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oraclereadings's reviews
78 reviews
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
3.0
I don't know.
Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this.
Maybe I'm just not into YA at the moment.
Maybe it's Maybelline.
I am a slut for pretty covers and this book cover sunk its teeth into my skin and pulled me in the darkest depths.
The premise had me in a choke-hold that left me craving for water just like when Spongebob went to Sandy's house for the very first time.
Margaret Welty is on her own, yearning for the day her mother comes back. When she spots the hala, a mythical creature and the last of its kind, she is determined to join the hunt in hopes of killing the creature. The reward is riches and fame with the ability to unlock a magical secret, but Margaret just wants her mother to come home. And she hopes that this will be her ticket to make that finally happen.
And while she's the best sharpshooter in town, Margaret can only join the hunt if she has a team member. An alchemist.
Enter Weston Winters-not yet an alchemist, but he's trying. After failing at every other apprenticeship ever given to him, Weston resorts to taking his chances with Master Welty (Margaret's mother). Margaret turns him away at first, but decides to let him stay on one occasion: he joins the hunt with her.
I actually don't know why I didn't enjoy this as much.
Part of it was because of the dual POV with no indication. The book is in third person, so at least there wasn't the confusing <i>"I"</i>'s while trying to figure out who <i>"I"</i> is. I feel that I would have enjoyed the book a lot better if it was 1) from a specific perspective and 2) <b>shorter</b>.
Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this.
Maybe I'm just not into YA at the moment.
Maybe it's Maybelline.
I am a slut for pretty covers and this book cover sunk its teeth into my skin and pulled me in the darkest depths.
The premise had me in a choke-hold that left me craving for water just like when Spongebob went to Sandy's house for the very first time.
Margaret Welty is on her own, yearning for the day her mother comes back. When she spots the hala, a mythical creature and the last of its kind, she is determined to join the hunt in hopes of killing the creature. The reward is riches and fame with the ability to unlock a magical secret, but Margaret just wants her mother to come home. And she hopes that this will be her ticket to make that finally happen.
And while she's the best sharpshooter in town, Margaret can only join the hunt if she has a team member. An alchemist.
Enter Weston Winters-not yet an alchemist, but he's trying. After failing at every other apprenticeship ever given to him, Weston resorts to taking his chances with Master Welty (Margaret's mother). Margaret turns him away at first, but decides to let him stay on one occasion: he joins the hunt with her.
I actually don't know why I didn't enjoy this as much.
Part of it was because of the dual POV with no indication. The book is in third person, so at least there wasn't the confusing <i>"I"</i>'s while trying to figure out who <i>"I"</i> is. I feel that I would have enjoyed the book a lot better if it was 1) from a specific perspective and 2) <b>shorter</b>.
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
3.0
Tim the dog is my favorite character.
Loosely based off Scooby Doo, this follows the aftermath a teen sleuth investigation thirteen years later.
In 1977, teen detectives known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club solve their final case.
Now, 1990, the group hasn't seen each other since that fateful day. Andy is on the run, wanted in two states. Kerri spends her days bartending in New York, working on her own issues at night. Her reliable companion Tim, a descendant from their original team member (Sean), stays by her side. Nate has spent his last few years in and out of mental health institutions (Arkham, of all places). The only friend he still sees is Peter, but Peter's been dead for years.
Loosely based off Scooby Doo, this follows the aftermath a teen sleuth investigation thirteen years later.
In 1977, teen detectives known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club solve their final case.
Now, 1990, the group hasn't seen each other since that fateful day. Andy is on the run, wanted in two states. Kerri spends her days bartending in New York, working on her own issues at night. Her reliable companion Tim, a descendant from their original team member (Sean), stays by her side. Nate has spent his last few years in and out of mental health institutions (Arkham, of all places). The only friend he still sees is Peter, but Peter's been dead for years.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
3.0
Poppy and Alex met in college and became best friends, even though they have nothing in common. Every summer they take a glorious vacation together, despite her living in New York City and him in a small town. The two have been inseparable throughout the years, with nothing coming between them.
