Weekly Recap #82: Week of 12/9 -12/15

 

It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

We had our first big snowfall of the season here in Central Virginia this past week.  Well, not really all that big, but we don’t do snow here so it doesn’t take much to shut everything down.  We had 5 inches of the white stuff, and my son’s school was closed for 3 1/2 days.  I even got one snow day out of it myself, which was nice since I’ve been so wiped out lately.  This Thursday thankfully is my last work day of 2018, so I can have a couple of days to crash and burn before the holiday festivities kick into high gear.

My son had his first band concert of the year this past Thursday night.  He plays trumpet and band is really the only class he likes this year, so I was really glad to attend the concert and hear how great they actually already sounded.  It was especially impressive considering they’ve only been playing their instruments since late August and all of the band classes only got to meet together once to practice as a big group because of the snow cancellations.

Speaking of my son, I love him dearly but he was a huge source of unexpected drama this week.  Since Thanksgiving he’s been telling me that his math teacher has been giving them time in class to finish their homework and so he hasn’t been bringing anything home to work on.  As I found out the hard way this week, that’s not the case, and he has actually turned in so little work since Thanksgiving that his grade has dropped from an A to a C.  I can’t get a straight answer out of him as to what’s going on, but I think he has been lying about having homework to do because his soccer classes are eating into his video game time.  The only way he could reclaim that time was to say he had already completed his homework and then hide the evidence to the contrary by not bringing anything home.  I had an impromptu conference with the math teacher this week and she showed me how I can go online and see her actual grade book and know what’s missing and what has been turned in going forward, but needless to say, it did not make for a good week and my son is now expected to bring his assignments home every night, whether or not he has already completed them, so that I can see for myself.

Not much else is going on here. I just finished picking out what blogging/reading challenges I want to do in 2019, so I’ll be posting those tomorrow.  I only have one more ARC that I need to review for December and I’m reading that right now so I’m feeling pretty good about that right now.  I still need to do two discussion posts to complete my 2018 discussion challenge so hopefully I can knock those out in the next couple of weeks as well.

Oh well, that’s all I have.  I hope everyone has a great week!

 

WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK

 

 

WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK

 

       
 
       
 

 UPCOMING REVIEWS

     
      
  
 
 

 

 STACKING THE SHELVES

     
 

 

TOTALLY RANDOM

Mini Reviews for THE ACCIDENTAL BEAUTY QUEEN & MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STAND

Mini Reviews for THE ACCIDENTAL BEAUTY QUEEN & MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STANDThe Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
four-stars
Published by Gallery Books on December 4, 2018
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 304
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

In this charming romantic comedy perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Sophie Kinsella, critically acclaimed author Teri Wilson shows us that sometimes being pushed out of your comfort zone leads you to the ultimate prize.

Charlotte Gorman loves her job as an elementary school librarian, and is content to experience life through the pages of her books. Which couldn’t be more opposite from her identical twin sister. Ginny, an Instagram-famous beauty pageant contestant, has been chasing a crown since she was old enough to enunciate the words world peace, and she’s not giving up until she gets the title of Miss American Treasure. And Ginny’s refusing to do it alone this time.

She drags Charlotte to the pageant as a good luck charm, but the winning plan quickly goes awry when Ginny has a terrible, face-altering allergic reaction the night before the pageant, and Charlotte suddenly finds herself in a switcheroo the twins haven’t successfully pulled off in decades.

Woefully unprepared for the glittery world of hair extensions, false eyelashes, and push-up bras, Charlotte is mortified at every unstable step in her sky-high stilettos. But as she discovers there’s more to her fellow contestants than just wanting a sparkly crown, Charlotte realizes she has a whole new motivation for winning.

Review:

After a stressful work week, I was in the mood for a light and fun read to ease me into the weekend. I came across Teri Wilson’s The Accidental Beauty Queen, and as soon as I read the synopsis, I knew this was exactly the kind of story I was searching for. As soon as I started reading about Charlotte, her twin sister Ginny, and their beauty pageant misadventures, I was hooked.  Their story is sweet, heartfelt, and just downright hilarious.

