Tag: young adult

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

Spells for Forgetting

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By: Adrienne Young

File this book under the “books to read instead of sleeping” category. 

I started this and couldn’t put it down. This is a story of the island Saoirse and the tale of mystery and magic. It’s a story of one community willing to do anything, magical or otherwise, to keep its traditions and folklore alive. It’s a story of love and power and sacrifice. Of murder and mistakes and how sometimes, going back into the past can redefine your future. Most of all, it’s a story of secrets and lies. 

I love how this story is told from multiple perspectives. At first, I thought it would be too confusing to keep up with the story but it truly wasn’t. In fact, it was so well done that I found myself having an emotional attachment to each character – whether they deserved it or not. And I really liked how each person’s point of view was relevant to the story. Even the island has a point of view which I absolutely loved! I will always love when authors manage to give an inanimate object character and a life. 

This is one of the more atmospheric books I’ve read in a long time. I felt the chill in the air, heard the crunch of leaves, smelled the tart scent of burning wood and moved with every breath the island took. Even magic had a scent of its own and it wafted in between the pages of this book seamlessly, weaving together such enchantment that I would not put it down until I reached the very last page. 

If there’s anything that I didn’t like about this book, it was that it left me wanting to know more. I want to know what happens next. I want to know just how powerful the island is and if those that leave wind up returning permanently or not (trying to stay away from spoilers). 

Very nicely done and I cannot wait to read more from Adrienne Young. 

NOTE: Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

My rating: :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

Awakened

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By Ciara Duggan

After losing her parents in an accident only she survived, Hannah is desperate for answers. Haunted by the events of that tragic night, she struggles to move on, yearning for some deeper truth about her loss.

But when it comes time to turn a new page and move cross country for college, she vows to leave the past behind. After all, Bellcliff University is a thousand miles away from the ghosts nipping at her heels.

Yet when Hannah accidentally awakens a handsome witch from a hidden cave near campus, she realizes he isn’t the only thing stirring out of slumber. Hannah has roused all magic…including the devil herself.

As if spells, curses, and college jitters weren’t enough, this witch claims to know Hannah from four centuries prior—and their connection is more than casual.

Thrust into a world of sorcery and monsters, Hannah must fight to keep the magic she’d unleashed from claiming a price far too steep for her to pay. 

Thanks to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for this honest review. 

I’m not quite sure what I expected when I began to read this book. I think I was looking for a really great magical story. What I got was witches and vampires. Had I read this book back in the days of Twilight, Vampire Diaries and True Blood (Sookie!), I might be writing a different review. But it’s 2021 and I think fantasy stories have evolved beyond just witches and vampires which is why this book was a miss for me. 

On the plus side, I think this was a great effort by the author. The writing style and the pace of the book was nicely done. It wasn’t too long and the story didn’t really linger in one place for longer than necessary. 

On the minus side, I’m not a fan of reincarnation stories, or stories with vampires. I did enjoy the witches and the attempt to create a type of lore with the behind-the-real-world-world-building but overall, it felt a little deflated. The love interest didn’t interest me. It all felt…well…a little too young. 

That being said, I do hope to see more by this author. I may not have loved the story but I always will praise a good attempt. 

My rating – :star:

Posted in Bookish and Bingeable

Victoria Grace the Jerk Face

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

By S.E. Clancy

Ever since Tori Weston and MamaBear were abandoned by her dad, finances have been tighter than a new pair of skinny jeans. As if keeping her grades up for scholarships and working every spare moment weren’t enough, Tori gets suckered into visiting a retirement home and paired with ancient resident Marigold Williams. After learning she’s the only one to visit Marigold in decades, Tori becomes a regular at Willow Springs. Besides, someone has to help with her history homework.

Few books make it to my read-over-and-over-again shelf. This book now resides there. I will pick this up again and again just to feel all the warmth, all the love, all the kindness and all the laughter this story gives. 

First, as a single mom of two early twenty-something girls, I really loved the relationship between Mamabear and Tori. Mamabear is strong, protective, funny and an excellent role model working hard to give Tori as much as she can. I related with her a lot. She set the boundaries for Tori in those tough moments of decision and yet, within those boundaries, we get to see Tori grow and flourish. And their text message conversations were hilarious. It reminded me very much of conversations I’ve had with my girls, usually via text and usually when they were in the next room. 

Victoria Grace is the perfect “flail” girl. She’s awkward and funny and puts her foot in her mouth one too many times when confronted with a boy she likes. She’s learned the art of not needing scores of friends and is super faithful to the one friend she does have, Madison, even when Mads gets to be a bit too much for Tori.

She’s a great role model for young girls here. Hard working with the ability to sacrifice wants in order to get things she needs: a car, for example. She works hard for her grades and at her two jobs. Of course, Mamabear is a great example of doing that, having had to raise Tori alone after her dad took off. 

Tori signs up to volunteer to spend time with some elderly folks at a local nursing home – actually, Mamabear sorta lets her know that while she has a choice, she also doesn’t have a choice. And there, she meets Marigold. 

Marigold is a resident of the nursing home who’s led this wonderfully interesting and somewhat sad life. She’s worked in Hollywood for most of her life, was unlucky in love and, until Tori came along, thought to die alone with no family and no one to visit her. Tori’s unselfishness and tenacity is able to help with the latter but we’re left wondering about the former. What happened in her marriage and who was the starlet she was an assistant to? 

Tori enters the nursing home much like I would expect any teenager to; smelling weird smells and wishing she had an invisibility cloak as she walked the halls to get to Marigold’s room. Along the way, she meets Jasmine, another resident with dementia who tells Tori she’s beautiful and she reminds her of her own granddaughter. Every time Jasmine reached for Tori, my heart broke a little just thinking about how many real live Jasmines there are in the world, sitting alone in a nursing home not knowing who they are or why they’re there. 

I loved the way Marigold demanded the respect due her, instantly setting the tone for the relationship between her and Tori. Their relationship grows from that mutual respect and they take and give it to each other in droves. As their relationship evolved, it was interesting to watch Marigold interact with Tori, giving her pearls of wisdom and advice. She seems to steal a little bit of Tori’s youth, using it to energize her until the very end. Through Marigold, Tori gets a glimpse of life at the end and is able to size up what really matters in her life; her relationship with her mom and her boyfriend and showing kindness to those around her, even those she doesn’t know like the soldiers she writes to. 

Heartwarming story and wonderful characters aside, this book is a gentle call to action. Especially today, when folks seem meaner, more selfish and more polarized than ever, it’s a call to find that kindness inside of you. To step outside of your box and reach out to those you don’t know to help them. To take extra steps to quit under-estimating our young people and pay attention to our elderly, for they have so much wisdom yet still to give. To know family and friends are the most important things we can ever have. To learn to appreciate what we have in the here and now and know that once we do, better things usually show up in our lives. 

My advice – Read this book. Then read it again. Then read other books. Then go back to this one and ready it again. A box of tissues is optional but always a good idea.

My rating – :star: :star: :star: :star: :star: