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Review: Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine

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Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine

Sword and Pen (Great Library #5)
Rachel Caine
Berkley Books
Published September 3, 2019

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About Sword and Pen

With the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it’s worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.

The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain. Jess Brightwell and his friends must come together as never before, to forge a new future for the Great Library . . . or see everything it stood for crumble.

My Review

I’m so torn about this book but probably not for the reason you think! I am so sad that the series is over, but so happy I got to read every page of it.

I’m always nervous picking up a book in a series after a break in reading earlier books. I worry that I won’t like it as much as I liked earlier books or that I’ll be confused about what’s going on because I’ve forgotten too many things.

Rachel Caine handled both of these concerns like the expert she is in SWORD AND PEN. From the first page, I fell straight back in love with Jess and his friends and the amazing story world of Alexandria and the Great Library. I felt like reminders about who people were and what had been happening where SMOKE AND IRON (book 4) left off were organically woven into the narrative without stealing any attention away from the current tension.

The Great Library is one of my favorite series. It’s one of a very few series longer than three books that I’ve actually managed to stick with– and really, I couldn’t help it! I love the characters so much– Khalila and Dario, Thomas and Glain, Santi and Wolfe, I love them all. Each one is so different, so well-imagined that they feel real. As soon as I start reading a section, I know exactly whose POV I’m in, and I love when authors write like that.

SWORD AND PEN is every bit the conclusion I was hoping for in terms of its intensity. I won’t promise you’ll love every minute– there are some sad moments that really smack you in places that hurt. But it wouldn’t be such a powerful story without those, either. And for the most part, even those sad moments felt right to me.

The Great Library is one of those series you really need to read from the beginning, so don’t start with SWORD AND PEN. Check out my review of INK AND BONE and then fall in love with the whole series with me!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
Santi and Wolfe (two men) are gay and in a relationship together. Khalila is from the Middle East. Dario is Spanish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used very briefly.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girl and boy. Two men are lovers (we don’t see anything but longing exchanged between them). One boy and girl have a suggestive conversation about sex, but end up parting ways without any further exchange.

Spiritual Content
Some Egyptian and Greek gods are represented in the story, and some characters are devoted followers of the gods. Others are Catholic or Muslim. The story treats all faiths equally.

Violent Content
Battles between humans and automata (liquid metal robots that look like gods, mythic creatures or lions). Battles between soldiers involving guns and swords. Situations of peril and graphic descriptions of grave injuries. References to torture.

Drug Content 
Some reference to drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SWORD AND PEN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

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Salt to the Sea
Ruta Sepetys
Philomel Books
February 2, 2016

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About SALT TO THE SEA

World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety.

Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people—adults and children alike—aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.

My Review

Okay, so not that you’ve been clocking my reading lists the last few years, but SALT TO THE SEA has been on my list since 2016. I’ve heard amazing things about Ruta Sepetys, but this is the first book of hers that I’ve finally read.

The writing is super compelling. Each character is distinct, down to their priorities, and how they behave. For instance, one refugee is a former shoe maker. He views every problem in the world as one of shoes. Whatever problem you’re facing, having the right shoes will make a huge difference. It may seem silly, but in the context of the story, it creates several powerful moments, and he shows so much compassion for others through the way he looks after their shoes.

The story can be pretty brutal. Lots of the brutality happens in passing, which means it’s not long descriptions, but they still tend to be sometimes horrifying. War brings out the best and the worst in humanity, and SALT TO THE SEA shows both.

I think in some ways, that brutality makes the point that war is horrifying. That we sometimes look back at history remembering the glorious victories, but we do not want to remember the civilians who were brutalized by advancing soldiers or who starved or froze to death. Or in this case, the tragic death of more than nine thousand people.

Readers interested in World War II history will find this little-explored event compelling and detailed. Sensitive readers may find some descriptions too brutal. See below for further content details.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Representation
Characters are mainly German or Eastern European.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girl and boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Sensitive readers, beware. References to some super dark things. Characters hear rumors of horrors committed by the Russian army as they advance through Germany. References to rape. Some scenes show the events leading up to an assault. Some brief descriptions of the desperate things people do to escape the Russians: murder/suicide of an entire family, desperate people ultimately killing their small children trying to save them.

When the ship sinks, some people make sacrifices so others may live. Other people refuse to help those around them, even harming them in their desperation.

Drug Content 
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.

Review: Tell Me Everything by Sarah Enni

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Tell Me Everything
Sarah Enni
Point
February 26, 2019

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About Tell Me Everything

YOUR SECRET’S SAFE … UNTIL IT’S NOT

Ivy is the shy artist type and keeps a low profile—so low that she’s practically invisible to everyone at Belfry High School except for her best friend, Harold. As sophomore year begins, Harold takes up a hundred activities, leaving Ivy on her own. Luckily she’s found a distraction: the new anonymous art-sharing app, VEIL.