Charlotte was the biggest draw for me. She’s an elementary school librarian, and a huge fan of both Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice. Truly a heroine after my own heart.  I loved that she’s such a huge book nerd and that she’s so completely devoted to her twin.  When an allergic reaction sidelines Ginny with a swollen, blotchy face, Charlotte agrees to switch places and compete in the preliminary rounds of the pageant to keep her sister’s dream of winning this pageant alive.  Charlotte knows that the pageant is important to Ginny, not just for the prestige, but also for sentimental reasons. It’s a pageant that their mom won years ago before she passed away from cancer.  I was touched by Charlotte not wanting to let her sister down, even if it meant doing something that she was completely uncomfortable doing.  Wilson also does a beautiful job of portraying this sisterly dynamic.  I’m a sucker for a good sibling story anyway, and this was realistic and moving, and just everything I wanted it to be.

There were lots of other things to like about this story as well.  I was also a fan of how the actual pageant was portrayed.  Instead of the cattiness I was expecting Charlotte to encounter, it was nice to see that each pageant scene had more of a supportive sisterhood vibe to it.  Another point of interest to me was Grey, one of the pageant judges and someone Charlotte continually bumps into throughout the book.  Grey is super charming and he’s also quite bookish, so I just adored it when he and Charlotte would talk nerdy to each other. Their chemistry was off the charts, and their banter was sprinkled with Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice references.  Pure perfection!

In short, The Accidental Beauty Queen was everything my book-loving heart desired and then some.  4 STARS

 

 

Mini Reviews for THE ACCIDENTAL BEAUTY QUEEN & MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STANDMy Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren
Also by this author: The Unhoneymooners, Twice in a Blue Moon
four-stars
Published by Gallery Books on December 4, 2018
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

By the New York Times bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (Us Weekly), My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many fails.

Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.

So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.

But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

Perfect for fans of Roxanne and She’s the Man, Christina Lauren’s latest romantic comedy is full of mistaken identities, hijinks, and a classic love story with a modern twist. Funny and fresh, you’ll want to swipe right on My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

Review:

Christina Lauren’s My Favorite Half-Night Stand, which explores the many ups and downs of online dating, is another book I picked up because I wanted a light and fluffy read.  It follows Millie Morris and her all-guy friend group as they try to use online dating apps to find themselves dates to a university function.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand really delivers with the laughs. I honestly lost track of how many times I laughed out loud at Millie and the guys as they bantered back and forth while trying out these apps.  In fact, the dynamics of this group was my favorite part of the whole book.  All I kept thinking while I was reading about them in action using these apps was that this whole premise would make for such a great episode of Friends. Everything about how they interacted with one another actually made me think of Friends, which is a good thing since Friends is one of my favorite shows.

I also really liked Millie.  She’s kind of a mother hen to the guys in her circle of friends, which is funny to watch.  What I liked most about Millie though is how much emotional growth there is with her character throughout the story.  When we first meet her, she’s very closed off about anything personal.  Even her closest friends can’t really pry any personal details out of her.  As the story progresses, however, she starts to have romantic feelings towards her best friend, Reid, and so she does slowly start to open up. She unfortunately makes some questionable choices along the way as she explores her feelings for Reid, but when her choices threaten their friendship, she vows to change her ways.  I liked that Millie was kind of a mess and trying to sort herself out. That made her feel very authentic to me.  I’m also all for a good friends to possible lovers story, so My Favorite Half-Night Stand really hit the spot in that area as well.

This was my first time reading anything by Christina Laurent but it definitely won’t be my last! 4 STARS

four-stars

About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. They are published in over 30 languages, have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, won both the Seal of Excellence and Book of the Year from RT Magazine, named Amazon and Audible Romance of the Year, a Lambda Literary Award finalist and been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. They have been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, O Magazine and more. Their third YA novel, Autoboyography was released in 2017 to critical acclaim, followed by Roomies, Love and Other Words, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, and the Publisher’s Weekly starred My Favorite Half-Night Stand, out in December.

