BLOG TOUR: Angels of the Resistance: A WWII Novel by Noelle Salazar

 I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Angels of the Resistance by Noelle Salazar! I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to MIRA and Noelle Salazar for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: Angels of the Resistance

Author: Noelle Salazar

Published by: MIRA

Released: November 29, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads         Amazon

 

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of The Flight Girls comes a story inspired by true events, about courageous women who risked everything for country, for family, and for each other.

Netherlands, 1940

As bombs fall across Europe, fourteen-year-old Lien Vinke fears that the reality of war is inescapable. Though she lives a quiet life with her mother and older sister, Elif, in their small town of Haarlem, they are no strangers to heartache, having recently suffered an immeasurable loss. And when the Nazis invade the Netherlands, joining the Dutch resistance with Elif offers just the atonement Lien craves.

Trained to shoot by their late father, the sisters are deadly wolves in sheep’s clothing. They soon find themselves entrenched in the underground movement, forging friendships with the other young recruits, and Lien even discovers a kindred spirit in a boy named Charlie. But in wartime, emotional attachments are a liability she can’t afford, especially when a deeply personal mission jeopardizes everything she holds dear—her friendships, her family, and her one shot at redemption. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this story, and it was even more thrilling knowing that it was inspired by true events. I can't imagine living during such a time and having to make life and death decisions.

This was a very thrilling read. I liked our characters of Lien and Elif. I was very interested in seeing them join the resistance and go on missions. It was definitely a lot. These girls had to grow up fast.

I'm always a fan of historical fiction, so I liked reading this novel of WWII. It had a lot of grit and heart.

 Noelle Salazar was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where she's been a Navy recruit, a medical assistant, an NFL cheerleader and always a storyteller. When she’s not writing, she can be found dodging raindrops and daydreaming of her next book. Noelle lives in Bothell, Washington, with her husband and two children. The Flight Girls is her first novel.

Thanks for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Angels of the Resistance by Noelle Salazar. Thank you to MIRA and Noelle Salazar for letting me be a part of the tour. I'd grab this one and give it a read, especially if you like historical fiction.

SPOTLIGHT: Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War by Jerad W. Alexander

 I'm excited to share a Spotlight for Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War by Jerad W. Alexander! I received a free copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Algonquin Books and Jerad W. Alexander for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War

Author: Jerad W. Alexander

Published by: Algonquin Books

Released: November 8, 2022 (Paperback)

Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads         Amazon

 

Synopsis: As a child, Jerad Alexander lay in bed listening to the fighter jets take off outside his window and was desperate to be airborne. As a teenager at an American base in Japan, he immersed himself in war games, war movies, and pulpy novels about Vietnam. Obsessed with all things military, he grew up playing with guns, joined the Civil Air Patrol for the uniform, and reveled in the closed and safe life “inside the castle,” within the embrace of the armed forces, the only world he knew or could imagine. Most of all, he dreamed of enlisting—like his mother, father, stepfather, and grandfather before him—and playing his part in the Great American War Story.

He joined the US Marines straight out of high school, eager for action. Once in Iraq, however, he came to realize he was fighting a lost cause, enmeshed in the ongoing War on Terror that was really just a fruitless display of American might. The myths of war, the stories of violence and masculinity and heroism, the legacy of his family—everything Alexander had planned his life around—was a mirage.

Alternating scenes from childhood with skirmishes in the Iraqi desert, this original, searing, and propulsive memoir introduces a powerful new voice in the literature of war. Jerad W. Alexander—not some elite warrior, but a simple volunteer—delivers a passionate and timely reckoning with the troubled and cyclical truths of the American war machine. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Jerad W. Alexander has written for Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Nation, Narratively, and elsewhere. He holds an MFA in Literary Reportage from the New York University Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism. From 1998 to 2006, he served as a U.S. Marine, deploying to the Mediterranean, East Africa, and Iraq. He grew up on military bases, from the east coast of the United States to Japan. He currently lives in New York City, but calls Atlanta home.

Thanks so much for checking out my Spotlight Post for Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War by Jerad W. Alexander. Thank you to Algonquin Books and Jerad W. Alexander for letting me be a part of the tour. This is a book I'd definitely add to your TBR.

SPOTLIGHT: Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi - Paperback Release

 I'm excited to share a Spotlight for Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi! I received a free copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Algonquin Books and Stephanie Gangi for letting me be a part of the tour! This Spotlight is specifically for the new paperback version which was released November 1, 2022.

Title: Carry the Dog

Author: Stephanie Gangi

Published by: Algonquin Books

Released: Paperback Copy - November 1, 2022

Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads         Amazon

 

Synopsis:  Bea Seger has spent a lifetime running from her childhood. The daughter of a famous photographer, she and her brothers were the subjects of an explosive series of images in the 1960s known as the Marx Nudes. Disturbing and provocative, the photographs shadowed the family long past the public outcry and media attention. Now, decades later, both the Museum of Modern Art and Hollywood have come calling, eager to cash in on Bea’s mother’s notoriety. Twice divorced from but still entangled with aging rock star Gary Going, Bea lives in Manhattan with her borrowed dog, Dory, and sort-of sister, Echo. After years of avoiding her past, Bea must make a choice: let the world in—and be compensated for the trauma of her childhood—or leave it all locked away in a storage unit forever.

