SOCIAL MEDIA

·

My Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Indoor or outdoor reader

Sunday, July 29, 2018

6 comments


Wow! The month of July just flew by!

Welcome to stop #29 of the Bookish Summer Blog Hop!  This has been such a great way to get to know a bit more of the book blogger community!

Today's question is: Are you an Indoor or an Outdoor Reader?

Kelli Quintos www.tangledintext.com

Indoor. Easily. I need A/C in the Texas heat and I don’t want to have to worry about mosquitos or creepy crawlers landing on me or my book when I’m outdoors. I can handle short bursts of outdoor reading every once in a while, but I do my marathon reading from the comfort of my couch.


Jo Linsdell www.JoLinsdell.com

Indoor reader for sure. I like to be comfy, and have peace and quiet when I read. Outdoors there’s too many distractions. I will sometime take my ipad with me when I take my kids to their swimming or jiu jitsu training so I can read whilst they train but I find it harder to get into the story. I much prefer reading at home from the comfort of my bed.


I am definitely an outdoor reader. I like to be out in the sun and listen to the birds!



I would be an outdoor reader IF allergies and pests weren’t Things That Exist To Make Me Miserable. Get me a place with plenty of shade, protection, and nothing but a nice breeze (like in a screen tent or something) and I would 100% definitely read outside. But barring the absolute pristine circumstances, I generally tend to do my hardcore binge-reading inside, preferably in an armchair with a soft blanket.



Indoor if I’m reading e-books because I hate using a screen outdoors. Or, if it’s rainy or the flies are bad. It’s been a bad year for flies.
I like reading outdoors though if the weather is nice and I have a good paperback. I like sitting on the beach and reading while my kids build castles or just sitting on the deck with a good book while the kids are being kids. I once read Tommyknockers by Stephen King in one day just sitting on the deck while the kids were playing.


Marcia Marques (me) TrendySimpleLife.com

I would love to read outdoors more often, but due to the weather and the fact that I read in the early hours of the morning, I tend to read indoors.


Thank you all for participating, reading and supporting the #BookBloggers Community!

If you haven't had a chance to check out the other daily questions, please do so... Here's the schedule!






Read More
at
·

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Saturday, July 28, 2018

4 comments

Audiobook Review


Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Release Date: March 6th, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Audible Audio, Narrated by Bahni Turpin, 18hrs 9mins
Publisher: Macmillan
I rated 5 stars on Goodreads
#ChildrenofBloodandBone


SYNOPSIS

Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut.

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers - and her growing feelings for an enemy.


REVIEW

I have to admit I was a bit skeptic about all the hype around this debut YA fantasy novel.  I had seen pictures of Children of Blood and Bone popping up everywhere but my TBR list being currently so looong and the fact the book is 530 pages did not convince me.  All of a sudden it was BookCon in NYC,  and while waiting for Stephanie Garber to sign my copy of her book, I found myself chatting with Tomi Adeyemi (what are the odds of that?).  I don't believe in coincidences and after reading the book I could say that "it was a sign from the Gods"...

Orïsha is a world rooted in African myths.  There are 10 Maji Clans in Orisha and each clan possess a unique, magical gift.  Majis and Diviners are marked with white hair, which sets them apart from everyone else.  Maji and their families are imprisoned, used as slave labor, called “maggots,” and abused by guards everywhere. They live in constant fear of their tyrant king, who will stop at nothing to make sure magic won't return to Orïsha.

“Mama used to say that in the beginning, white hair was a sign of the powers of heaven and earth. It held beauty and virtue and love, it meant we were blessed by the gods above,” Zélie says. “But when everything changed, magic became a thing to loathe. Our heritage transformed into a thing to hate.”

The plot is phenomenal.  Adeyemi delivered a well-crafted, action-packed story.  The character-development is also amazing.  Princess Amari grew from a weak girl, full of doubts, into a fighter, the future queen.   The bond that developed between Zelie and Amari was my favorite part.  In the world of  King Saran, they should hate each other, yet, they learned to trust each other and became friends.  Amari's brother, Inan, was a character that I disliked and did not trust, but he was an important piece of the puzzle and I do believe his secrets will be uncovered in book 2 of the series.

Did I mention that the book ends in a cliffhanger that will keep you waiting for book 2?

This book deserves ALL the Hype!
Every Fantasy needs a savior and Children of Blood and Bone gives you a worthy Heroine right from the start.  A girl.  A black girl.  Chosen by the Gods to restore magic.  Oh, the world has been waiting for this...

