Tag Archive for: Utah Author

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Summerlost

SummerlostTitle: Summerlost
Author: Ally Condie
Genre: Contemporary, Middle Grade, Mystery
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 272
Reason Read: Utah Book Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

This is Ally Condie’s middle grade and contemporary debut and I really think she hit the bulls-eye with SUMMERLOST and discovered her niche in writing. I loved her Matched series, but there’s just something about this book. It was outstanding. The story is beautifully written. It’s such a great book about friendship, love, loss, and healing. It hit very close to home and is as if Ally wrote about my own feelings of grief regarding my mom’s passing. I highly recommend it for not only the intended audience but adults as well.

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One Dead Spy

One Dead SpyTitle: One Dead Spy
Author: Nathan Hale
Series: Hazardous Tales #1
Genre: Informative, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction
Format: Kindle
Pages: 127
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

I didn’t really realize what ONE DEAD SPY was about until after I started to read it. It’s basically American History in graphic novel form peppered with jokes to make the history more fun. Personally, I thought the jokes were stupid and juvenile. I also hated the execution of the story, but it’s middle grade so I think young kids would enjoy them and learn something from them in the process. In that sense, I thought the story was successful. However, while I enjoyed the history, learning, and even the pictures, I would’ve rather read something like this in a historical fiction novel or watch a TV show / movie about it.

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Burning Glass

Burning GlassTitle: Burning Glass
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Series: Burning Glass #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 512
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed BURNING GLASS for a lot of reasons. I liked the characters and thought they were complex and rich. The world is a fictional world based on imperialistic Russia, which really drew me into the story. It was like a moth to a flame, really. The story also reminded me of THRONE OF GLASS a little bit. I had fun and I look forward to reading the sequels when they’re released.

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Heir To Edenbrooke

Heir To EdenbrookeTitle: Heir to Edenbrooke
Author: Julianne Donaldson
Series: Edenbrooke #0.5
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Spice: 0 / 5
Format: Kindle
Pages: 46
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

I love EDENBROOKE so much. I was excited when I found out Donaldson had written the beginning to the inn from Philip’s POV in the form of a digital novella. It was so much fun to read! I loved being in Philip’s head, especially for the inn scene. My only complaint is I wish it were a little longer. (I actually kind of wish she wrote the whole novel from his perspective à la Stephenie Meyer and MIDNIGHT SUN.)