tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28998059977056865242024-02-20T22:06:22.004-08:00Belle of the BookcaseBelle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-61632419200315312572018-11-03T20:01:00.001-07:002018-11-07T14:31:31.450-08:00A Well Behaved Woman (Therese Fowler)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Well-Behaved-Woman-Novel-Vanderbilts-ebook/dp/B07B8WH8G8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541298653&sr=8-2&keywords=a+well+behaved+woman+by+therese+anne+fowler"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY41tW0Hv1diMHfb_AYkHNzXzFPdCxbxgA0PwgukEPypIxI8TODEZzECZxowffIDjU7Ak1eJNqMlm_00u3OWQfsmw05FSNtIG4mvAambVCOXF7IFkoIogOvcZZIxRElsXR-NO3-3-xQqs/s320/well+behaved+woman.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Well-Behaved-Woman-Novel-Vanderbilts-ebook/dp/B07B8WH8G8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541298653&sr=8-2&keywords=a+well+behaved+woman+by+therese+anne+fowler">A Well Behaved Woman by Therese Ann Fowler</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We live in some interesting times. From Hollywood to the Hill the balance of power that kept people from coming forward when they were sexually misused or abused has been shifting. More and more people are beginning to realize that if we all stand together, we can hold each other up when times get hard or scary.<br />
<br />
And what a fantastic political climate to read <i>A Well Behaved Woman</i>, written by Therese Ann Fowler (author of <i>Z: A Novel of Zelda</i>, which is one of my favorite historical fiction books, and I also highly recommend that one.) The book follows the life of Alva Smith Vanderbilt, as she navigates the world of American Royalty: the New York "Old Rich." The High Society that basically sculpted New York City into what it is today, was similar to the English and French courts in the hierarchy they followed. Alva is a member of a well looked upon family (although not one of the "Best", which is basically the 1% of the 1% of that time. Does the name Astor ring a bell?) trying to make the most advantageous marital match she can. Her family is destitiute and while they are currently able to hide that fact, it is getting hard and harder do so. She has her sights set on William K. Vanderbilt, second born son to the first born son, William Henry, of the famous railroad tycoon Cornelius "the Commodore" Vanderbilt. He seems affable enough on the few occasions she has met him, not that it matters, because if she <i>doesn't </i>make this match, her dying father and two sisters will also be shit out of luck like her.<br />
<br />
Do you know who this woman is? This woman is a <span style="font-size: large;">FUCKING </span>legend. Here's a quick greatest hits on Alva Smith-Vanderbilt-Belmont's life:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>She not only married a Vanderbilt, but she managed to trick the fucking ASTOR FAMILY into accepting the Commodore and his family into Best Society, where they felt they rightly belonged. </li>
<li>When she found out that her husband was being unfaithful and making a fool of her, instead of doing what society expected and saying "Boys will be boys" while shaking her head, she laid out the terms of the divorce SHE served her husband, ensuring that she got one of their houses, money for the rest of her life to live off of, custody of their children, money for the children for the rest of their lives, and he had to admit to having been adulterous. </li>
<li>After taking Vandy to the cleaners with the divorce, she then started dating AND EVENTUALLY MARRIED his close friend Oliver Belmont.</li>
<li>Once her second husband had died, she then joined the women's suffrage movement in England and the US becoming a huge name behind the eventually successful campaigns. </li>
</ul>
<div>
She rocked in a way that most famous women in power now still can't rock. One of her best quotes is "Just pray to God, she will help you." She had zero tolerance for patriarchical bullshit and was not about to sit quietly and let it continue to happen to her and all of her friends.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There, I just gave you the biggest flash card points from her life, and if you don't already have an absolutely burning desire to immediately read this book then LET ME GO ON...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fowler is an incredible writer. Her style is smooth without feeling overly glossed. Events unfold organically so that before you know it you've read a quarter of the book and are in desperate need of sustinance. I've loved her since I first read her, and she has such a fantastic way of telling about famous events "from around the corner", so to speak. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We need more books like this. There are SO. MANY. BOOKS. about Henry VIII and the entire Tudor/ Lancaster drama fest that is English history. (I love those, do not get me wrong, Phillipa Gregory probably made a house payment just from my money alone.) Our history is JUST as effed up as Britain's and we need some really powerful female writers to give us that same style of sweeping multi volume sagas that England is overflowing with. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, the Final Breakdown:</div>
<br />
<div>
The Book</div>
<div>
God, this woman is just the spirit animal we need right now. And the story of her life, the will power she used to create her destiny is just so... epic!</div>
<div>
<div>
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Writing</div>
<div>
Fowler is just incredible. I never seem to find fault with her technique.</div>
<div>
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Readability</div>
<div>
There were times, which I think is just a pitfall of the genre, where the story gets a little boggy. But overall those parts are few and far between in this work, there's plenty of action to keep you interested.</div>
<div>
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️</div>
</div>
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Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-52383648015285673742018-10-26T18:35:00.000-07:002018-11-01T18:22:16.578-07:00Magic (William Goldman)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Magic-Novel-William-Goldman-ebook/dp/B001ON78R0?crid=1SICAWMZF35I6&keywords=magic+william+goldman&qid=1540600032&sprefix=magic+william+goldm%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMna8nKkp2F9_h_Pez_mxL3sZ8TlXUL0j0rZQ0DmpbCH-Y01HSN_Gv_l5Wld4d5dw3GCnX55W1QvMC19-ejHb9PI_LsWVHVsHijqf_BlXpRIvMzyg9fOdHucIazaVfA7dFLhhpveOtU7o/s320/magic.jpg" width="194" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Magic-Novel-William-Goldman-ebook/dp/B001ON78R0?crid=1SICAWMZF35I6&keywords=magic+william+goldman&qid=1540600032&sprefix=magic+william+goldm%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1&ref=sr_1_1">Magic by William Goldman</a></td></tr>
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You know what's fun? When authors you love dip into a different genre. When Stephen King writes a horror novel no one bats an eyelash or even yawns with boredom- it is a tenet of this universe we live in that Stephen King will continue to publish horror novels until well after he has died. But, what if King wrote a <i>romance </i>novel? THAT would be news. People would be falling over themselves to find out what it was about, did it <i>sound </i>like Stephen King, or did it sound like he was trying to be someone different? Like, Stephen King dressed up as Nora Roberts and now he's seeing how he feels.<br />
<br />
Wait, that took a really weird turn. The point was, seeing an author write something outside of their normal genre is like seeing a teacher outside of school who is wearing shorts. It feels weird and exciting and wrong all at once.<br />
<br />
Then a few months ago, I learned that William Goldman, author of my favorite book of all time <i>The Princess Bride</i>, had written a horror novel I about jumped out of my skin. How had I not known?? While I was busy rereading <i>Princess Bride</i> and buying every copy available, this classic nugget snuck past me.<br />
<br />
Obviously I had to immediately find it on <a href="https://www.thriftbooks.com/">ThriftBooks</a> and get a copy. Then I felt like I had to wait until SpoOkctober to really appreciate it. I'm glad I did! Autumn is the perfect time of year for this one.<br />
<br />
This was a quick read, but fun nonetheless. The main character, Corky, is a magician who is actually making it places in this world, getting gigs on TV and on the precipice of the "big break!" As the story progresses, told in three parts (present, past, continuing present), we find that there might be something to worry about in Corky's noggin. By the end, Corky's noggin is the least of our problems. By the end, our problems are well outside of Corky's head.<br />
<br />
Filled with Goldman's classically sharp wit, the book is entertaining even if it doesn't hold up too well to the passing of time. This one, like many written in the 70's and 80's, has that very decisive sound to it that lets you know what decade its from. I don't know that I can put my finger on what that is, but somehow all of them (<i>Rosemary's Baby</i>, <i>Stepford Wives</i>, <i>Psycho</i>, <i>The Omen</i>) have the same sound. to them. (Incidentally, they also all have that same delicious smell. Smells like childhood.)<br />
<br />
The pace of this one is pretty manic, so you have to keep your wits about you and be on your toes. Afterall, you don't want to fall for the magician's sleight of hand, right?<br />
<br />
The final breakdown:<br />
The Book<br />
Overall fun, I enjoyed the banter between people, and would definitely enjoy seeing a rebooted movie with some more modern effects.<br />
🌹🌹🌹<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
What you'd expect from Goldman, fast paced witty banter that he's using to distract you from the truth.<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
These older books are harder for to read, honestly. There's something to the tone from that period that just doesn't grip me in the same way as <i>The Shining</i> or R.L.Stine do.<br />
🕰️🕰️<br />
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Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-10643018702074455402018-10-25T19:44:00.000-07:002018-10-26T14:48:40.701-07:00The Apartment (S.L. Grey)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Apartment-Blumhouse-Books-S-Grey-ebook/dp/B01D7CP3B8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540517412&sr=1-2&keywords=the+apartment"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4j0iAmpF0Zsv1yX-uTKe7ZACRLc8Ctf1exlN3Hb0SK7WNTpYADXaqs_lFxJHmEJg2TcV1Fk6CzDLPpf1PqgbxYmo4SEF9sniStBNvepBs54XtrkTCzVO9gtyyylSGFeWHYionoiMDjeg/s320/apartment.jpg" width="207"></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Apartment-Blumhouse-Books-S-Grey-ebook/dp/B01D7CP3B8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540517412&sr=1-2&keywords=the+apartment">The Apartment by S.L. Grey</a></td></tr>
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<i>Oh, you guys! SpoOkctober is almost over! Our Wicked Wednesdays and Frightening Fridays are almost at an end. </i><br>
<i><br></i>
So, as you all know, I love horror. And as our society changes, I love seeing the new concepts for horror that arise. Like, the first time I used Uber, I honestly flashed back through every page of my forensic psych book. Does anyone remember that couch surfing website? "Come sleep on my couch for the night and just buy me dinner!" (Sure, I heard that line before. ) And now there's AirBnB.<br>
<br>
I mean, I realize, logically, that there is only a very small percentage of the world that are <i>actually </i>violently insane, but honestly, wouldn't it be just my luck to end up swapping with them?<br>
<br>
