Rocky Top Real Talk: Book Review

Showing posts with label Book Review. Show all posts

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Book Review: Manacled by SenLinYu

Publish Date: Apr 27, 2018
1,017 Pages [ebook edition]
Self-Published

SYNOPSIS:

Harry Potter is dead. In the aftermath of the war, in order to strengthen the might of the magical world, Voldemort enacts a re-population effort. Hermione Granger has an Order secret, lost but hidden in her mind, so she is sent as an enslaved surrogate to the High Reeve until her mind can be cracked.

Author’s Notes:
This story diverges from canon following the conclusion of Harry Potter and "The Order of the Phoenix". The initial inspiration of this plot occurred when watching the first episode of The Handmaids Tale. In homage there are elements of it maintained throughout the story. This work is dark. Rape and non-consensual sex are a significant and ongoing aspect of the plot. There are also character deaths, psychological trauma, descriptions of battlefield violence, and references to torture. Reader discretion is advised.

REVIEW:

I have wanted to read this for so so long. I was reminded of it when I kept seeing book binding videos of it on TikTok. Then I discovered you could send it to your Kindle and it was all over. I honestly wanted nothing more than to just read this book. I would drive my youngest to school and go back to bed just to read this until I had to get dressed and leave for work (literally leaving myself 10 min each time). I'd get home and make dinner, eat, and do the same thing - straight to my comfy bed with my gooseneck and page turner.

For those that don't know, this is a Harry Potter fanfiction that revolves around the idea that after Order of the Phoenix (book 5), Voldy and the Death Eaters win. All the main players die, except Hermione, who a la Handmaid's Tale, gets assigned to Draco Malfoy for the wizard repopulation program with the extra caveat that a magical pregnancy will unlock memories of the final member of the Order who Voldy believes is hiding somewhere. She has magical manacles on her that prevent her from harming him or Draco.

I knew this was a Dramione story but I was struggling to see how that was going to happen until the flashbacks started. The flashbacks were a bit repetitive in nature but I ate them up. Overall, I really did enjoy the ride. I know that SenLinYu is set to release published works in Fall 2025 and I'm very ready. Whatever they write is going to be incredible because the writing in this fanfiction was unbelievable. Hermione has always been my favorite and she was such a badass in this version. I really like what SenLinYu did with the character.

Spice level: Kinda wavered on this because it really isn't graphic (despite the tw for rape), so 4 on the spice level scale. Trigger warnings for rape, violence, self harm, suicide, torture (some pretty hefty graphic descriptions of the violence in this)

Find on Goodreads

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Book Review: The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy Wax

Wendy Wax, USA Today bestselling author, returns this spring with another heartwarming and hilarious novel that readers will want to share with their best friends. Known for her binge-able beach reads that champion relatable characters, female friendships, and tackle real issues, Wax introduces fans and new readers to THE BREAK-UP BOOK CLUB (Berkley Trade Paperback Original; May 18, 2021), which tells the story of four friends who discover through good books and laughter that one of the best parts of life is that it doesn’t always go according to plan.

Synopsis:

On paper, Jazmine, Judith, Erin and Sara have little in common—they're very different people leading very different lives. And yet at book club meetings in an historic carriage house turned bookstore, they bond over a shared love of reading (and more than a little wine) as well as the growing realization that their lives are not turning out like they expected.

Former tennis star Jazmine is a top sports agent balancing a career and single motherhood. Judith is an empty nester questioning her marriage and the supporting role she chose. Erin's high school sweetheart and fiancé develops a bad case of cold feet, and Sara's husband takes a job out of town saddling Sara with a difficult mother-in-law who believes her son could have done better—not exactly the roommate most women dream of.

Though the women can’t always control what their everyday lives are like, their time together helps them make sense of it all, and even laugh about it. With the help of books, laughter, and the joy of ever evolving friendships, Jazmine, Judith, Erin and Sara find the courage to navigate new and surprising chapters of their lives as they seek their own versions of happily-ever-after.

Review:

I was gifted an ebook via Netgalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts are my own.

I was drawn to this book immediately because I love a good book about books and people who love books. I thought that the female friendships and empowerment sounded great too. I initially was a little thrown off by the different perspectives and it took me a few chapters to keep everyone straight. I wanted to like this book, but it was definitely a middle of the road read for me. I didn't hate it by any means, I didn't love it. I think that each character had way too many outlandish scenarios going on and there were moments where characters had nearly identical situations happening among them that really kinda made me cringe a little. I didn't really like most of the characters and didn't really feel sympathetic towards them. And overall, this book had way too much going on and I'm sure it's meant to feel like we are getting to know each character, but each of these characters could have had a separate book for their story and that would have made more sense.

Find on:

Goodreads | Amazon

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Book Review: Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Synopsis:

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming — mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese — that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life — on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate — people on the internet are shipping them?? — their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

Review:
I was gifted an ebook via Netgalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts are my own.

I read Tweet Cute back in September, but had to wait until now to gush about it. I don't know what it is lately, but I have been striking gold with YA contemporaries. Specifically, YA contemporaries with the most cinnamon roll characters ever, but my heart cannot take the adorable cinnamon rolls. Emma Lord's writing style and characters remind me a lot of Jenn Bennett, so if you are a fan of Jenn Bennett, you have to pick up Tweet Cute. This is Lord's debut and she is already going to be an instabuy for me.

It follows the tale of Pepper and Jack, two teens that go to the same school in NYC and help run the Twitter accounts for their family's restaurants. After Big League Burger, Pepper's family's business, comes out with a grilled cheese that is eerily similar to Jack's grandma's grilled cheese on the menu at their business, Girl Cheesing, the two begin a Twitter feud.

There is a ton more to the story and Pepper and Jack's lives and it is such a rich story. The characters feel so real and it was too easy to get invested in the pair of them. I think a lot of the typical tropes were done in a really wonderful way, especially miscommunication. I usually hate seeing miscommunication in YA books (and movies and tv shows, etc.) but it was so well done in Tweet Cute. Every single part of the story worked together perfectly and I really loved how it all ended.

Again, if you like cinnamon roll characters...if you like Jenn Bennett, you MUST pick up Tweet Cute. IT'S SO CUTE.

Author Bio:

Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, grilled cheese, and a whole lot of love. Her sun sign is Hufflepuff, but she is a Gryffindor rising. TWEET CUTE is her debut novel. You can find her geeking out online at @dilemmalord on Twitter.