On my to read list #2

Bummed Out City by Scott Burr

At almost thirty years old David Moore is living the unremarkable life he always equated with failure: instead of going on book tours and giving readings he’s scraping to pay his bills; instead of meeting with producers and selling the movie rights to his breakout novel he’s arguing with his girlfriend about whether they should get a dog. When an unexpected visit from his deadbeat dad upsets David’s fragile financial balancing act it sets in motion a series of domestic disagreements and ill-advised reactionary reprisals whose compounding repercussions threaten to unmake the tenuous structure of David’s mundane life: the life that David, focused only on that life’s disappointments, may not appreciate or fight to salvage until it’s already too late…

Goodreads link

Read more about the book on The Artless Dodges Press' tumblr blog

Review - True Calling by Siobhan Davis

Title: True Calling (True Calling #1)

Author: Siobhan Davis

Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis: Planet Novo, nestled in space twelve hundred miles above the surface of the Earth, is the new home of 17 year old Cadet Ariana Skyee. Confused by the government-sanctioned memory erase and distressed at her impending forced marriage and motherhood, Ariana’s plans for the future are thrown into complete disarray.

As the traumatic events within her family life enfold, Ariana grows increasingly alarmed at the authorities apparent pre-occupation with her and feels progressively more isolated and alone.

Her growing feelings for fellow Cadet Cal Remus intensify as the recently announced pageant, ‘The Calling’, gets underway. Struggling to comprehend the continuous, inexplicable dreams of the mysterious Zane, discovering the past helps shape her future, with devastating personal consequences.

I received a free ebook copy of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked it, but didn’t love it – couldn’t love it. I think the main problem was that the shadows of now popular YA books were cast on it: there was a touch of Hunger Games in it, some elements of Divergent could be detected, The Selection must have had a great influence on the writer (The Bachelor vibe is there without a doubt) and at some parts it even reminded me of Angelfall. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it I guess, I shouldn’t blame the writer for sticking to popular themes, but I was so sad to see the original ideas getting stifled by the familiar elements.

Now that you know what I didn’t like in True Calling, I’d like to highlight all the things that positively surprised me in this novel, because there were quite a few of those too:

At last we have a female protagonist who is not afraid of showing her feelings or does not feel guilty for breaking down and cry in front of others. You go Ariana Skyee, never harden!

The story is gripping (sometimes a bit slow, but action packed in general); first we follow the events through Ariana’s eyes, then we have Zane in the role of the narrator, but towards the end of the book we switch back to Ariana. I think it’s always interesting to see what different characters think of the same situation, so I was happy with this kind of structuring.

I loved the popular culture references that appeared here and there in the book. Novo’s motto is Live.Love.Prosper which is obviously a strong reference to Star Trek’s famous phrase: Live long and prosper.

’It’s like ’The Bachelor’ meets ’Nightmare on Elm Street’ says Ariana at some point about the Calling – indeed, it was a bit like that.

There’s a mention of the movie ’Groundhog Day’ as well when she’s talking about her dreams about Zane. I liked these bits very much.

I was delighted to find a gay character in the book and it was heartwarming to see how his friends supported Ben. Of course the government wasn’t that understanding... Siobhan Davis depicted well the people’s attitude towards same-sex relationshps in our world today: the majority rejects, the minority supports.

And last but not least let me say how great it was to see a real father figure around… I mean, we rarely meet a loving father in YA books nowadays. Ariana’s father was a really nice guy.

All in all, True Calling is an enjoyable sci-fi novel and it’s very likely I’ll read the second installment when it comes out. It might even stand a chance of getting four stars instead of three if the storyline develops differently than that of the Hunger Games.

Goodreads link

On my to read list #1

Ophelia by Lisa M. Klein

She is young, beautiful, and desperately in love with a man who cannot return her affections without arousing suspicion. And so they meet in secret, embracing in stairwells and castle turrets, murmuring each other’s names in hushed voices, reaching passionately for each other under the cover of darkness.

A Hamlet retelling from the point of view of Ophelia. Can’t wait to start reading this.

Goodreads link

Thursday Quotables #1

Thursday Quotables is a weekly meme created by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Read the rules and the details here.


My favourite quote of the week is from Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon:

 

Blurb:

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ... about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ... and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ... in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ... and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

Quote of the week:

"Lying on the floor, with the carved panels of the ceiling flickering dimly above, I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon was due to tight stays; now I rather thought it might be due to the idiocy of eighteenth-century men."

