Silent Night

Since I had been super busy lately I decided to read something fluffy and simple. Silent Night was fun and fast.

Silent Night was divided among many characters and it just took place over a few hours on Christmas Eve so character building was not really the focus of the story nor building up a main character. The writing was fast paced with little filler. Despite not getting a lot of time with any one character I did feel like I got to know most of the characters in the book and I ended up caring about what happened to Brian.

Bruja

At first I was reluctant to read Bruja since Tessa was not the main character. I am thankful I gave Bruja a try.

From the previous books Claudia has been mentioned before but never really had much about who she is revealed and I figured she would be a like Tessa. I was wrong, having been sheltered in the coven all her life Claudia has a thirst for knowledge and freedom. With her twin brother on the verge of death Claudia leaves her comfort zone quickly and heads to Peru to get help for Daniel. Lacking knowledge and social skills due to a sheltered life Claudia is constantly doubting herself but continues to try as hard as she can. I adore that about her and was cheering for her throughout all of Bruja. 

I really enjoy Aileen Erin's writing style and usually read books by Aileen Erin in one sitting, Bruja was not exception. I look forward to reading Alpha Unleashed.

Dumplin'

Dumplin' was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

Willowdeen is one spunky girl full of fun. Loving life and who she is Will is comfortable in her own skin she cares what no one thinks or says about her as she lives her life. Well that is what Will would like people to think, despite portraying oodles of confidence Will struggles at times with how she looks. I loved that about Will, she had ups, downs, angry moments, ugly moments, pretty moments, and took them all in stride.

The whole time I was reading Dumplin' it felt like it could be something I actually witnessed in a high school. The writing was amazing, the characters unique and well developed. While I liked the ending I wish that it had focused a bit more on Will and her mother's relationship. I hope to read more of Julie Murphy's work one day.

Friday 56: Dumplin'

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most Friday 56 post.

Dumplin' page 56:

I can't hide my horrified expression. "Wait. What? I'm sorry but did you compare kissing me to calling your teacher Mom?"

Alpha Divided

Alpha Divided continues Tessa's story as she adjusts to being a powerful werewolf and a Bruja.

Tessa continues to grow as she learns about harnessing all three sides of who she is, human, wolf, and witch. Sadly for Tessa life can never be simple and when the local coven declares war on Tessa's pack she has no choice but to go with the coven to learn their ways. Hating being away from Dastien Tessa struggles to learn magic and control her inner wolf. Despite Tessa's struggles not everything is bad, having been confined to the coven land Tessa is finally able to get to know her cousins. Learning the ways of the coven Tessa struggles to find a way to keep everyone she loves safe and stop the coven from going to war.

Since Tessa was moving around a lot during Alpha Divided Dastien did not show up much. Claudia, Tessa's cousin, was in the story and I loved seeing how the two girls started to form a friendship. The small hint of who Claudia is was a nice introduction for the next book in the series where Claudia becomes the main character.

Once again the writing was smooth and fun. I feel like I just sat down with the story and next thing I know I am turning the last page. I look forward to continuing to learn more about Tessa and the other fun characters in the Alpha Girl series.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

I checked out In the Shadow of Blackbirds on an impulse at the library. Even though I had a feeling parts would scare me I wanted to give it a try.

Mary Shelley was a wonderfully refreshing character, I loved her quirks and unique way of looking at the world. With her whole world turned upside down upon the arrest of her father Mary Shelly head to live with her Aunt where she is soon haunted by the death of her first love. Determined to help Stephen Marry Shelley embarks upon a mission to see his spirit put to rest.

The writing was lovely, stunning, well done, and haunting in parts. I loved it and wanted more. My biggest complaint is that it felt unfinished at the end, I wanted to know more about Mary Shelly's father badly but that was left open ended. The same goes for Mary Shelley herself, I would have liked to know a bit more of how she finally settled her life.

Library of Souls

I totally wanted to love Library of Souls but at times I had to force myself to keep reading. I think that was due to not having done a refresher read of the first two books before starting Library of Souls.

Jacob continues to learn about the world of Peculiar people and the darkness that resides in it. Struggling to deal with the chaos around him while learning to control and embrace his peculiar powers Jacob does his best to work at saving his friends. A few times I had a hard time believing that Jacob was just a sixteen year old boy who learned he was Peculiar a short time ago, he took everything in stride and nothing seemed to cause Jacob to take a moment to process things. While matters did seem to hit Jacob harder towards the end of Library of Souls I still did not find it overly believable.

While none of Library of Souls is told from Emma's point of view I still felt like I got to know her as a strong main character. Emma's relationship with Jacob seemed a bit out of place though and almost an afterthought. The romance was not a focal point by far and I was not overly fond of the romantic relationship.

My favorite character by far was Sharon the mysterious boatman. I wanted to know about Sharon, his kind, and the abilities they possessed.

I did not notice grammar mistakes and the writing was smooth yet at times the story seemed to drag. While Library of Souls is a hefty book I felt like it contained a lot of pointless filler and the actual story was only a small portion.