Final Exam

The Society Agent series examines human society a few thousand years hence as people expand through our galaxy. In this future, there is no dystopian dictatorship, no cyber-menace overlord, and no inter-species warfare. Humanity faces its historic enemy, humankind, but under different skies. Even as civility and civilization advances through the millennia, greed, gangs and human malice remain as wolves chasing down the weak and vulnerable.

Final Exam begins the series, written in the classic sci-fi style of Asimov and Heinlein. The series protagonist, Shane O’Ryan, is an idealistic, rich kid, and a recent graduate of an elite college that trains special agents for the Society, a quasi-judicial galactic power. Shane and his secret fraternity investigate infractions of the colonization charter that protects vulnerable intelligent species and their planets. They risk their lives to make sure that the tragic aftermath of 1492 in the Americas never happens again anywhere humans go.

In Final Exam, Shane and his student partner visit a snowy vacation planet to solve a mystery—how could a sub-intelligent species leap 50,000 years in evolution in months to harness fire and develop a language. Their investigation leads them into deadly conflict with a sophisticated gang trying to gain control of the planet for its mineral riches. Shane’s instructor also challenged him to lose his virginity as soon as possible, leading to some awkward and comical moments.

It had been a pretty long time since I read something that was truly sci-fi. I think the closest might be The Lunar Chronicles series (which I still haven’t finished!), so when I read the description for Final Exam, I knew this would be a good change for me.

Shane O’Ryan is about to graduate from a secret special agent college. He has to complete one very important mission before he graduates: learn about the native population on a nearby moon and figure out why they’re evolving more quickly than they should. Oh, his side mission is to lose his virginity, but I’ll talk about that later.

Shane and his mission partner, the very pretty and exotic Alana, learn about the planet Goldilocks and its three moons: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear. Shane and Alana are to go to Mama Bear and learn about the indigenous people. After the last survey fifty years prior, they’re close to cavemen; no real language or society. Now, they have a full language and learning skills they shouldn’t be yet. That seems kinda fishy to the government. Shane and Alana pose as a newlywed couple while discovering what’s really going on. There’s a lot of action and awkward humor (which is a good thing), and it was a fun read.

I couldn’t help but think that Final Exam is kinda similar to Ender’s Game. Kids going to school, learning fighting and espionage skills, going into an intense final battle…I don’t mind the similarities. I really enjoyed the pop culture humor (like Goldilocks); it was fun and unexpected.

What I didn’t like was the major push to have Shane lose his virginity. I feel that was really unnecessary. It also made me feel a touch uncomfortable (you’ll understand more at the end). I also didn’t like how short it was. I wasn’t expecting it to be a novella. The ending seemed rushed to me, and I wonder if McLaughlin would have made some changes if he decided to write a full novel.

Final Exam is the beginning of a series, and I’ll be on the lookout for the rest of it. If you’re into sci fi, definitely give this one a chance!

Breaking the Glass Slipper

Sex, love and happily ever after. This is one woman’s search for the fairy tale.

This is a true story.

I am a baby boomer raised to believe that love always won, sex and love were interchangeable, and sharing both lead to the much desired happily ever after. In my childhood, every prince claimed a princess, every femme fatale got her man, and every sexual encounter promised love.

I discovered how wrong I was before I left home and I went wild. Disillusioned, the next twenty-five years overflowed with misadventures, failed marriages, and sexual exploits. The lessons I learned were life altering, filled with disappointments, often with painfully funny results. I cut my life’s teeth on the shards of my shattered glass slipper dreams.

Until one day, my fairy godmother decided I’d suffered enough.

My life became an honest-to-goodness love story complete with a real glass slipper.

Happily ever after is possible. Take a lesson or two from me.

I’ll be honest with you: when I first saw this book and read the back blurb, I really thought this would be about a princess. I was hardcore hoping this would be a new take on a traditional princess story. While this book is not what I had originally thought, I still had fun reading it.

Breaking the Glass Slipper is marketed as a “fictional memoir”, although author Sherry Rentschler says the events are real. For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to refer to the narrator of the story as the main character.

