Reading Right Now! (260)

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

 

The God Game by Danny Tobey -- I originally got this for review through Netgalley, but then checked out a physical library copy. I don't really know how I feel about it. It's interesting. I'm curious as to what's going to happen next. I feel weird about it being a game controlled by "God." I don't like how they call it "God." It just seems sort of blasphemous to me. There were also some political jokes that just fell very, very flat for me. Jokes that have been repeated a couple of times, and I'm just over them. I'm also kind of confusing characters, forgetting which character is which, which I think is less of a me problem and more a problem that these voices aren't distinct enough. They just don't feel like high school kids to me. I think maybe I would have believed it more if they'd been college, or even older.

I mean, I'm definitely interested. I think it helps that a lot of the chapters are short. It honestly reminds me of a novel called Erebos by Ursula Poznanski, which I was a fan of. They deal with the same kind of scenario.

Something is Killing the Children, Volume 1 by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell'Edera, Miguel Muerto -- I also got this one for review through Netgalley, then waited too long to read it, and had to check it out from the library via Hoopla. I'm enjoying this one. It's a horror comic where kids in this small town are being killed. A mysterious girl enters the picture to hunt what is killing the children. Sometimes the art style looks a little strange, but overall, I really like it. It has almost a sketch feel to it, but it still feels finished, if that makes sense. Our mysterious girl has these weird, big eyes, which can sometimes look very jarring, and other times look very interesting, in a good way. I'm liking it. I'm interested to see where the story goes. For some odd reason, Hoopla didn't have there series together as one volume, so I had to check out the individual issues, but I'm making sure that I just read the first five, because Volume 1 contains the first five.

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

BLOG TOUR: Ordinary Girls: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz

I'm very excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Ordinary Girls: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz. I received a free copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Algonquin Books and Jaquira Díaz for letting me be a part of this tour.

Title: Ordinary Girls: A Memoir

Author: Jaquira Díaz

Published by: Algonquin Books

Released: October 29, 2019

Source: Review Copy from Publisher

Goodreads   Amazon

Synopsis: “There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime.” —Julia Alvarez 

Ordinary Girls is a fierce, beautiful, and unflinching memoir from a wildly talented debut author. While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Jaquira Díaz found herself caught between extremes: as her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was surrounded by the love of her friends; as she longed for a family and home, she found instead a life upended by violence. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. Díaz triumphantly maps a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.

With a story reminiscent of Tara Westover’s Educated, Roxane Gay’s Hunger, and Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries, Jaquira Díaz delivers a memoir that reads as electrically as a novel. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: I don't really read a lot of nonfiction, so I wasn't sure how Ordinary Girls was going to go. I'm pleased to say that I really enjoyed it, I was caught up in the story of Jaquira Díaz's life. It was a very engaging and fast paced read. If I didn't know I was reading a memoir, I would have just thought it like all of the other fiction books that I read.

Because it is a memoir, I feel a little weird about rating it. This was someone's life, a life that I'm glad I got to read about.

This book does have a lot of darkness to it. Jaquira Díaz definitely went through a lot of stuff and came out strong. There is violence, sexual assault, depression, and mental illness. They were tough subjects to witness.

I'm really glad I got the chance to read Ordinary Girls. It offers a glimpse of a life that was very turbulent, but the author came through the other side with strength. It's definitely a memoir I'd recommend.

Jaquira Díaz was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami. She is the author of Ordinary Girls: A Memoir, winner of a Whiting Award, a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal, and a Lambda Literary Awards finalist. Ordinary Girls was a Summer/Fall 2019 Indies Introduce Selection, a Fall 2019 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Notable Selection, a November 2019 Indie Next Pick, and a Library Reads October pick. Díaz's work has been published in The Guardian, The Fader, Conde Nast Traveler, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and The Best American Essays 2016, among other publications. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, an Elizabeth George Foundation grant, and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Kenyon Review, and the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. A former Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, and Consulting Editor at the Kenyon Review, she splits her time between Montréal and Miami Beach, with her partner, the writer Lars Horn.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog Tour Stop for Ordinary Girls: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz. Thanks so much to Algonquin Press and Jaquira Díaz for letting me be a part of it.