Carry the Dog sweeps readers into Bea’s world as the little girl in the photographs and the woman in the mirror meet at the blurry intersection of memory and truth, vulnerability and resilience. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 Stephanie Gangi is a poet, essayist, and novelist. Her award-winning poem, “Four,” was published in the Hippocratic Prize Anthology. Her acclaimed debut novel, The Next, was a finalist in the Writers@Work Annual Writing Competition. Her essays have been published in Literary Hub, Catapult, The Woolfer, Bust, TueNight, and NextTribe. Gangi wrote the first draft of Carry the Dog at the Leopardi Writing Conference in Recanati, Italy, after winning the Jeannine Cooney Scholarship for Excellence in Fiction. She lives in New York City.

BLOG TOUR: Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

 I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake! I received a free electronic copy from the publisher for honest review. Thanks so much to Berkley Books and Ashley Herring Blake for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Bright Falls #2)

Author: Ashley Herring Blake

Published by: Berkley Books

Released: November 22, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads         Amazon

 

Synopsis: An interior designer learns to rebuild her love life from the ground up with zero blueprints in this new romantic comedy by Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn't Care.

For Astrid Parker, failure is unacceptable. Ever since she broke up with her fiancé a year ago, she’s been focused on her career—her friends might say she’s obsessed, but she’s just driven. When Pru Everwood asks her to be the designer for the Everwood Inn’s renovation that will be broadcasted on a popular home improvement show, Innside America, Astrid knows this is the answer to everything that is wrong with her life. It’ll be the perfect distraction from her failed love life, and her perpetually displeased mother might finally give her nod of approval.

However, Astrid never planned on Jordan Everwood, Pru’s granddaughter and lead carpenter for the inn’s renovation, who despises every modern design decision Astrid makes. Jordan is determined to preserve the history of her family’s inn, particularly as the rest of her life is in shambles. When that determination turns into a little light sabotage, ruffling Astrid’s perfect little feathers, the showrunners ask them to play up the tension. But somewhere along the way, their dislike for each other turns into something quite different, and Astrid must decide what success truly means. Is she going to pursue the life that she’s expected to lead, or the one she wants? (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: This was cute and I enjoyed it. I really liked the Home Renovation Show aspect. The romance was sweet.

There were parts of it that were a little slow, and the characters had a lot of stuff going on in their past.

I had a good time reading this. If you like the sound of it, you should definitely add it to your TBR.

Ashley Herring Blake is an award-winning author. She holds a master’s degree in teaching and loves coffee, arranging her books by color, and cold weather. She is the author of the romance novel Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars, and the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea. She’s also a coeditor on the young adult romance anthology Fools in Love. She lives on a very tiny island off the coast of Georgia with her family.

Thank you for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake. Thanks so much to Berkley Books and Ashley Herring Blake for letting me be a part of the tour. This is definitely one to add to your TBR.

BLOG TOUR: I Am the Light of This World by Michael Parker

 I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for I Am the Light of This World by Michael Parker! I received a free copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Algonquin Books and Michael Parker for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: I Am the Light of This World

Author: Michael Parker

Published by: Algonquin Books

Released: November 15, 2022

Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads        Amazon

 

Synopsis: Acclaimed author Michael Parker tells the searing  and unforgettable story of one decision that irrevocably changes  the course of a young man’s life.

In  the  early  1970s,  in  Stovall,  Texas,  seventeen-year-old  Earl—a  loner,  dreamer,  lover of music and words—meets Tina, the new girl in town. Tina convinces Earl to drive her to see her mother in Austin, where Earl and Tina are quickly separated. Two  days  later,  Earl  is  being  questioned  by  the  police  about  Tina’s  disappearance  and the blood in the trunk of his car. But Earl can’t remember what happened in Austin,  and  with  little  financial  support  from  his  working-class  family,  he  is  sentenced for a crime he did not commit.

Forty  years  later,  Earl  is  released  into  a  world  he  can  barely  navigate.  Settling  in a small town on the Oregon coast, he attempts to establish a sense of freedom from both bars and razor wire and the emotional toll of incarceration. But just as Earl finds the rhythm he’s always sought, his past returns to endanger the new life he’s built.

Steeped in the music and atmosphere of the 1970s, I Am the Light of This World is a gritty, gripping, and gorgeously written story of loss, redemption, and the power of the imagination, perfect for fans of Ron Rash, Rachel Kushner, and Laird Hunt. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: A really interesting story that I enjoyed reading. The synopsis captured my attention right away. Did he do it? What happened to Tina? Was he put in prison for a crime that he didn't commit?

