A Fun Paranormal Romp

The Keeper by Natalie Star

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Summary: The morning of her sixteenth birthday, Billie feels blessed despite the reoccurring nightmare that wakes her. Loving parents, a caring boyfriend, and great friends surround her until an heirloom necklace throws her into a world she never imagined. 

“Gifted” with supernatural powers and an unexpected destiny as the Keeper, Billie and a mysterious boy from her past must work together to find answers. But, as they begin to discover feelings for one another, he disappears leaving her to fight evil alone. Her life spirals out of control. She breaks up with her boyfriend, Tony, and alienates her best friends Arianna and Jocelyn to protect them from the truth. 

As dark forces pursue her, Billie longs to run away from it all, yet a need to do what’s right compels her to face the future as the keeper of more than her own fortune.

Review: An action packed paranormal story with romance, an interesting mythology, and characters that actually use their heads.

At first I wasn't sure how much I would like this book because I didn't like how Billie treated those who she didn't like. Thankfully, you get to see how Billie is actually a caring person. I liked that Billie was an average girl and not a Mary Sue type character even though she had special powers and turns out to be quite unusual. I liked that the supernatural/paranormal beings in the story weren't named. YA fiction is full of vampires, angels, werewolves, demons, and the like. You also don't really find out much about Billie's powers or who the bad guys actually are (beyond that they are bad), which allows for the use of one's imagination. 

Billie manages to have romantic interests in a number of boys, which is a little irksome, but forgiveable due to the situation she finds herself in. It was pretty funny that her brother kept barging in on her kissing and hugging those various boys. As mentioned before, there is plenty of action in this story and Billie is able to develop her gifts in a logical progression. None of that I'm super powerful all at once nonsense. This story takes place over a number of years, which feels a bit too many for me. The events leading up to the ending feel a bit rushed. I do hope there is a sequel so I can find out what happens to Billie.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of young adult supernatural/paranormal fiction.

One Woman's Incredible Journey

Journey Across the Four Seas: A Chinese Woman's Search for Home by Veronica Li

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review. 

Summary: This is a true and touching story of one Chinese woman's search for home. It is also an inspiring book about human yearning for a better life. To escape poverty, Flora Li fought her way through the education system and became one of the few women to get into the prestigious Hong Kong University. When the Japanese invaded, she fled to unoccupied China, where she met her future husband, the son of China's finance minister (later deputy prime minister).

She thought she had found the ideal husband, but soon discovered that he suffered from emotional disorders caused by family conflicts and the wars he had grown up in. Whenever he had a breakdown, Flora would move the family to another city, from Shanghai to Nanking to Hong Kong to Bangkok to Taipei and finally across the four seas to the U.S. Throughout her migrations, Flora kept her sight on one goal: providing her children with the best possible education.

Review: An incredible story that shows one woman's incredible strength and determination.

I loved reading Flora's story. She was an incredible woman (I am not sure if she is still alive). She came from very little and managed to be educated, deal with a troublesome husband, and put her children through college. I enjoyed reading a memoir that wasn't from a US born American's point of view. Reading about Hong Kong, especially during the war, shows how people suffered and the gap between the rich and the poor. Their life was different from ours, but it was still the same in a number of ways. A lot of people, Flora included, had to struggle to survive.

I found myself cheering for Flora as she accomplished one victory after the other. She never gave up, even when she was dealt a bad hand. I can't believe how she managed to deal with her husband. She kept having to save him from making bad decisions so she would be able to provide for her children. Her experiences would have broken a lesser person, but Flora was able to shoulder on. I am glad that she was able to convince her husband to go to America. Her children have been successful and that is what Flora wanted all along. I certainly cannot pretend to know her mind, but I must assume that Flora was happy in the United States because she finally was able to provide the opportunities she wanted for her children.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to people who enjoy memoirs, especially those who enjoy womens' memoirs and/or memoirs told by non native American citizens. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

So I'm starting to do some memes (I don't know if it'll get to all days of the week though, but perhaps a few eventually). It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Journey. This meme lets you show fellow readers what you have read, what you are reading, and what you will be reading.

Recently Read: (I read a lot in the past week).

Currently Reading:

To Read:

Rambling, with Guitars

Daron's Guitar Chronicles: Volume One by Cecilia Tan

Summary: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Coming out and coming of age in the days of AIDS, MTV, Reaganomics, and Just Say No. Daron Marks is a young guitar player with a dream, make it big like the guys he grew up idolizing in New Jersey--or at least escape his dysfunctional family. He makes it as far as music school in Rhode Island, and the stages of Boston beckon. But it's hard to succeed from the closet.

Review: A novella that manages to ramble on for all of its short length. 

