REVIEW--Glow

Happy Monday, readers and fashionistas!  Today is the start of a crazy busy week for me!  We're talking house meetings (we're moving!), library meetings, church retreats, etc.  But all super fun!

Today's review is for the book Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan; it's a sci fi thriller, a perfect genre for the Halloween month.  So let's jump right in!

• First in the Sky Chasers series
• Science Fiction / Thriller

The Gist:
Waverly (girl) and Kieran (boy) are on the Empyrean, a ship that is bound for a new world in space.  Their ship is filled with non-religious people while a sister ship making the same destination is filled with religious travelers.   The ships aren't traveling together but are basically allies in their destinations.  Kieran proposes to Waverly and anxiously awaits her response.  But she doesn't have a chance to answer him when their supposed ally ship attacks and kidnaps all of the young females.  And what was once a quiet trip in space turns in to a dangerous race for all their lives.

What I Loved:

•  I really enjoy the genre of sci fi / thriller, because it throws in the unexpected in a fast, action-packed plot.
• The author did such a great job at manipulating my emotions when it came to the characters.  I would be leaning towards loving Kieran, but then his adversary Seth seemed like the nicer guy.  And this happened throughout the whole book (the ships' captains, especially), bringing up the question "is there a little bit of evil in all of us?"
• For the most part, I liked the dual narration between Waverly and Kieran.  I preferred Waverly's storyline, but nevertheless it was nice to switch it up throughout the book.

What I Didn't Love:

• The title only makes sense to me when you compare the book to the other titles in the series.  On its own, however, Glow just doesn't fit the book.   What does it have to do with anything?
• The religious vs. nonreligious issues of the ships didn't seem to make sense to me, especially when the religious ship seemed to be more evil.  Not sure why that part of the book was needed.
• I just could not grasp the look of the ship, so when the attack happened, I had no idea where everyone was, what size space they were in, etc.  I needed a better "visual" of the ships.

An enjoyable read, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series.  My confusion of the ships' set-up along with the various character traits left me puzzled most of the time, making it (as I said) enjoyable but not super fun.  Three heels for me!

 I'll have a space-themed outfit for us soon, along with some stylish kid clothes!

REVIEW--172 Hours on the Moon

I'm back!  I took about a week hiatus because my family went on vacation, but now I'm home and back in the swing of the ol' routine!

Summer--I have such a love/hate relationship with it.  So much makes me happy about summer--my birthday, my kids' birthdays, my anniversary, slushies, pasta salad, late sunsets, swimming.  But there's always a few downers with my summers, too.

For example, last summer I had my beautiful second-born son, Cedar.  And then I got mastitis over and over and was pretty much miserably sick for 6 weeks.

And this summer so far...

We had Cedar's one-year birthday party--a sweet celebration with everything revolving around the letter C.  A very blessed day, indeed!

C for crown!  And C for Cedar!

And of course we went on vacation.  We drove the 12-ish hours down to Pawley's Island, South Carolina, a peaceful community about 30 minutes outside the much-busier Myrtle Beach.  It was a week of relaxing on the beach, going to Brookgreen Gardens (one of my FAVORITE places on Earth to just wander and think), and eating plenty of shrimp.  A great time for sure!

The largest of all the sculptures at Brookgreen, Pegasus.

My beach boys.

And then our washing machine died, our dryer threatened to follow, our van needed unexpected major repairs, and I got a HORRIBLE stomach gastro-something from the trip home.  Blah blah blah.  So expect the unexpected with the good, huh?

But like I said, I'm back at it, and today's post is a review of 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad.  I was intrigued by this book because I get totally freaked out by space sometimes.  Not having complete control over your movements, possibly getting sucked into the great unknown, the complete silence...*shivers.*  And this book is part sci fi/part thriller.

• Sci Fi / Thriller
• Standalone novel

See the cover?  So creepy with the giant eyeball, right?  Look inside the eye and you'll see an astronaut on the left and then a figure on the right who just happens to be surviving on the moon without any astronaut garb...creepy!

The Gist:
NASA hasn't been getting much attention lately, so to gain support from the public, it holds a one-of-a-kind lottery: it is going to send 3 teenagers into space.  Yes, teens from all over the world simply have to enter their name into the lottery and they could possibly join a space crew that will spend 172 hours on the moon.  The winners?  Mia, a Norwegian who wants her band to get attention through her space-traveling fame, Midori, a Japanese girl who just wants to escape her parents' stifling lifestyle, and Antoinie, a Parisian who was just dumped by the love of his life.  But what these three teens (and the public) don't realize is that NASA may have more behind their supposed motivation for sending a crew to the moon...and the crew just may not get to return home.

What I Loved:

• Like I said, a really cool and creepy concept to me.  Getting stuck on the moon--just gives me chills!
• I actually love the fact that none of the three teens are Americans.  I think we tend to always assume that Americans will win a spot in everything, and that isn't always the case.
• The book was pretty scary and definitely had surprises in characters and plot.  Kept me on my toes.

What I Didn't Love:

• The point of view shifted so often within paragraphs, which got frustrating at times.  I just didn't feel like the characters could be as developed with all this shifting.
• And speaking of characters, I thought they were a little annoying.  Mia was rude and angry, Antoine was wimpy, and Midori was immature.  I wasn't too invested with any of them.
• The ending was unsettling and left me wanting more.  Gah, I hate that!

A creepy, solid read even though I didn't love the style.

How do you feel about outer space and traveling into the unknown?

Tomorrow I'll be showing off an outfit from my vacation, and then I'll be back later this week with an outer space-inspired outfit!  See you then!

REVIEW--How to Lead a Life of Crime

Good afternoon, friends!  Unfortunately all that anyone can talk about in Indiana is that we're supposed to get MORE SNOW today....sigh.  I don't know how much more of winter snow I can handle!  Maybe a book review will cheer me up!

Today's review is on How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller.  It's dangerous, intense, surprising, and a great read!  So let's jump in!

• Standalone novel
• Thriller

The Gist:
Teenager Flick (at least that's the name he goes by) was raised in a very wealthy family.  He could probably have anything he wants based on his family's financial situation.  But Flick's dad is incredibly abusive, and Flick only gets away from his abuse when he goes to a military school.  But Flick leaves school and starts living on the streets as a thief when his dad gets away with killing his younger brother, Jude.  Flick is a good thief, in fact a pretty professional pick-pocket, so he isn't interested when Lucius Mandel invites him to attend the Mandel Academy.  This academy is for teen criminals and works to make those criminals even better at what they do.  But when Flick hears that Mandel has the evidence to put his father in prison for the rest of his life, he agrees to attend the academy through graduation.  But there is MUCH MORE to this academy than Flick first suspected, and when the love of his life becomes a student, too, Flick knows he must risk his race to the top to save both himself and the ones he loves.

What I Loved:

• Such a cool premise--a school for criminals to make them better criminals!  You can take a class on assassination techniques or human trafficking...it's wrong but pretty funny, too.
• The villains in this book weren't just one step ahead of Flick--they seemed to be five steps ahead of him.  Kept the book very mysterious.
• This is a standalone book when I was certain it would be part of a series.  I appreciate having a book wrap everything up. 
• There is so much that can be explored in this book, especially the characters' obsession with revenge or success (or both!).  

What I Didn't Love:

• A pretty gory, disturbing, gross book at times.  Took things beyond the boundary that I expected.
• Flick's communication with "Peter Pan" Jude was just a little bizarre at times.
• The ending wasn't completely satisfactory for me.  After all Flick went through, I found myself thinking "that was it?"
• The extra reading material at the end (like the files of characters and the class descriptions) told me things I already knew.  They just weren't necessary.  

I'd say a 3-heel read for me.  A good read with a few problems for me.  What did you think of the book?

I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully not buried in the snow!) with an outfit based off this book.  See you then!

REVIEW--The Name of the Star

Needing a spooky read for October?  I have a great series for you to try out!  Today's review is on The Name of the Star, the first in Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series.  A great choice as we gear up for Halloween!

A creepy but beautiful cover!

• Book 1 in the Shades of London series
• Supernatural/Mystery/Thriller

The Gist:

Rory, a Louisiana native, is attending boarding school in London while her parents work overseas.  Almost immediately following her arrival, a series of murders in London starts occurring, and every murder seems to mimic Jack the Ripper.  Because of a near death experience, Rory finds herself connected to the murders--and Jack the Ripper himself--in more ways than expected.  A mystery thriller with major supernatural twists thrown in!

What I Loved:

• Rory, the narrator, is very quippy and sarcastic.  I loved her voice!  A great example of this is my favorite quote down below.
• I loved the various points of view that were given throughout the book of the random people connected to the murders.  A spooky way of starting various chapters!
• Johnson does a great job of connecting the past and present in this book.  She really brought the history alive for me!
• The murders are pretty horrifying; perfect for October!  And do you know much about Jack the Ripper?  Horrifying murders to say the least!
• The characters are realistic--they're jealous, have crushes, etc.  

What I Didn't Love:

• Rory's parents...they're pretty much nonexistant.  They don't even help Rory with her school orientation.
• Rory's near death experience that allows her to connect with the supernatural--really?  It was a cheesy near death experience and seemed pretty minor.

My favorite quote:  "It didn't take a great deal of insight to know that Jazza was not going to want to go to a crime scene that evening.  She was, to use the vernacular, a normal person."

 

Overall a great read, and the sequel is just as creepy and fun!  I'll be reviewing it on Thursday!  Check back here Wednesday for an outfit inspired by this book!