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.
 

 

The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles - The book with two sides Contemporary and Fantasy

Book Synopsis

For the perfect love, what would you be willing to lose?
It’s been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who’s still reeling from her father's shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors’ mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods—only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.
X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe’s evil attacker and others like him. X is forbidden from revealing himself to anyone other than his prey, but he casts aside the Lowlands’ rules for Zoe. As they learn more about their colliding worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future. The Edge of Everything

 

My Opinion

3.75/5 starts.

This book stays at the edge of Contemporary and Fantasy (Paranormal). It was strange and a page turner. Jeff Giles succeeded to create something fresh and unique.

When the blurb came out about this book, a lot of people - including me - thought this was a contemporary novel. Wrong. Alright, half wrong. It is so much more than that.

You might want to read this book only for its beginning and end. There is so much tension and suspense that you want to grip something tightly. For a second, I got the impression I was reading a thriller/horror novel.

There are two worlds in this book-universe: our world and the Low Lands - kind of like a hell type of dimension. Our main characters are star crossed lovers from these two worlds, Zoe and X respectively. Their life stories are very interesting so I will let the book to tell you more about them.

The good romance loses same of its credibility due to the rushed start. It was like the author knew that they are going to be together and he was not quite sure how to deal with it so it happened quite fast. Don't get me wrong some moments felt real and genuine.

I feel like I am in minority because I preferred X's part of the story even though we still need to learn more about it. Zoe was a weird character and I mixed feelings about her. In one scene I was liking her and in the next I was despising her. She was not too considered and responsible at times. I grew more sympathetic towards her at the end of the book when things started to get resolved - somewhat.

I liked that the parent figure is not brushed off and be there just for show. That mother was involved. I am so glad. Lately, I see in a lot of YA books that the parent is portrayed as a villain or uncaring or dead or simply not there. And, my dear readers, I feel frustrated because it is not a good representation of how the parent-child relationship should be. In a lot of instances, I detected myself thinking, "That is not how my relationship with my parents is."  I am not saying that those instances are not real too... But as I got older, I realized these type of books can send a dangerous messages - directly or indirectly - to the younger audience. And it is not good. It took me a good junk of my life to realize that the adults in my life were also teenagers at some point.  (That is a lot of time of my life since I just reached adulthood. Adulthood such a weird word to say about myself when I do not feel like and adult at all.)

I was intrigued by the other bounty hunters (Banger and Ripper). I never thought I was going to feel sympathetic towards killers. I am telling you. This book is toying with your mind forcing you to see that things are not always black or white.

As a Minor Spoiler - How the heck did those dogs are still alive by the end of this book? Don't get it wrong, I am not complaining. It is just unbelievable among other things. - End Spoiler

Overall, this book was my cup of tea. Although, something was off and I cannot put my finger on it. I am looking forward to the next installment. I recommend this for its story arc which overshadows the annoying parts. In my opinion, it is something unique because it uses things we have read before but in an unexpected combination.

Give this book a try if you feel like it is something you would like to read.

This is my sole opinion. ^_^

 

Feel free to check out my post on The Edge of Everything - Booksplosion Book Pick and the book discussion, The Edge of Everything - Live Show, on polandbananasBOOKS YouTube channel.  

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: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Language: moderate
Sexual content: moderate
Violence: moderate to heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: mild

Book clubs book picks of the month for March - A mashup between Booksplosion and Perustopia

Hello-Hello! Happy Women's Day! I am writing this post from the windy Lake Eire area, USA.

The internet connection fluctuates more than the class curve after a killer o-chem exam.

Let's hope that I will be able to post this post today...

It is the month of March which means that it's time for another book picks.

So without further ado...

 

Booksplosion's Pick

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

(Goodreads link)

 

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal, Dystopia, Science Fiction

 

Perustopia's Pick

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

(Goodreads link)

 

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Happy reading!

And feel free to check out the creators' YouTube channels and previous book picks.

I will the links down below. 

 

Booksplosion:

Christine from polandbananasBooks
Jesse from jessethereader
Kat from Katytastic

January: Wayfarer

February:The Edge of Everything

Perustopia:

Sasha from  abookutopia 

 Regan from PeruseProject

January: Ever the Hunted

February: The Alchemist of Loom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Edge of Everything Booksplosion Book of February

By Jeff Giles

Hello-Hello! It's February! Thus, it is time for the book of the month.

Of course, you kind of figure out which book was chosen based on the title of this post.

Without further ado, I present you...

 

The Edge of Everything

By Jeff Giles 

 

 

 

It's been a shattering year for seventeen-year-old Zoe, who's still reeling from her father's shockingly sudden death in a caving accident and her neighbors' mysterious disappearance from their own home. Then on a terrifying sub-zero, blizzardy night in Montana, she and her brother are brutally attacked in a cabin in the woods--only to be rescued by a mysterious bounty hunter they call X.
X is no ordinary bounty hunter. He is from a hell called the Lowlands, sent to claim the soul of Zoe's evil attacker and others like him. Forbidden to reveal himself to anyone other than his victims, X casts aside the Lowlands' rules for Zoe. As X and Zoe learn more about their different worlds, they begin to question the past, their fate, and their future. But escaping the Lowlands and the ties that bind X might mean the ultimate sacrifice for both of them. The Edge of Everything  

 

If this book seems appealing to you join the club, if you are not already part of it.

 Or, just read it for your own pleasure.

This is the link to the Goodreads club page --->  Booksplosion 

(Ups! I forgot to put it last month.)

And, do not forget to check out the creators' YouTube channels:

Christine from polandbananasBooks
Jesse from jessethereader
Kat from Katytastic

The January's book of the month was Wayfarer, book two in the Passenger duology. 

Booksplosion Book Club - January's Book

Hello! The second book club I am in is called Booksplosion (hence the title of this post). Its creators are the well known book-YouToube-ers Christine (polandbananasBooks), Jesse (jessethereader), and Kat (Katytastic). Their channels are great because they have diverse content. Plus, they offer a lot of book related news.

The January book pick is Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken. It is the second and last instalment in the Passenger duology. I will leave a book description for book one, Passenger.  From what I know, this is a time travel story. If you are interested, please join the club or just read the books! :D Additionally, I will post pictures with the book covers for both of them.

Book synopsis

 

Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.
In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.