I am so behind on my reviews. I have reviews to write for Where the Heart Is, Jennifer Government, and The Institute.
I'll try to catch up, but I have a big weekend ahead of me.
I'll try to catch up, but I have a big weekend ahead of me.
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I am so behind on my reviews. I have reviews to write for Where the Heart Is, Jennifer Government, and The Institute.
I'll try to catch up, but I have a big weekend ahead of me.
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Edition Read: Paperback Edition
Started: January 1, 2015 Finished: 23, 2015 Rating: ★★★☆☆ Finally! I've been dying to have this book finished from the moment I started my week #2 book, and it took me one day into week #4 to finally call it done. This book ended up being slower going for me than I would have liked. Toward the middle I started getting bored, and I feel like it dragged on for 100 pages too long. Wildwood is the story of Prue McKeel, a 12-year-old girl living in Portland with her parents and brother. In Prue's version of Portland, there is a forested area known as the Impassible Wilderness, and Prue was told to never go there, and for the most part she obliged. That is, until the day her brother is taken by crows and led into the Impassible Wilderness, causing Prue to have to follow them. What results is Prue discovering the Impassible Wilderness is its own country known as Wildwood, and she will have to make friends with a menagerie of people and talking animals to save her brother. Along the way, her friend Curtis follows her in and gets caught up in his own adventure, almost becoming the enemy. Hoo boy. I figured since this was a middle grade level novel, I would breeze right through it since it's lower fare than I'm used to (Last time I read a middle grade novel was about 20 years ago). As it turns out, the pacing ended up being so slow for me that I had to put is down at times and read something else. I get that it's fantasy and fantasy books need world building, but there were parts later in the book (party scenes, downtime scenes, etc.) that needed to be cut short. It also took far too long to get to the final fight scenes, and I felt like the entire last chapter needed to go. It you like fantasy, especially books like A Series of Unfortunate Events and Chronicles of Narnia, give this book a shot. I think the exposition of these kinds of books just makes them drag for me. Oh, yes, I joined another challenge. This one is by Book Riot, and only has 24 challenges (7 of which overlapped exactly with challenges from the Pop Sugar list, and 5 more where they conveniently fit two different challenges, one from Pop Sugar, one from Read Harder).
So here's the list. (I meant to post this about a week ago) 1. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25 Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer 2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 A Mercy by Toni Morrison 3. A collection of short stories Curious by Elizabeth North 4. A book published by an indie press The Dying of the Light: End by Jason Kristopher 5. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ After Midnight by Santino Hassell 6. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own Company by Max Barry 7. A book that takes place in Asia number9dream by David Mitchell 8. A book by an author from Africa Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko 9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko 10. A microhistory Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America 11. A YA novel Matched by Ally Condie 12. A sci-fi novel Starshine by G.S. Jennsen 13. A romance novel Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson 14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade The Road by Cormac McCarthy 15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund 16. An audiobook Jennifer Government by Max Barry 17. A collection of poetry From the Mist by Bonnie Mutchler 18. A book that someone else has recommended to you Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 19. A book that was originally published in another language No Game, No Life Vol. 1 by Yuu Kamiya 20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley 21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees 22. A book published before 1850 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 23. A book published this year The Institute by Kayla Howarth 24. A self-improvement book Makeup Manual by Bobbi Brown *Warning: Due to the nature of this book, there will be discussions of a sexual, adult nature in this review. Reader discretion is advised.*
Edition Read: Sony/Kobo eBook edition Started: January 8, 2015 Finished: January 11, 2015 Rating: ★★☆☆☆ As I mentioned in my update post a few days ago, I'm not quite done with my week #1 book, so this review is for my week #2 book. I've reached the halfway point of my week #1 book finally, so the review should be coming soon. Where do I start with this book? It took all of me to even finish it (and I guess I had a slight curiosity over how it was going to end.) Irresistible Forces follows Taylor Steele, a 25-year-old who has made a name for herself as an investment banker for the wealthy and powerful. Taylor has decided she wants to have a baby, and ASAP. But she didn't need a husband, or even a steady boyfriend. Just a baby. Now, an average woman would save up, go to a sperm bank, you know? And Taylor was certainly well off enough to do that and not have it cause too much of a dent in her pocketbook. You see, though, Taylor wasn't an average woman. She was picky, and wanted her baby daddy to be just as rich, powerful, and attractive as she was. He also needed to be okay with the lack of commitment. Enter Dominic Saxon, a shipping/hotel heir and one of Taylor's clients. So rich and powerful? Check. He's the son of a French father, and an American fashion designer/model mother. So check on the good looks. He's also a widower jaded toward love due to the death of his wife. He vowed to never let another woman get to him like that. So, not looking for commitment? Checkity check. So, since Dominic is the perfect candidate for fathering Taylor's baby, she propositions a week long getaway on a remote Caribbean island as a "procreation vacation." While hesitant at first, he agrees and they jet off. They go on vacation, they have a lot of sex, and they ultimately fall in love. The end basically. This book got on my nerves, but I couldn't put it down. (That might have been why it bugged me so much. The story sucked me in, but the writing was so poor.) Taylor and Dominic (or any of the other characters, mind you) have no depth. It's pretty people boning pretty people for boning's sake. In fact, they bone so much and can't get enough of each other, I sped read through the sex scenes, which probably attributes to why I finished so quickly. Also, I really think they put some Viagra in Dominic's water cause once he was up, he didn't go down. And I'm pretty sure those don't work like that and maybe he should be calling his doctor cause his erections are lasting more than four hours. There was also little conflict, aside from Dominic and Taylor playing a game of "love