{Review} Soul Siphon (Soul Stones #0.3) by T.L. Branson

Page Count: 23

Published on: October 2017

Published by: Amazon Digital Services

Genre(s): Fantasy, Young Adult

Source: ebook

Age Rating: 14+

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon // Book Depository

My Rating: 3 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Alexander Drygo, king of Sunbury, is reeling from the loss of his wife. Despite his best efforts using an incredible power, she is no longer among the living.

When a rival kingdom seeks to take advantage of this delicate time in Drygo’s life, he is thrust into a battle for the future of his kingdom.

Can he save his people where he could not save his queen?

~~~

Hey, guys!

I was sent this novella for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are in no way swayed by others.

      First of all, thank you T.L. Branson for sending me your book. It's definitely going to be one of those series where you get consumed by the intricacies of the world and magic system. I'm definitely going to have to pick up the future additions to the series. 

      This novella follows Alexander Selenius Drygo, the King of Sunbury. Alexander is despondent because of the death of his wife and when his kingdom is attacked by a neighboring kingdom, he must rise from his grief and defeat his enemies to save his people.

      I really enjoyed the basics of this story, however, there were a few things that I felt were lacking. That may be because of the length of the novella/short story, but I do think they could have been included or somehow alluded to in order to fully flesh out the story. 

      First of all, I really did not care for the main character's voice and narration style. I found the way he narrated what was happening to be kind of arrogant and obnoxious. He would constantly switch from first to third person and refer to himself as "the king" which was just annoying. I also really like Alexander's name, but it's quite long and complicated to pronounce. That's to be expected with a king's name though. This novella reminded me a bit like the political vibes of the show Reign and the Throne of Glass book series. 

      Second of all, because this book was not a full fledged book and was a prequel to what is to come, I felt like I was not introduced or immersed into the world that I was introduced to. I felt like I was just dipped into it without enough context. I think that will be remedied in the future additions, but I honestly would want more from the (technically) first piece of the story. It's kind of odd to start with the third novella of a series instead of just starting in the beginning. I also felt like the the magic system that Branson attempted to establish in this short story/novella wasn't fully explored or fleshed out enough in order for me to fully connect to the story and get behind what Alexander is doing.

      Although I don't think that this book is as epic as I would have hoped, I do think it is a promising start to an enjoyable series. I really do look forward to seeing what Branson has in store for readers. 

You Can Acquire A Free Copy of Soul Siphon {here}!

Happy reading!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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{Review} Ruby & Olivia by Rachel Hawkins

Page Count: 240

Published on: October 24, 2017

Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre(s): Middle Grade, Mystery, Paranormal

Source: Paperback - via publisher 

Age Rating: PG

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon // Book Depository

My Rating: 3 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

A spooky middle-grade story that's full of fun, friendship, and humor--perfect for fans of Ingrid Law and Lisa Graff.
Ruby is best friends with Emma, but she and Emma's twin sister Olivia are definitely not friends. Unfortunately, Emma will be away for the summer, while Ruby and Olivia are going to be stuck at a community service day camp for troublemakers--together. 
To kick off the spirit of service, the campers are outfitted with bright pink polka-dotted t-shirts with smiley faces on the front, then tasked with cataloging the contents of an abandoned mansion. Sorting through objects in an old house sounds boring, and working with each other is that last thing the girls want to do, but the stuff is actually pretty cool. There's everything from mink stoles to golf clubs to stuffed deer heads . . . and . . . wait . . . is that stuffed deer head watching them? 
When the taps run freezing cold and doors slam inexplicably, Ruby and Olivia wonder if the other campers are having a bit of fun, or if the abandoned mansion is looking for new residents. To solve the mystery, Ruby and Olivia will have to put their grudges aside and figure out how to be a team with or without Emma.

~~~

Hey, guys!

This adorable spooky middle-grade book was sent to me for an honest review from Penguin Random House. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

   Ruby and Olivia follows two young girls who are sent to a community service camp after getting into trouble. The kids are sent to a spooky house to inventory and count the items in preparation for renovation. Two of the girls, Ruby and Olivia, become unlikely friends as supernatural and spooky things begin to happen to the campers. They begin to investigate the house in order to figure out what's happening; and when they begin to find clues to the answer, who knows what will happen. 

