Abbie Lynn Smith's Blog, page 2

Book Review: New Witch on the Block by Louisa West

I've been in a really witchy mood lately. I have always had a deep love for all things witchy. For years, Charmed was my favorite show! I picked up this book from the stuff your kindle event, but I really wasn't sure whether I'd like it or not.

Given my last couple of reads, I didn't have high hopes for this one. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

Rosie has just escaped her abusive husband with her daughter Maggie in the middle of the night. They end up in a small town, in a house that's seen better days. Rosie hasn't really worked a full time job, and she's been beneath her husband's thumb for over twenty years. She stayed because of their daughter, thinking that the love for her child would be enough.

Mosswood is a quaint little town in the middle of nowhere. The town has a small community based around their evangelical church. As Rosie and Maggie settle in, they find a routine that fits their new normal. Then weird things start happening.

One of the respected members of the community hits on Rosie and believe the husband when he says it's the other way around. The man who lives nearby stumbles drunkenly onto Rosie's property, claiming she is his Witch Queen and he, her Witch King.

After settling in, Rosie learns that she is a witch. The details on this were a little unclear to me, honestly, but I was willing to suspend my belief a little. I didn't like how the love interest, Declan, was introduced, but I wasn't completely put off by it.

While trying to make this new place their home, Rosie learns how to live again. This was a great story about a woman reaching middle age learning who she really is. Even though I felt like there wasn't enough given about her being a witch, I was satisfied enough with the story that I will more than likely continue this series.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

I am a fan of Angie Thomas. THUG is an incredible novel, and I knew I would read just about anything she writes. This week, I dive into her follow up novel to THUG, which isn't a direct sequel, but takes place in Garden Heights, the same place as THUG.

The BOOK

Bree is in the midst of prepping for college entrance exams, but she can't focus on it, because her entire life is hinging on a phone call. You see, 'rookies' are invited to battle in The Ring on Thursday nights, and she has a chance.

Bree is a rapper. She just hasn't had her come up yet.

This novel takes place in the same neighborhood of Garden Heights, but in a distinctly different setting than The Hate U Give. Bree lives with her recovering addict mother and older brother, who's been to college but moved home to help the family. Her mother has been working hard to provide, but it's a struggle daily. Bree's father was gunned down when she was little, but he's a legend in his own right.

Known as Lawless, he was the one that was supposed to make it out of the Garden, but he never did.

When the phone call comes inviting Bree to the ring, it's a chance to change not only her life, but the life of everyone around her.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel all over again. Rap is poetry, and it was a lot of fun getting to see the inner workings of Bree's mind whenever she was coming up with a rap. This novel explores going after your dreams when everything is set against you reaching them.

Bree has experienced a lot of trauma at her age, and it just keeps coming with violent security guards at school, her aunt who is a member of a gang, and the overall perception of others trying to paint her in a bad light.

It's such a good novel, and, like THUG, it paints a portrait that people like me could never understand. Angie Thomas is a brilliant writer.

The MOVIE

I didn't realize a movie was made until recently, which is why I chose this novel to include in my From Page to Screen series.

If ever there was a book so different from the movie that I barely recognized it... this is it.

I completely understand having to cut characters and plot points for times sake. When adapting to film, stories have to be made succinct. But, y'all, it felt like the screenplay took the characters created by Thomas and rewrote the entire story.

The base plot of Bree getting her call and going into the ring that first night is the same, but, from there, the story could not be more different. I found it hard to enjoy the movie because it was such a whiplash from the book.

Things I enjoyed:

-seeing Aunt Pooh on the screen. I think she is a very dynamic character and I would love if Angie Thomas wrote her story. Morally gray characters that love with their whole heart just GET ME.

-the actress that played Bree was incredible! The movie definitely had an 8 Mile feel to it, but give me a badass female rapper any day!

Things I didn't enjoy: -Changing the plot of that first battle. In the book, there are three rounds. In the movie, it's just one and Bree chokes and I thought that was so unfair to the character.

-I wanted to see more of Bree's family dynamic included in the movie. We lost the grandparent plotline and a lot of the actual healing done between Bree and her mom.