If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor, and grab a copy!  You won't regret it :-)

Insteresting Fact:  as I read the book, a lot of the African names sounded somehow familiar.  I later found out that Adeyemi studied West African mythology and culture in Brazil, which is the country where I grew up, and heard a lot of these words (spelling might differ from the book) : Orixá, Ogun, Axé, Yemanjá and Oxumaré.

I alternated between the hard cover book and the audiobook, but the audiobook narrator did such a splendid job, that I read (listened) to 80% of the book.

The next installment, “Children of Virtue and Vengeance,” is scheduled for release in March, 2019.  The movie is believed to be released between book 2 and book 3.

What is your Maji Clan?  Take the QUIZ at ChildrenofBloodandBone.com to find out which clan you're in!

by Tomi Adeyemi


Read More
at

Chat with a BookBlogger: Aimee

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

No comments

Featuring: Aimee


As Book Bloggers we're always trying to connect with each other on social media and exchange tips on how to grow our followers.  With that in mind, I decided to do something different and invite the Book Bloggers I admire for a chat with TrendySimpleLife (me!).

My first chat is with Aimee, from Aimee, Always

1) Aimee, please tell us a bit about yourself (that we won't find out in your blog):
    Ooh this is tough! There's not a lot that's interesting about me aside from the fact that I'm a 4'10" book blogger! Let's see--I love chocolates and iced tea, but have a minor heart condition that prevents me from taking in anything with a lot of caffeine (boo), although sometimes the urge is too strong to resist!

2) You have over 3,000 followers on Twitter and are about to hit the same number on Instagram, which are pretty high numbers in the blogging/social media community.  What makes your blog so unique?
     I've been growing my audience since 2013, when the bookish community wasn't so big yet, so I think that's a big factor! It was a lot easier to get noticed back then, and honestly, I'm just totally myself! I don't really censor myself online--I'm honest, whether I love or hate something. I think people in the community really appreciate honesty and genuineness.

3) How long did it take for you to get to these numbers?
    Like I said, I started around 2013--although I did take a really long break from sometime in the middle of 2015, until the end of 2017.

4) Which social media platform do you spend most of your time on?  Is this the platform that gives you most results?
    TWITTER. I adore seeing everyone's random bookish and non-bookish thoughts--it's the best place to really get to know people and converse. I do get a lot of engagement on there! :)

5) What's your favorite kind of post to work on? Why?
    Even if they're not the most popular posts on my blog, I still adore writing book reviews. I love giving my unbiased opinion, and being to help people out with their reading choices. I also love writing my monthly wrap-ups, since I don't have to think too much and just let the words flow. :)

6) How many books do you read per month on average?
    Back in 2013-2015, I used to read around 10 books a month. I've gotten a lot slower now, and life has been busier. I read around 4-6 books a month now.

7) Do you review every book you read?
    I would love to, but I don't have the time or the attention span to do that. If a book already has a lot of thoughtful reviews, I don't feel the need to review it myself.

8) Favorite Author?
    This is such a hard question! All authors have different "specialties," I guess. I love Rick Riordan for his humor, Marie Lu for her action scenes, Richelle Mead for snark, and so many more!

9) Best book you read in 2018 so far and why:
    I talked about this in my Mid-Year Freak Out Tag post, and my answer still remains the same: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo. If you like fantastical books with amazing characters, lots of wit and magic--you NEED to read this!

10) In which way (positive/negative) has blogging affected/changed your life?  
      Blogging has affected me positively, definitely. I've become more open-minded about a lot of things, like the LGBT community, mental illnesses, etc. These are things I wouldn't have given second thoughts to before I blogged.

11) Please tell us 3 tips for newbie bloggers: 
      PUT YOURSELF BEFORE YOUR BLOG! I know a lot of people put too much focus on their blogs, especially if they're new and are trying to gain some numbers. It's awesome to be passionate about your blog, but don't stress yourself out over it! Your health is still more important!
 
     The blogging community is a community--meaning engagement is important, and also fun! There are so many amazing, genuine people who want to see you grow and succeed. Be genuine and kind right back at them.
 
    You're not obligated to blog about what's popular! Blog about what you love, and readers will love you for that. ♥

Bio:
Aimee's a short Asian girl who loves to blog about books, blogging, and other personal happenings. Her blog, Aimee, Always is the perfect place to find all sorts of fun (and informative–hopefully!) news and shenanigans related to [young adult] books and blogging. It's both a book blog and a personal blog rolled into one brutally honest corner of the Internet.

