Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Rowena’s Monthly TBR Pile: April 2020

Posted April 13, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 1 Comment

So, every month I put a list together of the books that I either need to read for review or the books that I want to get around to reading (finally). I’m also trying to be more responsible with my Kindle Unlimited and Audible Romance Package subscriptions so I’m going to post my TBR Pile on the blog so you guys can keep me honest.

I’ll also be sharing my progress each month even though for this month’s post, I’ll be sharing my progress through my February 2020 TBR Pile since I didn’t put a list together for last month. Oops. I’m telling you, this covid-19 thing had me all turned around, stressed and just not in the mood to read. I’m hoping to turn that shit around this month. Here’s how I did with my February pile (I read most of these books in March, a whole ass month later).

Previous Month Stats

Books to Read: 10
Books Read: 10
Books Unread: 0
Pages Read: 3,170 | Hours Listened: 0
Favorite Read: Chasing Cassandra | Least Favorite Read: The Kissing Game

Does it count if I read all of these books in March even though they were on my February TBR Pile? Screw it, it counts to me! I really did not like The Kissing Game but I adored the heck out of Chasing Cassandra. So all in all, it wasn’t a bad reading month at all.

April’s TBR Pile

Book Club
Rowena’s Monthly TBR Pile: April 2020The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 288
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Rowena's 2020 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books

Set in post-war Germany, the international bestseller The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook is a stunning emotional thriller about our fiercest loyalties and our deepest desires. In the bitter winter of 1946, Rachael Morgan arrives with her only remaining son Edmund in the ruins of Hamburg. Here she is reunited with her husband Lewis, a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an extraordinary decision: they will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.

«Una novel·la captivadora, no només d’amor entre la runa, sinó també de traïció i venjança. Els dies que vindran és ple d’amors il·lícits –entre antics enemics, per un país i un règim derrocat–, i això és el que han de fer les bones novel·les: posar a prova les lleialtats i les consciències.» Literary Review

Well, book club has been canceled for however long we’re in this COVID-19 shelter in place thing in L.A. We canceled it last month too but we were supposed to read this book for book club. It was my sister Blanche’s turn to pick a book and she chose this one because she watched the movie and became low key obsessed with it. She’s been wanting someone to talk about it with so she made sure we’d read it and discuss it with her. Not going to lie, I’m glad book club got canceled because I have no interest in reading this one.

Buddy Reads

Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels #5.5) by Ilona Andrews: Our featured review for April on the blog is Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews. You’ll be able to read our team review of that book in the last week of this month. So be sure to be on the lookout for that.

The Orchid Throne (Forgotten Empire #1) by Jeffe Kennedy: So Holly, Ames, and myself were supposed to read this book together last month and the only person that read it was Ames. We’re trying again this month so wish us luck? 🙂

Magic Rises (Kate Daniels #6) by Ilona Andrews: I will be reading this book with Holly this month. She’s been really good about giving me reasons to continue my Kate Daniels binge read. She’s the best, isn’t she?

Only When It’s Us (Bergman Brothers #1) by Chloe Liese: It’s Ames turn to choose our monthly buddy read and she chose this one. I’m thinking it’ll be a good palate cleanser between Kate Daniels books. I’m totally down for a frenemies romance with pranks. Sign me up!

Review Pile

Undercover Bromance (The Bromance Book Club #2) by Lyssa Kay Adams
Yours in Scandal (Man of the Year #1) by Lauren Layne
First Comes Scandal (The Rokesbys #4) by Julia Quinn

I haven’t touched my review pile in a month. The stress at work and with this whole COVID-19 thing is really messing with my reading mojo so I’m hoping to finally get around to reading the books that are sitting on my review pile, just waiting to be read.

TBR Pile

Magic Steals (Kate Daniels #6.5) by Ilona Andrews
Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #7) by Ilona Andrews
Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8) by Ilona Andrews

I’m slowly working my way through the Kate Daniels series and I’m hoping to get the above books read before the month is up. So seriously, wish me luck!

What books are on your TBR pile for April? Anything good that I should keep my eye out on? Please share the books you have on deck to read next month.

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Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Posted April 27, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer NivenReviewer: Rowena
Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 4th, 2016
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 391
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

This was the first book that I ever listened to from beginning to end and while I still prefer to read my own books, this was a great story. It was interesting, the characters were compelling and Niven’s writing style kept me invested in what was going on. I’ve never heard of prosopragnosia before listening to this book but I’m glad that I’ve been schooled on it.

Jack’s character and his experiences with prosopragnosia hurt my heart and I was very interested in that part of the book. Libby was a wonderful addition as well. She was so strong and I really enjoyed seeing the both of them come into their own while finding their love for each other.

This was not an easy book to read (or listen to) but I felt it was an important book for younger kids to read. It’s important for kids to understand what other kids could be going through and to empathize with them. To help them when they need it and I felt like if Jack had someone who knew everything and could help him long before Libby came along, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten as bad for Jack as they had.

Still, this was an interesting listen that I’m glad I took a chance on. I’ll definitely be reading more books by Niven as I enjoyed both Jack and Libby’s story. Jack and Libby weren’t perfect and with Jack being as popular as he was and Libby, not popular at all, their romance would be laughable and completely unrealistic but I thought Niven did a very good job of convincing me that their love was real and true. This was a great introduction to Jennifer Niven’s writing and I cannot wait to read more. I definitely recommend this if you’re in the mood for a contemporary YA with meat. It’s good stuff. I promise.