Final THOUGHTS

I almost wish I hadn't re-read the novel before watching the movie, just because it was so different that I would have liked to enjoy the movie for what it is. Overall, if you enjoy Black stories, rap music, and an unwavering faith in your dreams, I'd recommend reading the novel and/or watching the movie!

Abbie

From Page to Screen: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

There's a reason The Hate U Give has been on the NY Times Bestseller list since it debuted in 2017. Not only is the novel incredibly well written, but it's a poignant story about something that we see happening all of the time. This novel honestly changed my entire perspective.

The BOOK

I first read this novel not long after it came out. Honestly, I was afraid to read it because it was such a popular book and I didn't understand the subject matter. How could I? I am a middle class white woman. I have certain privileges. But, I have also seen how police brutality affects entire communities.

In 2016, Alton Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge, not far from where I live and worked at the time. I witnessed how people rose up against policy brutality. I saw how racism gripped an entire community as people made every excuse for the officer killing Alton. I even believed them. I'm ashamed to admit that, because I didn't understand it then.

While I will never understand what it's like to be Black in America, reading this novel completely changed my views. Black Lives Matter isn't a political movement, it's a people movement.

Starr lives in Garden Heights, and it isn't exactly a safe place. She witnessed one of her best friends being gunned down when she was ten. That's when her parents pulled her out of the public school and put she and her brothers into private school which is majority white. The novel begins at a party during Spring Break in Garden Heights. Thomas did a fantastic job introducing us to several key players in the very beginning.

While at the party, Starr runs into her other childhood best friend, Khalil. Recently, their lives have gone in different directions, but seeing him again, there's a spark of something between them. There always has been.

The party is broken up by gunfire, and everyone scatters.

Khalil offers to give Starr a ride home, and the two of them take off, away from the party. But shortly after, a police officer pulls them over. Khalil is gunned down when he reached into the car for a hair brush. Starr witnesses her other best friend's death at the hands of an officer.

THUG doesn't just expose police brutality, but also gives insight into what it's like in Black communities and how gangs thrive and die. Starr goes on to pursue justice for her friend, but, like many killings we see today, justice is not served.

What I really loved about this novel was seeing Starr's struggle between Starr at Home and Starr at School. She couldn't be too Black in one place, and she couldn't be too White at home.

There's a reason this novel has been on the bestseller list as long as it has: it tells a brutally honest story about things that are going on today.

I couldn't understand the Black Lives Matter movement because of my privilege. I'm so thankful that Angie Thomas wrote this novel, because I may have never even tried had I not read it.

The MOVIE

Overall, the plot of the movie stuck pretty close to the novel. They eliminated a few side plotlines and simplified the overall story.

I really loved the casting. Amandla Steinberg was absolutely perfect as Starr. The entire Carter family, in fact, was well cast. I was surprised to see Anthony Mackie play King, one of the main villains in the novel. I'm used to seeing him play a superhero. It's always great to see actors exploring their range.

There were two key changes made from the novel to the movie that I want to discuss:

Starr is dating a white guy from her private school. When all hell breaks loose and there's a riot in Garden Heights toward the climax of the novel, Starr decides she wants to join in, because she did the right thing and it meant nothing. In the novel, Chris joins Starr. In the movie, they eliminated him from this part of the plot. I was really disappointed, because I feel like it was incredibly important for Chris to see the riots first hand. How can he understand Starr if he doesn't go with her? When Starr's family store burns down in the novel, the breaking point of the tension happens when everyone in Garden Heights snitches on King for setting the building on fire. In the movie, King approaches as though he's going to hurt Starr, and Starr's younger brother Sekani pulls his dad's gun from the back of his pants and points it at King. I literally gasped and burst into tears because, my god, I'd forgotten that happened in the movie and how impactful that moment is. This was a good change from the novel, one that I think really drills the point home. Final THOUGHTS

THUG is an incredibly poignant story that I think everyone should read. Will it change everyone's thoughts like it changed mine? Unlikely, but if there's a chance that it could, I think we should try. We are all human, we are all people, and we all matter. But we can't all matter until Black Lives Matter.