Connect with Aimee:
blog, goodreads, twitter, instagram, pinterest

Thank you so much for joining me on my chat with Aimee.  If you know Aimee, please let her know that you saw this post.  If you don't know Aimee, go ahead and check out her blog.

Thank you Aimee!  I had a lot of fun chatting with you and look forward to connecting again in the future :-)
Read More
at
·

Blog Tour Spotlight: Forgive Me Not by Samantha Tonge

Monday, July 23, 2018

No comments


Forgive Me Not by Samantha Tonge


We're always looking for good books to read, right?  So, today we'll be joining the #BlogTour of Forgive Me Not by Samantha Tonge.  Read on and make sure to add this book to your TBR list (I've already added it) !

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Forgiveness can be hard to come by… An unputdownable new novel from bestseller Samantha Tonge.
How far would you go to make amends?

When Emma fled her home at Foxglove Farm, she’d let down and hurt those who cared for her most. But now, two years later, she’s ready to face up to her past; she’s ready to go back.

But Emma’s unannounced return causes more problems than she could have foreseen. The people she knew and loved aren’t ready to forget, let alone forgive. And the one person she wants to reconnect with the most, her mother, can’t remember who she is.

Just as Emma starts to rebuild trust, an uncovered family secret and a shocking past crime threaten her newly forged future...

Sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough.

Perfect for readers of Ruth Hogan or Amanda Prowse, this is an extraordinary and unforgettable novel about running away from yourself – and finding a way back.



To purchase a copy of Forgive Me Not, clink on any of the links:



About Samantha Tonge

 Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and her passion, second to spending time with her husband and children, is writing. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.

When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines.

In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.

Samantha Tonge

Author's Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/



Read More
at
·

My Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Which author would you most want to interview

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

3 comments

My Bookish Summer Blog Hop

Welcome to stop #18 of the Bookish Summer Blog Hop!   This is a Super Fun way to get a group of book bloggers to answer a daily question during the month of July.  The answers then get posted to the blog that's scheduled to host that day. And Today happens to be my turn to host it !

Feel free to check the Blog Hop schedule at the bottom of this page :-)
Today's question is "Which Author Would you Most Want to Interview?"   



Marcia Marques (your hostess today)  https://trendysimplelife.blogspot.com/
Wow! I'm a book lover and an avid reader, so this question is a very tough one! Right off the bat, there are 3 that make to the top of the list: Jodi Picoult, Neil Gaiman and Tomi Adeyemi.  I would love to ask each of them how they come up with their ideas, how many books do they read in a year, how long does it take from concept to final draft, and what tips/advices they could give to aspiring writers like myself.



Jo Linsdell www.JoLinsdell.com
Probably J.K. Rowling. I’d love to pick her brain about writing stuff, and how she came up with the idea for Harry Potter. She not only created amazing characters, and an awesome story. She created a world with so many tiny details that it went on to make history. Everyone knows about Harry Potter. I think she’d be really interesting to talk to about other things too though.



Leslie Conzatti www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com
Oh good grief! The list of authors to answer this question would probably be about as long as my “favorite authors” list! I’d want to chat with Cornelia Funke and Marissa Meyer, ask them about the wonderful fairy tales they’ve created, and the inspiration for the inventive stories they’ve spun. I’d want to meet Mark Lawrence and pick his brain about the marvelous blend of science and magic, and the rich, realistic post-apocalyptic world he’s envisioned. I’d want to chat with Jim Butcher and Brandon Sanderson and just basically geek out over paranormal and sci-fi fiction. There’s just so much I love about the authors whose books I read and enjoy!



Brandy Potter www.brandypotterbooks.com
I agree Leslie. She likes to ask these difficult questions. However my choice is easy. Most of the choices I have are dead so…. That leaves Nora Roberts, Heather Graham and Ted Dekker. I have met Nora, watched interviews with Heather but Mr. Dekker is decidedly elusive. So I would have to go with Mr. Dekker. Don’t get me wrong though, Heather would be quite an amazing interview.


And here's the Schedule, so you can Hop the blogs in search of daily answers!

