Title: Steel and Bone
Author: Penny Freeman (editor)
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories
Format: ARC
Pages: 375
Reason Read: ARC Review
Rating:
My Thoughts
I’ve read short stories for school, but I’ve never read nor reviewed a book of short stories before. It was an interesting experience.
While I did enjoy some of the stories, I realized I’m not a huge fan of short stories because I want more. I want more than just a snippet. I want all the details. I want the character development and the relationship development, etc. If it were more like a cartoon and I got an episode at a time, like comic books, then I’d be okay with that because I’d know I’d get more (at least I think I’d be okay with that). But, in this setting, it was like watching a one-episode sitcom already in the middle of the series.
I also found it hard to get my bearings on the next story having just come from a completely different one. It’s not like finishing a book and then starting a new one. It’s like being thrown into something similar but completely new and being expected to know exactly what’s going on. I had to read one story each day to give myself time to move on.
I also felt like I was playing the lottery. I didn’t know if I’d get a good short story or one that bored me to tears. For the most part, I liked the short stories. There were three, “Sindisiwe” by Scott E. Tarbet, “Island Walker” by C.R. Simper, and “The Steel Inside” by Gail B. Williams, that I enjoyed a lot. And, there were two that were torturous get through because I was so bored.
I’m glad I had the chance to read STEEL AND BONE because it showed me that short stories aren’t really my thing, or at least a whole novel of them isn’t. I don’t think I’ll be reading any other compilations of short stories in the future.
Forest Born
Author: Shannon Hale
Series: Books of Bayern #4
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Reason Read: Utah Book Month
Rating:
My Thoughts
I really liked FOREST BORN, but not quite as much as the previous three books in the series. Rin, the MC, was younger than the MCs in the other three novels by a couple of years. In a YA novel that may not seem like much, but it is. I couldn’t relate to her as well and I didn’t like that there was no love interest in this one. I also didn’t like the tree-speaking gift quite as much as the wind-, fire-, and water-speaking gifts. The way Hale portrayed the gift was a bit weird to me.
I liked being back in Bayern and I’m so glad Isi, Geric, Enna, Finn, Razo, and Dasha were all in this book in some way or another. I liked being around the speaking gifts and seeing how they all intertwined with one another. And, I liked the elements of the story that required the fire sisters, as Rin calls them, to do what they did.
Elevated
Author: Elana Johnson
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Verse, Young Adult
Spice: 1 / 5
Format: Kindle
Pages: 292
Reason Read: Utah Book Month
Rating:
My Thoughts
ELEVATED is the first novel in verse I’ve read. It was really weird at first and hard to follow. But, then I really got into it and I couldn’t put it down. It was a fast read.
The story and characters were very compelling. I had wondered going into it if a novel in verse could give me the depth I want in a novel and it did. The characters were very fleshed out and story was very deep. It was a lot more emotional than I had imagined it would be.
I really enjoyed it a lot. Even though I loved the ending, I didn’t love it quite as much as I could have if it had ended just a tad bit differently. Still, I’ll definitely be reading more of Johnson’s books and I’m excited to read other novels in verse.
Ink And Ashes
Author: Valynne E. Maetani
Genre: Thriller, Young Adult
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 368
Reason Read: Utah Book Month
Rating:
My Thoughts
I’ve been excited to read INK AND ASHES ever since I found out about it. I loved being immersed in the Japanese-American culture. There were some things I already knew from my Japanese classes in college, but I learned quite a few things too. I was especially excited to see Japanese written in hiragana, katakana, and kanji in the book. And, I loved seeing all the Japanese expressions throughout the story.
The story was fun and very suspenseful. I thought I knew what was going on and then when it all came together, I found out I was way off, even though I did guess one thing right. I really liked that the story wasn’t predictable.
I loved the characters. Claire and her friends made the story really enjoyable. I loved all their personalities. And, I liked that Claire’s parents weren’t absent like parents usually are in so many YA novels.
Steel And Bone
Author: Penny Freeman (editor)
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories
Format: ARC
Pages: 375
Reason Read: ARC Review
Rating:
My Thoughts
I’ve read short stories for school, but I’ve never read nor reviewed a book of short stories before. It was an interesting experience.
While I did enjoy some of the stories, I realized I’m not a huge fan of short stories because I want more. I want more than just a snippet. I want all the details. I want the character development and the relationship development, etc. If it were more like a cartoon and I got an episode at a time, like comic books, then I’d be okay with that because I’d know I’d get more (at least I think I’d be okay with that). But, in this setting, it was like watching a one-episode sitcom already in the middle of the series.
I also found it hard to get my bearings on the next story having just come from a completely different one. It’s not like finishing a book and then starting a new one. It’s like being thrown into something similar but completely new and being expected to know exactly what’s going on. I had to read one story each day to give myself time to move on.
I also felt like I was playing the lottery. I didn’t know if I’d get a good short story or one that bored me to tears. For the most part, I liked the short stories. There were three, “Sindisiwe” by Scott E. Tarbet, “Island Walker” by C.R. Simper, and “The Steel Inside” by Gail B. Williams, that I enjoyed a lot. And, there were two that were torturous get through because I was so bored.
I’m glad I had the chance to read STEEL AND BONE because it showed me that short stories aren’t really my thing, or at least a whole novel of them isn’t. I don’t think I’ll be reading any other compilations of short stories in the future.
Misery
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Format: Kindle
Pages: 352
Reason Read: Buddy Read
Rating:
My Thoughts
Before reading MISERY, I had seen the movie several times. This, however, is my first time reading an actual Stephen King novel. Wow! The book is so much more gruesome than the movie, and the movie is pretty gruesome. I was almost speechless several times while reading the story. I just couldn’t believe what happened.
I was so surprised. It’s amazing how suspenseful the book was even though I knew the story. King did an amazing job of setting the mood. Within ten pages, I could tell Annie Wilkes wasn’t right in the head and that she was hella creepy. So much happened in just a short amount of time, and I kept wondering what was going to happen next. It was so interesting, fun, and creepy.
I do like the last scene in the movie better than the ending in the book, though. I thought it was more horror-like. But, the ending in the book is still good. I’m curious about King’s other novels, especially the ones of the movies or mini-series I’ve seen.