ShayKay's Review of Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Goodreads: Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Synopsis from Book

In a sleepy seaside town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband's death in a car crash. Everyone in town, even her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and Evvie doesn't correct them.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Dean Tenney, a former Major League pitcher, and Andy's childhood best friend is wrestling with what miserable athletes living out their worst nightmares call the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can't figure out why. As the media storm heats up, an invitation from Andy to stay in Maine seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button on Dean's future.

When he moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken - and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more. To move forward, Evvie and Dean will have to reckon with their pasts - the friendships they've damaged, the secrets they've kept - but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance - up until the last out.

Thoughts Before Reading

This was one of the books I picked up for my birthday, and I honestly found it by chance! I was just scrolling through books on Books-a-Million and this one popped up. After reading the synopsis and looking at the book reviews it sounded like the best thing to buy with my birthday money. The fact that I willing picked up a book with hearing so little about it and being from an author I've never even heard of before just proves that Book of the Month has really got me looking at things outside of the norm for me. I love it! 

I thought the book sounded hilarious and very interesting. I hope it has just as many laugh out loud moments as the reviews say. The book itself sounds like another great summer read and I'm trying to cram in as many books as I can before I start classes again this week. I wonder if the book will look into Evvie's life before the car crash and how much Andy plays into the story between Dean and Evvie. From the synopsis I assume Dean and Evvie are going to end up together, but I really hope it isn't an instalove scenario. 

Halfway Through Check-In

So I'm really having a love/hate relationship with this book! I really want to love it, not just cause it cost so much but also because the synopsis of the book sounds right up my ally. But the writing style keeps throwing me! I can usually get into the book even when the reading gets rough. The story itself is really good but the writing style is rough. I think the hardest part for me to follow is the transitions. The book feels really choppy, and when the time moves I have to read it for a little bit just to realize that we are all of the sudden in a different time and there are different situations going on. For example, Evvie and Dean are just hanging out just talking and then boom it's another day. I know I'm not doing a really good job at explaining this, just think about one those picture flip books. Once I get into it then all of the sudden there are different things happening. So its just a little rough to get into the book and then stay there. I'm not to the point where I want to DNF the book because I really enjoy the book, it's just rough getting there.

*****Spoilerish*****

It's mostly through Evvie's perspectives, but every now and again we get glimpses through Dean's. I love Dean, I think he's really interesting to read about and I don't know what I want for him. Do I want him to get over the yips and go back playing baseball? Do I want him to get over this and just be with Evvie? I'm not really sure yet. Evvie definitely has some secrets going on, when the book opens you see her getting ready to leave her husband and then he was killed in a car wreck. Her story has been slowly coming out as the book goes on. I like to think that this book is so choppy because the author didn't want Dean and Evvie to just instantly be in love which I prefer not having that instalove in it but I think the book is trying so hard that it makes everything feel so forced together, and some of the layers thrown into the book I think I would rather see it less to make the book feel so rushed. This is so crazy because I love seeing the layers, they make the book!

Guys! I cannot decide if I like Evvie or not! I love Dean! So far his story has been interesting and he has this thing that works for him. But I just feel like Evvie is going to be one of those untrustable characters, and what you think is going to happen is going to be way worse. I just feel like there is something more going on with the whole reason why she wanted to leave her husband than what she is starting to admit too. I don't know if the choppy transitions make her look like this or not. It just seems that her skeletons are coming out of the closet and with each one she has something dramatic happen. So she wanted to leave her husband on the same day he died but why does that matter so much to her best friend. Why couldn't she leave and stay friends? I just don't know what is going on. Even though this doesn't make sense to me yet I'm still reading it, it's still interesting! Just in an annoying way. I can't wait to see how it ends.