Blog Hop

Read More
at
·

Writing Tips: A Guest Post by Tamuna Tsertsvadze

Sunday, July 15, 2018

2 comments
Writing Tips by Tamuna Tsertsvadze


I am a writer with 5 years of book writing and 2 years of screenwriting and game writing experience. Even though I write for quite long, I am still improving day by day, and learning more and more. I want to share my experience and some tips with others too.

Generally, it is hard to give tips to aspiring writers, because everyone writes with their own style and their own rules. Writing is not something you can put in a frame and label as you want. Even though we often see books separated in specific genres, we can still understand that the so-called ‘borders’ and ‘frames’ aren’t quite solid, but rather barely visible – that said, a book of one genre can very often belong to multiple other genres, or even create a blend of genres. Thus, there is no specific outlined rule for writing and literature. One writes to their heart’s content. Fiction writing is a form of art. And art has no rules whatsoever – it is where people can feel completely free and unleash their imagination to its fullest. 

And still, there are some basic guidelines we should follow, as when you think of writing as no more a hobby but a serious profession, another problem arises – your writing should appeal to other people too and not only yourself. Every writer should know a great deal of psychology in order to write well and make the people like their stories.

Every book a person takes in his hands contains the world and characters they’re familiar with. Otherwise, no one will be interested in the work. So, the
1st rule is: be realistic. People enjoy reading books about the problems they find around themselves in everyday life, and characters who they can relate to. 

Of course, creating a realistic world doesn’t mean fantasy writers do a wrong thing. Realistic world means not the so-called ‘real world’ we live in, but the real passions, emotions, events we experience every day. So even if you have a fantasy world, the feelings must remain sincere. You mustn’t make your reader feel that the world you’re writing about is fake, and the characters are unnatural. They must believe the world you’re writing about exists somewhere beyond the stars, and even though they know it is fiction, they must feel somewhere in a deep corner of the universe that world still exists. 

2nd rule: do NOT create perfect characters. Every one of us has flaws. And as ancient stories tell, even an angel had flaws, no matter angels were ‘perfect beings’. And to be more precise, the term ‘perfect’ is relative. Something that one considers a quality, others might consider a flaw. That is why a perfect being doesn’t exist, so even if you’re writing about ‘perfect beings’ such as superhuman aliens or angels, it is OKAY to give them flaws, because even if they’re so-called ‘perfect beings’, there will appear somewhere an ‘imperfect being’ who says those creatures are full of flaws. That is just how the world is. It is only natural for a character to have their flaws. To be honest, the more flaws, fears and problems they have and the harder they are to overcome, the more perfect our story becomes.

3rd rule: Plot is NOT the key in the writing. It is the craft of the writer – HOW you tell the story, not WHAT you tell. To explain better – everything you can think of now, no matter how original it may seem at first, has already been thought of and written down. Main is now to raise your own voice and retell it only the way YOU can think of. That said – be original, do not be afraid to pour your feelings and emotions down on the paper. You might even find it helpful to listen to battle music while you write action scenes, listen to sad music when you write about someone’s slow death, turn on romantic music when you’re writing a romance scene… Music awakens the deepest emotions of human hearts, and when you listen to music, those emotions flow within you. It is a general truth that whenever the writer writes with their hearts full of passion and emotions, the reader who afterward reads the story, can feel the emotions writer had undergone while writing. It is true – our writing passes down our feelings and emotions as well. So you must be emotional yourself while you’re writing, in order to awaken emotions in your readers afterward.

The 4th rule would be, – feel YOURSELF what you’re writing.

And now, the hardest part of any writer – we consider our stories great, but people don’t read. Why is that? There are several issues – 1st, of course, is marketing. When you are a self-publisher (like me) you must be ready to work not only your writing, but also the marketing skills. 

As for the 2nd issue – it is often that we don’t write according to the right audience, and right genre. No matter what I said of genres before – that they usually blend in each other in a single book – some rules still exist. So the best advice on this behalf would be – not to read articles about genre specifics that you find on the internet – but to read the books belonging to the genre you’re writing in. Books are the best teachers – they show you the craft of other writers, their styles and their passions, their methods and ways. So you know your genre best when you read books of that genre. 

That is basically all I can advise to the aspiring writers. As I said, we all are improving each day, and so the final rule is that practice makes perfect, so do not fear any obstacle put before you, and write and write as much as you can. Only with hard work, strong will and undying enthusiasm can one become a ‘professional writer’ (in inverted commas because that term too is relative ;) One can never satisfy everyone on the planet with their work ;) Critics will come from everywhere). 