Well.
That is until two years ago.
They seemingly have had a falling out and haven't spoken to each other since.
Finding herself unhappy with her dream job, she's asked when was the last time she was truly happy. Of course it was with Alex. So she takes a chance and texts him one night, finds out about his brother's upcoming wedding, and "plans" a vacation around it. She asks him if he would be interested and surprisingly agrees.
Poppy tries to keep everything original, to do what they used to, make the same jokes. But everything is different now. Their relationship is different now. And somehow Poppy has to find a way to be okay with that.
Well.
That is until two years ago.
They seemingly have had a falling out and haven't spoken to each other since.
Finding herself unhappy with her dream job, she's asked when was the last time she was truly happy. Of course it was with Alex. So she takes a chance and texts him one night, finds out about his brother's upcoming wedding, and "plans" a vacation around it. She asks him if he would be interested and surprisingly agrees.
Poppy tries to keep everything original, to do what they used to, make the same jokes. But everything is different now. Their relationship is different now. And somehow Poppy has to find a way to be okay with that.
Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane
2.0
This book is 10% romance and 90% everything else.
Georgina is having the worst day of her life. Not only has she been fired from her job, but she comes home to find her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Feeling sorry for herself, Georgina takes on the first job that swings her way.
Twelve years ago, Georgina had a secret affair with Lucas when they were in high school. On the night of their prom, something goes horrible wrong and they never speak again.
Fast forward to the present, Georgina is working as a bartender at a newly opened pub—conveniently owned by none other than Lucas himself. Only, he doesn't seem to remember her. At all.
If the story had focused on these two characters alone, I would have enjoyed this a lot more. Instead, we have different points of view from so and so and their cousin. It takes way too long to get to the actual romance. Which would have been fine if the book's top market was anything but a romance category.
Georgina is having the worst day of her life. Not only has she been fired from her job, but she comes home to find her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Feeling sorry for herself, Georgina takes on the first job that swings her way.
Twelve years ago, Georgina had a secret affair with Lucas when they were in high school. On the night of their prom, something goes horrible wrong and they never speak again.
Fast forward to the present, Georgina is working as a bartender at a newly opened pub—conveniently owned by none other than Lucas himself. Only, he doesn't seem to remember her. At all.
If the story had focused on these two characters alone, I would have enjoyed this a lot more. Instead, we have different points of view from so and so and their cousin. It takes way too long to get to the actual romance. Which would have been fine if the book's top market was anything but a romance category.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
3.0
This would have been at least a four star read, but there is just so much going on. If the focus of the story was mainly between Olga and her brother Prieto, I could have seen this going a lot more smoothly.
I couldn't stand their mother's letters, as she constantly belittled them for choosing not to live the same life that she does, because their lives don't agree with her views. After reading a few of the letters I had to stop and skip them all together because I would have ending up not finishing the book.
I couldn't stand their mother's letters, as she constantly belittled them for choosing not to live the same life that she does, because their lives don't agree with her views. After reading a few of the letters I had to stop and skip them all together because I would have ending up not finishing the book.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
4.0
This is my first Emily Henry book. Let's see how it goes. . .
I can't believe I'm finishing this on January's birthday.
༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝
I wasn't sure that I would like this because of all the hype surrounding [author:Emily Henry|13905555]'s books. I've spent the last few years avoiding her books because I didn't want to be disappointed once again by another mediocre author. However, this has been on my to-read list for a year now and I can safely say that I quite enjoyed <i>Beach Read</i>.
༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝
January Andrews is a bestselling women's fiction/romance author. After the passing of her dad, she moves into his beach house (that she finds out about at his funeral).Also, her dad has been cheating on her mom and having an affair for quite a long time, and she hears this from his mistress <i>at the funeral</i> While trying to go through her dad's beach house and sell his furniture (and the house), January struggles with her new novel that is due soon.
