So, I purposely took a lot of time off from normal blog things in December (reviews, discussions, etc.) and did lots of end of year lists and fun giveaways to give myself some rest. But I also did a lot of actually RESTING and doing NO blogging stuff. Which means I got a lot of reading in. I’ve created quite a backlog for myself so I’m going to just highlight some things I read recently but am not going to have a whole dedicated post about.
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
This one was an adult historical fiction novel that takes place in the South in the 60’s. The main character is a nine year old girl named Starla who lives with her strict grandma (her dad works on an oil rig and isn’t home) and she decides to run away to Nashville to find her mom who she hasn’t seen since she was 3 when her mom left to become a famous singer. Early in her journey she gets a ride from Eula, a black lady who has a white baby with her, and the two become unlikely companions on the road. I really enjoyed this one — it was both a reminder of the harsh realities of segregation and the fight for equality but also incredibly heartwarming. Their adventure held my attention the whole time and my heart was just bursting with love by the end as family begins to take on a whole new meaning for Starla.
Rating:
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
AHHH the second book in Marissa Meyer’s series was EXCELLENT. We still get to follow Cinder but we are introduced to some amazing new characters — namely Scarlet but also Wolf and Thorne!! I was so excited to have Cinder’s perspective still but getting to know these other characters and watch their stories intersect with Cinder’s was something that just kept the pages turning for me! It was a great sequel that set up well for the rest of the series but still stood as an important book and helped develop some new, great characters. Lots of action and things revealed and I finished the book with racing heart from what went on and knowing what is to come!!
Rating
All Of You by Christina Lee
I haven’t read a TON of new adult romance (okay well been able to make THROUGH a lot of it — favorites are Boomerang & All Lined Up) but this one was enjoyable enough that I devoured it in one day. I was in need of a light-ish, quick romance and this delivered — and it especially delivered a new guy to swoon over for sure! Avery is into just hooking up and no commitments — a lot thanks to her mom’s mistakes that have affected her and her own desire to not turn out like her mom and rely on men and lose control of her own life. Then she meets her new upstairs neighbor — a hot tattoo artist and a virgin who wants his first time to be with someone he loves — a lot to do with his own family situation.
Their chemistry is undeniable and I kept flipping the pages to see how their very different ideas about sex and relationships would be at play considering the strong feelings they developed for each other. It was sexy and just what I needed though sometimes a LITTLE bit corny at times (but this maybe this is also me still being a newb to romance). If you don’t like pretty detailed sexytimes in your books, this might not be for you! ALSO BENNETT TOTALLY DEFIES NEW ADULT DUDE STEREOTYPES THANK YOU JESUS. And he’s hot. Did I mention that?
Rating:
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books says
Oh Scarlet was so good!! Just wait until you read Cress, it’s just as good and even better 🙂 I haven’t heard of the other books, but I’ll check them out. Lovely mini reviews, Jamie!
Jamie says
I cannot even wait for Cress! I have an ARC of it but I’m thinking I might just buy it instead now because I’m anticipating that I will like it plus I already own Cinder and Scarlet!
Amber @ Books of Amber says
I love your little ratings bar! Almost as much as I love Scarlet – EEP! So glad you liked it. It’s my favourite book in the series, and Thorne and Scarlet are my favourite characters XD
Jamie says
Thank you!! I started doing them either at the end of the summer or beginning of fall-ish? I can’t remember. I hadn’t done ratings for 3ish years but I know they are helpful to people so I tried to come up with a system that worked for me and this seems to be working! 🙂
Thorne and Scarlet are AWESOME characters. Like I was a little sad at first thinking we would get less Cinder but then these new characters just captured my heart and we got to see Cinder quite a bit so I was happy. I’m so nervous for Cress!!!
Jamie says
So someone else asked me when I started doing my rating scale so I was curious exactly when. May. Lol. I was wayyyy off with what I told you hahahha I have no concept of time
Kyra says
I have Scarlet and Cress waiting to be read and I’m excited to read it as I LOVED Cinder! Whistling Past the Graveyard looks quite interesting too! 🙂
Jamie says
You will fly through Scarlet!! I’m nervous for Cress bc it’s so huge + WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Whistling Past the Graveyard was definitely interesting! If you like historical fiction I definitely recommend!
Cynthia says
Great reviews. Whistling past the graveyard has been on my TBR for a while. Glad you gave it a good rating.
Jamie says
It was a really enjoyable read so I hope you get to it! AND THAT COVER. So beautiful!
Lucia @Reading Is My Breathing says
I read All Of You and I also liked it 🙂 It was very refreshing and Bennett was such a breath of fresh air comparing to majority of heroes in NA novels. Glad to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Jamie says
RIGHT? Bennett was not that possessive jerk dude that seems to be ALL THE RAGE in NA..or at least from the books I’ve tried to read. He was so refreshing and SO SO FREAKING HOT.
Ashley Farley says
So glad you got some rest over the holiday. You should ready to tackle the new year. Whistling Past the Graveyard looks great. Thanks for the reviews.
Jamie says
The rest was MUCH needed! 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Leah says
Whistling Past the Graveyard has been at the back of my mind for a year now and I have NO idea why I don’t just finally read it! Friends with SUPER SIMILAR tastes absolutely loved it so it’s pretty much guaranteed I will!
Jamie says
I hope you read it soon!! Would love to hear your thoughts!
Amber @ Dystopian Wonders says
Scarlet is probably my favorite in the series so far! And I recommend you go ahead and buy Cress too because it really is good. I was worried about the change in character perspective, but Meyer does it so well I almost didn’t want to go back and forth-I just wanted one book for each character (although that might make the series closer to 9 books instead of 4 but that’s fine).
Jamie says
She really DID do it so well. A lot of time with multi POVs there’s always one I want MORE but this was pretty even for me. Hahha and I will take 9 books of this too!!
Ashley says
Whistling Past the Graveyard sounds fantastic. It’s the kind of book I try to seek out, but I haven’t had the chance to read this one yet.
Jamie says
It was such a heartwarming story though it had heartbreaking parts! Hope you enjoy it when you read it!
Ashley @The Quiet Concert says
Scarlet.. one of my favorites! I cannot wait for her other two this year 🙂
Jamie says
What she has TWO this year??
Ashley @The Quiet Concert says
Well Fairest is coming out at the end of this month! According to goodreads Winter is still set to come out in Nov of 2015 too! But that is just going on goodreads, so I may be wrong, but hopefully not 🙂
Jess @ Literary, etc says
I’ve read Christina Lee’s ALL OF YOU and agree with your review. I loved the entire storyline and thought for a moment it would go one way, but Lee surprised me. It did feel a bit predictable especially towards the end, but I was overall happy with it. I’ve enjoyed her books because they are refreshing and the boys feel real to me.
Oooh, the rating scale! Is that new (or have I not noticed it before?) I really like it! What a cute idea.
Jamie says
Did you read more of that series?
And thanks! I started doing it in May!
Mallory @ The Leaning Tower of Tomes says
Oh, Scarlet was so good! I love all the books in the Lunar Chronicles, but I think Cress is my favorite right now. (I can’t wait for Winter! Aaaaaagh!) If you loved Scarlet, you’re going to love Cress, too!
Jamie says
Eeee glad to hear you loved Cress! Hoping to read it soon while Scarlet is still fresh in my mind!
Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books) says
As the white adoptive mother of a bi-racial little girl, I’m always interested in stories like WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD. I’m super excited to read it now!
Jamie says
I’ll be interested to know what you think!!