Abbie

Book Review: Southern Magic by Amy Boyles

I'm not sure if you know, but romance authors hold a "stuff your kindle" event right after Christmas each year. Last year I loaded tons of books, but I ended up not reading most of them. Instead, I went through the list this year and downloaded a handful that I thought might be interesting. This was one of them.

I love witches and southern settings, so I figured this one might be an interesting read.

I was sort of disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there's something whimsical about the world created by Boyles, but the story didn't feel like it held a lot of weight.

Pepper is a seemingly normal woman who has some problems. In the course of two hours, she loses her job, her rent check bounces, and her boyfriend basically shoves her off. Then, she's attached by a stranger and flees in her car with a talking cat. Then basically the moment she ends up in the magical town where her maternal family is, there's a murder and she's being fingered as the perp.

If done well, this could have been a fun story with lots of hijinks, but it fell short in my opinion. There was barely any romance, more of just hints in a way to keep a reader going through to the next book, but there was so little I enjoyed that I most definitely won't be reading through.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Any millennial who grew up in the late 90s and early 00s has see the wonderful move A Walk to Remember with Mandy Moore and Shane West. But did you know it was based on a novel? And that that novel was so incredibly different from the movie?

Well, now you do.

The BOOK

I can't remember whether I read the book or watched the movie, only that the book surprised me. It's relatively short: 207 pages, and I read it in a couple of sittings one Sunday.

The first thing about the book that you should know is that it was published in the 90s, but the story starts as Landon Carter in his 50s, remembering the year he was seventeen. That was such a stark difference from the movie, because the story actually took place in the 1950s.

When Landon was a teenager, he was known as a bit of a hoodlum. He hid behind trees and bushes and taunted a Baptist preacher from the time he was young. He snuck out at night to hang out with his friends in a graveyard, talking crap and eating boiled peanuts. If that was the worst he did, it was mild.

But, I digress. The book is a lot like most of Nicholas Sparks's: glossed over, young love in the Carolinas, ending with some tragic death. To be honest, I read a lot of Sparks when I was a teenager, and I stopped reading him because it felt like his stories were all the same, and I got to a point that I couldn't handle the tragic endings.

Still, A Walk to Remember is one of his best novels. It's sweet and a quick read.

The MOVIE I kind of cheated on this one. I've seen this movie so many times. I rewatch it at least once a year because it is so. damn. good. But, I have read the book multiple times so we won't call it cheating, mkay?

One thing about this movie that is incredible is the SOUNDTRACK! These songs were the soundtrack of my formative years, and no, I won't be taking questions. Back in the day, before music streaming, I owned the CD, and listen, I still write to some of the music.

The biggest difference from the book to the movie: the time period. The movie is set in the early 2000s, and that was probably the best thing they could have done. They showed just how much of a hoodlum Landon was, beginning with hazing a fellow student and trying to get away with it when the kid got hurt.

The same basic plot is kept, but it's the details that make the movie so incredible. Also, the main plot of the book was really deep in religion. While it's present in the movie, they made a lot of changes to focus on young love and dreams. I'm not the biggest on religious romances, so that was why I really loved the movie versus the book.

I loved that they gave Jamie a bucket list. That she had dreams, things she always wanted to do. As a young teenager, that got me thinking about all of the things I wanted to do with my life.

I also loved the change with Landon's family structure, because I was able to relate to the story so much more. In the book, his father worked in Congress and was rarely home. In the movie, his parents were divorced and his dad was mostly out of the picture. At the time the movie came out, I related so much to that: the anger, the heartbreak, even the forgiveness.

One thing I really love is that Mandy Moore (Jamie) and Shane West (Landon) still celebrate the movie nearly every year. They loved the project so much, and I love seeing that. It means a lot when the people behind a project that you love so much really loved it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The book is sweet, but very little compares to the movie. It captures the early 2000s perfectly, and I tend to watch it often.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

You guys, if you're thinking about re-reading Twilight, definitely read this review.

The BOOK

Yes, I was into Twilight when it first released. Probably because I was Bella's age when the books were coming out. As a 30-something... yeah, I'm not about this life. I literally had to force myself to finish reading this.

One of my bigger gripes is how terribly this novel has aged. As a teenager, I thought Edward was broody and protective and just loved so hard. As a grown woman, there are so many red flags that I surely would run screaming in the opposite direction.