Like, six months soon.
Her next door neighbor turns out to be none other than Augustus "Gus" Everett, acclaimed literary fiction author and college rival. As they both get reacquainted, the two challenge each other. For Gus to write a happily ever after, and for January to write a something sad. Whoever succeeds and sells their book first wins.
Wins what, exactly?
<i>A budding romance.</i>
I mean. That wasn't part of the deal, but I don't remember if it was ever clarified <i>what</i> the other would win. Bragging rights? I guess.
I can't believe I'm finishing this on January's birthday.
༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝
I wasn't sure that I would like this because of all the hype surrounding [author:Emily Henry|13905555]'s books. I've spent the last few years avoiding her books because I didn't want to be disappointed once again by another mediocre author. However, this has been on my to-read list for a year now and I can safely say that I quite enjoyed <i>Beach Read</i>.
༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝
January Andrews is a bestselling women's fiction/romance author. After the passing of her dad, she moves into his beach house (that she finds out about at his funeral).
Like, six months soon.
Her next door neighbor turns out to be none other than Augustus "Gus" Everett, acclaimed literary fiction author and college rival. As they both get reacquainted, the two challenge each other. For Gus to write a happily ever after, and for January to write a something sad. Whoever succeeds and sells their book first wins.
Wins what, exactly?
<i>A budding romance.</i>
I mean. That wasn't part of the deal, but I don't remember if it was ever clarified <i>what</i> the other would win. Bragging rights? I guess.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
2.0
Starting the new year with some horror.
So I had some ups and down with this and I'm going to struggle with giving this a reasonable rating.
Our story follows married mother, Patricia Campbell, being dissatisfied with her things are going in her average, stay-at-home life. During the very beginning, we see that Patricia and a few of her neighbors (more housewives) have grown bored with the dull book club meetings and decide to start their own little group featured around <b>true crime</b>. Patricia finds excitement in the stories and even admits that she wishes for something more adventurous to happen in their boring, suburban life.
<img src="https://infostockpile.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/tumblr_nfghuinmk61s5n19go1_400.gif" width="340" height="100" alt="description"/>
Patricia is involved in an assault not too long after that. An elderly woman that lives in the neighborhood attacks her, going as far as biting Patricia's earlobe off.
Coincidentally, the event follows around the same time that James Harris, who claims to be the woman's distant relative, moves into her house. James quickly becomes popular with the neighborhood and Patricia finds herself taking a sudden interest in him. The man has an insane amount of money (in cash!), and he rarely goes out during the day because of an eye condition.
At the sudden and mysterious death of Patricia's mother-in-law, along with black children going missing and even dying from suicide, Patricia starts to suspect James. She loses her trust for him but cannot convince her friends and family to do the same.
The only horror that I found in this book was the blatant misogyny, sexism, racism, and gaslighting that took place. <i>The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires</i> is set in the 90's, but if I didn't know any better I would have guessed that we were reading about a book taking place in the fifties instead. I found it odd that none of the women had jobs, not a single one except for our only black character.
I haven't found a review on here that mentions CSA (child sexual assault) on here and that was something else that I just found unnecessary. It happens a few times on page and is described pretty heavily, to the point where I had to skip some paragraphs just to get past that point. The worst part is that neither of the characters acknowledge it as being more than just an ordinary assault. I understand it's part of the story process, but come on. Another character gets raped, off page, and we go into all sorts of detail talking about how that affected the character and everyone else around them. But nobody talks about the kids having to go through that.
One last thing I want to talk about is just me ranting about the type of vampire that is displayed in this book. The description matches closely to the vampires that are portrayed in the TV series <i>The Strain</i>, with a tentacle like appendage coming out of their mouths. All forms of media have their own portrayals of vampires and that is a very specific kind of vampire. Unfortunately, I am very picky about my monsters and I do not consider that to be a vampire.Which made me excited when James even states "I'm not a vampire." but then we never get a clear definition of what species he does identify as.
