Bout of Books 10.0 | Day 3

Currently Reading: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut [BUY]

Books Completed: 

1. The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson [BUY] [REVIEW]
2. Skin Rules by Debra Jaliman, M.D. [BUY]

Pages Read Today: 313

Pages Read Total: 641

My Thoughts on Today: Today was a great day! I finished The Devil in the Marshalsea at around 1:00am, then got some sleep. I decided to read Skin Rules next, as it's a quick, nonfiction book discussing skincare. It only took me about 2 hours total to read that book, and I was able to move on to book number three – Slaughterhouse-Five! My eyelids are drooping now, so it's definitely time to turn in.

Goals for Tomorrow: I do have a busy day tomorrow, but since Slaughterhouse–Five is only 215 pages I think I can finish it. Then, if I have time, I'll move onto my final book on my Bout of Books TBR!  

Book Review | The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

I am so excited to share my latest read with all of you! I won an advance copy of The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hogson on Goodreads, and made it my first priority during the Bout of Books 10.0 Readathon that is happening right now (check out my Day 1 and Day 2 posts for more information). I read all 380 pages within two days, and I am pleased to report it earned a full 5/5 star rating!

The Devil in the Marshalsea is a historical fiction book that takes place in 1727. The story is told through our main character's perspective. His name is Tom Hawkins, and he's a 25-year-old gentleman who studied to be a reverend, but was led astray due to his love for women, drinking, and gambling. The book opens with Tom scrounging together enough money to pay his landlord the debts he owes, but before Tom can pay his debts, he is robbed of every penny. The next day he is thrown into debtors gaol (pronounced "jail"), and the real excitement begins!

Gaol in 18th century England is truly hell. In order to avoid the dreaded Common Side, where prisoners are packed in tight quarters and dying of gaol fever, one must pay room and board to live on the Master's Side – a difficult task to accomplish when one is thrown into gaol for owing money in the first place. Tom meets an interesting fellow named Samuel Fleet, who pays his rent. But Fleet is not a favorite in the Marshalsea, the gaol where Tom now stays. In fact, Fleet's last roommate was brutally murdered and it soon becomes Tom's job to find out who did the deed, or he will be unable to escape the Marshalsea.

The Devil in the Marshalsea is thus a murder mystery story filled with twists and turns. Hodgson does an amazing job of building complex characters, and also educating the reader about life in a debtors gaol in the 1700s. I was amazed to find out that many of the characters in this book are based off of real life personalities, and I am now interested to learn more about this culture that I never knew existed. But aside from the fascinating history, the story of The Devil in the Marshalsea is just pure awesome. If you're a fan of Clue, you will love this book. The ending was shocking, and every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I was quite surprised. According to Goodreads, this is the first book in the new Tom Hawkins series, and I just need to find out what happens next!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Devil in the Marshalsea, and highly recommend it. It was definitely my favorite read of 2014 thus far. It comes out on June 10, so be sure to preorder your copy on Amazon HERE. You don't want to miss out on this thrill ride!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I talk about easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Bout of Books 10.0 | Day 2

Currently Reading: The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson [BUY]

Books Completed: None yet! 

Pages Read Today: 174

Pages Read Total: 328

My Thoughts on Today: While I didn't get to finish The Devil in the Marshalsea today, I'm still very happy with my progress. I had a very productive day filled with laundry, housework, and even a book event (more details to come on that), so to read even more today than I did yesterday is great! 

Goals for Tomorrow: I plan on staying up late to finish The Devil in the Marshalsea tonight because I have around 50 pages left and I just need to find out what happens! Then tomorrow I'll reach for the next book on my TBR, and perhaps finish it (since it's a short one!).

Please feel free to share how your Bout of Books is going in the comments! 

Bout of Books 10.0 | Day 1

Happy Monday! This week I'm taking part in Bout of Books 10.0, a week-long readathon where a bunch of readers throughout the world make reading a priority and share their thoughts on bookish things across social media. You can find out all the details on the official Bout of Books website.

What I really like about this readathon is that it's very laid back. There are no challenges and no specific goals. All one has to do to participate is read more than she usually does in a week. As I've just wrapped on my second year of law school, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to jump back into reading before my summer internships get underway. I'll be posting little updates for you at the end of each day to share my progress, but feel free to follow me on Twitter and Goodreads for even more updates.

Day 1

Currently Reading: The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson [BUY]

Books Completed: None yet! 

Pages Read Today: 154

Pages Read Total: 154

My Thoughts on Today: I'm overall happy with my start to Bout of Books! While I definitely spent time doing other things when I could have been reading, I definitely read more than I usually do in one day! I'm really enjoying The Devil in the Marshalsea as well. It's creepy, and Hodgson's writing makes me feel like I'm watching the story unfold in movie form. Very cool!