   I was so excited to receive this book for review. I'm such a sucker for twin books and the fact that it had a spooky element to it really reeled me in. I really enjoyed those aspects, as well, however, I do not think they were incorporated as well as they could have been. I feel like the characters could have been a bit more dynamic and their relationships could have been more realistic. The relationships in this book felt like plot devices rather than something that should have been a concrete part of the book. The plot could have been more fleshed out as well. I think that Rachel Hawkins has a really sweet base to an even spookier story. However, this is an adorable middle-grade novel. I really did enjoy the characters and I really enjoyed the premise of the plot. 

     I really enjoyed the spooky bits of this book, but I really didn't think that they were fleshed out enough to actually be spooky. There just wasn't enough happening for it to be legitimately spooky. Granted, it's a middle-grade book, but I know plenty of kids in the age group that would like to get scared pantsless. 

     I really didn't think that the sister relationship between Emma and Olivia was resolved either. I just felt like it was resolved too quickly and too efficiently. There wasn't nearly enough said to resolve their issues. I also don't like how the drama between Olivia and Ruby was resolved. It was too convenient and too quick. I just felt like the characters were two dimensional and static. I wish there had been more development.

     I really loved how Ruby and Olivia's friendship developed. I think that their friendship is really interesting and as they grow closer, they'll become really good for each other. I love how Ruby helped Olivia grow as a sister and I love how Olivia helped Ruby communicate and express herself. This book perfectly showed what it's like to be in the awkward middle school age. These girls were super cute. I'd love to read more about them.

      For what this book is and for the age group that it is marketed for, I think this is a cute book. I think that it is thoroughly entertaining. I would have loved to read this ten years ago. This would have been one of my favorite books, I'm sure. As a twenty-year-old, it just wasn't all for me. My sister, Bailey, will love this book, though. I can't wait to show her it. She loves Liesel and Po by Lauren Oliver and this gives me some spooky vibes, so she will definitely love this one.

AUTHOR BIO

Rachel Hawkins is the author of Journey's End, the Rebel Belle series, and the New York Times bestselling Hex Hall series. Born in Virginia and raised in Alabama, Rachel taught high school English before becoming a full-time writer.

Happy reading!
Olivia 

~LivTheBookNerd~

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The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

Page Count: 285

Published on: February 7, 2017

Published by: Simon & Schuster

Genre(s): Fiction, YA, Coming of Age
Source: Hardback - sent from publisher

Age Rating: YA

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Book Depository: {click here}

Twitter: @jasonrekulak

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

A dazzling debut novel—at once a charming romance and a moving coming-of-age story—about what happens when a fourteen-year-old boy pretends to seduce a girl to steal a copy of Playboy but then discovers she is his computer-loving soulmate.

Billy Marvin’s first love was a computer. Then he met Mary Zelinsky.

Do you remember your first love?

The Impossible Fortress begins with a magazine…The year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boys—Billy, Alf, and Clark—who are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it.

