Monday, September 12, 2022

Music Monday (214): Ellie Goulding, Mickey Guyton

Rules:

  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: I like Ellie Goulding's new song, Easy Lover. She recently released a solo version. I like it just as much as the original, which featured Big Sean.


Andrea: Hi all! It's been a while. I hope everyone is doing great. This week I'm listening to Somethin' Bout You by Mickey Guyton. 



What are you listening to this week?


Friday, September 2, 2022

The Friday 56 (221) & Book Beginnings: The Paradiso by Dante Alighieri

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.


Synopsis from Goodreads...
In The Paradiso, Dante explores the goal of human striving: the merging of individual destiny with universal order. One of the towering creations of world literature, this epic discovery of truth is a work of mystical intensity? an immortal hymn to God, Nature, Eternity, and Love.



Beginning: "The glory of Him who moves all things rays forth
                     through all the universe, and it reflected
                     from each thing in proportion to its worth."

56: "Yet all these were creations! Ought not they--
       if what you said of them before is true--
       to be forever proof against decay?'"


Comments: I finished reading Paradise, so I'm officially done with The Divine Comedy. This was a sweeping epic story, and I enjoyed every second of it. What are you reading this week?

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Blog Tour: ARC Review Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley


Welcome to the Our Thoughts Precisely stop for Daybreak on Raven Island!

Title: Daybreak on Raven Island
Series: n/a
Author: Fleur Bradley
Source/Format: Author; E-ARC
More Details: Ghost, Mystery, Middle Grade
Publisher/Publication Date: Viking Books for Young Readers; August 23 2022


Synopsis:
From the critically acclaimed author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel comes a thrilling new middle grade mystery novel inspired by Alcatraz Prison.

Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh-grade class field trip to Raven Island prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have benched her until further notice; Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his best friend, Kevin; and Noah isn't looking forward to having to make small talk with his classmates at this new school.

But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghosthunting crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island all before daybreak.

Daybreak on Raven Island is Fleur Bradley’s new enjoyable, spooky middle grade novel. It follows a trio of kids, Tori, Noah, and Melvin, as they get stuck on Raven Island and its now defunct prison. It's basically as the synopsis lays it out.

I enjoyed the plot since it was deeply tied to the environment and characters. I also liked the many twist and turns with the ghost hunting and mystery, which I don’t think it was overly scary for young readers. The biggest thing I noticed was the budding friendship between Tori, Noah, and Melvin. We get to know a little of their background, history, and ambitions through the first few chapters. Here you kind of get the idea of how each of them fit into the story later on. Many things became clearer as the story unfolded while they roamed the island looking for clues and bumping into other characters. For instance, how each character realizes and comes to terms with their issues and emotions with the help of each other.  Or like how the complex subject of prison is intertwined in the story. Although some of the story was predictable, that conclusion definitely wasn’t.

Overall, I personally loved Daybreak on Raven Island. If it sounds like it’s up your or your young reader’s alley, you'll want to check this one out.

Thanks for reading!


A Note from the Author

Thank you for your interest in my work! I had so much fun researching and writing my latest mystery for kids, Daybreak on Raven Island; I hope that translates as you’re reading.

Daybreak on Raven Island started with setting, as most of my books do. I was looking for a new (mysterious) place to spark my imagination, and quickly thought of Alcatraz. Alcatraz Island has a such a scary vibe, and as I was doing my research, I also found that there are a lot of unsolved mysteries surrounding the island. Including a prison break in 1962…Three inmates escaped Alcatraz, and no one ever knew if they drowned or made it off the island. I decided to take this real-life story and create my own mystery. I gave Tori, Marvin and Noah the task to solve the case of an infamous prison break from Raven Island, I added a present-day murder mystery, and a few ghosts to make things more complicated. Plus, I added a deep secret to Raven Island itself—you’ll have to read the book to find out what that is.


As I learned more of the terrible conditions of Alcatraz and how things are still not always fair today, I tried to shed some light on this through Tori’s character. I learned that one in 28 kids in America has had an incarcerated parent, which is something kids often keep a secret. And that must be really, really hard. I hope Daybreak on Raven Island sparks some thought or conversation, so those kids don’t feel alone in carrying this burden.


Find out more about me, my books and where to find me at www.fleurbradley.com

All best in reading,

Fleur

About the Author...
Fleur Bradley is the author of the (scary) middle-grade mystery Daybreak on Raven Island, and award-winning mystery Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (Viking/Penguin Random House).

Her story The Perfect Alibi appeared in Mystery Writers of America’s middle-grade anthology Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, edited by Chris Grabenstein (HarperCollins).

Fleur regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two daughters, and entirely too many rescue animals.

Where to find her:
Website     Twitter     Instagram     Facebook

Disclaimer: This E-copy of the book was provided by the Author for this review, thank you!

Monday, August 29, 2022

Short Stories I Read In July

It’s August 29th. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in July. 