Goals for Tomorrow: I would love to finish The Devil in the Marshalsea tomorrow and possibly move on to my next book. Stay tuned to find out what that book will be! 

Book Review | Time of Attack by Marc Cameron

Have you ever felt really accomplished upon finishing a book? That's how I feel about Time of Attack by Marc Cameron! I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway back in January, and began reading it on March 30th. Well, it took me just over a month, but I finally finished it, and I can't wait to share my thoughts on the story with all of you.

Time of Attack is a part of the Jericho Quinn series by Cameron, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. This book has two parallel story lines, the first centering on Special Agent Quinn. While attending a friend's wedding, his ex-wife is shot by a sniper who was aiming for his young daughter. Quinn then goes on a hunt to track down the mysterious woman who left his ex-wife without a leg. Along the way he encounters many interesting characters, and ends up traveling to Japan in an effort to find the shooter.

While Quinn finds himself in all sorts of crazy situations, readers are also following another storyline. A manmade disease is suddenly being given to American soldiers before they return home from Afghanistan. Soon dozens are infected, and doctors have no idea how to stop the illness from spreading, nor do they know how to cure it.

As you can imagine, these two plots are action-packed. A good way to describe Time of Attack is a James Bond book filled with extra adventure and mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though I did find it a bit slow going for me despite all the fast-paced scenes. The main reason I didn't like this reading experience was because of the book itself. It is very narrow and tall, but very wide. It was uncomfortable to hold the book. While this did not detract from the actual story at all, it definitely made me want to put it down more often that I would have in a better binding.

I'm also not a huge fan of violence, so be aware that if you read this book you'll be dealing with more mature themes. This genre is not my usual cup of tea, so it was great to escape from my norm and pick up something new, but I wouldn't want to read this type of book all the time.

My favorite aspect of Time of Attack was the character development. There are a lot of different characters in this book, but I didn't lose track of them due to Cameron's crafty writing. He does a great job at describing the characters just enough so you remember who they are, and builds strong background stories for those in the spotlight.

Overall, Time of Attack is a great read if you're looking for an action-packed thrill ride. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, but would recommend the eBook version on Amazon HERE unless you don't mind a bulky book. I don't think I'll be rereading this one, but I will keep an eye out for more Jericho Quinn novels in the future, especially since this one had a bit of a cliffhanger ending! If you've read any of Marc Cameron's books, let me know what you thought in the comments!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Book Review | The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I'm late to the John Green party, but at last I've arrived. I've been wanting to read The Fault in Our Stars for several months now, and knew I had to pick it up before the movie came out this June. I'm drastically afraid of being spoiled (for any book, TV show, or movie), and I knew the TFIOS ending was in my near future whether I read the book or not. Well, I zoomed through TFIOS as soon as it arrived to my mailbox, and it was a roller coaster that only goes up.

Okay, that's not entirely true, this book was a roller coaster of emotions for me (but snaps for you if you caught that reference). I laughed, I cried, I had all the cliché emotions. Why? Because TFIOS is the story of Hazel, a sixteen-year-old girl with cancer. The book opens with Hazel at her support group, where we meet Augustus – the love interest. TFIOS is told through Hazel's point of view, as she and Augustus join forces to create a new kind of dream team.

I don't want to say much else about the plot, as the book is a short 313 pages, and I think it's best discovered on your own. In fact, I found TFIOS an intellectually troubling read. Green left hints, or so I thought. Every time I thought I had the ending figured out, things changed. I liked that; it kept things interesting. And at one point I exclaimed "Oh my God!" out loud while reading. I was never disappointed, and loved the twists and turns even though I needed to keep the tissue box within reach.

As for the characters, I loved them all. It's quite rare that I genuinely think all of the characters in a story are great. Here, they just were. My favorite was Peter Van Houton, even though I know that's probably an unpopular opinion.

There is so much I could say about TFIOS, but I'll stop by emphasizing the magic in John Green's writing. This book is going to be one that I reread sometime soon, as I want to relive the metaphorical goodness. I highly recommend TFIOS, and gave it a 4.5/5 stars on Goodreads, docked for a couple things that bothered me in the first two chapters. There is no reason not to read TFIOS. Grab your copy on Amazon HERE, and please share your thoughts on the book with me in the comments, as I'm sure many of you have read it already.

I use Amazon affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Snapshot Sunday | Spring in Bloom at City Hall

It's finally spring here in New York City! This week we had lots of rain, but also some sunshine. When I saw these gorgeous tulips outside of City Hall, I had to capture them. It's funny – you can see all of the soil surrounding the flowers as if they are out of place in the middle of a bustling city. Well, they are, but they're cheery and beautiful nonetheless. And yes, I did use an Instagram filter on this snapshot to really make those colors pop!