Tag: historical fiction

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles With Numbers in Them

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Y’all this is a hard topic! But hey, HAPPY TOP TEN TUESDAY.

These definitely aren’t all books I’ve read. I put in bold at the beginning of each blurb about the book about how I feel towards it. Whether it’s a book I’ve read, or on my TBR, or I might never pick up but hey, it has a number in it. It is what it is!

And I also am going in sequential order of numbers 1-10. Because I was looking for extra difficulty in my life haha.

The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

READ: This was such a cute series! BUT ONLY THE FIRST THREE BOOKS. Don’t even get me started on the rampage of books four and five.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

CHILDHOOD FAVORITE: Who hasn’t read a Dr. Seuss book at least once in your life?! Always a great classic.

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) by Kendare Blake

TO BE READ: This is on a tentative TBR of mine. I own the last book, so it’s making me consider picking this up…should I?

The First Four Years (Little House #9) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

CHILDHOOD FAVORITE: Ohhh this series! One of my favorite childhood reads! Love them forever.

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

MAYBE EVENTUALLY: This book BLEW UP when it became a movie and I have neither read or seen either version. Probably should remedy that, I’ve heard good things! At least about the first book.

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

READ: LOVE THIS DUOLOGY. Read it. That is all.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Tayllr Jenkins Reid

MAYBE ON MY TBR: I have seen people LOVING this, my mood hasn’t hit me yet to pick it up though. Eventually…maybe…

1984 by George Orwell

READ: A classic I’ve read…and not loved. This book really creeped me out, especially reading in high school. We basically live in a version of this now. Also, I’m counting this because there is an EIGHT in the title.

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

READ: Oh, what CoHo book DIDN’T I love? The answer: NONE. Still one of my favorites of hers!!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

READ: A whimsical read that was occasionally slow. Enjoyed it overall though!

I did it! Took me way longer than I am willing to admit. What about you? Do you have a favorite book with a number in the title? Lets talk in the comments!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall TBR

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Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

I broke this into two parts because not only are their some great new releases coming out, there’s also a huge stack of books I’m staring at in my house that need to be read too. Lots of books to read this fall y’all.

NEW RELEASES ON MY FALL TBR:

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) by Renee Ahdieh

The Toll (Arc of a Sycthe #3) by Neal Shusterman

Supernova (Renegades #3) by Marissa Meyer

Starsight (Skyward #2) by Brandon Sanderson

The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black

Ninth House (Ninth House Series #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1) by Rosaria Munda

Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy #1) by Amelie Wen Zhao

The Sky Weaver (Iskari #3) by Kristen Ciccarelli

BOOKS I’M DETERMINED TO READ THIS FALL:

Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson

Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) by Elizabeth Lim

A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell #1) by Deanna Raybourn

The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co. #3) by Jonathan Stroud

Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper #2) by Kerri Maniscalco

There Will Come a Darkness (The Age of Darkness #1) by Katy Rose Pool

The Vine Witch (Vine Witch #1) by Luanne G. Smith

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

Vortex Visions (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #1) by Elise Kova

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

What books are on your fall TBR? Any new releases or are you trying to conquer your back list? May we not be buried by our TBR this fall! Lets talk in the comments.

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ARC Book Review: The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult historical fiction
Length: 512 pages
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release Date: October 1st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming guise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of a Texas oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother’s birth through the lens of his camera. Photography–and fate–introduce him to Ana, whose family’s interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War–as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel’s photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.

Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys once again shines light into one of history’s darkest corners in this epic, heart-wrenching novel about identity, unforgettable love, repercussions of war, and the hidden violence of silence–inspired by the true post-war struggles of Spain.

QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION.

I had a friend gracious enough to let me borrow this book and Y’ALL. It was amazing and I loved it.

I absolutely love the way that Sepetys puts together her stories. I own all of her books, but have only read two and clearly I need to up the rest on my TBR. The chapters are written in a fast, short, rotating POV way that keeps you flipping faster and faster. It’s so easy to read this book and keep you interested at the same time.

THE ROMANCE WAS PRECIOUS. Incredibly cute. It was slow and sweet and was exactly what this book needed. I loved watching Daniel and Ana interact and grow to be each other’s confidante. I think they both helped one another see the world from another perspective. I literally SHOUTED at my book when we had a date change in the book because I needed a happy ending for Ana. NEEDED IT. (And Daniel, but really, Ana).

I didn’t love Rafa and Puri’s point of views as much as the others. That is why I took off half a star. By the end, their contributions really made sense though and I do appreciate that. It absolutely broke my heart reading about the deception of the nuns and doctors in Spain during the 1950s-80s. I can’t put into words how that must have felt to be a mother in that time.

The work that went into this novel is clearly seen and I loved having all of the tidbits from speeches and publications that were layered throughout the book. It really brought the history to life and reminded me that things like this really did happen.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult historical fiction + romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses, a not detailed love scene where you do know they spent the night together
  • Violence: guns, torture, imprisonment, murder, physical
  • Trigger warnings: mentions of miscarriage, kidnapping of babies and children

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Book Review: Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult supernatural
Length: 377 pages
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: June 28th, 2005
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Detective R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all, and her killer may be far more dangerous than they suspected.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

GETTING BETTER & BETTER.

This installment was my favorite yet, another simple quick read that I devoured in a day.

I love the world that Ritter has built. And each book has added another piece to the world itself. We get to see new locations, adventures and characters that only add to the book.

Jackaby is so fun to watch. He has some of the best small talk and one-liners and seeing him have some feelings?! YES. It’s also great that we got some back-story on him and I like this new layer it added to his character. My favorite is that this book is heavy on the friendship. And while I love romance, when a friendship is done so well you don’t even notice it’s awesome. Abigail and Jackaby have a great relationship and genuinely care for each other, what a great duo.

Charlie and Abigail took a much bigger backseat than in the previous books. Almost as if it might have been best to not even have a romance component for Abigail (unless it all comes together in book four, to be determined). I think they’re SO CUTE, but since I wish we had more of them it’s hard to love this romance wholly.

What I realized in this third book was that so much from the beginning of this series is pulling through to the finale. There’s been a lot of build-up and slowly peeling away the layers to create what I know will be an amazing finale. I love how nuanced some of these aspects have been and how it’s all falling into place.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult supernatural fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: a kiss or two
  • Violence: murder, vampires, physical, some magical

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