Finding Fraser- A Review

Happy Friday, bibliophiles! I hope everyone is ready for a weekend of reading! My day started out quite snowy, but the office is quiet. I'm just counting down the hours until I can go curl up with another book. In the mean time, how about a review, eh?

Also, very quickly, I've been doing some thinking about this blog. It's kind of manifesting into its own creature, and I've been thinking about taking it into newer directions. Some ideas I thought of were more images and videos (book trailers and such via YouTube so you can get a visual), and also maybe some movie reviews for book-to-film adaptations? I figured they go hand-in-hand so why not go to that next level? I'd love some feedback if you'd be so kind! Anyway... I'm done rambling, so, review time (this time I promise)!!

Fans of Outlander and all things Jamie Fraser... BRACE YOURSELVES! Up today is a novel all you Sassenachs must have in your possession (if you haven't already done so). It's Finding Fraser by KC Dyer, and it is a-ma-ZING! Seriously, I've been fangirling over this book since the moment I knew of its existence and it absolutely did not disappoint! Considering how much I've been dying for a getaway myself lately, the story of Emma Sheridan and the journey she takes not only hit the spot, but also made me crave something new and exciting in my own life even more.

I can NOT say enough good things about this book. What a wonderful read! If you're a romantic, a reader, a dreamer, Outlander obsessed, writer, blogger, or an eternal wanderlust, or all of the above, this story is absolutely for you!

Emma is living the life I want to live (seriously, I crave her existence sooo badly). I'm not sure if I love her or hate her for just that reason. She's through with the mundane and routine that her life has become at the age of twenty-nine. She longs for a story of her own to tell, and a real-life book boyfriend by her side while she does it. Needless to say, she's not finding him in Chicago, so it was time to set out to greener pastures, and what better place than bonny Scotland!

She is indeed a brave girl. Faced with the unknown and traveling solo, she deals with and overcomes her fears and travels to a place she had only ever read about. In doing so, she finds a whole new life. A trip deemed crazy by those she knew back home wound up being her life-changing experience. She met interesting people along the way, learned about survival, became an un-official Scot, found a job, opened some doors across the globe, and searched for her Fraser.

This book just didn't go at all how I thought it would! I thought it would turn out like most romances do, and I wound up getting so much more than I bargained for and I'm thrilled! Considering I, myself, am stuck in the routine for now, it was fantastic to live vicariously through Emma and enjoy the history, culture, and people of Scotland all while remaining in the state of New Jersey.

Does she find her Fraser (as in the one and only Jamie Fraser)? You'll have to find out, but the most important thing to remember is that this book is about finding yourself first. Emma is my wannabe spirit animal and I can only hope that one day I find the courage she found to live my life to the fullest, do something crazy once in awhile, and just go with the flow. Until then, I'll just have to settle for pure envy!

My Final Rating: five out of five stars

 

Just as a PS- If you have not met James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser from the stunning Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, One, what are you waiting for?? Two (and lastly), this is what (or who, rather) you're missing:

 

 



 

 

 

The Professor- A Review

Happy Monday, bibliophiles! Long time, no review! Life has gotten slightly hectic and there just aren't enough hours in the day to binge read the way I want to lately. That being said, I'm sad it took me as long as it did to get through a book with 161 pages. However, it was an awesome read and I can't wait to tell you about it!

The Professor by Tshombe was recommended to me by one of my book friends on Instagram, and I can't thank them enough for doing so (thank you, thank you, thank you)! Based on the summary, I couldn't really tell what I was getting into, so I figured I'd just dive in slightly blind and find out as I went along. It did NOT disappoint in the slightest.

This book was an absolute treat from start to finish! I only regret that adulating and responsibilities got in the way so it took me longer than I would have liked to simply binge and find out what would happen next! Seriously, I need to re-evaluate my priorities.

The Professor is the perfect book for anyone who is a fan of psychology, sociology, philosophy, the unanswered questions of life and the human purpose, thrills, suspense, surprises, plot twists, etc. I could go on and on but I'm also not trying to give away too many spoilers here so you need to just stop what you're doing and go read this book.

Reading this reminded me of Shutter Island or A Beautiful Mind. The Professor is a brilliant man who enlists five carefully selected, gifted students for a course on the real humanity, what we think it is, and what it actually is for which we have zero awareness. What's real and what's being spoon-fed to us? Who are we as a species, who is in control, what constitutes as law? The book poses so many questions and no answers while you find yourself craving an explanation that you may or may not ever receive.

