Geekerella

Geekerella is by Ashley Poston.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise

The Breakdown:
1. Poston's contemporary twist on the tale of Cinderella is adorably geeky.  I loved all the nods to different fandoms.  I like how Poston kept so many of the elements of the original tale but fitted them into a modern setting from the pumpkin carriage to the ballroom dance and loss of the shoe.

2. I really liked Elle.  She was a little awkward and a lot geeky, but these are things that most geeks, including myself, can totally relate to.  I like seeing her learn to be friends with Sage, and the joy of introducing her new friend to Starfield.  Plus her and Darien's text exchanges are so very cute.

3. I found the character of Darien interesting.  He is not the typical teen heart-throb, he is a little insecure at times, and can be very funny.  I love that he is a true fanboy for the part he is playing, and is worried if he can do justice to the original character.

4. Probably my favorite part of the whole book was Elle and Darien first in person meeting when they had not idea who they were to each other.  It was hilarious to see their reactions to each other.  Then there is my biggest complaint of the book, at the begining it is noted that the stepmother drives a Miata and was taking her twin teenage girls to the country club in it.  I just want to say that could never happen that is a two seater car and there is no way that three people who are grown can fit in it.  Otherwise, really enjoyed the whole book.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

The Last of August

The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro is the second book of her Charlotte Holmes series.

Watson and Holmes: A match made in disaster.

Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter-break reprieve after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But Charlotte isn’t the only Holmes with secrets, and the mood at her family’s Sussex estate is palpably tense. On top of everything else, Holmes and Watson could be becoming more than friends—but still, the darkness in Charlotte’s past is a wall between them.

A distraction arises soon enough, because Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring. The game is afoot once again, and Charlotte is single-minded in her pursuit.

Their first stop? Berlin. Their first contact? August Moriarty (formerly Charlotte’s obsession, currently believed by most to be dead), whose powerful family has been ripping off famous paintings for the last hundred years. But as they follow the gritty underground scene in Berlin to glittering art houses in Prague, Holmes and Watson begin to realize that this is a much more complicated case than a disappearance. Much more dangerous, too.

What they learn might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.

The Breakdown:
1. I fear that this book suffered from the dreaded sophomore slump.  It was really hard for me to get into, definitely was a struggle to reading it at times.  The story was not nearly as engaging as the first book, and Holmes and Watson relationship is strained for most of the book.

2. The strain between Holmes and Watson made the book so much harder for me to read.  There was none of the banter and ease of working together as in the previous book really. I get that Cavallaro is going to a romantic element between them, but Holmes experiences make it hard for her to be physical with a guy, but it just did not work for me. I really prefer them as best friends than a romantic couple.

3. Cavallaro did introduce the the infamous August Moriarty in this book.  Against my wishes, I kind of liked the guy.  I get that he does not want to be what his family is, and went to the point of faking his own death not the be them.  While he is not as personable as Jamie, he is a character I did enjoy.

4.  This book did make me really dislike Holmes parents. They are very cold and distant.  Plus, what they did at the end makes me truly despise them.  I really did not like this ending.  I do hope Cavallaro redeems the series in the next book.

To Read or Not to Read:
A begrudging read, just because hopefully the next book with make it better.

Audiobook: The Invasion of the Tearling

The Invasion of the Tearling is written by Erika Johansen and narrated by Davina Porter and is the second book of The Queen of the Tearling series.

Kelsea Glynn is the Queen of the Tearling. Despite her youth, she has quickly asserted herself as a fair, just and powerful ruler.

However, power is a double-edged sword, and small actions can have grave consequences. In trying to do what is right - stopping a vile trade in humankind - Kelsea has crossed the Red Queen, a ruthless monarch whose rule is bound with dark magic and the spilling of blood. The Red Queen's armies are poised to invade the Tearling, and it seems nothing can stop them.

Yet there was a time before the Crossing, and there Kelsea finds a strange and possibly dangerous ally, someone who might hold the key to the fate of the Tearling, and indeed to Kelsea's own soul. But time is running out..

The Breakdown:
1. This book deals with the consequences of Kelsea's decisions in the The Queen of the Tearling,  and with Kelsea struggling with her ruler and becoming a woman.   This book is not as fast paced and as much action as the first book, but it is important in the development of characters. The narrator did change for this book from the previous audiobook, and I did not find her as engaging as the other narrator, Katherine Kellgreen.

2. Kelsea goes through some serious changes both in appearance and in personality.  I am not sure I like some of what she is becoming.  She is more angry and vindictive in this book.  She seems less like the fair and justice queen that came into power in the first book.  She is still extremely clever, and does always place the welfare of her people above her own. I am excited to see what happens due to her decisions at the end of the book.

