The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti | ARC Review

The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: September 26, 2017
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Pages: 352
Source: eARC from Publisher
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Goodreads Description

Known for novels featuring “great pacing and true surprises” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) and “nerve-shattering suspense” (Heather Gudenkauf, New York Time bestselling author), New York Times bestselling author Kate Moretti’s latest is the story of a scandal-torn Pennsylvania town and the aftermath of a troubled girl gone missing.

“Where did they come from? Why did they fall? The question would be asked a thousand times…

Until, of course, more important question arose, at which time everyone promptly forgot that a thousand birds fell on the town of Mount Oanoke at all.”

In a quiet Pennsylvania town, a thousand dead starlings fall onto a high school baseball field, unleashing a horrifying and unexpected chain of events that will rock the close-knit community.

Beloved baseball coach and teacher Nate Winters and his wife, Alecia, are well respected throughout town. That is, until one of the many reporters investigating the bizarre bird phenomenon catches Nate embracing a wayward student, Lucia Hamm, in front of a sleazy motel. Lucia soon buoys the scandal by claiming that she and Nate are engaged in an affair, throwing the town into an uproar…and leaving Alecia to wonder if her husband has a second life.

And when Lucia suddenly disappears, the police only to have one suspect: Nate.

Nate’s coworker and sole supporter, Bridget Harris, Lucia’s creative writing teacher, is determined to prove his innocence. She has Lucia’s class journal, and while some of the entries appear particularly damning to Nate’s case, others just don’t add up. Bridget knows the key to Nate’s exoneration and the truth of Lucia’s disappearance lie within the walls of the school and in the pages of that journal.

Told from the alternating points of view of Alecia, Nate, Lucia, and Bridget, The Blackbird Season is a haunting, psychologically nuanced suspense, filled with Kate Moretti’s signature “chillingly satisfying” (Publishers Weekly) twists and turns.

My Thoughts

The Blackbird Season is the first mystery/thriller novel I've read, or at least that I can think of. This story takes place in Mount Oanoke, a small town in Pennsylvania. It is one of those small towns where everyone pretty much grew up with each other and they basically know everything about each other's lives. So imagine living in this small town where the only exciting thing to do is gossip and suddenly one day a thousand birds fall from the sky. However, that news is quickly disregarded when Nate Winters, high school teacher and baseball coach, is accused of having an affair with one of his students.

Early on I was drawn into the story. There was already a sense of what the story was going to be about based on the synopsis that's given. When the book opens up we are following Nate after what's already been revealed in the description then goes back to a previous point, leaving the reader to speculate what lead up to him being where was in the beginning. I really enjoyed this format because as more things were revealed I was able to form my own opinions while trying to figure out what actually happened and who was involved.

As can be expected with anything I read, there are things I didn't like. My main problem was the characters! I found that I didn't like most (if not all) of the characters. Every single character that was introduced had become complacent in their life and was unhappy. Instead of doing things that could improve their lives they only did things that made themselves and their families even more miserable. I'm sure they were meant to be unlikable characters but it's hard for me to stay engaged in a story when I don't like the people I'm reading about. It didn't help that I felt parts of the story weren't really important to the story line I was most interested in.

It was interesting to see the dynamics of Mount Oanoke and how everything changed throughout the book. Everyone pretends like their life is perfect and nothing is wrong even when everyone knows so much about each other. Nate was so well loved by most people in their community and I was surprised to see how quickly people turned on him when the accusation of the affair with his student came out. I was gripped by the mystery of Lucia's disappearance and everything that occurred after that. I had guesses of who might be involved but I wasn't completely sure until it was revealed. The Blackbird Season was a pretty solid mystery/thriller and I now want to check out more.

Show Off Your Love of Reading with Bookish Decor

If you've found your way to my blog chances are you are a fellow book lover. Besides reading (of course), one of my favorite things to do is find bookish decor to show off some of my favorite books. I'm far from having my perfect library but I already know some things I want to include in it.

1. Special Edition of Your Favorite Classic/Book

• Whether it's a favorite classic or a favorite book, displaying a special edition is an easy but practical way to spice up your library/living space. One of my favorite special edition sets of classics  is the Penguin Drop Caps (pictured above). I also really like the Puffin in Bloom edition of children classics. These are only a couple of the editions that are available. If you aren't a fan of classics you can also look for special or even foreign editions of your favorite books These might not be as easy to find but they make amazing decoration as well as add to your book collection.

2. Bookish Home Items

• There are lots of other bookish themed items that can be used around the house to add your personal touch. Some of my favorites are bookish pillows that can have quotes and/or artwork inspired by your favorite book or artwork that can be posters or prints. Another thing most people don't think about is coasters. A lot of people use them and you can personalize them so they show of some of your favorites.

