The Quiet Concert: October 2015

Showing posts with label October 2015. Show all posts

October 2015 Recap

Nicole Read

Ashley Read

October Favorites

Nicole's Pick

Ashley's Pick

October Reviews

What's New With Nicole

October was a great month for me. It was my first full month in my new apartment and I spent most of my time exploring Philly, meeting new people and just having fun. And my grandmother celebrated her 86th birthday this much which is pretty much the greatest blessing. This also happens to be my favorite time of year so I am relishing in the changing of the leaves and the cooler weather. I obviously didn't read as much as I usually do but for all good reasons and I've started reading more older releases that I've been meaning to read which has been going well so far. I also have been catching up on all the shows I've neglected over the past couple years - New Girl, Criminal Minds, Brooklyn Nine Nine, The 100 and more. So basically, life has been good. It's taken me away from blogging a bit but I definitely feel more balanced and happy so it is what it is! I can't wait to see what's in store for November.

What's New With Ashley

October was a very fall month! I admit, I love all fall things :) This month we went to a pumpkin patch and apple picking. We made delicious hot apple cider drinks and ran in a Halloween 5k. We also took a trip to Wisconsin and saw a Green Bay Packers game, Justin's favorite team! It was awesome being in such a packed stadium. I finished up my Halloween costume with just an hour to spare before Halloween night, it was a bit rough in parts but it worked and we pulled of Maid Marian and Robin Hood. I just finished my the first quarter of my grade school program so that is such a nice relief and to further enjoy my time off before next quarter, the family and I are off to Ireland!

Stacking The Shelves (148) - October 31

Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews - features books that you bought, borrowed, rented from the library, received for review, etc.

Upcoming Reads

Exposed (Captive #2)by Brighton Walsh
The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen
by Katherine Howe

What books are stacking your shelves??

Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Title: Beastly Bones
Author: William Ritter
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Release Date: September 22nd 2015
Source:ARC from BEA 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

“I’ve found very little about private detective R. F. Jackaby to be standard in the time I’ve known him. Working as his assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible relationship with reality.”

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer R. F. Jackaby are called upon to investigate the supernatural.

First, a vicious species of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens, and a day later, their owner is found murdered with a single mysterious puncture wound. Then in nearby Gad’s Valley, now home to the exiled New Fiddleham police detective Charlie Cane, dinosaur bones from a recent dig mysteriously go missing, and an unidentifiable beast starts attacking animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Charlie calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

Review

Fans of Jackaby will not be disappointed, Beastly Bones brings new adventures, eccentric characters, crazy phenomena, and witty conversation. Jackaby's wild and unfiltered personality shines through the whole book. His lack of social awareness and overall lack of politeness had me laughing out loud. His eccentric personality is perfectly complimented by Ms. Rook's over thinking but strong personality. The character dynamics are one of my favorite aspects of the story.

The mystery afoot is a magical and supernatural one as expected and had me surprised until the very end. The plot was full of action and adventure, never really slowing down in this quick read. There are a good number of characters introduced in this book, so make sure to pay attention, I did have to flip back a couple of times to ensure I had my characters straight. Charlie, a character from book 1, does make a great addition to the cast of characters and I hope to see more from him in the future. (Hopefully there is a book 3!) The reader even gets just a hint of romance!

Similar to Jackaby, Beastly Bones has a serious Sherlock feel to it but nonetheless is a fantastic read! It is a light-hearted fun mystery suitable for anyone wanting to laugh out loud while joining a detective and his assistance take on the unimaginable.

10 Perfect Reads for Halloween

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's Top Ten list is
"10 Perfect Reads for Halloween"

1. The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

2. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

3. Asylum by Madeleine Roux

4. Nightmares by Jason Segel & Kirsten Miller

5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

6. This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

7. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

8. Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke

9. The Diviners by Libba Bray

10. In the Shadows of Blackbirds by Cat Winter

What are your top ten?

Hello? by Liza M. Wiemer

Title: Hello?
Author: Liza M. Wiemer

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: November 10, 2015
Source: BEA

Summary from Goodreads:

One HELLO? can change a life. One HELLO? can save a life.

Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma's death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.

Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens' stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.

Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian).

Review

Hello? was a book that hit me hard. The first character we meet is Tricia and she's fallen apart over the death of her grandmother. To say this hit close to home would be a sever understatement. I've mentioned before on this blog that my grandmother is my world and I can't imagine my life without her. Seeing Tricia grieve her grandmother was like looking ahead into my future and it was a pretty devastating outlook. But as tough as it was for me to start this book, my feelings are a testament to how honest the writing is. I connected with Tricia immediately.

Although I didn't personally relate to the other characters on as deep of a level, they were similarly real and I could sympathize with their struggles. Each character was going through something different and I was invested in their well being. This book really tackles facing your fears and trying to moving forward the best you can. It was about being honest with yourself and others. These characters all had a hard time of it but ultimately displayed so much strength that it was inspiring.

But what I thought made this book really special was how all of these characters connected and how they helped each other move forward. I wouldn't say every character lived happily ever after but there was hope and a positive outlook for each of them. I especially loved how Tricia and Emerson were brought together. It was a little storybook and a lot perfect. Hello? really celebrated life's mysteries and miracles which I found beautiful. Like, I would like to think that my grandmother will always be looking out for me and I'll take comfort in the small signs, real or imagined.

I thought it was very creative that Brenda's chapters were written in screenplay format and Angie's chapters were written in free verse poetry. I don't know if I LOVED reading it this way but it definitely shook things up. This book was just so easy to read.

I think fans of contemporaries that have a bit of a darker focus but a lot of growth and healing will enjoy this one. There are so many diverse characters to relate to. I can definitely see myself revisiting Tricia's story to borrow some of her strength.

Stacking the Shelves (147) - Oct 24th

Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews - features books that you bought, borrowed, rented from the library, received for review, etc.

What I'm Reading

Compulsion (The Heirs of Watson Island #1) by Martina Boone
Persuasion (The Heirs of Watson Island #2) by Martina Boone

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke et al.

What books are stacking your shelves?

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Title: A Madness So Discreet
Author: Mindy McGinnis

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Summary from Goodreads:
Grace Mae knows madness.

She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

In this beautifully twisted historical thriller, Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, explores the fine line between sanity and insanity, good and evil—and the madness that exists in all of us.

Review

In my habit of not reading, or reading and forgetting, synopses, I didn't really know what I was getting into when I picked up A Madness So Discreet. I only knew that it was going to be good since Mindy McGinnis wrote it. And it was good, REALLY good. And so pleasantly unexpected.

Grace doesn't belong in an Asylum - she's there to keep her reputation in tact and hide a very dark family secret - but she prefers the harsh accommodations and mistreatment over returning home. So when a visiting doctor gives her an opportunity to escape her old life, she takes it, even if it means spending her days in silence at another Asylum and her nights mesmerizing crime scenes. I loved the profiling aspect of the murder investigation and how sharp Grace's character was. It was just yet one more thing to pull me into this story.

Grace went through a serious emotional journey over the course of this book, which is understandable considering what she's been through and where she was sent. She was pushed to the edge of her limits but was ultimately pulled back by those close to her, which I loved. And in the end she found her closure. Full disclosure, this book is dark and there were quite a few uncomfortable moments when we learn what happened to Grace and what threatened another character. But I'm not one to shy away from these kinds of stories and it always helps when justice is served in the end.

This book has such a wonderful cast of characters, both among the sane and the crazy, and I was interested in their well-being just as much as Grace's. I also really appreciated the mental illness focus because mental illness is something that is so easily misunderstood and often feared. And Asylum settings always add a certain creep factor to any story, and while the crazies and horrors were muted somewhat in this book, there were still a few scenes that gave me chills.

Really, this book has so much to offer a reader. It is very full and takes quite a few unexpected turns. The characters are wonderful and the suspense is at an all time high. I wouldn't expect anything less from Mindy McGinnis. A Madness So Discreet is definitely another hit.