The heist will be fraught with peril: a locked building, intrepid police officers, rusty fire escapes, leaps across rooftops, electronic alarm systems, and a hyperactive Shih Tzu named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Failed attempt after failed attempt leads them to a genius master plan—they’ll swipe the security code to Zelinsky’s convenience store by seducing the owner’s daughter, Mary Zelinsky. It becomes Billy’s mission to befriend her and get the information by any means necessary. But Mary isn’t your average teenage girl. She’s a computer loving, expert coder, already strides ahead of Billy in ability, with a wry sense of humor and a hidden, big heart. But what starts as a game to win Mary’s affection leaves Billy with a gut-wrenching choice: deceive the girl who may well be his first love or break a promise to his best friends.

~~~

Hey, guys!

      I was sent this awesome book for an honest review back in January and I was instantly intrigued by the review package. They sent me an awesome reviewer package with a fake and blank Playboy cover and some 80's inspired candy. It was so cool and it got me in a mood to read the book. The book follows the 14-year-old Billy who is trying desperately to get the legendary Playboy with Vanna White on the cover. He and his friends are defintely out of their element when it comes to interacting with the opposite sex, so when they have to somehow convince/"seduce" the story owner's daughter to help them get a copy. This book has everything: 80's culture, a coming of age story, a bit of a romance, action, drama, a great cast of characters.

      This book was thouroughly entertaining and I really enjoyed it. I loved the main character, Billy, and I loved the character Mary. They were fairly mature compared to most 14-year-old characters and I really enjoyed the character arc that Billy and Mary went through. I really enjoyed how genuine and real Billy's character was. He was a total boy, but he was a good kid overall. Mary is such a strong and badass girl. I absolutely adored her character. Put Billy and Mary together and you'll get a super smart computer coding duo. 

      This book captures the innocence of kids on the brink of puberty and their reckless pursuits for stupid stuff. The emphasis on character growth, friendship, loyalty, and ambition was really sweet and entertaining to read as the story progressed. I really enjoyed the 80's culture that was prominent throughout the book. The dialogue was really realistic and there were so many moments where I audibly laughed out loud. This book made me laugh, nearly cry, and get angry and irritated. There were so many nerdy references that made my nerdy heart so happy. It wasn't necessarily my brand of nerd, but it was still wonderful nonetheless. 

     When getting towards the end of the story, I thought it was going to have a super predictable ending that would disappoint me somewhat, but there was really great ending that totally blew me away. I really didn't see it coming. I was so surprised and I'm so glad that Rekulak wrote such a cool twist. The ending fell a bit flat for me, but it was still pretty satisfying. 

     Overall, this book was pretty good. I really enjoyed it. Some of the references went over my head, but nothing too odd. I was born in the late 90's so of course some of the nostalgic bits that 80's kids would love weren't as impactful, but I'm sure that this book will be adored by so many people. I really do recommend this book. However, the characters were sometimes very unlikeable, their decisions were very stupid (which was annoying but I understood it because of their age), and it ended a bit abruptly. It wasn't a 5-star book for me, but it was still pretty good. 

Other Books & Media You'd Enjoy:

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Stranger Things (netflix original show)

Happy reading, all!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

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The Kingdom of Oceana by Mitchell Charles

Page Count: 222 Published on: November 27, 2015 Published by: Butterhorse Media Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Historical Fiction, Action Source: Print: Paperback -via author Age Rating: YA

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Free on Kindle Unlimited!

Facebook: @kindgdomofoceana

Book Website: {click here}

My Rating: 2 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

SURFER SHARK TAMER FIRE WALKER EXPLORER TEENAGER HERO Five Centuries Ago, On the Island Now Called Hawaii, There was a Kingdom Filled with Adventure, Beauty, and Magic. When 16-year-old Prince Ailani and his brother Nahoa trespass on a forbidden burial ground and uncover an ancient tiki mask, they unleash a thousand-year-old curse that threatens to destroy their tropical paradise. As warring factions collide for control of Oceana, it sparks an age-old conflict between rival sorcerers that threatens to erupt-just like Mauna Kea, the towering volcano. With the help of his ancestral spirit animals, his shape shifting sidekick, and a beautiful princess, Prince Ailani must overcome his own insecurities, a lifetime of sibling rivalry, and a plague of cursed sea creatures brought forth by the tiki's spell. Can peace be restored to the kingdom? Can Prince Ailani claim his rightful place as the future king of Oceana? ONLY ONE CAN RULE.

~~~

Hey, guys!

      I was sent this book for an honest review

      I was actually really excited to get into this book. I had just seen Moana when I was contacted and asked to review this book. This book was described as something just like Moana and excited for something that would capture the feelings that Moana made me feel I gladly accepted. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations. As you can see from my rating, I wasn't impressed. This book had the potential to be pretty good, but I just kind of lacked everything that would have made it a great fantasy novel.

      This book had the potential to be really interesting and had the premise to be a really great series. I had no connection with the characters and all of the main events that occurred seemed much too easy and predictable. The dialogue was so rigid and forced and it was just awkward to read. There were so many overused tropes that could have been written in a different way that wouldn't have been annoying, but unfortunately, it wasn't. The evil/awful sibling trope is so overdone and in this instance, it wasn't done very well at all. 
      I couldn't connect to the characters at all. They were just so blah and I didn't really care what happened to them at all. There was also insta-love/insta-attraction which was really annoying. There was no context for the whole story bored me for 99% of the time. I basically had to force myself to continue reading...I'm not sure why I didn't DNF this book, but it was on the brink of being DNF'd. 

      Overall, this book wasn't very great. The major plot points weren't resolved much at all, and when they were somewhat resolved, the different parts were lamely resolved. The magic wasn't interesting at all and I had a hard time believing any of the stuff that was said. I mean magic is totally fictional, but it wasn't developed well at all. I don't think I'll continue with this series. 

The only part of the book that I enjoyed was the setting. It was really cool to read a book that was set in Oceana. I'd love to read more books that take place there.

