Wish-list Wednesday hosted by Pen to Paper

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Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lavishly crammed with the songs, smells, and costumes of late Victorian England" (The Daily Telegraph), this delicious, steamy debut novel chronicles the adventures of Nan King, who begins life as an oyster girl in the provincial seaside town of Whitstable and whose fortunes are forever changed when she falls in love with a cross-dressing music-hall singer named Miss Kitty Butler.

When Kitty is called up to London for an engagement on "Grease Paint Avenue," Nan follows as her dresser and secret lover, and, soon after, dons trousers herself and joins the act. In time, Kitty breaks her heart, and Nan assumes the guise of butch roue to commence her own thrilling and varied sexual education - a sort of Moll Flanders in drag - finally finding friendship and true love in the most unexpected places.

Drawing comparison to the work of Jeanette Winterson, Sarah Waters' novel is a feast for the senses - an erotic, lushly detailed historical novel that bursts with life and dazzlingly casts the turn of the century in a different light.

Why It's On My Wishlist:

I suppose I read so much gay literature that I get a little tired of the normal nearly predictable story-lines, and the overly used characters that this one really stuck out to me. I have a circus fetish regardless, and Victorian London? I mean come one! This book was meant for me! 

A book club that I am part of, Vaginal Fantasy picked their monthly selections to celebrate DOMA being overturned, and I couldn't have been happier. However, since nearly every one purchased this book all of the cheaper paperbacks are sold out, and frankly I've already spent my book budget ($60.00) for the month.

I'm excited to see more and more LGBT stuff get published and promoted. I'm pumped to not only see it for adults, but as well young adults. I'm proud that things are changing, and frankly very pleased that more and more of these sorts of books pop up. 

Needless to say, I'm super excited to read this, just waiting for the price to head down a little on Amazon. 

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Summary

Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man has ever looked at her before. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young.

Most of the chosen do. (from Raecarson.com)

Review

(why this part is in all caps, I'll never figure out. But I'm too tired to keep trying to fix. Just imagine me screaming this. It makes it more fun.)

You know....the buzz about this book was something of a strong force from most of my friends, and I figured it wouldn't be long before I too would be reading it. Thankfully, my book club picked it up by the ever insistent Katie Brogan, librarian, friend, and drug dealer. (books goobs and find her on Twitter: @jusbeinkt, she's cool as dope.) Now, I have to say I've enjoyed this book club very much, as I'm forced to read things that I normally wouldn't and really enjoy giving my opinion about the entire ordeal. I'm also a member of the Vaginal Fantasy book club, which is an online book club, but there is something very enjoyable about real people and a more intimate group. (Plus the cocktails after are always wonderful!)

Now saying this, let's just dive right in.

I found myself having a hard time truly grasping the pages and diving in. I've been rather busy in my life, and for one reason or the other I didn't have that instant pull. I did enjoy the book, I will say this, and I can see why so many readers have truly enjoyed Elisa. She wasn't the 'perfect' little queen, frankly she wasn't little at all, but as an avid fan of Tersa Medeiros The Bride and the Beast this wasn't my first rodeo into a plus size princess. However, Teresa's plus size girl didn't "become skinny". Granted, Elisa worked her ass off to save her people, so I have to support that.

I felt that Elisa's food habits were borderline signs of an eating disorder, but that wasn't addressed. I think it should have been. But that is the fear of Young Adult, as you have to be careful not to trigger these sorts of behaviors in the young impressionable youths. However, I had to really respect Carson for this, it couldn't have been easy.

I can't relate to this book like I felt a lot of the people around me did, and I relate that to my own growing up story. (Teen Mom here, turned 40 at 18) My body transformed a lot, so this whole "YES I CAN EVEN THOUGH I'M FAT" just didn't flip that GIRL POWER switch in my head, but as the book went on the 'even though I'm fat' became a very much 'yes I can because I am ME'. I can dig it.

Let's Get Technical

Ok, so I've not kept this quiet how much I hate the word 'smear'. I feel it's one of those English words that should have died a long time ago, and again...perhaps it comes from being a mother. 

"Today Brenna smeared her own vomit all over the back of her already poop stained dress."

The stars were smeared, the sand smeared, the building was smeared with reds and golds, and I guess I was so excited to see this totally different beautiful world that Carson already built just illuminated. I felt like I was in The Kingdom of Heaven all over again, with a beautiful mix of the Roman Catholic and Muslim culture. But instead I was treated to vomiting mountains that sometimes expelled gold. 