3. In this book, Kelsea is experiencing the life of a pre-crossing American woman. It is interesting and terrifying to see what lead to William Tear to lead his people to the better world. The world is terrifying in how easily I can see that become our reality with the state of things today.  Woman relegated to practically property of their husbands, the poor and different thrown away from society, and morality code laws in effect.

4. There are some fantastic things revealed in this book, and still so many questions to be answered.  I cannot wait for my Audible credit next month to finish this series and what happens to Kelsea and the people of the Tearling.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Daughter of the Pirate King

Daughter or the Pirate King is by debut author Tricia Levenseller and if the first book of the series of the same name.

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

The Breakdown:
1.  I really liked the concept of Levenseller's book, the idea of a female Jack Sparrow. There was plenty of exciting fights and mind games between Alosa and Riden. For me, the characters were a little flat, and the story was predictable.   The twist in the story were not shocking at all.

2. Alosa is a girl trying to win her father's love which is pretty apparent from the start. She is smart and cunning, but feels rather one dimensional most of the time. It feels like Levenseller does not really explore her character for the most part. I hope that she will develop her more in the next book.

3. I did however really enjoy Riden.  He was, by far, the best developed character of the book. He is an excellent match for Alosa in smarts and skills, but he is also conflicted over his role in her capture and life as a pirate, and is obviously attracted to her.  I feel that that with him, especially in the last 1/4 of the book that Alosa really started to have character development.

4. I will say overall that I liked the book, and I think the series has potential.  It is a fairly quick read that has plenty of adventure.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read

Traitor to the Throne

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton is the second book of the Rebel of the Sands series.

Rebel by chance. Traitor by choice.

Gunslinger Amani al'Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she’s fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne. 

When Amani finds herself thrust into the epicenter of the regime—the Sultan’s palace—she’s determined to bring the tyrant down. Desperate to uncover the Sultan’s secrets by spying on his court, she tries to forget that Jin disappeared just as she was getting closest to him, and that she’s a prisoner of the enemy. But the longer she remains, the more she questions whether the Sultan is really the villain she’s been told he is, and who’s the real traitor to her sun-bleached, magic-filled homeland.

Forget everything you thought you knew about Miraji, about the rebellion, about Djinn and Jin and the Blue-Eyed Bandit. In Traitor to the Throne, the only certainty is that everything will change.

The Breakdown:
1.  I loved Hamilton's sophomore book just as much if not more than Rebel of the Sands. She takes an interesting route in this book, allowing us to get up close and personal with the Sultan.  Plus she introduces some exciting new characters, along with bring back some that I did not expect to see.  Plus lots of palace intrigue and scheming to keep things really exciting.

2. I loved Amani's growth as a character in this book.  She struggles with the choices she made and what it may have cost her.  Then there is the questioning she has about the rebellion once meeting the Sultan.  She really becomes a leader in her own right in this book.

3. I loved the new characters of Sam and Rahim. Sam is an interesting character in both his motives and loyalties with quite the handy talent.  I cannot wait to see where Hamilton takes his character in the next book. Then there is Rahim, once of the Sultan's many sons.  He makes for an unique wrench in Amani's plans, plus I liked seeing aspect of both Ahmed and Jin in character. I am interested to see where he will fall into the story in the next book given what happened at the end.

4.  Speaking of  ending, that one was quite the shock.  It literally left me with my mouth hanging open, and dying to the next book.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

Meant to Be

Meant to Be is by Lauren Morrill.

This spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love. Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

The Breakdown:
1.  While I did think this book was charming, I did not like near as much of some of Morrill's other books, like Being Sloane Jacobs and My Unscripted Life.  I did, however, enjoy the setting of London so very much.   Having a book set in London has never disappointed me with the setting.  Although, it does make me a little sad because I am dying to visit London.

2.  I freely admit to the character of Julia annoying me for much of the book, and I will admit that it may be in part to feeling like I was too much like her in high school. She is kind of a know-it-all that many times does not look beyond the surface of other people.  She did grow on me more as the book progressed and she does seem to realize more of her own thoughts and unrealistic expectations of others.

3.  I found myself liking Jason despite Julia's unfair assessment of him at times.  I liked getting the little hints of his life beyond what Julia knows of him initially. He is funny, but also is hiding some pretty deep emotional stuff.

4. The best part of these book where when Julia and Jason were having their culture experience time.  I felt like that show cased them best as characters and was really where their relationship started to grow.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read