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 The Most Recent Additions to my TBR. Here’s my list:
1. Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim
2. Corpse and Crown by Alisa Kwitney
3. The Last by Hanna Jameson
4. The Dysasters by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
5. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
6. At The Mountain’s Edge by Genevieve Graham
7. The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu
8. The Au Pair by Emma Rous
9. The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli
10. Girl of the Southern Sea by Michelle Kadarusman
Title: The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts Author: Avi Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: May 16, 2017 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
High adventure from a master storyteller about one boy’s attempt to fend for himself among cruel orphan masters, corrupt magistrates, and conniving thieves.
In the seaside town of Melcombe Regis, England, 1724, Oliver Cromwell Pitts wakes to find his father missing and his house flooded by a recent storm. He’s alone in his ruined home with no money and no food. Oliver’s father has left behind a barely legible waterlogged note: he’s gone to London, where Oliver’s sister, Charity, is in trouble. Exploring damage to the town in the storm’s aftermath, Oliver discovers a shipwreck on the beach. Removing anything from a wrecked ship is a hanging offense, but Oliver finds money that could save him, and he can’t resist the temptation to take it. When his crime is discovered, Oliver flees, following the trail of his father and sister. The journey is full of thieves, adventurers, and treachery–and London might be the most dangerous place of all.
In the tradition of his Newbery Honor book The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi mixes high adventure and short, page-turning chapters with a vivid historical setting featuring a cast of highwaymen, pickpockets, and villainous criminal masterminds.
Review:
This is an exciting, fast-paced story.
Oliver’s story starts out as a series of unfortunate events. His sister goes to London to find a better life, but it isn’t the life she thought it would be. Then his father disappears to go save his sister. Oliver is caught at a shipwreck, suspected of stealing, and then sent to a poorhouse. Then he has to travel to London with highwaymen who steal from carriages along the way.
This story was very fast-paced. Oliver never stayed in one place for very long, so the setting was always changing. He met many different people throughout the story and most of them were connected in some way.
I liked the ending of the story. There was a lot of tension while Oliver was in London! I’m excited to see where the story goes in the next book, The End of the World and Beyond.
What to read next:
The End of the World and Beyond by Avi
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Have you read The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts? 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!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Avi.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Come Find Me by Megan Miranda.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
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 The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Mean Girls meets The Tudors in Hannah Capin’s The Dead Queens Club, a clever contemporary YA retelling of Henry VIII and his wives (or, in this case, his high school girlfriends). Told from the perspective of Annie Marck (“Cleves”), a 17-year-old aspiring journalist from Cleveland who meets Henry at summer camp, The Dead Queens Club is a fun, snarky read that provides great historical detail in an accessible way for teens while giving the infamous tale of Henry VIII its own unique spin.
What do a future ambassador, an overly ambitious Francophile, a hospital-volunteering Girl Scout, the new girl from Cleveland, the junior cheer captain, and the vice president of the debate club have in common? It sounds like the ridiculously long lead-up to an astoundingly absurd punchline, right? Except it’s not. Well, unless my life is the joke, which is kind of starting to look like a possibility given how beyond soap opera it’s been since I moved to Lancaster. But anyway, here’s your answer: we’ve all had the questionable privilege of going out with Lancaster High School’s de facto king. Otherwise known as my best friend. Otherwise known as the reason I’ve already helped steal a car, a jet ski, and one hundred spray-painted water bottles when it’s not even Christmas break yet. Otherwise known as Henry. Jersey number 8.
Meet Cleves. Girlfriend number four and the narrator of The Dead Queens Club, a young adult retelling of Henry VIII and his six wives. Cleves is the only girlfriend to come out of her relationship with Henry unscathed—but most breakups are messy, right? And sometimes tragic accidents happen…twice…
Title: The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce #10) Author: Alan Bradley Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction Publisher: Doubleday Canada Source: Publisher Format: Hardcover Release Date: January 22, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Although it is autumn in the small English town of Bishop’s Lacey, the chapel is decked with exotic flowers. Yes, Flavia de Luce’s sister Ophelia is at last getting hitched, like a mule to a wagon. “A church is a wonderful place for a wedding,” muses Flavia, “surrounded as it is by the legions of the dead, whose listening bones bear silent witness to every promise made at the altar.”