Our main character is growing up in 1960’s and 1970’s America, and she’s heavily influenced by the music of her time. I really enjoyed trying to figure out all the song references (and I was especially proud of myself when I did figure it out). She’s going to school, making friends, and learning just how much she wants a boyfriend. She craves the fairy tale, femme fatale romances. As she goes through middle and high school, she’s not finding what she wants. She’s wanting to find her identity with any boy that will give her attention, and later that will become her downfall.

Fast forward to post-high school. She has a grown up job, she has a place of her own, and she’s engaged to her sweetheart. Things are looking up, right? Rentschler throws a wrench into the fairy tale when she introduces the boss’s son…who ALSO proposes to her! Talk about too much to handle! We follow the main character through her marriage, affairs, dates, romps, and learn that she really really really likes sex. 🙂

I was not very happy with her personality throughout the book. I thought she was somewhat shallow, not remorseful, and had her head in the clouds. Granted, I understand that having that background allows a character to grow and the metamorphosis has much more of an impact, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it! In the end, she learns (albeit very late) to look towards herself to find what she really wants.

Overall, I didn’t hate the book. Is this something that I’m going to pick up and read again? Probably not. Will I read more of Rentschler’s books? Totally. I really liked her writing style and how she used pop culture of the time to add more meaning to the story. I’m curious to see if she does something like that in her other books.

My Daddy, The Serial Killer

Katelyn Deason was young, naive, and innocent at six years old.

That is, until she made the mistake of descending those cellar steps and viewing the first of many horrors down below.

You see, her father wasn’t who she thought he was. He wasn’t the loving and “normal” daddy that all the other kids had. He was very different.

She soon realizes how different as the years pass and unspeakable things begin to happen.

Will Katelyn be able to cling to her sanity after witnessing all of Daddy’s horrors?

*WARNING: This book, as well as the review, contain explicit content that includes graphic violence, abuse, suicide, and sex. Reader discretion is advised.*

I love some scary crime stories. I think you can tell that from my podcast choices. So when I first got this book, my first thought was “Man, this could be interesting! A serial killer book told from a kid’s perspective!” I was slightly right; while this is from a kid’s (Katelyn) perspective, it’s written in 3^rd person narrative. However, the author (Cindy Kovacik) does a really great job of getting into Katelyn’s head and using her voice throughout the story.

As I was reading, all I kept thinking was Poor, poor Katelyn. This girl has the worst luck ever when it comes to a home life. The book opens with Daddy (that’s how you know him throughout the book) brutally murdering a woman in their cellar. Katelyn watches the whole thing, horrified…and Daddy beats her. That’s the recurring plot point throughout the book: Daddy kills a woman, Katelyn sees a part of it, and Daddy beats Katelyn. This is not an uplifting read.

The murder-witness-beating pattern continues as Katelyn tries to plan her escape. It always seems as though she fails. She tries to run away, and Daddy catches her. She tries to kill herself, and Daddy saves her. As Daddy says, she can’t do anything right. There is a silver lining at the end of this book, albeit an untraditional one..but it’s better than nothing.

I had some issues with this book, besides being horrified by parts of it.

• Katelyn’s character development: I’ve seen this trope a few too many times…the child growing up and rebelling against her family. Granted, this is done out of survival, and the rebellion is a bit extreme, but it’s the same idea.
• Daddy’s lack of character development: I hate that I have no idea why Daddy was doing it. There was no explanation about how he started killing women, and that really frustrates me.
• Oblivious adults: Katelyn gets beaten repeatedly. Why don’t her teachers notice? Whenever she goes to the hospital, why don’t the doctors say anything about it?
• Lack of background: We find out early on that Katelyn’s mother died when she was little. How did she die? Did Daddy kill her? Did she escape from him?

Overall, I think this is an ok book. If you’re in the mood for a severely messed up book, then this is the one for you.

 

The Glass Magician

“Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.

When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.

The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.”

We last left Ceony Twill coming home from fighting the Excisioner Lira and saving her teacher/love of her life Emery Thane. She soon discovers that her actions (mainly her fight with Lira) have consequences. She’s been targeted by other Excisioners because they believe she holds the key to healing Lira. During all of this, she’s battling her feelings for Emery and discovering something new and kinda scary about herself.