The Rustle of Growing Things by Isabel Cañas (Lightspeed Magazine; Issue 146, July 2022)

The first short story I tackled in July was a piece of flash fiction by Isabel Cañas called: The Rustle of Growing Things. I’d describe this story as having a somber note, as the narrator ruminates over an impending absence. I liked it.

Bonesoup by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Strange Horizons; Issue: 11 July 2022)

I was instantly intrigued by Bonesoup by Eugenia Triantafyllou. I recognized the author’s name from a piece of flash fiction I read in May of this year. It was called This Village, and I talked about it HERE. In Bonesoup, we begin again with food and its connection to what people need. This time, the speculative angle skewed toward something like equivalent exchange, except it involved food. I really liked this story. It started out pretty tame in tone, but the more I read the more its underlying darkness began to show itself. This was another good one from Triantafyllou.

From around the web…


 

Friday, August 26, 2022

Holiday Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Title: Holiday Heroine 
Series: Heroine Complex #6
Author: Sarah Kuhn
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Urban Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: DAW Books; August 30, 2022

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...
The sixth book in the smart, snarky, and action-packed Heroine series continues the adventures of Asian-American superheroine Bea Tanaka as she takes on demons in Hawaii.

Nobody loves Christmas like Bea Tanaka—so when her family visits her for a special holiday celebration, she’s beside herself with joy. After years of chaos, questionable decisions, and flirtations with the supervillain path, Bea is finally thriving. She’s got a sweet, new gig hunting demons in Maui, she’s working hard to hone her powers, and her big sister Evie is proud of her at last. In fact, everyone is so proud of her that she can’t tell them the truth: she’s feeling lost and adrift. She and her boyfriend Sam Fujikawa are struggling to make their long-distance love work, and her powers are displaying some intriguing new elements—elements that could lead her down an evil, mind-controlling path once more. When her family’s holiday visit is disrupted by otherworldly monsters rising out of the Maui ocean, Bea throws herself into the battle—until she’s suddenly and mysteriously transported to the perfect Christmas back in San Francisco, surrounded by her family and an excess of merrymaking. As she finds herself trapped in the bizarre holiday rom-com of her nightmares, Bea must unravel a treacherous demon plot, save the world from unspeakable evil, and resist the siren song of a supervillain destiny. And hey, maybe she’ll find time for a little holiday cheer after all...


**Note: there may be minor spoilers for books 1-5**

The Heroine Complex series is always such a joy to read. Beatrice (Bea) Tanaka is one of my favorite characters of the series. And after the events of Heroine’s Journey—where she uprooted her life with a big move to Maui—I was hoping for another book from her perspective, to further explore her character directly. That’s essentially what this book delves into, and it does it so well. And with a good dose of holiday rom-con themed hijinks (and nightmare scenarios), time travel and its perils, and an abundance of otherworldly chaos, the sixth and latest installment—Holiday Heroine—to date is one of my top-favorites.

I liked Kuhn’s approach to both the old and new characters. The cast has always been colorful—big personalities, plenty of drama and mishaps—but the series has centered on their deeply personal issues and the strength of their relationships (both platonic and romantic). For me, it’s one of the highlights.

I also enjoyed the holiday themes. Rom-coms are always fun, and I liked how many of the hallmark aspects were incorporated throughout the story.

As Evie’s younger sister, I was used to Bea being in proximity to the core characters and main events of the series. The hub of supernatural activity has, for much of the series, remained in San Francisco, but the past two books have expended on that. And with her being so far away, there was somewhat of a noticeable absence. With the change in location, she clearly viewed it as a chance at independence and proving how mature and in control she was of her life and over her superpowers. Even the best laid plans, however, can have their hiccups, and once the latest threat was established, it proved that there was a lot left Bea had to learn and accept about herself.

I liked the way Sarah Kuhn handled Bea’s doubts. Outwardly, she was a confident and smart character, but inside she had a lot of turmoil and conflict associated with her powers to unpack. It affected her relationships, and made her vulnerable in unexpected ways. The frank realness of that particular end of the story was refreshing.

Holiday Heroine was the perfect mix of action, super heroes, and romance. If you’re a fan of this series, you’re going to love this one.

About the author....
Sarah Kuhn is the author of Heroine Complex—the first in a series starring Asian American superheroines—for DAW Books. She also wrote The Ruby Equation for the comics anthology Fresh Romance and the romantic comedy novella One Con Glory, which earned praise from io9 and USA Today and is in development as a feature film. Her articles and essays on such topics as geek girl culture, comic book continuity, and Sailor Moon cosplay have appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Apex Magazine, AngryAsianMan.com, IGN.com, Back Stage, The Hollywood Reporter, StarTrek.com, Creative Screenwriting, and the Hugo-nominated anthology Chicks Dig Comics. In 2011, she was selected as a finalist for the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) New Writers Award.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (DAW Books) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 
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