine

This week I'm waiting on:

Title:  One with You

Author:  Sylvia Day

Series:  Crossfire #5

Expected Publish Date:  April 5, 2016

Summary:

Gideon Cross. Falling in love with him was the easiest thing I've ever done. It happened instantly. Completely. Irrevocably.

Marrying him was a dream come true. Staying married to him is the fight of my life. Love transforms. Ours is both a refuge from the storm and the most violent of tempests. Two damaged souls entwined as one.

We have bared our deepest, ugliest secrets to one another. Gideon is the mirror that reflects all my flaws ... and all the beauty I couldn't see. He has given me everything. Now, I must prove I can be the rock, the shelter for him that he is for me. Together, we could stand against those who work so viciously to come between us.

But our greatest battle may lie within the very vows that give us strength. Committing to love was only the beginning. Fighting for it will either set us free ... or break us apart.

Heartbreakingly and seductively poignant, One with You is the breathlessly awaited finale to the Crossfire® saga, the searing love story that has captivated millions of readers worldwide.


What book are you anxiously waiting for to be released?