After Thoughts

Well I finished it. I don't really know if the book just didn't click with me or if I just didn't like it. I think I just kept waiting for something more to happen with Evvie's story and it left me wanting more. Normally I like it when the book leaves me wanting more but with this one I don't think it fulfilled the story. First, I couldn't get past how the book was written, and I don't mean the writing style I mean the actual story. It just felt choppy to me and that the transitions just happened without really transitioning from one scene to another. Second, while being in Evvie's perspective she was really annoying but kept eluding to the way her husband treated her, and don't get me wrong he sounded like a horrible person, but she kept making me think that there was more to their past. The story kept feeling over-dramatic and the build up led to nothing! This part aggravated me the most. I mean if you are going to spend so much time talking about something but then never even getting to it then why even play it at all? 

I loved Dean's story the most throughout the whole book. Then it just devolved when he ran away to New York. It was like the whole time Dean was being himself and then all of the sudden he turned into someone being pushed around by the person he loved instead of fighting for her. There was just so much that made me mad while reading this book that just drove me nuts. That all being said I still gave the book two out of five stars because there really were some parts that I really liked and enjoyed reading.Would I read more by this author? Yes, I the story sounded cool it was just the execution that didn't go over really well.

ShayKay's Review of Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Goodreads: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Synopsis from GoodReads

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow - and Reds like him - are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization agianst the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down enemies....even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Thoughts Before Reading

So I've tried reading this book a few times so far. My first attempt was right after I bought the book on my Kindle. However, I believe I was reading something else so I stopped, but I can't remember what I was in the middle of. At the time Red Rising was on sale in the Kindle Store, and I've heard a lot of people talking about the book and comparing it to Hunger Games. The synopsis even reminds me of Hunger Games, so I thought about giving it a real try. This second time I made it pretty far into the book. I've learned that it has its fast and slow parts. It has been very detailed. But during one of the slower parts I fell away from the book. If I had the book in a physical copy I think I would've gotten through it, but since it was on my Kindle it was really easy for me to walk away from it. This time I'm trying audiobook. I keep going back to the book because I don't think it is boring, and it has potential. I think it was just the format I was trying to read it on was making it worse for me. If I'm reading on my Kindle it really has to keep my attention, and if it doesn't I'll find something else to read. 

The audiobook sounds really good so far. I think the reader does different voices for different characters and I love that! It keeps me entertained with the story and I can't wait to see what happens with Darrow once he gets into the Gold Caste.

After Thoughts

Well I finished this book a while ago and guys this was a struggle! I was seriously so excited to read this book! Everything I heard about it was just so much hype for it! People were comparing it to an adult version of the Hunger Games, how does that not sound so cool!? So let me tell you guys when I saw this book on sale I picked it up (eBook). I tried reading it and I kept DNF. The first attempt wasn't really an attempt so I don't really count it. I just got it, I was in the middle of another book I was really enjoying so I just stopped going to to it to read it. So I stopped reading it. The second time I picked it up was very intentional. I read the first chapter and it took me forever. I do know that when I read on my Kindle if I'm not fully into it I do read it slowly. But this book dragged! So I stopped and picked up one of my Book of the Months book, every so often I will power read through my saved up Book of the Month pile. Eventually I tried picking it up again because I was determined! I made it about a third of the way through the book but then again I tapped out. I lost to this book like three times! The book was just slow. When the book is doing something it is so good, but when it lulls it seriously takes forever to get through. The slow parts definitely outweighs the other parts. In complete honest the book's slow moments were still good they were just very detailed and dragged.So it was rough to get through even though I really enjoyed the attention to details that were being thrown everywhere. I definitely see where the Hunger Games get tied to this one so much. There are so many things that are reminiscent of the Hunger Games. But the Hunger Games I think had more speed to the story. Red Rising probably had more action but it was definitely more adult version.

I had to use the audiobook to get through this book, and I was so relieved/disappointed that this book was just as hard to get through as an audiobook as it was on my Kindle. I enjoyed the story overall. The cliff hanger made me kind of want to pick up the second book to see how the story unfolds but this book definitely sent me into a huge book slump. I'm just now starting to pick up another book and I finished this one almost a month ago. So even though I want to pick up the second one just to see how the story goes but it was insanely rough to get through this one and I don't think I will. I definitely don't want to say I will never read the rest of this series but for now I don't see it happening. 