BLOG TOUR: Crossing in Time (Between Two Evils #1) by D.L. Orton

I'm excited to be on the Blog Tour for Crossing in Time by D.L. Orton. This is the first book in the Between Two Evils Series. I was contacted through Twitter to be a part of this by TheWriteReads. I believe this book is available for free right now on Amazon (but that could change). So, I got this book free on Amazon for an honest review. Thanks to TheWriteReads and D.L. Orton for letting me be a part of it.

Title: Crossing in Time (Between Two Evils #1)

Author: DL Orton

Published by: Rocky Mountain Press

Released: April 21, 2015

Source: Review Copy from Author

Goodreads   Amazon

Synopsis: The past isn't over, it's an opening. The future isn't hidden, it's a trap. 

If she ever wants to see him again, she'll have to take the risk. 
Fall into this "Funny, Romantic & Harrowing" (Publishers Weekly Starred Review) dystopian love story and prepare to encounter a finicky time machine, a mysterious seashell, and a very clever dog (some sex, some swearing, some violence, but no vampires and absolutely NO ditzes!)
When offered a one-way trip to the past, Isabel sacrifices everything for a chance to change the rapidly deteriorating present--and see her murdered lover one last time. When she arrives twenty years in the past, buck naked and mortally wounded, she has 24 hours to convince a stunned but enraptured nineteen-year-old to change their future. Definitely easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that's a heart breaker, save the world or not.
This offbeat tale is about falling madly in love when one is too cynical for such things, letting go of pessimism when it's the last life jacket on a sinking ship, and racing against the clock when one doesn't have the proper footwear. It's a coming-of-age story for old fogeys, a how-to-make-love guide for diehard celibates, and a laugh-out-loud tragedy with a hopeful twist. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: This was a fun and funny book! It had a lot of things going on in it. It was told through multiple perspectives, which I enjoyed. It had a dash of time travel and a big cup of romance. I liked it. I thought it was a good time.

This is mainly a romantic tale, the time travel takes a little bit of a backseat to that. There is also sexy times in this book.

I enjoyed the way it was told. It kept me on my toes, made me think about things. It was an adventure for sure. I'd be interested to see where it goes in the next books. It was good.

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR D. L. ORTON lives in the Rocky Mountains where she and her husband are raising three boys, a golden retriever, two Siberian cats, and an extremely long-lived Triops. 
In her spare time, she's building a time machine so that someone can go back and do the laundry.
Website:
http://DLOrton.com
Twitter:
Twitter.com/@DL_Orton
Ms Orton is a graduate of Stanford University's Writers Workshop and a past editor of "Top of the Western Staircase," a literary publication of CU, Boulder. The author has a number of short stories published in online literary magazines, including Literotica, Melusine, Cosmoetica, The Ranfurly Review, and Catalyst Press. 
You can email her at dlo at dlorton dot com.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog Tour Stop for Crossing in Time by D.L. Orton. Thanks so much to TheWriteReads and D.L. Orton for letting me be a part of it.

BLOG TOUR: The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader

I'm very excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader. I received a free electronic copy for honest review from the Publisher. Thanks so much to Graydon House and Molly Fader for letting me be a part of this tour.

Title: The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season

Author: Molly Fader

Published by: Graydon House

Released: June 9, 2020

Source: Review Copy from Publisher through Netgalley

Goodreads   Amazon

Synopsis: Three generations of women come together at the family orchard to face secrets from the past and learn to believe in the power of hope and forgiveness.

In cherry season, anything is possible…
Everything Hope knows about the Orchard House is from the stories of her late mother. So when she arrives at the northern Michigan family estate late one night with a terrible secret and her ten-year-old daughter in tow, she’s not sure if she’ll be welcomed or turned away with a shotgun by the aunt she has never met.

