Book Review | Honor Bound & Two Alone by Sandra Brown

I recently won a copy of Honor Bound & Two Alone, a bind-up of two Sandra Brown novels, on Goodreads. While romance novels are not my usual cup of tea, I decided to read this book and give it a try. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of either of these stories.

Honor Bound is the first book in the bind up, and revolves around a young woman named Aislinn who is kidnapped by an escaped convict who happens to be an American Indian. Though she is frightened, she is somewhat enamored with Lucas, the convict. Of course, a love story ensues from there.

The other story is Two Alone, which revolves around Rusty and Cooper, the two lone survivors of an airplane crash. They rely on each other to survive in the woods until they can be rescued, and (you guessed it) a romance begins between the two.

These books were both written in the late 1980s, and are definitely products of their time. I think the stories were very cliché, and featured women in helpless roles, with men powering over them at all times. Even without the romance scenes, I really disliked how the women in these novels are portrayed. It also bothered me how these stories both touched on very serious topics, but just glided over them to get to the love scenes. While a happy ending can be nice, they were just extremely cheesy in these books and didn't necessarily wrap up the stories properly.

Suffice it to say that I don't recommend this book unless you really enjoy romance novels. I ended up giving this bind-up a 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, because I understand that these books are definitely a product of the late 1980s, and thus may have been received differently during their original release.

Do you read romance novels? Let me know what you think of this genre in the comments!

Snapshot Sunday | Fourth of July in the East Village

As the Fourth of July weekend comes to a close, I thought I would share this simple and unedited photo of a huge American flag that was hung up in my neighborhood. I thought it looked beautiful! I hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. 

Book Review | Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

It isn't often that one can read a series out of order, but that's what I did with Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books. Back in high school, my friend lent me her copy of The Da Vinci Code. I read it, and mostly liked it, but was never compelled to pick up Angels and Demons. Flash forward a few years, and my college roommate reads The Lost Symbol during its release. She loves it, I buy it and read it. I loved it, too, but still no Angels and Demons. It wasn't until I spotted a copy of the book at my beloved Strand Bookstore for a mere $0.48 that I got my own copy.

Now that I've explained my history with the Robert Langdon series, I may as well tell you the premise if for some reason you're unaware of it. Langdon is a symbolist and a professor at Harvard. In Angels and Demons, the first book in the series, he is called in to help investigate the murder of a scientist/priest found branded with the symbol of the Illuminati. It turns out the murderer stole a highly explosive material called antimatter that the scientist and his daughter Vittoria created, and intends to blow up Vatican City to eliminate the Catholic Church. What results is a thrilling adventure, in which Langdon and Vittoria rush through Rome to help save the Vatican before all is lost.

The summary I give to you is a simple one, but this book is anything but. It's over 600 pages, and is an intricately-woven adventure. Despite seeing the film adaptation when it was first released, I remembered very little of the story, and thus highly enjoyed discovering all of the mysteries that lie within the pages. I raced through this book quite quickly given its size, and gave it a full five star rating on Goodreads. Dan Brown has received criticism for his work, but I think he's an amazing writer. Angles and Demons is very well done, and I recommend it to anyone who loves thriller novels. This is my favorite in the Robert Langdon series thus far, and I look forward to reading the fourth book in the series, Inferno, in the future.

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Book Review | Unwind by Neal Shusterman

I am so excited to tell you all about Unwind by Neal Shusterman. I've loved the dystopian genre since I read The Hunger Games trilogy back in 2012, so when I heard the concept behind this series, I knew I had to pick it up. I wasn't prepared for how amazing Unwind was going to be!

Unwind takes place in a future America where abortions are no longer legal. The pro-life and pro-choice armies compromised and created the Bill of Life, which says that at the age of thirteen, parents can choose to have their child unwound. If you are an unwind, you get sent to a harvest camp and 100% of your body is dismembered and used much like organ donation to help others. Thus, an unwind is never dead as all of his/her body lives on in others.

This disturbing yet fascinating plot is run by three main characters. Connor is your standard, every day teenager whose parents are getting rid of him. Risa is a ward of the state, given up at birth. Finally, Lev is a tithe, born for the sole purpose of being an Unwind. Readers follow these three teens as they run from their fate and try to survive until the age of eighteen, when they can no longer be unwound.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing is extremely captivating, and discusses issues that are at the forefront of American society today. Part of the reason this book was so amazing to me is because this is a dystopian society that is somewhat plausible. As someone who enjoys political philosophy, I appreciated Shusterman's confidence to write Unwind in an age where abortion is such a controversial topic. Plus, the story itself is like nothing I've ever read.