The Bookish Bookin Book Tag

Since I have a little bit of time let's do a tag! I found this one actually on the Lists of Tags over on Fandom, but then I found the questions over on Continue Reading Here..... blog so I thought why not do another tag, it's not like I've been reading much lately! Darn Sims! I do promise I have something in the works that is actually a review about a book so hopefully it comes out soon! 

1. What is a well loved book you hated?

Guys! This one was so hard for me to find because old Shayna put 4 or 5 stars on literally everything! Like I don't even know why! This book I picked for this question is something I still think I rated too high. I hated Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, but I still gave it 3 out of 5 stars, and even though I think I rated it too high I know why it's a 3. I loved the writing style and probably the first half of this book. But then the turns the book took I hated and it through me off. I was kind of interested in it but then everyone saying how great it is really pushed me over the edge but guys! It was rough to finish! I don't think I'm done with this author though, I think I would like to try a different book by this author one day.

2. What is a guilty pleasure book?

I think one of my biggest guilt pleasure books would be the Crazy Rich Asian series! Like give me more of those books and I would read them instantly! The first one was definitely my favorite of the series but I loved the whole set so much!

3. Have you ever spoiled a book for someone? If so, which book?

In the real world I don't really have many friends that read that I can really spoil books for, but one of my favorite things to do is point out differences between the books and movies. So I guess I try to spoil movies for whoever is watching it with me then the movie does something totally different then the book. I guess that's why I usually only watch movies by myself or with Tyler so it's fine for me to do it. 

4. What book made you ugly cry?

I don't really get that emotional over anything really. It's not that I don't get attached to the characters or the story I just don't like to cry so it takes a lot to make me cry. That being said the last book that made me really tear up was definitely Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson. This book follows three different point of views, which usually drives me nuts and makes it even harder to get that emotional connection. But this book really blended the three stories together so well. The three women the book follows are all students of West Point, a military university. So that right there already tell you its a military book and it was definitely outside of my usual reads, and it is a chunker of a book too! But the story is so beautiful and very touching. I really think it is going to be in the top ten for the year for me.

5. What is your latest DNF?

This answer is really going to make people mad but hear me out before you get upset! The most recent book I DNF, unintentionally, was the Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I added unintentionally because I was listening to it on audiobook through Overdrive and guys it wasn't that I didn't like the book I just wasn't in the mood for it. I've mentioned it a lot but I'm a mood a reader and I just finished Red Rising on audiobook and then Things You Save in a Fire in physical book, plus just started graduate school, so my mood to read books disappeared. I loved Things You Save in a Fire and that book hangover just made me not feel like reading. I'm still not really in a reading mood, and all of this happened about a week ago. Literally all I want to do right now is play Sims, but I have to work and stuff since that's what adults are supposed to do. I do plan to read this book for real, I just don't know when that will happen.

6. Which book have you read due to controversy?

Honestly I picked up Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James just because of the controversy, and guess what! I loved it, it isn't one of those books I can reread all of the time. I don't love it because of the racy bits I loved it because it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, and I know your looking at this like I'm totally nuts but just think about it! The basic plot of the book is an innocent girl falling in love with a beast and by the end of the series the beast turns into her prince. Another unpopular opinion I loved the drama aspects in the second book more than the first book.

7. Have you read a book where you questioned the author's sanity?

Stephen King, hands down! How does he come up with these scary intense books?! Then the fact that the books are so long! They are all pretty much huge chunkers, and they are terrifying. It's just insane how he comes up with them so much.

8. The most cringe-worthy book you've ever read?

OMG! Modelland by Tyra Banks was definitely the most cringest book I've ever read in my whole life! I don't even know what happened to this book! But can you really expect anything different? I read it so long ago though I couldn't even tell you where it went down hill because I do remember liking the beginning of this book.