or lust?" after Taylor finally does get pregnant (on the first try too! Some people have ALL the luck!), though there was a perfect opportunity for a decent conflict that is completely glossed over because it was tacked on the end of the book. Dominic has an ongoing, one-sided feud with his paternal grandfather, who had abandoned his father when he married his mother. His parents had long forgiven him, but Dominic was still bitter, so he had cut him off. The grandfather goes to visit Taylor, tell his side of the story, show how remorseful he is, etc etc, and gives her his business card. Dominic finds the business card, gets pissed off, they fight, Taylor tells him to basically get over himself and forgive his grandfather, and Dominic storms out. When he goes to forgive her, he finds out she's in Paris for his grandfather's birthday. He flies out himself, reconciles with his grandfather, and then manages to reconcile with and propose to Taylor right after. That had so much potential to be a fantastic conflict, but because it was tacked on in chapter 12 or 13 (of 13 + epilogue, mind you), that it is so completely rushed and treated like something minor. I wish that had been expanded more, that Dominic would have had to do a lot more to win Taylor back. I would have liked it a lot more if that had been the case. (Either brought in earlier in the narrative, or added on more chapters to work on that). Oh and also, it irked me that they sprung Taylor's younger sister getting pregnant randomly in the middle of the book. Fortunately, they did not also thrown in Taylor not getting pregnant, because if that was the case I would have thrown my phone (which I'm using to read my eBooks at the moment until my tablet gets fixed) across the room in disgust. All in all, this is a quick read and good if you're in the mood for some steamy smut, but if you're looking for a decent plot, look elsewhere. Well we're two days into week #2 of the year/challenge so I figured it was time for an update of sorts.
I'm just under halfway through my week #1 book, it ended up being a much slower read than I expected. I thought I'd breeze through it because it's geared toward a younger audience, but that didn't seem to be the case. I haven't abandoned the book though, and I still plan to finish it. To stay caught up though, I've also started my week #2 book, and well... just wait for the review. *sigh* Hello again!
So I've decided to give you guys a preview of all the books I plan to read this year, so you know what's coming up. I will be reading them in the order in which they're listed. 1. A book with more than 500 pages Wildwood by Colin Meloy 2. A romance Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson 3. A book that became a movie Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts 4. A book published this year The Institute by Kayla Howarth 5. A book with a number in the title 1984 by George Orwell 6. A book written by someone under 30 Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer 7. A book with nonhuman characters Animal Farm by George Orwell 8. A funny book Cracked! A Magic iPhone Story by Janine Southard 9. A book by a female author Starhine by G.S. Jennsen 10. A mystery or thriller The Ninth Life by Jaye Marie 11. A book with a one-word title Company by Max Barry 12. A book of short stories Curious by Elizabeth North 13. A book set in a different country The Finnish Line by Linda Gerber 14. A nonfiction book What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe 15. A popular author's first book Three Wishes by Liane Mortiary 16. A book from your favorite author that you haven't read yet Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry 17. A book a friend recommended Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 18. A pulitzer-prize winning book The Road by Cormac McCarthy 19. A book based on a true story The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich 20. A book at the bottom of your to read list The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 21. A book your mom loves Fatal Cure by Robin Cook 22. A book that scares you We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 23. A book more than 100 years old A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain 24. A book based entirely on its cover Someone Else's Life by Lacey Ann Carrigan 25. A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather 26. A memoir Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It by Nick Carter 27. A book you can finish in a day Safe at Third by Walter G. Meyer 28. A book with antonyms in the title True Lies by Jaci Burton 29. A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger 30. A book that came out the year you were born Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold 31. A book with bad reviews One Night at the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat 32. A trilogy (the first) Matched by Ally Condie 33. A trilogy (the second) Crossed by Ally Condie 34. A trilogy (the third) Reached by Ally Condie 35. A book from your childhood The Giver by Lois Lowry 36. A book with a love triangle That Boy by Jillian Dodd 37. A book set in the future Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 38. A book set in high school Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen 39. A book with a color in the title Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 40. A book that made/makes you cry Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 41. A book with magic The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 42. A graphic novel Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley 43. A book by an author you've never read before After Midnight by Santino Hassel 44. A book you own but have never read Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein 45. A book that takes place in your hometown The Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge 46. A book that was originally written in another language No Game, No Life Vol. 1 by Yuu Kamiya 47. A book set during christmas (or similar holiday) How the In-Laws Wrecked Christmas by Fiona Gibson 48. A book written by an author with your same initials Next to Love by Ellen Feldman 49. A play 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog 50. A banned book Forever by Judy Blume 51. A book based on or turned into a TV show Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen 52. A book you started but never finished The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman Hello and welcome to Pass the Bookmark! I wanted a place to house my book reviews (mainly for the 2015 Reading Challenge, hopefully beyond that) that didn't clutter up my other blogs. For 2015 I should be posting about once a week, since my goal is to finish a book a week to meet the challenge.
Hopefully doing this challenge will respark my interest in reading, something that has been missing since I was in middle school/early high school. So watch this space, hopefully this time next week you'll have my first review! |
AuthorErika. 36. Aquarius. January Baby. Lefty. Tucson, AZ. Grad Student. Fangirl. Fanfic Author. Slasher. Fanmixer. Iconer. Podficcer. Archives
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