Books I Finished The Past Two Weeks

January 13 - January 31, 2019

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

This novel by Yangsze Choo was beautifully written and included so many things that make a fantastic story; mystery, history, magical realism and romance. Click the book cover to read more.

Synopsis: Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother’s mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin plunges into a dark adventure: a mirror world of secrets and superstitions. Eleven-year-old Chinese houseboy Ren also has a secret, a promise he must fulfill to his dead master: to find his master’s severed finger and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master’s soul will wander the earth forever.

As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of unexplained deaths wrack the district, along with whispers of men who turn into tigers. Ji Lin and Ren’s increasingly dangerous paths crisscross through lush plantations, hospital storage rooms, and ghostly dreamscapes. 

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

I have tried reading many many family dramas in my past and I've only liked maybe 1 or 2, so I just know it's not my genre and to stay away. Well, my book club chose this book for January and I am so beyond glad they did as I would have never been able to enjoy this book so thoroughly otherwise! Click the book cover to read more.

Synopsis: A Place for Us unfolds the lives of an Indian-American Muslim family, gathered together in their Californian hometown to celebrate the eldest daughter, Hadia's, wedding - a match of love rather than tradition. It is here, on this momentous day, that Amar, the youngest of the siblings, reunites with his family for the first time in three years. Rafiq and Layla must now contend with the choices and betrayals that lead to their son's estrangement - the reckoning of parents who strove to pass on their cultures and traditions to their children; and of children who in turn struggle to balance authenticity in themselves with loyalty to the home they came from.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

I was really excited about this book based on the description and that it won Goodread’s 2018 Best of Romance Award. I’m all for a good typical and predictable romance book. But quickly, this book only focuses on the sex and hidden emotions and loses sight of the uniqueness of the characters. Click the cover for more.

Synopsis: Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old. It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

The Dead Zone by Stephen King

I enjoyed that in this novel, King portrayed Johnny's life as a tragedy. He wanted to get back to normal but couldn't stop himself from using his gift and trying to change things. How can you fully stop being who you are? Especially when you become confronted by those who fear what you can do and truly try to destroy you. This is a tragic hero in its finest. Click the cover for more.

Synopsis: Johnny, the small boy who skated at breakneck speed into an accident that for one horrifying moment plunged him into The Dead Zone.  Johnny Smith, the small-town schoolteacher who spun the wheel of fortune and won a four-and-a-half-year trip into The Dead Zone. John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power—the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in The Dead Zone.

Books I’m Currently Reading

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

I’m listening to an audiobook of this classic and am definitely entertained so far. The Three Musketeers and their new comrade get into scuffle after scuffle and have intense adventures that as humorous as they are thrilling.

Synopsis: This swashbuckling epic of chivalry, honor, and derring-do, set in France during the 1620s, is richly populated with romantic heroes, unattainable heroines, kings, queens, cavaliers, and criminals in a whirl of adventure, espionage, conspiracy, murder, vengeance, love, scandal, and suspense.

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

I only just started this book so I don’t have too much to say about it yet other than I am beyond excited to read another Markus Zusak book as I Am the Messenger is one of my most beloved books.

Synopsis: The Dunbar boys bring each other up in a house run by their own rules. A family of ramshackle tragedy - their mother is dead, their father has fled - they love and fight, and learn to reckon with the adult world. It is Clay, the quiet one, who will build a bridge; for his family, for his past, for his sins. He builds a bridge to transcend humanness. To survive.

Books I Was Reading Last Year - 2018

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I highly recommend the book, even to those that aren’t the biggest Sci-Fi fans as I feel it’s a great balance and very interesting story that doesn’t go completely out of the realm of possibility. It sucked me in so quickly and had me finishing it within a day because I just had to keep reading. Click the book cover for my full review.

Synopsis: In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Found (Books of Stone) by B.L. Brunnemer

I don’t have a full review for this book, but I did enjoy it, just as I enjoy everything B.L. Brunnemer has written so far. Her characters are real and relatable as well as highly entertaining. There’s action, humor, pain, love and intense friendship in her books and I find myself staying up late to find out what happens.

Synopsis: Forget everything you know about the world. Vampires exist, Werewolves exist, monsters hide in the shadows, and it's my job to make sure they obey our laws. My name is Evelyn, and I'm a gargoyle. The last one or so I thought. 
A team of Gargoyles have found me. And for the first time in over a century, I'm not the only one of my kind around. Which is a good thing since demons are slipping into this world fully formed. The bodies are piling up. Something is going on in my city, and it looks like I'm going to need the backup.

Books I Was Reading Two Years Ago - 2017

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

I don’t have a full review for this book as well but I really enjoyed it. It’s a hard topic and somewhat controversial in the fact there is a relationship with an adult man and female child, however it is beautifully written and evokes so many emotions. It is mostly about dark childhoods, family, abuse and how different people overcome these situations in their lives. Be ready to be angry at times, but overall, it was a wonderful, albeit ugly, story.

Synopsis: As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

I had such high hopes for this book based on reviews, but it did not speak to me like it did to so many others. I felt like the author was trying too hard and the story became almost a philosophical study, rather than a story about characters who end up having some philosophical thoughts. If this is something that appeals to you, I do recommend it as the writing is great, but it just was not my type of book.

Synopsis: In The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera tells the story of a young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing and one of his mistresses and her humbly faithful lover. This magnificent novel juxtaposes geographically distant places, brilliant and playful reflections, and a variety of styles, to take its place as perhaps the major achievement of one of the world’s truly great writers.