I feel that The Glass Magician had a slower flow than The Paper Magician. There was a lot of traveling in this book, and although it would seem like it would have the opposite effect, the setting never lasted long, so I guess I couldn’t connect with some scenes as much. The other issue I had was that the two villains were kinda flat. The only thing you really get as a reader is that they’re scary and they’re after Ceony. Sometimes that’s all you really need to know, but I feel that I got so much more information about Lira from the last book.

HOWEVER…

I still really enjoyed this book. I’m connected to Ceony and Emery. I want to see where their relationship goes. I want to see if/when Ceony graduates. I want to know what she becomes at the end (no spoilers, promise!).

I really liked learning about other magicians and their skills. Ceony’s friend Delilah is a Gaffer, or a glass magician, and you get to explore how her magic works. One spell was really cool: you can travel through mirrors! It’s very Alice in Wonderland-like. I know it might seem weird, but now I want to inspect mirrors for their imperfections and clarity…and also to see where I might end up at.

If I were to give The Paper Magician an A, I’d give The Glass Magician a solid B. Not bad, but not great.

TBR Jar

Does anyone else have the issue where you have so many books that you need to read, but you have no idea where to start? I know I do. I was looking for some tips and tricks to reading more, and I came across Vivatramp’s post on making a to-be-read jar. I knew that this was what I needed, and I could do it for cheap too!

I found my jar while I was grocery shopping. I couldn’t resist how cute it was!

I had bought these rolls of washi tape from Target so I could decorate my Erin Condren planner, but I thought they would look good on my jar too.

And I was right.

I made a table and typed all my books up and printed them on pretty paper…

…And then I found another pile of books in another room that I need to add to my list. Drat. Once I finally get all my ducks (or rather, books) in a row, I’ll be able to fill my jar up and then I’ll have a fool-proof to-be-read system!

How do you tackle your TBR pile?

The Paper Magician

“Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

From the imaginative mind of debut author Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician is an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers of all ages.”

I had seen The Paper Magician pop up in my recommended reading for awhile now, but for some reason I kept putting it off. I guess in my head I was comparing it to Harry Potter and The Magicians, and I didn’t really know if I wanted to get into the magical school trope again. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But sometimes, enough is enough. I was totally wrong about The Paper Magician, and I’m glad I took a chance on it.

The Paper Magician doesn’t go into the magical school trope at all. We see Ceony as a brand-new graduate, and she’s going to her post-grad work (that’s about the best I could do as describing the education system). I really liked seeing what a magical apprenticeship could look like. I love the idea of being bonded to a material and only working with that. I think that’s a fun and refreshing new take on magic. Although Ceony doesn’t necessarily want to be bonded to paper, it made me really curious about the whole bonding process. I wonder what I would be bonded to…?

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole going-into-Thane’s-heart sequence. I couldn’t stop reading once I started. I have never seen that done in a book, and I was so intrigued as to where this was going. I loved that this was a new way to get to know a character.

Surprisingly, one of my favorite characters was Lira (the Excisioner). I really want to know more of her backstory. We get some, and I understand more about her, but what I really want to know is how she actually became an Excisioner. I’m hoping that the subsequent books will delve into that more.

If you’re looking for a new fantasy novel, give The Paper Magician a try. There are two more books in the series (The Glass Magician and The Master Magician), and there could potentially be a movie coming out!

What fantasy books do you like to read?

 

The Wonder Cat Series Part Two

A few weekends ago was my anniversary vacation (yay 4 days with no baby and no responsibilities!), and I challenged myself to finish the book I was reading and read one more book. I actually read two books! I figured since I did the first three books in a combo post, I’d do the following two books in a combo post too! I have to be consistent, of course.

To review: The Greenstone family run a coffee shop in their small town of Wonder Falls. Cath, cousin Bea, and aunt Astrid are also witches who have awesome cats as their companions. They always seem to stumble upon random murders and mysteries, and they try to help the police solve them. That’s a very brief synopsis of the series as a whole. The two books covered in this review are Purr-fect Getaway and The Scariest Tail.