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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Guest Review: Longbourn by Jo Baker

Posted October 10, 2016 by Tina R in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Longbourn by Jo BakerReviewer: Tina
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: October 8th 2013
Genres: Women's Fiction
Pages: 352
Add It: Goodreads
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five-stars

• Pride and Prejudice was only half the story • 

If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah often thought, she’d most likely be a sight more careful with them.

  In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended.

Jo Baker dares to take us beyond the drawing rooms of Jane Austen’s classic—into the often overlooked domain of the stern housekeeper and the starry-eyed kitchen maid, into the gritty daily particulars faced by the lower classes in Regency England during the Napoleonic Wars—and, in doing so, creates a vivid, fascinating, fully realized world that is wholly her own.

I have to begin by saying how much I enjoyed Longbourn by Jo Baker. I was immediately swept up in this tale which is basically the story of Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of the below-stairs staff. It is well-researched and beautifully written, and dedicates itself to show the reader the grueling life of the servants in the early 19th century.

Longbourn assumes the reader is already familiar with the works of Jane Austen, so begins immediately with the tale of the servants. Instead of presenting us with the seemingly glamorous lifestyle of the Bennett family, we are instead whisked away below stairs where we find the people who were responsible for all the back-breaking tasks that made that lifestyle possible.

Jo Baker is definitely an amazing story-teller. I was entirely captivated by this book. The author provides vivid details into the lives of the servant staff which made me feel like I was transported back in time and experiencing it all for myself.

You will find yourself becoming attached to the staff and rooting them on, feeling their despair, and wanting the best for them as you follow their struggles and daily hardships. It will make you appreciate all the daily conveniences that we have in our own lives today.

I totally recommend Longbourn to anyone who loves the works of Jane Austen or who, like me, is just fascinated with tales of domestic service in the early 19th century. You will not be disappointed. This one is a classic!!

five-stars

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Guest Review: Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf.

Posted May 17, 2016 by Tina R in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf.Reviewer: Tina
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: May 26th 2015
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 192
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three-stars

A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future.

In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf’s inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

Their brave adventures—their pleasures and their difficulties—are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer’s enduring contribution to American literature.

This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.

This is my first book by Kent Haruf. Our Souls At Night is a story that contains mostly dialogue between the characters. There is not a lot of flowery details or background, but you still totally get what the author is trying to get across.

I found Our Souls At Night to be a simplistic story that packs a huge emotional punch. I read this one quickly, and found myself getting completely attached to the main characters, Addie and Louis. The book is tenderly portrayed, and although the ending broke my heart, but I would still definitely recommend it.

The story is about two people in their twilight years who have both lost their spouses and live alone. It starts when Addie goes to Louis’s home and presents a proposition that he come to her house at night and share her bed…..for company and conversation. She explains that having spent most of her life with her husband, she finds the night to be especially lonely and has a hard time sleeping. She goes on to explain that she misses the closeness of having someone next to her at night, and the comfort that it provided. Louis accepts and soon begins his nightly trek to her house every evening and then promptly leaves when they awake. He always waits until after dark and uses the back door as he doesn’t want people to talk, (they do anyway…) but Addie tells him that she doesn’t care what people think and that they are not doing anything shameful. After that, they no longer keep their arrangement secret as they begin to venture out and spend time doing things together during the day.

One day Addie’s son calls and wants her to let her grandson come and stay for awhile while he is sorting out some marital issues. Addie agrees and the boy comes to stay. Louis stays away for a short while, but then Addie tells him that it is okay to resume their nightly regimen. The three of them become close and they take the boy on many outings and Louis even gets him a dog. I will not go into the rest of the book, as it unfolds so beautifully that I believe that it has to be read the way the author wrote it, not how I explain it.

Do yourself a favor and pick up any book you can get your hands on by Kent Haruf. You will not regret it. He writes simply, yet tender and beautiful. I am definitely going to have them all on my shelves. His books will speak to your soul as well as your heart.

Grade: 3 out of 5

three-stars

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Review: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Posted October 2, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David LevithanReviewer: Rowena
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Dash & Lily, #1) by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 26th 2010
Pages: 260
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four-stars

“I’ve left some clues for you.If you want them, turn the page.If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

What a short read this book turned out to be and an enjoyable short read, too.

I really enjoyed this book because the concept behind the whole book of dares thing was just too cute for words.  This book made it onto my radar because Ames read and liked it.  I can almost always tell that I’m going to like a book that Ames has liked because I haven’t disliked a book that she’s recommended me.

This book follows young Dash and Lily as they get to know each other through a red notebook with clues to their next adventures.  They get to know each other through these clues and they grow closer over their Christmas holidays spent without their parents.  Dash found Lily’s red notebook at the Strand bookstore in NYC and followed the clues set forth in the book and the back and forth between the two of them began.  The way that these two “meet” was too cute for words.  I loved the clues, I loved the notebook and I loved seeing these two come together because really, they were too adorable for words.

Dash is loner type of guy who’s been through a tough custody battle between his parent so he’s a lot wiser than his young years and he’s tricks his parents into leaving him alone for the Christmas holiday.  Lily is kind of the opposite as Dash where she loves Christmas and is not happy that her parents took their 25 year anniversary trip over the Christmas holiday.

The two of them made quite the pair and I really thought that Cohn and Levithan wrote a great story with two characters that I came to love over the course of the book.  I’m really looking forward to reading more by these two (I haven’t read Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist but I will now).  This book was enjoyable but as much as I enjoyed it, I wanted more to the ending.  The way that it ended, I hope that there’s another story to follow.  I’m totally crossing my fingers for another book featuring these two.  I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories by either author or really, to anyone who enjoys contemporary YA.  This book doesn’t disappoint.

…and that’s your scoop!

This book is available from Mira Ink. This book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://goodreads.com

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four-stars

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