Category Archives: Romance

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Eagerly Anticipated Books from My Summer Reading List

This is a weekly theme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and my first time participating. Though my reading list seems to only grow longer the more I read, here are the ten books I most look forward to reading next.

top_ten_summer_reads

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley This has been on my list for awhile. A blogger I enjoy and an author I admire both recommended it. I can’t wait to see for myself.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare I can’t tell if I’ll be embarrassed for my infatuation with this series in ten years. At present I am hooked on the romance and snappy dialog Clare consistently delivers.

Shadows by Robin McKinley As a long-time fan of McKinley’s books, I was delighted to see this one hit shelves. Her stories always suck me in and let me forget things like responsible bed time.

Unthinkable by Nancy Werlin When I saw that there was a story about the beginning of the curse featured in Werlin’s amazing novel Impossible, I had to have it. I’m so excited to delve back into that story world.

It’s Addicting by Laura L. Smith I’ve fallen in love with the four girls this series follows after reading the first two books. I’m looking forward to finding out how things turn out for each of them.

Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly I’ve read A Northern Light (and highly recommend it) as well as Revolution (which I didn’t care for as much.) When I heard the buzz about this novel, I couldn’t wait to see what Donnelly, who has written such strong and serious prose, would bring to the underwater world of mermaids.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine I’ve seen this book on several big you-must-read-these-books lists. Reading the description (a young girl with aspbergers loses her brother and mentor to a school shooting which leaves her family devastated) it’s easy to see that this one has potential to pack a big punch. I love angsty YA but it’s impossible to beat a story that adds to that mix the need to re-examine how I see the world. I think this novel has the potential to do just that.

Blue Gold by Elizabeth Stewart I can’t remember where I heard about this book. There’s little review information on amazon.com at present, which either means it’s an undiscovered gem or a brilliant idea that isn’t executed well. The story follows three girls involved with a cell phone. One from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the mineral to make the cell phone was mined, one from China, where the chips in the phones are manufactured and one from North America who owns a cell phone. I’m curious. I’ll bite.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith This one is next on my reading list. Even a lover of angsty novels needs a little romance now and then to break things up. I’m eager to visit the places the story travels – San Fransisco, Prague – and to relive those early moments of falling in love through each character.

On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers From the author who wrote the award-winning Monster comes a story about a group of futuristic teens who commit to sabotage the stranglehold eight companies have on the world government. I’ve read this style of story before and been left disappointed, but I’m totally intrigued. If anyone can make this a powerful, memorable story, it’s gotta be Myers, right?

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Many Thanks for Your Support

An Anniversary Celebration and a Chance to Support a Valuable Mission

In March, to celebrate the anniversary of The Story Sanctuary, I held an auction to raise money for Christian World Mission in Chile to provide funds for school children. Four book boxes went up for auction on ebay. Through a combination of that ebay auction and word-of-mouth, all four boxes were sold, raising a total of $150 for Christian World Mission. Yay!

The Giving Continues…

Two of the boxes were donated back to The Story Sanctuary for use as giveaway prizes.

These boxes are packed with tasty snacks and other fun goodies as well as at least three clean YA novels. Sign up quick because this giveaway ends Sunday!

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Many thanks for your support!

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection (The Selection #1)
Kiera Cass
HarperCollins
Published April 24, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

All sixteen year-old America Singer wants is to save her earnings as a musician and begin a new life with her secret love, Aspen. Her family, especially her social-ladder-climbing mother would never approve of America marrying a class beneath them, and when Aspen withdraws from the relationship because of the class difference, America despairs. Though she once considered it a nightmare, being chosen for the Selection, a group of girls spirited away to the palace from which the prince will choose a bride, now seems like America’s only escape from her heartache.

She arrives at the palace determined to stay only long enough for her family to receive enough compensation to ease their poverty. But when an unexpected friendship develops between her and Prince Maxon, America begins to rethink her rush to return home. Just as the warm feelings of friendship begin to blossom into something more, America’s past with Aspen returns to haunt her. For a member of the Selection to have a relationship with anyone besides the prince is treason.

Sort of Cinderella meets The Bachelor, The Selection is filled with high drama and sweet romance. Though her affection for Aspen seemed childish and ill-placed (other than the physical attraction, it was difficult to discern what she saw in him… he just didn’t seem remarkable,) the slow unfolding of her friendship and connection with the prince sparkled with desire, inner conflict, jealousy and romance.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild word choice, mild frequency

Sexual Content
America and Aspen cultivate a secret romance, exchanging kisses and promises. No clothes are removed during these interludes, but the scenes are steamy nonetheless. As a member of the Selection, America is instructed to refuse nothing her prince asks of her. She is horrified to learn that this includes if he propositions her. However, Maxon’s sense of honor puts her more at ease.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Rebel groups infiltrate the castle, causing one of America’s maids to relive a traumatic assault. No graphic details, but it’s clear the memories torture the girl.

Drug Content
When America joins the Selection, her body becomes property of the state, and medications such as birth control and sleeping aids become mandatory.

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Review: Viola Doyle or an Unconventional Gift by Amy Lynn Spitzley

Viola Doyle or an Unconventional Gift
Amy Lynn Spitzley
Curiosity Quills
Published March 3, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Viola Doyle, who rides about town on her bicycle, a feat her mother thinks unbecoming to a young lady, loses a precious jewel when she collides with a young professor’s assistant. Mikhail, the young man she plowed into, returns the jewel and offers to help Viola and her grandmother research the mysterious gem’s origins. Together they learn that the gem is more than simple jewelry and is instead a powerful stone entrusted to a long line of protectors. But its keepers aren’t the only ones interested in the stone.