Flavia is not your normal twelve-year-old girl. An expert in the chemical nature of poisons, she has solved many mysteries, sharpening her considerable detection skills to the point where she had little choice but to turn professional. So Flavia and dependable Dogger, estate gardener and sounding board extraordinaire, set up shop at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, eager to serve—not so simple an endeavor with her odious little moon-faced cousin, Undine, constantly underfoot. But Flavia and Dogger persevere. Little does she know that their first case will be extremely close to home, beginning with an unwelcome discovery in Ophelia’s wedding cake: a human finger.
Review:
I didn’t know what to expect from this book, since it’s the 10th in a series and I haven’t read any of the others. It was so good! The Boston Globe described Flavia as Eloise meets Sherlock Holmes, and I think that’s a perfect description of her.
Flavia is a great character. She’s a twelve-year-old who loves chemistry and solving crime. Along with her family’s butler, Dogger, she sets out on solving murders. Though Flavia is mature since she is solving the crimes in her small English town, she is still a kid. She personifies her bicycle, called Gladys. That gives her an innocence and reinforces the fact that she’s still a little girl. Though she’s a child, the subject of this book is for adults, not kids.
The ending of the story was good. Some clues were left unsolved, however I think this makes it realistic rather than unfinished. In real life, not every clue will lead to the solution, so I think this is reflected in the end of this mystery.
I loved this book and I will definitely read more books in this series!
What to read next:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce #1) by Alan Bradley
The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place (Flavia de Luce #9) by Alan Bradley
Have you read The Golden Tresses of the Dead? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
I was approved for 2 books on NetGalley from Harlequin TEEN:
The Dead Queens Club by Hannah Capin
Corpse and Crown by Alisa Kwitney
I was approved for one book from Second Story Press:
The Mozart Girl by Barbara Nickel
Thank you Harlequin TEEN and Second Story Press for these books!
Title: The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel Author: Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Source: Library Format: Ebook Release Date: October 12, 2010 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
You’ve read the book. You’ve seen the movie. Now submerge yourself in the thrilling, stunning, and action-packed graphic novel. Mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking out of the pages of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson’s textbooks and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now, he and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. Series creator Rick Riordan joins forces with some of the biggest names in the comic book industry to tell the story of a boy who must unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
Review:
This is a great graphic novel adaptation of The Lightning Thief. I read the first two books in the Percy Jackson series a couple of years ago, so I wanted to read the graphic novels to refresh myself before I continue with the rest of the series.
This graphic novel is a great way for kids to read the stories. I studied Greek mythology in university, so I was already familiar with the characters before I read The Lightning Thief. It could be confusing for kids who are just being introduced to these characters, because they have detailed histories that were created thousands of years ago. Being able to see the story take place in the images could make the story easier for reluctant readers to understand.
Some of the smaller battles were cut out of the book, which made it a pretty short graphic novel. This was great for me, since I just wanted to read through it to remind myself of the stories. However, this adaptation doesn’t replace the novel because some parts were summarized or left out for the graphic novel.
What to read next:
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti
Have you read The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“It wasn’t swift. It took some time. I try to chart when my woes began. That’s what my mother calls them: woes. A quiet word, easy to bear. This is a cusp, I remembered thinking as I swallowed what I’d been given. My fate was predetermined and I needed only to see how it would play out.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
And the book is… Still Mine (Still #1) by Amy Stuart.
Goodreads synopsis:
The Girl on the Train meets The Silent Wife in this taut psychological thriller.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU VANISH FROM YOUR LIFE AND LEAVE NO STORY BEHIND?
SOMEONE WILL MAKE ONE UP FOR YOU.
Clare is on the run.
From her past, from her ex, and from her own secrets. When she turns up alone in the remote mining town of Blackmore asking about Shayna Fowles, the local girl who disappeared, everyone wants to know who Clare really is and what she’s hiding. As it turns out, she’s hiding a lot, including what ties her to Shayna in the first place. But everyone in this place is hiding something from Jared, Shayna’s golden-haired ex-husband, to Charlie, the charming small-town drug pusher, to Derek, Shayna’s overly involved family doctor, to Louise and Wilfred, her distraught parents.
Did Shayna flee? Was she killed? Is it possible she’s still alive?
As Clare uncovers the mysteries around Shayna’s disappearance, she must confront her own demons, moving us deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of lies and making us question what it is she’s really running from. Twisting and electrifying, this is a get-under-your-skin thriller that will make you question what it means to lose yourself and find yourself in the most unlikely places.
Have you read Still Mine? What did you think of it?
Jill's Book Blog 