Transitive Verve

Thoughts at glance: *** (I liked it) This is the first book of Carriger's new series, The Custard Protocol , and it takes place in the same universe as her other series, but much later in time. Essentially, it has spoilers for the events of The Parasol Protectorate  series, so if you've never read any of those books, you might feel really lost while reading this one, unless you're really good at forming inferences and filling in the blanks. Summary:  Lady Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama is a metanatural. Her biological mother (Lady Alexia Tarabotti) is a preternatural (soulless) while her biological father (Lord Conall Maccon) is a supernatural (werewolf). By the way, her adoptive father (Lord Akeldama) is a vampire. Therefore, it can be said that Rue leads quite a singular existence, between her feisty, irreverent personality and her ability to temporarily steal supernatural abilities through touch. Rue is given her own airship, The Spotted Custard , and along

Thoughts at a glance: **** (I really liked it) This is book 2 of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen  series. (Please go here for my writeup of Red Queen , which includes a brief summary of the universe of the book.) Please note from here on out that there are spoilers for the first book. Summary:   Glass Sword  picks up pretty much right where the first book ends, with Mare and Cal fleeing the capital city of Archeon after all hell breaks lose - Prince Maven and Queen Elara have been manipulating them the whole time, angling for control of the throne. Queen Elara, using her mind control powers, has made Cal behead his own father, and it is revealed that she was responsible for Cal's mother's death as well. With Cal and Mare on the run, Maven has ascended to the throne, promising to find them and kill them. Mare's only hope lies in the list of Newbloods - other Reds, like her, who also have special abilities. Along with the help of the Scarlet Guard, they must find th

“I never loved reading until I feared I would lose it. One does not love breathing.”   News of Harper Lee's passing broke today, and I want to take this time to pay my respects to her and to one of my favorite, most cherished books of all time. I first read this book as a high school student, and while I enjoyed it then, I couldn't have realized at the time the tremendous impact it would have on me until well over a decade later, when I became a teacher myself and taught it to my own students. What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? It is a life-changing novel about racism, justice (or lack thereof), empathy, and kindness. It's also a novel about growing up. It's a novel about a certain type of loss of innocence, one that involves learning hard truths about the people around us, but that also asks us not to harden our hearts. "If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all

Thoughts at a glance: ***** (It was amazing!) Summary:  In the land of Norta, people are either Reds or Silvers. Silvers, people with silver blood, are the privileged elite in every way, including the fact that they have special magical powers or abilities. Reds, people with red blood, are normal human beings, and in this case are subjugated, oppressed, forced into poverty, slavery, or death on the front lines, fighting the Silvers' wars for them. Street-smart Mare Barrow is a Red, with no special talents other than her ability to pickpocket, but when a failed attempt coincides with an attack staged by the Scarlet Guard (the Red rebel organization), her life changes forever when she reveals herself - in front of the Silver royal family - to be a Red with a special ability, something that is practically unheard of. Now trapped in the Silver world of nobility, political intrigue, and the fight for justice and equality, it isn't long before Mare realizes that she is in ove

Disclaimers: while my blog post itself does not contain any sexual content, this book does. This is a review for a book that is meant for mature audiences, and therefore is unsuitable for minors. Thoughts at a glance: ***** (It was amazing!) This is a review of the third book of a series, and therefore, it will contain spoilers for the first two books as well. Please see my reviews for End of Day and Middle of Knight here . I think at this point, you must know that I've definitely been won over into the cult of Jewel E. Ann. I've read ALL her available books now, and while I definitely have my favorites among them, I generally think she's a great writer with a knack for storytelling and writing interesting, complex characters. So right off the bat, you should know that I thought this was an amazing end to a really good trilogy. I stayed up until 2am reading this book, having started the minute it appeared on my Kindle. Spoilers for ALL THE BOOKS below!

Disclaimers: while my blog post itself does not contain any sexual content, this book does. This is a review for a book that is meant for mature audiences, and therefore is unsuitable for minors. This book was provided to me for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts at a glance: *** (I liked it) Summary: Tony's got a lot on his plate - he's a newly-divorced father of two girls and his business is failing, and he definitely doesn't have room in his life for beautiful Beth, who is relationship-phobic and also happens to have a baby on the way (as the result of a one-night stand). However, neither of them can deny the intense chemistry that exists between them every time they're together, and when circumstances throw them alone together for a few days and sparks ignite, they have to decide if what they have is worth pursuing.

Disclaimers: while my blog post itself does not contain any sexual content, this book does. This is a review for a book that is meant for mature audiences, and therefore is unsuitable for minors. After reading (and LOVING) Undeniably You , I decided to check out Jewel E. Ann's other books, and found that pretty much all of them have 4+ star ratings on Goodreads, which is pretty amazing. I snagged a few that were available on Kindle Unlimited. In addition to these two books, I also read  Idle Bloom  (standalone) and the Holding You  series (duology, really), and I really liked all of them, but this Jack and Jill series REALLY reeled me in, so I felt compelled to write a review for it. (You can see my quick thoughts for the others here and here , respectively.) Summary:  Jessica and Jude Day are no more - for whatever reason, the twin siblings have had to fake their deaths and then start over with new lives and new names, Jillian and Jackson Knight, in a sleepy retirement co

In short: You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love this movie. Note: I haven't actually read the PPZ book (always meant to, never got around to it), so I can't draw comparisons between this and its book, but I've read the original P&P, obviously, and seen multiple adaptations, so that's where I'm coming from with this. Spoiler warning! Movie spoilers below!!

Thoughts at a glance: ** It was okay Summary:  Kevin is the hot, popular star of his high school hockey team, and nothing is getting in the way of his earning a hockey scholarship for college. Well, nothing except a failed food log assignment for gym class. As it turns out, protein shakes and meal-replacement bars are not a good example of healthy eating. To make up for his failed assignment, his coach/gym teacher makes him take the food/cooking unit in domestic tech class, where he meets Claire. Claire is not only an amazing cook who will help him make up his grade, but she is also funny, friendly, and gorgeous, with a body like a perfect figure 8. Personally, Kevin loves her curves, but if word got out to his friends and teammates that he was into a "fat chick" (as opposed to the thinner, athletic cheerleaders they're "supposed to" date), he would be considered a laughingstock. But as he spends more time with Claire and gets to know her better, he

I had meant to do these weekly, after each episode, but life gets in the way sometimes. So here are two of them together. Spoilers for the books and the episodes ahead. When we last left off, Simon had just been kidnapped by the vampires, who offer to trade him for the Mortal Cup. Episode 3 is basically about what happens to Simon while he's being held at the vampires' lair, Hotel DuMort, and the shadowhunter crew's attempt to retrieve him. Notable differences include the introduction of Camille Belcourt, whom I don't think we met in the book series until later (definitely not in the first book). In the book, Raphael is the one who feeds off Simon, and in this universe's vampire mythology, being bitten by a vampire makes the victim want to return to that vampire - kind of like a siren call, I guess? In this case, it's Camille who has Simon under her thrall, and there are heavy hints as to what's in store for Simon, as he drinks up a little of her blo