9. What book have you read solely due to the cover?

There aren't really many books that I pick up solely because of the cover. I do have to admit there are books that I have multiple copies of because I get a prettier version and I keep the original because of the sentimental values. For example, I have read A Game of Thrones through audiobook (so I technically listened to it) but when Books-a-Million had their buy a book by the page count sale a couple months ago I picked up this collector's edition of the book! Guys it is beautiful! Even though this book wasn't my favorite I had to have this thing. It is the 20th anniversary edition and it looks like the copy below, which from the cover it doesn't look all that special but it has those golden end pages along with illustrations. I love it! I guess a book that I got purely based off of the cover was Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincolt, I mean look at this cover guys! Even though I love this cover the reviews definitely pushed me over the edge and made me feel like I had to have this book! I think it even ended up being a 5 out of 5 star book for me too. It was a really good read.

 

10. Name a book you're embarrassed to admit you've read.

Hands down Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is definitely the only book that I've ever regretted reading! This series means so much to me and I would love to see more of the books because I would've loved to see how Harry's life went after the books. But guys this book was not it! I went in with a very open mind but it was so hard to get through it, so many different things contradicted the books! Even though I hate the book so much I did like seeing some of the kids after the books ended, I just wanted more of the world I love and even though this was apart of that world it wasn't the story we wanted. Would I watch the movie if they made one? Yes because I am a die hard Harry Potter fan and I can't get enough, plus a movie could be better than the screen play we got. I would even love a prequel where we follow James or Lilly, particularly Lilly's journey because she came from the muggle world like Harry did. I would just want more of this world and what we got was very disappointing.

11. Name an unknown book you wish more people know of.

There are so many different books that I love so much that I feel like no one even knows about! So I'm narrowing it down to just one is really hard so I'm just going to mention two! JD Robb/Nora Roberts writes one of my all time favorite series! I think a lot of people avoid the In Death series because it is such a huge series, she's actually about to release the 50th book in February and I cannot wait! Another book that I absolutely love that I never hear anyone talk about is Evernight by Claudia Gray. This is a series that I think might be too young for people my age to really know about but I was OBSESSED with this book growing up.

 

12. Name a favorite villain.

Even though my favorite book is detective series it's hard to find a favorite villain. I love to hate Umbridge because she comes off so sweet but she is seriously more evil than Voldemort. One of my favorite tropes is when the main character is their own villain. Another some what villain that I think would actually qualify as my favorite villain is the guy from Things to Save in a Fire. I think in this book there is definitely the unsuspected villain! There are so many guys in the book that you think is the villain but the actual bad guy has such a sad back story. Seriously not going to go into too much details because this book is so good and I do not want to spoil it!

13. Name a book you enjoyed that you read that is outside the norm of genre you usually read.

I feel like today's Shayna would definitely say Harry Potter is outside of my normal genre because I really do not read fantasy anymore. I used to love vampire books such as Twilight, Morganville Vampires, and Marked. But I think I read so much in this genre that I just burnt myself out. I haven't really picked up a book that is in this wheelhouse in a long time. Now I really enjoy reading about crime, drama, and romance. I think these really pull me in. I love the hard hitting stuff too. I like to think I'm a well rounded reader but I will definitely pick these types up first, and with Book of the Month help I do venture out of these specific types a lot. I would say that the book type I avoid the most is sci fi, it's the hardest for me to get into lately. But the In Death series is based in the future so I guess it is technically a little sci fi, but it has romance and the main story is following the police in New York City. If you can't tell already this is one of my favorite series. 

14. Name tropes you actually enjoy reading.

If a love triangle is done right and not just thrown into the book I love it. The detective troupe never gets old for me. I hate instalove! When the bad guy is actually the good guy will always be my weakness! But it has to be something I don't see coming, I hate how it eludes to it over and over so you just know it is going to happen that way. I don't know if this is a troupe, or if it is what it's called, but I love when the book goes different directions instead of how I expect it too. Books get so boring when you read it and just know how it is going to end, give me something that keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

ShayKay's Review of Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Goodreads: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Synopsis from the Book

Cassie Hanwell was born to handle emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's a total pro at managing other people's tragedies. But when her estranged ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own.

