March 2015 Wrap Up

Wow. I read 7 books in March. Up until recently, I couldn't even read 7 books in a YEAR let alone a month. Go me! I'll tell you all of the books I read and try to keep it as short as I can as it will involve pictures. I'm not going to add the 8th book I am reading because I started it yesterday and will probably be finishing it tomorrow. It will be included in my April Wrap Up.

Book #1: A Call to Arms by Shiriluna Nott & SaJa H

I started this book in the beginning of the month and quickly got through it. I read it on my new-ish Kindle (new to me, old to everybody else) and wound up dragging it along with me everywhere because it was that beautiful. I didn't realize how good it was going to be when I grabbed it. 

When I saw the heading LGBT/Fantasy, I had to have it. I saved a sample of it and read that. I almost cried when I realized I didn't have the money for it until the next day I got a check in the mail. It's great. It follows Gibben Nemesio on his initial journey into Silver City and becoming a sentinel. He has to get used to a new city and his own budding sexuality at the same time. It is a good book and I gave it 5/5 stars.

Book #2: Best of Friends by Joseph Crowe

I read this one in about an hour. I wasn't expecting it to be nearly as short as it was. I know Joseph Crowe, and when I found his book for a good price I just had to have it but was disappointed overall by the seeming lack of plot and shortness of the book. It would have been much better had it been longer. I have also just now noticed that I read two LGBT books in a row. Theme? I think so. I liked the start of it, but hoped there would be more. I'm thinking about getting the next volume and seeing if it picks up where this one leaves off.

It is all in Sam's point of view and is about how he's worried that his best friend Rex won't like him any more if it comes out that Sam has a crush on him. Little does Sam know...Rex feels the same way he does. They are still worried about how people will react to them and then it just sort of cuts off. I can't wait to find out what happens. I gave this book 2/5 stars for length.

Book #3: The Narrow Three by J.K. Miller II

This book was the second I ever actually purchased on my own for my Kindle. I also know J.K. Miller and I loved the book. The idea behind it was PERFECT. I got so caught up in the case about the little girl that I completely forgot that it was a book and not something that had happened. I didn't understand the beginning at first but later on it was cleared up when it was revealed. The science-fiction part reminded me very much of one of my favorite movies and I got sucked in immediately. 

This book was about a detective who is put on a case of a little girl who is perfectly fine one day, and then not much more than a child-sized mummy the next. Nathan has to figure out what happened to her as well as trying to prevent it from happening to others at the same time. It was brilliant when he finally figured it out, but was nearly too late.

Book #4: The Alexander Cipher by Will Adams

I saw this book in Dollar General's $1-$3 book bin section. It was only $1 because it's a paperback (hardcovers are $3) and as a lover of all things related to ancient Greek culture, I snapped it up as quickly as I could. I didn't even bother to check the back of it to see what it was about before I was in the check-out line. I was not disappointed. It's the first book in the Daniel Knox series and is all about the hunt for Alexander the Great's tomb. A group of Macedonian nationalists want to find the body so that they can spur a war to have Macedonia renamed a country of its own instead of leaving it the way it is, split between three other countries. It follows Daniel Knox, an archaeologist that everyone wants dead. He has to figure out what's going on and where Alexander is without the numerous people actually killing him. I love how it plays out and I have to find the next one in the series. I gave it 5/5 stars!

Book #5: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Believe it or not, this one was one that I had in a box of books to give away or burn. Whatever. I had decided to read it just because I had it and I had to go through my box of unwanteds to find some other romance books for my grandmother. The kind she likes to read are those sappy Harlequin style that I'm just meh about. I had forgotten that this was among them. It's falling apart, but I carefully read it and I love the story. Also I'm afraid of it.

Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood is very antisocial. She keeps to herself and tries to keep her sister protect her from the hate of people who believe Constance had poisoned their parents years earlier. I was very freaked out by the book and what happened in the end. It made me wary of anyone named Mary Katherine. I gave this book over all 3/5 because it wasn't long enough for my tastes and the writing style was definitely unusual.