And then, just wandering through Barnes and Noble one night, this gift from the Horror Gods appeared on a table out of nowhere. (I mean, obviously not out of no where, it was a themed table, but still.) <i>The Apartment</i>, a creepy book about an AirBnB gone wrong, put out by <a href="http://www.blumhousebooks.com/">Blumhouse Books</a> (I've already mentioned that I love almost every movie out of their catalog) I was ecstatic!<br>
<br>
A married couple from South Africa decides to use a house swapping website to spend a week in Paris and let another couple live in their home. That seems totally legit to me. Apparently they've had some rough times recently, and they're having a hard time getting past it. So they plop their daughter off at the parent's house (interestingly,<i>also </i>a B and B.) and wander off into Europe, expecting a miracle.<br>
<br>
Well something supernatural happens, but it isn't a Miracle that's for damn sure. Between the creepy Mother Gothel witch living upstairs to the weird and gross garret where a homeless kid seemed to be crashing the stay itself is miserable. Of course their relationship starts to break down from the first moment of stress in the trip, and by the time they get home they're barely speaking.<br>
<br>
THEN something ELSE happens!<br>
<br>
But... I barely remember the details... because I was just so <i>bored!</i> I really wanted this book to work and be scary and blow my mind the way <i>The Shining </i> did in high school. It didn't, though. Instead I found myself annoyed at how good it <i>could </i>have been if they hadn't ruined it. The atmosphere of the titular apartment was stale and imaginationless, rather than being a mysterious enigma. The build to a Big Bad was almost good, but the Big Bad just made it dull and unsatisfying.<br>
<br>
I so hoped that I would recommend this book to you guys, but I really don't. I guess I was hoping for <i>Hell House</i> in the twenty-first century and was underwhelmed by this particular choice.<div><br></div><div>The final break down:<br>
<br>
The Book<br>
🌹🌹<br>
<br>
The Writing<br>
🕯️<br>
<br>
Readability<br>
🕰️🕰️<br>
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</div>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-18587528197868958712018-10-23T19:18:00.000-07:002018-10-24T16:28:50.520-07:00The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Haunting-Hill-House-Penguin-Horror-ebook/dp/B00INIXLRK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1540340918&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHEUfWq8xASZdQEZm8svsAJL1nF6IizpWVxoCpMg_crkG8-Lh3HOUEqekbqpE-Rv_SrSPsYJ3ZAYFxIQd0o_OMh-RtdbyTXY932tgHgaU8zeNJenbF1neoBa1-d9HwqORxnajv3vtbWo/s320/haunting+of+hill+house.jpg" width="211"></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Haunting-Hill-House-Penguin-Horror-ebook/dp/B00INIXLRK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1540340918&sr=8-1">The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson</a></td></tr>
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There are certain horror novels that even the nonbookish have heard of before. <i>Hell House</i> by Richard Matheson, <i>Rosemary's Baby</i> by Ira Levin, <i>Psycho</i> by Anthony Burgess, <i>The Haunting of Hill House</i> by Shirley Jackson. These are some of the greats that the genre has built itself upon. The master blue-prints of writing horror: the mothers and fathers of atmosphere; the people who turn houses and motels and apartment buildings into characters all on their own. They do it so well, we often don't realize until much later in the book that we're more scared of bedroom and then boogie man under the bed.<br>
<br>
For this #BellesWickedWednesday let's look at <i>The Haunting of Hill House</i>, released in 1959. Jackson's classic is set in an already old and abandoned house, Hill Manor, which is fittingly set at the bottom of a bunch of hills. The family who owns the property refuses to live there, has never been able to keep rented tenets for more than a few days, and keeps the gate locked at all times, and guarded by the obligatory crazy groundskeeper. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(I think Jackson is the one who made it obligatory. She was the first one to make a crazy groundskeeper cool in horror.) </span><br>
<br>
We already know before getting to the house that this was put together by Dr. Montague, a scientist who wants to see if he can establish physical proof of paranormal phenomena that have long been rumored to be happening at the house. He invites along two women, Eleanor and Theodora. Both are thought to be "spiritually sensitive", in the hopes that they will help the house open up emotionally or whatever it is they do. The only stipulation of the family is that their heir, Luke, stay in the house with the guests as a chaperone <span style="font-size: x-small;">(or maybe they want him gone so someone else can inherit the house... I mean, if it had such an intense reputation, why would send your male heir to live there? SKETCH!)</span><br>
Obviously, as always happens in these situations, the house lives up to its reputation quite well, scaring the bejesus <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and a little more)</span> out of everyone staying there.<br>
<br>
Ok, so can you please indulge me and let me review this two different ways? First we'll talk about it as a horror classic, a pillar of its genre. It is... masterful. The build of suspense is so steady, so rhythmic, that you can't help but be drawn into the power of this house. The descriptions of the hauntings themselves are gripping and absolutely drip with the atmosphere of evil in the house.<br>
<br>
Now, from a modern reading perspective: I never get much into those 50's/60's/70's horror reads. Every time I pick up a classic and read it, I can completely understand <i>why</i> it's a classic, but that doesn't mean I find it especially terrifying or creepy. So, while I enjoy reading them, maybe they weren't actually the right choices <span style="font-size: x-small;">(yes I chose multiple classics for this October)</span>.<br>
<br>
So with reviewing it, I am going to be honest with you, I am grading it on a "Classic Curve", where it gets bonus points for being a classic of the genre.<br>
<br>
The final breakdown:<br>
<br>
The Book<br>
I 100% believe everyone should read this book. It is fantastic in its own rite.<br>
🌹🌹🌹🌹<br>
<br>
The Writing<br>
Not the best writing of Jackson's catalog, but still ok.<br>
🕯️🕯️🕯️<br>
<br>
Readability<br>
Read it in one sitting with the lights off, that is the best way to really take advantage of the atmosphere.<br>
🕰️🕰️🕰️<br>
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Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-59145970435262194112018-10-15T16:35:00.001-07:002018-10-17T19:04:27.911-07:00Red Rain (R. L. Stine)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Red-Rain-Novel-R-L-Stine-ebook/dp/B007EDOT6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539645594&sr=8-1&keywords=red+rain"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjMJx8QFX3mT7DFA0O4hIyJ23kD9nzavXF1jj7bqQYXYmQEimuGxwq1Fd7RbuSltxoNN1xDzWEubdqAHUqj21tjG0JrEHurM0z9K0CxnC5S5BXtGf3lw76gVA_EU8xTCbQ3QhzVgpI7Q/s320/red+rain.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Red-Rain-Novel-R-L-Stine-ebook/dp/B007EDOT6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539645594&sr=8-1&keywords=red+rain"><span style="font-size: small;">Red Rain by R.L. Stine</span></a></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I was in elementary school, I was sent to the principal’s office once. My parents were called as well. They came in and sat down with me, and the principal <span style="font-size: x-small;">(who by the way didn’t believe this was happening) </span>reintroduced them to my first grade teacher, who then proceeded to tell them why they were there:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was reading something “too mature” for me. My parents stared at her. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What do you mean? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> mature?” my mother <span style="font-size: x-small;">(an English teacher, by the way) </span>asked her, warily.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but… it’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goosebumps.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I caught her with three different books from that series.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crickets. I’m not kidding people, absolute crickets. My dad finally folds his fingers together on the desk, “Where do you think she </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">got </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the books? Is she also running a job on the side to afford them?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This time, crickets from the teacher. The principal is smirking, because to him this is ridiculous.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To anyone sane, this is ridiculous. I was </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seven</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Wasn’t </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goosebumps</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> meant for children? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That wasn’t even the last time that happened. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(In third grade it was </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And Then There Were None</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I actually got in double trouble that time because when I got in trouble, I pointed out that I was not reading the copy called </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ten Little N***rs</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I was trying to point out that I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">being politically correct. Mrs. Pulis did not approve. Side note: the principal again found the whole thing ridiculous and funny. I miss him.) </span>This time my father was a little more pissed at having his time wasted. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not sure what you’re concerned about most here? Is it that you worry she will accept an invitation out of the blue from an anonymous stranger inviting her to a sketchy island with a bunch of other strangers? I just need to know what you feel I need to parent her through.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was never called to the principal’s office again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, I digress. The point of this story was not my elementary school teachers preoccupation with my advanced reading skills, or my ability to separate fantasy from reality <span style="font-size: x-small;">(I would not, as it happens, have accepted that invitation.) </span>This story is about the fact that I have loved R.L. Stine since he first hit the market in the 90’s. His story lines were inventive, his plot lines were well thought out, and the twists were creepy enough to stick with me, even to this day in some cases. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Does anyone else remember </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bad Dog</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?? I still feel sad every time I see a stray animal!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SO. When I found out that Stine was now also writing books for adults, the exact words that came out of my mouth were “nipvsidvhnikahiehifchniledhnived;JVDHO;RSNIljifhnikwhndihniv.” <span style="font-size: x-small;">(That’s verbatim.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The story starts with a woman witnessing first hand the horrors of post hurricane devastation on an island of the Outer Banks. As blood red rain begins to fall from the sky, she notices two little boys- twins <span style="font-size: x-small;">(always creepy)</span>- walking out of the gloom towards her alone.