Don't get me wrong. I love a protective man who claims their woman, but in re-reading this, I couldn't understand what Edward loved about Bella other than the way she smelled. He was controlling, insensitive, and arrogant.

Honestly the best part of this book (and series if memory serves me) is the rest of the Cullen family. Each of them have a more interesting backstory and I really would have loved to see Meyer write something from either Alice or Jasper. Instead... we got Midnight Sun. And the genderswapped one. And just... nah.

Also, can we acknowledge how Bella makes herself responsible for her parents in a way that is super toxic? Like she makes herself responsible for Renee's emotions and takes care of Charlie like he's a toddler. C'mon. That isn't selfless. That's toxic.

And why would people that have been alive for a super long time agree to go back to high school over and over again? You couldn't pay me to go back a single time.

As I've grown in my own writing, things like filtering really bother me and take me out of the narrative. There's a ton of that here.

One thing I didn't remember from my earlier reads is that James allegedly turned Alice. Yet... we never hear anything about it again? Like, c'mon, THERE is your story.

And I really hate special girl syndrome.

That said, it took me almost two weeks to get through the entire thing. I probably won't be reading this series again.

The MOVIE

The plot in the book didn't change like at all to the movie, so I won't go into the story. I'll highlight some things I liked and things I didn't like.

Dislikes:

-Robert Pattinson. Just... *waves hand*

-I used to think Kristen Stewart couldn't act. But I've seen some of her more recent stuff and I have to believe that the directing of this film was the cause. I love her now.

-In the same vein, Catherine Hardwicke was the total wrong director for this film. The camera angles and jerky filming... Thought it would be enough to give someone a seizure.

-Jacob's wig.

Likes:

-The baseball scene. It's filmed really well and underscored and all around fun. But, that included all of the Cullens, which is why I think I liked it so much.

-The soundtrack. There are so many amazing songs. Many that I've used to write myself.

-Alice & Jasper. Rosalie & Emmett. Carlisle & Esme.

-Billy Burke. I love him in everything.

Final THOUGHTS

Just... don't.

Abbie

Book Review: Service to the Prime by Ginny Young

Y'all. I really don't enjoy posting reviews sometimes. As an indie author, I can completely sympathize with readers that don't enjoy my work. But I hate writing about indie books that I just did not like. Unfortunately, this is one of them.

Side note: I no longer post reviews to Goodreads. In the past, I had someone lash out at me for posting an honest (albeit negative) review and I just won't do it anymore. I share these reviews with Bookbub, but if it's negative, I usually just keep it here.

I received a free copy of this novel from a Facebook giveaway. I was really excited to read it because it was a dystopian romance. Dystopian is pretty much my favorite genre. The novel is listed as a "A post-apocalyptic romance." Cool, right? Something sorta similar to Guns & Smoke?

*facepalm* Yall. This is not it.

Dahlia has been living on her own for three years, since she escaped from a compound where she was basically a part of a warlord's harem. She's been scraping by and lives a very quiet life, until one day, she spies a helicopter over the city (town? It was unclear) and that's never happened before. Upon further inspection, a body is dropped from said copter and then shot at.

At this point, we know very little about the main character, with the exception that she's on her own by choice and enjoys a quiet life.

Yet, she helps this person she's never met. I didn't understand why she would stick her neck out for someone like that.

Dahlia takes this stranger back to her apartment without much hesitation and proceeds to allow him to recover. This didn't make much sense to me. Moreso, the demanding attitude of Vinn, the guy, made me want Dahlia to shove him back out into the streets to fend for himself.

The pair team up, Dahlia believing the promise of a better life where Vinn comes from.

It is an interesting premise, but I fear that the story was really lacking. I didn't quite understand the motivations of any of the characters. The romance was disappointing, and I just... I couldn't enjoy it.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book, unfortunately.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing has been a really popular story for a while. I picked up a copy second hand at my local indie bookstore and dove right in!

The BOOK

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Honestly, I tend to avoid super popular books because they have a tendency to let me down.