Book #6: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

I read the first one from January to February, so that one isn't in this here first book wrap up. This one however surpassed my expectations after I read Fifty Shades of Grey. I don't really know what to say about this one. I read it because the way volume one ended. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. I was a little disappointed in that effect as they skipped over some things that should have been highlighted right away.

The book is just the continuing adventures of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. It almost picks up where it left off and this time Ana is the one that is chasing after Christian. It seems that he is withdrawing into himself after her rejection in the first book. She eventually helps him break free of his fear of being touched though, which was nice. I gave this a 3/5 because I didn't like the writing style. It was just too much like what it is...fanfiction. Plus I did not like the way she said "Jeez" over and over again.

Book #7: That Time With Sugar by Tess Oliver

I follow Tess Oliver's page on Facebook and she was holding a sale of the book on Amazon. I didn't have much money this last month and so when it was affordable I picked it up right away. I read the first bit in one sitting, getting to 18% and then I finished the entire book in the very next go. It probably helped that I increased my morning read time by an hour? From 8 to 11:30 because I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep.

I liked this book because it showed them overcoming odds, but then I hated it because I have a family member with anger management issues. Tommy reminded me too much of my own family. I thought the book was pretty good. It follows how Tommy, Sugar and Julian escape from a mental facility and what happens to them. There is a lot that went down some twenty-five years earlier that leads up to all three of them being in the same facility together. I loved how it was all explained in the end. Everyone always say that their favorite character is Tommy in the posts, but I have to say my favorite is Julian. I gave this book a 4/5 but I can't remember why I took away a star. Probably cause of the way Tommy reminded me of family.

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That is all the books that I have read for the month of March. Stay tuned and I will post more reviews, book hauls (with pictures) and monthly wrap-ups! Until then, happy reading.

Review: A Call to Arms by Shiriluna Nott & SaJa H

This book was published on October 15, 2014 by Sun and Shadow Press. It has 313 pages. This story follows Gibben Nemesio, a thirteen-year-old boy who has lost both of his parents and must raise his younger brothers on the farm left behind by their father. It is an LGBT/Fantasy novel.

I got the book because of a post in a Facebook group. I followed one of the authors not that long ago, because if I see the word "Author" or "Writer" as the page type, I like it. She had posted a link to this book and I got it, not thinking much about besides it being LGBT so of course I'm going to want to read it. I did not expect it to be nearly as good as it is. I'll try not to spoil it.

It follows Gibben Nemesio after he receives a summons from the rulers of Arden that he has to report for training and join the army. There is fear of a war starting with another country and they need to train more soldiers to fight. Of course being only thirteen years old and having two younger siblings he looks after on his own, Gibben is worried. He doesn't know how his brothers will survive without him there to help them.

He cannot ignore the summons though, and heads off to Silver City to train. While he's there, he meets an unbelievable cast of characters. Some I didn't like right off the bat, while others I did. I'm sure everyone who reads this book or has read it will agree that Diedrick is a very unlikable character. I think he is the kind of nobility that Gibben fears. Those that look down on any below their station, regardless of their capabilities. Gibben, who goes by Gib for most of the book, is nervous about meeting him when his sister takes him to get his schedule worked out. I'd be, too, if I were suddenly thrust into a huge city after spending my entire life living on a farm.

He doesn't think he's going to do well. Until he meets his room mate, Joel Adelwijn. He feels the same when he makes other friends including Tarquin, Didier, Nage, and Kezra. A lot happens that puts him in a very awkward spot. He tells his friends and they pass it off as just a rumor. Until something big happens. Now they have to figure out what Gib knows and if it will happen again.

In the midst of all this, it's revealed that Gibben has romantic feelings for Joel. They now have to figure out how to keep their budding relationship secret in a world that frowns upon it. All in all it was a great book and I cannot wait for the second volume to come out.

I gave this book 5/5 stars and I could not contain my excitement when I finished it. I will definitely review the next one until it comes out. Until then, happy reading!!