Review: Unaccompanied Minor (#1) by Hollis Gillespie

Title: Unaccompanied Minor (#1)

Author: Hollis Gillespie

Published by: Merit Press

Released: 2014

Source: Library

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old April May Manning spent her life on airplanes with her flight attendant parents. When her father dies in a crash, April's mom marries a pilot who turns out to be an abusive jerk, and gets Mom confined to a psychiatric hospital. So April takes off, literally, living on airplanes, using her mother's flight benefits, relying on the flight crews who know she's been shuttling between divorcing parents for a year. Then, there's a hijacking, but why is April's "dad" on board? April flees to the cargo hold with another unaccompanied minor she's met before, and they fight to thwart the hijackers, faking a fire, making weapons from things they find in luggage. At last, locked in the cockpit with a wounded police officer, the boy, and his service dog, April tries to remember everything her parents said to do in a crisis above the clouds. But she knows it won't be enough. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: This was a fun little surprise. I had never heard of Unaccompanied Minor before. I just happened to come across it while browsing my library shelves and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did because this was a lot of fun.

April Mae Manning is a trip. I guess you'd call her a precocious teen. She's independent, resourceful, a survivalist, and just a tad bit crazy. She never shuts up, can talk a mile a minute. I was very entertained by her.

When the book first starts, she's giving an interview to the authorities. They'd ask her a simple question, like When did you first notice the hijackers? And April proceeds to go on an hours long spiel about her mother, best friend, Officer Ned, her adopted father (who she hates), her long lineage of family airline employees, everything you did and did not want to know about airplanes, and on, and on, and on. If I had been the investigator, I would have been so pulling my hair out in annoyance. April's ability to ramble on is really unparalleled to any other character I've read. So what should be a rather short story, becomes one epic tale. She was very entertaining.

I loved the cast of characters. I very much felt their pain when it came to dealing with some of April's shenanigans. Officer Ned had to put up with a lot from April. I loved her older flight attendant friend (Flo??) who looked out for her. It was just a very zany ride that I really enjoyed.

Near the end, I won't say I understood all the motivations for everything. After all that rambling, the reveals were very fast and sometimes not the most explained. I also do wonder what's going to happen with April after all that she has discovered.

I'd definitely recommend this for people who are looking for a fun read. It is very entertaining. I enjoyed it. It does feel a little like a hidden gem when it comes to a YA book that is a little different from all the other things being published. I'm definitely getting my hands on the second book because I want to see what April has in store for me next. Unaccompanied Minor was a fun time! And I now know more about aircraft crashes than I ever wanted to. My fear of flying might just be a little more heightened after this.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

One high flying plane adventure!

Reading Right Now! (189)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

Unaccompanied Minor (#1) by Hollis Gillespie and I'm enjoying it. It's about this girl named April Mae Manning who has a complicated family life, which has resulted in a convoluted custody arrangement between her adopted father (who she hates) and her mother who is currently residing in a mental institution. They both work for an airline. April gets so fed up with her adoptive father that she runs away. She hops from airport to airport, plane to plane. She knows the ins and outs of airports, so it's fairly easy for her to book herself on a flight and live in airport lounges. Then one of the flights she's on gets hijacked.

The FBI agents are trying to get the story of what happened out of her, but April likes to ramble, so those poor FBI people are in for a long, drawn out story.

I'm a little over halfway through, and I'm enjoying it. April Manning is a precocious teenager. She's annoying, but she's funny. She's resourceful too. If I was one of the grown-ups trying to interview her, I'd pull my hair out. She's amusing though.

That's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading?

Review: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Title: Bird Box

Author: Josh Malerman

Published by: Ecco

Released: 2014

Source: Library

Synopsis: Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat--blindfolded--with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: I finally read it and it did not disappoint. I've been wanting to read Bird Box for the longest time and the Netflix Adaptation gave me that extra push to finally read it so I could then watch the movie. I can't say I was expecting what this book delivered. I'd heard it was scary, so I was thinking a generic kind of horror book, but I was wrong. Bird Box is a slow, quiet kind of scare. It sneaks up on you and wraps its fingers around you. It's not in-your-face, but it's quietly malicious. There's a sense of panic and claustrophobia to it just imagining being deprived of your sense of sight. I really enjoyed it.

