December Wrap Up

Time to finish off 2017 with some more great books!

My Rating: 3/5

My Thoughts: According to the synopsis, this book seemed to have all the components that usually add up to a great read for me. It’s a fairy tale retelling, it has magic, it has dragons, it has the perfect set up for a love story. I was therefore dissapointed when it fell flat for me. The big issue? There’s too much action and not enough character development! I consistently find that slow burning stories are much more effective in helping me build a bond with the characters and making me feel invested in the world. The Shadow Queen felt too rushed and the constant attacks by the evil queen started to feel boring and repetitive. I think I would have enjoyed the story much more if it was a bit longer, which would have allowed the pacing to slow down a bit and for us to get to know the characters a bit more.

Synopsis: Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen. In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.
But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

My Rating: 4/5

My Thoughts: I started this book not knowing much about it. At the beginning of the story I was intrigued by the main character, who was portrayed as a teenager with mental illness. I have not read many books about mental illness, so I was interested and excited to learn more. Within a few chapters, however, we (and Alicia) learn that Alicia’s hallucinations and anxiety are not actually due to any mental illness, but rather that she magical powers that allow her to travel between different alternate dimensions where different versions of her actually exist. I had mixed feelings about how the concept of Alicia’s powers were introduced and wonder if it would be hurtful or offensive to someone who experiences hallucinations. Wit that said, however, once the story progressed I became very interested in the storyline and the concept of the different dimensions. I was happy with the plot speed and the character development of the story but also feel like this books would have been great as a longer story that explored the characters and worlds more in depth. After finishing the story I do have some unanswered questions (like what is it like for the non-prime Alicias after prime-Alicia has taken over their consciousness for awhile? Do they realize what has happened? Are they upset about it? And how does prime-Alicia continue on in the prime world when her consciousness is somewhere else?) Overal, I enjoyed this story more than I expected and am happy I picked it up!

Synopsis: What if every life-altering choice you made could split your world into infinite worlds? Almost fifteen, Alicia is smart and funny with a deep connection to the poet Sylvia Plath, but she’s ultimately failing at life. With a laundry list of diagnoses, she hallucinates different worlds—strange, decaying, otherworldly yet undeniably real worlds that are completely unlike her own with her single mom and one true friend. In one particularly vivid hallucination, Alicia is drawn to a boy her own age named Jax who’s trapped in a dying universe. Days later, her long-lost father shows up at her birthday party, telling her that the hallucinations aren’t hallucinations, but real worlds; she and Jax are bound by a strange past and intertwining present. This leads her on a journey to find out who she is while trying to save the people and worlds she loves. J.Q. Coyle’s The Infinity of You & Me is a wild ride through unruly hearts and vivid worlds guaranteed to captivate.

My Rating: 3/5

My Thoughts: I bought this book months ago because of the beautiful cover and all of the great things I heard about it by people who liked The Night Circus. I kept meaning to get to it, but other books on my TBR always seemed to grab my interest more. I finally picked it up this month and had an “OK” time reading it. Maybe it was too hyped up in my mind, or maybe I would have felt this way regardless, but it just lacked that special something for me. I found the whimsical magic component of it less believable and special than in The Night Circus. I also found the story to be a bit boring! I feel like it’s suppose to come across as this intense competition but for me it was underwhelming. I was bored! I also couldn’t get on board with the romance in the story. It felt too staged and not authentic. Don’t get me wrong, the story wasn’t BAD, it just wasn’t great.

Synopsis: Remember, it’s only a game…Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

My Rating: 3/5

My Thoughts: This was a quick, lighthearted read with a lot of quirky humour and a few good life lessons. I was shocked by how similar Lauren’s personality is to the character Lorelai that she played on Gilmore Grils. It makes you wonder if the casting crew just did an amazing job matching Lorelai with Lauren OR if playing Lorelai for so long rubbed off on Lauren’s personality! Some parts of the humour of this story I found to be “a bit too much” – the same way I felt when I watched Lorelai in Gilmore Girls – it gets kind of annoying at times. But other parts of the story I really enjoyed, especially the more sentimental life lessons Lauren shares as well as her career back story.

