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The Rest of The Story
The Rest of The Story
Sarah Dessen | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
7
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ll start by saying that this book is very much not my usual area of reading choice, no mention of murder at all - shock horror!! I tend to only read YA occasionally and run for the hills at the mere hint of the word romance or self-discovery but in the name of the book club and expanding my reading outlook I dived in.

I found the writing in this very well done, despite pretty much nothing happening of note (in my opinion) for most of the book I was still quite happy to keep reading. For a 17-year-old protagonist Emma Saylor is pretty likeable and as we follow her on a summer trip to her mother’s family we get to explore a world she didn’t know she was part of. Following her mother’s drug related death Emma’s father hasn't really spoken much about North Lake and her mother’s family, so we get a character driven exploration of family, friendship and self.

The discovery of her new family, the Calavanders, and learning about the ways of “Lake people” is well; a nice read. Many of the characters felt real and many developed nicely as we got to know them better. It’s not an in your face romance book and in particular the first three quarters are pleasantly light on teenage love drama.

The book for me did fall apart for the last part, where it felt like all of a sudden stuff needed to happen and it felt forced and out of kilter with the rest of the book. I think I had got comfortable with it not being much of a book about things happening and just a pleasant read of people and relationships. Emma’s dad seemed the only character to fall totally flat for me and again this only really hit in the last part of the book. Overall pleasantly surprised, it’s not going to be a go to genre for me but wouldn’t avoid picking up another book by Dessen for a change of pace in the future.
  
AN
A Night Too Dark (Kate Shugak, #17)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I've been somewhat uncomfortable with this series since [b:Hunter's Moon|398477|Hunter's Moon (Kate Shugak, Book 9)|Dana Stabenow|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174429360s/398477.jpg|387933], but Stabenow has brought me all the way back into the fold now. Obviously I wasn't too far gone, as I'm still reading the series at book 17 (HM was book 9, I believe?) but Kate finally feels happy again, and that's important to me when I'm reading a series.

The mystery really was a mystery, too. There was no obvious answer, no telegraphing of the villain, motive or means. Stabenow kept me guessing, without making me feel cheated by pulling out some vital clue that the reader couldn't possibly have known.

The last scene was a bit annoying, setting up conflicts that will obviously carry on to future novels, but I was already looking forward to her next release anyway. My sole complaint is that I have to wait too long between releases for my fix. If Nora Roberts can release two "In Death" books plus however many romance books a year, can't we at least rely on one Kate Shugak book a year? I'd strongly prefer two. One Shugak and one Liam Campbell would be better! That way there'd be variety, see? Aren't I nice when I'm being a demanding brat?
  
Quantum (Red Rock Alien Mail Order Brides #1)
Quantum (Red Rock Alien Mail Order Brides #1)
Erin Kellison | 2016 | Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Quantum is the first book in a new science fiction romance series by Erin Kellison. The story is fast-paced and full of information on how the galaxy actually works, and what some of the species look like. There is a lot to take in, but it is definitely worth it.

Raider has stolen a Quantum Stone. Using this stone in a wormhole enables time to move backwards. He wants to sell the stone to past to buy himself a future, for reasons that you find out as you move along the story. Sophia is on a mission - to find her missing brother. She will do just about anything to find him, but when she opens a can of worms, she definitely gets more than she bargained for, especially when she finds out there is more to her brother than she realised.

Very well written, with a smooth flow to the story, like I've already mentioned it is fast-paced, but this is in no way a bad thing.With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this book was thoroughly enjoyable. Definitely recommended by me, and I'm looking forward to reading further on in the series.

* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!