I liked how it had that post-apocalyptic vibe to it. I love post-apocalyptic stuff. I also thought the creatures were kind of interesting, because you never got to really see what they were. They could be anywhere, they could be everywhere, and that blindfold was the only thing protecting characters from madness.

Malorie's boat ride down the river was terrifying. That blindness played a large part to it. Not being able to see anything and just imagining all the terrors that could be around you. Without that sense of sight, the mind plays mean tricks. There were parts of her boat ride that were really intense, the ones involving the animals really come to my mind, animals of all kinds.

I also liked going back in time to right when the apocalyptic events were starting, and Malorie's journey to the house with Tom, Don, Cheryl, Olympia, Felix, Jules, and Victor. That whole thing was an interesting storyline to follow and so tragic.

Malorie was a very strong character. All the things she did for those kids, raising them, protecting them all by herself. She might have been tough, but she was determined for them to survive.

Bird Box was an experience that I really enjoyed. I can't put into words all the things I'm feeling and I don't want to spoil things for future readers. Just know, it was an intense ride.

Thoughts on Movie Adaptation: And because I watched the movie just a couple days after finishing the book, I thought I'd discuss it just a little bit. I thought it was a good adaptation. Of course they changed some things, they cut out some bits, added some other bits, but I'm not mad at it. I think it made for a very tense, enjoyable movie. 

I will say, it doesn't quite have the same punch as the book. When it comes to Malorie's raft ride, let's just say that book Malorie had a much tougher time than movie Malorie. I was waiting for the wolves and the birds, but they never came. I think that would have added some really scary scenes to the movie.

But as a movie adaptation, I think it did a pretty good job.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

A Quiet Kind of Terrifying

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I wish you a Merry Christmas. I wish you a Merry Christmas. I wish you a Merry Christmas because it is today!!! And for those that don't celebrate, Happy Tuesday!

I just wanted to thank everybody for supporting my Blog Life, my Book Life. I know I haven't been as active the past couple weeks and that's just because I got a little burnt out. But never fear, I hope to be better about posting.

I want to thank all the people that invited me to be on Blog Tours or sent me books for review. I am sorry for being a failure at reading all those review books, but I promise they will get read eventually. I want to thank all the people that visit my blog and read my posts. I know I tend to ramble. And I also want to thank all the authors and publishers who keep producing awesome books. And all the libraries for being awesome and letting me check out all kinds of book. Thanks Netgalley for letting me review early copies. Thanks to Goodreads and BookishFirsts for letting me win book giveaways. And thanks to Bookoutlet for helping to feed my addictions.
So that's all I wanted to say. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Reading Right Now! (188)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

Bird Box by Josh Malerman and I've had this book on my TBR forever! I've been eyeing it and eyeing it and I finally decided to give it a read. After I read the book, I would like to watch the new Netflix movie adaptation. 

I'm about 60 pages in, and so far, I'm intrigued. It's got this post-apocalyptic vibe, which I'm always a fan of. It also has some mystery horror aspects to it too. I have no idea what these creatures are, but just imagining going everywhere outside blindfolded makes me a little nervous and claustrophobic. Not knowing what is making all these people go insane so you literally can't look outside anymore. Craaaazy!

I'm also liking how this book is told from the future and the past. If the whole book had taken place with future Malorie, I don't know if I would like it as much. I appreciate getting the backstory.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading? Have you read Bird Box? What did you think of it if you did?

Fresh Releases: December 18, 2018

Here's the Fresh Fresh Releases for this week! There are some good ones.

 

 

 

The Disasters by M.K. England, which I'm really excited for.  Verity by Colleen Hoover, this one might have come out earlier, but it's still a December Release. The Cursed Sea by Lauren DeStefano, still need to read the first one, but look at that cover! Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard. I love a good thriller and this one sounds very interesting. Dear Heartbreak edited by Heather Demetrios. Not the Duke's Darling by Elizabeth Hoyt. I just had to sprinkle in a little historical romance. My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life by Rachel Cohn. Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about this one, but I was sold by the cover alone.

And those are the Fresh, Fresh Releases for this week! All Pictures are from Goodreads.com 

What releases are you excited about? I really want to buy some of them, but I've been kind of bad about buying too many Christmas presents for me, if you know what I mean. I've been taking Treat Yourself a little too literally. 

