Lovely War by Julie Berry

Lovely War 
by 

Julie Berry 

Heather's review

it was amazing

bookshelves: 2019, beautiful-cover, best-of-the-best, book-subscriptions, europe, historical-fiction, romance, tragedy

Beautiful, heartbreaking, funny, and original.

This book deals with meddling Greek gods during World War I. It’s a romance, and a war story, and story of hope all in one. I finished it in two days and cried my eyes out non-stop after page 240.

It was a fresh take on a war story that we’ve heard told many times before and the edition of the Greek gods really made it wholly original. I hadn’t heard about this book until it came in my Once Upon A Book Club Box, and now it’s a new favorite.

Current Favorites: Television Shows

When I'm not working or pouring myself into and over books, I tend to watch a lot of hidden Netflix shows. And I say hidden, as these shows I'm about to tell you about just don't get the kind of attention like, say, Game of Thrones, or Stranger Things do. But in my biased opinion, some of them are just as good or better.

1. The OA

Combining a bit of Stockholm syndrome, with time traveling and science fiction, and yet somehow set in the real world, The OA is a top pick for me. Currently at two seasons, it has so much to offer from the acting to the amazing friendships and the life lessons spattered throughout. The end of season 1 is sure to surprise you in the best of ways.

2. Dark

Similar to Stranger Things don't let it fool you with the awful dubbed translation from the original language. It takes time traveling and really makes you question your whole existence as well as confuse the heck out of you. The beginning is a little slow, but between the creepiness and the soundtrack, you're sure to continue watching until the very end. 

3. The Rain 

Yet another show with awful dubbed language. The Rain follows a real-life European city after a horrible rainfall causes most of the population to become sick. The rain continues to fall in toxic waves and infect people as they try to find new ways to survive. This is yet another one with a great cast of characters.

4. Star Crossed 

If you were ever a fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series, then this one is for you. A little cheesy and a little overdone, but also extremely addicting. Combining romance and politics, Star-Crossed features an alien race that crash lands on earth and tries to integrate into society.

BONUS: The Umbrella Academy 

Another group of misfits and a secret school of kids with special magical powers. But not the way you think. This one will surprise you. 

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows 
by 

Erin A. Craig 

it was amazing

bookshelves: 2019, beautiful-cover, best-of-the-best, book-subscriptions, cheating, cliques, kingdoms, murder-mystery, retelling,thriller, tragedy

House of Salt and Sorrows follows Annaleigh and her family as they’ve suffered one tragedy after another. Originally twelve girls, three have died (including their mother) when the story begins, and their family is considered cursed. Annaleigh is sure someone killed her sister, that their family isn’t cursed, and that more deaths will follow if she doesn’t find out who is behind the murders.

Part who-dunnit, and part is-the-main-character-crazy-am-i-crazy, this book was such a thrill to read. There’s ball dancing, small romances, laughs, murders, ghosts, and tons of moments that make you wonder if you’re losing your mind.

I enjoyed this book right from the beginning and was swept up by the writing and the imagery of the fictional kingdom the girls live in. The author does such a great job with world-building and expertly rotates between showing and telling.

Even though there are a handful of main characters, all of them felt unique in their own way, and I loved the relationships that were portrayed. The author also did a good job on showing how grief effects different people differently. And in the end, the message rang loud and clear about treating people right.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a thrilling almost scary read. The book has a strong summery feel due to the cover and the setting, but it also would make a good late fall or winter read too.

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jaluddin

Ayesha at Last 
by 

Uzma Jalaluddin 

really liked it

bookshelves: 2019, adult-fiction, asia, book-subscriptions, cheating,comedy, computer-programmer-hacker, contemporary, drug-abuse,poc-on-cover, religious, retelling, romance

Ayesha At Last is a Bollywood style retelling of Pride and Prejudice. The story doesn’t follow the originally to a T but hits the high points, and makes some nods to the original dialogue. It’s well-done and fun to read, and carefully weaves in current issues such as racism, and sexism. As a mid-twenties woman myself, I found I also related to her struggles of trying to find the right career at that age, while also battling the constant questions on marriage/dating.

Overall, this was a fun but insightful read and I would recommend to those interested in Bollywood or the original classic.

