Belinda’s Book Nook Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

July 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

unspoken

Title: Unspoken
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Copyright: September 11, 2012
Genre: fiction
Format: ebook

Synopsis (from publisher):

A modern, magical twist on the Gothic Romance and Girl Detective genres, this book will appeal to fans of both Beautiful Creatures and the Mortal Instruments series. Reviewers have praised the take-charge heroine and the spellbinding romance.

Bound together. Worlds apart.

Kami Glass is in love with someone she’s never met—a boy she’s talked to in her head since she was born. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she has learned ways to turn that to her advantage. Her life seems to be in order, until disturbing events begin to occur. There has been screaming in the woods and the manor overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. . . . The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. Now Kami can see that the town she has known and loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets—and a murderer. The key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy she thought was imaginary is real, and definitely and deliciously dangerous.

My Review:

I just finished this book today so I thought it would be good to write a review while it’s fresh in my mind. I first heard about this book on booktube and the girl reviewing it said it was really good and so I took a chance and found it on my Overdrive account via my library. I especially like getting books on there that I don’t feel like investing the money but curious about the content.

First, I loved the characters. There is something special to me about detective novels (remember Nancy Drew?) and I like the idea of the main character forming a team of reporters out of our friends to research the history of the town they live in to find out what hidden secrets might exist for the school newspaper.  I was never on my school’s newspaper but think it must have been fun. Kami, the main character was a strong female character so it made it more pleasurable a read.

Second, I definitely found the idea of her “imaginary” friend she talked to in her head possibly being real a fun concept. It makes for a very sweet connection for a foundation for romance.  I also found that there was good character development in this book. I found myself enjoying the unique nuances of each of the main characters.  Her friend Angela, for one, made me laugh out loud when reading her dialogue with people.

Finally, I really enjoyed this book and found it easy to get into.  I have now put my name on the wait list to read book two which is called, “Untold” and in September a third book will come out. So I am reading it at the right time.

I gave this book 4 butterflies.

4ratingA

Well I am off to go dive into another book. This summer has already proved to be a great read for me!

Have a blessed day and happy reading!

Belinda

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Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill

February 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment

the charm bracelet

The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill

Holly O’Neill knows that every charm bracelet tells a story.

Many years ago she was sent one with just a single charm attached. The charms have been appearing ever since, often at challenging times, as if her mysterious benefactor knows exactly when she needs a little magic in her life.

As a result, Holly’s bracelet is her most prized possession. So when she finds someone else’s charm bracelet, she feels she has to try to reunite it with its owner. Even if the only clues she has to follow are the charms themselves.

On a search that will take her all over New York City at Christmas, Holly becomes ever more determined to piece together the details of this other charmed life. But what she doesn’t know is that her quest may also lead her somewhere she never, ever expected . . . 

I bought this book  on sale for  $1.99 on my Kindle back in November and didn’t get around to reading it until January while I was reading, “The Ruins of Lace“.  I used it on days I felt I didn’t want to read the dark places in The Ruins of Lace.  The Charm Bracelet, immediately struck a cord with me because I have a Pandora bracelet and one of the reasons I really love collecting beads to put on it is the meaning behind each bead.  Although not all of my beads have the same personal significance as the main character Holly in this book, but I do cherish mine.

The book moves back and forth in the present and past for Holly and Greg another character in the book. Although a few chapters in, I predicted what might happen, it didn’t spoil the book in any way. The story had a great mystery and an element of surprise at the end that made it worth the read. I liked all of the characters and felt she developed them well throughout the story.

The main character worked at a thrift shop and she had a beautiful way of describing the stories behind the clothing they sold.  It made me want to drop in on some of my local thrift shops. I love books that make you smile and feel that warm and fuzzy.  This book achieved that. It also makes me want to go buy some more beads for my bracelet!!

I would recommend this book.

I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.  I rate books on my GoodReads account so I will give it a go here too.  Hope it’s helpful!

Happy Reading!

Belinda

 

 

 

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Belinda’s Book Nook – Marianna by Susanna Kearsley

March 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I am having so much fun using Overdrive to check out ebook out of public libraries to read on my Nook HD.  You don’t always find the latest books but the process always puts me on the doorstep of a new author or story that I have not been blessed to have read.

Marianna by Susanna Kearsley

Marianna by Susanna Kearsley

I stumbled across this book, Marianna in one of my searches and boy am I happy I did.

The new owner of a 16th-century Wiltshire farmhouse, Julia finds herself transported back and forth in time to the life of a woman named Mariana. Enthralled with the long-ago world, in love with a man who lived centuries before, Julia must lay the past to rest if she is to find love in the present.”  –

I enjoy when a book can take me somewhere else. I like when I feel attachment to the characters. Well I felt this way with this book.  I would read it during pick-up for the boys and  at night before I go to sleep.  Each time, I felt drawn in and wanting to find out more when I had to put the book down. (It wouldn’t go over well if I were late for school pick up!)

Again one of my favorite things about historical fictions is that it allows you to learn more about history without the stuffiness of a history text book.  I don’t know much English history so this was a little peek into some history.  The characters were rich and the details allowed me to really be there while I was reading it. It also had some light romance in it too. Without spoiling the book, I will say there is a major twist in the book that knocked me off my seat and I felt good with it once I read a few reading guide questions that helped me to process my reaction better.  Are  you curious now? Go ahead and read it and tell me what you think.

I am on the hunt for a new book now and will be back to share my thoughts with you soon.

Happy Reading!!

Belinda

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Belinda’s Book Nook – Susannah’s Garden by Debbie Macomber

February 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
susannahs_garden

Susannah’s Garden

Welcome to my book nook. Today’s selection is a fiction by Debbie Macomber.

When Susannah Nelson turned eighteen, she said goodbye to her boyfriend, Jake—and never saw him again. She never saw her brother, Doug, again, either. He died unexpectedly that same year.

Now, at fifty, Susannah finds herself regretting the paths not taken. Long married, a mother and a teacher, she should be happy. But she feels there’s something missing in her life. Not only that, she’s balancing the demands of an aging mother and a temperamental twenty-year-old daughter.

Her mother, Vivian, a recent widow, is having difficulty coping and living alone, so Susannah goes home to Colville, Washington. In returning to her parents’ house, her girlhood friends and the garden she’s always loved, she also returns to the payst—and the choices she made back then. What she discovers is that things are not always as they once seemed. Some paths are dead ends. But some gardens remain beautiful….

I have read several of Debbie Macomber books (Blossom Street Series) and truly enjoyed them and couldn’t put them down. I felt so drawn to the characters. I did not feel the same about Susannah’s Garden. I did enjoy the book but I didn’t connect with the characters the way I did with her other books.  What I liked about the book is how it explored our curiosity with the paths we choose in life. I like that it touched on family dynamics throughout the story. The twists in the story were also a pleasant surprise.  Overall an easy read but if you have not read any of Debbie Macomber books this is not the one to start with rather I highly recommended the Blossom Street series which has very rich characters.

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