There's also the TRUTH. The Professor is a peculiar man. He is gifted beyond words with accomplishments and accolades that seem never-ending. He also has a wife he loves more than life itself, and a daughter he has never met. You must wonder why. The purpose of his class makes one wonder if it's designed to teach you something, or if he has selected you for more selfish purposes.

The journey he takes with his class becomes an absolute roller coaster and (pardon my language) total mind f*ck the deeper you delve into the novel. Beware and read at your own risk. Things are not at all what they seem and you need to decide what's real and what's an illusion.... but, class is in session.

Go meet the professor!!!         

My Final Rating: five out of five stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Life on the Road- A Review

Goooooooooood evening to all my bibliophiles out there! No, your eyes are not deceiving you, I'm posting for a second time today. Earlier, I posted a blog about this literary project I was asked to participate in, and it was really fun. Incase you missed it, you can check it out here! 

I'm not going to waste time rambling, and instead, I'll get right to my latest review. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I think it's safe to say that My Life on the Road by the one and only Gloria Steinem will be the most significant book of 2016. 

I wandered past this book a time or two in my local B&N, but it wasn't until I came across a headline on my Twitter account that I put it on my "must read" list. I'm sure every bookworm and Harry Potter fan out there knows Emma Watson has decided to start a book club. If you haven't joined it yet, you can do so here. With all of her work with UN Women, she has compiled a list of empowering novels meant for every woman to not only read, but embrace for her own future as well. I'm going to take it a step further and say that not only women should be joining this group and reading these selections. Men and women alike should pick up copies of the books as they are selected and educate themselves on issues that pertain not only to an entire gender, but also to humankind as a whole. The more you are informed, the more you can benefit from the learned material. I digress...

Gloria Steinem is a name I've heard in passing for years now, but I'm ashamed to say, I never paid close enough attention to the work she has been doing for the last several (and lengthy) decades. Reading her story absolutely blew me out of the water. 

Beware. She does tackle serious subject matter. Her experiences deal with so much more than women's liberation and gender equality. I learned more than I ever thought I could about travel and the issues surrounding politics, journalism, sexism, racism, big business, economics, and more. Her knowledge about little nuances when it came the the previously mentioned issues in not only America, but across the globe, left me astounded. 

Don't let the severity of the subject matter deter you from grabbing a copy of this book (if you haven't already). With such intense times upon us in 2016, this book is a must must must must MUST-read. Our words and our actions ripple and affect people we didn't even know we could possibly have reached in the first place. Not only will you gain insight to such social and political thoughts and ideas, but you'll learn tolerance and understanding for those unlike yourself. Gloria's thoughts make it nearly impossible to construct an argument as to why she isn't right in her experience and wisdom. She was a first-hand witness to so much, and also backed up events she witnessed with her own eyes with lengthy references (goodness, I'm a nerd for a footnote). 

I can't thank Gloria enough for touching on and sharing her years on the road for all of us. Because of her, not only do I want to travel more than I already do, but I also want to continue to learn as much as I can about such significant and profound issues in order to contribute to the progression of a successful society. The fact that events she discussed from forty years ago are still relatable today means we need to keep evolving, changing, and bettering our world instead of repeating history. 

Proper words to swoon over this book escape me. I hope these thoughts do it justice for now. If you choose only one book to read this year, let it be this one! 

My Final Rating: five of five stars

My Ultimate Dream Library

Greetings, fellow bibliophiles!

Well, the weekend is upon us (so close, yet so far!!), and I've decided to bring you a little blurb. This is NOT a review, I repeat, NOT a review! Today, I'm going to do something a little different, but don't worry, it'll be just as fun!

A little while back, I was contacted by a company called Invaluable. They're an auction house located in Boston and they deal with all sorts of arts and antiques, including, you guessed it... books! Not just books, but rare books, signed books, foreign language books, children's books, and just an endless list of books!! Anyway, they're hosting this fun literary project where bloggers discuss their ultimate dream libraries. In some stroke of luck, they reached out to me to see if I'd be interested in participating (obviously, it was a resounding yes on my part). Asking a bibliophile to compile a dream library is like asking a fashionista to build an ideal closet. It seems impossible and daunting! I'm giving it my best shot. I decided instead of overthinking it (which I was already in the process of doing), I'd just let my heart decide what novels I'd love to see on my shelves every day and here's what I came up with (I was originally going to do a top ten, but figured it would take too long, so I consolidated to a top five instead):

5) Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I love a good romance, and her books offer that and so much more! I've read books 1-8 and I'm thoroughly anticipating number 9 and however many more may come. Her writing is superb to say the least. Every sentence on every page is so well thought out and researched that reading her books not only transported me to another world, but left me completely speechless and impressed at how deep her investment in her characters and novels really ran. Luckily, when it comes to these stories, I not only get to enjoy the written word, but I get to watch Diana's ideas unfold on TV in the Starz series as well.