3. Bookish Candles

• This might not be something for everyone. I'll admit I just got into book related candles this year. The candles can represent characters, a specific location, or scenes from a number of books. Some shops even allow you to create custom candles so if you can't find what you're looking for you can have it specially made.

4. NovelTea Tin

• This is one of those things that has a really specific audience. The company makes these tins that have a twist on a vintage book cover and includes a specific tea and a few extra items. There are only a few designs/tea flavors out now but the shop is working on adding more. I don't currently own any of these but they are cute and would be perfect to add some bookish decor to your kitchen.

These are only a few ways to include my love of reading in the format of bookish decor. If you need more inspiration make sure to go visit Havenly. Their website allows you to browse real room renovations based on the type of room or style (there's a quiz if you're not sure) you are looking for. If that's not enough you can speak with an interior designer to find exactly what you want. If you have other bookish decor items you love, make sure to let me know!

Fireblood by Elly Blake | ARC Review

Fireblood (Frostblood Saga #2) by Elly Blake
Publisher: Little Brown
Publication Date: September 12, 2017
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 416
Source: ARC from the NOVL
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Goodreads Description

All hail the Fire Queen.

Against all odds, Ruby has defeated the villainous Frost King and melted his throne of ice. But the bloodthirsty Minax that was trapped inside is now haunting her kingdom and everyone she loves. The answers to its demise may lie to the south in Sudesia, the land of the Firebloods, and a country that holds the secrets to Ruby’s powers and past…

Despite warnings from her beloved Arcus, Ruby accompanies a roguish Fireblood named Kai to Sudesia, where she must master her control of fire in a series of trials to gain the trust of the suspicious Fire Queen. Only then can she hope to access the knowledge that could defeat the rampaging Minax—which grows closer every moment. But as sparks fly in her moments alone with Kai, Ruby no longer knows whom to trust. The fates of two kingdoms are now in her hands.

My Thoughts

Before starting Fireblood I decided to reread Frostblood since I didn't remember too much of the story. I have already reviewed it but after this read I decided to drop my initial rating to 3 stars. It's not that I thought the book was bad, I just couldn't understand why I had given it 4 stars the first time I read it. With that being said, Fireblood was amazing!

Everything I felt was missing while reading Frostblood was given to me in this installment of the series. I felt connected to the main character, Ruby, almost immediately and I was invested in her story. I know this might sound a little crazy but before I felt like there was a distance between the main character and myself. So, while I was interested in the storyline I didn't really care what happened to Ruby or wasn't impacted when something bad happened to her during the first book. Everything about Ruby's character felt real and relatable which made me love her.

Going along with that, there was a lot more tension in the actual story. At least it was for me. Ruby takes so many risks throughout Fireblood and my heart was pounding each moment I was waiting to see the outcome of a decision she made. This brings me back to what I mentioned before, I was a lot more invested in Ruby's story. Also, I felt like the story wasn't as familiar as it was in the first book. A big criticism about Frostblood was that its as similar to too many other young adult fantasy novels and while I agreed I still thought the story had its own unique touch. Fireblood took that and expanded upon it, shaping the story into something I've never personally come across.

While I had some predictions I was not expecting some of the bigger plot points that were revealed. Fireblood was luckily not one of those books that was a victim to the middle book slump. Actually it improved upon the foundation that was set in the opening. Although a journey ended by the end of Fireblood I can't wait to see where these characters go and how their story will end in Nightblood, the conclusion of this trilogy.

Temporary by Sarina Bowen and Sarah Mayberry | ARC Mini Review

Temporary by Sarina Bowen and Sarah Mayberry
Publication Date: September 12, 2017
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 302
Source: eARC from Author
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Goodreads Description

The most beautiful man I've ever seen is the one who can ruin everything...

The first time I lay eyes on Callan Walker, I know he’ll be trouble. With his smug grin, hot Aussie accent and thousand dollar shoes, he’s just the kind of rich guy who always gets what he wants. 

And he wants two things: a night of sin, and my cooperation as he outmaneuvers his powerful mother to take control of his uncle’s estate.

I can’t afford either one. I’m the only thing standing between my little sister and the foster care system. He may have money and charm on his side, but I have something even more powerful -- pure desperation. This temp job at his mother’s company can become a full time job for me. It has to. 

But when Callan’s eyes rake over my body, sometimes I forget my obligations. His piercing gaze finds the fun, optimistic girl I used to be and not the tired person I’ve become.