Synopsis: In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood—along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore once again. In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood (“Strangers were worried about me; that’s how long I was single!”), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway (“It’s like I had a fashion-induced blackout”). In “What It Was Like, Part One,” Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore. The essay “What It Was Like, Part Two” reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her. Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she’s aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls (“If you’re meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you’ve already set the bar too high”), and she’s a card-carrying REI shopper (“My bungee cords now earn points!”). Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.

My Rating: 5/5

My Thoughts: WHOA. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about this book. I can barely wrap my mind around how complex, addicting, horrible and wonderful this story was! It was horrible in that I’ve never read a book with such unlikeable characters. There are some really messed up people in this story. And it was wonderful in that was so well written and so addicting to read! For part of the story I was routing for one character, and then for the other half I was routing for the other. “Who’s the lesser evil” my brain kept trying to decide. The story that plays out is so messed up that I found myself so intrigued and captivated that I could not put this book down. Normally I listen to audiobooks on my way to and from work and then when I get home I read a different physical book. But this book was so intriguing that I listened to it for hours at a time after getting out of the car (especially towards the end). Gillian Flynn is an amazing writer! The storyline is so complex and so tightly knit that it was impossible to find any story loop-holes or flaws. It’s difficult to talk about the plot without giving too much away, but I will say that this is a physiological mystery thriller full of “bad people” – so if you get easily offended by characters who aren’t squeaky clean or politically correct then this is definitely not the story for you. If you’re looking for a mystery that takes on many twists and turns you will love this!

Synopsis: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

My Rating: 4/5

My Thoughts: This classic was suggested to me by a viewer after her suggestion of Bambi was a hit (thanks Jennifer). I am now officially motivated to check out more of original stories behind my favorite Disney movies. The 101 Dalmatians was wonderful to read! I was intrigued by how different it was from the original, and yet not so different that the essence of the story was ruined by the films. It’s obvious that this is an old story (1956) since many traditional gender roles/stereotypes are in place, but this did not offend me in the slightest (as it seems to have for other readers). The most interesting part of the story for me was how the 101 Dalmatians did not consist of 99 lost puppies plus two parents – I won’t spoil it for you by revealing anything else. I also appreciated the ending where we get a bit more information as to the new living arrangements for the 101 Dalmatians…I always wished we got to see a bit more in the film!

Synopsis: Pongo and Missis had a lovely life. With their human owners, the Dearlys, to look after them, they lived in a comfortable home in London with their 15 adorable Dalmatian puppies, loved and admired by all. Especially the Dearlys’ neighbor Cruella de Vil, a fur-fancying fashion plate with designs on the Dalmatians’ spotted coats! So, when the puppies are stolen from the Dearly home, and even Scotland Yard is unable to find them, Pongo and Missis know they must take matters into their own paws! The delightful children’s classic adapted twice for popular Disney productions. Ages 8-11

My Rating: 5/5

My Thoughts: I loved it! This book was given to me as a Christmas gift and came highly recommended by the gift-giver. I read it in one day on a road trip. Written in 1993, I feel like this book was “dystopian before dystopian was cool”. It was extremely engaging and considering that it’s only 200 pages long I think the author did a great job at introducing the characters and the world in enough detail to get me invested. This is the story of a dystopian world where humans live in a very strict society and have very limited knowledge of the past but don’t realize it. They go about their lives happily, following the status quo, and never question why things are run the way they are. When people turn 12 years old they are assigned their careers. The main character is assigned the most rare and demanding job there is. This sets him on a path of discovering why the community is set up the way it is and he starts to question if it’s right or not. The ending had me wondering if the character was dreaming or if the ending was actually happening, so I was super excited to learn that this book is part of a series so I’ll be able to read to learn what really happened at the end. I will definitely be picking it up soon!

Synopsis: The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.

Cheers,

Jen @ Habitat For Happiness

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google