I highly recommend that you pick up Unwind especially if you enjoy young adult dystopians. I gave it a full 5 star rating on Goodreads, but would give it a 6 if I could! This is the first book in a series, with book four being released this fall. You can get Unwind on Amazon for around $5 HERE. I cannot wait to pick up the next book in the series!

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

Book Review | Edge of Civilization by Jennifer Ott

In April I reviewed Seredipidus by Jennifer Ott (see that review HERE), and the author reached out to me to see if I would review another one of her works. Edge of Civilization is the story of a Vietnam War veteran named Earl. For decades he has lived alone in an abandoned mine in the desert. One night he has a revelation that he needs to return to civilization. He's not sure where to go, or from where he originated, but the next day he leaves on a journey to find where he belongs.

Edge of Civilization goes back and forth between Earl's current journey and his past life in the war. We learn that he was a pilot and his plane went down, and what he had to go through to end up back home in America. Because of this ordeal, Earl seems to have a memory problem. At times, it's difficult to tell what is real and what is not. This adds an air of mystery to the story, and it compelled me to keep reading to find out how the story would end.

Without giving any spoilers, I'll say that the end of this book just fell flat for me. We follow Earl as he tries to remember his past, and I just did not like how his journey ended. It seemed a bit rushed, and wasn't what I expected taking the entire book into consideration. Because of that, I am rating Edge of Civilization a 3.5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. If you enjoy books about veterans or stories with an unreliable protagonist, I think you should give this one a try. The Kindle version is only $2.99 on Amazon HERE.

This book was provided for my unbiased review. 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 Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

I'm really loving young adult, contemporary books this summer, and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith is no exception. I picked up this book at a signing at Barnes & Noble Union Square, and when I sat down to read it I couldn't put it down.

The story begins with our main characters Lucy and Owen as they become trapped in their apartment building's elevator when the power goes out in New York City. They are rescued from the elevator, and spend the rest of the blackout together. While they both live in the same building, they come from very different worlds. Lucy's family is quite affluent, and Owen's is struggling. His mother recently passed away, and his father is the building's superintendent. Nonetheless, the two teens wait out the blackout by getting to know one another.

Once the power comes back on, Lucy and Owen go their separate ways – literally. Lucy moves to Europe when her father is transferred, and Owen and his father go on a road trip to the Western US to find a new job after Owen's dad is fired. The two attempt to stay in contact, but never get the chance to really build a friendship due to their geographical situations. The Geography of You and Me chronicles both Lucy and Owen's journeys as they spend time apart wishing they had they had gotten to know one another better when they had the chance.

I absolutely loved this book. It was beautifully written, and I especially loved Part III. I was glued to the story from the moment it began, and I really appreciated how real the characters are. Unlike many contemporaries, there is no "instalove" in this story, but real character development and relationship building. If you're looking for a great romance that isn't sickeningly sweet, The Geography of You and Me is a perfect choice.

I highly recommend this book, and will definitely be checking out more of Smith's works. Not only was the story great, but I appreciated the beautiful cover and the typography as well. Unsurprisingly, I gave  The Geography of You and Me a full five star rating on Goodreads. You can purchase the book on Amazon HERE. Please let me know in the comments what Jennifer E. Smith book I should pick up next!

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 First Husband by Laura Dave

I found a copy of The First Husband by Laura Dave at the Strand for $1.00 and couldn't help but pick it up based on the cover alone. It looked like a fun book, so I decided to take it with me on my recent trip to Los Angeles and read it on the plane. I'm very glad I did!

The First Husband begins with our main character Annie being dumped by her long-time boyfriend, Nick. Annie is heartbroken and lost, and finds herself at a local bar late one night. There she meets Griffin, a chef with whom she falls in love instantly. Annie and Griffin hit it off, and begin a relationship, but before Annie can find comfort in her new life, Nick comes back seeking forgiveness. The First Husband follows Annie as she travels across the country, and subsequently across the Atlantic, to decide where, and with whom, she belongs.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a light, adult contemporary that does have some serious scenes, but is otherwise a great beach read. Annie is a very relatable character, and it was easy for me as a reader to connect with her and share her emotions, whatever they may be. Similarly, I liked that readers get to know about Annie's career as a journalist in addition to just her love life. It really provides some depth to her character, and makes the book more believable.

At just under 250 pages, The First Husband is the perfect book for traveling, as it's a quick read and can fit perfectly in your beach bag. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, as I even though I really liked it, I don't think there's anything that special about it, and I don't plan to pick it up again. I definitely recommend The First Husband if you love contemporary novels and are looking for a summer read. You can purchase the book on Amazon HERE.

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.