About Teri Wilson

Teri Wilson is the author/creator of the Hallmark Channel Original Movies UNLEASHING MR. DARCY, MARRYING MR. DARCY, THE ART OF US and NORTHERN LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS, based on her book SLEIGH BELL SWEETHEARTS. She is a double finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for excellence in romantic fiction for her novels THE PRINCESS PROBLEM and ROYALLY WED. She has a major weakness for cute animals, pretty dresses and Audrey Hepburn films, and she loves following the British royal family. Feel free to visit and connect with her here at TeriWilson.net, and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Can’t Wait Wednesday – SKY WITHOUT STARS by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

* * * * *

My selection for this week is SKY WITHOUT STARS by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell.  This book caught my attention right away because it’s a reimagining of the Victor Hugo classic Les Miserables.  I’ve always loved that story so I’m curious to see what these authors do with it, especially since the blurb sounds a bit post-apocalyptic. The last surviving library?!

 

SKY WITHOUT STARS by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

Publication Date: March 26, 2019

 

From Goodreads

A thief. An officer. A guardian.

Three strangers, one shared destiny . . .

When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.

Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…

Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.

Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a renowned traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette.

Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.

All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Carols

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is actually a Freebie.  I wracked my brain trying to come up with something book-related and Christmas-related but every idea I thought of will be covered in the next couple of Top Ten Tuesday posts, so I decided to stick with a Christmas theme but venture off into the land of music.  One of the things I love most about Christmas is the music.  Almost every carol I hear brings back childhood holiday memories and hearing the music just always makes me smile.  Just like with my taste in books, my taste in music is pretty eclectic.  I love all of the old classic Christmas tunes, but I’m also a pretty big fan of some of the more modern versions of songs.  I thought it would be fun today to share some of my favorite carols with you.  The ones I’ve picked are specifically my favorite versions of the carols as well since I know they have all been covered by plenty of different artists.

 

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My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Carols

 

1. SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN (Bruce Springsteen)

 

 

 

2. MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY  (Bruce Springsteen)

 

 

I’m sure those first two picks come as no surprise to those who know me and how much of a huge Springsteen fan I am, lol.

 

 

3.  WINTER WONDERLAND (Tony Bennett)

 

 

 

4. IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR (Andy Williams)

 

 

Andy Williams is the first name that comes to mind when anyone mentions Christmas music to me.

His Christmas albums are actually the first holiday songs I can ever remember listening to as a child.

 

 

5. AVE MARIA (Andy Williams)

 

 

This is the only song on my list that makes me cry every time I hear it.  It brings back wonderful memories of baking Christmas cookies with my grandmother.  This was her favorite song and she would always sing it while we baked.  When she passed away, my family had it playing at her memorial service and so it conjures up so many feelings every time I hear it now.

 

 

6. HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS (Lou Rawls)

 

 

There are so many beautiful renditions of this song (Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, The Pretenders, etc.), but this rendition from Lou Rawls has always been my favorite.

 

 

7. SLEIGH RIDE (Ella Fitzgerald)

 

 

 

8. CAROLING, CAROLING – CHRISTMAS BELLS ARE RINGING (Nat King Cole)

 

 

 

9. CHRISTMAS – BABY, PLEASE COME HOME (U2)

 

 

 

10. CAROL OF THE BELLS (Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

Question:  What are some of your favorite Christmas carols?  Do we share any favorites?

Early Review: THE WINTER OF THE WITCH by Katherine Arden

Early Review:  THE WINTER OF THE WITCH by Katherine ArdenThe Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Also by this author: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
five-stars
Series: Winternight Trilogy #3
Published by Del Rey Books on January 8, 2019
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

MY REVIEW:

 

The Winter of the Witch is the final book in Katherine Arden’s captivating Winternight Trilogy. I always find it difficult to review books that come late in a series because it’s so hard to talk about them without giving away spoilers, but I’m going to give it my best shot here and hope that my words do it justice because  filled with unforgettable characters, intricate worldbuilding, and creatures from Russian folklore, the Winternight Trilogy truly is one of the most beautifully crafted series I’ve ever read.

To give a bit of general context for those who have begun the series, The Winter of the Witch picks up right where the second book left off.  Moscow is in ruins and its terrified citizens are looking for answers, and more specifically, for someone to blame.  That someone, unfortunately, becomes our heroine Vasya, and the final book begins with her fleeing for her life from an angry mob who accuse her of being a witch and want to see her dead.

War is also brewing as the Grand Prince of Moscow looks to go after those who threaten his kingdom.  While the Grand Prince prepares for war, the priest Konstantin has troubles of his own.  Although he may be a powerful religious figure, Konstantin is a weak man, easily manipulated by those stronger than he is.  In Konstantin’s case, he finds himself the puppet of a vengeful demon named the Bear.  The Bear feeds off of chaos, fear, and war so he uses Konstantin to fan the flames of hatred and distrust to create chaos everywhere.