And it works--if only for a moment. Our night together was a mistake. I can't afford to get sucked into his high-powered family’s treachery. But the closer I get to Callan, the more layers I find beneath those expensive clothes. Though I can’t forget this is temporary. He’s temporary. I have too much to lose. 

Too bad my foolish heart didn’t get the memo...

My Thoughts

Sarina Bowen and Sarah Mayberry are new-to-me authors. While I haven't read anything by either of them I have heard praise for Sarina Bowen and her books. A big problem that can come with co-authoring a book is a story seeming like two separate pieces were being forced together but that wasn't the case with this book. Temporary flowed together and was seamless. It felt like the entire book was written by one author.

This book took me by surprise. Based on the cover and synopsis I was expecting this to focus on a steamy romance and while that is part of it, that isn't the only topic this book focuses on. We get to see how the characters have been affected by not having the best home life growing up. It also shows how people deal with grief and different family dynamics.

Temporary was such a fun read. It didn't completely blow me away but it was still an amazing read. I do with this was a little longer. Callan and Grace went through quite a bit in this book but I still feel like it's only the beginning of their story. Not to mention that Temporary left off on a pretty big cliffhanger. I'm looking forward to seeing what stories these two authors come up with together in the future.

Drunk on You by Harper Sloan | ARC Review

Drunk on You (Hope Town #4) by Harper Sloan
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: September 12, 2017
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 350
Source: eARC from InkSlinger PR
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Goodreads Description

It was supposed to be fun.
A mutual use of each other's bodies.
To be a ruse to the world around us.
I wanted to be free from my ex, and he wanted to escape his.

One drunken night turned a joke into a life-changing moment.
He warned me not to fall for him, and I should've listened.

He intoxicated me.
He made me crave him.
He ruined me.
In the end, I'll never be the same.

My Thoughts

Before Drunk on You I've never read anything by Harper Sloan so going into this I had no expectations. This book follows Shane and Nicole and they are currently in similar situations. About a year ago each of them broke up with the person they were dating because they caught them cheating. Deciding to take advantage of their attraction to each other, they start a fake relationship in order to get rid of their crazy exes who will not leave them alone.

Nikki and Shane's relationship. . . . I'm not even sure where to begin. There is already an attraction between the two of them before the book even starts and they finally act on it almost from the very beginning of this book. Although their relationship is supposed to be fake it was clear to me that each of them more than they were letting on. And when they had their steamy moments, they were HOT!! Going along with this, I didn't really care for the dominant/submissive role-play that happened throughout the majority of this book. This is just a personal preference and I don't fell like their roleplaying was ever taken too far.

I thought the overall story was done really well! A big part of why I felt I enjoyed the story so much was because of the characters. Shane and Nikki go through a journey of self discovery and learn to allow themselves to be at the mercy of another person. Throughout the journey each of them goes on I felt they each stayed true to themselves while learning and growing from their experiences. Both Nikki and Shane had a lot to overcome from their past relationships and while things aren't perfect I feel like they came such a long way over the course of this book.

However, it wasn't only the two main characters I enjoyed. I found myself really liking most of the other characters that were mentioned, especially Ember and Nate. Unlike most people that will probably read Drunk on You, I have no connection to these characters. As far as I know there are currently three other books in the Hope Town series as well as another series that's connected to this one. There were a lot of name drops and they went completely over my head. I can only assume that these characters were in other books.

Overall, this was a great story. I'm definitely interested in reading the other books in the Hope Town series as well as other books by Harper Sloan. I'm so happy this author is now on my radar. Make sure you guys go check out Drunk on You and give it some love!

Harper is a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Georgia with her husband and three daughters. She has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books, hibachi, tattoos and Game of Thrones. When she isn't writing you can almost always find her with a book in hand. Facebook | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

At Any Turn by Brenna Aubrey | Review

At Any Turn (Gaming the System #2) by Brenna Aubrey
Publisher: Silver Griffon Associates
Publication Date: April 28, 2014
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 367
Source: Purchased
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Goodreads Description

So You Want to Be a Hero? 
Millionaire CEO Adam Drake overcame a tortured past to take control of his life and build his own gaming empire. The final piece falls into place with his newfound love for brilliant geek girl blogger, Mia Strong. Now Adam is at the top of his game. 

Your Princess Is in Another Castle. 
Until Mia suddenly breaks things off, leaving Adam in the dark. He senses she needs his help but that she's too stubborn or scared to ask. The more he tries to take control, the further she shies away. This is one problem he can't solve by writing a check or a few clever lines of code. 

He will have to dig deep and put himself at risk...or else risk losing her forever. 