Hope’s aunt, Peg, has lived in the Orchard House all her life, though the property has seen better days. She agrees to take Hope in if, in exchange, Hope helps with the cherry harvest—not exactly Hope’s specialty, but she’s out of options. As Hope works the orchard alongside her aunt, daughter and a kind man she finds increasingly difficult to ignore, a new life begins to blossom. But the mistakes of the past are never far behind, and soon the women will find themselves fighting harder than ever for their family roots and for each other.  (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: This was very sweet, cute, and heartwarming. I really enjoyed it. It was a book all about family, secrets, hard times, and how we get through them. It was just a book that made you feel good.

I loved the setting of Orchard House and how it helps heal and help these characters. Hope was really going through some hard times and I liked that she could come to this familial place and find her way back to safety.

I also liked getting Aunt Peg's story. She's stayed at Orchard House and we see how that decision has come to shape her life.

Also, cherries are delicious. There is a cherry tree that grows in my yard and every year, I probably get to enjoy three or four of them. I wish I could eat more, but the birds get them before I do. Fresh cherries are so good though. Reading this story made me crave cherries.

I had a good time reading The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something that will make you feel good. The story and writing were just really comforting and I enjoyed my stay at Orchard House.

Molly Fader is the author of The McAvoy Sister’s Book Of Secrets. As Molly O’Keefe she is the USA Today Bestselling author of over 50 contemporary romances. She lives in Toronto Ontario with her husband, two kids and rescue dog.

Thanks so much for stopping by my Blog Tour Stop for The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader. Thanks so much to Graydon House and Molly Fader for letting me be a part of it.

Review: The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman

Title: The Remaking

Author: Clay McLeod Chapman

Published by: Quirk Books

Released: 2019

Source: Library

Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, this supernatural thriller for fans of horror and true crime follows a tale as it evolves every twenty years—with terrifying results.

Ella Louise has lived in the woods surrounding Pilot’s Creek, Virginia, for nearly a decade. Publicly, she and her daughter Jessica are shunned by their upper-crust family and the Pilot’s Creek residents. Privately, desperate townspeople visit her apothecary for a cure to what ails them—until Ella Louise is blamed for the death of a prominent customer. Accused of witchcraft, both mother and daughter are burned at the stake in the middle of the night. Ella Louise’s burial site is never found, but the little girl has the most famous grave in the South: a steel-reinforced coffin surrounded by a fence of interconnected white crosses.

Their story will take the shape of an urban legend as it’s told around a campfire by a man forever marked by his boyhood encounters with Jessica. Decades later, a boy at that campfire will cast Amber Pendleton as Jessica in a ’70s horror movie inspired by the Witch Girl of Pilot’s Creek. Amber’s experiences on that set and its meta-remake in the ’90s will ripple through pop culture, ruining her life and career after she becomes the target of a witch hunt. Amber’s best chance to break the cycle of horror comes when a true-crime investigator tracks her down to interview her for his popular podcast. But will this final act of storytelling redeem her—or will it bring the story full circle, ready to be told once again? And again. And again…  (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts: I love the cover and the concept of The Remaking, those are the things that first drew my eye. I love the idea of a dark past inspiring so many different storytelling mediums. It's just a really cool concept for a book.

I wish I had liked the inside as much as I liked the idea. I just didn't fall in love with how the story was told. It kind of had a long-winded quality to it and I wanted something faster.

I didn't really feel for any of the characters either. They were all kind of distant or hard for me. I wanted to like Amber, but I never really did. She was just kind of there.

I also wanted more from the ending. It didn't really give me any closure or end. For all the build-up, I just wanted more.

I loved the idea of The Remaking, but the story just didn't blow me away.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.4/5

Scary Little Ghost Girl

Reading Right Now! (259)

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

-- The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo -- First off, I love the color scheme of this cover. It just makes me think of summer and fun.

I'm about 50 pages into this and I'm not sure how I feel. I think this started off a little strange. Our main character, it's almost like she tries too hard to be the cool rebel girl. The jumps in time threw me off a little bit too.

I think this also might read, so far, on the younger side of YA, which is fine. The main character just feels a little immature to me.

I'm looking forward to reading more of it, seeing where it goes. I want something fun and light, so hopefully this will be it.

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

BLOG TOUR: Fractures (Echoes #2) by Alice Reeds