This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda’s Voice.
The Rules are:
I chose Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey.
Here is my line from page 56 in my copy:
“‘You write about unclogging toilets?’
‘Freshening diaper pails,’ I say, pointing my fork at him.”
Did you make a post for the Friday 56?
Title: The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising #1)
Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Owlcrate
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★
From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot.
There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.
Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.
To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.
Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?
Princess Guinevere has arrived in Camelot to marry King Arthur. However, she isn’t the real Guinevere. She is a changeling that took the princess’s place at Merlin’s request. Guinevere has been sent to Camelot to protect Arthur from an unknown magical threat. As Guinevere learns more about the kingdom and tries to figure out the mysterious threat to Arthur, she realizes she doesn’t know much about herself and the world around her. Guinevere has to learn more about herself to get to the truth of Camelot.
I read stories about King Arthur when I was a kid, but I had forgotten the details before reading this story. I googled the story when I started it, so I did get some minor spoilers for the story. There were some twists from the original tale that modernized it and made it original.
This is a great introduction to the series. There were many hints of things to come. Guinevere’s past is a mystery, which I’m hoping will be explored in the next book. I had a lot of questions at the end, but these made me interested in the next book.
I really enjoyed this story!
Have you read The Guinevere Deception? What did you think of it?
TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.
My pick this week is The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner.
Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable.
One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England’s finest novelists. Now it’s home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen’s legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen’s home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Waiting for Tom Hanks (Waiting for Tom Hanks #1)
Author: Kerry Winfrey
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 11, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★
Can a romcom-obssessed romantic finally experience the meet-cute she always dreamed of or will reality never compare to fiction, in this charming debut adult novel from Kerry Winfrey.
Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.
When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days…can he?
Annie Cassidy is a young screenwriter who is obsessed with rom-coms. She wants to live her own romantic comedy and find her Tom Hanks, the man who is meant to be with her. Annie gets a job on a movie set, which stars the hunk Drew Danforth. He definitely isn’t her Tom Hanks, but Annie soon finds herself living her own rom-com with Drew.
This is an adorable romantic comedy. I loved the references to different romantic movies. Those movies had a special meaning to Annie because she used to watch them with her mom before she died when Annie was a teenager. Annie referenced these movies, though she was oblivious to the fact that she was also living in her own rom-com with Drew.
This story was quite fast paced. It wasn’t too steamy, like some other contemporary romances. It had the atmosphere of a 90s rom-com: sweet, quirky, and romantic.
I really enjoyed this story! I’m excited to read the sequel, Not Like the Movies, which is about Annie’s best friend Chloe.
Have you read Waiting for Tom Hanks? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.
The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is A Rogue of One’s Own (A League of Extraordinary Women #2) by Evie Dunmore. The expected publication date is September 1, 2020.
A lady must have money and an army of her own if she is to win a revolution – but first, she must pit her wits against the wiles of an irresistible rogue bent on wrecking her plans…and her heart.
Lady Lucie is fuming. She and her band of Oxford suffragists have finally scraped together enough capital to control one of London’s major publishing houses, with one purpose: to use it in a coup against Parliament. But who could have predicted that the one person standing between her and success is her old nemesis, Lord Ballentine? Or that he would be willing to hand over the reins for an outrageous price—a night in her bed.
Lucie tempts Tristan like no other woman, burning him up with her fierceness and determination every time they clash. But as their battle of wills and words fans the flames of long-smouldering devotion, the silver-tongued seducer runs the risk of becoming caught in his own snare.
As Lucie tries to out-manoeuvre Tristan in the boardroom and the bedchamber, she soon discovers there’s truth in what the poets say: all is fair in love and war…
What books are you waiting on this week?
Title: The End of Her
Author: Shari Lapena
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 28, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
The new domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door and Someone We Know
In upstate New York, Stephanie and Patrick are adjusting to life with their colicky twin babies. The girls are a handful, but Stephanie doesn’t mind being a stay-at-home mom, taking care of them while Patrick does the nine to five to pay the bills.
