digital – GoodeyReads

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 406 pages
Author: Hayley Gabrielle
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 22nd, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When Abbey Shader is summoned to Ethra, a land where human qualities roam free in flesh known as Essences, her life and the universe as she knows it splits open before her.
With the expansive secrets of humanity at her fingertips, Abbey’s strength of will and heart are put to a test no amount of time or meticulous study could have prepared her for.
Left to decide between the comfort of the familiar and the potential enlightenment of the strange, Abbey is thrust into a journey that demands more of her at every turn. She must learn to trust what she sees, and trust what she can’t.

Essence marks the first installment of the young adult fantasy series, The Essence Chronicles.

Thank you to the author for sending me a digital copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

AN INTERESTING CONCEPT.

This was interesting! I didn’t know quite what I would be getting into when I started this book. The author reached out and asked if I would like to review a copy and upon checking out Goodreads I accepted the offer because it did sound up my alley!

Do y’all remember the movie, Inside Out? With all of the girl’s emotions portrayed as actual creatures/people? THIS WAS THE BOOK FORM. The further I read and the more characters I met that embodied different essences, the more it reminded me of that movie. This isn’t a good or bad thing, I just saw the similarities. I rather enjoyed having characters completely polarized in their personalities. It made for fun conversation and some solid banter. Combining Joy, Pride, Good, Honesty, and Pessimism (the ones we met in this book) was a squad to watch.

Abbey grew on me over the book. At first I was shaky with her. But what I appreciated was that she didn’t run off and agree with everything everyone was trying to tell her. I hate when characters don’t question what the heck just happened and loved that Abbey asked all the questions. It gave her time to understand and slowly grasp what was happening around her.

The love story with Zac is cute! Even though it was over a shorter period of time it didn’t feel rushed. There’s still a lot of feelings to convey and bonds to form. I liked watching them interact and learn more about each other. Zac is charming and has a deep background that I want to know more about.

As far as magic systems go, this one was rather confusing. I felt as frustrated as Abbey sometimes trying to understand the Earth, erodosphere and Ethra interactions. Then throw on top the Melder, and the Breathing and it left me all sorts of flipped around. The more I read, the clearer everything became and I’m happy that by the end I better understood what was everything meant.

At times this book read more like a prequel. Not a lot honestly happened. Abbey and the crew around her went on an adventure to meet the Overseer who brought Abbey to Ethra in the first place. That scene lasted a whole 2 pages. Instead, we really created a background for the lands and an understanding of how Ethra works in conjunction with Earth. While I wished it had a bit more substance, I’m still really interested in book two. I always found myself wanting to pick up my Kindle to keep reading this and am curious where Abbey will take us next.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
Language: some minor language throughout
Romance: a few kisses
Violence: knives, animal attacks, not super gory, but moderately descriptive

Instagram || Goodreads

For the past few months whenever I have posted my monthly wrap-ups I get a few comments and DMs (through Instagram) asking and exclaiming about how many books I read a month. I honestly don’t realize how many books I get through until the end of the month. I *try* to not let numbers be the forefront of the reason I read. I see people read more than I do so I always think I’m somewhere in the middle.

Thinking about all of this had me pondering a post about some tips and tricks that help me reach higher monthly totals.

But first, I will acknowledge I’m a medium-fast reader. This alone helps on it’s own and is not what I’m addressing here. Everyone reads at their own pace and there is nothing wrong with that. I also am blessed to be able to stay home with my child. This definitely influences how much I can read.

Always a book in my hand.

Books have become a bit of a comfort item for me. I never like to not have one around because I never know when there might be a chance to read. Purchasing a book sleeve was the best idea because I throw my book in there and can be on the go. I read in lines, waiting for appointments, sitting in the car, etc.

I am hooked on audiobooks.

They’re not for everyone, but if you haven’t given them a chance I would highly recommend them! Maybe try listening to an already favorite book of yours and see if you enjoy hearing stories over reading them.

I am sitting here now listening to The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson). I listen to audio books in the car, while working out, doing chores, writing blog posts, playing with my toddler, anything.

Paying attention to the time I spend on social media and watching TV.

I set a timer on my phone that wont allow me to access Instagram once I’ve spent a certain amount of time on there. BEST DECISION. Another great choice? You can pause notifications from Insta which helps me not pull it up constantly. If I’m not getting a notification, I don’t feel as compelled to scroll.

I don’t have a Twitter account and I don’t really use my Facebook account (I don’t even have the app). Social media can be a big deterrent from picking up a book instead. Lowering the amount I spend on here helps me mentally, but also, I’m able to pick up books more.

Since I have a child I am very aware how much we keep the TV on. We usually don’t even turn it on until the afternoon. I’m able to play audio books or read to them rather than us sitting on the couch watching TV.

Kindle (digital) books are my friend.

I used to NEVER read digital books. Not until I started reading Netgalley’s from time to time. But, I’ve realized that with children I can’t always have a book out. It’s grabbed from my hands, pages ripped, things thrown on it (or the book thrown itself). It drove me crazy, so I got my digital library app and WOW. It’s amazing.

I am devouring digital books like they’re candy. It’s so easy to read because the book is attached to you (we all know our phones are with us pretty much always).

I take what I can get.

Have a few minutes before I leave? Read a few pages.

Toddler playing quietly on their own? Read a few pages.

Quick errand to the store? Listen to a few pages.

There’s a lot more chances to read during the day than you might notice. Over the course of the day I can sometimes get 50+ pages read. By the time the family is asleep and I’m reading on my own I’ve already read a chunk of my book.