The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie's old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren't exactly thrilled to have a "lady" on the crew - even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the infatuation-inspiring rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because love is girly, and it's not her thing. And don't forget the advice her old captain fave her: Never date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping.... and it means risking it all - the only job she's ever loved, and the hero she's looked like hell to become.

Thoughts Before Reading

I feel as though a lot of the books I've been reading have the same things going on in each of them. They are also really good summer books, and this one is no different. I got this in my Book of the Month that I got in the July box. I suck at reading the book within the month I get it, and it seems that once my pile gets too tall I just binge read them all, and then the process repeats itself. I actually tried reading this book in July and I only got a page or two in and just stopped reading. The book wasn't boring but I just didn't give it a chance, and that was because I wasn't in a reading mood. I can't wait to pick it back up. Lately, whenever I get into these blogging moods it helps motivates me to read faster. My GoodReads account seems so hectic right now because everything I have blog posts in the works I have marked as currently reading. In my defense, I do generally read a few books at a time but their usually different formats, such as an audiobook and an ebook. Then there is usually always a physical book too. Then these three books get read in different ways throughout the day. While I'm at work I generally speed through audiobooks. But if I really get into a book I'll stick with whichever book it is.

Anyways back to my thoughts about the book. I think it is going to be interesting and already by the synopsis, I think there is going to be a lot of different layers within the book. You can already tell it is going to be dramatic because Cassie is going back to take care of her mother who she has no close ties too, plus she has to fight to fit into a world where she no longer belongs in. Then on top of all this chaos, there is going to be a love interest going on, and she is conflicted with whether or not she should pursue that. All of the people in the Book of the Month Club on Facebook talked about how great this book is. I haven't really seen anything bad about this book yet so I can't wait to jump into it and ride this reading wave as far as it will take me!

After Thoughts

I finished this book yesterday and I needed to take some time to think about how I feel about this book. I needed the time because I didn't want to come out and say that this book will most likely be in the top 10 for the year, maybe even the top 5, for me! I get that I put this book off for a few months but I'm so glad I picked it! Hanwell is my favorite character, and I'm calling Cassie Hanwell because you hardly ever hear her name because all of the firefighters either go by their name or their nicknames, like the Rookie. 

This book has a lot of different layers to it. First, the book opens up at the award ceremony in Austin, TX. and I'm just trying to keep the spoilers out. This beginning scene is very intense! I'll admit I was a little bit bored with the first few pages but it has a purpose! Those first few pages help show you the familial connections that Cassie has with her firefighting family. Then something huge happens, but it isn't explained why it happens. The book does a really good job at tying up all the loose ends by the time the book ends and everything else really comes together really fast. Even though it takes the whole book to figure out what happens to Cassie on her 16th birthday it is one of those books that you can just predict everything before reading. I love when you are reading a book that you don't have to put that much thought into it.

It literally takes the whole book to explain why Cassie did what she does, but the book focuses more on the consequences to Cassie. You do see the relationship happening because of the synopsis BUT I wouldn't clarify it as instalove, definitely an instacrush. I think instacrushes are more reliable because you can look at someone and think that they are cute and then if you start talking to them I can see where you can automatically feel a crush happening. So that was a plus for me that there wasn't really any instalove. Unlike a lot of books that follows romantic interests this book still focused heavily on firefighting, which is Cassie's passion! For so long that was the only thing Hanwell ever did, and I loved how it focused heavily into it. This book was amazing. I loved it so much. I think I read all my favorite books during the summer! I'm not describing this book really well because I really don't want to give away spoilers but so much of the book is hard to not talk about without giving away everything, especially since one of the biggest things happens in the beginning of the book.

Guys you just have to read it to really understand how much I love this book and why I can't really talk about it too much without giving away everything!