*Review* Go As a River by Shelley Read

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: February 28, 2023

Pages: 321

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado—the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses.

Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known, fleeing into the surrounding mountains, where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland—its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.

Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed.

I won a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program. I read it now because one of my eight book clubs selected it for our September meeting. This is my honest review. 

I really struggled to feel invested in this story. Like it tool me longer to finish than it should have because I never got to the point where I just didn't want to put the book down. The most intriguing part of the book was the letter, and that doesn't even appear until the last third of the book. 

I think one of my big problems is the book felt unrealistically overly descriptive. The main character is 17 to start with and not very smart because she never went to high school, but is giving long, lyrical descriptions of her farm, town, and the mountains. For me, that felt tedious and inauthentic. Add in that I couldn't really relate to a farm girl in the 1950s and it was just a recipe for a bad book for me. 

Overall I give Go As a River 2.376 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

An Amazon Editor's Pick Best Debut 2023 and Goodreads Choice Award Nominee, Shelley Read's internationally bestselling novel, Go As A River, is being translated into over thirty languages and has been optioned for film by Mazur Kaplan in partnership with Fifth Season. Shelley was a Senior Lecturer at Western Colorado University for nearly three decades where she was a founder of the Environment & Sustainability major and the PRIME program for at-risk students. She holds degrees in writing and literary studies from the University of Denver and Temple University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing and is a regular contributor to Crested Butte Magazine and Gunnison Valley Journal. Shelley is a fifth generation Coloradoan who lives with her family in the Elk Mountains of the Western Slope.

*Top Ten Tuesday* Books on my TBR the Longest

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This week’s theme is how my reading habits have changed over time, but I don't really feel like my reading habits have really changed when I'm actively reading and not being paid to do it, so I'm going rogue this week. Since I recently spoke with another blogger friend about my Netgalley hole and how far back it goes, I figured it would be fun to feature the ten oldest books on my Netgalley list. So here we go. 

Lydia's Enchanted Toffee by Neale Osborne

Release Date: August 18 2015

Seaside by Wylde Scott

Release Date: October 1, 2015

The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith

Release Date: December 1, 2015

Teen Frankenstein: High School Horror by Chandler Baker

Release Date: January 12, 2016

Bloodlines by Lynn Lipinski

Release Date: October 15, 2015

Wynn in Doubt by Emily Hemmer

Release Date: October 6, 2015

The Phantom of the Earth by Raeden Zen

Release Date: October 10, 2015

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Release Date: November 3, 2015

This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Release Date: January 5, 2016

Black Earth by Timothy Snyder

Release Date: September 8, 2015

So those are the books that have been on my Netgalley list the longest. I am happy to say that even though I haven't read or reviewed them, I've purchased some of them on Amazon because they once again looked interesting when they were daily deals. I'm thinking I should start making it a point to read at least one of my oldest Netgalley books each month, just to start working through them, but I'm absolutely awful at committing to things. 

Have you read any of these books? 

If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post so I can stop by and see how your reading habits have changed (or what you've decided to do instead if you've also gone rogue this week). - Katie 

 

Join the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge Here

*Review* The Sunflowers Babushka Planted by Beatrice Rendn

 

Genre: Children's 8-12 years

Published: January 1, 2024

Pages: 32

When Tania was six years old, she and her parents fled Ukraine during World War II. For years they were refugees in Europe, displaced and without permanent residence. Finally, they found safe housing in a refugee camp, but what about home? Day by day, they stitched together new lives, but it wasn’t until a memory of Tania’s babushka and her beloved sunflowers that the family at last began to rebuild a sense of home.

This true account about debut author Beatrice Rendón’s grandmother offers a universal story of hope for refugees around the world.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is a story about a girl and her family who are forced from their home by war. While the story itself doesn't specify World War II, that was the impression I got while reading (and it's born out by the book's synopsis). The girl really misses her babushka (grandmother) and her sunflowers, until one day her mother paints sunflowers on the windows of the refugee house they are living in. 

While I think giving the story a specific time in history might be nice, leaving it a little more ambiguous does allow the story to remain relevant since there are new war refugees every day. I think this is a good story to read with children who don't have any experience with war too though, because it can definitely help them to empathize with the plight of those in these horrible circumstances. 