This chaos and turmoil affects not just the humans, but also the magical creatures.  Vasya finds herself with the weight of both worlds on her shoulders as she desperately tries to save both her Russian homeland and her beloved magical realm.

Can Vasya stop the Bear and Konstantin?  Can she stop a war?  And most importantly, is there any way that her magical pagan world can peacefully coexist with the human world?  It’s a tall order, and Vasya isn’t sure she’s up to the task.

Vasya.  As with the two prior books, Vasya is my favorite part about this story.  We’ve watched her grow from a young girl to a young woman and there has just been such tremendous character growth throughout each book. That growth continues well into this final book and I can honestly say that Vasya is one of my all-time favorite book heroines.  I love her big heart, her refusal to conform to what is expected of her, and most especially, I love her resilience.  The final book presents Vasya with several heartbreaking, gut-wrenching moments – moments that probably would have crushed a lesser person – but no matter how low she is pushed down, she always picks herself back up and refuses to give up.

Worldbuilding.  I honestly didn’t think Arden could improve upon the worldbuilding from the first two books, but she proved me wrong with the Winter of the Witch.  Again, I don’t want to say much because of spoilers, but into her world of Russian inspired folklore, she introduces what she calls the Road to Midnight and for me, it’s one of the most memorable and unique parts of the story.  Vasya finds herself journeying on this road as she desperately seeks help from the Frost Demon and the journey she takes is truly magical, so much so that it almost defies explanation.  It’s kind of like time traveling but so much more.  You really have to experience it for yourself to get a feel for how wild a ride it really is.

Wonderful Secondary Characters.  Some like Solovey, Vasya’s horse, and Morozko, the Frost Demon, I adored.  Others like the Bear and Konstantin, not so much. But whether I loved or hated them, this series has a fantastic and unforgettable cast of well-drawn characters.  We also meet several more mythological creatures in this final book and their bond of mutual respect with Vasya adds so much richness to the story and really emphasizes how she is a bridge between the two worlds.

Creative Use of History.  I didn’t realize this until I read the author’s note, but some of the characters and events in the series are based on real historical events, including a war.  Arden has, of course, put her own personal and creative twist on them, but the historical fiction fan in me thought it was very cool to learn the story was based on not just Russian folklore but on actual Russian history as well.

It made me cry.  This does not happen to me often when I read fantasy series, but The Winter of the Witch made me cry. Not just once or twice, but three times!  I won’t say specifically why I cried, but I will say that two times, my tears were tears of sadness and one time, they were tears of joy.  That’s how attached to these characters I got!

I dislike that the series is over because I’m going to miss these characters and this gorgeous world so much, but that’s really all I’ve got.  For me, this series is about as close to perfection as it gets.

The Winternight Trilogy is, by far, one of the most unforgettable series I’ve ever read.  I love that while it’s a wholly unique story inspired by Russian history and folklore, it’s also reminiscent of some of my favorite childhood fantasies like The Chronicles of Narnia because the strong element of whimsical magic and wonder that permeates it.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.

Reviewers called Katherine Arden’s novels The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower “lyrical,” “emotionally stirring,” and “utterly bewitching.” The Winternight Trilogy introduced an unforgettable heroine, Vasilisa Petrovna, a girl determined to forge her own path in a world that would rather lock her away. Her gifts and her courage have drawn the attention of Morozko, the winter-king, but it is too soon to know if this connection will prove a blessing or a curse.

Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.

 

five-stars

About Katherine Arden

Born in Austin, Texas, Katherine Arden spent a year of high school in Rennes, France. Following her acceptance to Middlebury College in Vermont, she deferred enrollment for a year in order to live and study in Moscow. At Middlebury, she specialized in French and Russian literature. After receiving her BA, she moved to Maui, Hawaii, working every kind of odd job imaginable, from grant writing and making crêpes to guiding horse trips. Currently she lives in Vermont, but really, you never know.

