Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:
I did 6 weekly blogging memes:
How was your week? What did you guys read?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading XOXO by Axie Oh.
Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.
Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.
When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.
What book are you in bed with today?
Title: The Kindred
Author: Alechia Dow
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: January 4, 2022
Rating: ★★★★
To save a galactic kingdom from revolution, Kindred mind-pairings were created to ensure each and every person would be seen and heard, no matter how rich or poor…
Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings.
Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.
Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too. Meeting in person for the first time as they steal a spacecraft and flee amid chaos might not be ideal…and neither is crash-landing on the strange backward planet called Earth. But hiding might just be the perfect way to discover the true strength of the Kindred bond and expose a scandal—and a love—that may decide the future of a galaxy.
On the distant planet of Hali, Kindreds are mind-pairings that connect two people throughout their lives, whether they are rich or poor. Joy Abara is an ordinary girl, but she’s known for being the Kindred of Duke Felix Hamdi. They are closer than two people can be. Some people marry their Kindred, but Joy and Felix can’t marry since he’s from a noble family. Despite that, they still want to meet and continue their close relationship. However, when the royal family is assassinated, Felix is next in line for the throne and he is also the prime suspect. Joy is also a target since she is so close to Felix. He finds Joy and they escape to a distant planet called Earth. They have to navigate Earth while also fleeing from the those hunting for them and learning to love each other.
This was a fun science fiction story. The idea of Kindreds was exciting and terrifying. The Kindreds had a special and unique bond. They experienced everything together, even if they had never met. They could hear each other’s thoughts and feel each other’s feelings. The downside is that they can feel each other’s pain, and potentially die if their Kindred dies. This made Joy vulnerable when Felix was in trouble and created a lot of conflict and tension.
Music was an important part of this story, just like it was in Alechia Dow’s novel The Sound of Stars. This story also featured some of the same musicians that were in that book, so they were set in the same world. I love it when there are subtle connections between books like that. The ending of this book was also open to a continuation, so I hope there will be more books set in this world.
The Kindred is an exciting new story!
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book.
Have you read The Kindred? What did you think of it?
Title: Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1)
Author: Katherine Arden
Genre: Middle Grade, Horror
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Rating: ★★★★
New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic
After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn’t think—she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with “the smiling man,” a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.
Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she’s been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn’t have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: “Best get moving. At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.” Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie’s previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver’s warning. As the trio head out into the woods–bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them–the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: “Avoid large places. Keep to small.”
And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.
Eleven-year-old Ollie finds a woman about to throw a book into a river, so Ollie steals it before it can be destroyed. The book tells a story about a family who made a deal with “the smiling man,” who grants huge wishes for even larger prices. Then, Ollie goes on a school trip to a farm which turns out to be owned by the woman from the river. While her class is leaving the farm, their school bus is trapped in a mist. Ollie’s broken watch tells her to run and begins a countdown. She escapes the bus with two other students Coco and Brian. They end up in an alternate world where the story about “the smiling man” is true. The three friends must escape creepy scarecrows and get back to their home without making a dangerous deal.
Ollie was a big reader and there were lots of references to classic children’s novels. Two books that were compared to their situation were Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia. In both of those stories, the children are transported to a fantasy world. The only difference in this one was that this was a creepy and scary world, rather than whimsical.
This was quite a creepy story. It would be perfect for fall since it’s set in a forest and a farm. There was also a corn maze and lots of terrifying scarecrows. I will never look at scarecrows the same way again!
Small Spaces is a creepy middle grade novel!
Have you read Small Spaces? What did you think of it?
Title: The Last Grand Duchess
Author: Bryn Turnbull
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: MIRA
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 8, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★
This sweeping new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Woman Before Wallis takes readers behind palace walls to see the end of Imperial Russia through the eyes of Olga Romanov, the first daughter of the last Tsar.
Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the Tsarina has come to rely. Olga’s only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from her aunt, who takes pity on her and her sister Tatiana, inviting them to grand tea parties amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg. Finally, she glimpses a world beyond her mother’s Victorian sensibilities—a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.