When a woman from Patrick’s past drops in on them unexpectedly, raising questions about his late first wife, Stephanie supports her husband wholeheartedly. She knows the car accident all those many years ago was just that–an accident. But Erica is persistent, and now she’s threatening to go to the police.
Patrick is afraid his job–and his reputation–will be at risk if he doesn’t put an end to Erica’s questioning immediately. And when the police start digging, Stephanie’s trust in her husband begins to falter and Patrick is primed to lose everything he loves. As their marriage crumbles, Stephanie feels herself coming unglued, and soon she isn’t sure what–or who–to believe. Now the most important thing is to protect her girls, but at what cost?
Stephanie and Patrick are new parents to twin girls. They are both severely sleep deprived, which is making Stephanie forgetful. One day, a woman enters their life with a shocking accusation that Patrick murdered his first wife when she was pregnant. Stephanie knew that Patrick’s first wife died in an accident, but when she hears the details, she can’t help but wonder if Patrick is guilty.
This is another great thriller from Shari Lapena. Her books are so fast paced and difficult to put down. I had to stop reading it one evening because I knew if I continued, I wouldn’t be able to put it down to go to sleep. The short chapters with cliffhanger endings make the pages fly by.
There were a lot of characters introduced in the first couple of chapters. It was a little confusing to keep straight at first because there were so many different people. I actually thought I had the story figured out right away. However, there were some shocking twists that kept me surprised right until the last page.
I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller!
Thank you Penguin Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read The End of Her? What did you think of it?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is a Books I Loved But Never Reviewed. These are books I read before I started reviewing, but hopefully I’ll be able to review them one day. Here’s my list:
(All photos from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Title: Lobizona (Wolves of No World #1)
Author: Romina Garber
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 4, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
Some people ARE illegal.
Lobizonas do NOT exist.
Both of these statements are false.
Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida.
Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered.
Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past–a mysterious “Z” emblem—which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong.
As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.
Manuela Azul has spent her life hiding with her mother in Miami. They are undocumented immigrants, and they have to hide until they get their citizenship papers. Manu’s mother has also hidden her because of her unique eyes. Manu wears sunglasses everywhere to disguise her golden eyes with stars in the pupils. When the woman who Manu and her mother lives with is attacked, Manu has to escape, so she runs to her mother’s work. However, she learns that her mother has actually been lying. Everything Manu thought she knew about their lives is a lie. She runs away to find the real place she belongs.
This story tells an uncomfortable truth about illegal immigrants. Manu lived in fear because of the lies her mother told her, even though she had no say in the matter. The secrets behind Manu’s background added another layer to her immigrant story.
I liked how the story talked about Manu’s body in a realistic and honest way. Her menstrual cycle was related to the lunar cycle, in a way that is described in the book. I’ve often heard readers complain, and I’ve noticed myself, how so many characters in novels, particularly fantasy novels, don’t have to deal with their bodily functions. Sometimes this is explained as the characters being malnourished or stressed and therefore changing the way their body works. The honest way it was talked about in this book makes it relatable for young female readers.
There were a lot of Harry Potter references in this book, which I loved. Though J.K. Rowling has said many offensive things which has lead to people boycotting her, I can’t deny that her books had a great influence on mine and many other people’s childhoods. She may not be the creator we thought she was, but Harry Potter is imbedded in our culture as a way of sharing our stories. Harry Potter has a special meaning to the author, which was mentioned in the author’s note at the end. These references made me relate to and understand the story in a way that wouldn’t have been the same without them.
This is a fabulous story! I can’t wait to read the next story!
Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
ROMINA GARBER (pen name Romina Russell) is a New York Times and international bestselling author. Originally from Argentina, she landed her first writing gig as a teen—a weekly column for the Miami Herald that was later nationally syndicated—and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Her books include Lobizona. When she’s not working on a novel, Romina can be found producing movie trailers, taking photographs, or daydreaming about buying a new drum set. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a Virgo to the core.
Have you read Lobizona? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
This weekend I finished Lobizona by Romina Garber.
I’m currently reading The End of Her by Shari Lapena.
Next I will be reading Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Jill's Book Blog 