Happy reading!
Olivia
~LivTheBookNerd~

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Just A Normal Tuesday by Kim Turrisi

Page Count: 248 Published on: May 2, 2017 Published by: KCP Loft Genre(s): YA, Realistic Fiction, Mental Health, Tragedy, Coming of Age Source: Print: Paperback --ARC via Publisher Age Rating: YA

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @KimmyT22

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

It's just a normal Tuesday for sixteen-year-old Kai, until suddenly it's anything but. She's received a letter from her beloved older sister, Jen, a letter that begins, My very bestest sister, Kai, if you are reading this, I am already gone. From that moment on, Kai's life will never be the same, as she is forced to deal with the shock and horror of losing Jen to suicide. Consumed with grief, Kai looks for answers, lashes out at people who love her and eventually turns to excessive drinking and drugs, all with disastrous results and no relief from her suffering. Struggling with their own sorrow, Kai's parents realize she needs more help than they can give, and they enroll her in the Tree House, a "grief camp" for children. Though reluctant to go, once she's there, Kai finally finds others who truly understand her loss. No longer alone, she's able to begin dealing with her pain. And to see light at the end of the dark tunnel. 

Kim Turrisi's beautiful, wrenching young-adult novel sheds a much-needed light on the subjects of mental illness and suicide. Using the unique idea of a grief camp, Turrisi lays out a process for healing and moving forward for readers who have been touched by loss. But this book's appeal reaches beyond that. With combined elements of tragedy and romance, compellingly told in Kai's authentic voice, this ultimately hopeful story will be an unputdownable read for any teen.

~~~

Hey, guys!

      I was sent an advanced reader's copy of Just A Normal Tuesday towards the end of last year by KCP Loft for an honest review. When I first picked up this book, I knew it would be a hit or miss for me. Suicide is such a touchy subject and to write a story so skillfully is very difficult. This book was beautifully written and I really enjoyed the characters and the setting of this novel. Their stories were so touching and you can tell that this is a personal project for Kim Turrisi.

      The characters in this book were very complex and each person had a story that you could somehow connect to. Their emotions were very raw and realistic that really pulled the reader in. Each character had a different way of dealing with their grief which was what really drew me in. Kai, in particular, was one of my favorite characters. You could feel the desperation that she felt after her sister's death, although she didn't really learn from what her sister did, you really do feel the emotions that Kai is feeling. Her raw desperation for her sister and her panic about how she should have seen the signs were so realistically done. It was really great to see a character that wanted to stop the bad habits that they pick up. It was great to see that she understood that her sister wouldn't want her to dwell on what she couldn't control. Kai wanted to heal, but she still wasn't ready to fully let go of her sister.

      It was really interesting to have a book mainly focus on the healing aspects of grief. I really liked how the councilors were actually educated and understood what the kids were going through. They gave some really solid advice that I could see was working. It was really cool that it was a grief camp for kids and teens. One of my favorite parts was when Kai met the little boy who's mother passed away. I think YA fiction likes to just focus on how teens are affected by death and kind of neglect how little children would react and deal with the death of an important family member. Death, divorce, abuse...it affects everyone. I really enjoyed the interactions the teens had with the little children. I think it's an important subject that needs to be discussed in literature. 

     I have three sisters, my twin, and two younger sisters, and I literally could not allow myself to get emotionally attached to this book otherwise, I would be attacking my sisters with love. Which would be awkward for them...I'm sure...you know, without context. One of the most influential fictional deaths in my life was Fred Weasley from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was absolutely crushed when Fred died. I bawl my eyes out every time I read that scene and watch it in the movie. Because I have a twin, I totally understand how George felt when Fred died. My sister, Sarah, had cancer for a good chunk of her life, and to think I could have lost her back then totally breaks my heart. Whenever I read books like this, I can't help but connect it with the hypothetical deaths of my sisters. I would not be able to cope, so I really connect with Kai's grief. Even now, I cannot let myself think about my sisters dying. I would be broken. I totally feel for Kai. She was such a raw character.

     The only reason I gave this book 4 stars was because I didn't enjoy the romance. It was really cliche and too predictable. It was great to see Kai happy with someone, but it was just not for me. 

Other Books From KCP Loft:

• Keeping the Beat by Marie Powell & Jeff Norton
• Textrovert by Lindsey Summers
• Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant

Happy reading!
Olivia
~LivTheBookNerd~

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