Where the Crawdads Sing starts out slow. You get Kya, the main character, telling you about her history as a child and how everyone in her family left her. While it's tragic to see this unfold from the perspective of a child, her history is intertwined with the "current" plotline, where a popular man from town has been found dead in the swamp. It takes a while for that plot to pick up as well.

I really got engaged when Kya was a teenager and a boy named Tate started leaving feathers for her. Y'all know me, romance is my favorite.

One thing I really loved is that Owens didn't shy away from topics that are considered taboo, like Kya getting her period for the first time and not understanding it. That Tate was so kind with her about it really endeared him to me.

Kya and Tate spent months together. He taught her to read. She learned just how smart she was and how much she knew about the marsh land. By this point, most of the town knew her as Marsh Girl.

Entwined with this history is the murder investigation. Chase Andrews was the person found dead in the swamp. The police haven't quite been able to prove whether it was murder or an accident, though there are clues that point toward Kya.

Tate goes off to college, and he breaks his promise to come back to Kya. So she seeks comfort in someone else: Chase Andrews. They spend time together, and he leads her to believe that he's going to marry her. Spoiler alert: he doesn't.

I won't go into any more plot detail, but let me tell you, the ending is something I did not expect.

The two plotlines take place between the 1950s and 1960s. My favorite characters were Jumpin and Mabel. Jumpin is a Black man who owned the store where Kya got her stuff. He and Mabel helped Kya as best they could: buying her fish and mussels that she brought in, giving her clothes, life advice. They truly loved her.

This also leads to the question of who actually killed Chase Andrews? You find out in the last few pages. So Good.

The MOVIE

I was more excited than ever to jump into the movie. I couldn't wait to see how they took the plots from the book and converted it to film.

The movie did exactly what I wanted out of the book: condensed. While we still got all of Kya's backstory with her family leaving, it was more interconnected to the trial. While we're learning about Kya's romances with Tate and Chase, she's also being arrested. We see the support she has from Tate, Jumpin, Mabel, and her lawyer.

Overall, I thought the book translated really well to film. It was cast well--I love when they case relatively unknown actors in major productions like this. Especially because the guy who plays Tate would make a perfect Jesse from Guns & Smoke!

My one complaint was the ending, which I won't spoil here. Just let me say, what's obvious in the ending of the book, isn't so obvious on the screen.

Final THOUGHTS

As I said before, I typically steer away from super popular books, but I'm glad this time that I didn't. I really enjoyed the book, and the movie was well done as well except for the last little scene. I watched it with my sister and it wasn't completely clear to her, so I had to explain it.

If you enjoy literary fiction, definitely check this one out!

Abbie

Book Review: A Court of Silver Flame by Sarah J. Maas

This is a reread. Like... my third reread, but whatever. Sometimes when you're going through a lot, you need comfort characters. Nesta and Cassian are mine.

While I acknowledge that SJM has some issues (lack of diversity being a main one), I have to say that I adore this book. One thing she has always been good at writing is mental health. It would have been easy for her to let Nesta fall to the wayside and just become a background character that people tolerated for what she could do for them.

Instead, she allows Nesta the opportunity to heal and my heart breaks and mends itself all throughout.

From the beginning of the novel, there are hints of Nesta's trauma, things she doesn't talk about. Like her inability to tolerate crackling fires. Another is how she lashes out at Cassian as a means of pushing him away.

Cassian is my heart. I love that he could always see beyond the brutal shell Nesta kept and that he kept extending his hand to her.

One of my favorite elements of this book aside from the romance is the friendship Nesta cultivated with Gwyn and Emerie. I am a big fan of the found family trope, and I really like that we got to see Nesta make a place for herself in the Night Court.

The romance is *chef's kiss*.

Things I still didn't like after a third read: Rhys keeping the truth from Feyre. That still feels so out of character. I know this novel is meant to be Nesta's POV, but it really didn't feel natural that Rhys kept the truth about the baby from her. It really felt like that was just an excuse to allow Rhys to go feral on Nesta so that they could have the wilderness scenes where Nesta finally breaks down and admits everything to Cassian.

I have also found that I really hate the trope where a character has to sacrifice their power at the end. Why can't we have both? Why couldn't Nesta have used the Dread Trove to save Feyre? Why did she have to strike a bargain with the Cauldron to save them?