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cut to a few days prior and we see her learn the bizarre history of the island, where the living are said to coexist with the dead. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(The island is fictional, in case you were wondering.)</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apparently, years before, another hurricane had completely decimated the island, nothing was left standing, and very few were left alive. However, the island was rebuilt in a short amount of time because the dead rose up to help the living rebuild. Afterwards, they enjoyed living again so much, they decided to stay. The island is full of weird stories and creepy resurrection rituals, giving the main character the heebie jeebies as she documents for her travel blog.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the hurricane and the red rain she takes home the twin boys- whom she apparently felt motherly love for at first sight- to help them learn to live again after losing their home and parents. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then shit starts getting weird.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’d think shit got weird in the chapter with the resurrection from the dead ceremony, but no, by the end of this book that will feel like a goddamned </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goosebumps</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> novel again. And the weirdness. Is. AWESOME!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just like I remembered, the story telling is virtually flawless. The red herrings he throws you are believable enough for you to bite, but the reality is way better. I did NOT see the final twist coming. Like, at all. I honestly cannot even say enough good things about this book.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The character development was also stellar, which I think can often be lacking in horror books where the tendency can be to put so much time into the ambiance and not as much into the people living it. But I actually felt for the characters. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Except the teenagers because I don’t particularly feel for teenagers in general.)</span> Side characters were given some back story, but not so much that the plot suffered or the pacing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, I recommend this book to ANYONE who is not afraid of a scary read. It was that good. Hands down, my favorite horror read this year.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Final Breakdown: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(hint- it’s 5’s all around.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Book</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was a great twist on your classic </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Children of the Damned</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Village of the Damned</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> tropes, which Stine admits were a huge influence on him. Honestly, what’s creepier than children, am I right?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Writing</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As with everything of his I read when I was growing up, the writing is fantastic. I was drawn in from the first page, and pissed that the last page was the last.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Readability</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I read this book in about twenty-four hours once I actually concentrated on it <span style="font-size: x-small;">(as in, finished the other book I was reading at the same time.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-52483806187883277142018-10-12T18:41:00.000-07:002018-10-12T18:41:14.613-07:00Merciless (Danielle Vega) <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Merciless-Danielle-Vega-ebook/dp/B00G3L1D6K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539392010&sr=8-2&keywords=Merciless"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="226" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbhPVht5ZLZs9Gn6TbSnjgnvgVYxUMT_Gn1q_2XtfBowWezhdbWpyT4xcdK_KpPC_9W-WaRQtYogF2KTEfYE3iv9_USOx0CqwfRNuRU-6naYUgOMShmfXGZL5cmUSj9JuQuVLAPSH9p4/s320/61SW%252BoUzKlL._SY346_.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Merciless-Danielle-Vega-ebook/dp/B00G3L1D6K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539392010&sr=8-2&keywords=Merciless">Merciless by Danielle Vega</a></td></tr>
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Remember when I told you that <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism </i>was what would happen <span style="text-align: center;">if you combined</span> <i>Mean Girls </i> with <i>The Exorcist</i>?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well, get comfy in your Friday sweatpants, everybody, because I have another one for you. <i>Merciless </i>by Danielle Vega follows a new girl- Sophia- trying to fit in at a new high school, which, as <i>Mean Girls </i>taught us, is basically like trying to live in a jungle. On her first day Sophia finds that, for whatever reson, the popular girls have taken a liking to her. Like any normal teenage girl, suspicious, she hesitantly spends time with them. For some reason <span style="font-size: x-small;">(we don't get an explanation of why, except maybe because this is set in the deep south? I would have liked a little more back story on this part) </span>these girls are weirdly religious. And by weirdly, I don't mean like "Yeah she grew up in an atheist home but now she goes to church three days a week" weirdly, I mean one of them "baptizes" Sophia in a school bathroom sink by mixing communion wine she caries in a flask into some water.</div>
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Whatever, I mean teenage girls are weird, right? Ok, well, that is just about the least weird thing that these bitches end up putting Sophia through by the end of the book. They get it in their weirdly religious heads that another girl is possessed by a demon and that they have to save her, which of course they tangle Sophia into as well. If you've seen <i>The Exorcist </i>then you know that these things can get a little... Physically and psychologically demanding of all involved. But hey- who could be more level headed and able to keep cool under the stress of fighting Satan's army than a teenage girl, right?<br />
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This was a fun, fast read. I read the entire thing in a day <span style="font-size: x-small;">(it was a TOTAL ACCIDENT that I stayed up till 3:00 AM, I swear.) </span>and was ready to read the sequel as soon as I finished. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(I didn't though, I was a good girl and went to sleep. Mostly because I don't have the sequel yet.) </span>The attempt to be <i>Mean Girls </i>-esque was a little intense and obvious, but that didn't take away from the fun of the story. I also would have liked more interaction with the supposedly possessed girl and our protagonist <i>before </i>the exorcism began, but I absolutely loved how Sophia's back story was laid out for us slowly over the course of the book.<br />
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The final breakdown:<br />
<br />
The Book<br />
<div>
Fun read overall, very inventive for a YA horror.</div>
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🌹🌹🌹</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The Writing</div>
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Fast paced, but as I said, I wish it hadn't been so overtly <i>Mean Girls </i>. Some areas even felt word for word.</div>
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🕯️🕯️🕯️</div>
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<br /></div>
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Readability</div>
<div>
I read the thing in twelve hours, I forgot to eat at one point. This score was pretty obvi.</div>
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🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️<br />
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Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-19042604997588934452018-10-10T18:49:00.000-07:002018-10-12T18:08:28.544-07:00Hark! The Herald Angels Scream (Anthology) <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6TM1SL?pf_rd_p=a526cdf5-1d83-4a09-853e-0767afc685eb&pf_rd_r=BP7G8ZTS9ZC8TM877D95"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3-wUWuWCvJSaFUrBJgl_9asbcinHXw5OxIoZGGzMG47DqgSIde5ye71YmLwUqmwF1Tel_R11InVtjbt-8ha3q28y6-MCEOkEjVqbqO0TTbLfx41MAQpr23CQEokHClwgcoZlIL_2qFc/s320/36700645.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6TM1SL?pf_rd_p=a526cdf5-1d83-4a09-853e-0767afc685eb&pf_rd_r=BP7G8ZTS9ZC8TM877D95">Hark! The Herald Angels Scream</a> </td></tr>
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*I was given an advanced copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review*<br />
What could possibly get you in the<br />
Christmas spirit more than horror stories?? Or maybe, you'd rather get in the Halloween spirit by reading about people being tormented during the most wonderful time of the year!<br />
Frankly, I think Christmas is an EXCELLENT setting for horror. I mean, who WASN'T freaked out by the Ghost of Christmas Past in <i>A Christmas Carol</i> ? (I, personally, would have liked more characterization of him to really Amp up the creep factor.)<br />
As a huge fan of Blumhouse Productions, I was very into the idea of reading their holiday themed anthology <i>Hark! The Herald Angels Scream</i> which features stories from some of the hottest names in the horror circuit right now.<br />
<br />
Sadly, most of those stories just didn't do it for me. There were a handful that were definetly worth it, but more that fell flat.<br />
<br />
This is why I hate reviewing anthologies, because I wish I could review each story individually, but that would just be a nightmare for you to read. Then what? They're short stories, a review would be almost as long as them, how would I keep from ruining it for you?? <br />
<br />
So instead I'll give you the short lists: the three best and the three worst. At least, that way, you'll have my recommendations for what to hit and what to miss.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Good</u></span><br />
<i>Story 1: Absinthe & Angels</i><br />
What couple hasn't thought about taking a nice, romantic, secluded holiday together in a snowy cabin with no one for miles around? (well, me, personally, but that's because I studied forensic psychology and I'm sure there's a psychopath hanging out waiting to take advantage.)<br />
This story is about a couple who rents a cabin alone a few miles away from where their friends are staying, to have a more romantic Christmas. After indulging in some Absinthe, they receive some unexpected visitors. Based on the cover art, you should be able to tell that it all goes downhill from there.<br />
It was a very solid start for the book, and left me very hopeful for the rest of the anthology.<br />
<br />
<i>Story 2: Christmas in Barcelona</i><br />
Another great one came right at the beginning, really drawing me in. This one, follows a husband and wife as they travel out of the country for the holiday with their young infant. Like so many babies, he doesn't do well with the trip, but that isn't the most horrific part of this story. I'm really only going to tell you that much, because the uncertainty about what is going to happen is part of what made the build so fantastic.<br />
<br />
<i>Story 18: The Hangman's Bride</i><br />
Finishing the book on a strong high note, is this story of a young orphan who is taken in by a manipulative chimney sweep who,in exchange for room and board (barely) forces the boy to work for him, climbing into the flues with his tiny, flexible body. (ie, literally the guy's dirty work.) While working in a large manor, he begins to experience strange things in the flues (and just in the company of the residents, frankly.) This one was a wild ride, and honestly was more of a novella, with more in-depth fleshing out of characters, as well as a beginning, middle, and end.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Bad</u></span><br />