Unfortunately there were just too many issues for me to "like" this book.
So I had some ups and down with this and I'm going to struggle with giving this a reasonable rating.
Our story follows married mother, Patricia Campbell, being dissatisfied with her things are going in her average, stay-at-home life. During the very beginning, we see that Patricia and a few of her neighbors (more housewives) have grown bored with the dull book club meetings and decide to start their own little group featured around <b>true crime</b>. Patricia finds excitement in the stories and even admits that she wishes for something more adventurous to happen in their boring, suburban life.
<img src="https://infostockpile.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/tumblr_nfghuinmk61s5n19go1_400.gif" width="340" height="100" alt="description"/>
Patricia is involved in an assault not too long after that. An elderly woman that lives in the neighborhood attacks her, going as far as biting Patricia's earlobe off.
Coincidentally, the event follows around the same time that James Harris, who claims to be the woman's distant relative, moves into her house. James quickly becomes popular with the neighborhood and Patricia finds herself taking a sudden interest in him. The man has an insane amount of money (in cash!), and he rarely goes out during the day because of an eye condition.
At the sudden and mysterious death of Patricia's mother-in-law, along with black children going missing and even dying from suicide, Patricia starts to suspect James. She loses her trust for him but cannot convince her friends and family to do the same.
The only horror that I found in this book was the blatant misogyny, sexism, racism, and gaslighting that took place. <i>The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires</i> is set in the 90's, but if I didn't know any better I would have guessed that we were reading about a book taking place in the fifties instead. I found it odd that none of the women had jobs, not a single one except for our only black character.
I haven't found a review on here that mentions CSA (child sexual assault) on here and that was something else that I just found unnecessary. It happens a few times on page and is described pretty heavily, to the point where I had to skip some paragraphs just to get past that point. The worst part is that neither of the characters acknowledge it as being more than just an ordinary assault. I understand it's part of the story process, but come on. Another character gets raped, off page, and we go into all sorts of detail talking about how that affected the character and everyone else around them. But nobody talks about the kids having to go through that.
One last thing I want to talk about is just me ranting about the type of vampire that is displayed in this book. The description matches closely to the vampires that are portrayed in the TV series <i>The Strain</i>, with a tentacle like appendage coming out of their mouths. All forms of media have their own portrayals of vampires and that is a very specific kind of vampire. Unfortunately, I am very picky about my monsters and I do not consider that to be a vampire.
Unfortunately there were just too many issues for me to "like" this book.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4.0
I really did like this, but I struggled and it took me a while to get through this book.
Immediately the format the book make me question if it was even worth reading. It felt like reading something out of a history book. I decided to follow along with the audiobook and I highly recommend for anyone else to do the same.
<i>Daisy Jones & the Six</i> follows through a series of events happening from the 60’s to the late 70’s. Starting in 1965, we learn the discovery of the band known as <i>The Six</i> and how they came to be; while also watching a young Daisy find her way into the rock music era by starting out as a groupie. From there we watch as Daisy struggles to find her way as a singer and get her own music published.
I loved that Daisy wasn’t the only voice we heard from because if she was, I probably would not have finished this book. Or I would have given it a lower star rating. I think, of all people, Karen was my favorite and her story made me feel so emotional.
⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆
• 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 •
✰ 4 ✰ A really good book. Could be a favorite, but it’s missing something.
━━━━━━━━━━☽✰☾━━━━━━━━━━
Immediately the format the book make me question if it was even worth reading. It felt like reading something out of a history book. I decided to follow along with the audiobook and I highly recommend for anyone else to do the same.
<i>Daisy Jones & the Six</i> follows through a series of events happening from the 60’s to the late 70’s. Starting in 1965, we learn the discovery of the band known as <i>The Six</i> and how they came to be; while also watching a young Daisy find her way into the rock music era by starting out as a groupie. From there we watch as Daisy struggles to find her way as a singer and get her own music published.