The illustrations were kind of wispy and cloud-like, but colorful when applicable. Overall I give The Sunflowers Babushka Planted 4.8438 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Beatrice Rendón was born and raised in the Midwest. She grew up hearing her family's stories and how their resourcefulness and resilience helped them survive. She is a former classroom teacher and a lifelong lover of children's literature. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their cat. This is her first book.

Originally from Poland, Olga Baumert studied fine art and jewelry-making before moving to the UK and earning a degree in graphic design and illustration from De Montfort University. Her art is inspired by great stories, interactions between people and nature, and open landscapes--especially ones with tiny figures hiding in them. Olga lives in Leicestershire, England, where she uses a mix of traditional techniques, including gouache, watercolor, acrylics, and colored pencils, to make her art.

*Review* Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

 

Genre: Women's Fiction

Published: August 5, 2003

Pages: 290

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, and The Book of Magic.

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic...

I listened to the audiobook version of this book for a book club meeting that I never made it to. This is my honest review. 

This book had far less magic than I was expecting  based on the title and that left me feeling a little disappointed by the book. I'm honestly not sure I would have finished this book before the meeting date if I hadn't been listening to the audio. It took a while before I really felt invested in the story, and it's a book I was really excited to read. 

I think if I'd gone into the book expecting a sister story with hints about magic, I would have liked the book better, since that's what it was. But even then, I didn't really like either of the sisters so...

The narration made it easy to listen to the book though. That was definitely a high point to listening to the audiobook over reading with my eyeballs. 

Overall I give Practical Magic 2.9732 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Alice Hoffman is the author of thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, Magic Lessons, and, most recently, The Book of Magic. She lives in Boston. Her new novel, The Invisible Hour, is forthcoming in August 2023. Visit her website: www.alicehoffman.com

*Review* Kitten Ninja by Colleen AF Venable, Marcie Colleen, and Ellen Stubbings

 

Genre: Children's 6-8 years

Published: February 27, 2024

Pages: 80

Fans of comics, and heartwarming stories—not to mention cats!—will love Kitten Ninja, the origin story of the incredible Cat Ninja!

Before Cat Ninja grew up and became Metro City’s greatest defender, he was tiny, adorable Kitten Ninja and he battled...much tinier foes. (Hey, everybody has to start somewhere, right?)

In this spin-off prequel to the enormously popular Epic Original Cat Ninja series, our favorite feline hero takes on everything a kitten-size ninja has to battle on the way to his heroic destiny: a sun spot that won’t stay put, an irresistible ball of yarn, and—every cat’s archenemy—snow!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This book was really three books in one, with Kitten Ninja facing three different adversaries; the spot, the ball of yarn, and the snow! The sentences were very short and simple, making this book great for a young reader. The pages are also mostly illustration, so it shouldn't be too intimidating for a newer reader. 

As far as the illustrations go, they are pretty simple, with bold, bright colors and solid lines. They would work really well as coloring book pages if the publisher/author/illustrator ever wanted to go that way, but I'm not sure if there's much market for coloring books that include stories anymore as my kids are past that stage. Overall I give Kitten Ninja 4.5482 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Colleen AF Venable is the author of the National Book Award long-listed Kiss Number 8 and the indie bestseller Katie the Catsitter. Her other books include The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom, and the Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye series, which was nominated for the Best Publication for Kids Eisner Award.

Marcie Colleen is the author of numerous books for kids including: Penguinaut!, The Bear's Garden, Survivor Tree, and the Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series. She enjoys reading, running, watching baseball, and eating ice cream--although not all at the same time! Marcie lives in San Diego with her husband and a beloved herd of stuffed animals. Visit her at www.thisismarciecolleen.com.

Ellen Stubbings is an illustrator, comic artist and all round cute thing maker based in York, UK. She can generally be found in her little studio, illustrating children’s books, painting or making pottery. Above all else she enjoys drawing animals and finds a lot of inspiration in her two cats, Figaro and Marmalade. Ellen usually works digitally, but she also loves breaking out her watercolor paints and color pencils.

*Review* The Auction by Maggie Cole

 

Genre: Dark Romance

Published: February 1, 2023

Pages: 420

Dominant and twisted Riggs Maddon has one thing on his mind. Revenge. When his partner's daughter steps into the line of fire, he’ll stop at nothing to obliterate her father and turn her into the pet she’s craving to become.

Destroying my partner became sweeter when his daughter stepped on stage at a charity auction.

But I don’t want her for a month.

I’m upping my bid to make her sign for a year.

Her strong will, independence, and defiant attitude toward her family indulges my carnal desires and need for revenge.

I’ll break her, train her, and turn her into the compliant woman she didn't know existed within her.

Every second, she’ll be my pawn in the secret game of retaliation I’m going to win.

Then I’ll present my pet to all of L.A., including her father.

After our year is up, the damage will be done.

She’ll be free to go, and I’ll move forward with my life without her father, or anyone associated with him in it—including her.

The Auction is the first romance book of the Club Indulgence Duet. It’s a forbidden love, age-gap, dark billionaire romance with forced proximity and a potential unwanted marriage.

This was the pick for one of my book clubs and I basically read it in one day, out of necessity, because the meeting was moved up a week on short notice to take place the day after another book club meeting, completely messing up my reading schedule. This is my honest review. 

It's been a while since I read an erotic romance, which probably helped me read this one quickly, because it's different from what I've been reading lately. I say that because I had some issues with this story. While I appreciated that he was ready to call it all off when he found out that Blakely didn't know what she'd gotten herself into, he should have explained things to her. Instead he says "read the contract." In a lot of bad ways, he reminded me of Christian Gray. His attitude toward his former sub about bringing her current man into the lifestyle because she can't leave it was also a big ick for me. Like dude, it's BDSM not the mob. 

This did feel like a healthier overall representation of BDSM than 50 Shades and it was an easy read. The ending was fairly predictable although I was hoping it wouldn't be that. Overall I give The Auction 3.1273 out of 5 stars and will probably pick up the second book in the series at some point. - Katie 

Amazon

Maggie Cole is committed to bringing her readers alphalicious book boyfriends and fiercely strong heroines.

She’s been called the literary master of steamy romance. Her books are full of raw emotion, suspense, and will always keep you wanting more. She’s a masterful storyteller of contemporary romance and loves writing about broken people who rise above the ashes. Her books can often be found hanging out in the top 100, even years after publication.

Maggie lives in Florida with her son. She loves tennis, yoga, paddleboarding, boating, other water activities, and everything naughty.

*Stacking the Shelves* October 19, 2024

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme run by Reading Reality in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon, winning through Goodreads giveaways, or the rare books I buy physical copies of at the store. And because I've been going crazy with one-clicking freebies lately with all my copious free time (from being currently unemployed), I'm going to sort the books on the list accordingly, and only feature a few of the freebies.

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. 

Purchased

Christmas in Harmony Harbor by Debbie Mason - I am a sucker for Christmas books, and I just couldn't resist this one when I saw it on the shelves at Walmart when I had to go buy pet food and Lunchables for my kids because they're off school this week. (I'm pretty sure my kids don't eat the pet food, but they're teenagers so who really knows.) 

Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains - I grabbed this one at Walmart too, apparently unnecessarily as I purchased the ebook version in 2018. But now I have the trophy for when I do read it. 

Here Comes Cowboy Claus by Diana Palmer, Kate Pearce and Delores Fossen - I grabbed this book at the grocery store, where I was buying the rest of the groceries I needed for the week. I'm getting really excited for my 12 Books of Christmas reading challenge. 

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender - I had parent teacher conferences for my kids this week, and my daughter's middle school was having a Scholastic book fair, and she wanted to go. So of course I had to check out the books they had too. This one was just $3. 

Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky - This was another book I picked up at the book fair for just $3. Even though I've never read Lord of the Flies (I do own it, I've just never read it), this gender flipped contemporary retelling caught my eye. 

A Pocket Full of Posies by Shawn Sarles - This cover screamed YA horror, and since it was only $3 at the book fair, it went to my stack. 

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron - I actually have the first book in this series/duology for Kindle, so getting the second book in paperback for just $3 at the book fair was awesome. But if we're being perfectly honest, when I got home I was a little worried this was going to be a book I already had as an ebook. I was happy to be wrong. 

League of Liars by Astrid Scholte - I really liked Four Dead Queens by Ms. Scholte, so when I saw this book on the $3 table at the book fair, grabbing a copy of it was a no brainer. 

At the Speed of Lies by Cindy L. Otis - I'm a sucker for a good YA thriller, and the cover for this book screams YA thriller. The fact that this less than 2 year old book was just $3 at the book fair is astounding to me. 

Curses by Lish McBride - This is obviously a Beauty and the Beast retelling based on the cover, and I love fairytale retellings. I did feel a little bit bad grabbing the last copy on the $3 bargain table, but my daughter said she'd read it too, and she's a student at the school so that relieves my guilt a little bit. 

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen - I already own the second book of this series/duology as an ebook, so getting the first book at the book fair for just $3 was a major score. 

KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps by Nikolaus Wachsmann - I got this non-fiction book on sale for just $4.99. I have a tendency to buy these kinds of books with full intention of reading them and then it just doesn't seem to happen. But I at least have the option. 

Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui - I got this creepy looking book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). It might make it into my spooky reading TBR this month. 

Smart on Crime by Kamala Harris - I got this one on sale for just $1.99. While this book is 14 years old, it's still not a bad idea to have an idea about what our politicians believe, especially when they're running for President. 

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout - I got this beauty for just $0.99 (no longer on sale). I just couldn't pass that up. 

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith - I got this one for $2.99. I don't know if that's a sale price or not because it was still that price when I was building this post, but I've heard some really good things about the book, so it seemed worth $2.99. 

Hauntingly Good Spirits by Sharon Keating and Christi Keating Sumich - I got this book of cocktail recipes for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). This is a book I'd gotten on Netgalley, but I didn't manage to get through the whole book before it was archived, so I was glad to get a copy on sale. 

The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 by Saul Friedlander - I got this non-fiction book on sale for just $4.99 (except I had $1.50 in credits from a recent purchase my husband made, so it was cheaper than that). Again, I have big intentions to read this, but it might not happen. 

Skyborn: Trilogy Box Set by Eric Asher - I got this beauty during the 2 for 1 credit sale on Audible. Since I already have the first box set in the series through Audible, getting this one was a no-brainer. 

Christmas and Other Horrors by Various Authors - This was the other audiobook I got for the 2 for 1 credit sale, because having at least one Christmas audiobook to listen to while I'm trying to read 12 Christmas books in December is a nice fail-safe for my success. Also, while I really like the cheese at Christmas time, I very much enjoy flipping the script and making it scary too. 

Freebies

Nixed: A Halloween Story by Teshelle Combs - This short story may still be free. 

Temptations Unlimited by Steven Watson-Morris - This book is no longer free. 

What I Would Do For You by W. Winters - This book may still be free.

Spellbound by Avery Carter - Might still be free. It's part of the Fantasy SYK event. 

Whispers of the Past by Sophea Chan - Fantasy SYK event book.

Night of Death and Flowers by Rebecca L. Garcia - Fantasy SYK event book.

Return of Eve by Daphne Paige - Fantasy SYK event book.

Serpent's Mark by Beth Alvarez - Fantasy SYK event book. 

Twisted Bond by Katlyn DeRouen - Fantasy SYK event book. 

When Gods Fall by S.E. Bouvier - Fantasy SYK event book. 

Won on Goodreads

The Gran Bwa Forest by R. Kwinn 

Never Forgotten by Hannah Linder

The Pursuer by Eva Shaw

Dare to Disrupt by Brendan P. Keegan

Reign of Shadow and Ashes by A.R. Anderson

Blue Skies by Paula Masters

Shadows of Tomorrow by Etienne Venegas

Polostan by Neal Stephenson

So this week I clearly demonstrated that I still cannot be trusted alone at a Scholastic book fair, especially when I have adult money and a debit card. But when I can get brand new books at thrift store type prices, and it helps support the school library (at least I think the book fairs help support the school library), it's just hard to say no. I also found a lot of good deals on Amazon this week that just called out to me. 

So which of these books do you think I should try to read sooner rather than later? Which one would you want to read most? Or what books have you recently added to your shelves. 

If you're stopping by form the link-up, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can be sure to check out your new pretties. - Katie 

Join the 12 Books of Christmas Challenge Here