<i>Story 5: Not Just for Christmas</i><br />
This one, I think, was meant to be a lighthearted, comedic story. I just found it asinine and annoying. A father trys to buy his place in his estranged family back with an expensive, hybrid dog that can be programmed like a smart thermometer. As you can imagine, things go awry. That's all I'm gonna say.<br />
<br />
<i>Story 6: Tenets</i><br />
Honestly, this one might have been a good kernel to start a full novella or novel, but as a short story it was disjointed, confusing, and not scary in the least. There were too many narrators to keep up with, for a "twist" ending that... Wasn't twisted? I don't know, you can read it, but I don't recommend it, and I wish I could get my time back that I wasted trying to figure it out. (I read this one twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. I didn't.)<br />
<br />
<i>Story 7: Good Deeds</i><br />
Can I just tell you, that in trying to make this list and write my reviews, I have had to look this story up like five times because I keep forgetting what the fuck it was about. And then I remember. I can't even tell you anything about it because the premise is so basic, I would be giving everything away. What I can say, is this is exactly what we all feared sitting around a bonfire when some guy breaks out his acoustic guitar.<br />
<br />
SO- the moral of the story? I don't know, I mean, some of them are good, some of them aren't, and they're all mixed together so it's hard to tell you whether you should read it or not. I, personally, will not be recommending it simply because the balance was tipped more towards boring than terrifying for me.<br />
<br />
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<br />
The Book<br />
🌹🌹<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
🕯️🕯️<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
🕰️🕰️</div>
Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-90007945379763177212018-10-02T20:40:00.000-07:002018-10-04T20:15:39.714-07:00The Menendez Murders (Robert Rand) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Let's kick off our October event #BellesWickedWednesdays with a true life horror story. This is true horror whether you think the brothers deserved jail time or not... For everyone involved.</i></div>
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<i><br></i></div>
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*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *<br>
I feel like my childhood is set out like a time line of tragedies. When I was really little, the Challenger exploded while my mom watched on tv, so excited to watch a fellow teacher adventuring into the unknown; the Menendez brothers who blew away the country when they blew away their parents; when a white Ford bronco slowly cruised through LA with half the force behind it, buying time for The Juice while he tried to figure out what to do next; and watching my friend's parents flying off to help try and find survivors in the wreckage of a building in Oklahoma City where someone had decided to prove a point. Looking back, it seems like not a year went by through Junior High where there was some national show of hatred to shock the country. I remember hearing about them, seeing them on the news, talking about them in class, knowing the basic facts about the events. But when it comes to the depth of what happened -the horror in full form- that was all kept away from me.</div>
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So when <a href="https://www.benbellabooks.com/">BenBella Books</a> was nice enough to share an advanced copy of <i>The Menendez Murders </i>with me, I was very excited to hear what actually happened over those years.</div>
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<br>
The story is not a surprise- you already know the outcome- there's no twist ending: they're still gonna go to jail for life. They're still gonna lose all of their appeals. But Rand gives you such detail and depth of the investigation that you'll still find yourself completely rapt by it.</div>
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<br>
Rand chose to give a completely chronological account of the information as it became available, very similar to <i>The Run of His Life </i>about OJ<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (fun fact : he actually makes an appearance in this book!)</span> He has taken information from all credible sources and masterfully cuts back and forth between them to give you a realistic idea of how the entire saga unfolded, day by day.</div>
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It's a powerful book, as it brings to mind the question of: is there a breaking point before a child will kill their own parents? Can a parent be so terrible that they drive their children to murder? Even as I felt myself horrified by the idea of killing one's own parents, I was equally full of aching sadness for the brothers and the miserable excuse for a life their parents forced them to lead.</div>
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<br>
Be warned, if you're looking for a gruesome read about the nitty gritty details, this may not be the account for you. Rand's piece focuses just as much on the crazy court room drama<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (including the behind the scenes shit that never made it to the news but is fascinating none the less.)</span>, so if you're not looking to hear the legal differences between the two sets of trials, or the more technical points of the detective work leading up to them, I would suggest finding a different account of the event. <br>
<br>
The Book<br>
🌹🌹🌹<br>
<br>
The Writing<br>
🕯️🕯️🕯️<br>
<br>
Readability<br>
🕰️🕰️🕰️</div>
Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-21821783462714996552018-09-26T19:40:00.000-07:002018-09-26T19:53:17.737-07:00My Squirrel Days (Ellie Kemper)<i>*I was graciously given an advanced copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.*</i><br />
<br />
<i>This book will be released in stores on October 9th- keep an eye out for it at your favorite bookseller, or follow the link attached to the picture to order it through Amazon!</i><br />
<br />
I was obsessed with The Office when it was on the air; my husband and I, little known fact, worked <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/My-Squirrel-Days-Ellie-Kemper-ebook/dp/B07CMP1B6P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538016703&sr=8-1&keywords=squirrel+days"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwidR5u0sWDwGAUP74eF9FbfuHr7u0veNx0-Z_nY38H75Las2kpNzAQGtNiYfRFDWWi5b_CByQr1eNgIZEIWFLGuImwNeWK8phunljxPNl38vHWYtcdApvcDiulvrVd_XwqgYJYWVjM8A/s320/squirrell+days.jpg" width="211" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/My-Squirrel-Days-Ellie-Kemper-ebook/dp/B07CMP1B6P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538016703&sr=8-1&keywords=squirrel+days">My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper</a></td></tr>
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together before dating and then even after. We were, basically, the Jim and Pam of our office. We were darlings, everyone loved us, and even though I no longer worked at the company, the owner threw our wedding shower for us.<br />
When the show started shaking up the paradigm, and no longer had Pam as the receptionist, I was hesitant about how to feel about this Erin character. But after a little while, the writers found her groove and she became fun and enjoyable.<br />
When The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was released on Netflix, I was excited to see Ellie Kemper exploring a complex but still funny role <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and fucking love the supporting cast, to be honest.)</span><br />
And then I saw on NetGalley that she was releasing an essay book, so of course I had to at least try to get a copy. I was shocked when I did! How exciting! This was a book by a CELEBRITY, not just some author. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Authors, I'm joking. I really hope you know you are my people.)</span><br />
It was quite fun to read! I was actually laughing out loud while reading it, which my husband apparently finds creepy, but I cannot help that Ellie Kemper is basically my inner narrator. There was only one essay that I didn't find particularly entertaining, but you know what's great about essay books? If you don't finish one essay it isn't the end of the world. I skipped it, figuring if she referenced it later I'd just suck it up and go back.<br />
Her writing reads exactly like she sounds. Her voice was in my head the whole time I was reading it, which was confusing, because sometimes it felt like I was reading something I would have written about myself and how the hell did Ellie Kemper get inside my fucking head?<br />
I know this isn't the kind of thing I usually review on here, but this is definitely one I recommend. I especially find essay collections like this to be great palate cleansers between other reads. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(I always have a Carrie Fisher on hand to read a few sections of in between fantastical worlds.)</span><br />
So think of Ellie Kemper as a sorbet course between your next few reads. I feel confident there are smiles and giggles in there for everyone.<br />
<br />
The final score:<br />
<br />
The Book<br />
Just so fun! Great stories told in an honest voice.<br />
🌹🌹🌹🌹<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
Kemper has a tone that stays true to her persona, without crossing the line into "am I reading stories from Ellie Kemper or Kimmy Schmidt" territory.<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
Took me about a day - it was so quick and easy to keep going!<br />
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-15756239872584695122018-09-23T16:45:00.000-07:002018-10-05T17:59:50.432-07:00My Best Friend's Exorcism<div dir="ltr">
You know that feeling when you finally finish reading a really great horror book - or watching a horror movie - and you get to the end: the Final Girl wading her way out of the bayou; or the teenage couple starting to walk back through the woods towards civilization; what about the Last Man Standing as the killer's body hits the floor and the red and blues light up the room from outside?<br>
<br>
I can't help feeling like that's when the good part really begins.<br>
<br>
Because, when seven people go into the woods, and only one comes out, and that one says there was actually an <span style="font-style: italic;">eighth </span>to go in but don't worry, they're dead too. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(wait what do you mean there was no body??) </span>I feel like most law enforcement officials are gonna have a hard time accepting that at face value.<br>
<br>
Sure, the haunting or the possession or the stalking are all horror stories. But so is being the only one left at the end and having to make people believe that there was really a guy with a machete wearing a hockey mask running around killing everyone one by one, and did I mention it's actually the kid who you thought drowned years ago and he's come back to take revenge because it's YOUR FAULT HE DIED. Can you imagine being the cop taking that statement? <i>That</i> is the real shit show, my friends. <br>