Thank you very much for reading this post! I wish you the best of luck in creating your masterpieces! ^_^
About Tamuna:
Tamuna was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. She started writing at the age of 7 when she read the first book that inspired her - Thomas Mayne Reid's "The Giraffe Hunters". Since that day she loves both reading and writing.
She wrote her first serious work when she was 11 years old, a 100 paged story inspired by anime/manga Naruto, which was one of her favourite anime series. 
You can view Tamuna's books by clicking here.
Read More
at
· ·

Summer Vacation: Too Many Books - Not Enough Space

Friday, July 13, 2018

2 comments

Summer Vacation: A BookLover Dilemma



We leave for our Summer vacation to Rio de Janeiro this weekend! Yay! The next 2 weeks I will be instagramming and blogging (Big Plans) about the magnificent views and colors of the "Cidade Maravilhosa"! I'm Super excited to experiment with my new camera, so stay tuned.

By the way, it's actually winter in Rio right now, and my mom made sure to mention that it's "very" cold, so I checked the weather: 76F today! It will be 83F tomorrow.  I forgot how different our definitions of cold temperature can be (when you live in tropical weather)...

I love to travel but going on vacation requires careful planning and packing. I'm usually pretty good at making my lists ahead of time: t-shirts, swimsuits, dresses, shoes, those are no-brainers.

The BIG question is: How many books should I take? Will I really read 5 books?  Probably not, but I like to have options.  I do have to admit that as much as I like actual books (they do photograph better also), the existence of an e-reader and audiobooks make the life of a booklover considerably easier than it was several years ago (no longer trying to squeeze 5 books in a tight suitcase).

So after staring at my "To Be Read" list for a loooong time, here’s what I ultimately decided to bring:

Actual Books: 
1) Girls Night Out by Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton
2) A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo

Kindle Books:
3) Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) by Lauren Graham
4) Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman

AudioBooks:
5) Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (currently on chapter 35)
6) Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
7) My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella


Ok, 7 Books!!!
I think I covered all my options (funny, fantasy, fiction, crime) and am looking forward to a great reading time, among other things!

How many books do you usually bring on vacation and how do you choose (any special process!?) ?
Please do tell :-)


Books to take on vacation





 
Read More
at
·

Guest Post: How Not to Write a Masterpiece

Sunday, July 8, 2018

2 comments


by Scott Stavrou


Don’t save your words for special occasions

I am a writer and for better or for worse, with all it’s ups and downs, have been one for most of my life.

I have written for money. I have written for free. I have written for my own pleasure and I have written for others’ business pursuits. I like to think that sometimes I have also written for other peoples pleasure. I have written things I saw, things I did, things I experienced, things I made up. Things other people did, things other people made up. I have written fiction as fact and even fact as fiction. I have played and I have worked.

But like most writers, I would write no matter what. I suspect that’s true of most of us with who pursue this passion.

But I have not always used my tools enough.

I have one particular tool, a MontBlanc Meisterstück fountain pen that was gifted to me by a favorite aunt some years ago when I was young and immature but fortunate enough to get my first travel book published. It was not a great book but it was a great gift. But because it was a special pen, a heavy and ponderous instrument — even the name Meisterstück was daunting — I tucked the cherished gift away and foolhardily decided only to take it out for special occasions.

Because I am not a young man, there have been a number of special occasions that I deemed worthy when I ceremonially retrieved the heavy black fountain pen and put it into use.

I used it twenty years ago at my first book signing. Then tucked it away.

I made it a point to tuck it into my tuxedo and use it to sign my marriage license on my wedding day.

When my wife and I bought our first house, the Montblanc Meisterstück was used to sign the escrow papers.

When I signed my long-awaited first representation contract with a highly-touted NYC literary agent, out it came again.

When we sold the house and decided to move to Europe, the Montblanc Meisterstück was there to send us off to scale new summits.

I have cherished this pen and its ponderous significance and for most of the travels of two decades, it has accompanied me, even though little used and too often neglected.

Finally, some weeks ago, I was doing my first book-signing in years for my second book, Losing Venice, a novel. In between the almost two decades between books, there had been screenplays, stageplays, articles and speeches, and even school lessons penned. But all without the Montblanc Meisterstück.