My only other complaint was that there are a few people that I feel I should have been more attached to, and I wasn't. Humberto being one of them. I guess I had a hard time finding any common ground with him, or even just getting inside his mind. And all of a sudden she loves him? I found that really hard to follow. I know a lot of time passes, and I totally get that. However, I don't think that Rae Carson did very well with the passing of it, and I think the book would have benefited from just a little more detail on how much time truly passed. I mean shit fire, I've only lost five pounds in the last three months (granted I'm not carrying myself through the desert, but still). I guess I would have liked to have had a little more time getting to know him deep down enough to care that his throat gets cut. What? Book has been out for a while. I'm not a spoiler free zone for older books. However, when Ale-Ale-jandro's passing came...I went awwww, no lie, no tears, but there were feels, even if he did suck as a King. He redeemed himself a little there at the end, and there is always Hector!

To Sum It All Up...

Am I ripping my bookcase open to grab part 2? No, not yet. I have a few others that need to come first, but I am certainly excited to pick back up the world of Elisa and her Godstone. I enjoyed the book very much, and will recommend it to my friends. I'll be curious to see if part two has vomiting mountains, and smear stained skies; but most of all I'm excited to see what is next! 

<3

**Edit** I totally lied. I couldn't stop thinking about the other book and read it all in a single sitting. So much awesome happened. 

Review: Something Like Winter by Jay Bell

Something Like Winter by Jay Bell

Summary:

There are two sides to every story. When you’re Tim Wyman, sometimes there are three.

Tim hoped moving to Texas would mean a new beginning, a chance to spread his wings, but he soon finds himself falling into the same tired patterns. Until he meets recklessly brave Benjamin Bentley. Suddenly a whole new world opens up to Tim—love, sex, warmth… home. Certain that society won’t understand what he and Ben have together, Tim struggles to protect their relationship, even if it means twisting the truth. As his lies slowly push Ben away, Tim learns that the greatest enemy can come from within. Buried beneath a decade of deceptions, Tim must claw his way to the surface in the hopes of learning to fly.

Something Like Winter, the companion novel to Something Like Summer, tells the story from Tim Wyman’s perspective, revealing new private moments and personal journeys.

(More Info Found Here: Jay Bell Official Website

Review:

So after my whirlwind romance with the first book I eagerly picked up the second, and hoped very much that a few of the little strings missing would be found in this one. For the most part, it did just that. 

This book really opens your eyes about Tim, seeing his struggle from a standpoint is something that I myself could relate more to than with Ben. My parents (mostly my father) were very harsh in my own coming of age story, and I found myself wanting to reach through the pages of this book and just hold Tim--promising that it gets better. 

Eric beat me to it.

Eric, who you were so very skeptical of, even at the end of Something Like Summer, turns out to be a darn nice guy. I fell in love with his strong spirit right away, and cheered for him all the way to the end.  Eric, like many of the new characters in this book is very well rounded, very finely sculpted and you find yourself wanting to know THEIR backstories as well. *Hint hint Jay, hint hint*

I still found myself rather angry with Tim, especially for a few events during Ben and Jace's relationship, but you can at least see where he's coming from much better. And let's face it, Tim just happened to be brave enough to do what all of us have wanted to do when seeing our ex move on and happy. His was just a little less....violent than mine. 

I didn't find myself as pulled under with this one, but I also wasn't as such a vulnerable place in my life. Yet, I did very much enjoy it. It took me about two days to read, and I can say that I enjoyed it very much. 

It served well as a second book in the series, without being a "And they continued to live happily ever after." It just went back and revisited a few things in their end scene, which was my one complaint with the first book. I wanted to have just a *little* more of Ben and Tim's happily ever after, and this book gave just enough to make it seem boring.

Let's Get Technical:

Again, I found very little wrong with this edition. Nothing was misspelled or jumped out at me as being wrong. I especially appreciated the pacing of the story, and how it retold the same tale but without just flat out going back and changing EVERYTHING to Tim's POV. Jay again, did really well with the movement of time, something I have always struggled with reading and writing myself.

I really appreciate Jay's use of imagery, especially Eric's house in this. Last book it was the Woodlands, this one totally Eric's home. It's not too much, it's not too little, it's just about right. And I will continue to follow this author for a while.

To Sum It All Up:

In the beginning of Something Like Winter, the author left a few notes and in this note he said:

"Happy couples are boring, and I refuse to write boring stories."

~Jay Bell, Something Like Winter

I expected another tear jerker, but didn't cry through this one. I was moved, don't get me wrong, but there wasn't any coffee stained face of my ugly sobs. However, saying this I do not know if I would have been as moved with this book had I not read Something Like Summer, and I do recommend still reading that one first. (Duh right?) I would not recommend reading this one as a stand alone book at all, but that does not mean I don't recommend it. Just read them in order.

This story was a welcome addition to my library, and I'm very impressed with how well Jay retold the same story over again--that is not easily done. I enjoyed it. It gave me a bit of closer to a few unanswered feelings from the first one, and easily one of the best ways to do a sequel to a book like Something Like Summer.

Will I be picking up Something Like Autumn? Yes, eventually, right now I'd like to sit and just let this story sink in (plus I have three others that need read first), but vacation is coming up at the end of July. I'll be excited to pick up on Jace's story then I'm sure. Plus, I want to get better at reviewing new releases.


Thank you,
Lillian Brittany 

Tune In Tuesday: Imagine Dragons, Radioactive

Tune in Tuesday: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

There are so many things that I can say about this song, but more importantly (at least to me) how it's moved me. Now I've always been a closet fan of theirs, ever since they burst on the scene, but up until the past few months I've not been able to work on my novel as much as I'd like. However, this song opened all of that up. 

I heard it first while on my Florence and the Machine station at Starbucks one day on Pandora, and just sat there watching the rain poor outside through those large heavy windows and just got swept away. 

If you haven't had the chance to hear this cd, please check it out! 

The One Hundred (100) Page Rule

The One Hundred Page Rule

Never judge a book by it's cover, but by the first 100 pages

Long gone are the bookstore days for me, sadly, unless you are privately owned. I very rarely enter Books-A-Million after my heartbreaking loss of Borders Books and Music, only because it just simply isn't the same. Sure BAM is in the same spot as Borders, same set up, and well...has the same content inside; I just can't escape how many memories I have in that bookstore. I escaped to the cafe often, became a woman in the 'grown up' section, and ultimately--met my husband. (An employee at the time.) I mourn what once was, and frankly just can't let go.

Also BAM totally wouldn't honor their online price of a new release (8.00 savings), and out of pure spite I purchased the book at Kroger for Godsake. KROGER! But that makes me sound cheap doesn't it?

I like millions of america do most of my book buying at Amazon.com. A few birthdays ago I was given a Kindle because reading on my ipad late at night interrupted my sleep. Upon doing so, I finally gave into the whole e-books thing (after fighting it for so long) and man am I glad I did! I found a whole WORLD of independent books!

Like many of you, you question whether to trust the little paragraph description they say about THE MOST AMAZING BOOK IN ALL THE LAND, so I rely heavily on the reviews of others. I weigh in the stats of it all, "out of four hundred reviews so many are 5, the other are 4 and there is only one 1? Must be good, or at least worth the shot" But often out of curiosity I click that little one review and start there.

You see, I review books often. I'm very outspoken, and feel I voice what I can fairly. For me to give you, a hard working author--someone who has spent countless hours--blood--tears writing this book, one star...that is saying something. My husband refers to me as a very good movie critic because I'm so damn ADHD that if you can keep me entertained for 2 hours, it deserves an oscar. Plus, I'm a Gemini, I can find the good and bad in everything.

Books are the same way. If you can't grab my attention by the first 100 pages (rule sometimes ignored during book club books) then I'm sorry, It's probably not going to get a very good review. (and by good I mean fair and just, not just 5 stars) To me, I feel that the story should start happening by then, you can totally set up the world--character--plot enough to push me through the rest. With Daughter of Smoke and Bone it was somewhere around page 80, and I remember myself going:

"Ok get there faster, get there faster, you are losing me....Holy Shit, that just happened! OMG THIS AMAZING."

And the rest was history, book was finished, review was rounded (on good reads) and I even picked up the second one! So needless to say, I am curious as to what other people think, and sometimes I don't like what I find. Not because of the book bashing (everyone is entitled to their own opinion) and as the amazing Rae Carson told my friend on Twitter.

No book is universally loved.

So let's just dive right into this.

Captive Prince by S.U. Pacat

Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos, but when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Beautiful, manipulative and deadly, his new master Prince Laurent epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.

For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else . . .(see: Amazon.com for more information)

Captive Prince...oh Captive Prince, an amazing, epic, that I highly recommend. Especially if you are a fan of Game of Thrones, and just stories that build into this amazing story that kept you on your toes. It wasn't like anything I've ever read in the genre, it was different and unique. You hear the word 'Captive' and think this is just another BDSM novel, but it's not...it's amazing! You are thrown into this very delicate beautiful kingdom that has a very savage pastime like the Romans, but instead of men fighting each other...they well...they wrestle to who gets to be on top. ;) (Trust me, it's not exactly like it sounds, and totally works) However, in saying this I understand that maybe this wouldn't be what someone expected...or even gets upset that "hey...I wanted a story about sex, this is like Lord of the Rings type shit." I get it. I do. 

But...

Again, authors put so much work into their books (or at least they should) and marking that one little star is pretty much sealing the deal for those of us that really don't know what we are getting into. In this case, I of course wasn't turned away, but just overall appalled that my little buddy here didn't give it the 100 pages that every book at least deserves. Heck, he didn't give it 10 pages! Those one star reviews sometimes can be a life saver like, "Oh man this shit is fraud" or "The book sucked because the pages are missing". You had the chance to be a hero there! 'S' on your chest and everything, but instead you blew it away. Calling anything LGTB Yaoi or Slash also kills me on the inside, but whatever. We all started there.

I can't respect this review, therefore ignore it while making my selection, but if you are going to put down someone's work at *least* give them the courtesy of reading the first one hundred pages.

Make your opinion count, and don't be just something most of us roll our eyes at. I want to hear your thoughts, and understand your point of view. Maybe it will help me reach my own. Understand that sometimes authors (especially new ones) take that long to find their voice. The overuse of words falls away when the story picks up

I always tell my daughter, that an educated opinion is by far most important thing someone can have when debating or voting. Her great grandmother voted for Ronald Reagan because his favorite ice cream was her favorite too! ICE CREAM! Therefore she became a republican be default, and has voted the same ever since. When I questioned her why, as they were small business owners and what President Bush was leaning towards at the time was a huge tax raise for the middle man, she looked at me like I was insane and growing a big purple horn in the middle of my forehead. I had to remind myself that ICE CREAM was what started her theory on politics.

So let's relate that here. That one little star could have made me not purchase something therefore not support an author who in this day and age struggles to put food on the table by little 3 dollar books. In turn they may not write again, forced into the working grind, and I won't get my happy little release into one of their books.

Take care into what you say about something, make your opinion matter, and give someone who worked very hard on something at least the courtesy of 100 Pages. If you don't like it by then, well..you can at least say you tried, and I can respect that.

Also, for the record, President Obama worked at Baskin Robbins growing up and now can not stand ice cream. I still voted for him, and I happen to clearly like ice cream.

;)

~Momma Owl

For more information on the Captive Prince series please check out S.U. Pacat's live journal. Also you can totally read them there for free, but purchase the kindle version! It's worth it. I promise!!!!

Follow me on Twitter @StarryOwlEyes!

Review: Something Like Summer

Review: Something Like Summer

So remember that one time that I put all this work into this blog to post my book reviews and the like? Well let's just revive this a tad for this one. 

Synopsis: 

Love, like everything in the universe, cannot be destroyed. But over time it can change.

The hot Texas nights were lonely for Ben before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two words; Tim Wyman. By all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life, but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, Ben discovers that the truth is rarely so simple. If winning Tim’s heart was an impossible quest, keeping it would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion threaten to tear them apart.

Something Like Summer is a love story spanning a decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and sometimes even enemies.

Read more here:

Something Like Summer by Jay Bell

My Review:

Words can not express properly the love that I had for this book, but let me fill you in a little bit going on in my life. Struggling with infertility as I have been, and the realization that I have in fact officially grown up has hit me a tad harder than I ever expected. With my daughter's anxiety issues, a great deal of pressure from the opposing party, and clearly no longer her favorite parent it's been very hard for me to wrap my mind around anything. A Girl Scout leader, a softball mom who didn't miss a single game, and a part time photographer who also works full time as a paralegal, I don't have time to devote to over zealous books that read like a textbook. (i.e. Anne Bishop's Daughter of the Blood, which we read for Book Club and I hated) So when I read a book, I don't want to think, I want to be swept away.

Like watching TV, I want the images in my head to be nice clean and simple, and the story to flow so that it can keep me interested. I want to laugh, I want to cry, I want to feel good inside, and most of all I want the story to be something that stays with me. As books (for many reasons) are accomplishments that I keep trophies of on my shelf.

Something Like Summer is that book and more.