Soon Ivy realizes that one of her classmates is the VEIL user who needs new paintbrushes … and another is the one visiting the hospital every week … and another is the one dealing with their parents’ messy divorce. While she’s too scared to put her own creations on the app, Ivy thinks of an even better way to contribute—by making gifts for the artists she’s discovered. The acts of kindness give her such a rush that, when Ivy suspects Harold is keeping a secret, she decides to go all in. Forget gifts—Ivy wants to throw Harold a major party.

But when all those good intentions thrust her into the spotlight, Ivy’s carefully curated world is thrown into chaos. Now she has to find the courage to come out of the shadows—about her art, her secrets, and her mistakes—or risk losing everything and everyone she loves the most.

My Review

In TELL ME EVERYTHING, Ivy has the best voice of anything I’ve read in a while. I loved her awkwardness and the way she paid attention to people. The writing felt really natural and funny.

I enjoyed the story a lot, too. I liked that even though she was figuring out secrets of people around her, her judgments weren’t always accurate. And she also has to learn that even when they are accurate, it doesn’t mean that her interference will be welcome.

She also wrestles with this desire to be part of things but also invisible, which really resonated with me. It’s hard to find the right balance for me, too.

Overall, I loved so many things about TELL ME EVERYTHING. Somebody go read it so we can have coffee and gush about it together! Ha!

Seriously, though, if you like Sarah Dessen’s books or THE UNLIKELY HERO OF ROOM 13B by Teresa Toten, then you definitely want to check out TELL ME EVERYTHING.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Ivy discovers one of her friends is gay. Her best friend is black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Someone posts slurs against someone who’s gay.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Start Here by Trish Doller

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Start Here
Trish Doller
Simon Pulse
Published August 13, 2019

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About Start Here

Two teens go on a life-changing sailing trip as they deal with the grief of losing their best friend in this heartwrenching, hopeful novel from the author of Something Like Normal and In a Perfect World.

Willa and Taylor were supposed to spend the summer after high school sailing from Ohio to Key West with their best friend, Finley. But Finley died before graduation, leaving them with a twenty-five-foot sailboat, a list of clues leading them to destinations along the way, and a friendship that’s hanging by a thread.

Now, Willa and Taylor have two months and two thousand miles to discover how life works without Finley—and to decide if their own friendship is worth saving.

From acclaimed author Trish Doller comes a poignant tale of forgiveness, grief, and the brilliant discoveries we make within ourselves when we least expect it.

My Review

You know that feeling you get when you follow an author and read multiple of their books, and then a new one comes out and you feel like it has a special kind of magic the others (while they were great!) didn’t quite have?

I felt that way reading START HERE. The story seemed to come alive as I read it. I connected with the characters immediately. The “trapped on a sailboat with your frenemy to honor your best friend’s dying wish” plot was amazing and unique. I loved all the sailing stuff!

I sobbed with Finley as she made the video for her friends about the journey. Then I sobbed with Taylor and Willa as they grieved through that terrible loss. And, as the girls began to find themselves through the trip and learn to appreciate one another, I cried for how far they’d come.

This is the best kind of book to finish your summer with. It’s full of the kind of hope that only comes from grief transformed. It’s real and moving and full of surprise sweet and funny moments. I loved it. I read an electronic review copy, but I’m definitely ordering a finished copy of the book because I suspect it’s one I’ll return to again.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Willa isn’t sure of her ancestry. She has brown skin and curly hair. Taylor is white and bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point, one couple are discovered in bed together partly clothed. Kissing between two girls.

There are also a couple of sexual references, like a boy making comments about his physical desire for sex. Ultimately, I thought it was cool the way the author juxtaposed this boy’s behavior (which left a girl feeling a lot of internal pressure) and a different boy’s behavior(which left her feeling protected and cared for).

Spiritual Content
Some references to magic, as in that sort of serendipitous thing that happens where you end up finding exactly what you need when you need it. Both girls express some anger at God for Finley’s death as a part of their grief.

Violent Content
Both girls face situations where men make unwanted, insistent advances. They handle the situation, but it’s still obviously stressful and scary.

Drug Content
Willa and Taylor use fake IDs to get into a bar and drink alcohol. They attend a college party where there’s lots of drinking. They drink alcohol legally outside the US.

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

Review: Dreamland (YA Edition) by Sam Quinones

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Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic (YA Edition)
Sam Quinones
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 16, 2019

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About Dreamland (YA Edition)

As an adult book, Sam Quinones’s Dreamland took the world by storm, winning the NBCC Award for General Nonfiction and hitting at least a dozen Best Book of the Year lists. Now, adapted for the first time for a young adult audience, this compelling reporting explains the roots of the current opiate crisis. 

In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital center of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland. Quinones explains how the rise of the prescription drug OxyContin, a miraculous and extremely addictive painkiller pushed by pharmaceutical companies, paralleled the massive influx of black tar heroin–cheap, potent, and originating from one small county on Mexico’s west coast, independent of any drug cartel.

Introducing a memorable cast of characters–pharmaceutical pioneers, young Mexican entrepreneurs, narcotics investigators, survivors, teens, and parents–Dreamland is a revelatory account of the massive threat facing America and its heartland.

My Review

If you’re looking for a book that explains how the opiate epidemic started and why it became such a pervasive problem, DREAMLAND is the right book. The author explores the issue from all sides, from the actions of a pharmaceutical company to pill mill doctors to some stories of people who became addicted or saw opportunities to capitalize on the addictions of others.

As I read, each new chapter revealed more and more disturbing truths. So many failures at so many levels allowed this problem to take hold and explode across communities across the country.

DREAMLAND doesn’t link to this, but I recently saw a news report from a Washington Post reporter who was part of an effort to publish a database showing how many prescription pain pills were distributed to different counties in the US. I looked up my own county and was pretty much floored by the total number. I suppose I should have been less surprised since Quinones does point out in DREAMLAND that 9 of 10 of the top prescribing counties in the US during the peak of the pill mill problem were counties in Florida.

I definitely recommend DREAMLAND to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how we got here and why the opioid epidemic happened in the first place.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Quinones follows a church-based addiction recovery program.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Obviously this book contains references to drug abuse. It doesn’t contain graphic scenes showing characters abusing drugs, but gives a lot of information about how drugs were trafficked. One person Quinones describes was raised by an alcoholic, abusive father.

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

Spotlight: Love on the Beach by Kerry Evelyn

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I’m super excited to share a new book that just came out a few days ago called Love on the Beach by Kerry Evelyn. If you’re a fan of sweet romance, you really need to check out her Crane’s Cove series, in which Love on the Beach is the third book. Read on for more about the book and a chance to win an Amazon gift card and bangle bracelet!

About Love on the Beach

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After quitting her job at a high-profile magazine in Boston, idealistic journalist Shelby Porter retreats to her hometown of Crane’s Cove, Maine, to regroup and refocus. As the pastor’s daughter, she’s welcomed back with open arms and opportunities to serve. However, the solace and support from the townspeople isn’t enough to soften painful memories or bring her closer to her goals. Shelby’s plans run up against another obstacle when the new guy in town walks into her life. Despite their connection, she resolves to not let love get in the way of fulfilling her purpose.

Tragedy drives Detective Damon Saunders from his job in Atlanta to the tiny resort town. Wanting to escape the ugliness of the big city, he now patrols the peaceful streets of the seaside community. The hardest part of his new role is earning the trust of the locals—especially Shelby. He’s drawn to her quiet strength and desire to help people, but she has plans that’ll take her far away from the place where he’s trying to plant new roots. Maybe falling for her will complicate his life, but he’s willing to take that chance.

Shelby denies her growing feelings for Damon, but when her four-year-old nephew is in danger, he’s the only one who can help. Can Damon overcome the shadows of his past to save a child and win her—and the town’s—heart? 

About Author Kerry Evelyn

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Page | Facebook Reader Group

Kerry Evelyn has always been fascinated by people and the backstories that drive them to do what they do. A native of the Massachusetts SouthCoast, she changed her latitude in 2002 and is now a crazy blessed wife and homeschooling mom in Orlando. She loves God, books of all kinds, traveling, taking selfies, sweet drinks, and escaping into her imagination, where every child is happy and healthy, every house has a library, and her hubby wears coattails and a top hat 24/7.

Blog Tour Stops

7/29 – Spotlight on Lorelei’s Lit Lair

7/30 – Review on A Book Lover’s Adventures

7/31 – Spotlight on Bookworm Mama

8/1 – Spotlight on The Story Sanctuary – you are here!

8/2 – Review on Britt Reads Fiction

8/3 – Review and Bookstagram on 3HeartsandaWish

8/5 – Review on Christian Book-a-holic

8/6 – Review on Remembrancy

8/7 – Q&A with Kerry on Reading Is My Superpower

8/9 – Review on Martha’s Book Babble

8/16 – Review on Ope’s Opinions

8/31 – Review on Breath of Life Book Reviews

Love on the Beach Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win a Corinthians bangle bracelet (Love is Patient, Love is Kind) from Trades of Hope and a $20 Amazon Gift Card by signing up for Kerry’s newsletter!