Another group seeks to find the stone and use it to gain power over all others. When a mysterious accident nearly costs Violet her life, she and her grandmother realize they must learn the identity of the would-be assassin and stop them before they steal the jewel.

An ancient creature senses the location of the jewel. With only her mother’s memories to guide her, she pursues the gem’s keeper without knowing if she will find friend or foe.

Viola’s high-spirited exuberance is guided by her firm but proper mother and her twinkle-eyed, understanding grandmother. When Viola’s heart leads her to the penniless orphan scraping by as a professor’s assistant, her mother is deeply concerned. For even a chance of a future, Mikhail’s ingenuity and devotion will have to win her family’s affection as surely as her own.

In her second novel, Spitzley demonstrates power and pizzazz as a storyteller. Readers of Scrapbook of My Revolution will find in this story a stronger, brighter voice and a broad cast of fabulous characters. The tale maintains a Victorian feel and is told in a lively, upbeat voice that both promises and delivers fantasy and fun. The close of the story leaves readers with plenty of mysteries still to solve and high hopes for a sequel.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Very mild and infrequent.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
A girl suffers a suspicious bicycle accident. No graphic details.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Paper Hearts by S. R. Savell

Paper Hearts
S. R. Savell
Medallion Press
Published April 15, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Seventeen year-old Michelle Pearce is barely scraping by. Her grades plummet. The bullying she endures at school only escalates. Even the perky high school counselor seems a bit over her head with Michelle and the fury penned inside her.

Enter Nate. He’s just about the last thing Michelle wants hanging around the gas station she works. Impossibly tall and somber, Nate is just too nice to dislike. She tries. Fails.

They begin working together and at first out of boredom, Michelle pries into Nate’s life. She finds more sadness and more compassion than she could have imagined. Through him, she learns an entirely different way of responding to the awfulness life seems to keep dishing out.

Part of a new line of teen-written novels, Paper Hearts is penned by an eighteen year-old author who writes teen angst with authenticity and power. Michelle’s fierce anger can be so intense that it’s almost off-putting. The salve is in the softer characters (Nate and his grandmother) who bring out the flighty wounded girl under the tough exterior. Next to the rest of the cast, Michelle’s mother, counselor and boss lack complexity and remain a little two-dimensional. Despite this, the novel is an impressive achievement for a debut writer.

Language Content
Extreme words, moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
One character briefly recounts sexual abuse. One scene includes a jumbled description of a man sexually assaulting a woman. Several crude sexual comments.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
At school, a group of girls bully and humiliate Michelle, destroying her clothes and possessions, physically attacking her. Michelle’s mom throws a candle jar at her, and glass shatters in Michelle’s hair. See sexual content for additional details.

Drug Content
Michelle and Nate share a bottle of sparkling wine. Both are under 21. Michelle smokes cigarettes.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Perfect Glass by Laura Anderson Kurk

Perfect Glass
Laura Anderson Kurk
Playlist Fiction
Published June 1, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Perfect Glass

Henry begins his year-long trip to Nicaragua, leaving Meg behind in Chapin to finish her senior year. Henry faces the challenges of assembling a new building for his sister and brother-in-law’s orphan home in a country with limited supplies and deep distrust toward Americans. Meg meanwhile finds herself the center of affection for the new and fascinating Quinn O’Neill and the unlikely companion to a feisty elderly woman wielding a shotgun.

Meg wants desperately to secure admission to the University of Wyoming, so she and Henry can stay together through college and she can pursue a degree through the writing program there. Quinn helps Meg put together a video about the deadliness of texting and driving. She wants to believe his interest is only friendly, but she seems to be the only one who thinks so. Henry’s plans unravel quickly and governmental changes put the ministry he serves at risk of closing completely. While privately he is nearly falling to pieces, he must maintain a brave face for the children in his care. Even when his girlfriend seems to drift dangerously close to cheating on him with Quinn.

My Review

Fans of Kurk’s first novel, GLASS GIRL may find it to be a story difficult to beat. The intensity of Meg’s journey of loss and love in that novel makes it difficult to imagine creating a follow-up that can match, but PERFECT GLASS does just that. Henry continues to be the strong yet gentle man in Meg’s life, but adversity brings his flaws to the surface. Meg returns to salve the wounds of a dynamic older woman, demonstrating the beauty of character that can bloom after suffering. This is a fabulous novel and a worthy read for teens interested in missions overseas or looking for a classy romance.

Content Notes for Perfect Glass

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Very brief references to a past rape, very limited details.

Spiritual Content
Both Henry and Meg face startling failures. Each falls back to regroup, but must learn that sometimes one’s personal strength isn’t enough, and only dependence on God can suffice. Meg befriends a boy who has many questions and little faith and a woman with deep anger toward God. Both challenge her to justify her faith.

Violence
Men surround a boy in Henry’s care and threaten to attack him, until Henry gets involved. Henry witnesses a man slap a teenaged boy on the back of the head and confronts him about it. Brief references to a past murder and rape, very limited details.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which do not cost anything for you to use but help support this blog.

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