My Thoughts

Just as a heads up before I get into my thoughts about this book, At Any Turn is the second book in this series so this review may contain spoilers for the first book. If you haven't already started the series feel free to check out my review for At Any Price because that is completely spoiler free. Going into At Any Turn I didn't know this book would be told from Adam's prospective. I was confused by this for a little while so that's something to know going into this one.

To be honest I was frustrated the majority of the time I was reading this. While I appreciated being able to see things from Adam's point of view, the switch only made his character flaw more prominent which in turn made him a lot more annoying to me. During At Any Price it is obvious that Adam has a need to be in control of every detail of anything that happens around hm but being in his head was overbearing. Every time a situation came up he approached it logically or looked at the problem like a piece of code and every problem can't be solved that way.

On the other hand, I was annoyed with Mia throughout this book as well. There was one big issue that was the cause of the problems throughout the novel. I understood where Mia was coming from when she was trying to get Adam to understand he couldn't control every part of her life. However, Mia went beyond that and started pushing people away. I already wasn't a big fan of how she lied to her mom and friends in At Any Price but seeing how she acted in this book frustrated me even more. There was obviously something wrong with her but she chose to push everyone important away. I didn't feel Adam or Mia's actions were out of character for either of them but it didn't sit well with me.

I really appreciated that Brenna Aubrey wasn't afraid to take this book to the next level. I wasn't really surprised by one of the major things that we found out towards the end of the book. I was expecting it to happen sooner or later. The second thing that was revealed I wasn't expecting when I started the book. I guessed that it might be something as the story went along but I still wasn't sure. I applaud Brenna for taking that step and giving something I wouldn't usually expect from a new adult contemporary novel.

I had my problems with this book but I wanted things to work out for the two of them so I stuck it out. The last 20% really saved it for me! Mia and Adam are not in a perfect situation but they seem to be heading in the right direction. The way At Any Turn left off I'm not really sure where they're going from this point but I can't wait to see in the next installment of this series.

At Any Price by Brenna Aubrey | Review

At Any Price (Gaming the System #1) by Brenna Aubrey
Publisher: Silver Griffon Associates
Publication Date: January 13, 2014
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 391
Source: Purchased
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Goodreads Description

Achievement Unlocked: Geek Virgin

When Mia Strong, proud geek-girl and popular gaming blogger, auctions off her virginity online, she knows she'll make waves. But what she will not be making is a love connection. Her rules are set in stone: One night. No further contact.

It's a desperate step, but it's the only way she can go to medical school and pay her mother's mounting hospital bills.

Difficulty Level: Millionaire CEO 

Adam Drake, the enigmatic auction winner, is a software prodigy who made his first million at seventeen. Now, in his mid-twenties, he's sexy, driven and--as CEO of his own gaming company--he's used to making the rules. Before Mia knows what's happening, he's found the loophole in the rules of her auction. Every stipulation she's made to protect her heart gets tossed by the wayside.

She can't tell if he's playing her...or if he's playing for keeps.

My Thoughts

I have had this book sitting in my Kindle library for over a year before finally picking it up. Honestly, I'm a little sad I waited so long to start this because I had so much fun while reading this book. Usually when I feel myself going into a reading slump I tend to reach for new adult romance novels. While I know that doesn't have anything to do with my opinions, At Any Price was such a good pick to kickstart my reading again.

I'll admit going into this book I was a little nervous. While the concept of the story sounded interesting I wasn't really sure how Brenna Aubrey planned to approach the topic. The way the story unfolded was unexpected and because of that I really enjoyed it. The two main characters, Mia and Adam, are thrown together because of Mia's auction and although we know Mia's motives we have no idea why Adam decided to participate in the auction. As can be expected when Mia and Adam meet they only know the surface level of the other. As the story progresses they open up and start talking to each other about things they haven't confided in a lot of others about.

This book was amazing but there were some things that kept me from absolutely loving it. One of the biggest this that bothered me was how controlling Adam was. He always wanted things to go his way or he would basically lash out or become distant. I understand this is a major flaw he has to work on but I was in shock of have many time he would try to force his way. On the other hand, I din't like how Mia ditched her friends almost completely when Adam came around. Mia would usually find a reason not to be social but when Adam came into the picture it felt like she ditched them completely and I didn't appreciate that.

I would have also love to see more of Mia interacting with her blog and gaming more. These two things were supposed to be really big parts of her life. When Mia wasn't working or studying she was usually doing one of the two and we didn't really get to see her doing a lot of either. Like I said before, At Any Price was such a fun quick read. This falls into the new adult category so there are definitely some steamy moments throughout the book. I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read this genre. I enjoyed it so much I have already started on the next book in the series!