And so the trusty but much-neglected Montblanc Masterpiece Meisterstück came out again and did its job faithfully as it had done on several special occasions over the years. But the book signing went well enough that the pen, for the first time in these decades, ran out of ink. The well was finally dry and I had to borrow a cheap plastic pen to sign some more books. And it was a relief. The ponderous pen was done, as was its masterpiece demanding machinations.

I thought, for a time, about buying an ink refill for it. And then thought of how few times I had deemed special enough to pull it out in lo these many years of possessing it. And decided to retire it. It did its job. It was a touching gift for a young writer who looked forward to a life that might be filled with opportunities and special occasions. But I am 
no longer so young nor so naive as to believe in the folly of being too selective in choosing special occasions.

All of life is a special event and there’s not enough ink in the world to mark its everyday majesty. Not enough time to wait for the special moment and the special master piece.

Everything, of course, is not a masterpiece. But everything you do with dedication and passion is a part of a masterpiece, no matter what pen you use or don’t use.

What I wish for all writers is a favorite aunt that gifts a special pen. And many special occasions — along with a liberal and open-armed attitude over deeming what constitutes a special occasion. And that the ink in all writers special pens might run out much faster and more fleeting than mine own Montblanc Meisterstück was allowed to.

Don’t wait to write a masterpiece, people.

Don’t wait to write. Use all your ink for all the special occasions life presents.

###

Scott Stavrou is an American writer and creative writing teacher living in Greece. He has written fiction and non-fiction for numerous publications in America and Europe and was awarded a PEN International Hemingway prize for short fiction. His latest novel, Losing Venice was released May 1, 2018 and is available in paperback and ebook online and in select bookstores. More of his writing can be found on ScottStavrou.com, on  twitter  and Medium. 


 Losing Venice, a novel is available on Amazon and other online bookstores

Read More
at
·

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Thursday, July 5, 2018

No comments

Book Review: Sadie by Courtney Summers

BOOK REVIEW: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Release Date: September 4th, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
320 Pages
Publisher: Wednesday Books
I rated 5 stars on Goodreads
#FindSadie

SYNOPSIS

"Summers has pulled no punches when it comes to diving into the darker side of teen lives." —Bustle

A gripping novel about the depth of a sister's love; poised to be the next book you won't be able to stop talking about.

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial—like podcast following the clues she's left behind. 

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. 

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. SADIE is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

REVIEW

There's a reason this book is getting so much Buzz on social media: It is powerful. It takes you in full force, spins your emotions around and finally breaks your heart!

Let me backtrack a bit: I had the pleasure of meeting Courtney Summers at a FierceReads breakfast at The BookCon in NYC last June, where I got an ARC of Sadie.  I never read any of Courtney's books, so I asked her general writing questions (not specific to her books)...yet, during BookCon, you would see the cover of Sadie everywhere, so the curiosity in me sparkled!

 And what did I think about Sadie? Oh my...this book broke me.  I was completely lost in it.  I rooted for Sadie.  I followed her on her quest for her sister's murder.  I cried with her.  I was taken by surprise and had no idea of how magnificent Courtney Summers' writing style is.

 The chapters are split between Sadie's journey to avenge her sister by killing the man that took the one person that really mattered to her, and West McCray's version, the radio presenter that starts investigating Sadie's disappearance.  Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, so you can't wait to read the next chapter.  This back and forth helps the story flow and keeps you hoping that the clues Sadie leaves behind will help West McCray find her.  The closest he gets to where Sadie is, the more you want to keep reading...until the very last page.

 The more you learn about Sadie's family and the life she lived, the more you hope for her to actually go through with her plan (Yes! I actually wanted her to end him!)...

 At first I thought the story was purely about revenge, but it is so much more than that.  It's about wanting to belong, to be needed, to have someone that loved you back.  Isn't that the definition of being alive?

 I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  This book is dark. It is not for the weak at heart.  But the beauty of it is that it's neither graphic nor obscene, therefore, you can call it a YA novel.
It is one of the best true crime/thrillers I have ever read!

 Dear Courtney, if I ever bump into you again, I will now gladly tell you that I loved your book (and who knows, by then, I'll probably have read other books written by you).
I was in the presence of a great author and didn't know :-(

 Updated 9/21/2018

 “The Girls” Podcast has been released!
Grab your headphones and follow along with West McCray’s (fictional) investigation as he searches for Sadie Hunter.  
#FindSadie
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-girls/id1413420595?mt=2




Read More
at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Copyright © TRENDY SIMPLE LIFE. Blog Design by SkyandStars.co