It was my birthday yesterday, one that I shared all my life with my mother's only sister who passed away 8 years ago from cancer. I often shut myself away, refusing to answer my phone or hang with friends. We always celebrated together, dinners with our small intimate family that I cherished as a child. With her gone, I honestly just want to be left alone.

So I started the book in the morning while my husband and fuzzy cat slept beside me, moved to the couch and eventually after hours I realized I would have to surface to feed. I grabbed my kindle, keys, and headed out to my favorite spot for lunch where I read for the next four hours. With my hair down, a summer dress, and a bright open blue sky I settled down to continue.

Hours later, I didn't care that people heard me laughing, as I giggled to myself through funny moments or watched me blush as the very well written inmate scenes made me wish I was in fact back in bed with fuzzy husband, but as I realized I had been hogging this table for well over half the day I figured it was time to make one more purchase just to cement my spot. 

A loyal shipper you see, I keep to the same couple, and though this one kept me on my toes. It took a man holding his cat in his sleep to help me ease into the idea of another. I'm a loyal creature, who can count her sexual partners on one hand, which for my generation and location is pretty unheard of. It was hard for me to let go of the idea of the build up of another pairing when I so helplessly wanted to cling to another. But you see, I too have a man who loves a cat, and that cat--Like Jace's cat, is perhaps the only thing we will ever have as a child together, or so the doctors say. 

So I fell in love again, and a few hours later while I was sobbing into my mug to help hide my embarrassment (I'm not a pretty crier) I'm glad that I did. To me, those tears that I shed for this book were cleansing in more ways than I could count; as they helped me let go of so many pent up emotions, and be carried away. 

It wasn't until finally dinner rolled around and my husband and best girlfriend met me downtown for dinner, I was made aware of the chocolate I had on my face (like my eight year old after ice cream). Ann made the comment that I seemed lifted, relaxed, and renewed. She was right, because I most certainly was. 

And I have a little friend named Benjamin Bentley to thank for it. 

Let's Get Technical: 

I picked up a book once by Jay Bell (who totally shares my last name) called Language Lessons and I remember not being that impressed. It felt rushed and dry, as often short stories do, but I'm going to have to go back and re-read it again just to make sure I even finished it to be fair. So let's skip this part and go right into Something Like Summer. 

Now I may not be the most educated person, but I certainly didn't see any misplaced commas or typos that jumped out at me. Nothing made me stop the book and go "Oh, note this for a review that totally didn't need to be there", everything flowed so perfectly. 

I really appreciated how he made time jump, by real quick little paragraphs about how things were moving along and what was happening. I also really really really appreciated how vivid the background of the story was. I'm not a huge Texas person, but this Woodlands place? I could dig it.  

I'm working through the second book in this series now, Something Like Winter, so I'll refrain writing the one thing I did have negative to say about the book as I think this will fix it, and just make my closing statement. 

To Sum It All Up:

On my kindle now I have part two going, and in the beginning Jay Bell writes a bit of a....warning to his readers in his Author's Notes, and I quote: Happy couples are boring, and I refuse to write boring stories. -Jay Bell, October 2012

Well Jay, you certainly held true to your word in Something Like Summer, I certainly wasn't bored, and for a Gemini born with a horrid ADHD problem and given the big ole 'learning disability' title, (who sat through Superman going OMG END PLEASE) this book held my attention from beginning to end. It was a pleasure to read, and a beautiful tale about growing up, falling in love, and realizing just how important the people around us truly are. It stayed with me through the day, and made my birthday an absolute pleasure for the first time in a few years.

I needed this book, more than words can truly express.

Thank you.

Also, Happy 150th Birthday West Virginia, we've shared that same date for a few years now (you more so than me). I am very happy to call you home, and my beloved Mountain Momma. Here is to 150 more! 

~The Appalachian Owl 

Look a post!

Remember when I was going to do this? Let's make it happen.


Infertility happened. And completely turned my world upside down. It's been a secret struggle between my husband and I, who have now been going strong on this whole thing for well over 16 months, and we have finally thrown in the towel. If it happens, it happens, but now I'm planning that it doesn't.


I've made up my mind that when Brenna is grown and gone that I'm going to either move way North, or way South and write. I want to publish something before I die, and I feel that I can. I'm half tempted to just pull my AU fanfiction down, take out a few things and go from there. It would work right? I mean look at 50 Shades of Gray?


Rambling now, but I'm going to make an attempt to stick with this. I'd like to throw my review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone up, because I have to say it's been one of my favorite books this year.


<3