BLOG TOUR: The Fog by Amanda McKinney

The Fog
Amanda McKinney
(A Berry Springs Novel)
Publication date: December 4th 2018
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Romance

Former Marine turned ballistics expert, Wesley Cross is known around town for two things, his rugged good-looks and cocky attitude—until he finds his ex-girlfriend lying in a puddle of blood in his basement. The scene screams setup, but the discovery of a rare gem and a puzzling autopsy suggests the murder goes much deeper than that. Wesley will do whatever it takes to clear his name, including calling in a notoriously headstrong—and sexy—scientist.
While most little girls were playing dress up, Gwyneth Reece was digging in the dirt collecting bugs. Now one of the top forensic entomologists in the country, Gwen reluctantly accepts a job from a pushy cowboy and travels to the small, Southern town of Berry Springs. Heavy storms are brewing, and when she’s forced to check into the creepiest hotel she’s ever seen, she instantly regrets her decision to help out the former Marine.
Following up on a tip, Wesley heads to the Half Moon Hotel but quickly realizes his visit was not by chance. The killer lured him there, and suddenly everyone from the uptight bellman to the wealthy couple just passing through town become suspect. Bodies begin to disappear, and Wesley knows the killer will do anything to get to him…. including hurting the woman who’s kept his head spinning since he first laid eyes on her.

My Thoughts: I'd just like to thank Amanda McKinney and Xpresso Book Tours for letting me be a part of this awesome tour and providing me with a free copy of The Fog for honest review.
I really enjoyed The Fog. I'd been reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction, so it was nice taking a step back from that and reading some good ol' romantic suspense, and it was romantic suspense at its finest. I'm a sucker for these types of stories.
So, The Fog is actually the fourth book in the Berry Springs Series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Our two main leads are Wesley Cross and Gwyneth Reece and when they meet, sparks fly! Wesley needs Gwyn's help to prove he didn't murder his ex-girlfriend. Gwyn checks into a creepy hotel where everyone is suspcious.
The Fog was a quick, fun, romantic read and I'd definitely recommend it for those that love Romantic Suspense novels. Gwyneth is a very smart girl and she keeps Wesley on his toes. I liked the romance, I liked the mystery, and I liked the thrills and chills. I want to read more in this series.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:
Award-winning author of romantic suspense and mystery, Amanda McKinney wrote her debut novel, LETHAL LEGACY, after walking away from her career to become a writer and stay-at-home mom. Set in small, Southern towns, Amanda’s books are page-turning murder mysteries peppered with steamy love scenes, and include the BERRY SPRINGS SERIES and the BLACK ROSE MYSTERY SERIES, with many more to come.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook

GIVEAWAY!
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Reading Right Now! (187)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw I just started this, so I don't have any definite feelings as of yet. I've heard it reminds people a little bit of Hocus Pocus, which is one of my favorite Halloween movies. So, I'm excited to read more of this. I love the cover! It's so pretty.

So, I hope to read more of this and do whatever else this weekend.

That's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading?

BLOG TOUR: Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson

I'm really excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book. I received a free copy for honest review. Thanks so much to Entangled Teen, Cindy R. Wilson, and YA Bound Book Tours for letting me be a part of this fun tour!

Title: Paper Girl

Author: Cindy R. Wilson

 Released: December 4, 2018

Goodreads  Amazon  Purchase Links

Synopsis: I haven’t left my house in over a year. My doctor says it’s social anxiety, but I know the only things that are safe are made of paper. My room is paper. My world is paper. Everything outside is fire. All it would take is one spark for me to burst into flames. So I stay inside. Where nothing can touch me.

Then my mom hires a tutor. Jackson. This boy I had a crush on before the world became too terrifying to live in. Jackson’s life is the complete opposite of mine, and I can tell he’s got secrets of his own. But he makes me feel things. Makes me want to try again. Makes me want to be brave. I can almost taste the outside world. But so many things could go wrong, and all it takes is one spark for everything I love to disappear...

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed Paper Girl. As soon as I read the synopsis, I was interested. I tend to go more towards fantasy, science fiction, paranormal books, so reading this contemporary was a nice break from the fantastical worlds I tend to frequent. Paper Girl focuses on a girl with severe anxiety, so severe that she won't even leave her house. I think Cindy R. Wilson did a fantastic job of tackling such a tough subject matter. Throw in a cute little romance, and I was so happy with this read.

