Book Sacrifice Tag

A big thank you to Emily @ Rose Read for tagging me to do this awfully fun tag! I’ve been seeing it all over lately and now I finally get to take a crack at it. HEHE!


1. AN OVER-HYPED BOOK

Situation: You’re in a store when the zombie apocalypse hits. The military informs everyone that over-hyped books are the zombies only weakness. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you disliked so you start chucking it at the zombies?

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Let’s be honest, we all loved this series when we were younger… But now? Hell no, Katniss was a whiney bitch and y’all know it too! #TeamGale

2. A SEQUEL

Situation: torrential downpour. What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself?

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I do not care what y’all say – this book was boring as hell! Easily, my least favorite of the series. I’m sorry but it’s a good thing Rowling learned from her mistakes with this one. It was just awful. The movie couldn’t even save it!

3. A CLASSIC

Situation: You’re in English class and your professor raves about a Classic that “transcends time”. If given the opportunity to travel back in time, which Classic would you try to stop from ever publishing?

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Anything written by that man, there! And for those of you who do not recognize him – that would be Mark Twain. A great American author and someone who’s work I absolutely abhor!!! It’s soooooo dull. Why, people, why?! And to all of you English majors, don’t even try to argue with me about this one. I’ll also toss in F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. Can’t stand their novels, neither!

4. A LEAST FAVORITE BOOK

Situation: apparently global warming = suddenly frozen wasteland. Your only hope of survival for warmth is to burn a book. Which book will you not regret lighting?

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Absolutely, positively, vehemently HATE this book. It makes English teachers feel the need to act all superior like know exactly what Fitzgerald was thinking as he was writing this story. Uh no, just because the lady’s dress is blue does not mean it’s foreshadowing the end of Gatsby’s and Daisy’s relationship. Did Fitzgerald tell you that when he had you over for dinner that one time? HE DIDN’T?! Then no, you do not know what the hell you are talking about.

Feel free to disagree with me in the comments! But don’t worry, you won’t change my mind. 🙂


Tags:

Britt @ Geronimo Reads

Jill @ Rant and Rave About Books

Vivian @ Inked In Pages

If you’ve already done this tag, feel free to ignore it!

Book Review: Vengeance Road

I’m from Texas, born and raised. However, contrary to popular belief, this state is not a massive desert and we don’t all ride horse or live on ranches. I live in the East Texas and we call this area the Piney Woods because it’s all forest and hills. So no, I’m not too big on Westerns, novels or movies (except for Tombstone because that movie is effing awesome!). But Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman was glorious!

Revenge is worth its weight in gold.

When her father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.

First off, Bowman did a fabulous job writing in the dialect of the Old West. You can actually catch yourself saying the dialogue out loud and pronouncing it just like they do in old Westerns. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to really get into it. She was really able to bring the desert of Arizona to life in this story. I also liked how gritty she made this plot. There was shoot outs, blood, really dirty saloons, and even some prostitutes. There’s no sugar-coating the story that Bowman has created and it’s definitely a bit more mature than I was expecting. When an author isn’t afraid to kill her characters, you know the shit is real.

DESSERTS

Kate is what really drives this story. She is the ultimate badass MC! Her quest for vengeance for her father’s death is all that matters to her. I love that she has no moral qualms about what she’s doing. She does what needs to be done, and unlike most YA characters, she doesn’t spend the rest of the novel whining about the choices she made. It’s unapologetic and it’s real. I get so tired of characters nowadays bitching and moaning about their life and what they’ve done. Life isn’t great, people. You’re not perfect, just own your shit! Okay, mini rant is over. But seriously, Kate is the rare MC that you actually take seriously. I never felt myself questioning whether her revenge felt real, you truly felt it! Everyone talks about Lila Bard being this strong female character, but where I felt her to be a bit fake and too much of just a book character, Kate seems so real.

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 I loved the MC and the secondary characters like the Colton brothers and Lil, the Native American girl. They all had their own distinctive personalities and brought something different to the story. And the villains were pretty vicious. I loved getting to hate them and wonder why they had killed Kate’s father. Bowman did a great job of bringing these characters to life.

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I didn’t find too many issues with this book. It was fast-paced, exciting, and had quite the interesting plot twist at the end which I was really not expecting! When I first heard about this book, I was a little worried it would be too cutesy with some love triangle as the actual focus, but boy was I wrong. There is some romance but it’s a slow burn and never takes over the plot, just adds a little something to it. If you’re looking for a new kind of YA novel with an independent and morally ambiguous heroine who loves to read Little Women and shoot up some bad guys, then this book is for you!

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars


 

Have you read Vengeance Road yet? What are your thoughts on it? Haven’t read it but want to? Let’s hear it!

 

Musing Mondays – April 4th, 2016

Musing Mondays is a weekly theme hosted by the lovely MizB @ Books and a Beat, that asks you to answer one of the prompt questions and that week’s random question.

PROMPTS:

  • I’m currently reading…
  • Up next I think I’ll read…
  • I bought the following book(s) this past week…
  • I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
  • I can’t wait to get a copy of…
  • I wish I could read ___, but…
  • I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What is your favorite “comfort” read?


 

I’M CURRENTLY READING…

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Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

I’m supposed to be reading this for NetGalley, but y’all, I’m struggling so hard with this book. I never want to pick it up! I literally played Xbox all afternoon yesterday so I wouldn’t have to read this. I’ve read about 50 pages of it and while it’s written so beautifully and I love all of the Peter Pan references, this book is above all, DEPRESSING. I knew that there was going to be some references to domestic violence, but I seriously wasn’t prepared for just how big of a part that plays in this story.

I like to read for the escape and adventure, not to be disgusted and bummed out by what goes on in our society. Domestic violence is a serious, serious issue and I would never want any child or adult to have to experience that. And I really appreciate that authors take the time to shed light on these issues, however, the way this book is written, I truly feel ill when I’m reading it and I just don’t think I can handle that anymore.

What do you think? Should I continue on with the story or just accept that I won’t enjoy it and move on? Have you ever had a problem like this while reading a book?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE “COMFORT” READ?

I hate to admit this, but I am not a “rereader”. I read a book once and then it pretty much sits and looks pretty on my shelf until the end of time. The only time I’ll reread is for series when the next book comes out, like I reread Harry Potter soooo many times when I was younger as each new book was released. So I guess I’ll have to go with Harry Potter for this answer. Oh, and I’ll add Anne of Green Gables as well, because I have read it multiple times growing up.


 

Be sure and leave a link to your Musing Mondays post, or if you want, just answer the questions and leave them in the comments! Happy reading!