I loved that Daisy wasn’t the only voice we heard from because if she was, I probably would not have finished this book. Or I would have given it a lower star rating. I think, of all people, Karen was my favorite and her story made me feel so emotional.
⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆
• 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 •
✰ 4 ✰ A really good book. Could be a favorite, but it’s missing something.
━━━━━━━━━━☽✰☾━━━━━━━━━━
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
3.0
This felt like reading YA fantasy romance and the fact that it’s not a young adult novel baffles me. Honestly, the only reason I found for this to be rated as an adult book was so that the two main characters could bone. And let’s be real, it still could have been labeled as a young adult romance fantasy novel even with the two main characters going at it. (Which wasn’t very descriptive.)
Eden, Kentucky is a town full of bad luck and unexplainable mysteries, and it may or may not be because of the haunted mansion known as the Starling House. The mansion used to belong to famous children’s writer and illustrator E. Starling, most notably known for creating “The Underlands” in the 19th century.
Opal has been obsessed with these stories for as long as she can remember, often having confusing dreams about the house and the families that used to reside there. Now, at twenty-six years old, she finds herself working dead end jobs and stealing so that her younger brother Jasper is able to go to the school of his dreams and leave this forsaken town.
Arthur is the mysterious heir of the mansion, secluded from the rest of the world and warding bystanders away from his home. Somewhere along the way, Opal finds herself working inside of the mansion as a housekeeper, while also receiving an amazing deal from a corporate business to take pictures and collect as much evidence as possible from within the mysterious house.
As she struggles with which path to take and follow, Opal realizes that she will have to dig up the past and discover some pretty dark secrets about herself and the town.
⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆
• 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 •
✰ 3 ✰ Average read. The story/characters were nice, but I’ll most likely forget about it in a month.
━━━━━━━━━━☽✰☾━━━━━━━━━━
Eden, Kentucky is a town full of bad luck and unexplainable mysteries, and it may or may not be because of the haunted mansion known as the Starling House. The mansion used to belong to famous children’s writer and illustrator E. Starling, most notably known for creating “The Underlands” in the 19th century.
Opal has been obsessed with these stories for as long as she can remember, often having confusing dreams about the house and the families that used to reside there. Now, at twenty-six years old, she finds herself working dead end jobs and stealing so that her younger brother Jasper is able to go to the school of his dreams and leave this forsaken town.
Arthur is the mysterious heir of the mansion, secluded from the rest of the world and warding bystanders away from his home. Somewhere along the way, Opal finds herself working inside of the mansion as a housekeeper, while also receiving an amazing deal from a corporate business to take pictures and collect as much evidence as possible from within the mysterious house.
As she struggles with which path to take and follow, Opal realizes that she will have to dig up the past and discover some pretty dark secrets about herself and the town.
⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆
• 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 •
✰ 3 ✰ Average read. The story/characters were nice, but I’ll most likely forget about it in a month.
━━━━━━━━━━☽✰☾━━━━━━━━━━
We'll Never Tell by Wendy Heard
3.0
This had such an interesting concept. Four teenagers with a viral YouTube channel exploring abandoned places, a murder mystery surrounding Hollywood stars from the 1970’s, and a potential serial killer on the loose. I was honestly expecting this to be at least a four star rating, if not at least bumped up to three and a half, but it was just very “meh”.
We follow the story with four high school seniors who run an anonymous YouTube channel with content of them trespassing onto LA’s intriguing locales. On the verge of their senior year and graduation just around the corner, they decide to end their YouTube career with one more video going out with a bang. Their last video will feature the infamous Valentini house, also known as the “murder house”. The house has been left abandoned since the murder/suicide that occurred in 1972 between famous actress and her husband.