I have personally never been in a band nor do I have any desire to, but I still have always enjoyed supporting my friends' bands and I think there is something exciting and different about being in a band. So that being said, I thought I would enjoy Daron's story. I really didn't though. There seemed to be little plot and sometimes chapters jumped from one time to another without much warning or explanation. I learned at the end of the book (thanks to the author's note) that this story was a serialized story, which might help to explain some of the flaws. I personally found Daron to be something of a jerk, especially with how he leads one girl on. 

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this story to those who enjoy band/music fiction and who don't mind a bit of m-m (there are only a few scenes of it and they are not very graphic).

Review Copy Cleanup - Show Off Your Pile (Challenge 1)

The Show Off Your Pile Challenge is very simple. All you have to do is share what you are planning to read (or have read already!) this month during the Review Copy Cleanup. Feel free to take a photo of your TBR pile you are aiming to devour this month - or if you don't have a camera at hand or you're reading ebooks, just make a list of your books or post the cover image. Not only can we then spy on you what you're reading, but you can also win some very cool books in the first giveaway of the Cleanup!

What I plan on reading:

             

                                                               

Books and Dukes, Oh My!

A Duke's Temptation by Jillian Hunter

Summary: Samuel Charles Aubrey St. Aldwyn, Duke of Gravenhurst, is a radical rogue and champion of unpopular causes. No one would dream that he is also the author of a bestselling series of dark historical novels, a writer accused of corrupting the morals of the public, and a master seducer who counts among his passionate fans wellborn Miss Lily Boscastle. But Lily is no stranger to disrepute. 

When her engagement to another man ends in a tarnished image and public disgrace, Lily is forced to seek employment outside London --- as housekeeper for Gravenhurst himself. Her sharp wit and sensuality appeal to his wicked instincts --- and she's a perfect match for every beguiling move he makes. Yet there's more to him than Lily imagined --- a secret known to few living souls, ghosts from the past that haunt both of their futures in ways too dangerous for even the duke to have invented.

Review: An enjoyable romance with likable characters and books that play a major part in the story. 

I found the premise of the book a bit hard to swallow. I did like Lily and her naughty streak, but a few minutes of flirting should not make a man want to marry her. That's incredibly stupid. The scandal wasn't much of one. I was expecting Lily to have been caught with another man, not what actually happened. I am not sure how that situation turned into a scandal and why would her parents just let her go on her own as a housekeeper, which is so below her station. 

I did like Samuel and his antics, especially when he acted out the scenes from his books with his staff. Despite wanting to marry Lily instantly, he was a surprisingly level headed man who wasn't going to try and seduce her even though he really wanted to. He wanted her to make the decision. Which she certainly does, but it seems out of character for her. I found it hard to get a good grasp of her character. I enjoyed the interweaving of the story and Samuel's novels and the humor strewn throughout the novel. The ending was melodramatic, but satisfying. 

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and those who enjoy a dash of humor and books with their romance.

Trauma? Not So Much

Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease by Robin Karr-Morse, Meredith S. Wiley

Summary: The first years of human life are more important than we ever realized. In Scared Sick, Robin Karr-Morse connects psychology, neurobiology, endocrinology, immunology, and genetics to demonstrate how chronic fear in infancy and early childhood lies at the root of common diseases in adulthood. Compassionate and based on the latest research, Scared Sick will unveil a major public health crisis. Highlighting case studies and cutting-edge scientific findings, Karr- Morse shows how our innate fight-or-flight system can injure us if overworked in the early stages of life. Persistent stress can trigger diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression, and addiction later on.

Review: A book that informs, but still misleads and was a disappointment.

This summary of this book on Goodreads and on the book jacket makes it seem like this book will focus on trauma (sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and neglect). I have recently become fascinated by the connection between childhood trauma and the developing brain. Trauma can and does change the brain, making people more prone to mental illnesses. So in short, I thought this book would be perfect. Unfortunately, this book focuses on what they term little traumas (such as divorce or the death of a parent) before the age of 2. Only one chapter was dedicated to traditional traumas and didn't go into too much detail. 

This book had some good information about the brain, how it functions, how environment can change genetics, and how trauma can affect and change the brain. The most interesting thing I learned about was how premature babies do not have all the protective measures in place so they can be really affected by their early experiences. Personally, I felt this book had an agenda. It constantly talks about how important mothers are to their children and implies that women should stay home with the kids because the more hours children spend without their mother, the worse of they are. Too bad many women can't stay home with their kids. It is not always mothers who can be important to their children. I felt this book was also quite doom and gloom. This happened to you and know you are stuck with it. Too bad. Very little is mentioned about the brain's plasticity and only one chapter is dedicated to therapy (including some types of therapy that are questionable). I was disappointed by this book.

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that are very interested in how early childhood can affect our brains and bodies.