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And that is the beauty of <i>My Best Friend's Exorcism- </i>not only do we get to watch as Gretchen succumbs to what is either a very intense demonic possession or a pretty average teenage female going through puberty; we also get to watch as best friend Abby fights to get someone, ANYONE, to believe her that Gretchen is not just "going through a hard time"; we see Gretchen actually trying to fuck up her friend's lives, in some cases trying to <i>kill </i>them! The best part, however, is that we also get to see the absolute cluster fuck that is the girls' lives after everything is said and done. We get to see what the cops say once the Big Bad has been defeated, and the repurcussions of everything that happened during the story arch.</div>
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I love seeing characters being held accountable for their actions, even if those actions were well intentioned, or necessary because of the craziness that I as the reader know actually happened, there's still something really satisfying (and maybe it even adds to the creep factor a little more?) to see the real world reaction to the situation. </div>
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I had never read anything by Grady Hendrix, though I had only heard great things about him, I ended up really loving his style, it was easy to accidentally read for three hours straight without realizing you've done it.<br>
<br>
The final breakdown:<br>
<br>
The Book<br>
A fun read, but definitely a niche piece. (Let's be clear, I fucking live in that 80's nostalgia, dry humor, and obviously lots of horror.) Not one I'd recommend to absolutely anyone, but definitely if people are already into this style it is a must read.<br>
🌹🌹🌹<br>
<br>
The Writing<br>
So funny and engaged! Will definitely be scooping up all of his books on release days!<br>
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️<br>
<br>
Readability<br>
A perfect balance of humor and horror, heavy theological questions and classic 80's fun!!<br>
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️</div>
Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-356752061510819532018-08-22T20:10:00.001-07:002018-08-22T20:10:54.856-07:00Let's get some Pot......ter love up in here! Harry Potter, that is. Because yesterday the books of my motherfucking DREAMS showed up in the mail and I am so. Here. For it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6HVk0_4dMqqqCpm4lEmDD4k82wX0zyiFozmonWW4rIv5n_qGLWfwSH_HcUFndbRj9kupDwQybFZy4hTrEK7Rc9I1KIqb1fq8Ikjzs7awKICtalIniA3dfIQ5GX9_loxpq9ai34iB5EE/s1600/IMG_20180822_213109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6HVk0_4dMqqqCpm4lEmDD4k82wX0zyiFozmonWW4rIv5n_qGLWfwSH_HcUFndbRj9kupDwQybFZy4hTrEK7Rc9I1KIqb1fq8Ikjzs7awKICtalIniA3dfIQ5GX9_loxpq9ai34iB5EE/s400/IMG_20180822_213109.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
These beauties are the <a href="https://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/bookshop/20th-anniversary-editions/">Bloomsbury house editions</a> of <i>Philosopher's Stone</i> and <i>Chamber of Secrets </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(In Ravenclaw, obvi.)</span> Each book will be released on the 20th anniversary of its publication, so <i>Prisoner of Azkaban</i> will be coming out next July <span style="font-size: x-small;">(2019... how the fuck has it already been twenty years?? That cannot be right.)</span> They are available in hardcover <span style="font-size: x-small;">(which is what I got)</span> and also a paperback version. So, for you fellow collectors, this is an awesome situation because, yes, you're buying copies of books you already have BUT it's only one book a year <span style="font-size: x-small;">(two if you want the hardcover and paperback; eight if you want the hardcover and paperback for all the houses- no judgement here.)</span><br />
<br />
I recently got my husband to watch all of the movies, and now he's starting to read the books. It's been fantastic reliving this through him- remembering how incredible it felt the first time I read each book and saw each movie. How immersed I was in this world that lives parallel to our own. How annoyed I was that I was apparently a muggle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUUjl76xiOaG8yjylBIPDl8XQDUcMGGoIwZyLjdlpJ8642904wIH1r1X58fOionJCUpiz34GIMSaV9DgtrVP5vW09uKR75vE2QPZOglUsFWHwcyR4rqAcyBlRRWo3N40tV_4qca1d_dw/s1600/IMG_20180822_213317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUUjl76xiOaG8yjylBIPDl8XQDUcMGGoIwZyLjdlpJ8642904wIH1r1X58fOionJCUpiz34GIMSaV9DgtrVP5vW09uKR75vE2QPZOglUsFWHwcyR4rqAcyBlRRWo3N40tV_4qca1d_dw/s400/IMG_20180822_213317.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Let's talk about the Slytherin kids. We know that a lot <span style="font-size: x-small;">(most)</span> of the Death Eaters had previously been in Slytherin House, and that a lot of their children were sorted the same way. We also know at the Battle At Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn led a large group of Slytherin kids to fight against Voldemort.<br />
<br />
The Gryffindors are known for their bravery, for always fighting the fight, no matter how outnumbered; the Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty, for standing up for those around them no matter what; Ravenclaws are known for their wisdom, and would always fight for the truth and what they knew to be right; the Slytherins were known for their cunning and cleverness, which is often seen as more of a self preservation trait. Yet those kids fought. And they fought knowing that many of their parents might be on the other side. Still, they followed Slughorn to battle, to stand up for the rights of wizards and muggles everywhere.<br />
<br />
To me, they are the unsung heroes of that battle. Sure, it's great to fight because it's right, or because you want to help those you're loyal to. But to decide that what is right is worth more than the personal relationships you've known your whole life; it would have been easy to stay in the dungeons, to hide and wait until it was over and see who was still standing. The road to what was right was not the same as the road that was easy, and still they stood strong.<br />
<br />
When my husband was being sorted for Pottermore, he was a Ravenclaw as well. I was initially surprised because I thought he would be Slytherin, he's a very clever and driven person. He was offended at first that I would think that, having not seen the movies or read the books. All he knew was<span style="font-family: inherit;"> "<span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">There's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-weight: bold;">not</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;"> a single witch or </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-weight: bold;">wizard </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">who </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6a6a6a; font-weight: bold;">went bad</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;"> who wasn't in Slytherin." <span style="font-size: x-small;">(*cough cough* Peter Pettigrew *cough cough*)</span> I, however, am fully #TeamSnape, and had to make sure he understood just how brave the Slytherins could really be. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(And let's not forget that Narcissa Malfoy lied to The Dark Lord about Harry being dead to spare his life.)</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;">So now he sees that while Slytherin House <i>does</i> attract those who are prone to turning, it is because ambition can often lead to a lust for power, no matter where that power comes from. Slytherins could be just as driven to do all the good in their power. It is the <i>drive</i> that puts them in Slytherin, not what they are driven <i>for</i>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #545454; font-family: inherit;">So that's my </span><span style="color: #545454;">soapbox</span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: inherit;"> rant about why Slytherin should get more love than it does, or at least get less hate. </span></span><br />
<br />Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-46827836084633668652018-08-08T17:49:00.001-07:002018-08-08T17:49:42.272-07:00The Other Woman (Sandie Jones) <div dir="ltr">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Other-Woman-Novel-Sandie-Jones-ebook/dp/B079DW9LVX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533775726&sr=8-1&keywords=the+other+woman+sandie+jones"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BL1-BWHtZ6JZFmy18AwrhC-6cPia4afgjh_akBogji9K3b6qFtzLGdekAShm3UQE9IHV1pnt6CJhwtZQ4RiuvGU5Q1ww7gUKDMTFqSNLzvV98uxTGjn1DPnZxB2Ko7b72MQTeFb3B1Y/s320/other+woman.jpg" width="210" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Other-Woman-Novel-Sandie-Jones-ebook/dp/B079DW9LVX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533775726&sr=8-1&keywords=the+other+woman+sandie+jones">The Other Woman by Sandie Jones</a></td></tr>
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People always joke that in-laws are the worst, like how could you POSSIBLY like spending time with your in-laws? (I personally don't mind my in-laws any more than I mind other human interaction.) <br />
So, going into <i>The Other Woman</i> by Sandie Jones, I was sort of feeling meh about the whole "oh no, she loves him but his mother is crazy!" vibe.<br />
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But this was still a fun read! </div>
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I received an ARC for this one thanks to Minotaur Books in exchange for honest reviews. There were also two emails, one from Pammie telling me that the book is from Emily's point of view and not to believe it. Then a couple of days later I got one from Emily warning me not to trust Pammie about anything.<br />
<br />
Cool.<br />
<br />
Emily falls in love with Adam, who seems like a perfect guy. He's sweet, he's doting, and he swears she'll adore his family, whom he's very close with. When she finally meets them, his brother seems nice, but his mother Pammie seems a tad... demanding. A misunderstanding leads to an uncomfortable holiday, and Emily hopes that this is just a one-off, that she and Pammie can get past this rocky start for the sake of the relationship with Adam.<br />
Unfortunately for Emily, this was not a one-off. Misunderstanding after misunderstanding leave her looking rude and ungrateful in Adam's eyes when it comes to his mother. And as time goes by, the misunderstandings become more serious and more difficult to recover from.<br />
<br />
As a debut novel, the writing was fantastic. The character development was rich, which surprised me since it was such a tropish premise, I was worried I would find everyone to be too one-dimensional. Yet I found myself wanting to know more and more about what had led everyone into this bizarre world Pammie seemed to be running court over.<br />
<br />
If you're looking for a quick read that will entertain you, with some sort of predictable twists, this one is definitely worth picking up. It isn't going to blow your mind or anything, but it'll pass a weekend at the beach quite well.<br />
<br />
The final breakdown:<br />
<br />
The Book<br />
🌹🌹🌹<br />
Like I said, it isn't original or ground breaking, but it's fun.<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
Character development is important to me, and the intermingling of the past and present made it that much more gripping.<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
🕰️🕰️🕰️<br />
The story goes quickly and keeps you engaged. </div>
Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-90168758372754737942018-07-25T16:27:00.002-07:002018-07-25T18:04:11.922-07:00The Mist (Stephen King)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Mist-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B071S65BYM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530844884&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mist"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcn59LMCkHDjdU43JcdWBhxYZxQ4P-0sW6qbxaRMVEJU0VdvT-mshV2cnIBgRTSv6IMyyMoykb3Fz18fFo8dJvYq7hM3Q5Y2d8AiyIfyvwBlMMY_hMgQngg1WXSdCzV7mgiBy4gft-dk/s320/mist.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Mist-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B071S65BYM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530844884&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mist">The Mist by Stephen King</a></td></tr>
