TMST Fall Reading

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

September 18th: What do you love about Fall reading?

I do not really think of Fall reading as anything special. In December I try to put in an xmas book or a winter book, and in summer I might be drawn to something with summer. But Fall does nothing for me.

Or because we can stay inside during long dark evenings? Well honestly no season makes me read more, I always read whenever I get a chance.

Or cos in Fall you can read horror? Eh, I can do that anytime.

Poor Fall.

Audio: Bluestone & Vine - Donna Kauffman

Audio CD, 10 pages

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi

Published July 31st 2018 by Tantor Audio (first published June 26th 2018)

Blue Hollow Falls #2

Contemporary romance

For review

My thoughts:

Seth is a man trying to start grow grapes and make something out of it. He is ex ranger. Kind of silent. Nice and he wants to be left alone to get some work done. But hey who can blame him, he has a lot to do.

In comes the whirlwind that is Pippa. She needs to relax and find herself again. She is a famous folk-music singer (ok how that makes her a household name I do wonder, and it makes me want to hear her music.) She is to stay there (not his idea!). i liked Pippa, she was so sweet and kind to everyone. She become friends with everyone at once and made them feel good.

And there is not even any major drama. Except for these two to get that they should be together. He is so busy, and yes obviously they live on different continents. But I liked how nothing dramatic happened or how they communicated (so many don't). and I like that.

Everyone else were lovely too. Seth's elderly neighbor was a sweetie. The two kids that help out with the animals were fun. And then there was someone who I hoped would get a book and yes the next book will be about that person.

Conclusion:

A sweet romance. It is only missing some music!

Narrator Amanda Ronconi

She did a good job with everyone, and I am a sucker for an Irish accent :)

Audio Sample

Carole's SUnday Review: Wolf Bride

Author: Elizabeth Moss

Narrator: Charlotte Anne Dore

Title: Wolf Bride (Lust in the Tudor Court #1)

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: Audiobook

Published: August 29th 2013

Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)

BOUND TO HIM AGAINST HER WILL...

Lord Wolf, hardened soldier and expert lover, has come to King Henry VIII's court to claim his new bride: a girl who has intrigued him since he first saw her riding across the Yorkshire moors.

Eloise Tyrell, now lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne Boleyn, has other ideas. She has no desire to submit to a man she barely knows and who-though she is loath to admit it-frightens her more than a little.

Their first kiss awakens in both a fierce desire that bares them to the soul. But as the court erupts into scandal around the ill-fated Queen, Eloise sees firsthand what happens when powerful men tire of their wives...

What drew me in? It was the blurb and then that cover. It is beautiful.

Now, the story follows Eloise who is a lady-in-waiting for Queen Anne B. Lord Wolf is ready for a wife to start a family with. He remembers sweet Eloise from their childhood and decides she is the wife for him. He gets permission from her pop and the King. Soooo they are forced to get married. Poor Eloise, but at least he is pretty hot. 

The first scene of the book nearly pushed me away. BUT I trekked forward and it got better. I was a little bitter with the author and still am. Mmmm. I cannot say what but I was annoyed with how the author made Queen Anne B look. Sure nothing happened, but I was annoyed. That is all I will say there. 

It was interesting to see this relationship pan out. They are not friends. They do not get along. They do not want love. The only thing they share is lust. Slowly, they grow to like each other, but it was hard. Every single time they seemed to be on the same page SOMEONE has to ruin it. Either Wolf or Eloise. It did get old. I do not like head game's and these two are terrible. COMMUNICATION PEOPLE! *shakes fist* UGH. 

What was even more frustrating was the fact they got mad if the other player played mind games to them. UMMM then stop all the mind games if you don't want it back on you!!!! GRR!

Things happen and they are forced to bear witness to the fall of Queen Anne. This scares Eloise as would any wife! I wouldn't want to marry. Seeing a man so easily shake off his wife and have her killed is sort of scary especially if your life revolves around men. First your pop and then your hubbie. Scary, scary. 

But yes, this was a pretty good story. This was pretty dark and no one is perfect. You can see WHY these characters have issues but it does grate on the nerves when the solution is so, so simple. Communicate!!!!! Sighs.  I had a hard time walking away and I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. 

The narrator was...eh. I liked her accents and drama she added. But my goodness...she was overdramatic at parts. She would be whispering and then SCREAM! Made me jump. Too much for me. I think I would've liked reading this more. 

Overall, I did enjoy this story even with these bone-headed characters who liked to play mind games but don't like the game turned on them. SMH. I am curious to see Eloise's sister's story in the next book. I'll stamp this with 3 stars. 

The Surface Breaks - Louise O'Neill

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published May 3rd 2018 by Scholastic

YA Fiction /Fairytale re-telling

Library

My Thoughts:

I have read 2 of her previous books, and yes those were dark, but this one was more dark depressing.

Gaia is a mermaid. They are meant to be pretty and sweet and without a thought in their head. But she wants to see the surface and what lies there. Her sisters are all nice and follow their father's lead (oh I can never watch the Little Mermaid again, her dad is an ahole!)

There are also Rusalkas in the seas and they live with the Sea Witch. These Kingdoms have a truce at the moment. Oh and if you do not know your lore Rusalkas are women who have died in water and come back as Rusalkas. 

As you know the story Gaia will eventually go up to the surface for the love of a human boy. And omg this girl was a brainless idiot. She was in love with someone she saw once and she thinks that he will love her back just like that ?! She gambles everything on it. Oh this story is crazy. So yes I was not the biggest Gaia fan cos she was so silly.

Oh and ALL MEN are rapists. Or at least give of a rapey vibe. Not the man she meets, but he is a narcissist. I was not a fan of this, not all men are rapey creeps. I wish there had been some normalcy.

I liked the book, and it felt depressing. I know the real story of course, not the silly DIsney version so I knew what to expect. But throw in all rapey men with incest and pedo vibes. Ugh, what a depressing world.

Conclusion:

Still, an interesting re-telling.

Cover

Nice

Blurb

Deep beneath the sea, off the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing and world building that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans. A book with the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling at its most spellbinding.