Also, In ACOWAR, I loved the pact between Feyre and Rhys (where you go, I go), but this book really highlighted how dumb they were to make that bargain. Seriously, guys, it's nice to be romantic, but you really didn't think this one through.

All in all, I adore this book even if I didn't like all of the plot points.

I am worried, however, that SJM is going to change plots because the fandom has so many theories. I really want to see Azriel and Gwyn get together, but I worry that she's going to change it because so many fans have guessed it (GOT anyone?).

Always a fun read, I'm sure I'll do it again soon.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Are you ready? Really ready? This is one of my favorites, so it's no wonder that I picked it to be early on in this series! Also. Dystopian is probably my favorite genre, even if it isn't very popular right now. I first read this series at the peak of 2010s dystopia, and I have reread it multiple times since.

The BOOK

I originally started this series once all three books were out, so I didn't have any of the dreaded waiting between books.

I must say, however, I devoured this series in a matter of days the first time.

My first impression on this re-read was how fast of a read it was. While the book is 400+ pages, I read it over a handful of days.

The book itself is very well written. Roth did a fantastic job of getting a character invested from the very beginning and keeping that engagement throughout the entire story.

Given that I've seen the movie more recently than the book, there were a few details that I forgot: like just how competitive the initiates were amongst themselves. One of the initiates literally has their eye stabbed in the dormitory. This wasn't included in the movie, but I really wish it had been, because that moment gives a lot of insight into one of the villains: Peter.

Part of me really, really, wishes this was adult. I think that this has more to do with my personal preferences than anything, because once, I would completely devour YA for years on end.

Visually, Roth did a fantastic job describing settings and characters. I never once felt like I was in a black box, which happens for me more often than not.

Not to come back to the changes in movie, but the ending was slightly different. Honestly, I think I preferred the movie.

The MOVIE Yall. This movie. This movie is everything that I could have ever imagined and more. While the casting may not have been the most accurate, I felt like they did a fantastic job specifically with the leads and direct supporting characters.

This movie introduced me to one of my favorite actresses, Zoe Kravitz. I first fell in love with her portrayal as Christina, and that continues on the rewatch. In the book, Christina was a little more competitive and petty than in the movie. I loved the bond between the two women on the screen.

Who can argue that Tobias "Four" Eaton is yummy?

I'll wait.

*crickets*

That said, Theo James looked wayyy too old to play an 18-year-old. I get it, totally. I love Theo, I've seen just about everything he's been in, but I really wish they had cast someone a little more age appropriate.

There is one moment that I don't know a single other actor could have played. When Tris and Four are discussing ----

I enjoyed Theo James's smarm. He played it so well.

The movie added Tris's elimination after the first round in the movie, which did not happen in the book. I, however, loved that change, especially when she came running toward the train.

I liked that they didn't make Christina as selfish as she was in the book.

I hated that they made Caleb a yes man in the movie, rather than the whole plot of their mom trying to get him to research the serums and allowing him to come to his own conclusion about Erudite.

Eric was spot. on.

I wish they'd have kept Edward's attack in the movie. Sadly, it was a plot point that had to be cut for time.

I liked Kate Winslet as Jeanine. She was perfectly cast, and the ending scene with the "I'm Divergent" line is *chef's kiss*.

Another thing I thought the movie did better than the books was to show Tris's hesitation to kill one of her friends under the influence of the serum.

Ansel Elgort can't run. That is all.

Final THOUGHTS I just. This story is fantastic, which is why the rest of the series is so depressing. Well, not the rest of the series. Just... Allegiant. Insurgent (book) is fantastic, but the movie veered so far from the book that I would not suggest watching it. Allegiant is a whole hot mess in itself, and it never completely made it to screen (they split it into two parts, and the final part never filmed). In my opinion, the movies really screwed one of the best character arcs: Peter. They didn't fully explore his shades of gray, and I really wanted to see that. If you enjoy dystopian with unique worldbuilding, YA appropriate romance, and want to be left feeling the need to kick some ass, absolutely check out BOTH the movie and the book. Just don't go any further into the series. :)