Weekly Recap #81: Week of 12/2 -12/8

 

It’s time for another weekly recap post of all things happening on and off the blog. This week I’ll be linking to the Sunday Post, which is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and to Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

I’m really hoping this upcoming week is my last busy week of the year because I’m truly exhausted right now.  I didn’t realize how tired I was until Saturday when I woke up at 6:40 a.m., decided I wanted to rest my eyes for just a few more minutes, and next woke up three hours later, lol.  Oops! We’ve added after school band practices and Math Club to my son’s already busy schedule so I feel I like I spent half my week in the car chauffeuring him around and then scrambling around at home to make up for the time I’ve lost doing everything else that needs to be done.  It’s all better than him sitting in front of the xBox for all of those hours so I try not to complain too much, but all that running around just makes me feel old and tired, lol. Thankfully the band concert is this Thursday so then those practices will stop and some downtime will open back up for me.

On the blog, even with the busy week, I did manage to do six posts, including a discussion post.  My goal was to do at least 12 for the year and so far I’ve done 10.  Hopefully I’ll make it.  I do have a few other topics I’d like to write about, if I can find the time  Yes, time, or lack thereof, is definitely the theme of this week’s post!

Speaking of the blog, does anyone else use WordPress?  Specifically, did you update to WordPress 5.0?  I updated last Thursday night and nearly had a heart attack when I went in to write my next post.  They have totally revamped the editor and it looks NOTHING like it did before I updated.  It’s all boxes now. You have to add boxes to type each paragraph of your post into.  Lots of the formatting shortcuts I had been using now no longer work.  It took three to four times longer than it usually does to write a post because everything was so hard to find and hard to use.  I also usually write my reviews in Word and then just paste them into WordPress.  Well, if I do that now, the formatting goes haywire and most of the words get pushed together so I have to re-proofread and reformat the entire post.  After muddling through it long enough to get my Friday post up, I spent yesterday looking around to see if there was a way to undo the update.  I found that WordPress has released an official Plugin that will restore the old editor.  As much as I hate adding plugins to my site, the alternative, which is keeping a complicated new editor that I don’t have time to properly learn how to use right now, is even worse.  For anyone else who is struggling with the new editor, here’s the plugin link — Classic Editor.  I’m sure I’ll revisit the updated editor at some point after the holidays once I’ve watched some videos or something on how to use it, but damn, bad timing WordPress.

I didn’t get too much reading done this week with everything else that was going on, but I did manage to get through The Accidental Beauty Queen.  I have to say this was a case of the right book at the right time because it’s such a sweet, fluffy, and fun read and it has so many of my favorite things in it.  I won’t say much more since I’ll be reviewing it later this week, but it was just a perfect fit for me this week.  I also started My Favorite Half-Night Stand yesterday and so far I’m really into it.   Watching You is the last review book I need to get through before the end of the year so that’s on deck and then I hope to round out the year by finishing V.C. Schwab’s Villains duology.  I haven’t even looked to see what ARCs I need to read in January, so this reading plan may change a bit once I get into the 2019 frame of mind and see what I have going on.

Oh well, that’s all I have.  I hope everyone has a great week!

 

WHAT I POSTED LAST WEEK

 

 

WHAT I’M READING THIS WEEK

 

         
 
       
 

 UPCOMING REVIEWS

     
      
      
 
 

 

 STACKING THE SHELVES

 

     
   

 

TOTALLY RANDOM

 

Discussion Post: Are You a Scrooge When It Comes to Lending Your Books to Others?

In most aspects of my life, I like to think of myself as a pretty generous person.  I frequently donate to good causes. I try to be as helpful as possible to my friends and family.  And if anyone I cared about needed it, I’d lend them the shirt off my back.

What I wouldn’t lend them, however, is any of my books.  That’s right. None of them, lol.  When it comes to my books, I become downright Scrooge-like. 

via GIPHY

In my defense, I don’t do it to be mean.  It’s just that my books are one of my most cherished possessions and I’ve been burned in the past by lending them out to people I thought I could trust to take care of them.  What I got in return was either books that were never returned or books that were so severely damaged that they needed to be replaced.  That said, my trust in others has become pretty much nonexistent when it comes to my books.  In many cases, it was because I thought I could convert a non-reader into a reader and I have long since learned my lesson.