Share your favourite quote from your current read in a comment or/and tell me what do you think of the one I've chosen!

Teaser Tuesday #1

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

The rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this Tuesday is from True Calling by Siobhan Davis

 

Blurb:

I wonder which situation is hardest.
Mine, because I remember everything, or hers because she can’t.  

Planet Novo, nestled in space twelve hundred miles above the surface of the Earth, is the new home of 17 year old Cadet Ariana Skyee. Confused by the government-sanctioned memory erase and distressed at her impending forced marriage and motherhood, Ariana’s plans for the future are thrown into complete disarray.

As the traumatic events within her family life enfold, Ariana grows increasingly alarmed at the authorities apparent pre-occupation with her and feels progressively more isolated and alone.

Her growing feelings for fellow Cadet Cal Remus intensify as the recently announced pageant, ‘The Calling’, gets underway. Struggling to comprehend the continuous, inexplicable dreams of the mysterious Zane, discovering the past helps shape her future, with devastating personal consequences. 

 My Teaser:

'The dreams always have a certain banality; I see Zane doing the same things in every dream, but always with some variable element. A bit like that movie 'Ground Hog Day' which Eve and I saw last month, with the day panning out slightly differently each time over.'

What do you think? Does the book seem interesting to you? Do you like science fiction?

Play along if you'd like to! Leave a link to your teasers in the comment box below, or – if you don't have a book blog – share your teasers in a comment here.

 

Review - Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked

Author: Jessica Spotswood

Rating: 4/5 stars

Sometimes I wish I had a sister – a sister with whom I could share my feelings and thoughts, who would understand my fears and motivations. The three sisters who are introduced to us in the first book of The Cahill Witch Chronicles certainly have an enviable connection – up until the time when a new governess and a prophecy turn their lives topsy-turvy and their relationship changes.

Cate, Maura and Tess are witches and such creatures are not welcome in New England anymore, therefore they do everything to hide their true identity from the people that surround them. But magic is not always controllable especially if the witches in question are the most powerful ones of their era.

I really enjoyed this book, although the beginning was a little bit slow for me. The tension was building slowly and the explosion was saved to the last fifty pages. I didn’t mind it that much though, because I was fascinated with the characters and I have to confess, I developed a crush on Finn, the book-loving gardener/love interest. I was rooting for him and Cate like crazy.

However, even if I had a chance to meet Finn, I would never choose to live in a world that is described on the pages of Born Wicked. Under the surveillance of the Brotherhood, women are supposed to behave like empty-headed housewives and be obedient lest they are labelled as witches (whether they are or not in reality) and dragged away to an asylum from where they can never return.

It was good to see how strong women characters (Zara, Marianne and Cate for exampe) rebelled silently – or at least tried to – against the system and at the same time it angered me how the ’official’ community of witches that should have helped the sisters turned out to be almost as bad as the Brotherhood.

I could have screamed when I finished the book, the cliffhanger was so infuriating! I can’t wait to find out what happens in book two. Hopefully I can put my hands on Star Cursed soon.

Review - Debutantes by Cora Harrison

Title: Debutantes

Author: Cora Harrison

Rating: 4/5 stars

My thoughts: This was such a heart-warming read! I’ve been meaning to read Debutantes since I first saw it on my friend’s bookshelf about three years ago. The summary on the back of the book seemed very intriguing at that time, because I was obsessed with Downton Abbey and Debutantes definitely has a DA vibe to it.

We are in 1923, specifically in the beginning of the ball season. This is the time when young female members of the aristocracy are introduced to the public, and thus many young girls are about to have immense fun in the capital. The Derrington daughters are not so fortunate. The family is as poor as a church mouse and so Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Rose cannot have much hope to conquer London and have a time of their lives. Or so it seems, until they get an invitation to a house party from Violet’s rich godmother, the duchess.

I liked the characters in this book very much. I wanted to know where the story leaves them in the end, especially Daisy because she seemed the most independent of all and her fascination with the film industry was an element I adored.

Daisy was the real protagonist, but Cora Harrison painted a vivid enough picture of all her sisters as well. Poppy and her jazz band, Violet with her dress-making talent and little Rose with her hunger for knowledge; they are all hard to forget.

I found the plot very witty. Even if at times you can see what’s coming, it doesn’t ruin the overall experience.

All in all it was a charming read and I recommend it to everyone, who enjoys the show Downton Abbey, likes Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle or simply is in love with the time period that this book is set in. (Oh, and look at that gorgeous cover!!)