It's fascinating following Earl's story. He was a really well written character. All the stuff that happened in his life, and then seeing him having to navigate the world after 40 years in prison. It was such a compelling story to read.

I liked it and would definitely recommend giving it a read.

 The author of seven novels and three collections of stories, Michael Parker has been awarded four career-achievement awards: the Hobson Award for Arts and Letters, the North Carolina Award for Literature, the R. Hunt Parker Award, and the 2020 Thomas Wolfe Prize. His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, Oxford American, Runner’s World, Men's Journal, and others. He is a three-time winner of the O. Henry Prize for his short fiction and his work has appeared in dozens of magazines and several anthologies. He taught for twenty-seven years in the MFA Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and since 2009 he has been on the faculty of the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for I Am the Light of This World by Michael Parker! Thank you to Algonquin Books and Michael Parker for letting me be a part of the tour! This is definitely one to look out for and add to your TBR pile.

ARC Review: Absynthe by Brendan P. Bellecourt

 

Title: Absynthe

Author: Brendan P. Bellecourt

Published by: DAW Books

Released: December 7, 2021

Source: Electronic Review Copy from Netgalley / Physical Copy from Library

Goodreads        Amazon

Synopsis: In his sci-fi debut, Bellecourt explores an alternate roaring 20s where a shell-shocked soldier must uncover latent telepathic abilities to save himself and the people around him.

Liam Mulcahey, a reclusive, shell-shocked veteran, remembers little of the Great War. Ten years later, when he is caught in a brutal attack on a Chicago speakeasy, Liam is saved by Grace, an alluring heiress who's able to cast illusions. Though the attack appears to have been committed by the hated Uprising, Grace believes it was orchestrated by Leland De Pere--Liam's former commander and the current President of the United States.
Meeting Grace unearths long-buried memories. Liam's former squad, the Devil's Henchmen, was given a serum to allow telepathic communication, transforming them into a unified killing machine. With Grace's help, Liam begins to regain his abilities, but when De Pere learns of it, he orders his militia to eliminate Liam at any cost.
But Liam's abilities are expanding quickly. When Liam turns the tables and digs deeper into De Pere's plans, he discovers a terrible secret. The same experiment that granted Liam's abilities was bent toward darker purposes. Liam must navigate both his enemies and supposed allies to stop the President's nefarious plans before they're unleashed on the world. And Grace is hiding secrets of her own, secrets that could prove every bit as dangerous as the President's. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: E-arc through Netgalley and Physical Copy read from library. Thanks so much to DAW Books for giving me the chance to read it!

This was an interesting alternate 1920's history story with a little bit of steampunk thrown in. We follow a character called Liam, who was wounded in the war and can't remember much of anything. His adventure starts at a flash train ceremony where he witnesses a break in.

I liked elements of this story. The alternate history aspect was pretty cool, and I enjoyed that 1920's kind of feel. I also enjoyed the slight steampunk vibe that it had.

The story was pretty fast paced, and I was always interested in trying to figure out just what was going on.

I did find this story to be just a little bland. Liam wasn't the most exciting guy to follow. None of the characters really had a lot of excitement to them. I just never had much connection to anyone.

This book did move really fast, but it could almost be too fast. There was a lot to wrap your brain around, and sometimes I got a little confused as to what was happening. They just moved really quickly from one thing to another.

The story also goes back and forth in time, reliving some of Liam's war days, and it didn't always feel the smoothest.

I also wasn't that surprised by a couple of the reveals.

This book had cool ideas, but they weren't presented in a way that made it the most compelling story.

On a positive, the copy I read from was a floppy paperback, it was nice. 

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.3/5

The potential is there.

BLOG TOUR: Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria

 I'm excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Silver In the Mist by Emily Victoria! I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Inkyard Press and Emily Victoria for letting me be a part of the tour!

Title: Silver in the Mist

Author: Emily Victoria

Published by: Inkyard Press

Released: November 1, 2022

Source: Electronic Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Goodreads       Amazon

 

Synopsis: Eight years ago, everything changed for Devlin: Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Whisperer of Aris, the head of the spies, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.
 Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in. The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.

Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

 

My Thoughts: This is a good one. It has so much stuff that I love about YA. The world building and magic were really fun to read about. It was an easy story to get lost in.

I mostly liked our main character of Devlin, but there could be times when she made not smart decisions. YA books are full of characters who don't think before they act.

I enjoyed myself reading Silver in the Mist. If you like YA Fantasy, I'd definitely give it a read. 

Emily Victoria is a Canadian prairie girl who writes young adult science fiction and fantasy. When not wordsmithing, she likes walking her overexcitable dog, drinking far too much tea, and crocheting things she no longer has the space to store. Her librarian degree has allowed her to work at a library and take home far too many books.

Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria! Thank you to Inkyard Press and Emily Victoria for letting me be a part of the tour. This is an easy add to the TBR pile.