There are, of course, exceptions to my no-lending rule.  My mother and sister are probably at the top of the list. They’re both avid readers who treasure books the same way I do so I will happily lend them any books from my collection and feel secure that they will come back to me in the same condition I lent them. 

I also have a couple of close friends that I would be comfortable lending books to.  Those friends have earned my utmost trust and I know they’ll take care of and return my babies intact, lol.

And then there are my blogger friends.  Thus far, I’ve never actually loaned a book to a fellow book blogger but I could see myself being comfortable doing that if the opportunity ever arose because I know full well that book bloggers feel the same way about their books that I feel about mine. 

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So, what about you?  Are you comfortable lending your books out to others or are you a Book Scrooge like me?

Early Review: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TIME TRAVEL

Early Review: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TIME TRAVELThe Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
four-stars
Published by Crooked Lane Books on February 12, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Fiction
Pages: 336
Source: the Publisher
Amazon
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via the Publisher. All opinions are my own.


 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is my stop on the Crooked Lane Books blog tour for The Psychology of Time Travel.  Thanks so much to Crooked Lane Books and author Kate Mascarenhas for allowing me to read an advanced copy and share my thoughts on this exciting debut novel.

 

MY REVIEW:

The idea of being able to time travel is something that has captured my imagination since I was a child so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Kate Mascarenhas’ debut The Psychology of Time Travel.  I was eager to see what kind of spin she put on the concept and let me just say right now that I was not at all disappointed.  Mascarenhas brings a fresh new perspective to time travel by focusing on not so much on the idea of traveling itself, but more so on how moving back and forth through time can affect the mental health of those who regularly engage in the process.

When the novel opens, it’s 1967 and we are presented with four female scientists who are working together to build the world’s first time machine.  These pioneers decide to test the machine themselves while everyone else is off for the Christmas holidays and when they determine the machine works, they immediately contact the media to present their discovery.  To their dismay, however, one of the scientists, Barbara, suffers a live on-air mental breakdown, which threatens not only their project but also the entire future of time travel.  At the urging of Margaret, who has proclaimed herself the leader of their little group, the other three scientists decide that kicking Barbara out of the project and shunning her completely is the best way to save their discovery and keep it moving forward.

We then jump forward in time 50 years to see that time travel now occurs on a regular basis and that Margaret and the other two pioneering scientists now head up The Conclave, an elaborate complex that basically has a monopoly on time travel all over the world.  They run psychological screens and recruit candidates to become time travelers, they have their own currency system in place so that time travelers will always be able to have access to money no matter where they are in time, and they also have their own laws and courts so that they can police themselves through time.

When a dead body riddled with bullet holes turns up in the basement of a museum in 2018, however, it adds an extra twist to this time travel story by turning it into a murder mystery as well and lends itself to some very thought provoking questions.  How is this murder connected to the rest of the story?  Is the deceased from the timeline he or she was found in?  How do you catch a killer that could have come from and/or disappeared to any other point in time?

There’s a lot to love about this story but here are a few of my favorites:

Nearly all female cast of characters. If you enjoy a book with a full cast of strong female characters, then this is the book for you.  There is a minor male character or two in the book, but by and large, the story is led by women.  They have the brains, the power, the influence, and so on.  I won’t go so far as to say that all of the women in the story are likeable because Margaret really is the worst, but I will say that it is a diverse and very interesting group.

Psychological effects.  To play off the book’s title, the psychological effects on those who time travel were quite fascinating to read about.  The author clearly put a lot of thought into all of the possible reactions to having the ability to move back and forth through time.  For most who do it, it doesn’t really affect them much.  They jump forward and backwards in time, even encountering past and future versions of themselves and they don’t even bat an eye at it.  It doesn’t faze them a bit.

But then there are others who become obsessed with it.  Barbara, for example.  Once Margaret and the gang kick her out of their project, she spends most of the rest of her life obsessing about how to figure out a way back into their good graces and into the program because she’s desperate to time travel again.

Worldbuilding.  The worldbuilding in this story, especially with respect to the time traveling is just so intricate.   I thought it was brilliant that a time traveler could encounter older and younger versions of themselves. I also loved all the lingo the author came up with to describe time traveling itself and as well as the social structure within the Conclave.  I especially liked the idea that younger versions of yourself that you encountered were considered ‘Green’ while older versions of yourself that you encountered while time traveling were called ‘Silver.’