I've never suffered from debilitating anxiety, so I can't relate all the way to what Zoe was feeling, but I definitely felt her struggle. I appreciated getting to read a book about this subject matter. Anxiety and Depression is a disease that a lot of people struggle with and I think Paper Girl did a good job of depicting it.

I really enjoyed the romance. Zoe had her problems, Jackson had his tough secrets, but the way they came to depend on each other was so sweet.

I'm really glad I got to read this sweet little story. I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to reading more by Cindy R. Wilson.

 Meet the Author:

Cindy R. Wilson

Cindy lives at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and loves using Colorado towns and cities as inspiration for settings in her stories. She's the mother of three girls, who provide plenty of fodder for her YA novels. Cindy writes speculative fiction and YA fiction, filled with a healthy dose of romance. You'll often find her hiking or listening to any number of playlists while she comes up with her next story idea.

Website  Goodreads  Twitter  Facebook

Thank you so much for stopping by my Blog Tour Stop for Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson. I really enjoyed this book and had so much fun being on the tour. I'd definitely recommend checking Paper Girl out. Thanks so much to Entangled Teen, Cindy R. Wilson, and YA Bound Book Tours for providing me with an early copy for honest review and having me on the tour.

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Top Nine 2018!

I thought I'd do something a little different for today's post and share my Top Nine 2018 posts on Instagram. I try to be pretty active on Instagram. I really enjoy the platform and the bookstagram community. Hopefully Facebook doesn't ruin it, since they own in and the original owners/creators have left. We've gotta be realistic here. 

I like to share my love of books across many different platforms and I'm pretty proud of my Instagram. 2018 was a good year for it. I hope in 2019 that my account continues to grow, people continue to like my pictures, and I make more book people friends. My picture style has morphed into pretty much exclusively outdoor pictures. I live in what I think is a pretty place, and I feel like my natural surroundings make a much prettier backdrop than anything I could attempt to create. I'm also a big fan of natural lighting. My account is mainly books, but I do post subscription boxes as well as makeup. My dogs also make an appearance from time to time. I love using the Instagram Stories feature to do book hauls, library hauls, and unboxings. I have a lot of fun on the Instagram.

So, if you want to check out my Instagram, look for @gotbookcitement or just click on the link.

Thank you for listening to my self promo. I also felt the need to post something, but I didn't know what, and I also wanted something that would be a quick post. I'm lazy a lot.

BLOG TOUR: Big City Villain by Penelope Ray

I'm very excited to be part of the Big City Villain by Penelope Ray Blog Tour. I love stories about super powers and super people. I received a free copy of Big City Villain for honest review. Thanks so much to Penelope Ray and YA Bound Book Tours for letting me be a part of this fun tour!

Big City Villain

by Penelope Ray

Goodreads  Amazon 

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Coal Black takes being the bad boy to a whole new level. A super level. Known as the city’s terrifying super villain, Headphones, Coal works hard to keep his bad reputation intact despite being banned from using his powers. But things soon take a drastic turn when a deadly vigilante promises to destroy his whole world and his brother.

When his secrets are threatened, how far will Coal go to keep everything from unraveling? And with betrayal around every corner, he just might not make it out alive.

My Thoughts: I am a sucker for super hero, super power stories. There's just something about them that I love. What can be even more fun than the Super Hero story can be that of the Super Villain! Usually, if they are done well, Super Villains can be much more complex, have a more interesting origin story, and be more fun to follow than the Hero. So, I was pretty much sold on Big City Villain from the description alone.

I really, really enjoyed Big City Villain. It was fast paced, fun to read, and very addicting. Each chapter kind of ended with a what's going to happen next? ending, so I had to keep reading to find out. There were also a lot of secrets in Big City Villain, secrets that I just had discover.

I enjoyed reading Coal's story. I loved his power, his badness, but how there was more to him than that. He was a complex character and I enjoyed following his story and discovering his motivations.

The story was told in a really fun, easy to read way. I liked the writing. It kept me interested and racing to the next page.

I'm really happy I got to give Big City Villain a read. I really enjoyed it. It had twists, turns, surprises, and one crazy ending. If you like Super Villains, I'd definitely recommend giving it a read. I don't think you'll regret it.

