My Book Clubs' Book Pick of the Month for April and May

Hello-Hello! Today is another day to watch BONES. Although... Before that, let's talk about BOOKS.

Last month, I was negligent and I did not post the books picked by my book clubs. Now I am going to do two posts in one. Consider this as... I do not want to call it a recommendation... It's more of an introduction to the books. As in, I present these books to you and then it is up to you!

 

April

Booksplosion

 

This book is about a sci-fi fan-girl, Elle Wittimer, who is excited because she finally has a chance to go to her TV show / movie (no specifics in the synopsis) Starfield ExcelsiCon (something similar to ComicCon, I assume) convention. Darien Freeman, a geek himself, is the actor who is going to play the main character in the Starfield reboot. Bad news... the fandom does not like him. Elle and Darien meet at the convention and... Well, the rest of the book happens. :D Geekerella - Goodreads

 

Perustopia

 

For this one, think about the Kardashians' TV show but with expensive car brand names. The name of the main character is Bentley. She wants a normal life but her family (most of it) does not and the potential cancellation of their show is not a good thing. Her sister plans a fake wedding to save the show; however, a very serious car accident makes things very serious. Also, the story is told in a "tongue-in-cheek voice that takes a swipe at all things Hollywood, Royce Rolls is a laugh-out-loud funny romp with an LA noir twist about what it means to grow up with the cameras rolling and what really happens behind the scenes." Royce Rolls - Goodreads 

 

May

Booksplosion

 

Alice and Teddy are no strangers to misfortune, especially when it comes to people from their lives. Alice does not believe in luck but she believe in love and she has her eyes set on Teddy. On his birthday, Alice buys Teddy a lottery ticket and, surprisingly, it's a winner one. At first the money seem like a blessing but then, little by little, they become a curse reaping Teddy and Alice apart. As they try to reconnect with each other, Alice rediscover herself in way she did not expect. Windfall - Goodreads 

 

Perustopia

 

This is the second book in the series so... SPOILERS Ahead. (I will try not to spoiler too much.)

The God Apollo is turned into a human by Zeus as a punishment for the things which happed in the Heroes of Olympus series. His only solution to become god again is to find out what happened with the Oracles. Now he has to leave the safety of Camp Half-Blood and travel across North America for answers with "heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series." The Dark Prophecy - Goodreads  

 

And if you want to know more about my book clubs' creators, feel free to check them up on YouTube.

Booksplosion:

Christine from polandbananasBooks
Jesse from jessethereader
Kat from Katytastic

Perustopia:

Sasha from  abookutopia 

 Regan from PeruseProject 

Also if you are interested to find more books, you can check out the March book picks here.
 

 

A Twist in Time by Julie McElwain or the second Kendra Donovan book where twists are happening

This post may contain SPOILERS!

You have been warned!

Pub. Date: April 4, 2017

Book Synopsis

Former FBI agent Kendra Donovan’s attempts to return to the twenty-first century have failed, leaving her stuck at Aldridge Castle in 1815. And her problems have just begun: in London, the Duke of Aldridge’s nephew Alec—Kendra’s confidante and lover—has come under suspicion for murdering his former mistress, Lady Dover, who was found viciously stabbed with a stiletto, her face carved up in a bizarre and brutal way.
Lady Dover had plenty of secrets, and her past wasn’t quite what she’d made it out to be. Nor is it entirely in the past—which becomes frighteningly clear when a crime lord emerges from London’s seamy underbelly to threaten Alec. Joining forces with Bow Street Runner Sam Kelly, Kendra must navigate the treacherous nineteenth century while she picks through the strands of Lady Dover’s life.
As the noose tightens around Alec’s neck, Kendra will do anything to save him, including following every twist and turn through London’s glittering ballrooms, where deception is the norm—and any attempt to uncover the truth will get someone killed. A Twist in Time

 

 

 

 My Opinion

4/5 stars.

The second instalment of Kendra Donovan book is going to hit the stores soon. I will try to keep my review as spoiler free as possible. Although, while reading this review, keep in mind that this is the second book in a series thus spoilers are inevitable.

A Twist in Time jumps directly into the action. No more story building and no more major character introduction. Murder. Action. Story begins.
Compared to the first book, this one has a better start. The reader is hooked right away.
The themes past meets future and future woman living in the past continue to be explored by the author.

In this book, there are lots of badass scenes with Kendra. Let me tell you, this woman has guts! No joke! Although, it is very interesting how society perceives them. Yeah, in the society's mind Kendra is only for décor. Sad! I know. Also, throughout the story we read how society's believes influences the individual's believes about itself. But, there is more to the eye. People from high class care more about pretense than their wellbeing.
On the other hand, let's not forget that the nobles are only the minority. So, we get a glimpse to the real ordinary people where the societal standers are not as respected as the minority (the nobles and their close servants) group thinks. "Normal" or "ordinary" humans - whatever you want to call them - care about their everyday life and not some stupid norms.

The battle against women stereotype and women who believe that stereotype is so prominent here. If you are too unique you are an oddity or a freak. Men are portrayed like they want to stay out of womanly conflicts. The author touches the subject indirectly about how men have to be manly and women have to be feminine in the 1800's. Equal but divided. I saw that in the duke when Kendra was having a conflict with the duke's sister. And if you remember from the first book, the duke is the most open minded character in this series. Alec, on the other hand, is a different story. Kendra has a strong influence on him and he gets a modern perspective of life. At some point, he is quite mesmerized about how his mindset has changed because of Kendra.
Kendra is still having a inner struggle if she should return to the future/present time or not. The past continues to terrify her but this time is more about society norms and its way of thinking than the physical benefits of the 21st c. Although there are lost of differences between the 19th c. and 21st c. -obviously, the author does not fail to briefly touch the subject that the past is not, in some ways, different than the present. And believe it or not, I appreciated that aspect because she is right.

The murder in this second book is emotional and intriguing. Our murder victim is a bad person and the controversial question, "Does a bad person deserves justice also?" is toughly explored.
The murderer happens to be in plain sight and it can be anyone even your closest friend. I was not able to figuring out the murder in this one because I was reading during a sleep deprivation period. Hahaha. Probably, I needed a cup of [black] tea. ;)

I consider this book to be a light murder mystery book great for newbies of this genre.

 

This is my sole opinion. ^_^

 

Feel free to check out my review on the first book, A Murder in Time, <--here.

 

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Time Travel
Language: moderate to heavy-ish
Sexual content: moderate to heavy (most of it ties with the murders)
Violence: heavy (it's a murder mystery)
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate