Hello

There’s been a family emergency here that we've been dealing with so reading is not at the top of my priority list right now. I’ll try to post again as soon as I can. Thanks for understanding.

Review - Bull

Bull by David Elliott

* Read via NetGalley for review
* Book will be published March 28, 2017

5 out of 5 gnomes

If you love mythology and retellings of myths than this story is categorically for you. I adored it and kind of wish more myths were told this way because this book definitely breathes new life into this very old story.

It’s told in verse and just works so very well. You get to hear from all of the characters through their own unique verses. These are some rather interesting points of view. I think my favorite character is Poseidon, his verses have the most hilarious parts.

This book was just fun to read and will have you smiling more often than not. If you don’t mind f-bombs every once in awhile they just go right along with the tone of the story.

Even though you most likely know how the story ends, it’s a heck of a ride getting there and the pages just fly by.

My Favorite Quotes/Lines - The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

“He always has it on the Friday of spring break because you need Saturday to recover and Sunday to repent.”

“And the thing about the stank-eye is at some point you feel it on you, inviting you to kick some ass or have your ass kicked.”

“Trust me, my school has hoes too. Hoedom is universal.”

“Funny how it works with white kids though. It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black.”

“That’s why I named you Starr.” He gives me a small smile. “My light during all that darkness.”

“Good-byes hurt the most when the other person’s already gone.”

“This is gonna be some bullshit.”

“It’s not like we planned it to be this way. Sometimes the shit just happens, and one day you realize there’s a leader among you and your friends and it’s not you.”

“I almost point out that I get a scholarship too, but nah. She’d become the first person in history to hit someone through a phone.”

“If it’s possible to be a sweet asshole, that’s Seven.”

“...‘Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.’”

“White people do stupid shit sometimes.”

“Yeah, they do. If babies can count as humans when they’re little, veggies can count as veggies when they’re little.”

“I’m guessing emotional hangovers feel a lot like actual hangovers.”

“I didn’t know a dead person could be charged in his own murder, you know?”

“Sometimes I give stank-eyes and don’t realize I’m giving them.”

“Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared, Starr,” she says. “It means you go on even though you’re scared. And you’re doing that.”

“I already need the stitches. Might as well snitch.”

Review - The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

5 out of 5 gnomes

I read/devoured this book over the course of one day. It's such an engrossing and extremely relevant story because horrible events like in the story happen with an alarming frequency.

This is a very powerful story. Starr witnesses her friend Kalil getting shot to death by the police. This whole book has the aftermath of the shooting and how it affects Starr and everything and everyone she knows.

Overall a superb mix of heart, humor, family, community, identity, and a strong dose of reality. It makes you think about the Black Lives Matter movement and how important it is. 

This story is definitely one that will stay with you and just maybe let you look out and see more of what is happening in the world.

Sentence Sneak Peek - The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The first sentence from each chapter of The Hate U Give, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

“I shouldn’t have come to this party.”

“When I was twelve, my parents had two talks with me.”

“They leave Khalil’s body in the street like it’s an exhibit.”

“That night, Natasha tries to convince me to follow her to the fire hydrant, and Khalil begs me to go for a ride with him.”

“On Monday, the day I’m supposed to talk to the detectives, I’m crying out of nowhere, hunched over my bed as the iron in my hand spits out steam.”

“My mom and I arrive at the police station at four thirty on the dot.”

“Khalil’s funeral is Friday.”

“Funerals aren’t for dead people.”

“My brothers come home with a message— Daddy’s spending the night at the store.”

“We spend the night at Uncle Carlos’s house because the riots started again as soon as the sun went down.”

“Monday morning, I know something is up when I first step into Williamson.”

“I’m luring Brickz inside when it passes out front.”

“Mr. Lewis’s left eye is swollen shut and blood drips onto his shirt from a slash on his cheek, but he refuses to go to the hospital.”

“I end up at Maya’s house.”

“It takes an untouched stack of pancakes for Momma to say, “All right, Munch.”

“Ms. Ofrah arranged for me to do an interview with one of the national news programs today— exactly a week before I testify before the grand jury next Monday.”

“My interview aired yesterday on Diane Carey’s Friday Night News Special.”

“On Sunday, my parents take me and my brothers on a trip.”

“The smell of hickory bacon and the sound of way too many voices wake me up.”

“Three hours.”

“Still no decision from the grand jury, so we’re still living.”

“In our new neighborhood I can simply tell my parents “I’m going for a walk” and leave.”

“It’s a quiet ride to Seven’s grandma’s house.”

“Because Seven said we’d be all right, everything goes wrong.

“An entire aisle is already engulfed.”

“It’s around eleven the next morning, and I’m still in bed.”

Weekend Read - The Star-Touched Queen

I requested the sequel on NetGalley before I realized that it wasn’t the first one. So I want to read this because it looks awesome too.

Review - The Bone Witch

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco


* Read via NetGalley for review

3 gnomes out of 5 gnomes

This book was perplexing and vexing at times but also I just had to know what was going to happen next. It was a hard book to get through but I had to see what would happen. The story structure was something I both love and hated because it really made you feel like you were missing something because you’re never sure how Tea became who she is now.

I don't know how a book can feel like so much is happening when really almost nothing is happening. It kind of felt like a fantasy history book mixed in with a really dark future for the characters.

I liked the mythology and history of the asha. I did want to know more about all of the magic. What we do learn though is more than interesting.

The characters are all strong, especially Tea. I just wanted more of the story filled in. The whole past and future thing makes you wonder WTF happened over about two years.

That ending though was the truly infuriating part. When things are just getting good, like I don’t want to put down the book good, the story just ends.

Review - The Dragon Finds Forever

The Dragon Finds Forever by Kristen Painter

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“He put the super in supernatural.”

“He was the best man she knew. And she wanted to keep him.”

“...but things will never outweigh the value of a person. Not for a dragon.”

“Your smile is a little scary, just so you know.”

4 out of 5 gnomes

Van and Monalisa are a very interesting pair. I've always wanted to know more about the only dragon shifter in town. Plus I loved that he adopted an awesome dog.

Monalisa's whole mythology is intriguing because she has the potential to be very dangerous maybe even more so than a dragon.

Family drama abounds and these two have great chemistry. This was a quick/fast paced read. Also I like that the secrets don't stay secret for long.

Really looking forward to reading Julian's story next.

Review - Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen

Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen

* Read via NetGalley for review

4 out of 5 gnomes

I've seen her comics before so it was a lot of fun to read a whole books worth. They have a real honesty about them. I love the drawing style too. The pages just fly by. Most of them feel more than a little bit relatable. The text could be a little bigger/stand out more. Overall though a fun quick read.

Review - Etched in Bone

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

* Read via NetGalley for review

Overall 3 gnomes out of 5 gnomes

4 out of 5 gnomes for characters

3 gnomes and a gnome hat for story

5 gnomes out of 5 for some superb character scenes especially Skippy

2 out of 5 for bad guy this round

I continue to adore the world of the Others. This was a good book with some great moments but kind of felt like a filler book overall. There weren’t as many surprises as there usually are and the villain didn’t really feel up to snuff.

If this is the last book focusing on Meg and the Courtyard then it was an okay but pretty weak ending. Like maybe they should have stopped at the last book kind of ending because that would have been a stronger ending.

Still I look forward to seeing what other characters Bishop sets up in this world next in book six. As Goodreads has the following for the description:

“Bishop’s new novel takes readers to a human village nestled in the terra indigene-controlled Finger Lakes region of Northeast Thaisia. It stars divorcee Victoria “Vicki” DeVine, owner of The Jumble — a small, self-sufficient community located on the shore of Lake Silence. Vicki and the town’s residents soon find themselves caught up in a chilling mystery, after a series of vicious murders rock the small community.”

Simon and Meg’s relationship has been a plus. Seeing Meg and the other blood prophets grow and change has been a highlight of the series. Not much is left unfinished but I found myself still wanting a lot of answers. I’m secretly hoping for short stories or whole books set in the other communities we’ve heard about in these books. Overall a series well worth checking out just for the world building and characters alone.

Weekend Read - Seven Days of You

Looks like a fast fun read, crossing my fingers hoping it’s good.

Review - At the Edge of the Universe

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“He said we have to fall in love with the idea of a person before we can fall in love with the actual person.”

“People are assholes.” “You’re not an asshole, Ozzie.”

“...and no one can tell me where the light comes from without a goddamn sun!”

“GOOD-BYE, MOON. SO LONG, STARS.”

“The real world took my future. Don’t let it take yours.”

“Maybe some doors are better off closed. That way we can focus on the ones still open in front of us.”

“That’s not how the world works, Ozzie. Some things, you have to learn for yourself.”

4/5 gnomes

This book is trippy as heck but I really liked it. It's surreal for sure but will have you racing to find out how it ends.

Ozzie is the only one who remembers his boyfriend (to everyone else, he never existed), oh and the universe shrinks more everyday.

The shrinking of the universe makes the prose pretty claustrophobic at times but really draws you into the plot.

I don't want to spoil the end but it was darn near perfect. I liked it but still wished a little bit for more concrete answers.

Review - You're Welcome Universe

You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

* Read via NetGalley for review
* Book will be released March 7, 2017

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“Six stencils in and it’s gone. Okay, the tag had vanished by Stencil Two, but I have a point to prove here. I’m not covering up your scribbled slur with just anything. I’m making art here. I’m creating. I’m on fire.”

“It’s only the beginning.”

4 out of 5 gnomes

A quick really interesting read. Makes you think more about the world of graffiti.

Julia’s Deaf and gets kicked out of her school for a graffiti incident. Integrating into a non-Deaf school is more than a little problematic.

Getting into a graffiti turf war is only the beginning. You get to see her make friends, loose friends and figure out more about who she is and what she wants to do.

Julia and her Moms are a great family unit. I like that they're definitely in her life and just aren't regulated to the background.

Her friends too are interesting one in a bad way the other in a surprising way. Both friendships felt very real though.

It was a pretty wild ride and I like the illustrations included in the book. This book will show you how graffiti can be an art.