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Ok, so let's hit up a horror legend this week, the indomitable Stephen King. I've read many of his books <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and I'm very candid about having not loved all of them, re:It)</span> and I've seen most of the movies/TV mini series. Most of his ideas are fantastic, it's usually his execution that I find lacking, especially in his newer works.<br />
<br />
But <i>The Mist</i> is a novella, originally released in 1980 in a horror anthology <span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i>Skeleton Crew</i> if you're wondering which one.)</span> that was adapted into a movie in the 90's starring about half the original cast of <i>The Walking Dead</i> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(I'm honestly not even exaggerating on that, watch it again.)</span> and then again as a short lived TV series last year. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(The movie was ok, and held pretty true to the book; the TV show was amazing but was only like the book in the basic premise.)</span><br />
<br />
I finally got the chance to read <i>The Mist</i> which has always been a favorite idea of mine. What if this storm is the one that changes it all? Is it our fault, for testing with genetics and chemicals? Is it God's wrath, finally falling upon the Earth? Is it some extra terrestrial life finding its way here?<br />
<br />
WHO <span style="font-size: large;">FUCKING</span> KNOWS!<br />
<br />
The tension in the book is incredible. If you've seen the movie, then you know the gist: a terrible storm rolls into a Maine town <span style="font-size: x-small;">(of course it does)</span> and the next day is followed by a bizarrely thick line of fog. The fog envelopes the town, trapping a man with his son at the local grocery store with other locals; then someone runs in off the street screaming that something in the mist ate his friend.<br />
<br />
Something in the mist ate his friend. Because, of course it did.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(one day an alien race is going to read all of Stephen King's books and wonder why the fuck people didn't just move out of Maine for all the nutso shit that goes down in his world.)</span><br />
<br />
The entire book takes place over the course of a few days, almost all of it in the grocery store with a mod podge of local color: a drunk, a school teacher, the strict grocery store manager, etcetera etcetera etcetera. Oh, and there's the local kook, known to think she's a witch and who's currently raving about God's wrath finally being brought upon us. YOU MUST REPENT!<br />
<br />
The big question becomes: should they stay in the grocery store as long as they can, eating the supplies they are lucky enough to be stuck with? Or should they try to make a run for it and hope they don't get eaten by what can only be described as post-apocalyptic style animal monsters running around in the Mist outside? Can they outlast the Mist? Are they willing to gamble?<br />
<br />
Honestly, this is a great example of King at his best: the concept is simple but utterly terrifying, the tension begins quickly and only gets higher as the book goes along, and unlike some of his massive tomes he's known for writing, this one doesn't get slowed down by excessive character development or weird side plots or intense descriptions of the scenery. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(re:It)</span><br />
<br />
If you know someone looking for a good intro to the world of Stephen King, may I suggest <i>The Mist</i>? It is so much more than I expected, and is a fairly quick read since it is a normal length and also interesting.<br />
<br />
The final breakdown:<br />
The Book<br />
🌹🌹🌹<br />
It's nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but I genuinely believe this is a stellar example if King's work.<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
The novella style seems to really restrain my least favorite parts of King's writing style, which is refreshing with such unique content for when it came out.<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️<br />
Dude, just read it. It's a novella for Christ's sake. A fun study in the breakdown of a microsociety over the course of a few days under duress. I fucking love that.<br />
<br />Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-77751347133241378192018-07-23T18:57:00.000-07:002018-08-18T15:52:43.762-07:00His and Mine (Benet Stoen)One of the awesome things about writing these reviews and sharing them through social media, is that independent authors who are trying to self publish are sometimes looking for someone to read their work and tell the public. That was how I found this week's book.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/His-Mine-novel-Ben%C3%A9t-Stoen-ebook/dp/B07DHB8PP9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531357327&sr=8-1&keywords=his+and+mine+a+novel+in+verse"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1006" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEity2YhBC82FVYM7bl8SH40UDpQjsfK7iIJJ6llJ8X8fG5zwV3Cy6auL1OAADiaDYdrYSLr6KFYfz-baleCYxWwt4kx3gAq3Qumqi8idC84zuneJ3LSBS_Nd3823ie4D9gToabBfBDsZU4/s320/4f179c86-e5b9-41ea-a82c-642f1f72cb56.jpg" width="201" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/His-Mine-novel-Ben%C3%A9t-Stoen-ebook/dp/B07DHB8PP9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531357327&sr=8-1&keywords=his+and+mine+a+novel+in+verse">His and Mine by Benét Stoen</a></td></tr>
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<i>His and Mine</i> by <span style="font-family: inherit;">Ben<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 17px;">é</span>t</span> Stoen is a story told in free verse. That's pretty different from what I've been reading and posting about lately, but years ago I lived in poetry. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, an asshole professor in college kind of ruined it for me, that's around the time I stopped seeking it out and enjoying it as much.)</span><br />
<br />
That doesn't matter though, because I fell into this book like Alice into the rabbit hole, and I didn't find my way out until the end. Actually, I might not have found my way out at all yet...<br />
<br />
It tells the story of two truly fucked up individuals, and as the story unfolds we learn what happened in their pasts to make them this way. Its beautiful, because we, for the most part, find out in their own time, experiencing it the same way they are. Neither one truly understands or has really ever felt love, and so they can't see that the chance for it is right in front of them. They are both broken by their pasts, and as each tries to help the other, they find that they are also being helped.<br />
I don't want to give too much away because honestly every step of the story was mesmerising, and I don't want to ruin that feeling of discovery for anyone. I will warn you, I teared up several times, so if you're a cryer you might want to have your tissues ready.<br />
<br />
The Book<br />
🌹🌹🌹<br />
This is based purely on personal taste, and I need to refine my love for poetry more to truly appreciate the book as a whole.<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
Stoen's writing is lyrical and draws you in, she captures what I have always thought free verse was best at: really expressing how erratic a person's internal monologue can be. Not to mention how erratic a young adult's mind can be, even at their most put together.<br />
Readability<br />
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️<br />
I read almost the entire book in one sitting because I was so captivated. And I was, honestly, surprised by that simply because of the tremulous relationship I've had with poetry over the past decade <span style="font-size: x-small;">(thanks a lot, Professor Dick Face.)</span>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-38755215957006152742018-07-11T17:47:00.001-07:002018-07-11T17:47:30.652-07:00A Simple Favor (Darcey Bell)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Simple-Favor-Novel-Darcey-Bell-ebook/dp/B01ER6LIZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531353315&sr=8-1&keywords=a+simple+favor"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCE0aUGw0j_U0lp3piejsM7fc4yTrQut9A8FJ_XyalpyfKMVkWJlMXbqLsqdotM7TSEmOrEbeyvnmbsom0cK2XW00RPPDuPo6DrI-yAzAQ_MMqXn9Omo3G6wpE35Bevb6qd3XT65h20Xg/s320/simplefavor.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Simple-Favor-Novel-Darcey-Bell-ebook/dp/B01ER6LIZI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531353315&sr=8-1&keywords=a+simple+favor">A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell</a></td></tr>
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We all have it. That one thing.<br />
You know.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That</span>.<br />
Thing.<br />
<br />
The thing nobody knows about you. The thing you've left in your past and sworn to yourself you would never share with anyone. It's ok, we won't judge. After all, we have one too...<br />
<br />
<i>A Simple Favor</i> is your classic "you thought you knew them so well" thriller. Or, at least, it seemed that way for a little while and then it turned into "literally does anyone even know themselves what the fuck is going on around here". And it was a slippery slope from one to the other- I couldn't stop reading this fucking book.<br />
<br />
I won't lie, I read it because the marketing for the upcoming movie <span style="font-size: x-small;">(starring one of my spirit animals, Anna Kendrick, and my wifey goal, Blake Lively)</span> made me want to see it, but we all know the rule- cannot see the movie until you've read the book. So I downloaded this one while I was sick one weekend, figuring it would keep me occupied.<br />
<br />
It kept me up all goddamn night.<br />
We start with the disappearance of Stephanie's best friend, Emily. We learn from Stephanie, that she and Emily have become the <i>best </i>of friends over time through the friendship of their sons. She finds that Emily is a caring shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, and a sounding board to help her through the difficult time of finding her place in this world after losing her husband. And Emily is everything Stephanie wishes she is; while happy as a stay at home mom living off of life insurance and blogging about being a stay at home mom, Stephanie still can't help but admire the ritzy jet-set life Emily and her husband Sean are living. As head of PR for a haute couture fashion house, Emily wears the nicest clothes. She has a fancy car. She has a beautiful house.<br />
Emily.<br />
Emily.<br />
Emily.<br />
It seems like all Stephanie can think and talk about is her best friend. Who has gone missing. And, as the person who knows her better than <i>anyone else</i> in the world- even better than the husband, who she knows from Emily doesn't "connect" with her emotionally- Stephanie knows that there's no way the devoted mother would ever run away from her life and abandon her child.<br />
<br />
But...<br />
<br />
We all have that thing.<br />
<br />
Emily has that thing.<br />
<br />
And <i>Stephanie</i> also has that thing. And, to be honest, I kinda still feel like Stephanie's <i>thing</i> is bigger.<br />
<br />
This book is so full of twists and turns, I almost needed to take notes to keep track. But it won't give you a case of whiplash- the twists are exciting, and the turns are jaw dropping. As soon as I finished reading it, I couldn't wait for the movie to come out so I could see these amazing actresses tear up these characters.<br />
<br />
It is intense, to say the least. The characters are far more three dimensional than you normally see in an "unreliable narrator" novel (of whom we get three in this one.)<br />