 

 

4) This is a tie because I simply couldn't choose between my two favorite Brit Lit stories. There's Beowulf by its unknown author, and The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. I've just had such a history studying these stories both in Old English and Modern English all throughout my high school and university years that I couldn't leave these little adventures off of my list.

 

 

 

3) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes mysteries. What can I say? Who doesn't need a little bit of excitement and twists-and-turns with their literary journeys? Mr. Holmes and Doctor Watson love to keep their audience sharp and on their toes!

 

 

2) The Essays and Poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I'm a total sucker for a good Transcendentalist, so why not go for the founding father of the movement? Reading some of his select essays in college removed me from the classroom and placed me in the middle of a peaceful forest where I could ponder the complexities of life.

 

 

1) Anyone who knows me knows my top choice comes as no shock. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has been my favorite tale since I was 15. I wrote my senior thesis on themes from the story and could honestly say I enjoyed every minute of the process. In all the reading I've done, both for mandatory and leisure purposes, I have yet to come across an author who can write something as magical as Fitzgerald was capable of when it came to the Golden Age and all that jazz. My dream is to possess a first edition of one of the most enchanting works of literature I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

 

 

Other than agonizing over which stories would make it into my top picks for the ultimate library, I had such fun coming up with this list for Invaluable! I really appreciate being given the opportunity to get creative over a topic I probably think about on a weekly basis! I hope to do it again sometime! Meanwhile, what do some of your hypothetical libraries look like?  

Beautiful Burn- A Review

Good evening to all my bibliophiles out there! Happy Sunday Funday! This weekend was a bit productive on my end, thank goodness! We got hit with a massive snow storm here on the east coast of the US, so thankfully, I was able to take an afternoon to myself to settle into a book without much interruption from real life. Unlike most, I enjoy the cold and snow so that I'm able to shut myself in for a bit and lose myself in a book universe and keep reality at bay if even for a little while. I'd assume my fellow bookworms could agree wholeheartedly. Who wouldn't adore a pile of blankets, a cup of coffee (or tea) and a stack of novels?

Anyway, my TBR list is stacking up. I seem to buy or download books faster than I can read them. I've found it extremely challenging lately to decide what I should read next. I seem to want to read everything at the same time, and since that's not possible, I wind up sitting in a funk. Yesterday, thankfully, I was able to delve into an ebook I've been waiting to read for awhile and I just couldn't wait anymore. Since the Gabriel Series by Sylvain Reynard is one of my favorites, I decided to look up more stories with a similar plot line (if you're interested in a student/teacher romance, give this list a go: popular student teacher romance books). Beautiful Burn by Adriane Leigh just had something I had to check out (I judged by it's cover.. don't hurt me).

I knew my instinct was right because I absolutely could NOT put this book down! It grabbed me right from the very beginning and I decided to put off everything I had planned for the day in order to see how it would all turn out.

Reed West is a high school English Teacher and Auburn Lawrence is his former student. They've always been lured towards one another, but their timing wasn't right, and it was too taboo. Three years later, Auburn is at university while Reed is still teaching (and married... well, separated). When Reed gets the opportunity to teach a Creative Writing course over the summer months, he and Auburn cross paths for the first time in a long time. This go-round, there is no denying or ignoring their feelings, and the results are explosive.

Not only did I adore the story and the characters, but the writing was gorgeous. I always enjoy my romance novels, but most are quick, succinct, and even have a pinch of humor, sarcasm, or darkness. While this novel did have its bleak points, the writing never wavers and reads like a poem or a song. The descriptions of people, places, and overall ambiance reminded me of a few treasured classics. Since Leigh made numerous references to Hemingway and Fitzgerald, I assumed that was the point of her words and what they wound up creating in modern day.

One thing I had noticed other reviews say was that the story was good for what it was, and I wasn't quite sure how to take that going into the material. Now that I've closed this book, I understand. It's not the typical romance with some drama and an eventual happy ending all tied up in a sweet, little bow. The path Reed and Auburn took together led to an ending I wasn't expecting, and wasn't fully okay with either. Yes, there is the drama and angst, but there's also a bombshell or two that just seemed to come out of nowhere.