Meet the Author Penelope Ray

In her natural habitat, Penelope Ray can be found with headphones on and furiously typing away on her laptop, completely oblivious to what's going on around her except for her attention-demanding cats. Though writing about superheroes and their crazy adventures is her current obsession, she started off as a quiet romance author, but a year ago she found Wattpad and let her imagination run wild. It hasn't come back yet. And that's when she discovered me, Coal Black. Her hero, her dashing prince charming, the wind in her sails, and her motivation to keep writing. Happiest in the rain and snow surrounded by cats, Penelope writes her next book while trying not to overthink her author bio or how she's going to write the ending to the story.

Goodreads  Facebook  Wattpad

Thank you for stopping by my Blog Tour Stop for Big City Villain by Penelope Ray. Thanks again to Penelope Ray and YA Bound Book Tours for letting me be a part of such a fun Blog Tour. Super stories are the greatest!

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Reading Right Now! (186)

First off, I'm sorry my blog has been so empty this week. I really just didn't feel like doing anything, so I did nothing. That's the truth and I'm sticking to it. Anyway....
What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

The Dark Intercept (#1) by Julia Keller I'm hoping for sci-fi goodness right here! I can't really say that much about it because I just started, buuut there are two Earths in this. We've got our regular Earth that got too used up, so all the rich people made another Earth somewhere above the old Earth. And there's also this thing that can read everyone's emotions and they use it to track people and stop crimes. I'm getting a little bit of Person of Interest vibes (I love that show by the way. I always had the biggest crush on John. He was a good looking older man, in my opinion haha).

So yes, I'm excited to read more of this. I actually was sent the ARC of the sequel from Tor Teen. I was so excited to get that package. I don't really know why I got it though. I don't remember winning it from anywhere. In my delusional mind, I've convinced myself that it was an unsolicited ARC and I got added to Tor's mailing list. Probably not what happened at all, but I'm going to will it into existence.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading?

Review: The Call (#1) by Peadar O'Guilin

Title: The Call (#1)

Author: Peadar O'Guilin

Published by: Scholastic Inc.

Released: 2016

Source: Library

Summary: Imagine a world where you might disappear any minute, only to find yourself alone in a grey sickly land, with more horrors in it than you would ever wish to know about. And then you hear a horn and you know that whoever lives in this hell has got your scent and the hunt has already begun.

Could you survive the Call? (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: I don't know why I waited so long to read this and I didn't expect to be so terrified of it. The Call wasn't what I was expecting it to be, it was crazy! I really, really enjoyed it, but at the same time, I was terrified. It reminded me a bit of Battle Royale, just in the feel of it. Also, a little bit of The Hunger Games in the hopelessness of it. The Call was an experience. Who knew I could be so frightened of fairies.

One aspect of The Call that I really enjoyed was this post-apocalyptic version of Ireland. It was just an interesting element, imagining Ireland cut off from the rest of the world, having to find ways to stretch resources that can't be replaced, and just the hopelessness of their dying population. Also, because of these limited resources, medical care was decided by who was useful to the continuation of the nation, and who was not. That's terrifying. These Sidhe were mean, and they meant business when they decided to punish Ireland.

The Survival Schools were another interesting facet to the story. All these kids were being taught any skill they could to survive the Call: physical fitness, fighting skills, ruthlessness, conditioning of the soles of their feet, the Sidhe language, anything to survive. These kids were killing machines which was good in some cases, bad in others.

I was genuinely terrified imagining being called to a place like the Grey Land. Knowing that I was being hunted and that only 1 in 10 has managed to survive. It was very thrilling and scary.

I also didn't expect how gory this was going to be. It just made it that more intense and scary.

Nessa as a main character was interesting to follow. She's a disabled character, had Polio when she was younger, making her legs weak. Just knowing that her parents considered doing what they thought was the humane option and killing Nessa before her Call came. That's dark. But Nessa was determined not to let her disability stand in her way, and worked harder to be in the best shape she could. Nessa was strong and she was impressive. She didn't want anybody's pity.

The whole idea of the Call was terrifying. Never knowing when or where you would be pulled from and then being on the run for your life. Terrifying landscape, creatures that can melt your skin with a touch, and take great delight in killing. It's all just craaaazy!

The Call kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to it's crazy end. I want to know what happens next, so maybe it's a good thing I waited so long to read it, because that means I didn't have to suffer that horrific wait for the sequel. I'd definitely recommend this, but be warned, it's gory, scary, hopeless, and a lot of people die in it, but it's good!

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

Who knew I would be so terrified of woodland fairies