<br />
The Final Breakdown:<br />
<br />
The Book<br />
🌹🌹🌹<br />
It's a fun read, but it's still a very "of the moment" read. Unreliable narrators are pretty much everywhere you turn these days <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and too many of them, in my opinion, are female, but that's a different article.)</span> Not breaking any boundaries here, but still super entertaining. Highly recommend as a beach read.<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
There were some twists I saw coming, but there were <i>other </i>twists I definitely didn't. Bell shows a great skill at carefully crafting a complex situational suspense.<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️<br />
Honestly, I would dare you to DNF this book. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Once you got past the part that's told through Stephanie's blog posts, I mean. That part grated my nerves to no fucking end.)</span>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-49030762793429343082018-07-09T19:55:00.000-07:002018-07-18T17:53:27.633-07:00The Alienist (Caleb Carr)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Alienist-Novel-Lazlo-Kreizler-Book-ebook/dp/B000JMKV9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530844823&sr=1-1&keywords=the+alienist+by+caleb+carr"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCSTlq9zGDwG6IRdGOci0OBqC0bglLOP_0bvWjy8RhcItB9aJsN2HDEEiqsTFuh7iRB26mdUMsy1Wo_Rwd9b_amT6USMn3M3ddwnB9GlW3iYTQks4drIRq9dDMBuK_mdwOPx0nyH6HDbk/s320/alienist.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Alienist-Novel-Lazlo-Kreizler-Book-ebook/dp/B000JMKV9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530844823&sr=1-1&keywords=the+alienist+by+caleb+carr">The Alienist by Caleb Carr</a></td></tr>
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Have I ever told you guys that my degree is in forensic psychology? That's right, the psychology where your clients are either parents fighting for <strike>control</strike> custody of their children <b><u>or</u></b> the big scary guy who says he shot the patrolman because his neighbor was moving the "property line" during the night. (True story.) I was planning on going into the latter <span style="font-size: x-small;">(the technical term would be "mitigation specialist" rather than "batshit loon", but I know which one you were thinking in your head.)</span> I even worked with the Innocence Project and helped get a man wrongly convicted of murder off of death row after twenty years in prison. Honestly, I'm not sure how to top that with the rest of my life unless I come up with a way to actually cure criminalism.<br />
<br />
That line of work didn't pan out, though. You see, you have to go on to graduate school to do any of that. A LOT of graduate school. And, since I graduated into a recession, there were exactly <b>zero </b>jobs to help pay off the debt I had already accrued, let alone to justify taking on hundreds of thousands more.<br />
<br />
That's way more information about me than you probably ever wanted. I brought it up, though, because I think it gives some insight into why such a huge number of the books I choose are thrillers/horror/suspense/crime fiction. I didn't get to actually live that life, so I'll read about other people that do. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(In college I dreamed of one day becoming Alex Cross. And if that meant being a tall, middle aged black man, then so damn be it.)</span><br />
<br />
<i>The Alienist</i> is another one of those that I had never heard of until it was turned into a TV show. <br />
People told me how good it was- so obviously, I had to wait to watch it until I had read the book. Except that, now that I've read the book, I am a little apprehensive to see if the show is as good.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vc4pKVayy9CRnC5iRQ7fwwElcY7GS-UwgnYQMKbN4s9EbJUARayqMZw44ckZkVcWDRQmCjvUYHsnXW7v8gDRnREKZxefR6O4wvOCNcX5TxfrbRJxBLhENupGLouKFDZABA15wC16BwI/s1600/IMG_20170921_163443-01.jpg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vc4pKVayy9CRnC5iRQ7fwwElcY7GS-UwgnYQMKbN4s9EbJUARayqMZw44ckZkVcWDRQmCjvUYHsnXW7v8gDRnREKZxefR6O4wvOCNcX5TxfrbRJxBLhENupGLouKFDZABA15wC16BwI/s200/IMG_20170921_163443-01.jpg.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ignore the fact that he is a statue in a<br />museum of natural history. #loveislove</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another thing you might not know about me, but probably should, is that Theodore Roosevelt is my future husband. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(My current husband knows about this, he's made peace with it.)</span> So to read a book that combines A) my favorite subject (catching criminals by using what you can infer from their actions to figure out who they are), B) a feisty woman trying to make a name for herself in a man's world, and C) My future husband, was honestly the best thing I could have asked for all year.<br />
<br />
This book did not disappoint. It shows you what psychological profiling would have looked like in its infancy, and I think does a fantastic job of painting the social scene and how it would be received at that time. Lazlo Kreizler is a behavioral psychologist who is well known in many circles, having studied under William James in the country's premiere psychology department <span style="font-size: x-small;">(jealous!)</span> and founded an institute where he tries to help children with social and mental disorders <span style="font-size: x-small;">(which was, like, <i>anything</i> back then.)</span> He has a theory: by considering the evidence of serial crimes, noting the similarities and differences between each case attributed to a single person, you can, over time, create a decent idea of who might be the culprit; and on the other side of that coin, you can create a "negative image", an idea of who mightn't be the culprit. Both very useful things to know, who might and who mightn't've. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(In case you were wondering, spellcheck approves of the word "mightn't've". I wasn't sure, and honestly I was testing my boundaries, but I am really happy with this knowledge. Made my fucking night)</span><br />
<br />
I will admit that while the book, as a whole, was incredibly interesting for me, I can also see that other people might get frustrated with the amount of details given on the forensic sciences being used throughout, and the basis of some of the theories. For me, these are a fascinating topic; others may find the facts of how fingerprint analysis was discovered and slowly became accepted to be a boring, tedious topic. Especially smack in the middle of a murder spree.<br />
<br />
Here's the short and sweet of it: this is <i>Criminal Minds</i> if it were set in turn of the century New York City. And Teddy Roosevelt is guest starring as the local police commissioner trying to simultaneously fight crime AND corruption of cops in his city. And, spoiler alert, he's kicking ass at it.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Final Breakdown:</u></span><br />
<br />
The Book<br />
🌹🌹🌹<br />
As a whole, the book is good, but the slower areas of the story really do make it tough to keep going sometimes.<br />
<br />
The Writing<br />
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️<br />
For me, the writing is fantastic because I LOVE when authors go above and beyond with historical information and accuracy.<br />
<br />
Readability<br />
🕰️🕰️🕰️<br />
As much as I am absolutely obsessed with this book, I can realize that it isn't for everyone. Also, there's this weird touch of romance sprinkled in random places that more confused and annoyed me than anything else.<br />
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Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-24781937427019167042018-07-05T19:32:00.002-07:002018-07-09T19:50:15.969-07:00The Terror (Dan Simmons)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I don't know if you've noticed <span style="font-size: x-small;">(because I'm pretty good at hiding this fact)</span> but I've been on an immense horror binge the past year or so.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-8dG3rHapXjvKd2sJ81kmWBm7OUu_54L7dBbPKAbycArPmkJ1Xx59jBe_uDKJyzJLoOOxkUBlv7Ux4Z0q_q1126Ib_N8Qp3PtJP-T5-VqSyLQBzmQMIDlR9ipQ1_JCmAbB8sxpdN-b8/s1600/terror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-8dG3rHapXjvKd2sJ81kmWBm7OUu_54L7dBbPKAbycArPmkJ1Xx59jBe_uDKJyzJLoOOxkUBlv7Ux4Z0q_q1126Ib_N8Qp3PtJP-T5-VqSyLQBzmQMIDlR9ipQ1_JCmAbB8sxpdN-b8/s320/terror.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Terror-Novel-Dan-Simmons-ebook/dp/B000PAAH3A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1530843599&sr=8-2&keywords=the+terror"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">The Terror by Dan Simmons</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I used to be HUGE into historical fiction, especially the Tudor period. I read the Henry VIII series' by Alison Weir, Jean Plaidy, and Phillipa Gregory. I also read the <i>Cousin's War</i> series by Gregory. After all of that <span style="font-size: x-small;">(probably fifty books in all)</span> I was a TAD tapped out on historical fiction of any kind. My brain couldn't learn about new times or cultures anymore without going "UGH". No indoor plumbing? Strange names? The SAME name? Gag me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, I kicked around in New Releases and Popular Fiction for a while before falling into this Horror hole.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">But, "The Terror" by Dan Simmons was an excellent way to segue myself back towards historical fiction, while keeping that thriller atmosphere. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Basic premise: Fictionalized account of the Franklin Expedition of 1845, based on diary entries and what little evidence was preserved on the arctic tundra. We already learned in school that they were stuck in the ice for years and eventually froze/starved to death.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Or</span>. <span style="font-size: medium;">Did</span>. <span style="font-size: x-large;">They</span>?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Simmons answers that question for you. He also teaches you a lot about arctic expeditions, and all of the shit that goes into making that happen. Here's a spoiler for you: there is not enough money in the world to get me on one of those tiny ass ships with 60 other people, sleeping in a hammock, unable to feel my toes for several years. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I'll be honest, when I first opened the book and saw a quote from <i>Moby Dick </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(a quote from one of my least favorite chapters, no less)</span>, I was afraid. I absolutely cannot stand <i>Moby Dick</i> with a passion. Such a large passion, in fact, my teacher and I spent so much of the class time arguing that probably a third of my AP Lit/Comp class didn't even have to read the goddamn tome. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">But, I'm a fair reader; Dan Simmons, after all, is <i style="font-weight: bold;">not</i> Hermen Melville, so maybe this would turn out alright. Lucky for Mr. Simmons, that was correct. Unlucky for everyone in my life, now I cannot stop talking about this fucking book. I was captured not only by the terror (get it?) of The Thing on the Ice, but also by the care with which Simmons teaches the history of the event. Unlike <i>Moby Dick</i>, which felt like Melville desperately longing to write a book about how to whale, the facts of arctic ship life were interwoven naturally into the flow of the story. He waited until it was appropriate for me to understand how a double walled ship's bow would be reinforced to plow through ice and withstand the pressure of ice forming around it, in the context of the story. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Sorry to tell you, Herman, no one needs a whole chapter on different ropes. That's why I joined the Scouts.)</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This book isn't exactly a light read. The copy I got was 766 pages of straight up story <span style="font-size: x-small;">(not including the acknowledgements)</span>. It took a full week, because I didn't want to rush through the thing and miss any of the suspense. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Bottom line: read this effing book. My sister also says the show is incredible, but I haven't started that <span style="font-size: x-small;">(had to read the book first, duh)</span>. It is an incredible tale of courage, bravery, cowardice, hubris, compassion, humanity, survival, and failure. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>The breakdown:</u></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.87); white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Book</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Solid five enchanted roses here. I recommend this book to <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LITERALLY</u> anyone who will listen.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Writing</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deducted one Lumiere simply because the subject matter is tough and you can find yourself bogged down in the specificities of ship life.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Readability</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️</span></span><br />
