A. Renee Hunt's Blog, page 95

Becoming Bree by D. L. McClanahan

      Becoming Bree by D. L. McClanahan was given to me on Monday, July 27th. I finished it by the 30th.  It's a book that brought me to appreciate small towns, but not small town vermin.

     The story is about Aubrey Summer.  She's as innocent as they come, having survived without ever having a job, a boyfriend, a first kiss, or any temptation to her vow of celibacy.  She's straight and narrow, clean cut and unbelievably unreal for this day and age!  Then temptation comes along, challenging everything, in the form of hot and sexy Alan Caine.  He and his perfect family give her everything she's ever wanted, but it all comes at with a cost.  

     There's something in the woods of Tall Oaks, lurking, killing domesticated animals and small town folk.  Can she survive the dangers that have plagued her tiny part of the world and her heart?

       The book has a ton of potential, carrying unrealistic but likable characters, a quiet town and a budding romance.  The mystery of the thing that lurked within the shadows was even interesting, but it lost its originality.  What could have boomed with creative spirit; fizzled out with a derivative and rushed ending.  I truly believe if Becoming Bree was revised, extended and given an alternate ending, it could really take a reader someplace and flourish.  

     I'll be looking for more from D. L. McClanahan very soon.  She's got talent and her voice was awesome.  
Have a book and a great day!

Divine Scream by Benjamin Kane Ethridge

                                        Emergency Rating:

Center of Gravity by Laura McNeill

     Sometimes the recipe for a good book is an ingredients list full of Points of View.  This book dishes out confusion, frustration, anger and fear and not from one main character but five!  It was an amalgamation of excellence!

     Center of Gravity is the story of the Carson family:  Mitchell, Ava, Jack and Sam.  Their brief moment of bliss is disrupted by questionable behavior, jealousy, murder and practically a complete overhaul of personality!  Emotional nerves are frayed and eventually, a family broken.

     Laura McNeill wrote with fever, allowing readers to develop emotional bonds with each person involved.  You either liked them, loved them or despised them.  Her gift at developing personalities and situations flowed in such a manner, you felt you knew them and endured the situations alongside them.  The narratives progressed without lag or disinterest, making for a great book.  I found myself pacing about my hotel room from the last few chapters, clear through the epilogue.

     If you're looking for a plot to chew on, feast on this book.  This affective roller coaster will fill you to breaking point, leaving you both exhausted and extremely satisfied.
Have a great book and day!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

     Red Queen, is a futuristic, dystopian sort of fantasy.  The world has been plunged into either darkness or light, people segregated as rich or poor, and they bleed  Red or Silver blood.  The caste system is not only authoritative but imperious, sustained by a magic of supernatural origin, allowing the Silvers to rule as gods.

     Mare Barrow, a thief and a Red, attempts to avoid conscription (the draft) into a war waged by the Silvers.  Few Silvers fight in this war, inciting the development of a rebel faction, the Scarlet Guard.  Instead of escaping, she's given a job working for the king and royals as a servant girl.  Unexpectedly she finds herself in a dire situation where she invokes a power incongruous to Reds and impossible to Silvers.  Because of this power, she's forced into Silver society with a name change, a title and betrothed to one of the princes.  She finds herself an insurgent against the very ones she's forced to become.

     Here's a tale I found sort of interesting.  A girl, the equivalent of nothing turned royalty, with an underlying agenda.  I enjoyed that Mare took on the opportunity to make a difference and was willing to put her life on the line.  She wanted it for her family first, but also for everyone in the land, both Reds and Silvers.  I think the story was creative in that fashion and it could have gone in a direction, making it different from all other anti-utopian tales.  But it got lost.


     I didn't see the betrayal coming from the one closest to her, but every other relationship between Mare and co-characters was bland.  The triangle, what could have budded into romance, was weak and took away from the storyline because she wanted to play the "Love you"/"Hate you" game with not one prince but two!.  I wound up feeling nothing for and of them and didn't care if they connected or not.  I did sympathize for those who were collateral damage, but only because they carried colorful yet little weight.  I'm thinking in the second book, Glass Sword (releases in February of 2016), Mare's original way of thinking will return.  I believe she'll come back fighting for the people and letting the romance fall away.  Maybe there can be a King and Queen of Norta, who rule for the people and not for love.  It happens all the time in monarchy.

     I really wanted to love this book.  I didn't, but I definitely enjoyed the read.  To me, there was a bit of redundancy, inconsistency as well as predictability, but it didn't take from the story.  Mare is the girl I chose to hate but wanted to love and that's okay.  Sadly, similar books have turned screenplays then mega movies that easily blot this one.  In a world of Hunger Games, Divergents and instruments of mortal value, Red Queen should have been bigger and stronger. 

     Though slightly secondhand, it's a YA story that will go places because that's what the genre of readers want.  If you're one of them, definitely check it out.   Have a book and a great day! 

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

     Go Set A Watchman, by Harper Lee has been hailed as a literary masterpiece and polarizing by readers.  There are those who feel it's one of the greatest sequels ever written and claim Lee was ahead of her time.  I do not agree.
     This book, set in 1950's fictional town of Macomb, Alabama is about Jean Louise's return home.  I was looking for a story that shared the improvement of America, primarily in the south.  What I received was a book that raised the bile from the depths of my lower intestines!
     I understand racial and political tension reigned supreme in those days, but this novel turned scenes of a daughter's love and innocent, playful memories into sadiddy banter, hatred, and disdain towards Jews, African-Americans and whites less fortunate.  How in the world does see the actions of Adolf Hitler as wrong, but not bat a lash at your own molestations of the justice system and simple morality?  
     Where was the Watchman in this book?
     Now I won't give any spoilers, just in case you decide to read the book, but there's also a lot of conflict between those we loved in To Kill A Mockingbird and this book.  Where you found heroism, you will see flaws.  Where you found rapport, you'll find bitterness and loathing.  And I am not even going to tell you how many times the "N"-word was used.  Ugh...
     Lastly, as the wife of a caucasian husband, I found myself insulted when they spoke on interracial 'copulation' and marriages.  The story just incited an anger within me, one I will not allow to take place again.  More than likely, this book and its predecessor will gather much dust on my library bookshelf.  I won't refer it to any of my friends and family either.  I won't even  waste the beating of my fingers against my keyboard on a discussion thread. No, I'm done with them.  I'm also sorry I handed off funds that'll go toward the Lee estate.  
     I'm so disgusted, I don't even have a quote to add.  If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see my rating according to my Specs Rating.  Have both a great book and day! 

Omar by Ming Xing

     Many children do not understand autism and a book like this one helps do just that.  Omar, by Ming Xing, tells a day in the life of a little boy who is different.  He can't sit still, read, comprehend or even speak like most children, but that doesn't stop him from loving school. He explains his flexible environment, redirection, even how he learns to write.  

     This is book one in a series of seven books that will allow children to see into the world of autistic children, provoking compassion and consideration. I look forward to sharing this book with my little ones later this weekend.  Be sure to check it out too!

Have a book and a great weekend!