During their trip to the murder house, they’re able to capture some footage before an alarm is tripped and it’s a rush to leave before the police show up. Unfortunately, only three of them make it out. Jacob is found at the scene, having been stabbed and in critical condition. The others fear with getting into trouble and risking their future careers if the police knew that they were there with Jacob (an concerned that they may be prime suspects into their friend’s stabbing). So they decide to lie to the police and claim that Jacob must have ventured to the house all by himself.
Because none of them could have obviously done this to Jacob. Right?
For this book to be split between multiple points of view, we only get to hear from two out of four of the main characters.I think that may be because the other two could be suspected of stabbing Jacob, so if we saw into their POV then we would immediately de-suspect them? But there still could have been ways to show their side without leading into too much. Like, what if they were all suspecting each other while constantly being “No, I didn’t do it! They did it!” and we’re just along for the ride. We don’t even hear from Jacob as much as we do Casey, and what we do hear from him is moments before or leading up to the incident.
I know that this is an opinion of my own, but while reading I had to remind myself that these characters were eighteen or soon to be eighteen-year-olds in their senior year of high school and going off to college soon. These teenagers seemed to be a lot younger than they were. And I don’t mean that they were immature, even though there were times that they were, because they ARE teenagers. I don’t know if it was due to the lack of talking about colleges or graduating or high school scenes in general, but my brain kept forgetting that they were soon to be college students.
<i>We’ll Never Tell</i> had a lot of telling instead of showing. It’s described to us many times that the characters are residents of Hollywood, California, but we never actually get to see Hollywood. I was expecting at least some references or even a short description of a celebrity, aside from the ones from the 1970’s, or even a movie in the process of being filmed but there was none of that. I know that wasn’t the main premise of the story-line, but come on, it’s freaking Hollywood!
⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆
• 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 •
✰ 3 ✰ Average read. The story/characters were nice, but I’ll most likely forget about it in a month.
━━━━━━━━━━☽✰☾━━━━━━━━━━
We follow the story with four high school seniors who run an anonymous YouTube channel with content of them trespassing onto LA’s intriguing locales. On the verge of their senior year and graduation just around the corner, they decide to end their YouTube career with one more video going out with a bang. Their last video will feature the infamous Valentini house, also known as the “murder house”. The house has been left abandoned since the murder/suicide that occurred in 1972 between famous actress and her husband.
During their trip to the murder house, they’re able to capture some footage before an alarm is tripped and it’s a rush to leave before the police show up. Unfortunately, only three of them make it out. Jacob is found at the scene, having been stabbed and in critical condition. The others fear with getting into trouble and risking their future careers if the police knew that they were there with Jacob (an concerned that they may be prime suspects into their friend’s stabbing). So they decide to lie to the police and claim that Jacob must have ventured to the house all by himself.
Because none of them could have obviously done this to Jacob. Right?
For this book to be split between multiple points of view, we only get to hear from two out of four of the main characters.
I know that this is an opinion of my own, but while reading I had to remind myself that these characters were eighteen or soon to be eighteen-year-olds in their senior year of high school and going off to college soon. These teenagers seemed to be a lot younger than they were. And I don’t mean that they were immature, even though there were times that they were, because they ARE teenagers. I don’t know if it was due to the lack of talking about colleges or graduating or high school scenes in general, but my brain kept forgetting that they were soon to be college students.
<i>We’ll Never Tell</i> had a lot of telling instead of showing. It’s described to us many times that the characters are residents of Hollywood, California, but we never actually get to see Hollywood. I was expecting at least some references or even a short description of a celebrity, aside from the ones from the 1970’s, or even a movie in the process of being filmed but there was none of that. I know that wasn’t the main premise of the story-line, but come on, it’s freaking Hollywood!
⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆
• 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 •
✰ 3 ✰ Average read. The story/characters were nice, but I’ll most likely forget about it in a month.
━━━━━━━━━━☽✰☾━━━━━━━━━━