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; white-space: normal;">If I could give a half of a Cogsworth I would </span><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small; white-space: normal;">(but that would be cruel)</span><span style="color: black; white-space: normal;">, but because of the areas where the writing bogs up, I couldn't give a full five here.</span></span></span>
<span style="color: rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.870588235294118);"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-91485144445001890782018-07-01T14:32:00.001-07:002018-07-01T14:32:57.401-07:00Just an update :<p dir="ltr">I haven't forgotten you guys! Life has been ridiculously crazy--including a whirlwind trip to Florida! But I have several book reviews that will be hitting the site soon, I'll be posting them more frequently since I'm so far behind on #WhatBelleThinksWednesday.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Follow us on Instagram to see more frequent updates, and I hope everyone is having a great summer with lots of books! </p>
Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-80474281666775848232018-06-17T13:56:00.001-07:002018-06-17T13:56:32.474-07:00Based on your Harry Potter preferences ... <p dir="ltr">... Which Disney Princess are you? <br>
<a href="https://learn.howstuffworks.com/quiz/which-disney-princess-are-you-based-your-harry-potter-preferences?utm_source=facebook&mkcpgn=23842867104520650&acct=act_10155388670532945&utm_medium=paid&asid=23842867104520650&quiz-start=true">Follow the link</a> to find out! (I SWEAR I didn't try to get this result, it's just so thoroughly who I am!) <br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTjRNhHIP5PdIuBQhhOsSbH05e1ahhO2Wt5Q6d8Sqr3zZfoiIILGCa3wDY3djJ_KPlNcGcL7E6CM4OF76xYkgxAdCFjBovunphjKNKQefbUZ1Asp8yYbMUxxZ1UAnUDj2of4PoO32VBc/s1600/Screenshot_20180617-165054.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNTjRNhHIP5PdIuBQhhOsSbH05e1ahhO2Wt5Q6d8Sqr3zZfoiIILGCa3wDY3djJ_KPlNcGcL7E6CM4OF76xYkgxAdCFjBovunphjKNKQefbUZ1Asp8yYbMUxxZ1UAnUDj2of4PoO32VBc/s640/Screenshot_20180617-165054.png"> </a> </div>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-52915828112671324372018-06-04T21:12:00.001-07:002018-06-04T21:12:43.966-07:00Day Four<p dir="ltr">Travels and Adventures </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWcR31JBtrKe2KnsKlz4ghhiRnBii4sGPBK60OcMpebIbjU4HCZVEEHzCOpZiIWUP1KcVCEPm5_yPBgH5qLf__p8NfTIMkMTr_EOTsUiDYBjsyKA8KpolBHg9zaG1KpzWBouC6lDRifk/s1600/IMG_20180604_214409_515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWcR31JBtrKe2KnsKlz4ghhiRnBii4sGPBK60OcMpebIbjU4HCZVEEHzCOpZiIWUP1KcVCEPm5_yPBgH5qLf__p8NfTIMkMTr_EOTsUiDYBjsyKA8KpolBHg9zaG1KpzWBouC6lDRifk/s640/IMG_20180604_214409_515.jpg"> </a> </div>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-37102428123744468502018-06-03T20:42:00.001-07:002018-06-03T20:42:11.507-07:00Insta Challenge Day Three<p dir="ltr">Favorite Title </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5kcEt79-_MJQA2pHAZoKFuQsm4lNE8fvWOA_MD_QfMaa7tji4iPBVhjhyphenhyphenY5Rn4DrGSUcx4rKZUXvJyBr0pCykJu-VbZVyDj1kYlElyNVHW1ea6PcJAYJ7ydHMvclZzGKcUuVYu89tj4/s1600/IMG_20180603_233553_227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK5kcEt79-_MJQA2pHAZoKFuQsm4lNE8fvWOA_MD_QfMaa7tji4iPBVhjhyphenhyphenY5Rn4DrGSUcx4rKZUXvJyBr0pCykJu-VbZVyDj1kYlElyNVHW1ea6PcJAYJ7ydHMvclZzGKcUuVYu89tj4/s640/IMG_20180603_233553_227.jpg"> </a> </div>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-55901788560029417732018-06-03T20:41:00.001-07:002018-06-03T20:41:18.022-07:00Insta Challenge Day Two<p dir="ltr">Library Love </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHkiRsBnIvixp66w9d5PYfoJjsOwjlHrvlcCvakPOYIGQVn0o64NF1IAINCzJGPwaKLKVrDd34gfVwDqRBvxm_JSyK25504uWNUZN8nUnIXUzDWlVssUwFI7vaZUhKsjEqAhDg2vimKo/s1600/IMG_20180602_214916_560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHkiRsBnIvixp66w9d5PYfoJjsOwjlHrvlcCvakPOYIGQVn0o64NF1IAINCzJGPwaKLKVrDd34gfVwDqRBvxm_JSyK25504uWNUZN8nUnIXUzDWlVssUwFI7vaZUhKsjEqAhDg2vimKo/s640/IMG_20180602_214916_560.jpg"> </a> </div>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-3559169859791888762018-06-03T20:40:00.001-07:002018-06-03T20:40:04.134-07:00BookRiot's June Insta Challenge<p dir="ltr">Day One: Reading selfie </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgpRR9VTU5wmPaUs5nJduSz6AJGgaAbu3dSufvn1WbuxtORDGvnnX5K5bK_PH06OdsZK7KbVoraGLv-841zOOhgWCSmUyis4ABTs7znWdGlNPd1u9NwnbS4S2HTea95fo_sqm5-7n2kU/s1600/IMG_20180601_225608_434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgpRR9VTU5wmPaUs5nJduSz6AJGgaAbu3dSufvn1WbuxtORDGvnnX5K5bK_PH06OdsZK7KbVoraGLv-841zOOhgWCSmUyis4ABTs7znWdGlNPd1u9NwnbS4S2HTea95fo_sqm5-7n2kU/s640/IMG_20180601_225608_434.jpg"> </a> </div>Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-44171511130221468842018-06-01T21:41:00.000-07:002018-06-03T20:11:49.752-07:00Sorry for my absenceHey friends- I've been lazy lately, and I apologize. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(I haven't actually been <i>lazy </i>lazy, just lazy with the blog. Because adulting is hard and somehow it gets harder sometimes. Totes annoying.)</span> Since it's such a pain in the ass to post stuff from Instagram on here <span style="font-size: x-small;">(which I will reiterate- FOLLOW US!!)</span> I figured I would post several of the recent things at once so you wouldn't be missing out. I'll be stock piling some reviews this weekend, as well as experimenting with a slightly different format.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2n5VC4jNvPdOLLn7ecNhSxkjbYLmLuIDIjwXHrfS8mNe47m6CUwHF3RYYU9MbrfMPMCieThuV9Ub4IoiMVFjNfqI3O0HQ3I2DqwgKaNvovKSVGXnnYMpQL1H3OpJXdhJlSsEulPylkI/s1600/IMG_20180523_231244_127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2n5VC4jNvPdOLLn7ecNhSxkjbYLmLuIDIjwXHrfS8mNe47m6CUwHF3RYYU9MbrfMPMCieThuV9Ub4IoiMVFjNfqI3O0HQ3I2DqwgKaNvovKSVGXnnYMpQL1H3OpJXdhJlSsEulPylkI/s320/IMG_20180523_231244_127.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A portion of the Council of Belleders (get it? Like elders? But with Belles?)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXK6wkQq5ai4QXfHNIQyc_c4B9oZsN4jRup1bWsV0vgifCK4U70hbWgM757WkDUmCi0rvFijdpiuwY7lrrFcZItsLFqyT6cWHXozBdL34zZRiRbVekMxfsypqTLhjflcmlQ1xVDTbU3ZE/s1600/IMG_20180531_000401_066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXK6wkQq5ai4QXfHNIQyc_c4B9oZsN4jRup1bWsV0vgifCK4U70hbWgM757WkDUmCi0rvFijdpiuwY7lrrFcZItsLFqyT6cWHXozBdL34zZRiRbVekMxfsypqTLhjflcmlQ1xVDTbU3ZE/s320/IMG_20180531_000401_066.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Essentially how my life has felt for the past month.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBWu_NH3um4PtKyx40mk6sq1Tk6VCSyn4prheIDqMc2JUTghAqSP2oSWeoUDp_1MLqsfD5MOeHgaKZF0fiwkrNRoxL8NEAlR2GjY6xdBpNPj9-mlG1XHfZFzJpVx4UbAg0tiYu-al4Y4/s1600/IMG_20180526_235537_935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="495" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBWu_NH3um4PtKyx40mk6sq1Tk6VCSyn4prheIDqMc2JUTghAqSP2oSWeoUDp_1MLqsfD5MOeHgaKZF0fiwkrNRoxL8NEAlR2GjY6xdBpNPj9-mlG1XHfZFzJpVx4UbAg0tiYu-al4Y4/s320/IMG_20180526_235537_935.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Literally the best smell in the goddamn world.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0ItvIOb8qJJwceXMsNrHKQGAIt6Mas_XpWNMaFcXPnMN9yq-8Mjpl6UTRLK53gG1sBkVL-2rGo-0jysDA8QRQbteWGq90XAKzN3bsN5nS9p4SI_JrZcZI9MwemJAmxd3CE5FT2eQCMU/s1600/IMG_20180531_212029_100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0ItvIOb8qJJwceXMsNrHKQGAIt6Mas_XpWNMaFcXPnMN9yq-8Mjpl6UTRLK53gG1sBkVL-2rGo-0jysDA8QRQbteWGq90XAKzN3bsN5nS9p4SI_JrZcZI9MwemJAmxd3CE5FT2eQCMU/s320/IMG_20180531_212029_100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The newest member of the Council of Belleders.<br />Totally fucking copying my look. And not giving a shit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPSLpsNuwiJ60QLH0QFAHUT0DZk6Sm75B9chjSx2Py4piGrud47OWdgzSQvSAXH3KbBIgiFv1gBPtIaDSTaUafoehT8PzENxgOn5zcCASaIvDLYFE4aJeuHSsivJCvv3jfqEo-9Sc3jE/s1600/IMG_20180523_215704_455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPSLpsNuwiJ60QLH0QFAHUT0DZk6Sm75B9chjSx2Py4piGrud47OWdgzSQvSAXH3KbBIgiFv1gBPtIaDSTaUafoehT8PzENxgOn5zcCASaIvDLYFE4aJeuHSsivJCvv3jfqEo-9Sc3jE/s320/IMG_20180523_215704_455.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ittybittyliterarykitty/">IttyBittyLiteraryKitty </a>trying to make me slow down<br />my page turning while reading some Neil Gaiman.</td></tr>
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<br />Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899805997705686524.post-81369247256132370102018-06-01T21:10:00.000-07:002018-06-01T21:11:05.081-07:00A funny thing happened...... and you slackers would have known about it if you were following us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BelleOfTheBookcase/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/belleofthebookcase/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BelleOTBookcase">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://belleofthebookcase.tumblr.com/">Tumblr </a><i>like I keep telling you !</i><br />
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So I did an interview with an awesome author/ podcaster and<a href="https://www.kimmersbooks.com/single-post/2018/05/21/belleofthebookcase-on-Instagram-KPEP25"> you can find the cast right here</a>, as well as the rest of his site. Also follow him over on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kimmersbooks/">Insta </a>if you want to get the best suggestions for Bookstagrammers to follow.<br />
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<a href="http://kimmersbooks.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbzXHw2qZTST_gEj_1qRN0UHS_FrFrLXYzPKO0jzkwwPCKSDItSlysP2GOy_sYmMcqaBo2ySmNiaDsfwLT3SoziZbKb7Hbt3Sh6j25Ypqok_Ca8amyLPHMWvA4dMMtOvIs4PFYUL2eww/s320/IMG_20180521_195842_372.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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It's a great listen for readers, writers, Bookstagrammers, or basically anyone who wants to hear me rambling in my actual voice instead of whatever Gossip Girl/ Carrie Bradshaw thing you've got going on when you hit up my site. </div>
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Enjoy!!</div>
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<br />Belle of the Bookcasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380019507630093494noreply@blogger.com0