The Scariest Tail

It’s close to Halloween, and there have been some strange deaths around Wonder Falls, with the only common thread being the appearance of black-eyed demon children. Imagine little kids with those black-out contacts...creepy. Everyone thinks they’re an urban legend…until they try to get into Bea’s and Min’s homes. These children feed off fear, so it’s much harder for the Greenstones to fight them off. The Greenstones, and Cath’s crush Blake, track them down into an abandoned mansion, where they find out it’s way more than just black-eyed demon children.

Purr-fect Getaway

We last left Cath and the Greenstones recovering from their encounter with the demon black-eyed children. Cath is having a harder time dealing with her emotions (both from the mansion and from Blake), so Bea and Astrid came up with the idea to surprise/kidnap Cath and take her to a day spa. They think it’s just going to be a relaxing time…until they find out their spa is located on a Native American burial ground.

If you’re a fan of paranormal cozy mysteries, you should totally check this series out. I read both of these books in a day. Harper Lin (the author) does a great job of granning your attention and sucking you into the story. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Kindle Review

Well, it’s been a hot minute since I got my Kindle Paperwhite. I was always Team Real Book. I was like, “Real books don’t need batteries” and “An ereader doesn’t look good on your bookshelf.” While both of these points are totally true, there are some benefits to owning a Kindle (or any ereader).

• It’s portable. 

I really love reading. Sometimes I read multiple books at a time. The Kindle allows me to have a ton of books with me at once. Plus, they keep track of where I am so I can pick up right where I left off.

• You can get a pretty cover. 

Whenever I get a new electronic device, I have to customize it almost immediately. I have to get a case, stickers…something to make it not plain. I got this really cool case from Amazon, and it looks and feels like a leather bound book! I also want this one that looks like a spell book.

• You discover new writers. 

I wrote a post earlier about a series through the Kindle, the Wonder Cat series. I know there are a ton of authors that publish ebooks exclusively, and if you didn’t have an e-reader you wouldn’t know about them. I have a TON of books downloaded that were free, and Amazon usually runs specials as well. Plus, you can get ARCs and galleys for an ereader too, if you know where to look. I might post a site or two soon…

I’m a recent convert to ereaders, so some features might be well-known to everyone, but the features I have on my Kindle are great:

• an adjustable backlight so I don’t get headaches
• the ability to look up a word without leaving the page
• being connected to my Goodreads page

If you’re like me and you were/are a hardcore member of Team Real Book, I suggest you take another look at ereaders. They might change your mind.

How to Get Out of a Reading Slump

If you ask my husband and my bank account, they’ll both tell you that I have a ton of books. Most of them, I’m ashamed to say, I haven’t read yet. There are just many moments where I don’t have the motivation, passion, or energy to read. My heart and my brain desperately want me to read, but my body says nope.

So how do I get out of this slump?

1. I take a break. I consciously decide that I’m not going to pressure myself into doing something I’m not feeling up to. I try to do other things, like catch up on shows or movies, do more family outings, or housework (but that’s something I TOTALLY have to talk myself into!).
2. I read a one-off. I have a lot of series. Usually, they’re at least five or six books long. Sometimes I get burned out. It’s a lot of commitment to stay with characters and settings for that many books. I have a ton of one-offs for that reason. Most of the time, reading a stand alone will get the reading juices flowing again and I’m able to tackle a series.
3. I read an “easy” book. As an English major (always and forever, right?), my shelves are full of heavy Literature. My Brit Lit teacher would always refer to world-changing books as capital L literature and entertainment books as little l literature. Sometimes my brain just can’t handle Literature. I don’t want to read thought-provoking books; sometimes I want to be blindly entertained. If that’s the case, I usually pick up a YA book. Those are usually more fun to read, and I have the habit of speed-reading those. Once I’ve read some of those, I’m more willing to read the heavy ones.
4. I go to the bookstore. Sometimes, all it takes is me driving to the bookstore and seeing all the pretty books lined up. In a totally-not-psychotic way, they speak to me, telling me to buy them, which I do…and then my husband and bank account complain again.

Hopefully this will help some of y’all who might be in a reading slump. I don’t think I’m in the slump now, but we’ll see what happens when I finish reading this book!