But as war approaches, the palaces of Russia are transformed. Olga and her sisters trade their gowns for nursing habits, assisting in surgeries and tending to the wounded bodies and minds of Russia’s military officers. As troubling rumours about her parents trickle in from the Front, Olga dares to hope that a budding romance might survive whatever the future may hold. But when tensions run high and supplies run low, the controversy over Rasputin grows into fiery protest, and calls for revolution threaten to end 300 years of Romanov rule.
At turns glittering and harrowing, The Last Grand Duchess is story about dynasty, duty, and love, but above all, it’s the story of a family who would choose devotion to each other over everything—including their lives.
Grand Duchess Olga Romanov is coming of age in the late 1910s. She’s experiencing her first romances, as well as political turmoil. In 1914, she is beginning to fall in love with soldiers who are beneath her class. There are also rumors about her family, particularly her mother’s close relationship with Father Grigori Rasputin, but there is a reason they keep him so close. In 1917, her father is away at war when he abdicates his throne, signaling the beginning of the end for the Romanov family. Olga must navigate the politics of her country and time period while also keeping her family together.
This was a beautiful story. There are two narratives, one beginning in 1913, and the other beginning in 1917. Though these two narratives are close together in time, there are important events that happen in both of these time periods of Olga’s life.
I loved the ending of this story. It gave me goosebumps! I had read an article about Grand Duchess Olga and her Canadian connection, but I was completely shocked at the ending. I can’t explain why this surprised me without giving away the ending, but if you’ve read it, I would love to discuss it. It was definitely worth the read!
The Last Grand Duchess is an amazing story about the Romanov family.
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book.
Bryn Turnbull is the bestselling author of The Woman Before Wallis. Equipped with a master’s of letters in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews, a master’s of professional communication from Ryerson University and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from McGill University, Bryn focuses on finding stories of women lost within the cracks of the historical record. She lives in Toronto.
Have you read The Last Grand Duchess? 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 We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal.
People lived because she killed. People died because he lived.
Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya–but neither wants to be.
War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds–and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Nick and Charlie (Solitaire #1.5)
Author: Alice Oseman
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, Novella
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 16, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★
A short novella based on the beloved characters from the graphic novel Heartstopper and Alice Oseman’s debut novel Solitaire, which was praised as ‘The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age’ by The Times.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?
CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.”
NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we’re kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”
Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake!
But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever …
Nick and Charlie have been the perfect couple for two years. Now that the school year is ending, and Nick will be heading off to university in September, they can feel things changing. After another couple at their school breaks up because they don’t want to have a long distance relationship next year, Charlie thinks that’s what him and Nick should do too, even though neither of them want to break up. A misunderstanding separates them, leaving them questioning if they should be together.
These characters are so lovable. I can see why there have been many stories written about them. Nick and Charlie love each other so much, but they have a hard time communicating, like many people. This was one of those stories that made me want to shout at the characters to just talk it out. Luckily this is a short story so it doesn’t take long for their problems to be resolved.
Though this is a novella, it has a complete story arc. Sometimes, novellas or short stories within a series feel like they’re lacking the plot that the full length stories have. There was a clear problem (Nick and Charlie wondering if they should stay together when Nick goes off to university) and a solution at the end. This story made me love the characters even more.
Nick and Charlie is an adorable novella!
Have you read Nick and Charlie? 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 The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux. The expected publication date is March 1, 2022.
Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood, this genre-bending page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Roux follows two girls who transport themselves into the world of their favorite book only to encounter the sinister alternate reality that awaits them.
No matter how different best friends Adelle and Connie are, one thing they’ve always had in common is their love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. So when the girls are tempted by a mysterious stranger to enter the world of the book, they hardly suspect it will work. But suddenly they are in the world of Moira, living among characters they’ve obsessed about for years.
Except…all is not how they remembered it. The world has been turned upside down: The lavish balls and star-crossed love affairs are now interlaced with unspeakable horrors. The girls realize that something dark is lurking behind their foray into fiction—and they will have to rewrite their own arcs if they hope to escape this nightmare with their lives.
What books are you waiting on this week?
Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
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 Love Freebie, so I decided to do Books with Love in the Title. Here’s my list:
(All book covers from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Jill's Book Blog 