And yes, this is one seriously mind-bending book. The synopsis does not lie about that. LOL!  There were times when I expected to completely lose the plot because of all the intricate crisscrossing back and forth through time, but I’ll give the author major props in that she held on to all of the seemingly divergent threads of the story and managed to bring them all together to a cohesive and satisfying conclusion.

Ethical Questions.  I love a book that gives me food for thought and The Psychology of Time Travel definitely succeeded on that level.  In some ways the story can be quite disturbing, especially when it comes to the almost total disregard for danger and death that the time travelers have.  It’s like they’ve seen themselves and their loved ones at so many different points in the past and future that they’ve become immune to the idea of dying. It has no meaning for them.

The Conclave also seems to be ripe for corruption as they have such a monopoly on time travel and have their own rules and currency and court system.  The way they manipulate the system and move their money around to pay taxes whenever it’s most beneficial to them especially caught my attention.  I could see this book being a big hit with book clubs because there’s just so much to think about and discuss.  Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?

 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Psychology of Time Travel.  The only real issue I ran into was that partway through the book, the author added some extra POVs to the storytelling.  What the new perspectives added to the overall plot was vital so I understood why the author added them, but it was a little confusing since I had gotten so used to the original voices who were presenting the story.  The later additions also didn’t feel as developed as the earlier characters, which added to the challenge of keeping the characters and their places on the timeline straight in my mind.

Kate Mascarenhas’ The Psychology of Time Travel offers a fresh take on the concept of time traveling.  It’s equal parts science fiction and murder mystery, with a case study of the psychological effects of time travel thrown in for good measure. There’s really a little something for everyone.  I definitely look forward to reading more from Kate Mascarenhas.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

Perfect for fans of Naomi Alderman’s The Power and Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures comes The Psychology of Time Travel, a mind-bending, time-travel debut.

In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project—and future of time travel—in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team—erasing her contributions from history.

Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother, Granny Bee, was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more. But when Bee receives a mysterious newspaper clipping from the future reporting the murder of an unidentified woman, Ruby becomes obsessed: could it be Bee? Who would want her dead? And most importantly of all: can her murder be stopped?

Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike.

 

four-stars

About Kate Mascarenhas

Kate Mascarenhas is a writer.

Born in 1980, she is of mixed heritage (white Irish father, brown British mother) and has family in Ireland and the Republic of Seychelles.

She studied English at Oxford and Applied Psychology at Derby. Her PhD, in literary studies and psychology, was completed at Worcester.

Since 2017 Kate has been a chartered psychologist. Previously she has been an advertising copywriter, bookbinder, and doll’s house maker. She lives in the English midlands with her partner.

Her new novel, The Psychology of Time Travel, is published in the UK by Head of Zeus. It will be available in the US from Crooked Lane in February 2019.

Can’t Wait Wednesday – IMMORAL CODE by Lillian Clark

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll just be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is IMMORAL CODE by Lillian Clark.  As soon as I read that this story is like Ocean’s 8 meets The Breakfast, I knew I had to read it.  It also just cracked me up that their big heist is to steal money for college.  I think this is going to be a hilarious read!

 

IMMORAL CODE by Lillian Clark

Publication Date: February 19, 2019

 

 

From Goodreads

Ocean’s 8 meets The Breakfast Club in this fast-paced, multi-perspective story about five teens determined to hack into one billionaire absentee father’s company to steal tuition money.

For Nari, aka Narioka Diane, aka hacker digital alter ego “d0l0s,” it’s college and then a career at “one of the big ones,” like Google or Apple. Keagan, her sweet, sensitive boyfriend, is happy to follow her wherever she may lead. Reese is an ace/aro visual artist with plans to travel the world. Santiago is off to Stanford on a diving scholarship, with very real Olympic hopes. And Bellamy? Physics genius Bellamy is admitted to MIT–but the student loan she’d been counting on is denied when it turns out her estranged father–one Robert Foster–is loaded.

Nari isn’t about to let her friend’s dreams be squashed by a deadbeat billionaire, so she hatches a plan to steal just enough from Foster to allow Bellamy to achieve her goals. Fast-paced and banter-filled, Lillian Clark’s debut is a hilarious and thought-provoking Robin Hood story for the 21st century.

 

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