Since I had read prior reviews, I knew to tread carefully when approaching this text. I just knew something big would happen in this story, but it wasn't the "something" I was expecting.

Reed and Auburn are pretty amazing. They have such chemistry and they keep crossing paths, but once they decide to become something, will their attraction and magnetic force that pulls them together keep them together in the long run? You'll have to find out for yourself. I really hope you enjoy a good rollercoaster! Keep the tissues nearby. That's my only warning.

My Final Rating: five out of five stars

Good Omens- A Review

Hey all! Ugh, I've done it again. Life has been semi-crazy so it has taken me a week to read a 369 page book. That's not normal in my world. I apologize for the delay in review! However, today is a pretty fun novel, so you should go pick up a copy if you don't already have it in your possession.

The book in question? Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I honestly forgot how I came across this read. It popped up on some feed of mine and I got caught up reading a summary. Next thing you know, I'm logging into goodreads and scanning several reviews. Needless to say, I picked up a copy from my local B&N, and the rest is history. I'm going to keep this short and sweet rather than ramble endlessly. This is a story I'd really like you to experience on your own without knowing too much about what lies ahead.

I'm a total sucker for a good footnote, so this book had me right at the first few pages. Take some aspects of Christianity, throw in a dice of dogma, sprinkle with some flaws of the human condition, and let a bit of witchcraft prophecy be the cherry on top, and you have Good Omens.

This tale read a bit like a Monty Python episode, and also a little like a Greek tragedy. The characters are witty and sarcastic, the plot borders on the absurd, yet the message is meaningful and powerful in the end (as it should be, right?).

The text jumped around a lot, so you had to pay attention to which characters you were dealing with for the moment (also, I suggest referring back to the cast list at the front of the book), but when it all comes to a head on Dooms Day, all the back-and-forth becomes worth it and absolutely pays off for all involved. As a silent observer to the madness, you have the benefit of getting numerous perspectives, so you're fortunate enough to take away more than one lesson from what you've read.

Even if this book doesn't initially seem quite your taste, it's worth it just for the last few paragraphs about a boy, his dog, an apple, and a hell of a lot of symbolism. Seriously, read this book!

My Final Rating: four out of five stars

 

First Touch (First and Last Book #1)- A Review

Hello out there to all of my bibliophiles! Long time, no see! I hope everyone had amazing holidays, and an even more festive and Happy New Year! To those of you who were doing the Reading Challenge from goodreads, did you meet your goals? How many of you are participating this year? Personally, I JUST finished my goal of a hundred books right under the wire, and then I decided to spend some time with my favorite professor, Gabriel Emerson from the Gabriel series by Sylvain Reynard. I somehow always have a rendezvous with him around the new year, and I never regret a moment of our time together! That is the reason I haven't updated in quite awhile! My profound apologies! It's time to get back into the swing of things!

I just finished my first new book for the new year (and number 1 in my goal of 200 books for 2016)! I celebrated my birthday just after the new year, so I took myself on a Barnes & Noble date. I used up $85 worth of gift cards, and spent another mini fortune on top of that as well. I got some good books in my latest haul, and I can't seem to get to them fast enough! I decided to start out with a new book from a new series of an author I adore, First Touch, part of the First and Last series by Laurelin Paige. As I've stated previously, I will be grouping series reads together when I can. In this case, it was a new release, and the rest of the books haven't been put on the shelves yet, so I had to make an exception.

For my first of 2016 that wasn't a re-read of an old favorite, I was slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Laurelin Paige and her steamy work, but there was something about this story I couldn't connect to all throughout the plot. Let's see if I can explain properly.

I know Emily is messed up in her sexual habits, and she's on a mission to get revenge on her friend, but I'm not entirely sure why. It's not clear if the missing friend (Amber) is dead or alive, plus said friends fell out of touch almost a decade before. It was quite foggy for me.

Also, there's Reeve. He has an empire of sorts, he's hotter than sin, he's mysterious, and he may be linked to a mafia murder. Emily knows these dangers, but if anything, it only draws her to him even more.

While these two had chemistry, there's just something I couldn't attach myself to when it came to them both as a couple, and as individuals. They had so many secrets, which kept them from connecting to each other properly, and in turn, kept me from clinging to them as an outside participant.

This story did have its twists and turns. I know this is the first in a new series, so I will stick with it because I know it has the potential to build into something great. I was intrigued by the storyline, so now I just have to hope I get some answers and more development so that I can really appreciate these characters the way I know they deserve.

My Final Rating: three out of five stars