Ever Alice by H.J. Ramsay

Ever Alice 
by 

H.J. Ramsay 

really liked it

bookshelves: 2019, arcs, cheating, retelling

Ever Alice follows fifteen year old Alice after her first time to Wonderland...but she’s in a mad house.

Wonderland and the story in general (both the original and the retelling) are both so mad, that at times the whole story feels like a dream. The author does such a good job at crafting a story that could truly fit alongside the original tale but is still unique enough to be its own. It’s humorous, and witty, and I really enjoyed reading about all of the old characters, and meeting new characters.

I found the story did drag a little bit, and the beginning was difficult to get into. There was also a bit of romance, that I wasn’t a fan of, but overall it wasn’t really present enough to be a problem.

Overall, I would recommend this to a younger audience, either late middle school or early high school. I myself, fall quite a bit out of that range and still enjoyed it.

The Real and True Life of Being A Mid-Twenties Adult

I'm sure at one time or another, I thought being in my mid-twenties would be awesome and I'd have it all figured out. I probably thought I'd be married, and super successful with my own house, and a job I loved. I'm sure I thought I'd have my whole life together and that nothing could possibly go wrong.

Now that I'm older, I see how wrong I was.

Being a mid-twenties adult, is similar to being a younger adult. I still have bills to pay. I'm still not exactly sure my career choice is the best fit, and I still get freaked out over not being able to accomplish certain tasks. I also still don't have the husband, the house, or even the 2.5 kids. But, what's important is knowing that one day I'll get to a better place, and that in the meantime there's no rush.

I started this blog many years ago and I thought at the time, it would be a more adult diary where I could write about the things that were too crazy to keep to myself, but also too personal to just tell anyone in person. Now that I've had the blog for a while, I realize how insanely difficult it is to keep up with and to just find time to write. There's just always something to do: school, then college, then finding my first job after college, then keeping my first job, and then trying to continue to excel at my job. All of it just got in the way.

Now that I'm older, I realize how nice it is to just have a place to go to keep track of everything and also to take some time to organize my thoughts. As I've gotten older, I've slowly started to realize how possessions aren't everything. How material things really won't make you happy. I still buy way too much, but at the same time I realize I'm happier when I have less clutter.

So that's a sneak peak at the real and true life of being a mid-twenties adult. You won't have everything figured out, but that's okay. You're still learning and your still working towards your goal.

On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

On the Come Up 
by 

Angie Thomas

it was amazing

bookshelves: 2019, audiobook, best-of-the-best, bullying, cliques,contemporary, drug-abuse, epic-letter-to-the-reader, glbt, poc-on-cover, school

A fantastic read!!

As usual, Angie Thomas finds a way to discuss racism, among other difficult topics without blaming specific groups of people. She effortlessly writes in a way that will speak to most any reader who picks On The Come Up up and have it resonate with them in a way that will incite changes.

On The Come Up follows Brianna “Bri” Jackson, a black teen who has dreams of becoming a rapper. After getting brutally assaulted and constantly harassed previously, by two white security guards at her elite (white) school she decided to rap about her experience in a song.

I loved The Hate U Give and I was skeptical if On The Come Up could be as big of a success as her debut novel. It definitely surpassed my expectations and was as good or better than THUG. 

On The Come Up did such a good job of showing the identity struggles of many characters in several different ways. From her mother, Jay, dealing with a past drug addiction defining her, to Bri dealing with her father’s previous fame defining her, and to even Miles dealing with his father’s expectations defining him. Every character deals with some kind of identity struggle. And this truly helped carry along the story, as well as make it relatable.

I also loved how Angie blended in today’s politics in the narrative without going over the top. I find, that especially today, a lot of books can get a little too political and go about blaming large groups of people. Which is definitely not how we get a problem solved. I feel like white students, students of color, Republicans, and Democrats could all enjoy this book and take something from it. 

I listened to this on audiobook while I read, and I really enjoyed the narration, and the overall spunk of the reader. I felt like I was actually listening to Bri, and Jay, and everyone else in the story as they told us their stories. The narrator also added sighs, and laughs, when they were appropriate and it just enhanced the reading experience that much more.

I can’t wait to see what Angie Thomas comes up with next.